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 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 magic-users 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.
Many fear Krynn is
about to be plunged into a time of darkness more bleak than the time following
the Cataclysm.
