Draft DS

DARK SUN COOP CAMPAIGN
4E Dark Sun


<Intro: Theme>
1. Major Theme: "Rebel Alliance against Evil Empires"
2. Campaign Type: Bashing (4E TestPlays)
3. 'Loot' as rare materials from the wilderness to forge high quality items (meta: magic items) instead of relying on GP or 'treasures'. (similar to Monster Hunter series).


<Intro: Books Used (in order of importance)>
1. Dark Sun Campaign Setting (for reference of anything and almost everything, including available race and classes treatment).
2. Player's Handbook
3. Errata and FAQs for 4E
4. Player's Handbook 3
5. Dark Sun Creature Catalog
6. Player's Handbook 2 (warning: Primal and Arcane are very rare, with heavy repercussions to Arcane too)
7. Banned Materials: Any Rituals, Divine classes, Divine multiclass feats, Wondrous Items


<Intro: Character Creations>
1. Point Buy 22.
2. Martial and Psionic characters gain extra 1 (one) Bonus Feat and extra any 1 (one) Skill proficiency.
3. House Rules: Reckless Breaking, and Background (gain a skill proficiency, a +2 bonus, or a language).


<Basic: Common Grounds and Thin Red Line>
1. PCs 'know' one another, as fellow Rebel Alliance (at least name and appearance), that can happens in the background (at least the identity of other PCs). This is to smoothen the Bashing Sessions with everyone knows one another and know that they might need to maintain 'cover' / 'facade' / 'masquerade'.
2. PCs know more about the setting and Sorcerer-Kings' villainy, and willingly decided to join the Rebel Alliance.
3. PCs know the importance of laying low and maintaining masquerade.
4. Missions etc. are taken to elevate the status and earning favors from the populace slowly.
5. Heroic Tier target: to be local hero and gained recognition, in addition to accumulating resources and manpower.
6. Paragon Tier target: securing the wide area, and preparing for striking the Sorcerer-Kings.
7. Epic Tier target: finale, showdowns with the Sorcerer-Kings.


<Basic: Loots Explained>
1. Loots are gained automatically after encounters (it is assumed that the PCs carved and took notable loots safely and properly).
2. Loots are to represent 'gp needed to buy magic items'.
3. There will be several kinds of 'Loot', and depending on the item, the needs are different, as will be detailed at the next tab.
4. Loots can be sold for GP (or ceramics, in Athas terms), but it cannot be bought from NPC; PC must actively hunt the monsters at the wilderness, or trade between PCs.
5. HQ Items (meta: magic items) are sold at 5x base price. However each of the seven cities, there is a smith capable of forging any, requiring certain Loots. The general formula is 20% costs using Ceramics (coins/GP, service cost), 80% costs from Loot. The detail of the Loots used will be listed at separate tab (example: Magical Scale Mail will use 20% Soft Bulk and 60% Hard Bits, while Healing Potion will use 80% Soft Bits).


<Basic: Loot Categories>
1. There are two initial division: Bits (small parts) and Bulk (big parts).
2. There are further categories: Hard (solid and tough materials), Soft (flexible or brittle materials).
3. Examples: Hard Bits (scales, nails, claws, teeth, gemstones), Soft Bits (feathers, hairs, leaves, herbs, nuts), Hard Bulk (carapace, chitin exoskeletons, shells, stone), Soft Bulk (wood, skins, hide, cloths).
4. DM may reward any combination of the four.


<DM: Session Meta Guide>
1. Hard Encounters (4 levels above APL) maximum.
2. Any Monster Level Limit is APL +2.
3. Rewards EXP, 'loot' equals to EXP in battle/skill challenge/other encounters, extra GP (or loot) equal to Session/Quest EXP (default equals to EXP of a monster whose level = APL).
4. There is no 'Magic Items' as rewards; however alternative boon reward (Dark Sun Campaign Setting) can be given to a PC instead of loot and GP.
5. Optional: DM may reward up to 1 (one) point of Favor, Fortune, or Fame to each PC, representing an increase in their influence to the setting.
6. Optional: DM may also deduct 1~3 (one to three) points of Favor, Fortune, or Fame of a PC due to over-exerting Influence to alter something, at DM discretion (such as buying a significantly worthy slave, or influencing local magistrate to waive a dire situation, or calming the angry mobs due to some arcane casting).


