We have no idea what WoTC is going to do for DarkSun in Next, but I plan on moving on in my own way.
Here is my hope/plan.
5E psionics rules comes out (that may take a year + I know) and then I pick up the DNDClassics material of 2E and modify the rules for Ravaging and such. Judting from the sub-class and background rules I think I can cook up a very short document of houserules and builds to cover my needs.
And then I'll be done for now.
However IF, and this is a monsterously big IF Dark Sun gets some love from WoTC this go round.
I will dance the dance of my people.
I didn't like 4E's take on Dark Sun, it wasn't bad but 4E wasn't for me.
I'd rather they give me a 2E to 5E toolkit book.
We'll see.
What are you plans?
i agree with you when it comes to the 4f's take on dark sun i hated it. not sure if you heard but a basic starter 5e is set for april i think is what the other boards were saying. i also think it will be a long time before dark sun get the 5e treatment, with that said using the play test packets and converting 2e material i have converted a psionic system some time ago and a magic system that follows as close to troy dennings vision, which i might add was no easy feat . I had allot of help from other DM's and players we have played a few sessions already and all have enjoyed it.
As far as I'm concerned, 4e's retcons should get a side bar in the Dark Sun Campaign Book, just as 2e's canon should get side bars to clarify things throughout the setting. This way, if people want stuff like Asmodean-Tieflings and Dragon born in their setting, as well as the possibility of Gods, then they're covered for their campaigns. And, the rest of us can ignore the changes to the setting, since Dark Sun doesn't really have a canon anymore. Heck, this would fit the modular approach that Wizards wants to tackle (at least with handling fluff and campaign construction.)
so let me ask at this point what do you think or play as dark sun cannon? do you take form 2e, the novels, 4e, or a mix ? id like to see where everyone stands on this. it would be great if there was a " ok here is how dark sun stands as of now? also how if at all , is everyone using mechancal wise defieling ? also how do you handel templars as this has been mosst problimatic for me. do you use them like a warlock or like a evil cleric? last questions and this is a big one what mechanics are you all using concerning psionics because as far as i am concerened this is one of the most important aspects of the setting.
I didn't care for 4e Dark Sun. I found a lot of dissonance in translating the 4e power source model, defiling magic, and 'everything is core' premise into the 2e cannon, which in my humble opinion, should be the Class A Canon, followed by the Prism Pentad as Class B Canon, then 4e & other novels as Class C Canon.
I'd like Defiling in 5e as either granting advantage and/or giving 'free' metamagic effects based on the area or # of beings being defiled. Maybe advantage could be the default minimum effect, while metamagick effects could be there to tempt users further to use defiling magic in a pinch. I think there should be severe narrative penalties for doing so.
I like the Prism Pentad notion of Psionics as a balance of Mind, Body, and Soul and which generally interacts with other sources as augmentation (a holdover from 2e psionics) While the other three 'power sources' (as I understand them) Arcane, Patronal, and Martial are each derived from the Mind, Soul, and Body respectively. This makes sense in and out of Dark Sun, though the Warlock is an odd fit in this model (since it would be nominally Patronal but has classically been Arcane). Patronal is my catch-all term for that magic ceded by devotion or belief to a greater being or ideal. It is my attempt to flesh out what has traditionally been the 'Divine' power source in a setting with no gods, but, having stated that, upon reflection, I feel like this would be a useful category for all other setting as it encompasses Primal, Shadow, Elemental, and Divine/Ur-Magic (Ur-Magic being another of my campaign-specific terms).
I'm not sure where to fit in Socerer-King/Templars in this model but I might just make each Sorcerer King a channel for some of the 'Divine' domains, with the narrative conceit being that they steal it from the dead gods, or elementals, or primal spirits, etc. I never liked the idea of elemental vortices, why would they be able to give power to others but not use it for themselves when they are the conduits of that power? It makes little sense in my opinion. But, for instance, I could see lalali-puy stealing from captive primal spirits OR from the 'corpse' of the fertility goddess of a bygone era, OR from the elemental spheres of water, earth, and air and so on. Likewise, I could see Nibenay stealing power from the Black, or the corpse of the god of night or something. In this way, I prefer using Templars as essentially neutral/evil/lawful clerics/paladins and would like to see a sub-class for each to allow for that. I'd shy away from Warlocks, I feel like that was a 4e-ism that needn't be carried over, there were certain mechanical reasons for making Warlocks Templars in 4e that are not present in 5e.
