Dark Sun Novels

[Korgoth]

If you're excited about Dark Sun, I suggest that you NOT read the books. They take the setting and basically blow it up, from what I understand.

Instead, start planning the sort of adventures you're going to run in a Dark Sun not destroyed by a novelist.

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

If you're excited about Dark Sun, I suggest that you NOT read the books. They take the setting and basically blow it up, from what I understand.

THIS!

I cannot emphasize this enough. If you are excited by the glimpses of what a setting like Athas can be, don't, Don't, DON'T read the novels. Just hold off until you can either get a hold of a copy of the original boxed set (The Wanderer's Journal is a crunch-free account of life on Athas, that's about all you need to read), and read the previews coming out.

I predict if you hold off on the novels until the actual product, you will enjoy what you read for the first time. Like unwrapping a present without having been told what's under the paper.

 

[Olli]

The Prism Pentad, while not exceptionally well written, does portray Athas extremely well - as good as if not better than the game material. I'd recommend The Prism Pentad as premier source material for a DS game. The Amber Enchantress in particular gives a great look at life across Athas. Yes, they are metaplot heavy, but it spans a decade and is easily ignored if you don't like it. There is virtually no overlap between novels and game material at all as far as metaplot is concerned - only the very later DS material is impacted by the metaplot, and even then it's minimal. The whole "novels destroyed the gameworld" thing is kinda exaggerated for DS.

Um, but killing Kalak of and making Tyr a free city DOES impact the setting from the very start and is "something" of an overlap, right?

spoiler
or killing of the Dragon and Abalch Re, Andropinis and Tectuktilay

Or some other minor thinks I have forgotten. So i don´t think your statement concerning the metaplot and the ease of ignoring it is a little off...

Olli

 

[Obryn]

So i don´t think your statement concerning the metaplot and the ease of ignoring it is a little off...

Why would that be? It's easy as pie!

The Prism Pentad is a story set on Athas. The events of the story do not need to have happened on your Athas. They have no more bearing on what happens in my campaign than someone else's campaign does.

You could, in fact, comfortably ignore all the characters from the novels, pretend it never happened, and never even notice. If you're a stickler for canon (I'm not, just sayin'), you could even set your game 10 years before the novels, and nobody would ever be able to tell.

-O

 

[Mark Hope]

There is that - you can simply ignore it. No game material covers the subject matter of the novels directly (although the first two adventures present alternate perspectives on elements from the novels).

We also need to remember how these materials were released. When Dark Sun came out, Verdant Passage was released with it. It many cases (such as my own), the novel was sold alongside the boxed set. And the opening adventure Freedom came out at the same time. So Kalak's fall was part of Dark Sun from day one. You only have to read the entry on Tyr in the Wanderer's Journal to see that it is imminent. And that's all that is invalidated by Verdant Passage and Freedom - one paragraph of text in the WJ. Nothing else about the setting changes.

From then on, the game material and novel material don't overlap - as explained by Eric. There are a few references here and there - City State of Tyr mentions events from the novels, as does Ivory Triangle - but nothing of significance. And - until the final novel of the Prism Pentad - there's nothing in the novels that has any meaningful effect on the game material. The two are effectively independent of one another. Cerulean Storm, Beyond the Prism Pentad and the Revised boxed set shook things up hugely. But even so, you can use Revised DS-era material with pre-Prism Pentad games with little trouble. I'm doing it in a DS game right now, as it happens.

I didn't read the novels until after the Revised set was released. I played quite happily with no knowledge of the metaplot for years. And when I read it I shrugged, kept the bits I liked and ignored the rest. Total effect on my DS library? Minimal to none, depending on the product.

 

[Olli]

@ Obryn:

yes, you can ignore it, but only if you don´t mind being stuck with only the core box, because every supplement released assumed Kalak dead. Even the first adventures released focused on the fallout Kalaks death had caused. So I still say it´s not easy to ignore it!

