Dragons of Winter Arc
![Image](https://i.imgur.com/PQqq4Ah.png)
“Umm Tanis, I don’t think we should trade Ansalon’s freedom for some lip and tongue action…”
DIVERGENCE: This is also during the Spring Arc of adventures, but is not keyed to any specific adventure. It is triggered pretty much anytime the PCs find themselves captured alive by the Dragonarmies or their allies. The Highlord’s Offer is a chapter of its own where Kitiara visits one or more captured PCs under heavy guard. Dressed as the Blue Dragon Highlord, she takes off her helmet to dramatically reveal her identity, and does a classic Vader “join me and we can rule Ansalon together” offer. She also talks down Verminaard, claiming that he was a brute and that the Dragon Empire will be more civilized under her reign. If the PC(s) refuses her offer, she will let them go, but with a warning that she will not hesitate to kill them next time if they remain on their rebellious path.
But if the PCs offer to join, they will be sent to the Solamnic frontlines. Their stay as officers in the Blue Dragonarmy will be short-lived, as Kitiara’s second-in-command Bakaris is jealous of the favoritism and will arrange to have their efforts sabotaged. Either Silvara, Ladine Dralathalas, or a nameless Solamnic spy will join up with the PCs and give them an opportunity to escape. Silvara will take the PCs to Sanction to recover the good dragon eggs, while Ladine will take them either to Silvanesti or Port Balifor to aid the local resistance cells there. The nameless Solamnic spy happens only after the Battle of the High Clerist’s Tower. Instead she will have the same hook as Silvara, but based on “insider intelligence” on a Dragonarmy secret program rather than a dragon’s-eye view of the Oath.
Dragons of Ice: The only mountain pass leading to the city being sealed up by Thorbadin’s dwarves shortly after the Cataclysm. This is the rationale for nobody from the north knowing about Tarsis being land-locked for three centuries.
The PCs meet up with two Knights, Derek Crownguard and Aran Tallbow, who are search for the Library of Khrystann in the city, and the party can help them find its location and learn of the Dragon Orbs from its texts. The PCs also meet Alhana Starbreeze during a meeting with the Governor of Tarsis, who attempts to arrest both parties to appease the Dragonarmies. The Knights help free the heroes, but the PCs are then faced with the dual choice of helping either Derek and Aran finding the Orb in Icewall Castle as detailed in the Library, or going with Alhana east to Silvanesti. Her griffons are in some local city stables and thus need to be freed when the Dragonarmies attack the city.
DIVERGENCE: There’s no big “split the party” suggestion besides the sidebar outlining what happened during the novels. In fact, both paths allow the PCs opportunities to potentially complete the other adventures depending on how things go.
Also, after killing Verminaard and spreading the knowledge of the true gods, the PCs’ exploits become famous and Kitiara in particular becomes obsessed with tracking them down. More so than in the 1st and 3rd Edition Chronicles, there are more opportunities that Dragonarmy officers will recognize the PCs’ faces.
The 2 Solamnic knights get into a disagreement over the dragon-rider encased in ice. As the only known dragons at this time are allied with Evil, Derek believes him to be a fallen knight, while Aaron mentions that during the last Dragon War knights rode upon dragons on the side of Good.
At some point during the adventure, Derek will reveal his less-than-ideal knightly status. Such as by fleeing during a hard battle. This will be the onset of Aaron’s disillusionment with Derek, and as such will begin to side more with the PCs during various disagreements.
It’s possible for Feal-Thas to survive, either via escaping or if the PCs never visit the Icewall region such as by doing Alhana’s Silvanesti arc. It is possible that he will remain White Dragon Highlord and be present during the final adventure in the Temple of Takhisis rather than Toede.
The PCs are also totally within their means of finding the frozen ships in Ice Mountain Bay without conquering Icewall Castle. The PCs can also depart from the knights and leave them with the Dragon Orb to head to the Whitestone Council by themselves; this is especially the case if the PCs either wish to go and help Alhana (where they’ll find her while wandering the Plains of Dust) or report back to the refugees in Thorbadin of developments.
Dragons of Light: There are two separate opening scenes based on whether the PCs are arriving on an elven ship from Qualinesti or a ship from Ice Mountain Bay.
The PCs can encounter Fizban as one of several hostages in a pirate ship. If freed he will just as much be a help as a hindrance, his magic causing collateral damage which will eventually sink said pirate ship.
DIVERGENCE: If detained the PCs will be sold to the ogres in Daltigoth and have their valuables and Dragon Orb confiscated.
It’s possible that the PCs may have a letter of passage from Alhana if they helped her, or be with Ladine Dralathalas. However, the Silvanesti are still huge dicks and will presume the letter a forgery and attempt to place Ladine and the PCs under house arrest. When Theros and Silvara free our heroes, they will gain the unlikely aid of Dalamar who will use illusion and magic missile spells to force pursuing Silvanesti into a retreat. This is the only time Dalamar ever shows up in the Chronicles series of modules; for those who haven’t read the Legends trilogy, he eventually becomes Raistlin’s apprentice.
