Authors Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis, co-creators of the popular Dragonlance Chronicles, filed a lawsuit against last week against Dungeons and Dragons publisher Wizards of the Coast. The pair alleges that Wizards breached a contract revolving around the publication of a new Dragonlance trilogy.
The original Dragonlance trilogy, known as the Dragonlance Chronicles, were published by D&D original publisher TSR in the 1980s. The novels took place in the high fantasy world of Krynn, which became a popular campaign setting for D&D fans throughout the rest of the decade.
According to court documents filed in the United States District Court on Oct. 16, Wizards approached Hickman and Weis in 2017 with an offer to write a new series of Dragonlance novels. Shortly after, the two parties negotiated a licensing agreement that included the publication of three new Dragonlance novels.
The manuscript for the first book, titled Dragons of Deceit, was already completed and approved before the suit was filed. According to the suit, a draft for a second book was also completed, but the novel was never finished after Wizards told Hickman and Weis that they would not approve additional drafts. The pair alleges that this constituted a breach of contract.
“When challenged about the grounds for such termination,” the suit states that the Wizards “responded with the nonsensical statement, ‘We are not moving toward breach, but we will not approve any further drafts.’”
The suit alleges that the termination of the remaining two novels has nothing to do with Weis and Hickman’s work, and that Wizards only wanted to leave the book deal after they were hit by an embarrassing PR scandal in early 2020 revolving around accusations of workplace misogyny and racism.
Hickman and Weis are seeking more than $10 million in damages.
Source: Comicbook