Veiled Alliance A DARK SUN™ Sourcebook

by Allen Varney

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ISBN: 1-56076-313-2 Veiled Alliance

by Allen Varney

Table of Contents

Introduction 3 Chapter I: The Alliance—An Overview 5 Chapter 2: Inside The Alliance 15 Chapter 3: The Alliance in the Seven Cities 22 Tyr 23 Balic 32 Draj 39 Gulg 48 Nibenay 59 Raam 68 Urik 77 Villages and Oases Sample file 88 Chapter 4: The Veiled Alliance Campaign 91

Credits Designed by Allen Varney Edited by Doug Stewart Project Coordination by Timothy B. Brown Cartography by Diesel Typesetting by Tracey Zamagne Graphic Production by Sarah Feggestad Cover Art by Brom Interior Art by Tom Baxa Special Thanks to Warren Spector, Rick Swan, Don Webb Introduction

In my seventh year my family visited the elven and preservers alike—and not only blame, but de- marketplace, amid Tyr's slave warrens. Through a spise tkem. For protection from nearly universal ka- mob of haughty merchants and greedy tradesmen I tred, tke good wizards of Atkas and tkeir allies kave saw a squad of King Kalak 's soldiers moving from formed secret societies, collectively known as tke booth to booth. People crowded into the bazaar as Veiled Alliance. tight as kanks in harness, yet they gave the patrol Tkis sourcebook describes tke Alliance in a plenty of room. DARK SUN™ campaign: its secrets, notable A. soldier spotted a thin old woman in Raamian members, activities, and its role in adventures. Indi- silks. Me cried out and the leader, a big mul, vidual entries describe tke seven city-states' Alli- grabbed her. He demanded, "Where is he? ances in detail, and tkey also give furtker What's the contact word?" information about tke city-states tkemselves, adding The crowd around me fell silent. I could feel their to tkat in tke DARK SliN™ boxed campaign set. tension and their hostility to the patrol. "One of Tkis background kelps flesk out any adventure set these days. . . " one man whispered. A compan- in a city-state, even scenarios tkat don't involve tke ion hushed him. Veiled Alliance. The woman spoke, in what I took for a foreign "You need tke AD&D rule books, tke boxed language. Her words echoed strangely. The air in campaign set, and Tke Complete Psionics Hand- the marketplace, still and charged with energy, as a book to use tkis supplement. Tke Dragon Kings calm before a storm. Then she hobbled away. The kardcover rules supplement skould prove useful as soldiers stood stock-still, but they trembled. I no- well. ticed a plant seller's booth behind the patrol; the Everytking tkat follows is for tke DM's eyes only! green plants trembled in the same way. Players skould stop reading Here! The old woman spoke again as she walked, Sample mut- file tering, yet every word carried perfectly. Waves of air Key Concepts rippled about her, the way the air waves on the hori- In reading tkis book, keep tke following ideas in zon. The blur vanished in the crowd. mind. Tkey kelp in understanding tke Alliance's I saw a heavy fist rise into view, then another, then purpose, botk on tke world of Atkas and in role- vanish again. She cried out. Others attacked her. playing adventures. Around me, people shouted, urging them on. "Witch)" they chanted. "Kill the witch!" By the 1. Eack city-state kolds a different Alliance. time the soldiers woke, the crowd had finished her Tke seven do not belong to one united group, off, and worse. The mage's death did not satisfy the tkey do not cooperate, and tkey skare no leaders. mob; her body suffered much more. When the mul Members of one Alliance do not automatically be- leader shouted, "We'll take her and burn her!" they cheered. come members of anotker. At best, tke different groups respect eack otker, and may offer courtesy For the only time in my life I saw a crowd cheer assistance to a foreign member wko arrives in town. Kalak's guards. For the first time I saw wizard's For tkat matter, an individual Alliance usually magic. For the first time I understood its peril. numbers its members in tke dozens. Because many of its members command powerful magic, an Alli- About This Supplement ance can marskal far greater power tkan its size may Magic has left tke world of Atkas a deadly desert. indicate. Its people blame all magicians for its ruin, defilers Introduction

2. TKe Alliance does not Kold lofty ideals. components, magical items, and tKe like. It makes TKe organization primarily exists to Kelp its pre- rescues, springs prisoners from captivity, and inter- server members to survive. Individual Alliances in rupts dangerous ceremonies. WKo does it enlist to tKe Tyr Region figKt tKe sorcerer-kings and destroy do all tKis? TKat's rigKt: tKe player cKaracters. defilers, but only to survive. Alliance members Kave Any good or neutral cKaracter, not just a pre- tKeir own goals, but rarely espouse causes to better server, can join an Alliance. TKese organizations tKe AtKasian condition. Like most people on AtKas, need everyone wKo can Kelp them. TKey treat non- its wizards find brute survival cKallenging enougK wizard "auxiliary" members well, tKougK not as witKout creating new goals and potential new ene- well as preservers. Also, most Alliance missions re- mies. quire stealtK, and small groups—about tKe size of a group of player cKaracters. 3. The Alliance offers an excellent premise for any Note a less obvious advantage for tKe overworked city-based AtKasian campaign. DM: tKe Alliance operates in strict secrecy. Not TKougK not in itself Keroic, tKe Alliance's goals even its members know all its operations. If you Kave often matcK tKose of Keroic player cKaracters. no plot-related reason for tKe Keroes to embark on TKe society figKts evil defilers, templars, and an adventure, don't wait. TKe Alliance offers every sorcerer-kings. It sends members on quests for spell excuse to keep its reasons mysterious!

