Dragonlance and a Golden Opportunity!

[FireberdGNOME]

Hello all.

I am an *old* gamer (since '83!) and it is fair to say I cut my teeth on settings like Dragonlance. I still have the individual adventure modules and am (strangely) Jones'n to run them for my current group.

The Golden Opportunity is that Dragonlance is now seperated in time by a wide enough margin that the new players have NO IDEA who the characters are! No preconceptions of how Raistlin will act, what Flint would say or wht Tas will get into next.

How does this sound?

Campaign Introduction wrote:

It has been a long five years of hard travel around Ansalon but you are finally on your way home. The Inn of the Last Home calls to you, and the smell of Otik's famous spiced potatoes is already on your mind. The day your friends and family agreed to explore the lands seraching for news of the Old Gods is a distant memory, but the sense of purpose is still with you. The tragedy is that you found nothing. And you fear your companions had the same ill luck.

Significant NPCs will be tied to the party and some (few) background details will be guided to ensure the NPCs are tied in as well. (Laurana and Tanis anyone?)

Some of the details I need to work out. What clases are NOT available? No Gunslingers, Ninjas, Samurai or Summoners. Alchemists and Bards? Both can cast Cure spells so maybe they should be restricted too? (The darkness of no divine magic/healing is what made the Companion's Quest so EPIC!) Races? No Orcs so no half-orcs. No Gnomes and of course 'modified' Halflings

I am looking forward to digging into some PF resources that I am *sure* exist online :)

[Arrius]

Ah...Dragonlance. Because why not?

I loved Krynn (before we went into the Fifth Age). I have always thought that the Age of Despair would be an excellent age to play (to be more accurate, the years between the War of the Lance and the Cataclysm).
Off the top of my head, one can play an alternative campaign to Dragons of Flame (a module I am sure you must have heard of), and play an introductory campaign in the lines of Soulforge (the Razmiran-like lying cultists and charlatans commanding and taking control of towns).

If I ran it, I would not have the PCs messing with the actual events in Dragons of Autumn Twilight, but then again, I am somewhat of a traditionalist--so...
Of course, you can remove a few of the unnecessary elements, but advice I would give freely is that you take the SpoonyOne's approach to playing in an established setting:
This is Dragonlance, but not the Dragonlance you know.
This will prevent any possible spoilers when the players inevitably want to learn about backstory elements (and unintentionally learn of X and Y).

Alright, classes...

Fighters, Rangers*, Wizards**, Rogues, Alchemists, Barbarian, Bards, Cavaliers***, Magus (Gilthanas), Inquisitor, Monk, Sorcerer (draconic), Witch (possibly), and Summoner (I don't see why not).

*Rangers keep divine casting, but keep in mind that Tanis was a Fighter in the module, not a Ranger.
**Specialists follow the pattern:
Abjuration or Divination (White Robe), Illusion or Transmutation (Red Robe), Enchantment or Necromancy (Black Robe).
*** Potential Paladins (Brightblade, I'm looking at you) take levels in Cavalier, possibly with the Honor Guard Archetype (See Archives of Nethys).

Regarding healing magic: Entirely your purview. You can have it that all Conjuration (Healing) spells are effectively outside any class list until the Gods of Light return.

Races: Mostly Humans, Elves (Dark Elves are just evil Elves, not Drow), Minotaurs, Centaurs, etc...
Gnomes do exist in Dragonlance, in Mount Nevermind. They are more mechanically oriented, of course, and the link to the Fey Realm is downplayed if not entirely eliminated.
Kender are of course Halflings, but with immunity to fear (losing Halfling Luck in exchange), and a much better name (Seriously, Halfling seems like an insult. Even Slips seem less racially-insensitive).

There is a Draconian conversion floating around the net. I'm sure there are a few Pathfinder conversions of Eberron, so why not Dragonlance?

[cheechako]

There was d20 Dragonlance. I don't know if anyone went further with it.

I though Tanis was a ranger in some release - there has been more than one revision. Or maybe Riverwind was the Ranger. (I know he wasn't Barbarian.)

I don't like the idea of removing only the Healing spells until the gods of light return - the lack of all divine spells is at the core. Of course, if you are starting shortly after their return, then spells are back.

I'm not a fan of playing the original modules. There is simply too much story and back-story. The d20 version tried to categorize the characters and their roles so you could drop in your own characters, but it still hints at the many ties the characters have to a rich past history with each other. And then there is the ultimate example of splitting the party in the "port" city of Tarsis. YMMV.

I am a fan of the Cataclysm and the War of the Lance, though, and even the other side of the world - Taladas. I especially liked how the cycles of the three moons could impact magical abilities. A lot of extra work in a game, but wonderful logic and flavor.

And Kender are not halflings... not in the least!

Also, there are sea elves - so Sea (dargonesti), Wood (kagonesti), Standard (qualinesti), and Snooty (silvanesti), not counting Talads where things get really strange. Gnomes are most definitely exist and are not fey. Draconians (multiple kinds) are an NPC race. Most encountered dwarves are Hill - Mountain Dwarves mostly shut themselves away after the Cataclysm. Ogres are a somewhat common race, Irda are a rare and very powerful related race.

Finally... gully dwarves. Ah, Bupu! I miss her.