11-703: Listed simply as “Elves” this is admittedly the least egregious of the Dark Sun minis. The art that these are based on
(DS Boxed Set Wanderer’s Journal pg 47) aren’t clearly elves nor are the pages they are on inferring that they are elves. The art and minis really don’t exemplify the elves seen in other art work from this period and so these may have been better packaged as “Adventurers”. This would fit well with the other Adventurers found in 11-707. Though it should be said that the referenced image doesn’t say that the *aren’t* elves.

11-716/10-540m: Listed in 11-716 as “Elves II”, one figure in particular doesn’t fit: That being the “Elf Shaman”. When Dark Sun first came out in 1993 one of my favorite images was that of a defiler (DS Boxed Set Rules pg 27, DS Boxed Set Wanderer’s Journal pg 18), and it seems that the “Elf Shaman” was based on this image. To me, the “Elf Shaman” just doesn’t fit as a shaman or as part of “Elves II” (since the defiler in the image always struck me as human).

11-717/10-540i: Listed in 11-717 as “Mul and 2 Dwarves”, the “Mul Savage” figure is certainly a mistaken name when looking at the reference image. The art that this piece was based on is the well know cover of the 2e Dark Sun Boxed Set and is featured on the Rules Book as well as the poster that came with the boxed set. The monster featured in the image is that of a tarek (later described in the 1995 Dark Sun MM II) or even a magera (from the Shattered Lands video game), not a Mul. I gather that Brom made up this creature on the fly and TSR later used it as a basis of a monster in later sourcebooks and games. So this naming might be forgiven since the monster was not classified at the time of the mini and was left up to the imagination of the viewer to come up with what it actually was.

11-713/10-540c: Listed in 11-713 as “Gith Shaman and Gith Warriors”, the Gith Shaman is clearly based on (and the mini was crafted quite well using) the classic Brom image of a belgoi (DS Boxed Set Wanderer’s Journal pg 83, DS Boxed Set A Little Knowledge Adventure titled “Enchanter”). This naming by Ral Partha is the most baffling since the art that the mini is based was clearly that of a belgoi (since the subject is holding a bell).

I know Dark Sun well. I’m a collector of all things Dark Sun and maintain a complete collection of such material. So when I was perusing the artwork on that particular site I was surprised to find a photo of a Brom pencil that I had never seen before:

Based on the look and style it appears it was for Dark Sun in the very early days of the setting, but I have no memory of any book or Dragon article ever containing this image. Soon after seeing this image for the first time, I found that it was indeed published, but only on the cover of Polyhedron 63 with an “About the Cover” description of “Artist Gerald Brom offers us a glimpse at a DARK SUN world creature”:

This is a surprising find since it shows the TSR chose not to use every image Brom created for Dark Sun in the mainstream published material (books, Dragon Magazine, or Dungeon Magazine). Given Brom’s high level of quality and detail it’s interesting to see that one of his images can only be found on a somewhat obscure Polyhedron Newszine. Whatever the reason, it’s quite a pleasant surprise to find something new relating to Dark Sun, especially from so long ago!

Here it is from the top photo unskewed:

This was a difficult one to plan out in my head. After some thinking, I figured it was best to ensure that each level was able to be used with minis and that I could slowly remove the levels to show the progress of the group into the tower. In the case where the party splits up between the levels I would just keep the levels in place. Here’s the conclusion of my efforts:

This is the tower without the brown wrapping paper cover which I used to hide each level until the players reached it. That way, when they first see the tower they actually see a solid column and not each level all at once. Here it is wrapped up:

The only thing I actually purchased for this was the 12 inch diameter cake stands. I chose the white side rather than the brown side to draw the level so there was more contrast of the lines as well as any detailing I was going to do. The levels themselves are laid on cut skewers that I put through old wrapping paper tubes. I’m holding the whole thing together with rubber bands on level 2 and 3 which hold the tubes in the level grooves. Let’s take a look at each level.

Tower Top

Quite a simple design here. I’ll be adding the statues found here later with minis at the game, but otherwise a straight forward tower top with walls and drawn on difficult terrain (bone heaps). The stair case is a simple 2 inch cardboard medallion. I had originally made tubes piercing the levels with stairs to indicate a staircase but I thought such an obstruction would reduce visibility of the levels in some cases. I considered moving from one level to the next using the staircases as taking up a single move action if the character was adjacent to the stairs.

