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.

 

[Laurefindel]

That explanation is kind of hilarious when it's the puritanical guys who keep trying to justify and excuse slavery up to an including saying folks like me would be happier if they brought it back.

You will have your slavery and you will like it!(?)

 

[kunadam]

I have suggested there is a logical reason slavery not showed, because the sorcerer-kings are enough smart to realises the citizens are easier to be controlled thanks an illusion of freedom, and the people would believe the forced works are for criminals and people who couldn't pay their debts.

I fear that it would be splitting hair, and if someone is not comfortable with slavery in which the slave is born a slave and remains one for life would not be comfortable with one in which law or financial status forces someone to slavery. Both being a criminal and being in dept could be easy. Those who oppose the Sorcerer King's rule are criminals. Politicians getting on the wrong side of the ruler can end up quickly as a slave. But that might be too harsh. But what about directly opposing the SK? Like being a soldier for another city state? So soldiers not fighting for our SK are all criminals. And as we all know that an army marches on its stomach, anyone who feeds those soldiers are also soldiers themselves and thus criminals. So basically all war prisoners and anyone that could be snatched up could be a salve.
What about dept? Make a mandatory tax that higher than what people can earn. They will get into serious debt quickly and then to being a slave.

Dark Sun only works if players can cope with the fact that there is slavery.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

In the real History one of the main sources of slavery were the enemy soldiers catched in the war. Didn't you know it? And the pirate raids. Here in Spain we say "moors in the coast" as sign of danger, because we were attacked by the pirates to catch slaves.

 

[kunadam]

In the real History one of the main sources of slavery were the enemy soldiers catched in the war.

Indeed.
My point was that if today's sensibilities (or should I say, US sensibilities) cannot cope with slavery in a fantasy setting, then the source of the slaves does not matter.

 

[James Gasik]

Why should anyone have to cope with slavery in a fantasy setting? It's FANTASY, there's nothing wrong with wanting your fantasy game to be better than the real world.

 

[Bedrockgames]

Why should anyone have to cope with slavery in a fantasy setting? It's FANTASY, there's nothing wrong with wanting your fantasy game to be better than the real world.

I can understand this perspective but I also think the setting matters. If it is a high fantasy setting or similar more upbeat adventure fantasy setting, I get that done will want the bad things in life removed. But dark sun is a bleak and cruel setting, that gets at the darker aspects of society and human nature

 

[Micah Sweet]

Why should anyone have to cope with slavery in a fantasy setting? It's FANTASY, there's nothing wrong with wanting your fantasy game to be better than the real world.

No there isn't. There's also nothing wrong with wanting your fantasy game to carry real world ills. Both options should be allowed to exist without harassment.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

The terrorism is real, but we are not going to cancel G.I.Joe because the bad guys are the terrorist group Cobra.

Are we going to bann all the movies about zombies to forget our last epidemic?

If you can accept something is banned or changed because now it could be potentially offensive, but you can't understand the reason because a Spaniard would be offended when a vampire is wearing a morrion, then anything is not right.

We need clear and coherent criterias about the modern sensibilities, and we should take care with people who dare to talk in the name of the rest, but their own opinion is not like the same by the true majority.

When I read "we want to create inclusive content" I fear a damage against the franchise in the same way against Disney's IPs.

 

[shadowoflameth]

In a prior edition, I ran a campaign wherein the party in my homebrew world traveled to the world of Athas. They came home and Rajaat the Dragon King appeared in a plot to rule their world. Everyone in the party saw Athas and how bad it was there. They came home determined to stop the villain who did all this. Know your audience. If your group is going to be upset by having slavery depicted, think hard before including that content, but WotC made the business decision to apologize even for saying that one fictitious race in SpellJammer was enslaved in the past. people making that decision aren't going to bring back Dark Sun the 2e way. Personally, I don't imagine game designers made that decision. I'm sure a lot of the staff would enjoy a Dark Sun game in their group, but WotC is a business and the execs are going to publish what they believe will make the most profit and offend the fewest.

 

[James Gasik]

No there isn't. There's also nothing wrong with wanting your fantasy game to carry real world ills. Both options should be allowed to exist without harassment.

Let's not forget why TSR suddenly started calling their ultimate evils Baatezu and Tanar'ri.