Sorcerer-kings as dragons?
The levy?
Rajaat? Do they even know his name?
Halflings as progenitor race?
Do they even know that Athas is a dying world?
Feel free to deviate ... whatever you think common people know.
What do people in the Dark Sun world know about the big picture?
Sorcerer-kings as dragons?
The levy?
Rajaat? Do they even know his name?
Halflings as progenitor race?
Do they even know that Athas is a dying world?
Feel free to deviate ... whatever you think common people know.
I would say the average Athasian knows that Athas is a dying world, out of the list you provided. I tend to rule that they don't know the difference (or even necessarily the terms) between Preservers and Defilers, they even probably have a hard time automatically distinguishing Primal and Arcane magic (depending on where they are from). Sorcerer-Kings aren't dragons, that's foolishness -- no, The Dragon is a creature of myth and legend, a story to scare children -- after all, nobody has ever seen it, much less fought it (well, nobody that has survived). They are mostly unwashed masses, in the quite literal and figurative senses. Most people are illiterate, and writing is illegal for them. Most people congregate within the city-states, and therefore are indoctrinated by whatever the histories and myths of that city-state would be (as in -- the things dictated by their own personal sorcerer-king and templarate). They probably know of the different city-states in the region (then again, maybe only the closest one or two of them), they might know of a couple villages surrounding their city-state. They have been told that magic destroyed the world, and therefore fear it. They know of psionics and consider it commonplace, and for some people as easy as breathing. They probably know nothing about the veiled alliance.
Basically, it is a world where most of the information is just plain not available to the people.
What do people in the Dark Sun world know about the big picture?
Sorcerer-kings as dragons?
Absolutely not. This is very well-hidden knowledge.
The levy?
Extraordinarily unlikely previous to the events of the Prism Pentad. Merely highly unlikely afterward Tyr is freed and the heroes discover this information. Possible after the events of the Pentad wrap up entirely, but at the same time antiquated knowledge at that point as the levy ceases to be collected.
Rajaat? Do they even know his name?
Absolutely not. The average Athasian, even highly accomplished sages, don't know anything whatsoever about Rajaat. The overwhelming majority don't even know about the Cleansing Wars.
Halflings as progenitor race?
Once again, absolutely not. This knowledge is probably even rarer than knowledge of Rajaat, the Cleansing Wars, etc. Only the very rare adventurer who has stumbled into and successfully accessed Blue Age lifeshaped knowledge storage has a chance of knowing this. I will, however, say that the most well-connected halflings who have access to knowledge of the past via spirits of the land, etc, might know this (and keep it to themselves until they pass it on to an apprentice).
Do they even know that Athas is a dying world?
Ahh, now this, yes. Most folks on Athas "know" that Athas is a world that has been ravaged by defiling magic, and ancient wars, which has brought the world to the brink.
I expect that the levy is known about, but generally ignored unless you're in a position to be taken.
Other city states are likely known of, but knowledge of what's going on over there consists probably weeks or months old rumors. Urik might see an influx of refugee slaves (who don't know anything but slavery and feel safer enslaved) and nobles (who are afraid of their loss of power) from Tyr, and be the first to know. The main folks in other city states that would know would be the SKs, and they wouldn't want it to be common knowledge that they can die.
What do people in the Dark Sun world know about the big picture?
Not much. ;)
Sorcerer-kings as dragons?
As far as most Athasians are concerned, there is only one Dragon, and even then, they only know it as "The Dragon." Ask them about Borys, and they will ask "Borys who?"
The Sorcerer Kings who still look mostly human, like Kalak and Hamanu, sometimes appear before their people. Those who are pretty far along in their metamorphosis, like the Sorcerer King of Nibenay, rule through their proxies. Very few people have had the honor of looking upon Nibenay and still drawing breath.
The levy?
IIRC, the Levy is public knowledge. Paying the Levy keeps the City safe from the wrath of the Dragon. This is why the people of Tyr should be very worried, as this year is Tyr's turn to pay the Levy, and it is unclear whether the Senate is able to or even if they plan to pay it.
Rajaat? Do they even know his name?
I think the only people who know the name of Rajaat are the Sorcerer Kings, and maybe a few Halfing lorekeepers.
Halflings as progenitor race?
Another thing that may be known only to the Sorcerer Kings and a few Halfling lorekeepers.
Do they even know that Athas is a dying world?
That the world is dying? Maybe not, but it should be obvious that the world is in bad shape and pretty inhospitable. As I understand it, the Sorcerer Kings have put themselves forward to the public as Divine beings, and then claimed that it was Arcane magic that put the world in the state it is. No one, aside from the Sorcerer Kings themselves, should be aware of the fact that it was the Sorcerer Kings own careless use of Arcane magic that devastated Athas.
