Roll4Ramble

My first introduction to the Dark Sun campaign setting for Dungeons & Dragons was through the computer game Dark Sun: Shattered Lands. Over the years, I've studied the lore and tried several times to run the setting for my gaming group, first using the 3.0 update in Dragon Magazine, and later the Athas.org 3.5 material. For many years, I converted classes and monsters into my own homebrew version of Microlite20, but aside from a few solo-play attempts, I never actually got to play it. I've bought most of the 4E material from DriveThruRPG and even considered picking up a fan-made 5E conversion once or twice. But still: no play.

When Wizards of the Coast stated that Dark Sun was considered a "problematic" setting due to its controversial themes, I honestly didn't expect to see a new official version for many years. But shame on me and my lack of faith, because now WotC has announced a new Dark Sun release for 2027. I had promised myself that if a new version ever appeared, I wouldn't miss the chance to buy the books. And then I looked at the art for the new edition.

Now I'm a bit skeptical.

Of course, I understand that WotC will change the setting to some degree. Even though most of Dark Sun remained intact in the 4E version, they still altered details and added new elements. I've never been fully on board with the metaplot or the progression of the story in the novels, but I've accepted them for what they are. The metaplot works best when it remains mysterious, and the novel storyline can safely be ignored, since the game belongs to you and your players.

But with the new art, and with a slightly conspiratorial mindset, it looks like WotC might be preparing to significantly change the plot and perhaps the entire world of Dark Sun.

Let's analyze two of the art pieces and walk through my thoughts.

The first illustration

I love this piece, its grandeur, its epic scale. Facing off against the Dragon of Tyr (which is what I imagine the dragon-like creature represents) is something worthy of a campaign finale. It also captures the power level of a dragon in Dark Sun perfectly.

But a few details make me wonder where WotC is heading.

First, the sun. I assume the bright disk behind the dragon's head is Athas' dark sun. But what is that line descending from its center? It appears in another illustration of what looks like a dark city, where the sun seems to be "bleeding" downward. You can also see it in the battle scene behind the half-giant gladiator(?). So, is the depletion of the sun's power still part of the new Dark Sun? Is the pillar going straight down to the Pristine Tower? If so, it's a cool concept; I can get on board with that, but will it be every Dark Sun fan's cup of tea?

And speaking of Dark Sun fans: how will they react to what appears to be technology in the setting? The central figure seems to wield a hi-tech glaive, and the torn-off arm looks cybernetic. Is WotC introducing technological elements into Athas?

The second illustration

This image is so deeply science fiction that it's impossible to ignore. The futuristic structure in the background, the figure on the left connected to some kind of technological device out of frame, and the almost holographic, blue-shimmering humanoid on the right make me wonder what I am looking at.

It's safe to say this is not the Dark Sun we knew. Dark Sun 2027 looks like it will be something entirely different, turned up to eleven and beyond.

Two theories

1. The "I'm overanalyzing" theory

The art might be conceptual, or simply a stylistic reinterpretation of Dark Sun. The "technology" in the illustrations could be psionic enhancements and artifacts, or biotech created by the life-shaping halflings. Perhaps WotC is leaning into the weird-fantasy aspects and drawing inspiration from what’s visually influential today, such as Denis Villeneuve's Dune films.

2. The "complete rewrite" theory

WotC might be preparing to rewrite Dark Sun from the ground up. They've already labeled the setting as problematic, so why not do a full makeover?

In this version, Athas might still be post-apocalyptic, but built on the ruins of a high-tech world. Instead of defiling magic draining nature, perhaps it was the overuse of technology that destroyed the environment. The player characters might discover powerful artifacts in the ruins, technological devices that appear magical to them.

But wait, hasn't this been done before? Yes. Jack Vance's Dying Earth and Monte Cook's Numenera are two clear examples.

Is WotC really going in that direction? Dark Sun has always had hints of these themes, but are they now bringing them to the forefront?

I like the concept. I like the idea of such a world. But will it be Dark Sun? Or just a bleak copy of something else?

Maybe not. Time will tell.

EDIT:

My interests are often linked to the seasons. Winter, when there is snow and clear, moonlit nights, triggers the Lovecraftian mood. I don't know how many times I have read or listened to an audiobook recording of At the Mountains of Madness during winter. The association is obvious. Cold weather and a bit of snow might get anyone familiar with Lovecraft's story thinking of it.

Of all of Lovecraft's works, the story about the ill-fated Miskatonic University expedition to Antarctica is one I have read the most. Compared to other stories from Lovecraft's works, this is the one I find Lovecraft found his true genre - a mix of science fiction, horror, and fantasy.

The exploration of the dead city of the Elder Things is shrilling. Of course, the fact that the city realistically could not exist - it should have eroded millennia ago - and that the narrator Dyer and his exploration companion Danforth can interpret the murals and translate the entire history of the Elder Things and earth is just silly. But it still works. If you lean into it, it is an adventure on a grand scale.

While Lovecraft often avoided describing his creations, this is the story where he firmly breaks his style. It is not the first time, though. In The Whisperer in Darkness, he dips his toes when scientifically describing the Mi-Go. But in At the Mountains of Madness, it is ultra-realistic, with detailed measurements and descriptions of color and texture. We know for sure what an Elder Thing looks like, and that is the genius of Lovecraft. Later in the story, we are introduced to the horrors of the Shoggoths, and they are not described in detail. Not just because the protagonist barely sees them, but I believe also because Lovecraft wanted it that way. This was his horror formula. Then, even more vague is the final horror of the story - the one that Danforth sees when he looks back at the city while flying away, and only he sees. We end with a true Lovecraft ending, a rambling of name-dropping of old and new elements from his and his friends' Cthulhu cycle.

And what did Danforth see? We will never know for sure what Lovecraft intended it to be, other than something so horrific it cannot be truly described. I have personally always connected this story to Ubbo-Sathla by Clark Ashton Smith, drawing similarities to it and the shoggoths. It is less fantastic, of course, but I like to imagine that it links the two stories together. So what Danforth sees - in my version - is the enormous protoplasm of Ubbo-Sathla, the proto-shoggoth, a God in its own right, able to bend space and time, always spawning new shoggoths. In my own canon, the Elder Things lost control of the spawning pool for new shoggoths, which grew into Ubbo-Sathla.

I don't own the campaign for Call of Cthulhu - Beyond the Mountains of Madness - but I have listened to two actual play podcasts playing it. In it, there is an explanation of what lies beyond. But if I were ever to buy and play it, I think I would go with my own Ubbo-Sathla-angle.

If you would like to read At the Mountains of Madness, you can do so here at The H.P. Lovecraft Archive.