<DM: Session Story Guide>
1. Please keep in mind that the timeline is blurred in this campaign, and 'calendar' nor 'season' do not exist.
2. Please avoid stating exact timeline while referring other session, such as "three weeks ago"; instead please use blur statements such as "few weeks ago" or "quite a long time ago".
3. Please contact related Committed DMs before using their territory in your sessions.
4. Please keep it clear on [Rebels] and [Normal] NPCs as this campaign focuses on simple light bashing games; otherwise, please put disclaimer beforehand if you want to run heavier games.
5. Please keep it easy and simple on PCs' interactions despite their background (such as Templar but Rebels, or Templars visiting other Templars) as this campaign focuses on simple light bashing games, thus initially indifferent attitude in town is expected; otherwise, please put disclaimer beforehand if you want to run heavier games.


<DM: Committed DM>
1. Committed DM can control 1 (one) Region, and relevant Arc.
2. Arcs are expected to have more or less: Season 1: Heroic Tier (recognition), Season 2: Paragon Tier (hero), Season 3: Epic Tier (Sorcerer-Kings Killing / Altering Athas ).
3. DM of an Arc may introduce items (magical or otherwise) that are only usable or relevant to the Arc, and responsible to make sure that those cannot be used at other places/arcs, story-wise and fluff-wise.
4. Each Arc may focus on the any aspect of the region, but please keep in mind to incorporate common motivation of any PCs who are Rebels; an Arc may take them as special agents of local Alliance cell, or as local mercenaries helping a local kind noble to better the region, or even helping local honest Templar to establish order while slowly convincing her to the Rebel's cause, etc.


<Optional: Background Details>
1. This is an optional for PCs who chose Background Theme and looking for more depth of roleplaying and accumulating influences.
2. There are three categories: Favor (representing influences in the circle of high ranked individuals, decision makers, and authorities), Fortune (representing influences that money can buy, and financial wealth), Fame (representing influences in fame/infamy on the wide populace and common people). This is an abstraction of complex influences in the campaign.
3. Participating relevant session can increase one category by 1 (one) point.
4. The 'scale' of the Influence is based on the tens of the score; so Favor 14 and Favor 17 are on the same 'scale' of 1, for roleplaying purposes (such as buying a slave, bribing templars, convincing judges, calm the townsfolks, raise the morale of local tribes before a fight, etc. per DM discretion).
5. Each Background Theme has different starting scores, that will be detailed at the next tab.
6. Please consult with related Committed DMs for background story.
7. Please prepare some story on how and why you travel from one place to another, that fits with the theme; this reason can stay at the background only, or to be put into play at the consent of both DM and player.


<Optional: Background Theme Starting Scores>
(Also ideas on travels)
1. Athasian Minstrel (Fame 10, Fortune 3, Favor 7): traveling performer, invitation of show
2. Dune Trader (Fortune 15, Favor 5): trading, business
3. Elemental Priest (Fame 15, Favor 5): managing territory, secret mision
4. Gladiator (Fame 15, Fortune 5): day off, traveling as mercenary
5. Noble Adept (Fortune 5, Favor 15): leisure or business trip
6. Primal Guardian (Fame 10, Fortune 5, Favor 5): some secret mission
7. Templar (Fortune 10, Favor 10): formal trip, spying, day off
8. Veiled Alliance (Fame 5, Fortune 5, Favor 10): spying, recruiting, helping local cell
9. Wasteland Nomad (Fame 7, Fortune 6, Favor 7): travel, supply trade
10. Wilder (Fame 15, Favor 5): wild random travel



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