Gigaboot.dk

Wizards announce D&D 5th edition

2012-01-15T10:48:00.001-08:00

As you may have read in the New York Times, it’s an exciting time for Dungeons & Dragons. We are happy to announce today that we are developing the next iteration of D&D, and will be looking to the legions of D&D fans to help shape the future of the game along with us.

Our mission is to ensure that D&D enters its next 40 years as a vibrant, growing, and exciting game. By listening to the needs of the D&D community, we can meet this goal. As part of our increased efforts to engage with the player-base, we launched a series of weekly articles in early 2011, including Rule of Three and Legends & Lore, to give you a voice in our work. We’ve listened to both praise and criticism from all D&D fans, regardless of their edition of choice, and we’ll continue to do so.

That is why we are excited to share with you that starting in Spring 2012, we will be taking this process one step further and conducting ongoing open playtests with the gaming community to gather feedback on the new iteration of the game as we develop it. With your feedback and involvement, we can make D&D better than ever. We seek to build a foundation for the long-term health and growth of D&D, one rooted in the vital traits that make D&D unique and special. We want a game that rises above differences of play styles, campaign settings, and editions, one that takes the fundamental essence of D&D and brings it to the forefront of the game. In short, we want a game that is as simple or complex as you please, its action focused on combat, intrigue, and exploration as you desire. We want a game that is unmistakably D&D, but one that can easily become your D&D, the game that you want to run and play.

D&D is more than just a set of rules for fantasy gaming. It launched an entire gaming genre and played a pivotal role in creating the entirety of the gaming industry, both analog and digital. The game has lived and thrived because it has awoken a spark of creation, visions of daring adventure, wondrous vistas, and untold horrors that pull us all together as a community of RPG fans. It is the countless players and DMs who have brought it to life over the years. The game is at its best when it is yours.

For that reason, we want your participation. The goals we have set for ourselves are by no means trivial or easy. By involving you in this process, we can build a set of D&D rules that incorporate the wants and desires of D&D gamers around the world. We want to create a flexible game, rich with options for players and DMs to embrace or reject as they see fit, a game that brings D&D fans together rather than serves as one more category to splinter us apart.

We have begun obtaining feedback from a limited Friends & Family playtest consisting of internal employees and their gaming groups and soon we will be expanding that group to consist of members from our existing body of playtesters. Then at the D&D Experience convention in late January, Wizards of the Coast will conduct a special playtest of ideas currently in development. The D&D Experience will be moving to Gen Con in 2013, so as a convention special this year, we will be offering show attendees a first-look at a draft of the new set of rules. Then beginning sometime in the spring, we will begin open playtesting. Through our web site, we will release a growing set of rules, classes, monsters and other materials for your study and feedback. We seek to reach as many people as possible, from the gamer who just started with D&D last week to the gaming group that has been together since the early-1970s. For this process to work, we want to give a voice to all D&D fans and players of all previous editions of the game.

The next year is going to be an exciting one. There is a lot of work to be done, and I’m hoping you have the time, energy, and inclination to pitch in. We sure hope you do, as we seek to make gaming history by shaping the future of D&D, together. If you would like to sign up today to be notified when the playtest is beginning and how you can participate, click here:

I think it is encouraging that Wizards still think that it makes sense to release a new edition of D&D, however, I keep remaining a little skeptic about this, because of the dwindling number of users/followers of traditional role playing games. Perhaps it is time to realize that RPGs as we knew them are dead, and the future is in computer games or online games.

Of course, I hope that I am wrong, it wouldn’t be the first time. I would be thrilled if we saw a reboot of interest in RPGs across the board so to speak, because it is a lot of fun to play and because it offers users a chance to use their minds as opposed to put it on stand by and jut have it bombarded with digital input.

It does fill with a sense of hope though. As I prepare to leave the world of Dragonlance a tiny flicker of hope presents itself. Do we dare hope that someone will breathe new life into Dragonlance? I guess it matters little anymore.

Update: Wired has an article on the new edition. There is a lot comments worth reading, which really surprised me.

The end is nigh

2012-01-14T09:39:00.001-08:00

I know it sounds pretty gloomy, but it is not meant that way at all. As you probably gathered from my last post, I am putting this blog hiatus, probably forever, but since I have had so much fun writing this thing, I thought I would go through my old stuff and publish it here. Who knows, maybe someone can actually use it for something.

Anyway, I posted a piece I started some years ago about thieves guilds, which I intended to use in my Daltigoth campaign. The idea was that the guilds were an important part of the conflicts on Anasalon, all vying for control and power among all the players in the conflict.

I imagined that the conflict would be a little bit more intricate than what we have normally seen in Dragonlance. I felt that having a more politically charged campaign would be a perfect lead up to a regional war would the players better feeling for why things happened and who was the primary movers and shakers. I envisioned a conflict brought on by greed and the search for monetary and political power and so much a conflict driven by Takhisis’s desire to return to the world. Of course there would be godly interests behind many of the powers that participated in the struggle, however, they were not the main focal point of the campaign. An added benefit was that it would allow me to introduce the other gods, and have them act according to their own interests. Alas, it never came to fruition, but that doesn’t mean that nobody can use the idea.

I have uploaded most of the stuff I ever wrote, or rather, I have uploaded must of the stuff that is worth uploading. I have a lot written in Danish, but I doubt I will ever translate it, and I see little point in uploading Danish texts.

I noticed that Wizards are going to create a new version of D&D, so I will take a look at that when the time is right.

Thieves guilds of Ansalon

2012-01-14T03:49:00.001-08:00

Most of the major cities of Ansalon have at least one thing in common – they all have one or more thieves’ guilds. These guilds operate on the wrong side of the law but in spite of this, some of them serve an important purpose when it comes to the every day life in the city.

Unlike other organizations such as the Wizards of High Sorcery, these guilds are independent of each other, meaning that there is no centralized governing body. Some of the guilds maintain some sort of contact with their fellow thieves whereas others jealously guard their territory. History has documented covert battles between rivaling thieves’ guilds and even infighting and power struggles have occurred.

Some of the older guilds practice a strict hierarchical system of government, which appears to ensure a certain measurement of stability. Some guild masters have even assumed legitimate positions of power such as Talbard van Ashen of Daltigoth who is one of the directing oligarchs. In Palanthas the guild is mostly involved in the covert warfare between the merchant houses, always finding rich rewards for a job well done.

In the smaller towns scattered across Ansalon, the guilds are usually very small and fairly insignificant in relation to the power structure. Many thieves residing in these small towns have been banned from the bigger cities for various reasons, thus, they fear for their own safety. Great deals of these thieves are rather paranoid and usually work under a false name.

The Guild of Palanthas

The Palanthas guild is headed by the master Dantrag Nenshen who has been the guild master for almost two decades. During his rule, the guild has experienced prosperity like never before, but at a cost.

When the trade wars started the guild was hired to by both sides as spies and there was work enough for anybody who wanted it. However, as the conflict escalated the jobs became more and more dangerous. The defining moment happened when a group of master thieves were hired to break into the manor of Mordread Gemerald. This was the first time a head of a merchant house was targeted but the operation was deemed fairly safe nevertheless. When the party did not return the guild master assumed that they had fled town with their bounty, however, the next night he found out what had happened to them. The mutilated bodies of the master thieves were found in the inner chambers of the guild with a small note attached to it: “Thus is the fate of ye who are found in forbidden realms”. Since that night, the guild has not officially accepted any contracts directly involving the headquarters of the merchant houses.

The biggest problem for the guild is that Dantrag Nenshen might find himself in a position where he has to pick sides in the trade war. He is reluctant to do this but given the power of the houses he may not have a choice. If Nenshen picks one house over the other, he will certainly incur the wrath of the opposing house and most likely the destruction of the guild. Therefore, he attempts to tread a narrow path of neutrality. He is currently considering denying both of the houses the services of the guild but he fears that this may result in an unending enmity of both houses.

At the same time, Dantrag Nenshen fears for his own safety. Reliable intelligence suggests that one or more of the merchant houses plan on replacing him with someone loyal to their cause. Dantrag has not succumbed to paranoia yet, but he has tightened security and he is never seen in public without armed escorts. He has employed the services of several medium ranked mages to ensure his safety, but he does not feel secure behind their magical wards and protective spells.

Besides being involved in the trade wars, the guild has various operations in Palanthas. The thieves control a large part of the gambling facilities as well as many taverns and inns. They also run contraband, which is dangerous, because the merchants lose money in account of this practice. The guild is also involved in blackmail and prostitution as well as smuggling – a practice greatly appreciated by the local mages. The guild can provide pretty much anything for the right price. Lastly, the thieves’ guild is associated with the assassins’ guild.

The Guild of Daltigoth

The guild in Daltigoth is the second largest in Ansalon. It is also the youngest guild, given that the Free City of Daltigoth, in its present state, has only been around for a few years. Ever since the last bloody battle of Daltigoth, when the ogres were slaughtered, the influence of the guild has slowly but steadily increased.

The reason why the guild has been so successful is due to the acceptance of its existence by the ruling oligarchs. The guild master, Talbard van Ashen, has even managed to merit an invitation to join the directing oligarchs, thus, becoming one of the rulers of the free city. The lords of Daltigoth believe the guild is a necessary part of the city’s structure. This does not mean that the city guard does not try to catch the thieves, but rather that the lords have a use for the rogues.

One thing that limits the power and influence of the guild is the internal power struggle that plagues the organization. Despite being a directing oligarch, Talbard van Ashen is constantly being challenged by ambitious thieves who crave his position of power. Due to his position as a directing oligarch, Talbard will most likely be forced to resign as guild master within a year or so. Since his membership of the guild is a secret he feels the stress is beginning to wear him down and he cannot resist the challengers for the guild leadership forever. Talbard’s own ambition leads him in the direction of the position of the Lord Mayor of Daltigoth. Currently, he is reluctant to challenge Richard Baglortin because he feels he cannot match the backing the Lord Mayor receives from the city’s leading mages, including the arch mage Mordread Gemerald.

