Dark Sun Stuff

[Kevin Kortekaass]

I recall seeing a whole wack of Dark Sun material a while back, might you be a ble to tell me where that could be located? Dungeon and Dragon issues preferably (& Poly if it went back that far)

[MatthewJHanson]

Dragon 319 and Dungeon 110. (It looks like the Dragon is only available as a .pdf).

[Kamelion]

Kevin Kortekaass wrote:

I recall seeing a whole wack of Dark Sun material a while back, might you be a ble to tell me where that could be located? Dungeon and Dragon issues preferably (& Poly if it went back that far)

There was a Player's Guide in Dragon 319, with an earlier article on defiling magic in Dragon 315. Dungeon 110 featured a Dark Sun DM's Guide plus some monsters, with more monsters featured in Dungeon 111. Finally, Dragon 339 had an epic-level prestige class for the Athasian Dragon King.

[Grimcleaver]

Kamelion wrote:

There was a Player's Guide in Dragon 319, with an earlier article on defiling magic in Dragon 315. Dungeon 110 featured a Dark Sun DM's Guide plus some monsters, with more monsters featured in Dungeon 111. Finally, Dragon 339 had an epic-level prestige class for the Athasian Dragon King.

What other monsters showed up in 111? I've been contemplating picking up the back issue but I really wanted to check out what creatures are in it first. More than the rules even it's just neat to see the modern artists doing their thing with some of the great forgotten beasties of one of the most beautiful settings out there.

[Kamelion]

Grimcleaver wrote:

What other monsters showed up in 111? I've been contemplating picking up the back issue but I really wanted to check out what creatures are in it first. More than the rules even it's just neat to see the modern artists doing their thing with some of the great forgotten beasties of one of the most beautiful settings out there.

The artwork is great - some really nice renditions. The creatures in #111 were:

Belgoi
Dune Reaper
Earthdelver
Erdlu
Firesnake
Fordorran
Gaj
Jhakar
Lirr
Mastyrial
Rainrunner
Rasclinn
Razorwing
Seskarran
Windraptor
Yallix
Zhackal

[Kalin Agrivar]

yeah, the art work was cool. and it was nice to have the 3rd Ed. conversions..

but if you were really into Dark Sun (like I was) you might be a bit annoyed, as the "3rd Ed. Dark Sun" presented in the twin magazines was not a true conversion, as that Dark Sun campaign world is based around 300-400 years in the future of where the 2nd Dark Sun dogma ended...plus it (of course) had to incorporate the Revised Psionic Handbook Races inot the dogma, which I think was unnecessary...

so I use those magazines for the 3rd ed. conversions...not the campaign world info..

but thank god they didn't go into that insane "halflings-in-space" idea :D

[Kamelion]

Kalin Agrivar wrote:

yeah, the art work was cool. and it was nice to have the 3rd Ed. conversions..

but if you were really into Dark Sun (like I was) you might be a bit annoyed, as the "3rd Ed. Dark Sun" presented in the twin magazines was not a true conversion, as that Dark Sun campaign world is based around 300-400 years in the future of where the 2nd Dark Sun dogma ended...

Yeah, it is quite a departure from the classic DS material as far as the setting (and some of the rules applicatons) are concerned. Still plenty of good ideas to mine there, though.

Kalin Agrivar wrote:

...plus it (of course) had to incorporate the Revised Psionic Handbook Races inot the dogma, which I think was unnecessary...

Heh heh. DS has something of a legacy of that kind of thing. The original setting was used as a tie-in promotion for the 2e "Complete Psionics Handbook" as well. That said, I really enjoyed the magazines' take on the Elan as special constructs of the Order (yoink!) and the dromites work really well as one of the slave races of the Crimson Savanna that are mentioned in "Thri-Kreen of Athas". I wouldn't use the maenads as presented in the magazines, personally, but I did find it quite an innovative idea to link them to Andropinis and his escape from the Black.

Kalin Agrivar wrote:

...but thank god they didn't go into that insane "halflings-in-space" idea :D

Giant Athasian Space Hamsters! Yeah, baby!!

Actually, the "halflings in space" rumour is something that has gotten wildly out of hand over the years. The truth of it is that the Messenger comet was actually an orbiting craft of some type. It was going to crash into Athas, or already had - not sure on the timing of that (maybe it's impact was to be linked to the Great Earthquake). There were three rhulisti (ancient halflings) on board. Two were nature masters ("good" rhulisti) and one was a nature bender ("evil" rhulisti). Their arrival on Athas was to be a way of spreading the lifeshaped around Athas, as well as developing the conflict between the three rhulisti into a campaign plotline. Kind of interesting, really, but the setting came to a premature end before it was developed (beyond a brief teaser in "Mystery of the Ancients"). Oh well.

[Koga: The Ninja Trick]

The Koga loved that article, it was that one that got him hooked on Dragon, Darksun is still The Koga's favorite campaighn setting. Then again, The Koga loves science fiction, especialy that of post-appocalyptic worlds and steampunk. Which Darksun can do increddibly well..

[Crimson Avenger]

Dark Sun was one of the first campaigns ouside of college I was ever in. My friend Matt Gm'd, and he loved that world. I still smile whenever I think of Thri-kreen PC's.

[Heathansson]

Any time you have to fight a bunch of elves because they won't let you have any water, it's just wholesome fun for all ages.

[friendlybiscuit]

I actually discovered Dark Sun in Dragon 319. I'd skipped over the stuff in Dragon 315 because I didn't quite follow it without more context. It was so awesome that I backordered 110. Couldn't get 111, but if that was merely monsters I can survive. Man alive, though, it's hard to go off nothing more than what's in the mags. I found a copy of "Life-Shaped Artifacts of Athas" or some such rot at a bookstore. I think it's 2.0 so it's kinda useless.

