Recently, at GenCon Indy 2009, Wizards of the Coast made a huge announcement. The big news that they released was of the next campaign setting for Dungeons & Dragons 4e. Wizards of the Coast made the announcement that the world of Athas and the Dark Sun campaign setting would be the next due out for the game in 2010. This was to the delight of many fans as the choice is widely considered a fan pleasing decision.
The world of Athas is different than the fantasy settings you typically see in Dungeons & Dragons, like Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, and Dragonlance. In the world of Athas you have a bleak desert that is more like a 'Dying Earth' setting than a fantasy setting.
One of the biggest differences in Dark Sun over the other settings is magic, or the lack there-of. Athas is a world that has been ravaged by a magical backlash. As such, magic is much less common in this world, where psionics are decidedly more common. Just like magic has become a part of everyday life in most other fantasy settings, so too has psionics become a part of daily life in Athas.
Dark Sun has traditional fantasy races such as Humans, Dwarves, Elves, Half-Elves, and Halflings. They also have many unique player character and non-player character races. These unique races include the Thri-Kreen, a race of Mantis men. Half-Giants are also a playable character race in the world of Athas. And Muls, which are half dwarf and half human hybrids.
The classes in Dark Sun are very different than other settings. Priests don't worship deities in the traditional sense; they derive their powers from other sources. Spell casters are altered due to the fact that magic is less common in the world. Most spell casters are divided up between either Defilers or Preservers. And, there isn't any true equivalent to Sorcerers, Monks, or Paladins in the game.
For anyone not familiar with the Dark Sun setting, it may be good for them (especially the game master) to get leg up on learning the world. The Tribe of One is a short three book series by Simon Hawke that is a great starter series. Also, the Chronicles of Athas is a five book series with multiple authors, so you can get a variety of writing styles.
Some of the Dark Sun resources currently available on the Internet are: a Dark Sun interactive atlas of the World of Atlas, the Official Dark Sun Discussion Forum, The Unofficial Dark Sun Wiki, and the Next Campaign Setting Announcement from Wizards of the Coast. Each of the resources provides a lot of information for those interested in studying the world of Athas.
Wizards of the Coast made a great selection by choosing Dark Sun as their next campaign setting. They have pleased many of the fans with this decision and the choice should prove to be a great success for the company. The world is very different from other settings currently offered. Look for the Dark Sun Campaign Guide in 2010.
The world of Athas is different than the fantasy settings you typically see in Dungeons & Dragons, like Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, and Dragonlance. In the world of Athas you have a bleak desert that is more like a 'Dying Earth' setting than a fantasy setting.
One of the biggest differences in Dark Sun over the other settings is magic, or the lack there-of. Athas is a world that has been ravaged by a magical backlash. As such, magic is much less common in this world, where psionics are decidedly more common. Just like magic has become a part of everyday life in most other fantasy settings, so too has psionics become a part of daily life in Athas.
Dark Sun has traditional fantasy races such as Humans, Dwarves, Elves, Half-Elves, and Halflings. They also have many unique player character and non-player character races. These unique races include the Thri-Kreen, a race of Mantis men. Half-Giants are also a playable character race in the world of Athas. And Muls, which are half dwarf and half human hybrids.
The classes in Dark Sun are very different than other settings. Priests don't worship deities in the traditional sense; they derive their powers from other sources. Spell casters are altered due to the fact that magic is less common in the world. Most spell casters are divided up between either Defilers or Preservers. And, there isn't any true equivalent to Sorcerers, Monks, or Paladins in the game.
For anyone not familiar with the Dark Sun setting, it may be good for them (especially the game master) to get leg up on learning the world. The Tribe of One is a short three book series by Simon Hawke that is a great starter series. Also, the Chronicles of Athas is a five book series with multiple authors, so you can get a variety of writing styles.
Some of the Dark Sun resources currently available on the Internet are: a Dark Sun interactive atlas of the World of Atlas, the Official Dark Sun Discussion Forum, The Unofficial Dark Sun Wiki, and the Next Campaign Setting Announcement from Wizards of the Coast. Each of the resources provides a lot of information for those interested in studying the world of Athas.
Wizards of the Coast made a great selection by choosing Dark Sun as their next campaign setting. They have pleased many of the fans with this decision and the choice should prove to be a great success for the company. The world is very different from other settings currently offered. Look for the Dark Sun Campaign Guide in 2010.
0 comments:
Post a Comment