Dragonlance Shadow of the Dragon Queen - The Battle of Steel Springs (Part I)

Spoilers follow for the adventure…

Players defeated the mummy knight and discovered a horde of treasure, including a scroll of remove curse, hidden in his sarcophagus. The scroll was the object of their quest, which would allow Davgin to remove the curse from the rapier Fallon bought.

The party returned to Kalaman to find it strangely quiet. Except for the city guard and their own company most of the army was absent. They went to Castle Kalaman to investigate.

First they found Rookledust in her workshop, which she emerged from disheveled, whilst a whir of clockwork and machinery sounded out from inside. She was largely unhelpful, having spent the past several days working.

Next they went to Marshal Vendri’s office, finding a disheveled aide-de-camp examining maps and dispatches. She recounted how the Marshal had taken the bulk of the army to attack the Red Dragon Army’s supply lines toward Estwilde, while afterwards Lord Bakharis had taken most of the remaining troops against orders to attack the enemy near the ford of Steel Springs on the Inkwater River.

The heroes rested for the night, still exhausted from their adventure in the tomb, and then set out with their other troops towards the ford to attempt to save Bakharis’ force from destruction by his own hubris.

The march took two and a half days. Their scouts reported that the troops were in combat on the Western side of the Inkwater, being driven towards the river in disarray.

Attempting to save the army, the adventurers committed their own forces to battle, managing to drive off several enemy units and rally some of the remaining units of Bakharis’ force.

GM Reflections

This session provided me the opportunity to employ the mass combat system again from Kingdoms & Warfare. The players seemed to enjoy it more this time. They are once again back on the railroad though, with little time to rest. I would put more effort into building out a node-based plot, but the players have already expressed that they are excited to try a new campaign, but don’t want to simply end this one. So I’ll do my best to advance them in level and bring this to a satisfying conclusion.

Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen - The Knight's Tomb (Part II)

Spoilers follow for the adventure…

The skeletons certainly shocked the adventurers, but they quickly turned them back to inanimate bones. With the threat past and the evidence of necromatic energy present, Asterius found himself more morally flexible, and the adventures found some treasure amongst the dead.

Next, Gringle spied a hidden door, which led to a lower chamber dominated by a still pool of water. As the adventures moved into the chamber, the water formed into an elemental creature, angry at its long imprisonment. Though the angry elemental fought hard, the adventurers soon defeated it. 

The party then spent the next hour or two searching for secret doors because they had yet to encounter the mummies that the preparatory materials indicated was in the tomb.

Eventually they found secret door in the stairwell from the front entrance, and through it entered an inner crypt. Within they fought three sarcophagi. The adventurers attempted to open one and awoke three wights. Asterius’ armored form helped block most of the wights attacks, and the spellcasters blasted down the undead knights.

At last they opened the secret door to another inner crypt, and were confronted by the awakened mummy of the leader of the knights of the tomb. He demanded that they leave and explained that the dead could not rest here because of the treachery of the master of Daargard Keep to the West. The foul energy of this betrayal had kept these knights’ spirits from departing, and they had slowly gone mad from their time in the tomb. The party attacked the knight after discovering all this…

GM Reflections

While I like the map I used for this tomb, it illustrated one issue Justin Alexander has also called out—placing essential story or rewards behind a secret door halts story progression. I will heed the warning better next time. This dungeon is so small though that it feels a bit sad not to use the entire thing. Next time though I’ll put the required reward in a place not blocked by a secret door and then have greater rewards for the secret area that are nonessential to the story.

Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen - Emperor of the Waves (Part III)

Spoilers follow for the adventure Salvage Operations from Ghosts of Saltmarsh…

Finally hoisting the heavy box up, Asterius and Fallon laboriously hauled it up the ladder from the hold as tentacles continued to batter the hull near them and water gushed in. Gringle and Davgin were already well up the stairs, and dodging tentacles. Gringle was knocked prone as the ship shuddered and began to list. He scrambled up, screaming towards the Spirit of Winter for the jollyboat to come pick them up. Davgin fired a firebolt into the air to act as a flare.

The boat began its slow approach, eventually reaching them as everyone had finally clambered to the top of the quarterdeck to avoid the rising waters. As they paddled away, the Emperor of the Waves cracked in two and sank into the depths.

After a long day the adventurers returned to Kalaman, and took the box to Aubreck Drallion. The shabby merchant could barely contain his excitement, and promised them that he would send their payment in a few days once he had time to liquidate the property and credit notes.

