Darksun Teasers

[Wik]

I like your vision, and hope WotC subscribes as well.

Cheers, -- N

I concur. Of course, I'll cut out any crap I don't like, but I'd like them to avoid it, simply so they can use their page count for stuff I'll use (like adventure ideas!).

***

One thing I was thinking about, that hasn't really been touched upon so far, are Dark Sun monsters. When I first played Dark Sun, years and years ago, I saw the list of monsters that were barred from play... and lacked the DS Monster Compendiums (I finally bought one a few months ago!). I ended up trading my original DS boxed set because I couldn't get my hands on enough monster variety.

The point of this all is, will wotc keep that limited monster pool, or will the setting introduce a lot of "core" monsters? Are we going to see a lot of low-level monsters in the setting book to replace the goblins, kobolds, orcs, and gnolls?

Just something I'm curious about.

 

[Thaumaturge]

The point of this all is, will wotc keep that limited monster pool, or will the setting introduce a lot of "core" monsters? Are we going to see a lot of low-level monsters in the setting book to replace the goblins, kobolds, orcs, and gnolls?

Just something I'm curious about.

Good point. That is one of the things I really liked about Dark Sun, and I'd hate to lose it. I'm guessing there will be a DDi article with more monsters. An 'Athasian' template might help core monsters have more of a bleak and desolate feel.

Also, hopefully, MM3 will just have a large chunk of Athasian creatures. Athasian Sloth, I'm looking at you.

Thaumaturge.

 

[Bold or Stupid]

You'll love it. I've yet to find a player who doesn't like Dark Sun. I think every player I've ever had will count Dark Sun among their top three campaign settings/RPGs out there. I have several players from years ago who will not play AD&D unless it's in Dark Sun.

Suggestion, though: Pick up the original Boxed Set PDF. There's a lot of good stuff in there, and it will give you a point of comparison when the 4e book comes out, and the inevitable flame wars start.

Hi, I'm the guy who never liked Dark Sun, at the time it seemed nasty, over powered and full of a level of micromanagement that I never liked. It just seemed to be an attempt to cash in on the gritty WoD inspired mood in gaming at the time, complete with heavy handed political allegory (ooh ecological damage...) The world never sounded like anything I'd want to play and the oddities were mostly used as grim anecdotes (the halflings do what?)

Now a 4e comes along and I'm interested, mostly to lift ideas from I admit, but I may like it enough to run it. I'm also now interested in looking at old DS stuff, just to see what they changed.

 

[ProfessorCirno]

Where is your "They like the old Dark Sun and are excited about the new Dark Sun" option?

That would be under the "They aren't hanging on every word and thus do not subscribe to the mentioned set of people" group

Cirno

 

[Doc_Klueless]

You'll love it. I've yet to find a player who doesn't like Dark Sun. I think every player I've ever had will count Dark Sun among their top three campaign settings/RPGs out there. I have several players from years ago who will not play AD&D unless it's in Dark Sun.

Suggestion, though: Pick up the original Boxed Set PDF. There's a lot of good stuff in there, and it will give you a point of comparison when the 4e book comes out, and the inevitable flame wars start.

Everything I've heard about it and read about it has seemed quite exciting. I have know doubt I'll love it, especially since one of my all time favorite books is "City of Bones" by Martha Wells.

You'd think in my 28 years of playing, I'd have played in Dark Sun. Sadly, it's always escaped my gaming grasp.

 

[Silverblade The Ench]

And of course I am yet another of those rare people who like 4E and have Dark Sun as a favourite D&D setting. What I really really hope is that they don't start explaining too much in this new version. When I read the contents of the first Dark Sun box what I fell in love with was, more than the edgier races and the darker feel, the fact that there were so many mysteries left. So many open ends, so many rumours and so few unnecessary facts.

I do not want a complete map of Athas. I do not want a written history. I want lots and lots of rumours and stories that nobody really knows what to make of. A world that knows that it must have an amazing history, but where it has almost all got lost. A world that is partly mapped, but where noone knows what actually exists on the other side of the silt sea or the huge mountain range.

I don't want any strict rules as to which races can exist in the world, but I want help to reimagine races so that they fit.

GIVE THAT MAN/WOMAN/MUTANT A BEER! Woot!

exactly, please pelase WOTC, if you read this, keep Dark Sun mysterious, because players need fear, the unknown, to make games more "juicy".
That is what killed Forgotten Realms for me and others, that it was so detailed to death it wasn't "scary" :/
love the original Realms boxed set, andUndermountain, but, ugh "Elminsterized to death, after that, sigh

 

[Kobold Avenger]

On mine, Vista with FF 3.5.3 it's black text, according to Firebug it inherited it's colour from the definition of body with the id of blog_user_blog as defined by toolbar.css

 

[Danzauker]

Suggestion, though: Pick up the original Boxed Set PDF. There's a lot of good stuff in there, and it will give you a point of comparison when the 4e book comes out, and the inevitable flame wars start.

Why?

Or better, why, unless he is already curious enough to do it just for the pleasure to read a 2ed classic setting anyway?

If he's moderately curious, he could just wait until release, read the previews and articles and judge the 4e Dark Sun setting per se without having necessarily to compare with the old version, unless, again, he really wants to, maybe just in order to snatch some more ideas.

I think one can leave edition wars behind, for a change...

 

[Doc_Klueless]

Why?...
...I think one can leave edition wars behind, for a change...

I've read the 1e box set when it first hit the shelves (hey, I was a sergeant in the army with little else to spend my money on! ). So I'm not so keen to pick up the old stuff. I *am* excited hearing about all the new stuff, though.

 

[Obryn]

Sorry if you feel I'm wrong regarding the "people not knowing about the old one." I, well, disagree.

I guess if actual evidence from real, live fans of both 4e and Dark Sun won't convince you, nothing will. Your "rare group" is growing huge - just on ENWorld!

Yes, a lot of weird and somewhat crappy stuff started to pop up in Dark Sun, but because it was so poorly received, it never stole the thunder from the original. The new one, I guarantee, no matter how good or bad it might turn out, will. I feel my fear is legit.

The absolute worst-case possibility as far as I can see is that I won't like the new fluff, so I'll just steal the crunch for a Dark Sun game set in the original setting.

I mean, what is there for me to worry about if they change the setting a lot? What do I lose? Please explain it to me, because I can't see a single damn thing.

1) My reason above. New version is very different, replaces old version. Like the old version? You're out of luck.

...or you play your original box set, which works just fine and hasn't exploded. Or you steal the crunch from the 4e set. Seriously, in what way would I be out of luck?

2) They feel an ownership in part of the setting and don't want to see whatever degree of changes they don't want to see. Maybe they don't want to see any changes at all. Maybe they just don't want big changes.

To quote Neil Gaiman, WotC isn't my bitch. I have absolutely zero I can lose from a new setting. Even if it's one I don't like, I will just not-like it. It's a situation where I can only potentially gain something cool, since I can never lose anything I already have.

3) They aren't convinced WotC can make a good setting yet. I know a few 4e fans that think the game mechanics are the best they've ever been, but visually cringe at WotC's writing staff.

See above.

4) They hate 4e and everything associated with 4e.

Then I honestly don't know why they're stressing out about a book that they won't ever buy, anyway. I'm utterly perplexed as to why the existence or non-existence of 4e Dark Sun has any more relevance than the existence or non-existence of the 2e Revised Box Set.

-O