




                                   DARK SUN



                                NET HANDBOOK







                            compiled and edited by



                                John M. Martz



                            <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>































                             copyright (c) 1994











              --------------------------------------------------



                                   CONTENTS



              --------------------------------------------------



1. INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1



2. EQUIPMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

         New Weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

         Weapon-Group Proficiency with Athasian

          Weapons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

         Non-metal Weapon Costs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

         Non-Metal Weapons Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

         Giant Sized Weapons Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

         Water Blossom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9



3. MISCELLANEOUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

         Amount of food produced from create food

          and water spell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

         Kalidnay as presented in Ravenloft. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

         Random Pick Pockets Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

         Tattoo Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

         Carving up an Erdlu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

         THE Great Debate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

            Is Greyhawk Athas? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

            Summary of Athasian History:  Why

               Athas is not Another Setting's

               Future. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17



4. NONWEAPON PROFICIENCIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19



5. TIME & MOVEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

         The years in a King's Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20



6. KITS & CLASSES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

         Cerebral Knight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

         PRIEST KIT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

            Elemental Healer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24



7. PSIONICS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

         Psionic Book Errata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

         Wild Talent Tables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

         NEW PSIONIC POWERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

            Psychokinetic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

            Psychometabolic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

            Psychoportive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

         Telepathic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

         Metapsionic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36



8. WIZARD SPELLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

         Spell List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39



9. PRIEST SPELLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

         Spell List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

         Incorporating spells from The Great Net

          Prayerbook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62



10. MAGIC ITEMS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63



11. MONSTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66

         Desert Shark. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66

         Ghole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67

         Hivers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68

         Insect Swarm:  Crystal-wing Butterfly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72

         Spider, Elf-bane. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73

         Traplan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75



12. BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77



              --------------------------------------------------



                               1. INTRODUCTION



              --------------------------------------------------





       The DARK SUN Net Handbook, first edition, represents a collection of supplemental m
aterial written and

compiled for TSR's campaign AD&D setting DARK SUN.  I have solicited material for this tom
e from the

AD&D list (ADND-L@PUCC. BITNET), the DARK SUN list (DARK-SUN@LEICESTER.AC.UK), and the

AD&D news group (REC.GAMES. FRP.DND).  While this handbook bears a copyright date on the t
itle page that

applies to the document as a whole, all authors retain full rights to their material inclu
ded here.  As such, I am not

responsible for any errors or plagiarism that might appear in any given author's work.  In
dividuals are permitted to

distribute this document freely as long as it remains intact (i.e., unaltered and in its e
ntirety).

       While I have attempted to organize this book in a logical manner, I have made no at
tempt at constructing

smooth transitions between topics.  Indeed, this handbook resembles a collection of essays
 or short stories with

little more in common than role-playing on Athas.  Throughout, this handbook uses the foll
owing abbreviations:



Abbreviation         Meaning



AD&D              Advanced Dungeon's & Dragons

BoA               Book of Artifacts

CBH               The Complete Bard's Handbook

CFH               Complete Fighter's Handbook

CGH               The Complete Gladiator's Handbook

CPsiH             Complete Psionics Handbook

DMG               Dungeon Master's Guide

DS                DARK SUN

DSNHB             DARK SUN Net Handbook (this document)

DSRB              DARK SUN Rule Book

EAF&W             Earth, Air, Fire, and Water

DSMC              Monstrous Compendium DARK SUN Appendix

PHB               Player's Handbook

ToM               Tome of Magic

VD&F              Valley of Dust and Fire



       While I have done my best to minimize them, I'm sure that this handbook contains mi
stakes and inconsisten

cies.  I encourage your criticism (both positive and negative)--it will help this document
 grow and become more

useful.  Feel free to contact me personally.    As with most supplementary material for AD
&D, all rules contained

in the DARK SUN Net Handbook are optional (as TSR is so found of reminding us).  No DM sho
uld feel obligated

to adopt anything from this e-tome, nor should any player pressure his or her DM to do so.
  Indeed, even I would

not use everything in this document without modification.  While I have encouraged that so
me authors modify

some of the problem items, I left the final decision with each individual author, assuming
 that others might

appreciate them as originally written.  Remember, DARK SUN--and AD&D overall--is a game, a
nd you should

feel free to modify the rules to maximize your enjoyment..  Hopefully, the contents of thi
s e-tome will enliven your

adventures under the Dark Sun.  Have fun.

       Individuals interested in contributing material for inclusion in future versions of
 this handbook should contact

the editor via e-mail <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>.  Any submission related to the DARK SUN settin
g or

deserts in general will be considered.  The most recent version of this handbook is availa
ble via ftp at

FTP.MPGN.COM (in the directory /Gaming/fantasy/NetBooks) and as part of the archive of the
 DARK-SUN list,

mentioned above.  If you do not have the ability to ftp, you can send requests to any of t
he following ftp mail

servers:

       FTPMAIL@DECWRL.DEC.COM

       FTPMAIL@SRC.DOC.IC.AC.UK

       FTPMAIL@CS.UOW.EDU.AU

       FTPMAIL@GRASP.INSA-LYON.FR

These mail servers process ftp commands--to learn how to use them, simply send the one-lin
e message HELP.

       I would like to acknowledge the help of Eric Tunon <TUNON@NOVAVAX.NOVA.EDU> in the
initial

stages of this effort.



John              --------------------------------------------------



                                 2. EQUIPMENT



              --------------------------------------------------





New Weapons

>by John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>





Weapon Name   Cost*     Weight      Size     Type     Speed    Damage**



Arrows, Long           5 sp        2         L     P        10       2d6/2d6

Circular Saw        1 gp        5         S     S        5        1d4+1/1d4





*Cost is based on weapons of metal construction; if made of alternative materials, use rul
es in DSRB or those

       presented in the DSNHB (below).

**Damage and weight are based on metal weapons; nonmetal weapons use adjustments presented
 in DSRB.





Arrows, Long

       Favored by the Judaga of Gulg, long arrows have been a key component in their skirm
ishes with Nibenay's

army.  Each long arrow is six feet long.  Given its length, a long arrow cannot be fired f
rom any bow small than a

long bow.  Unlike other types of arrows, a character wishing to become proficient with the
 long arrow must devote

a proficiency slot to it--proficiency with the long bow does not grant proficiency with th
e long arrow and vice versa.

Due to its unusual nature, a character not proficient in the long arrow suffers an additio
nal -2 penalty to all attacks

(this penalty is in addition to any other penalties for non-proficiency or low Dexterity)
and may fire only one long

arrow every other round (ROF 1/2)--a character who is not proficient in the long bow canno
t fire a long arrow.

Note:  when firing long arrows, the speed factor listed above is used instead of the norma
l speed factor for a long

bow (Range: 5, 10, 17).

       Proficiency benefits.  Before a character may become proficient with the long arrow
, he must already be a

specialist with the low bow.  In addition to the usual benefits, proficiency with long arr
ows allows the character to

improve his rate of fire to one arrow per round.

       Specialist benefits.  In order to specialize in the long arrow, a player must devot
e a second slot to it (for a

total of 2 slots).  Specialization in with long arrows allows the character to improve his
 rate of fire to three arrows

every two rounds (i.e., 3/2).



Circular Saw

       Circular saws are commonly made by baking the teeth of a predator into the outer ed
ges of a flat ceramic disc

or carving the entire disc and serrated edges from chitin.  A small rod pierces the center
 of the 12 inch disc,

projecting an inch on either side.  By using a specially designed throwing stick shaped li
ke a two-foot-long two-

pronged fork with a slight curve, these discs can be thrown up to 30 yards (Range: 1, 2, 3
).

       Proficiency benefits.  The proficient user can achieve a rate of fire of 2 blades p
er round (a nonproficient user

can only throw 1 blade per round).

       Specialist benefits.  The specialist can attempt to use his fork to catch a saw thr
own at him.  He must roll a

saving throw versus breath weapon.  A successful save means he has caught his opponent's s
aw and may

immediately throw the saw back (assuming he still has an attack left that round).  A faile
d save means the saw hits

his fork but is not caught, and the fork must save versus crushing blow to avoid breaking.







Weapon-Group Proficiency with Athasian Weapons

>by John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>



       The CFH introduced the concept of weapon-group proficiencies.  Below, I classify al
l the DS weapons

(presented in DRAGON #185, CGH, and the DSNHB) into their "tight" and "broad" groups.





Tight Groups



Axes:

     Carikkal

     Forearm Axe

Bows:

Clubbing Weapons:

     Datchi Club

     Singing Sticks

Crossbows:

Fencing Blades:

Flails:

Lances:

Long Blades:

     Quabone

Medium Blades:

     Tortoise Blades

Picks:

     Impaler

Polearms:

     Impaler

     Gouge

     Gythka

     Lotulis

     Trikal

     Weighted Pike

Segmented Weapons*:

     Alhulak

     Cahulaks

     Singing Sticks

Short Blades:

     Bard's Friend

     Puchik

     Talid

     Widow's Knife

     Wrist razor

Sickles:

Slings:

     Dejada

Spears:

     Double-bladed Spear

     Dragon's Paw

Whips:

     Master's Whip



          *I created this category, since the Alhulak and Cahulaks (which are basically 2
 handles--the first with a 4-bladed

     grappling hook on one handle, the second on both handles--connected by a length of ro
pe) are obviously related.  I

     would also place the nunchaku in this category.  Singing Sticks are like unattached n
unchaku.





Broad Groups



Blades:

     Bard's Friend

     Puchik

     Quabone

     Talid

     Tortoise Blades

     Widow's Knife

     Wrist razor

Cleaving/crushing Weapons:

     Carikkal

     Datchi Club

     Forearm Axe

     Singing Sticks

Pole Weapons:

     Dragon's Paw

     Double-bladed Spear

     Impaler

     Gouge

     Gythka

     Lotulis

     Trikal

     Weighted Pike

Small Throwing Weapons:

     Chatkcha

     Widow's Knife

     Circular Saw

Non-Groups



       Crusher

       Arrows, Long





Non-metal Weapon Costs

>by John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>



       Have you seriously taken a look at the percentile costs for non-metal weapons given
 in the DSRB?  To

refresh you memory, metal weapons are 100% of cost in the PHB; bone are 30%; obsidian/ston
e are 50%; and

wood are 10%.  I think the non-metal percentages must be a mistake.

       I was rolling up a PC and decided to see what his "official" starting funds would b
e (something that I don't

usually do).  He is a gladiator and he gets 5d4x30 cp.  I rolled 13, so he would start wit
h 360 cp, or 36 sp, or 3 gp,

6 sp.  Then I started pricing weapons and found that I could hardly afford any!  Take the
mundane long sword (15

gp for metal)--a wood sword (the worst quality) would cost 1 gold, 5 silver (that's equal
to 3 10,000 pound capacity

open wagons!!!)!  Christ, a simple wooden dagger (2 gp for metal) would cost 2 silver (eno
ugh for a 2,500 lbs

capacity open wagon)!

       In addition, these prices seem WAY out of line with the weapons presented in the DS
RB.  The gythka costs 6

cp and the impaler costs 4 cp (it does not say if these are the cost for metal weapons--I
seriously doubt it, so I

would assume that the damage might need to be adjusted for metal versions of these weapons
?).  These are both

polearms.  Imagine the gythka is composed of a similar amount of material as a lucern hamm
er (7 gp for metal),

since they both do P/B damage, weigh about the same, and do relatively the same damage.  W
ell, a wooden lucern

hammer costs 7 SILVER!  A bone one costs 2 gp, 1 sp!  And a stone one costs 3 gp, 5 sp!!!

       Finally, clubs, bows, lances, and several other weapons can be purchased for 1% of
their PHB cost.  Why

would a stone spear (8 sp x .01 = 8 bits) cost less than a stone knife (5 sp x .5 = 25 cp)
--the knife costs over 31

times more than the spear!  Also, note that DRAGON #185 presents several weapons that "can
 be easily made

without metal; they can easily be purchased for 1% of the price listed and used without da
mage or attack penalties

regardless of materials used."  One of these is the chulak--like 2 grappling hooks with th
e handles attached via a

12' cord (gold price=12; wght=12; sz=M; type=P/B; spd=5; dmg=1d6/1d6).  Thus, a stone pair
 would cost 12 cp

(still 3 times as much as an impaler, but . . .). Why is it so much easier to make a pair
of chulakas then a knife,

making the knife cost over twice as much for a substantially less effective weapon (the be
nefits, such as

concealability, of the knife don't appear to be strong enough to warrant the higher price)
?

       There is obviously something wrong here, and I don't remember reading any correctio
ns to these pricing

schemes.  So let me propose one.  Instead of the above percentage costs for non-metal weap
ons, use 3% for bone,

5% for obsidian/stone, and 1% for wood.  These prices would make that wooden long sword 15
 cp (still seems a bit

expensive, but . . .), that wooden dagger 2 cp, that wooden lucern hammer 7 cp, and that s
tone knife 2 cp, 5 bits.

Realize that these prices are still not cheap for the common man--take a look at the Commo
n Wages table in the

DSRB.  The heavy footman (the best paid footman type) makes no more than 5 bits PER WEEK!
 At that rate, it

would still be 4 weeks before she could afford a wooden dagger (if she spends her money on
 nothing else).





Non-Metal Weapons Rules

>by Mizar the Brilliant <MARCOS@IFI.UNICAMP.BR>



1.  Introduction

       Page 51 of the DSRB contains the section dealing with non-metal weapons.  The rules
 are very simple and

were clearly designed to add a little bit of spice to the game without affecting playabili
ty, and if that is what you're

looking for, those are the rules you should use.  The following set of optional rules was
designed to expand on the

original ones, adding more realism and balance to them, but may prove to be a little bit m
ore cumbersome (i.e.,

more dice rolling) during the game.  More than that, these rules effectively change the wa
y weapons are seen in

the world:  Non-metal weapons will break much more often, and as a consequence metal weapo
ns become highly

prized items on Athas, as they should be.  Also, characters will have to take this into ac
count when planning their

gear for travel.  Extra weapons should be taken if one doesn't want to suddenly find himse
lf bare-handed in the

middle of the desert.  Each material has gained individual characteristics which represent
 a set of strengths and

weaknesses, in such a way that the overall balance is still maintained.



2.  Limitations of the DSRB Rules

       According to the DSRB, a non-metal weapon has a 1-in-20 chance of breaking whenever
 maximum damage is

done.  The first limitation of this rule is that weapons of the same kind have the same ch
ance to break, regardless

of what they're made of.  But the second, and most important one, is that the chance of br
eaking a certain weapon

DOES become dependant on which and how many dice you roll for damage!  This variation is m
erely a conse-



quence of game mechanics, and obviously has no correlation with reality.

       Here's an extreme example of discrepancy resultant from this rule:  Arngor and Tara
q are fighting a large

creature.  Arngor wields an obsidian bastard sword, while Taraq has an obsidian two-handed
 sword.  Both of them

score a hit and will now roll for damage:  Arngor must roll 1d12 and Taraq 3d6.  Thus, the
 chance that Arngor will

do max damage is merely 1/12, while Taraq's probability is (1/6)^3 = 1/216! Therefore, the
 chance that Arngor

will break his weapon is 18 times greater than Taraq's, although both weapons are very sim
ilar, structurally

speaking.  Also, nothing would be changed if Taraq's weapon were made of bone or wood.



3.  Optional Rules

       The following rules have been written in a way that the DM may choose which ones he
 wants to add to his

game, while being able to discard others.  Many of them are also compatible with the origi
nal rules in the DSRB.

This way, it should be possible fit them to into any campaign.



3.1 BREAKING:  Weapons break because of the impact they suffer when landing on a target (k
nown as Newton's

third law :-).  It has already been pointed out that the chance of breaking should depend
less on the dice and more

on the material that the weapon is made of.  The following rule solves both problems:  "A
check must be made to

see if a weapon will break whenever the weapon does ABOVE AVERAGE damage.  The average dam
age is easily

calculated by adding the minimum damage with the maximum damage and then dividing by 2.  T
he % chance of

breaking depends on the material and is given in table 1."  Note that by using the average
 damage as a reference,

instead of the maximum, the check becomes completely dice-independent, because there's alw
ays a 50% chance of

doing above average damage no matter which or how many dice are rolled.

       Example:  Arngor and Taraq are fighting the same creature, with the same weapons as
 above.  The average

damage of a Bastard Sword is 6.5, while the 2-H Sword's average is 10.5, so if Arngor roll
s 7 or more and Taraq

rolls 11 or more,  both of them will have to check for breaking.  If both weapons are made
 of obsidian, they'll have

a 2% chance of breaking.  If Taraq's sword is made of bone, his chance is increased to 6%
(see below).

       Now, let's see how often weapons will break with this rule, in comparison to the DS
RB rule:  Using the

DSRB, non-metal Bastard Swords will statistically break once every 240 successful hits [(1
/12)*(1/20)], while

non-metal 2-H  Swords break once every 4320 hits [(1/216)*(1/20)].  With the optional rule
, both Bastard and 2-H

Swords, as well as any other weapon, break once every 100 hits if made of obsidian [(50%)*
(2%)], 50 hits if wood,

and 33 hits if  bone.  Note that the two weapons chosen as examples are among the least fr
equently broken with

the DSRB rules.  A non-metal dagger (or any other weapon using 1d4 for dmg) breaks every 8
0 hits, while a

non-metal knife against large creatures breaks every 40 hits!



3.2 SPEED:  The weapon speed modifier to initiative is very much dependant on two factors:
  how heavy a weapon

is and/or how difficult it is to prepare an attack.  The first one is the case of swinging
 weapons like swords, axes

and maces, while the second is for those that must be armed like bows and slings.  Since n
on-metal weapons are

generally lighter than their metal counterparts, it is reasonable to conclude that they sh
ould be somewhat faster as

well.  Table 1 shows speed modifiers for each material.  Note that these modifiers should
apply only to weapons

whose weight makes a difference, and no weapon can have an overall negative modifier.



3.3 COST:  Although until the day of the conclusion of these rules there was no official e
rrata released by TSR, it

is a general feeling that the table for weapon costs in the DSRB is misprinted.  Metal wea
pons should be MUCH

more expensive than what that table suggests.  Table 1 below lists weapon costs  relative
to metal as an optional

rule, but the values are probably what TSR had intended them to be in the first place.



Table 1:  Characteristics of each material used for weapons.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------

MATERIAL COST          WEIGHT   SPEED       DAMAGE  HIT     BREAK



Metal    100%     100%     --      --   --      --

Stone/Obsidian 5%         75% -1        -1   -2      2%

Bone 3%       50%   -2        -1   -1        6%

Wood 1%       50%   -2        -2   -3        4%

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------



3.4 STRENGTH:  Characters with exceptional strength get a bonus to their damage rolls.  Th
is is because they are

able to add more momentum to their weapons and therefore increase the impact.  Since we ha
ve already seen that

weapons break basically due to impact, it is only logical to assume that strong characters
 will break their weapons

more often.  So, as an optional rule, the DM may rule that MAX or AVERAGE damage of weapon
s are the

values calculated from their unmodified damage dice, and a character's STR bonus must be a
dded to the roll to

see if a break check is necessary.  Example:  Sulidor the half-giant has a +5 bonus to his
 damage rolls.  He strikes

his large opponent with his Bastard Sword and rolls a 4 on 1d12.  This number is below the
 average of a "natural"

1d12, but Sulidor must add 5 to this roll, totalling 9, above average.  Sulidor will have
to make a break check.

       Note that bonuses to damage due to magic and specialization should NOT be computed
when calculating the

necessity of a break check, since these bonuses are not consequences of increased impact.
  Of course, penalties

due to low STR will reduce the frequency of break checks in a similar manner.



3.5 BALANCED BLOW:  When using the strength rule above, as well as in many other situation
s, a character

might sometimes not want to put all his strength into an attack.  If this is the case, the
 player announces in the

BEGINNING of the round that he intends to balance his blows, and informs how much he wants
 to penalize his

damage.  This penalty will then be computed just like low STR.  This is valid for any char
acter, exceptionally

strong or not.



3.6 WEAPON QUALITY:  In a world where the demand for non-metal weapons is high and where t
hese weapons

don't last too long, there will be a lot of people in the weapon-making business.  Since w
orking with non-metal

materials is much easier, many of these people will present themselves as "weaponsmiths",
although they did not

have the proper training.  On the other side, you will also find some very few "masters" o
f the art, people who have

worked hard and developed techniques to improve the quality of their products.  This means
 there will be a variety

of weapon qualities, from an improvised piece of stick that breaks on the first blow to a
true masterpiece bone

halberd, almost as good as a metal one.  Table 2 shows the average modifiers for each qual
ity.  High quality

weapons will have a bonus to hit OR to damage, but not to both.  This depends on how the m
aterial was

optimized.  Low quality weapons can be as bad as you can imagine them, but will usually be
 at -1 to hit and

damage.  Table 3 shows the distribution of weapon qualities when found as part of a treasu
re.



Table 2:  Weapon Quality Modifiers

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

QUALITY   COST   HIT/DAMAGE  BREAK



High      x3       +1        x1/2

Average   x1       --        --

Poor      x1/3          -1          x2

------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Table 3:  Weapons found in treasure

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

QUALITY   STONE/OBSIDIAN     BONE   WOOD



Poor         01-20           01-25  01-30

Average      21-90           26-95  31-85

High         91-00           96-00  86-00

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



3.7 "GIMME A BREAK":  If with all these rules the DM decides weapons will be breaking too
often for his likes,

he can rule that on the first failed break check the weapon is not immediately rendered us
eless, but rather worsens

its quality somehow.  A piercing weapon may have it's pointed tip broken off, a slashing w
eapon may lose some of

its cut and a blunt weapon may develop a  crack, so that they no longer work properly.  Th
ese weapons will be at

-1 to hit and damage and have twice the % chance of breaking on the next check.  On a succ
essful saving throw vs.

crushing blow these weapons can also be fixed, but it's up to the DM to decide who can do
that and how much it

will cost.





Giant Sized Weapons Rules

>from Greg L Dufner <DUFNERGR@STUDENT.MSU.EDU>



Editor's Note:  These were copied from another TSR reference, the citation of which I stil
l need to obtain.



Size Categories:



A  7.5 to 9 feet tall.

B  9.5 to 11 feet tall.

C  11.5 to 13 feet tall.

D  13.5 to 16 feet tall.

E  16.5 to 19.5 feet tall.

F  20 feet tall or more.



       Determine the size category of the wielder and find the damage for the appropriate
human sized weapon

(HSW) on the left hand column, find the intersection of the two to determine the damage of
 the giant sized

weapon.



       HSW  A     B     C     D     E     F

       1    1-2      1-2      1-3      2-3      2-4      2-5

       1-2     1-3      1-4      2-4      2-5      2-7      2-8

       1-3     2-4      1-6      2-6      1-8      3-9      2-12

       1-4     1-6      2-6      2-8      1-10     3-12     2-16

       1-6     2-8      1-10     2-12     3-13     3-18     5-20

       1-8     1-12     3-12     2-16     2-20     3-24     3-30

       1-10    3-13     2-16     2-20     2-24     3-30     4-32

       1-12    3-17     2-20     2-24     6-24     3-36     5-40

       2-5     2-8      1-12     2-12     3-12     3-18     5-20

       2-7     2-12     3-12     2-16     2-20     3-24     3-30

       2-8     2-12     3-13     3-17     3-21     6-24     5-30

       2-12    3-18     3-21     4-24     3-30     6-36     7-42

       2-16    3-24     6-24     4-32     6-36     6-48     3-60

       3-9     2-16     3-18     3-21     4-24     4-32     6-36

       3-12    2-20     5-20     6-24     7-28     5-40     6-48

       3-18    3-30     7-28     6-36     7-42     3-60     8-64







Water Blossom

>by Greg L Dufner <DUFNERGR@STUDENT.MSU.EDU>



       Description:  The water blossom is a small portable water recycling unit.  It consi
sts of a dome-shaped lid.

The actual shape of the lid depends on the material it is made of, be it hide, chitin, or
metal.  This lid sits atop a

bucket-type structure with a nearly water tight seal.  Around the inside of the lid there
are many small catch

pockets for capturing reclaimed water.

       The water blossom operates by placing waste/harmful fluids in the bucket portion of
 the apparatus.  (These

fluids can be anything water based, such as blood or urine, or they can even be materials
with a high percentage of

water in them, feces, vegetable matter, and so on.)  The lid is then placed atop the bucke
t an left in direct sunlight.

As the interior is heated, the water evaporates from its host fluid/substance, rises in th
e heat, and coalesces on the

inside o the lid.  After it coalesces it runs down the sides and collects in the pockets t
o be reclaimed and used.

       A Water Blossom has a water recovery ratio that determines how much water it can re
cover from a water

source (blood, urine, etc.).  If the ratio is 2:1, it takes 2 gallons of material to recov
er 1 gallon of water.

       Water blossoms can be made from three types of material:  hide, chitin, or metal.
Each model has it's own

water recovery ratio, cost and weight.



Material       Weight      Recovery Ratio Cost



Hide         5-10 lbs         3:1         30-40 gp

Chitin       7-12 lbs         3:2         30-35 gp

Metal       20-30 lbs         4:3         55-75 gp





       These ratios are for liquid based sources only, solid sources would have a lower ra
tio.

       The time needed to recover water is four hours per gallon required, and this is ass
uming direct, continuous

sunlight.  Each blossom has it's benefits and draw backs such as the hide model while extr
emely light, requires a

great deal of maintenance.  This model needs to be oiled on a regular basis, and more freq
uently with increased

use.

       Obviously these are not the only materials that can be used to create the blossom,
they are just the most

efficient and common.  The carapaces of giant arthropods would work were well also, specif
ically giant spiders and

ticks.  But the DM will have to modify prices and occurrences of these models.
   --------------------------------------------------



                               3. MISCELLANEOUS



              --------------------------------------------------



Amount of food produced from create food and water spell

>by John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>



       Some standard spells were modified for the DS setting.  Occasionally these modifica
tions have increased the

complexity of the spells.  A prime example is create food and water, which creates these i
tems by the cubic foot.  By

limiting the priest's ability to create water to only .5 gallons per level (see DSRB), the
 question of how much food

remains after the water has been created requires the conversion of the water created into
 pounds (8.5 lbs per

gallon), the determination of the cubic feet that water takes up (at 64 lbs per cu ft), an
d the calculation of the

remainder.  That is, the amount of food created may be calculated by the following equatio
n:



                      food = level - (gallons x 8.5)/64



where food is the total amount of food created, level is the caster's level, and gallons i
s the amount of water

created.

       The following table also reports the amount of water produced by create water and t
he weight of the water

(not including containers; the DM may use .5 lbs for each gallon-sized container), which s
erve as intermediate steps

in the above calculation.  More importantly, it also includes the amount of food and water
 produced by create food

and water for priests of levels 1 to 30, assuming that the priest wants to produce the max
imum amount of water.

