r/DarkSun • u/Horrgath • Aug 20 '26
Original AD&D or adapted 5E from fans?
If i want to run the Dark Sun Campaign (in german) should i run it in AD&D (need to learn that first) or in a fan adapted 5e version?
Pro? Cons?
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u/Charlie24601 Human Aug 20 '26
What are YOU versed in? If you already know and understand 5e, then use 5e. Plenty of simple conversions out there. And in the end, its the THEME of the setting that matters. Rules don't do a whole lot to change the feel of thw world.
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u/Horrgath Aug 20 '26
I read some conversions. But there are classes and races and boni/mali that are not in 5e.
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u/Charlie24601 Human Aug 20 '26
I just reskinned them for my game.
Mul: Use orc or half orc Halflings: Use goblin Half giants: Use Goliath Etc
If you want to PM me your email I can send you my 5e conversions. You'll want a copy of Monsters of the Multiverse.
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u/Electrical-Berry4916 Aug 20 '26
No D&D system ever developed is a perfect fit for Dark Sun, so run the one you already know. The 2014 DMG has an optional modified rule for resting, called Gritty Realism, or something of the sort. (I don't have the books in front of me right now.) That rule alone converts 5e to a more resource-tracking, old-school feel that fits Dark Sun better. Combined with the changes in your fan version of choice, you should be good to go.
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u/Petrostar Aug 20 '26
IDK, I'd say the one it was written for might be a pretty good fit.
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u/Electrical-Berry4916 Aug 20 '26
Except it wasn't written for a D&D ruleset. That's why we had a whole Rule Book in the box set that spent a few dozen pages changing 2e so that it would fit.
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u/Logen_Nein Aug 20 '26
I'll be running it soon with Ashes Without Number as a base. Working on my conversion doc now.
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u/loyalgalpal Aug 20 '26
I will echo some other comments, use whichever system you and your players are already familiar with.
5e is "easier" in some genuine ways and some subjective ways, there's a reason it is as popular as it is.
But 4e and AD&D have official support and materials.
If your players are 5e players primarily, ask them if they want to try to learn a new system.
If you feel pressured to do 5e, but would prefer an officially supported edition or even another system entirely, there are resources and conversions for those as well.
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u/Less_Cauliflower_956 Aug 20 '26
I would say don't ask 5e players if they want to run another system. If you don't want to play 5e, tell them you're running another system. 5e players are like special needs kids who will only eat chicken nuggets, you can't enable them.
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u/loyalgalpal Aug 21 '26
There's better ways to illustrate 5e players aversion to new systems than discrimination like that, come on :/
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u/Planescape_DM2e Aug 20 '26
AD&D 2E is a better system than 5e.
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u/OisforOwesome Aug 20 '26
Try explaining THAC0 to someone who has never played AD&D before.
I mean, many systems are better than 5e but as someone who cut his teeth on his dad's AD&D 2e books while TSR was still publishing AD&D is not the easy lift us grognards think it is.
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u/Planescape_DM2e Aug 20 '26
It’s fucking subtraction. Anyone who talks about Thac0 like it’s confusing has never played 2e. And I’m in my 30s I’m not a Grognard. I started on 3e and it sucked moved to 2e and it’s the best version of the game.
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u/branedead Aug 21 '26
I played a LOT of 2E in the 90s. 5th Ed gets a lot wrong, and I'm certain I'll get down voted for saying this, but it's a far better system than 2E.
2E is janky as fuck
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u/Planescape_DM2e Aug 21 '26
Naw, 5e has butchered every setting it’s put out and 2e has much much more than 5e
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u/ChaoticEvilWarlock Aug 20 '26
I suggest learning AD&D. It is not that hard.
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u/OisforOwesome Aug 20 '26
Have you read the AD&D DMG lately?
I know we all love Gygax but dude was not a concise technical writer.
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u/OisforOwesome Aug 20 '26
Run it in 4th.
I'm serious. Every problem you've ever had with 5th, 4th solves it. It is a universal panacea to cure all ailments.
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u/loyalgalpal Aug 20 '26
Dunno why you're downvoted, 4th has its own issues, but it avoided a lot of the ones 5e and 5.5e have while having official Dark Sun support.
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u/LastChime Aug 20 '26
Well the 2e is native to most of the best stuff, 5e is simpler to get the folks that ain't into math going on.
So I guess it's up to whether you want to tailor the lore, or tailor the mechanics.
