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.

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[Paul Farquhar]

This why D&D needs to do new settings once and a while and stop doing conversions of old settings and MTG settings.

Do Swashbuckling D&D (D&D with firearms gunpowder and magical, no heavy armor, water domain, piracy, trade, dancing, and diplomacy)

Ghosts of Saltmarsh already went there, and there is plenty more of this in standard settings like Forgotten Realms and Eberron.

Do Saturday Morning Cartoon D&D (bardic rock music, explosions, transformations/henshin, villianous and heroic factions, talking animals, monster battles)

I'm not sure how much demand there is for whacky settings, but Stryxhaven and the Wild beyond the Witchlight both lean in that direction.

Do Espionage D&D (Disguises, Forgery, Dialects and Accents, Fighting in plain clothes, Alarms, Mooks, Gadgeetry, Doomsday devices, Evil laughter)

Espionage isn't a setting. An Espionage Adventure Path would be a good fit for Eberron. D20 Modern is an old setting.

Do Wuxia D&D (Stunts, Weapon Art levels, Supernatural combat arts, Switching fighting styles midbattle, Magic Duels, Old Masters)

How is that not an old setting (Oriental Adventures) or a MtG setting (Kamigawa)?

 

[Stefano Rinaldelli]

When you have to retcon an entire game to deeply shove the Feywild into every single thing related to D&D, it's pretty degrading. This goes against the entire background origins of the Kender race. Fans don't want their lore messed with for no reason. Pretty sure not EVERY aspect of D&D needs Feywild element. Can't WotC have a few worlds that don't have such a strong fey influence?

Can you all elaborate about this Feywild thing? Which are the origins of this pervasive introduction of Feywild concept?

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

All D&D worlds are goings to be rebooted, and not only because metagame reasons, but also because the previous lore has to become obsolete if they want players to buy the new books. Why to spend your money when you can read the fandom wikis?

* Dark Sun will come back, but it needs a lot of work, and not only with the psionic powers. WotC needs a roadmap for the possible future metaplot of all the lines. What if there is an event about a multiverse crisis? My suggestion is to add more about elemental forces. Any rectons aren't wrong. It is like you love your grandmother's recipe, and you aren't too happy because the rest of the family doesn't cook with the same taste.

Of course WotC should worry about to avoid the "jumping the shark" effect.

* I imagine my kenders (and gullys) characters speaking with a funny accent from Andalucia (South Spain).

* I don't reject the changes in the reboots, but when I see these to bee too forced because personal points of view. Audence doesn't want more "agresive proselitism" about certain threads.

* Red Steel/Savage Coast is the perfect setting for sashbuckler fantasy. If you want fantasy noir or espionage then the future Magic: the Gathering "Street of New Capenna" will be the right place. Eberron was designed to allow a pulp touch.

Kara-Tur could be redesigned totally if the martial adept classes (Tome of Battle: Book of nine Swords) return. And today sensibility is different. Cultural apropiation is not really wrong when it is done with enough respect, but my fear is the main Asian countries may suffer certain predjudices against their neighbours and here Western authors could enter in a dangerous zone.

* Have M&H been asked about a possible return of lord Soth to Sithicus as the dark lord?

* Could the second cataclysm or Chaos war be avoided by time-travelers?

 

[Minigiant]

Ghosts of Saltmarsh already went there, and there is plenty more of this in standard settings like Forgotten Realms and Eberron.

It touched there.

It didn't fully go there. There's no water domain. Their is no light armor and finesse versions of the fighter, barbarian, and paladin. No water, salt, flashy, and romance based magic. No heavily focus on Lawful Evil vs Chaotic Good.

I'm not sure how much demand there is for whacky settings, but Stryxhaven and the Wild beyond the Witchlight both lean in that direction.

I'm sure if WOTC made rings that that transform heroes or summon mystic beasts and paired it with College of ROCK! and College of Hip Hop bards to foight a list of Monsters of the Week, you'd see a who lotta support.

Espionage isn't a setting. An Espionage Adventure Path would be a good fit for Eberron

Espionage can be a setting. A whole setting of Medieval James Bond, Austin Powers, and Black Widow with city states run by evil supervillains. It's one of the logical ways to do a stocked dungeon.

Redmember: No Mister Paladin, I expect you to burn!

How is that not an old setting (Oriental Adventures) or a MtG setting (Kamigawa)?

