Session Thirty Four: A Chance Assassination

Note: For those unfamiliar with Dark Sun, psionics are called the Will for wild talents and the Way for trained psionicists.

Shade dripped water into Vashti's mouth, making sure she did not choke. They kept watch and went back to sleep. Thankfully, the thrax did not return.
Vashti woke with the others in the morning. After rehydrating, she preached her sermon to the group and captive muls. She then gave the muls water and food. They muls were perplexed, but gratefully took the offerings.
Vashti began questioning the captives. They explained that they lived in some ruins near the black waters, but were driven out of it by a dwarf wearing a black cassock and some soldiers. The ruins were about four days away. Vashti informed the rest of the group and they had a discussion about what to do.
They decided that the dwarf in question was obviously Abu. And that meant one of the gems was in the ruins. The ruins were clearly between their present location and Raam. Vashti was holding off her plant growth with the way, so they thought finding a gem that could potentially destroy a sorcerer king was slightly more important. The group agreed, Julius was the most reluctant.

Non-Dark Sun Creatures in Dark Sun - Cactus, Blood (Vampire)

There are many creatures from the various monstrous manuals that have been officially added to Dark Sun. I added some unofficially for my game and I'm sure a lot of other DMs do the same.
There is no inherent problem with this, although the flavor text often doesn't fit with the Dark Sun setting. My goal is to list the various monsters that "don't fit" and rewrite their flavor text to make them fit.
I often add a new Athasian variant as well.

Cactus, Blood (Vampire)
I have renamed the vampire cactus the blood cactus because there are no vampires on Athas. There is also no indication there has ever been vampires on Athas.

	Cactus, Blood	Cactus, Psionic Blood
Climate/Terrain	Any Desert	Any Desert
Frequency	Very Rare	Very Rare
Organization	Solitary	Solitary
Activity Cycle	Any	Any
Diet	Special	Special
Intelligence	Non- (0)	Non- (0)
Treasure	Incidental	Incidental
Alignment	Neutral	Neutral
No. Appearing	1-3	1
Armor Class	6 (core), 7 (leaf), 8 (thread)	6 (core), 7 (leaf), 8 (thread)
Movement	0	0
Hit Dice	3 (core), 1+1 (leaf), 4 hp (thread)	3 (core), 1+1 (leaf), 4 hp (thread)
Thac0	17	15
No. of Attacks	12	12
Damage/ Attack	1-2 x 12	1-2 x 12
Special Attack	Blood Drain	Blood Drain, PsP Drain
Special Defense	Nil	Nil
Magic Resistance	Nil	Nil
Size	M (5-6' tall)	M (5-6' tall)
Morale	Fanatic (17-18)	Fanatic (17-18)
XP Value	650	1,400

Blood cacti are plants of the deep desert that supplement their water supply by draining liquids from animals that come within range.

Blood cacti resemble century plants, with 12 fleshy leaves, each tipped with a sharp needle about one inch long. Sprouting from the plant’s central core is a single spike rising to a height of five to six feet. The leaves are about five feet long, but droop toward the ground so the main body of the plant stands about three feet high. The leaves are dusty green with a narrow band of yellow around their margins. The needles on their tips are white. The central spike is golden yellow. Once every high sun a single small flower blooms at the top of the central spike. This flower is blood-red in color. After this flower has been pollinated, a small blood-red fruit forms. The fruit is moist and sweet-tasting, almost irresistible to most birds.
The plant itself is rooted to one spot, but it can move its leaves rapidly. Blood cacti are usually surrounded by the skeletons and drained corpses of warm-blooded denizens of the desert.

The Jankz and the Hurrum. A Dark Sun Fable.

The Jankz always sleeps during the day. Then after sundown, when the crimson light fades from the sky and the shadows rise slowly through the desert, out she comes blinking from her underground den. She begins her hunt for the bugs, beetles, and mice she likes to eat.
Now there was a certain old Jankz who had become very grumpy, and hard to please, as she grew older, especially if anything disturbed her daily slumbers. One hot afternoon as she dozed away in her den, a Hurrum nearby began joyously humming very loud. Out popped the old Jankz's head from the opening in the ground that served her both for door and for window.
"Get away from here, sir," she said to the Hurrum. "Have you no manners? I am old and I deserve respect! Now, go and let me sleep in peace and quiet!"
But the Hurrum answered impolitely that he had as much right to his place in the sun as the Jankz had to her place in her underground den. Then he struck up a louder and still more shrilling hum.
The wise old Jankz knew quite well that it would do no good to argue with the Hurrum, nor with anybody else for that matter. Besides, her eyes were not sharp enough by day to permit her to punish the Hurrum as he deserved. So she laid aside all hard words and spoke very kindly to him.
"Well sir," she said, "if I must stay awake, I am going to settle right down to enjoy your humming. Now that I think of it, I have a bottle of wonderful wine here, sent to me from Urik, where even the mighty Hamanu enjoys the sweet taste. Please come up and taste this delicious drink with me. I know it will make you hum even more beautifully."
The foolish Hurrum was taken in by the Jankz's flattering words. Down he crawled to the Jankz's den, but as soon as he was near enough that the old Jankz could see him clearly, she pounced upon him and ate him up.

