Dragons of Autumn Twilight
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Is this apart of Dungeons And Dragons or is it an orignal fantasy work?
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Michael
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Jan 27, 2014 03:56PM
I keep seeing dungeons and dragons campaign and I'm very confused is this like just a role playing game or a series original fantasy work like Tolkien?
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The Dragonlance series of books were based on a Dungeons and Dragons campaign that Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman played. Dragonlance also got its own spin off RPG.
The Dragonlance setting for D&D and the Dragonlance books were all written together. The first 12 adventure modules for the setting basically followed the plot of the first book trilogy.
Speaking of the books themselves - they were the gateway drug that got me into the wider world of Fantasy as a kid. I loved those books, so much so that I bought the original trilogy a few years back. They don't age well though. The writing is not great, the plot uninspired. It definitely feels like a recounting of somebody's D&D game. Still, it's not a complete loss - I plan on giving the books to my son when he's 10.
Like E.W., the Dragonlance books were my gateway into the fantasy world. Personally, I love both the Chronicles and Legend trilogies. I own both in collector's editions, and have read them so many times that they are worn and tattered.It's not the story per se that keeps me re-reading them even after 25 years, it's the characters. For me, it's like walking along with old friends that I've known almost my whole life, and though the path is always the same, it never gets old for me.
Dragonlance was a realm created within the Dungeons and Dragons universe, much like Greyhawk, Ravenloft, and Forgotten Realms. A big reason Dragonlance realm was created was because TSR at the time wanted more direct interaction and development of dragons. Weiss and Hickman used role-playing to help develop character and plot ideas for their novels, especially the first book, Dragons of Autumn Twilight. If you read it you can pretty clearly see that the first book reads a lot like a D&D adventure.
This is the beloved timeless adventure of a group of companions who must save the world. It was D&D in books. It was...nirvana for a boy in the 80's. I still think of these characters to this day. Tanis and Raistlin and Caramon. My best friends. Then the next Twins trilogy. Oh, I remember reading until 3 a.m. only to wake up in a haze convinced I had taken on the dark robes of black magic. Yeah, I was pretty tired, but I swear I saw them on me. I was thinking i should listen to them all now, on audible. But to answer the question: It is essentially Tolkien revisited. Tolkien for the next gen. Instead of Hobbits you have Kender--a small race who are trained thieves from birth. Otherwise you got all the stock characters, elves that live in the forest for thousands of years, dwarves who live inside their mountains, humans who are short lived and therefore power hungry and restless. You have fighters, warriors and wizards. Oh, and gods who pretend to be human. But dare I say, this series beats Lord of the Rings hands down?
Totally agree with Andrew, I did the same. I first read them in my 6th grade reading class, and would get so into them that everything else around me got tuned out. My teacher would literally have to shake me when the end of class bell rang to pull me out of the world.As an author who focuses on the fantasy genre myself now, I can say with confidence that the Dragonlance books were a very big influence on my decision to write in the fantasy world, and not only because I became fascinated with magic and dragons so many years ago.
Like Andrew, I read the books so many times that the characters became my best friends who were always only a page away.
The Dragonlance books taught me that our favorite books are always the ones where we feel something for one or more of the characters. Whether we love them or despise them, it's the emotion itself that is key.
Sure, the storyline may have that D&D adventure feeling to it, but it's the characters' struggles, their successes and defeats, which make the books noteworthy.
I like to say that as an author, if we feel nothing for the characters that we write about, how can we expect our readers to? The Dragonlance books taught me that lesson at an early age, and for that I am forever grateful.
Personal note: Raist is my favorite character :)
Scott wrote: "Totally agree with Andrew, I did the same. I first read them in my 6th grade reading class, and would get so into them that everything else around me got tuned out. My teacher would literally hav..."Raist taught me that "evil" or even "teetering on the ledge of being a bad guy" characters are SO MUCH more interesting than rooting for the good guys. :)
Raistlin was definitely the star of the show, though I don't think it started out intended that way. You had Tanis and his half elven heritage to contend with. I never saw Raistlin as evil. I saw him as determined and donning the black robes was just another step to achieve his goal. Well, I guess that was the point, after all.
I made Raistlin's tea from the Inn of the Last Home Cook book. There was this herb shop in Minneapolis where I bought the ingredients in bulk. And when we went camping it was Otik's spiced fried potatoes for everyone.
Andrew Michael wrote: "Raistlin was definitely the star of the show, though I don't think it started out intended that way. You had Tanis and his half elven heritage to contend with. I never saw Raistlin as evil. I saw..."
I agree. Raistlin was always more of an allegory for hubris for me.
Yeah, I leaned more toward Raist because the others leaned more toward the 'good' side, while he walked a step on the other side. I wouldn't call him 'evil' , as Michael said, he was determined, and sure, he had his selfish streak but he had those few moments of 'goodness' throughout the books (Bupu, obvious example.)The one thing the books really seemed to follow is the whole idea of male characters being the heroes. Goldmoon wasn't necessarily a warrior type, and ends up being the healer. Laurana picked up what she could along the way and turned into an able fighter/commander, but then you have Tanis, Caramon, Sturm, Flint... all warrior types. Tas the thief type, Raist the mage... Back when I first read them the stories were amazing, but reading them today, I wish hey'd had another female character that could have easily matched Caramon in skill. (Not counting Kit, since she was more of a side character.)
Guess that's partly why I've flipped the tables in my own work. I love the Dragonlance books, but they did have that kind of 'typical' feel to them in some ways.
Yeah they were all stock characters. But back then, what did we care? It felt so new and so vivid. And they were pretty masculine stories overall. They certainly weren't trying to break new ground as much as they were trying to hit a very selective target.
Raistlin is definitely the most interesting and three-dimensional of the characters, and the one I remember most clearly after all these years. Much of the story's emotional weight comes from Raist's manipulative relationship with his brother.
Raistlin was the standout for sure, but right behind him was Tasselhoff. Yes, he could be annoying as anything, but for a teenager he was a riot. I was very disappointed when reading Mary Kirchoff's "Kendermore" later; it was basically a (unintended) demonstration of why the whole idea behind kenders wasn't the least bit feasible as a culture/society.
C.E. wrote: "Raistlin was the standout for sure, but right behind him was Tasselhoff. Yes, he could be annoying as anything, but for a teenager he was a riot. I was very disappointed when reading Mary Kirch..."
Hey, I think you're onto something because as you recall, only Tas, Raist and Caramon made it into the next "Twins" trilogy.
At first I was enamored with Tanis and the fact that he had two women, one elf and one human, well, he was quite simply the man. In fact, I still think he's the man and yes, I would follow Tanis into Hell.
I heard that the person who wrote this book also works for the dungeon and dragon game. I don't know if it's true, but I'm pretty sure it does have something to do with it.
Great series of books. Like others, these were my gateway into fantasy. I picked them up just after I finished Lord of the Rings, and I have been reading fantasy ever since.I highly recommend them.
Great books. My brother and I both read them as kids.
You don't have to know anything about Dungeons & Dragons, to enjoy this book. It is a story like Lord of the Rings or the Hobbit. Full of adventure and interesting Characters from different backgrounds. This book has Wizards, Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, Centors, Dragonmen, Hobgoblins, Dragons, and many many more. It is a world you can escape to, one that will put a smile on your face.
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