However I'm not exactly sure which books I should buy from RPG Now, given that these are for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. I'm guessing that the books I'm looking for are those that outline the setting rather then books that provide crunch.
I've downloaded all of the 3.5 books from the athas website. I also bought the Dark Sun Campaign Setting Expanded and Revised book to get me started. But I could use some help in working out what other books would be useful, and whether or not the information in a book is covered by something from another book or from a book on the athas website.
[u]Books I know are useful[/u]
* City by the Silt Sea
* Elves of Athas
* Expanded Psionics Handbook (not a Dark Sun book but very necessary).
[u]Books I think are useful[/u]
* City-State of Tyr
* Slave Tribes
* The Ivory Triangle
* The Wanderer's Chronicles: Mind Lords of the Last Sea
[u]Books I am completely unsure about[/u]
* Beyond the Prism Pentad
* Defilers and Preservers: The Wizards of Athas
* Dune Trader
* Earth, Air, Fire and Water
* Psionic Artifacts of Athas
* The Will and the Way
I'm unsure about the City-State of Tyr book because I'm wondering if the information is provided in the Campaign Setting book. The Defilers & Preservers and other books I'm unsure about because it seems like they'd mostly be crunch and have a very minimal usefulness for a 3.5 game.
Your input will be greatly appreciated
I used some material from City by the Silt Sea and Dune Traders.
I use a lot of material from City State of Tyr, and of course: The Will and the Way.
So the Will and the Way isn't just full of crunch then?
I have to admit, that I never used anything from it for 3.5nd except the groundfloor of the Psi School in Raam. (or was it Draj)
John your forgetting the obvious PBH, DMG & MM.
Right, I figured that went without saying ;)
Well, uhm, okay it is
Thanks for the warning
I'll stick it in my don't buy list then (I'm not inclined to get it just for the floor plan ;)).Beside the Core documents, those important PDF you need are : Dune Traders, Ivory Triangles, Slaves Tribes and City of Tyr.
This one "The Wanderer's Chronicles: Mind Lords of the Last Sea" is a total waste of time. You do not want Surfing druid in your game :D
An important question remain. Where do you start your game? It's important.
Good point
At this stage I'll probably start at Tyr, although I've only begun reading the Dark Sun Setting Book so that's by no means guaranteed.Beside the Core documents, those important PDF you need are : Dune Traders
Really? I thought this would mainly have the crunch for the Dune Trader class which the athas.org website has excluded (with notes on how to recreate it) in its 3.5 book? Is there enough fluff in it to make it worth getting?
I've downloaded all of the 3.5 books from the athas website. I also bought the Dark Sun Campaign Setting Expanded and Revised book to get me started. But I could use some help in working out what other books would be useful, and whether or not the information in a book is covered by something from another book or from a book on the athas website.
[u]Books I know are useful[/u]
* City by the Silt Sea
* Elves of Athas
* Expanded Psionics Handbook (not a Dark Sun book but very necessary).
[u]Books I think are useful[/u]
* City-State of Tyr
* Slave Tribes
* The Ivory Triangle
* The Wanderer's Chronicles: Mind Lords of the Last Sea
[u]Books I am completely unsure about[/u]
* Beyond the Prism Pentad
* Defilers and Preservers: The Wizards of Athas
* Dune Trader
* Earth, Air, Fire and Water
* Psionic Artifacts of Athas
* The Will and the Way
I'm unsure about the City-State of Tyr book because I'm wondering if the information is provided in the Campaign Setting book. The Defilers & Preservers and other books I'm unsure about because it seems like they'd mostly be crunch and have a very minimal usefulness for a 3.5 game.
Your input will be greatly appreciated
Dune Trader, Slave Tribes, The Veiled Alliance will give you alot of info on the campaign setting.
Elves of Athas, and Thri-kreen of Athas will too but have more 2nd edition rules to them than the other three.
Earth Air Fire Water, The Will and the Way, The Complete Gladiator's Handbook, and Defilers and Preservers are mostly 2nd edition rules, but do have some setting info.
