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Content

Introduction 3 Inquisitive 114 Athasian Magic 236

Languages of Athas 6 Mastermind 115 The Preserver 237
Races of Athas 11 Scout 115 The Defiler 237
Human 12 Swashbuckler 116 The Gathering of Power 242
Dwarf 16 Raider 117 The Threefold Path 245
Elf 19 Trader 118 Wizard Class 246
Half-Elf 22 Psionicist Class 120 Path Dexter 250
Halfling 24 Wild Talent 120 Abjuration 250
Thri-kreen 28 Monk Class 121 Divination 251
Mul 32 Serene Bliss 128 Path of Concurrence 251
Half-Giant 34 Exalted Path 129 Enchantment 251
Gith 37 Brotherhood of the Mind 130 Evocation 252
Aarakocra 39 Yellow Monastery 131 Illusion 253
Dray 41 Sensei 132 Transmutation 254
Kenku 44 Villichi Priestess 134 Arena Mage 256
Jozhal 47 Druid Class 138 Chasseur 258
Pterran 50 Circle of the Land 143 Restorationist 260
Tarek 52 Circle of the Moons 145 Path Sinister 263
Random Age, Height & Weight 58 Circle of the Shepherd 146 Conjuration 263
Racial Class availability 59 Circle of Twilight 147 Necromancy 264
Feats 60 Cleric Class 150 Switching Roles 265
Characters Classes 61 Elemental Domains 156 Sorcerer Class 269
Fighter Class 61 Water Domain 156 Shadow 277
Champion 66 Air Domain 159 Cerulean 278
Battle Master 67 Earth Domain 162 Grey 280
Scout 69 Fire Domain 165 Sun 282
Sharpshooter 70 Para-Elemental Domains 170 Character Backgrounds 284
Gladiator 70 Rain Domain 171 Anchorite 285
Barbarian Class 73 Sun Domain 173 Artisan 285
Berserker 77 Magma Domain 176 Highborn 285
Totem Warrior 77 Silt Domain 178 Initiate 285
Ancestral Guardian 79 Templar Class 181 Merchant 286
Zealot 80 Sorcerer-Kings 192 Caravan Trader 286
Brute 80 SK Oaths & Pact 210 Elven Trader 286
Ranger Class 83 Oath of Conquest 210 Outlaw 286
Beast Conclave 88 Oath of Treachery 211 Performer 286
Hunter Conclave 89 Oath of Predation 213 Slave Hero 287
Primeval Guardian 91 Oath of Providence 214 Warrior 287
Wasteland Wanderer 92 Oath of Redemption 216 Wastelander 287
Athasian Bard Class 94 Oath of Devotion 217 VARIANTS 287
Academy of Lore 98 Oath of Vengeance 218 Fakir 287
Academy of Satire 99 Oathbreaker 220 Urban Bounty Hunter 287
Academy of Sword 100 The Great Slumbering One 221 Nibenese Noble 288
Academy of Survival 102 The Archfey 222 Tribe Member 288
Academy of Whispers 103 The Hexblade 223 Caravan Guard 288
Athasian Poisons 105 The Undying 224 City-State Militia 288
Rogue Class 108 The Fiend 225 Escaped Slave 289
Assassin 110 The Grand Vizier 226 Scribe 289
Thief 112 The Seeker 227 Far Traveler 289
Arcane Trickster 112 Draconic Invocations 229
Psionicist Specific 293 Free Wizard 308 Cleric & Druid New Spells 400
Auditor 293 Mercenary 309 1st level 400
Brown Elf 293 Arcanist 310 2nd level 401
Beastmaster Psionicist 294 Trinkets 312 3rd level 403
Mercenary Psionicist 294 Weapons 314 4th level 405
Noble Psionicist 295 Weapon Descriptions 319 5th level 409
Psiologist 295 Jagged Cliffs Weapons 338 6th level 409
Tribal Psionicist 295 Armor and Shields 341 7th level 413
Gladiator Specific 296 Jagged Cliffs Armor 345 8th level 417
Beast Trainer 296 Adventuring Gear 348 9th level 420
Jazst 296 Trade Goods and Slaves 349 10th level 424
Montare 297 Jagged Cliffs Gear 351 Templar New Spells 428
Reaver 297 Mounts and Others Animals 361 1st level 428
Blind Fighter 298 Vehicles 368 2nd level 428
Arena Champion 298 Silt Skimmer 371 3rd level 428
Convict 299 Expenses 383 4th level 428
Professional Gladiator 299 Lifestyle Expenses 383 6th level 429
Gladiatorial Slave 300 Consumables and Lodging 384 Wizard New Spells 430
Rogue Specific 301 Services 384 1st level 430
Free-Wanderer 301 Tools 385 2nd level 431
Procurer 301 Fruits (Potions) 386 3rd level 435
Fighter Specific 303 Proficiencies 387 4th level 437
Savage Hunter 303 Jagged Cliffs Specific 394 5th level 441
Thri-Kreen Slayer 303 Last Sea Specific 394 6th level 443
Priest Specific 305 Table of Proficiencies 395 7th level 444
Battle Dancer 305 Modified Spells Lists 397 8th level 444
Element Singer 305 Clerics 397 9th level 447
Wizard Specific 307 Templars 398 10th level 450
Earth Defender 307 Druid 399 Bibliography 471
Exterminator 308
 "I live in a world of fire and sand. The crimson sun scorches the life from anything that crawls or flies,
and storms of sand scour the foliage from the barren ground. This is a land of blood and dust, where
tribes of feral elves sweep out of the salt plains to plunder lonely caravans, mysterious singing winds
call travelers to slow suffocation in the Sea of Silt, and selfish kings squander their subjects‟ lives
building gaudy palaces and garish tombs. This bleak wasteland is Athas, and it is my home.”
—The Wanderer‟s Journal

Beneath a crimson sun lie wastelands of 1. THE WORLD IS A DESERT

majestic desolation and cities of cruel
splendor, where sandal clad heroes battle
ancient sorcery and terrible monsters. This is
Athas, the world of the DARK SUN
campaign setting, a dying planet of savagery
and desolation. Life hangs by a thread in this
barren land, and now it is up to you to write
your own story in blood and glory.
EIGHT CHARACTERISTICS
OF ATHAS
The world of the DARK SUN setting is unique in
several ways. Many familiar trappings of the
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game are missing or
turned on their heads. Athas is not a place of
shining knights and robed wizards, of deep
forests and divine pantheons. To venture over
the sands of Athas is to enter a world of savagery
and splendor that draws on different traditions
of fantasy and storytelling. Simple survival
beneath the deep red sun is often its own
adventure. Newcomers to Athas have much to
learn about the world, its people, and its
monsters, but the following eight characteristics
encapsulate the most important features of the
DARK SUN campaign setting.
Athas is a hot, arid planet covered with endless
seas of dunes, lifeless salt flats, stony wastes,
rocky bad lands, thorny scrublands, and worse.
From the first moments of dawn, the crimson
sun beats down from an olive tinged sky.
Temperatures routinely exceed 100 degrees F. by
midmorning and can reach 130 degrees or more
by late afternoon. The wind is like the blast of a
furnace, offering no relief from the oppressive
heat. Dust and sand borne on the breeze coat
everything with yellow-orange silt. In this
forbidding world, cities and villages exist only in
a few oases or verdant plains. Some places don’t
see rain for years at a time, and even in fertile
regions, rain is little more than a humid mist that
falls during a few weeks each year before giving
way to long months of heat and drought. The
world beyond these islands of civilization is a
wasteland roamed by nomads, raiders, and
hungry monsters. Athas was not always a desert,
and the parched landscape is dotted with the
crumbling ruins of a planet that once was rich
with rivers and seas. Ancient bridges over dry
watercourses and empty stone quays that face
seas of sand tell the tale of a world that is no
more.

3
2. THE WORLD IS SAVAGE
Life on Athas is brutal and short. Bloodthirsty
raiders, greedy slavers, and hordes of inhuman
savages over run the deserts and wastelands.
The cities are little better; each chokes in the grip
of an ageless tyrant. The institution of slavery is
widespread on Athas, and many unfortunates
spend their lives in chains, toiling for brutal
taskmasters. Every year hundreds of slaves,
perhaps thousands, are sent to their deaths in
bloody arena spectacles. Charity, compassion,
kindness — these qualities exist, but they are
rare and precious. Only a fool hopes for such
riches.
3. METAL IS SCARCE
Most arms and armor are made of bone, stone,
wood, and other such materials. Mail or plate
armor exists only in the treasuries of the
sorcerer-kings. Steel blades are almost priceless,
weapons that many heroes never see during
their lifetimes.
4. ARCANE MAGIC DEFILES THE WORLD
The reckless use of arcane magic during ancient
wars reduced Athas to a wasteland. To cast an
arcane spell, one must gather power from the
living world nearby. Plants wither to black ash,
crippling pain wracks animals and people, and
the soil is sterilized; nothing can grow in that
spot again. It is possible to cast spells with care,
preserving the world and avoiding any more
damage to it, but defiling offers more power
than preserving. As a result, sorcerers, wizards,
and other wielders of arcane magic are reviled
and persecuted across Athas regardless of
whether they preserve or defile. Only the most
powerful spellcasters can wield arcane might
without fear of reprisal.
5. SORCERER-KINGS RULE THE CITY-STATES
Terrible defilers of immense power rule all but
one of the city-states. These mighty spellcasters
have held their thrones for centuries; no one
alive remembers a time before the sorcerer-
kings. Some claim to be gods, and some claim to
serve gods. Some are brutal oppressors, where
others are more subtle in their tyranny. The
sorcerer-kings govern through priesthoods or
bureaucracies of greedy, ambitious templars,
lesser defilers who can call upon the kings’
powers. Only in the city-state of Tyr does a
glimmer of freedom beckon, and powerful forces
already conspire to extinguish it.
6. THE GODS ARE SILENT
Long ago, when the planet was green, the brutal
might of the primordials overcame the gods.
Today, Athas is a world without deities. There
are no clerics, no paladins, and no prophets or
religious orders. Old shrines and crumbling
temples lie amid the ancient ruins, testimony to
a time when the gods spoke to the people of
Athas. Nothing is heard now but the sighing of
the desert wind.
In the absence of divine influence, other powers
have come to prominence in the world. Psionic
power is well known and widely practiced on
Athas; even unintelligent desert monsters can
have deadly psionic abilities. Shamans and druids
call upon the primal powers of the world, which
are often sculpted by the influence of elemental
power.
7. FIERCE MONSTERS ROAM THE WORLD
The desert planet has its own deadly ecology.
Athas has no cattle, swine, or horses; instead,
people tend flocks of erdlus, ride on kanks or
crodlus, and draw wagons with mixes and
mekillots. Wild creatures such as lions, bears,
4
and wolves are nonexistent. In their place are
terrors such as the id fiend, the baazrag, and the
tembo. Perhaps the harsh environment of Athas
breeds creatures tough and vicious enough to
survive it, or maybe the touch of ancient sorcery
poisoned the wellsprings of life and inflicted
monster after monster on the dying world. Either
way, the deserts are perilous, and only a fool or a
lunatic travels them alone.
5
8. FAMILIAR RACES AREN’T WHAT YOU EXPECT
Typical fantasy stereotypes don’t apply to
Athasian heroes. In many DUNGEONS &
DRAGONS settings, elves are wise, benevolent
forest dwellers who guard their homelands from
intrusions of evil. On Athas, elves are a nomadic
race of herders, raiders, peddlers, and thieves.
Halflings aren’t amiable riverfolk; they’re
xenophobic headhunters and cannibals who hunt
and kill trespassers in their mountain forests.
Half-giants, are brutal servant as elite guards and
enforcers for the sorcerer kings and their
templars in many city-states.
Languages of Athas
Human Languages
The Common Tongue
There is a standard language (known simply as
common or the common tongue) that all
humans, dwarves, elves, half-elves and muls
speak. It is important to note that halflings and
thri-kreen do not speak common. It is strongly
recommended, however, that player character
halflings and thri-kreen use one of their
proficiency slots to obtain the common tongue.
Languages of the Seven Cities
Tyrian: The language of Tyr, Tyrian is understandable
to most denizens of the Tyr Region and is therefore
used as a trade language - a relationship solidified by
Tyr's role as the primary producer of metal in barren
Athas, cementing its importance. (Tyrian Alphabet)
Balican: The language of Balic is common in the
Tablelands because Balican traders ply the shores of
the Silt Sea. Like Tyrian, Balican still resembles High
Tyrian and bears a closer resemblance to the trade
tongue than many other city-state's languages.
Balican speakers from Altaruk have a notable
"provincial" accent. (Tyrian Alphabet)
Urikite: Urik's language has harsher, clipped tones
than most of the other city-states, and many of its
words are descended from military terms in High
Tyrian. Literacy in Urik is particularly controlled, with
the templars actively investigating rumors of non-
nobles being taught to read and write. (Hamanu's
Alphabet)
Raamish: The language of Raam, Raamish is a lyrical
language full of allusion and metaphor. Its vocabulary
varies slightly by the caste of the speaker; outsiders
almost always learn the idiom of the Caste of the
Merchant, sometimes sprinkled with metaphors from
the Caste of the Warrior. Though it possesses a
hieroglyphic alphabet of its own, it is almost always
written using Tyrian transliterations. (Tyrian
Alphabet, Hieroglyphics of Badna)
Draji: Draj's mad sorcerer-king gave the Draji
language to his subjects whole-cloth, declaring it the
tongue of the Two Moons. Scholars, however, can
detect in it the strains of High Tyrian - it is more as if
Tectuktitlay wished to create a new language but
lacked the creativity, choosing instead to just alter
High Tyrian to create a mad pig-latin mongrel tongue.
(Moon Script)
Nibenese: Nibenay's ancient city holds itself apart
from Athas, considering itself civilized in a world of
savages - and its language reflects its ancient lineage
and elitist image, hewing most closely of any tongue
to High Tyrian. (Tyrian Alphabet)
Gulgan: Like Draji, Gulgan is a created language, the
divine language of the Oba - but it is truly unique,
bearing no resemblance to High Tyrian or any of the
other city-state's languages, though some scholars
suggest a relationship with the tongue of some
halfling tribes. It is characterized by its many
modifying prefixes and suffixes, attached to a
relatively small number of core words. (Oba Script)
High Gulgan: While common Gulgan has adapted
over thousands of years of use, the Oba still demands
that those entreat her personally speak Gulgan as she
first delivered it to her people. Consequently, only
the nganga and the most senior scribes speak the
tongue, though no few juganda warriors have had to
hastily study it when called before the Forest
Goddess. (Oba Script)
6
Dwarven Languages
The Dwarven language is dying: while traditional
dwarven families still teach their children their racial
tongue, it is not really spoken outside of Kled or the
largest dwarven ghettos, and the dwarves have lost
the Dwarven script entirely. Dwarven is also spoken
by certain desert monsters, such as the mutated
hejkins. (No script/Davek*)
Elven Languages
The elven tribes of the desert share a common
tongue, though tribal dialects are so strong that one
tribe may be able to barely understand the words
spoken by another. The Elven language remains
united only because of elves' relatively long lifespan
and the elven tradition of raiding other tribes for
mates. Elven dialects are deeply ingrained in their
speakers, however: an Elven character cannot shed
his dialect unless he purchases a separate language
for the other dialect he seeks. (Rellanic)
Halfling Languages
The halfling language is a complex collection of what
others might consider to be insect-like noises and
grunts. It is rarely heard by outsiders, and usually a
band will have a speaker that excels in the language
of another group for trade purposes. It is unheard of
for anyone outside of the Halfling community to learn
even a few words of their tongue.
Tribal Dialects
Ogo Dialects: The Ogo dialects are spoken by halfling
tribes in the northern part of the Forest Ridge,
including Ogo itself. Because Ogo sends a mercenary
contingent to Urik each year, the Ogo tribal
languages tend to have the most loan-words from
other languages and the Ogo dialect itself is the
halfling language most commonly learned by
outsiders. Halflings have an oral culture, but when
Ogo is written down it is usually in the Tyrian
Alphabet. (No script/Tyrian Alphabet)
7
Kol-Tokulg Dialects: The Kol-Tokulg dialects are
spoken by halfling tribes in the southern part of the
Forest Ridge around the great volcano of Kol-Tokulg,
where the halfling priesthood who tends the volcano
help keep the local tribes' languages somewhat
homogenous. Like all halfling languages, the Kol-
Tokulg dialects have no written form, though the
volcano priesthood preserves some documents in
Rellanic. (No script/Rellanic)
Rul-Thaun: The halflings who live in the vertical
cliffside jungles of the Jagged Cliffs have a unified
language that bears little resemblance to the tribal
languages of Ogo or Kol-Tokulg, as the feral halflings
of the Forest Ridge have had almost no commerce
with the Rul-Thaun for thousands of years. Unlike
feral halflings, the Rul-Thaun have preserved written
language, using their own script. (Ghesh-Sach)
Other Languages
Aarakocran: This language consists mostly of chirps
and squawks and seems to be the unifying tongue for
the Aarokocra tribes scattered throughout the
Tablelands. It is a difficult tongue for humans to
understand and replicate, though it is not impossible.
If there are any dialects of the language, the
differences between them are so subtle they would
be lost on non-native speakers. (No script)
Ancient Giustenal: The language of destroyed
Giustenal, this ancestor-language of Dray is
sometimes seen in magical texts looted after the
sorcerer-king Dregoth was killed. Characters cannot
learn Ancient Giustenal unless they are already
literate in one of its scripts. (Tyrian Alphabet,
Iokharic*)
Druidic: The secret unifying language of the druids of
Athas. Few outside of the enigmatic druid groves can
speak it, let alone understand it. (Druidic Runes)
Giant: The giants who walk the Sea of Silt have their
own language, though many of the tribes in the
Estuary of the Forked Tongue or the mudflats around
the Sea of Silt have adopted Giant dialects as their
own. It is a slow, sonorous speech that retains some
of its gravity even when spoken by smaller-voiced
races. Some monstrous species in the desert speak
related languages. (Barazhad)
Gith: The language of the desert-dwelling Gith has no
connection to any Athasian language, though certain
beings summoned from the Astral Sea speak a
related language. (Barazhad)
High Draxan & Low Draxan: Humans, half-elves,
dwarves, and muls are all found in Ur Draxa. Thri-
kreen, halflings, and half-giants are unheard of.
Draxans speak an archaic language called High
Draxan, unintelligible to speakers of Common from
the Tyr region. Slaves are put to death if they are
heard to use High Draxan; they speak Low Draxan, or
the Slave Tongue. Based on High Draxan, it includes a
sprinkling of loanwords from the influx of new slaves
over the years. It is about 50% intelligible to High
Draxan speakers and nearly identical to the dialects
of the Outlanders (common). (Iokharic*)
Kreen: The Thri-Kreen language can only be fluently
spoken by the mantis warriors, as it includes clicks
and whistles that humans cannot accurately
replicate. Other creatures can learn to understand
Kreen, however, and approximate it sounds well
enough to be understood in turn. A related language
is Imperial Kreen, spoken by the Tohr-Kreen khanates
of the Crimson Savannah. (No script/Chachik*)
Primordial: The language of the elementals,
Primordial is spoken primarily by summoned
creatures; it has a guttural quality reminiscent of
Giantish, with whom it may share some distant
connection.
Ssurran: The language of the Athasian lizard-men,
Ssurran is sibilant, full of hisses and growls.
Characters without forked tongues can never speak
the language perfectly. Silt Runners speak a related
language, as do several other reptilian creatures.
(Barazhad)
Scripts and Alphabets
Tyrian Alphabet: The most common alphabet in the
Tyr Region, Tyrian is a true alphabet with twenty-nine
phonetic symbols resembling Ancient Phoenician.
Even those languages that do not use the Tyrian
Alphabet are sometimes transliterated into its letters.
The origin of a writer can be determined by his script;
proper, High Tyrian letters are more common in Tyr
and Nibenay, while the flowing Balican script used in
Balic and Raam adds two more letters but omits
some strokes from existing letters.
Hamanu's Alphabet: The Lion God of Urik
discourages literacy, but his templars and educated
elite use the cuneiform Alphabet of Hamanu, the
script which the King of the World used to deliver his
Code. It resembles Sumerian cuneiform writing and
contains approximately 400 symbols.
Hieroglyphics of Badna: When Abalach-Re
abandoned her crown and declared the supremacy of
the omnipotent four-armed deity Badna, the new
god's priesthood crafted a new pictographic alphabet
to accompany the city's religious transformation.
Resembling Egyptian hieroglyphics, the Hieroglyphics
of Badna - much like the worship of the four-armed
god - have never really caught on, and are largely
relegated to use by Badna's dedicates.
Moon Script: A pictographic language like the
Hieroglyphics of Badna, Draj's Moon Script is heavy
on images of blood and animals. It is rarely used
outside of Draj, and even among Draji merchants
prefer the Tyrian Alphabet.
Oba Script: Another ideographic script, the Oba Script
of Gulg sees wider use - even the Forest Goddess'
spirit-worshipping enemies in the Crescent Forest
have adopted the Oba Script for their tribal
languages.
Rellanic: The Elven script, Rellanic has graceful,
flowing curves like the dunes of its writers. Its
internal structure bears phonetic similarity to the
Tyrian Alphabet, though with more letters and
sounds. Some scholars believe Rellanic may have
been the original model for the Tyrian script.
8
Chachik: The Thri-Kreen script sees no use
among the Kreen of the Tyr Region, who are
universally illiterate. It is used only by the Tohr-
Kreen khanates of the Crimson Savanna.
Barazhad: The alphabet of the giants, Barazhad
is a crude, heavy-stroked script suitable for
scratching into mud and stone. Consequently, it
is often used by desert tribes to transcribe the
trade tongue where the Tyrian Alphabet would
be difficult to inscribe, as well as by desert races
with no script of their own. Barazhad was almost
certainly adopted by the giants from the script of
the Elemental Chaos, who also use it for their
rare writings.
9
Ghesh-Sach: The Halfling alphabet of the Jagged
Cliffs - literally called "wisdom teaching" - is a
phonetic alphabet that bears a strong
resemblance to Rellanic, the elven script.
Davek: The Dwarven script, Davek, is unknown
to Athasians: while inscriptions in Davek have
been discovered in certain ancient dwarven
ruins, it has been lost to the dwarves of modern
Athas.
Lokharic: Also called the Draconic script because
certain tributes sent to the Dragon are inscribed
with it, Lokharic is the script of magical runes and
writings. Knowing Lokharic automatically places
a sage under suspicion of being a mage.
Standard Languages

Language Typical Speakers Script

Common ALL Tyrian Alphabet
Tyrian Tyrian Tyrian Alphabet
Balican Balican Tyrian Alphabet
Urikite Urikite Hamanu's Alphabet
Raamish Raamish Tyrian Alphabet, Hieroglyphic of Badna
Draji Draji Moon Script
Nibenese Nibenese Tyrian Alphabet
High Gulgan Nobility of Gulg Oba Script
Dwarvish Dwarves Davek (Unknown to modern Athasian)
Elvish Elves Rellanic
Giant Giants Davek (Unknown to modern Athasian)
Tarek Tareks Barazhad
Aarakocra Aarakocra --
Gith Giths Rellanic
Halfling
Ogo Dialect Tribes of North Forest Ridge No script/Tyrian Alphabet
Kol-Tokulg Dialect Tribes of South Forest Ridge No script/Rellanic
Rul-Thaun Dialect Tribes of the Jagged Cliffs Ghesh-Sach
Kreen Thri-kreen & Thor-kreen No script/Chachik*
Pterran Pterrans Rellanic

Exotic Languages

Language Typical Speakers Script

High Draxan The Dragon, Noble & Templar of Ur-Draxa lokharic
Low Daxan Slaves & Commons of Ur-Draxa lokharic
Primordial Elementals --
Undercommon Underground creatures --
Deep Speech Mind flayers --
Ssurran Yuan-ti, lizard-men Barazhad
Ancient Giustenal Drays & Dregoth Tyrian Alphabet, lokharic

10
Races of Athas
Core Races New Races
These new races are ones not often seen on
These races are the standard races of Athasian
Athas, some even hidden from others until
societies.
certain world evens brings them to mingle more
with the rest of Athas.
- Human - Half-Giant
- Dwarf - Elf
- Aarakocra - Dray
- Half-Elf - Halfling
- Kenku - Pterran
- Thri-kreen - Mul
- Tarek - Jozhal
- Gith (suggested NPCs)

Races Strength Dexterity Constitution Wisdom Intelligence Charisma

Human +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1
Kled Dwarf +2 -- +2 -- -- --
Ledopolus Dwarf -- +2 +1 -- --
Elf -- +2 -- -- +1
Half-elf -- -- -- -- -- +2
Forest Ridge Halfling -- +2 -- +1 -- --
Rhul-Thaun Halfling -- +2 +1 -- -- --
Mul +2 -- +1 -- -- --
Jeral Thri-kreen -- +2 -- +1 -- --
To'ksa Thri-kreen +1 +2 -- -- -- --
Half-giant +3 -- +1 -- -- --
Kenku -- +2 -- +1 -- --
Aarakocra -- +2 -- +1 -- --
Pterran +1 -- -- +2 -- --
Tarek +2 -- +1 -- -- --
Dray, 1st Generation +2 -- +2 -- -- --
Dray, 2nd Generation +1 -- +1 -- +1 +1
Jozhal -- +1 -- -- +2 --
Gith -- +2 -- -- +1 --

11
Human
“Humans are fools, and hopelessly naive as well. They
outnumber us; they are everywhere, and yet they
have no more sense of their strength than a rat. Let us
hope that the Datto remain that way.”
―Dukkoti Nightrunner, elven warrior

Due to the Cleansing Wars of ages past and their

own natural tenacity, humans are the
predominant race on Athas. They are a versatile
breed, brilliant and exceptional as often as they
are unremarkable and mundane. Skin, eye, and
hair color vary widely, though most Athasians
humans have tanned, weathered exteriors.
Compared to dwarves, muls, half-giants, and
thri-kreen, humans aren’t very strong. They are,
however, cunning, highly inventive, and
persistent in the extreme. They tend toward
impulsiveness and great daring, seeking to make
the most of whatever fate throws their way.
Wherever life has entrenched itself in the
Athasian wastelands, humans can be found.
On Athas, centuries of abusive magic have not
only scarred the landscape - they’ve twisted the
essence of human appearance, as well. Many
humans in DARK SUN look normal, and could
pass unnoticed among humans of the
FORGOTTEN REALMS® or GREYHAWK® campaign
settings. Others, however, have marked
alterations to their appearance. Their facial
features might be slightly bizarre; a large chin or
nose, pointed ears, no facial hair, etc. Their
coloration might be subtly different, such as
coppery, golden brown, hueds of grey, or patchy.
The differences may be more physical, such as
webbed toes or fingers, longer or shorter limbs,
etc. A player with a human character should be
given broad latitude in making up these
alterations to his form, if he so wishes.

12
 Ultimately, none of them will give him any
benefit nor any hindrance to game play-his
appearance is strictly a roleplaying asset.
The children of humans and other races
produce the so-called half-races: half-elves and
muls. It is important to note, however, that half-
giants are a race born of a magical union in the
distant past; half-giants can only reproduce with
one another.
As in other D&D® campaign worlds, humans
are generally tolerant of other races. They can
easily adapt to situations involving elves or
dwarves, and even more exotic races such as
half-giants and thri-kreen. Where other, less
tolerant races come into contact with one
another, humans often serve as diplomatic
buffers.
Humans can also be found at all levels of
society. In the city-states, humans fill more than
their share of the ranks, from sorcerer-kings,
nobles, and templars, to free workers and lowly
slaves. In the wilderness, humans hunt with slave
tribes, drive herds with nomadic clans, and lead
or serve merchant caravans as they trek across
the barren plains. Humans are extremely
adaptable and usually highly tolerant of the
differences that drive other races to war. They
often serve as diplomats, tribal chiefs, or some
other function that binds different races
together.
d12 Physical Alterations
1 large chin
2 large nose
3 pointed ears
4 no facial hair
5 coppery skin
6 golden brown skin
7 hueds of grey skin
8 patchy skin
9 webbed toes
10 webbed fingers
11 longer limbs
12 shorter limbs
Variety in All Things
Humans are the most adaptable and ambitious
people among the common races. They have
widely varying tastes, morals, and customs in the
many different lands where they have settled.
When they settle, though, they stay: they build
cities to last for the ages, and great kingdoms
that can persist for long centuries. An individual
human might have a relatively short life span,
but a human nation or culture preserves
traditions with origins far beyond the reach of
any single human’s memory. They live fully in the
present—making them well suited to the
adventuring life—but also plan for the future,
striving to leave a lasting legacy. Individually and
as a group, humans are adaptable opportunists,
and they stay alert to changing political and
social dynamics.
Lasting Institutions
Where a single elf or dwarf might take on the
responsibility of guarding a special location or a
powerful secret, humans found sacred orders
and institutions for such purposes. While dwarf
clans and halfling elders pass on the ancient
traditions to each new generation, human
temples, governments, libraries, and codes of
law fix their traditions in the bedrock of history.
Humans dream of immortality, but (except for
those few who seek undeath or divine ascension
to escape death’s clutches) they achieve it by
ensuring that they will be remembered when
they are gone.
Although some humans can be xenophobic, in
general their societies are inclusive. Human lands
welcome large numbers of nonhumans
compared to the proportion of humans who live
in nonhuman lands.

13
Exemplars of Ambition Ability Score Increase. Two different ability
scores of your choice increase by 1.
Skills. You gain proficiency in one skill of your
Humans who seek adventure are the most daring
choice.
and ambitious members of a daring and
Feat. You gain one feat of your choice.
ambitious race. They seek to earn glory in the
eyes of their fellows by amassing power, wealth,
and fame. More than other people, humans
champion causes rather than territories or
groups.

Human Traits
It’s hard to make generalizations about humans,
but your human character has these traits.
Ability Score Increase. Your ability scores each
increase by 1.
Age. Humans reach adulthood in their late
teens and live less than a century.
Alignment. Humans tend toward no particular
alignment. The best and the worst are found
among them.
Size. Humans vary widely in height and build.
The average Athasian human male stands
between 6 and 6½ feet tall, and weighs 180 to
220 pounds. Females are typically smaller,
topping out at 6 feet tall and weighing 100 to
140 pounds. Regardless of your position in that
range, your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Languages. You can speak Common and one
extra language of your choice. Humans typically
learn the languages of other peoples they deal
with, including obscure dialects. They are fond of
sprinkling their speech with words borrowed
from other tongues.

Variant Human
If your campaign uses the optional feat rules
from the Player’s Handbook, your Dungeon
Master might allow these variant traits, all of
which replace the human’s Ability Score Increase
trait.

14
Variant Villichi
Villichi are females born to normal humans. No Villichi Psionic Ability. At 1st level, you gain
one can predict when or where a villichi child will the Psychic Crush devotion, at 3rd level you can
be born. They are shunned by normal humans, manifest Mental Barrier once per long rest, and
although it is considered a bad omen to turn out at 5th level you can manifest Animal Affinity
a villichi child. When they come of age they once per long rest. Wisdom is your psionic
usually move to a convent of their kind, located manifesting ability.
somewhere in the Ringing Mountains. Villichi are Languages. You can speak one additional
very strong psionicists, and consequently, are a language.
powerful group. Encounters with villichi are
usually with an envoy, one sent to deal with a
trading company or village.
Villichi resemble normal human females, albeit
longer of limb and face. While they appear thin
(mostly due to their height), they actually have
normal proportions for human women. Villichi
are usually cloaked as they are especially
susceptible to the burning sun.
Villichi are willing to use magic items, but they
are not really comfortable with them. They are
slightly resistant to magic, and there is no record
of a villichi ever using mage or priest spells.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score
increases by 1, and your Wisdom score increases
by 2. This replaces the human’s Ability Score
Increase trait.
Villichi Weapon Training. The Villichi long thin
frame gives them good leverage, and they
receive excellent training in the use of weapons.
You receive +1 to all your melee attack roll made
with any weapon you are proficient with.
Metal Dislike. Villichi never use metal
weapons or armor, feeling that it makes them
somehow unclean. If presented with gold, the
villichi try to trade it, either for gems or for
ceramic pieces. The villichi are fascinated with
gems.
Sunlight Sensitivity. Villichi are somewhat
sensitive to the sun and always try to wear cloaks
(or some other covering) to protect them. If a
villichi is directly exposed to sunlight (for
instance, if her cloak is tom off), she receives
disadvantage to attack roll and to all psionic
power scores.

15
Dwarf
“The worst thing you can say to a dwarf is „It can‟t be
done.‟ If he‟s already decided to do it, he may never
speak to you again. If he hasn‟t decided to take up the
task, he may commit himself to it simply out of spite.
„Impossible‟ is not a concept most dwarves understand.
Anything can be done, with enough determination.”
―Sha‟len, Nibenese trader

Cities of the dwarves were once as numerous as

the caravan forts guarding the trade roads, but
today not one exists. Likewise, no more than a
handful of dwarf villages remain in the Tyr
Region. Kled and the twin villages of North and
South Ledopolus are the most prominent. The
rest of the dwarf population lives in the city-
states of the sorcerer-kings or among the slave
tribes that wander the desert wastes.

Dwarves embrace work with joy, often giving
themselves over to a favorite cause or task. They
are a stoic, single-minded people to whom
compromise doesn’t come easy. Dwarf soldiers,
laborers, and crafters are common, though
members of this race can be found among the
templars, nobles, merchants, and slaves.
Athasian dwarves are not magical by nature and
can’t learn or use wizardry. This restriction
doesn’t extend to priestly magic, but it does
include scrolls and many magical items that
aren’t combat-oriented in nature. However,
enchanted weapons, armor, and shields can be
used without penalty.
Focus
A dwarf’s chief love is toil. A dwarf is never
happier than when there is a cause to work or
fight for, something he can approach with stoic
single-mindedness for weeks, months, years, or
even decades at a time. Once a dwarf’s mind is
committed to a certain task, he'll only set it aside
after a great deal of grumbling and coercion. The
fulfillment he achieves upon completion of a
lengthy, difficult task is what he strives for.
The task to which a dwarf is presently committed
is referred to as his focus. A dwarf’s focus must
be a feat requiring at least one week to
complete. Shorter term goals cannot be
considered a focus. Actually, a dwarf’s
commitment to his focus is based in his
physiology-those who complete their lives before
they complete their foci live out their afterlives
as banshees in the wastes, haunting their
unfinished works!

16
 FOCUS
d20 Focus
1 Acquire a treasure.
2 Find a particular item for a specific purpose.
3 Retrieve a stolen item for a specific purpose.
4 Rescue a captive.
5 Slay a challenging foe or monster.
6 Discover the nature and origin of a strange
location or phenomenon.
7 Escape from captivity.
8 Get revenge on someone for a reason.
9
Build the bridge between the two Ledopolus.
10 Assess the scope of a natural or unatural disaster.
11 Stop monsters from raiding caravans and farms.
12 Protect a caravan travelling to a distant town.
13 Map a new land.
14 Protect a wilderness site from attackers.
15 Escape the reign of a Sorcerer-king.
16 Return home from a distant plane.
17 Find someone (like a relative).
18 Rescue a character, monster, or object
from a natural or unnatural disaster.
19 Seize control of a fortified location such as fort,
town, or other.
20 Discover the fate of a missing group of explorers.
Dwarf Traits
Your dwarf character has an assortment of
inborn abilities, part and parcel of dwarven
nature.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score
increases by 2.
Age. Dwarves mature at the same rate as
humans, but they’re considered young until they
reach the age of 50. On average, they live about
240 years.
Alignment. Most dwarves are lawful, believing
firmly in the benefits of a well-ordered society.
They tend toward good as well, with a strong
sense of fair play and a belief that everyone
deserves to share in the benefits of a just order.
Size. Athasian dwarves average 4½ to 5 feet
tall. Because of their massive musculature and
17
wide frames, full-grown dwarves weigh in at a
hefty 200 pounds or so. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.
Your speed is not reduced by wearing heavy
armor.
Darkvision. As an heritage from ancestors that
were accustomed to life underground, you have
superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You
can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it
were bright light, and in darkness as if it were
dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness,
only shades of gray.
Dwarven Resilience. You have advantage on
saving throws against poison, and you have
resistance against poison damage.
Dwarven Combat Training. You have
proficiency with the battleaxe, handaxe, light
hammer, and warhammer.
Dwarven Focus. When taking on a minor of
major quest, you can choose to make this your
focus. You can’t change your focus once chosen.
Until you complete that quest, a dwarf receives 1
focus point per Wisdom modifier per long rest
(minimum of 1). While performing tasks that are
directly related to your focus, you can use 1
focus point to gain advantage on one skill or
ability check. You also have -2 to all non focus
related skills and ability checks.
Tool Proficiency. You gain proficiency with the
artisan’s tools of your choice: smith’s tools,
brewer’s supplies, or mason’s tools.
Stonecunning. Whenever you make an
Intelligence (History) check related to the origin
of stonework, you are considered proficient in
the History skill and add double your proficiency
bonus to the check, instead of your normal
proficiency bonus.
Languages. You can speak Common and
Dwarvish. Dwarvish is full of hard consonants
and guttural sounds, and those characteristics
spill over into whatever other language a dwarf
might speak.
Two main subraces of dwarves populate Athas:
Kled dwarves and Ledopolus dwarves. Choose
one of these subraces.
Ledopolus Dwarf
As a Ledopolus dwarf, you have keen senses,
deep intuition, and remarkable resilience.
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score
increases by 1.
Dwarven Toughness. Your hit point maximum
increases by 1, and it increases by 1 every time
you gain a level.
Kled Dwarf
As a Kled dwarf, you’re strong and hardy,
accustomed to a difficult life in rugged terrain.
You’re probably on the tall side (for a dwarf), and
tend toward darker coloration.
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score
increases by 2.
Dwarven Armor Training. You have proficiency
with light and medium armor.
18

Elf
“Honor? The word does not exist in the Elven
language.”
―Tharak, human guard
The dunes and steppes of Athas are home to
thousands of tribes of nomadic elves. While each
tribe is very different culturally, the elves within
them remain a race of long-limbed sprinters
given to theft, raiding, and warfare.
An Athasian elf stands between 6½ and 7½ feet
tall. They are slender, lean, and generally in
terrific physical condition. Their features are
deeply etched into their weather-toughened
faces, and their skin made rugged by the
windblown sands and baking sun of the
wilderness. Elves typically dress to survive in the
desert environment. Even when at an oases or in
the cities, elves tend to prefer their native garb,
designed to wrap the wearer against the
brutality of the elements.
Elves are all brethren within their own tribe, but
regard all outsiders as potential enemies. There
is no racial unity among the elves-an elf from
outside the tribe is just as much a foe as a
human, halfling, or thri-kreen. Acceptance of an
outsider by an individual elf can be achieved, but
trust will only develop over time. Acceptance of
an outsider by an entire tribe is
also possible, but rare. It is usually only awarded
after some great sacrifice has been made on
behalf of the tribe-many outsiders have been
accepted posthumously into elven desert tribes.
Individually, tribal elves are swift, sure, and self-
reliant in the extreme. An elf is conditioned to
run quickly over sandy and rocky terrain,
sometimes for days at a time -an elf warrior can
cross better than 50 miles per day. An elven war
19
party on the move is a deadly force of endurance
and manoeuvrability. Elves use no beasts of
burden for personal transportation, though they
do sometimes engage kanks and similar
creatures for baggage or raw materials transport.
It is dishonorable among elves to ride on an
animal unless wounded and near death-even
pregnant women and old elves are expected to
keep up with the tribe or be left behind.
While most elven tribes make their living
through herding, some have turned to
commerce and others to raiding. Elven traders
are rightly considered the most capable on
Athas. Not only can they barter and deal with a
variety of races, they can move and protect their
goods across the vast wilderness.
Elven culture, while savage, is also very rich and
diverse. A player character elf can be from a
wild, tribal background or from a city state
upbringing-there are many elves that have
settled in the cities as bazaar vendors, and still
many more that have been dragged there in
chains.
Elves are generally lazy and deceitful. They strive
to lead short, happy lives as opposed to long, sad
ones. For an elf, the future is a dark, deadly
place, so he struggles to make every moment
(every now, as the elves speak of it) as enjoyable
and full as possible. Elves will do whatever is
necessary to keep themselves and their
tribemates alive and prosperous, but no more.
When the work is done, and not a moment later,
the fun begins. They engage in long periods of
frenzied feasting and raucous revelry. Elf tribes
do work, however, mostly at hunting and
foraging, for they don’t farm. They detest hard
labor and never construct anything larger or
more permanent than a market tent, but they
will spend long hours haggling over the price of a
single trade good.
Roleplaying: Elves have no great love of Elf Traits
creatures outside their tribe. Even when found in
Your elf character has a variety of natural
the company of others, an elf will keep to
abilities, the remains of thousands of years of
himself, often camping near but not directly with
elven past refinement.
his companions. When encountering outsiders,
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score
an elf will often fabricate tests of trust and
increases by 2. Your Intelligence score increases
friendship. For instance, an elf might leave a
by 1.
valuable object in the open to see if his new
Age. Although elves reach physical maturity at
companions attempt to steal it. After a series of
about the same age as humans, and can live to
such tests, the elf will gradually learn to trust or
be 140 years old.
distrust the outsiders. The severity of these tests
Alignment. Elves love freedom, variety, and
of loyalty may take an alarmingly dangerous
self-expression, so they lean strongly toward the
turn, even revolving around life-threatening
gentler aspects of chaos. They value and protect
situations, before an elf accepts an outsider as
others’ freedom as well as their own, and they
an equal. Elves never ride on beasts of burden.
are more often good than not.
They prefer to run everywhere they travel, even
Size. Athasian elves stand between 6½ and 7½
when running might prove slower or others in
feet tall. They are slender, lean, long-limbed, and
the elf’s party will be taking animal or magical
usually in excellent physical condition. Your size
transportation.
is Medium.

20
 Speed. You are Fleet of foot. Your base walking reflexive through years of practice. After resting
speed is 35 feet. in this way, you gain the same benefit that a
Darkvision. Accustomed to twilit deserts and human does from 8 hours of sleep.
the night sky, you have superior vision in dark Languages. You can speak Common and Elvish.
and dim conditions. You can see in dim light Elvish is fluid, with subtle intonations and
within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and intricate grammar. Elven literature is rich and
in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t varied, and their songs and poems are famous
discern color in darkness, only shades of gray. among other races. Many bards learn their
Elf Weapon Training. You have proficiency language so they can add Elvish ballads to their
with the longsword, shortsword, shortbow, and repertoires.
longbow.
Resistance to Heat and Cold. You are less
affected Athas’s temperature extremes than are
other races. For this reason, elves do not suffer
as greatly from the heat of the day or the chill of
the night, and thus they appear less weathered
than members of other races. The sun still bakes
their flesh dark, and the cold still causes them
discomfort, but not to the same degree as
humans, dwarves, and halflings. Until the
temperature climbs above 110°F or dips below
32°F, elves exhibit no undue stress. They lose no
body water to sweat until the heat of the day
surpasses their tolerance limit, and they do not
need to protect themselves from the night cold
until it drops below freezing (a rare but not
unheard of occurrence in the Athasian wastes).
This resistance does not, however, extend to
magical or supernatural heat or cold.
Keen Senses. You have proficiency in the
Perception skill.
Fey Ancestry. You have advantage on saving
throws against being charmed, and magic can’t
put you to sleep.
Mask of the Wild. You can attempt to hide
even when you are only lightly obscured by
foliage, blowing sand, mist, and other natural
phenomena.
Trance. Elves don’t need to sleep. Instead,
they meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious,
for 4 hours a day. (The Common word for such
meditation is “trance.”) While meditating, you
can dream after a fashion; such dreams are
actually mental exercises that have become

21
Half-Elf
“People are no good. You can only trust animals
and the bottle.”
―Delmao, half-Elven thief

Elves and humans travel many of the same roads

on Athas, elven tribes have at times encountered
human mercenaries, just as elven warriors have
found gainful employment in the armies of the
city states. The merchant class, too, is overrun
with traders of both races, so it is not at all
unusual for children of mixed parentage to be
born into the world-the half-elves.

His facial features are clearly more deeply

defined than those of a human, but based solely
on his countenance a half-elf can usually pass for
either an elf or a human.

A half-elf’s a life is typically hardened by the

intolerance of others. Neither fully human nor
fully elven, half-elves rarely find acceptance with
either race. Elves are especially intolerant, at
times driving mothers of half-elven infants from
their camps into the desert. Humans are more
apt to accept half-elves as allies or partners, but
seldom accept them into their homes, clans, or
families. Rarely do half-elves congregate in great
enough numbers to form communities of their absence of companionship, the complete lack of
own, so they remain outsiders, forever conversation and basic friendship.
wandering from situation to situation without a
people, land, or village to call home. Coincidentally, faced with intolerance from the
races of their parentage, many turn to
Intolerance, however, has given the half-elf his completely alien races for acceptance. Dwarves,
greatest attribute .self-reliance. As a loner, halflings, and even thri-kreen have no basic
usually without permanent residence, a half-elf dislike of half-elves nor do they grant them any
survives the rigors of life in the wilderness favor. At the very least a half-elf dealing with
completely on his own. The skills involved in these races can expect no automatic prejudices.
survival, such as locating food, water, and Also, some half-elves turn for companionship to
shelter, are only half of the challenge they face- the animal world, training beasts of the air and
half-elves must also learn to deal with the sands as servants and friends.

22
Roleplaying: Half-elves pride themselves on their
self-reliance. A player with a half-elf character
should keep this in mind and apply it whenever
possible.
For example, when a half-elf is part of a larger
party of characters, he will rarely eat of the meal
prepared by the others, nor will he use the fire
set for the camp. He will instead hunt for his own
food, cook and eat it by himself, away from the
others. A half-elf character will discuss strategy
with his companions when he has them, and will
cooperate as necessary, but will always seem
semi-detached and aloof.
Despite their self-reliance, when faced with elves
or humans, half-elves often find themselves
looking for acceptance. For instance, when
among elves, a half-elf will go out of his way to
prove just how elven he is, by running great
distances with them and observing other social
and cultural rituals with the elves. These efforts,
however, are mostly lost on the elves and
therefore serve no purpose. The half-elf’s
behavior is seen by some as slightly irrational,
but only by those who are comfortably wrapped
in the blankets of racial acceptance; having none
leaves half-elves out in the bitterest cold.
Half-Elf Traits
Your half-elf character has some qualities in
common with elves and some that are unique to
half-elves.
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score
increases by 2, and two other ability scores of
your choice increase by 1.
Age. Half-elves mature at the same rate
humans do and reach adulthood around the age
of 20. They live longer than humans, however,
often exceeding 120 years.
Alignment. Half-elves share the chaotic bent
of their elven heritage. They value both personal
23
freedom and creative expression, demonstrating
neither love of leaders nor desire for followers.
They chafe at rules, resent others’ demands, and
sometimes prove unreliable, or at least
unpredictable.
Size. A half-elf is generally tall, between 6 and
6½ feet tall, but more meaty than his elven
counterparts. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Companion of the Wild. A half-elf can befriend
one pet when he reaches 5th level. The pet may
be of any local animal, no larger than man-sized.
The half-elf must spend one week with the
animal while it is still young. After that time, the
pet will follow the half-elf everywhere and obey
simple commands. A half-elf can only have one
such pet at a time, and must wait 100 days after
the death of one pet to begin training another.
Choice of pets is always subject to the DM’s
approval. Refer to Chapter: Encounters for
possible pet choices.
Survival Instinct. You gain the Survival skill.
Skill Versatility. You gain proficiency in two
skills of your choice.
Languages. You can speak Common, Elvish,
and one extra language of your choice.
Half-Elf Variants
Some half-elves in Athas have a racial trait in
place of the Skill Versatility trait. If your DM
allows it, your half-elf character can forgo Skill
Versatility and instead take the elf trait Keen
Senses or a trait based on your elf parentage.
 easily become frustrated with outsiders.
Halfling Depending upon how .official. a meeting is,
outsiders often have to take great pains to learn
”Be wary of the forest ridge. The halflings who live there local customs merely to communicate with the
would as soon eat you alive as look at you. halflings in question. Of course, halflings who
Chances are you won‟t even notice them until you‟ve have traveled widely outside their traditional
become the main course.” jungle home have a much greater tolerance of
―Mo‟rune, half-Elven ranger those with a "lack" of halfling culture; so much so
that they can communicate easily and without
frustration.
Beyond the Ringing Mountains are jungles that
flourish in rains that never reach the tablelands
Halfling culture is fabulously diverse, but difficult
or the Sea of Silt. There life is abundant, the
for other races to comprehend. A complete
foliage thick and untamed. The undisputed rulers
history of their culture, if such a thing existed,
of these jungles are the halflings.
would speak volume upon volume of complex
social change, inspirational clerical leaders, and
A halfling is a very short humanoid, standing no
in-depth personal studies of the halfling and his
more than 3½ feet in height. They are muscled
duty to his jungle home. Conspicuous in their
and proportioned like humans, but they have the
absence would be references to great wars of
faces of wise and beautiful children. Halflings live
conquest or tremendous monetary wealth-the
to be as much as 120 years old, but once they
yardsticks by which other races measure cultural
reach adulthood, their features never succumb
success. Halfling culture cares for the individual's
to their years. It’s very difficult for an outsider to
inward being, his identity and spiritual unity with
determine a given halfling’s age. A halfling
his race and environment. Their culture does not
weighs 50 to 60 pounds and is virtually always in
provide for more traditional values, and vices
peak physical condition. Halflings possess a great
such as greed and avarice are particularly
deal of racial unity. Though divided politically
discouraged.
into separate villages and communities, halflings
Oddly, the richness of the land may be disturbed
have great respect for their race as a whole.
and examined, even used for a halfing’s own
Political differences between them are settled
gain. However, those riches belong to the land
wherever possible peaceably, through ritual and
and, in the mind of the halfling, should never be
custom, most often under the direction of their
moved away. For instance, nature intended a
clerical leaders, the shaman witch doctors.
spring to bring water only to a certain area. To
move the water through irrigation to some other
On a personal level, halflings relate very well to
area is not what nature had in mind. Similarly, an
one another, well enough to have built a
archaeological find in the jungle that yields a
considerable culture rich in art, song, and other
great pile of gold and metals is an event that
expressive communication. However, they tend
shouldn’t be tampered with-the gold might be
to rely heavily on their culture for
used to raise a spectacular series of clerical
communication, a culture that both parties in a
buildings on the spot, but it should not be carted
conversation are assumed to understand. It is
off to some other location.
difficult or a halfling to compensate in
conversation for a listener who isn’t intimately
familiar with halfling culture, and as such they

24
Roleplaying: Halflings are very comfortable when
in their own groups. While not afraid to
adventure on their own among other races, they
tend to have a difficult time adjusting to other
customs and points of view. However, being
generally open-minded, rather than becoming
abrasive or combative, halflings tend to be
curious and, at times, utterly confused by the
behavior of others.
To quell their own confusion, their curiosity
demands that they attempt to learn many of the
customs of those they confront on the outside
world. This is not to say that a halfling character
will adopt these customs. On the contrary, they
will almost certainly not, but a wide variety of
experience is encouraged by the clerical
teachings of halfling witch doctors, they see the
customs of others as no threat to their own and
as a welcome chance to learn through a different
point of view.
25
The accomplishments that are normally held in
high esteem by other races are completely alien
to halflings. For example, tremendous booty
from an adventure might tantalize other races,
but a halfling would, instead, be concerned with
how his part in the adventure will help advance
halfling culture, his own knowledge or inner well-
being.the treasure would not be a consideration
for the halfling.
Also, whereas many other races will think less of
halflings because of their small size, they quite
honestly see great bulk as a drawback in others.
They are usually prepared to respond to “short”
comments with their own philosophical views on
the virtue of stealth, speed, etc.
When among others of his kind, a halfling will
never cross or lie to his brethren. They will help
each other in times of need, regardless of
danger.
Because of this, halflings rely on their culture to
express abstract thoughts and to relay
complicated concepts quickly. A typical halfling
assumes that whomever he’s talking to has the
same culture to draw upon and therefore
understands everything passing between them.
It’s difficult for a halfling to compensate for a
listener who isn’t intimately familiar with the
culture. As such, it’s easy for halflings to become
frustrated with outsiders. However, halflings
who travel widely have a greater tolerance of
those who “lack culture.” These halflings can
communicate without an immediate sense of
frustration.
Halfling culture cares for each individual’s inner
well-being and spiritual unity with race and
environment. They have little concept of
conquest or monetary wealth, and vices that
other societies take for granted-such as greed
and avarice—are particularly discouraged.
Halfling player characters should role-play
difficulty in adjusting to other customs and
points of view. As a generally open-minded race,
halflings tend to be curious or confused by the
actions of others rather than initially combative.
Halflings will attempt to learn all they can about
other cultures, but will almost never adopt those
cultures as their own. Halfling clerics teach that
the customs of others are no threat to their own,
so a halfling player character will welcome the
chance to learn another point of view, rather
than instantly try to change it.
Halfling Traits
Your halfling character has a number of traits in
common with all other halflings.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score
increases by 2.
Age. A halfling reaches adulthood at the age of
20 and generally lives into the middle of his or
her second century.
Alignment. Halflings tend towards law and
evil. Uncomfortable with change, halflings tend
to rely on intangible constants, such as racial
identity, family, clan ties and personal honor. On
the other hand, halflings have little respect for
the laws of the big people.
Size. Halflings grow to a height of 3½ feet and
weigh 50 to 60 pounds. Your size is Small.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.
Lucky. When you roll a 1 on the d20 for an
attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, you can
reroll the die and must use the new roll.
Progenitor Race. Halflings date back to an age
before the advent of magic, and thus they have a
natural resistance to wizard spells. You have an
advantage on all Intelligence, Wisdom, and
Charisma saving throws against magic.
Halfling Weapon Training. You have
proficiency with the sling and all thrown
weapons.
Brave. You have advantage on saving throws
against being frightened.
Halfling Nimbleness. You can move through
the space of any creature that is of a size larger
than yours.
Languages. You can speak Common and
Halfling. The Halfling language isn’t secret, but
halflings are loath to share it with others. Their
oral tradition is very strong. Halflings rarely, if
ever, teach their language to someone outside of
their tribe and they are xenophobic and usually
don't learn other languages. No known record
exists of the Halfling language outside of the
tribes and the written form of language is lost in
the eons long passed.
The two main kinds of halfling, rhul-thaun and
Forest Ridge. Choose one of these subraces or
one from another source.
26
Rhul-Thaun Halfling
Like all of the other major humanoid races of
Athas, the rhul-thaun are the descendants of the
rhulisti. While all of the other races have
changed and mutated radically, the rhul-thaun
closely resemble the rhulisti in almost every
respect.
Like the feral halflings of the outside world, the
rhul-thaun are short with wiry, nimble bodies.
The average height for rhul-thaun males is 3 feet,
while females are an inch or two shorter.
Forest Ridge Halfling
As a Forest Ridge halfling, you live in the north or
south of the Forest Ridge.
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score
increases by 1.
Naturally Stealthy. You can attempt to hide
even when you are obscured only by a creature
that is at least one size larger than you.
Languages. You can speak Halfling Ogo dialect
if you are from the north of the Forest Ridge. You
can speak Kol-Tokulg dialect if you are from the
south of the Forest Ridge.

Light of bone and build, the physique of the

people of the Jagged Cliffs is sinewy and tough.
Even with an abundance of water, however, their
lives are still quite harsh, fostering a need for
strong, sturdy bodies. Their skin is fairer than
that of most Athasians and appears to be smooth
and wrinkle-free throughout most of their lives.
Their resilient musculature betrays little of the
deterioration caused by time, and they are active
even in old age. Rhul-thaun hair color is black or
brown, but rare individuals are blond or, more
rarely, red heads. A typical member of the race
has virtually no body hair other than on his head.
Facial hair is unknown to them (its presence on
members of other races would probably cause
them to believe that person to be an animalistic,
monstrous, or barbaric individual). Eye color
varies greatly, with green, gray, and brown being
most common.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score
increases by 1.
Jungle Resilience. You have advantage on
saving throws against poison, and you have
resistance against poison damage.
Rhul-Thaun Weapon Training. You have
proficiency with life-shaped weapons.
Languages. You can speak Halfling Rhul-Thaun
dialect.

27

Thri-kreen
“This one does not speak with the quivering soft shells
that lay about all night. This one might eat you, but
never speak.” ―Tu‟tochuk
Hulking insect-men standing as tall as 7 feet at
the shoulder, the thri-kreen are the least
“human” of the player character races. Their
survivability in the wilderness, combined with
their cunning and intellect, have made the
mantis warriors (as they are known to some
races) the undisputed masters across large tracts
of the Athasian wastes. The individual thri-kreen
is a six-limbed creature with a tough, sandy-
yellow exoskeleton. Its hind legs are the most
powerful, used for walking, running, and leaping.
The four forward limbs each have a hand with
three fingers and an opposable thumb.
A thri-kreen’s head has two large eyes, two
antennae, and a small-but-powerful jaw. The
jaws work from side to side and have several
small extensions that grab and manipulate food
while it is being eaten. The eyes are jet black and
multi-faceted, separated to either side of the
head. The antennae are all but vestigial, serving
only to help maneuver through brush and
grasslands in the darkness (they also serve to
lessen any darkness or blindness based penalty
by 1 point (or 5%).ranged activities (like missile
combat) do not gain this benefit).
Thri-kreen can use most magical items such as
wands, rods, staves, weapons, shields, and most
miscellaneous magic. Those items, however,
designed to be worn by demi-humans, such as
rings, girdles, armor, and cloaks, will not function
for a thri-kreen because he simply cannot put
them on. Unless otherwise stated, magical items
are designed for use by demi-humans.
The pack is the single unit of organization among
the thri-kreen, generally having 2-24 individuals.
The pack is always on the hunt, never idle - there
are no permanent thri-kreen communities. The
so-called thri-kreen nations are, in fact, not
organized as such, nor are they thought of as
nations by the mantis warriors. The nations are
human conventions to delineate on maps where
the thri-kreen thrive and dominate.
Thri-kreen are carnivores and the pack is
constantly on the hunt for food. They consider
the other player character races as potential
food stock, but only prey on other intelligent
creatures in times of desperation. The mantis
warriors have a well-known taste for elves, which
keeps both races at an uneasy peace when they
are forced to cooperate.
Roleplaying. A thri-kreen’s obsession is the hunt.
Thri-kreen are skilled and wise hunters-skilled
enough to bring down the animals they need,
wise enough to move on before they completely
deplete an area of prey.
From birth, all thri-kreen are involved in the
hunt, the young are concerned with preparation
and preservation of hunted food, elders are
hunters. There are no distinctions between male
and female thri-kreen in their pack society.
To outsiders, thri-kreen sometimes seem overly
preoccupied with gathering food, hunting, and
maintaining stocks of travel food. Since they do
not sleep, thri-kreen often hunt through the
night while other races they are working with are
- needlessly lying around..
Their pack intelligence also makes them
protective of their clutch-mates. To a thri-kreen,
his clutch or pack includes whoever he is with at
the time of danger. It is instinctive for a thri-
kreen to leap into battle to protect those he is
with, regardless of personal danger.
28
In the Tyr Region, thri-kreen aren’t common in
the city-states. They gather in packs devoted to
the hunt that roam the wastes and have little
understanding of human society. If encountered
in a city, a thri-kreen is either a slave or attached
to a group of adventurers (whom the thri-kreen
has adopted as his pack). As slaves, thri-kreen
are used on the farms or as laborers, though
some make it to the gladiatorial pens to offer a
different kind of entertainment to the crowds.
they abide by the outcome, though party
members who aren’t prepared for such behavior
often experience moments of genuine terror as
the hulking insect-men make menacing threats in
an effort to dominate the group, or “clutch.” Is it
any wonder that most people fear the thri-kreen,
or that they are viewed as treacherous and
unreliable?

Many things make the thri-kreen strange and Thri-kreen Traits

alien to those of the other races, not the least of
Your thri-kreen character has an assortment of
which is their appearance. Add to that the fact
inborn abilities..
that thri-kreen don’t sleep, that they don’t
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score
collect wealth or possessions, and that they
increases by 2.
sometimes eat other intelligent creatures, and
Age. Due to their short lifespans, thri-kreen
the differences between humans and thri-kreen
grow and change very rapidly when young.
seem vast and imposing. When thri-kreen join up
Within 6 years of his or her hatching, a thri-kreen
with a group consisting of members of other
grows from one foot to approximately 11 feet in
races, they seek to establish dominance as they
length. They don’t live longer than 35 years old.
do in their own packs. Once the matter is settled,

29
 Alignment. Thri-kreen have virtually no social
structure other than the clutches they form with
their families and closest allies. The notion of
sophisticated rules for social behavior is foreign
to them. They are almost always chaotic in
alignment, and often neutral with respect to
good and evil.
Size. An adult thri-kreen stands 7 feet tall, plus
or minus a few inches. From the top of the head
to the tip of the abdomen, an thri-kreen
measures some 11 feet long, with the slight
variance of a few inches. Most adult thri-kreen
weigh between 450 and 470 pounds. Your size is
Large.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 40 feet.
Standing Leap. The thri-kreen’s long jump is
up to 30 feet and his high jump is up to 15 feet,
with or without a running start. They cannot leap
backward.
Exoskeleton. You cannot wear clothing or
armor. Your AC equals 13 + your Dexterity
modifier.
Sleepless. Thri-kreen don’t require sleep and
can rest while remaining alert and performing
light tasks.
Alien Nature. Thri‐kreen are so different from
all of the other humanoid races that you suffer
disadvantage on all Charisma checks made to
influence anyone other than a thri-kreen.
Exception to this rule is that you don't suffer a
disadvantage on your Charisma (Intimidation)
checks.
Thri-Kreen Weapon Training. You have
proficiency with the chatkcha and the gythka.
Missile Catching. When you reach 8th level,
you can dodge missiles fired at you. When a
ranged weapon attack hits you, you can use your
reaction to reduce the damage by 1d10 + your
Dexterity modifier, provided that you have a free
claw. If you reduce the damage to 0, you can
catch the missile if it is small enough for you to
hold in that claw. You cannot dodge magical
effects, only physical missiles. Magical missile
weapons (enchanted arrows, thrown axes, etc.)
modify this roll by their plus.
Natural Weaponry. You are proficient at
unarmed combat. You can make two attacks:
one with your bite and one with your claws.
The bite does 1d6 piercing damage, and the
target must succeed on a Constitution saving
throw equals 8+ your Constitution modifier +
your proficiency bonus, or be poisoned for 1
minute. If the saving throw fails by 5 or more,
the target is also paralyzed while poisoned in this
way. The poisoned target can repeat the saving
throw on each of its turns, ending the effect on
itself on a success. Creatures classified as huge or
gargantuan are only affected for one round.
The claws do 2d4 slashing damage.
Multiple Limbs. You have an additional set of
smaller arms. You may interact with an
additional object or feature of the environment
for free during your turn. You can carry an
additional weapon using both your arms, though
weapons wielded in this way do not gain the
benefits of the Versatile weapon quality, and
weapons with the Heavy quality impose
disadvantage on any attack rolls made with them
when used in this way, as though you were a
Small creature. However, if the weapon has the
Light quality, you may use only one arm to wield
it, and may carry two such weapons at once. You
cannot use these extra arms to initiate grapples
or wear shields. These hands can be used for
other tasks, such as opening doors, carrying
torches, using tools, or performing the somatic
components of spells, without difficulty when
they are not holding weapons. The extra limbs
attacks count as off-hands ones and are all made
with a bonus attack action.
Languages. You can speak Common and Thri-
kreen.
30
Two main subraces of thri-kreens populate
Athas: Jeral and To’ksa thri-kreens. Choose one
of these subraces.
Jeral Thri-kreen
With the Jeral, the chitin is the outermost layer
of the thri-kreen's body; this can be polished to a
glossy sheen. The breathing holes of a Jeral are
located on the sides of the prothorax, between
the arms on each side. A Jeral often wears cloth
over this area to help prevent sand and dust out
of the breathing holes. Jeral have vestigial
antennae, little more than nubs; their scent
receptors are surrounded by sound receivers,
something like eardrums. A Jeral thri-kreen has
three digits on each hand.
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score
increases by 1.
Nature’s Connection. You gain proficiency in
Nature.
31
To’ksa Thri-kreen
To’ksa have a leathery sheathing over the
exoskeleton and the joints between the chitin
plates; this creates a rather dull finish. To’ka
breathing holes are located in the head. One pair
of breathing holes is located between the eyes,
while another pair is located lower on the face,
just above the mandibles. To’ksa have antennae
about 18 to 24 inches long, with scent receptors
along the length; sound receivers are clustered
around the bases of the antennae. The To’ksa’s
neck is longer than that of a Jeral. A To’ksa thri-
kreen has four digits on each hand.
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score
increases by 1.
Chameleon Carapace. You can change the
color of your carapace to match the color and
texture of your surroundings. As a result, you
have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks
made to hide.
Mul
“See, the trick is to break their will. Not too much, mind
you. Nobody wants to watch a docile gladiator, and
muls are too expensive to waste as labor slaves. But, you
don‟t want them trying to escape every other day.
Would you like to tell the arena crowd that their favorite
champion will not be appearing in today‟s match
because he died trying to escape your pens?”
―Gaal, Urikite arena trainer

A mul (pronounced: mül) is an incredibly tough

crossbreed of a human and dwarf. They retain
the height and cunning of their human parent,
plus the durability and raw strength of their
dwarven heritage. Muls are usually the products
of the slave pits-owners recognize the muls.
assets as gladiators and laborers, and so order
the births of as many muls as can be managed
within the ranks of their slaves. Muls are born
sterile, they cannot perpetuate their kind.

They are fair skinned, sometimes tending toward

a copperish coloration. Their dwarven ancestry
gives them a well-muscled frame and an
incredible constitution.mul laborers can perform
heavy work for days at a time without stopping.
Muls have stern facial features. They are
unmistakably human in appearance, though their
ears are swept back and slightly pointed. Most
muls, whether male or female, have no hair or
beard.

Born as they are to lives of slave labor, with the

taskmaster's whip taking the place of parents
and family, muls are given to a gruff personality
and violent reactions. Understandably, many
never seek friends or companionship but live out
their lives in servitude, driven by hatred and
spite. Most, however, learn who to trust in the
slave pits and who not to, gaining favor and
reputation among the other slaves.

32
Many slave muls have either escaped or Mul Traits
otherwise won their freedom and now live
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score
independent lives all over Athas. Of these, a
increases by 2. Your Constitution score increases
large percentage have bartered their combat
by 1.
prowess, making their way as soldiers or guards.
Age. Mul mature a bit faster than human do,
A few others, given to more cerebral pursuits,
reaching adulthood at around 16 years old, and
have turned to priestly devotions or the mental
not living pass 90 years old.
disciplines of psionics.
Alignment. The rigors of their upbringing in
bondage makes them sullen and difficult to
Roleplaying. Muls are slaves, true, but when
befriend.
they are doing well in the arena, they are the
Size. A full-grown mul stands 6 to 6½ feet tall
most pampered slaves. It is expensive to
and weighs 240-300 pounds. Your size is
generate and maintain a stable of muls, and their
Medium.
owners protect their large investments with
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
special treatment and considerations. It’s rare
Your speed is not reduced by wearing heavy
that a mul who does his work well receives
armor.
particularly harsh treatment as a slave. Thus,
Darkvision. You can see in the dim light within
they often don’t see their slavery as all that bad
60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in
a deal. Of course, when their arena or work
darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern
performance is lacking, discipline is cruelly
color in darkness, only shades of gray.
reinstated.
Natural Athlete. You have proficiency in the
Athletics skill.
Like their dwarven parent, a mul who sets his
Unwavering Strength. Once per long rest you
mind on freedom or disruption among the other
may use a bonus action to shrug off a condition.
slaves is rarely kept on hand. They most often
Inexhaustible. Mules are able to work longer
are sold or traded from owner to dissatisfied
and harder without rest than are most other
owner until they are eventually relegated to
races. Regardless of the preceding type of
harsh labor in a remote area or sent to the
exertion, a long rest will let a mul recuperate 2
gladiator pits.
levels of exhaustion back.
Untiring. Once every 48 hours, when you take
a long rest you may regain all expended Hit Dice.
Additionally, while you must still use a long rest
to recover spent resources, you can choose to go
up to 72 hours without taking a long rest, staying
awake the entire time, suffering no additional
adverse effects. After 72 hours, you are
considered to have been awake for 24 hours; you
then begin to incur adverse effects as per the
normal rules.
Languages. You can speak Common and
Dwarvish.

33
 to deal with the fact that they are too big for the
Half-Giant world around them, for things built for the use
and convenience of humans don’t work well in
“Mind of a child, strength of three grown men. I‟ve seen a the hands of half-giants.
half-giant tear the walls out of a building because
he wanted a better look at the tattoos on a mul inside.
―Daro, human trader

Half-giants are one of the newer races to walk

upon the burning sands of Athas. The race was
created by the magical experiments conducted
during the first years of the Age of the Sorcerer-
Kings. At the time, the sorcerer-kings were
looking to create ultimate warriors to protect
their domains. Because of these origins, half-
giants have no culture of their own to draw
upon, no ancient traditions and homelands to
turn to for inspiration.

They have human features that are exaggerated

in some way. Along with the size gained from
their giant heritage comes low intelligence and
great physical strength. From the human side,
half-giants get an interest in communication and
cooperation, curiosity, a willingness to learn, and
a general tendency toward kindness. They don’t
gather in communities of their own, but instead
tend to adopt the cultures of those they admire
or have access to.

Half-giants can produce offspring by mating with

other half-giants. All half-giants that exist in
modern Athas are the descendants of the first
magically created half-giants produced in the
early years of the rule of the sorcerer-kings.
There is no natural way for giants and humans to
mate and create half-giant children.

In the city-states, half-giants serve as soldiers,

guards, or laborers. In the wilderness, they
attach themselves to charismatic leaders or
communities demonstrating tendencies that
they admire. Wherever they are, half-giants have

34
Half-giants are a relatively new addition to the
races of Athas. The union was originally the
result of magical experiments conducted by the
sorcerer-kings. When the sorcerer-kings first
took control of the cities of the Tyr Region, they
used their arcane powers to cross humans with
giants, striving to create warriors and laborers of
gigantic proportions. Because of this turbulent
beginning, the half-giants of today’s Athas have
no culture of their own to draw upon, no ancient
traditions to turn to for inspiration.
From giants, this race inherited tremendous size
and strength, as well as low intelligence. From
humans, they received curiosity, an interest in
cooperation and communication, and a general
tendency toward kindness. Although half-giants
have human features, these tend to be
exaggerated in some way. All existing half-giants
are the descendants of the original magically
created half-giants. They can only produce
offspring by mating with other half-giants; they
cannot reproduce with either giants or humans.
Likewise, there’s no natural way for giants and
humans to mate and produce children in today’s
Athas.
Like half-elves, half-giants don’t gather in
communities of their own. Instead they live in
the human cities or in the wilderness tribes,
absorbing the culture of those around them.
They are friendly and eager to please whoever
they meet. If they are accepted in turn, the half-
giants quickly adopt the lifestyles, skills, and
values of those they’ve come in contact with. A
half-giant character presented with a new
situation should examine the roles of the people
there, determine how he best fits in, and then
start performing tasks accordingly. For example,
a half-giant who happens upon a dwarf quarry
might watch for a time, then start quarrying
stone. He won’t necessarily work with the
dwarves, but he’ll continue to perform like his
neighbors for as long as he can make a decent
living.
Half-giants aren’t strictly bound to perform as
those they see around them, nor are they
restricted from moving on when they see fit. If a
situation isn’t beneficial, or if a half-giant can’t
perform well in a given environment, he won’t
imitate the nearby culture. In all cases, half-
giants simply aren’t as emotionally attached to
objects or work as are other races. Players
running half-giant characters should be ready to
switch goals and lifestyles quickly, usually
according to charismatic individuals their
characters might meet. They also need to
remember that their characters have great size
and strength, and so must play accordingly. For
the most part, Athas is a human-sized world.
Half-giants often have trouble with things that
other characters take for granted, such as doors,
chairs, and even buildings.
A half-giant character doubles his Hit Die rolls, no
matter what his character class is. Add any
bonuses for high Constitution scores after
doubling the roll of the die. For example, a half-
giant cleric rolls 1d8 and multiplies the result by
2 to determine his hit points at each level.

35
Half-Giant Traits Giant Ancestry. Due to you giant ancestry, you
can increase your Strength score up to 24 instead
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score
of the normal maximum of 20. Additionally, you
increases by 3. Your Constitution score increases
have advantage when making Strength checks to
by 1.
break an object. Your creature type is considered
Age. Half-giants can live to a maximum age of
to be a giant.
220 years.
Giant Among Men. For the most part, Athas is
Alignment. Half-giants switch attitudes very
a human-sized world. Half-giants often have
quickly, taking on new values to fit new
trouble with things that other characters take for
situations. This malleable attitude is handled by a
granted, such as doors, chairs, and even
changing alignment. A half-giant character
buildings. DM should impose disadvantage when
selects one aspect of his alignment to remain
he sees fit to underline this fact as often as
fixed at the time the character is created (either
situations allows.
the “lawful/neutral/chaotic” side, or the
Darkvision. You can see in the dim light within
“good/neutral/evil” side). The other aspect is
60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in
determined at the start of each day of game
darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern
time. The character is bound to that alignment
color in darkness, only shades of gray.
combination until he sleeps and wakes again. For
Natural Athlete. You have proficiency in the
example, if a half-giant has a fixed “good” side,
Athletics skill.
then each morning he chooses to be either
Powerful Build: You count as one size larger
lawful good, neutral good, or chaotic good. Half-
when determining your carrying capacity and the
giant psionicists must have a fixed lawful or
weight you can push, drag or lift.
neutral aspect; they can’t be chaotic.
Stone Fists. Your unarmed weapon attack with
Although this alignment change isn’t mandatory,
with fist deals 1d6 of bludgeoning damage
it should certainly be invoked in roleplaying
instead of the normal 1 damage.
situations as a reaction to extreme changes in a
Large Appetite. You must eat and drink twice
half-giant’s environment. A half-giant’s nature is
as much as a normal human or suffer the
to switch his alignment aspect to imitate or
appropriate penalties.
otherwise react to a significant change around
Large Weapon & Armor. All personal items,
him. Of course, there needs to be a good reason
such as clothing, armor, weapons, and food, cost
for a half-giant’s flexible alignment aspect to
double for half-giant characters. Transportation
change, and DMs are free to disallow any change
and lodging, when they’re available at all, are
that doesn’t fit the current storyline. This shifting
also considerably more expensive. Most things
alignment should be a hindrance as often as it
aren’t built to support the weight of a half-giant,
serves to help a half-giant character. It’s up to
and even in the cities half-giants tend to camp
the DM to make sure both good and bad events
outside for their own comfort and to avoid
occur throughout a campaign.
causing any damage. Due to the size of your
Size. Typical half-giants stand between 10 and
weapon, your weapon damage is doubled, and
12 feet tall, weighing about 1,600 pounds. Your
unarmed damage is a 1d6 bludgeoning.
size is Large.
Languages. You can speak Common and Giant.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 40 feet.
Your speed is not reduced by wearing heavy
armor.

36
Gith
Standing hunched before you is a vaguely
reptilian humanoid with hairless, greenish-gray
skin and jet black lidless eyes. With clawed
hands and feet and a fanged pronounced
underbite, the creature‟s appearance is
rendered all the more strange by its bowlegged
waddling gait.

The gith are a race of grotesque humanoids that

appear to be a peculiar mixture of elf and reptile.
They are extremely gaunt and lanky, with long
gangling arms and spindly legs. Their hands have
three fingers with no opposable thumb, yet they
are able to use tools and wield weapons. Both
their fingers and toes end in sharp claws. Their
lower jaws jut forward and, while toothless, they
have sharp, bony ridges that they use to crush
and grind their food. Their powerful legs allow
them to make great leaps, which they use to
move about, walking in an awkward waddle only
when they cannot jump or when sneaking up on
prey.
Gith combat tactics usually involve ambushes.
They prefer to have a distinct advantage in
numbers, and so attack in mass. Their weapon of
choice is an obsidian spear designed for
chopping and slashing rather than piercing, but
they will use any weapon they have access to.
They disdain the use of range weapons, since
they enjoy watching the pain and fear of their
opponents.
Gith Society
Gith organize themselves into tribes, with the
most powerful member acting as leader. All
authority comes from the chief, who has the
power of life and death over any member of his
tribe. If the chief is killed, the strongest members
of the tribe will fight to the death in order to
determine who will be the new leader. This trial-
by-combat occurs immediately, even if the gith
tribe is currently in the middle of a battle with
another force. Most gith tribes inhabit
mountainous regions, coming down only to raid
the villages of other humanoids or to attack a
passing caravan. They are usually interested in
entertaining themselves with the suffering of
others and with the prospect of a good meal
(gith will eat anything organic, preferring meat),
but know the value of treasure, especially of
psionic and magical items. Within a gith tribe,
most leaders will be rogues or psionicists. Gith
clerics usually follow the elements of fire or air.
Mountain gith live in underground lairs, claiming
a particular canyon or valley as their territory.
Gith inhabiting the Tablelands tend to organize
their society more along the lines of a nomadic
hunting clan, going wherever the game takes
them. They do not hesitate to attack human or
demi-human groups.

37
Gith Traits this rule is that you don't suffer a disadvantage
on your Charisma (Intimidation) checks.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score
Gith Weapon Training. You have proficiency
increases by 2. Your Intelligence increases by 1.
with the gith’s spear.
Age. Giths mature a bit quicker rate than
Standing Leap. You have powerful bowed legs
humans do and reach adulthood around the age
that allow them to leap great distances - the
of 14. They age noticeably faster and rarely live
gith’s long jump is up to 20 feet and you have
longer than 80 years.
advantage on your Athletic skills related to high
Alignment. Gith tend toward chaotic evil
jump, with or without a running start.
alignments.
Charging Lead. When you use your full long
Size. Gith are a lanky race of reptilian
jump to jump into melee range to do a melee
humanoids that, when erect, stand close to
attack, you have advantage on the same turn you
seven feet tall, but who spend most of their
just leaped to do your first strike.
time, bent-over in a crouch that makes them
Natural Armor Class. You have an inherent
appear to be only five feet tall. Your size is
Armor Class of 12 + your Dexterity modifier due
Medium.
to your tough hide and heavy bones.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Natural Weaponry. You have proficiency with
Darkvision. You have superior vision in dark
unarmed strikes, and your claws deals 1d4
and dim conditions. You can see in dim light
slashing damage. They are considered finesse
within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and
weapons and light.
in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t
Natural Ambusher. You gain the skill Stealth if
discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
you don’t already have it.
Alien Nature. Giths are so different from all
Languages. You can speak Common and Gith.
of the other humanoid races that you suffer
Gith speak their own language, which has no
disadvantage on all Charisma checks made to
alphabet but can be expressed in Rellanic script.
influence anyone other than a gith. Exception to

38

Aarakocra
“You are all slaves. You all suffer from the tyranny of the
ground. Only in the company of clouds will you
find the true meaning of freedom.”
―Kekko Cloud‐Brother, aarakocra cleric
The intelligent bird-people called aarakocra live
in small tribes in the rocky badlands and
mountains of Athas. In most cases, these
uncivilized aarakocra have little impact on the
world around them. One group of bird-people,
however, has an advanced society in the White
Mountains north of the Tyr Region. Here, nestled
in the snow-covered peaks, is the large village
called Winter Nest.
Winter Nest’s aarakocra (who call themselves
“the silvaarak,” or “people of the silver wing”)
average about 7 feet tall. Males weigh 100
pounds, females 85. They have gray beaks, black
eyes, and plumage that ranges from purest white
to silver to shades of light blue.
Silvaarak tend to stay among the mountain
peaks. They believe themselves superior to all
other creatures because of their ability to fly
above the world. Those who visit the mountains
or the forest around them must be careful not to
abuse the gifts of nature found there, for the
aarakocra see it as their obligation to protect the
region. Winter Nest maintains trade relations
with the city-states of Draj and Kurn, but are on
hostile terms with the bandit states of the
Barrier Wastes and the city of Eldaarich. In fact,
Eldaarich regularly sends out slavers to capture
any aarakocra they can find.
The aarakocra of the White Mountains are rarely
found in the Tyr Region, although many of the
young bird-people have begun to explore the
world beyond their mountain sanctuary. These
39
adventurous silvaarak believe that the time has
come for Winter Nest to take part in the affairs
of the world. What impact the silvaarak will have
on Athas now that a significant portion of their
community has abandoned their isolationist
ways has yet to be seen.
Of all the aarakocra who live beneath Athas’s
crimson sun, only the silvaarak of the White
Mountains can be used as player characters. The
bird-people born to the village of Winter Nest
grow to an average height of 7½ feet tall with
wingspans of 20 feet. Males weigh about 100
pounds, while females weigh about 85. With gray
beaks, black eyes, and plumage that ranges from
purest white to silver to shades of pale blue, the
aarakocra of Winter Nest look much different
than the bird-people of the deep desert.
Aarakocra who leave Winter Nest to become
player characters are seen as young rebels by the
rest of their community. They are adventurous,
seeking higher purpose and a way to help the
beleaguered world. In all cases, aarakocra have a
deep and abiding respect for the gifts of nature
and little patience for those who abuse those
gifts.
As beings intimately connected to high mountain
peaks and the open sky, aarakocra have a great
love of freedom. In some ways, this love is even
more intense than a similar emotion experienced
by elves. They prefer to always be above a
situation, either flying or perched above the rest
of a group so that they can have a bird’s-eye
view. Aarakocra are claustrophobic and will only
enter an enclosed building or cave if absolutely
necessary.
Aarakocra make excellent fighters and good
rangers, but their fear of enclosed places makes
them wither in captivity, so they can never
develop into gladiators. The silvaarak send a
select number of their village to learn preserving
magic from Oronis of Kurn, but no bird-person holding anything in your talons, you may
can develop the skills necessary to be a defiler. simultaneously use two of your limbs as a natural
Aarakocra Backgrounds . Backgrounds that are weapon to attack a target. You are considered to
most appropriate for aarakocra include the be proficient with this natural weapon, and your
outlander, the hermit, and the sage. The small claws are considered to have both the light and
colonies of aarakocra are insular and remote, finesse weapon properties. Your talons deal 1d4
and few aarakocra live away from their roosts. In slashing damage.
the Star Mounts of the High Forest in the Aarakocran Weapon Training. You have
Forgotten Realms, no more than a few dozen proficiency with the spear, javelin and lance.
aarakocra live away from the nests of their Avian Body. Your base armor class is 12 + your
families. Those that do are usually rangers or Dexterity modifier. However, because your
fighters, constantly patrolling for outside threats. bones are light and fragile, any damage caused
by a bludgeoning weapon is increased by 1d4
Aarakocra Traits points.
Claustrophobic. Aarakocra are claustrophobic
As an aarakocra, you have certain traits in
and will only enter an enclosed building or cave if
common with your people. Being able to fly at
absolutely necessary. You have disadvantage on
high speed starting at 1st level is exceptionally
all rolls made in an enclosed location that you
effective in certain circumstances and
cannot spread your wings fully and fly in.
exceedingly dangerous in others. As a result,
Diving Attack. You can make a special diving
playing an aarakocra requires special
attack that grants you advantage to attack and
consideration by your DM.
causes double damage if it hits. You must be
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score
using a spear, lance or javelin to do so. You must
increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases
fly at least 10 feet to do so.
by 1.
Language. You can speak Common, Aarakocra,
Age. Aarakocra reach maturity by age 3.
and Auran.
Compared to humans, aarakocra don’t usually
live longer than 40 years.
Alignment. Most aarakocra are good and
rarely choose sides when it comes to law and
chaos. Tribal leaders and warriors might be
lawful, while explorers and adventurers might
tend toward chaotic.
Size. Aarakocra grow to an average height of
7½ feet tall with wingspans of 20 feet. Males
weigh about 100 pounds, while females weigh
about 85. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.
Flight. You have a flying speed of 50 feet. An
aarakocra is also prevented from flying while
wearing heavy armor or
while carrying a heavy load.
Talons. You are proficient with your unarmed
strikes (claws). If you're flying and you're not

40

Dray
“Beware of the strange hooded men speaking of
salvation. Bards aren't the only people who will try
to sell you “stuff” in a dark alleyway. ”
―Leviath the Calm, half-giant pacifist
The dray are draconic humanoids created by
Dregoth to populate his subterranean city. The
undead dragon king believed that humans had to
"evolve" as he was evolving (at least as he was
evolving during life) if they were to be fit
servants in the new age to come. Dregoth saw
his first successful transformations as failures,
even though the humans changed and survived.
41
The first generation dray were not the perfect
masterpieces he had expected, so he banished
them from his sight. The second generation lived
up to Dregoth's vision, and this version of the
race resides with the undead dragon king in New
Giustenal.
Dray of both varieties stand six to eight feet tall.
Their build is lean and muscular. Despite their
size, most dray weigh only 180 to 200 pounds.
Their natural build makes them strong, durable,
and even agile by most standards. The second
generation dray have armor-like scales of varying
shades of red, long necks, teeth-filled jaws, sharp
talons, and whiplike tails. The first generation
dray appear as less perfect, mutated versions of
their sleek cousins.
Dray Traits
Your dray character has the following racial
traits.
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score
increases by 1, your Constitution increases by 1.
Size. Dray of both varieties stand 6 to 8 feet
tall. Their build is lean and muscular. Despite
their size, most dray weigh only 180 to 200
pounds. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. Accustomed to the undergrounds,
you have superior vision in dark and dim
conditions. You can see in dim light within 60
feet of you as if it were bright light, and in
darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern
color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Sunlight Sensitivity. You have disadvantage on
attack rolls and Wisdom (Perception) checks that
rely on sight when I or the target of your attack,
or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct
sunlight.
Cold Vulnerability. You take double damage
from cold based attacks.
Water Efficiency. Drays need less water than
the average human. An active dray needs ½
gallon of water per day, while an inactive one
needs only ¼ gallon of water per day.
Natural Weaponry. You a proficient with
unarmed combat. Drays can attack twice: once
with their claws for 2d4 slashing damage and
once with their bite for 1d6 piercing damage.
Natural Armor Class. You have an inherent
Armor Class of 12 + your Dexterity modifier due
to your scaly-skin.
Language. You can speak Common,
Undercommon and Ancient Giustenal.
Two subraces of dray exist: first and second
generation drays. Choose one of these subraces.
First Generation Dray
First generation dray tend to be cautious and
suspicious by nature. They are a bit more savage,
even primitive, by New Giustenal standards.
Their primary goal is to survive, and they spend
all their time training to be the best at what they
do. They are very honorable, and help given is
never forgotten.
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score
increases by 1, your Constitution increases by 1.
Age. Young dray grow quickly. They walk hours
after hatching, attain the size and development
of a 10-year-old human child by the age of 3, and
reach adulthood by 15. They live to be around
80.
Alignment. First generation dray tend to be of
neutral alignments (neutral good, neutral evil,
lawful neutral or chaotic neutral), though PCs
can select any alignment.
Superior Darkvision. Your darkvision has a
radius of 120 feet.
Draconic Ancestry. You have draconic
ancestry. Your breath weapon is a line of fire of 5
by 30 ft. line (Dex. Save), and you have damage
resistance against acid damage.
Damage Resistance. You have resistance to
fire damage.
Breath Weapon. You can use your action to
exhale destructive energy: a line of fire. Your
draconic ancestry determines the size, and shape
of the exhalation.
When you use your breath weapon, each
creature in the area of the exhalation must make
a saving throw, the type of which is determined
by your draconic ancestry. The DC for this saving
throw equals 8 + your Constitution modifier +
your proficiency bonus. A creature takes 2d6
damage on a failed save, and half as much
damage on a successful one. The damage
increases to 3d6 at 6th level, 4d6 at 11th level,
and 5d6 at 16th level.
42
After you use your breath weapon, you can’t use
it again until you complete a short or long rest.
First Generation Mutation. All first generation
dray have some sort of mutation. The DM and
the player can either select a trait that has only a
role-playing effect, or the player can roll on the
table below.
First Generation Mutation Table
d6 roll Effect
1 The dray's scales are uneven in texture and color,
and human flesh shows through in places.
2 The dray’s scales are soft, giving the dray no natural
armor class bonus.
3 The dray’s teeth are human; the dray has no natural
bite attack.
4 The dray’s scales are thicker, giving the dray an
Armor Class of 14 + your Dexterity modifier.
5 A randomly selected limb is human instead of
dray (no claws on that limb).
6 The dray has no tail.
(Dex. save) of fire, and you have damage
resistance against fire damage.
Damage Resistance. You have resistance to
fire damage.
Breath Weapon. You can use your action to
exhale destructive energy: a cone of fire. Your
draconic ancestry determines the size, and shape
of the exhalation.
When you use your breath weapon, each
creature in the area of the exhalation must make
a saving throw, the type of which is determined
by your draconic ancestry. The DC for this saving
throw equals 8 + your Constitution modifier +
your proficiency bonus. A creature takes 2d6
damage on a failed save, and half as much
damage on a successful one. The damage
increases to 3d6 at 6th level, 4d6 at 11th level,
and 5d6 at 16th level.
After you use your breath weapon, you can’t use
it again until you complete a short or long rest.

Second Generation Dray

Second generation dray live in the shadow of
Dregoth, and so have many of his prejudices
ingrained into their personalities. They are well
educated, even snobbish, believing themselves
to be the penultimate of all creation. They are
intolerant, obnoxious, and carry an air of
superiority wherever they go. Of course, a
second generation dray PC has probably seen
Dregoth as he really is and has set the hatred
aside—or at least is trying to.
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score
increases by 1, your Intelligence increases by 1.
Age. Young dray grow quickly. They walk hours
after hatching, attain the size and development
of a 10-year-old human child by the age of 3, and
reach adulthood by 15. They live to be around
80.
Alignment. Second generation dray tend to be
lawful evil, though PCs of this race can select any
alignment.
Draconic Ancestry. You have draconic
ancestry. Your breath weapon is a 15 ft. cone

43

Kenku
“The map we found showed the entrance to the
a treasure cache right in the middle of the ruins.
We approached our destination without issue,
but as we arrived at the crumbled building, a
sudden cacophony erupted around us. Birds
squawked, cats hissed, and dogs growled.
Lidda hustled us back to the ruin‟s edge. Only
when we were back to the desert‟s limits did she
explain that the noises indicated that the
wingless folk had claimed that area, and that to
trespass would be to court death.”
- Gimble, Notes from a Treasure Hunter
Haunted by an ancient crime that robbed them
of their wings, the kenku wander the world as
vagabonds and burglars who live at the edge of
human society. Kenku suffer from a sinister
reputation that is not wholly unearned, but they
can prove to be valuable allies.
An Ancient Curse
The kenku once served a mysterious, powerful
entity on another plane of existence. Some
believe they were minions of Grazz’t, while
others say that they were scouts and explorers
for the Wind Dukes of Aaqa. Whatever the truth,
according to legend, the kenku betrayed their
master. Unable to resist the lure of a beautiful
sparkling treasure, the kenku plotted to steal the
item and escape to the Material Plane.
Unfortunately for the kenku, their master
discovered their plan before they could enact it.
Enraged, the entity imposed three dreadful
curses upon them. First, the kenku’s beloved
wings withered and fell away from their bodies,
leaving them bound to the earth. Second,
because their ingenuity and skill had turned
toward scheming against their patron, the spark
of creativity was torn from their souls. Finally, to
ensure that the kenku could never divulge any
secrets, their master took away their voices.
Once the entity was satisfied that they had been
sufficiently punished, the kenku were set loose
on the Material Plane.
Since then, the kenku have wandered the world.
They settle in places that accept them, usually
bleak cities that have fallen on hard times and
are overrun with crime.
Dreams of Flight
Above all else, kenku wish to regain their ability
to fly. Every kenku is born with a desire to take
to the air, and those who learn spellcasting do so
in hope of mastering spells that will allow them
to fly. Rumors of magic items such as flying
carpets, brooms capable of flight, and similar
objects provoke a great desire for the kenku to
acquire the items for themselves.
Despite their lack of wings, kenku love dwelling
in towers and other tall structures. They seek out
ruins that reach to the sky, though they lack the
motivation and creativity to make repairs or
fortify such places. Even so, their light weight
and size allow them to dwell in rickety structures
that would collapse beneath a human or an gith.
Some thieves’ guilds use kenku as lookouts and
messengers. The kenku dwell in the tallest
buildings and towers the guild controls, allowing
them to lurk in the highest levels and to keep
watch on the city below.
Hopeless Plagiarists
As a result of their lack of creativity, kenku
function comfortably as minions of a powerful
master. Flock leaders enforce discipline and
minimize conflicts, but they fail at effective
planning or crafting long-term schemes.
44
Although unable to speak in their own voices, Since kenku can precisely reproduce any sound,
kenku can perfectly mimic any sound they hear, the messages they carry rarely suffer
from a halfling’s voice to the noise of rocks degradation or shifts in meaning. Human
clattering down a hillside. However, kenku messengers might switch words or phrases and
cannot create new sounds and can communicate garble a message inadvertently, but the kenku
only by using sounds they have heard. Most produce perfect copies of whatever they hear.
kenku use a combination of overheard phrases
and sound effects to convey their ideas and
thoughts. Kenku Adventurers
By the same token, kenku have no ability to
Kenku adventurers are usually the survivors of a
invent new ideas or create new things. Kenku
flock that has sustained heavy losses, or a rare
can copy existing items with exceptional skill,
kenku who has grown weary of a life of crime.
allowing them to become excellent artisans and
These kenku are more ambitious and daring than
scribes. They can copy books, make replicas of
their fellows. Others strike out on their own in
objects, and otherwise thrive in situations where
search of the secrets of flight, to master magic,
they can produce large numbers of identical
or to uncover the secret of their curse and find a
items. Few kenku find this work satisfying, since
method to break it.
their quest for the freedom of flight makes them
Kenku adventurers, despite their relative
ill-suited to settle into a routine.
independence, still have a tendency to seek out a
companion to emulate and follow. A kenku loves
to mimic the voice and words of its chosen
Ideal Minions companion.
Kenku gather in groups called flocks. A flock is
led by the oldest and most experienced kenku
with the widest store of knowledge to draw on, Kenku Names
often called Master.
Given that kenku can duplicate any sound, their
Although kenku can’t create new things, they
names are drawn from a staggering variety of
have a talent for learning and memorizing
noises and phrases. Kenku names tend to break
details. Thus, ambitious kenku can excel as
down into three categories that make no
superb spies and scouts. A kenku who learns of
distinction between male and female names.
clever schemes and plans devised by other
Kenku thugs, warriors, and toughs adopt noises
creatures can put them to use. The kenku lack
made by weapons, such as the clang of a mace
the talent to improvise or alter a plan, but a wise
against armor or the sound made by a breaking
Master sets multiple plans in motion at once,
bone. Non-kenku refer to the kenku by
confident that underlings can follow orders to
describing this noise. Examples of this type of
the letter.
name include Smasher, Clanger, Slicer, and
For this reason, many kenku make an easy living
Basher.
serving as messengers, spies, and lookouts for
Kenku thieves, con artists, and burglars adopt
thieves’ guilds, bandits, and other criminal
animal noises, typically those common in urban
cartels. A network of kenku can relay a bird call
settings. In this manner, kenku can call out to
or similar noise across the city, alerting their
each other while those who overhear them
allies to the approach of a guard patrol or
mistake them for common animals. Non-kenku
signaling a prime opportunity for a robbery.
use names that refer to the sound made or the

45
animal a kenku mimics, such as Rat Scratch,
Whistler, Mouser, and Growler.
Some kenku turn their back on crime to pursue
legitimate trades. These kenku adopt noises
made as part of their craft. A sailor duplicates
the sound of a fluttering sail, while a smith
mimics the clanging of a hammer on anvil. Non-
kenku describe these folk by their trade sounds,
such as Sail Snap, Hammerer, and Cutter.

Kenku Traits
Your kenku character has the following racial
traits.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score
increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases
by 1.
Age. Kenku have shorter lifespans than humans.
They reach maturity at about 12 years old and
can live to 60.
Alignment. Kenku are chaotic creatures, rarely
making enduring commitments, and they care
mostly for preserving their own hides. They are
generally chaotic neutral in outlook.
Size. Kenku are around 5 feet tall and weigh
between 90 and 120 pounds. Your size is
Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Expert Forgery. You can duplicate other
creatures’ handwriting and craftwork. You have
advantage on all checks made to produce
forgeries or duplicates of existing objects.
Kenku Training. You are proficient in your choice
of two of the following skills: Acrobatics,
Deception, Stealth, and Sleight of Hand.
Mimicry. You can mimic sounds you have heard,
including voices. A creature that hears the
sounds you make can tell they are imitations
with a successful Wisdom (Insight) check
opposed by your Charisma (Deception) check.
Languages. You can speak Common and Auran,
but you can speak only by using your Mimicry
trait.

46
Jozhal
Jozhals are small, lightly built reptilian creatures
which may be distantly related to crodlu. They
have long, slender legs, lanky arms ending in
dexterous hands, and long, flexible tails. The
neck of a jozhal is also long and flexible, ending
in a narrow-muzzled head with large eyes and
many needle-like teeth. The skin is covered in
many tiny scales, which are only visible on close
examination, and can change color to match with
or contrast against the creature's surroundings.
Jozhals have precise control over their skin's
color, and sometimes use it to create decorative
patterns of color resembling tattoos.

Combat Jozhals avoid combat if at all possible,

fleeing or using their chameleon-like skin to hide.
If forced into combat, a jozhal will attempt to
defend itself first with psionics or spells, then
with any magical items it currently possesses. If
left with no other option, the jozhal will attack
with a bite.
Standing about four feet tall, the jozhal is a small,
two-legged reptile with a skinny tail, a long
flexible neck, and a narrow, elongated snout. Its
mouth is filled with needle sharp teeth, and its
lanky arms end in small, three-fingered hands
with an opposable thumb. Although the jozhal’s
hide is covered with scales, they are so small as
to be unnoticeable at first, and it appears to
more akin to a man’s skin or a baazrag's rough
hide. The jozhal can change the hue of its skin at
will, either to match the color of its environment,
or to stand out against it.
The jozhal live in small family groups of four to
five creatures. They are extremely intelligent and
cunning, but regard humans or demi-humans as
foolish, dangerous creatures and will rarely
tolerate them.
Jozhals are attracted to magic of all sorts, and
whenever they see humans or demi-humans
passing they track the party down and attempt
to cast a detect magic spell on the group. If the
spell reveals any magical items, they will try to
sneak into camp and steal them.
Jozhals forage for food (roots and tubers), and
eat almost any sort of small reptile, snake, or
insect. Their magic is akin to that of elemental
clerics, and is therefore not destructive to the
environment around them.
The jozhal clan’s intellect is best reflect in its
relationship to the world around it. They are very
careful never to destroy the life-giving world in
which they live, always making use of every bit of
scrap and refuse that they find. They carry this to
extremes, even practicing cannibalism and using
the bones of their dead to construct weapons
and tools.

47
Jozhal Society
Jozhals are naturally shy and secretive creatures,
and do not normally learn the languages of other
races. The leader of a family will learn the
Common tongue, so that he or she may
communicate with outsiders on the rare
occasion that interaction is necessary. When
around those they do not know, especially other
races, jozhals become much more withdrawn
and are unwilling to even speak to outsiders
unless necessary. They will often travel days out
of their way just to avoid encountering non-
jozhals, especially elves and humans, whom they
consider destructive. If forced to interact with
members of another race, jozhals will attempt to
make the experience as short as possible. Jozhals
do not normally form permanent settlements.
Instead, they travel in nomadic family groups,
traveling between the fertile areas of the
Tablelands and Hinterlands, beyond the Ringing
Mountains. These families forage for roots, nuts,
and small reptiles and insects. Jozhals always
make use of every little bit of anything that they
find, to the point of extremes, practicing
cannibalism and fashioning the bones of their
dead into weapons and tools. The only time a
jozhal family will permanently settle in one area
is when a member of that family becomes a
grove master and takes custody of his guardian
lands. Jozhals are deeply suspicious of all arcane
spellcasters. They will tolerate preservers, but
will watch them closely for any signs that they
may defile, and criticize them harshly if they use
magic wantonly or carelessly. Jozhals do not
tolerate defilers in any way. A jozhal may even
put himself at risk to stop a defiler from
damaging the land. The jozhal suspicion of
arcane magic does not extend to magical items.
Jozhals are fascinated by magical items, which
they consider to hold the power of the land, and
desire to own as may magical items as they can.
Jozhal children are taught from a young age the
proper use of magical items, both arcane and
divine, so even non-spell caster jozhal will be
able to use most any magical item they come to
possess. They go to great lengths to possess
magical items, typically following parties of
humanoids to determine if they carry any
magical items and stealing any they detect.
Jozhal adventurers are rare. Only a few are able
to overcome their natural shyness to mix with
strangers and fewer still are willing to be
separated from their families for long periods of
time. Those who do follow the adventuring path
have usually had their families wiped out by
raiders or some natural disaster. A few have
allowed their obsession with magical items to
overwhelm them and see adventuring as the
quickest, easiest way to finding and possessing
such items. A jozhal character's favored class is
cleric. Most jozhal leaders will be clerics serving
the element of Earth. All jozhals have a close,
personal connection with the forces of nature.
They consider the role of cleric to be the highest
possible honor. While they worship all of the
elements, they hold a special reverence for
Earth.
Jozhal Traits
Your jozhal character has the following racial
traits.
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score
increases by 2, and your Dexterity score
increases by 1.
Age. Jozhal mature at about 14 years old and
can live up to a 190.
Alignment. Chaotic Neutral.
Size. Standing about four feet tall, the jozhal is
a small, two-legged reptile with a skinny tail, a
long flexible neck, and a narrow, elongated
snout. Your size is Small.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.
Natural Weaponry. You are proficient in
unarmed weapon. You can attack with your bite
for 1d6 piercing damage.
48
 Jozhal Cunning. You have advantage on all
Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving
throws against magic.
Magical Lore. Whenever you make an
Intelligence (History) check related to magic
items, alchemical objects, or technological
devices, you can add twice your proficiency
bonus, instead of any proficiency bonus you
normally apply because of the jozhal’s fondness
for magic.
Chameleon Skin. You have advantage on
Stealth checks made for visual-based stealth or
49
hide attempts, because of your chameleon-like
control over your skin color.
Languages. You can speak Common and
Jozhal. Jozhal is a language composed of click,
pops, and whistles. Due to its unusual nature,
many who are not familiar with Jozhal will not
even recognize it as a language. The vast
majority of jozhals do not keep a written form of
their language, and the pyreen alphabet is the
only known writing system that can be adapted
to writing the jozhal tongue.
Pterran
“The people of the Tablelands know nothing of
life. They choose no Path for themselves, and
consume everything until they are dead.”
- Keltruch, pterran ranger
The Hinterlands west of the Ringing Mountains
are home to many different species of animals
and even a few intelligent races. The most
prominent sign of civilization is the pterrans of
the large villages of Pterran Vale and Lost Scale.
Prior to the Great Earthquake, when few people
left the confines of the Tyr Region, the only
pterrans ever encountered were those of the
small, primitive clans that settled near the rocky
barrens on the eastern side of the Ringing
Mountains. These pterrans bear only a
superficial resemblance to their cousins from the
Hinterland villages. Hinterland pterrans have
already made an impact on the societies of the
Tablelands. The free city of Tyr has exchanged
diplomatic envoys with Pterran Vale, and a few
of the more adventurous merchant houses have
begun establishing trade.
Pterrans are reptiloids with light brown, scaly
skin. There are no obvious physical
characteristics that distinguish males from
females. Pterrans stand upright, with two arms
that end in hands that have three taloned fingers
and an opposable thumb, and two legs with
three-toed feet. They have short tails and two
stubs at their shoulder blades-evidence of wings
that vanished many generations ago. Some
believe pterrans are related to the flying
creature called the pterrax, though the link must
be in the distant past.
The highly intelligent pterrans from the
Hinterland villages have begun exploring the Tyr
Region in earnest, hoping to find help from the
threats unleashed by the Great Earthquake. They
are particularly fearful of the thri-kreen emerging
from the Great Rift, though the continuing
aftershocks have wreaked destruction on the
twin villages.
Pterrans are reptiloids with light brown, scaly
skin who grow to be about 6 feet tall. A pterran
stands upright in the humanoid configuration,
though his two arms end in three-fingered,
talon-clawed hands with opposable thumbs, and
his two legs end in three-toed feet. A fin-like
growth juts from the back of a pterran’s head,
and he has a short tail and two shoulder stubs —
remnants of wings that vanished generations
ago.
All player character pterrans come from two
villages In the Hinterlands, Pterran Vale and Lost
Scale. They revere the world of Athas as their
Earth Mother, believing themselves to be her
first, best children. They see the recent
earthquake and aftershocks as the Earth
Mother’s call to action, and now the bravest of
these beings have left their homes to aid Athas in
her time of need. In particular, a pterran engages
50
in many celebrations throughout the day. Each
celebration gives thanks to the Earth Mother and
reinforces a pterran’s beliefs and faith.
In initial role-playing situations, a pterran
character should be unfamiliar with the customs
and practices of the societies of the Tyr Region.
However, these pterrans aren’t primitive by any
definition of the word. They’ll look upon
differences with curiosity and a willingness to
learn, as long as the custom doesn’t harm the
Earth Mother or her works. A pterran PC must
select a “Life Path” to follow. In one respect, a
Life Path is little more than another term for
class; in the role-playing aspect, however, Life
Path signifies a pterran’s deep devotion to a
chosen way of life.
The Pterran Adventurers table can serve as
inspiration for determining why a pterran
character leaves home.
Pterran Adventurers
d8 Reason for Adventuring
1 Outcast for murder
2 Outcast for severely damaging home territory
3 Clan slain by invading humanoids
4 Clan slain by a dragon or demon
5 Separated from the tribe and lost
6 Homeland destroyed by natural disaster
7 Personal quest ordained by omens
8 Dispatched on a quest by tribe leaders
Pterran Traits
Your pterran character has the following racial
traits.
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score
increases by 2, and your Strength score increases
by 1.
Age. Pterran have shorter lifespans than
humans. They reach maturity at about 16 years
old and can live to 50.
51
Alignment. Pterrans are a wary, subdued race
at first sight, but when others earn a pterran’s
trust, they see an open, caring, friendly
individual. As people who follow the rhythm of
nature and see themselves as its caretakers,
pterrans are typically neutral good. Evil pterrans
are rare and are usually the sworn enemies of
the rest of their kind.
Size. Adults grow to be about 6 feet tall. Your
weight is around 200-220 pounds. Your size is
Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Powerful Build. You count as one size larger
when determining your carrying capacity and the
weight you can push, drag, or lift.
Natural Armor Class. As a pterrans, you have a
natural Armor Class of 12 + your Dexterity
modifier.
Speech of Beast and Leaf. You have the ability
to communicate in a limited manner with beasts
and plants. They can understand the meaning of
your words, though you have no special ability to
understand them in return. You have advantage
on all Charisma checks you make to influence
them.
Bad of Hearing. Pterrans have only slits for
ears, and their hearing sense is diminished. You
have disadvantage on all Perception skill checks
that would require hearing to do so. It also
applies to your passive perception.
Wild Telepathy. All pterrans are gifted from
the day they hatch with the ability to use the
send thoughts psionic talent at will, but only with
their fellow reptiles.
Natural Weaponry. You are proficient in
unarmed weapon. If they are free, you can attack
with your claws for 2d4 slashing damage.
Pterran Weapon Training. You have
proficiency with the slodak and the thanak.
Languages. You can speak Common, Pterran
and Ssuran.
 were Targyulek's last hope in staving off the
Tarek incursion of the defiler Abalach-Re, future
Sorcerer-Queen of Raam. The earth primordial
With strong brows, long arms, thick hides, and a
made the tarek with a savage vision, he
maw full of sharp teeth, tareks are well adapted
ingrained them with a worship of the earth and a
to the wastes of Athas. These large brutish
natural hatred for defilers. Just as two plates of
beings are a terror to behold; sweeping down on
earth work together to cause massive
unknowing caravans with the blessings of their
earthquakes, tarek are naturally inclined to work
earth shamans upon them. Of the many races
together to crush their foes. For a time it seemed
that wander the Tablelands, tareks have a bond
that with the aid of his creations Targyulek would
with earth and stone like no other. It is
defeat the would-be sorcerer-queen.
whispered by those who know of such things
It is said Abalach-Re cursed the earth primordial
that the tarek people were created by a
with madness by showing Targyulek the
fearsome entity of elemental earth.
wasteland that Athas would become once the
Tareks are big, muscle-bound, and hairless
sorcerer-kings took power. Whatever the cause,
bipeds that inhabit the hilly and mountainous
the Domitor of Stone failed, and the result of
areas of Athas. They have square, big-boned
that final encounter had dire consequences for
heads with sloping foreheads and massive brow
the tarek of the tablelands.
ridges. Their flat noses have flared nostrils, and
Seething with madness, Targyulek commanded
their domed muzzles are full of sharp teeth.
his creations to make war on all of the fledgling
Their powerful arms are so long that their
sorcerer-monarchs and their people wherever
knuckles drag along the ground. Tareks have a
they were found. With no thought to
distinct musky odor that can be detected from as
themselves, the tareks did as their primordial
far away as 15 feet.
lord commanded and threw the weight of the
earth against the great defilers. In the initial
Tareks move with jerky, awkward strides except
assaults, many of the tarek people were
when engaged in combat. Then they exhibit a
slaughtered by the sorcerer-monarchs and their
style and grace usually uncommon in creatures
templars so that the tarek forces were soon
of their size and build. To watch them engage in
reduced to bands of raiders.
combat is to watch fluid motions that are as
artistic as dance - unless the viewer happens to
be on the receiving end of the deadly spectacle.
Earth shaman revolt
The tarek returned to their stone holes and
Tareks speak their own language, as well as the
earthen ramparts to lick their wounds, but the
common language of the Tyr region. Their voices
Domitor of Stone would not relent. Targyulek
are harsh and guttural, as fearful in tone as their
urged his people make perpetual war on the
appearance and lust as powerful.
great defilers. Ever dutiful, the tarek followed
their master. What else could they do? They
were the made of the stone of Targyulek.
History of the Tarek people Some years later, as the tarek continued their
lost cause, a great shaman named Ziraksuyl had a
Life as a slave race revelation. It was revealed to him that there
Targyulek, Domitor of Stone, a mighty primordial were other elemental earth lords; other great
earth lord, created the tarek people using the beings of stone and rock who would respect
mutating magic of the Pristine Tower. The tarek their worship instead of granting them only

52
madness and death. With this knowledge, and heavily on shamans for knowledge of the world
the reassurance of other primordial lords, outside of their territory.
Ziraksuyl began teaching the tareks a way that
was new, yet familiar to them.
With these new ideas the tribes began to
squabble about the ways of Earth and Rock.
Those loyal to Targyulek made war on the
followers of Ziraksuyl and his new primordial
master. Before long, the tareks ceased fighting
with the agents of the sorcerer-kings and were
consumed with an inner struggle to free
themselves from the domination of a crazed
primordial. The battle raged for years, and as
Targyulek's madness deepened, his grip on Athas
weakened.
Eventually, the war of tarek against tarek grew
less as the few crazed followers of Targyulek fled
into the wastes. Ziraksuyl's followers had, like
the earth they were crafted from, endured and
won. Targyulek has been forgotten by most tarek
tribes, but a few still pay homage to their
deranged creator.

Beliefs and Culture Earth Worship

The betrayal and madness of Targulek has left a
Tarek tribes continue as they have since their
deep psychological scar on the tarek people.
beginning, with leadership going to the most
While they still worship and revere the earth and
capable leader. This is usually the strongest,
its spirits they are also afraid of their power. It is
most violent warrior whether male or female.
for this reason that they keep their earth
This warrior will lead their tribe in raids to the
shamans at arm’s length.
surrounding lands with full wrath shown to elven
The earth shamans of tarek tribes always live
tribes, gith clans, or any group using arcane
well outside the area the tribe usually inhabit,
magic.
but within the tribe's mountainous or hilly
territory. The tribe pays homage to the earth
Magic
spirits with food and other necessities, which are
Tribal shamans have further ingrained the tarek
left at small shrines (usually within protected
people to believe that arcane magic was the
rock alcoves) for the shaman. The shaman act as
cause for their creation and the focal point for
spiritual leaders, councillors, and medicine men
their hatred. It is this intense hatred of arcane
for those of the tribe brave enough to climb cliff
magic and unpredictable violence that have
faces to find their hidden homes. Occasionally
isolated the tarek tribes from other Athasian
one of these brave souls will be taken on as an
cultures. As a result they have become even
apprentice. After some time learning the ways of
more isolated and xenophobic, depending more
the Earth, apprentices are often sent off to other

53
shamans to learn the ways of other tribes. It is
from this practice that the various tarek tribes
keep a common culture.
Psionics
The Way is generally a foreign concept to most
tareks. Psionics manifest themselves in the
majority of tareks as a force of The Will, and as
such those tareks who have psionics are usually
wild talents. Many tribal leaders are Wilders
(Dark Sun Campaign Setting p74) who have used
their psionics as an edge in tribal combat. Those
tareks who are able to train in the psionic arts
usually become Battleminds, and some who
leave the savage tribal lifestyle join monasteries
to become Monks.
Physiology of the Tarek
Physically tareks are a tall, tough race. They have
long arms and short legs, compared to a human,
and they are often seen using their long powerful
arms to aid them in running. Their skin can be
any color and texture of stone, usually varying by
tribe. As creations of an elemental being, tareks
are comfortable with their natural earthy, musky
smell. Tareks will not bathe with water, but have
been known to rub dirt on themselves to dry and
remove blood if necessary.
Tareks have square thick boned heads with
pronounced brow ridges and will often head butt
foes in combat. They have pointed ears and flat
wide noses. Most adult tareks have a muzzle full
of teeth filed to points, this is done as a rite of
passage and is the mark of a warrior in their
tribal society.
Physically tareks are most well known for their
ability to continue fighting despite a mortal blow.
Most assume this is a side effect of their violent
and aggressive dispositions, but a few curious
arena necromancers who have chosen to get to
the heart of that matter have discovered that all
members of the tarek race possess two hearts. It
is this second heart that allows tareks a few
more moments to dispatch their enemies or
receive the healing blessings of their earth
shamans.
Tareks in Combat
Whether for their fearsome visage or deathless
prowess, tareks are prized as slaves and warriors
of the arenas of all seven cities of the Tyr Region.
In daily life tareks are often viewed as a
lumbering dull race by people of the Tablelands,
but in the midst of war there are few creatures
with more grace. Their long arms allow for
smooth flowing movements backed up with
terrible strength. Their short thick legs allow for
powerful charges and leaps. In addition, some
say that the tarek people are innately linked
psionically at a very primitive, allowing for a level
of cooperation and teamwork not seen in other
races.
The tarek ability to fight beyond a mortal blow is
forefront in their minds during a melee. If they
believe they can strike a killing blow tareks have
no problem showing a vulnerability to kill their
foe. Tareks are immensely loyal to each other
and will willingly take a blow for their tribe-
mates or arena partner.
Weapons
In the arena or in tribal raids tareks are oft seen
wielding some combination of the dreaded
heartpick and the vicious hand fork. The
heartpick is usually made of bone and consists of
a thin serrated curved blade set perpendicular to
a two foot shaft. While the blade is set to the
front the back of a heartpick is either a flat head
or a short spike. The hand fork is composed of a
one handed hilt and a crossbar. From the
crossbar extends three dagger like blades, the
outer blades are slightly curved away from the
center blade and the center blade is slightly
shorter. The outer blades are usually made of
54
stone while the inner blade is made of obsidian.
The hand fork is also commonly used as a
ceremonial weapon, thus it is not unheard of to
find it made from iron or steel.
Tareks commonly fight with two weapons, either
two heartpicks or heartpick and handfork where
the hand fork is primarily used as a parrying,
offhand weapon. Using their natural teamwork
tarek are often seen parrying blows for each
other using the hand fork. For ranged weapons,
tareks commonly use stone or bone tipped
javelins.
Most tribal tareks will not wear any type of
armor, instead relying on their tough hide, or the
blessings of their earth shamans. Tareks that
have become gladiators or have otherwise come
to inhabit the city-states will wear armor that
still offers freedom of moment, such as hide or
leather.
Tarek Lands
Tarek prefer to be surrounded by earth and
stone. Their tribal villages are most often found
in mountains, but they also make their homes in
cliff faces amid rocky badlands, or in
underground caves in hilly terrain. A few tarek
tribes have even been known to make crude
stone huts in flatter terrain.
Tribes of the Beastbarrens
The mutating magic of the Pristine Tower has
warped many tarek tribes, making the tarek
tribes of the Beastbarrens are some of the most
xenophobic and savage of all tarek tribes. The
Tribe of Ghurmazl especially. Ghurmazl is a tarek
who was born near the Tower and his stone-like
skin mutation has ensured that the fists and
weapons of challengers and enemies do not
harm him. Ghurmazl is chief of the Ghazkulg
(Stone Skin) Tribe, a large tribe that numbers
nearly 200. The Ghazkulg regularly make war
55
with the minotaur half-giants of the Broken
Butte.
Contrary to the personality of Ghurmazl is
Havrathak, a particularly cunning tarek who rules
of small tribe of 30 members. Havrathak's tribe is
known as the Kisukreg (Pure Blood) Tribe.
Havrathak regularly purges any tareks with the
slightest mutation. The Kisugreg earth shamans
espouse that the way they were created is the
way they should remain.
Tribes of the Gauntlets
While the Beastbarrens have many tarek tribes,
others have traveled far from where they were
created near the Pristine Tower. In the
mountains called the Gauntlets east of Raam
loyal descendants of Targyulek's followers
remain. Theses tribes have fully succumbed to
their mad lords will. The tribes of Kisutrek (,
Stone Blood), and Targgol (Earth Bound)
continue the war of their mad creator, attacking
all within their territories. Each of these tribes
number between 50 and 60.
Tribes of The Mountains of the Teeth
The Fhahdrek tribe of the Mountains of the
Teeth, on the southern edge of the Estuary of
the Forked tongue, have turned from the
worship of earth. One of the few tribes to break
away from earth worship, the Fhadrek tribe
worships a primordial fire being and sing its
praises when they make war on the Tamwar
people to the south. Hazruken, tarek shaman of
the Fhadrek rules the tribe with a fiery fist. The
Fhadrek tribe has around 80 members.
Tribes of the Ringing Mountains
Southwest of Tyr the Groggond (Mountains Sons)
Tribe is the undisputed master of several
mountain peaks and valleys high in the Ringing
Mountains. Despite their isolation, or perhaps
because of it, the Groggond Tribe is more open
to visitors than other tarek tribes. The lord of the
Groggond is Trazyuk, a powerful natural psion
who leads his tribe with intelligence and cunning.
Trazyuk is not physically the strongest in his
tribe, but he is no weakling, as many contenders
to his position have found, being receiving end of
his crushing mind powers.
Tareks of Note
Aside from the chiefs and shamans of the above
tribes, many tarek have left their people to make
a name for themselves or to leave the savage
culture of their people.
Kester is the captain of the Shadow Viper, a slave
run silt skimmer based in Balic. Kester flaunts her
wealth by wearing three copper hoops in her
ears. Kester is honorable and if she has taken
money for a service she will complete it to the
best of her ability.
Chilod, leads the village of Pillage in the Bandit
States far to the north. Pillage has a volatile mix
of races from humans and tarek, to b'rohg and
braxat. Chilod leads through intimidation and
directs his villagers' anger outward, toward the
other Bandit States.
Vreketh, one time gladiator turned stable master
in Balic. This tarek has a nasty disposition and
has killed several of his own gladiators, but the
bottom line pleases the Balican nobles who
sponsor his stable. Vreketh hires scores of slave
hunters to find the very best that the wastes
offer. He specializes in unusual, intelligent
gladiators such as braxat, anakore, b'rogh, and
other beings of the Tablelands, including his own
people.
Trengellek & Krellesk, better known as Pick and
Fork, are a free gladiator pair that travel the
seven City-States. The gladiator pair were given
their freedom by a Tyrian templar named Dyonis
Moisakos in exchange for traveling the City-
States and reporting on what the pair sees.
Enemies and Allies
At best, tarek are indifferent to most of the races
of the Tablelands, but they harbor a special
hatred for gith. Tarek believe the gith corrupt the
land with their foul ways. Gith and tarek also
seek to inhabit the same territories, such as
mountain ranges and rocky badlands, causing
competition for the meager food and water that
Athas offers.
The tarek hatred of defiling is extended to all
arcane magic and any who wield it. Chief among
these offenders are the elven people. Elves, who
are known for their love of magic, are reviled for
their association with all things arcane. If two
enemies present themselves, tareks will usually
choose to attack the elf. If a gith and an elf
present themselves as enemies a tarek warrior
has a difficult choice to make.
Few races will ally themselves with tarek, but the
Hejkin do so willingly and often. The earth
creatures have much in common such as
devoted worship to earth, hatred of spellcasters,
and maintain violent societies. Tarek and Hejkin
earth shamans often trade primal mysteries and
worldly information for the good of both races.
Mixed war parties often work together to
destroy gith and elf clans, with the hejkin coming
from below as the tarek raid from the surface.
Tareks as PCs:
To make a tarek PC choose the Half-Orc race in
the character builder. Your game stats are the
same as the Half-Orc. Below you'll find story
traits specific to the tarek race.
Physical Qualities
Born of the mutating magic of the Pristine Tower
and primordial energies of the Elemental Chaos,
tareks embody the savageness of Athas. They
have ruddy thick skin, long arms, a sloped
forehead with heavy brow ridges, and slightly
56
pointed ears. Their short legs give them an or a gladiator school, tarek young are subjected
ungainly gait which gives way to grace in the to severe training and toil. As a result tarek
midst of slaying their foes in combat. usually take time to warm to others, if at all.
Tareks who have proven themselves in battle will Many remain violent destructive sociopaths, but
often notch their own ears. Combined with a a few can overcome their upbringing. A tarek
common practice of filing their teeth into sharp who has befriended members of another race is
points, tarek take on a bestial visage. Their skin a fierce loyal ally.
and eye color are usually earthy tones with dark
brown being the most common, and gray or red-
orange less so. Tareks are hairless, and are Tarek Characteristics:
known to emit a strong musky odor. Savage, brutal, short-tempered, xenophobic,
While they mature at the same rate as humans, loyal, steadfast, violent
tareks do not usually live to see their 40th High Male Names: Kilorthrak, Rathgikek, Lywfenk,
Sun do to their brutal culture and violent nature. Trathsuyl, Kissfedg
Female Name: Felorn, Kester, Kisal, Zikulg,
Gystun, Tragun
Tarek Adventurers
Tarek leave their tribes for many reasons. These
reasons can include a time of wandering if the
tarek is an earth priest, or perhaps they have
grown tired of the brutal lifestyle of the tarek
people and seek a more civilized life. A brave
warrior may also have been sent on a quest for
the tribe or an earth shaman.
In the "civilized" lands of the Tablelands, tareks
sometimes have difficulty adjusting to the soft
culture of the city-dwellers. Tareks often have to
restrain themselves from challenging others to
prove their strength on a regular basis. However,
if a matched pair of tareks enters the arena, their
savage nature as gladiators can provide them
bloody outlets.
Many tareks are brought to the civilized world
against their wishes as slaves. As a slave, a tarek
will usually be used as brute force labor or sent
to the arenas as a gladiator. Should a tarek be
freed from slavery, some will continue with the
civilized life, often adventuring or joining a slave
tribe - a lifestyle that is reminiscent of their tribal
roots.
Tarek culture raises brutal xenophobic raiders
and few tareks have remorse or a conscience to
hold them back. Whether raised in a tarek tribe

57
Tarek Traits Savage Attacks. When you score a critical hit
with a melee weapon attack, you can roll one of
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score
the weapon’s damage dice one additional time
increases by 2, and your Constitution score
and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit.
increase by 1.
Tarek Weapons Training. You have proficiency
Age. Tareks mature a bit quicker rate than
with the handfork and the hearthpick.
humans do and reach adulthood around the age
Natural Weaponry. You have proficiency with
of 14. They age noticeably faster and rarely live
unarmed strikes, and it deals 1d4 bludgeoning
longer than 80 years.
damage.
Alignment. Tareks inherit a tendency toward
Tarek Teamwork. Tarek work in team with at
chaos from their orc parents and are not strongly
least one other tarek has advantage on an Attack
inclined toward good. Tareks raised among
roll against a creature if at least one of the
Tareks and willing to live out their lives among
tarek's tarek allies is within 5 ft. of the creature
them are usually evil.
and the ally isn't Incapacitated.
Size. Tarek are somewhat larger and bulkier
Musk Odor. Tarek emanate a musk odor. The
than humans, and they range from 5 to well over
musk odor has a radius of 30 ft. And you have
6 feet tall. Your size is Medium.
disadvantage on stealth checks if someone could
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
smell the odor in the radius. The penalties do not
Darkvision. You have superior vision in dark
apply outside this area. It also gives you
and dim conditions. You can see in dim light
disadvantage on Charisma skill checks.
within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and
Languages. You can speak Common and Tarek.
in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t
Tarek is a harsh, grating language with hard
discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
consonants. It has no script of its own but is
Menacing. You gain proficiency in the
written in the Barazhad script.
Intimidation skill.
Relentless Endurance. When you are reduced
to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can
drop to 1 hit point instead. You can’t use this
feature again until you finish a long rest.
Random Age, Height and Weight

Base Height Base Weight Starting Starting Age Maximum Maximum

Race (Male) Height Modifier Weight Modifier Age Modifier Age Age Modifier
Human 5' +2d8 140 lb. +6d10 15 +1d8 80 +2d20
Dwarf 4'2" +2d4 180 lb. +4d10 25 +4d6 200 +3d20
Elf 6'6" +2d8 160 lb. +3d10 15 +3d4 100 +2d20
Half-elf 5'10" +2d6 120 lb. +3d12 15 +2d4 90 +2d20
Halfling 3' +1d8 50 lb. +5d4 25 +3d6 90 +4d12
Mul 5'6" +2d6 220 lb. +5d20 15 +1d6 80 +1d10
Thri-kreen* 6'10" +1d4 450 lb. +1d20 6 - 25 +1d10
Half-giant 10'5" +3d10 1500 lb. +3d100 20 +5d4 120 +1d100
Kenku 5'3" +1d6 100 lb. +1d20 11 +1d4 50 +1d10
Aarakocra 6'6" +2d8 90 lb. +2d10 10 +1d4 34 +1d10
Pterran 5' +2d8 170 lb. +4d10 + 10 12 +1d8 40 +1d10
Tarek 4'10" +2d10 165 lb. +6d10 12 +1d4 60 +1d20
Dray, 1st Generation 6'2" +2d12 180 lb. +2d10 12 +1d4 70 +2d10
Dray, 2nd Generation 6'4" +2d12 170 lb. +3d10 15 +1d10 120 +2d12
Jozhal 36 +3d4 75 lb. +2d12 12 +1d10 90 +1d100
Gith 6'6" +2d8 160 lb. +3d10 12 +1d4 60 +1d20

58
 Base Height Base Weight Starting Starting Age Maximum Maximum
Race (Female) Height Modifier Weight Modifier Age Modifier Age Age Modifier
Human 4'11" +2d8 100 lb. +6d10 15 +1d8 80 +2d20
Dwarf 4' +2d4 170 lb. +4d10 25 +4d6 200 +3d20
Elf 6' +2d8 130 lb. +3d10 15 +3d4 100 +2d20
Half-elf 5'8" +2d6 95 lb. +3d12 15 +2d4 90 +2d20
Halfling 2'10" +1d8 46 lb. +5d4 25 +3d6 90 +4d12
Mul 5'5" +2d6 180 lb. +5d20 15 +1d6 80 +1d10
Thri-kreen* 6'10" +1d4 450 lb. +1d20 6 - 25 +1d10
Half-giant 10'5" +3d10 1450 lb. +3d100 20 +5d4 120 +1d100
Kenku 5' +1d6 90 lb. +1d20 11 +1d4 50 +1d10
Aarakocra 6'3" +2d8 75 lb. +2d10 10 +1d4 34 +1d10
Pterran 4'11" +2d8 160 lb. +4d10 + 10 12 +1d8 40 +1d10
Tarek 4'9" +2d10 155 lb. +6d10 12 +1d4 60 +1d20
Dray, 1st Generation 6' +2d12 170 lb. +2d10 12 +1d4 70 +2d10
Dray, 2nd Generation 6' +2d12 150 lb. +3d10 15 +1d10 120 +2d12
Jozhal 34 +3d4 70 lb. +2d12 12 +1d10 90 +1d100
Gith 6' +2d8 130 lb. +3d10 12 +1d4 60 +1d20

Classes availability to Races

Defiler Preserver
Races Fighter Ranger Barbarian Wizard Wizard Cleric Druid Rogue Bard Psionic Templar
Human O O O O O O O O O O O
Dwarf O O O N O O N O N O O
Elf O O O O O O N O O O O
Half-elf O O O O O O O O O O O
Halfling O O O N O O O O O O N
Mul O N O N N O O O N O N
Thri-kreen O O O N N O O N N O N
Half-giant O O O N N O N N N O N
Kenku O N O N N O N O N O N
Aarakocra O O O N O O O O N O N
Pterran O O N N N N O O N O N
Tarek O O O N N O N O O O N
Dray, 1st Generation O O O N N O N O N O N
Dray, 2nd Generation O O O O N N N O N O O*
Jozhal O N N N O O O O N O N
Gith O N O N N O N O N O N

* Second generation Dray may only become Templars for Dregoth as they were created by him.

59
Feats
Weapon Master (variation). You have practiced
extensively with a variety of weapons, gaining
the following benefits:

- Increase your Strength or Dexterity score by 1,

to a maximum of 20.
- You gain proficiency with four weapons of your
choice. Each one must be a simple or a martial
weapon.
- You can use two of your proficiency slots to
become proficient with an exotic weapon.
- You can use one of your proficiency slots to
because specialized in a simple or a martial
weapon that you are proficient with. When you
do, you gain specialized manoeuvres use
described in the equipment section.

60

Fighter Class
A human in clanging braxat armor holds her
shield before her as she runs toward the massed
goblins. An elf behind her, clad in studded kank
leather armor, peppers the goblins with arrows
loosed from his exquisite bow. The tarek nearby
shouts orders, helping the two combatants
coordinate their assault to the best advantage.
A dwarf in mekillot hide armor interposes his
shield between the giant’s club and his
companion, knocking the deadly blow aside. His
companion, a half-elf in inix scale armor, swings
two scimitars in a blinding whirl as she circles the
giant, looking for a blind spot in its defenses.
A gladiator fights for sport in an arena, a master
with his trident and net, skilled at toppling foes
and moving them around for the crowd’s
delight—and his own tactical advantage. His
opponent’s sword flares with blue light an
instant before she sends lightning flashing forth
to smite him.
All of these heroes are fighters, perhaps the
most diverse class of characters in the worlds of
Dungeons & Dragons. Questing combatant,
conquering overlords, arena champions, elite
foot soldiers, hardened mercenaries, and bandit
kings—as fighters, they all share an unparalleled
mastery with weapons and armor, and a
thorough knowledge of the skills of combat. And
they are well acquainted with death, both
meting it out and staring it defiantly in the face.
Well-Rounded Specialists
Fighters learn the basics of all combat styles.
Every fighter can swing an axe, fence with wrist
razors, wield a longsword or a greatsword, use a
bow, and even trap foes in a net with some
degree of skill. Likewise, a fighter is adept with
shields and every form of armor. Beyond that
61
basic degree of familiarity, each fighter
specializes in a certain style of combat. Some
concentrate on archery, some on fighting with
two weapons at once, and some on augmenting
their martial skills with magic. This combination
of broad general ability and extensive
specialization makes fighters superior
combatants on battlefields and in dungeons
alike.
Trained for Danger
Not every member of the city watch, the village
militia, or the queen’s army is a fighter. Most of
these troops are relatively untrained soldiers
with only the most basic combat knowledge.
Veteran soldiers, military officers, trained
bodyguards, dedicated knights, and similar
figures are fighters.
Some fighters feel drawn to use their training as
adventurers. The dungeon delving, monster
slaying, and other dangerous work common
among adventurers is second nature for a
fighter, not all that different from the life he or
she left behind. There are greater risks, perhaps,
but also much greater rewards—few fighters in
the city watch have the opportunity to discover a
magic flame tongue sword, for example.
Creating a Fighter
As you build your fighter, think about two
related elements of your character’s background:
Where did you get your combat training, and
what set you apart from the mundane warriors
around you? Were you particularly ruthless? Did
you get extra help from a mentor, perhaps
because of your exceptional dedication? What
drove you to this training in the first place? A
threat to your homeland, a thirst for revenge, or
a need to prove yourself might all have been
factors.