Olli

 

[Obryn]

@ Obryn:

yes, you can ignore it, but only if you don´t mind being stuck with only the core box, because every supplement released assumed Kalak dead. Even the first adventures released focused on the fallout Kalaks death had caused. So I still say it´s not easy to ignore it!

Olli

Huh. I've found the opposite... Earlier supplements get invalidated by the events in the Prism Pentad, while later supplements are timeline-independent and can work both pre- and post-Pentad.

Thri-Kreen of Athas is timeline-independent. Ditto, Will and the Way. Ditto, Windriders of the Jagged Cliffs. Air, Earth, Fire, Water, I can go on and on. It doesn't matter for any of those which Sorcerer-Kings are still alive. About the only one you won't want is Beyond the Prism Pentad, in which case... duh.

On the other hand, Ivory Triangle gets messy if you're missing some of its included Sorcerer-Kings. City by the Silt Sea becomes 100% useless if you use the Pentad timeline. Veiled Society makes a lot less sense. Dune Trader can get wacky, too.


As for Kalak... Kalak's survival isn't an integral part to most supplements that I saw. With that said, I think having one free city is a perfectly fine way to start a campaign. (Besides, it happens in the very first module! Even I, a Dark Sun purist, am pretty okay with that as a kick-off.)

Ignoring a bit of timeline advancement is dirt-simple, IMO, and probably even better than the alternative. 95%+ of the remaining supplements are perfectly usable. And if you need to ignore a few bits, big deal - the majority of the book is just fine.

-O

 

[Oryan77]

2e Dark Sun was my first introduction into D&D. My first ever D&D game started me out in a tavern in Tyr.

I played for several months before I started reading the novels. My DM ran the published adventures the whole time. I never once noticed something in game that I thought should not be that way due to events in the novels. So obviously what happens in novels doesn't have to affect your current game. I don't think it would be difficult to do a little tweaking to an adventure so it fits in the time frame you want to run your world in. I've never understood peoples complaints about a novel affecting their RPG game

Oddly enough, I have always given credit to the novels for helping me be a better player in the Dark Sun campaign.

Once I started reading the Prism Pentad series, I gained a way better understanding of the setting, the cities, and the natives. I was able to roleplay my PC so he fit in the setting much better than he did before I read the books. It made playing in the setting a lot more fun for me.

I thought all of the Dark Sun novels were interesting and worth reading. Sorak from the Tribe of One series has always been one of my favorite characters from any D&D novels. I think he is way more interesting than either Drizzt or Raistlin.

The Chronicles of Athas series was my least favorite series, but I still thought they were good books. You sorta need to have an understanding for how templars are before you read that series so you can relate more with the main character. So I'd read this series last, or read it after you've interacted with Athasian templars a few times in game.

I'd suggest reading the Prism Pentad series first to get a good idea for what the setting is like. Then I'd read the Tribe of One series next just because I thought it was a cool series. Then I'd read the Chronicles of Athas series if interested, it's worth the read and it's thought provoking.

All of the books will give you a better idea for what the Dark Sun setting is like.

 

[Silverblade The Ench]

Yeah, either

a) leave the damned books alone, ugh!! don't spoil dark sun for yourself!

or

b) realize they are best seen as "possibilities".."background" for what Athas (the world of the Dark Sun) is like to live in etc.

Tye as a democracy...ahlf the sercoror kings dead, etc...yeah they took Clark Ashton Smith and Robert E Howard and turned it into...Mad max meets Hogwarts!

 

[grimslade]

I always treated the novels like I was reading someone else's Storyhour of their Dark Sun campaign. They provide an excellent look at what a Dark Sun campaign can accomplish and demonstrate a vibrant fantasy world. I loved my time playing in Athas but I never used anything other than the original box set and the Monstrous Compendiums. The Prism Pentad will not ruin DS for you as long as you believe it is not "canon". ;p