It is a new age for Dungeons & Dragons, or at the very least, that is the message that the sport and its guardian firm, Wizards of the Coast, are pushing after the D&D Imaginative and prescient Keynote 2027 at this yr’s Gen Con. Among the many information and thrilling bulletins that can form the course of D&D for the subsequent yr or extra, one stands out as essentially the most hardcore: D&D goes again to Darkish Solar, and no punches can be pulled.
Among the many many marketing campaign settings created for D&D, Darkish Solar and its world of Athos are essentially the most controversial. To get an concept of the vibes, consider Mad Max or, for the old-school anime followers, Fist of the North Star. This can be a desolate, post-apocalyptic world the place evil has gained and heroes principally battle for survival slightly than salvation. Slavery can be rampant, which is probably going one of many the reason why D&D has not returned to the setting since a 4th version sourcebook was launched in 2010. Many followers feared that, if the corporate ever determined to publish new official Darkish Solar merchandise, the gritty, darkish fantasy themes and parts of the setting would get sanded right down to cater to fashionable sensibilities. They have been flawed.
A brief teaser trailer revealed throughout Gen Con begins with what might solely be described as a Mortal Kombat fatality. The abundance of gore, eviscerations, and ultra-violence make it clear that this can be a product for adults — if the mature content material warning message wasn’t sufficient. The dialogue and art work that have been proven to followers additionally appear to verify that Athos has not modified. That is nonetheless a world devastated by a magical catastrophe, the place immortal sorcerer-kings rule with an iron fist over remoted metropolis states.
Darkish Solar would be the centerpiece of D&D’s Season of Survival in 2027. Three books can be launched: the setting enlargement Fringe of Oblivion (a marketing campaign sourcebook geared toward Dungeon Masters), the gameplay enlargement Blood and Energy (which can include many of the guidelines and player-focused content material), and a restricted version of the 5.5 version Participant’s Handbook that includes devoted Darkish Solar artwork. In case you thought that the artwork within the PHB was too fanciful to your tastes, then this can be a nice likelihood to provide it a gritty improve. One of many large new options can be a brand new character class, the Psion, which can carry psionics again into the sport outdoors of subclasses, particular feats, and some stray spells.
The D&D crew made it clear that considered one of their large focuses for the longer term is to guarantee that the sport caters to all varieties of gamers. The return to Darkish Solar signifies that gamers’ requests for extra mature content material haven’t been ignored, and it will not finish with the world of Athos. At GenCon, actor and newly-appointed CEO of the D&D Icons line, Joe Manganiello, unveiled his homebrew marketing campaign setting, Dying Saves. That is now an official D&D product, impressed by Manganiello’s dwelling marketing campaign and his line of clothes. The heavy metallic, darkish fantasy vibes are fairly evident.
There’s a lot to be enthusiastic about, however as a fan of the unique Darkish Solar merchandise, I hope that D&D will not merely deal with this as an ultra-violent gimmick. The origins of the setting really harken again to environmental activism: Athos is a grim cautionary story concerning the risks of the unethical exploitation of pure sources and the disasters introduced by the unchecked accumulation of energy within the palms of the few.
