Dark Sun

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Dark Sun has no deities, arcane magic is reviled for causing the planet's current ecological fragility, and psionics are extremely common. The artwork of Brom established a trend of game products produced under the direction of a single artist. The setting was also the first TSR setting to come with an established metaplot out of the box. Game designer Rick Swan described the setting: 'Using the desert as a metaphor for struggle and despair, this presents a truly alien setting, bizarre even by AD&D game standards. From dragons to spell-casting, from character classes to gold pieces, this ties familiar AD&D conventions into knots.' He said that Athas 'shares the post-apocalyptic desolation of FGU's Aftermath game, GDW's Twilight 2000 game, and other after-the-holocaust RPGs.'

In Their Own Story

In 1991, the original Dark Sun Boxed Set, by Timothy B. Brown and Troy Denning, presented the base setting details wherein the Tyr Region is on the verge of revolution against the sorcerer-kings. A five-book fiction series, the Prism Pentad, written by Denning and edited by Lowder, was also released beginning in 1991, in coordination with the boxed set. The Expanded And Revised boxed set released in 1995 updated the setting to reconcile the events and characters introduced since the initial 1991 release, and gave more details on the world outside the Tyr Region. It was designed by Bill Slavicsek.

Reader's Guide

The traditional fantasy races and character classes were altered or omitted to better suit the setting's darker themes. All characters and creatures were psionic to a greater or lesser degree. Dragon Kings, released in 1992, featured rules for epic level character advancement for Dark Sun. The Dark Sun game line ended abruptly in late 1996. When TSR released its product schedule in Dragon #236 (December 1996) no Dark Sun products were included. The final release was Psionic Artifacts of Athas (1996). At Gen Con 2026, Wizards of the Coast announced a new official version for Dungeons & Dragons 5.5e, scheduled for release in 2027.

Did You Know?

• Dark Sun was the first TSR setting to come with an established metaplot out of the box.
• The setting has no deities; arcane magic is reviled for causing the planet's ecological fragility.
• Artist Brom designed the look and feel of Dark Sun, doing paintings before the designers wrote about the setting.
• The original Dark Sun Boxed Set was released in 1991 and was one of TSR's most successful releases.
• At Gen Con 2026, Wizards of the Coast announced a new official version for D&D 5.5e, scheduled for 2027.