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

 

[Micah Sweet]

This is similar to insisting that the only way to share Shakespeare is by including the exact types of weapons and clothing worn at the time of the specific play -- which would mean West Side Story is a failure.
Or insisting that Jesus Christ Superstar (original 70s film) is bad because of the inclusion of rifles and planes.

Those elements are trivial and don't impact the story. Setting details that aren't story elements don't matter in any other fiction. Why should we insist that non-story point details are important in our version of storyteling?

The difference is, in most adaptations, new versions exist side by side with the originals. In D&D publications, new thing replaces old thing, and old thing is all too often shouted down.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Elistan wasn't a cleric until Goldmoon, though. In fact, he was an adamant heretic, dying of some malady. She healed him, and thus converted him to her teachings. He then went on to become the head of the new church of Paladine.

Yes. I don't see your point.

 

[Ath'kethin]

Yes. I don't see your point.

That's OK.

 

[bedir than]

In D&D publications, new thing replaces old thing

I know exactly where the original Dragonlance setting book and atlas are in my house. I reference them still. I can find them at used bookstores. They're still on DMsGuild.

 

[Velderan]

since you mention spiderman do you remember when the FF were off planet and avengers were away for the whole (few days) of Maximum carnage? not a big deal right... what about the months in story that they got mentioned twice like that during the clone saga? that is hanging a lampshade on it.

how about during batman no mans land when superman shows up for an issue and flash for another just to 'prove' they cant help'?

what about (back to spiderman) the time aunt may was shot and spiderman goes to doc strange gets a spell to go to black panther dr doom reed richards and others just to be told no one can save her... (forget that some of these people could let her die and bring her back, and some have nano tech that could save her and 1 of them has BOTH and would NEVER admit he couldn't try (doom).

so let me ask you:

I'm not familiar with the specific Batman or Aunt May story arc you're pointing out, but at face value on what you've written that sounds like some lazy writing. However you're somehow completely missing my point that these comics have been published at least monthly for over 60 years in some cases and somehow they've come up with things for these characters to do every month despite them existing in a shared universe just like your DM should be able to run an adventure in the Realms without constantly having to explain what Drizzt or Elminster are currently doing. Much like lazy writing ruins comics in example you've provided, bad DMing is the only reason these existing characters become a problem because the DM controls what happens and who you encounter.

 

[AnotherGuy]

Those elements are trivial and don't impact the story. Setting details that aren't story elements don't matter in any other fiction. Why should we insist that non-story point details are important in our version of storyteling?

Indeed, they are trivial.
The companions are also made trivial.
Many things are being made trivial.
Cataclysm, ectoplasm - let's just call it another realm-shaking event and be done with it, better yet Time of Troubles because those were troubling times.
Why bother then with the setting at all is what I'm saying, right? It is our version of storytelling like you said.

A modern take on Shakespeare is just false equivalence.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

I'm not familiar with the specific Batman or Aunt May story arc you're pointing out, but at face value on what you've written that sounds like some lazy writing.

right as soon as things get brought up in a comic discussion the go to argument if it doesn't fit your narrative is "that was bad writing and should not count"

However you're somehow completely missing my point that these comics have been published at least monthly for over 60 years in some cases and somehow they've come up with things for these characters to do every month despite them existing in a shared universe just like your DM should be able to run an adventure in the Realms without constantly having to explain what Drizzt or Elminster are currently doing.

what you are missing is that the writers of the comic have seen (and so have we on these very boards) that the audiance expects an answer... just look at the flack Iron Man 3 gets "The president is kidnapped and Tony Stark is MIA but none of his friends come to help?"

the difference is the audience can not effect the movie or comic book... in an RPG the audience is also the player WHO can directly interact with the story and out of story even directly talk to the 'controller' (writer in movie/comic DM in game) and say "hey, wait, where was elminster?"

Much like lazy writing ruins comics in example you've provided, bad DMing is the only reason these existing characters become a problem because the DM controls what happens and who you encounter.

please I am asking you do not insult DMs you don't know (let alone are not here to defend themselves)

 

[Maxperson]

but what was the reason for no orcs? just cause they didn't show up until then? was there a reason even a theme?

I don't remember if they ever gave a reason for it, but in 1e there are explicitly no orcs on Krynn. 2nd and 3rd edition Krynn supplements backed up no orcs being on Krynn.

For whatever reason the DM wants to come up with, they don't exist.

One author messed up and included a half-orc in his novel, but he could have come from another plane.

 

[Maxperson]

Setting details are the reason the setting even exists. If you strip away the things that make Dragonlance different, what makes the adventure even need to take place there to begin with? You could make the book be a sequel to Rise of Tiamat, pick a random large city in the Realms to set it, and provide the rules for resolving battles. That's selling point enough for people looking for that type of product.

For that matter, I could do the War of the Lance on Toril as well. No need for Dragolance to exist if it's just another kitchen sink setting.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

---

I dare to say a future Dragonlance strategy videogame is totally possible in the future, and if this is a AAA title, then we can guess a complete of writters working in the developing of the military campaign with all the details of the battles. Then the original war of the lance should be retconing to allow more optional stories without the famous heroes of the lance.

I see the pictures for this edition have got a "cosmopolitan" touch, with female characters, and also no-Caucasian humans. I don't say it was wrong, at all, because that is the original spirit of D&D: "we don't mind your origins if you are a good team partner".

* The question I would like to know if if the D&D fandom is willing to allow a WotC's canon about parallel worlds/timelines in the lore of D&D multiverse. These could allow more creative freedom, for example the crusaders ("ki-divine" martial adept class from 3.5 "Tome of Battle") fighint in both sides of the war of the lance... or an alternate story where Raistlin's daughter was born and this help to avoid her father's fall in "the dark side". Or an alternate story where lord Soth is recruited by the chronomancers to stop the invasion in the Krynnspace by the Vodoni empire (a Spelljammer faction).

* The orcs in Krynn could be the mutant offspring of hobgoblings (with a piece of bugbear blood). Then you only use the classic racial traits, but hobgobling subtype instead "orc". Or the hobgoblin shaman tried a reincarnation spell with a fallen champion but the result was not as expected.

* Now I am wondering about the potential social and teological impact of possible missionaries from other "wildspaces" visiting the Krynnspace after the Cataclysm. Maybe the origin of order of the seekers is one of these preachers. Or dragonborns from other wildspaces visiting Krynn to preach faith about Bahamut or Tiamat. Maybe they were successful, but really they didn't arrived to Absalon continent, but they point of arrival was the island of dragons, and they decided to stay there until the end of the war of the lance, because they were warned by divine oracles they could be hunted by arcane spellcasters to gather their essence and like this to "digienvolve" to arcane dragons (tome dragond and hex dragon, something like the cousins of Athas sorcerer-kings).