Comments on: What Dark Sun Means to a 4E Skeptic http://keithrpotempa.com/2009/08/14/darksun/ finding magic in the mundane Wed, 23 Nov 2011 02:24:04 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: Keith http://keithrpotempa.com/2009/08/14/darksun/comment-page-1/#comment-23 Keith Sat, 15 Aug 2009 07:25:34 +0000 http://keithrpotempa.com/?p=223#comment-23 Yeah, definitely. They haven't come out with a FR or Eberron monster manual, but I never got the impression from 3E or earlier material that there was a lot of monsters wholly unique to either setting. But Dark Sun has the possibility of not only some totally unique encounters, but also some very unique PC backgrounds. That's what I'm looking forward to for 4E. But I'm curious to see how they handle it, since their 4E approach to introducing FR and Eberron have both been pretty "half-assed" so to speak. At least in my opinion. Yeah, definitely. They haven’t come out with a FR or Eberron monster manual, but I never got the impression from 3E or earlier material that there was a lot of monsters wholly unique to either setting. But Dark Sun has the possibility of not only some totally unique encounters, but also some very unique PC backgrounds. That’s what I’m looking forward to for 4E. But I’m curious to see how they handle it, since their 4E approach to introducing FR and Eberron have both been pretty “half-assed” so to speak. At least in my opinion.

]]> By: Joseph Ketchum http://keithrpotempa.com/2009/08/14/darksun/comment-page-1/#comment-22 Joseph Ketchum Sat, 15 Aug 2009 04:03:21 +0000 http://keithrpotempa.com/?p=223#comment-22 4E Darksun? I have been waiting for Darksun to reappear since 3E and truely hope that they stick with the uniquenessand flavor of the first Dark Sun Box Set. I really want to see how they merge the elemental clerics of Darksun and all of their pacts and special powers with the current 4E cleric idea. Also I want to see how the rules will be made for the environmental/survival challenges of the Dark Sun world. I wonder if they will come out with a Darksun Monster Manual? 4E Darksun?

I have been waiting for Darksun to reappear since 3E and truely hope that they stick with the uniquenessand flavor of the first Dark Sun Box Set.

I really want to see how they merge the elemental clerics of Darksun and all of their pacts and special powers with the current 4E cleric idea.

Also I want to see how the rules will be made for the environmental/survival challenges of the Dark Sun world.

I wonder if they will come out with a Darksun Monster Manual?

]]> By: Keith http://keithrpotempa.com/2009/08/14/darksun/comment-page-1/#comment-21 Keith Sat, 15 Aug 2009 03:46:16 +0000 http://keithrpotempa.com/?p=223#comment-21 Definitely Steve. You brought up some great points. Though the druid, cleric, and wizard builds of the PHB and the supplements fit in Eberron, Forgotten Realms, and any generic Dragon-Lance style game, they will not work at all in Athas. And yeah, I'm really interested to see how they handle defiling and preserving magic. I'm hoping it doesn't degrade to just a "re-fluffing" of the core mechanics, or some multi-class feats that tweak them slightly. They need to be re-envisioned! And now that monks are psionic... Definitely Steve. You brought up some great points. Though the druid, cleric, and wizard builds of the PHB and the supplements fit in Eberron, Forgotten Realms, and any generic Dragon-Lance style game, they will not work at all in Athas. And yeah, I’m really interested to see how they handle defiling and preserving magic. I’m hoping it doesn’t degrade to just a “re-fluffing” of the core mechanics, or some multi-class feats that tweak them slightly. They need to be re-envisioned! And now that monks are psionic…

]]> By: Steve Killen http://keithrpotempa.com/2009/08/14/darksun/comment-page-1/#comment-20 Steve Killen Sat, 15 Aug 2009 03:36:16 +0000 http://keithrpotempa.com/?p=223#comment-20 To be perfectly honest, I'm as much on tenterhooks as you despite having gone wholeheartedly for 4E since its release, because of Athas' cherished status in my arsenal of campaign settings. I can only think of the amount of work yet to be done over at Wizards before some of the strongest points about Dark Sun are properly addressed. In addition to the items you mention, I want to call attention to another aspect: the sheer variance of Dark Sun classes from their traditional counterparts. Athas' clerics and druids are by no means the generic molds seen in the PHBs, and the wizard's traditional class feature (the spellbook) is thrown completely into question. I am hoping that sufficient alternate class features can mitigate the gap, but things like Defiling and Preserving seem to be of a scope outside class features or feat trees. Great article! To be perfectly honest, I’m as much on tenterhooks as you despite having gone wholeheartedly for 4E since its release, because of Athas’ cherished status in my arsenal of campaign settings. I can only think of the amount of work yet to be done over at Wizards before some of the strongest points about Dark Sun are properly addressed.

In addition to the items you mention, I want to call attention to another aspect: the sheer variance of Dark Sun classes from their traditional counterparts. Athas’ clerics and druids are by no means the generic molds seen in the PHBs, and the wizard’s traditional class feature (the spellbook) is thrown completely into question. I am hoping that sufficient alternate class features can mitigate the gap, but things like Defiling and Preserving seem to be of a scope outside class features or feat trees.

Great article!

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