Dark Sun 4E Campaign Setting: The Green Age - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Dark Sun 4E Campaign Setting: The Green Age

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
ritorix
Apr 17, 2009 18:17:05 Back when I played Dark Sun (in the 2e days) I always thought a Green Age campaign would be fun, but never got around to it.

After seeing what happened to FR, I am kind of worried about what 4e could do to Dark Sun. The 'everything is core' concept wont work at all, and I doubt they are willing to flesh out Athas in the way it deserves while staying true to the setting we love.

There is however one way to do it, to fill a shadowy period of Athas's history and use the 'everything is core' concept while leaving classic Dark Sun as-is. Set it in the Green Age. The world is dying around you, entire civilizations fall as the world turns to dust. No gods exist to save you, no afterlife to reward you, but its not the end just yet. Its a setting of dark fantasy and desperate heroes, the last of their kind struggling against the near-unstoppable servants of Rajaat. This is the time of the Cleansing Wars, end of an Age.

The more I thought about this the more I liked it, until I had to write up a concept. So apologies if this has been done before, but to get it off my mind...

DS4E: The Cleansing Wars

Setting: Green Age, Athas, 100 years into the Cleansing Wars. The Tablelands. The Green Age is near its end, marked by warring city-states, holy crusades against monstrous races and strong racial distrust. These are the early stages of the Cleansing Wars. Soon vast armies will clash as Rajaat's insane dream is made reality. The land and its people are dieing. Forests are plentiful but retreating, desertification has begun, silt has started to clog the oceans, rivers are drying up. The Tablelands may soon fall, and when they do, all of Athas will perish.

Feel: This is not the original Dark Sun. That world has not yet been created, but it will if the Cleansing Wars run their course. The Green Age has a typical D&D fantasy feel, but in the middle of a world war. The war has gone on a hundred years and taken many forms, but has another thousand to go. No races are yet extinct, and the war's effects are not irreversible. In another century that may not be true.

Cosmology: In the ancient past, before even the Blue Age, primordials won control of the world and cut off access to the astral planes of the gods. Victorious, they have long-since returned to the Elemental planes. Athas is abandoned. While no true gods intercede on behalf of Athasians, religion is still common. The Divine Power source functions even with false gods based on the faith of believers, fueled by the innate psionics common on Athas. The faithful believe; their power of belief gives life to 'divine' powers. Some also draw power through the Elemental Chaos, Abyss and weirder sources. The Feywild still exists, not yet drained of its rampant life and discarded. So too does the Shadowfell, not yet targeted by a souls-defiling disaster and converted into the Grey.

Cities: All original major DS cities exist, some with a culture similar to their mirror in the original DS setting. Along with those are cities that are in ruins in the classic DS setting (Bodach, etc). Some are under SK control, directly or indirectly, while others are free. Green Age cities are impressive sights, with massive castles, thick stone walls and deadly defenses protecting large and diverse populations.

History and background:
Rajaat, inventor of magic and father of all arcane power, long ago began teaching preserving magic to Athasians throughout the world. Schools of magic flourished as different races explored the new power source, one that came from life itself. Yet Rajaat picked the best students for himself - to see if they have the fortitude and mentality for defiling. Powerful preservers were then wiped out in the Preserver Jihad, a private magical war conducted between mighty figures far from the sight of normal men. With opposition destroyed and his sorcerer-kings in place, the Cleansing Wars quietly began, with intrigue and assassinations.

The Cleansing War. The important detail is that no one knew it was coming or, initially, what was happening. Crusades were declared in the name of false gods, intent on ridding the land of goblins, trolls and orcs. Rumors of war turned into all-out battle between several nations. Defiling magic was taught in secret cabals to anyone who would misuse it, on any side, resulting in devastation of crops and ruining the futures of entire cultures. Crops failed as the land dried and countless people starved. Dust began to clog the rivers and seas, slowing commerce and making water a valuable resource.

