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[A semi-Let's Read] The unsung genius of the 2nd Edition Dragonlance Chronicles
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<blockquote data-quote="Libertad" data-source="post: 8101044" data-attributes="member: 6750502"><p style="text-align: center"><strong>Dragons of Spring Arc</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center"></p> <p style="text-align: center"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/Epk789Y.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Although Dragons of Triumph combines both parties back into one for the campaign’s climax, the Dragons of Spring arc has more or less been the adventure path’s low point in terms of plot. The saving of Silvanesti is the only major thing of consequence, and the following adventures’ revelations lack the dramatic impact of the Winter arc’s high points. The 15th Anniversary Edition is quite adamant in making the PCs partake of the Winter arc’s most climactic moments, although it’s possible for PCs to play a more or less straightforward “Spring” arc. The only major difference is that the revelations at Sanction are heavily encouraged even if the PCs do not partake in the Battle at the High Clerist’s Tower, while both the Silvanesti elves and the rebels in Khur encourage naval passage to western Ansalon as rewards to put the party on the Winter path.</p><p></p><p><strong>Dragons of Dreams:</strong> Much of this module is similar to the 1st/3rd Edition, although there’s more lines of dialogue and character development for Alhana. She is initially a snooty, racist princess that can grate even on Silvanesti PCs, but over time learns to respect the party’s valor and can possibly fall in love with a male hero. Additionally, the means of freeing King Lorac from the Nightmare are pre-determined rather than being generated randomly: Alhana must deliver a killing blow to her own father. She will be horrified at the result of this prediction, trying to find other means, but will eventually accept this price but even then the PCs must be moral support in order to carry out the deed during the battle with Cyan Bloodbane.</p><p></p><p>The capital city of Silvanost has a super-creepy map made of screaming faces:</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/dkcqtC8.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Since the dreamvisions of characters from the Winter arc can be very well encountered by PCs who first went with the knights, seeing visions of people like Silvara have much greater meaning rather than just for the players to go “oooh what are they doing here?”</p><p></p><p>Waylorn Wyvernsbane never makes an appearance in this version of the module.</p><p></p><p>There’s additional explanation in regards to Alhana’s burial of her father. It was his dying wish, but Silvanesti custom believes that only evil beings bury their dead. She conducts the ritual anyway, which horrifies some Silvanesti but they do not prevent this. He is buried underneath a dying tree, and there’s a rather touching post-adventure scene where Alhana talks to the PCs of the good things that her father did in life and gives a speech at his funeral. The dying tree under which Lorac is buried starts to bloom to life.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>DIVERGENCE:</strong> After freeing Silvanesti from the Dragon Orb’s nightmare, the PCs have several options. Alhana will give them a letter of writ to present to the leader of the Silvanesti elves in exile, along with various documents of what she learned about the Dragonarmies. Alternatively, they can carry a message to Serinda Elderwood, a sailor and member of the Khurish resistance movement in Port Balifor. Finally, the PCs may also be tasked by Alhana with making contact with Ladine in Palanthas to learn if her message in securing aid with the Empire of Ergoth was successful or not. If Ladine was the one to bring the PCs to Silvanesti, she would suggest traveling to meet the Solamnic Knights at Castle Eastwatch. Regardless of their intentions, Alhana will inform them that obtaining a ship in Flotsam is the surest means of sailing to western Ansalon.</p><p></p><p><strong>Dragons of Faith:</strong> Hoo boy, this got a major cut. The naval travel around the Blood Sea and the underwater ruins of Istar are completely excised in favor of land bound adventures aiding local resistance movements against the Dragonarmies. Kronn and Serinda are not found on the open road or engaged in combat, but instead are performers at a local tavern; PCs who put in a good word from Alhana or some other notable anti-Dragonarmy figure will earn their trust. Otherwise the patrons may start a bar fight to protect their favorite singer.</p><p></p><p>This portion of the adventure is actually rather light on content and open-ended. Several suggestions are made for how PCs can help the resistance, such as breaking into Port Balifor’s safehouse and replacing the steel coins with magically-disguised copper ones to turn much of the soldiers against the Dragonarmy when they realize they’ve been ‘cheated.’ Ones which directly lead into other adventures involve breaking into a local Highmaster or Highlord’s office and finding sensitive intelligence. Said intelligence can point to an unnamed magical project conducted in Sanction, or the Dark Queen’s return through the portal in Neraka.</p><p></p><p>Sevil Draanim Reev, or “Verminaard Lives” backwards, has a greater role to play in this version of the Chronicles. He still harbors some loyalty to Takhisis and seeks to covertly sabotage the PCs’ efforts. He will even accompany them or track them down to Neraka in hopes of proving his loyalty to Takhisis and Ariakas. There’s a bit of conflicting interests, as the Silver Fox and his rebels prefer Lord Toede as Flotsam’s ruler due to his incompetence, but Verminaard loathes the hobgoblin and puts much of the blame of his plots in Thorbadin and Abanasinian on his shoulders. He thus wants to depose him, and if the PCs side with Verminaard on this issue they will earn the enmity of the rebels.</p><p></p><p>There’s no Berem or Green Gemstone Man in this adventure at all, so the whole Kitiara scrying upon him and chasing him across the sea does not happen here. In fact, it is possible that if the PCs get captured and enslaved by minotaurs on the Blood Sea, then Kitiara may secure their release provided that they swear allegiance to the Dragon Empire.</p><p></p><p><strong>DIVERGENCE:</strong> If Feal-Thas was killed, then Toede is now the White Dragon Highlord. He will receive summons to attend the Dark Queen’s arrival in the Dragon Empire’s capital. If the PCs are disguised as Dragonarmy soldiers or ostensibly accepted Kitiara’s offer, then they may march with a column to Neraka. A more standard route may involve departing Flotsam by ship to head to Palanthas and thus connect with the Winter arc of adventures if not performed yet. During that time they can also make a stop in Kalaman which may be under Dragonarmy occupation if the Battle of the High Clerist’s Tower has not been successful or undertaken yet.</p><p></p><p><strong>Dragons of Truth:</strong> Haha, this is just a single optional encounter for the PCs while they’re traveling in the heart of the Dragon Empire. It is not even a proper dungeon or fight: the PCs find a hidden temple and meet Fizban, who being Paladine in disguise does the normal “divine inspiration” speech and grants them their blessings. Just like the resolution in Silvanesti, this version of the Chronicles has a pre-set ending instead of one randomly determined: a PC must cross the portal into the Abyss while wielding a Dragonlance to prevent Takhisis from entering into the world and thus sacrifice their life while doing so.</p><p></p><p>But instead of focusing on a dungeon crawl, the section on Kalaman gets a much larger emphasis. In fact, its detail is clear in the inspiration for the 3rd Edition conversion. The chapter of Kalaman is mostly a city-based overview with two entries detailing it based on whether it is under Solamnic or Dragonarmy occupation. If the latter, there’s discussion of enemy troop positions and how the Whitestone forces and their dragon allies plan to retake the city.</p><p></p><p>There’s a new encounter based off of a scene from the books. In the novels, Kitiara kidnapped Laurana by pretending to have Tanis as a hostage and offered to release him in exchange for her second-in-command, Bakaris, who is a prisoner of war. In this optional encounter Kitiara may use either a fake or genuine hostage to get Laurana or a high-ranking NPC to attend a prisoner swap in a grove outside the city. It’s quite clearly a trap, one which the PCs can talk the commander out of potentially. Kitiara will have bozak draconians accompany her, but Lord Soth and her dragon mount Khellendros will be hiding on stand-by.</p><p></p><p>We also learn through an encounter that elf characters accompanying PCs disguised as Dragonarmy soldiers will be commanded to be taken under arrest as there are plans to enslave all of the demihuman races once Takhisis manifests in Krynn. I don’t know if by demihuman they mean all nonhumans or just the “good-aligned” PCs races like dwarves and gnomes, but if the former this seems really stupid considering the large amount of monsters working for the Dragonarmies. That’s just asking for a civil war!</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/vXTXddu.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p><strong>Fun Fact:</strong> A fair amount of official artwork for Emperor Ariakas has him getting pwned by Tanis or another Hero of the Lance. It was even the cover of the 1st Edition Dragonlance Adventures sourcebook!</p><p></p><p><strong>Dragons Triumph:</strong> So there’s not as much stuff to report in terms of differences; there’s many similarities to the original module, save that instead of 6 random endings the one where a PC must sacrifice themselves is the default. I feel that this is the most dramatically appropriate: one, it is an ending which has a proper “final battle.” Two, it is not mandatory for an NPC like Fizban or Berem to be the decider of the fate of Krynn.