Advice for Someone Who Wants to Run a Dark Sun Game - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Advice for Someone Who Wants to Run a Dark Sun Game

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
zombiegleemax
Apr 10, 2004 23:27:19 I know that I've been asking a lot of questions (I am a newb ) and I hope that isn't irritating. Would it be best if I concentrated all my "newb questions" in one thread....say this one?

Anyway....

The one player I have lined up right now likes gnome illusionists A LOT. Would a halfling illusionist (this seems to be legal choice, according to the 1st ed. box set) make a decent PC?

Also, this player tends to like some comic relief in gaming. Athas doesn't really seem very "comical" to me. That's certainly not something I have a problem with, but I like the players to have a good time. What would you recomend? I could see where inserting some gallows humor might be in keeping with the setting. And I've seen some things that strike me as absurdist humor (or oppurtunities for such)...for instance (can't remember the pg. number) but it said something about the halflings of the Forest Ridge accepting glass beads as bribes from miners, and this prevented the miners from getting eaten!:D

Thanks for any input!
#2
zombiegleemax
Apr 11, 2004 2:01:16 While a halfling spellcaster makes for a great PC, its nothing at all like your typical gnome illusionist found in standard settings. There really is no 'next best thing' to the gnome on Athas (gnomes got slaughtered to the point of extinction some 2,000+ years ago).

There really is no fun loving pranksters on Athas that could possibly act as a substitute.

As for comic relief, while I don't tend to have much in the way of comedy in my games, that's strictly up to you and your players. DS tends to be dark, grim, and overly serious (melodrama at its finest), but that doesn't mean you can't laugh and have fun playing in it. It just depends on how much mood you try and set and how much your players go along with the mood (or how many times you kill of their PCs for spoiling the mood ;)).
#3
jon_oracle_of_athas
Apr 11, 2004 6:22:12 Here's an article concerned with DMing on Athas.

http://www.athas.org/articles/dsgm.php
#4
Agonar
Apr 11, 2004 6:51:20 the only real comic relief I can see concerning halflings, are that they are typically a wild and barbaric race. Maybe your player can speak very limited common, a lot of misunderstanding. . . or he could play him similar to a tarzan who hasn't yet come to a full grasp of "civilized" ways. . etc etc. Or you can go with the thrikreen if there are elves in the group, since it is known that in the wild the Kreen love Elves (they are a delicacy)

But yeah, Dark Sun is brutal. There aren't happy go lucky gnomes for sport, there's slaughtering your enemies in the arena's and making a name for yourself as a champion gladiator. You have to be rough, in your face with the brutality of the world.

Best Darksun game I have played to date started with the group in a caged wagon. None of us had any memories, except for a rudimentary memory of what we did well (we knew our classes. ie, the spellcasters knew they could cast spells, the fighters knew they could fight.)

We were on our way to a city to fight in the arena. We found out later that we had been sold to this guy and he was told to use us as he saw fit, just to make sure we died before the messenger arrived (I think it was the messenger. a Comet that passed through, but when we heard about the messenger, none of us realized the comet thing). Bits of our memories leaked out, we heard things, we learned clues. Eventually we escaped and went on to do bigger and better things.

GM got the idea after we saw Gladiator in the theater (late 2000) and the game lasted till I moved away at the end of 2002. Was a very detailed, in depth, player and story driven game. We ended up being the movers and the shakers of the game. Helped stop a major invasion, created another menace, became templars of a Dragon king, etc etc.

But there can be comedy in the game. Played a game years before with a player who had a halfling who spoke no common, just jabbered the whole time, rode on the shoulders of the half giant hurling stones with his sling, leaping off into combat, etc. . . It all depends on just what kind of flavor you want to lend the game.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Apr 10, 2004 23:27:19	I know that I've been asking a lot of questions (I am a newb ) and I hope that isn't irritating. Would it be best if I concentrated all my "newb questions" in one thread....say this one? Anyway.... The one player I have lined up right now likes gnome illusionists A LOT. Would a halfling illusionist (this seems to be legal choice, according to the 1st ed. box set) make a decent PC? Also, this player tends to like some comic relief in gaming. Athas doesn't really seem very "comical" to me. That's certainly not something I have a problem with, but I like the players to have a good time. What would you recomend? I could see where inserting some gallows humor might be in keeping with the setting. And I've seen some things that strike me as absurdist humor (or oppurtunities for such)...for instance (can't remember the pg. number) but it said something about the halflings of the Forest Ridge accepting glass beads as bribes from miners, and this prevented the miners from getting eaten!:D Thanks for any input!
#2 zombiegleemax Apr 11, 2004 2:01:16	While a halfling spellcaster makes for a great PC, its nothing at all like your typical gnome illusionist found in standard settings. There really is no 'next best thing' to the gnome on Athas (gnomes got slaughtered to the point of extinction some 2,000+ years ago). There really is no fun loving pranksters on Athas that could possibly act as a substitute. As for comic relief, while I don't tend to have much in the way of comedy in my games, that's strictly up to you and your players. DS tends to be dark, grim, and overly serious (melodrama at its finest), but that doesn't mean you can't laugh and have fun playing in it. It just depends on how much mood you try and set and how much your players go along with the mood (or how many times you kill of their PCs for spoiling the mood ;)).
#3 jon_oracle_of_athas Apr 11, 2004 6:22:12	Here's an article concerned with DMing on Athas. http://www.athas.org/articles/dsgm.php
#4 Agonar Apr 11, 2004 6:51:20	the only real comic relief I can see concerning halflings, are that they are typically a wild and barbaric race. Maybe your player can speak very limited common, a lot of misunderstanding. . . or he could play him similar to a tarzan who hasn't yet come to a full grasp of "civilized" ways. . etc etc. Or you can go with the thrikreen if there are elves in the group, since it is known that in the wild the Kreen love Elves (they are a delicacy) But yeah, Dark Sun is brutal. There aren't happy go lucky gnomes for sport, there's slaughtering your enemies in the arena's and making a name for yourself as a champion gladiator. You have to be rough, in your face with the brutality of the world. Best Darksun game I have played to date started with the group in a caged wagon. None of us had any memories, except for a rudimentary memory of what we did well (we knew our classes. ie, the spellcasters knew they could cast spells, the fighters knew they could fight.) We were on our way to a city to fight in the arena. We found out later that we had been sold to this guy and he was told to use us as he saw fit, just to make sure we died before the messenger arrived (I think it was the messenger. a Comet that passed through, but when we heard about the messenger, none of us realized the comet thing). Bits of our memories leaked out, we heard things, we learned clues. Eventually we escaped and went on to do bigger and better things. GM got the idea after we saw Gladiator in the theater (late 2000) and the game lasted till I moved away at the end of 2002. Was a very detailed, in depth, player and story driven game. We ended up being the movers and the shakers of the game. Helped stop a major invasion, created another menace, became templars of a Dragon king, etc etc. But there can be comedy in the game. Played a game years before with a player who had a halfling who spoke no common, just jabbered the whole time, rode on the shoulders of the half giant hurling stones with his sling, leaping off into combat, etc. . . It all depends on just what kind of flavor you want to lend the game.