More Dark SUn tidbits by Rich Baker

[Mouseferatu]

Wait... has anyone ever seen you two in the same room together?

Not and lived to tell the tale.

 

[Mouseferatu]

get your dirty modron-basher hands away from my dark sun, you silly two-headed troll lover

You needn't worry that I'm going to do anything bad to Dark Sun. Unlike modrons, most aspects of Dark Sun don't suck.

 

[Khur]

I can't say that the lack of a new class makes me consider buying the PG (as I have for the other two settings, though I also bought the ECG), and if defiling is the new mechanic, I can't say I would find much use at all out of the book. Right now, the book sits at a pass for me, but that can change.

Defiling is a new mechanic. It's not the new mechanic you and James Wyatt are referring to, though. That's something totally different.

Edit: If it's true that they are putting Muls and Thri-kreen in another book, that is incredibly asinine. Forcing players to buy PHBIII to play Dark Sun is stupifyingly mean spirited. If that is true.

I fail to see how it's stupefyingly mean spirited, but that could be a semantic problem on my part. It probably would be asinine. I guess it's a good thing that muls and thri-kreen aren't in PH3, but in Dark Sun material. Didn't everyone already know that, though? I mean one race in PH3 is unrevealed, as was already pointed out, and muls are about as mainstream D&D as kalashtar are. That means the unrevealed PH3 race could be thri-kreen, but it's not.

Doesn't everyone also know that PH3 is the psionics PH? That means you'll likely want PH3 if you want lots of psionics, rather than only what you can get from DDI, in your Dark Sun. I don't think that amounts to forcing anyone to buy PH3, though, and I don't think it's asinine or mean spirited either. I know you didn't say it was, but this extension seems like a reasonable correlation to your original point. If one wants all the psionics stuff in one's Dark Sun, one will have to buy PH3. (This is barring any access to the Character Builder, access to which would render the print location of any character element moot.)

A campaign setting isn't the place for presenting an entire power source. It also isn't the place for re-presenting existing classes and races. So you'll need PH2 if you want druid and barbarian mechanics, and you'll need PH1 if you want elf and dwarf mechanics. In all seriousness, do you think that's asinine or mean spirited? If not, why not, other than those books preceded Dark Sun? PH3 will be released before Dark Sun, too.

That said, my playtest Dark Sun campaign is doing just fine without psionic-classed PCs, not that the players couldn't have chosen a psionic class. We have access to playtest PH3 stuff, too. The point is, my current campaign doesn't require that material for authenticity or fun. Nobody else's campaign will require any particular game element, either. So nobody would be forced to buy anything to enjoy Dark Sun. Dark Sun, as a game setting, would play just fine with just the PH, DMG, and MM on your shelf, and without muls or thri-kreen in the setting material. Of course, I'm glad it won't have to, because they're in there.

 

[catsclaw227]

Defiling is a new mechanic. It's not the new mechanic you and James Wyatt are referring to, though. That's something totally different.

I fail to see how it's stupefyingly mean spirited, but that could be a semantic problem on my part. It probably would be asinine. I guess it's a good thing that muls and thri-kreen aren't in PH3, but in Dark Sun material. Didn't everyone already know that, though? I mean one race in PH3 is unrevealed, as was already pointed out, and muls are about as mainstream D&D as kalashtar are. That means the unrevealed PH3 race could be thri-kreen, but it's not.

Doesn't everyone also know that PH3 is the psionics PH? That means you'll likely want PH3 if you want lots of psionics, rather than only what you can get from DDI, in your Dark Sun. I don't think that amounts to forcing anyone to buy PH3, though, and I don't think it's asinine or mean spirited either. I know you didn't say it was, but this extension seems like a reasonable correlation to your original point. If one wants all the psionics stuff in one's Dark Sun, one will have to buy PH3. (This is barring any access to the Character Builder, access to which would render the print location of any character element moot.)

A campaign setting isn't the place for presenting an entire power source. It also isn't the place for re-presenting existing classes and races. So you'll need PH2 if you want druid and barbarian mechanics, and you'll need PH1 if you want elf and dwarf mechanics. In all seriousness, do you think that's asinine or mean spirited? If not, why not, other than those books preceded Dark Sun? PH3 will be released before Dark Sun, too.

That said, my playtest Dark Sun campaign is doing just fine without psionic-classed PCs, not that the players couldn't have chosen a psionic class. We have access to playtest PH3 stuff, too. The point is, my current campaign doesn't require that material for authenticity or fun. Nobody else's campaign will require any particular game element, either. So nobody would be forced to buy anything to enjoy Dark Sun. Dark Sun, as a game setting, would play just fine with just the PH, DMG, and MM on your shelf, and without muls or thri-kreen in the setting material. Of course, I'm glad it won't have to, because they're in there.

Well, there you go!

So I am assuming that Muls and Thri-Kreen are in DS players guide. Defiling is a mechanic as well as another mysterious mechanic that (I am guessing) is pretty significant. I am guessing it will be a mechanic that level-scales defenses and attack/damage numbers to reduce magic item dependency.

Something that can be instantly ported into a low-magic homebrew campaign setting.

Anyone else care to guess?

 

[amysrevenge]

I am guessing it will be a mechanic that level-scales defenses and attack/damage numbers to reduce magic item dependency.

I'm guessing that it is a way to get Defilers, Preservers, Gladiators, and the others in the game without having them be actual classes.

It shouldn't be a Spellscar-style multiclass feat (which I had been expecting once I heard that Gladiators were "in" even though there would be no new classes), though, because then it isn't really a new mechanic.

 

[The Little Raven]

I am guessing it will be a mechanic that level-scales defenses and attack/damage numbers to reduce magic item dependency.

Nope. This mechanic is already in the DMG2 and in the Character Builder (Manage > Details > Inherent Bonuses) already. It's something else.

 

[DreadPirateMurphy]

Not a new mechanic for psionics, I hope... I thought that was basically treated as just powers with the psychic damage type? If defiling and psionics both aren't the new mechanic...maybe something to do with elemental clerics? Maybe a fame system for gladiators that grants new abilities (something like the DMG2 grandmaster trainer rules)?

Templar and gladiator could be paragon paths, I guess.

I can see Dragonking as an epic destiny.

Have they said how they are planning to reconcile the whole 4E godwar vs. primordials with the Dark Sun backstory? Did I miss that from a previous thread?

 

[amysrevenge]

Have they said how they are planning to reconcile the whole 4E godwar vs. primordials with the Dark Sun backstory? Did I miss that from a previous thread?

They haven't, but an easy way to do it would be to say that in Athas the primordials won...

 

[renau1g]

I see Templar and Gladiator as options for classes (Templar maybe Paladin? & Gladiator either FIghter or Barbarian)

 

[Wik]

My ideal take is something like this:

Most magic items go bye-bye. Instead, we introduce "Class paths", a set of powers that are activated by magic-item dailies. So, the "templar" path gets magic-item dailies reflecting his service to the SK, while the "Gladiator" path gets some nice bonuses in melee combat, and so on, and so forth.

This keeps the game magic-item low, keeps the power level the same (what with new uses for dailies), and keeps at least a little of the old flavour alive.