Ideas for Green Age Campaign - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Ideas for Green Age Campaign

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
zombiegleemax
Jan 14, 2004 4:47:21 I am considering DMing a Green Age Campaign and was wondering if anyone could point me to some good references as to the full background and good campaign ideas of the Green Age.

I'm also curious if anyone else has done so and thier own experiences with such a campaign.

I'm thinking just about the time the first few cleansing wars were starting (though obviously people didn't know at the time).

I've read all of the Troy Denning Series, the Rise and Fall of a Dragon King, and the Sorak series. I have little access to 2e Darksun material (and indeed never played 2e darksun or 3e darksun except for a test run of the 3e athas.org module) except for one pdf detailing the history of Rajaat how he started sorcery, started a school, etc (it's short something like less than 10 pages).
#2
zombiegleemax
Jan 14, 2004 6:00:18 The only real glimpse we are ever given of the Green Age comes unfortunately from one of Dark Sun's more . . . unique acessories, that of the Mind Lords of the Last Sea, which detailes a city and its surrounding lands that haven't changed much since before the Clensing Wars. Its a pretty good start for basing a Green Age campaign, even if the supplement has its particular drawbacks.

While several people on these and other message boards have expressed a desire to chunk out a Green Age setting, so far, none of them are close enough yet to release anything.

I would suggest picking up at least the core box set, either printed (from ebay or such) or pdf (much cheaper) download from SVGames or RPGNow. The revised box set, while it may seem like a redundant purchase, would be the next product I'd suggest taking a look at as well. Information itself about the Green Age is very sparse throughout the normal product line, and most of it is speculation and conjecture, but there's a lot of glimpses here and there if you decide to stock up on the entire lot of DS products. You may just have to do a little digging to uncover useful information for a Green Age campaign.

Good luck with it anyhow. Speaking for myself, I'd love to see what you come up with if you'd be inclined to post up info about your take on the Green Age.
#3
nytcrawlr
Jan 14, 2004 11:50:14 Same here, was going to run one at one time, but it died due to player disinterest.

Would be great to see what you have planned once you work it out.
#4
Kamelion
Jan 14, 2004 15:29:34 A player in my DS game (the baron who thought that Athas had two suns - hey Wingnut!) runs a Forgotten Realms game where the characters have wound up on Athas. To add a spin, I'm going to be running the Athas portion of the story for his players and I decided to set the game during the initial years of the Cleansing Wars, as the Green Age dies.

Purely for aesthetic purposes, I'm gonna use the Oriental Adventures classes for Green Age Athas instead of the regular DS3e classes (or the PHB classes). OA has elemental clerics, monks, elite warriors, fanatical soldiers, pseudo-elemental wizards etc and I felt that these could be tweaked to fit the DS atmosphere while still being different enough to stand apart from modern DS games.

I won't actually be running the thing for another month or two, but I'll share some more thoughts when the time is ripe .
#5
nytcrawlr
Jan 14, 2004 15:41:07 That sounds cool, can't wait.
#6
zombiegleemax
Jan 14, 2004 23:56:37 I was thinking, long ago, of drawing a map of the Tyr Region in the Green Age and placing the Mellinian Empire there (from Hollow World). Back then, I did not pay much attention to the official Dark Sun story line. I just when with what was in the first box set.

Recently, I thought of using the Brax map of Green Athas and creating a nation, where, instead of Sorcer-Kings, you had ancient Elemental Kings that still rule that nation even today.

Going by the official story line, I'd say that the Tyr Region would be, pre-cleansing war, very a Tolkien/metaphysical area of small nations with the ancient cities, such as Tyr, Bodach, Guistenal & Balic alive and well. Though, the people and ethics should really not change much. I see a very barbaric world that might be at the height of technology, but is still very cruel and very Dark Sun.

And Dark Sun is a Middle Earth where Sauron won!
#7
zombiegleemax
Jan 15, 2004 2:24:40
I'd say that the Tyr Region would be, pre-cleansing war, very a Tolkien/metaphysical area of small nations with the ancient cities, such as Tyr, Bodach, Guistenal & Balic alive and well

I always pictured the Green Age as being very much your typical fantasy setting back when DS first came out, before much info was tossed out about it. The original box set and first few supplements rather give you that impression.

After a while though, its easy to see that the Green Age was still not very normal for a fantasy setting. High levels of psionics and the cultural reprecutions of such, strange effects of the Pristine Tower still evident, learning that the older races were never really of the core variety to begin with, etc.

