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!

Under Strange Suns - Session 2 - a Sherlock Holmes/Dark Sun/Star Wars Campaign

Exploring Athas

It's been a long time since I've had the opportunity to explore the sandy wastes of Dark Sun.  Whenever I open that worn boxed set, and flip through the paperback sourcebooks, spiral bound adventure books, and incredibly detailed maps, I feel nostalgic.  I ran long-term Dark Sun campaigns from 1994 to 1995 (AD&D 2nd Ed.), and then again from 2003 to 2007 (D&D 3.0/3.5).  During the D&D 4th Edition I ran a short-lived, online campaign that only lasted three sessions, but the feeling of the new and revised races, classes, and monsters didn't feel right.  Thri-kreen were no longer large, eleven foot tall half-giants were now wimpy eight foot tall goliaths, and elemental clerics were completely gutted.  So I resigned myself to a long separation from the world of Athas.

Leave it to Monte Cook Games' The Strange to bring me home!

In the last session of Under Strange Suns our party followed the trail of Sherlock Holmes from 221B Baker Street to Troy Denning's home to the broken world of Athas.  But after completing the translation to this shattered, arcane-apocalyptic recursion, the Estate agent found themselves in the bonds of slavery.  Could this be right?  Did Sherlock Holmes suffer the same fate?  

Agents of the Estate

• Barbara "Babs" Goldstein, a Strange Paradox who … 
• Works the System on Earth
• Shepherds the Dead on Ardeyn
• Casts Spells on Athas (Elven Preserver)
• and is played by Emily
• Jacqueline Dingo, a Skeptical Spinner who … 
• Solves Mysteries on Earth
• Embraces Qephilim Ancestry on Ardeyn
• Focuses Mind over Matter on Athas (Human Psionicist)
• and is played by Jen
• Arlo Coulton, a Graceful Vector who … 
• Is Licensed to Carry on Earth
• Carries a Quiver on Ardeyn
• Fights Dirty on Athas (Mul Gladiator)
• and is played by Jeremy
• Chuck Lannigan, a Stealthy Spinner who … 
• Operates Undercover on Earth
• Channels Sinfire on Ardeyn, 
• Crafts Powerful Poisons* on Athas (Half-Elf Bard)
• and is played by Andy
• Agent 97 aka "Carol", a Clever Vector who… 
• Leads on Earth
• Leads on Ardeyn
• Bears a Halo of Fire  on Athas (Dwarf Cleric of Fire)
• and is played by Bobbie
• Dr. Sybil Holloway/Ka'cha Kano'kek, a Lucky Paradox who …
• Conducts Weird Science on Earth
• Embraces Qephilim Ancestry on Ardeyn
• Hunts with Great Skill on Athas (Thri-Kreen Ranger)
• and is played by Ethan 

* Crafts Powerful Poisons is out of Ninth World Assassins by Metal Weave Games

Adventure Summary

The slave hold of House Vordon's slow moving mekillot wagon was hot and sweltering and nearly devoid of light save for the precious few holes cut into the ceiling to provide the prisoners fresh air.  There were eight captives in the hold.  Three were natives to the recursion: two humans, brother and sister, and a half-elf man.  The other five were the recently translated agents of the Estate.  The agents were still trying to come to terms with their new bodies and abilities, save for Dr. Sybil, a native of Athas who was finally "home."  

Since Chuck Lannigan was an avid fan of Dungeons & Dragons, he helped the rest of the party understand the "races" and "classes" that the team gained by coming to this fictional recursion.  Chuck explained that he was a Half-Elf Bard, a master of song and poison.  On her home recursion of Athas Dr. Sybil was Ka'cha Kano'kek, a fierce, mantis-like Thri-Kreen Ranger.  Arlo Coulton was a massive and muscular, hairless bronze Mul Gladiator.  Babs Goldstein gave up her pocket constitution for a cloth spellbook as an Elven Preserver.  Jackie Dingo, comfortable in fantasy settings since she was a qephilim native of Ardeyn, was still somewhat dismayed that she remained in human form as a telekinetic Psionicist.

