Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen Epilogue & Recap

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Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen is published by Wizards of the Coast, and set in the world of Krynn.

Epilogue & Recap

Starring
Cere, level 11 dwarf Cleric of the Light Domain
Ellowyn, level 11 kender Bard College of Lore
Kazra, level 11 human Champion Fighter/Paladin Oath of Devotion
Korl, level 11 dwarf Bard College of Dance
Py, level 11 gnome Hunter Ranger
Rowan, level 11 elf Gloomstalker Ranger/Assassin Rogue

[Super-size epilogue session — no player limit!]

Our second big Patron D&D campaign has concluded!

It’s the first full campaign I’ve run that takes place in an official D&D setting outside of the Forgotten Realms. Shadow of the Dragon Queen is a special campaign, and easily one of the best published adventures in the Fifth Edition life cycle — whether you’re a Dragonlance fan, or a total newbie!

As usual in my campaigns, we got together for a final celebration, recapping the entire 32-session (including Session 0), 16-month, approximately 100-hours campaign. We discuss our favorite chapters and sessions, memorable moments and NPCs, and the villains we love to hate.

Plus, everyone has a chance to give their character a proper send off with their own written epilogues. And it was streamed live for the first time!

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Recap

Prelude to War

Active party: Bherg, Cere, Dargal, Ellowyn, Elyas, Korl, Kazra, Py, Rickard
Level 2
Session 0

• Cere, Ellowyn, Dargal, and Korl experience a dreamlike vision of the gods’ return — but Takhisis is already here! The heroes accept tokens from different gods, unlocking their magical powers, whether they understand them or not.
• Elyas and Rickard take the initial initiation test for the Mages of High Sorcery, using their spells to navigate an invisible maze. They’re told to next seek out a mage in Kalaman.
• On their way to Vogler, Bherg, Kazra, and Py discover a recent attack by strange and frightening dragon-like humanoids, and a symbol of Takshisis.

When Home Burns

Active party rotation: Cere, Ellowyn, Elyas, Korl, Kazra, Py, Rickard
Levels 2-3
Sessions 1-4

• The player characters arrive in the small fishing village of Vogler to attend the funeral of Ispin Greenshield, a former adventurer who had touched each of their lives in some way.
• After enjoying the Kingfisher Festival and meeting Mayor Raven, Knight of Solamnia Becklin, and her squire (and friend to Elyas) Darrett, the party joins in the reenactment of the Battle at High Hill, only to discover that the visiting mercenary group has betrayed them, and the battle is real massacre. Cere saves Cudgel’s life, a friend of Ispin’s and leader of the mercenary group.
• Reeling from the attack, the party meets Jeyev, and scout a massive army wearing symbols of Takhisis. When an ultimatum is delivered, the party is forced to help plan an evacuation of the town, despite the protests of a sneering noble, Lord Bakaris.
• The Red Dragon Army invades Vogler, backed by a dragon-like siege weapon, and dozens of draconian soldiers. Becklin sacrifices herself to buy them more time, while the party helps defend the evacuees until everyone is able to escape upriver, to the city of Kalaman.

Shadow of War

Active party rotation: Cere, Ellowyn, Elyas, Korl, Kazra, Py, Rickard, Rowan
Levels 4-5
Sessions 5-9

• The survivors of Vogler arrive in Kalaman and report to the council about the fall of Vogler, and the Dragon Army. They temporarily enlist in the Kalaman Army, and investigate missing scouts.
• The party is sent to check on the gnome who invented the siege weapon at Vogler, saving Rookledust from attack and recruiting her for Kalaman.
• The former Mayor Raven and the party travel to Wheelwatch Outpost. The party successfully infiltrates the conquered fort and opens the gates, allowing the fort to be retaken by Kalamn forces. However, Raven is killed by a Dragon Army agent, a shapeshifting sivak draconian.
• Returning to Kalaman, the party sees the aftermath of a shocking massacre of the city council by a troop of undead knights posing as Knights of Solamnia. The death knight Lord Soth has arrived to plunder catacombs beneath the castle. The party is forced to battle a possessed knight by Soth’s sociopathic seneschal, Caradoc.
• Leedara, a mysterious elven ghost, reappears after briefly showing up in Vogler, warning the party of Soth’s power and progress toward a dangerous element. Within the Raided Catacombs the party bears witness to Soth’s tragic fall. They reach the final chamber to see Soth abscond with Cataclysmic Fire, while they battle the death knight, Sarlamir, who was partially responsible for the fall of an ancient city of Istar. They claim a broken piece of a once mystical dragonlance.

