Gilar the Dwarf

While driving home from work today I decided that I wanted to create a character for D&D. But not any of those newfangled editions... I wanted to go back to my roots:

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 2nd Edition.

It's only fitting, given our recent move. I grew up in the Philadelphia area playing AD&D 2nd Ed. in the 90's. Now that I'm back, I should be spending a little time with the game that turned me into an RPG fanatic. Ever since unpacking our books, I've been reading through some of my old Player's Handbook Rules Supplements - the old brown back splat books chock full of crazy optional rules, kits, and gonzo proficiencies. 

I should be clear that I'm not making this character for any particular game. Once I'm done, they'll probably just stay here on the blog gathering virtual dust. 

But you never know.

First a few rules for this character's generation:

• I'll be rolling 4d6 drop the lowest in order. No swapping stats, no seventh roll, just the six. Am I breaking my personal rule of 3d6 in order? Sure, however this is how we did things back in the 90's. This is how Ace of Base or Green Day would want me to roll. This is how we're doing it. 
• The character will be 3rd level (or 2/2 if multi-classed). We never, EVER started campaigns at 1st level. Actually that's not true, I started one campaign at 1st level one time. That was it, and it was pretty much just a campaign with my brother. 3rd level was where the fun started. 
• I'm going to use one of the Player's Handbook Rules Supplements. I'll definitely be taking a super-swank kit as well!
• I hope I can make a Dwarf!

Here goes:

Gilar* the Dwarf Thief (Pest Controller), Level 3

*Name generated with the Dwarf Name Generator Tables on page 36 of PHBR6

• Strength: 9, Dexterity: 14, Constitution: 15, Intelligence: 16, Wisdom: 10, Charisma: 12
• HP: 15 (3d6+3), AC: 8 (Leather Armor), THAC0 19
• Proficiencies:
• Weapon (2): Dagger, Short Bow
• Non-Weapon (8+Kit+Craft): Animal Lore (K), Pest Control (K), Brewing (C), Underground Survival, Fungi Recognition, Fire-Building, Local History, Alertness, Gaming, Rope Use, Tumbling 
• Languages (5): Common, Dwarf, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, Thieves' Cant
• Thief Skills:
• 5% Pick Pockets
• 60% Open Locks
• 60% Find/Remove Traps
• 50% Move Silently
• 5% Hide in Shadows
• 15% Detect Noise
• 60% Climb Walls
• -5% Read Languages
• Age: 65, Height: 3'11", Weight: 151 lbs
• Equipment: Leather Armor, 3 Daggers, Short Bow, Thieves' Picks, Backpack, Quiver, Arrows (24), 50' Hemp Rope, Grappling Hook
• Treasure: 3 gp, 8 sp

Could I have made a Mage? Yeah, sure. But I didn't want to make a Mage, I wanted to be a Dwarf, and Dwarves can't be Mages. And that's how it was during the old days. Sometimes to play what you wanted to play something in particular, you had to go with a weird build. 

Shudderscape - A DCCRPG Reunion Game

The Monster Squad Returns

A little over four years ago I wrapped up an epic, three-and-a-half year long D&D 4th Edition campaign. The players included my brother Tom, two friends from middle-school and high-school (Randy and Chris, aka "Cone"), and Randy's friend Tym. When we started the campaign, a spinoff of a previous D&D 3.5 Ravenloft game, my brother wanted to give Planescape another try, however I was still interested in Ravenloft. 

So I decided to split the difference.

Our Ravenscape campaign began with four player characters getting summoned to the Domain of Dread to do the bidding of a foul summoner. Each player character had a monstrous twist:

• Obsidian, the Shifter Druid, played by Randy 
• Wonk Urhugar, the Dhampir Goliath Fighter, played by Tom 
• Guhlmorg, the Goblin Sorcerer, played by Tym 
• Gravesend, the Tiefling Bard, played by Cone 

We eventually started calling this foursome the Monster Squad. 

Meeting weekly, most of our initial adventures centered around evading vicious monster hunters, clandestinely slaying foul fiends, and befriending the more kindly monsters who just wanted to live in peace. As the campaign progressed we moved on to Planescape, with the PC's getting involved in Sigil faction politics, and operating a bar and brothel called the Trunk of Junk (formerly the Tenth Pit Alehouse). Epic tier brought interaction with deities, the inclusion of my friend Frank, who played the Lady of Pain as a Deva Ardent, the death of Strahd von Zarovich, and all the ramifications of dealing with Gravesend's daddy: Orcus. 

