Terrors of Athas is now in released, playtesting mode.
Which means that it could still use all the playtesting feedback it can get.
It's available from the above URL.It includes
- Over 200 monsters
- Seven templates
- 26 monsters playable as races
- new summon monster and summon nature's ally spell lists
- an extensive list of monsters from other sources that are suitable for Athas
- new druid animal companions
Enjoy!
- the folks at athas.org
All I did was complain about some CRs and abilities without saves, and write the flavour part of the copy on the athas.org website. Happy to assist guys with my meager contributions; the credit is *all* yours. Cheers!
I do, however, have one major question. The paraelementals are listed under Acceptable Monsters, but these would not be Athasian paraelementals. (Well, except for magma.) Is there some particular reason why sun, silt, and rain paraelementals were not included? It seems to me they would be pretty necessary, especially for epic paraelemental cleric transformations.
I was a latecomer to the project but was thrilled to get involved. Couldn't have asked for a better team to work with 
Is there some particular reason why sun, silt, and rain paraelementals were not included?
No reason beyond the fact that they weren't presented in 2e either. The athasian paraelements sun, silt and rain are equated with smoke, ooze and ice, respectively. The MotP paraelementals map closely in their abilities to similar creatures from Athas so you shouldn't have any trouble using them.
That said, there's no reason that athas-specific paraelementals couldn't be forthcoming in the near future and they would make an interesting and worthwhile addition.
Good work lads!
Now, if only I could print it on 5 sheets of paper...
Originally posted by Kamelion
No reason beyond the fact that they weren't presented in 2e either. The athasian paraelements sun, silt and rain are equated with smoke, ooze and ice, respectively. The MotP paraelementals map closely in their abilities to similar creatures from Athas so you shouldn't have any trouble using them.
Ah. Thanks for the info.
Another question about the Acceptable Monsters list: Why Blues (from the Psionics Handbook)? Blues are born from goblins, and Daskinor did manage to finish off the goblins, didn't he? I suppose he could have thought them to be a different species, and there's no mention of them not breeding true, but given the picture and description, it seems unlikely to me that Daskinor would pass them by.
I can't believe this witch is finally totally done and out!
Damn beautiful.
/me sheds a tear
Ok, time to update the website, hehe.
Originally posted by Throkat
Ah. Thanks for the info.
Another question about the Acceptable Monsters list: Why Blues (from the Psionics Handbook)? Blues are born from goblins, and Daskinor did manage to finish off the goblins, didn't he? I suppose he could have thought them to be a different species, and there's no mention of them not breeding true, but given the picture and description, it seems unlikely to me that Daskinor would pass them by.
You're welcome
As for the Acceptable Monsters list, it is not supposed to be a comprehensive listing of all creatures that actually exist on Athas. Rather, it is a list of monster from other sources that fit the Dark Sun "feel" to one degree or another. They're suggestions of what could be and, ultimately, it's down to the individual DM to rationalise these things. Many of these (especially those from MM and MM2) were an integral part of the 2e DS setting and could slot right in without too much trouble. Others (like the blue) require a bit more work but make for intriguing alternates to the DS standard.
Okay, that's enough for the celebration. Get back to work.
I can't find them...
Originally posted by Pennarin
Where are the Construction sections for the Golems other than Jade?
I can't find them...
I knew we forgot something.
Doh!
Oh well, something for us to update next version with, hehe.
Thank you!
And now that Mach said it, get back to work! What will it be?
101 ways of lightning bolting a silly frog?
That sounds like a great idea for an acessory!
Other than that, going through it right now.....quite well done. I like
One thing I noticed is that certain stats etc. are in blue. My assumption is that ones in blue are currently under testing, and may be subject to change?
Banshee
Originally posted by Banshee
Wasn't there a race known as Preservers or something in the old Dark Sun 2E rules? Had traits of the different races, etc. Didn't notice them in Terrors of Athas.
Other than that, going through it right now.....quite well done. I like
One thing I noticed is that certain stats etc. are in blue. My assumption is that ones in blue are currently under testing, and may be subject to change?
Banshee
Not a race known as Preservers, the nae is Pyreen, and they are a psionic/druid race; the most notible member of this race is a little-known individual called Rajaat (of course, he was pretty mangled up compared to the other Pyreen).
Originally posted by xlorepdarkhelm
Not a race known as Preservers, the nae is Pyreen, and they are a psionic/druid race; the most notible member of this race is a little-known individual called Rajaat (of course, he was pretty mangled up compared to the other Pyreen).
Ah....that was it
Given their heritage, I was kind of surprised not to see them in Terrors of Athas.In any case, it's good to have the psionic cat stats for my elven ranger ...
Banshee
Originally posted by Banshee
Ah....that was it
In any case, it's good to have the psionic cat stats for my elven ranger ...
Banshee
Yea.... I see what you mean. Where are the Pyreen?
Mach, killing all things of virtue and light on Athas since 1993.
*wakes up*
Seems like an oversight to me. Can't believe they were intentionally left out without a reason. One more thing for the update crews to tackle.
