Elminster's Fan Boys

[Diamond Cross]

The wiki says:

Dragonlance is a shared universe created by Laura and Tracy Hickman, and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR, Inc. into a series of popular fantasy novels. The Hickmans devised the concept that became Dragonlance while driving in their car on the way to TSR for a job application. At TSR, Tracy met his future writing partner Margaret Weis, and they gathered a group of associates to play the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. The adventures during that game inspired a series of gaming modules, and a series of novels, as well as licensed products such as board games, and lead miniature figures.

So you're right.

 

[jonesy]

Here's the origin of Raistlin:
http://www.dlnexus.com/features/interviews/11253.aspx

"Raistlin's skin and eyes - For a long time, we had a fighter and a wizard on the list of "core characters" - Harold Johnson, I believe, gave them the names Raistlin (wasting man) and Caramon (caring man). Again, to get the mage beyond the standard "look" - I suggested his golden skin and hourglass eyes. Larry thought it was cool and the look of Raistlin was established."

 

[kitsune9]

When I read D&D novels that featured Elminster as a side character, I found him to be interesting, but I just couldn't dig into Elminster from Greenwood's perspective of him or when he was the center of the story.

A more interesting Mary Sue kind of mage that I love to read was Fizban in the Dragonlance series. Complete comic relief most of the time and frickin' hilarious.

I did like Raistlin, but I've always like Hickman and Weis' story telling. I can't really think of too much of anything in the Dragonlance novels that didn't appeal to me.

 

[Dannager]

This is the best thread. All the other threads are not as best as this one is.

Oh, and nobody smokes a pipe like Elminster. Nobody.

 

[jonesy]

Bilbo has epic pipe smoking down to an art.

 

[Diamond Cross]

Yeah, Raistlin suffers from a massive amount of autonomous wardrobe suffusion.

 

[JacktheRabbit]

Where in any of the novels was Rasitlin and indeed Dragonlance acknowledge to be inspired by Dungeons And Dragons? Until there is an actual acknowledgment from the authors, the only person who can say with any certainty that Dragonlance and Raistlin were inspired by D&D are the authors.

And Raistlin is the dullest of the dull. He can talk a stone to sleep.

In the very first DL novel the "curse of the magi" is explained. It is the requirement that wizards have to memorize their spells every day. RAISTLIN also uses material components right out of the PHB for many of his spells, encounters foes with as he specifically called it magic resistance, and unlike Elminsrer most of the spells RAISTLIN casts can be found in the PHB.

 

[Diamond Cross]

Color me impressed. Not.

 

[Janx]

Before drizzt-clones there were raistlin clones.

There were never any Elminster clones.

 

[Diamond Cross]

Yes, but they wear a plush polyester cotton blend. A great fashion bavure.