Job: DLC Character
Franchise:
Dungeons & Dragons
Given the nature of Hasbro's company and kid-friendly appeal, it makes sense it's primary protagonists are all mostly noble heroes with unwavering morals; But, what about characters who do not fall into the simple good-evil umbrella, but rather slide in-between with anti-heroic tendecies? For my first character submission:
Raistlin Majere!
WHAT IS DRAGONLANCE?
Hailing from the Dragonlance Campaign Setting, Raistlin was a character created for the Dragonlance Chronicles Trilogy of Novels released in the 80's, and it's sequels the Dragonlance Legends Trilogy, which it would not surprise me if a couple users have actually read them as the books were
monumentally successful; In fact, the Dragonlance Novels are what kickstarted the trend of D&D Canon Novels that would eventually lead to it's established legacy today and to characters like Drizzt, and over
190 Dragonlance novels have been written, with a new trilogy releasing as of 2022. In fact, it's legacy lead to the first novel in the series,
Dragons of Autumn Twilight, ended up recieving an animated movie adaptation,
years before D&D: Honor Among Thieves released in theatres!
Oh, originally I was going to just attach a poster for the movie, but, nah, here's the whole damn movie, feel free to watch it for yourself if you want to get a sense of Raistlin's character! Fun Fact: In this movie, he is voiced by none other than KIEFER SUTHERLAND!?!?! A.K.A. Big Boss and Venom Snake!?!? I was shocked when I found that out haha.
Given the books ended up being so popular, there was an extended period of time in which Dragonlance became the primary and most popular Campaign setting in all of D&D, having been introduced after Greyhawk and before Forgotten Realms skyrocketed in popularity. Given we only have playable fighters from FR and Ravenloft, Dragonlance marks a central element of D&D that has yet to be represented.
THE STORY OF RAISTLIN
Though not the main character of the novels (that honor goes to Tanis the Half-Elven), Raistlin was by far and away the breakout character and continued to shape the lore of Dragonlance to the point of being it's most popular figure very fondly remembered by fans of the series. To explain his whole deal:
Raistlin is a Wizard, and in fact one of (and eventually) the most powerful Wizard in the land of Krynn, the world in which Dragonlance takes place. I mentioned he is an Anti-Hero, but he could also be described as a tragic hero; He had no physical strength and was bullied relentlessly as a child, but what he lacked in physicality he made up for in high intelligence. He was set down a path of magic by his father and became a powerful Wizard at a young age, but this sparked his dark transformation, as he became addicted to becoming powerful with more and more magic. Eventually, he decided to partake in the
Test of High Sorcery as part of his quest for power, which ultimately curses him with white hair and golden skin; However, this test also dons me a mysterious ability in which he is given hourglass-shaped eyes, and gains a type of precognition in which he sees Time on a different plane of passing than everyone else.
Throughout the books he is depicted as a shady character who sees others as beneath him, though not one without heroic qualities, as he is a core member of the Heroes of the Lance and defeated powerful threats in order to save Krynn from absolute darkness, and had various moments of honor throughout. But, Raistlin's story is also a moral, one that tells the tale of addiction and corruption. His lust for power never stopped, and eventually he turned to dark magic and became the main Antagonist of the Legends Trilogy, and it is during this Villain arc where he became one of the most
powerful wizards in all of D&D, killing actual Gods and even his Mentors, and the protagonists travel to a future in which Raistlin has killed all life in Krynn, becoming its sole living inhabitant. I won't spoil the story anymore than this, but Raistlin's character arc is
very transformative and showcases the nuance to the character that lead to his popularity, and despite not being a present figure in future books his influence is still the strongest than any other Dragonlance character.
MOVESET POTENTIAL
Of course being so popular does not mean much if there isn't a versatile moveset to pull from, but fortunately Raistlin is more than skilled enough in magic to make it work!
Given the nature of his character, Raistlin would not at all rely on aggression or physical prowess but rather sneaky movements and intelligent set-up and pay-off, similar to Smash' Snake, landing blows with pre-planned magic spells.