Feel free to deviate ... whatever you think common people know.
The common people don't know a lot. The Sorcerer Kings have a vested interest in keeping the people stupid. Reading and writing is forbidden, except by special dispensation (Templars and Noble and Merchant Houses are allowed some freedom in this). Anyone caught digging too deep in the search for truth is bound to become an outlaw, hunted by the Templars of the Sorcerer Kings.
Things the common people do know:
Keep you head down.
Pay your taxes.
Work hard.
And you might live to see the next day.
Sorcerer-kings as dragons?
"Don't be a fool child. The sorceror-kings, while cruel are all that stand between the beasts of blasted wastes, the Dragon, and us."
The levy?
The great Kalak, but do what is necessary to keep uscitizens safe. If that means sacrificing some slaves and n'er do wells, so much the better, more water for us.
Rajaat? Do they even know his name?
"Never heard of 'im....is he the new jaszt I saw in the area th'other day?"
Halflings as progenitor race?
"Child, have you been sneaking a drink of your old man's broy? Halflings are not but beasts who eat their own. They'd just as quick take a bite out of you as talk to you. "
Do they even know that Athas is a dying world?
"Dying, more like bein' killed. Damn wizards and their foul magic. The King's the only one who's got the smarts to use his magic...and 'is Templars o'course."
This reminded me of the "What your Father told you" netproject from back in the day...good stuff.
houserules.tripod.com/whatyourfathr/defa...
Tyr's turn to pay the levy? IIRC all cities paid a levy every year.
Maybe I'm remembering it wrong. I always thought that payment of the Levy was staggered to give each City State time to replenish its coffers.
Tyr's turn to pay the levy? IIRC all cities paid a levy every year.
Maybe I'm remembering it wrong. I always thought that payment of the Levy was staggered to give each City State time to replenish its coffers.
Pretty certain each had to cover their part of it every year. Which was slowly dwindling the surviving population everywhere -- they often were raiding villages and the likes to provide the stock they needed.
But honestly, I've always taken issue with the dragon's levy... and I might phase that out of my own campaigns entirely. There's enough things wrong in the world without needing to deal with a "tax" of 1,000 people, per city, per year being sent to appease the Dragon (and keep Rajaat at bay).
The levy was the main thing that triggered my thinking along these lines. Is there consensus?
Why would the common people even know about the levy. The very idea could cause panic in a city-state, something that the SK's wouldn't want -- so I'd say they wouldn't ever mention it.
Why would the common people even know about the levy. The very idea could cause panic in a city-state, something that the SK's wouldn't want -- so I'd say they wouldn't ever mention it.
I don't think it's a yes/no answer. Smart people, with lots of knowledge on the inner workings of the sorcerer-king's court, could probably deduce that a large number of slaves are being marched out of the city in a periodic fashion. For what purpose? They probably don't know that much... since they probably aren't paraded right out into the maw of the Dragon. The population probably has no knowledge of the relationship between the Sorcerer-Kings and the Dragon... and the Sorcerer-Kings make sure it stays thta way.
Instead, some sorcerer-kings probably collect the levies in secret and store the numbers in their palaces. Who really knows what goes on in the Nibenay's palace (Naggarakarem?) anyways, and would anybody know if 1000 slaves suddenly disappeared form that secret place - maybe this is the real job of the Temple of the House/Earth?
Otherwise, some sorcerer-kings could pretend to celebrate the "sacrifice" of these slaves. I could see Tectuktitlay gathering the winners of war games together. The "reward" for their win is lifelong servitude to the Two Moons... in other words a delicious snack for the Dragon's defiling.
In Raam... slaves and people disappear all the time. There are probably special jails set up, to gather criminals, unwanted slaves and orphans, emptied out every so often for the Levy.
Andropinis gathers a majority of his slaves for the levy from outlying towns. Balicites probably never see the levy, unless they're employed slave raiders. Tithian of Tyr was immitating this practice.
Anyways, are free citizens aware that levies exist... sort of, or rather they know of the voracious appetite the sorcerer-kings have for slaves. The real question is, are they aware that the Dragon and the Sorcerer Kings require an annual sacrifice of 7000 slaves to fuel a spell... no, probably not, because that would lead to a riot.
BTW, anybody know how Gulg gathers slaves for their portion of the levy? Gulg is one of the smaller City-States, and would suffer immensely from the loss of 1000 slaves.
The levy was the main thing that triggered my thinking along these lines. Is there consensus?
Why would the common people even know about the levy. The very idea could cause panic in a city-state, something that the SK's wouldn't want -- so I'd say they wouldn't ever mention it.
