Really it ain’t. These are just my thoughts on the Saga we all love known as Dragonlance. I just want people to know how some of us (and by us I mean my whole gaming group) fans feel.
Dragonlance has seen too much change and difficulties over is twentysome odd years. Dragonlance used to be fun. It used to be fresh. It used to be original. It seems to me that many of the regulars on the board here will fiercely defend Dragonlance to their dying breath when they really don’t know what they’re fighting for. Confused? Read on.
I’ll start with a question. When did you get into Dragonlance? Was it from the very beginning (like myself)? Was it the Legend of Huma? Was it the 5th Age? Was it the Chaos War? If you started at any time other than the beginning, it’s not Dragonlance. Inflammatory, perhaps, but true nonetheless. For Dragonlance ‘Canon’ there should, in number, be an amount of books counted on two hands. Chronicles and Legends certainly plus a few others, everything else should be forgotten. I can hear the outrage now so don’t get your panties all in a bunch. Other books, novels in particular, were entertaining but some of the authors TSR and Wizards let write in the world of Dragonlance were talentless hacks. To have a true Dragonlance experience I believe you need to go to the beginning of the Saga, namely Dragonlance Chronicles and the Dragonlance Adventures hardback (available inexpensively at nobleknight.com).
Let’s skip forward while my thoughts are going there. I remember reading a post on ENWorld from Sean K Reynolds right after the announcement came out about Wizards producing the Dragonlance Campaign Setting. The thread was whether or not the book should be produced, if Dragonlance was a dead setting (whatever your definition of dead is)? The topic was on Dragons of Summer Flame specifically (good book though not great) and the direction Margaret and Tracy went with it. Sean’s comment was something along the lines that Margaret and Tracy were mad about Dragonlance being made into the Saga rules and that they were taking ‘their’ toy and going home.
Sean’s post seemed to imply that Margaret and Tracy had control over the direction of Dragonlance as a whole. Now, for an employee of Wizards Sean was none too bright. Because as anyone who knows anything, I mean anything, about Wizards knows that ‘Wizards’ retains all rights to their property. In Dragons of Summer Flame Margaret and Tracy knew what direction the campaign was going and simply tried to write the best story they could to get it there.
So what’s all this about you ask? My point is that TSR crippled the horse and it should have been shot before the 5th Age fiasco (don’t misunderstand, I think the Saga rules were good rules, they just shouldn’t have shoehorned Dragonlance into them). The outrage goes on by many I can tell. “But I love 5th Age” you say. “5th Age is Dragonlance for me” you say. I’ll admit most are not as old as me or got into Dragonlance from the beginning, like myself. “What a complete and unfair statement you made” I’m hearing. And I’ll agree, 5th Age may be Dragonlance for you, Chaos War may be Dragonlance for you, but not for me. “So don’t play in those eras” you say. Well I don’t. But those eras aren’t Dragonlance either. “You’re wrong” I hear “Those era’s are just as Dragonlance as the War of the Lance” you say. True, to you, but not to me or many others I would suspect.
Let’s go to Sovereign Press right now. These are not the blokes to be working on Dragonlance. Was it Jamie or Christopher that had to read numerous Dragonlance novels to bring him up to speed? Know what? Most of those novels are crap. If you try to include all the material from the novels in the game material it’d be a mish mash of contradictions. I’ve hear people defend the novel Darkness and Light when I’ve read for a fact Tracy state that Sturm and Kit never went to Krynn’s moon and Soth never went to Ravenloft.
Anyway, back to Sovereign Press. I’ve got to question the game design abilities of guys who make three core classes in the Sovereign Stone Campaign Setting book that could have been built with the fighter from the player’s handbook. The Archer, Mounted Warrior and Soldier are castrated fighters in girly clothes. D8 hit die on a couple classes and the archer has only light armour and limited melee weapons. “But that’s how archers were in real armies” I hear. Well, real armies couldn’t afford to equip archers with expensive armour and weapons other than the bow. Yes, they needed to me maneuverable, yes that meant they didn’t carry bulky armour and weapons, but those rule designs limited the class by not allowing someone to be an archer who wore a breastplate or one who used a greatsword. I will admit that the elemental mage and void mage were the best classes to come out of those books.
