Dragonlance DRAGONLANCE LIVES! Unearthed Arcana Explores Heroes of Krynn!

The latest Unearthed Arcana has arrived and the 6-page document contains rules for kender, lunar magic, Knights of Solamnia, and Mages of High Sorcery.

In today’s Unearthed Arcana, we explore character options from the Dragonlance setting. This playtest document presents the kender race, the Lunar Magic sorcerer subclass, the Knight of Solamnia and Mage of High Sorcery backgrounds, and a collection of new feats, all for use in Dungeons & Dragons.

Kender have a (surprisingly magical) ability to pull things out of a bag, and a supernatural taunt feature. This magical ability appears to replace the older 'kleptomania' description -- "Unknown to most mortals, a magical phenomenon surrounds a kender. Spurred by their curiosity and love for trinkets, curios, and keepsakes, a kender’s pouches or pockets will be magically filled with these objects. No one knows where these objects come from, not even the kender. This has led many kender to be mislabeled as thieves when they fish these items out of their pockets."

Lunar Magic is a sorcerer subclass which draws power from the moon(s); there are notes for using it in Eberron.

Also included are feats such as Adepts of the Black, White, and Red Robes, and Knights of the Sword, Rose, and Crown.

News Archive | Dungeons and Dragons

Read the full archives of Dungeons & Dragons news, Sage Advice, Unearthed Arcana, and D&D Studio Blogs.

dnd.wizards.com

 

[darjr]

Big Magnum PI fan (Old and New).

Fan of MacGuyver as well.

Both have had several seasons of successfully being renewed...so I'd say that's a successful reboot. I don't get Paramount+ for Star Trek...I get it for Magnum...

But...back on topic...

I'd go with the things said before by some, WotC if they CHOOSE to reboot Dragonlance (and there is no guarantee of this) I think it most likely they go back to the War of the Lance period (similar to how they went back to a prior period for 4e Darksun) for adventures and such and do a loose scan of the setting (sort of like SCAG did for FR). They don't have to include every race or every class, just some basic ideas and let it run from there (once again, very much like what SCAG did).

OK, I’ll have to check them out!

As per on topic.

I can only say, if you were WotC what would make more sense? Continue Dragonlance from where it left off? Or revisit an older epic?

I don’t actually know what would be a better idea except that i think most folks are not familiar with what’s happened to the setting later on.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I do agree, though, that going back to the War of the Lance is the likely approach.

Whilst far from definitive, the text of the UA suggests otherwise:

To accommodate these classes, the group known as the Wizards of High Sorcery has evolved into the Mages of High Sorcery. The group's distinct orders and signature robes remain, but the organization now accepts members from a broad range of spellcasting traditions.

 

[vecna00]

It took a few days, but I just got through all 47 pages!

I'm really digging this UA, and I'm quite surprised that it's Dragonlance. That's two Tier 2 settings coming back, I did not see this coming.

I really like everything that's here. I initially hated the idea of Solamnic Knights and High Sorcery Wizards being backgrounds until I saw they were bringing back the Strixhaven-style backgrounds. I think they really work these two. I think they toned down the background feats a bit so as to not make them "too overpowered" here. It's not like Strixhaven where you could almost assume that every player will take one of these backgrounds. Here, they probably assume that only a fraction of players will take these backgrounds, I could see most groups may only see 1 or 2 players with these backgrounds. So instead of every High Sorcery Mage getting a free Magic Initiate feat, they shave off a cantrip and see how it goes. I assume that the Squire of Solamnia feat will really only give 2 of the 3 benefits to those who are most likely to take it, but would be pretty fantastic for the non-martial classes who want to add better armor and weapons to their build.

The only missed opportunity I can think of is the lack of a background to go with the Divinely Favored feat. It seems really out of place.

So this means Spelljammer and Dragonlance this year, with possibly one pushed to next year because the world. I'm still holding out hope for my Planescape or Dark Sun (complete with The Feywild! tm), but now I'm starting to think we may get full Forgotten Realms or even Greyhawk. I only say this because Dragonlance throws a monkey wrench into my thought process about them doing all of the Tier 1 settings with Spelljammer for giggles. But with Spelljammer, then Dragonlance, we may get the main three settings connected through spelljamming: Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, and Greyhawk.

Not a direction I would like for them to go, but a direction I could see them going in.

Mind you, this is not counting the setting that will be making a cameo. Unless....Dragonlance is the cameo and is being bundled into a War of the Lance AP. We'll find out this summer!

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Whilst far from definitive, the text of the UA suggests otherwise:

I'm pretty sure that's just them giving a meta explanation for the name change of the faction, not indicating that the faction in-world evolved its name over time, or anything like that. I read it more as a "Hey, we know this thing is different from original Dragonlance, that was on purpose, and we changed it because of how the system has evolved in the past few decades", than a "over decades inside the setting, the Wizards of High Sorcery allowed other types of Mages [Warlocks and Sorcerers] to join the faction, so they had to do some rebranding" thing.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I'm pretty sure that's just them giving a meta explanation for the name change of the faction, not indicating that the faction in-world evolved its name over time, or anything like that. I read it more as a "Hey, we know this thing is different from original Dragonlance, that was on purpose, and we changed it because of how the system has evolved in the past few decades", than a "over decades inside the setting, the Wizards of High Sorcery allowed other types of Mages [Warlocks and Sorcerers] to join the faction, so they had to do some rebranding" thing.