Here we go again

2011-12-18T06:50:00.001-08:00

So, it has been a very long time since I blogged, and to be honest, it has been on purpose. See, a couple of months ago I had my DM over for a visit, and when I say “over” I mean he was back from the US for a couple of days.

Well we hung out like old times and I quickly came to realize that everything we had together in terms of role playing games was gone. We have both gone our separate ways and we no longer share the same common frame of reference.

And that’s when I dawned on me, I think I am finally done with RPGs. I mean, I have no one to play with, and even if I did I wonder if I would actually do it. Perhaps I have lived in the past for many years now, hoping for the return of something that is irrevocably dead.

Without getting too whiney or sentimental, I am putting this blog on hiatus. I will not delete the contents, but the domain name is going to die in about six months, since I am not going to renew it. The Gigaboot name was a joke with my old friend based on a campaign in Glantri, but since that is all in the past and can never be restored I will let it slip away.

Paizo Dragonlance sale

2011-08-28T05:46:00.001-07:00

Paizo has a sale on all their Dragonlance stuff. Check it out here.

Currently reading

2011-07-24T05:41:00.001-07:00

Well, I have finally gotten my filthy hands on a variety of Dragonlance rulebooks for the 3.5 D&D system, and I have also read them faster than you can say Black robed wizard. So what does an RPG geek do?

I have stated looking into Warhammer 40K. My sister’s boyfriend works for Games Workshop, so he got me a couple of novels, so I have started reading the Eisenhorn trilogy. The Warhammer universe is pretty new to me, and I have never played the game either, which is pretty nice, since I am discovering everything for the first time.

As far as I can tell, the timeline is not quite as developed as the Dragonlance world, but it has a lot of really cool aspects, such as Space Marines, Daemonhosts etc.

For the time being, I am sticking to the books I have burrowed, but I just might have found myself a new addiction.

Just got Holy Orders of the Stars

2011-06-04T04:33:00.001-07:00

Well, actually I got it the other day, but the weather here has been so good that I haven’t really been online.

So anyway, I am on a quest to buy all the Dragonlance books that Margaret Weis Publishing did a couple of years ago and next in line was Holy Orders of the Stars. I found it on Amazon and paid a whopping £ 1.94. Yes sir, it was that cheap. Shipping and handling made a little more expensive, but all in all I paid around £ 7.

As usual, the quality of the book is astounding. The work is top notch and the authors have bridged a lot of different aspects of Dragonlance, and turned otherwise confusing elements into a coherent representation of the pantheon and religion of Krynn.

If I had a gaming group, this book would be very useful. Hat tip to the authors.

Just got Dragonlance campaign setting

2011-03-26T15:35:00.001-07:00

Amazon finally sent me my copy of the Dragonlance Campaign setting. Actually, it didn’t take them that long, but since I have been a little impatient, I felt like it took forever. Anyway, I paid £ 5 for a brand spanking new copy, so that was a really good price.

The last couple of weeks I have been exploring the 5th Age setting. Originally I really disliked what they did with Dragonlance after Dragons of Summer Flame, but since the world more or less returned to normal, I figured I would give it a shot. And I am glad I did, even if it is about five years too late.

I am still not a fan of the way the world was stolen, but I think the setting might actually have benefitted from the reset. It seems that there is a lot more opportunity now to create themes that are not adhering to a strict Dragonlance code, and since the two major deities are gone, it is much easier to explore the rest of the pantheon. I particularly like how the gods are not quite as grouped as they were before.

My plan is to update some of my later writings, so they fit the Age of Mortals, and use these for the basis of my new campaign with the gang. Hopefully we will start in May, but things have gone wrong before. I will post whatever I write here on the blog, so if that ever happens feel free to tell me what you think.

The Hobbit starts filming

2011-03-22T05:06:00.001-07:00

Via TheOneRing.net

In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit…

Wellington, NZ, March 21, 2011—Production has commenced in Wellington, New Zealand, on “The Hobbit,” filmmaker Peter Jackson’s two film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s widely read masterpiece.

“The Hobbit” is set in Middle-earth 60 years before Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings,” which Jackson and his filmmaking team brought to the big screen in the blockbuster trilogy that culminated with the Oscar-winning “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.”

The two films, with screenplays by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson, will be shot consecutively in digital 3D using the latest camera and stereo technology. Filming will take place at Stone Street Studios, Wellington, and on location around New Zealand.

“The Hobbit” follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakensheild. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers.

Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever … Gollum.

Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s “precious” ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities … A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.

Martin Freeman takes the title role as Bilbo Baggins and Ian McKellen returns in the role of Gandalf the Grey. The Dwarves are played by Richard Armitage (Thorin Oakenshield), Ken Stott (Balin), Graham McTavish (Dwalin), William Kircher (Bifur) James Nesbitt (Bofur), Stephen Hunter (Bombur), Rob Kazinsky (Fili), Aidan Turner (Kili), Peter Hambleton (Gloin), John Callen (Oin), Jed Brophy (Nori), Mark Hadlow (Dori) and Adam Brown (Ori). Reprising their roles from “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy are Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, Andy Serkis as Gollum and Elijah Wood as Frodo. Jeffrey Thomas and Mike Mizrahi also join the cast as Dwarf Kings Thror and Thrain, respectively. Further casting announcements are expected.

“The Hobbit” is produced by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, alongside Carolynne Cunningham. Executive producers are Ken Kamins and Zane Weiner, with Philippa Boyens as co-producer. The Oscar-winning, critically acclaimed “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, also from the production team of Jackson and Walsh, grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide at the box office. In 2003, “The Return of the King” swept the Academy Awards, winning all of the 11 categories in which it was nominated, including Best Picture – the first ever Best Picture win for a fantasy film. The trilogy’s production was also unprecedented at the time.

Read more here

Very nice indeed :-)

New Chronicles cover

2011-03-16T00:35:00.001-07:00

I was surfing Amazon the other day in search for Dragonlance books, when noticed a new cover for the Dragonlance Chronicles. As far as I can tell, this is the cover for the omnibus edition, which apparently is being rereleased.

It seems that there is still money to made off of Dragonlance, and that gives hope. Maybe one day Wizards will start producing new material. Or even better, maybe Margaret Weis will be able to acquire the license. One can always hope

Opening the goodie box

2011-03-14T07:09:00.001-07:00

I was close to popping a hernia yesterday when I brought in my big box of D&D. For a while now, I have been contemplating bring the whole library back into the house, and yesterday was the day when I finally did it. So, as of today my office now holds all my old D&D material plus other assorted goodies.

the idea is that I will start gaming again with my old group, and based on those sessions I might be able to actually start posting to the blog again.

Getting the band back together

2011-01-10T03:32:00.001-08:00

The funny thing about this blog, is that I always proclaim the death about D&D and yet it seems like I keep blogging about it. The other day I wrote about how I am no longer part of any groups, and D&D is kind of dead for me and blah blah blah.

So anyway, I am talking to this friend of mine, who used to be in my old group, and he actually suggests that we start playing again. I send a few emails, and before I know it, we have established the old group and are planning a weekend trip to a summerhouse to get some serious gaming done. How about that.

Right now we are trying to decide if we should play Dragonlance or Vampire. I am hoping for D&D Dragonlance although Vampire sounds pretty tasty too.

Happy belated New Year

2011-01-03T02:19:00.001-08:00

As any reader of this blog, and I know there are next to none, will no doubt have noticed, I have pretty much stopped blogging here. In fact, I have been considering dropping this blog for good, and use the domain for something else. As it is, I can’t really get myself to drop it, so for now it will remain here, and occasionally I will hopefully write a post or two.

As we have entered 2011, I feel that it is time to have make a status of the gaming situation for me, so here we go.

New Dragonlance gaming material to look forward to: 0
New Dragonlance novels to look forward to: 0
Active Role Playing gaming groups: 0
Active board game groups: 1
Number of home brew pages: 0

All of a sudden it makes a lot of sense why I have nothing to blog about here. Alas.

New gaming group

2010-11-24T13:10:00.001-08:00

Well sort of.

Recently I was invited to join a Dune gaming group, so it looks like I have made a switch from roleplaying games to board games. Whether this is a new trend or what remains to be seen, but I have just bought the Dune Trilogy, so maybe I will get into this for real.

Long time no see

2010-11-12T13:59:00.001-08:00

It has been a while since my last blog post and as always I feel like I should apologize for my lack of activity. However, this time I think I will refrain from that and instead dwell a little at the fact the I have not written anything, even though I promised myself that I would do it.

First of all, I have been invited to join a group who plays the board game Dune. I was actually invited by the director of development at my work, so of course I was a little skeptical. It turned out to be a lot of fun, and tomorrow I get to go pick up the first three Dune books that I ordered from Amazon.

the fact of the matter is, that I am growing a little weary with the whole RPG scene, or rather the lack of a scene. Nothing is really happening in terms of game releases that hold my interest, and the Dragonlance novel line seems to be as dead as disco. Had I been younger and less burdened by my job, I would probably have written a lot of stuff myself, just as I intended to do two months ago. However, now it seems like I can’t really think of much to write, and I rarely experience the creative streak that spawned my interest in Dragonlance and this blog.

Honestly, I don’t know what to do now. Heck, I don’t even know if I will maintain this blog any longer. I suppose I could use the space for something else. on the other hand, I don’t feel quite ready to leave Dragonlance for good, so maybe my passion will be rekindled some day.

‘The Hobbit’ has a greenlight, now what?

2010-10-18T11:59:00.001-07:00

TORn staffer Garfeimao has some thoughts on what comes next for fans as “The Hobbit” moves into its new status as a full-fledged in-production film. She writes:

So now we have the greenlight, what comes next?

