Dúnadan said:Despite my attempts to remain a lurker, this topic has forced me to comment. I never played in the actual setting and as such I am indifferent, but in my opinion, the first three (and only) Dragonlance books that I read were the epitome of dumbed-down, childish fantasty stories, with cliched characters, shoddy writing, and, at best, an amateurish attempt at world-building. Perhaps I'm missing the element that has spurned so many of you to love this series, so please enlighten me if this is indeed the case.
Amen. I tried (keyword: "tried") to read the first three DL novels (I'm assuming we're referring to the "Dragons of Summer Flame" series), and thought they read like a badly DM'ed D&D campaign that had been forced into novel format. Someone earlier said that the characters avoided the cliches, and I've gotta disagree there. Let's look at the cast (and I apologize for not remembering their names, it was a while back):
The wizard who has learned things he shouldn't, paid a terrible price for his power, and now refuses to act like a decent human being.
The halfling rogue who just can't keep his hands to himself.
The brooding warrior type.
The exiled princess (correct me if I'm wrong there, that detail is a bit sketchy in my memory).
The grouchy dwarf who complains about everything, but does it anyway.
The half-elf who's at odds with his dual heritage.
Hmmm...sounds pretty cliche to me, no?