Journeys Across the Tablelands

Game Master dickie

Always wondered if you have what it takes to survive the post-apocalyptic Dark Sun campaign setting? Have a hankering for old-school 2nd edition AD&D? Maybe you know Athas well but simply yearn to hear the arena crowd roar once again as you spill your opponent's blood on the parched dust?

Well, good news, because traders are hiring caravan guards for immediate employment, and they don't care if you're a slave on the run! Yes, it is dangerous work but it is also rewarding. The merchant houses take care of their own and know where to find water.

If you're interested, submit your 2nd edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Dark Sun character below. If you need a refresher on the rules check out this site for the core rules.

Character creation:

Stat rolls!

Stat: 4d4 + 4 ⇒ (4, 3, 2, 1) + 4 = 14
Stat: 4d4 + 4 ⇒ (1, 4, 3, 4) + 4 = 16
Stat: 4d4 + 4 ⇒ (4, 4, 3, 3) + 4 = 18
Stat: 4d4 + 4 ⇒ (3, 2, 1, 4) + 4 = 14
Stat: 4d4 + 4 ⇒ (2, 4, 2, 2) + 4 = 14
Stat: 4d4 + 4 ⇒ (3, 2, 2, 1) + 4 = 12

Working on Ludi of Sarenzo, a psionicist who is trying to develop his mental prowess but also looking for ways to change the status quo and make a more just society. (Starting small, of course.)

(Male human psionicist, freeman)

Hit points: 2d6 + 6 ⇒ (3, 2) + 6 = 11

OK here's the alias for Ludi of Sarenzo, the aforementioned psionicist.

Starting wealth: 3d4 ⇒ (1, 1, 4) = 6 x10 = 60 cp

Wild talent: 1d100 ⇒ 89 Telepathy
Wild talent: Telepathy: 1d100 ⇒ 63 Psychic messenger

I went ahead and took bonus proficiencies from high Intelligence, if that's OK.

Dark Sun? Really? It's been a long time since I've played in that world. Might have to see if I can come up with something interesting.

4d4 + 4 ⇒ (3, 2, 4, 2) + 4 = 15
4d4 + 4 ⇒ (1, 1, 3, 1) + 4 = 10
4d4 + 4 ⇒ (4, 4, 3, 1) + 4 = 16
4d4 + 4 ⇒ (3, 4, 3, 2) + 4 = 16
4d4 + 4 ⇒ (4, 1, 4, 3) + 4 = 16
4d4 + 4 ⇒ (4, 4, 2, 2) + 4 = 16

Questions. Defilers? Dune traders? The two races that get mentioned in core as viable and promptly forgotten for all time?

15.17.13.15.15.14

Hmm will have to sketch out a few things.

Hmmm...thinking a Half-Giant Gladiator

Question for the other players, I play thrikreen and half giants the way they are written. Would either make the game completely unfun to deal with?

One inevitable question is how languages are handled. Is common free, is racial free, or must all be purchased with NWPs?

edit: elven fighter/thief in the works.
lvl 2 hp fighter: 1d10 ⇒ 3
lvl 2 hp thief: 1d6 ⇒ 3

Question for the other players, I play thrikreen and half giants the way they are written. Would either make the game completely unfun to deal with?

I only have "unfun" when this leads to disruption in the party - like if your thri-kreen tries to eat me, or your half-giant switches sides to work with the bad guys and kill us all.

@DM: Also, should we make a character tree, or just the one character?

Questions. Defilers? Dune traders? The two races that get mentioned in core as viable and promptly forgotten for all time?

Over on the initial interest check thread, the DM said no defilers, yes templars and traders.

Half Giant Gladiator

(Half-Giant double the HD each level) HP: 2d10 + 10 ⇒ (5, 10) + 10 = 25 x 2 = 42 + 3 x Con Modifier (4) => 54 HP!

