Heroes Of Hope (SAGA)
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Discover the Power of the Mystics!
The free peoples of Ansalon are pushed ever back by the might of the Great Dragons and their fell minions. A hero's best weapon in this ongoing struggle is the energy of life itself¸ the strength of the spirit--the magic of mysticism.
Shapechangers¸ healers¸ necromancers¸ mentalists: Mystic heroes come in a broad array of character types and wield a wide spectrum of powers. A detailed sourcebook in Heroes of Hope offers background on these heroes and guidelines for using their powers in the Dragonlance: Fifth Age setting. Chapters cover:
- Roles for playing Rose Knights¸ centaur shapechangers¸ Knights of the Skull¸ dwarven earth mystics¸ mystics of the Citadel of Light¸ shamans¸ and more!
- Background on the most important mystic orders in Ansolon today.
- Overviews of some of Ansalon's mystic lands¸ including Dimernesti¸ the magic realm of the sea elves.
- Optional rules for casting spells that blend the magics of sorcery and mysticism.
Heroes of Hope also features "The Crown and the Serpent¸" an epic journey over land and sea to seek the Crown of Tides in a realm of aquatic elves. But in order to claim the crown¸ the heroes must first face Brine¸ the sea dragon lord of Dimernesti. A full-color illustrated poster map chronicles this quest¸ which parallels that of the heroes of the third Fifth Age novel¸ "The Eve of the Maelstrom¸" by Jean Rabe. This scenario is Part Four of the "Dragons of a New Age" cycle¸ but is also playable on its own.
Let the Power of the Heart be yours to command!
Heroes of Hope uses the SAGA dramatic adventure rules from the DRAGONLANCE: FIFTH AGE boxed set.
Product History
Heroes of Hope (1998)¸ by Duane Maxwell¸ is the fourth and final heroic splatbook for Fifth Age. It was published in January 1998.
Origins (I): Finalizing the Heroes. The previous three heroic splatboxes focused on three of fantasy roleplaying's four archetypical roles: Heroes of Steel (1996) was about warriors; Heroes of Defiance (1997) was about rogues; and Heroes of Sorcery (1997) was about sorcerers (magic-users). There aren't clerics in the Fifth Age¸ but Heroes of Hope instead details their SAGA-approved niche replacement: mystics. It also continues the "Dragons of a New Age" adventure path that ran through all the early Fifth Age boxes.
Origins (II): Winging toward the Future. Somewhat surprisingly¸ the "Dragons of the New Age" storyline doesn't end here¸ with the conclusion of the Fifth Age heroic splatbooks. For that finale¸ GMs would have to pick up one more box¸ portraying the other major force in Fifth Age Krynn: the dragons of Wings of Fury (1998).
Then¸ it would be up to Wizards of the Coast to determine where the Fifth Age went in the future … and the answer would be "all over the place".
The Media Tie-In. "The Crown and the Serpent"¸ the adventure in Heroes of Hope¸ advances onto the final novel in the "Dragons of a New Age" trilogy (1996-1998): The Eve of the Maelstrom (1998).
Adventure Styles: Episodic Encounters. "The Crown and the Serpent" follows the typical SAGA style: episodic encounters are divided into acts and scenes.
Adventure Tropes: MacGuffin Quest (Artifact). An Artifact Quest is once more the center of the adventure: this time it's for the Crown of Tides.
Expanding SAGA. The new rules in Heroes of Hope are a nice match for the new rules in Heroes of Sorcery. That of course starts out with a new set of roles¸ including special roles for barbarians¸ ce