The silver dragon D’argent is Silvara in disguise; there are no other options and her personality is greatly expanded upon with bonus dialogue lines. She is a bit of a crybaby, especially when the knights (Derek in particular) initially do not trust her motives.
DIVERGENCE: there will come a point when these personality clashes threaten to split the party. Silvara wishes to lead the PCs to the secret Dragonlance forges in Foghaven Vale, but Derek wishes to continue to Sancrist by heading through ogre territory in Thunder Pass. Derek can be convinced to stay if the PCs side with Silvara and if they gained Aaron’s earlier respect. When it becomes clear that Derek will be going by himself in this case, he reluctantly stays with the party.
If the PCs visit the Qualinesti refugees, a group known as the Youngbloods will try to persuade Gilthanas into siding with them in a coup. They feel that the current leader and heir apparent (who are Gilthanas’ father and brother respectively) are too weak and not taking enough action against the Silvanesti neighbors with which they’re feuding. The Youngbloods are a potential villainous faction for the PCs to deal with, but if the party sides with them they soon prove treacherous allies. They will seek vengeance upon Gilthanas when it turns out that most Qualinesti do not want an all-out war, for their plans appear to be in tatters.
Finally, the Ogre lands are detailed a bit more. The PCs may either be passing through with Derek, have gotten captured, or have to free said knights (and a possible absconded Dragon Orb) if they got waylaid. There’s a rather amusing encounter where a sivak draconian is trying to turn the ogres into a proper fighting force at a border checkpoint, but the PCs can bribe the ogres for a pittance to turn on and kill the sivak in exchange for passage.
While in Foghaven Vale, Silvara has the power to teleport the party inside the Stone Dragon’s chambers, but will only do so if the PCs are failing to find ways to get inside or if the knights and/or PCs visibly demonstrate that they do not trust her.
The Silvara/Fizban fight still happens, but has proper boxed text which casts the god-wizard in a more threatening light. If the PCs side with Fizban, he will scold them, saying that “she was, after all, only trying to help” before vanishing into thin air. The PCs will thus have to fight the white dragons alone at the end of the module.
Paladine was, and still is, a dick.
DIVERGENCE: The PCs can choose to take the Dragonlances to the Solamnic Knights in Sancrist. Or if they did not help liberate Pax Tharkas, have to visit Thorbadin to gain the Hammer of Kharas to ensure the forging of true dragonlances. At this point the PCs will either continue on the Dragons of Flame route and liberate Pax Tharkas, or Verminaard may have taken control of Thorbadin himself at the DM’s discretion.
Dragons of War: The Whitestone Council has its own chapter and more involved role-playing. Derek can be a foil as he portrays himself in as favorable a light as possible and takes credit for deeds performed by others when called upon to report past events. He’ll challenge any PCs who confront him to a duel, which will be defused by Gunthar. When the Council devolves into infighting over how to use the Dragon Orb, Fizban shows up and smashes it. Just about everyone is about to kill him, either the PCs or Theros Ironfeld interrupts this by dramatically revealing the Dragonlances. If the party hasn’t found said Dragonlances yet, Fizban does not show up and Gunthar tells them about the fables of the secret Dragonlance forge.
DIVERGENCE: There’s more discussion of the environs and personalities of Castle Eastwatch, where Lord Gunthar resides. If the PCs obtained a ship from Flotsam and sailed to Sancrist/Palanthas this way, Silvara and Theros will be among some Qualinesti Youngbloods who are hosts in the castle and got lost at sea. The quests regarding said various characters can be used here as pretext for the PCs to visit Southern Ergoth. Silvara will reveal a hidden passageway near the castle that leads to the Stone Dragon of Ergoth, while Ladine and/or Lord Gunthar may know of rumors of the Dragonlance forge as well. Lord Gunthar will be very cross if the party departs without due warning, as he’ll presume the worst and conduct a days-long search party across the island for them.
There’s a lot more to do in the city of Palanthas, albeit mostly in the vein of sidequests. They include such things as the PCs becoming overnight celebrities as bards’ tales of their exploits have spread far and wide, investigating an attempted arson at the local Knights of Solamnia chapterhouse with a corrupt city senator as the responsible party, helping restore a fallen temple of the Gods of Light to working order, and trying to gain an audience with Astinus of the Library of Palanthas to learn something or other.
DIVERGENCE: Additionally, the PCs can meet Ladine and the Silvanesti ambassador in Palanthas, where they can take a month-long voyage to the elven homeland to aid Alhana Starbreeze. She can accompany the party as a DMPC to Southern Ergoth and other places if they promise (or have already) aided her in finding an end to the Silvanesti Nightmare. This can take place before or after the Battle of the High Clerist’s Tower.
