How to Play Dragonlance in D&D 2024

Let’s examine how you can play a Dragonlance game with the new Dungeons & Dragons 2024 system. There are inevitably going to be rough spots, but I think we can make this work. Buy D&D 2024 Player’s Handbook: https://amzn.to/3DUB61h

Time Stamps:

0:00 Intro
0:51 Preface
3:00 Magic
4:34 Species
8:36 Knighthoods
9:19 World Building
10:28 Afterword
11:08 Outro

Transcript

Cold Open

You don’t have to give up what makes Dragonlance special with the Dungeons & Dragons 2024 Edition

Intro

Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today I am going to talk about how to play Dragonlance with the Dungeons & Dragons 2024 edition. I would like to take a moment and thank the DLSaga members, and invite you to consider becoming a member by visiting the link in the description below. You can even pick up Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate links. I am referencing DL1 Dragons of Despair, DLA Dragonlance Adventures, and the D&D 2024 Player’s Handbook & Dungeon Master’s Guide for this information. If I leave anything out or misspeak, please leave a comment below!

Discussion

Preface

Right from the start I have to say that this may not work for everyone, but I am using this approach in my current D&D 2024 heavily customized Tyranny of Dragons actual play, so if you would like to see it in action, you are welcome to join in YouTube or Twitch chat live. Dragonlance came out of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons in 1984. That’s right, it’s 40 Years old last year! You can check out the 40th Anniversary Celebration on dlsaga.com. What the original game designers did with Dragonlance was completely different from the other settings in that time. They focused on story over game mechanics, and completely isolated the Dragonlance campaign setting from all other settings in the Dungeons & Dragons multiverse. In fact it was so different that I produced a How Dragonlance Broke AD&D Game Conventions video back in 2021. But what is great about Dragonlance breaking game conventions from the start, is that it empowers us to continue doing so. So let’s break D&D 2024, and with inspiration from its inception, find out how we can play Dragonlance in this newest of Dungeon & Dragons editions.

Unlike DL1 Dragons of Despair, where Dragonlance was first introduced to the gaming world in March of 1984, it was set in the Age of Despair, 351 Alt Cataclius. I think the best eras of play for Dungeons & Dragons 2024 edition would be in either the Age of Dreams in the Time of Knights from 2000–960 Prae Cataclius after the birth of civilization and the first & second dragon wars, when the Empire of Ergoth was in its full glory and the Rose Rebellion was on the horizon. This era saw the aftermath of the Graygem of Gargath and sorcery would definitely be a part of the world. Or the Age of Mortals from 384–421+ Alt Cataclius when Wild Sorcery was rediscovered. So why do I reference DL1 Dragons of Despair? Because it informs us how they changed the AD&D game mechanics and player options, and we can use that going forward, in order to stay true to the heart of Dragonlance.

Magic

First and foremost, we need to address the character options. We are in a time of Divine Magic being granted by the pantheon of Gods, and from within one’s self through Mysticism. This explains the feats which players have access to allowing them to heal without being a priest of the Holy order of the Stars. In addition there is Arcane Magic, also granted by the three Gods of Magic and Sorcery which is drawn from the world of Krynn itself. We also have Warlocks with their power coming from pacts with other beings, who respectively draw theirs from either the Gods or Sorcery. While the Divine or Mysticism aspects of magic are taught and structured by the Holy Orders of the Star and the Citadel of Light respectively. In my games all arcane magic is controlled by the Orders of High Sorcery. This will naturally have to shift depending on the era of play in your game. So every arcane caster of any form, must petition to join the Orders by third level, or be considered a renegade. This may not affect them immediately, but it will have lasting complications further into your campaign. The moons will affect all members of the Orders of High Sorcery, and I go back to the DLA Dragonlance Adventures sourcebook for its references. If you want a better looking moon chart, check out the Dragonlance Campaign Setting sourcebook. And if you need help with the Test of High Sorcery check out the Towers of High Sorcery sourcebook. You can use my affiliate link in the description to pick up all three.

Species

Now that magic has been taken care of, let’s examine the races or species presented as player options. And again, we can look back to DL1 Dragons of Despair for inspiration. Dragonlance introduced the Kender race to AD&D, but rather than start from scratch, they applied adjustments to the Halfling race. They reskinned the appearance of the Halfling to look like wizened 14-year-olds that wore shoes. They also added new abilities in addition to all of the existing Halfling traits, Taunt, which prompts a save vs spell. I would suggest a Wisdom Save, which causes the target to attack wildly for 1-10 rounds at -2 penalty to hit and a -2 penalty to their armor class. The second added ability is Fearlessness. I will keep this intact. There is no reason to change it. We have to discuss Handling, and the DLA Dragonlance Adventures has a perfectly manageable system for it. I prefer to let the DM handle it. Now let’s look at Aasimar. These closely resemble the Phaethons in Dragonlance. They are the reputed ancestors of a Kagonesti elf known as the son of Habbakuk. This is where their divine power comes from, and their ability to manifest wings. It’s a near perfect one-to-one match for the Aasimar. Dragonborn will require a little massaging. While they are clearly taken from Draconians originally, you will have the options of base draconians or noble draconians, those made from evil dragon eggs. The noble offshoot was made at the end of the War of the Lance, and there is no reason why those also couldn’t have discovered female eggs like base draconians did, and propagate the species, though they would be more rare. I would suggest leaving the dragonborn traits alone, but depending on the type, removing their ability to fly or wings, and add in their death throe. Gnomes are another that were originally changed for Dragonlance and ended up changing all gnomes forever. They are tinkers and spectacularly fail at it. Yes there are thinker gnomes, but rather than talk about every subrace in every age, it’s easier to let the DM work that out on their own.

