Most things sputter out and Dragonlance wasn't Dragonlance anymore anyhow.
In fact, Dragonlance holds the dubious honor of being the most story-raped RPG setting, with multiple game paradigm shifting events changing the flavour of what it actually meant to play a DL campaign significantly. While the Realms endured this, too, they weren't as deeply affected from a rules
and background perspective.
This is actually an interesting topic and deserves some further analysis:
Most designers would agree,
to keep things fresh, you gotta introduce some change from time to time. While I don't personally agree and while there's franchises who are just fine without it (for instance
Lord o.t. Rings), within the particular strategy of TSR/WOTC it made some sense.
Dragonlance had many loyal fans, attested by the absurd amount of third rate novels being produced. So how would you tap into their wallets?
Since FR and later Eberron was the main supplement focus, DL became an experimental platform. The bizarre shakeups were nostalgically connected by introducing second or third generation family of the Heroes of the Lance who suffered through these idiotic setting changes and twists. Surely the
suckers fans could buy at least a couple of additional supplements, which then didn't appear or were very subpar to begin with. But then the nostalgic value gets diminished through shamelessly pimping out the abused setting.
Oh wait, we'll just do another shakeup, this time we'll get it right!This was all before the era of the brazen reboot. Now the optimal solution to the milking problem of nostalgic hearts is better understood. And if done correctly, it also introduces new fans!
The problem with Krynn is that it really has one epic story to tell and its already been told.
Thats not to say there are not still stories that you can tell in Krynn but none of them is going to be as epic as the War of the Lance.
There is something to this and I've met countless people telling me the exact same thing over the gaming table. TSR/WOTC/HASBRO probably was aware of the sentiment.
It's simply a fuckup by the designers, because the campaign source material (both the '87 and '92 books, which were ok but certainly not great) did a piss-poor job of introducing an exciting post war situation. In fact, why even end post-war?
The real gem was the Taladas box from 89. (btw this is a big recommendation to check it out. If you're in need for a cool standard-ish setting that supports lots of playstyles, this is it!) And if the designers had any sense, they would have simply switched continents and continue the war. But we don't have guys who understand both game design, story design and sales.
I don't know how this reboot will take place. There's multiple angles from which to approach it and there worst would be a straight rewrite, complete with a more inclusive cast and stronker womb-men.
Reboot v2 would entail a retelling with different twists. The story would branch off immediately and permanently kill off a character or two to make it clear.
The best thing would be a parallel story of a new group losely in contact with the Lance Heroes (maybe underlings), focusing on what came after the war and fleshing out a chessboard of interesting, war torn regions. The whole religious angle of gods coming in and heading off away again and again should be dropped like the foul smelling potato it always was.