Dragonlance Campaign Setting: Missed Opportunity?

[Kanegrundar]

If you won't even take a look at Dragonlance because you feel that the novel line constricts you to certain events, then I'm shocked. The point of buying any campaign setting is that you make it what you as the DM want it to be.

Same goes with the races you guys seem to hate with a passion. Don't like Kender, Gully Dwarves and Tinker Gnomes (and I still have never heard a decent excuse why people don't) then change them. Make Kender into Halflings and drop the bits you don't like.

A campaign setting is what you make it.

Thanks for the lesson in DM'ing. The long and short of it comes down to the feel that the campaign gives. In the older editions, the setting lead you down a set path set down by the Chronicles and didn't give much information beyond that. The world doesn't give the feel of being big enough for my stories. Canon isn't important to me, but it is to much of my group. While I can tell them to suspend their disbelief, what's the point when I can set up a campaign in another setting that doesn't constrict as much? Overall though my main reason for disliking the setting is that it's not a well written it's a subpar setting, IMO. With excellent settings like Forgotten Realms and Legend of the Five Rings that raise the bar for what a CS should strive to be, Dragonlance feels outdated and poorly done. There are bits and pieces, like kender and tinker gnomes that I do enjoy having in my games, but overall DL is a very leave it setting. That's a shame to, because it did have a certain amount of promise. Hopefully now I've explained myself a bit better.

Kane

 

[talinthas]

the original novels and modules were written simultaniously. Back then though, they realised that gamers need more options than the railroad that the novels took, so the mods were much more open ended.

For my dragonlance games, i use the map, the races, the gods, but not the story. My world is essentially dragonlance, without relying on any of the core storyline of the setting, and my players are utterly unfamiliar with it anyway, so the only one impacted is me. Dragonlance has a lot of great componants but has yet to learn how to put them together.

 

[Kanegrundar]

Dragonlance has a lot of great componants but has yet to learn how to put them together.

That is my overall feeling. Dragonlance had a good base and plenty of promise, but failed to really put anything together other than a toolkit to rob from. The world could have been very interesting, but ended up being bland compared to other settings. It's a shame really.

Kane

 

[Vocenoctum]

Because then your playing to a stereotype. I've had kender, and gnomes (never a gully dwarf) in my campaigns and they were never caused a problem to the game. They enhanced it if anything. All too often it seems that people are more interested at looking at the supposed downside of the races and not at the true roleplaying potential.

That's what I meant by why have the mold (stereotype) if you're only going to break the mold with each player?
Kender, Gully Dwarves and Tinkers are much more defined than most races in the other campaigns. That extra definition has it's uses, but what's the point of playing a Kender if you're only going to play it un-kenderlike?

Maybe people look at the downside exactly because most people play to that downside?

Its called suspension of disbelief. Don't worry about it. It is not important. Its flavour for the setting.

If it's not important, why not leave it GP? Suspension of Disbelief is not some universal excuse for silly concepts. I'm not worrying about it, I just consider it silly.

 

[Vocenoctum]

the original novels and modules were written simultaniously. Back then though, they realised that gamers need more options than the railroad that the novels took, so the mods were much more open ended.

The modules weren't too bad. Mainly the one's off-screen of the novels. Dragon's of Dreams was one of the most fun modules we ever played, complete with a character that Disbelieved himself.
It was mentioned that some of the stuff from playing through the mod's made it into the novels as well, but mainly the plot's were laid out togethor I believe.

For my dragonlance games, i use the map, the races, the gods, but not the story. My world is essentially dragonlance, without relying on any of the core storyline of the setting, and my players are utterly unfamiliar with it anyway, so the only one impacted is me. Dragonlance has a lot of great componants but has yet to learn how to put them together.

I used the war of the lance, but mostly killed off the major's and replaced with my own. I also had the tendency to shunt the players to other worlds, since I was using Spelljammer at the time. I found we had the most fun with the wizards, knights & barbarian's of krynn, but it didn't have to be the actual land that we played in.

 

[Derren]

The world could have been very interesting, but ended up being bland compared to other settings. It's a shame really.

Kane

Just how good do you know the world actually? I don't want to insult anyone but I get the impressions that many people here don't like DL because of predjudices from the problems the setting had in the War of the Lance timeline and failed to inform themself how DL is now.

Imo the Post War of Souls Dragonlance has many possible plots. The all overshadowing big war has ended, the old heroes are dead, there are few new heroes and there are plenty of lesser and bigger villians running arround. Even a problem race was changed partially so it might appeal to the more serious gamer a bit better (afflicted Kender).

 

[Kanegrundar]

Just how good do you know the world actually?

I stopped reading the series about halfway through the War of Souls and I've read much of the books dealing with the War of the Lance and before. The constant upheavals in the world got trite and boring. Just when I started to get used to DL again as a setting another major event came and shattered the world once again. I got tired of it.

Kane

 

[DragonLancer]

The constant upheavals in the world got trite and boring. Just when I started to get used to DL again as a setting another major event came and shattered the world once again. I got tired of it.

Kane

I agree, and when the setting changed into SAGA I actually gave up on Dragonlance. Not because of a new rules set (although that did have its part to play) but because of the changes I've said it before and I say it again, too much too soon and too often.

Then I cam eback to it a couple years ago and converted it 3.0 myself. I was very pleased when the DLCS was released. Sure I have changed it to keep my feel of the world, but as I have said thats what you do as a DM.


You guys have done a fair job trying to explain why you have issues with it. Some I agree with and some I just don't think I'll ever understand. But thats life.

 

[JeffB]

I'm a very casual fan, only reading the chronicles a few years back, though I was playing D&D when they were released. At the time, the DL modules looked silly to me, and I never purchased one, and got out of gaming for 15 years.

After reading the chronicles I picked up the SAGA boxed set and Tales of the Lance box. Loved the former, thought the latter was unexciting at best. But still, I never got hardcore into DL, and sold them both.

I was really looking forward to the DLCS, and after purchaisng it several months back, I am very disappointed in it. Basically it's designed for the hardcore DL fan who can fill in alot of holes. It comes off as a history lesson of the novel events. After finishing the book, I found myself thinking "now WTF do I do with this?" (as a DM). It feels incomplete. I thought the SAGA set did a much better job of setting up DL as a viable world to game in. Much smaller, but much more useful. I've seen several folks recommending on this board and others that the AoM book helps the DLCS quite a bit. I never did pick it up though. Kinda miffed about the whole damn thing.

Whether you love the Realms or not, as someone else mentioned, the FRCS is the textbook example of how to make a setting book. The DLCS, while a well written product, is a poor gaming product AFAIC.

 

[talinthas]

unfortunatly, i have to agree. taken with the age of mortals book it becomes much more playable, but even then...