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

 

[Maxperson]

"Tradition" is one of the worst reasons to include/exclude something that could be fun from a setting.

It's actually not. Tradition in and of itself is absolutely neutral. It's other things about the tradition that make it good or bad. Even something fun could be bad for a setting. As an example, a lot of unbalanced things are very fun for a player, but often they don't make for an overall fun game.

For the orcs specifically, their absence might invoke one feel and presence another. One group might not enjoy the feel of Dragonlance with orcs in it, while another group might not care or might not even feel a difference and so orcs are okay.

 

[Older Beholder]

Ahhh, tough call. Do I go with an iconic villain, Lord Soth? Is it the original Heroes of the Lance and their stories? Or the Cataclysm and how it shaped the world?

For me there was always something about the Kinghts of Solamnia, the whole Crown/Sword/Rose thing. And as you mention Soth.

 

[AnotherGuy]

I'm surprised this issue is so contentious. It does feel like certain posters insist on "controlling" one's table.
People have preferences, this is natural. Why everyone needs adhere to the same group think is beyond me.
Things are discussed and hashed out at session 0 anyways and the players usually negotiate with the DM on the strange and wonderful. If styles or visions clash so much over the orc option then its best to part ways, don't you think?

 

[Hussar]

The orc discussion now has me wondering - where does the first mention of the exclusion of Orcs from Dragonlance occur? I’ve been looking through the old adventures and such and thought I remembered it either being mentioned in the first adventure (when Toede first appears) or in DL5 - Dragons of Mystery, but I can’t find any such notes. Other than the fact only goblins appear in the adventures, is there a place in the actual text (Dragon mag maybe?) that states “No orcs on Krynn” ? I’m almost certain there was one, but I can’t find it.

Swimming a few pages back upthread.

I think it's really, really telling that the "Dragonlance canon must be respected" crowd won't answer this. I've brought this up repeatedly that the whole "no orcs" thing is something that was added MUCH later. As in years after the modules dropped. I believe (although I don't have a quote) that it appears in the Dragonlance Adventures book, but, again, that's like two years after the modules wrapped up and was largely there to backfill restrictions that didn't exist and also to make sure that 1e D&D got cut out of the mix by not allowing half-orcs into the setting.

The point is though, for all people keep insisting that canon must be respected, as usual, there's a real selection bias as to what "counts" as canon or not.

They are apparently reverting Dragonlance back to it's original form. Which, to me, is about is good as you could want it for moving forward. You can always add that other stuff back in if you want, but, let's have the setting the way it was originally meant to be played first instead of playing "pin the tail on the canon" and try to guess which canon "counts" and which doesn't.

 

[AnotherGuy]

Swimming a few pages back upthread.

I think it's really, really telling that the "Dragonlance canon must be respected" crowd won't answer this. I've brought this up repeatedly that the whole "no orcs" thing is something that was added MUCH later. As in years after the modules dropped. I believe (although I don't have a quote) that it appears in the Dragonlance Adventures book, but, again, that's like two years after the modules wrapped up and was largely there to backfill restrictions that didn't exist and also to make sure that 1e D&D got cut out of the mix by not allowing half-orcs into the setting.

The point is though, for all people keep insisting that canon must be respected, as usual, there's a real selection bias as to what "counts" as canon or not.

They are apparently reverting Dragonlance back to it's original form. Which, to me, is about is good as you could want it for moving forward. You can always add that other stuff back in if you want, but, let's have the setting the way it was originally meant to be played first instead of playing "pin the tail on the canon" and try to guess which canon "counts" and which doesn't.

It is not that the supposed DL canon must be respected crowd won't answer it is that you may not like the answer.
When the setting was finalised by the creators orcs were not included. I'm not interested in those 2 years (with just modules) you wish to stake your claim on - I'd rather follow the 40 years of no orcs that followed.

EDIT: It is safe to assume not all the setting details had been spelled out or defined in those initial 2 years.

 

[Hussar]

Your math may be a bit off since 40 years is 1982.

But again I’m not the one who cares about canon. Personally do not care at all. I’m just pointing out the rather convenient arguments about how we must respect some canon that you personally like but can entirely ignore canon that you don’t.

Allowing orcs in Dragonlance absolutely is canon. Just not the canon you happen to prefer.

Which is fine and dandy. Play what you like. But planting the flag on canon and then completely ignoring inconvenient bits is awfully suspect.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

It is not that the supposed DL canon must be respected crowd won't answer it is that you may not like the answer.

The issue, of course, is 40 years is a long time to remember something. I wouldn't be surprised if it's in DL1, but I can't be sure since I haven't read it for four decades. What I can say is there are no orcs actually appearing in that adventure, or any of the subsequent DL adventures, nor in the novels.

Now, that doesn't prevent some orcs living on a remote island somewhere, but what I can say, entirely subjectively, is this: DRAGONLANCE IS BETTER WITHOUT ORCS.

Orcs don't go anything that can't be done just as well with something else, and the fewer monstrous races there are running about in a setting, the more grounded it feels.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Orcs can be added into the Krynnspace in the same way the Horde from Warcraft, as an alien invader faction. Maybe they are from a crashed spelljammer. If it is your kitchen, then you can cook in the way you want.

Other point is there aren't outsiders in the Krynnspace, nor celestials neither infernals. If you are sick with the popularity of tielflings in 5th Ed, then your place is Krynn.

My new crazy idea is adding a "twin brother" to the Krynn world within the Krynnspace. If in the war of the souls Takishis sent Krynn to other plane throught the Gate of Souls, then in another timeline her plan worked very well...but something linked with time dragons vs chronomancers changued everything, and then to avoid the destruction of this planet this is sent to the Krynnspace within the material plane again.

And Takishis in the age of mortals could become the dark-lady of a dark-domain. Maybe this is ruled by spider-dragons, an abomination for her, but these are the chosen champions of her former handmaiden, Jiathuli.

What about Artha* ? Maybe she was "proned" or retcotned because she did some deal with Vecna, and things were different as she hoped. Maybe she is a dark-lady ruling her dark domain. * (Artha appeared in a module, maybe this is not canon any more, let's say she was from a powerful family).

 

[AnotherGuy]

Just not the canon you happen to prefer.

Or its creators.

 

[Delazar]

We're still at orcs?

What's gonna happen when it's confirmed that Bards are also Mages of High Sorcery? The forums will just implode...