Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Mar 09, 2004 11:20:08	A friend of mine had old setting books for Dark Sun but I never got a chance to read them (He lost them). I was wondering if those here who know a good deal about this setting could tell me what Dark Sun is about and what is unique about it from other Settings.
#2 zombiegleemax Mar 09, 2004 11:47:53	Dark Sun is quite unique and has a very different feel to it than any of the other worlds out there. First off, the world is harsh. Really harsh. Everything from the weather to the environment to the monsters to the political climate are all more brutal than other campaign settings. There are no Gods on Athas, nor Paladins. Clerics do exist, although they worship Elements (Fire, Earth, Water, Air, Silt, Magma, Sun, or Rain) rather than dieties, as they don't exist. Psionics rule the world of Athas, and are far more prevelant than wizard Magic. Wizards are broken down into two groups: defilers and preservers. All magic energy on Athas is drawn from the plant life rather than the magical 'ether'. Preservers learn to work their magic in harmony with nature and do not cause damage, but defilers care little for detrimental effects on the environment. As such, when they cast a spell the area around them becomes sterile, the plants turn to ash, leaving yet another desolate area on the face of Athas. Many in the common populace do not understand the difference between the two types of wizards, and as such they hate and despise them all. With fertile land so scarce, the are no major nations as in other worlds. Instead, there are a collection of city-states, all governed by a Sorceror-King. The Sorceror-Kings are monarchs of immense power, being extremely high level Defilers and Psionicists. They rule the world brutally, through their own force of magic, but also that of their Templars. Templars are like Clerics as well, but they get their power directly from the Sorceror-King. Metals are very scarce on Athas. Because of this, the majority of weapons are made from stone, obsidian, bone, or wood. A steel weapon is a prize indeed. The common currency is "Ceramic"... a gold piece on Athas is worth quite a fortune. The beasts that inhabit Athas are also different than other worlds. As I stated before, Psionics are very strong and nearly all creatures (and even plants!) have some form of Psionic ability. Many of the common monsters in other worlds do not exist on Athas - dragons (there IS a type of Athasian dragon but it is, ahhh... well, different and unique), goblins, orcs, trolls, pixies, gnomes, hobgoblins, kobolds, ogres... all extinct. They were wiped out in the Cleansing Wars, which was fought by none other than the Sorceror Kings that I mentioned earlier. Player races are also quite different. Elves are not as long lived as in other worlds, and are sneaky and deceitful. Halflings are savage and are cannibals. Dwarves are completely hairless, and there are Dwarf/Human crossbreeds known as Muls. Other "standard" Dark Sun player races are the Thri-Kreen (Mantis warriors), Aararokra (pardon the spelling... they are bird people), and Pterran (think something along the lines of a teradactyl humanoid). That's really just scratching the surface, though, to give you an idea. If you really would like to know about the game world, you can download the .PDF file of the box set for around $5 from various gaming sites.
#3 dawnstealer Mar 09, 2004 13:23:50	The first DS book, the Wanderer's Journal is really the absolute best source for info on this world. It gives you just enough to create a world that PCs can play and more than enough room to spread and create. Later books add more information (and more constraints) to this original material, but, honestly, little more is needed than the Journal and 3.5 material put out by Athas.org. Porkchops is right: the book is available in PDF form for pretty cheap and is well worth it. Even so, I'll try to tell you as much as I can just to "rope you in." Just in case you're a player, I'll try to keep this as free of the major plot twists and just tell you about the world itself. The day starts with a massive, bloated red sun rising on the horizon, heating the baked world below to amazing temperatures, even during the winter months of Low Sun. Water is a treasure that has made kings of ordinary men and the few cities of this land cluster around the small trickles that issue up from deep below. The wastes that exist outside the cities are the things of nightmares. The few oasis's that somehow manage to survive are jealously guarded by bandit tribes, escaped slaves, dangerous plants and wildlife, or are poisoned beyond use. The ocean of Athas is a cruel joke: pearly waves of choking silt that stretch far beyond the sight of men or elves. Athas is a dying world on the verge of crumbling away and those that have survived to this point are as desperate as the animals of the wastes, twisted into a mockery of what was. Elves gather in tribes and rarely stay in one city