You might have enjoyed formal training in a
noble’s army or in a local militia. Perhaps you
Class Features
As a fighter, you gain the following class features.
Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d10 per fighter level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per fighter level after 1st
Proficiencies
Armor: All armor, shields
Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons, exotic weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Strength, Constitution
Skills: Choose two skills from Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Athletics, History, Insight, Intimidation,
Perception, and Survival
trained in a war academy, learning strategy,
tactics, and military history. Or you might be self-
taught—unpolished but well tested. Did you take
up the sword as a way to escape the limits of life
on a farm, or are you following a proud family
tradition? Where did you acquire your weapons
and armor? They might have been military issue
or family heirlooms, or perhaps you scrimped
and saved for years to buy them. Your
armaments are now among your most important
possessions—the only things that stand between
you and death’s embrace.
QUICK BUILD
You can make a fighter quickly by following these
suggestions. First, make Strength or Dexterity
your highest ability score, depending on whether
you want to focus on melee weapons or on
archery (or finesse weapons). Your next-highest
score should be Constitution, or Intelligence if
you plan to adopt the Eldritch Knight martial
archetype. Second, choose the soldier
background.
62
 Proficiency
Level Features
Bonus
1st +2 Fighting Style, Second Wind
2nd +2 Action Surge (one use)
3rd +2 Martial Archetype, Weapon Instructor
4th +2 Ability Score Improvement, War Machinery Proficiency
5th +3 Extra Attack
6th +3 Ability Score Improvement, War Defenses
7th +3 Martial Archetype Feature, Army Commanding
8th +3 Ability Score Improvement
9th +4 Indomitable (one use)
10th +4 Martial Archetype Feature
11th +4 Extra Attack (2)
12th +4 Ability Score Improvement
13th +5 Indomitable (two uses)
14th +5 Ability Score Improvement
15th +5 Martial Archetype Feature
16th +5 Ability Score Improvement
17th +6 Action Surge (two uses), Indomitable (three uses)
18th +6 Martial Archetype Feature
19th +6 Ability Score Improvement
20th +6 Extra Attack (3)

Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
 (a) braxat hide armor or (b) carru leather armor, longbow, and 20 stone arrows
 (a) a stone martial weapon and a erdlu scales shield or (b) two stone martial weapons
 (a) a light crossbow and 20 stone bolts or (b) two stone handaxes
 (a) a dungeoneer’s pack or (b) an explorer’s pack

63
Fighting Style
You adopt a particular style of fighting as your
specialty. Choose one of the following options.
You can’t take a Fighting Style option more than
once, even if you later get to choose again.
o Archery. You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls
you make with ranged weapons.
o Defense. While you are wearing armor, you
gain a +1 bonus to AC.
o Dueling. When you are wielding a melee
weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you
gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that
weapon.
o Protection. When a creature you can see
attacks a target other than you that is within 5
feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose
disadvantage on the attack roll. You must be
wielding a shield.
o Two-Weapon Fighting. When you engage
in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability
modifier to the damage of the second attack.
o Close Quarters Shooter. You are trained in
making ranged attack at close quarters. When
making a ranged attack while you are within 5
feet of a hostile creature, you do not have
disadvantage on the attack roll. Your ranged
attacks ignore half cover and three-quarters
cover against targets within 30 feet of you.
Finally, you have a +1 bonus to attack rolls on
ranged attacks.
o Mounted Archery. While you are mounted,
you can use a bonus action to make a single
weapon attack with a ranged weapon you are
proficient in. If you do so, you cannot attack a
creature beyond the weapon's normal range.
Also, you suffer no disadvantage for doing
ranged attack while been mounted.
o Blind Fighting. Being unable to see a
creature doesn’t impose disadvantage on your
attack rolls against it, provided the creature isn’t
hidden from you.
o Thrown Weapon Fighting. You can draw a
weapon that has the thrown property as part of
the attack you make with the weapon.
In addition, when you hit with a ranged attack
using a thrown weapon, you gain a +1 bonus to
the damage roll.
o Interception. When a creature you can see
hits a target that is within 5 feet of you with an
attack, you can use your reaction to reduce the
damage the target takes by 1d10 + your
proficiency bonus (to a minimum of 0 damage).
You must be wielding a shield or a simple or
martial weapon to use this reaction.
o Tunnel Fighter. You excel at defending
narrow passages, doorways, and other tight
spaces. As a bonus action, you can enter a
defensive stance that lasts until the start of your
next turn. While in your defensive stance, you
can make opportunity attacks without using your
reaction, and you can use your reaction to make
a melee attack against a creature that moves
more than 5 feet while within your reach.
o Double Weapon Fighting. When you are
wielding a double weapon, you can add your
ability modifier to the damage of the second
attack.
o Unarmed Fighting. Your unarmed strikes
can deal bludgeoning damage equal to 1d6 +
your Strength modifier. If you strike with two
free hands, the d6 becomes a d8.
When you successfully start a grapple, you can
deal 1d4 bludgeoning damage to the grappled
creature. Until the grapple ends, you can also
deal this damage to the creature whenever you
hit it with a melee attack.
Second Wind
You have a limited well of stamina that you can
draw on to protect yourself from harm. On your
turn, you can use a bonus action to regain hit
points equal to 1d10 + your fighter level. Once
you use this feature, you must finish a short or
long rest before you can use it again.
64
Action Surge
Starting at 2nd level, you can push yourself
beyond your normal limits for a moment. On
your turn, you can take one additional action on
top of your regular action and a possible bonus
action.
Once you use this feature, you must finish a
short or long rest before you can use it again.
Starting at 17th level, you can use it twice before
a rest, but only once on the same turn.
Martial Archetype
At 3rd level, you choose an archetype that you
strive to emulate in your combat styles and
techniques. Choose Champion, Battle Master,
Scout, Sharpshooter, or Gladiator, all detailed at
the end of the class description. The archetype
you choose grants you features at 3rd level and
again at 7th, 10th, 15th, and 18th level.
Weapon Instructor
A fighter can teach weapon proficiencies when
he reaches 3rd level and can train students in the
use of any weapon in which he is specialized. The
fighter may train a number of students equal to
his level in a single “training class.” A training
class requires eight hours of study each and
every day for one month of downtime. At the
end of that time, each student must make an
Intelligence check. Those who pass gain a bonus
proficiency slot in that weapon. A student may
only be trained once, regardless of success, with
a specific weapon. Students can learn any
number of new proficiencies in this manner,
even beyond those slots normally allowed for a
character of that level.
War Machinery Proficiency
A fighter is proficient to operate heavy war
machines when he reaches 4th level, including
bombardment engines (such as ballistae,
65
catapults, and trebuchets), crushing engines
(such as rams and bores), and siege towers.
Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 4th level, and again at 6th, 8th,
12th, 14th, 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.
Extra Attack
Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice,
instead of once, whenever you take the Attack
action on your turn.
The number of attacks increases to three when
you reach 11th level in this class and to four
when you reach 20th level in this class.
War Defenses
A fighter is proficient to supervise the
construction of defenses when he reaches 6th
level. These include ditches and pits, fields of
stakes, hasty stone and wooden barricades, and
even semi-permanent stone fortifications.
Army Commanding
A fighter can command large numbers of troops
when he reaches 7th level. In role-playing terms,
the fighter has mastered the skills and
techniques to take charge of 100 soldiers per
level. This includes terminology, use of
messengers and signals, use of psionic and
magical aids to communication, etc.
Indomitable
Beginning at 9th level, you can reroll a saving
throw that you fail. If you do so, you must use
the new roll, and you can’t use this feature again
until you finish a long rest.
You can use this feature twice between long
rests starting at 13th level and three times
between long rests starting at 17th level.
Martial Archetypes
Different fighters choose different approaches to
perfecting their fighting prowess. The martial
archetype you choose to emulate reflects your
approach.
Champion
The archetypal Champion focuses on the
development of raw physical power honed to
deadly perfection. Those who model themselves
on this archetype combine rigorous training with
physical excellence to deal devastating blows.
Improved Critical
Beginning when you choose this archetype at 3rd
level, your weapon attacks score a critical hit on
a roll of 19 or 20.
Remarkable Athlete
Starting at 7th level, you can add half your
proficiency bonus (round up) to any Strength,
Dexterity, or Constitution check you make that
doesn’t already use your proficiency bonus.
In addition, when you make a running long jump,
the distance you can cover increases by a
number of feet equal to your Strength modifier.
Additional Fighting Style or Superior Fighting
Style
At 10th level, your mastery of your fighting style
deepens. You can choose a second option from
the Fighting Style feature you gain at 1st level, or
you can choose an improved version of a fighting
style you already know as detailed below. The
improved version replaces the original one.
o Superior Archery. You gain a +3 bonus to
attack rolls you make with ranged weapons.
o Superior Dueling. When you are wielding a
melee weapon in one hand and no other
weapons, you gain a +4 bonus to damage rolls
with that weapon.
o Superior Defense. While you are wearing
armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC. You also gain a
+1 bonus to all saving throws.
o Superior Protection. When a creature you
can see attacks a target other than you that is
within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to
impose disadvantage on the attack roll and make
an opportunity attack against the attacker. You
must be wielding a shield.
o Superior Great Weapon Fighting. When
you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack
you make with a melee weapon that you are
wielding with two hands, you can roll an
additional damage die. The weapon must have
the two-handed or versatile property for you to
gain this benefit.
o Superior Two-Weapon Fighting. When you
engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add
your ability modifier to the damage of the
second attack. You gain a +1 bonus to AC while
you are wielding a separate melee weapon in
each hand.
Superior Critical
Starting at 15th level, your weapon attacks score
a critical hit on a roll of 18–20.
Survivor
At 18th level, you attain the pinnacle of
resilience in battle. At the start of each of your
turns, you regain hit points equal to 5 + your
Constitution modifier if you have no more than
half of your hit points left. You don’t gain this
benefit if you have 0 hit points.
66
Battle Master
Battle Masters excel at controlling the
battlefield. They specialize in combat
manoeuvres that distract, goad, and manipulate
their enemies with deadly precision. They are
well rounded fighters who have a trick for nearly
every situation.
Combat Superiority
You learn combat manoeuvres empowered by
superiority dice.
Manoeuvres
You learn three special manoeuvres from the list
below. Many manoeuvres enhance an attack in
some way. You can use only one manoeuvre per
attack. You learn two additional manoeuvres of
your choice at 7th, 10th, and 15th level. Each
time you learn new manoeuvres, you can also
replace one manoeuvre you know with a
different one.
Superiority Dice
You start with 4 superiority dice, which are d8s,
and you expend one whenever you use a
manoeuvre. You regain them all when you finish
a short or long rest. You gain another superiority
die at 7th level and one more at 15th level.
Saving Throws
If a manoeuvre requires a saving throw, the DC is
8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength or
Dexterity modifier (your choice).
Student of War
Your study of the art of war not only in battle but
out of it grants you a proficiency in an artisan
tool of your choice.
67
Study Your Enemy
When you reach 7th level, you can spend 1
minute watching your enemy in or out of
combat. Doing so gives you information about
their abilities. The DM can then tell you if the
following enemy abilities are your equal to,
stronger, or weaker than your own:
 Strength ability score
 Dexterity ability score
 Constitution ability score
 AC
 Current HP
 Total levels (if any)
 Fighter levels (if any)
Improved Superior Combat
When you reach 10th level, your superiority dice
turn into d10. When you reach level 18, your
dice turn into d12.
Relentless
Starting at level 15, whenever you roll for
initiative and have zero superiority dice, you get
1 superiority die back.
Maneuver Choices
Commanding Strike: When you take the Attack
action on your turn, you can forgo one of your
attacks and use a bonus action to direct one of
your companions to strike. When you do so,
choose a friendly creature who can see or hear
you and expend one superiority die. That
creature can immediately use its reaction to
make one weapon attack, adding the superiority
die to the attack's damage roll. This effectively
gives your ally a chance to attack on your turn,
which allow for use of any turn-based benefits
including Sneak Attack.
Disarming Attack: When you hit a creature with
a weapon attack, you can expend one superiority
die to attempt to disarm the target, forcing it to
drop one item of your choice that it's holding.
You add the superiority die to the attack's
damage roll, and the target must make a
Strength saving throw. On a failed save, it drops
the object you choose. The object lands at its
feet.
Distracting Strike: When you hit a creature with
a weapon attack, you can expend one superiority
die to distract the creature, giving your allies an
opening. You add the superiority die to the
attack's damage roll. The next attack roll against
the target by an attacker other than you has
advantage if the attack is made before the start
of your next turn.
Evasive Footwork: When you move on your turn,
you can expend a superiority die, adding the
total to your AC until you stop moving.
Feinting Attack: You can expend one superiority
die and use a bonus action on your turn to feint,
choosing one creature within 5 feet of you as
your target. Until the end of the turn, you have
advantage on your next attack roll against that
creature. If that attack hits, add the superiority
die to the attack's damage roll.
Goading Attack: When you hit a creature with a
weapon attack, you can expend one superiority
die to attempt to goad the target into attacking
you. You add the superiority die to the attack's
damage roll, and the target must make a
Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the
target has a disadvantage on all attack rolls
against targets other than you until the end of
your next turn.
Lunging Attack: When you make a melee
weapon attack on your turn, you can expend one
superiority die to increase your reach for that
attack by 5 feet. If you hit, you add the
superiority die to the attack's damage roll.
Manoeuvring Attack: When you hit a creature
with a weapon attack, you can expend one
superiority die to maneuver one of your
comrades into a more advantageous position.
You add the superiority die to the attack's
damage roll, and you choose a friendly creature
who can see or hear you. That creature can use
its reaction to move up to half its speed without
provoking opportunity attacks from the target of
your attack.
Menacing Attack: When you hit a creature with
a weapon attack, you can expend one superiority
die to attempt to frighten the target. You add the
superiority die to the attack's damage roll, and
the target must make a Wisdom saving throw.
On a failed save, it is frightened of you until the
end of your next turn.
Parry: When another creature damages you with
a melee attack, you can use your reaction and
expend one superiority die to reduce the
damage by the number you roll on your
superiority die + your Dexterity modifier.
Precision Attack: When you make a weapon
attack roll against a creature, you can expend
one superiority die to add it to the roll. You can
use this manoeuvre before or after making the
attack roll, but before any effects of the attack
are applied.
Pushing Attack: When you hit a creature with a
weapon attack, you can expend one superiority
die to attempt to drive the target back. You add
the superiority die to the attack's damage roll,
and if the target is Large or smaller, it must make
a Strength saving throw. On a failed save, you
push the target up to 15 feet away from you.
Rally: On your turn, you can use a bonus action
and expend one superiority die to bolster the
resolve of one of your companions. When you do
so, choose a friendly creature who can see or
hear you. That creature gains temporary hit
points equal to the superiority die roll + your
Charisma modifier.
68
Riposte: When a character misses you with a
melee attack, you can use your reaction and
expend one superiority die to make a melee
attack against the creature. If you hit, you add
the superiority die to the attack's damage roll.
Sweeping Attack: When you hit a creature with a
melee weapon attack, you can expend one
superiority die to attempt to damage another
creature with the same attack. Choose another
creature within 5 feet of the original target and
within your reach. If the original attack roll would
hit the second creature, it takes damage equal to
the number you roll on your superiority die. T he
damage is of the same type dealt by the original
attack.
Trip Attack: When you hit a creature with a
weapon attack, you can expend one superiority
die to attempt to knock the target down. You
add the superiority die to the attack's damage
roll, and if the target is Large or smaller, it must
make a Strength saving throw or be knocked
prone.
Scout
The archetypal Scout excels at finding safe
passage through dangerous regions. Scouts
usually favor light armor and ranged weapons,
but they are comfortable using heavier gear
when faced with intense fighting.
Bonus Proficiencies
When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you
gain proficiency in three of the following skills of
your choice: Acrobatics, Athletics, Investigation,
Medicine, Nature, Perception, Stealth, or
Survival. You can choose to gain proficiency with
thieves’ tools in place of one skill choice.
69
Combat Superiority
At 3rd level, you gain a set of abilities that are
fueled by special dice called superiority dice. You
have four superiority dice, which are d8s. A
superiority die is expended when you use it. You
regain all of your expended superiority dice
when you finish a long or short rest. You gain
another superiority die at 7th level and one more
at 15th level. You can expend superiority dice to
gain a number of different benefits:
 When you make a check that allows you
to apply your proficiency in Athletics, Nature,
Perception, Stealth, or Survival, you can expend
one superiority die to bolster the check. Add half
the number rolled on the superiority die
(rounding up) to your check. You apply this
bonus after making the check but before learning
if it was successful.
 When you make a weapon attack against
a creature, you can expend one superiority die to
add it to the attack roll. You can use this ability
before or after making the attack roll, but before
any of the effects of the attack are applied.
 If you are hit by an attack while wearing
light or medium armor, you can expend one
superiority die as a reaction, adding the number
rolled to your AC. If the attack still hits, you take
half damage from it.
Natural Explorer
At 3rd level, you gain the ranger class feature of
the same name, with the following alteration:
 You choose additional favored terrain
types at 7th and 15th level.
 Alternately your DM may let you take the
UA Revised Ranger version of Natural Explorer.
Improved Combat Superiority
At 10th level, your superiority dice turn into
d10s. At 18th level, they turn into d12s.
Relentless
Starting at 15th level, when you roll initiative and
have no superiority dice remaining, you regain 1
superiority die.
Sharpshooter
The Sharpshooter is a master of ranged combat.
An excellent sniper and eagle-eyed scout, this
fighter is a perilous foe who can defeat an entire
war band so long as they are kept at range.
Steady Aim
Beginning when you choose this archetype at 3rd
level, your aim becomes deadly. As a bonus
action on your turn, you can take careful aim at a
creature you can see that is within range of a
ranged weapon you’re wielding. Until the end of
this turn, your ranged attacks with that weapon
gain two benefits against the target:
 The attacks ignore half and three -quarters
cover.
 On each hit, the weapon deals additional
damage to the target equal to 2 + half your
fighter level.
You can use this feature three times. You regain
all expended uses of it when you finish a short or
long rest.
Careful Eyes
Starting at 7th level, you excel at picking out
hidden enemies and other threats. You can take
the Search action as a bonus action. You also
gain proficiency in the Perception, Investigation,
or Survival skill (choose one).
Close-Quarters Shooting
At 10th level, you learn to handle yourself in
close combat. Making a ranged attack roll while
within 5 feet of an enemy doesn’t impose
disadvantage on your roll. In addition, if you hit a
creature within 5 feet of you with a ranged
attack on your turn, that creature can’t take
reactions until the end of this turn.
Rapid Strike
Starting at 15th level, you learn to trade accuracy
for swift strikes. If you have advantage on a
weapon attack against a target on your turn, you
can forgo that advantage to immediately make
an additional weapon attack against the same
target as a bonus action.
Snap Shot
Starting at 18th level, you are ever ready to
spring into action. If you take the Attack action
on your first turn of a combat, you can make one
additional ranged weapon attack as part of that
action.
Gladiator
Gladiators are the slave warriors of the city
states, specially trained for brutal physical
contests. Disciplined in many diverse forms of
hand-to-hand combat and skilled in the use of
dozens of different weapons, gladiators are the
most dangerous warriors on Athas.
You don't gain the War Machinery Proficiency,
War Defenses, and Army Commander.
On the other hand, you gain proficiency with all
kind of armors and weapons - including exotic
and unarmed strike.
You also have access to special gladiator
backgrounds (SEE Athasian Backgrounds
Section).
70
Combat Superiority
When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you
learn manoeuvres that are fuelled by special dice
called superiority dice.
Manoeuvres. You learn three manoeuvres of
your choice from the list of manoeuvres available
to fighters with the Battle Master archetype and
the ones Which are detailed under
“Manoeuvres” below. Many manoeuvres
enhance an attack in some way. You can use only
one manoeuvre per attack. You learn two
additional manoeuvres of your choice at 7th,
10th, and 15th level. Each time you learn new
manoeuvres, you can also replace one
manoeuvre you know with a different one.
Superiority Dice. You have four superiority dice,
which are d8s. A superiority die is expended
when you use it. You regain all of your expended
superiority dice when you finish a short or long
rest. You gain another superiority die at 7th level
and one more at 15th level.
Saving Throws. Some of your manoeuvres
require your target to make a saving throw to
resist the manoeuvre's effects. The saving throw
DC is calculated as follows:
Manoeuvre save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus
+ your Strength or Dexterity modifier (your
choice)
Weapon Training
When choosing this path at 3rd level, you gain
an additional fighting style.
Armor Optimization
Starting at 3rd level, you gain an understanding
of how your armor can better serve you. Most
characters who wear armor simply allow it to
bear the brunt of most blows, relying on the
physical barrier to protect them from the
dangers of battle. They do not know that their
71
armor can protect them to an even greater
degree.
Gladiators must rely on armor to protect them
far more than the average person. They have to
be much more aware of the armor’s capabilities.
You have learned to position armor so it absorbs
blows better than it would normally, forcing the
heavier parts of the armor to take the main
impact of the blow. A shield can be positioned so
that the weapon skitters off harmlessly rather
than slamming directly into the shield.
Once per turn, if you are wearing armor you
may roll your armor optimization die to subtract
it from the damage taken from a weapon attack
that hits you. Of course, as you progress in
experience, you continue to understand armor
better and better. At level 5th, 10th and then
15th, you gain a dice upgrade to reduce damage,
starting with a d4 at 3rd level. Thus, at 5th level,
your dice becomes a d6. At 10th level, it
becomes a d8 bonus, and at 15th it becomes a
d10.
If the gladiator is not wearing armor or using a
shield, this bonus does not apply. Also, armor
spells or rings of protection do not gain such
bonuses. This armor optimization bonus does
apply to more substantial magical items such as
bracers, cloaks, and so forth, for gladiators can
interpose these items between their bodies and
the blows.
Weakness Identification
Starting at 7th level, you are able to assess an
opponent for signs of weakness.
A successful proficiency check means that the
gladiator has located the foe’s weakness,
whether it lies in fighting style or a fault in the
opponent’s armor. If you wants to take
disadvantage for a called shot, you can cause
double damage to your opponent for one round
only. After such a wound, intelligent opponents
adjust their fighting style so that the weakness is
not as exposed. Creatures with low Intelligence
or less (6 or less) simply try to minimize the
danger by presenting a different side to the
attacker. Thus, if two or more gladiators attack a
weakened creature, there is a good chance they
can continue exploiting its weakness throughout
the battle as it shifts the damaged area from one
side to another.
The bonus conferred by this proficiency can be
communicated to one’s allies. However, this
ability won’t work if the creature under attack
understands the language used to effect this
communication.
Improved Combat Superiority
At 10th level, your superiority dice turn into
d10s. At 18th level, they turn into d12s.
Relentless
Starting at 15th level, when you roll initiative and
have no superiority dice remaining, you regain 1
superiority die.
Manoeuvres
Additional gladiator manoeuvres are presented
in alphabetical order:
Dirty Move. When you hit a creature with a
weapon or unarmed attack, you can expend your
bonus action and one superiority die to cause
pain and discomfort to your opponent. Your
target must make a Constitution saving throw.
On a failed save, add the superiority die to the
attack's damage roll, and the target becomes
blinded and deafened until the end of your next
round.
Disjointing Strike. When you hit a creature with
a weapon or unarmed attack, you can expend
one superiority die to target another creature
within 5 feet of you giving you an opening. Your
target must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a
failed save, you can immediately use a bonus
action to attack the distracted creature.
Wrestling Attack. When you have successfully
grappled a creature with an attack action, you
can expend one superiority die to make a
particularly dangerous attack with your next
attack with a forearm axe, handfork, talid or
unarmed attack. If that attack hits, add The
superiority die to the attack’s damage roll and
you automatically score a critical hit.
72
Barbarian Class
A tall human tribesman strides through a silt-
storm, draped in protective veils and hefting his
axe. He laughs as he charges toward the beast-
head giant who dared poach his people’s herd.
A tarek snarls at the latest challenger to her
authority over their savage tribe, ready to break
his neck with her bare hands as she did to the
last six rivals.
Frothing at the mouth, a dwarf slams his helmet
into the face of his gith foe, then turns to drive
his armored elbow into the gut of another.
These barbarians, different as they might be, are
defined by their rage: unbridled, unquenchable,
and unthinking fury. More than a mere emotion,
their anger is the ferocity of a cornered predator,
the unrelenting assault of a storm, the churning
turmoil of the sea.
For some, their rage springs from a communion
with fierce animal spirits. Others draw from a
roiling reservoir of anger at a world full of pain.
For every barbarian, rage is a power that fuels
not just a battle frenzy but also uncanny reflexes,
resilience, and feats of strength.

Primal Instinct
People of towns and cities take pride in how
their civilized ways set them apart from animals,
as if denying one’s own nature was a mark of
superiority. To a barbarian, though, civilization is
no virtue, but a sign of weakness. The strong
embrace their animal nature—keen instincts,
primal physicality, and ferocious rage. Barbarians
are uncomfortable when hedged in by walls and
crowds. They thrive in the wilds of their
homelands: the tundra, jungle, or grasslands
where their tribes live and hunt.

73
Barbarians come alive in the chaos of combat.
They can enter a berserk state where rage takes
over, giving them superhuman strength and
resilience. A barbarian can draw on this reservoir
of fury only a few times without resting, but
those few rages are usually sufficient to defeat
whatever threats arise.
A Life of Danger
Not every member of the tribes deemed
“barbarians” by scions of civilized society has the
barbarian class. A true barbarian among these
people is as uncommon as a skilled fighter in a
town, and he or she plays a similar role as a
protector of the people and a leader in times of
war. Life in the wild places of the world is fraught
with peril: rival tribes, deadly weather, and
terrifying monsters. Barbarians charge headlong
into that danger so that their people don’t have
to.
of riches? Did you join forces with soldiers of
those lands to face a shared threat? Did
monsters or an invading horde drive you out of
your homeland, making you a rootless refugee?
Perhaps you were a prisoner of war, brought in
chains to “civilized” lands and only now able to
win your freedom. Or you might have been cast
out from your people because of a crime you
committed, a taboo you violated, or a coup that
removed you from a position of authority.
QUICK BUILD
You can make a barbarian quickly by following
these suggestions. First, put your highest ability
score in Strength, followed by Constitution.
Second, choose the outlander background.
The Barbarian Table

Their courage in the face of danger makes Level

Proficiency
Features Rages
Rage
Bonus Damage
barbarians perfectly suited for adventuring. 1st 2 Rage, Unarmored 2 2
Wandering is often a way of life for their native Defense
2nd 2 Reckless Attack, Danger 2 2
tribes, and the rootless life of the adventurer is Sense
little hardship for a barbarian. Some barbarians 3rd 2 Primal Path 3 2
4th 2 Ability Score 3 2
miss the close-knit family structures of the tribe, Improvement
but eventually find them replaced by the bonds 5th 3 Extra Attack, Fast 3 2
Movement
formed among the members of their adventuring 6th 3 Path Feature 4 2
parties. 7th 3 Feral Instinct 4 2
8th 3 Ability Score 4 2
Improvement
Creating a Barbarian 9th
10th
4
4
Brutal Critical (1 die)
Path Feature
4
4
3
3
11th 4 Relentless Rage 4 3
When creating a barbarian character, think 12th 4 Ability Score 5 3
about where your character comes from and his Improvement
13th 5 Brutal Critical (2 dice) 5 3
or her place in the world. Talk with your DM 14th 5 Path Feature 5 3
about an appropriate origin for your barbarian. 15th 5 Persistent Rage 5 3
16th 5 Ability Score 5 4
Did you come from a distant land, making you a Improvement
stranger in the area of the campaign? Or is the 17th 6 Brutal Critical (3 dice) 6 4
18th 6 Indomitable Might 6 4
campaign set in a rough-and-tumble frontier 19th 6 Ability Score 6 4
where barbarians are common? Improvement
20th 6 Primal Champion Unlimited 4

What led you to take up the adventuring life?

Were you lured to settled lands by the promise

74

Class Features
As a barbarian, you gain the following class
features.
Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d12 per barbarian level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 12 + your Constitution
modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d12 (or 7) + your
Constitution modifier per barbarian level after
1st
Proficiencies
Armor: Light armor, medium armor, shields
Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons,
exotic weapon
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Strength, Constitution
Skills: Choose two from Animal Handling,
Athletics, Intimidation, Nature, Perception, and
Survival
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in
addition to the equipment granted by your
background:
 (a) a stone greataxe or (b) any stone
martial melee weapon
 (a) two stone handaxes or (b) any stone
simple weapon
 An explorer’s pack and four stone javelins
Rage
In battle, you fight with primal ferocity. On your
turn, you can enter a rage as a bonus action.
While raging, you gain the following benefits if
you aren’t wearing heavy armor:
75
 You have advantage on Strength checks
and Strength saving throws.
 When you make a melee weapon attack
using Strength, you gain a bonus to the
damage roll that increases as you gain
levels as a barbarian, as shown in the Rage
Damage column of the Barbarian table.
 You have resistance to bludgeoning,
piercing, and slashing damage.
If you are able to cast spells, you can’t cast them
or concentrate on them while raging.
Your rage lasts for 1 minute. It ends early if you
are knocked unconscious or if your turn ends and
you haven’t attacked a hostile creature since
your last turn or taken damage since then. You
can also end your rage on your turn as a bonus
action.
Once you have raged the number of times shown
for your barbarian level in the Rages column of
the Barbarian table, you must finish a long rest
before you can rage again.
Unarmored Defense
While you are not wearing any armor, your
Armor Class equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier
+ your Constitution modifier. You can use a
shield and still gain this benefit.
Reckless Attack
Starting at 2nd level, you can throw aside all
concern for defense to attack with fierce
desperation. When you make your first attack on
your turn, you can decide to attack recklessly.
Doing so gives you advantage on melee weapon
attack rolls using Strength during this turn, but
attack rolls against you have advantage until
your next turn.
Danger Sense
At 2nd level, you gain an uncanny sense of when
things nearby aren’t as they should be, giving
you an edge when you dodge away from danger.
You have advantage on Dexterity saving throws
against effects that you can see, such as traps
and spells. To gain this benefit, you can’t be
blinded, deafened, or incapacitated.
Primal Path
At 3rd level, you choose a path that shapes the
nature of your rage. The paths are detailed
below. Your choice grants you features at 3rd
level and again at 6th, 10th, and 14th levels.
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.
Extra Attack
Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice,
instead of once, whenever you take the Attack
action on your turn.
Fast Movement
Starting at 5th level, your speed increases by 10
feet while you aren’t wearing heavy armor.
Feral Instinct
By 7th level, your instincts are so honed that you
have advantage on initiative rolls.
Additionally, if you are surprised at the beginning
of combat and aren’t incapacitated, you can act
normally on your first turn, but only if you enter
your rage before doing anything else on that
turn.
Brutal Critical
Beginning at 9th level, you can roll one additional
weapon damage die when determining the extra
damage for a critical hit with a melee attack.
This increases to two additional dice at 13th level
and three additional dice at 17th level.
Relentless Rage
Starting at 11th level, your rage can keep you
fighting despite grievous wounds. If you drop to
0 hit points while you’re raging 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.
Persistent Rage
Beginning at 15th level, your rage is so fierce that
it ends early only if you fall unconscious or if you
choose to end it.
Indomitable Might
Beginning at 18th level, if your total for a
Strength check is less than your Strength score,
you can use that score in place of the total.
Primal Champion
At 20th level, you embody the power of the
wilds. Your Strength and Constitution scores
increase by 4. Your maximum for those scores is
now 24 (26 if you are a half-giant).
76
Primal Paths
Rage burns in every barbarian’s heart, a furnace
that drives him or her toward greatness.
Different barbarians attribute their rage to
different sources, however. For some, it is an
internal reservoir where pain, grief, and anger
are forged into a fury hard as steel. Others see it
as a spiritual blessing, a gift of a totem animal.
Path of the Berserker
For some barbarians, rage is a means to an end—
that end being violence. The Path of the
Berserker is a path of untrammeled fury, slick
with blood. As you enter the berserker’s rage,
you thrill in the chaos of battle, heedless of your
own health or well-being.
Frenzy
Starting when you choose this path at 3rd level,
you can go into a frenzy when you rage. If you do
so, for the duration of your rage you can make a
single melee weapon attack as a bonus action on
each of your turns after this one. When your
rage ends, you suffer one level of exhaustion.
Mindless Rage
Beginning at 6th level, you can’t be charmed or
frightened while raging. If you are charmed or
frightened when you enter your rage, the effect
is suspended for the duration of the rage.
Intimidating Presence
Beginning at 10th level, you can use your action
to frighten someone with your menacing
presence. When you do so, choose one creature
that you can see within 30 feet of you. If the
creature can see or hear you, it must succeed on
a Wisdom saving throw (DC equal to 8 + your
proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier) or
be frightened of you until the end of your next
turn. On subsequent turns, you can use your
action to extend the duration of this effect on
the frightened creature until the end of your
next turn. This effect ends if the creature ends its
turn out of line of sight or more than 60 feet
away from you.
If the creature succeeds on its saving throw, you
can’t use this feature on that creature again for
24 hours.
Retaliation
Starting at 14th level, when you take damage
from a creature that is within 5 feet of you, you
can use your reaction to make a melee weapon
attack against that creature.
Path of the Totem Warrior
The Path of the Totem Warrior is a spiritual
journey, as the barbarian accepts a spirit animal
as guide, protector, and inspiration. In battle,
your totem spirit fills you with supernatural
might, adding magical fuel to your barbarian
rage. It is unusual for an individual to have more
than one totem animal spirit, though exceptions
exist.
Spirit Seeker: Yours is a path that seeks
attunement with the natural world, giving you a
kinship with beasts. You gain the ability to cast
the beast sense and speak with animals spells,
but only as rituals.
Totem Spirit
At 3rd level, when you adopt this path, you
choose a totem spirit and gain its feature. You
must make or acquire a physical totem object -
an amulet or similar adornment - that
incorporates fur or feathers, claws, teeth, or
bones of the totem animal. At your option, you
also gain minor physical attributes that are
reminiscent of your totem spirit. For example, if
you have a bear totem spirit, you might be

77
unusually hairy and thick skinned, or if your
totem is the eagle your eyes turn bright yellow.
Your totem animal might be an animal related to
those listed here but more appropriate to your
homeland. For example, you could choose a
hawk or vulture in place of an eagle.
 Klar: While raging you have resistance to
all damage except psychic damage. The spirit of
the klar makes you tough enough to stand up to
any punishment.
 Eagle: While you're raging and aren't
wearing heavy armor other creatures have
disadvantage on opportunity attack rolls against
you. You can use the Dash action as a bonus
action on your turn. The spirit of the eagle makes
you into a predator who can weave through the
fray with ease.
 Rasclinn: While you're raging, your friends
have advantage on melee attack rolls against any
creature within 5 feet of you that is hostile to
you. The spirit of the rasclinn makes you a leader
of hunters.
 Crodlu: While you're raging and aren't
wearing heavy armor, your walking speed
increases by 15 feet. The spirit of the crodlu
makes you extraordinarily swift.
 Kirre: While raging, you can add 10 feet to
your long jump distance and 3 feet to your high
jump distance. The spirit of the kirre empowers
your leaps.
Aspect Of The Beast
At 6th leveI you gain a magical benefit based on the
totem animal of your choice. You can choose the
same animal you selected at 3rd level or a different
one.
 Klar: You gain the might of a klar. Your
carrying capacity (including maximum load and
maximum lift) is doubled and you have
advantage on Strength checks made to push,
pull, lift, or break objects.
 Eagle: You gain the eyesight of an eagle.
You can see up to 1 mile away with no difficulty.
You are able to discern even fine details as
though looking at something no more than 100
feet away from you. Additionally, dim light
doesn't impose disadvantage on your Wisdom
(Perception) checks.
 Rasclinn: You gain the hunting sensibilities
of a rasclinn. You can track other creatures while
traveling at a fast pace, and you can move
stealthily while traveling at a normal pace.
 Crodlu: Whether mounted or on foot, your
travel pace is doubled, as is the travel pace of up
to ten companions while they're within 60 feet
of you and you're not incapacitated (see chapter
8 in the Player's Handbook for more information
about travel pace). The crodlu spirit helps you
roam far and fast.
 Kirre: You gain proficiency in two skills
from the following list: Athletics, Acrobatics,
Stealth, and Survival. The cat spirit hones your
survival instincts
Spirit Walker
At 10th level. you can cast the commune with
nature spell, but only as a ritual. When you do
so, a spiritual version of one of the animals you
chose for Totem Spirit or Aspect of the Beast
appears to you to convey the information you
seek.
Totemic Attunement
At 14th level you gain a magical benefit based on
a totem animal of your choice. You can choose
the same animal you selected previously or a
different one.
 Klar: While you're raging any creature within
5 feet of you that's hostile to you has
disadvantage on attack rolls against targets other
than you or another character with this feature.
An enemy is immune to this effect if it can't see
or hear you or if it can't be frightened.
78
 
Eagle: While raging you have a flying speed
equal to your current walking speed. This benefit
works only in short bursts; you fall if you end
your turn in the air and nothing else is holding
you aloft.
 Rasclinn: While you're raging you can use a
bonus action on your turn to knock a Large or
smaller creature prone when you hit it with
melee weapon attack.
 Crodlu: While raging, you can use a bonus
action during your move to pass through the
space of a Large or smaller creature. That
creature must succeed on a Strength saving
throw (DC 8 + your Strength bonus + your
proficiency bonus) or be knocked prone and take
bludgeoning damage equal to 1d12 +your
Strength modifier.
 Kirre: While you're raging, if you move at
least 20 feet in a straight line toward a Large or
smaller target right before making a melee
weapon attack against it, you can use a bonus
action to make an additional melee weapon
attack against it.
Path of the Ancestral Guardian
Some barbarians hail from cultures that revere
their ancestors. These tribes teach that the
warriors of the past linger in the world as mighty
spirits, who can guide and protect the living.
When a barbarian who follows this path rages,
the barbarian contacts the spirit world and calls
on these guardian spirits for aid. Barbarians who
draw on their ancestral guardians can better
fight to protect their tribes and their allies. In
order to cement ties to their ancestral guardians,
barbarians who follow this path cover
themselves in elaborate tattoos that celebrate
their ancestors’ deeds. These tattoos tell sagas of
victories against terrible monsters and other
fearsome rivals.
79
Ancestral Protectors
Starting when you choose this path at 3rd level,
spectral warriors appear when you enter your
rage. While you’re raging, the first creature you
hit with an attack on your turn becomes the
target of the warriors, which hinder its attacks.
Until the start of your next turn, that target has
disadvantage on any attack roll that isn’t against
you, and when the target hits a creature other
than you with an attack, that creature has
resistance to the damage dealt by the attack. The
effect on the target ends early if your rage ends.
Spirit Shield
Beginning at 6th level, the guardian spirits that
aid you can provide supernatural protection to
those you defend. If you are raging and another
creature you can see within 30 feet of you takes
damage, you can use your reaction to reduce
that damage by 2d6. When you reach certain
levels in this class, you can reduce the damage by
more: by 3d6 at 10th level and by 4d6 at 14th
level.
Consult the Spirits
At 10th level, you gain the ability to consult with
your ancestral spirits. When you do so, you cast
the augury or clairvoyance spell, without using a
spell slot or material components. Rather than
creating a spherical sensor, this use of
clairvoyance invisibly summons one of your
ancestral spirits to the chosen location. Wisdom
is your spellcasting ability for these spells. After
you cast either spell in this way, you can’t use
this feature again until you finish a short or long
rest.
Vengeful Ancestors
At 14th level, your ancestral spirits grow
powerful enough to retaliate. When you use
your Spirit Shield to reduce the damage of an
attack, the attacker takes an amount of force
damage equal to the damage that your Spirit
Shield prevents.
Path of the Zealot
Some sorcerer-kings inspire their followers to
pitch themselves into a ferocious battle fury.
These barbarians are zealots — warriors who
channel their rage into powerful displays of
divine power. A variety of sorcerer-kings across
the worlds of Athas inspire their followers to
embrace this path. In general, the sorcerer-kings
who inspire zealots value combat, destruction,
and violence. Not all are evil, but only one is
good.
Sorcerer-King’s Fury
Starting when you choose this path at 3rd level,
you can channel divine fury into your weapon
strikes. While you’re raging, the first creature
you hit on each of your turns with a weapon
attack takes extra damage equal to 1d6 + half
your barbarian level. The extra damage is
necrotic or radiant; you choose the type of
damage when you gain this feature.
Warrior of the Sorcerer-Kings
At 3rd level, your soul is marked for endless
battle. If a spell, such as raise dead, has the sole
effect of restoring you to life (but not undeath),
the caster doesn’t need material components to
cast the spell on you.
Fanatical Focus
Starting at 6th level, the divine power that fuels
your rage can protect you. If you fail a saving
throw while you’re raging, you can reroll it, and
you must use the new roll. You can use this
ability only once per rage.
Zealous Presence
At 10th level, you learn to channel divine power
to inspire zealotry in others. As a bonus action,
you unleash a battle cry infused with sorcerer-
king’s energy. Up to ten other creatures of your
choice within 60 feet of you that can hear you
gain advantage on attack rolls and saving throws
until the start of your next turn. Once you use
this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish
a long rest.
Rage beyond Death
Beginning at 14th level, the divine power that
fuels your rage allows you to shrug off fatal
blows. While you’re raging, having 0 hit points
doesn’t knock you unconscious. You still must
make death saving throws, and you suffer the
normal effects of taking damage while at 0 hit
points. However, if you would die due to failing
death saving throws, you don’t die until your
rage ends, and you die then only if you still have
0 hit points.
Path of the Brute
The most primitive barbarian, the Brute
combines traits of both humans and animals. He
is heavily built and thick-boned,
with a sloping skull resting low on his neck, and
fanged jaws protruding over a receding chin.
Coarse hair covers his hide-like skin. Long,
powerful arms let him lope on all fours and
clamber up trees like a monkey. Lacking the
intelligence of other barbarians, he depends on
his keen senses, natural resilience, and sharp
instinct to help him survive.
A Brute allies himself with an adventuring party
for companionship, protection, or even the
promise of regular meals. He remains loyal so
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long as his companions treat him decently. He
has no aptitude for leadership, strategic
planning, or negotiation; he takes orders from
anyone he trusts. He serves his party as a
forager, hunter, and combatant.
Though a Brute’s companions may admire his
loyalty and friendliness, they may also balk at his
animalistic behavior. He howls at the moon, licks
himself clean, and grooms animals by picking
bugs from their fur. He eats raw meat, tearing
apart carcasses with his teeth. He speaks in
grunts, never more than a few syllables at a time.
He identifies friends by their smells, and
investigates strangers by sniffing them up and
down.
Ability Scores Modifications
A Brute has a maximum Intelligence of 7 and a
maximum Charisma of 9; you must decrease you
scores from level 1 if you have more and plan to
take this path. You also increase your Strength
score by 1 (you cannot go above 20).
Primitive Brute
The Brute has no use for virtues and vices
associated with civilized societies. Etiquette,
greed, personal honor, and loyalty to abstract
principles are unknown to him. He can’t be
insulted or blackmailed, nor can he be tempted
with treasure. A Brute’s interests seldom extend
beyond his current needs; with food in his
stomach and a soft patch of ground on which to
MP, he’s as content as he can be.
You have disadvantage on charisma checks
(Persuasion + Deception), but you have
advantage against these.
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Reduced Movement
You don’t gain Fast Movement class ability on
level 5. Instead you gain Improved Climbing.
Superior Unarmored Defense
Starting when you choose this path at 3rd level,
while you are not wearing any armor, your
Armor Class equals 12 + your Dexterity modifier
+ your Constitution modifier. You can’t use a
shield.
Superior Danger Sense
Starting when you choose this path at 3rd level,
because of the Brute's sharp senses, you have
can add your proficiency modifier in addition to
having advantage on Dexterity saving throws
against effects that you can see, such as traps
and spells. To gain this benefit, you can’t be
blinded, deafened, or incapacitated.
Improved Climbing
Starting at 5th level, your climbing speed is not
halved; your climbing speed is the same as your
walking speed.
Sharp Survival Instinct
Beginning at 6th level, you can trail a human,
animal, or demi-human by scent, presuming the
quarry made the trail within the previous 24
hours. You must be familiar with the quarry, or
must have a sample of the scent (a scrap of hide,
a lock of hair, a piece of clothing). You have the
same chance to follow the trail as if you had the
tracking proficiency. (Refer to Skills & Feats
system book. Use only the modifiers relevant to
following a trail by scent, including those
associated with the number of creatures in the
group, elapsed time, and inclement weather.) If
the Brute has the tracking proficiency, he
receives advantage to his checks.
A Brute can also identify a particular character or
creature by its lingering aroma, presuming the
character or creature was in the area within the
past 24 hours. The Brute must be familiar with
the creature or have a sample of the scent. The
Brute identifies the scent with a successful
Wisdom check.
Wild Brawl
Beginning at 10th level, when you are doing a
reckless attack, you can use your bonus action to
propel yourself into a berserk frenzy: Bites,
punches and kicks are all directed at a single
opponent. If your attack hits, you make 2d4 +
your Strength modifier of additional bludgeoning
damage.
Retaliation
After 14th level whenever a friendly creature
takes damage from a creature that is within 5ft
of you, you may use your reaction to make one
melee weapon attack against that creature.
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Ranger Class
Overview
Rough and wild looking, a human stalks alone
through the shadows of rocks, hunting the giths
he knows are planning a raid on a nearby slave
tribe village. Clutching a shortsword in each
hand, he becomes a whirlwind of obsidian,
cutting down one enemy after another.
After tumbling away from a cone of burning air,
an elf finds her feet and draws back her bow to
lose an arrow at the earth drake. Shrugging off
the wave of fear that emanates from the beast
like the heat of its breath, she sends one arrow
after another to find the gaps between the
drake’s thick scales.
Holding his hand high, a half-elf whistles to the
hawk that circles high above him, calling the bird
back to his side. Whispering instructions in
Elvish, he points to the klar he’s been tracking
and sends the hawk to distract the creature
while he readies his bow.
Far from the bustle of cities and towns, past the
hedges that shelter the most distant farms from
the terrors of the wild, amid the dense-packed
dunes of trackless deserts and across wide and
empty barren plains, rangers keep their
unending watch.
Deadly Hunters
Warriors of the wilderness, rangers specialize in
hunting the monsters that threaten the edges of
civilization—humanoid raiders, rampaging beasts
and monstrosities, terrible giants, and deadly
drakes. They learn to track their quarry as a
predator does, moving stealthily through the
wilds and hiding themselves in brush and rubble.
Rangers focus their combat training on
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techniques that are particularly useful against
their specific favored foes.
Thanks to their familiarity with the wilds, rangers
acquire the ability to cast spells that harness
nature’s power, much as a druid does. Their
spells, like their combat abilities, emphasize
speed, stealth, and the hunt. A ranger’s talents
and abilities are honed with deadly focus on the
grim task of protecting the borderlands.
Independent Adventurers
Though a ranger might make a living as a hunter,
a guide, or a tracker, a ranger’s true calling is to
defend the outskirts of civilization from the
ravages of monsters and humanoid hordes that
press in from the wild. In some places, rangers
gather in secretive orders or join forces with
druidic circles. Many rangers, though, are
independent almost to a fault, knowing that,
when a drake or a band of giths attacks, a ranger
might be the first—and possibly the last—line of
defense.
This fierce independence makes rangers well
suited to adventuring, since they are accustomed
to life far from the comforts of a dry bed and a
hot bath. Faced with city-bred adventurers who
grouse and whine about the hardships of the
wild, rangers respond with some mixture of
amusement, frustration, and compassion. But
they quickly learn that other adventurers who
can carry their own weight in a fight against
civilization’s foes are worth any extra burden.
Coddled city folk might not know how to feed
themselves or find fresh water in the wild, but
they make up for it in other ways.
Creating a Ranger
As you create your ranger character, consider
the nature of the training that gave you your
particular capabilities. Did you train with a single
mentor, wandering the wilds together until you
mastered the ranger’s ways? Did you leave your
apprenticeship, or was your mentor slain—
perhaps by the same kind of monster that
became your favored enemy? Or perhaps you
learned your skills as part of a band of rangers
affiliated with a druidic circle, trained in mystic
paths as well as wilderness lore. You might be
self-taught, a recluse who learned combat skills,
tracking, and even a magical connection to
nature through the necessity of surviving in the
wilds.
What’s the source of your particular hatred of a
certain kind of enemy? Did a monster kill
someone you loved or destroy your home
village? Or did you see too much of the
destruction these monsters cause and commit
yourself to reining in their depredations? Is your
adventuring career a continuation of your work
in protecting the borderlands, or a significant
change? What made you join up with a band of
adventurers? Do you find it challenging to teach
new allies the ways of the wild, or do you
welcome the relief from solitude that they offer?
QUICK BUILD
You can make a ranger quickly by following these
suggestions. First, make Dexterity your highest
ability score, followed by Wisdom. (Some rangers
who focus on two-weapon fighting make
Strength higher than Dexterity.) Second, choose
the outlander background.
Class Features
As a ranger, you gain the following class features.
Hit Points
 Hit Dice: 1d10 per ranger level
 Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + your
Constitution modifier
 Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) +
your Constitution modifier per ranger level
after 1st.
Proficiencies
 Armor: Light Armor, Medium Armor,
Shields
 Weapons: Simple Weapons, Martial
Weapons
 Tools: None
 Saving Throws: Strength, Dexterity
 Skills: Choose three from Animal Handling,
Athletics, Insight, Investigation, Nature,
Perception, Stealth, and Survival.
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to
the equipment granted by your background:
 (a) erdlu scale armor or (b) carru leather
armor
 (a) two stone shortswords or (b) two stone
simple melee weapons
 (a) a dungeoneer’s pack or (b) an explorer’s
pack
 A longbow and a quiver of 20 stone arrows
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Favored Enemy
Beginning at 1st level, you have significant
experience studying, tracking, hunting, and even
talking to a certain type of enemy.
Choose a type of favored enemy: aberrations,
beasts, celestials, constructs, dragons,
elementals, fey, fiends, giants, monstrosities,
oozes, plants, or undead. Alternatively, you can
select two races of humanoid (such as thri-kreen
and giths) as favored enemies.
You have advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks
to track your favored enemies, as well as on
Intelligence checks to recall information about
them.
When you gain this feature, you also learn one
language of your choice that is spoken by your
favored enemies, if they speak one at all.
You choose one additional favored enemy, as
well as an associated language, at 6th and 14th
level. As you gain levels, your choices should
reflect the types of monsters you have
encountered on your adventures.
Natural Explorer
You are particularly familiar with one type of
natural environment and are adept at traveling
and surviving in such regions. Choose one type of
favored terrain: stony barrens, sandy waste,
rocky badlands, mountains, scrub plain, forest,
salt flats, or boulder fields. When you make an
Intelligence or Wisdom check related to your
favored terrain, your proficiency bonus is
doubled if you are using a skill that you’re
proficient in.
While traveling for an hour or more in your
favored terrain, you gain the following benefits:
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 The overland travel cost of your group is
reduced by 1, to a minimum of 1. This is
not cumulative to other ranger present.
 Your group can’t become lost except by
magical means.
 Even when you are engaged in another
activity while traveling (such as foraging,
navigating, or tracking), you remain alert to
danger.
 If you are traveling alone, you can move
stealthily at a normal pace.
 When you forage, you find twice as much
food as you normally would.
 While tracking other creatures, you also
learn their exact number, their sizes, and
how long ago they passed through the
area.
You choose additional favored terrain types at
6th and 10th level.
Fighting Style
At 2nd level, you adopt a particular style of fighting as
your specialty. Choose one of the following options.
You can’t take a Fighting Style option more than
once, even if you later get to choose again.
 Archery. You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls
you make with ranged weapons.
 Defense. While you are wearing armor, you
gain a +1 bonus to AC.
 Dueling. When you are wielding a melee
weapon in one hand and no other
weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage
rolls with that weapon.
 Protection. When a creature you can see
attacks a target other than you that is
within 5 feet of you, you can use your
reaction to impose disadvantage on the
attack roll. You must be wielding a shield.
 Two-Weapon Fighting. When you engage
in two-weapon fighting, you can add your
ability modifier to the damage of the
second attack.
 Close Quarters Shooter. You are trained in
making ranged attack at close quarters.
When making a ranged attack while you
are within 5 feet of a hostile creature, you
do not have disadvantage on the attack
roll. Your ranged attacks ignore half cover
and three-quarters cover against targets
within 30 feet of you. Finally, you have a +1
bonus to attack rolls on ranged attacks.
 Mounted Archery. While you are mounted,
you can use a bonus action to make a
single weapon attack with a ranged
weapon you are proficient in. If you do so,
you cannot attack a creature beyond the
weapon's normal range. Also, you suffer no
disadvantage for doing ranged attack while
been mounted.
 Tunnel Fighter. You excel at defending
narrow passages, doorways, and other
tight spaces. As a bonus action, you can
enter a defensive stance that lasts until the
start of your next turn. While in your
defensive stance, you can make
opportunity attacks without using your
reaction, and you can use your reaction to
make a melee attack against a creature
that moves more than 5 feet while within
your reach.
 Double Weapon Fighting. When you are
wielding a double weapon, you can add
your ability modifier to the damage of the
second attack.
 Exotic Weaponry. You gain proficiency
with all exotic weapons.
 Unarmed Fighting. Your unarmed strikes
can deal bludgeoning damage equal to 1d6
+ your Strength modifier. If you strike with
two free hands, the d6 becomes a d8.
When you successfully start a grapple,
you can deal 1d4 bludgeoning damage to
the grappled creature. Until the grapple
ends, you can also deal this damage to the
creature whenever you hit it with a melee
attack.
 Blind Fighting. Being unable to see a
creature doesn’t impose disadvantage on
your attack rolls against it, provided the
creature isn’t hidden from you.
 Thrown Weapon Fighting. You can draw a
weapon that has the thrown property as
part of the attack you make with the
weapon.
In addition, when you hit with a ranged
attack using a thrown weapon, you gain a
+1 bonus to the damage roll.
 Interception. When a creature you can
see hits a target that is within 5 feet of you
with an attack, you can use your reaction
to reduce the damage the target takes by
1d10 + your proficiency bonus (to a
minimum of 0 damage). You must be
wielding a shield or a simple or martial
weapon to use this reaction.
 Whirling Blades (ranger only). When you
engage in two-weapon fighting while
wearing no or light armor, you do not
expend your bonus action and add your
ability modifier to the second attack. You
can still gain the benefits of two-weapon
fighting only once on your turn.
Spellcasting
By the time you reach 2nd level, you have
learned to use the magical essence of nature to
cast spells, much as a druid does. See PHB
chapter 10 for the general rules of spellcasting
and chapter 11 for the ranger spell list.
Spell Slots
The Ranger 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.
For example, if you know the 1st-level spell
animal friendship and have a 1st-level and a 2nd
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level spell slot available, you can cast animal
friendship using either slot.
Spells Known
You know two 1st-level spells of your choice
from the ranger spell list. The Spells Known
column of the Ranger table shows when you
learn more ranger spells of your choice. 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
spell of 1st or 2nd level. Additionally, when you
gain a level in this class, you can choose one of
the ranger spells you know and replace it with
another spell from the ranger spell list, which
also must be of a level for which you have spell
slots.
Spellcasting Ability
Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for your
ranger spells, since your magic draws on your
attunement to nature. You use your Wisdom
whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting
ability. In addition, you use your Wisdom
modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a
ranger spell you cast and when making an attack
roll with one.
 Spell save DC: 8 + your proficiency bonus +
your Wisdom modifier
 Spell attack modifier: your proficiency
bonus + your Wisdom modifier
Spellcasting Focus
You can use a druidic focus as a spellcasting
focus for your ranger spells. See chapter 5,
“Equipment,” of the Player’s Handbook for a list
of things that count as druidic focuses.
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Ranger Archetype
At 3rd level, you choose to the archetype that
you strive to emulate in ideals and training: the
Beastmaster, the Hunter, Wasteland Wanderer,
or the Primeval Guardian. Your choice grants you
features at 3rd level and again at 5th, 7th, 11th,
and 15th level.
Primeval Awareness
Beginning at 3rd level, you can use your action
and expend one ranger spell slot to focus your
awareness on the region around you. For 1
minute per level of the spell slot you expend, you
can sense whether the following types of
creatures are present within 1 mile of you (or
within up to 6 miles if you are in your favored
terrain): aberrations, celestials, dragons,
elementals, fey, fiends, and undead. This feature
doesn’t reveal the creatures’ location or number.
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. Alternately you can take a Feat in
place of your Ability Score Improvement.
Extra Attack
Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice,
instead of once, whenever you take the Attack
action on your turn.
Land’s Stride
Starting at 8th level, moving through nonmagical
difficult terrain costs you no extra movement.
You can also pass through nonmagical plants
without being slowed by them and without
taking damage from them if they have thorns,
spines, or a similar hazard.
In addition, you have advantage on saving
throws against plants that are magically created
or manipulated to impede movement, such
those created by the entangle spell.
Hide in Plain Sight
Starting at 10th level, you can spend 1 minute
creating camouflage for yourself. You must have
access to fresh mud, dirt, plants, soot, and other
naturally occurring materials with which to
create your camouflage.
Once you are camouflaged in this way, you can
try to hide by pressing yourself up against a solid
surface, such as a tree or wall, that is at least as
tall and wide as you are. You gain a +10 bonus to
Dexterity (Stealth) checks as long as you remain
there without moving or taking actions. Once
you move or take an action or a reaction, you
must camouflage yourself again to gain this
benefit.
Vanish
Starting at 14th level, you can use the Hide
action as a bonus action on your turn. Also, you
can’t be tracked by non-magical means, unless
you choose to leave a trail.
Feral Senses
At 18th level, you gain preternatural senses that
help you fight creatures you can’t see. When you
attack a creature you can’t see, your inability to
see it doesn’t impose disadvantage on your
attack rolls against it. You are also aware of the
location of any invisible creature within 30 feet
of you, provided that the creature isn’t hidden
from you and you aren’t blinded or deafened.
Foe Slayer
At 20th level, you become an unparalleled
hunter of your enemies. Once on each of your
turns, you can add your Wisdom modifier to the
attack roll or the damage roll of an attack you
make against one of your favored enemies. You
can choose to use this feature before or after the
roll, but before any effects of the roll are applied.
Ranger Archetypes
Across the wilds, rangers ideals express
themselves in classic types — which share a
similar outlook on how best to protect nature
from those who would despoil it.
Beast Master
Many rangers are more at home in the wilds
than in civilization, to the point where animals
consider them kin. Rangers of the Beast Conclave
develop a close bond with a beast, then further
strengthen that bond through the use of magic.
Ranger’s Companion
At 3rd level, you gain a beast companion that
accompanies you on your adventures and is
trained to fight alongside you. Choose a beast
that is no larger than Medium and that has a
challenge rating of 1/4 or lower (appendix
D presents statistics for the hawk, mastiff, and
panther as examples). Add your proficiency
bonus to the beast’s AC, attack rolls, and damage
rolls, as well as to any saving throws and skills it
is proficient in. Its hit point maximum equals the
hit point number in its stat block or four times
your ranger level, whichever is higher. Like any
creature, it can spend Hit Dice during a short rest
to regain hit points.
The beast obeys your commands as best as it
can. It takes its turn on your initiative. On your
turn, you can verbally command the beast where
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to move (no action required by you). You can use
your action to verbally command it to take the
Attack, Dash, Disengage, or Help action. If you
don't issue a command, the beast takes the
Dodge action. Once you have the Extra Attack
feature, you can make one weapon attack
yourself when you command the beast to take
the Attack action.
If you are incapacitated or absent, the beast
acts on its own, focusing on protecting you and
itself. The beast never requires your command to
use its reaction, such as when making an
opportunity attack.
While traveling through your favored terrain
with only the beast, you can move stealthily at a
normal pace.
If the beast dies, you can obtain a new
companion by spending 8 hours magically
bonding with a beast that isn’t hostile to you and
that meets the requirements.
Exceptional Training
Beginning at 7th level, on any of your turns when
your beast companion doesn’t attack, you can
use a bonus action to command the beast to
take the Dash, Disengage, or Help action on its
turn.
In addition, the beast's attacks now count as
magical for the purpose of overcoming
resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks
and damage.
Bestial Fury
Starting at 11th level, when you command your
beast companion to take the Attack action , the
beast can make two attacks, or it can take the
Multiattack action if it has that action.
Share Spells
Beginning at 15th level, when you cast a spell
targeting yourself, you can also affect your beast
companion with the spell if the beast is within 30
feet of you.
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Animal Companion Traits & Flaws
d6 Trait
1 I’m dauntless in the face of adversity.
2 Threaten my friends, threaten me.
3 I stay on alert so others can rest.
4 People see an animal and underestimate
me. I use that to my advantage.
5 I have a knack for showing up in the nick
of time.
6 I put my friends’ needs before my own in
all things.
d6 Flaw
1 If there’s food left unattended, I’ll eat it.
2 I growl at strangers, and all people except
my ranger are strangers to me.
3 Any time is a good time for a belly rub.
4 I’m deathly afraid of silt.
5 My idea of hello is a flurry of licks to the
face.
6 I jump on creatures to tell them how much
I love them.
Hunter
Some rangers seek to master weapons to better
protect civilization from the terrors of the
wilderness. Hunter ranger learn specialized
fighting techniques for use against the most dire
threats, from rampaging so-huts and hordes of
giths to towering giants and terrifying drakes.
Hunter’s Prey
At 3rd level, you gain one of the following
features of your choice.
Colossus Slayer. Your tenacity can wear down
the most potent foes. When you hit a creature
with a weapon attack, the creature takes an
extra 1d8 damage if it’s below its hit point
maximum. You can deal this extra damage only
once per turn.
Giant Killer. When a Large or larger creature
within 5 feet of you hits or misses you with an
attack, you can use your reaction to attack that
creature immediately after its attack, provided
that you can see the creature.
Horde Breaker. Once on each of your turns
when you make a weapon attack, you can make
another attack with the same weapon against a
different creature that is within 5 feet of the
original target and within range of your weapon.
Defensive Tactics
At 7th level, you gain one of the following
features of your choice.
Escape the Horde. Opportunity attacks against
you are made with disadvantage.
Multiattack Defense. When a creature hits
you with an attack, you gain a +4 bonus to AC
against all subsequent attacks made by that
creature for the rest of the turn.
Steel Will. You have advantage on saving
throws against being frightened.
Superior Hunter’s Defense
At 15th level, you gain one of the following
features of your choice.
Evasion. When you are subjected to an effect,
such as a red dragon’s fiery breath or a lightning
bolt spell, that allows you to make a Dexterity
saving throw to take only half damage, you
instead take no damage if you succeed on the
saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.
Stand Against the Tide. When a hostile
creature misses you with a melee attack, you can
use your reaction to force that creature to repeat
the same attack against another creature (other
than itself) of your choice.
Uncanny Dodge. When an attacker that you
can see hits you with an attack, you can use your
reaction to halve the attack’s damage against
you.

Multiattack
At 11th level, you gain one of the following
features of your choice.
Volley. You can use your action to make a
ranged attack against any number of creatures
within 10 feet of a point you can see within your
weapon’s range. You must have ammunition for
each target, as normal, and you make a separate
attack roll for each target.
Whirlwind Attack. You can use your action to
make a melee attack against any number of
creatures within 5 feet of you, with a separate
attack roll for each target.

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Primeval Guardian
Primeval Guardian rangers follow an ancient
tradition rooted in powerful druidic magic. These
rangers learn to become one with nature,
allowing them to channel the aspects of various
beasts and plants in order to overcome their
foes. These rangers dwell in the elder parts of
the world. They venture out only rarely, as they
consider it their sacred duty to protect the
druidic groves and remnant of trees that saw the
earliest days of the Green Age.
Guardian Magic
Starting at 3rd level, you learn an additional spell
when you reach certain levels in this class, as
shown in the Primeval Guardian Spells table. The
spell counts as a ranger spell for you, and it
doesn’t count against the number of ranger
spells you know.
Ranger
Level Primeval Guardian Spells
3rd Entangle
5th Enhance Ability
9th Conjure Animals
13th Giant Insect
17th Insect Plague
Guardian Soul
Starting at 3rd level, you gain the ability to
temporarily grow and take on the appearance of
a treelike person, covered with leaves and bark.
As a bonus action, you assume this guardian
form, which lasts until you end it as a bonus
action or until you are incapacitated. You
undergo the following changes while in your
guardian form:
 Your size becomes Large, unless you were
larger.
 Any speed you have becomes 5 feet, unless
the speed was lower.
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 Your reach increases by 5 feet.
 You gain a number of temporary hit points
at the start of each of your turns. The
number equals half your ranger level.
When the form ends, you lose any
temporary hit points you have from it.
Piercing Thorns
At 3rd level, your command of primal magic
allows you to enhance your attacks with thorns.
Once during each of your turns, you can deal an
additional 1d6 piercing damage to one creature
you hit with a weapon attack.
Ancient Fortitude
At 7th level, you gain the endurance of the
ancient forests. Your hit point maximum and
current hit points increase by 2 per ranger level
when you assume your guardian form. This
increase lasts until you leave the form; your hit
point maximum then returns to normal, but your
current hit points remain the same, unless they
must decrease to abide by your hit point
maximum.
Rooted Defense
At 11th level, you gain the ability to twist and
turn the ground beneath you. While you are in
your guardian form, the ground within 30 feet of
you is difficult terrain for your enemies.
Guardian Aura
Starting at 15th level, your guardian form
emanates a magical aura that fortifies your
injured allies. When any ally starts their turn
within 30 feet of your guardian form, that ally
regains a number of hit points equal to half your
ranger level. This aura has no effect on a
creature that has half or more of its hit points,
and it has no effect on undead and constructs.
Wasteland Wanderer
Some worlds thrive, with large swathes of the
land covered with flora and fauna that can be
both beautiful and dangerous while other lands,
or other worlds, become desolate wastelands
through cataclysmic occurrences either natural
or manufactured. Apocalyptic events turn the
land into hazardous voids more dangerous than
any monster. Only the hardiest life forms survive,
and even they are often mutated into hideous
reflections of their natural selves.
The Sea of Silt is just an example in lore. Forged
in harsh kiln of apocalyptic survival are the
Wasteland Wanderer. These rangers of ruin rely
on the skills and knowledge they have gathered
by surviving the terrible conditions of Athas—
and often helping others survive as well.
Ranger Wasteland Wanderer
Level Features
3rd Wasteland Wanderer Magic,
Vigilant Guardian
7th Trail of Trouble
11th Shared Succor
15th Safety in Numbers
Wasteland Wanderer Magic
Starting at 3rd level, you learn an additional spell
with you reach certain levels in this class, as
shown in the Wasteland Wanderer Spells table.
The spell counts as a ranger spell for you, but it
doesn’t count against the number of ranger
spells you know.
Ranger Wasteland Wanderer
Level Spells
3rd purify food and drink
5th aid
9th mass healing word
13th death ward
17th mass cure wounds
Vigilant Guardian
At 3rd level, you become harder to ambush and
can’t be surprised while within your favored
terrain. If a member of your party is surprised at
the start of combat, you have advantage on
initiative rolls.
Additionally, you can use your bonus action to
make a Wisdom (Perception) or Intelligence
(Investigation) check to notice hidden enemies. If
you notice a hidden creature, you can
immediately move up to half your speed and
make one additional weapon attack against that
target, as part of that same bonus action. When
you do, you have advantage on the attack and
you deal an additional 2d8 damage on a hit.
Trail of Trouble
Starting at 7th level, you have a +5 bonus to your
passive Wisdom (Perception) and passive
Intelligence (Investigation) scores. You gain this
benefit even while traveling at a normal pace,
instead of a slow pace, while you are in your
favored terrain. Additionally, you can use your
Primeval Awareness feature to focus your senses
to unnatural disturbances nearby. For 1 minute
per level of the spell slot you expend, you can
divine the types of traps to a range of 60 feet,
learning how they trigger, and the type of
damage they deal. When you do so, you also gain
resistance to traps you identify with this feature
until you finish a short or long rest.
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Shared Succor
At 11th level, when you cast a ranger spell that
restores hit points to a creature other than you,
treat any dice rolled to determine the hit points
regained as having rolled their maximum value,
and you regain hit points equal that number plus
your wisdom modifier.
At 15th level, you can choose one additional
creature within range of the spell, to regain that
number of hit points.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it
again until you finish a long rest.
Safety in Numbers
At 15th level, you gain the ability to use an
enemy’s momentum against it. When a creature
within 30 feet of you deals damage to anyone
other than you, you can use your reaction to
grant its target resistance to the attack’s damage
and you can make a special weapon attack as
part of the same reaction. You have advantage
on the attack roll, and if it hits, your target has
disadvantage on its next attack roll until the end
of its next turn.
You can use this feature a number of times
equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of 1).
You regain all expended uses when you finish a
long rest.

Proficiency Features Spells —Spell Slots per Spell Level—

Level
Bonus Known 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
1st +2 Favored Enemy, Natural Explorer — — — — — —
2nd +2 Fighting Style, Spellcasting 2 2 — — — —
3rd +2 Ranger Archetype, Primeval Awareness 3 3 — — — —
4th +2 Ability Score Improvement 3 3 — — — —
5th +3 Extra Attack 4 4 2 — — —
6th +3 Favored Enemy and Natural Explorer Improvements 4 4 2 — — —
7th +3 Ranger Archetype Feature 5 4 3 — — —
8th +3 Ability Score Improvement, Land’s Stride 5 4 3 — — —
9th +4 — 6 4 3 2 — —
10th +4 Natural Explorer Improvement, Hide in Plain Sight 6 4 3 2 — —
11th +4 Ranger Archetype Feature 7 4 3 3 — —
12th +4 Ability Score Improvement 7 4 3 3 — —
13th +5 — 8 4 3 3 1 —
14th +5 Favored Enemy Improvement, Vanish 8 4 3 3 1 —
15th +5 Ranger Archetype Feature 9 4 3 3 2 —
16th +5 Ability Score Improvement 9 4 3 3 2 —
17th +6 — 10 4 3 3 3 1
18th +6 Feral Senses 10 4 3 3 3 1
19th +6 Ability Score Improvement 11 4 3 3 3 2
20th +6 Foe Slayer 11 4 3 3 3 2

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Athasian Bard
“Some people think a club can solve any problem.
Unless you‟re a half-giant, there are more sophisticated
ways of settling a disagreement. ”
―Cabal, half-elven bard
The bard is a member of a bizarre class of
entertainers and storytellers prized by the
aristocratic city dwellers. Freemen all, the bards
tour through cities in groups or individually, then
travel on, making a living with their wits and
talents. It is also widely accepted that many
bards lead double lives as notorious
blackmailers, thieves, spies, and even assassins.
As described in the Player's Handbook, the bard
must remain mostly neutral in alignment; that is,
he must have .neutral. as one of the elements of
his alignment. The bard's profession puts him in
touch with all sorts of people and situations and
he cannot afford to have a strong polarity of
alignment to complicate his interaction with
them. Athasian bards have no restrictions to
their armor or weapon choices. However, they
tend to wear no armor, in favor of more festive
clothing, and their weapons are often concealed
and small. Bards are first and foremost
entertainers. Each has some skill as a singer,
actor, poet, musician, and juggler. Every bard
character specializes in one particular mode of
performance which should be noted on his
character sheet; this may become pertinent in
some roleplaying situations.
Among the nobility of the cities, bards are tools.
They are commonly hired by one house of nobles
and sent to another as a gift. The bards are sent
to entertain, and usually to perform some other
subtle task (such as robbery, assassination,
espionage, etc.), as well. It is considered rude to
turn down the gift of a bard or bard company.
However, when presented with a troop of bards
from one's worst enemy, sometimes they are
turned away. To get around this, the hiring party
sometimes disguises their approach by using a
third party to send the bards-it can turn into a
very complicated collage of intrigue and deceit.
A bard has a bewildering variety of benefits. A
bard can use all thief abilities: pick pockets, open
locks, find/ remove traps, move silently, hide in
shadows, hear noise, climb walls, and read
languages. The initial values of each skill is given
on the Thieving Skill Base Scores table, and is
modified by race, Dexterity, and armor worn.
Unlike thieves, bards add nothing to these base
values at 1st level. Each time the bard rises a
level in experience, the player receives another
20 points to distribute. No more than 10 of these
points can be assigned to a single skill and no
skill can be raised above 35 percent.
Class Features
As a bard, you gain the following class features.
Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d8 per bard level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution
modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your
Constitution modifier per bard level after 1st
Proficiencies
Armor: Light armor
Weapons: Simple weapons, hand crossbows,
longswords, rapiers, shortswords
Tools: Two musical instruments of your choice,
and two from the following list: Alchemist’s
supplies, Disguise kit, Herbalism kit, Poisoner’s
kit, Thieves’ tools
Saving Throws: Dexterity, Charisma
Skills: Choose any three
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 Proficiency Bleeding
Level Features
Bonus Strike
1st +2 1d4 Bardic Inspiration (d6), Smuggler
2nd +2 1d4 Bleeding Strike, Jack of All Trades, Song of Rest, Master Poisonner
3rd +2 1d4 Bard Academy, Careful Poisoner, Expertis
4th +2 1d4 Ability Score Improvement, Master Poisonner
5th +3 2d4 Bardic Inspiration (d8), Font of Inspiration, Trade Secret
6th +3 2d4 Countercharm, Bard Academy Feature, Prompt Poisoner, Master Poisonner
7th +3 2d4 ---
8th +3 2d4 Ability Score Improvement, Quick Thinking, Master Poisonner
9th +4 3d4 Song of Rest (d8), Trade Secret
10th +4 3d4 Bardic Inspiration (d10), Expertise, Knowledge's Edge, Master Poisonner
11th +4 3d4 ---
12th +4 3d4 Ability Score Improvement, Master Poisonner
13th +5 4d4 Song of Rest (d10), Trade Secret
14th +5 4d4 Bard Academy Feature, Physical Resistance, Master Poisonner
15th +5 4d4 Bardic Inspiration (d12)
16th +5 4d4 Ability Score Improvement, Master Poisonner
17th +6 5d4 Song of Rest (d12), Trade Secret
18th +6 5d4 Mental Resistance, Master Poisonner
19th +6 5d4 Ability Score Improvement
20th +6 5d4 Superior Inspiration, Master Poisonner

Equipment within 60 feet of you who can hear you. That

You start with the following equipment, in
addition to the equipment granted by your
background:
 (a) an obsidian puchik, (b) an obsidian
longsword, or (c) any obsidian simple
weapon
 (a) a diplomat’s pack or (b) an entertainer’s
pack
 (a) a lute or (b) any other musical
instrument
 Carru leather armor and an obsidian bard’s
friend
Bardic Inspiration
You can inspire others through stirring words or
music. To do so, you use a bonus action on your
turn to choose one creature other than yourself
creature gains one Bardic Inspiration die, a d6.
Once within the next 10 minutes, the creature
can roll the die and add the number rolled to one
ability check, attack roll, or saving throw it
makes. The creature can wait until after it rolls
the d20 before deciding to use the Bardic
Inspiration die, but must decide before the DM
says whether the roll succeeds or fails. Once the
Bardic Inspiration die is rolled, it is lost. A
creature can have only one Bardic Inspiration die
at a time.
You can use this feature a number of times
equal to your Charisma modifier (a minimum of
once). You regain any expended uses when you
finish a long rest.
Your Bardic Inspiration die changes when you
reach certain levels in this class. The die becomes
a d8 at 5th level, a d10 at 10th level, and a d12 at
15th level.

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Smuggler
You gain an advantage on Charisma checks to
find the person who can sell you drugs, herbs,
poisons, spell components and other illicit goods.
Additionally you gain an advantage on an
Intelligence Checks to masquerade illicit goods or
items as normal luggage.
Bleeding Strike
Beginning at 2nd level, you know how to strike
surgically at the creatures that depend on life
giving substances like blood or water. Once per
round you can deal extra bleeding damage to
one creature you hit with an attack if you have
advantage on the attack roll, the creature suffers
extra bleeding damage of the same type at the
end of its next turn.
The creature that was hit must be able to
bleed.
The attack must use a finesse weapon. You
don’t need advantage on the attack roll if
another enemy of the target is Within 5 feet of
the enemy that isn’t incapacitated, and you don’t
have disadvantage on the attack roll. The
amount of extra damage increases as you gain
levels in this class, as shown in the Bleeding
Strike column of the Bard table.
Jack of All Trades
Starting at 2nd level, you can add half your
proficiency bonus, rounded down, to any ability
check you make that doesn’t already include
your proficiency bonus.
Song of Rest
Beginning at 2nd level, you can use soothing
music or oration to help revitalize your wounded
allies during a short rest. If you or any friendly
creatures who can hear your performance regain
hit points at the end of the short rest by
spending one or more Hit Dice, each of those
creatures regains an extra 1d6 hit points.
The extra hit points increase when you reach
certain levels in this class: to 1d8 at 9th level, to
1d10 at 13th level, and to 1d12 at 17th level.
Master Poisoner
A bard is a master of poisons, knowledgeable in
both their use and manufacture. From 2nd level,
each two level, the bard rolls 1d20, and consults
POISONS TABLE in gear chapter below to
determine which new poison he has mastered. If
the bard has already mastered the poison
indicated, he gains no new poison at that level. If
the total is 20, the bard may choose any poison
on the list. Once mastered, the bard can make a
single application of the poison every day, using
easily obtained materials.
Bard Academy
At 3rd level, you delve into the advanced
techniques of a bard Academy of your choice.
Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and
again at 6th and 14th level.
 Academy of Lore
 Academy of Satire
 Academy of Swords
 Academy of Survival
 Academy of Whispers
Expertise
At 3rd level, choose two of your skill
proficiencies. Your proficiency bonus is doubled
for any ability check you make that uses either of
the chosen proficiencies.
At 10th level, you can choose another two skill
proficiencies to gain this benefit.
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
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two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal,
you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using
this feature.
Font of Inspiration
Beginning when you reach 5th level, you regain
all of your expended uses of Bardic Inspiration
when you finish a short or long rest.
Trade Secrets
At 5th, 9th, 13th and 17th level you learn a trade
secret chosen from the list below:
Alchemy Dealer. Pay one‐half of the market
price for materials needed to craft alchemical
items.
Forbidden Knowledge. You learn to read and
write one of the languages you can speak.
Herbalist. You have an advantage when creating
antitoxin and poison antidotes.
Poison Dealer. Pay one‐half of the market price
for poisons and raw materials needed to craft
poisons.
Poison Taster. You have resistance to poison
damage.
Poison Immunity. (prerequisite Poison Taster)
You have immunity to poison damage. This Trade
Secret must be taken with either a 13th or 17th
level slot.
Refined Deceiver. You can add your proficiency
bonus to your Charisma checks when
masquerading as someone else.
Scented Widowmaker. You can combine
ingested and inhaled poisons with smokesticks.
All creatures within the area of the smokestick
(covers a 10‐ft. cube) are affected by the poison
you applied to the smokestick.
Scorpion’s Touch. A creature subjected to a
contact or injury poison applied by you has a
disadvantage on the first saving throw it makes
against the poison.
Silent Assassin. You gain an advantage on
grapple checks when using Garrote or Lajav.
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Surgeon of Death. As a bonus action you can
expend one of your uses of Bardic Inspiration to
gain an advantage on your next attack action.
Tumbler: If you see your opponent, you can use
your reaction to get half of your proficiency
bonus to AC, potentially causing the attack to
miss you.
Versatile Skills. Select a skill proficiency from this
list: Deception, Investigation, Insight, Medicine,
Persuasion, Performance, Stealth or Sleight of
Hand. You are now proficient with this skill. This
trade secret may be chosen more than once,
each time it applies to a different skill.
Countercharm
At 6th level, you gain the ability to use musical
notes or words of power to disrupt mind-
influencing effects. As an action, you can start a
performance that lasts until the end of your next
turn. During that time, you and any friendly
creatures within 30 feet of you have advantage
on saving throws against being frightened or
charmed. A creature must be able to hear you to
gain this benefit. The performance ends early if
you are incapacitated or silenced or if you
voluntarily end it (no action required).
Prompt Poisoner
At 6th level, you can apply poison to a weapon as
a bonus action.
Quick Thinking
Bards often find themselves in a tight spot where
they have to act quickly, whether it is to escape a
templar patrol or strike first when in
confrontation with a foe. Starting at 8th level,
your keen ability to assess tactical situations
allows you to act quickly in battle. You have
advantage to your initiative rolls.
Knowledge’s Edge
Bards carry many dark secrets they would prefer
remain secret. This, combined with a large
amount of knowledge based on half‐truths and
false rumors makes your mind unreliable to
those who would seek to mentally affect it. At
10th level you receive a proficiency bonus to
saves made against enchantment spells. In
addition you have an advantage on Intelligence
saving throws.
Physical Resistance
Special training is a way of life for bards. Be it
training with monks from Nibenay, or a tutelage
from the master of the Way, or even a patronage
from a sorcerer king, a bard has found a way to
be tough against all odds. At 14th level, you gain
resistance to two types of damage form the
following list: Acid, Bludgeoning, Cold, Fire,
Lightning, Piercing, Poison, Slashing, or Thunder.
Mental Resistance
Bards have always been a bit superstitious and
they've accumulated a lot of tokens and charms
during their lives to protect them from
unexplainable forces. Some of those charms
actually do work and bards belief in them have
unlocked a way to find inner peace and its
protection from the supernatural. At 18th level,
you gain resistance to one type of damage form
the following list: Force, Necrotic, Psychic or
Radiant.
Superior Inspiration
At 20th level, when you roll initiative and have
no uses of Bardic Inspiration left, you regain one
use.
Bard Academies
The way of a bard is gregarious. Bards seek each
other out to swap songs and stories, boast of
their accomplishments, and share their
knowledge. Bards form loose associations, which
they call academies, to facilitate their gatherings
and preserve their traditions.
Academy of Lore
Bards of the Academy of Lore know something
about most things, collecting bits of knowledge
from sources as diverse as scholarly tomes and
peasant tales. Whether singing folk ballads in
taverns or elaborate compositions in royal
courts, these bards use their gifts to hold
audiences spellbound. When the applause dies
down, the audience members might find
themselves questioning everything they held to
be true, from their faith in the priesthood of the
local temple to their loyalty to the king.
The loyalty of these bards lies in the pursuit of
beauty and truth, not in fealty to a monarch or
following the tenets of a deity. A noble who
keeps such a bard as a herald or advisor knows
that the bard would rather be honest than
politic. The academy’s members gather in
libraries and sometimes in actual academies,
complete with classrooms and dormitories, to
share their lore with one another. They also
meet at festivals or affairs of state, where they
can expose corruption, unravel lies, and poke fun
at self-important figures of authority.
Bonus Proficiencies
When you join the Academy of Lore at 3rd level,
you gain proficiency with three skills of your
choice.
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Cutting Words
Also at 3rd level, you learn how to use your wit
to distract, confuse, and otherwise sap the
confidence and competence of others. When a
creature that you can see within 60 feet of you
makes an Attack roll, an ability check, or a
damage roll, you can use your reaction to expend
one of your uses of Bardic Inspiration, rolling a
Bardic Inspiration die and subtracting the
number rolled from the creature’s roll. You can
choose to use this feature after the creature
makes its roll, but before the GM determines
whether the Attack roll or ability check succeeds
or fails, or before the creature deals its damage.
The creature is immune if it can’t hear you or if
it’s immune to being Charmed.
Poisoner’s Secrets
At 6th level, you learn to make two poisons of
your choice from the Poison list.
Healing Salve
At 6th level, you learn how to create healing
salves using your herbalism kit.
Healing Salve. Starting from 6th level, as an
action, you can expend one use of Bardic
Inspiration to infuse an already prepared salve. A
creature can smear it on itself as an action to
regain 2d6 hit points. If not used, the salve
looses its healing properties after 1 hour. This
salve’s healing increases by 1d6 when you reach
certain bard levels: 10th level (3d6), 14th level
(4d6), 18th level (5d6), and 20th level (6d6).
Peerless Skill
Starting at 14th level, when you make an ability
check, you can expend one use of
Bardic Inspiration. Roll a Bardic Inspiration die
and add the number rolled to your ability check.
99
You can choose to do so after you roll the die for
the ability check, but before the GM tells you
whether you succeed or fail.
Academy of Satire
Bards of the Academy of Satire are called jesters.
They use lowbrow stories, daring acrobatics, and
cutting jokes to entertain audiences, ranging
from the crowds in a rundown dockside pub to
the nobles of a king’s royal court. Where other
bards seek forgotten lore or tales of epic bravery,
jesters ferret out embarrassing and hilarious
stories of all kinds. Whether telling the ribald tale
of a brawny stable hand’s affair with an aged
duchess or a mocking satire of a paladin of
Helm’s cloying innocence, a jester never lets
taste, social decorum, or shame get in the way of
a good laugh.
While jesters are masters of puns, jokes, and
verbal barbs, they are much more than just
comic relief. They are expected to mock and
provoke, taking advantage of how even the most
powerful folk are expected by tradition to
endure a jester’s barbs with good humor. This
expectation allows a jester to serve as a critic or
a voice of reason when others are too
intimidated to speak the truth.
For the duchess with a taste for strapping young
laborers, such tales might serve to warn the
targets of her affections and force her to change
her ways for lack of willing partners. Striking
back at the jester only ruins her already
damaged reputation, and might provide the best
evidence that the jester’s satires have hit their
mark. But if she is kind and generous to her
conquests, the jokes and stories cast her as a
kind of folk hero, while drawing even more
potential partners to her.
Jesters are loyal to only one cause: the pursuit
and propagation of the truth. They use their
comedy and innocuous appearance to break
down social barriers and expose corruption,
incompetence, and stupidity among the rich and
powerful. Whether revealing a con artist’s
treachery or exposing a baron’s plans for war as
driven by greed and bloodlust, a jester serves as
the conscience of a realm. Jesters adventure to
safeguard the common folk and to undermine
the plans of the rich, powerful, and arrogant.
Their skills bolsters allies’ spirits while casting
doubt into foes’ minds. Among bards, jesters are
unmatched acrobats, and their ability to tumble,
dodge, leap, and climb makes them slippery
opponents in battle.
Bonus Proficiencies
When you join the Academy of Satire at 3rd
level, you gain proficiency with thieves’ tools.
You also gain proficiency in Sleight of Hand and
one additional skill of your choice. If you are
already proficient with thieves’ tools or in Sleight
of Hand, choose another skill proficiency for each
proficiency you already have.
Tumbling Fool
At 3rd level, you master a variety of acrobatic
techniques that allow you to evade danger. As a
bonus action, you can tumble. When you tumble,
you gain the following benefits for the rest of
your turn:
 You gain the benefits of taking the Dash
and Disengage actions.
 You gain a climbing speed equal to your
current speed.
 You take half damage from falling.
Fool’s Insight
At 6th level, your ability to gather stories and
lore gains a supernatural edge. You can use the
psionic talent detect thoughts up to a number of
times equal to your Charisma modifier. You
regain any expended uses of this ability after
completing a long rest. If a creature resists your
attempt to probe deeper and succeeds at its
saving throw against your detect thoughts, it
immediately suffers an embarrassing social gaffe.
It might loudly pass gas, unleash a thunderous
burp, trip and fall, or be compelled to tell a
tasteless joke.
Fool’s Luck
Jesters seem to have a knack for pulling
themselves out of tight situations, transforming
what looks like sure failure into an embarrassing
but effective success. At 14th level, you can
expend one use of Bardic Inspiration after you
fail an ability check, fail a saving throw, or miss
with an attack roll. Roll a Bardic Inspiration die
and add the number rolled to your attack, saving
throw, or ability check, using the new result in
place of the failed one.
If using this ability grants you a success on the
attack, saving throw, or ability check, note the
number you rolled on the Bardic Inspiration die.
The DM can then apply that result as a penalty to
an attack or check you make, and you cannot use
this ability again until you suffer this drawback.
When the DM invokes this penalty, describe an
embarrassing gaffe or mistake you make as part
of the affected die roll.
Academy of Swords
Bards of the Academy of Swords are called
blades, and they entertain through daring feats
of weapon prowess. Blades perform stunts such
as sword swallowing, knife throwing and
juggling, and mock combats. Though they use
their weapons to entertain, they are also highly
trained and skilled warriors in their own right.
Their talent with weapons inspires many blades
to lead double lives. One blade might use a circus
troupe as cover for nefarious deeds such as
100
assassination, robbery, and blackmail. Other
blades strike at the wicked, bringing justice to
bear against the cruel and powerful. Most
troupes are happy to accept a blade’s talent for
the excitement it adds to a performance, but few
entertainers fully trust a blade in their ranks.
Blades who abandon their lives as entertainers
have often run into trouble that makes
maintaining their secret activities impossible. A
blade caught stealing or engaging in vigilante
justice is too great a liability for most troupes.
With their weapon skills and magic, these blades
either take up work as enforcers for thieves’
guilds or strike out on their own as adventurers.

Bonus Proficiencies
When you join the Academy of Swords at 3rd
level, you gain proficiency with medium armor
and the scimitar.
If you’re proficient with a simple or martial
melee weapon, you can use it as a spellcasting
focus for your bard spells.

Fighting Style
At 3rd level, you adopt a style of fighting as your
specialty. Choose one of the following options.
You can’t take a Fighting Style option more than
once, even if something in the game lets you
choose again.
 Dueling. When you are wielding a melee
weapon in one hand and no other
weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage
rolls with that weapon.
 Two-Weapon Fighting. When you engage
in two-weapon fighting, you can add your
ability modifier to the damage of the
second attack.

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Blade Flourish
At 3rd level, you learn to perform impressive
displays of martial prowess and speed.
Whenever you take the Attack action on your
turn, your walking speed increases by 10 feet
until the end of the turn, and if a weapon attack
that you make as part of this action hits a
creature, you can use one of the following Blade
Flourish options of your choice. You can use only
one Blade Flourish option per turn.
 Defensive Flourish. You can expend one
use of your Bardic Inspiration to cause the
weapon to deal extra damage to the target
you hit. The damage equals the number
you roll on the Bardic Inspiration die. You
also add the number rolled to your AC until
the start of your next turn.
 Slashing Flourish. You can expend one use
of your Bardic Inspiration to cause the
weapon to deal extra damage to the target
you hit and to any other creature of your
choice that you can see within 5 feet of
you. The damage equals the number you
roll on the Bardic Inspiration die.
 Mobile Flourish. You can expend one use
of your Bardic Inspiration to cause the
weapon to deal extra damage to the target
you hit. The damage equals the number
you roll on the Bardic Inspiration die. You
can also push the target up to 5 feet away
from you, plus a number of feet equal to
the number you roll on that die. You can
then immediately use your reaction to
move up to your walking speed to an
unoccupied space within 5 feet of the
target.
Extra Attack
Starting at 6th level, you can attack twice,
instead of once, whenever you take the Attack
action on your turn
Master’s Flourish
Starting at 14th level, whenever you use a Blade
Flourish option, you can roll a d6 and use it
instead of expending a Bardic Inspiration die.
Academy of Survival
Bards of the Academy of Valor are daring skalds
whose tales keep alive the memory of the great
heroes of the past, and thereby inspire a new
generation of heroes. These bards gather in
mead halls or around great bonfires to sing the
deeds of the mighty, both past and present. They
travel the land to witness great events firsthand
and to ensure that the memory of those events
doesn't pass from the world. With their songs,
they inspire others to reach the same heights of
accomplishment as the heroes of old.
Bonus Proficiencies
When you join the Academy of Valor at 3rd level,
you gain proficiency with medium armor, shields,
and martial weapons.
Combat Inspiration
Also at 3rd level, you learn to inspire others in
battle. A creature that has a Bardic Inspiration
die from you can roll that die and add the
number rolled to a weapon damage roll it just
made. Alternatively, when an attack roll is made
against the creature, it can use its reaction to roll
the Bardic Inspiration die and add the number
rolled to its AC against that attack, after seeing
the roll but before knowing whether it hits or
misses.
Extra Attack
Starting at 6th level, you can attack twice,
instead of once, whenever you take the Attack
action on your turn.
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Peerless Skill
Starting at 14th level, when you make an ability
check, you can expend one use of Bardic
Inspiration. Roll a Bardic Inspiration die and add
the number rolled to your ability check. You can
choose to do so after you roll the die for the
ability check, but before the DM tells you
whether you succeed or fail.
Academy of Whispers
Most folk are happy to welcome a bard into their
midst. Bards of the Academy of Whispers use
this to their advantage. They appear to be like
other bards, sharing news, singing songs, and
telling tales to the audiences they gather. In
truth, the Academy of Whispers teaches its
students that they are wolves among sheep.
These bards use their knowledge and magic to
uncover secrets and turn them against others
through extortion and threats.
Many other bards hate the Academy of
Whispers, viewing it as a parasite that uses a
bard’s reputation to acquire wealth and power.
For this reason, members of this Academy rarely
reveal their true nature. They typically claim to
follow some other Academy, or they keep their
actual calling secret in order to infiltrate and
exploit royal courts and other settings of power.
Virulent Blades
When you join the Academy of Whispers at 3rd
level, you gain the ability to secrete toxins on
your weapon for a moment through psionically
manipulating your glands. When you hit a
creature with a weapon attack, you can expend
one use of your Bardic Inspiration to deal an
extra 2d6 poison damage to that target. You can
do so only once per round on your turn. The
poison damage increases when you reach certain
levels in this class, increasing to 3d6 at 5th level,
5d6 at 10th level, and 8d6 at 15th level.
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Venomous Words
At 3rd level, you learn to infuse innocent-
seeming words with an insidious psychic that can
inspire terror. If you speak to a humanoid alone
for at least 1 minute, you can attempt to seed
paranoia in its mind. At the end of the
conversation, the target must succeed on a
Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC
or be frightened of you or another creature of
your choice. The target is frightened in this way
for 1 hour, until it is attacked or damaged, or
until it witnesses its allies being attacked or
damaged. If the target succeeds on its saving
throw, the target has no hint that you tried to
frighten it. Once you use this feature, you can’t
use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Mantle of Whispers
At 6th level, you gain the ability to adopt a
humanoid’s persona. When a humanoid dies
within 30 feet of you, you can psionically capture
its shadow using your reaction. You retain this
shadow until you use it or you finish a long rest.
You can use the shadow as an action. When you
do so, it vanishes, transforming into a disguise
that appears on you. You now look like the dead
person, but healthy and alive. This disguise lasts
for 1 hour or until you end it as a bonus action.
While you’re in the disguise, you gain access to
all information that the humanoid would freely
share with a casual acquaintance. Such
information includes general details on its
background and personal life, but doesn’t
include secrets. The information is enough that
you can pass yourself off as the person by
drawing on its memories. Another creature can
see through this disguise by succeeding on a
Wisdom (Insight) check contested by your
Charisma (Deception) check. You gain a +5 bonus
to your check. Once you capture a shadow with
this feature, you can’t capture another one with
it until you finish a short or long rest.
Shadow Lore
At 14th level, you gain the ability to weave dark
psychic energy into your words and tap into a
creature’s deepest fears. As an action, you
magically whisper a phrase that only one
creature of your choice within 30 feet of you can
hear. The target must make a Wisdom saving
throw against your spell save DC. It automatically
succeeds if it doesn’t share a language with you
or if it can’t hear you. On a successful saving
throw, your whisper sounds like unintelligible
mumbling and has no effect. On a failed saving
throw, the target is charmed by you for the next
8 hours or until you or your allies attack it,
damage it, or force it to make a saving throw. It
interprets the whispers as a description of its
most mortifying secret. You gain no knowledge
of this secret, but the target is convinced you
know it. The charmed creature obeys your
commands for fear that you will reveal its secret.
It won’t risk its life for you or fight for you, unless
it was already inclined to do so. It grants you
favors and gifts it would offer to a close friend.
When the effect ends, the creature has no
understanding of why it held you in such fear.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again
until you finish a long rest.

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 Inhaled. These poisons are powders or gases
Athasian Poisons that take effect when they are inhaled. A single
dose fills a 5-foot cube.
Given their insidious and deadly nature, poisons
are illegal in most societies but are a favorite tool Injury. A creature that takes slashing or piercing
among assassins, bards, elves, and other sneaky damage from a weapon or piece of ammunition
creatures. coated with injury poison is exposed to its
effects. Each type of poison has its own
debilitating effects.
POISONS
Roll Item Type Price
1 Antloid Venom Contact 220 cp
2 Bard's Blood Ingested 120 cp
Poisons Descriptions
3 Blight Contact 50 cp
4 Bloodgrass Extract Injury 280 cp Names don’t necessarily indicate the poison
5 Burnt Othur Fumes Inhaled 500 cp came from that source, but the bard is able to
6 Carrion Crawler Mucus Contact 100 cp concoct similar effects. See the Poisoned
7 Cistern Fiend Poison Contact 2,000 cp condition in the Player's Handbook page 292.
8 Essence of Ether Inhaled 300 cp
9 Malice Inhaled 240 cp
10 Megapede Venom Injury 1,500 cp
Antloid Venom (Contact).
11 Oil of Taggit Contact 200 cp
12 Pale Tincture Ingested 400 cp A creature subjected to this poison must make a
13 Poisonweed Extract Injury 800 cp DC 16 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save
14 Poisonweed Pollen Inhaled 600 cp the creature loses their sense of balance and falls
15 Rl’sTas Ingested 1,000 cp over prone. The creature must repeat the saving
16 Serpent Venom Injury 80 cp throw at the start of each of its turns. On each
17 Scorpion Venom Injury 30 cp successive failed save, the creature remains dizzy
18 Silk Worm Blood Injury 180 cp and stays prone. After three successful saves or
19 Torpor Ingested 700 cp
after one hour (whichever comes first), the
20 Truth Serum Ingested 150 cp
poison ends.

Poisons come in the following four types: Bard's Blood (Ingested).

Contact. A creature that touches contact poison
with exposed skin suffers its effects.
Ingested. A creature must swallow an entire
dose of ingested poison to suffer its effects. You
might decide that a partial dose has a reduced
effect, such as allowing advantage on the saving
throw or dealing only half damage on a failed
save.
A creature subjected to this poison must make a
DC 10 Constitution saving throw. On a failed
save, it takes 6 (1d12) poison damage and is
poisoned for 24 hours. On a successful save, the
creature takes half damage and isn't poisoned.
Blight (Contact).
A creature subjected to this poison must succeed
on a DC 11 Constitution saving throw or become
poisoned for 1 hour.

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Bloodgrass Extract (Injury).
A creature subjected to this poison must succeed
on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or become
paralyzed for 1 hour. On a successful saving
throw the creature is not paralyzed but suffers
from being poisoned for 1 hour.
Burnt Othur Fumes (Inhaled).
A creature subjected to this poison must succeed
on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or take 10
(3d6) poison damage, and must repeat the
saving throw at the start of each of its turns. On
each successive failed save, the character takes 3
(1d6) poison damage. After three successful
saves, the poison ends.
Carrion Crawler Mucus (Contact).
A creature subjected to this poison must succeed
on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or be
poisoned for 1 minute. The
poisoned creature is paralyzed. The creature can
repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its
turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Cistern Fiend Poison (Contact).
A creature subjected to this poison must make a
DC 19 Constitution saving throw, taking 42
(12d6) poison damage on a failed save, or half as
much damage on a successful one.
Essence of Ether (Inhaled).
A creature subjected to this poison must succeed
on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or become
poisoned for 8 hours. The poisoned creature is
unconscious. The creature wakes up if it takes
damage or if another creature takes an action to
shake it awake.
Malice (Inhaled).
A creature subjected to this poison must succeed
on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or become
poisoned for 1 hour. The poisoned creature is
blinded.
Megapede Venom (Injury).
A creature subjected to this poison must make a
DC 18 Constitution saving throw, taking 30
(10d6) poison damage on a failed save, or half as
much damage on a successful one. Additionally,
on a failed save the creature begins hallucinating
and becomes frightened of the source of the
poison.
Oil of Taggit (Contact).
A creature subjected to this poison must succeed
on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or become
poisoned for 24 hours. The poisoned creature is
unconscious. The creature wakes up if it takes
damage.
Pale Tincture (Ingested).
A creature subjected to this poison must succeed
on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or take 3
(1d6) poison damage and become poisoned. The
poisoned creature must repeat the saving throw
every 24 hours, taking 3 (1d6) poison damage on
a failed save. Until this poison ends, the damage
the poison deals can't be healed by any means.
After seven successful saving throws, the effect
ends and the creature can heal normally.
Poisonweed Extract (Injury).
A creature subjected to this poison must make a
DC 15 Constitution saving throw, taking 24 (7d6)
poison damage on a failed save, or half as much
damage on a successful one.
Poisonweed Pollen (Inhaled).
A creature subjected to this poison must succeed
on a DC 17 Constitution saving throw or be
rendered unconscious. On a successful saving
throw the creature remains conscious, but is
poisoned for 1 hour, blinded, and must repeat
the saving throw at the start of each of its turns.
After three successful saves, the poison ends.
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Ral’s Tears (Ingested).
A creature that ingests this poison suffers no
effect until the rising of the moon, Ral. If the
poison has not been neutralized before then, the
creature must succeed on a DC 17 Constitution
saving throw, taking 31 (9d6) poison damage on
a failed save, or half as much damage on a
successful one.

Serpent Venom (Injury).

A creature subjected to this poison must succeed
on a DC 11 Constitution saving throw, taking 10
(3d6) poison damage on a failed save, or half as
much damage on a successful one.

Scorpion Venom (Injury).

A creature subjected to this poison must succeed
on a DC 9 Constitution saving throw, taking 5
(1d8) poison damage on a failed save, or half as
much damage on a successful one.

Silk Worm Blood (Injury).

The secret of extracting this poison is a secret
guarded by a handful of criminally inclined elven
tribes. A creature subjected to this poison must
succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or
be poisoned for 1 hour. If the saving throw fails
by 5 or more, the creature is also unconscious
while poisoned in this way. The creature wakes
up if it takes damage or if another creature takes
an action to shake it awake.

Torpor (Ingested).
A creature subjected to this poison must succeed
on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or become
poisoned for 4d6 hours. The poisoned creature is
incapacitated.

Truth Serum (Ingested).

A creature subjected to this poison must succeed
on a DC 11 Constitution saving throw or become
poisoned for 1 hour. The poisoned creature can't
knowingly speak a lie, as if under the effect of a
zone of truth spell.

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Rogue Class
Class Features Equipment

Rogues might be ruthless criminals, sly tricksters, You start with the following equipment, in
deadly assassins, or good hearted thieves who addition to the equipment granted by your
steal from the rich and give to the poor. background:
Whichever way you decide to play one, you're  (a) an obsidian puchik or (b) an obsidian
guaranteed to have a number of tricks to help shortsword
you achieve your goals.  (a) a shortbow and quiver of 20 obsidian
arrows or (b) an obsidian shortsword
Saving Throws
 (a) a burglar’s pack, (b) a dungeoneer’s
 Dexterity pack, or (c) an explorer’s pack
 Intelligence  Carru leather armor, two obsidian daggers,
and thieves’ tools
Hit Points
 Hit Dice: 1d8 per rogue level
Leveling Up
 Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Sneak
Constitution modifier Proficiency Attack
 Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + Level Bonus Value Features
1 2 1d6 Expertise, Sneak Attack
your Constitution modifier per rogue level 2 2 1d6 Cunning Action
after 1st. 3 2 2d6 Roguish Archetype
4 2 2d6 Ability Score Improvement
Proficiencies 5 3 3d6 Uncanny Dodge
6 3 3d6 Expertise
 Armor: light armor 7 3 4d6 Evasion
8 3 4d6 Ability Score Improvement
 Weapons: Simple weapons, hand
9 4 5d6 Roguish Archetype Feature
crossbows, longswords, Rapiers, 10 4 5d6 Ability Score Improvement,
Shortswords Patron
 Tools: Thieves' Tools 11 4 6d6 Reliable Talent
 Skills: Choose four from Acrobatics, 12 4 6d6 Ability Score Improvement
13 5 7d6 Roguish Archetype Feature
Athletics, Deception, Insight, Intimidation, 14 5 7d6 Blindsense
Investigation, Perception, Performance, 15 5 8d6 Slippery Mind
Persuasion, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth. 16 5 8d6 Ability Score Improvement
17 6 9d6 Roguish Archetype Feature
18 6 9d6 Elusive
19 6 10d6 Ability Score Improvement
20 6 10d6 Stroke of Luck

108
Skills
Sneak Attack
You know how to strike subtly and exploit a foe’s
distraction. Once per turn, you can deal extra
1d6 damage to one creature you hit with an
attack if you have Advantage on the attack roll.
The attack must use a finesse or a ranged
weapon. As you gain levels, the amount of
damage increases, as shown on the level table.
 You don't need Advantage on the attack
roll if another enemy of the target is within
5 feet of it, that enemy isn't incapacitated,
and you don't have Disadvantage on the
attack roll.
 Rogues typically only get one Sneak Attack
per round of combat. However if some
circumstance or feature allows them to
react during another creature's turn, such
as an Attack of Opportunity, the
Battlemaster's Commander’s Strike, or the
Thief Archetype's "Thief's Reflexes", and all
other qualifications are met, the Rogue
may get a second or third Sneak Attack
during a single round of combat.
Expertise
At 1st level, choose two of your skill
proficiencies, or one of your skill proficiencies
and your proficiency with thieves' tools. Your
proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check
you make that uses either of the chosen
proficiencies.
At 6th level, you can choose two more of your
proficiencies (in skills or with thieves tools) to
gain this benefit.
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Cunning Action
Starting at your second level, your quick thinking
and agility allow you to move and act quickly.
You can take a Bonus Action on each of your
turns in combat. This action can be used only to
take the Dash, Disengage, Aim or Hide action.
Cunning Action: Aim
You gain an additional way to use your Cunning
Action: carefully aiming your next attack. As a
bonus action, you give yourself advantage on
your next attack roll on the current turn. You can
use this bonus action only if you haven’t moved
during this turn, and after you use the bonus
action, your speed is 0 until the end of the
current turn.
Roguish Archetypes
At 3rd level, you choose an archetype that you
emulate in the exercise of your rogue abilities:
 Thief
 Assassin
 Arcane Trickster
 Inquisitive
 Mastermind
 Raider
 Trader
 Swashbuckler
Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 10th,
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. Alternately you can
take a Feat in place of your Ability Score
Improvement.
Uncanny Dodge
Starting at 5th level, when an attacker that you
can see hits you with an Attack, you can use your
Reaction to halve the attack's damage against
you.
 Only damage resulting from attack rolls
such as melee attacks, ranged attacks, or
spells with attack rolls (i.e. firebolt, guiding
bolt) qualify for Uncanny Dodge.
 Due to the restriction of using your
Reaction, only one attack per round can
qualify for Uncanny Dodge.
Evasion
Beginning at 7th level, you can nimbly dodge out
of the way of certain area effects, such as a red
dragon's fiery breath or an Ice Storm spell. When
you are subjected to an effect that allows you to
make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half
damage, you instead take no damage if you
succeed on the saving throw, and only half
damage if you fail.
Reliable Talent
By 11th level, you have refined your chosen skills
until they approach perfection. Whenever you
make an ability check that lets you add your
proficiency bonus, you can treat a d20 roll of 9 or
lower as a 10.
Blindsense
Starting at 14th level, if you are able to hear, you
are aware of the location of any hidden
or Invisible creature within 10 feet of you.
Slippery Mind
By 15th level, you have acquired greater
mental strength. You gain proficiency in Wisdom
saving throws.
Elusive
Beginning at 18th level, you are so evasive that
attackers rarely gain the upper hand against you.
No Attack roll has advantage against you while
you aren't Incapacitated.
Stroke of Luck
At 20th level, you have an uncanny knack for
succeeding when you need to. If your Attack
misses a target within range, you can turn the
miss into a hit. Alternatively, if you fail an ability
check, you can treat the d20 roll as a 20. Once
you use this feature, you can't use it again until
you finish a Short or Long Rest.
Roguish Archetypes
Rogues have many features in common, including
their emphasis on perfecting their skills, their precise
and deadly approach to combat, and their
increasingly quick reflexes. But different rogues steer
those talents in varying directions, embodied by the
rogue archetypes. Your choice of archetype is a
reflection of your focus; not necessarily an indication
of your chosen profession, but a description of your
preferred techniques. Choose between Assassin,
Thief, Arcane Trickster, Scout, and Swashbuckler.
Assassin
You focus your training on the grim art of death.
Those who adhere to this archetype are diverse
hired killers, spies, bounty hunters, and even
specially anointed priests trained to exterminate
the enemies of their deity. Stealth, poison, and
disguise help you eliminate your foes with deadly
efficiency.
Bonus Proficiencies
You gain proficiency with the disguise kit and the
poisoner’s kit.
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Assassinate Death strike
Starting at 3rd level, you are at your deadliest Starting at the 17th level, you become a master
when you get the drop on your enemies. You of instant death. When you attack and hit a
have Advantage on attack rolls against any creature that is surprised, it must make a
creature that hasn’t taken a turn in the combat Constitution saving throw (DC 8 + your Dexterity
yet. In addition, any hit you score against a modifier + your proficiency bonus.) On a failed
creature that is surprised is a critical hit. save, double the damage of your attack against
For reference, creatures that are "Surprised" the creature.
can't move or take actions on their first turn of
combat if they fail to notice approaching threats.
This is done by comparing the Dexterity (stealth)
checks of those hiding to the Wisdom
(perception) checks of those not at the start of
combat.

Infiltration Expertise
Starting at 9th level, you can unfailingly create
false identities for yourself. You must spend
seven days and 25 cp to establish the history,
profession, and affiliations for an identity. You
can't establish an identity that belongs to
someone else. For example, you might acquire
appropriate clothing, letters of introduction, and
official-looking certificates to establish yourself
as a member of a trading house from a remote
city so you can insinuate yourself into the
company of other wealthy merchants.
Thereafter, if you adopt the new identity as a
disguise, other creatures believe you to be that
person until given an obvious reason not to.

Impostor
At the 13th level, you gain the ability to
unerringly mimic another person's speech,
writing, and behavior. You must spend at least
three hours studying these three components of
the person's behavior, listening to speech,
examining handwriting, and observing
mannerisms. Your ruse is indiscernible to the
casual observer. If a wary creature suspects
something is amiss, you have advantage on any
Charisma (deception) check you make to avoid
detection.

111

Thief
You hone your skills in the larcenous arts.
Burglars, bandits, cutpurses, and other criminals
typically follow this archetype, but so do rogues
who prefer to think of themselves as
professional treasure seekers, explorers, delvers,
and investigators. In addition to improving your
agility and stealth, you learn skills useful for
delving into ancient ruins, reading unfamiliar
languages, and using magic items you normally
couldn’t employ.
Fast Hands
Starting at 3rd level, you can use the bonus
action granted by your Cunning Action to:
1. Make a Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check
2. Use your thieves’ tools to disarm a trap or
open a lock.
3. Take the Use an Object action.
Second-Story Work
When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you
gain the ability to climb faster than normal;
climbing no longer costs you extra movement. In
addition, when you make a running jump, the
distance you cover increases by a number of feet
equal to your Dexterity modifier.
Supreme Sneak
Starting at 9th level, you have advantage on a
Dexterity (Stealth) check if you move no more
than half your speed on the same turn.
Use Magic Device
By 13th level, you have learned enough about
the workings of magic that you can improvise the
use of items even when they are not intended
for you. You ignore all class, race, and level
requirements on the use of magic items.
Thief's Reflexes
When you reach 17th level, you have become
adept at laying ambushes and quickly escaping
danger. You can take two turns during the first
round of any combat. You take your first turn at
your normal initiative and your second turn at
your initiative minus 10. During each of those
separate turns, you get an action and a bonus
action, totaling two of each on your first round of
combat. Because these are considered two
separate turns, you may also Sneak Attack per
the normal rules (if eligible) on each turn. That
said, you can’t use this feature when you are
surprised.
Arcane Trickster
Some rogues enhance their fine-honed skills of
stealth and agility with magic, learning tricks of
enchantment and illusion. These rogues include
pickpockets and burglars, but also pranksters,
mischief-makers, and a significant number of
adventurers.
Spellcasting
Arcane Tricksters gain the ability to cast Wizard
spells to enhance their abilities, trick their foes,
and defend themselves more effectively.
 Cantrips: You learn three cantrips: Mage
Hand and two other cantrips of your choice
from the wizard spell list. At 10th level you
learn another cantrip from the wizard spell
list.
 Spells Known: You know three 1st level
wizard spells of your choice, two of which
you must choose from the enchantment
and illusion spells on the wizard spell list.
The third can be from any school of magic.
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  Thereafter you learn another spell at levels
4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 19, and 20.
 The spells you learn at 8th, 14th, and 20th
level can come from any school of magic.
 Whenever you gain a level in this class, you
can replace one of the wizard spells you
know with another spell of your choice
from the wizard spell list (of a level you can
cast).
 Spellcasting Ability: Intelligence is your
spellcasting ability for your wizard spells,
since you learn your spells through
dedicated study and memorization. You
use your Intelligence whenever a spell
refers to your spellcasting ability. Your spell
saving throw DC is 8+ your proficiency
bonus + your Intelligence modifier. Your
spell attack bonus is your proficiency bonus
+ your Intelligence modifier.
 Spell Slots: You start with two 1st level
spell slots at Rogue level 3, and gain more
as you gain more Rogue levels.
 You can stow one object the hand is
holding in a container worn or carried by
another creature.
 You can retrieve an object in a container
worn or carried by another creature.
 You can use thieves’ tools to pick locks and
disarm traps at range.
You can perform one of these tasks without
being noticed by a creature if you succeed on a
Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check contested by
the creature’s Wisdom (Perception) check. In
addition, you can use the bonus action granted
by your Cunning Action to control the hand.
Magical Ambush
Starting at 9th level, if you are hidden from a
creature when you cast a spell on it, the creature
has disadvantage on any saving throw it makes
against the spell this turn.

Versatile Trickster
Spellcasting
At 13th level, you gain the ability to distract
Rogue Spells
targets with your Mage Hand. As a bonus action
Level Cantrips Known 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
3rd 3 3 2 — — —
on your turn, you can designate a creature within
4th 3 4 3 — — — 5 feet of the spectral hand created by the spell.
7th 3 5 4 2 — — Doing so gives you Advantage on attack rolls
8th 3 6 4 2 — — against that creature until the end of the turn,
10th 4 7 4 3 — — and therefore allowing you to Sneak Attack the
11th 4 8 4 3 — — creature when nobody else is within 5 feet.
13th 4 9 4 3 2 —
14th 4 10 4 3 2 — Spell Thief
16th 4 11 4 3 3 —
19th 4 12 4 3 3 1 At 17th level, you gain the ability to magically
20th 4 13 4 3 3 1 steal the knowledge of how to cast a spell from
another spellcaster.

Mage Hand Legerdemain  Immediately after a creature casts a spell

Starting at 3rd level, when you cast mage hand,
you can make the spectral hand invisible, and
you can perform the following additional tasks
with it:
that targets you or includes you in its area
of effect, you can use your Reaction to
force the creature to make a saving throw
with its spellcasting ability modifier.

113
  The DC equals your spell save DC and on a
failed save, you negate the spell’s effect
against you, and you steal the knowledge
of the spell if it is at least 1st level and of a
level you can cast (it doesn’t need to be a
wizard spell).
 For the next 8 hours, you know the spell,
can cast it using your spell slots, and the
creature can’t cast that spell until the 8
hours have passed.
 Once you use this feature, you can’t use it
again until you finish a long rest.
Inquisitive
As an archetypal Inquisitive, you excel at rooting
out secrets and unraveling mysteries. You rely on
your sharp eye for details, but also on your finely
honed ability to read the words and deeds of
other creatures to determine their true intent.
You excel at defeating creatures that hide among
and prey upon ordinary folk, and your mastery of
lore and your sharp eye make you well equipped
to expose and end hidden evils.
Ear for Deceit
When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you
develop a talent for picking out lies. Whenever
you make a Wisdom (Insight) check to determine
whether a creature is lying, treat a roll of 7 or
lower on the d20 as an 8.
Eye for Detail
Starting at 3rd level, you can use a bonus action
to make a Wisdom (Perception) check to spot a
hidden creature or object or to make an
Intelligence (Investigation) check to uncover or
decipher clues.
Insightful Fighting
At 3rd level, you gain the ability to decipher an
opponent’s tactics and develop a counter to
them. As a bonus action, you can make a
Wisdom (Insight) check against a creature you
can see that isn’t incapacitated, contested by the
target’s Charisma (Deception) check. If you
succeed, you can use your Sneak Attack against
that target even if you don’t have advantage on
the attack roll, even if you have disadvantage on
it. This benefit lasts for 1 minute or until you
successfully use this feature against a different
target.
Steady Eye
Starting at 9th level, you have advantage on any
Wisdom (Perception) or Intelligence
(Investigation) check if you move no more than
half your speed on the same turn.
Unerring Eye
Beginning at 13th level, your senses are almost
impossible to foil. As an action, you sense the
presence of illusions, shapechangers not in their
original form, and other magic designed to
deceive the senses within 30 feet of you,
provided you aren’t blinded or deafened. You
sense that an effect is attempting to trick you,
but you gain no insight into what is hidden or
into its true nature. You can use this feature a
number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier
(minimum of once), and you regain all expended
uses of it when you finish a long rest.
Eye for Weakness
At 17th level, you learn to exploit a creature’s
weaknesses by carefully studying its tactics and
movement. While your Insightful Fighting feature
applies to a creature, your Sneak Attack damage
against that creature increases by 3d6.
114

Mastermind
Your focus is on people and on the influence and
secrets they have. Many spies, courtiers, and
schemers follow this archetype, leading lives of
intrigue. Words are your weapons as often as
knives or poison, and secrets and favors are
some of your favorite treasures.
Master of Intrigue
When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you
gain proficiency with the disguise kit, the forgery
kit, and one gaming set of your choice. You also
learn two languages of your choice. Additionally,
you can unerringly mimic the speech patterns
and accent of a creature that you hear speak for
at least 1 minute, enabling you to pass yourself
off as a native speaker of a particular land,
provided that you know the language.
Master of Tactics
Starting at 3rd level, you can use the Help action
as a bonus action. Additionally, when you use the
Help action to aid an ally in attacking a creature,
the target of that attack can be within 30 feet of
you, rather than within 5 feet of you, if the target
can see or hear you.
Insightful Manipulator
Starting at 9th level, if you spend at least 1
minute observing or interacting with another
creature outside combat, you can learn certain
information about its capabilities compared to
your own. The DM tells you if the creature is
your equal, superior, or inferior in regard to two
of the following characteristics of your choice:
 Intelligence score
 Wisdom score
 Charisma score
 Class levels (if any)
115
At the DM’s option, you might also realize you
know a piece of the creature’s history or one of
its personality traits, if it has any.
Misdirection
Beginning at 13th level, you can sometimes
cause another creature to suffer an attack meant
for you. When you are targeted by an attack
while a creature within 5 feet of you is granting
you cover against that attack, you can use your
reaction to have the attack target that creature
instead of you.
Soul of Deceit
Starting at 17th level, your thoughts can’t be
read by telepathy or other means, unless you
allow it. You can present false thoughts by
succeeding on a Charisma (Deception) check
contested by the mind reader’s Wisdom (Insight)
check. Additionally, no matter what you say,
magic that would determine if you are telling the
truth indicates you are being truthful if you so
choose, and you can’t be compelled to tell the
truth by magic.
Scout
You are skilled in woodcraft and stealth, allowing
you to range ahead of your companions during
expeditions. Rogues who embrace this archetype
are at home in the wilderness and among
barbarians and fighters, as they serve as the eyes
and ears of war bands across the world.
Compared to other rogues, you are skilled at
surviving in the wilds.
Survivalist
When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you
gain proficiency in the Nature and Survival skills.
Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability
check you make that uses either of those
proficiencies.
Skirmisher
Starting at 3rd level, you are difficult to pin down
during a fight. You can move up to half your
speed as a reaction when an enemy ends its turn
within 5 feet of you. This movement doesn’t
provoke opportunity attacks.
Superior Mobility
At 9th level, your walking speed increases by 10
feet. If you have a climbing or swimming speed,
this increase applies to that speed as well.
Ambush Master
Starting at 13th level, you excel at leading
ambushes. If any of your foes are surprised, you
can use a bonus action on your turn in the first
round of the combat to grant each ally who can
see you a +5 bonus to initiative that lasts until
the combat ends. If the initiative bonus would
increase an ally’s initiative above yours, the ally’s
initiative instead equals your initiative. Each of
the allies also receives a 10 -foot increase to
speed that lasts until the end of the ally’s next
turn.
Sudden Strike
Starting at 17th level, you can strike with deadly
speed. If you take the Attack action on your turn,
you can make one additional attack as a bonus
action. This attack can benefit from your Sneak
Attack even if you have already used it this turn,
but only if the attack is the only one you make
against the target this turn.
Swashbuckler
You focus your training on the art of the blade,
relying on speed, elegance, and charm in equal
parts. While some warriors are brutes clad in
heavy armor, your method of fighting looks
almost like a performance. Duelists and pirates
typically belong to this archetype. A
Swashbuckler excels in single combat, and can
fight with two weapons while safely darting away
from an opponent
Fancy Footwork
When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you
learn how to land a strike and then slip away
without reprisal. During your turn, if you make a
melee attack against a creature, that creature
can’t make opportunity attacks against you for
the rest of your turn
Two‐Weapon Fighting Note: Other rogue
characters must use a cunning action to
Disengage if they want to escape a melee, but
you can use your bonus action to fight with two
weapons, and then safely evade each foe you
attacked.
Rakish Audacity
Starting at 3rd level, your confidence propels you
into battle. You can give yourself a bonus to your
initiative rolls equal to your Charisma modifier.
You also gain an additional way to use your
Sneak Attack; you don’t need advantage on the
attack roll to use your Sneak Attack against a
creature if you are within 5 feet of it, no other
creatures are within 5 feet of you, and you don’t
have disadvantage on the attack roll. All the
other rules for Sneak Attack still apply to you.
Panache
At 9th level, your charm becomes extraordinarily
beguiling. As an action, you can make a Charisma
(Persuasion) check contested by a creature's
Wisdom (Insight) check. The creature must be
able to hear you, and the two of you must share
a language.
116
  If you succeed on the check and the
creature is hostile to you, it has
disadvantage on attack rolls against targets
other than you and can't make opportunity
attacks against targets other than you. This
effect lasts for 1 minute, until one of your
companions attacks the target or affects it
with a spell, or until you and the target are
more than 60 feet apart.
 If you succeed on the check and the
creature isn't hostile to you, it is charmed
by you for 1 minute. While charmed, it
regards you as a friendly acquaintance. This
effect ends immediately if you or your
companions do anything harmful to it.
Elegant Maneuver
Starting at 13th level, you can use a bonus action
on your turn to gain advantage on the next
Dexterity (Acrobatics) or Strength (Athletics)
check you make during the same turn.
Master Duelist
Beginning at 17th level, your mastery of the
blade lets you turn failure into success in
combat. If you miss with an attack roll, you can
roll it again with advantage. Once you do so, you
can't use this feature again until you finish a
short or long rest.
Raider
You are at home amongst raiding tribes of Athas.
Hailing from either an escaped slave village or a
nomadic elven tribe, you served as their eyes
and ears and honed them to a sharpened point.
Compared to other rogues, you are skilled at
surviving in the wilds.
117
Survivalist
When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you
gain proficiency in the Nature and Survival skills.
Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability
check you make that uses either of those
proficiencies.
Skirmisher
Starting at 3rd level, you are difficult to pin down
during a fight. You can move up to half your
speed as a reaction when an enemy ends its turn
within 5 feet of you. This movement doesn’t
provoke opportunity attacks.
Superior Mobility
At 9th level, your walking speed increases by 10
feet. If you have flying speed, this increase
applies to that speed as well.
Ambush Master
Starting at 13th level, you excel at leading
ambushes. If any of your foes are surprised, you
can use a bonus action on your turn in the first
round of the combat to grant each ally who can
see you a +5 bonus to initiative that lasts until
the combat ends. If the initiative bonus would
increase an ally’s initiative above yours, the ally’s
initiative instead equals your initiative.
Each of the allies also receives a 10-foot increase
to speed that lasts until the end of the ally’s next
turn.
Sudden Strike
Starting at 17th level, you can strike with deadly
speed. If you take the Attack action on your turn,
you can make one additional attack as a bonus
action. This attack can benefit from your Sneak
Attack even if you have already used it this turn,
but only if the attack is the only one you make
against the target this turn.

Trader
Individuals capable of providing the basic
necessities of life wield enormous influence in a
world where everything is in short supply.
Traders as a class specialize in finding the
impossible and getting it to market for the
maximum profit. Because of their ability to
provide goods otherwise unattainable, traders
are tolerated everywhere, from the cities of the
sorcerer-kings to the slave tribe villages in the
distant wastes.
All traders aspire to become masters of major
trading houses, but most have to start much
lower on the scale. On their rise to power and
riches, they have no problem accompanying
adventurers. A trader acts as a negotiator,
interpreter, and diplomat for his group,
appraising the treasure they find and bargaining
for the supplies they need.
Those adventurers who travel with a young
trader often form the core of a new merchant
house, get adopted into the trader’s family, or
earn spots as senior agents after the trader
becomes successful.
Master of Intrigue
When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you
gain proficiency with the disguise kit, the forgery
kit, and one gaming set of your choice. You also
learn to read and write in Cavilish (Merchants
script) and learn two additional languages of
your choice. Additionally, you can unerringly
mimic the speech patterns and accent of a
creature that you hear speak for at least 1
minute, allowing you to pass yourself off as a
native speaker of a particular land, provided that
you know the language.
Selling Point
Starting at 3rd level, your fast-talking abilities are
the strongest with unwitting victims who don't
recognize you for what you are. You have an
advantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks and
on Charisma checks to find best person to talk
for news, rumors and gossip with people you
haven't deceived on a previous occasion and
who aren't hostile toward you. Additionally, you
can use the Help action as a bonus action.
Insightful Manipulator
Starting at 9th level, if you spend at least 1
minute observing or interacting with another
creature outside combat, you can learn certain
information about its capabilities compared to
your own. The DM tells you if the creature is
your equal, superior, or inferior in regard to two
of the following characteristics of your choice:
• Intelligence score
• Wisdom score
• Charisma score
• Class levels (if any)
At the DM's option, you might also realize you
know a piece of the creature's history or one of
its personality traits, if it has any.
Merchant King
At 13th level, you start to attract agents in every
bigger settlement you've made business in.
These agents are individuals of exceptional
ability and can do your business for you and will
protect your investments. Your agent will usually
have a competent bodyguard. In addition your
agents will provide a secured lodging for you and
your associates in any of those settlements.
Additionally, you can sometimes cause another
creature to suffer an attack meant for you. When
you are targeted by an attack while a creature
within 5 feet of you is granting you cover against
118
that attack, you can use your reaction to have
the attack target that creature instead of you.
Soul of Deceit
Starting at 17th level, your thoughts can't be
read by telepathy or other means, unless you
allow it. You can present false thoughts by
making a Charisma (Deception) check contested
by the mind reader's Wisdom (Insight) check.
Additionally, no matter what you say, magic that
would determine if you are telling the truth
indicates you are being truthful, if you so choose,
and you can't be compelled to tell the truth by
magic.
____________________________________
Athasian thieves run the gamut of society. They
range from gutter snipes who prey upon the
merchants and free citizens of the cities to
vagabonds who steal what they can from passing
caravans or merchant trains. At their best,
thieves can be in the employ of the nobility,
plying their trade by contract in the name of a
royal household, or they can be men or women
of principle and honor who steal only from the
corrupt and wealthy. Perhaps because of their
corrupt nature, thieves can choose any alignment
except lawful good. However, they can be from
any social class: slave, free citizen, or noble.
There is no thieves’ cant used on Athas, nor
do thieves attract followers. However, at 10th
level a thief can attempt to attract a patron. A
patron is a noble who will sponsor the thief and
protect him under his house and name. The
thief is expected to perform certain tasks for his
new master in return-including theft, spying, and
even assassination.
119
The base chance of finding a patron is a
percentage roll equal to 5% per level of the thief
beyond 9th. Once a patron is obtained, the thief
doesn’t need to roll anymore—the thief is now in
the employ of one noble family or merchant
house dynasty from one city of the DM’s choice.
However, a thief doesn’t have to seek out a
patron if he doesn’t want to, and
many prefer taking their chances without such
protection. Note that once a thief has a patron,
the only way to leave his benefactor’s service is
through death. A hired thief knows too many of
his patron’s secrets to be allowed to “resign” in a
less permanent way.
In the campaign, having a patron means
several things. First, the DM can assign the thief
jobs from the family. The thief must perform
these jobs or be targeted for assassination.
Second, the thief can never be personally held
responsible for his crimes while working for a
patron. Typically, patrons have powerful friends
among the defilers and templars of a city-state to
protect both themselves and their thief employees
from the law.
Psionicist Class
& Wild Talent
For Psionicist and Wild Talent rules and powers.
Please refer to A Classic Psionic System for 5e
found here: https://tinyurl.com/y8sru868

120

Monk Class
Her fists a blur as they deflect an incoming hail of
arrows, a half-elf springs over a barricade and
throws herself into the massed ranks of giths on
the other side. She whirls among them, knocking
their blows aside and sending them reeling, until
at last she stands alone.
Taking a deep breath, a human covered in
tattoos settles into a battle stance. As the first
charging tareks reach him, he exhales and a blast
of fire roars from his mouth, engulfing his foes.
Moving with the silence of the night, a black-clad
halfling steps into a shadow beneath an arch and
emerges from another inky shadow on a balcony
a stone’s throw away. She slides her blade free
of its cloth-wrapped scabbard and peers through
the open window at the tyrant merchant, so
vulnerable in the grip of sleep.
Whatever their discipline, monks are united in
their ability to magically harness the energy that
flows in their bodies. Whether channelled as a
striking display of combat prowess or a subtler
focus of defensive ability and speed, this energy
infuses all that a monk does.
The Magic of Ki
Monks make careful study of a magical energy
that most monastic traditions call ki. This energy
is an element of the magic that suffuses the
multiverse —specifically, the element that flows
through living bodies. Monks harness this power
within themselves to create magical effects and
exceed their bodies’ physical capabilities, and
some of their special attacks can hinder the flow
of ki in their opponents. Using this energy,
monks channel uncanny speed and strength into
their unarmed strikes. As they gain experience,
their martial training and their mastery of ki
121
gives them more power over their bodies and
the bodies of their foes.
These are not the same as psionic strength
points (PSP), and should be kept independently.
Ki points represent more the spiritual energy
that pervades all things, and PSP your mental
one.
Training and Asceticism
Small walled cloisters dot the landscapes of the
worlds of D&D, tiny refuges from the flow of
ordinary life, where time seems to stand still. The
monks who live there seek personal perfection
through contemplation and rigorous training.
Many entered the monastery as children, sent to
live there when their parents died, when food
couldn’t be found to support them, or in return
for some kindness that the monks had
performed for their families.
Some monks live entirely apart from the
surrounding population, secluded from anything
that might impede their spiritual progress.
Others are sworn to isolation, emerging only to
serve as spies or assassins at the command of
their leader, a noble patron, or some other
mortal or divine power.
The majority of monks don’t shun their
neighbors, making frequent visits to nearby
towns or villages and exchanging their service for
food and other goods. As versatile warriors,
monks often end up protecting their neighbors
from monsters or tyrants.
For a monk, becoming an adventurer means
leaving a structured, communal lifestyle to
become a wanderer. This can be a harsh
transition, and monks don’t undertake it lightly.
Those who leave their cloisters take their work
seriously, approaching their adventures as
personal tests of their physical and spiritual
growth. As a rule, monks care little for material
wealth and are driven by a desire to accomplish
a greater mission than merely slaying monsters
and plundering their treasure.
Creating a Monk
As you make your monk character, think about
your connection to the monastery where you
learned your skills and spent your formative
years. Were you an orphan or a child left on the
monastery’s threshold? Did your parents
promise you to the monastery in gratitude for a
service performed by the monks? Did you enter
this secluded life to hide from a crime you
committed? Or did you choose the monastic life
for yourself?
Consider why you left. Did the head of your
monastery choose you for a particularly
important mission beyond the cloister? Perhaps
you were cast out because of some violation of
the community’s rules. Did you dread leaving, or
were you happy to go? Is there something you
hope to accomplish outside the monastery? Are
you eager to return to your home?
As a result of the structured life of a monastic
community and the discipline required to
harness ki, monks are almost always lawful in
alignment.

The Monk Table

Proficiency Martial Ki Unarmored
Level Features
Bonus Arts Points Movement
1st +2 1d4 -- -- Unarmored Defense, Martial Arts
2nd +2 1d4 2 +10 ft. Ki, Unarmored Movement
3rd +2 1d4 3 +10 ft. Monastic Tradition, Deflect Missiles
4th +2 1d6 4 +10 ft. Ability Score Improvement, Slow Fall
5th +3 1d6 5 +10 ft. Extra Attack, Stunning Strike
6th +3 1d6 6 +15 ft. Monastic Tradition Feature
7th +3 1d6 7 +15 ft. Evasion, Stillness of Mind
8th +3 1d6 8 +15 ft. Ability Score Improvement
9th +4 1d6 9 +15 ft. Unarmored Movement Improvement
10th +4 1d6 10 +20 ft. Purity of Body
11th +4 1d8 11 +20 ft. Monastic Tradition Feature
12th +4 1d8 12 +20 ft. Ability Score Improvement
13th +5 1d8 13 +20 ft. Tongue of the Sun and Moons
14th +5 1d8 14 +25 ft. Diamond Soul
15th +5 1d8 15 +25 ft. Timeless Body
16th +5 1d8 16 +25 ft. Ability Score Improvement
17th +6 1d10 17 +25 ft. Monastic Tradition Feature
18th +6 1d10 18 +30 ft. Empty Body
19th +6 1d10 19 +30 ft. Ability Score Improvement
20th +6 1d10 20 +30 ft. Perfect Self

122
QUICK BUILD
You can make a monk quickly by following these
suggestions. First, make Dexterity your highest
ability score, followed by Wisdom. Second,
choose the hermit background.
Class Features
As a monk, you gain the following class features.
Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d8 per monk level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution
modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your
Constitution modifier per monk level after 1st
Proficiencies
Armor: None
Weapons: Simple weapons, shortswords, puchik,
singing sticks
Tools: Choose one type of artisan’s tools or one
musical instrument
Saving Throws: Strength, Dexterity
Skills: Choose two from Acrobatics, Athletics,
History, Insight, Religion, and Stealth
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in
addition to the equipment granted by your
background:
 (a) a stone shortsword or (b) any stone
simple weapon
 (a) a dungeoneer’s pack or (b) an explorer’s
pack
 10 bone darts
123
Unarmored Defense
Beginning at 1st level, while you are wearing no
armor and not wielding a shield, your AC equals
10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Wisdom
modifier.
Martial Arts
At 1st level, your practice of martial arts gives
you mastery of combat styles that use unarmed
strikes and monk weapons, which are
shortswords, puchik, singing sticks, and any
simple melee weapons that don’t have the two-
handed or heavy property.
You gain the following benefits while you are
unarmed or wielding only monk weapons and
you aren’t wearing armor or wielding a shield:
 You can use Dexterity instead of Strength
for the attack and damage rolls of your
unarmed strikes and monk weapons.
 You can roll a d4 in place of the normal
damage of your unarmed strike or monk
weapon. This die changes as you gain monk
levels, as shown in the Martial Arts column
of the Monk table.
 When you use the Attack action with an
unarmed strike or a monk weapon on your
turn, you can make one unarmed strike as
a bonus action. For example, if you take
the Attack action and attack with a
quarterstaff, you can also make an
unarmed strike as a bonus action,
assuming you haven’t already taken a
bonus action this turn.
Certain monasteries use specialized forms of the
monk weapons. Whatever name you use for a
monk weapon, you can use the game statistics
provided for the weapon in the Weapons
section.
 that pervades all things, and PSP your mental
representation of that energy.
You can spend these points to fuel various ki
features. You start knowing three such features:
Flurry of Blows, Patient Defense, and Step of
the Wind. You learn more ki features as you gain
levels in this class.
When you spend a ki point, it is unavailable until
you finish a short or long rest, at the end of
which you draw all of your expended ki back into
yourself. You must spend at least 30 minutes of
the rest meditating to regain your ki points.
Some of your ki features require your target to
make a saving throw to resist the feature’s
effects. The saving throw DC is calculated as
follows:
Ki save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your
Wisdom modifier

Flurry of Blows
Immediately after you take the Attack action on
your turn, you can spend 1 ki point to make two
unarmed strikes as a bonus action.

