D&D 4E Dark Sun Conversion to 4E

[The Little Raven]

I'd rather come up with some mechanics that allow me to not have to constantly punish defilers for the use of their magic, while still retaining the central idea of defiling as the "quick and easy path" to power, a dangerous addiction for wizards who use it and a constant temptation for wizards who don't.

Defiling the Land Wizard Utility 2
You drain energy from the very land to fuel your spells, leaving the earth barren and dessicated in your wake.
Encounter * Arcane
Minor Action Personal
Effect: You gain a +1 power bonus to attack and damage with spells until the end of your turn.
Sustain Minor: You can keep this effect sustained for an encounter or five minutes.
Special: Whenever you cast a spell while under the effect of this power, the square in which you are standing becomes defiled. You do not gain the benefit of this effect when standing in a defiled square.

That's probably how I'd approach it, off the top of my head. Let it be something you can use to boost your spellcasting, but with a bit of a cost (minor action to sustain). Defiling only effects the current square on which you are standing, and with 4e's increased mobility, means that defilers will be moving around to suck power from the land. And this is only for in-combat power stuff. Defiling to fuel rituals would be separate from this.

I'd also consider adding a "Defiling" keyword up there with Arcane, and give some setting-specific spells that gain additional benefits when you have Defiling the Land active (kinda like the Brutal Scoundrel synergy with some powers).

 

[breschau]

Defiling the Land Wizard Utility 2
You drain energy from the very land to fuel your spells, leaving the earth barren and dessicated in your wake.

But, you can defile from 1st level. And don't give me the "but Dark Sun characters start at 3rd level" stuff. This is 4th edition, there's no need to start at 3rd level anymore. So your fix means 1st level characters literally cannot be defilers. That doesn't work.

 

[The Little Raven]

That doesn't work.

...for you. You can just make it an Encounter Cantrip if you want (though we have no precedent for cantrips being anything other than at-will), or make it at-will, so you have it from 1st-level.

 

[Kordeth]

...for you.

To a certain extent I agree--defiling is supposed to be the quick and easy path; if anything, you shouldn't be able to preserve until you've learned a little more about magic (i.e. reached 2nd level). On the other hand, I still think defiling as an at-will power with preserving represented by "baseline" wizard powers is the way to go.

Maybe instead of trying to balance the spellcasting aspects we should look at a more robust system for modeling the effects of defiling vs. preserving on the land itself. Not entirely sure what or how yet, but it's something that bears thinking about.

 

[breschau]

On the other hand, I still think defiling as an at-will power with preserving represented by "baseline" wizard powers is the way to go.

But, if defiling is a power, then you can't use it the same round you cast a spell without spending an action point. Defiling is a type of casting, it happens as you cast.

With the healing surge burn = preserver set-up I posted above, it makes defiling quicker (you don't have to spend an action (minor) to fuel your spells, and it's very tempting (who wants to take the time and spend a surge to cast). It may not be the best solution, but it's quite a bit closer to the source material.

It seems that people are trying to convert 2nd edition rules for Dark Sun over to 4th edition. That's silly. Update the source material for 4th edition, not the rules. Focus on the novels and Wanderer's Journal (original box book).

My notes are bolded...

Wizardry

The magic of wizards is different from that of the clerical orders. It converts the energy of life into magical power that the sorcerer shapes into spells. If this is done with respect for the life forces of the world and care is taken to balance the net loss of energy with the net gain of magic, there are no adverse effects. In most cases, wizards take great care to guard the vitality of the world when casting their spells and working their enchantments.

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

Care is taken: it takes longer to preserve.

In most cases: preservers are the default.

Making the defiler take an action to defile is the opposite of what is stated the source material.

Yes, everyone has their own opinion on how to convert the setting. But, the least you could do is try to stay true to that setting.

In some cities, the sorcerer-king is glorified as if he were some sort of immortal being. In fact, many such rulers are actually able to bestow spell-casting abilities upon the templars who serve them. Are they truly on par with the elemental forces worshipped by clerics? I think not.

Templars are divine, not arcane. Templars are clerics, not warlocks. You want some templars as paladins, sure why not, because they're divine warriors dedicated to a cause (i.e. their Sorcerer-king). Just because one class in the new ruleset has a pact, doesn't mean that anything in the source material with a 'pact' should be that class.

Clerics gain their powers from a pact with their gods (or specific ideals), but they're not warlocks.

Paladins gain their powers from a pact with their gods (or specific ideals), but they're not warlocks.

 

[frankthedm]

This flies in the face of one of the core design philosophies of 4E: Reward players for being awesome, don't penalize them for sucking. Ditch the concept of global penalties; it serves no real purpose except to make the math weird and from a player-psychology perspective it's not fun to have an arbitrary penalty because of something completely out of your control.

Then Defile! It is not a 'global' penalty, you only suffer it if you choose to hinder yourself. It's just a fact of life arcane magic leaches life from the world. Preserving is a choice to use less efficient means to claim the moral high ground, not something that the setting should reward IMHO. All defiling is doing is killing the dying planet a little more. Does that really rub players the wrong way that much?

 

[Ultimatecalibur]

One possible way to do Defiling is to treat it as an implement. For example:

Defile

The vegetation at your feet turns to ash as you use its life force to focus your magic.

If using Defile as your implement, it acts as a magical implement equal to your level. When you cast a spell the square(s) you are standing on is considered defiled. If casting a when standing on an already defiled square all non-defiled adjacent squares become defiled.

This makes Defiling an easy way (a free equal level magical implement) without making it much more powerful than Preserving (the Defiler only has an additional secondary or wondrous item/ability).

 

[WanderingMonster]

One possible way to do Defiling is to treat it as an implement....

You know, that's actually kind of brilliant. You're not reinventing the wheel. You're taking an existing (if not-yet-released) system and adapting it to the game world. Awesome.

 

[Kordeth]

One possible way to do Defiling is to treat it as an implement. For example:

Defile

The vegetation at your feet turns to ash as you use its life force to focus your magic.

If using Defile as your implement, it acts as a magical implement equal to your level. When you cast a spell the square(s) you are standing on is considered defiled. If casting a when standing on an already defiled square all non-defiled adjacent squares become defiled.

This makes Defiling an easy way (a free equal level magical implement) without making it much more powerful than Preserving (the Defiler only has an additional secondary or wondrous item/ability).

Ultimatecalibur, you win this thread. Well done.

 

[dangerous jack]

One possible way to do Defiling is to treat it as an implement.

This is an idea worth exploring further.

From the original Design & Development: Wizards and Wizard Implements article...
"Any wizard can use an implement to increase the effectiveness of his spells..."
"...But if he does have a magic staff, it aids the accuracy of his attack..."