121-412: 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
242-640: A media franchise . By 1961, Marvel Comics writer and editor Stan Lee , working with artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko , merged the bulk of the publisher's comics characters into the Marvel Universe . Marvel sets its stories in an increasing number of alternate realities , each with an assigned number in a greater " multiverse ". DC Comics and Marvel have also periodically co-published series in which their respective characters meet and interact. These intercompany crossovers have typically been written as self-limiting events that avoid implying that
363-594: 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
484-615: A cameo appearance in Red Alert . Though Command and Conquer does not refer to the alternate timeline of Red Alert , in which Hitler was removed before he came to power, what caused an Allied - Soviet world war instead. Furthermore, if the Allied campaign were to be completed, the Allies would emerge victorious and the timeline would lead into the events of Red Alert 2 , though the latter completely ignores anything that could connect it to
605-529: A celebration following the freeing of the slaves, but flees after being spotted. According to Tracy Hickman, "The restoration of truth and faith are... to a great extent, the theme of this first book in the series" . Devil's Due Publishing adapted the novel into comic format. A trade paperback collecting the issues was released in May 2006. It was ranked 33 in the top 100 graphic novels in sales with an estimated preorder quantity of 2,634. A movie adaptation of
726-555: A centaur. The group is charged to go to the ruined city of Xak Tsaroth to retrieve the Disks of Mishakal, an object containing the teaching of the True Gods that will be instrumental for the restoration of the faith in the True Gods. After a lengthy trip on the backs of pegasi and several encounters with the forces of darkness, the companions enter Xak Tsaroth and meet some gully dwarves, diminutive and socially awkward creatures. One of
847-561: A core franchise for the company, on par with Game of Thrones and the DC Comics superheroes. The Mickey Mouse universe dates back to the 1930s when the animated cartoon was expanded into a newspaper strip. Although the characters occasionally portray other roles and with other names, the writers address this discrepancy by thinking of the characters as being "employed" by Disney as actors. Walt Disney , when asked whether or not Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse were married, replied that
968-660: A different character (or group of characters), as well as featuring its own cast, directors, and writers, while also being a part of a coherent, non-contradictory continuity shared with the other works. Fictional universes with major presence in films are referred to as cinematic universes , while fictional universes with major presence in television are referred to as television universes . Universes with major presence in both films and television are also generally called cinematic universes. Some film and television universes are accompanied by video games, and print works such as novels or comics, telling additional canonical stories set within
1089-521: A different continuity. The X-Men film series , which originated in 2000, was the longest-running superhero film franchise to be set within the same continuity. The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has the most films, as well as multiple TV shows and a separate run of tie-in comics that co-exist and share the same as well as parallel continuities (as part of a multiverse), making the MCU an imaginary entertainment environment. The DC Extended Universe (DCEU)
1210-483: A dragon egg, thereby creating a reptilian humanoid. Any dragon egg can be used to make a draconian, although the ones most commonly used are good dragon eggs because the evil kings want more evil dragons to hatch. Other gods of the setting include the gods of good Branchala, Habbakuk, Kiri-Jolith, Majere, and Mishakal; the gods of neutrality Chislev, Reorx, Shinare, Sirrion, and Zivilyn; and the gods of evil, Chemosh, Hiddukel, Morgion, Sargonnas, and Zeboim. The history of
1331-459: A dragon. The Heroes of the Lance are the protagonists of the Chronicles trilogy, the first series of Dragonlance books. They were created by Weis and Hickman, then fleshed out as player characters in gaming sessions of Dungeons & Dragons at Hickman's apartment. One player at this initial gaming session was game designer Terry Phillips, who was playing as Raistlin . According to Hickman in
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#17327798496231452-704: A new adventure module for the 5th Edition. On December 6, Wizards released the adventure book Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen . The main storyline of the original Dragonlance series has been written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, with multiple books written by other authors, covering years between and sometimes during the main events. Eight video games are set in the Dragonlance world. They belong to six different genres and were released within five years, from 1988 to 1992. DL01 - Dragons of Despair and DL02 - Dragons of Flame (corresponding to
1573-485: A novel". Jason Heller, of The A.V. Club , wrote a positive review of Dragonlance Chronicles , remarking that Dragons of Autumn Twilight is still widely read, although he noted the clichés of the series: "In Dragons of Autumn Twilight , the adventurers meet up in a tavern—even if it is a tavern that’s nestled in the branches of a giant tree, something my 12-year-old self thought was super cool. My 42-year-old self agrees, although my days of getting drunk way up high up in
1694-528: A secret passage underground to Pax Tharkas and devise a plan to free the slaves. Laurana, desperate to win Tanis back, secretly follows the Companions. When Tanis discovers Laurana has followed them he angrily rebukes her for acting like a spoiled child. Laurana resolves to try to prove she is more than that. The Companions infiltrate Pax Tharkas and Goldmoon heals Elistan , a dying Seeker, and converts him to
1815-432: A shared universe, not all crossovers are intended to merge their settings' back-stories and are instead used for marketing, parody, or to explore "what-if" scenarios , often being one-offs. It can become difficult for writers contributing to a shared universe to maintain consistency and avoid contradicting details in earlier works, especially when a shared universe grows to be very large. The version deemed "official" by