It was a nice twist on things . . . or rather a double twist since the original setting itself was a twist . . . or ahh, nevermind.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Jan 14, 2004 4:47:21	I am considering DMing a Green Age Campaign and was wondering if anyone could point me to some good references as to the full background and good campaign ideas of the Green Age. I'm also curious if anyone else has done so and thier own experiences with such a campaign. I'm thinking just about the time the first few cleansing wars were starting (though obviously people didn't know at the time). I've read all of the Troy Denning Series, the Rise and Fall of a Dragon King, and the Sorak series. I have little access to 2e Darksun material (and indeed never played 2e darksun or 3e darksun except for a test run of the 3e athas.org module) except for one pdf detailing the history of Rajaat how he started sorcery, started a school, etc (it's short something like less than 10 pages).
#2 zombiegleemax Jan 14, 2004 6:00:18	The only real glimpse we are ever given of the Green Age comes unfortunately from one of Dark Sun's more . . . unique acessories, that of the Mind Lords of the Last Sea, which detailes a city and its surrounding lands that haven't changed much since before the Clensing Wars. Its a pretty good start for basing a Green Age campaign, even if the supplement has its particular drawbacks. While several people on these and other message boards have expressed a desire to chunk out a Green Age setting, so far, none of them are close enough yet to release anything. I would suggest picking up at least the core box set, either printed (from ebay or such) or pdf (much cheaper) download from SVGames or RPGNow. The revised box set, while it may seem like a redundant purchase, would be the next product I'd suggest taking a look at as well. Information itself about the Green Age is very sparse throughout the normal product line, and most of it is speculation and conjecture, but there's a lot of glimpses here and there if you decide to stock up on the entire lot of DS products. You may just have to do a little digging to uncover useful information for a Green Age campaign. Good luck with it anyhow. Speaking for myself, I'd love to see what you come up with if you'd be inclined to post up info about your take on the Green Age.
#3 nytcrawlr Jan 14, 2004 11:50:14	Same here, was going to run one at one time, but it died due to player disinterest. Would be great to see what you have planned once you work it out.
#4 Kamelion Jan 14, 2004 15:29:34	A player in my DS game (the baron who thought that Athas had two suns - hey Wingnut!) runs a Forgotten Realms game where the characters have wound up on Athas. To add a spin, I'm going to be running the Athas portion of the story for his players and I decided to set the game during the initial years of the Cleansing Wars, as the Green Age dies. Purely for aesthetic purposes, I'm gonna use the Oriental Adventures classes for Green Age Athas instead of the regular DS3e classes (or the PHB classes). OA has elemental clerics, monks, elite warriors, fanatical soldiers, pseudo-elemental wizards etc and I felt that these could be tweaked to fit the DS atmosphere while still being different enough to stand apart from modern DS games. I won't actually be running the thing for another month or two, but I'll share some more thoughts when the time is ripe .
#5 nytcrawlr Jan 14, 2004 15:41:07	That sounds cool, can't wait.
#6 zombiegleemax Jan 14, 2004 23:56:37	I was thinking, long ago, of drawing a map of the Tyr Region in the Green Age and placing the Mellinian Empire there (from Hollow World). Back then, I did not pay much attention to the official Dark Sun story line. I just when with what was in the first box set. Recently, I thought of using the Brax map of Green Athas and creating a nation, where, instead of Sorcer-Kings, you had ancient Elemental Kings that still rule that nation even today. Going by the official story line, I'd say that the Tyr Region would be, pre-cleansing war, very a Tolkien/metaphysical area of small nations with the ancient cities, such as Tyr, Bodach, Guistenal & Balic alive and well. Though, the people and ethics should really not change much. I see a very barbaric world that might be at the height of technology, but is still very cruel and very Dark Sun. And Dark Sun is a Middle Earth where Sauron won!
#7 zombiegleemax Jan 15, 2004 2:24:40	I'd say that the Tyr Region would be, pre-cleansing war, very a Tolkien/metaphysical area of small nations with the ancient cities, such as Tyr, Bodach, Guistenal & Balic alive and well I always pictured the Green Age as being very much your typical fantasy setting back when DS first came out, before much info was tossed out about it. The original box set and first few supplements rather give you that impression. After a while though, its easy to see that the Green Age was still not very normal for a fantasy setting. High levels of psionics and the cultural reprecutions of such, strange effects of the Pristine Tower still evident, learning that the older races were never really of the core variety to begin with, etc. It was a nice twist on things . . . or rather a double twist since the original setting itself was a twist . . . or ahh, nevermind.