The campaign ended with the ringed city of Sigil crashing off the coast of Dementlieu, the Monster Squad's battle against the largest possible dragon while in their Elven Man-O-War Spelljamming ship (we really did mash up everything), and the final battle against Orcus himself. Sigil was returned to it's former place atop the spire, and the cosmology of Planescape returned to the original, AD&D 2nd Edition Wheel, rather than the weird 4th Edition version.

When the campaign was over, our crew disbanded and we went our separate ways. Over the years I've had the chance to play with a couple of these guys during one-shots and mini-campaigns, but never as a group. 

So imagine my glee when I suckered the entire crew of Monster Squad alumni back to the virtual tabletop again last night! With a stack of Dungeon Crawl Classics swag, and a copy of Sour Spring Hollow by +Michael Curtis, I was ready to reintroduce this crew to glory, riches, and certain death.

Reunion World Tour!

As I concocted the plan to get my Ravenscape players back to the table, I figured that the most exciting way to add spark to what could end up being a one-shot,would be to include backstory from our last campaign. Since the best way to truly experience the visceral sensations of Dungeon Crawl Classics for the first time is through the 0-level funnel concept, I needed to somehow connect those epic, 30th level 4E characters to a bunch of ragtag, know-nothing, commoners. 

First I advanced the story five-hundred years from our previous campaign. Sigil now resembles a more Victorian society, while the Outlands surrounding the great spire, as well as the planes themselves, have a bit of a "Wild West" feel. I pulled this idea from way back when I wanted to blend Planescape and Deadlands for a Plane Justice concept. The Trunk of Junk Bar/Brothel/Wedding Chapel was still owned by two members of the original Monster Squad, and the famous establishment had an entire cast of interesting employees working hard to keep the joint looking fine and fit. 

For our 0-level funnel our PC's would be those employees. 

Shudderscape

Now that I had a jumping-off point, I needed an adventure. 

I've had my eyes on The Chained Coffin for quite some time, ever since the boxed set arrived as part of my Kickstarter reward for the DCCRPG 4th printing. I love the Appalachian feel of the Shudder Mountains, and the touches of American folklore and mythology. My maternal grandmother was from West Virginia, and we used to vacation as a family in Hungry Mother State Park near Marion, Virginia almost every year as kids. The Appalachian Mountains are connected to my own personal history, so the images and scenes contained within this beautiful box really strike home.  

Not content with just the main box, and even though it could take me months, if not years to play through all the added content that comes with the main Chained Coffin box and the two additional modules (Chained Coffin DLC), I had to have it all... all things Shudder Mountains! 

But where to place the Shudder Mountains in the Planescape cosmology... 

Looking at one of the Planescape maps, I saw some mountains in the Outlands that rested right up along the edge of the Great Spire. What a perfect image! Beautiful, rolling, lush hills sidling right up next to an infinitely tall spire. The starter adventure, Sour Spring Hollow, even opens with a teleportation to a haunted farm, so there was very little customization necessary to get this module to fit a Planescape campaign...

... or should I say Shudderscape?

I should note that immediately after our adventure last night several of the players asked about grabbing their own weird dice. With their surviving characters advancing to 1st level we are planning a follow-up session next month, perhaps exploring another section of these twisted hills. But whatever we do, and whatever we play, I'll be content knowing that the band is back together. 

Dramatis Personae 

The Employees of the Trunk of Junk:

• Cone's 0-levels 
• Ren "Choppy" Swilligen the Woodcutter 
• Jer "Dirtbane" Kane the Gravedigger 
• Tarris "Goes to Blowin" Midtower the Elven Glassblower 
• Gran "Too Tan" Topknot the Halfling Dyer 
• Randy's 0-levels 
• Ronda Wolf the Halfling Dyer 
• Slim Whitman the Outlaw 
• Ryuh Haw the Herder 
• Buz Beevis the Herder 
• Tink the Robot Merchant 
• Tom's 0-levels 
• Cockswain McCrane the Halfing Mariner 
• Puck Pace the Costermonger 
• Bilbo Swaggins the Confidence Artist 
• Tutone Malone the Guild Begger 
• Tym's 0-levels 
• Feddi the Elven Glassblower 
• Grendy the Herbalist 
• Nemo the Minstrel 
• Adeelsa the Halfling Trader 

Sour Spring Hollow

Sixteen employees are hard at work in the infamous "Trunk of Junk" Bar/Brothel/Wedding Chapel in the great planar city of Sigil. A local spirit-delivery-bauriar (ram-centaur) named Sanderson arrives with a new tasty drink called "Sour Springs Spirits." The terrible beverage knocks all the tasters out, and plane-shifts them to a part of the Outlands at the base of the Great Spire known as the Shudder Mountains.