Patient Defense
You can spend 1 ki point to take the Dodge
action as a bonus action on your turn.

Step of the Wind

Ki
You can spend 1 ki point to take the Disengage or
Starting at 2nd level, your training allows you to
Dash action as a bonus action on your turn, and
harness the mystic energy of ki. Your access to
your jump distance is doubled for the turn.
this energy is represented by a number of ki
points. Your monk level determines the number Unarmored Movement
of points you have, as shown in the Ki Points
column of the Monk table. Starting at 2nd level, your speed increases by 10
feet while you are not wearing armor or wielding
These are not the same as psionic strength a shield. This bonus increases when you reach
points (PSP), and should be kept independently. certain monk levels, as shown in the Monk table.
Ki points represent more the spiritual energy

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At 9th level, you gain the ability to move along
vertical surfaces and across liquids on your turn
without falling during the move.
Monastic Tradition
When you reach 3rd level, you commit yourself
to a monastic tradition. Your tradition grants you
features at 3rd level and again at 6th, 11th, and
17th level.
Deflect Missiles
Starting at 3rd level, you can use your reaction to
deflect or catch the missile when you are hit by a
ranged weapon attack. When you do so, the
damage you take from the attack is reduced by
1d10 + your Dexterity modifier + your monk
level.
If you reduce the damage to 0, you can catch the
missile if it is small enough for you to hold in one
hand and you have at least one hand free. If you
catch a missile in this way, you can spend 1 ki
point to make a ranged attack with the weapon
or piece of ammunition you just caught, as part
of the same reaction. You make this attack with
proficiency, regardless of your weapon
proficiencies, and the missile counts as a monk
weapon for the attack, which has a normal range
of 20 feet and a long range of 60 feet.
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.
Slow Fall
Beginning at 4th level, you can use your reaction
when you fall to reduce any falling damage you
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take by an amount equal to five times your monk
level.
Extra Attack
Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice,
instead of once, whenever you take the Attack
action on your turn.
Stunning Strike
Starting at 5th level, you can interfere with the
flow of ki in an opponent’s body. When you hit
another creature with a melee weapon attack,
you can spend 1 ki point to attempt a stunning
strike. The target must succeed on a Constitution
saving throw or be stunned until the end of your
next turn.
Ki-Empowered Strikes
Starting at 6th level, your unarmed strikes count
as magical for the purpose of overcoming
resistance and immunity to non-magical attacks
and damage.
Evasion
At 7th level, your instinctive agility lets you
dodge out of the way of certain area effects,
such as a blue dragon’s lightning breath or a
fireball spell. When you are subjected to an
effect that allows you to make a Dexterity saving
throw to take only half damage, you instead take
no damage if you succeed on the saving throw,
and only half damage if you fail.
Stillness of Mind
Starting at 7th level, you can use your action to
end one effect on yourself that is causing you to
be charmed or frightened.
Purity of Body
At 10th level, your mastery of the ki flowing
through you makes you immune to disease and
poison.
Tongue of the Sun and Moon
Starting at 13th level, you learn to touch the ki of
other minds so that you understand all spoken
languages. Moreover, any creature that can
understand a language can understand what you
say.
Diamond Soul
Beginning at 14th level, your mastery of ki grants
you proficiency in all saving throws.
Additionally, whenever you make a saving throw
and fail, you can spend 1 ki point to reroll it and
take the second result.
Timeless Body
At 15th level, your ki sustains you so that you
suffer none of the frailty of old age, and you
can’t be aged magically. You can still die of old
age, however. In addition, you no longer need
food or water.
Empty Body
Beginning at 18th level, you can use your action
to spend 4 ki points to become invisible for 1
minute. During that time, you also have
resistance to all damage but force damage.
Additionally, you can spend 8 ki points to cast
the astral projection spell, without needing
material components. When you do so, you can’t
take any other creatures with you.
Perfect Self
At 20th level, when you roll for initiative and
have no ki points remaining, you regain 4 ki
points.
Monastic Traditions
Three traditions of monastic pursuit are common
to the few monasteries scattered across Athas.
Most monasteries practice one tradition
exclusively, but a few honor the three traditions
and instruct each monk according to his aptitude
and interest. All traditions rely on the same basic
techniques, diverging as the student grows more
adept. Thus, a monk need choose a tradition only
upon reaching 3rd level.
- Monastery of the Exalted Path of Nibenay
- Monastery of the Serene Bliss of Nibenay
- The Yellow Monastery of Raam
- The Brotherhood of the Mind Monastery
- Villichi Priestess Convent
- Sensei
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 As the rise of trade created more possibilities
NIBENESE
for the free citizen class and people became
MONASTERIES less inclined to submissively accept their lot in
life, the role of the monasteries diminished. For
In recent years, Nibenay has seen revival in its
centuries the monasteries became the refuge of
ancient monastic traditions. The monasteries of
eccentrics and psionicists. Over the past 200
the Exalted Path and Serene Bliss have
years, however, the monasteries have once
grown in power and influence. Elemental clerics
again begun to fill with the ranks of the free
and psionicists have gravitated to them. The
citizen class. Young people reacting to the
Exalted Path is especially attractive for
recalcification of Nibenese society and their
psionicists. since the current abbot goes out of
own diminishing opportunities have begun to
his way to recruit young students of the mind.
regard their elders as materialistic. Rebellious
freemen, bored nobles and even an occasional
The Exalted Path is led by Thong Nal, an
jaded merchant will turn to the monasteries to
ancient cleric of air. Au Treng is the abbotess
hear teachings that will pacify their frustrations.
of the Serene Bliss Monastery. She
supervises the population of female monks. It is
The monks grow food, study rigorously, and
rumored that she once tried to become a
meditate. Monks of both genders wear bright
templar but was refused under mysterious
orange robes and shave their heads and
circumstances.
eyebrows. Some of the monks train in
stonecutting and painting. Female monks often
Male and female monks stay in separate
petition to join or serve the ranks of the
monasteries at opposite ends of the city. The
templars. The monks are once again enjoying
two orders (Exalted Path and Serene Bliss)
the respect with which they were regarded in
both pledge loyalty to the king. Nibenay
the past, rather than just the idle curiosity of
regards the monasteries with amused tolerance.
recent years.
He sees their philosophy as the intellectual
equivalent of sticking one's fingers in one's ears
While most monks are not psionicists, the
and pretending that not to hear what you don't
monasteries have become havens for students
want to listen to. On the other hand, he feels
of the Unseen Way. Young psionicists who
the monasteries provide a valuable social
have no interest in the practical and profit-
function by turning potential wolves into sheep.
minded emphasis of the School of Augurs
have turned to the openness of the monasteries
as a means to pursue their mental disciplines.

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The psionicists have little interest in the
teachings of the old monks, and view the
monastery simply as a place to advance in
psionic ability. This small sub-culture within the
population of the monastery is of increasing
concern to both the older monks and the
officials at the School of Augurs.
A practice which had faded into antiquity, but
has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years, is the
dwelling. The dwelling is a 30-day period during
which a child is sent to the monastery to live and
learn. Young freemen have begun to return to
this practice with their children, but it has not
caught on among the nobles. Historically, even
slave children were sent on a dwelling, but there
has been no sign of this practice returning
except among the most reactionary citizens.
Way of The Serene Bliss
Nuns of the Serene Bliss Convent see violence as
a last resort. They use diplomacy, mercy, and
understanding to resolve conflicts. If pushed,
though, they are capable warriors who can bring
an end to the unjust or cruel folk who refuse to
listen to reason. When adventuring, these monks
make excellent diplomats. They are also skilled in
the healing arts, and can preserve their allies in
the face of daunting foes.
Path of Serenity
When you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you
can become an island of calm in even the most
chaotic of situations. With this feature, you can
cast the sanctuary spell on yourself, no material
component required, and it lasts up to 8 hours.
Its saving throw DC equals 8 + your proficiency
bonus + your Wisdom modifier. A creature that
succeeds on the save is immune to this effect for
1 hour. Once you cast the spell in this way, you
can’t do so again for 1 minute.
Healing Hands
Your mystical touch can heal wounds. Starting at
3rd level, you have a pool of magical healing
power that replenishes when you take a long
rest. With that pool, you can restore a total
number of hit points equal to your monk level ×
10. As an action, you can touch a creature and
draw power from the pool to restore a number
of hit points to that creature, up to the maximum
amount remaining in the pool. Instead of healing
the creature, you can expend 5 hit points from
your pool of healing to cure the target of one
disease or neutralize one poison affecting it. You
can cure multiple diseases and neutralize
multiple poisons with a single use of Healing
Hands, expending hit points separately for each
one. When you use your Flurry of Blows, you can
replace one of the unarmed strikes with a use of
this feature. This feature has no effect on
undead and constructs.
Emissary of Peace
At 6th level, you gain the ability to diffuse violent
situations. Whenever you make a Charisma
check to calm violent emotions or to counsel
peace, you have advantage on the roll. You must
make this entreaty in good faith; it doesn’t apply
if proficiency in the Deception or Intimidation
skill applies to your check. You also gain
proficiency in the Performance or Persuasion skill
(choose one).
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Douse the Flames of War
At 11th level, you gain the ability to temporarily
extinguish a creature’s violent impulses. As an
action, you can touch a creature, and it must
make a Wisdom saving throw with a DC equal to
8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom
modifier. The target automatically succeeds if it’s
missing any of its hit points. If the target fails the
save, it can’t attack for 1 minute. During that
time, it also can’t cast spells that deal damage or
that force someone to make a saving throw. This
effect ends if the target is attacked, takes
damage, or is forced to make a saving throw or if
the target witnesses any of those things
happening to its allies.
Anger of a Gentle Soul
At 17th level, you gain the ability to visit
vengeance on someone who fells others. If you
see a creature reduce another creature to 0 hit
points, you can use your reaction to grant
yourself a bonus to all damage rolls against the
aggressor until the end of your next turn. The
bonus equals your monk level. Once you use this
ability, you can’t use it again until you finish a
short or long rest.
Way of the Exalted Path
Monks of the Exalted Path Monastery learn to
channel their life energy into searing bolts of
light. They teach that meditation can unlock the
ability to unleash the indomitable light shed by
the soul of every living creature.
Radiant Sun Bolt
Starting when you choose this tradition at 3rd
level, you can hurl searing bolts of magical
radiance.
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You gain a new attack option that you can use
with the Attack action. This special attack is a
ranged spell attack with a range of 30 feet. You
are proficient with it, and you add your Dexterity
modifier to its attack and damage rolls. Its
damage is radiant, and its damage die is a d4.
This die changes as you gain monk levels, as
shown in the Martial Arts column of the Monk
table.
When you take the Attack action on your turn
and use this special attack as part of it, you can
spend 1 ki point to make the special attack twice
as a bonus action.
When you gain the Extra Attack feature, this
special attack can be used for any of the attacks
you make as part of the Attack action.
Searing Arc Strike
At 6th level, you gain the ability to channel your
ki into searing waves of energy. Immediately
after you take the Attack action on your turn,
you can spend 2 ki points to cast the burning
hands spell as a bonus action. You can spend
additional ki points to cast burning hands as a
higher-level spell. Each additional ki point you
spend increases the spell’s level by 1. The
maximum number of ki points (2 plus any
additional points) that you can spend on the
spell equals half your monk level.
Searing Sunburst
At 11th level, you gain the ability to create an
orb of light that erupts into a devastating
explosion. As an action, you magically create an
orb and hurl it at a point you choose within 150
feet, where it erupts into a sphere of radiant
light for a brief but deadly instant. Each creature
in that 20-foot-radius sphere must succeed on a
Constitution saving throw or take 2d6 radiant
damage. A creature doesn’t need to make the
save if the creature is behind total cover that is
opaque. You can increase the sphere’s damage
by spending ki points. Each point you spend, to a
maximum of 3, increases the damage by 2d6.
Shield of Exaltation
At 17th level, you become wreathed in a
luminous, magical aura. You shed bright light in a
30-foot radius and dim light for an additional 30
feet. You can extinguish or restore the light as a
bonus action. If a creature hits you with a melee
attack while this light shines, you can use your
reaction to deal radiant damage to the creature.
The radiant damage equals 5 + your Wisdom
modifier.
Way of the Brotherhood of the
Mind
Cradled in the fiery slopes of the Smoking Crown,
a hidden monastery overlooks the Lake of
Golden Dreams. This is the home of an ancient
society of psionicists known as the Brotherhood
of the Mind. The Brotherhood was founded by a
noble Nibenese psionicist named Liumakh almost
500 years ago.
Liumakh was a powerful telepath who dreamed
of unseating the Shadow King of Nibenay. He
was convinced that a sufficient gathering of
psionic power could defeat the tyrant.
Unfortunately, the Shadow King learned of his
plots, and he and his followers were forced to
flee. At that time. Hamanu of Urik was feuding
with Nibenay, and he gave them sanctuary.
Liumakh and his followers constantly work to
bring down the Shadow King, but they.re never
able to succeed. In studying his enemy, Liumakh
realized the nature of the sorcerer-kings, and his
secret order changed its goal to the
accumulation of raw power. He planned to
destroy the sorcerer-kings and assume his role as
the ruler of Athas.
Over the centuries, the Brotherhood's
importance has fluctuated. Despite this, not one
sorcerer-king has fallen to its plots. The Order
closely watches the Brotherhood, but to date it
has not achieved a level of power that would
require intervention. Hamanu of Urik pretends to
ignore them, but he occasionally spies on the
Brotherhood to see what they are up to.
Currently, there are 12 members of the
Brotherhood. For years, they have been engaged
in a quest for ancient texts of psionic
enchantments. The Brotherhood is still led by
Liumakh, whose unending ambition for power
continued after his death. Liumakh's followers
are scattered across the Tyr Region.
Shadow Arts
Starting when you choose this tradition at 3rd
level, you can use your ki to duplicate the effects
of certain spells. As an action, you can spend 2 ki
points to cast darkness, darkvision, pass without
trace, or silence, without providing material
components. Additionally, you gain the minor
illusion cantrip if you don’t already know it.
Shadow Step
At 6th level, you gain the ability to step from one
shadow into another. When you are in dim light
or darkness, as a bonus action you can teleport
up to 60 feet to an unoccupied space you can see
that is also in dim light or darkness. You then
have advantage on the first melee attack you
make before the end of the turn.
Cloak of the Shadows
By 11th level, you have learned to become one
with the shadows. When you are in an area of
dim light or darkness, you can use your action to
become invisible. You remain invisible until you
make an attack, cast a spell, or are in an area of
bright light.
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Opportunist
At 17th level, you can exploit a creature's
momentary distraction when it is hit by an
attack. Whenever a creature within 5 feet of you
is hit by an attack made by a creature other than
you, you can use your reaction to make a melee
attack against that creature.
Way of the Yellow Monastery
The Yellow Monks form an order devoted to the
development of telepathic powers. The
Monastery has a fair amount of influence in the
city and is noted as a symbol of resistance to the
rule of Abalach-Re. The monks themselves are
completely dedicated to a set of principles,
including opposition to slavery, magic of any
kind, and gladiatorial games. Students of the
Yellow Monastery almost always remain there to
become monks instead of moving on to different
studies.
They are the ultimate masters of martial arts
combat, whether armed or unarmed. They learn
techniques to push and trip their opponents,
manipulate ki to heal damage to their bodies,
and practice advanced meditation that can
protect them from harm.
Open Hand Technique
Starting when you choose this tradition at 3rd
level, you can manipulate your enemy’s ki when
you harness your own. Whenever you hit a
creature with one of the attacks granted by your
Flurry of Blows, you can impose one of the
following effects on that target:
 It must succeed on a Dexterity saving
throw or be knocked prone.
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 It must make a Strength saving throw. If it
fails, you can push it up to 15 feet away
from you.
 It can’t take reactions until the end of your
next turn.
Wholeness of Body
At 6th level, you gain the ability to heal yourself.
As an action, you can regain hit points equal to
three times your monk level. You must finish a
long rest before you can use this feature again.
Tranquility
Beginning at 11th level, you can enter a special
meditation that surrounds you with an aura of
peace. At the end of a long rest, you gain the
effect of a sanctuary spell that lasts until the
start of your next long rest (the spell can end
early as normal). The saving throw DC for the
spell equals 8 + your Wisdom modifier + your
proficiency bonus.
Quivering Palm
At 17th level, you gain the ability to set up lethal
vibrations in someone’s body. When you hit a
creature with an unarmed strike, you can spend
3 ki points to start these imperceptible
vibrations, which last for a number of days equal
to your monk level. The vibrations are harmless
unless you use your action to end them. To do
so, you and the target must be on the same
plane of existence. When you use this action, the
creature must make a Constitution saving throw.
If it fails, it is reduced to 0 hit points. If it
succeeds, it takes 10d10 necrotic damage.
You can have only one creature under the effect
of this feature at a time. You can choose to end
the vibrations harmlessly without using an
action.
Way of the Sensei
The most powerful characters on Athas combine
the study of psionics with the study of another
discipline. Dragons study sorcery in conjunction
with the Way, while elemental clerics harness
the power of their minds to the power of their
worship. The sensei often combines an intensive
physical training program with the Way, seeking
to become the perfect weapon.
The sensei are very rare in the Tyr region, since
their art is extraordinarily demanding. Few
people are even aware that they exist. Each
sensei charts his own course in life; there is no
organization or school that binds them together.
Some may be assassins, others gladiators, and
others wandering champions who fight against
injustice.
Only humans, muls, and half-elves may become
sensei.
Sensei are students of the art of combat, seeking
to defeat their foes physically, mentally, and
spiritually. They are supremely confident in their
abilities and understand their capabilities and
limitations exactly. Mere treasure is not enough
to win a sensei's service; they only exercise their
skills for worthy causes. In the adventuring party,
the sensei is an infiltrator and scout who can
strike swiftly to devastating effect. His dedication
to self-improvement makes him an
unapproachable character who inspires fear in
friend and foe alike. There is little room in the
sensei's existence for anything but the quest for
perfection.
The sensei will often to study Psychometabolism
or Psychokinesis disciplines as a multi-class
Psionicist as complement of his martial training.
Since he seeks to master both physical and
psionic skills, the sensei is not as devoted to pure
psionic study as other psionicists are.
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The sensei may not wear armor or use magical
devices to improve his Armor Class. He will not
use magical weapons, either. The sensei believes
in his own ability and disdains the use of such
crutches in the practice of his art. He is proficient
with Martial and Exotic weapons.
Sensei care nothing for material wealth. He may
never carry more personal treasure than can fit
in a small belt pouch.
Sensei train relentlessly with their weapons, to
the point where the weapon becomes an
extension of the body. Founded on a mastery of
sword fighting, the tradition has expanded to
include many different weapons.
A Sensei sees a weapon in much the same way a
calligrapher or painter regards a pen or brush.
Whatever the weapon, the Sensei views it as a
tool used to express the beauty and precision of
the martial arts. That such mastery makes a
Sensei a peerless warrior is but a side effect of
intense devotion, practice, and study.
Path of the Sensei
When you choose this tradition at 3rd level, your
special martial arts training leads you to master
the use of certain weapons. This path also
includes instruction in the deft strokes of
calligraphy or painting. You gain the following
benefits.
 Sensei Weapons. Choose two types of
weapons to be your Sensei weapons: one
melee weapon and one ranged weapon.
Each of these weapons can be any simple,
exotic, or martial weapon that lacks the
heavy and special properties. The longbow
is also a valid choice. You gain proficiency
with these weapons if you don’t already
have it. Weapons of the chosen types are
monk weapons for you. Many of this
tradition’s features work only with your
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Sensei weapons. When you reach 6th,
11th, and 17th level in this class, you can
choose another type of weapon — either
melee or ranged — to be a Sensei weapon
for you, following the criteria above.
 Agile Parry. If you make an unarmed strike
as part of the Attack action on your turn
and are holding a Sensei weapon, you can
use it to defend yourself if it is a melee
weapon. You gain a +2 bonus to AC until
the start of your next turn, while the
weapon is in your hand and you aren’t
incapacitated.
 Sensei’s Shot. You can use a bonus action
on your turn to make your ranged attacks
with a Sensei weapon more deadly. When
you do so, any target you hit with a ranged
attack using a Sensei weapon takes an
extra 1d4 damage of the weapon’s type.
You retain this benefit until the end of the
current turn.
 Way of the Brush. You gain proficiency with
your choice of calligrapher’s supplies or
painter’s supplies.
One with the Blade
At 6th level, you extend your ki into your Sensei
weapons, granting you the following benefits.
 Magic Sensei Weapons. Your attacks with
your Sensei weapons count as magical for
the purpose of overcoming resistance and
immunity to non-magical attacks and
damage.
 Deft Strike. When you hit a target with a
Sensei weapon, you can spend 1 ki point to
cause the weapon to deal extra damage to
the target equal to your Martial Arts die.
You can use this feature only once on each
of your turns.
Sharpen the Blade
At 11th level, you gain the ability to augment
your weapons further with your ki. As a bonus
action, you can expend up to 3 ki points to grant
one Sensei weapon you touch a bonus to attack
and damage rolls when you attack with it. The
bonus equals the number of ki points you spent.
This bonus lasts for 1 minute or until you use this
feature again. This feature has no effect on a
magic weapon that already has a bonus to attack
and damage rolls. .
Unerring Accuracy
At 17th level, your mastery of weapons grants
you extraordinary accuracy. If you miss with an
attack roll using a monk weapon on your turn,
you can reroll it. You can use this feature only
once on each of your turns.
Way of the Villichi Priestess
Villichi are not aggressive, usually fighting only in
defense of their lives or their community. They
are all psionicists practitioners. The villichi
preferred method of attack is psionics, and their
powers make them formidable.
If the villichi are losing a battle, the companions
readily sacrifice their lives to allow the envoy to
escape. If the envoy is killed, the highest level
companion immediately becomes the envoy and
seeks to escape while any remaining companions
attempt to hold off the opponents. Of course, if
possible, they all try to flee or hide, rather than
sacrificing themselves. Villichi never fight blindly
to the death, trying to find the best option to let
the envoy and her companions all survive.
Villichi have formed an extremely close knit
community. They never attack one another and
only rarely argue with each other. The location of
the convent is a closely guarded secret; anyone
who inadvertently finds it is usually mindwiped.
Half-giants and half elves are looked upon with
compassion, since they too are members of a
group that meets with prejudice. This treatment
may seem cruel, but it is a cruel world, and the
villichi are only concerned with surviving. All
villichi are born to human parents, and since it is
considered a bad omen to exile a villichi child,
they are left alone. Villichi not only mature
rapidly, but they are fairly long-lived. The
average lifespan of a villichi female is 150 years,
although some live even longer. The current high
mistress is over 200 years old, and is a psionicist
of great power.
By the time a villichi child comes of age, an envoy
will have been dispatched to fetch the child, or at
least inform her of the location of the convent.
This also allows them to determine if a villichi
child is slain. Such an action usually results in
revenge upon the perpetrator. If the perpetrator
cannot be located, the revenge is carried out on
the entire town, if possible. This is certainly part
of the reason why killing a villichi child is
considered such a bad omen. Past reprisals have
made the killing of a villichi child a very rare thing
indeed. Should such a killing occur, the
townspeople will most likely imprison the guilty
party and turn him over to an envoy for
punishment. The perpetrator is examined by the
envoy, and executed if guilty. Rumors abound
that the guilty party dies horribly, causing such
criminals to go to desperate lengths to avoid
capture and conviction. Contrary to the rumors,
however, the execution is quick and painless,
usually by a dagger in the back of the neck. There
are currently about 500 villichi at the convent. At
any one time, 10-20% of these are traveling as
envoys, and another 20% are young villichi, level
2 or below.
The villichi are adept at weaving and make some
of the best cloth on Athas. They also grow most
of their own food, but they are not skilled at
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manufacturing and must trade for weapons and
other supplies they need to survive. Higher level
villichi are skilled at empowering items with
psionic powers, and a magic (actually psionic)
item may be traded for enough supplies to last
the convent for as much as six months. Such
items are necessarily rare and are highly sought
after. They are usually saved for defense of the
convent, but may also be used for trading if
necessary for the community's survival. The few
trading houses that deal regularly with the villichi
have regular meeting places and know better
than to look for the convent. The villichi prefer to
trade their fine quality cloth, although they
cannot usually produce enough to support their
convent. At least one psionically empowered
item is traded each year, but never more than
three, even in bad years.
The villichi roam widely throughout the world,
for anywhere that humans live, a villichi child
may be born. This is quite rare; perhaps one in
30,000 girls born is a villichi child. They are not
quite albinos, although they do not like the sun.
Their habit of protecting themselves from the
sun makes them quite fair skinned, and on Athas,
this makes them stand out.
Envoys eat whatever is available to them when
travelling; but in their convent, the villichi are
strict vegetarians. They also use no metal, even
in building or trade. If presented with gold, the
villichi try to trade it, either for gems or for
ceramic pieces. The villichi are fascinated with
gems and sometimes pay up to double price for a
particularly nice one. Traders with rare and
valuable gems may seek to find the villichi
convent, thinking to make a killing on a trade.
Those who find it are usually sorry, if they even
remember what happened.
The villichi community is quite powerful for the
small number of females it represents. Even the
sorcerer-kings hesitate to interfere with a villichi
135
envoy. The villichi are intelligent enough to
realize that this could change if they interfere
with these powerful defilers, since any one of the
sorcerer-kings possesses sufficient power and
resources to wipe out the convent (if they tried
hard enough to do so). But, such a mission might
weaken the king's defenses enough that he
would fall prey to a rival king. Thus the villichi
lead a comfortable life, aided mainly by the fact
that they stay out of the sorcerer-kings. business
and also by the fact that their convent is in an
extremely remote location.
Villichi women are all quite attractive, but they
are also sterile. Should a group of raiders harm
or slay an envoy, a large group of envoys is sent
to find and exact revenge on the perpetrators of
this unspeakable crime. A group of envoys out
for revenge in this manner always numbers at
least 20, and the least powerful of these is 8th
level, while they are led by a elder of 11th or
12th level. Such criminals are put to death in the
most painful manner possible to these
intelligent, vengeful females. Fortunately, the
villichi reputation makes such incidents
extremely rare.
Psionic Powers
Starting when you choose this tradition at 3rd
level, Villichi Priestesses gain the ability to
manifest Psionic powers to enhance their
abilities, trick their foes, and defend themselves
more effectively.
Devotions
You learn three Devotions of your choice from
the psionicist power list of any discipline. At 10th
level you learn another devotion from the
psionicist power list of any discipline.
For Villichi powers selection, count psionic
attacks and defenses as part of the Telepathy
discipline
 Total Devotions Sciences Attack Defense
Level Archetype Features
PSPs Known Known Modes Modes PSP Limit
Racial Villichi Psionic Ability,
3rd Psionic Powers, 4 2 3 — — 2
The Will And The Way
4th — 6 2 4 — 1 2
5th Racial Villichi Psionic Ability 6 2 4 — 1 2
6th Psionic Combat 6 2 5 1 1 2
7th — 14 2 5 1 1 3
8th — 14 2 6 1 2 3
9th — 14 2 7 1 2 3
10th — 17 3 7 2 2 3
11th Bird of Prey Affinity 17 3 8 2 2 3
12th — 17 3 9 2 3 3
13th — 27 3 9 2 3 5
14th — 27 3 10 3 3 5
15th — 27 3 11 3 3 5
16th — 32 3 11 3 4 5
Locate Psionic,
17th 32 3 12 3 4 5
Flowing in the Way
18th — 32 3 12 4 4 5
19th — 38 3 12 4 4 6
20th — 38 3 13 4 5 6

Psionic Strength Points (PSP)
The Villichi Priestess psionic talent table shows
how many PSPs you have to activate your
powers of 1st level and higher. To manifest one
of these powers, you must expend PSP of the
powers level or higher if required. You regain all
expended PSPs when you finish a long rest.
You start with 2 PSPs at Monk level 3, and gain
more as you gain more Monk levels.
Powers Known
You know three 1st-level psionic powers of your
choice, two of which you must choose from the
telepathy and psychokinesis powers on the
psionicist power list. The third can be from any
discipline of the Way.
The Powers Known column of the Villichi
Priestess Psionic Talents table shows when you
learn more psionic powers of 1st level or higher.
Each of these powers must be telepathy and
psychokinesis powers of your choice, and must
be of a level for which you have enough PSPs in
in PSP max available to activate them. For
instance, when you reach 7th level in this class,
you can learn one new science of 1st or 2nd
level.
The powers you learn at 8th, 14th, and 20th level
can come from any disciplines of the Way.
Whenever you gain a level in this class, you can
replace one of the psionic sciences you know
with another science of your choice from the
psionicist power list. The new science must be of
a level for which you have enough PSPs in PSP
max available to activate them, and it must be a
telepathy or psychokinesis power, unless you’re
replacing the science you gained at 8th, 14th, or
20th level.

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Psionic manifesting Ability Locate Psionic
Wisdom is your psionic manifesting ability for At 17th level, you can locate psionic at will. There
your psionic powers since you learn your powers is no range limit to this power, which allows you
through dedicated study and meditation. You to locate villichi children at an early age. The high
use your Wisdom whenever a power refers to mistress is always chosen from among villichi
your psionic manifesting ability. In addition, you who have developed the special power of locate
use your Wisdom modifier when setting the psionic.
saving throw DC for a psionic power you activate
and when making an attack roll with one. Flowing in the Way
At 17th level, you also gain the ability to use Ki
Psionic save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus +
points or PSPs to activate Monk or psionic
your Wisdom modifier
powers regardless without having to use a bonus
Psionic attack modifier = your proficiency bonus action to convert each of them. You still keep
+ your Wisdom modifier separate pools of points and regain them
separately.
The Will And The Way Also, if you miss with a psionic attack roll using
a power on your turn, you can reroll it. You can
Starting when you choose this tradition at 3rd use this feature only once on each of your turns.
level, you gain the ability to concentrate your Ki
into a surge of mental energy. You can use a
bonus action to convert 2 to 5 Ki points to the
equivalent PSP (1 Ki point would give 1 PSP and 5
Ki points would give 5 PSPs). You can also
convert PSPs to Ki points with the same
exchange rate.
You also gain proficiency in the weaving tools,
and can choose two additional languages.
Only female humans with the Villichi human
variant can choose to become Villichi Priestesses.

Psionic Combat
At 6th level, you gain the ability to use your
psionic powers as reactions when making attack
of opportunity.

Bird of Prey Affinity

By 11th level, your Animal Affinity power gains
the affinity with eagles or hawks. You can use it
to sprouts feathery wings and fly as the fly spell.
While affected by the power, you also get the
bird’s keen vision, granting you advantage to
Perception check based on vision.

137
Druid Class
Holding high a gnarled staff wreathed with holly,
an elf summons the fury of the storm and calls
down explosive bolts of lightning to smite the
torch-carrying giths who threaten her guarded
land.
Crouching out of sight on a high rock in the form
of a leopard, a human peers out of the jungle at
the strange construction of a temple of Evil Yuan-
ti, keeping a close eye on the cultists’ activities.
Swinging a blade formed of pure fire, a half-elf
charges into a mass of skeletal soldiers,
sundering the unnatural magic that gives the foul
creatures the mocking semblance of life.
Whether calling on the elemental forces of
nature or emulating the creatures of the animal
world, druids are an embodiment of nature’s
resilience, cunning, and fury. They claim no
mastery over nature. Instead, they see
themselves as extensions of nature’s indomitable
will.
Power of Nature
Druids revere nature above all, gaining their
spells and other magical powers either from the
force of nature itself or from a nature deity.
Many druids pursue a mystic spirituality of
transcendent union with nature, or elemental
forces.
Druid spells are oriented toward nature and
animals—the power of tooth and claw, of sun
and moon, of fire and storm. Druids also gain the
ability to take on animal forms, and some druids
make a particular study of this practice, even to
the point where they prefer animal form to their
natural form.
Preserve the Balance
For druids, nature exists in a precarious balance.
The four elements that make up a world—air,
earth, fire, and water—must remain in
equilibrium. If one element were to gain power
over the others, the world could be destroyed,
drawn into one of the elemental planes and
broken apart into its component elements. Thus,
druids oppose cults of Elemental Evil and others
who promote one element to the exclusion of
others.
Druids are also concerned with the delicate
ecological balance that sustains plant and animal
life, and the need for civilized folk to live in
harmony with nature, not in opposition to it.
Druids accept that which is cruel in nature, and
they hate that which is unnatural, including
aberrations (such as beholders and mind flayers)
and undead (such as zombies and vampires).
Druids sometimes lead raids against such
creatures, especially when the monsters
encroach on the druids’ guarded land.
Druids are often found guarding sacred sites or
watching over regions of unspoiled nature. But
when a significant danger arises, threatening
nature’s balance or the lands they protect, druids
take on a more active role in combating the
threat, as adventurers.
Creating a Druid
When making a druid, consider why your
character has such a close bond with nature.
Perhaps your character lives in a society where
the Old Faith still thrives, or was raised by a druid
after being abandoned in the depths of a forest.
Perhaps your character had a dramatic
encounter with the spirits of nature, coming face
to face with a giant eagle or dire wolf and
surviving the experience. Maybe your character
was born during an epic storm or a volcanic
138
 The Druid Table
Level Proficiency Features Cantrips —Spell Slots per Spell Level—
Bonus Known 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th
1st 2 Druidic, Spellcasting 2 2 — — — — — — — —
2nd 2 Wild Shape, Druid Circle 2 3 — — — — — — — —
3rd 2 — 2 4 2 — — — — — — —
4th 2 Wild Shape Improvement, 3 4 3 — — — — — — —
Ability Score Improvement
5th 3 — 3 4 3 2 — — — — — —
6th 3 Druid Circle Feature 3 4 3 3 — — — — — —
7th 3 — 3 4 3 3 1 — — — — —
8th 3 Wild Shape Improvement, 3 4 3 3 2 — — — — —
Ability Score Improvement
9th 4 — 3 4 3 3 3 1 — — — —
10th 4 Druid Circle Feature 4 4 3 3 3 2 — — — —
11th 4 — 4 4 3 3 3 2 1 — — —
12th 4 Ability Score Improvement 4 4 3 3 3 2 1 — — —
13th 5 — 4 4 3 3 3 2 1 1 — —
14th 5 Druid Circle Feature 4 4 3 3 3 2 1 1 — —
15th 5 — 4 4 3 3 3 2 1 1 1 —
16th 5 Ability Score Improvement 4 4 3 3 3 2 1 1 1 —
17th 6 — 4 4 3 3 3 2 1 1 1 1
18th 6 Timeless Body, Beast Spells 4 4 3 3 3 3 1 1 1 1
19th 6 Ability Score Improvement 4 4 3 3 3 3 2 1 1 1
20th 6 Archdruid 4 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 1 1

eruption, which was interpreted as a sign that Class Features

becoming a druid was part of your character’s
destiny. As a druid, you gain the following class features.

Have you always been an adventurer as part of

your druidic calling, or did you first spend time as
Hit Points
a caretaker of a sacred grove or spring? Perhaps
your homeland was befouled by evil, and you  Hit Dice: 1d8 per druid level
took up an adventuring life in hopes of finding a  Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your
new home or purpose. Constitution modifier
 Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) +
QUICK BUILD
your Constitution modifier per druid level
You can make a druid quickly by following these after 1st
suggestions. First, Wisdom should be your
highest ability score, followed by Constitution.
Second, choose the hermit background.

139
Proficiencies Cantrips
 Armor: Light armor, medium armor, shields You start at 1st level with 2 cantrips from the
(druids will not wear armor or use shields Druid Spell List, and may learn an additional
made of metal) cantrip at 4th and 10th levels. These may be cast
 Weapons: Clubs, daggers, darts, javelins, without using any spell slots.
maces, quarterstaffs, scimitars, sickles,
slings, spears
 Tools: Herbalism kit
 Saving Throws: Intelligence, Wisdom
 Skills: Choose two from Arcana,
Animal Handling, Insight, Medicine, Nature,
Perception, Religion, and Survival

Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition
to the equipment granted by your background:

 (a) a wooden agaferi shield or (b) any stone

simple weapon
 (a) a stone scimitar or (b) any stone simple
melee weapon
 Carru leather armor, an explorer’s pack,
and a druidic focus.

Druidic
You know Druidic, the secret language of druids.
You can speak the language and use it to leave
hidden messages. You and others who know this
language automatically spot such a message.
Others spot the message's presence with a
successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check but
can't decipher it without magic.

Spellcasting
You cast Druid spells. Drawing on the divine
essence of nature itself, you can cast spells to
shape that essence to your will.

140
Preparing and Casting Spells
The Druid table shows how many spell slots you
have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher.
To cast one of these druid 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 druid spells that are
available for you to cast, choosing from the druid
spell list. When you do so, choose a number of
druid spells equal to your Wisdom modifier +
your druid level (minimum of one spell). The
spells must be of a level for which you have spell
slots.
You can also change your list of prepared spells
when you finish a long rest. Preparing a new list
of druid spells requires time spent in prayer and
meditation: at least 1 minute per spell level for
each spell on your list.
Spellcasting Ability
Wisdom is used whenever a spell refers to your
spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your
Wisdom modifier when setting the saving throw
DC for a druid spell you cast and when making an
attack roll with one.
Spell Save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your
Wisdom modifier
Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus +
your Wisdom modifier
Ritual Casting
You can cast a druid spell as a ritual if that spell
has the ritual tag and you have the spell
prepared.
Spellcasting Focus
You can use a druidic focus.
141
Wild Shape
Starting at 2nd level, you can use your action to
magically assume the shape of a beast that you
have seen before. You can use this feature twice.
You regain expended uses when you finish a
short or long rest.
Your druid level determines the beasts you can
transform into, as shown in the Beast Shapes
table. At 2nd level, for example, you can
transform into any beast that has a challenge
rating of 1/4 or lower that doesn't have a flying
or swimming speed.
Beast Shapes
Level Max CR Limitations Example
2nd 1/4 No flying or Zhackal
burrowing speed
4th 1/2 No flying speed Janks
8th 1 -- Giant eagle
You can stay in a beast shape for a number of
hours equal to half your druid level (rounded
down). You then revert to your normal form
unless you expend another use of this feature.
You can revert to your normal form earlier by
using a bonus action on your turn. You
automatically revert if you fall unconscious, drop
to 0 hit points, or die.
While you are transformed, the following rules
apply:
 Your game statistics are replaced by the
statistics of the beast, but you retain your
alignment, personality, and Intelligence,
Wisdom, and Charisma scores. You also
retain all of your skill and saving throw
proficiencies, in addition to gaining those
of the creature. If the creature has the
same proficiency as you and the bonus in
its stat block is higher than yours, use the
creature's bonus instead of yours. If the
 creature has any legendary or lair actions,
you can't use them.
 When you transform, you assume the
beast's hit points and Hit Dice. When you
revert to your normal form, you return to
the number of hit points you had before
you transformed. However, if you revert as
a result of dropping to 0 hit points, any
excess damage carries over to your normal
form. For example, if you take 10 damage
in animal form and have only 1 hit
point left, you revert and take 9 damage.
As long as the excess damage doesn't
reduce your normal form to 0 hit points,
you aren't knocked unconscious.
 You can't cast spells, and your ability to
speak or take any action that requires
hands is limited to the capabilities of your
beast form. Transforming doesn't break
your concentration on a spell you've
already cast, however, or prevent you from
taking actions that are part of a spell, such
as call lightning, that you've already cast.
 You retain the benefit of any features from
your class, race, or other source and can
use them if the new form is physically
capable of doing so. However, you can't
use any of your special senses, such
as darkvision, unless your new form also
has that sense.
 You choose whether your equipment falls
to the ground in your space, merges into
your new form, or is worn by it. Worn
equipment functions as normal, but the
GM decides whether it is practical for the
new form to wear a piece of equipment,
based on the creature's shape and size.
Your equipment doesn't change size or
shape to match the new form, and any
equipment that the new form can't wear
must either fall to the ground or merge
with it. Equipment that merges with the
form has no effect until you leave the form.

142
Druid Circle
At 2nd level, you choose to identify with a circle
of druids, the Circle of the Land, the Circle of the
Moon, the Circle of the Shepherd, and the Circle
of Twilight. Your choice grants you features at
2nd 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.
Timeless Body
Starting at 18th level, the primal magic that you
wield causes you to age more slowly. For every
10 years that pass, your body ages only 1 year.
Beast Spells
Beginning at 18th level, you can cast many of
your druid spells in any shape you assume using
Wild Shape. You can perform the somatic and
verbal components of a druid spell while in a
beast shape, but you aren't able to provide
material components.
Nature’s Avatar
At 20th level, you can use your Wild Shape an
unlimited number of times.
Additionally, you can ignore the verbal and
somatic components of your druid spells, as well
as any material components that lack a cost and
aren't consumed by a spell. You gain this benefit
in both your normal shape and your beast shape
from Wild Shape.
143
Druid Circles
Though their organization is invisible to most
outsiders, druids are part of a society that spans the
land, ignoring political borders. All druids are
nominally members of this druidic society, though
some individuals are so isolated that they have never
seen any high-ranking members of the society or
participated in druidic gatherings. Druids recognize
each other as brothers and sisters. Like creatures of
the wilderness, however, druids sometimes compete
with or even prey on each other. At a local scale,
druids are organized into circles that share certain
perspectives on nature, balance, and the way of the
druid.
Circle of the Land
The Circle of the Land is made up of mystics and
sages who safeguard ancient knowledge and rites
through a vast oral tradition. These druids meet
within sacred circles of trees or standing stones to
whisper primal secrets in Druidic. The circle's wisest
members preside as the chief priests of communities
that hold to the Old Faith and serve as advisors to the
rulers of those folk. As a member of this circle, your
magic is influenced by the land where you were
initiated into the circle's mysterious rites.
Bonus Cantrip
When you choose this circle at 2nd level, you learn
one additional druid cantrip of your choice.
Natural Recovery
Starting at 2nd level, you can regain some of your
magical energy by sitting in meditation and
communing with nature. During a short rest, you
choose expended spell slots to recover. The spell
slots can have a combined level that is equal to or
less than half your druid level (rounded up), and none
of the slots can be 6th level or higher. You can't use
this feature again until you finish a long rest.
Circle Spells
Your mystical connection to the land infuses you with
the ability to cast certain spells. At 3rd, 5th, 7th, and
9th level you gain access to circle spells connected to Salt Flat
the land where you became a druid. Choose that
land—silt shore, scrub plain, forest, rocky badland,
Druid Level Circle Spells
salt flat, boulder field, mountain, stony barren, or
3rd blur, ray of enfleeblement
sandy waste—and consult the associated list of
5th blink, slow
spells.
7th blight, hallucinatory terrain
Once you gain access to a circle spell, you always
have it prepared, and it doesn't count against the 9th commune with nature, wall of light
number of spells you can prepare each day. If you
gain access to a spell that doesn't appear on the druid Stony Barren
spell list, the spell is nonetheless a druid spell for you.
Druid Level Circle Spells
Silt Shore 3rd spike growth, locate animals or plants
5th protection from energy, haste
Druid Level Circle Spells 7th greater invisibility, stone shape
3rd mirror image, misty step 9th stone body***, dawn
5th silt storm*, wall of silt**
7th hallucinatory terrain , silt storm**** Forest
9th insect plague, cloudkill
Druid Level Circle Spells
Rocky Badland 3rd barkskin, spider climb
5th plant growth, speak with plants
Druid Level Circle Spells 7th conjure woodland beings, guardian of nature
3rd earthbind*, earthen grace 9th wrath of nature, tree stride
5th erupting earth, hailstones***
7th blistering radiance***, freedom of movement Boulder Field
9th earth reaver***, transmute rock

Druid Level Circle Spells

Mountain 3rd earth tremor*, maximilian’s earthen grasp
5th meld into stone, stony grasp***
Druid Level Circle Spells 7th stone shape, stoneskin
3rd spider climb, mountain stance*** 9th passwall, wall of stone
5th lightning bolt, meld into stone
7th storm sphere, divination Sandy Waste
9th control winds, ball lightning***
Druid Level Circle Spells
3rd blur, dust devil
Scrub Plain 5th create food and water, wall of sand
7th calm winds***, freedom of movement
Druid Level Circle Spells 9th insect plague, scrying
3rd invisibility, pass without trace
5th daylight, haste * See Sleet Storm spell but with force damage.
7th divination, freedom of movement ** See Wall of Sand
9th dream, insect plague *** Elminster's Guide to Magic spell.
**** See Ice Storm spell but with force damage.

144
Land's Stride
Starting at 6th level, moving through non-
magical difficult terrain costs you no extra
movement. You can also pass through non-
magical plants without being slowed by them
and without taking damage from them if they
have thorns, spines, or a similar hazard.
In addition, you have advantage on saving
throws against plants that are magically created
or manipulated to impede movement, such
those created by the entangle spell.
Nature's Ward
When you reach 10th level, you can't be
charmed or frightened by elementals or fey, and
you are immune to poison and disease.
Nature's Sanctuary
When you reach 14th level, creatures of the
natural world sense your connection to nature
and become hesitant to attack you. When a
beast or plant creature attacks you, that creature
must make a Wisdom saving throw against your
druid spell save DC. On a failed save, the
creature must choose a different target, or the
attack automatically misses. On a successful
save, the creature is immune to this effect for 24
hours. The creature is aware of this effect before
it makes its attack against you.
Circle of the Moons
Druids of the Circle of the Moons are fierce
guardians of the wilds. Their order gathers under
the full moons to share news and trade
warnings. They haunt the deepest parts of the
wilderness, where they might go for weeks on
end before crossing paths with another
humanoid creature, let alone another druid.
Changeable as the moons, a druid of this circle
might prowl as a great cat one night, soar over
145
the treetops as an eagle the next day, and crash
through the undergrowth in bear form to drive
off a trespassing monster. The wild is in the
druid's blood.
Combat Wild Shape
When you choose this circle at 2nd level, you
gain the ability to use Wild Shape on your turn as
a bonus action, rather than as an action.
Additionally, while you are transformed by Wild
Shape. You can use a bonus action to expend one
spell slot to regain 1d8 hit points per level of the
spell slot expended.
Circle Forms
The rites of your circle grant you the ability to
transform into more dangerous animal forms.
Starting at 2nd level, you can use your Wild
Shape to transform into a beast with a challenge
rating as high as 1 (you ignore the Max CR
column of the Beast Shapes table, but must
abide by the other limitations there).
Starting at 6th level, you can transform into a
beast with a challenge rating as high as your
druid level divided by 3, rounded down.
Primal Strike
Starting at 6th level, your attacks in beast form
count as magical for the purpose of overcoming
resistance and immunity to non-magical attacks
and damage.
Elemental wild Shape
At 10th level, you can expend two uses of Wild
Shape at the same time to transform into an air
elemental, an earth elemental, a fire elemental,
or a water elemental.
Thousand Forms
By 14th level, you have learned to use magic to
alter your physical form in more subtle ways. You
can cast the alter self spell at will
Circle of the Shepherd
Druids of the Circle of the Shepherd commune
with the spirits of nature, especially the spirits of
beasts and the fey, and call to those spirits for
aid. These druids recognize that all living things
play a role in the natural world, yet they focus on
protecting animals and fey creatures that have
difficulty defending themselves. Shepherds, as
they are known, see such creatures as their
charges. They ward off monsters that threaten
them, rebuke hunters who kill more prey than
necessary, and prevent civilization from
encroaching on rare animal habitats and on sites
sacred to the fey. Many of these druids are
happiest far from cities and towns, content to
spend their days in the company of animals and
the fey creatures of the wilds.
Members of this circle become adventurers to
oppose forces that threaten their charges or to
seek knowledge and power that will help them
safeguard their charges better. Wherever these
druids go, the spirits of the wilderness are with
them.
Speech of the Woods
At 2nd level, you gain the ability to converse with
beasts and many fey.
You learn to speak, read, and write Sylvan. In
addition, beasts can understand your speech,
and you gain the ability to decipher their noises
and motions. Most beasts lack the intelligence to
convey or understand sophisticated concepts,
but a friendly beast could relay what it has seen
or heard in the recent past. This ability doesn’t
grant you any special friendship with beasts,
though you can combine this ability with gifts to
curry favor with them as you would with any
non-player character.
Spirit Totem
Starting at 2nd level, you can call forth nature
spirits to influence the world around you. As a
bonus action, you can magically summon an
incorporeal spirit to a point you can see within
60 feet of you. The spirit creates an aura in a 30-
foot radius around that point. It counts as
neither a creature nor an object, though it has
the spectral appearance of the creature it
represents.
As a bonus action, you can move the spirit up to
60 feet to a point you can see.
The spirit persists for 1 minute or until you're
incapacitated. Once you use this feature, you
can’t use it again until you finish a short or long
rest.
The effect of the spirit’s aura depends on the
type of spirit you summon from the options
below.
Klar Spirit. The bear spirit grants you and your
allies its might and endurance. Each creature of
your choice in the aura when the spirit appears
each gain temporary hit points equal to 5 + your
druid level. In addition, you and your allies gain
advantage on Strength checks and Strength
saving throws while in the aura.
Hawk Spirit. The hawk spirit is a consummate
hunter, aiding you and your allies with its keen
sight. When a creature makes an attack roll
against a target in the spirit’s aura, you can use
your reaction to grant advantage to that attack
roll. In addition, you and your allies have
advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks while
in the aura.
146
Lirr Spirit. The unicorn spirit lends its protection
to those nearby. You and your allies gain
advantage on all ability checks made to detect
creatures in the spirit’s aura. In addition, if you
cast a spell with a spell slot that restores hit
points to anyone inside or outside the aura, each
creature of your choice in the aura also regains
hit points equal to your druid level.
Mighty Summoner
At 6th level, beasts and fey that you conjure are
more resilient than normal. Any beast or fey
summoned or created by your spells gains the
following benefits:
 Its hit point maximum increases by 2 per
Hit Die
 The damage from its natural weapons is
considered magical for the purpose of
overcoming immunity and resistance to
non-magical attacks and damage.
Guardian Spirit
Beginning at 10th level, your Spirit Totem
safeguards the beasts and fey that you call forth
with your magic. When a beast or fey that you
summoned or created with a spell ends its turn
in your Spirit Totem aura, that creature regains a
number of hit points equal to half your druid
level.
Faithful Summons
Starting at 14th level, the nature spirits you
commune with protect you when you are the
most defenceless. If you are reduced to 0 hit
points or are incapacitated against your will, you
can immediately gain the benefits of conjure
animals as if it were cast with a 9th-level spell
slot. It summons four beasts of your choice that
are challenge rating 2 or lower. The conjured
beasts appear within 20 feet of you. If they
receive no commands from you, they protect
you from harm and attack your foes. The spell
147
lasts for 1 hour, requiring no concentration, or
until you dismiss it (no action required).
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again
until you finish a long rest.
Circle of Twilight
The Circle of Twilight seeks to exterminate
undead creatures and preserve the natural cycle
of life and death that rules over the cosmos.
Their magic allows them to manipulate the
boundary between life and death, sending their
foes to their final rest while keeping their allies
from that fate.
These druids seek out lands that have been
tainted by undeath. Such places are grim and
foreboding. Once vibrant forests become
gloomy, haunted places devoid of animals and
filled with plants dying a slow, lingering death.
The Circle of Twilight goes to such places to
banish undeath and restore life.
Harvest’s Scythe
Starting at 2nd level, you learn to unravel and
harvest the life energy of other creatures. You
can augment your spells to drain the life force
from creatures. You have a pool of energy
represented by a number of d10s equal to your
druid level.
When you roll damage for a spell, you can
increase that damage by spending dice from the
pool. You can spend a number of dice equal to
half your druid level or less. Roll the spent dice
and add them to the damage as necrotic
damage. If you kill one or more hostile creatures
with a spell augmented in this way, you or an ally
of your choice that you can see within 30 feet of
you regains 2 hit points per die spent to increase
the spell’s damage, or 5 hit points per die if at
least one of the slain creatures was undead.
You regain the expended dice when you finish a
long rest.
Speech Beyond the Grave
At 6th level, you gain the ability to reach beyond
death’s veil in search of knowledge. Using this
feature, you can cast speak with dead without
material components, and you understand what
the target of this casting says. It can understand
your questions, even if you don’t share a
language or it is not intelligent enough to speak.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again
until you finish a short or long rest.
Watcher at the Threshold
At 10th level, you gain resistance to necrotic and
radiant damage. In addition, while you aren’t
incapacitated, any ally within 30 feet of you has
advantage on death saving throws.
Paths of the Dead
At 14th level, your mastery of death allows you
to tread the paths used by ghosts and other
spirits. Using this feature, you can cast
etherealness. Once the spell ends, you can’t cast
it with this feature again until you finish a short
or long rest.
___________________________________________
Druids are independent priests who ally
themselves with various spirits of the land. A
druid shares power with the spirit he worships,
nurturing and protecting the geographical feature
to which the spirit is tied. Virtually every feature
of the land has a druid to protect it, but druids
seldom interact with others of their kind. They
serve independently, living patient, solitary lives
devoted to guarding the land.
Every druid must choose one geographic feature
to be his guarded lands. The geographic features
that a druid might make his guarded lands can
vary widely. For instance, one may watch over a
particular stretch of open desert, another may
protect a belt of scrub grass within it, while still
another might watch over a small oasis that
borders on both.
Lower-level druids may travel widely in the world.
During his time of wandering, a young druid
learns about the world, its ecology, the balance
of nature, and the ways of its creatures.
Although he has already chosen lands to guard
and cherish, he may spend as much or as little
time on his guarded lands as he sees fit.
Learning the ways of the world will ultimately
help him better protect his guarded lands, for
upon reaching 12th level his time of wandering
comes to an end. From that time forward, the
druid must spend half of his downtime on his
guarded lands, watching over them and
protecting them. The rest of the time, the druid
must again travel to keep tabs on events that
might threaten nature in general and his guarded
lands in particular.
Some possible guardian lands for the Sphere of
Earth include a particular mountain or hill, a
rock outcropping, an expanse of desert or
steppes. For the Sphere of Air, a druid might
opt to protect the sky over a particular area, the
winds of a canyon, or any prevailing wind
pattern. For the Sphere of Fire, dry grasslands, a
volcanic vent, hot springs, or boiling tar pits are
appropriate guardian lands. Lastly, the Sphere of
148
Water might include a spring or pool, an oasis, most visitors alone—with the possible exception
or a natural cistern. of wizards. Understandably, druids tend to be
very apprehensive about wizards who venture into
When in his guarded lands, a druid has several their realms, as any wizard might turn out to be
powerful granted powers, including the following: a defiler. Nothing can destroy the land faster
than a defiler drawing power for his spells.
„ A druid can remain concealed from others
while in his guarded lands. This is proof against Unlike in other D&D campaigns, there’s no
all normal forms of detection (sight, hearing, etc.) worldwide organization of druids on Athas. As
but won’t protect the druid from magical such, there are no rules limiting the number of
detection (including a detect invisible spell). The druids that may exist at a given level, and there
druid can’t move or cast spells while concealed. are no special druidic titles such as Archdruids
„ A druid may speak with animals in his and the Grand Druid. These don’t exist in a
guarded lands when he reaches 3rd level. He DARK SUN campaign.
can speak with all animals when he reaches 7th
level.
„ A druid may speak with plants in his guarded
lands when he reaches 5th level. He can speak
with all plants when he reaches 9th level.
„ A druid can live without water or nourishment
in his guarded lands when he reaches 7th level.
From that point on, the druid draws his life
energy directly from his guarded lands. However,
when he leaves his lands to learn more of the
world, he must take sustenance in the usual
fashion.

Druids tend not to bother or even encounter

those who use their guarded lands without
damaging them. Travelers who stop at an oasis
to water their animals and then move on will
probably never know there is a druid watching
their every move. It’s a druid’s firm belief that
the lands are for all to use, human and animal
alike. He watches to see that his guarded lands
aren’t abused in any way, but otherwise he leaves

149

Cleric Class
Arms and eyes upraised toward the sun and a
prayer on his lips, an elf begins to glow with an
inner light that spills out to heal his battle-worn
companions.
Chanting a song of glory, a dwarf swings his axe
in wide swaths to cut through the ranks of giths
arrayed against him, shouting praise to the earth
element with every foe’s fall.
Calling down a curse upon the forces of undeath,
a human lifts her element focus as light pours
from it to drive back the zombies crowding in on
her companions.
Clerics are intermediaries between the mortal
world and the surrounding elemental planes. As
varied as the elements they serve, clerics strive
to embody the handiwork of their element’s
nature. No ordinary preacher, a cleric is imbued
with elemental magic.
Healers and Warriors
Elemental magic, as the name suggests, is the
power of the elements, flowing from them into
the world. Clerics are conduits for that power,
manifesting it as miraculous effects. The
elements don’t grant this power to everyone
who seeks it, but only to those chosen to fulfill a
high calling and pass the initiation test with their
faith.
Harnessing elemental magic doesn’t rely on
study or training. A cleric might learn formulaic
prayers and ancient rites, but the ability to cast
cleric spells relies on devotion and an intuitive
sense of an elemental’s nature.
Clerics combine the helpful magic of healing and
inspiring their allies with spells that harm and
hinder foes. They can provoke awe and dread,
lay curses of plague or poison, and even call
down flames from the sky to consume their
enemies. For those evildoers who will benefit
most from a mace to the head, clerics depend on
their combat training to let them wade into
melee with the power of the elements on their
side.
Elemental Agents
Not every acolyte or officiant at a temple or
shrine is a cleric. Some priests are called to a
simple life of temple service, manifesting out
their element’s will through prayer and sacrifice,
not by magic and strength of arms. In some
cities, priesthood amounts to a political office,
viewed as a stepping stone to higher positions of
authority and involving no communion with a
element at all. True clerics are rare in most
hierarchies.
When a cleric takes up an adventuring life, it is
usually because his or her element demands it.
Pursuing the goals of the elements often involves
braving dangers beyond the walls of civilization,
smiting evil or seeking holy relics in ancient
tombs. Many clerics are also expected to protect
their deities’ worshipers, which can mean
fighting rampaging giths, negotiating peace
between warring nations, or thwarting a
sorcerer-king.
Every cleric must choose one elemental or para-
elemental plane as his focus of worship.
Most adventuring clerics maintain some
connection to established temples and orders of
their faiths. A temple might ask for a cleric’s aid,
or a high priest might be in a position to demand
it.
Outside the city-states, away from the
bureaucracy of the sorcerer-kings and their
templars, the most common type of priest is the
cleric. All clerics worship the elemental planes
and draw their magical energies directly from
150
them. However, the backgrounds and Proficiencies
motivations for clerics may be vastly different—
the shamans of the halflings, the elemental Armor: Light armor, medium armor, shields
singers of the elf tribes, and the healers among Weapons: Simple weapons
the herding communities are all dissimilar, but Tools: None
they’re all still clerics. Saving Throws: Wisdom, Charisma
Skills: Choose two from History, Insight,
Medicine, Persuasion, and Religion
Creating a Cleric
As you create a cleric, the most important
question to consider is which element to serve
and what principles you want your character to
embody.
Once you’ve chosen an element, consider your
cleric’s relationship to that element. Did you
enter this service willingly? Or did the element
choose you, impelling you into service with no
regard for your wishes? How do the temple
priests of your faith regard you: as a champion or
a troublemaker? What are your ultimate goals?
Does your deity have a special task in mind for
you? Or are you striving to prove yourself worthy
of a great quest?
QUICK BUILD
You can make a cleric quickly by following these
suggestions. First, Wisdom should be your
highest ability score, followed by Strength or
Constitution. Second, choose the acolyte
background.

Class Features
As a cleric, you gain the following class features.

Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d8 per cleric level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution
modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your
Constitution modifier per cleric level after 1st

151
 —Spell Slots per Spell Level—
Level Proficiency Features Cantrips
Bonus Known 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th
1st +2 Spellcasting, Elemental 3 2 — — — — — — — —
Domain, Sacrifice
2nd +2 Channel Element (1/rest), 3 3 — — — — — — — —
Elemental Domain Feature
3rd +2 — 3 4 2 — — — — — — —

4th +2 Ability Score Improvement 4 4 3 — — — — — — —

5th +3 Destroy Undead (CR 1/2) 4 4 3 2 — — — — — —

Endure
6th +3 Channel Element (2/rest), 4 4 3 3 — — — — — —
Elemental Domain Feature
7th +3 — 4 4 3 3 1 — — — — —

8th +3 Ability Score Improvement, 4 4 3 3 2 — — — — —

Destroy Undead (CR 1),
9th +4 — 4 4 3 3 3 1 — — — —

10th +4 Elemental Intervention 5 4 3 3 3 2 — — — —

11th +4 Destroy Undead (CR 2) 5 4 3 3 3 2 1 — — —

12th +4 Ability Score Improvement 5 4 3 3 3 2 1 — — —

13th +5 — 5 4 3 3 3 2 1 1 — —

14th +5 Destroy Undead (CR 3) 5 4 3 3 3 2 1 1 — —

15th +5 — 5 4 3 3 3 2 1 1 1 —

16th +5 Ability Score Improvement 5 4 3 3 3 2 1 1 1 —

17th +6 Destroy Undead (CR 4), 5 4 3 3 3 2 1 1 1 1

Elemental Domain Feature
18th +6 Channel Element (3/rest) 5 4 3 3 3 3 1 1 1 1

19th +6 Ability Score Improvement 5 4 3 3 3 3 2 1 1 1

20th +6 Elemental Intervention 5 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 1 1

Improvement

152
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in
addition to the equipment granted by your
background:
 (a) a stone mace or (b) a stone warhammer
(if proficient)
 (a) light crodlu scale armor, (b) carru
leather armor, or (c) braxat hide armor (if
proficient)
 (a) a light crossbow and 20 stone bolts or
(b) any stone simple weapon
 (a) a priest’s pack or (b) an explorer’s pack
 An agaferi wooden shield and an elemental
focus
Spellcasting
As a conduit for Elemental power, you can cast
cleric spells. See Spells Rules for the general rules
of spellcasting and the Spells Listing for the cleric
spell list and the adjustments spells list included
in this book.
Cantrips
At 1st level, you know three cantrips of your
choice from the cleric spell list. You learn
additional cleric cantrips of your choice at higher
levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of
the Cleric table.
Preparing and Casting Spells
The Cleric 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 cleric spells that are
available for you to cast, choosing from the cleric
spell list. When you do so, choose a number of
cleric spells equal to your Wisdom modifier +
your cleric level (minimum of one spell). The
153
spells must be of a level for which you have spell
slots.
For example, if you are a 3rd-level cleric, you
have four 1st-level and two 2nd-level spell slots.
With a Wisdom of 16, your list of prepared spells
can include six spells of 1st or 2nd level, in any
combination. If you prepare the 1st-level spell
cure wounds, you can cast it using a 1st-level or
2nd-level slot. Casting the spell doesn’t remove it
from your list of prepared spells.
You can change your list of prepared spells when
you finish a long rest. Preparing a new list of
cleric spells requires time spent in prayer and
meditation: at least 1 minute per spell level for
each spell on your list.
Spellcasting Ability
Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for your cleric
spells. The power of your spells comes from your
devotion to your element. You use your Wisdom
whenever a cleric spell refers to your spellcasting
ability. In addition, you use your Wisdom
modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a
cleric spell you cast and when making an attack
roll with one.
Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your
Wisdom modifier
Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus +
your Wisdom modifier
Ritual Casting
You can cast a cleric spell as a ritual if that spell
has the ritual tag and you have the spell
prepared.
Spellcasting Focus
You can use an elemental focus (see each
archetype sections for description) as a
spellcasting focus for your cleric spells.
Elemental Domain
Choose one domain related to your element:
earth, air, water, fire, silt, rain, magma, or sun.
Your choice grants you domain spells and other
features when you choose it at 1st level. It also
grants you additional ways to use Channel
Element when you gain that feature at 2nd level,
and additional benefits at 6th, 8th, and 17th
levels.
Domain Spells
Each domain has a list of spells — its domain
spells — that you gain at the cleric levels noted
in the domain description. Once you gain a
domain spell, you always have it prepared, and it
doesn’t count against the number of spells you
can prepare each day.
If you have a domain spell that doesn’t appear
on the cleric spell list, the spell is nonetheless a
cleric spell for you.
Sacrifice
At 1st level, you may sacrifice yourself for the
land to endure when you find within twice the
radius of a defiling spell When invoked, this
granted power allows you to sacrifice yourself
for the land. Any time you are within a defiler's
magical destruction radius x2, you may
substitute your life force for the spell’s energy.
You lose 2 hit points for every level of the spell
you are trying to energize. When you make this
sacrifice, the land will suffer no ill effects. If you
should come up short, you lose all remaining hit
points and whatever remains is taken from the
land. Sacrifice is an extremely altruistic action,
and the elemental lords truly appreciate those
who take this course.
Channel Element
At 2nd level, you gain the ability to channel
Elemental energy directly from your elemental’s
plane, using that energy to fuel magical effects.
You start with two such effects: Turn Undead
154
and an effect determined by your domain. Some
domains grant you additional effects as you
advance in levels, as noted in the domain
description.
When you use your Channel Element, you
choose which effect to create. You must then
finish a short or long rest to use your Channel
Element again.
Some Channel Element effects require saving
throws. When you use such an effect from this
class, the DC equals your cleric spell save DC.
Beginning at 6th level, you can use your Channel
Element twice between rests, and beginning at
18th level, you can use it three times between
rests. When you finish a short or long rest, you
regain your expended uses.
Channel Element: Turn Undead
As an action, you present your elemental focus
and speak a prayer censuring the undead. Each
undead that can see or hear you 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.
A turned creature must spend its turns trying to
move as far away from you as it can, and it can’t
willingly move to a space within 30 feet of you. It
also can’t take reactions. For its action, it can use
only the Dash action or try to escape from an
effect that prevents it from moving. If there’s
nowhere to move, the creature can use the
Dodge action.
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.
155
Destroy Undead
Starting at 5th level, when an undead fails its
saving throw against your Turn Undead feature,
the creature is instantly destroyed if its challenge
rating is at or below a certain threshold, as
shown in the Destroy Undead table.
Destroy Undead Table
Cleric Destroys Undead
Level of CR ...
5th 1/2 or lower
8th 1 or lower
11th 2 or lower
14th 3 or lower
17th 4 or lower
Elemental Intervention
Beginning at 10th level, you can call on your
element to intervene on your behalf when your
need is great.
Imploring your element’s aid requires you to use
your action. Describe the assistance you seek,
and roll percentile dice. If you roll a number
equal to or lower than your cleric level, your
element intervenes. The DM chooses the nature
of the intervention; the effect of any cleric spell
or cleric domain spell would be appropriate.
If your element intervenes, you can’t use this
feature again for 7 days. Otherwise, you can use
it again after you finish a long rest.
At 20th level, your call for intervention succeeds
automatically, no roll required.
Elemental Domains
The champions of the elemental lords tend to
hold the same environmental views as their
elemental masters. This is a result of the peculiar
selection process of the elementals and of the
initiation that all clerics must suffer. For instance,
all air clerics oppose slavery. This is because any
petitioner who could accept enforced servitude
would not be accepted by the air spirits. Of
course, some may feel more strongly about the
issue than others.
The point is that each cleric should be portrayed
as a living, thinking being with all the faults and
virtues that that entails. This is what good role-
playing is all about. However, because of the
elementals. selective process, the clerics of each
sphere share some of the same basic ideals.
A player might find some reason for his slave-
holding, dirt-farming, land-bound character to be
accepted by the
air elementals, but there had better be a very
good reason for their acceptance.
Water Domain
The Water domain focuses on the vibrant positive
energy—one of the fundamental forces of the
universe that sustains all life. The water element
promotes vitality and health through Healing the sick
and wounded, caring for those in need, and driving
away the forces of death and undeath.
Among the elemental brotherhood, none are
more desperate than the lords of the Elemental
Plane of Water. Millennia ago, these beings were
happy, babbling through brook and floating
leisurely in the vast, blue seas. Now they are
claustrophobic, screaming for each drop lost to
the parched earth.
They know that they must quench the thirst of
the land before their streams and rivers can
return, but every spilled drop of water is yielded
grudgingly. It must be so, for the Plane of Water
has nearly perished.
The champions of the dying Plane of Water are
few; their lords barely able to empower them.
But those who underestimate them are
mistaken, for although the champions of water
are given less power than most, they are far
more desperate, and far more vengeful.
Still, they perform the age-old functions of water
as healer and bringer of life. Since their creation,
the patient water lords poured their very souls
over the land, knowing that the land would
eventually be saturated with their life giving
liquids. They had not counted on the mass
destruction caused by the defilers. Their evil
spells turned everything to ash, and all ambient
moisture was lost. And this was new. Water had
evaporated, frozen, boiled, and passed through
the systems of a billion beings, but it had never
before been destroyed.
Initiation
When a mentor feels that a student is ready,
they begin the long journey to the nearest large
body of water. Athas has few such places, and
these long treks are dangerous and almost futile.
Lake Island and the Lake of the Golden Dreams
are the most commonly used for the purpose of
initiation.
When they reach the shores of the lake, they sit
and discuss what the student has learned during
his apprenticeship. As dusk falls, the student
enters the water and surrenders to its depths.
The mentor's spell protects the acolyte from any
creatures that might happen by, and it allows the
candidate to breathe in the murky depths as if
breathing air.
156
The initiate spends the rest of the night in the
dark water, forging a pact with desperate water
spirits who babble continually. This process
continues until dawn, at which point the water
elementals will either accept or reject the
petitioner. If accepted, a 1st-level Cleric of Water
emerges from the depths and rejoins the mentor
for the long trip home. If rejected, the student is
left alone, and must swim to safety or drown.
The magical protection from creatures that dwell
in the depths is lost, no longer at bay, they may
attack freely.
The Pact of Water
Water is the giver of life, but the elemental lords
now perform their sacred tasks grudgingly. Still,
it is the duty of water clerics to give water and
aid to any in need, of any alignment, of any
nature. The only exceptions are those who
criminally waste water. In this case, the water
clerics are known to be meticulous in the cruelty
of their vengeance. This specifically applies to
defilers.
The second demand of the Plane of Water is that
clerics preserve and protect the water that
remains. Water clerics should never allow a
defiler to cast a spell near a water source, nor
permit a forest or any other moisture producing
area be destroyed. They must teach these ideas
to any who will listen. Typically, this involves
irrigation, conservation, and the cleansing of
existing water supplies. Unfortunately, it also
means frequent conflict with defilers and the
lackeys of the sorcerer-kings.
Water Clerics as Wanderers
Wandering water clerics fulfill several roles in the
tribes, villages, and nomads they visit. Water
priests perform healing and purify polluted water
sources. In times of severe drought they will
provide drinking water until the water supply has
recovered.
157
Water Clerics of the Shrines
Unlike the shrines of the other elements, those
dedicated to water almost always have a
protector. Water clerics seize the rare pools that
form the shrines in order to protect them from
settlers, defilers, or the simple, natural hazards
of nature.
A priest who has attached himself to a shrine has
related duties that may require his absence for
short periods of time. The surrounding region is
the foundation of the water table, and the cleric
must insure that the land has not been polluted
or otherwise tampered with. Tampering could
include actual organized attacks, damming, or
poisoning - anything that threatens the water
supply.
Water Clerics in the Cities
Water priests are the least threatened elemental
clerics residing in the cities. Their safety lies in
the fact that they provide water for the poor and
desperate, and are frequently called upon for
healing.
Occasionally, templars even recruit water clerics
to accompany them on particularly dangerous
missions, and water clerics do not believe that
the Elemental Plane of Water is a purely pacifist
sphere. That which serves water, serves them.
Water Shamans
Tribal peoples that support water shamans are
usually located on the shores of one of Athas’s
rare lakes, or else they are people of passive
dispositions. Usually less protective than
shamans of other elements, they give water and
healing to any friendly beings passing through
tribal territories.
Most shamans share a passive nature, but there
are a few who display the more desperate nature
of their elemental patrons. Some have told tales
of the green-skinned creatures that live beneath
the surface of Lake Pit. These are neither friendly
nor tolerant, and they are rumored to have a
shaman who casts terrible curses from the
depths of the lake on anyone caught peering into
their underwater world.
Water Domain Spells
Cleric Level Circle Spells
1st create or destroy water, cure wounds
3rd lesser restoration, protection from
poison
5th create food and water, revivify
7th control water, aura of purity
9th greater restoration, immunity to
poison and disease*
* SEE Elminster's Guide to Magic spell list.
Bonus Proficiency
When you choose this domain at 1st level, you gain
proficiency with the warhammer.
Bonus Cantrip
When you choose this domain at 1st level, you gain
the shape water cantrip if you don’t already know it.
Quench Thirst
When you choose this domain at 1st level, you can
chew on almost anything and extract moisture
from it. Mud, plant matter, even rock will yield
up to one-third of the character’s daily water
requirement.
Disciple of Life
Also starting at 1st level, your Healing Spells are more
effective. Whenever you use a spell of 1st level or
higher to restore hit points to a creature, the
creature regains additional hit points equal to 2 + the
spell’s level.
Channel Element: Healing Draft
Starting at 2nd level, you can use your Channel
Element to heal the badly injured. As an action, you
present your element focus and
evoke Healing energy that can restore a number of
hit points equal to five times your cleric level. Choose
any creatures within 30 feet of you, 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.
Body of Water
Upon reaching the 5th level, water clerics’ bodies
are partially transformed. Impurities, even
toxins, are constantly filtered out of the body to
emerge as harmless sweat. This gives you
resistance to poison.
You also gain the ability to ignore the element of
water for a number of rounds equal to your
level. You can breathe under water, are not
affected by most water spells, and can even
move through water as if it wasn’t there. When
the ability expires, you are subject to the usual
and appropriate affects. You may use this ability
only once per long rest.
You have resistance to cold damage.
Blessed Healer
Beginning at 6th level, the Healing Spells you cast on
others heal you as well. When you Cast a Spell of 1st
level or higher that restores hit points to a creature
other than you, you regain hit points equal to 2 + the
spell’s level.
Channel Element: Gate Water
The cleric can gate in water from the elemental
plane when he reaches the 7th level: 1 cubic foot
for every level above the 6th. The water will be
pure, and can only materialize in a spot that the
cleric can see, within 50 feet. This can mean
multiple locations, but he must be able to see all
of them. The water does not arrive under
pressure, and no damage can be inflicted with
this ability.
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Elemental Strike
At 8th level, you gain the ability to infuse your
weapon strikes with elemental energy. Once on each
of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon
attack, you can cause the attack to deal an extra 1d8
cold damage to the target. When you reach 14th
level, the extra damage increases to 2d8.

Supreme Healing
Starting at 17th level, when you would normally roll
one or more dice to restore hit points with a spell,
you instead use the highest number possible for each
die. For example, instead of restoring 2d6 hit points
to a creature, you restore 12.

You have immunity to cold damage.

Air Domain
Clerics who make pacts with the denizens of the
Plane of Air are perhaps the most misunderstood
of all the elemental
clerics. They are wanderers, diviners, travelers,
and mystics. There are those who even call them
frauds, but not to their faces.

Villagers and nomads often ask the air clerics to

peer into the future and tell of the success or
failure of crops, marriages, and fate. Though
their answers are often difficult to understand,
careful listeners may well be forearmed against
potential disaster.

Like the winds, their minds are constantly

wandering, and they rarely seem focused on a
current problem or situation. Some say that is
because they are empowered by flighty patrons,
and others say that repetitive viewing of the
future drives one mad.
Strangely, the one question they don’t seem able
to answer is whether Athas will recover from the
devastation that the defilers have inflicted upon
her. Clerics of the air say that the answer is
beyond the scope of their abilities, but others say
they are simply afraid to seek the answer.

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Air clerics don’t like restrictive bonds, so they
rarely wear anything heavier than leather armor.
They are not restricted to leather, this is a matter
of personal taste. Regardless, they usually wear
long flowing robes over any other protection.
The breezy flutter of their loose garments is a
particularly gratifying symbol for air clerics.
Initiation
The test of the air cleric is perhaps the most
terrifying of the elemental initiations. A cleric
begins the ordeal by spending two weeks in the
highest mountains he and his mentor can find,
usually a peak within the Ringing or Mekillot
Mountains. The mountain trek is often as
arduous and dangerous as the test itself.
During this two-week period, the candidate and
his mentor scale the high peaks and spend hours
in meditation on windy ledges. When the initiate
feels he is ready, he walks to an overhang where
his mentor casts a protective spell over him.
Then, the student leaps from the precipice,
throwing off the shackling chains of the earth
and giving himself completely to the wind.
As the petitioner falls, the air spirits will speak
with him and attempt to forge the pact of air. If
the student agrees and the air spirits accept him,
he is gently lowered to the ground, now a 1st-
level Cleric of Air. If the spirits don’t accept the
candidate, he is dropped the remaining distance
to the earth - typically 10 to 60 feet.
The Pact of Air
The single most important principle of the lords
of the air and their initiates is freedom. They
loathe restriction in their movements,
personalities, beliefs, practices, and clothing, and
they rebel against any attempts to impose
limitations.
This makes them enemies of all forms of
bondage, and they are required do what they
can to fight slavery whenever possible. A cleric of
the air who frees a slave should receive a 10%
bonus to the experience points earned during
the adventure. Criminals may be similarly freed if
the cleric honestly believes the felon was
unjustly imprisoned. Political prisoners in
particular, are often grateful to see a priest of
the air take notice of their plight.
The growing power of the sun has also angered
the air elementals; its constant heat stills the
earth and turns it dry and lifeless, and the air
hangs in hot pockets of lethargy.
Then too, where once mighty oceans gave birth
to terrible hurricanes and typhoons, the winds
must now be content to
scream weakly in the barren wastes. Because of
this, air elementals require their clerics to
protect and preserve earth and water. By doing
this, the elementals hope that the mighty forests
will return to shelter the planet from the harsh
sun, and that the raging oceans will once again
fill the great silt basins. Only then will they regain
the unbridled freedom they once knew.
Wandering Air Clerics
It is almost redundant to call them .wandering.
air clerics, for travel has been ingrained into the
spirits of these roving prophets since birth.
Typically, they wander from settlement to
settlement sharing prophecies, telling fortunes,
and teaching conservation and the manufacture
of wind-powered devices.
Visiting air clerics are seen as eccentric but
beneficent madmen with a unique gift for telling
the future. Because of this, most people are
reluctant to invite them into their homes, but
they are more than willing to take advantage of
their divinatory talents.
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Air Clerics of the Shrines
The shrines of air are located only on the highest
peaks of Athas's mountains, or at the ends of
deep valleys where the rushing winds break
against the cliffs that confine them. Because of
the wandering nature of these priests, the
shrines are visited but rarely, and are usually
tended by those who have become physically
unable to travel in any sense but the spiritual.
Air Clerics in the Cities
Air clerics are reluctant to spend much time in
the cities of the sorcerer-kings. The people of the
cities seem to be shackled to their everyday
concerns, and the constant surveillance of the
templars chains the spirits of these unfettered
wanderers.
When air clerics are found in a city, it is usually in
connection with an underground caravan. These
organizations attempt to free slaves by
smuggling, disguise, bribery, or any other means
necessary.
Air Shamans
Nomadic tribes are almost always accompanied
by shamans of the air. The shaman represents
their wandering nature and their ideal of living
free of the yokes imposed by owning land.
Though all clerics of the air tend to be
mysterious and elusive, the shamans of the air
are even stranger. Rarely seen among their
tribesmen, they have an uncanny knack for
appearing during times of need, when their
council is desperately required. Healing is a role
they disdain and perform only if the afflicted
individual is deemed “worthy”. It is not wise to
get on the wrong side of the tribal shaman.
Their primary functions are as advisors and
seers, but even these tasks are performed
grudgingly. Petty or personal questions are
almost always ignored, and draw disfavor. In
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some clans, only the senior elder is allowed to
speak with the shaman.
Air Domain Spells
Cleric Level Circle Spells
1st featherfall, zephyr strike
3rd gust of wind, warding wind
5th haste, protection from normal
missiles*
7th freedom of movement, wind at back*
9th control winds, wind tunnel*
* SEE Elminster's Guide to Magic spell list.
Bonus Proficiencies
At 1st level, you gain proficiency with all ranged and
thrown weapons.
Bonus Cantrip
When you choose this domain at 1st level, you gain
the gust cantrip if you don’t already know it.
Refreshing Breeze
Also at 1st level, a constant breeze will caress your
skin whenever you are outdoor. The cooling this
provides will reduce your water requirements by
one-half. You will hardly sweat when others are
drenched, but can sunburn and suffer other such
effects normally.
Channel Element: Missile Stream
At 2nd level, you can use your Channel Divinity
to strike with supernatural accuracy. When you
make an attack roll, using ranged or thrown
weapons, you can use your Channel Element to
gain a +10 bonus to the roll. You make this
choice after you see the roll, but before the DM
says whether the roll succeeds or fails. Also, you
ignore the penalties of long range during this
attack.
Acolyte of the Winds
At 5th level, you may ignore the presence of air
for a number of rounds equal to your level. You
are not affected by spells that attack with wind
or air, and you do not have to breathe. You are
unaffected by poison gas or by spells such as
stinking cloud. Should his power be expended
while you are subjected to a spell or condition,
you are affected normally. You may use this
ability only once per long rest.
You have resistance to force damage.
Channel Element: Gate Air
Starting at 7th level, you can use your Channel
Element to gate in material directly from the
Plane of Air. In this case, a terrific wind capable
of knocking prone all creatures sized large or less
for one round.
A sheet of wind, whips about at his command for
one round, moving at gale speed. This means the
priest can affect 1d4 individuals (large count for
2) for every two level above the 6th before the
wind finally subsides. Any creature hit must
make a Strength saving throw or be knocked
prone.
The wind must start at a point no more than 50
feet from the cleric, but can be directed farther
once it is set in motion. In a single round, a gale
force wind can travel about 120 feet.
Elemental Strike
At 8th level, you gain the ability to infuse your
weapon strikes with elemental energy. Once on each
of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon
attack, you can cause the attack to deal an extra 1d8
force damage to the target. When you reach 14th
level, the extra damage increases to 2d8.
Windborn
At 17th level, you have a flying speed equal to your
current walking speed whenever you are not
underground or indoors. Or if you had a flying speed
already, it is doubled whenever you are not
underground or indoors.
You have immunity to force damage.
Earth Domain
Rock, sand, trees, silt: everything of earth is raw
material for earth clerics. It is their duty to
protect and preserve these, and they constantly
strive to enrich and shield the harsh wastes of
Athas.
Earth clerics tend to be defensive. Beneath the
savage fury of a dark sun, the best defense is
usually a good offense. a tactic that these clerics
employ. Closely tied to nature, earth priests
understand the true nature of the cycle of life.
When something dies, its organic material is
returned to the soil to provide life for another,
and in another form. Therefore, the earth clerics.
outlook on life is a utilitarian one. The death of a
comrade, though tragic, is simply one stage in
nature's endless chain of creation and
annihilation.
Earth endures, and like the mountains and the
drying plains, earth clerics must bear the brunt of
the fight for Athas’s survival. Because air, fire,
and water all depend on growing things for their
enrichment, and because earth alone must
sustain itself, it is the earth clerics who must
carry on the burden of preventing the
environmental holocaust looming over Athas.
For, if they do not preserve the land, will not the
death of Athas weigh upon their shoulders?
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Initiation
To become an earth cleric, a petitioner must pass
a test. Success makes him one with the land.
Failure usually means being driven stark, raving
mad. When a mentor believes that a disciple is
ready, the cleric takes the initiate to a place
where the land is fertile. These areas are few and
far between on Athas, so the trip is often long
and hazardous.
When they arrive at the chosen location, they
will build a fire and talk about all that the initiate
has learned since the apprenticeship began. They
will talk through the night and then, just before
dawn, the mentor will use the initiation spell to
open a hole 6 feet deep and 2 feet wide. The
apprentice rests in this bed of earth, and is
completely covered with loose earth.
The grounded acolyte requires no food, water, or
air because of the spell. He remains buried
beneath the surface, speaking with the spirits of
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the earth and forging his pact until the sun goes
down. At this point the spell is canceled and the
novice emerges. If he has been accepted by the
earth elementals, he surfaces unscathed and
empowered with a deeper understanding of the
raw material that feeds his patron. If the powers
of the earth do not accept him, the student is
pushed to just below the surface of the earth
and abandoned to escape on his own. While no
physical harm ever occurs, most of those who
are rejected carry deep emotional scars as a
result of their rejection.
Very rarely, a mentor dies or is slain while his
pupil is still beneath the earth, and the student
becomes trapped. The initiate’s unfortunate soul
is locked forever in an elemental limbo, and
some legends say that a terrible new form of
undeath has occasionally been created from
these mishaps.
The Pact of Earth
The beings that dwell in the Plane of Earth
expect their champions to perform certain
duties. Earth clerics must always be in opposition
to defilers. They may not travel with a known
defiler, work with one, or allow a defiler to cast a
spell in their presence. Earth elementals know
that defiling magic lies beyond the normal
boundary of the creation/annihilation
chain, what defilers destroy never returns.
Therefore, earth clerics try to reform any friendly
defilers they meet and may destroy those who
refuse to change their robes.
Earth clerics don’t usually seek revenge in the
same way that druids do, for their opposition to
the defilers is purely defensive. When they are
up against a known defiler, earth clerics are far
more likely to incite others to fight for them,
while they continue their silent opposition in the
background.
Earth clerics are required to teach the nature of
the life cycle: that every living thing must
eventually die, and death
supports new life. Earth clerics understand this
better than anyone, for the raw material of their
patron is both the giver and the taker of life.
Perhaps the most important task of an earth
cleric is to teach the Athasians proper
agricultural techniques. This means they
automatically gain the agriculture proficiency
and that they seek to teach these methods to all.
This skill is in addition to normal proficiencies.
Villagers are taught to rotate their crops and to
spread their waste over the fields so that it will
break down and return to the soil from which it
came.
Earth Domain Spells
Cleric Level Circle Spells
1st earth tremor, shield
3rd earthbind, pass without trace
5th meld into stone, erupting earth
7th stone shape, stoneskin
9th passwall, transmute rock
Bonus Proficiencies
At 1st level, you gain proficiency with martial
weapons and heavy armor.
Bonus Cantrip
When you choose this domain at 1st level, you gain
the mold earth cantrip if you don’t already know it.
Encasement
Also at 1st level, you can bury yourself beneath
loose earth, sand, or top soil for up to eight
hours. For each hour spent beneath the earth,
the cleric will regain 1 hit point. This is an
excellent method of concealment, day or night.
Spellcasting is possible if the spell does not
require elaborate somatic or material
components. A typical tactic is for a priest to
encase himself beneath the earth and then cast
plant growth to provide more camouflage for his
hiding place. He may not move from the spot
without emerging, unless he uses the 5th-level
power to ignore the element.
Channel Element: Radiant Defense
Starting at 2nd level, you can use your Channel
Element to cloak your allies in radiant armor. As
an action, you channel blessed energy into an
ally that you can see within 30 feet of you. The
first time that ally is hit by an attack within the
next minute, the attacker takes radiant damage
equal to 2d10 + your cleric level.
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Underworld Wanderer
At 5th level, you may ignore the presence of earth.
The duration of this power is a number of rounds
equal to your level. you may move through
stone, wade through an avalanche, and
otherwise ignore rock, metal, wood, or any other
earth material. If you are still “inside” the rock,
metal, or wood, when the duration of his power
expires, you are instantly expelled and takes 4d8
points of bludgeoning damage. You may use this
ability only once per long rest.
This allows you to move beneath the surface of
the land. In this state his movement rate remains
the same as long as he travels in straight lines or
descends into the earth. You are treated as if you
were walking, but only so long as you remains in
earth (not water or air). If you must rise through
the material, your movement rate is cut in half.
Your are in complete control and will not sink or
otherwise “drift” when passing through the soil.
You have resistance to poison damage.
Channel Element: Gate Earth
Starting at 7th level, you can use your Channel
Element to gate in material directly from the
Plane of Earth. The amount is equal to 1 cubic
foot for each level above the 6th. The material is
always stone, not metal or wood. Nor does the
cleric have any control over what kind of stone
will appear, though it is usually obsidian or
sandstone.
The shape of the stone may be round, square,
triangular, or any other basic shape, but cannot
be intricate or ornate. A cleric could, for
example, form a wall about herself, or in front of
a running attacker, but the wall would not be
carved or otherwise detailed.
The stone will appear anywhere the priest
commands up to a distance of 50 feet, as long as
he can actually see the target. If the stone
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materializes above an enemy's head, it falls
instantly, causing 1d6 points of damage for every
cubic foot (or 1d6 for every level over 6th). A
successful Dexterity saving throw reduces the
damage by half.
Elemental Strike
At 8th level, you gain the ability to infuse your
weapon strikes with elemental energy. Once on each
of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon
attack, you can cause the attack to deal an extra 1d8
damage of the same type dealt by the weapon to the
target. When you reach 14th level, the extra damage
increases to 2d8.
Indomitable Rock
At 17th level, you gain resistance to bludgeoning,
piercing, and slashing damage from non-magical
attacks.
You are immune to poison damage.
Fire Domain
The most feared and unpredictable of the
Athasian clerics are those of the Elemental Plane
of Fire. Some say these individuals become
crazed during initiation, and others say that one
must be insane to petition the destructive lords
of flame in the first place. Whatever the reason
for their erratic nature, fire clerics are the most
powerful and the most destructive of the
elemental priests.
Fire priests have earned their reputations for two
reasons, they are very aggressive and very
offensive. They will laugh
maniacally while their enemies are incinerated,
and they appear to thrive only when everything
around them is being devoured by the fiery
appetites of their patrons.
But it is the sorcerer-kings and the defilers who
harbor the greatest fear of the priests of fire.
They are horrified by their destructive nature,
because fire deprives them of the organic matter
they need to power their own spells. They see
fire clerics as wandering madmen who squander
their resources for no discernible reason.
But every priest of fire knows that when the
forests and plains are destroyed by his flaming
touch, the land will grow back even stronger
than before. When a defiler ruins an area, that
land lies sterile for millennia, and there will be
nothing to feed the infernal appetites of the fire
clerics’ patrons.
Clerics of the other elements usually don.t
understand this, and more than one fight has
erupted between the exuberant warriors of
flame and their erstwhile associates. Even those
priests who do understand the ways of their
insane brethren are reluctant to let them have
their way. The balance of the
creation/annihilation cycle is delicate, and the
fire priests are frequently overzealous about
their work. They often tease somber water
clerics with an old jest: “To destroy the world is
to destroy the defilers”. The water clerics
wonder if they are truly joking.
Initiation
Before an initiate can become a cleric of the
flame, he must pass a searing test of fire and be
awarded the badge of flame. When the mentor
feels that his student is ready, he takes the
novice to a clearing, close to a source of wood,
scrub, coal, or other fuel. Throughout the day the
student and the teacher gather wood, dig coal,
and perform whatever tasks are necessary to
create a large bonfire. During this process they
discuss everything that the student has learned
during the apprenticeship. As night begins to fall,
the mentor starts a magical fire with the fuel
they have gathered, and the student steps into
the blazing bonfire.
The novice remains inside the inferno
throughout the night, meditating, watching
materials burn and crumble into ash, until the
elemental lords of flame speak with him through
the crackling fire. If the elementals accept the
petitioner and the pact is made, his hair turns
fiery red and his eyes grow black as coal. This is
known as the “badge of flame”.
If the acolyte is not accepted by the Plane of Fire,
the mentor’s magic ceases to protect him and he
is violently expelled, taking 4d8 points of fire
damage.
The Pact of Fire
The pact of fire is the most ironic of the clerical
oaths. The creatures of the Elemental Plane of
Fire demand that their servants preserve Athas
only so that they might destroy it again.
Specifically, the Plane of Fire needs the forests
and the cities of man to return. This means that
their clerics must encourage the growth of
forests, cities, and fields. A large part of the pact
is dedicated to the defeat of the sorcerer-kings
and all defilers. This is a goal they share with the
druids, but the priests of fire are too eccentric to
form long, lasting relationships with the
members of that elusive order. A frontal assault
wielding the power of the inferno is their usual
tactic.
Wandering Fire Clerics
The most common fire clerics are the roving
priests of fire. These hearty individuals like to
make dramatic entrances in the settlements and
cities they visit. They are especially fond of
arriving just as a village is being attacked or in
the middle of some local crisis.
Once things have calmed down, the priest
performs much the same role as an earth cleric.
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He will lecture about preservation, teach
reverence for the flame, and heal those who
have listened to his message.
Fire clerics know that the remains of the fallen
should be placed in the ground to begin the cycle
again, but their patrons. nature compels them to
teach cremation.
Fire Clerics of the Shrines
The shrines of the lords of fire are the most
common elemental temples on the face of Athas.
Many fire clerics are content to live near these
holy places and give aid to those who make an
offering to the eternal flames they protect.
Villages near fire shrines often petition the
guardian cleric to save them from local terrors. In
the rare cases when a defiler threatens them,
the villages have learned to think long and hard
before asking the cleric for aid - sometimes the
offering required will be their very homes!
Fire Clerics in the Cities
Priests of fire who operate in the cities of the
sorcerer-kings do not reach old age. Their
flamboyant methods do not allow for anonymity,
and the templars need no excuse to arrest and
execute them.
To the Veiled Alliance, fire clerics are a mixed
blessing. On the one hand, they are as powerful
as many sorcerers, but on the other, they draw
too much attention to what are supposed to be
secret operations.
Still, one of the goals of the fire priests is to
encourage the growth of the cities so that the
fire elementals may once again feast on them. To
pursue this goal, they try to live among the
people and do and teach whatever they can to
help them survive. Often, this means saving
them from the whims of a city's ruler or even
167
joining the templars in the face of some
imminent attack against a settlement.
Playing a fire priest in a city-based campaign is
challenging. PC fire clerics should be proud,
boastful, and generally afraid of nothing, but
these very actions will be met with a quick
response from the templars. Wiser fire clerics
will remain in the background as much as
possible, but even then they will boast of their
handiwork from time to time.
Fire Shamans
Fortunately, shamans who wield the power of
fire are rare. Most tribal shamans associate
themselves with the most common element in
their home land. Besides, continuous, open
flame is rare in the sparse lands of Athas.
Only the most ferocious tribesmen become fire
shamans. It is the nature of these savages, rather
than any link to the material world, that fuels
their raging power. Gith and belgoi are all likely
to have fire shamans in battle.
Even more terrifying is the fact that larger tribes
and groups often have several shamans. Some
have been known to have a council of silt clerics
and a champion of fire. Champions are rarely
seen by the savages they lead, except in battle.
Their fiery passions lead attack with reckless
abandon and severe consequences for all who
stand in their way.
Weapons and Armor
Fire clerics dislike normal weapons like swords
and bows, unless they can be inflamed. Any
metal weapon may be carried by a fire cleric, but
he must magically light it or smear oil on it,
igniting it before combat in order to use it
effectively. If the weapon cannot be ignited the
priest gains no experience for that encounter.
Most fire clerics don’t even carry weapons,
relying on the spell flame blade instead.

They will use bows and crossbows, but will seek
to the arrows or bolts. Obsidian weapons,
however, are acceptable for fire clerics, because
they were forged under great heat. Even these
weapons, though, will be slicked with oil, ready
to inflame. Fire clerics may use any armor, and
they usually paint it
brilliant red or char it to black.
Fire Domain Spells
Cleric Level Circle Spells
1st burning hands, faerie fire
3rd pyrotechnics, flame blade
5th fireball, protection from energy
7th fire shield, wall of fire
9th flame strike, immolation
Bonus Proficiencies
At 1st level, you gain proficiency with heavy armor.
Bonus Cantrips
When you choose this domain at 1st level, you gain
the control flames and create bonfire cantrips if you
don’t already know them.
Cleansing Flame
Also at 1st level, once per short rest, you can
steps into a flame the size of a campfire for no
more than one round. This allows you to skip one
meal (food and water), cures you of 1d8 points
of damage, and cleans your body of dirt and filth.
If you are poisoned, the cleansing flame will
allow you a second saving throw. Note that this
“meal” is not enough to sustain you for any
length of time. You will still need normal food
and water to supplement the energy given to
you by the cleansing flame.
You may invoke your Cleansing Flame ability as a
reaction when attacked by a fireball, when
stepping into a burning building, or at any other
time of need. The effects last for only one round.
After that, you either suffers the usual damage,
or you have to use others abilities to ignore the
element to protect yourself. You may use this
ability once per long rest.
Channel Element: Burning Wrath
Starting at 2nd level, you can use your Channel
Element to wield the power of the fire plane with
unchecked ferocity. When you roll fire damage,
you can use your Channel Energy to deal
maximum damage, instead of rolling.
Acolyte of the Flames
At 5th level, you may ignore fire and heat for a
number of rounds equal to your level. Your
weapons and possessions are also protected. A
heat metal spell would make your sword glowing
hot, but it would not warp or otherwise affect it.
When the time limit has passed, you are subject
to the full effects of whatever is attacking you.
Items that have been heated to extremes will
suffer whatever effects are appropriate if they
are not cooled before the power fades. The
sword in the example above would warp as soon
as your power stopped functioning if a heat
metal spell was still in effect.
You have resistance to fire damage.
Channel Element: Gate Fire
Starting at 7th level, you can use your Channel
Element to gate in raw flames directly from the
Plane of Fire. The flame can be as small as the
character wishes, its maximum size is 1 cubic
foot for every of your level above the 6th. Each
cubic foot can affect one medium to large sized
creature. As the total volume increases, so does
the heat and damage. Every cubic foot gated in
does 1d6 points of damage to anything that it
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touches. A successful Constitution saving throw
will cut this in half.
Fire without fuel will last only a single round. It
ignites paper, clothing, hair, wood, and other
light materials. Summoned fire that catches on
combustible materials will burn normally and
destroy material items accordingly.

You may not move the flame once it has

materialized, and it must appear at a point no
more than 50 feet away. Anything that can ignite
will. Items carried by characters who make the
saving throw are also unaffected. Burning items
inflict damage normally.

Elemental Strike
At 8th level, you gain the ability to infuse your
weapon strikes with elemental energy. Once on each
of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon
attack, you can cause the attack to deal an extra 1d8
fire damage to the target. When you reach 14th level,
the extra damage increases to 2d8.

Blaze of Glory
Starting at 17th level, you can delay death for an
instant to perform a final heroic act.
When you are reduced to 0 hit points by an
attacker you can see, even if you would be killed
outright, you can use your reaction to move up
to your speed toward the attacker and make one
melee weapon attack against it, as long as the
movement brings it within your reach. You make
this attack with advantage. If the attack hits, the
creature takes an extra 5d10 fire damage and an
extra 5d10 damage of the weapon’s type. You
then fall unconscious and begin making death
saving throws as normal, or you die if the
damage you took would have killed you outright.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again
until you finish a long rest.
You are immune to fire damage.

169

Para-Elemental
Domains
Although they are rare, there are a few seers
who have looked beyond the elemental planes to
the homes of the para-elementals the realms of
Silt, Sun, Magma, and Rain. These para-
elementals are not as desperate their elemental
cousins because they have not suffered from the
defilers devastation of Athas.
Like elemental clerics, the para-elemental clerics
do what they must to protect and nurture the
raw material that feeds their patrons in the inner
planes. The natures of these creatures and what
pleases them is different than the natures of the
more powerful elementals. They are not
interested in the flavors of earth, the fiery feasts
of destruction, the singing winds, or the babbling
of streams.
As the relentless sun scorches earth into dust
and magma spills out over its cracking surface,
the power of the para-elements is growing. They
are beginning to achieve levels of power
heretofore unknown, and they are hungry for
more. Where the elementals are concerned with
quantity and quality, the para-elementals have
not matured to that stage they only want
quantity.
The para-elements of silt, sun, magma, and rain
are hybrids of two other elements. Silt comes
from earth and water, sun from fire and air,
magma from fire and earth, and rain from air and
water. The ethereal creatures that emerge from
these unions are not simply hybrid versions of
their parental elements; rather, the para-
elementals are independent of them, having
taken on the attributes of both. They have
entirely different views about the nature of
things, and what pleases or displeases them lies
in their own natures, for their own reasons.
The clerics of the para-elementals have only
emerged as a force since Athas went into
decline, for it is the very descent of the planet
that empowers their terrible masters.
Of wanderers and shamans it is said that there is
no way to tell if one is a protector, a healer, or a
crazed madman intent upon the destruction of
Athas.
Clerics of silt, sun, and magma who are multi-
classed wizards are usually defilers. This is due to
the fact that the destruction of living material
smoothes the way for the increase of their
particular para-element. The drying of the earth
causes it to fracture, and this allows the fiery
magma to make its way to the surface. Silt is held
in check by the root systems of plants and trees,
and so green things are obstacles for the
creeping Sea of Silt; and the destruction of trees
clears away their shade, as well as the interfering
gases that block the sun's rays.
The clerics of rain are the only para-elemental
clerics opposed to the defilers and to the other
para-elements. They know that the destruction
of the forests and jungles of the south will
eventually end the ancient cycles of evaporation
and condensation. For this reason, rain
clerics/defilers should be almost nonexistent.
Any evil rain clerics should only be run as NPCs. If
the DM does permit a PC to choose a rain
cleric/defiler, there should be a very good
explanation for the obvious conflict of interest.
Shamans of all four para-elements are quite
common. The wild tribes living on or near the
Sea of Silt usually have a silt shaman. Similarly,
the volcanic regions of the Ringing Mountains
and Lake Island are known to be refuges for
magma clerics. Shamans of the sun are more
170
rare, but these are usually found among the
nomadic tribes of the Tablelands. Rain clerics are
usually found only with the most passive and
peaceful tribes, and even then just in the Forest
Ridge or the Dragon's Palate where rainfall is
more frequent.
Of the wanderers, most are seeking another
place in which to encourage the growth of the
patron element, or are simply visiting a tribe or
settlement, trying to find sympathetic ears.
People and tribes who have some knowledge of
the goals of the para-elementals are not as
friendly as they might be to these clerics, but
they are usually receptive enough to ask for
healing or other powerful favors.
The shrines of the para-elementals are located at
natural occurrences of the sphere's material.
There is almost always a guardian cleric, pushing
the boundaries of his domain a little farther each
day, insuring that no others intrude upon his
domain.
Para-elemental Mentors
A significant problem for anyone who wishes to
become a para-elemental cleric is the scarcity of
suitable instructors. Para-elemental priests are
so rare that most Athasians see only a handful in
a lifetime. Of course, if one of the rare shrines is
located, it is almost certain that its guardian will
be found. Once that step has been taken, para-
elemental
initiates suffer the same hardships as other
clerics.
Initiation
Para-elemental initiations are closely modeled
after those of elemental clerics. Silt clerics are
buried under silt instead of earth, sun clerics
broil beneath the harsh rays of the sun, magma
clerics are wrapped in magma instead of
bonfires, and rain clerics must wait patiently for
171
the rare storm cloud, rather than sinking
beneath the surface of the water.
Weapons and Armor
Because para-elementals are only concerned
with the quantity of their material on the Prime
Material Plane, they rarely express any individual
preferences. This means that para-elemental
clerics are not restricted in the armor or
weapons they wield.
Color seems to be important to them, however.
Magma clerics usually stain leather or paint
metal to a dark red hue, working in lighter
highlights. Silt clerics always wear beige, and sun
clerics, desert yellow. The unique priests of rain
usually wear black or dark blue, occasionally
accented with jagged, yellow bolts of lightning.
Clerics and Races
All races may be para-elemental clerics. Since the
para-elements don’t express emotion, other than
pure greed, racial behavior creates no conflicts.
The Para-elemental Clerics
With the exception of the priests of rain, the
servants of the para-elementals are very
different from the desperate priests of earth, air,
fire, and water. Silt, sun, and magma are rising
on Athas - rising at the expense of their
elemental parents.
Rain Domain
Of the para-elemental champions, only those of
rain are welcomed by the general populace and
the more common elemental priests. They share
the same basic goals as elemental clerics of
water, and are often in direct conflict with the
para-elemental orders of sun and magma.

The Pact of Rain
The creatures of rain wish only to return their
patron’s cool caresses to Athas. To do this, the
forests that protect and hold the world’s water
must return. Clerics of rain are required to
protect existing forests, and to plant and
encourage the growth of new ones.
The Champions of Rain
There are other places where the foliage of the
earth encourages champions to protect them
with life-giving rain, but the vast majority of rain
clerics come from the Forest Ridge. Many of
these champions are renegade halfling shamans
who hide in the seclusion of relative paradise,
but others are priests who wish to protect these
places from ruin by defilers and those who would
harm them.
Still others take on the more difficult task of
wandering the Tablelands, using every possible
method to try and raise small patches of forest in
the sterile landscape. These men and women
meet with failure every day, and frequently take
out their frustrations by raising terrible storms
aimed at anyone who crosses them.
Rain Domain Spells
Cleric Level Circle Spells
1st thunderwave, fog cloud
3rd misty step, blur
5th lightning bolt, gaseous form
7th ice storm, greater invisibility
9th plant growth, ball lightning*
* SEE Elminster's Guide to Magic spell list.
Bonus Cantrip
When you choose this domain at 1st level, you gain
the thunderclap cantrip if you don’t already know it.
Bonus Proficiencies
At 1st level, you gain proficiency with martial
weapons and heavy armor.
Wrath of the Storm
Also at 1st level, you can thunderously rebuke
attackers. When a creature within 5 feet of you that
you can see hits you with an attack, you can use your
reaction to cause the creature to make a Dexterity
saving throw. The creature takes 2d8 lightning or
thunder damage (your choice) on a failed saving
throw, and half as much damage on a successful one.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to
your Wisdom modifier (a minimum of once). You
regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Channel Divinity: Destructive Wrath
Starting at 2nd level, you can use your Channel
Divinity to wield the power of the storm with
unchecked ferocity. When you roll lightning or
thunder damage, you can use your Channel Divinity
to deal maximum damage, instead of rolling.
Thunderbolt Strike
At 5th level, when you deal lightning damage to a
Large or smaller creature, you can also push it up to
10 feet away from you.
You also gain the ability to ignore the presence
of rain. You are slowed by neither rain nor mud.
You have resistance to thunder and lightning
damage.
Channel Element: Gate Rain
Starting at 7th level, you can use your Channel
Element to gate in 1 cubic foot of rain for every
level above the 6th. When a cleric invokes this
ability, a small storm cloud slowly materializes at
any point up to 50 feet from the caster, and it
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begins to rain. Any magical or natural fire under
the cloud is instantly smothered, in direct
proportion to the amount of rain summoned.
One cubic foot of rain is enough to extinguish
one 5 feet square of flame. The cooling rains
harden magma in the same proportion that they
extinguish flames.
The rain lasts for one round, although the water
lying on the ground will evaporate naturally.

Elemental Strike
At 8th level, you gain the ability to infuse your
weapon strikes with elemental energy. Once on each
of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon
attack, you can cause the attack to deal an extra 1d8
thunder damage to the target. When you reach 14th
level, the extra damage increases to 2d8.

Dampen Elements
At 17th level, when you or a creature within 30
feet of you takes acid, cold, fire, lightning, or
thunder damage, you can use your reaction to
grant resistance to the creature against that
instance of the damage.
You are immune to thunder and lightning damage.

Sun Domain
Sun clerics are strange beings who sit and stare
mindlessly at their patron for days at a time.
Little challenges them, and only the obstructing
trees and the cities of mankind provide any relief
from their master’s touch.

The sun is currently the most powerful of all of

the elements and para-elements, and the spells
the sun’s clerics are given access to are deadly
proof. If someone is foolish enough to challenge
priest of the sun, they had best wait until his
master has set for the day.
The Pact of the Sun
Sun spirits, currently basking in their magnificent
power, have the strangest pact in existence
between the inner planes and mortal minions.
Sun priests must help eliminate gases that filter

173
and weaken the rays of the sun and remove any
other obstructions that would dare defy its
radiant omnipotence. The para-elementals of
sun would like nothing better than a flat and
barren landscape so that no creature could be
deprived of its harsh embrace. The distant spirits
don't seem to mind that its goal would
eventually kill everything above the ground.
Sun clerics do have a serious weakness,
however. Since all priests must be in direct
contact with their element or Para-element, it is
not possible for a priest of the sun to recharge
his spells at night, during a storm, or when
underground.
The Champions of the Sun
Followers of the sun are the most and the least
powerful of all clerics. By day, they command
fierce beams of light that rival the fireballs of
sorcerers, but at night they are limited to
whatever spells remain to them. They can, of
course, continue to use their granted powers
regardless of the presence of the sun.
The twin moons of Athas (Ral and Guthay) are
considered friends of the sun clerics, and sun
clerics know that the moons reflect their patron's
light. Moonlight is not strong enough, however,
to allow spell recharging.
Sun Domain Spells
Cleric Level Circle Spells
1st chromatic orb, faerie fire
3rd scorching ray, ray of enfeeblement
5th daylight, protection from energy
7th sickening radiance, blight
9th dawn, wall of light
Bonus Cantrip
When you choose this domain at 1st level, you
gain the light cantrip if you don't already know it.
Bonus Proficiencies
At 1st level, you gain proficiency with martial
weapons and heavy armor.
Warding Flare
Also at 1st level, you can interpose sunlight
between yourself and an attacking enemy. When
you are attacked by a creature within 30 feet of
you that you can see, you can use your reaction
to impose disadvantage on the attack roll,
causing light to flare before the attacker before it
hits or misses. An attacker that can't be blinded
is immune to this feature. You can use this
feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom
modifier (a minimum of once). You regain all
expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Channel Element: Radiance of the Dawn
Starting at 2nd level, you can use your Channel
Element to harness sunlight, banishing darkness
and dealing radiant damage to your foes. As an
action, you present your elemental focus, and
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 cleric 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.
Acolyte of the Sun
At 5th level, you need never fear low levels of
sunlight. Your skin remains tanned for the rest of
your life, and you can stare directly into the sun
without burning out your retinas. You cannot be
stunned or blinded by light effects, magical or
otherwise. Your water usage is halved, and you
can remain in the sun all day without suffering
any other ill effects.
You have resistance to radiant damage.
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Channel Element: Gate Sunbeam
Starting at 7th level, you can use your Channel
Element to gate in beams of pure sunlight after
reaching the 7th level. You may only gate in one
beam, but it will grow by 5 feet square for every
level above the 6th. A 7th-level sun cleric could
summon a beam 5 feet wide. Each yard is
enough to damage one creature. Large size
creatures count as 2 medium sized beings; you
must add one beam per size category more
Anyone hit by a sunray takes 4d8 points of
radiant damage. A successful Wisdom save will
cut the damage in half. Undead hit by a ray take
double damage. Magical resistance does apply to
this attack. This power may be used once per
long rest, and cannot be used at night.
175
Improved Flare
Starting at 6th level, you can also use your Warding
Flare feature when a creature that you can see within
30 feet of you attacks a creature other than you.
Potent Sunlight
Starting at 8th level, you add your Wisdom modifier
to the damage you deal with sacred flame cantrip.
Corona of Light
Starting at 17th level, you can use your action to
activate an aura of sunlight that lasts for 1
minute or until you dismiss it using another
action. You emit bright light in a 60-foot radius
and dim light 30 feet beyond that. Your enemies
in the bright light have disadvantage on saving
throws against any spell that deals fire or radiant
damage.
You are immune to radiant damage.

Magma Domain
The clerics who worship magma are perhaps the
rarest of all. They usually remain isolated in the
high mountains and
volcanoes where their patron bubbles and oozes
from the earth like blood from a gaping wound.
Magma consumes everything unfortunate
enough to be caught by it and steals its victims.
life-energies to feed its own infernal hunger.
The Pact of Magma
The beings of magma are almost as weak as their
counterparts of rain, for there are only a few
natural refuges on Athas where magma exists in
any quantity. Because of this, the spirits of
magma incessantly push their mortal champions
to help them rise from the bowels of Athas, and
to keep what has emerged heated, so that it
won't revert back domain of earth. In this way,
the spirits of magma hope to cover Athas's dry
crust with primordial, molten lava. Magma
demands only that its clerics encourage its
growth. Usually, the only things that retard
magma are water, rain, or lack of sufficient fuel
to maintain the tremendous heat magma
requires. Magma clerics have been known to
destroy forests in order to prevent rainfall, and
then to feed the branches and logs into rolling
rivers of lava. Any ponds or other bodies of
water around an eruption are drained or
destroyed by magma clerics.
The Champions of Magma
It is a strange man or woman who turns to the
magma spirits for power, for the nature of their
pact requires them to live in isolated spots on
the planet. This frequently conflicts with the
reasons magma clerics petitioned those powers
in the first place.
The para-elementals of magma are desperate
and scream constantly for succor. Some clerics
have been driven mad by their eternally
beckoning pleas, and they pursue the pact with
maniacal hatred. When they are encountered as
wanderers, it is generally because their most
recent magma eruption failed and they seek
another to tend. Others may
simply be trying to escape their patron lords for
short periods of time. A wandering magma cleric
may take several years to find another source of
lava, and often he is in no hurry to reach his
destination. Fortunately for him, the magma
para-elementals don.t seem to notice large
amounts of wasted time. probably because a
decade is but a second in their almost eternal
time frame.
Magma clerics are dangerous, unstable, and
unpredictable beings. Fortunately, they are also
extremely rare, and usually confined to places
most folk wouldn’t want to visit anyway.
Magma Domain Spells
Cleric Level Circle Spells
1st searing smite, bane
3rd flaming sphere, aganazzar's scorcher
5th melf's minute meteors, haste
7th wall of fire, confusion
9th immolation, lesser chainfire*
* SEE Elminster's Guide to Magic spell list.
Bonus Proficiencies
At 1st level, you gain proficiency with martial
weapons and heavy armor.
Bonus Cantrips
When you choose this domain at 1st level, you gain
the fire bolt cantrip if you don’t already know it.
176
Blazing Heart used to affect creatures large creature, and one
more per size above it.
Also at 1st level, whenever you cast a spell other
than a cantrip that deals fire or radiant damage, Elemental Strike
a fiery aura surrounds you. In addition to the
spell’s effects, creatures of your choice within 10 At 8th level, you gain the ability to infuse your
feet of you take fire damage equal to half your weapon strikes with elemental energy. Once on each
of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon
cleric level.
attack, you can cause the attack to deal an extra 1d8
fire damage to the target. When you reach 14th level,
Channel Element: Burning Wrath
the extra damage increases to 2d8.
Starting at 2nd level,
You may evaporate 10-gallons of water for every
Channel Element: Heart of the Volcano level you have achieved. You may use this ability
only once per long rest, and the process takes
At 5th level, you can totally ignore your para- one hour for each 10-gallon unit evaporated.
element for a number of rounds equal to your Because of its slow preparation time, this ability
level. You are also immune to heat and fire is not suitable as an attack. Magma clerics use
damage while exercising this power. This means this power to destroy potentially dangerous
that you can dive into the depths of a volcano, pools of water near the source of magma
stride through rolling waves of lava, and ignore eruptions.
superheated rock.
Heart of the Core
You have resistance to fire damage.
Starting at 17nd level, you can use your action to
Channel Element: Gate Magma turn on aura of the inner core that lasts for 1
minute or until you dismiss it using another
Starting at 7th level, you can summon an amount
action. While your aura is active you gain
of magma equal to 1 cubic foot for every two
resistance to bludgeoning, piercing and slashing
level above the 6th. Magma can be materialized
damage and also any water and moisture within
above a foe’s head and dropped, with
30 feet around you instantly evaporates.
devastating effects. Beings who fail a Dexterity
saving throw instantly take 1d8 points of fire
When you hit a creature or a flammable object, it
damage, and is considered burning. They
ignites. Until a creature takes an action to douse
continue to take damage until they can be
the fire, the target takes 5 (1d10) fire damage at
cooled, rinsed with a substantial amount of
the start of each of his turns.
water, or otherwise stripped of the clinging,
burning stuff. The pain is so intense that a You are immune to fire.
creature may do nothing else until the magma
has been removed, he is considered
incapacitated. The lava burns for 4 rounds.
If the save is made, the character takes no
damage, having managed to leap out of harm’s
way. You may use this ability only once per day,
and each cubic foot affects a separate, medium
sized individual. Two cubic feet or more must be

177
 The spirits of rain are angry and terrified of this
Silt Domain destructive process, but this has been going on
for so many centuries that any new rainfall
Silt clerics are often found wandering the shores
simply creates more silt, expanding the blight,
of the Sea of Silt or traveling across the
rather than turning it back into mud. Obviously,
Tablelands, searching for methods to extend the
silt clerics are often in direct conflict with the
deadly flow of their sinister element. Currently,
clerics of the earth, air, fire, water, and
silt and sun clerics are the most powerful and
especially, rain. The priests of the sun are the
plentiful para-elemental champions on Athas.
only consistent allies of the silt clerics.
The Pact of Silt
Elemental and rain clerics warn all who will listen
The beings who dwell on the Para-elemental
about the greedy priests of silt, so silt clerics
Plane of Silt demand only one thing from their
often disguise themselves as priests of earth. In
mortal minions - the growing tides of silt must
this guise they teach unsuitable and
continue to expand, eventually to wash over the
environmentally dangerous farming methods
entire planet.
that ruin the soil and make it easier for the tides
of grey powder to expand and conquer.
Water collects and pools at the bottom of vast
silt basins, and those pools become thick, viscous
There are a scant few silt clerics who are not
mud. Four-fifths of the surfaces of the silt seas
considered enemies by the elemental orders. It is
are silt. Silt is gray and dry, the texture of loose
said that these rare individuals fulfill their pacts
powder. The careful balance between moisture
by working in small stages or by toiling in areas
and silt must be maintained, and the silt spirits
already ruined for any other purposes. It is also
fear that too much rainfall will turn their fodder
said that their real purpose is to protect travelers
into thick, black sludge. Fortunately for them,
and adventurers on the Sea of Silt. They make up
rain is so scarce that there is little chance of this
for their inevitable trespasses in other ways, and
occurring.
by rescuing travelers who might otherwise
perish, attempting to cross the Sea of Silt.
Silt clerics wish to destroy the trees, grasses, and
fauna that retain moisture, preventing wind
Some legends say that if a man is drowning in
erosion and holding the land together. When the
the Sea of Silt and screams an ancient and secret
plants are finally destroyed, the land will crumble
name, a mysterious silt-rider will appear and
and turn to silt, and the moisture from the
drag him to the nearest island. Most doubt the
ground will be trapped below the silt, rather than
truth of this rumor, every year the sea claims
allowing normal evaporation through the plant’s
thousands.
stems and leaves. Pools of water drain into the
encroaching silt, and this temporarily retards
The Champions of Silt
expansion as the liquid is absorbed by the dust
Silt clerics are typically men or women who live
and turns to mud. Eventually, most of the water
on the edges of the Sea of Silt or the Estuary of
will sink to the bottom and become trapped
the Forked Tongue. They have seen the power of
forever. The natural cycle will cease and the lost
the shifting sands and jumped at an opportunity
water will never see the surface again.
to harness that power. As they travel about the
land, they teach farming methods that ruin the

178
soil, sometimes posing as earth clerics when
their listeners are suspicious of their goals.
Silt Domain Spells
Cleric Level Circle Spells
1st sleep, silent image
3rd dust devil, mirror image
5th silt storm*, wall of silt**
7th hallucinatory terrain, divination
9th insect plague, cloudkill
* SEE sleet storm spell but with force damage.
** SEE wall of sand spell.
Bonus Proficiencies
At 1st level, you gain proficiency with martial
weapons and heavy armor.
Mantle of Silt
Starting when you choose this domain at 1st
level, you can use your action to touch a willing
creature other than yourself to give it advantage
on Dexterity (Stealth) checks. This blessing lasts
for 1 hour or until you use this feature again.
Channel Element: Invoke Duplicity
Starting at 2nd level, you can use your Channel
Divinity to create an illusory duplicate of
yourself. As an action, you create a perfect
illusion of yourself that lasts for 1 minute, or
until you lose your concentration (as if you were
concentrating on a spell). The illusion appears in
an unoccupied space that you can see within 30
feet of you. As a bonus action on your turn, you
can move the illusion up to 30 feet to a space
you can see, but it must remain within 120 feet
of you.
For the duration, you can cast spells as though
you were in the illusion's space, but you must
179
use your own senses. Additionally, when both
you and your illusion are within 5 feet of a
creature that can see the illusion, you have
advantage on attack rolls against that creature,
given how distracting the illusion is to the target.
Channel Element: Traveler of the Shoals
At 5th level, you may ignore the presence of silt.
The duration is a number of rounds equal to your
level. You can use this ability only once per day.
You may walk along the bottom of the Sea of Silt,
totally ignoring the material around you. This
also allows you to see beneath the silt, to reveal
the labyrinthine of “highways” that lie just
beneath the surface of some areas. Finally, most
sandstorms on the Sea of Silt are actually
composed of silt, so you may ignore any storm
effects in the region while using this ability.
You have resistance to necrotic damage.
Channel Element: Gate Silt
Starting at 7th level, you can use your Channel
Element to gate in 1 cubic foot of silt for every
two levels above the 6th when he reaches the
7th level. Gated silt can be used as a weapon by
dropping it over an enemy’s head. The fine
powder blinds and chokes its victims almost
instantly. Breathing creatures need to succeed
on a Constitution save or become unable to
breathe, while sneezing uncontrollably. A
creature affected in this way is incapacitated and
suffocating. As long as it is conscious, a creature
can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of
its turns, ending the effect on it on a success. The
lesser restoration spell can also end the effect on
a creature.
You may use this ability only once per day, and
each cubic foot affects a separate, medium sized
individual. Two cubic feet or more must be used
to affect creatures large creature, and one more
per size above it.
Elemental Strike
At 8th level, you gain the ability to infuse your
weapon strikes with elemental energy. Once on each
of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon
attack, you can cause the attack to deal an extra 1d8
necrotic damage to the target. When you reach 14th
level, the extra damage increases to 2d8.
Off-shore Traveler
At the 8th level, you can walk on top of the silt,
treating it as if it were solid ground. This power
works only for you, although you can carry
others for short distances.
Improved Duplicity
Starting at 17th level, you can create up to four
duplicates of yourself, instead of one, when you
use Invoke Duplicity. As a bonus action on your
turn, you can move any number of them up to 30
feet, to a maximum range of 120 feet.
You are immune to necrotic damage.
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Templar Class
“ Dearest sister,
I am so pleased to hear that we may soon
become wives in common. I look forward to
introducing you to city life. While you will not
meet our husband for several years time, I
assure you that your decision is sound. I have
never regretted a moment since devoting my life
to Nibenay. Since we were children you heard
stories of the Nagaramakam, the Forbidden
Dominion of the king. Let me tell you, dear
sister, the secrets of the palace are the least of
the secrets you will learn as a priestess and
templar to the king.
The city is a colorful place that seems to be
in constant motion. It does take some getting
used to. I think you will find the Naggaramakam
a welcome respite from the noise and squalor of
the streets. Regardless, everything you
discover here will be more interesting than
counting slaves in mother; fields.
Please accept this word of advice for what it
is worth. When you first arrive, some of your
sisters in the priesthood will treat you with con
tempt, while others will seem in a hurry to take
you in to their confidence. Until you become
comfortable with your new environment, treat
everyone with courtesy and a certain amount of
diffidence. Do your job and trust no one. I will
be looking out for you.
In the Shadow King's name, Alethea”
―Alethea, Nibenese Templar
181
Templars are the greatly feared disciples of the
sorcerer-kings. Their organization is steeped in
ancient tradition and treacherous politics, and
the work they perform for the sorcerer-kings is
governed by endless bureaucracy. To city
dwellers, the templars are the enforcers of the
sorcerer-king’s will, allowed to run rampant,
enforcing the local edicts with painstaking
indifference, doling out punishment or even
execution with the sorcerer-king’s blessing. An
organization of wicked men looking out for their
own wealth and power, the templars are overrun
with corruption to the highest level-the sorcerer-
kings generally turn a blind eye to bribery and
scandal among the templars, provided terror is
maintained among their subject populations.
The libraries of the templars are unavailable to
outsiders, but are the most extensive in the
cities. Their use allows templars to access all the
spheres for their spells. Also, the extensive
libraries encourage magical research. A templar
character may be either neutral or Evil - there
are no good templars. The templars from one
city state have no association with those from
another. Thus, templars cannot transfer loyalty
from one sorcerer-king to another while the first
is still alive. Should a templar’s sorcerer-king fall
from power or be killed, he may petition to
another sorcerer-king for acceptance, where he
may find an open hand or the taste of steel, at
the new sorcerer-king’s whim.
The templars are taught that long ago the
sorcerer-kings banished all gods as false and sent
hordes of selfish and misguided followers
packing. Some believe that this true, and others
say it is only a convenient lie created to justify
the Eradication. The majority of templars don’t
really care. They care more for the power they
have and with scheming to acquire more.
Templars and Sorcerer-Kings
Not surprisingly, most templars rarely,
sometimes never, see their lord and master.
There are far too many for the king to personally
supervise, and sorcerer-kings usually have no
desire to associate with undesirables, even their
own. Templars of higher rank see their king only
when he wishes to see them, and then only if
there is an important matter to be discussed.
Each king is somewhat different, but the general
rule seems to be .speak when spoken to..
The templars usually have a very rigid chain of
command. First-level templars will report to
those immediately above them. They, in turn,
pass messages up through the ranks. Trivial
information is weeded out, and only the most
urgent matters are brought before the templar
commander - the king himself.
The spells and minor powers that are given to
the templars must be requested directly from
the sorcerer-king, but these transactions have
been played out so many times that the king
rarely is rarely even conscious of them. High-
level templar spells are often supervised,
however, because the sorcerer-kings are
concerned about potential treachery and, in any
case, they believe that they know what
armaments their servants need better than their
templars.
Because each sorcerer-king is different, the
templars they employ also vary in temperament
and behavior. Use the following descriptions for
general attitudes of a city’s templars. Templars
are initially trained as warriors and, at lower
levels, are forced to garrison temples and
palaces in their city state. Templars are not
usually restricted as to weaponry or armor worn,
but some sorcerer-kings impose temporary
restrictions. In times of war, the templars are
commonly called upon to summon formations of
undead soldiers that they will lead into combat
and to act as officers for his mortal armies.
The templar hierarchy is measured strictly by
experience level. A templar of higher level can
negate any action taken by one of lower level
(prevent the requisitioning of money or troops,
release accused prisoners, etc.). Templars of the
same level who disagree must seek out someone
of higher level within the hierarchy to arbitrate
their differences.
Templar Magic
Although templar magic comes directly from the
elemental planes, templars do not have the
ability to open these channels themselves. The
templars must telepathically request spells from
the sorcerer-king, and the monarch, in turn, taps
into the elemental plane and funnels the energy
into the disciple.
The kings have no pacts with the elementals, the
source of their power is strange and singular. A
living vortex of energy once planted its tendrils
on the inner planes and was attracted to the
strange metamorphosing creatures that the
sorcerer-kings had become. The vortex was a
living conduit of raw energy that the kings could
direct, but could not control. Much to their
frustration and dismay, the sorcerer-kings cannot
use the vast amounts of power they receive from
the inner planes, they can only redirect it to
lesser beings - their templars.
The vortexes have now become extinct, but the
kings have managed to keep the conduit alive
much like liquid that, when siphoned through a
hose, flows by means of the vacuum created.
Once the reaction had begun it could only be
stopped by the conscious effort of the one who
had opened it. And that time is past and will
never come again.
182
As for the elementals, they are powerless to stop
the theft of their diminishing energies. They
despise the defilers, but they are too detached
and chaotic to identify the sorcerer-kings as the
perpetrators.
Ceremonial Powers
Templars gain certain powers due to rank, and
some due to the efforts of the sorcerer-king.
Those that result from rank are ceremonial, and
the templars of Tyr still possess these powers.
While they usually function only within a city-
state, it is not uncommon for a templar on a
mission in the wastes to command those he
meets like personal slaves. Of course, he must be
careful, for slave tribes and others who nurture
hatred for the templars won't give them time to
speak before ripping their tongues from the
gaping mouths of their twitching corpses.
Secular Powers
As a templar advances in level, he gains certain
powers within his city state.
As a templar advances in level, he gains certain
powers within his city state. A templar can call
upon a slave to do whatever he wants. Slaves
who do not do as ordered by a templar face
immediate death.
A templar can pass judgment upon a slave at any
time. In any matter involving disobedience or the
actions of a slave, a templar may judge,
sentence, or pardon a slave as he sees fit,
regardless of who owns the slave. Penalties can
include imprisonment, torture, or even death.
A templar can legally enter the house of a
freeman when he reaches 2nd level. The
freeman has no right to refuse the templar
183
admission, under punishment of imprisonment
and possible execution.
A templar can requisition soldiers when he
reaches 3rd level. He can call upon 1d4 soldiers
per level. The soldiers will all be 1st-level
templars with one 2nd-level templar centurian. A
templar can call upon soldiers any time he
wishes, but the soldiers cannot be ordered to
leave the city without permission from the
templar's sorcerer-king.
A templar can accuse a freeman of disloyalty or
similar crimes when he reaches 4th level.
Regardless of evidence, an accused freeman will
be locked in the dungeons of the sorcerer-king
for as long as the accusing templar wishes.
A templar can gain access to all areas in palaces
and temples when he reaches 5th level. Before
that time the templar is restricted from areas
such as libraries and council chambers unless
ordered to go there by a higher-level templar.
A templar can draw upon the city treasury for
official investigations when he reaches 6th level.
The number of gold pieces he can draw from the
treasury is equal to the roll of a number of 10-
sided dice equal to the templar's level, multiplied
by his level, per month. For example, a 7th level
templar would roll 7d10 then multiply the result
by 10. Few questions are asked when gold is
requisitioned, provided no attempt is made to
withdraw funds more often than once per
month.