Rajaat has infused each of his sorcerer-kings with great power, and tasked them with the removal of one race. Each is independent, their army sizes and tactics vary, if they have an army at all, and they rarely meet. Some have a far harder job than others. Some will set themselves as great leaders of men, others as religious figures, others at the head of mystic cults. Their goals are the same, and it will take another thousand years for the Cleansing Wars to truly end. That end has already been written: many races eliminated and others on the verge of extinction, the imprisonment of Rajaat and ruining of the entire world. The fate of Athas is written in stone and history marches to that inevitable conclusion if no heroes rise to stop it.

Races/classes: "everything is core", all PHB1/PHB2 races and classes. The Green Age was close enough to typical D&D fantasy before Rajaat began his crusade, and even creatures like devas have found their way to Athas (or been trapped there) during that time. Obviously psionics are a large part of the world, but they are not in 4th edition yet. In the meantime, we have divine powers as a substitute. The sorcerer-kings have not yet been empowered to have their own templars. There should be some other Dark Sun-style game mechanics, and I envision this as a less forgiving setting than vanilla D&D, though not to the stat- and power-boosted extremes of original Dark Sun.

Campaign ideas: (Heroic Tier)

-The party has fought long in the Goblin Crusades, following the charismatic wizard-warlord Daskinor. He has guided them to victory after brutal victory, and the foul goblins have retreated to their remote mountain strongholds. The crusade turns merciless, slaughtering even helpless children in the name of God and King. The crusade has become corrupt, and it becomes clear that Daskinor will not stop until the creatures have been completely eliminated.

-A dwarven stronghold sends a plea for assistance, desperately fighting a massive orc invasion. Not content to simply murder dwarves, the orcs defile the very land and augment their forces with evil magic. The players determine a mysterious figure is directing the orcs, driving them forth in suicidal battle.
#2
lucifernietzsche
Apr 17, 2009 22:20:58
Back when I played Dark Sun (in the 2e days) I always thought a Green Age campaign would be fun, but never got around to it.

After seeing what happened to FR, I am kind of worried about what 4e could do to Dark Sun. The 'everything is core' concept wont work at all, and I doubt they are willing to flesh out Athas in the way it deserves while staying true to the setting we love.

There is however one way to do it, to fill a shadowy period of Athas's history and use the 'everything is core' concept while leaving classic Dark Sun as-is. Set it in the Green Age. The world is dying around you, entire civilizations fall as the world turns to dust. No gods exist to save you, no afterlife to reward you, but its not the end just yet. Its a setting of dark fantasy and desperate heroes, the last of their kind struggling against the near-unstoppable servants of Rajaat. This is the time of the Cleansing Wars, end of an Age.

The more I thought about this the more I liked it, until I had to write up a concept. So apologies if this has been done before, but to get it off my mind...

DS4E: The Cleansing Wars

Setting: Green Age, Athas, 100 years into the Cleansing Wars. The Tablelands. The Green Age is near its end, marked by warring city-states, holy crusades against monstrous races and strong racial distrust. These are the early stages of the Cleansing Wars. Soon vast armies will clash as Rajaat's insane dream is made reality. The land and its people are dieing. Forests are plentiful but retreating, desertification has begun, silt has started to clog the oceans, rivers are drying up. The Tablelands may soon fall, and when they do, all of Athas will perish.

Feel: This is not the original Dark Sun. That world has not yet been created, but it will if the Cleansing Wars run their course. The Green Age has a typical D&D fantasy feel, but in the middle of a world war. The war has gone on a hundred years and taken many forms, but has another thousand to go. No races are yet extinct, and the war's effects are not irreversible. In another century that may not be true.

Cosmology: In the ancient past, before even the Blue Age, primordials won control of the world and cut off access to the astral planes of the gods. Victorious, they have long-since returned to the Elemental planes. Athas is abandoned. While no true gods intercede on behalf of Athasians, religion is still common. The Divine Power source functions even with false gods based on the faith of believers, fueled by the innate psionics common on Athas. The faithful believe; their power of belief gives life to 'divine' powers. Some also draw power through the Elemental Chaos, Abyss and weirder sources. The Feywild still exists, not yet drained of its rampant life and discarded. So too does the Shadowfell, not yet targeted by a souls-defiling disaster and converted into the Grey.

