Dark Sun is a campaign setting for the Dungeons and Dragons Roleplaying game beginning with 2E in 1991. Dark Sun sits amongst other settings such as The forgotten Realms, Eberron, Planescape, Spelljammer, and Greyhawk as a world or universe in which D&D campaigns might be set.
The world of Dark Sun, called Athas, is a world where magic has ravaged the landscape, turning it into a barren desert dotted here and there by oppressive city-states. It deviated in many ways from both its contemporary settings and from epic fantasy as a whole and remains a beloved world for many. This break from the typical canon of D&D included things such as magic being rare and despised, many of the familiar races being changed or absent in the setting, and an emphasis on day to day survival over lofty goals of heroics or righteousness. We see evil Sorcerer-Kings ruling over an oppressed and enslaved populace in lavish, cruel cities. We see nomadic tribes wandering through a harsh wasteland filled with bizarre and vicious monsters, searching for water and shelter. We see ruins in the desert, symbols of a bygone age of peace and prosperity, destroyed long ago by wars and reckless sorcery. This setting represents a synthesis of design, visuals, mechanics, and themes that is unmatched by few if any other campaign settings for D&D. For these and reasons I will go into further, Dark Sun is the best campaign setting either TSR or Wizards of the Coast have ever produced.
Dark Sun came out of a period of D&D’s history where TSR were furiously producing campaign settings left, right, and centre. This period, 2E, lasted from 1989 to 1996, at which point TSR went bankrupt and sold D&D to Wizards of the Coast, of Magic the Gathering fame. During this period they produced such settings as Spelljammer, Dark Sun, Planescape, and Birthright, all of which pushed the boundaries of D&D in some way beyond the older heroic fantasy of Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, and Greyhawk. Many of these new settings were only modest successes, and TSR’s dilution of their brand with all of these conflicting products likely had a part in their downfall. However, before they fell they gave us intriguing, genre-bending, and in many ways inimitable campaign settings. Dark Sun is the best of these and as such has a large fan community to this day and has received some degree of support in both 3.5 and 4E.
Dark Sun was developed by Timothy B. Brown and Troy Denning and draws on the typical pulp-fantasy sources of D&D, like Conan the Barbarian, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, and to an extent, Moorcock’s Eternal Champions books. However it also draws on things such as Frank Herbert’s Dune, Edgar Rice Burrough’s Barsoom series, incorporating Sci-Fi elements just as Spelljammer did. In terms of genre, Dark Sun might be described as belonging to Post-Apocalyptic, Dying Earth, Swords and Sorcery, Dark Fantasy, and even Science-Fiction. Gone are the mystical forests, noble knights, and sagacious wizards of almost every other campaign setting. In their place are hulking barbarians, callous rogues, desperate gladiators, and despised sorcerers practicing their arts in secret. With these concepts in place, the world of Athas is populated by cities and cultures inspired by a variety of peoples and empires from earth’s past. The Aztecs, Ptolemaic Egypt, and Hammurabi’s Babylon to name just a few. This helps to cement Athas as being more akin to the Asia and Northern Africa of antiquity rather than the nauseatingly familiar medieval Europe we’ve come to expect from D&D.
Dark Sun is notable for its pulp adventure art direction, spearheaded by Brom whose artwork can be found everywhere. A young artist at the time, his work inspired many of the monsters and creatures that appear in Dark Sun sourcebooks. While it is by no means unusual to see Dungeons and Dragons products accompanied by amazing artwork, Dark Sun stands out for the clarity of its vision. The pieces share similar designs and its products are easily identified at a glance. Brom’s work sets the product line well apart from anything else before or after. This ‘art-inspired’ design would never again be matched by any Dungeons and Dragons product, with only the Planescape line coming close.
The history and truth behind Athas’ present ruined state is kept deliberately unclear by both the designers and powerful figures within the world itself. This leaves multiple interpretations of canon (at least in the original boxed set). Essentially, Athas has gone through at least three ages, typically referred to as the Blue Age, the Green Age, and the present Desert Age. The Blue Age was a world ruled by Halflings who lived on small islands amidst a vast ocean. These halflings had a great degree of control over nature and could grow almost everything they needed, making them masters of bioengineering. The Green Age was the period of Athasian history most resembling the standards of settings such as Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, and Eberron, but leaned more heavily on Psionics than magic in its varied and verdant cultures. The Desert Age is the standard time of play and is a world controlled by a vengeful environment and the whims of tyrannical sorcerers. This final age is the one expected in typical play in the Dark Sun setting and is the world presented in most if not all the art and stories of the various Dark Sun product lines.
Like all good stories and worlds, Dark Sun has important messages built into it. These messages are evident everywhere in the world and its characters. Like Dune before it, Dark Sun has strong and deeply ingrained environmentalist messages. The world was once vibrant and lush, filled with a variety of lifeforms. Now the world is drained of all material resources, the vast grasslands and forests are almost completely gone, and the sea vanished, leaving only silt behind. The animals that remain are twisted, violent mutants, and the scattered plant-life is little better. This environmental collapse was not an accident and has been, at each stage, the result of irresponsible and reckless magic-use on the part of a sorcerous or naturemaster elite. The unfortunates of the Desert Age are, for the most part, innocent in this environmental degradation and simply have to endure the ruined world they were born into. Most only have a vague understanding that ‘sorcerers did it’, not fully understanding that their rulers, the Sorcerer-Kings are responsible for almost all of it.