Ok, so what does Sovereign Stone have to do with Dragonlance? Well, the same game designing shows in the campaign book. My biggest complaint is the Knight of Solamnia and Wizards of High Sorcery. Using the rules for the Wizards of High Sorcery one could not accurately convert Raistlin to 3.5 and several ‘champions’ of the book admitted as much. “But just watch for the Age of Mortals Campaign Setting book” I heard. No thank you. If it couldn’t be done with the core book I won’t bother at all. It took my brother and I (Dragonlancer’s for nearly two decades) one evening to bang out some rules that we were both comfortable with. I have racial (Irda are my favorite, they were castrated in the core book to gnomes), class, and magic conversions – and yes, they are playtested and quite balanced thank you very much and no I will not post them on the internet to allow a raving rules lawyer fanatic to say how crappy they are.
Back to my statement that the setting has seen too much change. How many times does this poor world have to see its pantheon leave in a four hundred year time period? How many cataclysmic events should one world have to go through? I mean criminy, one’s enough. Even the geography has been radically changed again. I say enough is enough.
“We want new material” I hear “I don’t have the time to come up with stuff” again I hear “I want something official”. I’ll certainly agree that new material is always good to see. But the material that should be produced is not another new campaign setting book but regional books like the Silver Marches. There are so many regions in Dragonlance that could be explored in depth it’s amazing. But no, It’s just another campaign book to bring the world up to date with the novels. I’d like to see a book of npc’s, magic, and communities of Throtl (I did do this in my campaign). I want to see a detailed description of Xak-Tsaroth after the death of the dragon (I did this as well using the Atlas and Dragons of Autumn Twilight). I did these things because these were the products that needed to be made, not another crappy novel written by some no name author. The amount of game material vs. novels is woefully inadequate. Just to brag, one of the best adventures I ever did for Dragonlance (and one my players still comment on) is where I took npcs from the modules, stated them for 3.5, had the players pick and had two teams (light and dark) go after the treasure that Ariakas had secreted in Sanction, talk about fun.
In conclusion Dragonlance should have officially died at Dragons of a Summer Flame, dead world, no longer any officially produced material. For me my campaign is alive, not dead, with none of that 5th Age crap happening, no Chaos war, no War of Souls. Dragonlance should be like Greyhawk. The original setting material with about a dozen novels to set up your game and then let the gamer dictate the direction of his campaign, not a corporation trying to make money. The only exception to the above statement is my earlier one about setting books, after the War of the Lance of course.
I long for the days of Harold Johnson as brand manager for Dragonlance, Tracy Hickman and Jeff Grubb writing modules and an occasional article by Roger Moore about kender in Dragon magazine. And no, I’m not some old geezer ‘pining for the old days’. I’m just someone who was thoroughly ****** off when TSR decided to kill my favorite setting. Dragonlance is almost like Lord of the Rings for many. A great world to read about but I wouldn’t want to play there.
Son of Thunder
Cheers,
Cam
So how's the weather there in Utah?
Really cold...
Guys, before we get into a discussion on this, I want to remind everyone that we're all entitled to our opinions, even if you disagree with them. I know many will disagree with the opinion above.
Let's keep this friendly, if we could please. I'll be keeping an eye on this thread, and if it turns into a flame war, I'll be in contact with the WizOs.
Son of Thunder's opinion is one that I've heard from many fans. At the same time, I've heard others who say only the early 5th age is DL for them, or others that like the entirety of DL.
Each of our experiences on how we got into DL shapes our opinions of it.
I thought I would tell a bit about my own experiences, to provide a contrast.
A friend of mine got me into Dragonlance about the same time that Tales of the Lance and Knight's Sword came out. I think my first ever DL book as Dragonlance Adventures, which I picked up from a pawn shop in the same town that Margaret Weis once hailed from.
Eventually, I picked up Chronicles and Legends and was hooked. I read those in college, and they were amazing.
I eventually read Second Generation and Dragons of Summer Flame. I absolutely love the Knights of Takhisis, as they were originally presented.
After Summer Flame, I got out of Dragonlance to a degree. My group still gamed (and what a campaign!), and I read the occasional DL novel, but alas - I was once your stereotypical 4th age fan. I know, shocking! I never really got into the SAGA rules, and Dragonlance...well, it didn't feel like DL to me.
