Defiling on the World of Rel’Pek
POW on the Resistance Table). If the defiler succeeds,
Syhns Malsavius is believed to have been the first
defiler on Rel’Pek. Syhns was a loyal servant of the
dragon king Orealius over 4,000 years ago, who had
taken over administration of the Northern Zorresh
Plateau. He was a mad mage who mastered every
known form of magic, as well as a priest of Hecate. It is
believed that he forsook his vows to the Mistress of
Sorcery to gain immortality. Learning the secret to
squeezing mystical energy from the stuff of the cosmos
was just a perk along the way.
Defiling is a form of spell casting that uses physical
matter, instead of personal magic points to fuel spells.
Defiling can be combined with most other forms of
magic where a spell or ritual is ‘cast.’ This includes
sorcery, deep magic, and magic spells. Psionic or
psychic abilities cannot be combined with defiling for
most defilers (attempts have resulted in injury to the
spellcaster).
Defiling magic is reviled by most divine powers, and
employed only by the reckless, insane, uncaring and
darkest magic users. This form of magic has had an
apocalyptic effect on many worlds where it has become
known, and some powers will gleefully teach its secrets
to mortals, then sit back and revel in the destruction
that it unleashes. The nearly unlimited source of power
that defiling presents is often a difficult temptation to
resist.
Defiling requires proximity to either vegetable matter or
fertile soil – more highly skilled defilers can make use of
animal tissue to fuel their spells. Vegetable matter is
reduced to ash through defile, and fertile soil is reduced
to a sand.
Defilers must be within 1 meter per point of POW that
they possess of the material being defiled. Doubling the
range will make the Defiling Skill Check Difficult.
Each cubic foot of fertile soil yields 1 MP. GMs may rule
that more fertile soil, such as peat, yields more MP per
cubic foot, or less, MP per cubic foot (like beach sand –
1 MP per 2 cubic feet).
Each SIZ 1 of vegetable matter yields 1 MP.
Defilers must overcome the POW of creatures that are
being defiled, whether plant creatures, undead, or
other creatures.
Plant creatures within range may resist defiling (POW vs
then his defiling inflicts 1 hit point of damage to the
creature per 2 MP defiled from them. If the plant
creature resists, then the defiler must use MP to cast
the desired spell.
Defiling requires a skill roll. If the spell casting style also
requires a skill roll, then use the Combined Skill Roll
option. If the defiling roll fails, but the spellcasting roll
succeeds, then the defiler may spend MP to cast the
spell.
Critical Success – Deeper Burn – twice the MP normally
yielded from defiling are squeezed from the matter.
Animal matter can be defiled as below, yielding 4 MP
per CON point of damage dealt to the creature(s).
Creatures lacking a CON score yield 1 MP per HP of
damage inflicted upon them.
Special Success – The defiler is able to drain MP from
animal matter within range. As with plant creatures, he
must overcome the POW of the creature being defiled.
Success horribly burns the target, yielding 4 MP per 1
CON point of damage done to the creature, and possibly
inflicting Major Wounds. Multiple creatu Creatures
lacking a CON score yield 1 MP per HP of damage
inflicted upon them.res may be defiled, if they are
within range.
Success – the defiling works as normal.
Failure – defiling fails, but the spell may be cast as
normal. If levels of effect were not determined prior to
casting the spell, then D6 levels of the spell are cast.
Fumble – the spell works, even if it would normally fail,
but the caster has ripped energy from his own being.
Each MP used in casting the spell delivers 1 CON point
of damage to the spellcaster.
Overburn – if a defiler does not immediately channel
MP into a ritual or spell being cast, then he must make a
second, Difficult Defiling Magic skill roll, or suffer 1 hit
point of damage for every MP released into the air, as it
courses through his physical form and is released into
the air. Nefarious GM’s may require that the defiler
resist the MP coursing through him - MP vs his CON – or
suffer a random magical mutation or chaos effect.
Random magical affects may occur with an over-burn if
the defile is not mutated through the magic - GM’s are
encouraged to use their most creative random effect
table in such cases.
When defiling is used in most rituals, follow the rules
above.
Defiling may be used to augment the POW sacrifice in
the creation of magic items. Plant creatures with POW
who are killed through defiling yield up to 1/5 of their
POW (round down), which can be used for the creation
of magical items. Using animals in this way requires a
special success as above, the defiling must slay the
creature, as well.
