Echoes of Krynn The Cataclysm & The War of the Lance The current year for our homebrewed Dragonlance campaign is set during 381AC. Inspired By Trampas Whiteman

It has been approximately 30 years since the War of the Lance, a war that brought about great change to the world of Krynn. For many years peace has ruled the land, trade routes have opened up into and out of Thorbardin. There is finally reconciliation between the elves of Qualinost and Silvanost; of course the peace is a strained, as is always the case with the Qualinesti and Silvanesti nations.

The tribes of plainsmen are united under the rule of Goldmoon and Riverwind, two of the Heroes of the Lance. All across Ansalon people of every race and class exist in a more trusting and less prejudiced land. That is, until recently.

Over the last couple of years things have begun to change, tending more toward the dark and gloomy. Rumors of a new Knighthood dedicated to Queen Takhisis have arisen, the weather has been erratic and the sun doesn’t seem to shine as brightly from one day to the next. Scholars, sages and wizards all over the continent have been researching this phenomenon in an effort to answer the oft-asked question: “What is happening to our world”? Their studies and tests have thus far come up empty. Whatever changes are occurring, they have nothing to do with the land itself; there is a power at work here creating problems that seem to have no solution.

One fateful day all the people and creatures of Ansalon awaken to find that what was supposed to be the first day of summer has dawned more like a late autumn morn. Frost covers the land, crops are wilting and dying due to the unseasonable cold, and chimneys everywhere breathe to life in an effort to chase away the chill.

This is definitely the work of dark and fell magic, all signs point to an evil never before known on Krynn. To change the actual weather patterns and extend a glacier hundreds of miles, if rumors are to be believed, would take great and mighty magic only a madman would release. There are no answers to any of the questions, only more questions being asked. The only thing that can be done is to try and continue with day-to-day life and hope the problems can eventually be fixed.

The populace of Krynn begins to pull back into itself again. The gates of Thorbardin are sealed, the borders of the elven lands are closed, and a general sense of distrust begins to spread across Ansalon once again. Things are about to become worse, when a day that began like any other over the last several weeks is suddenly plunged into the dead of winter. Blizzards scream across the land, darkness lingers until mid-morning and livestock and crops are frozen instantly.

All over Krynn panic spreads, crowds of people trample others in an attempt to escape the sudden tundra-like conditions that have swept the land. Kings and other nobles are forced into action; emergency food stores are opened to offset the loss of crops, castles and keeps are opened to admit those suddenly without a home or place to stay, even the royal treasuries are tapped in an effort to keep the economy from plunging as it did during the War.

It is discovered that the rumors in the south are true, Icewall Glacier has actually moved north to the southern part of Ansalon and encroached into the desert land of Tarsis. What could possibly have caused such a disturbance is, as yet, still unknown. The answers must lie somewhere in Icereach, and a force must be sent south to find and terminate what is causing the unnatural freezing of Krynn. What follows is a description of the lands and people of Krynn, and how they are being affected by the northern migration of Icewall Glacier.

Krynn is about to be plunged into a time of darkness nearly as bleak as the time following the Cataclysm. Heroes must be found to save the world, but it will be a very daunting task, not to be taken lightly, for the evil that has caused these changes will most certainly dishearten the most valiant and noble among us.