Deep within the Prime Material Plane lies the tiny world of Athas. A blasted and destroyed world, ravaged by the consequences of an obscure magical school known as "defiling". Promising a quick and fast magical path over long years of study, defiler magic was different from "normal" magical schools in that it did not draw on cosmic forces to power its spells. Rather, it drew from plant and animal life that surrounded it, drawing from what made them live and transforming them into lifeless husks of their former self. Even the land was drawn upon in the end, transforming the very sands into ash. Luckily for the planes, this magic did not spread because of the mysterious "Gray" that surrounded the Prime Material World of Athas, preventing it from being accessed by greedy Outer Planer mages. However, the Inner Planes were still partially open, and a few defilers managed to escape their dead world. They came to the Inner Planes, where they found that the plant and animal life that they usually drew their magic from was far less useful as it had been on Athas. So, like the Evolutionists, they adapted. The most visionary of these, a defiler/psionicist from Athas named Gish (Prime/male human/defiler [Fire] 9-psionicist 3/LE) learned how to draw on the Elemental Nature that surrounded him, allowing him to transmute base elemental material into negative quasielemental matter to power his spells.
In game terms, the defilers of the Inner Planes have learned to draw upon elemental material instead of plant and animal life to power their spells. Each defiler specializes in a specific elemental to draw upon; Air Defilers and Earth Defilers are probably the most common throughout the multiverse because of the amount of power that the spell-casters can draw from those two as compared to Fire and Water.
Spell Level 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Air Defiler Radius Air: 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18Lightning: 6 12 18 24 30 36 42 48 54
Vacuum: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Prime: 12 20 28 36 42 48 56 64 72
Fire Defiler Radius* Fire: 2 3 5 6 8 9 11 12 14
Radiance: 6 9 15 18 24 27 33 36 42
Ash: 8 11 17 19 26 29 35 38 44
Prime: 12 19 26 31 38 45 52 59 66
Earth Defiler Radius Earth: 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Mineral: 6 12 18 24 30 36 42 48 54
Dust: 8 14 20 26 32 38 44 50 56
Prime: 12 20 28 36 42 48 56 64 72
Water Radius Water: 3 5 8 10 13 15 17 20 22
Steam: 9 15 24 30 36 45 51 60 66
Salt: 11 17 26 32 38 47 53 62 68
Prime: 12 21 30 39 48 57 64 71 78
* Fire Defilers usually drain the heat from their targets instead of the actual Base Elemental Material. This type draining does not create Ash, but instead leaves all within the radius of destruction extremely cold (see below).
The numbers shown are the radius in feet that is transformed from Base Elemental material into Negative Quasielemental material, depending upon where the spell is being cast. Elemental Defilers may not cast their spells when not surrounded by their element of their choice (i.e. an Air defiler may not cast any spells without air surrounding them). Quasielemental Material created has the same side effects as normal Quasielemental Material; it is as if a new elemental pocket has been created.
Casting spells from the same place twice is possible and usually necessary for the Elemental Defilers. In that cast, consult the Elemental Defiler Magical Destruction Table for the highest level spell cast from that location, then add one yard for every other spell cast.
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Elemental Defilers must be careful when casting their spells on the Negative Quasielemental Planes (or within pockets thereof); should their radius of destruction ever exceed a hundred feet, the entire area falls through and everything within is shunted into the Negative Energy Plane. Otherwise, however, Elemental Defilers are able to drain some Elemental Material from the Quasielemental matter; they simply must reach farther in order to do so. Negative Quasielemental Matter is completely destroyed within a radius of destruction; the radius of destruction begins to take a black property and feels very cold to be within.
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Example: Blakkus Darkrobe, a seventh level Defiler of Flame, is being attacked by two fire elementals on the Elemental Plane of Fire (we assume he is protected from the effects of the Plane). He decides to let loose with a lightning bolt (3rd level spell) targeted at one of the fire elementals. This transmutes all Fire around him (with a radius of 5', on all sides) into Quasielemental Ash. Should the fire elementals be within the radius of destruction, they suffer 3 points of damage each from the minor cold damage that results from the defiling circle. They also add a +3 penalty to their initiative if they have not yet acted this round. |
If an Elemental Defiler casts a spell while creatures of his specialty element are within the destruction radius, (example: Elementals, mephits, other base beings) those creatures suffer one point of damage for each level of the spell being cast. This only applies to creatures of the specific element, not creatures formed out of the quasielemental form of his element. For example, Earth Elementals could be affected, but Mineral Quasielementals will not.
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Elemental Defilers advance using the following experience table (taken from the Dark Sun Rules Book, page 26). Any race that can become a wizard can become a defiler, and defilers may specialize as a normal wizard, with the exception that genasi of an element very rarely defile their own birth material. However, those that do take up that calling suffer immense pain each time they cast a spell. Also, they may not become an elementalist in the element that they choose to drain (i.e. no fire elementalists that drain fire). Elemental Defilers with an intelligence of 16 or more add 10% to all experience gained. Elemental Defilers may not be of any good alignment because of their nature to drain elemental material and use it to their own ends.
However, despite the obvious advantages in the ease of defiler advancement compared to normal wizard advancement, the defilers of Elemental Material are hated even more than their brethren on Athas. Any native elemental being, be they elemental or mephit, will usually attack an Elemental Defiler on site, seeing them as abominations on the face of the Elemental Planes. Nobody likes them, because everywhere they go they destroy life and bring everything towards death. In addition, the draining effects of the Elemental Defiler's magic affects everything within the defiling circle in a variety of ways, depending on the defiler's choice of element to drain. |
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Air: Defilers who transmute Air into Vacuum through the use of their magic cause all living beings within the defiling radius to suddenly lose their breath and feel drained of all air in their lungs. While this is not permanent, it is rather disconcerting to those within the radius, and adds an initiative modifier equal to the level of the spell being cast to all breathing beings within the radius of the spell for the rest of the round while they gasp for breath. Air Defilers may not cast spells in Vacuum; there is simply no Elemental Material to draw on.
Earth: Those who crumble earth into dust must fear the ground collapsing beneath their feet as it becomes dust; smart earth defilers will not cast their spells unless they have stable ground to stand upon. Otherwise, the Earth surrounding them will crumble into dust, causing all those within to immediately sink unless preventive steps have been taken to prevent this.
Fire: Fire is usually not available in the multiverse because of its short lifespan, so outside Fire and it's Quasielemental Planes, Defilers of Fire prefer instead to drain heat from living bodies. This extends the radius by an additional three feet per level of the spell being cast. Those within the radius of effect will suddenly feel very cold, and will suffer an initiative modifier equal to the level of the spell being cast to all those not immune to cold within the radius of the spell for the rest of the round.
Water: Thankfully, the Defilers of Water cannot tap into a person's fluid system and turn it to Salt simply through their spellcasting; if that were so, then surely these Defilers would be some of the most feared beings in the universe. Of course, a few nasty Defilers of this type have developed their own spells to do just that. Instead, those within the radius of a Water Defiler suddenly feel very thirsty, as if their throats suddenly became parched. Also, the very fact that most mortal bodies are about ninety percent water is enough to cause a good deal of pain that adds an initiative modifier of the level of the spell being cast to all those within the radius of destruction that have not yet taken their actions for the round.
