Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen

Interior Maps

Maps that appear in this book are largely for the DM's eyes only. As the characters explore locations on a given map, you can redraw portions of the map on graph paper, a wet-erase mat, or another surface to help your players visualize locations that might have unusual shapes or features. Your maps don't need to be exact replicas of the originals, and you can alter their features as you see fit. Omit details that aren't readily visible (such as secret doors and other hidden features) until the characters can detect and interact with them. Appendix E provides two maps for player use. Reproduce these maps and share them with your players as you see fit.

Poster Map

The poster map is meant to be shared with the players. It depicts the continent of Ansalon on the world of Krynn. While this adventure takes place on only one small part of this map, the lands depicted here are referenced throughout this book. Players can use this map to gain context for the adventure and to determine what lands are important to their characters.

Meeting Ispin Greenshield

Running This Prelude

Characters in this prelude can come from any background. Perhaps they're discovering the gods for the first time, or they might be steadfast followers. Characters who draw their magic from gods won't have access to spells or magical class features until the end of the encounter, as this prelude details a meeting with their deity. Characters with no special interest in serving a deity might participate in the "x" prelude instead.

The prelude unfolds in a surreal, dreamlike situation where characters can follow a divine calling to learn about their deity's goals and become one of their chosen. You may alter any of this prelude's elements to better match individual gods' virtues and identities.

Before you begin, make sure any players involved have chosen gods for their characters. Krynn's deities and their provinces are listed in this book's x.

Visions of Divinity

This prelude focuses on characters who have been experiencing a recurring vision that comes to them in times of great turmoil or doubt. This vision might be a recent occurrence or something they've been experiencing for a long time, possibly since childhood.

The read-aloud text below describes such a vision. You can add details that correspond to each character's deity. For example, a character who worships Sirrion might find the surrounding forest aflame, while a character called by Paladine might notice the fallen soldier's eyes turning into pools of silver.

Read or paraphrase the following text to describe the vision the characters have been having:

[image: Kiri-Jolith, God of War, is one of many deities seeking followers to carry their faith back to Krynn]

The characters wake after having the vision and find nothing out of the ordinary. They realize the object in the vision was an amulet. The amulet bears a design they might not recognize, but is the symbol of the god the character's player chose during character creation. The echoes of battle don't mean anything in particular to the characters but feel like a bad omen.

Lost and Found

Prior to the vision, the characters were traveling to Vogler and had stopped to camp or rest near a forested path. After experiencing the vision, the characters wake to find their camp sacked and some of their belongings missing. The characters are the only creatures in the camp; no one else who might have been traveling with them is in sight.

A character who examines the surroundings finds a trail of food, cloth, and discarded trinkets that leads into the brush. A few hundred feet away, the characters find their belongings discarded in the middle of the forest. Nothing is missing or damaged. There is no sign of what brought the characters' possessions here.

Mysterious Symbol and Temple

Among their belongings, the characters find an item that closely matches the amulet from their visions. As in the vision, the characters might feel inexplicably drawn to the item. If the characters have different gods, they each find a holy symbol for their chosen deity. As soon as a character touches the amulet, a pulse of divine energy ripples from them, causing the amulet to vanish from their hands. The pulse flattens the surrounding vegetation, creating an unnatural clearing similar to the one in the characters' visions. The cleared plants also reveal overgrown ruins nearby:

Characters who don't approach the ruin feel supernaturally drawn toward the place, as if a familiar voice were calling their name. As characters approach the door, they hear faint voices inside.

Read the following text when the characters enter the ruin:

The statues were once larger-than-life depictions of several of Krynn's deities, but most of them are ruined. A character who succeeds on a DC 12 Intelligence (Religion) check can identify as many of the statues as you deem appropriate. The character instantly recognizes the statue of the god whose symbol they just found.