1936-423: A significant amount of producer guidance ). TLC reality series 90 Day Fiancé has had a large number of spinoffs, which have aired both on TLC and on sibling streaming service Discovery+ ; these have occasionally been referred to, by both parent company Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and others, as a "universe". In a 2022 investor presentation, WBD executives referenced the " 90 Day Fiancé Universe" as being
2057-487: A small yet profitable audience. Shared universe A shared universe or shared world is a fictional universe from a set of creative works where one or more writers (or other artists) independently contribute works that can stand alone but fits into the joint development of the storyline, characters, or world of the overall project. It is common in genres like science fiction . It differs from collaborative writing in which multiple artists are working together on
2178-592: A song called "Raistlin and the Rose" on their 1997 album Crimson Cosmos , while the German group Blind Guardian wrote "The Soulforged", another song inspired by Raistlin's story, which appeared on the band's 2002 album A Night at the Opera . Also Danish/American band Pyramaze recorded in their 2008 album Immortal song "Caramon's Poem". Another German metal band, Evertale, released The Chronicles Chapter I EP in 2008 and
2299-414: A storyline, and a world dominated by dragons. Their ideas were well received by TSR, whose marketing department felt they had enough dungeons, but not enough dragons . Hickman suggested a series of twelve modules, each featuring a different dragon. TSR employee Harold Johnson suggested that Hickman should try to get additional support from other TSR staff members and, after a period of months, Hickman had
2420-674: A television series: the View Askewniverse , which is named for Smith's production company, View Askew Productions . The characters Jay and Silent Bob (played by Smith) appear in almost all the View Askewniverse media, and characters from one story often reappear or are referred to in others. Recurring characters, settings, and motifs of the View Askewniverse first appeared in Smith's debut film, Clerks , in 1994. A cinematic universe consisting of films whose titles are
2541-402: A tree are starting to wind down". Dragons of Autumn Twilight was #10 on CBR 's 2020 "10 Of The Best DnD Stories To Start Off With" list — the article states that "the reason that any aspiring Dungeon master or player should read this novel, is that it provides some great ideas on how to make common tropes seen in D & D more interesting. For example, the Companions in the novel provide
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#17327798496232662-806: A universe based on comics published in Doctor Who Magazine and other publications. Television network The CW broadcasts the Arrowverse , a shared universe of television shows based on characters from DC Comics. The CW also houses The Vampire Diaries Universe , a shared universe of various interconnected television series ; The Vampire Diaries , The Originals , and Legacies . The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has had expanded into multiple interconnected television universes through shows produced by Marvel Television , such as Marvel's ABC television series , Marvel's Netflix television series , Marvel's young adult television series , and
2783-442: A variety of media (such as novels and films), each of them contributing to the growth, history, and status of the setting is called an "imaginary entertainment environment". The term has also been used in a wider, non-literary sense to convey interdisciplinary or social commonality, often in the context of a "shared universe of discourse". Fiction in some media , such as most television programs and many comic book titles,
2904-465: A weekend, writing the prologue for the first five chapters of the first novel, Dragons of Autumn Twilight , based on the module Dragons of Despair . TSR liked their treatment and gave them the assignment, firing the author. After two years of development, TSR released the module Dragons of Despair and the novel Dragons of Autumn Twilight in March and November 1984, respectively. TSR had doubts about
3025-440: Is a shared universe that encompasses different film franchises based on DC Comics characters, all of them sharing a continuity. In horror, Forbes and The Hollywood Reporter described The Conjuring as the first successful cinematic universe after Marvel's, and as of 2022 the second most-successful after it. Writer/director Kevin Smith created a fictional universe used in several of his films, as well as comics and
3146-435: Is reunited with his childhood sweetheart, the exceptionally beautiful elven princess, Laurana Kanan . Laurana is still in love with Tanis and wants to marry him, but Tanis breaks her heart by telling her he is now in love with Kitiara. The Elven King Solostaran convinces the Companions to lead an attack on the slave-mine Pax Tharkas to free the slaves from the control of the local Dragon Highlord. The Companions journey through
3267-466: Is set on the world of Krynn. The majority of the novels take place in the various regions of Ansalon , a small continent, though some have taken place on the continent of Taladas, located northeast of Ansalon. The world's major gods are the High God and his children: good Paladine, neutral Gilean, and evil Takhisis . The gods are opposed by Chaos, who seeks to destroy Krynn. Depending on the time period,
3388-510: Is the Tommy Westphall Universe Hypothesis , which suggests that hundreds of American television series take place in the same universe. It builds from the assumption that when an actor playing a character from one series guest-stars in a second series, in character, both of those series must take place in the same universe. The theory takes its name from a character in the final episode of St. Elsewhere , where
3509-554: Is turned from meaning good to meaning harm. Jean Black , the managing editor of TSR's book department, assigned Hickman and Weis to write first the novel Dragons of Autumn Twilight and then continue with the rest of the Dragonlance Chronicles series. The Chronicles trilogy came about because the designers wanted novels to tell the story of the game world they were creating, something to which TSR, Inc. (TSR) agreed only reluctantly. The novels take place on
3630-484: Is understood by viewers or readers to require the contribution of multiple authors and does not by itself create a shared universe and is considered a collaborative art form. Incidental appearances, such as that of d'Artagnan in Cyrano de Bergerac , are considered literary cameo appearances . More substantial interaction between characters from different sources is often marketed as a crossover . While crossovers occur in
3751-523: 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. In 1984, TSR published the first Dragonlance game module, Dragons of Despair , and the first novel, Dragons of Autumn Twilight . The novel began the Chronicles trilogy, a core element of
