Warrior Kits (EoA)

This chapter describes a variety of character kits for use by Athasian elf player characters. The use of kits is optional, and players who want to create or modify exist- ing characters to take advantage of kits should discuss it with their Dungeon Masters.
The kits that follow are designed for use with only those elf characters who inhabit the hostile world of the DARK SUN  campaign settingnot for elves of any other world. When creating an Athasian elf character using a kit, be sure to add the details from Chapter One to the characters record sheet.
=== Proficiencies ===
Kits require the use of the proficiency rules as outlined in Chapter Five of the AD&D   Players Handbook and
Chapter Five of the DARK SUN boxed set Rules Book. If you are using kits, these rules are not optional. Unless otherwise noted in the kit description, an elf character receives the same number of proficiency slots as listed for all characters of his class according to Table 34 in the Players Handbook.
=== Kit Descriptions ===
Each of the kits that follow begins with a brief overview. This gives a quick example of the type of character it can be used to create. Other sections of the kit description include:
 Recommended Tribal Affiliation: If the kit is par- ticularly appropriate to one of the elf tribes presented here or in the Dune Trader accessory, the tribe is listed here.
 Role: This section provides additional details on a characters place in elf society and the adventuring envi- ronment. It shows how a member of this kit will typically act, though player characters arent required to rigidly stick to this information.
 Weapon Proficiencies: Some kits indicate that spe- cific weapon proficiencies must be selected when the character is created. These cost the standard number of slots as outlined in the proficiency descriptions unless otherwise noted.
 Nonweapon Proficiencies: Some kits indicate that specific nonweapon proficiencies must be selected when the character is created. Bonus proficiencies are free and do not use up valuable slots. Required proficiencies must be selected and these do use up slots. Recom- mended proficiencies are optional and cost the usual number of slots. If a recommended proficiency comes from a group not listed for the characters class, the profi- ciency costs one additional slot (unless the specific kit states otherwise).
 Equipment: Restrictions concerning a kits use of equipment are presented here.
 Special Benefits: Almost every kit features advan- tages that set its members apart from those using other kits. Note that bonuses are expressed as positive num- bers and penalties as negative numbers. In this way, if a low number is good for a particular characters action, then the bonus is actually subtracted from the die roll and the penalty is added.
 Special Hindrances: Like benefits, these are unique to each kit, prohibiting or forcing certain actions at certain times.
 Wealth Options: All characters receive starting funds, and these are explained here.
=== Warrior Kits ===
Warriors make up a large segment of the elf population. In addition to the pure warrior kit of the savage hunter, the multiclassed thri-kreen slayer fighter/psionicist kit is included here as elves tend to readily branch out and combine skills.
=== Savage Hunter ===
The elves of Athas are a nomadic people, and many tribes survive solely through the skills of their hunters. The savage hunter is the most common elf warrior type, serving as both a tribal defender and an important food provider. Respected by others of the tribe, the savage hunter uses the same skills to hunt prey and to fight out- siders and other threats to the tribe. The ways of the city- states are alien to these wilderness warriors, for they are only at home in the wastes when on a hunt.
PC savage hunters either join up with an adventuring group while on a mission for their tribe, or they join dur- ing the period of wanderlust that comes upon most young elves at least once in their lives. On these journeys of adventure and discovery, savage hunters take with them all the skills they learned as protectors and providers for their tribes. As such, they are often valuable contributors to a party.
Recommended Tribal Affiliation: Savage hunters often come from the Wind Dancers or Water Hunters tribes.
Role: Savage hunters are elves who have fighting skills, knowledge of the wilderness, and hunting prowess. In the Wind Dancers tribe, the savage hunters have been turned into raiders, forced to hunt a different sort of prey to keep their tribe alive. In the Water Hunters tribe, sav- age hunters serve as the main warrior class. They protect the tribe from all dangers in addition to their role as providers of fresh meat and animal skins.
Elves have a great respect for savage hunters, even those elves whose tribes have given up the old traditions. Once all Athasian elf tribes survived by the skill of their hunters, and the greatest heroes of ancient songs and leg- ends are those proud hunters. In many cases, outsiders first encounter a tribe through its hunters, who use stealth and surprise to strike swiftly at those who pose a threat to the rest of the tribe.
In tribes that still use the savage hunter class, the hunters are honored with respect, choice supplies, and roles of leadership. When savage hunters go wandering and join up with adventuring groups, they often expect these same privileges from outsiders. The people they travel with must show them the same respect they receive from their tribes, and they demand the first pick of spoils. In addition, because savage hunters fill leadership posi- tions in their tribes, they naturally attempt to fill the same positions in whatever group they may travel with. They treat everything as a hunt, and on a hunt orders must be followed and traditions kept or the prey will escape.
Savage hunters are the most stringent keepers of elven traditions. The old ways (which hold that hunters are the best of the elf race) are the right ways, and things that go against these traditions smack of the slower races. Savage hunters are intolerant of non-elves and non-elven ways.
=== Weapon Proficiencies: Members of this kit must take the long bow and long sword, as these are the traditional weapons of the elves. ===
=== Nonweapon Proficiencies: The proficiencies for the savage hunter are as follows. ===
=== Bonus Proficiencies: Tracking. ===
=== Required Proficiencies: Hunting, survival (sandy wastes or other). ===
=== Recommended (General): Direction sense, fire- building, heat protection, rope use, water find. ===
=== Recommended (Warrior): Animal lore, endurance, set snares. ===
Equipment: A savage hunter receives a bone long sword and a long bow crafted for the character by mem- bers of his or her tribe, as well as a set of leather armor.