</p><p></p><p>The major changes here are that there’s a small optional encounter where the PCs can learn of Ariakas’ son hidden beneath one of the churches, which is a clear cameo to the Dragons of Summer Flame and Fifth Age novels which were being published at the time. Additionally, it is possible that Kitiara may inform the PCs of Emperor Ariakas’ defenses if she believes that the PCs (Tanis especially) are sympathetic to her cause. Like in the novels he is protected by a series of defensive magics, and she informs the spellcasters in the party to prepare Dispel Magic spells for such an event.</p><p></p><p>Additionally, Sevil/Verminaard will attempt to get the PCs arrested and eventually show up during the final scene to dramatically reveal himself. Firestorm can also be encountered here, hoping to watch the carnage and kill Ariakas and a Highlord or two once the naughty word hits the fan. But will not be helpful to any plans the PCs might have or actually show up during the final battle. Firestorm still wants Takhisis to come into the world, but isn’t fond of the fact that the Dragon Emperor and Highlords are humanoids and not actual dragons. The adventure even has dialogue options if a PC flirts with Firestorm in her human form, which is...creepy, to say the least given my outline of her in Sanction.</p><p></p><p>The final battle which takes place in the big audience chamber is more scripted and has a build-up, with the PCs possibly in disguise and may or may not be accompanying Kitiara. Emperor Ariakas has six layers of unnamed abjuration spells which automatically block any attack or hostile effect made against him. They can be turned off with Dispel Magic or once they absorb six attacks.</p><p></p><p>There’s a scripted event where Verminaard will show up as a PC is about to strike Ariakas, dispel his abjurations, or take his Crown. Verminaard, with the aid of Kitiara’s second in command Ettel, will take Goldmoon/Elistan or a cleric PC hostage at knifepoint and dramatically reveal who he is. When combat does erupt, it is a very chaotic scene of events. Kitiara will be revealed as a traitor via Takhisis’ telepathy, and her and her Blue Dragonarmy forces (save Ettel) will fight against the others as well as Lord Soth. The Black and Green Dragon Highlords, Lucien and Salah-Khan, will try to prevent any PCs from approaching the portal, while Toede if Highlord will cower behind cover. If Feal-Thas is still White Dragon Highlord, he will attack any elf characters present regardless of the situation; his hatred against his own race is such that he’ll continue doing this even if the portal’s disabled and the entire temple starts collapsing. Lord Soth will seek to kill Kitiara and claim her soul.</p><p></p><p>Another scripted event will occur once Ariakas dies: Kitiara will seize his Crown of Power and force all present to bow down to her. Each PC has 2 opportunities to make a successful saving throw to avoid mental domination, although Lord Soth may inadvertently save them as he comes for her, at which point she’ll plead for Tanis or another appropriate PC (such as Caramon or Raistlin) to either save her or kill her before Soth does to spare her an eternity of torment.</p><p></p><p>A Dragonlance-wielding PC must make 2 checks: a saving throw vs death magic to overcome the portal’s enchantments, and then a Strength check to push through the extraplanar membrane separating Krynn from the Abyss.</p><p></p><p>If the PCs fail in keeping out Takhisis, then Verminaard if still alive will become her chosen and instantly become a 25th-level Cleric, while Kitiara and all of her loyalists will burst into flames and die. Her five dragon consorts accompany her through said portal and eventually take control of each chromatic clan. The metallic dragons will be slaughtered down to the last, and all of Ansalon and eventually all of Krynn will be united under the Dragon Empire.</p><p></p><p>If the Dragonlance-wielding PC successfully passes through the portal, they will vanish along with the portal, and the Temple of Neraka will violently crumble and eventually explode. Surviving party members who make it out will have one final scene where Fizban congratulates them on a job well done.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>That more or less concludes the 15th Anniversary Edition, and thus my final piece of addendums to PurpleXVI’s review of the original DL Series. I have to give mad respect to the writers for this version. They made the original adventure much less railroady and made it more open world. There are some cases where this isn’t ideal, notably 2nd Edition’s “you must be this level to play” which can screw up encounters if the PCs end up advancing too quickly. It is theoretically possible to skip over large portions of adventures and end up in Neraka without experiencing the most iconic moments of the modules. But all in all, it’s a damn shame that this version has not gotten enough publicity. Released in 1999, it would soon become obsolete in a mere year when 3rd Edition D&D hit store shelves. The 2006 conversion of the modules by Sovereign Press/Margaret Weis Productions are more faithful to the 1984 series than this one. But even then, some events, encounters, and NPCs have been borrowed from this for the D20 variant, which I do appreciate.