Next, I was wondering on people's thoughts for starting a brand new campaign up in the Dark Sun world. The players I would play with have NO knowledge of the world, at all. Except ofc, what I tell them.
I was wondering on where I should start such a campaign. Some of me wants to start them off in "Freedom", and some of me wants to just tell them the story to a certain point, and let them take over, and yet even another part of me wants to pick some time frame kinda "late" and let them discover stuff all for themselves. What do you guys think?
Its their first view.. let them seek hope the way a dying man seeks water in a desert, let them search for it, and find little to be found, and the hunt to be just as deadly as the lack thereof... paint it as you wish.. but let them fill in the details...
However, when I start a game I find it irritating having to educate my PCs every few minutes so i give them this two page summary (people are free to grab as desired):
DARKSUN FOR DUMMIES
· Most of the world is a desert wasteland. Thus water is often more precious then any amount of money. Evil immortal Sorcerer-Monarchs who take the place of gods on Athas rule the few fertile pockets and the City-States they support. They have the powers of high level Wizards and Psions and can grant clerical spells to worshipers known as Templars.
· Metal is about 100 times as rare as on other Fantasy worlds. Other materials such as Bone, Insect chitin, wood and obsidian are commonly used in weapon and armour construction. Ceramic coins and barter are common substitutes for metal coins.
· Slavery is not only common but also considered by many to be necessary to the survival of a City-State. Ten years ago in the city of Tyr, slaves organised a revolt against their Sorcerer-King and killed him. They have freed all slaves in the city. In the intervening time, Tyr has fought a war against another city-state Urik and survived and managed to not destroy themselves.
· Most creatures have some inborn psychic ability. To an extent that psionics is not really considered to be supernatural. Many people can manifest one very minor ability, others have more power. Psions take the place of wizards in society and psionically enchanted items are more common (and cheaper) then magically enchanted ones.
· Wizards use plant life to fuel the power of their spells. They are broken into two broad groups: Preservers who do not damage the land around them when they cast spells and Defilers who turn surrounding plant life into ash when they cast spells. All the Sorcerer-Monarchs are Defilers of the highest magnitude (20th+ level).
· Most people believe all wizards are defilers. Thus they tend to react with violence whenever one is uncovered. Preservers have formed resistance cells (think IRA) in the city-states to protect themselves. These groups are collectively known as the Veiled Alliance.
· While Athas has no true gods, many worship the Elements and are granted clerical spells for their devotions. Druids too now have a closer link with a particular element and a certain geographical feature known as their Guarded Land. While not illegal, elemental magic is frowned upon by the established sorcerer-monarchs in the City-States.
· Paladins are unknown on a world where even survival itself is uncertain. Monks also are unknown, but who knows what exists somewhere out in the wastes. Due to the nature of magic on Athas, Sorcerers are not allowed either in a Darksun game.
· Most of the standard races are very different to the descriptions found in the Players guide or DMG.
· Elves are now really tall (6+ ft) and renown for their ability to run non-stop for days on end. They are notorious for their skills as thieves and smugglers and run the black-markets of the City-States.
· Dwarves are hairless and even more muscular. They all possess an inner drive towards a goal. Known as a Focus all dwarves receive bonuses when pursuing tasks that lead the eventual accomplishment of their Focus.
· Halflings live in the single largest forest remaining on Athas. They savagely protect it with poisoned arrows and psychic abilities. Those that fall victim to them usually awaken to find themselves the main course for dinner.
· Gnomes and Half-Orcs no longer number amongst the living. Their races were wiped out several thousand years ago during what was known as the Cleansing Wars when Humanity waged genocide against all other races under the command of the Champions of Rajaat.
· Muls are the result of a union between a male dwarf and a female human. Only one in four of these mothers live to see their children grow up. Muls are almost exclusively bred to serve as Gladiators in the Arenas common to all city-states. All Muls are born sterile however.
· Half-Giants are a recent introduction to Athas. Barely a couple thousand years old as a race, it is unknown who created them. Their impressive strength and constitution makes them devastating fighters or excellent for heavy lifting.
· Aarakocra (a vulture looking people) are more prolific and quite civilised. While their numbers are still small compared to the more established races they have begun making their presence known.
· Thri-Kreen an insect people known for being unpredictable and having an obsession with hunting dominates the areas outside the city-states. Encounters with a Pack of Kreen often prove deadly if they become hostile but their alien mindset makes negotiations difficult.
Actually, there have been several threads on this topic this month. I would browse through the first five pages of threads if I were you.
doh! sorry, I was on a crappy inet connection and the forums wouldn't load very well.
I knew I shoulda just kept looking. I will browse from now on. :p
Give the players a good background. In the first game I ran with my last group, they started the game on a big fortified caravan. They didn’t know each other and most were employed by the Merchant House (they all had things to do during the journey and at the end of the trail in Altaruk). After some intrigue, they were ambushed by elven Silt Stalkers and had a mad running battle that left the little group stranded in the wastes with bits of a burnt out wagon, lots of dead bodies attracting predators, little time to scavenge food or water and various missions to accomplish…
I always kept the history stuff as secret as possible and forbade them to read the PP books so that the past, SKs, Cleansing Wars etc would all come as surprises and give life/depth to the world.