It was a center of arcane knowledge before the Cataclysm, and now acts as an anchor to the Lost Citadel. Let’s learn more about The Lyceum by Tracy Hickman. Buy War of the Lance: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/3164/War-of-the-Lance-35?affiliate_id=50797
Transcript
Cold Open
This adventure is a hyper focused Dragonlance lore heavy experience by Tracy Hickman
Intro
Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to talk about The Lyceum. 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 the Dragonlance Nexus and RPG Geek websites including the War of the Lance sourcebook for this information. If I leave anything out or misspeak, please leave a comment below!
Discussion
From time to time you come across role playing game designers that want to stretch their storytelling legs, so to speak. Designers who believe that a focus on story is as or more important than the mechanics of a game. Tracy Hickman is one of those designers. While researching this episode I came across an article on RPG Geek about The Lyceum, and it noted that it was released on Tracy Hickman’s website somewhere around 1996. Further digging into the original Advanced Dungeons & Dragons version of the short adventure led me to the Dragonlance Nexus site where there were two interviews with Tracy Hickman which noted that while the original adventure is no longer in circulation, Tracy Hickman was in talks with Jamie Chambers of Sovereign Press to adapt the adventure into a release of their War of the Lance sourcebook, which is where I originally discovered the adventure. This was all part of the twentieth anniversary celebration of Dragonlance.
While I am less excited to talk about the mechanics of any adventure module, I am interested in collecting a copy of the original AD&D version, so if anyone watching this has a copy and is willing to share it, I would make it available to my audience with credit to you. All of this being said, the Lyceum is more than simply a short adventure for AD&D or D&D 3.5e, it’s a story that connects the Lost Citadel, the Bridge of Stars, and The Lyceum itself to the post War of the Lance era of Dragonlance with a wonderful story behind it. While this is a setting or lore video and not an adventure module walkthrough, I would direct anyone who wishes to run this module to the War of the Lance sourcebook. Let’s dive into the story, and remember that this is a spoiler discussion of the lore behind the adventure, so if you want it to be a surprise, stop watching now.
I suppose the first question that should be addressed is What is a Lyceum? Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines it as a hall for public lectures or discussions. This is why, when researching this episode, I kept running into the Citadel of Light, which has many Lyceum’s featured within. The ancient Lyceum I am referencing today was once a school for beginning wizards and a repository of Magical knowledge. In the original adventure it was located in Nordmaar, near the ancient ruins of Valkinord. This location was changed so as to be located along the northern coastline of Estwilde near Kalaman, or wherever the Dungeon Master desires. I prefer the original location. While the history of the Lyceum differs from its future use, it was left all but abandoned and isolated from the Cataclysm until after the War of the Lance and the Dark Queen’s defeat.
Its ancient use was as one of the physical anchor points for the Lost Citadel, the tower once known as the Citadel of Mysteries located in the Khalkist Mountains, which was taken out of time and space by the Gods of Magic, Solinari, Lunitari and Nuitari, in the Age of Dreams. It was initially the first true bastion of magical knowledge in all of Krynn, however following the magical devastation the wizards, Corenthas, Eriane, and Shaud, unleashed in the Second Dragon War, It was removed from Krynn and used to instruct these three mages in the arts of High Sorcery, forming the Wizards of High Sorcery and defining the laws of magic. The Lyceum resonated with the Lost Citadel, acting as a nexus of arcane energies. The Lyceum was a secret storehouse of magical knowledge that the Orders of High Sorcery had to keep secret from the Kingpriest in the centuries that followed, as Istar would actively pillage and destroy magical artifacts, condemning and even killing Wizards all across Ansalon.
While it was sealed with powerful wards, agents of the Kingpriest ultimately did discover the Lyceum in the final years of the Age of Might, and inflicted great structural damage to its interior. The Lyceum remained abandoned until the Night of Doom when the Lost Citadel once again connected to the world. The Gods of Light summoned their true clerics from all across Ansalon to depart Krynn as the Gods were about to hurl a mountain into the planet, destroying Istar and sundering Krynn. It was because of The Lyceum, acting as an anchor, that allowed these priests to cross the Bridge of Stars, and it was here that three young heroes, Nicholas, Nikol, and Michael stopped the Black Robed wizard Akar with the aid of Raistlin Majere from using the Bridge of Stars to open a Portal into the Abyss to bring back priests and minions of Takhisis to Krynn. You can read about this in the short story The Silken Threads by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, originally published in Tales II, Volume One: The Reign of Istar. Later a cleric named Justin returned to the Lyceum to record the account of the holy passage, and stored it in the Icon of Truth. Justin exists now as an immortal being one foot in Krynn and one in the next, studying the myriad creations from the Bridge of Stars.
After the Cataclysm, The Lyceum remained abandoned and isolated until the War of the Lance. A small force of Draconians occupied it, breaking through its magical wards. After the War, the Red Dragon Highlord Rugoheras, the priestess of Takhisis Minsi Tarenthela, the Black Robed wizard Karabanth, and the young red dragon Ashbringer moved in as well. They generally ignored the locals until recently, they began abducting six civilians from the town of Turog. Their plans are to use the Bridge of Stars Karabanth told them about, and the black shards Minsi took from the Temple of Takhisis it Neraka, and force the kidnapped twins Garth and Merylinth Minorsa into recreating the tragedy of Berem Everman and his sister Jasla in order to connect the Bridge of Stars to the Abyss, opening a portal and bringing Rugoheras’ Dark Queen back to Krynn.
As the heroes investigate the mysterious black clouds boiling out over the countryside from The Lyceum, they see the draconians have all but abandoned the ruins, and must uncover the plot and icon of truth to stop it, learning more about the Night of Doom in the process. As this was a center of arcane instruction, all of the moons are represented as wings of the structure, black to the west, red to the north and white to the east. The ruins require puzzle solving and traditional martial skills to face off against and defeat the Dragon Highlord and his allies, including the aid of Justin, who will assist in preventing access to the Gate of Souls and into the Beyond from the Bridge of Stars. This was the ultimate goal of Azar before the Cataclysm, and is why the Dragon Highlord is here now. Upon defeat, Justin sends The Lyceum into the River of Time, so the heroes will have to leave with whatever knowledge and treasure they gained expeditiously, as The Lyceum fades from everyone else’s minds.
This adventure is a massive payoff to the Night of Doom, and the short story The Silken Threads, connecting your heroes with the rich tapestry that is Dragonlance’s history. It is an adventure that would be a great sequel to any War of the Lance campaign, in any edition you prefer.
Outro
And that is all I have to say about The Lyceum. Do you enjoy Tracy Hickman’s adventures? Have you heard of The Lyceum before? And finally, would you send your party into The Lyceum? Leave a comment below.
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