Which Dark Sun Setting is your favorite?

[Najo]

I am a long time Dark Sun fan, and with the discussion in the thread about the current Dark Sun Dungeon issue (which I personally love), it got me interested in seeing what the rest of you think...so here is the poll

Also, in the message thread please post the reasons you either like or dislike Dark Sun (or a particular version of teh setting).

Thanks,

Nate

 

[Staffan]

I prefer the revised version, because I feel it offers more variety and more opportunity for adventure. There are things about it I didn't like, mostly rule-based (no halfling wizards, templars gone as a class, defiling, psionics), plus I have issues about the way in which the transformation took place - but the result is nice.

 

[Mouseferatu]

I chose the original boxed set--I liked a lot of elements about the revision, but ultimately I thought it lost more than it gained. That said, I've flipped through the Dungeon portion of the Dungeon/Dragon crossover, and I like a lot of what I see. It corrects some of the problems I had with the second boxed set by making the sorcerer-kings a stronger part of the setting again, and I like most of what they've done. I don't like the inclusion of even more Dark Sun PC races, because they don't feel very "Dark Sun" to me, but then, I wasn't a fan of the new races introduced after the first boxed set, either.

There's no way the Dungeon/Dragon one can be my favorite, because it's simply not big enough to be a complete world. (There's a lot of material I was hoping to read about that they simply couldn't fit into the Dungeon section; I expect the Dragon one to be the same.) But I think it's a definite step up from the second boxed set, and if they'd actually made it a full-sized setting, it's possible (albeit not likely) that it could have given the first set a run for it's money.

 

[johnsemlak]

I've never played Dark Sun but would love to learn it. I don't really fit into one of the choices since I wouldn't say I don't like DS, rather I don't know it.

If I played it I'd probably either go with the athas.org material or the Dungeon Mag material.

 

[JayDarkson]

I've never played Dark Sun but would love to learn it. I don't really fit into one of the choices since I wouldn't say I don't like DS, rather I don't know it.

If I played it I'd probably either go with the athas.org material or the Dungeon Mag material.

There are some online stores that sell the old Dark Sun books in .pdf format if you want to see the 2nd edition material.

It's a great setting with lots of potential.

 

[Henry]

To me, nothing tops the original boxed set. I still have mine!

That said, I like the direction that athas.org went, and if I ever run a 3E game of Dark Sun, that's probably the version I'll use.

The revision definitely expanded the setting, but it also to me KILLED the unique properties of the setting. It's just like the Taladas setting for Dragonlance; it's as if someone went to the Forgotten Realms and said, "OK, in 1372, a cataclysm hit. Now, Anauroch is a verdant paradise, Cormyr is a sinkhole, Calimshan fell into the sea, the Dales have been overrun by phaerimm, and Baldur's Gate and Waterdeep are now the biggest civilized cities left, and have been cut off from the rest of the world." The Dark Sun revision destroyed the character of Athas that I enjoyed the most, and made it too HOPEFUL for my tastes.

 

[VorpalBunny]

Well, I dont have the Dragon/Dungeon version yet (%#$@^ post office), but of the remaining choices I'd say the original edition is my favorite. The dragon is still causing trouble, Templars are a character class, and all the sorcerer-kings are in power. I like the revised setting, for the most part, but the original will always be my fave.

 

[diaglo]

To me, nothing tops the original boxed set. I still have mine!

you've been hanging around me too much.

oh, wait...you didn't mean OD&D...

still i agree...of the choices in the poll the first Dark Sun is the best.

 

[Bihor]

I love the first box.

The second one change the rules that made Dark sun what it was.

Athas.org took of all the roleplaying flavor of the race and put ELC. But gaved a lot of efford in the class (maybe to much) to make then diffrent.

But I din't see the one in the magazine yet.

But Dark sun is my favorit WotC setting that's for shure.

 

[reiella]

The first boxed, for the flair and originality.

A revision wasn't really necessary, more flipbooks like 'Beyond the Prism Pentad' could have handled the "Update the setting metaplot" stuff that folks wanted to do. I also resent the revision because I see as a step towards the Player Options rules which I just did not like and added too much of a head ache. And also sorta invalidated alot of the 'fun house rules' that were in The Will and the Way.