Every now and then, I bust out my outline of the journey of the Heroes of the Lance, and think about what I would do if I were running the adventure path.

My ideas change. When the heroes split, and some go west and others go east, I think the west path is more cohrent to the overall story, but the eastern adventures are more interesting.

#dnd #rpg #ttrpg #dragonlance

So going back to another thing I do not like about the Dragonlance modules, are all the clones of things from Lord of the Rings. Now, granted, D&D ripped off things from Lord of the Rings, but Dragonlance reaches what I feel is excessive.

Companions of the Lance = Fellowship of the Ring
Cataclysm = Fall of Númenor
Knights of Solamnia = Dúnedain
Dragon Orbs = Palantir

Note also, the plot of the Dragon Orbs is it draws you in (sometimes) and some elf king is driven helpless by evil through the Orb which is like how the Palantir worked via a connection to Sauron.

There is a scene where the players can summon ancient knight ghosts to help in a critical battle around a tower. Just like Aragorn.

The name of the different elves, Qualinesti, Silvanesti, Kagonesti compared to Tolkien's Calaquendi, Moriquendi (although I am sure some Dragonlance afficiando will point out the "i" ending is very ancient roman as prior art).

There is more. More than I can fit in a post.

And I am sure some will say that all fantasy owes a debt to Tolkien, is inspired by Tolkien, but for me, it is just on the side of "too much".

#dnd #rpg #ttrp #dragonlance #tolkien

I have been complaining about Dragonlace the last couple of posts, but let me say something good about the concept. It is hard to make up an entire mythos of a fantasy world. It is hard to make up a bazillion names of places and characters. Just making up constellations of the world of Krynn is top notch world building. Tracy Hickman did a good job synthesizing a lot of different things to make a new world.

Although, some of the names are not great in my opinion, enough of them are.

Also, I read he put all this together in less than a year, and also started writing (with Margaret Weiss) the first novel. Even though I dislike the modules, coming up with the concept, getting others at TSR on board, deciding to have novels as tie-ins for the project...

Amazing idea.

#dnd #rpg #ttrpg #dragonlance

Side note. Anyone know of a high resolution scan or picture of Keith Parkinson's cover of DL4 Dragons of Desolation (Image 2)?

I have seen claims that he hid the Doctor Who's tardis in the image. (Image 1)

And maybe K9 the robot dog too.

#dnd #rpg #ttrpg #dragonlance

I am jumping ahead to DL-7 Dragons of Light because I have read all the Dragonlance modules before, and I remember this is the one that really exemplifies what I do not like about the modules.

The party of adventurers decide to take a boat to Sancrist. I think it is because there are rumours of another Dragon Orb there. (That, I have no issue with).

BUT, they are attacked by a dragon and shipwrecked before they get there! No matter what, they get shipwrecked and survive.

The whole point of the adventure is so they can discover Dragonlances in the land of Ergoth. But they did not know there were Dragonlances there. They just, oh so conveniently, happen to be shipwrecked there. And wouldn't you know it, getting shipwrecked there now turns out to be the optimal move, because otherwise they would have sailed on to Suncrist and never found the critical Dragonlances that are needed to fight dragons.

Where is the sense that the player's actions have any meaning? They did not decide to go there. They were forced to go there by the invisible hand of the referee.

#dnd #rpg #ttrpg #dragonlance

So I was reading through DL1 Dragons of Despair again, and I think I can articulate why I dislike it right at the beginning.

In a well run campaign or story, the world is casually consistent and events happen independent of the the PCs (if they are not doing things).

The module starts off with the back story of, "no cleric has been seen in 300 years". But for some reason, the PCs have been searching for a cleric for the past 5 years. And just as they meet, they encounter Toede and hobgoblins who are looking for a "blue staff" which just happens to one of the things associated with bringing gods back to the world.

Then they just happen to encounter Goldmoon (who later becomes the first cleric in 300 years, I guess).

It is all just so contrived.

Everything exists because the PCs are there. Everything feels like a set piece.

The adventure immediately delivers exactly what the PCs are looking for, usually through a series of very unlikely coincidences.

Then, on page 5 it states, Two regions cannot be captured by the draconian army at this time: the Qualinesti Elflands (area 19) and the Darken Wood (22- 26). Theirs is another story, to be told in future DRAGONLANCE modules.

No matter what! Nothing can happen unless the PCs are there.

#dnd #rpg #ttrpg #osr #dragonlance

Ein neuer Beitrag ist erschienen:

Orte und Personen aktualisiert

Für die Dragonlance-Runde wurde das Verzeichnis der Orte und Personen auf den aktuellen Stand gebracht und um die Protagonisten und Schauplätze des siebten Kapitels, "Nach Westen", ergänzt. ...

https://rpg.thornet.de/16510/orte-und-personen-aktualisiert/

#Dragonlance #Hintergrundmaterial

だいぶ以前にDVDがリリースされた、アニメ版ドラゴンランス。今観る手段あるのかなって検索掛けてみたけど、どうやらアメリカのAppleTVだと観られるっぽい…？

Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight - Apple TV https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/dragonlance-dragons-of-autumn-twilight/umc.cmc.18itoi814xgobloovndi4ncsb

#Dragonlance #竜槍 #ドラゴンランス