Krynn as part of the Star Wars Universe
by Vicho Friedli

For some time, I’ve been thinking about DMing a Dragonlance campaign which later would expand into a Star Wars RPG campaign. There were a lot of things that had to be converted or adapted so that Krynn could be considered part of the Star Wars universe.
It wasn’t so hard when I thought about the source of the powers of mages, clerics and druids in the world; it was the Force. They simply pray or use strange words to cast spells with the same rules of D&D 3rd Edition. No need for force skills or force feats. No need for the force adept character class.
Then I got to the part where I had to think of the gods of Krynn. What are they? Are they real? Do they exist on the world? Yesterday I came to a very interesting conclusion.

THE GODS OF KRYNN AND STAR WARS

In the Star Wars universe, there are no “real” gods (that I know of), there is only the Force. There are many different dieties in the many worlds of the galaxy, with different names and rituals, but all priests and magic users in the galaxy are wielders of the Force.
So, why should the religion and magic in Krynn be different? It shouldn’t. I’ve come to think about the different gods of Krynn like “representatives” of the different aspects of the Force. So the priests of the god of healing, for example, are just users of the healing powers of the Force.
So far, so good. But there was a problem. In Krynn, during the time of the War of the Lance, gods walk the land. Taking the form of avatars, some gods appear to the people of Krynn to enlight or punish them). Thinking about the Star Wars “reality”, this couldn’t happen. If the gods are the Force, there is no way the Force could walk the land, or could it?

THE FORCE WALKS THE LAND

It would ruin the taste, misticism or feel of a Dragonlance campaign if I eliminated the possibility that characters could run into or interact directly with a god. So I didn’t. All I did was develop a little the idea of the Force presented in Star Wars Episode I.
As I understood, Anakin Skywalker was concieved by a great concentration of the Force. “There was no father”, said Anakin’s mother. So, if this could happen, it wouldn’t be too far off to think that in a planet with a very big (and I mean very big) presence of the Force, there could be physical and ethereal manifestations of it. Thus, it could be possible that the Force is more than an “energy field that surrounds us and binds the galaxy together”, as Obi Wan Kenobi said to Luke. It could be that on Krynn, the Force is so powerful, that can manifest itself as intelligent and omnipotent beings that look down and take care of (or try to hurt) the mortals that live on the planet.

GAMING NOTES

Being the Force so powerful in Krynn, it is easier to be “in contact” with it than on any other planet (or outer space). Thus, any Force-user leaving Krynn for the first time, will need more concentration to use his powers. In game terms, this would translate in a –2 penalty to all use of spells, Force Skills and Force Feats.
This penalty will last until the character gets used to the “lack” of Force presence, 1d6 weeks minus Wisdom score modifier. For example: Monglore, a wizard leaves Krynn for the first time. His player rolls 5 in 1d6. Since his wisdom score is 16 (+3 modifier), he will have trouble using the Force for 2 weeks (5-3 = 2). In case the character has a negative modifier, the number is added to the roll. If the character stays away from the planet for more than one year, he receives the bonus a foreigner would receive to all spells, Force skills and Force feats.
When a Force-user not native to Krynn comes to the planet, he receives a +2 bonus to all spells, Force skills and Force Feats. The effects last longer than the penalty, though. 1d12 weeks plus Wisdom modifier. And if the character stays for more than one year on Krynn, he will receive the same penalty a native would.