While Hydrate (from Sandstorm) certainly helps in minimizing the effects of the hot weather, it is nothing compared to the biggest culprit of all...namely Cooling Canopy from DS3. This is a level 1 spell that essentially eliminates any concerns about the environment for the players from the get-go. Duration is 12 hours, meaning the PCs can use it for the entire day. All it takes is for the cleric/wizard to give up 1 or 2 level 1 spells. It's utterly ridicilous.
In my campaign, I made the rather huge error of overlooking this spell...and got a bit flabbergasted when the cleric first used it. Had it read it, I would've changed it for sure.
Now, with the Sandstorm system, you could change the spell to give players 1 more layer of protection, reducing its utility while still being pretty good. That would be better, but I would still reduce the area of effect to personal instead of 30' radius, or increase it to at least a level 2 spell.
I think most DMs who start a Dark Sun campaign want to show off what a deadly world it is to their players. Sending them on a desert mission is probably pretty standard...but unfortunately, using these extensively to portray the deadly environment quickly gets tedious. What is more boring than endless days of travel? After 3-4 such trips, it gets old. Adding heat dangers forces a DM to make rolls each and every day, while in reality, you might want to fast forward to get to the juicy parts (or a random encounter here and there).
In short, I think there's an inherent conflict with Dark Sun: while the heat is a big part of what makes it such a special world, portraying this without it being a total bore in the long run seems...difficult. How has everyone dealt with this (pre-party teleport that is)? Any ideas?
The preserver is to be executed in Urik in seven days time. As you see it traveling with this caravan should put you there in four days, plenty of time to get a lay of the land and stage a rescue. As you contemplate the trip, the caravan is overrun by a swarm of gith. You manage to escape with your equipment but were only able to grab a half-gallon of water each. You have seven days to cross the wilderness, and save the preserver.
Now it's the party against the desert. Crossing the desert is not just a means to an end but part of the adventure in and of itself.
I glanced at Sandstorm today in a bookstore and ordered it online (Get it at about 40% off the sticker that way). It looks like many of the creatures would be great for Athas. I think that Sandstorm may have a lot of useful info for Athas.
If the party is missing something key, ... then the desert is a female canine.
About cooling canopy. I did the unorthodox, but wholy rational thing, and limited the spell to cerulean wizards, and water and rain clerics. Period. I also have its text nearly identical to cloak of shade from Sandstorm, plus I dropped the area to a 10-ft.-radius. Here is my text:
When cooling canopy is cast, a small blue cloud gathers in the sky far above the target’s head. This cloud blocks the direct rays of the sun and provides shade for anyone within the spell’s radius. Under the canopy, the temperature is one band lower than the actual temperature, but the spell has no effect on unearthly or hotter heat, nor does it offer any protection against fire damage. Creatures under the canopy are protected from sunburn, and are able to begin healing nonlethal damage from exposure to heat. Cooling canopy has no effect on light, daylight, sunburst, and similar magical light effects, and it offers no protection from damage that creatures vulnerable to sunlight might take from the sun.
Material Component: A drop of water.
I am also allowing the 1st-level Sandstorm spells cloak of shade, and impede sun's brilliance. Both spells are only available to druids, shadow wizards, and sun clerics.
Hydrate is also only a water cleric spell. I may bump it up to 3rd level... but for now I'm okay with restricting it to water only. I mean, create water was made a water/rain cleric only spell. Why not other spells that deal with hydration?
Last note: I have spell lists for each cleric class, having done away with clerical domains for my Dark Sun campaign house rules... this makes restricting to classes much more severe. No silt clerics dipping into water's spell list to get the good stuff.
Now it's the party against the desert. Crossing the desert is not just a means to an end but part of the adventure in and of itself.
Yeah, that's great...as long as there's not a water/rain cleric there, or a wizard with cooling canopy...that's exactly what I'm talking about.
I like your approach Eric, and the fact that you've changed Cooling Canopy. Makes more sense now. The idea of separate spell lists for the different domains has been done before (can't remember by whom atm), and I believe will be done as standard in the next Dark Sun rules installment. I agree with the change
When ever I run a wilderness encounter (I like half in and half out of the cities) The rule I go by is that the party is always prepared for a trip they are taking, plus a couple days. The only time I will use the heat and desert is when it will move the story along. Otherwize, hunting for water just becomes boring. I know that Athas is a harsh world, but after a few levels, the party should be the heroes of at least one small village or slave tribe or merchant house. If they don't have what it takes, they die. period.
That's how I run it as well, more or less - when the PCs are low-level I throw a couple tough encounters at them ("Crap, we're camping in sand dunes? How much do you want to bet we're going to get attacked by Dune Reapers, remember them from last campaign?" *I smirk and grumble about unfair mind-reading*), and do my best to describe the terrain they're moving through in detail, including making Fortitude saves for heat exaustion, etc., but after their "first big trip" of the campaign I pretty much blow through the wilderness travel and encounters unless there's some specific event I want to throw in there; at that point in time I figure they remember how awful the Athasian Great Outdoors is, and there's no point in beating it into them anymore.