D&D 5E (2024) Unconfirmed Dark Sun World Book

[Morrus]

This thread is for the general discussion of Unconfirmed Dark Sun World Book. Click on Overview for more information.

Unconfirmed 2026 product.

Numerous clues point towards an upcoming Dark Sun product, possibly similar to recent Spelljammer and Forgotten Realms releases. However, WotC has not confirmed the existence of any such product. This entry will be updated as new information arrives.

• Wizards of the Coast Re-Registers Dark Sun With USPTO
• Dungeons & Dragons Releases New Unearthed Arcana Subclasses, Strongly Hinting at Dark Sun
• New Psion update, Dungeons and Dragons Unearthed Arcana

 

[sevenbastard]

I believe it exist and Im hoping it includes a robust adventurer, something sandbox style that leans into exploration similar to Tomb of Annihilation.

 

[Yaarel]

Perhaps the 5e24 Dark Sun will deepdive into the sword and sorcery genre.

I hope there will be an optional section that allows a hopeful setting, with elemental-water restoration for environmental renewal plus advanced magic urban communities elsewhere on the planet. These might involve communities of Fey (Positive Material Planar) Avangions. The planetary restoration is a work in progress but the local successes inspire optimism.

 

[WillPhillips]

With how tepid and lukewarm the reaction to 5E Spelljammer was, I'm curious how it would go for Dark Sun.


That setting gets top marks from me just for how far from the D&D mainstream it is/was - even if it's not exactly my cup of tea.

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

May I ask how you arrived at the 6/18 figure?

I'm honestly a little flabbergasted we're going into 2026 without publicly knowing the available book slate. I'm eager for Dark Sun, but I wonder if it's going to be the tentpole release for the year and it does seem a bit weird to make it the first big new setting of 5e.2024.

 

[Morrus]

May I ask how you arrived at the 6/18 figure?

Took quite me a while to work out what you meant! What figure? Then I realised you meant a date and were using US format!

I didn’t. The system requires a date so I put in a date range which encompasses the second 6 months of the year.

 

[Parmandur]

May I ask how you arrived at the 6/18 figure?

I'm honestly a little flabbergasted we're going into 2026 without publicly knowing the available book slate. I'm eager for Dark Sun, but I wonder if it's going to be the tentpole release for the year and it does seem a bit weird to make it the first big new setting of 5e.2024.

Not knowing the books for the coming year has been the norm for most of 5E. Now, the last couple of years were different, since August 2022, we have always known what's coming until Forge of the Artificer dropped...but from 2014 to 2022, we only ever knew things a few months in advance, and never at the start of the year.

 

[Parmandur]

Took quite me a while to work out what you meant! What figure? Then I realised you meant a date and were using US format!

I didn’t. The system requires a date so I put in a date range which encompasses the second 6 months of the year.

Likely plus or minus 4 months.

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

Not knowing the books for the coming year has been the norm for most of 5E. Now, the last couple of years were different, since August 2022, we have always known what's coming until Forge of the Artificer dropped...but from 2014 to 2022, we only ever knew things a few months in advance, and never at the start of the year.

They used to have huge productions to announce the product slate for next year prior to COVID, things like recreating waterdeep complete with the walking statues. Then after COVID they started doing online D&D directs. I feel we haven't had no knowledge of upcoming releases since like 2017 or earlier... and that is, unfortunately, a rather long time in the past.

 

[Distracted DM]

With how tepid and lukewarm the reaction to 5E Spelljammer was, I'm curious how it would go for Dark Sun.


That setting gets top marks from me just for how far from the D&D mainstream it is/was - even if it's not exactly my cup of tea.

The SJ set was poorly done with a few good bits here and there; the PS set was better (not saying it was The Best), it didn't feel rushed and I don't think they copy+pasted text from 2e supplements for it like SJ
So if they give Dark Sun the Planescape treatment, that'll be decent enough. Maybe they'd do even better!