Magic on Athas

THE SOURCES OF MAGICAL ENERGY ON Athas are very different from those on other campaign worlds. For example, Athas is a world without deities, where clerics worship the elemental powers themselves. Clerics and druids receive their magic directly from the elementals and thus are closely tied to the elemental planes. Templars call upon their sorcerer-king's might to receive their powers, even though they actually draw from the elementals too. Wizards, however, draw the power to cast their spells from the land itself. Despite the tenacious brutality that seems infused in its soil, Athas is a fragile world. The use of arcane magic can disrupt and destroy the land's ability to support life, for if a wizard takes too much energy from the land, plants and soil die.

Arcane magic

In the savage world of Athas, energy for spells and magical effects is drawn from living things, usually plants and the land. Decimated by centuries of irresponsible magical manipulation associated with this drawing of living energy, Athas struggles to survive. Some few – the druids and those who call themselves preservers – fight to restore the land, to save it before all is lost. Facing them are the sorcerer-kings and the defilers, those who leech the life from the plants and the very soil to power their spells without giving anything in return.

Defilers have turned the once lush forests and plains of Athas into wasteland. Their predations have left tracts of barren ground lifeless and scarred. The grey and black ash, all that remains of the plants that once grew in the defiled areas, intermingles with the dry dust and blows across the shattered remains of the world. As more land is defiled, fewer plants are left to anchor the soil or to return water to the atmosphere. More land becomes barren every day, and deserts grow larger in each passing year.

Preservers have learned to channel the energy from the plants they use in such a way as to do no lasting harm. The preservers are the sworn enemies of defilers, yet they face personal battle as well. They must never give in to the temptation to become defilers themselves; they must forswear the quick and easy road to power while battling odds which are stacked against them. Sorcerer-kings have little tolerance even for those defilers they employ; they have none at all for preservers.

Both groups must hide what they are from the common people of Athas. Most people neither know nor care that there are different kinds of wizards. They see the cruelties and evils of the sorcerer-kings and the wanton destruction of the land around them. For this reason, all wizards are hated and feared. If any wizards reveal themselves to the common crowds, they can expect violence or even death to be visited upon them.

In game terms, magic and spellcasting function as described in Player's Handbook. Arcane spellcasters prepare and cast spells by drawing energy from a source and employing a combination of components – material, somatic, and verbal – or a spellcasting focus to unleash the magic. What keeps Athasian magic apart from the magic of other worlds is that its effects can leave a lasting impact on the environment.

Presented here are three options to introduce Defiling Magic in your DARK SUN campaign. In the first one, defiling magic is not tied to any class, meaning that any arcane spellcaster can use it and gain its devastating effects – both to their opponents and the land around. The second one shows defilers and preservers as the only Arcane Traditions for the wizard class. Lastly, the third option re-works the sorcerer and the wizard classes as the defiler and preserver classes, respectively. You or your DM may choose either, depending on your style of play and whether you want to keep magic limited or let any character embrace it.

Option 1: Defiling magic

What's the difference between defilers and preservers? Basically, it revolves around the way these types of arcane spellcasters gather the energy necessary to cast spells. Defilers, as their name implies, corrupt the source they draw energy from, while preservers keep the source safe and relatively unchanged. This difference in methods is reflected in each arcane caster type's philosophy and manner.

Spellcasting on Athas requires the drawing of energy, but spellcasters have come across two distinct methods of acquiring enough magic power for their spells. In most cases, your DM will have chosen which method is most prevalent in your game, but if the DM leaves the choice to you, the method may be decided when a wizard character is first created or on an adventure-to-adventure basis.

To preservers, it matters little which method they choose, to some extend; since they almost never plan on harming the land, their choice has no game effect and is purely a matter of role-playing. For defilers, however, the choice has significant consequences.

Spell Preparation

Wizards in this method tap an energy source for magical power at the time of spell preparation. This is usually done ouside of game time and is the standard procedure for most defilers, for it is less risky.

When preserving, wizards gain enough energy to fuel their spells normally. If your character is defiling to further empower your spells, you have to make an Intelligence (Arcana) check against a DC set by the terrrain in which you attempt to draw energy from. The area around you, in a radius of 5 feet per wizard level, becomes Defiled: all vegetation turns to ash, and the land becomes barren.

Preparing Spell Energy

Terrain	DC	HP lost
Lush	10	2
Abundant	12	3
Fertile	14	4
Infertile	17	5
Barren	20	6

On a failed check, your hit point maximum is lowered by an amount equal to your wizard level + the number listed on the corresponding terrain in the Gathering Spell Energy table. These lost hit points can't be magically healed; you regain them only after finishing a long rest. On a successful check, you gain an amount of Defiler Points equal to your wizard level.

Whenever you defile, successfully or not, you gain a taint of dread unnerving to animals and noticeable even to people. The taint clings on you for an amount of days equal to your wizard level; during that time, you have disadvantage on all Charisma checks and on Wisdom (Animal Handling) checks. People who interact with you sense a bad feeling, an uneasiness, or even a malignant air of death, and those who have encountered wizards before may become suspicious.

Wizards under the Crimson Sun

The DARK SUN Campaign Setting was introduced at the peak of AD&D 2nd edition, back in 1991, and included the bard and the wizard classes as the only arcane spellcasters. In DARK SUN, arcane magic users were exclusively wizards, split into two separate subclasses, the defiler and the preserver. Bards, on the other hand, had no access to magic but instead focused on poisoning and assassinations, thus restricting the use of arcane magic even more.

With the advent of later editions, however, arcane magic was broadened to include more classes, as more characters tapped into it to gain their powers, from minor feats to full-blown classes. Consequently, each official campaign was updated to support these new approaches to magic in D&D. But not all campaign settings were published, leaving quirky worlds such as Athas and Cerilia outside the scope. This posed notable issues to any attempts at DARK SUN conversions, trying to fit the existence (and mechanics) of the new feats, powers and classes to the somewhat restricting world of Athas.

