The Elements of Dragonlance
24 January, 2007
First, let me apologise to you readers who have remained loyal. I've been on an unexpected and sudden hiatus for the past few weeks, as I settle into my new job. Work has been hectic, but enjoyable. I will try and resume posting soon. In the meantime, I hope I can tide you over a bit with this article I wrote about running a game in the Dragonlance world.
Krynn is a world like no other. It is not a world of dungeon crawls and random encounters; not a world where magic items can be used as an alternate form of currency. Krynn is a world of rich story, where unlikely heroes must make life-defining choices and accomplish goals that have meaning beyond the obvious.
Thus it follows that there are elements which must always and ever be present on any game that would be set on Krynn in order to remain true to the feel and purpose of the setting. These critical elements are the definition of Krynn; its base and pure form.
First and foremost, any Krynnish campaign must involve the name of the setting. It is called Dragonlance, and accordingly, any campaign set on Krynn must include dragons. And not just any dragons; every dragon on Krynn is a unique, individual creature. Although they invariably attend to their alignments, Krynn's dragons are great and wonderful beings that the heroes are not likely to defeat in one-on-one combat even at their most powerful. These creatures are majestic and wondrous beings; creatures worthy to have an entire setting defined just for them. Dragons may not always be the major players in the game, but they must always have a part in the story, no matter how small.
In addition to her mighty namesake, Dragonlance holds a host of very specific thematic creations that must always exist in a game set therein. Can Dragonlance truly be Dragonlance without honourable knights and crafty magic-users? I daresay it cannot. Although there are knights on most any fantasy world, the Knights of Solamnia are a different breed of knight. And although every world boasts powerful wizards, none can claim to have a group even remotely akin to the Wizards of High Sorcery. These unique thematic creations are as important as they are unique. They are the showcases of Dragonlance; they are what makes it a different world, and they must appear.
Similarly, the world is populated by unique races that no other world may claim. Kender are not just halflings; indeed, they hardly deserve to be related. Curious and fearless, these creatures have been involved in every major plot on Dragonlance since the Greygem first created them. Without Kender, the innocence of the world is lost.
Krynn is not a world of expected and obvious occurrences. From its unlikely heroes to its shroud of mystery, the Dragonlance setting proves time and again that things are never what they appear. From the most humble of upbringings, Krynn's heroes always begin their adventure with no idea why they are adventuring at all. They are not heroic generals of ages past who have arisen again to defend the village. Krynn's heroes are always young and open-minded individuals who are thrust into conflict against overwhelming odds.
The typical Krynnish campaign begins with a mysterious and unexpected turn of events that the heroes cannot explain. They are driven into a plot that began long before they came along, and which fully engulfs them before they even realise it has begun. These heroes endeavour to complete meaningful goals that can change their entire world—if not the entire world. Along the way, they will encounter memorable villains; creations who are so much more than just a series of numbers and calculations. These villains are always as much of an anti-hero as the protagonists themselves are horoes. They have a story, and come from all the same unlikely backgrounds as the characters themselves. Thus, the infinite struggle of good versus evil is not only experienced on the grand scale of army versus army, but also on the individual scale of the hero versus the villain.
The villains may not always be obvious in-and-of themselves. Most often, at least one of the most villainous characters in the campaign will be beloved unto the party. These beloved villains are typically plot-driving characters, who will force the heroes to make life-defining choices. The heroes will find that every action in Dragonlance has consequences, and that at some point, they must sacrifice nearly everything to achieve their greatest goal. Thus breeds corruption: will the heroes choose the fate of the world? Or will the beloved villain (be it an actual person, a devotion to an unexpectedly villainous ideal, or some other quality) cause them to falter and join the ranks of the villains themselves?
To counter these beloved villains, the party will find romance. Although this may sometimes come in the form of lust and purely sexual encounter, usually it will be evinced in a deeper, more abiding romance. Perhaps it will be a romance that can never be fully realised, such as the love shared between Huma and Gwynneth, or Sturm and Alhanna, yet to the heroes that are involved in the romance, it will be a constant reminder of the righteous path. And where their romance fails, they will always find that faith can guide them back to the right path. Perhaps not a belief in the true gods (for these may not always be found on Krynn), but rather in the more intrinsic belief that there is a higher power guiding the events of the world below.
