Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Kedrith May 19, 2010 13:20:50	Im going to be DMing a DS dndenc group at a lgs.  Can anyone tell me of a website where I can get the flavor, terms and background info so I can be a bit ahead of the power curve when I get the encounter package.
#2 xlorep_darkhelm May 19, 2010 13:23:22	Im going to be DMing a DS dndenc group at a lgs.  Can anyone tell me of a website where I can get the flavor, terms and background info so I can be a bit ahead of the power curve when I get the encounter package.  athas.org
#3 diggles May 19, 2010 13:58:12	that athas.org site is useless Read Good general background and characters en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Sun More detailed timeline www.darksunwiki.com/darksun/index.php/Ti... Good Map and background info www.digitalwanderer.net/darksun/
#4 Kedrith May 19, 2010 14:39:07	Thanks very much guys. Ill be getting up to speed so I wont be a complete idiot on the campaign setting
#5 xlorep_darkhelm May 19, 2010 14:43:48	that athas.org site is useless It only has a complete listing of all of the Dark Sun products, plus a number of items written by the people at athas.org, all of which connect strongly to Dark Sun, as it is the official fansite for Dark Sun.
#6 Pennarin May 19, 2010 15:02:30	Very strange, this series of sweeping statements against the site. This is the second in one month. The pdfs are full of fluff. The entries for the cities, the races, the classes, the eras of play, the PrCs, all contain vast amounts of fluff that, when put together, somehow simulates reading many passages found in the Campaign Setting Boxed Set. So when you don't have access to the Boxed Set... There are adventures that make you feel what it is to be inside an Athasian city, or in the deserts. Useless. Very strange.
#7 cnahumck May 19, 2010 15:08:09	Come'on Penn, you know that we didn't do anything good.  You know that all that work really means nothing, and that the setting would have continued to exist without our input.  Besides, 3e and 3.5 were not really DS, because I couldn't go out and buy a book with pictures in it and stuff.  Plus, no one is a professional at athas.org. We were really all just a bunch of silly amateurs who tried to take the wonderful world of Athas and take it somewhere it shouldn't be.  How dare we!  I feel ashamed...
#8 ascottbay May 19, 2010 16:03:03	Some web-sites specializing in out-of-print have AD&D Dark Sun products for sale. Obvious picks like the campaign box sets are expensive or even out of stock, but there are a few soft-cover gems in the $5 to $15 range if you're lucky. I recently bought a copy of Veiled Alliance in its shrink wrap, for $10. Not wanting to open it, I... found other means of reading it. It does a great job of describing what preserver wizards have to go through on Athas, and even has plot ideas for arcane magic users in free Tyr (which is the beginning of 4E Dark Sun's timeline). Road to Urik might also be a good buy, and shouldn't be expensive; it's an adventure where another sorcerer-king decides to send an army to Tyr after the death of Kalak (again, in 4E's timeline). Word is that there won't be official updates to old adventures, so all of the rich atmosphere and intrigue in something like Road to Urik should still be useful. Athas.org could probably stand to be more friendly to the "I have absolutely no idea what Dark Sun is or where to start" crowd. A guided tour of some sort that sends a clear "start here" signal would be nice.
#9 Pennarin May 19, 2010 16:37:13	I'm nothing. Less than nothing. In fact I'm closing my WotC account, unregistering from athas.org, and giving all of my books to charity. Oh, and let's not forget to craft a computer virus to erase the offending Athasian Emporium from all databases. Yes, the shame is stavved off a bit now. Who's with me?! Chris, have you cast off your false god Legends of Athas? If not, than do it my brother, and join me in this exclusive club, the club of the saved! The end is near, but there is still time! Repent!
#10 cnahumck May 19, 2010 16:41:08	The guided tour isn't a bad idea.  My personal suggestion would be to grab the latest copy of DS3.  It has info on society and culture, some history, and all you need as far as racial stuff.  For those interested in running 4e, reading the fluff and ignoring the crunch is a good way to go.  Plus, they are free.
#11 Alphastream May 19, 2010 17:05:28	Let's not get trolled into jumping into the sea of silt! On the idea of preparing for D&D Encounters (and the game day on the 19th!) I have started a daily Twitter post exploring some aspect of Athas. Roughly once a week I will pull these together and write about them. The first week will be concerned with traversing the Athasian environment. This is really meant for the intro player. It is both exploratory for me and preparatory (as I force myself to turn my brain back to DS). Once a few weeks have passed I would ask newcomers to provide feedback on how useful it is. I would ask the experts to contribute as much as desired. Tweet, blog, etc. and send me the links.
#12 ascottbay May 19, 2010 20:02:54	The guided tour isn't a bad idea.  My personal suggestion would be to grab the latest copy of DS3.  It has info on society and culture, some history, and all you need as far as racial stuff.  For those interested in running 4e, reading the fluff and ignoring the crunch is a good way to go.  Plus, they are free. Perhaps a great way to end the blurb on the front page (between the two horizontal rules) would be "Check out the free Dark Sun 3 rulebook for more information!" with a link. I know the link is currently worked into the last paragraph, but having attention drawn specifically to it as, again, something that suggests a starting point, might be a small change that goes a long way towards retaining new blood. Be proud of your work - and make sure people can quickly be made to appreciate it. Addendum: Also, maybe some of the information such as "Ten Things You Need To Know" can be extracted from the rulebook and added to a separate web page. This might be better than pointing to the whole rulebook as a starting point, which declares in its introduction that it's intended for those already familiar with Dark Sun...
#13 Silverblade_The_Enchanter May 19, 2010 20:29:03	You can also get a visual feel for the setting, by checking out Brom's Dark Sun art, or mine ;) www.silverblades-suitcase.com/darksun/in...