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

 

[GMforPowergamers]

DMing would be simple if not for those pesky players...

I mean if EVER there was a thesis statement for D&D this would be in the running... I almost want to make a thread called this.

 

[mamba]

no my argument has and forever will be... the why matters.

2 whys to be presise.

why are they not here?
and
why would it hurt the setting/story if there were?

In Dark Sun I can answer both. In Dragon Lance the best answer ANYONE has come up with is the creators said so, and/or tradition.

My take is not disagreeing with your argument. The whole scenario has a lot of premises though…

IF the player absolutely wants to play an orc and does not compromise by playing eg a minotaur, and IF the DM does not allow orcs for whatever reason THEN you cannot play an orc at that table.

You can disagree with the importance this has to the DM or the rationale he uses, but unless you actually convince him (which failed, see above), that does not matter

 

[Vaalingrade]

they let the player make the character they want... how is that in and of itself not a GREAT pro
the con is that the DM has to add in the concept (not even mentioning it or showing it) that somewhere there are orcs...

Gonna be honest:

Why.

Why does the DM even have to add the concept? Just let the player be there and maybe their family gets a cameo. No player is demanding that you write up and feature an entire civilization and history for their character. All they have to do is not obstruct.

 

[mamba]

Repetition does not repair bad arguments. Not with saying that DM dictatorial power is not dictatorial, and not with weird sci-fi analogies to justify banning core races for no good reason.

then tell me how this works for you without forcing your will on someone. If you cannot, then your solution imo is worse than mine

Remember, the player absolutely insists on playing an orc, the DM absolutely does not allow orcs in his world. Now explain how you solve that Is the player in the party? What is he playing?

 

[Ruin Explorer]

they let the player make the character they want... how is that in and of itself not a GREAT pro

I mean, I've played RPGs for way, way too long to see that as a "great pro".

98% of players are smart and reasonable. If you tell the players "Here are the choices" or "Here are the limitations", they go with them, unless they're particularly weird limitations (like "only martial classes"), but even then I'd say most players, if they trust the DM, go with them.

The sort of player who refuses to play at all, because they cannot play a specific single race or class is usually not a fun player to play with. They're a typically a juvenile and picky individual, who is going have problems with a lot more than just that. Often they will be extremely bad, ironically, at improv.

Now it is different if you ban a whole bunch of stuff, but as a man who habitually plays Half or Tielfing Bards, if someone just had banned those races/classes, whilst I might wonder at if I knew them lol, I wouldn't be like "SCREW THIS MAN IM OUT!!!!". If they'd banned those, Paladins, Warlocks, Sorcerers (oooh CHA class theme?), Druids, Clerics, and Fighters, and maybe a ton more races too, then maybe I'd be going "Ugh I can't be bothered with this game...", but still probably not. Because you don't always get every possible choice you want.

Why is it a problem in D&D, but not a problem in any other RPG?

so far no one has given a (IMO) good reason why orcs can't be there...

Your opinion is pretty much irrelevant, though.

You've been completely dismissive of other people's equally good/bad opinions to the point of saying "those aren't opinions", before editing to admit they were. None of the opinions you've expressed have been well supported by arguments or rationales. They're just opinions. And your "A player might like it maybe" doesn't trump "it doesn't fit the setting". Maybe the latter isn't a great argument (I think it's pretty sound myself, I don't want Sonic the Hedgehog in my Game of Thrones campaign or whatever, but there people who only want to play Sonic the Hedgehog, or worse, Sanic the Hedgehog), but nor is what you're suggesting.

It's really up to the person running the campaign if it's good enough.

But again I would say, any player who ONLY plays one specific race (or class) is probably not an asset to the group.

Why does the DM even have to add the concept? Just let the player be there and maybe their family gets a cameo. No player is demanding that you write up and feature an entire civilization and history for their character. All they have to do is not obstruct.

Because in a well-rounded single-world setting, rather than a really vague one, it'll be weird as hell if there's this one guy of a strange-looking species that has no backstory or culture or place in the world. The level of detail varied obviously varies, but you probably want something.

In hub-type settings like Planescape, or in really vague settings like Dungeon World, where the world is defined as you go along, it'd make complete sense to take the approach you suggest.

 

[Xamnam]

and not for others... yet over a thousand posts later no one can agree

Exactly. I don't know that there's going to be a more satisfying resolution.

 

[Vaalingrade]

then tell me how this works for you without forcing your will on someone. If you cannot, then your solution imo is worse than mine

Getting over the impulse to consider not restricting someone them 'forcing their will' on me?

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Getting over the impulse to consider not restricting someone them 'forcing their will' on me?

I mean, both of you are being pretty ridiculous here, I'd suggest.

It's the absolutism that's just laughable. DMs shouldn't have to always accomodate every "core class" or "core race" in every game/setting they run. We're not being paid by WotC, for god's sake. The game police aren't going to come around and bash your face in because you don't have any Dragonborn in your setting.

Equally as a player, you certainly have a right to ask, and a right to be heard, and considered, but the DM doesn't have to agree. Sometimes what you want will fit in, sometimes it won't. That's just how the world works. Making it an absolute either way is just shenanigans, especially when you seem to be relying on the "core X" appeal-to-authority to support your argument, which Rule 0 says no to.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Because in a well-rounded single-world setting, rather than a really vague one, it'll be weird as hell if there's this one guy of a strange-looking species that has no backstory or culture or place in the world.

Does every human in the setting also stop and monologue about where the come from? How often does this sort of thing force its way into the campaign, especially for the people buying adventures?

Also, people forget how big a world is. Like there are still peoples in our world that have not been contacted in a time when we have planes and satellites and Facebook. We discover a slew of new animals every year. It is so very weird to insist that every group is fully accounted for in this 1200-1700's era fantasy land where there ae magically hidden villages and magic and gods that just straight up make entire species.

DL in particular starts with Takisis 3D printing an army out of dragon eggs, but oh no, this man is green!

 

[Vaalingrade]

relying on the "core X" appeal-to-authority to support your argument, which Rule 0 says no to.

Wait...