Athasian Disease Part Three

Treating a natural disease can be done in multiple ways. Ideally, the infected individual has access to a healer and an herbalist. Healers can diagnose and treat the disease. Herbalists can create remedies useful for reducing the symptoms.
When using the herbalism proficiency, the herbalist may provide poultices and other herbal remedies to treat symptoms, but the symptoms must be told to them, or be obvious. In order to mix the proper treatment for the symptoms, the herbalist must have the herbs on hand, or it requires 1d4 days to gather them, if they are locally available. To make the herbal remedy requires another 1d4 days. The herbalist will be able to create enough of the remedy to keep the diseases symptoms at bay for one day per point of success. For example: If an herbalist wants to mix a remedy and has an herbalism proficiency rating of thirteen and the herbalist rolls a nine, the remedy will prevent the symptom for four days.

Session Fifty-Two: The Gray

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

The group had appeared in the border ethereal of the plane of silt. The paraelemental's silty appendage passed through the ethereal form of Alaxander. They quickly left the border ethereal and entered the deep ethereal. Vashti used her remaining healing magic to heal the group. Kwala was unconscious from the effort of magically transporting them back into the ethereal plane. Jessel believed he would awaken upon returning to the plane of earth.
Fearing pursuit, the group decided to fly away from the plane of silt as quickly as possible. Vahti asked eye of earth which way they should go. The eye of earth pointed with its leg, in a direction. The group trusted the eye of earth and began flying deeper into the strange ethereal plane.
They flew for a few hours toward, what they hoped was, the plane of earth. Through the swirling mists, Shade saw a point of whiteness that seemed to be growing larger. It was behind them and Shade pointed it out to the group. No one knew what it was, but they assumed it was bad news. They continued flying through the plane as fast as they could, but the whiteness was continuing to grow larger. Whatever it was, they decided that they were not going to outrun it.
As they flew, they discussed their problem. They decided they had three choices, continue to try and outrun it and hope they reach the plane of earth before the thing, duck into a random misty curtain, or let the thing encounter them. After a lengthy discussion, with the whiteness growing larger and larger the whole time, they decided to duck into a random misty curtain.
Julius decided that he would duck into a misty curtain first and then come back out to report to the group what he found. Everyone agreed, as they had about twenty minutes before the white wall, which they could see was a massive swirling wall of mist, enveloped them. Julius parted the closest misty curtain and went through.

Julius found himself in a swirling mass of gray mist, with more gray beyond. He turned to warn the group away from the curtain, but found there was no way of returning to the ethereal plane. He decided to wait twenty minutes and if the group did not appear near him, he would seek an exit elsewhere.
Julius did not return after ten minutes and the wall of mist was nearly upon them. The mist was swirling with ferocity, so the group decided that they better not let it impact with them. After a very brief discussion, they all ducked into the same misty curtain as Julius. They all appeared near Julius, in the Gray.
Vashti remembered a story from her youth about the Gray and how to escape it by seeking the living. She tried to feel the living and thought she could. She lead the group deeper into the Gray, flying similarly as the ethereal plane. As they flew, they saw movement out of the corners of their eyes, but found nothing when they turned their heads.

Day 19, Week 2, Fortuary, Friend's Vengeance, 190th King's Age, Sun Descending

They continued flying and a few hours later, they saw a woman staring into the gray mists. She was partially transparent, the group noticed. However, she did not notice the group and they quickly flew past her. They flew until they were tired and decided to rest. Kalino thought to tie everyone together, so they didn't drift off. Julius kept watch, while everyone else slept.
During his watch, Julius saw gray-misty hands groping Shade's sleeping body. Julius moved closer and the hands retreated into the mist. Later, during her watch, Vashti saw gray hands groping at Shade again. They retreated when she approached, but she woke Shade anyway. She told him what had happened, but despite feeling a bit cold, Shade felt fine.
Suddenly, Kalino woke and untied himself. Vashti asked Kalino what was wrong. Without answering, Kalino drew his chitin khopesh and attacked Shade. Vashti had an idea of what was going on, so she held her vial of holy water and commanded the dead inside Kalino to leave. A transparent man in strange clothing flowed out of Kalino's body. Upon being woken by the commotion, Jessel then held his bag of holy earth up and commanded the man to flee. It did so and disappeared into the gray mists.
They decided to go back to sleep, but kept an extra close watch for anymore misty hands. Kalino retied his foot and everyone went back to sleep. The rest of their sleep passed without further interruption.
Upon waking, they felt weaker and quickly discovered that they were slightly transparent. They all knew they would die if they could not escape the Gray. Vashti tried, but could not feel the living beyond the Gray. Everyone attempted the same, after Vashti told them how. Julius was the only one to feel a slight tug and began leading the group through the gray mists.
As they flew, they began to see many spirits around them. The spirits races, features, and garb placed them throughout the Tablelands, and possibly beyond. It was the first time the group had an idea that life might exist outside of the Tablelands.
The spirits appeared to not be interested in interacting with the group and the group was not interested in interacting with the spirits. The spirits clearly saw the group, but none pursued or spoke to them. The number of spirits was thicker than before, but were still tens of yards apart.
After hours of flying, Julius arrived at a spot where the feeling of life was the strongest. He reached for the life and emerged into a hot, dry slot canyon. He had emerged on Athas. Vashti, Jessel, and Julius followed him. Alaxander, Kalino, and Kwala did not.
Julius used the way to contact Kalino and found out that they were still inside the Gray. Kalino said that he and Alaxander would have to discuss their situation. Kalino asked that Julius contact them again in an hour. Julius agreed and told the group about Kalino, Alaxander, and Kwala's predicament.
Meanwhile, Vashti used the way to find out where on Athas they were. She discovered that they were thirty miles west of Urik. She then used the way to see outside of the slot canyon. She could see the ringing mountains close by and miles of rocky bandlands around them. She thought she saw a break in the canyons, but could not be sure in the morning light.
Jessel got a familiar far away look and told them he had to leave. He used the will to open a dimension door and stepped through. Julius, Shade, and Vashti wished him well.

Vashti and Shade let it be known that they were going to travel to Urik to seek aid for Kalino and Alaxander. The Lord of arms informed Shade that another crystal was nearby and Urik was in the wrong direction. Shade said they were going to Urik, as rescuing Kalino and Alaxander from the Gray was more important than the lord of arm's reason for existence. The Lord of arms refused to assist Shade, unless Shade showed some intelligence and changed his mind.
They walked toward Urik for an hour and Julius used the way to contact Kalino again. Kalino mentally told Julius that he, Alaxander, and Kwala would be seeking to return to the ethereal plane, because they could not return to Athas. Julius understood and relayed the information to the rest of the group.
Shortly afterward, a six foot tall earth elemental rose up from the ground and walls around them. The elemental asked for a report and the group told them what was going on. They asked for advice, but the elemental told them that its job was to report. After their report, it scattered into rocks and dirt.
They walked until sunset and arrived in a small scrub plain. They began setting up camp. As they did so, Vashti used the way to look around. About a half mile to the north, she saw a large yellowish body of steaming water. They were intrigued, but did not investigate. They decided they could not get distracted in their attempt to make it to Urik. They slept and were forced to keep longer watches than usual.