Divine Manifestation

Soon after the characters enter the room, a faint glow begins emanating from the statue of the god whose symbol they just discovered. The glow coalesces around the ruined statue, creating a spectral semblance of what the statue looked like in the past. Depending on its nature, the holy symbol might also appear somewhere on or near the statue, perhaps held or worn by it. If the characters have different gods, this happens to multiple statues.

Once a character approaches the statue of their deity, they hear that deity's voice in their thoughts. The deity invites the character to take the holy symbol and become their herald in the world. Use the details on Krynn's deities from the x to roleplay the deity. The deity wants the character to carry their power and divine message into the world now—when Krynn needs it most. The god won't elaborate on why they chose the character or why they're revealing themself now. This brief conversation allows characters to learn as much as you deem necessary about their gods, and it ends with the characters gaining access to any god-granted spells and divine class features.

Conclusion

As soon as the characters exit and leave sight of the temple, the structure vanishes.

The characters find no trace of any disturbance in their camp. If they were traveling with anyone else, their companions are waiting for them when they return. Any fellow travelers didn't notice the characters leaving the camp and have no recollection of anything strange happening.

Any attempt to return to the ruined temple fails, as if it was never there.

Running This Prelude

The prelude focuses on characters who are apprentice spellcasters aspiring to take the Test of High Sorcery. Characters of any background are welcome, but the focal characters must be able to cast spells. Spellcasting characters with no interest in joining the Mages of High Sorcery might participate in the "x" prelude instead.

Night of the Eye

Every year and a half, the moons of Krynn align in an event known as the Night of the Eye. This prelude unfolds during one of these fateful nights, shortly before the characters head to Vogler.

Placing the Prelude

The prelude happens at the Barb, a centuries-old spire where promising apprentice mages go to test their magic. The Barb is located anywhere in the world that befits your story. It was built before the Cataclysm by the Mages of High Sorcery, but its intended purpose is lost to time. Many extradimensional spaces within it remain active, though they're accessible only during the Night of the Eye.

Trial of the Barb

The prelude begins with the characters nearing the Barb:

The characters know that they're here to participate in a test and that if they succeed, they'll learn the next steps to joining the Mages of High Sorcery. They also know any of the information from this prelude's introduction.

When the characters enter the Barb, read the following description to set the scene:

The red-robed mage is named Rovina, and she serves as the Barb's caretaker. She welcomes the characters to the atrium. She explains that the Barb is a place of ancient power where, during the Night of the Eye, magic flares to life to test would-be mages. Rovina also answers any questions the characters have about the x (as detailed in chapter 1).

Characters who examine the tapestries recognize each of the three moons and their relation to the three orders of the Mages of High Sorcery.

A character who succeeds on a DC 10 Wisdom (Perception) check realizes that while the doors in the room should lead outside, no other entrances into the Barb were visible from the exterior.

[image: A Spellbook Emblazoned with the Symbol of the Mages of High Sorcery]

Rules of the Trial

Rovina leads the characters to a door and shares the following information:

• To pass the night's test, the characters must face the trial in one of the tower's rooms, which are accessible only for the night.
• The trial requires magical talent but carries none of the dangers of the Test of High Sorcery. It provides a foundation for the real test.
• The goal is to complete the challenge presented in the room, implying different apprentices will face different challenges.
• The characters have until the Night of the Eye ends, at which point the rooms vanish, expelling everyone inside.

The Trial Begins

Once the characters are ready, Rovina opens a door, revealing a portal filled with swirling amber light. She directs anyone intending to face the trial to enter the portal together. If a single character is going through this prelude and you think they'd appreciate assistance, Rovina can also admit another visiting apprentice (an acolyte) to aid the character.

Hall of Sight

As characters pass through the door, read the following text:

The room is 100 feet in diameter, with a door on the wall opposite the characters and the pedestal at the center. The door is locked and can be opened only by the key at the center of the rotunda or by casting the knock spell on the door.

Conclusion

Upon completing the trial and passing through the door, the characters emerge into the atrium of the Barb. Rovina congratulates them on passing the challenge and deems their apprenticeship complete. They are now ready to take the next step on the path to becoming members of the Mages of High Sorcery.

