Are the 5 remaining sorceror-kings still alive, and have any new ones popped up to replace the cities which sorceror kings had been killed? Is the cerulean storm still raging? Things like that.
Andropinis comes back (with the maenads) and Atzetuk becomes a SK (to replace Tek).
Dregoth controls Raam with an army of the undead, his Dray arent around, they might still be underground.
Tyr is still a free city and all the other cities have SK's.
I cant remember if the cerulean storm is still around, but i presume it is.
There is a lot of stuff to be explained or filled in - but it was only 20 pages in a Dungeon magazine which had to be the basics for newcomers. So it couldnt really explain a lot of things (like how Andropinis got out of the black or how Atzetuk became an SK so fast)
and a dungeon magazine (dmg lite). The next dungeon magazine also had some more monsters (monster manual lite).
yeah but they got to the forest ridge and all the halflings had kreen pate on crackers
It doesnt actually explain that i think, theres a lot of loose threads like that, youd have to extrapolate i guess.what's happened during that time
There's a lot of empty space in the history of the D/D articles which may or may not be a good thing in your games. While some points are touched upon, nothing is given in clear and explicit detail. For example, Atzetuk becomes a Dragon King. How does he throw off the Masters of the Mind and when did he start his path towards becoming a dragon? Unanswered questions abound. Andropoinis comes back from his imprisonment in the Black. How did he shrug off Rajaat's curse? Etc. This does give the DM alot of leeway to tweak things as he sees fit, but not every DM works well in that regard. The Cerrulean Storm is still going, but has it increased in size or is its fury wearing out? All things for you to answer in your own game.
I personnaly can't believe that the cities have been in a delicate stalemate for 300 years.
Its not as if there is absolutely no history at all in the 300 year span, its just not overly detailed, which in some ways is great since it allows individual DMs the versatility to adapt it within their own campaign in a more suitable manner. Its not as if the 2,000 years prior to the Age of Heroes was a total stalemate of stagnation, but neither were the historical events of that age all that developed. Excluding a few examples to the contrary (and excluding some of the glaring inconsistancies), I rather like the fact that not too much has been happening. Not every day on Athas should be the day of some cataclysmic or epic event. So a few would be heroes stirred things up for a couple of years, but like a pebble tossed in a lake, the ripples they caused made little difference and eventually the traces of their events have long since vanished. In a way, its a nice bit of tragic irony.
Originally posted by Mach2.5
Its not as if there is absolutely no history at all in the 300 year span, its just not overly detailed, which in some ways is great since it allows individual DMs the versatility to adapt it within their own campaign in a more suitable manner. Its not as if the 2,000 years prior to the Age of Heroes was a total stalemate of stagnation, but neither were the historical events of that age all that developed. Excluding a few examples to the contrary (and excluding some of the glaring inconsistancies), I rather like the fact that not too much has been happening. Not every day on Athas should be the day of some cataclysmic or epic event. So a few would be heroes stirred things up for a couple of years, but like a pebble tossed in a lake, the ripples they caused made little difference and eventually the traces of their events have long since vanished. In a way, its a nice bit of tragic irony.
I just started a campaign with exactly that background, some druid-supported insurrection against a SK, ~100 years before the finishing of Kalak's ziggurat. (I intentionally didn't write 'before the events of the Prism Pentad'...) It is doomed to fail, becoming one of the unsuccesful tries to topple some SK in that 2000 years. Of course the players don't know it....
I will join Penn's Care Bear Stare, however.
I personnaly can't believe that the cities have been in a delicate stalemate for 300 years. It's like what Tyr's heroes have done 300 years before hasn't change anything.
I think it's great that they kept it like that. Otherwise you would lose whatever flavor is left in Dark Sun and end up with a desert Forgotten Realms.
(The Care Bears are a group of adorable, furry friends each with a special caring mission. They help teach people how to care. Every Care Bear wears a bright-colored tummy picture that tells the world who they are and what is their special area of caring.)
I'm kind of interested in what Tyr's like after 300+ years of freedom... and I'm interested in how Tyr has kept it's independance.
