ACKS Classes in Dark Sun

Alignment on Athas

The struggle of Law and Chaos on Athas is the struggle over the future of tha planet.

Chaos is the short-sighted exploitation of the world's resources, especially through the use of defiling magic, which converts plant life into magical power, but has already turned much of the world into a desert.

The Sorcerer-Kings and other defiler mages are the primary representatives of Chaos on Athas.

Law is the long-term preservation and careful husbanding of the world's resources for the good of all, aiming to build a better and prosperous future.

The rumored Veiled Alliance of preserver mages that opposes the Sorcerer-Kings would be a prime example of Law, if it is real. Clerics who try to guide people to live in sustainable harmony with the natural world are another. Ironically, some of the templars of the city-states are Lawful, having a genuine interest in the survival of civilization.

Neutrality can indicate passivity in the struggle, or an attempt to balance immediate self-interest of the individual with the long-term survival of the community. Either way, it is the most common attitude. In more extreme cases, Neutral characters—often clerics and druids—care for the preservation and restoration of nature for its own sake, and oppose both the Chaos and Law, seeing exploitation and destruction as an inevitable result of civilization.

The majority of people on Athas fall into the first categories of neutrality; the last one is represented by the druids that seek to protect the natural world from all exploitation.

The differences between alignments are brought to stark relief when water and food are scarce in the merciless wastelands of Athas. Lawful characters seek to ensure the survival of the entire group, either distributing resources equally, or marshalling them into an attempt to save everyone. Chaotic characters care only for their own survival and advantage, through any means necessary. Neutral characters attempt to strike a balance, not willing to sacrifice their own lives, but reluctant to let others die.

Core Classes

• Fighter: Fighters are as common on Athas as anywhere else. They occupy countless positions in society, from bandits and soldiers to gladiators to noble swordsmen and military commanders serving the Sorcerer-Kings.
• Mage: Mages on Athas are deeply tied to the fate of the world. They draw life force from living plants to power their spells; this has contributed to the desertification of vast swathes of land. Some mages are called preservers or defilers, according to their philosophy, but all mages have the option to use defiling magic.
• Cleric: No gods grant powers on Athas, except for the Sorcerer-Kings who somehow empower their templars with magic. Instead, clerics worship the elements. Most clerics worship either Air, Earth, Fire, or Water, and many serve as custodians of the natural world or guardians of natural sites. Others acknowledge mixed elements that combine the others: Magma (Fire mixed with Earth), Rain (Water mixed with Air), Silt (Earth mixed with Water), or Sun (Air mixed with Fire). Chaotic clerics may instead worship the entropic anti-elements of Vacuum (Air), Dust (Earth), Ash (Fire), and Salt (Water); they are madmen who seek to drive the world further towards extinction.
• Thief: Thieves on Athas live as anywhere else: by their wits and dexterity, stealing from others. They are most comfortable in the city-states, where they often form gangs and secret societies.

Campaign Classes

• Assassin: Assassins are employed in the city-states of Athas by templars, nobles, and merchant houses vying for power and influence. Most are masters of disguise, often having some profession—commonly that of entertainer—that acts as cover to allow them to get close to their influential targets.
• Explorer: Explorers are extremely important on Athas; only fools would venture into the wastes without someone experienced in surviving there. Caravans and travellers must measure the water they carry carefully and travel from oasis to oasis, and getting lost in the wastes can quickly lead to death by dehydration and heatstroke.
• Scholar (Bard): The Scholar class is a variant of the Bard class. The city-states of Athas are able to support some specialized scholars who spend their lives in study of lore. Many are nobles, or sponsored by noble patrons, which allows them to devote themselves to knowledge rather than labor to survive.

• Dwarven Vaultguard: The hardy dwarves make excellent warriors, though many live among humans in the city-states rather than in the hidden vaults that survive in some corners of the wastelands.
• Dwarven Craftpriest: Dwarves have a great aptitude for handicrafts and the ability to become absorbed—even obsessed—with projects. This has led some dwarves to take a religious approach to crafts, as an offshoot of worshipping the element of Earth.
• Elven Classes: All elves possess the Elf Running ability. As a consequence, the experience totals for elven classes are altered.
• Elven Spellsword: Elves have a natural affinity for magic, and thus some of them are able to hone both martial and magical skills.
• Elven Nightblade: The elves of Athas are famed as smugglers, con-men, bandits, and general criminals and cheats, and some of them live up to this reputation, even revelling in it. Nightblades take it the furthest, becoming masters of the arts of murder and poisoning, and supplementing this with a little magic.

