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Dungeons & Dragons fictional campaign setting

Dragonlance is a shared universe created by Laura and Tracy Hickman, and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR, Inc. into a series of fantasy novels. The Hickmans conceived Dragonlance while driving in their car on the way to TSR for a job interview. Tracy Hickman met his future writing partner Margaret Weis at TSR, and they gathered a group of associates to play the Dungeons & Dragons role playing game. The adventures during that game inspired a series of gaming modules, a series of novels, licensed products such as board games, and lead miniature figures. In 1984, TSR published the first Dragonlance game module, Dragons of Despair, and the first novel, Dragons of Autumn Twilight. The novel began the Chronicles trilogy, a core element of the Dragonlance world. While the authoring team of Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis wrote the setting's central books, numerous other authors contributed novels, short stories and game supplements to the setting. Over 190 novels have used the Dragonlance setting; the Dragonlance campaign setting has also been used for multiple editions of Dungeons & Dragons and for the SAGA System. Following Wizards of the Coast's acquisition of TSR in 1997, Wizards licensed Dragonlance to Margaret Weis's company Sovereign Press to produce game materials; this licensing agreement ran from 2001 to 2007. Dragonlance returned in 2022 with a new adventure module and the start of a new novel trilogy. The fictional Dragonlance world of Krynn contains numerous characters, an extensive timeline, and a detailed geography. The history of Krynn consists of five ages. The novels and related game products are primarily set in the fourth age, The Age of Despair. Since the publication of Dragonlance: Fifth Age in 1996, the fifth age, the Age of Mortals, has been used. The Heroes of the Lance, created by Weis and Hickman, are the popular protagonists of the Chronicles trilogy. Along with D&D world of the Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance is one of the most popular shared worlds in fiction.

Hickman developed his world creation technique by writing and self publishing with his wife Laura the adventure modules Rahasia (1979) and Pharaoh (1980), and writing TSR's Ravenloft module (1983). He was unemployed in 1982, and TSR offered him a job based on his submission of several modules. Hickman became the design coordinator for Project Overlord, the cover name for what would later be known as the Dragonlance saga. TSR decided to create a franchise, including modules, board games, lead figures, and for the first time novels. Weis had been hired as an editor; with Hickman, she began working with the author hired to write the novels. They weren't satisfied with the author, and decided they should be the ones to write the books. TSR had doubts about the finished novel's sales potential, and attempted to order thirty thousand copies, ultimately ordering the minimum print run of fifty thousand. The success of the novel prompted TSR to publish more copies to meet demand. Dragonlance received support products such as novels, calendars, computer games, and books of artwork.

In the mid to late 1980s, a rift developed between TSR and the authors. Weis and Hickman were feeling under appreciated and, when TSR turned down their Darksword series of novels, they went to Bantam Books. Bantam made them an offer, which they accepted, and they stopped writing Dragonlance novels for TSR. The central books of the Dragonlance series were written by the authoring team of Weis and Hickman, but many other writers have made contributions, including Richard A. Knaak, Douglas Niles, Roger E. Moore, Don Perrin, Jean Rabe, Paul B. Thompson, Tonya C. Cook, Michael Williams, Nancy Varian Berberick, and Chris Pierson. In 2001, Wizards of the Coast licensed Sovereign Press to publish further Dragonlance game materials. This began with the newly revised Dragonlance Campaign Setting in 2003, which used the new Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition rules. In October 2020, Weis and Hickman filed suit against Wizards of the Coast for breaching a licensing deal with Weis and Hickman for a new Dragonlance novel trilogy. Boing Boing reported that "according to the lawsuit, Weis and Hickman agreed with Wizards of the Coast to produce the new novels in 2017, capping off the series and giving fans a final sendoff, but the company pulled the plug in August 2020". In December, Weis and Hickman filed to voluntarily dismiss without prejudice their lawsuit, and "the filing noted that Wizards of the Coast had not formally answered their lawsuit, nor had they filed for a summary judgement". Weis and Hickman's publishing agent affirmed a few weeks following this that a new trilogy of Dragonlance novels was in the works; the first of the new trilogy was released in August 2022. In December 2022, the first Dragonlance adventure module, titled Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen, for 5th Edition was released. The module is set during the War of the Lance; Wizards of the Coast has stated that the module does not require prior knowledge of the setting or the novels to play the module. An integrated board game, titled Dragonlance: Warriors of Krynn, was released in 2023, designed by Stephen Baker and Rob Daviau. Dragonlance: Warriors of Krynn is a wargame that focuses on military battles during the War of the Lance. Both games can be played independently, but the adventure module includes rules for using the board game to resolve the military battles that occur in the narrative. In March 2022, Wizards released the PDF Heroes of Krynn which is part of the "Unearthed Arcana" public playtest series for the 5th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons. Polygon commented that this "all but confirmed" the return of the Dragonlance setting. The setting was revisited in December 2022 with a new adventure module for the 5th Edition.