But anyway, I'm still looking forward to running it. I figure anything I can't handle with the mags or ideas from my own head can be supplanted with stuff from the Dune novels, no?

[BOZ]

if you really want to follow the Dark Sun world, you might want to consider picking up PDFs of the original setting from the 1990s. :)

[erian_7]

You can visit The Burnt World of Athas, the official Dark Sun site, for much more information about this setting. It wa one of my favorites (up there with Mystara) and I own all the DS material. Now if I could just find folks to play...

[Freehold DM]

erian_7 wrote:

You can visit The Burnt World of Athas, the official Dark Sun site, for much more information about this setting. It wa one of my favorites (up there with Mystara) and I own all the DS material. Now if I could just find folks to play...

Erian, you do a play by post, and I'll be there. I love Dark Sun down to the tips of my toes, and while I found the Dragon/Dungeon version of it to be rather odd, I'd love to give a whack at whichever style you wanted to play.

[erian_7]

I may just do that when one of my current games ends (I've got a mega-PbP with 12 players going right now, plus Savage Tides, an upcoming RotRL, and Twilight Tomb).

[Ross Byers]

As you can see here, I have found myself in possession of an extra copy of Dragon 319. I was wondering if anyone needs it?

[Bill Lumberg]

erian_7 wrote:

You can visit The Burnt World of Athas, the official Dark Sun site, for much more information about this setting. It wa one of my favorites (up there with Mystara) and I own all the DS material. Now if I could just find folks to play...

I would love to play in a Dark Sun game. Please keep me in mind if yu ever decide to start a game here.

Would you base the world on the first box set or second? I ignored events of the revised setting but I would not skip the chance to play in any version of DS.

[Pholtus]

I just dropped a pretty obvious Dark Sun "easter egg" into EttDWP. Which Iknow shouldn't have happened but I couldn't help myself.

I never played DS when it came out but have since gone back and fell in love with it and Plane Scape

In my own very twisted version I tied Ravenloft and Planescape to Greyhawk to make one UBER setting

Currently DS is fighting Ravenloft to be #2 on my list

[erian_7]

Bill Lumberg wrote:

I would love to play in a Dark Sun game. Please keep me in mind if yu ever decide to start a game here.

Would you base the world on the first box set or second? I ignored events of the revised setting but I would not skip the chance to play in any version of DS.

I ignore pretty much all the events from the Prism Pentad--they smack too much to me of the TSR "let's shake up the setting just to be doing something" method that was common in a lot of their settings at the time. And the revised addition is too hopeful...the Dragon sure as heck ain't dead (though he is more distracted by the rise of a certain undead challenger), and Tyr being free is hope enough.

[Bill Lumberg]

erian_7 wrote:

Bill Lumberg wrote:

I would love to play in a Dark Sun game. Please keep me in mind if yu ever decide to start a game here.

Would you base the world on the first box set or second? I ignored events of the revised setting but I would not skip the chance to play in any version of DS.

I ignore pretty much all the events from the Prism Pentad--they smack too much to me of the TSR "let's shake up the setting just to be doing something" method that was common in a lot of their settings at the time. And the revised addition is too hopeful...the Dragon sure as heck ain't dead (though he is more distracted by the rise of a certain undead challenger), and Tyr being free is hope enough.

It's nice to know that someone else thought that Dark Sun was moving in an overly optimistic direction. I always wanted to DM a Dark Sun campaign. It would have been oppresive, with emphasis on surviving the environment, templar intrigue and desert raiders.

Spoiler:

Killing Kalak made Tyr a viable base of operations for the PCs but was not necessary. Starting the game in the wastelands or small villages would serve the same purpose. I would not have had the game move to the cities until the players understood the need to maintain a low profile. The sorcerer kings were to be feared.

[Freehold DM]

Bill Lumberg wrote:

erian_7 wrote:

Bill Lumberg wrote:

I would love to play in a Dark Sun game. Please keep me in mind if yu ever decide to start a game here.

Would you base the world on the first box set or second? I ignored events of the revised setting but I would not skip the chance to play in any version of DS.

I ignore pretty much all the events from the Prism Pentad--they smack too much to me of the TSR "let's shake up the setting just to be doing something" method that was common in a lot of their settings at the time. And the revised addition is too hopeful...the Dragon sure as heck ain't dead (though he is more distracted by the rise of a certain undead challenger), and Tyr being free is hope enough.

It's nice to know that someone else thought that Dark Sun was moving in an overly optimistic direction. I always wanted to DM a Dark Sun campaign. It would have been oppresive, with emphasis on surviving the environment, templar intrigue and desert raiders.

** spoiler omitted **

I don't know about this. I know low-sodium DMs (myself included) take a negative view of most canonical fiction for mucking up the world, but things DO have to change on some level in order for a storyline to move forward. It would be one thing if the characters in the book suceeded on every level and created a host of free cities, but by the second book they had been quite humbled as the Lion of Urik(oh god, it's been so long someone please correct me on this one) took apart the Crimson Legion himself piece by piece, laughing all the while. That one scene where the sorcerer-king tears apart a 'kreen with his bare hands still sends shivers down my spine. I for one, still fear the sorcerer kings. As for the Dragon..well, isn't the point of being a sorcerer king to become a dragon one day? I'm sure someone else would eagerly take his place, canon or no.

[The-Last-Rogue]

I love Dark Sun. And yes, the sorcerer-king of Urik is a BadA**;

If you are interested I know there is a 3.5 Athas project out there somewhere on the web that is not only well-done, but seems to be cared for and thought out by some passionate Dark Sun lovers. I do not have the link, but if you go to wizards forums you can find it in the other worlds sections.