Tales of the Lance: Contradictions and things I don't like about it. v.2.0 By Morten Brattbakk Feel free to distribute this text on any web pages, newsgroups etc., but please do not change or omit anything, and make sure the author is credited. :) Feedback is appreciated, mail me at slire@online.no . Make it constructive though, if you find anything wrong about this list, if I have missed something, if you disagree with parts of it (be sure to tell why) etc. If you want to ask me "why is this important?", "how much of a fanatic are you?", "why are you so stupid that you'd do this?", "a Dragonlance canon is a stupid concept", "could you possibly be a more annoying nitpicker?", "this is stupid, who cares about inconsistencies anyway?", "you are a Weis and Hickman bootlicker who doesn't appreciate the works of other Dragonlance designers, right?" or anything similar then spare yourself the trouble and don't mail me. :) Tales of the Lance is a boxed set describing the world of Krynn, the Dragonlance setting. It was published in 1992. Personally, I do not like it. Its presentation is amateurish, it gives relatively little info on the places and cultures of the people of Ansalon, and, above all, it contains so many inconsistencies compared to the earlier Dragonlance novels and source material that it feels like a different setting. Some of the contradictions are deliberate, while others seem to be a result of lousy research. In additions to the contradictions, there are also a number of features in the set that I just don't feel fit into the world of Dragonlance. I read the World Book of Ansalon from cover to cover, at the same time doing research in books and material that preceded it in order to document all the contradictions as well as note big and small details I didn't like for other reasons than they being blatant contradictions. So, why did I create this unbelievably nitpicky document? Well, first of all I am a Dragonlance fanatic, of course. I fell in love with the world in 1989, and has collected material ever since. I had read most of the novels, the modules and the source books available by 1992, when I looked forward to the release of the Tales of the Lance boxed set, which I hoped and expected would be the definitive sourcebook to Krynn. I was severely disappointed, though. I didn' t read many pages before I threw the book away in frustration at the many change of facts to Krynn's history from the original material that I had loved and familiarized myself with. Later I have read here and there in TotL, and my initial impression was always confirmed. It seemed like a different setting than the one I got to know in the late 80s and early 90s. It was so depressing to read I never read the book from start to finish. until now. By looking up every detail, by doing the research that the TotL design team should have done, I could blow off some steam while reading it. I turned the frustrating experience of reading all the factual errors and retconning into a more interesting experience of researching the good old Dragonlance material. Also, it made me get to know Dragonlance even better. A couple of people have expressed interest in this list, so I won't be the only one to read it. However, I can certainly see the limited appeal this must have, particularly to the ones who think that consistency is of minor importance to the believability of a shared fantasy setting. I don't really have much hope that this document can make people more conscious of the damage that Tales of the Lance did to the Dragonlance setting and its continuity, but it would be nice if it did. I have learned a lot about Dragonlance from this, and I plan to use that knowledge to create a timeline the way that it should have been done long ago: By collecting all the fragmentary histories scattered about in DLA and other pre-TotL material, unify it in a timeline with no chronological errors, and no unnecessary changes. Back to this list. For the documented contradictions, I have used the following brackets {}. For my personal opinions (which are mostly based upon the overall impression of Ansalon from the original material), I have used these []. Some of the listed inconsistencies may seem trivial, others less so, but at any rate the sheer number of them is unacceptable in what was designed to be the essential source for Ansalon, and is proof of the unprofessionalism that pervades the product. Considering that the Dragonlance products published before TotL weren't too many, better research and knowledge of the setting should be expected. In my references to other material, I have only included the material that was published before Tales of the Lance. My abbreviations are as follows: DLx = The DL module series 1-16. For DL14, the reference indicates the sourcebook unless otherwise noted. DLA = Dragonlance Adventures Leaves = Leaves From the Inn of the Last Home Atlas = The Atlas to the Dragonlance World MC4 = Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix DGM = Dragon Magazine TotL = Tales of the Lance. This is used in the cases where TotL contradicts itself. Many thanks to James O'Rance and David Caveney for pointing out things that I have missed. Update. As of 11/22/01, this list has been updated. Changes include: -Removed some grammar and spelling errors -TotL p. 78: Added reference to DLA explanation of the word "Maran". -Removed entry saying that TotL p. 152 each Dragon Orb had different powers, this is not incorrect, according to DL10 p. 18. -Added an inconsistency to TotL p. 151: It is said that the three Dragon Orbs were created during the Third Dragon War, but according to several references in the original material, as well as the fact that the High Clerist Tower being built with a Dragon Orb in mind before the Third Dragon War, this is incorrect. There were five Dragon Orbs, and they were created during the Second Dragon War. This also has consequences for TotLs descriptions of the Second Dragon War. Thanks to James O'Rance for pointing that out. -TotL p. 21 says that the Ergoth emperor during the Rose Rebellion was Emann Quisling. I added a reference to Leaves saying it was Thal Palik in addition to the Dragon Magazine reference. -The map lacks some info and has other things wrong. Thanks again to Jeames O'Rance for pointing out Vingaard missing and thus inspiring me to investigate the map more closely. -TotL p. 40 claims Balifor is a harsh and sandy waste and the map portrays it as "Barren", unlike DL12. Thanks to David Caveney for making me aware of this. -Added reference to DL3 which says Fist was the one that built Zhaman. General: {Which time period is TotL supposed to describe? It seems to be just after the War of the Lance, but often refers to characters who are dead by then.} [Ugly lay-out.] 2: "It also clarifies contradictions, corrects errors, and fills in information omitted from earlier products." [Were they *trying* to be this funny?] Good and Evil with capital letters. [is silly and juvenile] {does not have precedent in earlier Dragonlance products.} This is repeated all through the book. Avatar {a word not used in DL before to describe gods taking mortal forms} 3: Age of Starbirth {Age of Twilight DLA p. 49; War of the Twins p. 131. DL5 p. 12 uses the term Age of Starbirth, though.} Lifescroll of Song presented to Library where Astinus found it {presented to Astinus DLA p. 83} 4: High God born out of Chaos {dwells in the Beyond DLA p. 8; DL5 p. 10} Tobril, High God's plans and a book that makes gods of mortal folk {contains all the knowledge possessed by all the gods. All truth is contained in that single tome, but portions of it are sealed. DLA p. 44; Leaves 23} High God calls into the Beyond for gods {gods dwell with High God in the Beyond DLA p. 8/emerge from swirling chaos DLA p.86; DL5 p. 10; DL14 p. 3} Gilean summoned out of chaos and out of time. {Gilean comes from Beyond like all the other gods DLA p. 8, 86; DL5 p. 10; DL14 p. 3; Leaves p. 15} All-Dragons War. [Was never there before, and I don't like it] High God forges the balance to stop All-Saints War {Good and neutral gods combine forces to defeat evil before the HighGod declares the Balance of the World from the Beyond DLA p. 8; DL5 p. 10; Leaves p. 15/the war ends in alliance between good and neutral, making way for the Balance DLA p. 86; DL14 p. 3} High God stops All-Saints War {good-neutral alliance stops war DLA p. 8, p. 86; DL5 p. 10; DL14 p. 3; Leaves p. 15; DLA p. 86; DL14 p. 3} 5: The Smith folk. {No such thing, dwarves were created from gnomes by the Graygem, gnomes were humans cursed by Reorx. DLA p. 49-50, 65, 67, 86; DL5 p. 8; DL14 p. 3; Leaves p. 49, 57, 63, 123-125; Tales vol. 2 p. 241-246, DRM#101 p. 10; DRM#102 p. 12-13; DRM#103 p. 18; TotL p. 67} The ogre Igraine allowed his human slave Eadamm some freedom, Igraine fled Ansalon, war between ogres and former human slaves. {The ogre Igrane was gifted with free will by a human he had dealings with, and his gift was shared with other ogres. They tried to convince the rest of the ogre society of the future their evil held for them, but it ended in civil war. DLA p. 68-69} Elves build civilization which encroaches upon dragons' territory, unleashes first Dragon War. {Silvanos rallies and unites elves against dragons in the first Dragon War, thus forms the basis of elven civilization DLA p. 57, 86; DL14 p. 3; TotL p. 64}. The gods of magic intervene in the first Dragon War. All dragons are captured inside magic stones and buried. That is how the war is won. The gods of magic are banished from Krynn by the other gods. {It is strongly implied that Silvanos's rallying the elves drove dragons back. DLA p. 57, 86; DL14 p. 3. The gods of magic revolved around the world before the First Dragonwar, granting powers and walked the face of Krynn to find an apprentice each. The apprentices were given the keys to the Lost Citadel, where they met at the onset of the first Dragon War. There is no indication of the gods of magic intervening. DLA p. 27; TotL p.88} Gods of magic exiled. {They never were. Various timelines, but DLA p. 27 and TotL p. 88 in particular} Banished gods of magic had Hiddukel trick Reorx into forging Graystone. {Gods of magic not included in this plot DLA p. 27, 49-50, 86; DL5 p. 8; DL14 p. 3; Leaves p.123-125; Tales vol. 2 p. 241-246} Smith lost Graystone from sky {Graystone escaped from net DLA p. 50; DL5 p. 8; Leaves p. 124} Smiths/Scions {Do not appear in earlier products, and their presence crashes with what those products say (See references to "The Smith folk" and "Banished gods. above)} Kal-Thax built before dwarves are created. {Kal-Thax built by dwarves after the Graystone. DLA p. 65, 86; TotL p. 59} 6: Gargath trapped Graystone between two god-gems {various traps and magic DLA p. 50; DL5 p. 8; Leaves p. 124; Tales vol. 2 p. 241-246} Ogres and elves fought in siege of Gargath {only gnomes and men DLA p. 50; DL5 p. 8; Leaves p. 124} goblins created by Graystone {original ogre sub-race DLA p. 49, 114} gnomes created by Graystone {humans cursed by Reorx DLA p. 49-50, 65, 67, 86; DL5 p. 8; DL14 p. 3; Leaves p. 49, 57, 63, 