The agents were bound with leather collars and bone and rope chains.  Arlo scoffed at the binding implements, as he had a hidden steel knife in one of his sandals… a benefit from his new ability to fight dirty in the arena.  The graceful vector was quite certain that he could cut everyone free, but needed to make sure that the other three slaves weren't going to squeal.  Chuck got the attention of the other slaves, and tried to talk with them.  He spun a story that he was confused in his capture, and couldn't remember how he got on the mekillot wagon.  The two siblings, Avrana and Theeg were young, barely fifteen, and didn't seem interested in talking to Chuck, but the half-elf was quite talkative.  

His name was Nalno, and he stated that the "slaves" had been captured from a Slave-Tribe village called Yazig, located near the city of Altaruk to the east.  Nalno stated that everyone was rounded up by House Vordon, and thrown into caravans to be sold to various cities.  This particular wagon was being taken to Tyr.  During the conversation one of the guards opened the door to the slave hold and started shouting.  He heard voices, and insisted that it had to be the "dirty bug", so the guard pulled a club and began to beat Dr. Sybil/Ka'cha relentlessly.  The guard then left and ordered the slaves to be quiet.  

Although the mekillot wagon was headed to Tyr, the Estate agents believed that it would be more advantageous to perform their mission on their own, rather than as owned property.  They wanted to escape, but needed the other three slaves to be "on board" with the plan.  Chuck asked each slave if they would cooperate.  The brother and sister nervously shook their head, but Chuck believed that Nalno had something else up his sleeve.  The half-elf was very interested in the plan, and was listening in on the agents' conversations with a deceiving twinkle in his crooked eyes.  

So Arlo cut his throat.  

As the half-elf bled out on the floor of the slave hold, Arlo cut the bonds of the rest of the party, and everyone started acting quickly.  Now that blood had been shed, the escape plan was set in motion.  On Athas, Jackie Dingo gained a psionic wild talent that allowed her to pass through solid objects.  The Skeptical Spinner stuck her head through one of the doors to the slave hold and took stock of the situation.  Each side of the hold was connected to a long hallway that traveled the length of the massive wagon.  Along each hallway was a stairwell to a tower, a stairwell to a cross-bow turret, and an exit door.  But the doors to the slave-hold were locked from the outside by a sturdy steel padlock, as were the doors to the wagon's exterior.

Dr. Sybil/Ka'cha and Arlo knew just how to get a hold of a few keys.  

The thri-kreen spent enough time on Earth to become a fan of heavy-metal, especially Metallica.  The rest of the party backed away from the door as Dr. Sybil/Ka'cha started screaming "Master of Puppets" while playing air guitar with all four of her arms.  She was wailing away, stomping her chitinous feet and growling lyrics from behind her mandibles.  The guard of course heard this, and opened the door.  But before he could shout an order, the guard winced in pain and grabbed his chest.  There was a steel knife sticking out of his ribs, held by Arlo.  The mul used his chameleon skin psionic wild talent to bend in to the wall, so the guard wouldn't see the attack coming.

Arlo described his stealthy attack technique as "Invis-i-stabbing!"  

The time had come to escape!  The agents grabbed the two remaining slaves and all fled into the hallway, save for Babs.  To divert the attention of the entire caravan, the elven magic-user planned on setting the wagon on fire.  This was Babs' first time using magic on Athas, however, and in this recursion all arcane energies were drawn from life itself.  Careful wizards, who called themselves preservers, focused on borrowing energy from life.  Ruthless and careless magic-users often drew too much energy, defiling the land around them.  Babs made the mistake of drawing far too much energy, creating a circle of ash below the wagon as all plant life, even bacteria, was sucked out of the ground.  This also had the effect of exponentially boosting her arcane fire spell.  By the time Babs left the slave hold, the wagon was certainly going up in flames.  

"It's a miracle!" Babs screamed, mimicking the opening song from the attorney's favorite new show, the "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt."

