Dragonlance Dragons Of Eternity By Margaret Weis And Tracy Hickman Coming August 6, 2024

[QuentinGeorge]

I don't think the image is AI generated (and am frankly a little exhausted with folks making those claims) I just think it's poorly done. The faces in particular are atrocious, but the composition in general falls flat.

Hire Elmore back.

No new Dragonlance novel has had an Elmore cover for over twenty years.

Elmore didn't do the covers for the Lost Chronicles or the War of Souls, that was Matt Stawicki (and I actually think his stuff is better than Elmore's "let's just put a feather in the woman's hair" stuff.

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[Ralif Redhammer]

Oh... the cover is bad, I didn't recognize Kitiara and Tanis at all.

I think the heydays of Dragonlance are over. If I remember correctly, the line wasn't that popular during the AD&D 2nd Edition run either. For 3rd edition WotC even licensed it away to Margret Weis Games. I wouldn't be surprised if SotDQ was the last hurrah of the gameline. Dragonlance as a gameline would have benefitted more from a world book. Something based in the venerable DL Adventures book from AD&D 1st edition or the Tales of the Lance boxed set.

Nevertheless the DL1 to DL16 modules still remain the quintessential Adventure Path.

Kitiara took me a few minutes to figure out that it was supposed to be her.

For me Dragonlance's heyday was definitely 1e. But there were some great 2e products and novels.

WotC, Random House, and Weis/Hickman are all involved with this trilogy.

WotC owns Dragonlance; lock, stock, and barrel. Random House is the book publisher, and of course Weis/Hickman are the authors. The partnership of Weis/Hickman working with Random House is through a licensing deal with WotC.

So . . . WotC is not cutting corners. And Weis/Hickman, as the authors, didn't necessarily get a say on the cover art. Ultimately, that's on Random House.

I'd also point out that the interior illustrations are all stock art from Adobe, too. A far cry from the excellent Valerie Valusek art of old.

 

[Dire Bare]

Is Dragons of Eternity the last gasp of Dragonlance?

Perhaps. At least in the immediate future, we aren't likely to see additional novels or game books, but . . . never say never.

But to me, the most positive thing of this (perhaps) short-lived Dragonlance revival is that the setting is now open on the DM's Guild, and we are already getting some quality fan products!!

If only the remaining classic settings could get a lackluster novel and game release for 5th Edition!

 

[UVAtom]

Have you been living under a rock? D&D dragons have all had a uniform look by color ever since WotC took over.

Yes, and I like it down here.
and even if the art in some of the RPG products has changed, the major art for the novels has kept the traditional dragon look. Check out the modern cover for Dragons of Winter Night. It’s the traditional blue dragon look. And Stawicki’s painting of Takisis - no monohorned blue dragon monstrosity there.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I'm a HUGE DL fan and, as much as I enjoyed the previous two entries, I have to say that they're minor works when compared to the original Chronicles—and especially Legends, their finest work IMO.

This trilogy is for those of us who missed having new novels to read about DL, but they're nothing to write home about. The first is the weakest of the two by a mile, while the second has some pretty amazing moments of character development if you buy into the whole shtick (time-travel + possibility to evolve/grow after death).

Definitely not something that I'd recommend a new reader or even an old reader who's feeling nostalgic about the old books. If you are—and don't feel like re-reading Chronicles/Legends—I recommend the Lost Chronicles. That trilogy is VERY good and fills in some gaps from the originals in elegant and satisfactory ways.

Agreed on the Lost Chronicles. Better than the War of Souls IMO.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Is Dragons of Eternity the last gasp of Dragonlance?

Perhaps. At least in the immediate future, we aren't likely to see additional novels or game books, but . . . never say never.

But to me, the most positive thing of this (perhaps) short-lived Dragonlance revival is that the setting is now open on the DM's Guild, and we are already getting some quality fan products!!

If only the remaining classic settings could get a lackluster novel and game release for 5th Edition!

Access to the Guild for all their settings is literally all I want from WotC. So far, do good.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Oh... the cover is bad, I didn't recognize Kitiara and Tanis at all.

I think the heydays of Dragonlance are over. If I remember correctly, the line wasn't that popular during the AD&D 2nd Edition run either. For 3rd edition WotC even licensed it away to Margret Weis Games. I wouldn't be surprised if SotDQ was the last hurrah of the gameline. Dragonlance as a gameline would have benefitted more from a world book. Something based in the venerable DL Adventures book from AD&D 1st edition or the Tales of the Lance boxed set.

Nevertheless the DL1 to DL16 modules still remain the quintessential Adventure Path.

The 3e Dragonlance setting hardcover and the accompanying licensed product line through Margaret Weis were excellent. The definitive word on the setting IMO.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I hope they do not retcon anything after Legends. I loved the Fifth Age and the post War of Souls world. Far more gameable material there than the War of the Lance era.

But the narrative was better before the War of Souls, IMO. It depends on what you prioritize.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Yes, and I like it down here.
and even if the art in some of the RPG products has changed, the major art for the novels has kept the traditional dragon look. Check out the modern cover for Dragons of Winter Night. It’s the traditional blue dragon look. And Stawicki’s painting of Takisis - no monohorned blue dragon monstrosity there.

I do like the older dragon art more than WotC's modern take.

 

[Micah Sweet]

No new Dragonlance novel has had an Elmore cover for over twenty years.

Elmore didn't do the covers for the Lost Chronicles or the War of Souls, that was Matt Stawicki (and I actually think his stuff is better than Elmore's "let's just put a feather in the woman's hair" stuff.

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Art is the textbook definition of subjective. Doesn't mean you should be dismissive and disrespectful of artists you don't care for.

That piece above is fantastic.