Looking for DM to run 4e Dark Sun campaign

Dark Sun doesn't get as much love as I would like. It's my favorite D&D setting to be honest. It's a harsh world where nice guys finish la...never mind they die! City-states are scattered throughout the mostly desert Tyr region of Athas where all but one is ruled by a tyrannical sorcerer-king or queen. I thought it would be neat if we were evil/unaligned characters in the service of a sorcerer-king/queen (perhaps King Hamanu of the city-state of Urik). We could be tasked with rooting out and exterminating hidden Veiled Alliance cells, putting down a slave rebellion, attempting to gain control of some newly discovered resources like an iron mine (metals are precious and rare), etc. whatever is commanded of us. Too many games require us to be good in some fashion or be unaligned, which is overplayed and cliche. To prevent us from running amok and going about doing as we please and abusing the system, there is always the fear of our master's wrath for disobedience, not to mention potentially being killed outright for stealing from the wrong people, especially if we're outside our city's walls in some other city-state or settlement. If you have qualms with DMing an evil campaign, I'd be fine with that as long as it's Dark Sun! :-) If you're reading this as a potential player, feel free to read up on the lore of Athas. There's a wealth of information out there. My time zone is Pacific U.S. (GMT-8) and I'm free pretty much every evening, but I might be able to play early in the morning some days if it would help some European folks be able to play at a reasonable time.

I am toying the idea to run a Dark Sun campaign at one point (not sure I am ready), and I would play in one. If I will run one I am sure it won't use the 4th edition, though Dark Sun is the only setting I would play in 4th edition D&D. AD&D 2nd edition Dark Sun is great, much more easier to deal with than the following editions. But honestly, my dream is to make a good conversion into GURPS. And yes, I do like your idea of a campaign. I like gray moral zones, rather than the fight of Good and Evil. Surely the sorcerer kings are dictators, but they create safe havens compare the scorched land of the Tyr region. I woudl base a campaign in the Ivory Triangle (with one of the last remaining forest and two city-states in war - Gulg and Nibenay).

To give some people a brief synopsis: Ahhh... the city-state of Gulg, located in a lush forested region known as the Ivory Triangle. It is governed by the sorcerer-queen Lalali-Puy. She's the primal magic wielder among the dictators and the people's disposition regarding her is vastly different than that of the populace of other city-states' rulers. They call her the Oba, the "forest goddess," and both love and fear her. She lies to them and claims that the primal spirits of the forest are inherently evil and would kill them if they could, when in reality she enslaves and tortures them and bends their power to her will. If your character is an outsider and is a primal class like a shaman or druid, it wouldn't be wise to question their belief system. Water and lumber is much more plentiful in the Ivory Triangle than other regions of the Tyr region and it has led to wars over resources, particularly with the neighboring city-state of Nibenay. It is known as the city of spires and I believe it is the wealthiest city-state in the land. House Shom is a very prosperous merchant house that has its headquarters there. It is ruled by King Nibenay, who named his kingdom after himself. They call him the shadow king and is rarely seen in public anymore. He sort of lives in seclusion. He has a private army of elite guards that are all female and all of them are required to be married to him.

It sounds as if you have found the dm, in yourself

I would rather play though!

So Christian, wouldn't you consider to run a 4th edition D&D campaign in Dark Sun? If you rather play, would you play it in a different system?

Sadly, 4e is the only version I know. Hell, it's the only table top RPG I know how to play period.

Well, that could be easily changed if you are willing to learn a new system :). But let me explain why I am toying the idea to run Dark Sun in a different system than 4e. (These are my own opinions and don't take an offense dear readers). 4 edition Dark Sun is perhaps the best 4 edition book. Though I dislike the 4 edition for the reason I found that a character sheet is mostly about combat abilities and "special attacks" very similar to an MMORPG, the Dark Sun 4 edition is decent enough with good material of background aside of the rules. Mind you, now that I look back to the old books of AD&D 2nd, I found that more and more space is for the rules as the new editions comes out and less for the setting itself. 3.5 (and 3.0, and Pathfinder). There is a fan made (or there are several fan made) conversion of Dark Sun, nicely done, with enough materials to run a game. But again, I have the same problem as in 4 edition. And it even gets worse for a DM to run a high level campaign because all of the stats a DM has to dealt with for the modifiers and NPC stats and special abilities/spells/attacks/etc. When I run games back I realized 3.5 with the spells is more like a modern commando game in a fantasy setting, whoever prepares and attacks first have an edge and success. Also combats tend to occupy most of the gaming time as it is just to long to handle. AD&D 2nd. It is a decent enough game system, though probably it is as flawed as the later editions I do like it, with a much easier combat system, less statistic and more space for customization for the character personality (you simply don't have to take a prestige class to represent some background). Also this is the original system for Dark Sun with a lot of printed materials. But in the end I think Dark Sun could have a place in GURPS system. It is an universal system with a capacity to customize into any style of game you wish to play. It is not the most easiest system around, but have a great skill system which in my opinion essential in Dark Sun grim landscape (the environment is as much a challenge as any monster). It has additional optional rules for dehydration, cultural differences (which works great with the thousands years old city-states around), with combat that is more gritty than flashy. GURPS has books for low technology which is also essential to Dark Sun. I suppose one of the charm of Dark Sun that it cuts from the traditional fantasy's medieval setting for a ancient age, bronze setting with cultures more closer to Aztecs, Egyptians, Indians, Mesopotamian, than Dark Age's Europe. The hindrance of the GURPS system is the lot of work to make a home mode conversation. I would not run 4 edition Dark Sun, but I would play. I love the Dark Sun enough, but as I tend to treat combat very differently as storyteller from 4 edition I would find it difficult to run a game in that system.