The merchant’s word, and his money, were good. Within a few days the characters found their coffers swollen with gold. Naturally they decided to go spend some of their hard earned cash.

First they went shopping at an Oddities shop. The. Went to an Apothecary owned by a mysterious dark mage of the Mages of High Sorcery. Her name was Wyham, and based upon her knowledge of his exploits, she extended Davgin an invitation to Red Robes of High Sorcery. She wrote to the tower on his behalf. 

While there, Asterius purchased a long sword of dragon slaying, and Fallon bought a short sword of vengeance which they quickly discovered was cursed. Inquires suggested that magic to dispel such a curse might be found in a tomb of Solamnic knights to the South of the city.

Additionally, during their downtime, the party dispatched spies to examine the Red Dragon Army’s logistics and defenses. They also discovered that the Red Dragon Army attempted to raise a unit but failed. However, some of their spies paid dearly for this information, being captured and hanged as a warning.

GM Reflections

The short adventure Salvage Ops is pretty outstanding. It’s a compelling adventure with a hefty reward that acts as a really good payoff for the pain the characters have to go through. Like most ship exploration the map is cramped, which is a negative. But I loved the extended action sequence with the attacking tentacles and the terrain shifting. It was the first time I've used any such effects in a game, and I thought it worked really well.

This was also an interesting opportunity to employ domain actions and the intrigue system too from Kingdoms & Warfare. My notes on this are below:

Espionage to discover enemy domain defenses. Red dragon army attempts and fails to raise unit. Hangs spies in response to espionage, -1 comms for Avengers of the Crossing.

While my players are having a hard time with the intrigue and organization system, I think with the right group they can definitely facilitate roleplaying, much as I’ve seen with the journey system in my Empire of the Ghouls campaign.

Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen - The Emperor of the Waves (Part II)

Spoilers follow for the adventure Salvage Operations from Ghosts of Saltmarsh…

The disgusting vomit washed like a tidal wave over Asterius. The. Dropping like foul piñatas, three more demons emerged from their cocoons. Asterius rallied his strength, drawing upon his inner discipline as a knight of Solamnia. Gringle fired arrows and the others hurled spells from the back. In the midst of this tremendous racket, a door opened at the other end of the hallway behind them, and a sallow elf carrying a staff appeared. A loud pop noise resounded and a giant blue spider appeared behind Gringle. They now had to fight on two fronts. 

The elf let out a shout: “The spider goddess will have your souls for intruding upon this sanctuml! The elf then summoned a fiery orb that slammed into Gringle, knocking him unconscious.

Davin turned to match spells with the caster, while Fallon healed Gringle. Asterius took mighty swings at the demonic mouth monsters in front of him. As soon as he slew the last one, Asterius turned to sprint up the hallway. On his way he forgot the dilapidated wooden grate leading into the hold below through the floor. When his massive hooves hit the floor the grate buckled and Asterius went, torch in hand, tumbling into the hold. 

Asterius held the only light, and his torch was extinguished with a sizzle as he fell into the water filled hold, plunging the whole area into darkness. 

In the dark, Fallon and Davin heard a door snap shut from the direction that the elf had been. Davgin summoned a light. Gringle, now healed and alert once more, helped Fallon quickly toss down a rope, which they secured through the mast that went down through the ship in the center of the corridor. 

Asterius looked about in the dim like from Davgin that shown down from above he saw the glint of pale, dead eyes. Ghasts, undead men, converged on him in the water, slashing at him with their razor claws, and gnashing their rotting teeth with hunger. 

Hauling with all their might, his companions yanked him up to their level, away from the grasping undead. In the moment before he was pulled through the opening, Asterius glimsped a metal box in the water that matched the description of that which they had been sent to retrieve. After recovering their breath for a moment they kicked down the door behind which the druid had fled.

The druid confronted the adventurers, warning them that remaining would be their destruction. Unfazed, the heroes slew the druid and the remaining spiders within the room. After searching the room, the heroes found the ladder descending to the watery hold below.

Readying their weapons, they entered the hold, attacking the ghasts in the water. Although exhausted, they fought off the diseases from the undead and destroyed them all. Attempting to lift the heavy chest, they began to hear an ominous groaning and suddenly the ship shuddered. Within moments, holes were punched in the rotting walls of the hold, as massive tentacles reached for the adventurers and water poured into the compartment. Asterius and Fallon desperately strove to lift the box, as Gringle and Davgin bounded up the ladder, attempting to reach the upper deck.