City State of Tyr, Mind Lords of the Last Sea, and Ivory Triangle are almost all setting info, but are limited to specific areas. Most people have a negative view of Mind Lords. City-state of Tyr is very well writen and one of my favorate accessories, but it is limited to one city. Ivory Triangle has two city-states but gives less information on each than City-state of Tyr gives for its city.
City by the Silt Sea is an adventure box set. While it is a very good adventure, (one of the best Dark Sun adventures) it is a 2nd edition adventure, so I am not sure how useful it would be for you.
Beyond the Prism Pentad you can skip if you have the Revised Box set. 95% of the info in Beyond the Prism Pentad was included in the Revised Box set.
Psionic Artifacts of Athas and Windriders of the Jagged Cliff. Most of these two books have been updated by Athas.org in their releases.
I will detail later, but the Merchant Houses are a BIG part of the Tablelands. So, it's why you MUST have this one.
Thanks, I'll put it on my list then :D
Dune Trader, Slave Tribes, The Veiled Alliance will give you alot of info on the campaign setting.
Thanks :D They're on my list as well.
Elves of Athas, and Thri-kreen of Athas will too but have more 2nd edition rules to them than the other three.
I might get them sometime in the future, but I won't put them on my initial buys then
Earth Air Fire Water, The Will and the Way, The Complete Gladiator's Handbook, and Defilers and Preservers are mostly 2nd edition rules, but do have some setting info.
I'll probably skip these then, thanks.
City State of Tyr, Mind Lords of the Last Sea, and Ivory Triangle are almost all setting info, but are limited to specific areas. Most people have a negative view of Mind Lords. City-state of Tyr is very well writen and one of my favorate accessories, but it is limited to one city. Ivory Triangle has two city-states but gives less information on each than City-state of Tyr gives for its city.
I think I'll buy these as my campaign gets to these areas (if it does). How far away from the "Ivory Triangle" should I wait until I get this book?
City by the Silt Sea is an adventure box set. While it is a very good adventure, (one of the best Dark Sun adventures) it is a 2nd edition adventure, so I am not sure how useful it would be for you.
It has "A 96-page campaign expansion book full of details on the area around Giustenal, the ruins, the strange beings who inhabit its darkest recesses, and the history of Dregoth, the undead sorcerer-king-revealed for the first time." is this worth getting?
Beyond the Prism Pentad you can skip if you have the Revised Box set. 95% of the info in Beyond the Prism Pentad was included in the Revised Box set.
That's what I was afraid of, thankyou.
Psionic Artifacts of Athas and Windriders of the Jagged Cliff. Most of these two books have been updated by Athas.org in their releases.
I'll take them off my list as well then.
Thanks again!
[EDIT]: A couple of books not on my initial list that I just discovered:
* Arcane Shadows and Marauders of Nibenay - These appear to be adventure books but it doesn't explicitly state this so I thought I'd check.
* Valley of Dust and Fire - This appears to be an area book east of the Tyr region. If so, can I wait until my players are about to fall of the Tyr region map in their silt skimmer before I buy it?
City by the Silt Sea is an adventure box set. While it is a very good adventure, (one of the best Dark Sun adventures) it is a 2nd edition adventure, so I am not sure how useful it would be for you.
Band, aren`t you mistaking City by the Silt Sea for Dragon`s Crown? CbtSS really isn't an adventure box, though it does include a good adventure.
J. Lynch, CbtSS is about Dregoth, Giustenal and the Dray. Terrific stuff: one of the best DS products ever released. But it's likely to go unused unless your PCs want to visit Giustenal or you plan to DM Dregoth Ascending.
Psionic Artifacts of Athas is very rules intensive, which means it's obsolete. However, the many Life-Shaped, Magical and Psionic Artifacts are very flavourful and provide a cornucopia of adventure hooks, so it might not be as lousy a purchase as it seems.
Last Sea is a slice of the Green Age. A few good ideas. But it's a *bad* product.
