WotC Dragonlance: Everything You Need For Shadow of the Dragon Queen

WotC has shared a video explaining the Dragonlance setting, and what to expect when it is released in December.

World at War: Introduces war as a genre of play to fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons.

Dragonlance: Introduces the Dragonlance setting with a focus on the War of the Lance and an overview of what players and DMs need to run adventures during this world spanning conflict.

Heroes of War: Provides character creation rules highlighting core elements of the Dragonlance setting, including the kender race and new backgrounds for the Knight of Solamnia and Mage of High Sorcery magic-users. Also introduces the Lunar Sorcery sorcerer subclass with new spells that bind your character to Krynn's three mystical moons and imbues you with lunar magic.

Villains: Pits heroes against the infamous death knight Lord Soth and his army of draconians.

Notes --

• 224 page hardcover adventure
• D&D's setting for war
• Set in eastern Solamnia
• War is represented by context -- it's not goblins attacking the village, but evil forces; refugees, rumours
• You can play anything from D&D - clerics included, although many classic D&D elements have been forgotten
• Introductory scenarios bring you up to speed on the world so no prior research needed

 

[Parmandur]

This just seems like the sort of big-picture stuff that frankly I think is well beyond the logistical capabilities and focus and general coordination/editorial chops of WotC's designers based on recent offerings. But I would be happy to be proven wrong here.

They couldn't even follow their own travel times in Chapter One of Rime of the Frostmaiden when designing Chapter Four of the same book.

There is a level of "right hand knowing what the left hand is doing" required to actually integrate this that I'm not saying is impossible, but it would surprise me to see them actually successfully do it.

I mean, whether it is good or not is open to question and taste, but doubting that they will try seems a strange hill to die on.

 

[Ath'kethin]

I thought the original Dragonlance module called out Druids as being aliens from beyond Krynn, later on they were all declared to be Clerics of Chislev
Paladin = Knights of Solamnia - hopefully thats the default

As I recall (from one of the books across several interpretations), there weren't druids technically, but priests of Chislev came very close. Similarly no paladins, though some Knights of Solamnia came very close.

It always annoyed me, though, that the game mechanics differed so greatly from the fiction in many ways. It doesn't bother me anymore, but when I was 12 or 13 the major differences between how the rules said what, say, Knights of the Sword could do and what Knights of the Sword actually did in the books drove me up the wall.

 

[Dire Bare]

Am I the only person who thinks stopping play mid-session to setup a board game sounds like an awful idea?

What makes you think that will be how WotC suggest you use the products?

Seems more likely, if you want to use both, you alternate sessions. Have an RP session, then next week, a mass-battle session. But either way, you won't need the mass-battle board game to run the hardcover adventure, integrating them is optional.

 

[Burnside]

Curious how they'll handle adding in classes to the setting that didn't exist before, at least as far as I'm aware:

Artificer
Bard
Druid
Monk
Paladin
Ranger
Sorcerer
Warlock

Far as I know, none of these classes had a prominent NPC that I can recall. Friend of mine said one of the novels did have a Monk from a far off land. I can see these classes coming from "Beyond Ansalon" continent. It was always "Wizard" when it came to magic, not sure where Sorcerers fit in. Are they just treated the same albeit different methods of using arcane magic? Same with Warlock, which I'm guessing would probably be those outcast kind of magic users.

Were there any Druids? I can't recall. I've read a lot of Dragonlance novels back then and the only classes I ever saw represented were Barbarian, Fighter, Cleric, Thief (Rogue), and Wizard. Heck I don't even know if Psionics exist in Krynn.

There actually is a druid in the original modules. I forget his name. The character did not appear in the novels.

 

[Libertad]

Why not hobgoblings or half-ogres? The role of the orcs in Dragonlance has been replaced with the Ithin’carthians/Tarmaks, savege people from a far zone of islands.

And Dragonlance is the best setting to play with the idea of chronomancers and alternate timelines.

Why not the ursines as PC race?

Will we see any retcon of the Krynnspace?

Hobgoblins were involved in the War of the Lance, predominantly from the nation of Throt which bordered Solamnia's east. Unlike goblins, they were much less spread-out and most of them hailed from that nation. There were also non-evil goblinoids in Northern Ergoth part of the nation of Sikk'et Hul. In the 3e War of the Lance sourcebook, Takhisis' clerics attempted to make inroads with them during that conflict, but I can't find much about the results.

Hobgoblins in Dragonlance aren't as well-developed as draconians, although they still have a similar role as being the "organized, militaristic goblinoids" like they are in other settings. According to Races of Ansalon, they became much more widespread as a result of the War of the Lance, and many of their soldiers defected en masse to Sikk'et Hul.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

It always annoyed me, though, that the game mechanics differed so greatly from the fiction in many ways. It doesn't bother me anymore, but when I was 12 or 13 the major differences between how the rules said what, say, Knights of the Sword could do and what Knights of the Sword actually did in the books drove me up the wall.

I've never gotten around to the novels; how did the Knight capabilities differ from the game sourcebooks?

 

[GMforPowergamers]

I mean they're not on that continent when the adventure starts, so not sure why it matters if they exist.

I can't speak for everyone, but I don't want novel heroes running next to my PC.

 

[Velderan]

What makes you think that will be how WotC suggest you use the products?

Seems more likely, if you want to use both, you alternate sessions. Have an RP session, then next week, a mass-battle session. But either way, you won't need the mass-battle board game to run the hardcover adventure, integrating them is optional.

Because they specifically said you can use the board game to resolve battles in the adventure book? It's not required, but if you chose to use the board game you'll have to switch games when you get to the designated point in the adventure which wouldn't always line up perfectly with the start of a new session.

 

[Velderan]

I can't speak for everyone, but I don't want novel heroes running next to my PC.

From what they've said, that won't be an issue. The adventure in the book is set in Kalaman in northeastern Solamnia while the companions would be in Abanasinia far away at that time.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

From what they've said, that won't be an issue. The adventure in the book is set in Kalaman in northeastern Solamnia while the companions would be in Abanasinia far away at that time.

and I said that already... as my guess as to how they are doing it based on what they said... then someone else said they have to kill the book characters 1st scene and I just said I would prefer they just not exsisit.