2010: Is it Dragonlance? (hint)

[Jack Colby]

There's a misconception that they're Dark Sun-specific. Not so. So while they were made popular in Dark Sun, they actually originated in the Forgotten Realms.

They originated in the Monster Cards supplement for AD&D (1st edition), and had no association with the as-yet unpublished Forgotten Realms.

As for Dragonlance, as someone who has no stake in it and is not a fan, it sure does sound like the evidence is showing it will be the next setting. Any concerns over it not "fitting" are pointless, since WotC will just manipulate events in Krynn to accommodate the 4E baseline, as they did with FR. It's not like Krynn has a shortage of cataclysmic world changes in it's history.

 

[Dragonhelm]

Kender are no fun in a group - their schtick is "steal from the other players and cause the absolute most trouble possible." Not a fun experince for anyone but the kender's player.

If I was to boil down the kender to a single word, that would be "curiosity." That's their schtick. That translates to pilfering. Problem is, players often miss the point or just use the kender as an excuse to rob. I've seen people play thieves back in 2e who would rob you blind as well, and they weren't kender.

As a DM, I would make certain that players who want to play a kender really get what it means and don't use it as an excuse. The race isn't for everyone.

What would be the new class for Dragonlance, the Mystic?

Most likely. See an earlier post by me on this thread regarding the DL-specific classes.

They originated in the Monster Cards supplement for AD&D (1st edition), and had no association with the as-yet unpublished Forgotten Realms.

Ah, I didn't realize thri-kreen went back that far. I remember first seeing them in the 2e Realms Monstrous Compendium appendix.

As for Dragonlance, as someone who has no stake in it and is not a fan, it sure does sound like the evidence is showing it will be the next setting. Any concerns over it not "fitting" are pointless, since WotC will just manipulate events in Krynn to accommodate the 4E baseline, as they did with FR. It's not like Krynn has a shortage of cataclysmic world changes in it's history.

Which is why I'm a bit nervous about the idea of WotC touching Dragonlance. I could be wrong, they could do a stellar job. However, they don't have the same connection to Dragonlance that MWP (and their freelancers!) have.

 

[Leatherhead]

Ha ha! Yeah, the halfling in 3e and 4e has had great influence from kender. Though not exactly a clone, it's pretty close. What the kender did for halflings was to throw them right into the adventure. WotC recognized this, so they took the best of the kender, minus the so-called "baggage," and adapted that to halflings.

It's unfortunate that a few bad players and stereotypes seem to ruin the race for the non-DL gaming audience. They're really quite fun to play.

Well you know, that kind of happens when you make an entire race of subconscious kleptomaniacs with no regard for personal property (or space apparently) under the protection of gods. Sometimes you just have to sit back and ask "What were they thinking when they made this?" It seems as if the purpose of Kender is simply to annoy everything else, which is even backed up mechanically.

Incidentally those traits aren't shared with halflings. Being skinny and adventurous just makes them plausible for PC usage. Though I expect it has more to do with trying to differentiate them from Tolken's Hobbits than anything else.

Also, in before character exceptions that prove the rule by rebelling and/or otherwise defying Kender culture.

 

[ggroy]

Who knows?

They might do something completely out of left field, such as releasing a 4E version of d20 Modern (instead of Dragonlance, Dark Sun, Ravenloft, etc ...).

Though I can only really see them (WotC) doing something this radical, in the case of the 4E versions of Forgotten Realms and Eberron not satisfying their own sales expectations.

 

[stonegod]

As for Dragonlance, as someone who has no stake in it and is not a fan, it sure does sound like the evidence is showing it will be the next setting. Any concerns over it not "fitting" are pointless, since WotC will just manipulate events in Krynn to accommodate the 4E baseline, as they did with FR. It's not like Krynn has a shortage of cataclysmic world changes in it's history.

And, therein, is the second biggest problem w/ 4E DL (the first being its 1E straightjackets---yes, you can remove them, but then is it really DL or DL-inspired?). In, what, two generations you've had:
- The War of the Lance
- The Summer of Chaos
- The Dragon Wars
- The War of Souls

If I lived in Krynn, I'd try to avoid procreation: Its not going to end well!

 

[Dausuul]

And, therein, is the second biggest problem w/ 4E DL (the first being its 1E straightjackets---yes, you can remove them, but then is it really DL or DL-inspired?). In, what, two generations you've had:
- The War of the Lance
- The Summer of Chaos
- The Dragon Wars
- The War of Souls

If I lived in Krynn, I'd try to avoid procreation: Its not going to end well!

And the existence of time travel does not help. I never could get straight what all was going on with the timelines in the War of Souls.

 

[Dragonhelm]

They might do something completely out of left field, such as releasing a 4E version of d20 Modern (instead of Dragonlance, Dark Sun, Ravenloft, etc ...).

Nope, there's no "a" in d20 Modern. Though there is in Urban Arcana.

My new prediction, based on nothing but snarkiness and the desire to be different, is that the 2010 setting is indeed Dragonlance, but is not Ansalon. It's Taladas! The letter "a" appears three times, so mathematically I can't lose!

 

[ki11erDM]

The Order of High Sorcery, rather than being divided by alignment, is instead divided into Warlocks, Wizards and Invokers (Black, Red and White Robes), so you can play a black robe without necessarily being evil, and the villain isn't necessarily colour coded for your convenience.

oh. ma. gosh. i LOVE that idea!

I just want a reboot... if they start the world just the way it is now... i will not be buying it... if they reboot it... happy days!

(but I think there is more evidence pointing to a oriental world)

 

[Dragonhelm]

And, therein, is the second biggest problem w/ 4E DL (the first being its 1E straightjackets---yes, you can remove them, but then is it really DL or DL-inspired?). In, what, two generations you've had:
- The War of the Lance
- The Summer of Chaos
- The Dragon Wars
- The War of Souls

If I lived in Krynn, I'd try to avoid procreation: Its not going to end well!

The War of the Lance set up the world, so really, only two major changes since - the Chaos War (30 years after WotL) and the War of Souls (70 years after WotL). The first through third dragon wars are ancient history. So more than two generations there.

Compare that to the real word. World War I and World War II were just a generation apart. How many wars have there been since?

Or compare that to Star Wars, with the Old Republic in one generation, the Rebellion Era in another, and the New Republic/New Jedi Order in a third. 130 years after that is the Legacy Era. Sounds like they have galaxy-shattering events every generation.

As for "a dozen Cataclysms left and right," that's overstated. The Cataclysm was part of the backstory of the world, and was there from day one. The SAGA design team called the end of the Chaos War and the introduction of the dragon overlords the "Second Cataclysm" (which I personally feel is a misnomer). And no, the War of Souls was not a cataclysm. Yes, the gods returned (minus Paladine and Takhisis), but that was to set up the current post-War of Souls era in the Age of Mortals.

 

[Dragonhelm]

The Order of High Sorcery, rather than being divided by alignment, is instead divided into Warlocks, Wizards and Invokers (Black, Red and White Robes), so you can play a black robe without necessarily being evil, and the villain isn't necessarily colour coded for your convenience.

That goes against 25 years of Dragonlance history. Making some changes or reinterpreting, I can see. So if you want the Wizards of High Sorcery to include wizards, warlocks, and sorcerers, that's fine. If you want those divided by order, it may be a stretch, but I can kind of see it.

But to include a divine class in an arcane organization and totally ignore alignment, which the WoHS are based on? That's a stretch.