Riverwind the Plainsman Review

Join me as I review Riverwind the Plainsman by Paul B. Thompson and Tonya R. Carter, live! Share your thoughts on this first novel in the Dragonlance Preludes II series, released on March 31, 1990 by TSR Inc. You can buy a copy here: https://amzn.to/47Ondex

https://youtube.com/live/tkUWIIZ5ZeQ

About Riverwind the Plainsman

Desperate to win the hand of his chieftan's daughter, Riverwind embarks on a dangerous mission to find the fabled Blue Crystal Staff 

To prove himself worthy of his great love, Goldmoon, Riverwind is sent on an impossible quest by the elders of the Que-Shu tribe: Find evidence of the true gods.

With an eccentric soothsayer named Catchflea, Riverwind falls down a magical shaft, and alights in a world of slavery, sorcery, and rebellion. As Riverwind, Catchflea, and a resourceful elf-girl find their way to Xak Tsaroth—and discover the Blue Crystal Staff of Miashakal—they are stalked by fate and prophecy. For it is said that one of them will go mad, one will die, and one will find glory.

Review

Intro

Welcome to another DragonLance Saga review episode. It is Kirinor, Newkolt the 31st. My name is Adam and today I am going to give you my review of Riverwind the Plainsman by Paul B. Thompson and Tonya R. Carter. I would like to take a moment and thank the DLSaga members, 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. 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 is yet another wonderful in-cannon story beginning. We pick up with Riverwind already at his Anointing of the Quester ritual. Everyone must undertake this if their desire to marry the Princess of the Que-Shu and eventually become the Chieftain. The ritual is followed by another Courting Quest where he must endure a psychedelic drug. There is in refrernce to the short story where Goldmoon’s mother appeared to her and told her of the old gods, and Riverwind sees his dead father and rival, Wanderer and Hollow-Sky respectfully. Hollow-Sky mocks him, and Wanderer tells him the old gods are real and to stand and fight, though Riverwind believes he is dying. I have done a number of psychedelics in my day in a number of forms, and I have never once thought I was dying, though many of my friends have. This I believe is a trope from those who want the experience to be dangerous and used as propaganda against the substances. They are in fact quite helpful for a number of conditions. Boredom being the least important. 

So Riverwind comes to and realizes he said everything aloud, and the tribe elders want him to be expelled for heresy, as the Que-Shu turned to ancestor worship after the Cataclysm. Then it's revealed one of the elders tricked Riverwind, so ultimately he was sent on a quest to prove the old gods are real, or come back and renounce his beliefs. He refuses to renounce them and leaves. On his way out he is met by a hermit seer named Catchflea. It's a derogatory nickname given to him that he took ownership of. He prophesied what is to come, and joins Riverwind. As they begin climbing the Eastwall, or forbidden mountains, they come across wolves, of a kind. Riverwind is hunting a sheep and this pack takes the wounded animal. The pack leader, Kayanor can speak and has fingers for paws, a truly upsetting image not unlike some ancient wendigo or shapeshifter in indigenous people mythology. 

The creature hunts Riverwind who bluffs his way out of the situation,