Dragons of Hope

Last updated
Dragons of Hope
Dragons of Hope module cover.jpg
The cover of the module, with art by Keith Parkinson, showing a Dragon Highlord riding a red dragon that is attacking a brass dragon.
CodeDL3
TSR product code9131
Rules required AD&D (1st Edition)
Character levels6 - 8
Campaign setting Dragonlance
Authors Tracy Hickman
First published1984
Linked modules
DL1, DL2, DL3, DL4, DL5, DL6, DL7, DL8, DL9, DL10, DL11, DL12, DL13, DL14, DL15, DL16

Dragons of Hope is an adventure in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It is the third module of the 14 Dragonlance adventures published by TSR, Inc., between 1984 and 1986. The module is intended for level 6-8 player characters.

Contents

The events of this module were not covered in the original Dragonlance Chronicles but are detailed in the novel Dragons of the Dwarven Depths by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman.

Plot synopsis

Dragons of Hope is an adventure in which the objective for the player characters (PC) is to help the released prisoners from Pax Tharkas evade an army of draconians and then to assist them in finding the city of Thorbardin, the ancient home of the mountain dwarves. To do so, the characters must first find the key to Thorbardin, which is hidden within the lair that was home to a wizard long ago. [1]

The adventure starts with the players freeing 800 refugees from Pax Tharkas, who are subsequently pursued through the wilderness by Verminaard's army. The players must then lead their characters through the snow-capped Kharolis Mountains, across the Dergoth plains towards Skullcap, and ultimately to Thorbardin.

The module contains special rules and challenges in each particular region in order for the PCs to successfully reach their goal of leading the refugees to safety. Bonus experience points are available to players depending on how many refugees they manage to lead to safety. [2]

Publication history

DL3 Dragons of Hope was written by Tracy Hickman, with a cover by Keith Parkinson and interior illustrations by Parkinson and Larry Elmore. [1] It was published by TSR in 1984 as a 32-page booklet with an outer folder and a large two-color map. [1] The module comes with a large map for the players and a smaller version of the map for the DM, as well as two detailed maps of specific areas. [3]

Reception

Alan Mynard reviewed DL3 together with DL4 in Imagine magazine, giving it a positive review overall. [4] He praised the "excellent layout" and the "clarity of detail". [4] According to Mynard, the module provides numerous encounters along an overland trek that work very well and allows the players considerable freedom. Overall, he felt that DL3 would not work very well on its own, but could work quite well combined with DL4, assuming the gamemaster is prepared to do plenty of work. Mynard saw only one major flaw in DL3, namely that it assumes the players gather sufficient information to start DL4, but this is not provided by the module and it is up to the gamemaster to invent it. In conclusion, Mynard noted: "As part of the Dragonlance series...it's like a television soap opera, once you've started you just can't stop." [4]

Graham Staplehurst reviewed Dragons of Hope for White Dwarf , and gave it an 8/10 grade overall. He considered this module an improvement in the design over Dragons of Flame , and enjoyed it more. He felt that this module had a lot more for players to contend with when compared to Dragons of Flame. He disliked how "much of the action turns on uncontrollable plot devices, with many poorly explained or of dubious value as contributions to the game", as well as "the rather ambiguous detailed area maps and events that were somewhat coerced and did not flow naturally from play". [3] However, he considered that there were very few such "bugs" and noted that DMs can of course leave out anything anomalous, and concluded by stating how he: "liked the free-ranging nature of the scenario rather than the usual confinement of dungeon pathways". [3]

Adaptations

The Shadow Sorcerer personal computer game is based on this module. It is very different from the official games based on earlier modules in the series, and is one of the earliest real-time strategy games. [5] This module has also been converted into the Neverwinter Nights format, requiring both the Shadows of Undrentide and Hordes of the Underdark expansion packs as well as the original game.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

Dragonlance is a shared universe created by Laura and Tracy Hickman, and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR, Inc. into a series of fantasy novels. The Hickmans conceived Dragonlance while driving in their car on the way to TSR for a job interview. Tracy Hickman met his future writing partner Margaret Weis at TSR, and they gathered a group of associates to play the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. The adventures during that game inspired a series of gaming modules, a series of novels, licensed products such as board games, and lead miniature figures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kender (Dragonlance)</span> Type of fantasy race

Kender are a type of fantasy race first developed for the Dragonlance campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role playing game published by TSR, Inc. in 1984. The first kender character was created by Harold Johnson as a player character in a series of role-playing adventures co-authored by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis. Weis and Hickman's Dragonlance shared world novels introduced the kender to readers and players alike, largely through the character Tasslehoff Burrfoot, who became one of the main protagonists in the series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riverwind</span> Fictional character

Riverwind is a fictional character appearing in the Dragonlance series of Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game supplements and novels, created by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman and published by TSR.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas Niles</span> American writer & game designer

Douglas Niles is a fantasy author and game designer. Niles was one of the creators of the Dragonlance world and the author of the first three Forgotten Realms novels, the Star Frontiers space opera setting and the Top Secret S/I espionage role-playing game.

Dwarf (<i>Dungeons & Dragons</i>) Fictional playable humanoid race

A dwarf, in the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy roleplaying game, is a humanoid race, one of the primary races available for player characters. The idea for the D&D dwarf comes from the dwarves of European mythologies and J. R. R. Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings (1954-1955), and has been used in D&D and its predecessor Chainmail since the early 1970s. Variations from the standard dwarf archetype of a short and stout demihuman are commonly called subraces, of which there are more than a dozen across many different rule sets and campaign settings.