Looking back on the 5th age/SAGA years now, I think they did a great job, all things considered. There were some great products in there.
I got back into DL when the whole Whitestone Council/Nexus thing popped up, and for over a year, it was we fans who kept DL gaming alive. It's one of my proudest moments in life. After that time, we got involved with Sovereign Press and it has been a great adventure ever since.
The Nexus has done a lot for me. My love for Dragonlance was rekindled. I've had to learn 3e in that time, as well as more on the 5th age. I'm glad I did.
Point is, we all love DL for different reasons. Some like the foundation-stone of DL, and that's okay. Some like later developments, and some like the entirety. It's all good.
So, what's your story? How did you guys get into DL, and what do you like about it?
Necromancer. Never wanting to let anything die, this poster keeps bringing up old issues long thought dead. No thread, argument, or flame war ever really ends with a necromancer around. CR 9.
Chaos Beast. This creature posts nonsensical posts just to get attention. Not really all that different from a troll, really, although its easier to resist. CR 2.
Originally posted by Son_of_Thunder
It seems to me that many of the regulars on the board here will fiercely defend Dragonlance to their dying breath when they really don’t know what they’re fighting for.
I will fiercely defend Dragonlance to my dying breath and I know exactly what I'm fighting for. Variation. Options. Alternatives. Selections. History. Not just a short war period, but a history spanning many millennia. I've played campaigns in every Age of Dragonlance, and I'm totally unable to say which Age I liked the most as a gaming platform. I've had so much fun it's become completely irrelevant.
For Dragonlance ‘Canon’ there should, in number, be an amount of books counted on two hands. Chronicles and Legends certainly plus a few others, everything else should be forgotten. I can hear the outrage now so don’t get your panties all in a bunch. Other books, novels in particular, were entertaining but some of the authors TSR and Wizards let write in the world of Dragonlance were talentless hacks.
The problem with that is of course the matter of the subjective nature of peoples opinions on the novels. What one thinks is crap, another views as solid gold. I actually know people who don't consider 'the holy six' to be all that good and are glad that they are far in the past.
So what’s all this about you ask? My point is that TSR crippled the horse and it should have been shot before the 5th Age fiasco (don’t misunderstand, I think the Saga rules were good rules, they just shouldn’t have shoehorned Dragonlance into them). The outrage goes on by many I can tell. “But I love 5th Age” you say. “5th Age is Dragonlance for me” you say. I’ll admit most are not as old as me or got into Dragonlance from the beginning, like myself.
It's really not about age relative to when one originally began reading or adventuring in Dragonlance. It's about preference. There are fans for every Age of Dragonlance, and there are fans for every Age of Dragonlance. Completely trashing an Age just to make the setting stable would be far worse than including said Age so that the players have a choice as to where they want to adventure in.
And I’ll agree, 5th Age may be Dragonlance for you, Chaos War may be Dragonlance for you, but not for me. “So don’t play in those eras” you say. Well I don’t.
And that's your choice. It's my choice to play in all of them, and it's my choice to play in none of them, creating 'my' Dragonlance. It's all about how the DM handles the game, and what the DM allows in a game.
If you try to include all the material from the novels in the game material it’d be a mish mash of contradictions.
That would depend on a persons view on said novels, not an actual abundance of contradictions. Because there really aren't that many of them, or that bad. Which is just my view, naturally.
“I want something official”.
To me it's not about having something official, it's about having support for the setting.
I’ll certainly agree that new material is always good to see. But the material that should be produced is not another new campaign setting book but regional books like the Silver Marches. There are so many regions in Dragonlance that could be explored in depth it’s amazing.
I wholeheartedly agree with you on this. Regional books on a par with Silver Marches would be absolutely fantastic. But first we need to have the Age specific books to cover the bare necessities. The world of Dragonlance is huge when you consider the amount of history it now has. It has everything for everyone.
But no, It’s just another campaign book to bring the world up to date with the novels.
How could it be anything else? Anyone looking to make profit by selling material to a gaming world would be foolish to leave major parts of an established history out of a campaign setting source book when every part of that history has it's crazed fans.
