So glad there was only 1 variety of Elf on Athas. (The tasty kind.)
It was also great because every PC had Psionics.
Oup, you said “the ‘P’ word.” I shouldn’t talk about that. (But yes, it was totally, fully awesome.)
Probably also a reason it hasn't been revised/reprinted as the general response from DMs, designers, and publishers to cries for psionics is a resounding "nope, no way, not going to happen."
Aside from the whole description just given sounding like something invented by a twelve year old who just saw the Dune and the original Conan the Barbarian movie and wanted to combine them "but make it metal," with about the narrative structural integrity one would expect from the same. Such a world wouldn't be hostile to civilization, it wouldn't have it. Your life draining sorcerer-kings would destroy their own fiefdoms any time they had to defend their primacy or fend off the myriad threats. And the scattered little packs of hunter gatherers that might survive would eventually go extinct from attrition after a few generations.
The only type of culture that could stand a chance of surviving such a world would be a super lawful, forcibly tight knit, well organized, and carefully managed (basically fascist) society where everybody can trust the people next to them because without cooperation they'd already be dead from the cartoonishly deadly world. Dune was referenced, look at the Fremen for an example of such a society.
So glad there was only 1 variety of Elf on Athas. (The tasty kind.)
It was also great because every PC had Psionics.
Oup, you said “the ‘P’ word.” I shouldn’t talk about that. (But yes, it was totally, fully awesome.)
Probably also a reason it hasn't been revised/reprinted as the general response from DMs, designers, and publishers to cries for psionics is a resounding "nope, no way, not going to happen."
Aside from the whole description just given sounding like something invented by a twelve year old who just saw the Dune and the original Conan the Barbarian movie and wanted to combine them "but make it metal," with about the narrative structural integrity one would expect from the same. Such a world wouldn't be hostile to civilization, it wouldn't have it. Your life draining sorcerer-kings would destroy their own fiefdoms any time they had to defend their primacy or fend off the myriad threats. And the scattered little packs of hunter gatherers that might survive would eventually go extinct from attrition after a few generations.
The only type of culture that could stand a chance of surviving such a world would be a super lawful, forcibly tight knit, well organized, and carefully managed (basically fascist) society where everybody can trust the people next to them because without cooperation they'd already be dead from the cartoonishly deadly world. Dune was referenced, look at the Fremen for an example of such a society.
I generally dislike dystopian settings that are dystopian for the sake of being dystopian. At best they serve as an example of why we as a society should try to not %^$# up everything. I have no desire to put myself in the mental space of a world that by definition sucks in every way imaginable for "fun."
Edit: I have no objection to the pulp genre, though it would probably be more accurate to call it a metagenre as there are a lot of different varieties and flavors of pulp. I think it works best, for my preferences at least, when a pulp work isn't trying to take itself too seriously because then it just looks like the author/director/etc is just doing a bad job of trying to be super serious and often edgy. The old Dick Tracy movie is a great example of pulp noir and if you crank that up to eleven for comedic purposes you get Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Now that I think of it, I might even describe the Mythica movies (which I just discovered and watched in a marathon the other night) as pulp fantasy and they're probably among the best D&D style flicks I've seen; they're low budget, most of the acting is mediocre at best, and the plot is pretty straightforward but they told the story in a sufficiently entertaining way that I stayed interested for the eight hours or so that it took to watch all five of them back to back on Amazon Prime. To give some reference to the style of Mythica, the big name "featuring" credit is Kevin Sorbo as the wizard protagonist's mentor and Matt Mercer plays the big bad, a necromancer on a quest to gather artifacts of power so he can become the Lich King Reborn and destroy the gods and boy does he ham it up in a way that makes most Bond villains look like rank amateurs. Also the entire James Bond franchise is another great example of good pulp.
I've enjoyed creating Dark Sun-inspired campaigns. I'm a fan of some of the themes such as player vs environment, political rivalry, and preserver vs defiler. I also like the emphasis on regional powers struggling to find order or establish various methods of rule.
It's something I would like to play, but I fear it would be better experienced from the sidelines rather than played for oneself. As much as I like the admin of keeping track of water and temporary alignment shifts in order to do anything - anything - to get water, other elements like what @DMDuo mentions may get in the way of that.
From what I understand of Thay, I think I could enjoy a lot of the same elements of that part of the Forgotten Realms without the mechanical and tonal limitations of Dark Sun.
Zero is the most important number in D&D: Session Zero sets the boundaries and the tone; Rule Zero dictates the Dungeon Master (DM) is the final arbiter; and Zero D&D is better than Bad D&D.
