The dragons of Krynn (the world of the
DRAGONLANCE saga) are similar to
dragons common to most other AD&D®
game universes ? on the surface, at least.
A number of important differences exist
between dragons of most AD&D game
worlds and those of Krynn, particularly in
terms of personality, habits, and goals.
Those gamers who are running campaigns
set on Krynn that do not directly follow the
DRAGONLANCE module series will find
it helpful to have a clearer understanding of
the history and motives of the dragons who
live there.

History and legends
    Krynn is a world caught between the
forces of two immensely powerful beings:
The Queen of Darkness, Takhisis, and the
Celestial Paladin, Paladine. Takhisis and
Paladine are similar to (but  not  the same as)
the dragon-gods Tiamat and Bahamut.
Takhisis and Paladine exercise control only
over the universe in which Krynn exists,
and over their respective unearthly domains
on other planes.

    The Queen of Darkness had previously
attempted to conquer Krynn through her
underlings during the first three Dra-
gonwars in the Age of Dreams. The final
Dragonwar, as described briefly in module
DL-5,  Dragons of Mystery  lasted three
hundred years and ended only when Huma,
a Knight of Solamnia, fought Takhisis and
drove her from the world with his
dragonlance. At least, that is what the
legends say. Whether or not Huma had
other artifacts or allies that enabled him to
banish the Queen of Darkness (or even if
Huma had anything to do with Takhisis?s
banishment at all) is a matter for sages to
speculate.

    Takhisis fled to an alternate plane of
reality, one referred to as the Abyss (though
probably not the same chaotic-evil Outer
Plane which is the home of all demonkind).
Here Takhisis raged over her defeat and laid
plans for her return. All of the evil dragons
were themselves forced into dragonsleep
when Takhisis was banished from the world.
Dragonsleep is a mystical merging of a
dragon with the very earth and rock of
Krynn, the material from which the
dragons draw their substance and life. In
dragonsleep, a dragon essentially remains in
suspended animation for an indefinite pe-
riod of time, until it is awakened.

    Paladine and the good dragons also left
the world at this time, though of their own
free will. Paladine settled in a different
universe said to be ?beyond the sky.? He
wished to preserve a balance in the world,
and, with Takhisis?s departure, the forces of
good needed to be lessened. Most of the
good dragons, at Paladine?s bidding, sank
back into the earth in dragonsleep. But a
tiny number of good dragons remained
active upon Krynn after the Age of Dreams.
These few (Evenstar, from module DL-4,
Dragons of Desolation,  for example) were
given tasks as guardians of powerful arti-
facts. They stayed out of reach of civiliza-
tion and passed beyond the knowledge of
mankind.

    Legends and rumors persist that a few
other good dragons fled the lands of Ansa-
lon to a place known as the Isle of Dragons,
said to be a mist-shrouded, garden island in
an unknown location. Nothing more of this
is known.

    Only Takhisis and Paladine, it is said by
some, could cause a dragon to awaken from
dragonsleep. Whether it was actually Takhi-
sis who awakened the evil dragons just prior
to the Dragonlance War is not known,
though the same agency or being may also
be responsible for the introduction of dra-
conians ? a previously unknown reptilian
race ? to Krynn as well.

Motives and goals
    The evil dragons of Krynn are not like
those of other worlds. They maintain close
ties with humans, evil demi-humans, hu-
manoids, and draconians, and they are
highly organized under Takhisis?s leader-
ship. Their primary mission is to locate the
individual variously known as the Green
Gemstone Man, Berem the Wanderer, and
Everman. Why the dragons are searching
for this person is unknown to anyone. but
the dragons; few people are even aware that
this quest exists.

    The secondary goal of Takhisis and the
evil dragons is to achieve temporal power
and rulership over other races; thus, they
have brought war to Krynn. Dragons are
never  subordinate?to anyone, even a
Dragon Highlord commander, though they
work on a more-or-less equal footing with
the Highlords because they share a common
goal ? domination of Krynn. It has been
conjectured that the alliance of evil dragons
would fragment if their central lawful lead-
ership were to be removed, but this appears
to be a task beyond the capabilities of any
being  at  this time.