When the Hobbit was first announced two years ago, it didn’t take long for fans to start fantasy-casting the project. At the time, no one really understood the scope of how long it actually takes to get a project of this size and magnitude off the ground. And under normal circumstances, it was only supposed to take a year, which we now know stretched into more. With the greenlight on the project now, the casting can begin in earnest, or at least, once the Actor’s Equity situation is resolved one way or another. That should be the last hurdle in the way of this project getting off the ground and moving forward. But what really does come next?

I would expect the next tangible announcement to be a resolution to the Actor’s Equity question in New Zealand. Without this resolution, there is no certainty of where the films will be shot or if any actors under consideration will risk censure from their respective Unions or Guilds. My guess, and I’ll emphasize that this is a guess, is that the resolution is very near simply based on the fact that the studios felt confident in announcing the greenlight without the resolution finalized. Heck, the studios didn’t even wait for the MGM bankruptcy situation to get underway. I do not want to conjecture which direction this Actor’s Equity resolution will fall on, but it does need to happen in order to clear the way for casting to begin.

Continue at Source: TheOneRing.Net

This is very good news indeed, although it will take a couple of years before the movies are released.

Nothing new

2010-10-18T10:40:00.001-07:00

So, I decided to go ahead and compile all my old Dragonlance writings into one big file, and guess what – it has happened yet. I guess I could try to come up with all kinds of dumb reasons why I never got beyond the introduction, but I am going to spare myself the indignity.The project is not really dead as I see it, but for me, it is important that I sit write when I feel the urge to do so. Right now I do not.

It’s not that I have abandoned Dragonlance, I am actually reading the annotated Legends these days, but I am doing so many other things at work and around the house, so whatever creativity I possessed is pretty much gone. Perhaps the lack of a real gaming group has something to do with this.

Anyway, I have decided to take some time off around Christmas, so hopefully I will be able to post something by then.

Why Can’t I Own a Canadian

2010-09-23T03:52:00.001-07:00

My wife just sent me the letter quoted below, and give the historical battle between religion and Gamers, I thought it would be funny to post it here.

Dr. Laura Schlessinger is a radio personality who dispenses advice to people who call in to her radio show. Recently, she said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22 and cannot be condoned under any circumstance. The following is an open letter to Dr. Laura penned by a east coast resident, which was posted on the Internet. It's funny, as well as informative:

Dear Dr. Laura:

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the other specific laws and how to follow them:

When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15:19- 24. The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?

A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination - Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?

Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?

I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? - Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

Your devoted fan,
Jim

Source: Humanists of Utah

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hollows Trailer

2010-09-23T02:29:00.001-07:00

I thought this was worth sharing.

New project

2010-08-24T23:28:00.001-07:00

So, true to my geeky self, I have started a new project. Actually, I have started an old project, which I originally began back in 1995 and never really finished.

I have decided to pack all my old writing into one single file and create my own Dragonlance compendium. The project included a friend of mine, who has now left these shores, so I will take the liberty of rewriting some of his stuff as I see fit.

At this point, I am deciding whether the War of Souls should be part of the setting, since we originally started to write this compendium, because we didn’t like the War of Souls. However, there are so many cool changes in Dragonlance, that I think I will try to incorporate these in order to move the setting forward.

Needless to say, this is a pretty big project, and if I ever finish it, it will take me a long time. However, instead of complaining about a dead world, I will try to put my money where my mouth is and actually make a contribution to it.

Gaming session – Live

2010-08-20T12:39:00.001-07:00

I am finally sitting down with my group getting ready to play a round of Dungeons & Dragons. We are playing in the Mystara setting, so not Dragonlance this time.

Right now we are trying to find our characters and remember the rules, so I have a little time to write a blog post. Luckily I keep my character online, so I could find my wizard right away. You can see my wizard here.

Check out the table. Gone are the character sheets replaced by software applications. The flowers are not our idea by the way.

Done for now

2010-08-15T13:10:00.001-07:00

Well, I finalized my blog redesign for now. I was looking around for a couple of extra social networks to add, but I decided to stick with Twitter, Picasa and Google Friend Connect.

I played around with StumpleUpon, but I could not find any way to syndicate the feed, so I have abandoned the idea for now. I might look in to it at a later point. I am considering a new de.-icio.us account to share various links, but I think I might be able to do that using Twitter. Time will tell.

As for some content, I have been working a little bit on a few ideas lately, so with a little luck I might one day start to upload things that are relevant to the D&D game, instead of complaining about how there is no more support for Drangonlance.

Blog redesign almost done

2010-08-08T03:03:00.001-07:00

As I have talked about on numerous occasions, I have been looking into redesigning my blog. I don’t think it will make much if a difference in terms of how many people read it, but I like the idea of using a customized template, which hopefully gives the blog a more personal feel.

There are many templates out there on the Internet, but I decided to use Google own tool for the mew template. The template allows me to easily change colors, backgrounds and all other stuff, and I find that important because change to the template makes the blog seem more alive, hopefully.

Currently, I am looking into setting up a social page, which will house all my social stuff such as Twitter. I have no followers on Twitter, so it makes sense to move that feed to a separate page. I might also add Stumple Upon or Del.icio.us to that page, as I tend to stumble across quite a few links that I like to share on my blog.

Finally, I am considering adding the Google friend module to my blog. I think it might be a good way of getting to know more people in the community and hopefully make a new friend or two, who share my passion for Dragonlance.

Since it is raining cats and dogs today, and my daily run might be somewhat limited, I hope that I will get around to finishing up the blog redesign today. Stranger things have happened.

Mother F*cker!!

2010-08-05T13:11:00.001-07:00

I went to my bookstore today to pick up The Gargoyle King. I had my daughter with me so she could see all the cool books, but in all the excitement I picked up The Fire Rose in stead. It wasn’t until we were on the train home, that my daughter told me: “Daddy, you already have that book at home”.

Anyway, I started Dragons of the Highlord Skies, so I guess I can wait until I get a chance to exchange the book.

Summer classics

2010-07-27T01:55:00.001-07:00

So, I just finished the Dark Disciple trilogy the other day, and of course I started yearning for another Dragonlance fix right away. The sad thing of course, is that there are no new books to read, so I had to go to my stash and see if there was anything that tickled my fancy.

I am a big fan of the Lost Chronicles series, and since I recently read Dragons of the Dwarven Depths I decided to read Dragons of the Hourglass Mage for the third time in a year. It dawned on me, that Hourglass Mage is my fast becoming my summer book, meaning I have to read every summer. I am not really sure why that is the case, but when I look at my reading habits, I can tell that Chronicles are my winter/Christmas books, Legends are summer books as well and I always read The Legend of Huma after finishing either Chronicles and Legends.

As it is, I have a few days off this summer, so I am planning one last trip to my book pusher, so I can get my sticky hands on the last book in the Ogre Titans series The Gargoyle King. I have already read the spoilers over at the Dragonlance Forums, so there won’t be many surprises for me, but true to my collective nature, I have to have the last book of the last Dragonlance trilogy. I am a huge Richard A. Knaak fan, so I am sure it will be a pleasurable read nonetheless.

As for future books, I think I need to broaden my horizon just a tiny bit, in order to still have a steady flow of books coming into my office. However, principles of software development does not have any black robed wizards or dragons in them, so maybe I should look for a new fantasy series.

I guess I could also get around to actually redesign this blog as I have been talking about for eons and eons.

Recommendations are more than welcome.

What to do now?

2010-07-23T02:26:00.001-07:00

Well, it has been a very long time since I posted anything on this blog. In all honesty, I have not really had anything interesting to blog about, and I have been pretty busy with my “regular life”, so to speak.

Fortunately I have been reading quite a bit lately. Last night I finished the Dark Disciple trilogy, which was only the second time I read it. I enjoyed it immensely, while at the same time being a little bit sad that Wizards of the Coast has killed off Dragonlance. I think the world Margaret Weis portrays in this trilogy is very exciting, and it could have made a good foundation for further Dragonlance gaming products and novels. Alas, that is not going to happen.

So, what am I going to do now in terms of my gaming? Well, unexpectedly, I received an email from my DM, and it looks like we will actually be playing again in August. At least we are going to make the attempt. Of course, that means I have to find my wizard and give that second level he earned a year ago.

The world in which we play is not Krynn, it is Mystara. I always liked Mystara a lot, so I am fine with that. However, I have little hope or expectation that we will ever become a tightly knit gaming group, or that we will play with the frequency we used to, but I will take what I can get these days.

As for this blog, I have been looking into a redesign and I am now down to three options. One of these evenings I will make the transition, which will hopefully make the blog a little bit more appealing visually. As for the content part I am still at a loss. I have not produced any new material that I can post here, and since there are no new novels coming out there’s not much left to do but to complain about the state of things.

I’d rather not have this blog turning into something negative, so at least I will write about the campaign in which I partake. I have thought about getting more into the community as well, so I will be looking into that as well.

Should anybody feel inclined to get in touch with me, I can be reached via email: dragonlance (at) gigaboot (dot) dk. Drop me a line if you have any suggestions for the blog, or if you just want to say hi.

PS: I have created a new Gmail/Google Id, so future posts will seem like they come from a different author. That is not the case though. I am the person behind both handles.

Dungeons & Dragons in a box

2010-06-16T01:13:00.001-07:00

I was looking through our shed the other week, and I came across my boxes containing all my D&D. Since it has been far too long since I last leafed through my old modules and core books, I promptly brought one of the boxes into the house.

True to my geeky self, I had to take a couple of photos of my collection for the blog. The pictures do not give the collection the justice it deserves, but since I have not had the time to unpack the whole thing yet, it will a while longer before I can take some real photos.

Dragonlance sale @ Paizo

2010-06-09T03:22:00.001-07:00

The Dragonlance Nexus has a post about Paizo’s Dragonlance sale. So if you have a couple of extrra dollars to burn this month, I suggest you give it a look.