I later picked up the Dragonlance Chronicles Trilogy, and I fell in love with the world of Krynn. Funny, how I read this one and the Shannara Trilogy before the LOTR.
Then when Dragonlance Adventures hardbook came out for 1e, I snatched it and nearly got caught before I realized I almost bypass the cash register counter. Hehehe. I like how they did the Solamnic Knight, the Robe Wizards, and the Holy Order Priests. What I didn't like is the maximum 18th-level limitation. My friends like the Cleric of Mishakal whose granted power of healing is to add an additional die to any cure spells.
Fast forward ... TSR's decision to introduced a new RPG system based on cards: SAGA. While that's nice, I'm not a fan of any card-based RPG system. If I have anything to do with cards, it's either poker, blackjack, rummy, trump, speed, or BS, with or without money (or clothing for that matter) on the line,
Then the shocker, TSR want to use Dragonlance as its promotional vehicle for SAGA, it becomes the flagship of the new rules system.
What the...?
And that's where I got off the DL bandwagon.
Now, I'm hoping to come back but I'd rather pick up where I left off, and that is the end of the 4th Age ... after having read the Second Generation book.
While the new Dragonlance Campaign Sourcebook is out, I holding off purchase until the War of the Lance or any 4th Age product is also out.
The largest group of DL fans are the ones who prefer the Dragonlance setting as it originally was. The 4th Age. Rightfully so, because that is when the setting was at its most homogenous, and when the setting was fresh and not a confusing mass of contradictions, multiple cataclysms, and overused characters.
The 5th Age fans have largely dwindled to very few, but they make up for it by being very vocal. They are commited to keeping various elements intoduced to the setting into the setting.
The third group is the one I belong to, and which contains a mix of both the 4th and 5th Age fans. I could care less about the 5th Age and 4th Age, or what they once were. All I care about is making a cohesive and above all interesting setting in the here and now. I don't care how many of the edges I have to sand smooth, how many old pictures I have to paint over. I want to allow dragonlance to put on makeup to cover her scars, put on a new 3e dress, and step out to the ball for all her gentleman callers. I'd burn the past and forget about that tragedy, because while it is worth remembering, it isn't dwelling on.
Frankly, I would never have tried to reconcile the 4th and 5th Age fan bases. I still wouldn't. I'd worry about building the fan base for the here and now, and make sure the setting is thing of wonder and fantasy. They will also be the most willing to go along for the ride, be the most prolific online presence (your best marketing tool) and also your greatest resource.
Sure we complain, and can be quite harsh in my criticism when we think something stinks. However, we're also flexible enough to go along with the trends and try to make it a little better. Not to say that we don't have my own ideas on what is proper for dragonlance, but we recognize that story elements can be good even if they aren't what we would have expected.
In the end, we all have to make our decisions. If Dragonlance isn't something you enjoy anymore, don't play it. If Dragonlance is something you could enjoy, but not if anyone else has control of it, design your own home campaign setting taking Dragonlance into the future. If you want Sovereign Press to focus on a particular type of product for Dragonlance then adjust your spending habits accordingly, buying the products you want and saving your money rather than buying those you don't. I have done all these things in regards to Dragonlance in the past, and will continue to do so.
P.S. When is the Atlas coming out? ;)
I game in with the Chronicles in about 86/87 somewhere about then. Dragonlance has always been my favourite setting out of the many that I have played, but the direction taken in Dragons of Summer Flame was all wrong IMO.
Krynn was a perfect setting following the War of the Lance/Blue Lady's War, and I didn't see the point to spoiling that and altering Krynn as much as it has been.
Now, despite that, the new DLCS and the comments of my fellow posters on these boards, I have picked up DoSF and the Dragons of a New Age trilogy and I enjoyed them. I still don't like the direction the setting has gone but I can understand why others do.
Basically, your game is your game. Play as you want Son of Thunder, but bear in mind that everyone (and their campaign's) are different.
Now this is a troll:
Forum Troll
Annoying Outsider
Hit Dice: 6d8+36 (63 hp)
Initiative: +2 (Dex)
Speed: 30 ft.
