Dark Sun. Oh, I Get It...

What I wanted to do today is taking too long to get done and actually have it posted before midnight. So instead you get filler from the garbage bin of my old webpage; Dark Sun conversions! I remember being terribly dissatisfied with the work from Athas.org (no idea if they've gotten better), so I decided to fool around with some conversions. And now they see the light. Again.

No OGL here, just riding-by-the-seat of my pants completely frickin' unofficial material. Not exactly Origins-award winning material, either, but there some interesting idea nuggets, I think. Two templates, one race.

Tomorrow will be better. Cross my heart.

Athasian

Many creatures on the prime world of Athas have been bred by the harsh environment to be superior to their extraplanar counterparts found on other prime worlds. Wild talents, natural psionics, are also highly prevalent amongst them.

Creating an Athasian

"Athasian" is a template that can be added to any aberration, animal, beast, fey, giant, humanoid, magical beast, monstrous humanoid, plant, shapechanger, or undead native to Athas (referred to hereafter as the 'base creature'). It uses all the base creature's statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

• Speed: Same as the base creature.
• Attacks: Same as the base creature.
• Saves: Same as the base creature.
• Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows: Str +2, Dex +2, Con +2, Int +2, Wis +2, Cha +2.
• Skills: Increase from the base creature by 1 point per hit die or class level.
• Feats: Increase from the base creature by 1 free feat.
• Climate / Terrain: Same as the base creature (typically desert).
• Organization: Same as the base creature.
• Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature +1.
• Alignment: Same as the base creature.
• Treasure: Same as the base creature.
• Advancement: Same as the base creature.

Athasian Characters

Athasian humanoids run the gamut of classes listed in the Player's Handbook. However, Paladins and Monks are largely unknown on their world, as the trappings of religion are not quite so entrenched on their world. Many are Barbarians, Clerics, Druids, or Rangers - classes that excel at self-sufficiency and wilderness survival. An athasian creature with class levels gains 2 extra skill points at 1st level instead of 1 skill point. The athasian template increases the ECL of whatever race it modifies by +2. In addition, many Athasians have at least three class levels by the time they come of age.

An athasian character is considered to have psion or psychic warrior as a favored class in addition to any favored classes it may normally have due to race. Once it takes a level of psion or psychic warrior, that becomes fixed as the favored class and cannot be changed after that point.

Wild Psionic

Though most worlds have psionic powers develop through training, sometimes mutations, heritage, psionic phenomena, and other bizarre events can cause otherwise non-psionic creatures to develop "wild talents". These talents allow the creature in question to manifest one or several psionic capabilities. While these powers are typically little more than basic abilities compared to an natural psionic, psion, or psychic warrior, it does give the creature an extra edge.

Creating a Wild Psionic

"Wild Psionic" is a template that can be applied to any creature that does not have the psionic template - usually denoted by the presence of the Psionics special attack or special quality. The creature will be referred to hereafter as the "base creature".

A wild psionic creature retains all of its base statistics save as noted below.

• Special Attacks: A wild psionic creature retains all the special attacks of the base creature and also gains the following:
• Psionic Powers (Sp): A wild psionic creature gains one to three psionic powers, each usable 1/day (at will for 0-level powers). One may apply any metapsionic feat to this powers; this metapsionic feat is always considered to be applied to the power, regardless of whether or not the creature actually has the metapsionic power in question. The creature's primary discipline is that which matches the creature's highest ability score. The power(s) cannot have a combined power point cost (after metapsionic feats are applied) higher than the key ability modifier for your primary discipline. A 0-level power is considered to have a power point cost of 1 for purposes of choosing these psionic powers. For example, a creature with a key ability modifier of +3 could have one 2nd-level power, two 1st-level powers, one 1st-level power and one 0-level power enhanced by Extend Power, etc.
• Psionic Defense Modes (Sp): A wild psionic creature has one psionic defense mode from the five available. The power cannot have a power point cost higher than the key ability modifier for your primary discipline. It may manifest this defense mode freely without need to expend power points. Wild psionic creatures otherwise follow all the rules for psionic combat. For every three class levels or advancement hit dice thereafter, a wild psionic creature gains a additional psionic defense mode. It must still meet the requirements above to obtain the defense mode, however.
• Saves: Same as the base creature.
• Abilities: Same as the base creature.
• Skills: Same as the base creature.
• Feats: Same as the base creature. Though the creature is treated as psionic, it may not take psionic or metapsionic feats. However, it does gain access to wild psionic feats, listed below.
• Climate/ Terrain: Same as the base creature.
• Organization: Same as the base creature.
• Challenge Rating: As base creature +1.
• Treasure: Same as base creature.
• Alignment: Same as the base creature.
• Advancement: Same as the base creature.

Wild Psionic Characters

Wild psionic humanoids come from all classes, but often come from races or regions with natural psionic tendencies, such as duergar, drow, the prime world of Athas, the Astral Plane, the Underdark, etc. Wild psionics seem to arise more in conditions that are particularly brutal, where survival demands constant development and forced evolution.