One other thing I'd really like to see is a revamping of psionics so that it takes place more 'in the mind' rather than merely being a different way of manipulating the physical world (though with certain exceptions).
I loved the 4e Dark Sun and the 2e Dark Sun Campaign Guides/Boxed Sets. I didn't see all that big of a difference. I think the 4e version did a good job of breathing some fresh air into the setting, but it stayed pretty true to its roots. I did not, however, end up liking the 4e game system all that much. Right now I would most likely run a version of the setting using the 4e and 2e Guides/boxed sets and a modified version of the Numenera rules. I am hoping to eventually run games using the 4e and 2e guides and the Next rules, assuming they can keep Next balanced inside the boundaries I am ok with.
I agree that was the second best aspect of the books that I enjoyed most were how psionics were portrayed, and so I and my players came up with a new system that now needs to be streamlined after having seen and played the test packets. If anyone has some free time I would love to collaborate and streamline what we have now. As far as defiling goes I didn’t think of the advantage but did use meta magic’s to increase the temptation to defile, seeing as how meta magic’s will be a sorcerer class feature only I thought this will make sense as how I don’t allow the class in my campaign anyway. The same goes for the warlock so here is what I am planning on doing with the Templars. They will still be clerics in a way and will use that table for spells per day and clerical spells but they will also have a pact aspect meaning each templar will have unique pact boons as we are calling them, depending on which SK’s they have the pact with. Basically try and assign a domain to each (which right now I seem to be at a road block, could use some help with this).
I'm working on a gritty and brutal Dark Sun campaign, which will obviously need to take advantage of the "modularity" of the rules, because all wounds wondrously healing from one day to the next, and the extemely pro-life dying rules are not really fit for such a world.
I was thinking that you could maybe just roll a constitution save against the amount of damage that put you at 0 HP, and if you fail, it's instant death.
Also, if you're at half your maximum HP or less at the end of an encounter, you roll a constitution save, and if you fail, your injury is life-threatening. You suffer two or three levels of exhaustion, and your max HP is halved. And then, at the end of each day, you can roll a constitution save to determine if you gain or lose a level of exhaustion, modified or aided by any treatment and relevant conditions.
What do you think? Has anyone tried some optional rules in the previous editions aimed at similar effects?
Siphersh wrote:
As far as WotC giving Dark Sun some loving. They have been releasing Dark Sun PDFs quite regularly lately. I hope they keep it up. 
Siphersh wrote:
DoctorNecrotic wrote:
Torg_Smith wrote:
Thanks guys, those are interesting points. I do plan to build heavily on the desert aspects, that's kind of emblematic of Dark Sun, that the environment can kill you. So I'll rely on the exhaustion levels heavily anyway. And so by building the serious injury rules on top of the exhaustion levels, I hope to limit the number of mechanical elements in the system. I consider that awesome spirit of simplicity in the Next rules a precious treasure to be safeguarded against unneccesary complexity.
Yes, of course, for the gritty rules to fulfill their narrative purpose, magical healing must be strongly limited. I could for example have just a single healing spell, a first level spell, that can only be cast as a ritual, and that will add d4 points to your daily constitution check for improving your condition.
Very interesting to read guys!
Unfortunatly, for me, they killed Darksun when divine magic dissapeared with the flavorful Priest of Darksun. Merchant Houses and Elemental Clerics from 2e and 3e Darksun were two majors points I cherished. 4e killed DS.
I just don't know if I will ever have a look at 5e if DS appear in this edition. 3.5e from Athas.org is the way to go for me. It's what's best have been made about Darksun with their numerous supplements, adventures and well thought rules.
Grummore wrote: