Dragonlance Dragonlance: Lunar Sorcerer video by WotC

Vaalingrade · Oct 26, 2022

MonsterEnvy said:
I think you misunderstood. I was saying why would you not use this sub class in Dragonlance, why does it not fit their perception of the setting.

I very much did. Apologies.

Veltharis ap Rylix · Oct 26, 2022

Stormonu said:
Well, I was more referring to the 1E/2E rules, which tied the spell lists to the moons. Seems now they’re doing it to the phases.

Fair, but the three phases are essentially just a reskin for the three moons anyway (as I understand it - not a Dragonlance expert by any means, so I could be mistaken) and there's nothing requiring the sorcerer to change phases. Plus, this makes it more versatile for porting to non-Dragonlance settings.

I would love to see a version of this subclass tailored to the moons of Eberron, but 1312 distinct moon/phase options to pick between might be overboard...

Glade Riven · Oct 26, 2022

Veltharis ap Rylix said:
Fair, but the three phases are essentially just a reskin for the three moons anyway (as I uderstand it - not a Dragonlance expert by any means, so I could be mistaken) and there's nothing requiring the sorcerer to change phases. Plus, this makes it more versatile for porting to non-Dragonlance settings.

I would love to see a version of this subclass tailored to the moons of Eberron, but 1312 distinct moon/phase options to pick between might be overboard...

Since Eberron's moons are other planes, hopefully Planescape's planar magic will fill that hole. Was a bit disappointed that Strixhaven's new mechanics focused on social encounters and didn't contribute much new to magic.

Helena Real · Oct 26, 2022

I like the idea... But the implementation seems counterintuitive. Full moon for Abjuration and Divination? Maybe. New Moon for Necromancy and Evocation? Mm... Not really? I think the New Moon tends to represent trickery and deception, so I think Illusion and Enchantment would fit better (or maybe this is my Werewolf The Apocalypse background knowledge speaking

). And then Crescent Moon for Transmutation and Illusion? Transmutation sure, but Illusion just doesn't feel right. Plus, what about Conjuration and Enchantment?

I think a much better implementation would have been something along the lines of:

New Moon: Illusion and Enchantment
Waxing/Crescent Moon: Transmutation and Conjuration
Full Moon: Abjuration and Divination
Waning Moon: Necromancy and Evocation

Plus, what's all this folk wisdom about Moons being hard to track/a pain in the *ss? I've always tracked the phases of the Moon (and the passage of time in general) in any campaign, or otherwise it feels like the world is in some kind of weird standstill. Plus, in Krynn you get pretty cool stuff, like the Night of the Eye and other moon alignments, which make it narratively interesting.

I'll wait to see the final result but, being honest, it feels like something that maybe could've used another public playtest pass or two

Baron Opal II · Oct 26, 2022

Helena Real said:
Plus, what's all this folk wisdom about Moons being hard to track/a pain in the *ss?

A significant number of DMs don't want to be bothered with tracking time with a firm calendar.

I hope there is more than three phases. I expected five, but depending what exists and how they express the power of different or multiple moons. Still, modification is easier than creation.

Stormonu · Oct 26, 2022

Baron Opal II said:
A significant number of DMs don't want to be bothered with tracking time with a firm calendar.

That would be me, even tracking arrows and the like is a pain in the rear these days for me. Especially with the 3 moons having different cycles (36 days/28 days/8 days for DL). An app that would do that would help, but I just tend to forget one time and then there’s a 20 minute discussion on what night we’re on and what phase the moons are in…

cbwjm · Oct 26, 2022

MonsterEnvy said:
Why it's linked to the setting.

It's linked to the reimagining of the setting which isn't how I would run the game. It's one of my favourite settings and so I have the lore and history of the setting developed over the years. In the setting, sorcery isn't associated with the magic of the moons which is why I won't be using this subclass in the setting. It'd be fine in other settings dealing with magic based on moons though.

Rabbitbait · Oct 27, 2022

Veltharis ap Rylix said:
Fair, but the three phases are essentially just a reskin for the three moons anyway (as I understand it - not a Dragonlance expert by any means, so I could be mistaken) and there's nothing requiring the sorcerer to change phases. Plus, this makes it more versatile for porting to non-Dragonlance settings.

I would love to see a version of this subclass tailored to the moons of Eberron, but 1312 distinct moon/phase options to pick between might be overboard...

That would be insane to track. But also, what impact would a missing moon have on lunar magic? Is there an entire other school of magic that doesn't exist? Or, since the moons are linked to the plains does that mean that no magic connected to sleep or dreaming would work?

Cruentus · Oct 27, 2022

Helena Real said:
Plus, what's all this folk wisdom about Moons being hard to track/a pain in the *ss? I've always tracked the phases of the Moon (and the passage of time in general) in any campaign, or otherwise it feels like the world is in some kind of weird standstill. Plus, in Krynn you get pretty cool stuff, like the Night of the Eye and other moon alignments, which make it narratively interesting.

I'll wait to see the final result but, being honest, it feels like something that maybe could've used another public playtest pass or two

Man, tracking the moons in Dragonlance was one of the things I used to do for fun. Heck, as the wizard, I always made sure to do it. Why should the DM bear the responsibility.

In my Greyhawk game, I have a full year's calendar already printed (that includes the phases of the moon and religious holidays already on it), and I generated all the weather already. Want to know the weather (and wind speed) of a particular day three months from now? I got it!

An app for the moon tracking would be cool if they were going that route, no question. Although this seems more about "ease of play" than anything else. Oh well. Like others have said, its easier to retrofit it if I were going to even try to run 5e's version.