While most of the wagon's crew were desperately trying to put out the flames, two guards noticed the escape attempt, one armed with a crossbow and the other with a bone cudgel.  Arlo chose to stay back and keep the guards occupied while the rest of the team escaped.  In an instant Chuck unlocked the door, and everyone began jumping from the wagon.  Chuck and Dr. Sybil/Ka'cha ran across the road towards a long ditch, scrambling for cover.  Since she had spent so much time with the Jr. Estate Agents, Jackie Dingo took responsibility for the two teenaged slaves, and helped them out of the wagon.  

The party would've been free and clear, if Babs hadn't gotten greedy.  She was the second-to-last to leap from the wagon, as Arlo was still engaging the guards, and on her run to the ditch she saw the pair of crodlu-riders flanking the wagon.  Crodlus were bipedal bird-like mounts, and Babs thought they were adorable.  Rather than hide like the rest of her partners, she rained fiery death down on the crodlu-rider, but gained the attention of the remaining archers on the wagon.  

Arrows began to strike all about the party.  Two struck Jackie's young slave wards, killing both, and another hit the party's thri-kreen.  As Arlo leapt out of the wagon for safety, he saw Babs sprinting towards the rider-less crodlu.  The Strange Paradox calmed the animal and ran off into the broken wastes, followed by the rest of her team.

From atop the crodlu, Babs surveyed the scene a half-mile away from the blazing wagon.  The spired palace of Tyr was only about eight-miles to the west, a half-days march in the blazing sun.  But before the party could leave, a huge sandstorm blew in from the east, quickly surrounding the party.  Out of the storm a massive spout of a tornado appeared in the distance, which cut straight through the burning wagon…

… thus creating a firenado that was bearing down on the team!

Dr. Sybil/Ka'cha used her insectoid antennae, and keen sense of smell to follow a strange crusty trail first noticed by Jackie Dingo.  The thri-kreen ranger followed the trail all the way to a Silk Wyrm's hole.  Silk Wyrms were fifty-foot long, flying, psychically enhanced snakes.  Chuck hoped that the owner of the hole wasn't home, quickly converted his hand-axe into a torch, and crawled down the hole with the rest of the party behind.  When the firenado approached, Babs was at the back of the tunnel and started to get sucked out.  Luckily, Jackie was able to turn and use her powers of telekinesis to help catch Babs before she flew away.  

Chuck continued down the tunnel and noticed that the Silk Wyrm was indeed gone, but that its lair was an ancient cistern, still full of water.  At the bottom of the twenty-foot deep pool were several incredible items, that the party retrieved.  Not only were there several cyphers, but also an enchanted sword: an artifact known as El's Drinker!  Arlo was thrilled to take the sword for future battles.  

After completing their investigation of the tunnel and cistern, Babs was the first out of the hole.  She figured that her new crodlu, which she happily named "Zoidberg," was probably dead… burned to a crisp or sucked high into the air only to fall to a brutal death.  

Guess how excited she was when Zoidberg was just standing there, waiting for his new rider.

"It's a miracle!" 

Quotes from the Table

"Given my knowledge of D&D, do I know what a 'Meka Dragon' is?" - Andy had a really hard time with the word "mekillot" during the game.

"I kind of see Andy's character as James Marsden from Anchorman." - Jen agrees with the GM, that Chuck Lannigan's name is perfect for the evening news.  

"The eyes are the best part…" - Dr. Sybil/Ka'cha was eyeing up some fresh vittles after Arlo sliced Nalno's throat.

"After we shank a guard that's… like… go time." - Chuck Lannigan plans for the next part of the mission.

"How dare you just eat me, and then play air guitar!" - Babs was pretty irate with Dr. Sybil/Ka'cha for attempting to nibble her elven arm.

"… I can invis-i-stab him again!" - Jeremy coins the attack description of the night!

"What do crodlu eat?  They could be… like… circus crodlu and be starved!" - Jen was hoping that the slavers' mounts would be hungering for human flesh.