       Since a cubic foot feeds 3 M-sized creatures or one L-sized creature, the DM may us
e the percentages to

determine number of creatures that the food will satisfy by using .33 and .66 as cutoff po
ints.  If the remainder is

greater than .33, it feeds one additional person; if greater than .66, it feeds two people
.  For example, a 5th level

priest creates 4.67 cubic feet of food--enough for 14 M-sized creatures (4 x 3 + 2).  And
an 8th level priest creates

7.47 cubic feet of food--enough for 22 M-sized creatures with a little left over (but not
enough to constitute

complete nourishment for another; 7 x 3 + 1).



Level of         Create                   Create Food &

Priest      Water                    Water

  1     0.50 gal (  4.25 lbs)     1 cu ft =  0.93 cu ft +  0.50 gal

  2     1.00 gal (  8.50 lbs)     2 cu ft =  1.87 cu ft +  1.00 gal

  3     1.50 gal ( 12.75 lbs)     3 cu ft =  2.80 cu ft +  1.50 gal

  4     2.00 gal ( 17.00 lbs)     4 cu ft =  3.73 cu ft +  2.00 gal

  5     2.50 gal ( 21.25 lbs)     5 cu ft =  4.67 cu ft +  2.50 gal

  6     3.00 gal ( 25.50 lbs)     6 cu ft =  5.60 cu ft +  3.00 gal

  7     3.50 gal ( 29.75 lbs)     7 cu ft =  6.54 cu ft +  3.50 gal

  8     4.00 gal ( 34.00 lbs)     8 cu ft =  7.47 cu ft +  4.00 gal

  9     4.50 gal ( 38.25 lbs)     9 cu ft =  8.40 cu ft +  4.50 gal

 10     5.00 gal ( 42.50 lbs)    10 cu ft =  9.34 cu ft +  5.00 gal

 11     5.50 gal ( 46.75 lbs)    11 cu ft = 10.27 cu ft +  5.50 gal

 12     6.00 gal ( 51.00 lbs)    12 cu ft = 11.20 cu ft +  6.00 gal

 13     6.50 gal ( 55.25 lbs)    13 cu ft = 12.14 cu ft +  6.50 gal

 14     7.00 gal ( 59.50 lbs)    14 cu ft = 13.07 cu ft +  7.00 gal

 15     7.50 gal ( 63.75 lbs)    15 cu ft = 14.00 cu ft +  7.50 gal

 16     8.00 gal ( 68.00 lbs)    16 cu ft = 14.94 cu ft +  8.00 gal

 17     8.50 gal ( 72.25 lbs)    17 cu ft = 15.87 cu ft +  8.50 gal

 18     9.00 gal ( 76.50 lbs)    18 cu ft = 16.80 cu ft +  9.00 gal

 19     9.50 gal ( 80.75 lbs)    19 cu ft = 17.74 cu ft +  9.50 gal

 20    10.00 gal ( 85.00 lbs)    20 cu ft = 18.67 cu ft + 10.00 gal

 21    10.50 gal ( 89.25 lbs)    21 cu ft = 19.61 cu ft + 10.50 gal

 22    11.00 gal ( 93.50 lbs)    22 cu ft = 20.54 cu ft + 11.00 gal

 23    11.50 gal ( 97.75 lbs)    23 cu ft = 21.47 cu ft + 11.50 gal

 24    12.00 gal (102.00 lbs)    24 cu ft = 22.41 cu ft + 12.00 gal

 25    12.50 gal (106.25 lbs)    25 cu ft = 23.34 cu ft + 12.50 gal

 26    13.00 gal (110.50 lbs)    26 cu ft = 24.27 cu ft + 13.00 gal

 27    13.50 gal (114.75 lbs)    27 cu ft = 25.21 cu ft + 13.50 gal

 28    14.00 gal (119.00 lbs)    28 cu ft = 26.14 cu ft + 14.00 gal

 29    14.50 gal (123.25 lbs)    29 cu ft = 27.07 cu ft + 14.50 gal

 30    15.00 gal (127.50 lbs)    30 cu ft = 28.01 cu ft + 15.00 gal





Kalidnay as presented in Ravenloft

>from Eduardo Kamada <KAMADA@DCC.UNICAMP.BR>



Extracted from Forbidden Lore (an accessory from Ravenloft):



       "In the world of Athas, in the land of the Ringing Mountains, there once was a grea
t city named Kalidnay.  In

its time it was as prosperous as Balic or any other city-states.  It was ruled by the sorc
eress-queen Kalid-Ma.  Her

iron grip was tempered only by her great vanity.  Kalid-Ma was noted for her strict laws a
nd even stricter

enforcement of them.  Even her own templars were not immune to the law.  Kalidnay had a re
putation for being a

harsh but fair city, an extremely unusual reputation for any city in Athas.

       "Her most loyal templar, and secret admirer, was Thakok-An.  A thoroughly vicious m
an, he retained his post

by zealously enforcing all decrees and constantly extolling Kalid-Ma's virtues, which appe
aled to her vanity.

Singing the praises of his queen was easy, since he desired her above all things.  Her app
roval was so important to

him that if ever it was withheld, he expunged his despair in the tortured bodies of the ci
ty's prisoners.

       "The sorceress-queen of Kalidnay was strong in the arts of magic and the mind.  So
strong, in fact, that the

sorcerer-kings of the other cities feared her greatly.  Driven by their fear and jealously
, they plotted to have her

killed.

       "Thakok-An learned of their plot.  Maddened by the thought of losing the one thing
he desired above all, he

sought any means to save Kalid-Ma for himself.  A man who truly loved her would have told
Kalid-Ma of the plan.

Thakok-An chose instead to save her from them and thereby earn her undying devotion.

       "With virtually complete access to the palace, it was an easy matter to pry open th
e books and tomes of

arcane lore that the sorceress-queen kept.  In them he learned how to metamorphosize her.
 The price would be

high, but he did not hesitate a moment to pay it.

       "Thakok-An made his many preparations.  On the eve of the ceremony, he brought his
whole family up to the

top of the ziggurat.  One by one he slaughtered them in gruesome fashion.  Their blood soa
ked the stones of the

ziggurat, staining it in treachery for all time.

       "When the sorceress-queen chanted the final invocation of the metamorphosis spell,
the ziggurat cracked.  The

life forces of all the people of the city were drained, save that of Thakok-An, crouched u
pon the top of the

collapsing.  This was all wrong! Too many people were dying.  From what the templar had re
ad, the ziggurat

should not have cracked, nobody else should have died, and Kalid-Ma would have metamorphos
ized.

       "Thakok-an awoke amid the rubble atop the broken ziggurat.  He had obviously been s
truck unconscious by a

falling rock.  The city was empty, the streets devoid of life.  Climbing to the top of the
 palace towers, he looked for

any signs of people.  He saw instead that Kalidnay now sat on a plateau in a silt sea.  No
 other land was visible in

any direction.  On the edges of the city, lights and smoke told him that only the center o
f the city had been made

lifeless.

       "It took a month of labor to clear the ziggurat.  In the dark, twisted corridors be
low it he found Kalid-Ma.

Her body was indeed unchanged.  In fact she lived, but slept eternally.  No force has yet
been able to awaken her,

nor is Thakok-An sure that he wants her to awaken.  Kalid-Ma belongs only to him, but the
victory is ashes in his

mouth."



       Kalidnay is today an isle in Ravenloft, it is surrounded by silt and it is very dif
ficult, but no impossible, for

characters to reach the Core from this isle.  There are special rules for adapting a DARK
SUN character to the

Ravenloft setting.  On Athas, Kalidnay is today a dead city-state, people do not know what
 happened and the city

is told to be cursed.  In its center lies a cracked ziggurat, much alike that built by Kal
ak to become a complete

dragon.





Random Pick Pockets Table

>by Bill Hincks <WHIN3560@URIACC.URI.EDU>



       I developed this table to help me out in city settings when the thieves in the part
y insist on getting themselves

into trouble.  It's very simple to use and there are not a whole lot of redundancies.  The
 roll is a simple d100 for

the table and a d100 for the item.  Note:  it is possible to pick pockets successfully and
 still not find anything.  This

table is designed to represent the common crowd.  If a thief is targeting the upper class
only then add whatever

percent you see fit to the percentile roll.



01-50  76-87

 d20    d20

  1: empty!                          1: empty!

  2: empty!                          2: bone ring (2cp)

  3: empty!                          3: signal whistle

  4: 1/4 lb. nuts                    4: small flute

  5: 1/2 lb. rice                    5: poison ring

  6: 1/2 lb. raisins                 6: broken bone thieves' pick

  7: mixed herbs (common)            7: writing ink

  8: handful of cotton               8: feather quill

  9: d6 faro needles                 9: 1/8 lb. rare spices

 10: 1/4 lb. cheese                 10: lump of fresh cheese

 11: bone hairclip                  11: small fire kit

 12: small glass bottle (empty)     12: d6 bits

 13: d4 glass marbles               13: d4 bits

 14: 1' twine                       14: d2 ceramics

 15: bone comb                      15: d10 bits

 16: sewing needle                  16: flask of lamp oil

 17: small lump of sealing wax      17: vial of perfume

 18: whetstone                      18: obsidian knife

 19: signal whistle                 19: d6 bone darts

 20: GO TO NEXT TABLE               20: GO TO NEXT TABLE



51-75                              88-93

 d20    d20

  1: empty!                          1: empty!

  2: 1/8 lb. common spices           2: faro fruit

  3: small block of salt             3: 1/2 lb. rare spices

  4: dried meat                      4: 1/8 lb. exotic spices

  5: fire kit                        5: d6 candles

  6: empty waterskin                 6: rare feather

  7: 1lb. raisins                    7: glass bottle (full of nectar)

  8: cloak pin                       8: written note (about a meeting)

  9: candle                          9: bone knife & scabbard

 10: small square of canvas         10: vial of writing ink

 11: scrap of torn silk             11: pouch of dried paints

 12: small piece of carved wood     12: magnifying glass

 13: common animal feather          13: d4 ceramics

 14: smooth stone                   14: d20 bits

 15: stick of chalk                 15: d10 darts

 16: lump of stale bread            16: vial type A poison

 17: 1 bit                           17: 3 springs of morning glory

 18: d4 bits                        18: 1 ornamental stone (15cp)

 19: plain brooch                   19: 1 vial type G poison

 20: GO TO NEXT TABLE               20: GO TO NEXT TABLE



93-95  99-00

 d20    d20

  1: empty!                          1: empty!

  2: 1/2 lb. exotic spices           2: d3 vial of random poison

  3: d4 ceramics                     3: 4 vials of random poison

  4: d6 ceramics                     4:  d4 silvers

  5: d8 ceramics                     5: d20 ceramics

  6: d10 ceramics                    6: gold

  7: d12 ceramics                    7: d100 bits

  8: d4 bits                         8: d100 ceramics

  9: d12 bits                        9: magical potion fruit

 10: d3 ornamental stones (15 cp)   10: steel dagger + scabbard

 11: 1 semi-precious stone (75 cp)      11: precious gem (75 sp)

 12: written note (elicit meeting)           12: d2 gold

 13: 1 silver                       13: d10 vials random poison

 14: d4 ornamental stones           14: d10 ornamental stones (15 cp)

 15: precious bone comb (10 cp)     15: d8 semi-precious stones (75 cp)

 16: crafted wooden figurine (d20 cp)        16: small random magic item

 17: 1 vial poison type F           17: hand trap

 18: bone dagger & scabbard         18: good haul roll twice more

 19: d3 thistle roots               19: great haul roll twice more and

 20: GO TO NEXT TABLE                   add 10% to percentile rolls

       20: haul of the century roll three more times

                                   and add 15% to rolls



96-98

 d20

  1: empty!

  2: 1 vial random poison

  3: d10 ceramics

  4: d4 ornamental stones (15 cp)

  5: semi-precious stone (75 cp)

  6: d2 silvers

  7: d4 vials random poison

  8: d3 sun pears

  9: 1 deadly creeper in ceramic ball

 10: 3 clumps of rockweed

 11: bone bards' friend

 12: bag with magic mouth on it

 13: silver ring (2 sp)

 14: d4 silvers

 15: fancy stone (15 sp)

 16: jeweled brooch (30 cp)

 17: steel knife & scabbard

 18: 3 rations food

 19: young hurrum

 20: GO TO NEXT TABLE





Tattoo Techniques

>by Greg L Dufner <DUFNERGR@STUDENT.MSU.EDU>



       Before the advent of electricity there were two particularly popular methods of giv
ing a tattoo.  Both of these

techniques would be quite easy to employ on Athas, especially with the use of a healing sp
ells or other magical

catalysts.

       The first technique consists of dipping a sharpened piece of bamboo, or cactus need
le, into a jar of ink and

then piercing the flesh of the recipient with the coated needle.  After the needle is with
drawn the ink remains in

the flesh.  While this sounds barbaric and crude, incredibly complicated and detailed draw
ings can be achieved.

       The second techniques consists of using fine toothed combs dipped in ink.  These co
mbs could be carved from

wood, created using needles, or with the use of magic, such as the spells to shape bone or
 wood.  In this techniques

the combs are dipped into the ink, placed on the skin, and tapped with a hammer.  The tips
 puncture the skin and

the comb is withdrawn, leaving the ink in the skin.



HEALING

       After a tattoo is given, it takes 5 to 14 days to heal completely, on a normal man.
  During the healing process

the tattoo must be kept clean, coating with some type of healing salve would do the trick
on Athas.  If the tattoo

becomes infected, the art work will be destroyed as the body tries to eject any foreign ma
terial, ink included.  In

game terms this event is up to the DM, but total healing time should be based on the Const
itution of the recipient,

or the use of the Healing NWP on the new tattoo on a regular basis.  A healing spell will
automatically heal a

tattoo and help insure color set.



MATERIALS

       The materials used to give tattoos are all readily available on Athas.  Needles can
 be obtained from cacti--the

hollow needles of a spider cactus are especially valued, as they hold more and can be used
 for multiple injections

before they need to be re-dipped.  The inks can be obtained from the same sources as cloth
ing dye is, and

someone with the brewing NWP or the skill to craft poison can fashion an especially vibran
t range of colors.

(Another source of income for Bards?)  These inks can range in price from several bits to
several silver pieces

depending on the quality and color fastness of the ink.  Once again this is left to the DM
's discretion, as are the

prices and availability of the needles or combs.



TATTOOED SPELLS

       These spells are treated in much the same way as tied (quipu) spells.  The words ar
e not actually written on

the skin, but a pattern is determined by the recipient and a series of raised scars are ca
rved into the flesh.  The

pattern of the scars determines the pattern that the spell caster must follow.

       When these tattoos are given, no healing magics can be used as the wounds must scar
 excessively.  At the end

of the healing process a System Shock must be made or a permanent loss of 1 hit point will
 result.  If healing

magic is used, the scars will not develop and the tattooing will leave only a pretty pictu
re.  These tattoos also tend

to be very large.  For every level of the spell assume that the tattoo must cover one squa
re foot.  The tattoo must

also be easy to touch and follow with ones fingers.  These spells will never exceed third
level, as some of the

energy from the spell will be drawn from the tattoo each time it is cast.  Casting a first
 level spell chills the caster,

while a third

level spell could put the caster into fits of shivering and a traumatic cold spell.  A hig
her level spell could leave the

caster frozen in the spot from which he cast the spell.





Carving up an Erdlu

>by John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>



       Here are some of the tidbits I learned from an article on ostrich farming published
 in The Raleigh News &

Observer that I think you might find useful.  See, I've always imagined erdlu to be somewh
at similar to ostriches.

Anyway, while ostriches average 6' tall (up to 8') they weight 300-400 lbs, which is a tad
 short and a bit heavier

than erdlu.  I only mention this fact since you might want to adjust the following.

       Ostriches lay more than 100 eggs a year.  When slaughtered at 18 months, one ostric
h produces 100 lbs of

meat (red meat which tastes like beef and is lower in fat & cholesterol than chicken and f
ewer in calories than

most meats, for all you adventurers watching your weight :-) ), 14 square feet of leather,
 and 56 pounds of feathers.

Oh, and their forward kick delivers 500-pounds-per-square-inch of force (enough, the artic
le says, to cave in a car

door).  In addition, almost all of their body has a use:  oil for cosmetics, eyelashes for
 paint brushes, bones for

bone meal, innards for fertilizer, and feathers for fashion & feather dusters.

       Now, we might assume that a female produces 1 egg every 4 days.  Since an erdlu ten
ds to weigh less (200

lbs) but be taller (7') than an ostrich, we might guess that when slaughtered one produces
 66 lbs of meat (1/3 of

body weight), 10 square feet of leather (just a guess based on less body mass), and 0 lbs
of feathers (since they are

featherless).  I don't see why their body parts can have similar uses to those of ostriche
s, above.





THE Great Debate:  with an Introduction by the Editor

>by John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>



       The argument began with the release of the DS material, and I've watched it played
out numerous times in

the various role-playing lists and newsgroups.  IS Athas the future of another one of TSR'
s settings?  The following

articles address this question.  Note that when the authors of the next two articles wrote
 their pieces, they--to the

best of my knowledge--were unaware of each other's articles.  However, I would like to use
 the juxtaposition of

their submissions as occasion to address this debate.





Is Greyhawk Athas?

>by Justin Bacon <JUSTIN.BACON@TDKT.MN.ORG>



       When the Dark Sun boxed set first came out there were about four responses to its c
ontents:

         1.  "It's for munchkins!"

         2.  "Well, looks cool--lets play."

         3.  "Wonder what its history is like? Well, perhaps.."

         4.  "Do you think maybe its really Faerun (Forgotten Realms) thousands of years l
ater, after some

         horrible holocaust?"

       This essay, indirectly, stems from the fourth concept. Shortly after a heated threa
d on whether or not Faerun

and the land of the hot sun could possibly be the same, I picked up two new TSR items:  Th
e Forgotten Realms

Campaign Setting for the 2nd edition, and the Greyhawk From the Ashes boxed set.  Both of
these sets got me to

thinking and then late one night I decided that, judging from the history of our own world
, people generally tend

to settle somewhere and then STAY settled there.  Even with wars and new rulers the cities
 stay in basically the

same place.

       To test to see if Faerun and Athas were indeed the same world only need a ruler and
 a little geometric sense.

So I pulled out my ruler, shook out my geometric sense and found a common point of interes
t:  Faerun's large

desert and the Sea of Silt.  Unfortunately no solid connections were found on any of my at
tempts and I decided

that, indeed, Faerun showed no indication of actually being Athas thousands of years in it
s past.

       So I boxed up the Forgotten Realms set and was about to call the project quits when
 I noticed my new

Greyhawk boxed set still lying open with its contents spilled across the floor for study.
 Scooping up that map and

using Greyhawk's large desert as an equivalent Sea of Silt I discovered some amazing simil
arities.

       [NOTE:  With new releases from TSR this information no longer jibes  with their tal
es of world creation, etc.

But, personally, their tales contradict the boxed set as far as I can see.  Personally, wh
atever tickles your fancy is

what you should use... if you don't own supplements besides the boxed set, don't worry abo
ut it.]



Greyhawk City  Athasian City

Hokar       Draj

Cryllar        Raam

Veluna City    Urik

Exaj        Tyr

**             Nebeng (Editor's note:  I assume the author meant Nibenay)

**             Gulg

[off map]      Balic

*              Guistenal

Teshra      Altaruk

[off map]      Salt View

[off map]      Mud Palace

[off map]      Bodach

Rushmoors      Blackview



       When I first posted this to the FidoNet it caused quite an uproar--both from horrif
ied Dark Sun fans that I

should try to "taint" their world with a connection to Greyhawk (or vice versa); and from
those who thought this

theory held as much merit as any other (and some actually were going to put it into use).

       When questions were raised such as, "What's the point?" I mentioned several campaig
n ideas I had already

come up with for use with this scenario (or a similar one from Faerun).  Several of these
are added on for this

final work:



 * Adventure Ideas *



1.  You run a campaign in standard Greyhawk. The notable difference is that as the campaig
n runs down you

conclude it with an epic journey with the sole purpose of retrieving the "soul gem"--actua
lly it is a soul gem.. of the

world. Unknowingly by removing this stone the PCs have doomed the world to Athas's fate.
After this conclusive

journey, you should retire the PCs and start a new campaign under Athasian's hot sun.  In
Athas you should have

the PCs puzzle out the previous party's "dirty work" and then restore the soul gem to its
rightful place at the

Universe's Center.

       Possible Expansions:

       --Well, how are they going to get the gem?  Someone in power probably has it--resul
t, major slave revolt in

which the party manages to coerce the slaves into revolt (or convince them into it) and se
t up a "free" city-state

(though I hear this has now become novelized, when this was first put on the FidoNet no su
ch novel was present)

       --the Universe's Center is in fact under the reign of another Sorcerer-King, you pr
obably do not have the

option of all out war after the recent slave revolt and the new found freedom of the peopl
e, but subterfuge is

always an option....

       --instantaneous change--with the return of the soul gem to its proper place, green
grass sprouts and the world

returns to its pristine shape. (Sorcerer-Kings and defiler magic disappear from the face o
f the earth--a result of

corruption of the loss of the soul gem (note, the Sorcerer-Kings die because they depend s
o largely upon defiler

magic to keep them alive); what if The Dragon is actually a Gold Dragon and as the corrupt
ed Dragon attempts to

stop the players from reaching their goal of the Universe's Center he reaches there just t
oo late and as the

universe springs eternal once again he's revealed in his full glory as a gold dragon; or w
hat if each of the other

Sorcerer-Kings is, in fact, a dragon perverted and corrupted into their current forms--the
 corruptions of the loss of

the soul gem are infinite and varied--this is an epic campaign).

2.  (from a response by Jeremy Richard, not on the Internet, to my original. posting of th
is essay:)  Here is some

conjecture based on of other peoples findings:

       Greyhawk is dying, TSR knows it, to keep it alive they pull a "Blackmoor" and desig
n a future version of that

world.  TSR KNOWS that Greyhawk suffers from power imbalances(like I posted before) so the
y decide to exploit

this and "fix" the problem by expanding the power of the game all together (allowing norma
lly godlike attributes,

and super high levels) thus creating SOME semblance of game balance.

       Now, lets think about this, what happens if all magic suddenly leaves Greyhawk (I w
on't theorize as to the

cause, it could be many things), seeing as Greyhawk has a HUGE magic dependency this in of
 itself would cause

massive havoc, death, and ruin. Let's also say that the gods in Greyhawk are destroyed(or
cut off from Greyhawk)

when the magic goes away so Oerth can no longer support them (or they cannot communicate w
ith the world).

Several thousand years of magic dead (or magic super-low) time passes, people begin to for
get about magic and a

lot of the old tomes are lost and destroyed. Eventually the magic returns, but the gods do
n't, someone eventually

discovers MAGIC IS WORKING AGAIN, but due to a lack of some of the key tomes becomes a def
iler (not

ABLE to learn how to do magic the right way). Now let's assume that either

       A:  This Defiler has a Nazi like hatred of gnomes (this guy is going to be almost u
nstoppable as no one else

has any serious magic to fight him) and he decides to wipe them out.

       B:  More likely from what I read this guy wakes up the racial destroyer guys and th
e gnomes get wiped before

anyone knows what is happening.

       Around this time other mages start popping up (not as powerful as this guy) as he t
rains apprentices and

other people catch on. Due to the rarity of really deep/serious magic tomes more defilers
appear than guys with

the ability to do magic right (true mages).  Wars start to break out, magic (mostly defili
ng magic) is in heavy use

and the racial destroyer dudes all show up.  In the course of the battles the world is des
troyed and Athas is born....

       I THINK that Athas can be reached by plane travelling, to explain the fact that it'
s not Spelljammer

compatible TSR might say that when the magic left Greyhawk was popped into an alternate pr
ime material plane

where there is no wildspace or Spelljammer technology (the magic was no longer around to s
ustain it's presence).

Since the gods are gone, and the elemental planes are Constant (they exist, and can be acc
essed by ALL prime

material planes) the people began channeling power (clerical style) from there....

       This fits all the information I have seen, and it DOES link Greyhawk and DS, and do
es a good job of it. This

is just sneaky enough for TSR....

       Now, I'm sure everyone has their theory as to what the real story is here.  If I am
 correct TSR will do two

things...

1st:  Eventually release a low (or no) magic AD&D world designed to be less fantastic than
 the other AD&D

worlds, which will be set in the no-magic time of Greyhawk. One possibility is that there
will be some Cthulu-like

elements with these super-racial-destroyer guys lurking in the background.

2nd:  Release an official AD&D book/supplement series to make a quick buck and tie everyth
ing together.  I can

see the marketing gimmicks for the 60 years in the making, ultra Greyhawk campaign, YOU ca
n adventure in the

three eras of Greyhawk'.  Just a theory....

3.  This is actually just a suggestion, anything you do to "bridge the gap" between these
two worlds should be of

epic proportions.  Rely on descriptions and role-playing more than stat rolling and big mo
nster fights.  Rely on a

sense of wonderment to astound your players and fill them with the feeling their character
s actually did something.

Think Tolkien, think Weis and Hickman, think Leiber.





Summary of Athasian History:  Why Athas is not Another Setting's Future.

>from Neodig Beowulf <PHY_SHAFFER@EXODUS.VALPO.EDU>



       In the paperback The Cerulean Storm, the fifth book in the Prism Pentad, they revea
l that Athas had 3 ages, a

Green age, a Blue age, and the Present Age (I'd call it the Crimson Age, or perhaps the Na
sty Brown Age).

       If anyone plans on reading this book you might want to skip this....

       In the Blue age there were only halflings.  They only used a certain kind of cleric
al magic to live in harmony

with their world.  But somehow they screwed up and poisoned their seas.  I would like to p
oint out that the

halflings of this age seem almost like quasi gods.  Realizing that they had screwed up, an
d they were dying out as a

race, they all made a pilgrimage to the pristine tower.  As they walked, new forms of plan
ts and animals leaped

from their footprints.  Some were overcome with the poison, and fell, and from their bodie
s, the new races:

humans, orcs, dwarves, et al., and all of the horrific monsters, sprung.  The halflings th
at made it to the pristine

tower worked a change on the world, and stopped the poisoning.  However, they were changed
 into their present

Athasian halfling form.  Thus ends the Blue age, and began the Green age.

       The Green Age appears to have been like many other ADND ages, but no magic existed,
 clerical elemental

magic went into decline, and the Way (psionics) held sway as the major power source.  Towa
rds the end of the

age, one of the most mutated creations, but also the most brilliant, Rajaat, discovered a
brand new power source:

Magic.

       Here I would like to interject something,  Since all magic, and magical teaching co
me from Rajaat, it would

be safe to assume that he found the life force in plants and animals, a sufficient power s
ource for all magic.  He

did not discover, as on Toril, Oerth, and Krynn, the use of using the Positive and Negativ
e Material planes as

energy sources.  This would make Athasian magic, fundamentally different from Standard AD&
D Magic.

       Rajaat was also, unfortunately, quite mad.  He thought that all of the non halfling
 races, including himself,

were unnatural aberration and should be wiped out.  He only used the humans, because they
made the best mages.

