Dark Sun, 4th Edition

[Shemeska]

But Dark Sun already does conform to the core PoL conceits. Incredibly well, actually.

WotC hasn't had a really good track record with conversions of the more "out there" 2e campaign settings. The Planar Handbook got pretty roughly panned for its handling of Planescape elements, and some of the same design crew are now involved with 4e, so I'm wary. I hope I'm wrong and a 4e Dark Sun might remain faithful to the original, but they've got some reservations on my behalf to work to overcome.

 

[breschau]

Maybe it's just my intense dislike of Thomas Baxa's artwork speaking, but I would not buy a new version of Dark Sun.

I preferred Brom's art and the original box / novels / accessories over the later, revised stuff.

As said, the epic destinies are straight out of Dark Sun (dragon / ava).

It's perfect!

 

[I'm A Banana]

Really, if there's an old setting that's better suited to the 4th Edition rules, I don't know what it is. About the only thing that wouldn't slot neatly into place is the Feywild, and I see that as more a window of opportunity (for a really cool Dark Sun version of the Feywild) than a weakness.

Or you can ditch the Feywild. Athas is supposed to be cut off from the supernatural, mostly. What's the Feywild got that Athas needs? Pixies, sprites, dryads, bubblegum faeries, eladrin? Pfffft.

On Athas, there's no magical elf city that appears on distant mountaintops. There are blasted ruins that a savage windstorm uncovers, whose undead horrors revive to stalk the cool nights while the opressive sun scorches the brutal days, but that's a little different.

The Fey don't have much of a place on Athas, and that's probably a Good Thing.

Just like regular clerics and paladins don't have much of a place on Athas.

Out of place like a samurai in King Arthur's Court, it is.

The Shadowfell probably works okay. The Astral Sea isn't around. The Elemental Chaos is...the Abyss might be. It would be a particular choice to remove devils and keep demons, to remove the schemers and keep the violent bloodthirsty critters.

Orcus on Athas? hmmm....part of me likes?

 

[Klaus]

Y'know, I'd love to draw some Dark Sun.

Good times.

 

[Black Knight Irios]

Where's the option 'I don't care!'

So I didn't vote at all - played about 2-4 sessions with DS setting and it doesn't suit my taste but no reason for me to vote 'no'.

 

[CleverNickName]

It's Win/Win, Folks

I voted yes because really...why not? I would like to see all of the old campaign settings updated and re-released, from Greyhawk to Eberron. If I don't like it, I don't have to buy it, right?

They could release them at the rate of one every six months or so, probably as a downloadable PDF or something to keep production costs low. I don't anticipate a crowd lining up to buy hardcopies of Hollow World, after all.

 

[Mostlyjoe]

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes...

 

[arscott]

I worry about how a 4e Dark Sun would look, given what stance WotC has taken so far with 4e FR : if the setting doesn't fit the core PoL conceits, alter the established setting -massively if needed- to make it conform. The settings are conforming to the rules and 4e design precepts rather than the rules supporting the settings. That's really unfortunate.

I'm not sure how much you have to worry about that. First, because DS stays a lot closer to the 4e conceits than FR ever did.

Second, because the decision to blow up the realms has as much to do with Faerun as it does with the new edition. Consider: Eberron fits the PoL model even less than the Realms do, and WotC decided that even advancing the timeline by a few years was too much.

If I were WotC, I'd print one Setting book that adheres to the world as laid out in the first boxed set. Then a hardcover adventure path that lets the PCs kill Kalak, instead of some folks from a novel. And that's it.

Y'know, I'd love to draw some Dark Sun.

I'd love to see your take on Athas, Klaus

 

[Spatula]

I worry about how a 4e Dark Sun would look, given what stance WotC has taken so far with 4e FR : if the setting doesn't fit the core PoL conceits, alter the established setting -massively if needed- to make it conform. The settings are conforming to the rules and 4e design precepts rather than the rules supporting the settings. That's really unfortunate.

It already happened with the 3e "official" Dark Sun conversion in Dragon / Dungeon. Paladins, monks, etc. It's not in WotC's interests to deviate from core, because that splinters the customer base for splatbooks. Which is why I said, no, WotC should not update DS for 4e. But someone should.

(The setting is also burdened by the difference between what the world was initially presented as, vs what it became with the prism pentad novels largely trashing the place. No doubt there are fans on both sides.)

These concepts aren't exclusive. Remember, Dark Sun has always given PCs a starting boost roughly equivalent to the new baseline 4E 1st level.

Or, put another way, the rules for dying of thirst (probably) don't care how many hit points you have.

Dying of thirst is sooo simulationist.

Dark Sun gave characters a power boost, but it didn't matter because the foes were even tougher. It's kind of like Call of Cthulhu - sure you can have a machine gun, but it's not going to keep that shoggoth from eating your head.

 

[Spatula]

But Dark Sun already does conform to the core PoL conceits. Incredibly well, actually. It even has some built-in epic destinies (dragon and avangion).

Really, if there's an old setting that's better suited to the 4th Edition rules, I don't know what it is. About the only thing that wouldn't slot neatly into place is the Feywild, and I see that as more a window of opportunity (for a really cool Dark Sun version of the Feywild) than a weakness.

The PoL thing is window dressing. The concept isn't the problem, it's the execution. You'd have to jettison or rework large chunks of the implied setting, which WotC isn't going to do in any official capacity. No fey, no regular D&D dragons, in fact throw out 90% of the MM, anything tied to the planes, the paladin, the cleric would need to be overhauled probably, the tralalala-bard (when it finally appears), and so on. Dark Sun is fundamentally alien compared to your basic D&D world.