For his signature weaponry:
Raistlin's most famous handheld; Obviously, it's a staff that aids him in performing magic spells, which is doubly powerful due to him having passed the Test of High Sorcery. No biggie, yk? | Throughout the Novels the group comes across artifacts called Dragon Orbs. While Raistlin primarily gets hold of just one, there are 5 that each have their own different properties |
And, of course, a series of spells Raistlin is known for casting throughout his appearances:
Of course this is just sticking purely to as much canon as possible, but the routes this character could go for a moveset are bountiful and definitely not limited just to what this write-up has.
"You cannot hide from danger. Death floats on the air, creeps through the window, comes with the handshake of a stranger. If we stop living because we fear death, then we have already died." - Raistlin Majere
Job: DLC Character
Franchise:
Dungeons & Dragons
When it comes to traditional Wizards in the world of D&D, and also the canon of its own iconic characters, there is one that above all the others can be seen as the progenitor: One of the oldest characters to
ever exist in D&D, created just a few months after it's first campaign module, meet:
Mordenkainen!
THE FIRST WIZARD
Mordenkainen is a legendary Wizard from the world of Greyhawk, the original D&D Setting; While some may recognize him from Sourcebooks or Official Guides, he is an important figure in the lore itself, being one of
the original Wizards, creating so many of the spells that ended up being used in official D&D History. It's for this reason that Mordenkainen continuously pops up repeatedly when it comes to Greyhawk and establised lore, which gives the character an
extended history with a unique set of powerful spells which influences the rest of the brand going forward.
Just to go over the list of spells that ended up being named after him:
- Buzzing Bee
- Capable Caravel
- Celerity
- Defense Against Reptiles
- Disjunction
- Electric Arc
- Encompassing Vision
- Faithful Hound
- Faithful Phantom Defenders
- Faithful Phantom Guardian
- Faithful Phantom Shield-Maidens
- Force Missiles
- Involuntary Wizardry
- Lucubration
- Magnificent Mansion
- Penultimate Cogitation
- Private Sanctum
- Protection From Avians
- Protection From Insects and Arachnids
- Protection Against Lycanthropes
- Protection From Slime
- Mordenkainen's Sword
- Trusted Bloodhound
Yeah, it's a lot. Being such an old character would do that to ya. But, who
is Mordenkainen as a character?
HISTORY OF MORDENKAINEN
Unlike Raistlin, Mordenkainen's past and origin are relatively unknown and are shrouded in mystery. However, one thing that is known is his obsession with balance and neutrality, doing things to neither benefit good nor evil but rather keep everything equal, as he is a strong believer they are co-dependent, and he'd most likely berate you for trying to change said balance. Despite this, he still works solely in the protection of Oeth (the world in which Greyhawk takes place) and set out to form the Circle of Eight, a council of the 8 most powerful Wizards in the land of Greyhawk to battle against equally powerful threats, gaining a reputation. Though members would change their goals did not, and eventually they would go on to fight even
Vecna, the Lich that saught Godhood, with Mordenkainen being the key member in seeing his defeat; In this way, you could see them as Rivals.
Mordenkainen also became so powerful that he gained the ability to planeswalk, meaning he traveled the Multiverse of D&D - very fitting for a game combining characters from the Hasbro Multiverse. Of course, this would also lead Mordenkainen to the world of Ravenloft where he would fight
Strahd Von Zarovich, a character currently playble on our roster, and this is a defeat that currently leaves Mordenkainen where he is as he now studies magic to regain the power he lost when Strahd defeated him, forming another strong rivalry with a lord of evil.
Of course, the character hasn't gone away has WotC uses him continuously to sell merchandise, because, well, he's popular! He's in Guide Books, Spellbooks, Campaign Modules and was even brought over to the Forgotten Realms, because of course!
Given his role at D&D's first major Wizard, with the list of spells named after him and his history with both Vecna and Strahd, he has plenty of connections to the roster and undeniable moveset potential that can be used here no doubt.
"Perhaps it was madness that compelled me to scry into the Abyss, or perhaps it was my ever growing hunger for knowledge. Both, I think, are equal curses." - Mordenkainen
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I also want to point this out, because this was important when I picked out both characters, but as of now we have
no wizard representation for D&D, which is crazy to think about. Truth be told I was not at all sure if these characters would ever catch votes, but I'm throwing my hat in the ring to see what success could be had with making them playable; We haven't had a playable D&D character since the basegame and given that
Hasbro reported it was it's best selling franchise of 2023, I think another character is definitely deserved.