Oriental Adventures and Kamigawa attempt to be serious and "realistic".

I'm saying go fully action movie and off the wall.

Just because it using Asian themes doesn't mean they use the same Asian themes.

 

[HaroldTheHobbit]

I'm not sure how much demand there is for whacky settings, but Stryxhaven and the Wild beyond the Witchlight both lean in that direction.

As a Spelljammer proponent I can live without Harry Potter and rabbit folk whacky, but there surely is high demand for the "In space no-one can hear you scream, except for the undead planetoid beholder that has just eaten half of the elven armada" kind of whacky!

 

[Paul Farquhar]

As a Spelljammer proponent I can live without Harry Potter and rabbit folk whacky, but there surely is high demand for the "In space no-one can hear you scream, except for the undead planetoid beholder that has just eaten half of the elven armada" kind of whacky!

Sure, and Spelljammer is an old setting. Which we have been informed we cannot possibly revive because reasons.

 

[Minigiant]

Sure, and Spelljammer is an old setting. Which we have been informed we cannot possibly revive because reasons.

It's not that Spelljammer.

It that it should not just be Old Setting Conversion and MTG Conversion for endless lore fights over nostalgia.

Make something new for a change.

 

[Stefano Rinaldelli]

Forget Kender, Dragonlance had enough offensive stereotypes to offend almost everyone who isn't a middle-class white American - the homeless/mentally ill (gully dwarves), scientists (gnomes) etc.

What makes me wonder is that yes, this stereotypes are present, but are translated to races in a fictional world. While starting from the Real world and going to a fictional world is possible and quite simple, it is not possible to take the trip in the opposite direction without expending energy in intrepretation, making unprovable assumption and accusing someone of something hidden in its thoughts.
Some aspects of races in dragonlance are similar to stereotypes. And so? Everything is similar to something. They are called TROPES. Saying that gnomes are similar to a stereotyped version of scientist could be a fact. Saying that MW&TH where thinking and criticizing about scientist when creating gnomes is your assumption and must be proven. No way I must change it BEFORE you have proven it. What I consider very stupid in this revisionism is that is done firstly to avoid accusation, and nobody cares if this accusation are rational and proven. Who simply change to avoid problems with someone, just in case. I find it asphyxial.

 

[JEB]

Not having the support of Margaret Weis - co-creator of the setting and a known fantasy novelist - for the new Dragonlance is an interesting marketing issue, as far as selling the rebooted setting to nostalgic old fans. Even more so with the new book explicitly being a non-5E vision of the setting.

EDIT: First point was actually a response to another thread. We regret the error.

 

[AmerginLiath]

Apologies for Not Reading The Entire Thread, but a few thoughts from a bit of a DL Grognard (who’s never thought that the post-2000 game has gotten it quite right, as much as Sovereign Press worked at it).

I can understand not having a specific Handling mechanic (it creates an odd thieving mini game), but it strikes me having a specific magical basis is different than just having an ability to pull random stuff from their bag. Maybe some kender are magic, maybe some are thieves, maybe some are packrats grabbing backup utensils from the kits of defeated enemies, maybe some go shopping for jury-rig parts in town…

It‘s weird to see them focus in the “sorcery” bit of the Wizard of High Sorcery instead of the “wizard” part. That might just be a gut reaction.

Having been a fan of the use of Backgrounds as a differentiator in characters, it feels off using that mechanic to do KoS and WoHS. You’re losing the stuff that differentiates the likes of Sturm or Raistlin — growing up in Solace and serving as mercenaries — from the others of their later orders who grow up in noble courts or tower libraries. I sort of like the “class abilities inside Feats” bit and think we should have had it all along (the game has done a poor job of developing Feats — they’ve trending away from the Specialization track they started with towards just bigger 3.5 feats); I’m curious if there’s perhaps a Feat Replacement mechanic on these in lieu of Feat Chains.

I’m glad to see them tackling DL, a setting I’ve played since the latter days of 1st edition (my friends and I had a multi-generational campaign going on through years and editions that’s been on hiatus — a return to the setting and perhaps some advancement of the timeline could call for getting it going again with our own next generation included), but I remain concerned about the balance of fitting DL into the modern game and fitting game into DL.