The main storyline of the original Dragonlance series has been written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, with multiple books written by other authors, covering years between and sometimes during the main events. The Chronicles trilogy relates the events since the meeting of the Companions until the end of the War of the Lance and the defeat of the Dragon armies of Ansalon. The Lost Chronicles trilogy is a companion to the original Chronicles. Each book of the trilogy fills in sections of the story previously left untold. It tells the story surrounding the recovery of the Hammer of Kharas, how the Companions retrieve the dragon orb from Ice Wall, how Kitiara Uth Matar and Lord Soth became allies, and how Raistlin Majere took the Black Robes in Neraka. The Legends trilogy covers the Blue Lady's War, as well as the past adventures of Raistlin and Caramon Majere, culminating in Raistlin's attempt to achieve godhood. The books feature time travel, and focus on events in Istar before the Cataclysm, as well as the ensuing Dwarfgate Wars. The Second Generation is a single compilation book which picks the most important tales from the Tales series and details the children of the Companions, all of whom become players in the later story. This book is considered to be part of the main storyline, as it must be read to understand the events that happened between the War of the Lance and the Chaos War. This novel develops characters that would later be seen in the War of Souls trilogy. Dragons of Summer Flame covers the Chaos War, also known as the Second Cataclysm. The gods and mortals join forces to defeat Chaos in his attempt to destroy Krynn. The war ends with the withdrawal of Chaos and the gods of Krynn in a divine agreement to keep the world safe. Dragons in the Archives: The Best of Weis and Hickman Anthology is another compilation of short stories which were previously published in other anthologies. These stories take place at different points of time in the world of Krynn. This book provides backstory to some of the characters and situations presented in the War of Souls trilogy. The War of Souls trilogy begins as a strange storm courses through Krynn, heralding the War of Souls. The end of the war brings the return of the gods, Takhisis's death, and the departure of Paladine as head of the good gods in order to maintain the balance between Good and Evil. The Dark Disciple trilogy follows the death of Takhisis and the departure of Paladine, when the lesser gods strive to maintain dominance.

Eight video games are set in the Dragonlance world. They belong to six different genres and were released within five years, from 1988 to 1992. DL01 Dragons of Despair and DL02 Dragons of Flame (corresponding to the events in the first novel, Dragons of Autumn Twilight) were adapted into the video games Heroes of the Lance and Dragons of Flame, respectively. Instead of being role playing video games, they are platform games using the Silver Box game engine. DL03 Dragons of Hope and DL04 Dragons of Desolation (corresponding to the events between the first and the second novel) were adapted into the video game Shadow Sorcerer. Released in 1991, this early real time strategy game is a direct sequel to the first two games and a prequel to War of the Lance (1989). DL11 Dragons of Glory is a self contained tabletop strategy game (corresponding to the events in the background of the third novel, Dragons of Spring Dawning) that was adapted into the turn based strategy game War of the Lance. DragonStrike is a 1990 combat flight simulation game whose plot begins halfway through the previous video game. The 1992 NES remake is a scrolling shooter that features an ending different from the one in the novels, but following and fixing a "bad ending" from DL14 Dragons of Triumph. Neither game is based directly on any tabletop module. The Gold Box trilogy (Champions of Krynn, Death Knights of Krynn, and The Dark Queen of Krynn) are the only role playing video games based on Dragonlance. They tell an original story that begins shortly after the events in the 14 tabletop modules. Apart from those, the MUSH game DragonLance is based on Krynn during the final stage of the War of the Lance.

The series has inspired mention in music as well, including "Wishmaster", a song by Nightwish based partially on the master and apprentice relationship between Raistlin Majere and Dalamar. The Swedish metal band Lake of Tears also recorded a song called "Raistlin and the Rose" on their 1997 album Crimson Cosmos, while the German group Blind Guardian wrote "The Soulforged", another song inspired by Raistlin's story, which appeared on the band's 2002 album A Night at the Opera. Also Danish/American band Pyramaze recorded in their 2008 album Immortal song "Caramon's Poem". Another German metal band, Evertale, released The Chronicles Chapter I EP in 2008 and the full album Of Dragons And Elves in 2013 both releases were composed entirely of songs inspired by and relating to Dragonlance. Yet another German metal band, Pegasus, bases all its material on the Dragonlance mythos. A Russian concept album (2009 2010) and musical (premiered 2014) based on Raitslin's story, The Last Trial, was created by Anton Kruglov and Yelena Khanpira. In 2008, Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight, an animated film based on the first Dragonlance book of the same name, was released direct to video. The animation was produced by Toonz Animation, and featured the voices of Lucy Lawless, Kiefer Sutherland, Michael Rosenbaum, and Michelle Trachtenberg. In late 2011, Holysoft Studios Ltd. released the first part of a German audio adaption of the Chronicles Trilogy, with subsequent releases of the later trilogies being announced. In comics, Krynn has been represented on the 1988 Dragonlance series by DC Comics and TSR. More recently, Devil's Due Publishing and Wizards of the Coast have also produced a number of comic book series: The Legend of Huma (2003), Chronicles (2005) and Legends (2008).

The Dragonlance world is described in dozens of books and novels. The setting contains numerous characters, an extensive timeline, and a detailed geography.

