I know this maybe more of a conversion/class question, and it was very campaign dependent. Has anyone else come up with a concept for how a preserver or defiler would work in 3.X/Pathfinder? For those unfamiliar, they are from the Dark Sun-TSR campaign.
My friend took the warlock template in a 3.5 game and made their eldritch blast more like a whip of fire along with minor ability damage later on, for free. There could have even been some vile damage involved but only saw it used once - game only lasted three sessions.
He also had an aura that worked similar to the third party class, malefactor, which also blighted an area to fuel the aura and augment. It grew as the character leveled. So that was his version of a defiler.
So taking that idea, how would you see a preserver work? I know there are sin eating (too limited) abilities in pathfinder, along with purifier type classes/archetypes to work off.
As a side rant on the 3.5 Warlock: I would like a better converted warlock than the third party. It is cool, but limited, even moreso than the 3.5 lock. Anyone who tells me that warlock is a junk class probably only looked at eldritch blast.
A guy who can fly (no feats/level adjustments/magic item slot, etc.) and be invisible at will shooting out eldritch blasts every round is pretty scary in combat. Greater invisibility at later levels, mixed in with the sr negating effect on the blast makes it viable later on, by then you will prob also have a dispel magic you can spam when needed. Take extra invocations; shadow walk, become a swarm, and polymorph combatants at will. You can make any magic item and use any magic item. Not seeing what people thought was underpowered. Maybe just difference in play styles and campaigns.
Back in 2e, noone (not even a defiler) could cast arcane spells on defiled land. Did the malefactor have that weakness? (In order to counter that effect, many defilers would defile land in the morning when prepping spells.)
In 2e, defilers were inherently more powerful than preservers, and you were supposed to be tempted to be a defiler when you "should" be a preserver. By default, wizards were defilers. In fact, you needed a Wisdom of 13 to be a preserver, and (in flavor terms) the majority of wizard NPCs were trained as defilers. Even those with enough Wisdom might simply never have learned to preserve.
Something different was done in 4e. Some ways worse, some ways better. In 4e, every arcane spellcaster (except someone who took the avangion epic destiny) had the ability to defile. The temptation to get power at the cost of defiling is always there. Unfortunately, instead of defiling land, it defiled friends. It specifically did necrotic damage to allies (including slaves, if any) and not enemies. There was no addiction issue either (although that's probably for the best, being too "adult" for a game usually played for fun). NPC defilers sometimes defiled enemies or everyone instead, which is of course far superior.
In 4e, a "defiler" is simply a "ecological lifestyle" choice. If you defile a lot, you're a defiler. If you don't, you're a preserver. This made more sense to me. Of course, a PC who decides the defiling is fun might start spending feats on getting better at it, and so really deserve the title of defiler. :)
I like how in 4e defiling was a choice with negative consequences and not a different subclass... but I did not like the particularly consequences. The other players at the table will hate it too.
I guess I'm also saying I don't see a point of a "preserver" class. A preserver is a default wizard, and (for flavor reasons) most wizards simply never learned to preserve on Athas. PCs shouldn't have such a choice removed from them. Of course, if you're not...
I would like to run a Pathfinder Dark Sun game. Oh, how I like my half-dwarves and high stats. Seeing someone become a psionic/eldritch dragon would be awesome too.
He could not use his aura to defile land he had already defiled. Though he could simply keep taking from the land in one location until it spread out, kind of like a Carnivale feel, if you've seen that show.
With my idea preservers would be a separate thing altogether, akin to a Druid, but more dedicated to healing taint in the land and in people, see the sin eater ability for that inquisitor archetype (but not as limited). They can take the taint into themselves and convert that energy to healing, damage, enhance their auras, etc. with some backlash due to the conversion of energy. So it is a departure from the arcane with them. For the defiler it would still be more arcane.
Hope that helps clarify what I meant. It could be an archetype or new class even.
With warlocks I see your point, but the tier system says warlocks are 4th? How? They can be the perfect spy, a master crafter of magic items that can do anything a wizard or cleric can do with enough investment, and they can blast through DR/SR if they focus on that aspect. If they can effectively replicate and semi-disable a tier 1 caster with their abilities, then how are they 4th tier? That is more my point on warlocks.
