Greetings! First time poster here, and first time delver into the world of Krynn!
My wife and I recently picked up Shadow of the Dragon Queen, and are prepping characters for a game of it. We're quite taken by what we've seen of the world so far, and have been inspired to create some pretty in-depth story material for our characters.
In my case, I have created an Ergothian cavalier, who also happens to be a Hexblade pact warlock. He is specifically part of a cult dedicated to a form of the Raven Queen, albeit a form buried under thousands of years worth of garbled lore such that the truth of her name are all lost to time. There is a TON more material to this, but I'll skip over it all to get to the important part: he is loyal to the Emperor of North Ergoth, while also revering "The Black Raven" and, to a lesser extent, Kiri-Jolith.
With that context out of the way, the part I'm still trying to figure out is how the Mages of High Sorcery figure into all of this. I know that at some point, as he develops his warlock powers, he will PROBABLY get noticed by the Mages and be required to join them, as Mages of Krynn are expected to. That's all fine and dandy, but... I am confused about the loyalty expectations per lore.
Specifically; I've heard most people say that the Mages are "loyal to magic above all else". Which is... a really vague summation. I am in general still confused about what exactly it is that the Mages even stand for, other than "Sign our guestbook or DIE". I know that they are generally twitchy about anything that endangers the flow of magic in the world, but there's also a ton about "responsible use of magic", which is also a bit vague. Considering that Black Robes are a thing...
Anyhow, the question about the Mages and what they stand for is in part it's own thing, but for moment, I have some more specific questions:
1) How would you generally handle a mage-knight as far as expected loyalties go? Does a mage knight who takes the Test now become MORE loyal to the mages, or is it accepted that they are more loyal to their king/ Emperor/ cause? I am of course asking about what the in-world expectation is.
2) How do the kingdoms of Ansalom even take the Mages coming in to bully their people into enlisting, especially if it's a case of conflicting loyalties? I know the wider world is a little suspicious of potentially rogue mages, but would a king be willing to allow the Mages to come in and threaten his knights into switching sides, so to speak? Or is it sometimes understood that some mages do exist outside of the Towers due to their currently standing allegiances (aside from the Dragon Army mages, that is).
Thanks in advance for indulging a newbie Krynn delver! (And I'll be happy to elaborate on the whole cult plot thing to clarify if needed, just figured I'd avoid dropping a useless wall of text at the start).
I'm not sure exactly what the terms of the Test of High Sorcery are in the new book, but if I understand correctly that your character is a multiclass cavalier/warlock, you may be able to convince your dungeon master that they will never be a powerful enough warlock to be forced to take the Test. I usually run the voluntary Test at 3rd level, but I wouldn't start bringing in the renegade hunters for a reluctant spellcaster until probably 5th or 6th level. Assuming that Shadow of the Dragon Queen runs through 11th or 12th level as most of the adventure paths do, this could reasonably be considered to be a non-issue.
But to answer your actual questions:
Speaking in terms of old lore, the Towers of High Sorcery and the Conclave are not really a political entity. Their concerns begin and end with magic. I would expect their oaths to conflict only with pledges of loyalty demanded by the truly autocratic, like the Kingpriest of Istar (who absolutely considered the Towers enough of a threat to start tearing them down), and that such pledges would be understood to be an overreach by the mage forced to swear them.
Certainly the Towers have no designs on temporal rulership, and that probably keeps them out of conflict with the vast majority of kingdoms, which aren't interested in making fruitless conflict with powerful mages.
Regarding their mandate, the Towers on the whole are not concerned with the morality of magic use, but the responsibility of magic use, in the sense that improperly controlled magic can disrupt reality itself. It's not a question of ethics but rather ensuring control of access to power. Layfolk may not understand this completely, but it is generally accepted that anything that keeps any kind of a leash on spellcasters is probably for the best.
