The River of Time

The River of Time cannot be redirected, but it can create branches and be bypassed as we have seen in the myriad of Dragonlance novels. Let’s look a little deeper into the River of Time. Buy Legends of the Twins: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/3252/Legends-of-the-Twins-35?affiliate_id=50797   

https://youtu.be/kOmON7njzLE

Transcript

Cold Open

Time is a great flowing river, vaster and wider than any river we know.

Intro

Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to talk about The River of Time. 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 Legends of the Twins sourcebook for this information. If I leave anything out or misspeak, please leave a comment below!

Discussion

Time in Krynn is not immutable, as proven by Raistlin Majere, but outside of Chaos being introduced to the River of Time, it flows unchangingly. Any single individual's life is as a tiny pebble, and any change they make, cannot divert the course of the river. In Dragonlance, there are specific laws that outline the concept of time and how, as it's presented as a river, ever flowing, never stopped or fully diverted, cannot be stopped. All things, the land, the creatures that inhabit it, and even the gods themselves are bound by the concept of the River of Time.

Time has always been an incredibly important aspect of Dungeons & Dragons. If your party returns from a dungeon not cleared, the time it takes to heal and study may be enough for another party to enter that dungeon and reap its rewards. In Dragonlance it is even more important, as the procession of time affects Wizards. How the three moons, Solinari, Lunitari and Nuitari, travel through time across the sky will benefit or hinder the wizard. Keeping track of time is important for the ages of Krynn. A lot happens in a year during the War of the lance. Where your character is located may affect their lives indelibly. Even meeting a friend at The Inn of the Last Home is wrapped up in time. Go at the wrong time and you are too early or late. 

The most important aspect of Time Travel when concerning your game is the story. And the story must deal with the concept of paradox. If something has already happened, how can it be changed? As Huma died defeating the Queen of Darkness, could he be saved by a time traveler? And if he could be, how would that affect the future? Do your actions alter the trajectory of the River of Time, or does the river self correct? What about the  future? If you decide to go left rather than right, is your action determined by the river itself, or do you have free will to choose, and by choosing, create a new direction for the River of Time to travel?

We have seen this in Dragonlance, again with Raistlin Majere, but also with Tasslehoff Burrfoot. One ultimately led to the other in cannon however. My point being, is the future Raistlin created by defeating the gods, the true intended future, or is the future where Chaos is unleashed the correct future? What about the future Tas finds after Takhisis the Queen of Darkness steals the world away from the River of Time? If characters are able to change the River, is the river truly immutable? Or conversely, has the River always flowed endlessly in the direction that is presented and all other possibilities simply brief ripples in the river,