toucanbuzz
No rule is inviolate
I modified to B&W, not sure that does the trick or not as I'm not savvy with design! Dropbox link here.
D&D 5E Dark Sun 5E Campaign Guide & Monster Manual (link) 1.9
I modified to B&W, not sure that does the trick or not as I'm not savvy with design! Dropbox link here.
aktaios
Villager
I was hoping for a version that requires less ink to be printed at home.
I also find it mach easier to read on a screen when there is no background.
Looks great tho even in black and white.
Thank you mate, hopping to launch a 2nd Ed converted Athas campaign after this one!
toucanbuzz
No rule is inviolate
I used lulu.com to print mine at a cost of around $4 for a full color glossy paperback print. You have to invent your own cover and it took roughly 2 weeks to arrive, but if you're okay with that, wonderful way to get your font-formatted PDFs into something you can hold.
opacitizen
Explorer
Excellent work! Thank you. I'll use the updated 1.9 version for a sequel I've been planning. (Edit: Well, turns out the pdf is not searchable nor selectable. Guess I'll have to skip this then, primarily because of the former, though the latter is puzzling as well.)
A minor suggestion, if I may: I think it would be great if you included the version number in the text of the pdf (on the title page in small or in a credits paragraph or in an appendix with the change log, maybe.)
A minor suggestion, if I may: I think it would be great if you included the version number in the text of the pdf (on the title page in small or in a credits paragraph or in an appendix with the change log, maybe.)
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opacitizen
Explorer
Why isn't the text searchable and selectable? 
(Loved and printed v1.6 back in the day, but having checked the later updates and with our games having moved online it's a rather bad and huge setback.)
(Loved and printed v1.6 back in the day, but having checked the later updates and with our games having moved online it's a rather bad and huge setback.)
toucanbuzz
No rule is inviolate
I have about 1% proficiency in coding and no subscription to Adobe for making ordinary PDFs searchable. I've been happy to link/open up the underlying coding to whoever wants to tinker with it, but our campaigns have moved to other settings and I haven't returned to update anything.
opacitizen
Explorer
Ok, I understand completely.
Meanwhile I found your public GMBinder version of the same document (over at Dark Sun Player's Guide 5th Edition D&D by Toucanbuzz ) and have found that using the Print/Generate PDF option (in Google Chrome, at least) can produce a searchable and selectable file (when choosing the print to pdf option.)
Thanks again for the excellent work!
Nokturnal
Villager
A huge thank-you to you toucanbuzz for such a great job on the campaign guide and monster manual. I'm just about to take my table into the world of Dark Sun, a first time for all of us and your hard work is going to make it loads of fun. I do have a few thoughts...
Defiling Magic Mechanics
Defiling magic seems to be a noticeable step down in severity from the original 2e intent, which was that every arcane spell cast by a defiler is drawn from the surrounding plant life, and this is reflected by defilers having a faster xp progression (and less time to memorize spells along with an Int check impacted by terrain to determine memorization success) as they are power hungry and take the faster and more destructive path. I prefer to use milestone leveling when running a 5e campaign, and even if I used xp points 5e design does not allow for a variety of leveling rates between classes.
The mechanic you have in place would allow all arcane users to cast without any penalty, other than if they empower spells by way of Benefits. This seems to greatly reduce the impact on the land (and reduce the hatred for arcane casters by the general population) and an arcane caster (defiler or otherwise) could easily get away with never using Benefits or defiling.
What I'm considering doing is to have all spells cast by defilers incur 1 defiler point. The incentive to choosing a defiler will be that they will have a faster spell progression and greater total daily spells available to them. This would reflect their desire to take the faster and more harmful path to power.
Wizards and bards would choose at first level if they will be preservers or defilers. As a result defiler wizards would be more powerful but hopefully not game breaking, especially considering the hassle of shedding those defile points and the nasty outcome if they accumulate.
Warlocks would be defilers by default, druids and rangers would be preservers by default, and all three classes spell progressions and total daily spells available would stay the same. Benefits would still be in place as is and still be a temptation to preservers and defilers alike.
Bards
Bards also feel a step away from the 2e flavour/intent of a assassin/spy wrapped in an entertainers disguise. Here is what I am proposing:
I know that I may be messing with game balance so I wanted to post this up to get feedback. Thank-you again for your hard work!
Defiling Magic Mechanics
Defiling magic seems to be a noticeable step down in severity from the original 2e intent, which was that every arcane spell cast by a defiler is drawn from the surrounding plant life, and this is reflected by defilers having a faster xp progression (and less time to memorize spells along with an Int check impacted by terrain to determine memorization success) as they are power hungry and take the faster and more destructive path. I prefer to use milestone leveling when running a 5e campaign, and even if I used xp points 5e design does not allow for a variety of leveling rates between classes.
The mechanic you have in place would allow all arcane users to cast without any penalty, other than if they empower spells by way of Benefits. This seems to greatly reduce the impact on the land (and reduce the hatred for arcane casters by the general population) and an arcane caster (defiler or otherwise) could easily get away with never using Benefits or defiling.
What I'm considering doing is to have all spells cast by defilers incur 1 defiler point. The incentive to choosing a defiler will be that they will have a faster spell progression and greater total daily spells available to them. This would reflect their desire to take the faster and more harmful path to power.
Wizards and bards would choose at first level if they will be preservers or defilers. As a result defiler wizards would be more powerful but hopefully not game breaking, especially considering the hassle of shedding those defile points and the nasty outcome if they accumulate.
Warlocks would be defilers by default, druids and rangers would be preservers by default, and all three classes spell progressions and total daily spells available would stay the same. Benefits would still be in place as is and still be a temptation to preservers and defilers alike.
Bards
Bards also feel a step away from the 2e flavour/intent of a assassin/spy wrapped in an entertainers disguise. Here is what I am proposing:
- Use the Rogue class, must choose Assassin archetype
- Must choose Entertainer background
- Gains the following spells at 4th level instead of an ASI (This is a modified version of the Magic Initiate feat)
- Charisma is the casting Stat
- Defilers (Defile rules apply)
- Cantrip – Choose 3 total, from Warlock (may also choose Message)
- Level 1 – Choose 2 total, from Warlock (may also choose Disguise Self)
- Preservers
- Cantrip – Choose 2 total, from Warlock (may also choose Message)
- Level 1 – Choose 1 total, from Warlock (may also choose Disguise Self)
I know that I may be messing with game balance so I wanted to post this up to get feedback. Thank-you again for your hard work!
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