Dark Sun Treasure Types

Lair treasures

Individual and Small Lair Treasures

Treasure

Coins

Because metal coins are more valuable on Athas, they are somewhat more rare in treasures. The frequency and quantities of coins in these treasures is less than most AD&D® campaign adventurers will be used to. No platinum or electrum pieces are regularly minted on Athas. The metal, is occasionally found in small amounts, but not enough to warrant inclusion on the table. Finds of platinum or electrum will be special treasures placed by the DM. Bits are one-tenth pie pieces of a ceramic piece. When found, they may or may not be completely broken into individual bits; some may still be unbroken or partially broken coins. Ceramic, silver, and gold pieces weigh in at 50 to the pound. Five hundred bits weigh 1 pound.

Gems

Where metals are very rare, gems become a more frequent medium of exchange. On Athas, gems are fairly common and still quite valuable.

Gem Table

The gem variations and descriptions of the individual stones from the DMG still apply to gems found in Dark Sun.

Objects of Art

Art is not usually a part of lair treasures on Athas. Such finds will be specially placed by the DM. The objects of art table in the DMG appropriate for determining the price of such items, except that the number ranges represent ceramic piece value, not gold piece. Items consisting of steel make a valuable treasure, as well.

Magical Items

A final group of items so contradicts the environment of Athas that they either do not exist, or have been changed. potion of dragon control, scroll of protection from dragon breath, bag of tricks, bucknard's everfull purse, decanter of endless water, horseshoes (all), stone horse, hammer +3 dwarven thrower, elven chain, and any item having to do with aquatic settings or lycanthropes.

The following items are changed to fit DARK SUN campaigns:

• Potion of Giant Control: Affects any giant.

• Potion of Giant Strength: The strength equivalent names do not apply in the Dark Sun campaign, though all the listed benefits are the same.

• Potion of Undead Control Roll the 1d10 normally; the result is the maximum Hit Dice of the undead that the potion can control.

• Rod of Resurrection Charges required are gladiator 2, templar 2, psionicist 4, half-giant 6, thri-kreen 2, and mul 2.

• Boots of Varied Track Substitute Dark Sun animal tracks for those listed.

• Candle of Invocation: Rather than invoking pantheons of gods, these draw upon the spirits of the lands or the elemental planes.

• Deck of illusions Though many of the creatures listed are not native to Athas, they can still serve as illusions.

• Figurines of Wondrous Power: Keep ebony fly and golden lion. Characters will find no other figurines on Athas.

• Necklace of Prayer Bead: The bead of summons calls a powerful creature from the elemental planes, instead.

Potions

On Athas, potions come in the form of magical fruits or berries. The juices of the fruit hold the magical properties of the potion and the fruit must be eaten to release the magical effect. In Dark Sun, potions are never found as fluids in a flask or vial. Any juicy berry or fruit may be enchanted with a potion. Since the juice itself holds the potion, drier fruits such as dates cannot be so enchanted. The type of fruit chosen to house the potion has no effect; any fruit can contain any potion. Any potion listed on Table 89: Potions and Oils in the Dungeon Master's Guide can be enchanted into a fruit. On Athas, these may be referred to as potions or fruits, interchangeably (a potion of giant strength is the same as a fruit of giant strength).

Treasure

Once the skin of the fruit is broken, it must be eaten within one turn or the potion's magic is lost. Whereas normal fruits may only remain ripe for a few days or weeks before they begin to rot, potion fruits have their period of ripeness greatly extended. Once enchanted with a potion, a fruit will remain ripe for 99 years. After that time, the enchantment fades and the fruit will rot normally. The entire fruit must be eaten to gain the effect of the potion. This takes an entire round. Fruits that are enchanted with oil-type potions must be crushed and the juice allowed to run over the user, which takes two rounds. Potion fruits cannot be identified by taste. A detect magic spell will identify a fruit or tree as magical, but only identify or similar magic provides a positive identification. Potion fruits can be combined. Different potion fruits eaten concurrently will all have their effects on the ingester. Potion fruit duration is 4 + 1d4 turns unless otherwise stated in the description. Fruits may be enchanted with potions in one of two fashions: magical and botanical enchantment.