Test Subjects

There’s a bit more detail on this level than found on the tower top. You can see the teleportation circle, the beds (with different animal skin blankets – my own touch) and the pit that drops down to the next level. I created the pit to match the depth to the next level in the adventure description to accommodate characters that might fail into it and find themselves in the next level but may want to climb back up.

Lich’s Lab

After falling through the pit the players find themselves in difficult terrain bone heaps in the Lich’s lab. Here too I will add minis to represent the statues found on this level. I added some tables with drawn-on mystical equipment. I was thinking to make them 3D, but for ease of movement for the minis I kept them 2D. I also detailed the necrotic circle (yet another cardboard medallion like the teleportation and staircase circles). Here’s a close up:

It says in the draconic script: “Death brings power.”

Vault

The lowest and last level of the tower, the vault houses the blood jewel. I’ve really pleased how the cardboard spiral looked after drawing the stencil by hand, creating the cut-out from it, then matching the grid lines to the level itself. And to give this moment a final detail I added a representation of the blood jewel itself:

Conclusion

I enjoyed building this and learned a few lessons in crafting these things in the process. It showed me that a creative set can really bring the players into the adventure. If you would like to see some pictures of it in play, you can see them and read the actions of the party here: 1, 2, and 3.

For most minis, keeping them in the package is acceptable because they look the same in the package as they do outside it. The cliff glider however was meant to be taken out and displayed. So fate arrived and removed the pieces for me as if to tell me that it was nothing short of criminal to keep such artwork imprisoned in pieces.

I glued all the pieces together and (surprisingly) the mini stood proudly atop what seem like a very, very delicate stand. It sits now among my other items of interest with the package and customary illustration that the mini was based on.

A drama of unparalleled heroics unfolds. Through centuries of magical abuse, the once verdant Dark Sun world has become a desert wasteland, and its oasis cities are rules by decadent sorcerer-kings. In their desperate struggle for survival, three steadfast people seek to turn their world to its early splendor. So they set forth to overthrow their magic-wielding rulers and liberate their land. Little do they know of the perils standing before them….

From humble beginnings, the most unique Dungeons and Dragons setting has endured for nearly 20 years with an amazing library of content. This post covers that content and, where needed, commentary on that content.

The List:

In putting this post together I looked through all the content that has been produced for the Dark Sun setting and compiled a spreadsheet. I’d rather not compare it to “the” Dark Sun product list, but I think it’s still worthwhile since I have author names, dates, ISBNs, and a few other pieces of info here and there. The method of listing I’ve taken is in chronological order based on the publication date. This means that the development of the product occurred well before publication, but the publication date is telling in that one can imply when changes to the setting began to occur and how quickly. The items I list below are from this spreadsheet and are in the following format: Month – Year – Title – Type – Source – Source Number.

The Beginning:

Though Dark Sun was announced well before September 1991, Dragon 173 had its main features dedicated to the Dark Sun setting which was slated to be released in October of 1991. The main purpose of these features were to advertise, and get gamers accustomed to, the new setting.

2 1991 A New World to Conquer Accessories Polyhedron Magazine 59
2 1991 Psi-Shadow Accessories Polyhedron Magazine 59
9 1991 Bookwyrms (The Prism Pentad) Accessories Polyhedron Magazine 63
9 1991 The Monstrous Side of the Dark Sun World Accessories Dragon Magazine 173
9 1991 A Letter from the Wanderer Accessories Dragon Magazine 173
9 1991 Random Magic for Organized Minds Accessories Dragon Magazine 173
9 1991 A Little Knowledge Short Stories Dragon Magazine 173

The official material for 2nd Edition I separate into 2 periods: The Golden Age and The Revision. Each had points of interest and the novels were interwoven into both periods.

The Golden Age (1991 to 1995):

Dark Sun arrives, and it is different. This re-envisioning of the typical Dungeons and Dragons setting is a stark contrast to previous settings like the Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, and Dragonlance. There are a great deal of publications during this period which revel in the uniqueness of the setting as well as the only Dark Sun miniatures produced (in 1993 and 1995, which I list in a separate tab in the spreadsheet).

The Golden Age is a paradox, because with the release of the campaign setting came the release of the first novel of the world-changing book series “The Prism Pentad”. The series was in essence the beginning of the end since it is the start of changes and explanations of the world which was to be reflected in the revised edition which heralded the end of the 2nd edition setting.