Day 20, Week 2, Fortuary, Friend's Vengeance, 190th King's Age, Sun Descending

Upon waking, Julius contacted Kalino with the way. Kalino explained that he and Alaxander could not find their way out of the Gray yet. Julius relayed the information and the group decided to continue on toward Urik. Just as the group was finished packing up camp, they spotted three fifteen foot tall b'rohgs running toward them. In their lower arms, they were wielding spears and in their upper arms, they were holding large stones to throw.

Julius walked toward them with his hands up and began calling out to them in the language of the giants. He explained that they meant no harm and did not want to fight. The b'rohgs stopped, but demanded water from the group. Julius translated for the group. Everyone agreed to give them the water from their waterskins. The group emptied their waterskins into the b'rohg's bowls, which were clearly made of skulls. The b'rhogs drank the water and lowered their weapons.
Julius kept speaking with them and discovered that they thought the group was from Urik and they were there to capture the b'rohgs. Julius assured them that they were not going to capture any of their kind. The b'rhogs believed him and called him a friend. The b'rhogs left them in peace.
Once the b'rhogs were out of sight, Vashti used her magic to refill the groups waterskins.

Join us in two weeks for another exciting episode of Adventures Under the Dark Sun. 2nd edition AD&D Dark Sun Cast of Player Characters
Julius: Human male psychokinetic. 22 years old. Played by Dave. Speaks Balican, Tyrian, and Giant.
Alaxander: Human male psychokinetic. 18 years old. Played by Ben. Speaks Balican, Tyrian, and Elf.
Vashti: Human female clairsentient/water cleric. 20 years old. Played by my wife. Speaks Nibnese, Gith, Tyrian, and Balican.
Shade: Half-Elf male ranger/thief, 18 years old. Played by Chad. Speaks Balican, Elf and Tyrian.
Kalino: Human male fighter/preserver. 20 years old. Party NPC. Speaks Rammin, Tyrian, and Balican.

Merry Christmas

 Merry Christmas to all. 

This has been a tough year, but Christ's love is real and God's plan is greater and more important than man's plan.

May God bless you all.

"Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."

Athasian Disease Part Two

Lung diseases will cause eye shortness of breath, cough, headache, and fatigue. The incubation period of lung diseases is generally two to fifteen days.
Mild symptoms will cause a loss of one point of constitution every seven days of infection. If not treated and the character's constitution drops to zero, they die.
Moderate symptoms will cause a loss of two points constitution every seven days of infection. If not treated and the character's constitution drops to zero, they die.
Severe symptoms will cause a loss of two points of constitution every three days of infection. If not treated and the character's constitution drops to one half, a system shock roll must be made. If this roll fails, the character loses one point of constitution permanently. If successful, the character will die if their constitution reaches zero.

Mucous membrane diseases will cause dry mouth, mouth and throat pain, thick and bloody mucous, open sores in mouth and throat, and painful swallowing. The incubation period of mucous membrane diseases is generally five to ten days.
Mild symptoms will cause a loss of one point of constitution every month of infection. After six months, the symptoms will become moderate. If the character's constitution drops to zero, they die.
Moderate symptoms will cause a loss of one point of constitution every month of infection. In addition, the infected character must succeed at a saving throw vs poison everyday, or be unable to eat and drink that day due to pain. After six months, the symptoms wil become severe. If the character's constitution drops to zero, they die.
Severe symptoms will cause a loss of one point of constitution every athasian week of infection. In addition, the infected character must succeed at a saving throw vs poison everyday, or be unable to eat and drink that day due to pain. Also, the character's mouth becomes so overwhelmed with thick blood and mucous, they begin to drown if the are laid down, whether voluntary or involuntary. If the character's constitution drops to zero, they die.

Athasian Disease Part One

Athasians are generally a hardy lot, but can still be overcome by disease. Athasians do not have a concept of germ theory and the idea of tiny creatures causing illness would likely be met with skepticism at best, or accusations of magic use at worst. However, even without this knowledge, herbalists and natural healers can treat and cure many diseases that athasians have to deal with throughout their lives.
Whether the disease is caused by a virus, bacteria, or parasite, they may all be cured with the proper application of clerical magic. Cure Disease can cure any natural disease or infection. In the eyes of the elemental lords, there is no difference. Some diseases may be slower to heal, even with the application of magic, but the disease will not progress. No matter their source, all diseases and infections will be simply called diseases in this article.
Diseases are categorized by the effects of the victims body. Blood, bones, brain, cardiovascular, connective tissue, ears, eyes, lungs, mucous membranes, muscles, nose & throat, skin, stomach, urinary tract, or the whole body can be affected by any number of diseases or infections. Specific names of diseases differ between various city-states, if they are named at all. Athasians see a stomach problem and treat it as a stomach problem, not as e.coli or salmonella poisoning.
When exposed to a disease, a player character must make a saving throw vs poison with a bonus or penalty equal to their hit point adjustment modifier. If successful, the character has avoided the disease for twenty-four hours. If exposed again after that time, the character must make another saving throw for the next twenty-four hour period. If the saving throw fails, the character has contracted the disease. Every athasian week (fifteen days), the character has a chance to make another saving throw to shake off the disease. This second saving throw is made will a bonus, or penalty, based upon the severity of the symptoms. Mild symptoms have a +2 bonus, moderate symptoms have no bonus or penalty, and severe symptoms have a -2 penalty.
Diseases can have mild, moderate, or severe effects. If a character fails their saving throw by one to four points, mild symptoms will occur. If a character fails their saving throw by five to nine points, moderate symptoms will occur. If a character fails their saving throw by ten or more points, severe symptoms will occur.

Session Fifty-One: Stone Walls do not a Prison Make

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

Shade fell toward Vashti and Kalino, crashing into them. Vashti and Kalino were able to hold onto each other. Shade grabbed Kalino and switched his perception of down. Vashti and Shade began pulling Kalino upward. Alaxander brought Julius back up with the group.
Everyone was continuously changing their perception of down, so they could remain in the same area as the others. This gave the effect that they were moving in small circles. Alaxander alone was so adept at focusing his directional perception that he was able to remain perfectly still.
The eye of earth crawled out from Jessel's tunic and poked his cheek. It then indicated which direction for the group to go. They began falling in that direction.
Twenty-five minutes later, the group saw some creatures swimming through the silt. They were not sure what kind of creatures they were. The creatures seemed to be swimming around a swirling silt vortex.
Alaxander and Julius used the way to attack the creatures. Alaxander punched with his mental energy and Julius detonated the sand vortex. Both creatures were injured and the sand vortex pulled in one of the creatures. Shade, Kiara, Kalino, and Jessel fell into the creature and began striking it with their weapons. The creature bled maroon colored blood.
The creature was badly injured and created a silt cloud to escape. The second creature emerged from the vortex and attacked Jessel. It gripped his arm tight and quickly over-powered Jessel's mental defenses. Jessel began to feel that the creature was causing him pleasure, not pain.
Everyone else pounced on the creature and quickly killed it. Jessel felt a slight disappointment at the loss of the blissful feeling. He shook his head to clear it.
The eye of earth pointed at the vortex. After a quick discussion, everyone decided to trust the eye and enter the vortex. Jessel went first and everyone else followed.

