The Tower of the High Clerist is a fortress of rich history and mystery. Built for a purpose it would take millenia to realize, it remains one of the grandest structures in all of Krynn. Let’s learn more about the High Clerist’s Tower. Buy DL8 Dragons of War: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16909/DL8-Dragons-of-War-1e?affiliate_id=50797
Transcript
Cold Open
There are a couple different names for this haunted fortress.
Intro
Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to talk about the High Clerist’s Tower. I would like to take a moment and thank the members of this channel, 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 DL8 Dragons of War, The Atlas of the Dragonlance World, Palanthas, War of the Lance and Legends of the Twins sourcebooks for this information. If I leave anything out or misspeak, please leave a comment below!
Discussion
It was in Seventeen Seventy-Two Prae Cataclius in the Age of Dreams and the Time of Knights that Vinas Solamnus ordered the construction of Dragondeath. It was later named after the High Clerist, the head of the Order of the Sword. Though its origins are shrouded in mystery, legend holds that the tower was built according to a prophecy of Solamnic Clerics. It was believed to never be able to fail as long as men of faith guarded its walls. Colloquial belief holds that the initial intent was to both guard Westgate Pass, the only pass through the Habbakuk Range of the Vingaard Mountains between the Plains of Solamnia and the city of Palanthas, and to trap and kill dragons. Krynn had suffered two Dragon Wars in its history and unbeknownst to the Knights of Solamnia, a Third Dragon War was coming in nearly eight hundred years. North of the tower, a canyon wound through the mountains connecting to the city of Palanthas. South of the Tower spread the Wings of Habbakuk, an apronlike flatland which ends at the Virkus Hills, set snugly between the mountains and plains below. The west side of the canyon pass was open, allowing the river to flow unimpeded to its east.
Knights’ Spur, the wall that completely blocked the pass, was built by Palanthas after the Cataclysm for further protection in the absence of the Knights of Solamnia. In fact it was the only part of the fortress that was occupied in the War of the Lance. Knight’s Spur featured three levels below the battlements, holding a map room, hall for the Council of Knights, a chapel and several utility rooms. In the center of Knights’ Spur ran the river via an aqueduct barred by portcullises. Just east of the aqueduct is a fortified gate and ramp providing access to the Plains of Solamnia. In total, Knights’ Spur rises 120 feet high, the same height as the Tower’s curtainwall.
The original tower structure rises over one thousand feet, featuring sixteen levels. The central tower is octagonal with smaller towers at each of its eight points, all within the octagonal curtainwall. It was designed for the opulent comfort of the Knights of Solamnia. If they were going to build a gigantic dragon trap, they may as well be comfortable within it while training knights, clerics and worshipers. Each of the levels have an entirely different character unto itself. They include temples, abbeys, meeting rooms, libraries, dining halls, food storage and preparation rooms, offices, living quarters ranging from prisons to suites for exalted guests, and even gardens. Of course this was also a fortress, so designed throughout were defensive arrow slits, pivot traps, bowling stairs and even more devious defenses. Far below the tower is the Chamber of Paladine where knights are laid to rest.
Of course the initial intent, and arguably the most interesting defense of the tower are the dragontraps located on the first level. Within strange columns not unlike jagged teeth divided with three sections of portcullises which close to trap its prey. The last had a hole through it for the dragon’s head. Beyond the portcullises are steel doors closing off the great inner room, the chamber of the Altar of the Orb. Three of these doors in total allow the trapped dragon to be summarily dealt with via knights in hidden alcoves along the corridor. This area was destroyed in the War of the Lance when one set of steel doors failed to close.
The High Clerist’s Tower was occupied until the Cataclysm when Yarus, Lord High Cleric of the Knights of Solamnia, was crushed by a pillar while playing a game of Khas with his prisoner, an evil tyrant named Kurnos. Yarus laid a curse, and Kurnos called his men into the tower before sealing it off. The leadership of the Knights of Solamnia retreated to Sancrist and there the tower lay unoccupied by all but a clan of Gully Dwarves and the haunting dead from centuries past, until Three Hundred and Fifty-Two Alt Cataclius in the Age of Despair and the Time of Dragons. The War of the Lance would see the Knight’s Spur occupied by the Knights of Solamnia under the leadership of Lord Gunthar Uth Wistan, and the tower’s lower levels would be destroyed by the Blue Dragonarmy.
In the Summer of Chaos, the Knights of Takhisis were the only force ever to be able to take the High Clerist’s Tower in all of its history. The Knights of Takhisis were formed by a former prisoner held within the Tower. They would move into and operate out of the Dragon Trap levels, though once the Chaos War broke out, it was ostensibly destroyed by Chaos Minions as they obliterated the Dark Knights and their leadership. The High Clerist’s Tower would sit unoccupied until after the War of Souls when the Knights of Solamnia would retake it from remnant Dark Knights. And this once holy structure was once again in the hands of its creators.
The High Clerist’s Tower, the tallest structure in all of Krynn, is a symbol more than anything. There is no evidence that the dragontrap was used before the War of the Lance, which seems a shame as it was the original intent. But perhaps the tower is the heritage of the Knights of Solamnia personified. They were founded on the promise of the defense for justice. They raised themselves in extravagance, and when the world was burned, their extravagance was the perfect target for those who lost everything. It led to their undoing and as they abandoned the tower, they largely abandoned their foundational beliefs. It would take sacrifice and war to bring them back from the brink, and after decades of infighting and struggle, they finally rose to their once great height again and reclaimed their tower.
The High Clerist’s Tower is arguably the most dangerous dungeon crawl location for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game in Dragonlance, and it’s not even below ground! It’s the location for some pretty exciting battles with the Battlesystem rules, and the mystery and discovery of what happened there before the Cataclysm is arguably the most exciting aspect of the location. There is no reason to believe that Dragonlance novels will continue to be written after the Age of Mortals, but with the return to the Third Dragon War in the Dragonlance Destinies Trilogy, we may return to this once mighty fortress and bask again in its brilliance of design and intent.
Outro
But that is all I have to say about The High Clerist’s Tower. Have you ever visited it in your campaigns? Do you think it will ever be the focus of a story again? And finally, did you know about its haunted halls before now? Leave a comment below.
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I will have to gather a few such as you and study this amusing transitory thing called love. It seems… wasteful.
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