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.

 

[humble minion]

Go back to the original boxed set. No genocide, no Rahaat not retcon required.

Those who like the metaplot can use it. Those who don't no big deal. No ham fisted retcons or rewrites required.

As is fairly clear from the sheer volume of my word vomit on the subject, I DO love the DS backstory even though I believe it was often poorly used and inadequately thought out, but I fully intend to run ‘the Rajaat campaign’ at some point and so I think about this stuff. It’s not necessarily what I expect or even particularly want a WotC DS product to cover. The scope of the 4th Ed products were entirely adequate, and hardly even talked about the metaplot. I can bring that into my own game as I DM.

 

[Zardnaar]

If the setting is too linked to the big bad guys then it is a wrong design because it is too linked to the metaplot, like in Dragonlance.

If the PCs can't kill the sorcerer-kings because this has to happen according the metaplot and the novels then we haven't enough creative freedom. Here the metaplot isn't a source of inspiration but like a straitjacket.

I can accept genocide and mass human sacrifices happened in the past but I don't like the idea of lots of sentient creatures being sacrificed because a sorcerer-king is sick. (yes, I talk about Tectuktitlay, lord of Draj). And the sorcerer-kings should worry not only for the food and water but the possible demographic crisis if population doesn't enjoy a minimal welfare/level of confort. The population needs faith and hope in a better future, at least in the afterlife, and fear to be punished in an infernal plane.

I can understand the metaplot could be frozen if fandom may dislike the possible changes, but I dislike the idea we are losing some secrets that could be told later.

I suspect WotC a lot of crunch (metalic weapons, spells and magic items) being banned in DS setting because they are by metal, arcane or divine magic.

* Other point is a possible spin-off. Acording the Orrery of Nibenay (from "Marauders of Nibenay") the Athaspace has got several celestial bodies. This could explain the reason we could add or "recover" other PC species.

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Maybe an Athasian gnome is a hej-kin whose reincarnation spell didn't work the way was expected and then the community chose to send him to infitralte in the surface pretending to be a dwarf. Really it was a recesive mutation because the Athasian gnomes were the ancestors of the hej-kin.

King Tecs a sick puppy in his not Aztec not Tenochititlan.

 

[mamba]

A better option? I wasn't arguing that leaving them alive should be an option. Ideally you'd have most or all of the SKs dead before Borys and Rajaat were even a factor.

yes, a better option, the SK help Borys to keep Rajaat imprisoned. Rajaat being free is the worse option.

Killing the SKs will result in that, that the ‘heroes’ do not know that and their actions endanger the whole world does not change that.

Informed people would side with the SK and not try to overthrow them.

 

[Weiley31]

I'm unfamiliar with DS lore, but who is Rajaat?

 

[mamba]

I'm unfamiliar with DS lore, but who is Rajaat?

he is the original sorcerer and most powerful being in Dark Sun. The SK were his chosen warlords, tasked with eradicating all races but the halflings (Rajaat’s race). At the time they did not know his end goal and happily did his bidding in exchange for the power he gave them. Once they had wiped out some of the races and learned his end game, they realized that humans (their race) was on the chopping block too and most decided to kill him.

They found out that they could not, so one of theirs ascended to being a dragon (Borys) in hopes that the additional power would allow them to, but all they then managed to do was to imprison Rajaat. Upholding that prison is now Borys’ job, but that takes several thousand souls a year, so the SK are now tasked with providing 1000 souls a year each to ensure that Rajaat remains imprisoned

 

[Zardnaar]

I'm unfamiliar with DS lore, but who is Rajaat?

Dark Suns big bad. Invented defiling magic, launched the cleansing wars to genocide everyone apart from Halflings and maybe Kreen, recruited the Sorcerers Kings and duped them as well. Ultimately responsible for the condition of Darksun over 8000 years.

Imprisoned but essentially can't be killed by a dozen Sorcerer Kings at least and the Heroes of Tyr. Created dragons, the Sorcerer Kings etc.

Metaplot ended with him reimprisoned but probably weak and they were building up a new Metaplot.

 

[humble minion]

I'm unfamiliar with DS lore, but who is Rajaat?

Basically, the big bad of the setting. Inventor of sorcery. Created the sorcerer kings in order to genocide all other races so that halflings can regain their position of primacy and bring back another paradisial Blue Age. They now the sorcerer kings worked out he intended to genocide them and humanity once he’d finished with the other races, they rebelled and imprisoned him. Borys ascended to full dragonhood just to cast powerful enough spells to keep him contained, but he was still breaking out. All the city states are required to provide a tithe of slaves periodically for Borys, who consumes their life force in other to re-cast the imprisonment spells.

 

[pukunui]

he is the original sorcerer and most powerful being in Dark Sun. The SK were his chosen warlords, tasked with eradicating all races but the halflings (Rajaat’s race).

Rajaat wasn’t a halfling himself. He was a Pyreen – a sort of angelic being, except he was an extraordinarily ugly one, so the constant disgust and prejudice the lesser races gave him drove him to bitterness and evil.

He thought the halflings were the best because they were Athas’ original sentient species from the time when it was a mostly ocean world.

 

[Zardnaar]

Rajaat wasn’t a halfling himself. He was a Pyreen – a sort of angelic being, except he was an extraordinarily ugly one, so the constant disgust and prejudice the lesser races gave him drove him to bitterness and evil.

He thought the halflings were the best because they were Athas’ original sentient species from the time when it was a mostly ocean world.

Pyreen are kinda like Fey with lots of Druid levels.

In 5E terms CR8-20 depending on how you stat them out. Think they start at Druid 12 and go up from there.

 

[mamba]

Rajaat wasn’t a halfling himself. He was a Pyreen

oh well, it has been 40 years