The employees quickly realize that they are on haunted ground, as they are beset upon by cackling and crowing spirits that can turn blood to dust, and flesh to husk. The Sigilian employees figure out some relatively interesting ways to divert some of the spirits (prayers to Smeesh - God of Lint and Cheese, and really bad jokes), but ultimately suffer terrible losses as the entities are not affected by regular weapons. The wayward tavern-workers discover than anyone killed by the spirits is transformed into a corn-husk doll. 

The spirits eventually leave, but return time and time again, each time claiming more lives.

A well to the east reveals little but a shambling mound that continues to moan the word "Hobb."

Four buildings stand on the haunted ground. One by one the players search, finding useful gear and equipment. A broken stick of hawthorn seems particularly interesting, and it proves to be a useful weapon against the spirits... especially when combined with a hammer-head. There's also a building with a magic, flapping book full of spells. The last building has a child's drawings depicting a woman with a holy symbol coming to some houses, getting her walking stick broken, and her body crucified.

One of the buildings turns out to be a Gardinel, a living building that can digest visitors (claiming two employees), but otherwise these investigations lead to some great loot. 

Grendy tries burying one of the dolls in the nearby graveyard but disturbs three Earth Hounds that hill him. Ronda Wolf lures the Earth Hounds to the Gardinel with a crushed hamster, but the living house uses its great tongue to lash out and drag the halfling inside. Fortunate they hounds follow. 

Eventually the party discovers the body of a priest of the Sovereign crucified on a scarecrow at the top of the corn field. Investigating the corpse, the employees notice that it is reaching out to the sky. They try a whole mess of ideas to interact with the corpse. They put some stuff in the corpse's hands. Nothing. Nemo calls upon the Sovereign for guidance, and is zapped by lightning, inducted into the priesthood instantly.

But that doesn't lift the curse.

Since they did not explore the well, the party goes back down and communicates with the bushy construct. They trade the mound a piece of hawthorn for an abandoned holy symbol of the Sovereign. Back to the scarecrow. 

Once back at the scarecrow and priestess' body, the party places the holy symbol in the dead's outstretched hand. There is a great thunder clap in the sky, and a ring of positive energy flows over the farm, destroying the remaining spirits. A few cackling spirits attempt a final attack on the party of Trunk of Junk employees, but they are successfully repelled.

Adventure Notes

• Sour Spring Hollow is a piece of cake to place, and offers a quick but smart adventure for a starting group of 0-level characters.  We made it through the adventure in about three hours of total gameplay.

• At the beginning of our session I gave all of the players a bit of backstory as to what had happened to their previous D&D 4th Edition characters:
• Gravesend ascended to godhood at the end of our last campaign, and now rules over the land of the dead as the Raven King.  His son Kell, daughter of a drow general who led a demon army, is now a prominent politician and businessperson in Sigil.  He's also kind of a dick.  
• Obsidian the Shifter Druid is still alive, still an owner of the Trunk of Junk, but has been missing for quite some time (... hmmm... future quest?)
• Guhlmorg the Goblin Sorcerer, known by many as the Chronomancer, spent so much time bending and warping time that he exists a few moments ahead of existence.  This means that when he's bartending you can only remember him if you are looking right at him (obligatory Doctor Who reference.)
• Wonk Urhugar the Dhampir Goliath Fighter died centuries ago, but his great-great-great grandson Krad Urhugar acts as bar manager for the Trunk of Junk.

• To showcase the wild and crazy, do-it-yourself feel of DCCRPG, I started bending the rules early.  I asked each player to talk about backstory from the previous campaign.  Depending on the stories they told, and how they were displayed as art around the walls of the Bar/Brothel/Wedding Chapel, I dished out some bonuses to attributes and Luck.  One PC, Randy's character Slim Whitman, died during this sequence after drinking something called Guhlmorg's Prolapse in Time.  He should've just had a beer.  

• In the original adventure the Deadfall in the well doesn't really say anything, but I thought that moaning "Hobb" like the name "Hodor" would come off as super creepy.   It also gave me the opportunity to do a creepy voice in the mic repeatedly, as if doing the bird calls prior to the Hobb Spirit arrivals wasn't creepy enough.

• Cthulhu's Suspenders of Swag:  I needed to throw a magic item into the game, and so many of the descriptions of cabin contents included clothing.  I made one of the pieces of clothing be a set of overalls with way too many suspenders.  Wearing these grant +5 to Personality rolls when talking with someone else wearing suspenders. 