AC: 18 (-1 size, +2 Dex, +7 natural)
Attacks: 2 taunts +9 melee, flame +4 melee
Damage: Taunt 1d6+6, flame 1d6+3
Face/Reach: 5 ft. by 5 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Rant 2d6+9
Special Qualities: Regeneration 5, scent, forumvision 90 ft, immunities.
Saves: Fort +11, Ref +4, Will +3
Abilities: Str 23, Dex 14, Con 23, Int 6, Wis 5, Cha 2
Skills: Listen +10, Spot +50
Feats: Alertness, Iron Will
Climate/Terrain: Any forum
Organization: Solitary or clone-gang (2-4)
Challenge Rating: 5
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always annoying stupid
Advancement: None
Forum trolls speak l33t, SPAM, double-post-double-post and common (poorly).
Combat
Forum trolls have no fear of ban: They launch themselves into flamewars without hesitation, yelling wildly at any opponent. When confronted with flames, their vigor only increases. The natural first attack of a forum troll is always a flame attack that causes the opponent to be either nauseated, shaken or stunned (a Will save negates these effects)
Rant (Ex): If a forum troll hits with both taunt attacks, it latches onto the opponent’s mind and tears his thoughts. This attack automatically deals an additional 2d6+9 points of damage.
Regeneration (Ex): Edit and lock thread deal normal damage to a troll. If a troll loses an argument or the thread is locked, it's lost pride regrows in 3d6 minutes. The creature can reattach itself to a new thread instantly by holding onto the last post.
Immunities (Ex): Unlike normals trolls, forum trolls are completely immune to fire attacks. In addition any fire attacks directed at the troll give it an immediate free action. Banishment is the only sure way of getting rid or forum trolls.
Brags
On forums, brags have a speed of 20 feet, and on mailing lists 40 feet. They regenerate only if mostly immersed in mailing lists. Brags are otherwise identical with their forumbound cousins.
Like Jonesy was saying, there are so many fun eras, it's hard to be a fan of just one.
And hey, I like 5th Age. Maybe a bit less than the earlier times, but it's still Dragonlance.
I keep looking at that first post, and I keep wondering what the point was. To make us aware of his opinions? That's great, but it's not like they're new of revolutionary. It's not like they're constructive or complimentary. He's just... ranting. I'm sorry, but there's no other real way to put it. There's no aim, no direction, no intention that I can really discern - Especially if, as he claims, it isn't Trolling.
I feel robbed of the last 5-10 minutes of my time. Although those of you replying certainly helped make up for the loss.
Thanks to all of you very much.I just don't see what the hell the point in starting this thread was.
And also, a hearty congratulations to the people who responded in this thread for keeping their tempers in check. Well done! I've seen countless similar threads spiral into flamewars, and it's a pleasant surprise to see it not happen here.
It's been almost 20 years since then, and now I can honestly say that despite the rollercoaster ride of fandom in the interim with long periods of disinterest and some overcoming of nostalgia, I'm proud to be making an ongoing contribution to the setting. A big thanks not only to the worthy folks on the Whitestone Council, who let me in the back door, and Sovereign Press who recognized my interest in design, but to the larger fanbase as a whole who continue to engage me in discussion, ask for my advice, argue with my points of view, force me to evaluate what I do with less bias, and more or less give me things to think about on a daily basis.
Cheers all.
Cam
But ah... that's life, eh?
One terribly innacurate statement was when Son of Thunder claims there are fewer and fewer 5th Age fans every day. Not true. Not by a longshot.
The War of Souls helped create a (in my opinion) perfect blend of both Age's qualities. I've always enjoyed the 5th Age more than the 4th Age, but now I enjoy the post-WoS more than anything.
And considering the success of the novels and the focus of that era in gaming products, I think there are a greater number of 5th Age fans now than ever before. However, I think it would be more accurate to say that there are more DragonLance fans now than before, as many new fans that I have introduced tha game books too are able to appreciate the setting as a whole, and not just by era.
It might not be popular opinion; it could just be my own narrow experience, but I do believe that it the original statement is quite false.
Peace!
It was a real hook. Now I almost remember from my memory all translated books of Dragonlance... Fifth age is a good age, no complaining about that. Every age of Dragolance are very good, but those magic items from dream age... 
