Close
Close
Advanced Search

DSS1 City-State of Tyr (2e)Click to magnify
Quick Preview
/gs_flipbook/flip.php?xml=/demo_xml/17192.xml&w=500&h=335
Full‑size Preview
https://watermark.drivethrurpg.com/pdf_previews/17192-sample.pdf

DSS1 City-State of Tyr (2e)

ADD TO WISHLIST >

Tyr has battled and bled for its freedom, throwing off the yokes of an insane sorcerer-king and slavery. The city stands poised on the brink of democracy, but has Tyr the strength to seize the future and shape it in the image of that freedom, or has the city merely traded one form of slavery for another? 

City-State of Tyr addresses these matters and more. Within this 96-page booklet is the most complete, detailed description of Tyr's peoples, places, and plots ever. The premier city of the Dark Sun campaign setting now lies complete for an Athasian campaign's player characters. Learn the city's history, attend a Council meeting, wander the city's business districts, and explore the mysterious Under Tyr-the ancient ruins of the forgotten city upon which Tyr was built.

Product History

DSS1: "City-State of Tyr" (1993), by Walter M. Baas, was the first Dark Sun Sourcebook. It was released in July 1993.

Continuing the Dark Sun Series. In 1992, TSR published a series of four Dark Sun References, from DSR1: "Slave Tribes" (1992) to DSR4: "Valley of Dust and Fire" (1992). However, TSR was constantly (and somewhat inexplicably) changing their module codes in the early '90s, so in 1993 they stopped using the "R" Reference code for most of their product lines and started using a "S" Sourcebook code instead.

TSR published three "DSS" Sourcebooks in 1993, though "City-State of Tyr" was the only purely geographical sourcebook: the other two concentrated more on organizations. Then in 1994, TSR made one more change and got rid of their module codes entirely.

Expanding Kits. Kits were very popular character-class variants in AD&D 2e, but they weren't specific to the various game settings that were also quite popular at the time. This created a big disconnect in TSR's product lines.

CGR2: The Complete Gladiator's Handbook (1993) partially resolved this problem for Dark Sun just a month earlier, in June 1993, by introducing new Dark Sun kits. "City-State of Tyr" took the opposite tactic by listing which standard character kits were irrelevant for Athas (or needed to be modified).

Continuing a Look at Cities. Though TSR was a bit late in producing their first city books, they released three great ones in the '80s: Lankhmar: City of Adventure (1985); Glantri City in GAZ3: "The Principalities of Glantri" (1987); and FR1: "Waterdeep and the North" (1987). After that, cities became increasingly common in TSR supplements, resulting in publications like the "LC" series about Ravens Bluff (1989-1991), The City of Greyhawk (1989), SJR5: "Rock of Braal", and Al-Qadim's City of Delights (1993). By the time, "City-State of Tyr" appeared it was one among many — but the first city to get such attention in the world of Athas.

Expanding Athas. The City-State of Tyr was first discussed in the Dark Sun box (1991). The Player's Book for DS1: "Freedom" (1991) also included a "Quick Guide to Tyr", featuring an overview map of the city and several pages of information. However, the city underwent big changes in "Freedom", as part of Dark Sun's metaplot.

"City-State of Tyr" reveals the state of the city following the rebellion of "Freedom". It includes extensive notes on the city's culture, its law, and even its economy — which returns to recurring Dark Sun themes such as slavery. Finally, "City-State of Tyr" provides some info on UnderTyr: the traditional dungeoneering areas beneath the city.

Athas' psionics, magic, and religion also get some attention in "City-State of Tyr". Information on The Order connects up with Dragon Kings (1992) while material on the Veiled Alliance links to DSR3: "Veiled Alliance" (1993).

Overall, "City-State of Tyr" is a strong core book for Dark Sun campaigns thanks to its far-reaching campaign material.

About the Creators. Though Baas contributed to several D&D books in the early '90s, he was the main author of just two, the other being CGR2: The Complete Gladiator's Handbook.

About the Product Historian

The history of this product was researched and written by Shannon Appelcline, the editor-in-chief of RPGnet and the author of Designers & Dragons - a history of the roleplaying industry told one company at a time. Thanks to Robert Adducci for Dark Sun advice. Please feel free to mail corrections, comments, and additions to shannon.appelcline@gmail.com.