Magical Enchantment: Any wizard, cleric, or druid can enchant normal fruits into potions. Magical enchantment occurs as described under "Potions" in Chapter 10 of the DMG.

Botanical Enchantment Any wizard, ranger, cleric, or druid can use botanical enchantment. Botanical enchantment is the process of using one enchanted fruit to grow more. The original potion fruit must be planted unused. From this seed a magical tree grows very quickly, producing a full-sized fruit tree grows in 1d6 weeks. Once the magical tree is grown, a d6 is rolled: on a roll of 1 or 2, two new potion fruits of the same type appear on the tree; on a 3-5, one new potion fruit of the same type appears on the tree, and on a 6 there will be no potion fruits on the tree.

Regardless of how many nonmagical fruits the tree bears, there will be, at most, two potion fruits on it. Once these are picked, there will be no additional potion fruits from that tree. If a permanency spell is cast on a magical tree, it grows a continuing series of potion fruits. Once the tree's potion fruit is picked, a new one grows in 1d6 days. Such a tree will live at least 99 years unless it is destroyed. Botanical enchantment is somewhat risky. The tree must be tended, watered, and pruned every day while it is growing. Any severe change in the weather, such as a drought or freeze, will ruin the tree and no fruit will be borne. Any use of defiler magic near the tree will kill it and render any potion fruits on it useless. Even if all goes well, the tree may not bear potion fruits, anyway.

New Magical Items

These new magical items can be found as part of lair treasures in Dark Sun. Because they do not appear on the subtables in the DMG, DMs may wish to create new tables or use these items when the "DM's Choice" is rolled.

Amulet of Psionic Interference

XP Value: 5,000

This item scrambles the wearer's psionic abilities, rendering him incapable of making any psionic power checks. The device creates a magical field around the wearer's mind that does not eliminate his psionic strength points, but interferes with them in such a way that they cannot be called upon for power checks. The amulet does not interfere with the wearer's ability to recover psionic strength points. Only the person who places the amulet around someone's neck can remove it; if someone puts it on himself, they can easily remove it, but if it was placed on by another, the wearer cannot remove it without a remove curse or wish spell.

Oil of Feather Falling

XP Value: 700

Crushing such a fruit and rubbing the juices on one's feet gives the character all the abilities of the wizard's spell feather fall, but for a duration of exactly 10 hours. The character can carry with him up to 250 pounds of equipment beyond his normal clothing and weapons. Oils of feather falling are most often used to travel across the Silt Sea - a person of feather weight can float easily on the surface of the silt and walk at his normal rate of movement. Multiple applications can last a character long enough to cross an estuary of the Silt Sea or even to reach one of its many islands from shore.

Ring of Life

XP Value: 500

 This item protects the wearer from the effects of defiling magic. When worn, the character is immune to the initiative point loss incurred when in the destructive diameter of a defiler's spell. The ring of life also bestows upon its wearer recuperative powers as if he had complete bed rest; the wearer naturally heals 3 hit points per day. The ring of life will not protect its wearer from the dragon's defiling magic.

Rod of Divining

XP Value: 3,500

This item is a small "Y" shaped stick that must be held in both hands to use. With each charge expended this item will locate and pull its holder toward any accumulation of water of at least one gallon within 1,000 yards. The end of the rod will point toward the water and gently pull the character that way. The quality of the water need not be such that the character can easily obtain it. For instance, the rod might point down to an underground water source up to 1,000 yards beneath the caster. It might also locate moisture within a large plant (if it amounts to one gallon or more) or that hidden by invisibility or other concealing magic, but it will ignore the moisture within living beings. (Every player character holds far more than a gallon of water.) If multiple accumulations of water reside in the rod's range, it draws itself to the largest one.

