Dragons of Mystery

Dragons of Mystery

Code	DL5
Rules required	AD&D (1st Edition)
Character levels	NA
Campaign setting	Dragonlance
Authors	Michael Dobson
First published	1984
Linked modules
DL1, DL2, DL3, DL4, DL5, DL6, DL7, DL8, DL9, DL10, DL11, DL12, DL13, DL14, DL15, DL16

Dragons of Mystery is a Dungeons & Dragons source book that is part of the series of game Dragonlance modules. It is one of the 14 DL modules published by TSR between 1984 and 1986. Its cover features a painting by Larry Elmore of Tanis Half-Elven, Laurana Kanan, Tasslehoff Burrfoot and Tika Waylan standing in front of a Dragon Highlord and a blue dragon.

Contents

Dragons of Mystery is a sourcebook on the world of Krynn and the characters in the Dragonlance series.^[1] This book covers the geography, creation myths, and the gods of Krynn, including articles on each of the heroes which detail how they originally met and background information for each.^[1] The book also includes an errata sheet for modules DL1 through DL4.^[1]

Sections

The module consists of seven sections and two maps. The first section is a brief introduction and the final section a marketing questionnaire on the Dragonlance series so far. The other sections are:

A Dungeonmaster’s Guide to the Dragonlance game adventures
This section includes a "real world" history of dragonlance, a suggested session breakdown for running DL1-4 and errata for DL1-4. It also contains extra information on The Dragons of Krynn, The Dwarves of Thorbardin, The Council of Freedom and several particular NPC's - Verminard, Fizban, Sestun, Fewmaster Toede and Fistandantilus.

The Creation of the World
A history of the world of Krynn focusing on its creation.

The Gods of Krynn
A brief summary about each of the god's of good, evil and neutrality.

How The Heroes Met
A short story about the original heroes history and how they met.

The Companions of the Lance
Page long presentation of game statistics, history and personality of each of the heroes as they first appear in the series. This allows for a longer, more details presentation of the information than appeared in the adventure modules. Heroes presented are Tanis, Caramon, Raistlin, Flint Fireforge, Tasslehoff Burrfoot, Sturm Brightblade, Goldmoon, Riverwind, Tika Waylan, Gilthanas, Laurana and Elistan.

The Maps
The map "The Constellations of Krynn" is found on the inside cover in a star chart showing planets, moons, and major stars that form constellations shown with drawings of the constellations symbols superimposed. The "The Continent of Ansalon" map is a fold-out insert with 20 mile hexagonal grid.

Publication history

DL5 Dragons of Mystery was written by Michael Dobson, with art by Larry Elmore, and was published by TSR in 1984 as a 32-page booklet with an outer folder.^[1]

Reception

Graham Staplehurst reviewed Dragons of Mystery for White Dwarf, and gave it 6/10 overall. He felt that "To some extent, players will have been so overwhelmed with background information in the DragonLance modules that the style of thie setting and adventures will be as familiar as any campaign world can be."^[2] Staplehurts felt that Dragons of Mystery was produced essentially as a sourcebook for Krynn, because "TSR obviously feel that both DMs and players would appreciate yet more background to the world of Krynn and perhaps some hints of the adventures still in the pipeline and yet to be produced".^[2] He felt that its actual use and value as a sourcebook was questionable, as much of the information in the book is repeated to a greater extent from the prior four modules, and that "the ten or so pages of new material was insubstantial and too shallow to be of practical use".^[2] Staplehurst noted that "Various points hinted at in the modules are not expanded here and the only really interesting notes are those on the Dragons of Krynn: the designer's note in the introduction that the project is seen to some extent as a 'showcase' for the twelve varieties of dragon ... and the extra details are welcome."^[2] Staplehurst concluded the review by stating, "Overall, there is plenty of information contained within the modules themselves for DMs, and I would not recommend the sourcebook even for the continental map-this is going to be little use to the players except for papering a spare wall."^[2]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Schick, Lawrence (1991). Heroic Worlds: A History and Guide to Role-Playing Games. Prometheus Books. p. 90. ISBN 0-87975-653-5. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Staplehust, Graham (October 1985). "Open Box: Dragons of Mystery" (review). White Dwarf (Games Workshop) (70): 14–15.