Heroes Of Defiance (SAGA)
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The Unsung Heroes of Ansalon...
No one knows their names. There are no Sturm Brightblades or Tanis Half-Elvens among them. Yet for as long as Good has struggled against Evil¸ they have fought alongside the heroes famed of song and story.
They are the rogues¸ spies¸ diplomats¸ and scouts of Ansalon¸ the heroes whose coming goes unheralded and whose passing goes unnoticed. Although the generations will never rally around their legends¸ these secret freedom fighters remain vital to the struggle. All too often¸ heroes whose names we know would have failed without the efforts of men and women whose names are lost to all.
Heroes of Defiance offers background on these heroes and guidelines for playing them in the DRAGONLANCE: FIFTH AGE setting. The handbook in this box¸ titled "Cloak and Dagger¸" includes:
- Rules for playing bards¸ guild thieves¸ kinder handlers¸ rebel elves¸ and more!
- Guidelines for creating adventures full of intrigue and mystery¸ as well as an introduction to some of the kingpins of "underground" Ansalon.
- Optional rules for playing gully dwarf heroes and for creating the mysterious personalities and hidden agendas that rogue heroes thrive upon.
- Geographic and historical details on Northern Ergoth¸ the birthplace of such roguish traditions as bard colleges and thief guilds. Now emerging as the hub of civilization in the Age of Mortals¸ this unique island is also beautifully presented on a full-color illustrated poster map.
This boxed set also features "Storm Over Krynn¸" a quest to uncover the truth behind the origin of the terrifying dragonspawn and learn the secrets of the Blue Dragon's latest scheme. Groups can play the adventure as Part Two of the "Dragons of a New Age" cycle or as a stand-alone scenario. This adventure links with events in the second FIFTH AGE novel¸ "The Day of the Tempest¸" by Jean Rabe.
Heroes of Defiance uses the SAGA dramatic adventure rules introduced in the DRAGONLANCE: FIFTH AGE boxed set.
Product History
Heroes of Defiance (1997)¸ by Steve Miller¸ is the second heroic splatbook for Fifth Age. It was published in August 1997.
Origins (I): Ten Months Later. Heroes of Defiance (1997) appeared almost a year after the release of the first Fifth Age (1996) supplement¸ Heroes of Steel (1996)¸ and six months after its scheduled release date. The reason was¸ of course¸ TSR's near-bankruptcy. However¸ starting with this new book¸ Wizards of the Coast would push hard on TSR's final fantasy roleplaying line. They'd publish a total of four supplements in late 1997¸ then would knock out the last of TSR's production queue over the next year before reassessing how to update the line for themselves.
Origins (II): More Heroes. Heroes of Defiance is the second of four boxed sets each highlighting one of the core classes of heroes in the fifth age¸ and each advancing the metaplot of the Fifth Age through a continuing adventure series. After Heroes of Steel covered warriors and knights¸ this one focuses on "rogues" - making it obvious that the Fifth Age would be repeating D&D's iconic archetypes.
The Media Tie-In. Like the rest of the "Dragons of a New Age" adventure path¸ "Storm over Krynn"¸ the adventure in Heroes of Defiance¸ is tied to Jean Rabe's "Dragons of a New Age" novel trilogy (1996-1998). As the heroes investigate the secrets of the dragonspawn¸ they dramatize the plot of The Day of the Tempest (1997).
Roguish adventures are slightly further away from Dragonlance's heroic norms than any of the other splatbooks¸ so Miller also listed several