I’ve been looking forward to Dark Sun 4E, and in doing so, I’ve been trying to put the past behind me so I can get fully into the new setting. So I haven’t looked through my old Dark Sun books lately. But one book sticks out in my mind as perhaps the greatest Dark Sun 2E source book, that will be hard to top even in 4E. That book of course is Dragon Kings, by Timothy Brown. Let me share with you why:
- Hard Cover: In the age of floppy sourcebooks, Dragon Kings was a hard cover book. In fact it was the only Dark Sun 2E book that had a hard cover. Hard covers mean something to mean. It conveys the sense of permanency, of importance.
- Predecessors of Epic Destinies: Dragon Kings had paths for characters beyond level 20. This includes how your character could become an elemental, avangion, or even (drum roll) a Dragon just like a sorcerer king or, dare I say, Borys of Ebe - the Dragon of Athas.
- Equipment: Looking for a good war? Then look no further than the Undead War Beetle or the Mekillot Ram (and to a lesser extent the chariots, silt skimmer, and cliff glider) - which you could actually use in the game.
- Art: There is some great art in there from Brom and Baxa. The Best Brom works are the illustrations of the war machines. The best Baxa work has got to be the full color chariot scene on page 35 (though the dragon and avangion progression are great too).
If you own Dragon Kings, care for it well and take a look at the art on page 35. If you don’t have it or don’t care about the books from 2E then just know that Dragon Kings is the pinnacle of Dark Sun 2E sourcebooks.
