Dark Sun Ep.01: AD&D 2E | To Tame A Land 01 - A Little Knowledge Part 1 | Lawful Stupid RPG

[@therealronbrand]

Dark Sun! Just found you guys. Binge time!!!

[@zantharian57]

Likewise

[@silvanusasher446]

Same

[@JKeays100]

I ran this adventure two time, once as a player in 1998 and as a game master in 2004 Its a pleasure to revisite it with you. In my first try we fough to defend the caravan as the guard ordered, getting badly injured, then we died later in the desert encounters later. As a Game master, my players fled in the desert as soon as the elves attacked.

[@logarium]

Thank you! It's a great introduction to the setting - I love all the different ways it can pan out :)

[@thundererodinson1668]

Rikus, Agis n Sadara are my favorite book characters of any fantasy setting. Tithian was awesome n complex also. DARK SUNS was great books!!

[@southanime]

Just found the channel. Love the use of Age of Conan OST

[@logarium]

CROM!!!

[@pigeonsil240sx]

when i was around 12yo i got the pc darksun game wake of the ravager,i would day dream just looking througgh the manual,it was my favorite game and had a slight obsession.about 20 years later i found out it was based on board games and that i only scratched the surface into what darksun when i was younger.it makes me so disappointed knowing i missed out because i know i would had got sucked into this and created tons of nostalgia

[@MatthewHolevinski]

same here

[@hagerthehorrible1892]

That age of Conan soundtrack is AMAZING. I haven't heard it in ages.

[@logarium]

I love it so much - only thing that comes close to Poledouris' original!

[@AAron-gr3jk]

I used it in a Conan 2d20 campaign. Was awesome

[@NotoriusBEN1]

B'ngaal riding upon Rah... "Who control Bartertown?"

[@LoganSchwartz]

This is awesome thanks for giving me something to listen to at work! :)

[@logarium]

Enjoy!

[@davidm3190]

Matthias has pretty high stats - what die rolling method was used

[@logarium]

We used roll 6d4, keep the highest five and arrange to taste. Traditional Dark Sun is to roll 4d4+4 but I wanted more variability while keeping to the same maximums. Yeah, Matthias ended up with some killer stats. Plus his player is super crafty, as you'll see... ;)

[@Thumperoo]

Nice team, great DM. Immersive soundscapes. And a massive wave of nostalgia seeing 2e being played. Well done folks !

[@Jadearian]

Thank you kindly

[@cylonmk2]

Having watched this a year ago, I now find myself about to run this adventure. I love this group and will listen to this a second time for idea on how I will run the module

[@spamman6369]

great overlay, I like it!

[@logarium]

Thanks - Nissa's player made it for us :)

[@ForeverYoungKickboxer]

Awesomeness! Trying get my brother to start a 2nd ed Darksun campaign to give me a break from running our Gamma World game.

[@pricerowland]

The atmosphere is top-notch, very easy to visualize! Glad you plugged this show on the r/DnD subreddit, it's great listening.

[@logarium]

Thank you! That was a great thread so I figured it was a good place to share the DS love :)

[@pricerowland]

@@logarium You've helped me go full-send on the Dark Sun lore. I've been threatening my players with a Dark Sun campaign for days now :)

[@McHobotheBobo]

Finally decided to take the plunge and watch this series. Geeat start so far! Hope to catch up and watch season 2, Dark Sun is one of my top three settings :)

[@logarium]

Season 2 is on break for another couple weeks so you have some time 😁 - enjoy!

[@Leftylives]

I am enjoying the show so far, thanks.

[@peters6345]

Just stumbled onto this video, you guys are really fun to watch. I find a lot of youtube groups try to be too goofy. You have a nice balance

[@logarium]

Thank you! Glad you're digging it!

[@nokturnalzenon_techgnosis6756]

You guys are great, love the passion and enthusiasm. I'm taking my table into Athas soon, first time for all of us. Watching you guys is inspiring.

[@logarium]

Thank you!! Share the DS love :)

[@LtDansLegs7]

Just found this, going to be DMing a Dark Sun campaign for 5e! Will be binge watching the series 😅

[@logarium]

Welcome aboard - and enjoy!

[@tickingtimebobgaming]

I love that you guys did this.

[@MenschWerdeWesentlich]

Pretty cool group and I’m a sucker for Dark Sun. Expect to see me around! Subscribed.

[@logarium]

Hey , thanks - and welcome! We have 40 episodes in season 1, start to finish, and we just hit episode 11 in season 2. Plenty of DS goodness for ya!

[@MenschWerdeWesentlich]

@@logarium Wow! Thanks for the info. I wasn’t even aware of that.

