Editing The Savage Sun (section)

==Magic and Psionics==

Athas is a world of supernatural powers, but all power has a cost. 

The following arcane backgrounds exist in Athas:

*'''Arcane Background: Wizardry.''' The ancient art of wizardry has a fell reputation on Athas. In the ancient Cleansing Wars, reckless use of magic devastated the entire world, reducing the once-lush world of Athas to its current scorched and barren state. Wizards are few and careful, forced to hide from vengeful mobs and predatory rivals, and even the most benevolent of wizards must face the constant temptation of defiling.

*'''Arcane Background: Priest.''' This arcane background involves striking a pact with a powerful entity, and covers three different sorts of pact:

'''Elemental Priest:''' Athas is a world without gods, but the mighty and ancient powers of the elements fill a similar role. Although they care nothing for mortal worshipers or mortal morality, the elemental powers occasionally form pacts with individual mortals, granting them great power in exchange for promoting the elemental's agenda.

'''Druid:''' The fey spirits of the land, though few and weakened since their ancient days of glory, remain a force to be reckoned with. Like the elementals, they sometimes form pacts with worthy mortals, who wield their powers in defense of the dying world.

'''Templar:''' Agents of the immortal sorcerer-kings, templars wield spellcasting powers in addition to their legal status. Templars swear obedience to their patron, who grants them spellcasting power with which to enforce the sorcerer-king's will. This pact is closer to a business transaction than any sort of reverence, and rogue templars are not unknown.

*'''Arcane Background: Psionics.''' The powers of the mind are well-known on Athas, and a psionicist is one who hones them to their fullest potential. Psionicists are respected and sometimes feared, powerful individuals beholden to no one but themselves.

*'''Arcane Background: Wild Talent.''' All sapient people possess a spark of psionic ability, even those who lack the potential to become a true psionicist. The vast majority of humanoids on Athas are ''wild talents,'' capable of manifesting one or perhaps two psionic abilities through instinct and willpower.


===Defiling and Preserving===

Wizardry is unique in that it taps into the life-force of nearby living things to manifest supernatural effects. When used with care and consideration, this does no harm to the biosphere as a whole; this form of wizardry is known as ''preserving.'' However, a reckless or desperate wizard can simply rip out the power that they want, stealing life-force to power their magic; this is known as ''defiling.'' The difference is not well understood by the common folk of Athas, who know only that wizardry is what reduced their world to its current blasted, ruined state; as a result, wizards and anyone capable of wizardly magic are hated and feared.

Normal spellcasting (using Arcane Background: Wizardry) is assumed to be preserving by default: the wizard skims off just enough life-force to power their spells, taking care not to cause permanent harm. Whenever a wizard casts a spell, they have the option to ''defile'' instead. If the wizard succeeds on their Spellcasting roll, defiling grants them an automatic raise, allowing them to cast their spells to greater effect. This still requires the initial Spellcasting roll to succeed; if the wizard does not succeed, defiling grants them no additional benefits.

When a wizard uses defiling magic, regardless of whether or not their Spellcasting roll succeeds, the land pays a price. All the plant life within a radius equal to three yards times the power's rank is instantly killed, reduced to dead gray ash. This area is halved in areas of dense vegetation (such as a forest), or doubled in areas of scant vegetation (such as sandy desert or rocky badlands).

In addition, all living creatures other than inanimate plants in the area suffer intense pain, and must succeed on a Vigor roll or take a penalty equal to the spell's rank on all Trait rolls until the end of their next turn. Undead and constructs are immune to this effect.

===Druids, Templars, and Elemental Priests===

'''Elemental Priests'''

Priests in the world of Dark Sun are those mortals who have sworn service to one of the mysterious elemental powers, beings of Earth, Air, Fire and Water. The elemental powers care little for the affairs of mortals, focusing their attentions on the dying world of Athas. 

'''Druids'''

Druids are mortals who have struck a bargain with the spirits of the land, the desperate, dying entities associated with the life-force of Athas.

'''Templars'''

Templars are those who most directly serve a sorcerer-king,

===Psionics===

The powers of the mind are quite common on Athas; most sapient beings possess at least a smidgen of psionic potential, as do many monsters, animals, and even some plants. Through discipline and study, a gifted few can hone their psionic powers into something quite formidable.

====Wild Talents====

The vast majority of people on Athas possess a ''wild talent:'' an innate psionic ability gained without training or study. Wild talents require no training or study; the manifest instinctively, usually around puberty. Many wild talents are weak and borderline useless, such as the ability to project a tiny telekinetic force weaker than a shove.

Wild talents operate identically to normal powers, but a wild talent user has no relevant skill or power points. Rather, to activate a wild talent the character must spend a benny and roll their Spirit.

Wild talents cannot benefit from any power modifiers, whether general or specific to that power. The power manifested is always the basic version of the power.

All wild cards roll on the Wild Talents table to determine their talent. PCs may roll twice and take the power they prefer. Characters with the Arcane Background: Psionics edge do not develop wild talents in the usual way; they may roll normally but simply add their wild talent power to their list of psionic powers and use it normally.

{| class="wikitable" 
|+ Wild Talents
|-
! d100 roll !! Power !! Notes
|-
|01-04 || Beast friend ||
|-
|05-08 ||Blind ||
|-
|09-12 || Bolt ||
|-
|13-16 ||Confusion ||
|-
|17-20 ||Darksight ||
|-
|21-24 ||Deflection ||
|-
|25-28 ||Detect/Conceal Arcana ||
|-
|29-32 ||Elemental Manipulation ||
|-
|33-36 ||Empathy ||
|-
|37-40 ||Environmental Protection ||
|-
|41-44 ||Fear ||
|-
|45-48 ||Havoc ||
|-
|49-52 ||Healing ||
|-
|53-56 ||Illusion ||
|-
|57-60 ||Light/Darkness ||
|-
|61-64 ||Mind Link ||
|-
|65-68 ||Mind Reading ||
|-
|69-72 ||Protection ||
|-
|73-76 ||Relief ||
|-
|77-80 ||Smite ||
|-
|81-84 ||Sound/Silence ||
|-
|85-88 ||Speak Language ||
|-
|89-92 ||Stun ||
|-
|93-96 || Wall-Walker ||
|-
|97-00 || Choose any one ||
|}