The Dragonlance Canticle Episode 6

[Valharic]

At last, the promised episode about the Heroes of the Lance…well sort of.

As we began the disscusion of - if we could move beyond the HotL, they really became more of a springboard for us to say how we could move forward. Take a listen.
We open the show with a couple announcements about Leaves III and my left ear. The first half is about the HotL the second half is how we feel it should be done. Yes, we are chock-full of opinions on this.

What do you folks think? Can or will we ever move on? If so, how do you see it happening? Let us know either by leaving a comment or joining us for discussion on this thread.

Oh, and by the way, there must have been something in the water that night, because I make a couple of really bad joke. My apologies…well, not really. Enjoy!

[Knight of the WhiteRose]

cool, going to take a listen here in just a min.

[Dragonhelm]

So, two questions to ask you guys in relation to this discussion...

1. Do we need a modern-day intro to Dragonlance (ala Chronicles)?

2. What types of characters would you cast for such a series?

[Tirinel]

why would you want a modern intro? nah, i wouldn't really like that.
No characters if there was one like that. sorry if im a kill joy...

[talinthas]

by modern day, he means current timeline, not cars and taxes.

[Ravenmantle]

Now, I haven't heard the podcast yet (downloading it now) so this may have been mentioned in the Canticle already, but I actually think a new intro trilogy would be a very cool thing. Whether or not it's possible given the immense popularity of the Chronicles, I don't know, but it'd be cool.

In fact, such an intro trilogy would be a perfect time to introduce a new generation of Dragonlance authors or bring some of the current ones to the fore. A great Dragonlance lineup to carry the setting forward might be something like this: Chris Pierson, Lucien Soulban, Cam Banks, Jamie Chambers, Trampas Whiteman, Richard Knaak. I'm probably forgetting some authors...

Which characters would I cast for such a series? Hmm, I think I'd bring in some of the elements that have been added to the setting since the Chronicles, such as the Legion of Steel, sorcerers, mystics, etc. in an effort to make these elements a central part of the setting.

Ravenmantle

[Kranar Drogin]

Hey, this was a good one! Really good. No complaints suggestions or otherwise. Keep up the good work!

[Dr_Teeth]

I just started listening and I have a complaint, Tal and I think its Tal needs to turn his microphone up. Trampas and Val are much louser than Tal. Whenever Tal talks I have to turn the speaker up then someone else talks and I have to turn it down.

[talinthas]

ah. hmm. ok, i'll see what i can do, thank you.

[Dr_Teeth]

The show is winding up and it seems that the volume faded in and out all through it. Do you do the show via telephone? Now I will voice my opinion. I like the Hero's of the Lance, but I agree that Dragons of Dwarven Depths did not feel right. Especially Sturm, he was like an entire differnet person. That is not to say that I didnt like the book, I did and I had always wanted to know how they got the Hammer. But what would be cool is stuff on other things that were going on at the time of the WotL.

As for "new" Heros, it cannot really be done. Everything will always get compared back to the Heros of the Lance, it cannot be avoided. I think a good idea for a change would be to look at what DelRey Books did with the Star Wars series. Bring in a huge name outside author (RA Salvatore) and drive the setting off into a new cycle of books (New Jedi Order). The New Jedi Order for those who have not read the books pushes the characters from Luke Skywalkers Jedi Academy, characters from the young reader books to the forefront. I dont know if any of the Young Dragonlance books are set around the War of Souls, but if they are, the characters are the perfect springboard to a new "core" series of books and storyline.

Great characters are everywhere, the authors just need to know how to think outside the box. My key of destiny game features some very different types: a Gnomish Cleric of Chislev whose Life Quest is to Catalogue every animal or bird(I dont recall which) on Ansalon maybe even Krynn (he is also the defacto leader of the group), another character is a kender who is kinda a Tas clone who wants nothing more to join the Legion of Steel and to bring them to Pashin to free the city from the Dark Knights. The two fighters of the group are a mixed bag, one is a longspear wielder who was struck upon the head by a draconian and now is convinced that Paladine is still a god and it is his duty to let the world know it. The other fighter is a Solamnic Knight wannabe. He comes from a long line of Solamnic Knights, but here's the catch, his father was a Knight of Takhsis. He will have to fight to clear his own name and prov that he is worthy of becoming a Solamnic Knight and that he is not his father. The last character is an elven wizard/archaeologist who hates the gods but is more than willing to use them for his own gains, namely helping his people return home.

Thats 5 dynamic characters with highly varying and different background to them and not a single one is a rip off of one of the Heros of the Lance. My guess is in the long run, the powers that be end up saying, we want characters the fans can relate to or wheres the Tanis?

And for gods sake read the Kingpriest Trilogy. The part Tal talked about still sticks out in my head two years after reading the book. And Pierson's Taladas Trilogy is just as awesome and halfway through it I have to say that Maladar does indeed blow Raistlin's socks off. That cat is pure evil.

Enough rambling now. Please work on the audio issues.

P.S. Master Tall and Master Small is the best short story in Dragonlance :p