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

 

[mamba]

not Okay but it would make the argument seem more honest.

ok, so essentially there is nothing that you would accept as a good reason then.

Taking one out is no good, taking more out is no better, or at least not by enough to convince you.

Not fitting the theme / not having a background in the world did not do it either.

I think it is safe to conclude that nothing can convince you. Not sure why you cannot admit that.

 

[Vaalingrade]

How much money or power or wheels of delicious cheese will you win by getting him to 'admit' that?

 

[GMforPowergamers]

ok, so essentially there is nothing that you would accept as a good reason then.

nothing but what I said... two simple questions and so far the closest answer is 30+ years ago people thought that it might be too tolken

Not fitting the theme / not having a background in the world did not do it either.

what theme doesn't it fit?

I think it is safe to conclude that nothing can convince you. Not sure why you cannot admit that.

because It is SUPER easy to convince me, people do it all the time with worlds lacking things

 

[Faolyn]

Every one of those works perfectly well with human instead of orc. They're in no way distinctive. I don't think orc first with any of that stuff.

But you don't look at those things and think "not orc." You don't see "muscle-bound warrior" or "blacksmith in plain but functional armor" and think elf. Sure, any of them can be a human, but there's so much crossover between races anyway, it doesn't matter. "Guardian of the woods" or "wise and ancient magician" could be elf or human. "Rough, tough, and gruff warrior" or "stolid craftsman" could be dwarf or human. "Nimble cutpurse" or "reluctant hero" could be halfling or human.

Orc fits well in all of the ideas that @Mecheon brought up, plus they do have racial/heritage abilities that humans, elves, dwarfs, and halflings don't have, even without ASIs. No other D&D race has that combo of Darkvision, Powerful Build, and Relentless Endurance (or Darkvision, Heavy Lifter, Mighty Attacks, plus gift) that orcs have.

When all is said and done, some people just really like orcs. Even if they don't play them as some stereotype, they still like the way they look and the vibes they give off, and would play them no matter what sort of abilities they had.

 

[mamba]

because It is SUPER easy to convince me, people do it all the time with worlds lacking things

just proving what I said. I am not blaming you for not changing your mind, I am blaming you for pretending it can be changed when it cannot

 

[Velderan]

How much money or power or wheels of delicious cheese will you win by getting him to 'admit' that?

Wait, we get cheese?

 

[mamba]

Wait, we get cheese?

only I do

 

[Velderan]

Oh, boy, you have missed some stuff with DC Comics. Basically, every two or three years since Crisis (more or less), they've monkeyed around with continuity. There have been multiple times they've tried the "everything happened somewhere, and if it didn't, it still did, and people don't remember it unless they do." (My favorite version of this was Hypertime, in the early 2000s.)

The only DC comic I've ever read is Batman and it's been awhile. DC always seemed like such a mess to read.

 

[Maxperson]

what theme doesn't it fit?

A better question is what existing theme in Krynn does it fit? There's no lore that I can think that would encourage orcs to form/evolve/be created.

 

[Vaalingrade]

The only DC comic I've ever read is Batman and it's been awhile. DC always seemed like such a mess to read.

Ah. Well, DC Goes into a Crisis as often as Gotham burns down and/or collapses or a member of the Bat Family dies for six issues.