"Three Views of Elanthia"
by Gahlron, Chartaine and Divada

If you were to take a poll of your average player, you would find that the reasons they play Dragonrealms to be oddly similar. There is a consistent thread in the arguments that are given on why this game has the best potential atmosphere for role-playing. This does not necessarily mean that everybody uses that potential to its fullest possibilities, but we ALL tend to agree that the soil is fertile.

Below are three submissions that I found in my mailbox that all touch upon this subject of Dragonrealms and its possibilities. I feel that they express enough of a breadth of opinion that at least one will hold true to each person who reads them. Beyond any potential bias I may hold for being a "staff" editor, I must say that I agree with each of these articles.

Gahlron

What is DragonRealms all about? For me the answer is simple, it’s not just a game, it’s a whole other world. The point of it isn’t to get as powerful as you can. The world was created with the intent of creating an environment to interact with others in a role-playing environment, there is no goal except the ones you make for yourself.

Some people don’t understand that. Thinking what they need to do is circle, circle, and circle. In all truth that’s fine if that’s what you really want to do. But the true purpose of DragonRealms is friends. Going hunting with people you only know in the game, people who could live on the other side of the country from you are all in the same room with you in the game, no borders, and no limits. This is the true goal of DragonRealms. This is what makes DragonRealms such a fun place to be.

I personally enjoy the fact that with the way DragonRealms was created, my character is “alive”. He has physical features, a personality, and friends. Is he anything like my real life personality? Heh, that answer is only known by those close to me, another interesting facet of the realms. You have anonymity. People in the realms only know you by the persona the are introduced to, in true role-playing style you are: [insert name, race and guild here] and not Joe Schmoe, computer programmer somewhere in California.

DragonRealms has strived to create a world that could be lived in, the same way you could in the real world. Simple actions like dusting yourself off and shaking someone’s hand can be done in the realms as well.

So for all those that question why we play, and why some people take it so seriously: It’s fun! A world where you can be someone other than yourself, and forget for a few hours what is happening in the mundane world around you while hanging out with friends you have made online is truly an enjoyment in itself.

Chartaine

I have done a lot of traveling across the Realms, more than I even care to mention or think about. I have spent time in almost every principality at some point with one or more of my characters. One thing that I have noticed, is the lack of role-playing actually being done. I have traveled to very few places where a person will be able to find another with a heart for TRUE role-playing.

People have attributed the lack of role-play to several things. Lack of time, skill or otherwise, when it all really boils down to the fact that people do not play for their sheer enjoyment anymore. They get too caught up in who can create the biggest and highest ranking character with the most platinum coins in the bank. The luster of being able to role-play is lost in the thrill of gaining that next rank in heavy plate or targeted magic, and getting that next circle so a spell slot will open or they can gain some new title.

The people of DragonRealms also forget that a platinum coin will never be able to buy that true ability that comes with being able to role-play. They created the character to give you a chance to get away from normal life, an outlet for the creative juices that get bottled up during the rat race of life. They did not create them to give them another place where they can interact with other people in a slightly different environment. All they do when they run around trying to sell a old weighted scimitar for 'x' number of plats is recreate a scene so similar to real life it would make most people sick to realize it. There is a reason the GMs put a no talking zone in the bank lobby, and no it is not because they wanted the thief guild to have a better target for practicing.

The fact that GMs have begun to bribe players into role-playing better almost sickens most people. There should not have to be a reward for 'good role-play,' it should be something that is done either way. Having a character's stats move faster is just another incentive to build bigger and higher ranking characters, not an incentive to boost the amount of role-play. This tactic only allows for bursts of role-play only when a player thinks GMs might actually be listening.

The point is not that role-playing needs to be the only thing on a player's mind when they log-in. It does however need to be one of the main things. There is a way for someone to role-play and still make a living or a higher-ranking character, just be creative with it. The confines of the game are flexible, more so now than ever. Role-playing in the Realms is not dead; it just needs a swift kick in the rump to get it back on the right track.

Divada

I have walked the walls between worlds. I have visited realms beyond the boundaries of Space and Time. I have seen much, and I have learned much. And yet I return to Elanthia again and again.

Of all the worlds I have walked, of all the roads I have traveled… Elanthia stays with me. There is war, there is poverty, and there is evil. There are those who fight the forces of Darkness, and there are those who seek to spread it across the land.

But in Elanthia, there are no limitations. I have met Dwarves as large as a giant keg of ale, whose girth quivers in the thunder of their laugh. And they are seated with tiniest wisp of a Hafling woman, both pounding their mugs on the table and laughing so hard they are crying.

I have met beings who stood twice as tall as I, an 8 foot Kaldar, and seen those small enough to climb into my journey pack. (The Halfling did, and she fell asleep in there. Of course, she also vomited in there. They can't hold their ale.) I have met orange skinned lizard men, and black furred dog women, fay Elotheans, and mysterious elves.

I have met women who could drink and fight any man under the table, and men as clever and powerful as any witch.

In Elanthia, there are no prejudices of race, color, sex, creed, age, or religion. We all walk the Way as one. People fight, and there are challenges made for every reason under the moons. But no one is discouraged because they are a different race. Women are not turned away because they are too frail to be Barbarians. All races and colors and religions blend together, making one giant tapestry of magic and adventure. And only in Elanthia.

We will return. To where our hearts call, and where all our sundered peoples can be one. There is peace in our time. In Elanthia. From the Crossing to the cliffs of Aesry. And for that, we shall always call her home.