A wild psionic PC's effective character level (ECL) is equal to the creature's character level +1; thus. a 3rd-level barbarian human has an ECL of 4 and is the equivalent of a 4th level character. At the DM's option, a character may spontaneously develop wild psionics due to mutation or the like; the character must forgo a level of advancement in order to obtain the wild psionics template.

Wild psionic characters and creatures also have access to several special feats, listed below.

New Feats

Talent

To characters without the wild psionics template, all talent feats are considered to be special (only characters with the wild psionics template can take them). They allow a wild psionic creature to develop its wild psionic power without requiring a psionic class, such as psion or psychic warrior.

Few characters develop more than one or two wild psionic feats. For a wide variety of psionic feats and powers, it is simply more efficient to cross-class into a psionic class. Though these abilities allow one to duplicate many of the powers manifested by psionic classes, it does so in a more ponderous and costly fashion.

Contact [Talent]

Prerequisite: Key ability modifier for primary discipline equal to or higher than the power point cost of the psionic attack mode gained.

Benefit: You gain a single psionic combat attack mode from among the five available. You may manifest this attack mode at will, without need for power points. This ability otherwise follows all the rules for psionic combat.

Special: You may purchase this feat multiple times. Each time it is purchased, it provides a new psionic combat attack mode.

Focus Wild Talent [Talent]

Benefit: You may manifest a single psionic power you have from the wild psionics template 2/day rather than 1/day.

Special: You may purchase this feat multiple times, either to apply it to a different psionic power or to increase a single power's usage per day even further. When this feat is purchased twice for a single power, that power is then usable 3/day. When this feat is purchase three times for a single power, that power may then be manifested at will.

Elves of Athas

Athasian elves have diverged profoundly from their counterparts on other prime worlds, having become flighty, wild beings that live for the moment rather than slowly savor existence. Runners and hunters, they retain the elven grace, even if they are much more down to earth. On the planes, it is said that athasian elves live on the third layer of Arborea, in the realm of Amun-Thys, but those rumors remain unconfirmed.

Elves of Athas reach adulthood at 18 years, middle age at 50 years, are old at 67 years, and become venerable at 100 years, with a maximum age of +2d20 years. For a random starting age, roll 1d6 for Barbarians, Rogues, and Sorcerers, 2d4 for Bard, Fighters, and Rangers, and 2d6 for Clerics, Druids, and Wizards, and add it to 18 for your starting age. Athasian elves have a base height of 6'6" for males and 6' for females, with a height modifier of 2d8. Their base weight is 160 for males and 130 for females, with a weight modifier of x (1d6) lb.

For more on athasian elves, reference the Dark Sun Campaign Setting and Elves of Athas. The official conversion can be found at athas.org. This conversion is not intended to supercede theirs; rather, it is intended for games that wish to mix athasian and non-athasian PCs, use athasian elves in a setting other than Dark Sun, or simply keep Athas more in line with the standard D&D character design and progression. The Athasian template (found in the Prime Vault section of this page) and the Wild Talents rules (found in the Psionics Vault section of this page) can also be used to keep this conversion true to its AD&D 2e counterpart.

Athasian Elven Racial Traits

• +2 Dex, +2 Int, -2 Con, -2 Wis. Though possessed of a natural genius and agility, Athasian elves lack common sense and stamina (outside of their 'elf run' state). Medium-size: as medium-size creatures, athasian elves have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Athasian elven base speed is 30 + (Dexterity modifier x3) feet. In addition, athasian elves can use a special meditative state called 'elf run' to run for much longer periods of time than their Constitution score would normally allow. Beginning an 'elf run' counts as a full-round action. An athasian elf in such a state is subject to none of the normal penalties for a forced march. However, after each 24 hours of sprinting, an elf of athas in an 'elf run' must make a Concentration check against a DC of 10 + 5 for each full day he has run. A failed Concentration check means that the elf must cease running or take 1d6 points of subdual damage for every 8 hours he continues to run. This subdual damage cannot be healed unless the elf rests for at least four hours. An athasian elf must rest for at least a full day (after healing any subdual damage from the elf run state) before beginning another elf run. If the elf does not rest in this fashion, the elf takes 1d6 points of damage for every 8 hours he continues to run.
• Low-light Vision: Athasian elves can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similiar conditions of poor illumination. They retain the ability to distinguish color and and detail under these conditions.
• Proficient with longsword; proficient with longbow and composite longbow. Athasian elves have a heritage of warriors and hunters, and all are trained to wield their traditional weapons with skill.
• +2 Racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks. +2 racial bonus on Hide and Move Silently checks when in wilderness terrain. The athasian elves have adapted over generation to put their keen senses and agile forms to good use.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Elven.
• Favored Class: Ranger. A multiclass athasian elf's ranger class does not count when determining whether he suffers an XP penalty for multiclassing (see Experience for Multiclass Characters, PHB pg. 56). Hunters are vital to the existence of their tribes, and many athasian elves learn this vital occupation in order to forage for whatever resources they can find on their ravaged world.