[4E] Here it comes - the new setting's Dark Sun.

[Cainen]

Source: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/drfe/20090814

There's not much I can say about this that isn't said there, but it won't stop me from paraphrasing.

Basically, they're trying to stick to most of Dark Sun's idiosyncracies instead of trying to shoehorn it into fitting 4E's current mold. As well, they're going with classic Dark Sun's timeline. On top of all that, at least some of the classes will be getting new options - the Fighter is the example given, though there are no new options actually shown. Or discussed beyond their namesake.

[Myshlaevsky]

Excellent. Looking forward to this immensely.

[Fax Celestis]

I may actually have to play 4e now.

[SilveryCord]

Hmmm this and PHB3 with its psionic options may actually convert me fully over to 4E.

[Kurald Galain]

Wait a second... "Under 2nd Edition, Dark Sun was all about a grittier, action-packed feeling in a dark and dangerous world, and that’s going to map really well to the new edition and the baseline assumptions about the world."

Since when has 4E been gritty, dark or dangerous?

[RTGoodman]

I dunno, but I totally called it. I'm SUPER excited about this now.

[Edea]

I dunno about whether or not the discussion regarding Dark Sun at the bottom of the page is actually true or just a bunch of assuaging hot air, but this book cover? Badass.

[Gamerlord]

I never heard about dark sun before, but anything post-apocalypse sounds awesome in my book.

[Matthew]

I am actually very happy about this; I really hope that the Dark Sun Campaign Guide follows the methodology of the Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide, and I do not mean the way they moved the time line on, rather I mean that each area has a succinct description on which the game master can build in the manner of the D20 Wilderlands of High Fantasy boxed set. I am looking forward to this!

[Tengu_temp]

The grittiest and most lethal AD&D setting (maybe apart from Ravenloft) gets converted to 4e? This will be either So Bad It's Good or just plain awesome. Either way, I win.

Also, I think Wizards intentionally wants to release this book in order to make oldtimers play 4e.

[Moriato]

The grittiest and most lethal AD&D (maybe apart from Ravenloft) setting gets converted to 4e? This will be either So Bad It's Good or just plain awesome. Either way, I win.

I expect a lot of people to almost die in the desert. Oh, never mind one did. Oh wait, nevermind, he's ok.

Seriously though, dark sun was probably my least favorite campaign setting. Pretty much any world based on one terrain type will get boring to me after a while. Ice world, water world, or in this case, desert world.

Also I'm not a fan of 4e so that's like the mayonnaise icing on the crap cake right there.

[AstralFire]

SMOKIN'

Righteously.

[evildmguy]

YES!

I am so excited for this. I really liked DS more than my favorite at the time, FR, because it was so self contained. It didn't get more things tacked on to it as time went by, such as Maztica, Kara-Tur, etc. (And I don't hate them but it didn't seem to fit.)

So, very happy about this announcement! I already told my group, I am running DS after our current campaign. I am hopeful they will go along with me!

edg

[RTGoodman]

Seriously though, dark sun was probably my least favorite campaign setting. Pretty much any world based on one terrain type will get boring to me after a while. Ice world, water world, or in this case, desert world.

I dunno about that - in the first three and a half books of the Prism Pentad (that's as far as I've gotten so far), there's desert, urban, mountain, jungle, crazy mutant-forest, and "sea" (though it's made of silt) environments. Yeah, desert kinda dominates, but it's for a reason in-setting, not just because someone got over-happy with Sandstorm ideas.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Well, I called it...but I'm not all too happy about it, to be honest. FR got mutilated in the 4e transition, Eberron got a few "minor" tweaks (like "Hey guys, anyone can have any dragonmark now! Because PCs are special!"), and if their release of the Prism Pentad is any indication, Dark Sun will most likely include a few "minor tweaks" or "small updates" that ruin it.

Playing DS in general would be absolutely awesomtastically amazing, since I haven't found anyone willing to run it since I was playing 2e, but as for getting it as a setting...I guess I just don't trust WotC with it.

[AgentPaper]

SMOKIN'

Righteously.

Ohmigod, it's AstralFire!

I admit to not knowing much about Dark Sun, but if that cover is any indication of the quality of the book, then I'm going to have to buy it. With extreme prejudice.

I'm also hoping that this will show that 4E can do dark and gritty just fine, with a few rather minor rule tweaks. (namely, reducing the rate of healing surge regeneration to Con mod/extended rest, or similar)

[RTGoodman]

Well, I called it...but I'm not all too happy about it, to be honest. FR got mutilated in the 4e transition, Eberron got a few "minor" tweaks (like "Hey guys, anyone can have any dragonmark now! Because PCs are special!"), and if their release of the Prism Pentad is any indication, Dark Sun will most likely include a few "minor tweaks" or "small updates" that ruin it.

Actually, you might surprised. (Or James Wyatt might not be telling the whole truth.

James Wyatt: Our goal with the setting was to cleave as close to the original boxed set as possible while still allowing as many D&D options as we could and making the setting ideal for 4th Edition play. We’re in the process of re-releasing Troy Denning’s excellent Prism Pentad series of novels, and we didn’t want readers to come away from those books and look at the campaign setting and not recognize it as the same world. So we tried to capture the essence of the original Dark Sun boxed set while ensuring that the Prism Pentad novels could be one possible way things turn out.

