Campaigning in Dark Sun

[Corsair14]

How do you run campaigns in Dark Sun? Obviously dungeons are kind of a difficult thing to do since they were likely built before the fall and would have lots of metal in them, both in weapons and door hinges and other such things. Literally one dungeon and the PCs could retire on what they find. I am not a fan of political fights in the cities. So what kind of campaigns are available while still having a realistic reason for doing so?

[LibraryOgre]

Lots of options, depending on what you're looking for.

On the metal front, Athas has always been somewhat metal-poor, so you don't run into the ubiquity of metal, even in Green Age ruins. It's more common, certainly, but it's not metal hinges and such to nearly the same extent.

Dark Sun is a good place for a Kingmaker-type game, where you're trying to set up and defend a settlement. Get an oasis or other resource and make a space for yourself, while keeping it from other people.

You can also do exploration, going off the map and seeing new things, looking for new resources.

There's always the classic "escape from slavery" option, which can turn into an entire game of abolition... freeing and protecting slaves.

[Tvtyrant]

How do you run campaigns in Dark Sun? Obviously dungeons are kind of a difficult thing to do since they were likely built before the fall and would have lots of metal in them, both in weapons and door hinges and other such things. Literally one dungeon and the PCs could retire on what they find. I am not a fan of political fights in the cities. So what kind of campaigns are available while still having a realistic reason for doing so?

Survival: Trying to not die in a Mad Max post apocalyptic world full of monsters and poison. Make it so you only get a full rest inside a settlement or tribal encampment, the party slowly runs down on health and spells as they smuggle or flee from persecution.

Pirates: Silt pirates are completely possible and would be tonally different, like golden age of exploration meets Dune.

Revolution: Trying to build a base for slaves to flee to and plot the overthrow of the demon lord level sorcerers that run the world.

[Duff]

Also, any dungeons may have been looted since the fall, but now have adventure in them. That would explain why there's no metal.

Why do the PC's want to go into a dungeon which has already been looted?
Because when it was looted, the fall was recent and there's stuff which has become rare since then - lost knowledge, less valuable metal (no one bothered with the lead plumbing at the time....), valuable cut stone.
Or because it's the source of the wasting - an undead wizard is blighting the land and using the crypt as a source for undead to harass the town.
Or it was underwater as a spring ran out of the entrance. The spring has stopped and it was a well for a while. Now the well is low enough that there's something to investigate...
Or the dungeon is newer than the fall and never had the metal

There's still all the same reasons to adventure, treasure is different but still exists, threats are ever present and need to be dealt with, people are people and they also need to be dealt with

[Yora]

Funnily enough, Dark Sun is a great setting for sandbox campaigns. There's great incentives for PCs to constantly keep moving. Out in the desert, food and water are hard to come by. But in the cities, PCs can easily draw attention from the templars and can't stay long. They constantly can be made to get up and search for a new place to stay low for a while before having to move again, for one reason or another. And sometimes they players might choose on their own initative to stand and fight, and take on threats that target them or any friends they made on their journeys.