Dragonlance Dragonlance Nexus Posts Tasslehoff's Pouches of Everything

The Dragonlance Nexus -- the fan site for all things Dragonlance -- has created a free 94-page PDF detailing the Dragonlance setting for D&D 5th Edition. The PDF includes races, organizations, equipment, gods, magic, monsters, geography, a timeline, and more.

Tasslehoff's Pouches of Everything - Dragonlance Nexus

Tasslehoff’s Pouches of Everything is your one-stop shop for all things Dragonlance and Krynn for D&D 5th Edition. Read More

dragonlancenexus.com

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Tasslehoff’s Pouches of Everything is your one-stop shop for all things Dragonlance and Krynn for D&D 5th Edition. During our journey through the people, organizations, monsters and magic of Ansalon, Uncle Tas will be your guide. Tas’ life is easily one of the most storied of anyone from Krynn. He has traveled through time and space, and done things that defy even the wildest of kender tales. That’s why we’ve recruited him to give us insight about every aspect of the world we love!

Tasslehoff's Pouches of Everything is a continuation of the mission of the Ennie Award-winning Dragonlance Nexus - to keep Dragonlance alive (including in gaming) and to celebrate the best of fandom.

So please have a look, and keep watching the Dragonlance Nexus for more new content for Dragonlance in 5th edition.

Long live the Lance!

 

[Ed Mekeel]

Thank you for this. This appears to be a labour of love, and it shows. Well done you.

You're welcome and thank you. Our team worked very hard and we love the setting. This is the first "book" the Nexus has put out, and our products will improve as we get more used to the publishing side of fandom.

 

[Dire Bare]

Not according to WotC, you can't.

Per the 5e SRD:
(b)"Derivative Material" means copyrighted material including derivative works and translations (including into other computer languages), potation, modification, correction, addition, extension, upgrade, improvement, compilation, abridgment or other form in which an existing work may be recast, transformed or adapted; (c) "Distribute" means to reproduce, license, rent, lease, sell, broadcast, publicly display, transmit or otherwise distribute;

I'm not a lawyer, but that's seems pretty clear to me. Give the history of the Nexus and WotC, I'd be shocked to learn that Nexus creators aren't aware of these IP restrictions.

Now here's where it gets interesting: there's no mention of the SRD or OGL in the new Dragonlance book (the mention/inclusion of which is expressly required by the license). There is, however, an ad page promising several more Dragonlance products over the next two years.

Which means that either the Nexus folks slipped not under the radar (unlikely, given that much/most of the content was available on their website for ages) or the document was made with WotC's OK. Given the stats of the Nexus and their relationship with WotC, the latter seems far more likely.

And yet . . . fan-design outside of the OGL and DMsGuild flourishes on the net. Both because it's perfectly legal, and because, legal or not, it's not worth WotC's time and energy trying to shut down.

 

[Ed Mekeel]

One more insight. It was difficult and frustrating laying out the book while recycling old artwork. The Nexus is now actively working to commission new art for further work. If you like what you see, please consider donating to our Patreon as that's the primary funding for the new art. It also helps us get new artists recognized. The Whitestone Council is creating Dragonlance Nexus | Patreon

 

[Dire Bare]

I'm now reading Chapter 2 on organizations, which uses the factions, rank, and renown rules from the DMG . . .

