A gladiator stands triumphant, scarred yet victorious, his foe face down in a pool of blood seeping across the sands. The passion of the crowd is only surpassed by the heat of the bloated red sun as it shines its hateful light down on the brutal spectacle.

This is the harsh brand of adventure that the Dark Sun campaign setting is known for, and Wizards of the Coast has returned to form in their latest Dungeons & Dragons supplement. Absent are the do-gooders and grand kingdoms of the Points of Light setting, replaced by thieves and tomb robbers just looking to survive amidst the ruins of squandered empires. Even the Halfling cannibals are back. And I couldn’t be happier.

I’ll admit: I was worried about Wizards’ potential treatment of the setting when Dark Sun was first announced last year. Not that I was concerned it would be bad, I was just afraid it wouldn’t be, well... nasty enough. I haven’t out-and-out disliked any of the 4e supplements so far (doubting the usefulness of some is another matter), but Dark Sun is a sharp left turn away from the settings that preceded it. Forgotten Realms and Eberron have their differences, but they both still mesh with the Points of Light setting pretty well. This (and the short runs for each setting) keeps the product line from splintering like it did under TSR. I feared the game’s new owner had learned that lesson too well with the previous edition, but thankfully this edition’s Dark Sun is no more hospitable than in its previous incarnation.

Which isn’t to say that it is inaccessible. The book opens with a solid summary of the setting, breaking the world of Athas down into eight concise characteristics. This places the differences between the setting and standard D&D front and center, immediately sketching out the nature of the world before moving on to color in the details. Calendars, literacy rates and the materials used in place of metal are all covered in the first chapter, as is Athasian civilization as a whole. Information on each city-state is reserved for their respective sections in the atlas later in the book, but this makes for a quick introduction that doesn’t bog the reader down. However, particular attention is paid to the nature and prevalence of arcane and psionic powers up front—fitting considering Dark Sun’s unique relationship with these power sources.

The next chapter is another brief overview, this time of the races of Athas. It introduces the setting’s new player races—the Mul and the Thri-kreen—as well as discusses the changes to the standard ones. More so than the history or atlas chapters, this section communicates to the reader what it is that sets Dark Sun apart from the rest of D&D. For new players and Dungeon Masters, it serves as a handy primer on what to expect from the people of Athas, but it is an invaluable tool for seasoned players as well. Each race’s history is presented in brief, showing how many of the traditional “good races” have fallen into the brutal way of life usually reserved for evil peoples in other settings. Human city-states are built upon the backs of thousands of slaves, Elves have a well-deserved reputation as murderous nomads and cannibalistic Halflings stalk the last great forest. The text makes it clear that heroes can still arise in this world, but they have a lot of work ahead of them.

To compensate for the extreme nature of encounters in the setting, players are encouraged to select one of the new themes for their characters. Introduced here, themes are an extra layer of customization for characters that not only place them within Athasian society, but also provide access to new powers and feats. The themes presented in the book cover a fair amount of archetype ground, from wandering minstrels and dune traders to gladiators and noble adepts. I can see how this option may add just another layer of confusing power options for newer players, but they’re great for people looking for more mechanical ways to flesh out their character.

This is all great for communicating the general feel of the setting, but the real meat lies in the atlas chapter. The relatively small area of the Tyr Region (the part of Athas that is actually livable) allows for decent coverage for each city without the book bloating to an unreasonable size. I enjoy the extensive coverage the city of Tyr received, but the other city states’ write-ups feel a bit sparse in comparison. Wizards has crammed a lot into the four pages dedicated to each city, including some nice maps, but games set outside Tyr will definitely require some initial planning from the DM.

All in all, the Dark Sun Campaign Setting delivers a solid base for any Dungeon Master to build up from. New DMs may find the lack of extensive details about the cities outside of Tyr to be a problem, but there are plenty of hooks on which to hang nearly any adventure. The biggest selling point to me is the book’s high degree of self-sufficiency. While the setting incorporates a lot of unique monsters and makes heavy use of the psionic power source, groups that lack these supplements will still find enough here to create a uniquely Dark Sun world. Suggestions for house rules and unique desert challenges fill the last chapters, and even the inherent bonuses rule from the Dungeon Master’s Guide 2 get reprinted as a short sidebar.

I do have a final caution for anyone planning to buy this book: The silt runners in the included adventure may look like kobolds, but even the little lizards on Athas can kick your ass. Just ask my players.

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Publisher Note: Being a huge fan of psionics, I have always had a soft spot for Dark Sun. The entire setting, from the cruel climate, to the crumbling empires, to the survivalists, the entire dreary setting just had a way of making me feel better about my life. It's not so bad ya know... it could be worse! I could live on Athas!

What do you think of Dark Sun? Did you buy the campaign setting? Are you afraid of "cannibalistic Halflings?" Let's talk about it in the forums. -- Chris

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September 2010 Design Challenge
Join our newest feature on EoV/TGE and see how you stack up against our other readers in a MTG Card Design contest. Contest deadline is September 12th, so make sure you take your time, but don't be late!

You can find the contest rules and submission forum here.

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