Dark Sun conversion - races

Staffan · Nov 1, 2003

No comments?

(Bump!)

Golem2176 · Nov 2, 2003

AEG might be publishing a Dark Sun D20 book. Check out the following link:
Dark Sun D20

I know this is old news, but there is hope that it might come. I know I hope it does. I enjoy Dark Sun as much as the next Athas loving fan.

Staffan · Nov 2, 2003

Golem2176 said:
AEG might be publishing a Dark Sun D20 book. Check out the following link:
Dark Sun D20

I know this is old news, but there is hope that it might come. I know I hope it does. I enjoy Dark Sun as much as the next Athas loving fan.

I'd love to see that. I'm not holding my breath though.

Davelozzi · Nov 7, 2003

Good stuff.

I'm finally getting a chance to look through my old Dark Sun stuff and refresh my memory. Nice job on the thri-kreen in particular.

Golem2176 · Nov 13, 2003

The Expanded Psionics Handbook comes out April of 2004. It includes full rules for Thri-Kreen and Half-Giants as Player Character Races.

Staffan · Nov 13, 2003

Golem2176 said:
The Expanded Psionics Handbook comes out April of 2004. It includes full rules for Thri-Kreen and Half-Giants as Player Character Races.

Neat! I'll have to take a look at that when it appears, and see if I feel like changing my versions by then. I would like to start my DS campaign sometime before then, though...

peedy711 · Nov 16, 2003

I've never been fond of elves taking a constitution penalty in Dark Sun... Yes, they are lazy, but I have always felt the con penalty was an "easy out" for choosing a stat drop. Athasian elves aren't as frail as elves in other worlds... in fact, by this conversion, a player might be led to think that athasian elves are even more frail than other elves.

I'm not saying they should receive a bonus per se, only that the penalty should be placed on another stat. Charisma seems to be appropriate, for a couple reasons:

The elven philosophy of "keep up or be left behind" is not one of compassion. As a race of theives, looking out for others is a rather foreign idea to them; making friends for them is difficult.

Also, Elves are rather infamous. They are astute liars, but even then they have a hard time getting people to trust them. In their social encounters, making the other person think they are honest is a frequent hurdle they have to jump.

A penalty to charisma seems to be in order, but a bonus to bluff checks would also be appropriate. (not necessarily making up for their charisma penalty)

I am not entirely sure about the wisdom penalty either; It sort of plays against the idea that elves sometimes have to live by their wits. Im not saying they deserve a bonus, but a penalty feels inappropriate to me.

Staffan · Nov 17, 2003

peedy711 said:
I've never been fond of elves taking a constitution penalty in Dark Sun... Yes, they are lazy, but I have always felt the con penalty was an "easy out" for choosing a stat drop. Athasian elves aren't as frail as elves in other worlds... in fact, by this conversion, a player might be led to think that athasian elves are even more frail than other elves.

Well, in 2e they had a -2 to Con. However, all characters got +2 in general to all stats (more or less, 5d4 instead of 3d6), so Dark Sun elves were hardier than regular elves, about as hardy as regular humans. With my -4 penalty combined with the +2 general bonus (which I'll make just that: 3d6+2 instead of 5d4), they instead become as hardy as regular elves.

Then again, I don't think DS elves are that tough. If you look at the pictures, they're awfully tall and thin - looks like they'll break at any second.

I'm not saying they should receive a bonus per se, only that the penalty should be placed on another stat. Charisma seems to be appropriate, for a couple reasons:

Hmm. The main reason I don't want to give a Cha penalty is that many of the other races already have one - dwarves, mul, half-giants, halflings, thri-kreen. I don't want to turn it into the general suckiness stat.

I am not entirely sure about the wisdom penalty either; It sort of plays against the idea that elves sometimes have to live by their wits. Im not saying they deserve a bonus, but a penalty feels inappropriate to me.

The idea is that elves think fast (high Int), but they don't think things through. They take the short view of things, which is pretty much the definition of low Wisdom.