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

[SableWyvern]

I think the older settings have become legend. The older players remember how much fun they had with the settings when they where kids, without remembering the details, and all the younger players know about the settings are the romantic reminiscences of the older players.

I only became interested in the old 2e settings and had a proper look at them within the last decade. There was zero nostalgia for me; in fact, in most cases I went in with a lot of skepticism.

My conclusion was that Dark Sun, Al Qadim and Planescape, in their original forms, are all excellent settings, of far higher quality and much more interest to me than the AD&D 2e game itself. Of the settings I investigated, only Birthright failed to really grab me.

I also recently looked into 1e Forgotten Realms, and even that was much better than I was expecting -- as someone who has never had any interest in FR, I was extremely surprised to at how good some of that early material is.

and all the younger players know about the settings are the romantic reminiscences of the older players.

The material is still there, and younger players are perfectly capable of reading it and forming their own opinions.

 

[Valetudo]

I had a lot of 1st ed FR. It was pretty good. 3rd ed ravenloft is the best version. Darksun 2nd was really cool but there where a lot of problems in actual play.i never got to use spelljammer. Dragonlance taladas 2nd Ed was actually pretty good. It got away from the novels.

 

[DEFCON 1]

There are lots of Dark Sun fans, much like myself, that just want to see the IP treated with the respect and care that it was in previous editions. Hell, I didn't play the 4e version, but the books were still very good and they added some neat ideas to the setting. And they didn't have to remove any of the so called "problematic" elements that only seemed to become an issue 5 years ago.

Right. So you don't want the 5E version. Thus just not worry about it if it's getting written and don't bother reading it when it comes out. It isn't necessary and you already own the material you want and need.

 

[MGibster]

I think the older settings have become legend. The older players remember how much fun they had with the settings when they where kids, without remembering the details, and all the younger players know about the settings are the romantic reminiscences of the older players.

This is exactly where I am with both Dark Sun and the AD&D 2nd edition Ravenloft material. It's why I'm not too upset about changes made to Ravenloft or the idea of changes to Dark Sun. I'm one of those weird people who thinks you can respect the original IP and still make changes. Maybe it won't be a product for me, but that's okay. I can live with that. As far as I'm concerned, Dark Sun had its chance in the 1990s...and again with 4th edition. I wouldn't be upset if it just sat dormant for a thousand years.

 

[Necropolitan]

Right. So you don't want the 5E version. Thus just not worry about it if it's getting written and don't bother reading it when it comes out. It isn't necessary and you already own the material you want and need.

People want the good original material updated for the new edition and for future material to be based off the good original material.

It's why 5E Spelljammer bombed while more of 5E Forgotten Realms got viewed favorably (aside from stuff like the Purple Dragon Knights now being dragon riders).

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

An update of PC species and monsters of Spellammer was OK, and unlocking in DMGuild but it was not produced in the right way. The modules should be sold separately.
I don't miss the old Falkovnia from 2nd but I liked the possible plots of conflicts among neighbour dark lords in the Core region. I would rather to think it is not a true reboot but a "new season" and the shatering of the domains of the core was caused by Vecna's machinations (Oh, God! now when I listen that name I remember that Kate Bush's song in that Stranger Things episode).
If there is a future DS player handbook we should see new PC species and this means a previous UA playtest because it is not only about power balance but "brand power". Are these an interesting concept? Teorically the new PC species should be the tari(Athasian ratfolk) and mulzhennedar(muls). Maybe they will be renamed mulzhens. Athasian genasi are possible, and the pterrans,

Now I reimagine the Gray like a mixture of "Ghostwalk", "Control Resonant" and "Mortal Engines". Let's imagine a desert with a gray cloudy sky. There are rolling cities. Lots of inhabitants are ghosts but these reincarnate into feys like Athasian eladrins. Usually they stop to farm but a region already has a lot of vegetation, it is "relocated" into the "land-within-the wind"(Feywild). Some times these cities over heels can be attacked by spinewyrms or kaiju-size trolls (the D&D version of "Attacks on Titans"). Some cities are ruled by titans, the children of Athasian deities (You know, when a divine vs primal powers war is coming and you evacuate the children, well, that's it). A city is ruled by an inmortal, a deity who lost her power because disobeyed the authority of the pantheon to help mortals, like Prometheus). Her curse is to be betrayed by the mortals but she still trust these. She stills wants to help mortals After several betrayals by a few rotten apples, she has become more distrustful and distant.

Within the Grey there is also a domain ruled by an alliance of giths and spinewyrms (what are true dragons).

Within the Black domain there is a dark domain. It is like Athas in the blue age but populated by biopunk creatures created in the first war between nature-masters and nature-tenders. The good new is their meat is edible.

 

[M_Natas]

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

The problem with 5e spelljammer was, that it was a really bad product, missing essential stuff like ship combat , how spheres work and just in general advise on how to use the setting.

If they give us an as sparse box set for Dark Sun it will be dead on arrival.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

The material is still there, and younger players are perfectly capable of reading it and forming their own opinions.

What people could potentially do, and what they actually do are two very different things.

 

[DEFCON 1]

People want the good original material updated for the new edition and for future material to be based off the good original material.

It's why 5E Spelljammer bombed while more of 5E Forgotten Realms got viewed favorably (aside from stuff like the Purple Dragon Knights now being dragon riders).

But you're not going to get it. That's the point. As is the case with every updated setting, some things will get changed, they won't match what came before, and it'll piss (general) you off.

It's not that hard. If (general) you love the setting in its original setting glory... there is nothing this new 5E version would give you that you wouldn't already have by just using the original material-- except for some mechanical updates, but which you could probably find already done by people online right now (or just update them yourself.)

 

[Remathilis]

Its more you constantly dismiss others opinion. Not disagree thats fine just dismiss and state it as fact.

.The WotC ones are imitations of the originals. They wont have the same long term impact imho. They've most been forgotten already it seems. Except as examples of not what to do.

Irony so thick you can cut it with a knife.