Check it out here.

Resurrection?

2010-06-03T03:46:00.001-07:00

Well, it has come as no surprise that this blog has been neglected for quite some time now. I started a major redesign project a couple of weeks ago, but since then I have not really found the energy to actually do something about it.

Since this blog is a nice little side project for me, I am reluctant to shut it down or just let it die a slow and painful death, so here I am, back again with nothing to write about.

That last sentence wasn’t exactly right. For the first in about seven years, I have actually come up with a couple of adventure ideas, that I plan on writing down one of these days. True to tradition, I will publish my writings on the blog, and hopefully get some feedback, or at the very least inspire somebody out there to pick up the ideas and run a good old fashion game.

I am not sure when I will actually get to post anything, but hopefully it won’t take me too long.

On a totally different note, I have been so unfortunate, that my registrar has turned out to be somewhat of a scammer, so I expect my domain to die in the near future. For the time being everything is up and running, but I have no access to domains, so one day it just might be gone all together.

Fight Club

2010-04-17T00:35:00.001-07:00

I just found this really cool interview with Edward Norton and Brad Pitt from the Fight Club days. Cool movie, cool interview.

Clash of the Titans part 2

2010-04-11T01:08:00.001-07:00

So, I guess I am not really going to write a review of Clash of the Titans. There are many reviews out there on the Interwebs, and I am sure I have nothing to say that has not already been said.

I can, however, talk a little bit about what I thought of the movie.

In all honesty, the story is not all that interesting, especially if you have studied Greek mythology, which I was forced to do back in high school. As it is, the story is inspired by the legend of Perseus, who basically is a demigod who kills a whole bunch of monsters.

The reason for watching this movie is the 3D effects and the great action scenes. Another compelling reason for watching this movie is inspiration for the next gaming session. After I left the theater I was ready to go home and create a Greek inspired game with a whole bunch of demigods, monsters and all that good stuff.

So, to make a short blog post a little bit longer, I highly recommend watching this movie, as long as you take it for what it is – an action banger with some cool effects and characters from Legends and Lore.

Clash of the Titans

2010-04-10T23:16:00.001-07:00

I went to see Clash of the Titans with my wife last night. The movie in 3D and was actually pretty cool. I will hopefully have a review up in a couple of hours. I need to get my allergies under control first.

In the mean time please enjoy one of the trailers. There are more of them on Youtube.

Wizards' community feature update

2010-04-07T12:35:00.001-07:00

I just got an email from Wizard’s of the Coast about updates to the community:

FEATURE UPDATE – APRIL 7TH

From: Wizards

Received: Wed, Apr 7, 2010 at 11:28am

Reply

Forward

Today we have a new Magic theme. Go to Profile > Theme Selection to see it.
We are also adding RSS feeds to the forums later today. You can subscribe to feeds for entire forums or individual threads. Look for the RSS icon in your browser. (We will be adding RSS to blogs – no date for that yet, but it’s on the list.)

What’s next:

Some Facebook and Twitter connections: Post photos and blogs to Facebook from your profile page. Automatically cross-post status updates to your Facebook and/or Twitter account.

Drag & Drop for your home page: Customize your home page by adding or removing modules and rearranging them on the page

Wiki link fix: Stay tuned for more information on this. We will be updating the Wiki parser to fix a few bugs, including a fix to how linking works. As part of this update, we will bulk update existing links to match the new structure. We will send more details before the change, to give you a chance to review and give us feedback.

Outage reminder:

Tomorrow we will have about 3 hours of down time for our sign-on system from 6:00 AM PDT until 9:00 AM PDT.

This will affect login to the Wizards Community site, D&DI, Wizards Help site, and Gatherer comments. The Wizards Community site will remain up for viewing content, but you may not be able to post.

~The Wizards Community Team

All in all it looks pretty exciting, so go sign up if you haven’t already.

Heroes of Might & Magic

2010-04-01T09:33:00.001-07:00

Nostalgia is one of the most powerful feelings among the thirty-something, which is why advertising attempts to illicit this particular feeling with this segment. Now, I am painfully aware of how powerful a feeling nostalgia is, I do have a master’s degree in strategic branding, but I chose to embrace it. At least sometimes, hence this blog.

So, I have never been much of a computer gamer, I find it boring, tedious and it usually gives me a particularly bad headache. However, Heroes of Might & Magic, has always been one of the biggest time consumers in my younger days. To be honest, I could play that game for an entire day, eat dinner, and then pay it all night. Sometimes I actually missed classes just so I could play this game.

Retard! you might think. Well, I would tend to agree with you. As it turned out, I did outgrow Heroes of Might & Magic, and I did get my Master’s degree, and I did go to work for an IT company and all that stuff you have to do.

Anyway, it is Easter, and I have a couple of days off, and for once I am not preoccupied with my dumb ass job. It is such a relief, not thinking about that moronic place, that I started cleaning the office. Wifey and I share the office, now that we have two children, so some of my stuff has been packed away behind other stuff.

As I am looking at all the stuff I ought to throw out, my one-year-old son all of a sudden pulls out Heroes of Might & Magic: The Shadow of Death. So between the two of we decide that cleaning is for lesser men, and we pop that bad boy into the cd drive. And what do you know? We were able to run Heroes of Might & Magic on a x64 bit Windows 7 machine.

As you can probably imagine, I have been playing all day, only getting up to do some laundry, vacuum, eat lunch etc. once in a while. I am now close to completing my first quest, and I have a suspicion that I will be playing again tonight.

Iron Man 2 Trailer

2010-03-20T02:36:00.001-07:00

I loved the first Iron Man movie, and the sequel looks pretty good too. Enjoy

Technorati Tags: Iron Man 2

Adventure hook

2010-03-20T01:37:00.001-07:00

I was looking through some of my old files, and I found a document I started back in the day with various adventure hooks. See, I used to keep a notebook with me at all times so I could write down ideas for my campaigns. It kept me from going insane many a time. Too bad I can’t do the same thing in current job. Maybe I should start blogging at work?

Anyway, screw my lousy job, here’s the first adventure hook from my old notebook.

The Minotaur Revolt

The ogres are known for their use of slave labor. Among the numerous slaves kept in Daltigoth, a group of minotaurs, who has been taken prisoners and are currently working the mines or building new houses for the ogres. These minotaurs are yearning for freedom, and would gladly join the impending slaughter of the ogres. A powerful group of adventures might succeed in penetrating Daltigoth and free the slaves. However, due to the cultural differences it might prove more than difficult to integrate the minotaurs into the invading army. If the player characters convince the slaves that they are people of honor, the slaves will fight in the war. Given the intimate knowledge of Daltigoth they have, the slaves are valuable allies and it is believed that the leader of the minotaurs will be rewarded with a seat on the ruling council of the oligarchs.

I intended to run these adventure hooks as little interludes in a much grander campaign “The Wizard’s War”. The party was involved in a huge attack on the city of Daltigoth, and the plan was to let that be the overall theme, however, in order to let the players get a little R&R I would let them stray from the main campaign once in a while.

Alas, it never came to pass…

Wizards of the Coast online

2010-02-22T12:53:00.001-08:00

I just stumbled across some Twitter accounts belonging to Wizards of the Coast, so I thought I would just share them real quick.

Wizards novels on Twitter: @WotC_Novels
Wizards D&D on Twitter: @Wizards_DnD
Wizards on Facebook

Icingdeath

2010-02-22T12:41:00.001-08:00

I created this sword maybe 12 years ago for a minotaur PC, who was a member of the party for which I was DMing. The party was around level 10 (2nd edition rules), and travelled beyond the world of Krynn.

This party was basically a bunch of good guys, who fought evil with remarkable savagery. I decided to use the Ravenloft setting, so I added the Domain of Dread to my own Dragonlance setting. The wizard in the party was a Red Robe with few scruples, which made him susceptible to the influence of the dark powers of Ravenloft.

I needed a character who could pull the party in the direction of good, and as it turned out, the player, who played the minotaur agreed to provide this counterbalance. In order to empower him, and send him on a epic quest, I created the sword Icingdeath.

I stole the name from Forgotten Realms, as it is the name of a white dragon killed by Drizzt Do’Urden. I include the only write up of the sword I could find on laptop. I seem to remember there was a richer back story to the weapon, but unfortunately I cannot find it. I haven’t updated the weapon to 3rd or 4th edition rules either. I don’t have the 4th edition rules, and since my gaming days are long gone, I didn’t see any reason for me to update to 3.5 either.

I hope somebody will find this interesting and maybe update the stats. I’d be more than happy to post the stats on the blog, so if feel free to email me should you decide to update my sword. Email me at dragonlance (at) gigaboot (dot) dk

Icingdeath

Used by: Fighters, The white minotaur.

Description: This sword looks like a normal clabbard, except it glows with a faint white light when drawn.

Powers: Being a Frost Brand Icingdeath has the following natual powers:

+3 bonus to hit and damage.
+6 vs. fire using/dwelling creatures.
Wielder is protected as if he wore a ring of fire resistance:
Immune to normal fires (torches, flaming oil, bonfires, etc.)
Large fires, molten lavas, wall of fires, etc. causes 10 hit points of damage each round the wielder is directly in it.
+4 bonus to saving throws vs. red dragon breath weapon and magical fire.
Damage rolls are calculated by -2.

Secrets: Icingdeath is an intelligent sword and has the following additional powers:

Primary abilities: Detect fire using/dwelling creatures
Locate fire using/dwelling creatures
Extraordinary powers: Cone of cold 1/day (10d4)
Blizzard 1/day blinds opponent

Special purpose: Slay fire using/dwelling creatures

Special purpose power: Paralysis 1d4 rounds save to negate
Intelligence:14
Communication: Speech (telepathy)
Number of languages: 2, Common, Minotaur
Weapon ego: 21

Defenses: Icingdeath chooses its own user and thus does not permit any lesser fighter to wield it. The unfortunate one is subject to a cold shock doing 2d12 points of damage.