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3872-634: The James Bond film series based on the spy novels by Ian Fleming . The films adapt some elements from the novels; however, they are not direct adaptations, nor were they adapted in the same order as the books were released. The first film in the series is Dr. No (1962), followed by 24 sequels, with the most recent being No Time to Die (2021). Due to the series spanning more than 50 years, James Bond has been portrayed by six actors, and other recurring characters have also been portrayed by multiple actors. After all of Fleming's Bond novels were adapted,
3993-611: 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. The title Dragons of Autumn Twilight follows a pattern with the other novels in the series, Dragons of Winter Night and Dragons of Spring Dawning , as they all start with Dragons , followed
4114-539: The Cthulhu Mythos from the writings of H. P. Lovecraft , an approach whose result is considered by some to be "completely dissimilar" to Lovecraft's own works. Less controversial posthumous expansions include Ruth Plumly Thompson 's and later authors' sequels to L. Frank Baum 's Oz stories and the further development of Isaac Asimov 's Foundation universe by Greg Bear , Gregory Benford , and David Brin . Many other published works of this nature take
4235-480: The Dragonlance world. While the authoring team of Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis wrote the setting's central books, numerous other authors contributed novels, short stories and game supplements to the setting. Over 190 novels have used the Dragonlance setting; the Dragonlance campaign setting has also been used for multiple editions of Dungeons & Dragons and for the SAGA System . Following Wizards of
4356-503: The Dungeons & Dragons line of novels, with many of its characters spun off into other novels. Along with Forgotten Realms , Dragonlance is TSR's most popular series of novels. According to The 1990s by Marc Oxoby, what is most notable about the series is that "what may at one time been considered disposable, escapist literature" found "unprecedented popularity" in the 1990s. All of the Dragonlance novels remained in print during
4477-580: The Kzinti . The degree to which he has made the setting available for other writers became a topic of controversy, when Elf Sternberg created an erotic short story set in Known Space following an author's note from Niven indicating that "[i]f you want more Known Space stories, you'll have to write them yourself". Niven has since clarified that his setting is still to be used only "under restricted circumstances and with permission", which Niven granted to
4598-470: The adventure modules Rahasia (1979) and Pharaoh (1980), and writing TSR's Ravenloft module (1983). He was unemployed in 1982, and TSR offered him a job based on his submission of several modules. That year, while driving from Utah to Wisconsin to start a job with TSR, Hickman and his wife created the Dragonlance universe concept. During the trip, Hickman and his wife discussed two ideas they had had for several years: an entire world used to support
4719-475: The 1988 Dragonlance series by DC Comics and TSR . More recently, Devil's Due Publishing and Wizards of the Coast have also produced a number of comic book series: The Legend of Huma (2003), Chronicles (2005) and Legends (2008). The Dragonlance world is described in dozens of books and novels. The setting contains numerous characters , an extensive timeline, and a detailed geography. Dragonlance
4840-473: The Apes (1968) focused on present-day astronaut George Taylor landing on a mysterious planet ruled by apes, which is revealed to be a future planet Earth at the end of the film. The sequel Beneath focused on Brent, an astronaut sent on a rescue mission to save Taylor. The third film Escape introduced time travel and shifted the focus towards the apes Zira and Cornelius, who appeared as supporting characters in
4961-518: The Coast 's acquisition of TSR in 1997, Wizards licensed Dragonlance to Margaret Weis's company Sovereign Press to produce game materials; this licensing agreement ran from 2001 to 2007. Dragonlance returned in 2022 with a new adventure module and the start of a new novel trilogy. The fictional Dragonlance world of Krynn contains numerous characters , an extensive timeline, and a detailed geography. The history of Krynn consists of five ages. The novels and related game products are primarily set in
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5082-533: The Coast for breaching a licensing deal with Weis and Hickman for a new Dragonlance novel trilogy. Boing Boing reported that "according to the lawsuit, Weis and Hickman agreed with Wizards of the Coast to produce the new novels in 2017, capping off the series and giving fans a final sendoff, but the company pulled the plug in August 2020". In December, Weis and Hickman filed to voluntarily dismiss without prejudice their lawsuit, and "the filing noted that Wizards of
5203-415: The Coast had not formally answered their lawsuit, nor had they filed for a summary judgement". Weis and Hickman's publishing agent affirmed a few weeks following this that a new trilogy of Dragonlance novels was in the works; the first of the new trilogy was released in August 2022. In December 2022, the first Dragonlance adventure module, titled Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen , for 5th Edition
5324-468: The Coast licensed Sovereign Press to publish further Dragonlance game materials. This began with the newly revised Dragonlance Campaign Setting in 2003, which used the new Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition rules. In April 2007, Wizards of the Coast had not renewed Sovereign's license, and Dragonlance RPG game supplements and accessories were only released through the end of the year. In October 2020, Weis and Hickman filed suit against Wizards of
5445-517: The DC Universe and Marvel Universe co-exist. Exceptions include the twenty-four comics released under the metafictional imprint Amalgam Comics in 1996, depicting a shared universe populated by hybridizations of the two companies' characters. Marvel has since referred to this as part of its setting's greater multiverse by labeling it Earth-692. Although DC and Marvel's shared universe approaches to comics have set them apart from competitors in
5566-543: The Death Knight Lord Soth and Kitiara Uth Matar , the half-sister of Raistlin and Caramon, and leader of one of the Dragonarmies of Ansalon . According to Hickman, Lord Soth is the most unpredictable character to write about: "Every time that character made an appearance in one of our books he would try to run off with the story". The world of Dragonlance is set on the planet of Krynn, with most of