123-125; Tales vol. 2 p. 241-246; DRM#101 p. 10; DRM#102 p. 12-13; DRM#103 p. 18} goblins, minotaurs, gnomes created in siege of Gargath {only dwarves and kender DLA p. 50; DL5 p. 8; Leaves p. 124/ goblins not created by Graystone at all DLA p. 49, 114} No mention of dwarves being created in the siege of Gargath {dwarves created in siege of Gargath DLA p. 49-50, 65, 67, 86; DL5 p. 8; DL14 p. 3; Leaves p. 49, 57, 63, 123-125; Tales vol. 2 p. 241-246; DRM#101 p. 10; DRM#102 p. 12-13; DRM#103 p. 18; TotL p. 67} Dragon stones {With the references to the first and second dragon wars, it is very hard to fit these stones into the story DLA p. 57, 86; DL14 p. 3. Also, Dragon Orbs were central in the Second Dragon War. Dragons of Winter Night p. 93; DL10 p. 3; Leaves p. 125} Dragons aided by great armies of lizard people in the second dragon war [They must have got this war mixed up with the War of the Lance. Armies of lizard people? Bad idea.] Wild-talented mages swallow dragons {Elves from western province saves capital from destruction. Elves also defend their own land. DLA p. 86; DL14 p. 3; TotL p. 44. The evil dragons were defeated with the help of the Dragon Orbs. Leaves p. 125} Three wild-talent mages, with Scion, calls upon magic gods in 2nd Dragon War, tower they are in becomes Lost Citadel. Three mages create laws of magic {During the Age of Dreams at the outset of 1st Dragon War, masters of each of the orders came together at the Lost Citadel. Were thought the Foundations of Wizardry by the gods of magic. DLA p. 27} Lost Citadel from Krynn to Beyond {Lost Citadel far removed from the world of Krynn, apparently always was DLA p. 27} Qualinesti, Thorbardin and Ergoth built Pax Tharkas together. {Qualinesti and Thorbardin only DLA p. 65, 87; DL2 p. 10; DL14 p. 4; TotL p. 20; possibly Autumn Twilight} 7: Istar grows from a confederation of city-states. {A bickering collection of barbarian tribes gradually unite. The council of Istar establishes a unified government. DLA p. 87; DL14 p. 5} lizard people as Takhisis servants [What are they doing here? They are still silly and centuries too early] 8: Bakali - lizard people - conveniently is "not seen again". Important things left out of timeline: {Istar/Solamnia interdependent: Solamnia military force, Istar artistic/educational. Istar gradually dominant partner. DLA p. 87; DL14 p. 5} Important things left out of timeline: {94 PC: Extermination of evil races sanctioned DLA p. 87; DL14 p. 5} Clerics lose miraculous abilities {Rise of clerical power DLA p. 87. These might be combined though, since the clergy may no longer have divine abilities, but still gain power} Siege of Sorcery {should be called Lost Battles. Dragons of Winter Night p. 96-99, DL10 p. 3} 9: Renegade mages cast ESP spells {clerics employ ESP spells DLA p. 87; DL14 p. 9} Temple of Istar gated to the Infernal Realms {Foundation Stone went to the Abyss. Dragons of Spring Dawning; Time of the Twins/War of the Twins; DLA p. 101; DL14 p. 27 (adventure book); DL14 p. 5} Dwarfgate Wars in 39 AC {ca. 100 AC. War of the Twins; Atlas p. 146-147} Fistandantilus built Zhaman {someone else built Zhaman, a combined effort. War of the Twins, although DL3 claims Fisty built it himself.} Takhisis carries Foundation Stone from Blood Sea to Neraka {takes Foundation Stone from the Abyss to Neraka Dragons of Spring Dawning; DLA p. 101; DL14 p. 27 (adventure book); DL14 p. 5} The Pirate Isles [Huh? It would have helped if TotL had explained what and where the Pirate Isles are] 10: First attack on Silvanesti a "routine patrol" {A three-pronged attack into Silvanesti, utilizing air and land combination. DLA p. 101; Leaves p. 143; DL11 p. 5} 11: 356-358 AC: Events of Legends {Atlas: 354} "The Heroes of the Lance were replaced by youthful counterparts." [Yuck]. 12: "Whenever we had cause to believe that traditional histories had erred on some point or other, we were cautious about such assumptions. [Yeah, right] In some extreme cases [i.e. almost all the time] we chose to record these new insights [i.e. outrageous contradictions] into Ansalonian history." Was a time when Astinus was not around {Were there at the beginning 'till the end (or at least DoSF) Test of the Twins} Using globe of present time passing to send ones spirit to look into the past {can only see present. Legends somewhere} explains "Apocryphal sightings of Astinus a millennium ago" [My ass. More contrived effort at fixing a contradiction that really isn't a contradiction can't be found anywhere. Or yes, it does, in other places in TotL.] Astinus being closely related to Gilean is spurned, seen as an inferior theory even to Astinus being an office, and Astinus having elven blood. {Novels hint at Gilean connection all the time.} High God born out of Chaos. Called into Beyond for Paladine and Takhisis. {High God is and always was in Beyond. DLA p. 8; DL5 p. 10; Leaves p. 15} 13: Gilean was not a god at first. {Good, neutrality and evil always was a triangle DLA p. 8, 86, DL5 p. 10; Leaves p. 15} Moons created by Reorx {Moons didn't revolve around Krynn until the gods of magic appeared. DLA p. 27, 39, 44; TotL p. 88} [Generally silly language and concepts on this page] 14: All-Dragons War [Where did that come from??] Branchala created by Habbakuk's laughter [?] Zivilyn created by Gilean's shadow {Lunitari Gilean's sole daughter DLA p. 46} Sirrion created Shinare [?] [Don't like that one god creates another god. There is no indication of such a thing in the material before TotL, and all gods that didn't come from Beyond are offspring from two gods who have mated.] 15: High God only thing that saved world from destruction in All-Saints War {Good and neutral gods combine forces to defeat evil before the HighGod declares the Balance of the World from the Beyond DLA p. 8; DL5 p. 10; Leaves p. 15/the war ends in alliance between good and neutral, making way for the Balance DLA p. 86; DL14 p. 3} Elves born first. {Ogres born first DLA 49, 68} High God formed the Children of Krynn, centaurs, satyrs, pegasi, griffons, unicorns, chimera. {These races were created by the Graygem. DLA p. 114} The gods of magic created after the All Saints War. {Created before the All Saints War DLA p. 27; TotL p. 88} Lunitari sprang from Gilean's majestic and beautiful thoughts {sole daughter of Gilean, mother not known DLA p. 46} 16: Humans laboring hard under Reorx eventually became a short and stout race, the Smiths. {Reorx cursed the humans, turning them into gnomes. DLA p. 49-50, 65, 67, 86; DL5 p. 8; DL14 p. 3; Leaves p. 49, 57, 63, 123-125; Tales vol. 2 p. 241-246; DRM#101 p. 10; DRM#102 p. 12-13; DRM#103 p. 18; TotL p. 67} The ogre Igraine allowed his human slave Eadamm some freedom, Igraine fled Ansalon, war between ogres and former human slaves. {The ogre Igrane was gifted with free will by a human he had dealings with, and his gift was shared with other ogres. They tried to convince the rest of the ogre society of the future their evil held for them, but it ended in civil war. DLA p. 68-69} Sinthal-Elish held before the First Dragon War {held during the war DLA p. 57, 86, TotL p. 64} Sinthal-Elish held on Sol-Fallon {Sol-Fallen DLA p. 57, TotL p. 64} 17: Elves build civilization which encroaches upon dragons' territory, unleashes first Dragon War. {Silvanos rallies and unites elves against dragons in the first Dragon War, thus forms the basis of elven civilization DLA p. 57, 86; DL14 p. 3; TotL p. 64}. The gods of magic intervene in the first Dragon War. All dragons are captured inside magic stones and buried. That is how the war is won. The gods of magic are banished from Krynn by the other gods. {It is strongly implied that Silvanos's rallying the elves drove dragons back. The gods of magic revolved around the world before the First Dragonwar, granting powers and walked the face of Krynn to find an apprentice each. The apprentices were given the keys to the Lost Citadel, where they met at the onset of the first Dragon War. There is no indication of the gods of magic intervening. {It is strongly implied that Silvanos's rallying the elves drove dragons back. DLA p. 57, 86; DL14 p. 3. The gods of magic revolved around the world before the First Dragonwar, granting powers and walked the face of Krynn to find an apprentice each. The apprentices were given the keys to the Lost Citadel, where they met at the onset of the first Dragon War. There is no indication of the gods of magic intervening. DLA p. 27; TotL p. 88} 18: "[The following tale of the Graystone] has been popularly accepted by gnomes and men as true." {The DLA version is the most common and popularly accepted one. DLA p. 49; Leaves p. 123} Humans gradually changed into the Smith folk. {Humans were cursed by Reorx into gnomes. DLA p. 49-50, 65, 67, 86; DL5 p. 8; DL14 p. 3; Leaves p. 49, 57, 63, 123-125; Tales vol. 2 p. 241-246; DRM#101 p. 10; DRM#102 p. 12-13; DRM#103 p. 18}. Exiled gods of magic plotted to return magic to the world, approached Hiddukel for aid, he made Chislev convince Reorx to make a beautiful stone, which the gods of magic imbued with their essences on the surface of Lunitari. {Hiddukel/Morgion, wanting to do mischief, tricked Chislev into making Reorx create a stone that would anchor neutrality in the world, a stone to hold the essence of neutrality/chaos. DLA p. 49-50; DL5 p. 8; DL14 p. 3; Leaves p. 123-125; Tales vol. 2 p. 241-246} Reorx granted Smiths a vision of the Great Machine. {Reorx appeared to a gnome priest explaining the plans for the Great Invention. DLA p. 49-50; Leaves p. 123-125} The Smith Milgas Kadwar climbs to Lunitari and fetches the Graystone with a net Hiddukel gave him. {A gnome climbs to Lunitari and fetches the Graystone with a net Reorx gave him. DLA p. 49-50; Leaves p. 123-125; Tales vol. 2 p. 241-246} After Graygem escapes the Great Machine, it turns mariner elves into sea elves, and dwarves and gnomes from Smiths {on the next page of TotL, 19, sea elves, dwarves and gnomes were created later, during and after the Siege of Gargath} {Graygem changes animals and beasts after it escapes Great Invention and arrives at Gargath. Gnomes existed before the Graygem, dwarves were created from gnomes. DLA p. 49-50, 65, 67, 86; DL5 p. 8; DL14 p. 3; Leaves p. 49, 57, 63, 123-125; Tales vol. 2 p. 241-246; DRM#101 p. 10; DRM#102 p. 12-13; DRM#103 p. 18} Smiths are changed into Scions. [Don't really like scions. {Besides, there weren't ever any Smiths (see earlier references concerning the creation of gnomes, dwarves and kender)}]. Scions hides in a new home of caves they call the Kal-Thax in the Bay of Nordmaar. {Kal-Thax was a great dwarven kingdoms that extended from Karthay into the very plains of Istar. Vanished without a trace in 2800 PC DLA p. 65, 86, TotL p. 59} Smiths, elves, ogres and humans attacked Gargath.