Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen

Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen has been an increadible journey of D&D gaming. The players are immersed in the rich setting of Krynn - a post-apocalyptic fantasy world where the gods have left the mortal realms, political factions are past their glory days, and ruins of extinct magically-advanced societies dot the landscape. The characters are plunged into an adventure they did not wish for themselves: stifling the plans of the evil dragon queen's army to take over the world. We had to overcome hardships, pollitical rivals and epic and challanging combats. The adventure has a very good mix of combat, exploration, and a dash of (very well designed) social encounters. Majority of combat is outdoors, but there is still some very rewarding dungeon crawling. I'd recommend DL:SotDQ to anyone who wants to experience a classic sword and sorcery story filled with calls for heroism and an old school feel of 'good v. evil' battle. The plot feels a little linear, but that's understandable given the premise and scope of the adventure, and fits the theme that the adventurers are guided by a higher power to a great cause

This is coming from someone who never read the Dragonlance books but liked the idea of a big war epic with an attached board game. I've run this campaign for three groups. One was in-person with the board game used to simulate the army battles, and two were online using large battlemap combat encounters zoomed in on the party's role in big battles. Those players who knew nothing of the Dragonlance lore liked the setting and story. They enjoyed going from simple travelers to being key players in huge battles that determined the fate of an entire province. The Dragonlance fans didn't find as much connection to the books as they expected, but still enjoyed playing classic fantasy characters with less of the modern 5e influence. The campaign itself is a journey that spans a good selection of environments to offer dungeon crawls, political intrigue, hexcrawls, and of course large-scale combat. That's both a strength and weakness. Players appreciate varied scenarios so everyone gets a chance to shine, but the mid-game detour to a hexcrawl seems out of place and many (including me the DM) would've preferred more focus on the war. I think the board game is worth adding on, especially as you can find it at a deep discount nowadays. My players loved when I announced next session would be board game time as they enjoyed directly controlling armies for the big battles. It's a pretty easy to learn resource allocation game with dice deciding battle outcomes. It also lets you play as your character's class so they still got to advance their personal stories amidst the larger conflict. Our only gripe was some unclear objectives in the last two battles, almost like the product was rushed and they lost time for editing. Overall, I enjoy running this campaign. I admittedly don't have the nostalgia for Dragonlace to be disappointed but I still find a lot to work with using the story provided. It has challenging combats and high stakes. I would add more war missions in future run throughs and shorten the hexcrawl section, though.

Do you want a gritty war story in a (somewhat) gritty fantasy world? Do you like a campaign that focuses largely on combat tactics? This campaign is for you. Having run numerous campaigns, players often bemoan having to start at level 1. Dragonlance is the first campaign I've seen that has a prewritten extremely short one-shot for different types of characters to get to level 2 while still immersing them in the themes and lore of the setting. Easy enough to run during session 0/character creation! My players LOVED this. As for the campaign proper, it was fun and engaging from start to finish. As the DM reading the next chapter, I was giddy to see how players would face upcoming challenges and threats, and my players were delighted to do the same when the time came. My only complaint for the campaign would be this: the finale is definitely a FINALE. By that, I mean you have three to four back-to-back boss battles thrown at your party without any resting between them. I made the choice to warn my players that there was going to be a "long day" where resting wasn't an option, and told them when it was the dawn of a long day. Granted, one of these boss battles can be negated by a magic mcguffin, but it's fairly well hidden and I had to nudge players to help them find it. Besides that, the only complaint my players had was that the campaign wasn't longer. And player experience trumps my opinion any day.

War stories in D&D don’t always hit, but this one does a decent job. The Dragon Armies feel like an unstoppable force, and players get swept up in a true epic. The mass combat system is a mixed bag, but the set-piece battles are some of the best in any published adventure. Combat is challenging for players, even when running the 2024 5E rules. Perhaps a bit lore-light for die-hard Dragonlance fans.

As a longtime Dragonlance fan, I was really hoping for an epic, war-torn adventure that captured the grandeur and tragedy of the War of the Lance. Instead, Shadow of the Dragon Queen completely fails to deliver a satisfying Dragonlance experience, both for newcomers and longtime fans of the setting. What Went Wrong: 🔸 The War Feels Meaningless – Dragonlance is supposed to be about massive battles, heroic sacrifices, and the fate of Krynn hanging in the balance. Instead, this campaign barely makes the players feel like they’re part of a war. The so-called "warfront" missions are shallow, disconnected encounters that fail to capture the scale and drama of large-scale warfare. 🔸 The Setting is Underdeveloped – If you’re a longtime Dragonlance fan, you’ll be disappointed by how little lore and world-building this book actually offers. If you’re new to Krynn, the adventure does almost nothing to introduce you to the setting or make it feel distinct from generic D&D fantasy. 🔸 The Story is Boring and Linear – The plot is painfully uninspired, and the players feel like they’re just following a predetermined script rather than actually shaping the war’s outcome. Every choice feels meaningless, and most of the adventure plays out like a generic fantasy war campaign rather than a true Dragonlance epic. 🔸 Poorly Implemented Villains – The Dragon Armies don’t feel menacing or intelligent, and the villains lack personality. The adventure fails to build up the tension and dread of facing Takhisis’ forces, which should be the central focus of the campaign. 🔸 The Board Game Tie-In is a Gimmick – The integration with the Warriors of Krynn board game feels forced and unnecessary. It’s clear that the adventure was designed to push a product rather than tell a great story, and that really hurts the overall experience. 🔸 Fails to Capture What Makes Dragonlance Special – Dragonlance has always been about deep lore, strong character-driven stories, and massive world-changing events. Shadow of the Dragon Queen strips out all of that in favor of generic, underdeveloped encounters that could take place in any random D&D setting. Final Verdict: As someone who loves Dragonlance, this was a huge letdown. The war feels inconsequential, the story is uninspired, and the setting is barely fleshed out. I honestly would not recommend this adventure to anyone—there are far better campaigns out there that deliver epic warfare and meaningful choices without feeling so lifeless and forced.

This is a fun campaign that hits all of Your high fantasy tropes but in a very satisfying way. The beginning of the adventure does a great job of bonding you to characters and getting you to be invested in world. The battlefield system introduced here is a gift to DMs looking to streamline combat and still have the battle at large feel impactful. It’s a great module for new players and veterans alike.