=== Special Benefits ===
: In addition to the bonus tracking proficiency, savage hunters receive two additional non- weapon proficiency slots when they are first created. These slots must be filled from the recommended profi- ciencies listed above.
== Special Hindrances ==
Savage hunters start with only two initial weapon proficiency slots instead of five.
=== Wealth Options ===
Savage hunters from poor tribes (such as the Wind Dancers) start with 2d4x10 cp, while those from successful tribes (such as the Water Hunters) begin with the normal 5d4x30 cp.
=== Thri-Kreen Slayer ===
Perhaps the greatest threat to the elves of Athas is the thri- kreen. These insectoid hunters love the taste of elf flesh, and they prey upon the desert runners whenever the opportunity presents itself. In order to combat the threat posed by the fast, strong, and cunning thri-kreen, a special class of desert runner has developedthe thri-kreen slayer. A thri-kreen slayer is a multiclassed fighter/psioni- cist who devotes him- or herself to becoming an expert hunter and fighter of the dread insect-men.
Wearing armor consisting of pieces of a thri-kreens hard exoskeleton shell, slayers train in ways to best com- bat the hulking insect-men. They study the fighting styles and habits of the thri-kreen, learning all they can about their deadly adversaries. Slayers are taught to hate the thri-kreen with all their hearts so that the innermost fury in their hearts can be fully tapped. Conversely, they are also taught to admire the thri-kreenappreciating their tireless natures and their hunters hearts. Only through understanding and a certain respect can a slayer hope to survive the challenge of a thri-kreen warrior.
When thri-kreen slayers join adventuring parties, they do so as part of their continuing training or to satisfy the bouts of wanderlust that often come upon the elves of Athas. Even away from their tribes, slayers take their roles and responsibilities very seriously. They actively seek out thri-kreen during combat, only turning toward other ene- mies when all thri-kreen have been defeated or when a much greater danger presents itself.
Recommended Tribal Affiliation: Thri-kreen slayers can be found among most of the elf tribes wandering the
Tablelands, though the Wind Dancers and the Sky Singers actively seek to develop these rare and special warriors.
Role: These slayers defend their tribes from thri-kreen hunting packs. They know what signs to look for to deter- mine if thri-kreen are in the area. They know how to throw a hunting pack off the trail. When a battle is inevitable, thri-kreen slayers know the most effective ways to kill the insect-men. These warriors are the champions of their tribes, for they alone seem invincible before the enemies that haunt all elven nightmares.
Slayers tend to be loners, operating independently of their tribes for long periods of time. A tribe may not see its slayers for weeks on end, but the elves know that they are out in the wastes watching for the approach of the deadly insect-men. The slayers must warn the tribe of an impending attack, to lead any battles against the thri- kreen, and to safely move the tribe out of danger.
Slayers are extremely confident (though some con- sider them mad in their arrogance). Armed with an arse- nal of weapons and always ready to leap into battle against a thri-kreen, a slayer is as a formidable foe. Using psionics and fighting skills to best advantage, slayers are among the most fearsome elf opponents anyone (thri- kreen or otherwise) will ever meet. Interestingly enough, there are instances of slayers having worked with thri- kreen as part of an adventuring group, but these relation- ships are often volatile and extremely fragile, for neither elf nor thri-kreen trusts the other.
=== Weapon Proficiencies ===
Members of this kit must take the long bow, long sword, and one thri-kreen weapon (either a chatkcha or gythka) among their initial weapon proficiency selections.
=== Nonweapon Proficiencies ===
The proficiencies for the thri-kreen slayer are as follows.
=== Bonus Proficiencies: Rejuvenation. ===
=== Required Proficiencies: Survival (sandy wastes or other). ===
=== Recommended (General): Direction sense, lan- guages (thri-kreen). ===
=== Recommended (Psionicist): Harness subconscious, meditative focus. ===
=== Recommended (Warrior): Tracking, weapon- smithing. ===
Equipment: A thri-kreen slayer receives a bone long sword and a long bow crafted for the character by mem- bers of his or her tribe, as well as a set of thri-kreen-shell armor (AC 5).
=== Special Benefits ===
In addition to the bonus rejuvenation proficiency, slayers gain a +4 bonus to attack rolls when fighting thri-kreen, and a +2 bonus to damage rolls. A slayer can attack with two weapons without penalty to his or her attack rolls, though all other restric- tions for two-weapon attacks apply (see Players Hand- book, Chapter Nine).
=== Special Hindrances ===
The enmity that slayers feel toward the thri-kreen causes them to suffer a -4 penalty on all encounter reactions with the hated race. Thri- kreen slayers must attack thri-kreen if such foes are pre- sent during combat. They may only change targets once all thri-kreen have been defeated or if an obviously more dangerous opponent reveals itself. In addition, because of the image they present, slayers are often targeted by those seeking to prove their own skills or who are looking to make a quick reputation. They must always be on guard for attacks by those who want to prove their own tough- ness against such worthy foes.
Wealth Options: Thri-kreen slayers start play with 3d4x30 cp as well as the weapons and armor mentioned above.