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Lyssa recently had an opportunity via email to ask
Steve Miller, one of the authors of The Odyssey of
Gilthanas, |
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<Lyssa> What's with the eyes, anyhow? Gilthanas has had them in light brown (Chronicles), hazel (Tales of the Lance), green (Kindred Spirits), and now blue in Odyssey of Gilthanas. Is it an oversight, something cosmic and symbolic, a very strange physical trait, or some inside joke at TSR? <SM> No, Gilthanas' changing eye colour is a plight that many minor characters suffer from... authors and editors going from memory when they shouldn't (including myself... I'm the guy who gave Gilthanas blue eyes even though I should know better!) His correct eye colour is hazel. Although, if I were to give an answer other than the honest one, I might say that elves on Krynn change eye colours with the seasons. :) [<Lyssa's comment> Now wouldn't that be fun and add some additional otherworldliness to the elfies. ;)]
<Lyssa> Why do you think Gilthanas suffers more injuries than your average Dragonlance character? <SM> I really hadn't realized that! Although I suppose Gilthanas getting bonked on the head is something approaching "gag" status at this point. [<Lyssa's comment> At least it keeps him interesting in roleplay! Things get slow? Have someone smack Gilthanas for something like saying 'Hello.']
<Lyssa> In Chronicles Gilthanas is labelled a 'dabbler' in magic and is envious of Raistlin's courage and dedication that allowed him to pass his test at the Tower of High Sorcery, clearly indicating that he hasn't tested, yet in Jean Rabe's books he is included in the list of great mages who have tested at the Tower. With all of his time now accounted for between these books, he would have been either imprisoned or busy elsewhere. When is it assumed that Gilthanas tested? <SM> Gilthanas probably decided to go take the Test of High Sorcery some time after Dargent abandoned her efforts to patch up their relationship and [before] he was imprisoned in Silvanesti. [<Lyssa's comment> Now there's a great fanfic idea... How many times can I have Gilthanas get knocked out during his Testing?]
<Lyssa> According to Tales of the Lance, Gilthanas is assumed to have had the artifact Hands of the Healing Spirit, given to him at some point by Silvara, yet to my knowledge it's never mentioned in the books. When did he receive this and did he lose it at some point after that? <SM> This is a story that hasn't been told yet. Presumably, he lost it around the time he was imprisoned in Silvanesti. [<Lyssa's comment> More fanfic ideas! Silvara looked across the campfire at Gilthanas, awaiting an answer to her question of why he no longer wore the amulet she had entrusted to him. Gilthanas blanched slightly. "Um.." he dropped his gaze to the flickering flames. "I was taking my Test and something hit me on the head. When I awoke Dalamar was smirking and holding it in his hand. Add mugging to the reasons I didn't get along with him."]
<Lyssa> How did you become part of the project that led to The Odyssey of Gilthanas? Had you had previous interest in this character? <SM> I've long felt Gilthanas and Silvara were underused characters. I'd been pitching 'Odyssey' in one form or another to TSR/WotC since 1994. [<Lyssa's comment> And you wonder why Steve Miller is my hero...]
<Lyssa> Why was Gilthanas chosen as the protagonist for this new Dragonlance format of the Reader's Companion? <SM> It was a story I wanted to see told. Sue Cook and I thought the format of linked short stories would be a good one. The idea was married with a concept Sue had for a game resource called "Mystic Places," as mentioned on page 4 of the book. [<Lyssa's comment> And a great idea it turned out to be!]
<Lyssa> What were the sources for the places Gilthanas visited? Which place would you most like to visit from Odyssey? <SM> Most of them were sites on the map included in "Tales of the Lance" that Stan!, myself, or Sue Cook (who was the Creative Director of Dragonlance at the time) found interesting and thought others would too. Others were locations that were created when we were concepting for the Fifth Age boxed set. As for the place I would most like to visit... well, probably Sancrist or the Valley of Crystal. I doubt I'd run into any dragons at either of those locations. :) [<Lyssa's comment> Always a key consideration when visiting Krynn. ;)]
<Lyssa> Are there plans for more Reader's Companion books from TSR? Will you be involved in the creation of future Reader's Companions? <SM> I don't know any details about WotC's plans for the Reader's Companion format, sorry! And I will most likely not be involved with any future volumes... my last Dragonlance project for any foreseeable future was "Dragonlance Classics 15th Anniversary Edition." (It's impossible to know what tomorrow might bring, though.) [<Lyssa's comment> Here's hoping it brings more innovation from one of roleplaying's greatest minds.]
Many thanks to Mr. Miller for being such a nice guy to a fan. I hope you found his answers as informative and entertaining as I did. Hey, notice the great fanific leads here? Let's get a couple tales tried out on that Testing and Hands of the Healing Spirit! If you haven't picked up The Odyssey of Gilthanas yet, go get a copy. You'll find some of the greatest gems of short stories, both humorous and dramatic, ever collected for Dragonlance, involving not only Gilthanas, but many new and a few familiar characters, plus insight into the backroad destinations of Ansalon. Steve Miller and his fellow authors Douglas Niles and Stan! have created a wonderfully deep resource for roleplayers and readers alike. A little note from Lyssa on some of the criticisms of Odyssey: I've seen some people knocking this book quite unfairly for Gilthanas and Silvara not getting together at the end. You need to remember that their reunion is covered in Jean Rabe's Dragons of a New Age trilogy. These stories take place before that, in the years between Gilthanas' escape from imprisonment in Silvanesti and his being captured to be thrown in Khellendros' dungeon. The book is not a novel about Gilthanas finding Silvara, it's a collection of stories that take place around him as he journeys in search of her. Gilthanas' wanderings are the common thread for these short stories, but it was never meant to be taken as a novel or cover aspects of the Dragonlance storyline that have been covered by other authors. Such criticisms of Odyssey come from a misunderstanding that was never perpetrated by TSR or the authors about the intentions of this book. Some books and sources authored or
contributed to by Steve Miller,
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