Robert Schwalb’s first novel Death Mark is scheduled for release on December 6th, 2011. Robert Adducci (Raddu) reviews the latest Dark Sun novel.
Its easy to tell that Schwalb not only knows the setting (he is one of the 4th edition authors), but that hes a fan.
Read more of Raddu’s Death Mark novel review
new dungeon article, The Nine Swords of Tyr
In the dark days before the death of Kalak of Tyr, the Veiled Alliance hatched a desperate plan to craft weapons designed to destroy the sorcerer-kings. A council of Veiled Alliance leaders met in secret within the city, the first and only time in memory that such a risky gathering was attempted. The greatest arcane minds that the resistance had to offer compiled secret instructions for the creation of weapons that would defend their wielders against the most powerful of the defilers attacks, and undermine their greatest defenses.
A new article up in Dungeon magazine:
As if the Sea of Silt were not dangerous enough, filled with fine powder that suffocates human-sized creatures, many frightening beasts call it home. Veteran sailors of the Sea of Silt tell tales of nightmarish monsters, such as the notorious silt horror. Such stories inspire terror in those both who ply the Silt Sea on skimmers and those who live on its shore. Among the horrific creatures that inhabit the silt, two of the most frightening are the azraloka and the oasis beast.
Ashes of Athas chapter 2 is available for non-convention play.
Ashes of Athas is proud to announce that we are expanding play opportunities for our popular Living style Dark Sun Campaign to events outside of larger conventions.
What does that mean to you? It means that if you cannot make all the large shows that AoA premieres at you can still keep up with the storyline and friends until the next time you can. New Chapters for the campaign will still premiere at larger shows around the world but a few months after will be released for games run at local store or even your basement (just not your mom's basement - do not ruin our geek street cred please).
Order your copy here.
By Rodney Thompson
Teaching the Way, the art of manipulating psionic power, is forbidden in the city of Draj. By the sorcererkings decree, the only place to learn psionics is at his own academy, called the House of the Mind. There, Tectuktitlay personally oversees the training of future masters of the Way. Though none but Tectuktitlay can know his motivations, whispers spread throughout the city-states that the sorcerer-king is cultivating a private army of psionicists to unleash upon his enemies. Other rumors claim that Tectuktitlay is building a psionic priesthood to speed his transformation into a dragon and thus challenge the Dragon of Tyr.
The schools headmaster, an elderly human named Ixtabai, oversees a staff of lesser and greater masters of the Way, as well as a handful of templars who act as the schools instructors. All the masters at the school are former students who managed to graduate to advanced ability, and each is said to possess secret techniques that only he or she is privy to. Many of the students regard Ixtabai as a figurehead, but the rest of the staff obeys his instructions with good reason: Ixtabai has planted subtle psionic traps in the minds of his students, so that if one becomes problematic the aging mentor could simply trigger the trap, rendering the subject mindless.
The House of the Mind DDI article (subscription required)
Neuroglyph games has posted an interesting 4e encounter featuring a couple of customized undead critters. Designed as a mid-heroic tier encounter, it makes good use of Gray-based (as opposed to your standard) undead.
I like the idea of posting explicit packaged encounters for Dark Sun, and if anybody knows of any other encounters like this, please send me an email.
By Rodney Thompson Magic brought the world of Athas to ruin and transformed its gluttonous wielders in ways both great and terrible. The successful spellcasters among the power-mad gorged themselves on arcane lore and evolvedfirst into sorcerer-kings and then partly into dragons. Other dabblers in the arcane that succumbed to the temptation of easy power suffered more dire consequences. For these unenviable souls, defiling magic became a part of their being; far from raising them to new heights, it warped them physically and mentally into something debasedand ravenous.
WotC Dungeon Dark Sun Article (Subscription to DDI Required)
WoTC’s Dark Sun setting made a great showing at the ENnies this year, taking home 2 nominations and a silver award:
We at Athas.org congratulate all those who worked on the Dark Sun campaign setting.
Thanks to the Dark Sun Art Page for the great find of an unreleased Ralph Horsley Dark Sun image called Ambush.
It seems that Bill Slavicsek is leaving Wizards of the Coast.
Thank you, Bill, for the long years you’ve worked on this hobby we love, and particularly for your work on this blasted little world called Athas. We wish you luck in your future endeavors.