This attempt at reconstructing the original feel of 2nd edition with the new system of 5th edition assumes that the wizard class is the only arcane caster within the confines of Athas, excluding other classes such as the sorcerer, as well as subclasses like the arcane trickster and the eldritch knight. Magic on Athas isn't a commodity, but a dangerous tool reserved only for those risking their lives for knowledge and, more often, power. That is also one of the reasons why the term wizard is used most of the time in this chapter, to refer to any arcane caster having access to defiling magic.

That being said, nothing stops you from incorporating other classes, subclasses, or feats in your game, especially if you want to use the first option in your campaign world. With a little tweaking, various folk with arcane powers can walk the blasted lands of Athas (or your home-brewed world), devastating the environment in return for power, or trying desperately to save it.

Using Defiler Points. Each time you cast a spell, you may expend one defiler point and choose one effect from the following list.

• Gain advantage on a spell attack or cause a creature to gain disadvantage on the spell's saving throw.
• Do not expend a spell slot for the spell being cast.
• Spell is cast as if one level higher.
• Reroll all 1s and 2s on your damage dice, but you must keep the second roll; you may use this effect even if you already used a defiler point to empower your spell.
• Gain temporary hit points equal to spell level + your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1); you lose any remaining temporary hit points after a short or long rest.

Spell Casting

Wizards in this method tap a source and draw magical energy when they're ready to cast a spell. Many preservers prefer this method, as it is even less likely to harm the land. Only enough energy to power a specific spell is taken, and the preservers don't even tap a source unless they need to cast a spell. In the brief moment it takes to draw energy for a single spell, the source glows bright green and the energy flow between the wizard and the land is momentarily visible.

For preservers, no game mechanic is necessary. Defilers, however, make an Intelligence (Arcana) check, with a DC set by the terrain in which they draw energy from. When your character defiles, the area around you in a radius of 5 feet per spell level, becomes Defiled: all vegetation turns to ash, and the land becomes barren. Moreover, each spell cast at the same location increases the defiled area by 5 feet.

Casting Spell Energy

Terrain	DC
Lush	10
Abundant	12
Fertile	14
Infertile	17
Barren	20

On a failed check, your character's hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the spell level of the spell being cast. These lost hit points can't be magically healed; you regain them only after finishing a long rest. On a successful check, you gain one effect from the following list

• Gain advantage on a spell attack or cause a creature to gain disadvantage on the spell's saving throw.
• Do not expend a spell slot for the spell being cast.
• Spell is cast as if one level higher.
• Reroll any amount of dice from your damage roll, but you must keep the second roll.
• Gain temporary hit points equal to spell level + your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1); you lose any remaining temporary hit points after a short or long rest.

You may use this feature a number of times equal to your wizard level, and you must finish a long rest before you can use it again. In addition, whenever you defile, either successfully or not, you gain a taint of dread that is unnerving to animals and people alike. The taint clings on you until you finish a long rest; during that time, you have disadvantage on all Charisma checks and on Wisdom (Animal Handling) checks. People who interact with you sense a bad feeling, an uneasiness, or even a malignant air of death, and those who have met wizards before may grow suspicious of you.

While defiling the land to draw energy does not harm living beings, creatures in the area where a defiler is casting a spell may feel great pain. Each time you cast a spell empowered by defiling magic, all creatures within the destruction radius must lower their initiative by an amount equal to the spell level of the spell being cast, until the end of their next turn.

Defiled Land

The ash created by defiler magic is black and grey, completely devoid of life. Nothing will grow in an area of ash for years. The ash itself is very light and usually blows away, leaving behind a lifeless, circular scar on the ground. Even with the ash gone, though, the defiler's magic has leeched all life-giving nutrients from the soil; such a defiled area may take a decade to recover life, if it ever does. For game purposes, treat each defiled area as Barren terrain.

Option 2: Paths to Magic

Wizardry magic on Athas isn't as codified and formal as it is in other campaign settings. For example, there are no academies or colleges for teaching the arcane arts. Instead, one who wishes to study arcane magic must find a teacher, a challenging feat in a world where wizards must hide their profession to survive. Once established, the teacher-student relationship is an important one; what is being taught during the secret lessons will shape the student's approach towards arcane magic. The fledgling wizard will be often left alone to deal with the hazards of the land, so it can better understand and eventually embrace either the defiling or preserving aspect of arcane magic.

Rather than specialising in a specific school of magic, as is the case with the Arcane Traditions in other worlds, an Athasian wizard follows a particular philosophical and magical path. Schools of spells are grouped into broader categories known as the Threefold Path. While these magical paths have no particular game effect whatsoever, they actually reflect the vastly different philosophies of defilers and preservers, and the spells they are most often drawn to. Path Sinister focuses on Conjuration and Necromancy spells, while Path Dexter emphasizes Abjuration and Divination. Those schools which are generally useful but which have no beneficial or malevolent associations are grouped together into the Path of Concurrence, and are utilised by both defilers and preservers.

Defiler or Path Sinister

Defilers activate tremendous magical energy without regard to the havoc such actions play on the land. With the casting of each spell, a defiler destroys a portion of the world's ecosystem, rendering the land dead and sterile. This vicious and brutal method of wielding magic requires little study, as the defiler harnesses the raw power of magic.

Those following the Path Sinister tend to go after ways that they believe lead them to greater power. They best utilise the darker schools of magic, Conjuration and Necromancy. Characters who choose the Path Sinister are often selfish, destructive, and ambitious; they can never be Good-aligned.

Defilement

When you choose this Path at 2nd level, you gain the ability to defile the land in order to empower your magic. At the end of a long rest, you gain an amount of Defiler Points equal to your wizard level. As part of your drawing energy to gain defiler points, the area around you, in a radius equal to five feet per wizard level, becomes Defiled. Also, every time you defeat a creature with conjuration or necromancy spells, you gain one defiler point. Unused defiler points are lost at the end of a long rest, and you can never have more defiler points than your wizard level.