Maybe, but really I see a lot more reason to set it hundreds of years on than back in the WotL. Not much point in doing that unless you are redoing all the modules as well. Which would make for a very big book.


Which is possible, since they mentioned new formats - maybe they are doing a boxed set with several books?

 

[Stefano Rinaldelli]

Here your argument rests on the idea that a trope is a trope is a trope. But if the trope is based on a harmful, racist stereotype, that's not at all the same thing as a harmless one. A scientist trope is not the same as a kleptomaniac race trope, because a scientist reflects what an individual person chooses to do. It does not reflect the negative portrayal of an entire race of people by outsiders.

That's a massive difference. Yes, there are tropes, always have been tropes and always will be tropes. That does not mean all tropes are equivalent. The racist ones should be jettisoned forthwith.

My argument rest on the fact that going fantasy from real is easy. Instead, going real from fantasy must be first contextualized and then proven to be offensive.

The only point of connection between Romani and Kender is the klepto-think. For Romani (real people) is a stereotype. For Kender (fantasy people) is fictionally real. In your idea nobody can write about a race of kleptomaniac? Your approach is to censor a concept just because it let you remember something wrong with a free wheel chain of associations that are driven by similarity, not logic nor causality. This is the magical way of thinking.

Just to clarify to you my concept: If Kender were depicted as Romani in a clear iconographic way THEN the "naturally klepto" thing could be considered wrong, because the writer were clearly saying: "ok Romani people (that I'm not going to call romani but kender), are naturally born kleptomaniac. (Aside from the fact that the stereotype over romani are not "all kleptomaniac", is even worst: "all thieves".

My argument rest on the fact that the mere presence of somebody who could be offended by you doesn't mean that you have to preheventively censor yourself.

 

[Stefano Rinaldelli]

If you can explain why it sounds awful to you, and I find that argument convincing, and I'm the one making decisions about what goes in the game, then yes I'd consider removing it. Wouldn't you?

The problem is that and I find that argument convincing
The world is full of people like you that find a simple similarity between a trope and a stereotype sufficient to be offended. Your argument is not convincing.
But what happens here? Stay close because here's the real problem:
Since is impossible to argue and explain with the mass of people that for a reason or another COULD be irrationally offended by what you are going to write, you act as in "fumus persecutionis" and desist to write something if it COULD BE misinterpreted.
After all you have to sell and don't want to risk money offending some of your customer, isn't it?
And this fear is so strong that you push yourself to betray logic, biology, internal consistency, rules, everything for the fear of offend the irrationally offendible.
Look, I'm not talking about real offensive thinks here. This beaviour do not stop real offenders from being offensive. They WANT to be offensive.
In conclusion I find this horizontal surrender to susceptibility something against intelligence. Something really toxic.
Something that seems like a woman that keep staying silent to avoid slaps by a violent husband.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

The heroes of the lance are maybe the most important hook of the franchise. WotC worries more about to sell toys of Tanis and Laurana or skins in Fortnite than publishing new novels.

And let's rembember our tabletop game is modular. The DM is who choose how is going to be. If we want, the dwarfs and minotaurs can be knight of Solamnia, for example, and the tinker gnomes can create their own steampunk mechas or exosuits.

The kenders from Taladas are very different psicollogically, even maybe the opposite, and there the machines by the tinker gnomes really work. Maybe there are fire genasis near of the volcanic zones in Taladas.

The yaggols (mind-slayers from Krynn) even without their classic psionic powers could be a great potential to create new stories. Maybe one of them discover the incarnum powers, creating a kaiju-cult like the Thoon. They are perfect if you want to add some little Lovecraftian touch in Dragonlance. Maybe a mad wizard hunts them and with experiments he creates a new mind-controlling parasite (like "Ganado" in Resident Evil 4).

If Takishis isn't so powerful after the soul war, she could be cursed and become the dark lady of a dread domain.

I imagine Atlatum, the third and unknown continent like a mixture of Atlatis, high elves from Warhammer, and current wuxia animation with jumping-over-tree fighters.

Zivilyn, the "planet" in the Krynnspace offers a great potential about "tomb-raider" adventures. Maybe it is the secret place of chronomancers and time-travelers, because a world doomed to the cataclysm can't be altered accidentally by visitors from the future. Even the old civilitation could "survive" in the "dream land", like a theme park created by the collective memory, but maybe this "demiplane" could be "tainted" by visitors and settlers creating a bizarre mash-up.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

The heroes of the lance are maybe the most important hook of the franchise. WotC worries more about to sell toys of Tanis and Laurana or skins in Fortnite than publishing new novels.

The people who are old enough to recognise the Heroes of the Lance are too old to play Fortnite.

And if WotC do return to the WotL period the heroes are sure to get a cosmetic makeover, losing the First Nation stylings and push-up underwear and gaining pants.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

But the older generation can buy those new products as gift for the youngers to pass on the hobby. Older is Star Trek and there is a Enterprise spaceship by Playmobil. Michael Bay's Transformer movies weren't produced for the old generation but the new audences.