Dragonlance is set on the world of Krynn. The majority of the novels take place in the various regions of Ansalon, a small continent, though some have taken place on the continent of Taladas, located northeast of Ansalon. The world's major gods are the High God and his children: good Paladine, neutral Gilean, and evil Takhisis. The gods are opposed by Chaos, who seeks to destroy Krynn. Depending on the time period, the evil chromatic and the good metallic dragons are rare or plentiful. Humans are Krynn's most common humanoid race, but elves, dwarves, kender, gnomes, and minotaurs occupy the world as well. Clerics derive magical powers from their gods, and wizards derive their power from the three moon gods, good Solinari, neutral Lunitari, and evil Nuitari. Hickman had previously served as a Mormon missionary in Java for two years, and uses Indonesian in Dragonlance spells. Later Age of Mortals novels and game supplements took Krynn into the Fifth Age (the Age of Mortals).

Dragonlances are weapons first created in the Third Dragon War, designed with the purpose of killing evil dragons, and are the only weapons with which mortals who cannot use magic can kill dragons. Dragonlances have this power because of the way in which they are created, which requires the use of "two god blessed artifacts". Dragonlances are rare and not commonly traded. There are lesser dragonlances, which are made when only one of the artifacts is used to create them, and greater dragonlances, which are made when both artifacts are used to make them. Greater dragonlances are blessed with the power of Good, unlike lesser dragonlances. There are two sizes of dragonlance. The smaller footman's dragonlance is around eight feet long and functions as a polearm, while the larger mounted dragonlance is around sixteen feet long and most commonly used when mounted on a dragon.

The Heroes of the Lance are the protagonists of the Chronicles trilogy, the first series of Dragonlance books. They were created by Weis and Hickman, then fleshed out as player characters in gaming sessions of Dungeons & Dragons at Hickman's apartment. One player at this initial gaming session was game designer Terry Phillips, who was playing as Raistlin. According to Hickman in the foreword to The Soulforge, "[we] were just settling in to the game when I turned to my good friend Terry Phillips and asked what his character was doing. Terry spoke and the world of Krynn was forever changed. His rasping voice, his sarcasm and bitterness all masking an arrogance and power that never needed to be stated suddenly were real. Everyone in the room was both transfixed and terrified. To this day Margaret [Weis] swears that Terry wore the black robes to the party that night". In a "Traveling Road Show" put on to publicize the novels, the Heroes of the Lance were played by various people. Authors Gary and Janet Pack played the half elf Tanis Half Elven and the kender Tasslehoff Burrfoot, respectively. Author Douglas Niles played the dwarf Flint Fireforge. TSR employee Harold Johnson played the Solamnic knight Sturm Brightblade. The rest of the Heroes are the barbarians Goldmoon and Riverwind, elf Laurana Kanan, and humans Caramon Majere (Raistlin's brother) and Tika Waylan. Weis played Fizban the Fabulous. Other noteworthy antagonists, and sometimes protagonists, are the Death Knight Lord Soth and Kitiara Uth Matar, the half sister of Raistlin and Caramon, and leader of one of the Dragonarmies of Ansalon. According to Hickman, Lord Soth is the most unpredictable character to write about: "Every time that character made an appearance in one of our books he would try to run off with the story".

The world of Dragonlance is set on the planet of Krynn, with most of the action taking place on the continent of Ansalon. Some of the key countries and areas on Ansalon are the Plains of Dust, Solamnia with its great metropolis, Palanthas, the Blood Sea Isles, the Empire of Ergoth, Istar, and Sancrist, the elven kingdom of Silvanesti, as well as the dwarven realm of Thorbardin. Important cities and towns and other locations include Solace (location of the Inn of the Last Home, and Sad Town), the High Clerist's Tower, Palanthas, Kendermore, Port Balifor (location of the Pig and Whistle Tavern), and the various Towers of High Sorcery.

Like in many Dungeons & Dragons campaign settings, the fictional world of the Dragonlance campaign is shaped by the division by race, with white humans as the central focus, but also including elves, goblins, and many others. With the species in many cases clearly assigned to "good" and "evil", some critics have suggested that the setting had the potential to raise racist expectations. The first Dragonlance trilogy, Chronicles, launched the Dungeons & Dragons line of novels, with many of its characters spun off into other novels. Along with Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance is TSR's most popular series of novels. According to The 1990s by Marc Oxoby, what is most notable about the series is that "what may at one time been considered disposable, escapist literature" found "unprecedented popularity" in the 1990s. Every Dragonlance novel by Weis and Hickman since 1995 has been released in hardcover, and some previous novels have been re released in hardcover collector's editions. Dragonlance made TSR one of the most successful publishers of science fiction and fantasy in the 1990s. By 2008, there were more than 190 novels in the Dragonlance franchise. Weis and Hickman's Dragonlance novels have made over twenty bestseller lists, with sales in excess of 22 million. Visions of Wonder, edited by David G. Hartwell and Milton T. Wolf, and published by the Science Fiction Research Association, argues that Dragonlance is published under the "omnivore theory" of publishing. In this theory, the readership is made up of teenagers, and completely replaces itself every three to five years. This allows publishers to release subpar novels and still reach a small yet profitable audience.