D&D General Dark Sun Nostalgia Thread [+]

[AdmundfortGeographer]

I played it a bunch when it came out. I own everything made for it except the pc game. I even bought multiple sets of the lead minis.

I got to interview Troy Denning for an hour after his Gencon panel for his latest FR novels at the time. I shared most of his answers in the main Dark Sun fan forum. (I think they’re archived on Athas.org somewhere?)

I have high hopes to run my next Dark Sun campaign using Worlds Without Number plus psionics from Stars Without Number.

 

[CleverNickName]

I've never got to play it. in 3e and 4e setting support for Brazil was basically the Forgotten Realms so my group never came in contact with Darksun, or any other setting. It was a stroke of luck that I found Eberron books when searching for 4e supplements one day. I'm eager for Darksun support for 5e so I can finally give it a shot.

Unfortunately, that might be a very long wait indeed. Rumors abound on the Internet, but there has been no official statement from Wizards of the Coast that they are working on a 5E Dark Sun campaign setting. It would be cool if they were, and they are clearly developing some rules for psionics in their Unearthed Arcana projects, but there hasn't been an official line on Dark Sun (that I'm aware of.)

There are lots of unofficial resources out there, though. The Dark Sun campaign setting has a large fan base, and the folks over at GM Binder have put together a 5th Edition Dark Sun Player's Guide that you can enjoy.

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

Oh, I have also read the first of the novels (The Verdant Passage). It was all right. Haven’t read any of the others.

I recommend the Lynn Abbey novels as possibly the best of the Dark Sun line.

 

[pukunui]

I recommend the Lynn Abbey novels as possibly the best of the Dark Sun line.

OK. The covers look familiar. I must have seen them at the bookstore back in the day. I'll have to see if I can get them from the library or something. (I do need some new books to read at the moment ...)

 

[Marandahir]

I was 2 years old when that add came out, so no, I don't remember it.

I do remember encountering Dark Sun 2e books a bit later in my childhood, and then much later in 4e falling in love with the setting, though.

Can't wait for the setting to return to the forefront in the next few years. I highly expect it now that we got UA for Thri-Kreen, even if Planescape or Spelljammer comes first.

 

[CleverNickName]

Wasn't there a Dark Sun-inspired Kickstarter floating around last summer? I ended up getting sent away on a long deployment for work and I sort of fell out of the loop.

EDIT: I found the thread. It's...not good news.

D&D 5E - Dark Sun Spiritual Successor on Kickstarter: Red Dawn: Into the Dawnlands

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/burningstargames/red-dawn-into-the-dawnlands?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=Red%20Dawn%3A%20Into%20The%20Dawnlands Just interested if anyone has got any more information on this other than the Kickstarter page Has anyone backed this?

www.enworld.org

 

[Bolares]

There are lots of unofficial resources out there, though. The Dark Sun campaign setting has a large fan base, and the folks over at GM Binder have put together a 5th Edition Dark Sun Player's Guide that you can enjoy.

That's very cool to know! One of my players backed the kickstarter for a spiritual sucessor of Darksun (forbidden something I think, can't remember) but we weren't able to play it yet.

 

[Marandahir]

Unfortunately, that might be a very long wait indeed. Rumors abound on the Internet, but there has been no official statement from Wizards of the Coast that they are working on a 5E Dark Sun campaign setting. It would be cool if they were, and they are clearly developing some rules for psionics in their Unearthed Arcana projects, but there hasn't been an official line on Dark Sun (that I'm aware of.)

There are lots of unofficial resources out there, though. The Dark Sun campaign setting has a large fan base, and the folks over at GM Binder have put together a 5th Edition Dark Sun Player's Guide that you can enjoy.

Psionics were in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything Else. Thri-Kreen were in UA in October 2021. Psionics haven't been in UA since early 2019, though they first emerged into UA way back in like 2016.

Half-Giants and Dray are essentially playable as is (Goliath and Dragonborn). Muls are easily modelled with Dwarves or Custom Lineage. Templars are just a Warlock Pact away from existing again (or, sure, I guess they can be a Paladin Oath or a Cleric Domain IF THEY MUST). The Wilderness survival kit's rules are a nice first step towards Everything-Is-Trying-To-Kill-You Athasian Desert survival. And Plane-Shift: Amonkhet is another useful resource to mine for elements of the setting, even if not a perfect fit.

All the 2e, 3e, and 4e resources are still out there and available as well for homebrewers.

Dark Sun is a-coming. Just you wait!

 

[overgeeked]

Dark Sun and Spelljammer are two of my all-time favorite D&D settings. I skipped 2E as a system, but played the hell out of those settings and collected every bit of them I could. Loved the bronze age, sword & planet, science fantasy feel with psionics everywhere. Loved the set up. The world ended centuries ago. The bad guys won. But there are still survivors. Read all the novels and still not happy with the outcome of the original series as it pulled the rug out from under the setting. That aside, still one of my favorite settings.

I got to interview Troy Denning for an hour after his Gencon panel for his latest FR novels at the time. I shared most of his answers in the main Dark Sun fan forum.

Any chance he said when the original novel series was set? There’s not much in the way of dates mentioned in the novels. Obsessive nerds need to know.

 

[HammerMan]

Do you remember seeing this full-page ad on Page 33 of Dragon Magazine #170, back in June 1991?

I don't remember seeing the ad, the first time I remember seeing was the box set in Walden Books in the mall... it was the first setting I bought.

I remember thinking it was so different then the D&D me and my friends were playing. I remember Becky got the Psionic handbook not long after and the two of us sat in her room for hours making up psionascists.