You can use your defiler points to gain additional spell slots or gain one effect from the following list. You also receive new options to use your defiler points as you gain levels. You can only spend one defiler point on a spell when you cast it, unless noted otherwise.

Creating Spell Slots. As a bonus action on your turn, you can transform unexpended defiler points into one spell slot. The Creating Spell Slots table shows the cost of creating a spell cost of a given level. You cannot create spell slots higher than 6th level. Any created spell slots are immediately lost at the end of a long rest.

Creating Spell Slots

Spell Slot Level	Defiler Point Cost
1st	2
2nd	3
3rd	5
4th	6
5th	7

Defiling Effects. Whenever you cast a spell, you can use one defiler point to gain one of the following effects:

• Gain advantage on a spell attack or cause a creature to gain disadvantage on the spell's saving throw.
• Do not expend a spell slot for the spell being cast.
• Spell is cast as if one level higher.
• Reroll all 1s and 2s on your damage dice, but you must keep the second roll; you may use this effect even if you already used a defiler point to empower your spell.
• Gain temporary hit points equal to spell level + your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1); you lose any remaining temporary hit points after a short or long rest.

Spontaneous Displacement

Starting at 6th level, whenever you are the target of a weapon attack, you may spend one defiler point and use your reaction to teleport up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space that you can see; the attack automatically misses. You can use this feature after the attack roll has been made but before the DM announces whether it hit or not.

Attuned to Defiling

Beginning at 10th level, you gain resistance to one of the following damage types: acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder. You have spent so much time defiling and harnessing the life of the land that you have become highly accustomed to the elements that define it.

Life Drain

Starting at 14th level, you may focus your defiling magic to siphon life essence from living beings. You can use your action and expend any amount of defiler points (maximum of 7) to point at a creature within 60 feet that you can see. That creature must make a Constitution saving throw. It takes 1d6 necrotic damage for each defiler point you expended on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. You gain half of the damage dealt as temporary hit points.

A humanoid killed by this spell rises at the start of your next turn as a zombie that is permanently under your command, following your verbal orders to the best of its ability. You also gain 4 defiler points.

Preserver or Path Dexter

Preservers learn to tap — rather than destroy — magical energies so as to minimise or even cancel the destruction of life. They use magic in concert with the environment, doing so by balancing their quest for power with in-depth study, so they can maximise their magical abilities with the least damage to the ecosystem.

Those adhering to the Path Dexter are more drawn to spells which provide them with needed information and protection, thus they lean towards the schools of Abjuration and Divination. Characters who choose this path often express compassion, support, and modesty; they can never be Evil-aligned.

Bonus Cantrip

Beginning when you choose this path at 2nd level, you gain the arcs of cleansing cantrip. It doesn't count against the maximum number of cantrips you know.

Ward of Nature

Starting at 2nd level, you can weave the energy of the land into magical protection. When you cast an abjuration or divination spell of 1st level or higher, you channel magic in a specific way so as to create a ward that fends off damage until you finish a long rest. The ward has hit points equal to twice your wizard level + your Intelligence modifier. Whenever you take damage, the ward takes the damage instead. If this damage reduces the ward to 0 hit points, it collapses and you take any remaining damage.

While the ward has at least 1 hit point, you gain +1 to your AC and you don't provoke any opportunity attacks.

Once you create the ward, you can't create it again until you finish a long rest.

Preserver's Orb

Starting at 6th level, you can spend 8 hours creating a preserver's orb that stores protective magic. You can benefit from the orb yourself or give it to another creature. A creature gains a benefit of your choice as long as the orb is in the creature's possession. When you create the orb, choose the benefit from the following options:

• Gain proficiency in a saving throw of your choice
• Gain resistance to acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder damage (your choice whenever you choose this benefit)
• You can't be surprised as long as you're conscious
• Use an action to end one condition from Blinded, Charmed, Deafened, Frightened, Poisoned, and Restrained

Each time you cast an abjuration or divination spell of 1st level or higher, you can change the effect of your orb, if the orb is on your person.

If you create a new preserver's orb, the previous one ceases to function.

Ward of Perception

Starting at 10th level, when you create a Ward of Nature, you also increase your powers of perception. Choose one of the following benefits, which lasts until your ward ends. You can't use the feature again until you finish a long rest.

Darkvision. You gain darkvision out to a range of 60 feet.

Ethereal Sight. You can see into the Ethereal Plane within 60 feet of you.

Greater Comprehension. You can read any language.

See Invisibility. You can see invisible creatures and objects within 10 feet of you that are within line of sight.

Healing Magic

Starting at 14th level, magic of the land flows through you, healing you or your allies with the power of nature. Whenever you cast an abjuration or divination spell of 1st level or higher, you regain hit points equal to the spell level + your Intelligence modifier. You can choose instead another creature within 30 feet that you can see to receive the healing.

Option 3: Arcane Classes

Magic is arguably the mightiest force in Athas. Those wielding it call fire storms out of a calm sky, change one object into another, or kill enemies with a mere gesture. They dictate the wills of entire mobs, make the dead walk, and have even been known to stop time. Magic can expose traitors, destroy rivals and exact unquestioning obedience from subjects. It can also conceal secret activities, uncover the king's spies, be used to assassinate royal officers, and foster general rebellion.

Arcane magic on Athas is different from what is usually the norm in other worlds. Its practitioners convert the energy of life into magical power that they can shape into spells. If this is done with respect for the life forces of the land and care is taken to balance the net loss of energy with the net gain of magic, there are no adverse effects. In most cases, arcane spellcasters take great care to guard the vitality of the world when casting their spells and working their enchantments. Such spellcasters that work in accordance with nature are known as Preservers.

For others, however, the long-term drain of Athas' ecology is meaningless. They care little for the life force that is lost when they spin their webs of magic. These dark souls, called Defilers, drain the power for their spells from the world around them. Plants near them whither and once fertile soil turns to sterile ash under their macabre power. All sorcerer-kings of Athas are defilers of the highest power.

