In highschool, each summer season, I’d reread the Dragonlance Chronicles and the Dragonlance Legends novels. By my senior yr, I used to be together with The Legend of Huma and Kaz the Minotaur. Contemplating I used to learn nearly each D&D associated novel that got here out, I used to learn lots in highschool. I developed some severe emotions over these characters.
Getting Dragonlance to the Desk
My favourite D&D setting was the Forgotten Realms, however my favourite D&D novel sequence was Dragonlance. I ran a number of campaigns utilizing the Dragonlance setting, however I believe a part of what made Faerun a greater house for my video games than Krynn was that none of my gamers had learn the novels, and it was laborious to translate the gravitas of sure setting parts to them.
“There was no divine magic for 300 years.”
“Oh, so type of just like the Time of Troubles.”
“No, by no means. It was like . . . the Cataclysm.”
“You’re utilizing a tautology to elucidate why one thing within the setting is essential.”
No, that’s not an precise dialog I had. It simply looks like I had it. I don’t know if I may even image any of my highschool associates saying tautology. That was my job. All of this may also clarify why Taladas felt prefer it was going to be a greater area of the setting for ongoing campaigns, as a result of there was much less weight being conveyed within the fiction, plus the kits did a great job of framing the assorted cultures.
For years I needed to run an alternate actuality model of the Struggle of the Lance, and by “alternate actuality” I imply, the PCs 100% exchange the Heroes of the Lance. Regardless of that, I additionally actually needed to see what gamers would do with the enduring characters within the iconic marketing campaign of the setting. As a result of one of many foundational trilogies of the setting is about time journey and potential alternate realities, Dragonlance at all times felt a little bit like a superhero setting in that method, the place enjoying a sport the place historical past unfolded in another way however began in an identical method felt fully in step with the setting.
Alternate Actuality/Alternate Recreation Engine
As a result of I’ve opinions about these characters and an emotional connection to them, I typically take into consideration them once I have a look at a brand new fantasy sport system, particularly if these video games embrace courses/archetypes that not less than partially line as much as D&D conventions. That brings us (lastly) to what I needed to speak about. Inside Daggerheart, I created the Heroes of the Lance. I did this in Demiplane, which is essential for causes I’ll get to. I’m going to incorporate hyperlinks to every of the characters, as a result of it might be lots to incorporate all of them within the publish of their entirety.
Normal Conversion Notes
I’m making an attempt to keep away from doing too many guidelines tweaks. I need to see if I could make satisfying variations of the characters with out creating home guidelines for the sport. That doesn’t imply I could not make some selections knowledgeable by the setting (like not giving Raistlin a lot in the way in which of Splendor versus Codex area playing cards).
There are some things I could return and tweak, as a result of I used to be being a little bit extra literalist than I have to be. For instance, I may give Raistlin higher armor by re-flavoring that armor as warded robes. There have been many examples of wizard robes within the novels that have been cited as having protecting runes and sigils on them, and only a few guidelines have ever been added to the official D&D materials to mirror what these robes truly did, aside from saying simply assuming commonplace D&D magic robes mirror what was being described.
There are a couple of courses that get overtly magical skills that I’m going to squint and deal with as simply excessive expertise. That’s a giant cope with the rogue, particularly. Some characters may need benefited from multi-classing, even when they weren’t in D&D guidelines, however guidelines as written, you’ll be able to’t multi-class in Daggerheart till fifth degree, and I picked third degree as a greater feeling of the place the Heroes of the Lance have been at first of Dragons of Autumn Twilight.
I renamed lots of Area Playing cards for taste, however I really feel prefer it was much less mandatory for the Area Playing cards than it was for primary gear. For instance, Flint historically carries an axe and protect. Battle axes default to 2 handed weapons in Daggerheart, and the one one handed axe is a magic weapon. In Daggerheart, that doesn’t imply a beginning character wouldn’t have it. It simply signifies that it needs to be taken by courses that extra overtly use weapons that do magic harm as a substitute of bodily harm. However all we actually want is a one handed weapon that does bodily harm and makes use of energy because the trait used to assault with it. Meaning we give Flint a mace and name it a one handed axe.
This isn’t actually a hack, as a result of the core guidelines point out that issues like weapons are examples to be described as wanted, and provides examples within the textual content. Axes and maces don’t do slashing and bludgeoning harm, they each do bodily harm in Daggerheart, so there is no such thing as a purpose to not name a mace a one handed axe.