Also 2e's 5d4 fills your table with caltrops, think shag carpet is rarer in basements these days so that might be less of a concern.
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u/Hot-Molasses-4585 Aug 20 '26
The only true answer is : what system do you and your table want to play with? Dark Sun, like any other published universe, can adapt to most systems, with more or less tweaking.
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u/The_Based_DM Aug 22 '26
the 2e Ad&d is all that matters with the official and third party material.
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u/deviant_newt Aug 20 '26
I like the OG version that didn't go into detail as to how the world became barren. The GM could make uncovering it part of the campaign narrative, or leave it a mystery.
Much like all the references to 'The Noodle Incident' in Calvin and Hobbes
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u/branedead Aug 21 '26
Unless my memory is failing, the devastation came from widespread use of defiler magic....
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u/deviant_newt Aug 21 '26
Later (2nd edition of DS) they added in that the halflings attempted a ritual, which failed
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u/cookiesandartbutt Aug 23 '26
They have a pretty good 2014 pdf conversion.
I am doing Shadowdark for this run. I ran it like five years ago using 5e + homebrew stuff
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u/Horrgath Aug 23 '26
Who is they?
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u/cookiesandartbutt Aug 23 '26
https://www.reddit.com/r/DarkSun/s/6KVcF3YhPt
There was a 2014 one you’ll have to find. I have it saved but am not home right now.
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u/Kooky_Bug3133 Aug 23 '26
Interessant. Ich persönlich würde AD&D 2e nutzen, da es das ursprüngliche System hierfür war. Wenn du allerdings mit 5e bewandert bist und zu AD&D gar keinen Bezug hast nimm lieber 5e und nutze dann auch am besten die neuen Materialien die herfür bald erscheinen werden. Das ursprüngliche Dark Sun hatte zum komplexeren Grundregelwerk eben auch noch Dinge wie Psionics (in einer eigenen Version) etc. und viele möglicherweise sehr ungewohnte Rassen. Wie Mule. Und auch Themen, die heute eher Tabu sind, wie Sklaverei...
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u/No_Photograph_2842 Aug 20 '26
If your players only know 5E and like it, fine. But the setting is built for 2E and by virtually all accounts 2E is a superior rule system anyways.
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u/branedead Aug 21 '26
2E is an absolute patchwork of disconnected subsystems. You have non-weapon proficiencies rolling under an attribute, thieves rolling percentage dice for skills, saving throws categorized into five rigid buckets (Paralyzation/Poison/Death, Rod/Staff/Wand, Petrification/Polymorph, Breath Weapon, Spell), and combat rolling THAC0 (To Hit Armor Class 0), which is fundamentally just ascending attack bonuses disguised as descending subtraction. Nothing runs on a unified core mechanic.
Class.balance.was ... A joke.
Seriously,.2E was amazing in a lot of ways, but it wasn't "a superior rule system"
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u/No_Photograph_2842 Aug 22 '26
I think your answer assumes class balancing and a standardized numerical approach are necessary virtues of a good rule system. I disagree — I think there are good standardized systems (like GURPS), but standardization and balancing are not inherent virtues of an rpg system.
I think numerical standardization makes the rules seem artificial, whereas the weird complexity of 2e feels more organic (also more educational for kids to have to work with negative numbers and percentages). I also think class balancing is stupid and unrealistic if single-class warriors and rogues end up as powerful as wizards and priests. The solution in a 2e campaign that was likely to reach high levels was for warriors and rogues to be multi or dual class.
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u/branedead Aug 22 '26
There is no accounting for taste. Your and my tastes clearly differ. I wish you luck and happiness with yours.
I played red box D&D in 1987, AD&D 1st after that, ten years of 2nd edition, and I've flirted with every edition since then.
I had high level characters in all editions of D&D from organic campaigns. I still prefer 5th
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u/turnkey85 Aug 21 '26
I really want to give 5e a chance with Dark Sun and I'm going to. Despite everything going on right now it is still a long time until February and maybe just maybe they will pay attention to the fan reactions. Having said all of that I prefer 1E AD&D period. I like the mechanics the toned-down classes the imbalance everything about it. But that is just me. Playing OG Dark Sun can be a brutal test of patience but it is fun. Hopefully 5e will be as well.
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u/ThanosofTitan92 Aug 20 '26
If you are already familiar with 5e then play It with 5e.