® Contents Features 5 Dark Sun: PlAyIng tEmPlArS 28 Class aCts: Warlords By Robert J. Schwalb By Robert J. Schwalb The authority of the templars keeps the nobles and common folk in line, but It takes courage to claim leadership’s mantle and strength to hold it. The templars have more than just a writ to enforce their monarch’s will. ability to lead is not something that can be learned. It is a virtue. 16 Dark Sun: thE SlAvE thEmE 33 n WIn Ing raCes: eladrIn By Matthew Sernett By Tim Eagon The cities of the sorcerer-kings crouch upon the backs of slaves. Few dream of To eladrin, magic is Corellon’s supreme gift, but Corellon is not the only path escape, and fewer still accomplish that dream. Sample fileto magical power. The artificer and the warlock also have their places. 22 Class aCts: Bard Items 37 n WIn Ing raCes: gnomes By Rodney Thompson By Robert J. Schwalb Bards need to split their magic treasures between implements and weapons. Stealth and guile, wit and cunning are tools gnomes use to survive. Gnomes Items that combine the two into one are especially desirable. are known for bringing diverse and surprising talents to their roles. 24 Class aCts: sorCerers 41 n WIn Ing raCes: droW By Claudio Pozas By Arnie Franke The Shivs of Sorcery are an assortment of eclectic but single-minded The bloodthirsty social order of the drow permeates every aspect of their society, sorcerers who imbue magic into their daggers to become skirmishing including their institutions of learning. strikers. C olumns 4 edItorIal By Steve Winter 44 PoWer Play: dead gods The lucky few get to attend Gencon. We got a rock ... so let’s make rockade! By Pierre Van Rooden Although gods seem to be unconquerable beings, they do die. Even when 78 amPersand they’re gone, they can continue having an effect on the world. By Bill Slavicsek In this month’s round of articles, Bill shows off 51 guIlds & grouPs: smoke and WhIsPers the Essentials Slayer, the Rules Compendium, the By Daniel Jones Dungeon Master’s Kit, and Monster Vault. Some suspect that the war between Bael Turath and Arkhosia never truly ended. The Circle of Smoke and Whispers knows it for a fact 88 CountdoWn to essentIals By Mike Mearls and Bill Slavicsek Mike discusses the design elements and process 55 C FI tIon: lord oF the darkWays that went into the Rules Compendium, Dungeon By Ed Greenwood Master’s Kit, and Monster Vault. Manshoon is determined to become Lord of the Darkways, no matter how many lives it costs. Sample file 94 s de Ign & develoPment: dark sun By Richard Baker and Rodney Thompson Rich and Rodney describe how arcane defiling, psionics, and the lack of metal impact the new Dark Sun Campaign Setting. o n the Cover Illustration bySteve Prescott 97 ConFessIons oF a Full-tIme WIzard By Shelly Mazzanoble D&D’s “Player-in-Chief” shares her experiences at Gencon and thoughts on becoming “a gamer.” 101 d&d alumnI By Bart Carroll A look back at the origins of Dark Sun and how it influences the current game and setting. Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, Forgotten realms, Eberron, Dungeon, Dragon, d20, d20 System, Wizards of the Coast, all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc., in the U.S.A. and other countries. this material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. this product is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, places, or events is purely coincidental. Printed in the U.S.A. ©2010 Wizards of the Coast LLC. no portion of this work may be reproduced in any form without written permission. For more Dungeons & Dragons articles, adventures, and information, visit www.wizards. com/dnd edit o R IAL 390 Dr ag on August 2010 Editor-in-Chief Steve Winter Off to Gencon … Senior Art Director Jon Schindehette Web Production Bart Carroll or Not. Contributing Authors rachel Cirricione, tim Eagon, Arnie Franke, Ed greenwood, It’s Gencon week, the Campaign Setting, Creature Catalog, and Marauders Daniel Jones, Shelly mazzanoble, which means that of the Dune Sea, a terrific adventure by Bruce Cordell. mike mearls, Claudio Pozas, Pierre for the next six days, We’re backing that up with articles on playing Athasian van rooden, robert J. Schwalb, the R&D Depart- templars and slaves, plus another Dark Sun adventure matthew Sernett, rodney ment is going to be for everyone who just can’t get enough of heat and thompson, James Wyatt only about half full. trouble. one unofficial, seat-of-the-pants method for I’m one of the sad predicting the success of an upcoming product is count- Developers Jeremy Crawford, Stephen few staying behind, ing how