For my Dark Sun campaign, this is the flow-chart for how character creation will be conducted. Here are the main rules for the setting and character options for reference: https://red-ones-go-faster.com/2025/09/18/somber-sands-a-dark-sun-campaign/ Keep in mind each player will be drawing up four characters to form a Character Tree. I’ll bring a worksheet (cuz I’m broken that way) that will make the steps hopefully easy for all.

Step One: Roll for Character Connection

Players roll a single d10. This will determine the vague connection between the four characters in your Character Tree–can be as literal or as figurative as you like when you actually plan it out, but for now it will determine the spread of stats for the four characters.

Roll	Connection Source	Starting Stat-Patterns for Your Four Characters
1	Luminary and Friends	Sage, Student, Bright, Unlikely
2	Working Class Chums	Athlete, Wanderer, Physical, Milquetoast
3	Childhood Friends	Rookie, Dilettante, Remarkable, Notable
4	Opposites Attract	Athlete, Sage, Milquetoast, Unlikely
5	Entrepreneurs	Dilettante, Garden Variety, Notable, Balanced
6	Soldiers for Hire	Rookie, Dime-a-Dozen, Remarkable, Balanced
7	Drinking Buddies	Student, Rookie, Physical, Garden Variety
8	Shared Faiths	Wanderer, Dilettante, Bright, Dime-a-Dozen
9	Orphanage	Milquetoast, Unlikely, Balanced, Highs and Lows
10	The Gutter	Milquetoast, Unlikely, Milquetoast, Unlikely

Each stat pattern is determined as per the chart below. Note that physical stats (Str, Dex, and Con) and mental stats (Wis, Int, and Cha) are separated. You can choose any pattern of those three numbers for those three stats. For example, one Rookie well might be Str 15, Dex 12, Con 11, Wis 15, Int 10, Cha 8 while another could be Str 11 Dex 15, Con 12, Wis 8, Int 15, Cha 10.

Typology	Physical (Str Dex Con)	Mental (Wis Int Cha)
Athlete	15  15  15	8  8  8
Sage	8  8  8	15  15  15
Wanderer	15  15  8	15 8  8
Student	15  8  8	15  15  8
Rookie	15  12  11	15  10  8
Dilettante	15  10  8	15  12  11
Physical	14  14  11	13  13  8
Bright	13  13  8	14  14  11
Dime-a-dozen	14  13  11	14  13  8
Garden Variety	14  13  8	14  13  11
Milquetoast	13  13  13	12  12  12
Unlikely	12  12  12	13  13  13
Remarkable	15 14  12	11  10  10
Notable	11  10  10	15  14  12
Balanced	14  12  10	15  11  10
Highs and Lows	14  12  8	14  12  8

Players must “affix” their stat distributions at this point. Decide the pattern for each character–and yes it’s done before you know the species your character will be. You can aim them toward specific classes by varying the pattern (for instance choosing a different higher mental stat for each to allow options across caster classes).

Step Two: Roll for Character Species

Roll, in order, for each of the four now-fixed stat distributions, on the chart below. This will determine the Character Species for that character. Apply the modifiers immediately to ability scores to learn the final ability score set for each character. Yes, this means that you might get a Sage that happens to be a Half-Giant (not exactly a spellcaster type).

Roll % Dice	Species	Apply Ability Score Adjustment	Available Classes Reminder
01-35	Human	+1 to two diff ability scores of choice	Any
36-55	Elf	+2 Dex, -2 Con	Any
56-65	Half-Elf	+1 Str, +2 Dex, +1 Wis, +1 Int, +1 Cha	Any
66-75	Dwarf	+2 Con	All but Wiz
76-80	Mul	+2 Con	Brd, Ftr, Glad, Rgr, Rog
81-85	Halfling	+2 Dex, +2 Wis, -2 Cha	Any
86-90	Half-Giant	+4 Str, +2 Con, -2 Wis, -2 Int, -2 Cha	All but Wiz and Tmp
90-100	Thri-Kreen	+1 Wis, -1 Cha	All but Tmp

Step Three: Determine Starting Classes

Select the starting class for each of the four characters that now have their stats and species decided. Remember that there may be occasion to field any of the four characters at different points, so have fun envisioning each of them. Sometimes a not-so-smart Wizard or a clumsy Rogue can be amazing for adventuring fun. And you can have multiple characters be the same class if you really feel like it (e.g. a Clerical conclave or a Thieves’ Guild). Another way to proceed is to think thematically about the types of classes that might share a mission or commitment to an idea. Note that for any Wizards you must also select Defiler or Preserver at this point.

