The Lore

Remember how I keep mentioning Mixed Groups of People as possible encounter groups? How they can be anything, allied or hostile, made up of free or enslaved individuals, working for any one of the setting’s factions or none at all?

That’s exactly the kind of description you get for humans in this entry. They are the most numerous humanoid species on Athas, they are infinitely varied and adaptable, and all the other stuff you have read about them a thousand times in other places. What this tells me is that those Mixed Groups of People will be mostly made up of humans.

The Numbers

Humans in Athas are mechanically identical to humans elsewhere. Medium Natural Humanoids with Speed 6, and with absolutely everything else determined by training in each specific stat block.

Any of these stat blocks can easily be adjusted to represent a member of another species by adding that species’ signature traits o it.

Human Slave

If humans make up the bulk of those Mixed Groups of People, then it’s logical to assume they also make up the bulk of Athas’ enslaved population. You’ll see them in large numbers while walking down the street of any of the sorcerer-kings’ city states.

The Human Slave is a Level 1 Minion Brute, armed with a club that’s likely improvised. They gain +1 bonus damage for each ally adjacent to their target, and Laborer’s Resilience make them stay up for an additional turn after being reduced to 0 HP.

As you can see, they’re quite bad at fighting, and will likely only do so if they have no other choice. Only their large numbers make them a threat to PCs.

Human Wasteland Raider

This is a typical member of those hostile Mixed Groups of People who attack you while you’re traveling the wastes, intent on either killing you, taking your stuff, or both. They’re Level 2 Soldiers with 40 HP.

The most striking thing about this stat block is the big editing error right in the middle, a barbed spear attack that has no listed damage and should be ignored. The raider’s actual weapon is a Dagger that does standard physical damage and can be used in a stronger Gutting Dagger attack against someone grabbed by the raider.

Maybe the spear was supposed to be the attack that grabbed the target? As it is, the raider has to use the default rules and perform a Grab action to do it. My suggestion here would be to replace the dagger basic attack with a Barbed Spear that does the same damage, grabs on a hit, and cannot be used against other targets while the raider has a target grabbed. Gutting Dagger would then turn into Gutting Spear, with the same effects.

Human Dune Trader

I remember disliking the emphasis the book put on elven traders being unreliable and dishonest, but it looks like it doesn’t have much better to say about the human ones. This one is described as being flanked by burly bodyguards as he cheerfully lies about the price and quality of his goods.

Dune Traders are Level 4 Controllers with the Leader tag and 55 HP. They’re armed with hatchets that do physical damage and cause the target to grant Combat Advantage for a turn.

While unbloodied, they can spend minor actions on Goading Commands that let one ally within 6 squares move their speed as a free action. While bloodied, this changes to a Furious Glare, a standard action that attacks the Will of enemies in a Close Blast 3. It does no damage, but immobilizes and makes the targets grant combat advantage on a hit (save ends both).

Human Gladiator Novice

Those gladiators who managed to survive their first few fights can go on to achieve fame and greatness… but this one is still figuring out the surviving part. There are many like him on every arena. He’s a level 4 Soldier with 55 HP.

The gladiator novice fights with a short sword that damages and marks on a hit, and can performa a hamstring cut that does the same damage, knocks prone, and slows (save ends). If an adjacent enemy stands up, the novice can use Stay Down! as a reaction to attack their Reflex and knock them back down on a hit.

The book remarks that gladiators are one of the opponent types that have in-character reasons for picking less than optimal combat options during a fight, as long as they make for a better show.

Human Overseer

Our first explicitly Evil stat block in this entry. The things they oversee are the sale, transport, and daily (mis)treatment of slaves. Whether they display malicious glee or banal apathy towards the cruelty that surrounds them, it remains true that their job is to perpetuate it. They’re Level 9 Controllers with the Leader tag and 96 HP.

Overseers are armed with Obsidian Swords, and they have extensive training in psychic powers that assault and dominate the mind because of course they do. They project a Mental Mire around themselves (aura 2) that slows enemies who starts their turns inside. Not So Fast! is a ranged attack that deals psychic damage and pulls 3 squares. And Do My Bidding targets one slowed creature within 2 squares and dominates it for a turn on a hit. This one is thankfully not at-will - it recharges when the overseer is bloodied.

Human Slavehunter

Another Evil entry. Slavehunters do what it says on the tin, roaming both the wilds and the streets looking for new people to enslave. Anyone who looks like they’d fetch a good price and won’t put up much of a fight is fair game. They’re Level 10 Skirmishers with 103 HP.

This villain is armed with a Mace and a Obsidian-toothed Whip. A hit with the mace lets them shift 1 square. A hit with the whip pulls the target 1 square and knocks it prone. As minor actions, they can use Swift Pursuit to shift 3 squares (recharges when bloodied) or Cutting Lash to inflict ongoing 10 damage (save ends) on a prone creature as an encounter power.

The book mentions a power named “Face Smash”, but this isn’t present on the stat block. I guess there were some editing hiccups, and it was replaced by Cutting Lash without any changes to the surrounding text.

Human Templar of Tyr

Fourth Edition Dark Sun is set right after the sorcerer-king of Tyr was deposed and killed in a violent revolution, and this book describes the city’s templars as being “cast adrift” and only relying on “themselves and each other” to impose their will.