5687-519: The Disks of Mishakal. Bupu gives an ancient spellbook (formerly belonging to the archmage Fistandantilus ) to Raistlin. When they return to the village to regroup they find it occupied. The Companions are captured by the Highlord armies and are chained in a slave caravan along with an elf named Gilthanas , the son of the leader of the elven nation of Qualinesti. The group is freed by Gilthanas's brother, Porthios. They flee to Qualinesti, where Tanis
5808-654: The Fifth Age (the Age of Mortals). Dragonlances are weapons first created in the Third Dragon War, designed with the purpose of killing evil dragons , and are the only weapons with which mortals who cannot use magic can kill dragons. Dragonlances have this power because of the way in which they are created, which requires the use of "two god-blessed artifacts". Dragonlances are rare and not commonly traded. There are lesser dragonlances, which are made when only one of
5929-679: The Heroes are the barbarians Goldmoon and Riverwind , elf Laurana Kanan , and humans Caramon Majere (Raistlin's brother) and Tika Waylan . Weis played Fizban the Fabulous. In the beginning, Margaret Weis had problems depicting Tanis Half-Elven in the novels. Tracy Hickman finally told her that "he's James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise ". After that explanation, Margaret had no more difficulty writing about Tanis. Other noteworthy antagonists, and sometimes protagonists, are
6050-594: The High Clerist's Tower, Palanthas, Kendermore, Port Balifor (location of the Pig and Whistle Tavern), and the various Towers of High Sorcery. Like in many Dungeons & Dragons campaign settings, the fictional world of the Dragonlance campaign is shaped by the division by race, with white humans as the central focus, but also including elves, goblins, and many others. With the species in many cases clearly assigned to "good" and "evil", some critics have suggested that
6171-657: The Internet. Another example is the furry -themed Tales from the Blind Pig created at the Transformation Story Archive with some limited publication. Other early examples include the Dargon Project and Devilbunnies. The computer game series Command and Conquer (since 1995) and Red Alert (since 1996) originally were set in the same universe, connected by character Kane, who had
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#17327798496236292-715: The Jedi (1983); together, those three films are known as the original trilogy and focuses on Luke Skywalker , Han Solo and Princess Leia . The prequel trilogy composed of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999), Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002), and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005) expanded the series into a Saga, and focused on Luke Skywalker's father Anakin Skywalker , new cast members portrayed younger versions of characters from
6413-479: The Lance . DragonStrike is a 1990 combat flight simulation game whose plot begins halfway through the previous video game. The 1992 NES remake is a scrolling shooter that features an ending different from the one in the novels, but following and fixing a "bad ending" from DL14 - Dragons of Triumph . Neither game is based directly on any tabletop module. The Gold Box trilogy ( Champions of Krynn , Death Knights of Krynn , and The Dark Queen of Krynn ) are
6534-563: The Seekers are searching for a Blue Crystal Staff . When Goldmoon, a plainswoman in the same inn as the companions, heals a Seeker with her staff, the Companions are confronted by Highlord forces and are forced to flee the village. The next day, the group is attacked by Draconians , reptilian creatures that serve as foot soldiers in the Highlords' army. The Companions are driven into the woods, where they are attacked by undead and rescued by
6655-584: The Third Dragon War, in the Age of Might, the Cataclysm obliterates the great empire of Istar and changes almost the entire surface of Krynn. A 300-year depression follows this event, in what is called the Age of Despair. This period also marks the War of the Lance . When Dragonlance was first introduced to Dungeons & Dragons , events such as the Lost Wars happened during The Age of Despair. Later Age of Mortals novels and game supplements took Krynn into
6776-709: The Tiberium timeline. The 2000 musical Seussical presented several works of Dr. Seuss as taking place in the same fictional world. Hasbro toy products including G.I. Joe and Transformers are considered by their manufacturer to exist fictionally within the Hasbro Universe . Related shared universes include the Hasbro Comic Book Universe by IDW Publishing and the Energon Universe by Skybound Entertainment . In
6897-493: The United States, Britain, and Australia. Not all critics have praised Dragonlance and its creators. According to author Stephen Hunt , Wendy Bradley of Interzone magazine does not think highly of their work. Hunt feels that it is unusual for authors to receive such loathing among "fantasy's literary mafia", saying that "behind every critic's scorn laden insult, there lays [ sic ] that unsaid thought at
7018-540: The War of the Lance. Both games can be played independently, but the adventure module includes rules for using the board game to resolve the military battles that occur in the narrative. TSR created Dragonlance as a campaign setting for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons ( AD&D ) roleplaying game in 1982, publishing the first of a series of modules , Dragons of Despair , in March 1984. They published
7139-704: The action taking place on the continent of Ansalon. Some of the key countries and areas on Ansalon are the Plains of Dust, Solamnia with its great metropolis, Palanthas, the Blood Sea Isles, the Empire of Ergoth, Istar, and Sancrist, the elven kingdom of Silvanesti, as well as the dwarven realm of Thorbardin. Important cities and towns and other locations include Solace (location of the Inn of the Last Home, and Sad Town),
7260-478: The anthology films, expands the stories of plot points and characters from the main series. Additionally the Star Wars series expanded into video games, comics, novels, short stories, animated series, and RPG adventures, telling original stories based on the franchise, classifying it as an imaginary entertainment environment, where the films share the same continuity as all the other media formats, regardless of
7381-438: The artifacts is used to create them, and greater dragonlances, which are made when both artifacts are used to make them. Greater dragonlances are blessed with the power of Good, unlike lesser dragonlances. There are two sizes of dragonlance. The smaller footman's dragonlance is around eight feet long and functions as a polearm , while the larger mounted dragonlance is around sixteen feet long and most commonly used when mounted on