Starting Wealth: 5d4 ⇒ (4, 4, 2, 4, 3) = 17 x 30 = 510 (All personal items, such as clothing, armor, weapons, and food, cost double for half-giant characters. Transportation and lodging, when they’re available at all, are also considerably more expensive.)

@Jesse Heinig - in the Campaign Setting the DM Linked in his intro post, psionicist starting cash is 3d4 x 30, not the 10 you have above.

Stats from above: 15 10 16 16 16 16; Half-Giant mods = Str +4 Con +2 Int -2 Wis -2 Cha -2

Str: 20 (+2/+4; 170; 315; 13, 25%)
Dex: 16 (+1; +1; -2)
Con: 18 (+4; 99%; 98%)
Int: 14 (4)
Wis: 13 (-)
Cha: 8 (3, -1, 0)

4d4 + 4 ⇒ (1, 4, 1, 3) + 4 = 13
4d4 + 4 ⇒ (2, 1, 1, 3) + 4 = 11
4d4 + 4 ⇒ (3, 2, 4, 4) + 4 = 17
4d4 + 4 ⇒ (1, 1, 1, 1) + 4 = 8
4d4 + 4 ⇒ (1, 4, 3, 2) + 4 = 14
4d4 + 4 ⇒ (3, 4, 2, 2) + 4 = 15

Now to see if I can pull off the Thri-Kreen druid.

Proficiencies are a must, keep in mind psionic profs and that there are some new ones in the campaign setting boxed set. If a character somehow came from the Last Sea, then the profs mentioned in that boxed set are fine, but unlikely to see use.

I did decide Defilers would be allowed...HOWEVER...I will not be pulling punches since this is Dark Sun, so anyone going defiler should expect agents of the Dragon Kings, druids, elemental clerics, and the Veiled Alliance (among many others) to come down hard on them if they're discovered. They're a total PitA, but I really hate banning things, so I figured I would just make life really, really, really hard if someone wanted to play one. Not recommended, but I won't explicitly ban them. But heavily discouraged, lol.

Traders are not only allowed, but encouraged since I want the characters to feel free to travel widely. The class and associations with the merchant houses provides a built in excuse to come and go from various locations, which can trigger various stories and modules.

Not sure which two you mean, lol, but if they're in the setting books, they're good to go.

I will not require a NWP slot be used to know Common (aka Trade) and will allow humans and half-humans a free bonus language so they're not left out, and I'm ignoring regional languages, otherwise check the boxed set for more on languages.

If it wasn't clear, defilers will have it rough once they're found out, and they always get discovered eventually. A vague disclaimer is no one's friend. :P

@DM Dickie: How soon do you intend to start the game, or perhaps more importantly how long do we have to finalize characters?

@Jesse Heinig - in the Campaign Setting the DM Linked in his intro post, psionicist starting cash is 3d4 x 30, not the 10 you have above.

I was going from the Psionics Handbook:

Initial Funds

When psionicist characters begin play, they have 3d4x10 gold pieces.

Of course in DARK SUN gp becomes cp.

Wealth: 5d4 ⇒ (1, 2, 1, 1, 2) = 7 x30= 210 cp
Wild Talent: 1d100 ⇒ 39 = Catfall

Ahh, didnt realize that had been answered on another thread.

Only reason a half giant would go evil is if you guys continually bullied him or if his bestest friend ever told him he should be.

Thrikreen jockey for lead of the party at the start, but once it gets figured out they stay in their lane.

That all being said I will probably just thrikreen fighter and be happy.

4d4 + 4 ⇒ (1, 4, 2, 2) + 4 = 13
4d4 + 4 ⇒ (4, 4, 4, 4) + 4 = 20
4d4 + 4 ⇒ (1, 2, 4, 4) + 4 = 15
4d4 + 4 ⇒ (2, 4, 4, 2) + 4 = 16
4d4 + 4 ⇒ (3, 2, 2, 2) + 4 = 13
4d4 + 4 ⇒ (2, 4, 4, 1) + 4 = 15

2d10 ⇒ (9, 5) = 14hp

1d100 ⇒ 37Talent

I'm playing a little fast and loose with specific start time. I want folks to tweak as they need before things officially start, but I am thinking of creating the game play thread tomorrow or Thursday as a sort of "lobby" where characters who are mostly ready can show up with an introductory post, maybe interact with other ready-characters as they wait for the official start.

