Close
Close
Advanced Search

Dark Sun Campaign Setting (Expanded and Revised Edition) (2e)Click to magnify
Quick Preview
/gs_flipbook/flip.php?xml=/demo_xml/17203.xml&w=500&h=331
Full‑size Preview
https://watermark.dmsguild.com/pdf_previews/17203-sample.pdf

Dark Sun Campaign Setting (Expanded and Revised Edition) (2e)

ADD TO WISHLIST >

A decade has passed since the Age of Heroes began. The city of Tyr has broken free of tyranny, though turmoil still holds the world in its merciless grip. The Dragon King lies dead, earthquakes rock the land, and revolution spreads like wildfire across the Tyr Region. Giant rifts pierce this once impenetrable land: far to the north, the alien thri-kreen empire quickens, sensing its opportunity to invade. And to the south, in the obsidian wasteland, the ground stirs with the emergence of the undead?

Welcome to a world where metal is scarce, gods don't exist, and psionic powers abide in all living creatures! This significantly expanded and revised set contains everything you need to adventure across the burning lands of Athas.

Featured in this set:

  • The Wanderer's Chronicle: 128 pages detailing the world of Athas, extending far beyond the known Tyr Region to encompass such new locations as the Jagged Cliffs, the Last Sea, the Kreen Empire, and the Dead Land.
  • The Age of Heroes: 96 pages of updated rules and new mechanics designed to make combat more brutal land the adventure more savage. This book features new player character races such as the aarakocra and the pterran, expanded rules for wizards, and revised ability score tables.
  • The Way of the Psionicist: 32 pages detailing a new streamlined, complete-in-this-set psionics system designed specifically for Dark Sun campaigns.
  • Mystery of the Ancients: A 32-page adventure for characters of 3rd to 5th level that kicks off any new campaign in spectacular fashion.
  • Three full-color maps: One is a close-up of the Tyr Region. The other high-quality maps detail the lands beyond the north, south, and west-expanding the area of the original campaign by eight times!
  • Dungeon Master Screen: An eight-panel gatefold featuring all the tables needed to run a Dark Sun adventure, on one convenient stand-up screen.

Product History

Dark Sun Campaign Setting: Expanded & Revised (1995), by Bill Slavicsek with Dale Donovan, is the second edition of the Dark Sun Boxed Set. It was published in October 1995.

Origins (I): Rebooting Athas. Throughout 1995, it had been clear that change was on the horizon for the Dark Sun setting. Thri-Kreen of Athas (1995) felt like an innovative expansion beyond the topics covered in the setting's first few years of publications and even hinted at the next big metaplot. Then, "Beyond the Prism Pentad" (1995) finished pushing up setting's time line, to catch up with the novels.

With Dark Sun Campaign Set: Expanded & Revised (1995), the other shoe dropped. The new setting box provided in-depth information on what the world looked like after the Prism Pentad, but that was just the start …

And, it was just the start of the controversy too. At the time, the Revised Dark Sun marked one of the biggest reboots of a TSR setting to date … and it was the most controversial.

Origins (II): Syncing Time. The Revised Dark Sun had a number of goals, but one of the biggest was to update the setting box to reflect the changing metaplot. And, there was a lot of it. Though the Forgotten Realms had been having Realms-shaking events since the Avatar arc (1989), nothing compared to the scope of Dark Sun's changes. In the various Dark Sun novels, sorcerer-kings had been defeated, slaver nations had been overthrown, and The Dragon had even been slain! The result was a world that was much different from the one detailed in the Dark Sun Boxed Set (1991) just four years previous. As Slavicsek said, "A new boxed set was needed to bring the campaign back in line and give it a new core."

This update was also one of the least-liked aspects of the Revised setting. Metaplot has always been a controversial element in gaming, and the challenges were particularly large in the Dark Sun line; because of relatively limited integration between the novels and the RPG supplements, all of the major changes in Athas were due to the actions of … NPCs. Worse, those changes were big enough that the end result was a setting that wasn't necessarily what people had signed up for in the first place. In fact, some fans felt like the various metaplot events were specifically removing the elements that made Dark Sun unique and turning it into a more generic D&D world.