Also, because you mentioned it, the official stance of historical canon is that the mages fighting alongside the Dragonarmies were all renegades. The Black Robes remained in opposition to Takhisis, or at least abstained from fighting in the War of the Lance. I'm sure this has been contradicted in official material -- I personally doubt it was ever actually true -- but that's the party line, anyway.
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J Great Wyrm Moonstone Dungeon Master
The time of the ORC has come. No OGL without irrevocability; no OGL with 'authorized version' language. #openDND
Practice, practice, practice • Respect the rules; don't memorize them • Be merciless, not cruel • Don't let the dice run the game for you
So, in general, the "It's fine" list for the Towers would be:
1. Cursing someone.
2. Creating the One Ring and mind controlling half the world, if not all of it.
3. Raising the dead and going on a rampage
4. Cruel Experiments
NOT okay:
1. Punching holes in the fabric of reality itself
2. Serving forces that want to punch holes in reality or upset the cosmic balance
3. Anything that might stop the flow of magic in the world in any way, shape or form.
Is that about right?
And in the case of point 1 in the "not okay list" ... how would portals factor? They are technically tears in space-time that connect planes that might otherwise NOT be linked so directly. Is that sort of thing still generally okay, and the line is just drawn at Far Realms-esque shenanigans?
As for the character concept; not a multiclass, no. Straight up Hexblade pact warlock. The Cavalier thing is more from my reading of Cavalier's being Knights of Ergoth, and taking a spin on the Knight Background for RP reasons.
So, in general, the "It's fine" list for the Towers would be:
1. Cursing someone.
2. Creating the One Ring and mind controlling half the world, if not all of it.
3. Raising the dead and going on a rampage
4. Cruel Experiments
1 and 4 are definitely within the Black Robes' standard book of work. 3 probably depends on the size of the rampage, because a rampaging wizard is bad for PR. 2 is enough to get the Conclave involved -- it's still disrupting reality, just not in the traditional 'rift in space' way. YMMV; this is pretty subjective stuff.
And in the case of point 1 in the "not okay list" ... how would portals factor? They are technically tears in space-time that connect planes that might otherwise NOT be linked so directly. Is that sort of thing still generally okay, and the line is just drawn at Far Realms-esque shenanigans?
That's an interesting question. I would say that in the D&D5 version of the canon, you shouldn't worry about portals as long as the destinations are relatively benign. They're a lot more common these days. In the old material, travel to Krynn from other worlds definitely got the Conclave's attention, but the whole multiverse thing was quite high-level content, which hasn't been the case for mainstream D&D since around the mid-90s and it has only gotten less restrictive.
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J Great Wyrm Moonstone Dungeon Master
The time of the ORC has come. No OGL without irrevocability; no OGL with 'authorized version' language. #openDND
Practice, practice, practice • Respect the rules; don't memorize them • Be merciless, not cruel • Don't let the dice run the game for you
Greetings! First time poster here, and first time delver into the world of Krynn!
With that context out of the way, the part I'm still trying to figure out is how the Mages of High Sorcery figure into all of this. I know that at some point, as he develops his warlock powers, he will PROBABLY get noticed by the Mages and be required to join them, as Mages of Krynn are expected to. That's all fine and dandy, but... I am confused about the loyalty expectations per lore.
Specifically; I've heard most people say that the Mages are "loyal to magic above all else". Which is... a really vague summation. I am in general still confused about what exactly it is that the Mages even stand for, other than "Sign our guestbook or DIE". I know that they are generally twitchy about anything that endangers the flow of magic in the world, but there's also a ton about "responsible use of magic", which is also a bit vague. Considering that Black Robes are a thing...
Anyhow, the question about the Mages and what they stand for is in part it's own thing, but for moment, I have some more specific questions:
1) How would you generally handle a mage-knight as far as expected loyalties go? Does a mage knight who takes the Test now become MORE loyal to the mages, or is it accepted that they are more loyal to their king/ Emperor/ cause? I am of course asking about what the in-world expectation is.
