Dark Sun: The Differences

[Sutekh]

As as old time player of Darksun back in the 2e days and owner of a majority of this old DS stuff, I thought Id see if anyone else can remember some strange facts and differences from other campaigns they played back then, which might exist again

Dragon Kings was pretty good at providing some

* There are no Umber Hulks in Darksun
* THere are no Elemental Wizards in Darksun
* There are no Lycanthropes in Darksun
* Templars were the only class that could not exceed 20th level
* Defilers had their own Exp progression Chart. Preservers used the PHB standard.
* Not only were there Clerics of Fire, Water, Air and Earth, later on they gave Clerics of Magma, Sun, Silt and Rain. Rain was the only paraelemental power that did not like the way the world was going.

Im sure Ill find many other differences and small facts about Darksun, but Im a bit relieved that Kalak will hopefully be back alive with them only going off the original Boxed set. Time to take out Rikus...

Be interested to knowing what other people find different (apart from the Obvious) about Darksun.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

* Predatory Halflings
* Thri-Kreen
* Extremely chaotic Half-Giants
* A completely different way of handling Undead
* Character Trees
* The Gladiator Class
* Some truly bizarre exotic weapons
* A dearth of metal
* Ceramic pieces
* Chitin armor & weapons

 

[Andalusian]

Dark Sun was the only D&D setting I know of that used chocobos as mounts (except they were called crodlu, and I don't think they officially made it into the rules until the revised boxed set).

Half-giants would randomly roll part of their alignment (I believe they got to choose either the Lawful-Chaotic or Good-Evil axis during character creation) every morning.

Had a subsystem for haggling (I think in the Dune Trader accessory).

Non-metal weapon breakage rules.

Elves were taller than humans.

Halflings didn't have infravision, according to the rules (sometimes ignored in the books).

 

[Echohawk]

Dark Sun was the only D&D setting I know of that used chocobos as mounts (except they were called crodlu, and I don't think they officially made it into the rules until the revised boxed set).

Actually, crodlu were first statted up in Dune Trader (DSR2) and Dragon #185 (the heavy variety), before finally making into a proper monster book in Dark Sun Monstrous Compendium Appendix II: Terrors Beyond Tyr.

 

[aurance]

Single-classed psionicists above 20th level would be hunted down and killed by an uber-psionic cabal if they did not strictly adhere to a neutral philosophy. Brutal.

And there was the very interestingly flavored assassin-like bard class.

 

[Keefe the Thief]

- The desert constantly spits out new races and racial variants.
- Rule of thumb: does it move? If yes, then chances are good that it´ll be both poisonous and psionically active.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

To quote MST3K...

"Saaaaaandstorm! SAAAAAAAAAAAANDstorm! BWAH-HA-ha-haaah!"

 

[Andalusian]

Actually, crodlu were first statted up in Dune Trader (DSR2) and Dragon #185 (the heavy variety), before finally making into a proper monster book in Dark Sun Monstrous Compendium Appendix II: Terrors Beyond Tyr.

Ah, thanks for clarifying. I remember when we first started out I thought the erdlu were the big birds they rode around in the novels, so I bought one, only to be told by the DM that erdlu were actually some kind of herd animal and I wouldn't be allowed to use one as a mount. That really ticked me off, so I killed the erdlu and ate it. DM said it tasted like chicken.

Why they bothered to include the erdlu in the original boxed set and not it's more useful cousin the crodlu is completely beyond me.