They found themselves in a sphere of compacted swirling silt. Inside was a bored looking man. He had angular features with large hands and a large nose. He had an impressively sizable mustache and where his legs should have been, there was just swirling silt. Behind the man was a small silt vortex in the side of the sphere. The man greeted the group and asked whom they were and what their business was at detention center 743.
Jessel expertly lied and told them that they had a prisoner transfer from detention center 1138. The man, who Vashti knew he was a jann that had betrayed his creators and sided with their enemy, looked at Jessel with a confused expression. He explained that a prisoner transfer was highly irregular and that he had not received notification of a prisoner transfer in a very long time.
They could all see that the genie was very bored with his assignment and started chatting with him. The genie was so happy to have gracious company, that he was more open to the group's lies and half-truths.
He questioned why mortals were handling something so simple as a prisoner transfer, when they should be on Athas, growing the Silt Sea. Jessel explained that they were just doing a small favor for their patron and would then return to Athas. The genie accepted their explanation and told them to continue on, as long as they had the password for the guardian in the next sphere.
The group said they had the password and tried to talk the genie into revealing it. However, it quickly became evident that the jann did not know the password. The group decided to take their chances and crossed into the next area.
The group passed through the vortex and found themselves in another sphere. Floating with them in the orb was a huge scorpion made of silt. Everyone was silent for a moment and just stared at each other. After the prolonged silence, Vashti asked the scorpion if it could speak. The scorpion responded by attacking.
Shade and Kalino were attacked with its claws and Jessel was stung with it's tail. The venom it injected into Jessel's bicep was brutally painful, but Jessel was able to shake it off. Everyone attacked the giant creature.
Because they used good tactics and surrounded the beast, they were able to defeat the guardian with minimal injury to themselves. Behind the scorpion was another vortex, which the group passed through.
The group emerged into another sphere, where pillars of swirling silt contained six figures. None of the figures were conscious and the eye of earth indicated that the dao they were looking for was through another vortex. The group ignored the figures and moved into the next vortex.
The group emerged into another sphere. This sphere had a pillar of swirling silt with a large dao inside of it. The dao was unconscious. When the group moved toward him, a fourteen foot tall silt paraelemental rose in front of them. The silt paraelemental did not move to attack, until Vashti used her magic to create a hammer made of water.
The paraelemental was a vicious combatant and turned into a raging storm of silt. The silt storm over-powered the group's magical glasses and wounded them badly. Jessel dispelled the magic on the containment pillar and the pillar disappeared.

The dao confirmed that he was Kwala, but he was very weak. He told Jessel to wish them into the ethereal plane. Jessel started to do so, but the silt paraelemental attacked him. Vashti pushed Kwala out of the way of the fight, but the silt pillar reappeared and trapped her inside of it. She fell into a suspended state.
Alaxander used the way to open a large dimension door and then used the way to push the silt elemental through it. The silt paraelemental was only one-hundred yards away and would soon return. Jessel quickly made his wish.
Everyone started disappearing one by one. Kwala, Jessel, Vashti, Shade, Kiara, Kalino, and Julius. The silt paraelemental was moving through the outside of the sphere as they disappeared. Just as it reached out its arm to grab Alaxander, he finally disappeared.

Join us in two weeks for another exciting episode of Adventures Under the Dark Sun.
2nd edit ion AD&D Dark Sun Cast of Player Characters Julius: Human male psychokinetic. 22 years old. Played by Dave. Speaks Balican, Tyrian, and Giant. Alaxander: Human male psychokinetic. 18 years old. Played by Ben. Speaks Balican, Tyrian, and Elf. Vashti: Human female clairsentient/water cleric. 20 years old. Played by my wife. Speaks Nibnese, Gith, Tyrian, and Balican.
Shade: Half-Elf male ranger/thief, 18 years old. Played by Chad. Speaks Balican, Elf and Tyrian. Kalino: Human male fighter/preserver. 20 years old. Party NPC. Speaks Rammin, Tyrian, and Balican. Special Guest Star: Jessel: Half-Giant male earth cleric. 30 years old. Played by Nate. Speaks Giant and Tyrian.

Fa'kabir - New Athasian Monster

Fa'kabir
Climate/Terrain: Forest, Scrub Plains, Stony Barrens
Frequency: Uncommon
Organization: Solitary or Pack
Activity Cycle: Crepuscular
Diet: Carnivore
Intelligence: Animal (1)
Treasure: None
Alignment: Neutral
No. Appearing: 1-4
Armor Class: 6
Movement: 14
Hit Dice: 4
Thac0: 16
No. of Attacks: 3
Damage/Attacks: 1-4/1-4/1-6
Special Attack: Psionics
Special Defense: Psinoics
Magic Resistance: Nil
Size: S (2 1/2' long)
Morale: Champion (15-16)
XP Value: 270

The Athasian Elemental Planes Part Ten: New Paraelemental Creatures

Magma Brute
The magma brute is a native of the Paraelemental Plane of Magma. It appears as a rough man-shaped creature with no neck and a single tentacle arm. Magma brutes are not very intelligent, but greatly enjoy burning and melting things
It walks and swims through the plane of magma, melting anything that has not already been consumed by the plane. They also happily fight against earth and fire forces in the elemental war.
When attacking, the magma brute whips its foes with its tentacled arm, inflicting 2d8 damage. The Magma Brute can also hurl a ball of magma up to 100 feet. Creature's hit by the ball of magma take 2d6+2 points of damage. Every creature adjacent to a struck victim takes 1d6 damage, unless a saving throw versus breath weapon is successful.
Magma brutes cause 1d4 heat damage to all creatures adjacent to it. In addition, wooden weapons burst into flame if they make contact with the brute's body.

Magma Brute
Climate/Terrain: Paraelemental Plane of Magma
Frequency: Rare
Organization: Solitary
Activity Cycle: Any
Diet: Ash
Intelligence: Semi- (2-4)
Treasure: Nil
Alignment: Neutral
No. Appearing: 1
Armor Class: 2
Movement: 12
Hit Dice: 6+3
Thac0: 15
No. of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attacks: 2-16
Special Attack: Magma Ball
Special Defense: Immune to Magma, Half Damage from Fire
Magic Resistance: Nil
Size: M (6' long)
Morale: Elite (13-14)
XP Value: 1,400

Feathered Viper
The feathered viper is a native of the Paraelemental Plane of Rain. It appears as a green-blue feathered snake with large feathered wings and a feathered tuft at the end of its tail. The feathered viper has an improved sense of smell and can find prey in near total darkness.
It flies through the plane, hunting birds and other small flying creatures. It serves the paraelemental lords and high level rain paraelemental priests.
The feathered viper bites its foes, inflicting 2d6 damage. In addition, the feathered viper has a breath weapon attack. This breath weapon is a 5' wide lightning bolt that streaks 60' in a straight line from the beast's mouth. The damage of this lightning bolt is 3d6 to all creatures caught in the stream. Victims may save vs. breath weapon for half damage. The beast must wait 1d4 rounds between breath weapon attacks.