At templar can pass judgment on a freeman
when he reaches 7th level. The freeman must be
at least two levels lower than the judging
templar, regardless of the freeman’s class.
Judgment can be in the form of a fine, a stretch
of time in the dungeons, enslavement,
execution, or anything else the templar wishes.
Failure to comply makes the judged freeman an
outlaw who, if caught, will be executed. Again,
there need be no real evidence against the
freeman being judged.
A templar can accuse a noble when he reaches
10th level. This is similar to the ability of the
templar to accuse freemen, but permits the
character to take action against the nobility on
behalf of the sorcerer-king.
A templar can pass judgment on a noble (just as
he can judge a freeman) when he reaches 15th
level. The noble must be at least two levels lower
than the judging templar.
A templar can grant a pardon to any condemned
man when he reaches 17th level. Only the
sorcerer-king himself can nullify the pardons
granted by such a character.
As a rule, a templar can have no more than one
man accused and in the dungeons per level. He
may judge or pardon no more than one man per
week. He may never accuse, judge, or pardon
another templar who is of equal or higher level.
Class Features
As a warlock, you gain the following class
features.
Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d8 per templar level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution
modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your
Constitution modifier per templar level after 1st
184
 Proficiency Features Cantrips Spells Spell Slot Invocations Secular Powers
Level Bonus Known Known Slots Level Known
1st +2 Sorcerer-King Patron Oath, Sorcerer-King Magic 2 2 1 1st —
Sorcerer-King Pact feature
2nd +2 Draconic Invocations, Fighting Style, Draconic Smite 2 3 2 1st 2 May enter a freeman's house
3rd +2 Channel Sorcerer-King (1/rest), Pact Boon , 2 4 2 2nd 2 Requisiition Soldiers
Sorcerer-King Oath feature
4th +2 Ability Score Improvement 2 5 2 2nd 2 May accuse a freeman
5th +3 Extra Attack, Control Undead (CR 1/2), 2 6 2 3rd 3 May access palaces & temples
Raise Undead (CR 1/2)
6th +3 Channel Sorcerer-King (2/rest), 3 7 2 3rd 3 May create scrolls
Sorcerer-King Pact feature
7th +3 Sorcerer-King Oath feature 3 8 2 4th 4 May pass judgment on a freeman
8th +3 Ability Score Improvement, Control Undead (CR 1), 3 9 2 4th 4 May create potions
Raise Undead (CR 1)
9th +4 — 3 10 2 5th 5
10th +4 Sorcerer-king Intervention, 3 10 2 5th 5 May accuse a noble
11th +4 Sorcerer-King
Control UndeadPact
(CRfeature
2), Draconic Arcanum (6th level), 4 11 3 5th 5
Improved Draconic Smite, Raise Undead (CR 2)
12th +4 Ability Score Improvement 4 11 3 5th 6
13th +5 Draconic Arcanum (7th level) 4 12 3 5th 6
14th +5 Control Undead (CR 3), Raise Undead (CR 3), 4 12 3 5th 6
Sorcerer-King Pact feature
15th +5 Draconic Arcanum (8th level), 4 13 3 5th 7 May pass judgment on a noble
Sorcerer-King Oath feature
16th +5 Ability Score Improvement 5 13 3 5th 7
17th +6 Control Undead (CR 4), Draconic Arcanum (9th level), 5 14 4 5th 7 May grant pardon to a condemned man
Raise Undead (CR 4)

18th +6 Channel Sorcerer-King (3/rest) 5 14 4 5th 8

19th +6 Ability Score Improvement 5 15 4 5th 8
20th +6 Sorcerer-king Intervention improvement, 5 15 4 5th 8
Sorcerer-King Oath feature

Proficiencies Sorcerer-King Patron Oath

Armor: Light armor, Medium Armor At 1st level, you have struck a bargain with a
Weapons: Simple weapons, Martial Weapon sorcerer-king of your choice:
Tools: None
 King Tectuktitlay of Balic
Saving Throws: Wisdom, Charisma
 King Andropinis of Draj
Skills: Choose two skills from Arcana, Deception,
 King Daskinor of Eldaarich
History, Intimidation, Investigation, Nature, and
 Queen Lalali-Puy of Gulg
Religion
 King Kalid-Ma of Kalidnay (in a Ravenloft
Equipment Domain)
 King Oronis of Kurn (Avangion)
You start with the following equipment, in  King Dregoth of New Guistenal
addition to the equipment granted by your  King Nibenay of Nibenay
background:  Queen Abalach-Re of Raam
 King Kalak of Tyr (before Free Year 1)
 (a) a light crossbow and 20 stone bolts or
 King Tithian of Tyr (after Free Year 1)
(b) any stone simple weapon
 Borys The Dragon, King of Ur Draxa
 (a) a sorcerer-king’s sigil
 King Hamanu of Urik
 (a) a scholar’s pack or (b) a priest’s pack
 Queen Sielba of Yaramuke (before 167th
 Carru leather armor, any stone simple
weapon, and one whip King’s Age)

185
 PALADIN WARLOCK

The Great Slumbering One

Oath of Redemption

Oath of Providence

Oath of Vengeance
Oath of Predation

Oath of Treachery
Oath of Conquest
Oath of Devotion

The Grand Vizier

Sorcerer-king

The Hexblade
Oathbreaker

The Undying
The Archfey

The Seeker
The Fiend
King Andropinis of Balic
King Tectuktitlay of Draj
King Daskinor of Eldaarich
Queen Lalali-Puy of Gulg
King Kalid-Ma of Kalidnay (in a Ravenloft Domain)
King Oronis of Kurn (Avangion)
King Dregoth of New Guistenal
King Nibenay of Nibenay
Queen Abalach-Re of Raam
King Kalak of Tyr (before Free Year 1)
King Tithian of Tyr (after Free Year 1)
Borys The Dragon, King of Ur Draxa
King Hamanu of Urik
Queen Sielba of Yaramuke (before 167th King’s Age)

Your choice grants you features at 1st level and has to say better be good - the sorcerer-kings
again at 6th, 10th, and 14th level. don’t like being bothered, and they certainly
don’t like their minions inside their heads.
Sorcerer-King Magic
A templar’s spells are received directly from the
The magic bestowed on you by your sorcerer-
sorcerer-king he worships. Spells can be taken
king have given you facility with spells. See Spells
away by the sorcerer-king if the templar has
Rules for the general rules of spellcasting and the
somehow displeased him. If the sorcerer-king is
Spells Listing for the warlock spell list.
particularly displeased, he might kill the
These abilities come directly through the offending templar.
sorcerer-kings, who siphon energy from the
Cantrips
elemental planes. A templar whose king has died
or has become otherwise ineffective does not You know two cantrips of your choice from the
gain these powers. templar spell list. You learn additional templar
cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown
To recharge their spells, a templar must be in in the Cantrips Known column of the Templar
good favor with his ruler (or at least not in table.
disfavor), and pray to him for the standard
amount of time. Templars on assignment outside Spell Slots
the city also have a telepathic link with the king, The Templar table shows how many spell slots
but the link is only open wide enough for them you have. The table also shows what the level of
to channel their spells through him. It is only those slots is; all of your spell slots are the same
through spells or psionic abilities that a templar level. To cast one of your templar spells of 1st
can communicate with his master. Whatever he level or higher, you must expend a spell slot. You

186
regain all expended spell slots when you finish a
short or long rest.
For example, when you are 5th level, you have
two 3rd-level spell slots. To cast the 1st-level
spell witch bolt, you must spend one of those
slots, and you cast it as a 3rd-level spell.
Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher
At 1st level, you know two 1st-level spells of your
choice from the templar spell list.
The Spells Known column of the Templar table
shows when you learn more templar spells of
your choice of 1st level and higher. A spell you
choose must be of a level no higher than what’s
shown in the table’s Slot Level column for your
level. When you reach 6th level, for example,
you learn a new templar spell, which can be 1st,
2nd, or 3rd level.
Additionally, when you gain a level in this class,
you can choose one of the templar spells you
know and replace it with another spell from the
templar spell list, which also must be of a level
for which you have spell slots.
Spellcasting Ability
Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your
templar spells, so you use your Charisma
whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting
ability. In addition, you use your Charisma
modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a
templar spell you cast and when making an
attack roll with one.
Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your
Charisma modifier
Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus +
your Charisma modifier
Spellcasting Focus
You can use your sorcerer-king’s sigil as a
spellcasting focus for your templar spells, it is
187
given by the sorcerer-king to his templars to
channel spells. They don’t tend to take lightly the
lost of such a precious gift.
Draconic Invocations
As you advance in rank, your sorcerer-king
impart you with draconic invocations, fragments
of forbidden knowledge that imbue you with an
abiding magical ability.
At 2nd level, you gain two draconic invocations
of your choice. Your invocation options are
detailed at the end of the class description.
When you gain certain templar levels, you gain
additional invocations of your choice, as shown
in the Invocations Known column of the Templar
table.
Additionally, when you gain a level in this class,
you can choose one of the invocations you know
and replace it with another invocation that you
could learn at that level.
Fighting Style
At 2nd level, you adopt a style of fighting as your
specialty. Choose one of the following options.
You can't take a Fighting Style option more than
once, even if you later get to choose again.
 Archery. You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls
you make with ranged weapons.
 Defense. While you are wearing armor, you
gain a +1 bonus to AC.
 Dueling. When you are wielding a melee
weapon in one hand and no other weapons,
you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with
that weapon.
 Protection. When a creature you can see
attacks a target other than you that is within
5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to
impose disadvantage on the attack roll. You
must be wielding a shield.
 Exotic Weaponry. You gain proficiency with
all exotic weapons.
 Two-Weapon Fighting. When you engage in
two-weapon fighting, you can add your
ability modifier to the damage of the second
attack.
 Close Quarters Shooter. You are trained in
making ranged attack at close quarters.
When making a ranged attack while you are
within 5 feet of a hostile creature, you do
not have disadvantage on the attack roll.
Your ranged attacks ignore half cover and
three-quarters cover against targets within
30 feet of you. Finally, you have a +1 bonus
to attack rolls on ranged attacks.
 Mounted Archery. While you are mounted,
you can use a bonus action to make a single
weapon attack with a ranged weapon you
are proficient in. If you do so, you cannot
attack a creature beyond the weapon's
normal range. Also, you suffer no
disadvantage for doing ranged attack while
been mounted.
 Tunnel Fighter. You excel at defending
narrow passages, doorways, and other tight
spaces. As a bonus action, you can enter a
defensive stance that lasts until the start of
your next turn. While in your defensive
stance, you can make opportunity attacks
without using your reaction, and you can use
your reaction to make a melee attack
against a creature that moves more than 5
feet while within your reach.
 Double Weapon Fighting. When you are
wielding a double weapon, you can add your
ability modifier to the damage of the second
attack.
 Unarmed Fighting. Your unarmed strikes
can deal bludgeoning damage equal to 1d6 +
your Strength modifier. If you strike with
two free hands, the d6 becomes a d8.
When you successfully start a grapple, you
can deal 1d4 bludgeoning damage to the
grappled creature. Until the grapple ends,
you can also deal this damage to the
creature whenever you hit it with a melee
attack.
 Blind Fighting. Being unable to see a
creature doesn’t impose disadvantage on
your attack rolls against it, provided the
creature isn’t hidden from you.
 Thrown Weapon Fighting. You can draw a
weapon that has the thrown property as
part of the attack you make with the
weapon.
In addition, when you hit with a ranged
attack using a thrown weapon, you gain a +1
bonus to the damage roll.
 Interception. When a creature you can see
hits a target that is within 5 feet of you with
an attack, you can use your reaction to
reduce the damage the target takes by 1d10
+ your proficiency bonus (to a minimum of 0
damage). You must be wielding a shield or a
simple or martial weapon to use this
reaction.
Draconic Smite
Starting at 2nd level, when you hit a creature
with a melee weapon attack, you can expend
one templar spell slot to deal radiant damage to
the target, in addition to the weapon's damage.
The extra damage is 2d8 for a 1st-level spell slot,
plus 1d8 for each spell-level higher than 1st, to a
maximum of 5d8. The damage increases by 1d8
if the target is an undead or a fiend.
Sorcerer-King Pact feature
Starting at 1st level, you make a pact that binds you
as a templar forever or until your sorcerer-king’s
death. Your choice of sorcerer-king grants you
features at 1st level and again at 6th, 10th, and
14th level. Those features include pact boon, and
access to more draconic invocations feature.
188
Pact Boon
At 3rd level, if you have a Sorcerer-King Pact,
your sorcerer-king bestows a gift upon you for
your loyal service. You gain one of the following
features of your choice.
Pact of the Chain. You learn the find familiar
spell and can cast it as a ritual. The spell doesn't
count against your number of spells known.
When you cast the spell, you can choose one of
the normal forms for your familiar or one of the
following special forms: imp, pseudodragon,
quasit or sprite. Additionally, when you take the
Attack action, you can forgo one of your own
attacks to allow your familiar to make one attack
of its own with its reaction.
Pact of the Blade. You can use your action to
create a pact weapon in your empty hand. You
can choose the form that this melee weapon
takes each time you create it. You are proficient
with it while you wield it. This weapon counts as
magical for the purpose of overcoming
resistance and immunity to non-magical attacks
and damage. Your pact weapon disappears if it is
more than 5 feet away from you for 1 minute or
more. It also disappears if you use this feature
again, if you dismiss the weapon (no action
required), or if you die.
You can transform one magic weapon into
your pact weapon by performing a special ritual
while you hold the weapon. You perform the
ritual over the course of 1 hour, which can be
done during a short rest. You can then dismiss
the weapon, shunting it into an extra-
dimensional space, and it appears whenever you
create your pact weapon thereafter. You can't
affect an artifact or a sentient weapon in this
way. The weapon ceases being your pact weapon
if you die, if you perform the 1-hour ritual on a
different weapon, or if you use a 1-hour ritual to
break your bond to it. The weapon appears at
your feet if it is in the extra-dimensional space
when the bond breaks.
189
Pact of the Tome. Your sorcerer-king gives you a
grimoire called a Book of Shadows. When you
gain this feature, choose three cantrips from any
class's spell list (the three needn't be from the
same list). While the book is on your person, you
can cast those cantrips at will. They don't count
against your number of cantrips known. If they
don't appear on the warlock spell list, they are
nonetheless templar spells for you. If you lose
your Book of Shadows, you can perform a 1-hour
ceremony to receive a replacement from your
sorcerer-king. This ceremony can be performed
during a short or long rest, and it destroys the
previous book. The book turns to ash when you
die.
You can either make a pact or swear an oath
as a templar to your sorcerer-king, but not both.
Sorcerer-King Oath feature
Starting at 1st level, you swear an oath that binds you
as a templar forever or until your sorcerer-king’s
death. Your choice of sorcerer-king grants you
features at 3rd level and again at 6th, 8th, and
17th level. Those features include oath spells and
the Channel Sorcerer-king feature.
Oath Spells
Each oath has a list of associated spells. You gain
access to these spells at the levels specified in the
oath description. Once you gain access to an oath
spell, you always have it prepared. Oath spells don't
count against the number of spells you can prepare
each day. If you gain an oath spell that doesn't
appear on the paladin spell list, the spell is
nonetheless a paladin spell for you.
Channel Sorcerer-King
At 3rd level, you gain the ability to channel
draconic energy directly from your Sorcerer-king,
using that energy to fuel magical effects. You
start with two such effects: Control Undead and
an effect determined by your oath. Some oaths
grant you additional effects as you advance in
levels, as noted in the oath description.
When you use your Channel Sorcerer-king, you
choose which effect to create. You must then
finish a short or long rest to use your Channel
Sorcerer-king again.
Some Channel Sorcerer-king effects require
saving throws. When you use such an effect from
this class, the DC equals your templar spell save
DC.
Beginning at 6th level, you can use your Channel
Sorcerer-king twice between rests, and
beginning at 18th level, you can use it three
times between rests. When you finish a short or
long rest, you regain your expended uses.
Channel Divinity: Control Undead
As an action, you present your sorcerer-king’s
sigil and command the undead. Each undead
that can see or hear you within 30 feet of you
must make a Wisdom saving throw. If the
creature fails its saving throw, it is controlled for
1 minute or until it takes any damage.
A controlled creature is fully under your control.
It also can take reactions. For its action, it can
use all available to it.
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.

Extra Attack

Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice,

instead of once, whenever you take the Attack
action on your turn.

190
Sorcerer-King’s Library
You may utilize your sorcerer-king’s library,
allowing you to make scrolls at the 6th level and
potions at the 8th.
Raise Undead
Starting at 5th level, when you have access to
dead creatures, you can try to raise them as
undead. If they fail their saving throw against
your Control Undead feature, the creature is
instantly raised as an undead if its challenge
rating is at or below a certain threshold, as
shown in the Raise Undead table. You can have
up to your maximum CR in raised undeads.
Destroy Undead Table
Cleric Destroys Undead
Level of CR ...
5th 1/2 or lower
8th 1 or lower
11th 2 or lower
14th 3 or lower
17th 4 or lower
Sorcerer-king Intervention
Beginning at 10th level, you can call on your
sorcerer-king to intervene on your behalf when
your need is great.
Imploring your sorcerer-king’s aid requires you
to use your action. Describe the assistance you
seek, and roll percentile dice. If you roll a
number equal to or lower than your cleric level,
your sorcerer-king intervenes. The DM chooses
the nature of the intervention; the effect of any
templar spell or templar oath/pact spell would
be appropriate.
If your sorcerer-king intervenes, you can’t use
this feature again for 7 days. Otherwise, you can
use it again after you finish a long rest.
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Sorcerer-kings don’t take lightly to be disturbed
by their minions for innocuous reasons, so if you
call on your patron, it better be for a good
reason or you might suffer the consequences.
At 20th level, your call for intervention
succeeds automatically, no roll required.
Improved Draconic Smite
By 11th level, you are so suffused with righteous
might that all your melee weapon strikes carry
draconic power with them. Whenever you hit a
creature with a melee weapon, the creature
takes an extra 1d8 radiant damage. If you also
use your Draconic Smite with an attack, you add
this damage to the extra damage of your
Draconic Smite.
Draconic Arcanum
At 11th level, your sorcerer-king bestows upon
you a magical secret called an arcanum. Choose
one 6th-level spell from the templar spell list as
this arcanum.
You can cast your arcanum spell once without
expending a spell slot. You must finish a long rest
before you can do so again.
At higher levels, you gain more templar spells
of your choice that can be cast in this way: one
7th-level spell at 13th level, one 8th-level spell at
15th level, and one 9th-level spell at 17th level.
You regain all uses of your Draconic Arcanum
when you finish a long rest.
Sorcerer-Kings
Description
King Andropinis of Balic
The templars of Balic are much like their wise,
cruel leader, Andropinis. He delights in forcing
legal loopholes and manipulating logic to his own
ends. Andropinis enjoys mental gymnastics, and
has even shown favor to the few who have
challenged him and provided him with fresh,
entertaining dilemmas. Of course, favor is often
a quick death instead of a slow one once he
grows weary of the game.
Most of his templars imitate Andropinis’s
behavior. This is done to impress their lord and
to gain promotions when they become available.
The following tale is an example of templar
behavior in Balic. The templars of most cities
would simply confiscate anything they felt was of
value to them or their king. The men who serve
King Andropinis do things differently. . . .
King Tectuktitlay of Draj
Tectuktitlay calls his templars .Moon Priests,. as
he calls himself the .Father of Life and Master of
the Twin Moons.. He claims that he is a god, that
it was he who made the mud flats of Draj into a
fertile haven for his cowering, worshiping
creatures. His templars dress in bluish robes with
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a bright yellow moon embroidered on the front
and on the back. Armor and other
accouterments are also decorated in the moon
motif, with backgrounds of blue, running to
black. Tectuktitlay is a cruel and bloodthirsty
man and his templars are as well, out of
necessity and the desire for promotion. They are
especially fond of the king's lavish rituals, like
one Tectuktitlay himself enjoys, when he tears
out the hearts of his captives.
King Daskinor of Eldaarich
Eldaarich occupies a small island in the Sea of
Silt, just off the mainland. Here, isolated and
protected from the rest of Athas, the city-state’s
21,000 citizens huddle in the paranoid delusions
of their mad sorcerer-king. Daskinor, ruler of
Eldaarich, believes that unknowable forces in the
world are trying to destroy him. Every few years
he puts a new name to these forces—the Order,
the Veiled Alliance, Rajaat, pyreen, a merchant
house, a lowly slave, or some other identifiable
target becomes the imagined source of his fears
for a time. Daskinor does his best to destroy
these imagined enemies, and anyone who has
even a passing resemblance to the target is
persecuted until the next delusion grips him.
Daskinor was never a stable ruler. From the
beginning of his reign as sorcerer-king of
Eldaarich, he was tormented by unfounded fears
and nameless terrors that preyed upon his mind.
For the first few centuries of his reign, he was
able to function more or less normally despite
his growing paranoia. As time passed, genuine
bouts of panic began to intrude upon his psyche.
These bouts lasted longer and longer, paralyzing
Daskinor for hours, days, sometimes even
months at a time.
Eldaarich was constructed to protect Daskinor
from his fears. Fortified walls, a strong military,
193
devoted templars, retractable bridges, a series of
keeps and forts the entire city-state and
surrounding area was secured against outsiders.
Over time, it became less of a fort and more of a
prison, locking king and citizens alike behind
sturdy gates and high walls. Seven centuries ago,
the sorcerer-king’s paranoia became acute. He
completely sealed his city, cutting off all ties to
the other city-states. That was the way things
remained until about 10 years ago, when limited
trade was resumed with House Azeth of Kurn.
Today, Eldaarich remains an isolated prison of a
city. Daskinor’s fears have become the fears of
his citizenry, making everyone who lives under
his rule as paranoid as he is. No one ever leaves
Eldaarich, and no one ever enters its massive
gates. It’s a closed society—figuratively and
literally.
Government. The same model of government
evident in the other city-states exists in
Eldaarich. The sorcerer-king Daskinor (male
human/22nd-level dragon/CE) stands atop the
societal hierarchy, his troubled delusions
coloring every aspect of life in the city-state. His
chaotic tendencies and often overwhelming
paranoia infuses everyone he comes in contact
with, making the city almost as wild and frenzied
as Raam. The only thing that allows the city to
function is that the citizens are a subdued lot,
living in quiet fear instead of in rambunctious
anarchy. Daskinor constantly watches over his
shoulder for assassins that don’t exist, and so do
his templars and nobles. No one trusts anyone
else in Eldaarich. This works out for the best, as
the troubled atmosphere has fostered a society
where the fear of murder and betrayal has
encouraged the periodic use of such techniques
by those who prefer to strike first.
Templars and nobles regularly kill each other to
keep the same from happening to them, or to
gain power or position, or just because the
tension of living behind heavy locks and being
constantly on guard eventually drives even the
most peaceful beings to violence. In Eldaarich,
fear permeates everything—fear of the sorcerer-
king, fear of outsiders, fear of each other, and
fear of the unknown. Because the society is
closed off to the rest of the world, everything on
the other side of its walls and locked gates is, by
definition, unknown.
If Eldaarich is a prison, Daskinor is its most
prominent prisoner. The sorcerer-king lives in a
walled sub-city and rarely ventures into other
parts of his realm. His constant paranoia
sometimes intensifies to such a fevered pitch
that he ceases to function. In such a state, which
may last as long as months at a time, Daskinor is
cared for by his senior templars. At other times,
his paranoia drives him to give a name to his
fear. When this occurs, the entire city mobilizes
to combat this supposed threat to the realm.
Currently, the use of psionic abilities has been
outlawed, as Daskinor believes that the Order
has initiated a campaign against his rule. Even
low-powered psionicists and wild talents who
openly display their abilities are subject to
imprisonment or death because of the current
edict. Only Daskinor, a psionicist of the highest
caliber, is exempt from the terms of the edict.
Daskinor’s templars serve as administrators to
the city, and also act as the sorcerer-king’s eyes
and ears in all corners of the domain. They are
charged with watching for signs of treachery
among the masses-and with dealing with such
treachery before it gets out of hand. The
templars are as paranoid and delusional as
Daskinor, giving in to their fear whenever it
overwhelms them. For this reason, Eldaarich has
become a police state, and the templars are the
police. They command the military. They oversee
all records and the distribution of goods and
services. They hold the power of life and death
for the rest of the citizenry in their terrified
hands.
Trade and Commerce. After centuries of total
isolation, Eldaarich has finally resumed contact
(albeit limited contact) with the outside world.
The High Templar Kerrilis (female human/14th-
level templar/LE) has allowed House Azeth of
Kurn to set up the small village of Silt Side for the
express purpose of conducting trade with
Eldaarich. Daskinor’s trade templars only interact
with agents of House Azeth, and that interaction
only takes place in Silt Side. No outsiders are
permitted into Eldaarich or any of its holdings.
All other merchants must go through House
Azeth if they want to acquire Eldaarish goods or
get their own wares into the closed city. Azeth
makes a healthy profit as the middleman, but the
house doesn’t unduly hike prices to fill its own
coffers. The course of performing the normal
functions of business pays well enough to satisfy
the merchant house. The relationship has
benefited both Azeth and Eldaarich, and a level
of trust that few in Daskinor’s domain possess
has begun to develop between Kerrilis and Corik
Azeth. Where this trust will lead has yet to be
determined, and it’s possible that Daskinor might
still order his troops to destroy Silt Side when the
next delusion overtakes him.
Eldaarich grows the majority of its food in the
protected village of South Guard, and in the
farms set up in the fertile fields around the city-
state. It acquires additional food stores from the
traders, but has a more pressing need for iron,
obsidian, textiles, and other staples of Athasian
life. Its most sought after export is gold and
silver, which it culls with great difficulty from
nearby mountains rising out of the Silt Sea.
Conditions in the City. Every outsider wants to
destroy their city-state and their sorcerer-king,
and everyone who lives within the walls waits for
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an opportunity to betray you. That’s what the
people of Eldaarich believe, for that’s what their
leaders believe. Nowhere else in all of Athas is
there such an underlying current of genuine,
unattributable fear. It filters down from Daskinor
himself, making citizen and slave alike tremble
with uncontrollable paranoia.
The citizenry is a subdued, cowering lot, given to
unexpected bursts of violence once the fear
inside them becomes too much to contain. In
many cases, the ever-crushing weight of terror
and oppression keeps the masses down, but
sometimes a delusional artisan will strike out at a
templar or noble, causing the level of paranoia to
rise even higher.
The quality of life isn’t good in Eldaarich. Because
Daskinor doesn’t trust anyone, he allows his
templars to dispense only the barest essentials
to the free citizens and slaves. With just enough
food and water to sustain them and few personal
possessions, the people of the city are a sad,
pathetic lot. They have no hope of a better life
and no concept that a better life exists outside
the walls of Eldaarich. If anyone even suggests
such a notion, the ingrained fear of the unknown
kicks in and makes everyone else dismiss the
idea.
While the class structure of noble, free citizen,
and slave exists in Eldaarich, the truth is that
everyone beneath the templars is a slave to
Daskinor’s all-pervasive fear. The sorcerer-king
sees threats to his rule on every face and in
every dark shadow. For this reason, he permits
no freedoms of any sort, not even the token
rights given to the citizens of other cities.
Freedom, Daskinor believes, is just an
opportunity to betray his trust. So he orders his
templars to oppress the people of his city, to
make their lives so miserable they don’t have
time or strength to contemplate treachery. The
templars don’t have it much better. They’re kept
195
in line by the high templars who, in turn, are
subject to Daskinor’s brutal whims.
The majority of the population consists of
humans, though there are also dwarves, half-
giants, and muls in significant numbers. There
are also a few aarakocra wasting away in the
slave pens. Daskinor has a particular hatred of
the winged people and gives his templars special
compensations for capturing aarakocra from the
nearby White Mountains.
If travelers were to find themselves in Eldaarich
or one of its holdings (which isn’t very likely),
they’d feel the weight of oppression and smell
the stench of mental illness that hangs in the
hot, stifling air. The citizens are a cowed, quiet
lot, though an occasional individual will be
gripped by a fever of madness and strike out at
anyone within reach. Every year the darkness in
Daskinor’s soul grows deeper, his paranoia more
acute. This mental deterioration is reflected in
the city itself, as though each citizen were a part
of the sorcerer-king’s diseased mind.
The Veiled Alliance. Eldaarich has no Veiled
Alliance. Daskinor rooted out the Alliance and
destroyed it 400 years ago when the group of
preservers became his imagined enemy of the
moment. Some preservers still live in the city,
but they remain hidden and are relatively weak
due to a lack of adequate training. Preservers
from Kurn sometimes sneak into the closed city
to provide training and to see what the
conditions are, but they don’t do this very often.
If they get caught, they’re put to death, and if
their city of origin is discovered, it could mean
war between the two cities. No one, especially
Oronis the Avangion of Kurn, wants a war to
break out. He does, however, feel the pain that
both Daskinor and his citizens project, and often
contemplates finding a solution to Eldaarich’s
problems.

Queen Lalali-Puy of Gulg
The warrior priests of Gulg are fanatically loyal to
the sorcerer-queen, Lalali-Puy, and they believe
she protects them from the city of Nibenay, with
whom they are at war. Lalali-Puy's templars have
two separate orders; judaga priests and
champions. Champions are just the same as
priests in other cities. They wear heavier armor
in combat, wield heavy weapons, and defy their
enemies openly and with righteous convictions.
The judaga, on the other hand, are a class of
warriors and nobles who behave much like
rangers in the forest city of Gulg. Some of Lalali-
Puy's priests have followed this path. They
generally wear light leather armor, use thrusting
weapons (good for ambushes from heavy
foliage), and are surprisingly adept at moving
quietly through the forests. For this reason, the
judaga priests of Gulg almost always have a large
repertoire of woodland spells.
All of Lalali-Puy's templars wear necklaces to
display their rank. Those of first level wear one,
while her advisor is said to wear at least 10.
King Kalid-Ma of Kalidnay (in a Ravenloft
Domain)
Kalid-Ma, Tari Killer, became the sorcerer-king of
Kalidnay after helping the other Champions
overthrow Rajaat. His city-state was among the
wealthiest of those dotting the Tyr Region. An
unknown disaster befell the city-state a few
centuries back, and today Kalid-Ma is only a
memory and Kalidnay is nothing more than a
jumble of ruins.
Kalidnay was once a large walled city home to
Kalid-Ma the Sorcerer King and High priestess
Thakok-An. Thakok-An attempted to ascend her
king into a dragon using the life energies of the
city's populace. This, however, ended up putting
the king into a comatose state and uprooting the
city through to the Shadowfell (Demiplane of
Dread) (Ravenloft setting).
It now exists as a ruin in Athas, populated by
various tribes and dangerous creatures.
King Oronis of Kurn (Avangion)
Kurn is actually two city-states: an ancient, public
metropolis, and a utopian city hidden from the
rest of the world. Old Kurn sits in a lush meadow
on the eastern side of the White Mountains. The
trade road running north out of Draj connects
Kurn to the Tyr Region, and the city welcomes
merchants from the south. New Kurn lies in a
fertile valley hidden among the White Mountains
themselves. A secluded road protected by a
towering fortress keeps the valley safe from
196
unwanted visitors-and New Kurn doesn’t want
any visitors.
Old Kurn was a prosperous but relatively small
city from the Green Age that suffered great
devastation in the early days of the Cleansing
Wars. Once situated in a vast forest that has long
since faded from the landscape, the elf city of
Kurn was destroyed by the Champion called
Albeorn, Slayer of Elves. When the Champions
finally turned against Rajaat and became the
dragon kings, the one named Keltis decided to
build his city-state on the ruins of Old Kurn. He
changed his name to Oronis, but decided to
retain the name of the city he was building over.
The ruins weren’t in as bad a shape as Oronis
originally thought. He was able to build upon
many of the foundations, and a few whole
structures were still fit for use. Within a decade,
Oronis’s Kurn was established. Within five
decades, it was thriving. For five hundred years,
Kurn followed the same course as the other
sorcerer-king domains. Throughout that time,
197
Oronis was troubled by something few of his
peers possessed-his conscience.
When he was Keltis, Lizard Man Executioner, he
succeeded at the task Rajaat handed to him. He
eliminated the entire race from the face of
Athas. As the years passed and Keltis the
Champion became Oronis the sorcerer-king,
images of the atrocities he committed started to
haunt him. After Oronis advanced to a second
stage dragon king, his problems intensified. Now
he had the deaths of his subjects on his head, for
he had to use a specified amount of life force to
power his transformation. He decided that none
of this was what Rajaat originally promised him.
Where was the restoration of the world? Athas
hadn’t gotten better because of the Cleansing
Wars. It had gotten worse. What’s more, the
sorcerer-kings were continuing the downward
spiral, slowly killing the world by their actions.
Oronis refused to be a part of that trend any
longer. He renounced his defiling skills and his
status as a dragon king and sought a different
path.
That was when Kurn broke off relations with the
other city-states. Mercantile activities continued,
of course, but at a reduced rate. After a time,
Kurn became one of the forgotten cities—just as
Oronis had hoped. In the meantime, he set the
next part of his plan for redemption in motion.
Oronis wanted to make amends for the horrors
of his past.
The first step was to change the rules of society
in Kurn. Though the city had to maintain an
illusion of normalcy to keep the other sorcerer-
kings from detecting treachery or weakness,
Oronis secretly freed all slaves and instituted fair
and just practices at all levels of society. He
swore his citizens to secrecy, for if word got out
he was sure his one-time peers would flock to
Kurn like gith to a dying braxat. The second step
was to begin construction on the utopia he
envisioned. Like all ex- Champions, Oronis
originally wanted to return Athas to the glory of
the Blue Age. He decided to once more strive for
that goal. In a hidden valley among the peaks of
the White Mountains, the foundation stones of
New Kurn were laid.
As his templars and citizens worked to build New
Kurn, Oronis went in search of a better path to
power. Using the techniques and practices of
preserving magic, Oronis looked for a way to
combine magic with psionics in a more positive
way than through dragon magic. It took nearly
1,000 years of study and experimentation for
Oronis to develop the preserver metamorphosis
spell. With it, the reformed sorcerer-king could
become an advanced being aligned to goodness
instead of another force for evil.
Today, the twin cities of Kurn continue along
their parallel courses. Old Kurn displays a typical
sorcerer-king’s domain to the other inhabitants
of the region, at least on the surface, while New
Kurn works to complete Oronis’s experiment in
regressing a small portion of Athas back through
time. Between the two cities, Kurn has a total
population of 18,000 people. The majority live in
the new city, as each year more citizens are
moved from the old city to the new. Old Kurn has
such a small number of residents that it appears
to be almost a ghost town, and one day Oronis
plans to completely abandon it in favor of his
secluded valley.
Government. Oronis the Avangion (male
human/24th-level avangion/LG) guides the paths
of the twin cities. Oronis spent centuries
redeeming himself, going so far as to change his
very nature from evil to good, though he still
feels he has a long way to go to make up for his
acts as a Champion of Rajaat and a sorcerer-king.
For this reason, he has dedicated himself and his
citizens to working toward the eventual
restoration of all Athas.
While in Old Kurn, Oronis wears the guise of a
normal human. In this psionically and magically
induced disguise, he appears as a tall, lanky,
middle-aged man with short golden hair, pale-
blue eyes, and a close-cropped blond beard. He
covers himself in the trappings of a sorcerer-king,
wearing a golden circlet on the crown of his head
and carrying an obsidian-topped walking staff. In
New Kurn, however, such disguises aren’t called
for. There he openly displays his true avangion
form—a tall, thin, hairless humanoid with golden
skin, silver eyes, and gossamer wings. Though
Old Kurn appears to run like any other city-state,
Oronis long ago abandoned a monarchical form
of government. He allows his subjects to govern
themselves via a democratic system he
developed. In this system, nobles and all citizens
except templars may hold public office. Elections
are held at regular intervals and term limits are
set. The highest elected official is called the
Presider, who sits at the head of a body called
the Tribunal. Members of the Tribunal are
referred to as Tribunes. Together, the Presider
and the Tribunes draft the laws that keep the
city-state running smoothly. The current Presider
is Ulali of Prusicles (female half-elf/&level
preserver/LG), now in the second year of a five-
year term.
Oronis refuses to hold an official position, though
he does pretend to be sorcerer-king in the old
city. He acts as an adviser when the Presider or
Tribunal requests his presence, but otherwise,
he’s more concerned with advancing as an
avangion and keeping the valley restoration
project on track. Oronis’s templars don’t serve as
administrators in Kurn, either. Instead, they are
the keepers and dispensers of knowledge,
serving as teachers and advisers to local officials
and businesses. It’s also their job to oversee and
handle the restoration process, under Oronis’s
supervision.
198
Trade and Commerce. Old Kurn has a limited but
active mercantile exchange that regularly
welcomes aarakocra traders from Winter Nest
and elf merchant tribes from both the north and
south. Occasionally, ssurran traders wander
down from the Scorched Plateau to make deals
and gather goods to take back to their usual
clients. House Tsalaxa of Draj makes regular trips
to the north to conduct business with Kurn and
Eldaarich. This is the extent of the major
mercantile activities going on in Old Kurn, though
scores of dune traders pass through the walls of
the city every week.
Kurn has its own merchant house, House Azeth.
By the standards set by the merchant dynasties
of the Tyr Region, Azeth is small. By the
standards of the northern region, its wealth is
beyond compare. Led by Corik Azeth (male
human/9th-level trader/LN), the house has
holdings in the White Mountains, maintains
villages near Eldaarich and along the trade road
to the south, and keeps an emporium in far-off
Draj. Though Corik suspects that some sort of
deception is being played out in Kurn, business is
too good for him to want to dig so deeply as to
disturb the status quo. The merchant lord also
has his suspicions about what’s going on past the
walls of Fort Protector, but he’s sure that
satisfying his curiosity will only ruin the position
he commands.
Azeth’s two client villages, Azeth’s Rest and Silt
Side, serve important roles in the daily business
of the house. Azeth’s Rest, built around a lush
oasis along the trade road that connects the
north to the south, provides a stop-over point for
caravans going to and coming from the Tyr
Region. This walled village features a sizable
legion of mercenaries to guard against the
frequent raids from the west. Raiders from the
Bandit States of the Barrier Wastes often target
caravans traveling on the road and sometimes
even strike at the village when their need is
199
particularly great. Azeth’s Rest, by the way,
welcomes all traders-provided they can pay the
fees for using its services. Silt Side, meanwhile, is
an open village on the coast of the Silt Sea. Few
raiders enter the area due to the frequent
patrols sent out by Fort Protector, so the
villagers don’t worry about attacks from the
west. Giants from the silt aren’t even a problem,
as nearby Fort Holz keeps them at bay. Silt Side
handles trade with Eldaarich, which doesn’t have
any merchant house of its own. In fact, this
village is the only connection with the outside
world that Eldaarich maintains. Otherwise, the
city-state is secluded from the rest of Athas.
Conditions in the City. The state of life in Kurn
depends on which of the twin cities is being
considered. Old Kurn, on the surface, appears to
be much like any city in the Tyr Region still ruled
by a sorcerer-king. Surface appearances,
however, can be deceiving. Travelers who stay
for any length of time might notice a few
oddities. For example, the slaves seem to have a
sparkle in their eyes and a bounce in their step
that isn’t seen in the other city-states, and
templars aren’t given as wide a berth as their
counterparts in Urik or Nibenay. Additionally,
while the merchant and tradesmen districts are
always crowded, the rest of the city is as empty
and desolate as the ruins of Giustenal.
Old Kurn maintains its illusion of business-as-
usual through the cooperation of its citizens and
the advanced powers of its sorcerer-king. If
visitors notice that the noble and templar
quarters of the city are practically deserted, they
usually attribute it to the rumors that Kurn is
slowly dying. Dying or not, the city is far from
defenceless. More than one raiding tribe has
attempted to take advantage of the “dying” city
only to discover that its defenders were more
than capable of driving them off.
Through the efforts of House Azeth and the
commerce provided by other traders, Kurn
maintains a modest economy. While most of the
inhabitants of the Tyr Region have forgotten that
this northern city exists, Kurn interacts with its
closest neighbors on a regular basis. It has good
relations with the aarakocra of Winter Nest, the
merchants of Draj’s House Tsalaxa, and the elves
of a few of the local tribes. Except for the contact
between House Azeth and the trade templars of
Eldaarich, Kurn has little interaction with its
neighboring city-state. On the other hand, Kurn
sometimes has trouble with raiders from the
Bandit States. The raiders don’t come to the
gates of the city (at least not very often), but
they do attack travelers on the trade road and
even plunder the client villages on rare
occasions.
New Kurn is a different matter. The high, sturdy
walls of Fort Protector block the eastern
entrance to the hidden valley, while the tall,
steep peaks of the White Mountains make the
other directions inaccessible. The only approach
that might be open is by air, though flying
creatures loyal to Oronis nest in the vertical
peaks. Within the valley, Oronis’s restoration
project is in full swing. He has turned the valley
into a place from the past, recreating the
conditions of the Green Age in its sheltered
space. A thick forest surrounds a lush clearing
where the city of New Kurn has been built beside
a small, clean lake. Oronis hopes to eventually
regress the valley to conditions as they were in
the Blue Age, but that’s still many years away.
The new city resembles Oronis’s vision of utopia.
Airy buildings with tall, elegant spires grace wide,
open streets paved with white stone. Here, the
people govern themselves through a system of
fair laws and majority rule. Everyone has a say in
the workings of the city, from the poorest
laborer to the highest elected official. And if
someone doesn’t like the way things are going,
they’re free to run for a position when the
current terms of office expire.
Thanks to the fertile valley and the lush forest,
no one goes hungry or thirsty in New Kurn. No
creatures are hunted out of existence and no
plants are plucked completely from a given area.
The templars monitor the forest on a daily basis
to make sure the delicate balance is maintained.
For this reason, no defilers are permitted within
the ranks of the templars or anywhere in the
twin cities. It is strictly against the laws of Kurn to
practice defiling magic.
Oronis continues to advance as an avangion, and
he tries to instill the same serene, peaceful, life-
giving properties of his new form in the city and
people who follow him. Where once there was a
man of evil, now Oronis is a force for good in the
world. His templars work to promote his plans
and prepare to someday strike out from the
valley with the knowledge of how to restore all
of Athas. Until then, they’ll work to finish the
restoration of the valley and to perfect the
society that Oronis has inspired.
The Veiled Alliance. Kurn has no Veiled Alliance.
Preservers are a welcome and significant part of
the society, so there’s no reason for them to hide
behind a veil of secrecy. In fact, preservers from
other Alliance factions sometimes come to Kurn
to study with Oronis. One preserver, Korgunard
of Urik, even learned the steps to become an
avangion and followed the path forged by
Oronis. It’s conceivable that more avangions will
appear in the future, though when and how
many is hard to say. Like dragons, avangions are
exceedingly rare. Only the best, most powerful
preserver/psionicists can even hope to take the
first steps as an avangion, let alone achieve the
level of advancement that Oronis has thus far
attained.
200
While preservers are accepted and integral to
Kurn society, defilers are considered enemies of
everything Oronis stands for. The avangion is
reluctant to allow his followers to make defiling
magic punishable by death, as he himself was
once a defiler of the highest order. However, he
knows that in most cases defilers can’t make the
mental and spiritual changes necessary to reject
that path, so he has agreed that known defilers
must be banished from the society.
King Dregoth of New Guistenal
New Giustenal has a standing force of 338
templars and 100 elite kalin riders. Templars are
ranked from the First Scale (3rd level) to the
Fifteenth Scale (17th level). They are led by the
High Templar Mon Adderath, who is the only
templar of the Highest Scale (18th level). Most
templars are of the Second Scale (4th level). Mon
Adderath or Absalom use a spell granted them
201
by Dregoth to cause a yellow scale to grow atop
a templar's spine. Each advancement is marked
by another scale.
Dregoth’s lowest level templars tend to be a
miserable lot. Until they ascend to the Fifth Scale
or higher, they are forced to perform menial
jobs, like the city watch. Few care for this job.
The citizens are ungrateful and complaining, and
there is usually little to do. Any event that
escalates into bloodshed is a relief to the bored
and frustrated soldiers, especially the occasional
incursion of a creature from the tunnels or the
rarer appearance of an other-worldly visitor.
A templar patrol consists of four templars of the
Third Scale (5th level) and a leader of the Fourth
Scale (6th level). There is a 10% chance that
some of these templars will actually be
psionicists, thieves, fighters, or even defilers and
not clerics.
A war party consists of four Fifth Scale templars
(7th level) and a leader of the Eighth Scale (10th
level).
In general, low-level templars use weapons of
bone and stone. They wear some armor, but the
better equipment is reserved for higher-level
templars. At higher levels, Dregoth’s templars
wield metal weapons (some magical) and wear
extremely protective armor.
Kalin Riders. Dregoth’s most elite troops are the
kalin riders. These mid-level templars ride the
ferocious kalin, riding insects that live in the
subterranean regions of Athas. The kalin riders
will be at the front of Dregoth’s army when it
marches on the surface world, but for now they
patrol the ceilings of New Giustenal looking for
trouble on the streets below.
Kalin riders are all 5th-level templars armed with
magical weapons (typically metal long swords
+1). Every kalin rider squadron (25 riders) has a
defiler assigned to it. The mage will be from 7th
to 10th level and have five random magical items
on his or her person.
The Amulets of the Dragon. There are two
distinct types of amulets that are considered
holy symbols by Dregoth and his followers. PCs
will discover examples of the both versions
throughout their explorations of the ruins above
and below Giustenal. Both types are small, metal
disks about two inches in diameter, usually
attached to a leather tie or in some cases a metal
chain.
Most of the templars of Nibenay are women.
Some have said that they actually serve as the
king's wives as well as his warriors.
The templar warriors of Nibenay frequently have
to fight the judaga and champions of Gulg. They
prefer to stand in formation, forcing opponents
to do open battle. This tactic rarely gives them a
victory, but neither does it bring defeat. The
open battle tactic is one of the reasons why the
war between Nibenay and Gulg has lasted for so
many centuries. Perhaps the Shadow King and
Lalali-Puy like it this way. It has been said that
there is no ally like a common enemy. . . .

The older amulet of Dregoth dates back to the

time when Giustenal was a living, thriving city. It
features a roaring dragon head inside a crimson
circle. Few of these amulets are still in use. They
will mostly be discovered among the corpses
that litter the ruins of Giustenal.

The newer version of Dregoth's holy symbol

shows Athas’s crimson sun trapped in the
gripping claw of a dragon. All of Dregoth's
second generation dray templars wear these
amulets, and a larger version has been carved
into the holy relic in Dregoth's private chambers.

King Nibenay of Nibenay

The templars of the Shadow King are the most
feared and terrible of all. They dress in black, like
the dark and mysterious legends that shroud
their master, and they wield terrible barbed
spears made of agafari wood from the Crescent
Forest. Their armor is typically formed from the
black carapaces of giant insects, ridged with
hideous rows of spines and other natural, and
deadly, decorations.

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Queen Abalach-Re of Raam
The templars who serve Abalach-Re are the most
timid of the lot, but ironically, they are some of
the most dangerous. Templars will only operate
in large groups in Raam because of open
defiance to the Grand Vizier. They usually form
small cliques or teams that are loyal to each
other, but not necessarily loyal to other groups,
or even to their sorcerer-queen. The paranoid
templars feel constantly besieged by the nobles.
never ending raids and double cross plans, so
they frequently carry a large number of
divinatory and defensive spells (of air and earth
spheres).
They dress in white robes, often covered by
armor, with the symbol of the false god
worshiped by the Grand Vizier
emblazoned in the center. Like the templars, the
symbol is false; it has no truth.
203
King Kalak of Tyr (before Free Year 1)
Tyr is ruled by the sorcerer-king Kalak, who calls
himself simply King Kalak or, as he sometimes
prefers to be addressed, the Tyrant of Tyr. A
pragmatic and ruthless man, Kalak is perhaps the
most honest of all sorcerer-kings. He rules by the
might of his magic and tremendous psionic
powers, placing his own security and the stability
of Tyr above all other considerations.
If Kalak's attitude seems unjust or inequitable, it
is at least predictable. The residents of his city
understand that the best way to insure their own
survival is to do what benefits Kalak. The surest
way to find themselves working in the slave pits
is to oppose Kalak’s will. As a consequence,
Tyrian society has functioned very efficiently for
the thousand years that Kalak has ruled the city.
The Tyrant of Tyr has always made his home in a
magnificent palace adjacent to the gladiatorial
stadium. The eastern wall of this palace
overlooks the arena itself. During the games,
Kalak himself can often be seen sitting on one of
the hundred balconies that overlook the arena,
accompanied by a handful of templars and other
favorites. Of late, old King Kalak seems to have
become senile. For the past twenty years, he has
diverted much of the city's slave labor to building
a mighty ziggurat (directly across the arena from
his palace), claiming that it will protect Tyr from
attacks by the dragon. At first, the nobles were
tolerant of his folly, for the burden it placed on
them was not great. Over the last year, however,
Kalak has grown frantic to finish the massive
structure, appropriating so many slaves that
there is almost nobody left to work the fields.

Kalak has also taken the slaves out of the mines,

completely shutting down iron production. This
has caused the city's economy to crash, leaving
merchant and noble alike destitute. The slaves
are starving, and even free craftsmen receive
only meager grain rations in return for their
services-and then only if their work contributes
directly to the construction of the ziggurat.

To make matters worse, other cities that depend

upon imports of Tyr's raw iron to supplement
their economies are up in arms. Many of them,
most notably Urik and Raam, have sent
emissaries to King Kalak with rave warnings
concerning the consequences of failing to
resume iron production. Can it be any wonder
that in their private gatherings, nobles are
whispering plans of rebellion and that merchants King Tithian of Tyr (after Free Year 1)
are fleeing the city in droves? Surely, even the
The templars of Tyr are currently in a state of
iron grip of the templars cannot keep the city
adjustment, in the wake of Kalak's demise. The
from erupting into a violent inferno for much
former High Templar, Tithian has assumed
longer.
power, but he cannot offer spells or other special
abilities to those templars who are in his
When the final battle comes, it will be a terrible
dominion.
thing. The Royal Guard consists of two thousand
mercenaries led by five hundred half-giants and
Tithian watches his templars with great concern,
Kalak’s loyal templars. In fact, the latter are all
for he has no special powers. He is smart enough
armed with steel swords. Against them will be
to realize that those beneath him may attempt
arrayed the varied armies of the nobles-who are
an assassination, but he Is far more concerned
far superior in number, if not armament.
that Hamanu will descend from Urik with a
Considering the advantages of Kalak's magic, the
mighty army to capture the city and its valuable
contest will be a close one. Ironically, it may well
iron mines.
be decided by the lowliest of all Tyr's citizens, the
slaves.

204
To prepare for this eventuality, Tithian is training
his templars night and day. They are having
difficulty recalling the
weapon skills they learned in youth, and they
fully realize that they have relied on their
spellcasting abilities for far too long.
In game terms, there are still templars in Tyr, but
they are fast becoming warriors. They are still
priests, but they have no priestly powers,
abilities, or spells. Many have already started to
become dual classed priests and warriors. They
still retain whatever proficiencies and ceremonial
powers they had earned prior to Kalak's
downfall.
Borys The Dragon, King of Ur Draxa
The History of Ur Draxa. Over thousands of
years, the Draxans have become enlightened and
ennobled by their association with their city and
the Dragon. (Only the cleverest and strongest
survived the rigid standards of competition
enforced by the Dragon.) As a race of advanced
205
and civilized warriors, it was beneath the
Draxans to labor in the fields or to attend to the
baser duties of life. (They became a race of cruel
slave overseers, and they no longer grow their
own food or make their own wares.)
Every Draxan alive today can trace his lineage
back to the first citizens of the city, the great
heroes of the Dragon's armies. (Occasionally
clans have been erased and lesser clans
permitted to claim the higher bloodline; only
heroic bloodlines now remain among the
Draxans.) Ur Draxa is the sole shining light of
culture left in this brutal and unforgiving world;
all other creatures only exist to serve the citizens
of the City of Doom, the City of the Dragon,
mighty Ur Draxa. (Few Draxans even suspect that
there are other cities in the world; they think the
rest of Athas to be like the Valley or the Sea of
Silt. If ever told otherwise, they would probably
brand the bearer of the news a liar.)
Ur Draxa is the perfect society. The noble sons of
heroes are free to pursue the constant honing of
their military and scholarly skills (most are
illiterate and bloodthirsty slave overseers), and
the slaves have accepted their lots as lesser
beings and gladly serve their superiors. (Not
quite.) Disputes are settled honorably, in the
arena of noble struggle (brutal killings before
screaming crowds mad with bloodlust), and all
sides are happy to allow differences to be judged
by trial of arms. (Oddly enough, skilled fighters
often have “accidents” just before they are due
to enter the arena.)
The typical Draxan is intoxicated with superiority
and the belief that he or she is a hero of a race of
heroes. Despite this, Draxans are less educated
and enlightened than they realize. Draxans can
go on for hours concerning the deeds of their
clan, their lineage, the wrongs and redressals of
past generations - but most change the subject in
embarrassed anger if asked to actually read an
account of the past or to recite a piece of epic
poetry. The Draxans have become a nation of
megalomaniacs. Most would kill a slave in a
moment for not properly abasing himself.
Some Draxans do not fit this stereotype. The
leaders of the clans, the viziers, and some
templars and slave scribes maintain records of
the city’s history and true greatness. They
understand that they live in a violent society
where true knowledge is often scorned in the
face of martial prowess. Despite this, the literate
of Ur Draxa are the ones who direct the affairs of
the city.
Draxan Society. The people of Ur Draxa are born,
live, and die in a social system that encourages
competition and strife. All their lives the Draxans
try to improve their lot at the expense of their
neighbors. This cultural orientation has been
carefully instilled in each new generation for
centuries. Arts, sciences, and other forms of
enlightenment have suffered as military prowess
has been selected again and again as the chief
virtue of the Draxan society. It is ironic that the
Draxans themselves do not grasp their own
condition.
Humans, half-elves, dwarves, and muls are all
found in Ur Draxa. Thri-kreen, halflings, and half-
giants are unheard of. Draxans speak an archaic
language called High Draxan, unintelligible to
speakers of Common from the Tyr region. Slaves
are put to death if they are heard to use High
Draxan; they speak Low Draxan, or the Slave
Tongue. Based on High Draxan, it includes a
sprinkling of loanwords from the influx of new
slaves over the years. It is about 50% intelligible
to High Draxan speakers and nearly identical to
the dialects of the outlanders.
The top of the Draxan hierarchy: The Dragon’s
word is law. its every whim an edict. The
common Draxans almost worship the Dragon,
referring to it in the same way a religious fanatic
might to the leader of his sect. The Dragon can
do no wrong; it is a living example of strength,
wisdom, and power to be emulated by every
living Draxan.
Despite the adulation the Dragon enjoys, it does
not seek deification. Thousands of years ago it
could have proclaimed itself a god, but
apparently the absolute loyalty of its citizens is
sufficient for its purposes. It is a remarkable
example of forbearance and wisdom for the
otherwise voracious creature. In the distant past,
the Dragon was greatly involved with the day-to-
day administration of the city. It decreed laws,
weighed matters of justice, and directly
supervised the armies of Ur Draxa. As the
centuries pass, the Dragon has slowly faded from
the public eye, involving itself less and less with
the common affairs of its people. Only the
gravest matters are brought to its attention now.
The Dragon spends its time either in the world
beyond the Ash Storm or within its inner
sanctum.
The Dead Lords: Directly beneath the Dragon are
the dreaded kaisharga, or Dead Lords. These
undead creatures form a cabinet of ministers for
the Dragon, attending to the mundane
operations in which the creature has apparently
lost interest. Each kaisharga was a powerful
vizier, templar, or warrior rewarded for cruelty
and efficiency with undeath. Several kaisharga
dream of unseating the Dragon and taking its
place, but not even all the kaisharga together
could stand against the beast. The kaisharga
include the Lord Warrior, the Lord Vizier, the
Lord Templar, the Chamberlain, the Herald, the
Lord Scribe, the Lord Guardian, the Lord
Assassin, and 17 others.
Beneath the cold hands of the Dead Lords are
the living denizens of the city. There are three
206
administrative arms: the templars, the army, and
the viziers.
Postings to the government are considered the
highest honor for the Draxan citizen; clans
engage in fierce feuds to determine who may
enroll a son or daughter in the ranks of the
templars, or to gain a favorable assignment in
the army.
The templars: The templars function like
templars anywhere in the region. They are the
city’s administrators and supervisors, directing
the distribution of goods, managing the
properties reserved for the Dragon King, and
maintaining law and order within the city.
Schooled in doctrine and martial philosophy, the
templars ensure that the citizens maintain the
shai, or Draxan martial spirit.
The army: The Draxans never seriously expect a
major attack. Most do not even believe a slave
revolt is possible. Despite this smug attitude,
they still mount a ferocious defense of their city.
Every free citizen is technically a member of the
army, but a cadre of powerful and influential
officers lead individual factions; the full army
would form around this skeleton if the call came.
Powerful clans sponsor entire regiments; smaller
clans muster one or two companies. These forces
are armies-in-being, composed of clansmen of
their respective families. Every clan leader fields
troops in the Dragon’s name, but many of the
leaders leave the mustering of their forces to the
younger warriors of their clan. Some clans have a
permanent posting, like the Guard of the North
Gate or the Army of the East. There are 50 clan
companies, varying in size from a few dozen to
nearly 1,000 male and female warriors.
Less common are the chardra, or city companies,
elite guards not sponsored by a clan but instead
drawn from all clans and commanded by army
officers. The city companies quietly struggle for
207
the Dragon's favor, seeking to impress their
master with efficiency and ferocity. There are 15
city companies, including the Dragon Warriors of
the Iron Citadel, the most prestigious soldiers of
the Draxan army (see Chapter Three).
The Draxan army, led by the kaisharga known as
the Lord Warrior, includes four legions - the
Legions of the North, South, East, and West. Each
legion comprises both city and clan companies. A
Dead Lord general and living staff captains
command each legion.
The Viziers: Made up of powerful psionicists,
defilers, and learned scholars, the viziers are a
council body and Draxan university. The
preservation of arts and lore now fading in the
Draxan culture is of intense interest to the
viziers, whereas the templars choose to suppress
everything they disapprove of. As a body, the
viziers are the most knowledgeable and open-
minded of all the Draxans, but they are also the
most competitive and power-hungry. The
kaisharga are most often drawn from powerful
viziers; living vizier leaders can trace nets of
supporters and allies that include templars, city
companies, and clans. Acting as power brokers
and preservers of lost knowledge, the viziers
often seem to be the real powers of the city of
Ur Draxa.
The clans: All citizens are clan members. Every
free Draxan is born into a land-owning clan and is
considered noble. A Draxan views him- or herself
as a soldier of the Dragon King, a lord over all the
earth, and a member of an ancient and noble
family-even if the same common Draxan spends
most of the day overseeing slaves in the clan’s
fields.
The clan (”tsai” in Draxan) is the most important
institution of Draxan society. Everything revolves
about the clan: childhood training, arranged
marriages, lineage and ancient deeds, and
vendettas. Draxans seek glory for the honor of
their clan; an insult to a clan means an
immediate challenge to the death. In the violent
world of the Draxans, the clan is the only home
and the only ally an individual ever finds.
The clans hold land in a feudal system, with
lesser clans serving greater clans who, in turn,
serve the Dragon. The lords of the greater clans
(”tsaisharga”) rule an entire kardan, or sector, of
the city. Each ruling clan’s vassals (”tsaishars”)
claim smaller estates within their ruler's sector.
King Hamanu of Urik
The dread King Hamanu is the most warlike,
ruthless, and arguably the most powerful of the
sorcerer-kings. His armies have never met defeat
when he lead them, and his generals make war
with a fanaticism born of knowing the
price of failure.
To be a templar under Hamanu is to train for war
constantly. Every man spends at least four hours
every day in weapons training, and knows only
too well the harsh lessons the veteran masters
will teach them if their guard is down, even for a
second.
Hamanu's templars dress in leather armor laced
with bone or chitin, and bear arms made of
obsidian from the Black Crown Mountains. Those
of higher rank may even wear metal breastplates
and helms, and carry weapons with metal
blades.
The templars of Hamanu should be portrayed as
utterly ruthless and without pity. Urik does not
allow weak emotions to surface. Templars who
hesitate in the face of adversity will quickly find
themselves spitted on one of the obsidian spikes
that line Hamanu’s grisly arena.
Queen Sielba of Yaramuke
(before 167th King’s Age)
Ral's Agitation (Free Year -1741). In an attempt
to increase her power, Sielba, Queen of
Yaramuke attacks Urik. Hamanu easily defeats
her army and personally slays the sorcerer-
queen. On the heels of victory, Urik's army sacks
Yaramuke and burns the city to the ground. To
appease the Dragon's wrath for killing a sorcerer-
queen, Hamanu presents Borys with a levy of
Yaramuke's riches-which pleases the beast and
spares Urik.
208
Silt's Defiance (Free Year -1722). Borys uses the
booty gained from Yaramuke to build Ur Draxa,
which becomes the greatest city on all of Athas.
At the center of the city Borys places the Black
Sphere for him and his city to protect.
Yaramuke, once governed by Sorcerer-Queen
Sielba, was the fourth city-state along the Road
of Kings, near the Black Waters. Today, however,
one would there find only haunted ruins and
whispers of death and revenge.
It was only a generation ago when Sielba
found herself coveting the obsidian of the
Smoking Crown, then and now in the hands of
Hamanu of Urik. This inevitably lead to a war
that she could never win, and before she had
even had the chance to call for allies from the
other city-states, she found her city under siege
by the mighty legions of Urik. But Hamanu was
infuriated, the stories tell, and worked defiling
blood magic which destroyed both the city and
its inhabitants along with their Queen, and even
a large part of his own army.
A very small number of Yaramuke's inhabitants
were lucky to survive the wrath of Hamanu, and
they now travel around the Tablelands speaking
of the horrors they or their ancestors were
witnesses to. They also speak of Sielba’s riches
and ancients artifacts, and this promise has been
enough for many adventurers to defy the
dangers of the ruins, but no one has ever
returned.
Sielba is said to have been one of the most
compassionate of the Sorcerer-Kings of the Eight
Cities, but also one of the most impulsive. She
once had a trusting ally in Abalach-Re of Raam,
but time and intrigues turned their friendship
into rivalry, which in the end was the doom for
both Sielba and her people.
In a war of territory fought against Hamanu of
Urik only a generation ago, she was killed, and
her city destroyed. Rumors say that she shortly
before her demise pleaded on her bare knees for
help from her former friend the Queen of Raam,
but was turned down.

209

Sorcerer-Kings Oaths &
Pact
Oaths & Pacts
Becoming a templar involves taking an engagement
that commit the templar to the cause of the sorcerer-
king, an active path of spreading wickedness. Once
you have joined the rank of a sorcerer-king’s
templars, it is for life or until dismissed by the
sorcerer-king (which often means death). You would
also be freed of your engagement if your sorcerer-
king died, but you would loose also the given powers.
You can either choose an oath or a pact, oath are
more templar flavored, and pact are more warlock
flavored, as these two classes were merged to create
the templar class.
Tyrian templars under Tithian no longer have spells
or abilities channeled to them, and multi-class in
fighter as they are receiving intense martial training
to make up for their lack of powers.
Oath of Conquest
 King Dregoth of New Guistenal
 King Nibenay of Nibenay
 Borys The Dragon, King of Ur Draxa
 King Hamanu of Urik
 Queen Sielba of Yaramuke (before 167th
King’s Age)
The Oath of Conquest calls to templars who seek
glory in battle and the subjugation of their
enemies. It isn’t enough for these templars to
establish order. They must crush the forces of
chaos. Sometimes called knight tyrants or iron
mongers, those who swear this oath gather into
grim orders that serve gods or philosophies of
war and well-ordered might. The sorcerer-kings
are often valuing the rule of law over the balm of
mercy, so Athas counts many of these templars.
Tenets of Conquest
A templar who takes this oath has the tenets of
conquest seared on the upper arm.
Douse the Flame of Hope. It is not enough to
merely defeat an enemy in battle. Your victory
must be so overwhelming that your enemies’ will
to fight is shattered forever. A blade can end a
life. Fear can end an empire.
Rule with an Iron Fist. Once you have
conquered, tolerate no dissent. Your word is law.
Those who obey it shall be favored. Those who
defy it shall be punished as an example to all
who might follow.
Strength Above All. You shall rule until a
stronger one arises. Then you must grow
mightier and meet the challenge, or fall to your
own ruin.
Oath of Conquest Spells
Templar
Level Spells
3rd Armor of Agathys, Command
5th Hold Person, Spiritual Weapon
9th Bestow Curse, Fear
13th Dominate Beast, Stoneskin
17th Cloudkill, Dominate Person
Channel Sorcerer-king: Conquering Presence.
You can use your Channel Sorcerer-king to exude
a terrifying presence. As an action, you force
each creature of your choice that you can see
within 30 feet of you to make a Wisdom saving
throw. On a failed save, a creature becomes
frightened of you for 1 minute. The frightened
creature can repeat this saving throw at the end
of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on
a success.
210
Channel Sorcerer-king: Guided Strike.
You can use your Channel Sorcerer-king to strike
with supernatural accuracy. When you make an
attack roll, you can use your Channel Sorcerer-
king to gain a +10 bonus to the roll. You make
this choice after you see the roll, but before the
DM says whether the attack hits or misses.
Aura of Conquest
Starting at 7th level, you constantly emanate a
menacing aura while you’re not incapacitated.
The aura extends 10 feet from you in every
direction, but not through total cover. If a
creature is frightened of you, its speed is
reduced to 0 while in the aura, and that creature
takes psychic damage equal to half your templar
level if it starts its turn there. At 18th level, the
range of this aura increases to 30 feet.
Scornful Rebuke
Starting at 15th level, those who dare to strike
you are psychically punished for their audacity.
Whenever a creature hits you with an attack,
that creature takes psychic damage equal to your
Charisma modifier (minimum of 1) if you’re not
incapacitated.
Invincible Conqueror
At 20th level, you gain the ability to harness
extraordinary martial prowess. As an action, you
can magically become an avatar of conquest,
gaining the following benefits for 1 minute:
 You have resistance to all damage.
 When you take the Attack action on your
turn, you can make one additional attack as
part of that action.
 Your melee weapon attacks score a critical
hit on a roll of 19 or 20 on the d20.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again
until you finish a long rest.
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Oath of Treachery
 King Andropinis of Balic
 King Kalid-Ma of Kalidnay (in a Ravenloft
Domain)
 Queen Abalach-Re of Raam
 King Tithian of Tyr (after Free Year 1)
 Queen Sielba of Yaramuke (before 167th
King’s Age)
The Oath of Treachery is the path followed by
templars who have forsworn other oaths or who
care only for their own power and survival, and
their Sorcerer-king. Anyone desperate enough to
follow one of these templars does so because,
while deceitful, these templars command great
power. Those who follow them without falling
prey to their treachery hope to indulge in
wanton violence and accumulate great treasure.
These templars pay only lip service to their
sorcerer-kings and are usually lovers to them.
They indulge in high-stakes courtly
entanglements and use spies and assassins to
garner more power for themselves only to be
discarded by their sorcerer-king or queen when
they become too powerful. They have a
penchant for double dealing and treachery.
Tenets of Treachery
A templar who embraces the Oath of Treachery
owes allegiance to the courts manipulative
entanglements and mind boggling bureaucracy.
There are no tenets of this oath, for it lacks any
substance. Those who are unfortunate enough
to have close contact with templars have
observed that a templar’s overwhelming concern
is power and safety, especially if both can be
obtained at the expense of others.
Level Spells
3rd Charm Person, Expeditious Retreat
5th Invisibility, Mirror Image
9th Gaseous Form, Haste
13th Confusion, Greater Invisibility
17th Dominate Person, Passwall
Channel Sorcerer-king: Conjure Duplicate
As an action, you create a visual illusion of
yourself that lasts for 1 minute, or until you lose
your concentration (as if you were concentrating
on a spell). The illusion appears in an unoccupied
space of your choice that you can see within 30
feet of you. The illusion looks exactly like you; it
is silent; it is your size, is insubstantial, and
doesn’t occupy its space; and it is unaffected by
attacks and damage. As a bonus action on your
turn, you can move the illusion up to 30 feet to a
space you can see, but the illusion must remain
within 120 feet of you. For the duration, you can
cast spells as though you were in the illusion’s
space, but you must use your own senses.
Additionally, when both you and your illusion are
within 5 feet of a creature that can see the
illusion, you have advantage on attack rolls
against that creature, given how uncanny the
illusion is.
Channel Sorcerer-king: Poison Strike
You can use your Channel Sorcerer-king to make
a weapon deadlier. As a bonus action, you touch
one weapon or piece of ammunition and conjure
a special poison on it. The poison lasts for 1
minute. The next time you hit a target with an
attack using that weapon or ammunition, the
target takes poison damage immediately after
the attack. The poison damage equals 2d10 +
your templar level, or 20 + your templar level if
you had advantage on the attack roll.
Aura of Treachery
Starting at 7th level, you emanate an aura of
discord, which gives you the following benefits.
 Cull the Herd. You have advantage on
melee attack rolls against any creature that
has one or more of its allies within 5 feet of
it .
 Treacherous Strike. If a creature within 5
feet of you misses you with a melee attack,
you can use your reaction to force the
attacker to reroll that attack against a
creature of your choice that is also within 5
feet of the attacker. The ability fails and is
wasted if the attacker is immune to being
charmed. You can use this ability three
times. You regain expended uses of it when
you finish a short or long rest.
Treacherous Escape
At 15th level, you have the ability to slip away
from your foes. Immediately after you are hit by
an attack, you can use your reaction to turn
invisible and teleport up to 60 feet to a spot you
can see. You remain invisible until the end of
your next turn or until you attack, deal damage,
or force a creature to make a saving throw. Once
you use this feature, you must finish a short or
long rest before you can use it again.
Icon of Deceit
At 20th level, you gain the ability to emanate
feelings of treachery. As an action, you can
magically become a n avatar of deceit, gaining
the following benefits for 1 minute :
 You are invisible.
 If a creature damages you on its turn, it must
succeed on a Wisdom saving throw (DC
equal to your spell save DC) or you control
its next action, provided that you aren’t
incapacitated when it takes the action. A
creature automatically succeeds on the save
if the creature is immune to being charmed.
 If you have advantage on an attack roll, you
gain a bonus to its damage roll equal to your
templar level.
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Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again
until you finish a long rest.
Oath of Predation
 King Andropinis of Balic
 King Tectuktitlay of Draj
 King Daskinor of Eldaarich
 King Kalak of Tyr (before Free Year 1)
Templars who follow the Oath of Predation
believe that the world can only be made perfect
through utter control. Through careful planning,
subterfuge and unwavering patience, these
templars create hierarchies with themselves at
the top, and execute their power with impunity.
Few templars can resist the allure of unchecked
power, and most succumb to the temptations of
tyranny.
Oath of Predation Features
Templar
Level Features
3rd Bonus Proficiencies,
Channel Sorcerer-king
7th Perfect Domination
15th Shroud of the Illrigger
20th Hand of Manipulation
Tenets of Predation
The tenets of the Oath of Predation remind its
adherents that the whims of their sorcerer-king
supersede all other oaths and laws.
Cultivate the Flock. It is not enough to gather a
congregation. You must hone them to a ready
point, zealous to do what is necessary with a
word.
Maintain Supremacy. You are the order in the
midst of chaos. You vow to follow no rules other
than the rigid disciplines necessary to maintain
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the faith. Those who deviate from the plan will
die.
By Any Means Necessary. Honor thy contracts
but do not hesitate to steal, murder or mislead
to complete your orders.
World of Order. I will provide authority where it
lacks and subjugate myself to the cause. Just as I
do no operate with impunity, I will create and
maintain a network of followers to precipitate
our unquestionable dominion.
Oath of Predation Spells
templar
Level Spells
3rd command, protection from evil and good
5th enthrall, pass without trace
9th hypnotic pattern, nondetection
13th compulsion,
Mordenkainen’s private sanctum
17th dominate person, teleportation circle
Bonus Proficiencies
At 3rd level, you gain proficiency in thieves’ tools
and your choice of the Sleight of Hand or Stealth
skills. Additionally, if you are proficient in the
Deception, Intimidation, or Persuasion skills,
your proficiency bonus is doubled to these
checks using these skills.
Channel Sorcerer-king
When you take this option at 3rd level, you gain
the following two Channel Sorcerer-king options.
Predatory Instincts. When you roll initiative, you
can use your Channel Sorcerer-king to imbue
your movements with foul alacrity. You add your
Charisma modifier to your initiative roll, you
have advantage on attack rolls against any
creature that hasn’t taken a turn in combat yet,
and you deal an additional 1d6 necrotic damage
to that creature. This damage increases to 2d6 at
7th level, 3d6 at 11th level, 4d6 at 15th level, and
5d6 at 19th level.
Fell Suggestion. As an action, you can use your
Channel Sorcerer-king to magically enthrall
another creature within 5 feet of you. If the
target can see or hear you, it must succeed a
Wisdom saving throw or become charmed by
you for 1 minute.
You can use a bonus action to issue simple
commands to the charmed creature if it is within
60 feet of you. You decide what action the
creature will take and where it will move during
its next turn. When you issue a command, and at
the end of each of its turns, the creature must
succeed a Wisdom saving throw or carry out
your instructions to the best of its ability on its
turn. The DM determines how the target
behaves.
Once the effect ends, or if the creature succeeds
on its initial saving throw against this effect, you
can’t use this feature on that creature again until
you finish a long rest.
Perfect Domination
Starting at 7th level, when you use your Fell
Suggestion feature, you can choose to force the
creature to fail its saving throw if its challenge
rating is equal to or below a certain threshold, as
shown below. When the creature would make a
saving throw to break the effect, it does so at
disadvantage.
A creature subjected to your perfect domination
is charmed by you for 1 hour instead of 1 minute.
Starting at 15th level, creatures of CR 1/2 or
lower are charmed by you indefinitely until the
charm is broken. At 19th level, this indefinite
charm extends to creatures of CR 1 or lower.
Perfect Domination
Templar Level Creature’s CR
7th 1/2 or lower
11th 1 or lower
15th 2 or lower
19th 3 or lower
Shroud of the Illrigger
Beginning at 15th level, you are always under the
effects of a pass without trace spell.
Hand of Manipulation
At 20th level, you gain the ability to execute your
master plans unseen. As an action, you can
magically become an avatar of deception and
subterfuge, gaining the following benefits for 1
minute.
• You gain the effects of a greater invisibility
spell.
• Once per turn, while you have advantage on
your attack roll, you deal additional damage
equal to 5d6 necrotic damage.
• Your friends have advantage on melee attack
rolls against any creature within 5 feet of you
that is hostile to you. Their attacks deal
additional damage equal to your Charisma
modifier (minimum of 1).
• You and each creature of your choice that you
can see within 30 feet of you are immune to
being charmed. Once you use this feature, you
can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.
Oath of Providence
 Queen Lalali-Puy of Gulg
Templars who take the Oath of Providence
believe they are the hand of destiny, striking
down enemies beyond redemption. They believe
in their hearts that some creatures, often those
who commit atrocities, are fated to die in battle.
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These templars are the executioners. Their oath
gives them the power to bend destiny in their
favor and send foes to their final fate. They
believe in their Forest Queen, and worship the
Oba as a Goddess.
Tenets of Providence
The tenets of the Oath of Providence are written
in stone on the tombs of templars undertaking
this path.
Embrace Destiny. When bad luck comes your
way, understand it was meant to be and search
for the opportunity fate has given you within
your loss.
Deliver Enemies to Fate. Those who become
your enemies aren’t long for this world. They
must die by your hand.
Strength in Numbers. Together with your allies,
you have the power to influence fate. Destiny
smiles upon those who embrace it.
Oath of Providence Spells
Templar
Level Spells
3rd bless, divine favor
5th aid, augury
9th bestow curse, clairvoyance
13th death ward, divination
17th commune, legend lore
Channel Sorcerer-king
When you take this option at 3rd level, you gain
the following two Channel Sorcerer-king options.
Predestination. You can use your Channel
Sorcerer-king to invoke your patron to smile
upon your allies. When one creature within 60
feet of you that you can see makes a saving
throw, you can use your reaction to grant the
creature advantage on the save, using your
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Channel Sorcerer-king. If the effect allows the
creature to take only half damage on a successful
save, the creature instead takes no damage on a
successful save, and only half as much damage
one a failed one.
Kiss of Calamity. As an action, your Channel
Sorcerer-king can be used to besiege your
enemies with bad luck. Each unfriendly creature
that can see or hear you within 30 feet of you
must make a Charisma saving throw, gaining
disadvantage on all saving throws for 1 minute
on a failure. You must be conscious for this
feature to have effect.
Favor the Bold
Beginning at 7th level, your good fortune guides
your hand. Once per turn when you miss with an
attack, you can choose to hit instead. When you
use this feature, the creature takes extra radiant
damage equal to your Charisma modifier
(minimum of 1). You can use this feature a
number of times equal to your Charisma
modifier (a minimum of once).
You regain any expended uses when you finish a
long rest.
Gift of Foresight
Starting at 15th level, your faith grants you a
prophetic glimpse into the future. When you
finish a short or long rest, roll one d20 and
record the number rolled. You can replace any
attack roll, saving throw, or ability check made
by you or a creature that you can see with your
prophetic roll. You must choose to do so before
the roll, and you can use roll in this way only
once.
When you finish a short or long rest, you lose any
unused prophetic roll.
Hand of Fate
At 20th level, you become an agent of destiny,
heavily influencing the outcome of the events
around you. For 1 minute, an argent glow shines
dim light from you in 30-foot radius. Whenever
an enemy creature starts its turning your glow, it
has disadvantage on attacks and saving throws,
while you and friendly creatures have advantage
on attack rolls and saving throws. As the glow
fades away, you regain all expended uses of
Channel Sorcerer-king, Favor the Bold, and your
Gift of Foresight features.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again
until you finish a long rest.
Oath of Redemption
 King Oronis of Kurn (Avangion)
The Oath of Redemption sets a templar on a
difficult path, one that requires them to use
violence only as a last resort. Templars who
dedicate themselves to this oath believe that any
person can be redeemed and that the path of
benevolence and justice is one that anyone can
walk. These templars face evil creatures in the
hope of turning their foes to the light, and they
slay their enemies only when such a deed will
clearly save other lives. Templars who follow this
path are known as redeemers. While redeemers
are idealists, they are no fools. Redeemers know
that some foes can be inherently evil. Against
such foes, templars who swear this oath bring
the full wrath of their weapons and spells to
bear. Yet the redeemers still pray that, one day,
even creatures of wickedness will invite their
own redemption born of their avangion sorcerer-
king.
Tenets of Redemption
The tenets of the Oath of Redemption hold a
templar to a high standard of peace and justice.
Peace. Violence is a weapon of last resort.
Diplomacy and understanding are the paths to
long lasting peace.
Innocence. All people begin life in an innocent
state, and it is their environment or the influence
of dark forces that drives them to evil. By setting
the proper example, and working to heal the
wounds of a deeply flawed world, you can set
anyone on a righteous path.
Patience. Change takes time. Those who have
walked the path of the wicked must be given
reminders to keep them honest and true. Once
you have planted the seed of righteousness in a
creature, you must work day after day to allow
that seed to survive and flourish.
Wisdom. Your heart and mind must stay clear,
for eventually you will be forced to admit defeat.
While every creature can be redeemed, some
are so far along the path of evil that you have no
choice but to end their lives for the greater good.
Any such action must be carefully weighed and
the consequences fully understood, but once you
have made the decision, follow through with it
knowing your path is just.
Templar
Level Spells
3rd Shield, Sleep
5th Hold Person, Ray of Enfeeblement
9th Counterspell, Hypnotic Pattern
13th Otiluke's Resilient Sphere, Stoneskin
17th Hold Monster, Wall of Force
Channel Sorcerer-king: Emissary of Peace
You can use your Channel Sorcerer-king to
augment your presence with avangion power. As
a bonus action, you grant yourself a +5 bonus to
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Charisma (Persuasion) checks for the next 10
minutes.
Channel Sorcerer-king: Rebuke the Violent
You can use your Channel Sorcerer-king to
rebuke those who use violence. Immediately
after an attacker within 30 feet of you deals
damage with an attack against a creature other
than you, you can use your reaction to force the
attacker to make a Wisdom saving throw. On a
failed save, the attacker takes radiant damage
equal to the damage it just dealt. On a successful
save, it takes half as much damage.
Aura of the Guardian
Starting at 7th level, you can shield others from
harm at the cost of your own health. When a
creature within 10 feet of you takes damage, you
can use your reaction to magically take that
damage, instead of that creature taking it. This
feature doesn’t transfer any other effects that
might accompany the damage, and this damage
can’t be reduced in any way. At 18th level, the
range of this aura increases to 30 feet.
Protective Spirit
Starting at 15th level, a holy presence mends
your wounds in battle. You regain hit points
equal to 1d6 + half your templar level if you end
your turn in combat with fewer than half of your
hit points remaining and you aren’t
incapacitated.
Emissary of Redemption
At 20th level, you become an avatar of peace,
which gives you two benefits:
 You have resistance to all damage dealt by
other creatures (their attacks, spells, and
other effects).
 Whenever a creature hits you with an
attack, it takes radiant damage equal to
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half the damage you take from the attack.
If you attack a creature, cast a spell on it,
or deal damage to it by any means but this
feature, neither benefit works against that
creature until you finish a long rest.
Oath of Devotion
 King Oronis of Kurn (Avangion)
The Oath of Devotion binds a templar to the
loftiest ideals of justice, virtue, and order. Acting
with honor in pursuit of justice and the greater
good, they hold themselves to the highest
standards of conduct, and some—for better or
worse—hold the rest of the world to the same
standards. Many who swear this oath are
devoted to gods of law and good and use their
gods' tenets as the measure of their devotion.
They hold angels—the perfect servants of
good—as their ideals, and incorporate images of
angelic wings into their helmets or coats of arms.
Tenets of Devotion
Though the exact words and strictures of the
Oath of Devotion vary, templars of this oath
share these tenets.
Honesty: Don't lie or cheat. Let your word be
your promise.
Courage: Never fear to act, though caution is
wise.
Compassion: Aid others, protect the weak, and
punish those who threaten them. Show mercy to
your foes, but temper it with wisdom.
Honor: Treat others with fairness, and let your
honorable deeds be an example to them. Do as
much good as possible, while causing the least
amount of harm.
Duty: Be responsible for your actions and their
consequences, protect those entrusted to your
care, and obey those who have just authority
over you.
Oath Spells
You gain oath spells at the templar levels listed.
Oath of Devotion Spells
Level Spells
3rd Protection from Evil and Good,
Sanctuary
5th Lesser Restoration, Zone of Truth
9th Beacon of Hope, Dispel Magic
13th Freedom of Movement, Guardian of
Faith
17th Commune, Flame Strike
Channel Sorcerer-king
When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain
the following two Channel Sorcerer-king options.
1. Sacred Weapon: As an action, you can
imbue one weapon that you are holding with
positive energy, using your Channel Sorcerer-
king. For 1 minute, you add your Charisma
modifier to attack rolls made with that weapon
(with a minimum bonus of +1).The weapon also
emits bright light in a 20-foot radius and dim
light 20 feet beyond that. if the weapon is not
already magical, it becomes magical for the
duration. You can end this effect on your turn as
part of any other action. If you are no longer
holding or carrying this weapon, or if you fail
unconscious, this effect ends.
2. Turn the Unholy: Your Control and raise
undead function as the normal cleric turn and
destroy undead.
Aura of Devotion
Starting at 7th level, you and friendly creatures
within 10 feet of you can't be charmed while you
are conscious. At 18th level, the range of this
aura increases to 30 feet.
Purity of Spirit
Beginning at 15th level, you are always under the
effects of a protection from evil and good spell.
Holy Nimbus
At 20th level, as an action, you can emanate an
aura of sunlight. For 1 minute, bright light shines
from you in a 30-foot radius, and dim light shines
30 feet beyond that. Whenever an enemy
creature starts its turn in the bright light, the
creature takes 10 radiant damage. In addition,
for the duration, you have advantage on saving
throws against spells cast by fiends or undead.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again
until you finish a long rest.
Oath of Vengeance
 King Dregoth of New Guistenal
The Oath of Vengeance is a solemn commitment
to punish those who have committed a grievous
sin. Dregoth’s Templar swear an Oath of
Vengeance to set right that which has gone
wrong for their sorcerer-king.
Tenets of Vengeance
The tenets of the Oath of Vengeance vary by
templar, but all the tenets revolve around
punishing wrongdoers by any means necessary.
Templars who uphold these tenets are willing to
sacrifice even their own righteousness to mete
out justice upon those who do evil, so the
templars are often neutral or lawful neutral in
alignment. The core principles of the tenets are
brutally simple.
Fight the Greater Evil. Faced with a choice of
fighting my sworn foes or combating a lesser evil,
I choose the greater evil.
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No Mercy for the Wicked. Ordinary foes might
win my mercy, but my sworn enemies do not.
By Any Means Necessary. My qualms can't get in
the way of exterminating my foes.
Restitution. If my foes wreak ruin on the world,
it is because I failed to stop them. I must help
those harmed by their misdeeds.
Oath Spells
You gain oath spells at the templar levels listed.
Oath of Vengeance Spells
Level Spells
3rd Bane, Hunter's Mark
5th Hold Person, Misty Step
9th Haste, Protection from Energy
13th Banishment, Dimension Door
17th Hold Monster, Scrying
Channel Sorcerer-king
When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain
the following two Channel Sorcerer-king options.
1. Abjure Enemy: As an action, you present
your sorcerer-king sigil and speak a prayer of
denunciation, using your Channel Sorcerer-king.
Choose one creature within 60 feet of you that
you can see. That creature must make a Wisdom
saving throw, unless it is immune to being
frightened. Fiends and undead have
disadvantage on this saving throw. On a failed
save, the creature is frightened for 1 minute or
until It takes any damage. While frightened, the
creature's speed is 0, and It can't benefit from
any bonus to its speed. On a successful save, the
creature's speed is halved for 1 minute or until
the creature takes any damage.
2. Vow of Enmity: As a bonus action, you
can utter a vow of enmity against a creature you
can see within 10 feet of you, using your Channel
Sorcerer-king. You gain advantage on attack rolls
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against the creature for 1 minute or until it drops
to 0 hit points or falls unconscious.
Relentless Avenger
By 7th level, your supernatural focus helps you
close off a foe's retreat. When you hit a creature
with an opportunity attack, you can move up to
half your speed immediately after the attack and
as part of the same reaction. This movement
doesn't provoke opportunity attacks.
Soul of Vengeance
Starting at 15th level, the authority with which
you speak your Vow of Enmity gives you greater
power over your foe. When a creature under the
effect of your Vow of Enmity makes an attack,
you can use your reaction to make a melee
weapon attack against that creature if it is within
range.
Avenging Doom
At 20th level, you can assume the form of an
draconic avenger. Using your action, you
undergo a transformation.
For 1 hour, you gain the following benefits:
 Wings sprout from your back and grant
you a flying speed of 60 feet.
 You emanate an aura of menace in a 30-
foot radius. The first time any enemy creature
enters the aura or starts its turn there during a
battle, the creature must succeeded on a
Wisdom saving throw or become frightened of
you for 1 minute or until it takes any damage.
Attack rolls against the frightened creature have
advantage.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again
until you finish a long rest
Oathbreaker gains a bonus to melee weapon damage rolls
equal to the templar's Charisma modifier
(minimum of +1). A creature can benefit from
- King Kalid-Ma of Kalidnay (in a Ravenloft
this feature from only one templar at a time.
Domain)
At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to
30 feet.
Kalidnay’s templars are Oathbreaker who broke
their oaths to pursue some dark ambition or Supernatural Resistance
serve an evil power. Whatever fervor burned in
the templar's heart has been extinguished. Their At 15th level, the templar gains resistance to
sorcerer-king is kept by the Dark Forces in limbo bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from
so they still have their powers, except Sorcerer- non-magical weapons.
king intervention.
Dread Lord
A templar must be evil to become an
At 20th level, the templar can, as an action,
Oathbreaker. The templar gains the Oathbreaker
surround themselves with an aura of gloom that
features.
lasts for 1 minute. The aura reduces any bright
Oathbreaker Spells light in a 30-foot radius around the templar to
dim light. Whenever an enemy that is frightened
You gain oathbreaker spells at the templar levels by the templar starts its turn in the aura, it takes
listed. 4d10 psychic damage. Additionally, the templar
and creatures they choose in the aura are draped
Level Spells
in deeper shadow. Creatures that rely on sight
3rd Hellish Rebuke, Inflict Wounds
have disadvantage on attack rolls against
5th Crown of Madness, Darkness
creatures draped in this shadow.
9th Animate Dead, Bestow Curse
13th Blight, Confusion While the aura lasts, the templar can use a bonus
17th Contagion, Dominate Person action on their turn to cause the shadows in the
aura to attack one creature. The templar makes
Channel Sorcerer-king: Dreadful Aspect
a melee spell attack against the target. If the
As an action, the templar channels the darkest attack hits, the target takes necrotic damage
emotions and focuses them into a burst of equal to 3d10 + the templar's Charisma modifier.
magical menace. Each creature of the templar's
After activating the aura, the templar can't do so
choice within 30 feet of the templar must make a
again until they finish a long rest.
Wisdom saving throw if it can see the templar.
On a failed save, the target is frightened of the
templar for 1 minute. If a creature frightened by
this effect ends its turn more than 30 feet away
from the templar, it can attempt another
Wisdom saving throw to end the effect on it.
Aura of Hate
Starting at 7th level, the templar, as well any
fiends and undead within 10 feet of the templar,

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The Great Slumbering One Pact
- King Daskinor of Eldaarich
- King Kalid-Ma of Kalidnay (in a Ravenloft
Domain)
Your sorcerer-king is trapped in a slumbering
state (Kalid-Ma) or a cage of paranoia (Daskinor).
Its motives are incomprehensible to mortals, and
its knowledge so immense and ancient that even
the greatest libraries pale in comparison to the
vast secrets it holds. Your sorcerer-king is
entirely indifferent to you, but the secrets you
have learned allow you to draw your magic from
it.
Expanded Spell List
The Great Slumbering One lets you choose from
an expanded list of spells when you learn a
templar spell. The following spells are added to
the templar spell list for you.
Spell
Level Spells
1st Dissonant Whispers, Tasha’s Hideous
Laughter
2nd Detect Thoughts, Phantasmal Force
3rd Clairvoyance, Sending
4th Dominate Beast, Evard’s Black Tentacles
5th Dominate Person, Telekinesis
Awakened Mind
Starting at 1st level, your alien knowledge gives
you the ability to touch the minds of other
creatures. You can communicate telepathically
with any creature you can see within 30 feet of
you. You don't need to share a language with the
creature for it to understand your telepathic
utterances, but the creature must be able to
understand at least one language.
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☀(From Wizard of the Coast rules answers: July
2015) // Does the templar’s Awakened Mind
feature allow two-way telepathic
communication? The feature is intended to
provide one-way communication. The templar
can use the feature to speak telepathically to a
creature, but the feature doesn’t give that
creature the ability to telepathically reply. In
contrast, the telepathy ability that some
monsters have (MM, 9) does make two-way
communication possible.
Entropic Ward
At 6th level, you learn to magically ward yourself
against attack and to turn an enemy's failed
strike into good luck for yourself. When a
creature makes an attack roll against you, you
can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on
that roll. If the attack misses you, your next
attack roll against the creature has advantage if
you make it before the end of your next turn.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again
until you finish a short or long rest.
Thought Shield
Starting at 10th level, your thoughts can't be
read by telepathy or other means unless you
allow it. You have resistance to psychic damage,
and whenever a creature deals psychic damage
to you, that creature takes the same amount of
damage that you do.
Create Thrall
At 14th level, you gain the ability to infect a
humanoid's mind with the draconic magic of
your sorcerer-king. You can use your action to
touch an incapacitated humanoid. That creature
is charmed by you until a remove curse spell is
cast on it, the charm condition is removed from
it, or you use this feature again. You can
communicate telepathically with the charmed
creature as long as the two of you are on the
same plane of existence.
The Archfey Pact
 Queen Lalali-Puy of Gulg
Your Sorcerer-queen is the Oba of the Forest, a
creature of legend who holds secrets that were
forgotten before the mortal races were born.
This being's motivations are often inscrutable,
and might involve a striving for greater magical
power or the settling of age-old grudges.
Expanded Spell List
The Archfey lets you choose from an expanded
list of spells when you learn a templar spell. The
following spells are added to the templar spell
list for you.
Spell
Level Spells
1st Faerie Fire, Sleep
2nd Calm Emotions, Phantasmal Force
3rd Blink, Plant Growth
4th Dominate Beast, Greater Invisibility
5th Dominate Person, Seeming
Fey Presence
Starting at 1st level, your Sorcerer-king bestows
upon you the ability to project the beguiling and
fearsome presence of the fey. As an action, you
can cause each creature in a 10-foot cube
originating from you to make a Wisdom saving
throw against your templar spell save DC. The
creatures that fail their saving throw are all
charmed or frightened by you (your choice) until
the end of your next turn. Once you use this
feature, you can't use it again until you finish a
short or long rest.
Misty Escape
Starting at 6th level, you can vanish in a puff of
mist in response to harm. When you take
damage, you can use your reaction to turn
invisible and teleport up to 60 feet to an
unoccupied space you can see. You remain
invisible until the start of your next turn or until
you attack or cast a spell. Once you use this
feature, you can't use it again until you finish a
short or long rest.
Beguiling Defenses
Beginning at 10th level, your Sorcerer-king
teaches you how to turn the mind-affecting
magic of your enemies against them. You are
immune to being charmed, and when another
creature attempts to charm you, you can use
your reaction to attempt to turn the charm back
on that creature. The creature must succeed on a
Wisdom saving throw against your templar spell
save DC or be charmed by you for 1 minute or
until the creature takes any damage.
Dark Delirium
Starting at 14th level, you can plunge a creature
into an illusory realm. As an action, choose a
creature that you can see within 60 feet of you.
It must make a Wisdom saving throw against
your templar spell save DC. On a failed save, it is
charmed or frightened by you (your choice) for 1
minute or until your concentration is broken (as
if you are concentrating on a spell). This effect
ends early if the creature takes any damage.
Until this illusion ends, the creature thinks it is
lost in a misty realm, the appearance of which
you choose. The creature can see and hear only
itself, you, and the illusion. You must finish a
short or long rest before you can use this feature
again.
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The Hexblade Pact
- King Hamanu of Urik
- Borys The Dragon, King of Ur Draxa
You have made your pact with a powerful,
warrior sorcerer kings which wield sentient
magic weapons carved from the stuff of the
plane of Black. These sorcerer kings grow
stronger as they consume the life essence of
their enemies and can use their ties to the Black
to offer power to mortals who serve them. A
mysterious entity from the Black forged the first
of these weapons. Toil Templars serve Hamanu
and the Draxan Templar serve Borys The Dragon.
Expanded Spell List
The Hexblade lets you choose from an expanded
list of spells when you learn a templar spell. The
following spells are added to the templar spell
list for you.
Spell
Level Spells
1st Shield, Wrathful Smite
2nd Blur, Branding Smite
3rd Blink, Elemental Weapon
4th Phantasmal Killer, Staggering Smite
5th Banishing Smite, Cone of Cold
Hex Warrior
At 1st level, you acquire the training necessary to
effectively arm yourself for battle. You gain
proficiency with medium armor, shields, and
martial weapons. The influence of your sorcerer-
king also allows you to mystically channel your
will through a particular weapon. Whenever you
finish a long rest, you can touch one weapon that
you are proficient with and that lacks the two-
handed property. When you attack with that
weapon, you can use your Charisma modifier,
instead of Strength or Dexterity, for the attack
and damage rolls. This benefit lasts until you
223
finish a long rest. If you later gain the Pact of the
Blade feature, this benefit extends to every pact
weapon you conjure with that feature, no matter
the weapon’s type
Hexblade’s Curse
Starting at 1st level, you gain the ability to place
a baleful curse on an enemy. As a bonus action,
choose one creature you can see within 30 feet
of you. The target is cursed for 1 minute. Until
the curse ends, you gain the following benefits:
 You gain a bonus to damage rolls against
the cursed target. The bonus equals your
proficiency bonus.
 Any attack roll you make against the cursed
target is a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20 on
the d20.
 If the cursed target dies, you regain hit
points equal to your templar level + your
Charisma modifier.
You can’t use this feature again until you finish a
short or long rest.
Accursed Specter
Starting at 6th level, you can summon the soul of
a person you slay, temporarily binding it to your
service. When you slay a humanoid, you can
cause its spirit to rise from its corpse as a
specter, the statistics for which are in the
Monster Manual. When the specter appears, it
gains temporary hit points equal to half your
templar level. Roll initiative for the specter which
has its own turns. It obeys your verbal
commands, and it gains a special bonus to its
attack rolls equal to your Charisma modifier
(minimum of +0). The specter remains in your
service until the end of your next long rest, at
which point it vanishes to the afterlife. Once you
bind a specter with this feature, you can't use
the feature again until you finish a long rest.
Armor of Hexes
At 10th level, your hex grows more powerful. If
the target cursed by your Hexblade’s Curse hits
you with an attack roll, you can use your reaction
to roll a d6. On a 4 or higher, the attack instead
misses you, regardless of its roll.
Master of Hexes
Starting at 14th level, you can spread your
Hexblade’s Curse from a slain creature to
another creature. When the creature cursed by
your Hexblade’s Curse dies, you can apply the
curse to a different creature you can see within
30 feet of you, provided you aren’t
incapacitated. When you apply the curse in this
way, you don’t regain hit points from the death
of the previously cursed creature.
The Undying Pact
- King Tectuktitlay of Draj
- King Kalak of Tyr (before Free Year 1)
- Borys The Dragon, King of Ur Draxa
Death holds no sway over your sorcerer-king,
who has unlocked the secrets of everlasting life,
although such a prize - like all power - comes at a
price. Once mortal, the Undying has seen mortal
lifetimes pass like the seasons, like the flicker of
endless days and nights. It has the secrets of the
ages to share, secrets of life and death.
Expanded Spell List
The Undying lets you choose from an expanded
list of spells when you learn a templar spell. The
following spells are added to the templar spell
list for you.
Spell
Level Spells
1st False Life, Ray of Sickness
2nd Blindness/Deafness, Silence
3rd Feign Death, Speak with Dead
4th Aura of Life, Death Ward
5th Contagion, Legend Lore
Among the Dead
Starting at 1st level, you learn the spare the
dying cantrip, which counts as a templar cantrip
for you. You also have advantage on saving
throws against any disease.
Additionally, undead have difficulty harming you.
If an undead targets you directly with an attack
or a harmful spell, that creature must make a
Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC
(an undead needn't make the save when it
includes you in an area effect, such as the
explosion of fireball). On a failed save, the
creature must choose a new target or forfeit
targeting someone instead of you, potentially
wasting the attack or spell. On a successful save,
the creature is immune to this effect for 24
hours. An undead is also immune to this effect
for 24 hours if you target it with an attack or a
harmful spell.
Defy Death
Starting at 6th level, you can give yourself vitality
when you cheat death or when you help
someone else cheat it. You can regain hit points
equal to 1d8 + your Constitution modifier
(minimum of 1 hit point) when you succeed on a
death saving throw or when you stabilize a
creature with spare the dying.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again
until you finish a long rest.
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Undying Nature
Beginning at 10th level, you can hold your breath
indefinitely, and you don't require food, water,
or sleep, although you still require rest to reduce
exhaustion and still benefit from finishing short
and long rests.
In addition, you age at a slower rate. For every
10 years that pass, your body ages only 1 year,
and you are immune to being magically aged.
Indestructible Life
When you reach 14th level, you partake of some
of the true secrets of the Undying. On your turn,
you can use a bonus action to regain hit points
equal to 1d8 + your templar level. Additionally, if
you put a severed body part of yours back in
place when you use this feature, the part
reattaches.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again
until you finish a short or long rest.
The Fiend Pact
 King Andropinis of Balic
 King Tectuktitlay of Draj
 King Nibenay of Nibenay
 Queen Sielba of Yaramuke (before 167th
King’s Age)
You have made a pact with a fiendish sorcerer-
king, a being whose aims are evil, even if you
strive against those aims. Such beings desire the
corruption or destruction of all things, ultimately
including you.
Expanded Spell List
The Fiend lets you choose from an expanded list
of spells when you learn a templar spell. The
following spells are added to the templar spell
list for you.
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Spell
Level Spells
1st Burning Hands, Command
2nd Blindness/Deafness, Scorching Ray
3rd Fireball, Stinking Cloud
4th Fire Shield, Wall of Fire
5th Flame Strike, Hallow
Dark One's Blessing
Starting at 1st level, when you reduce a hostile
creature to 0 hit points, you gain temporary hit
points equal to your Charisma modifier + your
templar level (minimum of 1).
Dark One's Own Luck
Starting at 6th level, you can call on your
sorcerer-king to alter fate in your favor. When
you make an ability check or a saving throw, you
can use this feature to add 1d10 to your roll. You
can do so after seeing the initial roll but before
any of the roll's effects occur. Once you use this
feature, you can't use it again until you finish a
short or long rest.
Draconic Resilience
Starting at 10th level, you can choose one
damage type when you finish a short or long
rest. You gain resistance to that damage type
until you choose a different one with this
feature. Damage from magical weapons or silver
weapons ignores this resistance.
Hurl Through The Hollow
Starting at 14th level, when you hit a creature
with an attack, you can use this feature to
instantly transport the target through the
Hollow. The creature disappears and hurtles
through a nightmare landscape. At the end of
your next turn, the target returns to the space it
previously occupied, or the nearest unoccupied
space. If the target is not a fiend, it takes 10d10
psychic damage as it reels from its horrific
experience. Once you use this feature, you can't
use it again until you finish a long rest.
The Grand Vizier Pact
 Queen Abalach-Re of Raam
The sorcerer-queen of Raam, Abalach-Re, calls
herself the Great Vizier. She lives in a beautiful
palace with ivory walls and an alabaster roof
built atop a grassy knoll overlooking the city.
Unfortunately, the base of this knoll is
surrounded by a complicated and ugly series of
defensive breastworks, ditches, and walls, for
Abalach-Re is the most insecure of all the city
rulers. When I visited there, the people spoke of
organizing a rebellion and openly praised the last
attempt to overthrow their queen (though it
apparently occurred previous to most of their
lives, for no one could remember how it had
ended).
Abalach-Re professes to be the representative of
some greater power, and claims that her powers
are gifts from this mysterious being. According to
Abalach-Re's theory, this mysterious being has
picked her to watch over the city of Raam and its
people. When she is no longer performing his
task well, this same mysterious being will strike
her dead and assign someone new to the office
of Great Vizier.
The Grand Vizier watches over the world,
anticipating each creature’s death and ensuring
that it meets its end at the proscribed time and
place. As the ruler of Raam she has been
entrusted to watch over them by some greater
power, but her ability to reach into the world is
limited. Thus, she turns to mortal templars to
serve her will. Templars sworn to the Grand
Vizier receive visions and whispers from her in
their dreams, sending them on quests and
warning them of impending dangers.
Expanded Spell List
The Grand Vizier lets you choose from an
expanded list of spells when you learn a templar
spell. The following spells are added to the
templar spell list for you.
Spell
Level Spells
1st False Life, Sanctuary
2nd Silence, Spiritual Weapon
3rd Feign Death, Speak with Dead
4th Ice Storm, Locate Creature
5th Commune, Cone of Cold
Sentinel Kes'trekel
Starting at 1st level, you gain the service of a
spirit sent by the Grand Vizier to watch over you.
The spirit assumes the form and game statistics
of a kes’trekel, and it always obeys your
commands, which you can give telepathically
while it is within 100 feet of you. While the
kes'trekel is perched on your shoulder, you gain
darkvision with a range of 30 feet and a bonus to
your passive Wisdom (Perception) score and to
Wisdom (Perception) checks. The bonus equals
your Charisma modifier.
 While perched on your shoulder, the
kes'trekel can’t be targeted by any attack
or other harmful effect; only you can cast
spells on it; it can’t take damage; and it is
incapacitated.
 You can see through the kes’trekel’s eyes
and hear what it hears while it is within
100 feet of you.
 In combat, you roll initiative for the
kes'trekel and control how it acts. If it is
slain by a creature, you gain advantage on
all attack rolls against the killer for the next
24 hours.
 The kes'trekel doesn’t require sleep. While
it is within 100 feet of you, it can awaken
you from sleep as a bonus action.
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  The kes'trekel vanishes when it dies, if you
die, or if the two of you are separated by
more than 5 miles. At the end of a short or
long rest, you can call the kes'trekel back to
you—no matter where it is or whether it
died—and it reappears within 5 feet of
you.
Soul of the Kes'trekel
At 6th level, you gain the ability to merge with
your Kes'trekel spirit. As a bonus action when
your Kes'trekel is perched on your shoulder, your
body merges with your kes’trekel’s form. While
merged, you become Tiny, you replace your
speed with the kes’trekel’s, and you can use your
action only to Dash, Disengage, Dodge, Help,
Hide, or Search. During this time, you gain the
benefits of your Kes'trekel being perched on your
shoulder. As an action, you and the Kes'trekel
return to normal.
Kes’trekel’s Shield
At 10th level, the Grand Vizier grants you a
protective blessing. You gain advantage on death
saving throws, immunity to the frightened
condition, and resistance to necrotic damage.
Queen’s Right Hand
Starting at 14th level, you can channel the Grand
Vizier’s power to slay a creature. You can cast
finger of death. After you cast the spell with this
feature, you can’t do so again until you finish a
long rest.
The Seeker Pact
 King Dregoth of New Guistenal
Your sorcerer-king, Dregoth, is an inscrutable
being who travels the Astral Plane in search of
knowledge and secrets. In return for your
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sorcerer-king’s gifts, you wander the world
seeking lore that you can share with the Seeker.
Expanded Spell List
The Seeker lets you choose from an expanded
list of spells when you learn a templar spell. The
following spells are added to the templar spell
list for you.
Spell
Level Spells
1st Feather Fall, jump
2nd Levitate, Locate Object
3rd clairvoyance, Sending
4th Arcane Eye, Locate Creature
5th Legend Lore, Passwall
Shielding Aurora
Starting at 1st level, you can invoke the Seeker’s
power to protect you from harm. As a bonus
action, you create a whirling aurora of brilliant
energy that swirls around you. Until the end of
your next turn, you gain resistance to all damage,
and if a hostile creature ends its turn within 10
feet of you, it takes radiant damage equal to
your templar level + your Charisma modifier.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again
until you finish a short or long rest.
Pact Boon: Pact of the Star Chain
At 3rd level, a character dedicated to the Seeker
can select this option instead of one of the
templar’s existing Pact Boon options. The Seeker
grants you a chain forged from starlight,
decorated with seven gleaming motes of
brightness. While the chain is on your person,
you know the augury spell and can cast it as a
ritual. The spell doesn’t count against your
number of spells known. Additionally, you can
invoke the Seeker’s power to gain advantage on
an Intelligence check while you carry this item.
Once you use this ability, you cannot use it again
until you complete a short or long rest. If you
lose your Star Chain, you can perform a 1- hour
ceremony to receive a replacement from the
Seeker. The ceremony can be performed during
a short or long rest, and it destroys the previous
chain. The chain disappears in a flash of light
when you die. The exact form of this item might
be different depending on your sorcerer-king.
Refuge into the Grey
At 6th level, you gain the ability to step into an
astral refuge in the Grey. As an action, you
disappear from the world for a brief moment and
enter the Grey, taking advantage of its timeless
nature. While in your astral refuge, you can take
two actions to cast spells that target only you.
After using those two actions, you return to the
space you occupied and your turn ends.
Far Wanderer
At 10th level, you no longer need to breathe, and
you gain resistance to fire damage and cold
damage.
Sequestration into the Grey
Starting at 14th level, you gain the ability to
sequester yourself and your allies in the Grey. By
performing a special ritual over the course of 5
minutes, you shift yourself and up to ten willing
creatures you can see to the Grey. You and those
creatures gain the benefits of a short rest while
sequestered in the Grey. You then return to the
spaces you all occupied when you used this
ability, with no time having passed in the world.
During this short rest, you and the creatures you
sequester can make use of any options available
during a rest that affect only you and the
creatures you sequester. Once you use this
ability, you cannot use it again until you
complete a long rest.

228

Draconic Invocations
If an draconic invocation has prerequisites, you
must meet them to learn it. You can learn the
invocation at the same time that you meet its
prerequisites. A level prerequisite refers to your
level in this class.
Agonizing Blast
Prerequisite: eldritch blast cantrip
When you cast eldritch blast, add your Charisma
modifier to the damage it deals on a hit.
Armor of Shadows
You can cast mage armor on yourself at will,
without expending a spell slot or material
components.
Ascendant Step
Prerequisite: 9th level
You can cast levitate on yourself at will, without
expending a spell slot or material components.
Aspect of Ral & Guthay
Prerequisite: The Archfey patron
You have gained Oba’s favor to channel the
power of moons. You no longer need to sleep
and can’t be forced to sleep by any means. To
gain the benefits of a long rest, you can spend all
8 hours doing light activity, such as reading your
Book of Shadows and keeping watch.
Beast Speech
You can cast speak with animals at will, without
expending a spell slot.
Beguiling Influence
You gain proficiency in the Deception and
Persuasion skills.
229
Bewitching Whispers
Prerequisite: 7th level
You can cast compulsion once using a templar
spell slot. You can't do so again until you finish a
long rest.
Book of Ancient Secrets
Prerequisite: Pact of the Tome feature
You can now inscribe magical rituals in your Book
of Shadows. Choose two 1st-level spells that
have the ritual tag from any class's spell list (the
two needn't be from the same list). The spells
appear in the book and don't count against the
number of spells you know. With your Book of
Shadows in hand, you can cast the chosen spells
as rituals. You can't cast the spells except as
rituals, unless you've learned them by some
other means. You can also cast a templar spell
you know as a ritual if it has the ritual tag. On
your adventures, you can add other ritual spells
to your Book of Shadows. When you find such a
spell, you can add it to the book if the spell's
level is equal to or less than half your templar
level (rounded up) and if you can spare the time
to transcribe the spell. For each level of the spell,
the transcription process takes 2 hours and costs
50 cp for the rare inks needed to inscribe it.
Burning Hex
Prerequisite: The Hexblade pact
As a bonus action, you cause a target cursed by
your Hexblade’s Curse to take fire damage equal
to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1).
Chains of Carceri
Prerequisite: 15th level, Pact of the Chain
feature
You can cast hold monster at will—targeting a
celestial, fiend, or elemental—without
expending a spell slot or material components.
You must finish a long rest before you can use
this invocation on the same creature again.
Chilling Hex
Prerequisite: The Hexblade pact
As a bonus action, you cause frost to swirl
around a target cursed by your Hexblade’s Curse,
dealing cold damage to each of your enemies
within 5 feet of the target. The cold damage
equals your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1).
Chronicle of the Grand Vizier
Prerequisite: Grand Vizier patron, Pact of the
Tome feature
You can place a corpse’s hand or similar
appendage on your Book of Shadows and ask
one question aloud. After 1 minute, the answer
appears written in blood in your book. The
answer is provided by the dead creature’s spirit
to the best of its knowledge and is translated
into a language of your choice. You must use this
ability within 1 minute of a creature’s death, and
a given creature can only be asked one question
in this manner.
Claw of Acamar
Prerequisite: The Great Slumbering One patron,
Pact of the Blade feature
You can create a black, lead flail using your Pact
of the Blade feature. The flail’s head is sculpted
to resemble a pair of grasping tentacles. The
weapon has the reach property. When you hit a
creature with it, you can expend a spell slot to
deal an additional 2d8 necrotic damage to the
target per spell level, and you can reduce the
creature’s speed to 0 feet until the end of your
next turn.
Cloak of Baalzebul
Prerequisite: The Fiend patron
As a bonus action, you can conjure a swarm of
buzzing flies around you. The swarm grants you
advantage on Charisma (Intimidation) checks but
disadvantage on all other Charisma checks. In
addition, a creature that starts its turn within 5
feet of you takes poison damage equal to your
Charisma modifier. You can dismiss the swarm
with another bonus action. Note: while similar to
Cloak of Flies, only Fiend patrons can take it at
level 2.
Cloak of Flies
Prerequisite: 5th level
As a bonus action, you can surround yourself
with a magical aura that looks like buzzing flies.
The aura extends 5 feet from you in every
direction, but not through total cover. It lasts
until you’re incapacitated or you dismiss it as a
bonus action.
The aura grants you advantage on Charisma
(Intimidation) checks but disadvantage on all
other Charisma checks. Any other creature that
starts its turn in the aura takes poison damage
equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 0
damage).
Once you use this invocation, you can’t use it
again until you finish a short or long rest
Curse Bringer
Prerequisite: The Hexblade patron, Pact of the
Blade feature
You can create a greatsword forged from silver,
with black runes etched into its blade, using your
Pact of the Blade feature. If you reduce a target
cursed by your Hexblade’s Curse to 0 hit points
with this sword, you can immediately change the
target of the curse to a different creature. This
change doesn’t extend the curse’s duration.
When you hit a creature with this weapon, you
can expend a spell slot to deal an additional 2d8
slashing damage to the target per spell level, and
you can reduce the creature’s speed to 0 feet
until the end of your next turn.
Dragon's Sight
You can see normally in darkness, both magical
and non-magical, to a distance of 120 feet.
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Dreadful Word
Prerequisite: 7th level
You can cast confusion once using a templar
spell slot. You can't do so again until you finish a
long rest.
Eldritch Sight
You can cast detect magic at will, without
expending a spell slot.
Eldritch Smite
Prerequisite: 5th level
Once per turn when you hit a creature with your
pact weapon, you can expend a templar spell slot
to deal an extra 1d8 force damage to the target,
plus another 1d8 per level of the spell slot, and
you can knock the target prone if it is Huge or
smaller.
Eldritch Spear
Prerequisite: eldritch blast cantrip
When you cast eldritch blast, its range is 300
feet.
Eyes of the Rune Keeper
You can read all writing.
☀https://twitter.com/jeremyecrawford/status/7
09539527749054464
Translation: You can comprehend any written
word or symbol, should it hold any meaning
Fiendish Vigor
You can cast false life on yourself at will as a 1st-
level spell, without expending a spell slot or
material components.
Lance of Lethargy
Prerequisite: eldritch blast cantrip
Once on each of your turns when you hit a
creature with your eldritch blast, you can reduce
that creature’s speed by 10 feet until the end of
your next turn.
231
Gaze of Khirad
Prerequisite: 7th level, the Great Slumbering
One patron
You gain the piercing gaze of the blue star
Khirad. As an action, you can see through solid
objects to a range of 30 feet until the end of the
current turn. During that time, you perceive
objects as ghostly, transparent images.
Gaze of Two Minds
You can use your action to touch a willing
humanoid and perceive through its senses until
the end of your next turn. As long as the creature
is on the same plane of existence as you, you can
use your action on subsequent turns to maintain
this connection, extending the duration until the
end of your next turn. While perceiving through
the other creature's senses, you benefit from any
special senses possessed by that creature, and
you are blinded and deafened to your own
surroundings.
Ghostly Gaze
Prerequisite: 7th level
As an action, you gain the ability to see through
solid objects to a range of 30 feet. Within that
range, you have darkvision if you don’t already
have it. This special sight lasts for 1 minute or
until your concentration ends (as if you were
concentrating on a spell). During that time, you
perceive objects as ghostly, transparent images.
Once you use this invocation, you can’t use it
again until you finish a short or long rest.
Gift of the Ever-Living Ones
Prerequisite: Pact of The Chain feature
Whenever you regain hit points while your
familiar is within 100 feet of you, treat any dice
rolled to determine the hit points you regain as
having rolled their maximum value for you.
Grasp of Hadar
Prerequisite: eldritch blast cantrip
Once on each of your turns when you hit a
creature with your eldritch blast, you can move
that creature in a straight line 10 feet closer to
you.
Green Lord’s Gift
Prerequisite: The Archfey patron
The Green Lord oversees a verdant realm of
everlasting summer. Your soul is linked to his
power. Whenever you regain hit points, you
treat any dice rolled to determine the hit points
you regain as having rolled their maximum value.
Improved Pact Weapon
Prerequisite: Pact of the Blade feature
You can use any weapon you summon with your
Pact of the Blade feature as a spellcasting focus
for your templar spells. In addition, the weapon
gains a +1 bonus to its attack and damage rolls,
unless it is a magic weapon that already has a
bonus to those rolls. Finally, the weapon you
conjure can be a shortbow, longbow, light
crossbow, or heavy crossbow.
Kiss of The Dragon
Prerequisite: 5th level, eldritch blast cantrip
You can channel the fires of Ur Draxa through
your eldritch blast. When you hit a creature with
that cantrip, you can cast fireball as a bonus
action using a templar spell slot. However, the
spell must be centered on a creature you hit with
eldritch blast.
Lifedrinker
Prerequisite: 12th level, Pact of the Blade
feature
When you hit a creature with your pact weapon,
the creature takes extra necrotic damage equal
to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1).
Mace of Dispater
Prerequisite: The Fiend patron, Pact of the Blade
feature
When you create your pact weapon as a mace, it
manifests as an iron mace forged in Dis, the
second of the Nine Hells. When you hit a
creature with it, you can expend a spell slot to
deal an additional 2d8 force damage to the
target per spell level, and you can knock the
target prone if it is Huge or smaller.
Maddening Hex
Prerequisite: 5th level, hex spell or a templar
feature that curses
As a bonus action, you cause a psychic
disturbance around the target cursed by your
hex spell or by a templar feature of yours, such
as Hexblade’s Curse or Sign of Ill Omen. When
you do so, you deal psychic damage to the
cursed target and each creature of your choice
that you can see within 5 feet of it. The psychic
damage equals your Charisma modifier
(minimum of 1 damage). To use this invocation,
you must be able to see the cursed target, and it
must be within 30 feet of you.
Mask of Many Faces
You can cast disguise self at will, without
expending a spell slot.
Master of Myriad Forms
Prerequisite: 15th level
You can cast alter self at will, without expending
a spell slot.
Minions of Chaos
Prerequisite: 9th level
You can cast conjure elemental once using a
templar spell slot. You can't do so again until you
finish a long rest.
232
Mire the Mind
Prerequisite: 5th level
You can cast slow once using a templar spell slot.
You can't do so again until you finish a long rest.
Misty Visions
You can cast silent image at will, without
expending a spell slot or material components.
Moons Bow
Prerequisite: The Archfey patron, Pact of the
Blade feature
You can create a longbow using your Pact of the
Blade feature. When you draw back its string and
fire, it creates an arrow of white wood, which
vanishes after 1 minute. You have advantage on
attack rolls against lycanthropes with the bow.
When you hit a creature with it, you can expend
a spell slot to deal an additional 2d8 radiant
damage to the target per spell level.
One with Shadows
Prerequisite: 5th level
When you are in an area of dim light or darkness,
you can use your action to become invisible until
you move, take an action or a reaction.
Otherworldly Leap
Prerequisite: 9th level
You can cast jump on yourself at will, without
expending a spell slot or material components.
Path of the Seeker
Prerequisite: The Seeker patron
The Seeker bids you to travel in search of
knowledge, and little can prevent you from
walking this path. You ignore difficult terrain,
have advantage on all checks to escape a
grapple, manacles, or rope bindings, and
advantage on saving throws against being
paralyzed.
233
Grand Vizier’s Blessing
Prerequisite: Grand Vizier patron, eldritch blast
cantrip
When you score a critical hit with your eldritch
blast cantrip, pick yourself or an ally you can see
within 30 feet of you. The chosen creature can
immediately expend a Hit Die to regain hit points
equal to the roll + the creature’s Constitution
modifier (minimum of 1 hit point).
Relentless Hex
Prerequisite: Prerequisite: 7th level, hex spell or
a templar feature that curses
Your curse creates a temporary bond between
you and your target. As a bonus action, you can
magically teleport up to 30 feet to an unoccupied
space you can see within 5 feet of the target
cursed by your hex spell or by a templar feature
of yours, such as Hexblade’s Curse or Sign of Ill
Omen. To teleport in this way, you must be able
to see the cursed target.
Repelling Blast
Prerequisite: eldritch blast cantrip
When you hit a creature with eldritch blast, you
can push the creature up to 10 feet away from
you in a straight line.
Sculptor of Flesh
Prerequisite: 7th level
You can cast polymorph once using a templar
spell slot. You can't do so again until you finish a
long rest.
Seeker’s Speech
Prerequisite: The Seeker patron
Your quest for knowledge allows you to master
any spoken language. When you complete a long
rest, you can pick two languages. You gain the
ability to speak, read, and write the chosen
languages until you finish your next long rest.
Shroud of Shadow
Prerequisite: 15th level
You can cast invisibility at will, without
expending a spell slot.
Shroud of Ulban
Prerequisite: 18th level, the Great Slumbering
One patron
The blue-white star Ulban maintains a fickle
presence among the stars, fluttering into view
only to herald a dire omen. As an action, you can
turn invisible for 1 minute. If you attack, deal
damage, or force a creature to make a saving
throw, you become visible at the end of the
current turn.
 Note: this functions like a limited Greater
Invisibility, allowing you to take actions and cast
non-damaging spells that would otherwise make
you visible for 1 min.
Sign of Ill Omen
Prerequisite: 5th level
You can cast bestow curse once using a templar
spell slot. You can't do so again until you finish a
long rest.
Superior Pact Weapon
Prerequisite: 9th level, Pact of the Blade feature
Any weapon you create using your Pact of the
Blade feature is a +2 weapon. This invocation
doesn’t affect a magic weapon you transformed
into your pact weapon.
Thief of Five Fates
You can cast bane once using a templar spell
slot. You can't do so again until you finish a long
rest.
Thirsting Blade
Prerequisite: 5th level, Pact of the Blade feature
You can attack with your pact weapon twice,
instead of once, whenever you take the Attack
action on your turn.
Tomb of Levistus
Prerequisite: 5th level
As a reaction when you take damage, you can
entomb yourself in ice, which melts away at the
end of your next turn. You gain 10 temporary hit
points per templar level, which take as much of
the triggering damage as possible. Immediately
after you take the damage, you gain vulnerability
to fire damage, your speed is reduced to 0, and
you are incapacitated. These effects, including
any remaining temporary hit points, all end when
the ice melts.
Once you use this invocation, you can’t use it
again until you finish a short or long rest.
Trickster’s Escape
Prerequisite: 7th level
You can cast freedom of movement once on
yourself without expending a spell slot. You
regain the ability to do so when you finish a long
rest.
Ultimate Pact Weapon
Prerequisite: 15th level, Pact of the Blade
feature
Any weapon you create using your Pact of the
Blade feature is a +3 weapon. This invocation
doesn’t affect a magic weapon you transformed
into your pact weapon.
Visions of Distant Realms
Prerequisite: 15th level
You can cast arcane eye at will, without
expending a spell slot
Voice of the Chain Master
Prerequisite: Pact of the Chain feature
You can communicate telepathically with your
familiar and perceive through your familiar's
senses as long as you are on the same plane of
existence. Additionally, while perceiving through
your familiar's senses, you can also speak
234
through your familiar in your own voice, even if
your familiar is normally incapable of speech.
Whispers of the Grave
Prerequisite: 9th level
You can cast speak with dead at will, without
expending a spell slot.
Witch Sight
Prerequisite: 15th level
You can see the true form of any shapechanger
or creature concealed by illusion or
transmutation magic while the creature is within
30 feet of you and within line of sight.

235
Athasian Magic
In a DARK SUN campaign, magic is irrevocably
linked to the environment. The casting of
magical spells and the enchantment of magical
items draws energy directly from the living
ecology in the vicinity, destroying the life there.
A wizard is able to capture and master these
magical energies, though at the expense of
affecting the ecosystem. Wizards can choose the
degree to which they damage the environment
in their effort to gain mastery of magical energy.

On Athas, the energy for wizardly magic doesn’t

come from some extra-dimensional source as it
does on other worlds, but from the living
environment itself. Wizardly magic taps into the
life force of Athas, drawing strength from the
fertile soil and the plants that grow within it. It
provides great power to those who can gather
and shape it, though the cost to the world can be
beyond measure.

All Athasian wizards, defilers and preservers alike

(with a few exceptions), power their spells with
life energy. Until they reach very high levels,
wizards draw upon the life force of plants only.
The magic of advanced preservers and defilers
(above 20th level) draws energy from both plant
and animal life—including humans and
humanoids.

Dragons, the ultimate defilers, wantonly destroy

both plant life and living creatures to power their
spells. All the remaining sorcerer-kings of the Tyr
Region walk the path of transformation into
dragons. Avangions, the most advanced
preserver form achievable, know how to utilize
the life energy of plants and living beings without
harming the source.

236
The Preserver
The preserver is a wizard who seeks to maintain
the environment while drawing magical power
from it. In the give and take of spell casting,
preservers have mastered the balance. A
preserver’s magical spells are cast in harmony
with nature, and there is no damage to the
surrounding environment.

The preserver learns to tap-rather than destroy-

magical energies so as to minimize or even
cancel the destruction of life. He uses magic in
concert with the environment, doing so by
balancing his quest for power with in-depth
study, which requires that his magical output
proceeds slowly. They have 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 I to create
adverse effects. Preservers take only enough life
energy from plants to produce a spell effect,
being careful not to take so much that the
neighboring plants can’t recover.

“So long as you come not between a defiler

and his own self-interest, you should be fairly
safe . . . unless of course, you‟re a plant.”
— Athasian joke (usually spoken quietly)

The Defiler
Defilers are wizards who have decided to take
the faster, darker approach to mastering the use
of magical spells. In the give and take of spell
casting, defilers are well versed in the taking, but
give nothing in return. With every spell cast, a
defiler leeches the life energy out of the plants
and soil around him, leaving behind a lifeless It seems natural that defilers can have only
zone. The actual amount of damage done to the neutral or evil alignments; a defiler can never be
environment by a defiling spell depends upon of good alignment.
the level of the spell and the nature of the land.

237

The defiler activates 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, and so defilers tend to unleash more
magic for their level as far as wizards are
concerned. Defilers, on the other hand, care only
for power, reveling in it as it courses through
their bodies. They don’t care about the life forces
that are lost when they weave their webs of
magic. Nearby plants wither and die when a
defiler draws power for his spells, and the fertile
soil surrounding him turns to sterile ash. The
sorcerer-kings are defilers of the highest order,
and they combine wizardry with psionics. They
can draw the energy for spells from not only
plants, but from all living things—including
animals and humans. This makes the sorcerer-
kings extremely powerful and very dangerous to
the world and its inhabitants.
Because a defiler destroys life as a natural matter
of course, his aura has a permanent taint that
increases with every rise in level. At low levels,
this taint is simply a bad feeling that others sense
dimly. At higher levels, the taint becomes a
malignant air of death that even the dullest half-
giants can detect.
In game terms, this is reflected with a Charisma
penalty that’s applied whenever a defiler
interacts with other characters. At 1st–5th level,
Charisma is at -1; at 6th–10th, Charisma is at -2;
at 11th–15th, Charisma is at -3; and at 16th–
20th, Charisma is at -4.
In most cases, defilers are outlaws (even in the
eyes of the corrupt sorcerer-kings), so they keep
their magical skills hidden. Unlike preservers who
have a loose organization in the underground
Veiled Alliance, defilers tend to be loners,
keeping their ambitions and powers to
themselves. A sorcerer-king tolerates a select
few defilers in his employ to carry out day-to-day
magical tasks that he has no patience for, but
that’s all. These defilers are always at the beck
and call of their master, and the sorcerer-king
himself oversees the training of new recruits. A
sorcerer-king’s defilers are feared and hated far
and wide.

DEFILER MAGICAL DESTRUCTION

Spell level
Terrain Type 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Silt Sea 25 35 50 60 65 70 80 85 90 95 100
Boulder fields 20 30 40 50 60 65 70 80 85 90 95
Salt flats 20 30 40 50 60 65 70 80 85 90 95
Sandy wastes 20 30 40 50 60 65 70 80 85 90 95
Mountains 10 15 20 25 30 35 35 40 40 45 50
Rocky badlands 10 15 20 25 30 35 35 40 40 45 50
Stony barrens 10 15 20 25 30 35 35 40 40 45 50
Scrub plains 5 10 10 10 15 15 15 15 20 20 25
Verdant belts 1 5 5 5 10 10 10 15 15 15 20
Forests 1 5 5 5 5 5 5 10 10 10 10

238
239
Defiler Destruction
Whenever a defiler draws energy to power his
spells, all vegetation in a sphere around him
turns to ash. This occurs when a spell is actually
cast. The radius of the sphere depends on two
things: the abundance of vegetation in the area
and the level of spell being powered. In TABLE:
DEFILER MAGICAL DESTRUCTION, also from the
DARK SUN rules book and reproduced here for
convenience, the number shown is the radius, in
yards, of the destructive sphere around the
defiler in which all vegetation is turned to ash.
The effect is instantaneous. Whenever the land is
tapped, the vegetation is destroyed. If a defiler
pulls energy for more than one spell from the
same location, the radius of destroyed
vegetation expands around him. Use the
destructive radius of the highest level spell being
energized as the base, then add 5 feet for each
extra spell empowered. Whether this occurs
when the defiler first studies and memorizes his
spells for the day or as he actually casts the spell,
the effect is the same.
Wizardly magic is the cause of most of Athas’s
problems, mostly due to the defilers and the
sorcerer-kings. As such, wizards are almost
universally feared and shunned. The use of
wizardry in many of the city-states is a criminal
offense punishable by death. In the communities
beyond the walls of civilization, wizards can
sometimes find homes, but more often they find
suspicion, fear, and death.
There are a few notable exceptions to the rule.
The Free City of Tyr, for example, welcomes
preservers and allows them to openly practice
their art. Elf tribes enjoy the protection afforded
by wizards, and even provide spell components
for sale on the black market. The sorcerer-kings
keep a few defilers on hand to provide magical
power, though these “court wizards” are usually
kept in secret and out of the public eye. In most
other places, wizards (defilers and preservers
both) must hide their true identities. A secret
organization called the Veiled Alliance operates
in many cities, towns, and villages, offering some
small aid to preservers, but otherwise wizards
are on their own.
Defilement Versus Preservation
What’s the difference between defilers and
preservers? Basically, it revolves around the way
these types of wizards 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 wizard type’s philosophy and
manner.
Defilers absorb every bit of life energy they can
hold, with the result that the land they tap into is
leeched and left barren of nutrients, incapable of
supporting plant life. Plants in the defiled area
die and turn to ash when the life spark is
removed. Unlike with natural death, however,
the decaying process occurs in an instant, and
nothing remains within the dead ash to continue
the life cycle—plants killed by defiling magic
return nothing to the soil and don’t revert to life-
giving fertilizer when they die. Defilers,
therefore, are vampiric, stealing life energy not
only because they need it to utilize magic, but for
the rush of power it gives them. Basically,
defilers take the quick and easy road to power,
caring little that they leave devastation in their
wake.
Preservers have learned a more subtle approach
to magic, one which allows them to return to the
land what they take from it. Preservers focus
their wills upon tapping the energy of the land
and its plant life without destroying the actual
life force which imbues it. Their magic is slower
and more careful than that of the defilers. They
gently tap the source for the minimum amount
240
of energy needed to power their spells, filter it
into the form they wish to use, then release the
energy back to its original source. In this sense,
preservers are like birds, culling the nectar from
plants, yet not destroying them in the process.
The bird receives the nectar it needs, but leaves
the plant healthy, allowing it to produce more
nectar in the future. Preservers accept a slower
method of learning magic and of gathering
energy as the price they must pay to maintain
the fragile ecology of Athas.
Game Effects of Preserving and Defiling Magic
Defilers gain levels faster than preservers
because preservers opt to proceed slowly so as
not to destroy the fragile ecosystem around
them. Defilers have no regard for such niceties.
Other game mechanic differences are described
below.
There are two steps to casting a spell on Athas.
First, a wizard must gather the energy to power
241
the spell from the plant life around him. Then he
performs the actions necessary for releasing the
spell—the usual somatic, verbal, and material
components of the spell come into play in the
second step.
To gather energy for a spell, a wizard holds out
an open hand and taps into the life force of
nearby plants. How much power the wizard
receives depends on what path of magic he
follows. Preservers always receive the amount of
energy they need to cast their maximum number
of spells per level. They take this energy slowly
so as not to deplete the life they’re drawing it
from. Defilers, on the other hand, absorb energy
quickly, killing everything in the vicinity until
they’re
filled up. The defiler’s method isn’t as refined or
careful, and so it involves the possibility for both
a certain degree of failure and a higher level of
success.

The Gathering of Power
The casting of spells is a three-step process: the
drawing of energy, the memorization of the
spells, and the actual casting. Because there are
three distinct steps involved, there is some
leeway concerning the order in which the spells
are memorized and the energy is drawn. There
are two methods of drawing power and spell
memorization available to player characters. In
most cases, the DM will decide which method he
wants to use in his campaign. If the DM leaves
the choice to the players, the method may be
decided when a wizard character is first created
or can be decided on an adventure-to-adventure
basis. Each method has its strong points and
drawbacks. To some extent, it matters little to
preservers which method they choose. Their care
in extracting energy means that they will not
harm the land, nor will they have any variation in
the number of spells they can use in a day.
For preservers, no game mechanic is necessary,
the choice has no game effect and is purely a
matter of role-playing. Defilers constantly
gamble that they can collect enough energy to
power more spells than they should be able to
cast in a day. Of course, there’s a chance that the
energy-gathering process will backfire and they’ll
wind up with less than their usual complement
of spells.
Method One - When Memorizing Spells
In this method, the wizard taps an energy source
for magical power at the time he memorizes his
spells. The wizard studies, memorizes, and draws
energy for the number of spells he is allowed.
Preservers require 1 minute per spell level of
each spell to complete the memorization
process; defilers require 30 seconds per spell
level of each spell.
That’s all that’s required for a preserver using
this method.
If you are a defiler, you gain additional spell slots.
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. You also roll on TABLE:
GATHERING SPELL ENERGY THROUGH DEFILING
MAGIC, cross-referencing his Intelligence score
with the local terrain type to determine your
complement of spell slots for the next day.

GATHERING SPELL ENERGY THROUGH DEFILING MAGIC - Method 1

Intelligence Check
Terrain Type* Failure DC 6 + DC 15 +
Lush -1 spell slot Usual spells/level +3 spell slots
Failure DC 8 + DC 16 +
Abundant -1 spell slot Usual spells/level +2 spell slots
Failure DC 10 + DC 17 +
Fertile -2 spell slot Usual spells/level +2 spell slots
Failure DC 12 + DC 18 +
Infertile -2 spell slots Usual spells/level +1 spell slot
Failure DC 15 + DC 19 +
Barren -3 spell slots Usual spells/level +1 spell slot

242
Although this process takes place off-stage, so to
speak, the land around the defiler suffers as its
plant life dies and the soil turns to ash. The
radius of dead land can be determined
dependent on the total number of spells
memorized, taking the highest level spell as the
starting point (as shown on TABLE 1 : DEFILER
MAGICAL DESTRUCTION); or, if it has no real
effect on the adventure, the DM can simply state
that a large area turns to ash. Defilers benefit
greatly from this method of gathering magical
power. For example, since a defiler knows the
terrain he’s in when he sits down to memorize
spells, he’ll be certain as to the number of spells
he’ll have after making his Intelligence check and
can plan accordingly. Also, plants turn to ash
when he taps them while memorizing his spells;
that means that he’s able to cast the spells later
without overtly betraying the fact that he’s a
defiler. Finally, unless the DM wants to play out
some dramatic scene, this process becomes a
routine, offstage chore.
• A “failure” result (the left-hand column of the
table) indicates that the land isn’t willing to part
with its energy so easily; the indicated number of
spells per level are immediately lost. The defiler
still manages to draw enough energy to cast the
spell in question, but his total of memorized
spells for the day is reduced. The DM should
decide in advance if he’ll allow the player to
select which spells are lost or if he’ll make the
determination randomly.
• An average success (the middle column of the
table) indicates that the defiler gets just the
number of spells he’s entitled to for the day—no
more and no less.
• A spectacular success (the right-hand column
of the table) indicates that the defiler has tapped
into enough energy to gain extra spells. Since the
character can’t immediately memorize additional
spells, the player selects a number of spells per
243
level as indicated on the table. These don’t fade
from memory until all of the bonus spells have
been cast.
Defilers suffer some disadvantages under this
method, especially from a role-playing stance.
What fun is there in being a defiler if you can’t
shock your foes by withering the grass beneath
their feet? If the land turns to ash in the middle
of the night while the wizard is alone memorizing
spells, opponents never see the defiler’s feared
and hated power-gathering method at work.
Also, the advantages of using method two are
lost, including the initiative penalty imposed
upon living beings in the defiler’s radius of
magical destruction (see below).
GATHERING SPELL ENERGY
THROUGH DEFILING MAGIC - Method 2
Defiling
Terrain Type*
Check modifier
Lush +2
Abundant +1
Fertile ---
Infertile -1
Barren -2
Method Two - When Casting Spells
The second method for drawing magical energy
allows a wizard to tap a source when he’s 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. Wizards
using this method memorize their spells for a
given day as usual, but they don’t tap into their
energy source at that time. Instead, when a
wizard needs to cast a memorized spell he
reaches out and gathers the energy at that
moment, during play, from the nearest source of
plant life. 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.
Whenever the defiler defiles when casting a spell
he makes an Intelligence check according to the
type of terrain he finds himself in at that time.
The results of this check are described below.
A defiler taps into the life energy of the land
around him every time he casts a spell. Use
TABLE: DEFILER MAGICAL DESTRUCTION to
determine the radius of destruction. Tapping the
energy in this manner takes no more time than
the normal casting of a spell.
He must also roll a d20 - on a result of 11 + spell
level or more, the defiler keeps the spell slot and
can reuse it. Cantrips do defile but don’t
additional spell slot rolls.
When a defiler draws energy, he pulls the life
force from plants in the area. Although he can’t
actually harm creatures, living beings in the area
(including humans and demi-humans) feel pain.
This pain translates into a one-round initiative
penalty equal to the level of the spell being cast.
Drawing energy at the time of casting irrevocably
betrays a defiler’s nature to any witnesses.
Plants and soil in the area turn to ash, and the
telltale aura of green energy easily paints the
defiler as a wizard to those who probably fear
and hate those who practice the arcane arts.
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The Threefold Path
Rather than specializing in a specific school of
magic, an Athasian wizard follows a particular
magical path. Schools of spells are subsumed
into broader categories known as the Threefold
Path. Preservers and defilers have vastly
different philosophies and this is reflected in the
spells each type is most drawn to. Defilers tend
to follow paths they believe lead them to greater
power. They best utilize the darker schools of
magic, conjuration and necromancy. This path is
known as the Path Sinister, or the Path of
Defilement. Preservers are more drawn to spells
which provide them with needed information
and protection. They lean toward the schools of
abjuration and greater divination. Their path is
known as the Path Dexter, or the Path of
Preservation. Those schools which are generally
useful but which have no beneficial or
malevolent associations are grouped together
into a category called the Path of Concurrence,
or the Middle Path.
Although there is no ban on defilers learning
spells from the Path Dexter and vice versa, it is
easier for each to gain spells in their own
categories. At level 2, defilers can select School
of Conjuration, or School of Necromancy, or any
of the school in the Path of Concurrence. They
Path Sinister
Wizard Type Defiler
Schools Conjuration
Necromancy
Bonus ½ for Defilers
Penalty x2 for Preservers
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cannot choose Divination and Abjuration
schools. They also must spend double the time
and money to learn spells from these schools.
Same for Preserver who can, at level 2, select
School of Abjuration, or School of Divination, or
any of the school in the Path of Concurrence.
They cannot choose Necromancy and
Conjuration schools. They also must spend
double the time and money to learn spells from
these schools.
Whether preserver or defiler, all wizards may
gain spells from the Path of Concurrence at their
normal time and cost.
Athasian wizards have no problem using magical
items from their opposition path. Though it is
more likely that preservers created the
protective and divinatory items and defilers
originated the wand and wrote the scrolls, the
process of making them into magical items strips
them of any particular bent toward one path or
the other. Even if defiling magic was used in the
creation of the scroll, it holds no taint. Further,
the energy drawn to power the effects was
tapped when the items were created and no
further expenditure of energy is required to
activate or use them.
Path of Concurrence Path Dexter
--- Preserver
Transmutation Abjuration
Enchantment Divination
Illusion
Evocation
--- ½ for Preservers
--- x2 for Defilers
Wizard Class
Proficiency Cantrips —Spell Slots per Spell Level—
Level Bonus Features Known 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th
Spellcasting, Arcane Recovery,
1st +2 Magical Path 3 2 — — — — — — — —
2nd +2 Arcane Tradition 3 3 — — — — — — — —
3rd +2 — 3 4 2 — — — — — — —
4th +2 Ability Score Improvement 4 4 3 — — — — — — —
5th +3 — 4 4 3 2 — — — — — —
6th +3 Arcane Tradition Feature 4 4 3 3 — — — — — —
7th +3 — 4 4 3 3 1 — — — — —
8th +3 Ability Score Improvement 4 4 3 3 2 — — — — —
9th +4 — 4 4 3 3 3 1 — — — —
10th +4 Arcane Tradition Feature 5 4 3 3 3 2 — — — —
11th +4 — 5 4 3 3 3 2 1 — — —
12th +4 Ability Score Improvement 5 4 3 3 3 2 1 — — —
13th +5 — 5 4 3 3 3 2 1 1 — —
14th +5 Arcane Tradition Feature 5 4 3 3 3 2 1 1 — —
15th +5 — 5 4 3 3 3 2 1 1 1 —
16th +5 Ability Score Improvement 5 4 3 3 3 2 1 1 1 —
17th +6 — 5 4 3 3 3 2 1 1 1 1
18th +6 Spell Mastery 5 4 3 3 3 3 1 1 1 1
19th +6 Ability Score Improvement 5 4 3 3 3 3 2 1 1 1
20th +6 Signature Spells 5 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 1 1

QUICK BUILD
Class Features
You can make a wizard quickly by following these
suggestions. First, Intelligence should be your As a wizard, you gain the following class features.
highest ability score, followed by Constitution or
Hit Points
Dexterity. If you plan to join the School of
Enchantment, make Charisma your next-best Hit Dice: 1d6 per wizard level
score. Second, choose the sage background. Hit Points at 1st Level: 6 + your Constitution
Third, choose the mage hand, light, and ray of modifier
frost cantrips, along with the following 1st-level Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d6 (or 4) + your
spells for your spellbook: burning hands, charm Constitution modifier per wizard level after 1st
person, feather fall, mage armor, magic missile,
and sleep.

