Elemental Priests have always
been a favorite of mine in Dark Sun and while placing them onto the
wizard chassis would be the simplest approach it didn’t quite sit
right with me. With all the unique abilities they posses I decided
instead to make their own class, with their own spells and magic
dice. For now I simply present the base four elements, but have plans
to move onto the para-elements as well.
The
Elemental Disciple
Starting
Gear: Basic weapon, leather
armor, a wooden icon of your pact.
Skills:
(1) Music, (2) Oral History,
(3) Herbalism, (4) Medicine
+1 ED for each template you
posses.
A:
Elemental Invocations, Sense
Element, Defy Defiler
B:
Align to
Element, +1 Invocation
C:
Gate Element,
+1 Invocation
D:
Sanctify Shrine, Transcend
Element +4
Invocation
Elemental
Invocation: You use Elemental
Dice (ED) to cast Elemental Invocations just like you can with Magic
Dice (MD). When you gain Elemental dice you must swear yourself to
one of the four elements (Air, Earth, Fire, Water).
You
begin play with two elemental invocations from your elemental list by
rolling a d6 twice. When you gain the second level in this template
roll a d8 to choose your new invocation, and roll a d10 when you gain
the third level in this template. Upon gaining the 4th
template in this class choose 4
invocations and learn them.
Additional invocations can be
learned from prayer scrolls by bringing them to an appropriate shrine
and meditating upon them. This costs 25 cp in prayer materials and
takes 1 hour, at which point you learn the invocation. You cannot
learn invocations of other elements, but you can cast from their
prayer scrolls. These scrolls come with one inherent ED and the
scroll is consumed – you may add your own ED to the invocation but
these ED only return to your pool on a 1-2.
After
a night of good rest you can
meditate to regain your
Elemental Dice, but note Elemental
Dice only recharge while you are in contact or adjacent to your
chosen element. Earth disciples
must be touching rock or soil (but not silt), Air disciples
must be in at least a minor breeze, Fire disciples
must bask in a fire at least the size of a torch, and Water disciples
must be near a pool of water (at
least 1 gallon of water poured out counts).
Sense
Element: By closing your eyes
and concentrating you can sense the presence of your element with 30
ft or so. This can sense your element through up
to about a foot of solid
non-living material.
Air Disciples detect air
Earth Disciples detect earth,
soil and stone
Fire Disciples detect fire
Water Disciples detect water
If there is a mystical
disturbance related to your element in the area you can sense that
too.
Defy
Defiler: When you are within
the destructive life sapping radius of a defiler’s spell you hear
the land shriek and groan in pain, and you can come to its aid. You
volunteer your own life force in place of the land’s, taking [dice]
damage and protecting the land from destruction.
Align
to Element: Once per day you
can ignore your element for one minute. For each ED rolled you may
extend this ability to [sum]
willing recipient.
Air Disciples ignore all winds,
gales, storms and toxic gases
Earth Disciples may walk
through earth and stone as if it were not there. If the duration
ends while inside the stone, Save or die.
Fire Disciples are immune to
fire and heat for this time, but not direct contact with magma.
Water Disciples can ignore
water and breath underwater
Gate
Element: Once per day you can
summon forth your element directly from it’s elemental plane,
calling about 1 cubic foot per Elemental Disciples
template.
By rolling an ED you can do this an additional time. A list of
suggested effects are listed below, but more creative applications
are obviously possible. Any foe that is not surprised may Save to
halve the effects.
Air Disciples call forth a
terrific wind that zips across the battlefield. This wind can be
directed to strike a foe, potentially knocking them over. This can
also negate toxic clouds, stop arrows, and more.
Earth Disciples can call stone
in any basic shape near them, potentially dropping it on foes (1d8
damage), creating walls, or any other creative endeavor.
Fire Disciples can forth
columns of flame that strike a foe for 2d6 fire damage. Nearby
flammable material ignites.
Water Disciples can summon
forth water, able to extinguish fires, relieve dehydration or douse
individuals (but never doing damage)
Sanctify
Shrine: An Elemental Disciples
may now seek out a place of elemental importance and can sanctify it.
Sanctifying a shrine
requires clearing it of all mystical
taint and 1000 cp in
sacrifices.
