Author Topic: Dark Sun One-Shot  (Read 6371 times)

Offline Stratovarius

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Dark Sun One-Shot
« on: June 06, 2016, 10:34:47 AM »
This will be a short PbP adventure taking place in the desert regions of the Tablelands, generally away from the major caravan routes.

Character Creation
PHB, DMG, Sandstorm, all Athas.org material. Material will still need to be approved so it fits the setting, with the Dark Sun campaign setting books taking precedence during material overlap/character creation. If anyone needs the DS material from Athas.org, just ask, I've got all of it.
Allowed classes will be Fighter, Gladiator, Ranger, Wizard (Preserver/Defiler), Psion, Rogue, Athasian Bard, Cleric, Templar, Druid. Those are the original classes from the DS 2e campaign setting. Also, all those who are not casters (ie, Fighter, Gladiator, Ranger, Rogue, Athasian Bard) will start with a free Hidden Talent feat if they want it. Or can choose to trade in the Hidden Talent feat for a -1 to the LA of their race (Aarakocra, Mul, Halfgiant, Thri-Kreen).
No flaws/traits.
28 PB.
Starting level 4.

Note that buying a lot of goods in Dark Sun is expensive (there's almost no metal available) and so there are inferior item and cost adjustment rules that apply in the DS3 rulebook.

4 players max, with GeniusSavant and PhaedrusXY having spots as a Shaper (Psion) and Cleric respectively. Players will need to come up with an IC reason why the four of them are together and away from the main caravan routes.

We'll be using this forum for the game.

Offline Nanshork

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Re: Dark Sun One-Shot
« Reply #1 on: June 06, 2016, 10:48:04 AM »
Iiiiiiiiinteresting.


Offline Nanshork

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Re: Dark Sun One-Shot
« Reply #2 on: June 06, 2016, 02:04:22 PM »
Okay, skimming through stuff + having memories:

Life-shaping, in or out?  (Not looking at the pdf, I just remember it being a thing.)

I assume that I can't be someone on the path to being a dragon?  Actually, scratch that.  Level 4 one-shot, no point.

Not sure what I'd play, my base instinct is to go Gladiator but the DS3 gladiator is unimpressive.  Might go Ranger?

Offline Stratovarius

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Re: Dark Sun One-Shot
« Reply #3 on: June 06, 2016, 03:45:44 PM »
No life shaping. It's the one area that I felt doesn't really fit DS. And I'd rather not deal with it for a one-time game.

The Gladiator and Athasian Bard classes aren't quite as good as they probably should be. But the effort to fix that is a bit high for right now. There is currently no melee, so at least one would be handy.

Offline phaedrusxy

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Re: Dark Sun One-Shot
« Reply #4 on: June 06, 2016, 04:36:51 PM »
I'd really like to have an animated undead giant lizard or other mount. Since this is a one-shot I'm guessing we won't be advancing to 5th where he could cast Animate Dead himself, so I'm happy to pay for the scroll + onyx + whatever to get one out of his starting WBL.



And are we going with the canon Darksun fluff? Specifically that there are absolutely no gods, etc? Or could I have something in my backstory about him stumbling into an ancient temple of a long-forgotten deity, and having that being (now weak, due to no worshipers) saving his life so that in return he would spread the word about it (and recruit more worshippers)?

I have an old character that I really, really liked and wanted to play, but never got to because the game it was for died "on the vine". I'm not 100% sold on having this be a "Darksun" game, as much as drawing a lot of inspiration from it. And hell... who knows? Maybe what he's worshipping isn't actually a "deity" but is instead some kind of elemental force of evil (I can go with the standard Darksun mechanics), but he is actually just insane and thinks a deity spoke to him... (That would fit the character just as well as if he actually had spoken to one, maybe even better...) Hmm.... I guess I have my answer. :P

I'm also disappointed that we can't use flaws, because I'd actually taken one on this guy for RP purposes... and it is an important part of his backstory. I guess I can still just RP him as being a "cripple", but gain no actual benefit from it...
« Last Edit: June 06, 2016, 04:59:28 PM by phaedrusxy »
I don't pee messages into the snow often , but when I do , it's in Cyrillic with Fake Viagra.  Stay frosty my friends.