Originally posted by Mach2.5
Open game content is listed in blue; i.e. any stats that derive from the system reference document. I says as much in the legal section at the beginning of the document, page 2 under the heading Designation of Open Game Content. Took me 3 seconds to find this. Hence, the answer was already in the doc you were reading.
Ah....guess I wouldn't notice it given I didn't spend any time reading the legaleese..
Banshee
Originally posted by xlorepdarkhelm
Out of curiosity, have the Monster Bearou looked at the Elemental Drakes entries in the Draconomicon?
Yes, and those could be used as lesser dakes if you wanted to use them.
Originally posted by NytCrawlr
We left Pyreen out because it's going to be an epic critter, much like the Leshay is in ELH.
Cool!
I don't mind that at all.
I seem to remember there being a few creatures which would be suitable for conversion to epic status....wasn't the nightmare beast super tough?
Hopefully at some point, there will be details on Dragons and Avangions as well.
Banshee
I am planning on using the varient 'themed' rules from Unearthed Arcana on monster summoning, by basically applying the elemental, black touched and grey touched templates instead of the celestial and fiendish ones.
Originally posted by Banshee
I seem to remember there being a few creatures which would be suitable for conversion to epic status....wasn't the nightmare beast super tough?
Hopefully at some point, there will be details on Dragons and Avangions as well.
Super-tough and in the MM2 - but I can easily imagine an advanced version ;)
The ruvoka were also omitted for the same reason as the pyreen - they seem perfectly suited for epic druids who don't want to follow the path of merging with a spirit of the land.
Forgot about the Ruvoka.
I smell another project, mmm Ruvoka and Pyreen.
:D
Originally posted by Kamelion
Ruvoka are great but you have to go to Planescape MC3 to get any useful Athas-specific information on them. The DS MC2 is rather thin in that department
Good, because I'm pretty sure I have all the planescape MCs.
Woot!
Originally posted by Kamelion
Ruvoka are great but you have to go to Planescape MC3 to get any useful Athas-specific information on them. The DS MC2 is rather thin in that department
Ho well I guess we could then travel to other realmspace with the help of a Ruvoka!! Thoughts??
Originally posted by Prism
I am planning on using the varient 'themed' rules from Unearthed Arcana on monster summoning, by basically applying the elemental, black touched and grey touched templates instead of the celestial and fiendish ones.
Those are sweet rules, huh? I'm building something similar for a shadow wizard my own game too. We took the tack that "celestial" or "fiendish" templates could also represent creatures infused with positive or negative energy (as per bless or consecrate spells). It would have been cooler to have included the elemental templates in the summoning lists but they aren't ogl so they were left on the "suggestions" list. Ho hum. Still, they're easy enough to patch in as their CR adjustments map exactly to the celestial/fiendish templates and many DMs might find that they fit the athasian feel better than celestial/fiendish at the end of the day.
Hmmmm...>scurries off in glee at prospect of having new list to write<
Were these just missed or are they "in the works" so to speak? I have conversions for both if anyone wants to look at them.
)*hugs his original 2nd ED but to much pain to convert Monster Compendium Dark Sun folder*
Originally posted by erasmus1634
There are a couple of monsters that I was hoping would be in the document but aren't: Quickened Zombies (from Marauders of Nibenay) and Obsidian Skeletons (from one of the later Monstrous Compendium books, maybe #4?) I was hoping to see if what I converted stacked up against what the official ones would look like.
Hmmm, don't remember those.
Damn I just keep seeing ones we missed sprout up day after day.
Where were you guys when we were doing this monster?! LOL
I've got both of those suppliments, so I will take a gander. Guess I've got some homework tonight after work. :D
Were these just missed or are they "in the works" so to speak? I have conversions for both if anyone wants to look at them.
Sure, fire away.
Originally posted by erasmus1634
There are a couple of monsters that I was hoping would be in the document but aren't: Quickened Zombies (from Marauders of Nibenay) and Obsidian Skeletons (from one of the later Monstrous Compendium books, maybe #4?) I was hoping to see if what I converted stacked up against what the official ones would look like.
Were these just missed or are they "in the works" so to speak? I have conversions for both if anyone wants to look at them.
Are you thinking of lightning zombies? Those are in Terrors of the Dead Lands.
As for obsidian skeletons... if they weren't specified as DS monsters, we didn't convert them.
Originally posted by Gab
As for obsidian skeletons... if they weren't specified as DS monsters, we didn't convert them.
That too.
:D
As to the obsidian skeletons (originally called defiling skeletons, hence inclusion in Dark Sun), they and several other types were first in Dragon Magazine #234. This list also included acid zombies, quick zombies, dust skeletons, and spike skeletons.
Basically the obsidian skeleton is a construct that when dropped to 0 hp falls to the ground, defiles a patch of earth (causing players in the defiling radius to make a save), raises again in the next round. Can only be destroted by breaking a gem in its forehead.
