Is Dark Sun Coming To D&D?

WotC staff are dropping cryptic hints about campaign settings again! A couple of week ago it was Spelljammer; this time, it's Dark Sun. At Gary Con this year, during a D&D panel, WotC's Mike Mearls said of the psionic Mystic class -- "we don't need that class until we do Dark Sun."

He followed it up with with the usual note that he can't make product announcements and that all settings were part of the multiverse. You can hear the seminar on the Plot Points podcast. "Ben recorded a seminar wherein six game designers who worked on Dungeons and Dragons (Skip Williams, Jon Pickens, Zeb Cook, Ed Stark, Steve Winter, and Mike Mearls) talk about game design. During the talk, current lead designer Mike Mearls may very well have let slip what the next classic D&D game world he will be reviving next!"

Dark Sun was a campaign setting released back in the 1990s, and was a post-apocalyptic desert world called Athas, with psionics in abundance and dark survivalist themes. It made a reappearance in 2010 for D&D 4E.

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[Patrick McGill]

As far as Dark Sun is concerned, psionic subclasses for existing classes makes way more sense than a new class that is supposed to cover all of the possible psionic characters of that setting. It was far too ubiquitous in my opinion.

Perhaps a feat would work to add minor psionic "cantrips".

 

[TerraDave]

That would be cool...but they have dropped so many hints like that. And they are working on a long time horizon, so we could see it, and many other things, eventually.

 

[delericho]

To me, that reads as the opposite - the Dark Sun isn't currently on the cards and that, therefore, neither is the Mystic. (It's also worth noting that Eberron also 'needs' psionics, though...)

And, incidentally, any of those three settings (Spelljammer, Dark Sun, Eberron) would be fine with me. Certainly preferable to more Realms (and, alas, I was never a fan of Planescape).

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Dark Sun would be an instant purchase for me. I would prefer it to Spelljammer, Planescape and Eberron. Actually, I would rather visit the dentist than have Eberron.

Dark Sun would certainly be the logical place to add psionics.

 

[TrippyHippy]

It makes a lot more sense to add campaign-specific Classes in supplements about specific campaigns.

 

[MechaTarrasque]

Based on what Mike Mearls is working on in his free time and talks about in podcasts, I would say Nethir Vale will come sooner than Dark Sun.

 

[Stacie GmrGrl]

I'd rather have Spelljammer. Its only been done in one edition.

 

[Dausuul]

As far as Dark Sun is concerned, psionic subclasses for existing classes makes way more sense than a new class that is supposed to cover all of the possible psionic characters of that setting. It was far too ubiquitous in my opinion.

Perhaps a feat would work to add minor psionic "cantrips".

If the new setting is to match the old, it will need a dedicated psionic class and a way for every character to have a touch of psi power.

I just hope they base it on the original boxed set and not the revised one. Dark Sun was the poster child for late-era TSR: They created a fantastic, fascinating, innovative setting, and then promptly set about trashing it.

 

[delericho]

I'd rather have Spelljammer. Its only been done in one edition.

I presume you don't count the 3e port from Dungeon/Polyhedron magazine then?