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Dragonlance

Dragonlance is a shared universe created by Laura and Tracy Hickman, and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR, Inc. into a series of fantasy novels. The Hickmans conceived Dragonlance while driving in their car on the way to TSR for a job interview. Tracy Hickman met his future writing partner Margaret Weis at TSR, and they gathered a group of associates to play the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. The adventures during that game inspired a series of gaming modules, a series of novels, licensed products such as board games, and lead miniature figures.

Dragonlance
The original Dragonlance logo.
DesignersMargaret Weis and Laura and Tracy Hickman
PublishersTSR, Inc.
Wizards of the Coast
Sovereign Press
PublicationMarch 1984; 39 years ago (1984-03)
Years active1984–2011, 2022
GenresFantasy
LanguagesEnglish
SystemsAD&D 1st/2nd Edition
SAGA System
D&D 3.5 Edition
D&D 5th Edition
ChanceDice rolling
Media typeNovels, game accessories, film, audiobooks

In 1984, TSR published the first Dragonlance game module, Dragons of Despair, and the first novel, Dragons of Autumn Twilight. The novel began the Chronicles trilogy, a core element of the Dragonlance world. While the authoring team of Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis wrote the setting's central books, numerous other authors contributed novels, short stories and game supplements to the setting. Over 190 novels have used the Dragonlance setting; the Dragonlance campaign setting has also been used for multiple editions of Dungeons & Dragons and for the SAGA System. Following Wizards of the Coast's acquisition of TSR in 1997, Wizards licensed Dragonlance to Margaret Weis's company Sovereign Press to produce game materials; this licensing agreement ran from 2001 to 2007. Dragonlance is scheduled to return in 2022 with a new adventure module and the start of a new novel trilogy.

The fictional Dragonlance world of Krynn contains numerous characters, an extensive timeline, and a detailed geography. The history of Krynn consists of five ages. The novels and related game products are primarily set in the fourth age, The Age of Despair. Since the publication of Dragonlance: Fifth Age in 1996, the fifth age, the Age of Mortals, has been used.[1] The Heroes of the Lance, created by Weis and Hickman, are the popular protagonists of the Chronicles trilogy. Along with D&D's world of the Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance is one of the most popular shared worlds in fiction.

Publication history Edit

Creation Edit

 
Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis at Gen Con 2008.

Hickman developed his world creation technique by writing and self-publishing with his wife Laura the adventure modules Rahasia (1979) and Pharaoh (1980), and writing TSR's Ravenloft module (1983). He was unemployed in 1982, and TSR offered him a job based on his submission of several modules.[2] That year, while driving from Utah to Wisconsin to start a job with TSR, Hickman and his wife created the Dragonlance universe concept. During the trip, Hickman and his wife discussed two ideas they had had for several years: an entire world used to support a storyline, and a world dominated by dragons.[3]

Their ideas were well received by TSR, whose marketing department felt they had enough dungeons, but not enough dragons. Hickman suggested a series of twelve modules, each featuring a different dragon. TSR employee Harold Johnson suggested that Hickman should try to get additional support from other TSR staff members and, after a period of months, Hickman had the support of Jeff Grubb, Larry Elmore, Roger Moore, Doug Niles, Michael Williams, and others with whom they discussed ideas for the project. Meanwhile, Weis was editing and writing various Endless Quest books for TSR. The Dragonlance group decided that novels should accompany the game modules; TSR reluctantly agreed and hired a writer.[3] Hickman became the design coordinator for Project Overlord, the cover name for what would later be known as the Dragonlance saga.[4]

TSR decided to create a franchise, including modules, board games, lead figures, and—for the first time—novels. Weis had been hired as an editor; with Hickman, she began working with the author hired to write the novels. They weren't satisfied with the author, and decided they should be the ones to write the books.[2] They collaborated over a weekend, writing the prologue for the first five chapters of the first novel,[2] Dragons of Autumn Twilight, based on the module Dragons of Despair.[5] TSR liked their treatment and gave them the assignment, firing the author. After two years of development, TSR released the module Dragons of Despair in March 1984 and the novel Dragons of Autumn Twilight in November 1984.[6][7] TSR had doubts about the finished novel's sales potential, and attempted to order thirty thousand copies, ultimately ordering the minimum print run of fifty thousand. The success of the novel prompted TSR to publish more copies to meet demand.[2] The novel was written after the completion of the first Dragonlance game modules. Weis and Hickman felt this was constraining and made the novel feel too episodic, so they reversed the process for the next books and completed the novels before the related modules were written.[8] Dragonlance eventually received ancillary products such as novels, calendars, computer games, and books of artwork.[9]

Further development Edit

 
The second Dragonlance logo, used on most of the books and supplements since 1995 with the 5th Age.

In the mid to late 1980s, a rift developed between TSR and the authors. Weis and Hickman were feeling under-appreciated and, when TSR turned down their Darksword series of novels, they went to Bantam Books. Bantam made them an offer, which they accepted, and they stopped writing Dragonlance novels for TSR.[2] They returned to write Dragons of Summer Flame for TSR in 1995, thinking it would be their final Dragonlance novel. At the time, Dragonlance gaming had been converted to the SAGA System, with limited success, and that, combined with TSR's general financial troubles, put the setting's future in doubt. Wizards of the Coast bought the troubled TSR in 1997, and Weis and Hickman then proposed the War of Souls trilogy, which was published in 2000–2002. All three novels made the New York Times bestseller list, and the setting was commercially revitalized.[3] By 1998, the original Dragonlance trilogy had sold well over three million copies worldwide and spawned dozens of sequels.[10] The central books of the Dragonlance series were written by the authoring team of Weis and Hickman; however, many other writers have made contributions, including Richard A. Knaak, Douglas Niles, Roger E. Moore, Don Perrin, Jean Rabe, Paul B. Thompson, Tonya C. Cook, Michael Williams, Nancy Varian Berberick, and Chris Pierson.

In 2001, Wizards of the Coast licensed Sovereign Press to publish further Dragonlance game materials. This began with the newly revised Dragonlance Campaign Setting in 2003, which used the new Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition rules.[3] In April 2007, Wizards of the Coast had not renewed Sovereign's license, and Dragonlance RPG game supplements and accessories were only released through the end of the year.[11]

In October 2020, Weis and Hickman filed suit against Wizards of the Coast for breaching a licensing deal with Weis and Hickman for a new Dragonlance novel trilogy.[12][13] Boing Boing reported that "according to the lawsuit, Weis and Hickman agreed with Wizards of the Coast to produce the new novels in 2017, capping off the series and giving fans a final sendoff, but the company pulled the plug in August 2020".[14] In December, Weis and Hickman filed to voluntarily dismiss without prejudice their lawsuit,[15] and "the filing noted that Wizards of the Coast had not formally answered their lawsuit, nor had they filed for a summary judgement".[16] Weis and Hickman's publishing agent affirmed a few weeks following this that a new trilogy of Dragonlance novels was in the works;[17] the first of the new trilogy is scheduled to be released in August 2022.[18][19]

In December 2022, the first Dragonlance adventure module, titled Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen, for 5th Edition will be released. The module will be set during the War of the Lance; Wizards of the Coast has stated that the module will not require prior knowledge of the setting or the novels to play the module.[20][21] An integrated board game, titled Dragonlance: Warriors of Krynn, will also be released; it was designed by Stephen Baker and Rob Daviau.[21][22] Dragonlance: Warriors of Krynn is a wargame that focuses on military battles during the War of the Lance. Both games can be played independently; however, the adventure module includes rules for using the board game to resolve the military battles that occur in the narrative.[22]

Media Edit

Campaign setting Edit

 
Dragonlance Adventures, the first Dragonlance campaign setting sourcebook.