The Veiled Alliance

Because magic is so powerful, every ruler controls it tightly. More often than not, these rulers are wizards themselves, usually defilers. Psionics and magic is enough, thus, to maintain control of a populace spread around a blasted region.

Sorcerer-kings send their agents to destroy potential wizards hiding within their cities. Nomad witch-lords banish rival mages to the unforgiving sands of the desert. Halfling chiefs exterminate followers who show any sign of control over arcane magic. Even otherwise timid hermits have been known to risk their lives in an effort to make sure that no arcane spellcaster enters their territory.

Despite their efforts, leaders seldom monopolise magic. There are always at least a few individuals in any society who practice it secretly. Of course, these powerful people are almost always the hand-picked, loyal followers of the leader. Still, preservers have formed confederations in most cities (and many villages, tribes, and clans) and work together to protect their members from assassination and harassment by sorcerer-kings and other lieges. They are called the Veiled Alliance and its members strive to shield each other's identities from the authorities or to help those who have been discovered to escape persecution. They are often involved in plots to overthrow their oppressive overlords.

If you play a preserver, you may probably belong to one of the many organisations of the Veiled Alliance around the Tyr Region. Life for a wizard like you becomes a little easier; you have a network of friends and allies to whom you can turn when you need support. The alliance helps you procure spell components without exposing your identity to untrustworthy elves or research specific spells, warns you of nosy templar agents, protects you from psionic and magical probes, and helps you escape the city if you are discovered.

Joining this faction is no easy matter, however, for the Veiled Alliance has very strict rules on inviting and accepting new members, often involving extreme secrecy and reading minds for lies. Even when you join the ranks of the Veiled Alliance, you must abide by two principles: one being a member for life, the other being a preserver. Failing to uphold either of those principles will result in immediate expulsion and swift execution by other members. Such punishment may seem harsh, but it is for good reason; the Veiled Alliance is in constant watch for spies, for most rulers will stop at nothing to uncover and destroy an alliance operating within their territory. It is this better to err on the side of security than to risk exposing the entire society.

Defiler

DEFILERS ARE ARCANE SPELLCASTERS who have decided to take the darker approach to mastering the use of magical spells. They learn to draw magic from the land, but not the art of replacing it. Because it is this latter aspect of magic that is most difficult to master, they learn to harness magic in its raw form, often empowered and destructive to both foes and environment. They care only for power, reveling in it as it courses through their bodies, paying little heed to the life forces that are lost when they weave their webs of magic.

The lowly and the ignorant see defilers as craven and corrupt — little more than thieves with magical talent. While it's true that the path of defiling, or the Path Sinister as it's better known, is selfish in its way, and that it can corrupt both body and mind, only the fool would fail to see the power it offers. And defilers are not fools.

Quick Build

You can make a defiler quickly by following these suggestions. First, make Intelligence your highest ability score. Your next highest score could be Constitution or Wisdom, both good for surviving the blasted wastelands. Second, choose the hermit background; alternatively, choose the Nomad social rank. Third, choose the acid splash, chill touch, control flames, and light cantrips, along with the 1st-level spells obsidian knife and ray of sickness.

Class Features

As a defiler, you gain the following class features.

Hit points

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• Hit Dice: 1d6 per defiler level
• Hit Points at 1st Level: 6 + your Constitution modifier
• Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d6 (or 4) + your Constitution modifier per defiler level after 1st

Proficiencies

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• Armor: None
• Weapons: Daggers, darts, slings, quarterstaffs, light crossbows
• Tools: None
• Saving Throws: Constitution, Intelligence
• Skills: Choose two from Arcana, Deception, History, Insight, Perception, and Survival

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background or social rank:

• (a) a light crossbow and 20 bolts or (b) any simple weapon
• (a) a noble's pack or (b) a nomad's pack
• Two daggers and a component pouch

Spellcasting

As a student of arcane magic, you carry a spellbook containing a few spells that reflect your ever-growing lust for power. See the notes on the Preserver class for more information concerning your spells and spellbook.

Cantrips

At 1st level, you know four cantrips of your choice from the arcane spell list. You learn additional arcane cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known of the Defiler table.

Spellbook

At 1st level, you have a spellbook containing two 1st-level arcane spells of your choice.

Spell Slots

The Defiler table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these arcane spells, you must expend a slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.

For example, if you know the 1st-level false life and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast false life using either slot.

Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher

The Spells Known column of the Defiler table shows the maximum number of spells you may know at each particular level. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For instance, when you reach 5th level in this class, you can learn one new 1st, 2nd, or 3rd level. You prepare all spells that you possess in your spellbook. On your adventures, you might find other spells that you can add to your spellbooks, or you can do your own research.

Spellcasting Ability

Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your arcane spells, since you can learn your spells through dedicated study and memorization. You use your Intelligence whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC or making an attack roll for an arcane spell you cast.

Ritual Casting

You can cast an arcane spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell in your spellbook.

Spellcasting Focus

You can use an arcane focus as a spellcasting focus for your arcane spells. These items are hard to come by, however, and are considered quite valuable amongst arcane spellcasters.

Defiling

You have learned to defile the land in order to empower your magic. At the end of a long rest, you gain an amount of Defiler Points equal to your defiler level. As part of your drawing energy to gain defiler points, the area around you, in a radius equal to five feet per defiler level, becomes Defiled.

Unused defiler points are lost at the end of a long rest, and you can never have more defiler points than your defiler level.

You can use your defiler points to gain additional spell slots or gain one effect from the following list. You also receive new options to use your defiler points as you gain levels. You can only spend one defiler point on a spell when you cast it, unless noted otherwise.

Creating Spell Slots. As a bonus action on your turn, you can transform unexpended defiler points into one spell slot. The Creating Spell Slots table shows the cost of creating a spell cost of a given level. You cannot create spell slots higher than 6th level. Any created spell slots are immediately lost at the end of a long rest.