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#17327798496237502-414: The author or company controlling the setting is known as canon . Not all shared universes have a controlling entity capable of or interested in determining canonicity, and not all fans agree with these determinations when they occur. A fanon may instead find some degree of consensus within the setting's fandom . Some writers, in an effort to ensure that a canon can be established and to keep details of
7623-482: The black robes to the party that night". In a "Traveling Road Show" put on to publicize the novels, the Heroes of the Lance were played by various people. Authors Gary and Janet Pack played the half-elf Tanis Half-Elven and the kender Tasslehoff Burrfoot , respectively. Author Douglas Niles played the dwarf Flint Fireforge . TSR employee Harold Johnson played the Solamnic knight Sturm Brightblade . The rest of
7744-569: The common interpretation of the events of that finale is that the entire St. Elsewhere universe – including all connected series – exist only within Westphall's imagination. The spin-off media from Doctor Who , known as the " Whoniverse ", has relatively little consistency given its division into audio plays produced by Big Finish and the BBC, the New Adventures universe novel, or
7865-415: The cover name for what would later be known as the Dragonlance saga. TSR decided to create a franchise, including modules, board games, lead figures, and - for the first time - novels. Weis had been hired as an editor; with Hickman, she began working with the author hired to write the novels. They weren't satisfied with the author, and decided they should be the ones to write the books. They collaborated over
7986-513: The decade, turning Weis and Hickman into literary stars and boosting sales of their non- Dragonlance novels. Although the series was initially published in paperback, its success led to hardcover printings. The hardcover version of Dragons of Summer Flame had an "impressive" first printing of 200,000 books. Every Dragonlance novel by Weis and Hickman since 1995 has been released in hardcover, and some previous novels have been re-released in hardcover collector's editions. Dragonlance made TSR one of
8107-486: The different media formats. Lucasfilm's early teams under Carol Wakarska (later Titleman), Lucy Wilson, Allan Kausch, Sue Rostoni, and later, Leland Chee and Pablo Hidalgo, coordinated a cohesive story-telling and ensured consistency and synergy by avoiding plot holes between all the film and non-film works. The Star Wars Legends brand is now used to brand all the re-prints of these Expanded Universe works (television films, animated series, video-games, comics, and novels) of
8228-526: The dwarves, Bupu, leads them to the dragon Khisanth , who is killed by the holy power of the Blue Crystal Staff. When this happens, Goldmoon is consumed by its flame and presumed dead. However, they later find her resting at the foot of a statue of Mishakal (the Goddess of Healing), which now bears the Blue Crystal Staff, and Goldmoon is blessed with true clerical powers. The Companions leave with
8349-530: The end: 'But I could have written that! ' " Visions of Wonder , edited by David G. Hartwell and Milton T. Wolf , and published by the Science Fiction Research Association , argues that Dragonlance is published under the "omnivore theory" of publishing. In this theory, the readership is made up of teenagers, and completely replaces itself every three to five years. This allows publishers to release subpar novels and still reach
8470-469: The events in the first novel, Dragons of Autumn Twilight ) were adapted into the video games Heroes of the Lance and Dragons of Flame , respectively. Instead of being role-playing video games, they are platform games using the Silver Box game engine . DL03 - Dragons of Hope and DL04 - Dragons of Desolation (corresponding to the events between the first and the second novel) were adapted into
8591-650: The evil chromatic and the good metallic dragons are rare or plentiful. Humans are Krynn's most common humanoid race, but elves , dwarves , kender , gnomes , and minotaurs occupy the world as well. Clerics derive magical powers from their gods, and wizards derive their power from the three moon gods, good Solinari, neutral Lunitari, and evil Nuitari. Hickman had previously served as a Mormon missionary in Java for two years, and uses Indonesian in Dragonlance spells. During Krynn's various wars, armies of draconians are used as troops. Draconians are created by corrupting
8712-462: The faith of the true gods. He becomes the first cleric of Paladine, and Goldmoon turns the Disks of Mishakal over to him. The Companions help the slaves break free. Laurana proves her worth in the battle by fighting bravely. The Dragon Highlord Verminaard and his red dragon Ember arrive to crush the revolt, but the insane red dragon Flamestrike kills Ember, while the Companions cut down Verminaard. A mysterious figure called " The Everman " later appears at
8833-454: The fantasy world of Krynn , created specifically for the gameplay. The world once worshiped the True Gods, a pantheon unique to the Dragonlance saga, but has come to believe that the True Gods have abandoned the world and those in it. The world is just starting to recover from the loss of the True Gods and a group has sprung up seeking to replace the True Gods (the Seekers). The main focus of
8954-471: The fictional works released after such date. The animated series Star Wars Rebels (2014–2018), was the first work released after. A sequel trilogy formed by Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) featured many returning cast members along with newcomers. The films' main saga is conformed of the original, prequel, and sequel trilogies. A concurrent spin-off film series, known as
9075-522: The film series, but these experiments were "not always conducted as carefully or as thoroughly as audiences, especially fans, would expect in contemporary terms". This is seen in Universal's Frankenstein films , the Dracula films which are sequentially fragmented as Son of Dracula (1943) does not reference narratives or characters from either Dracula (1931) or Dracula's Daughter . Following
9196-407: The finished novel's sales potential, and attempted to order thirty thousand copies, ultimately ordering the minimum print run of fifty thousand. The success of the novel prompted TSR to publish more copies to meet demand. The novel was written after the completion of the first Dragonlance game modules . Weis and Hickman felt this was constraining and made the novel feel too episodic, so they reversed
