The Lyceum

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 

https://youtu.be/Vc5k9IhOKgE

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 t...