"This is worst than the beginning of Beastmaster!" - Ethan shaking his head during the scene where the two slave youths were shot down by the guards.


"Is the 'dragonlance'… I mean 'chuck wagon'… I mean Mekillot wagon…" - Andy still struggling with "mekillot"  

Jim - "… so now there's a burning tornado coming your way."
Jeremy - "… are there any sharks in it?"
(In hindsight, I should've included land sharks…)

New Stuff

El's Drinker

If you ever played Dark Sun: Shattered Lands, SSI's classic PC game from the early 1990's, you may remember this cool, vampiric blade.  I never saw El's Drinker in any of the published Dark Sun modules or sourcebooks, but I introduced a version of the magic item in a 3rd Edition campaign I ran back in the mid-00's.  Since I didn't know when I'd be back to Athas, I just had to bring back this cool magic item, as an artifact for The Strange!

• Level 6 Artifact 
• Medium weapon with +1 damage due to enchantment (5 damage)
• On a roll of 17-20, instead of doing extra damage or taking a major or minor effect, the player may choose to recover an equal amount of stat pool points.  
• So long as El's Drinker has been "blooded" (struck an organic opponent in combat), any recovery rolls by the wielder in that given combat can be made with a +2 bonus.
• Depletion: 1-2 on a d100.  

Athas Recursion Rules

If you are interested in how to use Wild Talents, Defiling Magic, and Inferior materials, check out our first play report for Under Strange Suns, where I detail these rules.  

Under Strange Suns - Session 1 - a Sherlock Holmes/Dark Sun/Star Wars Campaign

"There is nothing new under the sun.  It has all been done before."  - Sherlock Holmes, from a Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. 

My Favorite Translations

When I first got involved with the Kickstarter for The Strange, a Cypher System Role-playing Game by +Bruce R Cordell and +Monte Cook, what intrigued me most was the possibility of adventure across multiple universes and settings.  Given the nature of the alien dark energy network (the Strange itself), and its power to create worlds from Earth's Fictional Leakage, the characters in my Strange campaigns could easily be tossed into any boxed set that I own.  Whenever I open my core book, and start work on adventure design, my entire collection of gaming materials becomes a potential sourcebook for The Strange.  But if there was one particular boxed set that I was hoping to break out of storage, after years lying dormant in a sealed plastic bin, it was Dark Sun!

Dark Sun is a post-apocalyptic, sword & sorcery campaign setting written by Troy Denning and Timothy Brown and produced by TSR in 1991 for AD&D 2nd Edition.  The setting, Athas, was nothing like the high fantasy of Forgotten Realms or Dragonlance.  The traditional races were both familiar yet terrifying: seven-foot tall deceitful elves, cannibalistic halflings, hairless dwarves.  The new races were downright alien: musclebound and never-tiring muls (half-dwarves) born into slavery, thri-kreen mantis-men, and ten-foot tall half-giants.  Magical energy was drawn from life itself, and wizards needed tp be careful to draw their magic from the nearby plant life without turning it to ash.  Those wizards that didn't care about the ecological ramifications of their spellcasting were called Defilers.  Psionics were rampant, and every member of society had some kind of wild talent.  Metal was exceedingly scarce, and most tools were made of stone, bone, or wood.  

Yes, I was very excited to take my player characters to Athas, but I was facing a challenge. Before announcing the next adventure for our monthly Strange players, I offered a little poll featuring some potential fictional leakage options for our campaign.  Two of us had picked Dark Sun, while another two voted for Star Wars, and yet another two Sherlock Holmes.  Three-way tie!  Many game-masters would just pick one of the options, and reveal it in the game.  These three settings could never be mixed into one adventure, right?  

Wrong!  

With the power of The Strange I bring you the first session of Under Strange Suns, a Sherlock Holmes meets Dark Sun meets Star Wars adventure!

