D&D: ‘Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen’ Preview of First Chapter
With a first chapter that promises “Dunkirk style evacuations” the new Dragonlance adventure promises an epic story.
WotC offered up a look at the new Shadow of the Dragon Queen in a recent press event. This new adventure marks a bold experiment for WotC. Not only is it the first adventure to bring digital/physical bundles to 5E, it’s also launching with a companion board game.
Both adventure and board games can be played independently of one another. But the new game, Warriors of Krynn is meant to help bring the massive battles between Dragonarmy and Alliance forces into the foreground of your campaigns.
Player characters will all have a role to play. But one of the big points Wizards of the Coast hopes to hit with this companion piece is the idea that war is big. That the world is big. And the player characters are just one part of it.
These rules are reflected in the new board game, Warriors of Krynn, co-designed by Rob Daviau, who pioneered Legacy mechanics with Risk Legacy and later Pandemic Legacy alongside their respective co-designers. While Warriors of Krynn isn’t a full-on legacy-style game, it does draw on elements of that. Inside the board game you’ll find sealed sets of cards that unlock as players level up.
“There are 12 scenarios. Some of them tie very closely into key moments of the role-playing game, and some of them are a little less defined so the DM can shape them, or remove them, or put them in as they like.”
This ties in neatly to the adventure. When a battle might occur, there are rules for either switching to Warriors of Krynn, or you can use a subsystem designed for this adventure.
Speaking of, let’s take a look at the first chapter. Spoilers ahoy!
Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen – 1st Chapter Preview
In Shadow of the Dragon Queen, you don’t jump into war, eight o’clock day one. Instead, you ease into it. Because as the designers of the adventure stated, they want this story to feel as personal and character-focused as any good war story. The growing conflict of the War of the Lance is a backdrop, but at the heart of it, the characters.
It all starts in the fishing village of Vogler. There, as senior designer F. We Shcneider puts it, the players can get involved in the quiet life.
“The players have the opportunity to meet up and celebrate the life of a mutual friend, and get to know this quaint little town.”
And during the middle of a big celebration, the Kingfisher festival no less. It’s every bit as pastoral as it sounds. Players can challenge Vogler’s mayor, Raven Uth, to a fishing contest.
There are carnival games to play. Fun and whimsy enough to draw characters in, especially with more light-hearted elements like the introduction of Tinker Gnomes, who have invented a “rapid transit” catapult system.
It’s a quiet, shire-like pastiche.
Until rumors start flying.
As Schneider stated:
“There are stories of dragon-like people sneaking around the hinterlands of the community. Soon it becomes obvious that Vogler is the first stop for an incursion of new, largely unknown enemy forces from farther east that are sweeping towards the town.”
In Schneider’s words, the team is taking inspiration from real-world history like Dunkirk. As enemy forces loom and the 1st chapter moves towards its climactic showdown, it becomes apparent that this town is unprepared for war.
And it’s up to the player characters to decide what to do. Gather forces, evacuate the city, hold off an army? There are plenty of options and paths your party might take. Schneider has said:
“The story of your Krynn and of this Dragonlance setting is very much up to DMs and players to define.”
Shadow of the Dragon Queen and Warriors of Krynn release December 6th!