Quotes?

"I'm having trouble with the mathematics." - It's been a long time since Randy's rolled dice.

"This is like the hardest choose your own adventure book I've ever played." - Cone wasn't far from the truth.

"You said when someone dies, you can get their stuff, but that doesn't count when they get eaten by a house... right?" - Randy longed for all the sweet swag that Tink the Robot Merchant was carrying.

The Crematorium 

• Jer "Dirtbane" Kane the Gravedigger - Turned to a husk by a Hobb Phantom 
• Tarris "Goes to Blowin" Midtower the Elven Glassblower - Turned to a husk by a Hobb Phantom 
• Gran "Too Tan" Topknot the Halfling Dyer - Turned to a husk by a Hobb Phantom 
• Ronda Wolf the Halfling Dyer - Grabbed by the Gardinel (living house) 
• Slim Whitman the Outlaw - Violent intestinal prolapse after drinking the "Prolapse in Time" beverage at the bar 
• Ryuh Haw the Herder - Turned to a husk by a Hobb Phantom 
• Tink the Robot Merchant - Crushed by the Gardinel's stomach 
• Cockswain McCrane the Halfing Mariner - Digested in the Gardinel 
• Puck Pace the Costermonger - Turned to a husk by a Hobb Phantom 
• Bilbo Swaggins the Confidence Artist - Turned to a husk by a Hobb Phantom 
• Feddi the Elven Glassblower - Turned to a husk by a Hobb Phantom 
• Grendy the Herbalist - Arm torn off by Earth Hound while digging in a grave 
• Adeelsa the Halfling Trader - Turned to a husk by a Hobb Phantom

Kid Wizard vs. DM Chuck - My First RPG Experience

Since the beginning of the Living 4 Crits blog I've wanted to tell the woefully short tale of "Kid Wizard", my very first tabletop role-playing game character.  I'm still not sure why it's taken me so long to write about my first experience with an RPG, especially since I hear so many gamers on podcasts share their own first times.  Actually, given the way the whole experience turned out you'd think I never would've returned to the table.  

It helps that I had an extremely talented Dungeon Master.

DM Chuck

It all started twenty-five years ago, with a simple game of Dungeons & Dragons.  Chuck, my Dungeon Master To-Be, was a year older than me and lived across our street in Levittown, Pennsylvania.  Growing up, Chuck was a natural leader and organizer, always gathering the kids on our block into various activities.  If there was football being played on "The Hill" (the mound surrounding a local drainage ditch), Chuck was arranging teams.  If street hockey was on the menu, Chuck provided the net and all the pads.  Of the eight boys who lived on the lower end of Handy Road, Chuck was the group's ever present event planner.    

I need to point out that Chuck's parents had an extremely high tolerance to loud kid voices.  Their house was always filled with children of all ages, pretty much taking over their living room, den, kitchen, bedrooms, and backyard.  I don't know how they put up with us all.  

My dates may be a little shaky, but sometime between the winter and spring of 1991 Chuck started talking about something called "RPG".  Not "an RPG", or "the RPG", just "RPG."  At first I thought the game had something to do with "rocket propelled grenades", probably because of my overexposure to Rambo movies.  I blame '80's cinema.  Eventually this conversation led to the arrival of a mysterious red box...

... the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Rules, Set 1 with the Larry Elmore cover!

Word got out that some of the other kids, including Chuck's two younger brothers Jeff and Chris, were "making characters" for this game.  Naturally I wanted to be a part of the group, so I scheduled some time to sit down with Chuck and create my first character. 

Okay, at the time this was probably just me walking over and asking to make a character, and then his mom telling me to come back later, but in my mind I will always remember "being summoned" for that very special moment.  

Kid Wizard

Chuck's house had a den in the very back, with a bunch of comfy couches.  That's where Kid Wizard was born!  The name sparked a bit of an argument because Chuck insisted that I couldn't be a "kid" if I were a Magic-User.  I would need a long beard and a pointy hat.  My counter argument was probably rooted in Dungeons & Dragons cartoon series, and Presto the Magician.  

Here's all I remember about Kid Wizard's stats:

• Class: Magic-User
• Language: Pixie
• Starting Spell: Ventriloquism
• Weapon: Dagger 
• Money: Not enough gold for a silver dagger

Being able to speak Pixie confused the heck out of me.  In my twelve year old mind Pixies were a combination of the fairies from The Legend of Zelda and Popples.  The starting spell also kind of stunk, especially when I realized that I could only cast it once per day.  

