Dark Sun Help... - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Dark Sun Help...

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
mulman
Jul 19, 2010 10:08:52 I am a GM of a very veteran gaming group that has been together for about 20 yrs. We play a ton of games and unfortunately have rotated D&D out of the mix for almost two years now. Magic item creation and all the extra abilities took the role-playing out of the game as well as the mystery.

So after a long break, we are going to jump back into D&D in December and I am going to GM Dark Sun....I have read the books multiple times and love the world because magic and magic items are very rare.

So here is my questios....My group REFUSED to buy v4.0 as it was just a money grab by Wizard..We have spent untold thousands over the years and just didnt want to do it anymore. With the Dark Sun campaign getting a good dust-off in August (under 4.0 rules) do you think it would be possible to buy the new books and use them in the 3.5 setting? I am more interested in Psi abilities as 3.0 and 3.5 didnt do it well and as we all know, Psi abilities is a big thing in Dark Sun.

Any help would be appreciated....
#2
FlashbackJon
Jul 19, 2010 10:17:46 You will have considerable difficulty doing something like that.

That is to say, you will simply be rewriting all the mechanics essentially from scratch.

(I'm going to avoid turning this into an edition war, so let's hope the other posters can do the same. I will, however, highly recommend that you actually give 4E a try, I think you will be pleasantly surprised. If you are curious as to why I think so, feel free to PM me.)
#3
cnahumck
Jul 19, 2010 11:19:34 If you don't want to use 4e, go to athas.org and grab the DS3 and anything else there, as its free and in 3.5 format. Monsters, rules, classes, PrCs, Artifacts and magic items, a detailed description of Draj, and some adventures. All good stuff. And... free.
#4
FlashbackJon
Jul 19, 2010 12:02:41 OHyeah. Also, what cnahumck said.
#5
mulman
Jul 19, 2010 12:08:19 Sorry if I implied an edition war.....My concern was that Dark Sun is finally getting an update and my group wont invest in 4.0....Blending is an option, but also a lot of work.....I'll hit arthas.org for help...

Thanks!

#6
xlorep_darkhelm
Jul 19, 2010 12:27:31
Sorry if I implied an edition war.....My concern was that Dark Sun is finally getting an update and my group wont invest in 4.0....Blending is an option, but also a lot of work.....I'll hit arthas.org for help...

Thanks!

Might want to try athas.org, not arthas.org -- the former is Dark Sun related, the latter seems more like a World of Warcraft thing... :P
#7
diggles
Jul 19, 2010 13:44:34
Sorry if I implied an edition war.....My concern was that Dark Sun is finally getting an update and my group wont invest in 4.0....Blending is an option, but also a lot of work.....I'll hit arthas.org for help...

Thanks!

invest? You have access to everything for 10 dollars a month, thats 2 dollars per player. GM has access to all the rules, make characters for everyone, build encounters, create custom monsters, print loot, etc.

Sounds to me that you are just a bunch of old geezers set in your ways that arent open to new BETTER ideas.
#8
Sysane
Jul 19, 2010 14:08:16
Sounds to me that you are just a bunch of old geezers set in your ways that arent open to new BETTER ideas.

And so it begins...

#9
nimblegrund
Jul 19, 2010 14:12:51
Sounds to me that you are just a bunch of old geezers set in your ways that arent open to new BETTER ideas.

And so it begins...

I'll get the popcorn. Extra butter?
#10
ascottbay
Jul 19, 2010 14:34:41 If cost is a concern* then I'd get the Dark Sun Campaign Guide in August so that you can read it/share it with your group, and then when the Dark Sun content is available through Insider you can sub for one month, get the Character Builder and Monster Builder, and help your group with character creation. If you want the monster lore and fluff, and a chance to plan encounters while waiting for Insider to update, then the Dark Sun Creature Catalog will probably be worth it to buy when you get the Campaign Guide, but if you're already familiar with Dark Sun then you might be able to get away with just the mechanics from the Monster Builder.