GM Reflections

Another straight dungeon crawling session. I actually really enjoy dungeon crawls the more I do them because it’s so easy to prep them. The party always takes longer than you expect so if you prep 4-6 encounters including traps and fights then they won’t move a crazy amount due to their own paranoia. They’re easy to seed lore into or add interesting creatures, and you can have crazy cool environments to explore. 

Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen - The Emperor of the Waves (Part I)

Table of Contents

Spoilers follow for the adventure...

The day following their return from the countryside, the adventurers visited Mr. Aubreck Drallion in his manor house in Kalaman. The house was behind a stone wall with iron gates that were opened by an officious goblin butler in a starched and pressed black evening jacket.

"Please, follow me. I presume you are those who Master Drallion sent for?"

Gringle swept into a bow, with a rakish grin. "Indeed! I am Gringle Gragle, Duke of Greenwood."

The butler did a doubletake, looking at the ragged goblin, then flaring his nostrils in an inaudible snort. "Indeed, well met sir."

While the grounds and house were maintained, it seemed as though there was something off. Flecks of rust and a squeak when the iron gate was opened, faded paint on the house and shutters, a few notable patches of brown on what must have once been a verdant lawn.

They were ushered into a sitting room and library with a middle aged man in fine clothes sitting on a faded sofa. They took seats at the butler's signal, greeting the man with a handclasp. The man had premature worry lines etched into his forehead and around his mouth, crows feet wrinkling around his eyes. Grey streaked his hair in far greater amounts that his years seems to justify. His clothes, though fine, seemed to be several years behind the current fashion.

This was Aubreck Drallion, and he proceeded to relate to them how he had invested in trade bound for a far-off land, converting much of his money and property into deeds and statements of credit, to be converted back once they arrived at that location. However the ship carrying this hoard in non-monetary form was separated from its escort and thought lost at sea. Drallion had heard reports though that the ship, the Emperor of the Waves, had been spotted barely a day's sail from Kalaman. He offered them ten percent of the value if they could recover the metal box containing his investment from the ship.

"You see the loss has quite ruined me," he said.

Drallion explained that he had contracted a ship called the Soul of Winter, procured equipment, and only needed their help to retrieve the box. 

The group agreed.

"We can leave immediately," said Asterius.

"The ship is prepared to get underway early tomorrow with the morning tide," said the merchant. "It has equipment that I have procured that may assist you as well."

They bid the merchant farewell then, and returned to their quarters in Castle Kalaman. The next morning they departed early upon the Soul of Winter, and came upon the derelict near the mouth of the bay after traveling most of the day. They all kept their stomachs, but Gringle particularly took to the rolling deck and the salt air. "Tis a perk of being a Duke," he remarked to his friends.

The abandoned ship appeared oddly calm, it's masts broken down to stumps, but the deck strangely clear of all debris. Their dwarven captain pointed out that the Emperor listed slightly to port, likely because her ballast had shifted.

Asterius armed himself with his equipment and a few vials of antitoxin from the supplies purchased by Drallion. The others left the new supplies, content with their own gear.

The crew rowed them over in the ship's boat, but refused to tarry close by the Emperor. "Signal to us when you come back atop deck!" The captain had said.

Once the adventurers were on deck, they surveyed the ship, but found nothing interesting topside. A rusted grate covered a hole into the hold, and doors led to cabins fore and aft. Opening the aft hatch, Asterius stepped into a dark room, veiled in spiderwebs and dust, with a dark, bloodied altar dominating it. A ring of skulls afixed to iron spikes in the wall hung above it.

Suddenly massive archnid forms looked in the darkness, and swarms of thousands of tiny spiders appeared from the rotting timbers under their feet. Finally, a humanoid figure with the face and mandibles of a spider bounded from the shadows to bite at them. Asterius and Darrett found themselves swarmed, covered in spiders and warding off bites from poison dripping mandibles. Gringle stepped back, firing arrows at the large creatures. The fight was going south, although Asterius fought valiantly, until Davgin arrived from examining a wooded detail fixture on the deck. He cast spells of frost and cold, blasting away the spiders. As the giant spiders and man spider attacked, poison dripped from their gnashing mandibles.

Soon however the tide turned. They killed the last of the spiders, before examining the dark altar. Amongst the wreckage they found a moldy and decaying book recording an attack on the ship by the captain. The account ended abruptly, presumably the author was killed in the final assault.