Really?  I'm a great and powerful sorcerer with one spell that I could cast once per day?  What good is throwing my voice going to be?

Chuck assured me that I would be the most powerful character on the entire block, because no one else was playing a Magic-User.  But this would take time, and I'd need to attain a bunch of levels before attaining true mystical might.  

Kid Wizard wouldn't last the evening.

Character creation was quick, and Chuck's dad wasn't finished cooking dinner, so he offered to run me through a short session to try out the rules.  Here's my attempt at an adventure recap of something that occurred back in 1991.

The Legend of Kid Wizard

Kid Wizard's career began in a small town.  Unhappy with only having a dagger as his weapon, Kid Wizard longed for a silver dagger to add to his arsenal.  So Kid Wizard walked into the local weaponsmith's shop and asked to purchase a silver dagger.  The weaponsmith looked at Kid Wizard's pitiful pile of silver and copper and declined to make a sale.  

"This dagger's twenty-five gold," the burly weaponsmith stated.

At first he was disappointed, but then Kid Wizard thought up a plan.  The young Magic-User grabbed the silver dagger from the weaponsmith's hand and bolted out of the shop.  But before he could make it to the nearby alley, Kid Wizard heard the weaponsmith shouting.

"Guard!  Guard!" the man screamed.

Sure enough a pair of guards saw the young pilferer and gave chase.  But Kid Wizard was prepared for this.  Using his trusty Ventriloquism spell, Kid Wizard mimicked the voice of the weaponsmith from behind the two guards.  

"Let him go!" the fake voice shouted.  

One of the two guards fell for the spell, but the other continued to chase Kid Wizard.  Eventually the guard reached the Magic-User, and cut him down with a single blow of his long sword.  Kid Wizard died, still clutching his beloved silver dagger.

The End. 

Back for More

It took a few months to get back to Chuck's table.  It wasn't long before he purchased the AD&D 2nd Edition rulebooks, which quickly became our game of choice.  My second character was a Paladin, who would die on the Isle of Dread, sacrificing himself to save the life of my friend Ryan's Thief.  I would play in Chuck's games up through high school, returning during the summer of 1998 for a reunion game using characters that we had played for years.  To this day, some of my fondest memories as a D&D player come from sitting in Chuck's upstairs bedroom during an all-nighter, battling the minions of evil until the early hours of the morning.  

Chuck's red box would eventually make it into my hands, and I remember first running D&D sessions during the summer of 1991, overly-inspired by the blockbuster hit Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.  

Chuck was also my first player.  He gave me tips and pointers on how to run my own adventures, and over the years would share some of the materials he would amass from our local hobby store Allied Hobbies at the Oxford Valley Mall.  I was allowed to use his bookshelf as an occasional library, checking out a rulebook or copy of Dungeon Magazine to help further my craft.  

I will be forever grateful for that very first invite to join Chuck's D&D game.  

I've participated in countless tales told around a small table with a only handful of dice and a small stash of gnarled books and discarded soda cans.  I've met creative, thoughtful, and downright legendary game designers who have shared their own stories and experiences.  Most importantly, I've shared this storytelling art form with my children, and continue to watch them make it their own.  Hours upon hours of experiences and memories that would never exist if I hadn't rolled up one single, crappy, dagger-wielding Magic-User in Chuck's family's den.

So Chuck, just in case you're reading this, thank you.  

Thank you for bringing me into the fold twenty-five years ago, and for inspiring me to create my adventures.  I just have one question that remains after all these years...

... couldn't you let me start with a better spell than Ventriloquism?

Sand and Cyphers - Running Dark Sun with the Cypher System

Homecoming 

I fell in love with the Dark Sun Campaign Setting in September 1994.  I was spending the weekend at my friend Andy's house, and he had this old SSI game on his computer:  Dark Sun Shattered Lands.  The idea of playing a gladiator-slave desperate to achieve freedom felt so very different from typical fantasy settings.  I put in a few hours on the game while staying with Andy, and asked to borrow the game before heading home.  

By the middle of the following week I found myself completely enthralled by the world of Athas.  So I got my mom to drive me to the Oxford Valley Mall, where I traded several weeks worth of allowance for the Dark Sun Campaign Setting Boxed Set and the Brazen Gambit by Lynn Abbey.  I still have that same boxed set, worn to heck with exposed cardboard breaking through the busted corners and edges.  As I look at the box right now I am amazed...

... can you imagine that it was only $20 for the setting?  

