The blazing sun. The parched wastes. The heat of the desert. In Dark Sun, the environment can play a large part in gameplay. It doesn’t have to, you can run a great Dark Sun game without ever setting foot outside one of the city-states, but if you plan to head out into the dunes, it’s handy to have a set of rules to call on when needed.

Dark Sun 2e features several systems that can be used to deal with environmental hazards. In this blog, I’m sharing a few of those that see use the most often in the games I’m streaming at Lawful Stupid RPG. These are in three general categories: exposure, dehydration, and the Gray Death. Most of these rules have appeared in various 2e products, spread over several supplements. This blog pulls them together, tweaks them a little, and polishes them off for use in your games.

Exposure

The brutal Athasian sun is a major hazard. Merely being out in the heat of the day risks damage from heat stroke – and the freezing temperatures of the desert night can be similarly dangerous. In game terms, this is expressed in Constitution damage. The two tables below give you a way to generate random temperatures in the Tablelands and the less-hospitable Valley of Dust and Fire (or simply choose a result you like from the table), and then summarise how much Constitution damage a character would suffer under that temperature.

An unprotected character takes Constitution damage from heat stroke/cold at the level and frequency for the day’s temperature. A successful heat protection non-weapon proficiency check negates all damage from heat stroke/cold for that day. An argosy, building, or cave provide varying degrees of shelter from heat stroke (see below). Elves never take Constitution damage from heat stroke or cold – as creatures of the deep desert, they are accustomed to extremes of temperature.

  Tablelands, Sea of Silt
  Valley of Dust and Fire


  
  Day
  Night
  Day
  Night


  2d6 Roll
  Descriptor
  Degrees
  Descriptor
  Degrees
  Descriptor
  Degrees
  Descriptor
  Degrees

  
  

  2
  Cool
  60-79
  Cold
  40-44
  Warm
  80-89
  Cool
  60-69 

  3
  Warm
  80-89
  Cold
  45-49
  Warm
  90-99
  Cool
  70-79


  4
  Warm
  90-99
  Cool
  60-63
  Hot
  100-109
  Warm
  80-87


  5
  Hot
  100-109
  Cool
  64-67
  Hot
  110-119
  Warm
  88-94


  6
  Hot
  110-119
  Cool
  68-71
  Very Hot
  120-127
  Warm
  95-99


  7
  Very Hot
  120-124
  Cool
  72-75
  Very Hot
  128-134
  Hot
  100-107


  8
  Very Hot
  125-129
  Cool
  76-79
  Very Hot
  135-139
  Hot
  108-114


  9
  Very Hot
  130-134
  Warm
  80-87
  Furnace
  140-149
  Hot
  115-119


  10
  Very Hot
  135-139
  Warm
  88-94
  Furnace
  150-159
  Very Hot
  120-129


  11
  Furnace
  140-149
  Warm
  95-99
  Inferno
  160-169
  Very Hot
  130-139


  12
  Furnace
  150+
  Hot
  100+
  Inferno
  170+
  Furnace
  140+

  Temperature


  Descriptor
  Degrees
  Water Requirements
  Heat Stroke / Cold Damage
  Damage Frequency

  
  

  Cold
  40-59
  x1/2
  1d4
  Daily


  Cool
  60-79
  x1/2
  --
  --


  Warm
  80-99
  x1
  --
  --


  Hot
  100-119
  x1
  1d4
  Daily


  Very Hot
  120-139
  x1
  1d6
  Daily


  Furnace
  140-159
  x2
  1d8
  Daily


  Inferno
  160+
  x2
  1d4
  Hourly

Shade and Shelter

Characters can, of course, shield themselves from the rays of the dark sun. In addition to the heat protection non-weapon proficiency, other methods of acquiring shelter exist.
• A parasol, lean-to, overhang, cave, tent, building or argosy provides shade. While this does not reduce damage from heat stroke, it does allow a character to rest properly. Characters who cannot find shade when resting during the day must save vs. poison or fail to be fully rested (unable to recover spells or hit points). Shade also reduces the hazard of dehydration – see below.
• An argosy provides partial shelter, reducing the temperature by one category for the purposes of heat stroke.
• A building provides improved shelter, reducing the temperature by two categories for the purpose of heat stroke.
• A cave provides total shelter, negating heat stroke for that day.

