D&D 5E (2024) WotC Should Make 5.5E Specific Setting

[Yaarel]

FR and Darksun they used the nuclear shoehorn approach.

I like how 4e Dark Sun handled Feywild (= positive material plane) and Shadowfell (= negative material plane).

Dragonborn make sense there: byproducts of sorcerer-king experiments.

Goliath is the socalled Half Giant.

Tiefling and Awsimar dont make sense there.

 

[Yaarel]

It's clear that there is more than one dragonborn population there.

"Unther suddenly returned to Faerfun a few years ago and promptly went to war against Tymanther. The realm has since been reduced to small tracts mainly along the coast of the Alamber Sea and Ash Lake."

That's multiple areas along two different bodies of water, including a major city with a port and a beast to defend it that the entire country of Unther cannot defeat.

That is fine for a culture. For a species, I expect more.

 

[Maxperson]

That is fine for a culture. For a species, I expect more.

You're asking a lot for a rare race. Every race isn't going to get multiple nations.

 

[Zardnaar]

I like how 4e Dark Sun handled Feywild (= positive material plane) and Shadowfell (= negative material plane).

Dragonborn make sense there: byproducts of sorcerer-king experiments.

Goliath is the socalled Half Giant.

Tiefling and Awsimar dont make sense there.

They used Dray as dragonborn. They’re different and came later in the product cycle. They shouldn't be available in classic era Darksun. At best another mutant race. The Dragon. Theres others but its very unknown. Like the Dray.

If you're adding new things to the setting at least make sense. Eg Barbarian and Genasi. Tieflings and Aasimar dont really fit either. Mutants maybe would be how I would add anything that doesn't fit. You can play a Drow but you're unique. Culture is up to you.

 

[Yaarel]

They used Dray as dragonborn. Theyre different and came later in the product cycle. They shouldn't be available in classic era Darksun. At best another mutant race. The Dragon. Theres others but its very unknown. Like the Dray.

That is what I am saying. The lore includes the sorcerer-kings doing experiments to become dragons. Dragonborn can come from earlier experiments. The Dray would also come from here.

If you're adding new things to the setting at least make sense. Eg Barbarian and Genasi.

The 2024 Goliath are more elemental, more genasi-like, and fit even better within Dark Sun.

Tieflings and Aasimar dont really fit either.

As I said.

Mutants maybe would be how I would add anything that doesn't fit. You can play a Drow but youre unique. Culture is up to you.

The Feywild makes sense as the lore about the Positive Material Plane, where there is sufficient Water to keep the elements in harmony. This harmony forms a Feywild. Eladrin are from here, but endangered. The few Positive areas are Fey Crossings.

Perhaps, High culture inhabits the Fey side of these Fey Crossings. Perhaps some Wood took refuge in a Fey area. If planet Athas lacks an Underdark with subterranean aquifers, perhaps the Drow inhabit the plane of elemental Earth.

In the context of Athas, the Elemental planes, as well as the Feywild and Shadowfell, are better understood as interconnecting local demiplanes. As the elemental Water dries up, its corresponding watery demiplanes vanish as well. The Plane of Water can entirely disappear, at least the areas corresponding to planet Athas. Relatedly, the Feywild likewise diminishes as the local areas of Positive elemental harmony vanish.

As the Negative Material Plane expands via increasing areas of defilement - destroyed elemental harmony - the Shadowfell likewise expands and intensifies. The Negative Material Plane is Shadow Crossings. "The Gray" is the Border Shadowfell that echoes local areas of Athas. "The Black" is the Deep Shadow where Domains of Dread can be found. Perhaps Shadarkai inhabit it.

Thematically, the Sorcerer-Kings are Shadow creatures. The Avangion are Fey creatures. Both are immigrants from the Material Plane.

 

[Zardnaar]

That is what I am saying. The lore includes the sorcerer-kings doing experiments to become dragons. Dragonborn can come from earlier experiments. The Dray would also come from here.


The 2024 Goliath are more elemental, more genasi-like, and fit even better within Dark Sun.


