Dragonlance Dragonlance Creators Reveal Why There Are No Orcs On Krynn

Talking to the Dragonlance Nexus, Dragonlance creators Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman revealed why the world of Krynn features no orcs -- in short, because they didn't want to copy Tolkien, and orcs were very much a 'Middle Earth' thing.

Weis told Trampas Whiteman that "Orcs were also viewed as very Middle Earth. We wanted something different." Hickman added that it was draconians which made Krynn stand out. Read more at the link below!

Why are there no Orcs in Krynn? Weis and Hickman give us the answer! - Dragonlance Nexus

Dragonhelm gets the scoop from Weis and Hickman on why there are no orcs in Krynn. Read More

dragonlancenexus.com

 

[Vaalingrade]

What is a DL story? Because from what I keep hearing fans say is important, it's a morally balanced mustache that is vehemently not on an orc.

When I evangelize Eberron, I tell people about all the stuff that's in it that I find cool, not all the stuff I will sternly judge people for using due to its non-canonicity. I don't allege that even something as major as say exchanging the awesome moons for the lame Great Wheel is making the setting 'generic' because there's other stuff that makes the setting interesting.

Like for clarity to those not actually familiar with DL: it's a post apocalypses war. Also, those minotaurs they keep mentioning as replacements for orcs? They're sailors and pirates. How is that something not getting mentioned in this five-thread running battle? Pirate. Minotaurs. We could have been talking about that that last three months instead of excluding player species and facial hair that went out of fashion before I was born (and I am old).

 

[Vaalingrade]

that is the same thing, might as well remove them then

Drop a mountain on them.

 

[Cadence]

Drop a mountain on them.

Or at least a flying citadel?

 

[Vaalingrade]

Or at least a flying citadel?

Can you imagine if that's their primary weapon. Just go full on Star Wars: Infinites on people?

 

[Maxperson]

I'll be frank, I have less of a problem with a race not being in a setting (though I am not convinced by the "this race didn't exist in 2e, so it's banned" rationale) but I'm pretty adamant about the current PHB classes being open. If only because WotC has only given us one official new class since the PHB, so while there are plenty of racial options, there are only 12 class options and removing one or more represents a far bigger loss of options than removing a race or two.

I personally wouldn't care if a class or even a couple of classes aren't present in a setting. I tend to be the kind of person who has 10 billion ideas comprised of pretty much every class/race combo in the PHB and some not in it that I want to play, but will never have time to. If a setting has no sorcerers or bards(please let it be bards), I'd just grab one of the myriad of other ideas I want to have a great time with.

 

[Maxperson]

I'm not saying the Towers of High Sorcery have to go. I'm saying I want options for people who don't buy into the High Sorcery mindset beyond just rolling up a new character after the magical hit squad shows up.

I'd love for the towers of high sorcerer to be wizard only, and even have dominion over heathen wizards. But I want there to be the Sect of Serious Sorcerers, the Bevy of Bards and the Wagon of Warlocks to govern those classes. Those names are not set in stone by the way. I'm open to the idea that they can be improved upon.

 

[Velderan]

I'll be frank, I have less of a problem with a race not being in a setting (though I am not convinced by the "this race didn't exist in 2e, so it's banned" rationale) but I'm pretty adamant about the current PHB classes being open. If only because WotC has only given us one official new class since the PHB, so while there are plenty of racial options, there are only 12 class options and removing one or more represents a far bigger loss of options than removing a race or two.

Agreed, I think the classes are far more important than races. Personally, WotC's approach to Mages of High Sorcery makes a bit more sense to me in supporting lore since I felt there were some inconsistencies in how magic was handled. Wizards are expected to test and be found worthy of learning higher level magic, but those same rules never applied to bards in earlier editions which could gain access to magic greater than a wizard has at the level they're expected to test (3rd iirc). Giving a bard the option of taking the Feats allows them the chance to be treated similarly from a lore perspective.

 

[Maxperson]

It feels like the inhabitants of a world knowing that there is life on other planets or across a multiverse (or on another continent even) would be a big deal as far as how the people of that world viewed themselves and possibly their religions.

How many wanderers are there, really, though. A smidge of a smidge of a smidge ever get powerful enough AND have the inclination to wander the planes(and given D&D's history almost none of those are orcs). Out of that very, very small number, there are an infinite number of settings out there to fly to in in Planejamming ships or get to via astral pools. Not many would actually arrive on any given world, and those few would be spread out over centuries and wouldn't interact with a large percentage of locals.

I could see a world remaining relatively isolated in it's belief system, despite the rare wanderer from another world. Many would just dismiss him as being a lunatic.

 

[mamba]

What is a DL story? Because from what I keep hearing fans say is important, it's a morally balanced mustache that is vehemently not on an orc.

When I evangelize Eberron, I tell people about all the stuff that's in it that I find cool

maybe no one is evangelizing about DL in a DL focused thread, as they expect you to already be familiar with it

 

[Veltharis ap Rylix]

I personally wouldn't care if a class or even a couple of classes aren't present in a setting. I tend to be the kind of person who has 10 billion ideas comprised of pretty much every class/race combo in the PHB and some not in it that I want to play, but will never have time to. If a setting has no sorcerers or bards(please let it be bards), I'd just grab one of the myriad of other ideas I want to have a great time with.

Back in my Pathfinder Society days ~8 years ago, I wanted to develop a sorcerer for "Core" tables (a organized play variant that only allows options in the Pathfinder Core Rulebook and nothing from supplemental books) and ended up with three or four half-formed character concepts that I had to set aside because as each one came together in my head they would inevitably drift into an area where some non-Core option would be such a natural fit for the character in question that once I realized it that they no longer felt "right" without it.

Everyone's character creation methodology is different.