10 1991 Athas: The new world on the block Novel Ideas Dragon Magazine 174
10 1991 The Verdant Passage Novels TSR Prism Pentad #1
10 1991 Dark Sun Boxed Set Rulebooks TSR
1 1992 Sage Advice Sage Advice Dragon Magazine 177
1 1992 DS1: Freedom Adventures TSR 2401
2 1992 1992: A year to remember and read Novel Ideas Dragon Magazine 178
2 1992 Dark Sun -errata Letters Dragon Magazine 178
2 1992 Sage Advice Sage Advice Dragon Magazine 178
2 1992 DSR1: Slave Tribes Accessories TSR 2404
3 1992 Terrors of the Desert (Dark Sun Monstrous Compendium I) Accessories TSR 2405
4 1992 DSQ1: Road to Urik Adventures TSR 2406
4 1992 The Crimson Legion Novels TSR Prism Pentad #2
5 1992 The Year of Priests Defiance Adventures Dungeon Magazine 35
5 1992 errata-NOT! Letters Dragon Magazine 181
5 1992 DSR2: Dune Trader Accessories TSR 2407
6 1992 Sage Advice Sage Advice Dragon Magazine 182
6 1992 Dragon Kings Rulebooks TSR 2408
8 1992 Author sheds light on DARK SUN books Novel Ideas Dragon Magazine 184
8 1992 DSQ2: Arcane Shadows Adventures TSR 2410
8 1992 Geran Accessories Polyhedron Magazine 74
9 1992 Boxed Set Review Role-Playing Reviews Dragon Magazine 185
9 1992 Arena Masters Arsenal Accessories Dragon Magazine 185
9 1992 Mastered Yet Untamed Accessories Dragon Magazine 185
9 1992 Water and Ashes Short Stories Dragon Magazine 185
9 1992 Thri-Kreen Language Accessories Polyhedron Magazine 75
10 1992 DSR3: Veiled Alliance Accessories TSR 2411
10 1992 The Amber Enchantress Novels TSR Prism Pentad #3
11 1992 DSQ3: Asticlian Gambit Adventures TSR 2412
12 1992 Sage Advice Sage Advice Dragon Magazine 188
12 1992 DSR4: Valley of Dust and Fire Accessories TSR 2413
1992 Forbidden Lore (Boxet Set) (Dark Sun Game Appendix) Accessories TSR 1079
1992 Guarded Wagon Caravan Company Adventures RPGA Tournament Adventures
1 1993 Sage Advice Sage Advice Dragon Magazine 189
1 1993 Dark Sun SSI RPG Video Game Review Take a Byte Polyhedron Magazine 79
2 1993 Sage Advice Sage Advice Dragon Magazine 190
2 1993 From the home office in Lake Geneva Novel Ideas Dragon Magazine 190
2 1993 Dark Sun SSI RPG Video Game Expansion Plans Take a Byte Polyhedron Magazine 80
2 1993 Guarded Wagon Adventures Polyhedron Magazine 80
2 1993 Dark Sun World Monsters Adventures Polyhedron Magazine 80
3 1993 Sage Advice Sage Advice Dragon Magazine 191
3 1993 DSE1: Dragon’s Crown Adventures TSR 2416
4 1993 Sage Advice Sage Advice Dragon Magazine 192
4 1993 DSM1: Black Flames Adventures TSR 2417
6 1993 Sage Advice Sage Advice Dragon Magazine 194
6 1993 Slave Hunters and Silt Sailors Accessories Dragon Magazine 194
6 1993 The Ivory Triangle Boxed Sets TSR 2418
6 1993 The Obsidian Oracle Novels TSR Prism Pentad #4
7 1993 CGR2:The Complete Gladiator’s Handbook Accessories TSR 2419
