Saturday, June 19th is
Free RPG Day and with it comes a slew of new and interesting little releases. Invariably they are tasters for forthcoming games to be released at Gen Con the following August, but others are support for existing RPGs or pieces of gaming ephemera. Amongst the slew each year there will always be one or more hotly anticipated titles, and Free RPG Day ’10 is blessed with several that preview forthcoming titles. One of these is
Bloodsand Arena, an adventure that sees the return of
Dungeons & Dragons to the world of
Darksun.
Originally published in 1991, Darksun proved to be not only one of the most memorable settings for Dungeons & Dragons Second Edition, but one of the most radical, for it was very different to any of the fantasy settings that had come before it, or indeed have appeared since. It is set on Athas, a world transformed into a desert long ago by ancient arcane wars. Today its inhabitants revile the use of arcane magic, as to cast spells a magic user often needs to siphon power from the area around him, sterilising the vicinity, withering plants, and inflicting pain upon the living nearby. Those magic users siphon off such living energy are known as Defilers. Both Athas and her inhabitants are savage, everyone needs to be born a survivor, marshalling what resources they can in a metal poor environment. While magic is rare, mostly resting in the hands of the tyrannical Sorcerer-Kings that rule the city states of Tyr, psionics are well known, even amongst the savage beasts of the deserts. Unknown though, are the Gods, who have long remained silent resulting in there being no clerics, paladins, or prophets on Athas. Lastly, some of the races are different to standard Dungeons & Dragons -- Elves are desert nomads and raider while Halflings are xenophobic cannibalistic headhunters. Other races native to Athas include Goliaths or Half-Giants, the Half-Dwarves known as Muls, and the preying mantis like Thri-keen.
Of course, Bloodsand Arena and this new version of the Darksun setting are both written for Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition, so the setting of Athas needs to be altered to take account of both the new rules and some of the basic elements to be found in Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition. Primarily, these are the game’s additional core additional races, the Tieflings becoming nomadic raiders, the Dragonborn or dray becoming mercenaries, and the very rare Eladrin becoming inhabitants of the true wilds. The Darksun setting also adds new rules options, including Character Themes that provide a character with an extra background option such as a career, a calling, or other archetype; handling weapons made of fragile materials – when compared to metal – and which might break; using arcane defiling to power a magic user’s most powerful abilities, that is, his daily powers; and alternative means of rewarding the player characters given that Athas is both metal and magic poor.
What strikes you first about Bloodsand Arena is that it comes in a folder, inside of which can be found a large fold out double-sided full colour map; a twenty-four page booklet; and six pre-generated character cards. The core of Bloodsand Arena is that booklet, which not only introduces and explains what makes Athas different, but provides two short scenarios, each of which is comprised of three detailed encounters. The majority of these encounters do involve combat, but alongside these both adventures provide opportunities for other challenges and perhaps a little roleplaying. Both scenarios come with hooks to get the provided characters involved.
The first adventure, “Betrayal at Altaturk,” sees the adventurers guarding a trade caravan on its way to Altaturk a trade stop sitting near the Sea of Silt. After a long and tough journey, betrayal sees the party forced to fight in the arena to retain their freedom and perhaps make a name for themselves. Although the two scenarios could be played in any order, it is logical enough to play “Betrayal at Altaturk” before “Veiled Threat,” the second scenario which sees the party introduced to the politics of the region. Both scenarios make use of the poster map that depicts the main encounter locations, large enough that miniatures can be used for each fight. Together the two scenarios should provide a couple of decent session’s worth of play.
The six pre-generated investigators each come on a full colour card and are complete with name, background, and full statistics. All six are first level and include a Thri-Keen Shaman, a Human Warlock, an Elf Battlemind, a Mul Gladiator, a Human Illusionist, and a Goliath Gladiator. The six all provide a good mix of powers and abilities, including some psionics or psychic ones. From just reading through Bloodsand Arena, psionics do not play as strong a role in the scenario as their appearances did in the setting under Dungeons & Dragons Second Edition. This may be in part due to the publisher wanting to keep the full details of psionics in Bloodsand Arena under wraps until the release of the setting book itself, but there is also a certain flattening effect that comes from the similarities between the character powers. Although the two scenarios can be played using any characters – once the new edition of Darksun is released, that is – they are written with the six included in mind.
Beyond the pages of Bloodsand Arena, the players can take these characters and use them in Fury of the Wastewalker. This is a Darksun mini-campaign that is being run over the Summer at participating friendly local gaming stores as part of Wizards of the Coast’s “D&D Encounters” program.
If ever there was a setting that going to bring me back to playing Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition, it would be Darksun, to which Bloodsand Arena is an excellent introduction. After reading through Bloodsand Arena I am really looking forward to seeing the new Darksun.
Review Summary