2) How do the kingdoms of Ansalom even take the Mages coming in to bully their people into enlisting, especially if it's a case of conflicting loyalties? I know the wider world is a little suspicious of potentially rogue mages, but would a king be willing to allow the Mages to come in and threaten his knights into switching sides, so to speak? Or is it sometimes understood that some mages do exist outside of the Towers due to their currently standing allegiances (aside from the Dragon Army mages, that is).
Thanks in advance for indulging a newbie Krynn delver! (And I'll be happy to elaborate on the whole cult plot thing to clarify if needed, just figured I'd avoid dropping a useless wall of text at the start).
First - welcome! And hooray! Dragonlance!
For the - "loyal to magic above all else" - the way it works is - when the Wizards gather in the Towers, all else is put aside. It doesn't matter if you're Lawful Good standing right next to someone Lawful Evil. White, Red and Black Robes all hold respect for one another in the Tower. It's literally a "all differences aside" for the sake of magic. If there is, for example, some greater threat to Magic in general (say, someone is trying to ascend to godhood, and the very fabric of magic is threatened) - Wizards of all (White, Red, Black) would gather in the towers and explain how together, they need to put a stop to it. Outside of the tower, with no threats to magic? Well, then it's game on.
So for example, Black Robed mages might support Takhisis (Tiamat) coming into the world. However, if they got word from Nuitari (the Black Robe Moon god) that if she does so - she threatens to break the fabric of Magic and consume it all into herself - you can bet the Black Robed wizards would align with the Red and White Robe wizards and help stop Takhisis' attempt. And the Red and White Robe wizards would absolutely accept them.
The Dragonlance book covers non "Wizards" (such as Warlocks and Sorcerers) - but, if I was the DM - because the Warlock isn't a true "Wizard" and doesn't gain their powers from any of the Moon Gods (Solinari, representing the god of good magic, the red moon Lunitari, representing the god of neutral magic, and the black moon Nuitari, representing the god of evil magic) I would say that the Wizards wouldn't care too much. They might consider you a "Renegade" wizard (someone who doesn't take the test). But because you don't gain your powers from the Moon Gods I would say they'd leave you alone (no different than how Clerics and Druids get their powers from their own gods). I always explain that even Bards are not forced, because yes, while they are doing magical things, it's not coming from the moon gods - and thus, the Wizards won't care (I flavor bards as manipulating the magic through song and story, rather than actual spells).
For me, my above also helps answer your second question.
Greetings! First time poster here, and first time delver into the world of Krynn!
With that context out of the way, the part I'm still trying to figure out is how the Mages of High Sorcery figure into all of this. I know that at some point, as he develops his warlock powers, he will PROBABLY get noticed by the Mages and be required to join them, as Mages of Krynn are expected to. That's all fine and dandy, but... I am confused about the loyalty expectations per lore.
Specifically; I've heard most people say that the Mages are "loyal to magic above all else". Which is... a really vague summation. I am in general still confused about what exactly it is that the Mages even stand for, other than "Sign our guestbook or DIE". I know that they are generally twitchy about anything that endangers the flow of magic in the world, but there's also a ton about "responsible use of magic", which is also a bit vague. Considering that Black Robes are a thing...
Anyhow, the question about the Mages and what they stand for is in part it's own thing, but for moment, I have some more specific questions:
1) How would you generally handle a mage-knight as far as expected loyalties go? Does a mage knight who takes the Test now become MORE loyal to the mages, or is it accepted that they are more loyal to their king/ Emperor/ cause? I am of course asking about what the in-world expectation is.
2) How do the kingdoms of Ansalom even take the Mages coming in to bully their people into enlisting, especially if it's a case of conflicting loyalties? I know the wider world is a little suspicious of potentially rogue mages, but would a king be willing to allow the Mages to come in and threaten his knights into switching sides, so to speak? Or is it sometimes understood that some mages do exist outside of the Towers due to their currently standing allegiances (aside from the Dragon Army mages, that is).
