Greetings, I have only read a couple dragonlance books in the fantasy section. I am looking for another one to read, but don't want to read more dragonlance, as I have found most of them are about epic wars. I am wondering if there is a fantasy book out there that just has a band of heroes out on a simple quest (not to save the world), but say to find say an ancient item hidden somewhere in the world, and the story is just about them traveling through forests, mountains, deserts, etc to find & retrieve this said object for someone.

Cheers, pdm

The Hobbit by Tolkien, of course.

It's not quite what you're looking for, but maybe the Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser series by Fritz Leiber?  It's 2 male anti-heroes (and in some of the stories, girlfriends/wives are involved) wandering about the country doing thievery, mercenary work, and the occasional normal job.  Most of the tales are set in or near the town of Lankhmar, but there's a fair bit of traveling as well, depending on the story.  There's 6 or 7 books, as I recall, and most of them are collections of novellas rather than a full length novel.  I've read the first 2 and quite enjoyed them.

I'll try to think of some others, but most of that type of novel that I can think of has something of quests to save the world/nation/kingdom even if there isn't a war.

I really love Graceling and Fire by Kristin Cashore.  Both are in the same world, but Fire takes place in another country.  There's eventually going to be a 3rd book called Bitterblue, a continuation of the characters from Graceling.

These are books about saving a kingdom, but its more the story of the relationship of the characters.  Also, I'm a girl, and these have female protagonists, so that may not be what you're looking for.

I second the Leiber suggestion.  Fafhrd & the Gray Mouser are all about simple quests -- usually for personal gain.  I would also strongly recommend The Eyes of the Overworld and its sequel Cugel's Saga by Jack Vance.  It's not a group quest, but a very entertaining tale in which the scoundrel Cugel is forced to traverse the exotic, fantastic landscapes of the Dying Earth to retrieve a treasure for a vengeful wizard.

I recommend the Mode series by Piers anthony, and also Tad Williams Otherland series.  I've also enjoyed the Firekeeper series by Jane Lindskold, and an interesting colonial america style series is the Hatrack River series by Orson Scott Card...

If you meant in the dragonlance series, sorry for the confusion.

I know the perfect book for you Paul.  It is called The Book of Knights by Yves Meynard and it is a fantastic novel about a young man's trials in his quest to become a true knight.  It has been out of print for some time so it is a pain to find, but it is completely worth it.

I also suggest looking at Le Guin's Earthsea books or Valente's Orphan's Tales books.