Creating Spell Slots

Spell Slot Level	Defiler Point Cost
1st	2
2nd	3
3rd	5
4th	6
5th	7

Defiling Effects. Whenever you cast a spell, you can use one defiler point to gain one of the following effects:

• Gain advantage on a spell attack or cause a creature to gain disadvantage on the spell's saving throw.
• Do not expend a spell slot for the spell being cast.
• Spell is cast as if one level higher.
• Reroll all 1s and 2s on your damage dice, but you must keep the second roll; you may use this effect even if you already used a defiler point to empower your spell.
• Gain temporary hit points equal to spell level + your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1); you lose any remaining temporary hit points after a short or long rest.

Arcane Siphoning

At 2nd level, whenever you kill a creature using conjuration or necromancy spells of 1st level or higher, you gain one defiler point, as you sap its life essence from its dying body.

Path Sinister

When you reach 3rd level, you choose a specific approach to your Path Sinister: the Dragon and the Necromancer, both detailed at the end of the class description.

Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 6th, 10th, and 14th level.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Relentless Defiling

Starting at 10th level, the defiling magic that empowers your spells can keep you fighting despite grievous wounds. If you drop to 0 hit points while you have at least 1 defiler point and don't die outright, you can make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw. If you succeed, you drop to 1 hit point instead.

Each time you use this feature after the first, the DC increases by 5. When you finish a short or long rest, the DC resets to 10.

Attuned to Defiling

Beginning at 17th level, you gain resistance to two of the following damage types: acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder. You have spent so much time defiling and harnessing the life of the land that you have become highly accustomed to some of the elements that define it.

Master Defiler

At 20th level, you instantly regain 4 expended defiler points whenever you finish a short rest. In order to receive the benefits, you defile the area around you, as detailed earlier.

In addition, when you cast a spell empowered by defiler points, all creatures around you in a radius of 5 feet per spell level take necrotic damage equal to the spell slot expended + your Intelligence modifier.

Path Sinister

Path Sinister is a path of ambition and power and defilers are well-known for striving to achieve power by any means necessary. While each defiler's goals and methods to ultimate power are different, two ways are the most common on Athas: the path of the Dragon, and the path of the Necromancer.

Path of the Dragon

Every being on Athas fears the Dragon of Tyr, from the lowliest slaves to the mightiest sorcerer-kings. It is an incredibly powerful individual, having mastered both arcane magic and psionics. The Dragon of Tyr commands terrible magic capable of instantly draining the life-force of both man and beast, leaving only withered skulls behind. A place the Dragon has visited is easily recognised as a desolated place, completely devoid of any form of life.

Defilers aspiring to grasp even a tiny portion of the power such a creature wields follow this path of ultimate arcane might and devastation. Many of them are sanctioned by the sorcerer-kings, expected to accomplish special tasks and duties as needed. Even those living secluded in the barren wastelands command some respect from templars.

Aspect of Dragon

When you choose this path at 3rd level, you begin to associate with templars and the sorcerer-kings. Whenever you make a Charisma check while interacting with either, your proficiency bonus is doubled if it applies to the check.

Draconic Resilience

As the magic of the Dragon flows through your body, it causes draconic physical traits to manifest. At 3rd level, your hit point maximum increases by 3 and increases by 1 again whenever you gain a level in this class.

Additionally, parts of your skin are covered by a thin sheen of dragon-like scales. When you aren't wearing armour, your AC equals 13 + your Dexterity modifier.

Dragon Breath

Starting at 6th level, you develop the ability to exhale destructive energy akin to the Dragon's breath. You can use your action to breathe a 15-foot cone of superheated sand. Every creature in the area must make a Dexterity saving throw. The DC for this saving throw equals 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus. A creature takes 2d6 fire damage and 2d6 bludgeoning damage on a failed save, and half as much damage on a successful one. A creature who failed to save is also blinded for 1 minute, but can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns to remove it. The damage increases to 3d6 fire and 3d6 bludgeoning at 14th level.

After you use your breath weapon, you can't use it again until you complete a long rest.

Obsidian Orb

Starting at 14th level, you can spend 8 hours creating an obsidian orb that stores defiling magic. When you first create such an orb, you defile the area around you, as detailed earlier, to infuse it with defiler points equal to half your defiler level (rounded down). These defiler points can be used to create spell slots but not to empower your spells. As mentioned earlier, you cannot create a spell slot higher than 6th level, and any created spell slots are lost at the end of a long rest. Unused defiler points remain stored in the obsidian orb, and you can refill them either by transfering them from your own pool or by spending another 8 hours, though the obsidian orb can never store more defiler points than half your defiler level.

If you create a new obsidian orb, the previous one ceases to function, and dissolves into dust.

Dragon Form

At 18th level, your mastery over the arcane enables your physical form to be infused with Dragon magic. You gain the following benefits:

• You gain resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks
• You no longer need food and drink
• You are immune to disease, poison damage, and the poisoned condition

Path of the Necromancer

Overly fascinated with death and negative energies, necromancers are defilers who focus their studies in the School of Necromancy. As they progress, they learn to manipulate the energy that animates all living things, sapping the life force from creatures as their magic destroys their bodies, or bestowing the dead with the gift, or curse, of undeath. As they master this grim art, necromancers even learn to tap into the mystical plane of the Gray, rumoured to be the realm of the Athasian dead.

Your character may be a mad defiler overwhelmed by the fear of death, a mysterious scholar seeking to unlock the secrets of death and immortality, or an unfortunate sod who has inexplicably become tied into the Gray through some curse or tragic event. Regardless of what, you are mainly concerned with the search of immortality and you learn all you can of death in order to avoid its eventual embrace; only through undeath you may unlock the true power of magic.

Touch of the Gray

Beginning when you select this path at 3rd level, you gain resistance to necrotic damage and vulnerability to radiant damage. Your mystical link with the Gray has granted you both a boon and a curse.