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Libertad, post: 8101044, member: 6750502"] [CENTER][B]Dragons of Spring Arc[/B] [IMG]https://i.imgur.com/Epk789Y.png[/IMG][/CENTER] Although Dragons of Triumph combines both parties back into one for the campaign’s climax, the Dragons of Spring arc has more or less been the adventure path’s low point in terms of plot. The saving of Silvanesti is the only major thing of consequence, and the following adventures’ revelations lack the dramatic impact of the Winter arc’s high points. The 15th Anniversary Edition is quite adamant in making the PCs partake of the Winter arc’s most climactic moments, although it’s possible for PCs to play a more or less straightforward “Spring” arc. The only major difference is that the revelations at Sanction are heavily encouraged even if the PCs do not partake in the Battle at the High Clerist’s Tower, while both the Silvanesti elves and the rebels in Khur encourage naval passage to western Ansalon as rewards to put the party on the Winter path. [B]Dragons of Dreams:[/B] Much of this module is similar to the 1st/3rd Edition, although there’s more lines of dialogue and character development for Alhana. She is initially a snooty, racist princess that can grate even on Silvanesti PCs, but over time learns to respect the party’s valor and can possibly fall in love with a male hero. Additionally, the means of freeing King Lorac from the Nightmare are pre-determined rather than being generated randomly: Alhana must deliver a killing blow to her own father. She will be horrified at the result of this prediction, trying to find other means, but will eventually accept this price but even then the PCs must be moral support in order to carry out the deed during the battle with Cyan Bloodbane. The capital city of Silvanost has a super-creepy map made of screaming faces: [CENTER][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/dkcqtC8.png[/IMG][/CENTER] Since the dreamvisions of characters from the Winter arc can be very well encountered by PCs who first went with the knights, seeing visions of people like Silvara have much greater meaning rather than just for the players to go “oooh what are they doing here?” Waylorn Wyvernsbane never makes an appearance in this version of the module. There’s additional explanation in regards to Alhana’s burial of her father. It was his dying wish, but Silvanesti custom believes that only evil beings bury their dead. She conducts the ritual anyway, which horrifies some Silvanesti but they do not prevent this. He is buried underneath a dying tree, and there’s a rather touching post-adventure scene where Alhana talks to the PCs of the good things that her father did in life and gives a speech at his funeral. The dying tree under which Lorac is buried starts to bloom to life. [B]DIVERGENCE:[/B] After freeing Silvanesti from the Dragon Orb’s nightmare, the PCs have several options. Alhana will give them a letter of writ to present to the leader of the Silvanesti elves in exile, along with various documents of what she learned about the Dragonarmies. Alternatively, they can carry a message to Serinda Elderwood, a sailor and member of the Khurish resistance movement in Port Balifor. Finally, the PCs may also be tasked by Alhana with making contact with Ladine in Palanthas to learn if her message in securing aid with the Empire of Ergoth was successful or not. If Ladine was the one to bring the PCs to Silvanesti, she would suggest traveling to meet the Solamnic Knights at Castle Eastwatch. Regardless of their intentions, Alhana will inform them that obtaining a ship in Flotsam is the surest means of sailing to western Ansalon. [B]Dragons of Faith:[/B] Hoo boy, this got a major cut. The naval travel around the Blood Sea and the underwater ruins of Istar are completely excised in favor of land bound adventures aiding local resistance movements against the Dragonarmies. Kronn and Serinda are not found on the open road or engaged in combat, but instead are performers at a local tavern; PCs who put in a good word from Alhana or some other notable anti-Dragonarmy figure will earn their trust. Otherwise the patrons may start a bar fight to protect their favorite singer. This portion of the adventure is actually rather light on content and open-ended. Several suggestions are made for how PCs can help the resistance, such as breaking into Port Balifor’s safehouse and replacing the steel coins with magically-disguised copper ones to turn much of the soldiers against the Dragonarmy when they realize they’ve been ‘cheated.’ Ones which directly lead into other adventures involve breaking into a local Highmaster or Highlord’s office and finding sensitive intelligence. Said intelligence can point to an unnamed magical project conducted in Sanction, or the Dark Queen’s return through the portal in Neraka. Sevil Draanim Reev, or “Verminaard Lives” backwards, has a greater role to play in this version of the Chronicles. He still harbors some loyalty to Takhisis and seeks to covertly sabotage the PCs’ efforts. He will even accompany them or track them down to Neraka in hopes of proving his loyalty to Takhisis and Ariakas. There’s a bit of conflicting interests, as the Silver Fox and his rebels prefer Lord Toede as Flotsam’s ruler due to his incompetence, but Verminaard loathes the hobgoblin and puts much of the blame of his plots in Thorbadin and Abanasinian on his shoulders. He thus wants to depose him, and if the PCs side with Verminaard on this issue they will earn the enmity of the rebels. There’s no Berem or Green Gemstone Man in this adventure at all, so the whole Kitiara scrying upon him and chasing him across the sea does not happen here. In fact, it is possible that if the PCs get captured and enslaved by minotaurs on the Blood Sea, then Kitiara may secure their release provided that they swear allegiance to the Dragon Empire. [B]DIVERGENCE:[/B] If Feal-Thas was killed, then Toede is now the White Dragon Highlord. He will receive summons to attend the Dark Queen’s arrival in the Dragon Empire’s capital. If the PCs are disguised as Dragonarmy soldiers or ostensibly accepted Kitiara’s offer, then they may march with a column to Neraka. A more standard route may involve departing Flotsam by ship to head to Palanthas and thus connect with the Winter arc of adventures if not performed yet. During that time they can also make a stop in Kalaman which may be under Dragonarmy occupation if the Battle of the High Clerist’s Tower has not been successful or undertaken yet. [B]Dragons of Truth:[/B] Haha, this is just a single optional encounter for the PCs while they’re traveling in the heart of the Dragon Empire. It is not even a proper dungeon or fight: the PCs find a hidden temple and meet Fizban, who being Paladine in disguise does the normal “divine inspiration” speech and grants them their blessings. Just like the resolution in Silvanesti, this version of the Chronicles has a pre-set ending instead of one randomly determined: a PC must cross the portal into the Abyss while wielding a Dragonlance to prevent Takhisis from entering into the world and thus sacrifice their life while doing so. But instead of focusing on a dungeon crawl, the section on Kalaman gets a much larger emphasis. In fact, its detail is clear in the inspiration for the 3rd Edition conversion. The chapter of Kalaman is mostly a city-based overview with two entries detailing it based on whether it is under Solamnic or Dragonarmy occupation. If the latter, there’s discussion of enemy troop positions and how the Whitestone forces and their dragon allies plan to retake the city. There’s a new encounter based off of a scene from the books. In the novels, Kitiara kidnapped Laurana by pretending to have Tanis as a hostage and offered to release him in exchange for her second-in-command, Bakaris, who is a prisoner of war. In this optional encounter Kitiara may use either a fake or genuine hostage to get Laurana or a high-ranking NPC to attend a prisoner swap in a grove outside the city. It’s quite clearly a trap, one which the PCs can talk the commander out of potentially. Kitiara will have bozak draconians accompany her, but Lord Soth and her dragon mount Khellendros will be hiding on stand-by. We also learn through an encounter that elf characters accompanying PCs disguised as Dragonarmy soldiers will be commanded to be taken under arrest as there are plans to enslave all of the demihuman races once Takhisis manifests in Krynn. I don’t know if by demihuman they mean all nonhumans or just the “good-aligned” PCs races like dwarves and gnomes, but if the former this seems really stupid considering the large amount of monsters working for the Dragonarmies. That’s just asking for a civil war! [CENTER][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/vXTXddu.png[/IMG][/CENTER] [B]Fun Fact:[/B] A fair amount of official artwork for Emperor Ariakas has him getting pwned by Tanis or another Hero of the Lance. It was even the cover of the 1st Edition Dragonlance Adventures sourcebook! [B]Dragons Triumph:[/B] So there’s not as much stuff to report in terms of differences; there’s many similarities to the original module, save that instead of 6 random endings the one where a PC must sacrifice themselves is the default. I feel that this is the most dramatically appropriate: one, it is an ending which has a proper “final battle.” Two, it is not mandatory for an NPC like Fizban or Berem to be the decider of the fate of Krynn. The major changes here are that there’s a small optional encounter where the PCs can learn of Ariakas’ son hidden beneath one of the churches, which is a clear cameo to the Dragons of Summer Flame and Fifth Age novels which were being published at the time. Additionally, it is possible that Kitiara