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Avangion

2021-01-28T10:42:29Z

2603:8001:3500:CB:C1D2:F698:23D1:6337:

[[File:Avangion 2.jpg|right|300px]]
Within the ''[[Dark Sun]]'' game setting, using power means being shaped by power. If turning into an [[Athasian Dragon]] is the natural end point of an epic-level [[Defiler]]-[[Psion]], then the '''Avangion''' is the opposite end of the spectrum: a powerful Preserver fully internalizing their psionic studies, and transforming into a being of energy and light.

While statted out back in 2e alongside its Defiler counterpart, it's pointed out that ''unlike'' the Dragon of Tyr, the creation of an Avangion is just a ''theoretical possibility''; no one has actually completed the necessary steps to turn into one as, much like the phases of turning into a Dragon, each phase is fraught with the chance to outright ''fail''.

On the bright side, at the very least none of the phases turn the Avangion into a raging ball of [[RAGE]] and [[Rip and Tear|MURDER]].

Not for the lack of trying however. So far, there's only a single named NPC who's working towards becoming an Avangion: Oronis, the Sorcerer-King of Kurn, the only of his fellows who felt remorse at the atrocities he committed under [[Rajaat]], and worked to truly make up for what he did. Depending on the source, he's already halfway there, or managed to complete his apotheosis into one.

If you're one of the ones working under the idea that Oronis actually ''succeeded'', then his very existence becomes a veritable game-changer for Tyr, and the setting in general, as it represents [[Noblebright|the first real chance for the environment of Athas to completely recover]]. Not that it makes things any easier -- not only is the Dragon of Tyr still around, but Oronis would stand alone against all other Sorcerer-Kings and their forces. But in Athas, some hope is better than no hope at all.

Another not-yet-avangion named Korgunard appears in the ''Dragon's Crown'' adventure, but he gets murdered by a secret order of psionicists [[Stupid Neutral|who believe that extreme good and extreme evil are both corruptions of psionic purity]].

==AD&D Avangions==
[[File:Oronis color.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Oronis, probably a level 23 avangion]]
As you might expect from the above, becoming an Avangion is '''not''' easy. To qualify for the Avangion "class", you need to be a [[human]] [[Wizard|Preserver]] of 20th level with [[Intelligence]] 18, [[Wisdom]] 17, [[Constitution]] 15 and [[Charisma]] 16.

Assuming you qualify, advancing requires a two-part process; gain the amount of XP, as indicated in the table below, and then, when you have enough XP to gain a level, you gotta successfully cast the spell ''Preserver Metamorphosis''. This gets harder and harder to cast as you gain in levels, requiring you to engage in various acts to restore life to Athas on an ever-grander scale; the "Dragon Kings" sourcebook introduces the new "Psionic Enchantments" (ritualistic 10th level spells) Prolific Forestation and Prolific Vegetation specifically to be used to qualify for the higher levels of Avangion. Assuming both parts go off without a hitch, and you survive a System Shock roll that casting Preserver Metamorphosis requires, you gain a level in Avangion.

That said, getting new levels requires a not insignificant amount of solo-questing, which is ''b.s.'' and shows the dangers of [[Lorraine Williams| not allowing playtesting]]. It is a huge hassle for any group to deal with one member who cannot continue hanging with them and must gain XP completely alone. At least it doesn't involve [[Athasian Dragon| outright becoming a DMPC for five very-high levels]]...

;Avangion Experience Levels
{| class=wikitable
!Character level ||Avangion XP Required ||Hit Dice
|-
|21||0||+10d4
|-
|22||375,000 ||+5d4
|-
|23||750,000 ||+4d4
|-
|24||1,125,000 ||+3d4
|-
|25 ||1,500,000 ||+3d4
|-
|26 ||1,875,000 ||+4d4
|-
|27 ||2,500,000 ||+5d6
|-
|28 ||3,600,000 ||+6d4
|-
|29 ||4,800,000 ||+8d4
|-
|30 ||6,400,000 ||+10d4
|}
Points rolled on Hit Dice are rolled add directly to the avangion's hit point total; Constitution modifiers are added per die rolled.

What happens if you fail? Well, in that, avangion metamorphosis is much more forgiving than the [[Athasian Dragon]] metamorphosis. You lose all the XP you were trying to turn into a new level, and have to restock on XP before you can try it again. Annoying, yes, but considering the lethality of its counterpart, most players can live with it. You still need to make a System Shock check to survive the casting, but at least a mistake won't kill you the way it will your counterparts.

As the avangion gains levels, it physically mutates, changing into what will become its new form and gaining abilities based on what level it's reached.

