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

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I think it's important to stress the rules part of the conversation here. Because a lot of the Dragonlance worldbuilding was shaped, not by any deep abiding lore, but by the mechanics of the game at the time. Dwarven wizards didn't exist in Krynn because they didn't exist in D&D back then, for example. The rules of the game have changed, so it's not that big a deal for me that Krynn will change as a result.

People seem to forget that early on the were rules were in flux. For example, early on druids appeared, and then they were ruled out by the hardback setting book.

I'm an older demographic and I'm feeling pretty darn appeased by Dragonlance's return, period. Orcs, no orcs, tieflings in, tieflings out, tinker gnome red wizards, whatever. I'm not going to kvetch about little changes to make it feel more modern. Everything I've seen so far feels like Dragonlance to me, and that's what's important.

Setting continuity. Setting loyalty. WotC appeasing its older demographic.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

I think it's important to stress the rules part of the conversation here. Because a lot of the Dragonlance worldbuilding was shaped, not by any deep abiding lore, but by the mechanics of the game at the time. Dwarven wizards didn't exist in Krynn because they didn't exist in D&D back then, for example.

funny thing that was one of the first house rules my group made (not dwarf/wizard per say but using that as an example) and it was any race could be any class as long as you met other prereqs but you would be rare... and in our written rule it literally listed Dwarf Wizard as the example... and as such in my 3rd campaign as a DM I had a pale skinned dwarf king who was an archmage.

now i say all that to add when we played DL we DIDN'T use these house rules in the 90's, but when we went back to it in 4e we sure did (and it wasn't really a house rule all racists limits were removed by then) and We had someone pitch a swordmage as an axemage dwarf for our campaign. (we also had a deva warlock)

 

[Velderan]

And IMO they should have done that.

I would have preferred something closer to the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide as an introduction to Dragonlance for 5e product but alas here we are.

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?

Because most people buy campaign settings to fill in all those details so they don't have to? Did this conversation come up when Descent into Avernus was released, except why are there devils and demons when there could be different types of elementals instead? The established lore about Avernus was used and I don't recall there being a big issue with it. If you're not interested in playing a campaign setting that involves devils and demons, at the risk of being accused of gatekeeping, I'd suggest Descent into Avernus wouldn't be the campaign to play.

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"

It's actually the exact opposite, bad comic writing is a good example of what I'm talking about. I just mentioned those because I couldn't comment on specifics of those storylines since you presented them as bad examples of shared universe writing. I reiterated it at the bottom of my post by comparing it to bad DMing because both are forms of creative storytelling.

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?"

And if the group is near where he lives, they could make a sidequest to go seek his help and the DM can decide how to handle that interaction if at all. Maybe he's recovering from a task he just returned from, maybe he has some items to help them, or maybe he's just not home and the party can wonder what else is going on that could be more important than what they're currently doing while the DM provides an encounter to get them back on track for what was happening before they decided to seek out Elminster. It depends entirely on the relative power level of the party and the campaign being run.

 

[Velderan]

Because a lot of the Dragonlance worldbuilding was shaped, not by any deep abiding lore, but by the mechanics of the game at the time. Dwarven wizards didn't exist in Krynn because they didn't exist in D&D back then, for example.

There were the Theiwar for dwarves that could use magic. The fact they were the only dwarves known to do so added some emphasis to them as being special imo.

The Art of Dragonlance book explains the creation of kender and one of the first quotes was regarding halflings was "too Tolkien" which makes me wonder if part of the design approach was trying to distance D&D from things that had previously caused them legal troubles.

 

[Dire Bare]

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

World building by subtraction. My least favorite way for someone to build a setting.

This world is totally different because there are no orcs or drow.

I love Dragonlance, but these elements are as @bedir than states, trivial. Adding in orcs or drow does not break Dragonlance, or even really impact the setting in any major way.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

And if the group is near where he lives, they could make a sidequest to go seek his help and the DM can decide how to handle that interaction if at all. Maybe he's recovering from a task he just returned from, maybe he has some items to help them, or maybe he's just not home and the party can wonder what else is going on that could be more important than what they're currently doing while the DM provides an encounter to get them back on track for what was happening before they decided to seek out Elminster. It depends entirely on the relative power level of the party and the campaign being run.

and you know what makes it way better... not to have a god level NPC (or 10) walking around your setting. (in my example it was symbul not even elminster but same thing)

The novels can have god powered elminster, but imagine a setting box/book that stated him as a 8th level lore bard (keeping him as both arcane and divine and martial abilities) and said his long life was a mystic boon, and he was a chosen that had silver fire and some immunities... he could STILL be the sage, he could still be a fun NPC... but even 1st level PCs aren't looking to him to solo a fight.

Now the 'down side' is how does he keep manssoon in check with mansoon being a 30th level wizard (number pulled from butt not looking him up) or the 9 red wizard archmages... simple we lower them a bit (not as much not 8th level) into the mid teens and say that they get apposed not by a single 30th level archmage, but by his cunning plans and use of adventurers (hey like the players)

doing it this way also allows each edition to just start over from scratch to make the setting fit the edition instead of blowing it up with a realms shattering event...

"Why are dragonbonr in 4e and 5e when they were not in 2e and 3e?"
because we restarted and reimagined the setting slightly each time.

 

[Micah Sweet]

---

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).

If they are explicit about this being a different Dragonlance, and the original is still out there, that would be better. I was fine with the Star Trek reboot in 2009, even though I didn't personally care for it, because the Prime reality still existed and they kept making more story set there.

 

[Maxperson]

I love Dragonlance, but these elements are as @bedir than states, trivial. Adding in orcs or drow does not break Dragonlance, or even really impact the setting in any major way.

I consider the feel of a setting to be a major part of it, so for us old timers it does impact the setting in a major way. For new players it wouldn't make a difference, because they don't really know the old setting.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

If they are explicit about this being a different Dragonlance, and the original is still out there, that would be better. I was fine with the Star Trek reboot in 2009, even though I didn't personally care for it, because the Prime reality still existed and they kept making more story set there.

i mean they called it a reimagining not a replace or continuation...

 

[mamba]

I, for one, am in favor of the introductory mini-adventures. I've always been in favor of the players learning the world while playing, whether it is a homebrew or published one. At most I'd give them a one page primer. Learning while playing is better.

I just don’t want them to take pages away from the ‘real’ adventure. If they are a DnDBeyond release like SJ Academy, I am all for it.

When I first heard about them, my first thought was that they would be the DL equivalent to that