Dark Sun: Shattered Lands is fucking great

[Red Hexapus]

Played and finished it half a year ago. It's a great game but the final battle can seriously fuck you over. Up till that point I was hacking enemies to pieces left and right with my half-giant and thri-kreen. Fortunately using AOE spells to control the enemies helped a lot, and I have finally beaten it.

 

[jaekl]

I just finished this recently. With this party, it was quite easy. Very fun game.

Half giant Gladiator
Elf Ranger/Preserver/Thief
Half Elf Fighter/Druid/Preserver
Dwarf Fighter/Cleric/Psionicist

 

[Saduj]

About to start this. From what I've heard it sounds awesome and way up my alley. Any tips gents? What would be a good party?

Just said this in another thread: It is possible to get through this game without much trouble until the last fight only to realize that you can't beat the final battle with the party you have. The level cap is only 8 and you can max out dual class characters easily. For that reason, I'd recommend dual or triple classing 3 or more of your characters making sure you have plenty of impactful spells for the final battle. Thieves are only needed briefly early on so triple class that one. Something like the party the last guy posted is good.

 

[KainenMorden]

About to start this. From what I've heard it sounds awesome and way up my alley. Any tips gents? What would be a good party?

Just said this in another thread: It is possible to get through this game without much trouble until the last fight only to realize that you can't beat the final battle with the party you have. The level cap is only 8 and you can max out dual class characters easily. For that reason, I'd recommend dual or triple classing 3 or more of your characters making sure you have plenty of impactful spells for the final battle. Thieves are only needed briefly early on so triple class that one. Something like the party the last guy posted is good.

I did a run about a year ago with a solo HG F/C of Earth. It was fun but I wonder if the game was actually easier right up to the final battle.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

SSI and their final battles at times. They love to slam them on us. Gateway to the Savage Frontier was a doozy too. I think treasures felt less so. It has been a while. Did I run those twice? Once on Amiga and once on PC? Yeah, I think so. I feel these later games got the shaft too soon.

Dark Sun got three games at least (sort of)

Al-Qadim got… uh action RPG thing.

Spelljammer was a hot buggy mess.

Not D&D but damn shame World of Aden (Thunderscape) wasn’t better and then you have Entomorph which felt sort of like Al-Qadim (very loosely).

I’d have liked to seen more Dark Sun games and/or a construction set. That’d be cool.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

So DSO discord got hit by spamming hard. I don’t see much there now. Probably huge deletion. Mentioned was the hacker was reported and now they’re cleaning up what’s left of the discord. Work might go on in private since hackers can be huge assholes.

 

[LJ40]

Most of those restrictions make sense, but what exactly prevents Mr. Kreen from wearing a girdle (or a cloak for that matter)?

Edit - Yeah, totally missed belts there too.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Belt and cloak make little sense for being disallowed.

 

[Nikanuur]

 

[Nikanuur]

Most of those restrictions make sense, but what exactly prevents Mr. Kreen from wearing a girdle (or a cloak for that matter)?

Edit - Yeah, totally missed belts there too.

Probably ethical reasons...

I mean, you are a four-armed, gloriously chitinous killing machine with pride! Your adult-rite was very likely something like killing two Stygian Sandcrawlers (monstrous) just with your bare claws, then extract four 1.5 feet long hatchlings from the belly of the beast you just slew who can spit paralytic/necrolytic poison even in their unborn state, and carry those across the desert, 100 miles back to your village while feeding them with your own blood to even keep them alive.

You don't do things like that only to don some stupid mammal-made rinks and caips later on. That'd be an utter travesty to the mercy of the village's tradition and good manners.

 

[madrigal]

Psionics is more powerful than other magic, doesn't hurt to add psionic to multi class characters.

 

[zapotec]

About to start this. From what I've heard it sounds awesome and way up my alley. Any tips gents? What would be a good party?

For avoiding the final battle bug:
1)I let Wyrmias go in Gedron. This was tough and took several reloads to accomplish due to my warriors' multiple attacks automatically striking his new form.
You can kill him on the spot or let him go, but if he gets hit and leaves you're boned.
2)The other one that I'll repeat here is Laussa's quest (the ssurran south of Teaquetzl).
Once you've convinced her to go and join the tribe to the west, she starts to leave.
Naturally you'll want to teleport away, but if she doesn't get to leave the area completely she locks up the Final Battle.
Let her walk off the screen and disappear completely, and you're good.
Full reference:
https://af.gog.com/forum/dungeons_d...s_final_battle_does_not_trigger?as=1649904300

 

[Saduj]

The last post reminds me of something I always wondered about this game.

Spoiler

You have to get the major towns on your side in order to trigger the final battle. But there are several other groups of people who are not part of the main quest but can still be recruited as allies. Theoretically, having more allies should make the final battle easier. But does the game actually care if you recruit these extra allies or not?

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Kind of reminds me of Disciples of Steel getting allies to join the final fight.

 

[Arbiter]

Kind of reminds me of Disciples of Steel getting allies to join the final fight.

The concept of gathering an army of allies for a decisive battle is good, but the execution is lacking in some RPGs:

 

[Arbiter]

I like the Dark Sun setting and would love to see more RPGs set in a similar world. The only thing I dislike is the widespread use of psionics. Why would run of the mill monsters or INT 3 fighters be able to use supernatural powers?

 

[Nikanuur]

I like the Dark Sun setting and would love to see more RPGs set in a similar world. The only thing I dislike is the widespread use of psionics. Why would run of the mill monsters or INT 3 fighters be able to use supernatural powers?

I extend my sympathies. However, for better or worse, that's just the way they intended it:

https://darksun.fandom.com/wiki/Psionicist
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Sun

"...Dark Sun differs further in that the game has no deities, arcane magic is reviled for causing the planet's current ecological fragility, and psionics are extremely common..."

I'd wager that in "reality" psionics can simply occur as an evolutionary thing--the same as having a chitinous carapace, an ability to fly, or developing a sonar to circumvent watery expanses--and in it's core would be unrelated to conceptual thinking or intelligence.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Think of the psionic overflow like radiation infected beings. They just evolved and it is rather natural like mutant freaks the world is full of.

 

[Sunri]

This game needs a remake

 

[Herumor]

This game needs a remake

The only devs I'd trust to keep to the spirit of the game is Iron Tower and they're busy with Colony Ship.

 

[Dorateen]

The only devs I'd trust to keep to the spirit of the game is Iron Tower and they're busy with Colony Ship.

Pierre (Heroic Fantasy Games) has a proven track record of being inspired by Shattered Land's design. And his upcoming module for Knights of the Chalice 2 "The Dark Arena", will be similarly influenced.

 

[luj1]

I like the Dark Sun setting and would love to see more RPGs set in a similar world. The only thing I dislike is the widespread use of psionics. Why would run of the mill monsters or INT 3 fighters be able to use supernatural powers?

because in the Dark Sun setting everything is psionic

even grass is psionic

 

[luj1]

This game needs a remake

The only devs I'd trust to keep to the spirit of the game is Iron Tower and they're busy with Colony Ship.

There is a massive NwN PW in production

i played there and can say the assets and atmosphere are amazing. very hard gameplay too

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

At times I think that Vagrus Riven realms tried to be a little Dark Sunish.

 

[luj1]

the setting is for sure

but that game is full of system bloat, cant play that spreadsheet crap