The Heroes of the Lance, as historically offered, are actually fighter heavy. Tanis, Flint, Caramon, and Sturm are all fighters. Meaning even when we make a few of them Guardians and a few of them Warriors, one or each courses goes to need to help a number of characters to make them distinct.
There was one very last thing in regards to the conversion course of that was fascinating to me. There are not any Communities that mirror rising up in a crossroads city, or perhaps a rural neighborhood. These each really feel like they’d be pure additions to the Group choices, and whereas many individuals are enthusiastic about new Domains and new playing cards for current Domains, I actually hope we see a couple of extra Communities. Regardless of that, it’s not too laborious to search out communities that match with some facet of how numerous characters have been raised, so it’s not a serious sticking level.
Every header with the character’s identify is a hyperlink that results in the “anybody can view” character sheet for that character in Demiplane.
Tanis Half-Elven
Tanis could have been the largest problem of those characters. The wisest sage of all Dragonlance gaming interpretation, Cam Banks, has talked about that Tanis actually ought to have a category like Marshal/Warlord to mirror his function within the story, however courses like that aren’t at all times core to numerous editions of D&D, particularly variations that formally translate Dragonlance.
I considered making an attempt to make Tanis right into a Bard to mirror his skill to encourage others, however since multi-classing doesn’t come into play till fifth degree, a third degree Tanis utilizing Bard skills must be solely a Bard, and it’s actually laborious to make a Tanis that looks like Tanis by utilizing the Area Playing cards out there to Bards up via third degree. Codex skills are fairly overtly magical, and whilst you can fairly simply describe lots of Grace Area skills as extra mundane, Tanis actually wasn’t exceptionally good at mendacity, or in a position to dazzle foes together with his phrases. He was simply good at inspiring and directing his associates.
In the long run, I went with Name of the Courageous Warrior for Tanis. There are a couple of Area Playing cards that cope with bolstering allies, so this was a great match for Tanis. It’s fascinating to notice that I believed Tanis was going to be a personality that leaned laborious into Presence, and I gave him a great rating in that Trait, however one of many huge Area Playing cards you should utilize to direct others, Strategic Strategy, runs on Information. So Tanis has as a lot Information as he has Presence. I don’t assume that strains my idea of him, however it meant I needed to be sure that some characters had their main defining trait bump only a wee bit above different characters. For instance, I felt like I wanted to ensure Raistlin nonetheless had a better Information than Tanis.
Flint Fireforge
I believed Flint was going to be a type of boring conversion, however I had a little bit extra enjoyable enjoying with issues we learn about Flint than I anticipated. I made Flint right into a Vengeance Guardian, as a result of he holds a grudge, and he’s the daddy determine to the group, and it is smart to provide him the combatant possibility about defending others.
I leaned towards giving Flint skills that spent stress. That is going to be a little bit morbid, however realizing that Flint’s time on Krynn goes to be dropped at an finish by his coronary heart failing him, pushing his stress to maintain going type of felt acceptable. The one skill that immediately boosts his allies is one which triggers on a Lengthy Relaxation, which feels acceptable. Flint isn’t boosting others in a combat or inspiring them. He sits across the hearth and asks Tanis what’s bothering him.
Tasslehoff Burrfoot
Tasslehoff was one of many trickier Companions to translate to Daggerheart. A part of that revolves round the concept Rogues in Daggerheart are normally willingly, deliberately good at crime, typically in ways in which suggest organized crime organizations, or they’re supernatural murderer varieties. Neither of those paradigms match Tasslehoff, however no different class actually is smart, as a result of the Rogue continues to be the category for doing sneaky stuff unnoticed.
Right here’s a few of my logic for the alternatives I made for Tasslehoff. Certainly one of his skills offers him the flexibility to Enrapture a goal. Fairly than being so charming, my thought on that is that when Tasslehoff will get occurring an Uncle Trapspringer story, both persons are making an attempt to maintain up with the twists and turns of the story, or having their eyes glaze over on the sheer variety of particulars and velocity of the pacing. Certainly one of Tasslehoff’s skills makes him Invisible, however D&D 2024 has already retrained my mind to learn “invisible” as, “you continually simply occur not to take a look at somebody or one thing” versus truly being invisible. He’s simply that good at sneaking round.
Troublemaker was the simplest of the talents I picked for Tasslehoff. Stressing out an opponent by taunting them is ideal for the usual kender taunting skill. Decide and Pull was one other simple alternative. Sure, he’s good at choosing locks and choosing pockets. Deft Deceiver is all about being a great liar, and Tasslehoff isn’t a misleading individual, however I believe this works for him being so satisfied that he actually didn’t take one thing out of your pouch that perhaps you imagine him too?