9317-551: The first Dragonlance game modules . Weis and Hickman felt this was constraining and made the novel feel too episodic, so they reversed the process for the next books and completed the novels before the related modules were written. This book sets up many of the most important characters, the group known as the Heroes of the Lance. According to the Dragonlance Nexus fansite, the Chronicles Trilogy sets
9438-534: The first Dragonlance book of the same name, was released direct-to-video . The animation was produced by Toonz Animation , and featured the voices of Lucy Lawless , Kiefer Sutherland , Michael Rosenbaum , and Michelle Trachtenberg . In late 2011, Holysoft Studios Ltd. released the first part of a German audio adaption of the Chronicles Trilogy, with subsequent releases of the later trilogies being announced. In comics , Krynn has been represented on
9559-512: The first world-spanning sourcebook, Dragonlance Adventures , in 1987. When AD&D was updated to the 2nd edition in 1989, the Dragonlance campaign setting was updated as well. However, in 1996, Dragonlance was converted to use the new SAGA System , which uses cards to determine the effects of actions, with the publication of the Dragonlance: Fifth Age roleplaying game. When the 3rd edition of Dungeons & Dragons
9680-456: The foreword to The Soulforge , "[we] were just settling in to the game when I turned to my good friend Terry Phillips and asked what his character was doing. Terry spoke...and the world of Krynn was forever changed. His rasping voice, his sarcasm and bitterness all masking an arrogance and power that never needed to be stated suddenly were real. Everyone in the room was both transfixed and terrified. To this day Margaret [Weis] swears that Terry wore
9801-497: The form of a series of short-story anthologies with occasional standalone novels. Examples include Robert Lynn Asprin 's Thieves' World , C. J. Cherryh 's Merovingen Nights and Janet Morris ' Heroes in Hell . Within comics, the term shared universe has been used to reflect the overall milieu created by the comic book publisher in which characters, events, and premises from one product line appear in other product lines in
9922-447: The foundation for the rest of the novels. A Wizards of the Coast interview stated that Hickman and Weis make a good team because Hickman is better at writing about good characters, and Weis is better at writing about dark characters, evidenced by her love of Raistlin. Dragons of Autumn Twilight was the debut novel for both Weis and Hickman. Dave Langford reviewed Dragons of Autumn Twilight for White Dwarf #65, suggesting that it
10043-556: The fourth age, The Age of Despair. Since the publication of Dragonlance: Fifth Age in 1996, the fifth age, the Age of Mortals, has been used. The Heroes of the Lance , created by Weis and Hickman, are the popular protagonists of the Chronicles trilogy. Along with D&D 's world of the Forgotten Realms , Dragonlance is one of the most popular shared worlds in fiction. Hickman developed his world creation technique by writing and self-publishing with his wife Laura
10164-522: The franchise which were produced and/or ceased production before April 2014. Lucas praised these expansions of his work in the introduction to the reprinted Splinter of the Mind's Eye , and included a few elements within his works, such as characters and places. Storytellers after Lucas have also incorporated Legends elements in their stories. As for comic book-based films, there are two cinematic universes based on Marvel Comics characters, both set within
10285-469: The full album Of Dragons And Elves in 2013 - both releases were composed entirely of songs inspired by and relating to Dragonlance. Yet another German metal band, Pegasus, bases all its material on the Dragonlance mythos. A Russian concept album (2009-2010) and musical (premiered 2014) based on Raitslin's story, The Last Trial , was created by Anton Kruglov and Yelena Khanpira. In 2008, Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight , an animated film based on
10406-491: The half sister of the twins Caramon and Raistlin, was supposed to be there as well, but only sent a mysterious note. On the eve of their reunion, the Companions discover that the village where they are meeting has been taken over by a religious order called the Seekers. They are collaborating with the Dragon Highlords , who are preparing for the conquest of the continent of Ansalon. The Companions soon discover that
10527-539: The industry, other companies have attempted similar models. Valiant Comics and Crossgen both produced titles primarily set from their inception in a single, publisher-wide shared universe, known respectively as Unity and the Sigilverse . Universes in films (or television) mostly consist of a franchise featuring an umbrella of multiple franchises (film or television) set within the same continuity, each franchise within telling its own stand-alone story focusing on
10648-459: The internet. The influence of the Internet on collaborative and interactive fiction has also resulted in a large number of amateur shared universe settings. Amateur authors have created shared universes by contributing to mailing lists , story archives and Usenet . One of the earliest of these settings, SFStory , saw its spin-off setting Superguy cited as illustrative of the potential of
10769-504: The mice were indeed married in their "private life", but that they sometimes appeared as boyfriend and girlfriend for "screen purposes". The Mickey Mouse universe also includes the Donald Duck universe as a subset. The Pixar universe is an elaborate fan theory suggesting that all Pixar animated movies take place in the same universe. At the 2015 D23 Expo , during the "Pixar Secrets Revealed" panel, director Mark Andrews rejected
10890-460: The most successful publishers of science fiction and fantasy in the 1990s. By 2008, there were more than 190 novels in the Dragonlance franchise. Weis and Hickman's Dragonlance novels have made over twenty bestseller lists, with sales in excess of 22 million. The pair's novels have been translated into German , Japanese , Danish , Dutch , Finnish , Spanish , French , Italian , Hebrew , Portuguese , Greek and Turkish and have sold well in
11011-401: The music industry, all kinds of works by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift , such as her songs , albums , music videos, films , tours , promotional activities, as well as the narratives surrounding her, have been collectively referred to as a musical or cinematic universe by several journalists and media outlets. Dragons of Autumn Twilight Dragons of Autumn Twilight is
11132-573: The names of songs by Simon and Garfunkel was proposed and publicly discussed by movie creators in 2017. Filmmaker Edgar Wright wrote that the Simon and Garfunkel cinematic universe could begin with his movie Baby Driver and Marc Webb 's The Only Living Boy in New York , and Wright suggested creation of a film named So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright . Subsequently, other writers, directors, and actors expressed their interest in making films within
