Dark Sun Lore Question (Paraelementals) - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Dark Sun Lore Question (Paraelementals)

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
avatar345
Jul 05, 2009 10:27:47 Basically, I'm just wondering when the idea/concept of paraelemental clerics and the strife between the paraelements and the 'regular' elements was *first* introduced into the Dark Sun campaign? Whether it be from the novels, or the campaign materials, I'm just trying to pin down when this concept started becoming a prominent part of the world.
#2
throkat
Jul 05, 2009 14:53:35 The way I understand it, they were technically first introduced in the novel The Crimson Legion. I say "technically" because, while Caelum was always referred to as a sun cleric in the actual novel, Denning apparently intended for sun clerics to be a subtype of fire clerics.

The first detailing of all four Athasian paraelements, as well as establishing sun clerics and fire clerics to apparently not be the same thing, was the supplement Earth, Air, Fire, and Water.
#3
avatar345
Jul 05, 2009 23:39:19 Ok thanks for the clarification, that's what I thought/feared. I don't know if conceptually I can get behind it in all honesty - I'd always thought it was a strange introduction, and then recently after my love of Dark Sun was re-ignited, I ran across this 'Denning didn't intend for it' thing, and honestly that's more in line with my own taste of the world. I'll note that Tim Brown referenced the traditional paraelemental planes in Dragon Kings in the context of more places for high level druids to gate themselves to or high level clerics to gate materials from, and so I have to think that this entire element was never a part of the original envisioning of the campaign, and that the paraelemental planes were plenty benign in relation to their 'parent' elements.
#4
avatar345
Jul 06, 2009 22:45:32 In the same vein but different note, in the athas.org envisioning of the Athasian cosmology, the negative, positive, and ethereal planes seem to have had their roles subsumed by the Grey and Black. In the novels did this take place implicitly or otherwise? The original campaign material to my knowledge kept the ethereal distinct, and didn't really deal with the positive/negative material planes at all save again to reiterate their usual relation to the inner planes in brief passing.

Personally I'm happy to accept this, just wondering where the impetus for this call stemmed from. A lot of spells/psionics deal/dealt with ethereal phasing and travel, and to me it would be a bit different than what I would envision similar effects relating to the Grey achieving.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 avatar345 Jul 05, 2009 10:27:47	Basically, I'm just wondering when the idea/concept of paraelemental clerics and the strife between the paraelements and the 'regular' elements was first introduced into the Dark Sun campaign? Whether it be from the novels, or the campaign materials, I'm just trying to pin down when this concept started becoming a prominent part of the world.
#2 throkat Jul 05, 2009 14:53:35	The way I understand it, they were technically first introduced in the novel The Crimson Legion. I say "technically" because, while Caelum was always referred to as a sun cleric in the actual novel, Denning apparently intended for sun clerics to be a subtype of fire clerics. The first detailing of all four Athasian paraelements, as well as establishing sun clerics and fire clerics to apparently not be the same thing, was the supplement Earth, Air, Fire, and Water.
#3 avatar345 Jul 05, 2009 23:39:19	Ok thanks for the clarification, that's what I thought/feared. I don't know if conceptually I can get behind it in all honesty - I'd always thought it was a strange introduction, and then recently after my love of Dark Sun was re-ignited, I ran across this 'Denning didn't intend for it' thing, and honestly that's more in line with my own taste of the world. I'll note that Tim Brown referenced the traditional paraelemental planes in Dragon Kings in the context of more places for high level druids to gate themselves to or high level clerics to gate materials from, and so I have to think that this entire element was never a part of the original envisioning of the campaign, and that the paraelemental planes were plenty benign in relation to their 'parent' elements.
#4 avatar345 Jul 06, 2009 22:45:32	In the same vein but different note, in the athas.org envisioning of the Athasian cosmology, the negative, positive, and ethereal planes seem to have had their roles subsumed by the Grey and Black. In the novels did this take place implicitly or otherwise? The original campaign material to my knowledge kept the ethereal distinct, and didn't really deal with the positive/negative material planes at all save again to reiterate their usual relation to the inner planes in brief passing. Personally I'm happy to accept this, just wondering where the impetus for this call stemmed from. A lot of spells/psionics deal/dealt with ethereal phasing and travel, and to me it would be a bit different than what I would envision similar effects relating to the Grey achieving.