The Hierarchs of Shrentek

2010-02-14T01:32:00.001-08:00

This little introduction is something I wrote for a campaign i started about 10 years ago with my old Dragonlance group. I needed an evil nation to counter Neraka and the Dragonarmies, so I made up the Hierarchs. The idea was that they should be very secretive and very violent in order to inspire fear and dread in the party. we stopped playing shortly after, so I never got to use them that much. I was planning on having the Dragonarmies butcher the Hierarchs in a orgy of violence but that never came to pass.

In the wake of the War of the Lance a group of people formed an unholy alliance, which was supposed to turn them into the most powerful force in Ansalon. Their tools were deceit, treachery and murder; and their willingness to commit the foulest deeds. Among these were renegade ogres, draconians and even a dragon or two. Other than that many wicked humans flocked to the group’s condor banner.

The groups, or Hierarchs as they call themselves, are not surprisingly followers of the dark god of vengeance Sargonnas. The Hierarchs are attempting to establish a powerbase in Ansalon and they have chosen the ancient city of Shrentek as their main city. With lightning speed and incredible precision, the Hierarchs’ forces were able to defeat the original inhabitants and take over the city and the surrounding areas. The people that were not killed were used as slaves and they were promptly put to work rebuilding the city in honor of Sargonnas.

Through the hard work of the slaves and the aid of their dark god’s infernal servants, the city was constructed in a matter of months. The Hierarchs solidified their grasp on the area, while maintaining a high degree of secrecy. They are still a rather unknown force, but whispers about them are slowly spreading across the Eastern part of Ansalon. The Silvanesti elves are concerned about an evil power so close to their borders, and are preparing for war.

For the time being, the Hierarchs do not posses the military might to challenge the regions of Khur, Blöde and Silvanesti, which is why they use spies to infiltrate and gather vital information. These spies are spread out all over the Eastern seaboard, providing the Hierarchs with an accurate rendition of the political climate.

The Hierarchs are currently considering a new foe – The Cabal. Gil-Galad has made his home in the area coveted by the Hierarchs, which has caused the two to clash on occasion. Currently, the conflict is not yet violent in nature; however, the future does seem rather unstable. If the Hierarchs decide to go up against the combined might of the Cabal, the region will surely experience destruction and death. Unbeknownst to the Hierarchs, the Cabal is reluctant to enter into an open conflict, because a lot of resources are gathered in Daltigoth.

The biggest obstacle to the plans of the Hierarchs is the tribes of Khur. In terms of military might a united Khur would almost certainly be able to repel any attacking force, given their knowledge of the treacherous lands of the region. Unfortunately, the tribes have a lot of internal rivalry, which prevent them from uniting behind one cause or leader. The Hierarchs are aware of this situation, and they attempt to fan the flames by attacking certain tribes making it look like the work of their enemies. Furthermore, the Hierarchs try to form alliances with some of the tribes that are willing to join the ranks of the Condor. However, since only a fool would trust the Hierarchs, the alliances are shaky at best. Moreover, the Hierarchs have managed to pace spies in many tribes, which give them a lot of information regarding the in fight that takes place. The spies have attained different ranks throughout Khur, ranging from common foot soldier to trusted advisor of the Zulkirs. Evidently, the Hierarchs are a major influence in the region, albeit a hidden one. The Hierarchs’ main goal is to dispose of the Khan who is currently the closest thing Khur has to a regent.

Reading list: What to do now

2010-02-07T02:22:00.001-08:00

So, I never got to finish the War of Souls trilogy second time around. Work has been killing me for the last couple of months, and to be honest, that trilogy never fully agreed with me.

So anyway, I started rereading Hourglass mage, even though I read it last summer. However, when I am done with that one, I have no idea what to read next. Perhaps I should go get the Gargoyle King and read that, despite having read all the spoilers already over at the Dragonlance Forums.

It is such a downer that Wizards of the Coast killed off Dragonlance, now that I have money burning a hole in my pocket. Alas, I will have to spent it somewhere else I guess.

Vanity URL – new blog home

2010-02-06T06:30:00.001-08:00

I recently purchased a new domain for my non Dragonlance related blogging pleasure. Since I already own a domain, which I use for testing purposes, and generally goofing around, I decided to reconfigure my DNS settings, so my gaming blog now is hosted on www.gigaboot.dk

I also configured Gmail for my domain, just for the fun of it. Hopefully this means I will start blogging a little bit more now.

Map of Krynn

2010-01-13T12:17:00.001-08:00

Very cool indeed. I really miss this game.

The Gargoyle King is out

2009-12-03T05:04:00.001-08:00

In this thread over at the Dragonlance Forums, there is a discussion going on about The Gargoyle King. Beware of spoilers!

The reviews are a little mixed, but since I have not read it yet, I will refrain from any comments at this time. However, it seems like The Gargoyle King will be the last Drago nlance book I will ever buy, so any which way I look at it, this book will be a little special.

I liked the other books in the Ogre Titans trilogy, so hopefully Dragonlance will go out with a bang.

Back

2009-11-08T03:35:00.000-08:00

I was experimenting with theme files yesterday, and it messed up my blog completely. I ahve spent some time today attempting to return my blog to normal, and despite a few missing links in the blogroll I should be up and running again.

The Arcane Library of Tarsis

2009-11-07T07:01:00.001-08:00

The arcane library of Tarsis is actually two buildings. It consists of a tower, which is inhabited by Norrin Cahill (w18) and the library itself. Both buildings are made of white marble and are covered with golden runes of power and protection. The buildings are also crowned with golden domes that sparkle in the sunlight. The compound is surrounded by a huge stonewall, which has a single silver wrought gate. Inside the inside the wall any visitor is greeted by a beautiful garden with small streams and ponds as well as many different fruit trees. Sets of double doors are the only entrance to the library. The tower has no visible entrance. The city guard of Tarsis patrols the walls.

The tower of the white mage

As mentioned before, the tower is the dwelling of the white robed wizard Norrin Cahill. He is the creator and overseer of the library, as well as a valued advisor to the city rulers. The tower contains his most valuable possessions as well as a personal library and laboratory where he conducts his arcane experiments. The tower is also a meeting ground for the Cabal when Norrin hosts the meetings. The tower is protected by many powerful enchantments and anyone who wishes to enter must have a special permission to do so.

The lower levels of the tower are reserved for the apprentices and henchmen. These people have luxurious rooms of their own, which they can use freely. Norrin’s apprentices usually accompany him when he conducts his arcane research. His apprentices also work as Norrin’s messengers and can often be found in Tarsis. Norrin has three apprentices, all wizards of the white robes level 3-6. One of his apprentices is a female elf hailing from Qualinesti and she is in charge of communicating with the elven kingdom.

Norrin spends most of his time in his tower but he can also be found walking the enormous halls of the library.

The Library

The library consists of five different buildings connected via long halls. There are bookcases everywhere filled with old books and scrolls. This place has one of the highest concentrations of knowledge and information pertaining to Krynn. The second floor is reserved for small study cells where anyone seeking knowledge may study in peace. Scribes who spend their time working on new volumes or restoring old ones inhabit the third floor.

The library does not contain spell books but holds numerous volumes about almost every subject imaginable. The building is open day and night and often visitors can see mages of all colors pour through the tomes. There are also many non-mages who make use of the library’s facilities.

Studying in the Grand Library of Tarsis

There are two primary guardians of the library. Charged with the outside defenses is the Zhakar dwarf Dwaars whose plague Norrin cured. In return Dwaars was more than happy to be in charge of the outer defenses. Dwaars (fighter 9) has his own quarters in the library where he occasionally will spend a quiet evening. To outsiders Dwaars appears like the stereotypical dwarf. He takes his job very serious and will do whatever he feels necessary to carry out his tasks. He maintains a good relationship with the apprentices, albeit these relationships are rather superficial. His only real friend is the elf in charge of the interior of the library Tyslin-San with whom he spends many a quiet evening in their private quarters.

Tyslin-San is a male Silvanesti dark elf. He is a wizard of the black robes (wizard 8) who was banished from his homeland by the Silvanesti elders for practicing the dark arts. After winning his black robes Tyslin-San traveled Ansalon searching for a place to settle down. For many years he was on his own until he met the white robe Norrin Cahill who instantly recognized the elf’s talent. Norrin offered Tysli-San the position of caretaker of the grand library. Tyslin-San accepted and finally found a place to settle down for good. The elf spends most of his time in the library overseeing the defenses. He also spends time in the tower where he has his own quarters including a fully equipped laboratory where he can conduct his magical research. Tyslin-San is not very approachable and visitors will find him a difficult man to deal with.

Tyslin-San of the Black Robes

The sage of Tarsis resides in the grand library where he has his own chambers. He showed up the day before the completion of the compound and was instantly welcomed and afforded his own quarters. The sage is obviously a powerful wizard of the white robes but no one seems to know him prior to his appearance at the library. His knowledge concerning the history of High Sorcery is immense and he displays an acute sense of detail. The sage appears to be an elderly yet vigorous man with almost silver looking hair and white robes. He enjoys stimulating conversation and can often be found roaming the great halls of the library at night.

Unbeknownst to anyone at the grand library, the sage is in fact an ancient silver dragon named Mercury. He is a very skilled magic user and historian, which is why he chose the library as his residence. He will not reveal his true nature unless another dragon attacks him. Mercury will defend the library using his spells if attacked; however, he will remain in his human form. Mercury has his own quarters where he conducts his experiments. He will gladly talk to anyone but he never invites people to his own quarters. He is known for spending the evening with Norrin discussing matters of wizardry and philosophy.

