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]

They did a lot of research for many of the adventures. Tyranny of Dragons draws on lots of little lore drops from previous editions.

As for the preserver druid and defiler sorcerer, while I still don’t like either of them mechanically, I’m less worried that they will be the only options for preserving or defiling now that I’ve seen that the spellfire sorcerer isn’t the only way to get spellfire in the Realms.

Yeah, I think the Spellfire and Circle casting demonstrate a willingness to offer some bespoke subsystems...and achieving wE AD&D standards of balance and integration is a low bar.

 

[Parmandur]

There's a LOT of middle ground between the focus of Dark Sun and the kitchen sink that is the Realms.

And what I'm saying doesn't widen the focus at all. It just gives the DM some idea of what nasty Dark Sun dangers might be lurking outside the Tablelands.

I'm not suggesting that right over the mountains live Tortles, Tabaxi, Merfolk in a large freshwater lake, Loxodon, and Weird Al.

Well, yes, but I would say that middle ground is a solid 320 page book like Ravnica (the unsung hero of 5E setting products, also an example of.jow to do divergent concept Settigns with D&D) or Eberron got.

 

[Staffan]

There's a LOT of middle ground between the focus of Dark Sun and the kitchen sink that is the Realms.

And what I'm saying doesn't widen the focus at all. It just gives the DM some idea of what nasty Dark Sun dangers might be lurking outside the Tablelands.

I'm not suggesting that right over the mountains live Tortles, Tabaxi, Merfolk in a large freshwater lake, Loxodon, and Weird Al.

The Revised set did increase the area covered by a factor of roughly 8: the paper map was approximately doubled in each direction with the Tablelands in the center, and then another similar-sized map was added to the north ("the Jagged Cliffs region"). The new areas had significantly less information density though – there was approximately as much page count dedicated to the new areas as there was to the old. I did some math crunching some time ago, and IIRC the Revised map was about as big as the Sword Coast map in early 5e material.

 

[pukunui]

Yeah, I think the Spellfire and Circle casting demonstrate a willingness to offer some bespoke subsystems...and achieving wE AD&D standards of balance and integration is a low bar.

I still would have preferred the spellfire as Supernatural Gifts they experimented with early on but having the options of a sorcerer subclass and some feats is OK. I can still use the playtest version in my home games.

 

[Parmandur]

I still would have preferred the spellfire as Supernatural Gifts they experimented with early on but having the options of a sorcerer subclass and some feats is OK. I can still use the playtest version in my home games.

I think by the 2024 update Feats soer of subsumed what they had been thinking of woth Supernatural Gifts.

 

[QuentinGeorge]

They did a lot of research for many of the adventures. Tyranny of Dragons draws on lots of little lore drops from previous editions.

Notably wasn't written by WotC either.

 

[QuentinGeorge]

A large magical catastrophe could change that.

This isn't incompatible at all. The gods have already left Krynn twice! A third time forever would be easily believable.

They didn't leave twice. They stopped listening to prayers once (but were still there) and the second time Krynn was the thing that was removed. The gods stayed where they were.

 

[QuentinGeorge]

Bans halflings? Kender anyone?

Kender and Athasian halflings are about as different as two things can be.

 

[Zardnaar]

Kender and Athasian halflings are about as different as two things can be.

Athasian halflings are less offensive.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

If a kender and an Athasian halfling wear the same cloths, could you notice the difference with only to watch their faces?

I am also interested into lands around the region of Tyr but the Dead-Land is too hard to be explored. At least in the zombies apocalypses you still can find food and water. It may be interesting for the metaplot but wrong for the gameplay in your tabletop.

The setting can be expanded but it can't be like a MMORPG. If you play for example World of Warcraft you can be killing monsters until level up until the top, until there is a new expansion where you can keep leveling up but in a TTRPG some players would rather to start from zero in that new zone. Do you remember how in 5e any planes have been "nerferd" to allow adventures with lower-level characters? The players aren't too interested if the new zones are too dangerous to be played with low-level PCs. Let's imagine somebody who is playing "Champions Online" where you can see the enemies from certain street are too weak but near in other group of blocks they are too hard.

DS is not about killing hordes of monsters like if it was Blizzard's Diablo videogame saga but the PCs have to worry mainly about food, water and temperature, and the top of this arcane magic could be too dangerous to be used. It is not only about how to defeat the tyrants but also how to rebuild the civilitation and to restore the damaged ecosystem.

What if there are jungles in the moons because Athasians believe it? I mean those green zones haven't got a natural origin but the beliefs by the Athasians created it. Or they are the astral domains of the moon gods, who are worshipped by secret cults. These moon cults could have got some "rotten apples" but most of the followers wouldn't be bad people or they would lack hostile intentions.

Yes, I like the idea of adding secret moon cults what promise the "Celestial Garden" in the other life and this is relatively true because those souls go toward an astral domain.

After reading the PP novels I don't want to believe the people from the free city of Tyr are going to suffer a horrible end in the future because Athaspace will suffer a cataclysm. I would rather to believe the population will can evacuate.

* DS is not only a world what has suffered an apocalipse but it has got a feeling of shame and guilty because it was not a natural disaster or bad luck but it was fault of the defilers. It is something that could have been avoided. This causes a feeling of rage and frustration

* What if the Athasian sun god was the responsible of the "maltheism" by the Athasian people? This was betrayed by the other suns (now moons) and he asked help to the elemental spirits. These punished the traitors but this caused something like the creation of the demiplane of dread by Strahd von Zarovich and the Dark Powers.

What if the paraelemental planes of sun and rain are like the "Heaven" of the Athasian souls? And magma and silt would work like the infernal planes to punish the sinners. And these planes would have their own genies courts with their own conflicts.

Other idea is some Athasian souls in the afterlife don't become undead spirits like ghosts or wraiths but elemental, some times this is willing and even an honor, for example a rain spirit could help her tribe. But these elementals can be "catched" and used as magic batteries by spellcasters.