A review copy of “Dragonlance Companion” was provided by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.
Support my work by using my affiliate links and pledging via Patreon.
Designed by: Splinterverse
I’m a big (though lapsed) Dragonlance fan, and was super excited when Wizards of the Coast finally released a Dragonlance 5e campaign book — and it was pretty darn great!
Enter the Dragonlance Companion, a massive, 170+ page tome of races, subclasses, magic items, and even adventures, themed around the D&D setting of Krynn. As Krynn is themed similarly to the Forgotten Realms, the sourcebook lacks a more focused theme and scope than other settings and sourcebooks, such as Splinterverse’s Feywild Companion.
But there’s no denying the volume of content, and quality of everything inside.
All told, Dragonlance Companion includes 3 new races, 13 subclasses (one for each class, including Artificer), 2 backgrounds, 7 feats, 19 spells, 16 magic items, 9 new monsters, 2 encounters (which are both a bit longer than single encounter), and two 30+ page adventures.
New races include the infamous draconians (which would be next to impossible to justify story-wise in some of the Dragonlance eras), and the walrus-like thanoi.
Subclasses feature some cool ideas, like the Path of Dragon barbarian sprouting wings and using breath attacks while raging, and the Tinkerer Rogue tossing out bombs and traps. Few tie into Krynn specifically, with the most thematic being the Bard’s association with history, and the Wizard and Warlock tied to the Tower of High Sorcery and the ever-present gods of Krynn respectively.
Speaking of the gods, they play a major role throughout Krynn’s history, even more so than the Forgotten Realms, often walking the world themselves, or channeling their powers through specific avatars and heralds.
The Gods of Krynn get a special 25+ page section of the book, with each page devoted to the different gods of evil, good, and neutrality, including a piety system in case a player wants to become a herald of the god, unlocking more powers from their god-given magic item.
In regards to progressively powerful items, one of my favorite bits of the book are the legacy items.
While the concept of magic items that can power up over time isn’t new, I appreciate the intuitive rules and sample items laid out for legacy items, particularly the idea of using normal common-level magic items or trinkets which then unlock their potential upon hitting certain milestones and catalysts. Very fun.
The new monsters, magic items, and spells suffer from a less-than cohesive theme. Dragonlance is a pretty big setting, after all, and on the surface it’s yet another high fantasy world of elves, dwarves, and dragons. For example, many of the new spells feature lightning damage, which is great for elemental casters bored of fire and ice, but doesn’t have anything to do with Krynn specifically.
Weirdly the designers decided that rich history = time travel potential, which is reflected in some of the new spells and items, as well as an entire section devoted to using time travel in adventures.
I compare Dragonlance’s history and timeline to that of Star Wars, where stories take place during certain eras, defined by larger than-life characters and events. But that doesn’t mean anyone’s time traveling to different eras! Weird.
[EDIT: It’s been pointed out to me that time travel is in fact used in the Dragonlance universe, specifically the Legends (Second) trilogy. I’m both an idiot and more lapsed than I realized!]
Lastly are the new goodies for DMs: encounters and adventures.
Both encounters are fare more detailed than what I would consider an encounter (a single event or combat). One of them is literally a small dungeon crawl! Thumbs up for creating more detailed, interesting events.
The adventures are truly impressive, especially as they’re at the tail-end of an already 100+ page sourcebook!
“Trials of the Tower Initiative” is a Tier 1 adventure that takes place in Abanasinia and down into Qualinesti and the Wayreth Forest, including the town of Solace where the original trilogy kicks off (if I’m remembering correctly).
It’s an escort mission, with the party hired to bring a recently awakened spellcaster to the Tower of High Sorcery. The whole adventure is almost nothing but encounters (and zero dungeon crawls), yet it’s paced and organized in a great way, with lots of flavorful encounters and events, including a conspiracy and murder in the town of Solace with a group of anti-magic zealots.
I also loved the care and attention given to the young mage Val, including including a resolve and doubt system for tracking his moods and progression, campfire scenes for building his character and relationships, and a finale that showcases his choices and conviction (or lack thereof).
The other adventure, “Escape from Senag Island,” is completely different. The Tier 2 adventure is set during the War of the Lance. The party is tasked to sail to an island off Solamnia and disrupt the dragonarmy’s plans, including destroying a watchtower and thwarting a dark ritual.
The party can choose which to tackle first, making the island feel like a stronghold from Assassin’s Creed, with multiple objectives, enemies, and tactical options.
Both maps feature excellent region maps, but lack battle maps. Neither has any real dungeon crawling, which makes maps more difficult, but it’s still a hassle for those of us who primarily play on a virtual table top. It’s the only negative in an otherwise stellar book.
Pros:
- Dozens of excellent subclasses, races, magic items, and spells.
- Half a dozen sample legacy Items that grow with the player character.
- Detailed breakdown for the 20+ Gods of Krynn, and piety system for becoming their heralds.
- Two full, 30+ page adventures that showcase Krynn’s rich history, warfare, and lore.
- Professional layout and design.
Cons:
- Adventures lack battle maps.
The Verdict: While the Dragonlance Companion lacks the thematic focus of narrower subjects, Krynn’s rich history and adventure are on full display through new player content, lore guides, and a pair of well-designed adventures.
A review copy of “Dragonlance Companion” was provided by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.
Support my work by using my affiliate links and pledging via Patreon.
RogueWatson 