{Only gnomes attacked Gargath, they were changed into kender and dwarves. DLA p. 49-50; Leaves p. 123-125; Tales vol. 2 p. 241-246; TotL p. 67} Goblins were created by the Graystone {Goblins were an ogre sub-race before the Graygem. DLA p. 49, 114} While delving Thoradin, dwarves unearth the five dragon stones, awakening the dragons, resulting in a the Second Dragonwar that involves all of Ansalon. Scions train three elven wild mages, who create havoc and kill thousands in an attempt to drive off dragons by wild magic. They call upon the gods of magic for help, who remove the elves and the Tower of the Sun to a higher plane, making it the Lost Citadel, and the Orders of High Sorcery is formed. The three elven mages return to Krynn, find hiding mages, and create five bastions, the Towers of High Sorcery. {Dragons strike Silvanesti from central Ansalon, aided by potent magic. Elves from western provinces save Silvanost from destruction, and eventually drive dragons away from Silvanesti. (TotL p. 44 also says elves defended their land). Humans join the war to banish dragons from Krynn. The Lost Citadel existed long before the First Dragon War, during which the gods of magic's apprentices met at the Citadel and formalized and structured the formerly loose Orders of Sorcery. DLA p. 27, 86; DL14 p. 3; TotL p. 88. The Dragon Orbs were created by the Orders and helped win the Second Dragon War. Dragons of Winter Night p. 93; DL10 p. 3; Leaves p. 125} The towers of high sorcery were constructed by the three elven mages soon after the Second Dragon War. {The general outline of the towers were determined by a central committee of members of all three orders, but by supervision of local mages, resulting in similar general structure for the towers, but a great variety of layout and detail. DLA 29-30; TotL p. 89. The Dragon Orbs were created by the Orders of Sorcery during the Second Dragon War in the Tower of Palanthas, and the other five towers were already constructed by then as well. Dragons of Winter Night p. 93; DL10 p. 3; Leaves p. 125} Dwarves withdraw into Thoradin in shame for bringing the Second Dragon War upon Ansalon. {After the Second Dragon War, dwarves start to build Thorbardin as a defense against the world. After the mysterious fall of Kal-Thax, dwarves had established themselves in several mountains on Krynn, [presumably including Kaolyn and Thoradin]. DLA p. 65} 20: Gully dwarves are human/dwarf crossbreeds. {Gully dwarves are gnome/dwarf crossbreeds. Dragons of Autumn Twilight (implication), DLA p. 67, Leaves p. 57, DRM#102 p. 12. Interbreeding between humans and dwarves resulted in the derro dwarves (Theiwar and Daergar). DL5 p. 9} Thorbardin delved after the rise of Ergoth. {Thorbardin finished just at the time when the Rise of Ergoth began. DLA p. 65, 86; DL14 p. 3} Hammer of Kharas means "Hammer of Honor" {The Hammer was later called Hammer of Kharas named after the dwarf who owned it. War of the Twins, DL4, TotL p. 157} {"Kharas" is Solamnic for "knight" according to TotL p. 100, 157. TotL is in conflict with itself here. Besides, everyone knows that the Solamnic word for honor is sularus: Est Sularus Oth Mithas, My Honor Is My Life} 21: Thoradin vanishes from histories, no one knows why, but may be something sinister. {Thoradin and Kaolyn waxed in power, but Thoradin retired underground where no one would bother them after seeing the surface being bickered over by many nations. DLA p. 65} Emann Quisling is emperor of Ergoth during the War of Ice Tears. {Thal Palik was emperor. DRM#94 p. 41; Leaves p. 156} Bakali major participators in the Third Dragon War {Not in Legend of Huma, and if so wouldn't they be major parts of Krynnish and Huma legend and part of Chronicles as well, it had many references to the Third Dragon War?} Dragon orbs created during the Third Dragon War. [That seems unlikely. The High Clerist Tower is based upon the summoning power of the orb, and creating a dragon orb and building a tower isn't done that easily in the mile of a war. The orbs and the tower must have been built before the war Huma fought in.] 22: Dwarves of Thorbardin were heavily involved in trade with Istar and in world politics. {Dwarves dependent on food from Qualinesti, Abanasinia and, eventually, Xak Tsaroth. But they refused to become involved in the politics of the age. DLA p. 65} 23: Lord Soth slew his brothers when he was young [not very likely, ruins the concept of the good and honorable knight who fell to evil. Test of the Twins p. 81-89; TotL p. 83] Soth meets the elf maid Isolde on the way to a council meeting in Palanthas, takes her back to Dargaard keep, and his wife later dies of illness. Soth's loyal man Caradoc arranges for Soth and Isolde to have an affair. {Soth meets the elf maid on his way to a council meeting in Palanthas, and offers to escort her and her companions. During the journey, while he is hunting alone in the woods, he comes upon her alone in the forest and they make love. Soth arranges to have his wife killed, and he is arrested upon reaching Palanthas. He is rescued by his men and the elf maid, and they escape back to Dargaard. Test of the Twins p. 81-89} 25: The section on the cause of the Cataclysm has some very ridiculous theories which happily aren't confirmed: Kingpriest is evil, and can lure avatars {no such thing as avatars} to Krynn and bind them. Kingpriest weakened gods by robbing them of their worshipers. [If so, they would be extremely weak after the Cataclysm.] Kingpriest gained immortality and godhood. {Behind the special effects, the Kingpriest was but a frightened mortal. Time of the Twins} Kingpriest inherited all "magely magic" [terrible phrasing] when he moved into the Tower of High Sorcery in Istar {he never moved into it, he lived in the temple. Time of the Twins}, Kingpriest only true practitioner of the arts after clerics and mages left the world {mages never left the world} 26: Qualinesti, Thorbardin and Ergoth built Pax Tharkas together. {Qualinesti and Thorbardin only DLA p. 65, 87; DL2 p. 10; DL14 p. 4; TotL p. 20; possibly Autumn Twilight} 28: {Various stuff about Kal-Thax [described earlier], Thoradin, Second Dragon War. Thorbardin built later than in DLA p. 65} 29-30: Cataclysm called the "Zero Hour". [Sounds more like war literature than fantasy.] Solace, Haven and the Seeker lands a theocracy [before the War of the Lance, yes, but not after.] 31-52: Generally bad quality maps of the various regions. Lots of names, but most places aren't marked. 31: Que-Shu razed just before the War of the Lance. {Razed during the War of the Lance. DoAT} Unicorns in Darken Wood. {Only one, I believe. DoAT; DL1; TotL p. 100} 32: "Lady Macquesta Kar Thon of Istar" {Maquesta Kar-Thon Dragons of Spring Dawning, DL12 p. 19, 33-34. Also, Maquesta died before the date of TotL. Dragons of Spring Dawning.} 34: Saifhum is a harsh land, its rocky hills hold only stunted vegetation and a few native creatures. {The island is rugged but cultivated. DL12 p. 42} Most prominent among the ruins (of Karthay) are those of the lighthouse (Winston's Tower) that guided ships into and out of the treacherous waters of the Blood Sea. {The lighthouse was used during the reign of Istar, before the Blood Sea existed. DL12 p. 41} Mithas is blessed with vegetation. {Barren land, few crops grow there, minotaurs live off mining, fishing and pirate's bounty. DL12 p. 41} Minotaurs rule Kothas in combination with practical men. {Human (former) pirates rule the land, minotaurs are serfs. DL12 p. 41. DL16 p. 6-7 indicates that minotaurs rule Kothas. It is likely that the minotaurs of Kothas managed to wrest power from the humans near the end or after the War of the Lance. At any rate I find it difficult to believe that minotaurs rule in combination with men, especially not after having been subject to serfdom.} The Dragon Isles. {Isle of Dragons; DLA p. 106; DL9 p. 43 DRM#98 p. 15/ Dragon Isles. Atlas p. xiii} One of the languages listed for the Dragon Isles is Draconian, yet no draconians live there. 37: "Lucien of the Draconians" said to be in Icereach. [He is probably meant to be the white dragon highlord, and if so the title "of the Draconians" would be wrong, particularly since Lucien is a human.] {Note: In DL13 p. 30 Lucien is the white dragon highlord, in DL14 p. 36-37 he is the black dragon highlord, Toede the white. I would probably agree to make Lucien the white one.} 37-38: Kaolyn a colony of Thorbardin {Thorbardin and likely Kaolyn were two of several colonies built during the decline of Kal-Thax. DLA p. 65} 38: Kyrie on Hylo. {Kyrie confined to Mithas. DL16 p. 7} 39: Takhisis has appeared in avatar form in Kernen. {No such thing as avatars.} - In Miremier there are scrag, sea lions and nixies. [Right about sea lions, but nixies are, according to monster descriptions in the Monstrous Manual, creatures who live in lakes, not the sea.] {Giant Crayfish live there. DL12 p. 44} 40: {Little description of Khur's culture and politics. The TotL version seems to have little in common with the fascinating Khur found in DL15 p. 46-53.} Balifor is the same harsh and sandy waste as Khur to the north. {The north is grasslands, the steppes to the south are according to various maps (DL5, DL12, DL14, Atlas) more barren, but still fertile enough to allow an occasional huddle of farms. DL12 p. 10} 41: One of the rare languages in Nordmaar is Drago. [To shed *some* light on what this language is supposed to be, would have been nice.] 42: Kyrie on Northern Ergoth {Confined to Mithas DL16 p. 7} [I'm not too crazy about sligs being found so far away from the Goodlund peninsula and Balifor, either.] 43: [Both Solostaran and Porthios listed as Speaker of the Suns, with no explanation that one of them is dead, despite the fact that the text below refers to "current" affairs. The marriage between Porthios and Alhana should be mentioned. Time of the Twins, Test of the Twins] Qualinesti guarded by arched bridges running from tower to tower. {Canyons and a cliff face function as the real defense. DL2 p. 12; Atlas p. 30-31} The government of Sancrist is described as "Republic" and like there is one government for the whole island. [Common sense and early material (DL8, Dragons of Winter Night) make it obvious that with the two societies on the island, gnomes and humans, there are also two governments.] Gunthar's stats describe him as a paladin. [With Knights of Solamnia a character class, Gunthar can't be a paladin. Also, TotL p. 100 has Gunthar with the Knight of Solamnia class, and the rest of the stats on p. 43 are also inconsistent with the ones on p. 100] 44: Kyrie language in Sanction {Kyrie only found on Mithas DL16 p. 7} Bakaris being dragon highlord of the Blue Dragonarmy in Sanction. {He died during the War of the Lance, and was never a dragon highlord but a lieutenant. Dragons of Spring Dawning; TotL p. 105} Sanction fell to a blockade of dragonarmy ships during the War of the Lance. {Considering that the corruption of the eggs took place here, and the fact that the dragonarmy probably needed the port early, Sanction must have been in the control of the Dragonarmy before the War of the Lance started in full. DLA p. 101, DL11 p. 5, Leaves p. 141 confirm this} Lorac said to be a leader of Silvanesti. {Died during the War of the Lance. Dragons of Winter Night} Alhana listed in Silvanesti government. [The political marriage between her and Porthios should definitely be mentioned. Time of the Twins, Test