long, leaving just before they are caught and put to work as a slave. Athasian culture is built on the backs of slavery, and the cities would not survive without them. Occasionally, one will try to escape, but they are usually brought back within a day or two, delusional from a lack of water and shelter from the brutal sun. More often, they are not found at all, carried away by some terror of the desert or forever buried beneath the sands. The cities of Athas exist, for the most part, in a rough crescent called the Tablelands. There exist many ruins of cities that once were, but their names and rulers are only faded memories and stories of legend. Since reading and writing are unknown on most of Athas, history is passed down in story form, making the past a murky tale at best. Of the cities, there are seven known cities that have survived to recent times. To the southeast, Balic sits on a peninsula that juts far out into the silt sea, it's people fighting an ever-losing battle of clearing their streets of the mounds of dust. Noble marble columns mark the architecture of this city, as does one of the largest "navies" on the whole of Athas. The greater threat to the city, moreso than the dust, lies in the giants, who live just offshore on islands a bit farther than a stone's throw away. Raids are common and more than a few Balicians have become a meal for raiding, hungry giant. Almost due West of Balic lies the ancient city-state of Kalidnay. Whatever happened here was truly horrible, as it appears the entire city was cracked in half. No people live here anymore, as it is the home to hiddeous creatures. Or so the stories tell. To the North lies Tyr, and ancient city long run by the Sorcerer King Kalak. The construction of a huge ziggurat was the center of Tyrian life for generations until Kalak was overthrown in a slave uprising. Now Tyr is the only known free city on all of Athas. East of Tyr, nestled in the Crescent Ridge Forest, lies the city-state of Gulg. Gulg is engrained in the ecology of the forest, the wooden walls and small huts looking more like an encampment than a city. Gulg is run by the beloved forest goddess Lalalai-Puy, who remains the only protection against the powerful sorcerer king to the North, Nibenay. She lives in a huge tree that dominates the center of Gulg. Nibenay lies on the far northern side of the Crescent Ridge. Unlike Gulg, Nibenay makes profits out of leveling the forest for the strong agafari wood within. Skirmishes and even outright war are not uncommon between the two cities, and animosity has existed since time began. Nibenay is the polar opposite of Gulg, a shining example of human ingenuity and architecture. Spires rise off of every buiding and columns are decorated with intense, frantic carvings of all sorts. At the heart of the city, the Shadow King runs the city. Few have seen the King, whose name is also the name of the city, but fewer still doubt his incredible power. To the North of Nibenay, across an silt estuary, lies the city state of Raam. A riotous symbol in best of times, Raam is civilized chaos. More of a splatter than a city, Raam boasts the most populated city of the Tablelands. To the West of Raam lies the ruins of Yaramuke. Legend says that at one time this was a powerful and influential city, but then ran afoul of the king to the West, Hamanu, who destroyed the city and poisoned its water. Now, Yaramuke is a city of the dead, and not all of them rest in peace. Urik is the home of the immensely powerful king Hamanu, who proclaims himself, possibly rightly so, a god. His people do not doubt it, either, as Urik has never lost a battle or war that Hamanu has led. Urik is a city of rules, and has a legal system more complex than any other in the Tablelands. There are many, many laws, but templars of the king are eager to turn a blind eye if a perpetrator is willing to pay the "fine." To the far East lies Draj. Draj is built upon a mudflat out in a silt lake and can only be reached by a long narrow bridge. Tribal in nature, Draj is held together by the will of its king. Symbols of the city, a long-forgotten great cat called a "jaguar," decorate the walls and statues of the city. Pyramids and temples dedicated to the king of this city fill the walls and tradition is held in high value. Most trade between the cities is carried out by the great trade houses, who have been known to war with one for control of a trade lane. Trade is rarely carried out with silver or gold, as those metals, and all metals, are rare on Athas. Instead, trade is done through barter. When the rare metal object is brought in, ownership can be dangerous, as wealth is a rarity reserved for the kings and queens. Those carrying metal weapons often find them confiscated by templars to add to the undoubtably rich holds of their masters. ~ That should give you enough detail to start with, but I really would recommend looking over the Wanderer's Journal. Unlike most TSR books of the time, it actually reads quite well, and is very good.