Gray Magic

Also at 3rd level, you can attempt to tap into the Gray and gather the necessary energy to fuel your spells, albeit with an unstable connection. Instead of defiling the land around to receive defiler points, you can draw magic energy directly from the Gray. To do so, make a Constitution check, with the DC randomly set as follows:

On a failed check, your hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to your wizard level + the difference between the DC and your failed check. These lost hit points can't be magically healed; you regain them only after finishing a long rest. However, you gain the amount of defiler points as normal. On a successful check, apart from gaining the required defiler points, you also infuse your magic with negative energy. Whenever you damage a creature with a spell, that creature takes an extra 1d8 necrotic damage and cannot regain hit points until the start of your next turn.

Undead Thralls

At 6th level, you add the animate dead spell to your spellbook. It doesn't count against the spells you know, as shown in the Spells Known column of the Defiler table. When you cast animate dead, you can create one additional corpse or pile of bones, creating another zombie or skeleton, as appropriate.

Whenever you create an undead using a necromancy spell,

the creature has additional benefits: It adds your proficiency bonus to its weapon damage rolls, and its hit point maximum is increase by an amount equal to your wizard level.

Command Undead

Starting at 14th level, you can use your magic to bring undead under your control, even those created by other arcane spellcasters. As an action, you can choose one undead that you can see within 60 feet of you. That creature must make a Charisma saving throw against your defiler spell save DC. If it succeeds, you can't use this feature on it again. If it fails, it becomes friendly to you and obeys your commands until you use this feature again.

Intelligent undead are harder to control in this way. If the target has an Intelligence of 8 or higher, it has advantage on the saving throw. If it fails the saving throw and has an Intelligence of 12 and higher, it can repeat the saving throw at the end of every hour until it succeeds and breaks free.

Eternal Life

At 18th level, your constant connection to the Gray has finally revealed you with the first steps of immortality. You gain the following benefits:

• You no longer age
• You are immune to disease, poison damage, and the poisoned condition
• You are immune to the effects of exhaustion

The Dragon and the Necromancer

While these two defiler paths are heavily inspired by their AD&D 2nd edition counterparts, they're far from being an exact conversion; rather, they serve as inspirations.

Even though defilers call upon the Dragon for their magic, exhibiting in some cases its powers and abilities, they're merely imitations of its true form. The real path towards this mighty creature is lost to centuries. The sorcerer-kings possibly know, as they might also know the origins of the Dragon of Tyr, but they are far from revealing it to anyone. Some even claim the sorcerer-kings use these defilers as an experiment or a tool to oppose the Dragon. Whatever the case, they surely don't feel threatened by the practitioners of dragon magic, judging by their tolerance over their minions.

Likewise, defilers who walk the path of the Necromancer are far from perfecting their powers over the Gray. There's still countless questions to be answered and the mystical realm of the dead still poses a significant threat to those unwary or reckless. These necromancer fledglings keep fueling their magic abilities through the energy of the land; occasionally, they tap into the Gray to empower their magic. This may come handy in situations where the defiler is trapped in lifeless areas, but it also comes at a risk of being devoured by this ever-hunrgy plane. Amongst the dreadful class of defilers, they are the most despised, for their magics defile both the living and the dead.

Preserver

PRESERVERS ARE ARCANISTS WHO SEEK to maintain the environment while drawing magical power from it. A preserver's magical spells are cast in harmony with nature, and there is no damage to the surrounding environment. Sublty using their magic to return to the land what they have taken from it, preservers learn to utilise nature to further their goals against any who defiles or otherwise opposes the land.

Such arcane spellcasters grow a deep and abiding respect for the life forces of the world. They take great care to balance their gain of magic against the cost of life energy so as not to create adverse effect, and so they possess significant amounts of self-control, wisdom, and intuitive grasp of the subtle currents at play. In return, the land allows them to empower their magic to better defend it, and themselves, against their foes.

Quick Build

You can make a preserver quickly by following these suggestions. First, Intelligence should be your highest ability score, followed by Wisdom. Second, choose the sage background; alternatively, choose the Nomad social rank. Third, choose the blade ward, arcs of cleansing, and true strike cantrips, along with the following 1st-level spells for your spellbook: charm person, comprehend languages, feather fall, mage armor, magic missile, and protection from evil and good.

Class Features

As a preserver, you gain the following class features.

Hit points

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• Hit Dice: 1d6 per preserver level
• Hit Points at 1st Level: 6 + your Constitution modifier
• Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d6 (or 4) + your Constitution modifier per preserver level after 1st

Proficiencies

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• Armor: None
• Weapons: Daggers, darts, slings, quarterstaffs, light crossbows
• Tools: None
• Saving Throws: Intelligence, Wisdom
• Skills: Choose two from Arcana, History, Insight, Investigation, Perception, and Survival

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background or social rank:

• (a) a light crossbow and 20 bolts or (b) any simple weapon
• (a) a traveler's pack or (b) a nomad's pack
• Two daggers and a component pouch

Spellcasting

As a student of arcane magic, you have a spellbook containining spells that reflect the knowledge and protection you seek in your travels.

Cantrips

At 1st level, you know three cantrips of your choice from the arcane spell list. You learn additional arcane cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known of the Preserver table.

Spells and Spellbooks

The existence of spellbooks and arcane tomes, ancient or not, is severely limited in Athas. Time, dwindling resources, and the actions of superstitious people have destroyed what could possibly pass as a book of arcane magic. Paper is more scarce than the trees needed to produce it. Over the centuries, most of the arcane scrolls and books that weren't hidden away have fallen victim to the crowds of wizard-haters who delight and find comfort in tossing arcane texts into roaring flames. For these reasons and others, much knowledge has been lost.

Some lucky arcanists discover ancient texts in ruins, at elven markets, or in noble or merchant-lord estates, but finding spells on paper is exceedingly rare. More often, spellbooks crafted from more durable materials make their way into the hands of wizards, such as animal hides, stones or clay tablets, bone staves, ivory blocks, or even knotted giant hair.

With this lack of reference works, how do Athasian wizards add spells to their personal spellbooks? The answer depends upon the type of the arcanist in question.