As I said.


The Feywild makes sense as the lore about the Positive Material Plane, where there is sufficient Water to keep the elements in harmony. This harmony forms a Feywild. Eladrin are from here, but endangered. The few Positive areas are Fey Crossings.

Perhaps, High culture inhabits the Fey side of these Fey Crossings. Perhaps some Wood took refuge in a Fey area. If planet Athas lacks an Underdark with subterranean aquifers, perhaps the Drow inhabit the plane of elemental Earth.

In the context of Athas, the Elemental planes, as well as the Feywild and Shadowfell, are better understood as interconnecting local demiplanes. As the elemental Water dries up, its corresponding watery demiplanes vanish as well. The Plane of Water can entirely disappear, at least the areas corresponding to planet Athas. Relatedly, the Feywild likewise diminishes as the local areas of Positive elemental harmony vanish.

As the Negative Material Plane expands via increasing areas of defilement - destroyed elemental harmony - the Shadowfell likewise expands and intensifies. The Negative Material Plane is Shadow Crossings. "The Gray" is the Border Shadowfell that echoes local areas of Athas. "The Black" is the Deep Shadow where Domains of Dread can be found. Perhaps Shadarkai inhabit it.

Thematically, the Sorcerer-Kings are Shadow creatures. The Avangion are Fey creatures. Both are immigrants from the Material Plane.

I don't think trying to fit the keyword onto Athas is a good idea.

Goliaths as half giants us kinda moronic. Maybe NPC them replace with Genasi. They could be similar to Ogres.

 

[mamba]

But this Dragonborn community wouldnt be part of the Human community. They would be neighboring governments.

why? If anything 2024 looks a lot like races frequently live together

 

[Yaarel]

I don't think trying to fit the keyword onto Athas is a good idea.

I think Dark Sun "Positive Material Plane" is exactly what a "Feywild" is.

I normally dont go for postapocalyptic genre. But Dark Sun gets so many interesting things right.

Also the animism of the setting is solid, especially where features of a landscape can be psionic. The elemental monism of the Clerics, somewhat like philosophical daoism, is also solid. It is a surprisingly religious setting despite being nontheistic.

if you meant "Dragonborn" as the keyword, well, they were literally born from dragon experiments.

Goliaths as half giants us kinda moronic. Maybe NPC them replace with Genasi. They could be similar to Ogres.

Basically, "Half Giants" would be a nickname for the Goliath species. Athas Giants are kinda weird anyway.

The 2024 Orc is kinda like a "half ogre". For Dark Sun it can reflavor as the Athas Tarek species. (With all due sensitivity to reallife tribal cultures.)

 

[Maxperson]

That is what I am saying. The lore includes the sorcerer-kings doing experiments to become dragons. Dragonborn can come from earlier experiments. The Dray would also come from here.

Or one or more sorcerer-kings warped some humans into beings in their own image out of vanity , and dragonborn were, er, dragon born.

It's not whether it makes sense to add them. It can easily make sense. It's how true to the original setting image do people want Dark Sun to be.

 

[Hussar]

Side question to all this: are we only worried about the 10 PHB species or do we also want tabaxi nations, haregon villages, and the Triton population of Waterdeep?

For me? I would say that the PHB races are the bare minimum. I wouldn't worry too much about all those other races - there has to be a cut off somewhere. But, telling a new players whose just started playing D&D, "Oh, you want to play that from the PHB? Ok, now, without any real knowledge of the setting or D&D in general, make up a back ground for that character that fits into the existing setting that we're playing" is a non-starter.

Sure, you can make a character that's connected to the Zhentarim, but, you have to make it up entirely on your own because the setting tells you zero about how your character fits into that organization. Oh, and you will never, ever meet another character of your species in that organization, so, your only choice is to play a fish out of water character. Those other characters who belong to the same organization - oh, don't worry about them, they only get to choose from dozens or more backgrounds and leverage all sorts of setting material. You? You get to make it up on your own. Good luck!

Yeah. People playing PHB races shouldn't have to do that.