Next they tried the door into the forward cabin, finding giant spiders in the space and another spider man. A sea of tiny spiders boiled up from the decaying stairs leading down, rolling over them. Gringle's well placed arrows, Fallons rousing shouts and charms, Davgin's powerful spells, and Asterius' strength carried the day, and soon they stood in the now quiet room. 

Next they crept down the stairs, moving into a narrow corridor. They managed to spot a web blocking a doorway before blundering into it. Asterius took a swing with his axe, then a second, attempting to hack through the web. 

His cuts alerted yet more spiders to their presence, and soon they found themselves awash again in spiders. Davgin's castings of Frost Fingers proved crucial to turning the tide. After defeating these foes they advance cautiously into the ship, carefully opening doors, but only finding empty rooms. Until they came to the bow of the ship and opened a door into a dark room to find it shrouded in webs, and four bundles hanging from the ceiling. Upon closer examination each of the bundles of webs seemed to be vibrating slightly. 

Asterius swung his axe, attempting to cut one of them open. It burst open, and an unnatural creature that had stumpy legs and a mouth that seemed to cover half it's body slapped to the ground. The monster opened it's jaws, spewing forth a fountain of sickening acidic vomit at the heroes, and the other cocoons began to shake violently. At the same time they heard a loud "pop" and behind them appeared a massive spider as if from the air.

GM Reflections

This was a really fun, dungeon crawl session. The ship's map is a bit cramped, making it a bit difficult for players to maneuver. The crawl has definitely sapped many of the party's resources. The maw demons at the end were really fun to run. Their special abilities made them much more interesting than some of the others. The ettercaps (spider men) for instance are a bit underwhelming, as are the giant spiders.

Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen - Enemy Raids in the Countryside

Table of Contents

Spoilers follow for the adventure…

After defending Rookledust's home from the Dragon Army goblins. She invited them into the house, which they found to be filled with various mechanical contraptions, parts, books, and junk. As she brewed them tea they discovered that the tinker gnome had provided a fire blasting weed killer to a man in black and red armor. He'd wanted it with detailing added to make it look like a dragon.

"I thought it was quite strange at the time," she said. They noticed lying around amongst the junk were several magic items, like an old spell book, a cape that could give someone the ability to breathe underwater, and a dancing sword. Rookledust also showed them her fargabs, magical devices that enabled people to speak to one another through them from several miles away.

Rookledust agreed to return to Kalaman with them, and they journeyed back without incident, arriving just after dark.

The next day they awoke to a message from Marshall Vendri. Reports indicated that dragon army elements were raiding farms East of Kalaman, and she wanted them to investigate. Additionally a letter from a merchant named Aubreck Drallion arrived requesting that they visit him about a business opportunity, and finally another note from the Mariner's Guild, noting that they needed help with a project that would aid the city's defense. They elected to follow up on the mission from Marshall Vendri with all speed.

The heroes set out immediately, traveling the whole day through a drizzly grey afternoon. They could see the Dargaard Mountains once again, far to the South, before the dark clouds covered them up. 

They knocked on door of kender family’s farm after nightfall in the rain, asking if they had seen soldiers and if they could stay the night. The lender farmer recounted how soldiers had come and taken his pigs after threatening to burn the farm. The soldiers had headed North. The farmer let the adventurers stay in the now empty barn previously occupied by the pigs. 

While Gringle snuggled into a bed of straw and filth, his companions had a more difficult night in the smelly, damp quarters. The next morning Asterius and Davgin still felt exhausted by after the long night of little sleep. After a brief breakfast, they headed North.

Soon the adventurers came upon a fire pit with the carcass of a pig, recently eaten. The embers were still warm. They were close.

A few miles more down the road they came up upon a farmhouse. A group of hobgoblins stood outside with torches and their commander, a human dragon army soldier, ordered them to attack the house and put it to the torch. The heroes charged into battle. Davgin unleashed a bolt of lightning, Gringle fired off arrows, Fallon exhorted her comrades, and Asterius waded into the melee. The battle rapidly turned in their favor after Davgin threw a massive fireball into the midst of their enemies.

The adventurers recovered the pigs following the fight, and returned to arrive at the lender farm once more just before nightfall. The lender slaughted a pig and fed them bacon and pork to celebrate and thank them for the help. Then once more they spent a long night out. Asterius and Fallon elected to sleep outside in what shelter they could find from the rainrather than brave the barn again. They awoke with stiff necks, totally unrested. Gringle once against slept happily with the pigs. Davgin found a warm spot after climbing up to the rafters and spent his night comfortably there.

