This quote, and DS3’s Chapter 11, sparked my interest in something:
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“It just looks like the Psion might outclass the Defiler in the current version. I think that pushes against the original vision of Athas.”
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In 3e and 4e, classes were/are meant to be balanced, with varying successes in the end, but Chapter 11 does point out an important philosophical point: Psionic is the best power source and most versatile set of powers ever, yet Rajaat chose the arcane power source as the emblem of his wars. Why?
How can arcane magic be made to not be more powerful, but yet have an edge over psionics that would have warranted such a choice by Rajaat.
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So, how would you draft a small explanatory paragraph, let’s say designed to be included in the background info for DS4, explaining this (without mentionning Rajaat, of course)?
Here I’m aiming my querry at people like Chris 1 and 2, Bruno, and Jon. Anyone else feel free to mention your thoughts as well, this being mostly a curiosity piece.

Psionics are common on Dark Sun, many people have some wild talent in the field, but true mastery of Psionics is not something that can be trained into anyone, it requires the right type of person with the potential to become a true Psionic Master, and even then a great amount of rigorous training is needed. In turn Arcane magic is useable by anyone with the training, and while none would call it easy it can be done by most, and more importantly the same knowledge works as well for one student as another, thus making the teaching of larger numbers of students possible for a single instructor, rather than the highly personalized exploration of the potential of a young Psionic’s mind.

Well, Magic is more powerful, because it doesn’t require the focus that psionics does. And, Rajaat spent 1500 years eliminating the most powerful, competent mages from the world before he unleashed his Champions.
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Imagine taking out almost all those capable of using atomic weapons, and then using your own atomic weapons on others. Yes, their conventional weapons may make a difference, but they just will never match the sheer power of the nuke.
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After the end of the Cleansing Wars, the Champions/SK’s worked to undo what was and set themselves up. Think of it as a forced/engineered dark age that has lasted 2000 years. They probably know how to do things that were done in the Green Age (Guardians, flying ships, automated cities, armies of astral constructs, whatever…) but they have progressively eliminated those who have knowledge of these things. Even the Order doesn’t have this kind of knowledge anymore. Hell, maybe the Order developed in reaction to a psionic cleansing that happened, similar to the one on the druids.
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As far as a blurb, I would say that psionics has been a bedrock power source for all creatures, but that true mastery is difficult to come by, and that the past held much more powerful and advanced techniques. Arcane magic is what caused the planet to become a wasteland, and is more powerful than psionics because of its raw power and disregard for the planet. Also, the SK’s have used it against each other for millennia. Magic is also psychologically more dangerous and terrifying, because of the past association with the wars. The common folks know of wars in the past, but not the kind of wars that there were.
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If I am a defiler and I cast a simple first level spell and people see it, they will be terrified and angry and want to both attack me and also run in terror. It is misunderstood, and difficult to grasp.
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Anyway, just first musings…