may inform the PCs of Emperor Ariakas’ defenses if she believes that the PCs (Tanis especially) are sympathetic to her cause. Like in the novels he is protected by a series of defensive magics, and she informs the spellcasters in the party to prepare Dispel Magic spells for such an event. Additionally, Sevil/Verminaard will attempt to get the PCs arrested and eventually show up during the final scene to dramatically reveal himself. Firestorm can also be encountered here, hoping to watch the carnage and kill Ariakas and a Highlord or two once the naughty word hits the fan. But will not be helpful to any plans the PCs might have or actually show up during the final battle. Firestorm still wants Takhisis to come into the world, but isn’t fond of the fact that the Dragon Emperor and Highlords are humanoids and not actual dragons. The adventure even has dialogue options if a PC flirts with Firestorm in her human form, which is...creepy, to say the least given my outline of her in Sanction. The final battle which takes place in the big audience chamber is more scripted and has a build-up, with the PCs possibly in disguise and may or may not be accompanying Kitiara. Emperor Ariakas has six layers of unnamed abjuration spells which automatically block any attack or hostile effect made against him. They can be turned off with Dispel Magic or once they absorb six attacks. There’s a scripted event where Verminaard will show up as a PC is about to strike Ariakas, dispel his abjurations, or take his Crown. Verminaard, with the aid of Kitiara’s second in command Ettel, will take Goldmoon/Elistan or a cleric PC hostage at knifepoint and dramatically reveal who he is. When combat does erupt, it is a very chaotic scene of events. Kitiara will be revealed as a traitor via Takhisis’ telepathy, and her and her Blue Dragonarmy forces (save Ettel) will fight against the others as well as Lord Soth. The Black and Green Dragon Highlords, Lucien and Salah-Khan, will try to prevent any PCs from approaching the portal, while Toede if Highlord will cower behind cover. If Feal-Thas is still White Dragon Highlord, he will attack any elf characters present regardless of the situation; his hatred against his own race is such that he’ll continue doing this even if the portal’s disabled and the entire temple starts collapsing. Lord Soth will seek to kill Kitiara and claim her soul. Another scripted event will occur once Ariakas dies: Kitiara will seize his Crown of Power and force all present to bow down to her. Each PC has 2 opportunities to make a successful saving throw to avoid mental domination, although Lord Soth may inadvertently save them as he comes for her, at which point she’ll plead for Tanis or another appropriate PC (such as Caramon or Raistlin) to either save her or kill her before Soth does to spare her an eternity of torment. A Dragonlance-wielding PC must make 2 checks: a saving throw vs death magic to overcome the portal’s enchantments, and then a Strength check to push through the extraplanar membrane separating Krynn from the Abyss. If the PCs fail in keeping out Takhisis, then Verminaard if still alive will become her chosen and instantly become a 25th-level Cleric, while Kitiara and all of her loyalists will burst into flames and die. Her five dragon consorts accompany her through said portal and eventually take control of each chromatic clan. The metallic dragons will be slaughtered down to the last, and all of Ansalon and eventually all of Krynn will be united under the Dragon Empire. If the Dragonlance-wielding PC successfully passes through the portal, they will vanish along with the portal, and the Temple of Neraka will violently crumble and eventually explode. Surviving party members who make it out will have one final scene where Fizban congratulates them on a job well done. That more or less concludes the 15th Anniversary Edition, and thus my final piece of addendums to PurpleXVI’s review of the original DL Series. I have to give mad respect to the writers for this version. They made the original adventure much less railroady and made it more open world. There are some cases where this isn’t ideal, notably 2nd Edition’s “you must be this level to play” which can screw up encounters if the PCs end up advancing too quickly. It is theoretically possible to skip over large portions of adventures and end up in Neraka without experiencing the most iconic moments of the modules. But all in all, it’s a damn shame that this version has not gotten enough publicity. Released in 1999, it would soon become obsolete in a mere year when 3rd Edition D&D hit store shelves. The 2006 conversion of the modules by Sovereign Press/Margaret Weis Productions are more faithful to the 1984 series than this one. But even then, some events, encounters, and NPCs have been borrowed from this for the D20 variant, which I do appreciate. [/QUOTE]
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[A semi-Let's Read] The unsung genius of the 2nd Edition Dragonlance Chronicles
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