Depending on where you get your books it shouldn't cost you more than $50, including Insider. When Essentials comes out, the Rules Compendium should be about $15 and might be a handy at-table reference if you think that's something your group will want, and you'll be set for 4e for life.

* Of course, if the rules of the edition itself turns them away then I'm not really sure how to help.
#11
Bly2729
Jul 19, 2010 14:44:56
Sounds to me that you are just a bunch of old geezers set in your ways that arent open to new BETTER ideas.

And so it begins...

I'll get the popcorn. Extra butter?

CRIPPLE FIGHT!!
#12
RalofTyr
Jul 19, 2010 15:38:53 Are your players willing to play 4e?

If you want to play Dark Sun 4e, then you're going to have to buy the books yourself. Try Amazon or Ebay.

Depending on how you play, the minmum needed to play Dark Sun should be the Player's Guide, Dungeon Master's Guide and the Dark Sun core book.

Oh, and I don't have any of the 4e books yet because 2e is much more betterer than 4e ;)

Also, what edition of D&D do your players play? Because anything past D&D Basic, is a "Money-grab" (AD&D, 3.5e etc.).
#13
FlashbackJon
Jul 19, 2010 16:29:55
Depending on how you play, the minmum needed to play Dark Sun should be the Player's Guide, Dungeon Master's Guide and the Dark Sun core book.

Without PHB2 and PHB3, they'll be missing the Primal and Psionic power sources (and a handful of races), both of which are fairly central to the setting, obviously.

While I took issue with the term "money-grab" I think the point is that just didn't want to reinvest in a whole new edition**. Despite the use of fairly adversarial language, I think the underlying theme is simply "I already paid my $2000 to play D&D, like hell I'm gonna do it again."

