Here’s How The Dungeons & Dragons: Dragonlance Book And Board Game Function

This December, Dungeons & Dragons: Dragonlance – Shadow of the Dragon Queen hits stores. Long title aside, this is the first time Dragonlance content enters Fifth Edition, so that’s a pretty big deal. This is a book that will bring your characters to war. Additionally, alongside the book, there’s an accompanying board game, but how does that all work?

At a press conference for the upcoming game, GameSpot got an inside look at the functionality of the board game–titled Warriors of Krynn. It can be purchased alongside the Shadow of the Dragon Queen sourcebook or separately.

The biggest question is “Do you have to use the book and the game with each other?” In short, you don’t have to. However, using the two together can add some fun to the gameplay. Game designer Rob Daviau told press that it’s a supplement to Shadow of the Dragon Queen, but it isn’t necessary.

Warriors of Krynn works with the book as needed, as your characters find themselves in the middle of war, on the line, but the board game can easily be played as a standalone experience. However, this is not a traditional war game, and as the war is bigger than your characters. The war is happening around you, and you’re not commanding an army. You control your characters in the middle of war. Even if you aren’t playing Shadow of the Dragon, there are characters you can pick out for this mission.

So if you aren’t controlling these massive armies, what are you doing in Warriors of Krynn? Your characters are given missions on the battlefield. You get four actions per turn, and these missions take between 5-8 turns to complete them. You and your team are working together in order to accomplish something. This isn’t so much a game about fighting as it is helping warriors in the fight, even if it is something like helping morale. Yep, a big part of Warriors of Krynn is making sure said warriors aren’t shaken in battle–an interesting take on a war game.

Both Dungeons & Dragons: Dragonlance – Shadow of the Dragon and Warriors of Krynn release on December 6–digital access to Shadow of the Dragon will be available on D&D Beyond on November 22. The standalone book–which comes with a digital copy on D&D Beyond–will cost $60, and the deluxe edition–which contains Warriors of Krynn–will cost $155.