Cities: All original major DS cities exist, some with a culture similar to their mirror in the original DS setting. Along with those are cities that are in ruins in the classic DS setting (Bodach, etc). Some are under SK control, directly or indirectly, while others are free. Green Age cities are impressive sights, with massive castles, thick stone walls and deadly defenses protecting large and diverse populations.

History and background:
Rajaat, inventor of magic and father of all arcane power, long ago began teaching preserving magic to Athasians throughout the world. Schools of magic flourished as different races explored the new power source, one that came from life itself. Yet Rajaat picked the best students for himself - to see if they have the fortitude and mentality for defiling. Powerful preservers were then wiped out in the Preserver Jihad, a private magical war conducted between mighty figures far from the sight of normal men. With opposition destroyed and his sorcerer-kings in place, the Cleansing Wars quietly began, with intrigue and assassinations.

The Cleansing War. The important detail is that no one knew it was coming or, initially, what was happening. Crusades were declared in the name of false gods, intent on ridding the land of goblins, trolls and orcs. Rumors of war turned into all-out battle between several nations. Defiling magic was taught in secret cabals to anyone who would misuse it, on any side, resulting in devastation of crops and ruining the futures of entire cultures. Crops failed as the land dried and countless people starved. Dust began to clog the rivers and seas, slowing commerce and making water a valuable resource.

Rajaat has infused each of his sorcerer-kings with great power, and tasked them with the removal of one race. Each is independent, their army sizes and tactics vary, if they have an army at all, and they rarely meet. Some have a far harder job than others. Some will set themselves as great leaders of men, others as religious figures, others at the head of mystic cults. Their goals are the same, and it will take another thousand years for the Cleansing Wars to truly end. That end has already been written: many races eliminated and others on the verge of extinction, the imprisonment of Rajaat and ruining of the entire world. The fate of Athas is written in stone and history marches to that inevitable conclusion if no heroes rise to stop it.

Races/classes: "everything is core", all PHB1/PHB2 races and classes. The Green Age was close enough to typical D&D fantasy before Rajaat began his crusade, and even creatures like devas have found their way to Athas (or been trapped there) during that time. Obviously psionics are a large part of the world, but they are not in 4th edition yet. In the meantime, we have divine powers as a substitute. The sorcerer-kings have not yet been empowered to have their own templars. There should be some other Dark Sun-style game mechanics, and I envision this as a less forgiving setting than vanilla D&D, though not to the stat- and power-boosted extremes of original Dark Sun.

Campaign ideas: (Heroic Tier)

-The party has fought long in the Goblin Crusades, following the charismatic wizard-warlord Daskinor. He has guided them to victory after brutal victory, and the foul goblins have retreated to their remote mountain strongholds. The crusade turns merciless, slaughtering even helpless children in the name of God and King. The crusade has become corrupt, and it becomes clear that Daskinor will not stop until the creatures have been completely eliminated.

-A dwarven stronghold sends a plea for assistance, desperately fighting a massive orc invasion. Not content to simply murder dwarves, the orcs defile the very land and augment their forces with evil magic. The players determine a mysterious figure is directing the orcs, driving them forth in suicidal battle.

I dunno about all that. I mean, it sounds like a great idea. But I HATE ultimate doom. There's really no point. Like you said, it's all set in stone. Why play if you can't change anything? It gets a tad close to my view of the original FR, because then too, the PCs were meaningless gnats compared to the plethora of canon epic NPCs. In this case, the PCs are the most important people in the world, AND it still doesn't mean a thing at all. I'm sure it could be a fun world to play in, but if you can't undo the future, I don't really see it having the capability to be endlessly progressive.

Like I said...as you describe it, it sounds like fun for the most part. But from my perspective there's just no point unless the age of the original Darksun is suddenly rendered canonically nonexistent. It could always be house-ruled, of course, but that does nothing for the inherent endless playability of the base setting.

Not sure if I'd prefer Darksun stay at it's current time period or be fast-forwarded a few decades or more, but I don't think I'd be too thrilled if they went backwards instead. Campaigns in the past are what's probably best left to homebrewing. Official material should always keep moving forward.

It's still not a bad idea though.
#3
ritorix
Apr 17, 2009 23:38:17 I didnt mean set in stone as the players do not matter, but that they are the only thing in the way. Odds are they will fail, and the world will go to hell as planned, but they have a chance. This puts the players on a pedastal per typical 4e design.

