OSR Commentary On DSR2 Dune Trader By Anthony Pryor And It's Use Within The Castles & Crusades Rpg In A Sword & Sorcery Rpg campaign And Into The World of Athas

 So with Easter now long in the rear view mirror let's pick up with one of the more estoreric yet incredibly viable aspects of Athas. And let's continue this from the other day's Athas Castles & Crusades blog entry. If there's one essential Dark Sun book in my humble opinion then it's gotta be DSR2 Dune Trader by Anthony Pryor published in 1992. 

DSR2 Dune Trader by Anthony Pryor gives an overview of one of the most vital aspects of Athas and that's the trade houses. These are the economic life blood of the entire planet. The trade houses supply the food, the clothing, etc. And these trade houses also know the ins & outs of all of the dungeons, ruins, etc. that dot the landscape. This cannot be stressed enough here. The trade houses members act as a giant guild or family from the smallest merchant on the street corner to the largest mercant prince these trade houses rule the desert routes between cities on Athas. Dune Trader expands Athas in two directions Advanced Dungeons & Dragons second edition and Athas itself. 
For Castles & Crusades rpg Dune Trader is a must because the trade houses need a solid base to work from. As adventure or player patrons the trade houses are perfectly suited. As spies for the Dragon King the trade houses are always looking out for thier own interests. 

Are the trade houses really looking out for thier own interests?! Yes absolutely but the Desert Trader book crosses over with the newer Castle Keeper's Guide in several places. 1. The role of  the Dune Trader class & merchant prince types within Castles & Crusades. 2. The way in which trade good are treated within Castles & Crusades. 3. The role of the adventurer as medium by which the goods & services play an important part within the markets of fantasy role playing games. 

Castles & Crusades Castle Keeper's Guide really goes to town on being able to construct adventures & campaigns. This ties directly into the fluff of Athas. And case in point is the fact Dune trader ties into Tyr one of the most important area on Athas directly. According to the Dark Sun wiki entry on Dune Trader ;"Over half of Dune Trader is fluff, detailing the major merchant houses of Tyr, including three elven merchant tribes."
For our games Tyr was our starting point and eventually we ended up working on becoming our own trade house. And this had several advantages. One it allowed a cover for our adventuring operations. We got a legal reason to travel. Our little band of adventurers moved across Athas. We were poor merchants trying to earn a living. And we had several shadow wars with other minor merchant houses. I don't recommend doing this unless the party are preparred for it. 
DSR2 Dune Trader by Anthony Pryor works really well to help flesh out a trader campaign from the ground up on Athas.