Mind you, much of this isn't the fault of the Revised Dark Sun, per se. In fact, most of the disliked changes can be traced back to the Prism Pentad novels (1991-1993), authored by Troy Denning, one of the creators of the original setting. Now, after four years of novels, there was simply a need to bring the RPG line back into sync with them.

Origins (III): Revealing Secrets. Slavicsek says that "Change wasn't the only motivation" for the new edition. TSR also felt like they'd adequately detailed the Tyr region through their various supplements and adventures, and so "few geographical areas remained to be explored from the original material". Now, Slavicsek wanted to reveal the answers to secrets like "What waited beyond the borders of the Tyr Region? What did the rest of the world look like beyond the realms of the seven city-states?"

However, Slavicsek wanted to do more than just reveal geographic secrets; he also wanted to explore "cerebral mysteries". As a result, Revised Dark Sun fully details the history of Athas, something that had previously been shrouded in mystery. Like so much else, in the Revised Dark Sun, this decision had its detractors.

Origins (IV): Updating Rules. There was one other major reason for updating Dark Sun: to bring together the most important rules from the various books that had been published to date (and to update other rules, most notable psionics).

Origins (V): Failing Forward. Sadly, the new Dark Sun would never really be given a chance to succeed. It would only receive four supplements, from December 1995 to September 1996, before it was suddenly cancelled.

About the Box. The Revised Dark Sun is a typical overstuffed TSR box from the '90s, including no less than three books, three maps, and even a GM's screen. The map of the Tablelands may have been TSR's most overproduced component ever: it was printed on cloth!

Genre Tropes. From the start, Dark Sun was influenced by Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom novels (1912-1943), which should have put the setting firmly into science fantasy's planetary romance genre. However, the developers mostly concentrated on the ruined world, resulting in what many players considered post-apocalyptic survivalism.

Revised Dark Sun returns to its science fantasy roots with a focus on the world's more technological past age that still influences the modern day. Many players felt like this was yet another big change in the new Dark Sun … but it had also been there all along.

What a Difference an Edition Makes. Besides the changes in the background, Revised Dark Sun also makes a number of changes to the rules for the Dark Sun setting.

That starts with character creation. There are now two new races: the aarakocra and the pterrans. There's also one new class: the trader. However, a classic class, the templar, has been consigned to NPC-hood.

The other big change came in the psionics system, which has been totally revamped, this time to match the new system found in Player's Option: Skills & Powers (1995).

Adventure Tropes. The adventure in the Revised Dark Sun box revealed another change for the Dark Sun line: TSR had done away with Dark Sun's innovative flip-book format for a "more traditional adventure presentation". Some attempts are still made to distinguish the adventures and make them more accessible through sidebars and colored boxes, but that's pretty minor.

"Mystery of the Ancients" has quite a number of encounters, but it maintains player agency. There are contests in the first section; wilderness travel in the second section that actually has some choices; and a ruins crawl in the third section. Overall, it's an impressive balance and a more mature sort of storytelling than found in many introductory adventures.

Metaplotting Along. The Great Earthquake of year 10 opened a Rift in the Jaggled Cliffs, providing access to a Thri-Kreen empire. This threat was already foreshadowed in "Thri-Kreen of Athas", but Revised Dark Sun continued to play it up as the next major metaplot event, saying, "Tohr-kreen loyal to the Kreen Empire are using the Rift as a means for reaching the highlands. So far, only exploratory teams have made it into the highlands, but the kreen are definitely investigating the possibility of launching a full-scale invasion in preparation for expanding their empire." Sadly, this story would never be told.

Exploring Athas. TSR liked to proclaim that the Revised Dark Sun was "eight times" the size of the original. Fans like to note that most of that was empty space.

With that said, the Jagged Cliffs is a large new area with new sorcerer-kings that would be further described in Windriders of the Jagged Cliffs (1995) and Mind Lords of the Last Sea (1995).

