http://www.crimsonsun.org/sections.php?op=viewarticle&artid=197
Boiled down, the big problem with SJ & DS together is that adding SJ to DS has to potential to "ruin" DS, via trade routes bringing in iron, water, and other necessities that could ease life in the wastelands. I attempted to address this in the article above, making SJ travel to athas difficult, but not completely impossible (hard enough that merchents will avoid it like a plague, but really tough adventurers should be able to make it...barely ;) ).
It isn't just the Complete Spacefairer's Handbook that has this rule. It is also contained in the origional Dark Sun Boxed Set.
I remember when the boxed set came out, thinking hey this could be great to add to a Spelljammer campaign and going out to buy it.
Unfortunately, like Night Druid says, the way Dark Sun is set up Spelljamming ships could throw the campaign off balence. (I also think the same applies to plane based travel to other worlds but I don't think they put in rules about this).
It is a real shame that the developers decided to cut Dark Sun off from the other worlds in *this* way. I realise that it should be isolated but would have prefered it if the forces that control the world were keeping it that way.
From what I remember of Dark Sun, water creation spells were either less effective or didn't work at all. Perhaps people bringing water into the upper atmosphere would suffer some sort of effect that would prevent most people attempting it. Here are a couple of ideas off of the top of my head that stop players going there without just saying "Oy, you can't do that":
1 - Large bodies of water close to the atmosphere of Athas attract the attention of Water Elementals driven to the point of madness by constant dehydration on the planet. The elementals are irrational and are willing to travel so far into wildspace that they are are past the point when they can safely get back to the surface.
Elementals that manage to land on a ship immediately begin to "feed", causing dehydration damage to wooden items, plants and animals (including characters). They continue to feed unless interupted. If interupted they are willing to fight to the death to be able to continue feeding.
What is left of the ship and crew after an attack is so dried out that it is brittle and crumbles when touched.
Sailors scare each other with stories of ghost ships crewed by crumbling undead undead sailing around Athaspace struck by the same water hunger that led to their demise.
2 - The upper atmosphere of Athas is super-heated and totally devoid of moisture. Objects including Spelljammer ships that pass into the atmosphere risk heat damage. Metal is heated and creatrues, goods and food containing water have that water sucked out of them by the very atmosphere. This is a natural effect of the environment and can not be dispelled or avoided by magical means. The effect is worse in the day but is still deadly at night.
In fact instead of being a quick way to become rich on Athas, transporting large bodies of water (or better still ice) is the only way to avoid having your ship bake, catch fire or melt on the way down.
The Elven High Command are rumoured to have lost 25 scout ships before finally finding a way avoid burning up in the sky, however the ship landed badly and was unable to take off again. The crew left to contact local elves for assistance but have not been heard of since.
3 - There is something in the very nature of Athas that actually absorbs water. Perhaps there is some sort of negative energy balance in the elemental plane of water itself. When a ship approaches Athas excess water on board tiny portals open from the elemental plane of water soaking up water until the ship is as dry as the surface of the planet it is approaching.
4 - Do not approach the planet Athas. Many groundling wizards use a dangerous form of magic called "defiling" that draws its power from the land. As well as laying waste to much of the planets surface, this destructive spellcasting has been drawing energy out of the atmosphere. The defiled air naturally rises and the effect will not reach the surface of Athas for millions of years.
The defiled upper atmosphere is almost as dangerous as a sargasso, slowly drawing magical energy from a Spelljamming ship until it just falls out of the sky like a stone. For every round that a Spelljammer remains in the atmosphere of Athas the helmsman must make a saving roll to avoid loosing one point of SR.
Now if I just read your post and made these up on the spot, just imagine what sort of better things the professionals at TSR could have done, if they could have been bothered.
Maybe some of the people here that keep Dark Sun and Spelljammer alive can think of better ideas than mine to join both campaign settings together WITHOUT allowing PCs to change the balence.
David "Big Mac" Shepheard
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/virtualeclipselrp/links/d20_system_001071937434
Originally posted by bigmac
Maybe some of the people here that keep Dark Sun and Spelljammer alive can think of better ideas than mine to join both campaign settings together WITHOUT allowing PCs to change the balence.
Oops, sorry NightDruid I didn't see your website until after I posted. I think it is really cool and have added it to the Spelljammer links on my website.
I must get round to starting up a page of Dark Sun links as that is a great setting too!
Originally posted by bigmac
Oops, sorry NightDruid I didn't see your website until after I posted. I think it is really cool and have added it to the Spelljammer links on my website.
:D Cool, the sig is working!
Glad you enjoyed it!--thus, Athasspace fell off the normal phlogiston charts NB
Originally posted by adventureauthor
I know that, officially, Athas from Darksun cannot be reached by Spelljammers. In what product does it say this?
This also made clear in Dragon Kings and Defilers and Preservers of Athas due to the planar setup of Athas.
Kilamar