An Ansalonian Gazetteer

News Archives

OCTOBER 9th

Due to all the mails you guys sent me asking me to continue the GAZ, despite the Nexus' DLA3e I'm asking you which part do you want me to finish and release first. On your right you'll see the items. Mail me and after a week (or so) I'll start to work on getting it released.

Btw, you'll notice that Chapter Five: Gazetteer of Ansalon is not listed, the reasons (which I outlined in my previous update - see Archives) remain the same.

I'll be waiting for your choices. Go Dragonlance!

AUGUST 3rd

Nothing like a bit of JAVA to lighten this up, huh?

Okay, I've got some good news and some bad news. Let's start with the bad, shall we?

As a few of you probably know, I've been asked by the awesome folks over at the Nexus [http://www.dlnexus.com] to actively contribute to their Dungeons & Dragons 3E Sourcebook: DLA3e.

For sometime now, I've been the Assistant Editor to Dragonbane in the Palanthas Reference. My duties have been light, just editing submissions people send us and format them to the Nexus layout.

But the time has come for serious work to begin. Dragonbane and myself will begin writing the Gazetteer of Ansalon. This chapter of the Nexus sourcebook will detail every geographic/political area on Ansalon. In all ways this will resemble my very own Chapter Five: Geography of Ansalon.

It wouldn't be propper for me to use my work in two places, both here and on DLA3e thus I regret to inform all of you that have been (patiently) waiting for Chapter Five that I won't be releasing it.

Another bad news is that, work on DLA3e is really shifting gears now and I've found I cannot dedicate my, already scarse, time to other projects, especially when they will be obsolete in the future. The Nexus is the official site and DLA3e will become the official D&D Dragonlance Campaign Setting thus I would be wasting precious time in continuing the GAZ.

I've started this website and the GAZ because WotC cancelled the setting. Now that Dragonlance is in good hands, the GAZ will not be needed anymore. I'll continue to help DLA3e (and the Nexus) achieve its goals, as will many members of the community. It's going to great!

You can run a full campaign using the (incomplete) GAZ, of course, some things are missing but they have been converted elsewhere. You can find the DL monsters and magic items conversion at [http://www.dragonlance.com/taladas/]. James did an excellent job with them and I heartdly recommend them.

Thus the change in website. On the right you'll find new things you can use in your game. The "old stuff" is avaialble at the bottom of this page.

I'm getting all misty now <snif> but, unfortunately, this is how it will be. But fear not, it's for the best.

"What were the good news?" I can hear you ask, well, aside that I'll be working on DLA3e there isn't any *really* good news. You can still check out the site every now and then to see when I release a new file. Today you can see a map of Abanasinia created by yours trully. If all goes as planned, this will be the look of the maps in DLA3e. My next update will be "Keepers of the Anvil", a prestige class for wizards who study Chronomancy and operate the Anvil of Time (Detailed in Dungeon Mag. #86, by Tracy Hickman).

'Till next time!

JULY 4th

Email Change: if you sent me something and haven't received a reply you might want to re-send it to my new address here.

Chapter Four: The Realms Above posted: You can now download the chapter dicussing the gods and the planes of existence in the Direct Downloads. New stuff is a treatise on the cosmology of Krynn, complete with map and everything.

Now I'll be dedicating my full attention to Chapter Five: Geography of Ansalon where the nations and kingdoms of Ansalon will be fully detailed.

Two new submitions: Lee Edings sent me the write up of a new organization: Lions of the Path while Markus sent me the Legion of Steel. You can check the former out on the right pane. I'm still editing Legends of Steel (big submission). Thanks and keep them coming!

On another matter, I've recentely bought the new Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. Wait! Don't throw stones at me! I'm not converting! =) I just wanted to check out how Wizards handled a campaign setting like how do the chapters interact with one another, what should be put in a campaign setting book. This will help me enhance the Gaz in future chapters.

Anyway, if you're looking to buy it (shame on you! :) my quick review is that unless you desperatetly want to run a campaing on Faerun $40 is too much for what the book gives you.

Call for Help: I'm glad to say that I've had enough people volunteering to help out filling in the Organizations of Ansalon. Thanks to all of you!

Well, until next week!

JUNE 3rd

Submission on Wizards updated: Keith Williams sent me an updated version of his essay on the Wizards of High Sorcery.