After all of the non-halflings were wiped out, Rajaat planned to kill them (including his
servants:  Borys and the

Sorcerer Kings.  This is why they rebelled.)

       The Cleansing Wars (A Nazi skinhead's dream) were powered by the life force of Atha
s.  Thus the planet was

wasted, not only by those defilers fighting the wars, but also in the civil war of Borys v
ersus Rajaat.  When Borys

was transformed into The Dragon, and Rajaat imprisoned, The Green age ended and the Presen
t age began.

       Thus Athas is not the post apocalyptic version of Toril, Krynn (wouldn't that be ne
at) or Oerth.              --------------------------------------------------



                          4. NONWEAPON PROFICIENCIES



              --------------------------------------------------





Give Tattoo

>by Greg L Dufner <DUFNERGR@STUDENT.MSU.EDU>



1 slot (2 for people with out the drawing NWP) / DEX / general



       This proficiency allows the user to give tattoo and allows the user to craft his ow
n tattooing needles (or

combs).  A proficiency check is made during the tattooing process.  The role is modified b
y the complexity of the

tattoo.  A simple tattoo, such as a geometric pattern, is unmodified, while a complicated
tattoo is more difficult,

say the Dragon holding up the dark sun might be modified by -4.  Size also plays a role, t
he larger the tattoo the

easier it is to draw, the smaller the more difficult.  A successful tattoo results in prop
er color set, good art work

and clean healing (assuming proper care).  A failed check could result in several things:
 bad color set, botched art

work, or improper healing or excessive scarring.  These results should be determined by th
e DM, with the severity

being determined by the degree of the roll's failure.





Read/Tie Quipu

>by John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>



1 slot / INT -1 / priest and wizard groups, as well as the trader class



       The character can read and tie quipus.  Quipus are a means of recording information
 by the use of knotted

strings of differing colors and lengths.  Since each culture ties their quipus uniquely, t
he character must select the

language in which he is proficient; examples are Common, Elven, and Halfling.  Other optio
ns may exist to these

standard languages, such as the dialect of the merchant houses, at the DM's discretion.

       Whenever, a PC attempts to read or tie a new quipu, a proficiency check must be mad
e.  A failed check

means that the quipu is unreadable by that character until he gains a level.  When tying a
 quipu, characters add

any reaction adjustment for high or low dexterity as an additional check modifier; for exa
mple, a PC with a DEX

of 17 would need to roll under his INT +1 (since -1 + 2 = +1).   In this case, a failed ch
eck means that the quipu

has been tied incorrectly and is unreadable.  On a roll of 20, the character misreads/mist
ies the quipu in such a

manner that the mistake is undetectable and results in an outcome to the character's detri
ment (e.g., a spell

memorized from a mistied quipu might not function or have the reverse effect).

       Additional languages may be added by devoting more slots.  This proficiency does no
t convey the ability to

read quipus from ancient cultures.



              --------------------------------------------------



                              5. TIME & MOVEMENT



              --------------------------------------------------



The years in a King's Age

>by Michael LeSeney <?>



       Being an amateur astronomer, and a avid fan of the earth sciences (I am a meteorolo
gist, by the way) I was

interested in the Athasian calendar.  Not much info is given in the guides, but what is gi
ven has lead me to a

question that popped into my mind. According to the book, the Athasian calendar progresses
 on a 77 year cycle,

following two astronomical phenomena.  A 7 year lunar cycle and a 11 year (I would suppose
 comet/meteor

shower) peak in astrological activity. I looked over the pattern of year naming and found
it somewhat hard to

follow by just looking at the 18 different names.  So being an industrious scientist I wro
te a fortran program to list

the years and their corresponding names.



year # | year name                     year # | year name



   1   | Ral Fury                      40   | Mountain Defiance

   2   | Friend Contemplation          41   | King Reverence

   3   | Desert Vengeance        42   | Silt Agitation

   4   | Priest Slumber                43   | Enemy Fury

   5   | Wind Defiance              44   | Gunthay Contemplation

   6   | Dragon Reverence              45   | Ral Vengeance

   7   | Mountain Agitation            46   | Friend Slumber

   8   | King Fury                     47   | Desert Defiance

   9   | Silt Contemplation         48   | Priest Reverence

  10   | Enemy Vengeance               49   | Wind Agitation

  11   | Gunthay  Slumber              50   | Dragon Fury

  12   | Ral Defiance                  51   | Mountain Contemplation

  13   | Friend Reverence              52   | King Vengeance

  14   | Desert Agitation              53   | Silt Slumber

  15   | Priest Fury                   54   | Enemy Defiance

  16   | Wind Contemplation         55   | Gunthay Reverence

  17   | Dragon Vengeance              56   | Ral Agitation

  18   | Mountain Slumber              57   | Friend Fury

  19   | King Defiance              58   | Desert Contemplation

  20   | Silt Reverence             59   | Priest Vengeance

  21   | Enemy Agitation               60   | Wind Slumber

  22   | Gunthay Fury                  61   | Dragon Defiance

  23   | Ral Contemplation          62   | Mountain Reverence

  24   | Friend Vengeance              63   | King Agitation

  25   | Desert Slumber                64   | Silt Fury

  26   | Priest Defiance               65   | Enemy Contemplation

  27   | Wind Reverence             66   | Gunthay Vengeance

  28   | Dragon Agitation              67   | Ral Slumber

  29   | Mountain Fury                 68   | Friend Defiance

  30   | King Contemplation         69   | Desert Reverence

  31   | Silt Vengeance             70   | Priest Agitation

  32   | Enemy Slumber                 71   | Wind Fury

  33   | Gunthay Defiance              72   | Dragon Contemplation

  34   | Ral Reverence              73   | Mountain Vengeance

  35   | Friend Agitation              74   | King Slumber

  36   | Desert Fury                   75   | Silt Defiance

  37   | Priest Contemplation          76   | Enemy Reverence

  38   | Wind Vengeance             77   | Gunthay Agitation

  39   | Dragon Slumber







              --------------------------------------------------



                              6. KITS & CLASSES



              --------------------------------------------------



Cerebral Knight

>by Matthias Roschke <ROSCHKE@MURPHY.DGCD.DOC.CA>



       The cerebral knights are a class of characters, who train in both psionics and the
art of warfare. They believe

that in order to become master warrior (or knight) it is just as important train and disci
pline the mind as it is to

exercise and develop the body.  In fact, the two must go hand in hand, because the body an
d mind are one, and

must thus be trained together.

       Anyone who is eligible to become a psionicist, and has a strength and constitution
of at least 13, may become

a cerebral knight. Thus the ability requirements are: STR 13, CON 13, INT 12, WIS 15.  A c
erebral knight may

NOT be multi-classed, and must be lawful in alignment (there is in fact a very strict etho
s, which must be followed

at all times, see below).

       Cerebral knights advance as shown on the table below. They get d8's for hit dice an
d are allowed the fighter

constitution bonus as well as percentile strength. They may become proficient with any wea
pon, and are allowed to

specialize in a single one. They use the fighter combat values and get multiple attacks ju
st as fighters do. They may

use any magical item allowed to either fighters or psionicists, but may never own more tha
n 10 such items. In

addition, they have the same armor restrictions as psionicists do (or suffer the same cons
equences if the optional

rules about heavy armor are used).



       Level   Experience  Hit Dice    Psionic        Power

                  Points         (d8's)      Disciplines    Slots

      1       0     1         1         4

      2   3,000     2         1         6

      3   6,000     3         1         8

      4       12,000     4         2            10

      5       25,000     5         2            12

      6       50,000     6         2            13

      7      100,000     7         2            14

      8      200,000     8         2            15

      9      400,000     9         3            16

     10      700,000     10        3            17

     11    1,000,000     10+2      3            18

     12    1,300,000     10+4      3            19

     13    1,600,000     10+6      3            20

     14    1,900,000     10+8      4            21

     15    2,200,000     10+10      4           22

     16    2,500,000     10+12      4           23

     17    2,800,000     10+14      4           24

     18    3,100,000     10+16      4           25

     19    3,400,000     10+18      5           26

     20    3,700,000     10+20      5           27



       Cerebral knights do not gain access to the metapsionic discipline, but are free to
choose any of the others.

Unlike psionicists, they do not gain defense modes automatically, but have to learn them (
defense modes can

always be learned, even if the cerebral knight does not have access to the telepathic disc
ipline). In order to learn a

psionic power, the psionicist must spend psionic power slots. It costs 1 slot to learn a d
evotion, and two slots to

learn a science (it is permitted to save psionic power slots and spend them in the future)
. The cerebral knight starts

out with 10 PSP's and at every level (including first) rolls a d10 to see how many additio
nal PSP's are gained. They

do get extra PSP's for high wisdom scores just as psionicists do. This is summarized below




       WIS Score     Bonus PSP's

       15        0

       16       +1

       17       +2

       18       +3

       19       +4

       20       +5

       21       +6

       22       +7

       23       +8

       24       +9

       25      +10



       A cerebral knight starts out with 4 weapon and 4 non weapon proficiencies. New prof
iciencies are gained

every 3 levels. There is a -3 penalty for using a weapon without being proficient in it.
Non-weapon proficiency

slots may be spent on general, warrior or psionicist proficiencies.

       Cerebral knights use the following saving throw table:



       Paralyzation,     Rod,       Petrification

       Poison, or        staff,         or                       Breath

Level  Death Magic  or Wand Polymorph        Weapon    Spell

1-2     14          16        13        17       15

3-4     13          15        12        16       14

5-6     12          14        11        15       13

7-8     10          12        10        13       12

9-10     9          11         8        12       10

11-12 8      10         7               11        9

13-14 6       9         6          9          8

15-16 5       8         5          8          7

17-18 4       6         3          7          6

19-20 3       5         2          5          5

21+      2           4         2         4        4



       Cerebral Knights belong to a very strict and disciplined order.  Loyalty to the ord
er, and strict adherence to

the code of conduct is of paramount importance. The code of conduct is summarized below:



1) The Knight owes absolute loyalty to the order and shall always follow its commands to t
he best of his/her ability.

2) The Knight shall obey the commands of higher order knights.  Higher order knights shall
 not abuse this for

personal gain.

3) The Knight shall always treat other Knights with respect and courtesy. Fighting between
 knights (other than for

       practice or demonstration) must be avoided at all cost.

4) The Knight shall never abuse his/her abilities and training, as this reflects badly upo
n the order as a whole.

5) The Knight shall be diligent in his/her training, and shall not look for training outsi
de the order, nor shall he/she

       offer to train others (except as authorized by the order).



       Besides those powers already mentioned, the cerebral knight gains the following as
he/she advances in level.



       4th Level (Initiate)

         -- +1 to initiative

         -- is surprised only on a 1 or 2 (d10)



       8th Level (Knight)

         -- +1 to initiative

         -- +1 to save vs mind affecting spells

         -- is only surprised on a 1

         -- immune to 1st level illusions



       12th Level (Master)

         -- +1 to initiative

         -- +2 to save vs mind affecting spells

         -- immune to 2nd level illusions

         -- +1 to hit and damage

         -- is never surprised

         -- may open his/her own school and train cerebral knights



       18th Level (Grand Master)

         -- +2 to initiative

         -- immune to mind affecting spells

         -- +2 to hit and damage

         -- immune to all diseases



All bonuses are cumulative



       The Great Master is the overall head of the order of cerebral knights. This office
is always conferred for life

onto the 'most worthy candidate' by a general assembly of all masters. This 'most worthy c
andidate' is not

necessarily the highest level cerebral knight in the world, in fact any master may occupy
this position, but the Great

Master has some authority over (and responsibility to) all other cerebral knights (even th
ose of higher level).







PRIEST KIT



Elemental Healer

>by John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>



       Description:  Minor access to the Sphere of the Cosmos limits the curative abilitie
s of most Athasian clerics.

While druids and templars can wield these powers, the average person never encounters a dr
uid and cannot afford

a templar's services.  That is why, of all priests on Athas, perhaps none are more importa
nt to the common man

than elemental healers.  These select few are elemental clerics who wield curative powers
beyond their peers.

       The requirements for becoming an elemental healer are strict.  Only clerics may bec
ome elemental healers;

druids and templars cannot.  Furthermore, only a single-classed human with a minimum Wisdo
m of 17, a

Constitution of 13, and a Charisma of 14 may take this kit.  He must maintain a certain de
gree of detachment in

order to selflessly fulfill his commitment to helping those in need; thus, at least one as
pect of the healer's

alignment must be neutral.  In addition, he is not allowed to profit from his powers; thus
, he cannot be evil.

Finally, he must possess a psionic wild talent relevant to healing, such as any of the fol
lowing:  complete healing,

absorb disease, cell adjustment, forced symmetry (in DK), lend health, or suspend animatio
n.

       Role:  The elemental healer's main purpose is to heal the wounds and diseases of ot
hers.  As an initiate, he

displays a talent for the art of healing.  Through careful study and meditation, he gradua
lly assumes one of the

most important positions in his temple, where he is called upon to intervene in the most s
erious cases of injury.

This prominence makes him an important figure in the local community, and most citizens tr
eat him with great

respect.  Unfortunately, fellow clerics sometimes become jealous and attempt to undermine
the healer's efforts or

warp his deeds to suit their ends.

       As a player character, the healer must fulfill obligations to both temple and commu
nity.  Thus, this kit fits

well into a campaign that centers around a particular geographic area.  However, the PC ca
n go on extended

adventures; the DM and player simply need to be creative in explaining the reason.  For ex
ample, since the PC's

temple has a exceptionally large number of elemental healers, it has given the PC permissi
on to travel the wastes in

order to act as a representative of the temple's power.

       Weapon proficiencies:  Elemental healers favor bludgeoning weapons, but are not res
tricted to these.  They

must, however, abide by the restrictions of their elemental plane of worship.  For example
, an elemental healer of

air would prefer slings over bows and would only stoop to using a long sword under dire ci
rcumstances.

       Nonweapon proficiencies:  Bonus:  Healing, Herbalism.  Recommended:  Local History,
 Modern Languages

(those common to his patients), Reading/Writing, Religion.

       Equipment:  Elemental healers may use any weapons or armor appropriate to their cla
ss.  In addition, he

must purchase a white tabard decorated with the insignia of his temple (e.g., a flame for
a fire cleric, a tornado for

an air cleric) for a minimum of 15 cp.

       Special benefits:  Unlike other clerics who can cast only elemental spells above th
ird level (until they reach

21st level, see DK), the elemental healer gains additional access to all spells normally c
onsidered part of the

Sphere of Healing:  cure serious wounds, fortify, neutralize poison, cure critical wounds,
 and heal (note that he

does not gain access to spells from the Sphere of Necromancy, such as resurrection).  Of c
ourse, he must be of the

appropriate level to cast each spell and abide by the spell progression table in the PHB.
 Furthermore, he can only

cast these spells in their "true" form--he cannot cast them in reverse (e.g., cause critic
al wounds).

       Due to his exceptional talents, the elemental healer receives a bonus whenever cast
ing spells that restore

hitpoints.  Healers from first to fifth level cure one additional HP of damage per spell;
those from sixth to tenth

level cure two additional HPs of damage; and those eleventh level and above cure three add
itional HPs of damage

per spell.  This bonus also applies to HPs recovered by the use of the healing proficiency
.  For example, a seventh

level healer using his healing proficiency would cure 1d3+2 HPs on the round immediately a
fter a wound is

inflicted and allow those under his care to recover 2 additional HPs per day (e.g., 3 per
day of travel instead of 1).

       Elemental healers are known by their white tabards.  When wearing this attire, the
elemental healer gains a

+3 reaction bonus in dealing with individuals from most intelligent races.

       Special hindrances:  Since only the larger temples have elemental healers, and sinc
e each temple has only a

very small number of them (perhaps as few as 2d4), most are required to remain near their
temple the majority of

the time (80%).  However, temples with relatively large numbers of elemental priests somet
imes allow one to

journey the wastes in search of those in need.  Whenever he wishes to leave the city on an
 extended expedition, the

priest must petition his superiors.  The DM should use this opportunity to encourage good
role-playing, being

stricter on players who abuse the privileges of this kit.  Some reasonable petitions inclu
de traveling to the city's

client villages to check on the health of their populace, accompanying the city's army in
time of war, and answering

the call to treat an epidemic in an Elven tribe.

       The garb of the elemental healer allows most people to recognize him, and the hurt
and wounded flock to his

side, hoping for relief.  Thus, the healer often finds it difficult to escape detection.
While he is permitted periodic

rests from the obligation of wearing his tabard, frequent abuse may lead to retribution fr
om his temple and the

elemental powers of his plane of worship.  Again, the DM should be stricter with players w
ho abuse the kit.

       The elemental healer cannot turn down an urgent call for healing, regardless of it
source.  He must render aid

to the best of his ability or face severe retribution, such as lost access to healing spel
ls or the loss of his spell-

casting abilities altogether.  For game purposes, the healer must cast any appropriate spe
lls and use any magical

items (scrolls, potions, etc.) to save the victim's life.  If he has no healing spells mem
orized, he must use his healing

and herbalism proficiencies to the best benefit.  If the patient's needs are minor, the he
aler may direct him to

another cleric nearby.

       The elemental healer always prays for healing spells first until he has memorized a
 minimum of one healing

spell per level of experience.  He must include at least one of each healing spell he is a
ble to cast; should he not

be able to memorize all the healing spells in a given level, he may choose among them.  Fo
r example, a seventh

level healer needs to memorize at least seven healing spells, including both cure light wo
unds and slow poison, but

since he can pray for one fourth level spell only, he must choose among cure serious wound
s, fortify, and neutralize

poison.  After at least seven spells are memorized, he would memorize any additional spell
s (e.g., the 7th level

healer could memorize additional third level spells, and any bonus spells for high Wisdom)
.  This restriction

severely limits the non-healing spell capabilities of the cleric at lower levels.

       Wealth options:  There are no special limitations on the starting wealth of an elem
ental healer.  He is not

allowed to accept payment of any kind for services; however, it is not uncommon for genero
us patrons to make

donations to the healer's temple.              ------------------------------------------
--------



                                 7. PSIONICS



              --------------------------------------------------





Psionic Book Errata

>from Eric Tunon <TUNON@NOVAVAX.NOVA.EDU>



The errata page for the CPsiH, as published by TSR, follows:



Psychokinesis Discipline



       The following psychokinetic devotions do not require Telekinesis as a prerequisite:
  Animate Shadow, Control

Light, control Sound, Molecular Agitation, Soften, and Telekinesis.  All others have Telek
inesis as a prerequisite.



Telepathy Disciplines



       Telepathic Defense modes have no prerequisites.  All prerequisites should be ignore
d!  A character does not

need access to Telepathy to get Defense modes.



       The mind link power is not a prerequisite for the following powers:  Empathy, ESP,
Identify Penetration,

Incarnation Awareness, Psychic Impersonation, Send Thoughts.  Mind link has never been a p
rerequisite for:

Ejection, Conceal Thoughts, Contact, Life Detection, Mind Bar, Psionic Blast, and Psychic
Messenger.  Mind Link

is a prerequisite for all other Telepathic powers.



       Psychic Crush should be a devotion and Psionic Blast should be a science.



       All references to Telepathic power (or prerequisite) should be changed to mind link
 power instead.



       On page 75 the heading for Fate Link power is missing.



       Ego Whip and Mind Thrust both require contact as a prerequisite.



Psionic Monster list



       Brain Mole:  References to the amplification power should be changed to Psychic Dra
in.  Also, Mind Thrust

is a Telepathic Power not Metapsionic.



       Intellect Devourer (adult):  References to the Amplification powers should be chang
ed to Psychic Drain.

Also, Ectoplasmic Form should be listed as Discipline not a science.







Wild Talent Tables

>by Anthony Thompson <ST004385@BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU>



       Just a few words, though.  They reflect the fact that in order for there to be much
 of a population there has

to be a certain amount of people who have defense modes as well.  Anyone who has used the
CPsiH wild talent

tables has probably had the problem where PCs with attack modes run rampant with just abou
t all non-psionicist

NPCs because their lack of a defense mode.  Of course, you could simply make a lot of the
NPCs have them, but

if you are supposedly going according to the CPsiH tables, that doesn't make statistical s
ense. This attack-mode vs.

no defense mode problem is even more pronounced if one tries to use psionics in a non-DARK
-SUN setting/world,

where no one who is a non-psionicist (a lot of people!) has a defense mode.  The fact that
 everyone has at least

one psionic power is what for me makes it the only place where I can really allow psionics
 into my games, for they

are simply too powerful anywhere else.  Again, if you use the wild talent tables in the CP
siH, the fact that so few

people have defense modes gives rise to the same problem.  I have therefore opted to incre
ase the chance that a

given NPC has a defense mode so that about 3 in 10 NPCs have one.  Now, if an important bu
t not-too-powerful

NPC (yes, they can exist :) is attacked by a player, you are not too entirely off your sta
tistical rocker to give

her/him a defense mode :D

       Also, to make things fit correctly, I made up a few new psionic powers.  I don't ha
ve the CPsiH right in front

of me, so I'm not sure if some of the powers on the table are new or not, especially since
 I made it about 6 months

ago.  You can make them up on your own, make it a reroll, substitute another power in its
place, or ask me to

post/mail how I have them worked out in my system (aiding my feeble memory by telling me w
hich ones are really

new, of course :)  Well, long disclaimers aside, here it is...



>editor's note:  I inserted (new?) where I found a power that wasn't in CPsiH or DK<





                     Psionic Wild Talents, Table 1



01-02:  Choose one on this table.       48-53:  Thought Shield

03-05:  Roll twice on this table.       54-59:  Mental Barrier

  06:  Aversion                              60-65:  Tower of Iron Will

  07:  Conceal Thoughts             66:  Combat Mind

  08:  Mind Bar                              67:  Hear Light

  09:  Awe                                        68:  Feel Sound

  10:  Dream Travel                    69:  Know Direction

  11:  Psychic Messenger            70:  Danger Sense

  12:  Psychic Impersonation                      71:  Spirit Sense

  13:  Heightened Senses                     72:  Control Sound

  14:  Expansion                             73:  Animate Object

  15:  Flesh Armor                           74:  Suspended Animation

  16:  Displacement                          75:  Biofeedback

  17:  Body Control                          76:  Body Equilibrium

  18:  Mind Over Body                        77:  Catfall

  19:  Ballistic Attack                 78:  Cell Adjustment

  20:  Time/Space Anchor                     79:  Empathy

  21:  Sound Link                            80:  Sight Link

  22:  Identity Penetration             81:  Truthear

  23:  Graft Weapon                     82:  Control Flames

  24:  Immovability                     83:  Adrenalin Control

  25:  Lend Health                      84:  Body Weaponry

  26:  Share Strength                   85:  Chemical Simulation

  27:  Absorb Disease                   86:  Enhanced Strength

  28:  Control Light                    87:  Reduction

  29:  Animate Shadow                   88:  Daydream

  30:  Radial Navigation                89:  Life Detection

  31:  Poison Sense                     90:  Send Thoughts

  32:  Know Location                    91:  Dimension Walk

  33:  See Sound                        92:  Aging

  34:  Feel Light                       93:  Astral Projection

  35:  All-round Vision                 94:  Synaptic Static

36-41:  Intellect Fortress                  95:  Attraction

42-47:  Mind Blank                      96-98:  Roll on Table 2.



99-00:  Roll once on this table and then on Table 2.





                     Psionic Wild Talents, Table 2



01-02:  Choose one on this table.       48-53:  Thought Shield

03-05:  Roll once on each table.        54-59:  Mental Barrier

  06:  Life-Drain                            60-65:  Tower of Iron Will

  07:  Appraise                         66:  Sensitivity to Psychic Impressions

  08:  Cannibalize                      67:  Precognition

  09:  Levitation                       68:  Summon Planar Creature

  10:  Id Insinuation                   69:  Shadow-Form

  11:  Mind Thrust                      70:  Clairvoyance

  12:  Energy Redirection (new?)    71:  Invisibility

  13:  Energy Absorption           72:  Mindlink

  14:  Probe                            73:  Metamorphosis

  15:  Mass Domination        74:  Dimension Door

  16:  Mindwipe                         75:  Animal Affinity

  17:  Inflict Pain                     76:  ESP

  18:  Post-Hypnotic Suggestion     77:  Molecular Manipulation

  19:  Control Body                     78:  Ectoplasmic Form

  20:  Detonate                         79:  Repugnance

  21:  Time Shift                       80:  Teleport

  22:  Telepathic Projection            81:  Molecular Rearrangement

  23:  Phobia Amplification         82:  Death Field

  24:  Molecular Agitation              83:  Double Pain

  25:  Cause Decay                      84:  Invincible Foes

  26:  Project Force                    85:  Superior Invisibility

  27:  Teleport Other                   86:  Domination

  28:  Complete Healing             87:  Telekinesis

  29:  Switch Personality               88:  Energy Transformation (new?)

  30:  Chameleon Power              89:  Psionic Blast

  31:  Clairvoyance                     90:  Ego Whip

  32:  Fate Link                        91:  Psychic Crush

  33:  Banishment                       92:  Flight (new?)

  34:  Object Reading                   93:  Psionic Sense

  35:  Aura Sight                       94:  Convergence

36-41:  Intellect Fortress              95:  Disintegrate

42-47:  Mind Blank                      96-98:  Roll twice on Table 2



99-00:  Choose one power from this table.





NEW PSIONIC POWERS:



                          -------------------------



                                Psychokinetic



                          -------------------------





DEVOTIONS:





Enhance Weapon



Power Score:  WIS - 3

Initial Cost:  5

Maintenance Cost:  3/round

Range:  Touch

Prep. Time:  0

Area of Effect:  one weapon

Prerequisite:  Telekinesis, Create Object

Author:  Matthias Roschke <ROSCHKE@MURPHY.DGCD.DOC.CA>



       This power allows the psionicist to temporarily enhance melee weapon or a projectil
e (i.e., no bows or slings,

but arrows, sling stones and throwing weapons are ok), so that it becomes the equivalent o
f weapon with magical

bonuses.  The psionicist must touch (or wield) the weapon to do so.  By spending the neces
sary PSP's and making

the power check, the weapon gets a the equivalent of a +1 magical bonus, which may be main
tained by spending 3

PSP's per round.  Note that the psionicist must actually touch the weapon in order to main
tain this power; thus, it

is impossible to maintain the power for missile weapons (unless they return to the user),
or if the weapon is

knocked out of the psionicists hands.  It is possible to add the bonus to an already magic
al weapon, or to use this

power repeatedly (creating enhancements of two or more).  However, the maximum enhancement
 that can be

achieved by use of this power is one 'plus' for every 4 levels of the psionicist (i.e., 1
at levels 1 to 4, 2 at levels 5 to

8, etc.)

       Power Score:  The weapon gets a +2 bonus.

       20:  The weapon is damaged, it must save vs disintegration or be destroyed.