Additional defenses

Unlike the Towers of High Sorcery, the Grand Library is not surrounded by a magical grove. Instead, the library is surrounded by a white wall with protective runes. Within the compound itself there are several streams and small waterfalls in which many water elementals are hidden. The elementals will rise out of the water and attack any intruder when so commanded by their master. Roaming the grounds is also a large number of air elementals who are virtually invisible. They patrol the skies above the compound and report directly to the dwarf Dwaars.

Dwaars the Keeper

In the middle of the courtyard a fountain is situated. Unbeknownst to any except for the master and the guardians of the compound is that the fountain is a secret passage to the Watermere. Norrin has dealings with Forcasion Omidai, the Master of the White Robes (wizard 15) and they use this portal to travel to each other’s domains.

Guild of Wizardry in Tarsis

As could be expected, the Wizards of High Sorcery are not as powerful as they used to be. Guided by the three moon gods, Solinari, Lunitari and Nuitari the wizards have devised a strategy, which will restore the glory of their organization.

Nor surprisingly, the power of the wizards is concentrated in their towers. The Conclave does not currently command the power to build new towers, but in time they plan to erect a minimum of two towers; one in Daltigoth and one in the Khur area. Evidently these plans are in the future, which is why the Conclave has setup numerous mage guilds in most of the major ansalonian cities.

The buildings used by each guild varies from area to area, however, they are all magically fortified. The guild master is usually a senior mage level 13+ who has the responsibility of preserving the existence of the guild as well as recruiting new apprentices. The guild masters do not have a seat on the ruling conclave but most of the masters are considered next in line and are expected to step up when there is a vacancy.

In terms of knowledge, the guilds are nowhere as resourceful as the towers, but they do carry a large assortment of spells, which members can learn.

Some of the guilds have grown quite powerful and some of them are even beginning the preparation for construction of a new Tower of High Sorcery. One such example is the guild in Tarsis, which is one of the more powerful guilds in Ansalon. The reason why the guild in Tarsis has grown so strong is primarily due to the newly built Grand Library. The library has attracted many mages and its creator Norrin Cahill is an influential figure among the rulers of Tarsis. This has turned the guild into a fairly strong political force in the city.

The Tarsan guild is located a few blocks away from the Grand Library. The building is a multistory mansion surrounded by a large brick wall, which is patrolled day and night by armed guards. The building contains numerous laboratories and living quarters as well as a great meeting hall. The guild also contains a grand library, which has an impressive selection of spells. The library has attracted many mages from the south western part of Ansalon and Tarsis is slowly but steadily becoming a place where trade flourishes. The marketplace boasts of many shops that specialize in exotic ingredients needed for arcane spell casting. The city even has a Three Moon Shop located in the business district. Generally the businesses have prospered from the guild due to an increase in demand. The lords of the city are already dreaming of restoring Tarsis’ pre-cataclysmic greatness.

Adventure hook: Ravenloft in Dragonlance

2009-11-02T12:43:00.001-08:00

So, this is not exactly an adventure hook, but rather a little story about how we included Ravenloft in our Dragonlance setting back in the good old days. Hopefully, somebody can find some inspiration from this post, or at least be a little entertained.

The whole story started with the Tower of High Sorcery of Istar. In our campaign the tower was transported to the demi plane of dread, Ravenloft, shortly before the Cataclysm struck Istar. My DM got the story hook from one of the Dragonlance comic books.

My black robed wizard found out that the tower wasn’t destroyed in Cataclysm, and after many dangerous adventures, he was able to locate it in Ravenloft. Hen entered the tower, and basically had to pass his Test of High Sorcery again. Long story short, he passed the Test and became the Master of the Tower.

The Tower still included the original portal to the Abyss, but since the Tower was located on a different plane, and since there was no white robed cleric around, the Portal opened up in Scull Cap back on Krynn. This little nifty trick allowed us to run a campaign that spanned across the Dragonlance and the Ravenloft setting.

Shortly after I more-or-less retired my character since he had attained level 23 or something like that. The character was used as a high level NPC, who could help the party travel between planes.

Reading Dragons of a Fallen Sun

2009-11-01T09:48:00.001-08:00

I have never been a huge fan of 5th Age Dragonlance. After finishing Dragons of Summer Flame, I was left very disillusioned because I thought it was a huge waste to leave the world godless. I felt there was finally an opportunity to move the world forward without Raistlin and the other inn-fellows.

Fortunately, Dragons of Summer Flame prompted a friend of mine and me to rewrite Dragonlance the way we wanted to. The funny thing is, that we actually debated killing off Takhisis and Paladine.

Anyway, I pretty much left Dragonlance after reading Dawning of a New Age. I still kept in touch with what was going on in the community, but we never played in the 5th Age or bought any of the products that were released.

Years later, I am the only left of my old group, who has even the slightest interest in Dragonlance, or role playing games in general, and I see Dragons of a Fallen Sun released. Needless to say, the War of Souls trilogy brought me back to Dragonlance, and I even purchased some of the new rule books, the best ever made I might add.

See, I never even enjoyed the War of Souls. For me, it was a question of finishing up the series, so the world could move forward with the remaining gods, magic and everything else that make up the Dragonlance setting I enjoy. This is also the reason why I never reread the War of Souls trilogy, unlike every other Dragonlance series I have bought. Until now that is.

Honestly, Dragons of a Fallen Sun is still not my favorite. I don’t get that familiar Dragonlance feeling when I read it, which I got when I read Dragons of the Hourglass Mage. However, I do enjoy reading it this time around.

I guess the 5th Age was a good thing for the setting, It presented a a much needed reboot of the setting, and it produced some of the best rule books ever made. Heck, we even got a kick-ass Taladas trilogy, that was the perfect backbone for a Taladas rule book. Alas, the license was never renewed thanks to Wizards of the Coast, and in a few short months, the novel line will end. In other words, Dragonlance will officially be dead as disco.

Of course, the passionate community will ensure that Dragonlance will never truly die, and maybe one day Raistlin will find our world, and bring us there.

I for one will go on reading Dragons of a Lost Star, and maybe even get around to finishing up the rewrite project I started during my Christmas break 1995.

Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition: Teaser

2009-10-24T12:11:00.001-07:00

D&D on Microsoft Surface - nuff said

2009-10-19T12:15:00.000-07:00

Surfacescapes Demo Walkthrough from Visual Story TAs on Vimeo.

Now reading: The Second Generation

2009-09-17T10:12:00.001-07:00

Since I finished Hourglass Mage, The Legend of Huma and The Fire Rose, I have been looking for the right fix to cure my newly found Dragonlance addiction. The bad thing about having this addiction is, that Dragonlance is more or less dead. Before I nail the coffin totally shut, I know there are a very few releases planned, so if you feel more comfortable saying that those releases constitute actual life in the setting, do not let me ruin your day.

Anyway, I started The Second Generation, which I have always kinda enjoyed because it moved the setting forward. My favorite short story is of course The Legacy, which was originally featured in The Magic of Krynn. So, if you haven’t read this collection of short stories, go get it here.

Raistlin Chronicles Omnibus

2009-08-31T11:21:00.001-07:00

The Dragonlance Forums have a thread about the Raistlin Chronicles. Now, don’t get too excited, because it is just a reprint of The Soulforge and Brothers in Arms.

The cool thing is the artwork, which, even though it is not entirely canon, is quite cool. At least I like it quite a bit, Weis does not, and some of the people over at the Forums do not either.

Check it out here.

By the way; did you sign up for the Wizards’ community?

Wizards launch new Community

2009-08-30T00:09:00.001-07:00

…and there was much rejoicing.

Wizards has just started a public beta test of their new community, which replaces the old horrible message boards. Taking a page out of the Facebook playbook, Wizards now allow you make more personal profile as well as adding friends. There’s also a blog engine, which I personally found pretty interesting. Unfortunately it doesn’t appear to be working, so I will stick with Blogger for now. To be honest I am not sure I will leave Blogger at all, since this old crappy blog engine is starting to grow on me.

I am really excited about this new community, because I feel that we really need a strong online presence, if our game is to survive. The Greyhawk people have done it for years, and the Dragonlance gang is rooted in the Dragonlance Nexus and the Dragonlance Forums. I really hope this signals a renewed interest in our game.

In the coming months I will blog a little bit more about the Wizards community and how I see the Interwebs as a catalyst for renewed interest in D&D.

By the way, I am McJuel @ Wizards so go add me as a friend.

First session completed

2009-08-22T05:14:00.001-07:00

So we finished the first gamin session in about a year last night. It was not the longest session, which suited me fine. To be honest, it has been years since I pulled an all nighter.

So, we wake up in a wrecked ship with no recollection of how we got there. My wizard had no spell book, and none of the fighters had any armor or weapons. We are stranded on a little island with a light house, and true to our adventuring spirits we start to explore the island. I am not going into all the details here, but suffice to say here is that we found our equipment and and some magical swag. Furthermore, we ran into some sort of cult, which we decided to leave alone. We were outnumbered two to one, so we just let the worship whatever foul demon they wanted.

I accumulated enough XPs to advance to level 2, so now I have to actually fill out a character sheet and pick feats and skills. I am looking forward to it, since it always helps me to get a feel for my character. Unlike last time, I think this one will have to be somewhat of unlikeable guy.

Funny thing though. It turns out I was the only one who didn’t cheat with the dice rolls for the stat block. All the others had several 18s, while I have not a single one. The good thing about the 3.5 rules is that you get to enhance your ability scores as you progress.

All in all a fairly enjoyable evening, which we will repeat in about a month. And now I have two magic missiles pr. day. Good stuff.

Gaming session tonight

2009-08-21T04:11:00.001-07:00

I am getting my gaming on tonight. For the first time in about a year and a half, my gaming group is meeting up again. As usual, we are playing in Mystara using 3.5 rules. I always likes the 3.5 rules, and Mystara is a classic setting, so I am happy.

