Ashes of Athas: Where to Begin
Find out how Ashes of Athas designed its first adventure, and the start of its campaign, with a bang!
Use these techniques for your campaign!
The Lazy Dungeon Master
With so few hours in a day, becoming an efficient dungeon master is a key to great gaming. The review of Mike Shea’s new book, The Lazy Dungeon Master.
D&D Next and Classic Adventures: Organizing the (Caves of) Chaos
Classic adventures can be easily converted to 5E, but the writing approach often falls shorts of today’s standards. Six techniques help us modernize the classics, preserving the feel and increasing the fun.
Breaking Patterns, Part 2
When a combat is dissatisfyingly easy, we drop in a ferocious custom-built sand drake! Download the monster for your game. Episode 8 of my Dark Sun campaign, Crown of Sorrow.
Hexploring the Possibilities
SRM has a cool idea on giving players a hand in overland exploration, turning random encounters into a neat new system of Hexploration. Let’s experiment and apply it to Dark Sun!
Bringing the Heat – Starting a Dark Sun Campaign
Planning a Dark Sun campaign? This suggested process will help, as will these campaign themes that capture the essence of the setting and really resonate with players.
Shh… Unspeakable Organizations in Dark Sun
Dark Sun’s secret organizations often cause your PC to examine their worldview – where does the PC stand on issues like slavery, magic, Sorcerer-Kings, the ages of Athas, or the Dragon?
Running the Sands – Tips for Surviving as a Dark Sun DM
Two aspects that can be particularly important for the Dark Sun campaign world: maintaining the sense of Athasian uniqueness and achieving an appropriate challenge level.
Bone, Wood, Stone, and Obsidian – Fighting in Athas
From the materials used to the differences in construction to paying with clay pieces, Athas has a unique flavor when it comes to weapons.
Varied Threats – Understanding Athasian Terrain
A key to DMing Dark Sun is understanding its varied and brutal terrain. This article led to a Dragon magazine article!
Life and Death in an Athasian City-State
Points of light? Dark Sun turns this on its head. The PCs’ home base is a city-state ruled by a vile godlike dictator with an army of corrupt templars enforcing their will. Let’s meet the city-states!
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