DLA1-2-3: Taladas series

The DLA series is a nu-TSR attempt to kickstart a nu-Dragonlance epic. Here, the action happens in The Other Continent: Taladas.

DLA involves a Takhisis plot involving actual dragons, uncharacteristic for Krynn's backstage mostly a Hiddukel playground. We have no real idea what TSR intended "DLA" to stand for, but "DragonLanceAdjacent" works for us. To whit: you can, and maybe should, play this series as an extension of a for-real Dragonlance campaign. (If you can get your Ansalonians up here.)

The Trilogy

This article contains spoilers! You have been warned.

DLA1: Dragon Dawn

Rick Swan starts it all off in the "Rathwyck Marches" deep in the disputed lands between the Minotaur League and Thenol. These Marches are, in the best feudal tradition, human-run; it's just the marchlords prefer to bend the knee to the minotaurs, who understand honour; than to Bishop Trandamere or the Apartheid Elves, who (in Rathwyck eyes) do not. On the mino side these lands are called "Conquered Lands" but, well, the minos would say that . . .

The issue right here and now is that various non-licenced parties are slaying dragons. Why do we care? - because this is Taladas. Here, most dragons - good or evil, elsewhere - are Othlorx: neutrals, at least where it comes to Takhisis or all the rest of them. After someone kills a decent local dragon the Rathwyck baron sends the party east to follow the slayers - to the Steamwall. Which stands to reason as a dragonslayer base since its noxious, semivolcanic badlands have long been known as a dragon base.

Hence follows a linear trek through the wilderlands between empires. Here are introduced the Sesk Draconian and the mountain bakali, the "hurdu". Don't get attached to either, you won't see them again.

On the way the party has to deal with the Hulder Elves, grugach taken to eleven; and eventually deals with an ambush. Also here are raised the Dragon Knights, basically Pern dragonriders. Probably not for you as median-level murderhoboes but of interest if you want to take this to Epic play - and if Taladas or even Krynn had room for that.

DLA2: Dragon Knight

Deborah Christian picks up the flaming bag of doo which Swan (and, honestly, Zeb Cook) had left and... produces one of the best Dragonlance adventures since the Tracy Hickman days. How on earth...

Here, the party signs up with the dragon-hunters' leaders. To prove their mettle, the PCs must venture through the dangerous Steamwall, finding such dragons as haven't been murdered or run off yet. By now they know that these dragons aren't a menace and that Someone has another motive.

Over a dozen Steamwall villages are herein detailed: human, hobgoblin mostly, also Marak Kender and one slig - and some undead. No ogres, not even hurdu; which we put down to the Steamwall just not having the space for them above ground. Considering these limitations it is amazing that the module works as well as it does: diplomacy is rewarded as much as is brute force. These humanoids have to live here, and it is not an easy place to live in; the villagers have their needs as well as their prejudices, and the party can work with them.

At the end, is a portal, leading . . .

DLA3: Dragon Something Or Other

Swan again. All this wiki author really remembers of DLA3 is it takes place in a transdimensional weirdness, with portals to points on Taladas to solve small problems. Notable is a tense moment of dueling dwarf and disir funerals in the same cavern not least for how far Swan overturns the disir mindset as originally defined (in fairness, this "canon" probably needed it). This module overall reads as a forced contrivance to float adventure-hooks outside of the Southern Hosk.

Partly, this side of TSR worried they'd not get much of a chance to write another Taladas adventure; partly, Taladas is (again) too small and too divided to squeeze a large connected story out of.

Legacy

To the extent DLA had a legacy, it's in expanding the Taladas lore. But mostly it shows up how rushed was the design for Taladas itself.