Offline Stratovarius

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Re: Dark Sun One-Shot
« Reply #5 on: June 06, 2016, 05:00:35 PM »
Check DS3 p119 - it has info and costs on traditional riding mounts for Dark Sun. An appropriate corpse is half the living cost.

And we're going with canon Dark Sun - no gods, only the elements (Air, Earth, Fire, Water, the Grey, and the Black). I should also point out that that character absolutely doesn't fit canonical DS clerics, who are incredibly rare and tied so closely to nature to the point they're verging on druid-hood a fair bit of the time. And tend to be restricted to a certain ethos based on race (although this one is less firm).

What I will be avoiding is the Dark Sun adventure paths, one of which literally has the PCs guard the NPC hero's stuff while she fights the BBEG, and then lets them congratulate her after she wins. That's... less than fun. But I will stick to DS, and if this goes well, maybe run another short one somewhere else in DS afterwards.

See, part of the problem of it being not DS is I have to do more work to create setting and ideas, etc. Unless I drop it into Arhosa and that's a whole different kettle of issues :P

Offline phaedrusxy

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Re: Dark Sun One-Shot
« Reply #6 on: June 06, 2016, 05:19:23 PM »
And we're going with canon Dark Sun - no gods, only the elements (Air, Earth, Fire, Water, the Grey, and the Black). I should also point out that that character absolutely doesn't fit canonical DS clerics, who are incredibly rare and tied so closely to nature to the point they're verging on druid-hood a fair bit of the time. And tend to be restricted to a certain ethos based on race (although this one is less firm).
And now I remember one of the things I didn't like about Darksun... If I wanted to play a druid, I'd play a druid...

Maybe I should just make this guy a Defiler... Crap... I really wanted to play something like Thulsa Doom...

Hmm... maybe I can make it work... He can be an evil cleric, bent on destroying the current civilizations and (re)buidling ones based on strict worship of nature (through the priesthood, of course...), and the elements. After all, nature is certainly harsh (especially on Athas)...
I don't pee messages into the snow often , but when I do , it's in Cyrillic with Fake Viagra.  Stay frosty my friends.

Offline VennDygrem

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Re: Dark Sun One-Shot
« Reply #7 on: June 06, 2016, 05:25:15 PM »
Phae, Some day I'll get a chance to run all the PbP campaigns I've got cooking up, and you'll get to play that character you mentioned. I think the hardest part about running the games is doing maps, but maybe I can figure something out. Some day. :P

Offline phaedrusxy

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Re: Dark Sun One-Shot
« Reply #8 on: June 06, 2016, 06:40:51 PM »
I'll make it work. What I've outlined above is close enough to the original idea.

Edit: I think I will do whatever it takes to get Create Water, because this guy is all about having power over others, and what's more powerful in Athas than access to water?

Edit2: I also look forward to being able to kill my enemies by slowly drowning them.  :devil
« Last Edit: June 06, 2016, 08:24:22 PM by phaedrusxy »
I don't pee messages into the snow often , but when I do , it's in Cyrillic with Fake Viagra.  Stay frosty my friends.

Offline Nanshork

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Re: Dark Sun One-Shot
« Reply #9 on: June 06, 2016, 06:59:39 PM »
Life Shaping made perfect sense as long as you restricted it to the teeny tiny part of Athas that actually has life.  :P

Level four....level four....

Big bruiser it is.


Half-Giant or Mul something (Fighter or Gladiator?)

