Best motivation for the pterrans are they’re looking for an alliance against the coming kreen invasion.
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I’ve forgot about ssurrans! Another reptilian and trading race, plus they are fire proof.
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That implies/ presupposes a fair bit of in-unviverse/meta-plot knowledge, but that does sound like the best plan.
Does it though? Lost Scale isn’t far from the rift.
I feel like it does, but maybe not. The space between known impending invasion and currently occurring invasion feels pretty tight - i don’t see the Kreen empire screwing around, but rather pouring out like a horde of ants with supply trains behind.
Maybe that’s just me though.
Is splitting hairs between “looking for an alliance against the coming kreen invasion” and “worried about incursions by strange Kreen coming from a weird new place” overly pedantic? 
Probably. 
But i feel like one implies a lot more immediacy and knowledge than the other; other than that, yeah, sure.
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Between the two I prefer the ssurrans. There is “mysterious and enigmatic” and then there is “undeveloped.” The nikaal should have had lot more to them. Ssurrans we’ve got more to work with. And with them not having a homeland, that works even better. Not saying nikaal are terrible, but almost anything about them is fan made.
Yeesh, the Kreen invasion is a whole other can of worms. That’s not a different thread. It’s a whole sweater. I do prefer the missing critical resources idea. However, I can easily see the pterrans seeking out alliances just in case. And then finding that alliance tested way sooner and harder than expected. Different groups could even accuse the other of knowing about the surprise invasion…
Definitely a scattered race now. Were they ever not a scattered race?
Player and character motivation always matters more.
Heartily agree!
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I wrote up both Jozhal and Pterrans for my current 5e games as player races. The pterrans feel like a version of lizardfolk and not my favorite but I particularly enjoy and like the jozhal.
Ssurrans and nikaal and any others could be written up but I think that would be particular to the DM and the player. A DM will prep what they want and if a player brings a particular desire to the table, they will accommodate and probably make some shit up (I would) and encourage the player to help fill in those gaps too.
Though it’s not really necessary to go backwards. You can just play a jozhal with these abilities and no go into the history of the race, much of that is lost for many races in the current age.
You wanna play a Jozhal! Go for it. Your people have an elaborate and ancient history, and one of the SK was secretly a Jozhal. However, you are completely ignorant of all of it and it’ll never matter in the campaign. Go steal the shinies!
I read a really nice writeup by lawfulstupidrpg on these races for use in 2E.
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the drawing makes me wonna play one
Hey, that’s my blog! Cool - thanks for sharing 
Yeah, that entry covers a bunch of “secondary” DS races - dray, gith, halfling (renegade and rhul-thaun), jozhal, lizardfolk (Marnitan), nikaal, ssurran, tarek, tari, and tohr-kreen.
I did another couple of entries with new kits for all the races too, at the same site.
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I looked at it a bit, good stuff!
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Thanks for all the cool write-ups on your blog. It has really helped me ease back into Dark Sun over the last year when exploring 5E options (even though these were all 2E).
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Cheers! Glad they’ve been of use
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I currently have 2 Ssurran PCs in my 5e Dark Sun Campaign. It has made for some very interesting play so far, You guys are also overlooking the silt runners. A guy made a great conversion for all the reptile races recently I have a copy of it, I will try to find it. My Ssurrans are not like his though, and they aren’t “fire proof” but have resistance to hot climates, not needing as much water, etc.
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Hey Jason, curious about your write-up but the other one you mention is by @Kamelion on his blogpost I linked to above or not?
I will get the links for you soon, dealing with some stuff right now. Give me a few days…
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Here is my version of Ssurrans.
I’m not sure if you can access this drop box but here is the link to the Lizards of Athas homebrew that someone made. The ssurrans in his write up are a bit different.
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I will not have problem with idyllic image of pterranian society. This can be only fake image in outsiders point of view. This mirage, illusion, in deep real can have own skeptists, malcontents or wranglers.
We can look on Azuposi society (Forgotten Realms; Pasocada Basin). Also in theory idyllic tribes, but even here live second, hidden and ugly layer of population. Eg. Ikitipsa create network of dissatisfied. We can also look on ancient Payits (Forgotten Realms;Maztica). In theory idyllic society, byt crazy love of Tacal lead to great wars and first collapse of civilization in this region.
In seemingly utopian nations, tensions and negative emotions are hidden. But they always work. Even confrontation with true of world can lead to great changes. Eg. quasi-caste system can be inefficient and lead to some form of corruptions. So always are ways to painting face of this culture is style, that “something here is wrong” 
But I agree, that they have weak background. Players should discovers “how many races lived here before Cleansing Wars” not “how many races has survived Cleansing Wars”. Forgotten exterminated races and forgotten Rajaat champions, eliminated by others powers of world (some person maybe by druids before Eradication?).
What with Jozhal or Dray.
Jozhal as lizard-like-halflings with sympathy to magic can be nice.
Drays… do dray are fertile?
What general new races? IMO - the “enchanting beauty” of Athas is small numbers of races and massive genocides in own history. So this game don’t need new playables races
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IMO - the “enchanting beauty” of Athas is small numbers of races and massive genocides in own history. So this game don’t need new playables races
I’ve been debating this same question in my head for a future campaign. I can see some logic either way… On the one hand, you could explore the theme of “only the few survived.”
On the other hand, that humanoids handbook worked up by @Kamelion is SO good. And you can also imagine an Athas that is full of strange and brutal freaks. Cities full of not only humans, dwarves and elves but also thri-kreen, muls, half-giants, pterrans, nikaal, ssurans, aarakocra, jozhal, dray, tari. To me, that’s pretty evocative. The explanation is simply evolutionary biology: with so much wiped out by the Cleansing Wars, these obscure and unconventional races stepped in to the void to refill the world.
I might make the call in a Session Zero. If my PCs were interested in rarer humanoids, you could explore the ones that interest them most. If they have no interest, keep it simple. The races they choose could have storyline tie ins. The story arc of an Aarakocra character could take the players to Kurn… a dray exile who doesn’t know his origins could be the reason to explore New Giustenal, a Ssuran could take the party north in search of his homeland, or a Pterran PC could be the reason the party learns about the Great Rift early.
I really do see the logic either way though. Both ways “fit.” I think it comes down to what the individual DM and PCs feel inspired by.
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