===Metamorphosis Stages===
[[File:Avangion metamorphosis 2E.jpg|thumb|right|An illustration of the gradual change]]
'''21st-level avangion:''' This first stage of the change from human to avangion is very subtle. Its physical appearance changes only slightly; more noble features to its face and a silver or golden sheen to its eyes. Armor Class is reduced to AC 9, and the process grants a magic resistance of 10% . The avangion's THAC0 falls to 10. Additionally, the avangion becomes eternal; it no longer ages and cannot die of old age. It also gains four permanently active spell-like abilities: ''Tongues'', ''Know Alignment'', ''ESP'' and ''Detect Lies''. Regardless of level, an avangion saves as a 21+-level wizard.

'''22nd-level avangion:''' At this level, the skin takes on the metallic glow of its eyes and the hair turns bright white, but the character is still quite human in appearance. AC improves to 8. Magical protections give magic resistance of 15% and immunity to weapons that aren't of +1 enchantment or better. THAC0 remains 10.

'''23rd-level avangion:''' Any concealment of the character's true form is lost with this level and the sprouting of enormous gossamer wings from the back and shoulders. The wings themselves, filmy and nearly transparent, span 20 feet. The eyes become bright silver at this stage, and the skin glitters in the sunlight. Its newfound wings let the avangion fly with MV 24. AC improves to 7 and magic resistance to 20 %. THAC0 improves to 9.

'''24th-level avangion:''' Now well on its way to true avangion form, the character's original human appearance is increasingly vague. All hair vanishes from the body, and webs of filmy winglike material form between its arms and torso and its fingers and toes. Its existing wings form multiple folds but can be extended to a 25-foot span. The avangion's natural Armor Class improves to AC 6, and its magic resistance becomes 25%. Also, it can only be hit by weapons of +2 or better enchantment. The avangion's THAC0 remains 9.

'''25th-level avangion:''' With this level , the avangion's human form decreases drastically, becoming lost in the wispy folds of its wings, which can now extend to a 30-foot span. The character's jaw retracts and its eyes grow on its oval head. Its arms and legs grow far thinner and can no longer support its weight; the character can no longer walk, but instead floats and flies at all times. The character can no longer wield hand-held weapons or make any physical attacks of its own. However, the avangion's magical nature continues to improve. Armor Class becomes 4, and magical resistance rises to 30%. THAC0 becomes 8.

'''26th-level avangion:''' The avangion becomes a far more mobile yet graceful creature. Its incredible shining wings now span up to 40 feet, with its central body nearly lost in their folds - the avangion can now fly with a MV of 36. AC improves to 2, magic resistance becomes 40%, and only magical weapons of + 3 or better enchantment cause it damage. THAC0 remains 8.

'''27th-level avangion:''' The character's original human form is nearly lost. The creature has only a torso and head, nearly lost in the endless folds of its gossamer wings that now span 50 feet when fully extended. The avangion's increasingly magical nature gives it AC 0, 50% magic resistance, and immunity to weapons of less than +4 magical enchantment. THAC0 becomes 7. Also, enlightenment associated with its incredible power gives a + 1 bonus to its Wisdom score.

'''28th-level avangion:''' The avangion first takes on its aura at this level, a radiance of brilliant light that extends 90 feet from it in all directions. The aura acts as a permanent protection from evil spell and dispels all magical darkness within it. The avangion's wingspan increases to 65 feet, and its movement rate improves to MV 48. Only weapons of the finest enchantment, +5, can strike the avangion's physical form. AC improves to -2 and magic resistance climbs to 60%. THAC0 remains 7. At this level, the avangion receives another +1 bonus to Wisdom.

'''29th-level avangion:''' The aura grows to a 150' radius. In addition to previous effects, the aura acts as a ray of enfeeblement on all evil creatures within it. Armor Class improves to -4 and magic resistance to 70%. Physically, the avangion grows still more; its wings, now with an 80-foot span, nearly envelop its torso and head. From a distance it appears as a cloud of interwoven wings. The Wisdom score increases by 1 at this level.

'''30th-level avangion:''' Now in its final form, the avangion's cloud of overlapping wings can extend to 90 feet. The incredible aura extends to a 200' radius and, in addition to existing effects, acts as a permanent globe of invulnerability. Mobility increases to MV 60, Armor Class to -6, and magic resistance to 80%. At its final stage of transformation, the avangion gains an additional 2 points of Wisdom.