246
Proficiencies
Armor: None
Weapons: Daggers, darts, slings, quarterstaffs,
light crossbows
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Intelligence, Wisdom
Skills: Choose two from Arcana, History, Insight,
Investigation, Medicine, and Religion
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in
addition to the equipment granted by your
background:
 (a) an agaferi quarterstaff or (b) a stone
dagger
 (a) a component pouch
 (a) a scholar’s pack or (b) an explorer’s
pack
 A spellbook
Spellcasting
As a student of arcane magic, you have a
spellbook containing spells that show the first
glimmerings of your true power. See Spells Rules
for the general rules of spellcasting and the
Spells Listing for the wizard spell list.
Magical Path
Starting at 1st level, you choose a magical Path
of gathering energy and casting spells: Preserving
or Defiling.
They also choose a way of gathering power
(method 1 or 2). This method, will be the default
one used, unless stated otherwise by the defiler
player.
Cantrips
At 1st level, you know three cantrips of your
choice from the wizard spell list. You learn
additional wizard cantrips of your choice at
247
higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known
column of the Wizard table.
Spellbook
In Athas, a wizard’s spell book is very rare-
perhaps found only as an artifact. Instead of a
“book” made with flat pages bound along one
edge between heavy covers, Athasian wizards
write their spells on paper or papyrus scrolls,
weave them into small tapestries or the fringes
of their robes, carve them into bone staves, or—
in extreme cases—use complicated knot and
string patterns or stone tablets. All of these
collections of spells are referred to as “spell
books” and function accordingly.
At 1st level, you have a “spellbook” of your
choice containing six 1st-level wizard spells of
your choice. Your spellbook is the repository of
the wizard spells you know, except your cantrips,
which are fixed in your mind.
Preparing and Casting Spells
The Wizard 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 spellbook
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 wizard, 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.
You can change your list of prepared spells when
you finish a long rest. Preparing a new list of
wizard spells requires time spent studying your
spellbook and memorizing the incantations and
gestures you must make to cast the spell:
Preservers must take at least 1 minute per spell
level for each spell on their list. Defilers need half
that time.
See also the two method of gathering energy to
power spells
Spellcasting Ability
Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your
wizard spells, since you 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 for a wizard spell you cast and when
making an attack roll with one.
Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your
Intelligence modifier
Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus +
your Intelligence modifier
Ritual Casting
You can cast a wizard 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.
Defiler will still roll to see how much they defile
the land, but they won’t roll for additional spell
with ritual casting.
Learning Spells of 1st Level and Higher
Each time you gain a wizard level, you can add
two wizard spells of your choice to your
spellbook for free. Each of these spells must be
of a level for which you have spell slots, as
shown on the Wizard table. On your adventures,
you might find other spells that you can add to
your spellbook (see the “Your Spellbook”
sidebar).
YOUR SPELLBOOK
The spells that you add to your spellbook as you
gain levels reflect the arcane research you
conduct on your own, as well as intellectual
breakthroughs you have had about the nature of
magic. You might find other spells during your
adventures. You could discover a spell recorded
on a scroll in an evil wizard’s chest, for example,
or in a dusty tome in an ancient library.
Copying a Spell into the Book. When you find a
wizard spell of 1st level or higher, you can add it
to your spellbook if it is of a spell level you can
prepare and if you can spare the time to
decipher and copy it.
Copying that spell into your spellbook involves
reproducing the basic form of the spell, then
deciphering the unique system of notation used
by the wizard who wrote it. You must practice
the spell until you understand the sounds or
gestures required, then transcribe it into your
spellbook using your own notation.
For each level of the spell, the process takes 2
hours and costs 50 cp. The cost represents
material components you expend as you
experiment with the spell to master it, as well as
the fine inks you need to record it. Once you
have spent this time and money, you can
prepare the spell just like your other spells.
248
Depending on your path chosen, you will spend
half as much to copy certain schools of spells into
your spellbook. The arcane tradition bonus
stacks with this.
Replacing the Book. You can copy a spell from
your own spellbook into another book—for
example, if you want to make a backup copy of
your spellbook. This is just like copying a new
spell into your spellbook, but faster and easier,
since you understand your own notation and
already know how to cast the spell. You need
spend only 1 hour and 10 cp for each level of the
copied spell.
If you lose your spellbook, you can use the same
procedure to transcribe the spells that you have
prepared into a new spellbook. Filling out the
remainder of your spellbook requires you to find
new spells to do so, as normal. For this reason,
many wizards keep backup spellbooks in a safe
place.
The Book’s Appearance. Your spellbook is a
unique compilation of spells, with its own
decorative flourishes and margin notes. It might
be a plain, functional leather volume that you
received as a gift from your master, a finely
bound gilt-edged tome you found in an ancient
library, or even a loose collection of notes
scrounged together after you lost your previous
spellbook in a mishap.
Arcane Recovery
You have learned to regain some of your magical
energy by studying your spellbook. 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 wizard, you can
recover up to two levels worth of spell slots. You
249
can recover either a 2nd-level spell slot or two
1st-level spell slots.
If you are a defiler and using method one, you
will have to roll to see how much land you defile
but not to gain additional spell slots.
Arcane Tradition
When you reach 2nd level, you choose an arcane
tradition according to your previous magical path
selection, shaping your practice of magic through
one of eight schools: Abjuration, Conjuration,
Divination, Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion,
Necromancy, or Transmutation.
Your choice grants you features at 2nd 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 wizard spell and a 2nd-level
wizard 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 levels.
Signature Spells
When you reach 20th level, you gain mastery
over two powerful spells and can cast them with
little effort. Choose two 3rd-level wizard spells in
your spellbook as your signature spells. 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
3rd 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.
Path Dexter
Arcane Traditions
School of Abjuration
The School of Abjuration emphasizes magic that
blocks, banishes, or protects. Detractors of this
school say that its tradition is about denial,
negation rather than positive assertion. You
understand, however, that ending harmful
effects, protecting the weak, and banishing evil
influences is anything but a philosophical void. It
is a proud and respected vocation.
Called abjurers, members of this school are
sought when baleful spirits require exorcism,
when important locations must be guarded
against magical spying, and when a dangerous
creature must be put under magical restrains or
bonds.
Abjuration Savant
Beginning when you select this school at 2nd
level, the money and time you must spend to
copy an abjuration spell into your spellbook is
halved.
Arcane Ward
Starting at 2nd level, you can weave magic
around yourself for protection. When you cast an
abjuration spell of 1st level or higher, you can
simultaneously use a strand of the spell’s magic
to create a magical ward on yourself that lasts
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,
you take any remaining damage.
While the ward has 0 hit points, it can’t absorb
damage. but its magic remains. Whenever you
cast an abjuration spell of 1st level or higher, the
ward regains a number of hit points equal to
twice the level of the spell. Once you create the
ward, you can’t create it again until you finish a
long rest.
Projected Ward
Starting at 6th level, when a creature that you
can see within 30 feet of you takes damage, you
can use your reaction to cause your Arcane Ward
to absorb that damage. If this damage reduces
the ward to 0 hit points. the warded creature
takes any remaining damage.
Improved Abjuration
Beginning at 10th level. when you cast an
abjuration spell that requires you to make an
ability check as a part of casting that spell (as in
counterspell and dispel magic), you add your
proficiency bonus to that ability check.
Spell Resistance
Starting at 14th level, you have advantage on
saving throws against spells. Furthermore, you
have resistance against the damage of spells.
250
School of Divination
The counsel of a diviner is sought by royalty and
commoners alike, for all seek a clearer
understanding of the past, present, and future.
As a diviner, you strive to part the veils of space,
time, and consciousness so that you can see
clearly. You work to master spells of
discernment, remote viewing, supernatural
knowledge, and foresight.
Divination Savant
Beginning when you select this school at 2nd
level, the money and time you must spend to
copy a divination spell into your spellbook is
halved.
Portent
Starting at 2nd level when you choose this
school, glimpses of the future begin to press in
on your awareness. When you finish a long rest,
roll two d20 and record the numbers rolled. You
can replace any attack roll, saving throw, or
ability check made by you or a creature that you
can see with one of these foretelling rolls. You
must choose to do so before the roll, and you
can replace a roll in this way only once per turn.
Each foretelling roll can be used only once. When
you finish a long rest, you lose any unused
foretelling rolls.
Expert Divination
Beginning at 6th level, casting divination spells
comes so easily to you that it expends only a
fraction of your spellcasting efforts. When you
cast a divination spell of 2nd level or higher using
a spell slot, you regain one expended spell slot.
The slot you regain must be of a level lower than
the spell you cast and can’t be higher than 5th
level.
251
The Third Eye
Starting at 10th level, you can use your action to
increase your powers of perception. When you
do so, choose one of the following benefits,
which lasts until you are incapacitated or you
take a short or long rest. You can’t use the
feature again until you finish a rest.
 Darkvision. You gain darkvision out to a
range of 60 feet, as described in chapter 8.
 Ethereal Sight. You can see into the Grey
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.
Greater Portent
Starting at 14th level, the visions in your dreams
intensify and paint a more accurate picture in
your mind of What is to come. You roll three d20
for your Portent feature, rather than two.
Path of Concurrence
Arcane Traditions
School of Enchantment
As a member of the School of Enchantment, you
have honed your ability to magically entrance
and beguile other people and monsters. Some
enchanters are peacemakers who bewitch the
violent to lay down their arms and charm the
cruel into showing mercy. Others are tyrants
who magically bind the unwilling into their
service. Most enchanters fall somewhere in
between.
Enchantment Savant
Beginning when you select this school at 2nd
level, the money and time you must spend to
copy an enchantment spell into your spellbook is
halved.
Hypnotic Gaze
Starting at 2nd level when you choose this
school, your soft words and enchanting gaze can
magically enthrall another creature. As an action,
choose one creature that you can see within 5
feet of you. If the target can see or hear you, it
must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against
your wizard spell save DC or be charmed by you
until the end of your next turn. The charmed
creature’s speed drops to 0, and the creature is
incapacitated and visibly dazed.
On subsequent turns, you can use your action to
maintain this effect, extending its duration until
the end of your next turn. However, the effect
ends if you move more than 5 feet away from
the creature, if the creature can neither see nor
hear you, or if the creature takes damage. Once
the effect ends, or if the creature succeeds on its
initial saving throw against this effect, you can’t
use this feature on that creature again until you
finish a long rest.
Instinctive Charm
Beginning at 6th level, when a creature you can
see within 30 feet of you makes an attack roll
against you, you can use your reaction to divert
the attack, provided that another creature is
within the attack’s range. The attacker must
make a Wisdom saving throw against your
wizard spell save DC. On a failed save, the
attacker must target the creature that is closest
to it, not including you or itself. If multiple
creatures are closest, the attacker chooses which
one to target. On a successful save, you can’t use
this feature on the attacker again until you finish
a long rest.
You must choose to use this feature before
knowing whether the attack hits or misses.
Creatures that can’t be charmed are immune to
this effect.
Split Enchantment
Starting at 10th level, when you cast an
enchantment spell of 1st level or higher that
targets only one creature, you can have it target
a second creature.
Alter Memories
At 14th level, you gain the ability to make a
creature unaware of your magical influence on it.
When you cast an enchantment spell to charm
one or more creatures, you can alter one
creature’s understanding so that it remains
unaware of being charmed.
Additionally, once before the spell expires, you
can use your action to try to make the chosen
creature forget some of the time it spent
charmed. The creature must succeed on an
Intelligence saving throw against your Wizard
spell save DC or lose a number of hours of its
memories equal to 1 + your Charisma modifier
(minimum 1). You can make the creature forget
less time, and the amount of time can’t exceed
the duration of your enchantment spell.
School of Evocation
You focus your study on magic that creates
powerful elemental effects such as bitter cold,
searing flame, rolling thunder, crackling
lightning, and burning acid. Some evokers find
employment in military forces, serving as artillery
to blast enemy armies from afar. Others use
their spectacular power to protect the weak,
While some seek their own gain as bandits,
adventurers, or aspiring tyrants.
252
Evocation Savant
Beginning when you select this school at 2nd
level, the money and time you must spend to
copy an evocation spell into your spellbook is
halved.
Sculpt Spells
Beginning at 2nd level, you can create pockets of
relative safety within the effects of your
evocation spells. When you cast an evocation
spell that affects other creatures that you can
see, you can choose a number of them equal to 1
+ the spell’s level. The chosen creatures
automatically succeed on their saving throws
against the spell, and they take no damage if
they would normally take half damage on a
successful save.
Potent Cantrip
Starting at 6th level, your damaging cantrips
affect even creatures that avoid the brunt of the
effect. When a creature succeeds on a saving
throw against your cantrip, the creature takes
half the cantrip’s damage (if any) but suffers no
additional effect from the cantrip.
Empowered Evocation
Beginning at 10th level, you can add your
Intelligence modifier to the damage roll of any
wizard evocation spell you cast.
Overchannel
Starting at 14th level, you can increase the
power of your simpler spells. When you cast a
wizard spell of 5th level or lower that deals
damage, you can deal maximum damage with
that spell.
The first time you do so, you suffer no adverse
effect. If you use this feature again before you
finish a long rest, you take 2d12 necrotic damage
for each level of the spell, immediately after you
cast it. Each time you use this feature again
253
before finishing a long rest, the necrotic damage
per spell level increases by 1d12. This damage
ignores resistance and immunity.
School of Illusion
Masters of deception and distraction, many
illusionists use their spells to disguise themselves
and their spellcasting. They cover their magic use
with illusions designed to fool observers into
believing the magic is only normal sleight-of-
hand or clever “tricks.” These illusionists can be
found entertaining crowds in the elven market or
the courtyards of wine shops, usually while a
confederate slips among the gathered throng
and lightens their purses. Others are con men of
impressive proportion, gathering information
about a subject, then using their illusions to
bolster phony predictions and money-making
schemes.
Some may become entertainers of note. These
are invited to perform at the houses of nobles,
wealthy merchants, and even some templars.
Most don’t steal from such venues, but overhear
choice bits of gossip, and become friendly with
their patrons.
Gossip may be sold or given to an interested
party for other considerations; the favor of
patrons can be turned into character references
or immunity from certain kinds of trouble. As
traveling entertainers, illusionists are in a perfect
position to act as spies, smugglers, and
messengers, all while remaining unsuspected as
to their true nature. Many preserver illusionists
utilize this last ability to act as traveling agents
for the Veiled Alliance. Unfortunately, defiler
illusionists have access to the same tricks
preservers do and may also pass themselves off
as agents of the Alliance when in fact they may
be spies for the sorcerer-kings.

Many elven illusionists own booths or shops in
the elven market. They excel in unloading flawed
or unpopular merchandise by using illusions to
cover up the flaws or make unpopular wares look
like more popular ones. Buyers rarely notice such
minor problems until they get the items home.
When they return to the shop, they find they are
dealing with someone else entirely (often the
illusionist in disguise) who claims to have never
seen them. Another popular custom is to cover
up highly noticeable wares stolen from caravans
by changing their color or disguising them in
minor ways. Thus, vivid purple cloth might be
changed to brown or green, or wine in distinctive
jugs might be disguised by changing the jug’s
appearance slightly. Though this might lower the
item’s value somewhat, it also keeps the law
away.
Illusion Savant
Beginning when you select this school at 2nd
level, the money and time you must spend to
copy an illusion spell into your spellbook is
halved.
Improved Minor Illusion
When you choose this school at 2nd level, you
learn the minor illusion cantrip. If you already
know this cantrip, you learn a different wizard
cantrip of your choice. The cantrip doesn’t count
against your number of cantrips known. When
you cast minor illusion, you can create both a
sound and an image with a single casting of the
spell.
Malleable Illusions
Starting at 6th level, when you cast an illusion
spell that has a duration of 1 minute or longer,
you can use your action to change the nature of
that illusion (using the spell’s normal parameters
for the illusion), provided that you can see the
illusion.
Illusory Self
Beginning at 10th level, you can create an
illusory duplicate of yourself as an instant,
almost instinctual reaction to danger. When a
creature makes an attack roll against you, you
can use your reaction to interpose the illusory
duplicate between the attacker and yourself. The
attack automatically misses you, then the illusion
dissipates. Once you use this feature, you can’t
use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Illusory Reality
By 14th level, you have learned the secret of
weaving shadow magic into your illusions to give
them a semi-reality. When you cast an illusion
spell of 1st level or higher, you can Choose one
inanimate, non-magical object that is part of the
illusion and make that object real. You can do
this on your turn as a bonus action while the
spell is ongoing. The object remains real for 1
minute. For example, you can create an illusion
of a bridge over a chasm and then make it real
long enough for your allies to cross. The object
can’t deal damage or otherwise directly harm
anyone.
School of Transmutation
You are a student of spells that modify energy and
matter, to you, the world is not a fixed thing. but
eminently mutable, and you delight in being an agent
of change. You wield the raw stuff of creation and
learn to alter both physical forms and mental
qualities. Your magic gives you the tools to become a
smith on reality’s forge.
Some transmuters are tinkerers and pranksters,
turning people into toads and transforming copper
into silver for fun and occasional profit. Others
pursue their magical studies with deadly seriousness,
seeking the power of the elements to make and
destroy worlds.
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Transmutation Savant
Beginning when you select this school at 2nd level,
the money and time you must spend to copy a
transmutation spell into your spellbook is halved.
Minor Alchemy
Starting at 2nd level when you select this school, you
can temporarily alter the physical properties of one
non-magical object, changing it from one substance
into another. You perform a special alchemical
procedure on one object composed entirely of wood,
stone (but not a gemstone), obsidian, bone, and
ceramic, transforming it into a different one of those
materials. For each 10 minutes you spend performing
the procedure, you can transform up to 1 cubic foot
of material. After 1 hour, or until you lose your
concentration (as if you were concentrating on a
spell), the material reverts to its original substance.
Transmuter’s Stone
Starting at 6th level, you can spend 8 hours creating a
transmuter’s stone that stores transmutation magic.
You can benefit from the stone yourself or give it to
another creature. A creature gains a benefit of your
choice as long as the stone is in the creature’s
possession. When you create the stone, choose the
benefit from the following options:
 Darkvision out to a range of 60 feet, as
described in chapter 8
 An increase to speed of 10 feet while the
creature is unencumbered
 Proficiency in Constitution saving throws
 Resistance to acid, cold, fire, lightning, or
thunder damage (your choice whenever
you choose this benefit)
Each time you cast a transmutation spell of 1st
level or higher, you can change the effect of your
stone if the stone is on your person. If you create
a new transmuter’s stone, the previous one
ceases to function.
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Shapechanger
At 10th level. you add the polymorph spell to
your spellbook. if it is not there already. You can
cast polymorph without expending a spell slot.
When you do so, you can target only yourself
and transform into a beast whose challenge
rating is 1 or lower. Once you cast polymorph in
this way, you can’t do so again until you finish a
short or long rest, though you can still cast it
normally using an available spell slot.
Master Transmuter
Starting at 14th level, you can use your action to
consume the reserve of transmutation magic
stored within your transmuter’s stone in a single
burst. When you do so, choose one of the
following effects. Your transmuter’s stone is
destroyed and can’t be remade until you finish a
long rest.
 Major Transformation. You can transmute
one non-magical object—no larger than a
5—foot cube into another non-magical
object of similar size and mass and of equal
or lesser value. You must spend 10 minutes
handling the object to transform it.
 Panacea. You remove all curses, diseases,
and poisons affecting a creature that you
touch with the transmuter’s stone. The
creature also regains all its hit points.
 Restore Life. You cast the raise dead spell
on a creature you touch with the
transmuter’s stone, without expending a
spell slot or needing to have the spell in
your spellbook.
 Restore Youth. You touch the transmuter’s
stone to a willing creature, and that
creature’s apparent age is reduced by 3d10
years, to a minimum of 13 years. This
effect doesn’t extend the creature’s
lifespan.
Arena Mage
The arena mage is a gladiatorial wizard who uses
his magic in the games. He’s a master at masking
his use of magic and covertly casting his spells.
Though he excels in disguising his spells as
psionic disciplines, his able concealment of the
fact that he is a wizard can have far-reaching
effects. The arena mage may be either a defiler
or preserver, though it’s usually easier for
preservers to hide the effects of their energy
tapping.
Arena mages may be spellcasting slaves who are
forced into the arena to fight for their lives.
Somehow they have managed to keep their
spellbooks or have created new ones. Since they
might be capable of escaping the slave pens
using their magic, there is often something else
holding them to the arena. They may have
friends who might lose were they not there to
support them, they may be receiving instruction
in the art of magic from another slave who will
not leave, or they may simply enjoy the life of a
gladiator.
Others are not slaves at all, but free people who
choose to fight in the arena for money or glory
— or as an excuse to infiltrate the slave pens as a
spy for the Veiled Alliance or a sorcerer-king. A
few are thrill-seekers, finding pleasure in
brazenly using magic in the most public place
possible. This type gets a particular thrill if there
are templars present who still receive their
spells. The chance to fool them is too good to
pass up.
Whatever their reasons for fighting in the games,
arena mages all learn a most valuable lesson:
how to cast spells without betraying that they
are wizards. This skill can be transferred over to
life outside the arena, and makes them sought
after as covert agents for the Alliance and the
sorcerer-kings. They are also invaluable to
adventuring parties who may desperately need
the support of a spellcaster, but can’t afford to
be discovered associating with one.
Arena mages tend to focus their studies on spells
that can be passed off as psionics. If a spell has
no material components, it will almost certainly
appear in the arena mage’s spell book. Many
spells and psionic powers are virtually
indistinguishable. These spells, such as
clairvoyance, telekinesis, animate object,
levitation, and teleport, for example, may be
used as is and easily passed off as psionic
powers. Others, such as invisibility and stoneskin,
don’t exactly correspond to psionic equivalents,
but can be explained as such. Additionally, some
spells actually give the arena mage an advantage
over actual psionic foes. Antimagic field blocks
the effects of psionic powers, for example, while
detect invisibility allows the mage to see
someone using psionic invisibility quite clearly.
Each arena mage will usually hand-pick a
selection of clever spells with which he is
intimately familiar.
Arena mages are intimately familiar with
gladiatorial arenas and how they function. Arena
trainers, who overhear everything, and
gladiators, because they are valued slaves (or
admired free citizens), usually know what’s going
on in any given city.
Arena mages can trade on their relationships
with these people to learn one significant piece
of information per game session. The
information isn’t always directly related to the
character’s current quest, but might prove handy
to know in a later adventure or to trade for more
immediately important information.
Arena mages gamble with their lives every day.
They perform magic in a public place, often in
front of templars and psionicists who could
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unmask them in a moment if they saw through
the act. This is always a possibility. For each
arena combat in which the mage participates,
there is a 5% chance (not cumulative) that
someone becomes aware of the mage’s true
nature. If such a person notices the sham, there
is an additional 10% chance that it will be a
templar or a psionicist. Depending on who it is
that notices something amiss, the mage might be
subjected to questioning, arrest, or any other
penalty that would normally be levied.
Unimportant people seeing through the disguise
might report it in hopes of a reward, attempt to
blackmail the wizard, or tell the Veiled Alliance.
Though there should be the possibility that the
character is unmasked, it shouldn’t become an
everyday occurrence, happening every time the
wizard sets foot in the arena.
They learn techniques that empower a caster’s
spells, while also providing methods for wizards
to bolster their own defenses. They see their
magic as both a weapon and armor, a resource
superior to any piece of steel. Arena mages act
fast in battle, using their spells to seize tactical
control of a situation. Their spells strike hard,
while their defensive skills foil their opponents’
attempts to counterattack. War mages are also
adept at turning other spellcasters’ magical
energy against them. In great battles, a war
mage often works with evokers, abjurers, and
other types of wizards.
Arcane Deflection
At 2nd level, you have learned to weave your
magic to fortify yourself against harm. When you
are hit by an attack or you fail a saving throw,
you can use your reaction to gain a +2 bonus to
your AC against that attack or a +4 bonus to that
saving throw.
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When you use this feature, you can’t cast spells
other than cantrips until the end of your next
turn.
Arcane Dissimulation
Because arena mages are so used to casting their
spells covertly, there is an 85% chance that foes
in combat with the mage won’t realize where a
spell originated for the first two rounds. They
may look for invisible wizards or attempt to erect
psionic defenses, both of which are useless and
take up time and actions they might otherwise
spend to harm the arena mage and companions.
Arena mages have no time in the arena to draw
energy to power their spells. They must tap the
energy when they study their spells instead.
Because all their spells must be carefully
prepared to mimic psionic powers, however,
defilers only cause minimum damage and attain
the maximum spells possible (as if in the best
possible terrain regardless of their actual
surroundings). This benefit only applies to arena
mages actually fighting in an arena setting, not to
those out adventuring.
Tactical Wit
Starting at 2nd level, your keen ability to assess
tactical situations allows you to act quickly in
battle. You can give yourself a bonus to your
initiative rolls equal to your Intelligence modifier.
Power Surge
Starting at 6th level, you can store magical
energy within yourself to later empower your
damaging spells. In its stored form, this energy is
called a power surge. You can store a maximum
number of power surges equal to your
Intelligence modifier (minimum of one).
Whenever you finish a long rest, your number of
power surges resets to one. Whenever you
successfully end a spell with dispel magic or
counterspell, you gain one power surge, as you
steal magic from the spell you foiled. If you end a
short rest with no power surges, you gain one
power surge. Once per turn when you deal
damage to a creature or object with a wizard
spell, you can spend one power surge to deal
extra force damage to that target. The extra
damage equals half your wizard level.
Durable Magic
Beginning at 10th level, the magic you channel
helps ward off harm. While you maintain
concentration on a spell, you have a +2 bonus to
AC and all saving throws.
Deflecting Shroud
At 14th level, your Arcane Deflection becomes
infused with deadly magic. When you use your
Arcane Deflection feature, you can cause magical
energy to arc from you. Up to three creatures of
your choice that you can see within 60 feet of
you each take force damage equal to half your
wizard level.
Chasseur
Chasseurs, or huntsmen, are wizards who
specialize in hunting down others of their kind.
Whether defiler or preserver, the chasseur uses
his skills and magic to track and capture or kill
other mages.
Chasseurs are much like bounty hunters. The
sorcerer-kings employ many defilers to do their
dirty work for them. Among these are tracking
specialists who are charged with hunting down
wizards and bringing them in for trial and
execution. These defilers are particularly hated
and feared by all other wizards.
Not all chasseurs are defilers or work for the
sorcerer-kings, however. Quite a few belong to
the Veiled Alliance. These wizards specialize in
hunting down rogues and turncoats and
returning them to the Veiled Alliance for
judgment. A few will perform field executions as
need dictates.
There are also those wizards who hunt others for
the money, and those who hate themselves and
all other wizards. The latter believe that all
wizards, whether preserver or defiler, should be
wiped from the face of the planet. Hating what
magic has done to them, they try to eradicate
wizardly magic on Athas. These particular
chasseurs should always be NPCs; they are
unsuitable as player characters.
In most cases, defiler chasseurs who are
adventurers have escaped from (or been set free
by the death of) their sorcerer-king employer.
The character is now on his own and free to
make his own choices. Preserver chasseurs may
work for the Veiled Alliance, may be free agents
who are occasionally employed by the Alliance,
or have made it their life’s work to stop rogue
wizards or defilers.
Though they function primarily as mage hunters,
chasseurs are quite skilled at tracking in general.
Because of their skills in locating wizards (and
presumably others as well), chasseurs are
sometimes asked to go in search of missing
people or to recover valuable goods which have
been stolen.
Chasseurs are rarely known to be wizards. Most
people assume they are some sort of ranger or
thief and look on them as bounty hunters. While
most bounty hunters are given a wide berth and
looked down upon, chasseurs are often admired
for bringing hated, highly feared wizards to
“justice.”
Regardless of their path affiliation, all chasseurs
rely heavily on divinations to locate their
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quarries. Defiler chasseurs occasionally have
trouble learning the divination spells they need,
and as a result are always on the lookout for
magical items that will assist them in their work.
Additionally, since their payment often depends
upon bringing in their quarry alive, chasseurs
learn many non-damaging attack spells (such as
web and sleep) to help them capture foes
without killing them. Those chasseurs who are
not under contract but who hunt down mages
for their own reasons don’t usually bother with
such niceties or distinctions.
Chasseurs who are known to be mage-hunters
are much admired by the common people. So
long as it is not known that the chasseur is
himself a wizard, he as disadvantage to Charisma
persuasion checks with whom he interacts. He is
a popular character, receiving free drinks at the
local wine shop and bargain prices on whatever
he buys. This benefit is not available to any
chasseur known to work for a sorcerer-king, as
they are as greatly feared as those they work for.
Chasseurs have one special ability that gives
them a great deal of power over their foes. They
can “cry witch.” Crying witch is yelling out an
accusation of practicing witchcraft (or wizardry)
against someone in a public place. The common
people, guards, and other non-magicians
present, being terrified of all sorcery, will take up
the cry and attempt to seize the supposed evil-
doer. This can make a chasseur’s job a whole lot
easier, in effect using a mob to make the capture
for him. Additionally, it can be used to hold off
foes long enough for the chasseur to make good
his escape if he is overmatched. If used too often
in the same location, however, it can backfire on
the wizard-hunter, especially if it is used as a
distraction and not to alert the public to actual
wizards.
Chasseurs who work for sorcerer-kings or the
Veiled Alliance are at the beck and call of their
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patrons. Refusal to hunt whomever their patrons
deem dangerous will undoubtedly result in
another chasseur being summoned to hunt down
the “rogue” one. Once involved in mage-hunting,
the chasseur is in it for life, unless his patron dies
or the chasseur can fake his own death and
move elsewhere.
Chasseur Customs
Chasseur's concerns switch between eliminating
otherworldly threats from their homeland and
their original purpose of hunting evil wizards.
Any spellcaster looking to abuse or defile the
magical weave or practice dark arts such as
blood magic and necromancy, are sure to draw
the wrath of the order's members.
Chasseur Features
Wizard
Level Features
2nd Arcanist Investigator, Counter-Weave
6th Hunter's Armament
10th Arcane Sanctum
11th Eyes of the Master
Arcanist Investigator
When you adopt this tradition at 2nd level, you
gain proficiency with light armor, and you gain
proficiency with one simple melee weapon of
your choice. You also gain proficiency in the
Perception skill if you don't already have it.
Counter-Weave
Starting at 2nd level, you can hinder the
effectiveness of a creature's magical prowess
when you identify them as a magical threat. You
can use a bonus action to place the counter-
weave on a creature you can see within 30 feet
of you, which lasts for 1 minute. It ends early if
the creature dies, you die, or you are
incapacitated.
Until the counter-weave ends, the following
conditions Apply:
• You gain a bonus to saving throws against
spells from a creature affected by counter-weave
equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of
1).
• You double your ability score modifier to
Wisdom (Survival) skill checks to track your
quarry, as well as Intelligence checks to identify
or recall information about your target.
• The range of your target's cantrips and spells is
reduced by 10 feet or to the range of touch,
whichever is greater.
• Your target's Constitution saving throws to
maintain concentration on a spell is reduced by
your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1).
You can use this feature twice, after which you
regain all expended uses when you finish a short
or long rest.
Hunter's Armament
At 6th level, you can forge a magical bond with a
weapon you have chosen to combat renegade
spellcasters and otherworldly beasts. Choose a
melee weapon in which you are proficient.
Performing the bonding ritual takes 1 hour,
which may be done during a short rest. The
weapon must be within your reach throughout
the ritual. You can't be disarmed of your bonded
weapon unless you are incapacitated. If it is on
the same plane of existence, you can summon
that weapon as a bonus action on your turn,
causing it to teleport instantly to your hand. If
you attempt to bond to another weapon, you
must break the bond with the first.
While your bond exists, you can use your
spellcasting ability instead of Strength for the
attack and damage rolls of melee attacks using
that weapon. The weapon also becomes magical,
if it isn't already. At 10th level, your effectiveness
with the weapon improves as it gains a bonus of
+1 to attack and damage rolls, and then again to
a +2 bonus at 14th level.
Arcane Sanctum
At 10th level, you learn the magic circle spell.
You always have it prepared and it doesn't count
toward your total number of prepared spells for
the day.
You can use an action to cast magic circle
instantly and at a range of self without
expending a spell slot. Additionally, when you hit
a creature affected by counter-weave, you can
instead use your bonus action to cast the spell in
the same manner, centered on your target.
Once you cast magic circle using this feature, you
can't do so again until you finish a short or long
rest, though you can still cast it normally using an
available spell slot.
Eyes of the Master
At 14th level, you are constantly on the lookout
to distinguish the magical from the mundane.
Your Intelligence (Arcana) skill proficiency is
doubled with checks made to identify persistent
magic, magical items, or the presence of magical
and otherworldly creatures.
Restorationist
The restorationist is a preserver whose main goal
is the return of Athas to its former state of
verdant vegetation and free, open water. As a
dreamer intent upon revitalizing the land, this
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wizard seeks out new and ancient magic in hopes
of using it to heal the land of the ills that have
brought it to its present state.
They may come from any portion of society,
from nobility to slave. Those who are brought up
outside of cities or who have intimate knowledge
of agriculture, whether as landowner or worker,
are most likely to follow this path. The
restorationist is a preserver dedicated to
restoring the land to its former lush glory. As
such, they often find themselves allied with
cultivators and druids. Their greatest foes are
exterminators. They are brought up with a
respect for the land and they adventure out of
the desire to better the conditions of life on
Athas. Restorationists must be preservers.
Defilers may never take this kit. They must be of
good or neutral alignment.
In a world that teeters on the brink of total
collapse, the restorationist is a dedicated
rebuilder of what once was. This wizard tries to
repair the shattered environment and to educate
others in ecologically sound land management. It
is the restorationist’s role to travel from place to
place, always seeking out magic which might
help restore the land and the vegetation. Also,
the wizard carries seeds from one area to
another, attempting to create areas of life in
places where life has seemingly been eradicated.
Their keen understanding of the forces that
shape the world forms the cornerstone of the
magic they practice. Restorationists are fanatical
preservers. They always take extra time when
tapping into a plant’s life energy and carefully
replace the life-force after extracting the small
amount of energy they need. To some extent,
even defilers respect restorationists. After all,
they are making the land healthy again,
providing the defiler with new sources of energy.
Restorationists never advertise that they are
wizards, claiming only that they have knowledge
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of agriculture or lore concerning the plant life of
Athas.
Restorationists are respectful of all living things.
They never take lives unnecessarily, though they
will make exceptions for exterminators, whom
they consider to be dangerous and insane. They
prefer to eat things which return some value to
the land such as fruits with seeds that can be
replanted. If dining on animals, the restorationist
always tries to bury the remains so the nutrients
from the carcass will provide fertilization for the
land; when eating fruits, grains, and vegetables,
the wizard keeps seeds for planting in fertile
areas and uses any leftover vegetable matter as
compost. As traveling companions,
restorationists are thoughtful and self-assured.
Though they don’t seek combat, they will defend
their companions. Their knowledge of the land
and herbs makes them valued members of any
party.
There are two main reasons why restorationists
travel: to see and learn about the land, and to
find ways to make it fertile once again. To this
end, the wizard might travel in search of ancient
tomes that describe spells which affect plants, or
might accompany a group because they will pass
through an oasis where certain plants grow that
the restorationist wants to seed elsewhere.
Because they are wholly consumed by their goal
of restoring Athas, restorationists tend to choose
their spells based on usefulness to this goal. They
tend toward divination and abjuration spells, but
also utilize many alteration
spells such as plant growth. They are constantly
searching for new spells that will have a positive
effect upon the land.
Restorationists refuse to use anything made of
wood. If they have staves, these are carved from
huge bones. Additionally, they may choose to
take garden hoe (sickle made of bone) as a
weapon.
These wizards are not hated and reviled like
others because they are the most careful not to
let anyone know that they are spellcasters.
Nobles and commoners alike come to them for
advice on growing more abundant crops, and
they are respected for their knowledge. If a
restorationist has passed through an area before
without causing problems, he has advantage to
Charisma skills check with the residents due to
help he may have rendered them in the past.
The restorationist is bound by a code not to pull
energy form any one group of plants or area (10
feet x 10 feet) more than once per day. He can’t
pull life energy from the same patch of
vegetation as before, and this forces him to
move around in combat. Additionally, the
restorationist does not gather energy at the time
when he
memorizes his spells for the day, because of his
strong beliefs that all plant life must
be left as healthy as possible.
Defilers who know of a restorationist’s work and
who have ties to sorcerer-kings occasionally
attempt to kidnap these wizards to keep the
powerful ruler’s gardens green and healthy.
Restorationist Features
Wizard
Level Features
2nd Creation Savant, Applied Reconstruction
6th Prolonged Regeneration
10th Blossom of Life
11th Overheal
Creation Savant
Beginning when you select this school at 2nd
level, the gold and time you must spend to copy
an evocation spell into your spellbook is halved.
Additionally, you learn two cantrips and add one
1st level spell to your spellbook from the cleric
spell list. These spells are wizard spells for you,
but other wizards can’t copy cleric spells from
your spellbook into their own spellbooks.
Applied Reconstruction
Starting at 2nd level, you can reverse the
destructive force of your evocation spells,
transforming their power into healing energy.
When you cast an evocation spell of 1st level or
higher that targets only one creature, with an
instantaneous duration, and doesn’t require
concentration, the target creature takes no
damage and instead regains a number of hit
points equal to half of the total.
If the spell requires you to make an attack roll or
requires a creature to make a saving throw, the
creature can choose to be hit or fail the saving
throw. The spell doesn’t impose any status
conditions.
Undead and constructs can't regain hit points in
this way.
You may also choose to take one extra spell per
day which directly has an effect on the
environment, the land, or plant or animal life.
Prolonged Regeneration
Beginning at 6th level, when you cast a wizard
spell that restores hit points, living creatures
affected by the spell continues to regenerate
over the next 1d4 rounds. The creature regains
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hit points equal to your Intelligence modifier at
the start of its turn, provided it has at least 1 hit
point remaining.
Additionally, while a creature is regenerates in
this way, it‘s immune to disease and poison. If
the creature is currently diseased or poisoned,
any effects are suspended for the duration of its
regeneration.
Because of your close association with growing
things, you can cast once per long rest the 3rd
level cleric spell speak with plants. This does not
count against your memorized spells, nor does it
require life energy when used.
Blossom of Life
Starting at 10th level, you can focus the healing
energies around certain pockets within the
effects of your evocation spells. When you cast
an evocation spells that affects other creatures
that you can see, you can choose a number of
them equal to 1 + the spell’s level to impose an
effect that uses your wizard’s spell save DC. The
chosen creatures automatically succeed on their
saving throws and take no damage from the
spell. They also regain hit points equal to half the
damage the spell would have dealt. Undead and
constructs can't regain hit points in this way.
Overheal
Starting at 14th level, you can increase the
power of your simpler spells. When you cast a
wizard spell of 5th level or lower that restores hit
points, you can maximize the healing power of
that spell.
The first time you do so, you suffer no adverse
effect. If you use this feature again before you
finish a long rest, you take 1d12 necrotic damage
for each level of the spell, immediately after the
healing affect occurs. Each time you use this
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feature again before finishing a long rest, the
necrotic damage per spell level increases by
1d12. This damage ignores resistance and
immunity.
Additionally, you choose four spells from the
cleric spell list to add to your spellbook, one from
each of the following levels: 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th.
These spells are wizard spells for you, but other
wizards can’t copy cleric spells from your
spellbook into their own spellbooks.
Path Sinister
Arcane Traditions
School of Conjuration
As a conjurer, you favor spells that produce
objects and creatures out of thin air. You can
conjure billowing clouds of killing fog or summon
creatures from elsewhere to fight on your behalf.
As your mastery grows, you learn spells of
transportation and can teleport yourself across
vast distances, even to other planes - like the
elemental planes or the Grey and the Black - in
an instant.
Conjuration Savant
Beginning when you select this school at 2nd
level, the money and time you must spend to
copy a conjuration spell into your spellbook is
halved.
Minor Conjuration
Starting at 2nd level when you select this school,
you can use your action to conjure up an
inanimate object in your hand or on the ground
in an unoccupied space that you can see within
10 feet of you.
  This object can be no larger than 3 feet on
a side and weigh no more than 10 pounds
 Its form must be that of a non-magical
object that you have seen.
 The object is visibly magical, radiating dim
light out to 5 feet.
 The object disappears after 1 hour, when
you use this feature again, or if it takes or
deals any damage.
Benign Transposition
Starting at 6th level, you can use your action to
teleport up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space
that you can see. Alternatively, you can choose a
space within range that is occupied by a Small or
Medium creature. If that creature is willing, you
both teleport, swapping places. Once you use
this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish
a long rest or you cast a conjuration spell of 1st
level or higher.
Focused Conjuration
Beginning at 10th level, while you are
concentrating on a conjuration spell, your
concentration can’t be broken as a result of
taking damage.
Durable Summons
Starting at 14th level, any creature that you
summon or create with a conjuration spell has 30
temporary hit points.
School of Necromancy
The School of Necromancy explores the cosmic
forces of life, death, and undeath. As you focus
your studies in this tradition, you learn to
manipulate the energy that animates all living
things. As you progress, you learn to sap the life
force from a creature as your magic destroys its
body, transforming that vital energy into magical
power you can manipulate. Most people see
necromancers as menacing, or even villainous,
due to the close association with death. Not all
necromancers are evil, but the forces they
manipulate are considered taboo by many
societies.
Necromancers are mainly concerned with the
search for immortality. They learn all they can of
death in order to avoid its eventual embrace.
Some are merely interested scholars, while
others want to attain immortality themselves. To
this end, they often seek out intelligent undead
to learn from and may serve them in some
capacity in return for this information. Some
necromancers search for kaisharga to learn how
to become like them; others may approach
meorty resting places hoping to learn more
about the mysterious ancients.
Necromancy Savant
Beginning when you select this school at 2nd
level, the money and time you must spend to
copy a necromancy spell into your spellbook is
halved.
Grim Harvest
At 2nd level, you gain the ability to reap life
energy from creatures you kill with your spells.
Once per turn when you kill one or more
creatures with a spell of 1st level or higher, you
regain hit points equal to twice the spell’s level,
or three times its level if the spell belongs to the
School of Necromancy. You don’t gain this
benefit for killing constructs or undead.
Undead Thralls
At 6th level, you add the animate dead spell to
your spellbook if it is not there already. When
you cast animate dead, you can target one
additional corpse or pile of bones, creating
another zombie or skeleton, as appropriate.
Whenever you create an undead using a
necromancy spell, it has additional benefits:
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  The creature’s hit point maximum is
increased by an amount equal to your
wizard level.
 The creature adds your proficiency bonus
to its weapon damage rolls.
Inured to Undeath
Beginning at 10th level, you have resistance to
necrotic damage, and your hit point maximum
can’t be reduced. You have spent so much time
dealing with undead and the forces that animate
them that you have become inured to some of
their worst effects.
Command Undead
Starting at 14th level, you can use magic to bring
undead under your control, even those created
by other wizards. 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 wizard 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 0f
12 or higher, it can repeat the saving throw at
the end of every hour until it succeeds and
breaks free.
Switching Roles
There’s a saying on Athas: “Once a defiler,
always a defiler.” It’s a popular sentiment among
preservers, especially those of the Veiled
Alliance, but it’s not entirely true. Preservers can
use defiling techniques in a limited manner
without crossing the line, or they can embrace
the power offered through defilement and cross
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over to the other side. The same is true of
defilers; they can step away from the dark pit
and return to the preserving path if they have
the will and desire to do so.
The Road to Corruption
There’s a difference between using spells that
belong to the Path Sinister and employing
defiling methods to gather the energy for casting
spells. The memorization and casting of a Path
Sinister spell doesn’t qualify as using defiling
magic. Only the actual defilement of the land
counts as using defiling magic.
If a preserver wants to use defiling methods to
gather energy (or must do so in an emergency),
he rolls on TABLE: GATHERING SPELL ENERGY
THROUGH DEFILING MAGIC. A preserver may do
so once per level of experience without suffering
any penalties. Even if the check fails, the attempt
constitutes the allowed use of defiling magic
methods for a given level. Each use beyond that
is a potentially dangerous one, both to the
preserver’s health and his standing as a
preserver. Each additional use of defiling magic
within a given level of experience requires the
preserver to make a Wisdom saving throw DC 11
+ spell level, modified by a cumulative +2 per
each additional use. A failed saving throw
indicates that the energy came not from plants,
but from within the preserver himself. He suffers
a permanent 1d4 point loss from his Constitution
score and becomes a defiler immediately. If he
was formerly of good alignment, an alignment
change to neutral or evil is necessary, indicative
of his willingness to gain power through defiling.
He no longer accesses Path Dexter spells at an
advantage. The new defiler must seek out a
teacher (another defiler) if he wishes to learn
how to gain such a bonus for learning Path
Sinister spells. The bonus isn’t automatic; it must
be learned.
Some purists maintain that even learning spells
from the Path Sinister taints a preserver, and to
some degree they may be right. If preservers
learn more spells from Path Sinister than from
Path Dexter, there is a 5% chance per spell level
that this knowledge will corrupt them, leading
them to use defiling methods to gather power.
Such penalties are cumulative, and checks are
made once per level of experience.
The Road Back
A preserver who becomes a defiler can return to
the preserving path, but it isn’t easy. He must
stop gathering spell energy as a defiler, not
advance in level until he attains enough
experience to reach the next level as a preserver,
and undertake some momentous quest to
demonstrate his commitment to the preserving
way. He gets one chance to do it right. If he
crosses the line again, he remains a defiler
forever.
A recovered preserver never enjoys the full trust
of other preservers. If he was a member of the
Veiled Alliance, he finds his membership revoked
and he is shunned by all who wear the veil.
Sometimes Alliance agents might even attempt
to slay him. He will never be accepted into the
Alliance again in any case. Also, a recovered
preserver retains some taint of his corruption.
Finally, a recovered preserver’s attempts to
become an avangion are much harder, requiring
him to make a Wisdom saving throw, DC 20 +
spell level attained as a Defiler, when the first
transformation is attempted. If he fails, the
powerful magics rip through the wizard, in effect
erasing experience and returning him to one
level below his current one. He may, of course,
garner more experience and try again. Each time
the first transformation is attempted, this roll
must be made. If the wizard is successful, he may
start upon the road to becoming an avangion.
The Path of Preservation
Defilers have their own problems. Universally
feared and hated, every hand is turned against
them. Some may find employment with a
particular sorcerer-king, but they are kept on
short leashes, required to do those powerful
beings’ dirty work and taught only the spells
their patrons deem necessary for them to learn.
Should they become too powerful, the sorcerer-
kings simply eliminate them; there are always
more defilers. And in these days when even
sorcerer-kings are not safe from determined
heroes, what security is there for a king’s today?
Those who don’t work for more powerful
patrons must hide their talents just as preservers
do.
Additionally, people tend to forget that not all
defilers are evil. Admittedly, the vast majority
are only out to garner power for their own selfish
ends, but some few have been misled by defiler
teachers or are simply ignorant of the extent of
the damage they cause. Although there are no
known tales of a defiler changing her ways to
become a preserver, it’s not impossible (and in
fact, has been done at least once, but that story
is not public knowledge).
Until they reach 6th level, defilers may change
their ways, abandoning the destructive
defilement methods and becoming preservers. A
defiler who wishes to switch to the preserver
class undergoes some rigorous trials to do so.
First, he must stop gathering the energy to
power spells at all. After one week, during which
he casts no magic and spends time purifying
himself, the defiler becomes a preserver of one
level lower than her current experience level,
with the minimum number of experience points
for that level.
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Through purification and meditation, the new
preserver is able to intuit how to draw energy
more slowly so as not to harm the environment.
He must excise enough Path Sinister spells from
his spell book so that he has fewer spells from
that path than from Path Dexter. He can’t utilize
the bonus to learn spells from Path Dexter’
schools at this time. New spells must be found
and learned in the usual way. Once he attains
enough experience points to advance to the next
level as a preserver, he may seek out a teacher
and learn the secrets which allow preservers to
learn Path Dexter spells more easily. He must
convince the teacher of his sincerity and may be
required to fulfill some mission that strengthens
the preserver cause in order to prove himself.
Additionally, the teacher may require him to tap
energy and cast spells as a test to see if he uses
defiling to do so.
Once the reformed defiler has made the change,
he must be ever on guard against backsliding. He
is allowed the one use per level that all
preservers have. A second use of defiling
methods at a given level undoes all the
reformation. He gets no saving throw, but takes
the 1d4 Constitution loss and immediately
reverts to being a defiler once again. There is no
second chance. Like reformed preservers who
have slipped to defilement and recovered,
former defilers must undergo a Wisdom saving
throw, DC 20 + spell level attained as a Defiler, in
order to begin their first transformation to
avangion form. Failure carries the same penalties
as those listed under “The Road Back.”
Beyond 6th level, it’s much harder for a defiler to
reform (and most never want to). Those of 7th
level or higher who do wish to change their ways
must undergo everything that lower-level
candidates for reform do, but their penalties are
far worse. To reflect their long years of using
defiling magic, higher level defilers don’t just lose
one level in the switch; they lose half of them
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(rounded down). Though they retain their hit
points, all else revert to the lower level. The
former defiler becomes a preserver of half his
former level. Though they advance in level from
this point, they gain no additional hit points until
they surpass the level at which they switched to
the preserver class.
Because this is such a momentous change, it
must be done under the tutelage and protection
of a preserver at least one level higher than the
defiler’s reduced level. The rituals involved (see
“New Spells”) wipe knowledge of former spells
from higher levels from the reformed defiler’s
mind, leaving it clean and ready to be taught a
new way of casting magic. The reformed defiler
must spend at least six months with the patron
preserver, learning new methods and preparing
a new spell book. Additionally, to show his
commitment to starting anew and relinquishing
his former power-hungry nature, the wizard
must give up all magical items he formerly had.
Even protective devices, if they were acquired
during a period when he was corrupted, should
be given away (to an NPC stranger so it will be
removed from play), destroyed, or discarded.
Because of the complete change which occurs
through this transformation, all former evil is
removed from the wizard, cleansing him enough
that he may attempt to become an avangion,
though he too must successfully a Wisdom
saving throw, DC 20 + spell level attained as a
Defiler, in order to undertake the first step of the
transformation process. Once a reformed defiler
starts transforming into an avangion, all lingering
taints of corruption are eradicated and the
wizard can never again fall from the preserving
path.
Dark rumors persist that some high-level
preservers actively seek to become defilers for
reasons known only to themselves. In such cases,
the same difficulties and penalties apply to the
former preservers. Of course, advancement is
much faster when the wizard doesn’t care about
the consequences of his actions any longer. Such
a fallen preserver may attempt to become a
dragon with no penalties.
A preserver who switches to the defiler class
becomes a defiler of the same level, with the
minimum number of experience points for that
level (thus losing experience points). To regain
his former station, the character must:
1) stop drawing energy as a defiler;
2) not advance in level until he has accumulated
enough experience to reach the next level as a
preserver; and
3) perform a great personal sacrifice or
undertake a momentous quest to demonstrate
his commitment to the preserving way.
A preserver who returns from being a defiler has
just one chance. If the character crosses the line
again, he remains a defiler until his dying day.
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Sorcerer Class
On Athas, the energy for wizardly magic doesn’t
come from some extra-dimensional source as it
does on other worlds, but from the living
environment itself. Wizardly magic taps into the
life force of Athas, drawing strength from the
fertile soil and the plants that grow within it. It
provides great power to those who can gather
and shape it, though the cost to the world can be
beyond measure.
All Athasian sorcerers, defilers and preservers
alike (with a few exceptions), power their spells
with life energy. Until they reach very high levels,
wizards draw upon the life force of plants only.
The magic of advanced preservers and defilers
(above 20th level) draws energy from both plant
and animal life—including humans and
humanoids.
Dragons, the ultimate defilers, wantonly destroy
both plant life and living creatures to power their
spells. All the remaining sorcerer-kings of the Tyr
Region walk the path of transformation into
dragons. Avangions, the most advanced
preserver form achievable, know how to utilize
the life energy of plants and living beings without
harming the source.
In recent times sorcerers have emerged who
have learned to draw energy from alternate
sources. All of these sorcerer are magic users
that are attached to either preserver or defiler
classes. But they are in danger of defiling land if
their energy source fails them, without them
gaining the spoils of defiling the land.
Ceruleans, for example, are sorcerers who can
draw power from the forces whirling within the
Cerulean Storm. Few know much about
ceruleans as they are as new to Athas as the
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storm they take their name from, are few in
number, and are only rarely encountered. They
alone among Athasian magic users seem able to
draw power from this seemingly elemental
source, a path usually denied to defilers and
preservers but open to elemental priests. That
ceruleans are able to use the great storm to
power their spells indicates that the storm is not,
in truth, simply an elemental force. The Cerulean
Storm, born of magic and nourished by its
connection to the imprisoned essences of Rajaat
the First Sorcerer and Tithian of Tyr, isn’t just an
elemental force. Cerulean sorcerers draw upon
the storm’s spirit rather than its elemental
nature.
Grey Sorcerers, on the other hand, have been
around for generations, but little is known of
them. These sorcerers draw their power from
the plane of the dead, the Gray. Like ceruleans,
their magic is powered by a different energy
source. In this case, the energy they draw is
negative, or anti-life energy. They tend toward
defilement, as their spell energies are concerned
mostly with death, immortality, and the undead.
Shadow sorcerers, too, aren’t especially new.
Like Grey sorcerers, these sorcerers draw energy
from another plane of existence instead of from
living things. In this case, the planar source is the
Black, that shadow dimension that separates
everything that exists from everything that
doesn’t. Besides drawing power from the Black,
shadow sorcerers require light to utilize their
magic, as shadows can’t exist in the absence of
light.
Special Energy Sources
While most Athasian sorcerers rely on the life
energy of plants or, in rare instances, animals,
there are those who have the knowledge and
ability to draw energy from other sources; we
call them Sorcerers. They are playing with
energies that can be very volatiles, and that
makes them at risk of defiling the land if these
sources fail them when gathering energy to cast
spells.
These special energy sources are described
below:
The Cerulean Storm
The Cerulean Storm is a recent phenomenon on
Athas. Formed in the Year of Friend’s Agitation of
the 190th King’s Age (Free Year 10 according to
the Tyr Calendar) when King Tithian of Tyr
attempted to free Rajaat the First Sorcerer, the
storm covers what was once the valley of Dust
and Fire in the Silt Sea. This deadly tempest is
fueled by the First Wizard’s bond with elemental
water and by the anger and frustration of
Tithian. Tithian was caught and imprisoned in the
Black when Rajaat was forced to return to the
Hollow. Part of Tithian’s consciousness can
emerge into the storm itself, where his rage and
pain are made manifest in the pounding rain,
gale force winds, and deadly lightning that swirl
within the never-ending storm.
Spinning off from the Cerulean Storm are lesser
tempests known as Tyr-storms. These rush
across the Tyr Region gaining power and
intensity until they burst, assaulting an area with
pelting hail, torrents of rain, furious winds, and
lethal bolts of lightning. Tyr-storms form and
approach quite rapidly, often giving those in
their path little time to prepare or seek cover.
Both the power of the Cerulean Storm itself and
its offshoots, the smaller Tyrstorms, are useful to
cerulean mages. These sorcerers can siphon
energy from the storms and, in the case of some
Tyr-storms, can even dissipate them and capture
their energy for later use. It’s important to note
that ceruleans aren’t tapping into elemental
power, but into the living sparks of those
connected to the storm—namely Tithian and
Rajaat.
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The Black
The Black is one of two planes that directly touch
the prime world of Athas; the other is the Gray.
The Black, a realm of chill darkness similar to the
Demi-plane of Shadow, can be accessed
wherever light creates shadows. In the absence
of light, no connection to the Black exists.
This vast dimension of darkness separates
everything that exists from everything that
doesn’t. It’s an absence filled with numbing cold,
endless darkness, and even living beings. Shadow
people, who some erroneously refer to as
shadow giants, live as part of the Black. These
one-time halflings were the loyal servants of
Rajaat the First Sorcerer. To complete their
betrayal of Rajaat, the Champions trapped the
halflings in the Black, and now the halflings can
only interact with the world through shadows.
King Tithian of Tyr, who tried to free Rajaat from
his prison beyond the Black, is also trapped
within this dimension. Due to the circumstances
of his interment, Tithian can only interact with
the world through the Cerulean Storm. The Black
lurks below the surface of all things, like the
leathery shell of a great egg, buried shallow and
about to hatch. The world of Athas exists outside
the shell of this egg. Inside, cold gloom fills the
plane, the entirety of which is a dark stain visible
only as an absence. Deep within the shell lies the
Hollow, a realm of absolute nothingness. Within
the vast emptiness of the Hollow, Rajaat the First
Sorcerer languishes in a prison formed of
treachery and magic.
Shadow sorcerers tap into the Black to gain the
energy needed for their magic. Indeed, those
who follow shadow sacrifice a portion of
themselves to the Black, becoming part shadow.
They depend as much on light as they do
darkness for the power they wield.
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The Gray
The Gray is a dreary, endless space, the place
Athasians go when they die. This infinite expanse
of ashen haze attracts the spirits of the dead
once they give up the confines of their mortal
raiment. In the Gray, the dead exist in a sort of
limbo, floating aimlessly in the ether or assuming
the forms they held in life. Eventually, the spirits
of the dead are dissolved and absorbed into the
Gray, much as their corpses are slowly
obliterated by rot and decay on Athas.
Some spirits don’t suffer this fate. They are
sustained by a force more powerful than the
Gray—their everlasting faith in a cause greater
than themselves. The wraiths who once served
Borys the Dragon were such spirits, surviving
centuries beyond death thanks to their
dedication to Borys.
Spirits of the dead coalesce out of the Gray;
when the living enter this plane they are drawn
through it. Most spirits can’t leave the Gray once
they become mired in its ashen haze. Only those
spirits that are classified as “undead” have this
ability. Spirit undead (also called non-corporeal
undead) can freely pass from the Gray to the
material world of Athas, but they must return to
the ashen plane at regular intervals to sustain
their existence. Corporeal undead can’t enter the
Gray, but they still draw sustenance from it.
The Gray surrounds the portion of the prime that
contains Athas. It separates Athas from the
Astral and Ethereal, making planar travel
difficult. In the case of the Astral Plane, the Gray
forms a wide buffer, making the Outer Planes
seem almost unreachable. The buffer isn’t nearly
as wide between Athas and the Ethereal.
Therefore, the Inner Planes are relatively closer,
and the elemental conduits that provide energy
to priests have less metaphysical distance to
travel.
Grey sorcerers reach into the Gray for energy to
cast spells. This source of power gives these
sorcerers a compelling connection to the dead
and undead, a connection that, in turn,
influences the sorcerers. They have the look of
death about them; it hangs like a dark aura or
burial shroud around them, marking them as
death sorcerers to those who can interpret such
signs. Others simply feel ill at ease in their
presence.
Raw Magic
Magic is a part of every sorcerer, suffusing body,
mind, and spirit with a latent power that waits to
be tapped. The appearance of sorcerous powers
is wildly unpredictable. Most of the time, the
talents of sorcery appear as apparent flukes.
Some sorcerers can’t name the origin of their
power, while others trace it to strange events in
their own lives. The touch of a cerulean rain fall,
the mark of a shadow at a baby’s birth, or a taste
of the water from a mysterious spring might
spark the gift of sorcery. So too might the
elemental forces of the Inner Planes or the
maddening chaos of the Grey, or a glimpse into
the inner workings of the Black.
Sorcerers have no use for the spellbooks and
ancient tomes of magic lore that wizards rely on,
nor do they rely on an energy to grant their
spells as clerics do with their element. By
learning to harness and channel their own inborn
magic, they can discover new and staggering
ways to unleash that power.
Unexplained Powers
Sorcerers are rare in the world, and it’s unusual
to find a sorcerer who is not involved in the
adventuring life in some way. People with
magical power seething in their veins soon
discover that the power doesn’t like to stay
quiet. A sorcerer’s magic wants to be wielded,
and it has a tendency to spill out in unpredictable
ways if it isn’t called on.
Sorcerers often have obscure or quixotic
motivations driving them to adventure. Some
seek a greater understanding of the magical
force that infuses them, or the answer to the
mystery of its origin. Others hope to find a way
to get rid of it, or to unleash its full potential.
Whatever their goals, sorcerers are every bit as
useful to an adventuring party as wizards,
making up for a comparative lack of breadth in
their magical knowledge with enormous
flexibility in using the spells they know.
Creating a Sorcerer
The most important question to consider when
creating your sorcerer is the origin of your
power.
How do you feel about the magical power
coursing through you? Do you embrace it, try to
master it, or revel in its unpredictable nature? Is
it a blessing or a curse? Did you seek it out, or
did it find you? Did you have the option to refuse
it, and do you wish you had? What do you intend
to do with it? Perhaps you feel like you’ve been
given this power for some lofty purpose. Or you
might decide that the power gives you the right
to do what you want, to take what you want
from those who lack such power. Perhaps your
power links you to a powerful individual in the
world—the spirit of the land that blessed you at
birth, the sorcerer-king who put a drop of its
blood into your veins, the kaisharga who created
you as an experiment, or the deity who chose
you to carry this power.
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 Proficiency Sorcery Features Cantrips Spells —Spell Slots per Spell Level—
Level Bonus Points Known Known 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th
1st +2 — Spellcasting, Sorcerous 4 2 2 — — — — — — — —
2nd +2 2 Origin
Font of Magic 4 3 3 — — — — — — — —
3rd +2 3 Metamagic 4 4 4 2 — — — — — — —
4th +2 4 Ability Score Improvement 5 5 4 3 — — — — — — —
5th +3 5 — 5 6 4 3 2 — — — — — —
6th +3 6 Sorcerous Origin Feature 5 7 4 3 3 — — — — — —
7th +3 7 — 5 8 4 3 3 1 — — — — —
8th +3 8 Ability Score Improvement 5 9 4 3 3 2 — — — — —
9th +4 9 — 5 10 4 3 3 3 1 — — — —
10th +4 10 Metamagic 6 11 4 3 3 3 2 — — — —
11th +4 11 — 6 12 4 3 3 3 2 1 — — —
12th +4 12 Ability Score Improvement 6 12 4 3 3 3 2 1 — — —
13th +5 13 — 6 13 4 3 3 3 2 1 1 — —
14th +5 14 Sorcerous Origin Feature 6 13 4 3 3 3 2 1 1 — —
15th +5 15 — 6 14 4 3 3 3 2 1 1 1 —
16th +5 16 Ability Score Improvement 6 14 4 3 3 3 2 1 1 1 —
17th +6 17 Metamagic 6 15 4 3 3 3 2 1 1 1 1
18th +6 18 Sorcerous Origin Feature 6 15 4 3 3 3 3 1 1 1 1
19th +6 19 Ability Score Improvement 6 15 4 3 3 3 3 2 1 1 1
20th +6 20 Sorcerous Restoration 6 15 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 1 1

QUICK BUILD Proficiencies

You can make a sorcerer quickly by following
these suggestions. First, Charisma should be your
highest ability score, followed by Constitution.
Second, choose the hermit background. Third,
choose the light, prestidigitation, ray of frost,
and shocking grasp cantrips, along with the 1st-
level spells shield and magic missile.
Armor: None
Weapons: Daggers, darts, slings, quarterstaffs,
light crossbows
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Constitution, Charisma
Skills: Choose two from Arcana, Deception,
Insight, Intimidation, Persuasion, and Religion

Equipment
Class Features You start with the following equipment, in
addition to the equipment granted by your
As a sorcerer, you gain the following class background:
features.
 (a) a light crossbow and 20 stone bolts or
Hit Points (b) any stone simple weapon
 (a) a component pouch
Hit Dice: 1d6 per sorcerer level  (a) a dungeoneer’s pack or (b) an explorer’s
Hit Points at 1st Level: 6 + your Constitution pack
modifier  Two stone daggers
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d6 (or 4) + your
Constitution modifier per sorcerer level after 1st

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Spellcasting
An event in your past, or in the life of a parent or
ancestor, left an indelible mark on you, infusing
you with arcane magic. This font of magic,
whatever its origin, fuels your spells. See Spells
Rules for the general rules of spellcasting and the
Spells Listing for the sorcerer spell list.
Cantrips
At 1st level, you know four cantrips of your
choice from the sorcerer spell list. You learn
additional sorcerer cantrips of your choice at
higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known
column of the Sorcerer table.
Spell Slots
The Sorcerer table shows how many spell slots
you have to cast your spells of 1st level and
higher. To cast one of these sorcerer 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 spell
burning hands and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-
level spell slot available, you can cast burning
hands using either slot.
Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher
You know two 1st-level spells of your choice
from the sorcerer spell list.
The Spells Known column of the Sorcerer table
shows when you learn more sorcerer spells of
your choice. Each of these spells must be of a
level for which you have spell slots. For instance,
when you reach 3rd level in this class, you can
learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level.
Additionally, when you gain a level in this class,
you can choose one of the sorcerer spells you
know and replace it with another spell from the
sorcerer spell list, which also must be of a level
for which you have spell slots.
Spellcasting Ability
Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your
sorcerer spells, since the power of your magic
relies on your ability to project your will into the
world. You use your Charisma whenever a spell
refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you
use your Charisma modifier when setting the
saving throw DC for a sorcerer spell you cast and
when making an attack roll with one.
Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your
Charisma modifier
Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus +
your Charisma modifier
Sorcerous Origin
Choose a sorcerous origin, which describes the
source of your innate magical power: Cerulean
Sorcerer, Grey Sorcerer, or Shadow Sorcerer.
Your choice grants you features when you
choose it at 1st level and again at 6th, 14th, and
18th level.
Font of Magic
At 2nd level, you tap into a deep wellspring of
magic within yourself. This wellspring is
represented by sorcery points, which allow you
to create a variety of magical effects.
Sorcery Points
You have 2 sorcery points, and you gain more as
you reach higher levels, as shown in the Sorcery
Points column of the Sorcerer table. You can
never have more sorcery points than shown on
the table for your level. You regain all spent
sorcery points when you finish a long rest.
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Flexible Casting
You can use your sorcery points to gain
additional spell slots, or sacrifice spell slots to
gain additional sorcery points. You learn other
ways to use your sorcery points as you reach
higher levels.
Creating Spell Slots. You can transform
unexpended sorcery points into one spell slot as
a bonus action on your turn. The Creating Spell
Slots table shows the cost of creating a spell slot
of a given level. You can create spell slots no
higher in level than 5th.
Any spell slot you create with this feature
vanishes when you finish a long rest.
Creating Spell Slots
Spell Sorcery Point
Slot Level Cost
1st 2 one). You must use the new rolls.
2nd 3
3rd 5
4th 6
5th 7
Converting a Spell Slot to Sorcery Points. As a
bonus action on your turn, you can expend one
spell slot and gain a number of sorcery points
equal to the slot’s level.
Metamagic
At 3rd level, you gain the ability to twist your
spells to suit your needs. You gain two of the
following Metamagic options of your choice. You
gain another one at 10th and 17th level.
You can use only one Metamagic option on a
spell when you cast it, unless otherwise noted.
Careful Spell
When you cast a spell that forces other creatures
to make a saving throw, you can protect some of
275
those creatures from the spell’s full force. To do
so, you spend 1 sorcery point and choose a
number of those creatures up to your Charisma
modifier (minimum of one creature). A chosen
creature automatically succeeds on its saving
throw against the spell.
Distant Spell
When you cast a spell that has a range of 5 feet
or greater, you can spend 1 sorcery point to
double the range of the spell.
When you cast a spell that has a range of touch,
you can spend 1 sorcery point to make the range
of the spell 30 feet.
Empowered Spell
When you roll damage for a spell, you can spend
1 sorcery point to reroll a number of the damage
dice up to your Charisma modifier (minimum of
You can use Empowered Spell even if you have
already used a different Metamagic option
during the casting of the spell.
Extended Spell
When you cast a spell that has a duration of 1
minute or longer, you can spend 1 sorcery point
to double its duration, to a maximum duration of
24 hours.
Heightened Spell
When you cast a spell that forces a creature to
make a saving throw to resist its effects, you can
spend 3 sorcery points to give one target of the
spell disadvantage on its first saving throw made
against the spell.
Quickened Spell
When you cast a spell that has a casting time of 1
action, you can spend 2 sorcery points to change
the casting time to 1 bonus action for this
casting.
Subtle Spell
When you cast a spell, you can spend 1 sorcery
point to cast it without any somatic or verbal
components.
Twinned Spell
When you cast a spell that targets only one
creature and doesn’t have a range of self, you
can spend a number of sorcery points equal to
the spell’s level to target a second creature in
range with the same spell (1 sorcery point if the
spell is a cantrip).
To be eligible, a spell must be incapable of
targeting more than one creature at the spell’s
current level. For example, magic missile and
scorching ray aren’t eligible, but ray of frost and
chromatic orb are.
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.
Sorcerous Restoration
At 20th level, you regain 4 expended sorcery
points whenever you finish a short rest.
Sorcerous Origins
Different sorcerers claim different origins for
their innate magic. These origins fall into three
categories: Cerulean Storm, the Grey and the
Black. Shadow wizards have been around for
many centuries, though never in large numbers.
They are mystics who have reached out and
touched the Black, one of the dimensions that
separates Athas from the rest of the multiverse.
They tap the cold power of this dimension for
the energy they need to cast their spells.
Moreover, they use darkness and light—and the
shadows they cast—to understand the meaning
of existence by examining what is missing.
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Shadow Sorcerer
The shadow sorcerer uses a different energy
source for memorizing and casting spells. In this
case, that source is the plane of existence known
only as the Black. The few who know that
shadow sorcerers exist consider them to be evil
beings of pure darkness. These few are wrong.
Shadow sorcerers appear distant, cold, even
bleak, but they can be of any alignment. This
bend toward law or chaos, good or evil, is
tempered by an unyielding neutrality. The
shadow sorcerer believes in a balance in all
things, for there can be no shadow without both
light and darkness. Shadow sorcerers are always
cold to the touch, even in the heat of an Athasian
day.
They spend a portion of each day basking in
shadow, and they tend to stick to shadowy
places most other times. They always wear robes
or cloaks full of folds and shadows, even on the
hottest days.
These wizards believe themselves to be separate
and apart from the rest of the world. Like the
Black itself, they see themselves as great
dividers. On one side is everything that exists; on
the other, everything that doesn’t. The shadow
wizard walks the narrow path between, always
with one foot in the Black. To accomplish this, a
shadow wizard sacrifices a portion of himself to
the Black, becoming part living shadow. In many
ways, the robes they wear are to hide this
sacrifice from others who would misunderstand
and fear such a sight.
You are a creature of shadow, for your innate
magic comes from the Black itself. Perhaps you
were exposed to its fell energy and transformed
by it. The power of shadow magic casts a strange
pall over your physical presence. The spark of life
that sustains you is muffled, as if it struggles to
remain viable against the dark energy that
277
imbues your soul. At your option, you can pick
from or roll on the Shadow Sorcerer Quirks table
to create a quirk for your character.
Shadow Sorcerer Quirks
d6 Quirks
1 You are always icy cold to the touch, even in
the heat of an Athasian day.
2 When you sleep you don't appear to breathe
(though you must still breathe to survive).
3 You barely bleed, even when badly injured.
4 Your heart beats once per minute. This event
sometimes surprises you.
5 Your breath is cold, even in the hottest day in
the Athasian desert.
6 You blinked. Once. Last week.
Gathering Energy for Spell
As long as a connection to the Black exists within
10 feet of a shadow sorcerer, he has access to its
energy. These connections exist wherever light
forms shadow. In complete darkness, there can
be no shadows, so no connection to the Black is
possible. If there are no connection to the Black,
your spells defile the ground with the radius of
one terrain quality under the actual terrain. You
don’t gain the benefit of possible additional
spells when defiling.
Eyes of the Dark
Starting at 1st level you have Darkvision with a
range of 120 feet.
When you reach 3rd level in this class you learn
the Darkness spell which doesn't count against
your number of sorcerer spells known. In
addition, you can cast it by spending 2 Sorcery
Points or by expending a spell slot. If you cast it
with sorcery points, you can see through the
darkness created by the spell.
Strength of the Grave
Starting at 1st level, your existence in a twilight
state between life and death makes you difficult
to defeat. When damage reduces you to 0 Hit
Points, you can make a Charisma saving throw
(DC 5 + damage taken). On a success you instead
drop to 1 Hit Point. You can't use this feature if
you are reduced to 0 Hit Points by radiant
damage or by a critical hit.
After the saving throw succeeds you can't use
this feature again until you finish a Long Rest.
Power from Darkness
At 6th level, a portion of your body becomes living
shadow. This portion is the size of the your hand,
and each level thereafter the living shadow
spreads until 50% of your physical form is
replaced by shadow. This shadow has a
permanent chill touch spell effect upon it that
can be used once per level per day. This change
to shadow doesn’t affect the amount of water a
shadow wizard must consume each day.
You also gain the ability to communicate with all
shadow creatures. They may not heed you, but
they will understand you and you them.
You are immune to cold damage.
You have disadvantage on your Charisma skill checks.
Shadow Walk
At 14th level you gain the ability to step from
one shadow to another. When you are in dim
light or darkness, as a bonus action, you can
magically teleport up to 120 feet to an
unoccupied space you can see that is also in dim
light or darkness.
Umbral Form
Starting at 18th level, you can spend 6 Sorcery
Points as a bonus action to magically transform
yourself into a shadowy form. In this form, you
have resistance to all damage except force and
radiant damage, and you can move through
other creatures and objects as if they were
difficult terrain. You take 5 force damage if you
end your turn inside an object.
You remain in this form for 1 minute. It ends
early if you are incapacitated, if you die, or if you
dismiss it as a bonus action.
Cerulean Sorcerer
Cerulean wizards are spellcasters who draw the
energy to power their spells from the Cerulean
Storm. Though many of their spells are
destructive in nature, ceruleans may be either
preservers or defilers. As such, they can gather
spell energy in the normal manner, or cull it from
the Cerulean Storm or the smaller Tyr-storms
that it produces.
Cerulean wizards must have some sort of chaotic
alignment (chaotic good, chaotic neutral, or
chaotic evil) in order to comprehend the
changeable nature of the storm’s power.
Cerulean wizards are new to Athas. They are
explorers and researchers who have discovered a
new power source and who seek to exploit it. For
whatever reason, cerulean wizards were not
content to practice magic as hundreds of
generations of wizards have done before them.
Whether they sought more power, an end to the
destruction of the world’s plant life, an outlet for
their creativity in experimentation, or simply
craved new knowledge, each cerulean wizard
found a new way to cast magic. Others have
been lured to the power by Tithian, the one-time
king of Tyr who is trapped within the storm.
Ceruleans are by nature tamperers and
experimenters. Older ceruleans were magical
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theoreticians doomed to frustration and failure
until the appearance of the cerulean storm.
Younger wizards may have stumbled upon the
power source without realizing what they’d
found. Each, however, is a pioneer in a whole
new form of wizardry. The Cerulean Storm has
only been in existence for a short time. It is
something of an unknown factor, especially since
it is situated out in the center of the Sea of Silt.
The Tyr-storms that spin off of the larger one
also provide energy for cerulean wizards, but the
result of drawing upon them may be to call down
their full destructive power on an area.
Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t,
depending on the skill and strength of will of the
wizard. Wizards who can utilize the storm’s
power are breaking new ground each time they
cast a storm-powered spell.
Because they are not content to rely on old
theories and practices, all cerulean wizards are
mavericks. The sorcerer-kings are loathe to
employ them, having little idea what they are
likely to do or even what they are capable of
doing. Further, it disturbs the sorcerer-kings to
think that tampering with the Cerulean Storm
may somehow weaken the seals which are once
again keeping Rajaat, the First Sorcerer,
imprisoned in the Hollow and his servants tied to
the Black.
Likewise, the Veiled Alliance wants little to do
with those who play with forces they may not
know how to control. Even if they could condone
the cerulean wizard’s use of the Cerulean Storm
to power their spells, the Alliance has little need
of magical mavericks who can’t or won’t follow
orders. Even if cerulean wizards don’t directly
harm plant life, they are potentially capable of
wiping out whole areas of green growing things if
they lose control of their spells and draw down a
Tyr-storm on top of themselves.
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Despite this, cerulean wizards can make very
helpful traveling companions. They are more tied
to elemental type spells than other wizards, they
can call upon powerful destructive magic with
which to combat foes, and they even have a
chance to use up the power of a Tyr-storm, thus
negating its destructive power.
Gathering Energy for Spell
Because of the chaotic nature of the Cerulean
Storm, if you don’t have your blue glass lens or
don’t have the fury of the Cerulean Storm nearby
to energize your spells, your spells will then
defile the ground with the radius of one terrain
quality under the actual terrain. You don’t gain
the benefit of possible additional spells when
defiling.
Arcane Focus
You can use a blue glass lens as an arcane focus
(see the Adventuring Gear section) as a
spellcasting focus for your sorcerer spells. You
may craft it yourself. It is used to focus the
storm’s power so that you may use it. One such
lens at a time may be created to act as an arcane
focus. For all saving throws, it is treated as if it
were normal glass.
Wind Speaker
The arcane magic you command is infused with
elemental air. you can speak, read, and write
Primordial. Knowing this language allows you to
understand and be understood by those that
speak its dialects: Aquan, Auran, Ignan, and
Terran.
Tempestuous Magic
At 1st level, you can use a bonus action on your
turn to cause whirling gusts of elemental air to
briefly surround you, immediately before or after
you cast a spell of 1st level or higher. Doing so
allows you to fly up to 10 feet without provoking
opportunity attacks.
Heart of the Storm
At 6th level, you gain resistance to lightning and
thunder damage. In addition, whenever you cast
a spell of 1st level or higher that deals lightning
or thunder damage, stormy magic erupts from
you. This eruption causes creatures of your
choice that you can see within 10 feet of you to
take lightning or thunder damage (choose each
time this ability activates) equal to half your
sorcerer level.
Storm Guide
At 6th level, you gain the ability to subtly control
the weather around you.
If it is raining, you can use an action to cause the
rain to stop falling in a 20‐foot radius centered
on you. You can end this effect as a bonus
action.
If it is windy, you can use a bonus action each
round to choose the direction that the wind
blows in a 100‐foot radius sphere around you.
The wind blows in that direction until the end of
your next turn. This feature does not alter the
speed of the wind.
Storm’s Fury
Starting at 14th level, when you are hit by a
melee attack, you can use your reaction to deal
lightning damage to the attacker. The damage
equals your sorcerer level. The attacker must
also make a Strength saving throw against your
sorcerer spell save DC. On a failed save, the
attacker is pushed in a straight line up to 20 feet
away from you.
Wind Soul
At 18th level, you gain immunity to lightning and
thunder damage. You also gain a magical flying
speed of 60 feet. As an action, you can reduce
your flying speed to 30 feet for 1 hour and
choose a number of creatures within 30 feet of
you equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier. The
chosen creatures gain a flying speed of 30 feet
for 1 hour. Once you reduce your flying speed in
this way, you can't do so again until you finish a
short or long rest.
Grey Sorcerer
Overly concerned with death and negative
energies, necromancers are wizards who have
somehow become tied in to the plane known as
the Gray. Though they marginally interact with
this plane by drawing energy from it, they don’t
open portals into the Gray simply by virtue of
their spellcasting. This is not a specialist mage,
but a wizard who has attracted the energies of
the Athasian plane of the dead.
Due to the nature of the Gray, all Grey Sorcerers
must have neutral as one aspect of their
alignments.
Whether through a fascination with death or by
attempting to harness negative life energy, Grey
Sorcerers have become tied to the Gray. They
are delvers into the great unknown, seekers of
the answers known only to the dead, and
hopeful searchers in the frantic scramble for
immortality. Rather than drawing the energy to
power their spells from plant life, Grey Sorcerers
draw it from the Gray, the realm of the Athasian
dead. It is thus difficult for most people to tell if
they are defilers or preservers, since they have
little effect on the plant life around them in
normal circumstances.
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Grey Sorcerers are mainly concerned with the
search for immortality. They learn all they can of
death in order to avoid its eventual embrace.
Some are merely interested scholars, while
others want to attain immortality themselves. To
this end, they often seek out intelligent undead
to learn from and may serve them in some
capacity
in return for this information. Grey Sorcerers
who make such bargains are always NPCs. Some
Grey Sorcerers search for kaisharga to learn how
to become like them; others may approach
meorty resting places hoping to learn more
about the mysterious ancients.
Player character Grey Sorcerers may be normal
adventurers who have let their fear of death
overwhelm them, true scholars seeking to unlock
the secrets of death and immortality, or regular
people who have inexplicably become linked to
the Gray due to a curse or tragic event.
While most people consider Grey Sorcerers
ghoulish and poor company, they can be quite
potent adventuring companions. Their abilities
to animate dead and to keep intelligent (free-
willed) undead from ravaging if given the chance
to speak to them should not be overlooked.
Defilers have the edge in learning necromantic
spells, but neither defilers nor preservers harm
the land when they cast their spells through the
Gray. The energy to power their magic comes
from the Gray, leaking out of the inevitable
cracks around the joinings of this plane to Athas.
Gathering Energy for Spell
Because of the unstable nature of your
connection to the Gray, if you don’t have your
obsidian orb or shard to energize your spells,
your spells will then defile the ground with the
radius of one terrain quality under the actual
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terrain. You don’t gain the benefit of possible
additional spells when defiling.
Arcane Focus
You can use an obsidian orb or shard as an
arcane focus (see the Adventuring Gear section)
as a spellcasting focus for your sorcerer spells.
You may buy it or craft it yourself. It is used to
focus the Grey’s power so that you may use it.
Undeath Affinity
At 1st level, the necromancy magic within your
renders you less hostile toward undead
creatures. You have advantage on Charisma
checks when interacting with undeads.
Additionally, you can interfere with an undead
creature when it attempts to harm you. When an
undead targets you directly with an attack or a
harmful spell that requires an attack roll, you can
use a reaction to impose disadvantage on that
attack roll.
Also, you are immune to any fear caused by the
undead.
Bonus Cantrip
When you choose this origin at 1st level, you
gain the spare the dying cantrip if you don’t
already know it; it counts as a sorcerer cantrip
for you.
Control the Deads
At 6th level, necrotic damage you deal ignores
resistance and immunity. Additionally, when
rolling necrotic damage, you can treat any 1 on
the die as a 2.
You have resistance to necrotic damage.
Grey Sorcerers have the look of death about
them. It hangs like a dark aura, growing stronger
as they advance in level. You have disadvantage
on Charisma skills checks.
Command Undead
Starting at 14th level, you can use magic to bring
undead under your control, even those created
by other wizards. 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 wizard 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 0f
12 or higher, it can repeat the saving throw at
the end of every hour until it succeeds and
breaks free.
Into the Grey
Beginning at 18th level, you gain the ability to
straddle the line between the realms of the living
and the dead. As an action, you can spend 5
sorcery points to become incorporeal for 1
minute. While incorporeal, you gain advantage
on stealth checks, and can move through objects
as though they were rough terrain. You have
immunity to the petrified, grappled, and
restrained conditions while incorporeal. Your
movement does not provoke attacks of
opportunity for the duration. You also gain
resistance to all damage except for radiant, force
and psychic damage while in this state. This
feature ends early if you become incapacitated.
If you are inside an object or occupied space
when this effect ends, you are ejected to the
nearest unoccupied space, knocked prone, and
you take 8d8 force damage. (this damage cannot
be reduced.)
Sun Sorcerer
Sadira of Tyr needs to be mentioned due to the
unusual conditions concerning her use of magic.
As a preserver who participated in the
assassination of King Kalak of Tyr, the
destruction of the Dragon, and the banishment
of the returned Rajaat to the Hollow, Sadira
often walked exceedingly close to the fine line
between preserving and defiling magic. At the
Pristine Tower, that ancient relic of the Blue
Age’s nature masters, Sadira became a “sun
sorceress” thanks to circumstances and a twist of
fate that can’t be repeated—there can be no
other sun wizards on Athas. Now, during the
daylight hours when the crimson sun blazes
across the sky, Sadira draws the energy for
wizardly magic from the sun itself. When filled
with the sun’s energy, she appears as beautiful
as ever, though her skin turns jet black, her eyes
glow like burning embers, her pupils disappear,
and wisps of black steam escape her lips when
she breathes. As they are drawn from the most
powerful source of energy on Athas, Sadira’s
abilities as a sun wizard are greater than her
abilities as a typical preserver.
At night, she reverts to her normal half-elven
form and must rely on normal preserving magic.
The tale of Sadira can be found in The Prism
Pentad novel series, as well as the new DARK
SUN Campaign Setting.
Gathering Energy for Spell
Because of the nature of your connection to the
Sun, if you don’t have direct sunlight to energize
your spells, your spells will then defile the ground
with the radius of one terrain quality under the
actual terrain. You don’t gain the benefit of
possible additional spells when defiling.
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Arcane Focus original score when you are not exposed to
sunlight.
You can use a lens or shard as an arcane focus
In addition, when you are under direct sunlight,
(see the Adventuring Gear section) as a
your skin turns to ebony and you gain resistance
spellcasting focus for your sorcerer spells. You
to piercing, bludgeoning, and slashing damage.
may buy it or craft it yourself. It is used to focus
the Sun’s power so that you may use it.

There can be no Shadow without Light

Warding Flare
At 1st level, once per long rest you gain the
ability to cast for free on yourself mage armor.
Additionally, you can interpose sunlight between
yourself and an attacking enemy. When you are
attacked by a creature within 30 feet of you that
you can see, you can use your reaction to impose
disadvantage on the attack roll, causing light to
flare before the attacker before it hits or misses.
An attacker that can't be blinded is immune to
this feature. You can use this feature a number
of times equal to your Charisma modifier (a
minimum of once). You regain all expended uses
when you finish a long rest.
Beginning at 18th level, you gain the ability to
summon, once per long rest, a shadow giant to
do your bidding for 1 hour.
Also, you can use your action to activate an aura
of sunlight that lasts for 1 minute or until you
dismiss it using another action. You emit bright
light in a 60-foot radius and dim light 30 feet
beyond that. Your enemies in the bright light
have disadvantage on saving throws against any
spell that deals fire or radiant damage.
You are immune to radiant damage.

Bonus Cantrip
When you choose this origin at 1st level, you
gain the light cantrip if you don’t already know it.

Radiance of the Dawn

At 6th level, You cannot be stunned or blinded
by light effects, magical or otherwise. Your water
usage is halved, and you can remain in the sun all
day without suffering any other ill effects.
You have resistance to radiant damage.

Strength of the Sun

Starting at 14th level, you bask into sunlight, you
Strength score is increases by 2 (to a maximum
of 20) from its original score. It drops back to its

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Character Backgrounds
“Traders cooperate for Profit. Templars form
allegiances for Domination. Mystics join
schools to gain Knowledge. And raiders band
together for Strength. Power comes in many
forms, but all who band together seek it -
intentionally or unknowingly. Those who join
them are caught in a web, for all organizations
are tainted with corruption. The Veiled
Alliance seeks to overthrow the Sorcerer-
Kings and justifies murder in its ranks out of
fear for discovery.
Characters from the same race and class can
have vastly different roles in society dependant
on their background.
For example, a human fighter with the highborn
background may be a professionally trained
swordsman who leads his family's hired soldiers
and slave warriors into battle at the behest of
the city's ruling Sorcerer-King. On the other
hand, a human fighter with the slave hero
background may be an escaped gladiator who
leads a band of other ex-slaves in armed revolt
against his noble-born counterpart.

The elitist Order would deny all other beings
the use of psionic power and drive tens of
thousands of beings insane. And the first
generation dray believes they are children of a
god, who has banished them from their homes.
Once you realize the secrets of your
organization, it is too late, for you are shackled
to it. You realize you have traded your freedom
for power.”
Character Backgrounds
Characters in a Dark Sun campaign can select
their background only from amongst the options
listed here, or in the Player’s Handbook.
Background and Starting Wealth
Characters on Athas do not receive starting gear
for their background and class. Instead they
receive a number of ceramic pieces determined
by their background with which they can spend
on starting equipment.

―The Oracle, Blue Shrine Scrolls Starting Wealth by Background

Background Starting Funds
Anchorite 2d4 x 10 cp
Background and social standing are an important Artisan 4d4 x 10 cp
part of every character's backstory, especially on Highborn 5d4 x 30 cp
a world like Athas, where a strictly enforced Initiate 3d4 x 10 cp
caste system enabled the continued tyranny of Merchant 5d4 x 10 cp
the Sorcerer Kings. Choosing a background for Outlaw 4d4 x 10 cp
your Dark Sun character not only determines Performer 4d4 x 10 cp
their skills and proficiencies - it also determines Slave Hero 5d4 cp
where exactly they fit in to the social hierarchy Warrior 5d4 x 10 cp
that defines life in the Athasian city-states. Wastelander 2d4 x 10 cp

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Background Features & Characteristics
Unlike the backgrounds listed in the Player's
Handbook, Dark Sun backgrounds do not provide
any special features or recommended
characteristics. Players are encouraged to come
up with their own ideals, flaws, and bonds for
their character and DMs should work to identify
situations in which a player's background might
serve as a benefit or hindrance.
Anchorite
You have lived hidden away in seclusion and
contemplation - perhaps by your own choice or
perhaps because you were outcast from wider
society. In your time apart from the clamor of
civilization, you found quiet and solitude.
Whether that isolation has resulted in
enlightenment or madness is open for debate. As
a hermit you exist outside of the caste system,
how the templars and other civil authorities treat
you is dependent in part on your behavior and in
part on your own power.
Skill Proficiencies: Medicine, Religion
Tool Proficiencies: Herbalism Kit
Languages: One of your choice
Artisan
You are a skilled craftsman or artist who learned
their trade at the feet of a master artisan.
Artisans come from a wide range of backgrounds
- slaves, freemen, villagers, nomads, and hunter-
gatherers all count artisans amongst their ranks.
Skill Proficiencies: Insight, Persuasion
Tool Proficiencies: One type of artisan's tools
Languages: One of your choice
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Highborn
As a member of the nobility, you were born into
a life of wealth, power, and privilege. You carry a
noble title and your family owns land and water
rights as well as a sizable force of slave laborers,
soldiers, and gladiators. Your power and
influence are rivaled only by the highest ranking
templars and heads of merchant dynasties. You
are also one of the privileged few who are legally
permitted to read and write. Work with your DM
to come up with an appropriate title and to
determine how much authority that title carries.
Race Restriction: Only humans can select this
background
Skill Proficiencies: Persuasion, plus one of your
choice from among Deception, History, and
Intimidation
Languages: One of your choice
Literacy: You can read and write any language
you can speak.
Initiate
As a member of a cult, temple, psionic academy,
or arcane cabal you have been initiated into the
esoteric mysteries of your order. You possess
extraordinary insight into the arcane and as such
are held in fear or awe by the general populace.
The nature of your order determines how openly
you are able to flaunt your affiliation. While
psionic orders and temples dedicated to locally
accepted religions are able to operate openly,
members of underground cults or sorcerous
cabals can face execution if their allegiance is
uncovered.
Skill Proficiencies: Arcana, plus one from among
History, Insight, Nature, or Religion, as
appropriate for your order.
Languages: Two of your choice
Merchant
Individuals capable of providing the basic
necessities of life wield enormous influence in a
world where everything is in short supply.
Merchants specialize in finding the impossible
and getting it to market for the maximum profit.
Because of
their ability to provide goods otherwise
unattainable, merchants and traders are
tolerated everywhere, from the cities of the
sorcerer-kings to the slave tribe villages in the
distant wastes.
Skill Proficiencies: Insight, Persuasion
Languages: Two of your choice
Variant: Caravan Trader
While many merchants belong to organized
trade companies or familial dynasties, some are
independent entrepreneurs that operate their
own small caravans.
These traders can replace one of the bonus
languages provided by the merchant background
for proficiency in vehicles (land).
Variant: Elven Trader
Some elves enrich themselves and their tribe by
becoming merchants. Most tribes are not
wealthy enough to establish trading emporiums,
instead erecting tents or renting stalls or
dilapidated buildings on the outskirts of a city-
state's trading quarter. In most cities, the elven
market is a disreputable place. Unlike other
merchants, elves abide by no code of ethics.
People who buy there usually assume they are
purchasing stolen property or goods of inferior
quality. The elven market is also the primary
source of banned goods, such as spell
components, drugs, and poisons.
Elven traders can substitute proficiency in the
Deception and/or Sleight of Hand skills in place
of the skill Insight or Persuasion skill proficiencies
normally granted to merchants.
Outlaw
You are a career criminal - a specialist in theft,
assassination, extortion, smuggling, banditry or
some other underhanded craft. You have spent a
lot of time with other criminals and likely have
contacts within the criminal underworld of the
city-states or among the raiding tribes that
plague the wastes. You must always stay one
step ahead of the city watch, the templars, and
other civil authorities. One wrong step could cost
your life or your freedom (or at least a hand).
Skill Proficiencies: Deception, plus one of your
choice from among Intimidation, Sleight of Hand,
and Stealth
Tool Proficiencies: One gaming set or musical
instrument, plus one of your choice from among
disguise kit, forgery kit, poisoner's kit, and
thieves' tools.
Performer
You make your living through music, dance, or
other forms of entertainment. Depending on skill
and circumstance your stage may be a street
corner in Tyr, the manor of a Balican noble, or
the tent of a nomad sheik. Either way, your
poetics can stir the hearts of those who hear
you, awakening grief or joy, laughter or anger.
Your music raises their spirits or captures their
sorrow. Your dance steps captivate, your humor
cuts to the quick. Whatever techniques you use,
your art is your life.
Skill Proficiencies: Performance, plus your choice
from among Acrobatics, Persuasion, or Sleight of
Hand.
Tool Proficiencies: Disguise Kit and one musical
instrument of your choice.
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Slave Hero
Whether through birth, punishment, or capture
you were enslaved to serve another. Slavery is
practiced throughout the city-states of Athas and
the taskmaster's whip is a brutal fact of life for
many. Slaves serve a myriad of roles - from lowly
farmers and laborers to gladiators, soldiers,
artisans, and concubines. You are one of the
fortunate ones who managed to gain their
freedom through force, cunning, or pure blind
luck.
Skill Proficiencies: Any two of your choice
Tool Proficiencies: Any two from among your
choice of artisan's tools, gaming sets, or musical
instruments.
Warrior
You are a professional soldier, trained to fight in
the armies of a noble house, merchant clan, or
mercenary band. War has been your life for as
long as you care to remember. You trained as a
youth, studied the use of weapons and armor,
learned basic survival techniques, including how
to stay alive on the battlefield.
Skill Proficiencies: Athletics, Intimidation
Tool Proficiencies: One gaming set of your
choice
Weapon Proficiencies: One martial or exotic
weapon of your choice.
Wastelander
You grew up in the desert wastelands far from
the confines of the city-states and villages of
Athas. You've witnessed the migration of herds
larger than forests, survived weather more
extreme than any city-dweller could
comprehend, and enjoyed the solitude of being
the only thinking creature for miles in any
direction. The wilds are in your blood, whether
287
you were a nomad, an explorer, a hunter-
gatherer, or even a marauder.
Skill Proficiencies: Survival, plus one of your
choice from among Animal Handling, Nature, and
Perception
Tool Proficiencies: One artisan's tools or musical
instrument of your choice
Languages: One of your choice
Variant Entertainer/Hermit: Fakir
You're an ascetic who lives on the street and you
have taken vows of poverty and worship,
renouncing all relations and possessions. You've
survived through scrounging, charity of others
and by earning a meager profit as a street
performer.
Skill Proficiencies: Acrobatics, Survival
Tool Proficiencies: Herbalism kit, one type of
musical instrument
Languages: One of your choice
Equipment: Tattered robes, a musical
instrument, a small rug.
Variant Criminal : Urban Bounty Hunter
As a hunter of men you routinely interact with
both the criminal subculture and templars,
maintaining contacts in both areas to help you
succeed.
Skill Proficiencies: Choose two from among
Deception, Insight, Persuasion, and Stealth
Tool Proficiencies: Choose two from among one
type of gaming set, one musical instrument, and
thieves' tools
Equipment: Any set of clothes and a pouch
containing 20 cp
Feature (replacement): You are in frequent
contact with people in the segment of society
that your chosen quarries move through. These
people might be associated with the criminal
underworld, the rough-and-tumble folk of the
streets, or members of high society. This
connection comes in the form of a contact in any
city you visit, a person who provides information
about the people and places of the local area.
Variant Noble: Nibenese Noble
You are a scion of one of the great noble families
of Nibenay. Families who jealously guard their
privilege and place in the City of Bards, Nibenese
nobles have a reputation across Tablelands for
being eccentric, spoiled, venal, and above all
else, rich. Whether you are a shining example of
the reason for this reputation or one who proves
the rule by being an exception, people expect
things of you when they know your surname and
what it means.
Skill Proficiencies: History, Persuasion
Tool Proficiencies: One type of gaming set or
one musical instrument
Languages: One of your choice
Equipment: A set of fine clothes, a signet ring or
brooch, a scroll of pedigree, a skin of fine cactus
wine, and a purse containing 20 cp
Variant Outlander: Tribe Member
Though you might have only recently arrived in
civilized lands, you are no stranger to the values
of cooperation and group effort when striving for
supremacy. You learned these principles, and
much more, as a member of a tribe.
Your people have always tried to hold to the old
ways. Tradition and taboo have kept your people
strong while the kingdoms of others have
collapsed into chaos and ruin.
This background can be used to create
characters hailing from different elven and
halfling tribes, slave tribes, and even thri-kreen
clutches.
Skill Proficiencies: Athletics, Survival
Tool Proficiencies: One type of musical
instrument or artisan's tools
Languages: One of your choice
Equipment: A hunting trap, a totemic token or a
set of tattoos (or other body modification)
marking you as a tribe member, a set of
traveler's clothes, and a pouch containing 10 cp
(or precious stones of equal value)
Variant Soldier: Caravan Guard
You decided that joining the caravan would be
an easy way to get outside of the city, make a
few coins, and be back by supper. Little did you
know that the wastes were crawling with things
that would make good of you as supper.
Skill Proficiencies: Animal Handling, Perception
Tool Proficiencies: Vehicles (land)
Equipment: A bag of spice, robes with a veil, a
rudimentary spyglass, and a belt pouch
containing 20 cp
Feature (replacement): You are skilled in desert
travel and know where safe places to rest are.
When traveling along a trade route you can find
a cave, crevasse or otherwise sheltered area to
rest within a day’s travel.
Variant Soldier: City-State Militia
You applied to join the militia and were
accepted. You underwent the basic training and
have been stationed in (insert city-state name)
ever since. You walk a beat and have quickly
learned a few of the local undesirables, the
smart ones give you regular payouts to look the
other way while you get to shake those who
aren’t smart enough down for any contraband
they might have.
Skill Proficiencies: Intimidation, Perception
Tool Proficiencies: Forgery kit, one type of
gaming set
288
Equipment: An obsidian spear, loose guard
robes, a pair of spiked gloves, and a belt pouch
containing 20 cp
Feature (replacement): You know the
underground pretty well. You are able to quickly
find a fencer and sell and buy goods that would
otherwise be illegal. Such fencers may also be
able to put you into contact with shady types for
a price.
Variant Urchin: Escaped Slave
You were either a worker in the slave pits,
worked in the fields or another labor intensive
job. Your life has been hard and unforgiving with
those all around you succumbing to disease and
weakness while you struggled to survive until
your recent escape or release.
Skill Proficiencies: Athletics, Survival
Tool Proficiencies: One type of musical
instrument
Equipment: Tattered robes, a chunk of obsidian,
a cloth bag containing 10 cp
Feature (replacement): As a former slave, you
are easily overlooked. You are able to slip into
crowds without notice unless you draw attention
to yourself. You can gain valuable information by
speaking with slaves, who will be willing to help
you and disinclined to rat you out.
Scribe
You were either born into slavery or captured at
a very young age. Luckily for you, your fate
wasn't to end up in the obsidian mines, but
instead, to live a life of relative luxury. You could
be owned by a merchant house, the templarate
or a noble house. Recently, you either escaped,
were released, or your merchant passed away,
granting you freedom.
Skill Proficiencies: Persuasion, History
Languages: Read and Write Cavilish (merchant's
tongue) and Common.
Equipment: A bottle of lead ink, a quill, a
merchant's robes, and a belt pouch containing 15
cp
Feature: As a former slave, you are easily
overlooked. You are able to slip into crowds
without notice unless you draw attention to
yourself. You're also able to hide yourself in large
groups of slaves with the masters being unaware
and the slaves being disinclined to rat you out.
New Background: Far Traveler
Almost all of the common people and other folk
that one might encounter on the Table Lands
have one thing in common: they live out their
lives without ever traveling more than a few
miles from where they were born. You aren't one
of those folk. You are from a distant place, one
so remote that few of the common folk in the
Table Lands realize that it exists, and chances are
good that even if some people you meet have
heard of your homeland, they know merely the
name and perhaps a few outrageous stories. You
have come to this part of Athas for your own
reasons, which you might or might not choose to
share.
Although you will undoubtedly find some of this
land's ways to be strange and discomfiting, you
can also be sure that some things its people take
for granted will be to you new wonders that
you've never laid eyes on before. By the same
token, you're a person of interest, for good or ill,
to those around you almost anywhere you go.
Skill Proficiencies: Insight, Perception
Tool Proficiencies: Any one musical instrument
or gaming set of your choice, likely something
native to your homeland
Languages: Any one of your choice

289
Equipment: One set of traveler's clothes, any
one musical instrument or gaming set you are
proficient with, poorly wrought maps from your
homeland that depict where you are on Athas, a
small piece of jewelry worth 10 cp in the style of
your homeland's craftsmanship, and a pouch
containing 5 cp
WHY ARE YOU HERE?
A far traveler might have set out on a journey for
one of a number of reasons, and the departure
from his or her homeland could have been
voluntary or involuntary.
To determine why you are so far from home, roll
on the table below or choose from the options
provided. The following section, discussing
possible homelands, includes some suggested
reasons that are appropriate for each location.
WHY ARE YOU HERE?
d6 Reason
1 Emissary
2 Exile
3 Fugitive
4 Pilgrim
5 Sightseer
6 Wanderer
WHERE ARE YOU FROM?
The most important decision in creating a far
traveler background is determining your
homeland. The places discussed here are all
sufficiently distant from the Table Lands to
justify the use of this background.
Dead Land. You're not an undead creature, but
somebody who lives near the Dead Land.
Contrary to the common belief the sand dunes
surrounding the Dead Land are filled with hidden
pockets brimming with life. You probably never
knew authority except for the un-living danger to
the south or a rare raiding tribe happening upon
your oasis. You've ventured into civilization
through the city of Celik or you could have been
picked up by a silt skimmer when you ventured
far north. You replace the skill proficiency in
Insight with proficiency in Investigation.
Crimson Savanna. You come from one of the
northern kreen nations which are types of bigger
more ordered clutches. You're either of jeral
descent from the nation of the same name, or
you're a nomadic tok'sa from the J'ez nation. You
are aware of the size of the world as you come
from a civilization whose power structure is
somewhat centralized but it stretches over vast
swathes of land unlike the city states of Table
Lands.
Jagged Cliffs. You might have been adopted by
the weird halflings who're living on the cliffs, or
you might be one of them. If you've been
adopted, you have been a pariah in their
"technologically" advanced society. You may
replace the skill proficiency in Insight with
proficiency in Athletics.
Last Sea. You've left a land that exists as if it
was left in the legendary Green Age. Barbarism
of Table Lands is a new concept to you, water
rations are a harsh reality, but you've
experienced an uplifting paradigm shift as your
thoughts and emotions have finally become your
own.
Lost City States. You either hail from a
mysterious city state of Kurn or isolationist island
city state of Eldaarich. Kurnish people live in a
sort of an Utopias society, forgotten by the rest
of the world and those that travel into the world
are usually seen as weak in both frame and their
ideals, but they have stronger will than others.
Eldaarich people are paranoid wrecks, who
have a unique gift for intrigue which would
shame most of Nibenese nobility and Tsalaxan
merchants. If you're from Eldaarich you may
290
replace one of your skill proficiencies with
proficiency in Deception.
The Bandit States. You're from one of the
communities living in the Barrier Wastes, one
which is named after one of the raiders passions:
Kel's Lot, Pillage, Plunder, Ravish, Ravage, Spoil
and Wrath. Each state has a different taboo
fashioned after the passion of their nation. War
is your heritage and you've been educated not to
trust anyone besides yourself. You might carry a
burden, but you've grown tough as a result of
your upbringing. You may replace the skill
proficiency in Insight with proficiency in Survival.
The Silt Archipelago. You're from one of the
mysterious islands or a rare mudflat village.
People of The Silt Archipelago have learned to
work together and live in relative peace. Half-
elemental philosophers, also known as ruvoka
might have bred with mortals and you could be
one of their descent, a genasi. You have
optimistic values and know that you can share
your gifts with others and through time you
could win anyone over. You replace the skill
proficiency in Perception with proficiency in
Persuasion.
Feature: All Eyes on You
Your accent, mannerisms, figures of speech, and
perhaps even your appearance all mark you as
foreign. Curious glances are directed your way
wherever you go, which can be a nuisance, but
you also gain the friendly interest of scholars and
others intrigued by far-off lands, to say nothing
of everyday folk who are eager to hear stories of
your homeland. You can parley this attention
into access to people and places you might not
otherwise have, for you and your traveling
companions. Noble lords, scholars, and merchant
princes, to name a few, might be interested in
hearing about your distant homeland and
people.
291
SUGGESTED CHARACTERISTICS
PERSONALITY TRAIT
d6 Personality Trait
1 I have different assumptions from those
around me concerning personal space, blithely
invading others' space in innocence, or reacting
to ignorant invasion of my own.
2 I have my own ideas about what is and is not
food, and I find the eating habits of those around
me fascinating, confusing, or revolting.
3 I have a strong code of honor or sense of
propriety that others don't comprehend.
4 I express affection or contempt in ways that
are unfamiliar to others.
5 I honor my deities through practices that are
foreign to this land .
6 I begin or end my day with small traditional
rituals that are unfamiliar to those around me.
IDEALS
d6 Ideal
1 Open. I have much to learn from the kindly folk
I meet along my way. (Good)
2 Reserved. As someone new to these strange
lands, I am cautious and respectful in my
dealings. (Lawful)
3 Adventure. I'm far from home, and everything
is strange and wonderful! (Chaotic)
4 Cunning. Though I may not know their ways,
neither do they know mine, which can be to my
advantage. (Evil)
5 Inquisitive. Everything is new, but I have a
thirst to learn. (Neutral)
6 Suspicious. I must be careful, for I have no way
of telling friend from foe here. (Any)
BONDS
d6 Bond
1 So long as I have this token from my homeland,
I can face any adversity in this strange land.
2 The gods of my people are a comfort to me so
far from home.
3 I hold no greater cause than my service to my
people.
4 My freedom is my most precious possession.
I'll never let anyone take it from me again.
5 I'm fascinated by the beauty and wonder of
this new land.
6 Though I had no choice, I lament having to
leave my loved one(s) behind. I hope to see them
again
one day.

FLAWS
d6 Flaw
1 I am secretly (or not so secretly) convinced of
the superiority of my own culture over that of
this foreign land.
2 I pretend not to understand the local language
in order to avoid interactions I would rather not
have.
3 I have a weakness for the new intoxicants and
other pleasures of this land.
4 I don't take kindly to some of the actions and
motivations of the people of this land, because
these
folk are different from me.
5 I consider the adherents of other gods to be
deluded innocents at best, or ignorant fools at
worst.
6 I have a weakness for the exotic beauty of the
people of these lands.

292
Psionicist Specific
Backgrounds
Auditor
The cities of Athas are filled with intrigue,
treachery, and double-dealing. In this setting,
information is a weapon that may be wielded
against one’s enemies. The auditor specializes in
extracting information through psionic
observation or interrogation. Few can keep a
secret from her.
The auditor’s job description ranges from
information broker to psionic assassin. In most
cities, the templars have auditors working for
them. Other auditors are members of the Veiled
Alliance, criminal gangs, or are employed by the
merchant dynasties. Humans are best suited for
this kit, since they draw the least attention in
urban settings. Elves, half-elves, and dwarves are
also appropriate. Auditors may be of any
alignment, but most prefer to remain neutral.
Role: An evil auditor can be an excellent
nemesis for any adventuring party. She knows
where to find the PCs, and even if she is not
working directly for the templars she will sell
them out for the right price. Armed with
formidable psionic abilities, she may be able to
coerce surrenders out of the most fanatical
characters.
As a member of the adventuring party, the
auditor is a vital information contact. Her
awareness of the characters and the subtleties of
any situation prevents her party from being
surprised or distracted in an urban adventure. A
few hours of observation can ferret out the most
deeply buried secrets.
Auditors are known by different names in each
city. The auditors of Tyr’s Elven Warrens are
usually referred to as sell-minds - while those of
Urik are called investigators or mindeyes.
293
Brown Elf (ELF only) - “Hermit/Outlander
Variant”
Among the elves of the Tablelands, an elf who
voluntarily gives up his or her affiliation and
loyalty to a tribe dresses in brown wrappings to
signify this decision. These brown elves travel the
region, seeking something that they could not
achieve in the tribes they were born to. In most
cases, the decision is tied to an elf's developing
psionic abilities. For reasons not completely
understood even by the brown elves, these
individuals feel compelled to leave their tribes to
seek out masters to teach them to fully unlock
their mental powers. In many cases, a brown elf
is on his or her way to becoming a member of
the mysterious Order, though this affiliation is
years or even decades away.
Recommended Tribal Affiliation: By their very
nature, brown elves have given up tribal
affiliation and are considered outcasts, even
though the decision was of their own choosing.
Role: Elf tribes shun those elves who have
chosen to wear the brown wrappings of non-
affiliation. Brown elves display no loyalty to
tribes or traditions, and they receive none in
return. These elves wander the wastes and cities,
seeking teachers to instruct them in greater uses
of their mental abilities.
Brown elves attach themselves to adventuring
groups for a time. They enjoy the protection
afforded by the adventurers, and sometimes
even revel in the company they have typically
denied themselves for long periods of time.
These solitary wanderers are eventually
contacted by members of the Order. When a
member of the Order takes notice of a brown elf,
he (or she) only reveals himself once he is certain
he wants to sponsor the fledgling psionicist.
Even then, the high-level psionicist will never
reveal his true identity or the purpose of his visit.
During the years that follow, he may appear
occasionally to offer a bit of instruction, some
needed help, or a clue as to what direction to
follow next, but he will never mention the Order
or what is expected of the brown elf. When the
elf is truly ready to join the Order, then such
gentle guidance will no longer be necessary.
Brown elves follow the tenets of the Order,
even if they don't realize this. They believe that
psionics should only be studied for its own sake,
and that these talents should only be used to
preserve the natural order. To master one’s
psionic talents is a noble endeavor, and the
strengths they provide should never be used to
further selfish ends.
Beastmaster Psionicist
Domesticated and wild animals are important to
Athasian society. Creatures such as mekillots,
inixes. and crodlus are vital to warfare, trade,
and labor. Exotic creatures like tembo and kirre
can be found as guard animals and arena
combatants in decadent cities. Nomads revere
the creatures of their lands and seek to
understand them through the Way. The
beastmaster is a psionicist with an affinity for
animals of all kinds. He can calm a raging
mekillot with a few soothing words. or turn the
most loyal guard creatures to his side. He is an
outsider who is more comfortable with his
animal charges than with any humanoid
companionship.
Humans, dwarves, elves, half-elves, halflings,
and thri-kreen may select the beastmaster kit.
Thri-kreen have an affinity for insects and insect-
like monsters instead of mammalian or reptilian
creatures. Beastmasters may be of any
alignment; evil beastmasters tend to work
through fear and intimidation.
Role: Psionicists who work with animal
subjects are valued. Most beastmasters are not
natives of the cities, but instead come from small
villages or nomadic tribes-a background in which
the young psionicist has extensive experience
and contact with the animals he understands so
well. Good-aligned beastmasters are defenders
of animal rights and carefully weigh the use of
their powers. If an animal’s life must be
disturbed to accomplish the character's goal, the
psionicist tries to return the creature to its
original situation when finished. Evil beast
masters perceive animals as nothing more than
tools to be used and then discarded.
Beastmasters are withdrawn and have difficulty
dealing with human society. They often make
people around them uncomfortable
Mercenary Psionicist
No place on Athas is safe from psionics. Armies
and fortresses mean nothing to a master of the
Way. To answer the threat of psionic attack,
nobles and merchants retain the services of
mercenary psionicists to guard against other
users of the Way. The mercenary psionicist
serves the highest bidder. Most are reliable and
return good service for their wages, but others
may betray their employers. Mercenary
psionicists are most frequently employed by
noble families and merchant dynasties. Humans,
elves, and half-elves are the most common
mercenaries. Dwarves and halflings find the
exchange of service for ceramic pieces to be
unsatisfying.
Role: The mercenary psionicist tends to be a
hardened veteran who trusts no one. Idealists
don't belong in this line of work. The mercenary
is often an outstanding tactician and
battle leader, since he is intelligent enough to
see what must be done to win and pragmatic
enough to do it.
294
Noble Psionicist
All humans and demi-humans have some
potential with the Way. but few are can afford a
tutor. On Athas, learning and study of the mind is
often a luxury reserved for the wealthy. The
noble psionicist was enrolled in a rigorous
training regime by his family when he was young.
Many young nobles find the study of their own
minds to be unpleasant work, but others stay
with their tutors and develop into formidable
psionicists. Noble psionicists may be humans,
elves, half-elves, or dwarves, and may be of any
alignment open to psionicists.
Role: The noble psionicist is an aberration. His
clarity of mind and self-discipline are seldom
found among the elite of the Seven Cities. To his
family, he is a sword to be wielded against their
rivals. As head of the family, the noble psionicist
possesses the wisdom and strength of mind to
bring great success to the house’s ventures. As
an adventurer, the noble psionicist often has an
agenda mapped out for him by his family.
Whether he chooses to follow that agenda is his
own business. Until he actually assumes the
mantle of leadership, the noble psionicist is free
to pursue his own studies.
Psiologist
The psiologist is a student of the Way who has
trained extensively in the academies. He benefits
from the wisdom of hundreds of great masters.
Free to concentrate on his powers, the psiologist
has a great understanding of his Will and its uses.
Psiologists may be of any race except halfling or
thri-kreen, who possess their own traditions of
learning the Way. They must be lawful in
alignment and are required to have an
Intelligence of 15 or better in addition to normal
requirements.
Role: The psiologist believes in the superiority
of psionics over any other physical or magical
discipline. Anything is possible through the Way,
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if one possesses sufficient Will. He is a
traditionalist who uses techniques proven by
time in the acquisition of his powers. Psiologists
believe themselves to be superior to other
psionicists.
Skill Proficiencies: Arcana and History
Tool Proficiencies: Knows how to read and write
common.
Languages: Two of your choice.
Equipment: Traveling clothes, pouch, 30 cp.
Tribal Psionicist
The deserts are home to countless nomadic
tribes. Some of these wanderers are herders
with a flourishing culture and strong values, but
others are savage raiders or crude hunter-
gatherers. Life in the wastes is hard, and people
who live outside the city-states must seize any
advantage to survive. The tribal psionicist was
raised to defend against the raiders and
predators of Athas.
Forced to learn the Way as a matter of
survival, the tribal psionicist takes many
shortcuts in her quest for the power to protect
her people. Some of these untutored ones have
risen to shake nearby cities, only to disappear a
short time later.
Role: The tribal master is a wild card who
learns the Way with no formal study. She is a
blessing to her people and a terror to their
enemies, using her strength to defeat all rivals.
Considered a savage by the people of the cities,
the tribal psionicist is a complex character with
grave responsibilities to live up to. Her entire
clan may perish if she fails to defend them.
Skill Proficiencies: Survival and Nature
Tool Proficiencies: Herbalism kit
Languages: Two of your choice.
Equipment: Simple clothes, pouch, a walking
stick, 25 cp.

Gladiator Specific
Backgrounds
Variant Entertainer: Beast Trainer
You were either born in the arena dungeons or
were sold off for your skill for taming wild beasts.
You have a commanding personality and the
creatures you've either trained into submission or
thought tricks are your bread winners.
Beast trainers work to tame or control wild
creatures destined for gladiatorial games. These
gladiators use brute strength, cunning, and their
knowledge of the animals to accomplish their
goal. Many trainers possess a wild talent that is
especially helpful in taming or coercing creatures
into becoming effective battle partners. The
beast trainers also help to control the
exceptional creatures brought by the reavers to
fight gladiators in the arena. Great skill must be
exercised to keep these wild beasts alive until it
is time for the games.
Whether slave or free, beast trainers tend to
be loners. They often feel a closer affinity with
the beasts they tend than for mankind. In the
arena, a beast trainer's animal is both his best
friend and his weapon of choice. This makes
beast trainers outcasts, even among fellow
gladiators.
Role: A beast trainer’s fame is directly linked to
his creature’s performance in the arena. If the
beast delivers an exceptional battle, the trainer
receives accolades and praise. If the creature
performs poorly, or dies in the arena, the
trainer's prestige plummets. Beast trainers are
occasionally hired or ordered by templars and
nobles to train beasts as guards, either for
personal safety, or to protect a particular place.
Skill Proficiencies: Animal handling and
intimidate
Tool Proficiencies: One type of musical
instrument
Weapon Proficiencies: Master's whip
Equipment: A costume made from an exotic
creature's hide, a restraining collar, a training
whip, a leather sack containing 20 cp
Variant Entertainer: Jazst
You travel freely between the arenas of major
cities. As a highly skilled arena performer, you
depend on your theatrical ability, coordination,
muscle tone, and balance, rather than brute
force.
Jazst are widely traveled theatrical performers in
the Athasian arenas. Jazst are always free, and
the only gladiatorial combatants that travel
freely between the arenas of major cities. Jazst
are usually early warm-up acts that amuse the
eager crowds.
As highly skilled arena performers, jazst
depend on their theatrical ability, coordination,
muscle tone, and balance, rather than brute
force, to win in the arena. Jazst are allowed to
choose their specialization at a very early age,
and spend years perfecting their skill. In the early
years of practice, areas of study may include
dancing, juggling, acrobatics, tumbling, and other
skills.
Role: Jazst perform individually, in pairs, or in a
troupe. Next to reigning local arena champions,
jazst are the chief crowd pleasers in any arena.
As the jazst move their graceful bodies about the
arena, they call to the crowd for support and
verbally attempt to excite them. Once a fever
pitch is reached, they begin the more serious
business of dispatching their victims with as
much flair as possible. The more theatrical the
kill, the better the performance.
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Skill Proficiencies: Acrobatics and performance
Tool Proficiencies: Disguise kit Weapon
Proficiencies: One type of martial weapon
Equipment: Colorful gladiator costume, a
quabone, a makeup kit and a leather sack
containing 15 cp
Variant Entertainer: Montare
You were either born into slavery or more likely
captured at a very young age. You were sold into
the Arena where you’ve learned your whole life
how to fight, but you were freed for your talent
to entertain and traveled freely between the
arenas of major cities.
Montare are gladiators who fight in mounted
combat. Montare may ride a single mount
(montare), drive a chariot (char-montare), or ride
in a mobile war machine. A montare small of
stature may ride an erdlu. Otherwise, they use
crodlus or kanks. Light chariots may be pulled by
any of the above creatures. (Note: A single-
person chariot may only be pulled by a single
creature, a two-person chariot requires two
creatures.)
Montare may only fight with one-handed
weapons when mounted or driving; they need
the other hand to control the beast. Larger
chariots may carry up to four people (a driver
and three warriors). Montare riding in vehicles
are free to use any weapons.
Role: The popularity of mounted combat and
chariot games is now on the rise in many cities of
the Tablelands. Nowhere is this more so than in
Tyr. Less bloody than regular gladiatorial games,
they are even more exciting. New facilities have
been constructed just outside the walled city of
Tyr for chariot races.
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Skill Proficiencies: Choose two from among
acrobatics, athletics, animal handling and
performance
Tool Proficiencies: One type of a gaming set,
vehicle (land)
Equipment: A bottle of Tembo blood, a
charioteer's costume, a chitin chip and either a
two wheel chariot or a crodlu mount
Variant Outlander: Reaver
You're a quintessential big game hunter. You
spent better part of your adult life traveling the
Athasian deserts in search of dangerous
creatures for the arena.
Reavers travel the Athasian deserts in search of
dangerous creatures for the arena. Reavers work
together with beast trainers to capture creatures
to be sent to the gladiatorial arenas. Fierce, wild
animals are important crowd pleasers, and an
integral part of successful arena games.
Monsters, creatures, and feral desert races fetch
large sums of money if they can be transported
to the arena alive. The more dangerous the
creature, the more money a reaver can expect to
make. Combat against a truly exceptional
creature may lure the reaver to take part in the
games.
The reaver is a quintessential big game hunter.
Weeks or even months may be spent tracking
prey. Reavers tend to be obsessive in their desire
to capture (or in some cases kill) a trophy more
powerful than the last one. This monomania is
similar to a dwarven "focus". Many reavers die in
the pursuit of Athas. most powerful animals.
Eventually, some long-time reavers feel powerful
enough to pursue the famed Athasian Dragons-
many have tried, none succeeded.
Role: Since the gladiatorial games began,
powerful, dangerous creatures have been sought
for combat. The task of the reaver is to provide
new and exciting creatures to please the fans
and, more importantly, the sorcerer-kings.
Reavers are also employed by those who seek
the rare and unusual (i.e., veiled mages needing
a particular rare spell component, or sages
looking for a lost item). Reavers may also be
used as bounty hunters to recapture important
warrior slaves.
In a campaign, a number of quests could
revolve around the capture of dangerous
creatures. Whether in the wild, loose in a city, or
roaming the undercity, an escaped monster can
be a formidable foe.
Skill Proficiencies: Animal Handling and Survival
Tool Proficiencies: Vehicle (land)
Languages: One of your choice
Equipment: A hunting trap, a trophy of an
exceptional prey, a set of traveler's clothes, and
a leather sack containing 20 cp
Variant Outlander: Blind Fighter
The blind fighters specialize in a unique form of
gladiatorial combat - doing battle in complete
darkness. Naturally blind gladiators may have
been blind since birth, or handicapped in
accidents. Of course, in some cases the
“Accident” may have been arranged. . . . Sighted
gladiators who choose to fight as blind fighters
use special, closed helms.
These warriors have spent years in training to
develop their fighting abilities and their skills of
perception. This special training allows them to
fight as well as many sighted fighters. Blind
fighters may face other blind fighters or any
other equal opponents in the arena. “Night and
Day Matches,” where blind and sighted
gladiators square off against each other, draw
large crowds to the games.
Role: Originally, blind fighters were used as
comic relief to amuse the crowds in the arena.
Blind or blindfolded fighters would face off and
strive to attack each another. Unable to tell
friend from foe, they would mill around the
arena, lashing out at anyone, or anything, that
came near them. Some killed their own
stablemates, while most killed themselves by
wandering into other blind fighters who were
flailing about randomly. Over the years, a group
of survivors emerged with the special ability to
center and to find their foes even over the roar
of the crowd. These were the first, true blind
gladiator fighters. Gladiators who teach this skill
are highly sought after by arena trainers.
Skill Proficiencies: Survival and Perception
Tool Proficiencies: Woodcarver's tools
Proficiency: Blindfighting
Equipment: Simple clothes, pouch, bone knife,
20 cp.
Variant Outlander: Arena Champion
The arena champions are gladiators whose
greatest desire is to practice their blood sport in
arenas filled with thousands of screaming fans.
They risk their lives for fame, wealth, and
adoration. In rare instances, even slaves have
risen to champion status.
Role: Societies have always demanded heroes.
The sorcerer-kings live lives that are almost god
like in most Athasian societies, and the populous
cannot relate to the opulent lifestyles they lead.
Great gladiators, however, can rise from the
ranks of average and ordinary citizens, and so
the popular arena champions serve a purpose.
Even the most subjugated servant needs a role
model, something to aspire to; the arena
champion fills this very real need. Some of the
gladiators are local neighborhood heroes or
visitors from nearby communities. They work in
jobs or use their skills to earn a living and train
for the arena in their spare time. Arena
champions aspire to become famous and earn
sponsorship, which would permit them to
concentrate on training for the arena full time.
Other champions are slaves who see the arena as
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their one chance for freedom and a better life.
The better they perform in the arena, the more
money they make for their masters. Their
masters in turn may provide better living
quarters, weapons, and other advantages. There
is always the possibility of buying one's freedom,
if one performs well enough.
Variant Outlander: Convict
Whether convicted of a crime, or merely accused
by a templar, the result is always the same-the
accused is branded a criminal. The consequences
are imprisonment and slavery. The unfortunate
convict either spends the remainder of his life at
hard labor, or battles for survival in the arena.
For some, the arena is the better choice.
Convicts have nothing to lose and only time to
gain. The convict is a hybrid of fighter and rogue.
Convicts gain certain thieving abilities while in
prison.
Role: Crimes or the whims of their enemies have
forced these gladiators into the arena. Convicts
are essentially slaves, sent to the arena for only
one purpose - to provide as much entertainment
as possible before they die. In some cases, arena
combat is used to execute death sentences.
Lenient templars may sentence a criminal to the
arena for a period of years, or to a specific
number of games.
Skill Proficiencies: Deception and Survival
Tool Proficiencies: One gaming set of your
choice.
Languages: One of your choice.
Equipment: Simple clothes, pouch, bone knife,
20 cp.
Variant Outlander:
Professional Gladiator
When the arena fills on Blood Day, it is the
professional gladiators that the crowd has come
to see. The appearance of these strong, capable
warriors never fails to draw the crowd to its feet.
Different gladiators appeal to different circles in
the crowd. Some professionals are loved for their
mastery and artful use of weapons, others for
the brutality they employ to crush the life from
their opponents. The professional gladiator is at
the pinnacle of her field. She has learned the
gladiatorial arts and has spent considerable time
and effort on becoming the best. The special
ability score requirements are the same as the
gladiator class.
A professional gladiator has trained and
entered the on Athas is a free person who arena
with aspirations of glory, wealth, and fame.
Those who wish to enter the gladiatorial arena
must first gain the sponsorship of an important
person or house within the city. The sponsor
generates interest and betting on the new
gladiatorial combatant. Sponsors put their
reputations on the line when taking on a new
gladiator, rumors and misinformation about new
gladiators spread like quicksilver.
New blood generates additional interest and
excitement in the upcoming games. Sponsors
bribe city templars to get their newcomers into
impending arena matches. The heftier the
sponsorship, the higher in the combat hierarchy
a professional may rise. If the new gladiator does
not perform well in the arena, or is humiliated by
his opponent, the sponsor can expect retribution
from the templar.
Role: In Athasian culture, gladiators represent
the dreams and difficulties of Athasian lives. The
harshness of daily life is embodied in what the
gladiators face each time they enter the arena.
The ability to overcome adversity, and to win
glory and riches, are things the people of Athas
dream of always.
Skill Proficiencies: Performance and Insight
Tool Proficiencies: Medecine kit
Languages: One of your choice.

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Equipment: Colorful gladiator costume, an
impaler, a makeup kit and a leather sack
containing 35 cp
Variant Outlander: Gladiatorial Slave
Gladiatorial slaves tend to be some of the
strongest, toughest, and most dangerous
adversaries in the arena. Battling for survival has
been the only constant in their violent lives.
Some are bought and raised from childhood for a
life in the arena. Others start later in life and
must learn quickly in order to survive. They have
little to lose or gain except their lives.
The duty of a gladiatorial slave is to enter the
arena when his master orders him, and give his
best effort-or his life. As bad as life can be in the
slave pens, quarries, and fields, slaves may still
live long lives. This is not always true in the
arena. A slave who is forced to fight in the arena
is still a gladiator, whether by choice or fate.
Role: Through sheer numbers, unwilling slaves
make up the majority of the combatants in the
arena. If the entire party begins as gladiators, a
common basis for experiences and goals is
encouraged. Escape, freedom, and revenge for
unjust imprisonment are but a few of the typical
motivations for slave gladiators. Since a
gladiatorial slave has no personal freedom, it is
possible for one PC to own an NPC in a campaign
setting. The gladiator could be used as a
bodyguard or as a member of an elite strike
force. Problems of conflict between the player
and the NPC must be carefully handled. A DM
should always represent slavery as a cruel and
inhuman institution when addressing the social
roles of gladiatorial slaves. Usually regarded with
contempt, gladiatorial slaves are property to be
bought and sold. Remember, being forced into
gladiatorial combat might be an unwilling choice
for a warrior, regardless of his or her fighting
skills.
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Rogue Specific
Backgrounds
Free-Wanderer (ELF only)
At some point in an elf's life, the wanderlust
comes upon him. He must run as far and as fast
as his swift legs will take him. He must see what
lies beyond the horizon, and he must find as
many ways to enjoy the now as he possibly can.
The free-wanderer kit provides an outlet for elf
rogues who seek to explore the Tyr region in
search of adventure and riches. These thieves
travel wherever the mood takes them, joining
with adventuring groups for a time before
moving on. At some point the desire to return to
their tribe will send these free-wanderers home,
but until then the excitement of the now is what
they crave.
Free-wanderers survive by their wits, their
quickness, and their thieving skills. They see
every guarded purse and locked box as a
challenge they must accept. The contents of
these guarded items, after all, belong to the
elves; outsiders are only holding them until their
rightful owners come along to relieve them of
their burden.
Recommended Tribal Affiliation: Free-
wanderers come from all elf tribes, though they
often discard identifying features of their native
dress during their periods of travel and
adventure.
Role: Free-wandering elves find joy in surviving
the many challenges Athas throws at them. They
steal whatever they need while simultaneously
seeking new experiences. Many view this time of
wandering as a training period, and they work to
master their wilderness and rogue skills in the
interval.
301
Free-wanderers are adventurers, roaming the
wastes and prowling the cities in search of
excitement, experience, and enough wealth to
get them to the next adventure. Free-wanderers
are among the friendliest and most outgoing of
elves, for the whole purpose of their travels is to
learn everything they can. This doesn’t mean
that their normal attitudes toward outsiders
have changed, only that they are more inclined
to deal with these people during the wanderlust
period.
Those forced to travel the wastes for their own
survival gladly accept free-wanderers into their
group for the skills and knowledge they bring.
They may not be completely trusted, but they
are given the benefit of the doubt when their
specialized skills are desperately needed.
Procurer (ELF only)
Procurers are elf trader/thieves who conduct
legitimate mercantile activities with one hand
while stealing with the other. To all outward
appearances, procurers seem to be everyday elf
traders. They conduct their thefts in secret, using
normal trading practices to cover their filching
activities. These elves usually work for elven
merchant houses, filling the market stalls with
goods stolen from other merchants, nobles, free
citizens, templars, and even the sorcerer-kings.
No matter what it may look like a procurer is
doing, he (or she) is always observing the people
around him. He knows how to spot those who
can help or hinder his job, and is always aware of
his surroundings.
The procurer considers simple theft to be
beneath his station. He needs to make the big
score, acquiring the items that will bring the
biggest profit at the next marketplace. Trading is
all well and good, but selling a wagonful of
cactus fruit and then stealing the entire stock
back to trade elsewhere is even better.
Recommended Tribal Affiliation: Procurers can
be found among the elf tribes that conduct
mercantile activities, especially the Clearwater,
Swiftwings, Shadows, Sky Singers, Silver Hands,
and Night Runners tribes.

