Give us some Dark Sun Books! (That are good) - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Give us some Dark Sun Books! (That are good)

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
Warrant
Mar 02, 2011 18:37:16 First of all, let me congratulate Wizards of the Coast on the following:

1. You brought back the Dark Sun campaign setting - the coolest and most unique setting in Fantasy Role playing IMHO

2. You reset Canon to discard that horribly misguided use of the novels to shape the landscape of Athas in an extremely altered fashion, and brought back the Sorcerer kings.

Here is what I would like to see from WOTC publishing. I would like there not to be any earth-shattering books that take place in the present campaign setting. There can be adventures here and there, but we don't want another Prism Pentad (or Dragonlance Chronicles) stealing all of the thunder from the present.

What WOTC publishing NEEDS to do is this:

Flesh out the sorcerer kings and write at least a novel about each one. I mean, the part that enthralls us about Athas is the fact that there is all of this fantastic history that came to shape Athas as it is today. I want to hear about how Gallard wiped out the Gnomes, or What Wemic Annihilator actually did. I want to have the mythology of Rajaat, the Pyreen, the Avangion, Keltis, Lizard Man Executioner fleshed out and put into Canon.

I want to read about Rajaat's early life, his discovery of Magic, and the power and history of the Pristine Tower. I want to read about Bodach and how the undead came to rule the city.

I would buy every single book about the history of the Planet, and think of how much back-story could be fleshed out in a GOOD set of novels. Not trashy, MTG novels or Halo novels, but good novels with the depth of writing that Chronicles had, or the Dark Elf Trilogy, or LOTR. Athas deserves a good set of novels, and us readers, hungry for the story of Albeorn, Slayer of Elves, deserve to be satiated.
#2
coreyhaim8mydog
Mar 02, 2011 19:26:19 I agree. Now, I just need to get them to hire me to write one.
#3
Gallard
Mar 02, 2011 23:19:47 i came back to D&D just because of the DarkSun re-release. luckily, i love the 4e implementation.

and Death to Gnomes.
#4
coreyhaim8mydog
Mar 03, 2011 0:21:57
i came back to D&D just because of the DarkSun re-release. luckily, i love the 4e implementation.

and Death to Gnomes.

"Gnomes.... why did it have to be gnomes?"
#5
Fingolfin_Aeros
Mar 03, 2011 11:18:02 I'm glad that gnomes and their creepy all-black eyes aren't in Dark Sun.

Also, cannibal halflings ftw.

Also, more fluff about the origin of the current state of affairs would be nice. Be it in novel form or otherwise.
#6
coreyhaim8mydog
Mar 03, 2011 13:13:20

Also, more fluff about the origin of the current state of affairs would be nice. Be it in novel form or otherwise.

My guess is that they do not intend to do much more backstory. The 2E series of products and novels fully detailed the background of the world as it was then. This new 4E line seems to want a return to the original box set when much of the history was mystery — part of what made the game awesome. Apart from the Cleansing War, I think they'll leave the history TBD by individual DMs.

#7
Warrant
Mar 03, 2011 17:55:24 I think WoTC really needs to expound on backstory. I would be careful about changing canon too much to include some of the newer 4E races. It isn't a bad thing necessarily to have a half-dead world where many of those races never existed. What I would like to see however, is a Champions Chronicle at least that goes into depth about each Sorcerer king because that will help role play them in different archetypes than "cruel dictator" all.
#8
Mulhull
Mar 03, 2011 22:16:30 I wonder. So, now all the SK's are back, including Kalak. Could it even be that there is no Rajaat either, that the SK's rose to power on their own, just like how in the Original 91 DS boxed set, it makes no mention of him at all. Troy Denning invented him.
#9
coreyhaim8mydog
Mar 03, 2011 22:58:21
I wonder. So, now all the SK's are back, including Kalak. Could it even be that there is no Rajaat either, that the SK's rose to power on their own, just like how in the Original 91 DS boxed set, it makes no mention of him at all. Troy Denning invented him.

The 4E Campaign Guide includes Rajaat and the Champions. As for Troy Denning, while his writing leaves much to be desired, he actually co-designed the Dark Sun world, so to dismiss Rajaat as "Troy Denning invented him" is a bit like dismissing Tanis Half-Elven because Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman invented him.

@Warrant - do you have any of the 2E stuff? A lot of what you may want is in those products. I do not think WoTC is going to rehash it, so, if you want it, check those out. The Wiki entry for Dark Sun has a pretty good precis on the backstory as well.
#10
Mulhull
Mar 05, 2011 20:13:35 I wasn't dismissing him. I was just saying he wasn't included from the very beginning. I wondered if he was included. The first game product to mention him in the City State of Tyr book, and first DS product period is the Crimson Legion Novel.

#11
coreyhaim8mydog
Mar 05, 2011 21:21:15 He wrote Verdant Passage which came out before Crimson Legion. He also co-authored the world as far as I know. His credit might have only been given to the novels, but the history of Athas and the setting, I believe, were also, in part, his work.