Well, time to go in Pashin and find a way to banish those minotaurs... *Takes high jump from the thread*
Notice how in 17 responces, he hasn't made a single second post yet.
In fact, we've seen a variety of views and responses on how we got into DL. For example, what was the beginning of DL for Craolin was, at one point, and ending for me. God, I feel old... ;)
Dragonlance and Star Wars share one common trait, in that they are a setting of settings. In each setting, there are different eras to play. Star Wars fans are divided as well, having some who only like the original movies, to some who like more of an expaned view, to some who like the New Jedi Order.
So too is the case with Dragonlance. We've got many eras, including the Time of Huma, the Fall of Istar, the Cataclysm and Shadow Years, War of the Lance, Chaos War, Reign of the Dragon Overlords, War of Souls, and the modern day. To name a few!
As we approach Dragonlance, we do so knowing that some of us like some eras, and some of us like others. And that's okay. For in the end, we all share one common love, and that is this wonderful setting of settings.
I started reading Dragonlance novels around... June of this year.. I have gotten to The Second Generation "The Sacrafice" so far... And I am eagerly awaiting reading DoSF and getting into the 5th age... Though right now I have to say that I don't believe I'm going to like 5th age as much as 4th.. BUt I can't really say that... Considering I only got into DL about 6 months ago I can recall my start quite well...
I was online talking to my cousin, who also got me into D&D to start with, told me to read the DL novels... I told him that I had Volume 1 of the chronicles, I believe it was the first print considering it is falling apart, my friend is finishing reading it right now and he says that pages are falling out, I don't think he took as great care with it as he could've but that's beside the point... Going back to the story... I told him that I had been holding off reading it because I have always hated reading and I didn't want to get into something that I wouldn't finish... But he talked me into it thankfully... And right away I fell in love with Tasslehoff... I have to say to this point Kender are my favorite race... It will be quite depressing reading about afflicted Kender... Almost as depressing as Flint dying... Well that's about the end of the "story" even though I went off of what I was trying to tell
When I found out that the DL campaign setting was coming out in November I was very excited and immediately made plans to start up a DL campaign with my old group as soon as I got it and school started... It's been 4 months since school started.. And my group consists of 3 players(including me)....
Leflos(Lvl 4 druid)
Loren Stronghilt[Me(Lvl 4 Fighter, aspiring KoS)]/DM
Forget his name(Lvl 4 Mage, aspiring Black Robe)
I don't have any ideas for the Mage's test of high sorcery.. So any suggestions would be appreciated...
Sorry for getting so off topic... I just felt like posting and stuff... Bye
Est Solarus oth Mithas,
Loren
Rosisha, who hopes everyone can laugh in the spirit this was given!
I first got into DL back in '87 (god, I'm getting old). I personally did not originally like the direction that DL had taken between the Chaos War and the War of Souls, but with the end of the War of Souls, I am once again interested in what is now the modern era of DL. So, even for those of us who have been around for a while, some of us enjoy this "new" DL as well. I think it's just radically different, but still very much DL, and here is why:
We all knew getting into DL back in the '80s that there was a cataclysm which shook and forever changed the face of the world. This new era has simply gone along all the same route when you stop to think about, only there was no fiery mountains dropped on any cities. There was a god that completely erased things. (Maybe there was some stuff that was completely erased from the world, and from our memories too.....hmmmmm, never thought about that.) Point being, DL is a world that has been rocked by changes, and it happened again....radically changing the world. I don't know....sounds very DL to me.
Just my opinion anyways...
Originally posted by pddisc
You know, the guy who posted the first message has only done 45 posts in over two years. After 45 posts on here, I still didn't know what trolling was. I bet he's a professional. Well, we showed *him*! Ha!
Ok, I'm relatively new to message boards, so what is trolling???
I may not agree with everything that SoT said, but he raises some valid arguments.
I started reading Dragonlance with Chronicles, when I was maybe 12 or 13. I followed those up with The Legend of Huma, then with Legends.
By then, I was hooked. Dragonlance was a fully realized world to me, which had depth and history. Every new character meant something, and every action had the potential to be world shaking.
Wanting more, I started reading some of the spin-off books....the Meetings sextet, for instance. Some of them were very good, some were equally mediocre. Even still, I was hooked and couldn't put them down.