• Overall, I'm impressed! The fluff write-ups do a good job giving you a feel for each organization.
• Knights of Takhisis/Neraka: Your rank/renown is separate from which order you belong to (Lily, Skull, Thorn) and there is no "Dark Knight" subclass . . . which is all good! There is a cleric domain for skull knights and a specialized archer martial archetype for a group within the lily knights. That's it! There are suggested classes for each order within the knighthood. I really like how this is set up. Not much on how thorn knights interact with the orders of high sorcery . . .
• Knights of Solamnia: Like the dark knights, your rank/renown is separate from your chosen order (Crown, Sword, Rose). However, there is a "Solamnic Knight" martial archetype with three sets of abilities dependent on your order. I don't like this, I'd rather it be handled more like the dark knights. Also, when you first join the Solamnic knights, you can choose any order . . . classic knights had to first advance as crown knights, then choose to remain crown knights or advance as sword knights, then again choose to remain as sword knights or advance as rose knights. This advancement scheme was confusing to me in middle school, but it's not dissimilar to how real world masonic orders advance in degrees within their various orders. Did this change in the official lore at some point?
• The solamnics have a "Kingfisher" wizard tradition, a white robe auxiliary order allied to the knights. I love the concept! I'd like to see an equivalent wizard tradition for the dark thorn knights!
• Legion of Steel: the "neutral" order of knights, sorta. I've never really like this organization, nor the Chaos War storyline they sprang from. They seem redundant with the Solamnic Knights. The organization presented here seems rather uninteresting, and there is a Legion Scout ranger conclave that might work well as a Solamnic auxiliary . . .
• Wizards of High Sorcery: Heh, one of the downsides to how DL and D&D have evolved over the decades is the now confusion between "high sorcery" (order-approved wizardry) and "primal sorcery" (the sorcerer class). Anyway, again, which wizardly order you join (White, Red, Black) is separate from your rank/renown and your class/subclass (wizard only, no warlocks or sorcerers). There is no "high sorcery" wizard tradition. I like this! However, as you gain rank/renown, you learn secrets of your given order, which is neat. There are some wizard traditions presented that are associated with the orders, like Dark Dwarf Savant, Dreamshaper, Griffon Wizard, Renegade Hunter, Sea Mage, and Winternorn. Neat!
• Holy Orders of the Stars: Nothing on the various clerical orders!!!

 

[Ed Mekeel]

I'm now reading Chapter 2 on organizations, which uses the factions, rank, and renown rules from the DMG . . .

• Overall, I'm impressed! The fluff write-ups do a good job giving you a feel for each organization.
• Knights of Takhisis/Neraka: Your rank/renown is separate from which order you belong to (Lily, Skull, Thorn) and there is no "Dark Knight" subclass . . . which is all good! There is a cleric domain for skull knights and a specialized archer martial archetype for a group within the lily knights. That's it! There are suggested classes for each order within the knighthood. I really like how this is set up. Not much on how thorn knights interact with the orders of high sorcery . . .
• Knights of Solamnia: Like the dark knights, your rank/renown is separate from your chosen order (Crown, Sword, Rose). However, there is a "Solamnic Knight" martial archetype with three sets of abilities dependent on your order. I don't like this, I'd rather it be handled more like the dark knights. Also, when you first join the Solamnic knights, you can choose any order . . . classic knights had to first advance as crown knights, then choose to remain crown knights or advance as sword knights, then again choose to remain as sword knights or advance as rose knights. This advancement scheme was confusing to me in middle school, but it's not dissimilar to how real world masonic orders advance in degrees within their various orders. Did this change in the official lore at some point?
• The solamnics have a "Kingfisher" wizard tradition, a white robe auxiliary order allied to the knights. I love the concept! I'd like to see an equivalent wizard tradition for the dark thorn knights!
• Legion of Steel: the "neutral" order of knights, sorta. I've never really like this organization, nor the Chaos War storyline they sprang from. They seem redundant with the Solamnic Knights. The organization presented here seems rather uninteresting, and there is a Legion Scout ranger conclave that might work well as a Solamnic auxiliary . . .
• Wizards of High Sorcery: Heh, one of the downsides to how DL and D&D have evolved over the decades is the now confusion between "high sorcery" (order-approved wizardry) and "primal sorcery" (the sorcerer class). Anyway, again, which wizardly order you join (White, Red, Black) is separate from your rank/renown and your class/subclass (wizard only, no warlocks or sorcerers). There is no "high sorcery" wizard tradition. I like this! However, as you gain rank/renown, you learn secrets of your given order, which is neat. There are some wizard traditions presented that are associated with the orders, like Dark Dwarf Savant, Dreamshaper, Griffon Wizard, Renegade Hunter, Sea Mage, and Winternorn. Neat!
• Holy Orders of the Stars: Nothing on the various clerical orders!!!

Hi there and thanks! Yes, the Solannic Order lore has shifted as there was a disparity between the gaming material and the books. No you don't need to take rank in each order. We had a lot of conversation over this and wanted to make it playable and less confusing.

 

[Dragonhelm]

So on the Wizards of High Sorcery (WoHS for short), we could have created either a single WoHS arcane tradition, or 3 separate ones for the White, Red, and Black Robes.

However, that would kill a ton of existing options throughout the PHB and the rest of D&D, not to mention cool wizard traditions such as the Kingfisher.

So that's the reason we went the way we did.