*     *     *

When it comes to some of the rules and mechanics Sherlock Holmes is actually covered in The Strange Corebook.  If you are interested in some of the tidbits I used for Dark Sun, I include them near the end of this blogpost.  I'll cover Star Wars when we reach that point in the adventure.  

Andy, Emily, and Barb, excited to be playing The Strange again

Agents of the Estate

• Barbara "Babs" Goldstein, a Strange Paradox who … 
• Works the System on Earth
• Shepherds the Dead on Ardeyn
• Controls Illusions on Athas
• and is played by Emily
• Jacqueline Dingo, a Skeptical Spinner who … 
• Solves Mysteries on Earth
• Embraces Qephilim Ancestry on Ardeyn
• Focuses Mind over Matter on Athas 
• and is played by Jen
• Arlo Coulton, a Graceful Vector who … 
• Is Licensed to Carry on Earth
• Carries a Quiver on Ardeyn
• Fights Dirty on Athas
• and is played by Jeremy
• Chuck Lannigan, a Stealthy Spinner who … 
• Operates Undercover on Earth
• Channels Sinfire on Ardeyn, 
• Crafts Powerful Poisons* on Athas  
• and is played by Andy
• Agent 97 aka "Carol", a Clever Vector who… 
• Leads on Earth
• Leads on Ardeyn
• Bears a Halo of Fire  on Athas  
• and is played by Bobbie
• Dr. Sybil Holloway, a Lucky Paradox who …
• Conducts Weird Science on Earth
• Embraces Qephilim Ancestry on Ardeyn
• Hunts with Great Skill on Athas  
• and is played by Ethan 

* Crafts Powerful Poisons is out of Ninth World Assassins by Metal Weave Games

Well, Jen has to stay in character!

Adventure Summary

After their last mission to Ardeyn, our illustrious Estate Agents regrouped at the Estate Campus in Seattle, Washington for their next mission.  Meeting with senior agents Lawrence Keaton and Conrad Merrick, the agents were told that the dangerous fictional character, Professor James Moriarty, was on the move and recently spotted in Ruk.  It was feared that Professor Moriarty was going to make contact with the Karum, and given his extreme intelligence, he would be a terribly dangerous asset for a nihilistic organization already bent on the destruction of Earth.  The Estate was going to send a senior team of agents to take down Moriarty, but they needed the help of Sherlock Holmes.  That's where the players characters, less experienced agents, would be needed.  Our six Estate agents would be sent the recursion of 221b Baker Street to make contact with Sherlock Holmes and gain his assistance in the upcoming meeting.  Agent Keaton revealed that Holmes had been helpful in the past, and since the famous detective was quickened himself, he visited Earth from time to time.  

Arlo asked agent Merrick, who was munching on a crunch wrap from Taco Bell during the meeting, how he was involved in the mission.  Merrick told the team that he would like an order of fish and chips brought back Chaddock's Corner.  Apparently the fish and chips were the only item to translate back from 221b Baker Street intact.

Once in the recursion of 221 b Baker Street the party worked quickly to make contact with Sherlock Holmes.  Unfortunately, after knocking up, Mrs. Hudson revealed that Mr. Holmes was not in town.  The team regrouped, and decided that two members, Jackie and Dr. Sybil, would go get the fish and chips for Merrick while the rest of the group would break into Sherlock Holmes' home.  

Chuck was a master pickpocket, and easy snatched the keys off of Mrs. Hudson, just as Jackie and Dr. Sybil escorted her away form the home and towards Chaddock's Corner.  Mrs. Hudson thanked the two women for their company before traveling down a dark alley into oblivion.  Keep in mind, the recursion of 221b Baker Street is quite a limited place.  Purchasing the fish and chips was a simple fetch-quest, but before they left the shop Dr. Sybil had a bad feeling that they were being watched.  

Chuck Lannigan used the key to get his team into Sherlock Holmes' house.  After an initial survey of the living room, the only item apparently out of the ordinary was a leather egg on Mr. Holmes' desk.  It was obviously an artifact, and further investigation needed to be done so Dr. Sybil started to break out her lab-gear.  But Chuck just stared at the contents of the shell, a simple worn card-board box sticking out from inside.  

