New Dungeons and Dragons playtest material released by Wizards of the Coast has some Forgotten Realms fans up in arms about a supposed lore change. The new Unearthed Arcana playtest includes eight new subclasses, but the kerfuffle is centered around just one of them, a new Paladin subclass called the Purple Dragon Knight.
The offending retcon comes right at the start of the description for this DnD class option, where it says that these Paladins are “paragons of valor and leadership who partner with amethyst dragons”.
To be clear, no one is upset about the valor and leadership bit. It’s the partnering with dragons part that’s raised a few eyebrows, and even caused a handful of online commenters to accuse Wizards of the Coast of not knowing the lore for its own DnD settings.
I’ll hold up my hands here and confess: until about 15 minutes ago I wasn’t aware of the history of the Purple Dragon Knights of Cormyr either, but my understanding now is they are not renowned for being great lovers of dragons.
Essentially, Cormyr has a history of being ravaged by the scaly beasts. The military order of the Purple Dragons was named after a particularly nasty, particularly old black DnD dragon called Thaugalor, whose scales faded from black to a purple hue with age. After Cormyr threw off the tyrannical yoke of this dragon, it was inspired to name its military after the beast.
So now describing the Purple Dragon Knights as riders of amethyst dragons seems all wrong. Before this the Purple Dragons had nothing to do with amethyst dragons, and they certainly didn’t ride them. But this DnD Paladin subclass is purely about being a dragon rider, with a level 3 ability that gives you a purple dragon ally and later level ups that power up their actions.
It’s a strange choice, I’ve got to say. If Wizards of the Coast wanted to make a dragon-riding Paladin (and why wouldn’t they, that sounds awesome) it seems odd to tie it to a specific setting, especially when that requires trampling over the lore to make it fit. Now you’re not pleasing anyone. Those who prefer a homebrew setting will be put off by the specificity, while Forgotten Realms superfans are going to be dismayed about the inaccuracy.
Being charitable, this is not just a case of Wizards getting it wrong. There’s clearly been a time skip or retcon or something, as the document states that the Purple Dragons were “originally founded in Cormyr”, but now new recruits are enlisted from “any realms where chivalry is in abundance”. So perhaps bonding with amethyst dragons is a new thing for them, a hilarious coincidence given their name. But it doesn’t seem like the fanbase is buying it.
One commenter, Reddit user jgrenemyer, suggested a simple tweak that would make the class more in keeping with the lore – make them ride wyverns instead. This would make a lot of sense, as wyverns have a much less maligned history in the region, and in fact one of the characters that fought the original purple dragon did so from wyvern-back.
Bear in mind this is all still playtest material and not set in stone. It seems possible if fans don’t like the change, that Wizards could avoid writing it into official lore.
For more DnD stories, check out our guides to DnD races, and the 2025 DnD release schedule.
Source: Wargamer