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Dark Sun
1) create an atmosphere where ostentatiously using magic in public draws unwanted attention quickly. allow Bluff and Sleight of Hand checks to conceal somatic and verbal components of spellcasting. multiply the cost of spell component pouches by 100, and allow a Disguise check to conceal it's presence.
2) remove Scribe Scroll as 1st level feat. not all wizards can read anyway, let alone write.
3) spell slots are generally 'powered' at time of preparation. both preservers and defilers need non-barren terrain to draw upon, and defiler leaves a radius of destruction equal to his highest level spell prepared multiplied by 10 feet (cantrips 5 feet). defiler has option to memorize but not raze the land at time of preparation, but must instead cast his spells as full-round actions and raze the square or hex he stands upon to power his spells at the time of casting. preserver has the option to memorize but not power his spells at time of preparation (for lack of fertile land upon which to rest), but must instead cast his spells as full-round actions while standing on a non-barren square or hex.
4) Preservers gain Combat Casting as a bonus 1st level feat; the +4 can also be used as a competence bonus on Bluff, Disguise, and Sleight of Hand checks made to conceal verbal, material, and somatic components.
5) Defilers gain new class feature in place of Scribe Scroll:
Defiler's Raze (Su):
You may increase the power of your spells by razing the land around you.
At 1st level, you may increase the effective spell level by +1 by razing all squares or hexes within a 10 foot radius of your person. This functions as Heighten Spell feat, except that you may alternatively use the level boost to spontaneously subsidize other metamagic feats you possess; the razing covers the increased spell slot cost. At 3rd level, you may increase the effective spell level by +2 by razing all squares or hexes within a 20 foot radius of you. At 7th level, you may increase your effective spell level by +3 by razing a 30 foot radius. At 11th level, you may increase your effective spell level by +4 by razing a 40 foot radius. At 15th level, you may increase your effective spell level by +5 by razing a 50 foot radius. At 19th level, you may increase your effective spell level by +6 by razing a 60 foot radius.
Once a square or hex has been razed, it loses all life-giving property, will not sustain agriculture for at least 100 years, and cannot be used again to power this ability until such a time has elapsed and nature has restored vitality to the land. This means that a defiler who uses this ability must be situated in such a way that all squares or hexes in his intended radius are fertile (non-razed) in order to power his foul magic.
Finally, any opposed Perception or Sense Motive checks made by bystanders to detect the defiler's attempts at hiding his spellcasting are granted a circumstance bonus equal to his radius of destruction when using this ability.
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these rules i am considering when i re-launch my DS campaign. cheers.
Dark Sun
1) create an atmosphere where ostentatiously using magic in public draws unwanted attention quickly. allow Bluff and Sleight of Hand checks to conceal somatic and verbal components of spellcasting. multiply the cost of spell component pouches by 100, and allow a Disguise check to conceal it's presence.
2) remove Scribe Scroll as 1st level feat. not all wizards can read anyway, let alone write.
3) spell slots are generally 'powered' at time of preparation. both preservers and defilers need non-barren terrain to draw upon, and defiler leaves a radius of destruction equal to his highest level spell prepared multiplied by 10 feet (cantrips 5 feet). defiler has option to memorize but not raze the land at time of preparation, but must instead cast his spells as full-round actions and raze the square or hex he stands upon to power his spells at the time of casting. preserver has the option to memorize but not power his spells at time of preparation (for lack of fertile land upon which to rest), but must instead cast his spells as full-round actions while standing on a non-barren square or hex.
4) Preservers gain Combat Casting as a bonus 1st level feat; the +4 can also be used as a competence bonus on Bluff, Disguise, and Sleight of Hand checks made to conceal verbal, material, and somatic components.
5) Defilers gain new class feature in place of Scribe Scroll:
Defiler's Raze (Su):
** spoiler omitted **...
I like it, with the defiler I have a similar worry about obviousness of what kind of magic happened there. It would make for some good who-done-its though. I will consider that as a system. Cheers!