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Message: <blockquote data-quote="humble minion" data-source="post: 9188353" data-attributes="member: 5948">Continuing my semi-review, and in the light of planning a War of the Lance era game...Path of the Dragon Totem barbarian doesn't really have much canonical support that I'm aware of, but I'd allow it as a more martial way of expressing a character with a way-back draconic ancestor, rather than being limited to draconic sorcerer.  It's a little flashier and more magical than I like my DL warrior-types, but in context, it works.  It's entirely in-genre for Dragonlance PCs to have mysterious ancestries, after all.College of Psalmistry fits beautifully as a worshipper of Branchala, which is a bit of a gap in the standard cleric domain set.  It does seem a bit difficult to use effectively though.  A full caster should be wary of engaging in melee, there's almost always something better to do, but your clearly best ability is the quasi-smite (which you can trigger after hitting an opponent, so you can hold on to it until you score a crit and then pump out doubled damage, just like a paladin).  A bit of mechanical tweaking needed maybe, but definitely a good concept.I'm not a huge fan of the Adjudication cleric.  Maybe it comes into its own later on in canon with the dark knights etc, or could be used in an Istar campaign, but it doesn't seem to have much of a place in the War of the Lance.  Excellent spell list, distinctly unexciting features otherwise.Freedom domain actually looks like a bit of fun, although Fly on your cleric is a bit of a dilemma considering how many great concentration spells you have already.  Conceptually it could work for several deities (including poor neglected Branchala) even though it's not laser-focused on any one of them.  Abilities are a bit situational, but if you're fighting dragons then the Channel Divinity option will be worth its weight in gold, and this IS a Dragonlance game after all.  And while you won't use Divine Retribution much, when you do get the chance it's GREAT.Circle of Spring Dawning is a reasonable attempt to bring back the old druid's animal companion, which i kinda applaud in a product for a retro setting like Krynn.  It's not particularly Dragonlancey except for the name, but it's certainly not out of genre, and it's perfectly functional.  There is an attempt to have your beast advance alongside PC advancement, so you're no just continually replacing your beloved companion as you level up like the PHB beastmater ranger is, but the critter still isn't going to be very survivable, or deal out much damage.  Personally, I'd give beast companions the chance to make Death saves like PCs, and maybe give them a damage die boost as they level up too.I'm not sure the Knight of Solamnia gives us much we can't get elsewhere, via Battlemaster, or cleric multiclassing.  And I'm not in love with the implementation - isn't a Knight of Solamnia expected to climb up through the ranks of the different orders sequentially, eventually becoming a Rose knight?  Picking your order at level 3 and staying with it seems like a wonky implementation for me.I can see where they're going with Windrider, but I think it was a flawed approach.  Aerial combat is obviously a huge feature of Dragonlance, but this doesn't seem to be the way to do it, both from the perspective of locking it behind a single subclass, or the slooooow acquisition of major class features.  What would have been more useful is maybe a set of expanded rules or options for combat on dragon/griffin/wyvern-back?  And yeah, having a flying mount and not being able to use it to fly for 10 levels is no fun at all.  WotC did it badly in Fizban's too.Mantis monk is solid.  Not un-weird, in the way it veers abruptly from Open Hand clone to Bug Summoner Guy half way through, but interesting enough and the Prayer of the Mantis ability gives them significant extra hitting power.I don't think the Clerist Paladin needed to be here at all.  Devotion paladins already exist, and fulfil exactly the same niche - this one looks a bit like it was only included because the writers wanted to have a new subclass for every class.  It's just ground already trod.  Why not explore what a dwarven paladin looks like, or a Sikket Kul paladin, or a paladin of Shinare?  Or a GULLY dwarf paladin?  Or a paladin of the moon gods, a guardian of the Towers of High Sorcery?I'm not really well informed about the Steel Legion, but the Legion Scout doesn't do much for me.  Ranger with spy abilities.  I can see the niche, just find it unexciting.  Abilities are ... ok?  Mostly for an intrigue campaign?  The free castings of Path Without Trace is the best one.  Without ANY combat-related subclass abilities before level 15 though, you might find yourself a bit behind the 8-ball in a pure fight before then.  Most rangers get SOME sort of combat boost from their subclass.Nightstalker is probably already better then the Phantom, and just needed another edit pass.  I'd allow this one, in a War of the Lance game even though it's pre-canon to nightstalkers existing in Krynn I think.  But the same as an Ancestral Guardian barbarian or an Undead warlock, i have no problems with PCs getting magical abilities from the dead spirits that surround them, even in the absence of gods (I wouldn't let them cast healing magic in the WotL though).  The class just needs some minor editing to be really good.  Some of the spell list choices are deeply weird - why can they cast Fireball but not the extremely thematic Speak With Dead?  How does the Commune with Undead ability work when the target is actively trying to kill you?  And isn't a permanent incorporeal spy a bit much at level 3?  Oh, and it'd greatly benefit from being able to use some of the newer Xanathar's and Tasha's spells, too.  Spell school guidelines, like an Eldritch Knight or Spellthief gets, would have been a better option than a flat spell list.  Perhaps divination and necromancy?Elemental Blade is a post-Chaos War thing, and really doesn't fit with my image of Krynnish spellcasters.  To each their own though.Fallen Tower - hmm, sure about this one.  I don't like the idea of actually making a literal pact with a Fallen Tower, but being tainted by its shadow, or growing up in its aura - that could work.  The abilities are nice (and every warlock loves to get hold of Fireball), if a bit all over the shop thematically.  Both spell list and abilities are very very one-dimensionally combat-focused though - there's not much generic utility here, which I'm not sure i like.Kingfisher Wizard is perfectly in-theme as a support arm of the knights of Solamnia, just a little weak.  The exception is the 10th level ability which is absolutely brutal.  It doesn't even have a range specified, or 'target you can see' proviso, so you can mark your target from half-way across the world, then teleport in and zap them knowing they'll have disadvantage on all their saves.  Naaaasty.  Honestly though,, I don't see a reason to limit the Magic of Loyalty to 1/short rest when it has a spell slot cost already.  It's not THAT powerful.Winternorn wizard I'd allow without hesistation.  It's basically a cold themed caster, despite the descriptive text.  Cold resistance at level 2 is nothing to sneeze at, and Ice Magic makes them the single most suited character to take Elemental Adept.  I could just wish there was a bit more 'norn' to go with the 'winter' - the only forseeing-like feature is the level 10 one, and that's only advantage on some rolls int mod times per long rest.  Still, you can cover that with your spell selection if you want to play more in-theme.  I admit i was hoping for less of a one-dimensional blaster here though.  Needs more norning.</blockquote>

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