https://youtu.be/hD67YE9ViUY

The wake of the Kinslayer Wars saw the seceding of many Silvanesti Elves to found the Qualinesti nation. Let’s take a closer look into the history of the Qualinesti Elves!

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Transcript

They are the result of a violent civil war and the desire to work with other races rather than remain isolationists. Let’s dig in a bit more...

Intro

Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to talk about Qualinesti Elves. 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 modules and sourcebooks from all editions for this information. 

Discussion

Qualinesti Elves first came onto the Dragonlance scene in DL2 Dragons of Flame. They were the estranged family to Tanis Half-Elven, and we are immediately introduced to the royal family in Gilthanas, Laurana and Porthios who all play significant roles in the history of both the Qualinesti nation, and the War of the Lance. But we can go back much further than that as the Qualinesti have their roots in the Silvanesti nation. The grandsons of the founder of the Silvanesti nation, Silvanos, would be at the forefront of the Kinslayer Wars, which ended in the separations and mass migration of thousands of Silvanesti to found a new more tolerant and welcoming nation Qualinesti. Of course, this tolerance and welcoming spirit is still very subdued compared to non elven races. Sithas and Kith-Kanan would be born in a tumultuous time. The Ergothian Empire, the brutal, bestial creation, ruled by warlords and tyrants, was expanding all across Ansalon, pushing up against Silvanesti’s borders. The death of its founder, Ackal Ergot would see the ascension of Ackal Dermount who saw war as unprofitable and began trading with their neighbors. The first to meet this expansion were the Wildrunner elves, led by Kith-Kanan, while his brother Sithas was heir to their fathers throne.

Kith-Kanan, free from the political and social stigmas of the capital, traded openly with the human settlements, and some of the elves even joined in marriage with humans. This peaceful engagement between the races and nations made sense to Kith-Kannan in the name of peace, but his father Sithel, the Speaker of the Stars, was much more of a traditionalist and journeyed to the western borders at Kith-Kanan’s invitation to see for himself the strength of his son’s half-century long diplomacy. In a terrible accident Sithel was killed by a stray arrow during a hunt for sport in the borderlands, and the result was the Kinslayer Wars. Sithas became the Speaker of the Stars and declared war on Ergoth, promoting his twin Kith-Kanan to general. Now some believe the harrow’s origin was human assassins to remove the barrier of further Ergothian expansion, others place the murder directly at Sithas’ feet to discredit his brother and put himself on the throne.

The beginning of the Kinslayer War was simple in its xenophobia. Remove humans from Silvanesti’s lands. It became difficult as some of those humans were wed to elves. Those elves sided with Ergoth and Kith-Kanan would lead the war against his own kind and against those who connected with Er...

https://youtu.be/O7vG5nLTOVQ

Enjoy this reading of the poem Three Sheets to the Wind by Michael Williams. This poem first appeared in Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home, released in 1987.

Buy Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home: https://amzn.to/39TClwb

Three Sheets to the Wind

Sing as the spirits move you,Sing to your doubling eye,Plain Jane becomes Lovable LindasWhen six moons shine in the sky.

Sing to a sailor's courage,Sing while the elbows bend,A ruby port your harbor,Hoist three sheets to the wind.

Sing while the heart is cordial,Sing to the absinthe of cares,Sing to the one for the weaving road,And the dog, and each of his hairs.

All of the waitresses love you,Every dog is your friend,Whatever you say is just what you mean,So hoist three sheets to the wind.

https://youtu.be/VYlx9xSJwl4

Join me as I review Knight of the Black Rose by James Lowder, live! Share your thoughts on this background novel about Lord Soth in the Ravenloft campaign setting. This is the second book in the Ravenloft The Covenant series.

You can pick up Knight of the Black Rose here: https://amzn.to/2XJa73E

About Knight of the Black Rose

A death knight with a checkered past finally meets his match in this second gothic horror tale set in the dark and menacing world of Ravenloft

On the fabled world of Krynn, Lord Soth finally learns that there is a price to pay for his long history of evil deeds, a price even an undead warrior might find horrifying.