The Northern Wastes

Active party rotation: Cere, CT, Darryl, Ellowyn, Elyas, Korl, Kazra, Py, Rowan
Levels 6-7
Sessions 10-19

• The party, and Darrett, convince what’s left of the council to send an army into the Northern Wastes to chase after Soth and the Red Dragon Army, and stop their plans in finding an ancient city.
• They arrive in the Wastes and meet Dalamar, a Silvanesti elf, who tells them of three ancient sites he wants investigating.
• At the Blue Phoenix Shrine, the party discovers the surviving sea elves of a Dragon Army attack. They cleanse the shrine of corruption; Rowan communes with Habbakuk, god of the sea.
• At Sunward Fortress, they find an abandoned campsite of the Dragon Army, and the mutated remains of those left behind. The party battles the slaads, and rescues the sea elf leader. Cere heals an infected young scout named Rone. Ellowyn communes with the god Sirrion and destroys the slaad gem.
• The party continues to traverse the Wastes, avoiding the flooding sea water and battling dangerous creatures.
• At an ancient tower of Wakenreth, Kazra befriends a ghostly elven warrior named Jentida, who posseses a dancing sword. A portal into the shadowfell must be closed to stabilize the tower, forcing the party to defend against emerging undead threats.
• With Wakenreth stable, Dalamar arrives and channels the sites’ magic together, locating the site of the lost city far to the north. Rone suggests stopping at his hidden town of Heart’s Hollow first. Along the way, they save dragonnels, native dragon-like creatures, from being captured and tamed by the Dragon Army.
• At Heart’s Hollow the party resupplies, and meets with the mayor, learning of a fortified encampment of soldiers, as well as a cave where local dwarves have run into trouble.
• At Bluemaw Cave, the party battles monsters, and discovers the Dragon Army excavating an old dragon lair, including an egg. Elyas saves a dwarf’s life, while the sivak draconian who killed Raven escapes with the egg, leaving a large battle behind.
• Before traveling to the lost city, the party checks out the fortified encampment of Camp Carrionclay. They stealthily approach and get inside, but when they spot the murdering sivak, Darryl rages and charges, and ignites a massive large-scale battle.
• Ally reinforcements arrive to help in the battle of Camp Carrionclay. To their shock, Becklin is here as a prisoner, and Korl saves her, followed by Elyas transforming her into a giant ape. However, things get dangerous when an adult black dragon appears! The dragon lays waste to the party and the camp, and snatches the egg before flying away. Darryl gets his revenge on the draconian, and the hobgoblin warlord is killed.
• The party meets up with Darrett and the Kalaman army to plan their assault, discovering that the main army is blocking the entrance to the lost city. The army provides a big distraction, as the party slips in through a crack in the walls.

City of Lost Names

Active party rotation: Cere, CT, Darryl, Ellowyn, Korl, Kazra, Rowan
Levels 8-9
Sessions 20-25

• The must must traverse the Path of Memories, a subterannean dungeon filled with danger, before they meet Demlin, an elvish mage from the Istarian era, who informs them of Onyari, the City of Lost Names.
• Demelin tells the party of three important locations: a mansion occupied by the Dragon Army, the central tower that controls the city called the Threshold of the Heavens, and the Temple of Paladine, where they can restore the broken Dragonlance.
• Traveling first to the Temple of Paladine, the party befriends an erratic and dangerous death slaad called Hungry, and battles roaming draconians.
• In the flooded temple, they restore the mighty dragonlance. Kazra wields it proudly.
• After returning to Demelin and further encounters, they make it to the occupied mansion, battling through the forces of soldiers and draconians. They discover keys and the location of portals to take them to the floating Threshold.
• Within the Threshold of the Heavens, the party ascends the tower, battling more Dragon Army soldiers and Istarian drones. They meet Lohezet, a black mage scholar, and battle Belephaion, a high priest who turns out to be a blue dragon! Kazra is nearly killed in the battle, but saved by Rone and the dragonnels, and she gets the killing blow on Belephaion.
• The lost city is torn apart by Belephaion trying to activate its flight power, forcing the party to evacuate. Most of the city is lost and many Dragon Army soldiers destroyed, but a single Temple is lifted aloft, piloted by Lord Soth himself.