The next morning they began their return journey to Kalaman, ready with their report for Marshal Vendri. As they drew near Kalaman they spotted a group of tiredly looking soldiers marching from aways off. Gringle rode ahead of the group to investigate and was delighted to discover Cudgel and the remnants of her mercenary company. Cudgel immediately requested to enlist herself and the remaining soldiers in the heroes' company. The adventurers gratefully accepted and the whole group returned to Vogler together.

GM Reflections

This session was fun, but didn't really move the story along. I pulled it from the missions that are part of this section of the campaign around Kalaman, and also included some missions from Ghosts of Saltmarsh as sidequests. My players noted that that they are interested in finishing the story but want to move onto something new sooner than later. So while I'll still run one of the side missions I'll probably start pushing the adventure along a bit faster.

Fixing Mass Combat in Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen

Table of Contents

There's a lot of very cool content in the 5e Dragonlance offering from WOTC. But there's also a lot missing. I will be actively running the adventure for one of my groups, and will provide some of my thoughts and modifications to change up the book to make the mass combat better

First, sorry fans of the books. I never read them. I don't have any of the setting material or adventures from the previous editions. This book is all I've got. The book does not give you enough information to run a real campaign in an authentic Dragonlance setting. We'd need a book on par with Eberron: Rising From the Last War in order to actually do that. So my Krynn may kill some sacred cows. I will remain blissfully unaware, but apologies in advance if it bothers you. My Krynn is different from your Krynn.

One thing I dislike from the book is the need to try and boost sales of a board game. Maybe instead actually attempt to introduce real mass combat or warfare rules (an abstract example are the victory points used in the Ghosts of Saltmarsh adventure The Final Enemy, which are similar to rules provided in 3e). There are some good ideas worth stealing though. The concept of the fray around the area that the characters are on a map to simulate being in a larger battle is valuable. It creates a more cinematic moment in the combat, and real constraints on maneuvers. Next positive idea is battlefield events, such as those included in the battle for High Hill in chapter three. This simple random table has you roll for a random event at initiative count zero, adding random complications to the battle like an arrow flowing out of the fray and sticking someone, or new enemies emerging. This is a great way to simulate the chaotic, violent, and random nature of combat. 

But we still want mass combat. So what do you do? Take a leaf out of MCDM's book that they wrote to solve this problem, Kingdoms & Warfare. The system outlined in that title provides flexibility and an actual opportunity for your players to feel like they are influencing a wider battle.  The intrigue system even helps you set up situations in which their is a climatic fight between the leaders of opposing domains during battles. Grabbing an organization like the Military Squadron specialization of the Martial Regiment heroic domain sets up the situation of exploring the Northern Wastes and adds a layer of diplomacy and intrigue that is distinctly lacking. Taken together all of these things give your players something shocking that the adventure as written seems to want to deny them...player agency and ability to impact the story!

Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen - The Avengers of the Crossing

Table of Contents

Spoilers follow for the adventure...

After the council of Kalaman had deliberated for far too long for their liking, the adventurers were ushered back into the meeting chamber.

"We have considered your words and the plight of your people," said governor Miat. "We will provide aid and shelter for the refugees of Vogler, but it comes with conditions. Our own resources are stretched in these troubled times, and we will need assistance protecting our own and now your people. Marshall Vendri, would you explain your idea?"

The marshall stood, leaning toward on the oak table.

"Your account of the battle for Vogler was impressive and compelling. You are formidable warriors. We ask that you form a martial company of those able-bodied survivors of Vogler, along with any others you can recruit, to assist us with the defense of Kalaman. We need every sword we can muster to defeat this threat."

The adventurers considered the offer, then nodded in assent. Marshall Vendri's hard eyes crinkled as she gave a thin smile.

"This is welcome news. We also ask that at least one of you take an oath of allegiance to Kalaman, becoming an officer of our military and gaining the title Esquire of Kalaman. Not all of you need take it, and those who do are of course able to undertake other personal business during your time at liberty not engaged in our defense. You will be released from your oath when the conflict is over. Who of you will take the oath?"

Gringle stepped forward, chuckling to himself.

"Well, I will take your oath!"

Asterius watched the small goblin for a moment.

"As will I."

Marshall Vendri then directed them to raise their right hand while resting their left upon their weapon, and repeat her words.

"By the strength to wield this weapon gifted by Kiri-Jolith, I swear to uphold the defense of Kalaman and protection of her people above any personal endeavor or desire, even until death or the wardens of Kalaman release me from my bond."

They both repeated the oath. The marshall nodded in witness of their words.