Dark powers transport Soth to Barovia, and there the death knight must face the dread minions of Count Strahn Von Zarovich, the vampire lord of the nightmare land. But with only a captive Vistani woman and an untrustworthy ghost for allies, Lord Soth soon discovers that he may have to join forces with the powerful vampire if he is ever to escape the realm of terror.

Knight of the Black Rose is the second in an open-ended series of Gothic horror tales dealing with the masters and monsters of the Ravenloft dark fantasy setting.

Transcript

Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. It is Kirinor, Reapember 29th, my name is Adam and today I am going to give you my Spoiler review of Knight of the Black Rose. I will be spoiling the story, so if you don’t want to know it, stop watching now! 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. This is my perspective only, and if you have any thoughts or disagree with mine, I invite you to share them in YouTube chat.

This picks up at the assault of Palanthas. It’s really interesting hearing Lord Soth’s perspective of this event. When he collects Kitiara’s corpse in the Tower of High Sorcery in Palanthas, I had always thought her soul was part of that, as I believe he mentioned Takhisis promised him her soul. This however changes it so that his seneschal Caradoc, who is much more weak and conniving than portrayed in Lord Soth the novel, must traverse the Abyss looking for her soul. The tale of Soth is also different in this book than the original tale in the Dragonlance Adventures sourcebook and the Lord Soth novel. I don’t personally mind inconsistencies, as I see these novels like a retailing and personal approach to the characters legend rather than a factual recounting. Caradoc knows where to go as Lord Soth Told Him, and he decides to try and ensure Soth sticks to his word about talking to Chemosh, the god of undeath, about giving Caradoc his life back. I really like the way they portray Hell and the Abyss here. I have always been a fan of Dante’s view of Hell in the Inferno from the DIvine COmedy, and it is drastically different from Dragonlance’s view of the Abyss.

You see, Caradoc is a ghost in this story, though one that is still able to be physically harmed by Soth. He collects and hides Kitiaras soul from Soth, who is furious and breaks the ghost's neck, then the mist captures them both, transporting them to Barovia. As soon as they arrive, Count Strahd Von Zarovich is aware of Lord Soth’s presence, and sends his wolves to investigate. He also sends zombies after Soth to test his power.

https://youtu.be/-ZRSeVDAhbo

Enjoy this episode of Mail Time as I unbox a copy of Dragon Magazine Issue number 83 from March 1984. This contains the story The Test of the Twins by Margaret Weis which is the first Dragonlance story ever printed. It was meant as a primer for Dragons of Autumn Twilight and the Dragonlance campaign setting.

https://youtu.be/py0VQzRUMts

Krynn is home to so many different cultures and landmasses. Some of these lands are shrouded in mystery even in the Age of Mortals. Let’s explore the lost lands of Krynn.

Buy Dragons of Krynn: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/29540/Dragons-of-Krynn-35?affiliate_id=50797

Time Stamps

* 0:59 Isle of Gargath * 2:39 Storm's Keep * 3:48 Dragon Isles * 9:33 Ithin'carthia

Transcript

There are lands still shrouded in mystery to the vast majority of the people of Krynn. Let's explore a number of those locations.

Intro

Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to talk about the Lost Lands of Krynn. 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 the novels The Second Generation, Return of the Exile, and sourcebooks The History of Dragonlance and the Dragons of Krynn for this information.