Encounters

Encounters in the DARK SUN™ fantasy world occur exactly as described in generic AD&D® campaigns. Surprise rolls and encounter distances appear in the Player's Handbook, and the philosophy and details of encounters appear in the Dungeon Master's Guide. The additional rules given here specifically target Dark Sun encounters, making them easier and faster to run for the DM.

Wizard, Priest, and Psionicist

Spellcasters and psionicists pose numerable problems for the DM, not the least of which is deciding what spells or psionic powers they can use at the time of the encounter. in instances when the DM has particular spells he needs NPCs to have, he should choose those spells and fill out the rest, using the system given there. At times, an encounter with a large group of creatures calls for multiple spell casters or psionicists. The DM may wish to roll their spells or powers as a group to save time. Encounters where 15 elven psionicists can all perform different psionic actions may be interesting, but are nightmarish for the DM. Rolling for spells or powers as a group simplifies the action and can satisfy for DMs and players alike. Encounters in City-States Athasian city states are usually very crowded and busy: half-elven merchants loudly hawk their wares in bazaars and street corners; slaves and peasants bear nobles high on sedan chairs and force their way roughly through the throngs; templar guards patrol the streets against the many thieves and low-lifes that scurry through the alleys and sewers. Even at night, the decadent lifestyles of the wealthy keep the city alive with festivals and parties that last until the lawn. When dealing with encounters in a city, it is more appropriate to ask whom the player characters do not encounter than whom they do. Any normal denizen of the cities - peasants, slaves, templar guards, merchants, nobles - can be located without much trouble: they are ubiquitous. if the player characters wish to avoid some particular encounter, such as with the city guards or with a particular aristocrat, that too is fairly easy; city states throng with crowds. Specific encounters should be set up by the DM. These will mostly be adventure-specific, presenting the player characters with individuals that will help or hinder their progress.

Monsters

Many of the monsters presented in the AD&D Monstrous Compendiums are appropriate for DARK SUN campaigns. They should be used in addition to those new monsters given in the Wanderer's Guide. In many cases, these creatures have adapted themselves to the more harsh, arid conditions on Athas.

Psionics: Of all the monsters in the following list, only yuan-ti have psionic powers (according to the Complete Psionics Handbook). However, all those marked with an asterisk could possess wild powers in DARK SUN campaigns. Whether or not an individual creature is a wild talent is the DM's decision.

Plant-Based Monsters: Defiling magic destroys all plant-life within its area of effect without exception. A plant-based monster can thus be destroyed (or injured if it isn't wholly contained within the area of effect), with no save allowed.

Aarakocra *

Aerial Servant

Ankheg

Ant

Ant Lion, Giant

Basilisk

Bat

Beetle

Behir *

Bulette

Cats, Great

Cave Fisher

Centipede

Dragonne *

Elementals, all

Ettercap *

Ettin *

Genie, all *

Giant-kin, Cyclop

Golem

Hornet

Kenku *

Lizard

Pseudodragon *

Plant, Carnivorous

Rat

Remorhaz

Roc

Sandling

Scorpion

Skeleton

Snake (except Sea, Giant)

Spider

Wyvern *

Yuan-ti *

Zombie

Bhaergala *

Meazel *

Rhaumbusun

Strider, Giant

Thessalmonster

 Thri-kreen *

Fire Minion *

Hatori

Horax

Insect Swarm

Skrit

Slig lk

Tylor *

Wyndlass

Beetle

Bonesnapper

Dragonfly, Giant

Dragonnel

Horgar

Plant, Carnivorous (Cactus, Vampire)

Goblin Spider *

Jishin Mushi

* indicates possible psionic wild power

No creatures from the SPELLJAMMER Monstrous Compendiums live on Athas.

Fiends from the Outer Planes Appendix (MC10) can travel to and from Athas at will, but do so rarely, only when summoned by dragons or great wizards.

Wilderness Encounters

The wilds of Athas are teeming with intelligent and unintelligent monsters. Encounters in the wilderness should be rolled for on a daily basis or as the DM sees fit. Obviously, if characters are lost or unprepared, even the most routine wilderness encounters can prove to be fatal for the party.