Then came Dragons of Summer Flame, which was the only book I have ever cried over. Magic was gone...the gods had left...it was the end. I was disappointed, but it was a fantastic ending.
However, then Fifth Age started. Eager to see what happened in the wake of the Second Cataclysm, I delved into Jean Rabe's books....only to be completely disappointed. These were dreck, not the rapture-filled literature that Weis and Hickman put forth. They showed no inspiration, no depth in world-building....none of the characteristics that made the earlier novels so great.
Needless to say, I was disappointed.
I read the War of Souls trilogy with trepidation. I was not disappointed in them--far to the contrary, I enjoyed them greatly--but things weren't the same. Dragonlance lacked the charisma that it once had, and it showed.
After all of this, when I had heard that a new DLCS was to be made, I was excited. With Margaret Weis heading the team on it, the writers surely couldn't go wrong, right?
Sadly, no. Not the case.
I looked through the book for a good 20 minutes in my local Walden's. Noted the huge margins, the lack of organization, the lackluster treatment of NPCs and important relics, and the complete abscence of important locales from the geography section (like Sanction--site of battles in just about every age!). With heavy heart, I put it back on the shelf.
Since then, I have had little desire to either play Dragonlance or buy any novels. The world, as it stood in the War of the Lance, had disappeared, leaving behind little more than a hulking shell, formed in the hands of less-talented authors and editors. Krynn's charisma and charm were gone.
Unfortunately, I doubt that little will change my opinion now. I look forward, somewhat, to the War of the Lance supplement, but only for stats for Lord Soth, for my Ravenloft game. Over the years, I'm sad to say, Dragonlance has lost a faithful wanderer.
Call this a troll-post, if you like....I don't really care. The fact remains, though, that I will probably not buy another Dragonlance product in the length of my role-playing hobby, or in my length as a reader.
Originally posted by Platinumwarlock
Then came Dragons of Summer Flame, which was the only book I have ever cried over. Magic was gone...the gods had left...it was the end. I was disappointed, but it was a fantastic ending.
For me, it was the end as well. I felt that every good story should go out with a bang, and that was most certainly it.
Call this a troll-post, if you like....I don't really care. The fact remains, though, that I will probably not buy another Dragonlance product in the length of my role-playing hobby, or in my length as a reader.
Actually, I don't consider this a troll-post, as you've expressed in a friendly manner your opinion. Sure, others will disagree, and that's fine.
Ages ago, I was more of your stereotypical "4th age fan" myself. With 3rd edition, my involvement with the Nexus...I actually have developed to where I enjoy more of an overall view of DL. Sure, I have parts that I do and don't like, but that can be said about any age in DL, not just the Age of Mortals.
I'm sorry the DLCS didn't come across as your cup of tea, but I do hope you give it, and subsequent products, a second shot. You may find that there are some gems in there.
Since then, I have had little desire to either play Dragonlance or buy any novels.
Perhaps you're overreacting. Even if you don't like the direction DL has taken since the 5th age, there are plenty of pre-WotL books being made. The Kingpriest trilogy has completely come out recently, and although it does have one reference to the Chaos War in it, it is only because... well, the Chaos War happens. Then there's the Barbarians trilogy which came out recently, and for 5th age books... although the first ones were no good, others have had excellent writing in them, and it would seem a pity to give up on them so easily. But definately try the Kingpriest trilogy. Even if you have to hire them from a library.
Originally posted by Son_of_Thunder
I long for the days of Harold Johnson as brand manager for Dragonlance
I suppose it would inappropriate to point out the identity of the creative director/brand manager for most of the Fifth Age game line's run. (Hint: His initials were H.J.)
Originally posted by Writer of Stuff
I suppose it would inappropriate to point out the identity of the creative director/brand manager for most of the Fifth Age game line's run. (Hint: His initials were H.J.)
*chuckle*
Well, if given the opportunity, I think there would be more than a few questions regarding the way DL was run that people would like to ask of him.
IIRC, his run as brand manager, or atleast having a major hand in DL's development direction, dates back to TotL (and that he was there "In The Beginning"). And many people say that DL's problems really began with TotL.