New Ways to DM Dark Sun
by Gerald Arthur Lewis
Dark Sun. The world could be either a DM’s playground or nightmare. To properly DM it, you need a good idea of how Athas works -- from its history and cultures, to its city-states and ruins. You also need to be both a tough Dungeon Master and a fair one. It’s hard, and it takes a great deal of knowledge and balance to pull of successfully.
So often I hear “My campaign stinks.” And I understand why. Dark Sun is possibly TSR’s most challenging role-playing world. So, for those of you in need of a few pointers and tips, here thee go.
Problems
“How much money should these players have? What’s a good level for them to get metal items?”
This is definetly for each DM to decide on his or her own. TSR likes to give a fairly large amount to adventurers (player characters can easily earn gold in official adventures) early on in their adventuring careers. I personally give out very little (but not too little, mind you). It was fifth level before I gave one of my players a gold piece, though each had acquired roughly twice that much in smaller coins by that time. Sixth or seventh level is probably a good time to start giving out metal weapons, but again, TSR gives it out much earlier (3-5 level). Characters shouldn’t get magical items until ninth level unless under extreme circumstances (such as TSR’s DS adventure “Black Waters” where players get magical items from a Dragon in need of their help). Magic and quality items are just too rare on a planet like Athas for an abundance of enchanted objects.
“My Players are a bunch of power-hungery munchkins, what can I do about this?”
Well, first, let’s examine what constitutes a “munchkin.” A munchkin is a player who will do anything to get that +10, two handed-sword of Delta Death. They covet all treasure, no matter how small, and they’ll trudge all over the damn planet to get it. How do you stop these mammonous creatures? Simple solution: stop giving them the treasure. Athas is the absolute best planet for this. Because metal is so precious, those that have it, keep it, those that don’t... well, they use ceramic. It’s survival of the fittest, so if the players want those 20 gp’s, they’re going to have to work for it. Munchkins work like vampires -- once they’ve got a taste of it, they’ve got to have more. So do yourself a favor, and make them work for that cash.
If, however, you’ve already made your players too powerful, there are a few ways you can go. Most people would have the player(s) in question meet up with some creature that would quickly drain them of levels, and then have all there loot “mysteriously disappear.” From there, you could monitor exactly how much gold and treasure they collected.
I, though, would just allow reality to kick in. For starters, if they’ve achieved any signifigant levels, they really should have attracted the attention of people they really shouldn’t have attracted attention from. The Order, Sorcerer-Monarchs, wealthy Merchant Houses -- all would be after the character. If the munchkin was high enough level, have a Sorcerer King visit him, that’ll give him a scare. If the munchkin doesn’t treat the SK with the appropriate fear/respect, role-play the evil tyrant correctly and have him melt the heck out of the character. If he survives the ecounter with the nigh-supreme being, have all that clinking gold catch the interest of desert raiders. Eventually, they’ll wipe him out.
“I can’t get my players into the campaign.”
This problem could be caused by one (or all for that matter) of a whole slew of things. Here are some ideas:
•
Get excited:
It stands to reason that if you’re not enthused about something, your players won’t be either. Getting yourself worked up is easy, and you’ll see, it spreads like wildfire. First of all, sit down only when your legs won’t let you stand up any longer. If you’re up, it’s easier to show how NPC’s are walking or fighting. It also gets the brain working, whereas sitting can make you logey. Fight scenes can let you really start moving. Run around, show the PC how his sword just lopped that Gith’s head clean off its shoulders. Have fun.
•
Relinquish control:
Didn’t you hate it when your parents made you take a bath when you were young? When they forced you to got to the dentist? How would you have felt if you were made to go to an amusement park with a 103 degree fever? So then how would you feel if your character was railroaded into doing everything some DM wanted him or her to do? Probably indignant, and you might not have too much fun. The key is to relinquish control of their characters to your players. Some DM’s don’t want this. They like Dungeon Mastering because it gives them control. And these people will probably never change, and their players will most likely have only the semblance of fun.
Players realize when their characters are being manipulated. So it’s best to just go along with the direction they are taking the quest (if and when they detour from your planned route) and enjoy the ride. It may take a bit of work, but the campaign will really click with the players. They’ll realize that they have control, and that’s the first step to getting into a character, and to getting excited about a quest.
•
If you’re going to plan, plan it for the characters, not just yourself:
A lot of DM’s seem to have this problem. Making a campaign based around only what you like will make the player’s job that much less enjoyable. But, do remember not to make the campaign just for your players. It’s every bit as important that you have fun as well as your group.
“My players are walking all over me!”
This is a simple matter to fix. The solution requires getting to the root of the problem. Usually this is a result of either being too lenient or just a complete-and-utter pushover. Don’t let your players walk over you and they won’t, it’s that simple. Here’s a few things you can do to get the group under control:
•
Don’t bail them out!
If you knew that every time you made a mistake, or did something wrong, you would be helped with absolutely no penalty, would you try to do anything right? If a character spits in a Sorcerer King’s face, have said monarch vaporize him. If he insists on screaming “Elves SUCK!” in Shadow Square, make sure he doesn’t get out. Do what you believe would be realistic for the NPC’s in that situation to do.
