Dragonlance DRAGONLANCE LIVES! Unearthed Arcana Explores Heroes of Krynn!

The latest Unearthed Arcana has arrived and the 6-page document contains rules for kender, lunar magic, Knights of Solamnia, and Mages of High Sorcery.

In today’s Unearthed Arcana, we explore character options from the Dragonlance setting. This playtest document presents the kender race, the Lunar Magic sorcerer subclass, the Knight of Solamnia and Mage of High Sorcery backgrounds, and a collection of new feats, all for use in Dungeons & Dragons.

Kender have a (surprisingly magical) ability to pull things out of a bag, and a supernatural taunt feature. This magical ability appears to replace the older 'kleptomania' description -- "Unknown to most mortals, a magical phenomenon surrounds a kender. Spurred by their curiosity and love for trinkets, curios, and keepsakes, a kender’s pouches or pockets will be magically filled with these objects. No one knows where these objects come from, not even the kender. This has led many kender to be mislabeled as thieves when they fish these items out of their pockets."

Lunar Magic is a sorcerer subclass which draws power from the moon(s); there are notes for using it in Eberron.

Also included are feats such as Adepts of the Black, White, and Red Robes, and Knights of the Sword, Rose, and Crown.

News Archive | Dungeons and Dragons

Read the full archives of Dungeons & Dragons news, Sage Advice, Unearthed Arcana, and D&D Studio Blogs.

dnd.wizards.com

 

[Neonchameleon]

If this theory were true, then clerics, wizards, or sorcerers would also not choose a path until level 3. You don't need a domain (or domain powers) to have a patron. Acolyte priests and apprentice wizards are certainly an established trope, too. Sorcerers literally grow into their powers already. If the game wants the play style to be one way, then it should be that one way. Not choose half one way and half another and ending up with neither style working particularly well. Either all classes begin at level 1, or all classes begin at level 3. Pick one. It's absurd to have half the classes fully fledged at level 1, and the other half have to wait until they're far enough away from the starting equipment shop to become so. It's a bad design.

Or if you for whatever reason can't do this (and the only classes I can think of where this might be the case are the warlock and sorcerer) do what they do with the warlock and give them something pretty chunky at level 3. The warlock picks their patron at level 1 because a warlock without a patron is no warlock at all. But few warlock players find the level 3 pact boon to be disappointing (other than that the blade's mechanics are disappointing) even compared to the level 3 stuff other classes get as a flying invisible intelligent familiar or a collection of cantrips leading to all rituals in the game are cool and effective.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Gully dwarves are really, really bad, yeah. While I think that you could rework them to not be awful, I don't know if it's worth the effort. Ultimately, super-problematic dwarves aren't one of the things I consider essential to Dragonlance; they are hardly part of the foundations of the setting in the same way the wizard orders, Thorbardin, or the actual dragonlances are.

I completely agree. I was asked about gully dwarves in a conversation on another site, and I basically said the same. I then did some research to make sure I wasn't misremembering, which lead me to this thread and this... holy manure of wiki entry:

Gully Dwarf

Gully Dwarves, or Aghar, are considered by many to be the most repulsive of races on Krynn. Gully dwarves are the diminutive cousins of true dwarves, though they still have a seat on the Council of Thanes in Thorbardin. Their leader, the Highbulp, is the Aghar who is most accomplished at...

dragonlance.fandom.com

If this wiki is accurate, it's even worse than I remembered! I'm of the opinion that this material ... can't be redeemed. There is no "value" here to be saved, just... toss it in the bin of history and move on.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Let's use other words: now in this decade that joke is not fun any more.

But this shouldn't mean the aghar dwarves to be totally cancelled, but only retconected. They could be as the D&D version of the Croods, with some little touch of Tarzan or jungle boy.

 

[Micah Sweet]

P

Gully dwarves are really, really bad, yeah. While I think that you could rework them to not be awful, I don't know if it's worth the effort. Ultimately, super-problematic dwarves aren't one of the things I consider essential to Dragonlance; they are hardly part of the foundations of the setting in the same way the wizard orders, Thorbardin, or the actual dragonlances are.

Problematic or not, they are just as much a part of Dragonlance as any of the things you mentioned, or indeed, kender. I really don't see any benefit to WotC updating the setting at all. Let it remain a part of history, to be examined and used by those with an interest in doing so, and WotC can move on to making setting they think new players would actually connect with and not complain about.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

P

Problematic or not, they are just as much a part of Dragonlance as any of the things you mentioned, or indeed, kender. I really don't see any benefit to WotC updating the setting at all. Let it remain a part of history, to be examined and used by those with an interest in doing so, and WotC can move on to making setting they think new players would actually connect with and not complain about.

Nah, let’s introduce it to a new generation, and make some of the bad things better.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Nah, let’s introduce it to a new generation, and make some of the bad things better.

I respect your opinion, but you and I are on very different parts of the 5e spectrum. If we have a new player base, let's respect them with actual new material.

 

[Weiley31]

What about klepto Kenders again?

 

[Faolyn]

P

Problematic or not, they are just as much a part of Dragonlance as any of the things you mentioned, or indeed, kender. I really don't see any benefit to WotC updating the setting at all. Let it remain a part of history, to be examined and used by those with an interest in doing so, and WotC can move on to making setting they think new players would actually connect with and not complain about.

Why not both? Nothing is preventing you from only using the older books and nothing is forcing you to buy the new books.

You seem to be saying that if it's not the way you want it, then nobody should be able to have it. And that--if you'll pardon my childish phrasing--is neither nice nor fair to anyone else.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Why not both? Nothing is preventing you from only using the older books and nothing is forcing you to buy the new books.

You seem to be saying that if it's not the way you want it, then nobody should be able to have it. And that--if you'll pardon my childish phrasing--is neither nice nor fair to anyone else.

I'm saying making new material to appeal to WotC's desired demographic is, in my opinion, a better use of their time than mangling old IP in a desperate attempt to make it valuable to those same new players. If they want to do so anyway, that's their prerogative, of course.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

What does having gully dwarves add to Dragonlance? I'm hard-pressed to think of any elements that make their inclusion "as-is" going forward necessary enough to have a race that is severely problematic.

P

Problematic or not, they are just as much a part of Dragonlance as any of the things you mentioned, or indeed, kender. I really don't see any benefit to WotC updating the setting at all. Let it remain a part of history, to be examined and used by those with an interest in doing so, and WotC can move on to making setting they think new players would actually connect with and not complain about.

I'm so excited to have Dragonlance return and cannot wait to have the new book in my hands and ready to kick off a new campaign with it.

I'm saying making new material to appeal to WotC's desired demographic is, in my opinion, a better use of their time than mangling old IP in a desperate attempt to make it valuable to those same new players. If they want to do so anyway, that's their prerogative, of course.