• Barbarian: Barbarian regions for Dark Sun. Barbarians on Athas are members of remote wasteland tribes, usually descendants of escaped slaves who must eke out a harsh and precarious living in the cruel wastes. Most of them consider this life preferrable to the sting of a master's whip.
• Mystic: Mystics hone their control of their own minds and bodies to impressive levels; their techniques are similar to those of psionicists, but much more subtle and less "flashy."
• Shaman: Shaman totems for Dark Sun. Shamans are protectors of nature; many live among the slave tribes of the wastes, helping them exist in the harsh wilderness, while others are hermit guardians of oasises and other natural sites.
• Venturer: The Venturer class is altered for Dark Sun by removing their spellcasting. Venturers are inextricably tied to the societies of Athas: bold caravaneers brave the deadly wastes to make great profits by transporting goods between the city-states, and the powerful merchant houses that sponsor caravans have great power in the politics of the cities.
• Warlock: ...
• Witch: Witch traditions for Dark Sun. ...

• Dwarven Delver: The dwarven aptitude with crafts leads many to lives as delvers, seeking out lost places and buried ruins to recover ancient artifacts and treasures. Many become positively obsessed with this aim.
• Dwarven Fury: Some dwarves dedicate themselves to battle, becoming recklessly obsessive warriors, feared for the way they throw themselves into combat.
• Dwarven Machinist: Some rare dwarves are lucky enough to gain access to ancient machinery, and those who devote themselves to it are able to somewhat replicate the lost wonders of the ancient world.
• Elven Courtier: Some elves find ways to integrate themselves into the higher echelons of Athasian society, becoming agents of merchant or noble houses, or holding positions within the city bureaucracy.
• Elven Enchanter: Enchanters take the elven penchant for deception and manipulation and channel it into magic.
• Elven Ranger: The elves of Athas live in the wastes and deserts, and many become masters of their harsh environment. The rangers number among those elves, and often guide their tribes across the wasteland.

New Campaign Classes

• Amazon: Amazons are fierce warrior-women, often either gladiators, independent-minded noblewomen, or exceptional members of slave tribes.
• Aristocrat: Aristocrats are noblemen trained in both the courtly and martial arts. They make excellent leaders, and many seek out lives of adventure to escape the stifling bureaucracy and cut-throat politics of the city-states, where the immortal Sorcerer-Kings preclude true advancement.
• Druid: Druids are elemental priests who serve as guardians of nature against the depredations of defilers, organizing in loose "circles" of like-minded individuals, often spanning massive areas of wasteland.
• Envoy: Envoys are usually nobles, trained in intrigue and politics. They are surprisingly adept at stealth and deception.
• Scout: Scouts are "the thieves of the wilderness," as capable of leading parties into the wastes as explorers, but exchanging ability in combat for stealth.
• Warmaster: Warmasters are, either by training or natural talent, those with great potential to become leaders of warriors and armies.

Dark Sun Campaign Classes

• Dwarven Earth Priest: This dwarven cleric channels the powers of elemental earth.
• Dwarven Sun Speaker: This dwarven cleric channels the powers of elemental sun and fire.
• Elven Bladedancer: This elven cleric combines the arts of music and swordsmanship.
• Elven Desert Runner: An archetypal elf, stealthy, deadly, and at home in the vast desert wastes.
• Elven Trader: This elf is a master of the black markets, with a talent for dishonesty and crime.
• Elven Windsinger: An elven cleric who communes with the winds by means of ancient songs.
• Gladiator: Gladiators are trained to fight in the bloody arenas of Athas, and excel at their specific forms of combat.
• Half-Giant Brute: A massive brute, unparallelled in combat but not born to lead.
• Halfling Rain Priest: A halfling priest from the legendary Forest Ridge, a wise leader, a master of nature, and a speaker to spirits.
• Halfling Renegade: This stealthy survivor is an outcast from the Forest Ridge.
• Mul Gladiator: Born and bred to slavery and death, this gladiator is unmatched on the bloody sands.
• Psionicist: Students and masters of the Way have unlocked the powers of the mind.
• Thri-Kreen Hunter: An alien mantis-man, a relentless and inhuman hunter.