First Thoughts: Dark Sun

I know I’m late to the party, as most everyone has Dark Sun by this point, but my copy finally arrived in the mail.

Wow. I’ve skimmed the book, and am now reading through it thoroughly from the beginning. This is an awesome book. The art is gorgeous, and the writing is fantastic. Big kudos to Richard Baker, Robert J. Schwalb and Rodney Thompson for their great writing.

I think the world of Dark Sun was best described by Matthew over at My Girlfriend is a DM: “[M]any breaths were baited for Dark Sun, which is famous for eschewing  the verdant Tolkienesque milieu that typifies most fantasy in favor of an arid Conanesque mythos with a hint of  cinnamon Arrakeen goodness.  ’Random encounter’ monsters have developed psionic powers as a matter of evolutionary course; metal and water is the stuff worth killing your grandmother for.”

…

Yep, that about sums it up.

You can read the first part of his review here. And if you aren’t a regular reader of that blog, you really need to be.

I’m a big fan of “Arrakeen goodness”, as evidenced by my buying a physical copy of “Burning Sands: Jihad” at GenCon as one of my only purchases, so this is up my alley.

I’ve only gotten through the first few chapters so far, but… Damn! This is a cruel, bitter, bitter world. I’m not even sure why they have Epic Destinies in the book, because I can’t foresee groups living that long. If you’re able to make it all the way there, you’re obligated to kill at least a couple Sorcerer-Kings.

I’ll give a full review once I’ve finished the book, but I should make special note that this is the first setting Bridget has said, “you know what? I’d love to run a game in this world.” She hasn’t expressed interest in DMing for Faerun or Eberron in the past, so perhaps Athas will be to her liking.

I’ll keep you updated!

Keep rolling 20′s (made from the bones of your fallen foes in the gladiatorial pits of Tyr)!