Preservers, as they usually have some connection to the Veiled Alliance, have access to other arcane spellcasters of their kind. Early in their training, they receive spells from their mentors. Later, they can petition the Alliance for more powerful or obscure spells. This is an involved process, as most Alliance members know only a few other members. This keeps the chances of betrayal low, but makes it hard to disseminate information and knowledge quickly. Still, preservers have the advantage of claiming a good amount of spells in their spellbooks.

Defilers, on the other hand, have a harder time of it. Initially, a defiler learns new spells from his or her teacher. Inevitably, the defiler and the teacher go their separate ways. Such is the nature of defilers and defiling magic. From then on, defilers must research their own spells, find ancient books, steal spells from other wizards, or even buy them from elven magic traders. None of these methods are reliable, however, so defilers don't always have access to a wide selection of spells, hence the limited amount they possess.

Spellbook

At 1st level, you have a spellbook containing six 1st-level arcane spells of your choice.

Preparing and Casting Spells

The Preserver table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.

You prepare the list of wizard spells that are available for you to cast. To do so, choose a number of wizard spells from your spellbooks equal to your Intelligence modifier + your wizard level (minimum of one spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

For example, if you're a 3rd-level preserver, you have four 1st-level and two 2nd-level spell slots. With an Intelligence of 16, your list of prepared spells can include six spells of 1st or 2nd level, in any combination, chosen from your spellbook. If you prepare the 1st-level spell magic missile, you can cast it using a 1st-level or a 2nd-level slot. Casting the spell doesn't remove it from your list of prepared spells.

Spellcasting Ability

Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your arcane spells, since you can learn your spells through dedicated study and memorization. You use your Intelligence whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC or making an attack roll for an arcane spell you cast.

Ritual Casting

You can cast an arcane spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell in your spellbook. You don't need to have the spell prepared.

Spellcasting Focus

You can use an arcane focus as a spellcasting focus for your arcane spells. These items are hard to come by, however, and are considered quite valuable amongst arcanists.

Focused Mind

You can clear your mind and focus on your spellbook to regain some of your magical energy. Once per day when you

finish a short rest, you can choose expended spell slots to recover. The spell slots can have a combined level that is equal to or less than half your wizard level (rounded up), and none of the slots can be 6th level or higher.

For example, if you're a 4th-level preserver, you can recover up to two levels worth of spells slots. You can recover either a 2nd-level spell slot or two 1st-level spell slots.

Path Dexter

When you reach 2nd level, you choose a specific approach to your Path Dexter: the Avangion and the Restorationist, both detailed at the end of the class description.

Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 6th, 10th, and 14th level.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Spell Mastery

At 18th level, you have achieved such mastery over certain spells that you can cast them at will. Choose a 1st-level arcane spell and a 2nd-level arcane spell that are in your spellbook. You can cast those spells at their lowest level without expending a spell slot when you have them prepared. If you want to cast either spell at a higher level, you must expend a spell slot as normal.

By spending 8 hours in study, you can exchange one or both of the spells you chose for different spells of the same level.

Master Preserver

When you reach 20th level, your constant connection with the land and its magic energy rewards you with potent abilities. You gain 4 levels worth of spells which you can use in any combination. For example, you can choose 4 1st-level spells, one 1st-level and one 3rd-level spell, or one 4th-level spell. You always have these spells prepared, they don't count against the number of spells you have prepared, and you can cast each of them once at their respective level without expending a spell slot. When you do so, you can't do so again until you finish a short or long rest.

If you want to cast either spell at a higher level, you must expend a spell slot as normal. Also, by spending 8 hours in study, you can exchange one or both of the spells you chose for different spells.

Path Dexter

Path Dexter is a path of balance and self-restraint and its practicioners have mastered these two aspects. While all preservers share a common respect for the land, they differ in their approach to protect the world. Two paths are the most common on Athas: the path of the Avangion, and the path of the Restorationist.

Learning Spells

The spells that you add to your spellbook reflect either the arcane research you conducted on your own, or discovered arcane texts and other wizards' spellbooks that you have copied from.

Copying a Spell. Before you can add a spell of 1st level or higher to your spellbook, you must make sure if it is of a level you can prepare and if you can spare the time to decipher and copy it.

For each level of the spell, the process takes 2 days and 50 cp. The cost represents material components you expend as you experiment with the spell to master it, as well as the materials you need to record it to your spellbook.

Replacing the Book. It is easier to copy spells that you already possess, since you understand your own notation and already know how to cast the spell. You need spend only 1 day and 10 cp for each level of the copied spell.

If you lose your spellbook, you can use the same procedure but only to transcribe the spells that you have prepared into a new spellbook. The spells you haven't prepared are lost, and you must copy or research them anew, as normal.

The Book's Appearance. The wizardry arts are illegal in the Tyr region, as is the possession of the paraphernalia associated with it. People fear wizards, and often execute them when discovered. For this reason, as well as for the practical necessity of available materials, modern Athasian spellbooks rarely appear as tomes with pages made from actual paper.

Instead, spellbooks are sewn into the pattern of the wizard's robe, scrawled on animal hides, carved into bone staves or small stone blocks, fashioned as knots tied in a length of string etc. No matter what the form, an Athasian wizard's collection of spells is always referred to as his or her "spellbook".

Path of the Avangion

Avangions are the exact opposite of what the Dragon of Tyr represents: champions of good, enlightenment and life-creating power. Being masters of both preserving magic and psionics, these advanced beings command powerful magics of creation and light. However, whereas the Dragon is very much an existing entity, Avangions are the stuff of legend. In the entire known history of the Tyr region, there has never been an instance of a preserver reaching such mighty levels of power and magic.

Still, preservers aren't discouraged by the mythical aspect of these advanced beings; many amongst them follow this path, inspired by the life-creating and life-protecting powers such a way bestows. Slowly, they tap deep into the magic of the land, to gain extraordinary abilities. And, along the way, they might discover the ancient practices and rituals for one to begin the true transformation to an Avangion.