[Nai_Calus]

Expected, but still lame. Dark Sun is the setting that always makes me go 'ugh you couldn't pay me to play that ever', since it goes against... Pretty much everything I like in a setting ever.

My usual PC types wouldn't survive childhood, and if they did they'd just go lie down in the desert somewhere and stab themselves with their stone-age knives to make the endless hopelessness and brutality stop. >_>

[Blackfang108]

My usual PC types wouldn't survive childhood, and if they did they'd just go lie down in the desert somewhere and stab themselves with their stone-age knives to make the endless hopelessness and brutality stop. >_>

Athas does not favor Optimists. However, Emo Kids die even quicker.

[Sipex]

I'm excited, I've never played or even heard of dark sun until now (I'm new to the hobby) so I'll be able to enjoy it without ever going "But it originally had this, or this"

[Nai_Calus]

Athas does not favor Optimists. However, Emo Kids die even quicker.

Yeah, I make a lot of Chaotic Good optimistic merciful compassionate dyed-in-the-wool Nice Guys who want to make the world a better place. It's what I like. I also like optimism and hope for the future and worlds that are a decent place that needs saving from becoming ****holes like Athas already is. I also make characters that are deeply religious in contrast to my near-atheism so that doesn't work either.

I don't want to make brutal petty survivalist me-first characters of the sort that seem required for Dark Sun, because I get enough of that in the real world. <_> Thus!

Seriously Shadowrun is the darkest I get. Anything past that I don't care anymore it's too depressing, I'd rather spend my leisure time doing something I enjoy, like shoving icepicks under my toenails.

[Edea]

I am curious as to what sorts of mechanical changes might be introduced to make 4e 'cleave as close to the original boxed set as possible'. Unlike FR or Eberron, for example, Dark Sun's apparently got some class exclusivity (in particular paladins, monks, and sorcerers); I sincerely doubt they'll ban those again, so what they'll do to explain the presence of those kinds of PC characters is a mystery to me.

[Nai_Calus]

The new version's focus will be on the 50,000 survivors of Athas after the Warforged nuked the planet, as they search desperately for a mythical planet named Htrae in their fleet of spelljammer ships, while fighting off more Warforged attacks.

[Kurald Galain]

what they'll do to explain the presence of those kinds of PC characters is a mystery to me.

Probably the same as what they did to explain the presence of dragonborn and warforged in the Realms

So anyway - it would seem that every setting book gets a few new races, one special "semi power source" (spellscars and dragonmarks, resp) and one new class. One race for Dark Sun is obviously the half-giant (although that feels similar to a goliath, really); but anyone have guesses what the others will be? The class would probably be defiler, I suppose.

[RTGoodman]

One race for Dark Sun is obviously the half-giant (although that feels similar to a goliath, really); but anyone have guesses what the others will be?

Mul is kind of an iconic one, and they've already mentioned Thri-Kreen, and I think they're one a lot of people will want to play. Outside that, well, there's a handful of others that I don't know about (lizardy people, birdy people, etc.), which would be at least NPC races.

The class would probably be defiler, I suppose.

I dunno - defiling and preserving could probably be a non-class mechanic, somehow. Guess we'll just have to wait and see, though.

[Thane of Fife]

Probably the same as what they did to explain the presence of dragonborn and warforged in the Realms

So anyway - it would seem that every setting book gets a few new races, one special "semi power source" (spellscars and dragonmarks, resp) and one new class. One race for Dark Sun is obviously the half-giant (although that feels similar to a goliath, really); but anyone have guesses what the others will be? The class would probably be defiler, I suppose.

I would expect Half-Giants, Muls (maybe), and Thri-Kreen as races, and probably Templars as a class - or maybe an Athasian Bard.

Also, I am completely dumbfounded that people are raving over that cover - I think it looks awful.

[valadil]

I like everything I've heard about Dark Sun and I'm glad to have the chance to try it. I just hope it's not some watered down diet Dark Sun. That would kinda defeat the purpose.

[Natael]

Yeah, I make a lot of Chaotic Good optimistic merciful compassionate dyed-in-the-wool Nice Guys who want to make the world a better place. It's what I like. I also like optimism and hope for the future and worlds that are a decent place that needs saving from becoming ****holes like Athas already is. I also make characters that are deeply religious in contrast to my near-atheism so that doesn't work either.

I don't want to make brutal petty survivalist me-first characters of the sort that seem required for Dark Sun, because I get enough of that in the real world. <_> Thus!

Seriously Shadowrun is the darkest I get. Anything past that I don't care anymore it's too depressing, I'd rather spend my leisure time doing something I enjoy, like shoving icepicks under my toenails.

You could definitely play an optimist on Athas, the dragon kings can be overthrown, look at Tyr. There are, to my knowledge, reasonable movements to make things better in the deserty area, and potentially much of the world yet to be discovered.

[TheThan]

Wow, I’m surprised they are actually doing dark sun. Seriously though this is great news. They are finally doing something with their older setting they had lying around.

This is possibly the best thing I’ve heard today (well read but still).

[Yora]

I'm surprised Dark Sun fans are actually happy about this. Remembering what they made of the Forgotten Realms, which is a far more mainstream setting.