I explored the Dark Sun setting with AD&D 2nd Edition all throughout high school and college.  My players threw off their chains and ventured out into the Great Alluvial Sand Wastes.  Since one of our player characters was a Templar, we spent countless sessions involved in the bitter disputes between Gulg and Nibenay.  Later on our Trader led the party on grand caravan ventures to Urik, Raam, and Draj.  Athas truly became our sandbox.  

Years later I returned to the wastes with D&D 3rd Edition.  At the time I was a convert to the new D&D system, and had no interest in playing the game with the older ruleset.  Fortunately, I discovered Athas.org!  Like thousands of other Dark Sun fans, I found the fan-made rules perfect for running another excursion across the sands.  That campaign would last three terrific years, and wrapped up in 2007.

Since then, I've had only a few brief trips back to the Dark Sun Campaign Setting.  I ran a short D&D 4th Edition mini-campaign in 2011, but found the drastic changes to the source material off-putting.  I'm sorry, Wizards of the Coast, but Thri-Kreen have elongated abdomens, and Half-Giants are quite different from Goliaths.  

My most recent trip to Dark Sun was when I used Athas a recursion for The Strange last year.  We came up with a few basic rules for the recursion, and used Foci to match our agents of The Estate to familiar race and class combinations.  It worked really well, and left me wanting more.  

With the Cypher System Rulebook I think I'm now ready to deliver... 

Conversion Notes

Before we move forward, I want to be clear about what I've thrown together.  I'm not one for full conversions.  Sure I could come up with a dozen custom descriptors, and another half-dozen new foci, but why bother?  

Want to play a Mul Gladiator?  A Tough Warrior who Fights With Panache fits quite nicely!

Those Gith raiders are Level 2(6) creatures, level 3 speed defense due to their springing ability.  

It really doesn't take much to Cypher this stuff... that's why I'm such a fan.  

So what I've got here is a list of quick conversion notes that you can use to run Dark Sun this weekend using the Cypher System Rulebook with very minimal effort.  To do this right you'll just two, maybe three things:

• Obviously you'll need the Cypher System Rulebook.  Pretty much a given.
• You can get the Dark Sun Boxed Set PDF on DrivethruRPG for $9.99.  You'll need this unless you've already got a copy.  Speaking of, I may need to go get one.    
• The rules for Wild Talents are based on mutations that can come from either the Numenera or The Strange rulebooks.  I've got an alternative method as well... we'll get to that soon enough.

For this post I'll be covering character generation and some basic rules for general gameplay.  I may do another post with some creature conversions, but I trust most of you reading this can do these on the fly.  Actually, if you come up with any conversion materials, or comments on what I'm sharing, I'd love to see them!

Races of Athas

Any character race from the original Dark Sun boxed set can easily be emulated using the right combination of descriptors, types, foci, or even just flavor text.  The Cypher System Rulebook goes as far as to point players towards using stock descriptors to describe an elf or dwarf.  Not every dwarf needs to be rugged, nor does every halfling have to be stealthy.  It's your game, and your character.  

So when you read my suggested descriptors and some decent foci, don't get bogged down with these being "required" in your game.  Even the Half-Giant and Thri-Kreen, each of which I've created slightly customized descriptors, could be created using alternatives.  When we played Dark Sun using The Strange our Thri-Kreen was a Lucky Paradox who Hunts with Great Skill.  

These suggestions probably work best with players who are unfamiliar with the Dark Sun setting.  Any die-hard Dark Sun fan will tell you that this isn't the world where you'll find a Jovial Elf or a Kind Halfling! 


Dwarf 

• Descriptors:  Dwarf, Driven, Mad, Rugged, Perceptive, Strong-Willed, Tough, Vengeful

Elf  

• Descriptors:  Charming, Elf, Dishonorable, Fast, Graceful, Mystical, Sharp-Eyed 
• Focus: Moves Like the Wind

Half-Elf  

• Descriptors:  Appealing, Empathic, Jovial, Mysterious, Spiritual
• Focus:  Controls Beasts

Half-Giant  

• Descriptor: Half-Giant (Custom, modified "Strong")
• Extremely Powerful: +6 to your Might Pool
• Skill:  Trained in all actions involving breaking inanimate objects.
• Skill:  Trained in all actions involving lifting or carrying objects at great lengths.
• Inability:  The Half-Giant's constantly shifting alignment causes cracks in their personality.  The difficulty of all Intellect Defense actions are increased by one step. 
• Initial Link to the Starting Adventure
1. You served as a caravan guard during one of the other PC's trips across the wastes.
2. You are an ex-slave who served in an elite unit hired by another PC's friend's or family.
3. You are paranoid that your fellow PC's will come to distrust you based on your shifting alignment.
4. One of the PC's has been able to help sooth your transition from one alignment to another.  
• Focus:  Performs Feats of Strength