===Preserver Metamorphosis Requirements===
[[File:Dark Sun Avangion TF 2.jpg|right|300px]]
'''Low (21st, 22nd, and 23rd level):''' A preserver feels a calling within when he has earned 75% of the experience needed for the next level. The preserver leaves the company of his fellows and seeks isolation. The preparation time for the spell constitutes the entire period necessary for the preserver to earn the final 25% of those experience points, adventuring completely alone. If the preserver earns any experience points with the aid of another character, all experience points are lost down to the minimum required for the current level. Failure to gain experience in a solitary fashion, in the DM's judgment, means the spell may fail when cast. For low-level metamorphosis, the preserver must spend the isolation period gathering physical remains of the enemies of life, usually those of high level defilers - their bodily remains, destructive belongings or artifacts, ash from their spellcasting, etc. These items are evidence of devotion to life and the land. The spell must then be cast at night, beneath the light of both Athasian moons. The casting time is six hours. Any interruption results in spell failure. The preserver may have other characters present during casting.

'''Middle (24th, 25th, and 26th level):''' At intermediate levels, the preserver again hears a call for isolation when 75% of each level's experience points have been earned. During this preparation time, the preserver must attain absolute isolation; any contact with intelligent beings who aren't foes to be defeated negates the spell preparation, and the wizard reverts to the 75% base line of the isolation period. The material components at the middle levels are gifts gathered from no fewer than three powerful good creatures during isolation. The powerful creatures realize the consequences of contact for the preserver, so they leave the gifts to be found after the preserver achieves extremely dangerous or important goals. The material component for the spell (not consumed in casting) is a single tree or bush personally saved by the preserver from defiler magic destruction. The casting time is 12 hours. At the time of casting, there must be living vegetation for at least one mile in all directions, untainted by defiler ash or evil creatures.

'''High (27th, 28th, and 29th level):''' Unlike previous level advancements, the preserver feels no calling toward isolation at high levels. On the contrary, at 75% experience point level, the wizard instead collects a core group of companions no fewer than eight in number and of at least 10 levels or Hit Dice each. All the companions must be of good alignment. The preserver must spend the preparation time with these characters, earning the remaining 25% of experience in the company of at least one of these companions; failure to do so forces the preserver to revert to the current level's 75% base line of experience. The material components are a single gift from each of the companions in the core group. During the casting of the spell, the preserver must have the aid of a single companion for the entire length of the ceremony. If the companion is not absolutely good, the spell fails and the companion is slain in the release of failed magical energy. Companions cannot repeat the process with a single preserver - new companions must be found for the 27th, 28th, and 29th levels.

'''Final (30th level):''' To cast this spell, the preserver must make an area of lush vegetation (crops, scrubgrass, forests, or any combination) at least five miles in diameter. The preparation time for the spell equals the time it takes the preserver to create these lush lands. At the time of casting, the lush lands must be free of evil creatures. The material components for the spell are a diamond of no less than 10,000 gp value with which to capture the life-giving qualities of sunlight, a stone tomb large enough to hold the preserver's body, and a perfectly sealed glass case built around the tomb. The casting time is one round. Upon casting, the preserver/avangion, diamond, and stone tomb disappear, bound for planes unknown. The DM then secretly rolls 2d12 - this is the number of months before the return of the preserver, in final avangion form, to the glass case. If the glass case is damaged in the meantime, the avangion is lost to oblivion. Only the DM knows how long the final stage takes. The player uses another character from the character tree in the interim.

==4e Avangions==
[[File:Avangion 4E.jpg|thumb|left|4th edition illustration of an Avangion, possibly of [[thri-kreen]] stock.]]
Naturally, something this awesome couldn't be left out of Dark Sun's [[4e]] revival, and so the Avangion appeared as an [[Epic Destiny]] alongside its [[Athasian Dragon]] counterpart (here called the "Dragon King" epic destiny). Membership was simple; reach 21st level in any Arcane Class. This means, unlike the original version, the Destiny was in no way race-locked, part of an overall movement away from race-locked class advancement in other editions of the game.