Goliath’s are another simple conversion, as they are ancestors to giants in their existing lore, so we will reskin them to half-giants. Orc’s are just as easy. While orc’s don’t exist on Krynn, ogres do, and with the insane changes WotC made to orcs, they fit right into the half-ogre category for me. No other change necessary. The final one on its face seems like it could never fit, and that is the Tiefling. But I am here to say, they actually work out perfectly. You see, Chaos tore a rift to the Abyss in the Turbidus Ocean during the Chaos War. This is where most of the final battles took place. And this is where and when Tieflings entered Krynn. It’s that simple. They saw an opportunity and took it, escaping the lower planes and entering the prime material on Krynn, and have been here for the past 37+ years. Now we should seriously talk about racial normality. Because in Dragonlance racial and sexual bigotry is real, and for these newest or more rare species, they will be seen as aberrations to traditional Ansalonian life. Play it up. PC’s have to hide their appearance lest they be seen as monsters or demons and run out of town, or hunted by NPC knights with something to prove. Part of what Dragonlance does so well is the immersion, so lean into it. Not everyone is welcome among normal races, let alone angelic Aasimar or demonic Tieflings, and even Draconians may still be seen as shock troops for evil. Most important is the breaking of these negative conventions, but it should be earned through encounters and role playing, not just because it’s a PC.

Knighthoods

There are three knighthoods in Dragonlance which are not represented in this new edition. Note that I am not referencing Shadows of the Dragon Queen or other 5e conversions third parties have released. Treat knighthoods as multiclass options. The three major knighthoods are the Knights of Solamnia, the Knights of Takhisis, and the Legion of Steel. Each has its own order breakdowns and structures, and depending on the era of play, there will be more or less knighthood options as well. The D&D 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide showcases Marks of Prestige and Renown as rules that can be applied to these character options. Use them! This adds a sense of immersion and meaning to the character.

World Building

Now lastly depending on the era of play, there will be more or less character options per your DM. But we should also talk about economy, because Dragonlance is a low magic world, and what magic there is, is tightly regulated. Monetary exchange varies radically by era, region and nation. I made a video explaining currency in the War of the Lance, which speaks to historical monetary use as well. Magic items and potions are not widely available and should be true treasures. Artifacts should only be temporarily used in high-stakes campaigns. War, friendship, love and sacrifice are ever present themes. Leverage them. Look to past game systems like Battlesystem for inspiration on mass combat, and make sure every PC’s death has meaning in the grand scheme of the campaign. If not for an event, than for PC inspiration. Use NPC’s to reiterate the impact of a moment and don’t be afraid to pull out the big recurring thematic events like a god’s presence being felt, or a dragon in disguise helping or connecting with the PC’s.

Afterword

If you are looking for suggestions or inspiration, I would return to the original DLA Dragonlance Adventures sourcebook, and then the wonderful D&D 3.5e sourcebooks from Margaret Weis Productions and Sovereign Press. Dragonlance Nexus has released some incredible supplements as well, but nothing trumps your own imagination, and your players ingenuity. Your version of Dragonlance may differ from others’ version. That’s okay, the only important note to remember is that this is about your game, on your table. Have fun with your friends and this wonderful campaign setting.

Outro

But that is all the time I have to talk about how to play Dragonlance in Dungeons & Dragons 2024 edition. What do you think of my reskinning suggestions? Do you think all arcane casters should be members of the Orders of High Sorcery? And finally, will you be playing Dragonlance in D&D 2024 edition? Leave a comment below.

I also want to take a second and let you all know about my new project! I have been developing a system agnostic, dark fantasy campaign setting called DireLands. You can learn more about it on my Eviliv3 Play youtube channel. The link is in the description below.

Also, please consider subscribing to this YouTube channel, ringing the bell to get notified about upcoming videos and clicking the like button. This all goes to help other Dragonlance fans learn about this channel and its content. Thank you for watching, this has been Adam with DragonLance Saga and until next time, remember:

The elves have a saying: ‘Only the dead are without fear.’