Each of the tables below lists monsters for encounters in a particular terrain type. The monsters listed come from the Wanderer's Guide and from Monstrous Compendiums I and II. The other monsters listed as appropriate to Dark Sun can be added, as well, if you have the appropriate Monstrous Compendiums: When encounters occur should be determined using the Frequency & Chance of Wilderness Encounters table in the DMG.

Die Roll Creature

2 gaj

3 bulette

4 roc

5 genie, dao

6 ankheg

7 wyvern

8 basilisk, lesser

9 spider, huge

10 gith

11 ettercap/behir

12 centipede,giant

13 beetle, boring

14 baazrag

15 tembo

16 braxat

17 bat, huge

18 ettin

19 basilisk, greater

20 ant, swarm

Die Roll Creature

2 genie, djinn

3 basilisk,dracolisk

4 spotted lion

5 lizard, minotaur

6 wasp

7 snake, giant

8 snake, constrictor

9 sandling

10 elves/gith

11 kank

12 scorpion, huge

13 slaves

14 inix

15 anakore

16 jozhal

17 spider, phase

18 centipede, megalo

19 yuan-ti

20 dragonne

Die Roll Creature

2 lizard, fire

3 ettin

4 roc

5 ant, giant

6 giant-kin,cyclops

7 lizard, giant

8 leopard

9 beetle, fire

10 bat, common

11 halflings/dwarves

12 gith

13 slaves

14 kenku

15 spider, giant

16 ettercap

17 zombie

18 aarakocra

19 pseudodragon

20 bulette

Die Roll Creature

2 genie, jann

3 remorhaz

4 behir

5 ant lion, giant

6 mekillot

7 silk wyrm

8 cheetah

9 erdlu

10 gith

11 elves/slaves

12 kank

13 rat, giant

14 jaguar

15 scorpion, large

1G spider, giant

17 bat, huge

18 plant, carnivorous, man-trap

19 pseudodragon

20 gaj

Die Roll Creature

2 aarakocra

3 dragonne

4 giant-kin, cyclops

5 roc

6 ankheg

7 belgoi

8 lizard, giant

9 beetle, fire

10 spider, large

11 gith/dwarves

12 kluzd

13 rat giant

14 common lion

15 hornet

16 bat, huge

17 braxat

18 giant

19 genie, efreeti

20 ant, swarm

Die Roll Creature

2 basilisk, dracolisk

3 zombie, ju ju

4 snake, spitting

5 ant, giant

6 wasp

7 wyvern

8 hornet

9 skeleton

10 scorpion, huge

11 zombie

12 centipede, giant

13 spider, large

14 lizard, giant

15 bat, large

16 skeleton

17 spider, phase

18 zombie, monster

19 remorhaz

20 gaj

The denizens of Athas will react to the player characters in much the same way they would in any other AD&D campaign setting.

NPCs

There are, of course, exceptions and they are dealt with here.

Spellcasters as NPCs

Priests in DARK SUN campaigns have no compunction regarding the sale of their magical services. An Athasian cleric or templar will readily sell himself to cast magical spells for the prices shown on the NPC Spell Costs chart in the DMG. Remember to charge in ceramic pieces, not gold pieces. Druid NPCs, however, have no desire for monetary gain They will sometimes cast their spells for free if the player characters are performing some task which benefits the druid's guarded lands or the natural environment in general. It will have to be quite clear to the druid NPC that the player characters are promoting what he believes to be the ultimate good and, if he even thinks there is a defiler among the party members, he won't offer any of his services, regardless of their intentions. Wizard NPCs will not readily offer their services for coin. Most preservers and defilers are outlaws within the city states and won't even let it be known that they have spellcasting capabilities. Even outside the city states, where folklore and common conceptions about the destructive nature of magic prevail, wizards are reluctant to let their identities be known. Since virtually anyone they meet could be a templar attempting to discover their secrets, renegade wizards shun those who seek to buy their services. Rare instances may come up where a renegade wizard might allow himself to be bought. If the use of his magic can be concealed and it benefits him or furthers his alignment's calling, a wizard might be bought. Such occurrences will be rare, and the DM should allow such purchases sparingly.

