Hey, [MENTION=82779]MechaPilot[/MENTION] this is exactly the kind of 2e purism I was referring to.
I found the 4e Dark Sun conversion to be both thoughtful and well-executed. If that's your take on how the Eladrin and Dray were implemented ... uh ... I think you're bringing in baggage
well outside what was contained within the 4e DSCS. They were included thoughtfully, and with an eye to lore. No, they were not in the original box set. No, that does not mean they don't fit perfectly well. Had they been around in 1990, they would have slid in fine alongside the other core options like half-giants and thri-kreen. (If you're unfamiliar with the Dark Sun eladrin,
here's their write-up. It's exactly the kind of thing I'd use for an adventure hook, and which could be found in any of the 2e adventures.)
Yep, the 4e cleric would be a terrible fit for Dark Sun. Agreed. No, it was not worth making a whole new class just to have a thing called "elemental cleric." Fortunately, there was an existing Primal class that fit in just great, and filled a very similar niche.
And really, come on. With how mutated all of Athas is, the idea that stuff simply
can't exist somewhere out in the Wastes is laughable.
This is the same setting that turned the 2e PCs into larger-than-life protagonists, giving everyone ability scores up to 24, free wild talents, maybe 4 attacks per round, and starting them at Level 3. And you're complaining about healing surges.