How to keep a Dragonlance campaign exciting without it just becoming *generic* D&D?

[dead]

I was thinking starting a post Chaos War DL campaign but soon canned the idea because I didn't think I could sustain it for very long. I thought I would just slip into a *generic* D&D-style game where the PCs go off and "clear-out" a dungeon full of goblins or put down the vampire necromancer of the old burial ground, etc, etc.

Now, I'm sure you have to throw in *normal* adventures like this every now and again, but how do long-time DL DMs sustain a specifically Dragonlance-flavoured campaign?

Are all your adventures mainly story-based rather than site-based?

Do your adventures try to work in dragons and dragon politics as much as possible?

How long have you maintained a DL campaign?

 

[MoogleEmpMog]

I haven't played or run Dragonlance since 3e came out.

However, I remember the setting fondly and have run others where the PCs interacted less with dungeons and more with the fate of nations, or even the world.

IMO, the key to a good DL campaign is to keep it epic (though not Epic). I can't see DL PCs ever taking the time to clear out a nest of goblins or staking a vampire necromance... unless the gobs or vamps were part of an overarching plot.

Personally, I don't mind a little (or a lot ) of railroading in a setting like that. As a player, I'll take every DM que as long as he's weaving a good story. But this doesn't have to be the case, if you're a 'think on your feet' DM - DL's gods and metaplot routinely involve seemingly unrelated mortals in a plot of grand scope, whether the mortals like it or not.

The party decided to walk away from the draconians burning Solace to the ground? So be it... because the road they're walking on will lead them into conflict with the draconians' hobgoblin reinforcements. Their adventure will be different than if they'd taken the first plot hook - and as a DM who believes players should at least try to follow the plot unless it's silly or otherwise objectionable to them, their new adventure is liable to be more lethal. Regardless, whatever choice they make will keep them involved in the setting's overarching epic, whether that epic follows the course of the novels/modules or not.

Other than that, I'd suggest using a lot of DL-specific creatures and classes, not just the dragons.

Krynn may have vampires, but it also has death knights, who are much more flavorful for the setting - if the PCs encounter undead, a death knight and his skeleton warriors are ideal.

Krynn may have goblins, but it also has ECL 0 minotaurs with a civilization all their own - if the PCs encounter humanoids, a minotaur squad makes for a more DL-flavored conflict, not to mention a more nuanced one as they might be able to strike a deal with the honorable if brutal bull-men.

 

[talinthas]

The only real difference between a 'normal' game and a DL game is the story aspect. every adventure should be tied together. Even casual side quests and such should help build towards the giant epic climax. It's very possible to thwart a minor bad guy and disrupt the evil plan long enough to have down time and stuff, but remember that in the background, the minotaur invasion is still going on, chemosh is still working over the young and beautiful, Morgion's disir might start their encroachment, etc.

Also, if there are casters in the party, it's really easy to get the flavor. Wizards and sorcerors are in the middle of a giant conflict right now, and clerics and mystics surely will be. The Gods are very very proactive at this juncture, so it wouldnt be odd to have a few visitations from dieties.
Otherwise, it's good to use things like kender, draconians, and other stuff.

Mainly it's all a matter of flavor. It's perfectly possible to have mission based DL campaigns, though the setting is more geared towards epic story arcs. Remember that the PCs are the lynchpin to the whole world, and you'll be fine. There are no random monsters on ansalon. everything has effects elsewhere.

Have fun =)

 

[d20Dwarf]

Really it's the same advice you can apply to any campaign setting campaign ( ), just make sure every adventure is tied into that specific world somehow. Don't have them clearing out a dungeon full of goblins for no reason, and really try not to use goblins at all if you can help it. Use volodnoi (walrus people?) or draconians or some other cool thing from the Bestiary of Krynn. Make sure each story arc is integral to the setting, and don't be afraid to use known NPCs to make the impact even stronger.

Essentially it's in your hands--give them generic dungeon crawls and it will be D&D, give them dungeon crawls with a purpose specific to the DL world, and it will feel like a DL campaign.

 

[mmadsen]

Exactly what elements of Dragonlance separate it from generic D&D in your mind?

 

[kigmatzomat]

I run a post-chaos DL game (not based on the 3x DL books, though.) Use the existing flavor to keep it feeling unique. I'm also assuming a Solamnic campaign.

The first thing to do is make sure you keep the nobillity in charge and have the Knights of Solamnia (KoS) treated as nobility. This means after about 6th level the party should start dealing with barons and counts. KoS should be expected to visit the local lord as a first step and the local lord will likely host him and his companions for the first night as common courtesy. Additionally the concepts of nobility mean some treasures are not big lumps of gold. Find a signet ring of a major noble's family and there is likely a reward.

KoS should be treated as wandering judges with police powers where no existing police force exists. This works for and against the PCs.

Orcs are virtually non-existent (I only have enough created by the Graygem to justify half-orcs) so no orcish nations. I do use lots of goblinoids, and remember that many giant-ish creatures have their own territories.