At level 21, it gives you the features Avatar of Preservation (you can't use Arcane Defiling anymore, but you become unaging (so you'll never die of old age) and you gain a bonus on death saving throws equal to half your highest ability score modifier) and Perfection of Mind (increase your choice of two stats - [[Intelligence]], [[Wisdom]] or [[Charisma]] - by +2 each). At level 24, you gain the Avangion Transformation feature: this gives you a Fly speed equal to your movement speed, low-light vision, the ability to speak Supernal, and the ability to understand all spoken & written languages. Also, as a free action, you can shed bright light for 5 squares; whilst this aura is up, you can add the Radiant damage type to your attacks. If that's not enough holy light for you, at level 26, you gain the Daily Utility power "Wings of Gold", which creates a 5 square aura of holy light around you. In this aura, enemies with Vulnerability: Radiant count as having Vulnerability: All, your allies that start or end their turn in your aura can make a saving throw to end any effect on them, even if a save normally wouldn't remove it. Bloodied & dying allies that start in the aura of your Wings of Gold gain 10 hit points. Its ultimate feature, level 30's Avangion Rising, means that whenever you or an ally that you can see drops to 0 or fewer HP, you can spend a healing surge as a free action to heal that creature. If you do this, the target immediately gains hit points equal to your healing surge value plus your highest ability modifier.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Avangion 3.jpg|The PCs meeting Korgunard.
Korgunard murdured.png|Korgunard's assassination.
</gallery>

[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]][[Category:Dark Sun]] [[Category:Dungeons & Dragons Classes]]

Athasian Dragon

2021-01-28T10:37:50Z

2603:8001:3500:CB:C1D2:F698:23D1:6337:

[[File:Borys of Ebe.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Borys of Ebe, the first and only Dragon, being epic.]]
One of the many ways that [[Dark Sun]] differs from your traditional [[Dungeons & Dragons]] setting is that there are no native [[Dragon]]s. Oh, there are Athasian Drakes, but those are basically giant feral reptiles with innate elemental psychic powers - the Fire Drake, for example, is basically a T-Rex with pyrokinesis. In fact, there is supposedly only one Dragon in Athas - the Dragon of Tyr.

But that's not quite accurate. See, Athasian Dragons are epic-leveled multiclassed psionicist-defilers who have turned their combined magical powers towards transforming into a superior state. The Dragon of Tyr is just the first psion/defiler to complete the transition, and his former compatriots, the Sorcerer-Kings, are all at some level along the transformation themselves.

Athasian Dragons, needless to say, are nasty, ''nasty'' creatures, with immense physical, arcane and psionic power at their command. In their appearances prior to 4th edition, this was somewhat counterbalanced by the extreme requirements needed to progress through the levels to become a full-fledged dragon, and by the fact that most of those levels allowed the [[Dungeon Master]] to take control of your character whenever they felt like it. On the other hand, achieving even the lowest level of Athasian Dragonhood meant that your character became ageless, as well as gaining increasingly strong combat abilities, the ability to speak any language, along with eventually gaining a devastating breath weapon of superheated sand.

The ritual that creates the Athasian Dragon inspired the only Sorcerer-King to almost complete it, the [[Lich]] (or pseudo-[[Dracolich]]) Dregoth, to believe it was humanity's ultimate destiny to transform into dragons as a species. His experiments in bringing this about led to the creation of the [[Dray]] race.

The Preserver counterpart for this creature is the [[Avangion]].

==AD&D Athasian Dragons==
The ability for players to become an Athasian Dragon first appeared in the [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] splatbook "Defilers and Preservers: The Wizards of Athas", before being tweaked and appearing again in "Dragon Kings" - a splatbook dedicated to the "epic classes" of Dark Sun as a whole. The benign counterpart to the Athasian Dragon (Or "Dragon King" as it's called in the books) was also introduced in the latter book; the [[Avangion]].

Entering the Dragon King "class" requires that you be a [[Human]] or [[Half-Elf]] [[Wizard|Defiler]] of 20th level with the following minimum ability scores: [[Intelligence]] 18, [[Wisdom]] 16, and [[Constitution]] 15.

Assuming you qualify, advancing requires a two-part process; gain the amount of XP, as indicated in the table below, and then, when you have enough XP to gain a level, you gotta successfully cast the spell ''Defiler Metamorphosis''. This gets harder and harder to cast as you gain in levels, requiring you to engage in various acts to grandiose consumption and destruction, channeling the lives of plants and animals along with elemental power into your own body to bring about the metamorphosis. Defiler Metamorphosis is a 10th level spell; this means it affects a defiling area equivalent to a 9th level spell, but also affecting living creatures within it (1d6/spell level damage, save vs. spell for half) - this is in addition to any living creatures required as spell components, which are guaranteed to be consumed as part of the casting. This is, obviously, extremely dangerous: if the spell is interrupted or disrupted, it '''kills''' the caster, no saves or take-backs. Even if cast successfully, the caster needs to pass a system shock test or die.