I imagine epic-level Green Age would involve some pretty large conflicts, with various Advanced Being destinies and the like. Massive battles, planar travel to find helpful artifacts, showdowns against multiple sorcerer-kings, maybe even alliances with some to imprison Rajaat earlier than in canon. Rajaat would be a sort of Orcus at the end - the huge, nearly unbeatable solo that players know is out there.

The ultimate goal of an epic-tier campaign would be to put a stop to Athas's otherwise-inevitable fate. Heroic and paragon would involve more localized concerns.
#4
cnahumck
Apr 18, 2009 6:00:55 Check out the "Other Eras of Play" section of DS3r7. While that document is 3.5, the section isn't tied to a specific edition of the game. You can find it in my sig.
#5
Pennarin
Apr 18, 2009 9:02:05 You can have a great hidden arc that spans the past, present, and future. Everything looks doomed, yet the seeds of change or victory are seeded long ago, and the PCs helped. These kind of story arcs can be found in the new Battelstar Galactica, in the Terminator franchise, and others.
#6
rav514
Apr 27, 2009 21:23:30 I've found running a "set in stone" campaign difficult but not impossible. I ran a star wars game between episode 2 and 3 and we all know how that story ends. The trick i think to have your stories success or failure have no affect on the over lying story and that fact be obvious. What ever they save cant stop the fall. Like maybe they quest to find a artifact and then later a safe place to store it. In the star wars game they were Bounty hunters working for the Falling republic soon to be empire. If they completed a mission or not, it didn't change the movies. It was kinda cool actually to make up news reports from the republic/empire perspective and watch the player get them when they new the reports were not very (if at all) accurate.
#7
trigun8168
May 04, 2009 8:46:29 i have actually been thinking of doing a darksun campaign were magic changed the world differently. instead of a hot barren land the world enters a ice age, or maybe the world turned to a blackened marshy type land. everything stays the same just the ecology changes. and maybe change some of the races that were killed off. allow the yetis to live in the snow type and maybe kill off something else like the thri kreen. just my thoughts real quick before i go to bed. so yup.... goodnite!

