Now available, part one of the “lost” Dark Sun adventure Dregoth Ascending.
Dregoth Ascending was still in development when the Dark Sun line was cancelled in 1997 and has been updated to the revised 3rd Edition D&D rules for this long-awaited release.
This preview release features part one of the Dregoth Ascending trilogy: The Day of Light and is set against the backdrop of Dregoth’s invasion of the city-state of Raam. While Raamite forces battle Dregoth’s dray army, the characters are pitched into the heart of the invasion and slowly begin to discover that something far more dreadful than war is underway beneath the dark Athasian sun.
Dregoth Ascending: The Day of Light includes preliminary artwork and maps needed to play the adventure and utilizes the Dark Sun 3e Core Rules, available for free here at athas.org. As this is a preview version of the adventure, feedback is still welcomed, pending a final release with full artwork in the near future. Send comments to [email]jon@athas.org[/email] or on these boards.
/me rushes to download
Go Greyorm!!!!
Right out of Athas. :P
Good job on getting it out for a nice early Xmas present (or Winter Solstice as a very PC aussie mayor said).
Comments as I read it...
Are Athas-bending spells like the Godhood spell, and Champion creation going to be part of the Dark Sun Epic Project? That is, is Dieties & Demigods diving ranks going to be discussed? Because I am building a pdf of my version of Athasian Cosmology that actually matches the stuff that was in this first release.
I love the arriving at the sieged city concept. Very cool! I allows your PCs to act in skirmishes and fight the war and not be on a front line. FIGHTING IN THE STREETS! hehe.
I really like that a lot of time is spent describing the factions in Raam and how they are reacting to the invasion. It really sets the mind concocting ways to unite them! Although the Nightrunners and the Thri-Kreen are a long-shot! :P
The Night Runners vs. The Dray is an encounter worthy of a minatures game. I really wish there were GOOD minatures rules in 3.5.
Was the New Kurn history of Leviath the Calm part of the original adventure? Or was is Brax? Just curious.
Over all, a very good chapter 1. Can't wait for more!
Was the New Kurn history of Leviath the Calm part of the original adventure? Or was is Brax? Just curious.
It was part of the original. The only one who has made changes to the original manuscript is me.
any chance you can give some insight as to differences between this and the unreleased 2E material?..... no need to go into detail... just any fun facts to know?..
The original had almost no encounter descriptions for Part I (!); less faction information; little location information (many of the locations which appear in Part II - such as the fairly important palace district - weren't detailed, perhaps under the assumption no one would go there in part I); poor structure IMO (though this is really a 2nd edition module style issue, not something unique for DA); grammar mistakes due to it being a draft; etc. In other words, it was a draft for the product released today, but I still want to and need to give appropriate credit to Kevin Melka - keep in mind that what was given to athas.org was just a draft. Those who have a copy of the original are the ones who can truly tell the difference and see the improvements. The plot remains unchanged, but the adventure text has been fleshed out significantly.
I do have many questions, but I think I shall hold back on asking most of them. Partly because they might not be answerable yet, since epic rules are still apparantly in the works. Partly because I don't expect the Templarate to spoil the rest of the plot. Partly because I don't want to be spoiled yet.
But I do want to ask this: Are we going to be getting at some point from the Templarate exactly how the Athasian cosmology is set up in 3.5E and how it relates to other cosmologies? I may post rarely here, but I do read a lot, and it seems (like many other Dark Sun subjects) that everyone has a take on the subject. Please correct me if I'm wrong on any of these points:
- In 2E, campaign worlds had a shared cosmology. You could get from one world to another using any multitude of methods, including spelljamming, portals, etc. For whatever reason, Athas was still difficult/impossible to get to.
- In 3/3.5E, every campaign world has it's own cosmology. This made more sense to me because no explanation was needed as to how the Gray, Black, and different paraelemental planes fit in with everything else. You can still get from one world to another (Manual of the Planes says by Plane of Shadow, demiplanes, etc.), but it seems more difficult.
- Dregoth has been somewhere where there are deities and worshipers. Assuming that the Gray is an actual full-fledged plane that is coexistant with Athas' Material Plane, this tells me that Dregoth has left Athas' cosmology altogether. In fact, one would hope (well, maybe "hope" is the wrong word here) that Dregoth has checked to make sure Athas' cosmology even has Outer Planes for the conduits to connect to.