TSR created Dragonlance as a campaign setting for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) roleplaying game in 1982, publishing the first of a series of modules, Dragons of Despair, in March 1984. They published the first world-spanning sourcebook, Dragonlance Adventures, in 1987. When AD&D was updated to the 2nd edition in 1989, the Dragonlance campaign setting was updated as well. However, in 1996, Dragonlance was converted to use the new SAGA System, which uses cards to determine the effects of actions, with the publication of the Dragonlance: Fifth Age roleplaying game.[7]

When the 3rd edition of Dungeons & Dragons was released in 2000, Dragonlance was not initially updated for the new edition. In 2002, Margaret Weis's company Sovereign Press acquired the license to publish 3rd Edition Dragonlance material. The official update, Dragonlance Campaign Setting, was published in 2003 for the 3.5 Edition. Wizards of the Coast turned over all responsibility for maintaining the Dragonlance setting to Sovereign Press until 2007.[23][3][11] The campaign setting was not supported during the 4th Edition era (2008-2013) of Dungeons & Dragons.[24]

In March 2022, Wizards released the PDF Heroes of Krynn which is part of the "Unearthed Arcana" public playtest series for the 5th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons.[25] Polygon commented that this "all but confirmed" the return of the Dragonlance setting.[26] In April 2022, it was announced that the setting will be revisited in December 2022 with a new adventure module for the 5th Edition.[20] On December 6, 2022, Wizards released the adventure book Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen.[27]

Novels Edit

The main storyline of the original Dragonlance series has been written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, with multiple books written by other authors, covering years between and sometimes during the main events.

  • The Chronicles trilogy relates the events since the meeting of the Companions until the end of the War of the Lance and the defeat of the Dragon armies of Ansalon.
  • The Lost Chronicles trilogy is a companion to the original Chronicles. Each book of the trilogy fills in sections of the story previously left untold. It tells the story surrounding the recovery of the Hammer of Kharas,[28] how the Companions retrieve the dragon orb from Ice Wall, how Kitiara Uth Matar and Lord Soth became allies, and how Raistlin Majere took the Black Robes in Neraka.
  • The Legends trilogy covers the Blue Lady's War, as well as the past adventures of Raistlin and Caramon Majere, culminating in Raistlin's attempt to achieve godhood. The books feature time travel, and focus on events in Istar before the Cataclysm, as well as the ensuing Dwarfgate Wars.
  • The Second Generation is a single compilation book which picks the most important tales from the Tales series and details the children of the Companions, all of whom become players in the later story. This book is considered to be part of the main storyline, as it must be read to understand the events that happened between the War of the Lance and the Chaos War. This novel develops characters that would later be seen in the War of Souls trilogy.
  • Dragons of Summer Flame covers the Chaos War, also known as the Second Cataclysm. The gods and mortals join forces to defeat Chaos in his attempt to destroy Krynn. The war ends with the withdrawal of Chaos and the gods of Krynn in a divine agreement to keep the world safe.
  • Dragons in the Archives: The Best of Weis and Hickman Anthology is another compilation of short stories which were previously published in other anthologies. These stories take place at different points of time in the world of Krynn. This book provides backstory to some of the characters and situations presented in the War of Souls trilogy.
  • The War of Souls trilogy begins as a strange storm courses through Krynn, heralding the War of Souls. The end of the war brings the return of the gods, Takhisis's death, and the departure of Paladine as head of the good gods in order to maintain the balance between Good and Evil.
  • The Dark Disciple trilogy follows the death of Takhisis and the departure of Paladine, when the lesser gods strive to maintain dominance.

Video games Edit

Eight video games are set in the Dragonlance world. They belong to six different genres and were released within five years, from 1988 to 1992.

DL01 - Dragons of Despair and DL02 - Dragons of Flame (corresponding to the events in the first novel, Dragons of Autumn Twilight) were adapted into the video games Heroes of the Lance and Dragons of Flame, respectively. Instead of being role-playing video games, they are platform games using the Silver Box game engine. DL03 - Dragons of Hope and DL04 - Dragons of Desolation (corresponding to the events between the first and the second novel) were adapted into the video game Shadow Sorcerer. Released in 1991, this early real-time strategy game is a direct sequel to the first two games and a prequel to War of the Lance (1989). DL11 - Dragons of Glory is a self-contained tabletop strategy game (corresponding to the events in the background of the third novel, Dragons of Spring Dawning) that was adapted into the turn-based strategy game War of the Lance.

DragonStrike is a 1990 combat flight simulation game whose plot begins halfway through the previous video game. The 1992 NES remake is a scrolling shooter that features an ending different from the one in the novels, but following and fixing a "bad ending" from DL14 - Dragons of Triumph. Neither game is based directly on any tabletop module. The Gold Box trilogy (Champions of Krynn, Death Knights of Krynn, and The Dark Queen of Krynn) are the only role-playing video games based on Dragonlance. They tell an original story that begins shortly after the events in the 14 tabletop modules.

Apart from those, the MUSH game DragonLance is based on Krynn during the final stage of the War of the Lance.[29]

Other Edit

The series has inspired mention in music as well, including "Wishmaster", a song by Nightwish based partially on the master and apprentice relationship between Raistlin Majere and Dalamar. The Swedish metal band Lake of Tears also recorded a song called "Raistlin and the Rose" on their 1997 album Crimson Cosmos, while the German group Blind Guardian wrote "The Soulforged", another song inspired by Raistlin's story, which appeared on the band's 2002 album A Night at the Opera.[30] Also Danish/American band Pyramaze recorded in their 2008 album Immortal song "Caramon's Poem".[31] Another German metal band, Evertale, released The Chronicles Chapter I EP in 2008 and the full album Of Dragons And Elves in 2013 - both releases were composed entirely of songs inspired by and relating to Dragonlance.[32] Yet another German metal band, Pegasus, bases all its material on the Dragonlance mythos.[33] A Russian concept album (2009-2010) and musical (premiered 2014) based on Raitslin's story, The Last Trial, was created by Anton Kruglov and Yelena Khanpira.[34]

In 2008, Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight, an animated movie based on the first Dragonlance book of the same name, was released direct-to-video. The animation was produced by Toonz Animation, and featured the voices of Lucy Lawless, Kiefer Sutherland, Michael Rosenbaum, and Michelle Trachtenberg.[35] In late 2011, Holysoft Studios Ltd. released the first part of a German audio adaption of the Chronicles Trilogy, with subsequent releases of the later trilogies being announced.[36]

In comics, Krynn has been represented on the 1988 Dragonlance series by DC Comics and TSR.[37] More recently, Devil's Due Publishing and Wizards of the Coast have also produced a number of comic book series: The Legend of Huma (2003),[38] Chronicles (2005) and Legends (2008).[39]

World Edit

The Dragonlance world is described in dozens of books and novels. The setting contains numerous characters, an extensive timeline, and a detailed geography.

Setting Edit

 
Map of Ansalon, where the majority of the novels take place.

Dragonlance is set on the world of Krynn. The majority of the novels take place in the various regions of Ansalon, a small continent, though some have taken place on the continent of Taladas, located northeast of Ansalon. The world's major gods are the High God and his children: good Paladine, neutral Gilean, and evil Takhisis. The gods are opposed by Chaos, who seeks to destroy Krynn. Depending on the time period, the evil chromatic and the good metallic dragons are rare or plentiful. Humans are Krynn's most common humanoid race, but elves, dwarves, kender, gnomes, and minotaurs occupy the world as well. Clerics derive magical powers from their gods, and wizards derive their power from the three moon gods, good Solinari, neutral Lunitari, and evil Nuitari. Hickman had previously served as a Mormon missionary in Java for two years, and uses Indonesian in Dragonlance spells.[2] During Krynn's various wars, armies of draconians are used as troops. Draconians are created by corrupting a dragon egg, thereby creating a reptilian humanoid. Any dragon egg can be used to make a draconian, although the ones most commonly used are good dragon eggs because the evil kings want more evil dragons to hatch.