Their origins are left vague in the original boxed set, Troy Denning and future product releases make it clear that the Sorcerer-Kings are the cause of most of the world’s destruction. These immortal psionicist/wizards ruined the world and then divided up the last oases amongst themselves, ruling the people that flocked there. The Sorcerer-Kings and their Templar priests are cold tyrants who brook no threat to their authority and violently suppress rebellions or even attempts to learn the truth about them. Many of these tyrants claim to be gods or ‘responsible sorcerers’ and blame others for the destruction that they themselves wrought. With the modern spectre of climate change looming and our leaders refusing to act or take responsibility for it, Dark Sun is more relevant than ever.
Dark Sun is infamous for tweaking, breaking, or outright removing typical elements of whichever D&D edition it exists in. Arcane magic draws life from the plants and even creatures around the caster, draining their vitality to fuel spells. Instead of magic being common and widespread it is rare and feared, in its place stands psionics; the Will and the Way. Due to the scarcity of metals such as iron and bronze, armour and weapons are typically made of salvaged components such as obsidian, stone, bone, or chitin. Dark Sun has a very minimalist cosmology compared to most other campaign settings with only really the Elemental planes having any real impact on the daily lives of most Athasians. Athas can’t be accessed from other worlds and there is no Heaven for Athasians’souls to go to after death.
Many of the recognisable races such as gnomes, orcs, and goblins are gone, replaced by strange new races like the half-dwarf Muls, the unnatural Half-Giants and the insectoid Thri-Kreen. Existing races are tweaked in large and small ways; Halflings are cannibals, elves care nothing for nature, and dwarves are completely hairless. All of this means that the typical adventuring party looks very different to what you might expect in other worlds. Instead of magic they employ psychic powers, instead of gleaming armour they wear ramshackle insect-shells, and instead of magic weapons they have obsidian axes. survival is more important than glory and clean water is worth more than all the gold in the world.
Psionicists use their mind to conjure strange effects, to control others, and to fight, and are everywhere. The plants and animals of Athas are almost all psychically sensitive in one way or another and this is in part due to the timing of the Complete Psionics Handbook’s publication aligning so closely with the Dark Sun product line’s beginning. As such, this focus on psychic rather than magic ability suffuses the setting and informs what kinds of characters exist there. Spell components are illicit and hard to come by, but any living person can focus their mind to create a psychic effect of some kind. Psionics has had a troubled time throughout DnD’s long history, having difficulty differentiating itself from magic and facing balancing and theming issues aplenty. Nonetheless, psionics is an engaging and essential part of the setting and any interpretation of Athas without it would be hollow.
Dark Sun doesn’t cater to the lowest common denominator by adhering to the heroic and epic fantasy of its contemporaries. It also sets itself apart by striving for uniqueness and pushing the boundaries of what people expect from a Dungeons and Dragons setting. It can be a difficult world to play in and exist in, what with its strange aesthetics and stranger rules.
However, its combination of groundbreaking world design, powerful artistic direction, and compelling lore make it a classic, and in my opinion, the greatest campaign setting ever produced by Wizards of the Coast or TSR.
“Nomads and exiles, slaves and free folk—all of them rally to your banner to sweep away the corruption of civilization.”
Prerequisite: 21st level
You reject civilization and the temptations of the cities.
You see the city-states groan beneath the sorcerer-kings’ tyrannies, and you observe how the people fear to speak out.
The city dwellers, even non-slaves, give up freedom and morality for the promise of wealth and protection, but you do not make that choice.
You have turned to the wilds to be your haven, abandoning “civilized” folk to the fate they deserve.
You hone your body and master your techniques until the day comes when you will be powerful enough to tear down the city walls and bring an end to the sorcerer-kings’ villainy.
As you embark on this destiny, your actions win you renown throughout the land.
Wherever you go, people come to glimpse you.
Throughout Athas, people whisper about your power and your intentions.
Cities and merchant houses send envoys, bringing you tribute and seeking your favor.
Raiders, refugees, escaped slaves, and fugitives flock to you.
Some come to learn from you, and others come to fight on your behalf.
Between your adventures, a mighty entourage surrounds you.
Yet despite your acclaim, you are quick to strike out on your own or with a few trusted companions when adventure calls.
Only cowards would have others fight on their behalf…
Athas, a dying planet of savagery and desolation, a land where sandal-clad heroes battle ancient sorcery and terrible monsters.
This is the World of the Dark Sun…
The brutal climate and the oppressive rule of the sorcerer-kings has created a corrupt, blood-thirsty, and desperate culture that leaves little room for chivalric virtues common to other fantasy settings…
Life hangs by a thread in this barren land, and its heroes write their own stories in both blood and glory…
With the announcement of several new D&D Settings to be arriving soon, here’s some Optional Rules from both the Dungeon Master’s Guide and Player’s Handbook, to help re-create the unique and savage world of Athas, the World of the Dark Sun…
Beneath a crimson sun lie wastelands of majestic desolation and cities of cruel splendor, where sandal-clad heroes battle ancient sorcery and terrible monsters.
This is the World of Athas, the World of the Dark Sun!
Athas, a dying planet of savagery and desolation…
Life hangs by a thread in this barren land, and its heroes write their own stories in both blood and glory…
The World You Should Know…
The World of Dark Sun is unique in many ways…
Many things a player might assume as “Common” are missing or turned on their heads completely!
Athas is not a place of shining knights and robed wizards, of deep forests and divine pantheons.
To venture over the sands of Athas is to enter a world of savagery and splendor that draws on different traditions of fantasy and storytelling.
Simple survival beneath the dark red sun is often its own adventure…
Newcomers to Athas have much to learn about the world, its people, and its monsters…
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