Dark Sun: Shattered Lands

Darksun: Shattered Lands is a turn-based RPG that takes place in Duengons and Dragons' Dark Sun campaign setting. It was released in a somewhat unfinished state in 1994 by Strategic Simulations, Inc., and later patched to a more workable version.

The game takes place in the fictional land of Athas, a dying desert world. The locale is Draj, a city state ruled by a powerful sorcerer-king. Nearby are several "free cities", surviving in the desert thanks to the hard work of their citizens, and Draj seemingly has nothing better to do than to destroy them all. You begin leading a party of four gladiators, condemned to fight in Draj's arena until you die, so naturally the first order of business is escape. Upon escape, you must unite the free cities to resist Draj's army.

The game is noted for its highly strategic combat thanks to its two-dimensional turn-based combat system. No two battles are alike, and many of the "boss battles" involve a large army rather than a few powerful mages. Proper formation and spell use is a must, particuarly when attacked from several directions. Characters are also far more powerful in Dark Sun than in ordinary AD+D campaign settings.

The game had one sequel, Darksun: Wake of the Ravager. An online MMORPG, Darksun: Crimson Sands, was canceled early in develepment.