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

 

[GMforPowergamers]

there was an IF in my statement, I assume you know how conditions work…

Also, this time I will be calling you dishonest. Your reply was


and reasons were given, just not any that you accepted… so, what does it take? What would be a good enough reason? You can also admit that it doesn’t exist, but then you trigger the IF condition

no that answer was not given... the reason (that i feel is out dated) that orginally they decided was given

 

[Maxperson]

That's all you gotta do. I just love the fact there's juuuust enough room in soft canon that you can tug at it and go "Yeah, orcs just, existed somewhere else and didn't get involved in any of this" and just, not contradict anything pre-existing

Mind I'm not a Dragonlance fan and its pretty abundant folks who are probably don't want that little bit of canon tugged at, content for it to remain "Error" rather than "Let's explain it later". But I am a Transformers fan, and we did have a comic series recently that basically took earlier errors and made them no longer errors, but make sort of sense in hindsight, so I may just be biased

Also can I just agree on the love towards Dragonlance's minotaurs? I will absolutely dump on their elves any day of the week, but the minotaurs are where its at

Hell yeah. Taladas was far more interesting to me than Ansalon ever was.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Eh... it comes back to certain out of universe elements that informed a lot of why DL is the way it is and which we're not allowed to talk about on this board, but the long and short of it is (I believe) that magic is a gift from the divine via the towers, so whoever controls the towers get to be in charge of magic and trying to extract the wizards is 1) trying to fight wizards in D&D with non-wizards, so you WILL lose, and 2) seen as an attack on the divine.

Which... to me doesn't really hold up because the gods left everyone to go hang, so I'm not sure why anyone honored it after the world ended.

Don't ever underestimate the powerful trying to hold onto power, even when it makes things objectively worse (or even just stupider) for everyone else. See an infinity of examples from the real world.

 

[Maxperson]

You have not experienced true suffering until you try to piece together Doctor Who canon.

The first clue is that it's in pieces in the first place.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

You have not experienced true suffering until you try to piece together Doctor Who canon.

and every 'fix' makes it worse...

but I take your Dr Who and raise you "DC comics last yearish had an event that made 'every story happened'"

 

[billd91]

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.

Yes, everyone's methodology is different... but if you are finding something unsatisfying or can't buy into some restriction in the setting whether it's a campaign's rule on Core rule (PFS Core) or the restrictions on wizards in Dragonlance, you have to start making choices, particularly if those restrictions are significant as both of those examples are. These campaigns/settings don't have to accommodate your methodology or preferences. If your methodology/preference is a bad fit, you either adjust your methodology or recognize that the two of you are a bad fit. There's nothing wrong with that other than a lost opportunity to play a particular game.

Dragonlance is what it is - with seafaring minotaurs, lack of orcs, kleptomaniacal kender, dangergnomes, exploding draconians, and Towers of High Sorcery robicular glory. It doesn't have to jibe with you.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

My dad was over recently, and we watched the final Jodie Whitaker episode together.

"Don't ask about any of it. It'll be a lot more enjoyable if you're not trying to make this all make sense. Just assume there were wonderful episodes that you didn't see," that don't actually exist, "that make it all make sense."

I really don't envy everyone trying to right the ship after this last era. Whitaker deserved so much better.

thats good advice

 

[mamba]

Eh... it comes back to certain out of universe elements that informed a lot of why DL is the way it is and which we're not allowed to talk about on this board, but the long and short of it is (I believe) that magic is a gift from the divine via the towers, so whoever controls the towers get to be in charge of magic

no, the magic comes from the moons, towers are not involved or there would not be renegades - not that it is common knowledge where the magic actually comes from (or that this too makes it divine). The wizards know this but pretty much no one else I believe

and trying to extract the wizards is 1) trying to fight wizards in D&D with non-wizards, so you WILL lose, and 2) seen as an attack on the divine

tell that to the Kingpriest He won, the wizards negotiated for peace

Wizards are also not held in high esteem by the general population, so I’d argue against 2) as well

 

[Veltharis ap Rylix]

Yes, everyone's methodology is different... but if you are finding something unsatisfying or can't buy into some restriction in the setting whether it's a campaign's rule on Core rule (PFS Core) or the restrictions on wizards in Dragonlance, you have to start making choices, particularly if those restrictions are significant as both of those examples are. These campaigns/settings don't have to accommodate your methodology or preferences. If your methodology/preference is a bad fit, you either adjust your methodology or recognize that the two of you are a bad fit. There's nothing wrong with that other than a lost opportunity to play a particular game.

And I don't play in Core for that reason... Well, also the fact that I've moved a few times since then and haven't been able to find a new PFS group, but the point remains.

Dragonlance is what it is - with seafaring minotaurs, lack of orcs, kleptomaniacal kender, dangergnomes, exploding draconians, and Towers of High Sorcery robicular glory. It doesn't have to jibe with you.

You're right. As is, it doesn't seem to, despite having a number of things that seem interesting. (Seafaring minotaurs? Sign me up!)

I'm trying to parse out what would be needed for it to feel more in line with my preferences and whether it would be worth the effort (mine or WotC's) to make it so.

 

[Vaalingrade]

tell that to the Kingpriest He won, the wizards negotiated for peace

A cleric vs wizards. He was probably time traveling from 3.5 then.