Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Zardnaar Feb 28, 2007 3:51:30	I need to DM a one off session for 4-6 players for an RPG group at the local university here. I'm thinkiing of starting them at level 3 a'la orignal DS and will probably use 32 point buy to generate stats. I'm tempted to make them all slaves bougn from Urik to Makla to work in the obsidian mines where their caravan is ambushed by the free/elves/gith/raiders/ or even set it during the Crimson Legion. I've got 9-10 days to throw something togather and write a basic introduction to Athas since most of the players don't know anything about the word. Essentially dump the PCs in the desert with minimal equipment and let them go for it. For simplicitys sake I will be using the PHB, DMG, MM1 and the DS rules + Terrors of Athas (all has to fit in my backpack). Not sure if I'll include Psionics but may as well. Any ideas people- some of the players may not have even played D&D before but most are at least familar with D&D but not Dark Sun.
#2 jon_oracle_of_athas Feb 28, 2007 12:22:27	Sounds like the introductory adventure A Little Knowledge from the original DS Boxed Set would work well for you. It´s 2nd edition of course. If you want to go 3.5, you could grab Whispers of the Storm from athas.org. It´s set in Draj, though.
#3 Zardnaar Feb 28, 2007 12:56:06	Sounds like the introductory adventure A Little Knowledge from the original DS Boxed Set would work well for you. It´s 2nd edition of course. If you want to go 3.5, you could grab Whispers of the Storm from athas.org. It´s set in Draj, though. Yeah I was thinking of stealing elements from that adventure. Thinking of running it around 100 years before the prism pentad Heres the handout I've made of for the PCs. The Wanderers Journal Welcome to Athas stranger-, a bleak and desolate world. I am the wanderer a mere traveler who has traveled the length of the Tyr region. The blistering Dark Sun bakes the world in its unrelenting heat. Hot desert winds sucks the moisture from a being while the Civilization is dying the few remaining cities are ruled by the Sorceror Kings- beings of great power who are capable of granting spells to their Templars- corrupt priests who control the bureaucracy of their city. Water is scarce on this parched and dying world but is common compared to metal. Only in the city of Tyr do they have the last known iron mine in the world and . Ancient tales speak of water covering the land and knights wearing suits metal into battle but the ancients have left us precious little of either. Most iron comes from Tyr or is scavenged from ancient ruins. Feral Halfling cannibals lurk in the jungles of the forest ridge while sly nomadic elven tribesmen populate the desert wastes always running from someone or something. Thri Kreen mantis warriors lurk in the wastes between the rare oasis always hungry and ready to eat anyone who falls into their mandibles. A few Dwarves also inhabit the cities of man and they have few settlements of their own and are renowned for their stamina and ability to focus on a task to the point of obsession. In the few remaining cities of man half breeds such as Half Elves eke out a pathetic existence while brutes such as Half Giant and sterile Muls a human/dwarf hybrid use their strength in heavy labor or die in the arena for the crowds entertainment. There are no gods for this forlorn world. Perhaps they have forsaken it or never existed. The clerics draw their power from pacts made with the elemental forces of Air, Earth, Fire, and Water while the rare Druid gains strength from his mysterious ties to the land. Arcane magic is rare and is illegal in all of the cities and a mob will rip any wizard limb from limb for the defilers power their spells via life energy drawn form the land itself. Few beings are willing to tolerate such a despicable act which rapes the land of its fertility leaving behind a circle of barren lifeless ash. The current desolation of the world is believed to lie with ancient wars between the wizards who devastated the land. Powerful Psions who use the way exist who can bend reality just with the power of their mind. It is rumored the Sorcerer Kings themselves are powerful Psion/Wizards who use the foul power of sorcery to rule their corrupt and bloated cities There are seven cities in the Tyr region each ruled by a powerful Sorcerer King (or Queen) and their Templar agents. They are Balic,Draj, Gulg,Raam, Tyr,Nibenay, and Urik,I have seen the ruins of other grand cities and these few cities would appear to be all thats left of a bygone age for no new city has been founded in centuries. Some of the Sorcerer Kings claim to be gods and their Templars make sacrifices to them. Who knows the truth but when a Templar comes knocking wielding the powers of his King who am I to argue? Pay the Templar his bribe and move along. Be stricken with poverty and you will quickly become a slave in some nobles estate or even worse be owned by a Templar. As bad as the Sorceror Kings and their Templar followers are they pale into insignificance against the might of the Dragon. A horrid beast ancient beyond counting prowls the wastelands wiping out entire villages and caravans with his breath of heated sand. It is rumored his sorcery is so powerful it can draw the life force from a sentient being and leave behind a dessicated husk. I have seen with my own eyes the remains of caravans destroyed beyond all recognition with the dessicated remains of the Dragons victims left behind as silent witnesses to the beasts power. The only thing the citizens of a city can be truly grateful for are the kings wards which will hopefully keep out the Dragons wrath should he come calling.