"Now, we will provide you as many resources as we can spare to aid you in mustering your troops, and will provide you lodging within Castle Kalaman. Additionally we will provide a small weekly allowance to you as officers of Kalaman that you can use to defray the costs of some of your efforts."

She then called one of the guards and directed them to guide the adventurers to their quarters.

As they walked through the large castle, Davgin and Asterius noted the Solamnic motifs in the architecture, along with the art, showing the fortress to be an ancient hold of the Solamnic knights.

Soon they arrived at their quarters in a large disused ballroom on the fourth floor of the castle. Several rooms that were onc3 likely parlours adjoined the large room. Cots, tables, and some crates sat in the once opulent room, hastily placed there based on the resent disturbance of the layer of dust and crumbling plaster than coated the floor. The ceiling displayed a faded painting of Solamnic knight marching onto a field of green in battle array. Intricate crown molding outlined this and the three grand chandeliers of gleaming crystal. A large fireplace that looked long disused took up a large portion of the long interior wall and bright windows stretching from floor to ceiling let in the dazzling sunlight.

The adventurers immediately began arranging their equipment and settling into the space. Soon they were seated at the table, surveying a map of Kalaman and the surrounding region along with some reports furnished by Marshall Vendri's aid. They also began drawing up the charter for their company. Davgin suggested that the company be named "Avengers of the Crossing," to which the others arged after some short debate. Gringle idly drew an emblem as they discussed plans, and when lunch arrived from the castle kitchens everyone agreed that they would use Gringle's picture as their symbol and on their battle standards.

Their plans and discussion went long into the night...

GM Reflections

This is where I have chosen to depart fairly significantly from the adventure as written. I felt as I've mentioned before that the characters really need to be able to make meaningfully choices, and the best way I saw to do that was to put them in command. Most of the session was spent making decisions about their martial organization following the rules of Kingdoms & Warfare. We’ll see how my experience implementing the system for the first time goes. Moving through intrigue and trying to explain it to players is a bit difficult, and there’s a lot that isn’t necessarily intuitive about that system. But I would like them to be able to make a tangible impact on the Red Dragon Army’s operations throughout the adventure.

The Opening Move

Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen - The Fall of Vogler

Table of Contents

Spoilers for Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen…

As the draconians of the Red Dragon Army descended upon Vogler, the adventurers attempted to hold off the invaders where possible. They fought alongside two surviving Vogler militiamen, saving one from baaz draconians. Gratefully he handed them a potion of healing and hobbled towards the wharf.

Next a wing draconian descended upon them. This one was large and bulker than those they had previously faced. They swiftly slew him, but Thalis was greviously wounded. They sent him ahead to the boats. Now the village was in flames, and a cat leapt from a nearby rooftop, clutching Davgin's cloak with it's claws and refusing to let go.

The adventurers neared the wharf, moving through the wreaths of smoke as the day died, the sunlight extinguished like Vogler. As they guarded the villagers boarding the boats they heard a voice ring out: "Dragon!"

Fr the smoke emerged a clanking, metallic, shiny dragon-shape on the ground, flanked by the foul draconians. Fire blazed within the metal beast. The draconians swung it, seeming to point it at the Wharfinger's building, then unleashed a massive spurt of flames, igniting the building in an instant. Asterius closed and began to fight the draconians hand-to-hand, and Davgin also closed, holding out his hands and hurling flames of his own. The creatures managed to load the metal monster once more, blasting Fallon and Gringle with flames, and knocking Gringle unconscious. Davgin felled each of the monsters weakened by Asterius' mighty blows, stopping them from burning their friends further.

Then the back wall of the Brass Crab was shattered, sending flinders out into the street. An ogre clad in chain mail strode into the street, clutching a bucket full of fish under her arm, and crunching them inher teeth. 

"Kill these ones!" The ogre ordered two draconians flanking her. 

They charged the adventurers, the ogre hurling a javelin that speared Fallon, knocking her unconscious. Asterius lifted his greataxe, invoking the power of the divine, and reawakening his friends.

Together the adventurers defeated the ogre and its minions. Fallon cast suggestion, ordering one to gather the dishes dropped by the ogre. Asterius struck the ogre, taking out its knee, then splitting its skull open.

They rushed to the final boat, scrambling aboard. Through the smoke a voice rang out: "Hold the boat!"

From the flames stumbled Jayev, falling into the boat, clutching a horned Solamnic helm. "They drove our forces from the field...I found Becklin's helmet, but didn't see what happened to her. The entire army is coming to Vogler."

