The Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen Combo Bundle
The first is one which followers have been clamoring for—bundles that mix the bodily and digital variations of a ebook. Earlier this 12 months, WotC bought D&D Beyond, which has been producing digital content material for D&D. Now the much-requested bundles are debuting with Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen, and the digital ebook will unlock on November 22 for individuals who pre-order the bundle, two weeks sooner than the official launch date.
The different experiment is pairing the RPG journey with a board recreation. Dragonlance: Warriors of Krynn may be performed alone or together with the RPG, which equally can stand unbiased of the board recreation. Why create two completely different video games for one story?
Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen
“[Dragonlance] is a war adventure. Characters will find themselves flung into battle,” mentioned F. Wes Schneider, lead designer for DL:SotDQ. The board recreation is one strategy to create that feeling of mass fight.
The D&D staff created new rule subsystems for battles which might be going down in the course of bigger conflicts. When you get to the mass fight sections in DL:SotDQ it notes when you possibly can swap to DL:WoK in case you have each. If you solely have DL:SotDQ, then it instructs the DM proceed.
Speaking of guidelines, DL:SotDQ makes use of the present 5E rule set. D&D One continues to be being play-tested, however Schneider emphasised once more that D&D One might be absolutely appropriate with present D&D adventures. If you do have each DL:SotDQ and DL:WoK, what occurs in the course of the board recreation interludes issues. Whether gamers succeed or fail will have an effect on what occurs subsequent within the RPG. “We think of these two experiences as additive to each other,” mentioned Greg Tito, senior communications supervisor for WotC.
To give a way of the way it works, Schneider in contrast how issues play out with the brand new rule subsystem in addition to the way it connects to the non-obligatory board recreation to the Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. Specifically, he referenced Eowyn combating the Witch King: An enormous battle is going down, however the story is specializing in this one a part of the battle.
The new RPG mass fight rule subsystem and board recreation had been each made to emphasise Dragonlance‘s defining theme. “It’s best known for its iconic war,” mentioned Schneider. “It’s caught up in this sweeping conflict called the War of the Lance, where the forces of Takhisis, the evil dragon queen, are sweeping across a world that has already been reeling from a planet-spanning apocalypse and now they find themselves just as they’re starting to emerge back into a new era, these oncoming dragon armies and forces of this evil queen.”
In DL:SotDQ a brand new group of heroes will collect in a brand new space of the setting. Characters discover themselves embroiled on this huge, warfare they usually have the chance to form this battle. DL:SotDQ begins within the fishing village of Vogler. The warfare hasn’t but begun. No one is aware of in regards to the dragon armies.
One of the primary NPCs the gamers will meet is Darrett Highwater, the squire of a knight who has been despatched to get breakfast. Highwater is returning with breakfast handpies as he meets the gamers. They will proceed to satisfy Highwater over the course of the journey because the warfare escalates.
But earlier than that warfare begins, the gamers get to benefit from the Kingfisher Festival within the pretty city of Vogler. They can compete in a fishing fashion mini recreation in opposition to Mayor Raven Uth. Players ought to genuinely get pleasure from their time in Vogler—after which the primary glimmers of warfare seem. Rumors emerge that do not fairly make sense. Ogres mercenaries start to raid. Then Vogler turns into the primary cease for an incursion by the dragon military.
Because Vogler is unprepared for warfare it is as much as the PCs to resolve what to do. Can they create defenses in time? Gather sufficient forces to defend it? Or maintain off the dragon military till the residents can evacuate to the fortified metropolis of Kalaman? Schneider mentioned that a big a part of the journey took inspiration from real-world historical past just like the evacuation of Dunkirk throughout WWII.
But Dragonlance has an extended historical past that features novels, journey modules, and video video games so a standard query is when does DL:SotDQ happen? For that, Schneider had two solutions. “A lot of the timeline for this is very vague,” mentioned Schneider. “The story of your Krynn and of this Dragonlance setting is very much up to DMs and players to define.”
So DMs can modify DL:SotDQ as they see match and place it in no matter time interval they select. “But were we [the D&D team] to place this somewhere,” Schneider continued, “literally this story would actually take place before a lot of the novels, before a lot of the other stories of the Heroes of the Lance… by several months to several years.”
Schneider continued to clarify that Krynn is a giant planet, and in contrast how this explicit story works to Star Wars in that there is a entire universe of tales to inform. Those tales embody every thing from Rogue One to the saga, The Mandalorian to The Book of Boba Fett. “Where’s Luke and Leia?,” continued Schneider as he expanded on the analogy. “They’re out there. They’re doing their own thing, but we’re focused over here on this story.”
Because a lot materials already exists, do not anticipate a repeat of in-depth world constructing. Instead Schneider in contrast DL:SotDQ to how Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden launched the Ten Towns. “A lot of the setting is revealed through play and adventure,” mentioned Schneider
DL:SotDQ additionally contains three brief prelude adventures that can enable new gamers to study extra in regards to the world of Krynn and key story parts of it. Those embody proof that the deities are returning to the world, draconians, and studying in regards to the mages of excessive sorcery. A gazetteer additionally helps to fill in important materials.
