My question to all of you then--what do you think makes for a good DS dungeon? Naturally the nature of the dangers involved are a bit different than your standard Forgotten Realms foray into the lich's tower. What I would like to hear are some pointers, do's and don'ts with respect to the campaign setting.
I'm not sure if anybody else is particularly interested in the architecture involved in tablelands ruins, but any advice on this subject would be welcome. I always try to design traps and puzzles with an idea of who would be making them and for what reasons in the first place.
Also, I plan on starting a campaign beginning with the players as Gladiators in the Two Moon City pits. Does anyone know of any good underground ruins nearby Two Moon City circa free year 12?
Some ideas for traps: Defiler magic traps that work like dragon magic: sucks the life out of living things to power it. So if PCs pass in front of the 'sensor eye', they have to make serious FORT saves or face dire peril. Could be something as simple as a dragonhead carved fire breathing trap, so they face double jeopardy with this one.
How about an Underdark type dungeon crawl where a major subterranean civilization once dwelled, and has been taken over by Tanar'ri or Baatezu who found their way to Athas, destroyed this civilization and have been conducting breeding experiments that resulted in the creation of a new race of half-fiends who multiplied and flourished over a few centuries?
Maybe an underground dungeon that descends into absolute darkness and is a planar bleed into the Black? You could say that Rajaat has been chipping away at his prison in the Hollow to escape through this planar bleed?
Just some thoughts.
As to who built these things.. well, far into Athas' past there were Orcs, Gnomes, and the like, so anyone could have constructed these, for any purpose. And then, if you go far enough back into Athas' past, things would have been built by halflings, for halflings, of even Thri-Kreen built hive structures. Maybe ancient Kreen built large structures using their dasl, so you could have aliens-style building exploration complete with feral, un-evolved Kreen still in a more insectlike and alien mindset.
Athas offers much diversability when it comes to subjects such as this, because a lot of the past is a mystery to even those who dwell on the planet. I am sure that you will get little to no complaints however you go here.
Beyond that, as others have mentioned the greatest thing about Athas is that there could be ruins just about anywhere. If you just want to do a little side-adventure dungeon dive, the easiest place to do it would be in high badlands - those neighboring mountains - or in the mountains themselves - these locations were likely above water even as far back as the Blue Age, so odds are one community after another would have lived in them, and given the layout of badlands themselves it is very easy to justify how ruins could have gone unnoticed by others - all it would take is for a trade caravan to turn down the wrong gulley, or follow a different route due to their usual canyon having collapsed, and viola, look at that, it's ruins!
In any case, if you're going to throw a dungeon crawl into your Dark Sun game, IMO you really need to put some thought into what exactly the ruins were used for, and base the layout, traps, etc. on that. Temples dedicated to the ancient (non-existant) gods will have a totally different layout than a dwarven fort from the early Cleansing Wars would, for instance. A temple might also still have active spell- or psionic-traps (if they were fortunate enough to have the service of an elemental cleric or psion, of course), a keep might have a couple golems that are activated due to the PCs entering, etc.
Also, I plan on starting a campaign beginning with the players as Gladiators in the Two Moon City pits. Does anyone know of any good underground ruins nearby Two Moon City circa free year 12?
If you look at this pic and its description, and remember that its mentionned in some supplement somehwere as well, you can always say that there are old Draj-like ziggurats in the countryside near Draj. Those could have inner chambers.
some areas may open up to long-buried Rhulisti ruins, or the ruins of Green Age races that may had the inclination to subterranean life (dwarves, orcs, maybe goblins). being from the Green Age, they would have all sorts of psionic wonders...psionic orbs, dilapidated psionic transportation systems, psionic weapons, and most fun...PSIONIC TRAPS and dangers unknown to the world above! weeee!
I especially liked the idea of defiler traps, sort of a double whammy.
it is also mentioned in later supplemental material, Windriders of the Jagged Cliffs IIRC, that there are extensive tunnels and cavern systems wending their way from the Jagged Cliffs region all the way to the Tablelands to the coast of the Sea of Silt.
IIRC a lot of these tunnels are "subway tunnels" of sorts for Green Age psionic-powered transport devices ("trav-tunnels" as I call 'em). I can't remember where I read it, but I think it was in one of the game materials talking about various silt sea islands and how there are these tunnels lead out to some of them. In any case, I've involved these in my DS campaigns several times, so I can't imagine that it's *all* in my head. ;)
IIRC a lot of these tunnels are "subway tunnels" of sorts for Green Age psionic-powered transport devices ("trav-tunnels" as I call 'em). I can't remember where I read it, but I think it was in one of the game materials talking about various silt sea islands and how there are these tunnels lead out to some of them. In any case, I've involved these in my DS campaigns several times, so I can't imagine that it's *all* in my head. ;)
Different thing, Dirk. The tunnels that connect the Jagged Cliffs to the rest of the Tablelands are rhulisti-made and date from the Blue Age or slightly afterwards.
The underground psionic highways you are describing date from the height of the Green Age, several thousand years later.
There is no connection mentionned in the setting books between the two.
Different thing, Dirk. The tunnels that connect the Jagged Cliffs to the rest of the Tablelands are rhulisti-made and date from the Blue Age or slightly afterwards.
The underground psionic highways you are describing date from the height of the Green Age, several thousand years later.
There is no connection mentionned in the setting books between the two.
Ah, okay - I don't recall reading about the Jagged Cliffs tunnels to begin with, so there ya go. Is that info just from the Jagged Cliffs book, or is it also discussed elsewhere?
Maybe every city-state has the same type of temple in its undercity like the one in Verdant Passage that Agis, Ktandeo and Sadira were going to enter, but Agis was forbidden entry.
What was that called again, and are there any game products that mention them further? I think Verdant Passage said it was a temple to some forgotten deity.
The idea of every city-state having it's own undercity makes tons of sense, actually. I've been recently reading up on the Nibenay gladiatorial arena, and it says the arena was originally a much higher structure, but years of constructing the city have given it its sunken appearance.
Maybe every city-state has the same type of temple in its undercity like the one in Verdant Passage that Agis, Ktandeo and Sadira were going to enter, but Agis was forbidden entry.
What was that called again, and are there any game products that mention them further? I think Verdant Passage said it was a temple to some forgotten deity.
It was called the "Crimson Shrine" :D