Dragonlance The importance of Dragonlance

[humble minion]

While I appreciate some things about Dragonlance (I think the Heroes of the Lance boxed set was one of TSR's best) its publishing was basically the impetus from changing from location based adventures to heavily railroaded ones. The Dragonlance modules themselves are so inflexible that basically, if you aren't playing the characters from the books and following the steps exactly you're playing it wrong.

Yeah, you read through the old DL modules, or even the 3e conversions, and they're SERIOUSLY out of whack with what you'd expect from a modern module. Railroads have been a thing since modules were first invented, but DL brought it to quite a new level by actually having rules to rig it so that important bad guys couldn't die before their appointed time, and actually letting the plot rather than the players dictate what PC the players were playing.

Still, i think they were ... necessary. They brought an aspect of storytelling and character-driven plot into the game that was way beyond anything that had ever been before. They overdid it, sure. But it's the old story of thesis, antithesis, synthesis. They were a reaction to the old purely location-driven dungeons, and the bridge between them and the more modern and flexible sandboxes with the overarching plot.

DL was never quite my thing. The whole Romantic High Fantasy Good Versus Evil With Capital Letters thing never quite worked for someone who only read the DL novels in the second half of the 90s after thoroughly burning out on sub-Tolkien Dark Lord fiction trilogies for most of the previous decade. Still, having said that, I do get the attraction, and if my DM decided to run Dragonlance, I'd be all over it, even if it wouldn't be my first choice and probably not the game I'd personally choose to run.

 

[RuinousPowers]

I really liked the first novels, but i have less positive views of the actual game line. Only read the first 3 books, and had no idea there was over 200!

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Similar to many of the Shannara books those original Dragonlance books don't really hold up much to contemporary scrutiny. I let somebody borrow the original three books a couple years ago and they couldn't get through even the first one because they thought it was "too cheesy, schmaltzy and cringey". And yeah, with a fresh set of 2022 eyes, I can see why that might be.

I mean, I think the change happened a long time ago, because I remember my reaction to the Shannara books. I bought the first two (I think) in 1993, when I was 15 (I'd read the DL books at 12-13). People had recommended the Shannara books as "classic fantasy", so I was expecting something good, and I slogged through the first book, very much nonplussed (though I did like the cyborg rhino or whatever it was), and by part-way through the second book, I'd decided they were a bunch of cheesy nonsense and none of the characters seemed at all like believable or relatable people, let alone people in the situations described (nor were they particularly alien, unlike, say Elric), which was distinct from, say LotR (Frodo is a freak but you can see where he's coming from and his reactions to stuff make emotional sense for the most part). I ended up leaving the books on a bench at a regional airport somewhere in the US, in case someone else liked them better.

(I wasn't raised to be able to throw a book in a bin, I still struggle to do so.)

 

[eyeheartawk]

I mean, I think the change happened a long time ago, because I remember my reaction to the Shannara books. I bought the first two (I think) in 1993, when I was 15 (I'd read the DL books at 12-13). People had recommended the Shannara books as "classic fantasy", so I was expecting something good, and I slogged through the first book, very much nonplussed (though I did like the cyborg rhino or whatever it was), and by part-way through the second book, I'd decided they were a bunch of cheesy nonsense and none of the characters seemed at all like believable or relatable people, let alone people in the situations described (nor were they particularly alien, unlike, say Elric), which was distinct from, say LotR (Frodo is a freak but you can see where he's coming from and his reactions to stuff make emotional sense for the most part). I ended up leaving the books on a bench at a regional airport somewhere in the US, in case someone else liked them better.

Hey, Shannara's not all bad. Without it we wouldn't have seen elfs on TV in H&M hoodies.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Hey, Shannara's not all bad. Without it we wouldn't have seen elfs on TV in H&M hoodies.

I'm still bitter they took Crixus from Spartacus and made him into a Druid in that show. Awful. He deserved so much better.

 

[DarkCrisis]

I'm still bitter they took Crixus from Spartacus and made him into a Druid in that show. Awful. He deserved so much better.

That's Alcide from True Blood, thank you very much,

I mean, Flash Thompson from Spider-man (2002).

Er... Arkhan the Cruel of Critical Role (and D&D) fame.

 

[eyeheartawk]

That's Alcide from True Blood, thank you very much,

I mean, Flash Thompson from Spider-man (2002).

Er... Arkhan the Cruel of Critical Role (and D&D) fame.

Naw, different actor.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Naw, different actor.

Yeah, I have to say whilst both are very attractive rugged guys, those are not two actors I would ever mistake for each other. Joe is like, er, quite a lot taller/broader than Manu (6'4" vs 5'11").

However both of them have played Deathstroke from DC, so there is that. Perhaps with both of them and Esai Morales (who has some similar features to both) in the mix one might get confused.

I mean, Flash Thompson from Spider-man (2002).

Respect for the deep cut on remembering this, I didn't realize it was him until I saw the Honest Trailer for No Way Home a few weeks ago.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

My entirely speculative assumption based on TSR practices of the time is that they sold very well, but that they still printed too many of them.

I do wonder how the DL modules sold compared to those early classics. Which sold in truly huge numbers.

I'm still annoyed that The Hobbit went with CGI motion capture for Azog and didn't give us Manu Bennett playing the character on set, physically. That same trend towards excess (it's like, how much more imposing do you need Bennett to be?) is one of the things that frequently works against the movies.

Naw, different actor.

Like most, I discovered Dragonlance at the perfect age. I'll readily admit I wear some thick rose-colored glasses in regards to it. At the same time, as an adult, I can easily see the things that are badly in need of updating. But I still love it and am so excited for the setting's return later this year.

 

[DarkCrisis]

Naw, different actor.

Wow, i dont know why i confused the 2.