There are a lot of race variations in Dragonlance and more than many fans may realize. Let’s close out our races of Krynn series with these lost races of Krynn. Buy Races of Ansalon: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/27946/races-of-ansalon-3-5?affiliate_id=50797
Transcript
Cold Open
Let’s look at some racial varieties on Krynn.
Intro
Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today I am going to talk about the lost races of Krynn. 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 novels Galen Beknighted and Riverwind the Plainsman in addition to the Races of Ansalon sourcebook for this information. If I leave anything out or misspeak, please leave a comment below!
Discussion
It’s challenging to have a conversation about races in a game where the modern interpretation of it eliminates them entirely. And not just the nomenclature, but the differences between them! There is a reason dwarves look the way they do. There’s a reason elves act the way they do. And there is a very good reason gnomes are driven to invent, but fail spectacularly. Each race in the Dragonlance campaign setting has a presented history, drives, cause for their outlooks, and motivations, and all this is in addition to what a player brings to them as a player character or PC.
In Advanced Dungeons & Dragons the various permutations of races were referred to as racial stock, with each featuring racial varieties and strains in the form of sub-races, or variations within a race. For all of Dungeons & Dragons history, up until very recently, the basic race was human, and because of their prevalence they had no restrictions or limitations. They were the de-facto base of life in any given milieu. This is why you may see half-races. Because humans, being the base, would then propagate with other races, and then create half races. The most common of which in Krynn is the Half-Elf. But that is far from the only option presented for player consideration. Let’s take a look at the various half races in Dragonlance and a few variations or sub-races we have yet to discuss.
Half-humans are not culturally accepted in most societies around Krynn. They may be a result of love between two individuals, but their respective cultures see them as an anomaly, or diluting their bloodlines. At the very least it is a taboo. This may stem from the idea that many mixed race individuals remind the other mortals of their similarities, something that can cut to the very core of a racial identity. This forces many half-humans to lead isolated or outcast lives, often moving from place to place, unable to find anywhere to make a true home for themselves. This leads to generally unhappy individuals. The most common half species are half-humans with half-elves, half-ogres, and half-kender, though there are known to be half-dwarves, half gnomes and others.
This isn’t to say only half-humans exist. There are records of ogre-elf mixes such as Grand Lord Golgren, and even rumors of dwarf-elf pairings. However the union of two Graygem races often ends in major defects. Some anthropological scholars and Gileanite Archivists note that dwarf-gnome couplings are the true source of the Aghar or Gully Dwarves, though both races deny this. Of the handful of gnome-kender children noted, they are often frail and sickly; with most dying in childhood. There have only been a few known dwarf-kender children. Most of them have been mentally unstable and prone to violence.
Half-Dwarves are very rare, the most common coming from the Neidar, or Hill dwarves. They are traditionally taller and less stocky as their dwarven cousins. They typically resemble the communities in which they were raised. Most prefer the life of adventuring rather than constantly trying to fit into a community in adulthood. Half-Elves are the most common mixed race pairing, but that doesn’t mean they are accepted in either society. Elves are typically very xenophobic, and even human communities hold generational enmity with many races including elves. This inevitably leads to a poor quality of life. They often inherit both the best and worst traits of their parents, appearing taller and more muscular than elves, with their almond shaped eyes and pointed ears forcing them to stand out from humans. While half-gnomes are exceptionally rare, they do exist. They are often taller and stockier than their gnome parents, and males have difficulty growing facial hair. They often inherit the extremes in each race, developing pathological obsessive personalities to the point of compulsion. In other extreme cases they inherit neither of their parents’ intellectualism, and are incapable of studying anything to any degree of depth.
Half-Goblins arguably have the worst time of it. They are often abandoned at birth, or seen as some form of twisted inspiration. They inherit the drive and ambition of their human parents, and the ferocity and mob mentality of their goblin parents. They often result in, if allowed to live into adulthood, zealous outcasts who seek to right all of the wrongs inflicted on their ancestors. Half-Kender are also relegated to the edges of the world they live in. However the Kender community accepts them like none other on Krynn. They still suffer from wanderlust, but due to their appearance, looking mostly like thinner and shorter humans, they are not often known for what they are. If it is discovered, they are treated much like other Kender. Of all half-races, Half-Ogres are arguably the most tragic. In almost every case they are the result of violence and despair, which stays with the child throughout life. If the mother is not an ogre, they are often cast out of their communities. The children tend to be much larger and stronger than their human halves. Their hair is thin and wiry, with ungraceful faces and typically protruding, brown teeth. They are often short tempered, and become highly suspicious due to how they were treated as children.
There are also racial varieties due to region. For example, the Hest Elves, first appearing in the novel Riverwind the Plainsman. This branch formed in the Age of Dreams during the Kinslayer War. The elven General Hestantafalas was imprisoned by the Speaker of the Stars for treason, but his loyal followers freed him. With the aid of the mage Vedvedsica, a great rent in the earth was opened, allowing them to flee the coming armies of the Silvanesti. The elves dug out their own settlements and became known as the Hest elves. Upon reaching adulthood, each Hest is tested to determine their roles in the society. They average to four and a half feet tall, weighing approximately one hundred pounds. They feature pale skin and light brown to black hair. They are very suspicious of outsiders.
One Hundred years before the war of the Lance, in the novel Galen Beknighted, we are introduced to another culture that took to the ground. In this case it is the human plainsman tribe of the Que-Nara, who became the Que-Tana. Long before the Cataclysm, a young plainsman named Firebrand was told of thirteen opals that could control the power of life and death by Sargonnas. Firebrand took to the mountains with his tribe, and began mining under the Vingaards looking for the opals. Once it was discovered that Galen Pathwarden-Brightblade owned six of them, he schemed to collect them through ransom. While this tribe lived underground for hundreds of years, they were eventually liberated and reunited with their surface cousins.
Dragonlance is filled with communities that migrate and change their culture and nature. Whether this means they are an official sub-race is as open to interpretation as any other sub-race is different from the parent race. But their individuality and history is what inspires me as a Dungeon Master and a Player. Without racial variations and advantages and disadvantages, everything is human with random appearance changes, and while some in our modern world may like a homogenous, everyone is special so no one is special, perspective in life, it is simply a fantasy, more so than even this game. So why pollute the game with the same nonsense thinking?
Outro
And that is all the time I have to talk about the lost races of Krynn. What do you think of the underground elves? Would you ever play a half-Kender? And finally, do you prefer the reference of race, species, or ancestries? 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:
Don’t change the color to match the walls. Look like you belong and the walls will change color to match you.
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