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

[Scribe]

which does seem to in effect back up 15% choosing DU, given how much more reason there is to replay BG3:

lol my character.

Custom, Paladin, Half-Elf.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

It's obviously not a perfect metric, but it's probably the best Larian has.

But @Xamnam gave an even better metric, using Mass Effect, although Renegade arguably just means edgelord, not necessarily evil. (If being sarcastic is evil, a whole lot of people are in a whole lot of trouble.)

Mass Effect is pretty much choosing between being Kirk or Picard.

 

[Parmandur]

Sure. But your "a lot of people seem to be holding a grudge" and "Platonic ideal design team" post above feels like you think people manufactured out of whole cloth this idea that WotC wouldn't touch Dark Sun. People largely think that because Kyle Brink, speaking on behalf of WotC, said in 2023 that the setting was "too problematic" to use. It's hardly shocking that people are basing their views on something the company actually said just two years ago.

Right, because people have taken a couple vague statements of "that seems difficult to pull off" as an absolute final answer. And that "this current design team" would inevitably create a Kumbayah My Little Pony version of Dark Sun because...kids these days?

 

[Kurotowa]

Right, because people have taken a couple vague statements of "that seems difficult to pull off" as an absolute final answer. And that "this current design team" would inevitably create a Kumbayah My Little Pony version of Dark Sun because...kids these days?

In an abstract sense, language is a game of interpretation. We can't telepathically beam concepts directly into other people's minds. We have to encode our intent into language which is then deciphered into meaning again at the other end, and a certain amount of imprecision and data loss is inherent to the process.

In a specific sense... some people have a habit of hearing the meaning they want to hear, or at least the meaning they expect to hear. Which by itself isn't the worst, unless they double down and refuse to error check their results when someone else points out that they might have gotten it wrong. When that happens, well, it makes debate very hard, because they're arguing with facts they made up in their own head. And that makes finding common ground almost impossible.

 

[Chaltab]

Sure. But your "a lot of people seem to be holding a grudge" and "Platonic ideal design team" post above feels like you think people manufactured out of whole cloth this idea that WotC wouldn't touch Dark Sun. People largely think that because Kyle Brink, speaking on behalf of WotC, said in 2023 that the setting was "too problematic" to use. It's hardly shocking that people are basing their views on something the company actually said just two years ago.

It's not that the idea came from nowhere. I fully believe that WOTC had no plans for Dark Sun when that interview was given.

But now that the people who expressed the resistance to Dark Sun are no longer working on D&D and the recent UAs strongly suggest it's in the pipeline. There's good reason to suspect it's coming, but anyone connecting obvious dots gets reactions like they're idiots for thinking so.

 

[Parmandur]

It's not that the idea came from nowhere. I fully believe that WOTC had no plans for Dark Sun when that interview was given.

But now that the people who expressed the resistance to Dark Sun are no longer working on D&D and the recent UAs strongly suggest it's in the pipeline. There's good reason to suspect it's coming, but anyone connecting obvious dots gets reactions like they're idiots for thinking so.

I mean, I have no problem with people taking WotC leadership at their word thar Dark Sun presents difficulties...but just because WotC saw difficulties doesn't mean they can't try to work through them, or that theybare incapable of doing so.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

There's good reason to suspect it's coming, but anyone connecting obvious dots gets reactions like they're idiots for thinking so.

This thread was started by the site owner. I get that people yelled about this before, but I think the community has moved on since then.

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

Mass Effect is pretty much choosing between being Kirk or Picard.

Born to be a Janeway, forced to be an Archer.

 

[Superchunk77]

I won't hold my breath or anything, but maybe we're moving past that now. At least, when it comes to WotC, maybe not the rest of the world.

2024 core rulebooks don't seem to indicate WotC moving past anything.

 

[MGibster]

"Desert" is a broad description. Dark Sun, much like the real world, has differentiated types of deserts, like rocky barrens, salt flats, scrub fields, boulder fields, and the "traditional" sandy wastes.

I'm picturing Bubba from Forrest Gump now.

"You got your hot and dry deserts, your semi-arid deserts, your coastal deserts, and your cold deserts. But you also got your Desert Eagles, desert foxes, desert iguanas, desert eagles, desert rats, and desert hares. Oh, and you can't forget food deserts, desert storms, Operation Desert Storm, desert suns, and desert plumes."

Then later, it's made clear that the Duergar also practice slavery. So clearly WotC doesn't have an issue with it... so why do people keep saying this?

Because the inclusion of slavery in D&D is, or at least has been, a contentious issue around here. And it was so long ago representatives from WotC basically said they wouldn't touch Darksun with a 20 foot pole because of its problematic elements. But then other problematic elements that are hot button issues online have been included in D&D 5th edition products since 2014. I'm not sure what to think. If Dark Sun is on the horizon, I have high hopes for it, but my hopes are tempered by the mixed reception of some of their more recent setting releases. Spelljammer, I'm looking at you.