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 ritorix Apr 17, 2009 18:17:05	Back when I played Dark Sun (in the 2e days) I always thought a Green Age campaign would be fun, but never got around to it. After seeing what happened to FR, I am kind of worried about what 4e could do to Dark Sun. The 'everything is core' concept wont work at all, and I doubt they are willing to flesh out Athas in the way it deserves while staying true to the setting we love. There is however one way to do it, to fill a shadowy period of Athas's history and use the 'everything is core' concept while leaving classic Dark Sun as-is. Set it in the Green Age. The world is dying around you, entire civilizations fall as the world turns to dust. No gods exist to save you, no afterlife to reward you, but its not the end just yet. Its a setting of dark fantasy and desperate heroes, the last of their kind struggling against the near-unstoppable servants of Rajaat. This is the time of the Cleansing Wars, end of an Age. The more I thought about this the more I liked it, until I had to write up a concept. So apologies if this has been done before, but to get it off my mind... DS4E: The Cleansing Wars Setting: Green Age, Athas, 100 years into the Cleansing Wars. The Tablelands. The Green Age is near its end, marked by warring city-states, holy crusades against monstrous races and strong racial distrust. These are the early stages of the Cleansing Wars. Soon vast armies will clash as Rajaat's insane dream is made reality. The land and its people are dieing. Forests are plentiful but retreating, desertification has begun, silt has started to clog the oceans, rivers are drying up. The Tablelands may soon fall, and when they do, all of Athas will perish. Feel: This is not the original Dark Sun. That world has not yet been created, but it will if the Cleansing Wars run their course. The Green Age has a typical D&D fantasy feel, but in the middle of a world war. The war has gone on a hundred years and taken many forms, but has another thousand to go. No races are yet extinct, and the war's effects are not irreversible. In another century that may not be true. Cosmology: In the ancient past, before even the Blue Age, primordials won control of the world and cut off access to the astral planes of the gods. Victorious, they have long-since returned to the Elemental planes. Athas is abandoned. While no true gods intercede on behalf of Athasians, religion is still common. The Divine Power source functions even with false gods based on the faith of believers, fueled by the innate psionics common on Athas. The faithful believe; their power of belief gives life to 'divine' powers. Some also draw power through the Elemental Chaos, Abyss and weirder sources. The Feywild still exists, not yet drained of its rampant life and discarded. So too does the Shadowfell, not yet targeted by a souls-defiling disaster and converted into the Grey. Cities: All original major DS cities exist, some with a culture similar to their mirror in the original DS setting. Along with those are cities that are in ruins in the classic DS setting (Bodach, etc). Some are under SK control, directly or indirectly, while others are free. Green Age cities are impressive sights, with massive castles, thick stone walls and deadly defenses protecting large and diverse populations. History and background: Rajaat, inventor of magic and father of all arcane power, long ago began teaching preserving magic to Athasians throughout the world. Schools of magic flourished as different races explored the new power source, one that came from life itself. Yet Rajaat picked the best students for himself - to see if they have the fortitude and mentality for defiling. Powerful preservers were then wiped out in the Preserver Jihad, a private magical war conducted between mighty figures far from the sight of normal men. With opposition destroyed and his sorcerer-kings in place, the Cleansing Wars quietly began, with intrigue and assassinations. The Cleansing War. The important detail is that no one knew it was coming or, initially, what was happening. Crusades were declared in the name of false gods, intent on ridding the land of goblins, trolls and orcs. Rumors of war turned into all-out battle between several nations. Defiling magic was taught in secret cabals to anyone who would misuse it, on any side, resulting in devastation of crops and ruining the futures of entire cultures. Crops failed as the land dried and countless people starved. Dust began to clog the rivers and seas, slowing commerce and making water a valuable resource. Rajaat has infused each of his sorcerer-kings with great power, and tasked them with the removal of one race. Each is independent, their army sizes and tactics vary, if they have an army at all, and they rarely meet. Some have a far harder job than others. Some will set themselves as great leaders of men, others as religious figures, others at the head of mystic cults. Their goals are the same, and it will take another thousand years for the Cleansing Wars to truly end. That end has already been written: many races eliminated and others on the verge of extinction, the imprisonment of Rajaat and ruining of the entire world. The fate of Athas is written in stone and history marches to that inevitable conclusion if no heroes rise to stop it. Races/classes: "everything is core", all PHB1/PHB2 races and classes. The Green Age was close enough to typical D&D fantasy before Rajaat began his crusade, and even creatures like devas have found their way to Athas (or been trapped there) during that time. Obviously psionics are a large part of the world, but they are not in 4th edition yet. In the meantime, we have divine powers as a substitute. The sorcerer-kings have not yet been empowered to have their own templars. There