Dragonlance

[Pakur]

Uhm, so...does Dragonlance have any influence on Forgotten Realms or FK? I know that's a broad question but I'm wondering
if Dragonlance is an accurate resource or a resource at all.

[Harroghty]

Dragonlance actually takes place on a different planet (Krynn instead of Abeir-Toril). The two campaign settings do not, so far as I know, overlap.

[Gwain]

Dragonlance was the second or third fantasy world built by TSR back in the 1980's. It followed Greyhawk and Mystara as unique campaign settings in which the game of Dungeons and Dragons or Advanced Dungeons and Dragons could be played. Relatively unique because it was formulated by a single author group and not a variety of writers in its first run, it can be divided into three eras. The first era was the Weiss/Hickman era, that centered on the Heroes of the Lance Story Arc, this was followed by the sequel Twins arch and then the Chaos cycle and War of Souls, the series spans over twenty-five years and wrapped up its main storyline around three years ago. It was very popular in the 1980's and led the way for other fantasy series like the Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Spelljammer and Darksun. Whereas most other campaigns maintained a larger presence on the market as modules, DR always had an emphasis on novelizations. There are over 50 DR books and unlike other series they have remained for the most part as a distinct canon, meaning that very little of the information presented has been altered to reflect changes to game mechanics (Save for the first story arc of the Age of Mortals, which was later fixed)

Does Dragonlance have any emphasis on FR?

FR is much more complex and detailed than Dragonlance, sporting a world twice the size of Krynn, the FR world hosts characters and spell casters with power unseen in the Dragonlance setting. DR is one of the few fantasy worlds not to produce orcs, have dragons that are immune to most conventional attacks or weapons and withhold most conventional d&d races in favour of unique ones. There have been instances of cross-overs, but the for the most part the worlds are unique. Not to mention that spell caster strength is heavily reduced DR in favour of clerical power.

The closest world to FR in my opinion is Greyhawk we share a lot with that setting, though we're still unique from them.

[Pakur]

Now Ravenloft, Spelljammer and Darksun, and Greyhawk; are those related to FR or share any of the same lore? I've recently become interested because I visited my local second hand book exchange store the other day and they only seemed to have TWO Forgotten Realms books ( ) and a ton of Darksun, and a few Dragonlance here and there

[Gwain]

We share some spells that originated in Greyhawk very loosely, and a few cross over deities. Otherwise Greyhawk really was just the foundation of the D&D multiverse. Spelljammer seems to transcend worlds since it involves space travel. Ravenloft is a world where all villians, no matter their world can go and set up shop. Darksun has very little to do with FR. The one I forgot is Planescape, which focuses on the planes and can from time to time involve a variety of worlds.

I'd suggest that unlike fr, you read the dragonlance books in order, since they have a clear storyline from start to finish. I started with the last one in the first series and worked backwards

[Pakur]

lol. I started with Dragons of Autumn, but unfortunately I can't find the continuation in the series at the same book store @_@ Looks like ebay will have to save me. Or amazon. The magic users seem VERY weak in comparison to FR though, but I do like certain aspects and descriptions of how they "feel" and use magic. It's much the same as FR but they're a bit underpowered.

[Zasheir]

Uhm, so...does Dragonlance have any influence on Forgotten Realms or FK? I know that's a broad question but I'm wondering
if Dragonlance is an accurate resource or a resource at all.

Dragonlance books won't make for good references when dealing with FR, and the same probably goes for FK. There have, however, been crossovers. After all, the planes are all connected, permitting creatures from other worlds (or campaign settings) to enter the Forgotten Realms. Oghma and Tyr, celestials and fiends, the Mulhorandi and their gods, and many others came from elsewhere, making them "interlopers."

My personal favorite example of a crossover is, without a doubt, Tymora's Luck. Note the mention of a kender in the description! I rather enjoyed that story myself.

Also, thanks for that summary, Gwain. As someone that has barely ever touched Dragonlance, I found that very informative.

[Pakur]

Yeah, in Dragonlance a kender == halfling... without a doubt XD

[Zasheir]

Yeah, in Dragonlance a kender == halfling... without a doubt XD

You know, I've talked to a few big fans of Dragonlance before, and they swear up and down that kender and halflings are completely different. I don't know who they thought they were kidding.

That book I mentioned featured a few other Dragonlance characters, including the god Sirrion and some mysterious and powerful man that I didn't recognize (sounded like the Dragonlance equivalent of Ao). It definitely gets my recommendation!

[Yvonne]

That throws up a random halfling question... in FK are we using 2e halflings (basically hobbits) or 3e halflings (which look like small humans)?

Character creation and the 'halflings' helpfile seem to suggest the former...