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

 

[Haplo781]

I think the "war" theme is gonna end up being one of those ideas that gets over-pushed and over-hyped in marketing, and in the adventure itself the war will be completely in the background with no player-facing way to mechanically engage with it. (Not that I'd really want to, anyway.)

"Buy our wargame out next month!"

 

[Velderan]

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.

And I asked why it mattered if they existed far away. We've come full circle. lol

Do you need Drizzt and Elminster to not exist before you can play in the Realms?

 

[GMforPowergamers]

And I asked why it mattered if they existed far away. We've come full circle. lol

Do you need Drizzt and Elminster to not exist before you can play in the Realms?

Yes... that is why I don't play in the realms. Everything I dislike about DL heroes being in the war at the same time is multiplied by 500 for the realms... I often on here (and in my home game) call it the JLM (Justice League Midnight)

Edit: Playing Mutants and Masterminds in DC universe is great if you are street level... Go to atlanta GA and stop street level crime... but you can't level up to stopping the president from being kidnapped becuse "Why doesn't clark kent or lois lane kent know this is going on, and if they do where is the JLA, let alone going to save the planet form an alien invasion...
Now you can be a small part of a big cross over, but after a while it gets old to be doing things that you know if you do them or not they don't matter if the JLA fail you all lose, and if you fail and the JLA doesn't they can come clean up your mess... I don't like book canon to interact with setting.

 

[fluffybunbunkittens]

On the dragonborn front, people seem to be running drow in their PC parties already, so comparatively, draconian PCs should be a piece of cake to accept.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

On the dragonborn front, people seem to be running drow in their PC parties already, so comparatively, draconian PCs should be a piece of cake to accept.

back in 2e I played a chaotic Neutral (with good tendices) drow wizard who ran from Drow cities to avoid being treated as a slave and subdrow... and I remember having other players and dms gasp when I told them "you can't play a drow"

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Yes... that is why I don't play in the realms. Everything I dislike about DL heroes being in the war at the same time is multiplied by 500 for the realms... I often on here (and in my home game) call it the JLM (Justice League Midnight)

Edit: Playing Mutants and Masterminds in DC universe is great if you are street level... Go to atlanta GA and stop street level crime... but you can't level up to stopping the president from being kidnapped becuse "Why doesn't clark kent or lois lane kent know this is going on, and if they do where is the JLA, let alone going to save the planet form an alien invasion...
Now you can be a small part of a big cross over, but after a while it gets old to be doing things that you know if you do them or not they don't matter if the JLA fail you all lose, and if you fail and the JLA doesn't they can come clean up your mess... I don't like book canon to interact with setting.

The Dragonlance Heroes are level 1 nobodies at the same point this adventure is taking place you know?

And they have no power or influence because they near the opposite side of the continent. What you are basically saying is never play in any established setting.

Also I love M and M in the DC universe, and having the actual heroes around is cool, and they also have same problem of not being able to be everywhere at once.

 

[Velderan]

Yes... that is why I don't play in the realms. Everything I dislike about DL heroes being in the war at the same time is multiplied by 500 for the realms... I often on here (and in my home game) call it the JLM (Justice League Midnight)

Edit: Playing Mutants and Masterminds in DC universe is great if you are street level... Go to atlanta GA and stop street level crime... but you can't level up to stopping the president from being kidnapped becuse "Why doesn't clark kent or lois lane kent know this is going on, and if they do where is the JLA, let alone going to save the planet form an alien invasion...
Now you can be a small part of a big cross over, but after a while it gets old to be doing things that you know if you do them or not they don't matter if the JLA fail you all lose, and if you fail and the JLA doesn't they can come clean up your mess... I don't like book canon to interact with setting.

Since you mentioned superheroes, I used to play the TSR Marvel Superheroes RPG years ago and the same logic in actual comic books applied to the game; Spiderman can't be everywhere so there's plenty for your made-up hero to do in NYC.

It really just sounds like established setting aren't your thing or you've had some pretty piss-poor GMs running games in them.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

The Dragonlance Heroes are level 1 nobodies at the same point this adventure is taking place you know?

I am no expert, but I read the first two triloogies and played in 2e in the setting, and even I know that Raistlin has already taken the test of the tower so he is at least 5th level... but yes that is 500x better then the FR and the god NPCs...

And they have no power or influence because they near the opposite side of the continent.

did you miss the part where I already said that?

What you are basically saying is never play in any established setting.

I play in greyhawk, I play in ebberon, I play in dark sun, I play in mystara, I play in Dragon lance, I play in the scared lands, I play in spell jammer multi times... but yeah my preference is homebrew... but I hate FR with a passion. None of the setting have the number of novels the realms do and the few that have stories at all don't count them as 100% canon like the realms setting.

Also I love M and M in the DC universe, and having the actual heroes around is cool, and they also have same problem of not being able to be everywhere at once.

and thats fine, go read what I wrote, as long as the stakes stay low it's great.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Since you mentioned superheroes, I used to play the TSR Marvel Superheroes RPG years ago and the same logic in actual comic books applied to the game; Spiderman can't be everywhere so there's plenty for your made-up hero to do in NYC.

It really just sounds like established setting aren't your thing or you've had some pretty piss-poor GMs running games in them.

spiderman is a local street level hero... try again and read what I wrote about the super hero gods of the JLA (maybe less powerful then Elmunchkin...) my issue (and see last post I play in plenty of them) isn't 'established settings' it's settings that have too many heroes already or ones that are expected to do all the heavy lifting...

 

[Velderan]

spiderman is a local street level hero... try again and read what I wrote about the super hero gods of the JLA (maybe less powerful then Elmunchkin...) my issue (and see last post I play in plenty of them) isn't 'established settings' it's settings that have too many heroes already or ones that are expected to do all the heavy lifting...

See my previous post about piss-poor GMing. If your group doesn't feel like what they do matters, that's 100% on the GM.