•
Don’t make a campaign dependant on one character:
Players are a crafty bunch. They can smell opportunity, and unless you are blessed with nice, fair players, they will capitalize on said opportunity. Doing something like making your entire campaign completely dependant on the wellfare of one character is not a good move. Not only is it unfair to the rest of the group (why shouldn’t the spotlight be shared?), but a character in such a position knows she is effectively immortal. If you knew that some higher being saw you as a crucial part for its glorious plan, would you be very afraid of death? Highly unlikely. So make sure that your campaign works if a character dies -- if all the characters die for that matter.
The Art of Improv
Improvisation Vs. Predestination
The words “adventure” and “predestination” have become almost synonymous in the AD&D game. When DM’s (or TSR) plan an adventure, it is linear. There is a start, a middle and a finish. And each part is neatly laid out and in what is supposed to be the most logical (and therefore the correct and only) way to go. Supposed to. DM’s and TSR seem to forget that players aren’t always logical. In fact, you can practically count on a player to louse up even the simplest, most basic of adventures.
DM: “OK, you’re walking down the street, you see a woman who is on fire. She’s yelling “I’ll pay anyone who can save me one thousand ceramics!”
Dirk (Played by Ray): “Aha! She must be the Gith King in disguise! I charge at her and level my two- handed bone long sword at her neck...”
It’s uncanny. Let’s say that in your planned adventure, that woman would have turned out to be a major NPC who the entire campaign revolved around. So what do you do? You save your campaign with a transparent, lame-ass excuse.
DM: “Ahh. Ahh. Ahh. Your sword breaks, and you see it as an omen not to kill the woman.”
Ray: “Why didn’t you just tell me you didn’t want me to decapitate her?”
So how does one go about solving this problem? Simple: don’t plan your adventure. You could get away with just making a bunch of stock NPC’s and encounters. And if you do it right, not only will the campaign not suffer, it will prosper.
Now you don’t have to worry about some NPC being killed in a freak accident. Players not interested in solving the mystery of the missing Faro Needles? Fine! No need to force it down their throats. They can solve some other mystery or do something else. No major plans ruined. But what about you, the DM. Is his method going to make your job any easier, or harder, or less fun?? Well, that’s up to you to find out. Improvising adventures is a chore for some, great fun for others. As long as you don’t let it intimidate you, I’m sure anyone can do it. From what I’ve seen, many people are too afraid of improv’ing to make it work for them. They think that if they have to take a minute to think, it’ll destroy the game. The fact is, it won’t. And once you’ve been freestyling adventures for a while, you won’t need a single second to think. The Creative Campaigning sourcebook by TSR is great for getting information about improvisational Dming. Things like cut-to’s and cliffhangers will greatly improve gameplay.
My personal recomendation: give it a few trys. It probably won’t go too well the first time you do it, but it’ll get easier soon afterwards. If you don’t like it, got back to linear games. Just remember: don’t be afraid of being unprepared!
Computer Game Worlds Vs. Dynamic Fantasy Worlds
A lot of people forget that PC’s aren’t the only ones trying to change the world. There are a host of other dynamic individuals poulating Athas. While Sorcerer-Kings might be reluctant to change, people and groups like Oronis, the Order, Dregoth, the Undead of the Dead Lands, the Thri-kreen army of the West, merchant houses, fed-up peasants, slaves lusting for freedom -- all are acting to change the world of Athas.
This capacity for dramatic change is exclusive only to real-life RPG’s, it cannot be simulated in a computer (at least not yet). But a lot of people still treat role-playing games as though they were computer games. They have the characters act as the only beings on the panet capable of changing it. So don’t wait for the PC’s to act before having something major change on Athas. Don’t have them incite the Kreen war, just have it happen one day. Wouldn’t that be an interesting turn of events... ?
Player: “Finally! I’ve captured my greatest of all enemies! At long last!!”
DM: “Uhh, sorry to stop you, but there are a hoard of Thri-Kreen running down the street towards you!”
Player: “Huh?”
Getting players to care about their characters
Many DM’s have this problem. Their quests are great, their DMing skills are unmatched, yet they can’t seem to get their players interested in the campaign. The simplest solution is: make them care about their chracters.
The first thing you do is have them make three long-term (or major) goals, and five short term goals. Short term goals could include breaking out of slavery or finding a weapon, major goals could be starting a merchant house, travelling to some far-distant City-State, or ruling all of Athas. Once they’ve thought about this, have them tell you what they’ve decided. This will 1) help you think of adventures that pertain to them, thus making your job that much easier and 2) help them clarify their characters in their own minds.
Another thing you can do is encourage your players if they’re excited about something. I’ve played under a lot of DM’s who couldn’t have cared less when I told them something about my character that I liked or was proud of. After a while, I would stop talking about that character, and it would become more and more of a piece of paper, and less and less of a detailed, fun, personality.
The last, and possibly most important, thing you can do is let the players take responsibility for their characters actions. Don’t let them get away with murder (literally and figuratively). For every action there is a consequence, and you must make your players aware of this. It is a very important idea when trying to make your role-playing game as “real” as possible.
In closing...
Well, that’s about the extent of my DM’ing knowledge. Everything else I know has to be learned solo -- you can’t teach someone how to have great timing or really role-play. I hope this has inspired you newbie DM’s, and given the veterans a few pointers in their weak areas. I leave you with a good moral to the story: the purpose for any game is to have fun, so do just that.