Wizards of the Coast has revealed that the upcoming Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen campaign for Dungeons & Dragons will have harder encounters than normal. Luckily, players will have some extra tools to help them keep up, as Dragonlance characters receive additional feats, to reflect their extra combat experience and training during a time of war.
Shadow of the Dragon Queen is a campaign set in the world of Krynn from the Dragonlance setting. The story is set during an event known as the War of the Lance, where the servants of Takhisis (the version of Tiamat in Dragonlance) lead massive Dragonarmies across Krynn, in an attempt to take over the world. Shadow of the Dragon Queen is set in the land of Solamnia, which was once the homeland of a proud order of knights that have fallen into ruin. The players will be taking part in the War of the Lance, as they attempt to reverse Solamnia's fortunes, fight against the Dragonarmies, and defeat D&D Dragonlance's iconic villain Lord Soth.
D&D players can expect Shadow of the Dragon Queen to be a challenging campaign. D&D Game Design Architect Jeremy Crawford revealed in a video on the official Dungeons & Dragons YouTube channel that many of the combat encounters in Shadow of the Dragon Queen will be harder than normal. This makes sense, considering that players will be taking part in the War of the Lance and facing an organized and powerful threat, rather than ragtag groups of bandits and goblins.
Dragonlance: Shadow Of The Dragon Queen Cranks Up The Difficulty
Shadow of the Dragon Queen prepares players for the harder challenge in a few ways. Characters in Shadow of the Dragon Queen receive bonus Feats, which is similar to an approach taken with the One D&D playtesting material for D&D 5e. This means Dragonlance characters are a little stronger than their counterparts in other worlds, at least for the time being. Shadow of the Dragon Queen also features D&D's powerful new Lunar Magic sorcerer subclass, as well as expansive Background and feat options for characters associated with the Knights of Solamnia and the Mages of High Sorcery.
D&D's gameplay is loosely based on three pillars: combat, exploration, and roleplaying. D&D 5e already has some great campaigns that focus on exploration and roleplaying, with the sinister Tomb of Annihilation giving players a massive island to explore, and The Wild Beyond the Witchlight letting players talk their way out of every situation. Shadow of the Dragon Queen will be leaning heavily into the combat and war aspects of the Dragonlance setting, especially as it's launching alongside the Dragonlance: Warriors of Krynn battle boardgame, allowing players to lead troops on the battlefield in massive Dungeons & Dragons conflicts.
Source: Dungeons & Dragons/YouTube