Yeah, whenever possible, default to the campaign setting for all class and race related stuff, including starting money.

Oh, trees...they're neat, but can be a pain in terms of book keeping. I will say they're optional since they don't require a lot of extra work on my end and leave it at that. Your choice if you want to do the extra work, but I will need to know who has what as alts.

Just curious, anyone eyeing any kits? Looks like so far we have psion, druid, fighter/thief, gladiator, and a fighter. Interesting. Unless anyone wants to back out or ghost away, we still have room for one more.

I believe that is enhanced strength, and I would have 6 PSP, 2 initial and four to pay maintenance 4 times. Someone correct if wrong please.

I think I'll change to pure thief, I was itching to do it in another game here. Ill keep the hp roll for 2nd and roll a 3rd with new starting wealth.

3rd hp: 1d6 ⇒ 3
Thief wealth: 2d6 ⇒ (6, 2) = 8x30= 240 cp

Should we buy equipment starting as prisoners?

I'm considering the Reaver kit for my gladiator, but I'm not completely sold on it yet.

No, I'm avoiding the all too-common "starting as slaves" trope. In general, the characters are signing on with a caravan headed out of Urik under the employment of House Stel. Exactly why is whatever you want. Could be a runaway slave, a nobleman with a price on your head, or maybe even just because the caravan route will eventually lead you where you need to go and there is safety in numbers. That's all that matters to begin with, and I have a couple possible modules/prepared encounters to go from using that one story conceit/requirement.

Oh, whoops, lol. No idea why I thought that we were starting as prisoners. Sounds good.

I'll have to read through the NWP descriptions again before deciding about kit or even to have one. For thief kits, most of the time the only benefit is getting NWP you normally couldn't.

There are elf rogue kits that are not super impressive, but either of which fits in well campaign wise in the Elves of Athas book.

The Reaver likewise fits the story idea of traveling around Athas and seeing the sights.

But that's just the DM's perspective, lol. As I said, kits from other sources/worlds may be acceptable if we can justify adapting them.

I mean, Tik is basically a foregone conclusion.

I'll do the spy kit, if allowed. Some decent free NWP and perhaps some intriguing in game consequences.

Bonus PSP for wild talent: 1d4 ⇒ 1

Tik makes the most sense in racial background terms for why one of the people would travel so far over the mountains.

Spy is an easy approval. Every world, every culture has them.

Weird how the thief book lists bonus NWPs as required. I guess they were still working out how to describe kits in general when it came out, but I did confirm that for that book required were really bonus. Everyone else should take note of that. Sometimes required is required, sometimes it means bonus profs.

The psion may need to be the face, lol. What with two kreen, a half-giant, and an elf that everyone is right not to trust :P

Indeed, no one would ever read required as free I would imagine. The book does note how it works but its buried in typical 2e fasion.

And, another subtlety from that same paragraph, very last sentence. I did not ever notice that restriction! In that case I will not use a kit. I would prefer to choose my NWP freely.

Crunch in that case is basically done except purchases:

After looking at a few other books, thief seems to be the only one that has that weird last line, so I will ignore it. Recommended profs will remain recommendations only, you don't need to spend all your slots but one on them.

I'm not taking a kit at this time on Ludi. (Eventually, if I can find a way to raise his Intelligence, he'd dual-class into preserver and go the whole long road to advanced being transformation, but will any game ever actually go that long? Probably not...)

I looked in my DARK SUN boxed set for starting cash though and it seems that I should get x30 instead of x10, so I'll adjust his money appropriately.

