D&D 4E Dark Sun Conversion to 4E

[Danzauker]

If WOTC does a reboot, this should be an adventure path where you get to exploit as much of the original boxed set as possible before overthrowing one of the dragon kings.

Adventure Paths sell, WOTC.

Quoted.

There are lots of opportunities for adventures that do not involve a changing of the status quo.

Great opponents could be templars, powerful defilers, gith raiders, elf rogues, the Order...

The sorcerer-kings could (and should) just be a backdrop in published adventures, expecially low level. Player characters might see them parading on the streets or attending a gladiator event, maybe even closer in their throne room for a reward for a mission on behalf of the city-state.

But more than that IMHO riuns the aura of awe and immense power that they should instill in low level heroes. After all, they are the Darth Vaders of Dark Sun...

With some clever fluff writing, an adventure path could be adapted with modest modifications in all "eras" of play. Just change the focus of the campaing to one of the city-states that survived almost unchanged the Prism Pentad novels, such as Urik, and avoid referrals to Cerulean Storms and you should be ok.

 

[Tzarevitch]

So, I might end up running a Dark Sun campaign in 4th Edition, and I'm thinking about ways to convert. Here are the ideas I've come up with so far. Note that these involve some tweaks to the setting as well as the rules. Also, I'm disregarding pretty much everything except the original, non-revised boxed set; as far as I'm concerned, Dark Sun jumped the shark when the first adventure came out.

Criticism and suggestions welcome. Obviously, all this is tentative and may need to be changed when we see the actual rules.

Not sure yet what to do about psionics...

Races

• Humans, halflings, dwarves, elves, and half-elves use the standard rules.
• Dragonborn take the place of half-giants as the elite warriors of the sorceror-kings. Twisted and hideous creatures, created by the foulest of defiling magic in the image of their masters, the dragonborn are bred for discipline, loyalty, and ferocity above all. Still, there are occasional renegades, and a number of "free dragonborn" descended from the palace guards of slain sorceror-kings.
• Eladrin are not a separate species; instead, once in a while an eladrin child will be born to elf parents. They look like elves, and outsiders cannot usually distinguish between elf and eladrin, but an elf can tell the difference at a glance. Traditionally, an eladrin is an elf tribe's wizard.
• Tieflings are a strange race whose origins remain mysterious. Cunning and charismatic, they often rise high in the ranks of the templar. Rumor has it that they are somehow connected to the dead city of Giustenal, but what that connection may be, no one knows.

Classes

• Fighters, rogues, rangers, and warlords use the standard rules.
• Clerics call on elemental powers rather than gods, but otherwise use the standard rules.
• Paladins are now a more martial form of cleric; like clerics, they call on elemental powers. (Remember that 4E paladins have no special code to uphold; they're just divine warriors.)
• Warlocks now have two pact types. Some warlocks draw their power from sorceror-kings, or from the Dragon; this is the "templar pact." Others draw their power from the spirits of the land; this is the "druidic pact." (These will probably use the rules for infernal and fey pacts respectively.)
• Wizards are defilers by default; any use of a wizard class power destroys plant life in a radius of 2 squares around the wizard. If you are already in a defiled area, the radius increases by 2 squares. Halve these distances in fertile regions such as jungle or scrubland, and double them in especially barren regions such as salt flats or the Silt Sea. Wizards are otherwise unchanged, but see the Feats section for more information.

I like your idea for the warlock to act both as druid and templar (until the druid rules come out anyway).

I would use orcs for muls (since there should be rules to play them in the MM), and use ogres for half-giants (although that may make them non-player characters). The dragonborn replace the dray (as they are pretty much identical).

I'd just drop the birdmen, the pterrans and the kreen as pcs.

Tieflings could just be one of the types of mutants that breed true. There isn't any real need for for a known racial origin in Dark Sun. They may have originated in the Cleansing War, they may have come from the Pristine Tower. Who knows.

No idea what you'd do about psionicists though. You'd have to create the class from scratch.

Tzarevitch

 

[breschau]

Oot!

From here.

Forgotten Realms 4e is three books, period, done, end of line: Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide, Player’s Guide to FR, and DM’s Guide to FR. All settings will be done like that, one per year, until they run out of settings. They mentioned Greyhawk, Ravenloft, Dark Sun, and Spelljammer as settings on their list! Eberron, of course, is the ‘09 setting release (same three books), but it will also get DDI updates starting in June.

 

[Wolfwood2]

So what about rituals? It's been suggested that any character can take the appropriate training feat(s) and be able to use rituals, no matter what their class is. Is that appropriate for Dark Sun? And how should rituals relate to the defiler/preserver split?

 

[Danzauker]

That's great news!!!

3 books, Players + DMs + Campaing dedicated to one setting is a LOT of pages, all (hopely) consistently compiled and contained.

That's really a lot, they could cover all the world of Athas in just one (three) shot.

I REALLY, REALLY hope they will listen to what it seems to be the vast majority of Dark Sun in wanting a new edition of the setting based on the original boxed set, instead of advancing the timeline farther in post Prism Pentad era.

Heck, I'd be content if the setting material covers both "ages" of play, the way they do with Star Wars or Dragonlance!!!

And, well, if they could hire back Brom...

 

[Spatula]

So what about rituals? It's been suggested that any character can take the appropriate training feat(s) and be able to use rituals, no matter what their class is. Is that appropriate for Dark Sun? And how should rituals relate to the defiler/preserver split?

Hard to say anything about rituals when we know zip about them.

 

[WhatGravitas]

Hard to say anything about rituals when we know zip about them.

True... but that question got me to think about it - and I have an idea:

Don't change "normal spellcasting", after all, the powers used by wizard are more like short-term spell slinging. Just say it doesn't consume enough energy to affect the environment - heck, most effects are only lasting one encounter.

But make rituals defiling. Which explains why defiling is so tempting - it gives you the ability to do more than 5-second explosions/effects and so on.

Cheers, LT.

 

[Spatula]

True... but that question got me to think about it - and I have an idea:

Don't change "normal spellcasting", after all, the powers used by wizard are more like short-term spell slinging. Just say it doesn't consume enough energy to affect the environment - heck, most effects are only lasting one encounter.

But make rituals defiling. Which explains why defiling is so tempting - it gives you the ability to do more than 5-second explosions/effects and so on.

That would mean preservers could not use rituals, which would be rather limiting, I think.

 

[muffin_of_chaos]

Dark Sun, 2nd Edition Half-Giants...
I made one once, 1st level fighter-type. Rolled for a wild psionic talent, got one. Rolled for which talent, got Death Field.
Put my best score into Constitution, Death Fielded everything around me (at first level had around 60 hitpoints) into oblivion. Two party members were clerics...I could pretty much instantly kill most things we came up against.
DM didn't really know how to control his game, so it went on for a while. Most broken character without magic items ever.

 

[Lacyon]

That would mean preservers could not use rituals, which would be rather limiting, I think.

Allow rituals to be used as written, but X amount of defiling replaces Y gp worth of material components.