Originally posted by erasmus1634
As to the obsidian skeletons (originally called defiling skeletons, hence inclusion in Dark Sun), they and several other types were first in Dragon Magazine #234. This list also included acid zombies, quick zombies, dust skeletons, and spike skeletons.
I got that, I called it the defiling template and it's an undead template that can be added to any other undead and will be added to TotDL 3.5 when Gab gets that done.
Originally posted by NytCrawlr
I got that, I called it the defiling template and it's an undead template that can be added to any other undead and will be added to TotDL 3.5 when Gab gets that done.
Ok. I would just think that they would be constructs and not undead.
In the orginal article (which was written a long time ago, mind you) the reasons to make these different skeletons (dust, spike, obsidian) was due to the lack of corpses in the enviroment.
Just throwing out ideas.
And again, to all who worked on this project :
Great job!
Originally posted by erasmus1634
Ok. I would just think that they would be constructs and not undead.
In the orginal article (which was written a long time ago, mind you) the reasons to make these different skeletons (dust, spike, obsidian) was due to the lack of corpses in the enviroment.
Well, the copy I had of it, which I assume came from the dragon writeup just talked about a skeleton with a gem in its head which allowed it to defile, so instead of making it a construct I just changed it to an undead that could defile and regenerate from the said defiling.
If you have a different writeup, get it converted and I will throw it up on my website, it will just remain unofficial though.
Thanks for the compliments too, it was a tough job but someone had to do it.
If you read the thread you can see it flew right over everyone's head. I never could get the Dragon article in question to be listed on the athas.org as containing DS material.
No biggy
...ho well...
Originally posted by Pennarin
I presented in November of 2003 in a thread entitled Defiling Undead template the creature in question, and emailed Nyt and some others to eventually learn that Gab was doing something about it.
If you read the thread you can see it flew right over everyone's head. I never could get the Dragon article in question to be listed on the athas.org as containing DS material.
No biggy
...ho well...
What I did with it is fine I'm sure.
It's unique enough anyways.
Originally posted by Cyrus9a
Even if Athas.org missed a few monsters, they did good enough for me. They were able to fill 182 pages full of information. I wouldn't even know where to begin. Besides, if they have left a few out, it just gives 'em a reason to make Terrors of Athas part 2! Good work you little angels!
Indeed. Great job (again)
On the other hand,(nothing serious realy) I'd like to ask why under the Reggelid's typical spell entry there is nothing concerning their most favored spell against their prime ennemy(the Rhul-thaun) the 3rd lv(2nd D&D editon) spell: Organic Disruption??
I know this is a monster accessory thus not a spell compendium but like in the 2nd edition DS MC2, I think the spell is important enough to be mentionned in ToA since it's a Reggelid spell.
Organic disruption is a neat spell but it's largely focussed on the life-shaped. As these were left out of ToA (they really do deserve their own supplement imho) this spell went with them. If the lifeshaped ever get officially converted, this spell would make a good candidate for inclusion. (I left a "tribute" to the spell in the text, though, under the Society section... ;))
IT WAS WORTH THE WAIT!!!! (hu! remember my strong wispers??) Thanks!!
Tome of Horrors, more specifically, is most of the OD&D, 1e and 2e creatures that got left behind in the conversion over to 3e. Above and beyond this fact, however, is the single entry that should make it a required part of any DS-afficionado's collection: it has the 3e stats for the giant space hamster.
WOOLY RUPERT LIVES!!
:invasion:
On a more serious DS note:
What of obsidian golems? Loved them guys.
How about an Improved Familiar table in the next version of ToA?
A character of mine could use one right now...
Originally posted by Pennarin
Kam,
How about an Improved Familiar table in the next version of ToA?
A character of mine could use one right now...
Good idea
. I'll take a look at the official table and see what can be done to bash it into something more DS-ish...Originally posted by Pennarin
Where are the Construction sections for the Golems other than Jade?
I can't find them...
You'll find some good information on "Terrors of the Dead Lands" they give some valuable hints there.
What am I missing?
Originally posted by Pennarin
The first paragraph of Half-Elementals is about half-elementals and the second about half-paraelementals. But further in the doc there's only descriptions of half-paraelementals, no stats for half-elementals...
What am I missing?
What are you looking for? Golens or Familiars??
If golens, you should look at Terrors of The Dead Lands, on chapter 5, you'll find a lot of information there, beyond what's in there you should look at the Monster's Manual.
If familiars, well, I can tell you to take a look at Tome and Blood (but I think you've already done it) so... I guess I can't help you here...
The heading is followed by the first phrase for the 1st and 2nd paragraphs.
Half-Elementals - Paraelementals
Half-elementals are the result of unions between elementals and mortal creatures, or are [...]
Half-paraelementals are those that stem from the elemental planes known on Athas as Magma, [...]
"Half-paraelementals are those half-elementals that stem from the elemental planes known on Athas as Magma,..."?
It is kind of morning here. Heh.
Thanks for the answer! I don't have the Planes manual so that explains it...