But I do want to ask this: Are we going to be getting at some point from the Templarate exactly how the Athasian cosmology is set up in 3.5E and how it relates to other cosmologies? I may post rarely here, but I do read a lot, and it seems (like many other Dark Sun subjects) that everyone has a take on the subject. Please correct me if I'm wrong on any of these points:
Please start a new cosmology thread or add to an existing one, rather than derailing this thread.
I'm going to play DA part I in two days. Anybody have a ballpark estimate of when the next part is coming out?
Some time during the first half of 2005.
Maps are really nice and since I didnt have yet read it, even a bit, I cannot speak for the author job
Btw, well done again.
Question - Is there some mechanic going on in the 2nd and 3rd adventures that cover the loss of divine magic? Seems that clerics and druids are going to be far too weak by the end to fight Dregoth.
Can they convert the spell slots into lower level spells? or is there a cunning plan?
AWESOME WORK, GUYS!
Just keep it up!
Can they convert the spell slots into lower level spells?
You can ALWAYS do that in D&D 3.0/3.5.
From the SRD:
A spellcaster always has the option to fill a higher-level spell slot with a lower-level spell. A spellcaster who lacks a high enough ability score to cast spells that would otherwise be his or her due still gets the slots but must fill them with spells of lower level.
Are Athas-bending spells like the Godhood spell, and Champion creation going to be part of the Dark Sun Epic Project?
Yes, that is part of the work being done by the Epic Bureau.
I just skimmed through the pdf, but I have to say:
AWESOME WORK, GUYS!
Thanks.
. I read through the Piazo version of Dark Sun and compared to Athas.org it sucks. :D
Yeah, great. Fill his 9th/8/7/6/5th level slots with 4th level spells, gee that'll make him the equal of a same level non-divine spellcaster. I was thinking of a more balancing way of doing it.
I felt this was such an essential part of Dregoth's plan and the DA plot, I didn't want to change it. Yes, it is unbalancing, but that's motivation in itself for divine casters to stop Dregoth. Divine casters will be somewhat crippled as the adventure progresses. There's nothing preventing a player from switching to another player character if that is desired (assuming the character tree concept is in use).
Yeah, great. Fill his 9th/8/7/6/5th level slots with 4th level spells, gee that'll make him the equal of a same level non-divine spellcaster. I was thinking of a more balancing way of doing it.
That's the point, there isn't?
If the module is played out in it's entirety then divine casters all over the world are going to get majorly screwed over.
And I freaking love it, mwuhahahahaha!
Finally a divineless world.
Now I just need to find a way to take out arcane and I'll have my dream of a total psionic world, mwuhahahahaha!
Finally, a good reason to play Dark Sun AFTER the fall of Borys ;)
Finally, a good reason to play Dark Sun AFTER the fall of Borys
Cool.
Will the Epic Rules be released in time for part II, or just before part III?
We have to have the epic rules completed before we can do part II and III, so I imagine they will be released before.
;)
I felt this was such an essential part of Dregoth's plan and the DA plot, I didn't want to change it. Yes, it is unbalancing, but that's motivation in itself for divine casters to stop Dregoth. Divine casters will be somewhat crippled as the adventure progresses. There's nothing preventing a player from switching to another player character if that is desired (assuming the character tree concept is in use).
And there's precedent - Psionicists were rather badly nerfed in one of the big 2nd Ed adventures - the Black Spine one?
So obviously the Next Big Adventure will have Rogues losing their ability to pick locks, thus sparking a huge quest to find the cause...
And there's precedent - Psionicists were rather badly nerfed in one of the big 2nd Ed adventures - the Black Spine one?
Dragon's Crown.
We have to have the epic rules completed before we can do part II and III, so I imagine they will be released before.
Actually, I think we can pull part 2 off without the epic rules. I will not let a delay in the epic rules delay DA part 2.
Actually, I think we can pull part 2 off without the epic rules. I will not let a delay in the epic rules delay DA part 2.
Ah, that's cool then.
Dragon's Crown.
Yep, now we just need something to screw over arcane more and Athas will be nothing but a psionic world, mwuahahaha!
Player: Hmm, wizards are powerful, I play them all the time!
DM: /starts a DS campaign
Player: Wizards s*ck on Athas, let's play with a psion, it's the best in DS!
DM: /starts the Dragon's Crown modul
Player: Gosh, my psion gets bleed out in that adventure, let's play a cleric, everybody likes them, I can't loose with that one!
DM: /starts the Dregoth's Ascending modul
Player: Yaay, all my characters are lost!
DM: My Boy, on Athas everybody s*cks...
Gotta like this! :D