The Dragonlance Nexus has learned that Wizards of the Coast will be releasing a second installment of playtest material for Krynn in a new installment of Unearthed Arcana. We wanted to share with you some of the material being released.

Afflicted Kender

While true kender are being tied to the Feywild, afflicted kender are going to be tied to the Shadowfell.

“We wanted to balance out the whimsical kender race with an emo kender race,” lead rules designer Jeremy Crawford said. “Afflicted kender fit perfectly with that design goal. They already wear dark clothing and have an air of sadness to them. They fit the bill perfectly.”

Afflicted kender will have an ability called Fearful that gives them disadvantage on saving throws made to avoid or end the frightened condition.

The taunt ability has been replaced with Distress, which allows the afflicted kender to throw a barrage of insults at an opponent, causing them to be depressed on a failed Wisdom saving throw. The victim spends 1d4 rounds prone as they cry over the futility of their life. They take 1d8 sadness damage.

Finally, the Kender Mavericks reflect the afflicted kender’s need for speed. This ability allows afflicted kender to fly at double their walking speed. In addition, their Dexterity score increases by one. Unfortunately, afflicted kender have disadvantage on Charisma-based skill checks when dealing with authority figures. Afflicted kender often try to buzz the Tower of High Sorcery, though it brings them no joy and they feel sad about it afterwards.

Primal Sorcery Sorcerous Origin Cancelled

Jeremy Crawford revealed that there were plans at one point for a primal sorcery sorcerous origin, but that they were scrapped.

“All that nonsense about focused and ambient arcane and divine magic…it’s enough to make your head spin. Four types of magic? Seriously, who came up with that stuff? It was very confusing, and nobody has the time to read 20-some-odd books to figure it all out. Plus, they don’t get the cool robes or moons. So, we nixed it.”

Dark Knight Background and Feats

As with the first Heroes of Krynn document, this document also presents a new background, the Dark Knight. This background gives you a feat called Squire of Neraka. Three other feats can be gained at 4^th level – Knight of the Lily, Knight of the Skull, and Knight of the Thorn.

At 8^th level, further feats become available if you take one of the 4^th-level feats. Examples include Adjudicator of the Code, Darker Knight, Blood Oath Archer, Darkest Knight, and Vision Zealot.

At 12^th level, you can take the Darkwing Knight feat, which allows you to get dangerous.

Author Reaction

While we have not heard from Tracy Hickman yet, Margaret Weis is said to have cut her cruise short to let her opinion be known. She mentioned “aiming to misbehave.” There was also something about a “pretty floral bonnet” and someone named “Vera,” but we didn’t catch all that. We have no clue who this Vera person is anyway.

We will update you as details unfold.  

Zeroes of Krynn

Note: All the above is a huge kender tale. We hope that Jeremy Crawford isn’t offended at how we used his name in this article and won’t smack us. Well, he might smack Dragonhelm, but that guy really deserves it.

If you believed any of this, even for a second, then you may have joined the ranks of the Zeroes of Krynn. Happy April Fool’s Day, everyone!