We can't really fault them for that, per se. It happens to everyone eventually.
** For me, that was Exalted. I have almost every 1st edition Exalted book produced. I have the 2nd edition core, and I love it considerably more than 1st edition, but I just can't justify the outlay of cash for all the books I'd want to buy, so I haven't done a thing with it.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 mulman Jul 19, 2010 10:08:52	I am a GM of a very veteran gaming group that has been together for about 20 yrs. We play a ton of games and unfortunately have rotated D&D out of the mix for almost two years now. Magic item creation and all the extra abilities took the role-playing out of the game as well as the mystery. So after a long break, we are going to jump back into D&D in December and I am going to GM Dark Sun....I have read the books multiple times and love the world because magic and magic items are very rare. So here is my questios....My group REFUSED to buy v4.0 as it was just a money grab by Wizard..We have spent untold thousands over the years and just didnt want to do it anymore. With the Dark Sun campaign getting a good dust-off in August (under 4.0 rules) do you think it would be possible to buy the new books and use them in the 3.5 setting? I am more interested in Psi abilities as 3.0 and 3.5 didnt do it well and as we all know, Psi abilities is a big thing in Dark Sun. Any help would be appreciated....
#2 FlashbackJon Jul 19, 2010 10:17:46	You will have considerable difficulty doing something like that. That is to say, you will simply be rewriting all the mechanics essentially from scratch. (I'm going to avoid turning this into an edition war, so let's hope the other posters can do the same. I will, however, highly recommend that you actually give 4E a try, I think you will be pleasantly surprised. If you are curious as to why I think so, feel free to PM me.)
#3 cnahumck Jul 19, 2010 11:19:34	If you don't want to use 4e, go to athas.org and grab the DS3 and anything else there, as its free and in 3.5 format. Monsters, rules, classes, PrCs, Artifacts and magic items, a detailed description of Draj, and some adventures. All good stuff. And... free.
#4 FlashbackJon Jul 19, 2010 12:02:41	OHyeah. Also, what cnahumck said.
#5 mulman Jul 19, 2010 12:08:19	Sorry if I implied an edition war.....My concern was that Dark Sun is finally getting an update and my group wont invest in 4.0....Blending is an option, but also a lot of work.....I'll hit arthas.org for help... Thanks!
#6 xlorep_darkhelm Jul 19, 2010 12:27:31	Sorry if I implied an edition war.....My concern was that Dark Sun is finally getting an update and my group wont invest in 4.0....Blending is an option, but also a lot of work.....I'll hit arthas.org for help... Thanks! Might want to try athas.org, not arthas.org -- the former is Dark Sun related, the latter seems more like a World of Warcraft thing... :P
#7 diggles Jul 19, 2010 13:44:34	Sorry if I implied an edition war.....My concern was that Dark Sun is finally getting an update and my group wont invest in 4.0....Blending is an option, but also a lot of work.....I'll hit arthas.org for help... Thanks! invest? You have access to everything for 10 dollars a month, thats 2 dollars per player. GM has access to all the rules, make characters for everyone, build encounters, create custom monsters, print loot, etc. Sounds to me that you are just a bunch of old geezers set in your ways that arent open to new BETTER ideas.
#8 Sysane Jul 19, 2010 14:08:16	Sounds to me that you are just a bunch of old geezers set in your ways that arent open to new BETTER ideas. And so it begins...
#9 nimblegrund Jul 19, 2010 14:12:51	Sounds to me that you are just a bunch of old geezers set in your ways that arent open to new BETTER ideas. And so it begins... I'll get the popcorn. Extra butter?
#10 ascottbay Jul 19, 2010 14:34:41	If cost is a concern* then I'd get the Dark Sun Campaign Guide in August so that you can read it/share it with your group, and then when the Dark Sun content is available through Insider you can sub for one month, get the Character Builder and Monster Builder, and help your group with character creation. If you want the monster lore and fluff, and a chance to plan encounters while waiting for Insider to update, then the Dark Sun Creature Catalog will probably be worth it to buy when you get the Campaign Guide, but if you're already familiar with Dark Sun then you might be able to get away with just the mechanics from the Monster Builder. Depending on where you get your books it shouldn't cost you more than $50, including Insider. When Essentials comes out, the Rules Compendium should be about $15 and might be a handy at-table reference if you think that's something your group will want, and you'll be set for 4e for life. * Of course, if the rules of the edition itself turns them away then I'm not really sure how to help.
#11 Bly2729 Jul 19, 2010 14:44:56	Sounds to me that you are just a bunch of old geezers set in your ways that arent open to new BETTER ideas. And so it begins... I'll get the popcorn. Extra butter? CRIPPLE FIGHT!!
#12 RalofTyr Jul 19, 2010 15:38:53	Are your players willing to play 4e? If you want to play Dark Sun 4e, then you're going to have to buy the books yourself. Try Amazon or Ebay. Depending on how you play, the minmum needed to play Dark Sun should be the Player's Guide, Dungeon Master's Guide and the Dark Sun core book. Oh, and I don't have any of the 4e books yet because 2e is much more betterer than 4e ;) Also, what edition of D&D do your players play? Because anything past D&D Basic, is a "Money-grab" (AD&D, 3.5e etc.).
#13 FlashbackJon Jul 19, 2010 16:29:55	Depending on how you play, the minmum needed to play Dark Sun should be the Player's Guide, Dungeon Master's Guide and the Dark Sun core book. Without PHB2 and PHB3, they'll be missing the Primal and Psionic power sources (and a handful of races), both of which are fairly central to the setting, obviously. While I took issue with the term "money-grab" I think the point is that just didn't want to reinvest in a whole new edition*. Despite the use of fairly adversarial language, I think the underlying theme is simply "I already paid my $2000 to play D&D, like hell I'm gonna do it again."* We can't really fault them for that, per se. It happens to everyone eventually. ** For me, that was Exalted. I have almost every 1st edition Exalted book produced. I have the 2nd edition core, and I love it considerably more than 1st edition, but I just can't justify the outlay of cash for all the books I'd want to buy, so I haven't done a thing with it.