The challenges the heroes must face along their epic quest are never random. Each encounter contributes to the overall story, although the characters may not realise the contribution that the encounter has made until it is long past. Along the way, the heroes will discover legends that foretell their own story, or that intertwine with the unique artifacts and fantastic locations they will find along their journey.
Dragonlance is—in short—a world defined not by a fighter, mage, thief, or cleric, but by the stories, and by the characters that bring those stories to fulfillment. It is a world of balance; a pendulum constantly swinging. Good redeems its own. Evil feeds upon itself. And good and evil must exist in contrast. These are the laws of Krynn, and they must never be broken.
Krynn is a world like no other. It is not a world of dungeon crawls and random encounters; not a world where magic items can be used as an alternate form of currency. Krynn is a world of rich story, where unlikely heroes must make life-defining choices and accomplish goals that have meaning beyond the obvious.
Thus it follows that there are elements which must always and ever be present on any game that would be set on Krynn in order to remain true to the feel and purpose of the setting. These critical elements are the definition of Krynn; its base and pure form.
First and foremost, any Krynnish campaign must involve the name of the setting. It is called Dragonlance, and accordingly, any campaign set on Krynn must include dragons. And not just any dragons; every dragon on Krynn is a unique, individual creature. Although they invariably attend to their alignments, Krynn's dragons are great and wonderful beings that the heroes are not likely to defeat in one-on-one combat even at their most powerful. These creatures are majestic and wondrous beings; creatures worthy to have an entire setting defined just for them. Dragons may not always be the major players in the game, but they must always have a part in the story, no matter how small.
In addition to her mighty namesake, Dragonlance holds a host of very specific thematic creations that must always exist in a game set therein. Can Dragonlance truly be Dragonlance without honourable knights and crafty magic-users? I daresay it cannot. Although there are knights on most any fantasy world, the Knights of Solamnia are a different breed of knight. And although every world boasts powerful wizards, none can claim to have a group even remotely akin to the Wizards of High Sorcery. These unique thematic creations are as important as they are unique. They are the showcases of Dragonlance; they are what makes it a different world, and they must appear.
Similarly, the world is populated by unique races that no other world may claim. Kender are not just halflings; indeed, they hardly deserve to be related. Curious and fearless, these creatures have been involved in every major plot on Dragonlance since the Greygem first created them. Without Kender, the innocence of the world is lost.
Krynn is not a world of expected and obvious occurrences. From its unlikely heroes to its shroud of mystery, the Dragonlance setting proves time and again that things are never what they appear. From the most humble of upbringings, Krynn's heroes always begin their adventure with no idea why they are adventuring at all. They are not heroic generals of ages past who have arisen again to defend the village. Krynn's heroes are always young and open-minded individuals who are thrust into conflict against overwhelming odds.
The typical Krynnish campaign begins with a mysterious and unexpected turn of events that the heroes cannot explain. They are driven into a plot that began long before they came along, and which fully engulfs them before they even realise it has begun. These heroes endeavour to complete meaningful goals that can change their entire world—if not the entire world. Along the way, they will encounter memorable villains; creations who are so much more than just a series of numbers and calculations. These villains are always as much of an anti-hero as the protagonists themselves are horoes. They have a story, and come from all the same unlikely backgrounds as the characters themselves. Thus, the infinite struggle of good versus evil is not only experienced on the grand scale of army versus army, but also on the individual scale of the hero versus the villain.
The villains may not always be obvious in-and-of themselves. Most often, at least one of the most villainous characters in the campaign will be beloved unto the party. These beloved villains are typically plot-driving characters, who will force the heroes to make life-defining choices. The heroes will find that every action in Dragonlance has consequences, and that at some point, they must sacrifice nearly everything to achieve their greatest goal. Thus breeds corruption: will the heroes choose the fate of the world? Or will the beloved villain (be it an actual person, a devotion to an unexpectedly villainous ideal, or some other quality) cause them to falter and join the ranks of the villains themselves?
