D&D 5E Dark Sun doesn't actually need Psionics

[TwoSix]

Sure, but it's still the hopeful that existed at the end of Mad Max Fury Road -- Immortan Joe is defeated, there's water (for now) and some food, and people aren't under the yoke of an oppressive ruler for the moment. That's hope, sure, but not of saving the world. Defeating the Sorcerer Kings, likewise, was more of a power trip than saving the world -- the world is still dead, the Sorcerer Kings aren't what's keeping it dead (though they don't help), so defeating them doesn't really lead to saving the world -- just like defeating Immortan Joe and his brothers didn't lead to the saving of the world. But, yeah, local hope is worthwhile. Saving Athas is beyond the scope of the materials, if, as always, within the scope of your table.

Oh, sure, I agree that fixing Athas by finding the magical Macguffin shouldn't really be a written part of the setting. Local hope of making things better for you and yours should be part of the setting, not a "Let's return to the Blue Age." That kind of material should be local to your own game (much like finding the root cause of, or reversing the Mourning in Eberron.)

 

[ChaosOS]

Of all the people in the world, I feel like the Sorcerer Kings need psionics the least to justify their existence and power. Psionics to me stands out as a way to explain how people out in the desert find ways to survive in the absence of magic. Yes, I get that in 2E you had to dual-class to advance towards becoming a Dragon, but that's an edition-specific mechanical implementation.

 

[Charlaquin]

That's not a bad point, actually. Just leaving arcane magic as defiling-only would be pretty interesting. Maybe require a skill check to not defile whenever you cast a spell. You can become better at not defiling through practice, but the risk is always there, and how much damage did you do while practicing? Was the risk worth the cost?

I think there’s something to be said for having people who try to use arcane magic responsibly. But it should be almost irresistibly tempting to defile (I’m a fan of casting at regular power being defiling by default and having to cast at some sort of
penalty to preserve, like reverse-up-casting. Or maybe have it cost hit dice as you draw from your life energy instead of the planet’s) and preserving should be ultimately futile - less damaging than defiling, sure, but still damaging. One person driving a hybrid instead of a hummer may slightly reduce their carbon footprint, but it’s a drop in the bucket, and at the end of the day they’re still burning fossil fuels.

 

[Charlaquin]

I think preserving and defiling magic without psionics could make a good Darksun. Thing is then the Dragon Kings need artifacts or Some technology. I think you could drag technology in and have ancient technology that was used that is ds responsible for the world's current state. Something like Empire of the East books. Maybe magic developed because science actually figured out the real physics that holds the multiverse together.

The SKs having technology of some sort while the rest of the world is in the Stone Age would certainly help emphasize the class divide.

Maybe that’s where the psionic mutations come from. Some kind of alien tech from the Far Realm that the SKs harnessed alongside arcane magic, that gave off a strange radiation that warped Athas’s fauna into the bizarre state we now see. The nuclear power to arcane Magic’s fossil fuels. That would actually serve to tie psionics directly into the settings themes instead of merely being tone setting.

 

[Aldarc]

The SKs having technology of some sort while the rest of the world is in the Stone Age would certainly help emphasize the class divide.

Maybe that’s where the psionic mutations come from. Some kind of alien tech from the Far Realm that the SKs harnessed alongside arcane magic, that gave off a strange radiation that warped Athas’s fauna into the buzz are state we now see. The nuclear power to arcane Magic’s fossil fuels. That would actually serve to tie psionics directly into the settings themes instead of merely being tone setting.

In 4e lore, psionics are regarded as the world's sort of auto-immune response to incursions from the Far Realms. But also in 4e, the beginning of the DS Campaign Setting book suggests that psionics developed in the absence of divine magic since the primordials won the Dawn War on Athas.

 

[nevin]

The SKs having technology of some sort while the rest of the world is in the Stone Age would certainly help emphasize the class divide.

Maybe that’s where the psionic mutations come from. Some kind of alien tech from the Far Realm that the SKs harnessed alongside arcane magic, that gave off a strange radiation that warped Athas’s fauna into the buzz are state we now see. The nuclear power to arcane Magic’s fossil fuels. That would actually serve to tie psionics directly into the settings themes instead of merely being tone setting.

I like it. if you do that the preserving should be standard and defilling should be something anyone can do to boost thier spells or cast more than normally available but they would be corrupted bit by bit everytime they did it.

 

[nevin]

you could tie the tech to spell Jammer if you wanted. this the Dragon kings seemingly unending source of power

 

[Ovinomancer]

Except Athas is closed off from the multiverse and has a sealed sphere for spelljamming. All fluffy, but kinda necessary to the setting to prevent easy access to other sources of life/water/resources or just emigration.

 

[Charlaquin]

I like it. if you do that the preserving should be standard and defilling should be something anyone can do to boost thier spells or cast more than normally available but they would be corrupted bit by bit everytime they did it.

I would definitely want to keep defiling as the default form of arcane magic, with preserving being a severe downgrade. For the allegory to work, ending reliance on the world-destroying energy source has to require sacrifice. You have to be willing to give up conveniences you’ve come to take for granted. And for D&D players, that’s spellcasting.

 

[Charlaquin]

Except Athas is closed off from the multiverse and has a sealed sphere for spelljamming. All fluffy, but kinda necessary to the setting to prevent easy access to other sources of life/water/resources or just emigration.

Sure, it doesn’t have to be the Far Realm. Or maybe the tech got there before whatever event sealed Athas off from the rest of the multiverse.

Frankly, such planar details don’t particularly interest me when it comes to Dark Sun. Athas is Athas, it shouldn’t have to justify why it doesn’t work like Spelljammer.