Dragonlance What Happened To The New DRAGONLANCE Trilogy?

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

DL is for all intents and purposes a dormant IP right now. And WOTC did the survey - they have far more new players than old ones now with the D&D pop-culture boom.

WOTC can do what it wants to DragonLance, and only a tiny minority will complain.

A tiny minority complaining can be very loud if they are the only ones speaking.

The only D&D players that are going to care much about Dragonlance are older gamers, or new players who are specifically interested in the old content. So WotC doesn't really have any reason to do anything with Dragonlance unless they're trying to appeal to fans of the classic setting, and then hopefully have those fans excitement rub off on newer players.

 

[Umbran]

You are right, but Hasbro has to notice Dragonlance could be a true cash-cow as multimedia franchise.

"Could be" does a lot of heavy lifting, here. Yes, it could be a cash cow. But it could also be a money-pit of failure.

And, we're quite aware that you, personally, are massively enamored of the idea of crossovers. But, there's not a big sign that these are particularly in demand in the broad market. For many, it is hard enough waiting for good stories for the characters we like within their own universes. Messing those up with crossovers "just because" is not appealing.

 

[Umbran]

Tying the novel and RPG releases together would (quite reasonably) create the expectation of the two being set in the same world, at least for any buyer who doesn't read blog posts from Wizards (which is going to be most of them). If there are noticeable differences, it would complicate the novels' value as a promotional tool, especially if the new novels reference material Wizards is trying to leave behind.

Yep. But, WotC had some editorial input in the novels. Some effort was made to preserve the future value of the IP, so it is quite plausible that major issues were largely worked out.

 

[darjr]

Yep. But, WotC had some editorial input in the novels. Some effort was made to preserve the future value of the IP, so it is quite plausible that major issues were largely worked out.

This is the feeling I get.

 

[Umbran]

WOTC and their D&D team making exactly ZERO mentions of the upcoming new trilogy is a set of tea leaves in favor of no book coming out at all.

I don't think so. If the novel was coming out shortly, then yes. But since the first novel in the trilogy comes out in 2022, and reasonable folks would want the game book to be released so as to not provide spoilers to the novels, there's no strong call to talk about the game book yet.

 

[Mannahnin]

Just the same, there is also no reason for them not to.

DL is for all intents and purposes a dormant IP right now. And WOTC did the survey - they have far more new players than old ones now with the D&D pop-culture boom.

WOTC can do what it wants to DragonLance, and only a tiny minority will complain.

The only reason to revive a dormant IP is if you think that IP still has value and will appeal to current customers. Part of what makes DL is stuff like no orcs and no gold pieces.

Turning DL into a kitchen sink world is contradictory to the premise. If they just want another kitchen sink world, why bother reviving DL? Just starting a new world from scratch would be easier and avoid ANY backlash from existing fans. Even if you're right that a tiny minority would complain, tiny is still more than zero.

We've seen with Theros that curated worlds are something they're currently willing to do. There are no Elves, Dwarves, or Half-Orcs in that setting. Evidently they think there's a market, so the premise I was disputing, that they have to shoehorn in/include everything, is clearly false.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Transformers is a good example of a forgotten franchise becoming a cash-cow again.

My opinion is Dragonlance is not for the TTRPG but for the fandom who loves to write their own fanfiction.

 

[Burnside]

Nobody ever went broke selling Gen X their own childhood back to them. WotC will re-visit Dragonlance eventually. I just don't see any signs at all that they'll do it in conjunction with some novels they didn't want to see published.

 

[darjr]

Nobody ever went broke selling Gen X their own childhood back to them. WotC will re-visit Dragonlance eventually. I just don't see any signs at all that they'll do it in conjunction with some novels they didn't want to see published.

One person, who was “resigned” and the issue caused by them was resolved.

How is this now “WotC didn’t want the novels”?

They did, and fixed the issue blocking them.

 

[Blue]

Tying the novel and RPG releases together would (quite reasonably) create the expectation of the two being set in the same world, at least for any buyer who doesn't read blog posts from Wizards (which is going to be most of them). If there are noticeable differences, it would complicate the novels' value as a promotional tool, especially if the new novels reference material Wizards is trying to leave behind.

There is nothing prohibiting the books from taking the game material as cannon. In other words, they can 100% work as from the same world.