D&D 5E Chris Perkins drops 2020 hint!

[Salthorae]

You can approach Athas with a Spelljammer

Err... based on what source?

The Complete Spacefarer's Handbook basically says Athas shouldn't be used with Spelljammer settings. If you were to want to have it in Spelljammer it then basically says it's unreachable. No tomes list the routes to its Sphere.

DM's can do anything in their worlds/games, but TSR publications wanted to keep Athas as far from Spelljamming as possible because... that would defeat the purpose of Dark Sun. If you could leave the planet you would.

 

[Bitbrain]

You know the lore on how DS got its selection of races?

Several races e.g. orcs, present in DS in the so called green age (= distant past) were genocided by powerful magic.

OMG

I myself like to imagine that Athas (Dark Sun) is the future of Oerth (Greyhawk).

They feel closer together in tone to me.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

I like the concept of vestige pact magic, where the binder would be as a freelance worker, and each patron as mini advanced/prestige class wearing a different suit every day. I didn't like "magic of incarnum" but the totemist (totem shaman) would deserve a second chance, like a mini-monster template and the points of essence wouldn't be for buffer but as metamagic effects. But the incarnum for metagame effects is too complex when you are the DM controlling monsters. I would have liked a class as a pokemon trainer or a summoner (pathfinder) with a monster pet with incarnum soulmelds to get special monster traits.

Of course if this come back, it will not a surprise, but it will need a lot of time for playtesting and feedback.

* Ravenloft isn't only about killing the monster of the week, there are many titles about that, but also a mixture of dark urban fantasy, mystery, thriller and supernatural conspiracies... and about the wish/fear of the supernatural punishment for your bad actions.

I have got some about Ravenloft, continuity and canon. What happens about things published for 3rd Ed by White Wolf, or the ideas published in internet?

Shouldn't the core be so big as Europe...or Russia? I am afraid this needs something like a sandbox, space where other can add their own creations.

* I wouldn't descart Elric adaptation as a cartoon for adults.

* Some theory says Athas is a demiplane, created when the contact with the gods was lost.

When DS comes back, somebody will ask explanations about the rest of the planet, and the metaplot after the pentad prism novels.

Would you allo psiforged (psionic warforged) and shardminds in DS? I have imagine a continent in DS without local flora, but a eternal war between elemental feys (genies?) and an invasion of infernal bugs (outsiders, not vermins), maybe from the far realm, or even living-constructs, like the sheen creatures.

 

[Arnwolf666]

Err... based on what source?

The Complete Spacefarer's Handbook basically says Athas shouldn't be used with Spelljammer settings. If you were to want to have it in Spelljammer it then basically says it's unreachable. No tomes list the routes to its Sphere.

DM's can do anything in their worlds/games, but TSR publications wanted to keep Athas as far from Spelljamming as possible because... that would defeat the purpose of Dark Sun. If you could leave the planet you would.

Adventurers have a habit of finding the unknown and doing the impossible. It doesn’t say it can’t be done. Just that the way isn’t known.

that handbook is also a very good resource. Highly recommend it.

 

[Salthorae]

Adventurers have a habit of finding the unknown and doing the impossible. It doesn’t say it can’t be done. Just that the way isn’t known.

It does sound like a fun game... just that TSR never really wanted the two to mingle really, but that they knew all of us out here would go and do it anyway.

I can just imagine some Spelljammer that followed an offshoot route in the flow for generations popping out in Athaspace... can you imagine how unprepared they'd be to land on Athas? Poor 'jammers!

I can also imagine a great plotline around a Sorcerer-king getting ahold of their Helm and working to get themselves off-world and having to stop that somehow.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

Err... based on what source?

The Complete Spacefarer's Handbook basically says Athas shouldn't be used with Spelljammer settings. If you were to want to have it in Spelljammer it then basically says it's unreachable. No tomes list the routes to its Sphere.

DM's can do anything in their worlds/games, but TSR publications wanted to keep Athas as far from Spelljamming as possible because... that would defeat the purpose of Dark Sun. If you could leave the planet you would.

Haven't read that source, my bad I didn't know that. I do believe that if Athas is within a crystal sphere (and I haven't seen anything that says it hasn't been), it could be approached by a Spelljammer if someone from outside wanted to. I don't know why they would as Athas has almost nothing valuable to someone from another world, and Athas doesn't have the tech or know-how to build a Spelljammer, so functionally it is completely cut off that way as well. It's like you're stuck on a very small deserted island; sure a ship could stop and save you, but if the island is so small they can barely see it, why would they ever stop?