Role: Procurers are often the field agents for

elven merchant houses. They conduct legitimate
trade, but they are always on the lookout for
opportunities to increase the tribe's stock
through theft. Among elf tribes that respect
mercantile endeavors, procurers are seen as only
one step below master traders, especially if they
are any good at their job. Procurers travel far
and wide, seeking new markets, new suppliers,
and new opportunities to acquire a big score.
During these travels, procurers have no qualms
about joining with adventuring groups, and many
know a particular group that has proven itself to
be worthy of trust and friendship. Adventuring
groups offer added protection, an obvious cover
story, and able bodies when a job is extremely
difficult. The procurer's tribe and dedication to
his craft comes first, but his adventuring group
comes a close second as long as helping the
group doesn’t hinder his other affiliations. Of
course, a procurer will disappear from his group
from time to time in order to pass along goods or
information to his tribe.
Procurers are skilled traders, consummate
thieves, and handy companions. Unlike most
elves, they know their way around the city-states
and even have a limited understanding of
civilization. Like other elves, they hate walls and
locked doors, but procurers see these obstacles
as challenges, and they make a study of such
constructs the way a good warrior studies his
enemies.

302

Fighter Specific
Backgrounds
Savage Hunter (ELF only)
The elves of Athas are a nomadic people, and
many tribes survive solely through the skills of
their hunters. The savage hunter is the most
common elf warrior type, serving as both a tribal
defender and an important food provider.
Respected by others of the tribe, the savage
hunter uses the same skills to hunt prey and to
fight outsiders and other threats to the tribe. The
ways of the city-states are alien to these
wilderness warriors, for they are only at home in
the wastes when on a hunt.
PC savage hunters either join up with an
adventuring group while on a mission for their
tribe, or they join during the period of
wanderlust that comes upon most young elves at
least once in their lives. On these journeys of
adventure and discovery, savage hunters take
with them all the skills they learned as protectors
and providers for their tribes. As such, they are
often valuable contributors to a party.
Recommended Tribal Affiliation: Savage hunters
often come from the Wind Dancers or Water
Hunters tribes.
Role: Savage hunters are elves who have fighting
skills, knowledge of the wilderness, and hunting
prowess. In the Wind Dancers tribe, the savage
hunters have been turned into raiders, forced to
hunt a different sort of prey to keep their tribe
alive. In the Water Hunters tribe, savage hunters
serve as the main warrior class. They protect the
tribe from all dangers in addition to their role as
providers of fresh meat and animal skins.
Elves have a great respect for savage hunters,
even those elves whose tribes have given up the
old traditions. Once all Athasian elf tribes
303
survived by the skill of their hunters, and the
greatest heroes of ancient songs and legends are
those proud hunters. In many cases, outsiders
first encounter a tribe through its hunters, who
use stealth and surprise to strike swiftly at those
who pose a threat to the rest of the tribe.
In tribes that still use the savage hunter class,
the hunters are honored with respect, choice
supplies, and roles of leadership. When savage
hunters go wandering and join up with
adventuring groups, they often expect these
same privileges from outsiders. The people they
travel with must show them the same respect
they receive from their tribes, and they demand
the first pick of spoils. In addition, because
savage hunters fill leadership positions in their
tribes, they naturally attempt to fill the same
positions in whatever group they may travel
with. They treat everything as a hunt, and on a
hunt orders must be followed and traditions kept
or the prey will escape.
Savage hunters are the most stringent keepers
of elven traditions. The old ways (which hold that
hunters are the best of the elf race) are the right
ways, and things that go against these traditions
smack of the slower races. Savage hunters are
intolerant of non-elves and non-elven ways.
Thri-Kreen Slayer (ELF only)
Perhaps the greatest threat to the elves of Athas
is the thri-kreen. These insectoid hunters love
the taste of elf flesh, and they prey upon the
desert runners whenever the opportunity
presents itself. In order to combat the threat
posed by the fast, strong, and cunning thri-kreen,
a special class of desert runner has developed
the thri-kreen slayer. A thri-kreen slayer is a
multi-classed fighter/psionicist who devotes him-
or herself to becoming an expert hunter and
fighter of the dread insect-men.
Wearing armor consisting of pieces of a thri-
kreen’s hard exoskeleton shell, slayers train in
ways to best combat the hulking insect-men.
They study the fighting styles and habits of the
thri-kreen, learning all they can about their
deadly adversaries. Slayers are taught to hate
the thri-kreen with all their hearts so that the
innermost fury in their hearts can be fully
tapped. Conversely, they are also taught to
admire the thri-kreen, appreciating their tireless
natures and their hunter's hearts. Only through
understanding and a certain respect can a slayer
hope to survive the challenge of a thri-kreen
warrior.
When thri-kreen slayers join adventuring
parties, they do so as part of their continuing
training or to satisfy the bouts of wanderlust that
often come upon the elves of Athas. Even away
from their tribes, slayers take their roles and
responsibilities very seriously. They actively seek
out thri-kreen during combat, only turning
toward other enemies when all thri-kreen have
been defeated or when a much greater danger
presents itself.
the thri-kreen, and to safely move the tribe out
of danger.
Slayers are extremely confident (though some
consider them mad in their arrogance). Armed
with an arsenal of weapons and always ready to
leap into battle against a thri-kreen, a slayer is as
a formidable foe. Using psionics and fighting
skills to best advantage, slayers are among the
most fearsome elf opponents anyone (thri-kreen
or otherwise) will ever meet. Interestingly
enough, there are instances of slayers having
worked with thri-kreen as part of an adventuring
group, but these relationships are often volatile
and extremely fragile, for neither elf nor thri-
kreen trusts the other.

Recommended Tribal Affiliation: Thri-kreen

slayers can be found among most of the elf
tribes wandering the Tablelands, though the
Wind Dancers and the Sky Singers actively seek
to develop these rare and special warriors.

Role: These slayers defend their tribes from thri-

kreen hunting packs. They know what signs to
look for to determine if thri-kreen are in the
area. They know how to throw a hunting pack off
the trail. When a battle is inevitable, thri-kreen
slayers know the most effective ways to kill the
insect-men. These warriors are the champions
of their tribes, for they alone seem invincible
before the enemies that haunt all elven
nightmares. Slayers tend to be loners, operating
independently of their tribes for long periods of
time. A tribe may not see its slayers for weeks on
end, but the elves know that they are out in the
wastes watching for the approach of the deadly
insect-men. The slayers must warn the tribe of
an impending attack, to lead any battles against

304

Priest Specific
Backgrounds
Battle Dancer (ELF only)
The battle dancer cleric/fighter is an elf warrior
who follows the call of one of the revered
elements. A battle dancer is basically a
specialized ritual dancer, one who uses his or her
talents not to tell stories but to defend the tribe.
In elf tribes, very few elves are afforded the title
of element singer. Others who show clerical
abilities, or who seem attuned to an element
other than the one revered by the tribe, are
urged to become multi-classed ritual dancers.
Those who decide to combine the skills of the
warrior arts with priestly endeavors become
battle dancers. Full of grace and speed and
agility, battle dancers perform across the field of
battle much as the slaves of Salt View perform
across the stage. The call of combat courses
through their strong limbs while the call of their
revered elemental sings in their hearts. These
religious warriors are looked upon with awe by
their tribesmates, and they often become the
champions of their tribes.
Recommended Tribal Affiliation: Battle dancers
can be found in any elf tribe, but those of the
Water Hunters and Silt Stalkers tribes are among
the most deadly and fanatical.
Role: Battle dancers dedicate themselves to one
elemental force, usually the one revered by their
tribe (though this is not always the case). In
times of peace, they use their skills of dance and
ritual storytelling to inspire their tribes and to
help their elemental singers administer to the
spiritual well-being of the elves under their care.
When combat opportunities present themselves,
the battle dancers welcome them. They feel
closest to their chosen elements when
combining warrior skills and clerical magic into a
305
deadly dance of violence. As spiritual leaders and
defenders of their tribes, battle dancers hold a
place of honor among the elves. During the
wanderlust phase, they take their powerful
expression of faith to outsiders, demonstrating
the benefits of merging the priestly magic of the
elements with the strong physical nature of the
elves. They are devoted to both elven traditions
and a particular element, often exclaiming the
virtues of both to all they meet. Those who
disagree may witness the battle dancer's skills
from the point of view of the target, much to
their dismay.
Through the combination of cleric powers and
warrior skills, there are few elves as deadly or as
committed as the battle dancers. They are
masters of the weapons they choose and
devoted students of a particular element. In few
other kits is the concept of the superiority of
elves over outsiders more evident, for battle
dancers believe themselves to be the best of the
elf race, and therefore far above even the best
outsider.
Element Singer (ELF only) “Acolyte
VARIANT”
The element singer is an elf cleric dedicated to a
single elemental force of nature. Most tribes
hold those who commune with the elements in
awe and treat them with a small measure of fear.
Elf tribes rarely have more than one or two
element singers, though they will accept any
number of lesser ritual dancers and battle
dancers. Element singers are called by the
element they worship - wind singer, flame singer,
earth singer, or water singer. Most of the
element singers that outsiders meet are young
singers fulfilling their wanderlust as there is no
place for them (currently) in their tribe. Others
no longer have a tribe, or they are seeking a new
tribe because they are compelled to worship an
elemental force that is not the one revered by
their tribe. A select few have been sent on some
far-reaching mission by the force they worship.
Element singers are the true clerics of the elf
tribes. Each draws spells from the sphere of the
cosmos as well as from the sphere associated
with their element of choice. They fulfill roles as
tribal clerics, and most have an extreme hatred
of templars and defilers who draw power from
landmarks associated with their revered
element.
individuals (such as a sorcerer-king) are seen as
fools or worse, for no one - not even a sorcerer-
king.can compare to the elements that shape the
world.
Skill Proficiencies: Performance, Nature
Languages: Primordial & One of your choice
Shelter of the Faithfull

Recommended Tribal Affiliation: All elf tribes

have element singers, so they may have any
tribal affiliation desired.

Role: Element singers hold positions of

leadership and responsibility in their tribes,
though those they administer to do not quite
know what to make of these clerics. Elves
understand the magic of preservers and defilers,
but have little knowledge of priestly magic. It
frightens them, much as the raging elements
frighten them. Those who commune with these
terrible forces, therefore, become objects of
fear, too. Still, the tribes realize they need the
element singers, so they give them an awe-
inspired respect. In many cases, the very survival
of an elf tribe depends on its element singers.
Element singers interpret the omens and
portents inherent in the forces of nature. They
advise tribal chiefs as to the best courses of
action. They lead rites of passage and other tribal
rituals. They heal the wounded and cure the sick.
When element singers leave their tribes to
explore the world of the outsiders, they take
with them their beliefs, traditions, and
devotions. These clerics are elves through and
through, savage, unpredictable, living for each
now.
Though individual tribes tend to congregate
toward a particular element, element singers are
not intolerant of other faiths, as long as they are
elemental in nature. Those who seek to worship

306

Wizard Specific
Backgrounds
Earth Defender
The earth defender is a preserver who is
concerned with saving one particular aspect of
the ecology. Though they must be preservers,
these wizards are so consumed by their cause
that they are willing to go to almost any lengths
to protect their chosen ecological obsession.
Role: When created, the earth defender chooses
a “ward” which will be his particular concern.
Such wards might include forested areas, oases,
and grasslands, or a particular species that the
defender believes is essential to the continued
health of Athas (whether animal, insect,
monster, humanoid, or demi-human). These are
all broad categories of wards. Some earth
defenders may instead choose to narrow their
focus, concentrating their efforts on a particular
copse of trees, one oasis, one patch of stony
barrens that provides an environment for a rare
insect species, or whatever else catches their
fancy. Those with a more narrow focus are
usually NPCs, as the need to remain in one place
in order to protect their ward precludes them
from adventuring. In some ways, narrow-focus
earth defenders are like druids with protected
lands.
Defilers who jealously guard a particular copse
of trees or clump of vegetation so they may
utilize it for themselves are not earth defenders.
Earth defenders are concerned with preventing
the destruction of lands or environments which
are host to endangered species of plants and
animals. They have no tolerance for defilers at all
and kill them on sight if possible. Further, they
seek out any defilers they can discover in areas
307
where they reside or travel, attempting to rid the
land of such threats.
In defense of their ward, earth defenders are
willing to go pretty far. They have no
compunction against slaying anyone who
threatens their ward. They also might blow up a
building that houses workers whose tasks the
earth defender considers a threat to the region
or creatures for whom they have taken
responsibility. In the latter case, they usually
issue some sort of warning indicating that if the
depredations aren’t stopped they will take
revenge. Such warnings are only given once,
however, and those who ignore them will soon
regret doing so. Essentially, earth defenders are
the eco-terrorists of Athas. In their view, the big
picture of the planet’s overall health takes
precedence over the lives of a few humans or
demi-humans. After all, there are plenty of
people; there are only a few agafari groves.
Earth defenders adventure in order to oversee
all the areas they consider to be their wards or to
discover more such areas. Because they are
unable to care for more than one ward at a time,
they also search out apprentices and magical
spells or items that will help them in their tasks.
One of their concerns while adventuring is
educating their comrades in the importance of
protecting their chosen ward from defilement or
destruction. Many earth defenders attach
themselves to adventuring parties, make friends
and help them in any way they can, hoping that
such friends will assist them in protecting their
wards and exacting revenge on those who harm
such. To this end, they are reliable and
responsible companions, completely loyal to any
group they consent to accompany.
Exterminator
Exterminators are defilers who use their defiling
methods to purposefully destroy the ecosystem.
Some of these defilers enjoy the rush of power
that destroying plants give them; some are so
consumed by hatred that they want to annihilate
everything in their path. Others may be
convinced that the evil plants of Athas need to
be obliterated. Exterminators are the blood
enemies of restorationists, cultivators, and earth
defenders.
Role: Exterminators have no specific role that
they fulfill except that of quirky outsider. Each
exterminator is different, each has an ax to grind,
and each is only interested in one thing—the
extermination of all plant life on Athas. As crazy
as it sounds, exterminators usually have valid
reasons why they feel as they do—at least the
reasons are valid to the exterminators.
Some are simply selfish and addicted to
power. These defilers look for chances to use
their defiling magic to leech all life from plants
because it gives them a pleasurable rush of
power. The life they take from plants fills them
with ecstasy and they can hardly wait to feel that
surge again. These exterminators always pull as
much power as possible from one area and
refuse to wait until later to power their spells.
They spend much of their time searching for
magical items or spells that will allow them to
tap more energy and increase their power.
Some misguided wizards have become
infected with hatred for themselves and all
others of their kind. They believe they must
destroy all the plant life from which mages draw
their power so that magic itself will die. Only
then will the world be safe from the kinds of
destruction that were wrought by magic in the
past. These exterminators concentrate on
destroying plant life one patch at a time. It’s
difficult to get them to move away from ground
that has not been completely razed and
rendered sterile.
A variation on the misguided exterminator is the
one who has studied the history of the world and
wants to return Athas to a better time. This
wizard has become fascinated with tales of the
Blue Age, when fewer plants and more water
were the norm. Perhaps he believes that if he
can kill enough plants, more water will be freed
up for use by intelligent beings.
The most dangerous exterminators are those
who kill all plants because they believe they are
evil. These wizards have seen what bloodgrass,
hunting cacti, and other predatory or intelligent
plants are capable of and have decided to
eliminate such evils from Athas. By killing all
plant life, they leave the evil ones no place to
hide.
Some Exterminators once had a reason for
destroying plant life but have long since
forgotten it in their single-minded pursuit. These
people are usually just mean and crazy, and most
are NPCs. Despite their insanity, however, they
can be quite crafty and dangerous.
The last sort of exterminator is by far the most
sly. This wizard hides his true intentions and
attempts to kill preservers and pollinating
insects, reasoning that if the things which
nurture the plants are gone, the plants
themselves can’t survive. This exterminator
launches grand schemes designed to force others
to help him destroy plant life. To this end, he
might foul food stocks and blame it on diseased
crops. He then suggests that burning the field
will take care of the problem. Others have been
known to train herd beasts to ravage whole
fields while grazing.
Free Wizard
Free wizards are mages from the city of Tyr
where magic is no longer outlawed. They may be
either preservers or defilers, though defilers
must conceal the actual nature of their magic.
Free wizards are brave souls who no longer hide
what they are from the general populace,
308
trusting that the Council of Tyr’s edicts
concerning preservers will protect them from
outright attack.
Role: It falls to free wizards to be the role models
other wizards will follow if the sorcerer-kings are
overthrown in all the city-states of Athas. As
citizens of Tyr, free wizards are presumed to be
preservers. They have been invited by the
Council of Tyr to make themselves known and
come forward to serve the city.
In the Veiled Alliance to which many of Tyr’s
wizards belong, there is disagreement as to
whether or not to come fully out into the open.
Some wizards feel that it is enough that they can
openly practice magic, and they take pains to
keep their actual identities concealed. They fear
a return to the old ways or an uprising by the
populace against magic wielders despite the
Council’s rulings. These wizards cover their faces,
change them using illusions, or erase the
memories of them from any witnesses to their
magic. In this, they continue the traditions of the
Veiled Alliance. These hidden wizards, though
they live in Tyr and are becoming more open
about their magic, are not free wizards.
Free wizards are those who have decided to
take the chance of revealing themselves for what
they are, showing their faces in public and
casting their magic openly. Preservers or defilers,
members of the Veiled Alliance or not, they have
put their lives on the line. All free wizards wish to
educate people as to the benefits of magic. Even
defilers want people to understand more about
magic so they don’t panic every time a spell is
cast. Preserver free wizards want to teach people
the difference between preserving and defiling
magic; defilers want to muddle the definitions
while trying to prove that they pose no threat.
This allows them to reassure people so while the
defilers grasp for more power.
Members of the Veiled Alliance have been
invited to take seats on the ruling Council of Tyr.
Those who accept are, for all intents and
309
purposes, free wizards. Others of this kit may
educate the people concerning magic, perform
missions for the Council, serve as magical
guardians for the city, or travel as ambassadors
for trade agreements and such to other city-
states or towns. Defilers may undertake the
same missions, but with an eye to serving
themselves as well as Tyr. For the present,
defilers have nothing to gain (and everything to
lose) by selling out Tyr, the only city-state where
wizards are allowed to openly practice magic. For
now, they can be trusted to defend and serve
the city in their own self-interest.
In addition to their usefulness in helping the
city, free wizards also make good adventuring
companions. They are more likely to cast spells
immediately in an emergency since they don’t
have the natural inclination to hide what they
are at all costs.
Further, free wizards often agree to adventure
if for no other reason than to locate other
wizards and tell them of Tyr or offer to share
spells. Note, however, that not all city-states
have agreed to honor Tyr’s edicts, so free
wizards might have to hide their identities
outside of Tyr’s influence.
Mercenary (Wizard)
Mercenary wizards are those who sell their
talents to the highest bidder. They work for
whoever pays best-usually. There are exceptions.
Mercenaries are usually flamboyant, openly
practicing their magic whenever possible so that
prospective employers will notice them.
Role: Mercenaries are wizards-for-hire. Usually
they sell their services to the highest bidder
without regard for the morality of his cause or
the deeds they will be required to perform. In
that regard, they are much like hired guards or
soldiers. Mercenaries may be found protecting
caravans, watching over businesses, conducting
negotiations, or adventuring in search of
something their employer wants. They may also
be discovered spying on their employer’s rivals,
orchestrating the demise of his enemies,
tampering with others’ businesses, or
undermining delicate agreements that their
patron wants to fail. It is rare, however, to find
mercenary wizards who are willing to go into
battle for an employer. If it comes down to
risking their lives, they would rather run away or
pretend to surrender while looking to escape as
soon as they get the chance. Mercenaries are
masters at knowing when to cut their losses and
run.
One of the most creative uses for mercenary
wizards is for their employers to set them up as
“disinterested” third parties in negotiations or
business dealings with rivals. They can then use a
whole arsenal of tricks while appearing to be
neutral in any disagreements. Further, any secret
arrangements the rival attempts to make with
the mercenary become known to the
mercenary’s employer, revealing any strengths
or weaknesses the rival might have. Though any
agent could pretend to this, wizards are
especially suited to it due to their command of
many spells which can reveal someone’s
alignment or charm the rival and bring him
around to the wizard’s way of thinking.
Some mercenaries, despite their name, only
hire themselves out to those whom they respect
or work for causes they believe in. These
mercenaries have a conscience they must
appease and are often caught up in causes they
support even when the pay is terrible.
Mercenaries who work for such causes are
usually honorable, no matter what their
employers might believe. Though the Veiled
Alliance would like to be wholly self-sufficient,
there are times when it must depend upon
mercenaries for certain information.
Additionally, mercenaries can often procure spell
components that local wizards find impossible to
acquire due to their mobility.
Adventuring mercenaries probably started by
hiring themselves out to a party as a guide or
hired spellcaster. Over time, they have come to
enjoy the other characters’ company and have
built up trust and a common background with
them. Though the character is still considered a
mercenary wizard, he may only require the
occasional “token” payment to agree to remain
with the party.
Arcanist (ELF only)
An arcanist is an elf wizard dedicated to learning
all he or she can about magic. The arcanist is the
closest thing there is to an elf scholar, digging
through ruins and wizards - packs in search of
arcane texts and magical lore. They find their
greatest pleasures in learning new spells and
acquiring magical items to add to their
collections. Arcanists carry an extreme number
of pouches and packs upon their persons, and
each one is crammed full of items pertaining to
the arcane arts. Spell components spill from
every pocket, and arcane texts carved on bone
and stone jut from every crowded pouch. Like
pack rats, every conceivable item they come
across that may be magical or that may serve
some magical purpose finds a way into their
personal stores.
As a result of their searches and studies,
arcanists come to know a little about a lot of
different things. They are consulted often,
becoming experts and advisers for their tribes.
They may not always have the complete answer,
but they can usually decide a course of action
from the bits and snippets of knowledge they do
possess.
Recommended Tribal Affiliation: All elf tribes
have arcanists, though the Twilightcatchers clan
of the Sky Singers tribe and the Half Moons clan
of the Night Runners tribe have the largest
numbers of these mages.
310
Role: Arcanists work for their tribes, but they
definitely have their own agendas. Some seek
out knowledge for the power it provides.
Arcanists believe that power is fine (and they'll
take it when they can get it), but seeking
knowledge for its own sake is a worthy
endeavor. In tribal life, arcanists work with other
elf mages to gather and prepare spell
components, create enchanted items (both true
enchantments and illusory ones to sell to
unsuspecting outsiders), and teach aspiring elf
mages the tricks of the trade. Arcanists leave
their tribes for long periods of time when they go
in search of items to add to their arcane
collections. Wandering arcanists often join up
with adventuring groups, for long years of
experience have taught these mages that many
311
of the things they seek eventually wind up in the
proximity of outsiders. Arcanists provide a wide
collection of lore to those they travel with, as
well as spellcasting abilities. They can be either
defilers or preservers. While much of the
information these mages know can be useful, a
lot of it is arcane trivia that sounds important but
means nothing. Arcanists tend to talk on and on
when a question is raised, telling much more
than is necessary to adequately answer the
question. Though the arcanist is always
authoritative in his lecturing to companions and
others, he tends to keep his magical skills secret
when outside his tribe. This is to minimize the
risk posed by those who hate and fear wizards
(which includes the great majority of Athas’s
population).
Trinkets
When you make your character, you can roll
once on the Trinkets table to gain a trinket, a
simple item lightly touched by mystery. The DM
might also use this table. It can help stock a room
in a dungeon or fill a creature’s pockets.

Trinkets

d100 Trinket d100 Trinket

01 A faro needle 26 A small rock that was once part of a stone
02 A scrap of rasclinn hide elemental
03 A thri-kreen antennae 27 A vial with the saliva of an id fiend
04 A roc feather fan 28 A hardened bone slave's collar
05 A shard of obsidian with a tiny skull inside of it 29 A scroll with a spell written incorrectly on it
06 A necklace made with gith fingerbones 30 An ock'n shell
07 A wyvern’s stinger 31 A small gem that holds the Focus of a dwarf
08 A small bag containing the complete skeleton of 32 Half of templar's amulet depicting the sorcerer
a snake king Kalak
09 A dried esperweed flower 33 A tuft of hair from a feylaar
10 A bone insignia of rank from Yaramuke 34 A piece of supple leather with the image of a
11 A hardened sand painting depicting a gladiator forest on it
match 35 An aarakocra feather
12 A leather amulet with a strange rune on it 36 A glass jar with tentacles in a pickling fluid
13 A vial that contains silt from the bottom of the 37 A whistle made of bone
silt sea 38 An elven rattle made from a tortoise shell
14 A crystal eye from a crystal spider 39 A jankx spur
15 A dried out hurrum beetle that hums 40 A tooth from a water drake that always has
16 A coin made from carved carapace condensation on it
17 A small set of bones, looks like a complete 41 An agafari wood needle
humanoid, very small 1' 42 A bone key of Balican design
18 A rough stone statue of a crodlu 43 A halfling war fetish with dried blood on it
19 A treasure map written on parchment with 44 A broken pterran thanak
names of places you've never heard of 45 A wooden toy in the shape of a mekillot
20 A broken bone heartpick inscribed with the 46 A mummified hand of a thrax
history of a long dead Tarek tribe 47 A holy symbol of an elemental priest of water
21 A lock of giant hair 48 A sharpened feather
22 A small wooden statue of a small halfling like 49 A tkaesali head formerly owned by a Nikaal
creature you've never seen before 50 A perfectly round black obsidian orb 2" in
23 A ring made of agafari wood diameter with a small chunk taken out of it
24 A petrified Kes'trekel egg 51 A ceramic coin minted by a long dead merchant house
25 A smooth cylinder made from dasl 52 A fire drake scale that is always warm to the touch

312
 Trinkets

d100 Trinket d100 Trinket

53 An inert Psionicus 76 A small piece of leather which holds several
54 The tip of a kirre's horn small pieces of dried sap
55 A small piece of bronze hammered into the form 77 A broken M'Ke trade coin
of a bearded dwarf's head 78 A ceremonial dagger given to free a gladiator
56 A 6" piece of cha'thrang tether slave from Tyr
57 A small wooden top, when you spin it you hear 79 A cracked belgoi's bell
the rushing wind, but no one else does 80 A rusted scale
58 A piece of crystal that lightly vibrates 81 An Urikite beard ring
59 A templar amulet from the city of Kalidnay 82 A skull of a Pristine Tower warped creature
60 A tiny sketch of a small humanoid the likes of 83 A wooden box filled with dried leaves from the
which you've never seen Crescent forest
61 An erdlu beak with string tied to it, to make a mask 84 A silk veil
62 A dried out kank honey globule 85 A wooden plate with a drawing of the Sunrise
63 A crystal with a face that bears uncanny Home on it
likeness to you etched inside of it 86 A small stone statue taken from a building in Nibenay
64 A glass bead, hardened by psionics 87 A flask with water from the Lake of Golden Dreams
65 A small stone box with unknown ashes in it 88 A small bottle with sand from the Black Sand region
66 A small wooden sailcart toy 89 A piece of ceramic with the image of silk skimmer on it
67 A pouch filled with defiler ash 90 A skull carved from lava rock
68 A small sundial 91 An ancient coin from Giustenal
69 An incense holder carved in the likeness 92 A faded writ of trade from Kurn
70 A piece of wax imprinted with the image of the 93 A drumstick from the forgotten city of Eldaarich
Grand Vizier 94 A stone tablet with names of ancient knights
71 A small stone carving of the Raamic god, Badnu 95 A clay tablet with unknown runes on it
72 A broken jade disk inscribed with the image of a 96 A bone plate with images of Ral & Guthay etched on it
Draji templar holding up a heart 97 A yellow scrap from an Urikite Templar's cloak
73 An Athasian sloth's tooth carved with the image 98 A ceramic disk in the shape of the sun
of a halfling village on it 99 An arrowhead made by a dead elven tribe
74 A small orange flag with crossed carrikals in black on it 100 A small iron hammer made by an ancient dwarven clan
75 A gord with dried herbs

313
 NEW WEAPON PROPERTIES
Weapons
Dual wielder. If you use these weapons in pair,
you gain the bonuses of the feat "Dual Wielder"
WEAPON BREAKAGE when using them together, regardless if you
have it selected or not. The price and weight for
Non-metal weapons break more easily than these weapons is per weapon.
metal ones. A broken item is at best an Unarmed weapon. Can be used as if you were
improvised weapon. Damaged magic weapons not using any weapons to make unarmed attacks
lose their enhancement, properties, and powers with the normal damage in addition to the one
until repaired. The following options simulate the the weapon adds to it.
relative fragility of non-metal weapons, making Charge breaker. This weapon inflicts double
combat more unpredictable and exciting. Your weapon damage when firmly set to receive a
Dungeon Master will tell you if one of the charging opponent.
following optional rules is being used. Double Weapons. You can use these weapons
Fumbling Breakage. When you roll a natural 1 with either one or two hands. If you use with one
on an attack roll using a non-metal weapon, the hand, you may attack with only one of the
item breaks. (DM: If you use this rule, you should weapon’s end. But if you use two-hand, it
also use the rules for fixed enhancement becomes the equivalent of using 2 weapons.
bonuses in Chapter 6, which mitigates the effect With two-hand combat, you have advantage on
of this rule.) disarm manoeuvres, and the weapon it
Obsidian, bone, and wood weapons are prone considered a polearm for Polearm Master feat
to breaking. Whenever a successful attack inflicts additional opposite end attack.
maximum damage, there is a 5% chance that the Polearms. All weapons falling in the polearms
weapon will break, which is a roll of 1 on a d20. category are affected by the Polearm master feat
On a critical hit, there is a 20% chance, 1-4 on a of the Player’s Handbook.
d20. And on a critical fail, a 30% chance, 1-6 on a Strapped. You have to take an action to strap
d20. this weapon to your arm to fight with it, or take
an action to unstrap it if you want to drop it. You
Weapon Attack may continue to use your hand normally, but you
Material Cost Weight Bonus** Damage*
cannot attack with the strapped weapon and a
Metal 100% 100% -- --
Bone 3% 50% -1 -1 wielded weapon in the same hand in one round.
Stone 5% 75% -2 -1 Your opponent has a -5 penalty when attempting
Obsidian 5% 75% -2 -1 a disarm action to disarm a strapped weapon.
Blood Obsidian 2000% 75% +1 +1
Agaferi Wood *** 5% 50% -1 -1
Wood 1% 50% -2 -3 EXOTIC WEAPONS
* The damage modifier subtracts from the damage normally done
by that weapon, to a minimum of one point. Exotic weapons are highly specialized armaments
** Not applicable to missile weapons. that are as difficult to master as they are deadly.
*** Agarferi wood costs 3% instead of 5% in forest cities.
Arena champions and master warriors are often
equipped with these types of weapons. The
exotic weapons listed here are unique to Athas
and not found in other settings.

314
Weapons Stone &
Metal Obsidian Bone Wood
Name Cost Cost Cost Cost Damage Weight Properties
Simple Melee Weapons
Club 3 gp 15 cp 9 cp 3 cp 1d4 bludgeoning 2 lb. Light
Dagger 2 gp 10 cp 6 cp 2 cp 1d4 piercing 1 lb. Light, finesse, thrown (range 20/60)
Greatclub 6 gp 30 cp 18 cp 6 cp 1d8 bludgeoning 10 lb. Two-handed
Handaxe 1 gp 5 cp 3 cp 1 cp 1d6 slashing 2 lb. Light, thrown (range 20/60)
Javelin 50 cp 25 t 15 t 5t 1d6 piercing 2 lb. Thrown (range 30/120)
Light hammer 2 gp 10 cp 6 cp 2 cp 1d4 bludgeoning 2 lb. Light, thrown (range 20/60)
Mace 5 gp 25 cp 15 cp 5 cp 1d6 bludgeoning 4 lb. -
Quarterstaff7 20 cp -- 6t 2t 1d6 bludgeoning 4 lb. Versatile (1d8)
Sickle 60 cp 3 cp 12 t 6t 1d4 slashing 2 lb. Light
Spear 1 gp 5 cp 3 cp 1 cp 1d6 piercing 3 lb. Thrown (range 20/60), versatile (1d8)
Gauntlet1 2 gp 10 cp 6 cp 2 cp 1d3 bludgeoning 1 lb. Light
Gauntlet, spiked1 5 gp -- -- -- 1d4 piercing 1 lb. Light
Katar (Punching Dagger) 2 gp 10 cp 6 cp 2 cp 1d4+1 piercing 1 lb. Light
Puchik 6 gp 30 cp 18 cp 6 cp 1d4+1 piercing 1 lb. Light, special
Quabone7 -- -- 1 cp -- 1d4 piercing or slashing 4 lb. Light
Tonfa (handle)7 -- -- 15 cp 5 cp 1d4 bludgeoning 1 lb. Finesse, light, dual wielder, AC +1
Light pick 1 gp 5 cp 3 cp 1 cp 1d4 piercing 3 lb. Light
Sap7 1 gp -- 3 cp 1 cp 1d2 bludgeoning 1 lb. Light
Harpon 10 gp 50 cp 30 cp 10 cp 1d6 piercing 6 lb. Versatile (2d4), thrown (20/60)
Boomerang7 -- -- 15 t 5t 1d4 bludgeoning 1 lb. Light, finesse, thrown (range 20/60) special
Adze 30 cp 15 t 9t 3t 1d4 piercing 2 lb. Light
Machete 5 gp 25 cp 15 cp 5 cp 1d6 slashing 5 lb. Light
Simple Ranged Weapons
Crossbow, light7 -- -- -- 35 gp 1d8 piercing 5 lb. Ammunition (range 80/320), loading, two-handed
Dart 50 cp 25 t 15 t 5t 1d4 piercing ¼ lb. Finesse, thrown (range 20/60)
Shortbow7 -- -- -- 30 cp 1d6 piercing 2 lb. Ammunition (range 80/320), two-handed
Sling7 -- -- -- 10 cp 1d4 bludgeoning --- Ammunition (range 30/120)
Shortbow composite7 -- -- -- 75 + x30 cp3 1d6 piercing + STR mod. 2 lb. Ammunition (range 90/350), two-handed
Pellet bow7 -- -- -- 3 cp 1d4 bludgeoning 5 lb. Ammunition (range 60/240), light, loading

1 = Considered unarmed strikes. The wearer can hold objects such as 1 handed weapon and still attack
with fist.
2 = Considered a polearm when held in two hands, with Polearm Master applying to this weapon but
using the weapon's non-versatile damage instead for the weapon's opposite end attacks.
3 = Here the value x is equal to the character's strength modifier.
(for example: a character with a strength of 17 has +3 modifier, so a composite shortbow would
cost him 25 + 3x25=100gp)
4 = May be used to make grapple attacks.
5 = These arrows give advantage on attack to cut a rope.
6 = These arrows give advantage on attack against heavy armor due to their greater piercing ability.
7 = Indicates that this weapon cannot be made from metal or gains no benefit from being made of
metal.

315
Martial Melee Weapons
Battleaxe 10 gp 50 cp 30 cp 10 cp 1d8 slashing 4 lb. Versatile (1d10)
Flail 10 gp 50 cp 30 cp 10 cp 1d8 bludgeoning 2 lb. -
Greataxe 30 gp 150 cp 90 cp 30 cp 1d12 slashing 7 lb. Two-handed, heavy
Greatsword 50 gp 250 cp 150 cp 50 cp 2d6 slashing 6 lb. Two-handed, heavy
Longsword 15 gp 75 cp 45 cp 15 cp 1d8 slashing 3 lb. Versatile (1d10)
Maul 10 gp 50 cp 30 cp 10 cp 2d6 bludgeoning 10 lb. Two-handed, heavy
Morningstar 10 gp 50 cp 30 cp 10 cp 1d8 piercing 4 lb. -
Rapier 15 gp 75 cp 45 cp 15 cp 1d8 piercing 2 lb. Finesse
Scimitar 15 gp 75 cp 45 cp 15 cp 1d6 slashing 3 lb. Finesse, Light
Shortsword 10 gp 50 cp 30 cp 10 cp 1d6 piercing 2 lb. Finesse, Light
Trident 15 gp 75 cp 45 cp 15 cp 1d6 piercing 4 lb. Thrown range (20/60), versatile (1d8)
War pick 5 gp 25 cp 15 cp 5 cp 1d8 piercing 2 lb. -
Warhammer 15 gp 75 cp 45 cp 15 cp 1d8 bludgeoning 2 lb. Versatile (1d10)
Whip7 -- -- -- 10 cp 1d4 slashing 3 lb. Finesse, reach
Macuahuitl7 -- 75 cp -- -- 1d8 slashing 5 lb. -
Carrikal 8 gp 40 cp 24 cp 8 cp 2d4 slashing 6 lb. Strapped
Impaler 4 gp 20 cp 12 cp 4 cp 1d8 piercing 5 lb. Two-handed, heavy
Datchi club 12 gp 60 cp 36 cp 12 cp 1d10 bludgeoning or slashing 10 lb. Two-handed, heavy, reach, special
Gouge 6 gp 30 cp 18 cp 6 cp 1d10 piercing or slashing 12 lb. Two-handed, heavy, strapped, special
Heavy mace 8 gp 40 cp 24 cp 8 cp 1d8 bludgeoning 8 lb. -
Kukri 8 gp 40 cp 24 cp 8 cp 1d4 slashing 2 lb. Finesse, light
Main-gauche 3 gp 15 cp 9 cp 3 cp 1d4 piercing 2 lb. Finesse, light, defensive
Scourge 5 gp 25 cp 15 cp -- 1d4 slashing 2 lb. Light
Stiletto 50 cp 25 t 15 t 5t 1d4 piercing ½ lb. Light, finesse, special
Bastard sword 25 gp 125 cp 75 cp 25 cp 1d8 slashing 6 lb. Heavy, versatile (2d4)
Khopesh 10 gp 50 cp 30 cp 10 cp 2d4 slashing 7 lb. Two-handed, heavy
Broadsword 10 gp 50 cp 30 cp 10 cp 2d4 slashing 4 lb. Two-handed, heavy, defensive
Falchion 17 gp 85 cp 51 cp 17 cp 2d4 slashing 8 lb. Two-handed, finesse
Tulwar 30 gp 150 cp 90 cp 30 cp 1d8 slashing 8 lb. Two-handed, special
Scythe 10 gp 50 cp 30 cp 10 cp 2d4 slashing or piercing 10 lb. Two-handed, heavy
Longspear 5 gp 25 cp 15 cp 5 cp 1d8 piercing 9 lb. Two-handed, reach, special
Claymore 25 gp 125 cp 75 cp 25 cp 2d6 slashing 10 lb. Two-handed, heavy
Cutlass 12 gp 60 cp 36 cp 12 cp 1d8 slashing 4 lb. Finesse, Light, defensive
Sabre 17 gp 85 cp 51 cp 17 cp 1d6 slashing 3 lb. Finesse, Light, defensive
Spiked chain 25 gp -- 75 cp 25 cp 2d4 piercing 10 lb. Two-handed, heavy, reach, finesse, special
Heavy fail 15 gp 75 cp 45 cp 15 cp 1d10 bludgeoning 10 lb. Two-handed, heavy
Dire flail 60 gp 300 cp 180 cp 60 cp 1d8 bludgeoning 18 lb. Double weapon, heavy2
Lotulis 15 gp 150 cp 45 cp 15 cp 1d8 piercing - 1d8 slashing 10 lb. Double weapon, two-handed, special, heavy2
Double-bladed spear 2 gp 10 cp 6 cp 2 cp 1d6 piercing 6 lb. Double weapon, thrown (range 20/60), two-handed, heavy2
Double axe 20 gp 100 cp 60 cp 20 cp 1d8 slashing 15 lb. Double weapon, heavy2
Double-bladed sword 30 gp 150 cp 90 cp 30 cp 1d8 slashing 10 lb. Double weapon, heavy2

316
Weapons Stone &
Metal Obsidian Bone Wood
Name Cost Cost Cost Cost Damage Weight Properties
Martial Melee Weapons
Polearms
Glaive 6 gp 30 cp 18 cp 6 cp 1d10 slashing 6 lb. Two-handed, heavy, reach
Halberd 10 gp 50 cp 30 cp 10 cp 1d10 slashing 6 lb. Two-handed, heavy, reach
Lance 15 gp -- -- 15 cp 1d12 piercing 6 lb. Reach, special
Pike 5 gp 25 cp 15 cp 5 cp 1d10 piercing 18 lb. Two-handed, heavy, reach
Weighted pike 6 gp 30 cp 18 cp 6 cp 1d8 piercing / 1d8 bludgeoning 15 lb. Two-handed, heavy, double weapon, special, reach2,
Mancatcher 30 gp -- -- -- - 8 lb. Two-handed, heavy, special, reach2
Guisarme 5 gp -- -- -- 2d4 slashing 12 lb. Two-handed, heavy, reach2
Bill-guisarme 7 gp -- -- -- 1d10 piercing or slashing 15 lb. Two-handed, heavy, reach2
Glaive-guisarme 10 gp -- -- -- 2d6 piercing or slashing 10 lb. Two-handed, heavy, reach2
Guisarme-voulge 8 gp -- -- -- 2d4 piercing or slashing 15 lb. Two-handed, heavy, reach2
Voulge 5 gp -- -- -- 2d4 slashing 12 lb. Two-handed, heavy, reach2
Ranseur 6 gp -- -- -- 2d4 piercing 12 lb. Two-handed, heavy, charge breaker, reach2
Awl pike 5 gp -- -- -- 1d12 piercing 12 lb. Two-handed, heavy, charge breaker, special, reach 22
Bardiche 7 gp -- -- -- 2d6 slashing 12 lb. Two-handed, heavy, reach2
Bec de corbin 8 gp -- -- -- 1d8 piercing or bludgeoning 10 lb. Two-handed, heavy, special, reach2
Fauchard 5 gp -- -- -- 1d8 piercing or slashing 7 lb. Two-handed, heavy, reach2
Fauchard-fork 8 gp -- -- -- 1d10 piercing or slashing 9 lb. Two-handed, heavy, reach2
Hook fauchard 10 gp -- -- -- 1d4 piercing or slashing 8 lb. Two-handed, heavy, special, reach2
Lucern hammer 7 gp -- -- -- 2d4 piercing or bludgeoning 15 lb. Two-handed, heavy, special, charge breaker, reach2
Military fork 5 gp -- -- -- 2d4 piercing 7 lb. Two-handed, heavy, reach2
Partisan 10 gp -- -- -- 1d6 piercing 8 lb. Two-handed, heavy, charge breaker, special, reach2
Spetum 5 gp -- -- -- 2d6 piercing 7 lb. Two-handed, heavy, special, reach2
Martial Ranged Weapons
Blowgun7 -- -- -- 1 cp 1 piercing 1 lb. Ammunition (range 25/100), loading
Crossbow, hand7 -- -- -- 300 cp 1d6 piercing 3 lb. Ammunition (range 30/120), light, loading
Crossbow, heavy7 -- -- -- 50 gp 1d10 piercing 18 lb. Ammunition (range 100/400), heavy, loading, two-handed
Longbow7 -- -- -- 75 cp 1d8 piercing 2 lb. Ammunition (range 150/600), heavy, two-handed
Net7 -- -- -- 1 cp - 3 lb. Special, thrown (range 5/15)
Atlatl7 -- -- -- 25 cp -- 6 lb. Two-handed, special, javelin's range (+20/+20)
Longbow, composite7 -- -- -- 100 + x50 cp3 1d8 piercing + STR mod. 2 lb. Ammunition (range 165/660), heavy, two-handed
Lasso7 -- -- -- 1t - 2 lb. Finesse, two-handed, reach 2, special4
Bolas7 5 gp 25 cp 15 cp 5 cp 1d2 2 lb. Thrown (range 20/60), special4

317
Weapons Stone &
Metal Obsidian Bone Wood
Name Cost Cost Cost Cost Damage Weight Properties
Exotic Melee Weapons
Alak -- -- 6 cp -- 1d6 piercing 6 lb. Light, special
Alhulak 9 gp 45 cp 21 cp 9 cp 1d6 piercing 9 lb. Finesse, reach, special
Bard's friend 10 gp 50 cp 30 cp 10 cp 1d4 piercing or slashing 3 lb. Light, finesse, special
Bard's garrote 2 gp -- -- -- 1d4 bludgeoning 1 lb. Finesse, two-handed, special
Finesse, two-handed, reach, double weapon, special,
Cahulaks 12 gp 60 cp 36 cp 12 cp 1d6 piercing 12 lb.
thrown (range 5/15)
Chatkcha 1 gp 5 cp 3 cp 1 cp 1d4 slashing ½ lb. Finesse, light, thrown (30/90), special
Dragon's paw 15 gp 75 cp 45 cp 15 cp 1d6 piercing 9 lb. Double weapon, two-handed, heavy
Forearm axe 1 gp 5 cp 3 cp 1 cp 1d6 slashing 4 lb. Light, dual wielder, special, strapped
Gith's spear 1 gp 5 cp 3 cp 1 cp 1d8 slashing 3 lb. Two-handed, Finesse
Ko 1 gp 5 cp 3 cp 1 cp 1d4 piercing 3 lb. Light, dual wielder, special
Handfork 12 gp 60 cp 36 cp 12 cp 1d6 slashing 2 lb. Special, dual wielder, Light
Heartpick 9 gp 45 cp 21 cp 9 cp 1d8 piercing 4 lb. Light
Lajav 3 gp -- 9 cp 3 cp 1d4 bludgeoning 4 lb. Two-handed, special
Master's whip 6 gp 30 cp 18 cp 6 cp 1d4 piercing 3 lb. Finesse, reach, special
Slodak -- -- -- 75 cp 1d8 slashing 3 lb. Versatile (1d10)
Singing sticks7 5 gp -- -- 5 cp 1d4 bludgeoning 1 lb. Light, finesse, dual wielder, special
Thanak 20 gp 1 gp 60 cp 20 cp 1d10 slashing 10 lb. Two-handed, Heavy
1d4 piercing or slashing
Talid 4 gp 20 cp 12 cp 4 cp 1 lb. Light, strapped, dual wielder
or bludgeoning
Tortoise blade 9 gp -- 21 cp 9 cp 1d6 piercing 5 lb. Light, AC +1, strapped, special
Skyhammer 1d8 bludgeoning 6 lb. Two-handed, finesse, reach 2, special
Widow's knife 5 gp 25 cp 15 cp 5 cp 1d4 slashing / 1d3 piercing 4 lb. Light, finesse, thrown (range 20/60), loading, special
Wrist razor 10 gp 50 cp 30 cp 10 cp 1d6 slashing 1 lb. Finesse, light, strapped
Zerka 4 gp 20 cp 12 cp 4 cp 1d6 piercing 3 lb. Light, thrown (range 10/20), special
Polearms
Gythka 6 gp 30 cp 18 cp 6 cp 2d4 piercing or slashing 12 lb. Double weapon, two-handed, heavy, thrown (20/60), reach2
Tkaesali 8 gp 40 cp 24 cp 8 cp 1d10 slashing 12 lb. Two-handed, heavy, special, reach2,
1d6 piercing or slashing
Trikal 12 gp 60 cp 36 cp 12 cp 8 lb. Two-handed, heavy, reach2
or bludgeoning
Crusher 24 gp 120 cp 72 cp 24 cp 1d4 bludgeoning 9 lb. Two-handed, heavy, special, reach 42
Exotic Ranged Weapons
Dejada7 -- -- -- 20 cp 1d6 bludgeoning or piercing 8 lb. Ammunition (range 30/70), special, loading
Kyorkcha 10 gp 50 cp 30 cp 10 cp 1d8 slashing 1 lb. Finesse, light, thrown (30/90), special
Splashbow7 -- -- -- 30 cp -- 20 lb. Ammunition (range 30/120), special, loading
Ammunitions
Arrows (20) 1 gp 5 cp 3 cp 1 cp - 1 lb. (SEE description in PHB )
Arrow, humming (5) 1 gp 5 cp 3 cp 1 cp 1d4 piercing 1 lb. (SEE description)
Arrow, half-moon (5) 1 gp 5 cp 3 cp 1 cp 1d6 piercing5 1 lb. (SEE description)
Arrow, armor piercer (5) 1 gp 5 cp 3 cp 1 cp 1d4 piercing6 1 lb. (SEE description)
7
Arrow, vial (5) -- -- -- 5 cp 1d4 bludgeoning 1 lb. (SEE description)
Blowgun needles (50) 1 gp 5 cp 3 cp 1 cp - 1 lb. (SEE description in PHB )
Crossbow bolts (20) 1 gp 5 cp 3 cp 1 cp - 1½ lb. (SEE description in PHB )
Bolt, vial (5)7 -- -- -- 5 cp 1d6 bludgeoning 1½ lb. (SEE description)
Sling bullets (20) 20 cp 1 cp 6t 2t - 1½ lb. (SEE description in PHB )
Pellet bolt (20) 1 gp 5 cp 3 cp 1 cp 1d4 bludgeoning 1½ lb. -
Pelota (1) 40 cp 2 cp -- -- 1d4 bludgeoning or piercing 1 lb. Thrown (range 20/60), light
Pelota, hinged (1) 10 cp 5 cp -- -- 1d4 bludgeoning 2 lb. (SEE description)
Blowgun barbed needles (50) 5 gp 25 cp 15 cp 5 cp 1d2 piercing 1 lb. -

318

Weapons Descriptions
Alak: An alak consists of a 2‐foot long shaft of
bone or wood, with four serrated bones tied to
the sharp end, like the four prongs of a grappling
hook. When using an alak, add a +2 bonus on the
superiority die when attempting a Disarming
Attack maneuver.
Alhulak: The alhulak is primarily a rope with a
four-bladed grappling hook on one end. The other
end of the 5-foot rope is secured to a 2-foot long
handle, which can also be used to block attack
from other weapons. The four-bladed head of the
alhulak is commonly carved from mekillot ribs (the
price given here is for a steel set of blades). The
haft securing it to the rope is usually of wood or
bone.
319
On a hit, you can choose to deal no damage to
attempt to grapple a target on a DC 12 dexterity
check. Dealing 5 slashing damage to the Alhulak
(AC 10) frees the creature without harming it,
ending the effect and destroying the alhulak. Your
trip attack maneuver have +1 bonus.
Atlatl: The atlatl, sometimes called a “staff‐sling,”
is a javelin‐throwing device that is swung over the
shoulder, using both hands. Javelins flung with an
atlatl gain greater range than those thrown by
hand. Adds 20 feet of range to both categories.
Bard’s Garrote: This exotic weapon is made from
giant hair. A bard’s garrote can only be used as
part of a grapple attack, and you must wield it
with both hands regardless of your size. This form
of garrote is used to choke a victim to death and is
generally used to strike from behind. As part of a
grapple attack, using a garrote subjects you are
open to receive an attack of opportunity unless
you are hidden from the target of the attack.
An attack to the throat must be made, upon a
successful hit, the creature must roll a DC 15
strength check. If the creature fails, it is
considered grappled and suffocating (SEE rules
Player’s Handbook, p.183), but not restrained.
Dealing 5 slashing damage to the garrote (AC 10)
frees the creature without harming it, ending the
effect and destroying the garrote. The garrote
inflicts 1d6 points of bludgeoning damage per turn
as the grapple holds, and the victim is considered
choking.
Bard’s friend: Popularized by the bards of Balic,
the bards friend is a particularly gruesome-looking
weapon, sporting several blades and prongs. If
properly used, it is an excellent parrying weapon
and brawl-stopper. The blades themselves are
most often formed of metal or obsidian, strapped
and mounted to a central wooden grip. The
prongs are usually metal or wood, though they can
be the fangs of desert predators. The grip may
have holes for the fingers; when there are no
holes, the weapon is usually worn with leather
straps holding it to the hand. Known to be a bard’s
weapon, it is not uncommon to see the blades
dripping with poison.
When attempting Parry maneuver, you have +1.
Cahulaks: Cahulaks are a pair of four-bladed
weapons held together with a length of rope. They
can be used in each hand as melee weapons; one
or both can also be thrown to tangle and cause
damage to an opponent. The blades are
commonly carved from the hip or shoulder bones
of a mekillot, but more expensive versions can be
forged of steel. The hafts are made of solid lengths
of wood or, rarely, sturdy bone. The connecting
320
rope is up to 12 feet long; an experienced cahulak
wielder keeps most of that length looped loosely
in one hand when preparing for combat.
On a hit, you can choose to deal no damage to
attempt to grapple a target on a DC 12 dexterity
check. Dealing 5 slashing damage to the cahulaks
(AC 10) frees the creature without harming it,
ending the effect and destroying the cahulaks,
leaving only 2 alaks).
Your trip attack maneuver have +1 bonus.
Carrikal: By lashing a length of mekillot bone to
the jawbone of any sharp-toothed creature, a kind
of battle axe is created. Sharp ridges of teeth run
down half the length of the bone handle, and the
hinges of the jaw are sharpened to a keen edge.
This gives the weapon two deadly axe heads
oriented in the same direction. A leather thong
connected to the bottom of the bone shaft
ensures it remains with its wielder. The sharpened
jawbone of a large creature is lashed to a haft. The
jagged edges are sharpened, forming a sort of
battleaxe with two forward‐facing heads
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Chatkcha: The single most important weapon to
the thri-kreen is the chatkcha, or throwing wedge.
It is the only weapon whose use is learned by the
thri-kreen through racial memory. Skill with the
chatkcha is a mark of adulthood among thri-kreen;
the weapon itself symbolizes adulthood. The
chatkcha’s precise form depends on the substance
used to make it. Note that “chatkcha” is
pronounced chaht-kcha, with the “k” and “ch”
sounds run together, rather than chah-tk-cha or
another variant. The tohr-kreen have their own
version of this weapon, the kyorkcha. A few have
appeared in the Tyr Region. “Kyorkcha” is
pronounced kyor-kcha rather kyor-kcha than, ky-
or-kcha, or some other variant.
Chatkcha can be made from hardwood, stone,
bone, metal, or dasl. Dasl is the preferred
medium. A dasl chatkcha has a central hole; at
equal spaces around the hole, three leaf-shaped
blades protrude. Metal and wooden chatkcha are
roughly the same shape as dasl ones. Bone and
stone chatkcha must be built differently, or fly
apart too easily when used; they have a central
hole as well, but the three blades are wider and
almost rectangular in shape.
Thri-kreen pride themselves on the quality of
their chatkcha, and put many hours into them, so
they are not just functional, but are beautiful as
well. More artistic thri-kreen etch scenes of
hunting and battle onto the flat parts of the
weapon. The more ornate dasl chatkcha become
heirlooms of the maker and, when that thri-kreen
dies, of the clutch and pack. Some packs have
chatkcha that have been handed down for
generations, and through their etchings, tell some
of the history of the pack. Thri-kreen are
sometimes so attached to dasl chatkcha that if the
weapons are lost or stolen, they will go on a quest
to retrieve the chatkcha. Heirloom chatkcha are
protected with the thri-kreen’s life. Chatkcha of
materials other than dasl are never heirlooms.
The chatkcha was created by thri-kreen and is
used primarily by them. A typical thri-kreen can
throw up to two chatkcha in a round. This takes up
the thri-kreen's allowed actions for that round.
The thri-kreen can throw chatkcha with any of his
or her hands, and can hold other objects in unused
hands.
The thri-kreen hand, especially the three-
thumbed hand of the Jeral, is ideal for gripping the
chatkcha. A Jeral grips the weapon with one
thumb between each blade, while a To’ksa curls
the middle finger under and against the chatkcha,
and uses the other three digits to grip the weapon
in the Jeral manner (see diagram).
To throw the chatkcha, the thri-kreen holds it to
the side, with palm facing up. The throw is a full
arm movement with a wrist flip at the end; a thri-
kreen who does not have room for a full arm
movement (just a forehand or backhand wrist flip)
can throw the chatkcha only 10 feet. Thri-kreen
usually throw two chatkcha at the same time;
some throw both from the same side of the body,
while others use either the upper or lower pair of
arms. Throwing styles tend to be the same within
a pack; this, like harness and decoration,
distinguishes one pack from another.
Because chatkcha (and kyorkcha are hurled
weapons, damage bonuses for high Strength
apply. Because they are so perfectly balanced or
flight, they suffer the same penalties as arrows or
bolts due to wind, despite their greater weight. A
proper throw has several traits.
The weapon spins when thrown. If thrown
parallel to the ground, it will return to the
thrower, provided it missed the target and was
not otherwise stopped.
The chatkcha returns along approximately the
same trajectory it traveled on the way to the
target. This happens at the end of the round, so a
single chatkcha cannot be thrown more than once
per round.
If thrown upward or downward, the chatkcha
does not return (actually, an upward throw
returns by falling, and can caught if the thri-kreen
is in the right place and makes a successful
Dexterity check).
Catching a returning chatkcha (or kyorkcha) is
second nature to a proficient thri-kreen. A proper
catch is made by inserting a finger into the central
hole, then wrapping the others around the
weapon; the catching finger is then withdrawn
smoothly so the weapon is again ready to be
thrown.
If the thri-kreen is distracted (such as by
moving, or by being attacked), the catch requires a
successful Dexterity check.
A thri-kreen can wield a chatkcha (but not a
kyorkcha) as a melee weapon, with the same
restrictions as for other melee weapons. The grip
on the weapon is the same, and damage is as
indicated on the weapons table.
Non-kreen wielders can never be proficient in
their use, nor can they catch them returning.
322
 Crusher: A spiked stone (or, rarely, metal) ball at
the end of a 20- to 25-foot-long flexible pole
makes up this unique melee weapon. The user
plants the end of the pole into the ground, then
whips the weighted end back and forth until it
nearly strikes the ground in front and behind. This
weapon is difficult to use in individual combat, but
it makes a formidable weapon in troop battle.
The crusher is made from a large stone or metal
weight, mounted at the end of a 15‐foot long shaft
of springy wood. The weight is whipped back and
forth. The crusher is a reach weapon. You can
strike opponents 10 feet away with it, but you
cannot use it against an adjacent foe. You need a
15‐foot ceiling to use the weapon, but it can reach
over cover. Crushers come in two varieties, fixed
and free. A fixed crusher requires a base to use.
The fixed crusher’s base is enormously heavy,
usually consisting of a thick slab of stone with a
hole drilled through it to support the crusher’s
pole. The base is transported separately from the
pole, and it takes one full minute to set the fixed
crusher up for battle. The fixed crusher is a martial
weapon, finding most use in infantry units. It is
possible to use the crusher pole without the base
as a free crusher, but this requires considerable
expertise. You need an exotic weapon proficiency
in the free crusher to accomplish this feat without
the –4 proficiency penalty, even if you are
proficient in the fixed crusher.

323

Datchi club: The datchi club is a specialized arena
weapon, favored among more ruthless crowds
because of the horrible wounds it can inflict. The
head of the club is 4-5 feet long, attached to a
wooden or bone handle 3 feet long. The head is
made of porous material, either insect hive or
dried roots, and is incredibly light. It is then
embedded with dozens of razor points. The razors
can be metallic but are more often fashioned from
teeth and claws. The handle is very solid, allowing
the wielder to grip the base for greater range or to
spread his grip to enhance his leverage. The
proficient user can have the extra damage from a
datchi club swing carry over an adjacent target
when he kill the first target of his attack, provided
on a successful hit on the second one with
disadvantage.
Dejada: The dejada consists of a long, scooped
basket (cestum) worn on the arm and used to
propel projectiles (pelota) at a very high rate of
speed. The cestum can be made by taking the
slender rib bones from an erdlu and weaving a
long. slender, curved basket between them. The
wielder inserts her hand into the open bottom end
where a glove like handle is placed. The cestum
for human use is 2 feet long and 6 inches wide.
Cestum size varies with the race of the wielder.
Cesti can only be used on one hand, since the
other is required to load the pelota.
Pelota are spherical objects approximately 2
inches in diameter. Stone, spiked balls, and balls of
brambleweed qualify as pelota. Ceramic balls filled
with gas, oil, poison, or other substances may also
be used. There is some debate on whether this
weapon originated in the Ringing Mountains or in
the Crescent Forest. It has been documented that
mountain halflings use cesti to hurl agony beetles
at the backs of powerful foes. Metal cesti are
extremely rare, while metal pelota are much more
common.
324

Dragon’s paw: The dragon's paw is a multi-bladed
weapon popular among the arena masters of Urik
and Tyr. The weapon has two blades, made from
any material, one at each end of a 5.-6. wooden
shaft. Around the center is a bar or basket that
both protects the hand and holds another blade
jutting perpendicular to the central shaft. This
blade is called the forward blade, while the others
are called the outer blades. A dragon’s paw is a
double weapon.
A proficient user adds +3 bonus to his
superiority die when attempting a Parry maneuver
with the dragon’s paw.
325
Forearm axe: Worn on the forearm like a buckler,
this weapon consists of a large, double-bladed axe
on either end of a bracer with a spike protruding
perpendicularly from the upper sheath. This
weapon is particularly formidable in close-quarter
fighting. Strapped to the forearm like a buckler,
the forearm axe resembles a double‐headed
battleaxe, with the wearer’s arm serving as the
haft of the axe. You may continue to use your
hand normally, but you cannot attack with the
forearm axe and a wielded weapon in the same
hand in one round.
The proficient user of a forearm axe can use it
as a buckler to deflect 1 attack as a reaction, and
still use it to attack. The user gains a +1 AC against
a specified attack. However, when it is used as a
buckler, there is the possibility of shattering; any
roll of a 19 or 20 against it means the PC must
again roll a d20. A roll of 1 means the forearm axe
has shattered from the force of the blow.
 Gythka: The gythka is a polearm with a three-
bladed head at each end. It can be used as a
thrusting or throwing weapon, and can be wielded
as a quarterstaff or set against a charge as well.
Thri-kreen sometimes make a child’s version of
the gythka to help train young thri-kreen in the
weapon’s use. There are a few variations on the
gythka. Gythka are usually made with heads of
stone or bone; some are made with dasl. A
Gouge: The shoulder-strapped gouge is a
common configuration attaches a chatkcha to one
specialized infantry weapon perfected for the
end of the shaft, with a standard gythka head at
slave armies of the Shadow King of Nibenay. It is a
the other end. The chatkcha is usually set with one
weapon that can inflict significant damage against
blade pointing parallel to the staff; on occasion, it
an opponent and is unlikely to be dropped in the
is set with a blade perpendicular to the shaft. This
event of a rout. The gouge itself has a wide bone,
configuration, when swung properly, can better
obsidian, or chitin blade mounted onto a 3 feet
pierce the chitin of an insect or another thri-kreen.
long wooden shaft. A smaller handle protrudes
The gythka is a double weapon.
from a forward position on the main shaft, while
the rear of the shaft has a wide grip used to drive
the weapon home. The shoulder strap is made of
leather or cloth, and it sometimes is expanded to a
complete harness around the neck and shoulders.
The weapon can be easily turned over to
accommodate a left-handed wielder. Donning the
harness is an action. Doffing it is a bonus action.
After a successful attack, the wielder can use his
bonus action to attempt to gouge the target. He
rolls another attack, if it succeeds, the creatures
takes an additional 1d8 piercing damage.

326

Handfork: The handfork, most popular among
tareks, is a slicing weapon with a handle‐grip and
obsidian blades that join above the knuckles in an
“M” shape.
A proficient user adds +1 bonus to his
superiority die when attempting a Parry maneuver
with the handfork.
Heartpick: The name of this weapon expresses its
simple intent. Usually made of bone, the heartpick
is a hammer like weapon with a serrated pick on
the front, and a heavy, flat head on the back. The
heartpick, usually made of bone, is a hammer-like
weapon with a serrated pick on the front and a
heavy, flat head on the back.
327
Impaler: An impaler is a weapon developed for
arena combat. It has a single shaft about 4 feet
long with a pair of long pointed blades, splitting to
each side and forming a deadly “T”. The weapon
can be swung horizontally or vertically over the
head. Like many Athasian weapons, the impaler
was developed for the arenas. The impaler is
swung horizontally or vertically with great force.
Ko: The ko. (breaker) is basically a rock, pointed at
one end and rounded on the other. The ko is a
hand-held melee weapon designed to break the
chitin of an enemy. The thri-kreen holds a ko. with
the rounded end in the palm and the pointed end
out.
Ko are wielded in opposite pairs, with standard
restrictions and penalties for characters using
more than one weapon. Both ko in a pair are
swung at the same time, aiming to catch a portion
of the thri-kreen’s body between them, and an
attack roll must be made for each one. If only one
hits, damage is as listed; if both hit, the damage is
as listed, and the victim of the strike suffers a
piercing attack automatically, as a hole is punched
in the chitin. You gain advantage when attacking
with a pair of ko, a thri-kreen or other creature
with an exoskeleton.

Kyorkcha: This tohr‐kreen weapon consists of a
curved blade, much like a boomerang, with
several protrusions along the edge, as well as
jutting spikes near each end. An invention of the
tohr-kreen of the north, the kyorkcha is a more
dangerous variant of the chatkcha. It consists of a
curved blade, much like a boomerang, with
several protrusions along the edge, as well as
spikes that jut out near each end. The kyorkcha,
like the chatkcha, has a hole in the middle. The
kyorkcha can be made of dasl, or of stone, bone,
hardwood, or metal. A kyorkcha’s average damage
is greater than that of the chatkcha.
Most kyorkcha are edged on both front and
back, though some are made with a blunt back
edge; these are used to knock out foes or prey.
Only a blunt kyorkcha can be used in this way. The
kyorkcha is held like the chatkcha, with a digit on
either side of the kyorkcha’s leading prong, and
the third digit at the center of the weapon’s
trailing edge. The details of throwing are similar to
those of the chatkcha.
See the chatkcha’s description for additional
details.
Lajav: The lajav (cracker) is a vicious weapon,
designed for use against creatures with chitin. It
consists of two short, thick rods (usually made of
bone or hardwood) connected by a stiff hinge of
sorts (something like nunchuks). Only one lajav is
wielded at a time, using both arms on one side.
The lajav is wielded in the upper primary hand for
a normal attack roll. If the attack hits, the listed
damage is caused. You then make a grappling
attack, for the off-hand to catch the other end of
the lajav to see if the grapple is successful. If this
roll is successful, the listed damage is caused again
as the limb is crushed between the two rods of the
lajav. The victim must then make a DC 10
Constitution saving throw, or the limb is broken,
and cannot be used. Normal healing time is 2d4
weeks.
Regardless of your size, you need two hands to
use a lajav, since a second hand is required to
catch the other end of the lajav. As with the
gythka, kreen are able to wield two lajav at a time
because of their four arms.
328
Lotulis: The lotulis is a long shaft with a recurved
crescent blade at either end. It resembles two
outwardly curved crescent moons mounted on a
long metal shaft. The edged crescents also have
small barbed spikes near the points. In the hands
of a warrior trained in its use, it is a truly
dangerous weapon. Though the lotulis is
ponderous, its damage potential is something to
make even a half-giant wary.
The proficient user can spin the lotulis through a
variety of offensive and defensive manoeuvres.
The shaft can be used to parry attacks. The blades
can also be used to catch weapons, pin foes, or
impale targets with the barbs. The lotulis grants a
+1 to your superiority die at any attempt at Parry,
Trip Attack, Sweeping Attack, and Disarming
Attack manoeuvres.
329
Macuahuitl: A macuahuitl is a sword painstakingly
crafted using a core of solid wood, with small,
sharp shards of obsidian embedded into the wood
to form an edge on two opposite sides of the
weapon. Macuahuitls tend to require more
maintenance. The macuahuitl is especially popular
among the Draji, who seem to be the only ones
who can easily pronounce this weapon’s Draji
name (“ma‐ka‐wheet‐luh”). Non‐Draji simply refer
to it as the “obsidian sword of the Draji people” or
the “Draji sword.”
 Pelota: Popular in arena games and increasingly
popular in the street games of some city‐states,
pelota are hollow leaden spheres with small holes
that cause the sphere to whistle as it flies through
the air. The surface of most pelota is studded with
obsidian shards. You can use the dejada throwing
glove to cast pelota at much higher speed and
with greater accuracy, dealing more damage than
a pelota thrown by hand.
Pelota are spherical objects approximately 2
inches in diameter. Stone, spiked balls, and balls of
brambleweed qualify as pelota. Ceramic balls filled
with gas, oil, poison, or other substances may also
be used. There is some debate on whether this
weapon originated in the Ringing Mountains or in
the Crescent Forest. It has been documented that
mountain halflings use cesti to hurl agony beetles
at the backs of powerful foes. Metal cesti are
extremely rare, while metal pelota are much more
common.

Pelota, hinged: To the careless eye a hinged

pelota looks like an ordinary pelota without
obsidian spikes. Hinged pelota can be twisted
open like a small jar. Bards and assassins often use
this feature to insert a splash‐globe—a thin crystal
sphere that contains acid, injury poison, contact
poison, alchemical fire, or some other liquid.
Master’s whip: Used by task masters and arena When the pelota strikes, the globe breaks, spilling
guards, the master’s whip has a carved bone or the liquid through the holes of the pelota. Like
ivory handle inlaid with decorative elements pelota, hinged pelota can be thrown with a
appropriate to the rank of the wielder. The whip is dejada. Hinged pelotas are also used as
fashioned from leather or giant’s hair (the latter ammunition for the splashbow.
increasing the cost by 15 cp). A bone head sports
five separate hollow-tipped barbs, setting this
weapon apart from normal whips.
The master’s whip is usually braided from giant
hair or leather, and has shards of chitin, obsidian
or bone braided into the end of the whip. Unlike
normal whips, the master’s whip deals damage
normally, has only a ten‐foot range, and you apply
your Strength modifier to damage dealt. In all
other respects, it is treated as a normal whip.

330

Puchik: The puchik is a punching and parrying
weapon designed for close fighting. It is a dagger,
2 feet long, with handguards jutting from the hilt
at a 45 degree angle to protect the wielder's
hands. The grip of the puchik is perpendicular to
the length of the blade and held in place by the
two prongs extending down from the handguards.
Holed leather strips wrap around the hilt keep the
grip from slipping in sweaty hands. A proficient
user can make parry manoeuvres done with the
puchik with +3 on the superiority die.
331
Quabone: This weapon is constructed from four
identical shanks of bone, lashed together to form
a radially symmetrical, sword-length rod. With its
lightness and crudely sharpened end, the quabone
is a fairly ineffective weapon. However, it’s often
used in arena situations where combat is intended
to be drawn out for a long period of time. The
wounds it inflicts are non‐lethal, yet have
entertainment value, as the quabone tends to
open up many small cuts that bleed freely—for a
brief time.
Slodak: It is a wooden long sword, carved from
young hardwood trees and treated with a mixture
of tree sap and id fiend blood. This treatment
renders the blade of the weapon extremely
strong, giving it nearly the strength of steel. It is a
weapon favored by pterrans.
 Skyhammer: The sky hammer consists of a 10‐foot
length of rope with a large hammer‐like object at
one end. Its rope is coiled and swung around the
body two‐handedly until enough momentum is
gained to hurl the hammer at a target. A
successful hit force the medium and smaller target
to make a Strength saving throw DC 12 - due to
the momentum of the skyhammer - or be knocked
prone.

Singing sticks: These weapons are one inch in

diameter and about 2 ½ feet long. Singing sticks
rely more on agility and ability than on simple
brute force. They are almost always used in pairs,
rather than singly. Made of springy, straight wood
such as the cachava plant, they are nearly
impossible to break, even when swung with great
force.
Singing sticks are extremely light, carved so that
the diameter of the ends is slightly larger than that
of the center. This unusual shape, combined with
the type of wood, is what gives the sticks their
name, for they whistle and moan as they are
whirled through the air. Adhesive oil is normally
applied before battle so that the sticks do not slip
from the user’s grasp even during high speed
manoeuvres.
Although they are light and generally favored
for sparring practice, singing stick can be used
with deadly precision in the arena. Many a
gladiator has misjudged an opponent because the
foe was wielding only these sticks, and has gone to Double-bladed spear: A double‐tipped spear is a
her doom lamenting her mistake. double weapon. You can fight with it as if fighting
A proficient user can make parry manoeuvres with two weapons, but if you do, you incur all the
done with the singing sticks with +1 on his normal attack penalties associated with fighting
superiority die. with two weapons, just as if you were using a
one‐handed weapon and a light weapon. A
creature wielding a double‐tipped spear in one
hand can’t use it as a double weapon—only one
end of the weapon can be used in any given
round.

332
Splashbow: This exotic weapon looks like a
misshapen crossbow, only three feet long from
bow to handle, but with a horizontal bow nearly
five feet wide. Rather than bolts, the splashbow
fires hinged pelotas, which can be filled with
splash–globes of alchemical fire, contact poison,
acids, or other interesting liquids. Splash– globes
burst on impact, spraying their contents like a
thrown grenade. The splashbow takes a full round
to draw and load, assuming that the hinged
pelotas have already been prepared.
Thanak: The thanak is a chopping weapon of
pterran manufacture resembling a jagged sword
or sawblade. It consists of a pair of hardwood
strips bound together, with a row of pterrax teeth
protruding from between them along one edge of
the weapon particularly capable of slicing through
muscle and sinew. When it strikes, its toothed
edge rips into the target’s flesh. The Pterran often
coat the teeth of the weapon are with a powerful,
debilitating poison.

Tonfa: The tonfa is a stick with a short handle, and

is popular among street‐patrolling Nibenese
templars and their guards.
Talid: The talid, also known as the gladiator’s
gauntlet, is made of stiff leather with metal, chitin
or bone plating on the hand cover and all along
the forearm. Spikes protrude from each of the
knuckles and along the back of the hand. A sharp
blade runs along the thumb and there is a 6‐inch
spike on the elbow. A strike with a talid is
considered an armed attack. The cost and weight
given are for a single talid.

333
Tkaesali: This polearm, commonly used by the
nikaal, consists of long wooden haft topped with a
circular, jagged blade. A tkaesali has reach. You
can strike opponents 10 feet away with it, but you
can’t use it against an adjacent foe. Tkaesali are
reserved for celebrated warriors, tribal elders, and
shaman. They are frequently decorated with
totems and war trophies. Nikaal carrying tkaesali
are treated with reverence by other nikaal. If an
individual loses his tkaesali. he is ostracized until
he finds his prized weapon. If it is in the
possession of a member of another race, that
individual must be defeated in personal combat to
regain stature among the tribe.
Tortoise blade: This weapon is basically a small
shield with a protruding blade. Though named for
a specific creature, its protective shell can be
carved from bone or chitin, or fashioned from
hardened leather. The blade, made from stone,
bone, or sometimes metal, is mounted to the
underside of the shell, and the entire ensemble is
worn on the forearm. The tortoise blade is
strapped over the wearer’s hand, preventing them
from holding anything but the tortoise blade. The
tortoise blade also functions as a buckler, granting
a +1 armor bonus.
A proficient user may use the Parry maneuver
with +2 on his superiority die.
334
Trikal: This small polearm is a 6-foot-long, mostly
wood shaft. The uppermost 12 inches consist of
three blades projecting from a central shaft.
Beneath the blades is a series of serrations,
generally extremely sharp. The other end of the
shaft is weighted to increase the momentum of
the weapon.
Three blades project radially from the business
end of a six‐foot long haft. A series of sharp
serrated edges line the shaft below the foot‐long
blades, while the far end of the weapon is
weighted, in order to balance the weapon.
Because of the trikal’s curved blades on the top of
the weapon, Trip Attack manoeuvres can be made
with it with +3 on superiority die. If you are
tripped, you can drop your trikal to avoid being
tripped.
335
Weighted pike: The weighted pike is an example
of a combination weapon, merging the
effectiveness of the pike with that of the mace.
The 7.-8.shaft of the weighted pike is almost
always made of strong wood (agafari, if possible,
though these are usually double the price). The
pike blade can be metal, but is more often of bone
or fang. The weighted, spiked ball is often ceramic,
baked right onto the end of the shaft with the
glass or metal spikes in place. A weighted pike is a
double weapon. A creature using a double
weapon in one hand, such as a half‐giant using a
weighted pike can’t use it as a double weapon.
A proficient user in the weighted pike can swing
the mace end using the length of the weapon for
greater effectiveness. The warrior can only make
one such attack per round, but a hit inflicts 3d6 hp
bludgeoning damage.
 Wrist razor: Wrist razors consist of a trio of blades
Widow’s knife: The widow's knife takes its name
that protrude from a heavy arm band. The razors
from the similar harvesting tool often used in the
project out over the back of the hand, are
verdant belts by women who have lost their
extremely sharp, and can be up to 6 inches long.
husbands and must work themselves. Finely
Wrist razors can be worn on one or both forearms.
balanced, the widow’s knife is a favorite court
Several shards of obsidian or bone are fastened to
weapon and arena specialty. The wide end is
a strip of leather or other binding material, or are
preferably fashioned of metal, but can be made of
lashed onto the forearm of the wielder.
obsidian; bone and chitin are too light to balance
the weapon. The handle is carved of wood or
ivory, often inlaid with markings peculiar to the
owner. Particularly ornate widow’s knives can cost
many hundreds of ceramics.
Hidden within the handle are two spring-loaded
prongs. A thumb latch on the handle releases the
prongs. The widow’s knife can also be thrown as a
missile weapon. On a successful hit, you may
trigger the prongs by releasing a catch in the hilt
as part of your acttack action. The attack has
advantage to hit and includes the Dexterity
modifier if applied. The prongs do an additional
1d3 points of piercing damage when sprung, and
take a bonus action to reload.

336
Zerka: The zerka (meat-seeker) is a short, viciously
barbed javelin. While usually wielded as a melee
weapon, it can be equipped with a line and
thrown, like a short harpoon. Once the zerka hits,
the victim needs a successful Strength check DC 10
to pull out the weapon. Failure inflicts 1d4 slashing
damage. Success inflicts 1d6 of slashing damage as
the weapon is pulled out. If the zerka is equipped
with a line, the creature hit cannot run far without
further injuring itself. The wielder can use the line
to pull down or dismount a struck opponent of
equal or smaller size. In this case, both attacker
and victim make Strength check. If the attacker
succeeds and the victim fails, the victim falls
prone. If both succeed, the zerka pulls free,
inflicting normal damage. In all other cases,
nothing happens.
The victim can pull the zerka from his wound
with a move action if he has at least one hand
free, but suffers an additional 1d6 slashing
damage. A Medicine skill check DC 13 allows the
zerka to be removed without further injury.

337
Jagged Cliffs Weapons
Jagged Cliff Weapons

Name Cost hp AC Damage Weight Properties

Life-Shaped Melee Weapons
Armbl a de 75 cp 40 hp 16 1d6 s l a s hi ng 5 l b. Li fe-s ha ped, l i ght, fi nes s e, empty ha nds
Arms pi ke 50 cp 40 hp 16 1d4 pi erci ng 5 l b. Li fe-s ha ped, l i ght, empty ha nds
Cl a wgra ft (ea ch) 5 cp 40 hp 14 1d4 s l a s hi ng 1/4 l b. Li fe-s ha ped,l i ght, fi nes s e
Fl a s hl a nce 30 cp 60 hp 17 1d6 pi erci ng 8 l b. Li fe-s ha ped, s peci a l (vers a til e 1d10, rea ch)
Hurl i ng Ti tan 35 cp 40 hp 16 1d8 bl udgeoni ng 9 l b. Li fe-s ha ped, two-ha nded, hea vy
Ma ndi bl es 150 cp 30 hp 14 -- 8 l b. Two-ha nded, hea vy, l i fe-s ha ped, s peci a l , rea ch 2
Qui cks tri ke 50 cp 40 hp 16 1d4 s l a s hi ng 5 l b. Li fe-s ha ped, l i ght, fi nes s e, empty ha nds , s peci a l
Shocks tick 25 cp 30 hp 16 -- 3 l b. Li fe-s ha ped, l i gth, fi nes s e
Spi nethrower 75 cp 40 hp 16 1d6 bl udgeoni ng 3 l b. Li fe-s ha ped, s pi kes (ra nge 30/90), s peci a l
Pol ea rms
Li fe Leech 100 cp 30 hp 16 8 l b. Rea ch, two-ha nded, fi nes s e, s peci a l
2
Wa rs taff 150 cp 40 hp 16 1d8 pi erci ng or bl udgeoni ng 10 l b. Li fe-s ha ped, two-ha nded, hea vy, l i fe-s ha ped, rea ch
Life-Shaped Ranged Weapons
Dea ths pra y 100 cp 40 hp 14 2d12 poi s on 12 l b. Two-ha nded, s pra y (ra nge 10/20), s peci a l
Gra ppl er 75 cp 60 hp 17 -- 10 l b. Two-ha nded, s ticky cords (ra nge 10/20), s peci a l
Life-Shaped Ammunitions
Spore pods , i rri tant (1) 1 cp 4 hp 11 -- 1 l b. Li fe-s ha ped, s peci a l
Spore pods , s l eep (1) 2 cp 4 hp 11 -- 1 l b. Li fe-s ha ped, s peci a l
Spore pods , poi s on (1) 3 cp 4 hp 11 -- 1 l b. Li fe-s ha ped, s peci a l

Armblade (Tissue Graft; 40 hp, AC 16): This
weapon grafts onto a host’s forearm. It has a
long blade that extends outward and forward
from the arm. The entire blade is about 2 feet
long and 5 inches wide. The weapon can be used
to slash and stab foes in combat. Because it is
fastened directly onto the arm, it frees the user’s
hands for other things.
Clawgrafts (Tissue, Graft; 40 hp, AC 14): These
tiny grafts attach to the host’s fingers. Each is a
claw approximately 1 ½ inches long. They allow
the wielder to rake and slash foes like natural
claws.
Evil characters with clawgrafts often add
poison nodules to increase the deadliness of
their attacks.

Deathspray (Creature, 40 hp AC 14): This

Armspike (Tissue Graft; 40 hp, AC 16): The
armspike also welds itself to a host’s forearm. It
has from one to three spikes, 3 to 6 inches in
length, projecting outward from the wielder’s
arm. The weapon can be used to slash and pierce
foes in close quarter combat. Because it grafts to
the arm, it frees the user’s hands for other
things.
creature resembles a 2-foot long, scaled tube
with a wide, bulbous nodule on one end and a
narrow opening at the other. The creature
produces a caustic, poisonous venom that can be
sprayed from the aperture to a distance of 15
feet. An attack roll is required. The spray inflicts
2d12 poison damage. A Constitution saving
throw is required, save for half damage. The
creature needs to recharge between spray, so it
can be use to attack only once every round of
combat.

338
Flashlance (Creature, 60 hp, AC 17): This weapon
is a 3-foot long spear that can be used as a
stabbing weapon. When activated by squeezing
the handle, the lance rapidly extends outward,
telescoping a razor sharp point into a foe. When
activated, the lance extends itself to a length of 6
feet for an instant—it gains reach and can inflict
1d10 piercing damage rather than the normal
1d6 piercing damage. The lance retracts
automatically.
Grappler (Creature, 60 hp, AC 17): This ranged
weapon is a creature approximately 28 inches
long. Like a deathsprayer, it has a pod on one
end and an orifice on the other. When activated,
the grappler fires a stream of long, sticky cords,
which resemble frog tongues, to a distance of 30
feet. Anyone struck by the cords becomes
entangled. The target must succeed on a DC 14
Strength saving throw or have its arms are
trapped and be considered grappled. The victim
loses all shield and Dexterity bonuses and can be
pulled about, with a chance of being pulled
prone if it fail on a contested skill check versus
your Strength roll. The victim can escape on a
successful DC 14 Strength saving throw. A
grappler cannot be reused while a victim is
entangled, and even after the target is freed, an
action must be used to reload it before it can be
used again—it takes that long for the cords to
retract.
Hurling Titan (Tissue, 40 hp, AC 16): This weapon
resembles a large mace or (especially in the
hands of a halfling) a maul. Like other shaped
melee weapons, it consists of hardened tissue.
The hurling titan’s head has a liquid core,
however. When swung, the nucleus creates a
momentum of centrifugal force, allowing it to do
great damage despite its size.
339
Life Leech (Creature, 30 hp, AC 16): This is a 7-
foot pole with a 2-inch ball on one end. When
the ball is touched to a living creature, the
weapon rapidly absorbs nutrients and water
from the victim. The draining effect is reflected
in the target’s loss of 1d12 necrotic damage, DC
14 Constitution saving throw for half. This
weapon requires a special combat technique
since it is not sturdy enough to be swung with
great force, its touch must be light.
Life Leech Sword (see Rhulisti Artifacts in
Windriders of the Jagged Cliff book).
Mandibles (Tissue, 30 hp, AC 6): This weapon is
identical to the mancatcher described in the 5e
Complete Equipment Guide (SEE link here:
https://tinyurl.com/ya5veryr), except that it can
be used to “bite” for 1d6 points of piercing
damage without “catching” a foe if the user so
desires.
Quickstrike (Creature, Graft; 40 hp, AC 16): Like
the armblade, this graft is worn on the forearm.
It is thin enough so that it can be hidden
underneath a loose, long sleeved shirt or a cloak.
When activated by pressing on the back of the
creature (using a bonus action to do so), an 8-
inch long spike protrudes from the graft at the
host’s wrist, roughly parallel with the arm.
Shockstick (Creature, 30 hp, AC 16): This club-
shaped creature consists of a hard outer shell. It
absorbs and stores static electricity (like an
electric eel), discharging it into those struck with
the weapon. It can only release a shock once per
round for 2d6 lightning damage - DC 14 Dexterity
saving throw for half. It can also be used as a
reaction to absorb 2d6 of lightning damage when
struck with lightning damage attack.
Spinethrower (Creature, 40 hp, AC 16): This
weapon resembles a spiked mace. The head is
covered with 1d4 + 10 spines, from one to three
inches long. Besides its use as a melee weapon,
however, it can be stimulated to fire its spines at
foes. It fires 3 spines per round, each inflicting
1d3 points of piercing damage (each requires its
own attack roll and all of them must be thrown
at the same target). The spines grow back in 1d4
days.
Spore Pod (Tissue, 40 hp, AC 11): These small
weapons are organic spheres that look like tiny
eggs. Each can be thrown at a target. They burst
open on contact and release a cloud of tiny
spores. The spores explode in a radius of 10 feet
and have the potential to affect every breathing
creature in that area, though life-shaped
breathermasks do protect against spores and
dangerous gases. There are three types of spore
pods, and the spores they contain can have one
of three different effects.
The effect of the first type of spore is irritation.
The spores cover living foes and cause them to
itch, break out in a rash, sneeze, and suffer from
blurred vision. When a spore pod opens,
everyone within 10 feet must make a DC 12
Constitution saving throw or be incapacitated for
one round.
The second kind of pod produces sleep spores
that their victims to fall into a deep
hallucinogenic fit of unconsciousness, and be
considered poisoned. The effect lasts for 1d4+1
rounds and must be resisted by a DC 10
Constitution saving throw by all within 10 feet of
the spore pod.
The last type is the most dangerous. Poison
spores inflicts 2d6 poison damage on all those
within 10 feet of the pod’s burst - Dc 12
Constitution saving throw for half damage.
Warstaff (Tissue, 40 hp, AC 16): This weapon is 5
feet long and made of hardened tissue. One, and
occasionally both ends, have heavy, spherical
heads on which are fixed five 6-inch blades. Four
of the razor-sharp knives project outward in the
four compass points. The fifth barb extends
directly out from the head.
340
Armor and Shields
On Athas, an armorer might spend an entire
career without accumulating a sufficient quantity
of metal to create a suit of armor. Even if a
windfall of metal were to be found, the techniques
for forging such armor have largely been lost to
the ages. Were these challenges overcome and
the armor constructed, Athas’s intense heat would
leave the crafter with few interested buyers. For
these reasons, Athasian crafters turn to more
lightweight materials, such as bone, chitin,
leather, and wood, when assembling protective
gear.
All forms of armor listed in the Player's
Handbook, and optionally, the Arms and
Equipment Guide for 5th Edition (SEE link here:
https://tinyurl.com/ya5veryr), are available in
Dark Sun. They afford the same AC rating
described there.
Alternate Materials. Many types of armor can
be constructed without metal on Athas, using
more readily available materials.
Shields. Shields are mostly constructed with
layers of leather stretched over a wooden or bone
frame and hardened. Effective shields can also be
constructed of chitinous materials scavenged from
dead insectoids. Though made of alternate
materials, shields on Athas come in the typical
varieties: bucklers and small, medium, or body
shields.
341
Armor and Extreme Heat
Normally, medium and heavy armor impose
disadvantage on Constitution saving throws made
to resist exhaustion due to extreme heat. Luckily,
the new armor types listed in this chapter are
exempt from this penalty. Modern Athasian
armorers combine breathable, organic materials
with special crafting and design techniques that
minimize the risk of overheating.
Metal Armor in Dark Sun. Two facts on Athas
conspire to limit the use of metal armor: extreme
heat and the high price of metal. A suit of field
plate armor costs 2,000 gp on Athas, the
equivalent of 200,000 gp on other D&D® campaign
worlds. Simply put, a sorcerer-king can either
purchase several suits of field plate or build a
substantial addition to his city walls.
Likewise, the intense heat across Athas' barren
surface makes metal armor an unpleasant
experience, to say the least. In any daytime
combat situation, a character wearing metal
armor will have to roll a Constitution saving throw
for every round of combat beyond the first; the DC
starts at 8 - his Constitution modifier (so if a
negative modifier, it adds up to DC), and will gain
a full level of exhaustion every time he fails a save.
The DC will raise by 3 for each rounds beyond the
first spent in combat under the ardent sun.
Category Don Doff
Light Armor 1 minute 1 minute
Medium Armor 5 minutes 5 minute
Heavy Armor 10 minutes 1 minute
Shield 1 action 1 action
Armor Damage Armor Damage and Shields

Even the best armor can only stand up to so much Note that a character wielding a shield can choose
damage before degrading or being rendered whether the damage and AC penalty is dealt to
useless. their shield or their armor.

Percentage of Breakage
To reflect this, each time an armored creature is
subject to a critical hit or rolls a natural "1" on a
saving throw against a damaging attack the
character must roll a d100 against the percentage
of breakage of the armor if any. Rolling equal or
under the percentage of the armor indicates that
the armor loses AC 1 until repaired.
The exceptions to this rule are attacks that
solely deal psychic or poison damage, these
damage types are not generally capable of
damaging armor.
Repairing Damaged Armor
Barding
There are two types of barding for the various
beasts of burden on Athas: leather and chitin.
Leather barding is made with stiffened leather
pads, often reinforced with bone or chitin, and
joined together with cloth or soft leather straps.
Leather barding affords the animal a +1 bonus to
its AC. Chitin barding is made from plates of
insectoid chitin and bone, fastened together with
leather and cloth. Chitin barding affords the
animal an AC +3 bonus The two types of barding
cannot be combined.

Damaged armor can be repaired by an

appropriately skilled craftsman. The cost is
generally 10% of the armor's total cost per point
of AC restored.
Armor whose AC is reduced to 10 is destroyed
or at least damaged beyond repair and must be
replaced.

Barding Cost Armor Class (AC) Strength Stealth % of Breakage Weight

Kank Barding
Leather (Edrlu, Crodlu, Carru) 150 cp Natural AC + 1 - - - 70 lb.
Bone and Chitin Armor 350 cp Natural AC + 3 - - 20% 120 lb.
Inix Barding
Leather (Edrlu, Crodlu, Carru) 350 cp Natural AC + 1 - - - 240 lb.
Bone and Chitin Armor 500 cp Natural AC + 3 - - 20% 400 lb.
Mekillot
Leather (Edrlu, Crodlu, Carru) 5000 cp Natural AC + 1 - - - 1000 lb.
Bone and Chitin Armor 7500 cp Natural AC + 3 - - 20% 1600 lb.

342
343
Armor Cost Armor Class (AC) Strength Stealth % of Breakage Weight
Light Armor
Padded Armor 4 cp 11 + Dex modifier - Disadvantage - 10 lb.
Leather (Edrlu, Kip, Carru) 5 cp 11 + Dex modifier - - - 5 lb.
Bark 2 cp 11 + Dex modifier (max 1) - Disadvantage 35% 7 lb.
Wicker 1 cp 11 + Dex modifier (max 2) - Disadvantage 40% 6 lb.
Studded Leather (Aprig, Dagorran, Crodlu) 10 cp 12 + Dex modifier - - - 13 lb.
Leather (Water Drake) "Cold Resistance" 150 gp 12 + Dex modifier - - - 11 lb.
Thri-Kreen Carapace Armor 20 cp 12 + Dex modifier (max 2) - Disadvantage 20% 15 lb.
Wood 7 cp 12 + Dex modifier (max 2) - Disadvantage 25% 15 lb.
Giant Hair Armor 6 cp 12 + Dex modifier (max 2) - - 10% 9 lb.
Medium Armor
Hide (Air Drake) "Force Resistance" 250 gp 13 + Dex modifier - - - 15 lb.
Bone and Chitin Armor 12 cp 13 + Dex modifier (max 2) - - 20% 20 lb.
Hide (Athasian Sloth, Mekillot, Sand Howler) 15 cp 13 + Dex modifier (max 2) - - - 25 lb.
Brigandine (Metal) 200 gp 13 + Dex modifier (max 2) - Disadvantage - 35 lb.
Inix Shell Breastplate 100 cp 14 + Dex modifier (max 2) - - 25% 20 lb.
Kank Chitin Plated Armor 50 cp 14 + Dex modifier (max 2) - Disadvantage 40% 20 lb.
Scale (Behir, Erdlu, Ligh Crodlu, Ssurran) 120 cp 14 + Dex modifier (max 2) - Disadvantage 15% 35 lb.
Scale mail 120 gp 14 + Dex modifier (max 2) - Disadvantage - 45 lb.
Coin Armor 900 gp 14 + Dex modifier (max 2) - Disadvantage 45 lb.
Lamellar 150 gp 14 + Dex modifier (max 3) - Disadvantage 35 lb.
Heavy Armor
Banded Mail 200 gp 16 - Disadvantage - 35 lb.
Hide (Braxat, Klar) 250 cp 16 - Disadvantage 15% 30 lb.
Hide (Fire Drake) "Fire Resistance" 400 gp 16 - - - 15 lb.
Chain Mail 75 gp 16 Str 13 Disadvantage - 55 lb.
Plate (Horax, Mastyrial, Skrit, So-Ut) 150 gp 16 + Dex modifier (max 2) - Disadvantage 20% 35 lb.
Bronze Plate Mail 400 gp 16 + Dex modifier (max 2) Str 15 Disadvantage - 45 lb.
Hide (Earth Drake) "Poison Resistance" 800 gp 17 - Disadvantage - 15 lb.
Splint Mail 250 gp 17 Str 15 Disadvantage - 40 lb.
Plate (Dune Reaper, Braxat, Chnt'thrang) 200 gp 17 Str 13 Disadvantage 25% 35 lb.
Plate Mail 2000 gp 17 Str 15 Disadvantage - 50 lb.
Full Plate 7000 gp 18 Str 16 Disadvantage - 70 lb.
Shields
Flailer Shell Buckler Shield 3 cp +1 - - 20% 3 lb.
Erdlu Scale Shield 6 cp +1 - - 20% 5 lb.
Metal (Bronze) Shield 10 cp +2 - - - 15 lb.
Agaferi Wood Shield 14 cp +2 - - 10% 10 lb.
Death Watch Beetle Body Shield 10 cp +2 - - 20% 9 lb.
Bullete Plate Tower Shield 30 cp +3 (No Dex modifier) - Disadvantage 10% 20 lb.
Others
Baazrag Boneclaw Armor spikes +30 cp - - Disadvantage - +8 lb.
Baazrag Boneclaw Shield spikes +10 cp - - - - +4 lb.

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Jagged Cliffs Armors

Jagged Cliff Armors Cost Armor Class (AC) Strength Stealth # of hp Weight
Life-shaped Armors
Hide Armor 20 cp 13 - - 30 hp 10 lb.
Half-Shell Armor 50 cp 15 Str 13 Disadvantage 50 hp 35 lb.
Sheath Armor 80 cp 16 + Dex modifier (max 2) - Disadvantage 40 hp 12 lb.
Sheath Armor, Hidden 100 cp 12 / 16 + Dex modifier (max 2) - / Disadvantage 40 hp 10 lb.
Shell Armor 150 cp 18 Str 16 Disadvantage 60 hp 50 lb.
Life-shaped Shields
Climber’s Shield 10 cp +2 - - 30 hp 8 lb.
Spineshield 10 cp +2 - - 20 hp 8 lb.

With the exception of wood, stone, and bone
clubs, the rhul-thaun life-shape all of their armor
and weapons. Through elementary, ritual
processes, they produce daggers, maces, axes,
short swords (simply called swords), slings,
shields, and spears. They also produce some
unique weapons and armor, and these are
detailed below. Class restrictions on armor and
weapons are fairly straightforward. Priests can
use all of the armor and the titan hurler, shock
stick, grappler, life leech, and spore pods.
Specialty priest weapon restrictions always vary.
Since these weapons cannot be strictly defined
as “edged weapons” because of their organic
nature, a DM may want to allow elemental
priests and druids access to all of them. Rogues
can use all of these weapons except the warstaff,
flashlance, and hurling titan, but they restrict
them to hide armor. Warriors can use any of the
armor or weapons. Wizards, though there are
none among the rhul-thaun, cannot use any of
the armor and can select only clawgrafts, life
leeches, spore pods, and shocksticks as weapons.
Half-Shell Armor (Tissue, 50 hp, AC 15): This
armor consists of tissue hardened to the strength
of stone. It covers the torso with a single,
inflexible breastplate and smaller pieces that
cover the shoulders and upper legs. Half shell
armor can be made to fit any humanoid creature
up to and including half-giants.
Hide Armor (Product, 30 hp, AC 13): This
armor is similar to the leather armor worn by
other cultures, although it is designed to be
tougher, more protective, and less cumbersome
to wear. Negative modifiers to thief abilities from
wearing leather armor are halved when wearing
shaped hide instead.
Sheath Armor (Tissue, 40 hp, AC 16): This
armor is applied to the entire body of the wearer
as though it were a thick black paste. It conforms
to the wearer’s body perfectly, hardening in
most areas, but remaining flexible and tough in
areas that bend and move. Since it is nothing
more than a pot of paste before it is put on, it
can be applied to any creature or surface.

345
 Sheath Armor, Hidden (Creature, 40 hp, AC
12/16): This sophisticated armor resembles
normal sheath armor, but it is transparent and
not as thick. It remains in a flexible state at AC 8
until struck, at which point it hardens to become
sheath armor, AC 5. After 10 rounds pass
without the armor being struck, it reverts to its
flexible, transparent state. While transparent, it
is only noticeable 20% of the time and only 10%
of the time if clothing is worn over it.
Shell Armor (Tissue, 60 hp, AC 18): This armor
is identical to half-shell armor except that its
plates cover the entire body with fibrous tissue
connecting the joints. It can be produced to fit
any humanoid smaller than a half-giant.

Shields
Climber’s Shield (Creature, Graft; 30 hp, AC
+2): This is one of the most sophisticated and
coveted bits of life-shaped equipment,
particularly for climbers. This device looks like a
round, hard, chitinous shield mounted on a 3-
foot long tentacle. The tentacle attaches to the
host (virtually anywhere on the torso). With a
sophisticated vibration sensing organ, the shield
can detect incoming attacks and move to
intercept them. This gives the host the benefit of
a shield but without the necessity of using hands
or arms. Climbers use these shields to protect
them when they are climbing.
Spineshield (Creature, 20 hp, AC +2): This
formidable, medium size shield has dozens of 1
to 3 inch spines covering its surface. In many
ways, the spineshield operates like a spine
thrower (see Weapons), firing its spines at
nearby foes. It also functions as a normal shield,
however, and can even be used as a melee
weapon inflicting 1d8 piercing damage in
combat. If used as a weapon, either melee or
ranged, it cannot be used as a shield in the same
round.

346
 Adventuring Gear
Item Cost Weight Item Cost Weight
Abacus 2 cp 2 lb. Paper (1 sheet) 2 cp --
Alchemical Items Metal pick, miner's 2 gp 10 lb.
Acid 25 cp 1 lb. Pouch 5t 1 lb.
Alchemist fire 50 cp 1 lb. Quiver 1 gp 1 lb.
Antitoxin 50 cp 1/2 lb. Rations (1 day) 5t 2 lb.
Arcane Focus Rope, giant hair (50 feet) 10 cp 5 lb.
Crystal 10 cp 1 lb. Rope, hempen (50 feet) 1 cp 10 lb.
Lens 50 cp 1 lb. Sack 1t 1/2 lb.
Orb 20 cp 2 lb. Scale, merchant's 5 cp 3 lb.
Rod 10 cp 3 lb. Bone shovel 2 cp 2 lb.
Backpack 2 cp 5 lb. Metal shovel 2 gp 5 lb.
Basket 4t 2 lb. Ram, portable 4 cp 35 lb.
Bedroll 1 cp 7 lb. Signal bone whistle 1t --
Bone bell 3 cp -- Signet ring, rock 15 cp --
Blanket 5t 3 lb. Spikes, wooden (10) 1 cp 1 lb.
Bottle, glass 10 cp 2 lb. Spikes, iron (10) 1 gp 5 lb.
Marble caltrops (bag of 20) 5 cp 2 lb. Tent (2 person) 2 cp 20 lb.
Candles (5) 1t -- Tent (pavillion) 50 cp 50 lb.
Case, map or scroll 1 cp 1 lb. Torch 1 cp 1 lb.
Bone chain (10 feet) 15 cp 3 lb. Vial 1 cp --
Chest 5 cp 25 lb. Waterskin (2 gallons) 2t 5 lb. (full)
Climber's kit 25 cp 12 lb. Whetstone 1t 1 lb.
Clothes Clothing items
Common 5t 3 lb. Belt 3t --
Desert 2 cp 4 lb. Boots, riding 3 cp 2 lb.
Fine 20 cp 4 lb. Boots, soft 1 cp 2 lb.
Rich 60 cp 6 lb. Breeches 2 cp 2 lb.
Slave 1t 1 lb. Brooch, plain 10 cp --
Component pouch 75 cp 2 lb. Cap/hat 1t --
Fire kit 5t 1 lb. Cloak 8t 2 lb.
Flask or tankard 2 cp 1 lb. Girdle 3 cp --
Metal grappling hook 2 gp 4 lb. Gown, common 12 t 4 lb.
Bone grappling hook 2 cp 2 lb. Hose 2 cp --
Metal hammer 1 gp 3 lb. Jacket, silk 80 cp 2 lb.
Rock hammer 1 cp 2 lb. Knife sheath 1t --
Metal hammer, sledge 2 gp 10 lb. Pants 8t 3 lb.
Rock hammer, sledge 2 cp 5 lb. Pin 6 cp --
Healer's kit 5 cp 3 lb. Robe, common 9t 3 lb.
King's eye (spyglass) 10 gp 1 lb. Robe, embroidered 20 cp 3 lb.
Ladder (10-foot) 1 cp 25 lb. Sandals 1t --
Lantern, bullseye 10 cp 2 lb. Sarami 5t 5 lb.
Lantern, hooded 5 cp 2 lb. Sash 2t --
Lock 30 cp 1 lb. Shoes 1 cp 1 lb.
Manacles, leather 2 cp 3 lb. Surcoat 6t 3 lb.
Mess kit 2t 1 lb. Sword scabbard 4 cp 2 lb.
Mirror, obsidian 5 cp 1 lb. Tabard 6t 2 lb.
Oil (flask) 1t 1 lb. Toga, coarse 1t 4 lb.
Papyrus (1 sheet) 8t -- Tunic 8t 2 lb.
Parchment (1 sheet) 1 cp -- Vest 6t 2 lb.

347
Adventuring Gear
This section describes items that have special
rules or require further explanation.
Acid. As an action, you can splash the contents of
this vial onto a creature within 5 feet of you or
throw the vial up to 20 feet, shattering it on
impact. In either case, make a ranged attack
against a creature or object, treating the acid as
an improvised weapon. On a hit, the target takes
2d6 acid damage.
Alchemist Fire. This sticky, adhesive fluid ignites
when exposed to air. As an action, you can throw
this flask up to 20 feet, shattering it on impact.
Make a ranged attack against a creature or
object, treating the alchemist fire as an
improvised weapon. On a hit, the target takes
1d4 fire damage at the start of each of its turns.
A creature can end this damage by using its
action to make a DC 10 Dexterity check to
extinguish the flames.
Antitoxin. A creature that drinks this vial of liquid
gains advantage on saving throws against poison
for 1 hour. It confers no benefit to undead or
constructs.
Arcane Focus. An arcane focus is a special item
designed to channel the power of arcane spells.
A wizard can use such an item as a spellcasting
focus, as described in chapter 10 of the Player's
Handbook.
Caltrops. As an action, you can spread a single
bag of caltrops to cover a 5-foot-square area.
Any creature that enters the area must succeed
on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or stop
moving and take 1 piercing damage. Until the
creature regains at least 1 hit point, its walking
speed is reduced by 10 feet. A creature moving
through the area at half speed doesn't need to
make the saving throw.
Candles. For 1 hour, a candle sheds bright light in
a 5-foot radius and dim light for an additional 5
feet.
Climber's Kit. A climber's kit includes special
pitons, boot tips, gloves, and a harness. You can
use the climber's kit as an action to anchor
yourself; when you do, you can't fall more than
25 feet from the point where you anchored
yourself, and you can't climb more than 25 feet
away from that point without undoing the
anchor.
Component Pouch. A component pouch is a
small, watertight leather belt pouch that has
compartments to hold all the material
components and other special items you need to
cast your spells, except for those components
that have a specific cost (as indicated in a spell's
description).
Fire Kit. The standard fire-starting kit therefore
uses a bow and sticks. Using it to light a fire takes
1 minute.
Healer's Kit. This kit is a leather pouch containing
bandages, salves, and splints. The kit has ten
uses. As an action, you can expend one use of
the kit to stabilize a creature that has O hit
points, without needing to make a Wisdom
(Medicine) check.
Lantern, Bullseye. A bullseye lantern casts bright
light in a 60-foot cone and dim light for an
additional 60 feet. Once lit, it burns for 6 hours
on a flask (1 pint) of oil.
348
Lantern, Hooded. A hooded lantern casts bright Waterskin. A waterskin holds 1 gallon of water,
light in a 30-foot radius and dim light for an which is the minimum a Small or Medium size
additional 30 feet. Once lit, it burns for 6 hours creature needs each day to stave off
on a flask (1 pint) of oil. As an action, you can dehydration.
lower the hood, reducing the light to dim light in
a 5-foot radius.
Trade Goods and Slaves
Lock. A key is provided with the lock. Without
the key, a creature proficient with thieves' tools Merchants commonly exchange trade goods
can pick this lock with a successful DC 15 without using currency. The Trade Goods table
Dexterity check. Your DM may decide that better shows the value of commonly exchanged goods.
locks are available for higher prices. In Athas, slaves are considered little more than a
commodity to be bought and sold so slave prices
Manacles, Leather. These restraints can bind a are included as well.
Small or Medium creature. Escaping the
manacles requires a successful DC 20 Dexterity
check. Breaking them requires a successful DC 20
Strength check. The restraints are secured with a
complex series of tight knots, which take 1d4
rounds to cut through with a knife or other sharp
object.

Oil. Oil usually comes in a clay flask that holds 1

pint. As an action, you can splash the oil in this
flask onto a creature within 5 feet of you or
throw it up to 20 feet, shattering it on impact.
Make a ranged attack against a target creature
or object, treating the oil as an improvised
weapon. On a hit, the target is covered in oil. If
the target takes any fire damage before the oil
dries (after 1 minute), the target takes an
additional 5 fire damage from the burning oil.
You can also pour a flask of oil on the ground to
cover a 5-foot-square area, provided that the
surface is level. Once lit, the oil burns for 2
rounds and deals 5 fire damage to any creature
that enters the area or ends its turn in the area,
A creature can take this damage only once per
turn.
Torch. A torch burns for 1 hour, providing bright
light in a 20 foot radius and dim light for an
additional 20 feet. If you make a melee attack
with a burning torch and hit, it deals 1 fire
damage.

349
Trade Goods
Goods Cost Goods Cost
Ale 2 bits / gallon Resins 20 cp / ounce
Amber 500 cp / ounce Rice 1 bit / pound
Beer 5 bits / gallon Rope, giant hair 10 cp / 50 ft.
Bronze 500 cp / pound Rope, hemp 1 cp / 50 ft.
Candy 1 bit / pound Rugs 100 cp / each
Ceramics 10 cp / 100 pieces Salt 2 bits / pound
Chalk 1 bit / pound Silver 500 cp / pound
Chitin 10 cp / pound Marble 20 cp / pound
Cider 8 cp / tun Medicines 50 cp / ounce
Cinnabar 10 cp / ounce Nuts 3 cp / pound
Cloth, common 7 cp / 10 sq. yards Obsidian 5 cp / pound
Cloth, fine 20 cp / 10 sq. yards Oil, cooking 8 bits / gallon
Cloth, rich 50 cp / 10 sq. yards Oil, lamp 5 bits / gallon
Coal 3 cp / pound Papyrus 40 cp / 100 sheets
Copper 50 cp / pound Parchment 50 cp / 100 sheets
Cosmetics 10 cp / ounce Perfume 5 cp / ounce
Cotton 2 cp / pound Resin 20 cp / ounce
Dyes/Paints 10 cp / ounce Rice 1 bit / pound
Feathers Rope, giant hair 10 cp / 50 ft.
Common 3 cp / 100 Rope, hemp 1 cp / 50 ft.
Rare 20 cp each Rugs 100 cp / each
Figs/Dates 1 bit / pound Salt 2 bits / pound
Fruit 2 bits / pound Silver 500 cp / pound
Furs 30 cp / pelt Slave
Glass 10 cp / pound Artisan 300+ cp
Gold 5,000 cp / pound Concubine 300+ cp
Hardwood 1 cp / pound Domestic 100+ cp
Herbs 3 bits / pound Farmer 150+ cp
Incense 20 cp / ounce Gladiator 500+ cp
Ink 8 cp / ounce Laborer 50+ cp
Iron 100 cp / pound Soldier 250+ cp
Jade 100 cp / ounce Spices
Kank nectar 10 cp / pound Exotic 15 cp / pound
Leather 5 cp / sq. yard Rare 2 cp / pound
Marble 20 cp / pound Uncommon 1 cp / pound
Medicines 50 cp / ounce Sugar 4 bits / pound
Nuts 3 cp / pound Tools 1 cp / pound
Obsidian 5 cp / pound Vegetables 2 bits / pound
Oil, cooking 8 bits / gallon Water 10 cp / tun
Oil, lamp 5 bits / gallon Wax 7 bits / pound
Papyrus 40 cp / 100 sheets Wine 20 cp / tun
Parchment 50 cp / 100 sheets Wheat 1 cp / pound
Perfume 5 cp / ounce

350
Jagged Cliffs Gear
The following sections detail most shaped Jagged Cliff Only Items
creations made by rhul-thaun life-shapers. It
Item Cost Weight
should be noted that these are but pale
Air Burster 50 cp 4 lb.
reflections of the great shaped creations of the
Air Filter 25 cp 4 lb.
rhulisti when they ruled Athas.
Acidic Spawn 35 cp 2 lb.
The life-shapers are also able to reproduce any
Bond 14 cp 4 lb.
item on the PHB equipment listed as leather,
Breather 16 cp 1 lb.
bone, or wood. Furthermore, even items such as
iron spikes or rope can be reproduced from pith Chameleon cloak 90 cp 1 lb.
by life-shaping. These substitutes are all organic Climbing Boots 60 cp 2 lb.
products as opposed to actual living creatures. Climbing Gloves 55 cp 1/2 lb.
Life-shapers can slightly modify only a few of Clingbag 10 cp 2 lb.
these creations. If any such modifications are Clingpad 5 cp 1 lb.
possible, they are noted in the description. Clingrope (per foot) 5 cp 1/4 lb.
Coolcloak 25 cp 1 lb.
Directional Sensor 27 cp 2 lb.
Shaped Tools Disposer 60 cp 3 lb.
Dry anchor 15 cp 5 lb.
Shaped tools come in many varieties. This
Drycloak 30 cp 1 lb.
category includes actual tools as well as clothing
Gillmask 45 cp 1 lb.
and special, unique items. All prices are given in
Glowpod 10 cp 1 lb.
ghavegoths.
Grasping Hook 25 cp 3 lb.
Grasping Rod 30 cp 7 lb.
Air Burster (Creature, 4 hp, AC 16): This
creature looks like a foot-long tube with a large, Lifechair 10 to 30 cp 8 lb.
membranous air sack on one end and a round, 6- Lock, Hard Key 75 cp 1 lb.
inch wide pod on the other. When pressure is Lock, Soft Key 100 cp 1 lb.
placed on the underside of the tube, the Lockpick 65 cp 1/2 lb.
creature’s membrane fills with air. An object Malleable Tool 40 cp 4 lb.
smaller than 6 inches in length is then be Poison Nodule 55 cp 2 lb.
inserted into the pod. When the air sack is Scrubslug 5 cp 2 lb.
squeezed, air pressure ejects the object from the Sensor 80 cp 3 lb.
pod with an explosive burst of air. Virtually any Shockwand 30 cp 1 lb.
small object can be launched up to 100 yards. Slicksuit 42 cp 6 lb.
Charges commonly used in air bursters include Stealth boots 55 cp 2 lb.
grappling hooks (attached to ropes), spore Storage Pod 10 cp 2 lb.
bombs, and small nets (wadded up inside the Warmcloak 12 cp 1 lb.
pod). In desperate situations, small, sharp Water Absorber 35 cp 4 lb.
objects can be placed in the pod and fired as Water Condenser 55 cp 6 lb.
projectile weapons.

351
 Air Filter (Creature, 4 hp, AC 12): This 1-foot
diameter, spongy globe continuously recycles air,
breathing in carbon dioxide, smoke, and even
foul odors, and breathing out pure, clean air.
After one month of use, the creature should be
washed to rid it of dust, smoke particles, and
everything else it has filtered out of the air. If this
is not done, it chokes to death.
Acidic Spawn (Creature, 5 hp, AC 12): This
creature looks much like an urn or flask made of
pulsing flesh. At the “mouth” of the urn a bowl-
shaped depression secretes a powerful acid
when the creature is squeezed. The acid is strong
enough to eat through fabric in one round,
leather in two, and wood in five. It is not
vigorous enough to destroy stone, so it is useful
for cleaning dirt and debris from stone objects.
Living creatures receive 1 point of damage per
round of contact with the acid. Acidic spawn is
immune to its own acid.
Bond (Creature, 4 HD, AC 14): This creature
looks like a tube, 6 inches long, closed on both
ends. One end has a small aperture from which a
syrupy gel is produced. The gel hardens quickly,
bonding with whatever materials are to be
joined. It makes a powerful, permanent adhesive
seal and is used as a tar sealant to fill or repair
holes in constructions and fix broken equipment.
A bend bars roll is required to break the bond.
Because of its organic nature, the gel can even
repair damaged life-shaped items comprising
living tissue. It cannot be used to good effect on
creatures, however—it is too crude a treatment.
Breathermask (Tissue, 4 hp, AC 12): An organic
face mask, this shape fits over a wearer’s lower
face, covering the nose and mouth. A complex
series of tissue layers filters the air, removing
most impurities and toxins and allowing the
wearer to breathe normally. The filtration system
gives the user a advantage to saving throws in
situations having to do with poison gas or any
other attacks that assault a victim’s respiratory
system. The mask fits nearly all beings smaller
than half-giants.
Chameleon Cloak (Creature, 2 hp, AC 12): This
living garment responds to variables in light and
temperature and allows its wearer to blend into
his surroundings. While not nearly as effective as
invisibility, this cloak adds 10 to the wearer’s
hiding abilities. If the wearer has no special
hiding abilities, the cloak provides a 15% chance
not to be visually detected in any environment.
The cloak does not fit humanoid creatures larger
than halflings, nor can it be altered to equip
larger creatures.
Climbing Boots (Tissue, 1 HD, AC 12): While
they appear to be normal boots of hard leather,
these living boots add a +5 bonus to a climber’s
chance of climbing (maximum 99%). They
accomplish this by being reactively pliable—their
shape alters to conform to the contours of
whatever substance the wearer is climbing. Since
they are malleable, any humanoid creature
smaller than a half-giant can wear these boots.
Climbing Gloves (Tissue, 1 HD, AC 12): Like
climbing boots, these living gloves change
texture and shape to give climbers better
adhesion on whatever they are climbing. They
add a +5 bonus to climbers’ chances to climb.
The bonus is cumulative with bonuses from
climbing boots, but the maximum chances are
still 99%. Because of their malleability, climbing
gloves can be worn by any humanoids smaller
than half-giants.
Clingbag (Tissue, Large; 2 HD, AC 12. Small; 1
HD, AC 12): These leather bags come in two
sizes, large (40 pounds maximum) and small (10
pounds maximum). The unique aspect of the
clingbags is that one side of the bag is made of
living tissue that secretes a powerful, adhesive
web that can support the bag and its contents
352
when pressed against another object. Clingbags
can be stuck to walls, belts, people’s backs, or
any other surface. With a firm pull, they are
removable and can be attached to different
surfaces.
Clingpad (Tissue, 1 HD, AC 12): These pieces of
leathery tissue are 1-foot in diameter, have the
same properties of clingbags, and can support up
to 20 pounds of weight. Both sides secrete the
same adhesive, enabling them to be used to join
different items. In fact, many people use
clingpads to attach glowpods to ceilings and
walls.
Clingrope (Tissue, 4 HD, AC 12): Made from
the same material as clingbags and pads,
clingrope has patches of adhesive tissue that
make it easier to tie them firmly around other
objects. Those skilled in rope-use simply fling one
around an object, loop it a few times, and the
rope creates a strong grip. If this trick is used to
grapple a living creature, treat the clingrope as
an adhesive lasso. Creatures tied up with
clingrope find it twice as hard to slip or break
their bonds. In all other respects, clingrope
should be treated as normal
rope.
Coolcloak (Creature, 4 hp, AC 12): These living
creatures were created to maintain very cool
body temperatures and may be used to alleviate
discomfort in hot climates. The hoods of these
cloaks have organic, adhesive clasps. They can be
adjusted during their creation to fit any
humanoid creatures smaller than half-giants.
Directional Sensor (Creature, 2 hp, AC 12):
This tiny, cone-shaped creature always senses
north, pointing its narrow end in that direction
whenever placed on a flat surface.
353
Disposer (Creature, 2 HD, AC 16): This pod
creature is 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide. It has an
aperture at its top that is as wide as its body and
functions as the creature’s mouth. The disposer
is entirely digestive system. It can break down
virtually any organic waste material — food
scraps, human waste, dead creatures, or plant
material. It converts these substances into
gases—and into the soupy paste known to the
shapers as pith.
Dry Anchor (Tissue, 1 HD, AC 12): This sticky
blob of organic putty secretes a strong adhesive
that is unaffected by moisture. Climbers use it to
counter wet surfaces. By sticking dry anchors to
the rocks, they can use them as dry handholds or
anchors for hooks and ropes despite the mist.
Drycloak (Product): This cloak is not a living
creature, but merely an organic product of life-
shaped engineering. It appears to consist of a
particularly slick, shiny cloth. The cloaks main
function is to keep the wearer dry by repelling
water. Rain and mist droplets simply bead and
run off the cloak in rivulets. It can be modified
during crafting to fit any humanoid creature
smaller than a half-giant.
Gillmask (Creature, 1 HD, AC 12): Similar in
some respects to a breather, the gillmask fits
over the mouth and nose of the wearer. Along its
sides, it has gill slits that perform like those of
fish. The wearer can breathe underwater while
wearing the mask. The masks fit virtually any
creatures smaller than half-giants.
Glowpod (Creature, 4 hp, AC 12): Living
spheres of bioluminescent tissue, glowpods are
similar to the abdomens of fireflies. The pods are
roughly 1-foot in diameter and extremely
lightweight. Each gives the illumination of a
torch, but provides no heat whatever. The
halflings mount them on sticks fastened with
thin clingrope to create torches and keep them
in their homes to provide light and mood
settings—covering one with thin, colored gauze
produces colored light. Virtually every
community uses glowpods for lighting streets,
walkways, and alleys at night.
Grasping Hook (Creature, 2 HD, AC 8): Similar
to conventional grappling hooks, this tool
resembles a claw with four talons spaced
equidistantly around a central palm. When the
palm is stimulated, the claws reflexively clench.
Attached to ropes and flung to grasp secure
objects, grasping hooks are very useful to
climbers. The hooks have a grasping Strength of
20.
Grasping Rod (Creature, 1 HD, AC 12): This is a
grasping hook mounted on a sturdy, organic
pole, 10 feet in length. It is useful for reaching
and snatching objects that are otherwise out of
normal reach.
Lifechair (Creature, 4 hp, AC 12): More than
just a chair, this shape actually includes a
number of different kinds of furniture. Sofas,
beds, lounge chairs, and even life-shaper
designed tables, each grown to be soft, sturdy,
and either comfortably warm or pleasantly cool.
Many find the pulsing of the lifechair’s body
fluids to be restful when they retire. Strangers to
life-shaped objects are unable to distinguish
between this furniture and that of the normal,
nonliving sort—until they sit and feel one for a
moment.
Lock, Hard Key (Creature, 1 HD, AC 16): This
resembles a normal lock and key, similar to those
found anywhere on Athas. It is made of hard
organic tissue, though, and the key does not trip
the mechanism. Instead, the symbiotic key
stimulates a reflex within the creature-lock to
clench or unclench its clawed clasp. When
purchased, the lock comes with the symbiotic
key, also made from hard, organic tissue. (The
key is not alive, but rather an organic product.)
This lock can be picked.
Lock, Soft Key (Creature, 1 HD, AC 14): This is a
special lock, resembling no other on Athas. It has
a clawed clasp, but there is no key hole, or at
least not a conventional one. The main body of
this lock appears to be a simple pod with the
ability to chemically decompose organic
molecules and “read” them, identifying patterns
unique to each living creature. The only way to
cause the lock to open or close is to place
specifically
designed living tissue against the pod, allowing
the chemicals within the pod’s outer layers
to read the tissue’s organic signature. A soft-key
lock can be tailored so that the required tissue is
the flesh of a specific individual. Thus, the lock
can only be opened or locked only by the touch
of a particular person. The key could also be
another specific shaped creation, such as a
warstaff, or a coolcloak, or a special living key
can be made to fit the lock. There is no way to
pick this lock.
Lockpick (Creature, 4 hp AC 14): This creature
is made of malleable tissue that can be inserted
into a hard key lock. It adapts and attempts to
match the shape of the key required to open the
lock, giving lock pickers a +10 bonus to their
chance to pick a lock.
Malleable Tool (Creature, 4 hp, AC 16): Similar
to a lockpick, this creature’s tissue is malleable,
and can be shaped like putty. It can be worked,
however, only with smooth, soft strokes. It is
resistant to firm pressure and hard blows,
making it a useful tool when shaped into the
form of a blade, an ax, a pick, a crowbar, a small
shovel, a hook, or any other necessary form. The
tool has enough mass to be shaped into any of
those tools, or virtually any other item weighing
10 pounds or less.
354
 Poison Nodule (Tissue, 2 hp, AC 10): This is a
tiny (½ inch diameter) organic pod that produces
and secretes a virulent toxin. Like clingbags, they
have adhesive backs that allow them to be
attached to other things. Commonly, they are
placed on bladed weapons to coat them with the
poisonous secretion. Poison nodules produce
Class B poisons (Method: Injection, Onset: 2-12
minutes; Strength: 20/1-3).
Scrubslug (Creature, 2 hp, AC 12): As its name
suggests, this creature looks like a large, foot-
long slug. It moves silently through a home or
business place devouring dust, lint, dirt and
other particle matter. It also absorbs spilled
liquids, crumbs, and food messes. It converts
these materials into a quick-drying waxy polish
that is excreted in a slimy trail behind it. It is
organically programmed to move methodically
over floors and walls, leaving behind spotless,
shiny surfaces. Since they move slowly, large
buildings are best served using a number of
these creatures.
Sensor (Creature, 4 hp, AC 12): This creature
looks much like a pair of pods, 6 inches in
diameter. The pods stick together with a sticky
sap, but they can be pulled apart easily without
harm to either. One is the sensor pod, and the
other is the baffler. As long as the baffler is
within 50 feet of the sensor, the sensor remains
inert. If the baffler is removed, however, the
sensor begins to constantly monitor that area for
its return. As a consequence, if anything larger
than an insect enters the radius without the
baffler, the sensor begins to emit an alarming
screech until the baffler is brought back. The
sensor is actually a motion detection alarm
system. It can even observe invisible creatures
moving through its radius, but not those that are
ethereal or out-of-phase. While one is useful, a
number of these can protect an entire complex.
355
Shockwand (Tissue, 3 HD, AC 4): A shockwand
is a rod of hardened tissue, 6 inches in length.
The wand absorbs static electricity from its
surroundings, storing it for later use. When one
end is squeezed, the other releases an electrical
charge. The shockwand was designed for use in
the life-shaping process (where electrical
stimulation is often necessary to achieve the
proper biochemical reaction state), but it can
have other uses as well. As a weapon, it inflicts
1d4 points of electrical damage per touch. It is
useful for prodding along large herd beasts and
for evil characters when interrogating prisoners.
Slicksuit (Tissue, 2 HD, AC 16): This full body
suit is crafted solely to fit halflings and halfling-
size humanoid—no other sizes exist. Its surface is
very smooth and it secretes an oily, slick liquid
that coats the entire suit. The effect of this is
similar to the magical oil of slipperiness, making
it impossible for the wearer to be grabbed,
grasped, constricted, or hugged by an opponent.
Bonds such as ropes, chains, and manacles can
easily be slipped loose. It requires a great effort
for the liquid to be generated by the suit,
however, so once used, the effect lasts for only
four hours before the tissue suit requires a full
24-hours to replenish its supply of oil.
Stealthboots (Tissue, 3 HD, AC 14): These
seemingly normal leather boots are grown in a
way that reduces the amount of noise made by a
wearer’s footsteps. Thieves gain a +10% bonus to
move silently (to a maximum of 99%), while non-
thieves (or thieves with a move silently skill of
less than 10%) who wear the boots have a base
20% chance to move without sound. The boots
can be designed to fit any size humanoid up to a
half-giant.
 Storage Pod (Creature, 3 HD, AC 14): These
creatures are egg-shaped, with dark shells
covering their hides. They open by peeling down
their outer skins to expose large, empty cavities.
Up to 5 cubic feet of material can be placed
inside one of these pods and then sealed within
it. Either hard or soft keyed locks may be
attached to keep the contents secure, but soft
keys are preferred.
Warmcloak (Creature, 2 HD, AC 12): Similar to
a coolcloak, this thick wooly cloak maintains a
high body temperature that keeps the wearer
quite comfortable in cold weather. There is little
call for this item, Athas being what it is even on
the cliffs, but the shapers make a few of them for
climbers who must deal with harsh night winds
out on the open rock. Then too, tragic
experience has taught the shapers that when an
item ceases to be crafted, the knowledge of its
making is soon lost. These cloaks can be altered
to accommodate any humanoid creatures
smaller than half-giants.
Water Condenser (Creature, 2 HD, AC 8): This
creature looks like a 3-foot diameter bowl. It
extracts moisture from the air and stores up to
50 gallons of water in the bowl. The bowl can be
covered by a flap of skin to prevent evaporation.
It condenses water automatically and
continuously until it senses that the bowl is full.
Watersponge (Creature, 3 HD, AC 14): This
creature can expand up to five times its normal
size of 2 feet in diameter, absorbing and storing
all water with which it comes in contact.
Pressure forces it to expel the liquid on demand.
Repellers (Creature/Graft: HD n/a, AC n/a):
The mere existence of these microorganisms is a
testament to the scope of power that the
halflings of the Blue Age had over life.
Frighten<'<! by reports of mantis warriors lurking
far across the sea to the west of Tyr-Agi, the
rhulisti Life-shapers, in a culture that was still
peaceful at heart, devised the repellers as a
nonviolent means of keeping the thri·kreen at
bay.
Dormant repeller spores look like a powdery,
grayish dust. To be activated, the spores must be
moistened with a few drops of water. The
resulting paste is spread over the neck and
shoulders. Over the next 48 hours, the spores
grow into a self-sustaining colony of organisms
akin 10 algae. The affected portion of the host's
skin takes on a slightly bluish hue. As the colony
feeds off the nutrients contained in the sweat of
the host, they excrete their waste in the form of
a substance that insects find repulsive. All insects
of no greater than animal Intelligence that come
10 feet of an affected host must do a
Constitution saving throw DC 12 or seek to avoid
the host, fleeing if pressed. lnsectoids with
higher than animal Intelligence treat the host
with disadvantage to reaction and all Charisma
skills checks. If they are in the presence of
repellers for more than a half-hour, nausea and
sluggishness overtake the insects, causing them
to be poisoned until they go out of the area of
effect for an equal amount of time.
In two weeks' time, the host's affected skin
area dries and flakes off as the repellers become
dormant once again. Those who know the
ancient ways of the rhulisti can actually extract
enough spores from the dead skin to apply
another dose, but this process has likely been
lost beneath the same sands that swallowed the
halfling empire.
Mak-ebanrath (Creature/Tool: HD 3, AC 17):
The danger of life-shapes mutating and
becoming deadly parasites was very real to the
rhulisti, so this creature – whose name means
"Hunter of the Dark-Shapes" - was created. A
mak-ebanrath has the form of a half-inch red
worm with six legs and two pairs of sharp
mandibles. When placed near an external
parasite, the mak-ebanrath attacks the dark
356
shape, hitting automatically and causing 1d4
points of piercing damage per round. To reach an
internal parasite, the mak-ebanrath must be
placed near the point of entry for the dark shape.
Here, it reopens the wound delicately, causing
only 1 point of piercing damage to the host.
Once it reaches its destination, its attack has the
same effect as on an external parasite.
Life-shaped parasites destroyed by the mak-
ebanrath cause no damage during the removal
process. Dark-shapes that cause harmful side
effects after their removal have an 80% chance
of leaving the victim without causing any side
effects whatsoever.
Vitality Ray (Creature/Producer: HD 1, AC
15): This strange life-shape looks like a stingray,
a lifeform long thought extinct on Athas. To be
awakened from dormancy, the vitality ray must
be soaked in water and left 1n at least an inch of
It during the production process. If the creature
is allowed to dry up at any time during this cycle,
it returns to dormancy, and the process must be
repeated.
After the vitality ray has been activated, a
humanoid must place his hand on its circular
body. The recipient's flesh is pierced by four
sharp spines, and he suffers 1d4 points of
piercing damage. The spines then retract into the
vitality ray, where the recipient's body chemistry
is analyzed. After a few hours, the life-shape's
body grows warm to the touch as it begins its
production cycle.
At the end of a week, the vitality ray produces
a small, soft, liquid-filled egg containing poison
bane, a potent antitoxin tailor-made for the
analyzed individual. When this egg is ingested,
the antitoxin renders that person immune to all
poison and disease for a period of 48 hours. Only
magical venom and poisons may affect the
recipient of the antitoxin, and he saves against
those with advantage. The antitoxin works only
for the person who was analyzed. The ray may
create only one poison bane dosage at a time,
357
and it enters a revitalizing hibernation for two
weeks after doing so.
The rhulisti created the vitality rays to protect
hunters in search of venomous prey. Most likely,
they had enough rays to produce a dosage for
each member of the hunting party, but with the
decline of their empire, much Life-shaper lore
was lost. Vitality rays exist only in scarce
numbers today.
Purifier Sponge (Creature/Tool: HD 1, AC 11):
The Blue Age was a time when rainstorms visited
the land frequently and the inhabitants of Athas
didn't have to work hard to obtain enough fresh
water. The purifier sponge wasn't created
because of a pressing need for clean water but
simply because the rhulisti believed in
eliminating needless waste.
A purifier sponge looks similar to the regular
variety of marine sponges, save that its pores are
much smaller, giving it an amazing amount of
surface area and the ability to filter a huge
quantity of water at once. When the sponge is
placed in contaminated water, it sops it up
immediately. One fist-sized sponge can hold
about one half-gallon of water at a time. After a
few minutes, the sponge begins to contract by
itself, holding the contaminants within its own
body and excreting pure, crystal-dear water. The
sponge processes and extracts its sustenance
from the waste material it filters from the water.
One sponge can filter about 15 gallons of water
before needing to break down the contaminants,
a process that takes a day or so. Sponges that
filter extremely toxic water are about half as
efficient and may no longer function after
purifying a significant amount, having died from
the toxicity.
Injector (Creature/Graft: HD 2, AC 18): Not all
of the ancient life-shapes are without their
sinister applications. The injector was originally
intended to administer doses of medicine in the
field, but its ease of concealment and rapid use
make it an ideal tool for assassination, should the
wrong person ever lays hands on one-or rather,
should the wrong person ever get one in hand.
The injector looks like a small winged
mosquito about the length of a finger; lts
abdomen gradually thickens into a bulb with a
circular aperture at the extreme end. The head
tapers off into a sharp, narrow beak, slightly
behind which are attached three delicate
eyestalks.
When the injector is held in the palm of one's
hand and the command is given, the life-shaped
creature begins burrowing head-first into the
host's palm, down into the wrist. The process is
extremely painful, taking about three days to
complete and causing a total of 3d6 points of
piercing damage each days to the host, and he
must do a Constitution saving throw DC 12 or
suffer from a point of exhaustion. The creature
positions itself so that only the sphincterlike
opening of its abdomen remains exposed.
The injector can, upon a muscular impulse
from the host, protrude a sharp, hollow needle
from the opening now located in the host's palm.
The life-shape can absorb and expel liquids
through this needle at will. The creature extends
the needle into a dosage of some substance and
slowly begins to draw it up. The injector is now
prepared to administer via injection one dose of
whatever substance was absorbed.
The host must make an attack roll to strike
any unwilling creature with the injector. If
successful, the creature is immediately aware of
being struck by the injector's needle and is fully
affected by whatever substance the life-shape
was prepared to excrete. Obviously, when used
for medicinal purposes, it is unlikely the recipient
would be unwilling to have treatment
administered, and in such cases no attack roll is
necessary.
Serpent Lash (Tissue/Graft: HD 1, AC 17): Life-
shaped weapons have the distinct advantage of
being highly responsive to both wielder and
target. Primarily created as a deterrent to
potential threats more than as an offensive
weapon, the serpent lash is attached by a series
of tiny, mouthlike suckers to the back of the arm
about two inches below the wrist. This thin,
black, life-shaped tissue wraps its length about
its owner's arm when not in use. In battle, the
serpent lash unwraps itself, remaining attached
to the arm but otherwise gripped like a normal
lash. Although a meager three feet when not in
use, the lash can stretch itself out to twice that
length. Just before it senses that it will strike, the
lash projects tiny barbs all about the attacking
section, allowing it to rip through flesh and
making the attack much more damaging and
effective. A single attack causes 1d8 points of
poison damage. In addition, the serpent lash
moves on its own to compensate for a target's
defensive movement as it is being used to attack,
thereby giving its wielder a +2 bonus to hit and
damage. It doesn’t count as the wearer’s attacks.
Pur-aish (Creature/Tool: HD 3, AC 16): Known
as the "Calming Breeze Lizard," the pur-aish is
almost indistinguishable from the many species
of small Athasian reptiles save that it does not
shy away from the presence ol humanoids. It is
quite friendly, in fact, accepting morsels of food
and gentle scratches of affection. The player
must make an Animal Handling skill check DC 10.
When enough interaction takes place to give
the pur-aish a sense of trust, it attempts to climb
up to the shoulders of one of its new friends.
Leaning in gently toward that individual's ear,
the lizard begins to trill in a low, deep tone that
is too soft for anyone but the lizard's perch to
hear. The song is extremely calming and seems
to travel throughout the body. In fact, such a
profound state of relaxation occurs that rest
under the influence of a pur-aish is twice as
revitalizing as normal rest. Wizards may
memorize spells as though each were one spell
level lower for purposes of study time. Natural
healing is enhanced as well, taking place at twice
358
the normal rate. The pur-aish can trill for many
hours, never tiring from pleasing its master. The
long and short rest time period are cut in two.
The rhulisti banned the use of the pur-aish,
however, once they realized that the song of
these creatures is highly addictive. Each time it is
been used, the user must make a Wisdom saving
throw DC 12, increasing by +2 with each days of
consecutive use, on a failure, the user will use
again the pur-aish on the following long rest.
After three days of continual use, the benefits of
experiencing the enhanced rest are only one-half
better than normal rest. The long and short rest
time period are 75% the length. At the end of a
week of use, the enhanced rest provides no
benefits, and normal rest is only half as relaxing.
At this point, the user reels relaxed enough to
sleep or rest only when the lizard trills. After two
weeks of continual use, the person is comforted
only when the pur-aish trills and is sluggish and
melancholy at all other tunes, suffering a 1d4
penalty on all saving throws and combat rolls.
These symptoms are reversed only when
affected individuals completely stop listening to
the pur-aish's trilling, and they take an amount
of time to recover equal to the duration of the
addiction, it can also be cured with a greater
restoration spell.
Swiftstep (Tissue/Graft: HD 2, AC 16): This
strange graft looks like a bony, knobby rib cage
and spine. The spine ends at the top and bottom
in sharp, dagger-shaped bones. When the
command word is spoken, the “ribs” open up
wide enough to enclose a humanoid chest. The
sharpened ends of the spine dig into the host’s
own spinal column, attaching at the base of the
neck and the small of the back. The attachment
process is quite painful, inflicting 1d6 points of
piercing damage, and he must do a Constitution
saving throw DC 12 or suffer from a point of
exhaustion.
Sized for halflings, the swiftstep implantation
causes halfling-sized humanoids to remain
359
incapacitated for a day or two, while larger
humanoids must endure a week of inactivity due
to the excruciating pain of the graft adjusting to
a larger body size.
Once the implant is in place and the command
is given, the swiftstep controls and elevates the
response of the nervous system, speed is
doubled, it gains a +2 bonus to AC, it has
advantage on Dexterity saving throws, and it
gains an additional action on each of its turns.
That action can be used only to take the Attack
(one weapon attack only), Dash, Disengage,
Hide, or Use an Object action. The swiftstep
allows the host to maintain this blinding speed
for 1 minute at a time. When the boost ends, the
target can't move or take actions until after its
next turn, as a wave of lethargy sweeps over it.
This ability can be used once per long rest
with no ill effects. Additional uses require a
Constitution saving throw DC 15 to be made at a
penalty of -2 for each additional use. This check
is made directly after the power is activated, a
failure indicates a terrible strain on the host's
body. He immediately gains one level of
exhaustion per use made that day, is unable to
perform any strenuous activity such as combat
or spellcasting, and, if unassisted, moves at only
a quarter of his normal movement rate until the
exhaustion level are gone.
Dark Mother (Creature/Parasite: HD 3, AC
14): The dark mother is a mutation of the mother
lizard (detailed in Psionic Artifacts of Athas), a
life-shaped organism that cares for the rhulisti
tissues by storing them inside her protective
stomach. The dark mother actually draws
sustenance from tissues given into her care and
ruins them in the process.
Indistinguishable from any other mother
lizard, the dark mother scoops up life-shaped
tissues that are tossed near her and swallows
them. Her body sends them to a special stomach
that pulls the life out of the tissues by absorbing
their essence. This process causes severe
damage to the tissues. The creature regurgitates
the ruined items on command but then
scampers off before her temporary masters
discover any wrongdoing. Roll percentile dice to
determine the effect her life-leeching had on the
life-shape:

d100 Effects
01-20 Tissues function at half potency.
21-80 Tissues are completely ruined.
81-00 The tissues are so corrupted that they have
become parasitic themselves. When used, the
tissues cause 3d6 points of necrotic damage and
continue to inflict 1d6 point of damage per day
until removed. Removing a parasitic tissue
injures the host, causing a further 2d6 points of
necrotic damage, and he must do a Constitution
saving throw DC 12 or suffer from a point of
exhaustion.