Feathered Viper
Climate/Terrain: Paraelemental Plane of Rain
Frequency: Very Rare
Organization: Solitary
Activity Cycle: Any
Diet: Carnivore
Intelligence: Low (5-7)
Treasure: Nil
Alignment: Neutral
No. Appearing: 1
Armor Class: 2
Movement: 12, fl16 (B)
Hit Dice: 5+5
Thac0: 16
No. of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attacks: 2-12
Special Attack: Breath Weapon
Special Defense: Immune to Lightning
Magic Resistance: Nil
Size: L (12' long)
Morale: Elite (13-14)
XP Value: 975

Silt Maggot
The silt maggot is a native of the Paraelemental Plane of Silt. It appears as a brownish-green worm with tentacles at its mouth and two large mandibles. The silt maggot has horrible smelling breath. Silt maggots are blind, but have excellent hearing, so do not have blind fighting penalties.
It half swims, half flies through the plane, devouring everything it can. It enjoys feasting on carrion most of all. Silt maggots bite their prey for 2d6+2 points of damage.
The silt maggot's breath weapon is a cloud of noxious acidic gas. The cloud is 25 feet long, 15 feet high, and 20 feet wide. Creature's caught in the cloud suffer 1d8+4 points of acid damage. Creatures may save vs breath weapon for half damage. In addition, those in the cloud must save vs poison, or be sickened for 1d4 rounds. Sickened characters suffer a -2 penalty to all actions due to retching. After using their breath weapon, the silt maggot must wait 1d4 rounds before using it again.

Silt Maggot
Climate/Terrain: Paraelemental Plane of Silt
Frequency: Uncommon
Organization: Solitary or Pack
Activity Cycle: Any
Diet: Carnivore
Intelligence: Animal (1)
Treasure: Nil
Alignment: Neutral
No. Appearing: 1
Armor Class: 2
Movement: 12
Hit Dice: 6+3
Thac0: 16
No. of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attacks: 4-14
Special Attack: Breath Weapon
Special Defense: Immune to silt/sand attacks.
Magic Resistance: Nil
Size: M (7' long)
Morale: Elite (13-14)
XP Value: 975

Sun Terror
The sun terror is a bizarre creature that is a native to the Paraelemental Plane of Sun. It appears roughly humanoid in shape with a head of solar fire. Sun terrors cause 1d6 heat damage to all creatures adjacent to it. They attack prey with their sun hot claws, scratching for 2d8+2 damage.
It hops and runs through the plane, burning everything flammable. It gladly fights in the elemental war and sometimes serves as assassins for high level sun priests.
The sun terror can shoot a solar ray from its head at a range of 120 feet. This ray fires in a 5 foot wide straight line and effects all targets in its path. A sufficiently strong, non-flammable barrier can block the ray. The ray does 2d6+4 points of damage to each target, unless a saving throw vs breath weapon is successful. A successful save indicates half damage.

Sun Terror
Climate/Terrain: Paraelemental Plane of Sun
Frequency: Uncommon
Organization: Solitary
Activity Cycle: Any
Diet: Solar Rays
Intelligence: Semi (2-4)
Treasure: Nil
Alignment: Neutral
No. Appearing: 1
Armor Class: 2
Movement: 15
Hit Dice: 6+4
Thac0: 15
No. of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attacks: 4-18
Special Attack: Solar Flare
Special Defense: Immune to Fire Damage
Magic Resistance: Nil
Size: M (6' tall)
Morale: Elite (13-14)
XP Value: 1,400

Session Fifty - A Mission of Great Importance

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

 

 The group drew their weapons and readied their spells. Vashti was the first to see the oncoming forces, silt paraelementals. She shouted that only magic, or the way, would harm the creatures. Shade drew his obsidian broadsword. Vashti magically created a war hammer made of water. Kalino and Kiara had no magical weapons, so they put their weapons away and planned on using their fists.

The force of paraelementals flooded into the pech village. Four broke off from the main force and headed for the group. The Eye of Earth moved off, to protect the pechs. Jessel thought it was a good idea for it to do so.

Vashti sent her hammer to attack, but it missed. The paraelementals swept towards the group as Kiara used the magic granted by Hamanu to heal Shade. Julius used the way to vibrate the sand in one of the paraelementals, heating it up. 

Alaxander stepped back and used the way to mentally punch one of the paraelementals. Shade used his magic broadsword to slice one the silt monsters. There was little obvious damage to the creature, but it howled in pain when he struck. Kalino fired a magic missile at the paraelemental Shade had attacked. Jessel used his competence in earth magic to encase one of the paraelementals in a dome of solid stone.

Vashti tried to strike with her water hammer, but it missed again. She also used her magic to create water above one of paraelementals heads. The water did make the silt paraelemental muddy, but it did not seem to harm it. The paraelementals converged on Jessel and began scraping against his flesh, ripping his skin away from his muscle. One of silt paraelementals turned into a mini silt storm and blinded Jessel, Vashti, Alaxander, and Shade.

Undead Athasian Turkey

In honor of Thanksgiving, the United States holiday, I gave stats for the Athasian Turkey, which is mentioned in the Veiled Alliance sourcebook, last year. This year, I present the undead version of the terrible beast.
Happy Thanksgiving!

	Turkey, Undead
Climate/Terrain	Any
Frequency	Very Rare
Organization	Flock
Activity Cycle	Night
Diet	Nil
Intelligence	Non- (0)
Treasure	Nil
Alignment	Neutral Evil
No. Appearing	1-20
Armor Class	6
Movement	12
Hit Dice	4+4
Thac0	16
No. of Attacks	1
Damage/ Attack	1-8
Special Attack	Disease
Special Defense	Spell Immunity
Magic Resistance	Nil
Size	S (3' + tall)
Morale	Fearless (19-20)
XP Value	420

Missing Monsters - Kwilit

It was pointed out to me by Rovewin of Athas.org, that the kwilit is mentioned in the Revised Dark Sun Boxed Set. However, they are not drawn up in that, or any other book. So, in an effort to rectify the situation, I have created the kwilit below.

Kwilit
Climate/Terrain: Any
Frequency: Uncommon
Organization: Solitary
Activity Cycle: Day
Diet: Omnivore
Intelligence: Animal (1)
Treasure: None
Alignment: Neutral
No. Appearing: 1-2
Armor Class: 6
Movement: 12
Hit Dice: 2+4
Thac0: 19
No. of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attacks: 1-6
Special Attack: None
Special Defense: None
Magic Resistance: Nil
Size: M (7' long)
Morale: Average (10)
XP Value: 65

The Templar and the Citizen. A Dark Sun Fable.

