The Sovereign State of Gaming
(DLU's note: Airen Blakovich approached us and asked if he could submit an editorial for this week. He's done a great job with Tavin's Nuggets of Joy, so we decided he deserved a chance to speak his mind.)
Unless you've been living in a Gully Dwarf colony for the last couple of weeks, then you have heard about the greatest news in the history of DragonLance since The Chronicles were written. Sovereign Press, run by the incomprable Ms. Weis and the equally talented Mr. Perrin, has picked up the rights to officially design and produce the DragonLance Campaign Setting for the Dungeons & Dragons 3ed Gaming rules. This of course means that the future of DragonLance has gone back into the hands of the creators! It's a dream come true for all fans everywhere! A saintly boon to us all! And I must admit that the simple thought of it brings tears to my eyes. But please wait before you pop the cork on the champagne and sing out a merry song. Wait, because the tears in my eyes are not tears of joy, but tears of sorrow.
While everyone jumps for joy and dances about merrily, waving madly and shouting with glee, I find myself looking in the corner. In the shadows I see the Nexus, now apparently rendered useless, doing nothing. Just sitting there, unnoticed, undiscussed, unneeded, unwanted, and unappreciated. As I watch, a memory comes to light. A memory of a fledgeling site that dedicated itself to producing a complete and comprehensive 3ed DragonLance Gaming Rulebook made for the fans, by the fans. An ambitious ideal, but one that was pursued relentlessly, with great vigor and drive by its members that even I, who had never even attempted to create my own full version homebrew rules before was caught up in the fervor and engaging zealousness of the project. I was not alone either, many people likewise gave their time and effort to acheive the ideal of a fan made rules system. People known well both on my home on the mailing list as well as many from the prestigious newsgroup. In a short amount of time, the Nexus grew by leaps and bounds, and it has grown ever since. Truly, the Nexus looked to be exactly what it had promised.
Then suddenly the news hits. In the time it took for a single post to be sent, a single announcement to be made, all the work from all those many people becomes useless. The Nexus with its newly released campaign idea The War of the Dark Lance, one of the best things to happen in the DragonLance gaming community in years, amounts to nothing. Now I don't know what this does to you people, but to me its devastating, both on a personal level for the work I had hoped to have submitted as part of the Core Rules and the work I had hoped still to do in the future, but also from the standpoint of a diehard fan seeing the culmination of over a year and a half of fellow fans hard work bowled over without so much as a 'Thanks for trying.'
I'm not saying that Sovereign Press' taking over is a terrible thing. Its not that I think that they will ruin it for everyone. Who knows, perhaps the fans will still have a say in the future of gaming in DragonLance. Perhaps Sovereign and Nexus will come to some sort of arrangement, maybe even work hand in hand. However, so far there IS no discussion on that subject. There IS no mention of the Nexus' role in the grand scheme of things. And there needs to be. Because the dismissal of all this hard work from the fans of this world is a horrible thing. And to do so blatantly without taking into consideration what a great resource and helper that the Nexus is as a hub for the fanbase community of DragonLance as a whole is simply inexcusable. I beg of everyone reading this- If you consider yourself a fan of DragonLance, if you are an avid gamer, if you want to have a part in the future of this beautiful world... Then discuss it on the lists, on the message boards, in emails, with each other. And while you do, be certain to thank those at the Nexus for their long, hard work, for their perseverence, and above all for not calling it quits. I end this by stealing a quote often used by a man who has earned my respect for exactly precisely these reasons-
Long Live the Lance!
Airen Blakovich
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