Dragons of Deceit is the fourth and final game module

Adventure (Dungeons & Dragons)

In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, an adventure or module is a pre-packaged book or box set that helps the Dungeon Master manage the plot or story of a game...

 in the Tales of Winter Night story arc in the Dungeons & Dragons Dragonlance series. It is one of the 14 DL modules published

Dragonlance modules (DL series)

The DL Dragonlance modules are a series of adventures and some supplementary material for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role playing game. These modules along with the Dragonlance Chronicles trilogy of novels, which follow one possible adventure series through the modules, were the first...

 by TSR

TSR, Inc.

Blume and Gygax, the remaining owners, incorporated a new company called TSR Hobbies, Inc., with Blume and his father, Melvin Blume, owning the larger share. The former assets of the partnership were transferred to TSR Hobbies, Inc....

 between 1984 and 1986. Its cover features a painting by Larry Elmore

Larry Elmore

Larry Elmore is an American fantasy artist whose work includes creating illustrations for video games, comics, magazines and fantasy books. His list of work includes illustrations for Dungeons & Dragons, Dragonlance, and the comic strip series SnarfQuest...

 of Gunthar astride a copper dragon next to Fizban.

Plot synopsis

In Dragons of Deceit, the player character

Player character

A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...

s undertake a quest to the evil city of Sanction to find a way to free the good dragons

Dragon (Dungeons & Dragons)

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game , dragons are an iconic type of monstrous creature used as adversaries or, less commonly, allies of player characters...

 from their oath not to battle evil. The module includes rules and counters to use in resolving an aerial battle between good and evil dragons.

In this module, the players must guide their characters into the Dragon Highlord's territory towards the city Sanction. The characters must search the city for a key to Highlord's lair. This will allow them to "solve the mystery of the dragons' oath" and "penetrate the deception of the Dark Queen in time to bring salvation to Krynn."

Publication history

DL9 Dragons of Deceit was written by Douglas Niles

Douglas Niles

Douglas Niles is a fantasy author and game designer. Niles was one of the creators of the Dragonlance world and the author of the first three Forgotten Realms novels, and the Top Secret S/I espionage role-playing game.-Early life:Niles was born in Brookfield, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee, and...

, with cover art by Larry Elmore

Larry Elmore

Larry Elmore is an American fantasy artist whose work includes creating illustrations for video games, comics, magazines and fantasy books. His list of work includes illustrations for Dungeons & Dragons, Dragonlance, and the comic strip series SnarfQuest...

and interior illustrations by Diana Magnuson, and was published by TSR in 1985 as a 48-page booklet with a cardstock counter sheet and an outer folder.