The Siege of Kalaman

Active party rotation: Cere, Darryl, Ellowyn, Korl, Kazra, Py, Rowan
Levels 10-11
Sessions 26-31

• The group returns to Kalaman, but the city is preparing for a siege as the bulk of the Dragon Army closes in, bolstered by the Flying Citadel from the Wastes.
• In Kalaman the party stops a final betrayal by Bakaris, saves people from Death Dragon attacks, and helps repel hidden sivak draconians when the siege breaks out.
• After rescuing Rone and the dragonnels, they take flight toward the Flying Citadel, fighting in the air against Bakaris Jr.
• In subterranean chambers, the party finally reunites Jentida and her sister, meets a friendly but dangerous Kender vampire, and battles a horde of draconian soldiers.
• They discover a magic mirror that can paralyze even Lord Soth, and make it topside only to run into Caradoc, with whom they temporarily align with.
• The mirror works on Soth, but a battle breaks out with the other undead soldiers. Leedara reminds them to snuff out the cataclysmic fires, and Kazra uses the divine dragonlance to destroy them.
• The undead are banished, but the entire citadel begins falling from the sky. The party races to escape, and are forced to battle a greater death dragon.
• While safely falling due to magic, the party is blasted by a red dragon rode by Kansaldi, high commander of the Red Dragon Army. As a full team they battle the dragon and the archpriest while the dragon army is in full rout around them. They emerge victorious and the city of Kalaman is saved.

Epilogues

Cere, dwarven Cleric of the Light Domain
Written by Brandon

Cere stops writing letters to her mother about the events with the Greenshields. She does go back to the apothecary and tries to go back to normal life, but can’t bring herself to share her experiences with her family. She alone is responsible to carry this weight, not her family. She’s just glad they’re safe. When Rowan decides to leave, Cere feels his absence more than she expected. Almost as if he were a barometer for her worth.

The next few weeks Cere continues going between Kalaman and Vogler helping and visiting the Greenshields; running supplies for Ellowyn’s store opening and witnessing Kazra and Darrett’s wedding. She feels disconnected though. She feels the weight of Reorx on her shoulders. She travels back to Heart’s Hollow to visit Rone and spends a few months in the hidden oasis in the wastelands before gathering supplies for her journey to try to appeal to the Hylar to open the mountain gates in Thorbardin.

Favorite Chapter or location: Heart’s Hollow and the Northern Wastes
Favorite single session: Session 11 (Blue Phoenix Shrine)
Favorite NPC ally: Rone
Favorite villain: Boilerdrak siege weapon
Favorite magic item: the Greenshield

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Darryl, human Berserker Barbarian
Written by Demnix

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After the victory in Kalaman, Darryl’s eyes were set on reclaiming his home, and with the help of the Greenshields easily defeated the skerrick of remaining Dragonarmy soldiers. They celebrated together in the ol’ Fishbowl before eventually going their separate ways. Darryl stayed to help tirelessly rebuild & fortify the town for the wars ahead & over time begrudgingly fell into the role of town mayor. He stood in for Kazra’s departed father in a ceremony to wed her to Darret, the two would frequent Vogler often, as well as Ellowyn who eventually set up shop in Vogler.

As the year went on, the traditional Kingfisher Festival approached & Darryl asked Elyas to help get the message out to invite the Greenshields to join in the celebration. They held a dawn service to remember those lost before continuing on with the festivities. After Py’s reclaimed his fishing tournament crown, Darryl finally reunited with daughter in law & grandson Darryl the Third. With the child on his shoulder he made a short speech to the crowd before unveiling a statue of the Greenshields commissioned Cudgel to sculpt to honour them.

He would remain in Vogler often found helping returning fisherman, chasing around Kazra’s many visiting children, spending time with his grandson or cosying up around the tavern’s campfire with Ellowyn as she shared tales.