of the Twins] "Than-Thalas (Lord's) River" {It's Thon-Thalas, which means "Lord's River". DL10 cover, p. 7; Atlas p. 62; Dragons of Winter Night p. 101} The dragonarmy attack in 349 AC came to quickly for the elves to ward off. {Silvanesti defended itself for months, before they had to flee. It was the might of the attack, not the surprise. DLA p. 104; DL14 p. 6-7; Leaves p. 143 } Than-Thalas {Thon-Thalas, as above} The elves made a hedge to prevent good creatures from going into nightmare-infested Silvanesti. {The hedge was raised after the Kinslayer War. DL10 p. 3; Atlas p. 62} 45: Than-Thalas {Thon-Thalas. As above} [There is a map of Tower Shalost, but no mention of it in the text. If the map is included, some description should have followed it.] Gunthar's stats describe him a paladin. [With Knights of Solamnia a character class, Gunthar can't be a paladin. Also, TotL p. 100 has Gunthar with the Knight of Solamnia class, and the rest of the stats on p. 43 are also inconsistent with the ones on p. 100] Garnet was granted by Solamnia to the Thorbardin dwarves. {Not a Thorbardin colony. DLA p. 65} 47: Part of Kalaman still occupied by dragons. [Very hard to believe that a part of the city could be occupied thus.] {Kalaman is not under dragonarmy influence. Atlas p. 108; DLA p. 104; Spring Dawning p. 123; Leaves p. 145; TotL p. 54} Sligs on Southern Ergoth [used to be found only on the Goodlund peninsula] Dictator Kthaaarx of Daltigoth and Warlord Thunderbane of the Wild Ogres are said to be storm ogres. {No Dragonlance or AD&D material anywhere ever mentions a creature called a "storm ogre". In DL7, set during the War of the Lance, the ruler of Daltigoth is the hill giant by the name of Stormogre, who was sent there by the Dragonarmies to unite the ogre tribes of Southern Ergoth. Thunderbane is one of Stormogre's sons, so Thunderbane is a hill giant. DL7 p. 14, 29}. 49: Kyrie in Taman Busuk. {Mithas only. DL16 p. 7} Dragon Highlord Ariakus {Died at the end of the War of the Lance. Spring Dawning} 51: Chert Gneiss {Gneiss. DL4 13, 27} 53: [The map of Thoradin appears to be a pre-Cataclysm map of Thoradin, not a post-War of the Lance map of the Zhakar the text describes.] Main populace: Zhakar dwarves, the Black Flame. [What's the Black Flame? An explanation is in order.] {TotL also contradicts DL15 p. 64-71, but that little adventure has little credibility, Zhakar is a surface city there.} 54: Krynn has room for 15 land masses the size of Ansalon, with plenty of room in between. {Krynn is smaller than that. Atlas p. xiii}. 55: Tasslehoff's real name is said to be Kalin, he got his nick-name because of Ergothians who had seen few kender with top-knots. {Never mentioned anywhere before (or since, I might add). A terrible idea, and an unwelcome change of a beloved character.} [If this is TotL's idea of making the point that not all kenders have topknots. well, they couldn't have found a worse way of making it.] One PC race is "Barbarian". [Why not "human"? Civilized humans as well seem to be excluded as a PC race, and the various uncivilized societies of Ansalon (such as the Plainsmen of Abanasinia, the ice barbarians of the South and the people of Khur all have distinctly different cultures {DoAT, DL6, DL15 etc.} that are lost with TotL generalization of "Barbarians". Besides, as an example, I doubt that the people of Khur, the Plains of Dust and the Northern Wastes all are similar enough to fall into the "desert barbarian" category. Exactly which areas of Krynn these barbarians live/wander is a point that is ignored also, even though it is essential for developing a PC that is integrated into the world of Krynn.] Igraine granted his slaves freedom, igniting a rebellion. {Igraine, a powerful clan leader, was gifted with free will after a meeting with the newly awakened humans. The gift spread throughout his clan, but the other ogres resisted, resulting in a civil war among ogres, fought outside of the sight of men. DLA p. 68-69} Cataclysm again called the Zero Hour. [Still sounds like WWII] 56: The Frostreaver stats and descriptions are well researched, but it would be common sense to include the Strength requisite of 13 on this page also, since it is natural to refer to this page for the Frostreaver stats. {DL6 p. 32, DLA p. 94, TotL p. 157} 58: The Klar dwarves are described as living in hills, not under the mountain. {Klar are hill dwarves living in Thorbardin. DL4 p. 27, 30; DLA p. 67; TotL p. 60} 59: Thoradin a great kingdom before Thorbardin, where dragon stones started the Second Dragon War. {Thorbardin the next great kingdom after Kal-Thax, Kaolyn and Zhakar waxed in power as Thorbardin was completed. DLA p. 65. With the references to the first and second dragon wars, it is very hard to fit the dragon stones into the story DLA p. 57, 86; DL14 p. 3} Humans along with dwarves and elves built Pax Tharkas. {Only dwarves and elves. DLA p. 65, 87; DL2 p. 10; DL14 p. 4; TotL p. 20; possibly Autumn Twilight} Dwarfgate War in 39 AC. {About 100 AC. War of the Twins; Atlas p. 146} 60: - "Highbulp of the Aghar" sits on the Council of Thanes in Thorbardin. {"Highbulp" is not a proper name like is suggested here, and the Bulp clan does not reside in Thorbardin. The Aghar Thane of Thorbardin is Bluph, whose leader's title is Highbluph. DL4 p. 27 The titile of a gully dwarf clan leader is always made by adding the clan name to the prefix "High-". Leaves p. 59} Dwarfgate War in 39 AC. {About 100 AC. War of the Twins; Atlas p. 146} Gully dwarves represented by the Highbulp. {The Highbluph. DL4 p. 27} Currently, the throne of the High King stands vacant. {Again, a problem with TotL's chronology. Thane Hornfel of the Hylar became High King during the War of the Lance. DL4 p. 23; Dragons of Winter Night p. 5; Stormblade.} 62: Gully dwarves can't count higher than two because they don't need to. {They are too stupid to understand the concept. Leaves p. 60; DLA p. 68; among others.} Are more intelligent and cunning than people think, play the fool only to manipulate true fools. {Anybody who has read Chronicles, Legends and/or Leaves, DLA knows well that while gully dwarves can try to be cunning (as the Highbulp in Xak Tsaroth trying to fool the HotL), they are undeniably very stupid, it is not an act.} "Despite longstanding prejudices to the contrary, gullly dwarves are not imbeciles". [I strongly resent the attempt to change the very basics of the gully dwarf race, which is what TotL is trying to do here.] Gully dwarves are human-dwarf crossbreeds. {Gully dwarves are gnome/dwarf crossbreeds. Dragons of Autumn Twilight (indication); DLA p. 67, Leaves p. 57, DRM#102 p. 12. Interbreeding between humans and dwarves resulted in the derro dwarves (Theiwar and Daergar). DL5 p. 9} 63: Silvanesti eyes are hazel. {Blue or brown eyes, hazel eyes are a symbol of the line of Silvanost. DLA p. 58} Rather than glorifying or dwelling on the past, they look to the future. {The conservatism of elves, the Silvanesti in particular (Qualinesti to a lesser extent) is the most basic feature of their civilization.} 64: The story of the First Dragon War, the Second Dragon War and the elven unification presented here is very different from TotL p. 5-6 and 16-19. It fits much better with the original version. Here's an brief overview how DLA treats this period (p. 57-58 and 86): - Graygem created sea elves, and during this time the elves were divided. - The First Dragon War started, dragons attacked the elves. Silvanos, who at that time traveled with the kender Balif, rallied the elves and unified them, thus unifying the elves and creating Silvanesti. - Centuries later, the Second Dragon War starts as dragons attack Silvanesti. [Note: In the timeline (p. 86), the chronological order of the Graygem and First Dragon War was reversed.] On TotL pages 5-6 and 16-19 the elven unification and the two dragon wars are described very differently, and the chronological order of the Graygem and First Dragon War is still mixed up. See my comments on those pages for details. Page 64 differs at some points from DLA. It is like this (with corrections from DLA in brackets}: - Graygem created sea elves - First Dragon War took place {but included elven unification} - Second Dragon War took place, and in this Silvanos rallied the elves and convened the Sinthal-Elish during this war {Really happened during First Dragon War.} 65: Elves have no love for technology, but no particular hatred either. [Highly unlikely, due to their relationship with nature.] {Elves are repelled by technology. Leaves p. 53} 68: A gnome chooses a Life Quest when young. {Is assigned to him at birth, and is the same as his forefathers'. Leaves p. 52; DRM#103 p. 21; Dragons of Winter Night p. 293} 69: Gnome game notes. [No mention of possible multi-class combinations. Should be, since the Krynnish gnomes are very different from the standard AD&D gnomes.] Adult kender resemble young teenage humans, and could pass as human youths if it wasn't for their pointed ears. {Kender resembled wizened 14-year olds, they have wrinkles. DRM#101 p. 14; Leaves p. 68; DLA p. 51; the beginning of most DL1-14 modules p. 2 or 3 etc.} 70: Fun for a kender may mean spending hours watching an industrious ant climb over various obstacles. {As everyone even casually familiar with Dragonlance knows, kender have a short attention span indeed and would never spend hours being entertained by an ant.} Kender believe in the rights and freedoms of the individual. Kender nations have no real ruler because they prefer the freedom of anarchy. {Kender individuality and kender society's anarchy is not a conscious political choice, but a natural consequence of kender personality. Kender society and politics is complex and ever changing. Leaves p. 63; DRM#101 p. 11; DLA p. 51, 53; TotL p. 71} [Why does the "History" section spend lots of time claiming the kender came from elves, barely giving notice to the original story? Also, the discussion on Balif is faulty in its details, and completely misses the material from both DLA and TotL that the Graystone was before the Sinthal-Elish. See DLA p. 57 and TotL p. 64 (as well as my comments on TotL p. 64) for details.] The kender of Balifor founded a city near the Ruins after the Cataclysm. {True, but many of the kender remained in a state of semi-barbarism for centuries until Kronin Thistleknot united them. DLA p. 51, Leaves p. 63} 75: Ansalon minotaurs came from Taladas. {Minotaurs originally from Ansalon, then some migrated to Taladas. DLA p. 69; Time of the Dragon.} Minotaurs destroyed the dwarven Kal-Thax empire. {These are unconfirmed minotaur legends. DLA p. 69.} 77: Giant ogres: Ogres that are bigger and generally smarter than normal ogres. [Where do these come from?] {It is likely that whoever wrote this have read DLA p. 49 and p. 114, which says that "giants" are an ogre sub-race. It is obvious, however, that hill giants are the giant sub-race referred to, so there is no point in inventing a new sub-race for this purpose.