Not necessarily. There wasn't a panic in Nazi Germany, people just ignored the concentration camps. There wasn't a panic in the Southern US, the slaves in the fields were just ignored. There wasn't a panic among the Aztecs, Canaanites, or other cultures where human sacrifice was practiced, people volunteered to be sacrificed, and they weren't ignored because they were considered good people.
In our world, people can afford to pretend to be morally shocked at stuff (look at the "support" people give to causes on Facebook, "OMG I liked the 'ppl aginst abuz of wimin' page! I'm a good person!"). In Athas, you can pretend to support the sorcerer-king.
It probably gets ignored, except by slaves that are likely to be taken. Tomorrow morning, I could get a letter from my government that would shave my head, hand me a gun, and drop me off in Iraq. I'm not in the military, I'm just between the ages of 18 and 35. My mom has told me she'd kill me if I joined the military, and this thought never occurs to her, because as much as she loves me, the military would not take her if she wanted to join. It's quite easy to ignore stuff that isn't going to affect you, and to project it on to other people.
A long while ago someone pointed out the math of the Levy, the results was the total empting of Gulg in less then a decade, now one would think there would have been mention of that some place in the Prism Pentad or a strong decline of population in the revised box set.
Now it's been a while sense I read the PP, but I don't remember an actual mention of a timeframe between Levies until the very first one Tyr's new government encountered - then it became a principle of Borys' to try and collect Tyr's due. He returned year after year to get the tribute, and due to Tithian giving him what he wanted year after year the levy became annual. I've always felt the seven year cycle worked much better, this could also explain Gulg's Blood Moon Hunts taking place in seven year cycles of the moon (Ral, I think).
As for everything else people have mentioned about the going's on in the world, it's spot on... For inhabitants on the Seven City-States. Kled knew of Borys as a man and the cleansing of the dwarves, the halfling chief knew about the SK's being dragons, I'm sure there are others that know about all sorts of other things, Thor-Kreen, Vilchilli, the Order, really old undead just to name a few ideas.
A long while ago someone pointed out the math of the Levy, the results was the total empting of Gulg in less then a decade, now one would think there would have been mention of that some place in the Prism Pentad or a strong decline of population in the revised box set.
I remember reading that. The numbers were ugly. If you tried to figure out how many "suburbs" would be needed by each city-state to keep up these numbers, it's equally ugly.
So... how long has the Dragon been asking for these levies? Is this a rather recent phenomenon, or has it been going on for as long as the Dragon has been around? I know the Dragon went crazy when he transformed, laid waste to the country-side. I know the SKs all took over the defense of a major city-state to keep these populations from being defiled. I know the Dragon eventually came out of his crazyness, only to discover that Rajaat's prison was cracking and that the Dragon needed uber spell-components of a huge levy (7000/year or 1000/year like Pheonix suggested) to keep the prison from openning.
But what if that happened only a decade ago... or more recently?
That would explain why the City-State have not gone completely dry, or the suburbs/villages/outposts completely drained and why there are no references to it. Maybe that's why all the SKs are struggling to find alternatives - because they know cities like Gulg will be depleted soon. Maybe that's why people still believe the Dragon is a monster-of-destruction rather than the Borys Champion-of-Rajaat-and-Leader-of-the-Rebellion" great wizard that some of us think of.
Anyways, we always talk about the Sorcerer-Kings being rulers of the cities for "a millenium". Honestly, that's cool, but I like to think a lot has changed in recent times:
Kalak's death, Destruction of Guistenal, Sanity of the Dragon, The Levy, Veiled Alliance, Blackspine, etc...
Maybe Kalak/Abalach-Re/Dregoth all believe that a new Dragon would be strong enough to fix the Prison? I've never seen a reference to this, but could the emergence of the Veiled Alliance be a response to the levies (there is a Veiled Alliance in each of the cities, afterall)?
If many of these trends are recent, it really feels like the fate of the world is climaxing towards an end - and luckily we are playing a party of heroes. But if that's true, maybe the "average citizen" of Athas would start to know about things like the Levy, the Dragon and Rajaat (Rajaat might have been overheard when a SK was conversing telepathically with the Dragon, or a research book was left open on a reference in the SK's library).
...just throwing fuel into the fire 
They have to spend so much time trying to survive, they don't have time to think about stuff they don't need to know for survival.
I am reading Black Flames and the short story in there has a noble family of templars know about the levy, that it's given to the dragonthe fact that the SKs are dragons, and that there are no gods. Certainly, they aren't "average" but they do know.
From that, not sure how far it is to determine that the VA would know the truth of most of it. Maybe they are the ones creating the stories from the truth so people will have heard it before even if they don't accept it.
But, again, I'm sure it varies.
turlough
What do people in the Dark Sun world know about the big picture?
Sorcerer-kings as dragons?
The levy?