It was an AD&D 2nd Edition Dark Sun Boxed Set!

Yes, I used an RPG boxed set as a "prop"

"So for some reason, Sherlock Holmes was studying AD&D 2nd Edition Dark Sun," Chuck Lannigan stated quizzically.  

The rest of the party stood there and just watched the Stealthy Spinner dig through the contents.  A big fan already of Dungeons & Dragons, Chuck knew that this particular boxed set was special because it was a limited release and should have had a cloth map.  But for some reason, the map was gone.

Andy digging through the boxed set

Nothing else seemed out of the ordinary, so the team met up to discuss Dr. Sybil's findings.  Using her own equipment, despite being somewhat archaic due to the effects of the translation, Dr. Sybil was able to figure out that the artifact was a Translation Shell.  This artifact was obviously created by someone using materials found only in the Strange itself, and by someone who had access to Victorian scientific materials (most likely Holmes.)  The artifact was rare in that it could travel from recursion to recursion, and it could keep one item housed within that would not translate.  Strange, everyone thought, that Holmes would choose to bring a Dark Sun boxed set back to his home.  

Babs wrote a gushing note to Sherlock Holmes telling him that they were in his house and hoping to link up later.  With nothing else out of the ordinary in the home, the party translated back to Earth.  But during the translation, Babs saw a glimpse of a dark female figure, wearing a leather long-coat, a mask, and goggles.  

The party named her "Matrix Catwoman", so we'll just stick with that name for now.  

Back in Seattle, the team followed up with Agent Keaton, delivered the fish and chips to Agent Merrick, and then let Dr. Sybil further investigate the Translation Shell.  The artifact had been depleted, but given the right equipment the Lucky Paradox believed she could get it working again.  Besides the boxed set, and the missing cloth map, the party had no other leads save for the Matrix Catwoman.  So they decided to translate back to 221b Baker Street and see if she was still in the room.  Strangely enough, as they translated Chuck saw Matrix Catwoman standing in the Estate Campus courtyard.  

Now completely discombobulated, the team got back to investigating Sherlock Holmes' home.  Chuck was kept circling the room over, and over, an over again until… wait… what was that?

Chuck walked up to the table at the center of the room, and the wooden surface just started to stand out.  Grabbing some paper, Chuck quickly used some pencils to figure out the impression left behind by the previous writer (Mr. Holmes most likely.)  Already familiar with the Dark Sun setting, Chuck realized that Sherlock Holmes had written out, by hand, the credits listed in the Rule Book.  The first name on the list was Troy Denning.  

Quickly the team returned to Earth, but Dr. Sybil botched the translation, so they ended up somewhere both unlikely as well as terribly coincidental: the Wizards of the Coast corporate lobby.  The team flashed their badges, and told the receptionist that they need to borrow the space for a few quick Tweets and calls.  

Using her twitter handle, @CumberCookie69, Babs decided to tweet Troy Denning.  Dr. Sybil also took part in the conversation.  Here, I'll share it with you:

@TDenningauthor We seem to have fallen into a conundrum, and only your expertise can help us. #Nervous

@CumberCookie69 Will be at GenCon in July, hope to see you there.  

@TDenningauthor Well that's extremely unhelpful.

@CumberCookie69 Sorry to hear that, if its a quick question feel free to PM me.

@TDenningauthor I'm from the Estate… need your assistance

@SybilScience69 Sorry to hear that, if its a quick question feel free to PM me.