Kinda surprised that nobody is playing a preserver!

I'll make an alt for the character tree rules.

Stat: 4d4 + 4 ⇒ (3, 2, 4, 4) + 4 = 17
Stat: 4d4 + 4 ⇒ (3, 4, 1, 3) + 4 = 15
Stat: 4d4 + 4 ⇒ (2, 3, 3, 4) + 4 = 16
Stat: 4d4 + 4 ⇒ (4, 3, 3, 1) + 4 = 15
Stat: 4d4 + 4 ⇒ (4, 3, 2, 3) + 4 = 16
Stat: 4d4 + 4 ⇒ (4, 1, 4, 4) + 4 = 17

Wild talent: 1d100 ⇒ 63 Psychoportation
Wild talent: Psychoportation: 1d100 ⇒ 28 Dimensional Door

This fascinating stat array will become Jezebel Sandstrider, half-elf ranger/thief/psionicist.

Starting wealth: 5d4 ⇒ (3, 2, 4, 3, 1) = 13 x30 = 390 cp for the tough lady
Ranger hit points: 1d10 ⇒ 6
Thief hit points: 1d6 ⇒ 4
Psionicist hit points: 1d6 ⇒ 6

Wow, an ADND game? and Darksun non-the-less? Consider me interested as heck. Assuming there is still room.

4d4 + 4 ⇒ (2, 1, 1, 1) + 4 = 9
4d4 + 4 ⇒ (2, 2, 2, 2) + 4 = 12
4d4 + 4 ⇒ (2, 1, 3, 3) + 4 = 13
4d4 + 4 ⇒ (1, 2, 3, 1) + 4 = 11
4d4 + 4 ⇒ (2, 2, 2, 2) + 4 = 12
4d4 + 4 ⇒ (2, 2, 1, 1) + 4 = 10

I think I'm going to make a priest of either Earth or Water.

Those were some terrible rolls there, Vrog. DM, can he have a mulligan? Only three 3s and no 4s on 24d4!

ok, found the revised chart for darksun in the will and the way... so, might as well use the correct charts. 37 from before makes it psychometabolism
1d100 ⇒ 43 chemical simulation

psp 33

Final Stats
Str 16
Dex 22
Con 15
Int 14
Wis 14
Cha 11

wealth 5d4 ⇒ (3, 3, 1, 3, 4) = 14 420 ceramic worth of items.

I think that is all the rolls. I will have a character up either tonight or tomorrow morning.

Oh dear, quite a few players here already. I'm super keen, but if you're already full up, let me know before I get too excited :)

Here's some rolls anyhow.

4d4 + 4 ⇒ (4, 1, 4, 3) + 4 = 16
4d4 + 4 ⇒ (4, 4, 3, 4) + 4 = 19
4d4 + 4 ⇒ (2, 3, 3, 4) + 4 = 16
4d4 + 4 ⇒ (4, 2, 2, 4) + 4 = 16
4d4 + 4 ⇒ (1, 1, 4, 1) + 4 = 11
4d4 + 4 ⇒ (3, 3, 3, 4) + 4 = 17

Ah, it was inevitable someone would ask about a reroll. It is why I usually dislike rolling stats, but when you're doing old-school, it just feels right.

So I did not want to say it before to avoid seeing tons of rerolling, but yes, secretly I was planning on allowing a free retry if someone was under 70 total stats. Vrog definitely qualifies, lol.

We may have hit six, but I would keep your eyes peeled in case someone drops out. Plus I am wndering if I could have a party of 8 without it being too big of a pain (group initiative makes larger groups more manageable) and maybe even opens up wider range of modules that can be in play.

Okay so I am going to create a game play thread tomorrow (already wrote it up, just waiting about 24 hours to open it). So what do you need to be ready enough to be in?