One notable exception to the reluctance of wizards to sell spells are the affluent, treacherous defilers who perform for the sorcerer-kings, themselves. These defilers are uncaring and are, for the most part, above the law. If such an ambitious defiler is sought out to cast magical spells for coin, he may readily accept; however, the chance that he will later betray the buyer or even blackmail him are high

Templars as NPCs

Templars are the most feared people in the city states. Their power to accuse and imprison nearly anyone for any reason keeps the city dwellers in terror. Not surprisingly, templars tend to abuse the powers they have for their own personal gain which, so long as the city is administered and kept in order does not bother the sorcerer-king. Templars perform three vital functions within a given city state. Primarily, they comprise the city guards and officers of the sorcerer-king's armies. Secondly, they see to it that the city is administered, its businesses kept running, and its slaves fed. Finally, the templars are responsible for maintaining the illusion that the sorcerer-king is a god - they have absolute power to enforce worship and homage to the sorcerer-kings. Every templar NPC will be actively pursuing one of these functions. One final, unwritten function of the templars is to advance through their ranks as rapidly as possible. The means by which a templar might gain power and position are wide open, including bribery, theft, and even assassination of others within their ranks. Every templar NPC can be counted on to accept underhanded schemes that will help him rise to power among his fellows. Templar soldiers are the enforcement arm of their service to the sorcerer-king. Low-level templars (levels 1-4) are common soldiers, guards within the cities around the slave areas practiced and drilled in formations around the city walls. Mid-level templars (levels 5-8) are officers in charge of small (10-100 man) units of guards, slave soldiers, or undead soldiers (in times of war). High-level templars (levels 9 + ) are usually generals or administrators, keeping the army equipped and fed. In the administration of the city states. templar

Typical Administrative Templar Positions

NPCs occupy all positions from waste removal to the mayorship. Lower-level templars (levels 1-4) are given the dirtier jobs that require hands-on work, having a few guards at their disposal and fewer slave laborers than they need to perform their tasks effectively. Middle-level templars (levels 5-8) gain greater responsibilities and may have several lower-level templars beneath them. High-level templars (levels 9 and higher) move into management of the city state - such templars are difficult to unseat, since they can blame nearly any shortcomings on their underlings. These are only a sampling of the many levels of templar bureaucracy. Advancement through the ranks has little to do with ability or experience.

Technically, the sorcerer-king is a god within his own city and the templars assure him of worship and obedience. In actuality, a sorcerer-king is not a god or a demigod, though he is generally an extremely powerful wizard and psionicist. However, the templars erect temples and subjugate the populations to worship him. There isn't a noble, merchant, or peasant in a city state who doesn't at least pay lip service to the sorcerer-king or the templars who enforce his will. The DM must keep two things in mind when dealing with any particular templar NPC. First, how will the templar attempt to use the player characters to gain advantage?

He could accuse or imprison them, which always looks good in the eyes of a superior or he could buy their services to perform a task such as assassination or simply making a superior look bad. Second, the DM must consider how the player characters might appeal to the templar's wicked ways and greed. In their quest for power, they are sometimes easily manipulated. Beware, though - higher-level templars have played these games of treachery before and, by their very existence, they've proven pretty good at them.

Druids as NPCs

An NPC druid will defend his guarded lands. Regardless of where the player characters are in Athas, hinterlands, there is almost certainly a druid watching their every move. Those player characters who responsibly use the druid's guarded lands will never be bothered. Hunting on their lands or using its timber for equipment is, to the druid, part of the natural order of things and he won't interfere. Irresponsible use of his guarded lands, however, will bring him out into the open with full force. Hunting his lands until there is no game left or stripping the vegetation will cause the druid to take action. An NPC druid who finds a defiler on his land will take steps to eliminate that threat.