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1 year ago ::
Jan 09, 2012 - 9:06PM
#1
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I know this is a stupid question, but I can't remember and Google-Fu won't work because of keyword conflicts.
That out of the way, how many suns does Athas have? Only one like us? Or is it a binary system? More? Thanks!
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1 year ago ::
Jan 10, 2012 - 2:31AM
#2
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Date Joined:
Aug 10, 2008
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I know this is a stupid question, but I can't remember and Google-Fu won't work because of keyword conflicts.
That out of the way, how many suns does Athas have? Only one like us? Or is it a binary system? More? Thanks!
Yes, Athas has only one sun. Over time it has changed colour, shifting to a deep red, and it is larger now than in previous ages...
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1 year ago ::
Jan 10, 2012 - 4:43AM
#3
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Date Joined:
Sep 25, 2011
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One sun (it's not called 'Dark Suns', after all), but it's easy to mix up with Athas' two moons: Ral and Guthay.
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1 year ago ::
Jan 10, 2012 - 4:47AM
#4
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Date Joined:
Jan 21, 2006
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FYI... It isn't the sun that turned Athas into a desert world but the over use of Defiler magics that destroy the life energy of the world.
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1 year ago ::
Jan 10, 2012 - 10:41AM
#5
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Date Joined:
Sep 20, 2010
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What was it that turned the Sun into a Dark Sun? I remember a story about a defiler drawing from the sun for some ritual, but I'm not sure who did it or what the ritual was. Part of me thinks that it was when they banished Rajaat but I doubt it.
Ant Farm
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1 year ago ::
Jan 10, 2012 - 2:19PM
#6
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Thanks for replies. That's what I thought, but I also vaguely remember seeing a novel or adventure from way back when with a cover showing two suns. Then again, I could also be confusing it all with Tatooine 
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1 year ago ::
Jan 10, 2012 - 3:59PM
#7
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Date Joined:
Sep 25, 2011
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I would argue that nothing dimmed/reddened the sun besides time; Athas is a dying planet in a dying star system, and the sun has probably been reddening and swelling through all of recorded history. It keeps with the dying-world theme, and adds a touch of existential hopelessness; even if your campaign is full of trees of life and merry halfling preservers sending the PCs on a quest to "save the world," know that at some point in the future their efforts are futile and the sun (and world) will die, unrelated to defiler magic or the petty struggles of mankind. A necessary depressing backdrop, IMO.
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1 year ago ::
Jan 13, 2012 - 6:32AM
#8
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Date Joined:
Dec 20, 2007
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Hmm, I always interpreted it as this: each 'activation' of the Pristine Tower would drain the Sun's life force, affecting Athas in such a noticeable way that each 'activation' ushered in a new era. The first 'activation' ended the halflings' age and the second one, used by Rajaat to power the Sorcerer-kings during the Cleansing Wars, ended the Green Age.
Sure, it was defiling magic that ultimately made Athas what it is today but it all comes back to its dying sun.
For the record, I had planned on the setting in a binary system where the secondary star only came to its closest point every thousand years or so. This would tie in somehow to my old campaign's big bad
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1 year ago ::
Feb 01, 2012 - 1:50PM
#9
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If you do the physics, converting a Blue-star into a Red-Giant would create enough energy to vaporize Athas.
Famous Athasian last words: "Hey, you're wrong. I know elves, I've played AD&D for eight years. They're noble, sylvan creatures who will honor their word."
In the desert, everything's further than it looks.
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