With that dark news, the last boat pushed off from the wharf, carrying the adventurers down the river toward Kalaman, away from the ruin of Vogler.

The night was dark and cold. The morning turned grey and gloomy, with a drizzle that got into everything, soaking everyone through. Finally the adventurers' boat reached the mouth of the river into the bay on which Kalaman rested. The city's far off towers glinted in the first morning light, and the light of the harbor beacons cut through the fog, guiding white sailed ships into the port

They pulled their boat up a rocky shore on a point about two miles north of the city. Other villagers were already ashore, setting up a camp for the sick and wounded from the long night. Vogler was no more. Its people now refugees.

The adventurers helped several villagers, pulling some youths' boat ashore, helping light fires in the incessant rain, and stopping some young men from robbing another villager.

Moving through the camp they also eventually found Darrett, and gave him the box from Becklin. It contained Solamnic armor. He grateful accepted it, but then asked: "Who will train me as a knight now?"

Asterius considered this for a moment.

"I will take you as a squire and train you as a Solamnic knight." Darrett knelt and swore himself as a squire to Asterius, then rose to continue helping the villagers set up camp.

After a few hours the adventurers realized that Lord Bakaris and his son were missing from the camp. A drawn and tired looking woman near the edge of camp told them "They left a few hours ago. Said they were going to meet the rulers of Kalaman to represent the village."

The adventurers did not believe this, and quickly checked with Mayor Raven, who confirmed she had not dispatched Bakaris. The adventurers hastened towards Kalaman then, to attempt to prevent the pompous noble from doing any great damage to the interests of the villagers.

The adventurers made their way through the city gates and to Castle Kalaman. As the gate guard led them to the council chambers though, they were accosted by Bakaris the Younger.

“Lord Bakaris, my father, has this well in hand. There is no need for common folk and hired help like you to council with your betters!”

“Perhaps child you ought to think before you speak to a Solamnic knight in that tone,” said Asterius, narrowing his eyes like a blood-crazed bull in the ring.

“We are sent by Mayor Raven,” said Fallon. “To represent the true interests of Vogler.”

The guard nods at their words, and pushes Bakaris aside to clear the way to the council chamber. 

With that, they met the governor, Calof Miat, the council members, and Marshall Nestra Vendri.

“Your liege-lord, Bakaris Uth Estide, was just relating to us know he led the Valiant defense and retreat from Vogler, saving the lives of so many. You are lucky to have one such as he to lead you."

"This snake speaks lies, my Lord Governor. The leader of Vogler is Mayor Raven Uth Vogler, who even now ministers to the sick and wounded dying on the banks of the Vingaard to your North. She sends us to implore your help and aid for the people and their children that have fled the catastrophic attack on Vogler," said Asterius.

"This minotaur corsair speaks lies my good governor. When did you ever even hear of one of his kind bringing good tidings or the truth?"

The governor surveyed the two sides, seeming to consider their words.

"Indeed. We shall have to investigate how we can assist the refugees of Vogler. Similar attacks have occurred on settlements in Estwilde and to the South, but this is the largest attack we have seen. Perhaps Marshall Vendri has some questions for you about the enemy forces?"

GM Reflections

This session essentially followed the book for the most part. The invasion and fall of Vogler have some good random encounters and description. My players are over leveled, but they really needed it to beat the draconians and the ogre in the final fight. I've been surprised at how tough the draconians can be. The battlefield actions on initiative count zero really make scenes set in a larger battle very dynamic and compelling. I think creating tables like them for various battle situations could be a helpful resource, and I may do that to support future warfare campaigns. 

Kalaman strikes me as a bit of a missed opportunity. The gazetter of the city doesn't have much meat at all, nor are there many points of interest, leaving the GM to flesh out things to "help the characters care about it" as the adventure says to do. 

I've also excised the annoying "make Darrett the party patron and remove them from meaningful decisions to railroad them the rest of the campaign. Next session we'll be developing their martial regiment (from Kingdoms & Warfare) to place the characters firmly in the driver's seat for the rest of this campaign. Darrett is a Solamnic squire to the knight in the party as he should have been all along.

Avengers of the Crossing

Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen Reactions

Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen is the D&D 5e reboot of the classic adventure setting (although many who purchase and use this product are probably completely unfamiliar with the source and previous material like me). Prior to my upcoming playthrough of this module, I wanted to capture some of my reactions and thoughts about it. I also plan to periodically post about alterations that I've made to the adventure as written. When (if) my group finishes the module then I plan to post a final "actual" review because I will have playtested it by running through the adventure.