360
Mounts and Others Animals The most common types of Athasian mounts
are the crodlu, inix, kank, and mekillot. Each is
Athasians have domesticated a wide variety of detailed further in the Animals of Athas
mounts. The most common are presented sourcebook.
below. More unusual typical mounts listed in
PHB are not available on Athas. The harsh
conditions and the devastating effects of defiling
magic have lead horses, mules, dogs and other
mammals into extinction. Instead, people on
Athas rely on reptilian or insectoid mounts for
their needs. The Mounts and Other Animals table
shows each animal's speed and base carrying
capacity.

Mounts and Other Animals Carrying

Aprig. These small piglike creatures have hard
Item Cost Speed Capacity
shells that provide them with protection from
Aprig 50 cp 20 ft. N/A
Carru 15 cp 15 ft. N/A
the elements and predators. Aprigs vary in color
Critic 80 cp 30 ft. N/A from gray to reddish brown. They have round
Crodlu 100 cp 50 ft. 360 lb. faces and flat snouts that are good for snuffling
Crodlu, heavy 120 cp 45 ft. 600 lb. through piles of vegetation. They have keen
Erdlu 10 cp 60 ft. N/A senses of smell and hearing, but are very short-
Hurrum 5 cp 30 ft. N/A
sighted.
Inix 100 cp 50 ft. 750 lb.
Jankz 2 cp 30 ft. N/A
Jhakar 25 cp 40 ft. N/A
Kank, trained 120 cp 50 ft. 400 lb.
Kank, untrained 50 cp 50 ft. 400 lb.
Kip 5 cp 15 ft. N/A
Mekillot 200 cp 20 ft. 10,000 lb.
Mulworm 2t 10 ft (Fly 30 ft.) N/A
Ock'n 5t 1/4 ft. N/A
Renk 8t 1/4 ft. N/A
Sygra 10 cp 30 ft. N/A
Carru. Carru resemble Brahman cattle because
Z'tal 5t 30 ft. N/A
of the large humps immediately behind their
heads. These humps are fluid storage sacs, but
Likewise, due to the absence of large bodies of don't inflate and deflate Carru are a drab gray
water in the Tablelands, waterborne vehicles do color and have a soft hide. Their heads are
not exist. While one might unearth the remains covered with a tougher hide to protect the skull.
of an ancient sailing ship, half-buried on the Carru have two brown eyes set in the front of
shores of the Sea of Silt, such vehicles are more their heads for good forward vision. They have
often the subject of myths and legends. The only poor peripheral vision and a poor sense of smell.
means of transportation between the inhabited On adult males, two horns curve out from the
lands of Athas is through mount-drawn wagons forehead and sweep forward to in front of the
and chariots. eyes. Females have much shorter horns that
project straight forward from the skull.

361
Crodlu. Crodlu are large reptiles that roam the
deserts and scrub land in herds. Crodlu resemble Critic. Multi-colored, spiny-backed lizards, critics
large ostriches, but their forearms end in wicked are frequently reluctant house guests in Athas.
claws and their tough, scaly hides are yellow to They are innately psionic and tune themselves to
red, with other colors along their sides and belly. their feeders. Some say critics are the prettiest
They have poor eyesight and an excellent sense lizards on Athas. Often mottled in brightly-
of smell. They can run at high speed for long colored hues, they change color each year when
periods of time. Easily domesticated, they are they molt. Critics average 12. to 17. in length and
widely used for transportation or as beasts of weigh from 2 ½ to 5 pounds. Critics use
burden, particularly by merchant houses. rudimentary body language to communicate
Crodlu resemble enormous, scaled ostriches with others of their species. Communication via
with long arms that end in wicked claws. They magical or other means is possible; however, the
vary in color from dusty yellow to brick red, with creature often reacts/answers in a paranoid or
splotches or rosettes of contrasting color along anxious manner.
their dorsal sides and lighter colored scales along
the belly. Their tough, scaly hide gives them a
good Armor Class. Powerful muscles enable
them to run across the sands at high speed.
While their eyesight is poor, their sense of smell
is acute, more than making up for their visual
impairment.
Crodlu, heavy. Heavy crodlu are a specially
bred type of crodlu with better scales for
protection of their upper body and head. They
have sharp claws on their forearms that may be
filed to a point or may be augmented with glass
or metal blades.

362
 Inix. The inix is a large lizard midway in size
between a kank and mekillot. It weighs about
two tons and grows up to sixteen feet long. Its
back is protected by a thick shell, while its belly is
covered with a layer of flexible scales.
Erdlu. Erdlus are flightless, featherless birds Inix make spirited mounts, and are capable of
covered with flaky gray-tored scales. They weigh carrying up to a seven-hundred and fifty pounds.
as much as 200 pounds and stand up to seven They move at steady pace for hours on end, and
feet tall. They have powerful, lanky legs ending in over short distances, their charge is as fast as
four-toed feet with razor-sharp claws, and can that of a kank. Inix riders often travel in
run at great speeds over short distances (no howdahs, small box-like carriages that are
more than half-a-mile). Their bodies are massive strapped to the beast's back.
and round, with a pair of useless wings folded at The one major drawback to traveling by inix is
their sides. Attached to their yellow, snake-like that these large herbivores need vast amounts of
necks are small round heads with huge wedge- forage. If they don’t get enough to eat they are
shaped beaks. nearly impossible to control. Thus, they are
Erdlus make ideal herd animals, as they can seldom used in regions where forage is at a
eat many forms of tough vegetation, as well as premium.
snakes, lizards, and other small reptiles. They
instinctively band together in flocks for
protection. When threatened, their first impulse
is to flee. If this is not possible, the entire flock
will turn and give battle as a group. When they
fight, they strike at their attackers with their
sharp beaks and then rake them with their claws.
Erdlu eggs are an excellent food, containing all
the nutrients that a human or demi-human
needs to survive for months at a time. If eaten
raw, they can even substitute for water (1 gallon
per egg) for periods of up to one week. In
addition, the hard scales of their wings make
excellent shields or armor (AC 6), their beaks can
be used to make fine spearheads, and their claws
are often crafted into daggers or tools.

363

Kank. Kanks are large docile insects. Their bodies
have a black chitinous exoskeleton, and are
divided into three sections: head, thorax and
abdomen. Kanks often weigh as much as 400
pounds and stand up to four feet tall at the back,
with bodies as long as eight feet from head to
abdomen. Around their mouths, they have a pair
of multi-jointed pincers which they use to carry
objects, to feed themselves, and occasionally to
fight with. On their thoraxes, they have six lanky
legs ending in a single flexible claw with which
the kank can grip the surfaces it walks upon.
Their bulbous abdomens have no appendages,
and are simply carried above the ground.
Kanks are often used as caravan mounts, as
they can travel for a full day at their top speed,
carrying a two-hundred pound passenger and
two-hundred pounds of cargo. They also make
decent herd animals and are especially valued by
elves. Because they can digest nearly any sort of
organic matter, these hardy beasts will thrive in
almost any environment. In addition, they
require little attention, for a kank hive
instinctively organizes itself into food producers,
soldiers, and brood queens.
The food producers secrete melon-sized
globules of green honey that they store on the
their abdomens to feed the young and, when
food is scarce, the rest of the hive. Humans and
demi-humans can live on this nectar alone for
periods of up to three weeks, but must
supplement their diets with meat and/or
vegetation after longer periods. The sweet taste
of this nectar makes it very valuable, and it is this
that has caused the kank to be domesticated. It
should be noted that wild kanks produce far
fewer globules than their carefully breed cousins.
When the tribe stops in an area that looks as
though there is a considerable amount of
vegetation, the brood queens lay a clutch of
twenty to fifty eggs. The soldier kanks, along
with the rest of the hive, ferociously defend this
area from all predators, and will not leave until
the eggs hatch. Herders must delay their
migrations or abandon their hives when this
conflicts with their plans.
Mekillot. Mekillots are mighty lizards weighing
up to six-tons, with huge, mound-shaped bodies
as long as 30 feet. Their backs and heads are
covered with a thick shell that serves as both a
sunshade and protection from attacks by other
large creatures. Their undersides are covered
with much softer scales.
Despite their vicious dispositions, mekillots are
often used as caravan beasts. A hitched pair can
pull a wagon weighing up to 20 tons at a slow,
plodding pace. Mekillots are never truly tame,
however; even when they are hitched to a
wagon, the stubborn creatures have been known
to turn off the road and go wandering off for
days. without any apparent reason. They are also
noted for making snacks of their handlers.
Because of the difficulties of controlling these
364
beasts, most caravans rely on psionicists with the
appropriate powers to drive them.
In a fight, mekillots attack with their long
tongues. Mekillots protect their vulnerable
undersides by instinctively dropping to their
bellies when anything crawls beneath them.
Kip. The kip is a shy, six-legged, armored
creature that digs and eats the roots of plants
and trees. Their supple, armor-like covering
makes excellent durable leather goods. The
leathered kip grows from 2.-4. in length. Kips are
covered with a horny armor that is segmented
into nine separate plates. They have elongated,
pointed snouts and very small, beady eyes
located on each side of their snouts. The eyes are
protected by a glass-like covering that protects
them while digging. The sharp, strong foreclaws
enable the creature to dig. Their short, stubby,
hind legs only allow them to amble around
slowly. Kips communicate via a series of low
grunts. Although not a true language, dwarven
kip-herders have learned to mimic the sounds in
order to better control the herd.
back, ending lust before its stump of a tail. Four
muscular legs enable the jhakar to move faster
than an unencumbered man, despite its short
size. The Jhakar’s eyes and ears, well-protected
by bony ridges and double-lids, respectively, are
dwarfed by the mouth The bulk of the body is a
rich, sandy-brown color, darkening at the snout
and claws.
In the wild, the jhakar hunts in packs organized
to quickly overcome and ravage prey Better
known is the domesticated jhakar, designed to
guard valuable assets and track down escaped
slaves.
Sygra. Sygra are cloven-hooved quadrupeds with
short, hairy coats and sensitive noses. They can
be any mixture of black, brown, and white. Their
heads sport two horns and resemble that of a
horse with horns. Males have larger horns than
females. They have beady black eyes set behind
and above the nose, which give them good
peripheral vision.

Jhakar. The jhakar is a powerful reptilian

predator that resembles a bulldog both in
appearance and manner. Its fierce nature makes
it a bane to humanoids and animals alike.
A jhakar’s scaly hide is thick and wrinkled with
a webbed, bony spine that protrudes from its

365
Mulworm. The Athasian mulworm is an off-white
colored caterpillar with no eyes. It has two
feelers in the front of its head that are used as
sensors. Its mouth makes up the rest of its
bullet-shaped head. The body is segmented,
tapering to a point at the rear. Adult mulworms
are about 8 inches long and as much as 1 inch
thick.
Hurrum. These brightly-colored beetles are
highly prized for the pleasant humming sounds
they produce. Better trading houses have at least
one.
The hurrum have a brightly-colored,
opalescent, chitinous shell that varies from
cobalt-blue to copper-green. Convex and oval in
shape, the shell protects four pair of small,
vestigial wings. With a smallish head, stubby
antennae, and four very short legs, the beetle
appears comical.
Hurrum beat their wings rapidly back and
forth, gently striking the underside of their
carapace which creates the vibration and noise
for which these creatures are best known. The
Jankx. These furred mammals live in burrow sound is also used as a simple form of
communities in the desert. Although they communication between hurrum beetles.
represent a possible prime source of food or
clothing, most people think they are too
dangerous to bother. Standing about 1. tall on
their hind legs, jankx have a small, pointy head
and internal cheek pouches that allow them to
carry food or water when they run. Jankx have
long, sleek bodies and four short, muscular legs.
Golden in color, their pelts are highly prized for
trade. Jankx communicate in a series of
ultrasonic squeaks and barks that are inaudible
to humanoid ears.

366
 Z’tal. Z'tal are small, upright lizards that hop in
shepherded leaps across Athas. They are very
stupid and are known to stampede when
panicked.
Z’tal jump wherever they go on powerful hind
legs that end in sharp talons. Their small head is
rounded in the back with a sharp, hard point on
the end. Their long, thick tail is used for balance
when they hop. The vestigial forearms and claws
are seldom used. Varying in shades of tans and
browns, z’tal are covered by sharp, feather-like
Ock’n. Ock’n appear as small, spiral-shelled
scales. Z’tal constantly make a series of chirps,
snails. When they move, they leave a slime trail
squeaks, and squawks. These noises are intended
composed of an amber-like liquid that has many
predominantly to keep the herd within a single
household uses.
area. When threatened, z’tal scream and run.
Nautiloid in shape, this small snail seldom
reaches 1' In length. Ock’n shells are almost
always light in hue, but vary in color and striping.
All ock’n sensory organs are located on the
forward protruding head. The head holds a very
small pair of light sensors affixed to independent
eye stalks. A slit mouth is also located on the
head.
Ock’n communicate to other gastropods via a
complex system of eye stalk movements. The
eye stalks are always in a slow, constant motion
as the creature conveys only the most simple of
concepts.

Renk. This small gastropod has developed a

symbiotic relationship with humanoid creatures
in the desert. A harmless, tasteless slug, it stores
water and is sometimes consumed raw on long
desert trips.
Varied in color, renk have a 2-3. elongated,
tapered body. A sucker mouth can be found
below a short pair of antennae used to detect
vibration.

367
Vehicles

If you have proficiency with a certain kind of

vehicle, you can add your proficiency bonus to
any check you make to control that kind of
vehicle in difficult circumstances.

(SEE this link for more details on vehicles' stats:

https://tinyurl.com/yd3qgqfg)

Tack, Harness, and Vehicles

Item Cost Weight Speed
Bit and bridle 15 t 3 lb. --
Cart harness 2t 10 lb. --
Chariot --
1 kank or crodlu, 1 warrior 100 cp 100 lb. --
2 kanks or crodlu, 2 warriors 250 cp 150 lb. -- Chariot. A chariot is a lightly armored vehicle
4 kanks or crodlu, 3 warriors 500 cp 200 lb. -- constructed of wood, chitin and hardened
Halter 1t 1 lb. -- leather, designed for riding and combat. Two
Howdah
Inix, normal 10 cp 50 lb. --
people can ride a chariot, one being the rider,
Inix, war 100 cp 150 lb. -- the other attacking. A creature riding a chariot
Mekillot, normal 20 cp 250 lb. -- has half cover against attacks from the front or
Mekillot, war 500 cp 1,000 lb. --
Kank feed (daily) 5t 4 lb. --
the sides. Crodlu and kanks can be used to pull a
Saddle chariot.
Pack 5 cp 15 lb. --
Riding 4 cp 25 lb. --
Military 20 cp 30 lb. --
Exotic 60 cp 40 lb. --
Saddlebags 4 cp 8 lb. --
Sand skiff 50 cp -- 1 ½ mph
Silt skimmer 100 gp -- 2 mph
Stabbling (per day) 9t -- --
Wagons
Armored caravan 1,000 cp 5,000 lb. --
Enclosed, 1,000 lb capacity 15 cp 500 lb. --
Enclosed, 2,500 lb capacity 25 cp 1,250 lb. --
Enclosed, 5,000 lb capacity 40 cp 2,500 lb. --
Enclosed, 10,000 lb capacity 60 cp 5,000 lb. --
Open, 1,000 lb capacity 10 cp 400 lb. --
Open, 2,500 lb capacity 20 cp 1,150 lb. --
Open, 5,000 lb capacity 30 cp 2,100 lb. --
Open, 10,000 lb capacity 50 cp 4,000 lb. --

368

Howdah. A howdah is a frame with seats
designed to be mounted on the back of an inix or
mekillot. A normal howdah is made of a light
wooden frame while a war howdah is
constructed of much sturdier materials and
offering half cover against any attacks from
outside.
An inix howdah can hold up to four people. A
mekillot howdah can be constructed in a more
elaborate affair; it often contains two levels and
can accommodate up to sixteen people. Anyone
riding in a howdah is considered to be at rest and
shaded.
Wagon. A wagon is the simplest form of
transportation. Crodlus or kanks can be used as
beasts of burden for the normal versions. An
open wagon is a little more than a wooden box
on four wooden wheels while an enclosed
369
ensures its riders are unaffected by weather.
Some merchants and nomads convert enclosed
wagons into living quarters.
An armored caravan wagon (or Argosy)
requires two mekillots to pull. The exact design
of any particular armored caravan wagon can
change from trip to trip but in general, the
enclosures can carry a cargo of 15,000 pounds of
goods, up to 50 fully armed warriors, 25 slaves in
transit, and a handful of merchants, nobles, or
other travelers. The defense balconies in an
armored caravan wagon provide half cover
against any attacks from outside. Anyone riding
an enclosed or armored caravan wagon is
considered to be at rest and shaded.
Sand skiff. This light, wedge-shaped vehicle has
three wheels and a single sail. Propelled by the
wind, sand skiffs make excellent speed in salt
flats, stony barrens, sandy wastes, and dry
savannah. They can also manage gentle hills.
Silt skimmer. The typical silt skimmer features a
Sand skiffs do not navigate soft sand, boulder
broad hull and outsized wheels. It rides 10 feet
fields, steep hills, or thick brush well.
above the ground and is powered by two large
sails. The vehicle can also be driven slowly, using
muscle-powered capstans to rotate its wheels. A
silt skimmer is most efficient in flat, open terrain,
but it can also make its way through silt or dust
sinks up to 15 feet deep.

370
Silt Skimmer
On Athas, home of the DARK SUN® campaign,
the Sea of Silt is a nearly impassable expanse
that covers the entire Eastern half of the Tyr
Region. Few attempt to cross it; those few who
do are wither native to the Silt Sea or possess
power powerful magic or psionics. A third group
of daring travelers exists, those who pilot and
man silt skimmers. Silt skimmers are vehicles
that ride either on the shallow shoals beneath
the silt or on the very surface of the silt itself.
With regards to this second method, however,
silt does not have the displacement and
buoyancy of water — so craft cannot simply
“float” on the surface. In this respect, silt shares
more of the properties of quick sand — anything
set upon its surface quickly sinks. The only way a
skimmer can stay afloat in deep silt is through
the channeling of psionic power through the
ship. There are two types of silt skimmers: those
driven by conventional means and those
powered by psionics.
Conventional silt skimmers
These skimmers are essentially huge wagons that
roll across the shallow parts of the Silt Sea. In
many places under the silt, there are “paths” of
rock and hardened silt that can safely support
those who can find them. Skimmers of this sort
are sometimes powered by sail; the huge wheels
of the skimmer can also be hollowed and slaves
made to “walk” in them to provide movement
(see The Valley of Dust and Fire and City by the
Silt Sea accessories). Many of these vehicles have
both of these methods of power at their disposal
so that if one fails the other can be used as a
backup.
371
Psionic-powered skimmers
The disadvantage of conventional skimmers is
that deep-silt travel is essentially out of the
question — unless the captain is able to find a
shallow path that just happens to lead where he
wants to go. Though a great deal more
expensive, psionic-powered skimmers solve this
problem. These craft work by either a wild talent
or a psionicist channeling psionic energy through
an enchanted, symmetrical piece of obsidian that
distributes the energy throughout the ship. The
silt then supports the ship and moves the
skimmer at whatever speed the pilot desires.
This way, silt at any depth can be crossed. Many
of these types of skimmers also have slave
wheels or sails for backup.
Movement
Both conventional and psionic skimmers have a
Movement Rating (MR). This number is roughly
equivalent to the creature Movement Ratings
described in the Player’s Handbook. Skimmers
that are moved by creatures walking in the
holIowed-out wheels of the ship have a Wheel
MR of 6. This number means that this type of
skimmer can travel 60 yards through the silt in
one round or minute (as in the PHB). In 10 hours,
this skimmer can travel 6 miles. If the ship has no
cargo, add 2 to its Wheel MR.
The creatures inside skimmer wheels can be
subjected to a forced march, driving the skimmer
2.5 times its Wheel MR (15). At the end of each
day’s forced march (10 hours), however, a
Constitution saving throw DC 10 must be made
by the wheel-driving creatures (10 CON for
typical slaves). Add a bonus of +1 to the
Constitution score for each open sail. If the check
is made, the forced march can be continued for
another day. A cumulative -2 penalty is applied
to the average Constitution score for each
additional day spent in forced march. If a check
fails, then forced marching stops, and no more
force marching attempts can be made until the
staves rest for 12 hours per full day of travel;
they also gain one level of exhaustion. Even if a
check fails, though, normal movement can still
be continued (although normal movement does
not count as rest).
Skimmers that are strictly wind-powered are not
popular, as the wind on Athas is very
unpredictable. Still, those who have the skill,
knowledge, and patience can indeed go where
they desire with the wind. Here, the seamanship
proficiency comes into play (call it “silt
seamanship” or “siltmanship” if you like; such a
proficiency applies to an area of knowledge
about traveling on the Silt Sea). If the captain
wishes to move on windpower only, then he can
attempt to “catch the wind” by making a
seamanship skill check.
This roll can also indicate the amount of “wind-
blown” resistance from the silt, so a roil of 20
would indicate low silt resistance from all the
wind “tossing it around and “thinning it out,
while a roll of 1 would be associated with high
silt resistance and thick, “dead” silt that results
from having hardly any wind.
The captain can attempt to make one of these
checks per sail opened on the ship, although the
modifier remains for the entire day. If any roll is
successful, then the skimmer gains a Wind MR
equal to one-half the captain’s proficiency score
(drop fractions). A captain is able to keep the
wind (and MR) for a number of turns equal to his
whole proficiency score.
According to the City by the Silt Sea accessory,
most skimmers have only one main sail. The
addition of a foresail adds 1 to that skimmer’s
Wind MR in addition to providing another
chance at catching the wind. Captains who are
clerics of the Air add 2 to their Wind MR as well.
The maximum number of sails that a skimmer
can have is a function of its Size, which is
described later. If a wind-driven skimmer is
without cargo, add 2 to its Wind MR.
372
Psionic-driven skimmers are by far the most
costly, yet many who traverse the silt feel that
these skimmers pay for themselves with their
speed and manoeuvrability. Skimmers of this
type determine their Psionic MR depending on
who is powering the ship. If the “pilot” (the
person using psionics to move the skimmer) is a
wild talent, then that ship’s Psionic MR is equal
to the pilots Wisdom score. If, however, the pilot
is a psionicist, then that ship’s Psionic MR is
equal to the sum of the pilot’s Intelligence,
Wisdom, and Constitution scores. So, for
example, if a pilot who is also a psionicist has an
Intelligence of 12, Wisdom of 15, and
Constitution of 13, then that ship’s Psionic MR is
40 (this skimmer can move at a maximum rate of
400 yards per minute).
However, the psionic pilot must pay a PSP cost to
gain such an MR. Each PSP channeled into the
skimmer provides 1 point of Psionic MR. So, if a
pilot wants a Psionic MR of 15, then that pilot
must pay a cost of 15 PSPs. If a pilot with the
aforementioned ability scores of Intelligence 12,
Wisdom 15, and Constitution 13 wants to travel
at his maximum speed of 40, then 20 PSPs must
be channeled into the skimmer. Psionic-powered
skimmers also require a maintenance cost to be
paid in order to continue with a current speed.
The maintenance cost is half the current Psionic
MR the round after the first (round fractions up)
and one-quarter the current Psionic every round
after that (the longer the pilot stays in contact
with the ship, the easier it is to control). So, with
the earlier example, in order to keep up a MR of
40 for longer than one round, an additional 10
PSPs must be expended at the beginning of the
next round, and 5 PSPs would need to be
expended at the beginning of every round after
that. Naturally, then, such speeds are extremely
tiring and are usually used only in an emergency.
If a pilot starts off at one speed, say, 15, and
later decides to go faster (the skimmer cannot
373
have reached its maximum speed yet), then that
pilot must pay the difference between the
skimmers current Psionic MR and the pilots
desired MR. So, if a pilot is travelling at a Psionic
MR of 15 and wants to go 17 (the ship’s
maximum Psionic MR), he simply needs to pay a
one-time cost of 1 PSP extra in the next round (in
addition to the maintenance cost) in order to
attain the new speed (if the ship has attained a
MR of 15 by other means — like slave wheels or
wind — the psionic pilot still needs to pay regular
“first-time” costs and regular maintenance costs
as if the ship was starting from a full stop — in
order to “prime” the ship psionically for the
pilots use).
Psionic-driven skimmers are the only other
skimmers besides the slave-driven ones that can
exceed their maximum MRs. If a pilot wishes to
exceed his maximum Psionic MR, additional PSPs
need to be spent for each point of movement
above and beyond the maximum movement
rating on a one-for-one basis plus the initial MR
cost. If a skimmer has a maximum Psionic MR of
17, and the pilot wants to increase speed to a
figure above that MR — 20, for example — then
the pilot must expend 10 PSPs in order to reach
this speed — even if the skimmer was already
moving at a MR 17 (exceeding Psionic MRs is
very difficult and requires a great deal of mental
energy). To maintain such a speed for more than
one round, the same PSP cost needs to be paid
at the beginning of the next round and each
round after (in this case, the cost per round
would be 10).
Because of their superior knowledge of energy
and movement, Psychokineticists add 1 to their
Psionic MR. Anyone with some degree of psionic
talent can pilot a skimmer, provided that he
possesses the Seamanship skill proficiency.
Psionic-driven skimmers with no cargo add 2 to
their Psionic MR. As mentioned in the beginning
of this article, most silt skimmers have at least
two means of power, which means that, in game
terms, silt skimmers have at least 2 MRS. What
must be remembered is that only one type of
movement (and MR) can be used at a time.
A skimmer with a sail open and slaves moving
two wheels doesn’t combine its Wheel MR and
its Wind MR. About the only advantage a slave-
driven skimmer with an open sail has is a bonus
to the Constitution saving throws of the slaves
when rolling for exhaustion during a forced
march (as mentioned earlier).
Manoeuvring
Slave-driven and wind-powered skimmers can
turn in two-mile arcs — as mentioned in the City
by the Silt Sea accessory. This accessory also
states that the addition of an aft sail for steering
reduces that turning arc to one mile. Such a sail
provides another chance at wind-catching as
well. When playing in yards instead of miles,
however, consider the two- turning arc to be a
170° obtuse angle; and consider a one mile
turning arc to be 160°. Speed is in no way
decreased when turning in this fashion. As far as
stopping goes, both of these types of skimmers
can stop immediately by either ordering the
slaves to stop walking or by folding the sails.
Psionic-driven skimmers can turn as much as
110° without losing speed. Any turns sharper
than 110° require the pilot to make a
Seamanship proficiency skill check with a penalty
equal to the skimmer’s current Psionic MR. So, if
a pilot is travelling at a Psionic MR of 8 and wants
to make a 90° turn, then that pilot must make a
Seamanship proficiency skill check at a with +8 to
the DC. Success means no speed is lost in the
turn; failure means that the skimmer’s current
Psionic MR is halved; more PSPs need to be
spent in order to get back up to the original
speed. The advantage that psionic pilots have,
though, is that this roll can modified. If a pilot
wants to, additional PSPs can be channeled into
the skimmer to reduce the penalty and give a
better chance for a successful proficiency check.
Each extra PSP spent on making the turn
provides a +4 bonus to that pilot’s Seamanship
proficiency score for the roll.
Turns sharper than 90° are impossible without
first stopping the skimmer and then pivoting it in
the desired direction. Psionic pilots can stop in a
variety of ways: many pilots simply let go of the
obsidian engine that they are required to keep in
physical contact with. This way the skimmer
loses half its speed the first round and comes to
a complete halt in the second. After the second
round, the skimmer also begins to sink unless
more psionic energy is spent into it or the
skimmer itself hits “land” in shallow silt. For an
immediate stop, the same procedure is used
when making a sharp turn: the pilot must make a
Seamanship proficiency check with a penalty
equal to the skimmer’s current Psionic MR added
to his DC (extra PSPs can be used to modify this
roll).
Building skimmers to size
All skimmers are classified in size on a scale of 1-
5 (smallest to largest). Table 1 illustrates ship
Size and how it relates to other aspects of a silt
skimmer.
374
 Table 1: Silt skimmer sizes
Size Ship Cargo Maximum No. Deepest Minimum Wheel
Category Size Limit of Sails Silt Leve Crew Size
1 40’ × 20’ 1,000 lbs 1 11’ 5 + captain 20’ diameter
2 50’ × 25’ 2,000 lbs 2 12’ 6 + captain 25’ diameter
3 60’ × 30’ 3,000 lbs 3 13’ 7 + captain 30’ diameter
4 70’ × 35’ 4,000 lbs 4 14’ 8 + captain 35’ diameter
5 80’ × 40’ 5,000 lbs 5 15’ 9 + captain 40’ diameter

Both wind-powered and slave-driven skimmers Costs

require wheels and can only travel in shallow silt
at the maximum depths indicated under Deepest
Silt Level. Only psionic-powered skimmers that
are driven purely by psionics can avoid having
wheels (although such a skimmer would need a
core team of pilots to run a sort of “shift duty” in
order to keep the skimmer afloat). Also, psionic
pilots do not count toward the minimum crew
requirements listed above.
Psionic pilots do have certain requirements when
it comes to skimmer size. In order to operate a
skimmer of a specific size, a pilot needs to have
reached that same level in his or her chosen
class. So, in order for a pilot to operate a Size 4
skimmer, pilot must be at least a 4th-level
character. No matter what the size, slave-driven
skimmers always have a Wheel MR of -6.
Psionic-powered silt skimmers need what is
called an obsidian engine, which is basically a
large, enchanted, symmetrical piece (any shape)
of obsidian that pilots use to control a skimmer
and keep it afloat. Such engines must be
flawlessly crafted; they are also very expensive.
An obsidian engine costs 15,000 cp + 1,000 cp for
every Size level beyond 1; these engines weigh a
great deal as well. An engine weighs 600 Ibs. For
every Size level (this weight, however, doesn’t
count toward cargo limits as the skimmer is
designed to compensate for this weight when it
is built and when a previously non-psionic
skimmer is “converted” into a psionic one). Table
2 lists the standard ship costs and the costs for
obsidian engines ( a separate cost) as well as
costs for enchantment.

Table 2: Ship and engine cost

Ship Skimmer Obsidian Engine Cost Enchantment Cost
Size Cost Cost Per Sail (for Obsidian Engines Only)
1 15,000 cp 15,000 cp 500 cp 1,000 cp
2 25,000 cp 16,000 cp 600 cp 1,500 cp
3 35,000 cp 17,000 cp 700 cp 2,000 cp
4 45,000 cp 18,000 cp 800 cp 2,500 cp
5 55,000 cp 19,000 cp 900 cp 3,000 cp

375
Skimmer integrity inflicts 2d6 of piercing damage, then that
skimmer loses 2d6 points of Integrity. When hit
Skimmers have their own version of Hit Points by spells or psionics, skimmers have resistance —
which fall under a category called “Integrity.” depending on the majority of materials of which
Integrity is basically the ship’s Hit Dice (d20), and the ship is constructed. A successful save
it’s rolled when the skimmer is first constructed. indicates half or no damage, depending on the
No matter how much money is spent on “making spell or power.
the perfect ship,” Integrity levels cannot exceed
the maximums listed above (the randomness in When a skimmer suffers damage, there is also a
rolling Integrity represents getting good or bad chance that its Movement Rating is affected as
craftsmen to do the job and how much extra it well. Every time a skimmer is hit, roll percentile
costs to “get the job done right”). dice. If the result is equal to or less than the
skimmer’s current Integrity score (after the
Table 3: Skimmer integrity Integrity point loss) then the rate of movement is
Skimmer Cost for Maximum
not affected. If the result on d100 is greater than
Integrity the Integrity score, then any MRs that the ship
Size Higher Integrity Integrity
1 4d20 (42) 100 cp/point 80 has are halved. If the skimmer fails its Integrity
2 5d20 (53) 200 cp/point 100 roll again when damaged, then any ship MRs are
3 6d20 (63) 300 cp/point 120 halved again — and so on until the ship can no
4 7d20 (74) 400 cp/point 140
5 8d20 (84) 500 cp/point 160 longer move.

Combat is resolved using the normal combat

When a skimmer is hit by a ballista, boulder, rules: the person firing one of the ship’s weapons
spell, or any other damaging weapon, points of uses his attack modifier. Also, consider the AC of
Integrity are lost —just as in person-to-person all skimmers to be 18.
combat. If a skimmer is hit by a ballista that

376
Weapons
A skimmer can have a number of weapons equal
to two times its Size rating. However, many
skimmers have no weapons at all, as most
captains would like to keep the ships they defeat
— not destroy them. Furthermore, all weapons
are considered to be on fixed, immovable
mounts. Triple the cost of any skimmer weapon
if a swivel-mount is desired. The respective
weights of these weapons take up cargo weight.
Finally, consider the number in the Spaces
column as the minimum ship Size needed to
have such a weapon installed.
When using normal weapons to damage a
skimmer, a “minimum damage” number for any
attack on a silt skimmer. What this number
means is that any single attack that hits the ship
must be able to cause at least 10 hp damage
(after resistance) for that skimmer to have to
take 1 point of damage to its Integrity.
LIGHT BALLISTA
Large object
Armor Class: 15
Hit Points: 50
Damage Immunities: poison, psychic
Weight: 100 lb.
Cost: 200 cp
A light ballista is a massive crossbow that fires
heavy bolts. Before it can be fired, it must be
loaded and aimed. It takes one action to load the
weapon, one action to aim it, and one action to
fire it.
Bolt. Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range
120/480 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (3d10) piercing
damage, pushback 5-foot..
377
HEAVY BALLISTA
Large object
Armor Class: 15
Hit Points: 100
Damage Immunities: poison, psychic
Weight: 400 lb.
Cost: 400 cp
A heavy ballista is a massive crossbow that fires
heavy bolts. Before it can be fired, it must be
loaded and aimed. It takes one action to load the
weapon, one action to aim it, and one action to
fire it.
Bolt. Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, range
175/600 ft., one target. Hit: 27 (5d10) piercing
damage, pushback 5-foot.
LIGHT CATAPULT
Large object
Armor Class: 15
Hit Points: 100
Damage Immunities: poison, psychic
Weight: 200 lb.
Cost: 250 cp
A light catapult hurls heavy projectiles in a high
arc. This payload can hit targets behind cover.
Before the light catapult can be fired, it must be
loaded and aimed. It takes two actions to load
the weapon, two actions to aim it, and one
action to fire it.
A light catapult typically hurls a heavy stone,
although it can hurl other kinds of projectiles,
with different effects.
Catapult Stone. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to
hit, range 200/800 ft. (can't hit targets within 60
feet of it), one target. Hit: 27 (5d10) bludgeoning
damage, must succeed on a Strength saving
throw versus DC 14, or be knocked prone.
HEAVY CATAPULT
Large object
Armor Class: 15
Hit Points: 150
Damage Immunities: poison, psychic
Weight: 500 lb.
Cost: 500 cp
A heavy catapult hurls heavy projectiles in a high
arc. This payload can hit targets behind cover.
Before the light catapult can be fired, it must be
loaded and aimed. It takes two actions to load
the weapon, two actions to aim it, and one
action to fire it.
A heavy catapult typically hurls a heavy stone,
although it can hurl other kinds of projectiles,
with different effects.
Catapult Stone. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to
hit, range 250/1,000 ft. (can't hit targets within
60 feet of it), one target. Hit: 44 (8d10)
bludgeoning damage, must succeed on a
Strength saving throw versus DC 16, or be
knocked prone.
Creating an obsidian engine
As stated earlier, an obsidian engine must be a
flawless, symmetrical, enchanted piece of
obsidian. Because the use of magic is required,
most psionic-powered skimmers were in the
Royal Fleets of the sorcerer-kings and illegal
anywhere else. Trading houses, however, could
secure high-priced “licenses” from templars —
which would at least allow these houses to hire a
magician to create the engine for them. Now, in
the absence of most of the kings, trading houses
and even individuals such as nobles are causing
the demand for psionically driven skimmers to
rise very slowly.
The creation of a psionic skimmer requires that
either the obsidian engine be blessed by an Earth
or Fire cleric; or that the ship itself be blessed by
a cleric of Silt. Afterward, the following priest
spell must be cast on the engine:
Psionic Channeler
4th-level enchantment
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (the piece of obsidian to be
enchanted, 100 gp/per skimmer size)
Duration: Permanent
Casting Time: 1 day per Size level
This spell creates a magical web of thread-sized
conduits that covers the entire ship and
culminates at the obsidian engine. These
conduits are invisible and have no truly physical
substance, yet they can be seen with either the
wizard sight or true seeing spells. This spell is
cast on a flawless, symmetrical piece of obsidian
(of the appropriate size) for one day per Size
level of the skimmer. The wizard must keep in
constant physical contact with the obsidian
during the casting time, as these psionic conduits
“grow” slowly from the engine itself and
eventually cover the entire ship.
You enchant an engine that activates a silt
skimmer of size 1.
Before his untimely disappearance, King
Andropinis of Balic had ordered research into
this spell so that air could be channeled around a
skimmer (i.e., the skimmer could fly).
Unfortunately, all attempts proved fruitless due
to the extreme weight of the obsidian engine
itself. Furthermore, silt, for some reason, is more
of a conductor of psionic energies than air (many
scholars postulate that the Sea of Silt’s origins
have something to do with this fact).
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell
using a spell slot of 5th-level or higher, the
engine can activate one size level more of silt
skimmer for each slot level above 4th.
378
Silt skimmers are among the safest methods for
crossing silt, but they are limited. A large and
lightly built wagon, the typical silt skimmer has
four wheels that are 25’ in diameter. These
wheels come to a sharp edge and are hollow in
the center. Skimmer slaves climb the never-
ending stairs inside the wheel to provide motive
power, and the skimmers also use large sails
when the wind is favorable. Silt skimmers can
travel six to eight miles a day and can carry a
load of two tons. However, they cannot cross silt
deeper than 15’.
Silt Skimmer Construction
Silt skimmers are built around massive wheels.
These are very wide at the center and taper to
hard, fine points at the edge. The wheels of a
typical skimmer are 25 feet in diameter. They
must be able to slice through the silt or travel
would be impossible.
A single large sail, attached to an aft mast,
provides a skimmer's main motive power. The
frame of the skimmer is made of light woods or
thin leather and cloth, giving these vessels a
reputation for being quite fragile. Typical
skimmers carry no armament except for the
personal weapons of the crew.
Typical skimmers are 50 feet long and 25 feet
wide, with an outer deck and an enclosed bridge.
Cargo is packed on the outer deck, while the
bridge contains the great helmsman's wheel. It is
enclosed to protect the captain and crew from
the choking silt.
A typical skimmer can carry two tons of cargo,
uses a crew of six and a captain, and travels six
miles a day when fully loaded (eight miles
empty). The tightest turn circle of a typical
skimmer is two miles. It costs 150 to 250 gold
379
pieces, depending on demand, bargaining skills,
and availability of supplies. Improving a typical
skimmer costs more, as outlined below.
The time necessary to construct a typical
skimmer is 1d4 + 1 months. The M'ke crafters
must wait for wood from the Crescent Forest,
and the timbers must be soaked and bent over
several weeks to form the shape. Construction
time can be lessened by one month if the cost of
the ship is doubled. Thus, a craft that was to take
three months and cost 20,000 cp could be
completed in two months by increasing the cost
to 40,000 cp.
If a client brings M'ke the carcass of a giant war
beetle or other large, lightweight shell, the slaves
can form the skimmer from it instead of wood.
This reduces the construction time by one
month, but the price remains unchanged.
Table 4: Silt Skimmer
Improvements Cost
Additional
Improvement Cost
+5-foot diameter 2,000 cp
to all wheels
+10-foot length 1,000 cp
+5-feet width 1,000 cp
Ballista 2,000 cp
Fore sail 500 cp
Aft sail 500 cp
Wheels: Typical wheels (25-foot diameter) can
travel through up to 12 feet of silt. For every five
feet added to each wheel's diameter, the
skimmer can travel through an additional foot of
silt. Thus, a 40-foot diameter wheel could forge
through 15-foot deep silt. Maximum wheel size
can be 40 feet in diameter, and this requires a
vessel length of at least 80 feet.
Some wheels contain endless stairs within their
dark, hollow interiors. Slaves or undead can be
commandeered to forever walk up the stairs,
thus turning the wheels. Without a main sail, the
walkers can move a fully-loaded skimmer one
mile per day (two miles if unladen).
Length and Width: A typical vessel is 50 feet long
and 25 feet wide. For balance, a skimmer's width
must always be exactly half its length. The
maximum width for safe passage through the silt
shoals is 40 feet. but a vessel this size requires an
expert navigator to plot its course. Any skimmer
wider than 30 feet will have a tough time
keeping to a safe path through the silt.
Multiplying the width by the length of a vessel
gives the approximate square footage of its hold,
minus 10% for the slope of the prow. Thus, a 25-
foot-wide by 50-foot long skimmer has 1,250
square feet of space, minus 125 feet for the
prow, for a total of 1,125 square feet. All
skimmers, regardless of size, can cover a
maximum distance of six to eight miles a day (see
above).
Ballista: These massive bolt throwers do 3d6
points of piercing damage, and cost 2,000 cp per
weapon due to the size and quality of
construction. A single bolt costs 20 cp. One
person can fire a ballista, but it requires two
crew members to load one. Rate off fire is one
bolt every three rounds. A single ballista takes up
5% of a skimmer's hold. No more than six
ballistae can be mounted on a single skimmer
(two to a side, one fore, one aft).
Fore Sail: A typical skimmer has only a main sail
for catching the wind and propelling it across the
tilt The presence of a fore sail adds another mile
per day to the craft; speed.
Aft Sail: The aft sail is used for steering. When
added to a typical skimmer, it reduces the
turning arc to one mile.
Skimmer design
As long as a skimmer fits into the rules about
ship construction, practically any design is
possible. Skimmers have been built from
materials ranging from wood from the Crescent
Forest to the chitinous bodies of dead giant
beetles. Be creative.
Below are two “sample” skimmers that are
presented in order to give the potential captain
an example of what a skimmer’s chart looks like.
Balican Silt-Runner
Size: 1 Wheel
MR: 6
Wind MR: varies
Psionic MR: 18
Integrity: 65
Captain’s Seamanship proficiency score: 17
Pilot’s Seamanship proficiency score: 13
The Balican fleet served as that city’s only
protection against the giants that threatened its
walls. The strength of the fleet under King
Andropinis’s reign was in its simple organization:
each skimmer in the royal armada was fitted
with an obsidian engine; and no skimmer was
ever to be allowed to travel alone. Such a move
cost the city hundreds of thousands of gold
pieces in phenomenal taxes, yet trade routes
remained open because of this move and giants
continued to be outmaneuvered by the faster,
psionic-powered skimmers. Indeed, this fear of
attack by giants was so successfully instilled in
the citizens of Balic that these taxes were paid
two times over.
380
Balican skimmers are divided into three classes:
- Silt-Runners (Size 1)
- Wanderers (Sizes 2-4)
- Drakes (Size 5)
King Andropinis’ Balic remains the uncontested
among the other city-states with regards to the
size and strength of its fleet.
The Amestine
Size: 3
Psionic MR: varies from pilot to pilot
Integrity: 79
Pilot’s Seamanship proficiency score: varies
from pilot to pilot
The Amestine is a skimmer that is piloted by
eleven renegade psionicists. This skimmer has no
wheels or a sail and is strictly powered by
psionics. These individuals were fleeing the
psionic organization known as the Order when
that organization split due to some inner turmoil
caused by one of its members (see the Dragon’s
Crown module). Now the pilots and crew of the
Amestine have been able to come out of hiding
(cautiously doing so, of course) and are currently
aiding Draj’s House of the Mind in leading silt-
based commerce for the city.
Alternative methods of power (tricks of
the trade)
Many captains have been known to use beasts of
burden such as inixes.
Earlier, this article stated that only slave-driven
and psionic-powered skimmers could exceed
their maximum MRs; this isn’t necessarily true. A
captain moving via sail power with an Air cleric
on board is a lucky captain indeed. Clerics of Air
can gate in a sheet of gail-force wind. This wind
can be gated right into the ship’s sails — causing
381
the skimmer to travel at its current Wind MR
plus 10 points of Wind MR for each level the
cleric has above 6th. The skimmer, however,
must check its Integrity (d100) with a penalty to
the roll equal to the extra points added to the
skimmer’s MR.
Success means that the new speed is achieved;
failure means that the sails have either snapped
off at the poles or been ripped in two — this
skimmer no longer has any Wind MR until repairs
are made. If the skimmer makes its Integrity
check, the captain can attempt to keep the wind
by making a Seamanship proficiency skill check
every round. The new speed lasts until the
captain fails a proficiency roll or 1,000 yards are
covered — whichever comes first.
Some mages have been known to use undead or
elementals as motive power. What is important
to remember is that, no matter what creature
walks inside the wheels, the Wheel MR of any
skimmer is always 6 — with a force march rate of
15 (when checking for exhaustion in a force
march — undead and elementals do not have to
make this roll).
Air clerics aren’t the only ones that can aid a
wind-powered skimmer, however. Any weather
or wind affecting spell or psionic power (such as
control wind) allows the captain advantage at
making a seamanship proficiency skill check.
A group of psionic pilots who each possesses the
telepathic devotion, Convergence, can do
amazing things. When two or more psionicists
use Convergence while piloting a skimmer, the
highest Psionic MR and Seamanship proficiency
score of the group is used. If any of the
psionicists is a psychokineticist, then that bonus
is used as well. Finally, every psionicist’s
individual store of PSPs is combined into a group
pool — as stated in the description of the
Convergence power.
To run a campaign based in the Sea of Silt, it
might be good to secure a copy of the Valley of
Dust and Fire and City by the Silt Sea accessories,
as both of these resources detail islands and
cities not located on the original map of the Tyr
region. The Dune Trader accessory provides a
look at the major trading houses of the land, and
the new Expanded and Revised DARK SUN boxed
set nearly doubles the size of the Sea of Silt.
Because of the cost of skimmers, many players
who want to be in a Silt Sea—based campaign
might find themselves disappointingly short of
the needed funds. This isn’t as much of a
problem as it might first appear. Psionicists and
powerful wild-talents are in constant demand as
pilots by both trading houses and cities (and
even powerful individuals such as nobles). Crew
and captains with the proper experience are also
needed to man these ships. The only important
point to remember in these work-for-hire
situations is who actually owns what — or
whom. . .
382
Expenses Lifestyle and NPCs
Your lifestyle choice can have consequences.
When not exploring ruins of ancient civilizations, Maintaining a wealthy lifestyle might help you
braving the inhospitable wastelands, or fighting make contacts with the nobility and the
off raiders and predators, adventurers on Athas, templars, though you run the risk of attracting
like in every other D&D world, face more thieves. Likewise, living frugally might help you
mundane realities. Basic necessities such as avoid criminals, but you are unlikely to make
shelter, sustenance, and clothing cost money, powerful
although some lifestyles cost more than others. connections.
If you wish to involve yourself with a certain
individual or group, you might need to use a
Lifestyle Expenses specific lifestyle. After spending at least five days
living in the specified quality of life, you can roll a
Lifestyle expenses provide you with a simple way
Charisma check, with a DC set by your DM. On a
to account for the cost of living in the world of
successful check, you gain audience with this
Athas. They cover your accommodations, food
particular person or get affiliated with the
and drink, and all your other necessities,
specific group you strive for.
provided they are available - the harsh
conditions on Athas can lead to some
unpredictable situations. Furthermore, expenses Lifestyle Expenses
cover the cost of maintaining your equipment so
you can be ready when adventure next calls. Lifestyle Price/Day
Between adventures, you can choose a Wretched --
particular quality of life and pay the cost of Squalid 1t
maintaining that lifestyle, as shown on the Poor 2t
Lifestyle Expenses table. Living a particular Modest 1 cp
lifestyle affects the way other individuals and Comfortable 2 cp
groups react to you. When you lead a wealthy or Wealthy 4 cp
aristocratic lifestyle, for instance, it might be
Aristocratic 10 cp minimum
easier for you to influence the nobles and
templars of the city than if you live in poverty.
Your social rank may also interfere with your
choices of lifestyle. A noble wouldn't accept
expenses worse than wealthy, and a hermit
would frown upon spending more than modest.

383
Consumables and Lodging Services
The needs for food and drink, and a good night's The services a character renders - from those of
rest are listed in the Consumables and Lodging unskilled laborers to those of prized engineers -
table. When you pay for lifestyle expenses, you all have an asking price. A character may receive
don't have to keep track of these needs, since payment for his or her services in other services,
they're already included in the quality of life you goods or coins, depending upon the situation.
have picked. Adventurers can pay non-player characters to
assist them or act on their behalf in a variety of
circumstances. Most such hirelings have fairly
ordinary skills, while others are masters of a craft
or art, and a few are experts with specialized
Consumables and Lodging adventuring skills.
Item Cost
Ale (1 galon) 2t
Service and Hirelings
Banquet (per person) 10 cp
Item Cost
Beer (1 galon) 1t Bath (clean water) 40 cp
Bread 1t Bath (used water) 4t
Cheese 4t Laundry (by load) 2t
Hireling
City room (per month)
Clerk (per letter) 2t
common 20 cp Doctor (leech or bleeding) 3 cp
squalid 6t Guide in city (per day) 2t
Messenger in city (per message) 1t
Messenger (telepathic) 3t
Egg or fresh vegetable 5t Minstrel (per performance) 3 cp
Honey 5t Mourner (per funeral) 2t
Inn lodging Teamster (with wagon) 1t
Torchbearer (per night) 1t
common/day 5t
Military
common/week 3 cp Archer/artillerist (per day) 1t
poor/day 1t Cavalry, heavy (per day) 3t
poor/week 2t Cavalry, light (per day) 1t
Cavalry, medium (per day) 2t
Meals per day Engineer (per day) 5 cp
good 5t Footman, heavy (per day) 3t
common 3t Footman, irregular (per day) 1t
Footman, light (per day) 2t
poor 1t
Footman, militia (per day) 1t
Meat for 1 meal 1t Shieldbearer (per day) 1t
Separate latrine/month 2 cp Professional
Soup 1t Unskilled labor (per day) 1t
Skilled labor* (per day) 2t
Wine (pitcher) 2t
Classed labor** (per day) 3t

384
Tools Musical Instrument. Several of the most
common types of musical instruments are shown
on the table as examples. If you have proficiency
A tool helps you to do something you couldn't
with a given musical instrument, you can add
otherwise do, such as craft or repair an item,
your proficiency bonus to any ability checks you
forge a document, or pick a lock. Your race, class,
make to play music with the instrument.
background, or feats give you proficiency with
Poisoner’s Kit. A poisoner’s kit includes the
certain tools. Proficiency with a tool allows you
vials, chemicals, and other equipment necessary
to add your proficiency bonus to any ability
for the creation of poisons. Proficiency with this
check you make using that tool.
kit lets you add your proficiency bonus to any
ability checks you make to craft or use poisons.
Thieves’ Tools. This set of tools includes a
Artisan’s Tools. These special tools include the
small file, a set of lock picks, a small obsidian
items needed to pursue a craft or trade. The
mirror mounted on a handle, a set of narrow-
table shows examples of the most common
bladed scissors, and a pair of pliers. Proficiency
types of tools, each providing items related to a
with these tools lets you add your proficiency
single craft. Proficiency with a set of artisan’s
bonus to any ability checks you make to disarm
tools lets you add your proficiency bonus to any
traps or open locks.
ability checks you make using the tools in your
craft. Each type of artisan’s tools requires a
separate proficiency.
Disguise Kit. This pouch of cosmetics, hair dye,
and small props lets you create disguises that
change your physical appearance. Proficiency
with this kit lets you add your proficiency bonus
to any ability checks you make to create a visual
disguise.
Gaming Set. This item encompasses a wide
range of gaming sets including dice and board
games. A few common examples appear on the
Tools table, but other kinds of gaming sets exist.
If you are proficient with a gaming set, you can
add your proficiency bonus to ability checks you
make to play a game with that set. Each type of
gaming set requires a separate proficiency.
Herbalism Kit. This kit contains a variety of
instruments such as clippers, mortar and pestle,
and pouches and vials used by herbalists to
create remedies and potions. Proficiency with
this kit lets you add your proficiency bonus to
any ability checks you make to identify or apply
herbs. Also, proficiency with this kit is required
to create antitoxin and potions of healing.

385
Tools
Item Cost Weight
Fruits (Potions)
Artisan's tools Potions are fruits growing in magically enchanted
Alchemist's supplies 50 cp 8 lb. trees in Dark Sun.
Boneworker's tools 5 cp 5 lb.
Brewer's supplies 20 cp 9 lb.
Fruits (potions)
Carpenter's tools 8 cp 6 lb.
Cartographer's tools 15 cp 6 lb. Fruit Spell effect
Acorn Ironskin
Cobbler's tools 5 cp 5 lb.
Apple, green Free Action
Cook's utensils 1 cp 8 lb. Apple, yellow Polymorph
Glassblower's tools 30 cp 5 lb. Apple, red Invisibility
Jeweler's tools 25 cp 2 lb. Banana Cure Disease
Leatherworker's tools 5 cp 5 lb. Blueberry Remove Paralysis
Cherry, black Protection From Energy (acid)
Lens crafter tools 25 cp 2 lb.
Cherry, red Protection From Energy (cold)
Life-shaper tools 2 gp 5 lb. Cherry, yellow Protection From Energy (poison)
Mason's tools 10 cp 8 lb. Corn Barkskin
Painter's supplies 10 cp 5 lb. Current, black Protection From Energy (necrotic)
Potter's tools 10 cp 3 lb. Current, red Protection From Energy (fire)
Current, white Protection From Energy (acid)
Scribe's supplies 10 cp 5 lb.
Dragon Fruit Fire breath
Smith's tools 10 gp 8 lb. Gooseberry ESP
Weaver's tools 1 cp 5 lb. Guava Poison
Woodcarver's tools 1 cp 5 lb. Grapefruit, gold Heal
Disguise kit 25 cp 3 lb. Grapefruit, red Greater Restoration
Grapefruit, white Lesser Restauration
Gaming Sets
Grapes, green Bless
Dice set 1t -- Grapes, orange Neutralize Poison
Dragonchess set 1 cp 1/2 lb. Grapes, purple Cure Blindness or Deafness
Mancala set 1 cp 1 lb. Grapes, white Prayer
Game of Urik set 1 cp 1 lb. Kiwi Expeditious Retreat
Kumquat Enlarge
Playing card set 5t --
Lemon Psionic Restore
Senet set 1 cp 1 lb. Lime Dispel Magic
Herbalism kit 5 cp 3 lb. Mango Reduce
Musical Instruments Mangoustan Etherealness
Palm drum 6 cp 3 lb. Maracuya Haste
Melon, bitter Enhance Ability: Intelligence
Flute 2 cp 1 lb.
Melon, cantaloupe Enhance Ability: Strenght
Harp 50 cp 2 lb. Melon, grenshaw Enhance Ability: Charisma
Horn 3 cp 2 lb. Melon, honeydew Enhance Ability: Charisma
Lute 35 cp 2 lb. Melon, horned Enhance Ability: Constitution
Melon, water Enhance Ability: Wisdom
Lyre 30 cp 2 lb. Orange Aid
Iyran 50 cp 1 lb. Papaya Invulnerability
Staff pipe 12 cp 2 lb. Peach Clairvoyance
Pear, blue Cure Disease
Pan flute 12 cp 2 lb.
Pear, orange Healing (2d4 + 2 hp)
Viol 30 cp 1 lb. Pear, red Greater Healing (4d4 + 4 hp)
Shawm 2 cp 1 lb. Pear, Green Superior Healing (8d4 + 8 hp)
Navigator's tools 25 cp 2 lb. Pear, white Supreme Healing (10d4 + 20 hp)
Pineapple Gaseous Form
Poisoner's kit 50 cp 2 lb. Plum Maximum Power (Wildemount, p. 268)
Thieves' tools, bone 25 cp 1 lb. Raspberry Find Traps
Thieves' tools, metal 3,000 cp 1 lb. Star Fruit Remove Fear
Strawberry Fly

386

Proficiencies
This section is an optional rule that transposes
non-weapon proficiencies of AD&D 2e for 5e. It
works in addition to Player's Options: New Skills
& Feats System found here:
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New Athasian Proficiencies
The following proficiencies are specific to Athas
and override any equivalent proficiency in the
main book.
Contact. This proficiency gives characters
access to the psionic attack forms necessary to
open a closed mind. Contact allows characters to
gain psionic attacks as they become available
with level advancement (see Psionics section).
Psionicists automatically receive this
proficiency; it doesn’t take up any of their
available slots. As a psionicist increases in level,
he automatically receives psionic attack forms.
Psionic attack forms don’t fill up a psionicist’s
proficiency slots.
Wild talents, however, must select contact and
place it in an available non-weapon proficiency
slot to gain its benefits. Once contact is slotted, a
wild talent selects one psionic attack. He may
select an additional attack by placing it in an
available non-weapon slot after he has advanced
the appropriate number of levels, according to
his group’s progression rate. Wild talents may
never have more than three of the five psionic
attack forms.
Mental Armor. This proficiency allows a
character to improve his mental armor class
(MAC). The first proficiency gives the ability to
add the character’s proficiency bonus to his
MAC. Also, each proficiency, improuves the
creature’s MAC, Non-psionicists improve by +1
for each slot; psionicists improve by +2. The
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proficiency may only be slotted once per level
advancement.
(SEE Psionicist Guide for 5e)
Psionic Detection. The psionic detection
proficiency works much as the psionic sense
devotion, but it is much weaker. With this
proficiency, an Athasian character uses his latent
psionic ability to detect the expenditure of
psionic strength points (PSPs) around him.
When employing this proficiency, a character
must clear his mind and concentrate, taking at
least one full round to prepare. A successful
Wisdom check (against active psionicists) allows
the character to detect the expenditure of any
PSPs within 50 yards of his location, regardless of
intervening material objects. A character can
maintain use of the proficiency for successive
rounds, but during that time he can’t move or
perform any other actions. The proficiency
check, however, must succeed on the round the
PSPs are expended or the character detects
nothing.
This proficiency can only inform a character
that PSPs were expended within 50 yards, telling
nothing more. The detector can’t determine the
number of PSPs, their source, the powers drawn
upon, or the purpose of the expenditure
(whether to initiate a power or to maintain one).
Psionic detection isn’t cumulative with other
detection techniques.
A player whose character has the psionic
detection proficiency should remind the DM
about that fact every so often. The DM might
sometimes secretly roll the proficiency and
inform the player of results.
Somatic Concealment. Though spellcasters can
mumble verbal components and hide material
components in their hands or robes, somatic
components are harder to hide. The somatic
component of any spell, magical or clerical, is
apparent to any character watching the
spellcaster. On Athas, where spellcasting is often
illegal, the ability to hide the necessary gestures
becomes important. If movements can be
concealed, a spell can be unleashed without
calling attention to the caster.
A character using the somatic concealment
proficiency must announce to the DM his
intention to do so at the beginning of the round.
Then, when the character casts his spell, the DM
makes a Deception check for the caster in secret
versus passive perceptions from onlookers. A
successful check indicates that anyone who can
see the wizard doesn’t recognize his gestures as
being magical in nature. Character actively
looking for magic may roll Perception check
instead. A failed check means that those having
high enough passive perception or are actively
trying to perceive magic who can view the
casting wizard see his movements for what they
really are.
Water Find. Even the most barren desert
yields water to those who know how to find it.
Small animals burrow in the ground and store
water there; some rare plants store water in
cistern roots beneath the soil; and seemingly
lifeless trees sometimes have moist heartwood.
The water find proficiency can only be used
once per day and takes an hour to perform.
During this time, the character can only move
half his normal movement rate. A successful DC
10 check indicates he’s found sufficient water to
sustain himself for one day. The DM may adjust
the DC according to the type of terrains the PC is
in. It doesn’t mean that he’s found enough water
to rehydrate, but he won’t dehydrate further
that day. The character can only find enough
water for himself. If he shares his find with
others, none of them gains any benefit.
Weapon Improvisation. On Athas, virtually
anything can be (and has been) used as a
weapon. A character who has this proficiency
makes a check to spot a usable weapon in the
surrounding vicinity. A DC 10 check successful
check means the character has found an
improvised weapon that does 1d6 bludgeoning
damage instead of the normal 1d4.
The DM may assign DC modifiers for the ease
or difficulty of finding such a weapon: a market
might warrant a -2 bonus, a barren grassland a
+2 penalty, and a sandy desert might negate the
proficiency.
Heat Protection. A character who has the heat
protection proficiency has learned to pace
himself and use clothing to optimize endurance
against the rigors of Athas’s heat. With a
successful DC 12 Survival check, the character
need only consume half the normal amount of
water per day to avoid dehydration.
In combat, the heat protection proficiency
allows a character wearing metal armor to battle
better and longer. A successful check for the
fight allows him to avoid any penalties.
Psionic Lore. This proficiency represents the
study of famous masters of the Way and the
methodology of developing mental powers. The
character is versed in the standard powers and
effects. With a successful Arcana check against
the psionicist’s spell DC, the character can
identify the general effects of any psionic
devotion or science. For example, the character
encounters a dwarf walking across a silt basin
without sinking. With a successful check, he can
determine that the dwarf is using the Body
Equilibrium devotion.
The second benefit of this proficiency is the
ability to recognize attack patterns in mental
combat. If the character makes a proficiency
check with disadvantage, he is able to guess
which attack and defense modes his opponent
will be using that round and select his own
modes accordingly. The DM should make this
check in secret; if the PC fails the check,
randomly decide which powers he thinks is
opponent is using.
If two characters with psionic lore engage in
mental combat, the character with the highest
successful proficiency check is able to read his
opponent’s intentions. If the proficiency checks
are the same, neither character gains any
information.
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 Psychic Defense. Some people are able to
develop a rudimentary psionic defense, although
they are not psionicists. They may be born with
exceptionally strong Wills, or they may have met
a teacher who instructed them in the basics of
psionic self-defense.
When a character with this proficiency is
attacked by contact or one of the five telepathic
attack modes, he may attempt to defend himself
mentally. This must be declared after the
attacker has announced his attack, but before he
resolves it.
While a character is defending himself
psionically, he may move and defend himself
normally. However, he may not cast spells or
initiate any wild talents. The psychic defender
can make melee or missile attacks, but he does
so with disadvantage to any attack rolls he
makes since his attention is divided between his
physical surroundings and the mental assault.
Arena Acting. The Arena Acting proficiency
allows the gladiator to feign a weakness in
combat to trick his opponent. You must roll a
Deception check versus you opponent’s Insight.
If the check is successful, he has shown a
weakness he does not really possess. For
example, he could convince an enemy that his
left side is overexposed, or that his weapons are
unfamiliar in his hands. More often than not,
these tricks succeed. If the enemy attack against
the gladiator’s assumed weakness, the PC can
use his reaction to counter-attack. These reflect
the surprise the target feels upon realizing he
has been duped. Arena Acting can work only
once against any given opponent. Thereafter, the
enemy is far more cautious in his attacks.
Massage. The Massage proficiency can allow a
gladiator to help partners maintain their form
longer during matches. By applying this therapy
between matches, the gladiator ensures that the
muscles of the subject remain loose and relaxed,
essential for good combat. Any gladiator who
receives a massage in between bouts gains
advantage to Strength and Constitution saving
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throws for the next hour. Massage can be
practiced only on others; the proficient gladiator
cannot massage herself and receive the bonus. It
take 1 hour to make a massage.
Taunting. This proficiency enables the
gladiator to taunt, goad, and in all ways be
annoying and offensive to the enemy. The
gladiator makes a Persuasion check versus the
opponent’s Wisdom saving throw, the foe
becomes enraged. An enraged foe receives a -2
attack penalty, but +2 to damage. In addition,
enemies are generally so blinded by rage that
they fail to notice the small details essential to
good combat, and therefore suffer a -1 to AC.
NPCs with Wisdom of 14 or greater are
immune to this effect, as are those 5 or more
levels higher than the gladiator. They recognize
the taunt for what it is, and may choose to
disregard its effects if they wish. PCs are also
immune, though they should play out their
natural reactions to such acts. The DM should
always take the personality of the taunted
character, whether PC or NPC, into account.
Bribery Etiquette. Bribery is a way of life on
Athas and knowing when to offer a bribe is an
important skill. Equally important, however, is
the timing of the offer, the amount that will
most likely garner the reaction that is wanted,
and the best way to disguise the bribe so that it
doesn’t draw attention from unwanted
witnesses. Bribery etiquette covers these
essential, though usually overlooked parts to
bribery. Use of the skill alone gives a character a
75% chance of estimating how big a bribe is
necessary to get what he wants, whether the
one receiving the bribe will keep his side of the
bargain, and how to offer the bribe without
insulting the target. If used in conjunction with a
thief’s natural ability to bribe officials, the
chance rises to 90%.
For example, the character wishes to pass
through the gates of a city without being
searched. He is leaving rather than entering. The
guard who would normally search the character
looks tired and hungry. He’d rather just finish his
gate duties and go eat. Usually, the guards can
be bribed for about 4 cp. Because the guard is
irritable, the character decides to raise that to 5.
As he’s leaving the city, the guard should care
less about letting him through. It isn’t nearly as
important to the guards what people take out of
the city as what they bring in. The guard is
pleased by the 5 cp and waves the character on
through. Bribes are quite circumstantial. Had
there been an alert out to capture a notorious
preserver, the guard might not have been so
easy to get past.
In addition to getting around inconvenient
rules and regulations and dodging unwanted
attention, bribes are often good for loosening
tongues and gaining information. The Bribery
Etiquette proficiency allows the character to
judge (75% chance) how much of a bribe will be
needed to get the information he wants and to
ascertain when the talker actually has no more
useful information to impart. The bribery skill
may only be used on those who are willing to be
bribed. With bribery etiquette, it is easier to
figure out whom to target with bribery attempts.
Defensive Tactics. Those with the Defensive
Tactics proficiency are able to assess situations
and determine the best course of action to
maintain a defensive posture. Although this
allows those who are about to enter combat or
who are already engaged to figure out the best
defensive strategy or the most useful strategy for
withdrawing from the fight with the least
damage, the proficiency is useful in other areas
as well. To reflect this, on a successful DC 10
check you can give yourself a bonus to your
initiative rolls equal to your Intelligence modifier.
More than just a combat skill, Defensive Tactics
allows the character to assess any situation in
terms of its defensive needs. This could be used
to determine the most readily defensible
campsite, to choose lodgings where spellcasters
(or other wanted party members) are unlikely to
be noticed, or to determine from interacting
with an individual or a group the most likely
course of action that will prevent trouble from
erupting. The latter may call for the character to
offer a bribe, to humble himself so as to be left
alone, or conversely to stand up for himself and
try to intimidate a bully. Other uses of the skill
involve planning the defenses for a city or
caravan under attack and analyzing other’s
defenses for possible weak points. Pacifists are
particularly adept at this proficiency and receive
a +1 bonus to their roll to use it.
Gardening. Unlike agriculture, which is
concerned with planting crops and running a
farm, gardening is a specialized proficiency.
Gardening is used to plant and care for a single
small grove or garden in a particular area. Rather
than food or cash crops, gardening concerns
itself with tending rare flowers, herbs, and
endangered trees.
Knowledge of gardening may be used to
identify problems that affect plants: plant
diseases, harmful insect infestation, lack of
essential nutrients and scarcity of water, for
example. Gardeners know how to rectify
problems they can identify. Any garden under
the care of a gardener produces to its maximum
capacity so long as the means to alleviate any
problems are available. Defilers use the
gardening skill to assure themselves of ready
power. Sorcerer-kings employ cadres of
gardener-slaves to keep their gardens and groves
in good shape. Preservers usually have gardens
that serve as repositories for plants that have
otherwise disappeared from Athas, holding them
in trust for future generations.
Lens crafting. Lens Crafting is a precise and
demanding craft used to cut and shape glass into
a lens capable of focusing spell energy or psionic
power. Using this proficiency, someone may cut,
shape and polish different kinds of glass into
useful lenses. Some lenses may be used to focus
the sun’s rays to start fires. Others may make
small marks larger to those viewing them
through the lens. Both these uses require the
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glass to be transparent and relatively free of
inclusions or bubbles. Lens crafting tools are
required to use this proficiency.
Lenses that are to be used by Cerulean
sorcerers must be made of blue glass and shaped
into ovals. They may not have any bubbles or
foreign matter trapped within them as they will
become the foci of potentially destructive
magical power. All Cerulean sorcerers make their
own lenses. Blue lenses take approximately one
full day to construct providing the crafter has the
proper tools and access to the glass.
It is also possible to use this proficiency to
carve obsidian so that it becomes useful as a
focus for spell energy or for psionic powers. The
obsidian tables used by psionics to move craft
through the Sea of Silt are created using this skill.
Obsidian spheres may also be crafted using this
proficiency. They must be perfectly spherical and
free of inclusions to qualify as useful spell
components or magical focusing devices.
Wizards with the lens crafting skill could carve
the small obsidian spheres used as spell
components.
In order to be useful in dragon magic,
however, the crafter would have to roll a DC 25
on his proficiency check. The Dark Lens was
probably carved by a master craftsman using this
proficiency, but the powers that went into its
making are far beyond the wizards who now
reside on Athas. Even if such an artifact could be
carved, its powers would not be the same.
Mediation. Mediation is the art of negotiation
used to arbitrate between two or more warring
factions. Customarily, the mediator is not a
member of either side, but a neutral third party.
Ostensibly, he acts as a referee of sorts, allowing
all sides to express their concerns and opinions,
then acting as a negotiator between sides or as
an arbitrator or judge, who is empowered to
make a decision that is as fair as possible to all
interested parties. It is not always possible for a
third party to conduct the negotiations,
however, and mediators are often diplomats
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from one side or another who are empowered to
make deals and set limits on agreements.
Whether used to set terms for surrender, to
settle land disputes or negotiate trade
agreements, or to promote peace between
factions, tribes or city-states, mediation allows
those involved to strive for the best possible
outcome for all sides. Mediation cannot be used
in lieu of the bargain proficiency.
Path Lore. Path Lore is the accumulated
knowledge concerning the Paths of wizardry.
Defiler Lore tells the pertinent facts about
defiling magic (how it works, some of the
potential power to be had through its use, etc.),
stories of a few famous defilers from the past,
the role of obsidian and a little about dragons —
especially lore about becoming a dragon.
Preserver Lore tells just the opposite —
information on preserving magic, great
preservers of the past, the dream of restoring
Athas, and some lore about avangions.
In practical terms, this proficiency could allow
the character to know a little about great figures
from the past, possible hiding places of ancient
preserver magical items, or perhaps a hint on
how to defeat a dragon (whether accurate or
not).
Wizard characters may not start the game with
this proficiency; they must find a teacher who is
willing to teach them the lore.
Learning defiler lore teaches the wizard
nothing about preservers and vice versa. If a
character wishes to learn both defiler and
preserver lore, he must take this proficiency
twice. Preservers who know defiler lore without
being familiar with preserver lore seem very
suspicious to members of the Veiled Alliance.
Planes Lore. This proficiency provides its user
with information concerning other planes. The
lore which is known concerns the Gray, the
Black, the Hollow, and the four Elemental planes.
With this proficiency, characters have a 50%
chance to know some germane fact about all
these planes. If the character is intimately
concerned with that plane (such as
Necromancers with the Gray and the Black or
clerics with their corresponding elemental
plane), that chance rises to 65%. Until the
character has actually interacted with the plane
in some form, the chances to know information
concerning them remain the same.
Interaction raises the chance of specific
knowledge about the plane with which the
character interacted by 5%. Necromancers and
clerics capable of casting third level spells are
considered to have interacted with the specific
plane(s) from which they draw their spells.
Without this proficiency, characters know
nothing of these realms.
Planetology. The planetology proficiency gives
the character knowledge of the relationship
between living organisms and their
environments on a planet-wide scale. Rather
than focusing on small-scale interrelationships,
such as how the soil type, amount of available
moisture and pollination combine to produce a
grove of trees or a field of grass, planetology
studies how all things affect one another.
Planetologists would study how the elements
that produced the trees or grass also produced
other plant life, what they all had in common,
and how differences in any of the elements
produced variants in the type of growth the land
could support. Further, they would study what
insects and animals were likely to live in any
given terrain and how each part contributed to
the continuing cycle of growth, death, decay and
regrowth. Then they would consider the various
problems faced by the ecosystem — the
excessive heat, lack of moisture, and effects of
defiling magic in determining how best to
preserve the planet and keep it from further
harm.
The planetology proficiency grants a little bit
of knowledge about a great number of things. In
some cases, knowledge of the usual structure of
land masses might give the character a clue as to
which direction water might be found, while
familiarity with various ecosystems might
suggest what sort of predator could be
encountered in various terrain types.
In any situation involving knowledge that the
proficiency might grant, the DM should roll a DC.
On a roll of 1, the character remembers some
wildly inaccurate information (something that
could cause a serious inconvenience if acted
upon, but nothing truly deadly), on a failed, no
knowledge is gained. On an success to +5, some
small bit of information is known or can be
remembered, on a +5 and up, the character
remembers some very pertinent piece of
information which may be quite helpful. The
information to be gained is up to the DM.
Prestidigitation. The prestidigitation
proficiency is the art of performing magic “tricks”
that are obviously make-believe (and therefore
non-threatening). This is stage magic used for
entertainment purposes. Also known as sleight
of hand, this skill emphasizes facility with quick
hand movements and distracting patter. All of a
close-work magician’s tricks — everything from
pulling ceramic bits from children’s ears to
changing cloth to a bird in the twinkling of an eye
— is part of this skill. Illusionists are particularly
adept with prestidigitation and it is quite easy for
them to slip real magic in amongst the
entertainment. Other wizards can do so too
when given the opportunity.
Those who are skilled in this art can also make
small objects move around from hand to pocket
to shoe to someone else’s pocket with ease.
Thus, small objects can be made to “disappear”
or can be planted on someone else, if the person
is close enough. The prestidigitator has the same
chance as an average thief of his level has to pick
pockets to utilize this particular aspect of the
skill.
Prestidigitation can be used to earn a few
coins from those who have the leisure and desire
for entertainment. It can also be used as a cover
to disguise the casting of real magic. Finally, if
confronted by those who suspect he is a wizard,
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a mage could do worse than to laugh and pull
out his bag of “tricks” to prove his innocence.
Psionic Mimicry. This proficiency is very useful
to spellcasters who wish their spell effects to
appear as the result of psionic activity rather
than magic. Using it, the spellcaster utilizes
gestures, body language and facial expression to
indicate that he is engaged in psionic pursuits.
Just before casting a spell, the user of psionic
mimicry might, for instance, make a gesture
most people associate with a psionic discipline
that has an effect similar to the spell he is
casting. If there is no such gesture, putting both
hands to the head as if focusing one’s mental
faculties is also possible. Though anyone could
try to do this, those skilled in the proficiency
have actually studied the various gestures and
moves of psionicists and their mimicry is much
more skillful and believable.
Psionic mimicry can be used in lieu of somatic
concealment or in conjunction with it. If used
together, the two proficiencies makes it almost
impossible for anyone to distinguish a spell’s
effects from some sort of psionics. Further, those
with the psionic mimicry proficiency have a
chance equal to their proficiency skill +2 versus
the spell DC of the psionicist to correctly identify
what sort of psionic power a person is using by
observing that psionic’s body language for one
round.
Spellweaving. Spellweaving is a catch-all term
for the art of creating a disguised spellbook. This
may take several forms: a pattern woven into
material, a network of knots decorating a robe, a
series of etched designs in a brick, a painting on a
reed mat, or decorative swirls on a staff. The
limit to the kind of material and sort of artistic
rendering is that it must be extensive enough to
serve as a spell book and common enough to not
be suspected as such. Such works serve as
collections of all the knowledge a wizard has
accumulated.
They may be used like normal spell books.
They cannot, however, be used like scrolls
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without destroying the whole work. The
Spellweaving proficiency must be used each time
a new spell is added to the “book.” A failed roll
means the design for that particular spell is
flawed and must be started again. It does not
indicate that the rest of the work suffers in any
way. A Spellweaving takes about two hours per
level of spell to create.
Teaching. The teaching proficiency allows the
character to impart knowledge about a particular
subject or to give instructions in how to do a
specific thing. Just about any subject can be
taught, from reading and writing to swordplay to
the philosophy behind preservation to
spellcasting. Whether it is a concept or a physical
skill, if it can be learned, it can be taught. The
skill of teaching relies heavily on the personality
of the teacher. If the teacher is a compelling and
interesting individual, whatever knowledge he is
sharing will be absorbed more fully and quickly.
Instructing another person in how to do
something isn’t achieved overnight. Teaching
consists of several days, weeks or months worth
of instruction, during which time some lessons
are learned better than others. Those with this
proficiency are better than most at spotting such
problems and correcting them. Some skills
depend upon raw talent for the student to excel
in them. These include such talents as singing
and playing instruments. Although the student
may never become a virtuoso if he doesn’t have
enough talent, he may learn the theories and
techniques behind such skills well enough to
perform them at a journeyman level.
When you are teaching someone, the teacher
must roll on his proficiency. Then his student
must roll on Intelligence. On a success, the
downtime required is lowered by 20%, or 30% on
a critical success and raised by 20% on a critical
fail.
Characters may only learn new proficiencies if
they have the slots open to learn them or the
downtime. Otherwise, it is assumed that the
student is making progress toward learning a
new skill and will have mastered it when his next
appropriate proficiency slot is available.
Jagged Cliffs Proficiencies
Cliff Fighting. The ability to fight, maneuver,
and evade while standing on or clinging to the
narrow ledges of the sides of the cliffs are
necessary survival skills for halflings.
The cliff fighting proficiency not only negates
penalties normally accrued in these critical
situations, but gives the proficient a +1 bonus to
attack rolls and a +2 bonus to damage rolls when
fighting on cliff faces and ledges. These modifiers
only apply when the combat has vertical aspects
and there is a chance of falling. For example, a
halfling could use these modifiers clinging to a
narrow ledge and attacking a foe on the ledge
above him, or standing at the edge of a large,
rocky shelf and throwing spears at enemies
thronging below him. It would not apply faced
against a thri-kreen foe in a desert oasis or
fighting in the back alleys of a sorcerer-king’s
city-state— unless climbing walls . . . . This skill
takes into account the Rhul-Thaun’s natural,
vertical orientation and can never be mastered
by other races.
Life-Shaping. This is a very specialized
proficiency that is difficult to learn and harder to
master. It includes all of the rituals needed to
create common life-shaped creatures. It also
entails the ability to repair damaged creations.
Only life-shapers possess this knowledge (it is
forbidden to tenders) and it is virtually
impossible for someone outside of that highly
structured guild to learn this craft.
Ritual Knowledge. All rhul-thaun characters
have this proficiency. It includes the basics of all
of the rituals upon which the rhul-thaun society
is based. It would be impossible for a halfling of
the cliffs to function in his own culture without
this skill. Outsiders may be taught ritual
knowledge so that they too can operate within
this ancient society without seeming barbaric or
uncultured.
Tending. With this ability, a character is able to
adequately care for a life-shaped creation. This
includes the knowledge of what the creation
needs for sustenance, preferable temperatures
and humidity, and other specifics necessary for
the life of the life-shaped creature.
Windancing. This skill is not so much taught as
it is inherent. Those with inborn grace and agility
begin to practice at an early age, imitating the
graceful windancers flitting above their roofs.
Sometimes practice in the art begins even before
one’s life’s work is chosen, but dancing up the
vertical is not for everyone.
Windriding. This is a very specialized
proficiency that allows one to control a flying
mount within the constantly challenging
climactic conditions of the Jagged Cliffs. This
includes operating in high winds, dealing with
the mist, flying near the cliff faces, and
manoeuvring on a creature while hovering (in
order to harvest plants, fire a missile weapon at
prey, and so on).
Last Sea Proficiencies
Wind-Sailing. This proficiency allows one to
create and control wind-powered sailing devices
such as cliff gliders wind carts. It covers rigging,
construction, and sailing techniques. It does not
give the character abilities in navigation or
astrogation. Larger vehicles can be built, but the
difficulty should increase as the cart grows
larger.
Sailboarding. A character with the
sailboarding proficiency can ride one of the
sailboards used by denizens of the Last Sea to
commute about the water. A Last Sea sailboard
is a highly polished slab of wood similar to a
surfboard. The major difference is that a sail is
mounted to the center of the board.
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 To use the sailboard, the character grasps the
handle that runs along both sides of the sail and
turns so that the sail fills with wind. As the
sailboard begins moving, the character leans
back, steering the board in the direction that he
desires.
Sailboarding is generally a solitary means of
transport. Although some tandem models are in
use on the Last Sea, they are generally held to be
novelties more than serious transportation.
Surfing. A character with this proficiency can
safely ride Marnita’s surf. Most times, people use
a surfboard to properly pull off such a feat, but
skilled surfers can actually ride tremendous
waves using only their bellies. This difficult feat
carries a -5 penalty to the DC, however.
Surfing isn’t really useful as a means of
transportation. It is possible to ride or paddle a
surfboard across the Last Sea, but there are
many other, better ways to get across the water.
Surfing is, on the other hand, a great way to
spend a sunny afternoon, and many citizens of
Saragar can be found out on the water catching
waves when the weather is good enough for it.
Every time the character attempts to surf, he
needs to make a DC 12 check against his surfing
proficiency. A failure means that the character
has “wiped out.” If the character fails by more
than 10, he has suffered a terrible accident. The
unfortunate surfer must then pass a Dexterity
saving throw or take 1d6 bludgeoning damage
(from running into an unseen rock, getting hit by
his own board, or some such thing.).

Persuasion Insight Medecine Sleight of Hand Perception

Taunting Defensive Tactics Massage Prestidigitation Psionic Detection
Bribery Etiquette Weapon Improvisation
Arcana Nature Deception Survival History
Psionic Lore Wind-Sailing Arena Acting Sailboarding Ritual Knowledge
Path Lore Gardening Spellweaving Heat Protection
Planes Lore Planetology Somatic Concealment Water Find Performance
Tending Psionic Mimicry
Wisdom Dexterity Intelligence Tools Windancing
Psychic Defense Surfing Teaching Lens crafting
Contact Contact Life-Shaping Athletic
Mental Armor Charisma Mental Armor Cliff Fighting
Mediation Psychic Defense Windriding

395
396
Additional & 10th Level Earth Domain Fire Domain
Cleanse
Modified Spells for Insect Host Cleric Cleric
All Clerics Planar Vassal
Prolific Forestation Cantrip (0 Level) Cantrip (0 Level)
1st Level Rift Magic stone Produce Flame
Charm Person Mold earth Fire Bolt
Merciful Shadows Magic Stone Control flames
Proof Against Undeath Create bonfire
Air Domain 1st Level
2nd Level Cleric Absorb element: Nature 1st Level
Hold Person Earth tremor Absorb element: Fire
Snake Charm Cantrip (0 Level)
Black Cairn 2nd Level 2nd Level
Gust Dust devil Heat metal
Channel Stench
Clues of Ash Maximilian’s earthen grasp Aganazzar’s scorcher
1st Level
Slave Scent Absorb element: Force 3rd Level 3rd Level
Deep Breath Sand Spray Flame arrow
3rd Level
Lighten Load Erupting earth
2nd Level Wall of Sand 4th Level
Oil Spray Skywrite Conjure minor
Dust devil 4th Level elemental - Fire
4th Level Warding wind
Defiler Scent Stoneskin Elemental bane: Fire
Infestation Conjure minor
3rd Level elemental - Earth 5th Level
Wind wall Elemental bane: Nature Conjure elemental - Fire
5th Level Air Lens
Heartseeker Return to the Earth Flame Harvest
Immolation
4th Level 5th Level
6th Level Conjure minor
Create Shrine Conjure elemental - Earth 6th Level
elemental - Air Transmute rock Investiture of fire
Elemental bane: Force Wall of stone Watchfire
7th Level
Initiation Spirit of Flame
5th Level 6th Level
Wild Lands Control winds
Creeping Doom Move earth 7th Level
Conjure elemental - Air Investiture of stone Chariot of Sustarre
Succor
Transmute Metal to Wood 6th Level 7th Level
Wind walk Changestaff
8th Level Investiture of wind Water Domain
Forever Minions Cleric
Create Tree of life 8th Level
7th Level Earthquake
Sands of Time Whirlwind Cantrip (0 Level)
Hasten Crops
Create Oasis Shape water
9th Level 9th Level Frostbite
Air of Permanence Storm Legion
Disruption 9th Level
Mountainous Barrier 1st Level
Pocket Dimension Absorb element: Cold
Prolific Vegetation Create or destroy water

2nd Level
Coat of Mists

397
3rd Level 5th Level Silt Domain Sun Domain
Water breathing Conjure elemental - Magma
Water walk Immolation Cleric Cleric
Curse of the Choking Sands
6th Level Cantrip (0 Level) Cantrip (0 Level)
4th Level Investiture of fire Minor Illusion Dancing Lights
Conjure minor Gust
elemental - Water 7th Level 1st Level
Elemental bane: Cold Magma Tunnel 1st Level Absorb element: Radiant
Lungs of Water Fog cloud
Water Trap 9th Level Absorb element: Necrotic 3rd Level
Meteor Swarm Heat Exhaustion
5th Level 2nd Level
Conjure elemental - Water Dust devil 4th Level
Conjure minor
Rain Domain 3rd Level elemental - Sun
6th Level
Investiture of ice Cleric Curse of the Choking Sands Elemental bane: Radiant
Waters of Life Sand Spray Sickening Radiance
Dehydrate Cantrip (0 Level) Wall of silt (Wall of sand)
Shape water 5th Level
8th Level Thunderclap 4th Level Conjure elemental - Sun
Create Oasis Conjure minor Dawn
1st Level elemental - Silt
Absorb element: Lightning Elemental bane: Necrotic 6th Level
Sunbeam
Magma Domain 2nd Level 5th Level Sunstroke
Cleric Coat of Mists Conjure elemental - Silt
Whirlpool of Doom 8th Level
Cantrip (0 Level) 3rd Level Sunburst
Fire Bolt Curse of the Choking Sands 6th Level
Create bonfire Thunder step Summon Tyr–Storm
Control flames Silt Tides New Templar Spells
Produce Flame 4th Level
Conjure minor 7th Level 1st Level
1st Level elemental - Rain Glass Storm Hand of the Sorcerer-Kings
Absorb element: Fire Elemental bane Lightning Silt Cyclone
Acid Rain 2nd Level
2nd Level Storm sphere 9th Level Might of the Sorcerer-Kings
Flame blade Storm of vengeance
Heat metal 5th Level Storm Legion 3rd Level
Pyrotechnics Conjure elemental - Rain Image of the Sorcerer-Kings
10th Level 4th Level
3rd Level 6th Level Silt Bridge Wrath of the Sorcerer-King
Flame arrows Dehydrate
Melf's minute meteors 5th Level
9th Level Conjure Elemental (any)
4th Level Storm of vengeance
Conjure minor 6th Level
elemental - Magma Wisdom of the
Elemental bane: Fire Sorcerer-Kings

398
Additional & 6th Level 9th Level
Waters of Life Air of Permanence
Modified Spells for Dehydrate Disruption
Druid Sunstroke Pocket Dimension
3rd Level Prolific Vegetation
1st Level Lighten Load 7th Level
Merciful Shadows Oil Spray Wild Lands 10th Level
Create or destroy water Air Lens Creeping Doom Cleanse
Charm Person Succor Insect Host
Goodberry 4th Level Transmute Metal to Wood Silt Bridge
Defiler Scent Prolific Forestation
2nd Level Infestation 8th Level Rift
Snake Charm Hasten Crops
Black Cairn 5th Level Create Oasis * Red spells are modified
Channel Stench Heartseeker Create Tree of life spells.
Clues of Ash Flame Harvest Sands of Time

399

Cleric & Druid New &
Adapted Spells
1st-Level Spells
Create Water or Destroy Water
In the DARK SUN world, create or destroy water
only a half gallon of water per level of the caster.
Rain is 15-feet cube. In all other ways, the spell is
exactly as described in the Player’s Handbook.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a
spell slot of 2nd-level or higher, you can create or
destroy a half gallon of water additional per level
of the caster for each slot level above 2nd, or the
size of the cube increases by 5 feet, for each slot
level above 1st.
Charm Person
Athasian creatures that can be charmed include all
of the player character races except thri-kreen,
plus anakore, bat, belgoi, braxat, cats, cyclops,
ettin, giant, gith, and rat.
Goodberry
The spell yields up to 5 berries instead, healing
each for 2 hit point. They provide nourishment
only for the equivalent of one meal for a medium
sized creature (2 berries required for a Large
creature equivalent).
Merciful Shadows. This spell creates a magical
shade to protect an individual from the scorching
sun. Once cast, the individual gains the benefits of
being in the shade (requiring only half the normal
water consumption), even when traveling or
fighting in the full light of the sun. The individual so
protected appears normal, except that he doesn’t
sweat as much as expected and his coloration is a
bit gray.
Blistering Rays. The reverse of this spell,
intensifies the light and heat of the sun on the
victim. The individual must have twice the water
per day for the duration of the spell or suffer the
effects of dehydration. Also, in each round of
combat in the open sun, the individual must make
a Constitution check to keep from passing out. The
saving throw, applicable only to the reverse of the
spell, negates its effects.
This spell (and its reverse) has no effect on an
individual who is in the shade.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a
spell slot of 2nd-level or higher, you can target one
additional creature for each slot level above 1st.
Deep Breath
1st-level alteration
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (a tiny bladder of air, usually
made from animal skins, which must be burst over
the recipient’s mouth and nose)
Duration: Concentration, up 1 round/level
Casting Time: 1 action

Merciful Shadows With this spell the caster allows one creature to
1st-level abjuration take a single breath that will last for the duration
of the spell. The spell bestows no ability to
Components: V, S, M (a piece of a palm leaf (or maneuver or function underwater or while buried
black fabric for the reverse) in sand, but it does temporarily remove the need
Casting Time: 1 action to breathe.
Range: Touch (1 creature)
Duration: 1 day/per 5 levels

400
Once the spell’s duration runs out, a character who
cannot breathe normally begins to suffocate
normally.
If the deep breath spell is cast after a character has
already held his breath for a few rounds, it works
as though he got a clean gulp of air - when the
spell wears off he begins the suffocation
procedure fresh. The spell also lets the character
avoid the ill effects most gaseous attacks, magical
and otherwise.
Proof Against Undeath
1st-level alteration
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (2 metal coins must be
placed on the recipient’s eyes)
Duration: Permanent
Casting Time: 1 action
This spell is cast on a dead creature to prevent it
from being raised as a skeleton or zombie with an
animate dead spell. The creature cannot have
been dead for a number of days greater than the
caster’s level; otherwise it has no effect. The size,
level, or Hit Dice of the dead creature makes no
difference. Detect magic will reveal the magical
enchantment on the body, and it can be removed
with a dispel magic spell. This spell has no effect
on living creatures or those already animated as
skeletons or zombies. The corpse can never be
raised as any form of undead.
2nd-Level Spells
Hold Person
In DARK SUN campaigns, this spell affects all player Range: Circle, centered on you, with a radius of
character races except thri-kreen, plus anakore, 400 feet + 40 feet/level.
belgoi, and gith.
401
Snake Charm
2nd-level enchantment
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30-ft. cube
Duration: Special
When this spell is cast, a hypnotic pattern is set up
that causes one or more snakes to cease all activity
except a semi-erect, swaying movement. If the
snakes are charmed while in a torpor, the duration
of the spell is 1d4+2 turns; if the snakes are not
torpid, but are not aroused and angry, the charm
lasts 1d3 turns; if the snakes are angry or
attacking, the spell lasts 1d4+4 rounds. The priest
casting the spell can charm snakes whose total hit
points are less than or equal to those of the priest.
The hit points can be those of a single snake or
those of several of the reptiles, but the total hit
points cannot exceed those of the priest casting
the spell.
This spell is also effective against any ophidian or
ophidianoid monster, such as naga, couatl, etc.,
subject to magic resistance, hit points, and so
forth. Yuan-ti and silk worms can be affected by
this spell. Variations of this spell may exist,
allowing other creatures significant to a particular
mythos to be affected. Your DM will inform you if
such spells exist.
Black Cairn
2nd-level divination (ritual)
Components: V, S, M (5 smooth black stones & an
item which belonged to or has been in contact
with the corpse)
Casting Time: 1 minute
Target: One corpse within range
Duration: Instantaneous
A cold breeze carrying the scent of rotting flesh
raises the hairs on your neck. Its direction reveals
the direction of the corpse you seek if it is nearby.
This spell allows helps you determine the direction
of one specific corpse (animal or otherwise) within
the spell’s radius. If the corpse is within range, you
sense the direction to the corpse.
After this spell is cast, the caster knows the
location of any corpse (animal or otherwise). The
priest must first find the stones, each one bigger
than a fist. He stacks them in a small pile, or cairn,
and sits and stares at the blackness of the stones
until he receives a vision of the corpse’s location.
Channel Stench
2nd-level conjuration
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: 15 ft.
Duration: Instantaneous
You draw in a deep breath and expel it towards
your opponents. Noxious odors are channeled
through your breath and ejected in a vile cone of
stench.
All breathing creatures within the 15-feet cone
must make a Constitution saving throw. Those who
fail become Incapacitated for 1d6 rounds. Those
who succeed instead become Poisoned for 1d6
rounds. Creatures with 5 or more Hit Dice are
immune to this effect.
Clues of Ash
2nd-level divination
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: Touch
Target: Ashes touched
Duration: Instantaneous
You receive a smoky vision of the scene before the
moment the item was destroyed by touching its
ashes. Echoes of screams resonate within your ears
as its fate is revealed.
The vision begins from the time the object was
destroyed or killed, going backward in time up to 1
min./level. For example, a 4th–level cleric would
see the last 4 minutes of the item’s existence. You
can also tell whether the object was destroyed by
defiler destruction or not. If vegetation destroyed
by defiling is tested, you can make an Arcana check
(DC 15 + spell level) to determine the school of
magic cast.
Coat of Mists
2nd-level conjuration
Components: V, S, M (1 gallon of water)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Target: Self
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour
Spilling the contents of your waterskin, you watch
as mists rise from the ground where the water
lands. The mist coalesces around your target,
enveloping it in a bluish shroud.
You gather a magical mist around yourself. The
mist absorbs the first 5 points of damage from any
fire–based effects each round. The mist also raise
your armor class by 2.
Further castings of coat of mists do not have any
effect, and coat of mist’s damage absorption does
not stack with any other kind of energy resistance.
402
Slave Scent
2nd-level divination
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 120 feet
Duration: Instantaneous
You smell the air, searching for the unnaturally
musky scent of sweat slaves are tainted with by
their very existence.
When this spell is cast, the priest can use scent, to
discover whether a person is a freeman, slave,
escaped slave, or noble. Templars use this spell to
detect escaped slaves. If an air cleric finds a slave
by using this spell, elemental air spirits will
demand that he free the person.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a
spell slot of 3rd-level or higher, you can target one
additional creature for each slot level above 2nd.
3rd-Level Spells
Plant Growth
This spell has no effect on a tree of life. Since a
defiled area has no vegetation left, this spell
Air Lens
has no effect if cast there.
3rd-level transmutation
Create Food & Water
In DARK SUN campaigns, this spell can create a
maximum of one-half gallon of water per level of
the caster. The remainder of the material created
is 25 lbs. bland food. In all other ways, the spell is
exactly as described in the Player’s Handbook.
403
Curse of the Choking Sands
3rd-level transmutation
Components: V, S,
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: One creature
Duration: 1 day/level
Uttering the dreaded curse makes your throat feel
dry like sandpaper, but it is nothing compared to
the fate of your victim when he seeks to quench his
thirst.
The target must make a Wisdom saving throw. If
he fails, the unfortunate victim of this curse is
unable to drink water for the duration of the spell.
When he puts a container to his lips, the water
inside turns to sand, usually pouring down the
unfortunate victim’s throat. If the victim hasn’t
died from dehydration when the spell ends, he
may begin to drink normally. Of course, everything
that had turned to sand remains sand. The spell
terminates if the cursed person is completely
immersed under water, and can also be broken by
spells that end other divine curses.
If he succeeds save, the spell has no effects.
Components: V, S, M (a small, round piece of
glass)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 120 feet
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
A lens flare appears in the sky as you raise your
divine focus to harness the power of the sun,
accompanied by the smell of burnt hide.
You shape the air into a magical lens that you can
use to direct intensified sunrays. If sunlight
becomes unavailable, the spell prematurely ends.
You can make one ranged attacks per turn with the
air lens. The lens inflicts 2d6 points of fire damage. Fountains of flammable oil spout up from the
Creatures that are especially vulnerable to sunlight ground, showering everything in vicinity with
(such as some undead) take double damage. You sticky, black liquid.
can use an air lens attack to ignite unattended
combustible materials such as dry sticks, straw, When you cast this spell over rough earth or sand,
parchment and cloth. fountains of flammable oil spout up from the
The flames so created are not magical in nature ground, covering everything within a 15–foot
and can be extinguished normally. Magical radius. Creatures in the area must make a
darkness can negate the effects of this spell. Dexterity saving throw or be covered in oil. The
Magical shade reduces damage by half. spell effectively causes the area to suffer the
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a effects of a grease spell. The oil itself isn’t
spell slot of 4th-level or higher, the damage particularly dangerous unless ignited. Burning oil
increase by 1d6 for each slot level above 3rd. inflicts 2d6 points of fire damage its first round,
and 1d6 points of fire damage per round. The oil
burns off by the third round, but creatures that
Lighten Load were covered in oil still burn, as they have caught
3rd-level transmutation fire, suffering 1d6 points of fire damage per round
until the fire is put out. If the oil isn’t ignited, it will
Components: V, S remain until removed by no less than 30 minutes
Casting Time: 1 action of scrubbing or washing. Thus, any creature that is
Range: Touch covered with the oil is at risk of being ignited by as
Duration: Concentration, up to 8 hours little as a spark. A creature that enters the oil–
covered area after the initial gush is not at risk of
The pungent smell of a kank herd floats past you as being ignited because it was not doused by the oil,
you imbue creatures with increased strength for but it still takes damage if it enters the area when
carrying. it is aflame.
You increase the carrying capacity of one creature.
The target’s carrying capacity is quadrupled.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a Sand Spray
spell slot of 3rd-level or higher, you can target one 3rd-level evocation
additional creature for each slot level above 2nd.
Components: V, S, M (A shard of glass, mica,
quartz, or other transparent substance)
Oil Spray Casting Time: 1 action
3rd-level conjuration Range: 60 ft.
Duration: Instantaneous
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 action Small, glassy particles of sand or silt spray towards
Range: 120 feet your opponents’ eyes.
Area: 15-feet radius The caster creates a 20-foot cone spray of sand.
Duration: Instantaneous Creatures within the area are blinded for 1d6
rounds and take 2d6 piercing damage. A successful
Dexterity saving throw halves the damage and the
creature is not blinded. Note that this spell does

404
not create the tiny shards; sand or silt must be are defilers in the spell’s area of effect, you smell
within range for this spell to take effect. the very strong odor of smoldering meat.
Heat Exhaustion
3rd-level evocation
Range: 60 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: Special
Casting Time: 1 action
A beam of light streaks from the caster’s finger and
slams into the target’s forehead, instantly causing
the brain to overheat as if struck by sunstroke or a
fever. This causes momentary confusion and
delirium, and until the target is healed, it suffers
from one level of exhaustion. Cooling the victim
dispels heat exhaustion, pouring a canteen of
water or cool liquid over the target’s head is also
effective. Dispel magic, lesser restoration, and
other restoratives spells also arrest this condition. throw when you cast lungs of water, it is
4th-Level Spells
Defiler Scent
4th-level divination
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1action
Range: 120 ft.
Duration: Instantaneous
Your nostrils flare open, searching for the bitter
scent of smoldering flesh which accompanies
defilers.
You can smell the presence of defilers within the
spell’s area of effect. This spell does not reveal the
number of defilers, their locations, or their
strength; just their presence or absence. If there
405
Lungs of Water
4th-level conjuration
Components: V, S, M (your saliva, spat at the
intended victim)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Target: One breathing creature
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour
You spit towards your foe. As the phlegm trickles,
your enemy’s eyes widen as it coughs up water and
begins to suffocate.
This spell magically creates water inside a victim’s
lungs, drowning it if it cannot cough the stuff up.
Creatures that do not need to breathe are
unaffected by this spell.
If the target succeeds on a Constitution saving
unaffected. If it fails its save, it can still continue to
take choking breaths each round with an action.
An affected creature can attempt to take actions
normally (instead of consciously controlling its
breathing), but each round it does so, beginning in
the round when it failed its Constitution save, the
subject risks blacking out from lack of oxygen. It
must succeed on a Constitution save at the end of
any of its turns in which it did not consciously take
a breath. The DC of this save increases by 1 in
every consecutive round after the first one that
goes by without a breath; the DC drops back to its
original value if the subject spends an action to
take a breath.
If a subject fails a Constitution save, it begins to
drown. Curing spells or powers can revive a dying
subject normally.
Acid Rain
4th-level conjuration
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 round
Range: 150 feet
Area: 20 ft. cube
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
A mustard–colored cloud whirls into being. It
unleashes a foul–smelling rain accompanied by
sizzling noises as it eats through metal, cloth and
flesh.
A toxic shower covers the area of effect. Anything
caught beneath the rain takes 4d4 points of acid
damage. It is easy to move out of the cube, but if a
creature cannot, it continues to take damage for
each round spent in the rain. If a creature fails its
Constitution saving throw, an item it holds could
take damage. Unattended objects also take
damage from the falling acid. When the spell
expires the acid that had rained down instantly
evaporates.
Imbue With Spell Ability
4th-level enchantment
Range: Touch
Duration: Until used
Casting Time: 1 minute
Area of Effect: Person touched
Components: V, S, M (the priest's holy symbol,
plus some minor item from the recipient that is
symbolic of his profession (a lockpick for a thief,
etc.); and any material component for the imbued
spell)
By the use of this spell, the priest can transfer a
limited number and selection of his spell slots, and
the ability to cast a specific spell of his currently
memorized, to another person. Only non-
spellcasters can receive this bestowal; the imbue
with spell ability enchantment does not function
for those belonging to spellcasting classes, for
unintelligent monsters. In addition, the person
thus imbued must have a Wisdom score of 9 or
higher. Only priest spells of an informational or
defensive nature or a cure wounds spell can be
transferred. Transferring any other spell type
negates the entire attempt, including any
allowable spells that were chosen.
You transfer one spell slot of level one to the
target.
The transferred spell's variable characteristics
(range, duration, area of effect, etc.) function
according to the level of the priest originally
imbuing the spell. A priest who casts imbue with
spell ability upon another character loses the
number of spell slot he has imbued until the
recipient uses the transferred spells or is slain.
When cast, the spell slot only comes back to the
priest after a long rest. The priest remains
responsible to his ethos for the use to which the
spell is put.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a
spell slot of 5rd-level or higher, you can transfer
one additional 1st-level spell slot to the same
target for each slot level above 4th. You can also
choose to transfer 2nd-level spell slots (but not
higher) to replace two 1st-level spell slot.
Infestation
4th-level conjuration
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: 120 feet
Area: Creatures in a 10‐foot radius
Duration: Instantaneous
You hold your palm in front of your face and gently
blow the magical parasites into the air. They dart
towards your enemies, taking root in clothes, hair
and flesh.
Tiny parasites take root in the clothes, hair, and
skin of living creatures within the area. The victims
rarely realize a spell has been cast on them—they
406
must make a Wisdom check (DC 20) to sense the becomes obvious that he is suffering from some
parasites—so the symptoms are usually the first mind–altering ailment. Whenever in combat (or
sign of the spell’s effects. It takes 1 day before other stressful situations) the character becomes
infestation sets in. A remove disease or heal spell confused (as the spell). Each day, he must make a
removes the parasites, as do spells that repel or Will save or become permanently confused.
destroy insects.
Even if the infestation is removed, a creature must
heal its effects separately. Those who have lost Return to the Earth
their sight to eye mites, for example, need a spell 4th-level necromancy
that could restore vision. A heal spell, however,
cures all injuries. Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 action
It takes about 1 day before infestation sets in. Range: 30 feet
Creatures failing a Constitution save suffer the Target: Corpses or corpse–like creatures
following. Duration: Instantaneous
You choose the type of parasite from the following
list: Throwing dust at the body and uttering a prayer of
Ear Mites: These microscopic creatures cause destruction, you make the creature wither and
permanent deafness in 1d6+6 days. decompose at an unnatural rate. It dries to become
Eye Mites: Eye mites cause permanent blindness in a lifeless husk before it decomposes into dust.
1d6+6 days.
Desert Lice: Desert lice cause their host to feel You can decompose a body just by casting dust or
generally unhealthy, uncoordinated, and dizzy. The earth at it. You need to spend 4 rounds to
victims suffer of 1 level of exhaustion. decompose a Medium corpse. (Double the time
Sand Fleas: While these tiny creatures aren’t required for each size category larger than
deadly, they are a source of constant itching and Medium; halve the time for each size category less
discomfort. Anyone infected by sand fleas cannot than Medium, to a minimum of 1 round). Corpses
heal wounds naturally, due to misery and decomposed by this spell can still be restored to
discomfort. The victim becomes cranky and life, but cannot be turned into undead.
irritable, resulting in disadvantage on all You may throw earth or dust as a ranged spell
interaction checks (such as Deception, Intimidate, attack the earth deals 1d12 points of force damage
Persuasion, and Insight) and initiative rolls. Sand to corporeal undead and constructs that are
fleas notoriously leap from host to host, almost composed of dead flesh or bones.
like a contagious disease. Anyone coming into This spell turns a dead body into dust. Corpses
contact with an afflicted creature must make a inhabited by Spirits are allowed a Wisdom saving
Constitution saving throw or become infested as throw. Once cast, bits of the undead begin to
well. crumble and fall to the ground, completely
Mind Worms: These tiny vermin infest a victim’s destroying it in 3 rounds. To represent their
hair and secrete a drug that excites certain deterioration, undead suffer disadvantage to
portions of the brain, causing hallucinations, attack.
delirium, and hysteria. The worms’ effects grow in The undead must actually have a physical form,
time, so the first few hallucinations are mild and ghosts and ghasts would not be subject to this
probably undetectable by the victim’s companions. spell.
Eventually, his condition deteriorates, and it

407
Water Trap Whirlpool of Doom
4th-level transmutation 4th-level transmutation

Components: V, S, M (a small stone figure of a Components: V, S

man trapped in a hardened bit of amber) Casting Time: 1 minute
Casting Time: 1 minute Range: 120 feet
Range: Touch Area: Cylinder (20‐ft. radius, 50 ft. deep)
Target: Body of water up to 20 ft. in diameter Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
Duration: 24 hours
The ground collapses, drawing desperate creatures
Tiny air bubbles rise from the water, as if a into a whirlpool of rock and sand. Those
creature lurks near the surface. As the bubbles disappearing in the vortex will slowly suffocate to
disappear, there is no evidence of the trap set in death.
place.
This spell turns earth or sand into a swirling sea of
When a creature of Medium size or smaller rock and earth. Anyone standing in the area must
touches the pool, oasis, or watering hole altered make a Dexterity saving throw. Failure indicates
by this spell, it must make an immediate Strength that they have been sucked into the center of the
saving throw. Failure indicates that the victim is whirlpool and must attempt to swim to safety and
instantly pulled under the surface and trapped. must make an Athletic check against your spell DC
Creatures pulled under by this spell will find that each round. Creatures that make three successful
the surface of the water now has a tough, rubbery checks in a row are able to make their way to the
consistency that makes escape very difficult. edge of the pool and pull themselves free. Failing a
A creature attempting to break through the single skill check means that the creature is pulled
water’s surface must make a Strength check (DC 5 5 feet below the surface (and must hold its breath)
+ caster level); a creature without a swim speed until it succeeds at a Swim check. Failing two Swim
takes a –5 penalty on this check. checks in a row means that the character begins to
This spell is most often used to trap desert oases drown.
and private wells. Its material component is a small
wooden or stone figure of a man trapped in a
hardened bit of amber or other translucent stone.
Friendly creatures outside the pool that are
helping give advantage to the victim’s save every
round, and are in no danger of being sucked under
themselves once the trap has been sprung. Beings
of size Large and more may free one trapped
creature per round.

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5th-Level Spells You transform the pointed weapon into a true
harbinger of death, a weapon which sprouts roots
Flame Harvest
when it hits its target. The roots and branches seek
Evocation
out vital organs, instantly killing or lethally
wounding the victim.
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 hour
This terrible spell is cast on a piercing weapon
Range: Touch
made partially of wood, usually a spear or an
Area: Up to ten 5-feet cubes
arrow. When the weapon damages a creature, the
wooden shaft of the weapon begins to sprout as if
You slowly walk the area to be trapped for an hour,
growing. The roots and branches seek out vital
envisioning the rising flames and setting on the
organs as a source of nutrients. If the creature fails
conditions that will trigger its activation.
a Constitution saving throw, the vines burst
You create a trap in a large field, copse of wood, or
through the victim’s vital organs, making 10d8 of
other flammable area, to be triggered by
necrotic damage. If the save is successful, the
predefined conditions. You may leave the area,
creature manages to pull the weapon out but
and the trap remains set for 1 month.
takes half damage. If damage would drop the
The trigger conditions may be as simple or as
creature under zero, it is killed instantly, the vines
complex as you like, but they cannot be changed
crushing the internal organs. The weapon looses
once the spell is placed. You should be careful
the enchantment after being used. This does not
about the wording, lest the trap trigger
work on undeads or creatures without internal
unintentionally. Some possible conditions are:
organs.
whenever anyone sets foot in this grove, or
The caster can enchant only one weapon at a
whenever a templar draw his or her weapon.
time.
When the trap triggers, the area is engulfed in
flames, dealing 6d8 points of fire damage to
creatures and objects in the area. The site
Sunstroke
continues to burn normally, and creatures in the
6th-level evocation
area takes 1d6 points of fire damage until the fire
burns itself out.
Components: V, M (a small mirror worth 1 sp)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Duration: 1 round/level
6th-Level Spells
Rays of brilliant sunlight fly from your fingertips.
Heartseeker Those struck gasp for air and break in sweat, as if
6th-level transmutation having spent the afternoon in the smoldering heat
of the Smoking Crown.
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 minute The caster points his finger at a target and a
Range: Touch brilliant beam of sunlight shoots outward to cause
Target: One piercing weapon a severe case of heat exhaustion. The caster makes
Duration: 6 hours a ranged spell attack. If it hits, the victim must

409
make a Constitution saving throw or instantly
collapse into a convulsive mass until treated or
dead.
The target’s skin becomes cold and clammy, he
does not sweat regardless of the heat, and his
muscles convulse dangerously. This causes him to
lose 4d4 hit points per round. The condition can be
stopped by a heal or greater restoration spell, or
by pouring at least one gallon of cool water over
the victim’s head.
Once a character has suffered a severe heat
stroke, he is forever susceptible. Those affected
require twice their normal amounts of water if
exposed to the sun for more than four hours, and
may go into convulsions if not adequately
hydrated.
Those who make the save are affected as if the
target of the 3rd-level heat exhaustion spell.
Creatures immune to heat effects or nonlethal
damage (such as constructs) are unaffected,
except for undead, who suffer lethal damage from
the sun rays.
Watchfire
6th-level divination (ritual)
Range: 2 miles/level
Components: V, M (a small campfire)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour
Casting Time: 1 minute
This powerful spell allows a caster to know how
many fires burn within the area of effect and the
approximate location of each. He may choose any
one of these fires and peer out of it as if he were
actually within the flames. Anyone watching the
fire sees a dark face peering out at them, but can
only dispel the visage by extinguishing the flame or
casting other protections from scrying. The caster
may communicate through the flames, but he may
not cast spells or use special abilities.
Spirit of Flame
6th-level divination
Components: V, M (the cleric pays in blood 1d6
radiant damage, no resistance possible)
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: 2 miles/level
Duration: 1 hour/level
In the dancing flames you see a remote vision of an
area surrounding another fire. Your face appears in
the fire as a dark silhouette. If you will it, you
appear at the site you see.
This spell functions like the watch fire spell, except
as noted above and as follows. In addition to being
able to observe and communicate from any fire
within range, you can cast spells as if you were
actually within the flames. Spells cast through the
fire cannot require somatic components. The risk
of this spell is that creatures can target you
through the fire with light– and sonic–based
attacks, and with mind–affecting effects.
In addition, you can walk into a fire and greater
teleport to any other fire up to the limit of your
range. If you choose to go blindly, you will appear
by the nearest fire within range. If the original fire
that you used to scry is put out, you can still use
other fires within range.
410
Waters of Life Create Shrine
6th-level transmutation 6th-level invocation

Components: V, S, M (herbs with a value no less Components: V, S, M (an item of great value to the
than 100 cp) cleric)
Casting Time: 8 hours Casting Time: 3 months
Range: Touch Range: Special
Target: One gallon of liquid Target: One gallon of liquid
Duration: See Text Duration: Permanent

You create an elixir of potent herbs that heals
wounds and other ailments. The serum smells
sweetly, like kank honey, only purer, and glows in
the darkness.
You transform one gallon of any liquid into sweet–
smelling serum that cures hit point damage,
blindness, disease, poisoning, and fungal growth
(such as the transformation of flesh into green
slime), regenerates lost organs and limbs, and ends
magical enchantments.
You give half of the potion to the subject and drink
the rest yourself. Drinking the half gallon requires
one minute. If the subject is unconscious, then you
can wet the subject’s lips with the elixir and anoint
its face and body with the rest of its share. Once
you drink your half, the subject is healed as though
it received the spells heal, greater restoration, and
regenerate.
The subject’s ailments transfer to you. You suffer
all hit point damage, ability damage, poisons,
curses, and diseases—everything that previously
afflicted the subject. You fall into a near–comatose
state for 1 hour while your body fights off
infections and repairs the damage. At the end of
the hour, you awaken and must make a
Constitution saving throw (DC 20). If you succeed,
you are healed as the subject was, and all is well. If
you fail, you retain every injury and ailment the
subject had suffered, and you have one level of
exhaustion.
When a cleric finds a power conjunction he wants
to protect from others, he will often begin the
magical process of turning it into an elemental
shrine. The entire process takes about 3 months
and requires a substantial investment of time and
energy. The first requirement of the spell is to find
a natural area where the cleric’s patron element is
strong.
Shrines of rain must be in special places where
natural rainfall is common. Sun clerics may build
their shrines on high mountains. Shrines to the
lords of fire require more effort. First, the priest
must create an eternal flame. Atop this fire, the
priest must place an item of great value to himself.
When the blaze finally dies to the size of a
campfire, the cleric begins the create shrine spell,
and the flame burns forever. The item is sacrificed
to the lords of fire and destroyed in the
conflagration.
Once the area has been prepared and any threats
removed from it, the cleric sits and meditates on
the nature of his element. He must continue to do
this for at least eight hours every day for the next
three months. Any time missed cancels the spell,
and the cleric must begin again from scratch.
When three months have passed, the shrine grants
the caster a number of temporary hit points equal
to 2 times the caster’s level. These are good only
while the cleric is actually at the shrine, and can
only be used to absorb damage from defiling magic
with no check.
The cleric who created the spell has one other
special advantage. While on the grounds of the
shrine, he may exercise his ability to ignore the

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elements an unlimited number of times per day. You summon a Tyr–storm. Ominous cerulean
The power continues even if the priest leaves the clouds fill the sky. Hail, lightning, hurricane winds,
shrine, but then it expires normally. This counts as slashing rain, acidic vapors, and furious thunder
a use for that day, so he cannot exploit this ability rock the area.
again, unless he moves back to the shrine.
There is no limit to the number of clerics that can The spell draws a Tyr–storm into an area
benefit from being at a shrine, and none may be designated by you. The storm is typical of those
affected by spells of that element while there. The spun off from the Cerulean Storm, lasting for 2d10
cleric is under no obligation to remain at the shrine minutes and inflicting 2d8 points of acid damage
after it is created, but many do, insuring its per round.
protection. A Tyr–storm is a violent tempest and can’t be used
to bring water. This spell does not imbue you with
the ability to control the Tyr–storm.
Dehydrate
6th-level evocation
Silt Tides
Range: 90 feet 6th-level alteration
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute Range: 0
Casting Time: 1 action Components: V, S, M (a small, oval lump of lead
that has been cast by moonlight)
This awful spell causes water to evaporate rapidly Duration: Concentration, up 24 hours
from the target’s body. The victim loses 10 hit Casting Time: 1 action
point per round, and make a Constitution saving
throw or gain one level of exhaustion, as his body With this spell a priest can create an area of
fluids seep to the surface of the skin and are abnormally low tides in the Sea of Silt. The area of
absorbed by the spell. This continues until either silt affected is a circle with a radius of 30 feet per
the subject is dead or the spell caster is disrupted. level of the caster. Within the circle, the silt drops
Drinking a canteen of water will stop all damage 10 feet below its normal level, which is usually
for 4 rounds and heal 2d4 points of damage. The enough to expose the maze of rock walkways
spell not only steals its victim’s water, it transfers it common to the coastal areas of the Sea. The spell’s
to the caster as well. The priest will not have to area of effect moves with the caster, so he can
drink again for a number of days equal to 10% of travel the rock walkways while exposed to the air.
the stolen hit points. If 20 hit points were stolen, Strong winds and the like affect the silt normally.
the priest does not have to drink for 2 days. If the The reverse of this spell, high silt tides, causes the
victim survives, healing spells work normally. silt to rise 10 feet higher within the circular area of
effect. The silt can overwhelm vessels or wading
Summon Tyr–Storm creatures who are not tall enough to wade through
6th-level conjuration ten additional feet of depth. If cast outside the Sea
of Silt, this spell has no effect.
Components: V, S, M (a blue lens worth 100 cp)
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: 400 feet
Duration: Instantaneous

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7th-Level Spells This is the spell used to protect a student from the
element allied with the caster, and to open a link
Glass Storm
between him and the beings he will serve. Each
7th-level evocation
elemental initiation has its own requirements, and
details are discussed in Chapters Two and Three of
Components: V, S
Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Rumors abound that if
Casting Time: 1 action
an applicant is being protected by this spell and his
Range: 0 ft.
mentor dies, a terrible new undead creature is
Duration: 1 round/level
created. No one has ever proven it, but if this is
true, the thing would be a horror, a ghastly fusion
A cyclone rises from the ground, whirling up sand
of the ruined remnants of the student and the
and silt. Tiny crystal shards are separated from the
element he sought to serve.
particles, and they are propelled by the howling
wind.
Magma Tunnel
This powerful version of the sand spray spell not
7th-level transmutation
only lifts and separates tiny crystal shards from
sand or silt; it creates a s30 feet radius storm from
Components: S, M (a torch)
the eye to propel them. The particles whip about
Casting Time: 1 minute
the storm’s area, leaving a 10‐ft. diameter eye
Range: 0 ft.
where you and your companions may stand
Area: 10‐ft. diameter tunnel
unharmed. In addition to the effects of hurricane
Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes
force winds, creatures and unattended objects
take 2d8 points of force damage per round until
By heating the very fabrics of earth, you create a
they leave the area. All unprotected flames in the
flow of magma, which burrows a tunnel. The
spell’s area are extinguished. Note that this spell
magma is accompanied by a sulfurous smell and
does not create the tiny shards; sand or silt must
misty vapors. When the magma hardens, you can
be within range for this spell to take effect.
pass through unharmed.
Missile combat is impossible in the spell’s area of
effect. Everyone inside the area is blinded and
You can tunnel through solid earth, rock, sand, or
deafened, and the DM should randomly determine
silt, by liquefying it into flowing magma. The torch
which direction a character is facing when he tries
is applied to the spot of earth the priest wishes to
to escape.
melt. The liquid rock moves out of the way to
allow you to pass, and hardens in that position,
creating a permanent, non-magical tunnel. The
tunnel forms at a rate of 30 ft./round through
Initiation
sand, silt, or wood, 20 ft./round through solid
7th-level invocation
earth and 10 ft./round through rock or metal. Any
creatures or objects caught in the magma current
Range: Special
while the tunnel is being created suffer 10d6
Components: V
points of fire damage (Dexterity save for half).
Duration: Permanent
It takes one day for the heat to dissipate enough
Casting Time: 12 hours
for the unprotected to enter, although you are

413
magically protected for the duration of the spell.
Creatures entering the tunnel unprotected during
this time suffer 1d6 points of fire damage per
round from the extreme heat.
The tunnel is formed at a rate of 30 ft/round
through sand, silt or wood, 20 ft/round through
solid earth and 10 ft/round through rock or metal.
Any creatures or objects caught in the magma
current while the tunnel is being created suffer
10d6 points of fire damage per round.
Wild Lands
7th-level alteration
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 4 hours
Range: 0
Area: Emanation with radius 1 mile/level, centered the caster and obeys any spoken commands.
on a natural object
Duration: Permanent
Wild lands can be dispelled by destroying the
object that serves as the focal point of the spell.
Changestaff
7th-level enchantment
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (a specially prepared staff,
and leaves of the same sort as the staff)
Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes
Casting Time: 1 action
By means of this spell, the caster is able to change
a specially prepared staff into a treant. When the
priest plants the end of the staff in the ground and
speaks a special command and invocation, the
staff turns into a treant. The staff-treant defends
However, it is by no means a true treant; it doesn’t
have the Animate Trees ability.