many friends ask for free copies. If that metric Schubert, greg Bilsland exercising my stiff is at all reliable, then Dark Sun is going to be hot. I hope Editor miranda horner upper lip and pre- I can come up with enough books to satisfy everyone. tending that I have Finally, here’s a loosely Dark Sun-related movie Cover Artist Steve Prescott so much work to do plug. I’m a sucker for adventure movies from the 1930s, that even if I’d been with their lost worlds, nefarious villains and cults, stoic Contributing Artists Alexey Aparin, Wayne England, put on the travel heroes, and monumental sets. Just recently on Netflix, Chad King, Slawomir maniak, list, I couldn’t possibly afford the time away from my I ran across the 1935 version of She, based on the clas- William O’Connor, David rapoza desk (which is true, by the way, but I’m hardly unique sic story by H. Rider Haggard and produced by Meriam in that regard). Really, I’m looking forward to using this C. Cooper, who made the original King Kong just two Cartographers Jason A. Engle, Sean macdonald, quiet, meeting-freeSample time to gain ground file on some of the years earlier. In She, a small team of explorers heads mike Schley tasks that have piled up on my desk since I stepped into for the Arctic in search of a fabled ‘flame of everlast- Publishing Production Angelika lokotz, Erin Dorries, this job, like answering email and reviewing article ing life.’ The lost culture that they discover in a secret Specialists Christopher tardiff pitches. valley ringed by unscalable cliffs of ice isn’t much like Even without a trip to Indianapolis, August promises Athas in most ways. on the other hand, its art deco Web Development mark A. Jindra plenty of other excitement to keep my spirits up! style is wonderfully alien and weird. The palace guards It starts off with today’s fiction, “Lord of the Dark- are daunting in their animal headdresses and leather Executive Producer, ways,” by Ed Greenwood. harnesses. The high priest is both imposing and tragic. D&D Insider Christopher Perkins We have our customary assortment of “Class Acts” And of course, Queen Hash-A-Mo-Tep, “She Who Must and “Winning Races” entries, this month covering drow, Be obeyed,” is an early prototype of the all-powerful Director of RPG R&D Bill Slavicsek gnomes, eladrin, bards, and sorcerers. sorcerer-queen who achieves everlasting life at the cost Special Thanks Bill Slavicsek and Mike Mearls reveal more of what of a portion of her humanity and sanity. you can expect from D&D Essentials. They’ll be talk- The acting is stiff, the choreography is flimsy, and r ichard Baker, michele Carter, Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, ing about this in Indianapolis, too, of course, but D&D the story is entirely familiar. Yet you should watch this Bruce r. Cordell, Peter lee, Kim mohan, Cal moore, Insiders will get information that won’t be covered movie for the amazing sets and costumes, the way it por- Stephen Schubert there. With four installments of “Ampersand” and three trays a savage, alien culture, and the sheer adventure of “Design & Development,” we can traverse a lot of of it all. ground: the fighter (slayer), Rules Compendium, DM’s Kit, and Monster Vault all get detailed treatment. But the really big news is Dark Sun, which hits the street (and the dealers’ shelves at Gencon) running with Templars of the Sorcerer-Kings By Robert J. Schwalb Illustration by David Rapoza Civilization rests in the bloated city-states scattered sorcerer-kings to pursue their own secret agendas across the only inhabitable lands left on Athas. In and indulge in the fruits their exalted station affords. all but one metropolis, power rests exclusively in the To the templars it falls to lead the armies, negotiate hands of the tyrants known as the sorcerer-kings, trade agreements with the merchant houses, and each an ancient being of nearly godlike power whose manage resources while also enforcing the laws and command over his or her subjects is absolute or very controlling the slaves. Much responsibility falls onto nearly so. Although some sorcerer-kings are wor- the templars’ shoulders, but much wealth, status, and shiped as gods and seem as immortal as the deities power goes to them too. long lost and forgotten, sorcerer-kings are no more The authority invested in the templars might be divine thanSample are any creature in the file world. They are enough to keep the nobles and common folk in line, subject to the same limitations, errors in judgment, but the templars have more than just a writ to enforce and whims other creatures face.