Dark Sun, Arcane Power Source and You!

[mysticknight232]

I know there's been a couple of Dark Sun threads already. I'm specifically wondering what has been said to the public regarding the Arcane Power Source? I believe it was posted elsewhere on here that you can reroll an Arcane Daily Power if you deal dmg to an ally? Is this true?

Basically, I was just wondering if people would post everything that we've been told regarding how the Arcane Power Source will work in the Dark Sun campaign setting.

Thanks and happy hunting!

 

[Zaran]

I believe it's all allies (or slaves) within 20 squares.

 

[Solvarn]

Defiling is Delicious

All allies take half a healing surge worth of necrotic damage, which is unavoidable, to reroll one attack roll or one damage roll. I can't access Wizards from work so I'm not sure if this can only be done once, or if it can be done for each attack roll (i.e. AE powers).

It also kills plant life (not creatures), makes soil infertile, and destroys water.

From what I understand, preserving allows you to disguise your arcane powers as primal or psionic.

Preservers could defile if necessary, it's mostly an RP thing, but defiling does have mechanical benefits.

If there aren't feats to let a PC damage enemies with defiling I'll be adding them to games I run. In addition, I'll probably come up with some kind of system where ritual costs can be substituted with defiling.

 

[Wik]

All allies take half a healing surge worth of necrotic damage, which is unavoidable, to reroll one attack roll or one damage roll. I can't access Wizards from work so I'm not sure if this can only be done once, or if it can be done for each attack roll (i.e. AE powers).

It also kills plant life (not creatures), makes soil infertile, and destroys water.

From what I understand, preserving allows you to disguise your arcane powers as primal or psionic.

Preservers could defile if necessary, it's mostly an RP thing, but defiling does have mechanical benefits.

If there aren't feats to let a PC damage enemies with defiling I'll be adding them to games I run. In addition, I'll probably come up with some kind of system where ritual costs can be substituted with defiling.

I think you've hit the nail firmly on the head there. There will probably also be a feat that lets defilers deal damage to plant creatures - which I will be giving for free to all arcane characters in my games (defilers COULD kill plant creatures in 2e, if memory serves).

And I'd be surprised if they didn't have a way to defile during rituals. Not a big deal for me personally, since I'm rewriting rituals anyway (I don't like how 4e rituals play out).

I'm not sure I like the idea of preservers concealing their magic as primal or psionic... really, I've always figured "primal" magic (or Druidic/Priestly magic in 2e) was seen as just as evil, because Joe Slaveboy can't really tell apart the two magics. Going to see how they suggest doing it in the books before I make a final ruling, though.

Also, I think defiling is an encounter power, and it applies once to an attack.

 

[Bold or Stupid]

Looking at the Free RPG day sheets, defiling is at will but only works on daily powers.

 

[Mouseferatu]

Looking at the Free RPG day sheets, defiling is at will but only works on daily powers.

Yep. And they've clarified since printing those sheets that it's only one roll per power, not every roll of that power.

 

[DracoSuave]

I think you've hit the nail firmly on the head there. There will probably also be a feat that lets defilers deal damage to plant creatures - which I will be giving for free to all arcane characters in my games (defilers COULD kill plant creatures in 2e, if memory serves).

The reason they didn't do plant-life this time was because they didn't want to reduce defiling to a 'free damage adder.' Adding free damage to plant creatures in exchange for free rerolls isn't exactly a moral decision for a lot of gamers. Making your party members fuel it -is-.

And it always caused discomfort to your friends.

And I'd be surprised if they didn't have a way to defile during rituals. Not a big deal for me personally, since I'm rewriting rituals anyway (I don't like how 4e rituals play out).

Probably, tho rituals aren't necessarily tied into any power source.

I'm not sure I like the idea of preservers concealing their magic as primal or psionic... really, I've always figured "primal" magic (or Druidic/Priestly magic in 2e) was seen as just as evil, because Joe Slaveboy can't really tell apart the two magics. Going to see how they suggest doing it in the books before I make a final ruling, though.

Elemental magic (read: Priestly/Druidic) in second edition wasn't seen as evil at all. It was generally understood to be healing in nature. (unless a templar did it) Joe Slaveboy had an idea about magic, after all, Joe Slaveboy had his own powers from his psionic source. And there were options in 2e to disguise wizard spells as psionics or as priestly using illusions and such. (Or as from a templar)

Joe Slaveboy isn't who you really needed to fool tho. Have him figure your spell MIGHT be templaring, and he won't deal with you because you might have the ability 'Put Slave To Death' at-will (level 2 templar). It's the templars, who DO know about magic's vagarities, and the druids out in the wilderness.

 

[Mort_Q]

Has there been a hint as to how they're going to fluff residuum in Dark Sun?

I'm imagining some sort of defiling ritual that allows residuum to be made from ... dung, corpses, or even "milked" from gelflings slaves. That'd be very Sorcerer-King.

You don't need to change anything about how it works, just add in some rituals to the list. Make thematic versions for the different power sources, but have the results tainted with the stigma of defiling... have a stigma to possessing it... taint it with the defiling name...

... and then make it tempting to defile out of combat.

Should be easy enough to balance if the generated "wealth" is considered in the treasure drops.

[edit]

There should also be rituals to extract water from bodies, etc.

[/edit]