Classes are the professions available to player characters in Dark Sun. Classes represent the training a character has received over the course of their life, which may manifest as martial prowess, skills in thievery and subterfuge, innate psionic talents honed towards perfection, or access to the forbidden knowledge of spellcasting.
Athas is a harsh world. Adventuring is not for the faint of heart, nor weak of body. Those who wish to survive their heroic exploits will need to become true masters in the skills they offer to their party, both in and out of combat.
2nd Edition[]
In 2nd Edition, characters are always recommended to start at 3rd Level. Adventurers must mature quickly in order to withstand the horrors that lie in wait for them on Athas, and thus Athasian heroes start more skilled than the novices of other realms.
Classes are grouped into five categories: warriors, wizards, priests, rogues, and psionicists.
Warrior Classes[]
In a world where the most powerful foes wield vast amounts of arcane and psionic power, one might initially think that the warriors of Athas lag far behind in relative strength. Many defilers have made this mistake when facing off against such opponents, only realizing their error when the warrior standing before them shrugs off what should have been a devastating magical assault as if it were nothing. A warrior who has trained their body like a spellcaster or psion would train their mind is surely one to be feared, doubly so if they get their hands on a proper steel weapon.
Paladins do not have a presence in the Dark Sun setting. The knightly orders who once stood for goodness and justice on Athas have long since died out.
Wizard Classes[]
A wizard is able to capture and master arcane energies. All wizards must decide at the beginning of their careers whether they are trying to work with nature or without regard for it. In Dark Sun, this means a wizard must be either a Defiler or a Preserver.
Priest Classes[]
There are three type of priests on Athas. As there are no deities on Athas, priests get their magic from devoting themselves to other forces. Priestly magic does not ravage the land in the same way arcane magic does, but the average peasant likely won't know the difference and revile it all the same.
Rogue Classes[]
Athas is a world of intrigue and treachery, of shady deals and secretive organizations; in other words, a rogue's paradise. There are still those, however, who use their disreputable talents toward noble ends, but they are especially rare. Beyond the cities, among the wasteland tribes and villages, thieves live or die by their wits. Within the secure walls of the city states, many typically roguish occupations have become institutions unto themselves.
Psionicist Class[]
Psionics has a strong presence on the world of Athas. Unlike magic, psionics does not pull its power from the environment, but rather taps into an inner nexus of psychic ability known as the Will. All players in the party - regardless of race, class, or background - are Wild Talents, individuals with a strong enough Will to at least tap into a small pool of psionic powers. Only those who practice The Way, a discipline that hones the body, mind, and spirit singularly towards harnessing the Will to its fullest potential, may become true psionicists.
4th Edition[]
All items (17)