Most of your crunch - I don't mind leaving an NWP slot or two open while you discuss with other players who has what skills covered, or even a spell/power or two left open. Same with gear. Make sure you at least have any weapons or armor (remember materials and piecemeal armor rules) purchased. You will need to have enough of a backstory to cover any pre-game social interactions.

When the thread is opened, those who are mostly or fully done, be ready to give us a description in the thread.

That's really it. Players should shoot for being done-done about 48 hours or so from this post. I will be around intermittently tonight if any new questions arise.

Ludi is ready to go with gear, psionic powers, and proficiencies. Jezebel is almost done, just need to copy in her special abilities (thief skills, ranger abilities, psionic power descriptions), but she has her gear, proficiencies, and powers picked.

Fun factoid: If you don't start as a psychokineticist, it's really hard to get into PK later! Due to the rule that you must have twice as many devotions as sciences, and the fact that pretty much every PK power in the Complete Psionics Handbook has Telekinesis as a prerequisite (a science), if you don't start as a PK primary with TK + a few devotions, you have to go looking far and wide for other PK devotions that don't require Telekinesis, just so you can get 2 devotions so that you can THEN get Telekinesis later and meet the prerequisite to open up other PK devotions!

Other players: I plan to start with Ludi, though I could play my alt instead if desired. Ludi is a primary clairsentient, so he has powers like avoiding getting lost, seeing things at a distance, and detecting things. Mostly utility there. He fights with spear and shield if necessary - as with all psionicists, not very well. Proficiency-wise he is knowledgeable about psionic oddities and can rejuvenate power points quickly during rest periods. He also has some basic utility skills for farming, based on his upbringing.

Jezebel is a jill-of-all-trades who can track, survive in the wild, stalk city streets and dungeons, and use a small amount of psychic powers. Her power suite is psychoportation and psychometabolism, with a focus on self-healing and mobility (including the ability to teleport or phase!). She is a longbow specialist so she is best in ranged combat.

Late as usual which is nothing unusual for me.

Looking at Elf Jazst Gladiator

roll: 4d4 + 4 ⇒ (4, 3, 3, 1) + 4 = 15
roll: 4d4 + 4 ⇒ (3, 3, 1, 3) + 4 = 14
roll: 4d4 + 4 ⇒ (3, 4, 4, 2) + 4 = 17
roll: 4d4 + 4 ⇒ (4, 4, 2, 2) + 4 = 16
roll: 4d4 + 4 ⇒ (4, 1, 2, 3) + 4 = 14
roll: 4d4 + 4 ⇒ (2, 1, 2, 2) + 4 = 11

I should be able to get a character sheet together for my character tomorrow evening. 15 hour workday wasn't gonna let that happen today.

As a side note, I have decide to go forward with the Reaver kit for my gladiator.

Are thieve's picks considered metal and full price (3000cp)?

Okay, thinking elf preserver. Working on crunch now. Haven't played AD&D for 20 years, so bear that in mind - I'll probably need a good audit of my PC!

Edit: Also, I think I'll take the tribal wizard kit from the Defilers and Preservers book. Means I'm poor, but I get a free ESP spell every day, which will allow me to pretend to be a psionicist. Taking this more for flavour than for any real mechanical benefit.

Also, I'm going to have a bone staff that is also my spellbook. Athas is cool.

hp: 2d4 ⇒ (1, 4) = 5
Wealth: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
5 x 15 = 75 cp

Just to check, what are the rules on starting languages? And is there a comprehensive list somewhere...?

I'm going to basically cut new rolls at this point, lol. If the game falls below six and I'm still running it I will reopen.

Also, can't find any rules about starting spells at level 3 in the DS rulebook...? Maybe I'm just not looking in the right places.

My character is at home on my comp. If paizo is still up I will post when I get home.

Board outage last night really screwed me. I'll get what I can up today, but I am traveling later today and won't be fully available until Sunday afternoon.

Jaryx

I think once I know what to do with languages and spells I'll be just about done :)