[WOTC] Dark Sun re-release?

[Greatwyrm]

there's nothing stopping me from ignoring all of that and playing in the world presented in the orignal DS box set and the first few releases.

That's all we ever played with. Since none of us read the Dark Sun fiction, I guess we never knew there were any problems with it.

 

[Alzrius]

I liked Troy Denning's Prism Pentad series. It gave the series depth that it desperately needed. The original boxed set had absolutely no identity for the setting. Where was it? Well, maybe it was the future of Faerun, or maybe it was an alternate plane, etc. What's beyond the borders of the Tyr region? We don't know! What are the powerful rulers of the city-states and what is their story? No idea. What is the campaign's history? Couldn't say.

The original boxed set offered nothing in terms of a place that you could truly weave a story in. Dennings work brought a literal dead world to life.

The rest of the fiction for DS was crap though.

 

[Nightfall]

Not suprised there. I just never read much of TD's stuff after the whole Avatar stuff.

 

[Ranger REG]

AFAIK, Although Athas.org is the "official" Dark Sun fan site. WotC is pretty much ignoring their work for the upcoming release of Dark Sun 3.5.

I'm not surprised. It is just like the Star Trek franchise. The show's production crew can ignore any continuity from the official Star Trek novels line. Therefore the TV shows and films are canon, the rest are non-canon.

Athas.org may be an official fan site, but they're like the fan fiction line. Wizards is the only entity that have creative control over that brand. No one else. Only they can determine what's canon with the setting.

Get used to it. I have.

 

[Staffan]

I'm one of what seems to be a minority among Dark Sun fans who actually prefers the revised version. OK, the way they changed the setting sucked, but I think the setting is more interesting as a result. There's momentum, there are large differences between various cities (instead of cosmetic like before), the setting got expanded, and there are several threats on the horizon (kreen, Dregoth, southern undead).

 

[Spatula]

That's all we ever played with. Since none of us read the Dark Sun fiction, I guess we never knew there were any problems with it.

The problem there is that the events in the novels made their way into the game books - like the revised DS box.

I liked Troy Denning's Prism Pentad series. It gave the series depth that it desperately needed. The original boxed set had absolutely no identity for the setting.

Post-apocolyptic fantasy.

Where was it? Well, maybe it was the future of Faerun, or maybe it was an alternate plane, etc.

Errr...

What's beyond the borders of the Tyr region? We don't know!

And the Prism Pentad didn't tell you.

What are the powerful rulers of the city-states and what is their story? No idea.

Covered in the Dragon Kings hardcover. But the original box set gives you enough to get by on.

What is the campaign's history? Couldn't say.

It was a mystery, an open book for the DM.

 

[Mach2.5]

It was a mystery, an open book for the DM.

I loved the fact that, in the innitial box set, you had absolutley no idea if this was a simple post apocalyptic setting; a normal fantasy setting that has been decimated. And what was presented before you? A world where most of the common fantasy cliche's were turned on their heads. Yet you still assumed that the Athas of yesterday wore a face similar to Toril, or Krynn, or Oerth. Then came some of the revelations through the Prism Pentad, 2nd boxed set and such. While I wasn't very pleased with some of them, the revelations stayed very true to the original idea of twisting around what you expect. Learning that Athas never looked like a typical fantasy setting was just the kind of twist that fit well in the setting. Learning that the least likely race, most primitive, were once the masters of the world itself was certainly fitting as well. DS at least retained the ability throughout its incarnations to never give you just what you expected. I still think that Borys should have survived the Pentad (and maybe Andropoinis since his city in his absence seems to be the least interesting of the lot). And lets not even start an unending series of sighs and rolled eyes over the surfing druids . . . but all in all, I think many of the changes made through the original and second releases were at least done in a way that preserves both flavor and theme. I really don't see the setting as being 'nerfed'. In fact, if run as written, things got a heck of a lot rougher on adventuring parties in the second release. At least in the original, the cities were all reletively stable places. Now, one is in complete anarchic civil war, one is closed off, and another faces economic ruin. Granted, two cities (Gulg & Nibenay) appear to be cooperating more like friendly partners, how long did you seriously expect that to last before the designers went and set the cities on eachother tooth and nail? The loss of the Dragon's status as the ultimate-mega-untouchable-villain was being replaced easily enough by a more 3 dimensional and rounded Dregoth (much cooler IMO than Borys was).

As for the upcomming articles and the Athas.org situation, what do you expect? Do you really think that a magazine is going to print a bunch of articles that a prospective buyer could more easily download off the internet for free and still turn around and buy the magazine? I know if I was the editor, I sure as heck wouldn't expect to sell a bunch of issues that month. Personally, I like the fact that the magazines are giving extended treatment to the setting. I'll judge the articles when I see them (not all-together pleased with the defiling article, but that seemed geared more for a general audience to incorporate into their home game rather than a DS conversion of defiling). I know that David Noonan is an avid DS fan, so I'm sure that if nothing else, he'll give it his best.

Anyhow, its good to see there's still a decent following for the setting. Or at least people who remember the setting with some aspect of fondness.