Dark Sun Alternate History

tonse · Sep 20, 2006

Inspired by a thread over at the Wizard-Boards I have thought about how the known history of Athas changed between the boxed set and the conclusion of the Prism Pentad. What would you do with the history of athas, given only the boxed sets and no expansions or novels? What would be the central themes, besides survival, without Borys, the Cleansing Wars, the blue-age halflings etc.

werk · Sep 20, 2006

tonse said:
Inspired by a thread over at the Wizard-Boards I have thought about how the known history of Athas changed between the boxed set and the conclusion of the Prism Pentad. What would you do with the history of athas, given only the boxed sets and no expansions or novels? What would be the central themes, besides survival, without Borys, the Cleansing Wars, the blue-age halflings etc.

I think you get dragonlance, but maybe that just depends on how far back you rewrite its history.

Athas is in the inhospitable condition it is (IIRC) because despoilers sucked all the life out of it. With all the 'special' magic, it equates most easily to dragonlance setting IMO.

Aaron L · Sep 20, 2006

I think what the OP means is what would you have personally done with the istory of Athas whithout the "reveals" from the novels about how halflings were the progenitor race of Athas, about the true origin of the Sorcerer-Kings, and the Cleansing Wars and Blue Age and every but of Athasian history except the fact that Defilers sucked the life out of the soil by abusing magic. All the changes that separated the first boxed set from the second.

And for starters, I wouldnt have used the halfling idea, which was extremely sily and almost turned me off the setting entirely. The whole "all races are just mutant halflings" idea just screamed to me "yes, were doing this JUST TO BE DIFFERENT!"

tonse · Sep 20, 2006

Aaron L said:
And for starters, I wouldnt have used the halfling idea, which was extremely sily and almost turned me off the setting entirely. The whole "all races are just mutant halflings" idea just screamed to me "yes, were doing this JUST TO BE DIFFERENT!"

Exactly my thoughts. I really, really wanted to like the idea, but something just got a hold on me, telling me that as a human I simply can't stand the idea of being a mutated halfling.

Matafuego · Sep 20, 2006

I also hated that and I also believed Athas was "Dragonlance 2", as in Dragonlance after a big big big mess...

werk · Sep 20, 2006

Matafuego said:
I also hated that and I also believed Athas was "Dragonlance 2", as in Dragonlance after a big big big mess...

OK, I'm glad I'm not the only one.

It's been a long time since I read the Pentad, and I didn't care for it much (no more psionic pretend battles please, just burn their face off, it's so much easier and faster). I remember the cleansing wars, but not so much the halfling progenator story...I think I like the tribe of one stories better. I only had the first generation Dark Sun materials.

Given that background info, Athas just seemed like Krynn after another cataclysm where the gods left, again, and the towers fell.

I also liked the boxed set about the weird 'other' continent in dragonlance...whatever it was called.

tonse · Sep 20, 2006

werk said:
I also liked the boxed set about the weird 'other' continent in dragonlance...whatever it was called.

Taladas, I think.

Crothian · Sep 20, 2006

I don't think Dark Sun needs an alternative histroy or a history for that matter. Something happened but whatever it was has been lost in the sands of time

I like it better undefined, just take the world as it exists in the first box set and go with it.

werk · Sep 20, 2006

tonse said:
Taladas, I think.

Sorry for falling off topic.

The continent of Taladas was first introduced in the "Time of the Dragon" boxed set in 1989, by David “Zeb” Cook.

I agree with Crothian, that original setting was amazing. Much better than what resulted when other authors tried to explain and change it, IMO.

frankthedm · Sep 20, 2006

Crothian said:
Dark Sun...just take the world as it exists in the first box set and go with it.

Oh hell yeah!

The Dark*Sun setting was great before the fall of Kalak, but once T$R decided to get politicaly correct and try and reduce the slavery in the setting, it lost it's edge.

Rather than do a build up of Kalak's plans and the danger posed by them over the course of the published adventures, TSR had the Author Uber NPCs

kill

Kalak while the players watched in the

first damned

adventure.

Dark Sun Alternate History

tonse

First Post

werk

First Post

Aaron L

Hero

tonse

First Post

Matafuego

Explorer

werk

First Post

tonse

First Post

Crothian

First Post

werk

First Post

frankthedm

First Post

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