In my campaign, Tyr is barely better off 11 years after the death of Kalak than it was during the reign of the Tyant. There might be no more slaves, but indentured servitude has become a nice replacement. Canny nobles rent out their land with a substantial loan to former slaves. Interest collects on the loan which the ex-slaves can barely keep up with working their hardest with little to no hope of actually paying off the loans on the land itself. Basically, its back to keeping up the status quo. Crafters work things the same way, charging their 'new apprentices' a up front fee with similar interest, luring workers with the promises of a cut of the business' profits. Of course, they alter their books so that the apprentices can never really pay their 'tuition' fees. Should they manage to pay their fees off somehow, the store owner merely closes shop temporarily, fires all his sla . . . err, workers, then rehires new ones. The governement is just as corrupt with even more blatant backstabbing and double dealings. At least with the former templars, they had the backing of their priestly magic to keep things in check (detect spells, etc). Now, the more cut throat one is, the higher he will rise through the ranks, so long as he keeps a good front to the masses and his respective affiliates (much like politicians today).
And this is only a little over a decade after Kalak was slain. I wouldn't really see things getting much better in 300 years without some serious intervention.
I personnaly can't believe that the cities have been in a delicate stalemate for 300 years. It's like what Tyr's heroes have done 300 years before hasn't change anything.
So, killing Kalak, The Dragon and keeping Rajaat from freeing himself is nothing? Not to mention creating the first free City-State ever and stopping the 1,000/year slave tributes. But your right, it didn't change anything.
I personnaly can't believe that the cities have been in a delicate stalemate for 300 years. It's like what Tyr's heroes have done 300 years before hasn't change anything. I am building my campaign when the original story left off and will not use the D/D magazines material.
I dont even use the event of Prism pentad in my campaign. So each Dm take what he like.
nothing stays the same.
the SKs kept things in line fro 2000 years to be true...but their hold over the stasis of the Tyr region is porous at best, broken at worst. the strongest opposition to change (namely the dragon) has been removed, and the iron will of the united SKs is a memory. the cities of Raam, Balic, Tyr and Draj for the first time in 2 millenia have a chance to change the course of the world, and the SKs, while still the powerful beings they always were, are preoccupied with defensive measures (namely securing their own kingdoms in lieu of the radical departure from stability in the last 10 years).
in 300 years, whose to say. the important thing is something must happen, as the obstacles to individuals rising to power, as well as the isolated nature of the valley being sundered (go Kreen!) are removed. either a powerful figure will retain the balance, or it will escalate into a chaos over the centuries. which is perfectly in line with the mythos of athas. after all it isn't getting any greener :P
I will join Penn's Care Bear Stare, however.
ooh! ooh!
me too!! I wanna be bedtime bear!!
talk show hosts...are they dolphins? i could dig it. only if they prematurely pledge allegience at the first signs of space halfling overlords though
I'll tell you one thing that could make a difference - 300 years of the Veiled Alliance being able to be public. Academies of Arcane learning. The ablility to actually set up labs and do research. And to possibly swap ideas with the schools of The Way.
I really like where your going with that. While the SKs have been studying magic for thousands of years it hasn't been out in the open and there hasn't been the relatively free trade of ideas the could be achieved with an open Vielded Alliance. Magic could end up being an important facet of Tyrian life and could aid the people in a myriad of ways as it became more and more acceptable.
Out of curiosity, when is the recommended starting year, using Athas.org, official material?
I'd guess Free Year 11.
Most of their rules on the other hand...
I could be wrong, but I don't think they recommended a starting year. So yah free year 11, or any time the old printed material covers.
Actually, the primary setting that Athas.org works with is FY 11 (officially). However, the material can be used at whatever time period people desire.
Lyric, this is the last carebear we have left, all others are taken. Still want it? ;)
nice hair, interesting curves, almost gives ya naughty little thoughts... but then there's the finger.. if it weren't for that, the bear would be great! Are you sure there's nothing left? ;)
Bob Dole! living proof that charisma shouldn't be demoted to the lowest stat number you roll
talk show hosts...are they dolphins? i could dig it. only if they prematurely pledge allegience at the first signs of space halfling overlords though
Don't you know? when those guys show up and hover in the air in exactly the way bricks don't.. the dolfins take off, leaving a note in a kank shoe repair shop in balic, saying "so long, and thanks for all the.." but the note was blasted before they finished reading it..
I have my present campaign running at ~ -1 Free year. Kalak is still alive.
My campaign is around FY 18. I ran my own version of DA but now I'm trying to figure out how to incorprate the offical DA adventure while keeping what I've done at the same time.
