Honest question about Dark Sun in 5e future settings

[ZorroGames]

Perhaps too much Tolkien Eucatastrophe or C S Lewis in my 30s but for those wanting Dark Sun (which I never saw played much less actually played) what exactly is it that draws you to that world?

[Tanarii]

Post apocalyptic
Everyman Psionics
Defiling magic and arcane casters being socially hated
Feral Cannibal Halflings
Thieving murdering nomad (on foot) elves
Half-Giants (I found players just loved these)
Poisonous Assassin Bards

[Luccan]

For me it's definitely the focus on psionics and the particular kind of post-apocalypse. The game takes place in the ruins of what was once a massively fantastical setting. The setting is pretty bleak, but there seems to be at least some hope the sorcerer-kings can be brought low or reasoned into better treatment of their citizens and land, if only for the sake of their own survival (they may be nigh-on immortal, but if they finish off the world they'll die too). I also like the Muls; I think Dark Sun is the only official setting to ever consider half-dwarves.

[zinycor]

For me is about the post apocaliptic feeling and in the middle of a hostile desert, such a hostile enviromentin fascinating and very entertaining to play in.

Personally am happier if my character is miserable xD

[Callak_Remier]

Iron deficiency, is such a ****ing cool central tension.

[Luccan]

Iron deficiency, is such a ****ing cool central tension.

Actually, the lack of metal is something I'd forgotten, but it definitely increases the tension since the best weapons and armor are hard to come by. You have to resort to obsidian and basic stone or wood items a lot of the time. For the most part that just changes the aesthetic of weapons (a lot of blunt implements and more advanced obsidian weapons like the macuahuitl), but I could see playing in Dark Sun making medium armor a lot more popular for 5e.

[Theodoxus]

Borys the dragon. The lack of true gods. The emphasis on elementals as cleric patrons. The Arrakis / Tattoine-esque world that also has a massive forest guarded by halflings. Water is Life. Using d4s to generate attributes. Character trees. Psionics that made sense. Templars.

But mostly, the novels. Reading the setting guide was one thing. Following the lives of the PCs in novel form was 1000% better. It really made the Preserver/ Defiler aspect come alive.

[redwizard007]

Water being more precious than gold.
Elemental clerics.
Thri-kreen, Muls, Elves (and halflings) that are less lame.
Epic ruins with piles of barely salvageable metal weapons.
Dust sea.
Fantasy that didn't look Tolkieny.

[Anderlith]

The hardcore Sword and Sorcery vibe.

[TKTank]

Psionics
Post apocalyptic world
Gritty

[Sigreid]

Sounds like Fallout D&D. It never quite caught my interest. Probably because I play D&D largely for the magic wish fulfillment.

[Trask]

Its really the earnest attempt to mesh Sword and Sorcery feel with D&D high fantasy thats so charming. That brutal, heavy metal album cover, half-nude, mighty thews and dark magic, harsh lands, slaves and sorcerer lords, world. Its so attractive compared to the more glitzy and safe feeling of regular D&D settings.

[Wraith]

Iron deficiency, is such a ****ing cool central tension.

I too agree with this. Wearing 'plate' armour carved out of huge old bones, or leather studded with obsidian rather than steel, is something that anyone can do in other D&D settings if they want to but 99% of the time you just... don't. You go to the store, buy a suit of steel chainmail and then forget about it until you find some steel half-plate.

Being told that you can't have metal really stirs my imagination - every Dark Sun character I've ever played started with the question, "what else can I use instead?" and its helped me craft some unique and memorable moments.

I'm also the type of player who likes tom plan ahead and be prepared for life on the road. In many D&D settings you tend to travel from inn to inn and, unless there's a specific theme for the campaign, you just fill your bag up with rations and wait for a random encounter or two to present itself.
Such a laissez-faire attitude in Dark Sun is a death sentence, and it's great! All the players know exactly what they're getting into, and while it doesn't HAVE to be a deliberate spike in the game's difficulty, it makes for a lot of interesting dialogue and important decisions being made when everyone gets together to plan accordingly.

What I also like about Dark Sun is that there are virtually no "Designated Good Guys" that you 'shouldn't fight' as there usually are in other settings. Absolutely everybody can plausibly be described as a monstrous savage, including the PCs, and while that's not to everyone's taste it really is my go-to setting when I feel like being a murderhobo and kicking over some old temples. :smalltongue:

[Eldariel]

Dark Sun is the only settings to ever do Psionics and Gritty right. Well, Psionics were also pretty well-implemented in Eberron, but absolutely no other settings does Gritty like Dark Sun. It's truly different.

[Tanarii]

Oh yeah, let's not forget:
Ability scores were 4d4+4
Start at 3rd level
Character trees

Character generatin didn't feel even like your old-time D&D. between mechanics, new races, old races being different, and classes being different (including fighters, because no metal) it felt about as far from same old D&D as you could get and still be using the same system.

Compared to Ravenloft, Dragonlance, FR, Mystara, Birthright, Spelljammer, and Planescape, it showed how to truly make something different while still staying in the same system.