Sample file Chapter I: The Alliance—An Overview

No all-encompassing Veiled Alliance exists. other scattered villages and oases. These typically Rather, a different Alliance holds power in each take orders from the nearest city-state chapter. No city-state. All serve much the same functions, but known Alliance chapters exist in the Crescent For- each operates in a unique, strongly independent est, on the islands of the Sea of Silt, nor in other style. This text calls these Alliances ' 'chapters,'' but remote areas. remember that the individual chapters obey no cen- Size: No one but its leader knows a chapter's tral, over-arching authority. size—the result of the need for secrecy common to Though independent, the chapters recognize one all underground movements. No member knows another and maintain friendly, if guarded, relations. many others, lest the member be captured and be- They share a common system of recognition signals, tray vital secrets under interrogation. so that refugees from one city may safely contact an- An effective chapter generally must include at other city's chapter, and certain customs and princi- least a few dozen members, and in large cities mem- ples, such as a reliance on secrecy and on requital, bership could reach over 100. The actual size the notorious prohibition against resignation from should remain unspecified in the campaign. Wiz- the Alliance. Most important, all Alliances obey ards comprise about half the membership; auxilia- the Five Aims. ries, supporting members from other classes, make up the other half. Chapter 2, "Inside The Alli- Scope and Motive ance,' ' discusses auxiliaries in detail. Beginning Wizards rank between 1st- and 4th- The Veiled Alliance exists to protect preservers levels. A quarter or more of the membership range from physical, mental, and magical attacks by all from 5th- to as high as 8th-level. Wizards above enemies: sorcerer-kings, templars, defilers, the gen- 8th-level generally help lead the organization, or eral citizenry, and even the dragon. Preservers Sampleauto- file serve as elite agents or envoys who set their own matically earn its protection, but not all agendas. Similar figures apply to the auxiliary automatically acquire membership. A wizard must groups of fighters, rogues, psionicists, and priests. earn affiliation. Other characters may join under Activity: Only the leader, if anyone, knows all of a certain circumstances. These "auxiliary" members chapter's activities. No other member ever sees also gain protection. Defilers cannot join the Alli- much of the whole. Alliance members work in a fog ance. Only good or neutral characters may join. (or, more appropriately, a sandstorm), seeing a few The organizations undertake many varied activi- others now and then; perhaps a shadowy figure or ties, yet all serve this relatively narrow purpose. If two in the distance, and nothing beyond. anything threatens a preserver or preserving magic, Occasional reports passed through a chapter may the Alliance vows solemn opposition. Conversely, help explain strange occurrences in the city-state, the organizations (as opposed to individual mem- but these usually come after the fact. Spectacular bers) care nothing about threats to others. No Alli- incidents surprise everyone except those directly in- ance takes official action to free ordinary slaves, for volved in planning and execution. This fog makes example, nor to provide disaster relief, nor to battle adventures in the Alliance mysterious affairs. Small monsters. events can have great effects, and the characters sel- Vigorous Alliance chapters exist in all seven city- dom know what their missions will achieve until states. Minor Alliances, or sometimes single con- they've succeeded. tacts, also exist in the village of Altaruk and a few The Alliance—An Overview

Goals and Doctrines closure of the Alliance's existence and activities. They would accompany Divulgence with public All Alliances have vowed allegiance to a set of five education about the differences between preservers goals, or "Aims." Only members know the Five and defilers. Then, at last, the long breach between Aims, ranked here in order of priority. the preservers and the populace would begin to The Chief Aim: Protect the Alliance heal. In the past this goal often meant ' 'maintain secre- The Second Aim: Protect Preservers cy." To date, the Alliance has survived only by The Veiled Alliance began with the need to pro- stealth, and acting only covertly. Powerful defilers tect good wizards from the wrath of a society that and agents of the sorcerer-kings constantly search does not understand them. Despite the changes for Alliance members, hoping to track them to the that beset Athas today, citizens still revile all wiz- chapter headquarters. Preventing discovery has led ards, including preservers. The Second Aim re- to many harsh measures—principally requital, the mains vital. The Alliance devotes itself to guarding fabled "resign and die" policy. preservers and their magic, even wizards who claim As the winds of change sweep over Athas, Alli- no membership in the organization. ance chapters debate the meaning of the Chief Aim. Now that Tyr's sorcerer-king has fallen and The most common methods of Alliance protec- more may follow, some believe secrecy no longer tion for preservers include: serves the organization. In Tyr particularly, a few • Safe Harbor. Every chapter maintains numer- vocal members support "Divulgence"—public dis- ous hideaways around its city-state. A member in Sample file