The 1992 release of TSR’s Dark*Sun Dragon King’s hardcover for 2nd Edition Dungeons & Dragons [boy is that a mouthful!] hit right in the prime of my college years. I never collected Dark*Sun back then, but I played it with my roommate Rob in a single campaign that was a good deal of fun [because I was always the DM and got to get out from behind the screens for a while].
Thus, I didn’t own this supplement when it came out and had to acquire it when I set about looking for Dark*Sun on eBay in probably 2005.
It was written by Timothy B. Brown [which must have been important at the time because his name is very prominently displayed on both the front and back cover] and is a 150 page supplement detailing a character’s ability to ‘explore the 10th level of magic’.
In essence, it takes a look at how evil characters can become the Dragon Kings of Dark*Sun and good characters become giant ‘greys’. Well, not really ‘greys’, but they pretty much look like them with wings attached and I for one had NO interest in getting tough enough to be a ‘good weirdo’ as I liked to call the Avangions.
Anyway, on to the artwork!
With a rather stunning cover by Brom [go figure] the interiors are all black and white illustrations shared by Brom and Tom Baxa, while also repurposing some Brom color plates from other supplements to add in a bit of impactful eye candy along the way.
You always know what you are getting with these two artists, and this book is no different. Dark*Sun was certainly created by the two, and although Baxa’s work has a harder edge that I don’t enjoy as much as Brom’s smooth lines, they are both strong artists who give a player everything they need to imagine and enjoy the universe.
Artistic Rating: 3.5 [out of 5]
