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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silverblade The Ench" data-source="post: 4915792" data-attributes="member: 19083">Wik,Well there's a form of wood in Athas that's hard as bronze, "agafari" it's claled, iirc <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />Personally, for simplicity, I'd just have weapons categorized as standard, and "Inferior", and make players note inferior weapons. Inferior weapons break on a roll of 1. If you wish a -1 attack/damage roll penalty too (though I like simplicity in 4th ed)Magic weapons are never inferior, unless the DM wants to say it's peculiar (ancient enchantment is hardly working etc).Technically, obsidian edged weapons would do MORE damage than steel ones, but would break easily if too long (say a shorsword or longer) due to their crystalline nature. Obsidian knives, spears, morningstars (wood inset with obisidian shards), "wrist razors" (bladed gauntlets) and handaxes would all be reaosnably common and useful.You'd also have, oh, forge tname, "machitutil" ? ths swords edged with chips of obsidian.Armour could be made form mekillot and braxat hide for plateI also have ceramic chain mail in my DS games, the rings are fired like normal pottery,  and psionically "tempered", then psionics is used ot pass each ring through the other , making a light weght, cool armour. See the many useful and odd psionic powers in 2nd ed Psionics handbook.Chitin, and various hides are used for leather and hide.I appreciate Dark Sun is a barbaric apocalyptic place, but, as noted before, the folk who live there aren't stupid, or they'd be dead! <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61b.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue    :p"  data-smilie="7"data-shortname=":p" /> Psionics being somehwat common (but weak in most NPCs), existance of magic and the libraries of the templars and psionc academies (both only for the priveleged) would give rise to high demand for psionic crafters. But since such would be indivuduals lucky enough to be born with a specific psionic power, or actual psions, they aren't common, compared ot how much easier it is to learn metalcrafting. People with such skills would form small crafting families, each very secetive of their techniques (no written word is allowed for non-templars/nobility, so, knowledge is incredibly precious and contained)Outside Tyr, iron is extremely rare, so adventurers in Urik would use their money to buy "psionically tempered" weapons, but IMHO, they'd cost ten times normal, and they'd be in short supply 'cause everyone else wants them too.That lets in good RPing, with PCs needing to earn favours to get such gear, gives reason for "Athasian bards" to spy (as trade secrets = very valuable) etc <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />ALchemy should also be common, Athas is rich in minerals needed for such and again, necessity is the Mother of invention <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> Adventurers in Athas need an edge, since arcane magic is rare, the various useful things alchemists give are important.I see Athas as sort of like Howard's vision of Conan's world mixed with Earth's Bronze and early Iron Age....but, smatterings of ancient knowledge, lethality of the wilderness, the great powers of the sorceror kings etc, mutations and psionics, but it's also incredibly ancient world (the sorceror kings are thousands of years old) = very peucliar setting indeed.</blockquote>

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