Flint Fireforge | DragonLance Saga

His family background affected the way he treated other races, but when it came to children or friends, he would go the distance. Let’s take a closer look at Flint Fireforge. Buy the Art of the Dragonlance Saga: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/...

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Transcript
I’ll be damned if I am still not feeling his loss as I write this.
Intro
Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to talk about Flint Fireforge. I would like to take a moment and thank the members of this channel, and invite you to consider becoming a member by visiting the link in the description below. You can even pick up Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate link. I am referencing The Art of the Dragonlance Saga, Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home and the Chronicles for this information. If I leave anything out or misspeak, please leave a comment below.
Discussion
Most of Flint Fireforge’s design came out of Harold Johnson. Flint was intended to be a Falsttaffian dwarf, being fat, jolly, and debauched, but the further they delved into his character they realized that he may be gruff, cynical, distrustful, dwarvishly greedy, and never forgets an insult, but at the same time he is extremely loyal, a little bashful (especially around women), humorous, and capable of deep and lasting friendship. Even his flaws and phobias were a gift from Johnson’s personal traits: Fear of water and avoidance of boats, and his allergies to horses. This brought a fair amount of irony up between the artists and writers, as Flint is portrayed with a horse hair helm, so in the story he refuses to admit it’s anything other than a Griffon’s mane, even though griffons don’t have manes!

As anyone who has ever known a grumpy, curmudgeon, once they warm to you, the grumbling slowly ceases and genuine affection takes its place. Flint was set out to be a grandfatherly figure, and though he did always take a paternal role over his companions, they saw him as a wise counselor and friend more than anything else. He was never shy about standing up for what was right, and the minority, even if he was grumbling about doing so. He has a strong sense of justice and fair play, but he isn’t above giving a tongue lashing if necessary. His relationship with Tas was truly wonderful. Going from being supremely annoyed with the creature to genuinely loving him as a friend and waiting for him after death at Reorx’s Forge, much to Reorx’s chagrin. But before we end with his death, let’s talk about his life.

Much like anyone in life, Flint is the product of his environment. His socio-political views are informed by his geography and culture. His grandfather, Reghar Fireforge, was Thane to the Niedar dwarves before the Cataclysm, and when the mountain fell on Krynn and Thorbardin shut its doors, the Neidar went to war with them. Reghar’s only surviving son, Durgar Fireforge, fostered an incredible hatred for the mountain dwarves, and would instill that hatred into his fourteen children, including Flint. The family heart defect that took Durgar’s life when he was middle-aged, came from his own mother. This was passed to his children, and would be the foreshadowed end to Flint until he entered Godshome. His hatred for the mountain dwarves was a taught bigotry, not an earned hatred until later in his life, and this speaks to the core of bigotry in Dragonlance as much as our own world. It is rarely an earned feeling, but rather a learned one. This makes it even more insidious as there is no reason one should feel it, only their desired connection to those who do. Hate by association. It’s pathetic, but it makes the Dragonlance world feel relatable.

Flint’s disdain for the Aghar was an earned one, as he was captured when investigating why his homeland was trading with the Thiewar Dwarves, and thrown into a pit to die, only to be captured by the Aghar and made their king. They dubbed him King Flunk II, and Flint has hated them ever since. The truth is that Flint used them during the Battle of Hillhome. Having a reason for why characters act a specific way is essential. It’s too easy to say well he hates elves because he’s a dwarf. Yes, but why does HE hate them? Of course this brings up the relationship between Flint and the Qualinesti Elves...