Other gods of the setting include the gods of good Branchala, Habbakuk, Kiri-Jolith, Majere, and Mishakal; the gods of neutrality Chislev, Reorx, Shinare, Sirrion, and Zivilyn; and the gods of evil, Chemosh, Hiddukel, Morgion, Sargonnas, and Zeboim.

Fictional history Edit

The history of the world of Krynn, and thus the settings for both the novels and gaming supplements, is roughly split into five separate ages. The first age is the time of creation, when the gods are born and Krynn is formed. The Age of Dreams, the second age, is marked by the rapid growth of the world's first great civilizations and the appearance of myriad new races. This era is also marked by three great wars between dragons and their minions. Following the Third Dragon War, in the Age of Might, the Cataclysm obliterates the great empire of Istar and changes almost the entire surface of Krynn. A 300-year depression follows this event, in what is called the Age of Despair. This period also marks the War of the Lance. When Dragonlance was first introduced to Dungeons & Dragons, events such as the Lost Wars happened during The Age of Despair.[40] Later Age of Mortals novels and game supplements took Krynn into the Fifth Age (the Age of Mortals).[1][41]

Dragonlances Edit

Dragonlances are weapons first created in the Third Dragon War, designed with the purpose of killing evil dragons, and are the only weapons with which mortals who cannot use magic can kill dragons.[citation needed] Dragonlances have this power because of the way in which they are created, which requires the use of "two god-blessed artifacts".[citation needed]

Dragonlances are rare and not commonly traded. There are lesser dragonlances, which are made when only one of the artifacts is used to create them, and greater dragonlances, which are made when both artifacts are used to make them. Greater dragonlances are blessed with the power of Good, unlike lesser dragonlances.[42]

There are two sizes of dragonlance. The smaller footman's dragonlance is around eight feet long and functions as a pole weapon, while the larger mounted dragonlance is around sixteen feet long and most commonly used when mounted on a dragon.[43][44]

Characters Edit

 
The Heroes of the Lance: from left Raistlin, Caramon, Tanis, Tasslehoff, Flint, Goldmoon, Riverwind, Sturm, Tika, and Laurana. Tracy Hickman keeps this Larry Elmore painting on the wall in his office.[45]

The Heroes of the Lance are the protagonists of the Chronicles trilogy, the first series of Dragonlance books. They were created by Weis and Hickman, then fleshed out as player characters in gaming sessions of Dungeons & Dragons at Hickman's apartment. One player at this initial gaming session was game designer Terry Phillips, who was playing as Raistlin. According to Hickman in the foreword to The Soulforge, "[we] were just settling in to the game when I turned to my good friend Terry Phillips and asked what his character was doing. Terry spoke...and the world of Krynn was forever changed. His rasping voice, his sarcasm and bitterness all masking an arrogance and power that never needed to be stated suddenly were real. Everyone in the room was both transfixed and terrified. To this day Margaret [Weis] swears that Terry wore the black robes to the party that night".[46]

In a "Traveling Road Show" put on to publicize the novels, the Heroes of the Lance were played by various people. Authors Gary and Janet Pack played the half-elf Tanis Half-Elven and the kender Tasslehoff Burrfoot, respectively. Author Douglas Niles played the dwarf Flint Fireforge. TSR employee Harold Johnson played the Solamnic knight Sturm Brightblade. The rest of the Heroes are the barbarians Goldmoon and Riverwind, elf Laurana Kanan, and humans Caramon Majere (Raistlin's brother) and Tika Waylan. Weis played Fizban the Fabulous.[3]

In the beginning, Margaret Weis had problems depicting Tanis Half-Elven in the novels. Tracy Hickman finally told her that "he's James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise". After that explanation, Margaret had no more difficulty writing about Tanis.[47] Other noteworthy antagonists, and sometimes protagonists, are the Death Knight Lord Soth and Kitiara Uth Matar, the half-sister of Raistlin and Caramon, and leader of one of the Dragonarmies of Ansalon. According to Hickman, Lord Soth is the most unpredictable character to write about, saying: "Every time that character made an appearance in one of our books he would try to run off with the story".[48]

Locations Edit

The world of Dragonlance is set on the planet of Krynn, with most of the action taking place on the continent of Ansalon. Some of the key countries and areas on Ansalon are the Plains of Dust, Solamnia with its great metropolis, Palanthas,[49] the Blood Sea Isles, the Empire of Ergoth, Istar, and Sancrist, the elven kingdom of Silvanesti,[50] as well as the dwarven realm of Thorbardin. Important cities and towns and other locations include Solace (location of the Inn of the Last Home, and Sad Town), the High Clerist's Tower, Palanthas, Kendermore, Port Balifor (location of the Pig and Whistle Tavern), and the various Towers of High Sorcery.

Races Edit

Like in many Dungeons & Dragons campaign settings, the fictional world of the Dragonlance campaign is shaped by the division by race, with white humans as the central focus, but also including elves, goblins, and many others.[51][52] With the species in many cases clearly assigned to "good" and "evil",[53] some critics have suggested that the setting had the potential to raise racist expectations.[52] The authors take an active stance against racist ideology and ensure that a "fascistic genocidal campaign to wipe-out species that are considered 'impure'" would have catastrophic consequences.[52] In contrast, the need for tolerance and cooperation between the races is emphasized.[52]

Reception Edit

Dragonlance is one of the most popular shared worlds, worlds in which writers other than those that created them place adventures.[54] The first Dragonlance trilogy, Chronicles, launched the Dungeons & Dragons line of novels, with many of its characters spun off into other novels.[55] Along with Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance is TSR's most popular series of novels. According to The 1990s by Marc Oxoby, what is most notable about the series is that "what may at one time been considered disposable, escapist literature" found "unprecedented popularity" in the 1990s.[56] All of the Dragonlance novels remained in print during the decade, turning Weis and Hickman into literary stars and boosting sales of their non-Dragonlance novels. Although the series was initially published in paperback, its success led to hardcover printings. The hardcover version of Dragons of Summer Flame had an "impressive" first printing of 200,000 books.[56] Every Dragonlance novel by Weis and Hickman since 1995 has been released in hardcover, and some previous novels have been re-released in hardcover collector's editions.[57] Dragonlance made TSR one of the most successful publishers of science fiction and fantasy in the 1990s.[58]

By 2008, there were more than 190 novels in the Dragonlance franchise.[5] Weis and Hickman's Dragonlance novels have made over twenty bestseller lists, with sales in excess of 22 million.[58] The pair's novels have been translated into German, Japanese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Spanish, French, Italian, Hebrew, Portuguese, Greek and Turkish and have sold well in the United States, Britain, and Australia.[2]

Not all critics have praised Dragonlance and its creators. According to author Stephen Hunt, Wendy Bradley of Interzone magazine does not think highly of their work. Hunt feels that it is unusual for authors to receive such loathing among "fantasy's literary mafia", saying: "Behind every critic's scorn laden insult, there lays [sic] that unsaid thought at the end: 'But I could have written that!'"[2] Visions of Wonder, edited by David G. Hartwell and Milton T. Wolf, and published by the Science Fiction Research Association, argues that Dragonlance is published under the "omnivore theory" of publishing. In this theory, the readership is made up of teenagers, and completely replaces itself every three to five years. This allows publishers to release subpar novels and still reach a small yet profitable audience.[59]

