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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(Psi)SeveredHead" data-source="post: 5467821" data-attributes="member: 1165">Mechanically, preserving has always been the default. Defiling and preserving underwent significant changes between 2e and 4e, and I'll try to explain both versions:2e defiling: The "within universe" default method of arcane spellcasting. (In fact, wizards were the only arcane spellcasting classes. There were no witches, and bards were rogues who used poison.)Defilers spent less XP to gain levels. They had to "burn" plant energy to cast spells in a very wasteful manner. You could choose to collect energy ahead of time (when you prepped spells) which was easy to do secretly. You could instead cast it in combat. This wasn't at all stealthy, and might get you killed by non-evil PCs, but you could slow your opponents' initiative due to the pain they suffered. I don't know if defilers could be good-aligned.Preservers had to have a Wisdom of 13, as defiling (the first spellcasting any wizard would learn, as it's easier) is addictive. A preserver could defile once per level per level (eg a 5th-level preserver could defile 5 times before "falling") but any preserver who was seen even once defiling by, say, the Veiled Alliance would probably be killed immediately. Otherwise you had more endurance than a defiler, at the long-term cost of having to spend more XP to gain levels.In 4e this has been turned on its head to some extent. Defiling has been made fairly "balanced" with preserving, and PCs can freely switch from one to the other (mechanically, that is). The term "preserver" and "defiler" don't really have any mechanical meaning, although some mystic effects hurt those who have many defiling feats more than those who have none at all. Instead, it's purely a flavor description. Any wizard who almost never defiles would be called a "preserver" by those who know better, any wizard who almost always defiles would be called a "defiler".Arcane Defiling is the free power all arcane spellcaster PCs get, even if you never intend to use it. At the cost of killing plant life and inflicting damage on allies (not enemies), you can reroll the attack or damage roll of a daily arcane power. There are feats which reduce the damage allies take, or inflict more damage, or let you use Arcane Defiling with encounter powers, etc.It's different for NPCs and monsters. Generally defiling is entirely useful for them, no surprise, as they're balanced differently than PCs. For instance, the generic "human defiler" monster NPC inflicts 3 or 5 points of necrotic damage to all enemies within 5 squares every time it uses an implement power (at-will, encounter, recharge or daily). It is effectively balanced with a monster that has a short-range aura that deals 5 necrotic damage every turn, but has a slightly different flavor.</blockquote>

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