So… can we talk about what might be the best thing to happen to me in the last decade?
Well, the best thing to happen to me in the last decade after meeting and marrying my person, and my granddaughter being born… but it’s a close third.
Wizards of the Coast released new Dragonlance content!
To the best of my knowledge (and my ability to Google) the last time anything new and Dragonlance related was published was 2010 (the Fate of Thorbardin by Douglas Niles). Not counting the reprint of the Chronicles and Legends.
And the last time anything was published in the Dragonlance game line was in 2006 (Tasslehoff’s Map Pouch collection).
But this year Wizards of the Coast announced both a new Dragonlance Trilogy (written by the original authors Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman) and a new Dragonlance campaign for the Dungeons and Dragons 5E tabletop roleplaying system.
THIS MAKES ME SO GOSH DARN HAPPY!
Discovering Dragonlance was a pivotal moment in my youth. It changed me from someone who despised reading, to someone who couldn’t put books down. It introduced me to tabletop roleplaying games. It brought out the creative and imaginative side in me. I am not exaggerating when I say that before discovering Dragonlance, I was a very different person, and I can’t even imagine the person I would have become had that gate not been opened.
So as an adult I cherish Dragonlance for what it gifted me, and get nostalgic anytime I am introduced to new Dragonlance content.
New Dragonlance Novel: Dragons of Deceit
In August of 2022, with much anticipation, Wizards of the Coast released the first of a new trilogy of Dragonlance novels. Dragons of Deceit, part one of the Dragonlance Destinies trilogy. The new novels are written by our favourite co-author duo, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, who can be credited with the creation of the Dragonlance setting and the core series of Dragonlance novels that followed.
I don’t want to say too much about the new novel, but… it involves the daughter of a fallen Knight, using a magical device last held by a famous Kender, to try and save her father. Fans might know where this is going. It’s a return to the War of the Lance era (the best era), and involves visits to some of your favourite locales (at least one of which is famous for its spiced potatoes).
The two next books, Dragons of Fate and Dragons of Eternity, are assumed to be released in the next couple of years.
New Dragonlance Campaign: Shadow of the Dragon Queen
I’m honestly not sure what makes me more excited… the new trilogy, or the fact that Wizards of the Coast is releasing a new fifth-edition Dragonlance campaign setting.
I’m leaning towards the campaign setting because while the novels allow me to read a new story, the campaign setting allows me to create my own within the Dragonlance setting. And if like me, you ordered the full boxed set, it comes with all the goodies… books, maps, miniatures, and a full Dragonlance board game!
The campaign book includes updates to the setting history, lore, races, and character options in order to work with the modern Dungeons and Dragons 5E system… which is so nice because converting my older 2nd-edition and 3rd-edition setting books was often cumbersome.
Oh, and the antagonist is one of the best-written characters of all time.
The campaign technically releases on 6 Dec 22, but the digital pre-order allowed 2 weeks of early access on DNDBeyond. It is so pretty! The new map is gorgeous. The artwork is phenomenal. I’m going to wait until the boxed set arrives to play the campaign, but I am salivating in anticipation.
I’ll do a full review once it’s in my hands.
The Dragonlance Chronicles and Dragonlance Legends
With all of the above excitement, I would be remiss not to mention that if you want to read one of the best fantasy stories ever written (said with some obvious bias) then you need to start at the beginning.
Written in 1984 by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, the Dragonlance Chronicles introduces you to some of the most memorable characters ever written. The frail red-robed wizard Raistlin, the aspiring knight Sturm Brightblade, the definitely not-a-thief Tasslehoff Burrfoot, and a Gully Dwarf named Bupu who might make you cry – among others, but these are my personal favourites. The story takes place during the War of the Lance on a world recovering from a recently past cataclysmic event.
In the Dragonlance Legends the story continues after the War of the Lance ends (is that a spoiler?). The heroes chase the world’s most powerful black-robed wizard who is on a quest through history to rid himself of a curse and become even more powerfuler (is that a word?). I’m not doing it justice, but seriously, it’s really really good.
I can almost promise you that after you’re done the Legends you’re going to want more. This is perfect as there are 200+ more novels that take place in the Dragonlance setting (though personally, I try to ignore anything related to the “Fifth Age Era”). No, that’s not an exaggeration, and no I’m not going to link them all here, but yes you have a lot of amazing stories ahead of you.