The Battle of the High Clerist’s Tower is similar to the other versions, although the knights take trespass upon this holy ground much more seriously: unless the PCs found some vital resources to turn the tide during the Battle they will be arrested if found out and potentially executed. PCs can gain the aid of the former High Clerist, Yarus, by helping him win the Khas (Dragonlance’s version of chess) against his spectral adversary: a priest of Sargonnas. There’s more backstory, where on the night of the Cataclysm said priest under house arrest seemingly befriended Yarus and had his agents infiltrate the Tower to free their master and kill the Knights. The Cataclysm hit before they could finish their mission.
But there is one bonus encounter, derived straight from the novels: at some point Kitiara will arrive masked on dragonback and engage Sturm in one on one combat. In the novels this was one of the most tragic moments, as Sturm died and the Heroes of the Lance realized that their former friend was indeed aligned with the enemy. However, the battle’s outcome is decided upon the dice...somewhat. Sturm can survive, although Kitiara will retreat when the Battle turns against the Dragonarmies.
Dragons of Deceit: There’s a chance that former allies and/or DMPCs the PCs parted ways with or thought dead will be found on the slave markets. Silvara will not be among them, as even in elf form she’s too powerful to be kept in captivity for long. Additionally it is noted that there are trolls among the Dragonarmy camps, but in comparison to the other monsters they are barely above animal intelligence and kept in pens; they must be fed a meat-heavy diet, and will break out and rampage if denied “treats” of humanoid slaves or not kept under heavy enchantment by local Black Robe Wizards.
This also applies to the later Spring arcs in occupied Eastern Ansalon, but the Dragonarmies are full of sexual predators and downright creepy dudes. Dragonarmy soldiers standing guard may catcall at attractive women, and female PCs who ask for lodgings or work will be given directions to the nearest brothel accompanied with perverse laughs and leers. In the city of Neraka the PCs can earn the gratitude and safe haven from a local shopkeeper if they save his teenage daughter from being abducted in broad daylight by draconians and minotaurs who have been stalking and making sexual suggestions at her.
There’s also a case of implied pedophilia where some Dragonarmy officers in Sanction sexually harass a girl who is actually a red dragon in disguise. If the PCs don’t intervene she makes short work of them with strength far beyond her mere form. Said dragon is Firestorm, Emperor Ariakas’ former mount who got demoted for being too unpredictable and secretly hopes to kill the Emperor herself. She has a lair connecting to the Temple of Luerkhisis, and eavesdropping PCs can witness her engaging in childlike behavior such as merrily skipping on top of lava and swirling it around with her toes while ‘playfully’ flinging at it with some priests of Takhisis who reflexively jump back. Firestorm is a very old red dragon, but her behavior and description makes her sound like a child.
But back to Sanction proper: there are some more encounters, such as a bard who is secretly working for the Dragonarmies pretending to search for ‘noble heroes’ or exhorting the mostly-frightened crowd into rebelling against tyranny. This is part of a trap to lead PCs into an ambush. There’s also an insane priest of Sirrion (god of fire, art, and alchemy) who ends up in a fight with a cleric of Takhisis over his blasphemy. There are a few opportunities where the PCs can run into Kitiara while here, and if she recognizes them they can be in deep trouble without some quick thinking.
PCs can arrange for distractions to lighten security around the temple containing the good dragon eggs. Suggestions include inciting riots in the army camps, letting loose the trolls from their pens, and/or making use of local rebel cells or the shadowpeople.
Instead of being teleported to the Dragon Isles, the PCs will need to manually escape the temple while one of the accompanying metallic dragons (Silvara or Cymbal) take flight to inform the rest of the metallic clans of the betrayal of the oath. The metallic dragons will dramatically arrive in Sanction to destroy the stationed Dragonarmies and take control of the Temple of Luerkhisis to save the remaining eggs. Tombfyre may be encountered and fought during the chaos, where she will transform into her dragon form if stopped during her reign of mayhem (“what, can’t a girl have some fun?”).
There’s a chapter after this one where the PCs can ride upon dragonback and meet with the Solamnic Knights’ leadership, and role-play out an alliance where the dragons join the Whitestone forces. It even has some kickass art!
![Image](https://i.imgur.com/7RL7UoE.png)
Not to worry, the dragon leaders mention that they will be fighting as equals in spite of the knights’ initial obsequiousness.
DIVERGENCE: There’s an awful lot of ways that the “rescue the good dragon eggs” may be triggered, which in a way makes this the most variable opening quest/chapter. Silvara may not even be involved! While the 1st and 3rd Edition Chronicles have her meet up with the PCs in Palanthas after the High Clerist’s Tower, the party can also meet her upon the open road or even in disguise in that very city.
As for post-adventure
DIVERGENCE, PCs may either go straight to Neraka, or they may head east to Khur instead for some reason. They can also take part in liberating the city of Kalaman with the aid of the metallic dragons, which is a new chapter in this book but has more suggestions rather than outright encounters.