[@piusottovoce]

Awesome game...can't wait for next Sunday!

[@Jadearian]

Glad you like it :)

[@MrChupacabra555]

Just noticed the music in the background from Conan. Always thought that Dark Sun had the flavor of Conan (and even moreso with the recent "Conan: Exiles' game which could be set on Athas almost 😄)

[@ticker0157]

I thought they were the same universe for way to long lol

[@snieves4]

You used Zoom for this? How did you set up the template?

[@logarium]

Yeah, it's a Zoom meeting with the windows undocked and moved around so they fit under the overlay (made in photoshop) arranged in OBS. That, plus music streamed from Foundry via a browser and maps/dice coming from Roll20, are all arranged with OBS, then broadcast via Twitch. The OBS recording of the stream is later edited for KZbin upload :)

[@trueKENTUCKY]

amazing DM wow

[@logarium]

Thank you! I have amazing players :)

[@johnstorm9314]

"So, Kled then."

[@logarium]

So funny :)

[@zarekshadowmoor9263]

New to this group and story, but I do have a couple of questions. You seem to be playing a mash of 2nd ed and elements of 5e. Is this correct? Not trying to make an issue out of it, just trying to understand as I to run a 2nd ed game but I have brought in certain elements of 5e that I like. I ask because it would appear as your AC's are going up as opposed to going down as they would in normal 2nd ed. D&D and you are using the concept of 5e's advantage and disadvantage to D20 rolls, but then using Bend Bars/Lift Gates rolls which are classically 2nd ed... Anyway, just call it my need to know. And may you always roll Nat 20's.

[@logarium]

Yep, that's exactly what's going on. Ascending AC, THAC0 replaced by attack bonus, CMB/CMD rules imported from Pathfinder, ability bonuses are a mash of BX and AD&D. We don't use advantage/disadvantage, though, although our viewers can gift inspiration dice from time to time. At its core, it's AD&D2e but with a variety of hacks. I wrote a series of blogs explaining the hacks but KZbin is preventing me from linking to them hahaha.

[@zarekshadowmoor9263]

@@logarium Cheers for the reply.

[@Alkonium]

Your DM is like a British Werner Herzog.

[@Ricuevas]

Well this owe to entertain me for a while

[@logarium]

Yes! Welcome aboard - hope you like sand :)

[@Titan360]

Forget to speak King Torg's name in KAMB, you get in trouble. Speak King Torg's name in Dark Sun, you get in trouble. You just can't win!

[@logarium]

TORG!!!

[@andrewwarwick6145]

2ed Dark Sun is just the best. I miss it so it is good to be able to watch people enjoy it. Interesting mix of characters too. Never seen a trader in action. And is that a dwarf wizard I see? Some might label that heretical :) (I'm always houseruling so it isn't something I'd ban.) This adventure module makes you really appreciate being a thri-kreen or a druid/cleric of the water domain.

[@logarium]

Heresy of the worst kind! (Portek was actually built with Skills & Powers - he doesn't have dwarven resistances in return for being able to take wizard as a class. But a braxat will probably eat him anyway.)

[@andrewwarwick6145]

@@logarium Ah, that explains it. And if not a braxat, then a halfling.

[@JustAnotherJarhead]

@@logarium I'm still trying to get my head around this magic using dwarven creation.

[@logarium]

@@JustAnotherJarhead So the Skills & Powers rules allow you to customise classes & races, swapping abilities out and replacing them with others. We used this system to build Portek. The original S&P rules are in the Players Option books that came out in late 2e era, and the DS variants on those appear in Dragon magazine annuals. Of course, there's nothing stopping a DM from just saying "dwarves can be wizards in my games" but we decided to remove Portek's saving throw bonuses to spells in return for being able to take levels as a wizard as a nod to game balance and the DS feel.

[@dunderhill]

This is a great start to the game. Wonderful.

[@logarium]

Thank you! It's the classic opener :)

[@quasarsword7479]

I’m 4 minutes in. I sub now. We played dark sun as young teenagers.

[@logarium]

Dark Sun is so good! Season 2 coming very soon :)

[@warface4881]

When I imagine myself playing Darksun I think I'd play a Mul or probably a Half-Giant. The game setting is cool I didn't appreciate it when it came out but at that time, we were invested in a more traditional D&D game.

[@logarium]

Those are both kick-ass options. And yeah, it's a super-evocative setting :)

[@warface4881]

@@logarium right now I'm about 60 minutes in, they just found the map. I keep going back to this video and watching about 20 minutes at a time but I'm kinda jealous cause I want to play D&D too!

[@logarium]

@@warface4881 Cool - thanks for watching. We just wrapped session #30 last night, so you've plenty Dark Sun ahead of you. But yeah, gotta agree - playing is better than watching!