See also Edit

Citations Edit

  1. ^ a b Cook, Sue Weinlein (1996). "Foreword". Dragonlance: Fifth Age - Book Two, Dusk or Dawn. TSR, Inc.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Hunt, Stephen (January 2002). . SFCrowsnest.com. Archived from the original on February 11, 2008. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Archer, Peter (2004). "Dragonlance". 30 Years of Adventure: A Celebration of Dungeons & Dragons. Wizards of the Coast. pp. 64–75. ISBN 0-7869-3498-0.
  4. ^ Hickman, Tracy (April 1987). "TSR Profiles". Dragon. Lake Geneva, Wisconsin: TSR, Inc. (#120): 90.
  5. ^ a b Nahrung, Jason (June 27, 2008). . The Courier-Mail. Archived from the original on June 30, 2008. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
  6. ^ "Chronicles: a novel idea". Dragon #91. TSR. IX (6): 44–45. November 1984. ISSN 0279-6848.
  7. ^ a b . Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2008-09-24. Retrieved 2005-08-20.
  8. ^ "Interview: Screenwriter, George Strayton". Dragonlance movie site. 22 February 2007. Retrieved 24 March 2007.
  9. ^ . Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2008-10-02. Retrieved 2008-10-03.
  10. ^ Varney, Allen (January 1998). "ProFiles: Margaret Weis". Dragon. Renton, Washington: Wizards of the Coast (#243): 120.
  11. ^ a b Margaret Weis (April 23, 2007). . Archived from the original on May 26, 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-26.
  12. ^ Hoffer, Christian (October 19, 2020). "Dungeons & Dragons Publisher Sued by Dragonlance Co-Writers Over Scrapped Book Trilogy". ComicBook.com. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  13. ^ Hall, Charlie (2020-10-19). "Dragonlance authors sue Dungeons & Dragons publisher Wizards of The Coast". Polygon. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  14. ^ Beschizza, Rob (2020-10-19). "Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman sue Wizards of the Coast after it abandons new Dragonlance trilogy". Boing Boing. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  15. ^ Hall, Charlie (2021-01-11). "Dragonlance authors drop $10M lawsuit against Wizards of the Coast". Polygon. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  16. ^ Hoffer, Christian (December 20, 2020). "Dragonlance Writers End Lawsuit Against Dungeons & Dragons Maker". ComicBook.com. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
  17. ^ Gilliam, Ryan (January 25, 2021). "New Dragonlance novel trilogy is back on after authors dismiss lawsuit". Polygon. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  18. ^ Hall, Charlie (2021-12-17). "A new Dragonlance trilogy begins in 2022". Polygon. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  19. ^ "Dungeons & Dragons: New Dragonlance Novel Gets 2022 Release Date". ComicBook.com. December 20, 2021. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  20. ^ a b Sheehan, Gavin (2022-04-21). "Dungeons & Dragons Announces New Dragonlance Campaign". Bleeding Cool News And Rumors. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
  21. ^ a b "Wizards of the Coast Teases 'D&D Dragonlance's' Return". ICv2. April 21, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  22. ^ a b Hall, Charlie (2022-04-21). "New Dragonlance board game was designed by Rob Daviau and Stephen Baker". Polygon. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
  23. ^ Appelcline, Shannon. "Dragonlance Campaign Setting (3.5) | Product History". Dungeon Masters Guild. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  24. ^ "D&D's Latest Unearthed Arcana Teases the Return of a Classic Setting". CBR. 2022-03-16. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  25. ^ "D&D's Latest Unearthed Arcana Unleashes Dragonlance and the World of Krynn". CBR. 2022-03-12. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  26. ^ Hall, Charlie (2022-03-09). "Dragonlance playtest materials released for Dungeons & Dragons". Polygon. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  27. ^ "Dragonlance | Dungeons & Dragons". D&D Official | Dungeons & Dragons. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
  28. ^ Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. . Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on April 14, 2006. Retrieved 2006-07-18.
  29. ^ Maloni, Kelly; Baker, Derek; Wice, Nathaniel (1994). Net Games. Random House / Michael Wolff & Company, Inc. p. 107. ISBN 0-679-75592-6.
  30. ^ "Dragonlance Inspired Music and Musicians". Dragonlance-Movie.com. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
  31. ^ . Archived from the original on 2011-10-23. Retrieved 2011-09-26.
  32. ^ "Evertale - of Dragons and Elves - Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives".
  33. ^ "Pegasus - Fantasy - Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives".
  34. ^ "Театр имени Васильевых приглашает благовещенцев на постановку в жанре фэнтези // Порт-Амур. Дальневосточное информационное агентство". from the original on 2014-11-03. Retrieved 2013-10-06.
  35. ^ Winkelspecht, Dean (January 13, 2008). . DVDTown.com. Archived from the original on February 8, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
  36. ^ Ltd., Holysoft Studios. "Drachenlanze - Das Hörspiel". www.drachenlanze-hoerspiel.de. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  37. ^ "Dragonlance (1988) comic books". www.mycomicshop.com. Retrieved 2019-09-03.
  38. ^ "Dragonlance The Legend of Huma (2004) comic books". www.mycomicshop.com. Retrieved 2019-09-03.
  39. ^ "Dragonlance Legends Time of the Twins (2008) comic books". www.mycomicshop.com. Retrieved 2019-09-03.
  40. ^ Hickman, Tracy; Weis, Margaret (1987). Dragonlance Adventures. TSR, Inc. ISBN 0880384522.
  41. ^ Weis, Margaret; Chambers, Jamie; Coyle, Christopher (2003). "Foreword". Age of Mortals: Dragonlance Campaign Setting Companion. Sovereign Press, Inc.
  42. ^ Weis, Margaret; Perrin, Don (August 2003). "Chapter 3, Magic of Krynn, "Dragonlances".". Dragonlance Campaign Setting (1st ed.). Wizards of the Coast. p. 288. ISBN 0-7869-3086-1.
  43. ^ Hickman, Tracy; Weis, Margaret (1987). "The World That Was, Magical Items of Krynn, "Weapons".". Dragonlance Adventures (1st ed.). TSR, Inc. p. 94. ISBN 0-88038-452-2.
  44. ^ Johnson, Harold; Terra, John (1992). "Special Artifacts of Ansalon, Magic Weapons". Tales of the Lance: World Book of Ansalon. TSR, Inc. p. 156. ISBN 9781560763383.
  45. ^ Whiteman, Trampas. . Dragonlance.com. Archived from the original on 2008-09-19. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
  46. ^ Weis, Margaret (2003) [1998]. The Soulforge. The Raistlin Chronicles. Renton, WA, USA: Wizards of the Coast. Forward. ISBN 0-7869-1314-2.
  47. ^ Weis, Margaret; Hickman, Tracy (November 1999). (1st ed.). Wizards of the Coast. p. 74. ISBN 0-7869-1870-5. Archived from the original on June 25, 2003. Retrieved 2006-07-01.
  48. ^ Patrick (May 21, 2006). . SFFWorld.com. Archived from the original on September 10, 2007. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  49. ^ Croitoriu, Michaël (March–April 1999). "Palanthas". Backstab (in French). No. 14. p. 56.
  50. ^ Croitoriu, Michaël (May–June 1999). "The Sylvan Veil". Backstab (in French). No. 15. p. 52.
  51. ^ D'Ammassa, Don (2006). Encyclopedia of Fantasy and Horror Fiction. New York: Facts On File. p. 58. ISBN 978-1-4381-4063-6.
  52. ^ a b c d Young, Helen (2016). Race and Popular Fantasy Literature: Habits of Whiteness. New York, Oxon: Routledge. p. 42-43, 93. ISBN 978-1-138-85023-1.
  53. ^ Clements, Philip J. (December 2019). (Thesis). p. 113. Archived from the original on 2020-09-17. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  54. ^ Saricks, Joyce G. (2001). The Readers' Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction. ALA Editions. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-8389-0803-7.
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General sources Edit

  • Wolf, Nadine (2010). Religious Concepts in Fantasy Literature. GRIN Verlag. ISBN 978-3640661428.

