Dark Sun Alternate History

[Mark Hope]

Expedition to Giustenal ....

 

[Aaron L]

Expedition to Giustenal ....

There ya go.


They could even make it a sequel to Expedition to Castle Ravenloft.

 

[Kesh]

I still think Blue Rose / True20 would be a great system for running DS. The BR Corruption mechanic could easily become Defiling, by having it affect the world around you when you gain Corruption.

 

[megamania]

That is the one of the two problems I am having the most with conversion of Darksun.

Defiling and lack of metal.


Defiling just requires working on it and more consideration of the two existing methods. The lack of metal for arms and armor effects things in every level. One solution was the "advanced" hides / exoskeletons to give steel-like strength but it doesn't work in my mind.

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

I used to be upset at the notion of halflings being masters of life who created all life and that Kalak was killed with slavery eliminated in the city centrally focused in the material. Then I interviewed Troy Denning personally and I discovered that both were planned during the early brainstorming by the setting's co-creators. It wasn't some corporate conspiracy to water down the setting.

The creators wanted to have players and DM's feel they could change the setting in dramatic fashion. Then the setting creators went and did it themselves with the novels. When I spoke with him at a GenCon about 6 years ago, Troy has expressed regret that so much in the novels and likely went overboard by offing so many Sorcerer-Kings, and that if he had a chance to write it over again probably wouldn't go so far. He agreed that it took too much away from the PCs to struggle against.

Myself, I use both boxed sets. But I use the first boxed set as is, but I only use the second boxed set as a toolbox of ideas from which I add with my own timeline and my own cosmology and my own history.

 

[Henry]

If I were to GM a Dark Sun game, I would use the material from the first box as the backdrop, not the second one. Too much hope got injected.

Heck, I might even go so far as to use Grim Tales rules, with Magic and Psionics tacked on.

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

If I were to GM a Dark Sun game, I would use the material from the first box as the backdrop, not the second one. Too much hope got injected.

Heck, I might even go so far as to use Grim Tales rules, with Magic and Psionics tacked on.

I have on my hard drive an in progress (far from playable yet) house rules Dark Sun campaign that blends Grim Tales with the Black Company magic and equipment rules. I wasn't sure yet how to put in psionics on top of this yet... I was thinking of Green Ronin's Psychic's Handbook. But it didn't seem like it would mesh easily with the magic rules that is now True Sorcery... putting me back a step one looking for a psionic flavored system that works well with True Sorcery. Ah well...

 

[hands_miranda]

Well, I think you could make a few changes to Dark Sun's history that would negate most of the crapiness of the revised setting (Hope- Who needs that anyway?) without completely pulling the backstory off the rails:

First off, forget the Blue Age completely. It may have happened, but it's so far in the past that it didn't matter at all. Remove most of the windrider halfings out of the setting-- maybe leave a few there on the cliffs, but keep the weird tech to a minimum.

Next, just make Rajaat a human, who collected the Champions because he was simply a evil human supremicist. He was supposed to be the Halfling Slayer, but was jumped by his students before he got to finish the job. Everything else can go as written.

Finally, ignore 90% of the metaplot. Unlike some, I'd keep Kalik's death in, for two reasons: #1 It makes things that much more hopeless when Tyr finally gets sacked, and #2 Kalik's death should make the other Sorceror-Kings that much more paranoid about things--after all if a couple of simple mortals could kill one of them, are they ever safe?

With that and a few other minor things, (Like more omnipresent slavery, and a complete removal of the Mind Lords of the Last Sea-- the single dumbest thing in the setting) you've bascially cut the annoying parts of the setting out without having to worry about seriously effecting any of the underpinnings of any books you may have, except the revised stuff, which seems to be universally hated.

Raymond

 

[Nyaricus]

I have on my hard drive an in progress (far from playable yet) house rules Dark Sun campaign that blends Grim Tales with the Black Company magic and equipment rules. I wasn't sure yet how to put in psionics on top of this yet... I was thinking of Green Ronin's Psychic's Handbook. But it didn't seem like it would mesh easily with the magic rules that is now True Sorcery... putting me back a step one looking for a psionic flavored system that works well with True Sorcery. Ah well...

Have you checked out Elements of Magic Revised yet? It's an awesome magic system using spell points and allows you to choose what your spells do to every minute detail.

It's totally amazing, and totally worth your coin. And it can easily be flavoured for psionics

Edit: in any case, I'd love to see your house rules document on DS and see what you have cooking

 

[frankthedm]

That is the one of the two problems I am having the most with conversion of Darksun.

Defiling and lack of metal.

Defiling just requires working on it and more consideration of the two existing methods. The lack of metal for arms and armor effects things in every level. One solution was the "advanced" hides / exoskeletons to give steel-like strength but it doesn't work in my mind.

Lack of metal and Defiling can be worked together hand and hand. Non metal weapons suffer penaties, so should those who weaken thier magic by not defiling. If one does not defile when they cast a spell, they have a 2 point penaty to one of the following, whichever is the most weakening.

DC for Spells that affect unwilling targets
To Hit for Ray spells
Caster level