[@vidstarr]

I'd always pick one of the Kreen, and in 2nd Edition they were at their best...

[@Grymreefer]

new sub , my DM would have made us roll for surprise , being woken by a shout . kudos to you .

[@Grymreefer]

i'm guessing a house rule allows the dwarf to be a mage ?

[@logarium]

@@Grymreefer Yep - we built Portek using Skills & Powers, removing certain dwarven resistances to magic and save bonuses in return for the ability to cast spells :)

[@jakeenochs3672]

Just joined the series and loving it so far! It's fresh to see some 2e and the heart of dark sun! I'm running my own game in the future and was wanting to ask the DM which book he gets the weather table from?

[@logarium]

Thanks - glad you're digging it! The weather table is based on the one in Valley of Dust and Fire, iirc. I'll have to do a blog on it!

[@hank.hacking]

Holy shit, this is great! I'm so bummed that I missed the live streams, I would drop like $300 easy!

[@Jadearian]

Stream is usually every Sunday but recently had a break. They are back next Sunday though.

[@logarium]

Thanks! And you're just in time for the final episode of the season this coming weekend - Sunday, 10am EST. Come for the sunshine, stay for the TPK ;)

[@vidstarr]

Don't cross the streams ;)

[@Yarkoonian]

if anyone is still here, great content, but also how does the gladiator, the short one, have an ac of 14, 10 is unarmored and lower is better, with additions for dex right? She has 20 dex, so how come 14?

[@logarium]

Thanks James! We use ascending Armour Class, so you add the Defensive Adjustment from Dexterity to the base AC of 10 instead of subtracting it. There are a few hacks and houserules like that :)

[@FredsHorrorCorner]

im a few mns in but this already feels epic.

[@logarium]

Thanks! Dark Sun is a super epic setting - so much fun to be playing in it :)

[@jasonshortt7]

AD&D 2e is such an amazing game. You just had a much more immersive fight with 6pc’s and around 12 npc’s in less than a 1/4 of an episode. I’m curious as to what base rules and optional rules that you chose to use.

[@logarium]

It's lots of fun to run :) We're basically using core AD&D2e but with ascending AC, THAC0 replaced by attack bonus, and some extra fighting styles that expand on those given in the Complete Fighters Handbook. We use CMB/CMD from Pathfinder to handle combat maneuvers like disarm, grapple etc. plus ability score mods starting at 13 like in Basic/Expert. And some tweaks to class powers here and there. If you search for "logarium" on the Internet Archive, you'll find a collection of my various hacks :)

[@jestersraven408]

oh cool a Dark Sun campaign

[@paradox1995]

Just found you guys. Looking forward to many hours of listening! I noticed you mentioned CMB when fighting the serpent at the oasis. Could you explain? House rule? Any other house rules you have added to 2nd edition? Thanks!

[@logarium]

Hey there, thanks for checking us out!. Yes, we use CMB/CMD from Pathfinder, ascending Armour Class, and have replaced THAC0 with an attack bonus - those are the main ones. A few tweaks to the classes to smooth things out and a revision of the psionics system are our main changes :)

[@JackOfAllSkillige]

I just started dming a dark sun 5e campaign. I know it’s nothing on 2e but I’m going to use you as a lot of inspiration, gained a sub

[@Jadearian]

Great to hear, welcome aboard :)

[@AAron-gr3jk]

How did you find it in 5e. I have a suspicion 5e is too superheroic; the characters are too capable?

[@mattellis6040]

As far as I'm concerned dnd only goes to 3.5 lol

[@AAron-gr3jk]

@@mattellis6040 I have recently rediscovered the Dungeon magazine and Dragon magazine 3.5 transition to Dark Sun. They're excellent articles that cover specific parts and convert to 3.5. (And later 4e)

[@jeremydriggers308]

Legit! 👏❤

[@logarium]

Too legit to quit! Thanks :)

[@theclash24]

What rules were you using for being blind yet making actions and attacks?

[@logarium]

Standard 2e rules for blindness, modified by the Blind Fighter kit from Complete Gladiator's Handbook.

[@sanjeevshah168]

Is the start of this campaign (the escape from the slave ship) and the elf ambush part of a module? Because the red moon roleplaying guys did a similar campaign start.

[@logarium]

Yes, it's the adventure "A Little Knowledge" that comes with the original Dark Sun boxed set - the classic campaign starter :)

[@AAron-gr3jk]

Is this start following a particular published adventure? I imagine at least one of the published adventures starts as captives on a trade caravan, forced to defend it and then having to deal with desert survival?? Captain please.

[@LawfulStupid]

Session one is that exact adventure :)

[@logarium]

Yep, the first two episodes cover the introductory adventure from the boxed set where you start as slaves - A Little Knowledge.

[@AAron-gr3jk]

@@logarium THANK YOU! Nice

[@chillinkrillin1378]

Loving this setting + the players and dm. ☺️ How were the levels determined? Portek is lvl 2/2/2 but Matthias is only lvl 2/2 and so on. Just interested in why it's like that.

[@logarium]

Thank you - glad you're digging it! The rules we're using started everybody off at a flat xp level (5000? 10000? I can't remember anymore haha) so because 2e classes have different xp requirements, that means that the characters are all of different levels :)

[@Medc-]

@@logarium thank you for the clarification, I had the exact same question as chillin krillin and was very confused until you explained!

[@logarium]

@@Medc- No worries. The usual 2e rules say that DS characters start at 3rd level, or 2nd in their most expensive class. We may just have done that, but I seem to recall using a flat total instead :)

[@chillinkrillin1378]

@@logarium Thanks for the reply :) I actually read it soon after you posted it but I was at work

[@matteoraia]

I’d love a podcast version

[@Jadearian]

I am looking to do a podcast but sadly not for Dark Sun. It takes a lot of work to do a professional podcast sadly. Not saying never to the Dark Sun one though, who knows. :)

[@logarium]

We're actually set up now for releasing an audio-only version of the episodes as podcast. Should be live soon!

[@Rajaat99]

1:47:06

[@logarium]

Dark Sun Rule #1: Stay away from the cacti 😁

[@gammaknight2215]

AEC

[@RahvunTheWhite]

I love dark sun, the players and this podcast! But ffs stop talking over one another and use a headset... hearing the dishes and people in the background noise is mood shattering.

[@logarium]

We're all using headsets but yeah, a couple of the players are at home with their families. I do agree about trying not to speak over each other, though - that can be tricky to get right! :)

[@vidstarr]

Disappointed no Thri or Tohr-Kreen are in the party...

[@logarium]

Wait a couple episodes - one joins after... umm... an unexpected departure, shall we say? And is subsequently an utter badass 😁

[@vidstarr]

@@logarium Tell me which episode doe they start please?

[@logarium]

@@vidstarr Episode three :)

[@vidstarr]

@um thanks, I was going to look through them all quickly looking for any particular Thri-Kreen styled name on the front page, but I might enjoy listening to the whole thing rather than parts of it....

[@logarium]

@@vidstarr Nice one. The kreen becomes a permanent member of the party so there's regular bug-oriented content. We also just started season 2 - first episode hits KZbin this Friday - so there's plenty of DS goodness in store if you feel like following the whole story!

[@briannewman9285]

This might be really cool if it weren’t burdened with an absolutely terrible audio. When the GM isn’t doing the William Shatner impersonation “this..means..every..word..dripping..with..emphasis..separated..by..pronounced..pauses” he is good to listen to.

[@zantharian57]

Why is the DM sighing so loudly all the time when he's narrating? It sounds like he's bored or not having a good time. Aside from that, this was great, but I'm not sure if I can keep watching if he does this in every episode.

[@Washeek]

There's dramatic voice. Great use of pause imo. Not sure what exactly you dislike about it. I'd give two fingers for having the oratory mastery of this man. It helps bring about the atmosphere of the whole baking in the sun schtick.

[@Washeek]

I see what you mean now. That's some form of indigestion or halitosis.

[@logarium]

@@Washeek It's actually just a way to clear my mind before I improvise a piece of narrative or dialogue. The idea that I'm not having a good time is hilarious to me🙂

[@Washeek]

@@logarium Oh wow... I thought there were two kinds of pauses, one was the narrative / typical GM pause to collect your thoughts, exactly as you say. The second really sounded like you were stifling a burp :-D :-D Thanks for clearing that up and even more thanks for commenting on 2y+ old videos! In any case I'm a huge fan of the way you narrate and a strategic pause goes a long way to being able to deliver with such command of language. I could probably listen to you read a book or something. Oh and great at switching character voice on the spot. When I have to juggle more than three I start to get them mixed up occasionally. Oh and while I'm going at that praise... Huge appreciation for being assertive with your players when making rulings in tense situations. Seems to me like just the right position between being a Yes GM and a NO GM.

[@logarium]

@@Washeek Thanks - really glad you're enjoying the game. I am blessed with great players, which really helps. And I guess it's also entirely possible that I did stifle a burp at some point as well hahaha 🤣

[@joannitaxvi3386]

Meh, go play cyberpunk

[@logarium]

Did that the other week. Now we're back to playing Dark Sun :)

[@aarondennis5000]

The game judge judges you.