Coming to BackerKit September 22nd, Dragon Kings is reuniting the legendary team behind the original Dark Sun for a new edition of the savage TTRPG:
Strange Owl Games is proud to announce the release of Timothy Brown’s Dragon Kings in a brand-new edition suitable for 5E play, with conversion rules for 2E included. Brown, the award-winning co-creator of the Dark Sun® universe, has further refined the desperate, savage world of Khitus, his spiritual successor to those exciting tropes and themes.
“Dragon Kings is sword and sandal, blood and sand, dark sorcery and elusive, god-like rulers,” says Brown, who released the original edition in 2014. “Capturing the feel of that kind of pulp environment is tricky. I’ve brought together the original team that invented this RPG genre, the team that held the original vision, and as we’ve seen before, you can’t fake that.”
Troy Denning, award-winning designer and a contributor to Dragon Kings, is “thrilled to reunite with fellow Dark Sun co-creator Timothy Brown in the fallen world of Khitus for a one-of-a-kind adventure.”
Brom, the artist who was a key visionary of the original Dark Sun look and is a Dragon Kings artwork contributor, adds, “This is a savage, exciting world; looking forward to this edition!"
The crowdfunding campaign for Dragon Kings includes the Core Book with the entire setting and 5Ecompatible rules, 2E conversion, maps, adventures, setting-appropriate dice, game master’s screen, and audiobook.
Veteran TSR designers Bill Slavicsek and Rich Baker are also part of the Dragon Kings team.
"I got copies of the galleys for the original Dark Sun boxed set when I was a freelancer,” states Bill Slavicsek, Dragon Kings contributor and author of Arcane Shadows, Slave Tribes, and Elves of Athas, “and reading about the cool setting and seeing the Brom art was just inspiring. Tim's Dragon Kings hits all the same notes as the original, and I'm eager to dig in and add my own ideas to what he's created."
Rich Baker, author of Merchant House of Amketch, says, “That is one of the first worlds I got to work on when I started at TSR. I'm excited to spend some time in a world that shares those savage, splendid inspirations."
Shane Hensley, creator of Deadlands and Savage Worlds and designer of City by the Silt Sea and Earth, Fire, Water, & Air for Dark Sun, adds, “I will always love Athas. Timothy Brown, Troy Denning, and Brom put together a setting that transcended the typical fantasy settings of the time to forge something new, exciting, and unapologetically savage. Dragon Kings takes those ideas to the next level, breaking the chains that held back the world of Athas for so long. Now we have the world of Khitus, the Age of Despots, incredible monsters, relentless gladiators, and terrifying magic!”
Dragon Kings crowdfunds on BackerKit, beginning September 22, 2026.