Psychic Guidance



Power Score:  INT - 2

Initial Cost:  3 + special

Maintenance Cost:  3 / round

Range:  line of sight

Prep. Time:  2 segments

Area of Effect:  one projectile

Prerequisite:  Telekinesis, (detonate)

Author:  Matthias Roschke <ROSCHKE@MURPHY.DGCD.DOC.CA>



       This power allows a psionicist to guide a small projectile, such as a knife, arrow,
 or sling stone (max weight 2

lbs), to its target.  The psionicist must first prepare the projectile, which takes two se
gments (see prep. time) and

costs 3 PSP's. The projectile may then be thrown (fired, hurled, or whatever) normally, bu
t may be guided

telekinetically. The following

things are possible at the listed cost in PSP's.



Add +1 to hit, +1 to damage, and extend the range by 10 feet by spending 2 PSP (cannot spe
nd more than the

       psionicists level)

Make a radical course correction (up to 180 degrees) at a cost of 5 PSP's (all benefits be
stowed by previous

       guidance are lost).

Recall the projectile at a cost of 10 PSP's. The projectile will return to the psionicists
 hand (no DEX check

       required to catch) from anywhere within range (i.e., line of sight).

The projectile may be made to explode causing an extra d6 damage to the target (or anyone
within 3 feet).  This

       costs 5 PSP's and requires detonate as a prerequisite.



       Prepared projectiles may be maintained at a cost of 3 PSP's per round. The maximum
number of projectiles a

psionicist may handle at a time is one for every 4 levels of experience.  The psionicist m
ust be able to see the

projectile (by some means) in order to guide it. This is not necessary for recalling the p
rojectile, or for making it

explode.

       Power score:  The projectile may be recalled without spending any PSP's.

       20:  The projectile explodes doing d6 damage to the psionicist.





                          -------------------------



                               Psychometabolic



                          -------------------------





SCIENCE:





Enhanced Combat



Power Score:  WIS - 5

Initial Cost:  special

Maintenance Cost:  special

Range:  0

Prep. Time:  0

Area of Effect:  the psionicist

Prerequisite:  Adrenaline control, Heightened senses, biofeedback

Author:  Matthias Roschke <ROSCHKE@MURPHY.DGCD.DOC.CA>



       This is a real 'Use the force Luke' type power. In essence, it allows the psionicis
t to mentally guide and

enhance

his/her attacks and defenses, making them faster and more accurate. To do this, the psioni
cist must first make a

power

check, and spend a number of PSP's (maximum is twice the psionicists level) to initialize
the power. In the next

round,

and for as long as this power is maintained, the following may be done (at the listed cost
 in PSP's).



Add +1 to hit and damage to your attacks this round (3 PSP's).*

Add +1 to hit and damage to your next attack (2 PSP's).+

Improve your AC and initiative by one (2 PSP's).*

Attack first in the round (i.e., before initiative - like someone with a scimitar of speed
 or a short sword of

       quickness) (4 PSP's).*

Use one of your attacks to automatically parry, without having to roll a die (5 PSP's).+

Dodge an attack, without having to roll or give up one of your attacks (8 PSP's).+

Gain another attack this round (8 PSP's).*

Recover your weapon (after is has been dropped). This counts as one of your attacks (4 PSP
's).+



* This action must be announced at the beginning of the round.

+ This action must be announced before the attack (or parry) roll is attempted. Thus a mis
sed attack roll cannot

be retroactively improved.



       NOTE: In any given round, the psionicist may never spend more PSP's than were used
to initialize the power.

Thus if 8 PSP's were spent on initialization, it would be possible to dodge one attack, or
 gain an extra attack (or

do anything else that costs 8 PSP's or less), but it would not be possible to gain an extr
a attack and get +1 to hit

and damage, as this would cost 11 PSP's.   The power is maintained as long as the psionici
st uses this power. It

ends on any round during which the psionicist does not spend any PSP's on it. In order to
maintain this power,

spending one PSP per round is enough, although it does absolutely nothing.

       Power Score:  The amount of PSP's which could be spent per round is doubled (no inc
rease in initialization

cost).

       20:  Until the psionicist gets at least 4 hours of rest (preferably sleep), he/she
has a -1 penalty to hit, to

damage, to AC, to initiative as well as all saving throws.





                          -------------------------



                                Psychoportive



                          -------------------------





SCIENCE:





Dimensional Warp



Power Score:  INT - 7

Initial Cost:  10

Maintenance Cost:  5 / round

Range:  10 yards / level

Prep. Time:  0

Area of Effect:  Special

Prerequisite:  Teleport, Dimensional Door, 10th level

Author:  Matthias Roschke <ROSCHKE@MURPHY.DGCD.DOC.CA>



       This power is a variation on the dimensional door power.  The Psionicist defines tw
o 'windows' anywhere

within range, and creates a two way portal between them, such that anything going into one
 of the 'window' will

come out the other.  Unlike Dimensional door, this power creates a true two way transport
system (i.e., you can

stick your arm through, grab something at the other end, and pull it back--anything, inclu
ding spells, will pass

through both ways).  The windows, which may have an area of up to 4 square feet per level
of the psionicist, are

identical but can have any orientation relative to each other (i.e., they could be at righ
t angles to each other, or

even at 180 degrees *).  This could result in some very strange effects, imagine a chargin
g knight being intercepted

by a 'window' and continue his charge straight towards the ground - lance first, from 100
yards up.  Notice that it

might be possible to re-route missiles or even spells such as fireball or lightning bolt r
ight back to the originator,

but the psionicist would have to act extremely fast (i.e., have initiative and make an int
 check to see whether he/she

can think and act fast enough).  Because of the complexity of warping space in this way it
 is easy for things to go

wrong. If the power check fails, the full PSP's are used, and a the  two windows will open
 up, but the psionicist

cannot control their position (the windows are also unstable and cannot be maintained). In
 case of a 20 result, the

windows are 'very likely' to open in such a way as to harm the psionicist (in this case, t
he window might also be

warped and destroy anything which passes through).

       Power score:  Maintenance cost is reduced to 3 PSP's per round.

       20:  see above





DEVOTIONS:





Dimensional Portal



Power Score:  INT -4

Initial Cost:  Below

Maintenance Cost:  3/round

Range:  Unlimited (but for Spelljammer it has to be in the same crystal sphere)

Preparation Time:  1 round

Area of Effect:  One Item

Prerequisite:  Dimension Door

Author:  Eric Tunon <TUNON@ALPHA.ACAST.NOVA.EDU>



       By using this power, a psionicist creates a dimensional portal that will enable the
 him to bring one item of his

choice to his present location.  Before using this power must think of the item he will us
e the portal to get.  It is

not necessary that the psionicist know the object's location, he just needs to be able to
picture it in his mind.  It

needs to be an object he has had physical contact with, and he must know the feel of it we
ll enough that he will

recognize that he has found it when his hand goes through the dimensional portal (e.g., th
e feel of his favorite

sword, dagger, etc.).  This is not an easy task for a psionicist because of the fact that
he is searching for an object

that he does not necessarily know where it is.

       The initial cost depends on how far the psionicist is from the item (determined by
the DM).  And after a

successful power check the psionicist must make a Dexterity check at -3 (the DEX check is
due to the fact that the

psionicist can not see the item, and it hurts to put your arm into the portal--no damage b
ut it hurts similar to the

dimension door power), the psionicist can chose to maintain the portal if he does not pick
up the item.



Distance           Initial Cost        Power Score Modifier



10 yards       30             0

100 yards         30             -1

1,000 yards       45             -2

10 miles          60             -3

100 miles         75             -4

1,000 miles       90             -5

10,000 miles      105            -6

Planet to planet     150            -7



       Power Score:  The PSP cost is reduced by 33%

       20:  The item is in some way damaged, not to the point of worthlessness but damaged
 nonetheless (possibly -1

to hit, exact amount up to DM).





Interchange



Power Score:  INT -3

Initial Cost:  50

Maintenance Cost:  na

Range:  50 yards

Prep Time:  0

Area of Effect:  na

Prerequisites:  teleport, teleport other

Author:  Andrew Lohmann <LOHMANN@SOCIAL.CHASS.NCSU.EDU>



       This power allows the psionicist to exchange physical places with any creature with
in sight, and 50 yards, of

the psionicist.  The creature cannot be more than 150% of the mass of the psionicist.  Whe
n the interchange takes

place, the orientation between the two characters remains the same, so any combat taking p
lace between the two

interchanged characters is unaffected (both physical and magical attacks).

       If the subject of the interchange power is unwilling to be teleported, they are all
ow a saving throw vs.

paralyzation at -2 to resist the teleportation effort.  If the creature is willing to be i
nterchanged, no saving throw is

required.

       Power Score:  The saving throw of the subject of the interchange power automaticall
y fails.

       20:  The psionicist becomes disoriented, and suffers a -2 to all rolls for the next
 turn.





Teleport Lock



Power Score:  INT -2

Initial Cost:  10

Maintenance Cost:  5/turn

Range:  infinite

Prep Time:  0

Area of Effect:  personal

Prerequisites:  teleport, ESP

Author:  Andrew Lohmann <LOHMANN@SOCIAL.CHASS.NCSU.EDU>



       This power allows a psionicist to "lock" onto another being, and if that being shou
ld teleport (magically or

psionically) for any reason, the psionicist will have the option that round, and that roun
d only, to teleport to the

same place as the "locked" creature did.  If the psionicist opts not to immediately follow
, the lock is lost.  The lock

needs to be made while the psionicist can see the creature it is locking onto, but after t
he lock is established,

distance between the two makes no difference.

       If the psionicist decides to follow, the character must pay the PSP costs and make
a power check as he would

using the Teleport power, with all the appropriate penalties based upon distance.  If the
psionicist does not have

enough PSPs, then the Teleport fails.

       Power Score: The lock lasts for 5 rounds after the locked on character has teleport
ed.

       20:  No other effect.





                          -------------------------



                                  Telepathic



                          -------------------------





SCIENCES:





Backlash



Power Score:  WIS - 3

Initial Cost:  Special

Maintenance Cost:  na

Range:  na

Prep. Time:  0

Area of Effect:  psionic opponent

Prerequisite:  contact, mindlink, psionic blast

Author:  Matthias Roschke <ROSCHKE@MURPHY.DGCD.DOC.CA>



       This power causes a psychic shock to travel along the psychic conduit formed by con
tact. It may only be used

after contact has been established, by either the psionicist or by the opponent (i.e., it
will travel either way). This

psychic shock will directly damage the opponent, causing 1d6 damage for every 5 PSP's spen
t (save vs death to

reduce this by half, maximum damage is 10d6 for 50 PSP's). There is however some risk invo
lved in using this

power. If the power check is failed, the psionicist must make a saving throw or suffer hal
f the damage that he/she

wanted to inflict on the opponent.

       Power score:  Opponent automatically fails the saving throw.

       20:  Psionicist suffers full damage, no saving throw allowed.





Dreamstalker



Power Score:  WIS -6

Initial Cost:  40

Maintenance Cost:  Contact

Range:  100 Miles

Preparation Time:  1 Turn

Area Of Effect:  1 Person

Prerequisites:  Contact, Mindlink, Probe, Post Hypnotic Suggestion

Author:  <PHY_SHAFFER@EXODUS.VALPO.EDU>



       When the psionicist employs this science, he projects his consciousness into the dr
eams of his sleeping victim.

Upon arrival into the dream the victim is allowed a wisdom check to notice the anomaly.  I
f it succeeds he

understands the nature of the attacker, and may choose to end the dream.

       When the psionicist enters the dream, he takes the form of the victim's worst fear.
  He then chases the victim

until the dream ends, or the victim wakes.  Upon waking the victim remembers nothing about
 the dream, only a

dark sense of foreboding and fear. He will also have lost one point of Constitution.  The
point of CON can only be

recovered through the following means:  restoration, heal, Psychic Surgery, or a Cell Adju
stment costing 60 points.

Each of these restores one point per application.  A limited wish will restore 3 points, a
nd a wish will restore the

victim fully.     The Dreamstalker can be used night after night until the victim is dead
(CON reaches zero).  The

victim can only be revived by a heal, restoration, and resurrection, in that order, or thr
ough a wish.

       Power Score:  The psionicist can also ask one question as per Probe, or plant one s
uggestion as per PHB

suggestion.

       20:  The Dreamstalker fails, all 40 PSP's are lost, and the psionicist must make a
save versus death magic or

lose 1d8 Constitution points.  These can only be regained as if the psionicist were under
the effects of a

Dreamstalker himself.





Obscure Defilement



Power Score:  INT -4

Initial Cost:  contact of each creature affected.

Maintenance Cost:  5/round/creature

Range:  Defiled Area

Prep Time:  0

Area of Effect:  Defiled Area

Prerequisites:  Mindlink, Contact, Invisibility

Author:  <BELGARATH@VAX1.Mankato.MSUS.EDU>



       This power is remarkably like superior invisibility, except that it covers the smel
l, sound, and sight of the ash

surrounding the defiler.  The power score decreases by one however, per level of the spell
 being cast.  So a fourth

level spell will be at INT -8.  However, if a person comes back to the defiled area at a l
ater date, he/she will notice

the defiled area, unless cloaked by another talent.

       Power Score: Every time the people affected by this spell come back to this particu
lar spot, they will not see

the area of ash. Ever.

       20: They know exactly what is going on, and the Defiler is in BIG trouble.





DEVOTIONS:





Induce Pleasure



Power Score:  CON -2

Initial Cost:  contact

Maintenance Cost:  2/round

Range:  touch

Prep Time:  1

Area of Effect:   individual

Prerequisites:  mindlink, contact

Author:  Andrew Lohmann <LOHMANN@SOCIAL.CHASS.NCSU.EDU>



       This is the opposite power of Inflict Pain.  While no good comes from it (no healin
g or curative effects), it

makes the subject individual shudder and twist in ecstasy.  If used in combat, the victim
must save vs paralyzation

in order to keep functioning and fighting.  Failure to save indicates a penalty of -4 on a
ll attack rolls that round,

and any spells being cast are disrupted.

       The insidious effects of this power occur when it is used in conjunction with Infli
ct Pain.  By using the two

powers

interchangeably, dependent upon the victim's actions, the victim can be conditioned to per
form certain acts instead

of other acts they would normally perform.  For each week of being subjected to this treat
ment, they must make a

wisdom check, with a penalty equal to the number of weeks of "treatment" (i.e., 3 weeks of
 treatment = penalty of

-3) or have their actions in particular scenarios predetermined by their conditioning.  On
ly one area of behavior

may be affected per victim.  Depending upon the behavior modification, there is a chance (
DM's discretion) for an

alignment change by the victim.

       Power Score:  The pleasure is so overwhelming that the victim passes out for 1d10 r
ounds.

       20:  The contact is broken.





Memory Summoning



Power Score:  INT -3

Initial Cost:  contact (x3)

Maintenance Cost:  7/round

Range:  Sight

Preparation Time:  See below

Area of Effect:  Individual

Prerequisites:  Send Thoughts, False Sensory Input, Contact

Author:  Eric Tunon <TUNON@ALPHA.ACAST.NOVA.EDU>



       By means of this power a Psionicist can effectively bypass another person's natural
 defense's (including

another psionicist's defenses).  Many DMs believe that if someone psionically touched they
 will know it (especially

in the case of another psionicist), with this power this is not the case.

       The psionicist will implant a thought into another person's mind.  This thought wil
l be a front, and he will

follow it into the person's mind.  The person will notice the thought and not the mind tou
ching (on a successful

power check).  This is a very risky proposition (checks must be made by the DM every other
 round), but the

benefits are enormous the psionicist can roam around and use whatever powers he wants.  He
 will not know if he

has attracted the attention of the person's mind that he is in, unless he attacks or fails
 a power check (for all

powers other than this one the power checks must be made at -4 due to the fact that you mu
st not alert the person

who's mind that you are in to your presence, if he fails by three or less, the power is in
itiated but you alert the

person to your presence).

       Once inside the victim's mind, the psionicist could use daydream or some other powe
r without the victim

noticing, but if he attacked with something like psionic blast the victim would notice (he
re use common sense

attacks will make the attacker be noticed, non-attack will hopefully not bring get you not
iced by the person's

mind).  But until the psionicist finds resistance he will have no idea if he has been disc
overed.  The victim will

know that his mind has been entered when the psionicist fails a power check and at that ti
me can try to use any

psionic defenses he possesses (or attacks if he wants).  The preparation time must be spen
t finding out about the

person that the power will be used on.  He must find some thought that he can use to follo
w in to the mind with

(e.g., a gladiator learning to use a sword, an elf finally earning his name, a Halfling ea
ting a person for the first

time, etc.).

       Power Score:  The psionicist only has to make a check every fourth round.

       20:  Automatic failure and the person knows the psionicist is there and can take wh
atever precautions he can

to stop the psionicist from entering his mind or from going further into his mind.  Or, if
 he wins initiative, the

victim can psionically attack the psionicist.





                          -------------------------



                                 Metapsionic



                          -------------------------





SCIENCE:





Mystical Conduit



Power Score:  INT - 4

Initial Cost:  10 + 1 / 10 yards (or 40 + 1 / 10 yards)

Maintenance Cost:  2 PSP's

Range:  <see cost>

Prep. Time:  0

Area of Effect:  NA

Prerequisite:  Dimensional door, 6th level psionicist and knowledge of either Mage or Prie
st magic.

Author:  Matthias Roschke <ROSCHKE@MURPHY.DGCD.DOC.CA>



       This power opens an immobile conduit for mystical energy from the area immediately
surrounding the

psionicist to

anywhere within line of sight (see cost). The next spell cast from where the psionicist wa
s standing at the time the

power was initiated will function as if it was cast at the other end of the conduit. Thus
the ranges of certain spells

can be greatly increased.  Notice that spells, which affect the caster only (i.e., persona
l spells), will now affect

whoever is standing at the other end of the conduit or be wasted if nobody is standing the
re. A vampiric touch (or

fire shield) for example, could be cast at one end and whoever was at the other end could
now apply the vampiric

touch (or be protected by a fire shield), and gain the full benefits from it (i.e., reach
out and touch someone, in

case a vampiric touch had been cast). The original caster has absolutely no control over t
he spell--it is as if the

whoever was standing at the other end of the conduit had actually cast the spell.  Since t
he accuracy and power

required for transferring personal spells is much greater than for other spells, the cost
is increased to 40 PSP's + 1

PSP per 10 yards.

       The mystic conduit is visible only by a detect magic, true sight, or psionic powers
 such as Heightened senses.

It collapses the instant any spell is conducted in this way or if the psionicist ceases pa
ying the maintenance Cost.

       NOTE:  The conduit is one way only, thus it is not possible for a psionicist to ste
al a spell, as it is being cast

by an

opponent.

       Power score:  No PSP's must be paid to maintain this power.

       20: The next spell cast near the psionicist will backfire.





Post Pone



Power Score: INT -6

Initial Cost: initial cost of the power (x2)

Range: Touch: 0

Area of Effect: individual

Maintenance: 24/day

Preparation Time: 1 round per power postponed + 1 round

Prerequisite: 7th level

Author:  Eric Tunon <TUNON@ALPHA.ACAST.NOVA.EDU>



       This power allows a psionicist to "post pone" a power until a later point in time.
 This consists of the psionicist

having to first make the power check to initiate the power, then having to make the post p
one power check.  When

the psionicist makes the power roll for the first power, he pays he initial cost of the po
wer, then when he initiates

post pone he pays the same cost again.  The power that is postponed is "put on the back bu
rner" until a later point

in time, when the psionicist wants to use the power he has postponed.  This power will all
ow a psionicist to

maintain any power he can use at the time (even if he can only use because of convergence,
 if he can use it he can

post pone it), this includes both once and done power, and maintainable powers.  This powe
r has a serious draw

back while a power is being maintained the psionicist can not get back ANY PSPs due to the
 fact that he is using a

power at that time (spending exactly 1 PSP per hour).

       Power Score:  If a power score is rolled this power only uses half the normal PSPs
to maintain, and in so

doing allows a psionicist to regain PSPs every other hour (depending upon whether or not h
e rests)

       20:  The power is disrupted and the psionicist must begin again to try to postpone
the power.





Time Flow



Power Score:  INT

Initial Cost:  Special

Maintenance Cost:  Special

Range:  Touch

Prep. Time:  0

Area of Effect:  1 creature

Prerequisite:  Time stop, 5th level

Author:  Matthias Roschke <ROSCHKE@MURPHY.DGCD.DOC.CA>



       This power allows the psionicist to speed up or slow down time with regards to the
target creature. At the

time the check is made, the psionicist declares by how much the time flow will be increase
d or decreased. In other

words, how many rounds will occur for the target creature while a single round of 'normal
time' passes (or

alternatively how many rounds of 'normal time' will pass in what the target creature sees
as a single round). The

power scores and initial/maintenance costs are given below.



Speed up/   Power Score Initial/maintenance     Prerequisite

slow down   penalty     cost (see note)      Level

factor

       2       3     10/5           5

       3       4     20/5              10

       4       5     30/5              15

       5       6     40/5              20



       Note:  The power can only be maintained if the psionicist is the affected creature.
 The costs are relative to

the psionicists time frame, in other words the initial cost is relative to normal time (an
d will affect the target

creature for one round of normal time), while the maintenance cost is relative to the new
time frame, and must be

paid for every round the psionicist experiences. A 20th level psionicist for example, who
speeds up time by a factor

of 5, would not have to pay maintenance cost for the first five rounds (or 1 round 'normal
 time') since this is

covered by the initial cost. After these 5 rounds, the maintenance cost would be 5 per rou
nd (or 25 per round

normal time).   Since this power affects the flow of time, rather than speeding up the met
abolism of the target

creature, as is the case with magical haste for example, no aging will result.  Anyone who
 returns to the normal

time frame however, will be confused and unable to do anything for as many rounds as were
spend in the other

time frame. This gives the body time to readjust to normal time and recover from the strai
n.  It is possible to force

the body to ignore to ignore this time of recovery. To do so requires a Wisdom check and a
 Constitution check,

with a penalty equal to the factor by which time was affected for both checks. If either i
s failed, 1d6 random ability

scores are permanently lowered by one.  In other words, this is not a good idea except in
the most desperate cases.

       Power score: The psionicist may increase the time factor by one, without having pay
 the extra cost in PSP's.

       20: The psionicist is confused and disoriented as described above.



              --------------------------------------------------



                               8. WIZARD SPELLS



              --------------------------------------------------





                                  Spell List



Note:  Spells that are reversible are followed by an r.



1st Level

       Condense Water

       Mental Rejuvenation



3rd Level

       Mental Calm

       Project Sensory Effects





                          -------------------------



                                   Level 1



                          -------------------------



Condense Water (Alteration)



Level:  1

Range:  60 yards

Components:  V, S, M

Duration:  Permanent

Casting Time:  1 round

Area of Effect:  10 square feet +1 square foot/level

Saving Throw:  None

Author:  Ronald Jones <JONESRD%SJSUVM1.BITNET@cmsa.Berkeley.EDU>



       When casting this spell the caster condenses water out of the air, the water collec
ts as dew on any appropriate

surface or in a specially prepared container.  The water is not magical, it is simply cond
ensed out of the

surrounding air the amount of water condensed is related to the relative humidity.  The ce
nter of the spell can be

located at any point up to the max range of the spell. The spell creates 2 ounces(oz) of w
ater per 10 square feet of

the area of the spell, assuming up to 10% relative humidity (see table for higher humidity
).  For the times that the

area of effect is not at an even number such as at 5th level (15 square feet) the caster s
hould get, at 10% humidity

3oz of water, or 2.2oz for 6th level, etc., till you get 4oz with 20 square feet at 10th l
evel.



       If the humidity is % per 10 square feet:

     up to 10% - 2oz

     11 to 20% - 4oz

     21 to 30% - 6oz

     31 to 40% - 8oz (1 cup)

     41 to 50% - 10oz

     51 to 60% - 12oz

     61 to 70% - 14oz

     71 to 80% - 16oz (2 cups)

     81 to 90% - 20oz

    91 to 100% - 24oz (3 cups)



       The material component is a pinch of very fine river or sea silt, tossed into the a
ir when the spell is cast.  The

water simply condenses on all nearby surfaces (i.e., trees, rocks, ground, characters, and
 especially metal).  At fifth

level the condensed water can be directed into a specially constructed flask or jar. The s
omatic component is

tracing the square in the air and then pointing toward where the center of the spell will
be.

       This spell can only be cast once in any particular area as it does drain the liquid
 out of the air.  The air

around the spell's area of effect will decrease in relative humidity by 10%.  It may take
two to eight (2d4) turns for

the moisture level to return to a level where the spell could be cast again.

       Note:  Athas is a very dry place, normal humidity runs at less than 10%, Athas is s
imilar to a high dry desert.

A lucky character might meet 20% to 40% humidity near a large river or lake, not a well, s
tream, or even a geyser.

The only place that a character might find humidity over 50% would be in the Halfling jung
le of the Ringing

Mountains' forest ridge.  Needless to say if this spell was cast by a high level preserver
 in one of these areas of

high humidity, it could be dangerous.





Mental Rejuvenation (Necromancy)



Level:  1

Range:  Touch

Duration:  Permanent

Components:  V,S,M

Casting Time:  1 round

Area of Effect:  One Creature

Saving Throw:  N/A

Author:  Brian J. Toleno <BRIAN@OPUS.CHEM.PSU.EDU>



       The caster using a lock of hair or piece of the scalp of the recipient holds his/he
r hands on their head and is

able to restore 1d6/lvl PSPs to them.  This spell can never bring the recipient to or past
 full PSP totals.





                          -------------------------



                                   Level 3



                          -------------------------





Mental Calm (Necromancy)



Level:  3

Range:  5yds/lvl

Duration:  1rd/lvl

Components:  V,S,M

Casting Time:  5

Area of Effect:  One creature

Saving Throw:  Special

Author:  Brian J. Toleno <BRIAN@OPUS.CHEM.PSU.EDU>



       The use of this spell allows the target to gain a saving throws versus psionic and
other mental attacks that do

not normally allow saving throws and a bonus against those that do.  If the target is alre
ady under the influence of

such an attack/power (i.e. id insinuation, attraction, etc.) they would get a save vs spel
ls at -2 (+ WIS bonuses) to

ward off the effects of the power.  If they are attacked while this spell is in effect the
y make a save versus spells to

ward it off, if no save is normally allowed, and a save at +2 if one is normally allowed (
i.e. Psionic blast).  This

does not offer protection versus non-mental attacks such as disintegration and other such
powers.  The material

component for this spell is a bit of flesh from a dead psionic creature.





Project Sensory Effects (Illusion)



Level:  3

Range:  0

Components:  V, S, M

Casting Time:  3

Duration:  1 round/level

Area of Effect:  20 yards

Saving Throw:  Special

Author:  John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>



       With this spell, the wizard projects certain sensory effects onto another target, m
aking it appear that the

target is actually the person casting the spell (sensory effects of spellcasting are discu
ssed in DK, pp., 46-52).  The

wizard must first cast Project Sensory Effects normally (NOTE:  this spell does not projec
t its own effects when cast,

only the effects of subsequent spells, including subsequent Project Sensory Effects spells
).  Then, for the duration of

this spell, the sensory effects of every spell that he casts have a chance of being projec
ted onto a randomly

determined target within the area of affect.