I'll also add they Githyanki once invaded Athas through a portal from the Astral Plane, I forgot about that. Can't remember why they were interested in Athas.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

* Some theory says Athas is a demiplane, created when the contact with the gods was lost.

When DS comes back, somebody will ask explanations about the rest of the planet, and the metaplot after the pentad prism novels.

Would you allo psiforged (psionic warforged) and shardminds in DS? I have imagine a continent in DS without local flora, but a eternal war between elemental feys (genies?) and an invasion of infernal bugs (outsiders, not vermins), maybe from the far realm, or even living-constructs, like the sheen creatures.

Never heard that theory, and it would be wrong. Dark Sun is not a demiplane, it's on the material plane. Last source I read said that when the Gods and Primordials made peace, this is the world the Primordials got to keep. But eventually they got tired of it/destroyed and left.

The metaplot and the pentad prism novels were abandoned in 4e. As they should, as they killed nearly all the VIPs in Dark Sun. It will almost certainly not be revisited.

Please no shardmines and warforged in DS, those are Eberron things. DS has it's own unique things like Thri-keen, Mul and Half-Giants. The reason DS doesn't have flora is because of the destructive magics the Sorceror Kings used.

 

[gyor]

Never heard that theory, and it would be wrong. Dark Sun is not a demiplane, it's on the material plane. Last source I read said that when the Gods and Primordials made peace, this is the world the Primordials got to keep. But eventually they got tired of it/destroyed and left.

The metaplot and the pentad prism novels were abandoned in 4e. As they should, as they killed nearly all the VIPs in Dark Sun. It will almost certainly not be revisited.

Please no shardmines and warforged in DS, those are Eberron things. DS has it's own unique things like Thri-keen, Mul and Half-Giants. The reason DS doesn't have flora is because of the destructive magics the Sorceror Kings used.

Shardminds are not an Eberron thing, they are a Nentir Vale and maybe Forgotten Realms thing. I mean they could show up in Eberron, but Eberron is not the source of Shardminds. Shardminds aren't constructs, they are broken pieces of the Living Gate, a crystal gate that protects against the Far Realms.

 

[Arnwolf666]

I just can’t imagine the point in a setting that connects all of reality and if if you look and search hard enough you can get anywhere and then saying not this setting. Oh and not this one too. Oh and we created this new one that you can’t go to also. It’s not like you are opening up the place to mass migration and trade.

 

[Bitbrain]

Haven't read that source, my bad I didn't know that. I do believe that if Athas is within a crystal sphere (and I haven't seen anything that says it hasn't been), it could be approached by a Spelljammer if someone from outside wanted to. I don't know why they would as Athas has almost nothing valuable to someone from another world, and Athas doesn't have the tech or know-how to build a Spelljammer, so functionally it is completely cut off that way as well. It's like you're stuck on a very small deserted island; sure a ship could stop and save you, but if the island is so small they can barely see it, why would they ever stop?

I'll also add they Githyanki once invaded Athas through a portal from the Astral Plane, I forgot about that. Can't remember why they were interested in Athas.

Well if my memory serves correctly, the Githyanki actually try to invade Athas twice. It’s the main idea behind the Black Spine adventure, if I recall correctly.

The first invasion was a simple raiding expedition, like they are prone to do on other worlds. Unfortunately for them, the natives of Athas fought back and proved to be too much for them, so they retreated.

Some of the Githyanki got left behind in the retreat, and mutated into the Gith.

The Gith, for reasons having to do with the environment of Athas, possess greater psionic abilties than their ancestors, and when contact is restablished between the two subspecies after centuries, the Githyanki become curious and rally the Gith into a horde. Their plan is to observe the Gith in action and see if the Athasian Gith’s greater psionics can be weaponized.

Unfortunately, kinda like that one episode of Star Trek Voyager with Species 8472, a band of adventurers from Athas massacre the Gith horde on Athas and then cross over into the Astral Plane where they wreak havoc inside a Githyanki fortress (killing the Githyanki Queen, whose name is Trinth) before returning home to Athas.

In the aftermath, the Githyanki survivors declare Athas to be forever off-limits. The Humans, Dwarves, Elves, Halflings, Half-Giants, Muls, and Thri-Kreen of that world are simply too dangerous.

EDIT
Hmm... Apparently I’m Tetrasodium for Dark Sun.