Thri-kreen Ranger (pretty standard)


Leaning towards the thri-kreen

Offline geniussavant

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Re: Dark Sun One-Shot
« Reply #10 on: June 06, 2016, 09:08:08 PM »
I have one power known open. Up to second level, currently have quite a few bases covered. I'm thinking either psionic grease or maybe shards of Crystal. I'm open to suggestions otherwise though. If it wasn't a one shot, I'd take psionic identify, but I don't think I'll get much use out of it here.
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Offline phaedrusxy

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Re: Dark Sun One-Shot
« Reply #11 on: June 06, 2016, 09:45:02 PM »
OK question time: if I take Priest of the Waste, which lets him cast a bunch of spells spontaneously that have to do with survival in the desert, including Create Water, does he still need access to the proper domains to cast those spells? Basically which trumps here: Athas rules or Sandstorm rules?
I don't pee messages into the snow often , but when I do , it's in Cyrillic with Fake Viagra.  Stay frosty my friends.

Offline Stratovarius

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Re: Dark Sun One-Shot
« Reply #12 on: June 07, 2016, 07:08:01 AM »
Phae, Some day I'll get a chance to run all the PbP campaigns I've got cooking up, and you'll get to play that character you mentioned. I think the hardest part about running the games is doing maps, but maybe I can figure something out. Some day. :P

Does this mean you're joining us? :D

OK question time: if I take Priest of the Waste, which lets him cast a bunch of spells spontaneously that have to do with survival in the desert, including Create Water, does he still need access to the proper domains to cast those spells? Basically which trumps here: Athas rules or Sandstorm rules?

Athas rules. It's in Athas after all. Which I know will get me grumbles.

Life Shaping made perfect sense as long as you restricted it to the teeny tiny part of Athas that actually has life.  :P

Which we are going nowhere near, thankfully for my sanity.

Level four....level four....

Big bruiser it is.

Half-Giant or Mul something (Fighter or Gladiator?)

Thri-kreen Ranger (pretty standard)

Leaning towards the thri-kreen

My personal choice of those would be Mul Gladiator, mostly because of how iconic they are to the setting, but Thri-Kreen ranger is another classic. Just have to eat some LA with that one.

Offline phaedrusxy

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Re: Dark Sun One-Shot
« Reply #13 on: June 07, 2016, 09:06:38 AM »
OK question time: if I take Priest of the Waste, which lets him cast a bunch of spells spontaneously that have to do with survival in the desert, including Create Water, does he still need access to the proper domains to cast those spells? Basically which trumps here: Athas rules or Sandstorm rules?

Athas rules. It's in Athas after all. Which I know will get me grumbles.
Nah. That's the answer I expected. :P
I don't pee messages into the snow often , but when I do , it's in Cyrillic with Fake Viagra.  Stay frosty my friends.

Offline Stratovarius

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Re: Dark Sun One-Shot
« Reply #14 on: June 07, 2016, 09:16:33 AM »
Nah. That's the answer I expected. :P

Oh good :)

BTW, the adventure includes a roving pack of quells...  :lol

Offline phaedrusxy

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Re: Dark Sun One-Shot
« Reply #15 on: June 07, 2016, 09:48:33 AM »
Oh that's great. I also expected that.  :P
I don't pee messages into the snow often , but when I do , it's in Cyrillic with Fake Viagra.  Stay frosty my friends.

Offline Nanshork

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Re: Dark Sun One-Shot
« Reply #16 on: June 07, 2016, 10:31:59 AM »
But the gladiator is just so meh....

Yeah, Half-Giant is too annoying to try to stat up properly with that point-buy.

Mul something or Thri-Kreen Ranger it is.

Offline phaedrusxy

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Re: Dark Sun One-Shot
« Reply #17 on: June 07, 2016, 10:45:56 AM »
I vote for the kreen. :D
I don't pee messages into the snow often , but when I do , it's in Cyrillic with Fake Viagra.  Stay frosty my friends.

Offline Stratovarius

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Re: Dark Sun One-Shot
« Reply #18 on: June 07, 2016, 11:04:30 AM »
I vote for the kreen. :D

If anyone plays an elf, I'll allow the Thri-Kreen to eat them.

Offline Nanshork

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Re: Dark Sun One-Shot
« Reply #19 on: June 07, 2016, 11:10:25 AM »
I vote for the kreen. :D

If anyone plays an elf, I'll allow the Thri-Kreen to eat them.

Yum!