So DS is getting a lot of love in a lot of places but I was wondering...

what other settings exist with the same tone/theme and feel?

system less important.

I'll have to Wikipedia "Dark Sun" and get back to you as I've only ever read the name on this forum and have no idea what it is aside from "a D&D setting."

Edit: Looked it up. Sounds like "D&D Mad Max" or something. Can't say I know any others like it. But if you like Dark Sun, why not just use it or adapt it?

White Wolf magazine, back in their early, Pre-Vampire days, did a review of DS where they called it "Mad Max meets Conan on Dune". I love Dark Sun and yet and I found that both hysterically funny and very accurate. Except for leaving out Barsoom.

Just make up your own setting that rips off DS and go apeshit. Make one of Athas' moons the Death Star. Rename the barbarian class "Cannibal". Reskin 5th edition Goliaths (Boooooooring) as four-armed Green Martians. Put "Chainmail bikini" on the equipment list.

Go nuts.

Quote from: Dumarest;977886But if you like Dark Sun, why not just use it or adapt it?

It's more of a curiousity question.

Quote from: Just Another Snake Cult;977888White Wolf magazine, back in their early, Pre-Vampire days, did a review of DS where they called it "Mad Max meets Conan on Dune". I love Dark Sun and yet and I found that both hysterically funny and very accurate. Except for leaving out Barsoom.

Just make up your own setting that rips off DS and go apeshit. Make one of Athas' moons the Death Star. Rename the barbarian class "Cannibal". Reskin 5th edition Goliaths (Boooooooring) as four-armed Green Martians. Put "Chainmail bikini" on the equipment list.

Go nuts.

lol I'm not asking for Play purposes it's just a curiosity question.

http://www.dragonkingsproject.com/

Quote from: tenbones;977896http://www.dragonkingsproject.com/

That's been recommended elsewhere and looked interesting but is it a dead project...not that you necessarily need more than a core book.

I'm on the record with my current group - many of whom I've GMed for over 30-years, and precisely ZERO of them agree with me when I say, "Dark Sun" is the best (and my favorite) D&D setting of all time. To a person - they all detest it. Even last week, they told me they'd rather play Maztica over Dark Sun.

I'm considering stealth-running Dark Sun with all the names changed, using Savage Worlds, someday. Muahahahaha

Quote from: tenbones;977907I'm on the record with my current group ...they all detest it... they told me they'd rather play Maztica over Dark Sun.

What the fuck is wrong with these toad-lickers?

(Not that Maztica isn't cool ).

Love Dark Sun. There's a pretty good 5e conversion out there on the interwebs and even an PbtA one.

I saw someone on here KS an OSR setting that sounded very DS.

Quote from: Just Another Snake Cult;977928What the fuck is wrong with these toad-lickers?

(Not that Maztica isn't cool ).

After having given it much thought... I think the reason is that I'm a pretty big on environmental "realism". My games have historically been pretty gritty, and it's only in the last decade or so that I've *really* tried to lighten things up (a bit). And history has proven to be my undoing. The mere prospect of doing Dark Sun with some of them gives them visions of Lawrence of Arabia crawling across the Sun's Anvil, while getting shot at by harrying Elf Nomads intent on eating them. I think they believe I'll punish them (which of course I wouldn't per se. I want people to respect the conceits of the setting and play accordingly). And for some it's just completely unappealing. On that, I have no idea why.

Darksun to me, is absolute homage to John Carter, with a dash of Dune and maybe a little bit of Star Wars, tossed in, plus a whole lot of original coolness overlaying classic D&D. They really borked it up in later editions. But give me the classic boxset and the supplements and I'm in hog heaven.

I love Dark Sun.

I enjoyed the 4e version, but the original was so damn awesome.

A Savage Worlds conversion sounds good too. I would think about using the Stormbringer ruleset myself.

I love John Carter/Sword & Planet. I love Mad Max/survivalist. I love Dune. And Conan. I really don't like Dark Sun though. For me it's one of many TSR settings that just hits the wrong note. Spelljammer. Birthright. They take what should be cool and somehow make it lame.

Quote from: S'mon;978013I love John Carter/Sword & Planet. I love Mad Max/survivalist. I love Dune. And Conan. I really don't like Dark Sun though. For me it's one of many TSR settings that just hits the wrong note. Spelljammer. Birthright. They take what should be cool and somehow make it lame.

Love Birthright, it could use a better system but the setting was great.

Dark Sun is a big mash up. Planetary Romance, post apocalyptic yet has an ancient world feel, and yes a dash of desperate survival

Quote from: Spinachcat;978003A Savage Worlds conversion sounds good too.

I got a selfmade conversion document of about 22+ pages, that is currently under playtesting. Anyone who wants it, PM me!