40 Years Ago: Dragonlance Catches Fire

Source: https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2024/11/40-years-ago-dragonlance-catches-fire/
40 Years Ago: Dragonlance Catches Fire
How a long car ride became worth more than a dragon’s hoard.
Troy Brownfield
Ten years into the spread of Dungeons & Dragons as a pop culture phenomenon, parent company TSR introduced a new twist. Created by module writer Tracy Hickman and his wife Laura, the Dragonlance shared universe would quickly become one of the most popular settings that the company ever created. Still going strong as a novel and gaming brand four decades later, here’s the story of how a car ride shaped a brand that brought us more than 200 novels.
Laura Hickman introduced her husband, Tracy,  to Dungeons & Dragons by giving him the game as a birthday present. The couple took their first official steps in the D&D world as creators when they wrote two modules (separate, playable adventures for the game) called Rahasia and Pharaoh. They were originally published elsewhere, but Tracy decided to pitch them to TSR itself. Not only did the company make them official modules, they offered him a staff job in 1982. As the Hickman family drove from Utah to Wisconsin for Tracy to start work, Tracy and Laura kicked around a new idea that would highlight dragons in a separate world with its own storyline.
The Hickmans made a major mark on D&D in 1983 with the publication of the Ravenloft module. A new horror setting featuring immediate fan favorite vampire character Strahd von Zarovich, Ravenloft would be a major success and open up whole new avenues of storytelling within the gaming system. The Hickmans had been working through the idea for several years, playtesting the concepts with a group of friends. The success of their modules would prime them for their next big idea, and the playtesting group would continue to be a part of that.
That same year, Margaret Weis was hired as a book editor for TSR in their fiction division. She already had a history of writing children’s books, including adventure stories. Weis was asked to help coordinate a pitch from Tracy that was being referred to as Project Overlord, a tongue-in-cheek reference to the Allied invasion of Normandy in World War II. The plan called for the development of a novel and three gaming modules in a brand-new world named Krynn that the Hickmans were developing. The major characters were already developed and getting fleshed out in playtest sessions. Weis hired an author for the book, but they were having trouble with the characterizations and overall story. It quickly became apparent that Weis and Hickman needed to write the book themselves.
Heading into 1984, TSR began to tease the arrival of something new and big. Ads began to appear in the D&D magazine, Dragon, that “Dragonlance is coming.” One issue of Dragon included a teaser short story from Weis and Hickman, “The Test of the Twins,” featuring the twin brothers Caramon the warrior and Raistlin the wizard. The first gaming module, Dragons of Despair, appeared in March. Despair set the stage, introducing the world of Krynn where dragons were reawakening, the old gods were possibly returning, and heroes were being called to action in the face of war. The module introduced several playable characters who would be the leads in the novel.
By November 1984, the D&D world was ready when the first book arrived. Dragons of Autumn Twilight, the first Dragonlance novel by Weis and Hickman, featured a cover by beloved D&D artist Larry Elmore. The book was an immediate success. By the time it was released, the plan had changed from a single book and three modules to a trilogy of novels and multiple modules. The plan worked; the second book, Dragons of Winter Night, dropped in mid-1985, and Dragons of Spring Dawning landed that September. The bestselling books and the strong-selling — and quickly propagating — number of game modules told TSR that fans really liked the dragon-heavy world of Krynn and its complicated protagonists. Among the characters, the break-out stars were the kind-hearted fighter Caramon and his acerbic twin Raistlin, a sorcerer touched by darkness; Tanis Half-Elven, the half-human, half-elf leader who is torn by his heritage and his love for two women; and Tasslehoff Burrfoot, a member of the short-in-stature kender race who manages to be a wide-eyed innocent chatterbox, an inveterate kleptomaniac, and incredibly brave all at once.
The Twins trilogy (Photo by Troy Brownfield)
It wasn’t too surprising then when TSR announced a second trilogy focusing on Caramon and Raistlin (along with Tasslehoff) for 1986. Time of the Twins, War of the Twins, and Test of the Twins all came out that year; when Test dropped, it hit The New York Times Bestseller List. After that, it was essentially off to the races. Over the years, Dragonlance would become a major expression, or product group, for TSR. Over 212 novels were released, as well as more than 80 modules and sourcebooks. On the whole, there have been more than 35 million Dragonlance books sold. 2008 saw the release of an animated version of the original novel, Dragons of Autumn Twilight; despite having great voice actors like Kiefer Sutherland (a very well-cast Raistlin) and Lucy Lawless, the film was plagued by bad animation and a worse script adaptation.
As for Weis and Hickman, they have continued to write in their universe for many years. As a shared universe concept, most of the novels are written by other writers, but Weis and Hickman have always borne the “spine” of the main continuity. Their 17 books together (and a number of short stories) comprise the series’ core story (along with Weis’s “Dark Disciple” trilogy, the Raistlin-centered The Soulforge, and three books by Weis and Don Perrin). However, everything wasn’t always golden; in October of 2020, the pair filed suit against Wizards of the Coast (who bought TSR in 1997) over a new trilogy that fell through. The writers dismissed their suit that December, and shortly thereafter their new trilogy was announced. The third book of that series arrived in August; another from the pair is on the books for February of 2026.
Action figures for Drizzit Do’Urden and Guenhwyvar from Hasbro (Photo by Troy Brownfield)
The legacy of Dragonlance in both gaming and publishing is a substantial one. Fans have been following the characters and situations in novels and games for 40 years. The success of the brand allowed TSR to pursue other setting and novel combinations, the most successful of which has been Forgotten Realms and its breakout star, the dark elf Drizzt Do’Urden. R.A. Salvatore has written 39 of tThe Drizzt novels and sold another 35 million books, with dozens of entries on the NYT bestsellers list. Despite their prodigious sales, Dragonlance and Drizzt are possibly the most popular fictional franchises overlooked by mainstream readers.  Regardless, the success of these books is rooted in their strong storytelling, relatable characters, and, well, totally awesome dragons.