Drakensang - Collector's Edition Update

The official PR on the German CE has arrived. dtp / Anaconda nailed that one. They´re showing other publishers what can be done for a mere 10 EUR more.
The Drakensang: The Dark Eye CE (see pic on Amazon.de) includes:

• Dragon Skin style box
• Drakensang game DVD
• Sound Track by Dynamedion on CD
• Audio book "The Charlatan" (transl.) on another CD
• Exclusive tin miniature "Lindwormkiller" (Post in the comments thread if you have a better translation. )
• 4th Edition official The Dark Eye rules, to give a taste of the pen & paper RPG
• Leather map of Aventuria
• Not listed but shown on the pic: A certficate "No. nnnn of 10.000"

Quite an impressive list! More information.

Quite a good price for the CE I would say. Especially with that content.
I just hope that the game will be good and of course that it sells well.
I'm personally looking forward to play that game.

Ah, thats finally once more a REAL collectors edition! Reminds me of the grand old days with Maps and books! Quite a big list indeed.

Looks quite like the "Legend" CE (by Master Creating) they did once before. That was impressivem too.

This may be the best CE i have ever seen. Great list. One thing though. Remember when you would get a great map out of the box? Now you have to pay for it.

Yes, times have changed.

Found via the official forum:

Most wanted games on www.Amazon.de :

1. Drakensang (Limited Edition)
2. GTA IV
3. Age of Conan

This is for "all games". On the PC platform it's

1. Drakensang (Limited Edition)
2. Age of Conan
3. Assassin's Creed (Director's Cut)

All in all very nice, especially regarding how few time has passed since the announcement of the CE !

It's pretty cool to get the rule set with the game.

I so hope english speakers will get somthing too.

Yeah…like a release date, for starters.

Exclusive tin miniature "Lindwormkiller" (Post in the comments thread if you have a better translation.)

Dragonslayer.
Lind = land
Worm = wyrm/wurm = western mainland European title for dragon
Killer = slayer

It is important to understand that most early folklore dragons, notably those of the Germanic people (with whom the term "wurm" originated) were not capable of flight, lacking wings. They had more in common with snakes than anything else. Hence, a "land wyrm" is a dragon in the sense of older lore.

Shouldn't it be Lindwormslayer then? "Lindworm" does seem to be the correct term for a wingless bipedal dragon (wikipedia).

Preordered… :-)

Please excuse my ignorance but is the "Lindworm" and the "Tatzelworm" the same beast?

Originally Posted by Arhu
Shouldn't it be Lindwormslayer then? "Lindworm" does seem to be the correct term for a wingless bipedal dragon (wikipedia).

I'm not sure how DSA handles this, but in German, "Lindwurm" is often used interchangeably with "Drachen". Most of the depictions of a "Lindwurm" show wings, although often short. I think the most famous "Lindwurm" ist the one from Klagenfurt:

A "lindwurm" is usually in folklore the same as a dragon … It's just an older wiord. Too old, almost.

In Aventuria, however, a Lindwurm is a rather degenerated dragon. A Tatzelwurm, rather. Because wurm = worm, and a *real* dragon would apparently not liked himself to be called a "worm" …

However, even Lindwurmer and Tatzelwürmer (plural forms) can become quite big and very, very dangerous - almost like *real* dragons.

But only almost.

lint is Old High German and means snake or band.

wurm means snake/worm, too, so

Lindwurm is something like snakesnake, two words in one with the nearly the same meaning.

In old tales a Lindwurm is a dragon with little or no wings.

Yes, I think that this is the most distinguishiong feature: Little to no wings at all. More a worm than a dragon.

Interestingly dragons originate as snakes, probably pythons. Apart from the implausible size, Pliny the Elder's description of dragons is essentially that of a serpent which kills its prey by constriction. All Medieval bestiaries just copied Pliny and added a few embellishments here and there in line with the theology of the era.

Originally Posted by Alrik Fassbauer
…
In Aventuria, however, a Lindwurm is a rather degenerated dragon. A Tatzelwurm, rather. Because wurm = worm, and a *real* dragon would apparently not liked himself to be called a "worm" …

Sorry Al, but depending on what current TDE says (i unfortunately exited P&P with the 3rd) you´re talking relative rubbish here.

There´s almost no dragon creature in Aventuria called a "lindworm".
Tatzelwurm and his equally, if not worse, `smelly´ relative from the swampy terrains, the Grubenwurm (engl. like pit worm) are regressive dragon forms, indeed - but certainly do not fall under the category of lindworms officially AFAIK.

And the only `real´ Aventurian lindworm that immediately comes to my mind is the three-headed Giant Lindworm is as insidious and sneaky, i.e. intelligent as his cousins which bear the `dragon´ attribute in their names - like the Imperial or the Purple Dragon - hence far from anything like "degenerated". Of course it does have wings, too.

All that said under the premise that the latest 4th Edition has not further diversified the bestiary of the dragon-like species, thus possibly introducing more lindworms and classifying those as being degenerated forms of the previously mentioned.


Ragon, an attentive listener to Master Rakoriums lectures