While the threats in DL:SotDQ are dire, some lighter moments are included. For instance, the ingenious tinker gnomes have invented one thing known as “gnomeflingers” for fast transportation. As the title signifies, it is “a catapult that fires people.” Unfortunately, touchdown is not built-in. That’s a distinction system known as a “narrycrash.”
Kender might be a playable species as normal in DL:SotDQ. Quite a lot of dwarves are additionally talked about, however gully dwarves usually are not.
Dragonlance: Warriors of Krynn
Speaking of playable characters, one of many options in case you have each DL:SotDQ and DL:WoK is that gamers can deliver their characters into the board recreation, placing them into the sphere of battle. DL:WoK additionally comes with unpainted minis, however gamers can substitute their very own minis if desired.
The board recreation’s lead designers are Rob Daviau and Stephen Baker. Daviau defined that DL:WoK is not the sport most individuals in all probability anticipate to depict battlefield fight. “It’s not a traditional wargame,” mentioned Daviau. “You are not commanding the units. The battle is bigger than you. You can influence the battle, but the battles are happening around you. Players are doing a special mission during the battle.”
Daviau additionally cautioned folks in opposition to opening and studying the entire recreation parts earlier than starting to play. While DL:WoK isn’t a legacy recreation the place some playing cards are destroyed, sure parts are in shrink-wrapped packages which might be marked “do not open until…” so there are surprises. Instead it directs you to “use X if Y happens.”
There are additionally recruit, veteran, and legendary playing cards. Those packs must also keep sealed till indicated. Players will begin with low-level skills and advance to the upper degree ones. Because the battle is so huge, gamers will get some completely different skills in sure conditions. Players can even encounter NPCs from DL:SotDQ like Darrett Highwater in DL:WoK (he will get a battlefield promotion shortly).
The board recreation additionally helps role-playing. For instance, if a participant or NPC will get the Shaken situation within the board recreation that impact may be role-played when the gamers resume the RPG facet. What the gamers do within the board recreation completely makes a distinction as a result of the alliance military is sort of all the time outnumbered. The gamers assist to shift the main target so the alliance can survive. Daviau mentioned they play-tested model the place the gamers did nothing, and it affected the result for the alliance.
DL:WoK is a cooperative recreation. Not all playing cards are performed in your flip. If you will have the best playing cards in your hand, you possibly can exert affect on another person’s flip. Cards are regained by relaxation. The recreation is designed for 3-5 gamers so the DM can tackle the function of a mercenary and play if there aren’t sufficient gamers. If there are, the DM can act as a facilitator and play the NPCs. DL:WoK is difficult. It’s arduous for the alliance to get models again, and unhealthy guys win ties in cube rolls. Interestingly, the sport solely makes use of d6s—no d20s.
DL:WoK begins with a sandbox opener to offer the gamers a way of the way it works. A bunch of farmers should be rescued. Vile champions will impede the gamers’ paths. As the sport progresses, the battles turn into extra advanced and larger to simulate the texture of fight in opposition to an amazing dragon military.
The board recreation has many battlefields, and the gamers might want to handle many flanks. One flank will all the time be lively to create a cinematic really feel, and gamers will transfer backwards and forwards between the battlefields so it feels epic.
Daviau expects DMs to create their very own situations to increase DL:WoK past what’s supplied and for them to equipment bash the sport to deal with warfare situations for any D&D or homebrew setting. If it sells properly, WotC might provide future variations custom-made for different settings.
When a battle ends within the board recreation, there’s an interlude to tie the RPG and board recreation collectively. Winning board recreation battles deliver benefits to the RPG marketing campaign. DMs are given clear directions so it is a simple transition between the 2, akin to should you had a win, do X, if it is a maintain, do Y, and if it was a loss, do Z. And that works each methods. For instance, after a sure assembly in DL:SotDQ a sure vile commander will not seem once more within the board recreation.
What Makes Dragonlance Different
While Dragonlance is a warfare story, the designers emphasize that the very best warfare tales are about folks coming collectively. War is not enjoyable. Vogler was a beautiful neighborhood till an evil goddess ruined it. The heroes are supposed to be a beacon of hope.
That warfare additionally supplies a sure sense of scale that the artwork is designed to bolster. For instance, the artwork scenes are huge as a substitute of zooming in on a couple of characters. Rather than a single full web page of artwork to open every chapter, DL:SotDQ opens every chapter with a two-page unfold so it is extra cinematic.
When requested how Dragonlance is completely different from Forgotten Realms or Spelljammer, Schneider mentioned, “A lot of it is certainly thematic… [Spelljammer is] high magic, far flung, wild explorations in space, even if you’re exploring a dungeon or you go and fight a dragon, you’re doing that in context of wild explorations in space, and that has a theme that influences everything you do.”
“In Dragonlance,” Schneider continued, “you go to dungeons, you fight dragons, you encounter hobgoblins. You do all of that, but it’s in context of war. These are the enemies of a larger invading force. There is an evil queen uniting them who plans to conquer the world. You are heroes standing against all of this happening. You will have all of the typical D&D adventures you love, but the stakes are much higher.”
The Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen combo bundle may be pre-ordered by the WotC web site for $59.94 plus delivery. D&D: Dragonlance Deluxe, containing the board recreation and the bodily and digital variations of the ebook for $154.98 plus free delivery for the U.S., UK, France, and Germany. Dragonlance: Warriors of Krynn by itself is $79.99.