From Wiki:

In October 1989 he rejoined TSR as a senior designer, co-creating the Dark Sun setting with Tim Brown and Mary Kirchoff.[1]According to Denning, the three designers envisioned "a world for experienced DMs that would push the AD&D game to its limits and let people do things like play half-giants and thri-kreen and superstrong characters—in short, all the really neat stuff we wanted to do ourselves, but that everybody kept saying would ruin game balance."[1] Denning felt in 1998 that Dark Sun "did what we wanted it to, and it has attracted a devoted following. When I go to conventions, it's still what people want to talk about. Talking Brom into being the lead artist early was very fortunate for us; he would sketch weird creatures and settings and equipment, and we’d work them into the game."[1]

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Warrant Mar 02, 2011 18:37:16	First of all, let me congratulate Wizards of the Coast on the following: 1. You brought back the Dark Sun campaign setting - the coolest and most unique setting in Fantasy Role playing IMHO 2. You reset Canon to discard that horribly misguided use of the novels to shape the landscape of Athas in an extremely altered fashion, and brought back the Sorcerer kings. Here is what I would like to see from WOTC publishing. I would like there not to be any earth-shattering books that take place in the present campaign setting. There can be adventures here and there, but we don't want another Prism Pentad (or Dragonlance Chronicles) stealing all of the thunder from the present. What WOTC publishing NEEDS to do is this: Flesh out the sorcerer kings and write at least a novel about each one. I mean, the part that enthralls us about Athas is the fact that there is all of this fantastic history that came to shape Athas as it is today. I want to hear about how Gallard wiped out the Gnomes, or What Wemic Annihilator actually did. I want to have the mythology of Rajaat, the Pyreen, the Avangion, Keltis, Lizard Man Executioner fleshed out and put into Canon. I want to read about Rajaat's early life, his discovery of Magic, and the power and history of the Pristine Tower. I want to read about Bodach and how the undead came to rule the city. I would buy every single book about the history of the Planet, and think of how much back-story could be fleshed out in a GOOD set of novels. Not trashy, MTG novels or Halo novels, but good novels with the depth of writing that Chronicles had, or the Dark Elf Trilogy, or LOTR. Athas deserves a good set of novels, and us readers, hungry for the story of Albeorn, Slayer of Elves, deserve to be satiated.
#2 coreyhaim8mydog Mar 02, 2011 19:26:19	I agree. Now, I just need to get them to hire me to write one.
#3 Gallard Mar 02, 2011 23:19:47	i came back to D&D just because of the DarkSun re-release. luckily, i love the 4e implementation. and Death to Gnomes.
#4 coreyhaim8mydog Mar 03, 2011 0:21:57	i came back to D&D just because of the DarkSun re-release. luckily, i love the 4e implementation. and Death to Gnomes. "Gnomes.... why did it have to be gnomes?"
#5 Fingolfin_Aeros Mar 03, 2011 11:18:02	I'm glad that gnomes and their creepy all-black eyes aren't in Dark Sun. Also, cannibal halflings ftw. Also, more fluff about the origin of the current state of affairs would be nice. Be it in novel form or otherwise.
#6 coreyhaim8mydog Mar 03, 2011 13:13:20	Also, more fluff about the origin of the current state of affairs would be nice. Be it in novel form or otherwise. My guess is that they do not intend to do much more backstory. The 2E series of products and novels fully detailed the background of the world as it was then. This new 4E line seems to want a return to the original box set when much of the history was mystery — part of what made the game awesome. Apart from the Cleansing War, I think they'll leave the history TBD by individual DMs.
#7 Warrant Mar 03, 2011 17:55:24	I think WoTC really needs to expound on backstory. I would be careful about changing canon too much to include some of the newer 4E races. It isn't a bad thing necessarily to have a half-dead world where many of those races never existed. What I would like to see however, is a Champions Chronicle at least that goes into depth about each Sorcerer king because that will help role play them in different archetypes than "cruel dictator" all.
#8 Mulhull Mar 03, 2011 22:16:30	I wonder. So, now all the SK's are back, including Kalak. Could it even be that there is no Rajaat either, that the SK's rose to power on their own, just like how in the Original 91 DS boxed set, it makes no mention of him at all. Troy Denning invented him.
#9 coreyhaim8mydog Mar 03, 2011 22:58:21	I wonder. So, now all the SK's are back, including Kalak. Could it even be that there is no Rajaat either, that the SK's rose to power on their own, just like how in the Original 91 DS boxed set, it makes no mention of him at all. Troy Denning invented him. The 4E Campaign Guide includes Rajaat and the Champions. As for Troy Denning, while his writing leaves much to be desired, he actually co-designed the Dark Sun world, so to dismiss Rajaat as "Troy Denning invented him" is a bit like dismissing Tanis Half-Elven because Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman invented him. @Warrant - do you have any of the 2E stuff? A lot of what you may want is in those products. I do not think WoTC is going to rehash it, so, if you want it, check those out. The Wiki entry for Dark Sun has a pretty good precis on the backstory as well.
#10 Mulhull Mar 05, 2011 20:13:35	I wasn't dismissing him. I was just saying he wasn't included from the very beginning. I wondered if he was included. The first game product to mention him in the City State of Tyr book, and first DS product period is the Crimson Legion Novel.
#11 coreyhaim8mydog Mar 05, 2011 21:21:15	He wrote Verdant Passage which came out before Crimson Legion. He also co-authored the world as far as I know. His credit might have only been given to the novels, but the history of Athas and the setting, I believe, were also, in part, his work. From Wiki: In October 1989 he rejoined TSR as a senior designer, co-creating the Dark Sun setting with Tim Brown and Mary Kirchoff.[1]According to Denning, the three designers envisioned "a world for experienced DMs that would push the AD&D game to its limits and let people do things like play half-giants and thri-kreen and superstrong characters—in short, all the really neat stuff we wanted to do ourselves, but that everybody kept saying would ruin game balance."[1] Denning felt in 1998 that Dark Sun "did what we wanted it to, and it has attracted a devoted following. When I go to conventions, it's still what people want to talk about. Talking Brom into being the lead artist early was very fortunate for us; he would sketch weird creatures and settings and equipment, and we’d work them into the game."[1]