Halfling

• Descriptors:  Clever, Cruel, Impulsive, Inquisitive, Lucky, Stealthy, Swift

Human  

• Descriptors:  Brash, Craven, Doomed, Impulsive, Intelligent, Noble, Wealthy

Mul  

• Descriptors:  Strong, Hardy, Naive, Resilient, Tongue-Tied
• Focus: Never Says Die

Thri-Kreen  

• Descriptor:  Thri-Kreen (Custom, modified "Tough")
• Carapace:  +1 to Armor
• Dextrous:  +2 to Speed Pool
• Skill:  You're trained in jumping and leaping
• Additional Equipment:  You begin play with a Chatkcha
• Initial Link to the Starting Adventure
1. You see all of the PC's as part of your clutch.
2. You consider only one of the PC's as part of your clutch, and have a distrust of the others.  
3. One of the PC's has watched you consume an elven friend of theirs.  
4. You have spent time teaching one of the other PC's how to use your Thri-Kreen weapons, and the experience has been very rewarding.
• Focus:  Hunts with Great Skill

Classes of Athas

To create the feel of traditional character classes from the original AD&D 2nd Edition Dark Sun campaign setting, you'll need to consider combinations of Type, Flavor, and Focus.  

Types

Warrior, Speaker, Adept, or Explorer... the "Type" is the core of a Cypher System character.  But if you are looking to emulate the "feel" of the original AD&D 2nd Edition Dark Sun, don't get too hung up on this aspect of the character.  Your Druid may be a powerful Adept with a deep connection to a guarded land, or an Explorer with a nature-related focus.  A Templar could be an Adept or a Speaker, and a Gladiator a Warrior or an Explorer.  

If you are a game master reading this post, looking to run Dark Sun as a campaign, work with your players.  Decide amongst yourselves how closely you want to link the player characters to the original builds allowed in the Dark Sun Campaign Setting Boxed Set.  They're your sands.  

Flavors

Combat, Stealth, and Magic fit best.  

Builds

What I've done is pulled out all of the traditional AD&D 2nd Edition classes found in Dark Sun, and suggested the best Foci to come up with the right builds.  You'll note that I suggest the Types and Flavors for each, but this is another place where you can have fun!  If you remember, back in the original Dark Sun there was a lot of multi-classing.  

When I played Shattered Sands, my party included a Psionicist/Thief, a Ranger/Preserver, and a Fighter/Cleric.  In a Cypher System game, my Dwarven Fighter/Cleric could be a Strong-Willed Warrior who Channels the Elements.  I certainly like the sound of the Cypher build more than the old AD&D title.  

Bard (Speaker flavored with Stealth, remember that Dark Sun Bards did not cast spells)

• Entertains
• Infiltrates
• Murders

Cleric (Adept flavored with Combat, consider the original weapon restrictions found in the Dark Sun rule book)

• Channels the Elements
• As Channels Divine Blessings with minor modifications
• Trained in all tasks related to the Cleric's chosen element
• Blessing of the Gods (Elements): Must choose Earth/Stone, Sky/Air, Sun/Light/Fire, or Water/The Sea.  Cannot choose two elemental blessings.  
• Bears a Halo of Fire (Fire Cleric)
• Blazes with Radiance (Sun Cleric)
• Works Miracles (Water Cleric)
• Throws with Deadly Accuracy (Air Cleric)
• Stands Like a Bastion (Earth Cleric)

Defiler/Preserver  (Adept)

• Bears a Halo of Fire
• Casts Spells
• Consorts with the Dead
• Crafts Illusions
• Rides the Lightning
• Wears a Sheen of Ice

Druid  (Explorer flavored with Magic)

• Controls Beasts
• Lives in the Wilderness
• Masters the Swarm
• Speaks for the Land

Fighter  (Warrior)

• Carries a Quiver
• Defends the Weak
• Looks for Trouble
• Masters Defense
• Masters Weaponry

Gladiator  (Warrior)

• Fights Dirty
• Fights with Panache
• Masters Weaponry
• Needs No Weapon
• Rages
• Wields Two Weapons at Once

Psionicist    (Adept)

• Awakens Dreams
• Commands Mental Powers
• Focuses Mind over Matter
• Sees Beyond
• Separates Mind from Body

Ranger  (Warrior flavored with Stealth or Explorer flavored with Combat)