       Each time the wizard casts a spell while Project Sensory Effects is in effect, simp
ly count all possible targets

within 20 yards of the caster (do not count the caster--do count the caster's companions a
nd any other humanoid

within the area of effect) and roll the closest die to determine which one is the target.
 For example, if there are

seven possible targets, roll 1d8, rerolling any rolls resulting in eight.  The target is a
llowed a saving throw versus

spells, including the -1 penalty when this spell is cast by an illusionist.  If he fails,
he appears to be the source of

the sensory effects that normally emanate from the caster.  If he succeeds, the sensory ef
fects appear to originate

from the caster, as normal.  A wild mage has a 50% chance of selecting the target, as long
 as the target is within

the area of effect; if the roll is above 50%, determine the target randomly.

       The spell affects visual, aural, olfactory, taste, and tactile effects; "additional
" effects are included at the DM's

discretion, but grand effects are never affected.  The somatic concealment proficiency has
 no affect on whether or

not a target is perceived as the source of any projected effects; however, the sensory alt
eration proficiency can be

used to increase or decrease the intensity of the sensory effects regardless of the percei
ved source of the effects

(see DK, p. 48).  The material component is a pinch of silt collected during a silt storm.



              --------------------------------------------------



                               9. PRIEST SPELLS



              --------------------------------------------------



                                  Spell List



Note:  Spells are separated into spheres based on the EAF&W supplement; DMs without access
 to that book

should reclassify the paraelemental spells into the most appropriate elemental spheres (e.
g., Eyes of the Sun would

be under the Sphere of Fire).  Spells that are reversible are followed by an r.



Air

 Minor Elemental Wall (2)

 Lesser Elemental Wall (3)

 Wind Burn (3)

 Breath Silt (4)

 Elemental Bonding II (4)-r

 Elemental Wall (4)

 Heal Elemental (4)--r

 Strengthen Elemental (4)--r

 Elemental Imbalance (5)

 Greater Elemental Wall (5)

 Bass's Elemental Domination (6)

 Superior Elemental Wall (6)



Earth

 Minor Elemental Wall (2)

 Lesser Elemental Wall (3)

 Elemental Bonding II (4)-r

 Elemental Wall (4)

 Encase (4)

 Heal Elemental (4)--r

 Sand Storm (4)

 Strengthen Elemental (4)--r

 Brittle Stone (5)

 Elemental Imbalance (5)

 Salt to Flesh (5)

 Bass's Elemental Domination (6)

 Entomb (6)

 Greater Elemental Wall (5)

 Superior Elemental Wall (6)



Fire

 Minor Elemental Wall (2)

 Lesser Elemental Wall (3)

 Elemental Bonding II (4)-r

 Elemental Wall (4)

 Heal Elemental (4)--r

 Strengthen Elemental (4)--r

 Elemental Imbalance (5)

 Greater Elemental Wall (5)

 Bass's Elemental Domination (6)

 Superior Elemental Wall (6)



Water

 Minor Elemental Wall (2)

 Water Whip (2)

 Lesser Elemental Wall (3)

 Wind Burn (3)

 Elemental Bonding II (4)-r

 Elemental Wall (4)

 Heal Elemental (4)--r

 Strengthen Elemental (4)--r

 Drown (5)

 Elemental Imbalance (5)

 Greater Elemental Wall (5)

 Salt to Flesh (5)

 Bass's Elemental Domination (6)

 Superior Elemental Wall (6)

 Water Intoxication (7)



Magma

 Elemental Bonding II (4)-r

 Heal Elemental (4)--r

 Strengthen Elemental (4)--r

 Bass's Elemental Domination (6)



Rain

 Thunder Clap (3)

 Elemental Bonding II (4)-r

 Heal Elemental (4)--r

 Strengthen Elemental (4)--r

 Bass's Elemental Domination (6)



Silt

 Breath Silt (4)

 Elemental Bonding II (4)-r

 Heal Elemental (4)--r

 Strengthen Elemental (4)--r

 Bass's Elemental Domination (6)



Sun

 Eyes of the Sun (3)

 Elemental Bonding II (4)-r

 Heal Elemental (4)--r

 Strengthen Elemental (4)--r

 Solar Sight (5)

 Bass's Elemental Domination (6)



Cosmos

 Narhwal's Blistering Pain (1)

 Mend Bone (2)-r

 Bone Shape (3)

 Strengthen Bone (4)

 Wax to Flesh (6)



                          -------------------------



                                   Level 1



                          -------------------------



Narhwal's Blistering Pain (Alteration)



Sphere:  Cosmos

Level:  1

Range:  Touch

Components:  V, S, M

Casting Time:  1

Duration:  Special

Area of Effect:  One person

Saving Throw:  Neg.

Author:   Eric Wayne Swett <4962@EF.GC.MARICOPA.EDU>



       This is a particularly annoying and potentially disgusting spell.  The caster place
s his hands upon the bare

flesh of the victim and immediately the victim takes 1d4-1 dmg (save negates the effect).
 Large, pussy blisters grow

from the place the victim was touched.  This can have any number of ill effects upon the v
ictim depending upon

the location and the creativity of the DM.  The material component of this spell is some l
amp oil rubbed on the

hands of the caster.







                          -------------------------



                                   Level 2



                          -------------------------





Mend Bone (Alteration, Necromancy)

Reversible



Sphere:  Cosmos

Level:  2

Range:  Touch

Components:  V, S, M

Casting Time:  1 hour

Duration:  Permanent

Area of Effect:  1 bone

Saving Throw:  Special

Author:  Bill Hincks <WHIN3560@URIACC.URI.EDU>



       With this spell the caster may mend a broken bone.  The bone must still be made of
living tissue and recently

broken.  An hour must be spent chanting over the person, while smooth strokes are made on
the skin over the

broken bone.  Water (or a similar substance depending on the view of the cleric) must be r
ubbed over the wound

every ten minutes.  Over the course of the hour the bone will draw together and mend.  It
will be as good as new

when the spell is complete.  If interrupted while casting the bone will be mended only par
tly, depending on when

the caster was interrupted.  The mending heals 10% of the bone for every 10 minutes of cas
ting, and 50% of the

mending occurs in the last 10 minutes.

       The reverse of this spell break bone is an excruciating process, where the bone is
weakened and drawn apart

until it is split into two separate pieces.  The process still occurs over the course of a
n hour and a save vs. spells

occurs in the last 10 minutes.  If successful the bone is only weakened by 50%, if failed
the bone is separated

completely.  It is a common torture technique among templars.

       NOTE:  In order to insure that the bone is set properly the caster must make a succ
essful healing proficiency

check, when the spell is completed.  If someone other than the caster tries to use the hea
ling proficiency and guide

the caster he must make the check at an additional -5 to his roll.  An improperly set bone
 must be broken and set

again in order to attain it's former strength.





Minor Elemental Wall (Alteration, Evocation)



Sphere:  Elemental (any)

Level:  Range:  10 yards/level

Components:  V, S, M

Casting Time:  2

Duration:  5 rounds + 1 round/level

Area of Effect:  Special

Saving Throw:  None

Author:  John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>



       This spell allows the caster to create a stationary wall composed of material from
his elemental plane of

worship (Templars may cast this spell in any form).  It covers a 20-foot-square area per l
evel (the thickness varies

depending on the element); this area may be arranged in any manner to form a rectangular w
all, as long as neither

dimension falls below 5 feet.  For example, a 5th level caster, who can create a wall up t
o 100 square feet in area,

might create a wall that is 5 feet high and 20 feet long or a wall that is 20 feet high an
d 50 feel long.

       While this set of spells share common characteristics, such as duration and area of
 effect, the wall's specific

properties differ based on its composition.



Element  Properties



Air      Creates an invisible wall of violently disturbed air that is two feet thick.  Tre
at as per wind wall spell (p.

         154, PHB).

Water  Creates a wall of billowing fog that is up to 10' thick per level of caster.  Treat
 as per wall of fog spell (p.

       139, PHB).

Fire     Creates a two foot thick wall of hot air that causes targets viewed through it to
 shimmer and waver.

         Treat as blur spell for all attacks made within or through the wall (e.g., ranged
 attacks; p. 140, PHB).

Earth  Creates a wall of swirling dust that is 10' thick.  The dust obscures vision; treat
 as blur spell for all attacks

       made within or through the wall (e.g., ranged attacks; p. 140, PHB).



       The material component is a bit of the element (air, water, fire, earth) of which t
he wall is composed.





Water Whip (Evocation)



Sphere: Elemental (Water)

Level:  2

Range:  0

Components:  V, S, M

Duration:  5 rounds + 1 round/2 levels

Casting Time: 6

Area of Effect:  10' long whip

Saving Throw:  None

Author:  John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>



       With this spell, the caster causes a crystal clear blue whip to form in his hand--t
he weapon is made entirely of

water.  If the caster successfully hits with the water whip in melee, the target suffers d
amage equal to 1d2 (or 1 for

L creatures) + 1 point per level of the caster.  Thus, an 8th level cleric will do either
9 or 10 points of damage.  If

the cleric hits with a natural 20, he has succeeded in disarming his opponent; the target
still takes damage.  A

creature attacking with only natural weapons (e.g., teeth & claw) cannot be disarmed in th
is manner.

       Any creature especially susceptible to water damage suffers double damage.  Note:
double damage does not

apply to creatures susceptible to holy water, such as undead (the water that composes the
whip is not holy water).

       Although magical in origin, it is not considered a magical weapon unless cast by hi
gh level priests (i.e., 10th

level or greater).  That is, for casters of 10th level or greater, the water whip is consi
dered a +1 weapon; for

casters of 20th level or greater, it is considered a +2 weapon; and so on.

       In addition to the casters holy symbol, the spell requires a leaf from any water-dw
elling plant as a material

component.





                          -------------------------



                                   Level 3



                          -------------------------





Bone Shape (Alteration, Necromancy)



Sphere:  Cosmos

Level:  3

Range:  Touch

Components:  V, S, M

Casting Time:  11 rounds

Duration:  Permanent

Area of Effect:  3' cube plus 1' cube/level (not to exceed one object)

Saving Throw:  None

Author:  Bill Hincks <WHIN3560@URIACC.URI.EDU>



       With the aid of this spell the caster may take bone and mold it into whatever shape
 is desired.  The spell

takes 1 round to cast and an additional 10 rounds to shape the desired object.  Bones can
be melded together to

produce one final object, but no more than one object may be produced per casting.  The ob
ject can not exceed

the Area of Effect of the spell (though two objects created by the spell may be joined tog
ether with another

casting.  The new object will be seamless and quite strong.  The material component for th
is spell is fresh bone

dust (no more than 1 hour old) spread over the bone, the bone may then be sculpted like cl
ay.  STRENGTH

ENED bone may not be joined to normal bone though it may be joined to another piece of STR
ENGTHENED

bone.  (In this case the bone dust may be no more then ten minutes old when it is spread o
n the bone and must be

made into a paste with the blood of the creature the dust comes from, the blood must also
be fresh.)







Eyes of the Sun (Alteration)



Sphere: Paraelemental (Sun)

Level:  3

Range:  0

Components:  V, S

Duration:  1 round/level

Casting Time:  3

Area of Effect:  The caster's eyes

Saving Throw:  Special

Author:  John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>



       With this spell, the caster causes his eyes to burn as bright as the sun.  Anybody
within 10 feet of the caster

who meets his gaze must save versus breath weapon or become blind.  As per the DMG, creatu
res surprised by the

caster automatically meet his gaze.  Those attempting to avoid the gaze by looking in the
caster's general direction

without looking into his eyes risk a 20% chance each round of accidentally meeting the cas
ter's gaze but suffer no

combat penalties.  Those completely averting their gaze or closing their eyes suffer the n
ormal penalties for

fighting blind (-4 to attack; +4 to Armor Class; +2 to initiative).  Unlike most gaze atta
cks, looking into the

caster's gaze in a reflected surface (such as a mirror) has the same damaging effects as l
ooking directly into his

eyes; should the caster be tricked into meeting his own gaze, he too must roll to save aga
inst blindness.  Undead,

and other creatures sensitive to sunlight, suffer automatic damage as if exposed to sunlig
ht as long as the caster

gazes at them, and they are within 10 feet of the caster.

       While the caster's eyes shine brightly, they produce no heat and can not be used to
 light fires (unless using a

magnifying glass); they can be used to light a passage in the dark up to 10 feet before th
e caster.  The spell does

not interfere with the caster's vision.  Since this spell burns the victim's retina, a cur
e blindness spell will not restore

his sight; rather, stronger magic must be used, such as a restoration or wish spell.







Lesser Elemental Wall (Alteration, Evocation)



Sphere:  Elemental (any)

Level:  3

Range:  10 yards/level

Components:  V, S, M

Casting Time:  3

Duration:  5 rounds + 1 round/level

Area of Effect:  Special

Saving Throw:  None

Author:  John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>



       This spell allows the caster to create a stationary wall composed of material from
his elemental plane of

worship (Templars may cast this spell in any form).  It covers a 20-foot-square area per l
evel (the thickness varies

depending on the element); this area may be arranged in any manner to form a rectangular w
all, as long as neither

dimension falls below 5 feet.  As with minor elemental wall, lesser elemental wall covers
a 20-foot-square area per

level (the thickness varies depending on the element); this area may be arranged in any ma
nner to form a

rectangular wall, as long as neither dimension falls below 5 feet.  While this set of spel
ls share common

characteristics, such as duration and area of effect, the wall's specific properties diffe
r based on its composition.



Element  Properties



Air      Creates a deafening wall of violently disturbed air that is two feet thick.  Trea
t as per wall of sound spell

         (p. 78, CBH).  Namely, one side chosen by caster produces such a roar that all co
mmunication (including

         verbal spell components) is disrupted within 30 feet.  Those within 10 feet are d
eafened for 1d4 turns if

         they fail to save versus spell.  The sound is heard on the other side, but is not
 disruptive.  Anyone

         passing through the wall suffers 1d8 points of damage and is permanently deafened
 unless he rolls a

         successful saving throw versus spell.  Deafened creatures suffer -1 penalty to su
rprise rolls, a +1 penalty

         to initiative rolls, and they are 20% likely to miscast spells with a verbal comp
onent.  A silence 15' radius

         spell cast by a higher level caster specifically for this purpose will dispel the
 wall; the wall otherwise

         destroys all silence spells that come into contact with it.

Water  Creates a wall of "solid fog" that is up to 10 feet thick per level of caster.  Tre
at as per solid fog spell (p.

       163, PHB).

Fire     Creates a billowing wall of black smoke that is 10 feet thick.  Due to its noxiou
s gasses, treat as per

         stinking cloud spell (p. 145, PHB), except those exposed to the cloud save with a
 -3 penalty.  All vision

         within and through the wall is impossible.

Earth  Creates a wall of swirling dust that is 10' thick.  This wall has two effects.  Tre
at as blur spell for all

       attacks made within or through the wall (e.g., ranged attacks; p. 140, PHB).  Anybo
dy coming into

       physical contact with the wall will suffer as per the "itching" version of an irrit
ation spell (p. 142, PHB)--

       saving throws are at a -3 penalty regardless of the number of creatures entering th
e area of effect.



       The material component is a bit of the element (air, water, fire, earth) of which t
he wall is composed.





Thunder Clap (Invocation/Evocation)



Sphere:  Paraelemental (Rain)

Level:  3

Range:  0

Components:  V, S

Duration:  Instantaneous

Casting Time:  3

Area of Effect:  Special

Saving Throw:  1/2

Author:  John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>



       This spell is similar to the wizard spell thunder staff with the exception that the
 priest needs no material

components.  Upon completion of the spell, the priest claps his hands together and produce
s a thundering cone of

force 5' wide at the apex, 20' wide at the base, and 40' long.  All creatures and objects
wholly or partially in the

cone incur the effects of thunder staff as printed in the ToM (p. 32-33).

       While the priest must have both hands free to cast the spell most effectively, he c
an cast it with only one

hand.  This case might occur if the other hand is bound, missing, or holding a shield, for
 example.  If the caster

only has one hand free, he may clap it against bare skin on any part of his body (e.g., th
igh, cheek, etc.).  The

resulting cone of force is 2.5' wide at the apex, 10' wide at the base, and 20' long.  All
 creatures wholly or partially

in the cone must roll a successful saving throw versus spells.  Those who fail are stunned
 for 1 round and deafened

for 1d3-1 rounds (they cannot be deafened for less then 1 round, however).  Those creature
s who fail are also

hurled 2d4+2 feet by the wave of force, suffering 1 point of damage per two feet thrown (d
amage will always be

2d4+2, even if the creature encounters an intervening surface).  If the save is successful
, the victim is not stunned,

but is deafened for 1d3-1 rounds and is hurled only half the distance.  Giant-sized creatu
res or larger who succeed

at their saving throws are deafened but are not thrown, suffer no damage, and are not stun
ned.  If the save is

failed, they are hurled 1d4+1 feet, suffer 1 point of damage per two feet thrown, and are
deafened and stunned.

       Regardless of whether one or two hands are used in the casting, the cone has a Stre
ngth of 19 for the

purposes of opening doors.  It can move objects weighing up to 640 pounds 4d4+4 or 2d4+2 f
eet, depending on

the method of casting.  Fragile items must make a saving throw versus crushing blow or be
destroyed.





Wind Burn (Evocation)



Sphere: Elemental (Air, Water)

Level:  3

Range:  0

Components:  V, S

Duration:  Instantaneous

Casting Time: 5

Area of Effect:  75' long cone

Saving Throw:  1/2

Author:  John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>



       Despite the name of this spell, wind burn has nothing to do with fire.  Upon castin
g, the priest causes an

exceptionally dry cone of air to originate from his hand.  The cone is 5" in diameter at i
ts base, 25' in diameter at

its end, and 75' long.  All targets of the spell must save versus spells.  Those who fail
suffer 1d6 points of

dehydration damage per level of the caster as well as a temporary loss of 1 point of Const
itution (creatures w/o

Constitution scores suffer a -1 penalty to Armor Class).  A successful save means half dam
age & no loss of

Constitution.  Creatures exceptionally susceptible to dehydration damage (e.g., those from
 the elemental plane of

water, plant creatures, & even aquatic creatures) suffer a -4 penalty to their saving thro
w.  Constitution point loss

IS cumulative; that is to say, if a target of two of these spells fails to save against bo
th it will suffer a -2 to its

Constitution (if it survives the damage, of course).  A character is dead if his Constitut
ion reaches zero (for

creatures w/o Constitution, use HD; thus, even if a 3 HD monster had enough HPs to survive
 failing to save 3

times, it would still die since 3 - 3 = 0).

       Constitution points may only be restored by consumption of a full day's water requi
rement (use Dark Sun

Rehydration rules; or simply 1 gallon per day for a human sized creature).  This spell is
not castable under water.





                          -------------------------



                                   Level 4



                          -------------------------





Breath Silt (Alteration)



Sphere:  Elemental (Air), Paraelemental (Silt)

Level:  4

Range:  Touch

Components:  V, S

Duration:  1 hour/level

Casting Time:  7

Area of Effect:  Special

Saving Throw:  None

Author:  John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>



       The recipient of a breath silt spell is able to breathe silt freely for the duratio
n of the spell (this ability does

not interfere with the ability to breath normal air).  The priest can divide the base dura
tion between multiple

characters.  Thus a 10th level priest can confer this ability to 2 characters for 5 hours
each, to 5 characters for 2

hours each, etc., to a minimum of 1/2 hour per character.

       As this spell allows the recipient to breathe silt and air, it will not only protec
t against choking in a silt storm

but also against total submersion in the Sea of Silt.  This spell will not protect against
 submersion in sand, water,

or any other material; nor will it protect against noxious vapors, such as poisonous cloud
s or smoke.





Elemental Bonding II (Alteration)

Reversible



Sphere: Elemental (Any), Paraelemental (Any)

Level:  4

Range:  Touch

Components:  V, S, M

Duration:  Permanent

Casting Time: 1 round

Area of Effect:  Creature touched

Saving Throw:  None

Author:  John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>



       This spell is a more powerful version of the first level spell elemental bonding (s
ee DK).  With this spell the

priest attempts to repair physical damage done to another being or creature.  In an elemen
tal sense, part of the

damage incurred by combat wounds or disease is, in fact, an imbalance created in the body'
s elemental

proportions.  Through this spell, the priest restores some of this balance.

       The caster can heal 2d4+4 points of damage.  The same restrictions apply to this sp
ell as to the 1st level spell.

Namely, the cleric cannot completely heal the recipient with this spell.  He can only heal
 the recipient to within 3

points of perfect health (unless the damage was solely from an elemental, then all damage
can be healed).

Additional means must be used to bring the recipient back to perfect health (e.g., cure li
ght wounds, rest); although,

elemental bonding I cannot, since both spells work on the same principle.

       By casting the reverse of this spell, the cleric does 2d4+4 points of damage.  Whil
e no saving throw is

allowed, a successful attack must be made (i.e., the caster must succeed in touching the t
arget).

       The material component for this spell is enough of the caster's element to sufficie
ntly cover the recipient's

wounds.





Elemental Wall (Alteration, Evocation)



Sphere:  Elemental (any)

Level:  4

Range:  10 yards/level

Components:  V, S, M

Casting Time:  4

Duration:  1 turn + 1 round/level

Area of Effect:  Special

Saving Throw:  None

Author:  John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>





       This spell allows the caster to create a stationary wall composed of material from
his elemental plane of

worship (Templars may cast this spell in any form).  As with minor and lesser elemental wa
lls, elemental wall covers

a 20-foot-square area per level (the thickness varies depending on the element); this area
 may be arranged in any

manner to form a rectangular wall, as long as neither dimension falls below 5 feet.  While
 this set of spells share

common characteristics, such as duration and area of effect, the wall's specific propertie
s differ based on its

composition.



Element  Properties



Air      Creates a deafening wall of violently disturbed air that is two feet thick.  Trea
t as per wall of sound spell

         (p. 78, CBH), however the roar of an air wall is so intense that anyone passing t
hrough the wall suffers

         damage as per shout (p. 163, PHB) and suffers a -3 penalty to his saving throw.

Water  Creates a vertical wall of ice.  Treat as "ice plane" option of the wall of ice spe
ll (p. 164, PHB).

Fire     Creates a billowing wall of smoke that is 10 feet thick. Similar to incendiary cl
oud (p. 189, PHB), on the

         third round it erupts into flame (3d2) and continues to flame for the forth (3d4)
 and fifth rounds (3d2).

         A save versus spell is allowed to halve damage.  On subsequent rounds, it is iden
tical to a lesser fire wall,

         except the heat remains intense, and those within the wall suffer 1 point of dama
ger each round.

Earth  Creates a wall of sand that is 1 foot thick per level of caster.  Treat as per wall
 of sand (in Forgotten

       Realms Adventures).  Namely, the sand is thick and viscous, reducing movement throu
gh the wall to half

       speed.  All creatures relying on normal sight or infravision are blinded while with
in the wall, and they

       suffer a -3 penalty to their AC for the round after leaving the wall.  Creatures ne
eding to breath suffer 1

       point of damage per round spent within the wall.  The wall extinguishes open flames
, prevents speech

       within it, and blocks all sight through it.



       The material component is a bit of the element (air, water, fire, earth) of which t
he wall is composed.







Encase (Evocation)



Sphere:  Elemental (Earth)

Level:  4

Range:  10 yards/level

Components:  V, S, M

Duration:  1 turn + 2 rounds/level

Casting Time:  4

Area of Effect:  1 creature size L or smaller

Saving Throw:  Neg.

Author:  John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>



       When cast, this spell completely encases the target in volcanic rock.  The casing d
oes not hinder breathing due

to its porous nature, and the victim suffers no damage; however, it does block vision and
prevent all movement for

the duration of the spell, including somatic and verbal spell components.

       If the target saves versus spell, he completely avoids the affects of encase, as a
hollow stone statue roughly his

shape appears next to him, collapses in on itself, and disappears.  If the target fails hi
s save, he is immediately

encased.  Each round thereafter, he may attempt to break free.  Breaking free requires the
 entire round and a

successful Bend Bars/Lift Gates roll.

       The volcanic casing will crumble after suffering 15 points of damage plus 1 point p
er level of caster.  For

damage purposes, treat the casing as having an Armor Class of 5.  Any attack that damages
the casing has a 75%

probability of wounding the victim within; divide the damage equally between the casing an
d the victim.  In

addition, the victim automatically incurs all damage above the amount required to destroy
the casing.  For

example, Chluckla is encased by a 10th level cleric, creating a casing with 25 HPs.  His c
omrades attempt to free

him by chipping him free.  Blitz strikes the casing and does 6 points of damage and rolls
a 50 on percentile dice--

the casing takes 3 points of damage and Chluckla takes 3 points of damage.  Taraq does 12
points of damage and

rolls 89%--the casing takes all 12 points of damage.  Finally, Morgart does 28 points of d
amage, rolling 15%--

Chluckla takes 14 points of damage, and the casing takes 14 points; however, since the cas
ing has only 10 HPs left

(25-3-12), the remaining 4 points damage is applied to Chluckla.  Thus, Chluckla's friends
 inflict a total of 21

points of damage (3+14+4) to him while trying to free him.

       A successful dispel magic will immediately remove the casing.  The material compone
nt for this spell is a fist-

size piece of volcanic rock.







Heal Elemental (Alteration)

Reversible



Sphere:  Elemental (Any), Paraelemental (Any)

Level:  4

Range:  Touch

Components:  V, S

Duration:  Permanent

Casting Time:  1 round minimum

Area of Effect:  1 elemental creature

Saving Throw:  None

Author:  John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>



       Do to their unique physical nature, creatures from the elemental planes (i.e., Air,
 Water, Earth, & Fire) and

the paraelemental planes (i.e., Rain, Silt, Magma, Sun) can not be cured by normal means w
hile on the Prime

Material plane.  That is to say, spells from the Necromancy school, such as cure light wou
nds, heal, and regenerate,

produce no effect.  In order to repair damage to such a creature, the cleric must act as a
 conduit for healing

powers specific to the creature's home plane; heal elemental allows the caster to serve as
 this conduit.  Thus, the

cleric may only heal creatures from his plane of worship.  Neither druids nor templars are
 able to cast this spell,

since they do not have a direct link to the elemental planes (i.e., a druid's powers are g
ranted via the spirit of his

guarded land, and a templar's spells are granted from his sorcerer-king).

       Upon the initiation of this spell, the caster must establish physical contact with
the elemental creature (i.e., he

can not be wearing gloves) and maintain this contact for at least 1 round.  For each round
 that he maintains

contact, he heals 1 HP per his level.  For example, Baltasar, a 9th level Cleric of Air, s
ummons a Lesser Air

Elemental and sends it into battle.  Although the first wave of opponents are defeated, th
e elemental has taken

damage.  Since the enemy's reinforcements are several rounds behind, he casts heal element
al and may restore 9

HPs to the elemental per round until battle is resumed or until all HPs are restored (i.e.
, it can not have more HPs

than it did when initially conjured).