Favorite Chapter or location: Chapter 5, Northern Wastes
Favorite single session: Session 18, Camp Carrionclay p2
Favorite NPC ally: Hungry
Favorite villain: adult black dragon from Camp Carrionclay
Favorite magic item: the dragonlance

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Ellowyn, kender Bard College of Lore
Written by Dori

Ellowyn returned to Kalaman with one thing she had never expected to find on an adventure: a plan. Somewhere between helping Kazra prepare for her wedding and relentlessly insisting that Tivvie was exactly the sort of person Kalaman needed as its next mayor, Ello began building something of her own in Vogler. She called it “The Next Story: Textiles ⚬ Tavern ⚬ Tales”. It was part textile shop, part tavern, part gathering place, and WHOLLY an excuse to make sure the people she loved always had somewhere to come back to. At its heart was The Greenshield Campfire, a stage named for Ispin and built around something Ello had learned from him long ago: stories are like campfires – best when shared.

But Ello wasn’t finished adventuring. The Dragon Army was still out there, and whenever someone tried to call them heroes who had won the war, she would remind them, “We won one battle.” She would leave Vogler, find trouble, help where she could, and eventually come home carrying more stories for the Campfire – and a few things she never went anywhere without, including the battered little knife Rowan had casually tossed her before leaving, a tiny black paw pressed into the pommel. Rowan said it wasn’t important. Ello didn’t believe him.

There was still one story, though, that Ello couldn’t figure out how to tell. She had spent an entire adventure finding the right words for everyone else, but when it came to Darryl, apparently that’s where this bard’s words finally ran out. So Ello did what Ello does best: she went BIGGER with one ridiculously enormous sign reading ***“YOU HAD ME AT ‘LET’S GET HOME’!” ***Maybe Darryl sees her struggling with it, takes it from her because it’s obviously too big and heavy, and walks away without ever reading the damn thing. Or maybe, just maybe, he stops, reads it, looks at the sign….and then at her. That’s the next story.

Favorite Chapter or location: Chapter 7 (Return to Kalaman + Flying Citadel)
Favorite single session: Session 13, Sunward Fortress p2
Favorite NPC ally: Lorry the kender vampire
Favorite villain: Lord Bakaris
Favorite magic item: Mirror of Reflected Past

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Kazra, human Champion Fighter/Oath of Devotion Paladin
Written by Morgan

Kazra and Darrett get married shortly after the Red Dragon Army’s defeat near Kalaman. They decide to make Kalaman and the Kalaman Army their home. The newlyweds help in Vogler when they can, but their duties with the Army keep them away more and more as time goes on. They skirmish with the remnants of the Red Dragon Army around Kalaman for months. After a little over a year, Kazra steps back from the fight in preparation for the arrival of their first children, the twins Lucretia and Ilurenn. In the following years, she has six more children, Adrec, Myrten, Madeva, Rylainne, Ebruin, and Drennet.
Becklin, or Nana Becky, is there for the birth of each of them. In those early days, Kazra and the kids spend a month visiting Vogler, where Ello and Darryl have settled down, for the Kingfisher Festival every year. The kids all love visiting their Poppi and Auntie. 



Once the kids are old enough, Kazra returns full time to the fight. She becomes the commander of the Kalaman Army’s new special forces unit. Over the next several decades Kazra and Darrett fight against the armies of evil in the region. Eventually, their children grow up and join in that fight. In her late sixties, she steps back from combat, leaving command of Kalaman’s special forces to her daughter, Ilurenn. She continues to help train new recruits until her strength and vigor finally start to wane. Well into her eighties, Kazra dies and is reunited with Darrett and Horsey in the afterlife. She is given a hero’s funeral and laid to rest in the newly consecrated crypt beneath Kalaman with her warhammer and shield (the Dragonlance passed to a new champion). On a green spring day, dozens of Knights of Solamnia, priestesses of Mishakal, white robed wizards, swarthy shield makers, and ruddy faced children all gather in the musty tomb. They bow their heads to say goodbye to Kazra Shieldbinder, matriarch of their family, devoted Paladin of Mishakal, and heroic protector of Kalaman.