We (Wizards) recognize that some of the legacy content available on this website does not reflect the values of the Dungeons & Dragons franchise today. Some older content may reflect ethnic, racial, and gender prejudice that were commonplace in American society at that time. These depictions were wrong then and are wrong today. This content is presented as it was originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed. Dungeons & Dragons teaches that diversity is a strength, and we strive to make our D&D products as welcoming and inclusive as possible. This part of our work will never end.

pixel_trans.gif
pixel_trans.gif
 
 Customers Who Bought this Title also Purchased
pixel_trans.gif
pixel_trans.gif
Reviews (2)
Discussions (6)
Customer avatar
Jordan J January 30, 2023 2:04 am UTC
PURCHASER
Please include POSTER MAP of TYR. seriously this is essential The Golden Tower it's probably a main focal point of anyone's game especially after freedom and Road to Urik you at least expect to meet the King of Tyr at some point in this campaign
Customer avatar
Alfred C January 05, 2021 12:26 am UTC
PURCHASER
Please include POSTER MAP of TYR. I purchased specifically to get this map. Other PDFs have the poster maps included, and I expected it of this one.
Customer avatar
Robert A July 03, 2019 2:37 pm UTC
PURCHASER
The latest Bone, Stone, & Obsidian podcast is out! Episode 13: The City-State of Tyr, Walter Baas memorial, featuring Gary S. Watkins.

The City-State of Tyr is one of the foundational supplements for the setting. The credited author of the City-State of Tyr (and other Dark Sun products), Walter M. Baas passed away on June 1, 2019. In this episode of Bone, Stone, & Obsidian a Dark Sun podcast, we talk about Walter’s life, his contributions to the setting, and the City-State of Tyr book. Our special guest for this episode is Gary S. Watkins, Gary brings with him a secret history to the book that we reveal in this podcast.

http://misdirectedmark.com/2019/07/03/bone-stone-and-obsidian-episode-13-city-state-of-tyr-walter-baas-memorial-featuring-gary-s-watkins/
Customer avatar
Andrew B March 18, 2017 2:08 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Missing the Poster Map of the Golden Tower. Please release this!!!
Customer avatar
James B October 22, 2014 3:10 am UTC
PURCHASER
Poster map missing as of July 16, 2014.
Reply
Customer avatar
Jeffrey K February 09, 2016 6:45 pm UTC
I have yet to see WotC fix missing maps, butchered scans, or any other problem with these pdf's. They just push them out, collect your money and don't look back. Thanks for the heads up. I almost bought this.
Customer avatar
Andrew K March 11, 2014 1:23 pm UTC
If anyone from Wizards, Hasbro or Drivethru is reading these comments, please resume posting classic D&D content. I would really like to see the rest of the gazetteers published, and am eager to buy module X8 from you. Thanks.
Browse Categories
$ to $
 Follow Your Favorites!
NotificationsSign in to get custom notifications of new products!
 Recent History















Product Information
Gold seller
Author(s)
Pages
96
Edition
1.0
ISBN
1-56076-629-8
Publisher Stock #
TSR 2420
File Size:
24.03 MB
Format
Scanned image Click for more information
Scanned image
These products were created by scanning an original printed edition. Most older books are in scanned image format because original digital layout files never existed or were no longer available from the publisher.

For PDF download editions, each page has been run through Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software to attempt to decipher the printed text. The result of this OCR process is placed invisibly behind the picture of each scanned page, to allow for text searching. However, any text in a given book set on a graphical background or in handwritten fonts would most likely not be picked up by the OCR software, and is therefore not searchable. Also, a few larger books may be resampled to fit into the system, and may not have this searchable text background.

For printed books, we have performed high-resolution scans of an original hardcopy of the book. We essentially digitally re-master the book. Unfortunately, the resulting quality of these books is not as high. It's the problem of making a copy of a copy. The text is fine for reading, but illustration work starts to run dark, pixellating and/or losing shades of grey. Moiré patterns may develop in photos. We mark clearly which print titles come from scanned image books so that you can make an informed purchase decision about the quality of what you will receive.
pixel_trans.gif
Original electronic format
These ebooks were created from the original electronic layout files, and therefore are fully text searchable. Also, their file size tends to be smaller than scanned image books. Most newer books are in the original electronic format. Both download and print editions of such books should be high quality.
File Information
Watermarked PDF Click for more information
Watermarked PDF

These PDF files are digitally watermarked to signify that you are the owner. A small message is added to the bottom of each page of the PDF containing your name and the order number of your purchase.

Warning: If any files bearing your information are found being distributed illegally, then your account will be suspended and legal action may be taken against you.

Here is a sample of a page from a watermarked title:

File Last Updated:
March 10, 2014
This title was added to our catalog on March 11, 2014.