[image: After completing the Trial of the Barb, an adventurer receives this scroll and instructions to take it to Wyhan in Kalaman]

Rovina hands each character an ornate scroll and a spellbook emblazoned with the symbol of the Mages of High Sorcery. She says the books are meant for the characters, either to use as spellbooks or to fill with their discoveries. The scrolls are meant for the mage who will lead the characters on the next step of their journey: a black-robed mage named Wyhan who resides in the city of Kalaman near Vogler. The characters have already received their invitation to Ispin Greenshield's funeral, and Kalaman is conveniently nearby.

Rovina tells the characters they must take their scrolls to Wyhan. She emphasizes that they must not open the scrolls under any circumstances, as their contents are meant for Wyhan only. More details about Wyhan and the characters' next step on the path to joining the Mages of High Sorcery can be found in x. Rovina will answer any other questions the characters have about the Mages of High Sorcery. After that, she congratulates them once more and bids them good luck on their travels.

Running This Prelude

The characters witness the aftermath of a vicious attack by draconian servants of the Dragon Army. This prelude is appropriate for characters of all backgrounds and classes.

Frantic Farmer

The prelude begins on the road to Vogler. At some point during travel, the characters encounter Rhys, a young human commoner who barely survived a recent attack on the caravan he was traveling with.

Read or paraphrase the following text to start this prelude:

This young man is Rhys. He's terrified and barely coherent in his frantic pleas for help. If a character spends a minute trying to calm Rhys down, he finally realizes he's not being chased by anything. Once this happens, Rhys reveals the following information:

• Rhys works at a nearby farm and was hired by a group of soldiers to travel with them and care for their horses.
• Rhys doesn't know much about the soldiers. He heard them talk about enemy troops supposedly afoot in the region.
• Just moments ago, the soldiers Rhys was with were attacked by black-cloaked figures.
• Rhys didn't get a good look at the cloaked attackers. He hid in the brush and escaped while the soldiers fought them off.

If the characters are visibly armed, Rhys urges them to help the soldiers, fearing his employers might fall against their attackers. He can lead the characters to where the caravan was attacked, about a half mile down the road.

Rhys doesn't know this, but the soldiers who hired him weren't merely solders—they were Knights of Solamnia who were deployed to investigate reports of recent attacks by strange creatures in the region.

Fallen Caravan

[image: A terrifying new enemy infiltrates the shadows of Solamnia: draconians]

Rhys leads the characters down the road. Once they approach the place where Rhys and the soldiers were ambushed, Rhys refuses to go any farther. He tells the characters the soldiers should be just ahead.

The ambush site is a few hundred feet ahead. Read the following text when the characters arrive:

The mysterious raiders are a kapak draconian and four baaz draconians (see appendix B for both stat blocks). They wear armor emblazoned with the symbol of Takhisis, which any character can recognize by succeeding on a DC 12 Intelligence (Religion) check.

If the characters want to remain hidden, have them roll Dexterity (Stealth) checks against the kapak draconian's passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 13. If the draconians don't notice the characters, they pick the wagon clean of valuables and leave shortly after.

If the draconians notice the characters, the kapak draconian orders two of the baaz draconians to attack, then slips away with the other two into the surrounding forest. The baaz draconians are battered from the fight with the knights and have half their normal hit points. The retreating draconians won't fight the characters under any circumstances; they have orders to immediately rejoin the Dragon Army elsewhere and report on the knights' fate.

Conclusion

Shortly after the draconians are defeated, Rhys rejoins the characters and asks them what those monsters were. He has no idea, and the characters likely don't either. This is one of the first times draconians have made their way into Solamnia, but it won't be the last.

If battle turns against the characters, another group of travelers can be heard approaching on the road. Not wanting to risk a larger fight, the wounded draconians retreat, leaving the characters to be saved by these travelers, who are also headed to Vogler.