Yesterday I started reading the original Dragonlance trilogy again. I have not read much in the way of Dragolance since about 1997 and I read the novel about the second cataclysm and the return of the Chaos. I did briefly look at some book that had Mina in it but I barely remember it. So I do not know much about what happened after the Knights of Takhisis did their thing.
The original Drizzt books I have not read probably since the 90's either but I have read a few form the local library and the last one I read was The Companions which was average at best. I stopped buying FR novels after they blew the world up a few years ago. The last Drizzt book I actually enjoyed was probably the Silent Blade or the Sea of Swords. We also have not played FR at all except a brief one off using Forgotten Realm Adventures a 2E source book predating the 2E boxed set and I set that game just after the Time of Troubles.
So basically two of my ex favorite favorite worlds of TSR got blown up. I am not a fan of Dragonlance anymore as I was around 15 when I read them the 1st time, and I am in my 30's now. I did like the Minotaur in the latest UA though. my descent into grognardism may have started in 1997 when I liked the old DL stuff comapred to the new stuff as there was some plotline about super large Dragon overlords but I missed all of it. I plan on rereading the Dark Elf Trilog as well and then thinking about seeing if any of my players want to play DL or FR and oif so what time period but it will likely be War of the Lance or 1358DR-1372DR. Wonder if any of the early novels can make me care enough about those worlds anymore as reread the Prism Pentad a few years ago and enjoyed that series for Darksun.
Spoilers alerts!! Drizzt leaves Menzoberranzan and goes to the surface!!!! So FR vs DL two trashed worlds what remnants of either one are fun?
Weis and hickman lost their way on the later dragonlance books. I think the nonDL series they did(I believe its deathgate cycle but could be wrong) was better but even then they dragged a little DL into it. The fact is both worlds got used up. If you look at them, they are nothing like what they where in the beginning. FR started as a very generic place which you could use to make your own. Then they started adding more and more Npcs in the novels filling up spaces that the DM and players should be creating. DL on the other hand went to **** when they decided that all their new ideas should suck as bad as FR( I lay this on weis as she had rented control from wizards at the time). Even some of the interesting ideas where implemented badly. I tend to stay away from their RPG products for this reason. I still love the draconians though.
I read the Deathgate Cycle back in 1996. I do not rememebr a huge mamount of it but the air, earth fire worlds etc was kinda interesting. I completely mised the 3E DL stuff if that is what you are referring to,
masterfat78 wrote:
Ath-kethin wrote:
masterfat78 wrote:
Drizzt is just a character in the Realms. He started off in Icewind Dale to keep his story out of the way of the other FR authors, and became as big as he did because of the strength of R.A. Salvatore's writing. The DragonLance Chronicles were what shaped the whole setting. They are somewhat more important.
ankiyavon wrote:
It's funny how people come to an idea, independently. I've also started reading Dragonlance Chronicles again (last read waay back when they first came out). Just a few chapters a night, in the off hours. The books made an impression on me then but I'll go ahead and qualify that with . . . I was younger back then 
.
I remember the death of Sturm pretty well; it was such a suprise back then. Now, I see the foreshadowing. I haven't gotten to that part yet (only in the early parts of the second book) but I see it coming. I hate it but it fits the character I think.
I recongize the world as D&D but different in its own way. I actually like that kender are halflings but different. I might not be able to tolerate 'em as an entire race but Tas is a wonderful, childlike character. Rapidfiregnomespeak, can't get there fast enough in my reading .
Raistlin is not as interesting as I remember. His power-tripping doesn't come off as well to me as an adult. Does he have any redeeming qualities (outside of his obvious affection for Bupu)? Caramon is kinda one-dimenional at this point. Tanis too. Goldmoon and Riverwind have been interesting. Flint seems to fade into the backround too easily (especially when he's not being tormented by Tas).
Anyway, just some impressions upon my re-read.
I loved DL as a teenager, as well. The SAGA misstep broke some of the suspsension of disbelief for me, but every once and a while I can find that still place and recreate some of the excitement.
Artifact - I hear you on Raistlin being somewhat more appealing when reading about him as a younger person. I'm probably over-thinking this, but I'd venture that many of us who enjoyed DL were on the nerdier side of the coin in middle and high school, so a character able to overcome his physical and social limitations to achieve great success may have struck a chord more so then than now.
My son is 14 and we've been listening to audio books on the commutes to and from home. We finished the first 10 Drizzt books (Icewind Dale, Homeland, Dark Elf, trilogies, as well as Passage to Dawn) recently, and they're just as good as I remembered from back in the day. He's completely hooked.
Dragonlance was my first intro into Fantasy worlds, and to me, still holds up. I pretty much stuck to only the first 8 books by W&H only though. Chronicles, Legends, 2nd Gen, and Summer Flame. Everything else was pretty hit and miss. I felt that Summer Flame was a great wrap-up to the series and world.
Artifact wrote:
Our main campaign for over 15 years was Dragonlance. I've only read Chronicles novels and a very few others but I couldn't really get into others as, frankly, I didn't feel they were very good. I'm not really into fantasy novels other than loving Lord of the Rings as a child.
We finished the Chronicles series with our own created characters using the collection books (3 I believe total). The last book book was designed is a much more sandbox style with great detail of the eastern lands which led me to start up an alternate story arc over the same timeline our other characters went through but this was placed souly in the Eastern lands and into the Minataur islands. Far darker, far more player driven and ultimately very fun. Dragonlance is a great setting but I do not think I'd play any timeline other than the classic as the direction they took the world was a let down (at least to me and all out players). Getting down and dirty with the unique classes, races and lore is very fun in Dragonlance as the setting allows players to become very much the heroes of the world if that is what direction a DM wants to go.
Currently though we are starting Eberron for 5e. I just think Dragonlance is behind us but well worth exploring for new players. The novels provide great background though so I suggest at least the DM reads some in the era they run. I am with others though when it comes to the writers. I lost interest in their style quickly for anything after the Chronicles.
Ranthalan wrote:
Is DragonLance going to come back as one of the major settings?
Ranthalan wrote:
I think I'm the fourth or fifth person to say this, but yes... Wies/Hickman definitely improved by about 1000% from the first Dragonlance novels to the Deathgate Cycle and some of their solo stuff. I love the characters from DG... they are so much improved from the DragonLance characters, even though I never would have picked up Deathgate if I had not liked Dragon Lance. One of them wrote a stand-alone book for Starcraft that was a lot of fun to read.
On the other hand, RA Salvatore has not improved as much, partly because he did not have as much room to improve - and some of his improvements... well, they weren't. They were changes, not improvements.
SirAntoine wrote:
Azzy1974 wrote:
It'd be great, but alas unlikely, for WoTC to release a classic DL setting using the 5E rules. Maybe they could brand it as War of the Lance and conveniently ignore the latter missteps. Unless I'm mistaken, I don't think I've ever heard of someone who prefers the "5th age" and the Dragon Overlords storyline over the War of the Lance.
Ranthalan wrote: