Re: GURPS Dark Sun Conversion
 

Combination Kusari and Axe

Deer Antlers.

Combination Kusari and an Axe on both ends.

Axe with something extra to represent the fact that there's two blades.

Hunamunga

Gada with a long handle.

Tetsubo.

Double-ended sword. Or spear with another spearhead added and basket hilts.

I don't know.

Spear? I can't really tell what this is supposed to look like.

Qian Kun Ri Yue Dao.

Pick.

Lajatang.

Urumi.

Katar.

Quadruple axe.

Short Staff.

Buckler with an added knife blade.

Sodegarami.

Combo pike and Maul?

Hrm. Dunno where to find rules on spring-loaded blades.

Knife Hand.

Re: GURPS Dark Sun Conversion
 

Any more progress going on here?

Re: GURPS Dark Sun Conversion
 

I was thrilled to see the subject title. The page repository seems to be paralyzed. I only see the racial templates so far...
I would love to see this finished... I can also help you guys :D.

Re: GURPS Dark Sun Conversion
 

Sorry guys, but at the moment I am preoccupied with a series of job interviews - so no progress so far. Hopefully things will get better next month, but I'm not making any promises (especially since I am also working on Doomed Slayers, which I plan to publish later this month).

But I definitely want to continue this...

Re: GURPS Dark Sun Conversion
 

One thought has recently occurred to me, however: I've finally read through the GURPS Dungeon Fantasy series, and I think it might be more appropriate to model Elemental Clerics after something found in that series instead of going the GURPS Powers route - either based on the various types of Clerics, or on the Elementalists, or on a mixture of both. I will have to think about this...

Re: GURPS Dark Sun Conversion
 

So How would you use DF series for the Clerics? Same thing for Templars too?

Re: GURPS Dark Sun Conversion
 

I'd probably give Clerics both the Elemental Abilities from DF9 ("Summoners") and the appropriate Spell List from DF7 ("Clerics") for Fire and Earth gods. I would need to build a custom spell list for Air and Water clerics, though.

As for Templars, they wouldn't get the Elemental Abilities - but they start with a single spell list from those in DF7, depending on their precise position in the templar hierarchy (Argriculture, Artificer, City, Death, Hunt, Messengers and Rogues, Night, and War should all be appropriate). As they rise in esteem, they may purchase New Realms from DF11 ("Power-Ups"), p. 22, granting them access to the other spell lists.

Re: GURPS Dark Sun Conversion
 

Good news, everyone! Looks like I will start a GURPS Dark Sun campaign at some point in the next few months, and thus I will be motivated to continue to work on this conversion...

Re: GURPS Dark Sun Conversion
 

Something that has been rumoured for the Dark Sun setting is that is the same world as Faerun, just really far in the future. That could supply some motivation for adventuring to those who seek ancient powerful artifacts (shotguns, xbox, credit cards).

Please keep us notified of updates to your repository. I'm going to run Athas some point soon and I would definitely like to use what you have compiled.

The Kreen template on your site is missing Temp Tolerance 7ish and Only Needs Water Once a Week. Also they have that resin stuff that they secrete from their mouth. I wouldn't charge points for it. As for psionic wild talents, I'd use the table from the boxed set.

As a note, everything that isn't the original Dark Sun Boxed Set is garbage.

For a magic system, I used something really simple and put a limitation on Magery that gives a -2 to skill or causes Lifebane. Characters get to choose which limitation to use at cast time. If character fails a skill roll, they have the option to defile and get their +2 back.

Note: Trees of Life are great sources of magical energy. They can support something like 100 spell levels of defiling before they die. Sorceror-Kings have gardens of these in case of emergency. A very happy druid gets to be the gardener.

Re: GURPS Dark Sun Conversion
 

A more careful reading of Thri-Kreen of Athas confirmed the reduced water consumption. As soon as I find the references for higher temperature tolerance, I will put them both into the template.

Personally, I disagree with that stance. I think the main problem with the second boxed set was not the expanded view of the world or with that the dragon and several sorcerer-kings were killed - it was that all this was done by NPCs in tie-in novels instead of being the culmination of an adventure for epic-level player characters. I will certainly use the second boxed set for inspiration, even though I won't use its "canon" as far as the timeline is concerned.

I will also use the "deep background story" of the second boxed set largely as written (of Rajaat and how the dragon and the sorcerer-kings came into being). It works quite well for the epic finale of the campaign (whether Rikus, Sadira et al will survive to that point remains to be seen, but they certainly won't play the starring roles). It also gives the PCs a nice moral dilemma when they learn that the dragon and the sorcerer-kings were the only thing keeping the genocidal Rajaat imprisoned... (all this, of course, means that Dark Sun is not the future of Faerun, or any other established campaign setting).

And while the 4E version sometimes tries too hard to shoehorn existing 4E rules material into the setting, many of the new setting ideas it brings are actually pretty good and well worth stealing. I mean, a realm of the fey that was scattered by defiling magic, of which only a few small locales remain similar to the palaces of the djinn out of the Arabian Nights? Yes, I can work with that.

Yeah, I know. In fact, there is an actual Tree of Life right in the village the PCs start in, unknown to them...