Don't get me wrong, I loved all those setting excerpt Planescape.

[Bigmouth]

Perhaps very shallow of me to say, but I like it first and foremost for the visuals. So much of D&D looks and feels sadly 'generic' but Dark Sun does not. Characters look like the fantasy art you'd find on album covers, rather than some Knights of the Round Table romance. I am a much bigger fan of Conan and John Carter of Mars than I am of Lancelot, so aesthetically it just ticked all my boxes.

It was the first campaign setting was more than a random hodge-podge of cultures tossed randomly onto a map over the course of a long campaign. It was cohesive. It made sense. It was original. The art was the best seen in any RPG up to that point, and it was consistent across not just the game books but the novels. It wasn't just aesthetics either, the world was scratch built from top to bottom, rather than just tossing in pre-existing bits and pieces.

[xroads]

I love gritty games (big fan of Warhammer Fantasy). Which is why I like Dark Sun. That, and thri-keen. Because, who doesn't want to play a man-size bug that can make weapons with their venom. :smallbiggrin:


Oh yeah, let's not forget:
Ability scores were 4d4+4
Start at 3rd level
Character trees


If memory serves, with character trees you basically had to create 3 characters and have two of them on stand-bye because the odds of PC death was high. Am I remembering that right?

[Tanarii]

If memory serves, with character trees you basically had to create 3 characters and have two of them on stand-bye because the odds of PC death was high. Am I remembering that right?Thats the basic reason, and part of that was the backup characters got trickle down xp.

but it was convienient in other ways, since you could swap a backup to primary for an adventure if needed. Or do regularly to keep them about the same level. Assuming you could keep them alive.

[ZorroGames]

Thanks all. Definitely will not be a game I will ever play. Glad to know why others like it.

[zinycor]

Thanks all. Definitely will not be a game I will ever play. Glad to know why others like it.

What is it that you don't like about it?

[Spriteless]

Many fantasy settings have a blighted area, badlands created by an evil magic in a war of eldritch power, insert 'war is bad' or 'weapons are bad' or 'people are bad' morale here. Lets visit for an adventure but get out before we become mutants. Don't want to get depressed thinking of all that death and war.

Althas is ground zero of the badlands created by evil sorcerers, who never learned their lesson, some might yet live and still defile the land. Powerful mortals did this to the world. Hell, being a wizard isn't strictly forbidden by the rules, will you try it? If you do, will your buddies kill you for it? One valid yet nasty choice deserves another.

To me, it is the fact that the powers that shaped the world have consequences that you can't escape, that keep it away from generic medieval stasis. It is a different power fantasy: you can't fix everything, but you can create lasting consequences that Mordenkainen won't balance.

Also, if you have friends who joke about eating the rich, set them up with some pregen Halflings and Tri-Kreen in the adventure that starts with PCs slaves in Althas.

[ZorroGames]

What is it that you don't like about it?

It really doesn’t matter, does it? I just won’t play it because I do not want to play that kind of game.

[Anderlith]

It really doesn’t matter, does it? I just won’t play it because I do not want to play that kind of game.

What kind of game?

[zinycor]

It really doesn’t matter, does it? I just won’t play it because I do not want to play that kind of game.

Well people who answered your thread coud have said "It doesn't matter, I like it and I will play it" but me and the others gave actual reasoning, and I expected the same from you, but you are free to give whatever answer you want.

[KorvinStarmast]

Perhaps too much Tolkien Eucatastrophe or C S Lewis in my 30s but for those wanting Dark Sun (which I never saw played much less actually played) what exactly is it that draws you to that world? Here is what I liked.
1. Magic was either defiler or preserver. Magic had a value, and a cost, that is missing from some D&D.
2. Psionics: one of the few well done implementations of that idea.
3. Every level felt like first level. Survival. (Remember, Original D&D had Avalon Hill's Outdoor Survival as an integral part of the game)
4. Player skill / using your wits mattered.
5. Us against the world. The party had to play together or perish.

Anyway, I liked it for those reasons, and I also liked some of the novels that came out supporting that setting.

It had a unique feel. Kind of like Mad Max doing D&D. :smallcool:

FR and Eberron are too Monty Haul for my taste.

[raygun goth]

Heavy emphasis on sword and sorcery/sword and planet type play, a dying world to save, lots of systemic racism and violence to end, what's not to love?

[Tanarii]

3. Every level felt like first level. Survival. (Remember, Original D&D had Avalon Hill's Outdoor Survival as an integral part of the game)
Did it really? Is it referenced in the little brown books, or is that something everyone kinda just knew?

Edit: if you've got any references that be awesome. That way I can hunt down source books.

[LibraryOgre]

Sounds like Fallout D&D. It never quite caught my interest. Probably because I play D&D largely for the magic wish fulfillment.

A slightly better comparison is to ERB's Barsoom novels... John Carter of Mars and the like. Thri-kreen and green martians share a lot, the fact that everyone is psychic, the lack of armor, even the absurdly high stats.