D&D 5E WotC: Why Dark Sun Hasn't Been Revived

In an interview with YouTuber 'Bob the Worldbuilder', WotC's Kyle Brink explained why the classic Dark Sun setting has not yet seen light of day in the D&D 5E era.

I’ll be frank here, the Dark Sun setting is problematic in a lot of ways. And that’s the main reason we haven’t come back to it. We know it’s got a huge fan following and we have standards today that make it extraordinarily hard to be true to the source material and also meet our ethical and inclusion standards... We know there’s love out there for it and god we would love to make those people happy, and also we gotta be responsible.

You can listen to the clip here.

 

[Kai Lord]

Folks who want Dark Sun should start looking at the non-WotC alternatives, of which there are at least a few.

Yes, like 2nd Edition AD&D which still provides everything you need (core rulebooks and campaign setting resources) on driverthrurpg.com. Though I suppose that's still technically "WOTC" unless you want to go the ebay route and purchase the original products.

 

[Alzrius]

Hasbro does not and will likely never sell off an IP that they own. They have a track record of seating on IP for years.

There are exceptions to every rule. Hasbro had already bought Wizards of the Coast when they sold Dragon Dice to SFR, Inc. in October of 2000.

 

[Staffan]

Tell me more about this Picnic Revolution.

Overuse of picnics turns you into a basket case.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Overuse of picnics turns you into a basket case.

I'm willing to risk it! Now, who's bringing the sangria?

 

[Alzrius]

Tell me more about this Picnic Revolution.

It ended cat-astrophically, due to the unscheduled Ant Uprising:

 

[M_Natas]

I don’t know, for SW I did not really like the prequel or sequel trilogy, but I still love the original. Rings of Power is bad, but LotR is still my favorite fantasy novel (series)

They do not get tainted by other things in the same universe, at least for me

Than you are a lucky guy. That doesn't work for everyone, sadly.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

It would be really funny if somebody created a survival videogame set in a set in a desert setting, with mutants and psionic powers, and it was sold very well. Then Hasbro CEOs would be asking.... why didn't we create a DS survival videogame?

 

[SteveC]

Such a strange thing to hear. It makes me wonder at the things that WotC thinks are non-controversial enough to include in virtually every adventure. Violence and murder being chief among them. I was interested in recent adventures with a non-combat approach to resolutions, but I realized while reading them that maybe D&D isn't the best system for them.

Is Dark Sun really that edgy in 2023? I've played DS (along with the exceptional video games!) and I guess I didn't see things to be outraged by. Maybe it's the lack of psionic power rules? (That sounds like a joke, but ... we don't have them and the edition is winding down).

This is definitely a setting to let people have-at in the DMsGuild.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Such a strange thing to hear. It makes me wonder at the things that WotC thinks are non-controversial enough to include in virtually every adventure. Violence and murder being chief among them. I was interested in recent adventures with a non-combat approach to resolutions, but I realized while reading them that maybe D&D isn't the best system for them.

Is Dark Sun really that edgy in 2023? I've played DS (along with the exceptional video games!) and I guess I didn't see things to be outraged by. Maybe it's the lack of psionic power rules? (That sounds like a joke, but ... we don't have them and the edition is winding down).

This is definitely a setting to let people have-at in the DMsGuild.

Regular violence and murder have never been treated as badly as certain other crimes in RPGs. Without them, it becomes very difficult to have broad appeal conflict.

 

[Reynard]

Regular violence and murder have never been treated as badly as certain other crimes in RPGs. Without them, it becomes very difficult to have broad appeal conflict.

Western and especially American action adventure stories have always been steeped in violence.