8 1993 DSS1: City-State of Tyr Accessories TSR 2420
9 1993 Beyond the Dark Horizon Accessories Dragon Magazine 197
9 1993 Ashes to Ashes Short Stories Dragon Magazine 197
9 1993 DSM2: Merchant House of Amketch Adventures TSR 2421
9 1993 The Cerulean Storm Novels TSR Prism Pentad #5
9 1993 Bartering Made Easy Accessories Polyhedron Magazine 87
10 1993 Book of Artifacts Accessories TSR 2138
10 1993 DSS2: Earth, Air, Fire and Water Accessories TSR 2422
11 1993 Raiders of the Chanth Adventures Dungeon Magazine 44
11 1993 DSS3: Elves of Athas Accessories TSR 2423
11 1993 The Outcast Novels TSR Tribe of One #1
12 1993 DSM3: Marauders of Nibenay Adventures TSR 2424
1993 Dark Sun: Shattered Lands Computer Games Strategic Simulations, Inc.
1993 Clutchmates Adventures RPGA Tournament Adventures
1993 Hope for the Future (Dark Sun Benefit, GenCon 1993) Adventures RPGA Tournament Adventures
1993 Isle of Gillig Adventures RPGA Tournament Adventures
1 1994 Sage Advice Sage Advice Dragon Magazine 201
2 1994 Sage Advice Sage Advice Dragon Magazine 202
2 1994 DSE2: Black Spine Boxed Sets TSR 2428
2 1994 The Preserver’s Choice Accessories Dragon Magazine 202
3 1994 Sage Advice Sage Advice Dragon Magazine 203
4 1994 Forest Maker Adventures TSR 2430
4 1994 The Seeker Novels TSR Tribe of One #2
5 1994 Sage Advice Sage Advice Dragon Magazine 205
5 1994 Dark Sun The Shattered Lands Review Accessories Dragon Magazine 205
6 1994 Sage Advice Sage Advice Dragon Magazine 206
6 1994 The Will and the Way: Psionicists of Athas Accessories TSR 2431
6 1994 Earth, Air, Fire and Water Review Accessories Dragon Magazine 206
7 1994 The Brazen Gambit Novels TSR Chronicles of Athas #1
8 1994 Sage Advice Sage Advice Dragon Magazine 208
9 1994 1001 Faces of Undeath Bazaar of the Bizzare Dragon Magazine 209
9 1994 City by the Silt Sea Boxed Sets TSR 2432
9 1994 The Enemy of My Enemy (Adventure) Accessories Polyhedron Magazine 99
9 1994 Coin Collecting under Athas’s Hot Sun Accessories Polyhedron Magazine 99
9 1994 New Gladiator Weapons Accessories Polyhedron Magazine 99
9 1994 Templars of the Tyr Region Accessories Polyhedron Magazine 99
10 1994 Dark Sun Campaign Journal Accessories Dragon Magazine 210
10 1994 The Nomad Novels TSR Tribe of One #3
10 1994 Kre’ketrac Accessories Polyhedron Magazine 100
1994 Dark Sun: Wake of the Ravager Computer Games Strategic Simulations, Inc.
1994 Who’d Want to Kill Us (Dark Sun Grandmasters, Winter Fantasy 1994) Adventures RPGA Tournament Adventures
2 1995 The Darkness Before the Dawn Novels TSR Chronicles of Athas #2
3 1995 Terrors Beyond Tyr (Dark Sun Monstrous Compendium II) Accessories TSR 2433
4 1995 Thri-Kreen of Athas Accessories TSR 2437
4 1995 Simon Hawke’s Birthright Novel Ideas Dragon Magazine 216
5 1995 The Broken Blade Novels TSR Chronicles of Athas #3