11253-415: The names of the seasons, Autumn , Winter , and Spring , as well as a series of time, Twilight , Night , and Dawning . Margaret Weis includes allusions to A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens , one of her favorite stories. References include: But there was something disquieting about him—secret, silent, self-contained, and solitary as an oyster and The fate of mankind is my business . This quote
11374-402: The novel was released on 15 January 2008. It is the first direct-to-video movie release based on the Dragonlance campaign setting of Dungeons & Dragons . The screenplay adaptation was completed by George Strayton, with creative assistance by Weis and Hickman, and Will Meugniot directed. The movie used both 2D and 3D animation , and was made by Paramount Pictures . The storyline of
11495-484: The novels is the continent Ansalon and the characters Tanis Half-Elven , Sturm Brightblade , Caramon Majere , Raistlin Majere , Flint Fireforge , Tasslehoff Burrfoot , Goldmoon, and Riverwind. The book begins with the return of a group of friends, consisting of Tanis, Sturm, Caramon, Raistlin, Flint, and Tasslehoff, who had separated to pursue their own quests and pledged to return in five years. Kitiara Uth Matar ,
11616-572: The only role-playing video games based on Dragonlance. They tell an original story that begins shortly after the events in the 14 tabletop modules. Apart from those, the MUSH game DragonLance is based on Krynn during the final stage of the War of the Lance . The series has inspired mention in music as well, including " Wishmaster ", a song by Nightwish based partially on the master and apprentice relationship between Raistlin Majere and Dalamar . The Swedish metal band Lake of Tears also recorded
11737-399: The original Dragonlance series had been plotted and outlined before either the novel trilogy or the games were written. Dragons of Autumn Twilight was the first novel of the Dragonlance series . It was based upon a Dungeons & Dragons session played by the authors with some of their friends, some of whom later became Dragonlance writers. The novel was written after the completion of
11858-613: The original trilogy, while other actors returned to their original trilogy roles. On television, the lore was expanded through animation, the animated film titled Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) served as the pilot of an animated series of the same name (2008–2014, 2020). Lucas was deeply creatively involved in the previously mentioned works, but he ceased creative involvement with the Star Wars franchise in 2014. Lucasfilm announced that from April 2014, only such previously mentioned works would be considered canonical, along with all of
11979-493: The planned Adventure into Fear franchise. After Marvel Television was folded into Marvel Studios in December 2019, streaming television shows set in the MCU were developed for Disney+ , beginning with WandaVision (2021). The concept of "universes" has also occasionally been discussed in the context of reality television franchises (which, though documenting real-life individuals and situations, typically involve
12100-510: The previous films, as they travel to the past in Taylor's spaceship. The fourth and fifth films, Conquest and Battle , focus on Zira and Cornelius' son Caesar leading the uprising against the humans and to the future depicted in the original film. A television series and an animated series are also considered part of the story. The origin of the Planet of the Apes in the original timeline before
12221-644: The process for the next books and completed the novels before the related modules were written. Dragonlance received support products such as novels, calendars, computer games, and books of artwork. In the mid to late 1980s, a rift developed between TSR and the authors. Weis and Hickman were feeling under-appreciated and, when TSR turned down their Darksword series of novels, they went to Bantam Books . Bantam made them an offer, which they accepted, and they stopped writing Dragonlance novels for TSR. They returned to write Dragons of Summer Flame for TSR in 1995, thinking it would be their final Dragonlance novel. At
12342-679: The release of The Wolf Man (1941) and The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), Universal released Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1942) which operated as a sequel to both films. Proctor suggested that the Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1942), the first crossover in film history, and the ensemble films House of Frankenstein (1944) and House of Dracula (1945) established the first "cinematic universe". Some universes in film have originated as film adaptations of novels, such as
12463-674: The same continuity. Following the films Son of Frankenstein (1939) and Dracula's Daughter (1935), Universal began experimenting with transfictional storytelling with their horror films series throughout the early to mid 1940s. This form was is conceptualized by Richard Saint-Gelais who described it as when "two (or more) texts exhibit a transfictional relationship where they share elements, such as characters, imaginary locations, and fictional worlds." William Proctor in Horror Franchise Cinema (2021) wrote that Universal began transfictional storytelling by applying it to
12584-411: The same work and from crossovers where the works and characters are independent except for a single meeting. The term shared universe is also used within comics to reflect the overall milieu created by the comic book publisher in which characters, events, and premises from one product line appear in other product lines in a media franchise . A specific kind of shared universe that is published across
12705-422: The series shifted towards original scripts. However, all films are set within a single, coherent fictional continuity, even if the writers, directors and cast change between films. Aspects of the fictional universe are retained between films. The Planet of the Apes film series also originated as a film adaptation of the novel of the same name, taking many creative liberties. The original film titled Planet of
12826-523: The setting believable, employ tools to correct contradictions and errors that result from multiple contributors working over a long period of time. One such tool is retconning , short for "retroactive continuity", which resolves errors in continuity that came about through previously-written conflicting material. Readers may also object when a story or series is integrated into a shared universe, feeling it "requir[es] one hero's fans to buy other heroes' titles". Comics historian Don Markstein first defined