Dehydration

Lack of water can kill. Characters need differing amounts of water, depending on their size, race, and level of activity.
• An active Medium character (one undertaking hard exertion, walking, riding, etc.) needs 1 gallon of water per day.
• An active Small character (such as a halfling) needs 1/2 gallon of water per day.
• An active Large character (such as a half-giant) needs four gallons of water per day.
• Thri-kreen need 1 gallon of water per week.
• An inactive character (sitting, resting, sleeping, etc.), needs 1/2 their normal water rations.
• A character in the shade (such as a parasol, lean-to, overhang, cave, tent, building or argosy) during the entire day needs 1/2 their normal water rations.
• A character traveling at night needs 1/2 their normal water rations.
• A character wearing a full suit of metal armor requires twice their normal water rations.

Dehydration Effects

A character who receives their full requirement of water suffers no Constitution damage from dehydration.
A character who receives half or more of their full requirement of water suffers 1d4 points of Constitution damage.
A character who receives less than half of their full requirement of water suffers 1d6 points of Constitution damage.
Constitution loss occurs at midnight on the day the character did not receive full water rations. A character drinking full water rations regains 1d8 Con at the end of that day. Lost hit points return at the normal rate.

The Gray Death

The Gray Death is suffocation from windborne dust while wading or flying above the Sea of Silt or its basins and estuaries (or even travelling near their borders) on windy days. The lungs and throat slowly clog with dust, and unprotected characters travelling in these conditions suffer as if they were drowning, except all times are computed in turns, not melee rounds. The Gray Death also imposes a +4 initiative penalty and –4 to hit and damage on all creatures enveloped by it.

Breathing through a thin, fine cloth (such as a filter mask) halves the initiative and attack roll penalties and avoids suffocation. The cloth must be kept damp and clean, which consumes 1/2 gallon of water per day (2 gallons for Large creatures).

Dust goggles will further reduce initiative and attack roll penalties by one point.

Taking refuge in a building or other protected area will also negate any penalties caused by the Gray Death.

The tables below provide a method for randomly generating wind conditions – roll on the table or choose a result. The tables list wind strength and the effects this has on the Gray Death. The tables also list the effect the wind has on silt-borne vehicles, if you use them in your game.

  Wind Strength


  
  Sea of Silt, Tablelands
  Valley of Dust and Fire


  2d6
  Day
  Night
  Day
  Night

  
  

  2
  None
  None
  Moderate
  Light


  3
  Light
  None
  Moderate
  Moderate


  4
  Light
  Light
  Strong
  Moderate


  5
  Moderate
  Light
  Strong
  Strong


  6
  Moderate
  Light
  Storm
  Strong


  7
  Moderate
  Moderate
  Storm
  Strong


  8
  Strong
  Moderate
  Storm
  Storm


  9
  Strong
  Moderate
  Sirocco
  Strong


  10
  Storm
  Strong
  Sirocco
  Storm


  11
  Storm
  Strong
  Ash Storm
  Sirocco


  12
  Sirocco
  Storm
  Ash Storm
  Ash Storm

  Wind Effects


  Winds
  Average Speed
  Sailing Speed Modifier
  Wheel Speed Modifier
  Gray Death Radius

  
  

  Adverse
  --
  x1/2
  x1
  --


  None
  0 mph
  N/A
  x1
  --


  Light
  10 mph
  x1
  x1
  --


  Moderate
  20 mph
  x2
  x1
  0


  Strong
  30 mph
  x3
  x1*
  1


  Storm
  55 mph
  x3*
  x1/2*
  5


  Sirocco
  70+ mph
  x4**
  x1/2**
  20

  
  

  * Check silt-worthness


  ** Check silt-worthness at -9.


  
    Also roll 1d6.  On a 5 or 6, winds are adverse.  When adverse winds are Storm strength or greater, any wind-powered vessel or vehicle will be blown off course by half it's movement rate.

Wind Effects

• Moderate winds cause Gray Death conditions for silt waders or silt walkers only.
• Strong winds cause Gray Death conditions for anyone within one mile of the dust basin and flyers at less than 500’ altitude. Aerial movement costs double.
• Storm winds cause Gray Death conditions for anyone within five miles of the dust basin and all flyers, regardless of altitude. Terrain costs triple; aerial movement costs quadruple.
• Sirocco winds cause Gray Death conditions for anyone within 20 miles of the dust basin. No flight or surface movement is possible. Siroccos lasts 1d4 days and nights (1 day in the Valley of Dust and Fire). Do not reroll weather until the storm blows itself out.
• Ash Storm conditions prevent all movement, and scouring, lightning, and Gray Death conditions exist for all exposed characters.