Halfling works properly to face in for Kender as an Ancestry. The Luckbringer skill matches Tasslehoff’s skill to by accident do precisely what the social gathering wants him to do properly in his story function.
Sturm Brightblade
It’s simple to image Sturm as a Warrior, however when it’s a must to select between Warrior and Guardian, Guardian may be very tempting. I leaned into Warrior solely as a result of Sturm has a basic need to guard, however not as a lot of a private drive throughout the Companions to guard any particular individual, the way in which characters that I gave Guardian to could have. Name of the Slayer sounds extra bloodthirsty than Sturm’s demeanor, however I believe whenever you have a look at Name of the Slayer versus Name of the Courageous, which I gave Tanis, I believe Name of the Slayer works for somebody drilled to combat in very particular methods, handed down via his household.
Orderborne could have been the simplest Group to assign to any of those characters. Even spending most of his childhood in Solace, Sturm had Solamnic values drilled into him. Choosing three sayings or values to name on within the sport is simply screaming so that you can write “Est Solarus oth Mithas” in your character sheet. I additionally had enjoyable renaming Sturm’s Area Playing cards to sound like values that may be outlined within the Measure.
Caramon Majere
The largest problem to creating Caramon is that spellcheckers maintain eager to rename him “Cardamom Marjoram.” When you come to an settlement together with your spellcheckers dictionary, the subsequent step is to resolve on Warrior versus Guardian. In the long run, I went with Stalwart Guardian, as a result of at his core in Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Caramon is about defending Raistlin above the rest.
It was very easy to search out skills that made it really feel like Caramon is throwing individuals round, bashing their heads collectively, and barreling via opponents. When you can rename weapons, it made sense to provide Caramon a weapon with the broadsword’s traits, however then let him use Power to assault with it. Caramon, like his brother, is a personality I felt wanted to be a little bit higher at his defining trait than anybody else within the group, so he will get a +3 Power.
It’s a little bit exterior of simply changing Caramon to Daggerheart, however whereas it made sense to provide Caramon a -1 to Information, I like that the trait is Information, not Intelligence. Certainly one of Caramon’s character developments by the tip of the second trilogy realized that he was deliberately leaning into being “the silly one” as a result of he was defining himself in distinction to Raistlin.
Raistlin Majere
There was by no means any query that Raistlin was going to be a Wizard and lean closely on the Codex aspect of Area Playing cards. However Raistlin is obsessive about studying new magical secrets and techniques, so why go together with Faculty of Struggle? As a result of no matter his curiosity in studying each magical secret he might discover, Caramon and Raistlin have been raised by their older sister Kitiara, who was a mercenary, and labored as a mercenary together with his brother whereas away from the Companions. It additionally matches with Raistlin’s main trait. For all of his ruined well being, Raistlin survives. Face Your Worry simply feels precisely like one thing Raistlin ought to have. Being extra harmful when issues really feel probably the most dire? In the event you assume that additionally means doing further harm simply out of spite, that Raistlin proper there.
I didn’t point out this underneath Caramon’s entry, however I gave Caramon and Raistlin the Slyborne Group. I discussed above that there isn’t actually a great Group for representing the crossroads that’s Solace, however I believe Slyborne works for Caramon and Raistlin’s upbringing. Caramon talked about Package taught them the right way to combat, but in addition the right way to kick somebody after they have been down. The Scoundrel skill works properly for sussing out somebody’s much less admirable motivations and discovering a spot to catch your breath when individuals need to kill you, which leans into Raistlin’s survivability. And if you wish to argue that Caramon wasn’t as cautious as different individuals as Raistlin . . . Caramon at all times knew precisely how his brother felt about him and buried that information.
A few of the “commonplace” weapons in Daggerheart simply do magic harm, as a result of thematically, individuals utilizing these gadgets are throwing magic round. Though Raistlin didn’t immediately use the Workers of Magius to fireside off spells from the workers, it nonetheless doesn’t really feel incorrect to provide him a workers that does magic harm as his main weapon, and taste it as him simply utilizing the Workers of Magius as a spellcasting focus.