Thanks in advance for indulging a newbie Krynn delver! (And I'll be happy to elaborate on the whole cult plot thing to clarify if needed, just figured I'd avoid dropping a useless wall of text at the start).
First - welcome! And hooray! Dragonlance!
For the - "loyal to magic above all else" - the way it works is - when the Wizards gather in the Towers, all else is put aside. It doesn't matter if you're Lawful Good standing right next to someone Lawful Evil. White, Red and Black Robes all hold respect for one another in the Tower. It's literally a "all differences aside" for the sake of magic. If there is, for example, some greater threat to Magic in general (say, someone is trying to ascend to godhood, and the very fabric of magic is threatened) - Wizards of all (White, Red, Black) would gather in the towers and explain how together, they need to put a stop to it. Outside of the tower, with no threats to magic? Well, then it's game on.
So for example, Black Robed mages might support Takhisis (Tiamat) coming into the world. However, if they got word from Nuitari (the Black Robe Moon god) that if she does so - she threatens to break the fabric of Magic and consume it all into herself - you can bet the Black Robed wizards would align with the Red and White Robe wizards and help stop Takhisis' attempt. And the Red and White Robe wizards would absolutely accept them.
The Dragonlance book covers non "Wizards" (such as Warlocks and Sorcerers) - but, if I was the DM - because the Warlock isn't a true "Wizard" and doesn't gain their powers from any of the Moon Gods (Solinari, representing the god of good magic, the red moon Lunitari, representing the god of neutral magic, and the black moon Nuitari, representing the god of evil magic) I would say that the Wizards wouldn't care too much. They might consider you a "Renegade" wizard (someone who doesn't take the test). But because you don't gain your powers from the Moon Gods I would say they'd leave you alone (no different than how Clerics and Druids get their powers from their own gods). I always explain that even Bards are not forced, because yes, while they are doing magical things, it's not coming from the moon gods - and thus, the Wizards won't care (I flavor bards as manipulating the magic through song and story, rather than actual spells).
For me, my above also helps answer your second question.
Every DM will probably handle it differently.
Thanks!
Actually, this brings up another question; is it all attempts to ascend to godhood that the Mage's scream "NOPE" at, or just specific kinds? As in, gods in the wider multiverse can be brought about in ways besides some awful ritual that breaks a planet in two (and if not, I wonder how anything besides a chaotic evil deity is born). In general, are the Mage's okay as long as you don't break something, or are they really into the idea of "These are the gods, you are a mortal, stay in your lane" ?
As far as non-wizards, what is their sentiment on non-lunar arcane magic? Besides being in broad strokes okay with it, as you suggest. Like, do they think it's basically unholy/ unclean, or do they generally accept that there are magical forces beyond those governed by the moons?
Actually, this brings up another question; is it all attempts to ascend to godhood that the Mage's scream "NOPE" at, or just specific kinds? As in, gods in the wider multiverse can be brought about in ways besides some awful ritual that breaks a planet in two (and if not, I wonder how anything besides a chaotic evil deity is born). In general, are the Mage's okay as long as you don't break something, or are they really into the idea of "These are the gods, you are a mortal, stay in your lane" ?
As far as non-wizards, what is their sentiment on non-lunar arcane magic? Besides being in broad strokes okay with it, as you suggest. Like, do they think it's basically unholy/ unclean, or do they generally accept that there are magical forces beyond those governed by the moons?
Your DM's milage may vary.
In Dragonlance (specific to the books) mortals attaining godhood is always going to be a "no" because of the dire consequences it creates with an unbalance (and the idea that other mortals may try the same thing). Now, that said - the D&D Dragonlance game for 5e is different than the novels. So your DM may allow it. (Just like they may allow races and classes that were not ever mentioned in the novels to be a part of the D&D campaign).
And how Wizards view others; in the novels, bards never really came up. But Clerics and to an extent, Druids, did - and they were fine with them and respected them, because they knew they followed a specific deity as well.