Athasian Dragons require Obsidian Orbs to cast their Psionic Enchantments (10th level spells) - no orb, no 10th level magic (although psionics and 9th or lower level spells still work fine). An obsidian orb is 1d20 inches across and costs at least 1,000 gold pieces to make. Once forged, it must be activated by being swallowed by the dragon, passing through their system after absorbing the requisite energies in 1d3 days. A dragon can have as many of these orbs as they like; there's no bonuses for multiples, but it does give them back ups. There's a catch, though; an athasian dragon doesn't need any orbs to first begin the metamorphosis (though preparing one may be done as part of the ritual to ascend to level 21), for all subsequent levels, it has to re-swallow '''all''' of its currently activated orbs as part of the casting of Defiler Metamorphosis. If it doesn't do this? The spell won't work.

Because AD&D was full of bullshit rules, Athasian Dragon PCs are taken out of their players' hands from levels 25 to 29, because "the transformation is so painful they fly into a destructive rampage". That's right, you spend more than half this class as a DMPC.

Regardless of level, an athasian dragon saves as a 21st level [[wizard]]. Additionally, each time it gains a level in this class, it gains a new psionic science, a new psionic discipline, and a new level's worth of psionic strength points - in addition to whatever psionic powers it had before. So, yeah, you're basically gaining a free level in [[psion]]icist each time you level up in addition to the other goodies.

Upon becoming an athasian dragon, a character becomes eternal - they will never die of old age - and they gain the ability to speak any language, as per a permanent Tongues spell.

;Dragon King Experience Levels
{| class=wikitable
!Character level ||Dragon XP Required ||Hit Dice
|-
|21||0||+10d4
|-
|22||400,000 ||+5d4
|-
|23||800,000 ||+3d4
|-
|24||1,200,000 ||+2d4
|-
|25 ||1,600,000 ||+2d4
|-
|26 ||2,000,000 ||+3d4
|-
|27 ||3,000,000 ||+3d6
|-
|28 ||4,200,000 ||+4d4
|-
|29 ||5,600,000 ||+5d4
|-
|30 ||7,200,000 ||+5d4
|}
Points rolled on Hit Dice are rolled add directly to the dragon king's hit point total; Constitution modifiers are added per die rolled.

;Epic Level AD&D Wizard Spell Progression
{| class=wikitable
!Character level||Spell Level 1||Spell Level 2||Spell Level 3||Spell Level 4||Spell Level 5||Spell Level 6||Spell Level 7||Spell Level 8||Spell Level 9||Spell Level 10
|-
|20|| 5|| 5|| 5|| 5|| 5||4||3||3||2||1
|-
|21|| 5|| 5|| 5|| 5|| 5||4||4||4||2||1
|-
|22|| 5|| 5|| 5|| 5|| 5||5||4||4||3||1
|-
|23|| 5|| 5|| 5|| 5|| 5||5||5||5||3||2
|-
|24|| 5|| 5|| 5|| 5|| 5||5||5||5||4||2
|-
|25|| 5|| 5|| 5|| 5|| 5||5||5||5||5||2
|-
|26|| 6|| 6|| 6|| 6|| 5||5||5||5||5||3
|-
|27|| 6|| 6|| 6|| 6|| 6||6||6||5||5||3
|-
|28|| 6|| 6|| 6|| 6|| 6||6||6||6||6||3
|-
|29|| 7|| 7|| 7|| 7|| 6||6||6||6||6||4
|-
|30|| 7|| 7|| 7|| 7|| 7||7||7||6||6||4
|}

===Metamorphosis Stages===
[[File:Athasian dragon metamorphosis 2E.jpg|thumb|right|An illustration of the gradual change]]
'''21st-level dragon:''' A dragon character who reaches 21st level makes the first in a series of ten alterations to its physical form. When completed, the humanoid form of the dragon doubles in mass to 350 pounds. The dragon may retain its original height and simply gain bulk, may grow as tall as 8 feet, or may simply grow more dense. Physical changes are uncontrollable and unpredictable. Though it still retains humanoid characteristics, the dragon's face elongates slightly and its nostrils lengthen. The dragon's spine becomes more pronounced, and rudimentary scales appear on the shoulders and back. THAC0 remains 11.

'''22nd-level dragon:''' Here the dragon's physical
form changes still further, increasing to around 450
pounds and as tall as 10 feet. Its face elongates further and the first hints of scales appear on its lengthened snout. The dragon's spine becomes still more pronounced, and the stub of a tail appears. The dragon's THAC0 improves to 10.

'''23rd-level dragon:''' The dragon grows to around 650 pounds and gains another foot in height. All limbs lengthen drastically, including fingers and toes. The dragon's neck also lengthens, lifting its now reptilian head and face far above its shoulders; all hair vanishes by this level. THAC0 becomes 9.