Discussion

First, let’s travel west of Ansalon to the Isle of Gargath. In the Age of Dreams, the Graygem was captured by Gargath whose fortress was assaulted by Gnomes, Humans, Orges, Elves and Dwarves, depending on the version of the legend you hear, and in the effort to reclaim it, the Graygem slipped through Reorx’s fingers and traveled west, causing a massive amount of chaos in its wake. Now, we all know why, as Chaos was trapped inside of it, but it was eventually recaptured by a descendant of Gargath on the Isle that came to become known as the Isle of Gargath. This island features a gigantic mountain at its core, surrounded by a forest of trees and ending in sandy beaches. The island is populated by primitive humans who live in huts clustered into villages throughout the forests and beaches, tasked by the graygem with its protection through the Wizard Gargath. Castle Gargath is at the base of the mountain. The appearance continually shifts with archways and doorways reappearing and disappearing due to the chaos of the graygem. At its center is a cone shaped room rising into a point, at its pinnacle is where the graygem was held in stasis, constantly transforming Lorg Gargath as torture for trapping it. We also know that the graygem was ultimately recaptured by Reorx, who subsequently re-lost it in a bet, where it immediately fled and was recaptured by the Irda.

As we continue our exploration of some of the more obscure locations on Krynn, I think we should make our next stop at Storm’s Keep. This stronghold and former headquarters of the Knights of Takhisis in the Age of Despair is located far north and west of the continent of Ansalon. It rests on a vast rock peak in the Sirrion Sea. This fortress is protected by the goddess Zeboim, for the safety of her son Ariakan Ariakas. From above the ocean surface, it is shrouded in storm clouds. From below,

https://youtu.be/mMNL-lPJSiM

Join me as I review Lord Soth by Edo Van Belkom, live! Share your thoughts on this background novel about the infamous Lord Soth, when he was a Knight of Solamnia. This is the sixth book in the Dragonlance Warriors series.

You can pick up Lord Soth here: https://amzn.to/3lAlmDS

About Lord Soth

The Dragonlance Warriors series continues with the tale of Soth, once a mighty warrior, whose jealous passions and neglect of duty has caused him to lose all that is dear to him - his love, his life and his very spirit. His is the tale of a descent into evil and darkness.

Transcript

Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. It is Misham, Reapember 23rd, my name is Adam and today I am going to give you my Spoiler review of Lord Soth. I will be spoiling the story, so if you don’t want to know it, stop watching now! 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. This is my perspective only, and if you have any thoughts or disagree with mine, I invite you to share them in YouTube chat.

I grew up loving fantasy films. Films with knights and maidens and magic captured my attention and none was greater in my opinion than Excalibur. It featured the story of King Arthur and the Holy Grail. It was resplendent with chivalry and battle, all the while showcasing the knights' humanity as they struggled to live up to thor lofty ideals through their human desires. I see a lot of this in this novel.

Book One: Son’s Rise is all about how Lord Loren Soth ordered his faithful Knight Caradoc to murder his fathers illegitimate children to ensure his uncontested rise to take over his fathers lands. It focuses on his hatred for his father, for having put him in this place, and for his fathers lack of willpower for women that put him in this place to begin with. A wonderful foreshadow for the reader. 

It then shared how Lord Soth was presented to the Knights Council for consideration into the Knights of the Rose. This reminded me of my time in the military when I had to appear before my leaders for review before I was granted my stripes as a non-commissioned officer. Lord Soth's deeds though fantasy, obviously outshone my own. He was immediately inducted into the Rose Knighthood and it describes the construction of Dargaard Keep briefly.

We are then immediately presented with the life and love of Lord Soth as he marries and expands his lands with Lady Korinne Gladria. THey struggle with being able to get pregnant, as Lord Soth is called to defend a town that was assaulted by Ogres. We are then shown his and his knights tactics and prowess in battle, and how each knight rationalizes or outright ignores the Oath and the Measure, his Knight Caradoc being the most flagrant. This again foreshadows their willingness to follow Lord Soth, regardless of their code.

They then travel to Palanthas to attend a council and come across a group of elf maidens en route to Paladines temple to become clerics who were assaulted by ogres. They search and kill each of them, again with varying adherence to their code, and Lord Soth finds Isolde Denissa. He immediately is attracted to her, and she to him. We get to see Soth struggle with his attraction and his devotion, and  even question whether he loves Korinne after they haven’t been able to secu...

https://youtu.be/dUrlU8C8vjA

Enjoy this reading of the poem The Bird Song of Wayreth Forest by Michael Williams. This poem first appeared in Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home, released in 1987.

