Earth endures. Mountains stand unchanging throughout the lifetimes of individuals, barely succumbing to even to the passing of the ages. Earth is the ever-enduring fundament that supports all of creation. The clerics of earth reflect this enduring nature. In strong contrast to air, earth is an element of tradition, law, and order. Rituals and traditions are upheld because of their central importance in the lives and cultures in which they are practiced. That which serves no purpose quickly passes into oblivion.
The embodiments of endurance and stability, the priests of earth are the bedrock of Athas. Durable as a mountain, they are as unstoppable as an avalanche. Is it any wonder that dwarves most often answer the call of the earth spirits?
In its pure form earth is the soil from which life grows, the mountains that reach up into the heavens, and the stones from which cities are built. Earth is a supporter and a provider and many things of value can be gleaned from it. Those who wish to support and provide protection often feel the call of the earth spirits, especially those who would lend their support or protection to ancient tradition or long standing quests.
But, the earth can also be harsh and unyielding especially on the dying world of Athas. It seeks to resist change even for good, to defend outdated tradition and lends itself to enforcing unfair practices for the sake of stability. The earth is as likely to choose tyrants and despots to further its causes, as it is to choose nurturers and protectors.
At its worst earth is broken, cracked, dry, and infertile. This is the state of most of Athas. It turns to shifting sands eroded away by the moisterless wind, no longer serving as a stable ground for life and construction. Truly evil earth clerics are known for their destructive impulses and unstable personalities. They seek to destroy the traditions and lives of others in revenge for their own lost traditions, people, and cities.
I love how you pointed out the socalled good and bad side of earth.. how earth element clerics can be good or evil, yet still serve earth.. Kinda takes the alignment side out of things, which it should, as this is Athas. People too often think of the Main four elements as good, along with rain, simply because they would restore life to athas, and they could, however, that's only if they are kept in balance, (by druids for example), but we all know very well that all the elements would love to be dominant and aren't concerned with the others, and indeed despise their opposites most times..
Great job on the story
If you've got more, keep it coming I definitely like the flavor you have going with each element/paraelement. The only thing I don't like is.... well..... you don't have them all done yet
lol, agreed
but at least (he?/she?) sage has the talent if not the time Anywho- Sage I think that when all of this material is written and posted, it should be gathered together in one huge post!
Oh, also when I play next time, I will be using your sun cleric and general spell lists- augmented with spells from the Complete books and Sandstorm-> which BTW has a bunch of great spells for sun clerics- and I think I will also be moving to that idea we kinda kicked around for increasing the number of domain spells clerics get- I will be giving clerics IMC a thrid domain at 10th level and then they will begin to get additional domain spell slots- I will be working on a revised version of the alternate spell progression for this.
I like your take on the clerics and elemental lords relationship/alignment. I think that saying all paraelemental clerics are 'evil' and the normal four are 'good' kinda well, slow thinking if you know what I mean.
Great job Sage- keep it up man!!! :D
pardon me for not being able to determine gender through a computer :P I'm more interested in quality writing than anything else and sage does well as I wrote that line however it occured to me I didn't know for sure which word to use now i do :DAnywho, agreed once again, on the alignment aspect, after all, isn't Rkard a sun cleric? doesn't he fight for the preserver side of things?
way to keep in line with the true dark sun feel :DEven magma serves a useful purpose, its just not supposed to boil up to the surface as often or in as great a quantity as it is. Magma is part of the life cycle of the planet, it is the source of new land and would have been very improtant in the blue age for this reason. Volcanic eruptions also enrich the soil, when they occur above the ocean surface.
Silt however, never should have been a paraelement in the first place. It is the twisted shadow of ooze (or mud, or sludge). The only reason it is in the state that it is, is the extreme weakness of the element of water and the strength of Sun and Magma. Still, silt is not entirely evil, creatures have begun to carve out an ecological niche within it and it has become a part of the world of Athas for better or worse. Some silt clerics pay homage to the paraelement for the good of their communities and not just their selfish or twisted desires
Yet another of the fun inconsistencies of Dark Sun...
The other reason it's hard to have Sun as Eeeevil is how prominently it is portrayed as a source of Good in the Prism Pentad.
Yet another of the fun inconsistencies of Dark Sun...
I don't see the paraelements as "evil" in the traditional RPG sense of the term. Rather, they are selfish. Where the Elements are desiring to return to the balance of nature, and have that paramount in goals. The Paraelements, however, are focused on personal gain and power -- They've made considerable headway, and have totally disregarded the balance of nature. Of them, only Rain has suffered, and as such, it at least appears to be on the same side as the Elements, however it would most likely be just as problematic as the other Paraelements are if it had their power.