'''24th-level dragon:''' The dragon's humanoid origins can hardly be recognized. Its weight increases to nearly 900 pounds and it can be as much as 12 feet long. Tough scales, now everywhere but the underbelly and the underside of its limbs, grant a natural Armor Class of 4. The legs become strikingly inhuman, developing huge thighs and a hard angled, bony calf and taloned foot. At this level the dragon may also hunch severely at shoulder and waist, and can move either upright or on all four limbs at a rate of 15. Its wicked claws give two attacks per round (2d10 damage). THAC0 drops to an 8.

'''25th-level dragon:''' Now fully 12 feet long from snout to growing tail, the dragon weighs around 1,600 pounds. Its scales give AC 0 and now have a magical enchantment that allows only weapons of +1 or better magic to hit. The dragon's jaws protrude remarkably, allowing a bite attack that inflicts 4d12 damage. The dragon enters a period of uncontrolled savagery known as its "animalistic period". THAC0 falls to 7.

'''26th-level dragon:''' By this time, the 2,000-pound form is completely hunched but can still stand erect at its full 16-foot height at times. Its scales have improved to AC -2. The hind legs have strengthened, allowing a jump of 5' per round. Also, its great claws now inflict 2d10 + 5 points of damage, with a THAC0 of 5.

'''27th-level dragon:''' With this new level, the dragon nearly doubles its weight to 4,000 pounds (2 tons) and a length of 20 feet. Its armor improves to AC -4. With the progressing metamorphosis, it can now use its breath weapon, a cone of superheated sand 5' wide at its base, 50' long, and 100' in diameter at the far end, inflicting 10d12 damage, with a THAC0 of 3.

'''28th-level dragon:''' The dragon's weight increases to 10,000 pounds (5 tons), and its length reaches to 25 feet, mostly due to its full-grown tail. The tail can attack (5d10 damage). Also, the dragon's claws now inflict 2d10 + 10 damage each. Hide and scales lend it AC -6 and immunity to weapons of less than +2 magical enchantment. Also, the dragon has a natural magic resistance of 20% at this level. THAC0 drops to 1.

'''29th-level dragon:''' The dragon is 30 feet long and 20,000 pounds (10 tons). Wings sprout at this level, but only give 18 (C) flying speed. Armor improves to AC -8 and magic resistance to 40% . The breath weapon inflicts 20d12 damage. At the end of this experience level, the dragon's animalistic period draws to a close, and cold cunning and reason once again take control. At 29th level, the dragon's THAC0 becomes -1 .

'''30th-level dragon:''' This final stage of the metamorphosis leaves the humanoid form completely behind in favor of a pure dragon, 40 feet long and 50,000 pounds (25 tons). Its wings are fully developed, allowing 45 (A) flying movement. Scales give AC -10 and magic resistance of 80%. Attacks improve to 2d10 + 15 damage each; breath weapon reaches its maximum 25d12 damage. THAC0 is -3 .

===Defiler Metamorphosis Requirements===
'''Low (21st - 23rd level)''': The Defiler is merely beginning the metamorphosis. The preparation for casting at these levels requires access to ancient documents, tablets, and scrolls that have never been studied by another defiler. Each of the lower-level steps requires that such materials must be studied for at least eight hours every day for an entire year. The material components must include vast riches (at least 10,000 gp worth of jewels, gems, coins, or artistic treasures), a huge structure where the transformation might take place (which can be reused for all transformations of this group), and no fewer than 1,000 Hit Dice of living creatures for the life-leeching process (this last and similar requirements along the way might be one of the major reasons that most of the Sorcerer-Kings rule over large city-states, so as to have a sufficient stock of "volunteers" no one might miss). The riches vanish and the living creatures are slain one heartbeat after the defiler begins casting. The spell is cast from the deep interior of the structure where the caster will actually transform. No other beings may be present at the instant of casting.

'''Middle (24th - 26th level)''': The preparation time extends to two years. During this time, the caster visits a powerful creature on an elemental plane for three days of every 15. The material components include fewer riches (at least 5,000 gp) but more(!) living creatures (no fewer than 2,000 Hit Dice). A new structure must be built, which can be used for all three middle level transformations.

'''High (27th, 28th, and 29th level)''': The high levels of Dragon Metamorphosis must take place on either an Elemental or the [[Astral Plane]]. No structure or riches are required, but the caster must travel to the plane of choice with no fewer than 200 Hit Dice of living creatures from the Prime Material plane. The living creatures must be no fewer than 10 Hit Dice each and must willingly travel to the plane and participate (i.e., die) in the casting. Casting time is 24 hours, and at least three powerful beings from that plane must cooperate for that time.