Favorite Chapter or location: Chapter 5, Northern Wastes
Favorite single session: Session 9, Raided Catacombs
Favorite NPC ally: Horsey
Favorite villain: Lord Bakaris
Favorite magic item: Jentida’s sword (sentient dancing sword)

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Korl, dwarf Bard College of Dance
Written by Eric (played by James/Genocider)

Korl bids farewell to the Greenshields and heads West. He’s not running anymore, however. He knows there are other Dragon Armies out there. And other people who need a hero. His legend grows as he tells tales of adventure — real adventures, the legend of the Greenshields, and Korl’s Jr., his faithful summonable dragon.

Favorite Chapter or location: the city of Kalaman
Favorite single session: Session 18, Camp Carrionclay p2
Favorite NPC ally: Hungry
Favorite villain: Caradoc
Favorite magic item: Berserker Shield

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Py, gnome Hunter Ranger
Written by CT

As you all know, a young Py once saw Ispin travel through his town. He was instantly hooked and knew what he wanted to do when grown. Grown up, Py left town and was able to join as a guide with Ispin’s troop. Years pass and include these campaign events.

Afterwards, Py returns to his home town with these stories. No one believes his tales of the Greenshields. He becomes a recluse and moves to the outskirts of his town and grows old (like Obi-wan).

Favorite Chapter or location: Chapter 3, Vogler
Favorite single session: Session 31, Clash of Fallen Flames
Favorite NPC ally: Horsey
Favorite villain: Rowan (lol)
Favorite magic item: the Greenshield

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Rickard, human Fighter/Abjuration Wizard
Written by John

Rickard spent a few weeks hanging around Vogler, trying to be helpful, but seeing his companions depart one by one left him restless. Uncertain whether the conflict had truly ended or was merely a lull, he returned to Relgoth to check on his parents, Gerard and Jofrid. Watching the war unfold from a distance, Rickard grew fearful that Relgoth’s ties to the Knights of Solamnia would eventually make it a target for the Dragonarmies. He convinced his parents and a handful of others that it would be safer to relocate somewhere with less attention on it, and led a small caravan back to Vogler, banking on the town’s small size and past devastation to keep it off the enemy’s radar.

Back in contact with several of his old companions, and encouraged by the growing armies and organization rising to resist the Dragonarmies, Rickard rejoined the cause in a more official capacity, serving as a battlemage through the rest of the war. He took the Test of High Sorcery again, rising further within the ranks of the Red Robes, and eventually drawing the rank of Master. After the war, Rickard returned to Vogler for good, settling down to start a family rather late in life, and spent his remaining years teaching and training aspiring Red Robe battlemages.

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Rowan, elf Gloomstalker Ranger/Assassin Rogue
Written by Mike

Before leaving, Rowan spent every coin he had commissioning a small knife for Ello, marked with his family’s black paw. The enchantment was simple in purpose: if the blade ever drew blood in violence, Rowan would know, and he would be able to find it. Rather than admit what he had done, he immediately dragged the expensive new knife through the mud until it looked old and unremarkable. Then he went to say goodbye. Cere received the closest thing Rowan could manage to admitting she had changed him. Darryl and Korl were given rare words of respect. Py finally got Rowan to acknowledge the ridiculous name their companions had adopted. Kazra was told that the Dragonlance had never made her a hero—she was the reason the weapon mattered. And Ello received the battered little knife without ever being told what it truly was. Finally, after months of refusing the name, Rowan looked at the people he had fought beside and said, “Goodbye, Greenshields.”

Rowan left alone for Qualinesti, exactly as he had intended. For three days the silence of the forest was everything he thought he wanted: no lectures from Cere, no thieving kender, no greasy barbarian, no lying dwarf, no impossible gnome with a chair, and no impossibly naive hero carrying a Dragonlance. Then, sitting alone beside his fire, Rowan found himself wondering what each of them was doing. Somewhere along the journey they had stopped being a collection of irritating companions and become people whose voices he knew, whose abilities he trusted, and whose absence he noticed. Ahead lay Qualinesti, a war that was far from over, and choices Rowan did not yet know he would have to make. But for that night, he finally had what he had wanted for months: he was alone. And he fucking hated it

Favorite Chapter or location: Chapter 5, Northern Wastes
Favorite single session: Session 29, the Flying Citadel p2
Favorite NPC ally: Rone
Favorite villain: Caradoc
Favorite magic item: Berserker Axe

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