Game Effects of Preserving and Defiling Magic (DSC)

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Defilers gain levels faster than preservers because preservers opt to proceed slowly so as not to destroy the fragile ecosystem around them. Defilers have no regard for such niceties. Other game mechanic differences are described below.
There are two steps to casting a spell on Athas. First, a wizard must gather the energy to power the spell from the plant life around him. Then he performs the actions necessary for releasing the spell—the usual somatic, verbal, and material components of the spell come into play in the second step.
To gather energy for a spell, a wizard holds out an open hand and taps into the life force of nearby plants. How much power the wizard receives depends on what path of magic he follows. Preservers always receive the amount of energy they need to cast their maximum number of spells per level. They take this energy slowly so as not to deplete the life they’re drawing it from. Defilers, on the other hand, absorb energy quickly, killing everything in the vicinity until they’re filled up. The defiler’s method isn’t as refined or careful, and so it involves the possibility for both a certain degree of failure and a higher level of success.
This gathering of energy occurs outside of game time, during the same period of time as a wizard is memorizing his spells. No roll is required for a preserver; this class of wizard automatically gathers the energy necessary to cast all the spells allowable at a given level of experience. Defilers make an Intelligence check based on the type of terrain they’re in at the time of spell memorization. The effects of this check are noted on TABLE XVII.
 Table 17: Gathering Spell Energy Through Defiling Magic
 	----------Intelligence Check ----------	----------Intelligence Check ----------	----------Intelligence Check ----------
Terrain Type*	Failure (More than Int) 	Int to Int-7 	Int-8
Lush 	-1 spell/level 	Usual spells/level 	+3 spells/level
 	Failure (More than Int-2) 	Int-2 to Int-7 	Int-8
Abundant 	-1 spell/level 	Usual spells/level 	+2 spells/level
 	Failure (More than Int-3) 	Int-3 to Int-7 	Int-8
Fertile 	-1 spell/level 	Usual spells/level 	+2 spells/level
 	Failure (More than Int-5) 	Int-5 to Int-8 	Int-9
Infertile 	-2 spells/level 	Usual spells/level 	+1 spell/level
 	Failure (More than Int-7) 	Int-7 to Int-9 	Int-10
Barren 	-2 spells/level 	Usual spells/level 	+1 spell/level
: * Lush terrain includes forests, large gardens, and parks. Abundant terrain includes verdant belts, grasslands, and mud flats. Fertile terrain includes oases and scrub plains. Infertile terrain includes stony barrens, rocky badlands, and bare mountains. Barren terrain includes boulder fields, sandy wastes, and salt flats.
As the gathering of spell energy takes place during the “off stage” time between adventures when wizards memorize spells, any bonuses or penalties toward the number of spells per level should be taken into account when players make up their characters’ lists of memorized spells for a game session.
Example: The defiler Hepulto has an Intelligence score of 16. In lush terrain, a roll of 17 or higher is a failure, while a roll of 8 or less (Int 16–8=8) provides the best result. In fertile terrain, however, Hepulto fails on a roll of 13 or higher (Int 16–3=13).
If a preserver wants to turn to defiling magic (rolling on TABLE XVII), he may do so once per level of experience without any penalty. Even if the check fails, the attempt constitutes the use of defiling magic methods for a given level. Each use of defiling magic beyond that one use could have serious consequences for a preserver, for he moves closer and closer to a very fine line. Each additional use of defiling magic requires the preserver to make a saving throw versus death magic, modified by a cumulative penalty of -2 per each additional use. A failed saving throw means the process for drawing life energy didn’t come from the plants, but from the preserver himself. He suffers a permanent 1d4 point loss from his Constitution score and becomes a defiler immediately. The character has demonstrated a willingness to resort to defiling magic to gain more power, and an alignment change may be necessary.
A preserver who switches to the defiler class becomes a defiler of the same level, with the minimum number of experience points for that level (thus losing experience points). To regain his former station, the character must 1) stop drawing energy as a defiler; 2) not advance in level until he has accumulated enough experience to reach the next level as a preserver; and 3) perform a great personal sacrifice or undertake a momentous quest to demonstrate his commitment to the preserving way. A preserver who returns from being a defiler has just one chance. If the character crosses the line again, he remains a defiler until his dying day.