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.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

If my memory doesn't fail, I read Brom stopped to work for TSR becuse he was asked to do only DS art.

In my game the templars were divine spellcasters.

If Vecna wanted to cause troubles in Ravenloft to take revengue against the Dark Powers Kalidnay could be a "weak point" where to attack. And this could cause the creation of an Athasian version of the demiplane of the dread with new city-states and SKs.

I don't like the rest of Athas could be "visited" by PCs because ordinary biological life can't survive there.

Now I am remembering the revenants could be a PC specie/race in 4e, and then these could survive the necrotic damage in the Athasian deathlands.

 

[overgeeked]

In my game the templars were divine spellcasters.

In the fiction and the earlier editions as well.

Templars as one of the few divine casters in Dark Sun is a really big deal.

 

[pukunui]

In the fiction and the earlier editions as well.

Templars as one of the few divine casters in Dark Sun is a really big deal.

Yeah, I mean, in the original box set, they're come under Priest along with clerics and druids.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

This is my very personal interpretation of course, and not everyone may agree with it, but for me the core theme of Dark Sun is always that power has a price, and how you pay that price and who you pay that price to, matters.

Defilers steal life force from others and from the world to pay for their power. Preservers skim a little off the top, but deliberately choose to handbrake themselves and limit their own power relative to defilers, in order to avoid that sort of rampant destruction. Druids draw their power from their lands, and pay for it in protection, guardianship, and the sweat and labour of cultivation and care. Clerics strike bargains with the tortured shrieking Athasian elemental spirits for power, and in return are obliged to promote and purify ‘their’ element. Templars choose to serve an evil tyrannical monster in exchange for their power, and of them is demanded obedience and the subjugation of one’s own conscience to one’s master. If a Templar can make that pact and then simply nope out while still retaining their power, for me personally it undermines that whole ‘what did you sacrifice?’ question for them.

Of course, the because this is Dark Sun the lore is inconsistent - psionicists draw upon their own inner discipline for power and give up basically nothing. But in general…

I guess I can see that, but it seems like it completely kneecaps any character development that isn’t a huge mechanical pain the butt for such characters, making it basically just not worth bothering to play. Meanwhile, the Templar that works against their patron is an actual story, with a character that has an actual conflict baked into their character, including a powerful enemy.

 

[Kurotowa]

If my memory doesn't fail, I read Brom stopped to work for TSR becuse he was asked to do only DS art.

I wouldn't be surprised. Some artists hit their groove and stick with it, but a lot of them have a drive to try new things and get really creative. I was just reading an interview with the director of Devil May Cry 5, who left Capcom because all they wanted him to do was make Devil May Cry 6. He said to himself "I'm 55 years old, each of these games takes four or five years to make, if I don't get out there and try my hand at brand new games now I'm going to be too old for it soon." So he quit Capcom and went to a small studio so he could do something new and different.

Brom getting pigeon holed as "The Dark Sun Guy" must have really cramped his style.