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.

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[darjr]

So if, as it seems on reading, backgrounds give proficiencies instead of class, and the Squire of Solamnia only grants medium armour how is the Knight of Solamna/Fighter meant to gain Heavy Armour Proficiency?

I think class still gives you proficiencies. I didn't see anything that takes that away. Did I miss it?

 

[Parmandur]

The original module did mention using characters other than the standard heroes, if my memory isn't playing tricks on me. But Goldmoon is a whacking great plot McGuffin, and the only source of magical healing by design. There was a reason most of the original heroes where fighters. You start messing that and it doesn't just change the story, it changes encounter balance. The if new Heroes of the Lance are an artificer, a druid a 5e paladin, and Notsalin the emo warlock it would go very differently.

Well, if they are going there, I reckon there will be some rewriting involved.

 

[Dire Bare]

The original module did mention using characters other than the standard heroes, if my memory isn't playing tricks on me. But Goldmoon is a whacking great plot McGuffin, and the only source of magical healing by design. There was a reason most of the original heroes where fighters. You start messing that and it doesn't just change the story, it changes encounter balance. The if new Heroes of the Lance are an artificer, a druid a 5e paladin, and Notsalin the emo warlock it would go very differently.

Nah. The Heroes of the Lance included a cleric and a wizard. It was a pretty typical D&D adventuring party.

 

[Mordhau]

I think class still gives you proficiencies. I didn't see anything that takes that away. Did I miss it?

The backgrounds look like class write-ups that's all.

Plus I was trying to work out why the Squire of Solamnia feat was really bad, and under the current rules most appealing to those characters that don't get medium armour and martial weapons - like say Wizards.

 

[humble minion]

This line of discussion is very enlightening. Thanks. I’d love more info along these lines.

Looking at the 3e version of the original adventures (which i believe are fairly faithful system ports of the originals), it very much assumes you're playing the Heroes of the Lance, but it leaves space for using your original characters by having 'roles'. The start of each module lists a number of dramatic/narrative roles that should be filled to make the story work. One of these roles is 'the prophet', which is the gig Goldmoon had in the books. While no character can start the game with divine spellcasting abilities (you can play a cleric/paladin, you just don't get spells until the plot hurdles are cleared), the 'prophet' is basically a substitute for that. This character starts with the Blue Crystal Staff, which basically has enough healing ability to fill in more than adequately for a 5th-ish level cleric so the game isn't unplayably difficult to start.

However, this is a 3e interpretation of the original modules, and the game has changed a lot since then and even more since the originals. The module starts with PCs at 5th level, but in 5e the power difference between a spell-less cleric and a martial character is probably a lot wider than it was when the modules were new. Hell, back in the 1980s heyday of DL, a 5th level cleric only had a handful of spells per day plus turn undead, then they were wading in with a mace. 5e clerics have infinite cantrips to throw about, just for starters, and usually a channel divinity ability that is more frequently applicable than turn undead was (and in the case of Radiance of the Dawn, is quite possibly the party's single biggest combat button). And the power curve of other classes has increased in line with that. Take the spells and divine abilities away from a 5e cleric and they're a pretty sad panda. And the hit point pools of minor enemies have increased in line. In general, martial characters aren't taking even goblins, hobgoblins, minion guards etc down in one blow any more (unless they are pouring smites or other special abilities etc in), and bounded accuracy makes it more likely they'll get hit in return. A 5e combat against large number of weak enemies can be pretty scary for a martial-heavy (or spell-less cleric) party that doesn't have a decent area effect or two handy.

And of course in 5e you can have a load of healing in the party without having a cleric (or paladin, or even ranger) at all. A bard who knows Cure Wounds, an alchemist artificer, a celestial pact warlock, that monk subclass that wears the plague doctor mask, I've forgotten its name. The power dynamic of the D&D system has changed a lot. The narrative of the first module is all about getting divine magic back. But 5e doesn't even really have a concept of 'divine' magic that's separate from any other type of magic.

 

[Mordhau]

There is also, in Dragonlance, notably only one kind of arcane magic. Sorcerer's and bards with high amounts of magic don't really fit.

 

[humble minion]

Nah. The Heroes of the Lance included a cleric and a wizard. It was a pretty typical D&D adventuring party.

One cleric, who only had any powers to start with because of her McGuffin. One wizard. One rogue. And then Tanis, Riverwind, Caramon, Sturm, and later on Gilthanas and Tika who were all martial characters. It had all the bases covered to a minimal degree, but a typical balanced tabletop party it was not.

 

[Mordhau]

One cleric, who only had any powers to start with because of her McGuffin. One wizard. One rogue. And then Tanis, Riverwind, Caramon, Sturm, and later on Gilthanas and Tika who were all martial characters. It had all the bases covered to a minimal degree, but a typical balanced tabletop party it was not.

That actually seems to me fairly typically balanced for the time.

 

[humble minion]

That actually seems to me fairly typically balanced for the time.

To be fair, this was all happening nearly 15 years before I played my first actual game, so I can't speak from first-hand experience!

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

If I was to play a War of the Lance era DragonLance game, I'd use the rules of Adventure in Middle-Earth and this latest UA + Wizard using the Lunar sorcerer as 3 distinct archetypes + Sorcerer (Chaos, Divine and Draconic, at least).

Sturm -> Human Fighter (Knight), Knight of Solamnia background, Feat Inspiring Leader
Tanis -> Half-Elf Wanderer (PHB Hunter), Wanderer background (Heroic Gift: Lifelong Companion)
Caramon -> Human Fighter (Battlemaster), Mercenary veteran background (Heroic Gift: Unscarred)
Raistlin -> Human Wizard (Red Order), Wizard of High Sorcery background, (Heroic Gift: Echoing Soul)
Goldmoon -> Human Sorcerer (Divine Origin), Far traveler, (Heroic Gift: Oracle)
Flint -> Dwarf Slayer, Clan Crafter background, Feat: Tough
Tass -> Kender Seeker (Burglar)

etc