That's one thing Dragonlance does different with Wizards; is that they too, get their powers from one of the Moon Deities; and depending on which one (their alignment) dictates what Robe color they will wear. The white moon, Solinari, represents good magic, while the black moon, Nuitari embodies dark, evil magic. The balance between the two is Lunitari, the red moon, who represents neutral magic.
As far as non-wizards, what is their sentiment on non-lunar arcane magic? Besides being in broad strokes okay with it, as you suggest. Like, do they think it's basically unholy/ unclean, or do they generally accept that there are magical forces beyond those governed by the moons?
That's actually a very difficult question to answer from a lore perspective. Interpretations range, but for a long time there were no "arcane" magical forces beyond those governed by the moons, or at least it was explicit that these forces were unknown before the Age of Mortals (post-War of the Lance).
First, the deities of magic may simply be Krynn's version of the Forgotten Realms' Weave, where Mystra has a lot of control over how magic is used, but is ultimately a regulator and not a source.
Second, there is some canonical evidence that the moon gods are at least facilitating magic use in a way that Mystra does not, and mortals don't learn to use arcane magic directly until the gods leave (again) in the Age of Mortals.
Third (really an extension of the second), Solinari, Lunitari, and Nuitari may actually be the source of "arcane" magic on Krynn through the Age of Despair, and all wizards are actually just clerics in fancy dress, with real arcane magic coming on the scene in the Age of Mortals.
It's pretty clear to me that the intention of the original designers of the setting was Option Three, but also that it immediately came into conflict with the need to be compatible with the D&D multiverse, and most early-edition non-Dragonlance-branded products assumed Option Two to be the case.
What I gather from Shadow of the Dragon Queen is that the designers want to leave this up to dungeon masters, but in general it seems to work like Option One.
What does this mean for your warlock? Yeah, talk to your dungeon master.
My interpretation of SotDQ is that all arcane casters (wizards, sorcerers, and warlocks) are expected to take the Test, and as long as they do, no one asks further questions about where the magic comes from.
At my table, warlocks are all renegades because their powers explicitly come from a powerful patron other than a moon god. I can't reconcile that in a way I find logically consistent. At best, their magical loyalties are split, and my interpretation of the Conclave is that they do not have time for that. I suppose a player could pitch a moon god warlock to me -- it's never come up, but I'd resist the idea because of the investment the gods have in the Towers of High Sorcery as a concept. Why circumvent it?
To look at this another way, all Krynnish wizards are actually warlocks (or weird specialty priests, as stated above).
Sorcerers are likewise a sticky wicket, but because the source of their powers is not sapient (unless you count the sorcerer themself), I allow and require sorcerers to take the Test. I doubt most sorcerers care about the Towers and I doubt the Conclave cares any more about sorcerers than they do about any monster with spell-like abilities.
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J Great Wyrm Moonstone Dungeon Master
The time of the ORC has come. No OGL without irrevocability; no OGL with 'authorized version' language. #openDND
Practice, practice, practice • Respect the rules; don't memorize them • Be merciless, not cruel • Don't let the dice run the game for you
My sense from reading the novels was that the WoHS wanted to make sure those who would wield magic could do so capably and responsibly. Like regulating who gets to use plutonium, letting just anyone play around with it could lead to a disaster.
But IDK, there were a couple famous black robes in the books who might not have been so responsible, even if they were capable. But the Tower didn't look very kindly on them.
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Greetings! First time poster here, and first time delver into the world of Krynn!
My wife and I recently picked up Shadow of the Dragon Queen, and are prepping characters for a game of it. We're quite taken by what we've seen of the world so far, and have been inspired to create some pretty in-depth story material for our characters.
In my case, I have created an Ergothian cavalier, who also happens to be a Hexblade pact warlock. He is specifically part of a cult dedicated to a form of the Raven Queen, albeit a form buried under thousands of years worth of garbled lore such that the truth of her name are all lost to time. There is a TON more material to this, but I'll skip over it all to get to the important part: he is loyal to the Emperor of North Ergoth, while also revering "The Black Raven" and, to a lesser extent, Kiri-Jolith.
