Dragonlance: Shadows of the Dragon Queen

[Tawmis]

Not surprising, the Heroes of the Lance don't exist anymore (or rather, the players are the Heroes now). So no Tanis, Tasslehoff, Flint, Raistlin, etc. So I'd be surprised if any iconics were even mentioned in passing, never mind given full stat blocks.

Well, the idea of this one is - you don't play the heroes or run into them. It's a vast, large world that Kyrnn. So you're playing characters that have nothing to do with them or anything. If a DM wanted to introduce them, they could just come up with their own stats. But the idea is that the players are the heroes helping in a different way.

I am glad that they didn't include Tanis, Sturm, Raistlin, etc., because I feel like DMs would feel inclined to somehow fudge them into the adventure.

[Rafaelfras]

I think it would be a lot easier to, if you want to restrict High Sorcery robes to wizards at your table, prohibit other casting classes from taking the respective Initiate / Adept feats as their free feats. And then have any wizard who doesn't take it be considered a renegade, as well as non-wizard arcanists in general.

Oh yes, this is a very nice solution, I am not opposed myself the high sorcery towers opening up for other spellcasters. But I do think wizard should get moon based subclasses.
But with the route they choose to follow this solution would fit

[Psyren]

Oh yes, this is a very nice solution, I am not opposed myself the high sorcery towers opening up for other spellcasters. But I do think wizard should get moon based subclasses.
But with the route they choose to follow this solution would fit

Technically they do, as the moons are associated with specific schools of magic e.g. all the Abjurers are white robes, all the Necromancers are black robes etc.

[Rafaelfras]

Technically they do, as the moons are associated with specific schools of magic e.g. all the Abjurers are white robes, all the Necromancers are black robes etc.

The prestige class back in 3rd encompass that very well.
Someone should adapt then for 5th

[Psyren]

My copy unlocked earlier today, so I decided to excerpt the sidebar on nonstandard races from the Races chapter for folks who don't have the book themselves:

PEOPLE FROM BEYOND

Peoples who aren’t native to the world still might find their way to Krynn. It’s possible to find individual members—or even small enclaves—of folk like dragonborn, halflings, tieflings, or any other race in Ansalon. Perhaps such individuals stepped through a portal and found themselves on Krynn, or traded with one of Krynn’s great empires before the Cataclysm. Use such possibilities to play characters of any race you please in your adventures across Krynn.

It states that while the nonstandard races (e.g. dragonborn, halflings, tieflings, etc) aren't native to Krynn/Ansalon, they could still be there if your DM wants them to. What I find most interesting though is the underlined portion, i.e. that there exists a second potential reason for atypical races being in the world beyond the "Jim's Tiefling Fiendlock tripped and fell through a portal/crashed on a wayward spelljammer one day" explanations. That being - Jim, or at least a small pocket/enclave of the people from whom Jim's character descended, could have been present in Ansalon or elsewhere on Krynn from back before the Cataclysm.

To me this makes sense, and is more narratively appealing than Jim's character simply falling through a portal in the present day. After all, prior to the Cataclysm was the Age of Might, perhaps the most high-magic mortal period in Krynn's history, so it's not unreasonable that one or more of the magical empires bouncing around and getting increasingly arrogant back them might have been messing around yanking interlopers/traders from other worlds to Krynn (intentionally or not) - interlopers who ended up keeping their heads low when the sky started very loudly falling - thanks Beldinas! - and may have survived to the War of the Lance as a result.

[Dr.Samurai]

Thanks for sharing that sidebar Psyren.

The three races they chose to highlight is... interesting. They chose two that can easily port over to races that actually ARE on Kyrn (draconians and kender) and tiefling seems to me could be possible anywhere where fiends are present. Are there no fiends on Krynn?

Seems to me that examples such as Genasi, Kenku, and Loxodon would have been a bit more to the point than the ones they chose. Still, point remains, and I agree that inter-planar trade is an interesting premise for this.

[Psyren]

Thanks for sharing that sidebar Psyren.

No problem!

The three races they chose to highlight is... interesting. They chose two that can easily port over to races that actually ARE on Kyrn (draconians and kender) and tiefling seems to me could be possible anywhere where fiends are present. Are there no fiends on Krynn?

Takhisis herself is canonically Tiamat, as of FToD anyway, so I'd imagine several of the fiends she typically consorts with in other settings could be fair game here. And without spoiling, there is indeed a devil present in the included adventure.

Seems to me that examples such as Genasi, Kenku, and Loxodon would have been a bit more to the point than the ones they chose. Still, point remains, and I agree that inter-planar trade is an interesting premise for this.

I'd say "any other race" has those covered without making the suggestion too prominent for the purists (who might get touchy.)

More importantly, this gives us an easy way to reconcile previous "continuity errors" like Denzil.

[JadedDM]

...tiefling seems to me could be possible anywhere where fiends are present. Are there no fiends on Krynn?

