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Welcome to Athas

“I live in a world of fire and sand. The crimson sun scorches
the life from anything that crawls or flies, and storms of
sand scour the foliage from the barren ground. This is a
land of blood and dust, where tribes of feral elves sweep out from the
salt plains to plunder lonely caravans, mysterious
singing winds call travelers to slow suffocation in the Sea of
Silt, and selfish kings squander their subjects’ lives building
gaudy palaces and garish tombs. This bleak wasteland is
Athas, and it is my home.”

—The Wanderer’s Journal

Introduction

Athas’ savage, primal landscape is the result of long centuries of ecological and magical abuses. The world is dying. It breathes its last gasps as water turns to silt, grasslands become sandy wastes, and jungles decay into stony barrens. Still, life finds ways to endure even in these hellish conditions. In fact, it thrives. Children growing up beneath the crimson sun don’t aspire to become heroes. True heroes who champion causes or try to make the world a better place are as rare as steel on Athas. Living to see the next dawn is more important than defending a set of beliefs, so survival ultimately motivates all living creatures—not virtue or righteousness.

Today, Athas rushes toward its future. If the course of destruction is to be diverted, if Athas is to be restored, then heroes must grab the reins of destiny and give new hope and promise to the world. It will not be easy. In fact, it will be extremely difficult. But it is possible. The denizens of the Tablelands have suffered under oppression for thousands of years, and now, a boiling point has been reached. Perhaps not today, perhaps not tomorrow, but someday, change will come.

Ten Things You Need to Know

1. Dark Sun is Different from Traditional D&D.

Many monsters, classes, spells or magic items from the core rulebooks simply are not available in Athas. Many races were extinguished from Athas during the Cleansing Wars. This is because Athas has a very different background than most D&D settings.

2. Tone and Attitude.

Athas puts the survival of the fittest concept to its fullest. Those who cannot adapt to endure the tyrannical sorcerer‐kings, the unrelenting sun, or the many dangers of the wastes will certainly perish. Illiteracy and slavery are commonplace, while magic is feared and hated. The term “hero” has a very different meaning on Athas.

3. A Burnt World.

Thousands of years of reckless spellcasting and epic wars have turned Athas into a barren world, on the verge of an ecological collapse. From the first moments of dawn until the last twinkling of dusk, the crimson sun shimmers in the olive–tinged sky like a fiery puddle of blood, creating temperatures up to 150° F (65° C) by late afternoon. Water is scarce, so most Athasians need to come up with alternative solutions for dealing with the heat or perish.

4. A World without Metal.

Metals are very rare on Athas. Its scarcity has forced Athasians to rely on barter and different materials, such as ceramic, to use as currency. It also hampers industrial and economic development as well; mills and workshops rarely have quality tools to produce everyday products. Even though most Athasians have developed ways of creating weapons and armor made of nonmetallic components, the advantage of having metal equipment in battle is huge.

5. Desperate Strength.

Almost all individuals or creatures living on Athas are more hardy than their fantastical or real-world counterparts. This is a necessity of evolution; without developing the aptitudes and physical abilities needed to survive the debilitating environment created by the Dark Sun, almost all species would perish.

6. A World without Gods.

Athas is a world without true deities. Powerful sorcerer‐kings often masquerade as gods but, though their powers are great and their worshippers many, they are not true gods. Arcane magic requires life force, either from plants or animals, to be used. All divine power comes from the Elemental planes and the spirits of the land that inhabit geographic features.

7. Planar Insulation.

Barriers exist between Athas and other planes. In the case of other planes of existence, the Grey impedes planar travel, except to the Elemental Planes. Consequently, travel via spelljamming is impossible, and planar travel is much more difficult. The same holds true for those trying to contact or reach Athas. The barrier formed by the Grey impedes travel in both directions.

8. The Struggle for Survival.

The basic necessities of life are scarce on Athas. This means that every society must devote itself to attaining food and safeguarding its water supply, while protecting themselves from raiding tribes, Tyr–storms, and other city‐states. This essentially means that most Athasian must devout a large deal of their lives just to survive. Expect the threat of the environment and the dangers of heat-exhaustion to play a role in your adventures.

9. The Seven City‐States.

The Tyr Region is the center of the world of Athas, at least as far as the people of the seven city‐states are concerned. It’s here, along the shores of the Silt Sea and in the shadows of the Ringing Mountains that civilization clings to a few scattered areas of fertile land and fresh water. The majority of the population lives in the city‐states of Tyr, Urik, Raam, Draj, Nibenay, Gulg, and Balic; each of these metropolises are ruled by a powerful tyrant of incomprehensible power known as a sorcerer-king. The rest of Athas' people live in remote villages built around oases and wells, or wanders about in nomadic tribes searching for what they need to survive.

10. Familiar Races aren't What You Expect

Typical fantasy stereotypes don’t apply to Athasian heroes. In many DUNGEONS & DRAGONS settings, elves are wise, benevolent forest dwellers who guard their homelands from intrusions of evil. On Athas, elves are a nomadic race of herders, raiders, peddlers, and thieves. Halflings aren’t amiable riverfolk; they’re xenophobic headhunters and cannibals who hunt and kill trespassers in their mountain forests. Goliaths - or half-giants, as they are commonly known - are brutal mercenaries who serve as elite guards and enforcers for the sorcerer kings and their templars in many city-states.

In addition to the common player character races found in the Player’s Handbook, players can choose to play half‐giants, muls, and Thri‐kreen in Dark Sun. Half‐giants are creatures with great strength, but dull wits. Muls are a hybrid race that combines the natural dwarven resilience and stubbornness with the adaptability from humans. Thri‐kreen are insectoid creatures that roam the Athasian wastes in search for prey.