Fizban's Treasury of Dragons will be chock-full of dragon goodness when it drops on October 26. The Dungeons & Dragons sourcebook will include new character options like subclasses and dragonborn ancestries, tools for Dungeon Masters, and additional lore on dragons and their role in creating the multiverse. Fizban will serve as your guide in the book. If you aren't familiar with this quirky character, here's what you should know:
Introducing Fizban and the world of Dragonlance
Warning! Spoilers for the Dragonlance novels lie ahead!
Fizban the Fabulous is a feeble archmage who was the unexpected hero of the War of the Lance. He's the avatar of a dragon god yet often forgets the incantations to his spells. To understand how instrumental Fizban has been in the world of Dragonlance, you'll want to look at Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman’s Dragonlance novels.
The novels follow the story of Weis and Hickman’s D&D campaign back in the 80s. Hickman, the Dungeon Master at the time, created the world of Krynn. His players (including Weis) made up the party of adventurers known as the Companions, though they would eventually become known as the Heroes of the Lance.
The original series of Dragonlance books focused on the War of the Lance, a harrowing conflict between the followers of Takhisis, the goddess of evil, and an Alliance of the inhabitants of Krynn. The Companions were pivotal to the eventual defeat of the forces of Takhisis and her Dragonarmies.
Fizban and the War of the Lance
Fizban served as a sort of Gandalf figure to the Companions. In the first book, Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Fizban showed up at the group’s reunion after a five-year separation. He then set the adventure in motion by purposefully getting them mixed up in trouble with the local law enforcement.
Unbeknownst to the characters of the story, Fizban is actually the god Paladine, the deity of law and goodness in the realm of Krynn. Paladine had chosen the Companions to be his agents of good against the armies of the evil Takhisis. He would later join the Companions and bumble his way through the many adventures they would come to have, only helping or getting in the way as much as was needed to nudge them toward victory over Takhisis’ forces.
Fizban was known to be a kind yet forgetful mage. He had a long white beard, mouse-colored robes, and was always trying to straighten his bent, shapeless hat. The old mage had a propensity to get the group into more trouble than he solved, but that trouble always seemed to lead to a victory of sorts. As the party continued their adventures, Fizban grew fond of Tasslehoff, a kender. (Kenders are Krynn’s equivalent of halflings.) Fizban was instrumental in getting Tasslehoff to end the bickering within the Whitestone Council and eventually assisted in the forging of the legendary dragonlances that were used to slay the chromatic dragons supporting Takhisis.
Throughout their adventures, Fizban consistently showed incompetence with magic. As he was a wizard with a terrible memory, he could never remember the words of power to any of his spells, including his favorite, fireball. This guise of an aloof, forgetful old man was sometimes interrupted with moments of lucidity where he would offer an encouraging word at the exact right time.
Eventually, as the Companions’ journey came to an end, Fizban revealed himself to be the god Paladine. When confronted by the leader of the group, Tanis, for being the cause of their adventure, Fizban replied "I set the stage, lad. I didn't give you a script. The dialogue has been all yours."
Looking back on it now, it’s obvious to me that Fizban was a tool of Hickman’s in order to progress the story in his D&D campaign. If there is one quote that describes the role of a Dungeon Master to their party, it is those last words Fizban had for the Companions.
Why is Fizban Important to D&D?
The multiverse has been established in Dungeons & Dragons for quite a long time. While there are reflections of the Material Plane, such as the Feywild or Shadowfell, there are also different interpretations of the Material Plane. While these worlds are different in many ways, they also have their similarities.
In the world of Krynn, Fizban and Paladine are one and the same, involving themselves in the War of the Lance in order to bring law and goodness to the realm. In other D&D worlds, Paladine exists as the god of justice and nobility, Bahamut the Platinum Dragon.
Where there is good, there must be evil. For Bahamut, there is Tiamat. For Paladine, there is Takhisis. The way the good and evil dragon gods interact in the Forgotten Realms is similar to the way they interact in the War of the Lance. In the Monster Manual entry for metallic dragons, it is said that "Bahamut seldom interferes in the affairs of mortal creatures, though he makes exceptions to help thwart the machinations of Tiamat the Dragon Queen and her evil brood." This is precisely how Paladine interacts with the world of Krynn during the war with Takhisis.
