D&D 5E WotC: Why Dark Sun Hasn't Been Revived

In an interview with YouTuber 'Bob the Worldbuilder', WotC's Kyle Brink explained why the classic Dark Sun setting has not yet seen light of day in the D&D 5E era.

I’ll be frank here, the Dark Sun setting is problematic in a lot of ways. And that’s the main reason we haven’t come back to it. We know it’s got a huge fan following and we have standards today that make it extraordinarily hard to be true to the source material and also meet our ethical and inclusion standards... We know there’s love out there for it and god we would love to make those people happy, and also we gotta be responsible.

You can listen to the clip here.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Game of Thrones is very mature, but I would bet if WotC could we would see it in Magic: Beyond Universe.

I guess the lack of psionic powers is the main reason, and I trust in the D&D fandom to cause troubles.

It can't be about money because with only one book they can unlock in DMGuild.

DS is one of the best examples of a setting getting old very poorly, because now it is a "too small" sandbox. For the standars of 5th Ed it is too limiting. To start there is neither paladins nor no-elemental clerics, and most of PC species. Can I play with monks? and with minotaurs, genasies or tielflings?

 

[nevin]

See!
lmao.....
This is what happens when the community gets all hot and bothered and divided ...

over the psionics rules.

 

[nevin]

This is very true. And let's not forget - Dark Sun wasn't a stone cold hit back in the day either. The initial boxed set sold around 50k units (going by Ben Riggs' figures) while the revised boxed set didn't even manage half of that. Supplements and adventures peaked in 1992, a year after the setting's release, then declined rapidly. Despite many fans' love for the setting (myself included), it was never that broadly popular to begin with. I can't see Hasbro taking a risk on it at all.

This is dead on. I'm the only DM in my extended circle of game acquaintances that ever ran a full campaign. Also it suffers from being similar to a lot of scifi movies. It doesn't deliver on that emotional string because it's fantasy and anyone that wants lord of the rings or king arther (the majority of role players) Tend to not like it. It's kind of like Gamma Worlds forgotten Brother.

I love it but most people don't seem to be attracted to it.

 

[nevin]

Game of Thrones is very mature, but I would bet if WotC could we would see it in Magic: Beyond Universe.

I guess the lack of psionic powers is the main reason, and I trust in the D&D fandom to cause troubles.

It can't be about money because with only one book they can unlock in DMGuild.

DS is one of the best examples of a setting getting old very poorly, because now it is a "too small" sandbox. For the standars of 5th Ed it is too limiting. To start there is neither paladins nor no-elemental clerics, and most of PC species. Can I play with monks? and with minotaurs, genasies or tielflings?

I don't think that's it. There are lots of gaming tables where none of those things (except maybe paladins) are allowed, and they seem to keep going, in spite of all the internet hate for any DM that limit's options.

 

[DarkCrisis]

I think the core issue is the design team can't relate to the 5e audience anymore.

I hate to say something against but if you have so many designers and none of them can really successfully come up with the products that the 5e audience loves, there is a disconnect. Likely out of diversity.

There is a myth that everything in old D&D could be universally loved. But it's 50 years old and things age out. Setting, play styles, archetypes..

People want happy go lucky worlds with clear divides of good and evil. Something like "Magic is bad if use it" or "Halflings eat people" isn't something WotC wants to deal with. Not to mention "The world is dying". Thats not happy and telling people "magic is bad" is like telling someone "No" and thats thing WotC wants to avoid.

Lets not forget they got rid of Negative stat mods at character creation because it "took away" and "Players didn't like that". Which also goes hand in hand with "A Long Rest fixes 90% of issues".

 

[MGibster]

We need to look at publishers other than WotC for something within the mature range, the problem is WotC is sitting with all the licenses.

I'm a bit baffled that anything in Dark Sun would require an mature rating and be limited to adults.

 

[nevin]

I'm a bit baffled that anything in Dark Sun would require an mature rating and be limited to adults.

slavery, sucking the life out of the world to cast magic, Cross Breeding Giants with other races to make half Giant Gladiators just for a start. Really not child or young teen content.

 

[MGibster]

slavery, sucking the life out of the world to cast magic, Cross Breeding Giants with other races to make half Giant Gladiators just for a start. Really not child or young teen content.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with that kind of content for teenagers. They're old enough to understand these concepts and deal with them in a ficitonal setting.

 

[nevin]

Once they are in high school I agree but not everyone wants thier 13 year olds playing those kinds of games. And not all teens are grown up enough to deal with that stuff by 13 everyone develops at thier own pace.

 

[OldOwlbear]

If WotC is concerned about the maturity of the content because it may not be fitting for younger generations, then we’re just back to the moral panic of the 80s and 90s all over again. It’s painfully ironic that D&D gets a push in popularity due to properties like Game of Thrones and Stranger Things, settings which heavily rely on many concepts in Dark Sun now viewed as too mature for D&D.

People want fiction that explores these kinds of worlds - we have proof of that. To me this is less WotC caring about being sensitive and about corporate interests muddying the creative process. It’s deemed too risky because of the possible outcry, so it’s not worth the investment. It makes sense on paper but not in practice - again see Game of Thrones’ success. Or even properties like Mortal Kombat and other mature video games in the 90s. Mature themes may cause public outcry among some people, but it will still sell specifically because fiction is about the only safe way we have to be explore many mature themes.