 

[JEB]

Having been a fan of the use of Backgrounds as a differentiator in characters, it feels off using that mechanic to do KoS and WoHS. You’re losing the stuff that differentiates the likes of Sturm or Raistlin — growing up in Solace and serving as mercenaries — from the others of their later orders who grow up in noble courts or tower libraries.

This is a really good point, I hadn't considered that issue. There should be a place for the more general backgrounds and concepts like this, not having to choose one or the other.

 

[Remathilis]

Can we please stop comparing Kender with Romani. If Conclusion Jumping was an Olympic Sport we would be handing out meddles.

If there is one thing kender know how to do, it's meddle!

 

[DarkCrisis]

Makes you wonder which side pushed for the "classic" to be added to the logo.

You can bet this last trilogy will in fact be the last of the old Dragonlance.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

This is a really good point, I hadn't considered that issue. There should be a place for the more general backgrounds and concepts like this, not having to choose one or the other.

A character who joins the organisation later in life could acquire the feat later, it doesn't have to be at chagen.

 

[Marandahir]

Not having the support of Margaret Weis - co-creator of the setting and a known fantasy novelist - for the new Dragonlance is an interesting marketing issue, as far as selling the rebooted setting to nostalgic old fans. Even more so with the new book explicitly being a non-5E vision of the setting.

EDIT: First point was actually a response to another thread. We regret the error.

Eh,

It's not that far off from Keith Baker's "In MY Eberron" and Ed Greenwood's "In MY Forgotten Realms"… It's just that they the creators have their own vision of the settings than the copyright holders. That's NORMAL.

JRR Tolkien would NOT have approved of many of Peter Jackson & crew's choices on LotR & Hobbit films, but that doesn't make them necessarily bad (they're essentially like a streamlined "reboot" of the franchise to reach new customers). He certainly would have disapproved of the old Middle-Earth Roleplaying. But he also appreciated the royalties and licensing fees he got. They helped get his family through some hard times. And the Tolkien Estate has been caught in that same position ever since - not really liking the new adaptations, but passively supporting them while also snubbing their noses because the money and attention to the original works are flooding in, too.

WotC's timing the release of this book to near-coincide with the release of Weis and Hickman's new CLASSIC DL novel; that's a good thing for both parties. People will cross-pollinate, even if the lore between the books are different. This book release will certainly drive customers to Weis and Hickman's novel and drive up sales.

And the reason WotC hasn't previously opened Krynn for business on the DM's Guild is the same: if we could all get DL material for 5e from polished DM's Guild member products, it would dilute the market for the official WotC release. But put the WotC release first, and THEN open up the DM's Guild to DL, and the Guild Members now have a whole release-season to churn out tie-in content, alongside "Classic" DL conversion content, and everyone wins because all eyes are on DragonLance, whether Classic or Modern, and WotC is making more cuts from it than they would otherwise with the DMs Guild sales tailored to focus on the setting in that 1-3 month window, but it's also not competing with the official release.

Would as many people buy the official DragonLance Modern Campaign Guide for 5e if highly competent Classic DragonLance conversion books had been on the Guild for years before WotC got around to the release? This is the fundamental reason for keeping settings "in the vault."

Finally, the problem with the D&D settings is the same problem that comic books universes and the Star Wars EU have had: decades of poor organization leading to contradictory lore that creates partisan camps for each lore position. The ONLY way to resolve this is with a hard reboot. Star Wars did it with the Disney new canon circa-2014 that threw out all the EU save "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" and "Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir" as LEGENDS that may or may not have happened (it's a well of inspiration that they can draw from for new stories and content but aren't beholden too). Marvel did the same with the MCU - the movies are NOT set in the comic book universe, because you can't make sense of that snarl of lore or assume that viewers know everything and they had to choose a lore stance. So they made their own continuity based on what they wanted from 616 and Ultimates and other influences, too. WotC is doing it by saying "only 5e official lore is canon to 5e official products" - that the other lore is there, and can be drawn on, but they're not beholden to it. They did that in 4e too, but in that case they were less tuned into what their user-base wanted (as much as I adore 4e for what it was). All of these teams have decades upon decades of lore they have to sift through and choose an interpretation.

And "from a certain point of view" is a valid interpretation too. It's YOUR game; you don't have to use Kender-Feywild origin. There's actually nothing mechanically Fey about it. It's NOT like Goblinoids with Fey Ancestry or Changeling becoming Fey-type. It's arguably more similar to Gnomes and Firbolgs, where the lore screams Fey but the mechanics drop the ball.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Look it boils down to pretty simple math.