Enlightenment

Beginning when you choose this path at 2nd level, you are infused with the magic of the land and can channel its potent energy to fuel magical effects. You start with two such enlightenment effects: Turn Evil and one of your choice.

When you use your Enlightenment, you choose which effect to create. You must then finish a short or long rest to use your Enlightenment again.

Some enlightenment effects require saving throws. When you use such an effect from this class, the DC equals your preservers spell save DC.

Beginning at 6th level, you gain a third enlightenment effect of your choice, and can use your Enlightenment twice between rests. Beginning at 18th level, you gain a fourth enlightenment effect of your choice, and can use your Enlightenment three times between rests. When you finish a short or long rest, you regain your expended uses.

Charm Nature. As an action, you invoke the power of nature to bring animals and plants under your command. Each beast or plant creature that can see you within 30 feet of you must make a Wisdom saving throw. If the creature fails its saving throw, it is charmed by you for 1 minute or until it takes damage. While charmed, the creature is friendly to you and other creatures you designate.

Nature's Wrath. As an action, you invoke primeval forces to ensnare a foe. Spectral vines spring up and reach for a creature within 10 feet of you that you can see. The creature must succeed on a Strength or Dexterity saving throw (its choice) or be restrained. While restrained by the vines, the creature repeats the saving throw at the end of each of its turns. On a success, it frees itself and the vines vanish.

Preserve Life. As an action, you evoke healing energy that can restore a number of hit points equal to five times your preserver level. Choose any creatures within 30 feet of you,

including yourself, and divide those hit points among them. This feature can restore a creature to no more than half of its hit point maximum. You can't use this feature on an undead or a construct.

Radiance of the Lost Sun. As an action, you harness sunlight, banishing darkenss and damaging your foes. Any magical darkness within 30 feet of you is dispelled. Additionally, each hostile creature within 30 feet of you must make a Constitution saving throw. A creature takes radiant damage equal to 2d10 + your preserver level on a failed saving throw, and half as much damage on a successful one. A creature that has total cover from you is not affected.

Sanctuary. As a bonus action, you choose to ward yourself or a creature within 30 feet of you with protective magic. That creature is treated as if under the sanctuary spell.

Turn Evil. As an action, you create a flash of radiant light, dreadful to evil practitioners of defiling magic and their minions. Each defiler or undead that can see or hear your within 30 feet of you must make a Wisdom saving throw. If the creature fails its saving throw, it is turned for 1 minute or until it takes any damage, as detailed in Player's Handbook.

Aura of Protection

Starting at 6th level, whenever you or a friendly creature within 10 feet of you must make a saving throw, and you are conscious, the creature gains a bonus to the saving throw equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of 1).

At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.

Aura of Courage

Starting at 10th level, you and friendly creatures within 10 feet of you can't be frightened while you are conscious.

At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.

Advanced Form

Beginning at 14th level, your connection to the primeval spirits of the land grants you the ability to invoke some of the Avangion's powers, albeit for a limited time. As a bonus action, you can choose one of the following benefits:

Avangion Wings. You can sprout a pair of filmy, translucent gossamer wings from your back and shoulders, gaining a flying speed equal to your current speed. They last until you dismiss them as a bonus action on your turn.

Cleansing Touch. You can end one disease, poison, or spell on yourself or on one willing creature that you touch.

Magic Resistance. You and friendly creatures within 10 feet of you have advantage on saving throws against spells, and resistance to damage from spells. This magic resistance lasts for 1 minute.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (a minimum of once). You regain expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Path of the Restorationist

In a world that teeters on the brink of total collapse, the restorationists are preservers with the primary goal of returning Athas to its former state of verdant vegetation and free, open water. Intent on revitalising the land, they travel from place to place, always seeking out magic new and ancient in hopes of using it to heal the land of the ills that have brought it to its present state.

As a restorationist, your keen understanding of the forces that shape the world forms the cornerstone of the magic you practice. Thoughtful and self-assured, you strive in making the land healthy again, offering your knowledge of agriculture and plant lore on Athas. Two main reasons drive your will to travel: to see and learn about the land, and to find ways to make it fertile once again.

Expanded Spell List

When you follow this path at 2nd level, your deep knowledge of nature lets you choose from an expanded spell list of spells when you learn an arcane spell. The following spells are added to the arcane spell list for you.

Restorationist Expanded Spells

Spell Level		Spells
cantrip		guidance, resistance
1st		speak with animals, ward nature
2nd		beast sense, lesser restoration
3rd		plant growth, speak with plants

Bonus Proficiencies

Also at 2nd level, you gain proficiency in herbalism kit and one of the following skills of your choice: Animal Handling, Nature, Survival.

Preserver's Scourge

Starting at 6th level, you may imbue the land around with protective magic that lashes back at foes. Whenever you cast an abjuration spell of 1st level or higher, the area around you in a radius of five feet per spell level grows spectral vines and roots; all hostile creatures within the area treat it as difficult terrain, and make all weapon attack rolls with disadvantage

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while inside, as the vines interfere with their attacks.

If a creature is a defiler, it must make a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC whenever it attempts to cast a spell. The creatures takes 2d6 psychic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. If the defiler failed the saving throw, it also can't use any magic until the start of its next turn.

Peerless Divination

When you reach 10th level, you begin to glimpse into the future and learn how to better prepare yourself. As a bonus action, you can replace one spell you have prepared with another spell from your spellbook. You can't use this feature again until you finish a short or long rest.

In addition, you gain the ability to cast the commune with nature spell, but only as a ritual. Once you cast the spell, you can't cast it again until you finish a long rest.

Lore Mastery

Beginning at 14th level, you can call upon your extensive studies of magic to aid yourself or your allies. Whenever you or a creature of your choice that you can see makes an ability check, you can use a bonus action to give advantage to the roll. You can choose to do so after you roll the die for the ability check, but before the DM tells you whether you succeeded or not.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (a minimum of once). You regan any expended uses when you finish a long rest.