Buy Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home: https://amzn.to/39TClwb

The Bird Song of Wayreth Forest

Easeful the forest, easeful its mansions perfectedWhere we grow and decay no longer, our trees ever green,Ripe fruit never falling, streams still and transparentAs glass, as the heart in repose this lasting day.

Beneath these branches the willing surrender of movement,The business of birdsong, of love, left on the bordersWith all of the fevers, the failures of memory.Easeful the forest, easeful its mansions perfected.

And light upon light, light as dismissal of darkness,beneath these branches no shade, for shade is forgottenIn the warmth of the light and the cool smell of the leavesWhere we grow and decay; no longer, our trees ever green.

Here there is quiet, where music turns in upon silence,Here at the world’s imagined edge, where clarityCompletes the senses, at long last where we beholdRipe fruit never falling, streams still and transparent.

Where the tears are dried from our faces, or settle,Still as a stream in accomplished countries of peace,And the traveler opens, permitting the voyage of lightAs air, as the heart in repose this lasting day.

Easeful the forest, easeful its mansions perfectedWhere we grow and decay no longer, our trees ever green,Ripe fruit never falling, streams still and transparentAs air, as the heart in repose this lasting day.

https://youtu.be/irVnRvgM2FY

Enjoy thi sunboxing of a used copy of Knight of the Black Rose by James Lowder. This was originally released in 1990 by TSR.

You can pick up a copy here: https://amzn.to/36lHvi4

About Knight of the Black Rose

A death knight with a checkered past finally meets his match in this second gothic horror tale set in the dark and menacing world of Ravenloft

On the fabled world of Krynn, Lord Soth finally learns that there is a price to pay for his long history of evil deeds, a price even an undead warrior might find horrifying.

Dark powers transport Soth to Barovia, and there the death knight must face the dread minions of Count Strahn Von Zarovich, the vampire lord of the nightmare land. But with only a captive Vistani woman and an untrustworthy ghost for allies, Lord Soth soon discovers that he may have to join forces with the powerful vampire if he is ever to escape the realm of terror.

Knight of the Black Rose is the second in an open-ended series of Gothic horror tales dealing with the masters and monsters of the Ravenloft dark fantasy setting.

https://youtu.be/nxTxqo45gls

Also known as Dragon Orbs, Orbs of Dragonkind were forged specifically to defeat Dragons in the Third Dragon War, which were inspired by the Dragon Stones from the First Dragon War. Let’s dive into their history and powers.

Buy Wings of Fury: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/216832/Wings-Of-Fury-SAGA?affiliate_id=50797

Transcript

On more than one video I have conflated the Dragon Stones with the Dragon Orbs, and they are not the same. Let’s explore their evolution and connection for clarity.

Intro

Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to talk about the Orbs of Dragonkind. 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 have referenced modules and sourcebooks from every edition for this information.

Discussion

For background on the creation of the Orbs of Dragonkind, we have to travel back into prehistory, sometime in the Age of Dreams. The Gold Dragon Aurican was fascinated by the elves. When the elves chose to live in the forests that would come to be known as Silvanesti, they discovered it was already inhabited by the Dark Queen’s chromatic dragons. They didn’t take kindly to the elves' actions, and the First Dragon War began in secret. Crematia, an ancient and evil red dragon, formed an army of chromatic dragons and ogres. While the metallic dragons were mourning the loss of the Scion, Bard Pattersmith. Crematia had the ogres attack the elves from the north. After days of bloodshed, the elves successfully beat the ogres into a brief retreat. Then the chromatic dragons came. Dragonfear paralized the elves, who were no match for the dragons they didn’t even realize were back in the world. 

The female metallic dragons demanded that the males leave the grotto after the scions death, and Aurican decided to visit Silvanesti to check up on the progress of the burgeoning elven nation under the influence of Silvanos their leader. As soon as they saw the devastation laid to the elven nation, realizing that the chromatic dragons returned to krynn, they traveled to the Khalkist mountains, the evil dragons birthplace and were ambushed and decimated by Crematia’s dragon kin. Only Darlantan, the Silver dragon and Aurican the gold dragon made it out alive. You see, the good dragons did not have spell casting ability in these ancient times, a deficiency that led to their downfall. As Darlantan returned to the battle using guerilla tactics to successfully strike blow after blow to Crematia’s forces, Aurican left to the realm of the gods in search of Magic.

