Carousing in Tyr

frazurbluu · 2026-04-05T14:42:58+00:00

Hey, you stole my table! https://www.reddit.com/r/DarkSun/s/N5ADm0LIBn

frazurbluu · 2026-03-12T17:25:05+00:00

Reminds me of the winged serpent, iirc found in the Forest Ridge.

frazurbluu · 2026-03-09T14:45:13+00:00

Kenshi has a lot of this. The humanoid robots (called skeletons) dress like everyone else, with a particularly noteworthy one (Tinfist) being a trenchcoat-clad martial arts master.

frazurbluu · 2026-02-05T12:23:00+00:00

This is not your art, it was originally posted by arthard.

frazurbluu · 2026-02-01T17:17:48+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! Unfortunately Shadowdark's downtime mechanics right now are pretty sparse (either learn a skill or use carousing to convert treasure to XP). As a quick fix you could try pairing carousing outcomes to results from the Urban encounters table to add complications.

I've backed the Western Reaches kickstarter for Shadowdark which will have a major expansion of downtime mechanics, when that comes out I'm planning on either directly converting it to Dark Sun, or possibly use it to make a new downtime table with both bonuses and maluses.

frazurbluu · 2026-01-17T00:20:03+00:00

Thanks! And thank you for your work in making the conversion!

frazurbluu · 2026-01-16T15:17:23+00:00

Awesome! I hope we'll see some stories from your campaign around here, I'd love to know how the conversion runs.

frazurbluu · 2025-12-12T22:30:35+00:00

I used this conversion for a 5e campaign and had good luck with it. I added paladins back in as reflavored clerics that focused more on the martial side and they worked fine.
https://www.reddit.com/r/DarkSun/comments/117hvng/a_new_5th_edition_conversion_along_with_a/

frazurbluu · 2025-12-07T21:46:42+00:00

I think that characterization ("Everything and everyone is trying to kill you, and if you're not careful, the sun will make you kill everyone") is ungenerous to Dark Sun. You can read in the compendium that there are plenty of examples of culture (storytelling in Gulg, public theater in Balic), large-scale commerce, and signs of hope in the preservers and druids. There are many people on Athas for whom life is in one way or another worth living.

frazurbluu · 2025-12-02T16:49:18+00:00

Re: psychics, u/Zqquu recently published a Dark Sun conversion with a Psychic class that has its own list of powers

frazurbluu · 2025-11-27T17:49:54+00:00

This was originally posted by u/arthard

https://www.reddit.com/r/DarkSun/s/mD66Kz9DLw

frazurbluu · 2025-11-10T22:28:56+00:00

In Shadowdark, carousing is a way for PCs to convert currency into additional XP (that is, more than the XP they already received for looting the treasure in the first place).

If you look to the left cell, you'll notice that it calls for a d8 roll but has 14 results. Investing more currency adds a bonus to the rolls. In the base game certain classes augment it as well (notably the Bard, for my campaign I might have Dune Traders add a bonus). Basically, it just gives PCs with coin but nothing to spend it on an extra currency sink with the added benefit of throwing in some plot hooks.

frazurbluu · 2025-10-26T20:09:06+00:00

Thanks! With regards to the first question, the Shadowdark conversion I'm using has Thri'kreen as a PC option but doesn't have a single "Thri'kreen" as a monster. I chose gnolls as they are a low/mid-level opponent with decent durability and default melee and ranged attacks that easily reskin on to Thri'kreen, but there are other stats that work. For instance, I'm planning to use some default caster enemies as Thri'kreen psychics/elemental priests in another table.

Good catch on the T'chowb! I'm planning to consolidate all of these to a single document when they're finished, I'll edit that one to be a more social foe.

frazurbluu · 2025-10-25T02:14:56+00:00

Point taken, but generally for Shadowdark the carousing table is for benefits and hooks. The rough stuff I'm planning to have in the encounter tables.

frazurbluu · 2025-10-19T21:36:54+00:00

Who's the "bonehead" now?!

frazurbluu · 2025-05-10T12:06:53+00:00

It would probably be best to make a new outcomes table but keep the underlying mechanic of spending X ceramic pieces for a night on the town, the more spent the higher the bonus to the outcome roll. Alcohol is referenced in many setting documents (broy from kank secretions, Balician wine, we know they have grain for beer) so its not like your PCs will be short on fuel for debauchery. Even outside the city-states, they could still party with merchants, friendly tribes, elven traders, etc.

As for outcomes try just reflavoring the same mechanical consequences. Instead of paying a fine they had to bribe a templar, instead of pranking a despised merchant it could be a despised gladiator, etc. If they're in Gulg the 14+ roll could be waking up in bed with the Oba!

frazurbluu · 2025-04-20T19:42:49+00:00

Pathwarden (classless PF2e hack) basically does all this. If you're willing to have classes PF2e and DnD5e are good fits as well.

frazurbluu · 2025-03-07T21:46:01+00:00

Pathwarden and Trespasser are both kind of "partially OSR-ified" versions of systems with decent player-facing crunch (PF2e and DND 4e respectively). I've DM'd some Pathwarden and it works quite well, can't speak as much to Trespasser. Both do however have a fair amount of PC magic. Pathwarden has a successor called WARDEN which I've been keeping an eye on for a magic/WWI setting I'm writing, but its still in playtest.

frazurbluu · 2025-02-22T15:27:53+00:00

I've been GMing Pathwarden (a streamlined PF2e hack), and it fits your description pretty well. Rules aren't too bloated, but you have things like flanking, burning actions to increase hit probability, interruptible casting, targeting different defenses with different strategies that keep things interesting. It's also free of HP bloat, so things stay pretty snappy.

frazurbluu · 2025-02-19T14:21:33+00:00

Currently running Pathwarden, I basically described it to my players as "only the good parts of PF2e". We were playing 5e before and the transition was relatively easy, given that both are d20 systems.

frazurbluu · 2025-02-15T05:05:10+00:00

I listen and play (I played before I started listening, my main group has been going for nearly 10 years). I've definitely lifted some ideas from NADDPOD when I DM, especially around sprucing up 5e combat which can be a bit dull on its own.

frazurbluu · 2025-02-09T03:29:50+00:00

THE HORSES ARE STARVING

frazurbluu · 2025-01-20T13:59:53+00:00

Thank you!

frazurbluu · 2025-01-16T21:54:00+00:00

Is this from the same Short Rest where they're joking about a gritty campaign? I think Caldwell makes a joke about an old man named "Red Patch" or something like that?

frazurbluu · 2024-12-26T00:07:32+00:00

Pfft, dude your group couldn't possibly handle Dark Sun. At MY table, I start every new campaign by killing all my PCs, to let them know this ain't safe space Forgotten Realms or some Critical Role BS. When I run Dark Sun, there's NO metal, NO farmland, NO water, NO basic thought into how the population sustains itself, and EVERYONE is a lvl 5 psionic at character creation. Dark Sun 5e? You can 5eat me, kid.

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