With that context out of the way, the part I'm still trying to figure out is how the Mages of High Sorcery figure into all of this. I know that at some point, as he develops his warlock powers, he will PROBABLY get noticed by the Mages and be required to join them, as Mages of Krynn are expected to. That's all fine and dandy, but... I am confused about the loyalty expectations per lore.
Specifically; I've heard most people say that the Mages are "loyal to magic above all else". Which is... a really vague summation. I am in general still confused about what exactly it is that the Mages even stand for, other than "Sign our guestbook or DIE". I know that they are generally twitchy about anything that endangers the flow of magic in the world, but there's also a ton about "responsible use of magic", which is also a bit vague. Considering that Black Robes are a thing...
Anyhow, the question about the Mages and what they stand for is in part it's own thing, but for moment, I have some more specific questions:
1) How would you generally handle a mage-knight as far as expected loyalties go? Does a mage knight who takes the Test now become MORE loyal to the mages, or is it accepted that they are more loyal to their king/ Emperor/ cause? I am of course asking about what the in-world expectation is.
2) How do the kingdoms of Ansalom even take the Mages coming in to bully their people into enlisting, especially if it's a case of conflicting loyalties? I know the wider world is a little suspicious of potentially rogue mages, but would a king be willing to allow the Mages to come in and threaten his knights into switching sides, so to speak? Or is it sometimes understood that some mages do exist outside of the Towers due to their currently standing allegiances (aside from the Dragon Army mages, that is).
Thanks in advance for indulging a newbie Krynn delver! (And I'll be happy to elaborate on the whole cult plot thing to clarify if needed, just figured I'd avoid dropping a useless wall of text at the start).
I'm not sure exactly what the terms of the Test of High Sorcery are in the new book, but if I understand correctly that your character is a multiclass cavalier/warlock, you may be able to convince your dungeon master that they will never be a powerful enough warlock to be forced to take the Test. I usually run the voluntary Test at 3rd level, but I wouldn't start bringing in the renegade hunters for a reluctant spellcaster until probably 5th or 6th level. Assuming that Shadow of the Dragon Queen runs through 11th or 12th level as most of the adventure paths do, this could reasonably be considered to be a non-issue.
But to answer your actual questions:
Speaking in terms of old lore, the Towers of High Sorcery and the Conclave are not really a political entity. Their concerns begin and end with magic. I would expect their oaths to conflict only with pledges of loyalty demanded by the truly autocratic, like the Kingpriest of Istar (who absolutely considered the Towers enough of a threat to start tearing them down), and that such pledges would be understood to be an overreach by the mage forced to swear them.
Certainly the Towers have no designs on temporal rulership, and that probably keeps them out of conflict with the vast majority of kingdoms, which aren't interested in making fruitless conflict with powerful mages.
Regarding their mandate, the Towers on the whole are not concerned with the morality of magic use, but the responsibility of magic use, in the sense that improperly controlled magic can disrupt reality itself. It's not a question of ethics but rather ensuring control of access to power. Layfolk may not understand this completely, but it is generally accepted that anything that keeps any kind of a leash on spellcasters is probably for the best.
Also, because you mentioned it, the official stance of historical canon is that the mages fighting alongside the Dragonarmies were all renegades. The Black Robes remained in opposition to Takhisis, or at least abstained from fighting in the War of the Lance. I'm sure this has been contradicted in official material -- I personally doubt it was ever actually true -- but that's the party line, anyway.
J
Great Wyrm Moonstone Dungeon Master
The time of the ORC has come. No OGL without irrevocability; no OGL with 'authorized version' language. #openDND
Practice, practice, practice • Respect the rules; don't memorize them • Be merciless, not cruel • Don't let the dice run the game for you
Thanks for your reply!
