Dragonlance Dragonlance Adventure & Prelude Details Revealed

Over on DND Beyond Amy Dallen and Eugenio Vargas discuss the beginning of Shadow of ther Dragon Queen and provide some advice on running it.

Running a Session Zero for Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen

When starting a new adventure, it's a good idea to get on the same page as your party. Here's how to run a session zero for the upcoming Dragonlance adv...

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This epic war story begins with an invitation to a friend's funeral and three optional prelude encounters that guide you into the world of Krynn. Amy Dallen is joined by Eugenio Vargas to share some details about how these opening preludes work and some advice on using them in your own D&D games.

There is also information on the three short 'prelude' adventures which introduce players to the world of Krynn:

• Eye in the Sky -- ideal for sorcerers, warlocks, wizards, or others seeking to become members of the Mages of High Sorcery.
• Broken Silence -- ideal for clerics, druids, paladins, and other characters with god-given powers.
• Scales of War -- ideal for any character and reveals the mysterious draconians.

The article discusses Session Zero for the campaign and outlines what to expect in a Dragonlance game -- war, death, refugees, and so on.

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[Scribe]

The practice of arcane magic is distinct from divine magic in that practitioners are not bound by a set of philosophical dogma they must adhere to. This is true even in Dragonlance, because while the Mages of High Sorcery seemingly force such a restrictive worldview upon their number, there exist renegade wizards who are able to practice arcane magic without it.

We would first have to accept the concept of cosmic or elemental Good/Evil, and then accept that certain practices are unable to be separated from that elemental 'essence' of Good/Evil.

If we can do that, then we can see that a renegade in DL, is one who rejects any and all restrictions, and within DL, that enables a Wizard to challenge for God level power.

The Order, is a system of protection and control, and it can either be accepted with various assumptions, or not.

 

[GungHo]

I am far from teh expert and I am 30ish years out of reading but I always remember them as round plates... I always picture them as like a large round dish from a café

They were literally a set of platinum disks bound by a golden ring (though the animated movie showed them as weird CD-ROMs on a spindle). They were heavily influenced by the stories of golden plates from the LDS church, of which Tracy and Laura Hickman are members. I don't want to get into real world religion beyond that. Further stories/inferences can be researched pretty easily.

 

[Remathilis]

We would first have to accept the concept of cosmic or elemental Good/Evil, and then accept that certain practices are unable to be separated from that elemental 'essence' of Good/Evil.

If we can do that, then we can see that a renegade in DL, is one who rejects any and all restrictions, and within DL, that enables a Wizard to challenge for God level power.

The Order, is a system of protection and control, and it can either be accepted with various assumptions, or not.

So the difference between a renegade and a black robe is one chooses to work within the system to obtain power and one chooses not to work with the system and is hunted?

I'm beginning to think between this and the Cataclysm, the driving force of Dragonlance isn't the morality of good and evil, but obedience and submission to authority.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

So the difference between a renegade and a black robe is one chooses to work within the system to obtain power and one chooses not to work with the system and is hunted?

I'm beginning to think between this and the Cataclysm, the driving force of Dragonlance isn't the morality of good and evil, but obedience and submission to authority.

I think you have cracked the code on a lot of the systems under which we live, in real life and in fantasy.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

So you come to D&D. Elves good, Orcs bad. Just because. White Robes good. Black Robes bad. (Red Robes neutral) Just doesn’t make sense to them and frankly, doesn’t even seem like it can be imagined. It can’t be “just because it is” there has to be a reason. “Why are the White Robes good?” “Why are Orcs bad?” “Why is Skeletor bad?”

1997... it was after sept but before the 1st of 1998 (cause it had to do with highschool/college stuff) is when the "wait why are orcs bad?" got asked at my circle of friends.
by the time 2000 rolled around we had palyed with the idea back and forth... then came The Sunless Citedel... and my PCs befriending the kobolds. We have never looked back.

We DO have pure black hats and Pure white hats from time to time, but as 1 off people... 80%+ of our NPCs monsters and such are complicated.

I remember right after my sister got engaged in (wait gotta check) 2004 my (now ex) brother in law sat down to play with us and he had not played since 91... he went nuts at us asking questions like "Why are the orcs attacking?"

 

[Remathilis]

I think you have cracked the code on a lot of the systems under which we live, in real life and in fantasy.

To borrow a turn off phrase, I play RPGs to escape reality... [emoji53]

 

[Scribe]

So the difference between a renegade and a black robe is one chooses to work within the system to obtain power and one chooses not to work with the system and is hunted?

I'm beginning to think between this and the Cataclysm, the driving force of Dragonlance isn't the morality of good and evil, but obedience and submission to authority.

...

Yes, actually I think that is fair.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

We would first have to accept the concept of cosmic or elemental Good/Evil, and then accept that certain practices are unable to be separated from that elemental 'essence' of Good/Evil.

the trick is I refuse to believe (or support) that cosmic good NEEDS to work with cosmic evil

The Order, is a system of protection and control, and it can either be accepted with various assumptions, or not.

the way YOU describe it sounds more like law vs chaos

 

[darjr]

Posting here to add an extra bit of context

ADEPT OF THE WHITE ROBES


Your oath to use magic to make the world a better place has been recognized by the Order of White


Robes, granting you a protective ward.

 

[Scribe]

the trick is I refuse to believe (or support) that cosmic good NEEDS to work with cosmic evil

the way YOU describe it sounds more like law vs chaos

In Dragonlance? Yes. Good working with Evil (and Balance/Neutral in between) is...well its part of the framework of the setting.

Dragons of Summer Flame (good/bad or otherwise) would certainly point to a Law vs Chaos divide as well wouldnt it.

Like heres the thing, I'm not saying people have to like these things. They dont have to like the themes, but its pretty clear that these themes do exist in DL, otherwise...what is it? Just another setting of Fantasy? Like why bother? Go do it somewhere else.

People dont like Alignment, or Gods, or these themes? Take it to Eberron, or whatever it is Critical Roll plays, I dont care, but the setting, Dragonlance, had these things in it. They are the bones, the framework.