} [Also, ogre mages are portrayed as an ogre sub-race. It is much better to treat these as ogres but with magical powers, ogre shamans who are ogre like all others.] Ogres once enslaved humans. {Not so. DLA p. 68-69} 78: Gods of good created elves, the gods of neutrality beasts and the gods of evil ogres. The High God created Maran humans. [What are Maran humans? Here, info from DL8 which states what "Maran" means and what the term covers should have been included.] {All gods created all beings, but each race was favored by either the good, neutral and evil pantheon. Good gods elves, evil gods ogres and neutral gods humans. The HighGod created animals (at the very least, in TotL's version substitute "beasts" (i.e. animals) with "humans" and vice versa.) Leaves p. 15-16; DLA p. 8; DL5 p. 10; TotL p. 15} Ogres enslaved humans, Igraine granted them freedom, and the slaves revolted, resulting in the fall of the ogres. {Humans woke and had dealings with the ogres, and in this exchange they unwittingly gifted Igraine with free will. The gift spread among his clansmen, and they tried to convince the other ogres of the doom that awaited them if they didn't change their ways. They managed little but kindle anger, and the civil war, the Ogre wars, were fought in places hidden form the eyes of men. DLA p. 68} 81: Class/race combinations: Krynn gnomes can be many classes {Can only by tinkers. DLA p. 56. Mad gnomes belonging to other classes are not unthinkable, but TotL should have made that concept clear.} [There is no information on multi-class combinations available to kender, gnomes, irda and minotaurs, even though they, being in game terms demi-humans, should have some.] [With the Cavalier, Barbarian, Handler etc. it seems as if the designers have vague concepts about the system of class and kit in the AD&D 2nd edition game system. Oh, and whose idea was the Commoner PC class?] 81-85: [I'll grant TotL this: The section on the Knights of Solamnia on these pages is well researched and well written.] 83: Lord Soth's elfmaiden a disciple of the Kingpriest. [Still not a Revered Daughter of Paladine, she was about to be one after completing her pilgrimage to Palanthas and, subsequently, Istar. I would categorize her as a disciple of the Kingpriest no more than I would classify a nun in a distant convent in the Middle Ages a disciple of the Pope. Test of the Twins p. 82] The position of Grand Master has remained vacant since the Cataclysm. {Gunthar became Grand Master after the War of the Lance. TotL p. 100} 87: Ice barbarians have an immunity to cold-based attacks such as white dragon breath and cone of cold spells. [I have a hard time seeing humans, even those living in a cold climate, being immune to the icy breath of a dragon.] 88: Following a war to rid Krynn of all magic, wizards became highly organized. {The Order was founded very early in Krynn's history, but formalized and more strictly organized during the First Dragon War, which was not a war to eliminate magic. There have been many efforts to eliminate magic from Krynn, though. DLA p. 27; TotL p.88} 91: Holy Orders of the Stars are the faiths that worship the 21 true gods of Krynn. {Followers of the gods of magic are mages, not clerics. DLA p. 44, 46, 47} [and consequently, they are members of the Order of Sorcery.] 98-107: [In the cast of characters that appear on these pages, there are many characters who are dead at the time that TotL describes, or they have a different status (i.e. it says that Solostaran is heir to the Speaker of the Suns, when in truth he has now become the Speaker.) I will note all these discrepancies as I go through each character (with exceptions that are too obvious, such as Kharas. It may be unfair, since this info is correct if it refers to events during or before the War of the Lance, but if so TotL should be more specific than it is about which time periods it refers to, and it sometimes refers to events after the War of the Lance in a character description even though the status of the character suggest the description is meant to be during the war. Alhana is one example, she is said to be "daughter to Speaker of the Stars" even though the description of her refers to events after her father's death. On a more general note, every single one of the characters in this gallery can be found in the fiction of W&H and/or the original modules, and I do not think that they are the best NPCs to use in adventures set after the War of the Lance and with a regular (i.e. non-Heroes of the Lance) group of PCs.] 98: Alhana Starbreeze daughter to the Speaker of the Stars. {She is in fact married to Porthios, Speaker of Stars and Suns. Time of the Twins} During the Dragon Wars, she attended a diplomatic meeting at Sancrist. [War of the Lance. Dragon Wars doesn't seem like the right term, at the very least it should have been explained.] Arman-Kharas {Arman Kharas. DL4 p. 11, 13, 27} Thinks he's a reincarnation of Kharas, and that his destiny id to be the king of Thorbardin. {This was exactly what he was like during the War of the Lance, but he died during the war. DL4 p. 21} [The adventure hooks connected to Arman Kharas are *exactly* the functions he had in the DL4 adventure, set during the war.] 99: Crysania needs to learn passion, tolerance and humility as leader of the Church of Paladine. {She already did in the Legends trilogy.} Dougan an avatar of Reorx. {No such thing as avatars in early material. Dougan is Reorx walking Krynn in dwarven form.} Porthios is heir to Speaker of the Suns. {Is the Speaker now. Legends} Solostaran , Speaker of the Suns. {Is dead. Time of the Twins.} 102: Bas-Ohn Koraf {Bas Ohn-Koraf. Dragons of Spring Dawning; DL12 p. 33 He died during the War of the Lance. Dragons of Spring Dawning} Berem Everman {Died during the War of the Lance. Dragons of Spring Dawning.} Fritzen Dorgaard {Is dead. Dragons of Spring Dawning} 104: Lorac is alive. {Died during the War of the Lance. DL10 p. 28, Dragons of Winter Night} Maquesta Kar-Thon. {Died during War of the Lance. Dragons of Spring Dawning.} Bas-Ohn Koraf {Bas Ohn-Koraf. Dragons of Spring Dawning; DL12 p. 33} Par-Salian is 70 years old. {In his early 70s at the end of the War of the Lance. DLA p. 110} Par-Salian is head of the Conclave. {Par-Salian retired after Raistlin was no longer a threat. Tales vol. 1 "The Legacy"; DLA p. 110} Sestun is a servant to Toede, and got lost after freeing the Heroes of the Lance at Qualinesti. {Became the king of the clan of gully dwarves in Pax Tharkas. Somewhere in Chronicles.} Ariakus a priest/fighter. {Died during the War of the Lance. Dragons of Spring Dawning.} [Is a fighter/mage in Spring Dawning, a fighter/cleric in DL9, DL13 and DL14. Due to the status, position and the wide readership of the Chronicles, they should have taken precedence in the question of Ariakas 's class.] 106: The paragraph on Gildentongue refers to him being sent out to keep the peace between the Blue Lady and Lord Toede. [This is lifted straight out of DL12 p. 32, is out of context, and neither time nor place is specified in TotL, but it is in Flotsam during the War of the Lance, which the correct context (DL12) can tell you.] In the Ladonna entry it says that Arianna got pregnant with Par-Salian. [Probably a typo, it should be Ladonna instead, because it has been documented that Ladonna and Par-Salian were lovers once. DLA p. 111] Lord Soth's elfmaiden a disciple of the Kingpriest. [Still not a Revered Daughter of Paladine, she was about to be one after completing her pilgrimage to Palanthas and, subsequently, Istar. I would categorize her as a disciple of the Kingpriest no more than I would classify a nun in a distant convent in the Middle Ages a disciple of the Pope. Test of the Twins p. 82] Verminaard [Dead. Dragons of Autumn Twilight; DL4; Stormblade] 108-124: [The Gods of Krynn section contains many things that I don't like. It consistently uses the word and concept of "avatar", even though neither word nor its application in standard AD&D material was ever used on Fizban, Dougan or the shapes of Takhisis prior to this product. Second, the dwellings of the gods as described by TotL is wrong compared to earlier Dragonlance info, the dwelling of Takhisis is not said to be in the Abyss, for example. (I disagree with practically all "home planes" the gods supposedly have in this section, but have only noted so when they directly conflict with earlier info. Still, planes with names from Greek, Norse and Native American mythologies aren't particularly "dragonlancy") Third, the gods of magic are said to have clerics, even though there have been no documented references to this prior, in my opinion it don't fit on Krynn, and DLA states that all followers of the gods of magic are mages. Fourth, it is said that gods needs the worship of mortals to empower them, even though considering the fixed, hierarchical pantheon and the absence of the gods for 350 years after the Cataclysm this is problematic for Krynn. My conclusion is that in the "Gods of Krynn" section, TotL tries to conform the gods and the rules for gods to the standard AD&D template, with the division of greater and intermediate gods, avatars, the gods' new dwellings, priests of magic and the idea that gods need worship to exist. By doing this, the uniqueness of Krynn and Dragonlance is lost to a large degree. Finally, the entire section is also little thought through when it comes to the power and granted spells of the clerics. Some clerics are very powerful (Takhisis and Paladine, for example, with lots of spheres, powers and unlimited weaponry), some are pathetically weak (such as Zivilyn, with few and quite useless spells, and limited weapons and armor). The game balance is terrible. They also neglected to include information on what level a granted power is received. In addition, in the sections of other names for the gods, the designers have made a descriptive name for every single god that they put down as being the name of that god in Mithas. I don't see why Mithas would have names for all the gods when no other area has, certainly not all of them descriptive, considering that the minotaurs there worship only one god, Sargonnas, and they call him Sargas, not by the descriptive name that TotL claims.] 110: Every family of gods needs the worship of power to empower them. [Considering the fixed, hierarchical pantheon and the absence of the gods for 350 years after the Cataclysm I wouldn't apply this to Dragonlance.] A god and an avatar is as different as a man and his shadow. {Fizban and the five-headed dragon aren't avatars of Paladine and Takhisis, but Paladine took the form of Fizban (DLA p. 43) and Takhisis takes the form of, appears as, five-headed dragon or beautiful temptress. (DLA p. 46)} 110-111: Lots of legends about the High God, all of them saying (s)he is in Krynn's universe. {High God dwells in the Beyond DLA p. 8; DL5 p. 10} {These legends are also contradictory of TotL's own timeline and history. TotL p. 4, 12-14.} [And this is the only place, including the timeline at the beginning of TotL, that the High God is female.] 