So, in general, the "It's fine" list for the Towers would be:
1. Cursing someone.
2. Creating the One Ring and mind controlling half the world, if not all of it.
3. Raising the dead and going on a rampage
4. Cruel Experiments
NOT okay:
1. Punching holes in the fabric of reality itself
2. Serving forces that want to punch holes in reality or upset the cosmic balance
3. Anything that might stop the flow of magic in the world in any way, shape or form.
Is that about right?
And in the case of point 1 in the "not okay list" ... how would portals factor? They are technically tears in space-time that connect planes that might otherwise NOT be linked so directly. Is that sort of thing still generally okay, and the line is just drawn at Far Realms-esque shenanigans?
As for the character concept; not a multiclass, no. Straight up Hexblade pact warlock. The Cavalier thing is more from my reading of Cavalier's being Knights of Ergoth, and taking a spin on the Knight Background for RP reasons.
1 and 4 are definitely within the Black Robes' standard book of work. 3 probably depends on the size of the rampage, because a rampaging wizard is bad for PR. 2 is enough to get the Conclave involved -- it's still disrupting reality, just not in the traditional 'rift in space' way. YMMV; this is pretty subjective stuff.
That's an interesting question. I would say that in the D&D5 version of the canon, you shouldn't worry about portals as long as the destinations are relatively benign. They're a lot more common these days. In the old material, travel to Krynn from other worlds definitely got the Conclave's attention, but the whole multiverse thing was quite high-level content, which hasn't been the case for mainstream D&D since around the mid-90s and it has only gotten less restrictive.
J
Great Wyrm Moonstone Dungeon Master
The time of the ORC has come. No OGL without irrevocability; no OGL with 'authorized version' language. #openDND
Practice, practice, practice • Respect the rules; don't memorize them • Be merciless, not cruel • Don't let the dice run the game for you
First - welcome! And hooray! Dragonlance!
For the - "loyal to magic above all else" - the way it works is - when the Wizards gather in the Towers, all else is put aside. It doesn't matter if you're Lawful Good standing right next to someone Lawful Evil. White, Red and Black Robes all hold respect for one another in the Tower. It's literally a "all differences aside" for the sake of magic. If there is, for example, some greater threat to Magic in general (say, someone is trying to ascend to godhood, and the very fabric of magic is threatened) - Wizards of all (White, Red, Black) would gather in the towers and explain how together, they need to put a stop to it. Outside of the tower, with no threats to magic? Well, then it's game on.
So for example, Black Robed mages might support Takhisis (Tiamat) coming into the world. However, if they got word from Nuitari (the Black Robe Moon god) that if she does so - she threatens to break the fabric of Magic and consume it all into herself - you can bet the Black Robed wizards would align with the Red and White Robe wizards and help stop Takhisis' attempt. And the Red and White Robe wizards would absolutely accept them.
The Dragonlance book covers non "Wizards" (such as Warlocks and Sorcerers) - but, if I was the DM - because the Warlock isn't a true "Wizard" and doesn't gain their powers from any of the Moon Gods (Solinari, representing the god of good magic, the red moon Lunitari, representing the god of neutral magic, and the black moon Nuitari, representing the god of evil magic) I would say that the Wizards wouldn't care too much. They might consider you a "Renegade" wizard (someone who doesn't take the test). But because you don't gain your powers from the Moon Gods I would say they'd leave you alone (no different than how Clerics and Druids get their powers from their own gods). I always explain that even Bards are not forced, because yes, while they are doing magical things, it's not coming from the moon gods - and thus, the Wizards won't care (I flavor bards as manipulating the magic through song and story, rather than actual spells).
For me, my above also helps answer your second question.
Every DM will probably handle it differently.
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Actually, this brings up another question; is it all attempts to ascend to godhood that the Mage's scream "NOPE" at, or just specific kinds? As in, gods in the wider multiverse can be brought about in ways besides some awful ritual that breaks a planet in two (and if not, I wonder how anything besides a chaotic evil deity is born). In general, are the Mage's okay as long as you don't break something, or are they really into the idea of "These are the gods, you are a mortal, stay in your lane" ?
