 The Heroes of the Lance are the protagonists of the Chronicles trilogy , the first series of Dragonlance books . They were created by Weis and Hickman , then fleshed out as player characters in gaming sessions of Dungeons & Dragons at Hickman 's apartment . One player at this initial gaming session was game designer Terry Phillips , who was playing as Raistlin . According to Hickman in the foreword to The Soulforge , " [ we ] were just settling in to the game when I turned to my good friend Terry Phillips and asked what his character was doing . Terry spoke ... and the world of Krynn was forever changed . His rasping voice , his sarcasm and bitterness all masking an arrogance and power that never needed to be stated suddenly were real . Everyone in the room was both transfixed and terrified . To this day Margaret [ Weis ] swears that Terry wore the black robes to the party that night . " 