12947-541: The setting had the potential to raise racist expectations . The authors take an active stance against racist ideology and ensure that a "fascistic genocidal campaign to wipe-out species that are considered 'impure'" would have catastrophic consequences. In contrast, the authors emphasize the need for tolerance and cooperation between the races. Dragonlance is one of the most popular shared worlds , worlds in which writers other than those that created them place adventures. The first Dragonlance trilogy, Chronicles , launched
13068-534: The setting was commercially revitalized. By 1998, the original Dragonlance trilogy had sold well over three million copies worldwide and spawned dozens of sequels. The central books of the Dragonlance series were written by the authoring team of Weis and Hickman, but many other writers have made contributions, including Richard A. Knaak , Douglas Niles , Roger E. Moore , Don Perrin , Jean Rabe , Paul B. Thompson , Tonya C. Cook , Michael Williams , Nancy Varian Berberick , and Chris Pierson . In 2001, Wizards of
13189-480: The several authors of the Man-Kzin Wars series. By contrast, author Eric Flint edited and published collaborations with fan fiction writers directly, expanding his 1632 series . A setting may also be expanded in a similar manner after the death of its creator, although this posthumous expansion does not meet some strict definitions of a shared universe. One such example is August Derleth 's development of
13310-417: The support of Jeff Grubb , Larry Elmore , Roger Moore , Doug Niles , Michael Williams , and others with whom they discussed ideas for the project. Meanwhile, Weis was editing and writing various Endless Quest books for TSR. The Dragonlance group decided that novels should accompany the game modules; TSR reluctantly agreed and hired a writer. Hickman became the design coordinator for Project Overlord ,
13431-477: The term in a 1970 article in CAPA-alpha . He laid out the following criteria: The expansion of existing material into a shared universe is not restricted to settings licensed from movies and television. For example, Larry Niven opened his Known Space setting to other writers initially because he considered his lack of military experience prevented him from adequately describing the wars between mankind and
13552-448: The theory, with Inside Out co-director Ronnie del Carmen adding "Do you know what kinds of meetings we'd have to have to make sure all our movies line up?!" The DC Animated Universe (DCAU) is a television universe that encompasses different animated series based on characters from DC Comics but its associated media includes feature and short films, comic books and video games as well. Shared timeslines originate in video games and
13673-500: The time travel occurred was explained in a prequel-reboot film series with the ape Cesar becoming the main protagonist again, with the story focused on his life from childhood to an old ape, and how the conflict between the apes and the humans started. The Star Wars film series was created by George Lucas , produced by his self-funded production company Lucasfilm. It originated with the film Star Wars (1977), followed by two sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of
13794-514: The time, Dragonlance gaming had been converted to the SAGA System , with limited success, and that, combined with TSR's general financial troubles, put the setting's future in doubt. Wizards of the Coast bought the troubled TSR in 1997, and Weis and Hickman then proposed the War of Souls trilogy, which was published in 2000-2002. All three novels made the New York Times bestseller list , and
13915-587: The universe, such as Rian Johnson : Keep the Customer Satisfied ; Lin-Manuel Miranda : Cecilia ; Marc Webb and Dwayne Johnson : I Am a Rock . This refers to universes that are based on television shows without any films. Television series may lead to a spin-off series set in the same universe, often focusing on a single character from the original. The American sitcom Cheers led to two spin-off series, Frasier and The Tortellis . An example of shared universes among television shows
14036-403: The video game Shadow Sorcerer . Released in 1991, this early real-time strategy game is a direct sequel to the first two games and a prequel to War of the Lance (1989). DL11 - Dragons of Glory is a self-contained tabletop strategy game (corresponding to the events in the background of the third novel, Dragons of Spring Dawning ) that was adapted into the turn-based strategy game War of
14157-445: The world of Krynn, and thus the settings for both the novels and gaming supplements, is roughly split into five separate ages. The first age is the time of creation, when the gods are born and Krynn is formed. The Age of Dreams, the second age, is marked by the rapid growth of the world's first great civilizations and the appearance of myriad new races. This era is also marked by three great wars between dragons and their minions. Following
14278-478: Was "inspired by an AD&D campaign full of chunks ripped bleeding from Tolkien" and complained about the "deadly predictable questing, with stock D&D characters in familiar encounters" and ultimately reported that he "couldn't finish this one". Steve Hampshire reviewed Dragonlance Chronicles: Dragons of Autumn Twilight for Imagine magazine, and stated that "in conclusion, the book stands up well as AD&D supplementary material, but rather less well as
14399-461: Was not supported during the 4th Edition era (2008-2013) of Dungeons & Dragons . In March 2022, Wizards released the PDF Heroes of Krynn which is part of the " Unearthed Arcana " public playtest series for the 5th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons . Polygon commented that this "all but confirmed" the return of the Dragonlance setting. The setting was revisited in December 2022 with
14520-447: Was released in 2000, Dragonlance was not initially updated for the new edition. In 2002, Margaret Weis's company Sovereign Press acquired the license to publish 3rd Edition Dragonlance material. The official update, Dragonlance Campaign Setting , was published in 2003 for the 3.5 Edition. Wizards of the Coast turned over all responsibility for maintaining the Dragonlance setting to Sovereign Press until 2007. The campaign setting
14641-411: Was released. The module is set during the War of the Lance; Wizards of the Coast has stated that the module does not require prior knowledge of the setting or the novels to play the module. An integrated board game, titled Dragonlance: Warriors of Krynn , was released in 2023, designed by Stephen Baker and Rob Daviau . Dragonlance: Warriors of Krynn is a wargame that focuses on military battles during
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