Dragonlance War Of The Darklance Campaign Setting Senior Editor, Project Chair, and Continuity: Trampas Whiteman Background, Historical Reference, Senior Proofreading: Patrick Coppock Core Rules, Game Mechanics, and Assembly: Matthew Blasi Based on a Story Concept by: David Miller Cover Art “Icewall” by Ray Morru Table of Contents Authors’ Forewords................................................................................................... 4 The World of Krynn.................................................................................................. 9 Races ....................................................................................................................... 23 Classes..................................................................................................................... 41 Prestige Classes ....................................................................................................... 69 Heroes And Villains.............................................................................................. 121 Pantheon of Krynn ................................................................................................ 152 Equipment ............................................................................................................. 165 Languages.............................................................................................................. 178 Treasures ............................................................................................................... 180 Moons of Krynn .................................................................................................... 191 Ansalonian Bestiary .............................................................................................. 195 War of the Dark Lance - 3 - Authors’ Forewords Words From The “Grand Poo-Bah” By: Trampas Whiteman The War of the Darklance campaign setting is older than what one might think. Its origins can be traced back to a time before the Fifth Age, before Dragons of Summer Flame, and before the Second Generation. At this time, we all had our visions of what the future may yet hold for Dragonlance. This setting is but one of those futures. The origins of this setting can be traced back to my good friend David Miller. David is the finest DM I have ever had the chance to play under. He always had a knack for epic story telling, and for proving that your characters were never too powerful. His vision for the future of Krynn was a harsh one. The time of the Heroes of the Lance was over, and a new band of heroes would then champion the cause. David introduced myself, and my friends Karen Thronebury and Kenneth “Uncle Lockspringer” Reed to many new concepts and adventures. He came up with the concept of corrupted Dragonlances. He also was inspired by the movie “Fire and Ice”, an animated fantasy movie, which gave him the idea of moving Icewall Glacier north. As with all great campaigns, this one came to a premature end. Real Life, a thousand HP monster, reared its ugly head and the campaign never saw its rightful end. I was determined that this campaign would live on. I picked up The Second Generation after it had hit paperback, and was introduced to the Knights of Takhisis for the first time. I fell in love with the concept. Shortly thereafter, I began a new Dragonlance campaign of my own. Being the typical DM I was, I took my material from a variety of sources. Yes, I stole some of Dave’s ideas (with his permission, of course), taking them a step further and adding in the Knights of Takhisis. My campaign had its own twists and turns, and eventually came to its logical conclusion. In January 2001, the Dragonlance Nexus was born. The Nexus became the official Dragonlance gaming website, and was backed by Weis and Hickman. The Dragonlance legend was reborn. The Nexus maintains that all points of view are valid, whether canon or not. I was working on some campaign journals for what I had named the War of the Darklance for the Adventure Portal section, which detailed my adventures of War of the Dark Lance - 4 - old. Adventure Portal Editor Neil Burton read them over, and said it was quite good and should be developed. From that came the idea of developing a new campaign setting for Dragonlance. I knew that I couldn’t do it alone, so I recruited some of the finest talents that I know: Pat “Rath” Coppock and Matt “Rooks” Blasi. We also had a great deal of help from Tobin “Arek Brimstone” Melroy to get us started. I cannot say enough good things about my fellow creators. Pat’s creative mind, Tobin’s love of Dragonlance, and Matt’s energy have all been an inspiration to me. As we worked on this project, many new ideas have come to light, and the setting was given new life. After all of these years, the War of the Darklance lives again, this time as the first campaign setting for the Nexus. It is a living tribute to all who had ever worked on it, to all who had ever played in it, and to Dragonlance fans everywhere. It is also a tribute to my good friend David Miller, whose path in life has taken him in a different direction. I miss you terribly, Dave. I cannot thank you enough for allowing us to develop your idea. At GenCon 2001, I told Tracy Hickman of the idea for the campaign at the Whitestone Council lunch. He stared into the air, smiled, and said, “I like it.” My friends and fellow companions, I give you a living testament to the very ideals of the Nexus – that all views of Dragonlance are valid, and that Dragonlance gaming lives. I hope that all of you enjoy this setting. I give you – the Darklance! Trampas Whiteman “Dragonhelm” Chairman, Whitestone Council Dragonlance Nexus War of the Dark Lance - 5 - A Word From The Rules Guy By: Matthew Blasi Well then! Look at this! I actually get my own little space to write something! But then, this project has been so rewarding, this seems like a perk that’s almost too good to be true (ducks flying coffee cups). Seriously, I just wanted to say that this project has been an incredibly rewarding and joyous undertaking. I have had the privilege to work on brand new Dragonlance material for the official Dragonlance gaming web site, the Dragonlance Nexus. I was blessed to be able to work with two of the most respectful and knowledgeable co- authors, Trampas and Pat. A note on the Rules: These rules were constructed with contributions from all three of us. They are entirely original and draw from some of the most essential sources available – namely, Dragonlance Adventures, Tales of the Lance, The Second Generation, Dwarven Kingdoms of Krynn and The Atlas of the Dragonlance World. We realized when we were putting this piece together that some of the rules we were creating or instituting were somewhat contradictory to what some may consider third edition “canon”. This is clear to us. We also realize that some of the rules, especially the Classes and Prestige Classes may contain rules that seem, at first glance, contradictory to the novels that are considered “canon”. And also that the rules presented in this book will be applauded by some and cursed by others. Not everyone, unfortunately, will be completely happy with our vision of Fourth Age rules. Yes, this is very clear to us. However, please try to understand that as we created this piece, we scrutinized every rule carefully and in many cases, playtested them to make sure the feel and flavor of Dragonlance was being accurately preserved. We truly sought to make a rules system that could be logically applied to either the novels or the games and make perfect sense. In short, we tried the best we could. And I feel very confident in saying that this set of rules, while bound not to please everyone, is certainly a fine product of care, labor, and genuine love for Dragonlance. I would like to thank the following: Mike Reed, Gary Ponzo and E – for helping to keep me sane during the uncountable long nights I spent in front of the computer; the Dragonlance Nexus – for providing a home for this labor of love; David Miller – whom I’ve never met, but who created the original story concept for this campaign and who without, none of this would have been possible; the music of Live, Rage Against the Machine, The Cure, P.O.D., I.C.P., System of a Down, Staind, Mudvayne and DMX – for keeping me filled with inspiration and energy when I needed it most; my family and friends – for being supportive of the project; Tobin Melroy – for being a great example of a person who knows just how War of the Dark Lance - 6 - to keep on trucking; and of course, Trampas Whiteman and Pat Coppock – for being respectful, kind, courteous, insightful, resourceful, compassionate, understanding and supportive of both me and this project, for truly, they have not only been my co-authors, they have become my dear friends. Thank you for allowing me to work on this project. Much love and good will to you two. And to everyone - Enjoy! Matthew Blasi “Rooks” Co-Creator, Game Mechanics and Rules War of the Darklance War of the Dark Lance - 7 - Words From The “Historian / Spell Checker” By: Patrick Coppock OK, I’m not very good at this. I can make up all kinds of stuff when it comes to the creative writing aspect, but when it comes to the real world stuff I don’t know what to write. Let me first reiterate Trampas and Matt’s sentiments by saying that it has truly been a joyful experience working on this project. I’ve never even considered submitting anything to the Nexus, let alone helping to produce a project of this size, especially