Dragonlance Takhisis Revealed In New Dragonlance Preview Art

WotC has shared some new art of Takhisis, Dragonlance’s 5-headed dragon queen.

 

[Tonguez]

I can't even explain why, but the noses bother me. Like lot. They're way too human, or inhuman. It reminds me of something and I want it to stop. Especially the red and white heads.

The green one can stay.

I love that their faces are inhuman rather than reptilian, although the red reminds me of Snarf, I do like the blue, the eyes are beguiling, almost human but then set behind a scaled snout full of fangs

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Maybe, it depends. Nothing you don't want to have happen at your own table. Or just her aspect on Krynn is killed. Or everything everywhere. To my understanding Weis and Hickman never cared for D&D's multiverse, and always treated Krynn as its own thing.

This. The Weis-Hickman version of Krynn (the one they describe in their novels) is not part of the D&D multiverse, or Spelljammer. It is all that is. Thus there is no conflict between Takhisis and Tiamat: In their version of Krynn Tiamat does not exist.

Thus, the Weis-Hickman version of Krynn is different from the WotC version of Krynn, and so their novels should be considered table-canon, with Tanis and co as their PCs. The War of the Lance, as described in Chronicles, could turn out very differently if [your PCs] were the protagonists.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Isn’t that second picture Tiamat? Why on earth would she ever deign to take the form of a human!?

The lingerie doesn't fit in dragon form.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

I wonder if after the war of souls she was abducted and sent to a dark domain. She could control the chromatic dragons, but her torment would be these are defeated time after time by the Infernal(Lower-Planar) dragons (Howling dragons, hellfire wyrms, Styx dragons, pyroclastic dragons, rust dragons, Tarterian dragons, gloom dragons, chole dragons, and deathmask dragons). The great irony is if she wanted, she could escape, but she is too blinded by the pride, rage and thirst for revenge against the kingpriest (this with the power to control axial dragons, but when he does this, the more fire and frost dragons appear later), other coregent dark lord.

* Maybe there are two Krynns, one is in the Krynnspace, and the Krynn of the novels is a separate demiplane, because in the Cataclysm the planet was "pruned" and sent to a separate demiplane.

 

[dave2008]

Yeah for sure.

I just don’t like the whole thing. If dragons have subspecies I’d rather have potentially limitless variations than 5 evil variations set against 5 good variations and each color looks all the same.

I understand that, but it it is not like those things are a given even. By that I mean, I don't think all red dragons are identical or even uniformly chromatic. In fact, in my world a dragon's color changes with age and they are less monochrome in general. Also, I don't really consider alignment as art direction, nor do my dragons adhere to it much.

 

[dave2008]

Have dragons in general changed that much from Lockwood's

No. As far as I know the metallics have not changed since 3e. For the chromatics the green was changed in 4e and people didn't like it so the 3e design came back for 5e. During the Next playtest they "playtested" an revised red dragon, but ended up going back to mostly the lockwood design. To be fair, IMO the red is a pretty iconic dragon design.

Personally I would love it if '24 was a chance to redesign dragons again, but I don't think it is happening. I had a thread about this a few years back and didn't seem many people cared what they looked like.

 

[dave2008]

While I do appreciate this new take on Takhisis I still very much prefer the versions by Caldwell, Easley, and Stawicki. It looks like the new artist even took some inspiration from Stawicki's armor.

Wow, that Easley one is really bad IMO (both the human and dragon forms). I don't know that the new art is more of a "temptress" than Caldwell's, but I definitely prefer it to the other two.

 

[Alzrius]

The ones in the old version look too similar to me, I like the distinctive looks the Modern D&D Dragons have. Blue with their Rhino Horn, Black with forward facing horns and skull like head, and so on.

I don’t dislike the old version but I for sure prefer the modern looks.

I'm of the opposite disposition, because having distinctive characteristics for each type makes it harder for chromatic dragons to use the old "uses magic to change the color of their scales, throwing off the preparations of dragon-hunters" tactic.

 

[dave2008]

I'm of the opposite disposition, because having distinctive characteristics for each type makes it harder for chromatic dragons to use the old "uses magic to change the color of their scales, throwing off the preparations of dragon-hunters" tactic.

Well they have had distinctive characteristics beyond color since at least 1e:

If your curious:

Spoiler: chromatic

Top row, left to right: black, blue, green, red, white

Spoiler: metallic

Bottom row, left to right: brass, bronze, copper, gold, silver

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Well the have at distinctive characteristics since 1e that go beyond color:
View attachment 266260

now how many players/dms today can name the color of these... I was shocked I could identfy slightly more then half... although 2 I really not only don't know but kind of want to (the asian dragon 2nd row 4th over and teh top row 2nd over dragons)