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

[Superchunk77]

I don't want to see surfing druids or biotech halflings in 5e DS, I'd very much like the events of the later Prism Pentad books to be ignored.

That's likely what you'll get from WotC though. The capacity of their current writers to create new ideas is basically non-existent. They'll pillage the old lore, change it (almost always for the worse) and dump it into the D&D Beyond trough for consumption.

Kalidnay should never have gone to Ravenloft.

I highly expect WotC to push this as well. Anything to cross-pollenate their other products.

Muls being the result of a breeding program that inevitably killed their human mothers is ick.

It's called dark fantasy.

The original explanation of what the Black and the Grey were, or how exactly sorcerer-kings granted spells to the templars, etc etc - they were a mess. But all this is classic original 2e stuff.

Odd, I never had this issue.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I don’t feel like that many people actually cared in a negative way about the Purple Dragon Knights getting Dragon mounts

I think maybe more than you would expect disliked that because it was kind of a multi-group crossover "hell nah" point for both lore purists/lore conservatives, people who do like Cormyr (who usually want it unchanged and dull as hell - they'd probably still have Azoun IV on the throne if they could!) and people who just don't like Cormyr and don't want it getting any kewl dragonz (which, in my experience, is a surprising proportion of FR fans - probably a minority but a notable one).

It's kind of a pity because D&D has had dragonriders playable since early 2E (there's kit or class in one of the Taladas supplements, where you can ride a dragon from a pretty low level, from 1989 or 1990), but such a subclass should be general, not ultra-setting-specific imho.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

It's called dark fantasy.

Is this is a serious response or a parody of how people respond to stuff like that? It's literally impossible to tell but it sure reads like the latter!

 

[Ruin Explorer]

The capacity of their current writers

Could you even name the "current writers" of D&D? I feel like you probably could not, which, if true, rather undermines this claim.

They'll pillage the old lore, change it (almost always for the worse) and dump it into the D&D Beyond trough for consumption.

You think that's because of the writers?

It isn't.

We know it isn't. You've mislocated the problem. It's like you keep tripping over your undone laces, and you think the problem is with the pavement (sidewalk I guess you'd say in the US, the "pavement" being what we call the "road").

This issue you're describing, as much as it exists, is due to management, not writers. We know that a whole bunch of new settings have been pitched to WotC internally. That at least several of them made it fairly significant distances towards production, and that in all cases, they eventually got killed by management. It's management who keep directing things back to pre-existing settings. It's management who want those settings updated.

And not just management at the D&D team level either - more senior people at WotC are almost certainly making the ultimate decisions on what settings etc. to pursue here. Certainly Ray Winninger seemed to be indicating that he wasn't the one shooting down all the original settings, even though he was theoretically in charge of D&D.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Would be OK if we replace slavery with the term "inderture servitude"?

We should guess it will be like those sourcebooks from the 4th Ed. but this time the player handbook will be introduced like a subgenre more than a true independient setting.

We need fresh ideas but these always are a risk because any ones don't like changes easily.

Other idea is there are more city-states but these are ruled by no-humans. These survived the cleasing war dealing the champions of Rajaat to betray others, but these caused to be cursed and sent to dark domains within the Shadowfell or "Endless-Night". The moons of Athas lack life but there are secret planar gates toward certain astral domains. There aren't defilers but shadow wizards, some times with strange traits like written in creepypasta, backrooms or SCP fanfiction.

How would be a Cerulean warlock subclass?

I would like villains with shades of gray, that you know you can't trust but to a certain extent some agreement with them is reasonable as a lesser evil.

Other idea is there are secret underground vaults in the Death-Lands. Their inhabitants can survive the necrotic radiation thanks advanced biopunk technology because they are a secret and hidden faction of chronomancers.

 

[Zardnaar]

Agreed with the above from @Remathilis . There's so much even from the old Dark Sun lore (or lore from any setting you care to name) that was nonsensical or bad and which people just glossed over or ignored at the time. It's easy to look back with rose-coloured glasses on this stuff. I don't want to see surfing druids or biotech halflings in 5e DS, I'd very much like the events of the later Prism Pentad books to be ignored. Kalidnay should never have gone to Ravenloft. Muls being the result of a breeding program that inevitably killed their human mothers is ick. The original explanation of what the Black and the Grey were, or how exactly sorcerer-kings granted spells to the templars, etc etc - they were a mess. But all this is classic original 2e stuff.

When doing a remake or reinvention you always want to take the gems from a setting, preserve its essence, remove the dross and the stuff which makes modern-day audiences cringe, and polish it up with some quality new material. Unfortunately, all of these aims are subjective, and on top of that, how you achieve those aims is also going to be subject to equally subjective judgement from an audience of widely varying opinions. I know lots of people who like the VRGtR reinvention of Ravenloft, and I can acknowledge that it is both true to some of the very oldest original Ravenloft lore, and that it succeeds very well in achieving what the developers aimed to do. But I still deeply loathe it, and think it took the setting in the entirely wrong direction.

You're not gonna win them all. Someone out there has probably played an awesome memorable Dark Sun game as a surfing druid and would be gutted if 5e DS cuts out the Last Sea.

Somewhat faithful adaption of the OB. Conveniently bypasses the trash that came later but doesnt directly retcon things away for people who do like it.

 

[Zardnaar]

I think maybe more than you would expect disliked that because it was kind of a multi-group crossover "hell nah" point for both lore purists/lore conservatives, people who do like Cormyr (who usually want it unchanged and dull as hell - they'd probably still have Azoun IV on the throne if they could!) and people who just don't like Cormyr and don't want it getting any kewl dragonz (which, in my experience, is a surprising proportion of FR fans - probably a minority but a notable one).

It's kind of a pity because D&D has had dragonriders playable since early 2E (there's kit or class in one of the Taladas supplements, where you can ride a dragon from a pretty low level, from 1989 or 1990), but such a subclass should be general, not ultra-setting-specific imho.

Without looking it up do you know the current ruler of Cormyr?

Personally I would have Alusair on the throne.

 

[Azzy]

Would be OK if we replace slavery with the term "inderture servitude"?

No, and in some ways that would be worse given that there are those that try to conflate the two for political purposes.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

I didn't say it seriously. Maybe this could be retconected, for example the farm fields would be feudalism, only the state could be slave owner, and ofifically the slaves were prisoners of war who worked to pay their freedom, criminals senteced to forced larbor or people who couldn't pay the high taxes or debts. (The official version told by authorities don't mean this to be true). Maybe some citizens oficially are free but practically they are slaves because they are coerced under threats of suffering curses from superstitious witchcraft. (Some cases the supernatural menaces are true). Then there aren't visible chains but the disobedence is a taboo.

Other necessary retcon is writting and reading of common languange should be legal and allowed for everybody, although there is a "secret" or sacred languange with a different alphabet only for templars and noble houses.

Maybe we shouldn't talk about what is taboo now but the player options or our own homemade ideas to continue the metaplot.

And DS needs more interesting villains and antagonist factions beyond the sorcerer-kings and the "monster of the week".

 

[Superchunk77]

Could you even name the "current writers" of D&D? I feel like you probably could not, which, if true, rather undermines this claim.

I don't have to, I've seen the final product.

You think that's because of the writers?

It isn't.

Fine, I'll concede the point that recently, WotC as a company can't seem to create any of these setting-type products very well.