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]

Just to add to this: it's been known since at least the French Revolution that pre-modern, pre-humanist thought (which is where the Cataclysm comes from, as a trope used to represent divine retribution for the sin of pride) can't be reconciled with liberal, individualist, human rights ideals (which underlie criticisms of collective punishment and diagnoses of the gods of Krynn as monstrous).

So buying into a fantasy world like DL/Krynn, or JRRT's Middle Earth (which has the near-identical downfall of Numenor as part of its canonical history) means suspending whatever modernist sensibilities one has, and accepting (in imagination) pre-modern tropes and understandings.

The fall of Numenor isn't exactly the same, though. It was the Morgoth worshippers that died when Numenor sank, not the innocents. The faithful made it off the island on ships and survived.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

These are the people that you're saying are innocent.

No. I reject the premise that everyone in Istar agreed with the actions of the Kingpriest and supported him. There were innocent people in Istar. The children would be innocent. The small minority of good-aligned people that didn't support him would be innocent.

Clearly, the people who supported the Kingpriest would be as guilty as the people that supported other fascists. But there would have been people that were innocent. And the Cataclysm would have killed them.

 

[Hussar]

No. I reject the premise that everyone in Istar agreed with the actions of the Kingpriest and supported him. There were innocent people in Istar. The children would be innocent. The small minority of good-aligned people that didn't support him would be innocent.

Clearly, the people who supported the Kingpriest would be as guilty as the people that supported other fascists. But there would have been people that were innocent. And the Cataclysm would have killed them.

But, the Kingpriest wasn't a fascist. The people actually literally worshipped him. For generations. He wasn't ruling by fear. He wasn't a dictator oppressing the masses in order to keep power. He was their beloved leader. Truthfully beloved by the people. And not just in Istar. People all over Ansalon. The humans loved the Kingpriest. Worshipped him.

And, yes, I'm sure that there were. In all wars, innocents die. It happens. It's horrible. But, more horrible would have been the Kingpriest becoming a god, and a war between the gods killing all life. Because that was the alternative.

What other option was there? Since you cannot directly intervene on the world as a god - you are bound by acting through avatars and clerics - what is your option here? The people will not listen to you, they have their new god king to listen to and they love him with all their hearts.

So, with that in mind, what is your solution?

 

[Maxperson]

If part of the canon says "Genocide is okay", then that part of the canon deserves to be torn down and fans of that specific canon have bad morals.

No part of Krynn's canon says that genocide is okay.

 

[Maxperson]

And they're wrong. If a god has a hand in a genocidal act happening, they are bad. They cannot be objectively labeled within the setting any of the good alignments. The "Good" gods cannot commit evil acts without being evil. If a god kills thousands of babies, they cannot be good.

As has been pointed out, we don't know that the good gods approved of what happened. They tried to stop it via Lord Soth. Perhaps that chance to avoid the cataclysm was the best that they could get out of the neutral and evil gods who wanted to engage in it.

 

[Maxperson]

Does Kick Ass have an alignment system?

No.

Is the jet pack rider supposed to be a being of true goodness?

I seriously doubt it.

Does the jet pack rider have magical powers that would allow them to solve their problems without violence, or only target those people who are actively bad guys?

Nope.

Can the jet pack rider cast wish multiple times a day?

Yes! 10 times a day at least!

 

[Maxperson]

Aren't we basically reinventing and remodeling the setting anyway ? So why stop at orcs. This is even less of a remodeling (orcs...) than just leaving bits out

Also, if you don't like the setting, just don't play it. Feels like a perfectly valid solution

Or change it to suit your desires. It could be very interesting to run the War of the Lance with the two sides being evil vs. greater evil.

 

[Maxperson]

I am not going to condone the morality of a book by buying it unless I agree with it.

So show me a D&D book/game that doesn't have murder, theft, kidnapping, extortion, blackmail, assault, battery, etc. If you think buying a book condones the morality depicted in it, then you don't have a playable D&D game.

 

[Maxperson]

No. I reject the premise that everyone in Istar agreed with the actions of the Kingpriest and supported him. There were innocent people in Istar. The children would be innocent. The small minority of good-aligned people that didn't support him would be innocent.

Clearly, the people who supported the Kingpriest would be as guilty as the people that supported other fascists. But there would have been people that were innocent. And the Cataclysm would have killed them.

Where was the revolt by these "good" people to overthrow the evil leader?

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

So show me a D&D book/game that doesn't have murder, theft, kidnapping, extortion, blackmail, assault, battery, etc.

If it's something the villains are doing, it's fine to have it in the book. If it is something the heroes or NPCs/gods that are listed as being a good alignment are doing, no.

If you think buying a book condones the morality depicted in it, then you don't have a playable D&D game.

Wrong.