D&D General Dark Sun as a Hopepunk Setting


log in or register to remove this ad

People don’t necessarily see that and think “eugenics,” but that’s the problem. They should, because that’s a eugenicist belief.

I don't know how many people saw that and made that connection or not. My guess is most people saw it and just laughed at the silliness. And then maybe though "it is kind of messed up when you think about it" later. But I don't think missing a connection that the writer didn't intend, but was inadvertently present, means people adopt eugenicist beliefs.I think those conversations are fine if you don't take them too seriously (like the Death Star discussion in Clerks). But we've elevated the importance of media I think and really there are better places to focus on if you are concerned about eugenics (which I think is a valid real world concern).
 


It doesn’t matter if that’s why the jokes resonated. That the jokes resonated, and the jokes also happen to be fundamentally eugenicist, is contributing to the problem of eugenicist ideas being accepted within US culture.

I think we are just repeating ourselves at this stage. But I do not think this is true.
Right, and that’s the problem. Not thinking much about it is what makes it pernicious. People should think about it, because if they did, most of them probably wouldn’t be so accepting of it.

I don't know. I don't think the source of social ills are people not thinking deeply when they watch Airplane or Naked Gun. Viewers are intelligent enough to understand a film like Idiocracy is a dumb film brought to you by the guy who made Beavis and Butthead.

They walked away agreeing with the premise, yes. And the premise is eugenicist. If they thought about that, they might have walked away thinking “that was pretty funny, but I disagree with its premise,” because most of them consciously believe eugenics is bad. But, they didn’t do that.

No, they didn't. Again you are being paternalistic and thinking you know way more about what is going on in peoples heads than you know. They maybe walked away agreeing the culture was dumb, because it was the mid-2000s and the things they were poking fun at were prominent features of American culture during that time. I haven't spoken to anyone who saw the movie and agreed eugenics because of it
 

Culture thoughts about a potential knock-off using A5e.

Cultures that work without modification:

Caravanner: Works great for both caravan runners and caravan guards traveling between the settlements.
Child of Zev: If there's a "Silt Sea" equivalent, or some vehicles build to roll over sand, this works great for raiders.
Cinder Chaser: Nice desert-dwelling heritage to avoid issues with heat, though you still need water.
Circusfolk: Probably fairly rare, but still a thing that should exist.
Collegiate: Absolutely works for a "Disaffected Scholar" or sheltered character.
Cosmopolitan: Okay, this one is a BIT of a stretch, conceptually, but not the worst.
Dragoncult: Could be fun. Either for servants of the Tyrants or monsters in the wilds.
Earthen Artisan: Solid for "Dwarfy" vibes without being "Dwarf"
Faceless: Faceless Bards as Assassins? Hell yeah.
Forsaken: Honestly most people are forsaken in the setting if we're honest.
Imperial: This works -really- well for Templars.
Itinerant: Traveler from settlement to settlement function.
Lone Wanderer: Nice "Tribe of One" concept.
Meld Member: There's probably not that many Mycelial Networks, but you could also use this for telepaths.
Moonkeeper: Secret nighttime desert cult? Yes, please.
Nomad: Solid wanderer conceit.
Settler: Honestly I like this one for Caravan Guards, too.
Sewer Rat: You've -got- to have mazelike tunnels and sewers under the baddie's palace for people to sneak through!
Tyrannized: Again, pretty much everyone!
Underlander: Works for sewer dwellers but also people living underground to beat the heat.
Villager: 'Cause you have to.
Warhordling: This also works really well for Templars and Gnolls.
Zevanchist: Monastery Life FTW!

Most of the rest would either need some significant recontextualizing, or to have their Supply-based benefits changed out, dramatically.
 

Culture thoughts about a potential knock-off using A5e.

Cultures that work without modification:

Caravanner: Works great for both caravan runners and caravan guards traveling between the settlements.
Child of Zev: If there's a "Silt Sea" equivalent, or some vehicles build to roll over sand, this works great for raiders.
Cinder Chaser: Nice desert-dwelling heritage to avoid issues with heat, though you still need water.
Circusfolk: Probably fairly rare, but still a thing that should exist.
Collegiate: Absolutely works for a "Disaffected Scholar" or sheltered character.
Cosmopolitan: Okay, this one is a BIT of a stretch, conceptually, but not the worst.
Dragoncult: Could be fun. Either for servants of the Tyrants or monsters in the wilds.
Earthen Artisan: Solid for "Dwarfy" vibes without being "Dwarf"
Faceless: Faceless Bards as Assassins? Hell yeah.
Forsaken: Honestly most people are forsaken in the setting if we're honest.
Imperial: This works -really- well for Templars.
Itinerant: Traveler from settlement to settlement function.
Lone Wanderer: Nice "Tribe of One" concept.
Meld Member: There's probably not that many Mycelial Networks, but you could also use this for telepaths.
Moonkeeper: Secret nighttime desert cult? Yes, please.
Nomad: Solid wanderer conceit.
Settler: Honestly I like this one for Caravan Guards, too.
Sewer Rat: You've -got- to have mazelike tunnels and sewers under the baddie's palace for people to sneak through!
Tyrannized: Again, pretty much everyone!
Underlander: Works for sewer dwellers but also people living underground to beat the heat.
Villager: 'Cause you have to.
Warhordling: This also works really well for Templars and Gnolls.
Zevanchist: Monastery Life FTW!

Most of the rest would either need some significant recontextualizing, or to have their Supply-based benefits changed out, dramatically.
A5E doesn't have an official half-giant, though there's one in MOAR. We'd also need to make a buggish heritage that isn't small for Kreen aficionados.
 

A5E doesn't have an official half-giant, though there's one in MOAR. We'd also need to make a buggish heritage that isn't small for Kreen aficionados.
1734408590584.png
 

That Rachel Williamson, she's got some skills. You should hire her @Steampunkette ;)

Re the OP, I was never a DS fan, as by the time DS came out, I had stopped playing/buying D&D - we were all into GURPS and Shadowrun a few years later.

But the description of the hopepunk version feels way cool.

I skipped a lot of this thread, but I'm wondering if the Dark Sun setting as imagined could be a thinly (or not veiled at all!) climate allegory?
 


I skipped a lot of this thread, but I'm wondering if the Dark Sun setting as imagined could be a thinly (or not veiled at all!) climate allegory?
Not sure if this is meant as a joke or an earnest question, but assuming the latter, yes, 100%. Dark Sun had pretty strong environmentalist themes from the very beginning, though I think @Steampunkette ’s take leans into them even more and expands them into broader anticapitalist themes.
 

Trending content

Remove ads

Top