Prepare yourself for dragons, minions, and more!
Fizban is the quintessential source for information on dragons. Not only is he a platinum dragon and the leader of the metallic dragons, but he was around for one of the most influential dragon-based conflicts that has ever occurred in the multiverse. During the War of the Lance, Krynn experienced the return of dragons to the mortal world, the corruption of metallic dragon eggs into draconians, and the forging of the dragonlances. At the center of all of this was Fizban. Thus, this doddering archmage is the multiverse's utmost expert on all things dragons.
Fizban's Treasury of Dragons releases October 26 and will be packed with dragon lore and stat blocks for new kinds of dragons. Players will enjoy new subclasses and dragonborn ancestries and more! You can preorder your copy now on D&D Beyond. If you have a Master-tier subscription, you can share your book and other content you've unlocked in the marketplace with players in your campaigns.
Mike Bernier (@arcane_eye) is the founder of Arcane Eye, a site focused on providing useful tips and tricks to all those involved in the world of D&D. Outside of writing for Arcane Eye, Mike spends most of his time playing games, hiking with his girlfriend, and tending the veritable jungle of houseplants that have invaded his house.
I wouldn't mind seeing a short series of mini adventures related to the new book and setting like they've done in the past. Jeremy wrote some great articles to lead up to and keep people hyped about new books coming out, they were vague enough that you could put them into most campaigns and still had relevance towards the upcoming release. I thought that was a really good idea.
I wonder if there will be anything in the book about the Dragon-Only world that Skie is from, as revealed in the War of Souls Trilogy. When the word of Krynn was moved, it’s border between that world became closer, and other non-natural dragons came from it, to the dismay of Takhisis.
They were a bit clunky but it is clearly a masterwork of the 80's.
Dragonlance was always my rpg world :)
I'm starting Tyranny of Dragon as a DM soon, this couldn't be a better time to come out with dragon lore :)
"Few" overlaps... In the Dragonlance setting book it is explained that anyone who reaches 18th level is given a choice by the gods: either stop getting more XP so they cannot level up further, or they are transferred to a different setting... (The only exception to this was Raistlin who were allowed to reach level 20...)
Is my PC acting up or are you reposting this multiple times without saying anything?
I based a Wizard PC off of Fizban recently and it was so much fun. Definitely one of my favorite characters in the lore.
I'm reading them at the moment. First one is a bit rocky in terms of the writing and character development, but by the sixth book, I'm absolutely hooked!
**** yes! You absolutely should!
It would be neat to actually see a number of the older settings revamped for 5e. Not that the current ones aren't fun, but I am curious to see what the modern representation of those Sword & Sorcery settings would look like.
Glad to see Fizban getting the love he deserves!
It was those three characters that inspired my username.
I played in an epic Dragonlance/Krynn and Draconomicon campaign setting and supplements many years ago in 2ED. Probably still my all time favourite campaign. We did a little bit of play as dragons but were knights from start to finish. I still play with most of the same guys and we are all pretty excited to see what is in the book.
Who doesn't remember Fizban going:
"Featherf...!"
SPLAT!!!
[EXPLOSION OF FEATHERS]
My groups focus is on Faerun and Toril, so will this book be about dragons of an alternate reality and less about Toril's dragons? Asking because if it's irrelevant for Dragons of Toril then I don't really need it.
It mentions Dragonlance, but that isn’t a focus.
Just because it doesn't focus on Toril, it doesn't mean you cannot use it for your own game. Unless you are running an AL game at an official event you're free to pick stuff you find interesting in other settings or even other systems. (In fact I plan to take the Quick Encounters system over from Savage Worlds.) It's your game and your Toril, after all, and as long as your group are on the same page, your fun is valid.
I seem to recall is was spelled "Pvethrf...!" in the book. Just finished Dragons of Autumn Twilight last night.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/1132816-fizbans-feather-fall-version-1