The group is nowhere nearly as good as my original group(s), but it is all I can get, so I guess I am thankful for being able to play. The style is very hack and slash, with absolutely no role playing aspect to it. These guys have a computer game approach to the game, where it is all about the stats, the levels and the magical items. Fortunately we usually have a pretty good time, and who knows, maybe things will change a bit now.

I am playing a 1st level wizard from Glantri but since I haven’t played in years I cannot remember what spells are good. Being 1st level kinda solves that problem though, considering I only get to pick one or two spells. Anyway, hopefully I will be able to hide behind a bunch of big fighters and suck up some XPs.

I was thinking about keeping a gaming journal as we progress, but since I am due back at work in a week I am not sure if I will be able to keep it up. Here’s to hoping.

My Library

2009-08-14T01:41:00.001-07:00

Now that I am done with Dragons of the Hourglass Mage, I have stated reading The Legend of Huma for the umpteenth time. It is by far one of my favorite Dragonlance books, and it seems like a good choice to “come down” from the high of Hourglass Mage.

As I was looking through my book collection, I happend to find our charger for the digital camera, and I took some pictures of my bookshelves. I always enjoyed seeing other peoples stash, which I know is terribly dorky but what can you do?

The pictures are not really that good, because I can’t really fit the whole thing into one frame due to limited space in our home office. I will try to make a Photosynth at some point, but for now this is all I’ve got.

View Full Album

DoHM is finished

2009-08-06T00:41:00.001-07:00

Well, I finished Dragons of the Hourglass Mage in less than 24 hours. The book is really excellent, and it does tie up a lot of loose ends.

I am taking a couple of days to digest it, but I will have a blog post about it up at some point.

Sad though, that is the last Dragonlance book…

Is today the day?

2009-08-03T02:08:00.001-07:00

With a little luck I might get my filthy hands on a copy of Dragons of the Hourglass Mage today. My sister’s boyfriend works close to my local book pusher, and he will get it for me – provided they have it in stock.

If I get it today, I expect to read it in a day or two, although I am going to try and savor it for as long as possible. However, knowing my track record I seriously doubt it.

Anyway, back to doing garden work…

Hourglass mage in Denmark

2009-08-02T04:08:00.001-07:00

Nuff said. I am getting it on Monday hopefully.

Did you pick up yours yet?

Hourglass mage review

2009-07-19T13:13:00.001-07:00

Thalintas over at the Dragonlanceforums just posted a review of Dragons of the Hourglass mage. He has an early release of the book, which means that it is still not in stores yet, but it does give him the opportunity to provide us with some insights into what the book is about.

The post is actually kind of sad, since he bids farewell to the original Dragonlance world created by Weiss and Hickman. I couldn’t agree more with Thalintas, so here’s a short excerpt form his post and a link.

…Dragonlance as a series may continue in some form or another. But Dragonlance as the child of Weis and Hickman, the novel series born in 1984 with a group of friends meeting up in an Inn--that series ends with Dragons of the Hourglass Mage. The novel takes 25 years of plot development and setting growth, and synthesizes it into the endcap to the Holy Six. With it, all questions, all loose threads, all storylines that stem from the Heroes of the Lance are finally complete. And if you can close that final page and put that book down without tears in your eyes, well sir, you're a better man than me.

Source: Thalintas @ Dragonlanceforums

I hope the book reaches the northern shores soon, since I am itching to get my filthy hands on it. Of course, it will most likely be the last Dragonlance book I ever buy, so it is a bittersweet sensation. However, for the time being, I will focus on the positive side of things, and look forward to the most anticipated Dragonlance book ever, as far as I am concerned.

Hourglass mage sample chapter online

2009-07-18T10:53:00.001-07:00

It has been a while since my last post, but considering how busy I am proclaiming the death of Dungeons & Dragons, Dragonlance in particular, it makes perfect sense :-).

Anyway, I was reading the Dragonlanceforums boards, when I found a link to Wizards’ home page, where they have posted the first chapter of Dragons of the Hourglass Mage.

There are also a couple of wallpapers for your PC or Mac, so I can really only add a link to this post and say: “Knock yourself out”.

Personally I really like the chapter, because it picks up right after Raistlin has discovered the truth about Fistandantilus. So basically we meet Raistlin before he becomes an über mage, and I assume we get to follow his rise to power between the time he leaves the Companions in the Blodsea of Istar till we see him as the black robed wizard in Neraka.

I almost forgot; there is also a the Illustrated Dragonlance Guide ready for your downloading pleasure. Have fun.

Hourglass mage released Aug 4, 2009

2009-06-07T02:53:00.001-07:00

In case you didn’t know, and if you are a Dragonlance fan I am sure you do, Dragons of the Hourglass Mage will be released on 4th August.

I am on vacation when the book is released, so I am planning taking a couple of quit days in the shade reading it. Since it will probably be the last Dragonlance novel I will ever buy, I plan on thoroughly enjoying it.

If you plan on purchasing this book, I recommend that you do it through The Nexus, this way you can help keeping the Dragonlance community alive.

And while I remember, The Nexus has a fan page on Facebook along with a blog. Good stuff.

RPG-motivational

2009-05-12T11:33:00.001-07:00

Check this out, it is really funny stuff.

RPG-motivational

D&D Test Drive

2009-05-12T11:21:00.001-07:00

This is pretty old as far as I can tell, but I thought I would post it here anyway. Our good friends from Wizards of the Coast invite to test drive D&D version 4.0. Personally I am not sure new rules will save our game, but kudos to them for keeping the rules alive.

I haven’t tried it myself, so if anybody out there has tried it, please drop me a line. Link below.

D&D Test Drive

Nice spring = no RPG

2009-05-12T10:28:00.001-07:00

Well, the weather has been nice in Denmark, so I have not uploaded the files I initially expected to. However, if I can sit long enough in front of the computer one of these days I will definitely upload some of my old Dragonlance work.

Now I just need to find the files and edit them a bit…

Are you kidding me?

2009-05-04T11:44:00.001-07:00

When I started this blog, it was meant as a past time thing. I never really expected to keep blogging here, but for some reason I have kept posting over that past couple of months. Not that I really write anything worth reading, but still…

I recently installed Google Analytics on my blog, and now I can actually see that I get some hits. That really surprises me. I guess this means that I should publish some of my homebrew game material on the blog, so hopefully I can post something this weekend. Friday is a holiday here in Denmark, so I don’t have waste time at my incredibly exciting job as an e-business consultant.

Anyway, stay tuned, I might just post some content in the upcoming days.

Technorati Tags: Dragonlance

Mini project

2009-05-03T07:41:00.001-07:00

I just started a mini project here on the blog that will never die. I am trying to find as many interesting RPG blogs as possible, and syndicate them here on my own blog. Hopefully I will one day have enough to create an OPML file for your downloading pleasure.

So far I have only managed to find three blogs, that are serious about as well as remotely relevant. Well, considering the authors I guess one could argue that they are very relevant. So anyway, if you have a good RPG blog, or know of one, please don’t hesitate to shoot me an email, or leave a comment.

I am a gamer again – possibly

2009-04-25T00:38:00.001-07:00

When my last gaming group called it quits about a year and a half ago, I assumed that this was the absolute last time I would ever get to play Dungeons & Dragons. Everybody in the group has a career, family and all those thing, so I figured we would ever ever get together.

Then what happens? The former DM sends out an e-mail, where he explains that work has sucked for him in a long time, and that was why he had to call it quits. Now things have calmed down quite a bit for him (thank you economic crisis) so he thought it could be good to get back together and role the dice. Everybody was enthusiastic and it seems that we will start a new campaign this May.

Unfortunately, we are not playing Dragonlance, but Mystara. I really like Mystara, because it was the first gaming world I ever knew, and because there is some really good material published for that world.

Anyway, I have to figure out what character to play, so if anybody out there has any good ideas let me know.

Here’s a thought..

2009-04-17T11:59:00.001-07:00

Of all the people over at the Dragonlance Forums, how many actually play in a group, like we all used to. And how many just miss playing in a group, and therefore hang around the forums to remember the good ol’ days?

I guess we will never know. I belong to the latter category, although it looks like my latest gaming group in rising from the ashes to begin again.

Dave Arneson passes away

2009-04-10T11:17:00.001-07:00

I was looking at my Twitter stream just now, when I see one of the top searches: “Dave Arneson”. to my great sorrow I learn that the last of the “Founding Fathers” of Dungeons & Dragons has passed away.

As many of you mist likely know, Dave Arneson created Dungeons and Dragons with Gary Gygax back in the 70’s. Despite heavy criticism from the crazy Christian right wingers, the game became immensely popular, and although it is more or less dead today, spawned the whole fantasy genre.

Many of us probably remember the Basic Set, the red set as we used to call it, with the red dragon in the cover and featuring the evil wizard Bargle. I can’t beging to imagine how many hours I have spent playing D&D with my friends; and all because of the ideas of Arneson and Gygax.

Most people will probably refer to Dungeons and Dragons as the ultimate in escapism, but to me and my friends, D&D was the ultimate in socialization and abstract thinking. It provided us with an opportunity to imagine things, and be creative in a manner that I have never seen since.

Here’s to remembering two great people. Rest in peace.

Technorati Tags: Dave Arneson,Gary Gygax,Dungeons & Dragons

Hourglass Mage - a little taste

2009-04-05T05:05:00.001-07:00

INTO THE HEART OF THE DARK QUEEN'S EMPIRE

The Companions are back and the balance of Krynn is at stake, in the magnificent conclusion to the Lost Chronicles.

The world celebrates Spring Dawning. The War of the Lance is nearing its end -- for good or ill. The wizard, Raistlin Majere, has become a Black Robe and, using the dragon orb in his possession, he travels to Neraka, the lord city of the Dark Queen. Raistlin ostensibly plans to work for her, though in reality he means to further his own quest for power.

