Copies of Spelljammer are starting to show up. Mike Long of Tribality is in receipt of the books and has tweeted some photos!
Huh. On rereading the Defiler according to the original 1991 Dark Sun Setting Guide, I have to agree with you. I feel the original Dark Sun is the one 5e must prioritize.This is the one bit of your post that really doesn't work for me. IMO, defiling needs to be an option available to all arcane casters at almost any time - it needs to be an ever-present temptation to take the easy way out at the cost of destroying the world. Gating it behind a feat (or background, or indeed and opt-in or opt-out mechanic) robs it of that value.
I don't agree with that. Dark Sun could have a rule that all arcane casters must pick either the Defiler or Preserve background. Backgrounds as we know from the UA are going to be coming with free feats attached at 1st and perhaps 4th level. Those feats could provide those who pick the Defiler background an ever present temptation to take the easy way at the cost of destroying the world.This is the one bit of your post that really doesn't work for me. IMO, defiling needs to be an option available to all arcane casters at almost any time - it needs to be an ever-present temptation to take the easy way out at the cost of destroying the world. Gating it behind a feat (or background, or indeed and opt-in or opt-out mechanic) robs it of that value.
But preserving and defiling aren’t mutually exclusive. You can alternate between them. Isn’t that what Sadira does in the Prism Pentad?I don't agree with that. Dark Sun could have a rule that all arcane casters must pick either the Defiler or Preserve background. Backgrounds as we know from the UA are going to be coming with free feats attached at 1st and perhaps 4th level. Those feats could provide those who pick the Defiler background an ever present temptation to take the easy way at the cost of destroying the world.
I'm pretty sure you couldn't switch between them in 2e. They had different experience charts. Perhaps Sadira was something special. Was she in a novel? Novels get away with things due to the power of plot.But preserving and defiling aren’t mutually exclusive. You can alternate between them. Isn’t that what Sadira does in the Prism Pentad?
I think preserving and defiling need to be open-ended rules for the setting that anyone who can use arcane magic can do, rather than something gated behind a background and/or feat or even a subclass or whatever.
The rules in the box don’t match the fiction in the novels. You’re either, or according to the rules. But in the fiction you have to choose with every spell cast whether you defile or preserve.Yes, Sadira is one of the main characters in the novel series. It's been a loooong time since I read the 2e rules, so I guess I was misremembering.