Dragonlance Pitching Dragonlance to new players

[Voadam]

"The Cataclysm devastated the world more than three centuries ago. The Gods, if they ever existed, have not been heard from since. Orders of knights have fallen, nations overturned, charlatan seeker cults take power. There are plenty of mercenaries. The land needs heroes."

"No Orcs. No Drow."

People with no background in Dragonlance would be a great opportunity.

I would go with the classic War of the Lance to hit the Dragonlance highlights and suggest the 3.5 iteration as the basis for a 5e conversion. It is the latest of the 1e, 2e, 2e/SAGA, 3.5 iterations and has the most development for empowering the party choices and character development while refining the adventures for D&D adventures as a coherent campaign.

Dragons of Autumn, Dragons of Winter, and Dragons of Spring.

 

[toucanbuzz]

@toucanbuzz What did you do for wizards in your Dark Sun game? was it 5e?

My 5E conversion guide is on the Enworld resources page here.

 

[Benjamin Olson]

Personally I don't care for Dragonlance as an adventure setting because it feels to me like a setting where there is only one story (grand and existential) going on at any given time. But if your group hasn't gotten to be the big damn heroes saving the world in a while then it's the setting built for the players to be that, and that seems like the primary reason to play it.

Also there are dragons.

 

[toucanbuzz]

"No Orcs. No Drow."

People with no background in Dragonlance would be a great opportunity.

"No orcs, no drow. Leave your character sheets here."

None of my gamers have read the books or know it much more than having heard of the setting. I think oddly enough that's better. While they don't visualize it quite the same without reading it, they don't come in with preconceived notions how things should turn out or characters be played.

My draft thus far of a "what is Dragonlance" portion of my player's guide:

It’s a world where most have lost faith – faith in the gods that abandoned them, faith in the institutions that once protected them, and faith in one another. It’s about restoring that faith, not just in others, but yourself, and facing down insurmountable odds when all seems lost. It’s about unorthodox heroes and legends come to life. It’s about the forging of one’s soul through hardship and struggle, and the willingness to sacrifice for a greater goal. It’s about doing something when the world gives you no reason to care, and in doing so, becoming legendary.

Oh, and some day you might get to ride a dragon into war.