As far as non-wizards, what is their sentiment on non-lunar arcane magic? Besides being in broad strokes okay with it, as you suggest. Like, do they think it's basically unholy/ unclean, or do they generally accept that there are magical forces beyond those governed by the moons?
Your DM's milage may vary.
In Dragonlance (specific to the books) mortals attaining godhood is always going to be a "no" because of the dire consequences it creates with an unbalance (and the idea that other mortals may try the same thing). Now, that said - the D&D Dragonlance game for 5e is different than the novels. So your DM may allow it. (Just like they may allow races and classes that were not ever mentioned in the novels to be a part of the D&D campaign).
And how Wizards view others; in the novels, bards never really came up. But Clerics and to an extent, Druids, did - and they were fine with them and respected them, because they knew they followed a specific deity as well.
That's one thing Dragonlance does different with Wizards; is that they too, get their powers from one of the Moon Deities; and depending on which one (their alignment) dictates what Robe color they will wear. The white moon, Solinari, represents good magic, while the black moon, Nuitari embodies dark, evil magic. The balance between the two is Lunitari, the red moon, who represents neutral magic.
So Wizards pull their powers from those deities.
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Need a character story/background written up? I do it for free (but also take donations!) - https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?591882-Need-a-character-background-written-up
That's actually a very difficult question to answer from a lore perspective. Interpretations range, but for a long time there were no "arcane" magical forces beyond those governed by the moons, or at least it was explicit that these forces were unknown before the Age of Mortals (post-War of the Lance).
First, the deities of magic may simply be Krynn's version of the Forgotten Realms' Weave, where Mystra has a lot of control over how magic is used, but is ultimately a regulator and not a source.
Second, there is some canonical evidence that the moon gods are at least facilitating magic use in a way that Mystra does not, and mortals don't learn to use arcane magic directly until the gods leave (again) in the Age of Mortals.
Third (really an extension of the second), Solinari, Lunitari, and Nuitari may actually be the source of "arcane" magic on Krynn through the Age of Despair, and all wizards are actually just clerics in fancy dress, with real arcane magic coming on the scene in the Age of Mortals.
It's pretty clear to me that the intention of the original designers of the setting was Option Three, but also that it immediately came into conflict with the need to be compatible with the D&D multiverse, and most early-edition non-Dragonlance-branded products assumed Option Two to be the case.
What I gather from Shadow of the Dragon Queen is that the designers want to leave this up to dungeon masters, but in general it seems to work like Option One.
What does this mean for your warlock? Yeah, talk to your dungeon master.
My interpretation of SotDQ is that all arcane casters (wizards, sorcerers, and warlocks) are expected to take the Test, and as long as they do, no one asks further questions about where the magic comes from.
At my table, warlocks are all renegades because their powers explicitly come from a powerful patron other than a moon god. I can't reconcile that in a way I find logically consistent. At best, their magical loyalties are split, and my interpretation of the Conclave is that they do not have time for that. I suppose a player could pitch a moon god warlock to me -- it's never come up, but I'd resist the idea because of the investment the gods have in the Towers of High Sorcery as a concept. Why circumvent it?
To look at this another way, all Krynnish wizards are actually warlocks (or weird specialty priests, as stated above).
Sorcerers are likewise a sticky wicket, but because the source of their powers is not sapient (unless you count the sorcerer themself), I allow and require sorcerers to take the Test. I doubt most sorcerers care about the Towers and I doubt the Conclave cares any more about sorcerers than they do about any monster with spell-like abilities.
J
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My sense from reading the novels was that the WoHS wanted to make sure those who would wield magic could do so capably and responsibly. Like regulating who gets to use plutonium, letting just anyone play around with it could lead to a disaster.
But IDK, there were a couple famous black robes in the books who might not have been so responsible, even if they were capable. But the Tower didn't look very kindly on them.