"Let us speak plainly now, and in earnest, for words mean little without the weight of conviction."
I'm a big fan of Dark Sun. I would say it's my favorite official setting if I'd ever actually played it but I've never had a group that I thought would actually enjoy it.
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Thanks, fixed it. 👍 Good lookin’ out.
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So glad there was only 1 variety of Elf on Athas. (The tasty kind.)
It was also great because every PC had Psionics.
Oup, you said “the ‘P’ word.” I shouldn’t talk about that. (But yes, it was totally, fully awesome.)
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Probably also a reason it hasn't been revised/reprinted as the general response from DMs, designers, and publishers to cries for psionics is a resounding "nope, no way, not going to happen."
Aside from the whole description just given sounding like something invented by a twelve year old who just saw the Dune and the original Conan the Barbarian movie and wanted to combine them "but make it metal," with about the narrative structural integrity one would expect from the same. Such a world wouldn't be hostile to civilization, it wouldn't have it. Your life draining sorcerer-kings would destroy their own fiefdoms any time they had to defend their primacy or fend off the myriad threats. And the scattered little packs of hunter gatherers that might survive would eventually go extinct from attrition after a few generations.
The only type of culture that could stand a chance of surviving such a world would be a super lawful, forcibly tight knit, well organized, and carefully managed (basically fascist) society where everybody can trust the people next to them because without cooperation they'd already be dead from the cartoonishly deadly world. Dune was referenced, look at the Fremen for an example of such a society.
It was essentially a D&D adaptation of the setting from Edgar Rice Borroughs’ “Barsoom” (aka Mars) novels. They were very “19th Century Conan in Space-esque.” But he wasn’t 12 when he wrote those books, and he’s been called “one of the most imaginative and inspirational fantasy writers who ever lived” —Director Andrew Stanton. From your language I take it you’re not a fan of Borroughs’ work? Never seen the John Carter movie? Not the best piece of cinema ever, but it was fun.
Or is it the “pulp” genre in general you dislike?
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
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I generally dislike dystopian settings that are dystopian for the sake of being dystopian. At best they serve as an example of why we as a society should try to not %^$# up everything. I have no desire to put myself in the mental space of a world that by definition sucks in every way imaginable for "fun."
Edit: I have no objection to the pulp genre, though it would probably be more accurate to call it a metagenre as there are a lot of different varieties and flavors of pulp. I think it works best, for my preferences at least, when a pulp work isn't trying to take itself too seriously because then it just looks like the author/director/etc is just doing a bad job of trying to be super serious and often edgy. The old Dick Tracy movie is a great example of pulp noir and if you crank that up to eleven for comedic purposes you get Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Now that I think of it, I might even describe the Mythica movies (which I just discovered and watched in a marathon the other night) as pulp fantasy and they're probably among the best D&D style flicks I've seen; they're low budget, most of the acting is mediocre at best, and the plot is pretty straightforward but they told the story in a sufficiently entertaining way that I stayed interested for the eight hours or so that it took to watch all five of them back to back on Amazon Prime. To give some reference to the style of Mythica, the big name "featuring" credit is Kevin Sorbo as the wizard protagonist's mentor and Matt Mercer plays the big bad, a necromancer on a quest to gather artifacts of power so he can become the Lich King Reborn and destroy the gods and boy does he ham it up in a way that makes most Bond villains look like rank amateurs. Also the entire James Bond franchise is another great example of good pulp.
I've enjoyed creating Dark Sun-inspired campaigns. I'm a fan of some of the themes such as player vs environment, political rivalry, and preserver vs defiler. I also like the emphasis on regional powers struggling to find order or establish various methods of rule.
It's something I would like to play, but I fear it would be better experienced from the sidelines rather than played for oneself. As much as I like the admin of keeping track of water and temporary alignment shifts in order to do anything - anything - to get water, other elements like what @DMDuo mentions may get in the way of that.
From what I understand of Thay, I think I could enjoy a lot of the same elements of that part of the Forgotten Realms without the mechanical and tonal limitations of Dark Sun.
Zero is the most important number in D&D: Session Zero sets the boundaries and the tone; Rule Zero dictates the Dungeon Master (DM) is the final arbiter; and Zero D&D is better than Bad D&D.
"Let us speak plainly now, and in earnest, for words mean little without the weight of conviction."
- The Assemblage of Houses, World of Warcraft
I'm a big fan of Dark Sun. I would say it's my favorite official setting if I'd ever actually played it but I've never had a group that I thought would actually enjoy it.