There's also considerable new history for the setting, much of which influences the modern day — particular in Thamasku, a "sophisticated halfling society" that features the life-shaped magic revealed in the past.

Blowing Up the Canon. The Revised Dark Sun is obviously canon, because it was an official publication from TSR and it's never been disavowed. With that said, it's one of those products that was so controversial that a lot of fans would prefer to ignore it as canon.

Much of that comes from the inevitable changes that were required to resync the RPG books and the novels. However, some of the new expansions were equally questionable. A lot of fans highlight the science fantasy halfling biotech as something that was a great idea, but not necessarily a great Dark Sun idea. The Last Sea was the other rather notable change that people resisted, because of its inclusion of lots of water on a water-less world.

This is probably why Dark Sun Campaign Setting (2010), an update of the setting for D&D 4e (2008), winds the clock back to year 0 and ignores the metaplot entirely.

About the Creators. Slavicsek wrote extensively for Dark Sun from 1992-1995, including "Beyond the Prism Pentad" (1995), the immediate lead-up to Dark Sun Campaign Setting: Expanded & Revised (1995). His next big project would be Alternity (1997).

About the Product Historian

The history of this product was researched and written by Shannon Appelcline, the editor-in-chief of RPGnet and the author of Designers & Dragons — a history of the roleplaying industry told one company at a time. Please feel free to mail corrections, comments, and additions to shannon.appelcline@gmail.com.


We (Wizards) recognize that some of the legacy content available on this website does not reflect the values of the Dungeons & Dragons franchise today. Some older content may reflect ethnic, racial, and gender prejudice that were commonplace in American society at that time. These depictions were wrong then and are wrong today. This content is presented as it was originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed. Dungeons & Dragons teaches that diversity is a strength, and we strive to make our D&D products as welcoming and inclusive as possible. This part of our work will never end.

pixel_trans.gif
pixel_trans.gif
 
 Customers Who Bought this Title also Purchased
pixel_trans.gif
pixel_trans.gif
Reviews (5)
Discussions (17)
Customer avatar
Alvin U February 16, 2024 10:18 am UTC
POD like the OBS got A nice collected hardcover
Customer avatar
Jason W June 24, 2023 5:27 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Overall, this was a considerable improvement to the first box. As far as the lands and travel goes, its mostly a reprint of the first campaign box. However, the events here take place after Prism Pentad and the Freedom campaign modules. A lot of notable things have changed for the better. First, most the Dragon kings are dead. The result, is that every city-state is no longer a copy of the other. Each city is more unique with many of them being in turmoil as successors attempt to rise to sorcerer king status, and templar try to retain power. An earthquake has opened up passages to the verdant forest and plains beyond for exploration. In the original box, getting to this area was nearly impossible. With this set, its much more available for exploration and allowing for more varied environments. They also added a history to Athas, which can help DMs pepper the ruins with information as characters explore hidden ruins.

Other notable changes is that the templar has been removed as a player...See more
Reply
Customer avatar
Jason W June 24, 2023 5:35 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Almost forgot, there is a Dark Sun specific DM screen too. This is much needed for the setting, and covers everything well.
Customer avatar
Ken H May 28, 2023 12:48 pm UTC
PoD anytime soon?
Customer avatar
S. Alexander G June 29, 2022 10:29 pm UTC
Please make this POD.
Customer avatar
Vincent G June 12, 2022 12:04 pm UTC
PURCHASER
POD please as well!
Customer avatar
Marc-Andre L May 17, 2022 1:25 am UTC
PURCHASER
POD Please!
Customer avatar
Frederic L June 28, 2021 10:59 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Did they revised map inside PDF to make it one full map like they did in core original ?
Customer avatar
Sidney S June 18, 2021 7:40 pm UTC
POD Please.