Initial thoughts: I was very excited to hear about the planned Dragonlance title as I began playing D&D in 2022. It seemed that all of the settings that shaped so many players experiences from 2e AD&D and onwards were now becoming more accessible for new members of the hobby. I'm not sure what I expected. I had just barely purchased my copy of Eberron: Rising from the Last War when Dragonlance released, and I didn't have any other of the in-depth sourcebooks. I supposed I expected at least a gazetter of the world, descriptions of the deities, calendar, and some ideas for adventures if not a mini adventure or two in the setting. That isn't at all what we got in this product though.

For the positives regarding setting details, I do appreciate the descriptions of the deities. They take several pages, and the depictions of their holy symbols are some beautiful art pieces. Some more evocative art harkening back to depictions of the deities in earlier editions would have perhaps improved it, but I suppose Fizban's Treasury of Dragons did a bit of that the year prior at least for Paladine and Takhisis.

Much of the design work is focused on the character options for the Dragonlance setting; how are those then? Not bad at all actually, although I have to agree with other reviewers like Mike Shea (Slyflourish) that I’m not a huge fan of handing out a feat at first level. There’s already plenty for new players to keep track of. 

As for the new sorcerer subclass, I actually quite like it in concept. I’m not the best judge of balance until I see a character in play (remember, I’ve only run for about ten different characters), but the subclass seems to have some design assumptions baked in because of the mages of high sorcery feat that the designers intend you to take. The initiate feat essentially gives you constant access to one of the first level spells that the lunar sorcerer gets depending on the phase of the moon you select. The subclass also doesn’t seem to match the dichotomy of good, evil, and neutral being major and almost incompatible that is an important theme of Dragonlance according to a video by the Dungeoncast I watched while writing this post.

My main critique; in general, information on the world of Krynn and the Dragonlance setting is severely lacking. The section on player ancestries name drops many locations, but there’s no information to flesh them out. The GM is left to figure out what Thorbardin and Nevermind are like out of their own mind or have to consult another resource or the internet. Outside of the information on Vogler, Kalaman, and the Northern Wastes provided in the adventure, the wider world is not described and unpopulated with adventure hooks. The adventure suggests the possibility of continuing a higher level adventure against the dragon armies, but without doing the extra work of purchasing an older book like the Dragonlance Campaign Setting from 3e or reading through lots of wiki pages, I honestly wouldn't know where to start. No fantastic locations corresponding to the places on the beautiful poster map are described, nor any clues about their inhabitants, notable NPCs or hooks for potential stories. It's really very disappointing that I’ve learned more about the setting researching what is missing for this reaction that is available to me in the book. I even noticed passages where the current book appears to simply be a paraphrased, shorted version of the 3e setting book. This is probably why what information there is on other locations in Ansalon seems sporadic and incomplete. As it says itself in the introduction to chapter two “Prominent details about the setting are covered in these sections, but the wider world is left for you to detail as you please.” It’s audacious to set the price for this product as the same as for a real setting book like Eberron then.

So what do we have left? Well, we have an adventure that minus the regional map and town names could probably be transplanted to any world or setting if you decide to add a dark goddess (maybe we can call her Tiamat?) and an army of evil dragons (oh wait, I think we already have one like this). In all seriousness, the adventure has some interesting elements, but as a whole is extremely linear and often marginalizes the player characters or removes their agency over the story (in part because the adventure provides no information about any part of Ansalon beyond the Kalaman regional map. Everything outside it would have to be made up anyway). Making an NPC that should be a sidekick have a more compelling and more rapid arc that the characters also strikes me as lazy railroading. Another thing that bothers me is the lack of a meaningful system for mass combat outside the peripheral board game marketed beside the book (but check out MCDM’s Kingdoms & Warfare if you’re interested in fixing that—I’ll be using it in my upcoming Dragonlance campaign, and I plan to do a deep dive and additional spotlights of its systems as I use it in my Storm King’s Thunder campaign). 

Reservations and issues from my reaction aside, I will be using this adventure and book in a campaign. One of my players is a Knight of Solamnia, and another is a Mage of High Sorcery, so I’ll get a view of their progression. As mentioned, I’ll write about modifications (improvements) I make to the adventure. As far as a recommendation or not, I’d say if you have any interest in running the setting at all then probably pick the book up. If you can’t see yourself playing in the setting, then definitely pass of this book and put your money towards something else nice like a title from MCDM or Kobold Press instead.