Wind Riders of the Jagged Cliffs is the Blue Age equivalent. However, it`s an exquisite book. Extremely well written: the Jagged Cliffs and the rhul-thaun are just plain brilliant. I wished other books were as flavourful and well made as this one. Wind Riders is likely to be one of the least popular DS books ever released, though, since it has nothing to do with the classic DS setting from Wanderer's Journal.
Neither the Jagged Cliffs nor the Last Sea are likely to be of much relevance in a regular campaign, since both are very isolated.
Valley of Dust and Fire maps and describes a *vast* area, but it's all so remote that its usefulness is limited.
Arcane Shadows and Marauders of Nibenay are both adventures. Good, but not brilliant. Arcane Shadows has some tiny bit of info on Yaramuke, but it's not worth it.
If you want an adventure, go for Dragon's Crown. I also *love* Black Spine, though some dislike it because it deals with beings from outside of Athas (Githyanki), travelling to the Astral Plane and other heretical stuff.
Lurking
CbtSS is about Dregoth, Giustenal and the Dray. Terrific stuff: one of the best DS products ever released. But it's likely to go unused unless your PCs want to visit Giustenal or you plan to DM Dregoth Ascending.
Thanks, I'll put it in my buy later list along with Valley of Dust and Fire.
Arcane Shadows and Marauders of Nibenay are both adventures. Good, but not brilliant. Arcane Shadows has some tiny bit of info on Yaramuke, but it's not worth it.
Thanks, I thought as much.
I think I'll buy these as my campaign gets to these areas (if it does). How far away from the "Ivory Triangle" should I wait until I get this book? ?
It does give information on the Ivory Triangle, the area around the two cities so before the party leaves for the ivory triangle probably.
It has "A 96-page campaign expansion book full of details on the area around Giustenal, the ruins, the strange beings who inhabit its darkest recesses, and the history of Dregoth, the undead sorcerer-king-revealed for the first time." is this worth getting??
Sure it is still worth getting, but I do not think it would be immediately useful to you if you are just starting a campaign since it is limited to a small geographical area - unless you plan to adventure there that is.
[EDIT]: A couple of books not on my initial list that I just discovered:
* Arcane Shadows and Marauders of Nibenay - These appear to be adventure books but it doesn't explicitly state this so I thought I'd check.
* Valley of Dust and Fire - This appears to be an area book east of the Tyr region. If so, can I wait until my players are about to fall of the Tyr region map in their silt skimmer before I buy it?
Arcane Shadows and Marauders of Nibenay are both adventures. Arcane Shadows is set in Urik and is above average. Marauders of Nibenay is set in Nibenay and is about average.
There are may other adventures out there as well. I think the Athas.org has descriptions of each adventure, if you are trying to judge which ones you may want.
Valley of Dust and Fire is another accessory. It covers a large area and is very interesting, however, most of the area was changed by the events in the revised box set. So its use is some what limited by where in the timeframe you run your campaign.
Also I did not mention the original box set. You do not need it if you have the revised but it still is a good read and has a good introductory adventure to Athas. I think I have hear some DM's give their new players the old box set to read for background as it does not give away that many secrets.
I know my gladiator players absolutely adore it's fluff. And it's mostly fluff.
Sure it is still worth getting, but I do not think it would be immediately useful to you if you are just starting a campaign since it is limited to a small geographical area - unless you plan to adventure there that is.
I'll put it on my buy later list then
Valley of Dust and Fire is another accessory. It covers a large area and is very interesting, however, most of the area was changed by the events in the revised box set. So its use is some what limited by where in the timeframe you run your campaign.
I won't buy it then, thanks.
Gladiator's Handbook is probably the best Dark Sun book out there. It does contain a bit of crunch about combat and gladiator classes, but most of it is descriptive text anyway, so very useful if you want to run a gladiator-centered campaign.
I'll keep it in mind
I was considering running the Mystery of the Ancients adventure (updated by myself for the 3.5 edition) from the back of the Dark Sun Campaign Expanded Manual, although I see that its part 1 of future adventures. I was wondering if these future adventures were ever published, and if so what were they?