Publisher: Wizards of the CoastBeyond Ansalon - beyond even Taladas - cut off from the rest of Krynn by distance or circumstance, lie several lost lands with enough excitement and peril to challenge the hardiest adventurer.
Far beneath the vastness of Krynn's oceans is Watermere, home to the reclusive Dargonesti sea elves. In their valley on the sea floor, they work, play, explore, and resist the plots and forces of Takhisis, the Dark Queen, whose ambitions to conquer Krynn extend even to the seas and the lands below them. Airbreathers are occasionally brought to Watermere with the aid of powerful magix-sometimes as guests, sometimes as pets, sometimes as prey... which will you be?
Silesia is a jungle island with a spine of forbidding mountains running its length. Do the gods dwell amont the lofty peaks, as the superstitious natives believe? Or do they just say that because no one who goes to the mountains ever comes back?
South of Ansalon, past the Ice Wall for another thousand miles, lies the south pole of Krynn. And there, warmed by lava flows deep below the surface, is the underground world of Chorane. Three human tribes, all descended from the same group of settlers, wage a bitter and neverending civil war, with evil dwarves and a long-lost offshoot of the kender race rounding out the balance of power. Outsiders should pick their allies carefully, lest they become sacrifices for the great dragons that lair far beneath the pole.
Otherlands is a 96-page sourcebook detailing three fascinating, never-seen-before areas on the planet of Krynn, home of the DRAGONLANCE saga, for the ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS 2nd Edition game. A full-color map of the Otherlands is also included.
Product History
DLR1 "Otherlands" (1990), by Scott Bennie, Scott Haring, and John Terra, is the first Dragonlance Reference. It was published in March 1990.
Origins: Expanding the Dragonlance World. In the early '90s, TSR's big push for Dragonlance was an expansion of the world beyond Ansalon, the continent where the Dragonlance Chronicles took place in the mid '80s. Most of that focus went to Taladas, the new continent revealed in Time of the Dragon (1989), but DLR1: "Otherlands" offered even more possibilities by revealing three other locales scattered across Krynn.
"Otherlands" is also the first Dragonlance "R"eference, a trilogy of sourcebooks (1991-1993) that would detail locales, races, and characters for the setting.
Exploring Krynn. "Otherlands" describes three lands of Krynn that were entirely new. The first is Chorane, an underground civilization located at the south pole, past Icewall and Icereach. The other two are more closely related to TSR's big Taladas push, because they lie in the adjacent waterways. Selasia (sometimes: Silesia) is the largest island of the Spine of Taladas, a chain of jungled, coral reef islands. Finally, Watermere is an underwater realm of the Dargonesti. A big map depicts how these lands relate to Ansalon and Taladas; it was the first map to show how Ansalon and Taladas themselves fit together.
Unlike Taladas, these "Otherlands" never got much additional support. Though they were occasionally referenced in other contemporary books like SJR7: "Krynnspace" (1993), there's been some question about whether they remain canon. The answer to that seems to be, "yes". The Watermere section of this book received quite a bit of attention, largely in the novel The Alien Sea (2006). More generally, Sovereign Press consistently touched upon these locales in their Dragonlance line of the '00s.
Races of Note. The new "Otherlands" are rife with new races.
Chorane is the least notable in this aspect, as it mostly focuses on human tribes and variants of Krynn's demihuman races. With that said, this is classic Dragonlance, carefully defining unique cultures.
Selasia is all about Ogres, in particular two variants of the Irda: the Mischta and the Nzunta. Of the two, the Mischta are the most like the original Irda — and perhaps the main source of Irda culture after their other island home is sunk in Dragons of Summer Flame (1995). Overall, there's considerable information on the Irda in "Otherlands", making it one of the best sources on the elusive and secretive people
Watermere of course focuses on dargonesti, the deep (sea) elves. This is also one of the best sources for them, covering everything from their society and history to their interactions with under undersea folk. An offshoot called the mahkwahb, or abyss elves, is also introduced.
Monsters of Note. The section on Watermere also debuts yet another aquatic dragon to Krynn: the brine dragon.
About the Creators. Each of the authors of "Otherlands" wrote one of its otherlands. If the author ordering on the title page is to be believed, then Scott Haring created Chorane, Scott Bennie authored Selasia, and John Terra revealed Watermere.
About the Product Historian
The history of this product was researched and written by Shannon Appelcline, the editor-in-chief of RPGnet and the author of Designers & Dragons - a history of the roleplaying industry told one company at a time. Please feel free to mail corrections, comments, and additions to shannon.appelcline@gmail.com.
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