The Revision (1995 – 1999):

In August 1995, Dragon 220, The Game Wizards article entitled “A New Age Dawns for the DARK SUN Campaign” by Bill Slavicsek noted that is was “time to take the campaign world to the next level.” This was the death knell of the 2E Dark Sun setting. It consisted of expanding the world further. In some cases expanding and codifying well accepted canon (e.g. the Cleansing Wars) and in other cases adding new rule concepts to Dark Sun (e.g. life-shaping). This revision saw published products with a new Dark Sun logo, layout changes, and in most cases a reduction of cover art quality. With this failed attempt to make Dark Sun viable, TSR ceased support of the setting.

Though the revision really diverged from the simplicity of the first release of the campaign setting there were some very interesting ideas that were introduced such as the Dead Land, Life Shaping, Kalidnay’s Domain of Dread, and cities beyond the Tyr Region like Eldaarich. Luckily, the 4E setting touches on these points (lightly) and there has even been a very nice 4E article on Eldaarich in Dungeon.

It was clear that the end was near with Brom no longer being a contributing artist and with the classic DS logo in use only on “Beyond the Prism Pentad”. The novels were continuing with the original logo, with only two more by Lynn Abbey produced until a new Dark Sun novel is published in 2010.
6 1995 Beyond the Prism Pentad Accessories TSR 2441
7 1995 Cinnabar Shadows Novels TSR Chronicles of Athas #4
8 1995 Hunts End Accessories Dragon Magazine 220
8 1995 Game Wizards Short Stories Dragon Magazine 220
9 1995 Ecology of the Crystal Spider Accessories Dragon Magazine 221
10 1995 Dark Sun Campaign Setting, Expanded and Revised Rulebooks TSR
11 1995 Grave Circumstance Adventures Dungeon Magazine 56
12 1995 Windriders of the Jagged Cliffs Accessories TSR 2439
1995 Full Circle Adventures RPGA Tournament Adventures
1995 Hope for the Future Adventures RPGA Tournament Adventures
1995 The Price of Power Adventures RPGA Tournament Adventures
1995 Who’d Want To Kill Us? Adventures RPGA Tournament Adventures
2 1996 The Wanderers Chronicle: Mind Lords of the Last Sea Boxed Sets TSR 2444
2 1996 Sage Advice Sage Advice Dragon Magazine 226
4 1996 The Rise & Fall of a Dragon King Novels TSR Chronicles of Athas #5
7 1996 Defilers and Preservers: The Wizards of Athas Accessories TSR 2445
7 1996 Defilers and Preservers Accessories Dragon Magazine 231
10 1996 Psionic Artifacts of Athas Accessories TSR 2446
10 1996 Defiling Skeletons The Dragon’s Bestiary Dragon Magazine 234
12 1996 Elemental Summoning Gone Wild Accessories Dragon Magazine 236
1996 Ravenloft, Monstrous Compendium Appendix I & II (Thrax Palik in Appendix II) TSR 2162
1996 Heroes of Athas Accessories Dragon Magazine Annual
1996 Dark Sun Online: Crimson Sands Computer Games Total Entertainment Network
1996 The Night the Dragon King Died Adventures RPGA Tournament Adventures
1 1997 On a Waterless Sea Accessories Dragon Magazine 237
8 1997 Domains of Dread Accessories TSR 2174
1997 Mindscapes of Athas and Beyond Accessories Dragon Magazine Annual
2 1998 Mask of the Aaroakocra Bazaar of the Bizzare Dragon Magazine 244
3 1998 Book of Kemalok Kings Bazaar of the Bizzare Dragon Magazine 245
1 1999 Life-Shapes of Athas Accessories Dragon Magazine 255
1 1999 Intrigue In Raam Adventures Polyhedron Magazine 134
4 1999 Wizards Societies (Veiled Alliance of Silver Spring) Accessories Dragon Magazine 258\

The Dead Years (2000 – 2008):

With the release of 3E, the year 2000 found Athas.org becoming a Dark Sun caretaker as well as die hard fans of Dark Sun continuing to create content and conversions of the setting for 3/3.5E. There were numerous posts and articles on the subject with different groups producing content. A very good all-encompassing 3.5E rules set came from Paizo’s Dragon and Dungeon Magazines. Athas.org also provided rules for Dark Sun but also began producing accessories and adventures. The publication dates I list below are from the last revision’s publication date, so though I have the Athas.org rules published in 2008, there were earlier releases and even preview releases as early as 2000. More content came from fan sites (Siltskimmer.org), and still more from loyal fans on the Dark Sun mailing list and forums. It’s hard to say what should be on the list since I have a lot of content covering quite a lot in those days, but the ones I mention in the list are certainly worth having in any digital collection.

Like The Golden Age, The Dead Years are also paradoxical since though official support for Dark Sun didn’t exist, the continued support by fans and their websites helped increase its popularity to such a degree that it was released in the 4th edition.

It should be noted that WotC Dragon 364 in June of 2008 contained the first 4E content for Dark Sun well before the Dark Sun 4E announcement.