Elven history relates that Aurican took with him three elven sages, brothers Fayal Padran, Parys Dayl, and Kayn Wytsnall. The three gods Nuitari, Solinari and Lunitari, perhaps with the approval of Paladine, forged five powerful gems, the Dragon Stones which Aurican brought back to Krynn. The Dragon Stones are large and bright, colored with one of the five chromatic dragon’s colors. The purpose of the Dragon Stones was to trap the chromatic dragons souls. They left the stones in the care of Silvanos himself while they turned the tide on the war. Aurican would take one stone at a time to a chromatic wing, using Darlantan as bait, then ambush them with the Dragon Stone.

https://youtu.be/KBdkPVBcxFI

Join me as I review Dragons of Summer Flame, live! Share your thoughts on this divisive novel that propelled Dragonlance from the Fourth Age to the Fifth Age with the Summer of Chaos. I share my thoughts on the novel after nearly 20 years of distance.

You can pick up Dragons of Summer Flame here: https://amzn.to/3lB0g8z

Review

Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. It is Misham, Reapember 16th, my name is Adam and today I am going to give you my Spoiler review of Dragons of Summer Flame. I will be spoiling the story, so if you don’t want to know it, stop watching now! 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. This is my perspective only, and if you have any thoughts or disagree with mine, I invite you to share them in YouTube chat.

Book One presents the Irda being visited by the Knights of Takhisis. The Irda transformed themselves into cro magnon humans and the Knights scouts ended up leaving the island. The Irda Decider felt that the Knights would inevitably return and must do something to protect themselves. You see, the Irda captured the Greystone after Reorx lost it at the end of the story “Wanna’ Bet?”. They have been hiding it from Reorx, keeping it safe. Now that they see the threat of the Knights of Takhisis, certain of their future domination of Ansalon and ultimate return to the Irda’s home, they plan on breaking the Greystone and using it’s powerful trapped magic to shield them from the world. They are worried about the adopted human girl Usha, and order the Protector, her adopted father, to send her away to Palanthas. The Protector sends her with a note for Dalamar the Dark, explaining what the Irda Decider is going to do with the Greystone, and includes the Irda’s unaltered history of the world. Usha has been spoiled since she was brought to the island as an infant and uses her emotions to get what she wants. When she is sent away she tries to throw a tantrum in order to stay, and when she realizes it won’t work, accepts her fate and even looks forward to the adventure of Palanthas.

The Decider cracks open the Greystone as Reorx lands on the island in search of it. The Father of all and Nothing was trapped inside the Greystone and breaks out, murdering the Decider, sets fire to the island, murdering all the Irda on it, and tells Reorx to warn the Gods that he is going to destroy all of the life they created.

Book Two is a big one. It starts with the Knights of Takhisis having just defeated a Knights of Solamnia platoon. Tanin and Sturm Majere were killed and Palin Majere was captured. He is being sent to the Tower of Wayreth for ransom by Steel Uth Matar Brightblade, who volunteered to repay a debt of honor to Caramon Majere. I am really bothered that we are introduced to the brothers Sturm and Tanin, then they are immediately killed. I would have liked to get to know them a bit more. We are meant to feel a closer connection to Palin through it, but it rings just a bit hollow for me. They arrive at The Inn of the Last Home when Porthios and Alhana are there in secret with Tanis Half-Elven. Alhana is pregnant and giving birth. They are outcast Dark elves now so they must remain in hiding. Caramon and Tika deal with the loss of their two sons and Palin decides the best bet to open a portal is in the Tower of Palanthas, as he is hearing his uncle, Raistlin Majere’s voice in his head. 

They stay the night and leave for Palanthis.