Dragons of Hope

Dragons of Hope

Code	DL3
Rules required	AD&D (1st Edition)
Character levels	6 - 8
Campaign setting	Dragonlance
Authors	Tracy Hickman
First published	1984
Linked modules
DL1, DL2, DL3, DL4, DL5, DL6, DL7, DL8, DL9, DL10, DL11, DL12, DL13, DL14, DL15, DL16

Dragons of Hope is the third module in the first major story arc in the Dungeons & Dragons Dragonlance series of game modules. It is one of the 14 Dragonlance adventures published by TSR between 1984 and 1986. Its cover features a painting depicting a Dragon Highlord riding a red dragon, which is attacking a brass dragon.

These events are covered in the book titled Dragons of the Dwarven Depths.

Plot synopsis

In Dragons of Hope, the player characters help the freed prisoners from Pax Tharkas to escape a draconian army, and help them find Thorbardin; to do so, the key to Thorbardin is hidden deep in the lair of an ancient wizard.^[1]

The adventure starts the adventurers having just freed 800 refugees from Pax Tharkas. Verminaard's armies then chase them through the wilderness. The goal is for the players to lead their characters to Thorbardin, the ancient home of the mountain dwarves. To do this the party must travel through the snow-capped Kharolis Mountains and across the Dergoth plains towards Skullcap.

The module contains special rules for leading the refugees to safety and the challenges in that. Bonus experience points for the players are available on how many refugees they manage to lead to safety.^[2]

Chapter 11: The Way
The Heroes of the Lance lead the refugees from Pax Tharkas through the Abanasinia wilderness to find a safe place for the refugees. Unlike earlier chapters which occur chronological, chapters 12 and 13 can occur during this chapter depending if the players enter certain locations found within this chapter.

Chapter 12: The Outpost Mines
A former outpost of the dwarven kingdom of Thorbardin may appear promising at first as leading to the main fortress. Actually, though it connects two separate wilderness locations in Chapter 11, the outpost mines are occupied only by a small group of the ludicrous Aghar dwarves.

Chapter 13: Skullcap
Skullcap is the remains of an ancient magical fortress which according to legend contains a path to the gates of Thorbardin. It does not, but inside the players will be able to find directions to the gates. They can also find the first good dragon they have seen, a brass dragon called Blaize.

Epilogue
This module is completed when the players both find the hopeful vale as a temporary home for the refugees and have found the directions to the Gates of Thorbardin.

Publication history

DL3 Dragons of Hope was written by Tracy Hickman, with a cover by Keith Parkinson, and illustration by Parkinson and Larry Elmore, and was published by TSR in 1984 as a 32-page booklet with an outer folder and a large two-color map.^[1] The module comes with a large map and a smaller version for the DM, plus 2 detailed area maps and features art by Keith Parkinson.^[3]

Reception

Graham Staplehurst reviewed Dragons of Hope for White Dwarf, and gave it 8/10 overall. Staplehurst considered this module an improvement in the design over Dragons of Flame, and enjoyed this one more. He felt that this module had a lot more for players to contend with, rather than just bands of marauding Draconians and other nasty creatures. Staplehurst disliked how "much of the action turns on uncontrollable plot devices, with many poorly explained or of dubious value as contributions to the game", as well as "the rather ambiguous detailed area maps and events that were somewhat coerced and did not flow naturally from play".^[3] However, he considered that there were very few such "bugs", and noted that DMs can of course leave out anything anomalous, and concluded by stating how he "liked the free-ranging nature of the scenario ratherthan the usual confinement of dungeon pathways".^[3]

Adaptations

The Shadow Sorcerer personal computer game is based on this module and DL4 Dragons of Desolation. It is very different from the official games based on earlier modules in the series, it is one of the earliest real-time strategy games. This module has also been converted into Neverwinter Nights format, requiring both the Shadows of Undrentide and Hordes of the Underdark expansion packs as well as the original game.^[4]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Schick, Lawrence (1991). Heroic Worlds: A History and Guide to Role-Playing Games. Prometheus Books. p. 89. ISBN 0-87975-653-5. 
2. ^ (Hickman 1984b:4) The Refugees of Pax Tharkas
3. ^ ^{a b c} Staplehurst, Graham (July 1985). "Open Box". White Dwarf (67): 13. 
4. ^ "NWN Modules: DL3 - Dragons of Hope". ign.com. 2004-05-11. http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Modules.Detail&id=3028. Retrieved 2007-03-25.