Basic Fantasy RPG Forums

So I was browsing a local gaming store near the base when I came across a really nice copy of DL1 Dragons of Despair. Now having heard all sorts of horror stories about the Railroad that is the Dragonlance modules I decided to pick it up and see how it played.

After having read through it fully I have to say its not a bad module. Its mostly free form and includes a hex map of the region the adventure takes place in. Their are numerous paths to get the players to Xak Tsaroth and the time crunch once the Dragonarmies start marching to war seemed like it would be fun to play through in game.

However it is pretty rail-roady in parts. Like the constant reminder the players need to take the crystal staff to the aforementioned ruined city, or how to Dragonarmies are strategically stationed to make sure the PC's can't just run away. Or how the Dragonarmies on the march move across the map in such a way to push the PC's towards the ruins.

Overall I think it would be an interesting adventure to run or take part in (as long as the players are free to create their own PC's), and the setting as presented in the module is easily interesting enough to expand upon.

Anyway I was wondering if anyone has ever had any experience with the setting or the modules, or how you feel about adventures or modules that lead you on as a player.



(Kender rule)

I cannot deal with many aspects of Dragonlance, though many parts are very cool.
I like the Knightly Order, I like the Draconians as bad guys, I like Tiamat/Bahamut based religion. The orders of wizards is a good idea, if a little restrictive.

Don't like injecting too much comedy (all very forced)
gully dwarves - smelly dirty dwarves
tinker gnomes - with wacky stupid tech stuff. Room-sized-device-to-open-a-bottle sort of stuff.
kinder - hate Hate HATE these awful individuals. stealing from comrades as the standard is just stupid and just screams to me "built in party conflict". I have seen a gaming group disband because someone insisted he was just playing the kender correctly.

All might make decent (as in entertaining) literature, but are just awful devices in role-playing games.

Maybe I like Kender because I know they didn't start off as kleptomaniacs. I personally think of them as collecting random stuff they find in their travels, not stealing from party members.

But I share your opinions about the gnomes, it just feels silly imo.

Of the DL modules, DL1 is the best. Get it and run it as a one-shot. If your players really like it, make it into something you like.

Dragonlance is/was meh...until you reach Taladas. That was, in my opinion, the Greyhawk of 2E.

Gnomes (Gnomoi) weren't stupid, they are downright cool in Taladas. With their citadels on the burning sea...they just rocked. The Minoi (tinker gnomes) are there, but are a subclass of gnomes and are just as stupid...but are kept in check 100% by Gnomoi. Easy to just say they are a died out race on Taladas.

Marak Kender are still a bit dumb, but not nearly dumb as the ones in Ansalon. And it's easy enough to make a change as a DM to remove pilfering tendencies.

Minotaurs are awesome. Imperial and majestic. They rock.

Bakali (lizard men) are awesome. I fondly remember my Bakali Fighter who had a pet falcon. He was awesome.

You can even play goblins and ogres. What's great about Taladas is that you don't have to allow ogres, goblins, or the Tinker class from the main DL book. Just don't allow them and you've got a great setting.

The setting never really took off...but it had loads of possibilities. We played it for a summer and loved it. If I were running it now, I'd do the above suggestions, avoiding goblins and ogres as playable races...but keeping minotaurs and bakali.

I really don't think there is anything with a bit of railroading... It really depends on the players..

Urieal wrote:Of the DL modules, DL1 is the best. Get it and run it as a one-shot. If your players really like it, make it into something you like.

After having just read Dragons of Flame, Hope, and Desolation I agree whole heart-idly. DL1 might not be perfect but at least it gives you reasonable options of where to go and what to do (even if it does push you towards one goal). The others? Man, fasten your seat-belts we are in for one hell of a rail-road ride!

DL1 might just be worth looking at in the future, you would just have to think of someway of continuing its "story" armies of dragonmen, dragons, goblins and their evil Cleric leader just don't disappear over night after all.

Dragonlance is/was meh...until you reach Taladas. That was, in my opinion, the Greyhawk of 2E.

Gnomes (Gnomoi) weren't stupid, they are downright cool in Taladas. With their citadels on the burning sea...they just rocked. The Minoi (tinker gnomes) are there, but are a subclass of gnomes and are just as stupid...but are kept in check 100% by Gnomoi. Easy to just say they are a died out race on Taladas.

Marak Kender are still a bit dumb, but not nearly dumb as the ones in Ansalon. And it's easy enough to make a change as a DM to remove pilfering tendencies.

Minotaurs are awesome. Imperial and majestic. They rock.

Bakali (lizard men) are awesome. I fondly remember my Bakali Fighter who had a pet falcon. He was awesome.

You can even play goblins and ogres. What's great about Taladas is that you don't have to allow ogres, goblins, or the Tinker class from the main DL book. Just don't allow them and you've got a great setting.

The setting never really took off...but it had loads of possibilities. We played it for a summer and loved it. If I were running it now, I'd do the above suggestions, avoiding goblins and ogres as playable races...but keeping minotaurs and bakali.

Alright I will check this out, it sounds interesting.

Yes, the 1e DL campaign is railroady. It was also the first published campaign with an overarching theme (and based on three novels), so I think it's really easy to forgive it. I have the whole campaign and the following 15th anniversary edition and some of the d20 books. The combination of the the 1e campaign and the 2e end-of-chapter notes for when the pcs go "off story" would make for an awesome campaign.

--Ray.