This seems to me like a fancy way to say they immediately pivoted to being a crime syndicate after losing their official authority, though I remember something in the older 2e books about Tyr still having some templars in its government. This stat block is Evil, so I’m guessing it represents a “loyalist” templar who is now a mobster.

This templar is a Level 10 Controller with 106 HP. It fights exclusively with Force magic. Its basic melee attack is an Eldritch Spear that does force damage and slides targets 1 square on a hit. The basic ranged attack is an Eldritch Bolt that does the same amount of force damage and pushes 2 squares. Eldritch Cage (recharge 5+) is an Area Burst 2 spell that attacks all creatures in the area. On a hit it restrains and deals 10 ongoing force damage (save ends). The book says the templar is not shy about including some of its own allies in the area if it will help them get more PCs.

None of the templar’s powers explicitly mention defiling, but you could give them a version of the next stat block’s passive trait if you wish.

Human Defiler

In Athas, despoiling an already ravaged ecosystem is a big taboo that’s sure to draw the ire of those who see you do it… unless you’re a sorcerer-king or a templar, I guess. The defilers represented by this stat block are neither, but they really want to be and think the scorn of the ignorant masses is a light price to pay for Ultimate Cosmic Power. You could also uses these stats for a higher-ranking templar.

The Human Defiler is Level 14 Artillery with 108 HP (and also Evil). It has the Defiling passive trait, which deals 5 necrotic damage to all enemies within 3 squares whenever the defiler uses an implement power.

Its only non-implement power is a staff bonk that causes a mix of physical and necrotic damage. The templar prefers to fight from a distance with lightning spells. Lightning Lance is a basic ranged attack that does lightning damage, and Lightning Serpent, an encounter power that does a bit less lightning damage but also inflicts ongoing 10 poison damage (save ends). Once per encounter, the Defiler can use Dimension Door to teleport 10 squares, something it will probably use as an emergency escape measure.

When an enemy within 10 squares of the defiler spends a healing surge, it can use Defiling Serpent as a free action to regain HP equal to half the value of the triggering surge and recharge Lightning Serpent.

Human Mind Adept

We’re out of the Evil Zone again. This is a powerful human telepath that can be cast in any role, friendly or not: a Level 15 Controller with 145 HP.

Mind adepts rely solely on their powers (and on their teammates, of course) for defense. We start with an aura (2) of Overwhelming Thoughts that makes it so any enemy that ends their turn inside cannot target the adept with an attack until the end of their next turn. This means melee-based PCs will only be attacking them every other turn.

Pretty much all of the adept’s attacks are psychic powers that target Will. For melee, we have the Mind-Wracking Touch dealing psychic damage and making the target grant combat advantage for a turn. For greater ranges we have the at-will Paralyzing Blast (close blast 5) which targets enemies, deals light psychic damage, and immobilizes for a turn on a hit.

The adept’s ultimate technique is Will of the Master, a ranged attack that deals no damage and dominates (save ends). While the target is dominated, it emits harmful psychic waves: any enemy that starts their turn within 2 squares of the target takes 5 psychic damage and is immobilized for a turn. This is an encounter power that recharges whenever it misses.

When the adept is reduced to 0 HP, it causes Mental Overload in a Close Burst 1. This targets enemies and on a hit deals psychic damage and stuns for a turn.

Human Blade Noble

A red-haired woman human wearing leather armor and holding a sheathed sword. Copyright 2010 Wizards of the Coast.

The most powerful human in this entry is not a wizard or a psychic, but someone who is Just That Good with a sword. Or in other words: Hello, Ms. Malenia! Fancy meeting you here. This is a Level 17 Controller with 163 HP.

The blade noble has a trait named Unpredictable Flank that gives them combat advantage against any enemy adjacent to one of their allies. No need to setup a by-the-book flanking position.

They fight with a Duelist’s Blade, which given the context is probably one of the few magical steel swords that still survive in Athas. Its basic attacks do physical damage and slide the target 1 square.

Dance of Blades (recharge 6+) is the technique that reminded me of Malenia: it attacks enemies in a Close Burst 2, deals the same damage as a basic attack, immobilizes, and inflicts ongoing 5 damage (save ends). On a miss it still does half damage, which is a rarity on a rechargeable attack. The noble can shift 2 squares as an effect as well.

For triggered actions we have Whirling Parry, an encounter power that triggers when an ally of the noble’s within 2 squares is hit by a melee or ranged attack. As an interrupt, the noble shifts 2 squares to be adjacent to the ally and rolls an attack using its standard bonus vs. AC. If that’s higher than the triggering attack roll, the triggering attack misses.

Encounters and Final Impressions

The individual stat blocks are pretty cool, but the lore is your standard Humans Are The Most Generic thing. In the end this ends up being a very ecletic set of People that you can reskin as any species and any narrative role that best fits your specific campaign.

I know some more recent games have explicitly gone this route for pretty much every humanoid NPC, giving us stat blocks based on narrative or mechanical role (“Bandit”, “Guard”, “Brute”, “Wizard”) and then letting us assign any species as necessary. D&D 4e wasn’t quite there yet, but ended up doing it by accident on this entry.