While
casting at a shrine add +1 ED to all invocations. While
at your shrine by way of an hour long ritual you may transport
yourself and up to 8
other creatures to the elemental plane of your element (or come back
if on the other side)
Transcend
Element: You can now use the
Align Element ability for a number of hours equal to your level each
day. If you would be struck
by an attack that uses your element you can
Save to instinctively
activate this ability to ignore it.
Invocations
Note:
Invocations with an (R) next to them denote that the invocation can be found in
Skerple’s wonderful GLOG: Many Rats on a Stick edition.
Air
Disciples Invocations:
Feather Fall (R)
Wind Blade
Dust Devil
Wind Whispers
Levitate (R)
Control Air (R)
Sturdy Circle in The Air (R)
Call Lightning
Call Elemental
Commune
Wind walk
Cloudkill (R)
Earth
Disciples Invocations:
Dust Devil
Hold Person (R)
Spider Climb (R)
Control Earth (R)
Stoneskin (R)
Encase
Control Stone (R)
Obedient Stone (R)
Call Elemental
Commune
Serpents of The Earth (R)
Earthquake
Fire
Disciples Invocations:
Light (R)
Protection from Fire (R)
Control Fire (R)
Crush Flames (R)
Vision Ignited
Scorching Ray (R)
Flame Cloak
Ignite (R)
Call Elemental
Commune
Walk The Cinder Path
Fireball (R)
Water
Disciples Invocations:
Cure Wounds (R)
Fog (R)
Moon Lust (R)
Clarity (R)
Control Water
Animate Potion (R)
Speak with Water
Bless Water
Call Elemental
Commune
Desiccate (R)
Resurrection (R)
Acid
Rain
Sphere: Rain, Water
R: 100’, T: Point, D: [Sum]
rounds
A cloud bursts into existence,
raining down acid on all caught beneath. This storm is 30’ in
radius and deals 2d4 damage each round. Once a foe has taken damage
from this spell their defense is treated as 2 lower until repairs or
healing are performed. If you wish you may create an eye of the storm
at the center, 5’ in radius.
Bless
Water
Sphere: Water
R: Touch, T: Pool of water, D: 1
hour
Bless water, from one to [sum]
gallons. This is treated as holy water against undead and fire (and
sun, magma, and silt) elementals. Alternatively [dice] weapons may be
blessed with this water, granting them a +1 magical bonus until
sunrise.
By spending 2+ ED you can
permanently bless water this way.
Commune
Sphere: All
R: 0’, T: Self, D: [Sum]
Minutes
By meditating you may speak with
the cosmic elemental spirits themselves, asking [Dice] questions of
them. These spirits know a great many things and usually will answer
honestly, but aren’t compelled to. If you cast this spell in a
place of notable power to your element you gain an additional
question.
Call
Elemental
Sphere: All
R: 15’, D: Concentration
Summon forth an elemental to do
your bidding. The creature has 2x[dice] HD, Defense as Chain, and an
attack that deals 1d6* damage. Each elemental can use the Elemental
Priest ability Gate Elemental once per day. The elemental is loyal to
you and its elemental masters. At the end of the duration the
elemental vanishes.
Air elementals can fly rapidly,
fit through cracks and are immune to non-magical ranged attacks.
Earth elementals have defense
as Plate and deal an additional 1d6 damage on attacks.
Fire elementals ignite their
target, dealing 1d6 damage until they extinguish themselves.
Water elementals can swim, fit
through cracks, and heal 1d6 damage per turn.
By investing 4 ED you can charge
the summoned elemental to a long term task such as delivering a
message or guarding a shrine. In a year and a day the elemental
returns to its home if it has not completed its task.
Call
Lightning
Sphere: Air, Rain
R: 120’, T: Self, D: [Sum]
Minutes
You call forth a miniature cloud
above you, allowing you to fire lightning bolts at targets in range.
Each lightning bolt does [Dice]d6 damage and the target may save for
half. Once you have fired [Dice]+1 lightning bolts the spell ends.
Condensation
Sphere: Rain, Water
R: 60’ T: Water or Fog, D: 0
Instantly turn up to [sum]
gallons of water into that many 30’ cubes of fog, or vice versa.
