Dragons of Autumn Twilight

Did You Know?

• Jean Black, the managing editor of TSR's book department, assigned Hickman and Weis to write the novel.
• The Chronicles trilogy came about because the designers wanted novels to tell the story of the game world, something TSR agreed to only reluctantly.
• A movie adaptation was released on January 15, 2008, as the first direct-to-video movie based on the Dragonlance campaign setting.

Plot summary

The story kicks off when a band of old friends—Tanis, Sturm, Caramon, Raistlin, Flint, and Tasslehoff—finally reunite after five years apart, each having chased their own separate quests. Caramon and Raistlin’s half-sister, Kitiara Uth Matar, was supposed to join them but only sent a puzzling note instead. Right before their get-together, the group realizes the village they’re meeting in has been taken over by a religious sect called the Seekers, who are working with the Dragon Highlords to conquer the continent of Ansalon. The Seekers are hunting for a Blue Crystal Staff, and when a plainswoman named Goldmoon uses that staff to heal a Seeker at the inn, the companions get cornered by Highlord forces and have to make a run for it. The next day, they’re ambushed by Draconians—reptilian soldiers for the Highlords—and chased into the woods, where they fend off undead creatures before a centaur saves them. They’re then tasked with traveling to the ruined city of Xak Tsaroth to grab the Disks of Mishakal, a set of teachings from the True Gods that’s key to restoring faith in them. After riding pegasi and surviving several dark encounters, they reach Xak Tsaroth and meet some gully dwarves. One dwarf, Bupu, guides them to the dragon Khisanth, who gets taken down by the Blue Crystal Staff’s holy power. Goldmoon is engulfed in the staff’s flame and thought dead, but later they find her resting at the base of a statue of Mishakal, now blessed with true clerical abilities. The companions leave with the Disks, and Bupu gives Raistlin an old spellbook that once belonged to the archmage Fistandantilus. When they return to the village, they find it occupied, get captured, and are chained in a slave caravan alongside an elf named Gilthanas, the son of Qualinesti’s elven leader.

Characters

Tanis Half-Elven, a bastard child of two races, leads a group of companions while struggling with his feelings for the human woman Kitiara and the elfmaid Laurana. Sturm Brightblade, a squire to the Knights of Solamnia, is a man of deep honor. Goldmoon, the daughter of the Que-Shu tribe’s chief, carries the Blue Crystal Staff and becomes the first true cleric of good since the Cataclysm. Her bodyguard and romantic interest, Riverwind, saw his family cast out for believing in Krynn’s old gods instead of ancestor worship. Caramon Majere is a large, muscular warrior who can be slow to think, but he deeply loves his twin brother Raistlin and has a romantic interest in Tika. Raistlin, cynical and sarcastic, is a physically frail mage whom most other companions distrust. Flint Fireforge is a gruff, elderly dwarf and an old friend of Tanis. Tasslehoff Burrfoot is a cheerful, mischievous kender. Laurana Kanan is an elven princess in love with Tanis, while her brother Gilthanas strongly disapproves of this relationship. Fizban appears as a confused old wizard but is secretly an avatar of a true god. Tika Waylan, a red-haired barmaid, becomes a warrior and is Caramon’s romantic interest. Elistan leads a group of refugees and becomes the first cleric of Paladine. Dragon Highlord Verminaard commands the Red Dragonarmy, serves the evil goddess Takhisis, and aims to destroy the elven nation of Qualinesti.

Importance to Dragonlance

The first book in the Dragonlance series, Dragons of Autumn Twilight, was based on a Dungeons & Dragons game played by its authors and friends, several of whom later contributed to the series. The novel was written after the initial game modules were finished, a sequence that authors Weis and Hickman found restrictive and which gave the book a choppy, episodic feel. For later books, they reversed this order, completing the novels before the related modules. This debut novel for both Weis and Hickman introduces the core group of characters known as the Heroes of the Lance. According to the Dragonlance Nexus fansite, the Chronicles Trilogy, which begins with this book, provides the groundwork for all subsequent novels. An interview with Wizards of the Coast noted that the authors complement each other well: Hickman excels at writing virtuous characters, while Weis has a talent for darker ones, as shown by her fondness for the character Raistlin. The overall storyline for the original Dragonlance series had been fully plotted and outlined before any of the novels or games were created.

Reception

Dave Langford, writing in White Dwarf #65, called Dragons of Autumn Twilight a product of an AD&D campaign that had been heavily influenced by Tolkien, and he criticized its predictable quest structure and generic D&D characters, noting he could not finish it. Steve Hampshire, reviewing for Imagine magazine, said the book works well as AD&D supplementary material but not as a novel. Jason Heller of The A.V. Club gave a positive review, acknowledging the series' clichés but noting the novel remains widely read, and he fondly recalled the tavern-in-a-tree setting. The novel placed tenth on CBR's 2020 list of best DnD stories for beginners, with the article praising how it turns common tropes and class archetypes into more interesting, three-dimensional characters. Rob Bricken, in an Io9 series revisiting older D&D novels, remarked that the characters feel real and complex, and the novel's scope makes the world of Krynn feel alive.