On another news, thanks for the feedback on the (incomplete) essay on the elemental planes in Chapter Seven. I'll also be posting "beta" rules on how to create characters of 21st level or above (for NPCs). These rules are based on a handout given by WotC designers which will serve as prototype for the upcoming High Level Campaigns sourcebook. This way you'll see how I've converted Ariakus, Fistandantilus and Yarus to 3rd Edition rules.

Updates: Hmm... I'm now updated more than once as week... strange. :)

MAY 30th

Chapter Seven: I've updated Chapter Seven: The Realms Above to include info on the planar structure. Please not that it's not entirely finished but I'm looking for feedback on what I've written and completed already.

MAY 28th

DL Classics 15th Anniversary Edition: I've posted the first part of the conversion of this update to the original modules. Right now you can see the campanions in full 3rd edition glory. These were converted using the GAZ. If you have any comments mail me.

Please head over to the Direct Downloads page to get it.

MAY 15th

Quick status: I'm alive and working on the plane structure of Dragonlance. Btw, click on my gladiator on the right!

MAY 6th

Previews: You can now find two previews on the right pane; the first is a preliminary timeline from 352 AC to 34 SC, written by Adam Austin-Andrew for inclusion in the upcoming expansion The Chaos War. The second is a preliminary draft of the Wizards of High Sorcery written by Keith Williams, which will be part of Chapter Six: Power Groups & Organizations.

All comments are welcome and I'll forward all feedback to its authors but keep in mind that these are first drafts and will likely be updated.

Dragonlance Moons Utility: You can now download the utility from my website. Head over to the Direct Downloads page.

APRIL 30th

The Gaz Moves: After much atribulation at Geocities, the Gaz has changed homes thanks to Jason from DL3E.org which has kindly offered me a place to store the Gaz. Sorry for any inconvenients this might have caused but it was for the best.

Dragonlance Moons Utility: You can find the utility here.

Volunteers: I've received lots of offers to help write Chapter Six: Power Groups & Organizations. I'm also expanding this call for help to other parts of the Product Catalog due to popular demand. Already I have an article submission for the Chaos War expansion. If you'd like to volunteer to help with the Creature Codex or any other product you can think of, send me a mail and I'll get back to you with the relevant information.

APRIL 18th

Revised Gaz: Like I pointed out three days ago, Alain Bennet sent me a detailed list of typos, mistakes, inconsistencies, etc. and that I would be posting new versions of all chapters. "Do I need to download this whole thing again?" - I bet you're asking yourself. The short answer is no. The new versions have been grammar-cleant and all sorts of minor things were corrected BUT there are however a few gameplay changes. Here's the list so you can better decide if you want to download the revised chapters: (another popular request - see? I do listen to you! =)

1. Gnomes no longer gain the Craft Invention new feat. The system to produce inventions (still to be released) now uses the Craft skill and relevant checks to achieve the same result.

2. Languages which don't have a written form (Dragonspeak, Gnoll, etc.) don't have an alphabet reference anymore.

/me smacks himself in the forehead

3. I modified the Knight of the Rose special abilities. Basically I added two new abilities and increased Divine Magic by one so now all levels bestow a new special ability. Here is the modifications made to the table.

1st-level > Fear Immunity
2nd-level > Leadership
3rd-level > Divine Magic +1
4th-level > Aura of Courage
5th-level > Divine Magic +2
6th-level > Illusion Immunity
7th-level > Divine Magic +3
8th-level > Damage Reduction 5/-
9th-level > Divine Magic +4
10th-level > Greater Illusion Immunity

I changed the table because I felt Rose Knights were a tad weak with the previous version. This new table makes them a little more challenging while still keeping with the older editions (I hope).

I feel these will be the final versions of these chapters for a long, long time, unless of course, Alain decides to send me another "typo report"... heh, heh.

Poll: Btw, do you want a WORD version of the Gazetteer? Basically sacrificing portability for lower filesize. 'Till next time everyone!

APRIL 15th

New Chapter: Okay, chapter four: the river of time is now available for download. It will be fun to see if you find something "wrong" with it. =)

Revised Chapter: I've updated the Front Page. I wanted to publicaly thank Alain Bennet for his awesome job in proofreading the Gaz and mailing me a report on his findings. Because of him, I'll be posting revised versions of all chapters released so far. The fixes are done I just have to produce PDFs and upload them.

CharGen: I'm still working on the final version of CharGen Dragonlance; inserting all the weapons is a very, very boring job :\ I'm also writing the next chapter (the one that is huge). I'll probably post a preview so you guys can see how I'm doing it.