1. Kender, as written, were absolutely loathed as a race. Probably the most banned race in the history of the game. Yes, I'm not saying it was universal and obviously some people liked them, but, as written, kender were a huge problem at the table.

2. WotC wants to bring back the race because, unlike at the table, in the fiction kender are very popular and also one of the cornerstones of the setting.

So, they strip out the "must steal and disrupt the game" element out of the race. Now, they could have left it at that, but, at that point, they're just halflings with nicer hair. So, they have to keep someone to make them interesting. Now, the race already was magically generated. So, instead of Greygem of Gargath cursing the lawful races to make kender - a not so nice analogy to Romani - they are now Fey, which makes them unique in the setting, removes all those stigmatized connections and wraps up the whole package in a neat bow.

Plus, it actually adds the Feywild to Dragonlance - not a bad idea in a setting where elves play a HUGE role. It's not like additions to the setting have never happened before. And, as far as reimagining the setting goes, this one works pretty well.

Weiss has said, "Not my Dragonlance". That's fine. I don't want to play a forty year old setting. I want to see a new take on the old. I want a reimagining, not simply a line by line retread of the same stuff. I HAVE the old stuff. Why would I want it again?

Can anyone come up with a reason for not making Kender Fey that isn't based on nostalgia or appeals to lore? How would keeping things the same be better?

See, at the end of the day, I guess what I want are 5e mechanics for a 40 year old setting. I grew up on 1st ed games, but 2nd ed settings are what got me excited about D&D as a teenager. The worlds of D&D as depicted in 2nd ed are what D&D is to me. The most important role of the mechanics for me is to allow me to play that game with the players I have now. That means 5e, which I find to be a pretty good base for the game. WotC is moving away from that, both mechanically and especially in the lore, and as much as I know intellectually that complaining about it does little good, emotionally I'm still bitter about it. I really do wish I could just get over it, and I apologize if I've ruffled any feathers.

 

[This Effin’ GM]

See, at the end of the day, I guess what I want are 5e mechanics for a 40 year old setting. I grew up on 1st ed games, but 2nd ed settings are what got me excited about D&D as a teenager. The worlds of D&D as depicted in 2nd ed are what D&D is to me. The most important role of the mechanics for me is to allow me to play that game with the players I have now. That means 5e, which I find to be a pretty good base for the game. WotC is moving away from that, both mechanically and especially in the lore, and as much as I know intellectually that complaining about it does little good, emotionally I'm still bitter about it. I really do wish I could just get over it, and I apologize if I've ruffled any feathers.

Honestly I felt this way when 4e added Dragonborn Tieflings and Eladrin to Eberron. It was weird and felt super shoehorned. It took me a while to get to a point where I could comfortably tell my players “yeah I’m not ever going to center anything around feyspires sooooo plan accordingly”

 

[Micah Sweet]

Agreed.

Some years back, I designed a Mage class for DL based on the Warlock, having a ''Pact'' with one of the 3 moons and one Pact with Divine powers to replace the Cleric class (based on the Celestial warlock and the Divine sorcerer) to make Goldmoon-like characters.

Also, Fistandantilus is named as a possible patron from the (honestly terrible) Undying patron. But I dont see him using CHA as his spellcasting stat. (which is also a problem I have with the UA Lunar Sorcerer)

I don't know about that. Raistlin as written had incredible force of personality and willpower. I could see Charisma being very important to him. That being said, I agree he was a wizard with an interesting backstory, not a warlock.

 

[Marandahir]

I don't know about that. Raistlin as written had incredible force of personality and willpower. I could see Charisma being very important to him. That being said, I agree he was a wizard with an interesting backstory, not a warlock.

Couldn't he have been a Pact of the Tome Warlock with some Wizard-spell granting feats?

 

[Maxperson]

The "Kender solution" is hysterical. "No officer it literally magically appeared from another dimension in my pockets!" is certainly a thing, and a positive divergence from previous Krynn lore, and mechanically the Taunt ability is pretty strong, given it doesn't even get them targeted, is a bonus action, and lasts an entire turn (way to ruin the dragon's day! You could use it back to back round-after-round on the big bad too).

A good chunk of Kender will be rogues, because Kender. Those PCs will have other bonus actions contending for use and so the racial ability might not get as much play as you would think.