Holy Orders of the Stars (3.5e)
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The gods of Krynn can be seen by mortals by simply gazing up to see their constellations wheeling in the night sky. The presence of the gods¸ or their absence¸ is an important story point in the long history of the world of Krynn. Up until now¸ only the basic details of the gods and their religion have been revealed. Holy Orders of the Stars sourcebook gives more detail on the agendas¸ powers¸ temples¸ shrines¸ and worshippers of the pantheon of Krynn's deities.
"This sourcebook details the religions of Krynn¸ including extensive write-ups on all of the gods - including lesser beings (such as Bast) that are found in novels but are not strictly deities of Krynn. New prestige classes¸ spells¸ magical items¸ and holy artifacts are described within.
Written in the Stars
The mortal races of Krynn can see the presence of the gods by simply turning their gaze to the night sky. There the constellations of the gods of good¸ evil¸ and balance wheel about in silent struggle to influence their children who live and die on the world below. The gods have blessed the world with miracles of healing and salvation¸ but so also have they inflicted war and terrible cataclysms.
Clerics¸ holy warriors¸ and people of strong belief serve the gods¸ working to bring about the aims and ends given to them through prayer and meditation. They wield the divine powers of true healing and magic¸ and most will live and die for their cause. Powerful champions wield holy artifacts¸ some created by the gods themselves.
Holy Orders of the Stars is a resource for games set in the world of DRAGONLANCE. Contained within these pages are resources for players¸ including information on the gods and the races of Krynn¸ new prestige classes¸ spells¸ and magical items. Detailed descriptions of the churches of all of Krynn's gods are present¸ including the "lost" gods¸ Paladine and Takhisis. Dungeon Masters will discover resources on the gods and their aims¸ including their various aspects-ideal for incorporating divine forces into an ongoing campaign. All information within this volume is fully compatible with the revised edition of the d20 System game.
Product History
Holy Orders of the Stars (2005)¸ by Sean Everette¸ Cam Banks¸ Chris Pierson¸ and Trampas Whiteman¸ is a clerics sourcebook for Dragonlance 3e. It was published in September 2005.
Continuing Sovereign's Dragonlance Saga. Sovereign Press' class splatbooks kicked off with Towers of High Sorcery (2004)¸ a look at the very popular wizards of Krynn. Almost exactly a year later¸ Sovereign continued the line with Holy Orders of the Stars (2005)¸ which covered the priests of Krynn (and their gods!). It would be the second of three such sourcebooks¸ with the third - Knightly Orders of Ansalon (2006)- following a year later like clockwork.
Expanding D&D. The biggest changes in Holy Orders revolve around how it describes gods. Much of this was the result of a Gen Con breakfast between Cam Banks and Tracy Hickman where they discussed the cosmology of Krynn. There¸ Hickman revealed a vision of the gods as cosmic forces¸ not as powerful persons. This led the Sovereign design team to discard most of the ideas about gods from Deities and Demigods (2002)¸ including divine ranks and godly stats. They also totally renovated the idea of avatars¸ replacing them with "aspects". Unliked avatars¸ aspects weren't more-limited forms of the gods … because cosmic forces don't have stats in the first place! Instead¸ aspects were specific faces that the gods adopted when they manifested in Krynn - like Takhisis who could appear both as a temptress and a five-headed dragon. The concept fit well with Dragonlance's history - going back to the appearance of Fizban¸ who premiered in DL3: "Dragons of Hope" (1983)¸ and running up to the reinvention of Chemosh seen in Amber and Ashes (2004).
Clerics of course gets lots of expansion too. That includes 18 different prestige classes¸ one for each major Krynn god other than the three moons. Many of these prestige classes were also appropriate for classes other than clerics; sidebars talk about how bards¸ blackguards¸ druids¸ monks¸ paladins¸ and rangers work as part of the various divine orders.
Holy Orders also contains new divine domains: charm¸ commerce¸ madness¸ nobility¸ planning¸ rune¸ time¸ tyranny¸ and undeath. The commerce d