<i>Dragons of Autumn Twilight</i> 1984 novel by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

Dragons of Autumn Twilight is a 1984 fantasy novel by American writers Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, based on a series of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) game modules. It was the first Dragonlance novel, and first in the Chronicles trilogy, which, along with the Dragonlance Legends trilogy, are generally regarded as the core novels of the Dragonlance world. Dragons of Autumn Twilight details the meeting of the Companions and the early days of The War of the Lance. The novel corresponds with the first two Dragonlance game modules, Dragons of Despair and Dragons of Flame, but with a different ending. It introduces many of the characters that are the subject of later novels and short stories.

<i>Dragons of Ice</i> 1985 book by Douglas Niles

Dragons of Ice is the start of the second major story arc in the Dungeons & Dragons Dragonlance series of game modules. It is one of the 14 DL modules published by TSR between 1984 and 1986. Its cover features a painting of a white dragon attacking sail powered ice boats by Larry Elmore. The module launches players into the story of the second book of the Dragonlance Chronicles, Dragons of Winter Night.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laura Hickman</span> American fantasy author (born 1956)

Laura Curtis Hickman is an American fantasy author, best known for her works in game design and fantasy novels cowritten with her husband, Tracy Hickman. She was one of the first women to write and publish a tabletop adventure.

The DL series is a series of adventures and some supplementary material for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role playing game. These modules along with the Dragonlance Chronicles trilogy of novels, which follow one possible adventure series through the modules, were the first published items that established the Dragonlance fictional universe. The original DL series was released from 1984 to 1986, with the final two modules added to it in 1988. In the 1990s these roleplaying adventures from the original series were collected and revised for 2nd Edition AD&D as the three DLC Dragonlance Classics modules. There were also versions of the module series released in 1999, 2000 and 2006.

<i>Dragons of Despair</i> 1984 book by Tracy Hickman

Dragons of Despair is the first in a series of 16 Dragonlance adventures published by TSR, Inc. (TSR) between 1984 and 1988. It is the start of the first major story arc in the Dragonlance series of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) role-playing game modules, a series of ready-to-play adventures for use by Dungeon Masters in the game. This series provides a game version of the original Dragonlance storyline later told in the Dragonlance Chronicles trilogy of novels. This module corresponds to the events told in the first half of the novel Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Its module code is DL1, which is used to designate it as the first part of the Dragonlance adventure series.

<i>Dragons of Flame</i> (module)

Dragons of Flame is the second module in the first major story arc in the Dungeons & DragonsDragonlance series of game modules. It is one of the 14 Dragonlance adventures published by TSR between 1984 and 1986. Its cover features a painting by Jeff Easley depicting Tasslehoff Burrfoot peering at a red dragon and Verminaard of the Dragonarmies of Ansalon.

<i>Dragons of Desolation</i> 1984 book by Tracy Hickman

Dragons of Desolation is the fourth and final module in the first major story arc in the Dungeons & DragonsDragonlance series of game modules. It is one of the fourteen Dragonlance adventures published by TSR between 1984 and 1986. The module is intended for player characters of level 6–8.

<i>Dragons of Mystery</i>

Dragons of Mystery is a Dungeons & Dragons sourcebook published in 1984 as part of a series of modules for the Dragonlance (DL) campaign setting. It is the fifth of fourteen Dragonlance modules published by TSR between 1984 and 1986. Its cover features a painting by Larry Elmore of the characters Tanis Half-Elven, Laurana Kanan, Tasslehoff Burrfoot, and Tika Waylan standing in front of a dragon highlord and a blue dragon. The sourcebook received middling reviews from White Dwarf magazine.

<i>Dragons of Glory</i>

Dragons of Glory is a Dungeons & Dragons source book in a series of modules from the Dragonlance campaign setting. It is one of the 16 DL modules published by TSR between 1984 and 1986.

<i>Desert of Desolation</i> Dungeons & Dragons adventure module

Desert of Desolation is a compilation adventure module published by TSR for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy roleplaying game. It combines three previously published individual modules: Pharaoh, Oasis of the White Palm, and Lost Tomb of Martek. The modules were made for use with the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) rules. Pharaoh was created by Tracy and Laura Hickman soon after the couple married in 1977, and published by TSR in 1982. Oasis of the White Palm was a collaboration between Tracy Hickman and Philip Meyers, and Hickman wrote the Lost Tomb of Martek on his own; both were printed in 1983.

<i>In Search of Adventure</i> Dungeons & Dragons adventure module

In Search of Adventure is an abridged compilation adventure module published by TSR, Inc. in 1987, for the Basic Set of the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. Its product designation was TSR 9190. This 160-page book features cover artwork by Keith Parkinson.

<i>Dragon Magic</i> (module) Tabletop role-playing game supplement

Dragon Magic is an adventure module published by TSR in 1989 for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, specifically the Dragonlance campaign setting.

<i>Dragonlance Classics</i> D&D module

Dragonlance Classics is a series of adventure modules for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.

The Dragonlance Chronicles is a trilogy of fantasy novels written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, which take place in the Dragonlance setting. This series is the first set of Dragonlance novels, and is followed by the Dragonlance Legends series.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Schick, Lawrence (1991). Heroic Worlds: A History and Guide to Role-Playing Games. Prometheus Books. p. 89. ISBN   0-87975-653-5.
  2. ↑ (Hickman 1984 b:4) The Refugees of Pax Tharkas
  3. 1 2 3 Staplehurst, Graham (July 1985). "Open Box". White Dwarf (67): 13.
  4. 1 2 3 Mynard, Alan (May 1985). "Game Reviews". Imagine (review) (26). TSR Hobbies (UK), Ltd.: 40–41.
  5. ↑ Rausch, Allen; Lopez, Miguel. "A History of D&D Video Games - Part II". PCGameSpy. SSI/IGN Entertainment Inc. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.