should be some other Dark Sun-style game mechanics, and I envision this as a less forgiving setting than vanilla D&D, though not to the stat- and power-boosted extremes of original Dark Sun. Campaign ideas: (Heroic Tier) -The party has fought long in the Goblin Crusades, following the charismatic wizard-warlord Daskinor. He has guided them to victory after brutal victory, and the foul goblins have retreated to their remote mountain strongholds. The crusade turns merciless, slaughtering even helpless children in the name of God and King. The crusade has become corrupt, and it becomes clear that Daskinor will not stop until the creatures have been completely eliminated. -A dwarven stronghold sends a plea for assistance, desperately fighting a massive orc invasion. Not content to simply murder dwarves, the orcs defile the very land and augment their forces with evil magic. The players determine a mysterious figure is directing the orcs, driving them forth in suicidal battle.
#2 lucifernietzsche Apr 17, 2009 22:20:58	Back when I played Dark Sun (in the 2e days) I always thought a Green Age campaign would be fun, but never got around to it. After seeing what happened to FR, I am kind of worried about what 4e could do to Dark Sun. The 'everything is core' concept wont work at all, and I doubt they are willing to flesh out Athas in the way it deserves while staying true to the setting we love. There is however one way to do it, to fill a shadowy period of Athas's history and use the 'everything is core' concept while leaving classic Dark Sun as-is. Set it in the Green Age. The world is dying around you, entire civilizations fall as the world turns to dust. No gods exist to save you, no afterlife to reward you, but its not the end just yet. Its a setting of dark fantasy and desperate heroes, the last of their kind struggling against the near-unstoppable servants of Rajaat. This is the time of the Cleansing Wars, end of an Age. The more I thought about this the more I liked it, until I had to write up a concept. So apologies if this has been done before, but to get it off my mind... DS4E: The Cleansing Wars Setting: Green Age, Athas, 100 years into the Cleansing Wars. The Tablelands. The Green Age is near its end, marked by warring city-states, holy crusades against monstrous races and strong racial distrust. These are the early stages of the Cleansing Wars. Soon vast armies will clash as Rajaat's insane dream is made reality. The land and its people are dieing. Forests are plentiful but retreating, desertification has begun, silt has started to clog the oceans, rivers are drying up. The Tablelands may soon fall, and when they do, all of Athas will perish. Feel: This is not the original Dark Sun. That world has not yet been created, but it will if the Cleansing Wars run their course. The Green Age has a typical D&D fantasy feel, but in the middle of a world war. The war has gone on a hundred years and taken many forms, but has another thousand to go. No races are yet extinct, and the war's effects are not irreversible. In another century that may not be true. Cosmology: In the ancient past, before even the Blue Age, primordials won control of the world and cut off access to the astral planes of the gods. Victorious, they have long-since returned to the Elemental planes. Athas is abandoned. While no true gods intercede on behalf of Athasians, religion is still common. The Divine Power source functions even with false gods based on the faith of believers, fueled by the innate psionics common on Athas. The faithful believe; their power of belief gives life to 'divine' powers. Some also draw power through the Elemental Chaos, Abyss and weirder sources. The Feywild still exists, not yet drained of its rampant life and discarded. So too does the Shadowfell, not yet targeted by a souls-defiling disaster and converted into the Grey. Cities: All original major DS cities exist, some with a culture similar to their mirror in the original DS setting. Along with those are cities that are in ruins in the classic DS setting (Bodach, etc). Some are under SK control, directly or indirectly, while others are free. Green Age cities are impressive sights, with massive castles, thick stone walls and deadly defenses protecting large and diverse populations. History and background: Rajaat, inventor of magic and father of all arcane power, long ago began teaching preserving magic to Athasians throughout the world. Schools of magic flourished as different races explored the new power source, one that came from life itself. Yet Rajaat picked the best students for himself - to see if they have the fortitude and mentality for defiling. Powerful preservers were then wiped out in the Preserver Jihad, a private magical war conducted between mighty figures far from the sight of normal men. With opposition destroyed and his sorcerer-kings in place, the Cleansing Wars quietly began, with intrigue and assassinations. The Cleansing War. The important detail is that no one knew it was coming or, initially, what was happening. Crusades were declared in the name of false gods, intent on ridding the land of goblins, trolls and orcs. Rumors of war turned into all-out battle between several nations. Defiling magic was taught in secret cabals to anyone who would misuse it, on any side, resulting in devastation of crops and ruining the futures of entire cultures. Crops failed as the land dried and countless people starved. Dust began to clog the rivers and seas, slowing commerce and making water a valuable resource. Rajaat has infused each of his sorcerer-kings with great power, and tasked them with the removal of one race. Each is independent, their army sizes and tactics vary, if they have an army at all, and they rarely meet. Some have a far harder job than others. Some will set themselves as great