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

 

[Demetrios1453]

Ansalon was humans, elves, half-elves, dwarves, gnomes and halflings. That was it for the PC races there. Taladas added Irda and Minotaurs. Now we're going to see walking turtles, cat people, half-orcs, and elephant men in the party. That's not Krynn.

So, what if the book gives the option to play either "classic" Dragonlance (and gives rules and restrictions to do so), as well the option to play as a normal 5e game? Does it become Schrodinger's Dragonlance then? Both good and bad until each campaign is observed?

 

[Maxperson]

So, what if the book gives the option to play either "classic" Dragonlance (and gives rules and restrictions to do so), as well the option to play as a normal 5e game? Does it become Schrodinger's Dragonlance then? Both good and bad until each campaign is observed?

If the default is classic, but offers up advice on adding the PHB options I would be fine with that aspect.

 

[Remathilis]

All that's different is the wrapping(lore). I can pick any of those three and run kitchen sink whatevers.

What is a setting but lore? That's like saying Stat Trek, Star Wars and Doctor Who are the same because they all have aliens.

Breaking news: D&D setting supports playing D&D in it. Film at 11.

 

[Maxperson]

What is a setting but lore? That's like saying Stat Trek, Star Wars and Doctor Who are the same because they all have aliens.

If they both had all the same aliens, then yes. They don't, though.

 

[Remathilis]

If they both had all the same aliens, then yes. They don't, though.

Eberron has warforged. Ravenloft had dhampirs. Spelljammer has plasmoids. Those races are unique to those settings, and thus the settings aren't the same by your own logic.

Unless you're basing your argument that Doctor Who is unique from Star Wars only because Doctor Who doesn't have wookies.

 

[Veltharis ap Rylix]

Darksun I give more a pass too... the fluff GIVES a reason to restrict "why aren't there orcs" "this guy a long time ago was a monster who committed the most successful genocide" I want rules for templars (I liked 4e making them dragon king pact warlock) I want half dwarf (but if 5,5 shows the way that will just be pick human or dwarf) I want defiling and preserving and I want a more robust psionic system

Even then, if someone really wants to play one of the races that have supposedly been eradicated from Athas, there are ways to make it without breaking the setting.

Perhaps one of the sorcerer-kings kept a small hidden enclave of orcs alive as test subjects, or a population survived undiscovered somewhere outside of the Tablelands, or long ago in the face of their extinction some great archmage opposing the genocide used powerful temporal magics to cast some of their number into the distant future like a time-travel version of Superman's origin story.

 

[Maxperson]

Eberron has warforged. Ravenloft had dhampirs. Spelljammer has plasmoids. Those races are unique to those settings, and thus the settings aren't the same by your own logic.

Are the unique? Do those settings say that they only appear there?

Unless you're basing your argument that Doctor Who is unique from Star Wars only because Doctor Who doesn't have wookies.

I rather think the existence of the Q in Doctor Who would put a damper on Time Lord supremacy. As would the Federation's Time Police.

 

[Remathilis]

Are the unique? Do those settings say that they only appear there?

I rather think the existence of the Q in Doctor Who would put a damper on Time Lord supremacy. As would the Federation's Time Police.

Well, in the big book of Generic Multiverse Races (aka Monsters of the Multiverse), changeling and shifter got promoted to generic races, while warforged and kalshatar did not. Similarly, none of the Ravenloft lineages were reprinted, but the Witchlight ones were, despite the latter being released later. Arguably, Spelljammer came out later, so using MotM is not an option.

Of course, a DM is free to use those races whenever they choose, but that is beyond the scope of the setting. I once played a Jedi in a d20 D&D game, that didn't make Star Wars a D&D setting.

 

[Dire Bare]

Because it actually matters in those settings now. Theros is Greek Mythology inspired. All of the races in the setting are either a part of or heavily inspired by Greek Mythology (Satyrs, Minotaurs, Centaurs, Tritons/Merfolk, etc). For Ravnica it's not as important, but Orcs don't exist because the setting wasn't designed for D&D and the color combinations that Orcs typically fall under in M:tG (Red and Black) are filled with other niches in the setting.

The reason why Orcs aren't present in Dragonlance is that the role they had in early D&D and Lord of the Rings as an always-evil monster race that serves the Dark Lord/Lady of the setting is filled by the Draconians instead. Which makes sense why they weren't included in original Dragonlance. However, in modern D&D worlds, Orcs are no longer the Tolkien-esque always evil monster race and have more range. So banning them from the setting no longer serves the same purpose that it used to.

And a major part of this is the setting book doesn't need to waste pages on banning character options. Especially when there's not an important reason anymore for those options not being present, unlike a setting such as Strixhaven or Dark Sun which does still have good justifications for why they're lacking certain character options.

It feels like @AnotherGuy may be deliberately missing the point.

Orcs "don't exist" in Dragonlance, Theros, Ravinica, and perhaps other settings. And that's okay. WotC isn't adding orcs into Dragonlance, they still won't be a part of the setting when the new book comes out later this year.

The burning controversy in this thread (for some), is WotC making it clear that, if you want to play an orc in the Dragonlance adventure, go ahead! Sure, why not? What works at your table works at your table.

This is also true for Theros or Ravnica. If a player wants to play an orc in one of these settings, why not? It won't break them any more or less than it would Dragonlance.

As a moderately skilled DM, I would find adding orcs to my Theros, Ravnica, or Dragonlance campaign trivially easy. I might steer a player towards a more thematic choice, but in the end . . . . play an orc, sure!

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Not that much slower. In 1e, a 6th level fighter has at least 35,001 exp while a 3rd level mage has 5,001. Either Caramon should be 3rd level with ~5001 exp or Raistlin should be 5th level with ~35,001 exp.

I don't know 1st but 2nd also had you keep your own XP and fighters got bonus xp for defeating enemies (HDxyour level i think) and that was before optional RP bonus... if the two were in a lot of fights (say 1 protecting the other) the fighter would get more, and based on this one fighter being more social any bonus RP xp would go to him too... but still not 30k difference.