External links Edit

  • Dragonlance Movie Site - official site for news about movies based on Dragonlance.

dragonlance, shared, universe, created, laura, tracy, hickman, expanded, tracy, hickman, margaret, weis, under, direction, into, series, fantasy, novels, hickmans, conceived, while, driving, their, interview, tracy, hickman, future, writing, partner, margaret,. Dragonlance is a shared universe created by Laura and Tracy Hickman and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR Inc into a series of fantasy novels The Hickmans conceived Dragonlance while driving in their car on the way to TSR for a job interview Tracy Hickman met his future writing partner Margaret Weis at TSR and they gathered a group of associates to play the Dungeons amp Dragons role playing game The adventures during that game inspired a series of gaming modules a series of novels licensed products such as board games and lead miniature figures DragonlanceThe original Dragonlance logo DesignersMargaret Weis and Laura and Tracy HickmanPublishersTSR Inc Wizards of the CoastSovereign PressPublicationMarch 1984 39 years ago 1984 03 Years active1984 2011 2022GenresFantasyLanguagesEnglishSystemsAD amp D 1st 2nd EditionSAGA SystemD amp D 3 5 EditionD amp D 5th EditionChanceDice rollingMedia typeNovels game accessories film audiobooksIn 1984 TSR published the first Dragonlance game module Dragons of Despair and the first novel Dragons of Autumn Twilight The novel began the Chronicles trilogy a core element of the Dragonlance world While the authoring team of Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis wrote the setting s central books numerous other authors contributed novels short stories and game supplements to the setting Over 190 novels have used the Dragonlance setting the Dragonlance campaign setting has also been used for multiple editions of Dungeons amp Dragons and for the SAGA System Following Wizards of the Coast s acquisition of TSR in 1997 Wizards licensed Dragonlance to Margaret Weis s company Sovereign Press to produce game materials this licensing agreement ran from 2001 to 2007 Dragonlance is scheduled to return in 2022 with a new adventure module and the start of a new novel trilogy The fictional Dragonlance world of Krynn contains numerous characters an extensive timeline and a detailed geography The history of Krynn consists of five ages The novels and related game products are primarily set in the fourth age The Age of Despair Since the publication of Dragonlance Fifth Age in 1996 the fifth age the Age of Mortals has been used 1 The Heroes of the Lance created by Weis and Hickman are the popular protagonists of the Chronicles trilogy Along with D amp D s world of the Forgotten Realms Dragonlance is one of the most popular shared worlds in fiction Contents 1 Publication history 1 1 Creation 1 2 Further development 2 Media 2 1 Campaign setting 2 2 Novels 2 3 Video games 2 4 Other 3 World 3 1 Setting 3 2 Fictional history 3 3 Dragonlances 3 4 Characters 3 5 Locations 3 6 Races 4 Reception 5 See also 6 Citations 7 General sources 8 External linksPublication history EditCreation Edit nbsp Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis at Gen Con 2008 Hickman developed his world creation technique by writing and self publishing with his wife Laura the adventure modules Rahasia 1979 and Pharaoh 1980 and writing TSR s Ravenloft module 1983 He was unemployed in 1982 and TSR offered him a job based on his submission of several modules 2 That year while driving from Utah to Wisconsin to start a job with TSR Hickman and his wife created the Dragonlance universe concept During the trip Hickman and his wife discussed two ideas they had had for several years an entire world used to support a storyline and a world dominated by dragons 3 Their ideas were well received by TSR whose marketing department felt they had enough dungeons but not enough dragons Hickman suggested a series of twelve modules each featuring a different dragon TSR employee Harold Johnson suggested that Hickman should try to get additional support from other TSR staff members and after a period of months Hickman had the support of Jeff Grubb Larry Elmore Roger Moore Doug Niles Michael Williams and others with whom they discussed ideas for the project Meanwhile Weis was editing and writing various Endless Quest books for TSR The Dragonlance group decided that novels should accompany the game modules TSR reluctantly agreed and hired a writer 3 Hickman became the design coordinator for Project Overlord the cover name for what would later be known as the Dragonlance saga 4 TSR decided to create a franchise including modules board games lead figures and for the first time novels Weis had been hired as an editor with Hickman she began working with the author hired to write the novels They weren t satisfied with the author and decided they should be the ones to write the books 2 They collaborated over a weekend writing the prologue for the first five chapters of the first novel 2 Dragons of Autumn Twilight based on the module Dragons of Despair 5 TSR liked their treatment and gave them the assignment firing the author After two years of development TSR released the module Dragons of Despair in March 1984 and the novel Dragons of Autumn Twilight in November 1984 6 7 TSR had doubts about the finished novel s sales potential and attempted to order thirty thousand copies ultimately ordering the minimum print run of fifty thousand The success of the novel prompted TSR to publish more copies to meet demand 2 The novel was written after the completion of the first Dragonlance game modules Weis and Hickman felt this was constraining and made the novel feel too episodic so they reversed the process for the next books and completed the novels before the related modules were written 8 Dragonlance eventually received ancillary products such as novels calendars computer games and books of artwork 9 Further development Edit nbsp The second Dragonlance logo used on most of the books and supplements since 1995 with the 5th Age In the mid to late 1980s a rift developed between TSR and the authors Weis and Hickman were feeling under appreciated and when TSR turned down their Darksword series of novels they went to Bantam Books Bantam made them an offer which they accepted and they stopped writing Dragonlance novels for TSR 2 They returned to write Dragons of Summer Flame for TSR in 1995 thinking it would be their final Dragonlance novel At the time Dragonlance gaming had been converted to the SAGA System with limited success and that combined with TSR s general financial troubles put the setting s future in doubt Wizards of the Coast bought the troubled TSR in 1997 and Weis and Hickman then proposed the War of Souls trilogy which was published in 2000 2002 All three novels made the New York Times bestseller list and the setting was commercially revitalized 3 By 1998 the original Dragonlance trilogy had sold well over three million copies worldwide and spawned dozens of sequels 10 The central books of the Dragonlance series were written by the authoring team of Weis and Hickman however many other writers have made contributions including Richard A Knaak Douglas Niles Roger E Moore Don Perrin Jean Rabe Paul B Thompson Tonya C Cook Michael Williams Nancy Varian Berberick and Chris Pierson In 2001 Wizards of the Coast licensed Sovereign Press to publish further Dragonlance game materials This began with the newly revised Dragonlance Campaign Setting in 2003 which used the new Dungeons amp Dragons 3rd Edition rules 3 In April 2007 Wizards of the Coast had not renewed Sovereign s license and Dragonlance RPG game supplements and accessories were only released through the end of the year 11 In October 2020 Weis and Hickman filed suit against Wizards of the Coast for breaching a licensing deal with Weis and Hickman for a new Dragonlance novel trilogy 12 13 Boing Boing reported that according to the lawsuit Weis and Hickman agreed with Wizards of the Coast to produce the new novels in 2017 capping off the series and giving fans a final sendoff but the company pulled the plug in August 2020 14 In December Weis and Hickman filed to voluntarily dismiss without prejudice their lawsuit 15 and the filing noted that Wizards of the Coast had not formally answered their lawsuit nor