His picture of Tyrian gladiator Neeva was completed before he knew anything about the setting and was what made Brown and Denning choose Brom to become the setting's main illustrator.īecause of Brom's strong aesthetic, Dark Sun became TSR's first "artistic" setting, with a firm artistic vision created by a single illustrator. Dark Sun also had some of its origins in the works of Gerald Brom. As a result, the Dark Sun designers added back standard races with wicked twists (like cannibalistic halflings!) they complained a bit at the time, but later said that the result was stronger than their original plans.Ībout the Artist. At first the setting wasn't going to have any standard D&D races or monsters, but TSR's marketing department was uncomfortable with this idea. They began work on a savage, post-apocalyptic world that would be entirely unique in D&D.īy the time Dark Sun was released, some of this uniqueness had been reduced a little. They decided that Dark Sun would satisfy the "Conan or John Carter vibe", something that they thought was missing from existing settings. However, the demand for a new campaign world and the tie-in to certain supplements didn't tell Brown and Denning what the world was going to be like. This Psionics connection was more long-lasting psionics are ubiquitous in the Dark Sun world of Athas, something that was quite unique in D&D gameplay. Brown and Troy Denning that was initially called "War World".īattlesystem would be integrated into the first few Dark Sun supplements, but this tie would soon be dropped. The result of these varying directives was a design overseen by Steve Winter and created by Timothy B. Somewhere along the way, it was determined that the new setting would also support PHBR5: The Complete Psionics Handbook (1991), which introduced psionics to AD&D 2e play. They also decided that Battlesystem Second Edition (1989) needed a tie to a campaign world in order to be successful. In 1990, the TSR higher-ups, worried about decreasing interest in Dragonlance, decided they needed a major new campaign world. Brown and Troy Denning, is the supplement that kicked off the popular Dark Sun product line for AD&D 2e. The Dark Sun Boxed Set (1991), by Timothy B. The new character tree allows players to advance many characters at once!.All PC's have one or more psionic powers!.Ability scores that can go as high as 24!.All Dark Sun game characters begin at 3rd level!.Defilers - wizards whose powers drain the life around them!.Templars - Wicked priests who serve the sorcerer-kings!.Gladiators - heroes of the arenas, the ultimate warriors!.Half-giants - bred for tremendous size and strength.Thri-Kreen - the savage mantis-warriors of the Barrens!.
Amid the barren wastelands of Athas lie the scattered city-states, each in the grip of its own, tyrannical sorcerer-king.