A simple-minded and trusting human citizen of Nibenay was asked to join a group of cheerful elves. The elves were planning on visiting one of the Shadow King's fields outside of the city and the human citizen agreed to go with them. The elves saw the food was nearing harvest and starting picking the food for themselves. The citizen watched the elves, but did not gather any of the food for himself.
A templar soon emerged from the field, with a large group of guards in tow. The guards seized the citizen and a couple of the elves, but most of the elves dashed away into the wilderness. The citizen begged the templar to spare him.
"Please let me go," he pleaded. "I am a citizen in good standing. I have never broken any laws and I was not stealing the food. I did not know the Elves were going to steal."
"You may be a good citizen," answered the templar, "but I caught you with the thieving elves. You will face the same punishment as them."

Non-Dark Sun Creatures in Dark Sun - Dune Stalker

 

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.

Dune Stalker

	Dune Stalker	Dune Stalker, Greater
Climate/Terrain	All, except Silt	All, except Silt
Frequency	Very Rare	Very Rare
Organization	Solitary	Solitary
Activity Cycle	Day	Day
Diet	Carnivore	Carnivore
Intelligence	High (13-14)	High (13-14)
Treasure	Nil	Nil
Alignment	Neutral Evil	Neutral Evil
No. Appearing	1	1
Armor Class	3	0
Movement	12	12
Hit Dice	6	12
THAC0	15	9
No. of Attacks	1	1
Damage/Attack	2-12	2-12
Special Attacks	Kiss of Death	Kiss of Death
Special Defenses	Can Only be Hit by Magical Weapons	Can Only be Hit by Magical Weapons
Magic Resistance	30%	30%
Size	M (7' tall)	M (7' tall)
Morale	Elite (14)	Elite (14)
XP Value	2,000	7,000

Session Forty-Nine: Fade to Black

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

 

Julius ran past the members of his group, into the cave opening. He urged his fellows to follow him, yelling about the giant arachnid. Abilkisu and Shade also noticed the large scorpion-spider.

Alaxander didn't see the creature, but trusted Julius and used the way to make himself insubstantial. He then ran through the cave wall, into the raging sandstorm outside. Vashti, spurred on by Abilkisu, ran for the door as well.

Shade saw another passage way and ran toward it, instead of following the party. Kiara followed Shade, believing he saw something she did not. Kalino decided to follow Vashti and Abilkisu, believing that Shade was just crazy.

The creature scuttled forward, ignoring Shade and Kiara, and going straight toward Abilkisu. Abilkisu fired his crossbow, but his bolt bounced off the creature's chitin. Kalino cast magic missile, but the creature's natural magic resistance ignored the spell. 

The Roc and the Kes'trekel. A Dark Sun Fable.

A roc swooped down on powerful wings and seized a ram in its talons. It easily lifted the ram into the sky and carried it back to its nest. A kes'trekel saw what the roc had done and somehow got the idea that it was big and strong enough to do the same.
The kes'trekel ruffled its feathers and loudly called. Then, it flew toward a sheep and sunk its claws into the wool of the sheep's back. When the kes'trekel tried to lift the sheep, it found that its talons were tangled in the sheep's wool. The sheep barely noticed the small bird, as the kes'trekel tried to escape, but found that it could not.
The shepherd saw the fluttering kes'trekel and knew what the stupid bird had done. He ran up to the kes'trekel and broke its neck. That evening he took the bird to his family for dinner.
"What kind of bird is this, father?" The shepard's daughter asked him, while eating.
"It is a kes'trekel," He answered. "But if you would have asked it, it would have said it was a roc."

Non-Dark Sun Creatures in Dark Sun - Dragonnel

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.

Dragonnel

 

	Adult	Young	(Para-)Elemental
Climate/Terrain	All, except Sandy Wastes and Silt	All, except Sandy Wastes and Silt	Varies, See Description
Frequency	Very Rare	Very Rare	Very Rare
Organization	Solitary or band	Solitary	Solitary
Activity Cycle	Night	Night	Any
Diet	Carnivore	Carnivore	Carnivore
Intelligence	Semi- (2-4)	Semi- (2-4)	Semi- (2-4)
Treasure	Nil	Nil	Nil
Alignment	Neutral (evil)	Neutral (evil)	Neutral
No. Appearing	1-4	1	1
Armor Class	3	8-4	3
Movement	12, Fl 18 (C; D if mounted)	7, Fl 13 (C) - 11, Fl 17 (C)	12, Fl 18 (C; D if mounted)
Hit Dice	8+4	3+4 - 7+4	8+4
THAC0	11	16 - 12	11
No. of Attacks	3	3	3
Damage/Attack	1-6/1-6/4-16	1-4/1-4/3-12	1-6/1-6/4-16
Special Attacks	Tail Slap (2-12)	Nil	Tail Slap (2-12), Breath Weapon
Special Defenses	Nil	Nil	Elemental Immunity
Magic Resistance	Nil	Nil	Nil
Size	H (24' at shoulder)	S (4') - H (20')	H (24' at shoulder)
Morale	Elite (13)	11-12 (Steady)	Champion (15-16)
XP Value	2,000	270 - 1,400	4,000

Session Forty-Eight: Whispers of the Past

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

 Julius was yelling about something, but before he could look, Shade saw a flash of bright light in front of his eyes. Strangely, he was now inside of a stone building of some kind, staring at a non-human female. He realized that it was an ogre, a species that had been eradicated a very long time ago.
The sound of battle raged near Shade's position and the female ogre was yelling at him.
"Izig! Get up! We have to move!" She yelled.
Shade stood and dusted himself off. He could see that he was not himself. He had thick, dark hair on the backs of his hands and long, thick fingers. His skin was not the normal tan brown of his half-elf form, but a much lighter brown instead. He must have been seeing things through the eyes of this Izig, who was likely an ogre.
She grabbed his arm and began leading him somewhere. Not knowing what was going on, he allowed himself to be guided through the stone structure. The fortress was impressive and was obviously under attack. After a few minutes, the two ogres emerged onto the top of an inner curtain wall.
Shade looked down from the impressive height of the wall and saw that this fortress was on a high point in an unfamiliar mountainous region. Outside of the curtain wall, upon which he stood, was a town and an outer curtain wall.
The outer curtain wall was under heavy bombardment and was crumbling in some areas. The inner town was ablaze and Shade saw magic balls of fire arc over the wall and strike the inner town.
"Defilers." The female ogre spat out contemptuously. "They're the reason we're losing this war." She looked back at Shade, "Come on."