had they filed for a summary judgement 16 Weis and Hickman s publishing agent affirmed a few weeks following this that a new trilogy of Dragonlance novels was in the works 17 the first of the new trilogy is scheduled to be released in August 2022 18 19 In December 2022 the first Dragonlance adventure module titled Dragonlance Shadow of the Dragon Queen for 5th Edition will be released The module will be set during the War of the Lance Wizards of the Coast has stated that the module will not require prior knowledge of the setting or the novels to play the module 20 21 An integrated board game titled Dragonlance Warriors of Krynn will also be released it was designed by Stephen Baker and Rob Daviau 21 22 Dragonlance Warriors of Krynn is a wargame that focuses on military battles during the War of the Lance Both games can be played independently however the adventure module includes rules for using the board game to resolve the military battles that occur in the narrative 22 Media EditCampaign setting Edit Main article List of Dragonlance modules and sourcebooks nbsp Dragonlance Adventures the first Dragonlance campaign setting sourcebook TSR created Dragonlance as a campaign setting for the Advanced Dungeons amp Dragons AD amp D roleplaying game in 1982 publishing the first of a series of modules Dragons of Despair in March 1984 They published the first world spanning sourcebook Dragonlance Adventures in 1987 When AD amp D was updated to the 2nd edition in 1989 the Dragonlance campaign setting was updated as well However in 1996 Dragonlance was converted to use the new SAGA System which uses cards to determine the effects of actions with the publication of the Dragonlance Fifth Age roleplaying game 7 When the 3rd edition of Dungeons amp Dragons was released in 2000 Dragonlance was not initially updated for the new edition In 2002 Margaret Weis s company Sovereign Press acquired the license to publish 3rd Edition Dragonlance material The official update Dragonlance Campaign Setting was published in 2003 for the 3 5 Edition Wizards of the Coast turned over all responsibility for maintaining the Dragonlance setting to Sovereign Press until 2007 23 3 11 The campaign setting was not supported during the 4th Edition era 2008 2013 of Dungeons amp Dragons 24 In March 2022 Wizards released the PDF Heroes of Krynn which is part of the Unearthed Arcana public playtest series for the 5th Edition of Dungeons amp Dragons 25 Polygon commented that this all but confirmed the return of the Dragonlance setting 26 In April 2022 it was announced that the setting will be revisited in December 2022 with a new adventure module for the 5th Edition 20 On December 6 2022 Wizards released the adventure book Dragonlance Shadow of the Dragon Queen 27 Novels Edit Main article List of Dragonlance novels The main storyline of the original Dragonlance series has been written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman with multiple books written by other authors covering years between and sometimes during the main events The Chronicles trilogy relates the events since the meeting of the Companions until the end of the War of the Lance and the defeat of the Dragon armies of Ansalon The Lost Chronicles trilogy is a companion to the original Chronicles Each book of the trilogy fills in sections of the story previously left untold It tells the story surrounding the recovery of the Hammer of Kharas 28 how the Companions retrieve the dragon orb from Ice Wall how Kitiara Uth Matar and Lord Soth became allies and how Raistlin Majere took the Black Robes in Neraka The Legends trilogy covers the Blue Lady s War as well as the past adventures of Raistlin and Caramon Majere culminating in Raistlin s attempt to achieve godhood The books feature time travel and focus on events in Istar before the Cataclysm as well as the ensuing Dwarfgate Wars The Second Generation is a single compilation book which picks the most important tales from the Tales series and details the children of the Companions all of whom become players in the later story This book is considered to be part of the main storyline as it must be read to understand the events that happened between the War of the Lance and the Chaos War This novel develops characters that would later be seen in the War of Souls trilogy Dragons of Summer Flame covers the Chaos War also known as the Second Cataclysm The gods and mortals join forces to defeat Chaos in his attempt to destroy Krynn The war ends with the withdrawal of Chaos and the gods of Krynn in a divine agreement to keep the world safe Dragons in the Archives The Best of Weis and Hickman Anthology is another compilation of short stories which were previously published in other anthologies These stories take place at different points of time in the world of Krynn This book provides backstory to some of the characters and situations presented in the War of Souls trilogy The War of Souls trilogy begins as a strange storm courses through Krynn heralding the War of Souls The end of the war brings the return of the gods Takhisis s death and the departure of Paladine as head of the good gods in order to maintain the balance between Good and Evil The Dark Disciple trilogy follows the death of Takhisis and the departure of Paladine when the lesser gods strive to maintain dominance Video games Edit See also List of Dungeons amp Dragons video games Dragonlance Eight video games are set in the Dragonlance world They belong to six different genres and were released within five years from 1988 to 1992 DL01 Dragons of Despair and DL02 Dragons of Flame corresponding to the events in the first novel Dragons of Autumn Twilight were adapted into the video games Heroes of the Lance and Dragons of Flame respectively Instead of being role playing video games they are platform games using the Silver Box game engine DL03 Dragons of Hope and DL04 Dragons of Desolation corresponding to the events between the first and the second novel were adapted into the video game Shadow Sorcerer Released in 1991 this early real time strategy game is a direct sequel to the first two games and a prequel to War of the Lance 1989 DL11 Dragons of Glory is a self contained tabletop strategy game corresponding to the events in the background of the third novel Dragons of Spring Dawning that was adapted into the turn based strategy game War of the Lance DragonStrike is a 1990 combat flight simulation game whose plot begins halfway through the previous video game The 1992 NES remake is a scrolling shooter that features an ending different from the one in the novels but following and fixing a bad ending from DL14 Dragons of Triumph Neither game is based directly on any tabletop module The Gold Box trilogy Champions of Krynn Death Knights of Krynn and The Dark Queen of Krynn are the only role playing video games based on Dragonlance They tell an original story that begins shortly after the events in the 14 tabletop modules Apart from those the MUSH game DragonLance is based on Krynn during the final stage of the War of the Lance 29 Other Edit The series has inspired mention in music as well including Wishmaster a song by Nightwish based partially on the master and apprentice relationship between Raistlin Majere and Dalamar The Swedish metal band Lake of Tears also recorded a song called Raistlin and the Rose on their 1997 album Crimson Cosmos while the German group Blind Guardian wrote The Soulforged another song inspired by Raistlin s story which appeared on the band s 2002 album A Night at the Opera 30 Also Danish American band Pyramaze recorded in their 2008 album Immortal song Caramon s Poem 31 Another German metal band Evertale released The Chronicles Chapter I EP in 2008 and the full album Of Dragons And Elves in 2013 both releases were composed entirely of songs inspired by and relating to Dragonlance 32 Yet another German metal band Pegasus bases all its material on the Dragonlance mythos 33 A Russian concept album 2009 2010 and musical premiered 2014 based on Raitslin s story The Last Trial was created by Anton Kruglov and Yelena Khanpira 34 In 2008 Dragonlance Dragons of Autumn Twilight an animated movie based on the first Dragonlance book of the same name was released direct to video The animation was produced by Toonz Animation and featured the voices of Lucy Lawless