       While it is possible to cast the reverse of this spell, harm elemental, the caster
must still touch the target and

maintain contact for at least 1 round.  Needless to say, the elemental will experience thi
s treatment as an attack

and attempt to fight back; however, if the Cleric can keep his hold, the elemental suffers
 1 HP per caster's level

each round.  Use the wrestling rules in the PHB to determine what type of hold the caster
achieves and if he can

maintain it after the initial round; in addition, wrestling moves normally inflict no dama
ge on such creatures (do to

their immunity to non-magical attack forms) above the damage from this spell.  Since the c
leric can only affect

creatures from his plane of worship, he must be very careful with the use of this spell le
st his powers be revoked.

       Note:  this spell does not convey resistance to the elemental's element; thus, usin
g this spell on a creature

from the elemental plane of fire or the paraelemental plane of magma--in the absence of so
me protective magic--is

a hazardous proposition.





Sand Storm (Evocation)



Sphere:  Elemental (Earth)

Level:  4

Range:  10 yards/level

Components:  V, S, M

Duration:  Special

Casting Time:  4

Area of Effect:  60 foot diameter circle

Saving Throw:  None

Author:  David Gehring <GEHRING@CS.UWP.EDU>



       This spell can have one of two effects.  First, it can be used as a pounding shower
 of sand, which rains down

for one round in a 60 foot diameter circle inflicting 1d12 points of buffeting damage plus
 1d12 points of choking

damage to all creatures within the area of effect.  Note that certain creatures would be i
mmune to certain effects

(e.g., golems)--it is up to the DM's discretion. Also, undead would be unaffected by the c
hoking damage because

they do not need to breathe.

       The second use of the spell is as a blinding rain of sand in a 60 foot diameter cir
cle, which lasts for one round

per level of the caster.  The storm slows movement to 50% and reduces visibility to zero w
ithin the area of effect.

The sheet does not move with the caster and dissipates if the caster is interrupted.  The
storm can also extinguish

open flames such as torches, candles, camp fires, etc.

       The material component for the spell is a handful of fine sand.





Strengthen Bone (Alteration, Necromancy)



Sphere:  Cosmos

Level:  4

Range:  Touch

Components:  V, S, M

Casting Time:  3 rounds

Duration:  Permanent

Area of Effect:  3' cube plus 1' cube/level (not to exceed one object)

Saving Throw:  None

Author:  Bill Hincks <WHIN3560@URIACC.URI.EDU>



       This spell allows a bone construct to be strengthened and made denser.  The strengt
h of the bone is doubled

by the casting of this spell.  The spell takes one round to cast, and 2 rounds of chanting
 while the material

component is absorbed into the target of the spell.  The material component is a piece of
bone that is a near

perfect match to the object of the spell.  The component is then placed against the object
 and absorbed into it.

The new object will be twice as dense and twice as strong, with regards to weapons, they r
eceive no penalties to hit

and damage, and they will not break on a max damage strike.  There is a 2% chance per leve
l of the caster that

the STRENGTHENED bone will act as steel.





Strengthen Elemental (Alteration, Conjuration/Summoning)

Reversible



Sphere: Elemental (Any), Paraelemental (Any)

Level:  4

Range:  10 yards/level

Components:  V, S, M

Duration:  Special

Casting Time: 5

Area of Effect:  Special

Saving Throw:  Special

Author:  John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>



       This spell strengthens any and all elementals and paraelementals conjured by the ca
ster; it affects Lesser,

Standard, & Greater Elementals.  This spell may be cast in 1 of 2 ways; its reverse may be
 cast in only 1 way.  Only

1 type of elemental (e.g., earth) or paraelemental (e.g., silt) may be affected per castin
g of this spell.

       If cast immediately before conjuring elemental(s), all 1s rolled in calculating the
ir hit points are rerolled until

another number results.  For example, the priest casts strengthen elemental and follows it
 with conjure lesser

elemental.  After determining that two 4 HD elementals will appear, the DM rolls 6, 5, 2,
and 2; then 7, 4, 1, and 3.

He rolls again and obtains a 5.  The resulting elementals have 15 (6+5+2+2) and 19 (7+4+5+
3) HPs,

respectively.  In addition the elementals attack with a +1 to hit and damage until their s
ervice is fulfilled (i.e., they

are destroyed, dismissed, or the conjure spell expires).  The priest must begin the conjur
ing spell the round

immediately after casting this spell.  Should he fail to initiate the conjuring during the
 following round, or should

he fail to complete the conjuring (e.g., he takes damage) this spell is wasted.

       The second method of casting is to cast this spell on elementals that have already
been conjured.  If cast in

this manner,  strengthen elemental only confers a +1 to hit and damage on the target eleme
ntal.  For this version of

the spell, the caster may choose up to 1 elemental per 3 experience levels; all elementals
 must be of the same type

and be within 20 yards of each other.  This version of the spell lasts for 1 turn + 1 roun
d/level and has no effect

on elementals currently under the effects of the first version of this spell.

       The reverse, weaken elemental, imposes a -1 to hit and damage on target elementals.
  As above, the caster

may choose up to 1 elemental per 3 experience levels; all elementals must be of the same t
ype and be within 20

yards of each other.  This version of the spell lasts for 1 turn + 1 round/level.  Element
als are permitted a saving

throw to avoid these weakening effects.

       The material component for this spell is a small bit of the elemental's element (e.
g., caster's breath when

strengthening air elementals).  The material component for the reverse is a small bit of t
he element opposed to the

target elemental's native plane (e.g., water for a fire elemental, rain for a magma parael
emental, etc.).





                          -------------------------



                                   Level 5



                          -------------------------





Brittle Stone (Alteration)



Sphere: Elemental (Earth)

Level:  5

Range:  5 yards/level

Components:  V, S, M

Duration:  Permanent

Casting Time:  7

Area of Effect:  2 cubic foot/level

Saving Throw:  special

Author:  John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>



       With this spell, the caster causes any type of stone (e.g., sandstone, granite, etc
.) to become extremely brittle

and easily broken; so much so, that the stone may be crumbled by hand like pottery.  When
cast against normal

stone, no saving throw is allowed, and the caster affects up to 2 cubic foot of stone for
every level of experience.

The priest may shape the spell to any dimensions, as long as no dimension is less than 1 f
oot and the area does not

exceed the allowable amount.  For example, at 8th level Krystan can affect up to 16 cubic
feet of stone; she might

create a shallow hole in a door 4 x 4 x 1, or create a narrow tunnel 1 x 1 x 16.  Stone do
ors and walls thinner than

the area of effect may easily be kicked through--treat as thin wood for structural saving
throws.  When used to

tunnel through underground rock, the DM must determine the likelihood of cave-in.

       When this spell is cast against inanimate stone that was magically created, such as
 that created by a wall of

stone spell, treat as if a dispel magic spell was cast on the stone.  If the dispelling fa
ils, the stone remains intact.  If

the dispelling succeeds, the brittle stone spell functions normally (note:  this spell doe
s not dispel the stone, simply

make it brittle).

       If cast against a creature made entirely of stone, such as a stone or obsidian gole
m (but not rock golems,

which are immune to transmutation spells), the creature is allowed a saving throw versus s
pell in addition to any

innate magic resistance.  If it fails both, it suffers a +4 penalty to its Armor Class for
 the number of rounds equal

to the caster's level.  If cast in this manner, brittle stone can only affect 1 creature,
regardless of the spell's area of

affect or the creature's size.

       The material components are two fist-sized stones from the bed of a stream or river
.  The caster holds a stone

in each hand and claps them together while casting the spell.







Drown (Conjuring/Summoning)



Sphere:  Elemental (Water)

Level:  5

Range:  10 yards/level

Components:  V, S, M

Duration:  1 round/level

Casting Time:  5

Area of Effect:  1 creature

Saving Throw:  Neg.

Author:  John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>



       With this spell, the caster causes the target's lungs to fill with water.  The wate
r hampers breathing, and the

victim will begin to suffocate after 1/3 his Constitution score in rounds (round up).  The
reafter, a successful

Constitution check each round with a cumulative -2 penalty will postpone damage for an add
itional round.  After

the first failed check, the victim suffers 1d6 damage each round until dead.  For example,
 Talmac has a

Constitution of 17; he will begin to suffocate after 6 rounds.  On the 7th round, his play
er rolls a 3--no problem,

Talmac suffers no damage this round.  But on the 8th round, the player rolls a 14 (he fail
ed by one, since 17 - 4 =

13), and Talmac takes 1d6 damage that round and each subsequent round for the remaining du
ration of the spell.

       A successful dispel magic cast on the victim immediately clears his lungs of water.
  A water breathing spell cast

on the victim will allow him to ignore the presence of the fluid in his lungs for its dura
tion.  The material

component of this spell is a fist-sized piece of pulp from a saguaro cactus.





Elemental Imbalance (Alteration)



Sphere:  Elemental (Any)

Level:  5

Range:  Touch

Components:  V, S, M

Duration:  2 rounds/level

Casting Time:  5

Area of Effect:  1 creature

Saving Throw:  Special

Author:  John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>



       The bodies of most creatures are composed of a mixture of all four elements (i.e.,
air, water, fire, and earth).

With this spell, the caster creates a slight imbalance in the natural physical makeup of t
he target by increasing the

proportion of one element relative to the other three.  For example, a Cleric of Fire incr
eases the amount of

elemental fire in the target's body.  Increasing the amount of elemental material has two
effects.

       First, the imbalance directly affects the target's abilities (i.e., stats), strengt
hening some and weakening others.

Specifically, four stats are always affected:



                       Air

                DEX----------WIS

                 |            |

          Fire   |            |  Water

                 |            |

                STR----------CON

                      Earth



The caster improves each of the target's stats associated with his element by 1 point per
3 levels of the caster (to a

max of +6), and he weakens those stats associated with the opposing element by 1 point per
 3 levels.  However, no

ability can be reduced to 0 or increased beyond 24.

       For example, Samantha, an 11th level Cleric of the Earth, casts Elemental Imbalance
 on Halminok who's

original stats are STR 17; DEX 15; CON 15; INT 10; WIS 10; and CHR 11.  Both Halminok's ST
R and CON are

increased by 3 points; his DEX and WIS are decreased by 3 points each.  Thus, his stats fo
r the duration of the

spell are STR 20; DEX 12; CON 18; INT 10; WIS 7; and CHR 11.  He enjoys all benefits (e.g.
, greater damage

bonus and HPs) and suffers all penalties (e.g., loss of DEX defensive adjustment and -1 ma
gical defense

adjustment) associated with his new stats.  When the spell ends, his stats immediately ret
urn to normal, and thus

his abilities return to normal (HPs gained as a result of increased CON are lost only if t
hey exceed his normal

limit).

       The second effect of this spell is to provide modest protection against the element
 which has been increased.

The target receives a +1 to Armor Class versus elementals from the protected plane and all
 saves against

elemental-based attacks from this element.  However, the target suffers a -1 to Armor Clas
s versus elementals from

the opposite plane and all saves against attacks from the opposing element.  Thus, Halmino
k would save with a +1

against a Flesh to Stone spell, but he would suffer a -1 penalty to his Armor Class in a b
attle against an air

elemental.  These bonuses are cumulative with non-magical bonuses (e.g., DEX reaction adju
stment) and with

other magical protections (e.g., magical armor).

       This spell is traumatic for the target.  At the end of the spell, he must make a sy
stem shock roll (using his

normal CON).  If he succeeds, nothing happens.  If he fails, he instantly looses 4 HPs per
 3 levels of the caster (to

a max of 24 HPs)--that is 1 HP for each 3 levels of the caster for each ability modified.
 This loss is permanent and

cannot be cured via natural means, nor do any of the usual curative magics (e.g., cure ser
ious wounds, heal,

regenerate, etc.) work.  The damage can not be removed via remove curse or dispel magic.
There are only two

known means of restoring HPs lost in this manner:  elemental bonding and wish.  For the fo
rmer to have the

desired affect, the target must have been cured of all other wounds first (if not, element
al bonding will function

normally, curing the existing wounds within three HPs of the post-drain level).  In this c
ase, the target is treated as

if all damage was suffered from an elemental, and elemental bonding will restore drained H
Ps as per that spell.

       An elemental cleric can only increase the amount of elemental material from his pla
ne of worship.  A druid

may only increase the elements associated with his guarded lands.  For example, a druid wh
o has access to the

elemental spheres of fire and earth may increase the amount of either element.  A templar
may cast this spell in

any form.  The subject may be under only one Elemental Imbalance spell at a time; if he is
 the target of a second

casting of this spell while the first is still in effect, both spells are instantly negate
d.  If cast on an unwilling subject,

the priest must succeed in touching the victim (i.e., make a successful attack roll).  The
 victim is allowed a saving

throw only if he is currently under the influence of an elemental imbalance spell or if he
 is currently protected

against the element (e.g., wearing a Ring of Fire Resistance).  In either case, the target
 is considered to be the

target of an elemental attack and all normal rules apply (e.g., bonuses to saving throws).

       This spell has no effect on beings native to the inner planes. Nor does it affect u
ndead.  The material

components are the caster's holy symbol and a small amount of the element to be increased.







Greater Elemental Wall (Alteration, Evocation)



Sphere:  Elemental (any)

Level:  5

Range:  10 yards/level

Components:  V, S, M

Casting Time:  5

Duration:  1 turn + 1 round/level

Area of Effect:  Special

Saving Throw:  None

Author:  John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>





       This spell allows the caster to create a stationary wall composed of material from
his elemental plane of

worship (Templars may cast this spell in any form).  As with the other elemental wall spel
ls, greater elemental wall

covers a 20-foot-square area per level (the thickness varies depending on the element); th
is area may be arranged

in any manner to form a rectangular wall, as long as neither dimension falls below 5 feet.
  While this set of spells

share common characteristics, such as duration and area of effect, the wall's specific pro
perties differ based on its

composition.



Element  Properties



Air      Creates a wall of poisonous gas that is 20 foot thick.  Damage as per cloudkill (
p. 166, PHB).

Water  Creates a wall of boiling water that is six inches thick.  Any creature passing tho
ugh a greater water wall

       suffers 3d8 points of damage plus 1 point per level of caster.  While it is possibl
e to fire missiles through

       the wall, these attacks are at a -4 to hit and damage.  Water created by this spell
 disappears after the

       duration expires.

Fire     Creates a wall of flames that is only inches thick and causes damage as the wall
of fire spell presented in

         the PHB (p. 225).

Earth  Creates a wall of iron that is 1/4 inch thick per level of caster.  Treat as per wa
ll of iron spell (p. 172,

       PHB).  Note:  The duration of a wall of iron is not permanent on Athas (p. 93. DSRB
).



       The material component is a bit of the element (air, water, fire, earth) of which t
he wall is composed.







Salt to Flesh (Alteration)

Reversible



Sphere:  Elemental (Earth, Water)

Level:  5

Range:  10 yards/level

Components:  V, S, M

Duration:  Permanent

Casting Time:  5

Area of Effect:  1 creature

Saving Throw:  Special

Author:  John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>



       The salt to flesh spell turns any salt into flesh.  If the salt was originally livi
ng, this spell restores life and

possessions provided a successful system shock roll.  Thus, any creature transformed into
salt can be restored to

flesh regardless of size.  When cast upon ordinary salt, the caster can affect a volume of
 10 cubic feet per level.  In

this case, the flesh is inert and lifeless.

       The reverse, flesh to salt, turns flesh of any sort into salt.  All possessions are
 converted to salt also.  The

victim is allowed a saving throw vs. polymorph to resist the effects of this spell.  If th
e target is currently suffering

from dehydration, he suffers a -1 penalty to his saving throw roll for each day of dehydra
tion (to a max of -4).

Failure means that the victim is immediately turned into a statue of salt.  As with flesh
to stone, any statue created

by this spell is subject to breakage or weathering; however since salt is more fragile tha
n stone, the resulting statue

is more susceptible to these threats.

       Salt statues are especially susceptible to liquids and blowing sand.  Any statue ex
posed to at least one gallon

of liquid or prolonged exposure to blowing sand in excess of 20 miles per hour suffers dam
age per the following

table, and the victim, once restored to flesh, appears as if mutilated by acid.  The DM ro
lls 1d4 and modifies the

roll depending upon the type of damage.  For water damage, the DM modifies the roll by add
ing 1 for every gallon

of liquid.  For wind damage, the DM adds 1 for every 20 miles of wind speed multiplied by
the number of hours

exposed.  For example, a salt stature is exposed to a sand storm with 40 mph winds for 3 h
ours.  The DM rolls 3

on a d4, modifies the roll by +6 (2 x 3), and consults the following table for the effects
 under 9.  The victim, if

returned to flesh, permanently looses 5 points of Charisma and 9 HPs.  As can be seen, the
 effects are cumulative.



Modified

Roll     Effects



1-4      Restored individual is horribly scarred, Charisma reduced by 5 points (cannot be
reduced below 1).  This

         damage can only be healed by regenerate, wish, or similar magic.

5-9      Restored individual permanently looses Hit Points equal to the modified roll (can
not be reduced below 1

         Hit Point).  This damage can only be healed by regenerate, wish, or similar magic
.

10-14  At least one of the victim's limbs is unusable; the DM randomly determines which, u
sing 1d20 (1-4=left

       arm; 5-8=right arm; 9-12=left leg; 13-16=right leg; 17-18=two limbs; 19=three limbs
; 20=all limbs).

       This damage can only be healed by regenerate, wish, or similar magic.

>15      Restored individual is dead.  He can be brought back to life with resurrection, w
ish, or similar magic.

         Note:  raise dead will not work since the body will not be whole.



       The material component is a small statue carved from salt.







Solar Sight (Divination)



Sphere:  Paraelemental (Sun)

Level:  5

Range:  Touch

Components:  V, S, M

Duration:  Special

Casting Time:  1 hour

Area of Effect:  Special

Saving Throw:  None

Author:  John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>



       This spell causes a reflective surface to serve as a scrying device for up to one h
our as long as the sun is above

the horizon--the caster must look at the sun in this reflective surface for the duration o
f the spell.  The caster can

only see things directly exposed to the rays of the sun.  For example, if the caster is sc
rying a caravan crossing the

sandy wastes, he could see the riders and wagons but not inside covered wagons.  Now suppo
se the driver of the

first wagon throws its tarp back, directly exposing 5 square feet of the cargo to the sun.
  Even though the entire

inside of the wagon might be lit by diffused light, the caster could only see where the ra
ys of the sun hit; he can

not see anything that does not lay within that 5 square feet of direct sunlight.

       In all respects, the reflective surface behaves as a crystal ball, except the follo
wing.  This spell can not be used

when the caster is not in sunlight, and the chance of locating the subject is 0% when the
subject is not exposed to

the same sun that the caster is using (such as on another prime material plane).  Viewing
period and frequency

limits apply across all surfaces the caster uses.  Thus, given a 75% chance of finding the
 subject, the caster would

have a 30 minute viewing period twice per day.  If he used a mirror for two viewing period
s and switched to

polished steel for a third, he would risk insanity for exceeding his allotted frequency as
 detailed in the DMG.

       A priest in good standing with the powers of the elemental plane of fire will suffe
r no ill effects from this

spell, and it will work normally.  One who is not on good standing will suffer retinal dam
age automatically (no save

allowed), becoming blind, and the spell will fail.  Since this latter effect burns the vic
tims retina, a cure blindness

spell will not restore his sight; rather, stronger magic must be used, such as a restorati
on or wish spell.

       The material components of this spell are the priest's holy symbol and any highly r
eflective surface (mirror,

polished metal, clear water); neither are consumed.







                          -------------------------



                                   Level 6



                          -------------------------





Bass's Elemental Domination (Enchantment/charm)



Sphere:  Elemental (any), Paraelemental (any)

Level:  6

Range:  80 yards

Components:  V, S, M

Duration:  Special

Casting Time:  1 round

Area of Effect:  1 Conjured Elemental

Saving Throw:  Special

Author:  Riccardo Facchetti <RICCARDO@CDC835.CDC.POLIMI.IT>



       This spell enables the caster to assume the control of an elemental creature conjur
ed by another spellcaster or

magic device. Magic devices are considered as spellcasters of 12th level.  The domination
has success with a base

likelihood of 11 on 1d20 (50%, you must make an 11 or better) modified with the following:



-- If the caster is of higher level with respect of the conjurer you must subtract the dif
ference of level from the base

       throw.  (You have a better chance of success.)

-- If the caster is of lower level with respect of the conjurer you must add the differenc
e of level from the base

       throw.  (You have a worse chance of success.)

-- If the caster is an elementalist s/he has an additional modifier:

      -2 if the elemental is of the same school of the caster

      +2 if the elemental is of the opposite school of the caster

      +0 in any other case.

-- At the DM's option, you can modify the throw with something we may call the willpower:
 WIS bonus for clerics,

       INT bonus for mages, the better of the two for cleric/mages.  Subtract (or add) the
 difference of willpower of

       the two spellcasters (of course pay attention to the sign of the number).

       If the spell fails, the elemental attacks the spellcaster who casted the Domination
 for at least 4 rounds of fury

without control, then the conjurer can restart to control the elemental (i.e. he can choos
e to let the elemental

finish the work or command it to a different target).

       The duration of the spell is 1 turn/level but it cannot be in any case higher of th
e remaining time of the

conjuration spell (see PHB p. 227, p. 232).  The material component is the caster's holy s
ymbol.



Dark Sun setting:



       In DS setting this spell will work differently with respect to how powerful is the
elemental to be dominated:

       If you try to dominate a LESSER elemental the duration of the spell is increased by
 3 turns (Duration:  3

turns + 1 turn/level).

       If you try to dominate a NORMAL elemental the spell works as described above.

       If you try to dominate a GREATER elemental the spell works only on an elemental of
your school, without

any same-school bonus and the duration of the spell is 1/4 of the normal (Duration:  1 tur
n/4 levels).



Note:  This spell can be casted only on elementals that are conjured, and works only for e
lementals that are

already controlled by another spellcaster.







Entomb (Evocation)



Sphere:  Elemental (Earth)

Level:  6

Range:  10 yards/level

Components:  V, S, M

Duration:  1 turn + 1 round/level

Casting Time:  6

Area of Effect:  1 creature size L or smaller

Saving Throw:  Neg.

Author:  John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>



       This spell is an improved version of encase.  When cast, entomb completely surround
s the target in granite.

The tomb hinders breathing, blocks vision, and prevents all movement, including somatic an
d verbal spell compo-



nents, for the duration of the spell.

       If the target saves versus spell, he completely avoids the affects of entomb, as a
hollow stone statue roughly his

shape appears next to him, collapses in on itself, and disappears.  If the target fails hi
s save, he is immediately

entombed.  The victim will begin to suffocate after 1/3 his Constitution score in rounds (
round up).  Thereafter, a

successful Constitution check each round with a cumulative -2 penalty will postpone damage
 for an additional

round.  After the first failed check, the victim suffers 1d6 damage each round until dead.


       A victim may attempt to break free of his tomb.  Breaking free requires the entire
round and a successful

Bend Bars/Lift Gates roll with a -1% penalty per level of caster.  In addition, suffocatio
n weakens the victim such

that he looses 1 point of Strength each round he suffers suffocation damage (his Strength
cannot fall below 1,

however), which will lower his Bend Bars/Lift Gates percentage.

       The granite tomb will crumble after suffering 25 points of damage plus 2 points per
 level of caster.  For

damage purposes, treat the tomb as having an Armor Class of 0.  Any attack that damages th
e casing has a 25%

probability of wounding the victim within; divide the damage equally between the tomb and
the victim.  In

addition, the victim automatically incurs all damage above the amount required to destroy
the tomb.

       A successful dispel magic will immediately remove the tomb.  The material component
 for this spell is a fist-

size piece of granite.







Superior Elemental Wall (Alteration, Evocation)



Sphere:  Elemental (any)

Level:  6

Range:  10 yards/level

Components:  V, S, M

Casting Time:  6

Duration:  1 turn + 1 round/level

Area of Effect:  Special

Saving Throw:  None

Author:  John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>





       This spell allows the caster to create a stationary wall composed of material from
his elemental plane of

worship (Templars may cast this spell in any form).  As with the other elemental wall spel
ls, superior elemental wall

covers a 20-foot-square area per level (the thickness varies depending on the element); th
is area may be arranged

in any manner to form a rectangular wall, as long as neither dimension falls below 5 feet.
  While this set of spells

share common characteristics, such as duration and area of effect, the wall's specific pro
perties differ based on its

composition.



Element  Properties



Air      Creates a wall of poisonous gas that is 20 foot thick.  Treat as per cloudkill (p
. 166, PHB), except the

         vapors from a superior air wall are so toxic as to slay creatures with less than
5 + 1 Hit Dice, cause

         creatures with 5 + 1 to 6 + 1 Hit Dice to roll saving throws vs. poison with -4 p
enalties or be slain, and

         creatures up to 7 Hit Dice (inclusive) to roll unmodified saving throws vs. poiso
n or be slain.  Those

         saving versus poison and those above 7 Hit Dice must leave the cloud immediately
or suffer 2d6 points of

         poison damage each round while in the area of effect (no save allowed).

Water  Creates a wall of steam that is six inches thick.  Any creature passing though a su
perior water wall suffers

       6d8 points of damage plus 2 points per level of the caster.  In addition, a saving
throw versus spells is

       required; failure indicates that the creature is blinded for 1d4+1 rounds after lea
ving the wall.  Attacks

       made through the wall are made with a -2 penalty.

Fire     Creates a wall of flames that is only inches thick.  Treat as per wall of fire sp
ell (p. 225, PHB), except

         creatures within 10 feet of the side that radiates heat suffer 4d4 points of dama
ge, and those within 20

         feet suffer 2d4 points of damage.  A superior fire wall inflicts 8d4 points of da
mage plus 2 points per

         level of the caster to any creature passing through it.

Earth  Creates a wall of stone that is 1 inch thick per level of caster.  Unlike the other
 versions of this spell, a

       superior earth wall is permanent unless destroyed.  Treat as per wall of stone spel
l (p. 173, PHB).



       The material component is a bit of the element (air, water, fire, earth) of which t
he wall is composed.





Wax to Flesh (Alteration)

Reversible



Sphere: Cosmos

Level:  6

Range:  10 yards/level

Components:  V, S, M

Duration:  Permanent

Casting Time:  6

Area of Effect:  1 creature

Saving Throw:  Special

Author:  John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>



       The wax to flesh spell turns any wax into flesh.  If the wax was originally living,
 this spell restores life and

possessions provided a successful system shock roll.  Thus, any creature transformed into
wax can be restored to

flesh regardless of size.  When cast upon ordinary wax, the caster can affect a volume of
10 cubic feet per level.  In

this case, the flesh is inert and lifeless.

       The reverse, flesh to wax, turns flesh of any sort into wax.  All possessions are c
onverted to wax also.  The

victim is allowed a saving throw vs. polymorph to resist the effects of this spell.  Failu
re means that the victim is

immediately turned into a statue of wax.  As with flesh to stone, any statue created by th
is spell is subject to

breakage or weathering; however since wax is much more fragile than stone, the resulting s
tatue is more susceptible

to these threats.

