Goldbox "Champions of Krynn" and "Leaves from the last Inn..."

[Na'Pucker]

Greetings,

My first RPG game was Ultima IV on the Atari 800XL. Since then I've played quite a few but not too many D&D style games. I did like EOB I and II. It was like playing Dungeon Master (On my Atari ST) for me. I didn't really pay attention at the time that it was a D&D game. After that Baldures Gate I and II for a bit but didn't stick with it. (Not because I didn't like it, but Real Life gets in the way sometimes. I do have both set up and playable.)

So here I am many years later and want to begin my Gold Box adventures. I never really took a good look until recently. I got the games from ebay because I wanted the manuals. I know they're available in PDF but prefer the feel of the manual itself. I guess it takes me back to my younger days of gaming.

I just recently noticed that one of the GB games is "Champions of Krynn". This sparked a memory so I looked through my library and found a book entitled "The Complete Krynn Source Book. Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home. " It was published in 1987 and I have the original publication.

My first question is;

1. Would reading this enhance the play of the GB Krunn trilogy? Or should I wait?

And second;

2. A tad off topic; of all the GB games should one play these in order of publication to get the best experience? Or is there a unique order of playing them?

I appreciate any feedback you have.

-Thanks

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Play each series in order, i.e. if you play the Krynn games start with Champions of Krynn followed by Death Knights of Krynn followed by Dark Queen of Krynn, or if you play the FR games start with Pool of Radiance followed by Curse of the Azure Bonds followed by Secret of the Silver Blades followed by Pools of Darkness.

The Krynn trilogy ties more into the setting, which relies chiefly on having read the original Dragonlance trilogy (Chronicles by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman). Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home was intended for fans of the Krynn setting who had already read the novels and any other material available at that time.

 

[Neanderthal]

Thats one wi Caramon on cover leaning on a sign as I remember, Tas an Tika wi him. I wouldn't say its needed to enhance game as it were made more for p&p players, but theres no harm reading it, just be aware that setting went to shit after Twins trilogy.

 

[octavius]

It's not needed to enjoy the games, but I'd recommend reading the Dragonlance Chronicles before playing the Krynn games.

 

[Invictus]

It's not needed to enjoy the games, but I'd recommend reading the Dragonlance Chronicles before playing the Krynn games.

This
The more you know of the setting and main characters (Raistlin, Lord Soth, Kitara) the more you will enjoy the games because you will have better understanding of what is going on
At the time Death Knights was deemed "too by the numbers" but since Soth is one of my favorite characters from D&D I enjoyed tremendously that game.
All 3 are very good and Dark Queen is the best looking game in the whole Gold Box series... had the series continued the higher res monsters and VGA colors would have made it to future games
Sadly it was the last
As a few pointers there are no standard magic users here and the color of the robes they wear dicate who higher tier spells they have access to so having a Red and White are highly suggested plus having at least one Knight is very desirable too plus don't disregard the Kender, their kopesh is a very nice weapon and they make excellent thieves