Call for Help: I'm looking for someone to help me finish the Gaz. I'm particulary interested in someone with knowledge and desire to write about Ansalon's organisations (Wizards of High Sorcery, Knights, Thieves Guild, etc.). If you ever wanted to contribute, here is your chance.

APRIL 5th

eMail Unavailable: Ever since last Saturday I have been unable to retrieve my personal mail. It looks like things are fixed now and I woke up to find a pile of messages in my inbox. I see many of you mailed you asking how are things going for the Gaz and the CharGen.

I'm now a bit knee deep in work but I'm also finishing Chapter Four in my off time. Thing is, this next chapter is huge. (I'm guessing around 60+ pages long) and it requires research in a lot of different DL products (including Fifth Age and Novels).

As for the CharGen, I have some good and bad news. The good news is that I'm very close to releasing the final (non-beta) version 1.0. The bad news is that I've been unable to fix the known bugs. Still, these can be ignored if you keep the Gaz handy while you create your character.

I'm also converting the original DL modules to 3rd Edition. Problem is, me and my players started the War of the Lance back in AD&D 2nd Edition and DL9 Dragons of Deceit was the first adventure to use the rules present in the Gaz. My players have now completed DL9 and I'll be posting the conversion book very soon. As my players advance in the series I'll post other adventures as well.

Finally, I'm doing some comissioned work for the Nexus. I truly believe the guys there are doing an awesome job in ressurecting the setting. I've also "donated" the Gaz for them to use however they please but I'll continue to write the Gaz, don't worry! :) But I'm looking forward to DLA3E, the campaign setting book they are compiling. The work I'm doing for them will, hopefully, be included.

So, things are moving, slowly, but they are moving. Early next week (monday or so) you can expect to find the final version of the CharGen and Dragons of Deceit converted to 3rd Edition. Until then, thanks for your continued visits and mails!

MARCH 28th

CharGen Dragonlance: A couple of people have mailed saying after installing the CharGen modification, nothing happens.

If you're having this problem, download this file (95 Kb)and follow the instructions in the .TXT file. Btw, although I'm working on the next version this file is still v0.9 BETA. If the modification works for you then you don't need to download this file.

Also, I forgot to mention (and several people asked) how did I do this. Well, it's all because an util made by Byngl and I want to express my gratitude for his hard work in creating this database editor.

MARCH 24th

CharGen Dragonlance: Okay, I decided to release the BETA version a little earlier than planned. I added the CharGen Dragonlance Edition to the Product Catalog. As always, if you want to cut right to the meat, head over to the direct downloads.

MARCH 22nd

Big Update: First of all, thank you to all of you that emailed me warning me that the Introduction chapter was, again, corrupted. I don't know what happens but a few days after I upload something, the file becomes corrupted. Anyway, sorry about that.

Now, all previously released chapters were updated with corrections, minor tweaks, grammar and spelling mistakes removed (hopefuly :). Next up will be Chapter Four: Gazetteer of Ansalon which will detail all nations of the continent.

I'm finalising the Character Generator Dragonlance Edition for beta distribution. If everything goes well, I should have something for you guys (and gals) to try out next wednesday. Cya.

MARCH 15th

Chapter Seven: Has been posted so that Priest characters can be used in full. Chapter seven will contain information on the planes and more but for now I wanted to release it as a preview.

Btw, the Dragonlance CharGen Mod is coming along nicely. I appreciate everyone that volunteered to beta-test it. Yes, I'll be releasing it shortly as a beta but it will be public so no need to "pre-register" or something :)

MARCH 3rd

Chapter One: Folk of Ansalon was updated to include all new weapons of the Dragonlance races. Like many parts of the Gaz this was possible through cooperation between myself and James O' Rance.

MARCH 1st

Status: I've decided to put the catalog in its own page and expand the news portion of the main page. This will hopefully make it easier for you to know what is new here and allow me to elaborate on the changes. Also, things are looking pretty good for the Gaz. Nothing set in stone right now but I'll hopefully have some sort of announcement up next week.

And a new feature. Remember the Character Generator Wizards released with the PHB? Well, thanks to a nifty utility I found on the web, I'll be releasing an updated database so everyone can create their Dragonlance characters in the CharGen. This will also benefit DMs who have better things to do with their time than to spend hours creating a 10th-level villian.

FEBRUARY 26th

New Chapter: Ansalonian Heroes is now available for download. Next up will be Chapter Seven: The Realms Above. I'll be releasing the next chapter a head of time because Priest characters will require the information.

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