Dragonlance Themes?

[Ogrork the Mighty]

I'm interested in archetypal themes prevalent in the Dragonlance campaign world. I'm currently running a campaign and am looking for some thematic ideas linked to the canonical Dragonlance world.

I can think of a few:

- humour
- love and loss (sacrifice)
- individual choice vs. interference of the gods
- link between the gods and mortals (the need of the former for the latter)

Can you think of others?

 

[roguerouge]

That the little things are as important as the big ones, such as rescuing Setsun or Tanis not killing the ancient red dragon.

 

[hong]

The necessary duality of good and evil

 

[Quartz]

Evil turns in on itself. I forget the Good counterpoint - Good somethings its own, IIRC.

 

[Dragonhelm]

I recommend reading chapter 6 of the Dragonlance Campaign Setting.

Evil turns in on itself. I forget the Good counterpoint - Good somethings its own, IIRC.

Law of the Dark Queen: Evil feeds on itself.

Law of Paladine: Good redeems its own.

Law of Gilean: Both good and evil must exist in contrast. There must be a Balance, and mortals should have free will to choose which path they shall walk.

Often, heroes come from mundane origins.

The world of Krynn has a rich history, and the rediscovery of that which is lost is a huge theme. This can range from faith to ancient ruins.

Faith is a major theme. As mentioned above, godly plans and mortal choices are important. In the current Age of Mortals, divine power can come from either the gods or from within.

Companions and friends. The original Chronicles trilogy is all about that, and that theme should be maintained in your game as well.

Dragonlance has Raistlin, Ariakas, Ariakan, and the one and only Lord Soth. Make your villains memorable.

Hope that helps.

 

[defendi]

The original series was rife with symbolism and the theme of fall and redemption. You have the dragon army, and they run rampant across krynn (dragons representing evil). Then you have the good dragons (who represent the greek archtype of wisdom), who are absent, but in the first episode of Dragonlance, people of faith restore the knowledge of the gospel to the world. Only they can rally the people and eventually it’s them who bring the good dragons back to krynn.

On top of that, only the cataclysm, caused by a lack of faith, allowed the dragon army to come in the first place.

So on the surface you have a standard tale of people fighting a big war with lots of fantastic elements, but underneath you have a story about evil devouring the world because the world had lost its faith, and only by restoring the knowledge of the gospel can wisdom return and bring the light of hope back to civilization.

 

[Kunimatyu]

Lousy plotting and stilted dialogue.

(alright, I'll leave...)

 

[Wik]

Nice one, Kuni. *applause*

I think most people here already pegged the main ones.

Good vs. Evil is a good one. And redemption is a HUGE one (we have Raistlin, Kitiara, and Lord Soth as obvious examples of characters who start on one side and turn to another).

Humour is worth mentioning, but really, I think the books were just trying to capture the natural humour that comes out from play. The example of Tas in the Fake Dragon instantly springs to mind.

I think the best theme in an ongoing game is to keep things... ongoing. All adventures should blur into another, and each adventure should be building towards some goal, whether epic or mundane.

 

[Kheti sa-Menik]

Personal growth. I'm thinking of Laurana specifically, but also Gilthanas and Riverwind.

Also, the divisions that Tanis sees within himself. Does he consider himself: half human, half elf, or neither? His elven brethren are never open to him, their reactions range from bare tolerance to outright hatred. Loneliness and finding a place for one's self in the world.

Familial devotion...I'm looking at Sturm here.

 

[pawsplay]

Honor. In Dragonlance, even evil has standards.