Kiefer Sutherland Michael Rosenbaum and Michelle Trachtenberg 35 In late 2011 Holysoft Studios Ltd released the first part of a German audio adaption of the Chronicles Trilogy with subsequent releases of the later trilogies being announced 36 In comics Krynn has been represented on the 1988 Dragonlance series by DC Comics and TSR 37 More recently Devil s Due Publishing and Wizards of the Coast have also produced a number of comic book series The Legend of Huma 2003 38 Chronicles 2005 and Legends 2008 39 World EditThe Dragonlance world is described in dozens of books and novels The setting contains numerous characters an extensive timeline and a detailed geography Setting Edit nbsp Map of Ansalon where the majority of the novels take place Dragonlance is set on the world of Krynn The majority of the novels take place in the various regions of Ansalon a small continent though some have taken place on the continent of Taladas located northeast of Ansalon The world s major gods are the High God and his children good Paladine neutral Gilean and evil Takhisis The gods are opposed by Chaos who seeks to destroy Krynn Depending on the time period the evil chromatic and the good metallic dragons are rare or plentiful Humans are Krynn s most common humanoid race but elves dwarves kender gnomes and minotaurs occupy the world as well Clerics derive magical powers from their gods and wizards derive their power from the three moon gods good Solinari neutral Lunitari and evil Nuitari Hickman had previously served as a Mormon missionary in Java for two years and uses Indonesian in Dragonlance spells 2 During Krynn s various wars armies of draconians are used as troops Draconians are created by corrupting a dragon egg thereby creating a reptilian humanoid Any dragon egg can be used to make a draconian although the ones most commonly used are good dragon eggs because the evil kings want more evil dragons to hatch Other gods of the setting include the gods of good Branchala Habbakuk Kiri Jolith Majere and Mishakal the gods of neutrality Chislev Reorx Shinare Sirrion and Zivilyn and the gods of evil Chemosh Hiddukel Morgion Sargonnas and Zeboim Fictional history Edit The history of the world of Krynn and thus the settings for both the novels and gaming supplements is roughly split into five separate ages The first age is the time of creation when the gods are born and Krynn is formed The Age of Dreams the second age is marked by the rapid growth of the world s first great civilizations and the appearance of myriad new races This era is also marked by three great wars between dragons and their minions Following the Third Dragon War in the Age of Might the Cataclysm obliterates the great empire of Istar and changes almost the entire surface of Krynn A 300 year depression follows this event in what is called the Age of Despair This period also marks the War of the Lance When Dragonlance was first introduced to Dungeons amp Dragons events such as the Lost Wars happened during The Age of Despair 40 Later Age of Mortals novels and game supplements took Krynn into the Fifth Age the Age of Mortals 1 41 Dragonlances Edit Dragonlances are weapons first created in the Third Dragon War designed with the purpose of killing evil dragons and are the only weapons with which mortals who cannot use magic can kill dragons citation needed Dragonlances have this power because of the way in which they are created which requires the use of two god blessed artifacts citation needed Dragonlances are rare and not commonly traded There are lesser dragonlances which are made when only one of the artifacts is used to create them and greater dragonlances which are made when both artifacts are used to make them Greater dragonlances are blessed with the power of Good unlike lesser dragonlances 42 There are two sizes of dragonlance The smaller footman s dragonlance is around eight feet long and functions as a pole weapon while the larger mounted dragonlance is around sixteen feet long and most commonly used when mounted on a dragon 43 44 Characters Edit Main article List of Dragonlance characters nbsp The Heroes of the Lance from left Raistlin Caramon Tanis Tasslehoff Flint Goldmoon Riverwind Sturm Tika and Laurana Tracy Hickman keeps this Larry Elmore painting on the wall in his office 45 The Heroes of the Lance are the protagonists of the Chronicles trilogy the first series of Dragonlance books They were created by Weis and Hickman then fleshed out as player characters in gaming sessions of Dungeons amp Dragons at Hickman s apartment One player at this initial gaming session was game designer Terry Phillips who was playing as Raistlin According to Hickman in the foreword to The Soulforge we were just settling in to the game when I turned to my good friend Terry Phillips and asked what his character was doing Terry spoke and the world of Krynn was forever changed His rasping voice his sarcasm and bitterness all masking an arrogance and power that never needed to be stated suddenly were real Everyone in the room was both transfixed and terrified To this day Margaret Weis swears that Terry wore the black robes to the party that night 46 In a Traveling Road Show put on to publicize the novels the Heroes of the Lance were played by various people Authors Gary and Janet Pack played the half elf Tanis Half Elven and the kender Tasslehoff Burrfoot respectively Author Douglas Niles played the dwarf Flint Fireforge TSR employee Harold Johnson played the Solamnic knight Sturm Brightblade The rest of the Heroes are the barbarians Goldmoon and Riverwind elf Laurana Kanan and humans Caramon Majere Raistlin s brother and Tika Waylan Weis played Fizban the Fabulous 3 In the beginning Margaret Weis had problems depicting Tanis Half Elven in the novels Tracy Hickman finally told her that he s James T Kirk of the Starship Enterprise After that explanation Margaret had no more difficulty writing about Tanis 47 Other noteworthy antagonists and sometimes protagonists are the Death Knight Lord Soth and Kitiara Uth Matar the half sister of Raistlin and Caramon and leader of one of the Dragonarmies of Ansalon According to Hickman Lord Soth is the most unpredictable character to write about saying Every time that character made an appearance in one of our books he would try to run off with the story 48 Locations Edit The world of Dragonlance is set on the planet of Krynn with most of the action taking place on the continent of Ansalon Some of the key countries and areas on Ansalon are the Plains of Dust Solamnia with its great metropolis Palanthas 49 the Blood Sea Isles the Empire of Ergoth Istar and Sancrist the elven kingdom of Silvanesti 50 as well as the dwarven realm of Thorbardin Important cities and towns and other locations include Solace location of the Inn of the Last Home and Sad Town the High Clerist s Tower Palanthas Kendermore Port Balifor location of the Pig and Whistle Tavern and the various Towers of High Sorcery Races Edit Like in many Dungeons amp Dragons campaign settings the fictional world of the Dragonlance campaign is shaped by the division by race with white humans as the central focus but also including elves goblins and many others 51 52 With the species in many cases clearly assigned to good and evil 53 some critics have suggested that the setting had the potential to raise racist expectations 52 The authors take an active stance against racist ideology and ensure that a fascistic genocidal campaign to wipe out species that are considered impure would have catastrophic consequences 52 In contrast the need for tolerance and cooperation between the races is emphasized 52 Reception EditDragonlance is one of the most popular shared worlds worlds in which writers other than those that created them place adventures 54 The first Dragonlance trilogy Chronicles launched the Dungeons amp Dragons line of novels with many of its characters spun off into other novels 55 Along with Forgotten Realms Dragonlance is TSR s most popular series of novels According to The 1990s by Marc Oxoby what is most notable about the series is that what may at one time been considered disposable escapist literature found unprecedented popularity in the 1990s 56 All of the Dragonlance novels remained in print during the decade turning Weis and Hickman into literary stars and boosting sales