History Literature / DragonlanceChronicles

* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Many dragons are capable of voluntarily shifting into mortals forms. Notably [[spoiler: Silvara is actually an old silver dragon polymorphed into a Kagonesti elf and spends the majority of her screentime in that form.]] Paladine is also capable of this taking both the form of the Platinum Dragon and the old wizard Fizban

* TheVamp: Kitiara enjoys [[TheTease being sultry]] has had a ''[[ReallyGetsAround lot]]'' of sexual partners and [[SexGoddess is very talented at the act itself]]. [[spoiler:Tanis' feelings for her make him seriously consider [[FaceHeelTurn switching sides and joining her army]]]].

* OurGnomesAreWeirder: May have been the TropeMaker. Their a race of BunglingInventor s who often make things ludicrously over-complicated that seldom work. Interestingly they were the original creations of the Reorx with kender and dwarves being created from them via the Graygem.

* HonorBeforeReason: The Knights of Solamnia have this problem, especially when a good number follow Derek on his foolish charge because he's the commanding officer. It doesn't held their motto is ''Est Solarus oth Mithas'' literally "my honor is my life"

* FantasticRacism: Humans like Rivermind mistrust Elves and the Elves look down on Tanis for being half-human. Flint hates gully dwarves in general though he also has a grudge for them keeping him prisoner.

* AlienSky: Krynn has three moons of different colors, and a very different set of constellations who represent the three sets of gods. Notably both the constellations for Paladine and Takhisis are missing from the sky during the books, representing the active role their playing on Krynn.

This band of heroes includes the leader Tanis Half-elven, Knight of Solamnia Strum Brightblade, red-robed mage Raistlin Majere, his brawny brother Caramon, cheerful kender Tasslehoff Burrfoot, grumpy old dwarf Flint Fireforge, Chieftain's daughter Goldmoon, her loyal protector Riverwind, the elven princess Laurana, barmaid turned warrior Tika Waylan, and the muddled old mage Fizban the Fabulous.

* BladeOnAStick: The Dragonlances themselves, which are powerful against dragons and are the best weapons to use from dragonback.

The second book ''Dragons of Winter Night'' (1985), picks up after a TimeSkip. The companions seek out for the city of Tarsis in search of passage but soon find themselves separated. Each group will find themselves set on dangerous paths to find the lost Dragon Orbs while evading the might of the Dragonarmies. From the child of Ice Wall to the horrors of Silvanesti, from occupied Flotsam to the gates of Palanthas, our heroes will be put to the test both physically and spiritually.

In the third volume ''Dragons of Spring Dawning'' (1985), the Dragonarmies are being driven back thanks to the aid of the noble metallic dragons and the newly forged dragonlances. However the Dark Queen is far from finished and her forces still wield great might. But treachery broods within her armies, while Tanis must lead the remaining companions to Neraka, the center of her might, in a last desperate attempt to save the woman he loves. Now the outcome of the War of the Lance rests in the balance, as the choices of our heroes could doom the world or save it.

In 2006 a follow-up trilogy the ''Lost Chronicles'' began. It fills in some of the gaps in the original story that were only briefly touched on such as the companions adventures in Thorbardin to find the Hammer of Kharas, the journey to Ice Wall, how Kitiara encountered Lord Soth, and what Raistlin was up to in Neraka.

* TheVamp: Kitiara enjoys [[TheTease being sultry]] has had a ''[[ReallyGetsAround lot]]'' of sexual partners and [[SexGoddess is very talented at the act itself]]. [[spoiler:Tanis' feelings for her make him seriously consider [[FaceHeelTurn switching sides and joining her army]]]].* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Many dragons are capable of voluntarily shifting into mortals forms. Notably [[spoiler: Silvara is actually an old silver dragon polymorphed into a Kagonesti elf and spends the majority of her screentime in that form.]] Paladine is also capable of this taking both the form of the Platinum Dragon and the old wizard Fizban

A sequel trilogy ''Literature/Dragonlance Legends'' was published in 1986.

* OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame: Varies depending on the writer. ''Dragonlance'' is one of the few settings that brings in the ''varied'' dwarf races that are present in D&D. At the very least, Flint (main character in early books) is a ''hill'' dwarf, not a mountain dwarf -- and then there's the gully dwarves (technically hybrids).

A sequel trilogy ''Dragonlance Legends'' was published in 1986.

* FantasticRacism: Humans like Rivermind mistrust Elves and the Elves look down on Tanis for being half-human.

* KickTheDog: Raistlin abandoning his brother and his friends on a sinking ship in the Bloodsea of Istar.

* PetTheDog: Raistlin's kindness to Bupu

* WeAreStrugglingTogether: A major problem with the forces of good, with the Knights of Solamnia enmeshed in political conflict while the Dragonarmies are at the gates.

* SanitySlippage: Derek Crownguard goes increasingly unhinged during the seige of the High Clerist's Tower culminating in an insane attack that gets nearly most of the Knights and himself killed.

* WorldSundering: The Cataclysm, a fiery mountain which left an ocean where Istar was, broke up the lands of Ergoth into islands, and landlocked Tarsis.

* AttemptedRape: [[spoiler:When Bakaris tries to rape Laurana ]] in ''Dragons of Spring Dawning.'' [[spoiler:First {{Cloudcuckoolander}} Tasslehoff Burrfoot comes to her defense, stabbing Bakaris right when he has Laurana at his mercy. Then with Bakaris distracted Laurana attacks him in a frenzy and succeeds in killing him.]]* BalanceOfGoodAndEvil: An essential part of Krynn's cosmology with the neutral deities balancing out those of good and evil: As put in-story "Evil turns upon itself and Good redeems its own."

