DarkSun: Dragon's Wake Wiki

*Magic ended the world. In the distant past powerful wizards drew upon the life of the sun itself to fuel their spells and their ambitions turning Athas into the barren waste of today. The Sorcerer-Kings, last survivors of the old world, have gathered civilization under the might of their Templar priests to hoard what little resources are available. Magic is universally feared, life comes cheaper than water, and the daily struggles of the commoner are for the rabble to worry about. Laws are just the whims of those in power. The only absolute is the rule of might and the persecution of magic.*

## Welcome to the Savage Athas

The world of Athas isn't meant to be a traditional Dungeons & Dragons crawl. Instead it was created to be the Mad Max high fantasy. Weapons are made of wood & stone, monsters look like something H. P. Lovecraft rejected, and everyone has a leather fetish. Life stealing magic has ravaged a once beautiful world and most of Athasian life mutated in response. So much that almost everyone has a Psionic power of some kind. To portray a world of terrible monsters, living gods, and mutant powers we've opted to use the Savage Worlds system.

What's Savage Worlds? It's a game system like Dungeons & Dragons built around the tagline "Fast! Furrious! Fun!" and its mechanics are meant to deliver. Most rolls use only one or two dice from a 4-sided to a 12-sided. Beat the number? Great! You succeed and the game continues. It's more than throwing dice though. Character customization options are meant to allow for every genre Lord of the Rings, Marvel's Avengers, Mass Effect and more. Simply put, I wanted a free form system that would let us run a free form game without a free-for-all party wipe every night. We just happen to be in post-apocalyptic high fantasy setting right now.

Your character is a part of Athas. Sorcerer-Kings rule the last remaining cities as tyrants and plot against one another for power, pride, or just something to do in the afternoon. The most basic law, might makes right, tends to dominate Athasian society within the cities, but your character could be from a nomadic tribe, a free town, a merchant house, or raised by a kindly hermit. Whatever your story, you'll get to share it here with friends around the table.

## Getting Started

You're staring at a web browser wondering just what the hell you've gotten yourself into. No one's wearing shining armor, the goodly elves stole your wallet and hobbits have the table manners of Hannibal Lecter. Welcome to Athas!

**Don't Panic!**

Athas is a brutal world full of horrors but you've got friends to help you through it. Also the rules system is here to empower your chosen character against action movie odds in as stylish a way as possible. Before we get into the dice and books, there's some more important rules. If you remember nothing else, please remember these rules. The game falls apart without them.

### Table Rules

* ***Nobody wins***

No one wins at Roleplay because there is no 'win' condition. It's a story written by dice committee.

* ***Everybody plays***

We're happy to invite anyone provided they respect the rules and their fellow players.

* ***If you are here, then here you are***

If there's something else you'd like to do, that's alright. We'll see you next session. Please don't bring your homework, TV shows, or phone calls to the table. It is for gaming.

* ***The Last Word***

The DM's word. We may take time after the game to change a DM ruling but when it's play time the goal is to keep the game moving in a fun direction, not look up book rules.

* ***Smile!***

We're all here for fun. Have an idea you think everyone would like? Pitch it! The best sessions usually have more to do with laughs than dice.

## Important articles

* Character Creation
* Athasian Magic

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