They walked past some ogre archers, who were firing in unison at the forces who were beginning to breach the outer wall. One of the ogres was barking commands at the archers and other soldiers. The female ogre with Shade saluted him.
"Captain Okur, how is the defense going?" She asked.
The ogre captain shook his head, "It goes poorly, Yazir. There's just too many of them." He pounded a fist on the merlon and ordered the archers to draw and fire again. "Yazir, their magic is killing all the farmland. Even if we do drive them back, we will starve. Is that Izig?"
"It is." Yazir answered.
"You need to get him to the great hall. He's too important to lose."
Yazir grabbed Izig's arm and dragged him back inside. She lead him through the halls of the keep, as soldiers rushed back to resupply, or relieve, the archers. Shade was taking the opportunity to look around and admire the finery of the fortress. Ogres, it seemed, were a species that enjoyed fine artwork, especially stonework.
As they passed a narrow hallway, Shade caught sight of something on the floor. He backed up and looked again. It was an ogre on the floor, with a dagger wound in his back.
"Yazir!" Shade called.
Yazir turned and Shade pointed into the hallway. Upon seeing the body, Yazir cursed and ran to the body. She turned him over and bowed her head in momentary grief.
"Did you know him?" Shade asked.
Yazir looked at him with a puzzled look on her face. "Of course, it's Zosuzug."
Shade had no idea who it was, but he was obviously supposed to know. "Oh, I didn't realize it." He mumbled in response.
"The humans have breached our defenses." Yazir whispered, "Probably a psychoporter assassin. We have to warn Major Brakag."
Shade took a quick look around. "The assassin was smaller than us." He began, "After he killed Zosuzug, he went that way." Shade pointed to the opposite hall.
Yazir looked puzzled. "You're no tracker Izig."
Thinking quickly, Shade replied, "I've been doing some studying."
Yazir shrugged. "Well, we should go get him then." She uncovered her iron poleax and beckoned Shade to lead the way.
Shade lead them through the maze-like keep. He stopped at a set of double doors that Yazir said lead into a small dining room. The room was being used as an order relay post for captains and runners. Shade peeked inside.

Shade saw two human men, a human woman, and three dead ogres on the ground. One of the ogres was badly burned. Shade stepped away and told Yazir.
"They don't know we're here, we have them by surprise." She looked up at Shade. "I know you're not much of a fighter Izig, but we should stop them, before they can kill more of us."
Shade smiled, "It's okay, I've been studying that too." He pulled out his alhuluk and dagger, which appeared as two daggers to Yazir, and he nodded.
Together, they burst into the room. The humans were surprised, but didn't seem too worried. Shade attacked one of the men and stabbed him with his iron dagger. Yazir charged in and attacked the female human.
The combatants turned and engaged Shade and Yazir. The assassins were well skilled and wounded Shade and Yazir. Shade had not seen the defiler hiding in the shadows, but he emerged and starting firing magic bolts of energy at Yazir.
Although Shade and Yazir were skilled fighters, they were outnumbered by equally skilled opponents. Seeing their inevitable defeat, Yazir shoved Shade away.
"I'll hold them back!" She yelled. "Go! You're too important!"
As the assassins closed in on Yazir, she fiercly swung her poleax and cried out in rage. Not wanting her sacrifice to be in vain, Shade turned from the fight and fled into the hallway.
A flash of light brought Shade outside. Now, he was walking through a narrow pass at night. There were many other ogres with him, carrying meger belongings on their backs, or in their arms. Many had wounds that had been hastily covered.
He turned and looked behind him. He saw the fortress in flames and the sounds of battle quickly fading. One of the other ogres noticed him looking at the conquered castle.
"It is a great loss." The ogre began, "But we will rebuild. I have no idea what we ever did to bring the Ogre Doom's wrath upon us, but we will go where he cannot follow and we will rebuild." He smiled at Shade, but Shade couldn't smile back. Shade knew that the ogre was wrong. Not only would the ogres not rebuild, but the Ogre Doom would massacre them all.
A flash of light brought Shade back to his own body. It seemed no time had passed at all. He was in a cave with Julius trying to push them all back into the sandstorm outside.

Join us in two weeks for another exciting episode of Adventures Under the Dark Sun.

2nd edition AD&D Dark Sun Cast of Player Characters
Julius: Human male psychokinetic. 22 years old. Played by Dave. Speaks Balican, Tyrian, and Giant.
Alaxander: Human male psychokinetic. 18 years old. Played by Ben. Speaks Balican, Tyrian, and Elf.
Vashti: Human female clairsentient/water cleric. 20 years old. Played by my wife. Speaks Nibnese, Gith, Tyrian, and Balican.
Shade: Half-Elf male ranger/thief, 18 years old. Played by Chad. Speaks Balican, Elf and Tyrian.
Kalino: Human male fighter/preserver. 20 years old. Party NPC. Speaks Rammin, Tyrian, and Balican.

 

Excerpt from the Wander's Journal

I have been pulling a lot of overtime at work, so I have been unable to do a lot of writing for my blog lately. However, I want to share something, so I have taken an excerpt from The Wanderer's Journal, from the original Dark Sun boxed set.
Sometimes I get so caught up with the extensive lore and history that I forget what Dark Sun is really about. It's about survival against the brutality of Athas. Everyday that your character survives is a success.

"I live in a world of fire and sand. The crimson sun scorches the life from anything that crawls or flies, and storms of sand scour the foliage from the barren ground. Lightning strikes from the cloudless sky, and peals of thunder roll unexplained across the vast tablelands. Even the wind, dry and searing as a kiln, can kill a man with thirst.
This is a land of blood and dust, where tribes of feral elves sweep out of the salt plains to plunder lonely caravans, mysterious singing winds call men to slow suffocation in a Sea of Silt, and legions of slaves clash over a few bushels of moldering grain. The dragon despoils entire cities, while selfish kings squander their armies raising gaudy palaces and garish tombs.
This is my home, Athas. It is an arid and bleak place, a wasteland with a handful of austere cities clinging precariously to a few scattered oases. It is a brutal and savage land, beset by political strife and monstrous abominations, where life is grim and short." - The Wanderer

Dungeon Dressing

I found this old dungeon dressing card, while rearranging my old books. It's not made for dark sun, but can easily be adapted for it. if there is any interest in these, I will have to make some custom dungeon dressing tables for dark sun.

Non-Dark Sun Creatures in Dark Sun - Dragonne

 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.

Dragonne 

 

	Adult	Young	Psionic	Bestial
Climate/Terrain	Mountains, Rocky Badlands, Scrub Plains, Hinterlands	Mountains, Rocky Badlands, Scrub Plains, Hinterlands	Any	Mountains, Rocky Badlands, Scrub Plains, Hinterlands
Frequency	Very Rare	Very Rare	Very Rare	Vary Rare
Organization	Solitary	Pair	Solitary	Pack
Activity Cycle	Night	Night	Night	Night
Diet	Carnivore	Carnivore	Carnivore	Carnivore
Intelligence	Low (5-7)	Low (5-7)	Average to Very (8-12)	Semi- (2-4)
Treasure	B,S,T	Nil	B,S,T,U	Nil
Alignment	Neutral	Neutral	Neutral Evil	Chaotic Evil
No. Appearing	1	1	1	2-6
Armor Class	6 (Flying)/ 2 (Ground)	9 (Flying)/ 5 (Ground)	6 (Flying)/ 2 (Ground)	7 (Flying)/ 3 (Ground)
Movement	15, Fl 9 (E)	8, Fl 4 (E)	15, Fl 9 (D)	15, Fl 9 (E)
Hit Dice	9	4	9	6
THAC0	11	17	11	15
No. of Attacks	3	3	3	3
Damage/Attack	1-8/1-8/3-18	1-4/1-4/3-12	1-8/1-8/3-18	1-6/1-6/2-16
Special Attacks	Roar	Nil	Roar/ Psionics	Nil
Special Defenses	Nil	Nil	Psionics	Nil
Magic Resistance	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil
Size	M (5' at shoulder)	S (2' at shoulder)	M (5' at shoulder)	M (4' at shoulder)
Morale	Champion (15)	Average (8-10)	Champion (15)	Fanatic (17-18)
XP Value	2,000	175	4,000	650