Step Four: Determine Alignment Axis

All four characters in your character tree must share a similar alignment axis. So you can pick them all to be Good, Neutral, Evil, or Lawful, Neutral, Chaotic. Please do not choose Evil as the shared axis for your tree. All of your characters will share that similar aspect and outlook on the world, but will be flexible on choices from the opposite axis. Also note that Defilers cannot be Good, so any Character tree that has a Defiler cannot choose commitment to Good as an option. You don’t need to lock in the other part for each yet, just need to know what will be common between them all. This can help further flesh out the way that they know one another.

Step Five: Wild Psionic Powers

Most sentient creatures in Dark Sun have a latent, innate psychic power, which some are able to learn to manifest. These powers can emerge at different points in life, all the more varied because of the vast differences in lifespan of different sentient species. Some powers develop in young adulthood but fade with age, while others emerge as a long life progresses. These changes are tied to the ability scores necessary for them to manifest–some of which are simple and others of which are extreme. For each of the four characters in your Character Tree you will roll once on the chart below. That is the latent psychic power that lurks within the character. It doesn’t mean that may be able to use them (or may never be able to use them), but it is what lies dormant inside them.

I’m using the list close as I can to the Wild Psionic Powers from AD&D–which means that some powers are quite minor and some are astonishingly powerful. The more powerful the ability, the higher the ability score requirement to access and use the power. Note that magical augmentation does not unlock psionic ability, so you cannot just pop on an Amulet of Health to meet the requirement. You’ll need to increase the score through regular advancements. It does also mean that loss of that score (to poison or curse or otherwise) may temporarily remove access to using the psionic ability. And there may be moments where it is simply out of reach–Bumbus the Half-Giant Barbarian may never get enough Intelligence to use Time Shift, and that’s just the harsh nature of Dark Sun. Sometimes you die without ever unlocking your true potential.

Most of these take the form of an ability that can be used once per long rest. Variations from that will be noted. Any attack rolls or saving throws associated with them use the relevant ability score bonus for the ability score required to use the power. Unless stated otherwise, duration is a number of rounds equal to the ability score bonus in case of combat effects, and minutes equal to ability score bonus for outside-of-combat effects. And the target is a single PC, NPC, or Monster in most cases.

