One of the biggest announcements at GenCon Indy 2009 was of the next campaign book for Wizard of the Coast’s Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition. They made the official announcement that the Dark Sun world of Athas would be the next campaign book for the game and that it would be released in 2010. This decision was made to the delight of many fans, as it is considered one of Wizard of the Coast’s more fan friendly decisions to date.
Instead of traditional fantasy worlds like Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, and Greyhawk, the Dark Sun setting takes place in the world of Athas. It is a desert like world that is more of a post-apocalyptic setting than a fantasy setting. The world is very harsh and brutal compared to traditional fantasy games.
Magic versus psionics is one of the biggest differences in the setting of Dark Sun. The world of Athas has been brutalized by years of magical backlash and destruction. As such, magic is much less common in the world. Its replacement is psionics, which is much more common and accepted among the population.
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 mix of classes in Dark Sun is recognizable to other fantasy games, but significantly altered. For example, there isn’t any equivalent to Paladins, Monks, or Sorcerers. Spell casters are typically divided up between Preservers or Defilers. And, Priests derive their power from non-traditional sources, as opposed to deities or gods.
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.
Many of the Dark Sun resources available on the internet are free for fans to use. There is the Unofficial Dark Sun Wiki, a Dark Sun interactive Atlas for the World of Athas, the Official Dark Sun Discussion Forum at Wizards of the Coast, and many other product releases that are available if you know where to look.
Overall, the Dark Sun setting is a great choice for Wizards of the Coast to make as their next Dungeons & Dragons 4e campaign setting. The world and setting are dramatically different than many of the other campaign setting currently available. The Dark Sun Campaign Guide will come out in 2010 shortly after the release of the Players Handbook 3, which introduces psionics. Look for the game book soon!
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