       Wax statues are especially susceptible to fire and heat damage.  Any wax figure lef
t exposed to fire (or acid)

or heat (e.g., the desert sun) in excess of 100 degrees suffers damage per the following t
able, and the victim, once

restored to flesh, appears as if mutilated by acid.  Remember, that the surface temperatur
e in the desert is hotter

than the air temperature--when it is 100 degrees 7' off the ground, it can be 170 degrees
on the surface.

       The DM rolls 1d4 and modifies the roll depending upon the type of damage.  For norm
al fires (e.g.,

campfire), the DM modifies the roll by adding 1 for every round of exposure.  For magical
fires (e.g., fireballs), the

DM modifies the roll by the amount of damage inflicted.  For heat damage, the DM modifies
the roll by 1 and

adds 1 for every 10 degrees above 100 multiplied by the number of hours exposed.  For exam
ple, a wax stature is

exposed to a the desert sun all day, during which the temperature exceeds 100 degrees for
2 hours (+2), 110

degrees for 2 hours (+4), and 120 degrees for 1 hour (+3).  The DM rolls 3 on a d4, modifi
es the roll by +9, and

consults the following table for the effects under 9.  The victim, if returned to flesh, p
ermanently looses 5 points of

Charisma and 9 HPs.  As can be seen, the effects are cumulative.



Modified

Roll     Effects



1-4      Restored individual is horribly scarred, Charisma reduced by 5 points (cannot be
reduced below 1).  This

         damage can only be healed by regenerate, wish, or similar magic.

5-9      Restored individual permanently looses Hit Points equal to the modified roll (can
not be reduced below 1

         Hit Point).  This damage can only be healed by regenerate, wish, or similar magic
.

10-14  At least one of the victim's limbs is unusable; the DM randomly determines which, u
sing 1d20 (1-4=left

       arm; 5-8=right arm; 9-12=left leg; 13-16=right leg; 17-18=two limbs; 19=three limbs
; 20=all limbs).

       This damage can only be healed by regenerate, wish, or similar magic.

>15      Restored individual is dead.  He can be brought back to life with resurrection, w
ish, or similar magic.

         Note:  raise dead will not work since the body will not be whole.



       The material component is a small wax statue.









                         -------------------------



                                  Level 7



                         -------------------------





Water Intoxication (Conjuring/Summoning)



Sphere: Elemental (Water)

Level:  7

Range:  Touch

Components:  V, S, M

Duration:  1 round/level

Casting Time:  7

Area of Effect:  1 creature

Saving Throw:  Special

Author:  John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>



       Upon casting this spell and successfully touching the victim, the caster causes the
 victim's cells to become

microscopic gates to the elemental plane of water.  As a result, every cell in the victim'
s body swells with water.

The deleterious effects result from increased pressure on the brain.  Not only does the se
verity of this condition

increase over time, but the effects are cumulative, such that those suffered during stage
2 are in addition to those

endured during stage 1, and so on.

       Stage 1:  On the first round of the spell, the victim's facial and bodily features
become distorted, he begins

sweating profusely, and he suffers the effects of a migraine headache.  In game terms, he
suffers a -2 penalty to

attack, damage, and saving throws.  In addition, his Armor Class and initiative are worsen
ed by 2 points.  This

condition causes spells and psionic powers to fail unless the victim makes a successful Co
nstitution check; a

separate check must be made for each spell or power used while under the effects of this s
pell.

       Stage 2:  During the second through fifth rounds, the victim suffers as if under th
e effects of a Confusion

spell.  On the sixth round, the victim must make a system shock roll.  If he succeeds, he
still suffers from

confusion, but his condition does not worsen this round.  Each round thereafter, he must m
ake a system shock

check with a cumulative -10% modifier (i.e., -10% on 7th, -20% on 8th, -30% on 9th, etc.).
  On a failed check,

proceed to stage 3.

       Stage 3:  The victim falls to the ground as his body is racked with convulsions; he
 is unable to attack or

defend himself, nor can he cast spells or use psionic powers.  On the round after he falls
 into convulsions, the

victim must again make a system shock roll using his normal percentage (start with origina
l SS percentage; do not

include any penalties suffered above).  A successful check means that the victim continues
 to convulse for that

round; his condition does not worsen.  Each round thereafter, he must make a system shock
check with a

cumulative -10% modifier.  On a failed check, proceed to stage 4.

       Stage 4:  The victim falls into a coma for 1d100 days.  On the last day (even if th
e victim is brought out of the

coma by magical means), he must save versus death.  A failed check means the victim dies.
 A passed check means

the victim survives but suffers brain damage (roll 2d4 for INT and WIS to determine new ab
ility scores--new scores

MUST be less than previous scores, reroll if necessary).

       If for any reason, the victim does not progress to the 4th stage of water intoxicat
ion--for example, the duration

of the spell expires or a successful dispel magic is cast on the victim--he will suffer th
e effects in the reverse order

(i.e., stage 3, stage 2, stage 1) for a length of time equal to the number of rounds he wa
s affected by the spell.  For

example, after an initial round of migraine pain (stage 1), Julatok suffers from confusion
 for 7 rounds (stage 2) and

lapses into convulsions for 4 rounds (stage 3) before his companion is able to cast dispel
 magic on him successfully.

He will then continue to convulse for 4 more rounds.  The convulsions will disappear, and
he will suffer from

confusion and a migraine for 7 rounds.  Finally, the confusion dissipates, leaving a migra
ine headache for 1 round.

In total, Julatok suffered the effects of water intoxication for 24 rounds.

       Water intoxication affects all creatures with well-defined nervous systems (even wa
ter dwellers, such as fish).

The material component is a drop of water from the elemental plane of water; water from an
y other source (e.g.,

the prime material plane) will cause the spell to fail.  The caster may use his ability to
 gate water in order to

obtain this component, and he may store it for later use as long as it is not contaminated
 by water from any other

source.  This spell does not operate on the elemental plane of water nor will it work unde
r water.







Incorporating spells from The Great Net Prayerbook

>by John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>



       Note that The Great Net Prayerbook (currently in its 5th edition) includes a great
many additional priest

spells.  To get a copy of the GNPB, simply ftp it from ??? (it's in the D_D/incoming direc
tory).

       The DM should read all spells from the GNPB carefully to determine if and how they
should be modified for

the DS setting.  For example, Winston's create party drink has the ability to create one c
ubic foot of drink and

should be limited to .5 gallon per level of the caster (as create water and create food an
d water, see DSRB); in

addition, the DM might want to rule on the usefulness (or uselessness) of particular drink
s for combating

dehydration.  All the spells in the GNPB fall into the Sphere of the Cosmos, with exceptio
ns listed below.

       Air:  First level:  seedling; third level:  air column, air lance, wings of god; fo
urth level:  lightning strike [1],

neutralize gas; fifth level:  lightning strike [2]; seventh level:  black storm of vengean
ce, razorwind.

       Earth:  First level:  create earth, guardian watch, seedling, rock-jump; second lev
el:  stone message; third level:

stone seeds; fifth level:  stonewood, warp metal; sixth level:  Dedi's invisible poison sw
amp

       Fire:  First level:  coalstone, flame tongue; second level:  flame/frost blade (fla
me only); third level:  heat,

spontaneous combustion; forth level:  Lathander's mourning glow, moonlight; fifth level:
quench flame; seventh level:

stop the sun

       Water:  First level:  water to wine, Winston's create party drink; third level:  Wi
nston's create party food and

drink; fifth level:  quench flame; sixth level:  Dedi's invisible poison swamp, pass via w
ater; seventh level:  black storm

of vengeance

       All elements:  forth level:  protection from elementals, 10-foot radius.

       The sixth level spell conjure air elemental and the seventh level spell conjure wat
er elemental have been

replaced by the fifth level spell conjure elemental as per DSRB.              -----------
---------------------------------------



                               10. MAGIC ITEMS



              --------------------------------------------------



Bow of Fire.  XP Value:  ?? unique/artifact

>by The Ghost <C572909@MIZZOU1.MISSOURI.EDU>

       (Inspired by the D&D cartoon series.)  This weapon appears to be a finely crafted c
omposite longbow made

of some unknown type of black metal.  It is engraved in color with delicate flames and run
es.  The bow itself is

99% magic resistant.

       In combat, the bow performs as a +4 weapon, +5 vs. fire-vulnerable creatures.  All
missiles shot from the

device ignite as they leave the bow and cause 1d6 points of magical fire damage in additio
n to all normal and

magical damage.  Any flammable items struck by these fiery arrows will ignite normally.

       In addition to this, three times per day, any normal missile released from the bow
will become a streaking

comet which explodes upon impact, creating a 5d10 Fireblast, causing damage to all within
30' (if struck by the

arrow, then no save, otherwise save for 1/2).  This power is activated by a command word,
spoken as an arrow is

released.

       All effective ranges for this weapon are at 150% of normal, and damage bonuses for
strengths up to 20 may

apply.  Only beings of 18(00) strength or greater may string the bow, and only specially e
nchanted, fire resistant

strings may be used.  Normal strings will burst into flame during their first use--ruining
 the shot and causing 1d6

points of fire damage to the archer.  Any failed saving throw vs. magical cold causes the
bowstring to become

frozen and shatter.

       Editors' note:  The DM is encouraged to develop a background appropriate to the DS
setting for this artifact.

TSR's BoA might prove a useful reference.



King's Eye.  XP Value:  2,000

>by John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>

       (Introduced in The Obsidian Oracle.)  Originally created by the sorcerer-king Andro
pinis of Balic, a king's eye

is a solid, conically shaped glass that permits the user to see clearly even through the t
hickest of silt storms.  The

viewer simply holds the broad end of the cone to his eye, so that the point is directed ou
tward, and looks through

it.  During the day, the king's eye allows the viewer to see according to the visibility r
anges listed under a clear sky

in the PHB, regardless of actual conditions (such as a rolling Silt Sea); at night, the vi
sibility ranges are appropriate

for the amount of light present in the absence of any adverse conditions (e.g., twilight,
two moons, etc.).

       Five percent of these devices have the additional magical property of extending all
 visibility ranges by a

multiple of two or greater.  To determine the power of the magnification, roll a d8.  On a
 roll of 1 through 5,

visibility in increased by a multiple of two; on a roll of 6 or 7, visibility is increased
 by a multiple of three; and on a

roll of 8, visibility in increase by a multiple of four.



Silt Runner Sandles.  XP Value:  3,000

>by John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>

       These sandles appear to be common peasant footwear, but slightly broader than usual
.  When detected for

magic, they radiate a slight aura of Alteration magic.  These sandles permit the wearer to
 move as a silt runner;

that is, the wear's movement becomes 48, and he can easily run across the desert sands and
 even across silt for

"short stretches" (since the DSMC is not more specific, I lead it up to the DM to define "
short stretches").  In all

other respects, silt runner sandles behave as boots of speed (p. 162, DMG).  Of course, bo
th sandles must be worn

to gain these benefits.



Stilts of Walking.  XP Value:  2,000

>by John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>

       These stilts usually appear to be normal 10 foot long wooden stilts (allowing a six
-foot-tall man to wade into

the silt up to 14' with 2' breathing room).  However, when the user puts them on and speak
s the command word,

they fuse onto his legs.  The stilts actually become physical extensions of the user's lim
bs, even conveying the sense

of touch.  This effect allows the user to walk on the stilts as if he was walking on his o
wn legs.  He does not suffer

the normal penalties associated with movement on stilts (such as a DEX check every 100 yar
ds; see VD&F, p. 14);

however, he still suffers penalties for wading in silt (e.g., terrain cost of 8, 1/3 norma
l movement in combat,

stepping off a trail; etc.).  The stilts remain fused to the user's legs until he speaks t
he command word again or 24

hours pass.  Then they revert to normal stilts and cannot be reactivated for another 12 ho
urs (they may still be

used as normal stilts during this time, however).



Wand of Wonder  XP Value:  6,000

>by Undine <UNDINE@BROWN.EDU>

       The Wand of Wonder is back!  Instead of the normal percentage thing, I have two tab
les of 1-20, which to me

makes it slightly easier for the DM to look things up when they are rolled, and the first,
 usual table (meaning the

one and usually only table rolled on) is somewhat more innocuous than the second, so you c
ould use one of the

two or both (as I've tried to do in a good way), as it suits your style.  Another thing, a
s some of you might notice,

some (a lot, as I recall in making this up a long time ago) of the above effects are taken
 from the wild magic tables

in the Tome of Magic, but that's only because they were cool (at least the ones I took wer
e).



                              Table 1



 1: The Wand turns into a Stirring Rod of Healing (one use before resuming wand form)

 2: The wielder is affected by Merciful Shadows for 1d6 turns

 3: All external liquid (i.e.,--not blood/other bodily fluids still in the body) within 20
 feet dries up

 4: Grass covers everything within 15 feet

 5: A small illusory flag pops out with the word "BANG!" written on it

 6: Every creature within 15 feet has smoke rise from its ears for one round

 7: The caster smells like a skunk for one turn

 8: Colorful bubbles come out of the wielder's mouth instead of words for one turn

 9: The wielder's face is blackened by a small explosion

10: The wielder's clothes turn bright neon-pink with purple polka-dots

11: Feathers fall in a 15 radius around wielder for one round

12: Music fills the air for one round

13: Butterflies stream forth from wand for one round

14: The caster leaves monster-shaped footprints instead of her own for one turn

15: The wielder speaks in a squeaky voice until the next game session

16: The target sprouts leaves and vines (prunable, of course :)

17: The wand summons an ugly painting, ball of yarn, or giant boot

18: The wand fires 3-6 cream puffs at the target, doing no damage

19: One magical/metal item within 15 feet becomes nonmagical/nonmetal

20: Roll on Table 2 (or DM's whim :)



                              Table 2



 1: Every living thing within 15 feet must save vs. Death Magic or die

 2: A fireball explodes, centered on the wielder (who can try to save like everyone else

 3: An evil spirit psionically attacks the wielder in his sleep

 4: The wielder undergoes a sex change

 5: The wielder is Diminished, shrinking by 70%

 6: Everyone within 15 feet must save vs. spell or fall asleep

 7: There is Darkness in a 20 foot radius

 8: Both the target and wielder are covered in chocolate

 9: Everything within 15 feet is covered in a colorless slime (Grease :)

10: The wielder is compelled to recite bad poetry for one minute

11: The wielder is shocked for 1d4 points of damage

12: The wand fizzles and does nothing

13: The target falls in love with the wielder

14: Roll again every round for one turn

15: The wielder gains Ironhide for one turn (or armor spell of choice)

16: The wielder is completely healed

17: 1d6 magic missiles fire toward the target

18: A purple lightning bolt (3d6) shoots at the target

19: It rains within a 15 foot radius for one round

20: Target is turned to stone (or the wand disappears/is disintegrated)



Water of Rehydration.  XP Value:  1,000

>by John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>

       Usually found in a simple non-magical container such as a wine skin, this specially
 enchanted water allows the

imbiber to rehydrate quickly.  Each draught restores 1d8 points of Constitution (it does n
ot restore lost HPs,

however, these must be regained naturally or through magic; see DSRB).  A character can ta
ke multiple draughts

during the same day and receive these benefits each time.  A typical container contains 1d
10+5 draughts.  Water

of rehydration cannot be contaminated in any way, such as mixing it with normal water; if
it is, all magical proper-



ties are permanently lost.

       Ten percent of the time, characters will find a cursed version of this magical item
--water of dehydration--

which is indistinguishable form water of rehydration until consumed.  Each draught of wate
r of dehydration causes

the imbiber to loose 1d6 points of Constitution.  The enchantment is such that the charact
er feels refreshed, and

does not notice the Constitution drain.  Even if friends notice the deleterious affects an
d try to persuade the

character, he will persist in the delusion that there is nothing amiss.  (Constitution poi
nts lost due to water of

dehydration may be regained normally).  Unlike water of rehydration, the deleterious effec
ts of water of

dehydration are not lost if contaminated.



Whip of Climbing and Snagging.  XP Value:  1,500

>by The Ghost <C572909@MIZZOU1.MISSOURI.EDU>

       This appears to be simply a well-made, circularly braided, 15' whip made of fine le
ather.  In combat, it can be

used to strike any opponent within 15', with adjustments to hit and damage according to it
s magical bonus.

       The power which gives the whip its name, however, and makes even the cursed version
 worth keeping, is that,

when a successful called shot is made, the whip will magically extend to reach creatures o
r objects up to 100' away

and wrap itself around them if they are less than 3' in diameter.  It will then retract it
self with a force able to move

up to 200 lbs.  The effect of this will be either to bring the item towards the whip wield
er, or to drag the whip

wielder to the item, depending upon whichever is more tightly secured/heavier.

       This can be extremely useful in climbing and in conjunction with the disarm or dism
ount maneuvers.  When

used to dismount or disarm, the wielder gains a +2 bonus to his/her strength check.  Note
that the whip never

retracts to less than its 15' original length (which may leave a character dangling), and
it remains tightly wrapped

around its target until one round is spent manually unwinding it.

              --------------------------------------------------



                                 11. MONSTERS



              --------------------------------------------------







Desert Shark

>by John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>

(This creature is loosely based on one by the same name presented in After Man:  A Zoology
 of the Future by

Dougal Dixon, 1981.)





Climate/Terrain:     Sandy wastes

Frequency:        Uncommon

Organization:     Schools

Activity Cycle:   Any

Diet:          Carnivore

Intelligence:        Animal (1)

Treasure:      nil

Alignment:        Neutral

No. Appearing:    4d8+6

Armor Class:   7

Movement:      Sw 9 (18)

Hit Dice:      4

THAC0:      17

No. of Attacks:   1 (2)

Damage/Attack:    2d6

Special Attacks:     Surprise bonus, feeding frenzy

Special Defenses:    Submersion

Magic Resistance:  nil

Size:          M (5' long)

Morale:        Average (8-10)/Fanatic (18-19)

XP Value:      650

Psionics:      nil



       The desert shark appears a docile mammal (it has evolved from rodents not fish).  S
hort sparse hairs cover its

wrinkled pink skin along the entire length of its sausage-shaped body, from broad nose to
long rat-like tail.  A

closer look reveals a blunt, strong head, four powerful shovel-like feet, and a mouth fill
ed with razor-like teeth. Its

teeth curve inward and are all of equal length.

       Desert sharks commonly rest just below the surface of the sand with only their eyes
 and nostrils protruding.

When on the hunt, they swim through the sand using sensory pits at the end of their noses
to detect prey, which is

anything that the school can kill.



Combat:  A hunting school of desert sharks is a fearsome killing machine.  Victims have a
-3 penalty to their

surprise rolls as the sharks swim underneath them.  During an attack, desert sharks remain
 mostly submerged

beneath the sand, imposing a -2 to their victims' attack rolls (effectively making them AC
 5).

       Desert sharks bite and thrash their heads for 2d6 points of damage.  When first blo
od is drawn, the sharks go

into a feeding frenzy; treat as if under influence of _haste_.  While in a frenzy, each sh
ark moves at double speed

(18) and receives 2 attacks per round as it attacks wildly.  In addition, its morale incre
ases to Fanatical.  The

nature of this frenzy is such that the sharks will even attack and kill wounded members of
 their own school.  A

frenzy lasts for 6d4 rounds EVEN IF ALL THE ORIGINAL VICTIMS ARE KILLED; if there are no w
ounded

victims left alive, the sharks will simply tear the remains to pieces, rendering raise dea
d useless (stronger magic,

such as resurrection, is required to bring a victim back to life).



Habitat/Society:  Desert sharks live in schools where most of the members are related.  A
school does not define a

territory, rather it wanders in search of prey.  Members from other schools are treated wi
th indifference if hunting

is good; otherwise, a school aggressively attacks rivals as prey.

       Males are slightly larger than females, but both are equally aggressive.  They bree
d at irregular intervals,

usually when food is plenty or the school's numbers have fallen to low levels.  Each succe
ssful mating produces 1

pup.  In 2 out of 10 encounters, 10% of the school will be immature with the same abilitie
s as the adults except for

the following:  2 HD; THAC0 19; dmg 1d6; SZ S (less than 3' long).



Ecology:  Desert sharks range throughout Athas, but they appear to be particularly common
in the Great Alluvial

Sand Wastes.  While few species (e.g., megapedes and sink worms) are natural predators of
desert sharks, sharks

prey on almost anything, including the young of these larger predators.

       Although generally considered a hazard, desert sharks' teeth are often used for sma
ll weapons and decoration.

A rare shark (5%) will have something of value in its stomach, such as gems, coins, or a s
mall magic item (e.g.,

ring).







Ghole

>by John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>

(This creature is based on one by the same name presented in After Man:  A Zoology of the
Future by Dougal

Dixon, 1981.)



Climate/Terrain:     Scrub planes, rocky badlands

Frequency:        Common

Organization:     Packs

Activity Cycle:   Any

Diet:          Carrion

Intelligence:        Animal (1)

Treasure:      M, O

Alignment:        Neutral

No. Appearing:    4d4

Armor Class:   5

Movement:      9

Hit Dice:      2

THAC0:      19

No. of Attacks:   1

Damage/Attack:    3d4

Special Attacks:     Disease

Special Defenses:    nil

Magic Resistance:  nil

Size:          S (3' long)

Morale:        Unsteady (5-7)

XP Value:      65

Psionics:      nil



       The ghole resembles a large mongoose.  It's long neck, head, and feet are almost to
tally devoid of hair; course

gray hair covers the remainder of its body and tail.  Massive canines and molars protrude
from its mouth, which it

uses to crack open bones for the marrow.  It is a model scavenger, feeding mostly on skele
tal remains left by larger

predators.



Combat:  Gholes do not usually engage in combat, preferring to retreat; however they are n
ot defenseless and will

attack if pressed.  Their crushing bite does 3d4 points of damage.  Their speed accounts f
or their low AC.  Given

the nature of their diet, a Ghole is 10% likely to carry a serious disease that can be tra
nsmitted via its saliva (DM

only needs to check once for each animal encountered--not every bite).  A diseased victim
will gradually become

debilitated and die over the course of 2d3 Athasian weeks (i.e., 12-36 days) if not cured.



Habitat/Society:  Gholes live in small packs.  They have formed a symbiotic relationship w
ith shelf termites.  As

most termites, these build massive mounds; however, the shelf termite mound includes a hor
izontal shelf several

feet off the ground.  This shelf provides the gholes with shade during the hottest part of
 the day.  In return, the

gholes frequently drag portions of carrion underneath the shelf to feed.  The termites eat
 the minuscule portions

that the gholes can not.

       The sexes are almost indistinguishable.  If gholes are encountered near their termi
te mound, there is a 3 in 10

possibility that they will have 1d6+2 young.  The young remain beneath the pack's termite
mound, waiting for their

parents to return with food.



Ecology:  As carrion eaters, gholes tend to be despised even though they provide an import
ant link in the Athasian

food chain.  Calling somebody a ghole is considered an insult.

       Gholes's teeth are occasionally used for small ivory items, such as dice and jewelr
y.  It's pelt is worthless.

While they do not collect treasure, valuable items are sometimes dragged beneath the pack'
s termite mound along

with portions of the owner's remains.





Hivers

>by John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>

(These creatures are based on Hivers and Socials presented in Man After Man:  An Anthropol
ogy of the Future by

Dougal Dixon, 1990.)



                     Warrior     Bearer      Nurse



Climate/Terrain:     -------------------- Tablelands -----------------------

Frequency:        Rare        Rare              Very rare

Organization:     -------------------- Hive ------------------------------

Activity Cycle:   -------------------- Any -------------------------------

Diet:          -------------------- Omnivore ------------------------

Intelligence:        semi (4)       semi (4)          semi (3)

Treasure:      -------------------- nil ---------------------------------

Alignment:        -------------------- Neutral ---------------------------

No. Appearing:    3d6+3             1                 2d6 (in hive)

Armor Class:   6                 6                 10

Movement:      18                18                12

Hit Dice:      6+5               4                 2

THAC0:      13                17                19

No. of Attacks:   4                 2                 1

Damage/Attack:    1d6+2 (x4)     1d4+1/1d4+1    1d3

Special Attacks:     -------------------- nil -------------------------------

Special Defenses:    -------------------- see below ----------------------

Magic Resistance:  -------------------- nil -------------------------------

Size:          M (7')            M (6')            M (5')

Morale:        -------------------- Elite (13) -----------------------

XP Value:      975               175               65

Psionics:      -------------------- nil -------------------------------



                     Queen       Seeker



Climate/Terrain:     --------- Tablelands ------------

Frequency:        Very rare      Very rare

Organization:     --------- Hive -------------------

Activity Cycle:   --------- Any -------------------

Diet:          --------- Omnivore ------------

Intelligence:        low (7)     semi (2)

Treasure:      I,S               nil

Alignment:        --------- Neutral ---------------

No. Appearing:    1                 1

Armor Class:   10                4 (10)

Movement:      3                 0

Hit Dice:      9+10              1-1

THAC0:      11                nil

No. of Attacks:   1                 nil

Damage/Attack:    1d3               nil

Special Attacks:     --------- nil ----------------------

Special Defenses:    --------- see below -------------

Magic Resistance:  --------- nil ----------------------

Size:          L (12')           T (2')

Morale:        Fanatic (18)      Unsteady (5)

XP Value:      2000              35

Psionics:      --------- see below -----------





       Although humanoid, Hivers, also called Socials, live in large communities similar t
o those of social insects,

such as ants and termites, constructing large mounds that tower many stories over the dese
rt sands.  Devoid of all

individuality, each member of the community is highly specialized, fulfilling one of four
functions:  warrior, bearer,

nurse, or queen.  Hivers have formed a symbiotic relationship with a second species of hum
anoids called Seekers.

       All varieties of Hiver and Seekers share a common special defense.  Due to their si
militude to social insects, a

psionicist attempting to contact a Hiver suffers a -5 to his power score (i.e., treat as i
f contacting insect under

Unusual Subjects table), unless he employs insect mind (see DK).  In addition, Hivers are
immune to hold person,

charm person, and charm person or charm mammal spells, as well as other magics that affect
 only mammals (e.g.,

rings and potions of mammal control).  However, most spells and psionics that affect insec
ts, such as the psionic

devotions pheromone discharge and hivemind (DK), also affect Hivers and Seekers, with the
exception of

giant/shrink insect.



Warriors



       The black body od the adult male, or warrior, is covered with short coarse black ha
ir; a thick main extends

from the top of the head down to the center of the lower back.  A small lump runs across t
he back of the

shoulders and neck--it is a fatty store of nutrients.  They have protruding, bushy eyebrow
s, large, bulbous noses,

and thick moustaches, which help filter out the dust and silt of the desert.  Each of thei
r long ears comes to point

several inches above the top of their heads.  Each of their elongated feet forms an extens
ion to a long, slim leg,

such that they stand and run on the balls of their feet (kind of like a jack-rabbit).