Defiling results in shadow/dark/evil points towards
allegiance.
Undead and other creatures lacking a CON score (GM
ruling) cannot be defiled. Creatures that can only be
harmed with magic and magical items/weapons cannot
be defiled, as well.
Defiling and Allegiance to Shadow – the Dragon
Transformation Boon:
There are said to be ancient tablets, scrolls and tomes
that teach the defiler how to use their art to unlock the
secret of immortality just as Syhns Malsalvius did, who
became the Dragon Syhns and was granted a precinct of
his own by the dragon Empire, such was the might of his
craft.
Only the darkest, most insane powers will work with a
defiler. In fact, most will not. A defiler going down this
path serves Shadow directly, in principle. No power will
assist such a dangerous person, and going forward, they
must forsake all boons and blessings of allegiance, save
the Dragon Transformation Boon.
A defiler who has accepted this boon gains a special
advantage. If their defiling skill roll is less than or equal
to their allegiance to darkness, then the spellcaster may
count a normal success as a special success, and a
special success as a critical success.
Each stage of the transformation requires the
possession of Blue Diamonds – special, rare diamonds
that are infused with magical energy so as to facilitate
the enchanting of objects without the sacrifice of POW.
The diamonds are destroyed in the transformation
ritual. 1 Blue Diamond is required for each minimum 10
points of Shadow Allegiance for the stage to be
acquired. By the time a dragon is mature, it has usually
learned how to create Blue Diamonds, but most young
and juvenile dragons must seek them out, by any means
necessary.
Each stage of the transformation changes the defiler
both in body and mind. His Skin becomes progressively
scalier, he becomes larger, his eyes widen and darken, a
tail emerges and he becomes larger and more reptilian
with each stage. Claws emerge from his hands
While he does not gain a breath weapon, his mind
sharpens, and the secrets of psychic abilities unlock in
his brain. Unlike other defilies, though, he is able to
fuel even his psychic abilities with defiling. The Very
Young Dragon starts with Telepathy, and each dragon
stage will unlock a new psychic ability of his choice.
Very young dragons are harmed only by magic and
enchanted weapons, but their armored skin provides
full AP against such attacks.
Defiling Dragons are truly creatures of destruction.
From the moment that they are a young dragon, the
defiler no longer needs to sleep, breath, or take food or
drink for sustenance. However, they must defile 1 MP
worth of matter for each point of their size per day, for
sustenance or they will lose 1 POW. Once they are
Juvenile, this requirement is halved, and for Mature
Adults the requirement is quartered. Wyrms and Great
Wyrms are able to sustain themselves upon will alone.
When a dragon has reached the Young stage, they
cease aging, and have reached true immortality.
An Adult dragon is able to use defiling to directly heal
damage to themselves, with each 2 MP worth of
defiling healing 1 hit point of damage to themselves,
and each 4 MP healing 1 point of Characteristic damage.
For Old Dragons, the healing-defiling ability
automatically triggers and works each round in addition
to other actions that the dragon may take. The ability
will always seek to completely heal the dragon, so
wounding one of these beasts can be perilous, indeed!
Dragons gain the following attacks (the skills improve as
they advance/gain proficiency):
Bite 25%, damage 2D6 (although most dragons find the
bite attack tasteless)
Claws 25%, damage D6 + db
Tail Strike, 15%, damage D6 + db + Knockback.
Minimum Min Dragon Characteristics Armor
Shadow POW Stage (Increase total
Allegiance from original
scores)
20 20 Very STR +10, SIZ 8
Young +10
40 22 Young STR +15, SIZ 9
+15, Con +5
60 26 Juvenile STR +20, SIZ 9
+20, Con +10
80 28 Young STR +25, SIZ 10
Adult +25, Con +12
100 30 Adult STR +30, SIZ 10
+30, Con +14
120 34 Mature STR +35, SIZ 12
Adult +35, Con +16
140 36 Old STR +40, SIZ 12
+40, Con +20
160 40 Very STR +45, SIZ 15
Old +45, Con +24
180 46 Wyrm STR +55, SIZ 15
+55, Con +28
200 52 Great STR +65, SIZ 20
Wyrm +65, Con +36