leaders of men, others as religious figures, others at the head of mystic cults. Their goals are the same, and it will take another thousand years for the Cleansing Wars to truly end. That end has already been written: many races eliminated and others on the verge of extinction, the imprisonment of Rajaat and ruining of the entire world. The fate of Athas is written in stone and history marches to that inevitable conclusion if no heroes rise to stop it. Races/classes: "everything is core", all PHB1/PHB2 races and classes. The Green Age was close enough to typical D&D fantasy before Rajaat began his crusade, and even creatures like devas have found their way to Athas (or been trapped there) during that time. Obviously psionics are a large part of the world, but they are not in 4th edition yet. In the meantime, we have divine powers as a substitute. The sorcerer-kings have not yet been empowered to have their own templars. There should be some other Dark Sun-style game mechanics, and I envision this as a less forgiving setting than vanilla D&D, though not to the stat- and power-boosted extremes of original Dark Sun. Campaign ideas: (Heroic Tier) -The party has fought long in the Goblin Crusades, following the charismatic wizard-warlord Daskinor. He has guided them to victory after brutal victory, and the foul goblins have retreated to their remote mountain strongholds. The crusade turns merciless, slaughtering even helpless children in the name of God and King. The crusade has become corrupt, and it becomes clear that Daskinor will not stop until the creatures have been completely eliminated. -A dwarven stronghold sends a plea for assistance, desperately fighting a massive orc invasion. Not content to simply murder dwarves, the orcs defile the very land and augment their forces with evil magic. The players determine a mysterious figure is directing the orcs, driving them forth in suicidal battle. I dunno about all that. I mean, it sounds like a great idea. But I HATE ultimate doom. There's really no point. Like you said, it's all set in stone. Why play if you can't change anything? It gets a tad close to my view of the original FR, because then too, the PCs were meaningless gnats compared to the plethora of canon epic NPCs. In this case, the PCs are the most important people in the world, AND it still doesn't mean a thing at all. I'm sure it could be a fun world to play in, but if you can't undo the future, I don't really see it having the capability to be endlessly progressive. Like I said...as you describe it, it sounds like fun for the most part. But from my perspective there's just no point unless the age of the original Darksun is suddenly rendered canonically nonexistent. It could always be house-ruled, of course, but that does nothing for the inherent endless playability of the base setting. Not sure if I'd prefer Darksun stay at it's current time period or be fast-forwarded a few decades or more, but I don't think I'd be too thrilled if they went backwards instead. Campaigns in the past are what's probably best left to homebrewing. Official material should always keep moving forward. It's still not a bad idea though.
#3 ritorix Apr 17, 2009 23:38:17	I didnt mean set in stone as the players do not matter, but that they are the only thing in the way. Odds are they will fail, and the world will go to hell as planned, but they have a chance. This puts the players on a pedastal per typical 4e design. I imagine epic-level Green Age would involve some pretty large conflicts, with various Advanced Being destinies and the like. Massive battles, planar travel to find helpful artifacts, showdowns against multiple sorcerer-kings, maybe even alliances with some to imprison Rajaat earlier than in canon. Rajaat would be a sort of Orcus at the end - the huge, nearly unbeatable solo that players know is out there. The ultimate goal of an epic-tier campaign would be to put a stop to Athas's otherwise-inevitable fate. Heroic and paragon would involve more localized concerns.
#4 cnahumck Apr 18, 2009 6:00:55	Check out the "Other Eras of Play" section of DS3r7. While that document is 3.5, the section isn't tied to a specific edition of the game. You can find it in my sig.
#5 Pennarin Apr 18, 2009 9:02:05	You can have a great hidden arc that spans the past, present, and future. Everything looks doomed, yet the seeds of change or victory are seeded long ago, and the PCs helped. These kind of story arcs can be found in the new Battelstar Galactica, in the Terminator franchise, and others.
#6 rav514 Apr 27, 2009 21:23:30	I've found running a "set in stone" campaign difficult but not impossible. I ran a star wars game between episode 2 and 3 and we all know how that story ends. The trick i think to have your stories success or failure have no affect on the over lying story and that fact be obvious. What ever they save cant stop the fall. Like maybe they quest to find a artifact and then later a safe place to store it. In the star wars game they were Bounty hunters working for the Falling republic soon to be empire. If they completed a mission or not, it didn't change the movies. It was kinda cool actually to make up news reports from the republic/empire perspective and watch the player get them when they new the reports were not very (if at all) accurate.
#7 trigun8168 May 04, 2009 8:46:29	i have actually been thinking of doing a darksun campaign were magic changed the world differently. instead of a hot barren land the world enters a ice age, or maybe the world turned to a blackened marshy type land. everything stays the same just the ecology changes. and maybe change some of the races that were killed off. allow the yetis to live in the snow type and maybe kill off something else like the thri kreen. just my thoughts real quick before i go to bed. so yup.... goodnite!