Non-Dark Sun Creatures in Dark Sun - Bulette

There are many creatures for the various monstrous manuals that have been officially added to Dark Sun. I added some unofficially for my game and I'm sure a lot of other DMs do the same.
There is no inherent problem with this, although the flavor text often doesn't fit with the Dark Sun setting. My goal is to list the various monsters that "don't fit" and rewrite their flavor text to make them fit.

Bulette

	Bulette	Bulette, Magma
Climate/Terrain	Any Underground	Any Underground
Frequency	Very Rare	Very Rare
Organization	Solitary	Solitary
Activity Cycle	Any	Any
Diet	Carnivore	Carnivore
Intelligence	Animal (1)	Animal (1)
Treasure	Nil	Nil
Alignment	Neutral	Neutral
No. Appearing	1-2	1
Armor Class	-2/4/6	-2/4/6
Movement	14 (3)	14 (3)
Hit Dice	9	9
Thac0	11	11
No. of Attacks	3	3
Damage/ Attack	4-48/3-18/3-18	4-48/3-18/3-18
Special Attack	8' jump	8' jump, Breath Weapon
Special Defense	Nil	Immunity to Fire & Magma
Magic Resistance	Nil	Nil
Size	L (9 1/2' tall. 12' long)	L (9 1/2' tall. 12' long)
Morale	Steady (11)	Steady (11)
XP Value	4,000	7,000

Session Thirty Three: The Road to Raam

Note: For those unfamiliar with Dark Sun, psionics are called the Will for wild talents and the Way for trained psionicists.

Jessel suddenly got a far away look in his eyes. He explained that earth was summoning him elsewhere. He opened a dimension door and stepped through, the group wishing him farewell. Vashti lamented that she wished water would summon her sometime.
Before leaving Urik, Julius and Vashti wanted to go to the merchant they had consigned their extra weapons to. Kalino chose to stay with their kanks and get them ready to go. They found the merchant and discovered that he had sold most of the weapons. He handed over the ceramic coins and the weapons he did not sell he was offered to keep, as part of his consignment payment. Alaxander purchased a hemp rope from him. They mentioned they were going to Raam and the merchant told them it was a six day walk.
Before leaving, Vashti decided she wanted to hire a mercenary to accompany them. She went to the area of the market where mercenaries where hiring themselves out and found an archer. His name was Abilkisu and he had been an Urikite soldier for two years. He spoke gith, which allowed him to communicate with Vashti. Alaxander had a light crossbow, which they gave him. Vashti and Alaxander purchased him some leather armor and a plethora of bolts. Vashti gave him one of her bone daggers as well. They offered him two bits per day plus food and water. He accepted. Julius thought it was a waste of money.
They left Urik along the east road, walking past Urik's wheat fields. They were watched by guards, to make sure they didn't steal any of the crops. The road was clear and well maintained. If not for the blazing crimson sun over head, it would have been pleasant.

Wixit

It was pointed out to me by Rovewin of Athas.org, that the wixit is mentioned in the Revised Dark Sun Campaign boxed. However, they are not drawn up in any of the books. So, in an effort to rectify the situation, I have created the wixit below.

Stats after the jump.

Dark Sun Trading Cards 21

Back in the early nineties, TSR released a series of trading cards. There were some Dark Sun card included, so I decided to hunt them down and post them here. They might be useful or just a novelty, but I hope they're enjoyable.

Dwarves of Athas Part Five: Settlements 6 (Kel's Lot)

I've had the misfortune of running across a group of dwarves who are not as welcoming and friendly, as most dwarves are. I was working under a trader and we were looking for new trade villages in the desert north of the Tablelands. We ran afoul of the group of dwarven bandits. They killed the trader and most of the crew. I believe I would have been killed as well, had I not fled the carnage. I later learned that we had run into the territory of a bandit gang called Kel's Lot.
It took quite a bit of searching and favors, but I found a dwarven woman who had lived with Kel's Lot in her youth and departed when she became disenfranchised with the group. She asked not to be identified. I accepted her simple request, even though I doubted the bandit's could reach her in her present location.

Dark Sun Trading Cards 20

Back in the early nineties, TSR released a series of trading cards. There were some Dark Sun card included, so I decided to hunt them down and post them here. They might be useful or just a novelty, but I hope they're enjoyable.