To counter these beloved villains, the party will find romance. Although this may sometimes come in the form of lust and purely sexual encounter, usually it will be evinced in a deeper, more abiding romance. Perhaps it will be a romance that can never be fully realised, such as the love shared between Huma and Gwynneth, or Sturm and Alhanna, yet to the heroes that are involved in the romance, it will be a constant reminder of the righteous path. And where their romance fails, they will always find that faith can guide them back to the right path. Perhaps not a belief in the true gods (for these may not always be found on Krynn), but rather in the more intrinsic belief that there is a higher power guiding the events of the world below.
The challenges the heroes must face along their epic quest are never random. Each encounter contributes to the overall story, although the characters may not realise the contribution that the encounter has made until it is long past. Along the way, the heroes will discover legends that foretell their own story, or that intertwine with the unique artifacts and fantastic locations they will find along their journey.
Dragonlance is—in short—a world defined not by a fighter, mage, thief, or cleric, but by the stories, and by the characters that bring those stories to fulfillment. It is a world of balance; a pendulum constantly swinging. Good redeems its own. Evil feeds upon itself. And good and evil must exist in contrast. These are the laws of Krynn, and they must never be broken.
Labels: Dragonlance, Game Mastering
posted by Kevin Kragenbrink | 13:10
8 Comments:
The quintessential component to DragonLance has always been, for me, the characters and the story - whether those characters be the mighty dragons or the lowly bar maids. Indeed, those lowly bar maids often rise up to become the very heroes we are so fond of: it is a land of opportunity, and a land of adventure. Our favourite heroes are also not immune to death. These are facets to any good story: I believe your article has captured that essence as clearly and concisely as can be managed. Good job!
I especially liked the part of the article regarding the villains. The more subtle the villain the more effective they are as antagonists. They might fall to the charms of a temptress/tempter villain (or belief) but they'll never fall if they are just fighting undead.
I also agree that the Wizards of High Sorcery are a great organization. It adds so much depth to arcane characters, even if they are renegades.
One thing you didn't mention that I love about Dragonlance is the size. It is a small world with a limited number of gods. That makes it easier for events to be epic as affecting the whole world and being epic is more believable. You don't have to be godlike to be a force on Krynn.
Nice article! Now I want to see a beloved villain...
For me, Krynn has always been a world about the people, a place where the needs and desires of widow trying to raise her kids after her husband was killed by goblin raiders matter just as much--if not more--than the army marching across the fields to the beat of their Dark Queen's drum.
And hey, if you happen to discover scouts from that army while out helping the widow retrieve stolen mementoes of her husband, then that right there is Dragonlance, for me. The small leads into the big, which leads back to the small. And I think you've summed that up succinctly in your essay. Though you forgot to mention lances!
This article does an excellent job of summing up what Dragonlance feels like. The story and character development are key components in a Dragonlance game and you have made that very clear here. Something I think you could have explained more is what makes the Knights of Solamnia and Wizards of High Sorcery so different and rich compared to typical fantasy knights and wizards. Overall, I liked the article and agreed with it.
As a DM, I always loved Dragonlance as a gaming world. Technically speaking, since it involves low-level starting characters with modest attributes, the focus is on the story and on the unique personality of each character involved in the game. Romance is a big part of it, along with desperate battles and much drama. A creative plot twist or two by a clever GM can turn Dragonlance into one of the best High-Fantasy worlds in the DnD series.
I think article touches on the key points that make dragonlance so much fun. Its not a sword and sorcery realm with 20th level arch magi handing out toys to low level adventurers. Its not about high level pcs carving through waves of monsters without breaking a sweat. Its about the characters and there friendships with on another. Its about the villians and there relationships with the characters.
Its a setting, and a land with history to it. From Vinas, to Huma, to Sturm, Steel, Tanis, etc...Normal people who pushed a rock over a hill and become part of an avalanche that reshaped the face of the world they live in.