111: Paladine resides in the Seven Heavens. {Rules the Dome of Creation that surrounds all there is. It is an ethereal land of perfect beauty. His constellation guards the Gate of Souls. DLA p. 43; Leaves p. 19; TotL p. 113} 113: Paladine's symbols do not include the Platinum Dragon, his main symbol. {Legends, DL5 starmap; Atlas p. 152-153; Leaves p. 19; TotL p. 11} Istarian name for Paladine being Bah'Mut. [What's the point of Istar having a name for Paladine that sounds much like Bahamut? More conforming to AD&D? "Takhisis and Paladine are similar to (but not the same as) the dragon-gods Tiamat and Bahamut." DRM#98 p. 15] Clerics of Paladine can use any weapon. {Aside from game balance problems, this crashes with Elistan, whose stats in the modules DL5-9 and DL14 includes mace as his weapon.} 114: [It would have been worth mentioning that Majere is the god of monks. Even if the character class itself is not part of the 2nd edition AD&D rules, the character concept is still part of Krynn. DLA p. 43; DL5 p.12; Leaves p. 19; Dragonlance Comic 1. I also have difficulty seeing Majere as the god of organization and particularly industry based on his other spheres of influence, and his description, including that of TotL p. 114] 115: One of the names listed for Kiri-Jolith is the Uigan name Qu'an the Warrior. {It is spelled "Qu'uan". Time of the Dragons.} [What is the point of listing one of his Taladan names, even though this is an Ansalon sourcebook and in the rest of the gods section there are no other Taladan god names listed whatsoever?] 116: Solinari's homeplane: Seven Heavens (initially), Border Ethereal (currently). {Solinari revolves around Krynn. DL5 p. 12; Leaves p. 20; DLA p. 27, 44; TotL p. 88} There are clerics of Solinari. {Followers of Solinari are mages. DLA p. 44} Home plane of Takhisis is the 1st Plane of the Infernal Realms (Nine Hells). {Any idiot who has read Chronicles and Legends (required reading for DL authors and designers) knows that it is the Abyss. Chronicles, Legends, DLA, very many sources, no need to document it.} 117: Lots of references to Takhisis dwelling on various planes, except for the Abyss of course. {See comment for page 116.} Takhisis called Dragon Queen in Ergoth and Silvanesti and Tii'Mhut in Istar {Dragonqueen in all three. DL5 p. 13; Leaves p. 21} [What's the point of Istar having a name for Takhisis that sounds much like Tiamat? More conforming to AD&D? "Takhisis and Paladine are similar to (but not the same as) the dragon-gods Tiamat and Bahamut." DRM#98 p. 15] The main symbol of Takhisis, the five-headed dragon, isn't listed as one of her symbols. {DL5 starmap; Atlas p. 152-153; Leaves p. 21} Clerics of Takhisis can use any weapon. {Verminaard and the module version of Ariakas were both clerics, and they both used maces. Why bother with that when they could use swords? Verminaard stats DL1-4; Dragons of Autumn Twilight. Ariakas stats DL9; DL13-14} 118: [Wouldn't it have been worth mentioning that Sargonnas is the only god minotaurs worship? They are mentioned in the description with just one word, as a possible avatar form for the god. DLA p. 70] Sargonnas is called "Destroyer" on Mithas. {The minotaurs on Mithas call him Sargas. DLA p. 70} Morgion's home plane is in Hades. {Morgion broods in his Bronze Tower at the edge of the Abyss. DLA p. 46; TotL p. 118 (Right below the Hades reference, in fact.)} Chemosh was drawn by Takhisis to Krynn. {Not the complete story. He was cast out of the Beyond by the High God, then was called to serve as Takhisis saw useful potential in him and rescued him from the Void of Chaos. DLA p. 46} Dwarves know nothing about Zeboim. {Is unknown to most dwarven races. DL5 p. 13; Leaves p. 22. Obviously the dwarves of Thorbardin must know something about her, since they have a name for her. DL5 p. 13; Leaves p. 22; TotL p. 118.} 120: Hiddukel has several other names. {Has none other names than Hiddukel. DL5 p. 13; Leaves p. 22} Nuitari has several other names. {Has none other names than Nuitari. DL5 p. 13; Leaves p. 22} Nuitari's home plane: Acheron (initially), Border Ethereal (currently). {Nuitari revolves around Krynn. DL5 p. 13; Leaves p. 22; DLA p. 27, 47; TotL p. 88} Wandered Krynn and founded the Order of the Black Robes. {The Orders were founded first when three mortals were called to the Lost Citadel, then later, during the First Dragon War, the heads of the three Orders met at the Lost Citadel and the organization became more formalized and structured. DLA p. 27; TotL p. 88} There are clerics of Nuitari. {The followers of Nuitari are only mages. DLA p. 47} 121: Gilean's home plane is Concordant Opposition. {His real abode is believed to be the Hidden Vale, a perfect valley of nature that exists everywhere and nowhere. DLA p. 44; TotL p. 121} Gilean was not a god at first, but a scribe the High God made a god and gave the Tobril. {Gilean comes from Beyond like all the other gods DLA p. 8, 86; DL5 p. 10; DL14 p. 3; Leaves p. 15} 122: The Graystone led to the creation of gnomes, dwarves and kender. {Gnomes were created before the Graygem, when Reorx cursed a group of humans into gnomes. DLA p. 49-50, 65, 67, 86; DL5 p. 8; DL14 p. 3; Leaves p. 49, 57, 63, 123-125; Tales vol. 2 p. 241-246, DRM#101 p. 10; DRM#102 p. 12-13; DRM#103 p. 18} Reorx have other names than Reorx. {He doesn't. DL5 p. 13; Leaves p. 23.} In the discussion of which forms Reorx appear in, three are listed; a powerful dwarven warrior with a magical hammer, a blacksmith or a wizened gnomish faerie. {They should have mentioned the form of Dougan Redhammer. Tales vol. 2 "Wanna Bet?"; TotL p. 99} 123: Chislev's home plane is happy Hunting Ground. {Chislev dwells in Zhan. DLA p. 45; TotL p. 123.} 124: One of Shinare's names is Silver Master, but she is not called Gold Master. {One of the names is Gold Master, but no Silver Master. DL5 p. 13; Leaves p. 23} Lunitari's home plane: Limbo (originally), Border Ethereal (currently) {Lunitari revolves around Krynn. DL5 p. 13; Leaves p. 23; DLA p. 27, 47; TotL p. 88} There are clerics of Lunitari. {All followers of Lunitari are mages. DLA p. 46} [125-145]: [There are stats and descriptions of many creatures, most of which appear in MC appendixes 1, 2 and the MC 4 Dragonlance appendix. While I can understand the descriptions and stats of creatures from MC4, I think it is a waste of space to have stats for creatures such as griffin, naga, kobolds, rats and other creatures that appear in MC volumes 1 and 2, two products that every AD&D DM is sure to have. A listing of monsters from MC1 and 2 that do exist on Krynn, and text that puts them into a Krynnish context would have been much better than rehashing stats, basic descriptions and combat abilities.] 125: Children of Krynn are the beautiful beings of nature, closest to the hear of Chislev. {Weren't originally created. "All of the creatures on the face of Krynn sprang from one of five sources: dragons, ogres, animals, humans or elves." DLA p. 49. Centaurs, griffons, naga, pegasi and satyr are better off as Graygem creatures. Besides, I doubt that evil naga would be a beloved creature of Chislev.} Centaurs are size L {Size M. MC4 centaur entry} 126: Aurak draconians.[Incomplete stats. Lack damage for claws and bite.] 127: When baaz were created, a hardening liquid was injected into their bodies, and this is what makes them turn to stone. [No mention of this, in DL9 it seems to be clear that all draconian creations are made by the incantations of a cleric and mage (Wyrllish and Dracart), as well as the drip of saliva from a red dragon (Harkiel). According to DLA p. 73 the draconians are magical creatures and the odd enchantments that formed them create the spectacular death scenes. I see no reason for having such a "mundane" explanation for their turning to stone.] Baaz are neutral evil. {Lawful evil DL1-4/ lawful evil (chaotic) DL6-9; DL12-14; DLA p. 74/ lawful or chaotic evil. MC4 Draconian, Baaz entry} 127-128: The small minds of sivaks have trouble concocting long-range plans and elaborate tactics. {Sivaks have an intelligence characterized as "high" in stats. DL7-9; DL12-14; DLA p. 75. Sivaks also, though their shape-changing ability, work as infiltrators in areas such as Solamnia and Ergoth. You need more than a "small mind" to accomplish such a task.} 128: Draconian progenitors dwelt on the lower planes. {The Abyss. DL13-14 monster appendixes; DLA p. 73} The souls of draconians are tanar'ri. {Abishai. DL13-14 monster appendixes; DLA p. 73; MC4 Draconian entry} 128-131: The stats for dragons are incomplete. It says that you have to consult Monstrous Compendium vol. 1, but the designers seems to have completely misunderstood the relationship between the general dragon age category table and the base stats of dragons from MC1 when it says that the base stats are the same as those of a young adult dragon. Base stats are always adjusted by the general age category table. This is no big deal when it comes to the common chromatic and metallic dragons, but more complete and accurate stats should certainly have been provided for the amphi- and sea dragons, whose stats are hard to find elsewhere. All evil dragons and some good are immune to attacks the type of their breath weapon. {Dragons are not immune to their own breath weapons. DL5 p. 6} 129/131: The illustrations for sea and amphi dragons are mixed up. A forgivable mistake if it hadn't been for the fact that this occurred in MC4 previously, and somebody should have caught the mistake, particularly considering that the text describing them was rewritten. 129: The two breath weapons of a brass dragon are sleep gas and a wave of heat. {Sleep gas and fear gas. Leaves p. 152; DLA p. 79} 130: Gold dragons own spellbooks. {Are extremely skilled in magic and so intelligent that they rarely make use of spellbooks. DLA p. 80; Leaves p. 154} 131: White dragons cast their spells at 5th level. {Most white dragons can't cast spells due to their low intelligence. Leaves p. 152; DLA p. 79. This includes Sleet. DL 6 p. 31} 132: Kobolds are not related to goblins, but lizard men. {Kobolds are related to goblins. DLA p. 114} No firm evidence about Lord Toede's death during the War of the Lance. {A shameless attempt to capitalize on a dead character? Didn't the designers read "Lord Toede's Disastrous Hunt" from one of the Tales collections? Probably not.} 134: [What's the point of putting bakali on Ansalon? Personally I don't think they belong there. They should have remained Taladas inhabitants only.] Bakali legends state that they were the first of all. {It should have been stated more that this is a legend, else some future designer might actually take this seriously in spite of all evidence that ogres, elves, humans, animals and dragons were first, and the races from which all others originate. Leaves p. 15-16; DLA p. 8, 49, 57, 68, 86; DL5 p. 10; DL14 p. 3; TotL p. 4, 78. MC4 Lizard Man (of Krynn) entry} [Personally, I think that the best way to fit bakali into Krynn is by having them a graygem race.] 135: Bakali worship the Five Great Dragons, before the gods themselves, and receive spells. [Huh? Who are they and where do they come from] {Only the pantheon of 21 gods grants spells and has an interest in Krynnish affairs. DLA p. 39} 135-136: [What are these huldrefolk doing on Krynn? They are more at home in X-files.] 