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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lord Zardoz" data-source="post: 4807458" data-attributes="member: 704">As a gaming setting, Dragonlance has its flaws.  However, there are plenty of things it got right.-- Great Iconic Campaign Elements specific to the setting:  As a quick list, the setting gave us Lord Soth, Astinus of Palanthas, Knights of Solamnia, Orders of High Sorcery, the Dragonlance artifacts, Frost Reavers, Flying Citidels, Blood Sea of Istar, also Minotaurs as a PC race.-- Strong world history:  You have a few dragon wars and the fall if Istar to work with for campaign hooks.-- Great use of stock D&D archtypes:  You are given Elves and Dwarves with Silvanesti, Qualinesti, Thorbardin.  They are familiar enough as a campaign trope, but they do stand out enough from the classic cliche's.-- Draconians:  My favorite setting specific monster.  I like the idea of monsters that can be dangerous to kill, and I love the flavor text that goes with them.-- Popular setting fiction:  If you do not like the fiction, then this is not a bonus.  But the fiction is popular enough that you have a good chance of having players in your game recognize the significance of finding a spell book belonging to Fistandantilus.There are drawbacks though.-- Not enough 'active' villians.  At the end of War of the Lance, there really is not a whole lot left to do that can make the players feel important.  You can create your own villains in the world of course, but the lack is felt.  Forgotten Realms catches alot of flack for Uber NPC's who can save the world instead of your players.  But at least you have very many organizations you can use for villains that are active.  Red Wizards of Thay, the Zhentarium, the Cult of the Dragon, Dark elves from Menzobaranzan, and more.-- Badly handled product line.  You have the 2nd Cataclysm which set us up for the  SAGA debacle.  Then you later get a War of Souls which acts as an obvious RetCon.-- Creation of potentially annoying Tropes.  Tinker Gnomes, Kender, and Gully Dwarves are not well liked by most DM's.-- Narrowly defined world.  Do you know what Nordmaar is?  In general, if a particular part of the world was not directly used in the original adventures or in the novels, it is not well developed.-- Imperfect Pantheon.  Thematically, Paldine, Takhisis, Mishakal, Gilean, Reorx, and the Gods of Magic are well done.  Kiri-Jolith, Sargonnas, Hiddukel, Chemosh, and Morgion are adequate but not that great.  But then you have a bunch of rather boring gods in the pantheon that seem to be there just to fill out the numbers.END COMMUNICATION</blockquote>

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