I’m making an attempt to not simply go into what number of Wizard skills are excellent for portraying Raistlin, as a result of, properly, that’s simply means the category is functioning as anticipated. I had a ridiculous period of time renaming the books referenced on the Area Playing cards, and that actually helps to underscore the texture of the Wizards of Excessive Sorcery. When he picks up extra playing cards after exploring Xak Tsaroth, it’s an ideal excuse to rename one other e book to symbolize the spellbooks of Fistandantalus that he will get from Bupu. I leaned a little bit away from Splendor Area Playing cards, though they labored for throwing some Fistandantalus non secular manipulation into the combination. Due to the setting itself, I took Therapeutic Palms and Mending Spark off the desk. Reassurance was nice for Raistlin, however not as reassurance. It felt like a great stand in for these occasions when Tanis would ask Raistlin would give him the worst-case state of affairs.
I complain about Raistlin consuming up a lot of the phrase depend of the novels because the sequence wore on, and I simply did the identical factor. Rattling you Raistlin.
Riverwind
Riverwind is true up there with Drizzt for D&D novel rangers that don’t do what the present version of D&D assumes rangers will likely be doing. It’s not that the category looks like a poor match, it simply does a lot extra, and in so many supernatural methods, that the category can do.
Again once I was in a sport playtesting the sooner model of the Daggerheart guidelines, I discussed that I actually like how the Daggerheart ranger feels versatile sufficient to painting lots of divergent ideas that encompass the idea of a ranger, that focuses on being a survivor and a hunter, and might lean roughly supernatural. That’s good for locating some skills that really feel proper for Riverwind.
One of many essential parts of Riverwind’s backstory was surviving an onslaught of issues making an attempt to kill him when he first discovered the Blue Crystal Workers. The Daggerheart ranger has lots of “you’re going to need to combat laborious to kill me” skills. Yeah, I do know, “the place was that survivability when Onyx first confirmed up?” Hey. Onyx is the primary dragon we get to see within the books, and we wanted to see the higher finish of what the Blue Crystal Workers can do. Sorry for the digression.
Goldmoon
The irony about Goldmoon is that it’s harder to construct a extra generic D&D cleric in Daggerheart than it’s to construct Goldmoon at first of Dragons of Autumn Twilight. I made her a Divine Wielder Seraph, as a result of there isn’t a significantly better instance of a divinely powered character that makes use of a weapon granted by their god. There may be additionally a workers within the gear part that makes use of Intuition for its assault Trait and does magic harm, and that works very well for the Blue Crystal Workers.
How will this play as Goldmoon strikes previous, discovering the Disks of Mishakal, when she isn’t carrying the Workers anymore? Actually, if I used to be working this as a marketing campaign, I’d be advantageous with Goldmoon manifesting a magical “echo” of the workers when she must have it. It’s not what occurred within the books, however it additionally doesn’t really feel drastically incorrect. Since we’re simply trying on the Heroes of the Lance and Dragons of Autumn Twilight, I don’t have to determine Elistan or Crysania in Daggerheart, and you’ll’t make me (however I most likely will finally).
I get pleasure from giving Goldmoon the Highborne Group to symbolize her regal bearing as a princess of the Que-Shu. This character trait will get obscured by her religion and her relationship with Riverwind, however it’s positively there, and it’s good having a mechanical reminder of it.
The River of Time
Am I going to run the Struggle of the Lance storyline utilizing Daggerheart? Nearly actually not. Do I need to see if I could make a Marketing campaign Body that captures what I used to be making an attempt to do with a few of these characters and latches on to what’s distinctive in regards to the setting? Sure, I need to try this. I’d additionally wish to make a couple of signature adversaries, like Draconians, and perhaps get some individuals collectively to not run during the adventures, however perhaps to play some key scenes from the books, just like the wicker dragon encampment or the confrontation with Onyx.
Whereas it was tough to transform some characters, it felt much less like the foundations have been preventing me, which I’ve felt in different sport techniques when I attempt to do related conversions, and extra like I wanted to twist and switch sport parts and join them at totally different factors earlier than I received a stable really feel for what the story would really feel like on the desk, somewhat than actually what each sport component says it’s.
Daggerheart feels prefer it’s going to be a great, versatile sport for heroic fantasy roleplaying to emulate lots of inspirations. Like all sport, I’m certain it’s going to be roughly suited to totally different tales, and I bumped into a couple of tough parts on this conversion, regardless that I believe Dragonlance might be nearer to Daggerheart’s core competencies than another settings may be. However I believe Daggerheart’s energy goes to be that it’s higher at making a setting that looks like Dragonlance than actually being Dragonlance. I sit up for extra tinkering.
I do know I haven’t been plowing via content material not too long ago, however when you nonetheless need to assist me preserve the weblog and proceed to take a look at numerous totally different RPG content material, you’ll be able to decide up a few of these gadgets by way of my affiliate hyperlinks beneath. Thanks!