Surviving Under the Dark Sun - Wind

The rolling dunes of the sandy wastes and the plains of stone do little to block the strong winds funneled into the Tablelands from the north. Open areas without natural windbreaks, such as mountains and rocky badlands can experience fierce wind storms. These storms can cause sandstorms, but what if there's not enough sand to create a large sandstorm, such as over rocky badlands, or if the wind isn't strong enough to create one.
Strong winds can cause other problems, other than sand and silt blowing around. Wind can easily throw off the trajectory of missile weapons, especially at far ranges. Strong enough winds can even make it difficult to fight in melee.
The rules presented below will be for AD&D second edition and will be for the sole purpose of making your Dark Sun a little more challenging for your players. I view Dark Sun as the "hard" setting for AD&D, so I do not hesitate to make my player characters a little more uncomfortable.

Session Forty-Seven: Slaves and Storms

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

After Julius slew the cleric, Abilkisu attacked the bowman, who was shooting obsidian tipped arrows at his mistress. He struck him with his stone mace and the archer fell back.
Shade picked up his fallen iron dagger and stabbed one of the spearmen attacking him. He also used his bone alhulak to slash him. Kiara followed Shade, using her obsidian wrist razors to lethal effect. The guard fell, his blood providing moisture to the dry ground below. 

Missing Monsters - K’cin Crawler

It was pointed out to me by Rovewin of Athas.org, that the k’cin crawler is mentioned in the Revised Dark Sun Boxed Set. However, they are not drawn up in that, or any other book. So, in an effort to rectify the situation, I have created the k’cin crawler below.

K’cin Crawler
Climate/Terrain: Rocky Badlands, Stony Barrens
Frequency: Uncommon
Organization: Solitary
Activity Cycle: Anytime
Diet: Omnivore
Intelligence: Animal (1)
Treasure: None
Alignment: Neutral
No. Appearing: 1-2
Armor Class: 4
Movement: 6
Hit Dice: 3
Thac0: 17
No. of Attacks: 3
Damage/Attacks: 1-2/ 1-2/ 1-4
Special Attack: None
Special Defense: Hide in shell
Magic Resistance: Nil
Size: L (8' tall)
Morale: Unreliable (2-4)
XP Value: 35

Non-Dark Sun Creatures in Dark Sun - Dragonfly, Giant

 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.

Dragonfly, Giant 

 

	Adult	Larva	Adult, Silt	Larva, Silt
Climate/Terrain	Forest, Scrub Plains, Swamps	Any fresh water	Any near Silt Sea or silt basin.	Any silt
Frequency	Rare	Rare	Very Rare	Very Rare
Organization	Solitary or Swarm	Solitary	Solitary or Swarm	Solitary
Activity Cycle	Day	Any	Day	Any
Diet	Carnivore	Carnivore	Carnivore	Carnivore
Intelligence	Animal (1)	Animal (1)	Animal (1)	Animal (1)
Treasure	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil
Alignment	Neutral	Neutral	Neutral	Neutral
No. Appearing	1-6	1	1-4	1
Armor Class	3	3	3	3
Movement	3, Fl 36 (B)	9, Sw 3 (jet 24)	3, Fl 36 (B)	9, Sw 3 (jet 24)
Hit Dice	7 (8+2-8)	6+1 (7+2)	9	8+1
THAC0	13 (11)	15 (13)	12	14
No. of Attacks	1	1	1	1
Damage/Attack	3-12 (4-16)	3-18 (4-24)	5-20	7-28
Special Attacks	Initiative Bonus	Surprise Bonus	Initiative Bonus/ Breath Weapon	Surprise Bonus
Special Defenses	Darting	Nil	Darting	Nil
Magic Resistance	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil
Size	M (6-8' long)	M (4' - 6')	L (7-9' long)	M (6"-7')
Morale	Steady (11-12)	Steady (11-10)	Elite (13-14)	Elite (13-14)
XP Value	1,400 (2,000)	650 (975)	4,000	1,400

Session Forty-Six: House Klethira

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

As the group continued walking, it was noticeable that the wind had picked up. Sand and dust were blowing heavily and the group had to cover their faces. The wind did not seem to be stopping anytime soon, but did did not seem to be getting worse either, so the group pressed on.
Soon, the group saw a huge armored wagon in the distance. They decided to move off the road and hide among the rocks and boulders, so the armored wagon would not see them. They soon could see that the wagon was flying a flag with two crossed scimitars on it. It seemed the wagon that had their mekillots eaten, and defiler killed, had received replacement mekillots. Once the wagon had passed, the group emerged from hiding and continued on the road toward Urik.
The wind calmed somewhat, as the sun touched the horizon. The group was pleased that they didn't run into any more problems. They set up camp in a defensible, off-road, location. Julius took the first watch.

Day 15, Week 1, Fortuary, Friend's Vengeance, 190th King's Age, Sun Descending

The group awoke to the pleasant smell of Kalino cooking breakfast. Vashti preached her sermon and magically created some water. Shade found some water and, despite the mild, but constant sand blowing in the air, the group was in high spirits.

The morning passed, with only the wind and blowing sand to make the group's walk unpleasant. They took a break behind some large boulders during high sun and drank some water. When the temperature cooled slightly, they continued their march to Urik.

A few minutes later, Shade caught sight of some wagons up ahead. As they drew closer, he could see it was a six wagon caravan. He informed the group and they decided to move to the side of the road to let it pass. The group tried to look as non-combative as possible.

As the caravan drew closer, the group saw it was flying flags; they depicted a gold crodlu on a green field. They did not recognize the house, except Kiara and Abilkisu, but no one asked them. The group could also see that the wagons carried slaves. Vashti wanted to attack them right away, but the copious amount of guards made her second guess her strategy.

Vashti hailed them instead and the lead wagon slowed. A large, muscular, bald Urikite man signaled for the wagons to slow, so he could speak to Vashti. She inquired about purchasing some of his slaves, so he told her to follow them. The caravan couldn't stop until sundown, because they were on a schedule. Vashti agreed to follow a hundred yards back, to prove that she did not mean the caravan any ill will. She then asked what house the caravan belonged to. The caravan master answered, "House Klethira."

The group followed the slave caravan for the rest of the day. Once the caravan found a suitable spot, they circled their wagons and made camp inside of them. Each wagon had one archer atop it, with a couple of spearmen as well.

The group approached and talked to the caravan master, Mohamed. Vashti took the lead and inquired about the slaves, their skills, and their prices. She noticed a half-elf boy look at her with disdain, before quickly becoming submissive when Mohamed approached. Vashti wanted to free him immediately.

