D&D 5E (2024) Unconfirmed Dark Sun World Book

[CandyLaser]

It was the case in the official AD&D implementation that a magic user is either a defiler or a preserver, with no option to choose after the class is selected. As far as I'm aware, 3e and 4e worked the same way.

I personally consider this a huge failure of the system.

I don't remember the various unofficial and semi-official 3e conversions, but 4e did not do this. Instead, arcane casters could choose to defile whenever they used one of their daily attack spells; it would destroy nearby plants, damage nearby allies, and allow them to reroll an attack or damage roll. Personally I liked the spirit of making defiling something you could do, or not do, as the situation required, but I didn't think the mechanics were quite right; when I played and ran 4e Dark Sun I think I saw defiling used perhaps twice? There were feats that let you weaponize defiling, which I also liked but never saw in play.

 

[Zardnaar]

It was the case in the official AD&D implementation that a magic user is either a defiler or a preserver, with no option to choose after the class is selected. As far as I'm aware, 3e and 4e worked the same way.

I personally consider this a huge failure of the system.

In the literature you coukd defile as a preserved. Later DS products you could do tgat as well.

A preserv could become a defiler. Iirc a defiler could be redeemed as well.

So yeah 2E had it.

 

[SableWyvern]

In the literature you coukd defile as a preserved. Later DS products you could do tgat as well.

A preserv could become a defiler. Iirc a defiler could be redeemed as well.

So yeah 2E had it.

"Later DS products." Was this is in the Veilled Alliance? I don't recall seeing anything along these lines in any 2e-era material, although I'm happy to accept it could be somewhere I've missed

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

We are talking about the player has to fight against the temptation.

But what happens if players would rather other options? Not only psionic but also variant classes for example a psiartificer (official in 3.5 Eberron) or a favored soul sorcerer.

And the life-shaping, the biopunk technology of living machines?

 

[Zardnaar]

"Later DS products." Was this is in the Veilled Alliance? I don't recall seeing anything along these lines in any 2e-era material, although I'm happy to accept it could be somewhere I've missed

Prism Pentad novels and Defilers and Preservers of Athas iirc.

Sadira was defiling in the novels. Wasn't a defiler.

Can't remember if preservers could do it OBS.

 

[SableWyvern]

Prism Pentad novels and Defilers and Preservers of Athas iirc.

Sadira was defiling in the novels. Wasn't a defiler.

Oh, I know it happened in the novels and it should be possible just based on the way the setting describes it. My comment was the that mechanics not allowing it was a problem.

I do believe Defilers and Preservers is one I never looked at, so no surprise I missed it if it's in there.

Can't remember if preservers could do it OBS.

No, they could not.

 

[Zardnaar]

Oh, I know it happened in the novels and it should be possible just based on the way the setting describes it. My comment was the that mechanics not allowing it was a problem.

I do believe Defilers and Preservers is one I never looked at, so no surprise I missed it if it's in there.


No, they could not.

I think they shoukd he able to as well.

Problem is the new classes. Warlocks are basically arcne and looks like theyre going with the moronic idea theyre templars.

Tempkars probably should be clerics with War or Templar domain. Maybe a back ground even.

 

[SableWyvern]

I think they shoukd he able to as well.

Problem is the new classes. Warlocks are basically arcne and looks like theyre going with the moronic idea theyre templars.

Tempkars probably should be clerics with War or Templar domain. Maybe a back ground even.

Templars as warlocks feels reasonable to me, but I don't play 5e at all or have more than a superficial idea how warlocks actually work, so I'm happy to leave discussion/argument of those specific technical details to someone else. I can see how it might be problem if they're just arcane wizards with limited reflavouring.

 

[Zardnaar]

Templars as warlocks feels reasonable to me, but I don't play 5e at all or have more than a superficial idea how warlocks actually work, so I'm happy to leave discussion/argument of those specific technical details to someone else. I can see how it might be problem if they're just arcane wizards with limited reflavouring.

They're basically Arcanists. 5E doesn't use it.

Templars original material stole elemental power. So they weren't using arcane power.

One of 4Es moronic decisions where they were explicitly arcane. On Athas. They probably should have been primal power source in 4E. To much effort for the designers.

4E clerics should have been primal as well on Atgas. Oops.

 

[Maxperson]

"Objects."

The game does not differentiate between grass in the hills and hay in bales; RAW there are no living organisms in 5e rules that aren't also "creatures", "monsters" or "NPCs."

I suppose a small number of fungi like brown mold are considered hazards, traps or magical contagions.

I don't think plants are objects. You can't poison an object. You can poison plants. You use Locate Plants and Animals to find a rose, not Locate Object. That and non-creature plants are named separately enough times(without AC, hardness and hit points) that they are almost certainly their own thing. As far as I can tell, nowhere in RAW does it call living plants objects.