Wizards of the Coast is making another go at the upcoming Dragonlance setting reboot, which was officially announced on April 21st. These new ones test materials clearly state that they will be included Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragonqueen, a new book due out later this year. But they also point to perhaps the most powerful character creation options yet.
Jeremy Crawford, game design architect for this project, explained the changes in the YouTube video embedded above. After a conversation about what is not Deviating from the original playtest materials released in March, he gets to the heart of the matter: Characters receive bonus feats, which are stunts they can perform during gameplay. That’s because everyone at the table – even first-tier adventurers – have already survived an apocalypse and emerged from it much stronger.
“In the context of The War of the Lance,” Crawfor said, “when you play a group of characters that participate in this global fantasy war, you have some additional abilities, because not only did that war shape your characters, but it did as well this is a world that survived an apocalyptic event in the form of The Cataclysm. And so the characters here have gone through a melting pot that is unusual compared to many other D&D worlds.”
The Cataclysm is an in fiction event set in the Dragonlance universe which, among other things, removes healing magic from the world of Krynn for a period of time. The gods abandon their races and dragons, which are far more numerous in Krynn than in other environments, disappear for a while. And now, there’s this whole story about a meteorite hitting the planet. That is much.
Of course, healing magic and dragons have returned Shadow of the Dragon Queen takes place, but there’s also an invasion of draconian forces to contend with. For this and other reasons, Wizards has chosen to essentially buff player characters. Players choosing one of the two new backgrounds in Unearthed Arcana: Heroes of Krynn Revisited
“If you choose one of the two backgrounds [included in these new playtest materials] You get a free performance as part of that background,” Crawford said. “Now we’re revealing more about the image, and that means if you’re playing a War of the Lance campaign, choose either one of these two backgrounds, or choose a background from another source if that background isn’t enough when you get a free achievement.” , you can choose one from the list of achievements included in this new Unearthed Arcana.
For those who like power leveling, custom lines – an alternate rule first published in the 2020s Tasha’s cauldron of everything — would possibly give a second talent at character creation, for a total of three bonus talents up to the fourth level. All the details are in the new playtest materials, available for free download starting Monday.
In addition, the kender race will be optimized. Reaction to the original playtest materials was “mixed,” says Crawford — which is why Wizards releases playtest materials in the first place. This version goes “back to basics,” he said, and, the designers hope, more accurately captures the first edition of that race.
“When you return to first edition products, such as Dragons of Mystery, […] It all came down to that mix of fearlessness, unstoppable curiosity, and that taunt that confuses people on the battlefield.”
Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragonqueen arrives in late 2022 according to Wizards. It will be released with a compatible tabletop game described as a novel “fighting game”. Designed by Rob Daviau (Pandemic Legacy) and Stephen Baker (battlemaster), which can be used to directly affect the events of the RPG campaign.