 

[Dire Bare]

So on the Wizards of High Sorcery (WoHS for short), we could have created either a single WoHS arcane tradition, or 3 separate ones for the White, Red, and Black Robes.

However, that would kill a ton of existing options throughout the PHB and the rest of D&D, not to mention cool wizard traditions such as the Kingfisher.

So that's the reason we went the way we did.

I really like how you handled the Wizards of High Sorcery, and the Dark Knights, with their respective orders being separate from rank/renown and class/subclass. It's elegant, avoids cookie cutter knights/wizards, and as you say, allows PCs to take other class options. Neat! The Solamnic Knights are almost similar, but did get a knight subclass unlike the other organizations, what led to that decision?

 

[Dire Bare]

Hi there and thanks! Yes, the Solannic Order lore has shifted as there was a disparity between the gaming material and the books. No you don't need to take rank in each order. We had a lot of conversation over this and wanted to make it playable and less confusing.

So, the whole crown first, then sword, then rose was an artifact of the 1E game rules, but was not echoed in the novels? Okay! It's been so long since I've read any of the source material, but I remembered the weird way Solamnics advanced, at least in the game rules!

 

[Dire Bare]

I'm now in Chapter 4 on weapons and equipment . . .

• No mention of steel pieces as currency . . . good! They do mention that steel has been sometimes scarce . . .
• Lots of weird, Krynnish weapons here from the lore . . . which is good, but . . . the descriptions aren't always clear (to me) what exactly some of these weapons look like and how they are used.
• Cultural information (which races/cultures use them) is in a table, which leads to some of the written descriptions being unclear (to me).
• That's it! 3 pages. Probably don't need more, other than for illustrations of all of the weird DL weapons!

Chapter 5 on gods . . .

• I glossed over this, as I'm not expecting info much different from what I remember. There is a chart listing the clerical domains for each deity . . . but still nothing substantial on the Holy Orders of the Stars . . .
• Info on the High God, Chaos, and Mina (oops, spoilers!) are included.

Chapter 6 on magic . . .

• This chapter mostly focuses on the "ambient magic" of Krynn, or "primal sorcery" and the mystic's "power of the heart" . . . which came from the Age of Mortals/Dragon Overlords storyline when Dragonlance used the Saga rules system.
• IMO, this is an era of DL history that is a total mess. Consequently, this chapter is a bit of a mess, although I think the designers did a good job trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.
• There are no subclasses for primal sorcerers or heart mystics, but rather suggestions on how to use existing options from official D&D to represent these types of characters. It works, although I think it leaves something to be desired. What exactly, I don't know.

Chapter 7 on magic weapons & items . . .

• skimmed it, mostly updates on various items and artifacts from the lore. Looks good!
• Blue Crystal Staff, Staff of Magius, Dragonlances . . . check!
• Details on the Medallion of Faith, which each true cleric of the gods needs to work their magic are given . . . but again, not much on how being a cleric of the true gods, of the Holy Orders of the Stars works . . .

Chapter 8 on creatures . . .

• skimmed it, includes the core draconians (no noble or proto draconians here), dragonspawn, hatori, ogre titans, skrit, spectral minions . . . more to come later in the Bestiary slated for 2022.
• I think in this basic book, we didn't really need most of these . . . in fact, this chapter could have been skipped entirely and saved for the upcoming Bestiary.

Chapter 9 Timeline . . .

• sigh, just reminded me how much I don't like what happened to Dragonlance starting with the Chaos War, then the Dragon Overlords, and then onto the War of Souls. It's a mess, but again, that's the official canon. The designers do a good job summarizing the lore of the setting here.
• If I ever run a DL campaign, it'll be set just after Ariakan founds the Knight of Takhisis, before the events of the Chaos War get underway . . . and I'll ignore all that comes later in the official canon.

Chapter 10 Geography . . . I ran out of steam, but again I'm guessing the designers do a good job of relating the current state of DL lore . . .

 

[delazar_fb]

Love what you did with this!

I’d like WoHS to be less tied to Class, and more to “results”. Like, who can tell a wizards from a sorcerer, from a bard, from a warlock, unless you’re looking at their character sheet? So I would have all Arcane classes be allowed to join the WoSH

but I also consider Chronicles and Legends the only canon, so I understand that you had more space to give a in-game reason for other classes to be what they are

wonderful work, really!