'''Final (30th level)''': This stage requires no preparation time and but a single material component; the slain body of a good creature defeated in single combat. The victim must be intelligent, have at least 20 Hit Dice, and be capable of casting 9th-level wizard spells or 7th-level priest spells, all of which means that if one of the PCs is high-level enough, s/he could even become a target for a Dragon looking for this final component in its transformation. The spell must be cast over the fallen victim within one hour of the defeat; the casting time is one turn.

==3rd Edition==
[[File:Dragon king Dragon 339.png|right|100px]]
In 3rd edition, the Athasian dragon appeared as an epic level prestige class in [[Dragon Magazine]] #339, cutting out most of the stuff that made AD&D's Dragon progression a real pain in the ass. Instead of casting spells with a flat chance of killing you just to level up, you could level up normally. You still had to put up with the bullshit of the DM taking control of your character at certain levels, though.

Like in AD&D, characters can gain draconic traits slowly, adding more bulk and power with each level. In addition, at every level other than 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th, you gain spellcasting abilities as if you had gained a level in an arcane or manifester (psionic) class. By the end, an Athasian dragon is Huge size, can burrow and fly, can use all a normal dragon's melee attacks and Frightful Presence, and can breath a cone of sand dealing 10d12 points of damage. And that's on top of the character's spellcasting abilities and epic feats. They can also drain hit points from the creatures around them to protect them from the backlash of epic level spells.

What's the catch? Simple: prestige class bullshit. To join the epic prestige class, you have to have 24 points in both Knowledge (Arcana) and Knowledge (Psionics), have the Epic Spellcasting and Great Fortitude feats along with two metamagic and -psionic feats (each), '''and''' be able to cast both 9th-level spells and 6th-level psionic powers. Short of taking a god-awful PrC like cerebremancer, it was extremely difficult to enter as any kind of effective character in most scenarios. Unless you're playing with gestalt rules, in which case this is a piece of cake to enter...provided you sacrifice no less than 1,000 HD of living creatures and 50,000 gp.

So while having the option was nice, the finagling required to get it working in a normal game meant that it wasn't really worth the trouble.

==Athas.org==
A fan-created, semi-officially endorsed conversion of Dark Sun to 3.5e, [http://athas.org/ Athas.org] created its own version of the Athasian Dragon rules found in the ''Legends of Athas'' sourcebook. It serves as a middle ground between the zero-consequences ''Dragon'' rules and the horribly punishing 2nd Edition ruleset.

Like in the ''Dragon'' rules, the Athas.org Athasian Dragon is an epic level prestige class. To enter it, the character must be able to cast 9th-level spells and manifest 6th-level powers, which sucks, but should be expected at this point. The character needs the Body Fuel and Psionic Body feats, the former letting you regain power points by taking ability damage and the latter a shitty boost to your total HP based on your total number of psionic feats. The character must also be a defiler.

The Athas.org class returns to metamorphosis spells as a necessary part of advancement. In this case, the spells use the 3.5e epic spell rules. Each spell needs to be either found or developed, costing gold and XP to do so. Interestingly, you do not need to cast any one of the metamorphosis spells after ''defiler metamorphosis I'' to advance in this class: instead, each level of advancement from I to X increases the potency of the class's special abilities. In addition, at 5th and 10th levels, the caster learns the next spell in their transformation process without having to spend gold or XP.

Ideally, then, an Athasian Dragon using these rules would cast one metamorphosis spell per level, culminating in their final advancement at level 10. It's not a perfect system, but it's interesting, and certainly truer to the spirit of Dark Sun.

===The Prestige Class===
'''Hit Die: '''d6

'''Spellcasting/Manifesting Advancement: '''The Athasian Dragon improves their spellcasting abilities on every even level, as if they were advancing in one of their arcane spellcasting classes. Vice versa for manifesting, except that at 1st, 5th, and 9th levels, the Athasian Dragon gains no advancement. Effectively the PrC adds +5 to your arcane caster level and +2 to your manifester level through normal advancement.

In addition, the class grants +1 bonuses to ML and CL at certain levels: 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th for caster level, and 4th, 6th, 8th and 10th for manifester level. In the end, these bonuses mean the class adds +9 to your arcane caster level and +6 to your manifester level.

'''Dragon Magic: ''' Athasian Dragons are such powerful defilers that they can drain from animals instead of plants (though they then cast as if they were in desolate terrain). If they drain from both animals and plants at the same time, the effective terrain condition (which determines how powerful defiler spells are) increases by one, up to "abundant." This condition modifier increases by 1 per two metamorphosis spells the dragon has cast, up to 5, meaning a full-power dragon with animals nearby can cast powerful spells anywhere.

