What if the Heroes of the Lance failed? In this alternate timeline, let’s explore the Dragonlands. Buy Legends of the Twins: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/3252/legends-of-the-twins-3-5?affiliate_id=50797
Transcript
Cold Open
The Heroes of the Lance have failed.
Intro
Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to talk about the alternate timeline: Dragonlands. I would like to take a moment and thank the DLSaga members, and invite you to consider becoming a member by visiting the link in the description below. You can even pick up Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate links. I am referencing the Legends of the Twins sourcebook for this information. If I leave anything out or misspeak, please leave a comment below!
Discussion
It’s always fun to consider the ‘what if’ concepts of alternate timelines. Lucky for us, Dragonlance is riddled with possabilities and has used time travel so much, one has to question if there is an actual timeline or not. In this alternative timeline titled Dragonlands, two monumental changes occurred which changed the course of history forever. First, when Sturm Brightblade confronted the Blue Dragon Highlord, Kitiara Uth Matar on the High Clerist’s Tower’s battlements, he was overcome by dragon fear. In his despair he refused to foolishly throw away his life as he watched Derek Crownguard do, and left. He didn’t run like a coward, but he didn’t stand and die either. This meant that the Knights of Solamnia did not unite under his memory and selfless act of sacrifice, and were not able to put aside their bickering. This caused the Whitestone Council to fall apart without Solamnic support. The second change is that Theros Ironfeld and the secret of the Dragonlances vanished. Together, these two acts led to the downfall of all of all Ansalon under the boot of the Dragon Emperor, Dulket Ariakas. The victory of the Dragonarmy is now known as the Dark Queen’s War.
The outcome of the Dragonarmies winning meant that each Dragon Highlord serves as governor-general to their own region of Ansalon. Marshal Law rules throughout each city. But according to the Laws of Krynn, the balance must be maintained, so the gods of Good and Neutrality must fight this imbalance. The real problem is that now with a foothold of power, standing up against the Dragonarmies is suicide. As the Blue Dragonarmy easily dispatched the disconnected Solamnic forces, now the Knights are rebel cells, bandits and freedom fighters. Each cell operates independently, hiding their true identities. The elves are now trapped in their nightmare land, slowly going mad. And dwarves and minotaurs are enslaved.
The timeline of events is as follows: 332-340 Alt Cataclius, the Dark Queen gathers her dragons and evil commanders. 337 AC, Neraka corrupts its neighbors drawn in by the Foundation Stone. 341 AC, Kern, Blode, Khur and the Blood Sea Isles align with the Dragonarmies. 342 AC, draconians are created from corrupting good dragon eggs. 343-347 AC, the Dragonarmies are trained. 346 AC, the companions search for signs of the gods. 348 AC, the Dragonarmies invade Nordmaar, and Balifor. Silvanesti brokers a deal for safety. 349 AC, Silvanesti is betrayed and Lorac uses the Dragon Orb becoming trapped. 350 AC, the Dragonarmy controls most of eastern Ansalon, with minotaurs harrying the fleeing Silvanesti. 351 AC, in spring the Blue Dragonarmy occupies Kalaman, Hinterland, and Nightlund. The Red Dragonarmy runs strikes along the New Sea across the Plains of Abanasinia, forcing the Qualinesti to flee with the Silvanesti. The heroes of the lance rescue prisoners from Pax Tharkas. 352 AC, the Whitestone Council convenes with the Dragon Orb from Icewall and Dragonlances from Southern Ergoth.
In winter the Blue Dragonarmy besieges the High Clerist’s Tower. Sturm retreats, robbing anyone of the use of the Dragon traps. Laurana tries to use the Dragon Orb and fails; she does summon the spirits of ancient dragons. The dragons defeat the Blue Dragonarmy, allowing Sturms forces to escape, but is unable to rescue Laurana who is trapped similarly as Lorac was. Kitiara loads her army into the Flying Citadels and passes the High Clerist’s Tower to Palanthas. The city surrendered without a fight. Sturm turns command of his soldiers to another cell, and shatters his sword on the ground in defeat. Gilthanas, D’Argent and Cymbol are discovered in Sanction by Kitiara and slain. The good dragons remain oathbound and stay out of the war. With Solamnia mopped up by the Blue Dragonarmy, it begins building massive naval vessels for its next offensive.
The remaining companions meet at yule in Solace. Elistan dies of disease without declaring a successor. Riverwind and Goldmoon are killed by Krieder. The blue crystal staff is captured and delivered to the Temple of Neraka. Laurana is driven mad by the dragon orb. Raistlin disappears never to be heard from again. Flint survives a stroke, partially paralyzed and retires. Caramon and Tika wed, but Caramon is a drunk. Sturm returns a broken man. Tanis cannot forgive Sturm for the loss of Laurana and stays in Solace to look out for his friends. In 353 AC, the Blue Dragonarmy sails to the Isles of Ergoth and occupies them, killing Gunthar Uth Wistan. The Black Dragonarmy conquers Goodlund. The Green Dragonarmy conquers Silvanesti and the Plains of Dust. The White Dragonarmy controls southern Plains of Dust, Karolis, Enstar, Nostar and Southern Ergoth. The Red Dragonarmy betrays the Blood Sea Isles and occupies them. A resistance cell named The Innfellows arises under a mysterious and unknown leader. By autumn Lord Ariakas crowns himself Dragon Emperor. His son Ariakan is named his successor.
This timeline ends in the here and now of 354 AC. Ansalon is wholly ruled by the Dragonarmies. The Highlords begin plotting against one another. The pockets of resistance, knightly circles, White and Red Robes, and Innfellows cause constant trouble. Berem continues to evade the Dragonarmies. The races of Ansalon are enslaved. Kender, gnomes and Aghar are killed on sight. Qualinesti and Silvanesti are forced to live in the nightmare Silvanesti forests. As you can see this is a much darker campaign than even the Age of Despair. As there are still clerics, most are evil. The gods of good still want the populace to understand the lesson of the Kingpriest, and only respond to those truly seeking their aid.
The High Clerist’s Tower is known as Dragondeath once again, as spirits of chromatic dragons under the Dark Queen’s control, fly around its towers protecting it. In the dark recesses of the tower, Lauranas song, a mournful melody of love and loss can be heard. Despite the Red Dragonarmies attempts the Tower of High Sorcery in Wayreth remains protected. Qualinesti is used for lumber. Theros Ironfeld resides in the Monument to the Silver Dragon forging Dragonlances. It is still hidden from the White Dragonarmy. The Innfellows operate out of an ancient ruined temple in the northern Kharolis Mountains called Sanctuary. An ancient gold dragon’s hoard lies in its dungeons. Cyan Bloodbane returned to Silvanesti and watches over it. Elven freedom fighters use the Wildrunners to liberate the elves one at a time. The Temple of the Dragonslayer or the Temple of the Holy Orders of the Stars stands as a location for those seeking the true faith of the gods of good.
Outro
And that is all the time I have to talk about the alternate timeline: Dragonlands. What do you think of this alternate timeline? Would you ever play a campaign set in it? And finally, will Kitiara stand up to Ariakan if Ariakas ever dies? Leave a comment below.
I would like to take a moment and remind you to subscribe to this YouTube channel, ring the bell to get notified about upcoming videos and click the like button. This all goes to help other Dragonlance fans learn about this channel and its content. Thank you for watching, this has been Adam with DragonLance Saga and until next time, remember:
Time moves, and we are standing still.
Subscribe to the podcast today! Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Pandora | Blubrry | Youtube Music | RSS | More
