Cross the sea beyond Ansalon to explore the shattered continent of Taladas and discover the renegade dragons who refused the call of the gods: the Othlorx! From the divine curses and psychological burdens laid upon brass, bronze, copper, and silver to the twisted, paranoid, and cowardly fates of black, blue, green, red, and white othlorx—uncover the tragic history of Krynn’s uninvolved dragonkind! Buy Dragons of Krynn: https://www.dmsguild.com//product/29540/dragons-of-krynn-3-5?affiliate_id=50797
Transcript
Cold Open
Across the sea on the shattered lands of Taladas, the dragons who chose to sit out the War of of the Lance became the Othlorx—the Uninvolved—fated to bear the crushing psychological curses of angry gods.
Intro
Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam, and today, we are crossing the vast sea far away from our usual haunts to explore the shattered, volcanic continent of Taladas and the unique dragonkind that call it home—the Othlorx. I’d like to take a moment and thank the DLSaga members, and invite you to consider becoming a member—you can even pick up Dragonlance media or get $10 by signing up to StartPlaying.Games using my affiliate links. I’m referencing the Dragons of Krynn sourcebook for this information. If I leave anything out or misspeak, please leave a comment below.
Discussion
While the dragons of Ansalon plunged headfirst into the great historical wars, various metallic and chromatic dragons of Taladas chose to stay behind out of ennui, stubbornness, or sheer self-preservation. That refusal sparked the divine dismay of Paladine and the fiery fury of Takhisis, permanently warping their psyches into the infamous ‘Uninvolved.’ From isolated brass talkers and terrified red cowards to cunning white predators and guilt-ridden silver vigilantes, these are the forgotten dragons of Krynn.
While Ansalon stands at the heart of the Dragonlance saga, it is far from the only continent on the world of Krynn. Across the sea on Taladas, the native dragons are physically identical to their Ansalonian cousins, but their psychological makeup was radically altered by a single, monumental choice during the War of the Lance. When Takhisis expected all evil dragons to flock to her banner, and when the good dragons faced their oaths of non-interference, a faction of dragons on Taladas looked at the conflicts across the ocean and decided to stay home. Some felt supreme indifference; others saw no profit in a war across the sea.
That refusal infuriated the divine powers. Paladine felt deep dismay at the desertion of his children, while Takhisis boiled with fury at the betrayal of her ranks. Their collective emotional backlash manifested as a psychological curse that turned these renegade dragons into the Othlorx—draconic for ‘The Uninvolved.’ Though the departure of the gods and the passage of time have slowly allowed some of the Othlorx to shake off these mental shackles, the heavy scars of their curse remain visible across every chromatic and metallic species on the continent.
The good-aligned Othlorx faced a harsh reception from their brethren, who viewed their absence as an unforgivable abdication of duty:
Brass Othlorx stayed behind purely out of ennui and boredom, brass othlorx were immediately cut off and shunned by other metallic dragons. Left in deep social isolation, these natural conversationalists became desperate for company, famously hijacking trade caravans just to force travelers into chats and gossip. After the Uigan steppes were ravaged by the wizard Maladar, these brasses turned to the Tamire elves for connection.
Bronze Othlorx were dwelling deep underwater and in secluded woodland glades, most bronze othlorx simply never heard the call to arms. Years of isolation left them entirely ignorant of world events, with some still blindly preparing for an invasion by Takhisis that never came.
Copper Othlorx refused to fight out of sheer stubbornness, copper othlorx thought it ridiculous to bleed in someone else’s war. Shunned for their selfishness, some coppers in Southern Hosk eventually formed a group called the ‘Dragon Knights’ alongside exiled humans and elves to atone for their past indifference.
Silver Othlorx: In one of Krynn’s bitterest ironies, the Taladan silvers who stayed behind to protect local mortals were paralyzed by intense guilt over not fighting for Paladine. They became hyper-intolerant, adopting a rigid, uncompromising code where death is the only sentence for even minor evil. Following Paladine’s death, their trauma deepened further as they sought to atone across the continent.
Takhisis’s curse struck the evil dragonflights of Taladas with devastating, poetic irony:
Black Othlorx were thriving in the southern marshes and jungles, black othlorx became extreme xenophobes. Takhisis’s curse addled their sense of stealth, making them erratic beasts who attack superior foes on sight, yet inexplicably turn warm and cordial depending on random whims.
Blue Othlorx, because blues were naturally loyal to Takhisis, very few became othlorx. Those who used legal loopholes to dodge the war were cursed with a terrible fate: they must always honor their word literally, regardless of context. This made them deathly reticent, bitter, and hostile toward humans, whom they blame for starting the wars.
Green Othlorx were unwilling to leave their sheltered groves, green othlorx were bound directly to their territories by Takhisis. Paralyzed by a violent, overprotective territorial obsession, they destroy anything on sight—even other green dragons—making breeding nearly impossible and driving their species toward extinction.
Red Othlorx spurned the goddess’s commands to claim empty land on Taladas, red othlorx were stripped of the trait they prized most: their supreme self-confidence. The most physically powerful brutes on the continent became utter cowards, hiding behind ambush tactics and cheap tricks in combat while boasting vainly when safe.
White Othlorx suffered the worst fate of all, white dragons who refused the call had their intelligence stripped away entirely, reduced to bestial, spell-less hunters. However, following the rise of the Ansalonian overlord Frost and his skull totem, their intelligence was restored with a vengeance, turning them into the most cunning and vindictive predators on Taladas.
Notably, there are no gold Othlorx. Gold dragons were far too devoted to Paladine to ever disobey him. Instead, the golds remaining on Taladas were personally instructed by the Platinum Father to stay behind, acting as protective shepherds for the remaining metallic dragon clans to ensure their survival through the coming darkness.
Outro
From the isolated caravan-stoppers of the Taladan steppes to the guilt-ridden silver vigilantes and coward-hearted red tyrants, the Othlorx of Taladas prove that choosing to stay out of a war on Krynn comes with a heavy divine price. Which Taladan Othlorx dragonflight do you find the most fascinating? Have your adventurers ever crossed the sea to encounter these renegade wyrms? Leave a comment below.
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Be thankful you can feel pity and horror at the death of an enemy. The day we cease to care – even for our enemies – is the day we have lost this battle.
