It’s a background faction visible in the text on the preview photograph of Arcana Unleashed. It comes with the Arcane Undertaker origin feet.
The Cosmic Dawn is also visible, with the Transmuted Anatomy feet. The others are obscured, but there appears to be one for each of the eight symbols on...
One think that might be worth mentioning is that the Horrid Wilting spell we know is in the Arcana book was trialled in the Psion UA. But it’s a classic spell so I doubt it means much.
Not that it’s impossible, but I would consider that another example of “getting the setting wrong”. The sword and sorcery aspect is an important element, and part of that would be morally ambivalent protagonists, at least as a base line. Epic good versus evil storyline is the wrong genre.
I really don’t think season of champions feels remotely Dark Sun-ish. Season of survivors or season of desolation would be more evocative. I suspect Dark Sun will be next year, and I would rather they take their time and get it right. If you remember the Dark Sun UA we pretty much all felt that...
There was a strong case put forward for Season of Champions referring to Dragonlance, specifically a revamp of the War of the Lance adventure path. I found it convincing.
I seems to me that the issue is a narrative one: “why does this town keep attracting more and more powerful threats, up to universe shaking ones?” The best answer is, “it doesn’t”. I would be looking for a ruleset that makes the PCs less superpowered and has a low level cap.
Now I’m quite happy...
If I was writing this adventure, I would make the PCs Thayan themselves. You can do a much deeper dive into culture and society that way. And it’s supposed to tie into a book that adds a lot of player options for wizards, so it seems like there will be an expectation of a wizard-dominated party...
Thay undoubtedly has magic schools (you visit one in Masks of the Betrayer). But they are not going to be smiling happy places where teachers perform exciting practical demonstrations and students leap excitedly from their seats. They are places where students study textbooks in absolute silence...
It's a relatively short book, judged by the price point. I doubt it will have space for a Magocracies of the Multiverse gazetteer in amongst the subclasses, spell lists, magic items, monsters and eight completely new unconnected-to-any-known-existing-factions factions.
That's what Deadfall is...
Can you think of any setting books that had pre-release art that did not feature any recognisable setting locations, setting characters or setting organisations?
Compare it to the art released for Deadfall or Ravenloft. The setting for both is easily identifiable from any of the art.
None of the art remotely resembles a land of mask-wearing witches and rustic berserker lodges either.
It looks like Sigil, Stryxhaven, Eberron, Ravnica or some other high magitech location.