D&D’s New ‘Dragonlance’ Adventure Includes Crossplay With New ‘Dragonlance Board Game
One of the biggest reveals at D&D Direct was the new Dragonlance adventure and board game. Learn how these systems play together.
D&D Direct gave hungry players an appetizing look at the rest of the year for Dungeons & Dragons. With the launch of Spelljammer, a new starter set, and more, it looks pretty good. But one of the biggest reveals was WotC’s return to Krynn.
This trailer, impeccably voiced by the incomparable Shorheh Aghdashloo, provides us our first look at the venerable world in 5th Edition. And as before, we got a glimpse of heroic battles and a party of adventurers looking to save the day. But at D&D Direct, WotC revealed that the new release was a big experiment for the franchise.
Dragonlance Adventure & Battle Game – A Tale in Two Parts
Head of D&D, Ray Winninger, revealed a lot more about the upcoming Dragonlance release. At the end of the trailer you get a glimpse of the adventure, Shadow of the Dragon Queen, but you also get a look at the Warriors of Krynn “battle game.” Winninger clarified that this is a board game meant to recreate epic battles. And when Winninger says epic, he means epic.
Dragonlance, from the point of view of the 5E team, is all about going bigger and better with epic stories. The kinds of battles that are iconic in Dragonlance feature not one or two, but rather hundreds of dragons taking wing in the sky. Heroes clash with epic villains as the world changes beneath. And Warriors of Krynn is a game meant to let players take part in those battles.
Warriors of Krynn is a co-op board game that allows players to take control of various armies in an attempt to win the day. The game is set during the War of the Lance and allows players – even the DM – to participate in these events that turn the scales of history. But what really seems interesting is where the board game and campaign cross over with each other.
You Got Your Board Game In My Adventure
Shadow of the Dragon Queen, might seem like a typical adventure. It too is set during the War of the Lance. And Winninger was quick to reassure the other members of the press present at the event that this isn’t a reboot or reimagining of Krynn. It’s a new story set during a familiar time, but they’re not throwing away the previous canon.
In fact, a major villain from the series figures prominently in the new campaign. And, well, let’s just say there’s a reason Lord Soth wasn’t in the Ravenloft book.
He looks good riding on the back of a dragon, don’t you think?
Anyway, as part of the adventure the War of the Lance happens. And as Winninger puts it, they don’t want the PCs to feel like they’re taking a background role while the “real heroes” are off-screen being Raistlin-y. So players will have the opportunity to shape the events of the War of the Lance. How?
Well that’s where Warriors of Krynn comes into play. Although, for context, these two products are completely optional. Shadow of the Dragon Queen doesn’t depend on Warriors of Krynn and vice versa. But if you want, when you get to epic moments in the campaign where a massive battle would happen, Warriors of Krynn includes rules and a setup for the various scenarios of the campaign. The Dragonlance Adventure and Board Game play well with each other.
Which is basically a dream come true for many DMs who long for a way to handle epic battles while also playing D&D. The trick was to just play a different game while also playing D&D. Winninger revealed that Warriors of Krynn will allow players to import their custom D&D characters into the board game. There, they’ll have various heroic actions they can take part in as the armies clash. As far as the scale of the game goes, it’s pretty big. Winninger likened it to Battles of Westeros in terms of scale.
And while this is a first for D&D, the team has high hopes. Winninger said they were “particularly excited” to see how this one does. Because after 10 years of exploring D&D adventures, the D&D team is looking for new ways to push the boundaries. And if the players like it, they’ll certainly find more scenarios, more settings – Winninger hinted that we might see the Forgotten Realms – and perhaps even more crossplay products in the future.
Happy Adventuring!