8 2000 Villages of the Wastes Accessories Athas.org
2 2001 Timeline of Athas Accessories Forums
8 2003 City State of Draj Accessories Athas.org
12 2003 The Dead Land of Athas Accessories Siltskimmer.org
12 2003 Athasian Trader Accessories Siltskimmer.org
1 2004 Defilers of Athas Accessories Dragon Magazine 315
5 2004 DMs Guide Accessories Dungeon Magazine 110
5 2004 DMs Guide Accessories Polyhedron Magazine 169
5 2004 Dark Sun Monsters Part 1 Accessories Dungeon Magazine 110
5 2004 Dark Sun Monsters Part 1 Accessories Polyhedron Magazine 169
5 2004 Last Stand at Outpost Three Adventures Dungeon Magazine 110
5 2004 Dark Sun Players Handbook Accessories Dragon Magazine 319
5 2004 Keep Hope Alive Accessories Polyhedron Magazine 169
6 2004 Dark Sun Monsters Part 2 Accessories Dungeon Magazine 111
6 2004 Dark Sun Monsters Part 2 Accessories Polyhedron Magazine 170
6 2004 Wisdom of the Stars – Dark Sun Cosmology Accessories Forums
10 2004 Whispers of the Storm Adventures Athas.org
3 2005 Dregoth Ascending Adventures Athas.org
4 2005 Terrors of the Dead Lands Accessories Athas.org
9 2005 City of Bodach Accessories Siltskimmer.org
11 2005 Tyrian Conspiracy Adventures Athas.org
12 2005 Prestige Class Appendix, Volume I Accessories Athas.org
12 2005 Athasian Dragons Accessories Forums
1 2006 Dragon Kings Accessories Dragon Magazine 339
9 2006 Wisdom of the Drylanders Accessories Athas.org
10 2006 Avangion Accessories Forums
9 2007 Faces of the Forgotten North Accessories Athas.org
11 2007 Prestige Class Appendix, Volume II Accessories Athas.org
12 2007 Athasian Emporium Accessories Athas.org
1 2008 Legends of Athas Accessories Athas.org
5 2008 Life Shaping Handbook Accessories Athas.org
6 2008 Hazards of Dark Sun Accessories Dragon Magazine 364
8 2008 Trade Lords Accessories Athas.org
2008 Dark Sun 3 Rulebooks Athas.org
4 2009 Terrors of Athas Accessories Athas.org

The Rebirth (2009 – Present):

On August 14th, 2009 WotC announced that Dark Sun would be the next campaign setting for the 4E line. This choice was likely driven by the numerous fans and fan support during the dead years and it’s increased popularity during the same period. The Dark Sun 4E campaign setting was to be released with the same design philosophy as the other 4E products in that there would be little specific published products in favor of products which could be used in any campaign setting. So feasibly, most products for 4E could be used with any game regardless of campaign setting. This appears to be the case when looking at current publications.

In the initial release, there were several special events that provided Dark Sun adventures that weren’t available for purchase or download so I list the publication dates when the special event began. If the publication philosophy of WotC was to make most products usable in any setting, this was not necessarily true for Dragon and Dungeon Magazines. There have been numerous Dark Sun specific content provided to readers which are usually quite good and not so specific that they do not give some room for further in-game enhancement (which I claim the revision period lacked). This continued content provisions can be seen as vindication that Dark Sun 4E has shown strong sales and play.

The rebirth also saw the first comic book series for the setting which incidentally contained an short adventure in a variant of the first issue. Though the below list mainly the products of WotC or IDW, I’ve included the Ashes of Athas series which was created as a convention-only series of adventures and will soon be released for local-game play.

