Layonara began as a campaign setting for Dungeons and Dragons created by Dan Scott (known on the web as Leanthar) in 1986. When it was first created, Layonara was a setting for pencil and paper Dungeons and Dragons campaigns. Since then, Layonara has garnered a large fanbase, especially with its move online with the Neverwinter Nights persistent world Layonara Online (often referred to as Layonara, or even just "Layo.") It uses both expansion packs for Neverwinter Nights.