Draining from animals forces them to make a Fortitude save or take 1 point of Con damage. This damage is the same as the condition modifier, meaning it increases as the dragon progresses its metamorphosis.

'''Bonus Feat: '''At 1st level, the Athasian Dragon gains Quicken Spell as a bonus feat, or Multispell if they already have it. At 4th and 8th levels, they gain a bonus feat from the Athasian Dragon bonus feat list, which includes feats ranging from the okay (Master Staff, Armor Skin) to the [[Cheese|broken]] (Permanent Emanation, Improved Metamagic). You only get two of them, but that's on top of epic feat progression.

'''Psionic Enchantment: '''At every even level, the Athasian Dragon can take a Psionic Enchantment option. These are special abilities that combine psionic and arcane powers. These are very similar to the Archmage's High Arcana abilities, but without the need to trade a spell slot for them. They're also way more powerful. Particularly of note are the two metamagic options Metamixture and Metapotency. The former lets you apply a metapsionic feat to a spell as a free action, and the latter rewards you for taking a metamagic and metapsionic feat of the same type by multiplying their bonuses by 150%; i.e. if you have both Empower Spell and Empower Power, their bonuses increase to 75% rather than 50%. Another fantastic one for going nova against psions is Psionic Raze, which causes your defiling spells to drain power points from creatures stuck in the aura if you use this ability while casting a spell.

===Defiler Metamorphosis Epic Spells===
In an improvement from 2nd Edition, casting the defiler metamorphosis spells no longer has a chance of killing you outright. Instead, they use the "backlash damage" mechanic, which is less swingy and gives the defiler a better chance of surviving. Higher-level spells in the chain also require other casters to contribute high-level spell slots, and the final spell requires the dragon to personally kill a 20+HD creature that could cast 9th-level spells.

The bonuses here are similar to the bonuses in 2nd Edition. The dragon increases in size, gains bonuses to its physical ability scores, and gains natural armor bonuses. Eventually, it increases in size, first to Large and finally to Gargantuan (if the original creature was Medium). Along the way it gains dragon abilities like Frightful Presence, damage reduction, Spell/Psionics Resistance, appendage attacks, and finally a breath weapon of superheated sand.

At ''defiler metamorphosis V'' and onward, except for ''X,'' when the dragon successfully casts the spell, it enters a period of animalistic rage lasting a number of months "equal to the backlash roll of the spell." (The final spell in the rage section of the chain has a backlash of 34d6, meaning on average a dragon at this stage will be rampaging for ''[[RAGE|ten years]].'' Better keep that demiplane handy.) Thankfully, the rulebook only "suggests" that DMs "may" want to make your character an NPC for these parts of the game.

Once the dragon has metamorphosed for the last time, it is able to swallow obsidian power orbs and use them as normal, effectively giving maxed-out Athasian Dragons an unlimited supply of power points and spells. But at this point, you've already beaten Athas, so who cares?

==4th Edition==
[[File:Dragon of Tyr 4E.jpg|thumb|left|100px|The Dragon of Tyr, the only known dragon in Athas, as depicted in 4e.]]
In 4th edition, of course, the Dragon King was brought back as an [[Epic Destiny]]. This version cut out all the bullshit; you just need to get an Arcane character to 21st level and take it. At 21st level it grants the features '''Draconian Defilement''' (arcane defiling grants +2 to attack roll or +6 damage) and '''Skin of the Dragon''' (you gain low-light vision, +2 to Intimidate, and +5 maximum hitpoints, as well as adding your Constitution modifier to your healing surge value). At level 24, it grants the feature '''Draconic Transformation''' (you gain a fly speed of 8, the ability to speak Draconic, and a +2 to any two of [[Intelligence]], [[Strength]], and/or [[Constitution]]). At level 26, you gain the Daily utility "Draconic Rampage", which lets you transform into a Large sized dragon and wreck shit for the rest of the encounter. At level 30, you gain the final feature of '''Draconic Terror''', which grants a new Encounter Attack in "Scathing Breath" (close blast 5 of fire damage that can blind enemies) as well as the ability to transform into a dragon for 1 turn as an Encounter version of the aforementioned Draconic Rampage.

Becoming a dragon full-time is left for your post-31st level epilogue in this version.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Dark Sun Dragon TF.jpg
Dragotyr.gif
Athasian Dragongirl.jpg|Because of course there's a [[monstergirl]] version
</gallery>
[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]][[Category:Dark Sun]][[Category:Dragons]] [[Category:Dungeons & Dragons Classes]]