• Hunts Nonhumans
• Pick from an Athasian dedicated foe, such as Gith or Dray
• Hunts with Great Skill
• Lives in the Wilderness
• Wields Two Weapons at Once

Templar  (Speaker flavored with Magic)

• Channels the Sorcerer-King/Queen 
• As Channels Divine Blessings with minor modifications
• Trained in all tasks related to knowledge of the Sorcerer King or Queen
• Blessing of the Gods: Must choose from Authority/Law/Peace, Knowledge/Wisdom, Protection/Silence, Trickery/Greed/Commerce,  or War.  
• All "divine" aspects are reskinned as coming from the Sorcerer King or Queen
• Leads

Thief (Explorer)

• Explores Dark Places
• Infiltrates
• Moves Like a Cat
• Works the Back Alleys

Gear of Athas

Weapons

Some of these are from The Complete Gladiators Handbook

• Light Melee:  Quabone, Wrist Razor, Singing Stick, Puchik
• Light Ranged:  Chatkcha
• Medium Melee:  Carrikal, Impaler, Alhulak, Forearm Axe, Talid
• Medium Ranged:  Dejada
• Heavy Melee:  Gythka, Lotulis, Trikal, Double Bladed Spear

New Mechanics

Wild Talents (courtesy of +Scott Robinson)

Psionics permeate all of Athas, and so every character, when upon completing translation, gain a Wild Talent, a single random psionic ability.  To generate this random ability, use the  rules for Powerful Mutations, found on page 241 of The Strange core book.  Each player gets one roll, and is given a psionic-skinned version of that power.

Or...

For each character in play, roll one random cypher.  This will be their Wild Talent.  Once used, the character can roll another cypher after a 10 hour rest.  

Sure, this isn't the most canonical version of how cyphers work, but its a way to enjoy Wild Talents in your campaign without having to buy anything other than the Cypher System Rulebook.  

Cyphers

Potion fruit, scrolls, arcane trinkets, pretty much the same as the regular Cypher System Fantasy fare.  

Defiling Magic (courtesy of +Marc Plourde)

Using magical abilities on Athas requires the spell caster to draw the life from plants and creatures around them.  While most creatures can take a small drain on their soul, and just experience a bit of nausea, plant life is another matter.  If a caster is not careful, they defile the land, causing all plant life to turn to dead ash.  This is, of course, the easiest and most direct way to cast spells.  Preserving the plant life is far more difficult, but leaves no permanent harm to the world around them.  Of course in Dark Sun, there is no "grey area", and spell casters must make a tough choice:

• When using a magical revision, or focus ability, should the player character choose to "defile", the difficulty is lowered by 1 step.  
• When using a magical revision, or focus ability, should the player character choose to "preserve", the difficulty is increased by 1 step.

Inferior Materials    (created with the help of +Jeremy Land)

Due to the relative scarcity of metal, most weapons and tools are made of bone, stone, or wood.  When using one of these items as a weapon, any roll of a 2 when using an inferior weapon means that the item breaks, and cannot be used until repaired.  If the player rolls a 1, not only do they suffer the GM Intrusion, the weapon also breaks permanently.  

Tools are often made of non-metal as well.  Non-metal tools cannot be used as assets, but merely give the user a +2 modifier to the result of the roll.   

Survival Mode (created with the help of +Jordan Cwang)

This applies to any encounters that may occur in the open wastes.  

Traveling across the sands of Athas is very dangerous, and should always be treated as an arduous ordeal worthy of careful consideration.  Similar to Horror Mode found in the Cypher System Rulebook, Survival Mode increases the Intrusion Range. 

Any journey across the sandy wastes of Athas begins with an Intrusion Range of 5.  A character who just walks out into the wastes, unequipped and unprepared, will suffer a GM Intrusion whenever they roll a 5 or less on a d20 during all actions...

... yeah, it's that dangerous!

Obviously there are ways to decrease the Intrusion Range, and all of the following should be considered as ways to move the Intrusion Range down by a step:

• Accompanying or employing a guide trained (1 step) or specialized (2 steps) in survival.  This can include a party ranger or scout.
• Traveling on a road.
• Being part of a caravan.
• Carrying adequate food and water.

So walking from Tyr to Altaruk with adequate food and water grants an Intrusion Range of 3, while journeying as part of a caravan with a guide reduces this to 1.  There is safety in numbers, my friends.

Your Journey Awaits

So that's my take on character creation and basic rules for running Cypher System campaigns on Athas.  I may do another post covering monsters, but I think this is enough to get you started.  If you have any other suggestions or rule tweaks let me know!  I'd be happy to make some modifications and give you credit!