    The few good dragons that remain active
on Krynn have little need to seek dominion
over other beings. Instead, they forward the
causes of good and carry out their guardian-
ship missions as described above. Why the
good dragons have not joined the forces of
good against the evil dragons is a question
that the beleaguered people of Krynn would
like answered.

    Few dragons in Krynn will go off by
themselves to hoard treasure and lead soli-
tary lives. Any evil dragon found in a lair
distant from other intelligent races is still
likely to be serving some greater purpose or
power. It may be acting  as  an advance scout
for an army of draconians, or it may be a
permanent spy set to watch a mountain
trail, or it may be resting for a short time
before completing some mission. It might
have been wounded in a major battle; if it is
able to recuperate without being disturbed,
it will rejoin its old forces at a later date.

    Up to the point currently being dealt with
in the module series (through DL-6,
Dragons of Ice),  any good dragon encoun-
tered by an adventuring party has been
reluctant to give help. A good dragon might
give aid if the party?s need is great, but such
aid will be minimal at best. The dragon will
not be able to give an explanation for its
inability to help, though it will be quite
distressed. It will only mention something
about the ?Oath? before retiring.

Dragon Highlords
    Dragons in the service of Takhisis will
generally work with humans, humanoid, and
draconian armies. Nearly all of them will be
paired with a human, humanoid, evil demi-
human, or draconian Dragon Highlord,
who serves as a more-or-less equal partner
and ally. Dragon Highlords are typically
lighters, clerics, thieves, assassins, magic-
users, or illusionists. Each of them must be
relatively powerful, ruthless, and rather
egotistical. (The latter is handy when deal-
ing with one?s dragon partner ? even small
dragons have enormous egos, and they
despise anyone who lacks will power and
confidence.) Though Highlords tend to be
quite varied in personality, skills, and ap-
pearance, they have some characteristics in
common, as described below.

    The Highlord should be of at least 6th
level in ability or have at least 6 HD (the
minimum level at which a dragon?s  fear
aura has no effect). If no one of such power
is available to fill a Highlord?s slot, a
Highlord of 3rd, 4th, or 5th level (or 3-5
HD) will be  ound; however, this lower-level f
Highlord will be seen with disdain by the
dragon with which he or she is associated.
Bozak draconians may serve as Highlords,
since they (like all draconians) are immune
to a dragon?s  fear  aura. Sivak draconians
(see module DL-7,  Dragons of Light)  also
make good Highlords.

    All Highlords are either neutral or evil in
alignment, most of them being evil. No
Highlord can have a good alignment.

    Dwarves, kender, and gnomes, by their
nature, will never become Highlords,
though certain evil dwarves might ally with
them. Humans and draconians make up the
majority of known Highlords. Renegade
elves (often multi-classed) and hobgoblin
chieftains are occasionally seen as
Highlords, but these types are quite rare.

The current  conflict
    The two most common types of dragons
seen during the Dragonlance War are blue
dragons (currently pressing across northern
and central Solamnia) and red dragons
(crossing southern Solamnia and Abanasi-
nia, heading for Tarsis). Few green dragons
are known to exist, all of them serving as
custodians for Silvanesti, and white dragons
are known only far to the south of Tarsis, in
the direction of the Ice Wall Glacier. Black
dragon armies are not particularly unified
and are currently supporting the red dragon
armies in Abanasinia. Black dragons have
also been reported from Nordmaar, appar-
ently coming out of the Great Moors there.

    The dragon armies are unified under
Ariakas, a Dragon Highlord who styles
himself the Emperor of Ansalon. Ariakas
works most closely with the red dragons of
Krynn, and it is thought that he receives his
orders directly from Takhisis herself.

    Sailors and coastal peoples (those who
still maintain that legends of the existence of
sea elves are true) claim to have heard
rumors that monsters known as sea dragons
have begun to appear in the oceans around
Ansalon. It may be that a war unseen by
land-dwelling peoples is raging beneath the
ocean surface between intelligent sea folk
and the sea dragons, but little is known of
this conflict.