Realizing that this was getting them nowhere, Babs decided to "hack the impossible" and forced a Skype connection with Troy Denning's computer.  Troy Denning, author of Dark Sun's Prism Pentad novels, was willing to work with the team once they told him that they were members of the Estate.  When asked if he had any interactions with strange individuals recently, Mr. Denning revealed that just the day before he met the famous actor, Robert Downey Jr., who came to his home.  Mr. Denning was surprised that Downey Jr. seemed to have a strong British accent, as if he was preparing for some kind of role.  Downey Jr. knew that Mr. Denning had a special cloth map of Athas in his basement, held in a unique bone frame.  The unusual bones in the frame were found by Mr. Denning during a hiking excursion out west, and after placing the map in the frame, the world of Dark Sun just felt more "alive" and real.  Downey Jr. offered an obnoxious sum of money for this framed map, and Mr. Denning said he would've been a fool not to oblige the actor.  

After thanking Troy Denning for his help, Babs pulled up TMZ and found out that there was a sighting of Robert Downey Jr. at a Wisconsin Hampton Inn.  Jackpot!  The party arranged for a private jet, and by that afternoon they were in front of the Hampton Inn.  It only took a few more flashes of their badges to get past the front desk, and to the room where Robert Downey Jr. (actually Sherlock Holmes) was supposed to be staying.  Arlo picked the lock, and the team filed in, but they were surprised to see that the room was empty, save for a single framed picture in the center.  It was a map of Athas, held within a bone frame.  There were fractal patterns on the bone, and when Jackie approached she noticed that there was another crumpled cloth map of Athas on the ground.  She picked it up and handed it to Dr. Sybil, who placed it into the Translation Shell.

The team then held their breath, and used the map of Athas and the strange picture frame to translate!  But during their translation, Matrix Catwoman was again seen by the party!

Instantly the entire team was subjected to all the smells of human misery.  Their feet were bound, and they were wearing simple cloths for modesty.  They were in a dark and sweaty room, on board a slave caravan wagon headed for Tyr!  As the team looked at each other, they realized that some major changes occurred…

Jackie Dingo had become a Human Psionicist...

Arlo Coulton was now a Mul Gladiator...

Chuck Lannigan translated into a Half-Elf Bard...

Babs Goldstein was surprised at how tall she was as an Elf Sorcerer...

Agent 97 was surprised at how short she was as a Dwarf Cleric of Fire...

… and the entire team remarked that Dr. Sybil still looked "okay" despite being a Thri-Kreen.

Emily pretending to be Babs, frantically chatting with Troy Denning

Quotes from the Table

"I did bondage work… under cover but not with cover…" - Dr. Sybil mocking Arlo on his time spent in prison.

Lawrence Keaton:  "We have an issue with a certain fictional character…" 
Agent 97:  "Mickey Mouse?" 

"I have Amazon sheets for all my stuff." - … and then Jeremy pulled out a stack of everything Arlo Coulton bought on Amazon.com.  

"I have some 'handerpants', do they translate?"  - Jeremy mocking the GM's hand gear

Dr. Sybil, after walking up to 221b Baker Street:  "Who's gonna knock?" 
Babs:  "I'LL KNOCK!" 

"I will stick with 'Frisky Dingo' over there…" - Ethan decided that "Jackie" was not enough of a nickname for Jacqueline.

"I suggest that we sit down at this dinner table and play a game of Dark Sun!" - Chuck Lannigan was ready to get the real game started.  

"She looked Matrix-like.  Matrix plus Catwoman." - Emily describes the weird figure that only she saw while translating back to Earth.  

"They're kind of jag-offs." - Ethan describes Sorcerer-Kings to the rest of the group.  

Jim:  "Andy, on the dinner table you see something unusual." 
Jen:  "If [Matrix Catwoman] is sitting on the dinner table, that's really unsanitary!" 

Babs to Troy Denning on Skype:  "Chuck Lannigan wants a word with you." 
Chuck to Troy Denning on Skype:  "I'm Chuck Lannigan, and I've played more Dark Sun than most people have played of anything in their lifetime."

Jeremy wasn't sure if this piece of equipment would translate

Some New Mechanics

Do you want to run some adventures in Athas?  Over the last few weeks I've worked with some members in The Strange community to develop a few Traits for the Recursion of Athas.  These three would definitely fit at your table!

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.  

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

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.