The Battle in Urik. A Dark Sun Fable.

A young man from a small village south of Altaruk set out to explore the Tablelands. He returned a year later and told everyone of his great adventures and the wonderful things he had done.
One of the stories he told was about an army of gith that attacked the city-state of Urik. He told how he marched out in the front of the army and slew a dozen gith himself, with nothing but a stone tipped spear. He said he slew more than any other single man and the King heaped praise upon him. If anyone in the village ever traveled to Urik, they could find out it was true from the many witnesses.
Not long after he told this boastful tale, a dozen gith raiders were spotted approaching the village. The villagers laughed at the small force and did not prepare a proper defense. The boastful young man was given a stone tipped spear and made to stand between the village and the raiders.
As the villagers watched in anticipation of their champions victory, the man broke and ran, not having the bravery to face the gith. He died with a gith spear in his back.
The people of the village were captured and sold into slavery. Their village was destroyed, so they had nowhere to return to. The villagers cried out in anguish, but they all blamed themselves for believing such a fool.

Missing Monsters - Cragor Worm

It was pointed out to me by Rovewin of Athas.org, that the Cragor Worm is mentioned in the Forest Maker adventure module. However, they are not given stats in that, or any other book. So, in an effort to rectify the situation, I have created the Cragor Worm below.

Cragor Worm
Climate/Terrain: Any, not Silt Sea
Frequency: Uncommon
Organization: Solitary or Swarm
Activity Cycle: Night
Diet: Omnivore
Intelligence: Non- (0)
Treasure: None
Alignment: Neutral
No. Appearing: 2-24
Armor Class: 7
Movement: 8
Hit Dice: 2
Thac0: 19
No. of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attacks: 2-5
Special Attack: None
Special Defense: None
Magic Resistance: Nil
Size: T (1' long)
Morale: Average (10)
XP Value: 35

New Potion Fruits 02

 

Durian Fruit

Potion fruits are one of the most interesting differences between Dark Sun and other TSR settings. Although it is a simple difference, I believe it adds something special and unique to the Dark Sun World. Also, the ability to, possibly, grow more magical fruits is a major bonus. In the process of growing more fruits, you risk losing all of them, which is another harsh Dark Sun trait.
I my game, I choose to not have potion fruits rot. This means the group may find them in ancient ruins or modern complexes. If you choose to have potion fruits rot in your game, I would suggest making them rot a lot slower than fruits in the real world.
I had a lot of fun creating new potions in my last potion fruit article and it appeared to be a popular article as well. So, I have created some more using more exotic fruits. All of the fruits are real and more information can easily be gathered about them. I hope you enjoy them.

Use the chart below to randomly choose the type of fruit, color of fruit, and potion type. Roll as many times as you like, or just choose the best combination for your game.

The Tigone and the Biting Fly. A Dark Sun Fable.

"Get away from me, you vile insect!" said a tigone angrily to a biting fly that was buzzing around his head. But the biting fly was not scared of the great beast at all.
"Do you think," he questioned spitefully to the tigone, "that I am afraid of you because all of the other beasts are?"
Then, he flew quickly at the tigone and bit him sharply on the nose. Mad with rage, the tigone struck fiercely at the biting fly, but only succeeded in harming himself with his own claws. Again and again the biting fly bit at the tigone, who was roaring and striking out, but only succeeded in harming himself again and again. Even his strength with the way could not stop the mindless insect. At last, worn out with rage and covered with wounds that his own teeth and claws had made, the tigone gave up the fight.
The biting fly buzzed away proudly, ready to tell the whole world about his victory over the great cat, but instead he flew straight into a spider's web. And there, the fly who had defeated one of the greatest of beasts came to a miserable end, the prey of a little spider.

New Potion Fruits 01

Prickly Pear

Cherries. For some reason when assigning the fruit part of potion fruits, cherries are the first fruit to pop into my mind. It is perhaps because I love cherries, but so many potions being cherries wasn't particularly interesting for my players. In addition, all the fruit I thought of was common to the modern United States.
If you have the same problem as I do, this article is for you. I have decided to write up some random tables for selecting the type of fruit, color, and magical properties for your Dark Sun game. I hope you enjoy them.

All of the fruits are real. Use the chart below to randomly choose the type of fruit, color of fruit, and potion type. Roll as many times as you like, or just choose the best combination for your game.