Keep the military aspect of many locations. Thelgaard, the High Clerist's Tower, and Dargaard were all military structures with heavy defenses that were tested time and time again. The walls should be manned and training operations maintained.

Depending on your locaiton in the timeline, there will be varying familiarity with dragons. Every adult elf has likely seen a dragon fighting *something* and possibly 50% of the populace in general.

Additionally, Men fought alongside all fashion of monstrous critters and may be fairly blase. Alternately, there may be pockets of monstrous communities within the normally settled lands. There is probably traid between Solamnia and the Draconians of Throt and KhuriKhan will deal with the Minotaurs. The idea of "monster" is a bit more flexible but trade caravans will likely need guards.

Leave some damage from the Chaos War. A field of glass where a massive fireball struck, a copse of trees turned to salt (slowly being chipped away by the locals and wildlife), a chasm hundred of feet deep where the wind sounds like screams, etc.

Between the Dragon Armies, the Steel Legion, and the forces of the Chaos War, there should be a number of semi-destroyed fortresses now gathering moss and carrion crawlers. Be sure to give them a short history and have the faded decorations reflect it. (statues of takhisis/paladine/hiddukel/etc, draconic motifs, family crests, etc)

Between the catatclysm, the War of the Lance, and the Chaos War, the elves of Qualinostare the only ones with any longterm records for a large region. Polanthus and some sections of Solamnia weren't hurt as badly, but even they lost much. Consider having historical societies/nobles/libraries/families provide "adventure capital" to send minor heroes off to check a few sets of ruins and see what they can find.

This is just off the top of my head. If you want email or message me and I'll try to give you more.

 

[Guilberwood]

A simple way to make your campaing a Dragonlance one and not "generic D&D" is the attencion to details.

Use a lot of the dragonlance specif monsters (bestiary of kryn is great!), put a lot of thought on the roll of dragons (they're very active in dragonlance), make a lot of encounters using dragonlance races (like kenders, gully dwarfs, minotaurs), try to envolve some of the famous organizations (like the wizards of high sorcery and the solamic knights), and, perhaps, let the pcs meet some famous npc.

This are easy ways to remind your players constantly that they're playing in dragonlance, and can create great hooks.

 

[dead]

Thanks for your help everyone.

Exactly what elements of Dragonlance separate it from generic D&D in your mind?

Well, it's perhaps hard to pin down, but I know that when I read DL fiction by the creaters, Weis and Hickman, then all the elements are right there in the book!

So, I guess they are things such as: drama, romance, loyalty, sadness, good triumphing over an all-pervasive evil, epic tales.

And essentially, this is where my problems lies. You see, I might be able to handle a major epic quest with the DL flavour, but you can't have these all the time. You have to have more "ordinary" quests inbetween.

And this is one reason I asked a while ago: Is there ever going to be "ordinary" adventures published for the DL setting? I mean, Sovereign Stone is releasing the 3-part trilogy, but I class this as an epic quest. Indeed, have any normal-type adventures been released for DL?

I've got the 2E "DLQ1 Knight's Sword" and "DLQ2 Flint's Axe" but even these had to incorporate the Heroes of the Lance into them to stay valid. Is there going to be "regular" adventures without any epic quest involved or direct reference to the Heroes of the Lance? I don't know, maybe a bunch of Draconians are hiding in the sewers of Palanthus are conducting fowl experiments on the citizens to turn them into to fellow scaly-kind? I don't know, some plot that works on a *generic* sort of basis, but still has the DL "flavour".

 

[talinthas]

well, there is the other adventure at teh back of the DLCS, and the adventure coming in the back of the wotl book releasing soon...

 

[Cam Banks]

Some of the features of Dragonlance which made it stand out from "generic" D&D have made it into what D&D is today, especially other D&D settings, so interestingly one of the goals I have when running a Dragonlance game is to make as much use of the core material for D&D as I can.

Prior to the release of the Dragonlance modules in 1984, TSR was releasing standalone adventures, some set in Greyhawk, some not, which although provided with a background of some kind never really came together as a campaign. Even the famous GDQ giants/drow/Queen of Spiders campaign had some problems, although it probably paved the way for multiple adventures in a series.

A Dragonlance campaign should be all about the heroes, their relationship with the world, and their discovery of what lies outside their own experiences. Ruins, ancient secrets, romance, tragedy, betrayal - it's a little like Shakespearean drama writ large on a post-apocalyptic fantasy world. Every goblin and dragon counts as something and should be treated as an individual, even if they sometimes just end up as mooks. Dragonlance made a hobgoblin into a power-hungry stooge who eventually makes it to the big leagues. It made a low-level wizard somebody to worry about once they got their hands on "real" spells. And it made a point that you can be a knight in shining armor even if the rest of the world's knights are disgraced and obnoxious.

As has been said, there should always be something epic about what the players are doing, where they are going, who is after them. Some reminder every once in a while that, were they to stay home and not look at the world outside, they might feel safer but would eventually be taken by the approaching evil. You can take a (not unintentionally) leaf out of Tolkien's book when it comes to Dragonlance.

Cheers,
Cam