D100 Roll	Psionic Power	Brief Description	Req. Ability Score
1	No Power	Not everyone is special	–
2-8	Mind Blank*	+2 to all saves vs Wild Psionic Powers	Int <9 or Wis <9*
9-13	Ego Whip	Advantage on loss of control saves (domination, charm, etc.)	Int 8
14-18	Thought Shield	Advantage on mind reading saves (detect thoughts, ESP, etc.)	Int 8
19-23	Mental Barrier	Advantage on Wis saves vs Wild Psionic Powers	Wis 8
24-28	Intellect Fortress	Advantage on Int saves vs Wild Psionic Powers	Int 8
29-33	Tower of Iron Will	Advantage on Con saves vs Wild Psionic Powers	Con 8
34-35	Sensitivity to Psychic Impressions	Gain knowledge of momentous emotions from the past in current location	Wis 10
36-37	Object Reading	Determine psychic impressions left on object by a previous owner	Wis 10
38-39	Animal Affinity	Generally receive friendly reactions from one category of (non-monstrous) animal (some conditions may change this). Roll a d12 on following list when gained to affix the type of animal. 1) Baboons, 2) Bats, 3) Cats, 4) small Beetles, 5) Hawks, 6) Hyenas, 7) small Lizards, 8) Toads, 9) Jackals, 10) Carru, 11) Aprig, 12) Erdlu.	Con 10
40-41	Daydream	Save. Already-bored target becomes less observant	Wis 10
42-43	Empathy	Save. Detect basic emotions.	Wis 10
44-45	Incarnation Awareness	Determines how many times target has been magically raised from the dead	Int 10
46-47	Feel Light	Vision through skin nerves	Int 10
48-49	Feel Sound	Hearing through skin nerves	Int 10
50-51	Hear Light	Vision through hearing	Int 10
52-53	See Sound	Hearing through sight	Int 10
54	Danger Sense	+2 to all Initiative checks	Int 10
55	Know Direction	Always know which way is north	Int 10
56	Know Location	1/long rest get precise descriptor of location	Int 12
57	Spirit Sense	Detect presence of ghosts, poltergeists, and other formless supernatural entities	Wis 12
58	Double Pain	Save. Target experiences double the pain from injuries and may go into shoch	Con 16
59	Heightened Senses	+2 to all Perception checks	Con 14
60	Immovability	Greatly increase weight, cannot be pushed	Con 14
61	Lend Health	1/long rest heal d6 damage in target touched by suffering d6 damage oneself	Con 12
62	Suspend Animation	Hibernate without needs until set time	Con 12
63	Id Insinuation	Save. Target  follows its current want	Wis 15
64	Attraction	Save. Target attracted to object indicated	Wis 15
65	Aversion	Save. Target mislikes object indicated	Wis 15
66	Awe	Save. Target is awestruck by user	Wis 20
67	Conceal Thoughts	Hide thoughts from detection	Wis 14
68	ESP	Detect thoughts of target	Wis 15
69	False Sensory Inputs	Cause mistaken sensations	Int 15
70	Inflict Pain	Save. Target perceives pain and may pass out. Is an evil act to use on a living creature	Con 15
71	Invincible Foes	Save. Target convinced that next damage source will be lethal to them	Wis 15
72	Invisibility	1/long rest. Minds of creatures in line of sight cannot perceive you	Int 17
73	Life Detection	Lifesense	Int 12
74	Mind Bar	Immune to possession. +2 on saves vs mind-affecting spells, mind-affecting class abilities, and Wild Psionic abilities of most types	Int 16
75	Phobia Amplification	Save. Reveals target’s phobia, and heightens reaction to said phobia.	Int 14
76	Post-Hypnotic Suggestion	Save. Place a single suggestion with a trigger in target’s mind	Int 15
77	Repugnance	Save. Target is overwhelmed with loathing for a thing and attempts to destroy it at once	Wis 18
78	Send Thoughts	Send thoughts to willing target	Int 12
79	Sight Link	See through eyes of willing target	Con 16
80	Sound Link	Hear through ears of willing target	Con 14
81	Taste Link	Taste through tastebuds of willing target	Con 12
82	Truthear	1/week. Save. Gain knowledge whether target knows it is lying when speaking.	Wis 16
83	Dimensional Door	Create mind-portal that allows transit to distant location	Con 18
84	Time Shift	1/day. Move ahead three rounds through time in a non-interactive state	Int 17
85	Time/Space Anchor	Prevent unwanted teleportation/time slippage (including vs slow spell)	Int 14
86	Clairaudience	Hear sounds occurring at distant spot	Wis 14
87	Clairvoyance	See sights occurring at distant spot	Wis 14
88	Precognition	1/week. Forsee probable outcome of proposed course of future action	Wis 15
89	Detonate	1/week. Target unattended non-magical inanimate object made of wood, stone, glass, or bone explodes and is destroyed. Cannot detonate cloth nor metal	Con 14
90	Disintegrate	1/week. Functions as disintegrate spell but is psionic, and target uses Constitution save to avoid damage	Con 20
91	Telekinesis	1/ week. Functions as telekinesis spell	Wis 18
92	Complete Healing	Enter a 24-hour trance. Fully heal all hit point damage if un-interrupted	Con 14
93	Mindlink	1/week. Communicate with a target you can contact directly with mental connection	Wis 16
94	Fate Link	1/week. Save. Target and user experience same pain sensations. Both lose same number of hit points if one loses hit points. If one dies, the other must make a Con save (DC 10 + dying creature’s Con modifier + 4)	Con 16
95	Domination	1/week. Functions as dominate person spell	Wis 20
96	Mass Domination	1/week. Functions as dominate person spell but affects up to five creatures	Wis 22
97	Mindwipe	1/month. Save. Psychic surgery that reduces target’s Int and Wis scores.	Wis 22
98	Probe	1/month. Save. ESP that can dig far deeper.	Wis 22
99	Switch Personality	1/month. Save. Exchange bodies with target.	Con 22
100	Synaptic Static*	Interferes with psionic abilities of those in proximity.	Wis <9 and Int <9*

*Mind Blank and Synaptic Static are two exceptions, as they have a maximum threshold of ability score. For Mind Blank either Wis or Int must be 8 or less. For Synaptic Static, both Wis and Int must be 8 or less. If the ability score rises above this threshold the power is lost.

The descriptions of each are somewhat brief, as I do not want to map out the exact function of every single 2nd edition psionic power. We’ll verify the exact functioning of every power that is rolled for characters that compose your Character Trees.

Step Six: Select Active Character for First Session and Flesh them Out

Of your four character tree characters, choose which will be active for the first session. The other three will be somewhere else, but they all know each other somewhat and have some vague commitment to the same goals in life and adventuring. We’re done with the inactive characters for now–you can work through the specific choices for them as adventurers (e.g. spells taken and skills chosen) in-between games.

Now go through all the starting character choices about your active character to make them level 2: list other racial bonuses, skills chosen, spells selected, etc. Note that we’ll roll for all hit dice beyond the first one together (which is always the maximum amount) to generate hit point maximums. If you choose to play a Templar, have a quick discussion with the DM about how that will operate and what Dragon King you have begun service under.

Step Seven: Determine Starting Gear as Lead-In to Game

Initial gear will be determined amidst gameplay, so we’ll start with character introductions and I’ll get the game moving for our first session of play in Dark Sun.

[If there is any step I realize I forgot when making the worksheet, I’ll update… but hopefully this can give those of you spinning your brain with character ideas a bit more sense of what will happen]

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