Dungeons & Dragons Releases New Unearthed Arcana Subclasses, Strongly Hinting at Dark Sun

Wizards of the Coast has released four new D&D subclasses for playtesting, all of which have heavy thematic ties to the post-apocalyptic Dark Sun setting. The four subclasses, released as "Apocalyptic Subclasses," include the Circle of Preservation Druid, the Gladiator Fighter, the Defiled Sorcerer, and the Sorcerer-King Patron Warlock. Although not stated outright, the Gladiator and Sorcerer-King Patron are explicit nods to the Dark Sun setting, set in a ruined world ruled by Sorcerer-Kings where gladiatorial fights were common.

The Circle of Preservation Druid creates areas of preserved land that grants buffs to those who stand upon it. The Gladiator adds secondary Weapon Mastery properties to their attacks, with bonus abilities. Notably, the Gladiator uses Charisma as its secondary stat. The Defiled Sorcerer can expend its hit dice to amp up damage to its attacks and can also steal the life of its targets to deal additional damage. The Sorcerer-King Patron gains a number of abilities tying into tyranny and oppression, with the ability to cast Command as a Bonus Action without expending a spell slot, causing targets to gain the Frightened Condition, and forcing those who attack them to re-roll successful attacks.

The survey for the subclasses goes live on August 28th.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Name one non-parodic grimdark.

I can name you two - Prince of Nothing and A Land Fit For Heroes. They're both awful (and both weirdly obsessed with sexual assault far beyond other grimdark), but they aren't parodic.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Name one non-parodic grimdark.

WFRP 1e?

 

[Scribe]

See lol!

3E established the Necrons, T'au and Drukhari, so that does matter, but it also de-established a bunch of stuff, much of which has since been re-established. The biggest lore changes which weren't just introducing those three races were actually much later, with the whole Primaris thing profoundly reworking by far the most popular faction in the game.

The Sisters of Battle are 2E even, and I think de-perv-ified in like 6E or 7E? But I couldn't swear to it. It was after 3/4/5E though, pretty sure.

I think if you go back and really look a 2E 40K from 1990 to 1998, read the White Dwarfs, read the lore in everything to Adeptus Titanicus to Battlefleet Gothic*, you will find like 90% of everything that's like major lore, and isn't Primaris or later (or relating to the three new races above, all of three of whom are kind of "lesser" - Necrons the least lesser as it were, which is funny because in 1998 I fully expected them to get basically Squat'd within a decade!), is established there.

Oh Horus Heresy absolutely changed a ton of lore too, but that's outside the scope of this because it's none of the editions.

* = Not demanding you do this, I only did it because I was a teenager and had a lot of time on my hands and loved 40K lol.

Fair, I do believe the Dark Eldar reboot of 5th is the peak of GW work, but yeah I cannot argue with this really.

It would be a herculean effort for me to go dig up all the 2e lore, but I'm more talking about tone. The feel of the setting.

Like, look at the Squats, as you note. Yes they have now returned, but they are a lot more serious than they used to be.

I will also say I am physically offended, at a cellular level, by the Primaris stuff. I cannot reasonably engage with that topic and stay within forum guidelines of behavior.

The major touchstones though, I admit are 2e. Maybe my issue is RT vs 3e, and not 2e at all.

 

[Scribe]

Name one non-parodic grimdark that doesn't suck.

40K and 30K.

I suppose you are going to argue that those settings are a parody, or suck, but we simply have no common ground in that case.

 

[Scribe]

What does that take away from you?

A shared setting that I enjoy, because no I will not enjoy a reboot. I will not enjoy 'reimagined' aspects of the lore, or 'required updates' as we saw with other settings.

So now the 'shared setting' aspect, is ruined.

Yes, I can keep on with the old content, but if I wanted to talk about Dragonlance, here, I wouldnt care to talk about the new version of it.

So the fabric of that shared experience between nerds? Ruined.

 

[Eubani]

I think adding hope in the form of a successful revolution in one of the city states actually made things darker in that the other Sorcerer Kings cracked down to make sure that the same thing didn't happen again and the council that ruled after the fall of the sorcerer king was eating itself.

 

[Chaltab]

40K and 30K.

I suppose you are going to argue that those settings are a parody, or suck, but we simply have no common ground in that case.

I'm not familiar with 30K But 40K is openly satircal by GamesWorkshop's own admission! Heck, just look at how Orks work in that setting and tell me I'm meant to see this as serious.

 

[Remathilis]

40K and 30K.

I suppose you are going to argue that those settings are a parody, or suck, but we simply have no common ground in that case.

I will openly profess I know little about Warhammer except what I have learned via cultural osmosis, but isn't part of the focus of theme of 40k that the factions are essentially parodies or satire of fascists and the like? Kinda a Starship Troopers level "taking the piss out of Nazis, zealots, and edgelords" that some fans started playing straight because they missed that the Imperium isn't supposed to be the good guys?

I mean, it's not "Springtime for Hitler" levels of parody, but you're not supposed to be rooting for any of them...

 

[Scribe]

I'm not familiar with 30K But 40K is openly satircal by GamesWorkshop's own admission! Heck, just look at how Orks work in that setting and tell me I'm meant to see this as serious.

Satire != Parody, to me. Satire has a point. I agree its satirical. Parody, is just a joke. Orks are funny actually, because of all the various factions, which one has actually achieved its own version of bliss?

 

[Scribe]

I mean, it's not "Springtime for Hitler" levels of parody, but you're not supposed to be rooting for any of them...

Absolutely. Call it a satire, I have no problem.