Theoretically, they could be found on Krynn. That is to say, there's no rule anywhere that says they don't exist like orcs and halflings. But tieflings were, originally, a Planescape only race. So no mention of them was made anywhere in the old Dragonlance materials, which predated the existence of Planescape. It wasn't until 4E until tieflings were made core; prior to that, they were a fairly obscure race.

So in my mind, tieflings could theoretically exist on Krynn, but I imagine they'd be very rare and probably feared/reviled/misunderstood by the general public, who would mistake them for actual fiends.

Same deal with genasi and aasimar. I think they could theoretically exist, but they'd be incredibly rare and most people wouldn't know what they are, and would probably mistake them for something else entirely.

[Keltest]

Theoretically, they could be found on Krynn. That is to say, there's no rule anywhere that says they don't exist like orcs and halflings. But tieflings were, originally, a Planescape only race. So no mention of them was made anywhere in the old Dragonlance materials, which predated the existence of Planescape. It wasn't until 4E until tieflings were made core; prior to that, they were a fairly obscure race.

So in my mind, tieflings could theoretically exist on Krynn, but I imagine they'd be very rare and probably feared/reviled/misunderstood by the general public, who would mistake them for actual fiends.

Same deal with genasi and aasimar. I think they could theoretically exist, but they'd be incredibly rare and most people wouldn't know what they are, and would probably mistake them for something else entirely.

The bigger thing I think is that fiends in Krynn (as well as celestials, frankly) dont bargain or interact with mortals in ways that would produce a tiefling. If they arent minding their own business, theyre engaging in immediate destruction or working on long term destruction. They certainly dont go around having kids with them except in very specific circumstances.

[Psyren]

So in my mind, tieflings could theoretically exist on Krynn, but I imagine they'd be very rare and probably feared/reviled/misunderstood by the general public, who would mistake them for actual fiends.

While the 2014 PHB made their horns pretty prominent, this was later walked back in subsequent books like Xanathars and SCAG as well as the latest Origins UA. You can therefore play a tiefling whose ancestry is more subtle - looking to most like a hairy human with sharp canines, small bumps on their forehead, dusky skin, and a persistent odor of brimstone for example. Different enough to be noticeable or stand out as odd, but not so monstrous that Farmer Joe will dive for the nearest pitchfork as soon as your hood slips. Indeed, the DM might even require that you look more subtle if you choose to play a race that resembles something scarier.

The bigger thing I think is that fiends in Krynn (as well as celestials, frankly) dont bargain or interact with mortals in ways that would produce a tiefling. If they arent minding their own business, theyre engaging in immediate destruction or working on long term destruction. They certainly dont go around having kids with them except in very specific circumstances.

Eh, I don't see why incubi/succubi at the very least wouldn't consider such couplings part of their job description.

But in any event, it's a moot point as I've covered - you don't have to be descended from a Krynn-native fiend to be on Krynn, you could be descended from a group of tieflings originally from another world (or fiends for that matter) dating back to before the Cataclysm. Krynn-specific fiendish politics/policies need not apply.

[damondion]

Not surprising, the Heroes of the Lance don't exist anymore (or rather, the players are the Heroes now). So no Tanis, Tasslehoff, Flint, Raistlin, etc. So I'd be surprised if any iconics were even mentioned in passing, never mind given full stat blocks.

The Heroes of the Lance have not appeared yet. This is like the early years.

[Laevatein]

The Heroes of the Lance have not appeared yet. This is like the early years.

Rather, they're off in another part of Ansalon, far from where SotDQ's action is happening.

[Witty Username]

Takhisis herself is canonically Tiamat, as of FToD anyway, so I'd imagine several of the fiends she typically consorts with in other settings could be fair game here. And without spoiling, there is indeed a devil present in the included adventure.

Made somewhat complicated given that Takhisis is canonically dead (stripped of her godhood to preserve the balance and stabbed to death with a dragonlance at the end of the war of souls if I remember right).

Wouldn't matter for this adventure though.

[Psyren]

Made somewhat complicated given that Takhisis is canonically dead (stripped of her godhood to preserve the balance and stabbed to death with a dragonlance at the end of the war of souls if I remember right).

Wouldn't matter for this adventure though.

"Killing a god," especially one with a multiversal presence, doesn't have to be a straightforward endeavor in my view.

[Laevatein]

No problem!
Takhisis herself is canonically Tiamat, as of FToD anyway, so I'd imagine several of the fiends she typically consorts with in other settings could be fair game here. And without spoiling, there is indeed a devil present in the included adventure.

Depends whether you regard WotC or Margaret Weis as the rightful authority on the matter (Weis has stated that Takhisis is NOT Tiamat).

[Psyren]

Depends whether you regard WotC or Margaret Weis as the rightful authority on the matter (Weis has stated that Takhisis is NOT Tiamat).

As this is the 5e subforum, I'm talking about D&D 5th edition.

[jrorke1284]

Depends whether you regard WotC or Margaret Weis as the rightful authority on the matter (Weis has stated that Takhisis is NOT Tiamat).

Yes, its a completely original character, like Rickey Rouse or Monald Muck.

[truemane]

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