But Raistlin realizes that if Takhisis wins, he will always be her slave. And so he resorts to a dangerous and deadly game. He acts as a double agent, offering his services to both the side of darkness and that of light, working for Emperor Ariakas and for the resistance movement in Neraka.

Takhisis plans to destroy the gods of magic on the Night of the Eye, when all the wizards will be congregated at the Tower of Wayreth. Raistlin has to find a way to thwart the plot, even though this means doing battle with his own sister, the Dragon Highlord Kitiara, and her terrifying ally, the death knight, Lord Soth.

And still he must overcome his final foe: the archmagus Fistandantilus, who seeks to kill Raistlin and steal his soul.

Krynn's future has been written. People think they know how the story ends. But one night and one fateful decision by Raistlin Majere may change it all.

Source: Wizards of the Coast.

This looks very promising. It seems like a fitting end to the Dragonlance era. Considering the eminent death of the setting, it is pretty cool that we get a book with all the bad guys going at each others throats. Nice.

Greyhawk

2009-03-21T00:01:00.001-07:00

Greyhawk is een more dead than Dragonlance these days. Actually, Greyhawk has been dead as a gaming world since the end of the 90’s if I remember correctly.

Fortunately, there is a tiny, but very dedicated fan base, which means you can still find Greyhawk resources on the Internet today. The web sites are horribly designed, and old as hell, but they contain excellent information on the World of Greyhawk.

If you like Gygax’s novels (RIP) check out this site, for a comprehensive run down of events in his Gord the Rogue series. Impressive work.

Now that we are about to put Dragonlance to rest after 30 years, I really hope the community is up to the task of keeping the setting alive. The Hawkers did it, and so can we.

Dragons of the Hourglass Mage Cover – Full size

2009-03-03T11:55:00.001-08:00

Very nice indeed. I Can’t wait for the release of this book.

Check out the full size at Tracy Hickman’s homepage by clicking the image below.

Dragons of the Hourglass Mage Cover spotted

2009-02-26T08:21:00.001-08:00

There has been at least one more cover floating around out there in cyberspace, but it turned out to be the wrong one. Margaret Weis confirms over on the DragonlanceForums that this is indeed the right cover.

I think it looks pretty damn cool. What do you guys think?

Renegade Wizards out next month

2009-02-21T11:29:00.001-08:00

The Dragonlance writer with the coolest name, Lucien Soulban, will see his latest book hit the shelves next month. I never read any of his books, but the guys over at the DragonlanceForums seem to like him quite a bit.

He engages a lot with the community, so he has big plus in my book. Unfortunately it will probably take forever before the book is released here in little Denmark, so I will just have to wait. It seems like a really interesting plot, so I will definitely have to check it out once Renegade Wizards is released.

I have been looking for a preview chapter to link to, but to no avail. If anybody knows of such a chapter, please let me know.

Dragonlance on Google alerts = a sad sad thing

2009-02-21T11:19:00.001-08:00

So, I decided to create a Google Alert based on Dragonlance around the time I started this blog, which is about two weeks ago. I also created an alert for Greyhawk, but that just resulted in a lot golf stuff, which I am not really in to. Anyway, during the past two weeks I have received on alert about Dragonlance, and that was two postings about downloading e-books and one from CDon.com about audio books. That is pretty sad. I honestly expected more hits, since I figured we had a pretty active community. I guess I was wrong…or Google alerts just suck.

Hopefully that will change soon. There are so many guys out there doing really cool homebrew stuff I wish they would publish it online. Well, there's always the Nexus.

Fistandantilus – The Dark One

2009-02-18T07:58:00.001-08:00

I guess I managed to write one more blog post before abandoning this little Dragonlance project of mine. The following text is a collection of information about Fistandantilus that I have been able to find in various novels. One of the cool things about The Dark One is that his history is so obscure, so my take on him is by no means meant to be definitive history of Fistandantilus.

I expect to create a PDF version of this blog post at some point for your downloading pleasure.

The first time we hear about Fistandantilus is in Dragons of Autumn. Raistlin Majere finds one of his old spell books in Xak Tsaroth and at the same time establishes that Fistandantilus wore the Black Robes. Furthermore, it is established that he was the most powerful wizard in Krynn.

In Dragons of Winter Night, Fistandantilus talks through Raistlin Majere after the destruction of Tarsis. He recounts the creation of the Dragon Orbs, indicating that he was one of the creators. If this is indeed true, Fistandantilus was truly ancient. In order to participate in the creation of the Dragon Orbs, he would have had to be powerful, which means that he could not have been a young man at this point.

According to Test of the Twins, Fistandantilus tells Raistlin Majere that he used to wear the Red Robes. He must have spent the better part of a lifetime, before he besieged the Queen of Darkness and was allowed to don the Black Robes. It was at this point in time that he was given the Bloodstone of Fistandantilus, which would ensure his eternal life. The same section in Test of the Twins, tells us a few details about the Citadel of Fistandantilus. The location is never disclosed, but given his reputation, it is doubtful that it was situated in a highly populated area. Furthermore, it seems fairly logical that he did not reside in a Tower of High Sorcery. One might be tempted to think that Zhaman was the residence of Fistandantilus; however, in War of the Twins, Raistlin Majere claims to never have been there, although he retains the memories of Fistandantilus. If this was the place where Raistlin Majere defeated Fistandantilus it is likely that he would have remembered. According to Wizards’ Conclave, Fistandantilus carried a staff, which was topped by a dragon. However, Legends describe Fistandantilus as a mage who had no

need for staves, familiars etc. he wore unadorned black robes with a hood, which only revealed his beard. An unnatural cold radiated from his body. Considering how many times Fistandantilus used the Bloodstone it is plausible to believe that he looks nothing like he used to. This same book describes a cave, which is guarded by a green dragon that leads to the Tower of High Sorcery in Wayreth. These tunnels are allegedly created by Fistandantilus.

According to Fistandantilus Reborn, the wizard was able to take part of his life force and imbue a magic item with it. He gave this item to an apprentice, providing Fistandantilus with extra life insurance. Additionally, the skull, which rests beneath Skullcap, still contains the essence of the lich Fistandantilus. Allegedly, these two versions of the ancient mage battled each other resulting in the essence of Fistandantilus being scattered through the River of Time.

The Kingpriest trilogy recounts Fistandantilus’ role in the Lost Battles. Allegedly, he gave the Kingpriest the power to penetrate the magical groves surrounding the Towers of High Sorcery in order to weaken the Conclave, which would oppose his bid for godhood. Furthermore, Fistandantilus carved out a laboratory for himself underneath the temple of the Kingpriest. The protective spells laid on this place were so powerful that they were able to withstand the destruction wrought by the Cataclysm.

In Legends, Astinus reveals that Fistandantilus wanted to enter the Abyss to battle the Queen of Darkness. In order to open the portal to the Abyss, Fistandantilus needed a priest of Paladine. Evidently he chose Denubis who was a priest in the holy temple in Istar. When Raistlin Majere became Fistandantilus, he chose lady Crysania over Denubis.

Dragonlance on Twitter

2009-02-15T11:31:00.001-08:00

I just did a search on Twitter for Dragonlance, and let me tell you, it is not pretty. I suppose there’s no reason for thinking that there would be a lot tweets about Dragonlance but one can hope.

Considering all the social software tools out there, I find it a bit odd that all of the RPG communities I am aware of are still clinging to ye ol’ PHP forum application. I have no problems with forums as such, but maybe a Community Server installation would complement the forum?

Oh and another thing; how about getting Wizards of the Coast to let the community use the dragonlance.com nomain for e-mail purposes. It can be hosted for free via Hotmail or Gmail. What fanboy or fangirl wouldn’t love to have an @dragonlance.com e-mail adress.

Dragons of the Hourglass Mage this summer

2009-02-15T10:47:00.001-08:00

Looks like our favorite Black Robed Wizard is scheduled to make yet another appearance. Personally I really want to read this novel, and I liked the other “Lost Chronicles” as well. Good stuff.

DRAGONS OF THE HOURGLASS MAGE SCHEDULED FOR SUMMER 2009

RENTON, Wash.—July 21, 2008 — Wizards of the Coast Inc., and New York Times Best-selling authors Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman today announced that Dragons of the Hourglass Mage is scheduled for a Summer 2009 publication.

Dragons of the Hourglass Mage is the concluding novel in the Lost Chronicles trilogy by Weis and Hickman and features many of the most popular characters from their extensive line of Dragonlance® books.

Source: Wizards of the Coast

I know this is really old news, but I am tweaking the blog, and I needed to post something. Anyway, I hope this book will hit the shelves here in Denmark by the time I go on summer vacation.

Hello World

2009-02-15T09:46:00.001-08:00

Well, it looks like I just might start blogging here after all. I never really intended to do anything with this when I created it, but now it looks like I just might start posting.

I think this blog will be the place where I blog about one of my former favorite past times – Dragonlance. I have played D&D for around 26 years, and until about a year ago I play fairly regularly. I have played in different groups, although there has always been an inner circle in terms of membership.

Recently I formatted my computer, and I found a lot of old files, that I started years ago. These files were intended to be more-or-less a rewrite of the Dragonlance setting, making it fit my needs at the time. As these things tend to go though, my group slowly but steadily dissolved, and I was stuck with all this work that I could use for absolutely nothing. I just put these writings in a folder on my hard drive, and pretty much forgot about them. Until now that is.

So, to make a long story even longer, I hope that I will find time and through his blog, as well as the DragonlanceForums, reengage with the Dragonlance community, and hopefully finish writing and editing my take on the Dragonlance setting and publish it here.

Don’t expect a lot of updates, as I do have a “normal” life, with children and a stressful job in the IT industry, but check back once in a while or subscribe to the RSS feed. Heck, you can even feel free to leave a comment if you’d like.