Rajaat? Do they even know his name?
Halflings as progenitor race?
Do they even know that Athas is a dying world?
Feel free to deviate ... whatever you think common people know.
They don't really know anything about any of that. It doesn't take long in the real world for history to be forgotten. Athas has had almost 10,000 years where reading, writing and history have been outlawed. The Sorcerer Kings have pretty much rewritten official history and almost no one knows things were different from what they say.
1. As recall, Sadira and Rikus were surprised to learn that there were other dragons besides THE Dragon (Borys). I believe the Veiled Alliance knows, but the general populace certainly does not. They all seemed to also think Kalak was the withered old man he appeared to be.
2. I don't think Tithian even knew about it and he was one of Kalak's chief templars. As I recall Sacha and Wyan had to clue him in. The SKs seemed to keep this close to their vests.
3. Nope. Besides the surviving champions, the shadow giants, and the pyreen, you could probably count the people who knew about Rajaat on one hand and have fingers to spare.
4. Pretty much the same crew as knew about Rajaat.
5. Far more people are aware about this. The general public is more concerned with putting food on the table, but the Veiled Alliance, druids and elemental priests in particular are well aware.
Personally, I separated the novels from the game long ago. So what happens in a novel has no meaning in my game.
Random bump: do the plebes even know that the Sorcerer-Kings are defilers? Arcane magic users at all?
I tend to think the average athasian doesn't distinguish between defiling and preserving -- it's all magic. And yes, I'd say they know that the SK's are magic-users.
Random bump: do the plebes even know that the Sorcerer-Kings are defilers? Arcane magic users at all?
I tend to think the average athasian doesn't distinguish between defiling and preserving -- it's all magic. And yes, I'd say they know that the SK's are magic-users.
I imagine Lalali-Puy might be one exception, being that they venerate her as a goddess.
Also Ablach-Re (maybe), since she could easily say her power comes from her god.
Random bump: do the plebes even know that the Sorcerer-Kings are defilers? Arcane magic users at all?
I tend to think the average athasian doesn't distinguish between defiling and preserving -- it's all magic. And yes, I'd say they know that the SK's are magic-users.
I imagine Lalali-Puy might be one exception, being that they venerate her as a goddess.
Also Ablach-Re (maybe), since she could easily say her power comes from her god.
Well, every rule has an exception.
Random bump: do the plebes even know that the Sorcerer-Kings are defilers? Arcane magic users at all?
Anyone who's read the wanderer's journal does. This applies to having it read to them for those many, many people who can't read. Since the wanderer's journal is probably illegal in every city and anywhere an agent of a SK treads, it's safe to assume not many know what's in it, beyond gossip and oral lore.
But the wanderer has this to say on the subject:
" The king is sometimes considered the cities deity. His priests (templars) force citizens to build temples to the king and lead them in pompous ceremonies of worship. Sometimes, nobles and a few wealthy citizens consider the king their benefactor. Never, however, are other classes misled by such pretensions. The merchants see the king for what he is, a center of political and magical power that must be appeased if they are to continue their commerce in his city. If the ranks of slaves see the king as a god, it is certainly an evil and corrupt one that keeps them in bondage and makes a misery of their lives."
The veiled alliance knows the SKs are defilers. The Order knows about the sorcerer kings, especially about their psionic abilities and keeps tabs on them. But the Order considers them an established element of athasian life and are not at odds with them in any way. (probably because the order would get its ass kicked otherwise)
I honestly do not think most people know or believe the sorcerer kings are dragons and probably roll their eyes at anyone claiming they are. Trying to convince them would be far to dangerous, as someone would attract the attention of the templar, and we all know what that means most of the time. (slavery or death)
[edit] Also, it should be said that most people who read the wanderer's journal are probably not the common citizen. If the regular joe blow read the journal, he'd probably think this wanderer person was out of his damn mind from spending so much time in the desert and totally brain fried from exposure to the sun. It be safe to assume, the wanderer would be considered a lunatic, more than likely traveling through heavily sunwarped areas. Discrediting the wanderer would be very easy.
Anyone who's read the wanderer's journal does. This applies to having it read to them for those many, many people who can't read. Since the wanderer's journal is probably illegal in every city and anywhere an agent of a SK treads, it's safe to assume not many know what's in it, beyond gossip and oral lore.
"Wan-dur-er's Ju-urnal? Nope, never heard of it. But I do have this nicely stacked and bound bundle of toilet paper here with squiggly lines all over it..."
That's much, much more than your average Athasian knows.
The Wanderer's Journal, as a real book, is a rare text. It's not a household or library item for Athasians. The information it contains could take half a lifetime to obtain for a normal person, so it's a vital primer on all things for those who live unusual lives (antiquarians, revolutionaries, your characters).