First detailed in the seventh Dragonlance module Dragons of Light, the Dragonlances were made in two varieties, mounted and footman’s. Let’s learn a little bit more about the Dragonlances! Buy DL7 Dragons of Light: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16893/DL7-Dragons-of-Light-1e?affiliate_id=50797
Transcript
Cold Open
With Silver Arm and Silver Pool
And Hammer to forge Wyrms’ doom
Dragons hid these mighty tools
The last True Pool lies in this room
The Arm is lost to unknown fate
The Hammer lies past Dwarvengate
Intro
Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to talk about the Dragonlances. I would like to take a moment and thank my collaborator patrons, the Heroes of the Lance, and invite you to consider becoming a patron or member of this channel by visiting the links in the description below. You can even pick up Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate link. I am referencing DL7 Dragons of Light and every Dungeons & Dragons edition Dragonlance campaign sourcebook for this information.
Discussion
They are the namesake of the campaign and yet they don’t appear until DL7 Dragons of Light in 1985, a full 16 months after the first Dragonlance product, DL1 Dragons of Despair. Before the War of the Lance modules were released, Tracy Hickman had spent countless hours building out a backstory for the world. He created mythic heroes and gods. Creation myths and artifacts of legend. Originally referred to by the Evil Dragons as the Lances of Doom and by it’s wielders as the Spear of Paladine or Great Lance, the Dragonlances were one such artifact that became integral in the defeat of Takhisis and her armies in the Third Dragon War, the War of the Lance and finally in the War of Souls. And though the purpose of the Dragonlance was to defeat the Queen of Darkness, you cannot tell the story of the Dragonlances without starting from the beginning with Huma and the Silver Dragon, Heart. Now, there are many versions of Huma’s story, what follows is the original legend.
In the Age of Dreams the Third Dragon War lasted nearly 300 years! Near the end of that time a young Knight of Solamnia named Huma Dragonbane of Eldor undertook a quest to aid the people of Krynn. He soon realized that he could not stop the devastation of the Dragons. So he prayed to Paladine, who sent a white stag before Huma on a hunt. Huma was overcome by the majesty of the creature, that even though he was exhausted and hungry, he could not bring himself to destroy it. Insead he followed the stag which ultimately led him to a quiet grove. Huma met a beautiful woman named Gwyneth there, who eased his pain. He fell in love with her and she with him, though she refused his pledges of loyalty for months! They rejoiced in their love, until the woman revealed her true form to Huma, that of a Silver Dragon. She loved Huma too much to continue lying to him. Rather than rejecting her for her deception, he accepted her in his love. She prayed to Paladine to grant her the woman’s form forever, willingly giving up her magic and long lifespan of a dragon to live in the world with Huma.
Paladine said he would grant her wish, if they could accept the future that the request would create. The future of the Queen of Darkness and her dragons taking control of the world, and forcing innocence into misery and destruction. However, if she would remain a dragon, Paladine would lead Huma to the Dragonlances, and together they could defeat the Queen of Darkness. Huma told her that he was willing to give everything up for her, but she saw the light in his eye fade and rather than selfishly rejoice in their love, thereby condemning their world to darkness, she refused and bid farewell to Huma, giving up her love for the sake of the world. Huma was sent on three trials to prove his worthiness, and was brought to Duncan Ironweaver, a master smith, armorer, and student of Reorx himself who crafted the original Dragonlances with the Hammer of Honor. He returned to the Silver Dragon Heart and together they faced off against the Queen of Darkness’ aspect, defeating her and banishing her and her dragons from Krynn.
By the time the Heroes of the Lance were led into Foghaven Vale in Southern Ergoth and entered the Stone Dragon Mountain with Silvara in the Age of Despair, there were only 20 dragonlances left in existence, 10 mounted and 10 footman’s. But the companions had Silvara to teach them how to build them. With Theros Ironfeld wielding the Silver Arm of Ergoth, and Dragonmetal to forge them with, they found their chance to fight the near invulnerable Queen’s Dragons. Without the Hammer of Kharas, you can still forge Dragonlances, they are simply known as Lesser Dragonlances and are inferior, degrading more rapidly than their pure, Greater, or True Dragonlance counterparts.
Crudely referred to as heavy spears, Dragonlances are more appropriately described as elegant needles of steel and silver—both varieties of Dragonlances give off a healthy silver glow. Their heads are sharpened to a fine edge, and small barbs protrude from their sides. The footman’s Dragonlance is 8 feet long and is used in all respects as a typical polearm or spear when used against any creature save a dragon. Against the dragon however, it becomes a deadly artifact. The mounted Dragonlance is 16 feet long, much heavier than the footman’s version and affixed with a shield guard in front that can absorb magic. It also acts as a typical lance against non dragon foes. They will burn the hand or mount of any non-good characters wielding them.
True Dragonlances must be forged with both the Hammer of Kharas and the Silver Arm of Ergoth, with Dragonmetal, but also overseen by the Master of the White Robes and the Chosen Prophet of Paladine on the night of the Grand Conjunction of the moons. When the molten dragonmetal solidifies, the Master of the White Robes imbues it with awesome spell power and the Chosen Prophet evokes Paladine. If the workmanship is worthy and the lance is truly needed, Paladine will appear as his avatar form and lay his hands on the white-hot metal. He will then instantly disappear in a flash of vivid white light, and the True Dragonlance will remain.
True Dragonlances draw on the power and essence of the dragon and rider wielding it. If the individual wielding the lance does not believe in its powers, it may shatter under their lack of confidence. It can unleash the dragon’s breath weapon at double its usual range and damage through the uttering of the command word by the rider. The use of this immense power drains the life force of the Dragon, so it should be used sparingly. If used to excess and the life of the dragon is lost, the rider will be hunted down by the Master of the White Robes and Chosen Prophet of Paladine and slain.
In the Chaos War the dragonlances would be used again against the Knights of Takhisis, Chaos Spawn, and Fire Dragons. This led to the Age of Mortals where the Heroes of the Heart quested for Huma Dragonbane’s Dragonlance to fight the Dragon Overlord Malystryx. And finally in true poetic fashion, the secret to the creation of the Dragonlance was given by Paladine to Huma to defeat the Dark Queen. And to come full circle with the Dragonlance, at the end of the War of Souls it was Paladine who sacrificed his Immortality which in turn made Takhisis mortal allowing the young Speaker of the Stars, Silvanochei Caladon to wield a broken Dragonlance, throwing at the Dark Queen which killed her instantly. It may ha ve taken nearly 1500 years, but the Laws of Balance were finally restored, and the purpose of the Dragonlance was finally fulfilled.
Outro
And that is all I have to say about the Dragonlances. Do you have a favorite version of the Dragonlance? Have you ever used them in your campaigns? With the Dragonlance’s purpose met, should they remain on Krynn? And finally which tale of Huma Dragonbane do you prefer? Leave a comment below.
I would like to once again invite you to consider becoming a patron or member of this channel, and you can pick up Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate link, all of which are in the description below.
This channel is all about celebrating the wonderful world of the Dragonlance Saga, and I hope you will join me in the celebration. Thank you for watching, this has been Adam with DragonLance Saga and until next time, remember:
When dragons make war, Krynn can only tremble in the shadow of angry wings.
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