The smell of raw meat and sickly sweet flowers The transformation lasts either for as many turns
permeates the air and is caught by the wind, as the caster has experience levels, until the caster
attracting wild creatures to your location. commands the staff to return to its true form, or
until the staff is destroyed, whichever occurs first.
An object you designate attracts wild animals and If the staff-treant is reduced to 0 hit points or less,
magical beasts. It must be a natural object, such as it crumbles to a sawdust-like powder and the staff
a tree or boulder, of at least Medium size. Wild is destroyed. Otherwise, the staff can be used
animals and magical beasts gravitate slowly over again after 24 hours and the staff-treant is at full
several weeks to occupy the area of effect; an strength.
emanation with radius 1/2 mile/level, centered on
a natural object Druids use this spell to protect The staff for the changestaff spell must be
their guarded lands. Roll on the random encounter specially prepared. The staff must be a sound limb
table for the appropriate terrain type. Neutral cut from an ash, oak, or yew tree struck by
creatures are possible, but they should be wild and lightning no more than 24 hours before the limb is
dangerous. Intelligent creatures such as humans, cut. The limb must then be cured by sun drying
gith, or thri-kreen will be savage and war-like. They and special smoke for 28 days. Then it must be
are not necessarily evil, just fiercely protective, shaped, carved, and polished for another 28 days.
proud, and belligerent. Each week, creatures with The caster cannot adventure or engage in other
total HD equal to the caster’s level are attracted to strenuous activity during either of these periods.
the site and remain if the environment can support The finished staff, engraved with woodland scenes,
them. If there is not sufficient plant and animal life is then rubbed with the juice of holly berries, and
to support the creatures, they will leave. the end of it is thrust into the earth of the caster's

414
grove while he casts a speak with plant spell, Creeping Doom
calling upon the staff to assist in time of need. The 7th-level conjuration
item is then charged with a magic that will allow it
to change from staff to treant and back again. Range: 0
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
Chariot of Sustarre Casting Time: 1 action
7th-level evocation
When the caster utters the spell of creeping doom,
Range: 30 feet he calls forth a mass of venomous, biting and
Components: V, S, M (a small piece of wood, two stinging arachnids, insects, and centipedes.
holly berries, and a fire source at least equal to a He summons 12 Swarm of Insects which moves
torch) and attack as one. This carpet-like mass swarms
Duration: 12 hours can change shape but must stay connected. Upon
Casting Time: 1 turn command from the caster, the swarm creeps
towards creatures and attack everyone in its path
When this spell is cast, it brings forth a large, with all of its individual part passing on the space
flaming chariot pulled by two fiery crodlus from of creatures.
the elemental plane of Fire. These appear in a clap
of thunder amid a cloud of smoke. The vehicle
moves at 60 feet on the ground, 120 feet flying, Silt Cyclone
and can carry the caster and up to seven other 7th-level conjuration
creatures of man-size or less. The passengers must
be touched by the caster to protect them from the Range: 120 yards
flames of the chariot. Creatures other than the Components: V, S, M (silt from the Sea of Silt, and
caster and his designated passengers sustain 2d4 a child’s toy top)
points of fire damage each round if they come Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes
within 5 feet of the crodlus or chariot. Such Casting Time: 1 action
creatures suffer no damage if they evade the area
by rolling successful Dexterity saving throw. By casting this spell on the Sea of Silt, the priest
The caster controls the chariot by verbal creates a powerful whirlwind of silt. The cyclone,
command, causing the flaming steeds to stop or 10 feet wide at its base and 20 feet wide at its top,
go, walk, trot, run or fly, and turn left or right as he rises from the silt’s surface to a height of 100 feet,
desires. Note that the chariot of Sustarre is a spinning violently and picking up tons of dust. The
physical manifestation and can sustain damage. caster can move the cyclone up to 30 feet per
The vehicle and steeds are struck only by magical round, but it cannot go beyond 300 feet from him.
weapons or by water. They are Armor Class 16, The cyclone spins so quickly that its center
and each requires 40 points of damage to dispel. becomes extremely hot, shooting off balls of
Naturally, fire damage has no effect upon either searing dust as the whirlwind spins faster and
the vehicle or its steeds, but fire damage other faster. Any creature within 90 feet of the
than from the chariot can affect the riders. whirlwind must do a Constitution save every round
The chariot can be summoned only once per week. or be hit with 2d12 of fire damage from a ball of
super-heated dust. Any creature that actually
touches the cyclone suffers an attack (+12) that

415
inflicts 10d6 points of fire damage saves for half. A
creature that takes damage from this attack is also
thrown prone 30 feet away if it fails its save,
suffering another 1d6 points of bludgeoning
damage.
The cyclone can be dissipated by an air elemental
or other powerful being from the elemental plane
of air on command, or by forcing its base away
from the Sea of Silt. The cyclone can be moved by
a powerful magical wind (gust of wind is
insufficient); control weather, weather
summoning, or wild weather spells can move it 30
feet per minute for every 10 miles per hour of
wind sustained against it.
This spell cannot be cast away from the Sea of Silt.
Succor
7th-level alteration
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (a vessel of 2500 cp)
Duration: Special
Casting Time: 1 day
By casting this spell, the priest creates a powerful
magic aura in some specially prepared object--a
string of prayer beads, a small clay tablet, an ivory
baton, etc. This object radiates magic, for it
contains the power to instantaneously transport
its possessor to the sanctuary of the priest who
created its magic. Once the item is enchanted, the
priest must give it willingly to an individual, at the
same time informing him of a command word to
be spoken when the item is to be used. To make
use of the item, the recipient must speak the
command word at the same time that he rends or
breaks the item. When this is done, the individual
and all that he is wearing and carrying (up to the
maximum encumbrance limit for the character)
are instantly transported to the location that the
item was enchanted. No other creatures can be
affected.
The reversed application of the spell causes the
priest to be transported to the immediate vicinity
of the possessor of the item when it is broken and
the command word said. The priest has a general
idea of the location and situation of the item's
possessor, and can choose not to be affected by
this summons. This decision is made at the instant
when the transportation is to take place. However,
if he chooses not to go, the opportunity is gone
forever and the spell is wasted.
Transmute Metal to Wood
7th-level alteration
Range: 240 feet
Components: V, S, M (a wood stick)
Duration: Permanent
Casting Time: 1 action
The transmute metal to wood spell enables the
caster to change an object from metal to wood.
The volume of metal cannot exceed a maximum
weight of 150 pounds. Magical objects made of
metal resistant to the spell. Artifacts and relics
cannot be transmuted. Note that only a wish spell
or similar magic can restore a transmuted object to
its metallic state. Otherwise, for example, a metal
door changed to wood would be forevermore a
wooden door.
416
8th-Level Spells Hasten Crops
8th-level alteration
Forever Minions
Range: 0
8th-level necromancy
Components: V, S, M (grain seeds taken from
some other bumper crop carried in baskets made
Range: 30 yards
by the local children. The baskets and grain are
Components: V, S, M (a wax imprint of every
burnt in the festival’s central bonfire. For the
follower’s right hand )
reverse, the material components are a pinch of
Preparation Time: 21 days
salt and a bit of molded bread.)
Duration: Permanent
Preparation Time: 15 days minimum
Casting Time: 1 turn
Duration: Special
Casting Time: 6 hours
With this spell a priest can guarantee that a
number of his followers will automatically animate
By using a hasten crops spell, a priest can lessen
as zombies when they are killed. The enchantment
the time necessary to grow grain crops from seed
stays with the followers until they are slain. During
to harvest within a given area. The area of effect is
preparation, both the priest and the followers to
one square mile per level of the caster beyond
be enchanted must spend at least eight hours per
21st, but only applies to one grain crop planted in
day in seclusion, in the dark, readying the spell. If a
that area; the type of grain must be stated before
follower misses a day of preparation, the spell
the spell is cast. During the preparation time for
cannot work for him. If such a follower is present
the spell, the priest must spend three hours per
during the casting of the spell, he is instead
day praying over the seeds to be used for the crop,
immediately slain and does not rise as an undead.
and at least three hours a day traveling and
The number of followers that can be so enchanted
blessing the fields to be planted. This process must
is measured in Hit Dice; 3 HD per level of the caster
continue for at least 15 days. The seeds still have
is the maximum per casting of the spell. One round
to be planted by the local farmers before the spell
after those followers have fallen they reanimate as
can be cast.
zombies, just as in the spell animate dead.
On Athas, typical grain crops require a full 120 days
Whether or not they are in the priest’s presence,
to reach harvest, though some crops may take as
the zombies immediately seek him out and obey
few as 90 or as many as 150 days. Upon casting,
his instructions. Followers who are not slain in the
hasten crops reduces the normal time it takes to
service of the priest do not immediately
grow the grain crop from seed to harvest by the
reanimate. For instance, a follower who secretly
days spent in preparation. Minimum growing time
works against the priest or who dies on personal
is seven days. The spell grants no magical
business does not reanimate. Forever minions
properties or protections to the crop as it is
cannot be cast more than once on a single
growing. natural or man-made disasters can still
creature.
wipe it out.
Athas has no major changes in seasonal
temperature and rainfall that govern growing
seasons. However, when a particular crop must be
grown at a specific time of the year, this spell must
be cast toward the beginning of that time. During
the six-hour casting time, the priest must have the

417
cooperation of at least 100 local farmers and other
folk to engage in a planting festival. Portions of the
seed crop are burned, a bountiful feast is prepared
and eaten, and the locals dance in honor of all the
elemental planes that make their agriculture
possible.
The reverse of this spell, blight, causes existing
grain crops to wither and die. The area of effect is
the same, and the priest must still indicate which
particular grain crop he wishes to affect. Other
crops and plants are unaffected. This spell and its
reverse cancel each other within the same area of
effect.
Create Tree of life
8th-level alteration
Components: V, S, M (the sapling (which grows
into the tree of life) and a piece of copper wire
formed in the shape of a tree)
Duration: Permanent
Casting Time: 10 minutes
By means of this spell, a wizard can enchant a
living sapling to become a tree of life, a magical
item of tremendous power. Any tree less than one
year old will suffice; this spell cannot be cast on an
older tree. The sapling must have already sprouted
from the ground, though the wizard can transplant
such a sapling before casting the spell. It grows to
its full size in only one week, but has its full powers
and capabilities immediately after the spell is cast.
The properties
of a tree of life are described in the following
section.
Trees of Life. In Athas, there is an unusual magical
item available that deserves its own classification,
and that is the tree of life. A tree of life is a mighty
and magical tree, enchanted by a powerful priest
or wizard. It is, in essence, a living magical item. it
stores and channels energies from all four
elemental planes. Thus, though wizards can create
a tree of life, only clerics and druids can tap its
special powers. Those who are in contact with a
tree of life receive four spells, each of which can be
cast once per day. The spells gained are heal,
augury, divination, and magic font.
A tree of life has two distinct parts: its physical
form and its life force. The stump, branches, roots,
and leaves make up its physical form and aren’t
inherently magical. The same things that would
destroy a normal tree will destroy the physical
form of a tree of life (for example, chopping it
down, burning it) with one exception. Neither
climate nor terrain affect a tree of life. One will
flourish in the middle of the Athasian desert or on
a rocky mountain” face, regardless of drought,
severe weather, natural lightning, earthquakes,
and so forth. If the tree’s physical form is damaged
or destroyed, it will grow back to full size. The tree
will regrow at a rate of one quarter of its full size
per week. A sprout will appear in one day and
grow to a sapling in a week. It will grow to a young
tree in two weeks, then to a full-sized adult tree in
three.
After four weeks, the tree of life will revert to its
true form: an ancient and mighty tree. No matter
how many times the physical form of the tree is
destroyed, it will always grow back in four weeks.
The tree’s life force—and destroying that magic-is
more complex. A tree of life, at any stage of
growth (even sprout) has 100 hit points (10 levels
of 10 hit points each) that can only be affected by
life-draining magic. The wizard spells vampiric
touch, enervation, trap the soul, and energy drain
can each drain hit points; finger of death can snuff
out 3 levels of the target tree; and a wish slays the
tree. The priest spells that affect a tree’s life force
are raise dead, greater restoration, and
resurrection. Undead creatures that have an
energy drain attack can affect the life force of a
tree of life. Likewise, defiler magic also affects
a tree’s life force. Every level of defiler magic cast
within 100 yards of a tree of life drains one level of
life force from the tree. The only positive aspect of
this damage is that it negates the effect the spell
would otherwise have on surrounding vegetation.
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The life force of a tree of life is completely snuffed your ritual is completed, bringing into existence
if it falls below zero levels or hit points. The life what will be a lush oasis – a source of life in the
force will not regenerate if either of these wastes.
numbers falls below zero, in which case both the
You create a lush oasis within the confines of a ring
life force and the physical form of the tree die. The
of standing stones of your creation. The maximum
life force of a tree of life regenerates one level (10
radius of the oasis is 25 feet per caster level
hit points) per hour. It regenerates even if the life
beyond 15th; you may create a smaller oasis if
force reaches zero points, but not if it goes below
zero. desired. Before the spell can be cast, you must
Though originally created by wizards to combat erect a circle of stones. Each stone must be at least
the destruction of nature, trees of life are now 12 feet tall and no more than 4 feet wide or thick,
heavily exploited by defilers, who use the trees’rough–hewn and oblong, and set into the ground
to stand on end. Four stones must be placed
powerful life forces to charge their defiling spells.
Sorcerer-kings often have large gardens within around the area the oasis will fill: one to the north,
their cities, even within their palaces, where east, south and west points of the oasis. Cutting
and placing a single stone requires 48 worker–
groves of trees of life are tended and maintained.
Thus, defilers can exercise evil magic from theirhours, provided stones are readily available in the
citadels without decimating the cities below—a area and the workers have appropriate tools
measure to keep their tiny verdant belts as (chisels, spikes, hammers, rollers). If tools or ready
plentiful as possible. stones aren’t available, this time may increase or,
at the DM’s discretion, the preparation may be
The magical life forces of trees of life make them
virtually eternal. The greatest trees of life areimpossible. Also, particularly skilled or capable
ancient; many solitary trees predate the villagesworkers may cut the time by as much as half. You
around them and others stand in entire groves, a can erect the stones yourself through physical or
quiet testament to the great wizards of a bygone magical labor, or you may enlist the help of any
number of other creatures. After the last stone is
age. However, present-day priests and wizards still
placed, you must cast create oasis from the exact
create new trees to enrich the world. In the case of
center of the ring. Interruptions during the
defilers, the goal is to pervert the trees’ powerful
placement of stones do not negate the spell,
life forces to further the defilers’ destructive, evil
ambitions. provided all the stones are in place at the time of
casting.
Once cast, the circle inside the stones is instantly
Create Oasis transformed into a plant–filled, water–rich oasis.
8th-level conjuration The trees and bushes are laden with nourishing,
delicious fruits, and small game birds and animals
Components: V, S, M (Four standing stones & 100 appear, supported by springs and pools of fresh,
xp per 20‐feet radius of oasis created) cool water. The oasis can also sustain one Medium
Casting Time: 10 minutes creature for every 5 square feet of the oasis. Each
Range: See text night, lost animals, fruits, and water are
Effect: A magic oasis automatically replenished. Defiling magic still
Duration: 24 hours causes permanent damage; subtract the damaged
area when considering the oasis’ ability to support
Between the four stone markers etched with living creatures.
druidic symbols water sprouts from the ground as

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The oasis remains intact until you physically move
beyond the ring of standing stones or until you
voluntarily end the spell. Once ended, the oasis
and the standing stones vanish, leaving the exact
terrain that existed before. The spell also ends if
you are slain.
Sands of Time
8th-level transmutation
Components: V, S, M (a tiny hourglass (during the
spell, the sands run upward) or, for the reverse, a
miniature sundial that has timed the passage of at
least one year. Neither is consumed in the casting)
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: Touch
Target: Item touched up to 10 cubic ft./level
Duration: Instantaneous
You can reconstruct materials of the past or
deteriorate them further through presenting either
an hourglass or sundial during your casting of this
spell.
This spell has two modes.
Restoration: You can reverse the effects of aging
and erosion on any nonliving, material object. The
amount of aging that can be reversed depends on
your caster level, according to the following table.
Erosion: You to speed up erosion dramatically on
any nonliving object. The table also indicates the
average effects of time and the elements on
various materials (items protected from the
elements may take longer to erode, but use these
times for all restoration). Papyrus and wooden
objects fade over time, making it difficult, but not
impossible, to read or identify surface features.
Fragile objects only possess half of their original
hardness and hit points. Crumbled items are
unusable but still identifiable as papyrus or wood;
dust is completely unidentifiable and unusable.
Stone and metal items wear away over time, and
their shapes smooth out until the item is
completely worn away. Paint indicates that
artificial coloration is gone or unrecognizable;
etching means carved letters or pictures are worn
away; relief indicates that deeply carved letters or
images are severely eroded; form indicates that
time has eroded away all but the basic form of the
original stone or metal. The fractions 1/2 and 3/4
tell when the item has lost that amount of its
original mass (and also means the item’s present
hardness and hp total). Dust means the original
item is completely gone, eroded away to nothing.
A 15th–level cleric could, for example, turn even a
pile of dust back into the new, clean piece of
papyrus it once was, or turn the crumbled remains
of a staff back to its original form, or even restore
a painted map on the wall of a temple constructed
of soft stone. This spell cannot restore damage
done to an object by anything other than natural
aging or erosion. Use the above table as a guide for
other objects that don’t exactly fit into these
categories.
Focus: A tiny hourglass (during the spell, the sands
run upward), if restoring, or a miniature sundial
that has timed the passage of at least one year, if
eroding
9th-Level Spells
Air of Permanence
9th-level alteration
Range: 0
Components: V, S, M (a bottle of air taken from
the remains of the lungs of a creature that has
been dead at least 100 years)
Preparation Time: 30 days
Duration: Permanent
Casting Time: 10 minutes
Area of Effect: 30 cubic feet of air
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Through this spell a priest can slow the effects of
aging on any nonliving item. The item must be
sealed in an airtight container. It is the air that is only templars who worship that sorcerer-king are
enchanted, not the item within.
A skilled artisan must construct a container with a
volume up to 15 cubic feet; it costs at least 1,000
cp. During the preparation time, the priest must
spend six hours per day enchanting the container
and drawing sigils and runes on its inner surfaces.
The enchantment makes the container airtight
against natural decay, though tampering ends the
spell.
Once items are placed inside the container and the
spell is cast, time effectively stops inside. The
items do not age or decay in any way. If the
container is broken, the items are unharmed and
resume aging at the normal rate, as if nothing had
ever happened.
When casting, the priest may also place a
blindness/deafness, cause disease, or bestow curse
spell on the container. Tampering with the
container unleashes the spell on the tampering
creature(s). Once the container is broken and the
air of permanence lost, this additional spell is lost, effect, an affected templar may not be aware of it
as well.
Disruption
9th-level alteration
Range: 0
Components: V, S, M (one of the sorcerer-king’s certainly draws their wrath. If the spell is cast
obsidian balls)
Preparation Time: 30 days
Duration: 7 days
Casting Time: 1 hour
This spell lets the priest disrupt the magical link
between templars and their sorcerer-kings, cutting
off their source of spells. That link is a complicated
affair, based on magic, psionics, and physical law;
it is possible to block it by setting up interference
or ‘static’ in the air, effectively creating an
umbrella under which the link cannot exist.
421
The priest must choose one sorcerer-king and
study his activities during the preparation time.
affected. The priest must learn of the sorcerer-
king’s activities, his organization of templars, and
something about his long-term goals. Therefore,
the priest must spend the preparation time near
the sorcerer-king, either in his city-state or in
nearby fields.
The spell creates a series of connected circles, each
5 miles in diameter, one per level of the caster
above 20th (each corresponds roughly to a single
hex on the Tyr Region map in the DARK SUN.
Boxed Set). The arrangement of the circles is
completely up to the caster, but the first must be
centered over his location at the time of casting.
He could center the first over himself and then
stretch the rest in a straight line away in any
direction, or he might blanket an area with several
connected circles.
Any templar under a circle cannot receive
additional spells. Spells he had when he entered
can still be cast. Since the spell has no tangible
until he receives no spells, and even then may not
be certain why that is. The spell blocks the ability
to receive spells, but doesn’t block a sorcerer-king
from sending;
if a sorcerer-king is within the area of effect, his
templars outside of it still receive their spells.
Interference with a sorcerer-king and his templars
within a city, chaos reigns for the duration of the
spell as many vital services grind to a halt. Such
powerful magic can be traced (psionically and
magically), so the caster should have an escape
plan.
Mountainous Barrier After the spell’s duration is up, the mountains
9th-level conjuration return to the earth as suddenly as they came. The
ground appears undisturbed, although man-made
Range: 0 structures remain in ruins.
Components: V, S, M (rock from a recent landslide)
Preparation Time: 24 hours
Duration: 24 hours Pocket Dimension
Casting Time: 1 minute 9th-level alteration

With this spell, the priest can call up a ring of Range: 0

enormous mountains. The priest must spend the Components: V, S, M (the hide of any planar
entire day of preparation time in careful creature)
meditation in the vicinity of existing mountains, Preparation Time: 30 days
within the distance shown. Duration: Special
Casting Time: 1 hour
Priest
Level Distance Radius The caster can fill a pocket dimension with
23 5 miles 100 yards materials or creatures and carry it around. Once
24 7 miles 300 yards opened, the portal disgorges its contents into the
25 10 miles 500 yards Prime Material plane.
26 15 miles 800 yards
27 20 miles 1 mile Upon casting, a “portal” opens to the pocket
28 25 miles 1.5 miles dimension from the Prime Material plane. The
29 30 miles 2 miles portal is an invisible square, 40 feet on a side,
30 35 miles 2.5 miles standing just at ground level. Anything that passes
through the square enters the pocket dimension -
Upon casting, a ring of mountains one mile wide it cannot return until the portal is reversed (see
and one mile high appears around the caster, below). Anything living can walk through the
thrusting up from the ground. The radius shown is portal. Inanimate objects must be carried or
the maximum; the priest can call for a smaller pushed through. The portal has only one direction
radius if desired. The inner radius is listed, that - a character who gets one arm halfway through
from the caster to the point where the mountains cannot pull it out!
begin. Any creatures on the ground where the The portal remains open for up to an entire day,
mountains erupt must make a Dexterity saving accommodating everything that enters during that
throw. Items are destroyed structures takes 10d6 day. Then it closes to become a clear glass disk,
siege damage, and creatures take 10d6 roughly the size of a coin. The glass disk weighs
bludgeoning damage. Creatures that fly gain a virtually nothing. While the priest has it,
advantage on their saves. Mountains will not rise everything that passed into the pocket dimension
to destroy a community of more than 20 stays there. Time does not pass in the pocket
individuals - the ring of mountains forms a gap dimension. The disk is specially protected, and
instead. While the spell is in effect, the priest can does not radiate magic under the scrutiny of
lower any or all the mountains and raise them detect magic. Nothing can interfere with the
again; in all ways, he controls them perfectly. contents of the pocket dimension; planar creatures

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cannot enter, and astral and ethereal beings The staff magically keeps the priest on a perfectly
cannot gain access. circular path, eventually returning to where he
When the glass disk is snapped in two, the portal started. The priest must walk (not run, fly, or
reopens, and everything that went into it re- levitate), though he may use magical means to
emerges in the same order and at the same speed speed the walk. If the time to complete the circle
as it entered. The first thing that entered the requires the priest to stop to eat, sleep, and so on,
pocket dimension is the first to exit. The glass disk there is no penalty, provided the priest
has no particular resistance to damage, and may immediately resumes walking; but other
break accidentally. interruptions lasting more than a single round
negate the walking and it must be started again. If
the dagger at the center of the circle has been
Prolific Vegetation disturbed, the spell fails, so a priest often places a
9th-level conjuration guard over it. When the circle is completed, the
spell is cast. The tables show the distance to be
Range: 0 walked based on the area of effect.
Components: V, S, M (the staff and the dagger -
both vanish after the caster has walked the
circumference) Caster Max. Rough Time to
Preparation Time: 30 days Level Radius Circumf. Walk*
Duration: Permanent 24 90 yards 566 yards 5 rounds
Casting Time: Special 25 180 yards 1131 yards 1 turn
26 540 yards 2 miles 3 turns
When this spell is cast, the priest causes shrubs 27 1.25 miles 8 miles 2 hours
and grasses to grow over a wide area of previously 28 6 miles 38 miles 9 hours
barren terrain. During the preparation time, the 29 12 miles 75 miles 18 hours**
priest must spend eight hours per day for 30 days 30 25 miles 157 miles 38 hours**
fashioning a staff from a tree of life, a material
component that may be difficult to obtain. The * for a human in clear terrain and weather
priest must carve the staff perfectly smooth with ** requires multiple marching days
an obsidian dagger, and cannot undertake any
other task during the eight-hour period. The staff Upon casting, the area inside the circle instantly
require a DC 20 Dexterity check; the character can grows thick with grass and small shrubs, much like
add proficiency bonus if competent in carpenter’s scrub plains. The vegetation does not emerge from
tools or assisted by one that is. solid stone, but it arises from any soil, no matter
how rocky, sandy, or dry. Though the duration of
The spell’s area of effect is a circle with a the spell is listed as permanent, the vegetation
maximum radius that varies with the caster’s level. created is normal and retains no magical
The priest may affect a smaller radius if desired. enchantment. It covers the land forever or until it
The terrain must be virtually barren of plant life; if dies from lack of moisture, brushfire, erosion, etc.
not, the spell will fail. To cast the spell, the priest If cast in conjunction with an control weather spell,
thrusts the obsidian dagger into the ground at the the vegetation can grow and last longer.
center of the circle, then moves with the staff to
the circle’s edge. The priest then walks around the
area of effect, dragging the staff along the ground.

423
Storm Legion 10th-Level Spells
9th-level transmutation
Components: V, S, M (the standard or insignia of
Insect Host
an army that was defeated during a storm, a storm
10th-level conjuration
in the sky overhead)
Casting Time: 10 minutes
Range: 300 yards
Range: 900 feet
Components: V, S, M (a blown glass model of a
Preparation Time: 30 days
locust or other insect, filled with gem dust of 100
Target: Self and others creatures with total Hit
gp value)
Dice 20/caster level
Preparation Time: 7 days
Duration: 1 hour/level
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour
Casting Time: 1 minute
The powerful winds of the storm tear at your
party’s bodies, painfully dissolving layer by layer of
When this spell is cast, cloud upon cloud of flying,
skin, then bone and organs, until you are
biting insects swarm to the priest to serve him.
completely dissolved. The storm carries your
Unlike insect plague, these insects are magically
essence for a distance you have specified, upon
created, so the spell can be cast where there are
which your bodies are reassembled from raining
no natural insects. Each insect is extremely small,
bone, tissue and blood.
barely the size of a pea, but, by the thousands or
even millions, they cause horrendous destruction.
You transport willing corporeal creatures via a
During preparation, the priest clearly pictures the
storm system. The storm may not be created
insects to be conjured and the kind of destruction
magically; it must be a natural storm, such as a
they will inflict. This requires secluded
dust storm, sandstorm, windstorm, lightning
concentration for the entire period.
storm, or Tyr–storms.
When cast, the priest calls one cloud per level
The storm dissolves the subjects of the spell and all
above 15th. Each cloud is roughly a sphere with a
of the possessions that they were carrying. Only
radius of 15 feet and contains many thousands of
you retain consciousness, and you control the
individual insects. Each cloud has a movement of
storm’s direction. The storm moves at 8d6 miles
60 feet flying and is completely under the priest’s
per hour and cannot be affected by any further
control. Each can perform a different task,
weather–affecting magic, including another storm
provided it remains within range of the caster.
legion spell.
Creatures caught within a cloud can see no more
Once you travel the desired distance, or if the
than five feet away. Spellcasting is impossible.
storm legion is dispelled or the duration expires,
Each creature sustains 5 hp of piercing damage per
you and the other traveling creatures begin to rain
round in the cloud, regardless of Armor Class, and
down from the sky as fragments of bone, tissue,
invisibility is no protection. All creatures with 4 HD
and blood. This lasts for 1 minute, as the
or less automatically run away in Fear from the
fragments reassemble into the transported
cloud. All those less than 8 HD must succeed on a
creatures. A creature is helpless as its body is
Wisdom check to avoid doing the same. The priest
reassembled.
cannot affect only selected individuals within a
cloud.
A cloud descending on crops devours its volume
per turn, wiping out whole fields in a few hours.

424
Forests are likewise ruined. In a city or village, the
townspeople panic while the insects destroy all
unprotected foodstuffs and all wooden and tarp
construction. Several clouds can easily surround a
group, or they can block a road.
The insect host can be dissipated by dispel magic
spell. It can also be blown back with a powerful,
magical wind, dispersed for a time by an air
elemental, or temporarily held off with smoke,
though the latter will only work for a few rounds.
Area effect magic such as fireball can destroy large
numbers of the magical insects, but individual
attacks have very little effect.
Planar Vassal
10th-level summoning
Range: 0
Components: V, S
Preparation Time: Special
Duration: 7 days
Casting Time: 1 minute
This spell lets the priest capture an outer planar
creature of opposite alignment and force it into
temporary servitude. The priest selects the type of
creature desired before the preparation time
begins. Its alignment must be directly opposite the
caster’s, as follows: lawful is the opposite of
chaotic, good the opposite of evil, and neutral has
no opposite. For example, a lawful good priest
must select a chaotic evil being. True neutral
priests cannot cast this spell. During preparation,
the priest must cast a gate spell to call the
creature to the Prime Material plane. Because the
creature called for may or may not step through
the gate. and even if it does, it may immediately
attack the priest - the preparation is hazardous.
When the creature of opposite alignment arrives,
the priest must personally subdue it, without help
from others. Once the priest inflicts damage equal
to half the creature’s hit point total by any means,
he can cast the planar vassal spell. Upon casting,
425
the planar creature immediately becomes a
discontented vassal of the priest. He grumbles and
complains about duties, but performs them, albeit
slowly at times. The vassal obeys the letter of all
commands but tries to violate their spirit when
feasible. The planar vassal has no obligation to
protect the priest unless so ordered. Planar
creatures with the power to call others of their
kind can be ordered to do so, but those new
creatures are in no way controlled by the priest.
Once the seven days have passed, the planar
creature most likely (75% chance) attacks the
priest; otherwise it simply returns to its home
plane.
Other planar creatures may notice their associates
absence and come to investigate. Also, once the
creature is free again, it plots its revenge - wise
priests see to it that their planar vassals are
themselves slain carrying out their duties. But
those that survive are usually very long-lived and
never forget an enemy.
Prolific Forestation
10th-level alteration
Range: 0
Components: V, S, M (the staff and the diamond
dagger - Both disappear when the spell is cast.)
Preparation Time: 30 days
Duration: Special
Casting Time: Special
With this spell the priest causes a grove of trees to
magically appear. During preparation the priest
devotes eight hours per day for 30 days to the
fashioning of a staff from a tree of life, a material
component that may be difficult to obtain. The
priest carves the staff perfectly smooth with a
diamond dagger, and cannot undertake any other
task during the eight-hour period. The staff require
a DC 25 Dexterity check; the character can add
proficiency bonus if competent in carpenter’s tools
or assisted by one that is.
The spell’s area of effect is a circle with a
maximum radius that varies by the caster’s level.
The priest may affect a smaller radius if desired.
The terrain must have no other trees; if it does, the
spell fails. To cast the spell, the priest thrusts the
diamond dagger into the ground at the center of
the circle, then moves with the staff to the circle's
edge. The priest then walks around the area of
effect, dragging the staff along the ground. The
staff magically ensures that the priest walks a
perfectly circular path, eventually returning to
where he started. The priest must walk (not run,
fly, or levitate), though he may use magical means
to speed that walk. Interruptions lasting more than
a single round negate the walking, and it must be
started again. If the dagger at the center of the
circle has been disturbed, the spell fails, so a priest
often places a guard over it. When the circle is
completed, the spell is cast. The table shows the
distance to be walked based on the area of the
spell.
Caster Max. Rough Time to Trees
Level Radius Circumf. Walk* in Grove*
27 30 yards 188 yards 2 rounds 140
28 60 yards 377 yards 4 rounds 560
29 120 yards 754 yards 7 rounds 2,250
30 240 yards 1507 yards 13 rounds 9,000
* approximately; can vary as much as 20%
The forest consists of mature trees 1-4 feet in
diameter, spaced 3-6 yards apart. The forest
canopy, thick with foliage, towers 30 to 120 feet.
This spell creates no brush or undergrowth for the
forest; its floor is the same terrain type as before
the spell. The spacing of the trees hinders the
movement of huge or gargantuan creatures;
smaller creatures move unimpeded.
Unlike the prolific vegetation spell, the trees
created have magical protection against natural
destruction for one year per caster level. Natural
fires or lightning do not affect them; lack of water
or other harsh weather cannot kill them. Defiler
magic still destroys them normally, as can any
directed attack that would affect normal trees.
Rift
10th-level summoning
Range: 0
Components: V, S, M (an obsidian goblet
containing the ground bones of a dead
necromancer)
Preparation Time: 60 days
Duration: 3 days
Casting Time: 10 turns
Area of Effect: Sphere 360 yards around caster
With this spell, the priest magically brings the
Negative Material plane closer to the Prime
Material plane, creating a rift between the two,
centered upon himself. The priest first spends the
lengthy preparation time studying undisturbed for
at least four hours per day, reading scrolls and
books about the planes. Upon casting, all undead
in the area of effect gain nine times their original
hit points as temporary hit points for the duration
of the spell.
The area of the rift moves with the caster, possibly
placing some undead out of the sphere or
encompassing others as he moves. Phantom points
are gained immediately upon entering the sphere,
and then only once per creature per casting. The
caster has no control over which undead receive
the benefit of the phantom hit points; all undead
in the sphere are so affected
426
Silt Bridge
10th-level summoning

Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (a large amount of bone
dust. The caster must assemble at least 50 pounds
of bone dust per day of preparation, or 2,250
pounds altogether. Generally, a humanoid
creature has 25 pounds of bones. Larger creatures
have 25 pounds per Hit Die. The caster need not
gather or grind these bones himself, nor does
preparation time include this.)
Preparation Time: 45 days
Duration: 7 days/level
Casting Time: 1 hour

With this powerful spell, the priest can temporarily

turn a vast area of the Sea of Silt into solid ground.
This spell cannot be cast elsewhere. During the
preparation time, the priest must spend at least six
hours per day flying over the silt to be altered,
sprinkling it with bone dust. Unlike most psionic
enchantments, interruptions during a day’s
activities can be tolerated, provided the priest
does spend six hours during each day in
preparation. Once cast, the mixture of bone and
silt hardens to form a solid surface. The area
solidified is a rectangle 100 yards across, and its
length is one mile per caster level above 20th.
Multiple castings can create longer bridges.
The hardened area can support any amount of
weight, since it is solid from the surface down to
the bottom of the Sea of Silt. If it is gouged or
attacked, it acts exactly like bone. When the spell
duration ends, the bone softens over a period of
just three rounds back into its original silt, those
standing on it likely disappear beneath the surface.

427
Templar New Spells 3rd-Level Spells
Image of the Sorcerer-Kings
1st-Level Spells 3rd-level necromancy
Hand of the Sorcerer-Kings Components: V, M (Templar’s sigil)
1st-level abjuration Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V Target: Creature or creatures touched (up to
Casting Time: 1 action one/level)
Range: Self Duration: 10 minutes; see text
Duration: 1 min./level
Upon touching your enemy with your sigil, it
When a templar casts this spell, he is immediately receives a frightening vision of your sorcerer‐king.
protected from magical spells cast against him. The This spell protects the sorcerer‐king’s agents from
shimmering field that surrounds him acts to diffuse aggressors. You may make a melee touch attack
magical energy, you receive a +2 bonus to all with your sigil up to one time per caster level. A
saving throws against spells and spell–like abilities, touched creature must succeed on a Wisdom
be they defilers or preservers. saving throw or become frightened. On a
successful save the target is shaken for one round.
Creatures with more than 10 Hit Dice are
2nd-Level Spells unaffected by the spell.

Might of the Sorcerer-Kings

2nd-level evocation 4th-Level Spells
Components: V, S Wrath of the Sorcerer-King
Casting Time: 1 bonus action 4th-level Divination
Range: Touch (1 creature)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minutes Components: V, S, M (Templar’s sigil)
Casting Time: 1 action
Another spell developed by the sorcerer-kings Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
empowers minions with unnatural aggressiveness Area: 20‐ft.–radius burst
in times of need. Until the spell ends, the target’s Duration: Instantaneous
weapon attacks deal an extra 1d4 necrotic
damage. Clenching your sigil, you call upon the omniscience
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a of your king to reveal transgressions of the law,
spell slot of 3rd-level or higher, you can target one and to allow you to swiftly exact justice.
additional creature for each slot level above 2nd.
With this spell, you know whether creatures in the
spell’s area have broken the laws of your
city‐state, and you can exact punishment on them
if they have. You instantly know what crimes the

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creatures committed, when, and under what
circumstances. There is no save to avoid the
divination.
If you have one of the following spells available,
you may immediately cast it at a creature within
the area. Casting the spell is a free action, like
casting a quickened spell, and it counts toward the
normal limit of one quickened spell per round. You
may choose from cause fear, command, dispel
magic, and hold person. The target can make a
Wisdom saving throw to avoid the effect (except
for dispel magic), and the spell functions normally
in all other ways.

6th-Level Spells
Wisdom of the Sorcerer-Kings
6th-level transmutation

Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 bonus action
Range: Self
Duration: 1 round

The omnipotence of your liege is manifested as

your sigil attains an ominous yellow sheen,
allowing you to unleash a spell with maximum
potential.

This spell grants spellcasting power directly from

your sorcerer‐king. You may pick any spell you
needs from the templar spell list. You casts this
spell, and then picks another spell of levels 1-5 to
be cast in the following round. The spell you
chooses must be cast - you may not cancel
activation, although you may shorten the duration
of a spell. Finally, you may not cast more than one
spell.

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 Cooling Canopy
Wizard New & Adapted 1st-level conjuration

Spells Casting Time: 1 action

Target: One creature
1st-Level Spells Duration: 12 hours
Components: V, S, M (a drop of water and a filmy
Charm Person bit of material stretched over the top of a stick or
Athasian creatures that can be charmed include all twig ; Cerulean sorcerers may use their blue glass
PC races except thri-kreen. lens in lieu of other spell components)

A blue cloud gathers in the sky above your target,

Find Familiar providing shade from the sun’s searing rays.
In DARK SUN campaigns, substitute the following
table for that found in the Player’s Handbook. When cooling canopy is cast, a 30‐ft.–radius blue
cloud gathers in the sky far above the target’s
1d20 Roll Familiar Sensory Powers head. This cloud blocks the direct rays of the sun
1-3 Bat Night, sonar-enhanced vision and provides shade for anyone within the spell’s
4-5 Beetle Senses minute vibrations radius. Those so protected need only one–half
6-8 Cat, black Excellent night vision and superior their normal water ration (or one–quarter if
hearing resting instead of traveling) needed to prevent
9 Pseudodragon Normal sensory powers, but very dehydration. A creature must spend the majority
intelligent of the 12 hours underneath the cooling canopy to
10-11 Rat Excellent sense of taste and smell decrease their required water intake. During the
12-15 Scorpion Senses fear spell’s duration, the canopy moves to position
16-20 Snake Sensitivity to subtle temperature itself between those below and the moving sun so
changes as to continually provide shade.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a
spell slot of 2nd-level or higher, the cloud gains 5-
Find Steed feet of radius for each slot level above 1st.
In DARK SUN campaigns, substitute the following
table for that found in the Player’s Handbook.
Illusory Talent
Caster 1st-level illusion
level Mount Components: V, S
1st–3rd Wild kank Casting Time: 1 action
4th–7th Trained kank Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
8th–12th lnix Target: You plus up to one willing creature
13th–14th Crodlu Duration: concentration, up to 10 minutes
(and howdah at 18th level)
15th + Heavy Crodlu You disguise any imperfections in your act through
(and saddle at 18th level) magical assistance, making it appear that you are
far more skilled than which is the case.

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When an illusory talent spell is cast, the wizard can
make it seem as though he or any single other
consenting person or creature is proficient in a
specific area. The spell creates the impression that
the recipient has a particular talent (named at the
time the spell is cast). Thus, those witnessing an
inept and stumbling swordsman while under the
influence of this spell would see him as an
accomplished fighter wielding a deadly sword.
The creature receives a +10 to all Deception skill
checks pertaining to the specific skill.
The spell imparts no actual knowledge to the
targeted creature. Illusory talent can only simulate
physical skills. It can’t simulate learning or oratory,
but could make it appear as if the person could
cast spells. The creature can’t really perform the
action any better than he ever did, it just looks like
it to observers in the area of effect. This is helpful
when someone must pretend to a skill he doesn’t
actually possess or in persuading potential
attackers that they should choose a less
accomplished foe. The spell may only be cast on
those who are willing it may not be used to make
enemies look like wizards so mobs will attack
them.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a
spell slot of 2nd-level or higher, you add +2 to all
Deception skill checks pertaining to the specific
skill for each slot level above 1st.
2nd-Level Spells
Detect Psionics
2nd-level divination
Range: 0
Components: V, S, M
Duration: concentration, up to 10 minutes
Casting Time: 1 action
Area of Effect: 30-feet/level-diameter sphere
431
This spell is similar to the psionic devotion psionic
sense, except that it uses magical instead of
psionic means to gain information. The caster
detects all psionic activity with the area of effect
(in other words, whether PSPs were spent in the
round by any characters or items within the area
of effect); how much other information he gains
depends on his level, as described below. The spell
allows the caster to detect psionic activity in a
sphere around his location. The diameter of the
sphere is 60 feet. Psionic activity is defined as the
expenditure of psionic strength points (PSPs).
If the caster is 5th level or lower, he only
determines whether someone or something within
the area of effect is psionically active. A caster of
6th to 8th level also learns how powerful the
activity is. Power levels of psionic activity are as
follows: low, 1 to 5 PSPs; moderate, 6 to 12 PSPs;
high, 13 or more PSPs. (Note that at these levels,
the power detected includes all psionic activity
within the area of effect and doesn’t differentiate
between individual psionic use.) A caster of 9th to
12th level also learns where the activity is taking
place (direction and distance), thus allowing him to
identify characters or objects expending PSPs in a
given round. Finally, a caster of 13th level or higher
can differentiate the power-level expenditure of
each individual in the area of effect.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a
spell slot of 3rd-level or higher, you add 30-feet to
the diameter for each slot level above 2nd.
Boneharden
2nd-level transmutation
Components: V, S, M (a bit of bone and a tiny
pinch of mortar)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Target: One creature or object
Duration: 1 min
The targeted bones emit a cracking sound as they sword, casting a spell, or walking, for example), the
swell. You complete the gestures for your spell, built-up electrical charge is released, inflicting 2d6
spilling mortar from your hand. points of lightning damage to the creature
(Constitution save for half damage).
When this spell is cast, it causes bone to harden Any object or creature the victim touches while in
and become less brittle. Bones under the affect of this state likewise suffers. If the affected creature
this spell are harder to break than normal. touches someone or something (such as a wall or a
If used on an inferior bone weapon, this spell weapon), both the spell recipient and whatever he
removes the normal penalties to attack rolls. touched receive 2d6 lightning damage from the
If cast on a creature, the creature’s bones harden, electrical charge (Constitution save for half
causing them to ache and the joints to swell. This damage).
gives the creature a disadvantage to Dexterity At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a
skills checks and saves. Creatures without a spell slot of 3rd-level or higher, you add 1d6 points
skeleton (elementals, oozes, plants and most of lightning damage to each charges for each slot
constructs) are unaffected by this spell. A level above 2nd.
successful Constitution save negates the spell. At
the end of each of its turns, the target can make
another Constitution saving throw. On a success, Eye of the Storm
the spell ends on the target. 2nd-level abjuration

Components: V, S, M (a few grains of sand flung

Cerulean Shock into the wind ; Ceruleans may use their blue glass
2nd-level evocation lens in lieu of other spell component)
Casting Time: 1 action
Components: V, S, M (a small piece of glass and a Range: 30 ft.
clump of fur ; Cerulean wizards need only their Area: 30‐ft.–radius emanation centered on you
blue glass lens to cast this spell) Duration: concentration, up to 1 hour
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels) You create a magical calm in the center of the
Target: One creature storm, an area safe from powerful winds, rain and
Duration: 1 minute or until discharged sand.

The air hums and tiny electrical discharges spring
from the body of your target. Setting the charge,
you wait for your enemy to make the mistake of
moving.
The victim of this spell turns a bright, glowing blue
and tiny electrical discharges spring from his body.
The person is literally imbued with static
electricity. If the victim stands utterly still, touching
nothing and making no movements, he sustains no
damage and can move again at the expiration of
the spell. Should the recipient move (wielding a
When this spell is cast it creates a pocket of calm in
a 30-foot radius centered on the caster for one
hour. The circle moves with the caster. Within the
circle, the air is calm and people may converse at
normal volume. Outside the circle, there may be a
raging sand storm or a terrifying Tyr-storm. Like
the eye of a hurricane, the area affected by the
spell remains unharmed. For as long as the spell
remains in effect, the storm roars by, but has no
effect on those within the sheltered eye.
Because sand storms may blow for days and Tyr-
storms can last for an hour, this spell is not proof

432
against their fury for long. What it does provide is
an opportunity for people to construct the best
shelter they can or to get under nearby cover. The
spell is also useful in allowing a cerulean wizard
the opportunity to prepare a blue lens to attempt
to capture the energy of a Tyr-storm, and thus
dissipate it. Sand storms can’t be affected this way.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a
spell slot of 3rd-level or higher, you add 1 hour to
the duration of the spell for each slot level above
2nd.
the footsteps stop and resume on the other side.
Should the quarry not leave the water directly
opposite where he entered, the tracker may have
to spend some time locating the place where the
quarry left the water. Should the quarry leave the
ground by levitating or flying, the trail is lost and
the spell ends.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a
spell slot of 3rd-level or higher, you add 1 hour to
the duration of the spell for each slot level above
2nd.

Footsteps of the Quarry Magic Trick

2nd-level divination 2nd-level illusion

Components: V, S, M (a piece of straw and a bone Components: S, M (a tiny cloth mask with no eye
needle) holes)
Casting Time: 1 action Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Personal Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: You Area: 20‐ft.–radius spread
Duration: concentration, up to 1 hour Duration: 1 min/level (D)

If your quarry has passed through here during the You perform your tricks, concealing the fact that
last 24 hours, its path shall be revealed to you in you use magic to aid you. While everyone focuses
the form of ghostly on your little mask, they fail to notice your lips
moving and your hand gestures.
When cast upon himself or a chosen target, this
spell allows the caster to follow the tracks of a First developed by arena mages who used it to
specific creature or person named at the time of help disguise their spellcasting, this dweomer is
casting. The person so named must have traveled handy for concealing the casting of other magic.
through the area within the last 24 hours. When brought into effect, magic trick makes other
The spell creates a line of footprints that lead in magic seem to be the result of ordinary
the direction taken by the person being tracked. prestidigitator’s tricks. The spellcaster thus
You receive a +20 bonus on Survival checks to concealed could, for example, make a confederate
follow tracks of you quarry. The footprints fade invisible, and the witnesses would see it as a clever
into invisibility once the tracker has passed. The trick in which the assistant to the entertainer
spell lasts for one hour and continues tracking the slipped into a nearby store or rolled under a tarp
quarry for the full length of time regardless of while their attention was distracted elsewhere.
whether or not the quarry is still within an area Some witnesses may be attracted to the display
that could be reached within 24 hours. being provided by the “entertainer,” especially if
Even if the quarry is riding, the footsteps appear the spellcaster makes any attempt to engage their
just as if he had walked across the land himself. If attention and beg for contributions as a market
the quarry crosses through water along the path,

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entertainer might. Those within the area of effect addition to any damage their actual spellcasting
don’t connect the show with actual magic. might have caused.
The creature receives a +10 to all Deception skill
checks pertaining to hiding his magic use.
Of those within the area of effect, only those of Wakefulness
6th level or higher or who have an Intelligence of 2nd-level enchantment
13 or greater receive a Wisdom saving throw to
disbelieve the dweomer. Components: V, S, M (a tiny glass bell)
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a Casting Time: 1 standard action
spell slot of 3rd-level or higher, you add +2 to all Range: Touch
Deception skill checks pertaining to the specific Target: Creature touched
skill for each slot level above 2nd. Duration: 8 hours

You force a creature to remain awake for an

Plant Renewal extended period of time. Bloodshot eyes that see
2nd-level transmutation tiny sparkling lights will not close before the spell
Components: V, S, M (a drop of water) ends, when the creature collapses from exhaustion.
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch The subject of this spell cannot naturally fall
Target: One plant asleep. When this spell ends, the subject becomes
Duration: Instantaneous exhausted. Another wakefulness cast before the
previous expires allows the subject to stave off
Your caring touch restores the dying plant to life. exhaustion, but the subject must afterwards get
Its color returns, and the air feels fresher for a eight hours of sleep for each casting to remove
moment. exhaustion or fatigue. This spell counters, and is
countered by, spells that induce magical slumber
Using this spell, a wizard may affect a single, (such as sleep).
specific plant that has been mostly wilted or dried
out, but not completely turned to ash. The plant With this spell, the recipient is able to postpone
may have suffered lack of water, partial sleep. For the duration of the spell, the recipient
defilement, or insect predation that has left it on feels wide awake and energetic, but immediately
the verge of destruction. gains 1 level of exhaustion when the spell’s effects
This spell revives it and makes it hardly enough to wear off; he must then sleep for eight hours or
replant elsewhere. If the plant then receives suffer another level of exhaustion. Multiple
proper care and is not preyed upon by a defiler, it wakefulness spells cast on one recipient cause him
will survive and thrive, living out its appointed time to remain awake for 8 hours per spell, but he must
and possibly leaving seeds from which other plants get eight hours of sleep per spell after they have
may grow. If it is again neglected or misused, the worn off to eliminate the exhaustion. Recipients
spell has no power to keep it alive artificially. who don’t sleep doesn’t gain the benefits of a long
This spell is used to preserve herbs and rare rest. They can continue to march or adventure
flowers, but it can also be used to safely transplant normally. A recipient can’t naturally doze off while
a food crop plant to a new field. Defilers may cast under the influence of this spell.
this spell, but in so doing they turn an area of one- This spell exactly counters the effects of a sleep
foot radius around the target plant to ash. This is in spell on one creature. When sleep is cast on a

434
recipient of this spell, he is entitled to a Wisdom At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a
saving throw with advantage. spell slot of 3rd-level or higher, you add 2 days to
the duration for each slot level above 2nd.

3rd-Level Spells Dedication

3rd-level enchantment
Phantom Steed
Components: V, S, M (a ceramic bit which is
In DARK SUN campaigns, this spell creates a kank-
wrapped in a small piece of cloth and tied to a stick
like creature with the same abilities listed in the
or twig)
Monster section.
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: Touch
Target: One creature
Curse of the Black Sands
Duration: 24 hours
3rd-level transmutation
Clenching the cloth into the target’s hand and
Components: V, S
uttering a groan, you complete the spell. The smell
Casting Time: 1 action
of a sweaty mul worker fills your nostrils.
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: One creature
This potent spell provides benefits to a single
Duration: 1 day
creature that is engaged in an ongoing activity,
which must be named at the time the spell is cast.
Oily black footprints appear in the earth and silt in
Any activity that requires focus or exertion can be
which the creature you designate steps. An inix
named, such as digging a large trench, repairing a
would have an easier time hiding its tracks.
wall, or reading a lengthy tome. While engaged in
this activity, the target needs no sleep for the
When this curse is cast, the target leaves black, oily
duration of the spell, needs only one–half of the
footprints in the earth or on silt. The prints are
food and water it normally would, and cannot
easily tracked and cannot be erased or destroyed
becomes exhausted or fatigued. The target also
until the spell expires. Any Survival checks to track
receives a +1 bonus on all attack rolls, damage
the target have the DC reduced by 10. These tracks
rolls, saving throws, ability checks, and skill checks,
can be covered, but not by earth. A giant leaf, for
provided that it relates directly to the
example, could hide a few footprints, but this
aforementioned task. At the end of the spell’s
would be a temporary fix at best. The target does
duration, the creature must do a long rest or gain 2
not leave these tracks if he flies, teleports, or
level of exhaustion. This spell can only be cast on a
climbs on a non–earthen surface (such as climbing
creature once every 72 hours. If dedication is cast
through trees).
on a creature more than once in a single 72–hour
A successful Charisma saving throw negates the
period, it suffers 2 level of exhaustion and the spell
effect. At the end of each day, the target can make
has no other effect.
another Charisma saving throw. On a success, the
spell ends on the target.

435
Conservation Nurturing Seeds
3rd-level abjuration 3rd-level abjuration

Components: V, S, M (a drop of water, a drop of Components: V, S, M (the cuttings or seeds, a tiny

the wizard’s blood, and a sifting of ash) bit of dung, and a drop of water)
Casting Time: 1 action Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 150 feet Range: Touch
Area: 40‐ft.–radius spread Target: Up to 10 seeds touched
Duration: 1 day/level or until discharged. Duration: Permanent

Upon completing the ritual of ash, blood and With utmost care you prepare a dung casing to
water, a mysterious pattern appears on the protect the delicate seeds and cuttings, so that
ground. As it is absorbed by the land, it secures its they may be transported elsewhere and sprout
energy from those who would siphon it. new plants.

When cast, this spell makes it more difficult for
defilers to use the protected land. In effect, while
overseeing the land’s continued health, the wizard
strengthens its resistance to defiling magic.
If a defiler tries to use land that is under a
conservation spell to power his spells, he must
make a successful Wisdom saving throw or be
unable to use the land at all. Should he succeed,
the land only gives up the equivalent power of
barren terrain. Since the defiler will be unable to
completely suck the life force out of the plants that
are protected, some of them have a better chance
of surviving and prospering. The area of ash the
defiler actually creates when tapping land under a
conservation spell is half that of normal. A second
attempt to pull power from the same area fails
completely, regardless of any success achieved the
first time.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a
spell slot of 4th-level or higher, you add 40-feet to
the radius for each slot level above 3rd.
You render up to 10 cuttings or seeds dormant and
suitable for transport to another area. The seeds
or cuttings are then taken to an area where
inclement weather, lack of moisture, or other
problems have kept plants from growing. The
dormant items are planted there and, like magic
seeds, they take root and can be used to start new
patches of vegetation, anchoring the soil and
creating an environment suitable for more plants
to survive.
Although the spell guarantees that the plants will
survive under even the harshest conditions in their
new home, this sort of land reclamation is a slow
and tedious affair. Patches of new plants in a
heretofore hostile area can’t be made too large
too soon or they won’t grow and spread. Such
patches can be treated no more than once per
month with spelled seeds or cuttings. In a month, a
patch of ground up to 10 square feet might be
successfully maintained. If the plants don’t fall
prey to a defiler or hungry animal, a patch as large
as 120 square feet could be created in a year.
Other natural hazards, such as devastating storms
or nearby battles might also destroy the plants.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a
spell slot of 4th-level or higher, you add 10 cuttings
or seeds or 10 square feet to the spell effect for
each slot level above 3rd.

436
Monster Summoning You open a conduit to the Black, gating forth an
3rd-level conjuration inky–black cube of numbing cold nothingness,
sapping the life–force of anything it touches.
Components: V, S, M (a tiny bag and a small “not
necessarily lit” candle) This spell calls into being a 40–foot cube of inky–
Casting Time: 1 Action black nothingness that chills everything inside it
Range: 60 feet and deals 1d6 points of cold damage per caster
Components: VS level (maximum 15d6). Those who are successful
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute take only half damage from the numbing cold.
All within the cube take a –2 penalty on attack
You roll on table 1 to summon a creature of CR 1/4 rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks
that appears in an unoccupied space that you can for the next 1d4+1 rounds whether they succeed
see within range. The summoned creature is or not.
friendly to you and your companions for the
duration. Roll initiative for the summoned creature When cast, this spell calls into being a 40-foot cube
separately, as it has its own turns. It obeys any of inky-black nothingness that chills everything
verbal commands that you issue to it (no action inside it. Those within must make a successful
required by you). If you don't issue any commands Constitution saving throw or take 8d6 points of
to it, it defends itself from hostile creatures, but cold damage (half damage on a success). The
otherwise take no actions. creature killed by the spell are sucked into the
If your concentration is broken, the creature Black leaving no body behind.
doesn't disappear. Instead, you lose control of it, it All within the cube are chilled to the bone whether
becomes hostile toward you and your companions, they successfully save or not, and are at
and it might attack. An uncontrolled creature can't disadvantage to their attack rolls until the end of
be dismissed by you. their next turn. Those within the cube are unable
In rare cases, adventurers have been known to to see through the blackness; the caster is able to
disappear, summoned by powerful spellcasters make them out as dim shadows within it.
using this spell. They vanish when slain. Those
summoned recall all the details of their trip. The
GM has the creatures' statistics.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a 4th-Level Spells
spell slot of 4th-level or higher, you may increase
the highest CR allowed by 1 category for each slot
Psionic Channeler
level above 3rd.
4th-level enchantment
Touch the Black
Range: Touch
3rd-level necromancy
Components: V, S, M (the piece of obsidian to be
enchanted, 100 gp/per skimmer size)
Components: V, S, M (a shard of obsidian or glass)
Duration: Permanent
Casting Time: 1 action
Casting Time: 1 day per Size level
Range: 40 ft.
Area: 40‐ft.–radius burst, centered on you
Duration: Instantaneous

437
This spell creates a magical web of thread-sized
conduits that covers the entire ship and culminates
at the obsidian engine. These conduits are invisible
and have no truly physical substance, yet they can
be seen with either the wizard sight or true seeing
spells. This spell is cast on a flawless, symmetrical
piece of obsidian (of the appropriate size) for one
day per Size level of the skimmer. The wizard must
keep in constant physical contact with the obsidian
during the casting time, as these psionic conduits
“grow” slowly from the engine itself and
eventually cover the entire ship.
You enchant an engine that activates a silt
skimmer of size 1.
Before his untimely disappearance, King
Andropinis of Balic had ordered research into this
spell so that air could be channeled around a
skimmer (i.e., the skimmer could fly).
Unfortunately, all attempts proved fruitless due to
the extreme weight of the obsidian engine itself.
Furthermore, silt, for some reason, is more of a
conductor of psionic energies than air (many
scholars postulate that the Sea of Silt’s origins
have something to do with this fact).
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a
spell slot of 5th-level or higher, the engine can
activate one size level more of silt skimmer for
each slot level above 4th.
Psionic Dampener
4th-level alteration
Range: 15 feet diameter
Components: V, S, M (any small object within a
blown glass sphere)
Duration: Special
Casting Time: 1 action
Area of Effect: One individual
Use of this spell allows the caster to disrupt the
psionic activities of one individual. The target is
allowed a Concentration saving throw to negate
the spell. Regardless of success, the target
immediately knows that the spell was cast and
who cast it.
If the spell is successful, the target is unable to
expend PSPs for its duration. The spell lasts until
the wizard stops concentrating, either voluntarily
or involuntarily. The affected psionicist can
otherwise function normally. If the affected
psionicist moves beyond the range, the spell is
broken and he can again use PSPs normally, even if
he re-enters the spell’s area of effect.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a
spell slot of 4th-level or higher, you add 10 feet to
the radius of the spell for each slot level above 3rd.
Backlash
4th-level abjuration
Components: V, S, M (a thorn)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Area: 40–ft–radius spread (S)
Duration: 1 day/level or until discharged
The ground glows with a translucent sheen of
green light, as you complete the casting of the
preserver’s scourge.
Also known as the preserver’s scourge, this spell
makes the ground dangerous to defilers. There are
two versions of the spell; the one that takes effect
is dependent upon what a defiler tries to do with
the protected ground. Many preservers cast this
spell on particularly fertile areas of growth. The
spell remains in effect until the land is tapped by a
defiler. Alternatively, when engaged in battle,
preservers may cast this spell on any type of land
nearby to prevent defilers from pulling energy
from the plants there. It doesn’t matter when the
spell is cast so long as it is in place before the
defiler attempts to use the land.
Should a defiler try to tap into land that is
protected by a backlash spell when he is
memorizing his spells, he receives 6d8 points of
438
radiant damage. The land literally lashes back at
him before giving up its life energy.
If the defiler uses the method whereby he pulls
energy at the time he casts a spell, the land lashes
back in a manner commensurate with the spell he
tried to cast, doing 1d8 points of radiant damage
for each level of the defiler’s intended spell. The
defiler receives a Wisdom saving throw for half
damage.
The defiler must make a Concentration check (DC
10 + spell level + damage dealt) in order to
continue casting his spell.
Once it has inflicted damage, the ground returns to
normal. Another spell must be cast upon it for it to
strike back at a defiler again. Only one backlash
spell can be cast on any given plot of ground.
Casting a second one on already protected land
wastes the spell. The spell has no affect on
preservers who use the land.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a
spell slot of 5th-level or higher, you add 1d8 of
radiant damage for each slot level above 4th.
Death Mark
4th-level necromancy
Components: V, S, M (a small shard of obsidian)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 120 feet
Target: One creature
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
The shard of obsidian turns to black dust. Your
victim takes a gray pall to the skin, which feels
clammy and rubbery, as if entering a severe shock.
This spell marks a target for death. When cast, it
creates a gray pall to the skin, which feels clammy
and rubbery, as if the victim were in shock. Unless
the target of the spell successfully make a
Constitution saving throw, he feels hopeless and
ill. A successful saves negate the spell.
439
The recipient has disadvantage to all attack, skill,
and saving throw rolls. The victim’s Armor Class
becomes wholly dependent on any armor he is
wearing, as all Dexterity bonuses are lost. The
target of a death mark spell literally feels as if he
has one foot in the grave. The feeling of illness and
hopelessness leaves after a few rounds, but the
skin remains gray and clammy for an additional
hour. The creature might be mistaken for some
kind of undead during this time. At the end of each
of its turns, the target can make another
Constitution saving throw. On a success, the spell
ends on the target.
Gloomcloud
4th-level enchantment
Components: V, S, M (a drop of dirty water and a
small, twisted length of chain ; Cerulean wizards
may use their blue lens in lieu of other material
components)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Target: One creature
Effect: Cloud that hovers over target’s head
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
A gloomy cloud appears over a creature that
becomes despaired and succumbs to apathy,
leaving it little more than helpless.
When cast, gloomcloud creates a small, gray cloud
over the head of an individual. Only the creature
affected by the cloud can see it. The cloud is
invisible to others. The cloud moves with the
individual, causing him to feel despair unless a
Wisdom saving throw is successful. The despair
caused by the gloomcloud is so profound that the
victim can do nothing but walk slowly, sit silently,
or weep in frustration. He is unable to muster the
energy to fight, cast spells, or do anything to help
himself. If attacked while in this condition, a roll on
1d20 determines what his response will be.
 within the last 24 hours. Otherwise, the seeker
d20 roll Response fastens upon the trail of the most potent wizard
1-5 the victim just sits and lets whatever is going to (not the caster) to have been in the area within
happen occur (disadvantage to save rolls) that time.
6-15 he feebly and unenthusiastically defends Wizards who are aware that they are being tracked
himself (disadvantage to attack and save rolls) can try to throw off the pursuit by getting within
16-20 he reacts normally, putting up a good range of the mage seeker and casting dispel magic
defense and able to mount an offense as well on it. This renders that particular object unusable
as a mage seeker for 48 hours.
At the end of the combat, if the spell’s duration
hasn’t expired, the victim returns to his dejected
state. Note that an affected character will not Scapegoat
make attacks of opportunity. 4th-level enchantment

Components: V, S, M ( A strand of hair and a stone

Mage Seeker thrown in the chosen target’s direction)
4th-level divination Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V, S, M (the object which is to be Area: 20‐ft.–radius
used as the seeker and a few grains of sand) Duration: 10 minutes
Casting Time: 10 minutes
Range: Touch. You casually throw a stone in the direction of your
Target: One object used as focus target and then, by the top of your lungs, cry
Area: 20 ft. + 20 ft./level radius circle centered on “Wizard!”
you
Duration: 1 day This spell is usually cast to stop pursuers or to
distract those who might be searching for the
The pointer swirls until it comes to a rest, pointing mage or about to interfere with him. It causes
out the direction of the most potent wizard to be creatures within a 20-foot radius of a chosen
here the last day and night. target creature to believe that the target is to
blame for any and all troubles or difficulties they
This spell requires the use of an arrow, dart, or have. Those within range must have 6 of
piece of bone or wood which is shaped like a Intelligence or higher to be affected by this spell.
pointer. When the spell is cast, the object glows Having established the target’s guilt, it further
slightly and pivots to point in the direction of a prompts those in the area to attack and neutralize
wizard who has been in the area of effect within the target. Only dispel magic or the incapacitation
the last 24 hours. The item becomes a sort of or death of the target will stop the attack.
compass that continually readjusts to point the They must succeed on an Intelligence saving throw
direction of the wizard it first located. to negate the spell. They are also allowed an
Intelligence saving throw once per round to come
If the name or description of the wizard is known, to their senses.
this can be stated at the time the spell is cast and
the mage seeker will home in on that particular
wizard if he has been within the area of effect

440
Cerulean Hail d100 Incarnation
4th-level conjuration 1-8 Aarakocra
9-11 Cyclops
Components: V, S, M ( a drop of water and a pinch 12-19 Dwarf
of dust ; Cerulean wizards may use their blue glass 20-27 Elf
lens in lieu of other components) 28-29 Giant
Casting Time: 1 standard action 30-40 Half-elf
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level) 41-47 Half-giant
Area: 20‐ft.–radius spread 48-58 Halfling
Duration: 1 round 59-70 Human
71-77 Kenku
When you let a drop of water fall into a pinch of 78-81 Mul
dust, a deep blue–black cloud forms over the area 82-89 Pterran
and it rains blue hailstones that fall with a piercing 90-96 Thri-kreen
scream. 97-100 Yuan-ti

When this spell is cast, a deep blue-black cloud

forms over the targeted area and spits out blue Rejuvenate
hailstones that fall with a piercing scream. The 5th-level alteration
hailstones rain 5d8 points of bludgeoning damage
to any creature within the area of effect. Range: Touch
Additionally, the sudden appearance of the Components: V, S, M (a seed - of any type - and a
threatening cloud coupled with the screams of the drop of water)
falling hailstones is very unnerving to Athasians, Duration: Special
who see severe storms only about once a year. Casting Time: 1 minute
Those in the area who are less than 6th level must Area of Effect: 5-foot radius/level
make a successful Wisdom saving throw or flee in
fear for 1d4 rounds. There is a 50% chance that This spell grants the ability to support vegetation
those panicked by the storm will drop held to an area of ground. In the case of ground made
equipment as they flee. The hailstones dissipatebarren by defiler magic, rejuvenate dispels the
after causing their initial damage, as the hot, dry
ground’s sterility, making it immediately capable of
climate melts them on impact. supporting vegetation. The spell may also be cast
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a
on any ground short of solid rock, including sand,
spell slot of 5th-level or higher, you add 1d8 of
rocky sand or soil, and dust.
bludgeoning damage for each slot level above 4th.
The spell affects the ground in a circle extending
away from the caster, so he must stand in the
middle of the area he wishes to revitalize. The
radius of the circle is 5 feet per level of the caster.
5th-Level Spells Once cast, the soil is enriched and moistened, and
a blanket of fine grass emerges instantly.
The duration of the spell varies. Once cast, the
Reincarnation
moist soil and grass are not magical, and are
In DARK SUN campaigns, substitute the following
subject to all natural forces upon them. They will,
table for that found in the Player’s Handbook.
however, survive a week in even the worst of

441
conditions. Rejuvenate otherwise lasts until a have had both arms numbed are unable to use
defiler spell destroys the vegetation there. their hands and can’t fight with melee weapons or
Defilers can’t cast rejuvenate. cast spells.
As a bonus action on your turn, you can move the
weapon up to 20 feet and repeat the attack
Death Whip against a creature within 5 feet of it.
5th-level necromancy
The chances of hitting a specific target are as
Components: V, S, M (a whip - which is not follows:
consumed in the casting - and a wisp of smoke
made by burning a small piece of gray material) 1d20 roll Target
Casting Time: 1 action 1-5 Right leg
Range: Touch 6-10 Left leg
Target: Whip touched 11-88 Torso (no special effect)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute 89-94 Right arm
95-99 Left arm
A dull streak of grey trails the whip and a faint 100 Head (victim takes 1 point of damage and his
moan is heard when you crack it. The whip feels mouth goes numb)
clammy to the touch, and those struck by it have
limp motions. Should the victim survive, lost Strength points
return at the rate of one per 10 minutes. As the
This potent dweomer uses a normal whip as a victim’s Strength returns, the grayness of the skin
conduit for negative energy from the Gray. You disappears and feeling returns, canceling any
create a floating, spectral whip within range that penalties that might have been sustained. Victims
lasts for the duration or until you cast this spell reduced to 0 Strength are slain and become
again. When you cast the spell, you can make a undead zombies under the control of the whip
melee spell attack against a creature within 10 feet wielder.
of the whip.
Each hit from the death whip causes the loss of 1
point of Strength and numbs the area that was hit, Ragestorm
the victim must make a Constitution saving throw 5th-level evocation
or it turns to a dead, gray color. If the area is a leg,
that leg is numb. The victim loses 2 points of Components: V, S, M (a drop of water, a pinch of
Dexterity when his leg is rendered numb. His dirt, and a tiny replica of a lightning bolt carved in
movement rate is cut in half as he must be careful wood or bone. Cerulean wizards may use their
not to trip over uneven ground or misstep and fall. blue glass lens in lieu of other spell components)
If both legs are hit, Dexterity is reduced by 4 points Casting Time: 1 minute
and movement rate becomes only one quarter Range: 150 feet
normal. Any other damage done to the victim’s Area: 30‐ft.–radius emanation centered on a
legs (such as by sword cuts and the like) are not creature or object
felt and the character notes no damage so Effect: One storm
inflicted. The DM must keep track of lost hit points Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
for the character. If arms are targeted, anything
the victim is holding is dropped. Individuals who

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Lightning flares up the sky accompanied by a great 6th-Level Spells
thunderclap. Dark clouds appear above a creature,
and in an instant, the sky opens to unleash rain,
Banish Tyr–Storm
hail, winds and lightning.
6th-level abjuration
Ragestorm creates a miniature Tyr-storm in the
Components: V, S, M (a blue glass lens like that
area designated by the caster. That area becomes
used by cerulean wizards)
the focus of an intense force of rain, hail, high
Casting Time: 1 minute
winds, and lightning strikes for the duration of the
Range: 400 feet
spell. The storm inflicts 5d8 points of lightning
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour
damage on anyone caught within its radius
(Dexterity saving throw for half damage) due to
Holding up your blue lens, you feel the power of
high winds, dangerous hail, and electrical
the Tyr Storm surging through you. At your
discharges. Even those protected against one of
trembling command the storm changes the
these effects will take damage from another one. If
direction of its destructive wake.
such a storm is called down upon a cerulean
sorcerer, he may try to absorb the storm into a
This useful dweomer shoves dangerous Tyr-
blue glass lens, just as with regular Tyr-storms. If
storms away from a particular area such as a
successful, the sorcerer absorbs the storm and
town, field, or camp. The wizard is able to force
receives enough energy to power one 5th-level
the storm to leave its normal path and head off in
spell slot.
a direction of his choice. The storm continues to
If the storm is centered on an area, those within it
rage and causes normal damage wherever it goes,
may try to escape its confines. They must state
but the spell allows the wizard to keep it out of an
that they are running away from the storm during
area he wants to protect. Cerulean sorcerers who
the first round it appears or they are hopelessly
banish Tyr-storms may not attempt to draw off
turned around and unable to discern the way out.
their energy; further, if an unsuccessful attempt
If the wizard chooses to cast it on a particular
has been made to draw the storm’s energy into a
individual, that person is granted a Dexterity
lens, this spell automatically fails.
saving throw to avoid becoming the target of the
Summon Tyr-storm, the reverse of the spell, draws
spell. Should the individual be successful, the
a Tyr-storm into an area designated by the wizard.
storm forms around him just as if it had been cast
The storm is typical of those spun off from the
as an area effect, but is not joined to him.
Cerulean Storm and does the same amount of
Individuals who are the target of this spell and who
damage. A Tyr-storm is a violent tempest and can’t
fail to save against it can’t run out of the area of
be used to bring needed water to anyone or
effect, for they carry the storm with them
anything. The rain and hail damages people and
wherever they go.
vegetation; it doesn’t sustain them. Cerulean
The water produced by this spell is partially
sorcerers who summon Tyrstorms may not draw
magical in nature. If some container is left in the
the energy into their blue glass lenses.
area (and it survives the deluge), two gallons (8 L)
of water can be collected.

443
7th-Level Spells 8th-Level Spells
Cleansing Flame Create Tree of life
7th-level evocation 8th-level alteration
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 action Components: V, S, M (the sapling (which grows
Range: 60 feet into the tree of life) and a piece of copper wire
Area: One creature formed in the shape of a tree)
Duration: Instantaneous Duration: Permanent
Casting Time: 10 minutes
By performing a throwing gesture as you complete
the spell, you launch an arrow–shaped, pure, white By means of this spell, a wizard can enchant a
flame. A hissing noise is heard as it darts towards living sapling to become a tree of life, a magical
its target. item of tremendous power. Any tree less than one
year old will suffice; this spell cannot be cast on an
A bolt of flame that unerringly strikes a specific older tree. The sapling must have already sprouted
target is created whenever this spell is cast. The from the ground, though the wizard can transplant
bolt always hits unless the target is not corrupt such a sapling before casting the spell. It grows to
(see below). The spell affects things that have been its full size in only one week, but has its full powers
defiled. This may be an item that has been used for and capabilities immediately after the spell is cast.
evil purposes (such as an aligned or magical The properties
sword), land that has been corrupted by defiling, of a tree of life are described in the following
any defiler, or a templar who still receives spells section.
from a sorcerer-king (other or object than Oronis). Trees of Life. In Athas, there is an unusual magical
Even if the templar isn’t evil, he’s guilty by item available that deserves its own classification,
association. and that is the tree of life. A tree of life is a mighty
When the bolt strikes, the object is immediately and magical tree, enchanted by a powerful priest
destroyed and turned to ash by the heat of the or wizard. It is, in essence, a living magical item. it
flame bolt, while people must make a successful stores and channels energies from all four
Dexterity saving throw with disadvantage. If the elemental planes. Thus, though wizards can create
saving throw is unsuccessful, the target suffers a tree of life, only clerics and druids can tap its
12d8 + 50 radiant damage ; if the save is special powers. Those who are in contact with a
successful, the target receives half damage. tree of life receive four spells, each of which can be
If the creature is killed, it can be restored to life cast once per day. The spells gained are heal,
only by means of a wish spell. augury, divination, and magic font.
The spell only functions against those who have A tree of life has two distinct parts: its physical
been corrupted in some fashion. If the caster form and its life force. The stump, branches, roots,
targets someone who isn’t corrupt, the spell fails. and leaves make up its physical form and aren’t
The caster has still used the spell. It’s gone from inherently magical. The same things that would
his memory and its energy has been depleted. destroy a normal tree will destroy the physical
form of a tree of life (for example, chopping it
down, burning it) with one exception. Neither
climate nor terrain affect a tree of life. One will

444
flourish in the middle of the Athasian desert or on
a rocky mountain” face, regardless of drought,
severe weather, natural lightning, earthquakes,
and so forth. If the tree’s physical form is damaged
or destroyed, it will grow back to full size. The tree
will regrow at a rate of one quarter of its full size
per week. A sprout will appear in one day and
grow to a sapling in a week. It will grow to a young
tree in two weeks, then to a full-sized adult tree in
three.
After four weeks, the tree of life will revert to its
true form: an ancient and mighty tree. No matter
how many times the physical form of the tree is
destroyed, it will always grow back in four weeks.
The tree’s life force—and destroying that magic-is
more complex. A tree of life, at any stage of
growth (even sprout) has 100 hit points (10 levels
of 10 hit points each) that can only be affected by
life-draining magic. The wizard spells vampiric
touch, enervation, trap the soul, and energy drain
can each drain hit points; finger of death can snuff
out 3 levels of the target tree; and a wish slays the
tree. The priest spells that affect a tree’s life force
are raise dead, greater restoration, and
resurrection. Undead creatures that have an
energy drain attack can affect the life force of a
tree of life. Likewise, defiler magic also affects
a tree’s life force. Every level of defiler magic cast
within 100 yards of a tree of life drains one level of
life force from the tree. The only positive aspect of
this damage is that it negates the effect the spell
would otherwise have on surrounding vegetation.
The life force of a tree of life is completely snuffed
if it falls below zero levels or hit points. The life
force will not regenerate if either of these
numbers falls below zero, in which case both the
life force and the physical form of the tree die. The
life force of a tree of life regenerates one level (10
hit points) per hour. It regenerates even if the life
force reaches zero points, but not if it goes below
zero.
Though originally created by wizards to combat
the destruction of nature, trees of life are now
heavily exploited by defilers, who use the trees’
445
powerful life forces to charge their defiling spells.
Sorcerer-kings often have large gardens within
their cities, even within their palaces, where
groves of trees of life are tended and maintained.
Thus, defilers can exercise evil magic from their
citadels without decimating the cities below—a
measure to keep their tiny verdant belts as
plentiful as possible.
The magical life forces of trees of life make them
virtually eternal. The greatest trees of life are
ancient; many solitary trees predate the villages
around them and others stand in entire groves, a
quiet testament to the great wizards of a bygone
age. However, present-day priests and wizards still
create new trees to enrich the world. In the case of
defilers, the goal is to pervert the trees’ powerful
life forces to further the defilers’ destructive, evil
ambitions.
Conversion
8th-level abjuration
Casting Time: 1 hour
Range: Touch
Target: Living creature touched
Duration: Instantaneous
Components: V, S, M (For converting a defiler to a
preserver are ashes and ground gemstone worth
at least 300 gp. These are sprinkled over the target
as he falls unconscious. To convert a preserver to a
defiler, the ashes are replaced by a living plant,
newly ripped from the ground and chopped to
pieces. The gem is still needed)
You share the herb concoction with the repentant
wizard, establishing a link between the two of you.
You take upon yourself the burden of sacrifice to
remove his taint. As if sucking poison from a
wound, you feel a sharp sting as it courses through
your veins, slowly being diluted by your blood until
it is gone.
This potent dweomer is used to convert a
repentant defiler into a preserver or vice versa (all
subsequent references, though phrased as
converting a defiler, may be reversed and applied
to a preserver as well). It is only used on defilers
above 6th level who willingly seek to change their
ways and embrace the opposite path. In essence,
the caster and target cooperate in casting the
spell. The target must freely give up experience
and be reduced in level. Further, he must break or
give away all magical items he had collected up to
this point in his life. This is symbolic of the target’s
willingness to become different from what he once
was. Symbolic or not, until all such items are gone,
the spell will not work.
Following the riddance of the target’s magical
items, he must destroy his former spell book.
Whether this means burning scrolls or unraveling
knotted patterns doesn’t matter. The voluntary
giving up of his former knowledge is the key to this
undertaking.
Once a target has been cleansed of his former
associations, he is ready for the second portion of
his change. Some sort of ritual cleansing, either a
bath or scrubbing with sand, or rubbing with a
savory herb is performed. Then the caster begins
the actual spell. The target takes an oath affirming
his decision to change, and at that time, is struck
by the power of the spell and rendered
unconscious. Because of the momentous changes
this spell brings about, it may only be performed
by a preserver at least one level higher than the
defiler who wishes to change.
When the target awakens 24 hours later, he has
lost experience points and levels enough to make
him a first level preserver. Though he retains his
hit points, he is in all other ways (including saving
throws) a first level character. When he first
awakens, the new preserver is very weak. He must
spend one day in bed resting for every level that
he lost. This time may be shortened through the
casting of heal spells on him. Each such spell
reduces the time he must rest by one day. The
rigors of the spell have also wiped all knowledge of
his former spellcasting techniques from the new
preserver’s mind. He must spend at least six
months with his patron preserver learning a new
way of drawing energy and casting spells and
making a new spell book.
Conversion may be cast for one of several
purposes, depending on being cast on a preserver
or a defiler:
Preserver: This removes all taint of defiling from
the spellcaster.
Defiler: A repentant defiler becomes a preserver
and can cast spells without damaging plant life.
Protection from Time
8th-level abjuration
Components: V, S, M (a gold hourglass filled to
capacity with 75 gp value of diamond dust)
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: Touch
Target: One creature or object touched
Duration: 1 year
The sand in the hour glass freezes to a halt, as does
the aging process of the spell’s recipient.
You protect the target from the adverse effects of
aging. This spell makes a living creature immune to
natural, magical, and psionic aging. This spell
continues on beyond the creature’s death, and
time limits for spells like speak with dead or raise
dead do not count the time that protection from
time is in effect. This spell can be cast on a dead
creature.
The target moves through time at the same rate as
other beings. A living subject must still eat, drink
and rest as usual; it simply does not age. This spell
does not affect the duration of other spells.
When this spell is cast, it creates a magical barrier
around the recipient at a distance of one inch. The
barrier moves with the recipient and protects him
from the adverse effects of time. This spell can be
cast on any living creature, but multiple spells are
not cumulative. The recipient does not age during
446
the spell’s duration, though this won’t have a overwhelming stench of decay assaults your nose,
noticeable effect on his life span unless many such confirming the connection to the plane of the dead.
spells are cast in series; the recipient should keep
track of how many protection from time spells This spell tears and holds open a rift between
have been cast on him so the DM can add one Athas and the Gray. The rift itself is a two–
week to his total natural life span for each. A dimensional, diamond–shaped plane 30 feet high
significant number of such spells can postpone and 15 feet wide in the middle. Any creature that
aging effects for the recipient. When confronted touches the rift receives 4d10 necrotic damage
with a magical aging effect, the recipient gets a (Constitution saving throw for half damage). A
Wisdom saving throw to avoid the effect (or an character that attempts to dispel the rift and fails
additional save if one is already allowed). Whether is also subjected to the damage. Once per round as
or not the save succeeds, the protection from time a move action, you can move the rift 30 feet in any
spell is dispelled immediately. direction within range. If you cease concentration
The spell is not automatically dispelled upon the or are slain, the rift lingers for 1d6 rounds without
character’s death — it continues to protect the moving and then dissipates. All undead creatures
body. For purposes of magical resurrection, time within range gain a +4 Strength, +3 hp per HD, and
since death for the recipient’s dead body does not regeneration 1 HD per round.
start accumulating until after the protection from
time spell has ended.
This spell does not cause time to stop within the Pact of Darkness
barrier around the recipient; he moves through 9th-level necromancy
time at the same rate as other characters. The
character must still eat, drink, and rest as usual. Components: V, S, M (10 perfect spheres of
This spell does not affect the duration of other obsidian of 100 gp value each and a drop of the
spells. This spell can be cast on a dead creature. caster’s blood)
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: 30 feet
Effect: One summoned shadow giant
Duration: 1 hour
9th-Level Spells
Surrounded by shadowy illumination, you cut your
Gray Rift
finger, letting a drop of blood fall to the ground –
9th-level conjuration
sealing your pact with the shadow giant, which
accepts your obsidian spheres as payment for its
Components: V, S
services.
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: 120 feet Pact of darkness creates a pact between a you and
Effect: Diamond–shaped rift 30 ft. high and 15 ft. a shadow giant. By agreeing to give the shadow
wide in the middle giant ten perfect spheres of obsidian as payment,
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute you are empowered to call upon the shadow giant
for aid. The shadow giant will use its powers on
Calling upon the negative energy of the Gray to your behalf for up to an hour before returning to
bolster the unliving, you conjure a two– the Black. Each use of the spell calls for another
dimensional diamond–shaped rift. An payment of spheres. If the shadow giant is

447
unwilling to serve you, it is entitled to a Wisdom
saving throw. Should it succeed in its saving throw,
the spheres of obsidian shatter and the shadow
giant refuses to appear.
Shadow giants cannot be summoned in areas of
absolute blackness.
Tempest
9th-level evocation
Components: V, S, M (A waterskin full of water, a
tiny replica of a lightning bolt carved of wood or
bone, and a pinch of powdered silver. All are
expended in the casting.)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 1 mile
Area: 20‐ft.–radius spread
Effect: One storm
Duration: Instantaneous
You create a monstrous storm, with, ominous
cerulean clouds rolling into the area and
unleashing the full fury of the Cerulean Storm. Hail,
lightning, hurricane winds, slashing rain, acidic
vapors, and furious thunder rock the area.
Any living creatures in the designated area must
make a Reflex save or be completely obliterated.
This spell creates a monstrous storm over the area
of effect. In one round, ominous Cerulean clouds
roll into the area and unleash the full fury of the
Cerulean storm. hail, lightning, hurricane winds,
slashing rain, acidic vapors, and furious thunder
rock the area. Each creature in a 40-foot-radius
sphere centered on each point you choose must
make a Constitution saving throw. The storm
spreads around corners. A creature takes 20d6
acid damage and 20d6 force damage on a failed
save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
A creature in the area of more than one storm is
affected only once.
When the wizard calls the storm, he immediately
takes 3d8 necrotic damage from the exertion of
casting such a powerful spell. Even utilizing the
energy stored within a lens or sphere makes no
difference.
The spell does acid damage to objects in the area
that aren't being worn or carried.
Cerulean sorcerers who are foolish enough to
brave the storm’s fury in an attempt to draw the
storm’s energy into a blue glass lens get what they
deserve. They are take the damage with no saving
throw allowed.
Vampiric Youthfulness
9th-level necromancy
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 hour
Range: Touch
Target: Living, corporeal creature touched
Duration: Instantaneous
The powerful being heaves for breath, as you leech
off its life force. Your grey hairs are reduced and
wrinkles smoothened somewhat, while the other
appears much older.
With this spell, the caster makes himself younger
by leeching the life energy out of another creature.
The victim must have Hit Dice or levels at least
equal to the caster’s level, and he must be at full
hit points at the time the spell is cast; undead,
extra-planar beings (such as elementals), and other
non-corporeal creatures cannot be affected by this
spell. A charmed creature will not willingly submit
to the spell, though a creature under the effects of
a domination spell will; even a willing victim makes
a Wisdom saving throw to negate this spell. The
caster and the victim must be touching for the
entire casting time of the spell; any interruption
negates it.
Once cast, the victim ages 10 years immediately. If
this would take the victim beyond his normal life
span, he dies; otherwise, the victim remains
unconscious for 24 hours. The victim may suffer
448
aging effects immediately upon regaining
consciousness.
The caster becomes one year younger. Present
damage is not healed, nor are curses or diseases
removed. The caster retains all memories and
experience points. Outsiders and plants are
immune to this spell.
Performing this spell on an unwilling victim is
definitely an evil act and cannot be undertaken by
a good character, even against an evil victim.
However, there may be circumstances when a
good character could use this spell, such as when
the victim is willing and has plenty of years to
spare.
Foresight
9th-level divination
Range: 1 creature
Components: V, S, M (a hummingbird's feather)
Duration: 1 hour
Casting Time: 1 action
This spell grants the caster a powerful sixth sense
in relation to himself or another. Although cast
upon himself, the wizard can specify that he or
another is the beneficiary of the spell. Once the
spell is cast, the wizard receives instantaneous
warnings of impending danger or harm to the
object of the spell. Thus, if he were the object of
the spell, the wizard would be warned in advance
if a thief were about to attempt to sneak attack
him, or if a creature were about to leap out from
an unexpected direction, or if an attacker were
specifically targeting him with a spell or missile
weapon. When the warnings are about him
personally, the wizard cannot be surprised and
always knows the direction from which any attack
on him is made. In addition, the spell gives the
wizard a general idea of what action he might take
to best protect himself--duck, jump right, close his
eyes, etc.--and gives him a defensive bonus of 3 to
his Armor Class.
449
When another person is the object of the spell, the
wizard receives warnings about that person. He
must still communicate this to the other person to
negate any surprise. Shouting a warning, yanking
the person back, and even telepathically
communicating through a crystal ball can all be
accomplished before the trap is sprung, if the
wizard does not hesitate. However, the object of
the spell does not gain the defensive bonus to his
Armor Class.
Mordenkainen’s Disjunction
9th-level alteration
Range: 0
Components: V
Duration: Instantaneous
Area of Effect: 30-ft. radius
When this spell is cast, all magic and magical items
within the radius of the spell, except those on the
person of or being touched by the spellcaster, are
disjoined. That is, spells being cast are separated
into their individual components (usually spoiling
the effect as a dispel magic spell does), and
permanent and enchanted magical items must
successfully save against DC 10 or be turned into
normal items. Even artifacts and relics are subject
to Mordenkainen's disjunction, though there is
only a 1% chance per caster experience level of
actually affecting such powerful items. Thus, all
potions, scrolls, rings, rods, miscellaneous magical
items, artifacts and relics, arms and armor, swords,
and miscellaneous weapons within 30 feet of the
spellcaster can possibly lose all their magical
properties when the Mordenkainen's disjunction
spell is cast. The caster also has a 1% chance per
level of destroying an antimagic field. If the field
survives the disjunction, no items within it are
disjoined.
Note: Destroying artifacts is a dangerous business,
and 95% likely to attract the attention of some
powerful being who has an interest or connection
with the device.
Additionally, if an artifact is destroyed, the casting
wizard must roll a successful Intelligence saving
throw versus the spell’s DC or permanently lose all
spellcasting abilities until restored by a wish spell.
the item possessor, but has no choice whether or
not to go (making this a rare casting indeed!).
Temporal Stasis
9th-level alteration

Range: 30 feet
Succor Duration: Permanent
9th-level enchantment Area of Effect: 1 creature
Components: V, S, M (a powder composed of
Range: Touch diamond, emerald, ruby, and sapphire dust, with
Duration: Special each crushed stone worth at least 100 gp)
Casting Time: 24 hours
Area of Effect: 1 individual Upon casting this spell, the wizard places the
Components: V, S, M (gemstones totaling 5,000 gp recipient creature into a state of suspended
value. The components can be enchanted only animation. This cessation of time means that the
once per month (usually on a night of a clear, full creature does not grow older. Its body functions
moon). At that time, the object is set for the type virtually cease. This state persists until the magic is
of succor and its final destination (either the removed by a dispel magic spell or the reverse of
location of the spellcasting or an area well known the spell is uttered.
to the wizard).) Temporal reinstatement. This is the reverse of the
spell which puts an end to the stasis. Note that the
By casting this spell, the wizard creates a powerful reverse requires only a single word and no somatic
magic in some specially prepared object--a or material components.
statuette, a jeweled rod, a gem, etc. This object
radiates magic, for it contains the power to
instantaneously transport its possessor to the
abode of the wizard who created it. Once the item 10th-Level Spells
is enchanted, the wizard must give it willingly to an
individual, at the same time informing him of a
command word to be spoken when the item is to
Many of these spells call for elaborate preparation,
be used. To make use of the item, the recipient
rare material components, and conditions that
must speak the command word at the same time
must be met prior to or during casting. Often,
that he rends or breaks the item. When this is
meeting these requirements calls for small
done, the individual and all that he is wearing and
adventures in and of themselves. The DM’s
carrying are instantly transported to the abode of
involvement is critical to the role-playing of these
the wizard. No other creatures can be affected.
powerful spells. Defilers and 10th-level spells:
The reversed application of the spell transports
These defiling spells leech life not only from plants
the wizard to the immediate vicinity of the
but from living creatures. All living creatures within
possessor of the enchanted item, when it is broken
the radius of effect (which is the same as for 9th-
and the command word spoken. The wizard will
level spells) take 1d6 points of necrotic damage
have a general idea of the location and situation of
per spell level (save for half damage). Some spells

450
call for a number of Hit Dice of living creatures as unable to free itself, and will be considered
part of the material components for the spell. restrained.
These creatures are destroyed with the casting of
the spell, just like other spell components - no
saving throw is allowed. Advanced Domination
10th-level enchantment

Abrasion Range: 10 yards/level

10th-level evocation Components: V, S, M (the emotionally prized item.
The item may or may not have any intrinsic value.)
Range: 90 yards Preparation Time: 7 days
Components: V, S, M (sands caught in a driving Duration: Special
wind, and fragments of bone from creatures Casting Time: 10 minutes
blasted clean in sandstorms. These must be mixed Area of Effect: 1 person
during the preparation time.)
Preparation Time: 10 days This spell lets the wizard control the actions of any
Duration: 120 days person of the player character races (human,
Casting Time: 2 hours dwarf, elf, half-elf, half-giant, halfling, mul, or thri-
Area of Effect: Special kreen). During the preparation time, the wizard
must be in constant contact with an item once
The spell can be cast in the following terrains: owned by the intended victim, an item that is
rocky badlands, stony barrens, sandy wastes, salt somehow emotionally prized by that character.
flats, and boulder fields. Once cast, the wizard
shapes the area of effect, which totals ten 100 For instance, a letter from a loved one, the
yard by 100 yard squares, plus five additional character’s first metal weapon, a family heirloom,
squares per level of the caster above 20th (a 25th etc., would suffice. (Emotional attachment to the
level wizard could, therefore, lay them end to end, item is up to the DM). The time spent procuring
making a barrier 100 yards wide and 3,500 yards, the item does not count toward the preparation
or just over 2 miles long). The area of effect can be time; the wizard can undertake any activity during
shaped, in any way desired, out of these building that time, provided he carries the item on his
blocks. Any vegetation there will remain person.
unaffected. Once cast, the victim gets no saving throw.
Protection from evil in no way hinders this spell.
Any creature that puts his full weight against the
affected area of ground will suffer damage. On the The caster can then control the actions of the
first round of contact, it will inflict 1d4 point of victim within the limits of the subject’s body,
necrotic damage per Hit Die. On the second, it will through telepathic contact. The subject cannot
inflict 1d6 point of necrotic damage per Hit Die. On resist this control.
the third and subsequent rounds, it will inflict 1d8
points of necrotic damage per Hit Die. Especially This spell lasts until one of the following occurs: an
tough hide or footwear may postpone damage for immediate relative (sibling, parent, or child) of the
one or, at most, two rounds. By the nature of the subject retrieves the prized item and destroys it; a
damage, after suffering half of their total hit points period of time passes equal to the length of time
in damage a medium creature or smaller will be the subject cherished the emotionally prized item;

451
the caster chooses to end the spell. Keeping a least eight hours every day for the entire year.
subject under advanced domination counts as one Acquisition of such documents will usually be a
10th-level spell against the caster’s maximum. quest in and of itself; once used, these documents
Once ended, the prized item disappears. cannot be used for this spell again.

The material components must include vast riches

Defiler Metamorphosis (at least 10,000 gp worth of jewels, gems, coins, or
10th-level evocation artistic treasures), a vast structure where the
transformation might take place, and no fewer
Range: Self than 1,000 Hit Dice worth of living creatures for
Components: V, S, M the life-leeching process. The riches vanish and the
Preparation Time: Variable living creatures are slain one heartbeat after the
Duration: Permanent defiler begins casting. The structure, which must
Casting Time: Special cost more than 50,000 gp to build, is not destroyed
and may be used again to cast this spell when
Defilers who have earned sufficient experience attaining all three of the low levels. The spell is
points to advance to the next stage of their dragon cast from the deep interior of the structure, where
metamorphosis must successfully cast this spell. the caster will actually transform - no other beings
Once cast, the defiler mutates his physical form may be present at the instant of casting. The
drastically, each time becoming less human and casting time is a full 24 hours; any interruption
more dragon. results in spell failure.
The defiler may begin his preparation time at any
point as he approaches his next level, building Middle (24th, 25th, and 26th levels): At the middle
structures, gathering components, studying, etc. levels, the process is similar. The preparation time
But the spell cannot be cast before he has earned extends to two years per casting, during which
all necessary experience points. Though the time the caster must befriend and visit a powerful
experience points have been earned, the defiler creature from an elemental plane. The caster must
gains no benefits of his new level until after thevisit the planar creature three days of every fifteen
defiler metamorphosis spell is cast. for the entire preparation period. The DM must
create and role-play the elemental creature - it is
The exact material components, preparation time, likely that it will force the defiler to perform
and casting time differ, depending on what level difficult missions, more often than not for its own
the defiler is about to achieve, grouped by level amusement, all through the preparation period.
into low, middle, high, and final metamorphosis.
The material components include fewer riches (at
Low (21st, 22nd, and 23rd levels): When least 5,000 gp) but more living creatures (no fewer
approaching these levels, the defiler is merely than 2,000 Hit Dice). A new structure must be
beginning his metamorphosis toward dragon form. built, which can be used for all three middle-level
The preparation time at these levels must be at transformations, but this structure must be made
least one year, during which time the caster must of stone, take at least three years to construct, and
have access to ancient documents, tablets, and must be ornately decorated, costing no less than
scrolls that have never been studied by another 125,000 gp. The casting time is three days; any
defiler. Such materials must be discovered by the interruption results in spell failure.
defiler or his minions and must be studied for at

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High (27th, 28th, and 29th levels): For the high Defiling Stasis
levels of dragon metamorphosis, the process 10th-level alteration
actually must take place on either an elemental or
the Astral plane. No structure or riches are Range: Self
required, but the caster must travel to his plane of Components: V, S, M (a small glass bubble with no
choice with no fewer than 200 Hit Dice of living air inside it)
creatures from the Prime Material plane. The living Preparation Time: 7 days
creatures must be no fewer than 10 Hit Dice each Duration: 1 day/level
and must willingly travel to the plane and Casting Time: 10 minutes
participate in the casting. Area of Effect: Hemisphere, 100-yard radius

The actual casting time is 24 hours, and the caster This spell pushes defiling damage far away from
must have the full cooperation of at least three the caster for a period of time. The damage still
powerful beings from that plane for the entire occurs, but at a point more remote from the
time. Locating beings willing to cooperate should defiler himself. It can be used to protect an area
be easy, but getting their cooperation requires against defiling damage, or by a defiler to push his
exchanges of favors, quests, etc.; preparation time damage out of sight.
is equal to the time it takes to convince the planar
The wizard must contact the spirit or spirits of the
beings to cooperate.
land within the radius he wishes to affect. Since it
is unusual for a user of wizardly magic to contact a
Final (30th level): The final stage of dragon
spirit, the process takes quite a bit of time - every
metamorphosis requires no preparation time and
waking moment for the entire preparation time.
a single material component; the slain body of a
There is no actual speech contact established with
good creature defeated in single combat; the
the spirits, only a level of understanding that the
victim must be intelligent, have at least 20 Hit
wizard wishes to protect the area from defiling
Dice, and be capable of casting 9th-level Wizard
damage.
spells or 9th-level Priest spells. The spell must be
cast over the fallen victim within one hour of his When cast, a hemisphere centered on the caster
defeat; the casting time is merely one turn. becomes temporarily immune to defiling damage.
All such damage called for within the hemisphere
In all cases, the living creatures used as material is redirected to the closest points immediately
components must be within one mile of the caster. outside of it. Trees of life within the hemisphere
Once cast, the defiler must make a successful cannot be drawn upon for defiling magic - that
Constitution Saving Throw DC equal to the dragon energy, too, is redirected outside. The hemisphere
level or die in the mutation process. Any is 100 yards in radius. The caster need not remain
interruption or mistake during the casting of the inside the hemisphere. The spell in no way inhibits
spell will kill the defiler character. This spell can the effectiveness of defiler magic within its
only be cast by defilers. boundaries.
There is no force field or visible barrier at the edge
of the hemisphere. However, once defiling magic is
cast within it, the area immediately outside forms
a large circle of ash that can be identified by
knowledgeable characters.

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Defiling Regeneration Any character of good alignment under the effect
10th-level necromancy of this spell must attempt to have the magic
dispelled before he takes damage - he must avoid
Range: 300 ft. combat damage at all costs. Failure to do so, or a
Area of Effect: Special willingness to accept the spell as an asset, is cause
Components: V, S, M (inks and dyes made from for an alignment change.
the blood of regenerating creatures)
Preparation Time: 30 days
Duration: Special Dome of Invulnerability
Casting Time: 10 minutes 10th-level abjuration

With this spell, a defiler can empower a force of Range: Self

creatures to magically regenerate lost hit points atComponents: V, S, M (a crystal ball, which takes no
the expense of the vegetation around them. Only less than 500 gp worth of materials to make)
defilers can cast this spell. Preparation Time: 3 days
During the preparation time, the defiler must Duration: 1 day
prepare each of the creatures he plans to Casting Time: 10 minutes
empower with regenerative abilities; up to 6
creatures. He must decorate their faces and hands This spell creates an enormous mobile magical
with non-permanent tattoos and their armors with sphere around the caster. The sphere itself acts
special symbols of evil magic. The caster must have exactly like a globe of invulnerability, but any spell
access to the creatures for the entire preparation can be cast out of the magical sphere, and these
period. pass from the caster to the subject without effect
upon the globe. During the preparation time, the
Upon casting, the defiler can empower creatures caster must fashion a perfect crystal ball, which
with Hit Dice equal to five times his level with a takes every hour of the three days. Upon casting,
form of regeneration. Only living, corporeal the dome appears in a hemisphere over the
creatures can be affected. The creatures caster's head, to a radius of 30 ft. per
regenerate 20 hp per round, including the round in dragon/avangion levels. Everyone within the dome
which they are first wounded, for the duration of receives its benefits, whether friendly or
the spell. Even those slain regain consciousness antagonistic toward the caster. The dome does not
when they regenerate up to 1 hp. The spell lasts extend below the ground - magic cast from below
for a number of days equal to the caster’s level. the dome is not affected. The dome moves with
When the spell expires, the tattoos and symbols the caster, always centered on his position.
vanish. However, if the caster flies off the ground, the
The magical energy driving this regeneration is dome collapses instantly. Also, dispel magic or
taken directly from the land, just like defiling disintegrate eliminates the dome.
magic. During regeneration, the ground where the
creatures were wounded becomes spotted with
ash. A typical combat site leaves a few ashen
footprints behind. The site of a major battle may
be completely destroyed, turned to ash as the
creatures regenerate lost hit points.

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Enchanted Armaments Enslave Elemental
10th-level enchantment 10th-level conjuration

Range: 90 feet Range: 360 ft.

Components: V, S, M (a powdered braxat’s horn Components: V, B, M (Special)
and the weapons themselves.) Preparation Time: 30 days
Preparation Time: 7 days minimum Duration: Special
Duration: Special Casting Time: 50 minutes
Casting Time: 10 minutes Area of Effect: One elemental

With this spell, a wizard can temporarily enchant a With this spell a wizard can both summon and
large number of weapons against a specific foe. then enslave an elemental. The caster can enslave
During the preparation time, the wizard must an earth, air, fire, or water elemental as desired.
spend at least one hour with each weapon to be The strength of the elemental summoned depends
enchanted, scratching a special symbol onto its upon the caster’s level: at 21st, the elemental has
blade or handle. no more than CR 3, the challenge rating increases
The weapons can be of any variety and made from by 1 for each caster level above 21st.
any materials, but they must all be within range at
the time of casting. The wizard must choose a Before an elemental can be enslaved, the caster
single named foe, being specific as to race and must personally witness destruction wrought by
origins (such as “the elves of the Jura Dai” or “the that creature. The wizard may conjure the
gith mercenaries of Rithgar’s horde”). The Caster elemental, himself, or simply witness it in the
cannot choose “all elves” or “all of Rithgar’s service of another. In either case, the wizard must
horde”. as named foes for this spell. The weapons gather a bit of material evidence from that
all gain a magical +2 enchantment for the duration destructive force for himself; a sliver of charred
of the spell against the named foe only. This bonus wood burnt by a fire elemental, the teeth of a
applies to all attack and damage rolls and allows creature drowned by a water elemental, etc.
the weapons to inflict damage on creatures
normally affected only by magical attacks. Once procured, the wizard must begin the
preparation time for the spell, during which he
In BATTLESYSTEM, game terms, the attacking unit must fashion the material into an amulet, this
should roll the next higher AD (AD4 becomes AD6, takes at least six uninterrupted hours per day for
etc.). The weapons receive no benefit or penalty the entire 30 days. Once completed, the wizard
against other creatures. must don the amulet and cast the spell before the
next double moon (or within 1d100 days).
The weapons remain enchanted until one of the
following occurs: the named foe is completely Upon casting, the elemental arrives, under the
destroyed; half of those wielding the weapons are complete control of the wizard. He need not
killed or otherwise taken out of action; 30 days concentrate to maintain control and the elemental
have passed since casting. Once the spell’s performs every bidding. If the elemental ever
duration has run out, all the enchanted weapons strays beyond the range of the spell, it continues
turn to dust immediately. to perform its last orders forever. If the amulet is
removed from around the wizard’s neck, the
elemental attacks him immediately. If the wizard is

455
ever killed or the amulet destroyed, the elemental
is freed and returns to its plane. The amulet has no
magical protection and suffers damage and has AC
as the material from which it is made.
In addition to the amulet, the wizard must have
the material component called for in the conjure
elemental spell: burning incense for an air
elemental, soft clay for earth, sulphur or
phosphorus for fire, water and sand for a water
elemental.
animate: Hit Dice equal to the caster’s level per
day of preparation. During preparation time, the
caster must spend all 24 hours locked away in a
dark place with but a candle, pouring over ancient
necromantic tomes.
The material components for this spell are
gathered weapons, from the fallen warriors, that
have their enemies’ blood on them. It is a common
practice on Athas to loot the bodies of their
weapons, if possible, so this component may not
be readily available among the slain warriors.

Immediate Animation
10th-level necromancy Just Sovereign
10th-level illusion
Range: 360 ft. Reversible
Components: V, S, M (gathered weapons, from the
fallen warriors, that have their enemies’ blood on Range: 0
them) Components: V, S, M (an item of at least 1,000 cp
Preparation Time: Variable (optional) value that was won for the leader by his subjects’
Duration: Permanent efforts)
Casting Time: 10 minutes Preparation Time: Variable (optional)
Area of Effect: Special Duration: Special (3 times the time spent in
preparation)
With this spell, a wizard can animate a large Casting Time: 1 day
number of dead creatures into zombies, provided Area of Effect: 1 mile radius
those creatures died in combat within one hour
before the casting of the spell. All dead creatures With this spell, a wizard can pacify a subject
must be in range at the time of casting. The population or unit of soldiers, making them believe
number of Hit Dice animated is 400 per level their leader is far kinder than his previous actions
beyond the 20th (400 at 21stlevel, 800 at 22nd, would suggest. This spell only functions against a
etc.) Creatures so animated lose all magical and group of creatures who already feel that the
psionic abilities, but retain all physical subject of the spell is their leader, regardless of
characteristics. Creatures become zombies of what they feel about him. A torturous warrior-king
equal Hit Dice to their living counterparts (i.e., a 6 might have this spell cast upon him, but someone
Hit Die thri-kreen becomes a 6 Hit Die zombie thri- without subjects gains no benefit from its magic.
kreen). Once slain as zombies, the corpses are The number of people so pacified is 200 Hit Dice
considered too damaged to be animated a second per level of the caster above 20th. Once cast, the
time. entire group must be evaluated to obtain an
average Wisdom saving throw. The group then
Preparation time for this spell is optional. saves as a whole, either all passing or all failing. All
However, every day spent in preparation prior to of the subjects must be within the area of effect at
casting increases the number of creatures he can the time of casting.

456
During the preparation time, the caster must With this spell, the caster can extend maximum
spend time in the presence of the subject (or in age. Every character has a maximum age created
isolation if he plans to cast it upon himself). from the Age tables in the DARK SUN core book,
but only the DM knows what that value is; a player
Once successfully cast, the leader’s subjects will may have some idea of when his character is
selectively forget incidents of torture or abuse, approaching its maximum game age, but only the
long forced labours, and other unpleasant events. DM knows exactly what that is
They will see their leader as a good creature,
worthy of respect, hard work, and reverence. In This spell increases a character’s maximum age by
specific game terms, the leader receives advantage one king’s age: 77 years. The character usually
to all NPC reactions and Charisma skills checks does not suffer normal aging effects during this
when those NPCs are part of the affected subjects. time, but this can vary according to circumstances,
They will gladly do the leader’s bidding and can activities, and magical or psionic effects.
usually be counted on to double their efforts, be it
construction, farming, etc. A military unit will The material components for this spell are
never rout or fall back when in the leader’s extensive. The recipient must surround himself
presence. with the trappings of his youth. His personal
trappings might include clothing or equipment
Evil despot: forces the subjects of a leader to used as a youth, letters previously received or
believe he is very cruel and unjust, regardless of sent, soil from his homeland, tears shed by his
his past performance. With this spell, the subject mother, etc. Collection of these components may
of the spell is allowed a Wisdom saving throw, be very difficult, involving a long journey to the
failure means the subjects within the area of effect caster’s homeland, or they may prove impossible if
immediately find him repulsive for the duration of the caster is an orphan or has no traceable roots.
the spell. The leader suffers a disadvantage to NPC
reactions and Charisma skill checks among the
affected population. Workers stop working, they Magical Minions
may tear down the things they have already built, 10th-level conjuration
and military units refuse to fight and rout off the
field when led by their hated leader. Range: touch
Components: V, S, M (possessions, once prized by
the minions that are no longer needed in the
Life Extension wizard’s service)
10th-level necromancy/alteration Preparation Time: 150 days
Duration: Permanent
Range: Touch Casting Time: 10 minutes
Components: V, S, M (the trappings of the target Area of Effect: Undead creature touched
creature youth)
Preparation Time: 77 days This spell lets the wizard create a force of identical
Duration: Permanent creatures who, in essence, become physical
Casting Time: 100 minutes extensions of himself. The wizard can observe
Area of Effect: Special through their senses and use his powers through
them, no matter where they are.

457
During the preparation time, the wizard must concentrating, he knows nothing of his minions,
assemble the potential minions. Any creature can but they can contact him empathically if they wish.
serve as a minion, provided it is of the same
alignment as the caster and has a minimum of 15 The wizard can cast magical spells and use psionic
Intelligence. The wizard can enchant a number of powers through his minions, no matter what the
identical minions up to one third of his wizard physical distance between them. Minions are
level, rounding down. For a good wizard, the especially deadly opponents since it is the wizard
minions must be willing subjects. Evil wizards can who must employ the various components, not the
secure their minions through domination or other minion. Once the wizard casts a spell through a
means. Minions and wizard must be locked away particular minion, the spell immediately works
for the entire length of the preparation time, without action on the minion’s part. Similarly,
bonding personally, magically, and psionically. psionic checks are made and strength points spent
by the wizard, but the effects can be channelled
Unwilling subject must make a Wisdom Saving through the minion with but a thought. When
throw to negate effect. these things are done, range and area of effect are
measured from the minion’s viewpoint, not the
Upon casting, the minions become tools of the caster’s. The minion cannot act in its own right
wizard for the rest of their lives. If destroyed and while the wizard is using it this way. The
raised, the raised form is no longer a minion of the connection does not work between different
wizard. The minions retain their physical form and planes. The strong link between wizard and
attributes, including hit points, bonus to hit, Armorminions can be dangerous as well. When a minion
Class, attacks, etc. They also retain any spell-like is destroyed, the wizard must make a Constitution
abilities they once had. They retain their raw saving throw or be stunned for 1d6 x 10 minutes.
intelligence and their original ability to make The wizard also loses experience points equal to
decisions. The minion’s free will is not lost, so he ten times the minion’s XP value.
can undertake long-term functions without direct
supervision. The wizard cannot gain further experience points
until the minion is either replaced or its death is
However, the minions lose all magical and psionic avenged. The loss of a minion disrupts the casting
powers. The wizard controls all such powers in the time or preparation time of all spells in
new union of beings. All material possessions are development. Also, opponents can use a minion to
distributed by the controlling wizard - unless an locate and psionically attack the wizard. If the
item is given to the minion by the wizard, or unless minion’s mind is controlled through domination or
the wizard gives the minion specific instructions to similar magic, psionic powers can be launched
obtain and use it, the minion ignores it. through it against the wizard, regardless of
distance. A wizard can have only one set of
The wizard has complete overriding control of his minions at a time. If all are slain, he can start a new
magical minions. Through concentration, he can set after a period of three years. No minion can
know everything that the minion knows - its serve more than one wizard.
location, situation, and emotional state. The
wizard can see through the minion’s eyes and use
its other senses. His instructions to the minion will
be carefully fulfilled. When the wizard is not

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Magical Plague Infected wizards and carriers can pass the plague
10th-level alteration to other wizards they contact. Any other wizard
who comes within 10 yards of an infected or
Range: 0 carrier wizard must make a Charisma saving throw
Components: V, S, M (the accumulated spell or become infected, himself, the save is made with
components of five other spells from the desired disadvantage if the wizards actually touch the
school of magic, combined with rodent hairs) creature. Those who save become carriers. If a
Preparation Time: 60 days (or 30 days) caster successfully saves against this plague once,
Duration: Special he need never save against it again. casters with
Casting Time: 10 minutes the plague take on an ashen, sunken appearance,
Area of Effect: Circle, radius 30 ft. / level and they tend to tire more easily than usual,
suffering disadvantage on their Constitution saving
With this spell, the wizard creates a spreading throws. Carriers exhibit no symptoms. Diagnosis is
magical virus that disrupts one chosen school of only possible through divination magic, though an
magic. The casting wizard is never affected by his infected caster certainly knows something is
own plague. wrong. Carriers are unlikely to realize their
condition.
The preparation time must be spent studying the
school of magic to be plagued. The wizard must Using magical plague in a campaign: The DM
spend at least eight hours per day studying. If the should not track the movements of large numbers
wizard is already a specialist in the school to be of NPC wizards with the plague. Only important
plagued, the preparation time is cut to 30 days. NPCs and PCs should be tracked and appropriate
saving throws made to determine the spread of
Upon casting, all other wizards within the area of the disease.
effect must make a successful saving throw or
become infected with the magical disease. The Like any physical plague, centers of populationare
area is a circle with radius of 10 yards per level of more at risk. The magical plague will likely spread
the caster. Even a wizard who saves successfully through a city or village rapidly, so it runs its
becomes a carrier and may infect other wizards at course in roughly double the caster’s level in days
a later date. Only arcane casters can become from the time it arrives there. In a city, most of the
infected or carriers - other character classes are arcane casters will have the plague at the same
unaffected. Infected casters have great difficulty time, virtually erasing one school of magic from
casting spells within the school chosen. If the the area. With constant trade and travel, a magical
wizard attempts to cast such a spell, there is a base plague eventually reaches every city and village in
percentage chance equal to his level that it the Tyr region, probably within 120 to 240 days. In
succeeds. Otherwise the spell fails, but it still the wilderness, contact is far less frequent. One
counts against the wizard’s total spells for the day. tribe probably won’t spread the plague to another,
A wizard specialist in that school of magic receives though all wizards within an infected tribe will
double the normal chance for success. Whether catch it at the same time.
infected or merely a carrier, a given wizard is
affected by this spell for a number of days equal to As the PCs adventure in the wilderness or in urban
the caster’s level. areas, they will occasionally encounter remnants
of the plague up to a year after it is cast, no matter
where they travel in the Tyr Region.

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Mass Fanaticism
10th-level enchantment
Reversible
Range: 900 ft.
Components: V, S , M (the symbolic object and a
tiny bar of iron, or, for the reverse, the object and
the feathers of a small, flightless bird - usually
found only in the Forest Ridge, and even quite rare
there)
Preparation Time: Variable
Duration: Variable
Casting Time: 10 minutes
Area of Effect: Special
With this spell, the caster magically bolsters the
combat morale of a large group of creatures. The
wizard must know, in advance, exactly what
groupof creatures he will affect before
preparation.
During preparation for the spell, the wizard first
spends a minimum of 15 days living among the
creatures, (e.g., travelling with elven raiders,
working with slave tribe farmers, hunting with thri-
kreen, etc.). Next, he procures (earns, is given,
steals) a single item symbolic of the entire group
(e.g., the fineries from a recent plunder, the first
grains from the harvest, the chieftain’s chatkcha,
etc.). The preparation is complete after he gains
this symbolic object.
Upon casting, all individuals in the chosen group
become fearless in battle. In game terms, their
NPC base moral number is raised to 18 and they
are immune to fear effects. Note that this spell in
no way charms them into performing acts of
combat that they would not normally.There is no
limit to the number of individual creatures that can
come under the influence of this spell,provided
they are of one cohesive group (one tribe, one
army, one village) and the symbolic object applies
to each individual. The effect lasts for one fullday,
plus one more day for every two days the caster
spent in preparation beyond the necessary 15. In
BATTLESYSTEM game terms, the caster can affect
an entire army for combat.
Mass Cowardice: requires the same preparation
time and symbolic object. Upon casting, the group
falls to a base morale number of 4 for all combat
situations, and have disadvantage versus fear
based effects.
Masquerade
10th-level enchantment
Reversible
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (a small golden mask
fashioned in the likeness of the rightful leader of
the community (500 cp minimum value) or, for its
reverse, a golden statuette with two faces (1,000
cp minimum value))
Preparation Time: Variable
Duration: 1 day per caster level
Casting Time: 10 minutes
Area of Effect: Special
With this spell, the caster can make the most
powerful individuals in a community believe that
the spell recipient is their leader. Preparation
involves studying the community to be affected by
living among them. The number of individuals
convinced is a function of their Hit Dice or levels,
the caster’s level, and the preparation time: For
every three days of preparation time, the caster
can convince five Hit Dice or levels per caster level.
The individuals affected are chosen out of the
community in descending order of Hit Dice or
levels (highest are convinced first, then second
highest, etc., until the total Hit Dice or levels have
been accounted for). Whether or not the rest of
the community believes the spell recipient is their
leader depends on the situation. If all the most
460
powerful people in a small village say he’s the preparation. After a year, the gem disappears and
leader, the entire village might go along with it. preparation must begin again.
However, if a very few powerful people in a large
city proclaim the recipient as their new leader, the Upon casting, a roughly circular area, 90 yards in
rest of the population might ignore them or incite diameter around the caster, rises slowly to an
civil violence. Often, the rightful leader is affected elevation of 30 yards +10 yards per level above
by the spell, helping to legitimize the deception. 20th. The resulting cylinder has sheer, hard stone
The spell is inherently fraught with dangers. cliffs. The fortress appears on top of the new
mountain, complete with stone walls and
Impostor: has the opposite effect, convincing the barricades and multiple buildings surrounding a
most powerful people in a community that their central, four-story tower. If the caster is 23rd-level
leader is a fraud. Again, the situation dictates or higher, the ground 30 yards surrounding the
events, but those affected are absolutely cylinder is also magically dug with trenches and
convinced they are right. pits and strewn with caltrops. If the caster is 26th-
level or higher, the entire fortress complex is
covered with heavy netting and pikes toward off
attacks from the air.
Mountain Fortress
10th-level conjuration The fortress remains until one of the following
conditions is met: the caster leaves the fortress; a
Range: 0 force of no less than 50 Hit Dice of creatures
Components: V, S, M (a gem worth at least 1,000 antagonistic to the caster manages to take the
cp, mined within ten miles of the casting site) central tower by force; 100 days have passed since
Preparation Time: 10 days casting.
Duration: Special
Casting Time: 10 minutes Conditions in the fortress are spartan. When the
Area of Effect: Variable fortress is created there is enough water and food
to last 100 medium sized creatures for 100 days.
With this spell, the wizard conjures a heavily Additional food can be brought to the fortress, of
protected mountain fortress where there was course.
nothing but empty land before. This spell can only
be cast on an area of desolate plains - sand wastes, The exact layout of the fortress and its
salt flats, even boulder fields; the spell cannot be fortifications is up to the caster, instantaneously
used to destroy buildings or creatures. During the translated from his imagination to physical form
preparation time, the caster must bury the gem on casting. The means of entry is up to the caster.
material component at least 90 feet below the Regardless of design, the fortress can protect up to
surface exactly where the spell is to be cast. The 1,000 medium sized creatures. A newly-conjured
burial means can be magical, psionic, or physical. fortress has no inhabitants.
For the entire ten-day period, the wizard must
remain at that location without interruption. The
spell can be cast as long as one year after the
preparation time is over, but until cast, the spell
counts against the caster’s total 10th-level spells in

461
Pact alignment; for example, a chaotic evil creature will
10th-level conjuration only obey chaotic evil orders while on the prime.
Second, the creature will not take actions that
Range: 300 yards endanger it (in its opinion). Third, the creature’s
Components: V, S, M (a relic (at least 100 years attitudes toward order and chaos may affect how
old) that was used by an important historical figure it honors the pact.
of the caster’s alignment)
Preparation Time: Variable Creature’s Chance to
Duration: Variable Alignment Break Pact
Casting Time: 10 minutes Lawful 0%
Area of Effect: Special Neutral 5%
Chaotic 25%
This spell lets the caster call on an outer planar
creature of the same alignment. The act of casting
the spell gives the outer planar creature magical Check every day to see if the creature breaks the
energy to use on its home plane, which fulfills the pact. If it does, it may attack the wizard, remain on
wizard’s portion of the pact. The planar creature is the Prime Material plane to pursue its own
then obligated to serve the wizard on the Prime missions, or simply return home. If the creature
Material plane to fulfill its portion of the pact. never breaks the pact, it remains in the wizard’s
Before preparation begins, the wizard must select service for 101 days.
the type of creature desired, and its alignment
must be identical to the caster’s. If for any reason the caster is forced to change
alignment while the pact is still in force, the
During preparation, the caster contacts the desired creature immediately takes steps to slay the
creature using contact other plane. The contact wizard.
must be made once per day for every 1,000
experience points of the outer planar creature. The
wizard makes an insanity check with each casting,
though there is a - 1% per day cumulative modifier Preserver Metamorphosis
as better contact is established (minimum 1% 10th-level alteration/evocation
chance of insanity per casting). A wizard who goes
insane during preparation must start over when Range: Self
and if he regains sanity. The wizard ignores the Components: V, S, M
knowledge and veracity rolls when using contact Preparation Time: Variable
other plane in this way; no information is gained. Duration: Permanent
Since the wizard shouldn’t know how many Casting Time: Special
experience points various creatures are worth, he
casts the spell every day until the DM tells him he’s A preserver who earns sufficient experience points
done. to advance to the next stage of avangion
metamorphosis must first successfully cast this
When cast, the outer planar creature appears at spell to complete the change. The preserver
the wizard’s location, ready to follow commands changes physical form drastically upon the spell’s
within limits. First, the creature only aids the completion, each time bridging approximately one-
wizard when furthering the cause of their tenth the gap between human and avangion form.

462
The preserver may begin preparation at any point experience points have been earned. During this
on the way to the next level, building structures, preparation time, the preserver must attain
gathering components, studying, etc. However, the absolute isolation; any contact with intelligent
spell cannot be cast before all necessary beings who aren’t foes to be defeated negates the
experience points are earned. Though the spell preparation, and the wizard reverts to the
experience points have been earned, the preserver 75% base line of the isolation period. The material
gains no benefits of the new level until after the components at the middle levels are gifts gathered
preserver metamorphosis spell is cast. from no fewer than three powerful good creatures
during isolation. The powerful creatures realize the
The exact material components, preparation time, consequences of contact for the preserver, so they
and casting time are different, depending on what leave the gifts to be found after the preserver
level the preserver is about to achieve, grouped by achieves extremely dangerous or important goals.
level into low, middle, high, and final
metamorphosis. The material component for the spell (not
consumed in casting) is a single tree or bush
Low (21st, 22nd, and 23rd level): A preserver feels personally saved by the preserver from defiler
a calling within when he has earned 75% of the magic destruction. The casting time is 12 hours. At
experience needed for the next level. The the time of casting, there must be living vegetation
preserver leaves the company of his fellows and for at least one mile in all directions, untainted by
seeks isolation. The preparation time for the spell defiler ash or evil creatures.
constitutes the entire period necessary for the
preserver to earn the final 25% of those High (27th, 28th, and 29th level): Unlike previous
experience points, adventuring completely alone. level advancements, the preserver feels no calling
If the preserver earns any experience points with toward isolation at high levels. On the contrary, at
the aid of another character, all experience points 75% experience point level, the wizard instead
are lost down to the minimum required for the collects a core group of companions no fewer than
current level. Failure to gain experience in a eight in number and of at least 10 levels or Hit Dice
solitary fashion, in the DM’s judgment, means the each. All the companions must be of good
spell may fail when cast. For low-level alignment. The preserver must spend the
metamorphosis, the preserver must spend the preparation time with these characters, earning
isolation period gathering physical remains of the the remaining 25% of experience in the company
enemies of life, usually those of high level defilers - of at least one of these companions - failure to do
their bodily remains, destructive belongings or so forces the preserver to revert to the current
artifacts, ash from their spellcasting, etc. These level’s 75% base line of experience. The material
items are evidence of devotion to life and the land. components are a single gift from each of the
The spell must then be cast at night, beneath the companions in the core group. During the casting
light of both Athasian moons. The casting time is of the spell, the preserver must have the aid of a
six hours. Any interruption results in spell failure. single companion for the entire length of the
The preserver may have other characters present ceremony. If the companion is not absolutely
during casting. good, the spell fails and the companion is slain in
the release of failed magical energy. Companions
Middle (24th, 25th, and 26th level): At cannot repeat the process with a single preserver -
intermediate levels, the preserver again hears a new companions must be found for the 27th, 28th,
call for isolation when 75% of each level’s and 29th levels.

463
Final (30th level): To cast this spell, the preserver With this spell the priest causes a grove of trees to
must make an area of lush vegetation (crops, magically appear. During preparation the priest
scrubgrass, forests, or any combination) at least devotes eight hours per day for 30 days to the
five miles in diameter. The preparation time for fashioning of a staff from a tree of life, a material
the spell equals the time it takes the preserver to component that may be difficult to obtain. The
create these lush lands. At the time of casting, the priest carves the staff perfectly smooth with a
lush lands must be free of evil creatures. diamond dagger, and cannot undertake any other
task during the eight-hour period. The staff
The material components for the spell are a requires a DC 25 Dexterity check; the character can
diamond of no less than 10,000 gp value with add proficiency bonus if competent in carpenter’s
which to capture the life- giving qualities of tools or assisted by one that is.
sunlight, a stone tomb large enough to hold the
preserver’s body, and a perfectly sealed glass case The spell’s area of effect is a circle with a
built around the tomb. The casting time is one maximum radius that varies by the caster’s level.
round. Upon casting, the preserver/avangion, The priest may affect a smaller radius if desired.
diamond, and stone tomb disappear, bound for The terrain must have no other trees; if it does, the
planes unknown. The DM then secretly rolls 2d12 - spell fails. To cast the spell, the priest thrusts the
this is the number of months before the return of diamond dagger into the ground at the center of
the preserver, in final avangion form, to the glass the circle, then moves with the staff to the circle's
case. If the glass case is damaged in the meantime, edge. The priest then walks around the area of
the avangion is lost to oblivion. Only the DM effect, dragging the staff along the ground. The
knows how long the final stage takes. The player staff magically ensures that the priest walks a
uses another character from the character tree in perfectly circular path, eventually returning to
the interim. where he started. The priest must walk (not run,
fly, or levitate), though he may use magical means
Upon casting, the preserver must make a to speed that walk. Interruptions lasting more than
Constitution saving throw DC 25 or die from a single round negate the walking, and it must be
physical stress. Any interruption or mistake during started again. If the dagger at the center of the
the casting of the spell causes the preserver to lose circle has been disturbed, the spell fails, so a priest
experience points down to the minimum of the often places a guard over it. When the circle is
last level – they must be earned again before completed, the spell is cast. The table shows the
trying preserver metamorphosis a new. This spell distance to be walked based on the area of the
can only be cast by preservers. spell.

Caster Max. Rough Time to Trees

Prolific Forestation Level Radius Circumf. Walk* in Grove*
27 30 yards 188 yards 2 rounds 140
10th-level alteration
28 60 yards 377 yards 4 rounds 560
29 120 yards 754 yards 7 rounds 2,250
Range: 0 30 240 yards 1507 yards 13 rounds 9,000
Components: V, S, M (the staff and the diamond
dagger - Both disappear when the spell is cast.) * approximately; can vary as much as 20%
Preparation Time: 30 days
Duration: Special The forest consists of mature trees 1-4 feet in
Casting Time: Special diameter, spaced 3-6 yards apart. The forest

464
canopy, thick with foliage, towers 30 to 120 feet. dagger into the ground at the center of the circle,
This spell creates no brush or undergrowth for the and then moves with the staff to the circle’s edge.
forest; its floor is the same terrain type as before
the spell. The spacing of the trees hinders the The wizard then walks around the area of effect,
movement of huge or gargantuan creatures; dragging the staff along the ground. The staff
smaller creatures move unimpeded. magically ensures that the wizard walks a perfectly
circular path, eventually returning to where he
Unlike the prolific vegetation spell, the trees started. The wizard must walk (not run, fly, or
created have magical protection against natural levitate) but may use magical means to speed the
destruction for one year per caster level. Natural walk.
fires or lightning do not affect them; lack of water
or other harsh weather cannot kill them. Defiler If the time to complete the circle requires the
magic still destroys them normally, as can any wizard to stop to sleep, there is no penalty,
directed attack that would affect normal trees. provided the wizard then awakens to continue the
walking journey but other interruptions lasting
more than a single round negate the walking and it
Prolific Vegetation must be started again. If the dagger at the center
10th-level alteration/conjuration of the circle has been disturbed, the spell fails, so a
Reversible wizard often places a guard over it. When the
circle is completed, the spell is cast.
Range: 0
Components: V, S, M (a staff from a tree of life The table shows the distance that must be walked,
carved perfectly smooth with an obsidian dagger) based on the area of the spell.
Preparation Time: 30 days
Duration: Permanent Caster Max Rough Time
Casting Time: Special Level Radius Circumference to Walk*
Area of Effect: Special 21 90 yards 566 yards 5 rounds
22 180 yards 1131 yards 1 minute
This spell causes shrubs and grasses to grow over a 23 300 yards 1 mile 2 minutes
wide area of previously barren terrain. During 24 540 yards 2 mile 3 minutes
preparation, the wizard must devote eight hours 25 800 yards 3 mile 5 minutes
26 1,250 yards 4,5 miles 7 minutes
per day for 30 days to the fashioning of a staff 27 1.25 miles 8 miles 2 hours
from a tree of life, a material component that may 28 6 miles 38 miles 9 hours
be difficult to obtain. The wizard carves the staff 29 12 miles 75 miles 18 hours**
perfectly smooth with an obsidian dagger, and he 30 25 miles 157 miles 38 hours**
cannot undertake any other task during the eight- * time is for a human in clear terrain and weather conditions
hour period. ** requires multiple marching days

The spell’s area of effect is a circle with a
maximum radius that varies according to the
caster’s level. The wizard may choose to affect a
smaller radius if he desires. The terrain must be
virtually barren of plant life; if not, the spell fails.
To cast the spell, the wizard thrusts the obsidian
Upon casting, the area inside the circle instantly
grows thick with grass and small shrubs much like
the scrub plains. The vegetation will not emerge
from solid stone, but it arises from any soil, no
matter how rocky, sandy, or dry. Though the spell
duration is listed as permanent, the vegetation

465
created is normal and retains no magical human or a dwarf. During the preparation time,
enchantment. It remains until and unless it dies the caster and subject must be in constant
from lack of moisture, brushfire, erosion, etc. If proximity and can have no more than one visitor at
this spell is cast in conjunction with an alter a time and no more than one per 30-day period. If
climate spell (q.v.), the vegetation can grow and the subject is unwilling, the caster must somehow
last longer. Only preservers can cast this spell. restrain him during the preparation, and even then
he is allowed a Wisdom saving throw to negate the
Sparse Vegetation (reverse): can only be cast by effects.
defilers. During preparation, the defiler must
spend at least four hours per day wandering the Once cast, the subject is most likely switched to a
scrubland he wishes to destroy. He must sprinkle a pure breed of his choice. There is a 10% chance (-
fine trail of ash, from his own spells, around the 1% per caster level beyond 20th) that the
circumference of scrub grass to be affected. Once character will be transformed into the other pure
cast, all the scrub, bushes, and weeds within the breed. Either way, the character must make a
circle immediately die. Plants will not grow within successful Constitution saving throw DC 10 to
the circle for a number of years equal to the survive the process. Survivors subtract the Racial
caster’s level, though growth of trees is not Ability Adjustments for their previous half breed
affected. The material component for this spell is race and add those for their new pure breed race.
the staff and the dagger. Both vanish after the The character automatically learns a new tongue
caster has walked the circumference. appropriate to his new race, if necessary. All other
abilities for the new race are enforced; those for
The material component for the reverse is a small the old are lost. New height and weight
bag made from woven straw, filled with salt from measurements should be rolled. Finally, the
the sweat of slave farmers. character’s age should be checked against the new
race’s aging table. If the character is beyond the
maximum age range in his new race, he is
extremely frail and likely to perish within the year.
Pure Breed The character’s psionics are unchanged.
10th-level (Divination, Alteration)
There can be no giant player characters. If a half
Range: Touch giant becomes a giant, that character becomes an
Components: V, S, M (personal items or dust from NPC immediately.
the grave of the character’s parent of the desired
race - These items may prove difficult to obtain.) This spell gives the character no social background
Preparation Time: 120 days in his race. An elf, for instance, has no tribe; a
Duration: Permanent human has no city or village allegiance. These may
Casting Time: 100 minutes prove to be hindrances. To all means of detection,
Area of Effect: Creature touched the character will appear to have always been of
the pure breed race.
With this spell, a wizard can change any half breed
character (half-elf, half-giant, or mul) into a pure
breed of either part. The caster can change a half-
elf into either a human or an elf, a half-giant into
either a human or a giant, or a mul into either a

466
Raise Nation lives or civilization - they are merely animated to
10th-level necromancy serve the wizard. The skeletons remain so until
they are all destroyed. The skeletons never
Range: 270 ft. venture further than 75 miles from their ruins.
Components: V, S, M (any number of items
originally from the ruins site that have been well Once cast on a set of ruins, this spell can never be
preserved by time - these items must total at least successfully cast there again by any wizard. There
1,000 cp in present day value) is a 10% chance that this is the case for any given
Preparation Time: 60 days ruins site, and there is no way for the caster to
Duration: Permanent know if such a spell has been cast without some
Casting Time: 100 minutes sort of divination magic.
Area of Effect: Special

With this spell, a wizard can animate the skeletons Recruitment

of any long-dead civilization. Before the 10th-level conjuration
preparation time can begin, the wizard must locate
an appropriate site of ruins. There need not be Range: 0
complete skeletons around the ruins (the Components: V, S, M (at least 100 pounds of
skeletons will assemble from powdered fragments ground bones of fallen warriors, which must be
if that’s all that remains of them), but there can be apportioned during preparation)
no creatures living at the site and it must have Preparation Time: 10 days
been abandoned for at least 100 years. During the Duration: 20 days
preparation time, the wizard must spend all his Casting Time: 10 minutes
waking hours searching the ruins, learning Area of Effect: Variable
everything he can about them, readying the site
for his necromancy. With this spell, the wizard summons all living
creatures around him who have ever drawn blood
Once cast, a number of skeletons will animate in anger. During preparation, the caster must take
according to the general size of the ruins site. The the ground bones of fallen warriors and sprinkle
DM will know the extent of the ruins, and he them where the spell is to be cast, out to the
should use these guidelines modified for any radius given below.
special circumstances he envisions.
Level Radius
Number of 21 60 yards
Size Skeletons 22 90 yards
23 120 yards
Outpost 10 - 40
24 180 yards
Village 40 - 400
25 240 yards
City 200 - 2,000
26 360 yards
Great City 1,000 - 4,000
27 480 yards
28 740 yards
The skeletons are completely under the command 29 1 mile
of the caster, but are no smarter than any other 30 2 miles
skeletons. They have no knowledge of their past

467
Upon casting, all creatures within the circle that
have ever drawn blood in anger as hunters or
warriors, must make a Wisdom saving throw or
immediately come under the effects of the spell.
They immediately gather their weapons and come
to the caster, awaiting his every military
instruction for the duration of the spell.
The affected creatures usually cannot form military
formations unless an entire formation is caught
within the area of effect. The creatures cannot
perform any actions other than combat. They
cannot be forced to build things or carry things
other than their own personal equipment. They do
not fight among themselves, regardless of previous
dispositions, and they serve the caster without fail.
The material component for this spell is at least
100 pounds of ground bones of fallen warriors,
which must be apportioned during preparation. A
humanoid creature has about 25 pounds of bone;
larger creatures have 25 pounds per Hit Die.
Reverse Loyalties
10th-level enchantment
Range: 180 ft.
Components: V, S, M (fully dried anakore’s heart.)
Preparation Time: 7 days
Duration: 21 days
Casting Time: 10 minutes
Area of Effect: 25 HD/level
This spell acts like a mass charm person spell,
though its effects on each individual are more
restricted. The subject group must consist of
bipedal human, demihuman, or humanoid of man-
size or smaller, such as humans, dwarves, elves,
half-elves, halflings, and muls; all of whom hold
loyalties to one leader. During preparation, the
wizard locks himself away and studies the history
and background of the target group’s original With this spell, the priest magically brings the
leader. Though the spell is cast on the followers Negative Material plane closer to the Prime
themselves, the wizard researches their leader’s
background.
Upon casting, the spell effect expands in a circle
from the point of casting until creatures equal to
the area of effect are enchanted or until there are
no possible subject creatures left. The maximum
distance is 300 yards.
Unlike the charm person spell, the spell recipients
regard the caster as the object of their loyalties.
They accept logical military orders from the caster.
For instance, they will break formations and turn
on their former leader. They do nothing obviously
fatal to themselves. Their loyalties have been
magically switched, but are not magically
maintained. If the caster takes actions that make
him less worthy of these new found loyalties, the
subjects of the spell may desert. Even if the caster
performs well as their new leader, the spell
recipients can make a Wisdom saving throw, just
as for a charm person spell (note that creatures
with Intelligence of 12 or less get no chance to
save before the spell naturally ends). When
individuals within the subject group make their
saves, they desert but cannot convince others still
under the spell to desert. Each subject has full
memory of actions taken under this spell.
Rift
10th-level conjuration
Range: 0
Components: V, S, M (an obsidian goblet
containing the ground bones of a dead
necromancer)
Preparation Time: 60 days
Duration: 3 days
Casting Time: 100 minutes
Area of Effect: Sphere 360 yards around caster
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Material plane, creating a rift between the two,
centered upon himself. The priest first spends the
lengthy preparation time studying undisturbed for
at least four hours per day, reading scrolls and
books about the planes. Upon casting, all undead
in the area of effect gain nine times their original
hit points as temporary hit points for the duration
of the spell.
The area of the rift moves with the caster, possibly
placing some undead out of the sphere or
encompassing others as he moves. Phantom points
are gained immediately upon entering the sphere,
and then only once per creature per casting. The
caster has no control over which undead receive
the benefit of the phantom hit points; all undead The spell’s duration is measured in distance, five
in the sphere are so affected
him for 30 yards for each level above 20th. The
road crosses any land, including sand, forest, and
mountain. In the case of the former two, the road
appears in front of the caster, pushing obstacles
like trees and rocks aside. For mountains,
obstacles are likewise removed, but the road is just
as steep as the original terrain, and could still be
impassable. The magical road does not create its
own firm ground, and cannot be used to cross
areas of silt. The road leaves no trace once the
caster has passed by. The road does offer some
protection to those on it - natural weather effects
do not hinder travel on the road, and those on it
do not require food or water while on the road.
miles per level of the caster above 20th. The spell
does not grant the caster knowledge of direction.

Rolling Road
10th-level alteration Undead’s Lineage
10th-level divination
Range: 0
Components: V, S, M (at least one pound of dust Range: Touch
from three roads the wizard has previously Components: V, S, M (an eye, ear, nose, tongue,
travelled) and finger, each taken from a separate undead
Preparation Time: 7 days creature of the same type as the target)
Duration: Special Preparation Time: 120 days
Casting Time: 10 minutes Duration: Permanent
Area of Effect: Variable Casting Time: 10 minutes
Area of Effect: Undead creature touched
With this spell the caster creates a short stretch of
smooth road that extends in front of him wherever With this spell a wizard can divine the history of a
he travels. single undead creature, thereby gaining
tremendous power over that creature. During
During preparation, the caster must take the preparation, the caster must spend at least eight
material components, dust from previous roads he hours per day studying necromancy and tomes
has travelled, and mix them for at least four hours about undeath. (The caster must procure such
every day. After casting the spell, the wizard must materials before beginning preparation.)
continue to sprinkle this mixed dust in front of him Adventures that focus on the undead may work as
as he travels. part of the preparation time, if the DM desires.

The road itself is always 30 yards wide and extends The wizard must touch the undead to cast the
10 yards in front of the caster. It extends behind spell. Once cast, the undead must make a

469
successful Charisma saving throw with Wall of Ash
disadvantage, or the caster immediately knows all 10th-level evocation
personal history of the creature. This includes, but
is not limited to: family history and occupation Range: 0
during life; method of death; method of undeath; Components: V, S, M (a sack of ash collected from
and history since attaining undeath. the remains of a defiler of the same defiler level of
the caster)
In game terms, the caster’s intimate knowledge of Preparation Time: 5 days
these things gives him complete control over the Duration: Special
undead creature. The undead performs any task Casting Time: 20 minutes
ordered. In role-playing terms, the wizard learns Area of Effect: Special
intimate personal details that may lead to some
knowledge of old or even ancient events (DM’s This spell creates a barrier of ash that is deadly
option). Extremely powerful undead, such as liches toliving creatures. Touching it can cause great
and some vampires, may get another chance to damage, and crossing it causes instant death.
save each week or even after each task, if the DM
wishes. During the preparation time, the wizard must dig
or have dug a small trench, one foot wide and one
The spell lasts until one of the following things foot deep, in the shape he wants the wall when it
happens: the undead is permanently destroyed; iscast. If not personally involved, the wizard must
the caster is made to forget the things he has personal oversee the digging of the trench for at
learned (even temporarily); a wizard of higher level least four hours per day during preparation.
casts this spell on the same undead creature (in
which case he steals control from the original The wall can be of any shape, and as long as 90 ft.
wizard); or the wizard voluntarily ends the spell. per caster level above 20th. The ash appears in the
trench and is piled one foot above the ground.
The drawback to this spell is that while the caster Contact with the ash causes 10d10 points of
learns of the undead’s intimate past, the undead necrotic damage per round. Crossing completely
learns much about the caster. If the caster dies over the ash causes any living creature to die, its
with an undead still under this spell, the caster life completely absorbed by the deadly ash. The
immediately becomes a weaker undead under its creature must make a successful Constitution
control. (Mindless undead such as skeletons and saving throw with disadvantage to survive.
zombies exert no control; the wizard becomes a Jumping or flying makes no difference. Even living
mindless undead of their type.) The wizard can creatures attempting to cross through the astral or
never be raised by priestly magic. His only rest ethereal planes must save or die. Dimension door
comes with final destruction, which his new can be used to cross safely, but teleport cannot.
undead master will likely guard against for Magic, psionics, missile weapons, and other non-
eternity. living things can cross the ash wall without penalty.

Undead creatures can cross without penalty. Ash

golems suffer no saving throw penalty when
crossing. The caster and allies are just as subject to
damage and death as enemies are.

470
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