Wizards of the Coast Re-Registers Dark Sun With USPTO

Wizards of the Coast recently filed an application to register Dark Sun in the US, a sign that D&D could be bringing back the campaign setting in the near future. The trademark claim was filed on October 13th, 2025 and is poised to replace a previous trademark that was cancelled by the USPTO in 2024. The trademark, like most involving D&D properties, covers both "downloadable electronic games," "games and playthings," and "entertainment services." Similar active trademarks exist for other D&D campaign settings such as Spelljammer and Forgotten Realms, although neither of those have lapsed in recent years.

We'll note that, as the previous Dark Sun trademark lapsed a year ago, this could be a case of simple paperwork, or it could be the latest sign that a Dark Sun product is eminent. Earlier this year, Wizards released an Unearthed Arcana for the Psion class and several subclasses that all but spelled out a return to the setting, complete with mentions of sorcerer-kings, gladiatorial fights, and preservers and defilers.

 

[Parmandur]

I legit wonder if the skyrocketing popularity of the fallout franchise is why Dark Sun is getting a looky-loo. I know a lot of people who're excited about the new season of the Fallout show who've never played the games, and I wouldn't be surprised if they might do a marketing push for Dark Sun around that time.

Wouldn't be shocked at all. In fact, if Dark Sun does eventually, next year is just going to be an in-style year for grimdsrl post-apocalyptic fantasy, with the Mistborn RPG also dropping.

 

[Maxperson]

And they obviously both fail by making this subclasses when really any use of magic should defile or preserve. If I can just avoid the whole thing by picking any subclass from the PHB, the approach has failed completely. This appears to be so fundamental that WotC should be aware of it too, guess we will see.

It's very possible that if they make a Dark Sun setting, it will have a rule that only the preserver and defiler subclasses may be chosen.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I'd be very happy with a BG3-inspired Dark Sun CRPG.

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

Wouldn't be shocked at all. In fact, if Dark Sun does eventually, next year is just going to be an in-style year for grimdsrl post-apocalyptic fantasy, with the Mistborn RPG also dropping.

I'm curious if Dark Sun will have the more comedic tone of the Fallout games. The fact of the matter is that such a tone isn't totally inappropriate for D&D, but it isn't exactly fitting with Dark Sun historically... but I can also imagine some black humor being used to make parts of the setting more accessible to newcomers, in the sense that they're like "Yeah we're aware it's horrible, but isn't it horrible in a kind of funny way?"

 

[Maxperson]

I'm in total agreement with you. Curse of Strahd was such a great example of Ravenloft, and left room for VRgtR to be a lore book instead of trying to be an adventure/splat book/monster manual all at once.

Ditto with Spelljammer and Planescape. If they had been either lore books or adventures, there would have been enough room to do the setting justice. By trying to do everything, they do a mediocre job of everything.

So my personal hope would be for Dark Sun to be an adventure path with a small rules addendum. If they can swing a double pack like the recent Faerun books, that would be fine, but a single Dark Sun splat book/adventure/lore book/monster manual is never going to have the appropriate amount of depth.

I'm the opposite of you and @TheSword. I don't really buy adventure books outside of anthologies and Undermountain(love me that Undermountain), so I want the lore in a setting book for me to draw on as I make my own adventures. Lore in adventure paths is lost to me.

 

[mamba]

It's very possible that if they make a Dark Sun setting, it will have a rule that only the preserver and defiler subclasses may be chosen.

not impossible, I still think the subclasses had issues however, esp. the preserver

 

[Maxperson]

So the new Astarion and Netheril books send the majority of this conversation to a farm upstate XD. WotC isn't afraid of going dark, guys lol.

I'm hoping that they eventually get released as print of demand products on DMs Guild or something.

 

[Maxperson]

Yeah, I think Dark Sun in 320 pages in a format similar to combining the two FR books would be plenty.

You left off a 0. 3200 pages or bust!

But seriously, I'd like to see closer to 420 for two books. 320 is good, though.

 

[Maxperson]

Why would you ever want to mix those two particular settings? They share nothing thematically. Like, literally nothing.

Heh. I really don't know where the novels ultimately took Dragonlance, but I do know that at some point dragons were killing and absorbing the power of other dragons, creating a few uber powerful dragons surviving. At that point all you would need is an apocalyptic event and Dragonlance could become Darksun.

 

[Azzy]

You left off a 0. 3200 pages or bust!

But seriously, I'd like to see closer to 420 for two books. 320 is good, though.

420? <insert stupid joke here>