Mohamed claimed that all of his stock was born into slavery, or were punished with slavery because they were criminals. Vashti did not like the large bald slaver, but she believed that he was being honest with her. He was, no doubt, an evil man, but he certainly didn't think of himself as such.

After their discussion, Vahti purchased four slaves. She tried to bargain with Mohamed, but he was a seasoned merchant and Vashti paid his asking price. She purchased a forty-one year old human man named Murad, a 33 year old human woman named Marina, a 13 year old dwarf boy named Yonas, and the 12 year old half-elf boy named Aden.

Mohamed told her that he would appreciate them camping at least 100 yards away. Vashti agreed and lead the group and her new slaves away. Shade found them a camping spot with good look out areas, but they did not sleep.

Vashti told her newly purchased slaves that they were free and they could stay, or go, as they pleased. She then told the group that she planned on attacking the slavers. Kalino, Shade, Alaxander, and Julius nodded in agreement.

"What?" Kiara protested. "You're going to attack the caravan?"

"Yes." Vashti answered.

"Why would you do such a thing?" Kiara asked.

Vashti was perplexed, but answered, "They're slavers. They enslaved children."

"So? Slavery is not against the law." Kiara rebutted. "They haven't broken any laws."

"There's a difference," Vashti explained, " between legal and moral."

"No," Kiara argued, "there's not. They have done nothing wrong."

Vashti sighed and asked, "Will you stop us?"

Kiara shook her head, "No. Urik offers no protection to those so far from the city."

"Good." Vashti stated. "You don't have to help us, if you don't want to."

Kiara looked at Shade, "I will fight, but my king's magic cannot be used for a personal grudge."

Vashti smiled. "Understood."

None of the slaves were experienced at combat, but Aden did have a great deal of rage inside of him. Kalino handed him a dagger and then started insulting him. The boy attacked Kalino clumsily, but viciously and actually managed to cut Kalno on his arm. Kalino easily disarmed the boy and congratulated him on his strike. Kalino then gave the boy a few pointers. 

Murad said he would do his best to fight, but he didn't really know that much. Marina said she would just get in the way and Yonas said nothing. Yonas didn't indicate if he wanted to fight, or not.

Day 16, Week 2, Fortuary, Friend's Vengeance, 190th King's Age, Sun Descending

 

The group had waited three hours, then Shade began the assault. He snuck through the darkness, giving the slaver's camp a width berth. He approached from the south, as opposed to the west, where the group's camp was. Shade touched a large boulder and some smaller rocks and dust fell from the top. The caravan guards looked in his direction. Shade ducked low and hid. 

Two guards took a torch, pulled their weapons, and went to investigate. They walked forward, looking behind large rocks and boulders. Shade stayed silent and did not move.

In the meantime, Alaxander climbed onto a rock to watch over the slaver's camp. Julius openly walked toward the slaver's circled wagons and stopped sixty yards from it. He sat on a rock and waited. Although he was noticed by the sentries, he was not acting hostile, so they did not engage him.

Shade silently stalked his unsuspecting prey. As the men looked at where Shade had been, Shade quietly unsheathed the magic obsidian broadsword. As one of the men crouched to look at some depressions in the ground, Shade swung the sword and beheaded him. The other guard was shocked at his companions sudden death and before he could scream, Shade decapitated him as well. He kicked dirt over the torch that the guards had brought with them.

Two of the guards back at the slaver's camp saw the torch light snuffed out. They nocked arrows in their bows are stared hard into the darkness. One of the guards saw Shade approaching and turned his head to call out to the other guards. He opened his mouth, but no noise escaped his lips. Alaxander, who was watching, had used the way to silence him.

The guard started waving and pointing, but the only guard that was watching him had no idea what he was trying to say. Suddenly, Shade burst from the darkness and sliced the silenced guard with his sword. The guard almost fell from his perch on one of the wagons. The other guard saw Shade attack and finally understood what the silenced guard was trying to say.

"Oh." The guard exclaimed.

Shade slashed the guard again and the guard jumped from his wagon and fled. The other guard started yelling and all eyes turned to Shade. From sixty yards away, Julius saw the guards stirring and knew that Shade had been discovered. Julius used the way to cause a huge explosion in the middle of the slaver's camp, narrowly avoiding the slave wagons.

During the panic, Shade finished off the fleeing guard and Alaxander used the way to punch the other slave guard. The sleeping guards were scrambling to get up and grab their weapons, when Julius caused the ground to explode again. Many of the guards fell, not to rise again.

The explosions were the signal for Vashti, Kalino, and the others to start a mad dash toward the slaver's camp. Two of the surviving guards mounted crodlu and started charging the dashing group. Mohamed rose from the center of the explosion, brushing off rocks, dust, and his dead guards. He was furious, but two priests among the guards healed him. He picked up his bone hand axe and copper kukri. He then began walking west, toward Julius.

The archers fired at Julius, but the arrows just bounced off of him. Mohamed gave his guards instructions and departed, to go fight Shade. Guards had surrounded Shade and were dealing him a great deal of damage, but he was giving back as good as he was getting. When the guards were harmed greatly, they would retreat and let a fresh guard take their place.

Julius used the way to throw rocks at the archers, who were no longer shooting at him. The priests walked slowing toward Julius, as he walked slowly toward them. The archers rained arrows down upon Vashti's group, as they charged forward. 

Alaxander teleported from his place on the rock to assist Shade. Mohamed ran up to Shade and slashed him with his kukri. Alaxander attacked Mohamed. Mohamed let Shade flee and began attacking Alaxander, along with numerous other guards.

Two of the guards gave chase to Shade, who was saved by Kiara. She killed one of the guards with her bone wrist razor and gave Shade a small orange pear of healing. Shade ate the pear and felt a little better. They both attacked the other guard and killed him.

Protected by Abilkisu, Vashti dodged the charging crodlu and ran up to the slave wagon. The other crodlu clashed with Kalino, who was nearly knocked from his feet. Kalino engaged the rider with his bone khopesh.

The priests attempted to charm Julius, but Julius shook off the clumsy attempt. He unsheathed his bone longsword and brought it down upon the priest's shoulder. In that moment, Julius channeled his stored up kinetic energy and multiple arrow-like wounds appeared in the priest's chest. The priest convulsed and fell to the ground, covered in his own blood.

Join us in two weeks for another exciting episode of Adventures Under the Dark Sun.

2nd edition AD&D Dark Sun Cast of Player Characters and other Major Characters
Julius: Human male psychokinetic. 22 years old. Played by Dave. Speaks Balican, Tyrian, and Giant.
Alaxander: Human male psychokinetic. 18 years old. Played by Ben. Speaks Balican, Tyrian, and Elf.
Vashti: Human female clairsentient/water cleric. 20 years old. Played by my wife. Speaks Nibnese, Gith, Tyrian, and Balican.
Shade: Half-Elf male ranger/thief, 18 years old. Played by Chad. Speaks Balican, Elf and Tyrian.
Kalino: Human male fighter/preserver. 20 years old. Party NPC. Speaks Rammin, Tyrian, and Balican.