** Kitiara. Just in the "Chronicles", she betrayed her friends when she failed to show up at the Solace Inn after their five year pact, Laurana when she lured her to a false parley and had her kidnapped, Raistlin and Iolanthe when she tried to have them assassinated, Tanis again when she tried to [[FateWorseThanDeath grant Laurana's soul to Lord Soth]], Dragon Highlord Ariakas when he was assassinated by Tanis and she made her play for ultimate control of the Dragonarmies, and Lord Soth when she allowed Tanis and Laurana to escape.

* FantasyWorldMap: The books have two. One of the region of Abanasinia surrounding Solace in the first book and one of the greater continent of Ansalon.

* ArtifactOfDoom: The Dragon Orbs. Powerful relics made of the essences of the five chromatic dragons, they are extremely dangerous to control and can take over
* BalanceOfGoodAndEvil: An essential part of Krynn's cosmology: Evil turns upon itself and Good redeems its own.
* BrainsEvilBrawnGood: The twins Raistlin and Caramon, with the Raistlin as the acerbic, morally dubious mage and Caramon as the brawny cheerful warrior.

* DraconicHumanoid: The Draconians as the corrupted spawn of the metallic dragon eggs.

* FantasyWorldMap: The books have two. One of Aba

* ReligiousAndMythologicalThemeNames: The names of the gods of Krynn, with several such as Gilean, Mishakal, Habbakuk, Chemosh deriving from the Bible with Jeff Grubb citing "Everyone in the Bible” as his primary source.

* AndManGrewProud: In the backstory, [[KnightTemplar the Kingpriest of Istar]] demanded the gods of good help him destroy all evil in the world (essentially anyone who didn't agree with his views). The gods responded by sending down a fiery mountain that wiped Istar off the map and devastated Krynn.

* MacGuffin: The blue crystal staff and the Discs of Mishakel in the first book. The Dragon Orbs and the dragonlances in the second.

* WeAreStrugglingTogether: A major problem with the forces of good, with the Knights of Solamnia enmeshed in political conflict while the Dragonarmies are at the gates.

A sequel trilogy ''Dragonlance Legends'' was published in 1986. In 1999 the ''Annotated Chronicles'' were released, collecting all three volumes with additional notes from the authors and other contributors to the setting and characters.

* MacGuffinSuperPerson: Berem the Green Gemstone man, who has the potential to either fully free Takhisis from the Abyss or seal her away again.

* SelfDeprecation: ''The Annotated Chronicles'' have more than a few notes critiquing some of the story choices.

* AndIMustScream: What happened to King Lorac after his mind is enslaved by a dragon orb, and his nightmares are turned into reality in Silvanesti. Later averted when the Heroes of the Lance free him and Silvanesti from the dragon orb's nightmare.* AndManGrewProud: In the backstory, [[KnightTemplar the Kingpriest of Istar]] demanded the gods of good help him destroy all evil in the world (essentially anyone who didn't agree with his views). The gods responded by sending down a fiery mountain that wiped Istar off the map and devastated Krynn.

In 2008, Creator/{{Paramount}} released a DirectToVideo AnimatedAdaptation based on ''Dragons of Autumn Twilight''.

* AndManGrewProud: In the backstory, [[KnightTemplar the Kingpriest of Istar]] demanded the gods of good help him destroy all evil in the world (essentially anyone who didn't agree with his views). The gods responded by sending down a fiery mountain that wiped Istar off the map and devastated Krynn.

A sequel trilogy ''Dragonlance Legends'' was published in 1986. In 1999 the ''Annotated Chronicles'' were released, collecting all three volumes with additional notes from the authors and other contributors to the setting .

* KnightInShiningArmor: Strum Brightblade with his code of honor and traditional Solamnic armor. Subverted with the reveal in ''Winter Knight'' that he wasn't really a knight of Solamnia until shortly before his death, but despite this he lives up better to the code than most of the knights we see.

In the world of Krynn, the gods sent down the Cataclysm as punishment for the arrogance of the theocratic state Istar, which saw the destruction of much of the civilized world. The inhabitants cursed the gods and believed they turned their backs on Krynn with many new cults and sects arising. Over three hundred years later, the true gods are making their presence known once more, but the [[GodOfEvil Dark Queen Takhisis]] and her shrieking hosts of evil dragons returned as well. Now the fate of Krynn rests in the hands of a few companions who must rediscover the knowledge of the true gods and find the legendary [[TitleArtifact Dragonlance]], one of the few weapons that can slay Dragons.

In the third volume ''Dragons of Spring Dawning'' (1985), the Dragonarmies are being driven back thanks to the aid of the noble metallic dragons and the newly forged dragonlances. However the Dark Queen is far from finished and her forces still wield great might. But treachery broods within her armies and Tanis must lead the remaining companions to Neraka, the center of her might.

* MacGuffin: The blue crystal staff and the Discs of Mishakel in the first book.

In the world of Krynn, the gods sent down the Cataclysm as punishment for the arrogance of Istar, which saw the destruction of much of the civilized world. The inhabitants cursed the gods and believed they turned their backs on Krynn with many new cults and sects arising. Over three hundred years later, the true gods are making their presence known once more, but the gods of evil got their first. Nown the fate of Kry
The first with a group of old friends reuniting after five years separation at the Inn of the Last Home, only to be drawn into the battle against evil aftyer encounter a young woman bearing a blue crystal staff.