I thnk this article gives a very good overview of what makes it such a special place. The heros, the villians, the orginazation with history and meaning, the ups and downs for the good and bad.
After reading through the article, I found myself agreeing with surprisingly many things written in it. I say surprisingly, because I've always said that Im not much of a DragonLance fan, in fact it has many things in it that makes the corner of my eye twitch with annoyance. I do disagree with somethings though.
Im a long time gamer myself and while I certainly appreciate a clear and solid set of rules I dont do so on expense of character growth and story. Unfortunately I sometimes find myself thinking that in DragonLance the different sort of Knights and Wizards from your generic fantasy settings come bit short storywise and are made so more by rules written in RPG sourcebooks. Mainly by having numerous PrC's with their requirements that even dont always make sense and with such additional rules like Curse of the Magi.
Also while there's a lot of freedom with the stories and it might have great villains and uncertain heroes, there is also one aspect of the game I do not appreciate so much. The two mottos that inevitably seem to always come to play when final scores are being settled. "Good redeems it's own" and "Evil defeats itself". These tend to make the DragonLance world sometimes a little too black and white. Amusingly enough and especially in online environments, I've quite often noticed, that perhaps because of these ideals the players the Good characters think they can do no wrong and act accordingly. And opposite to that, Evil characters sometimes tend to tread more carefully.
On a more positive note, then.
There are lot of elements mentioned in this article that are clearly visible in DragonLance and some of them are good. Good versus Evil, Honourable Knights, Wizards and of course the infamous Dragons. But I personally find that one key element, for me at least, is missed in this article. And by that I mean, the comedy. Granted that sometimes, especially with the roleplaying material it can be quite unintentional (just look at the cover art, clerics perfectly capable of wearing heaviest of armor fighting undead in their sleeveless, ripped pajamas, long flowing hear and handlebar mustache of the Solamnias finest, etc.).
While comedy as an element is one that is often not required or even noticed in game settings, I can say that I have had my share of chuckles with some of aspects in DragonLance and I mean that, honestly, in a positive way. Perhaps it is because Im not the most serious gamer around, I try to enjoy my gaming experience rather than sit around the desk or front of monitor constantly frowning at something.
I just hope that DragonLance will never go and make an attempt to take itself too seriously..
I tend to agree with Whisper on most points here, but I'll offer a different angle than the author or those who have commented have made.
I basically dislike Dragonlance. Starting with the books, which are so poorly written that I've not managed to read them even when they're relevant to my PCs, it's a rather laughable world. The art is mostly horrific, which makes my suspension of disbelief sometimes impossible. In any case, I digress, and probably offend. Sorry. (Not really.)
Back to DL: While I think there are interesting elements, and even original ones, it is my least favorite setting. Why? Many reasons. Kender are so annoying, they are half a notch below Jar Jar; Minotaurs as sailors is so ridiculous that I still laugh when I see or hear something along these lines ICly or OOCly; clearly whoever thought of that has never seen a cow (or any animal with hooves) on a wet, pitching deck--it's very comical how they fly around like pinballs. Etc.
Crap, I digress again. I better make this shorter. My point: I play DL not because it is the home of a great setting, not because I think that DL has some unique quality which makes it any more interesting than Greyhawk or Forgotten Realms or Ennersea, but because I happen to have been invited to play on a MUSH that uses it as its setting. A MUSH run by someone who has a vision, is highly involved, makes things happen and got off his ass and built a really fun place to come blow off steam.
I like the D&D system because one starts so weak and the progression is so exponential over time, but I also like that KJ has toned down the power levels there. It gives me more time to explore my character before he can do truly amazing things.
I realize this blog is not about the MUSH, but it is inextricably tied to it for me, since I wouldn't touch DL with a ten foot pole if it wasn't for Dragonlance AOM Mush.
The last thing I'll say is that DL has too much melodrama and not enough actual drama; I'd love to see that change though as to the how I will leave that to the disciplined and bold people who actually got off their rears and made things happen, even when they knew jerks like me would be out there nitpicking their work.
-Mathmorrak
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