1 2010 Death in the Arena (D&D Experience adventure) Adventures RPGA Tournament Adventures
6 2010 Sunwarped Flats Accessories Dungeon Magazine 179
6 2010 Dungeon Tiles: Desert of Athas Accessories Wizards of the Coast
6 2010 Fury of the Wastewalker Adventures Wizards of the Coast
6 2010 Bloodsand Arena Adventures Wizards of the Coast
7 2010 The Dragon’s Alter Accessories Dungeon Magazine 180
7 2010 Oasis of Blood Short Stories Dragon Magazine 389
8 2010 Mar Juk-Adan, Dune Trader Accessories Dungeon Magazine 181
8 2010 The Vault of Darom Mador Adventures Dungeon Magazine 181
8 2010 Slaves of Athas Accessories Dragon Magazine 390
8 2010 Templars of the Sorcerer-Kings Accessories Dragon Magazine 390
8 2010 Freedom Comic Books IDW Dungeons & Dragons #0 (6 covers)
8 2010 Dark Sun Creature Catalog Accessories Wizards of the Coast
8 2010 Marauders of the Dune Sea Adventures Wizards of the Coast
8 2010 The Lost Cistern of Aravek Adventures Wizards of the Coast
8 2010 Dark Sun Campaign Setting Rulebooks Wizards of the Coast
8 2010 Glory and Blood (Gencon 2010, Dark Sun Arenas) Adventures RPGA Tournament Adventures
9 2010 The Broken Builders Accessories Dungeon Magazine 182
9 2010 Monster Hunters of Athas Accessories Dragon Magazine 391
9 2010 Muls Beyond the Desert Accessories Dragon Magazine 391
9 2010 Traveling the Sandswept Roads Accessories Dragon Magazine 391
10 2010 Magma Elementals Accessories Dungeon Magazine 183
10 2010 Revenge of the Marauders Adventures Dungeon Magazine 183
10 2010 City Under the Sand Novels Wizards of the Coast
11 2010 Silt Elementals Accessories Dungeon Magazine 184
11 2010 Arena Masters, Grandmaster Training for Gladiator Adventurers Accessories Dragon Magazine 393
1 2011 Eldaarich Accessories Dungeon Magazine 186
1 2011 Primal Spirits of Athas Accessories Dragon Magazine 395
1 2011 The Worth of a Slave Adventures Ashes of Athas AoA1-1
1 2011 The False and the True Adventures Ashes of Athas AoA1-2
1 2011 The True Lesson Learned Adventures Ashes of Athas AoA1-3
1 2011 Ianto’s Tomb Comic Books IDW Dark Sun #1 (4 covers)
1 2011 Ianto’s Tomb Adventures IDW Dark Sun #1 (Module Variant)
2 2011 The Heartwood Spear Accessories Dungeon Magazine 187
2 2011 Dark Sun Threats Accessories Dungeon Magazine 187
2 2011 Beneath the Dust Adventures Dungeon Magazine 187
2 2011 Genasi of Athas Accessories Dragon Magazine 396
2 2011 Ianto’s Tomb Comic Books IDW Dark Sun #2 (3 covers)
3 2011 The Mahin’drazal Accessories Dungeon Magazine 188
3 2011 Familiars of Athas Accessories Dragon Magazine 397
3 2011 Ianto’s Tomb Comic Books IDW Dark Sun #3 (3 covers)
4 2011 The Accursed Legion Accessories Dungeon Magazine 189
4 2011 Ianto’s Tomb Comic Books IDW Dark Sun #4 (2 covers)
5 2011 Kalidnay Accessories Dungeon Magazine 190
5 2011 Ianto’s Tomb Comic Books IDW Dark Sun #5 (2 covers)
6 2011 Six-Fingered Sign Accessories Dungeon Magazine 191
6 2011 Under the Crimson Sun Novels Wizards of the Coast

The Future:

Much like after the release of the Forgotten Realms and Eberron, and taking into account the release of the 4E Essentials line and the upcoming Neverwinter campaign setting, it’s likely WotC’s support for the setting will diminish slightly to better support the overall D&D systems and newly released content. Despite this, the release and adoption of the Dark Sun campaign setting in 4E and its very loyal fan base can only mean the future of Dark Sun as a campaign setting is secure.

This is what they came up with:

The result of the group's setup.

It worked out quite well though most of the encounter occurred in an open area since the group didn’t all agree how to best attack the enemy.

I took the original layout from the “Ianto’s Tomb” adventure and started to modify it here and there. As with all props for a game I laid out a series of design requirements:

1. The ship would first and foremost be a game board and not an exact model of the vessel (which should instead exist in the players’ imagination).
2. The ship would have only one deck with a fore and aft castle.
3. The characters could place their minis inside the fore and aft castles.
4. The wheels of the ship would be embedded in the table to give it the look of rolling in the Sea of Silt.

The idea of having only one deck was due to the challenge of accommodating a lower deck into the model but also due to the basic design of a ship that would be traveling through silt. My thinking on this subject follows thusly: Water-bound ships have some of their bulk in the water not by choice but rather due to the need of displacement to keep them afloat. Even with that need, a ships speed is hindered by the resistance of the water it is in. So for a ship sailing in silt, I would gather the resistance placed against the vessel could be equal to or even greater than that of water. Adding the forces needed to move the wheels, it would be in a silt-ship’s best interest to have as much of it’s bulk out of the silt as possible. Therefore, only one deck above the silt.

Construction of “The Revenger”

Wheels

I have graduated from cereal box cardboard to a heavier stock that is free of images. Moving to this material has greatly expanded the design possibilities. The “Ianto’s Tomb” map had the wheels ~3/4″ which seemed to thin in my eyes so I made them an even 1″ so it looks better and characters/minis can stand on them if necessary. in order to give the feel on the ship being in silt all the time I made the wheels appear to be in 10 feet of silt. I chose 10 feet so the wheels would still look like wheels (rather than the paddles of a steamer). I might make the wheels not directly attached to boat to simulate various silt depths with different wheel sizes, but I’ll see where it all goes.