of their non Dragonlance novels Although the series was initially published in paperback its success led to hardcover printings The hardcover version of Dragons of Summer Flame had an impressive first printing of 200 000 books 56 Every Dragonlance novel by Weis and Hickman since 1995 has been released in hardcover and some previous novels have been re released in hardcover collector s editions 57 Dragonlance made TSR one of the most successful publishers of science fiction and fantasy in the 1990s 58 By 2008 there were more than 190 novels in the Dragonlance franchise 5 Weis and Hickman s Dragonlance novels have made over twenty bestseller lists with sales in excess of 22 million 58 The pair s novels have been translated into German Japanese Danish Dutch Finnish Spanish French Italian Hebrew Portuguese Greek and Turkish and have sold well in the United States Britain and Australia 2 Not all critics have praised Dragonlance and its creators According to author Stephen Hunt Wendy Bradley of Interzone magazine does not think highly of their work Hunt feels that it is unusual for authors to receive such loathing among fantasy s literary mafia saying Behind every critic s scorn laden insult there lays sic that unsaid thought at the end But I could have written that 2 Visions of Wonder edited by David G Hartwell and Milton T Wolf and published by the Science Fiction Research Association argues that Dragonlance is published under the omnivore theory of publishing In this theory the readership is made up of teenagers and completely replaces itself every three to five years This allows publishers to release subpar novels and still reach a small yet profitable audience 59 See also Edit nbsp Dungeons amp Dragons portalCitations Edit a b Cook Sue Weinlein 1996 Foreword Dragonlance Fifth Age Book Two Dusk or Dawn TSR Inc a b c d e f g h Hunt Stephen January 2002 Dragon On SFCrowsnest com Archived from the original on February 11 2008 Retrieved 2009 02 20 a b c d e f Archer Peter 2004 Dragonlance 30 Years of Adventure A Celebration of Dungeons amp Dragons Wizards of the Coast pp 64 75 ISBN 0 7869 3498 0 Hickman Tracy April 1987 TSR Profiles Dragon Lake Geneva Wisconsin TSR Inc 120 90 a b Nahrung Jason June 27 2008 Hickmans write fantasy on a wing and a prayer The Courier Mail Archived from the original on June 30 2008 Retrieved 2009 02 19 Chronicles a novel idea Dragon 91 TSR IX 6 44 45 November 1984 ISSN 0279 6848 a b The History of TSR Wizards of the Coast Archived from the original on 2008 09 24 Retrieved 2005 08 20 Interview Screenwriter George Strayton Dragonlance movie site 22 February 2007 Retrieved 24 March 2007 Dungeons amp Dragons FAQ Wizards of the Coast Archived from the original on 2008 10 02 Retrieved 2008 10 03 Varney Allen January 1998 ProFiles Margaret Weis Dragon Renton Washington Wizards of the Coast 243 120 a b Margaret Weis April 23 2007 Articles Dragonlance License Archived from the original on May 26 2007 Retrieved 2007 06 26 Hoffer Christian October 19 2020 Dungeons amp Dragons Publisher Sued by Dragonlance Co Writers Over Scrapped Book Trilogy ComicBook com Retrieved 2020 10 19 Hall Charlie 2020 10 19 Dragonlance authors sue Dungeons amp Dragons publisher Wizards of The Coast Polygon Retrieved 2020 10 19 Beschizza Rob 2020 10 19 Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman sue Wizards of the Coast after it abandons new Dragonlance trilogy Boing Boing Retrieved 2020 10 19 Hall Charlie 2021 01 11 Dragonlance authors drop 10M lawsuit against Wizards of the Coast Polygon Retrieved 2021 01 11 Hoffer Christian December 20 2020 Dragonlance Writers End Lawsuit Against Dungeons amp Dragons Maker ComicBook com Retrieved 2020 12 28 Gilliam Ryan January 25 2021 New Dragonlance novel trilogy is back on after authors dismiss lawsuit Polygon Retrieved January 25 2021 Hall Charlie 2021 12 17 A new Dragonlance trilogy begins in 2022 Polygon Retrieved 2022 02 05 Dungeons amp Dragons New Dragonlance Novel Gets 2022 Release Date ComicBook com December 20 2021 Retrieved 2022 02 05 a b Sheehan Gavin 2022 04 21 Dungeons amp Dragons Announces New Dragonlance Campaign Bleeding Cool News And Rumors Retrieved 2022 04 22 a b Wizards of the Coast Teases D amp D Dragonlance s Return ICv2 April 21 2022 Retrieved April 22 2022 a b Hall Charlie 2022 04 21 New Dragonlance board game was designed by Rob Daviau and Stephen Baker Polygon Retrieved 2022 04 22 Appelcline Shannon Dragonlance Campaign Setting 3 5 Product History Dungeon Masters Guild Retrieved 2022 04 26 D amp D s Latest Unearthed Arcana Teases the Return of a Classic Setting CBR 2022 03 16 Retrieved 2022 04 26 D amp D s Latest Unearthed Arcana Unleashes Dragonlance and the World of Krynn CBR 2022 03 12 Retrieved 2022 04 26 Hall Charlie 2022 03 09 Dragonlance playtest materials released for Dungeons amp Dragons Polygon Retrieved 2022 04 26 Dragonlance Dungeons amp Dragons D amp D Official Dungeons amp Dragons Retrieved 2023 09 06 Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman Dragons of the Dwarven Depths Wizards of the Coast Archived from the original on April 14 2006 Retrieved 2006 07 18 Maloni Kelly Baker Derek Wice Nathaniel 1994 Net Games Random House Michael Wolff amp Company Inc p 107 ISBN 0 679 75592 6 Dragonlance Inspired Music and Musicians Dragonlance Movie com Retrieved 2009 03 14 Discography Archived from the original on 2011 10 23 Retrieved 2011 09 26 Evertale of Dragons and Elves Encyclopaedia Metallum The Metal Archives Pegasus Fantasy Encyclopaedia Metallum The Metal Archives Teatr imeni Vasilevyh priglashaet blagoveshencev na postanovku v zhanre fentezi Port Amur Dalnevostochnoe informacionnoe agentstvo Archived from the original on 2014 11 03 Retrieved 2013 10 06 Winkelspecht Dean January 13 2008 DragonLance Dragons of Autumn Twilight DVD DVDTown com Archived from the original on February 8 2009 Retrieved 2009 03 15 Ltd Holysoft Studios Drachenlanze Das Horspiel www drachenlanze hoerspiel de Retrieved 2017 12 12 Dragonlance 1988 comic books www mycomicshop com Retrieved 2019 09 03 Dragonlance The Legend of Huma 2004 comic books www mycomicshop com Retrieved 2019 09 03 Dragonlance Legends Time of the Twins 2008 comic books www mycomicshop com Retrieved 2019 09 03 Hickman Tracy Weis Margaret 1987 Dragonlance Adventures TSR Inc ISBN 0880384522 Weis Margaret Chambers Jamie Coyle Christopher 2003 Foreword Age of Mortals Dragonlance Campaign Setting Companion Sovereign Press Inc Weis Margaret Perrin Don August 2003 Chapter 3 Magic of Krynn Dragonlances Dragonlance Campaign Setting 1st ed Wizards of the Coast p 288 ISBN 0 7869 3086 1 Hickman Tracy Weis Margaret 1987 The World That Was Magical Items of Krynn Weapons Dragonlance Adventures 1st ed TSR Inc p 94 ISBN 0 88038 452 2 Johnson Harold Terra John 1992 Special Artifacts of Ansalon Magic Weapons Tales of the Lance World Book of Ansalon TSR Inc p 156 ISBN 9781560763383 Whiteman Trampas Articles Tracy Hickman Interview Lost Chronicles Book Tour and Journeys Beyond Dragonlance com Archived from the original on 2008 09 19 Retrieved 2009 02 22 Weis Margaret 2003 1998 The Soulforge The Raistlin Chronicles Renton WA USA Wizards of the Coast Forward ISBN 0 7869 1314 2 Weis Margaret Hickman Tracy November 1999 The Annotated Chronicles 1st ed Wizards of the Coast p 74 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373 ISBN 978 0 7645 8459 6 Retrieved 2009 02 12 a b Oxoby Marc 2003 The 1990s Greenwood Publishing Group pp 148 ISBN 978 0 313 31615 9 dragonlance Maas John Michael April 19 2004 Rival Fantasy Publishers Rally Around Star Author Publishers Weekly Retrieved 2009 02 19 a b Hall Melissa Mia June 7 2004 Dragon Lady Keeps Flying Publishers Weekly Retrieved 2009 02 19 Hartwell David G Milton T Wolf 1996 Visions of Wonder MacMillan ISBN 978 0 312 85287 0 General sources EditWolf Nadine 2010 Religious Concepts in Fantasy Literature GRIN Verlag ISBN 978 3640661428 External links Edit nbsp Wikiquote has quotations related to Dragonlance Dragonlance com Official Gaming Site Dragonlance Official The Fifth Age Online Comic Dragonlance Movie Site official site for news about movies based on Dragonlance Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dragonlance amp oldid 1174225846, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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