137: Kyrie [In the kyrie section, it talks a lot about the Northstone, Dragon's Spine, their fight with minotaurs etc. Wouldn't it have been a good idea to mention Mithas? I don't think that the kyrie section provides nearly enough context to the concepts ripped off from DL16, where they are in the proper context.] 137-138: Scions {Do not appear in earlier products, and their presence crashes with what those products say (See references to "The Smith folk" and "Banished gods. page 5)} 138: Kingpriest got his powers from a captured scions. {1. Scions are, as noted, incompatible with the original histories of Krynn. 2. Shouldn't Time of the Twins be required reading for designers of a core Dragonlance boxed set?} The Heroes of the Lance named the shadowpeople. {[Their existence has been rumored for centuries (DL9 p. 48; DLA p. 77), and it's unlikely that the race changed name due to Gilthanas and Silvara going to Sanction, particularly considering the fact that they kept quiet about them (Dragons of Spring Dawning). Rumors about the shadowpeople's origin include scions {Do not appear in earlier products, and their presence crashes with what those products say (See references to "The Smith folk" and "Banished gods." page 5)} and "born when wild magic mingled with the blood of primitive men". [What's wrong with the Graygem? Why is TotL desperate to avoid explaining the existence of races with the one thing that can satisfactorily explain them being on Krynn? The last phrase may refer to the Graygem, though.] 140: Ice bears are a cross between cave bears and polar bears. {Has the color of a polar bear, but more resemble cave bears in size and ferocity. DL6 p. 30; DLA p. 76. Resembles a cross between a polar bear and a cave bear. MC4 Bear, Ice entry.} 141/143: The illustration in the death knight entry is obviously a skeleton warrior, not a death knight and vice versa. 142: Hydra. [Apart from mechanical constructs in the shape of hydras in DL3, there is no documented hydra on Krynn, and personally I find it hard to fit them into the world and its mythology.] 144: [The stats for spectral minions are, like their entry in MC4, very incomplete. Their HD, THAC0 and attack type and damage just says "varies", and there is no info on what stats each type of spectral minion has.] 145: The asterisk next to the undead beast, stahnk entry indicates that an aquatic version of the monster exists. There is no information on such an aquatic beast in the undead beast entries in earlier dragonlance material. MC4 has a different kind of the undead beast, gholor, which can lair both above and under water, but that is not a stahnk, nor is it strictly aquatic. [Some clarification is in order.] 146-158: [A complaint about this magic items section is that it adds a lot of new powers to many of the magic items, contradicting earlier info on them. The overall increase in the potency of the items is significant.] 146: A wizard is exhausted for 1d4 days after using the Scroll of the Stellar Path. {Is not. DLA p. 91} The Ring of Nature's Love is a ring that Tika stole from the vampire Kryl, and Waylan, Tika's father, prevented Kryl from enacting revenge. Tika wears the ring in a chain around her neck. It acts as a ring of protection +2 and a ring of protection against the elements, as well as making the wearer immune to the ravages of time. It is one of three artifacts that make up the Circle of Love. {This ring was given to Tika by her father. Every character card on Tika in DL2-4, DL10, DL12-14. It is a ring of protection +2 and protection from the elements only. DL12 p. 39} [I deeply resent the ring making Tika age more slowly. A more terrible deux ex machina to make her live longer is hard to think of. Why they wanted to link the ring to other objects that have been in contact with other Heroes of the Lance is also silly, in my opinion. The ring is also terribly munchkin.] Waylan teleported Tika away. {Tika's father was a sleight-of-hand artist and conductor of minor illusions, a third-rate magician. DL5 p. 28, TotL Tika's character card, Alleran Waylan's character card. She ran away from him to Solace when she was 10. DL5 p. 28} 147: Ring of Shapechanging, of the kind that Tasslehoff used in Time of the Twins, allows the wearer to transform into an animal of his or her choice. Remaining in animal form for more rounds than your Wisdom score will make you forget you were anything but an animal unless you make a Wisdom check each round. The form can be regained by merely willing it so. {In Time of the Twins, Tasslehoff became a mouse the moment he put on the ring, wore it for a long time without ever forgetting he was a kender. Time of the Twins. Placing Tas's ring on the finger instantly transforms the wearer to a white mouse, the form can be regained by willing it so. DLA p. 98 (no mention of losing ones memory of the old form.) 148: The Staff of Magius has tons of hidden powers. {These are beyond the complete list of powers listed in the modules from DL12 (p. 39) onwards, and DLA 97.} [They add little to the staff besides making the staff incredibly munchkin.] Amulet, Hands of the Healing Spirit. [I dislike the attempt to make this part of the Circle of Love, a triad of magical items that together has touched as many HotL and other historical figures as possible, and making the wearers undying. In addition, it has so many defensive powers it is very munchkin.] 149: Armband, Trueheart's Warding. [I dislike the attempt to make this part of the Circle of Love, a triad of magical items that together has touched as many HotL and other historical figures as possible, and making the wearers undying. The attempt to make Caramon long-living with this is downright pathetic. In addition, it has so many defensive powers it is very munchkin.] The Bloodstone can heal wounds. {It can't. DLA p. 97} 150-151: The Coin of Luck (Coin of Greed) [This is part of the Triad of Betrayal, a counterpart to the Circle of Love. They have managed to attach Tasslehoff to this item.] 151: Using Dalamar's Bracelet of Magic Resistance will make the user gradually more evil. {No it won't. DLA p. 98} Those of neutral or evil alignment suffer 3d10 points of electrical damage if they try to touch the Disks of Mishakal, and unworthy readers die. {Anyone not of Lawful or Neutral Good alignment receives 4d6 points of electrical damage if they try to touch or read the disks. DL1 p. 29} The five dragonorbs were created by the alliance of wizards during the Third Dragon War. {Mages of all three orders met at the Tower of Palanthas and made the Dragon Orbs at the end of the Second Dragon war, not the third. Dragons of Winter Night p. 93; DL10 p. 3; Leaves p. 125. Considering that the tower of High Clerist, built at the time of Vinas Solamnus, who lived after the Second but before the Third Dragon War, was built with a Dragon Orb in mind, the orbs created at the Second Dragon War makes sense. DL8 p. 9, 18} Godstones were created to imprison dragons in the First Dragon War. {It is strongly implied that Silvanos's rallying the elves drove dragons back. DLA p. 57, 86; DL14 p. 3. The gods of magic revolved around the world before the First Dragonwar, granting powers and walked the face of Krynn to find an apprentice each. The apprentices were given the keys to the Lost Citadel, where they met at the onset of the first Dragon War. There is no indication of the gods of magic intervening. DLA p. 27; TotL p.88} 152: The Orb of Silvanesti has an assortment of minor and major abilities. {TotL neglects to list the most important power of the Silvanesti Orb: Mindspin, a projection of a charmed character's mind to the world around him. DL10 p. 18. Accessing the major abilities is not as easy as TotL will have it, it takes a battle with the mind of the evil dragon inside the Orb. DL12 p. 25-26} The wearer of the glasses of Arcanist can, in addition to understanding any writing, also detect forgeries, hidden items, see through mundane magical illusions and see invisible creatures and objects. {Not so. DL6 p. 32; DLA p. 92} 152-153: The Golden Circlet can be used by clerics and wizards, is used by Serinda, and Hiddukel placed a curse on it, offering its user deals, as well as several spells, draining etc. It eventually corrupts the wielder. It belongs to the Triad of Betrayal. {Can be used by clerics only, and is used by Goldmoon, not Serinda. It has two abilities: Commands up to 8 HD of creatures, and one creature up to 4 HD may be controlled to act on the user' s behalf. DL12 p. 39, character cards; DLA p. 92} 153: There was only one circlet, it contributed to the Kingpriest's madness. [Bah. The Kingpriest became like he is not due to magical suggestion. That ruins the whole concept on the Kingpriest.] It brought an end to the kingdom of Ergoth, according to some tales. {The Cataclysm brought an end to the kingdom of Ergoth. How stupid can the designers possibly be?} {The golden circlets (there were several) were created toward the end of the Age of Might. Were designed to guide people into aiding the church. Their use tended towards slavery, but they could only be used by good-aligned people, so their abuse was somewhat limited. DLA p. 92} The Powers of the Icon of Truth is detect lie, true seeing and dispel illusion. {Dispels illusions only. DL10 p. 18; DLA p. 95} Medallions of Faith have an assortment of powers, particularly for higher level priests, and only a 5th-level or higher cleric can use the medallion to create other medallions. {The medallions themselves create medallions for clerics who profess faith in the gods, no limit level for the cleric. That is the only power they have. DLA p. 92} 155: Wearers of a Plate of Solamnus must be Lawful Good or it loses its magical bonus. {Not only can it lose its bonus, the bonus can get negative.} Brightblade can, in addition to being a +3 two-handed sword, grant the wielder response bonus, be swift as a long sword and summon light and provide protection from evil. {Is a +3 two-handed sword. Sturm's character cards in DL1-9 and DL14.} In addition to the footman's and mounted dragonlances (each of which might be lesser or greater, depending on tools used in their creation), there are also "true dragonlances", weapons which have to be made under ridiculously specific conditions, and has the power that it drains the good dragon it is mounted on and its breath weapon can sprout out of the lances tip! [Very silly. The types of lances that are available on DLA p. 94 and various DL modules should keep you satisfied. This super ultra magic breathing dragonlance is just too much.] 158: Wyrmsbane inflicts double damage on dragons, draconians, serpents and lizard-kin, triple towards sea/marsh spawned dragons. {Double damage to dragons and draconians only (i.e. only dragon-kin, not all reptiles), triple against black and sea dragons. DL12 p. 39; DLA p. 95} Wyrmsbane is said to be used by Tanis, while Wyrmslayer is not. [According to DL12 p. 39 Tanis received Wyrmslayer as a gift from Alhana, who, according to that module, threw magic items at the PCs, they all have one each from her. Much more famous is the incident where Tanis found Wyrmsbane in Sla-Mori in Pax Tharkas in Dragons of Autumn Twilight. That should have been noted in that weapon's description.] 