When mist is turned into water you can choose where that water forms,
such as in a vase. This process can turn all the water in a fresh
corpse into a 30’ radius fog cloud, drying out and shriveling the
corpse instantly.
Dew
Touched
Sphere: Rain, Water
R: Touch, T: Up to [sum]
creatures, D: [sum] hours
For the duration as long as the
targets are in contact with fresh water (even a few drops on the
skin) they are kept at a cool refreshing temperature. They take
[dice] less damage from fire and lightning.
Dust
Devil
Sphere: Air, Earth, Silt
R: 60’, T: Space of air, D:
[dice]x10 minutes
A small patch of wind is
animated to serve you. It has 1 HD but cannot attack directly. You
can order it, directing it around or asking it to do things for you,
but it has trouble interacting as it is a swirling dust devil (it can
still move light objects around, perhaps even a shield with major
concentration). It can swirl around foes, creating dust clouds to
distract them.
Earthquake
Sphere: Earth
R: 1 mile, T: Earth, D: [dice]
rounds
Shake the ground below, you
level structures and ruin lives. This spell requires at least 3
[dice] invested to be cast. All creatures must test morale and take
[dice] damage. Structures Save or crumble, with a modifier based on
their sturdiness. Those within collapsing structures are usually
buried, often dying while buried alive.
Encase
Sphere: Earth
R: Touch, T: Willing Creature or
Object, D: [sum] hours
The touched creature or object
must be standing on stone or earth when you cast this spell. The
affected creature sinks into the earth into a tiny peaceful chamber
for the duration, healing 1d4 HP per hour.
Feather
Step
Sphere: Silt, Air
R: Touch, T: Creature or Object,
D: [sum]x10 minutes
For the duration the creature or
object becomes exceptionally light but can still walk. Doing so
allows them to walk across pressure plates, flimsy bridges, even
silt, without causing it to break. Due to their lack of weight their
jump distance is doubled, but so is the distance they are pushed.
Flame
Cloak
Sphere: Fire
R: Touch, T: Creature, D: [sum]
Minutes
The creature is wreathed in
flames, protecting them against the cold and reducing all incoming
cold or fire damage by [dice]. Any creature that gets too close or
tries to strike the creature with a melee attack takes 1d6+[dice]
fire damage as the flaming cloak burns them.
Speak
with Water
Sphere: Water
R: Touch, T: Water, D: [dice]x10
Minutes
You may speak with water and it
can talk back, answering questions and holding conversation. Water is
generally agreeable, but note the priorities of water are not that of
humans, for great oasis might ponder slowly, while rushing rivers
jump quickly from topic to topic. By using 3 or more [dice] you may
ask the water to perform a minor favor for you.
Walk
the Cinder Path
Sphere: Fire
R: [dice]x50 miles, T: Self and
1 + [dice] creatures, D: 0
You and any other creatures step
into a fire at least the size of a camp fire, and emerge out of a
similarly sized fire of your choosing within range. Alternatively you
may specify a general area and come out of the nearest fire there,
but there is usually a 2 in 6 chance that there is no available fire
at the moment of casting if done this way.
Wind
Blade:
Sphere:
Air
R:
0, T: Self, D: [sum]x10 minutes
Summon
a nearly invisible
blade of pure wind in your
hand, as a longsword. You are always proficient with this magical
blade and for the duration you can always reform it in your hand.
Dropping the wind blade causes it to evaporate. By
slashing the air you can “throw” the blade, giving attacks the
range of a sling.
Wind
Walk
Sphere: Air
R: Touch, T: Self and 1 + [dice]
creatures, D: [sum] hours
You and other creatures may race
across the winds, moving quickly across the open earth. While doing
so your movement is 4 times faster and you ignore effects of terrain,
though great storms might slow you still. While safe, landing with
any precision is difficult due to the speed, usually off by 1d6
meters.
Wind
Whispers
Sphere: Air
R: 1 mile, T: Self, D: [dice]x10
minutes
Opening your ears you invite the
wind to whisper to you what secrets it has heard. By focusing in a
particular direction you can faintly hear conversations up to 1 mile
away. Alternatively if looking for rumors this may grant you a [dice]
in 6 chance to hear these rumors. These abilities don’t work
through encased chambers.