My old copy is falling apart, and the revised edition turned Dark Sun from a brutal game of hopeless survival into a brutal game of desperate class struggle.
Customer avatar
Ludovic D April 04, 2021 11:42 pm UTC
POD please.
Customer avatar
John R March 13, 2021 3:12 am UTC
POD please.
Customer avatar
Timothy S January 29, 2021 10:36 pm UTC
Eagerly awaiting the POD option for this!
Customer avatar
Ricardo M December 10, 2020 5:46 pm UTC
POD when?
Customer avatar
Ricardo M December 09, 2020 1:12 am UTC
The original 2e box set just reappeared, with the POD option in place.
Customer avatar
Anthony Jr P B December 02, 2020 1:36 pm UTC
I just purchased the hardcover print version of the Dark Sun 2e boxed set, (the unrevised version.) After purchasing it thru drivethrurpg, i can no longer find the title listed for sale, Its still listed in my account as pending print and delivery, and i have access to the pdfs which were free with the bundled pirchase, but it concerns me that the title itself, I can no longer find on the website. I hope i still receive delivery of the printed product.
Reply
Customer avatar
Jay W December 03, 2020 4:02 pm UTC
Same here. Wondering what's going on
Reply
Customer avatar
Jay W December 03, 2020 4:51 pm UTC
Just got a reply from Customer Service seems those of us who ready bought the POD will be honored. Reply also confirm the Dark Sun Box Set has been removed from the site but with no explanation as to why.
Reply
Customer avatar
Patrick T December 05, 2020 5:16 am UTC
Usually that means there was an error that they are fixing in the PoD version and they took it down to see what the matter is. I'm afraid it might mean the printed versions we get might not be as good as the versions others that waited will get. I hope the errors are small and nothing that impacts reading too much.
Reply
Customer avatar
Ricardo M December 05, 2020 8:05 pm UTC
I hope this simply means they forgot to include the booklet (which has a different size) into the POD, because they other reason would be that some SJW is deleting or modifying part of the text :/
Customer avatar
Nathan F November 30, 2020 10:26 pm UTC
Please make this Print on Demand. The recent boxed sets that have been made in a hardback option are wonderful. Would love to see the rest of them that way!
Customer avatar
Máté B July 19, 2020 9:15 pm UTC
I wish this was available in print :(
See 16 more
Narrow Results
$ to $
 Follow Your Favorites!
NotificationsSign in to get custom notifications of new products!















Product Information
Platinum seller
Rules Edition(s)
Pages
288
Edition
1.0
Publisher Stock #
TSR 2438
File Size:
139.97 MB
Format
Scanned image Click for more information
Scanned image
These products were created by scanning an original printed edition. Most older books are in scanned image format because original digital layout files never existed or were no longer available from the publisher.

For PDF download editions, each page has been run through Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software to attempt to decipher the printed text. The result of this OCR process is placed invisibly behind the picture of each scanned page, to allow for text searching. However, any text in a given book set on a graphical background or in handwritten fonts would most likely not be picked up by the OCR software, and is therefore not searchable. Also, a few larger books may be resampled to fit into the system, and may not have this searchable text background.

For printed books, we have performed high-resolution scans of an original hardcopy of the book. We essentially digitally re-master the book. Unfortunately, the resulting quality of these books is not as high. It's the problem of making a copy of a copy. The text is fine for reading, but illustration work starts to run dark, pixellating and/or losing shades of grey. Moiré patterns may develop in photos. We mark clearly which print titles come from scanned image books so that you can make an informed purchase decision about the quality of what you will receive.
pixel_trans.gif
Original electronic format
These ebooks were created from the original electronic layout files, and therefore are fully text searchable. Also, their file size tends to be smaller than scanned image books. Most newer books are in the original electronic format. Both download and print editions of such books should be high quality.
File Information
Watermarked PDF Click for more information
Watermarked PDF

These PDF files are digitally watermarked to signify that you are the owner. A small message is added to the bottom of each page of the PDF containing your name and the order number of your purchase.

Warning: If any files bearing your information are found being distributed illegally, then your account will be suspended and legal action may be taken against you.

Here is a sample of a page from a watermarked title:

File Last Updated:
April 02, 2017
This title was added to our catalog on April 04, 2017.