       Perhaps their most alarming feature is their hand blades.  The outer edge of each h
and is bone blade, from

the wrist to the tip of the little finger (indeed, their pinkies aren't really fingers, ra
ther fused bone).  While these

blades are used for foraging, they make ample weapons.  In combat, warriors slash and jab
with their hand blades

and kick with their powerful legs; each successful attack does 1d6+2 points damage.

       Warriors defend the food-gathering expeditions, called strings; they also defend th
e hive from attack.  A Hiver

society has a minimum of 100 warriors (25% of population).  Regardless of the number of wa
rriors in a hive,

roughly one-third remain at the hive as guards at all times.

       Especially old warriors become breading drones, spending the remainder of their liv
es inside the colony near

the queen's chamber.  Drones have maximum HPs (53), but their age has reduced their agilit
y (AC 8), speed (MV

12), and strength (dmg 1d6 x4).  At any given time, a hive will contain 2d4 drones (this n
umber is in addition to

the number of warriors above).



Bearers



       Bearers are sterile adult females that accompany the foraging strings.  They resemb
le warriors in most ways,

except they do not have hand blades.  In addition, they have a kangaroo-like pouch in thei
r stomach.  When

encountered outside the hive, a bearer will always carry a Seeker in her pouch, cradling i
t in her arms.  Bearer and

Seeker remain in constant telepathic contact while touching.  It is through this link that
 the Seeker communicates

with the string.

       A bearer's main purpose is to defend her Seeker.  She will always attempt to keep w
arriors between herself

and any enemies.  If attacked directly or separated from the warriors, she will flee back
to the hive.  She will only

engage in melee if cornered; then she receives two kicks per round (1d4+1 each).  She will
 die defending her

Seeker.

       The hive will have a minimum of 20 bearers at any given time (5% of population).



Nurses



       Most adult females are nurses, spending their lives caring for the queen, her young
, and the Seekers.  These

sterile females, bear little resemblance to warriors or bearers.  Rather, no hair covers t
heir pink skin.  Neither do

they have pouches nor hand-blades.  Unlike bearers, nurses have well-developed mammalian g
lands for feeding the

young of the queen and the offspring of the Seekers.

       Nurses are the laborers of the hive.  They clean, tend the young, and cultivate the
 fungus gardens.  Nurses are

never encountered outside the twisting corridors of the hive.  They will attack invaders o
n sight.  The average hive

has a minimum of 150 nurses at any given time (35% of population).

       Hiver juveniles of both sexes resemble smaller, immature versions of nurses, except
 their skin tends to be a

deep bronze from exposure to the Athasian sun.  Their function is to act as food and water
 gatherers,

accompanying the strings.  When they reach maturity, they differentiate further into their
 adult form.  The hive has

a minimum of 150 juveniles (35% of population).



Queen



Psionic Summary:

Level     Dis/Sci/Dev      Attack/Defense       Score       PSPs

2           1/1/5             --/M-          20    120



Psychometabolic--Sciences:  complete healing; Devotions:  adrenalin control, biofeedback,
cell adjustment, mind

over body, suspended animation.



       At 12 feet, the queen dwarfs all others of her hive.  She resembles a very large nu
rse with grossly exaggerated

hips and abdominal cavity.  The length and width of her body greatly surpasses the ability
 of her legs and spine to

support her.  Using her arms, she can raise her upper body off the ground and drag herself
.

       The queen's sole purpose is to produce the hive's young, giving birth every 30 days
 to litters of 15 to 20

children (1d6+14).  As such, the entire community revolves around her; the warriors, beare
rs, and juveniles find

food and water, and the nurses clean and feed her.  Neither does she care for her children
; rather this task falls to

the nurses.

       Finally, a queen's physical and psionic abilities represent an evolutionary adaptat
ion to the prodigious

demands of near constant childbirth.  She has a constitution of 20, which gives her the fo
llowing benefits:  all 1s

rolled for HD are automatically considered 2s; she saves vs. poison with a +1 bonus; and s
he regenerates lost HPs

at the rate of 1/6 turns.  Her psychometabolic powers allow her to undergo the trauma of t
he birthing process and

to heal quickly afterwards, as well as fight infection and disease.  In dire times, she ca
n even suppress her bodily

needs.  She will never use these powers to benefit anyone but herself, as she is the singl
e most important member

of the community.

       A queen is never encountered outside the hive; indeed, she is so swollen that she c
annot fit through the exits

of her chamber.  However, she will attack invaders in her chamber on sight by swinging one
 of her hands at them

(she will use the other to support herself).  The average hive contains 1 queen at any giv
en time; occasionally, 1d4

additional immature queens will be present at other locations throughout the hive.  These
immature queens will

only be present in extremely large hives (population over 5000) and represent the precurso
rs to colonization

excursions (see below).



Seekers



Psionic Summary:

Level     Dis/Sci/Dev      Attack/Defense       Score       PSPs

6           3/3/11+bonus      --/IF,MB,M-    17    200



Clairsentience--Sciences:  clairvoyance, sensitivity to psychic impressions; Devotions:  d
anger sense, feel light (no

cost), feel moisture (DK), feel sound (no cost), know direction, poison sense, radial navi
gation, weather prediction

(DK).

Telepathy--Sciences:  mindlink (no cost with bearer); Devotions:  contact (no cost with be
arer); life detection.

Psychometabolic--Sciences:  none; Devotions:  Heightened Senses (limited to smell and tast
e)

Bonus--Hivemind (metapsionic devotion, DK).



       The Seekers are a degenerate humanoid species that is entirely dependent on Hivers
for their care.  Their

arms and legs have atrophied into shriveled appendages, so they cannot feed, move, or clea
n themselves.  They

cannot even mate without assistance.  Due to complete reliance on psionic abilities (feel
light and feel sound,

which are always activated and maintenance free), their eyes and ears have become useless
also; indeed smooth

skin covers their eyeless sockets, and small external ears hide a lack of both middle and
inner ears.  Unlike Hivers,

their meager pink bodies are mostly devoid of hair, except for the tops of their heads, wh
ich is usually black or

dark brown.

       At first glance, these defenseless creatures (AC 10 when not being carried) might s
eem to be the sole

beneficiaries of their symbiotic relationship with Hivers.  However, Seekers use their con
siderable innate psionic

abilities to locate food and water for the hive.  While being carried by a bearer, a Seeke
r maintains a continuous

mindlink with her (maintenance free), directing the foraging group toward these valuable r
esources.  Furthermore,

it can employ additional powers to aid these expeditions.  For example, weather prediction
 helps warn of

approaching storms, know direction and radial navigation help ensure a safe return to the
hive, and danger sense

and life detection warn of potential hazards.

       When not being carried be their bearers, Seekers are usually kept within a central
chamber of the hive where

nurses care for their many needs.  The average hive will have 5d6 adult Seekers at any giv
en time.



Habitat/Society:  While mammals, Hiver society and cognition mirror that of social insects
, and they respond

accordingly; they have a structured and highly centralized society and no individuality.
Hivers communicate by a

complex combination of grunts, hand and body gestures, and pheromones.

       Hivers construct gigantic mounds, many stories high.  These hives are architectural
 marvels--massive rock-like

structures compete with breathing chimneys, thick vented walls, and flat slopping roofs wi
th overhangs providing

shade.  Tunnels underneath reach deep into the water-table where food is kept cool.  These
 narrow winding

tunnels link chambers of varying sizes and purposes, such as excrement chambers were fungu
s gardens are

cultivated, turning the community's offal into edible material.

       Each hive defines a territory of many miles surrounding its mound.  Members from an
other hive entering this

territory are attacked.  Occasionally, a Hiver community will assault a rival's hive.  The
se wars end when the

attackers are driven back or the besieged queen is killed.  If the queen is killed, the in
vaders will claim the hive as

their own, transport an immature queen and some Seekers from their original hive, and esta
blish a new

community.

       Each day, strings leave the hive shortly before dawn in search of food and water (n
ote number of expeditions

is limited by the numbers of bearers and Seekers in the hive).  A randomly encountered str
ing consists of 3d6+3

warriors, 1 bearer, 1 Seeker, and 5d4 juveniles.  The male with the most HPs is the string
master, commanding all

other stringmembers.  Juveniles carry simple baskets and jugs to transport food and water
back to the hive.

       While Hivers will eat small prey and carrion, they do not normally attack larger cr
eatures.  If attacked, a

string forms a semi-circle (or circle, if outnumbered) around the bearer and Seeker.  The
warriors comprise the

outer ring, with juveniles between them and the bearer.  All members of the string will fi
ght to the death to protect

the Seeker.



Ecology:  While Hivers may be found anywhere on Athas, they are more common in the great s
andy wastes to the

south of the Tyr region.  Many larger predators prey on individual members of strings, or
even entire strings, but

few, no matter how powerful, are able to infiltrate the hive itself.

       While Hivers tend to collect shiny items, which they place in the queen's chamber,
Hivers produce nothing of

value, except maybe the hive itself.  Abandoned hives may provide excellent shelter for ma
ny creatures, such as

Gith, Belgoi, and even slave tribes.  It is rumored that the blood from a queen's afterbir
th can be used to cure

infertility.





Insect Swarm:  Crystal-wing Butterfly

>by John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>



Climate/Terrain:     Forests, Oases

Frequency:        Very rare

Organization:     Swarm

Activity Cycle:   Day

Diet:          Herbivore

Intelligence:        Non- (0)

Treasure:      nil

Alignment:        Neutral

No. Appearing:    1d100 x 1000

Armor Class:   10

Movement:      Fl 15 (A)

Hit Dice:      1 HP/10 insects

THAC0:      see below

No. of Attacks:   see below

Damage/Attack:    nil

Special Attacks:     nil

Special Defenses:    see below

Magic Resistance:  nil

Size:          T (5" long)

Morale:        Unreliable (3)

XP Value:      35 per 100 insects

Psionics:      nil



       Even a desolate world contains beauty.  On Athas, one of the most beautiful creatur
es is the crystal-wing

butterfly.  The prism-like wings of these insects reflect the rays of the sun into startli
ng sprays of color; at night,

they glow with the soft luminescence of stored sunlight.  Unlike most insect swarms, such
as locust and minikanks,

crystal-wing butterflies are relatively harmless, posing little direct threat to animals o
r crops.



Combat:  These diminutive creatures have no form of attack; however, when in large numbers
 (greater than 1,000),

their defenses are considerable.  Any creature approaching within 50' risks startling the
swarm.  Unless the creature

makes a conscious effort to move cautiously, the swarm automatically startles on a failed
morale check.  In game

terms, to avoid this result a player needs to explicitly state that his PC intends caution
.  Then, for every round

spent within 50' of the swarm, a creature must make a successful dexterity check with a +1
 penalty for every

additional creature in the area of effect (e.g., comrades and mounts) to a maximum of +4;
the first failed check

startles the swarm.  In addition, any loud noise or sudden moves, such as shouting and com
bat, automatically

results in a failed check.

       If the swarm is startled during the day, the sunlight passing through their flutter
ing wings causes a captivating

spray of colors to fall on any creature within 50'.  This defense is similar to a rainbow
pattern spell except the effect

is maintained as long as the swarm flies, plus 2 rounds thereafter, and there is no limit
on the number of levels of

creatures affected.  A creature is allowed a saving throw versus spells with a -1 penalty
per 20,000 insects (-1 at

20,000; -2 at 40,000; etc.) to avoid the effects of the pattern of colors.  Creatures who
can not see are not affected.

       If the swarm is startled during the night, the luminescence of their fluttering win
gs causes a ghostly glowing

pattern affecting any creature within 50'.  Treat as a hypnotic pattern spell with the fol
lowing exceptions:  effect is

maintained as long as the swarm flies, plus 2 rounds thereafter; there is no limit on the
number of levels of

creatures affected; creatures must save versus spells with a -1 penalty per 20,000 insects
.

       Once startled, the swarm stays agitated as long as any creature (except other cryst
al-wing butterflies, of

course) remains in motion within 50'.  During this time, their special defenses are active
.  After all motion ceases,

the swarm returns to rest in 4d4 rounds +1 round per 20,000 insects (+1 at 20,000; +2 at 4
0,000; etc.), at which

point, their defenses are inactive.

       Every point of damage inflicted on a swarm kills 1d10 butterflies (roll a d10 die f
or every point inflicted--e.g.,

Marston swings his club and inflicts 5 HPs damage, he rolls 5d10 and gets 23; thus he kill
s 23 butterflies).



Habitat/Society:  Crystal-wing butterflies cross wide areas of open desert along well-defi
ned migration routes,

linking sheltered clearings in hidden groves.  These flower-rich clearings and surrounding
 groves serve as breeding

sites where the butterflies' eggs hatch into brown caterpillars with green flecks.  Severa
l migration corridors are

known, one of the largest originates in the Forest Ridge north of Ogo, and terminates deep
 in the Crescent Forest

between Gulg and Nibenay.  Oases along these routes serve as resting sites; one of the lar
gest is Lake Pit.

       During the day, a distant migrating swarm of crystal-wing butterflies appears as a
low-flying cloud that

sparkles with all the colors of the rainbow.  Due to cold, swarms rarely migrate across th
e desert at night.



Ecology:  Despite their defenses, crystal-wing butterflies do fall prey to predators, most
 relying on sound and scent

rather than sight.  Crystal-wing butterflies neither collect treasure nor produce anything
 of value.  However, since

many larger predators, such as the Kirre, welcome prey immobilized by the butterflies' def
enses, it is not

uncommon to find incidental treasure near sites frequented by these butterflies.  In addit
ion, the dried, undamaged

wings of a crystal-wing butterfly may serve a substitute for material components of many s
pells relying on light,

such as glitterdust, hypnotic pattern, and rainbow pattern.





Spider, Elf-bane

>by John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>



Climate/Terrain:     any frequented by Elves

Frequency:        rare

Organization:     solitary

Activity Cycle:   any

Diet:          Elves

Intelligence:        semi (2-3)

Treasure:      nil

Alignment:        Neutral

No. Appearing:    1

Armor Class:   2

Movement:      24

Hit Dice:      10+5

THAC0:      9

No. of Attacks:   1

Damage/Attack:    1d6

Special Attacks:     Poison

Special Defenses:    shoot web

Magic Resistance:  10%

Size:          H (18' tall)

Morale:        Champion (15-16)

XP Value:      5,000



Psionics Summary:

Level    Dis/Sci/Dev   Attack/Defense    Score     PSPs

1           1/1/3          --/M-                16        30



Psychometabolism--Sciences:  Shadow-from; Disciplines:  Chameleon Power, Displacement, Det
ect Elf (no cost).



       Unlike most spiders, which sit in wait of prey, the Elf-bane spider's long legs all
ow it to achieve great speeds

in pursuit of its preferred prey, Elves.  Its small beige tear-drop body (roughly 3' radiu
s) stands atop 18' legs.

       It feeds almost exclusively on Elves; although it will eat Half-elves if desperate.
  It uses its unique psionic

ability, Detect Elf (a variant of Heightened Senses), to locate its prey.  This ability is
 considered always on and is

maintenance free.  With it, the spider can smell any being of at least 50% Elven heritage
up to 5 miles distant.



Combat:  This spider will always seek out and attack Elves before any other creature; next
 it will attack Half-Elves

(since it does not find Half-Elves as nutritious as full-blood Elves).  It can not digest
those with less than 50%

Elven heritage, so it normally ignores them; however it will fight if threatened.

       The Elf-bane spider usually uses its psionic abilities (shadow-form and chameleon p
ower) to close to within a

hundred yards of its prey.  It then initiates its displacement power and dashes to the att
ack at full speed.  It attacks

with its bite, which causes 1d6 points of damage; however, its most dangerous form of atta
ck is its poison.  As soon

as it has incapacitated a victim, the spider will pick the body up and move to a safe loca
tion where it can digest its

meal.

       The severity of a bite from an Elf-bane spider varies as a function of the victim's
 race, affecting onset time,

damage, and saving throw adjustment, see the table below.  The adjustment to the victim's
saving throw is

cumulative with any other adjustments, such as those due to low or high constitution.  For
 example, while Gwenn,

an Elf, faces immediate death (with a -4 penalty to her save) should she be bit; Halminok,
 a Dwarf, has a good

chance (+4 bonus to his save) to remain unaffected, especially if he also has a high const
itution (he still takes

biting damage, of course).



  RACE       CLASS      ONSET         STRENGTH    ADJUSTMENT

  Elf          E             immediate            death/20       -4

  Half-elf     D             1-2 min              30/2-12        -2

  Mul          B             2-12 min             20/1-3         +2

  Dwarf        A             10-30 min            15/0           +4

  Human &

   others      C             2-5 min              25/2-8         0



       The Elf-bane spider does not spin a stationary web.  However, if seriously wounded
(i.e., HPs fall below 25%

of normal), it will attempt to flee by shooting a single 9' long strand of web at the near
est target using its normal

THAC0 versus AC 10 (modified by target's DEX).  If the strand hits, it raps around the vic
tim--treat as per spider

strand spell (see DK).  Any creature man-sized or smaller is immobilized and cannot move.
 Any large creature is

impeded and moves at half rate, attacking only half as often with a -2 penalty to the atta
ck roll.  Any huge or

gargantuan creature is unaffected.  In order to break free of the strand, the victim must
make a successful half

bend bars roll FOR EACH YARD of the strand (i.e., 3 separate rolls).  A large creature is
no longer impeded

after breaking 1 yard, a man-sized creature is no longer immobilized after breaking 1 yard
 and no longer impeded

after breaking 2 yards, a small creature is no longer immobilized after breaking 2 yards a
nd no longer impeded

after breaking 3 yards, and a tiny creature remains immobilized until all 3 yards are brok
en.  The strand may be

cut at the rate of 1 yard per round (if the target is immobilized, he cannot attempt to cu
t the strand).



Habitat/Society:  The Elf-bane spider is a solitary creature, pursuing its prey across the
 burning sands; however, it

is not uncommon to find several spiders independently following the same Elven tribe.

       Elf-bane spiders mate twice a year, for one week immediately following High Sun and
 one week immediately

following Low Sun.  As with most spiders, the male is significantly smaller than the femal
e, but with few exceptions

(HD 5; THAC0 15; SZ M), his stats are identical to the female's.  She will invariably kill
 him after mating if he is

slow in his escape (an odd carry-over from their origins, since she cannot digest him).  T
he female wraps her

fertilized eggs in a web ball and buries them beneath the sand; after two months, 3d6+2 yo
ung emerge.  They

mature quickly, reaching full size before the next mating period.



Ecology:  Scholars dispute the origin of the Elf-bane spider.  Some hold the view that tod
ay's spiders are the

descendants of spiders originally created by the sorcerer-king Andropinis of Balic in orde
r to protect his orange

groves from Elven thieves.  Their psionic abilities and resistance to magic have been offe
red as evidence for this

theory.  Others believe that a long forgotten Dwarven civilization bred these spiders to b
e used in a standing

conflict with an equally ancient Elven nation.  The fact that Dwarves are highly resistant
 to this spider's poison is

often cited as support for this latter theory.

       Elf-bane spiders do not collect treasure, and their nomadic nature prevents them fr
om accumulating incidental

valuables.  They produce little of value (although some would say that killing Elves is va
lue enough); however,

those skilled in herbalism or the making of poison (such as bards) can extract enough pois
on from one spider for

2d6 applications--the poison has the same properties as above and retains its potency for
2 Athasian weeks (i.e., 12

days).



Traplan

>by Andrew Lohmann <LOHMANN@SOCIAL.CHASS.NCSU.EDU>



Climate/Terrain:     Temperate Forest

Frequency:        Rare

Organization:     Group

Activity Cycle:   Day, Evening

Diet:          Carnivore

Intelligence:        Low

Treasure:      nil

Alignment:        Neutral

No. Appearing:    1-4

Armor Class:   7

Movement:      6

Hit Dice:      1

THAC0:      16

No. of Attacks:   1

Damage/Attack:    See below

Special Attacks:     Poison

Special Defenses:    nil

Magic Resistance:  Standard

Size:          S

Morale:        Low

XP Value:      75

Psionics:      nil



       The Traplan appears as a smallish creature that is a cross between a squirrel, an a
rmadillo, and a land-urchin.

It has an armored hide similar to the silver-colored armadillo (yet not as cumbersome), wi
th thin, 6" black spikes

extruding from the armor. When it rolls itself into a ball, the spikes point out in all di
rections.

       When the animal is not rolled up, one can notice its squirrel-like face and claws,
which gives it the ability to

climb trees rapidly, as well as to jump tree to tree as a normal squirrel would.



Combat:  These creatures do not engage in direct combat, but rather fall upon their victim
s from the trees in an

attempt to spike them. If they happen not to be in the trees (only 15% chance), they may d
ig about .5 foot into the

ground and lay there, waiting for something to come by and step upon them. If any of the s
pikes penetrates flesh,

the victim must save vs. poison immediately or suffer the effects outlined below.

       The insidious poison is very dangerous, not only for the victim, but for those arou
nd the victim.  When the

victim is injected with Traplan venom, they must save at -3 or suffer 5d6 damage and go in
to a coma for 2d8

hours.  A save indicates that only .5 damage was taken, and there is no ensuing coma, but
rather during that time

period the victim suffers from severe dizziness and disorientation (-4 to hit, -4 damage,
-4 AC, -4 movement rate).

The perspiration of the victim acts as a contact poison for the period of time they are di
soriented or in a coma.  If

anyone should contact their exposed flesh (such as to cast Neutralize Poison), they must s
ave to avoid taking 3d6

damage (they will take .5 damage if the save is made) and go into a coma for 2d4 hours (a
save indicates the same

disorientation and penalties as above).  This persons' perspiration then acts as a contact
 poison; see chart below.



                  Saving

                  Throw             Duration

Contact           Mod.  Damage      (in hours)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

1st (initial)        -2       5d6         2d8

Once removed      0        3d6         2d4

Twice removed     +2       1d6      1d4

Thrice removed          i n e r t



Habitat/Society:  The Traplan tend to stay in small groups, hunting together, and dropping
 in unison upon prey

below.  Once the prey has been incapacitated, they will feed on the body, even if it is st
ill alive (with each Traplan

causing 1-2 points of damage per round).  The Traplan are immune to their own poison.

       Their poison is highly sought by assassins, yet finding these rare creatures in the
 treetops of the darkest forests

without getting injected is an immense challenge.



Ecology:  Many larger, intelligent predators are aware of the power of the Traplan, and wi
ll usually follow a group

of them, and the accompanying chattering/clicking noise, around the forest (without gettin
g too close themselves, of

course).  They will then eat whatever is left of the carcass, after the Traplan have had t
heir fill.

              --------------------------------------------------



                               12. BIBLIOGRAPHY



              --------------------------------------------------



>By John M. Martz <JOHN_MARTZ@UNC.EDU>, with some help from David Gehring

<GEHRING@CS.UWP.EDU>

       Here is a list of DARK SUN references (above and beyond the original boxed set and
the CPsiH), as well as

a selection of items directly relevant to DARK SUN.  For simplicity's sake, references are
 grouped by source and

type.  Also, all are published by TSR, Inc. unless otherwise noted.





DRAGON ARTICLES:



Baker, L. R., III.  (1993).  Campaign journal:  Slave hunters and silt sailors.  Character
 kits in a DARK SUN

       campaign.  #194, 71-80.



Baker, L. R., III.  (1994).  The preserver's choice:  To defile or not to defile.  #202, 4
2-45.



Bigelow, R.  (1992).  Through the looking glass:  The Dark Ages and the DARK SUN world, in
 miniature.  #185,

       112-118.



Brown, T. B.  (1992).  The arena master's arsenal:  New weapons forged in the DARK SUN set
ting.  #185, 11-16.



Brown, T. B.  (1992).  Mastered, yet untamed:  Deadly beasts of burden for DARK SUN campai
gns.  #185, 18-24.



Brown, T. B., & Connors, W. W.  (1991).  The monstrous side of the DARK SUN world:  Feral
halflings, thri-

       kreen, and half-giants--as player characters!  #173, 11-17.



Brown, T. B., & Connors, W. W.  (1991).  Random magic for organized minds:  Randomized spe
ll lists for DARK

       SUN campaigns.  #173, 24-28.



Cooke, R.  (1993).  The ecology of the giant scorpion:  The little ones are dangerous enou
gh, but the big ones . ...

       #197, 10-12.



Denning, T.  (1991).  A letter from the wanderer:  The dark undead of Athas, the DARK SUN
world.  #173, 19-

       22.



Detwiler, G.  (1993).  Beyond the dark horizon:  New spells and magical items for the DARK
 SUN campaign

       world.  #197, 84-88.



Oltion, J.  (1991).  A little knowledge.  #173, 67-75.



Smedman, L.  (1993).  Ashes to ashes.  #197, 91-98.



Varney, A.  (1992).  Water and ashes.  #185, 35-38.



Williams, S.  (1992).  Sage advice.  #177, 52-54.



Williams, S.  (1992).  Sage advice.  #178, 92-93.



Williams, S.  (1992).  Sage advice.  #185, 76-80.



Williams, S.  (1993).  Sage advice.  #189, 98-100.



Williams, S.  (1993).  Sage advice.  #191, 78-80.



Williams, S.  (1993).  Sage advice.  #194, 53-55.





DUNGEON ARTICLES:



Maxwell, R.  (1993).  Raiders of the Chanth.  #44, 36-52.



Varney, A., & Swan, R.  (1992).  The Year of the Priest's Defiance.  #35, 26-34.





NOVELS:



Denning, T.  (1991).  The Verdant Passage.



Denning, T.  (1992).  The Crimson Legion.



Denning, T.  (1992).  The Amber Enchantress.



Denning, T.  (1993).  The Obsidian Oracle.



Denning, T.  (1993).  The Cerulean Storm.



Hawke, S.  (1993).  The Outcast.





MODULES:



Baker, L. R., III, Smedman, L., Botula, K., Pass, G., & Bund, A.  (1993).  Dragon's Crown.



Baker, L. R., III.  (1993).  Merchant House of Amketch.



Connors, W. W.  (1993).  Marauders of Nibenay.



Cook, D.  (1991).  Freedom.



Cook, D.  (1992). Road to Urik.



Pryor, A.  (1992).  Asticlian Gambit.



Slavicsek, B.  (1992).  Arcane Shadows.



Witt, S.  (1993).  Black Flames.





RULE SUPPLEMENTS:



Baker, L. R., III.  (1992).  Valley of Dust and Fire.



Bass, W. M., & McComb, C.  (1993).  The Complete Gladiator's Handbook.



Bass, W. M.  (1993).  City-state of Tyr.



Brown, T. B.  (1992).  Dragon Kings.



Phillips, C. T. (Ed.).  (1992).  Monstrous Compendium, Terrors of the Desert.



Pryor, A.  (1992).  Dune Trader.



Slavicsek, B.  (1992).  Slave Tribes.



Varney, A.  (1992).  Veiled Alliance.





NON-FICTION:



Page, J., & the editors of Time-Life Books.  (1984).  Planet Earth:  Arid Lands.  Alexandr
ia, VA:  Time-Life Books.