I started with the wheels (being in 10 feet of silt).

Deck

Next I cut out the deck and castles using an even heavier box cardboard (to support the weight of everything I am putting on it) and then glued upon it a cardboard veneer with the grid drawn on it.

Deck templates added.

Castles

Here I started adding the fore and aft castles. In line with my design idea of allowing minis to be inside the castles, I found it best (and more structurally sound) that the castles be 2″ high, glued in place, and open on the sides so minis could be placed within.

Castle "fitting" but not yet glued in place.

The Raising

The time had come to get the ship on it’s wheels. Since the wheels don’t roll I didn’t need a complete set of axles going through the wheels, I glues supports on the sides of the wheels upon which the ship would rest.

Close-up of the wheel and the support glued to it.

Masts

The next big decision was how to do the masts. Originally I was going to make full masts out of cardboard paper but it would have inhibited the use of the ship as a game board and the extra weight and balance issues would have been effort that was needed to provide a ship on which encounters were to be played. So I instead went with a simple representation of the mast. Of course, the choice had to be made if I should be true to the “Ianto’s Tomb” ship design with two masts, or go with the cleaner looking one mast. I went with the single mast so there was more room for players to use.

Double mast.

Single mast.

Crows Nest

I added a crows nest just to give some more options for characters and creatures.

Simple addition of a circle for a crows nest on top of the mast.

Stairs

The stairs was a call I made before I made anything. I wanted stairs but not complicated enough minis could be represented going up them during a move action. The simple solution was to make the stairs a single step upon which minis could be placed.

Close-up of the "stairs".

Conclusion

Requirements met. Glue dry. Ready for encounters on the Sea of Silt!

The silt skimmer completed.

As I’ve shown before, when you need to go down you have to build up. If I was to incorporate the 20 foot (4 inch) deep pit in a model, I would have to raise the entire set 4 inches. That alone took some effort. Since I couldn’t  find a box of the exact (or close to) size I needed, I constructed my own with my most abundant building material: cardboard from the recycling bin. This proved to be more intricate than I thought it would be.

I needed a great number of support columns for the floor, so were you to look underneath the box you would find a Frankenstein monster of disparate pieces of cardboard in a variety of shapes and locations. The pit section itself (where I’ve placed an infinite-use electric tea light) is actually a piece I did separate from the main cave floor and and became the central support column for the whole box. After using varying sections of cardboard I could scrounge up for the floor, I realized it would have been better to have found a large cardboard piece and create a veneer that would give the floor a more uniform look. But since I enjoyed the fact I had done the work without purchasing anything, I kept it as is.

Final model for the "Crown Wyrm" encounter in "Marauders of the Dune Sea".

The additional pieces to the model were two fountains and an alter. The alter was no problem and I new what I wanted to do with it (again, in cardboard), but the fountains were something I wanted to expand on. In the adventure, the fountains were described as “dragonhead fountains.” The fountains being dragon heads made very little sense to the story and I suspect they were chosen because there are dungeon tiles for them. I decided I wanted the fountains a little closer to the story so I came up with a fountain with kraken tentacle statues reaching out from them.

Closeup of one of the Dust Kraken fountains.

Why they would be present at all would be described in part of the Ul-Athra mythos that the players would obtain:

…and so the Dust Kraken reached up from the sea and swallowed it whole, but it found itself still wanting.

And here’s the box in play:

Of course, since the main area was down the stairs and not up them, I decided to raise the entire passageway so that the players could walk down the stairs and onto the main area which would be drawn onto my battle mat. I decided to only raise a portion of the passageway since I didn’t think any encounter would extend back a certain distance, but even if it did I could always draw the rest of the passageway on the mat. In the spirit of re-usability I created several different pieces and just pushed them together. That way, I might make use of a different configuration when the need arises. Here’s what the final set up will look like (sans battle mat):

When seeing how the D&D game tiles do stairs I was a bit perplexed. I noticed that they had 2 steps of a stairs per 1 inch square. When making a 3D step block to match the tiles I immediately realized that having anything less that a 1 inch square would make it odd for minis to stand on them. So I took some license and just made two steps and drew a line through each to give the representation of more stairs. The two blocks adjacent to the squares will be where I’ll put some braziers which are those electric tea lights that are so popular.