160-173: [The "adventure" on these pages is less an adventure and more a collection of badly constructed encounters. It is so bad that whoever wrote it should be ashamed of him- or herself. It is set sometime before the War of the Lance, and before the future Heroes of the Lance separated. That is itself a bad idea. I will not take this adventure page for page, it would be too tiresome. There are many inconsistencies between this adventure (with the map that it refers to, on the back of the map of Ansalon found in TotL) and other maps and material concerning this area (DL1, Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Atlas), both with many of the sites and the general map of the environs of Solace. Of particular note is: The many huldrefolk in the area [don't belong on Krynn], the island in Crystalmir Lake {does not exist on any of the maps or text}, the non-existence of the plains east of Solace and west of Xak Tsaroth, the lower city of Xak Tsaroth being submerged in water {did not happen until Dragons of Autumn Twilight, long after this adventure} among many others.] World map: [This map includes a lot of details that can be used for generating ideas. That is good, but insiders have revealed that all these details were meant to be for in-house use only, this particular map wasn't supposed to be in this set. This is another proof of the unprofessionalism that permeates this boxed set, so is the printing where some places don't appear in the correct locations (eg. Flotsam being far out in the sea and Thelgaard being way off the road it lies on). It also includes a number of mistakes compared to {original information in Atlas}: -The city of Hopeful is located on the road between Thorbardin and Tarsis. If there truly had been a city there, the Heroes of the Lance wouldn't have acted as if there was nothing between Thorbardin and Tarsis in the opening chapters of Dragons of Winter Night. -Vingaard, Hylo, Garnet, Gargath and Dargaard Keep are all noted on the map, but not named; in addition to the understandably unnamed ruins, dolmen rings and towes/castles. There is also an unnamed capital west of Throtl, an unnamed village a little further west and an unnamed village in the sea off the west cost of Elian Wilds. -Solamnia sure has a lot of capitals. Caergoth, Solanthus, Vingaard (not named), Palanthas, Maelgoth and an unnamed city near Throtl are all labeled capitals. -Several locations are mislabeled: Solace (labeled city, originally town/village), Pax Tharkas (labeled dolmen ring, even though it clearly should be labeled tower/castle), Garnet (labeled city, originally village), Gargath (labeled a ruin, originally tower). -Godshome (originally labeled a ruin), is not noted, in its place is a site described as "Star Stones - Celestial Ladder". {Godshome is of such importance it should be noted by name, and the name of the TotL map does not at all describe Godshome as it appears in Dragons of Spring Dawning, DL13 and Atlas p. 116-119}. -Balifor is described as Barren, { it is steppes that can support huddles of farms {DL12 p. 10, map; DL11 and DL14 maps} and there is too little grasslands in the north of Balifor compared to earlier maps and descriptions {DL12 p. 10, map; DL5, DL11, DL14, Atlas, maps.} -The map also includes several locations of relics from creatures that either does not fit into earlier continuity nor (in my personal opinion) "feel": Scions, kyrie, bakali, huldrefolk. More common creatures don't have nearly as many relics. See references earlier in this document.] [There is a sheet which has several maps on both sides, of cities, lands and dungeons from the modules or the Atlas. Some can be useful, the city maps of Sanction and Palanthas in particular, but most maps (of dungeons) are out of context, and is therefore of limited use unless you have the products that describe them (but that would mean you already have the maps as well.)] [The DM screen rocks, though. It is the only thing in this boxed set I won't complain about.] [Talis cards (which first appeared in DL12) are included in TotL. I don't really see the reason to include them, particularly with the rather vague and confusing information provided on how to use them. It didn't even include guidelines for how they can be used in-world, as card games. As a role-playing tool, its use is very limited in a core boxed set like this one should be.] [TotL includes several floor plans for wilderness and indoor areas. They are not good enough to be useful roleplaying tools either, I think.] [TotL also includes cards with stats and descriptions of several characters which, I believe, are meant for players to use. These characters are mostly Heroes of the Lance or related to them and are from different time periods. In addition, there are cardboard "miniatures" for each of the characters. I see limited use and appeal in these character cards, energy should have been spent on developing a good post-war Ansalon setting instead. The fact that the cards of some Heroes of the Lance are set in a different period than other Heroes of the Lance further diminishes the usefulness of the cards. In the following I have noted Contradictions and Things I Don't Like on the cards:] Dalamar: Born 354. {Obviously much older than less than 0 years in Legends. Is 90. DLA p. 111} This card is set during his time as spy for Raistlin (i.e. ca. Time of the Twins), the card places that date to 382 AC. {Time of the Twins is set 354 Ac. Atlas p. 146} Elistan: Card says to begin play in 350 AC. {The correct should be 351 AC. The card is set after his conversion to Paladine (which happened in DL2/Dragons of Autumn Twilight, set autumn 351), and setting the card in 350 would, with the date of birth on the card, make him 44 instead of the listed age 45.} Goldmoon: Card says to begin play in 350 AC. {The correct should be 351 AC. The card is set after her conversion to Mishakal (which happened in DL1/Dragons of Autumn Twilight, set autumn 351), and setting the card in 350 would, with the date of birth on the card, make her 28 instead of the listed age 29.} Hederick: According to the card, Hederick is born in 280 AC, and the card is set in 324 AC. It says that Hederick and his Seekers have proven a special irritation to Solace. {The Seekers hadn't got hold of Solace yet when the Companions separated in 346 AC. Dragons of Autumn Twilight}. [This would make Hederick 71 years old in Dragons of Autumn Twilight. He wasn't described as old in that book, he obviously must have been younger.] Kronn: Card is set in 350, but should be 351 or maybe even early 352, due to events described on the card that happened just before his introduction in DL12, set late 351 or early 352. Laurana: Is born on 7 Argon (July) 271. {Is born 7 June 271. Leaves p. 166} Palin: [What's up with that silly middle name? Rintalaisin?] Has two older (Tanin and Sturm) and two younger brothers, one older sister and two younger sisters. {Has two older brothers and two younger sisters only. "The Legacy" Tales 1 and/or "Wanna Bet?" Tales 2} Raistlin: [I don't believe that he is a 3rd level mage at age 16, like this card claims.] Ravens-Eye: {Is called Raven-Eye. Heart of Goldmoon in Tales 3, DL1 p. 28. Card says begin play in 350 AC, even though it refers to the Que-Shu village being razed, which happened in 351 AC.} Rieve: This card is set in 324. According to it the evil shapechanger Rieve was outplayed by Raistlin who used his magic to thwart him. This was 2 years before Raistlin's birth. (And I don't believe that Raistlin took care of this during his time travels in Legends. :) Riverwind: Card says to begin play in 350 AC. {The correct should be 351 AC. The card is set after him returning to Que-Shu with the staff (which happened in DL1/Dragons of Autumn Twilight, set autumn 351), and setting the card in 350 would, with the date of birth on the card, make him 31 instead of the listed age 32.} It says that he is now a member of the Que-Shu tribe, but after what just happened to him (the stoning and all) that status is a bit questionable. Gilthanas: [This card is set 9 years before his appearance in DL2, yet he is at exactly the same level on this card as in DL2 p. 9/DL5 p. 29. I find that hard to believe.] Flint: [Also the same level in 342 according to this card as in 351.] Sevil: Is a fallen cleric, yet this card claims he has spells. Card is supposed to be set in 353 AC, but considering that Toede apparently still lives, and the information is more or less lifted from DL12 p. 30 (which, unlike this card, was ambiguous about Sevil being a surviving Verminaard) the date should probably be early 352. Serinda: Card is set in 350, but should be 351 or maybe even early 352, due to events described on the card that happened just before her introduction in DL12, set late 351 or early 352. Sturm Brightblade: Card is set in 342 AC, years before Sturm actually went north like the card says he has done. Sturm Majere: What's up with those stupid middle names? ["Arlis Elrohan". Yuck] {Has more siblings that Tales stories say, look in the Palin entry.} Tanin Majere: What's up with the stupid middle name? "Alontier"? {Has more siblings that Tales stories say, look in the Palin entry.} Tasslehoff: Tasslehoff isn't his real name but just a nickname, Kalin is his real name. {Never mentioned anywhere before (or since, I might add). A terrible idea, and an unwelcome change of a beloved character.} [If this is TotL's idea of making the point that not all kender have topknots. well, they couldn't have found a worse way of making it.] Theros: Has the Silver Arm of Ergoth, despite the fact that the card is set in 342 AC and he didn't get that arm until 351 AC. Tika: Tells people she ran away at 10, but was in reality trained by a thief as her father. {Bullshit excuse for introducing a contradiction; she ran away at 10 according to an omnisciently written text in DL5 p. 28}. Trapspringer: Is Tasslehoff's uncle. {He's no more Tas's uncle than he is my uncle. He is a legendary figure that shouldn't have a card and stats, but should be spoken about by kender who knew someone who knew him only. Leaves p. 67} Vanderjack: Has worked for both the Solamnic armies and Dragonarmies in the past, currently he searches for the treasure of the Great Dragon [?] while the rest of the world fights the war. His card is set in 337 AC, which is 5 years after the humble and extremely secretive gatherings of the Dragonarmies (which according to common sense didn't include sell-swords who went to or had come from the Solamnic armies which BTW were quite inoperative at that time), and 11 years before the start of the war referred to and the fighting between the two forces. Verminaard and Toede: These cards start out in 350 AC; and although that might be believable due to lack of info on the cards to exactly pinpoint the time, they probably should be set in 351 like the other cards that says 350.