The following assumes that Rafernard is a real avangion, and that Abalach-Re was impersonating a real person instead of inventing Rafernard whole cloth. Critical to this plot point is that like 2E, 9th level spells and 9th level powers are required to cast metamorphosis psionic enchantment epic spells (unlike the rules in Legends of Athas which requires epic spells and 6th level powers only). For that, I changed an artifact called Korgunard’s Annulus to become integral to the genesis of the plot. I also make one change to Korgunard - that Korgunard himself used Korgunard’s Annulus and was the first to do so, and that makes a lot more sense than how it is presented presented elsewhere. Forest Maker is also changed and the stakes are much higher.
Changes to Forest Maker
Rafernard: The Lost Avangion
Background & Capture
Rafernard is primarily a wizard, with competent psionic powers following the path of the cerebremancer. During his adventures, he obtained the Skull of Dorag Thel and used it to extend his life beyond the normal span for a human.
He eventually met Xaymon, saved Xaymon’s life, and was permitted to use Korgunard’s Annulus. The Annulus bridged the gap Rafernard faced: he was epic-level but lacked the epic manifesting feat required to become an avangion. With the aid of the Annulus, the transformation succeeded. Because he achieved this independently, Oronis has no knowledge of his existence.
Following his transformation, Rafernard encountered Abalach-Re coincidentally while both were scouring a ruin for ancient artifacts. She subdued him, subjected him to a feeblemind spell, and took the Skull of Dorag Thel. After capturing him, she spent months studying him and the skull. Through this study, she realized the unique potential of his energy and formulated the Forest Maker plan to jump from a rank 1 dragon to rank 5.
Abalach-Re’s Prolific Forestation
(Epic spell cast as a psionic enchantment)
Conjuration
Spellcraft DC: 28
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 6 minutes
Target: One-half mile radius +300 feet per caster level (doubled by the Skull of Dorag-Thel to one mile radius +600 feet per caster level)
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: N/A
Development
- Cost: 252,000 gp
- Time: 6 days
- Experience Cost: 10,080 XP
- Seed: conjure (DC 21)
- Factors:
- Enrichment effects, duration, and area as per plant growth spell (ad hoc +16 DC)
- Rejuvenate effects as per rejuvenation spell (+21 DC)
- Change to trees (ad hoc +10 DC)
- Area level dependent adding 300 feet radius per caster level (+25 DC)
- Mitigating Factors:
- Increase casting time by 5 minutes (−10 DC)
- Burn 3,600 XP (−36 DC)
- Psionic enchantment (expend epic manifestation slot) (−19 DC)
Description
This spell causes trees to grow over an area that previously had no growth, per the rejuvenate spell (Dark Sun Core Rules 3.5, page 164), except the growth is trees. In an area where there already are trees, those trees are enriched per the plant growth spell, and the newly created trees created by the rejuvenation effect are also subject to the plant growth effect. If there is existing vegetation, the vegetation is subject to the enrichment effects and are not replaced by trees.
Without the Skull of Dorag-Thel, Abalach-Re must defile a number of animals (non-plant creatures) whose combined HD equal 10 times her caster level, draining their life essence to fuel the spell. When in possession of the Skull of Dorag-Thel, no such sacrifice is required, and the results of this spell are doubled, giving an effective area of one mile radius +600 feet per caster level.
The Forest Maker
Surface Layout
The Plaza: A central white marble plaza with obsidian tile accents.
The Twin Statues: Two 25-foot marble tree statues stand in the center. The northern statue is actually an obsidian monument disguised by a polymorph any object spell.
The Tree of Life: A 40-foot tree surrounded by a thorn wall stands elsewhere in the forest.
The Underground Ziggurat
The plaza conceals a ziggurat below, with the entrance hidden through the northern statue.
Entry Hall: Features murals of an avangion restoring Athas.
Hallway: A corridor with obsidian orbs in the ceiling.
The Pit: A 70-foot-deep drop containing six tembo.
Treasure Room: Contains Abalach-Re’s secured valuables.
Gith Barracks: Quarters for 40 gith guards.
Prison: Holds 22 prisoners who know that Rafernard is held here by Abalach-Re.
Abalach-Re’s Quarters: Her private chambers.
Abalach-Re’s Study: Contains the stolen Skull of Dorag Thel.
The Hidden Chamber: The Siphon
Beneath the ziggurat, accessible only through a hidden passage in Abalach-Re’s quarters, lies a secret chamber containing an obsidian slab. Rafernard lies here feebleminded, his avangion energy being drained.
To power her transformation to a rank 5 dragon, Abalach-Re combines three elements:
Raw Magic: Channeled from the Tree of Life to charge the obsidian spheres.
Brute Lifeforce: Siphoned from visiting pilgrims.
Rafernard’s Avangion Energy: This near-unique energy acts as a stabilizing agent. It allows the shaping of the rawer, more volatile energies, permitting Abalach-Re to undergo the massive transition safely (safe for her, at least).
The PCs should roll an intelligence check or Spellcraft check to figure out that Rafernard is feebleminded. Conveniently, a scroll of Heal could be located in Abalach-Re’s chambers, which could be used to restore Rafernard.
Rafernard
CR 26 CG Medium Fey (Avangion, Advanced Being, Psionic)
Human — Psion 3/Wizard 8/Cerebremancer 10/Fey 2
Preserver Metamorphosis Rank 1 | Evolution Score 23 (mod +6, 6 salient feats)
AC 21, touch 13, flat-footed 20 (+1 Dex, +6 bracers, +2 natural, +2 deflection)
hp 74 (21d4+2d6; 23 HD)
Fort +8, Ref +8, Will +16 (+1 epic)
Speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 Quarterstaff +13 (1d8+1/x2)
Full Attack +1 Quarterstaff +13/+8 (1d8+1/x2)
Ranged Masterwork Light Crossbow +13 (1d8/0)
Base Atk +12; Grapple +12
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Starting Scores: Str 11, Dex 11, Con 11, Int 13, Wis 13, Cha 14
Abilities: Str 11 (+0), Dex 13 (+1), Con 13 (+1), Int 26 (+8), Wis 17 (+3), Cha 18 (+4)
SQ Advanced being traits, darkvision 60 ft, low-light vision. Immune to disease, sleep, paralysis. Psionic subtype.
Feats Scribe Scroll, Eschew Materialsᶜ, Skill Focus (Spellcraft)ᴴ, Extend Spellᶜ, Quicken Spellᴮ, Empower Spellᶜ, Psionic Meditationᴮ, Practiced Manifesterᶜ, Maximize Spellᶜ, Practiced Spellcasterᶜ, Leadershipᶜ, Epic Spellcastingᶜ, Advanced Mindᴾ, Mystical Reservoirᴾ, Floating Featsᴾ, Master Manifesterᴾ, Masterful Forgingᴾ, Charge Itemᴾ
ᴮ = class bonus, ᴴ = human bonus, ᶜ = character-level, ᴾ = salient
Skills Concentration +27, Craft (Alchemy) +23, Decipher Script +25, Knowledge (Arcana) +34, Knowledge (Psionics) +34, Knowledge (The Planes) +34, Psicraft +34, Spellcraft +39
Possessions +1 Quarterstaff, Masterwork Light Crossbow, Bracers of Armor +6, Ring of Protection +2, Amulet of Natural Armor +2, Headband of Intellect +6, Gloves of Dexterity +2
Casting
Caster Level 22 (wizard 18 + 4 feat)
Manifester Level 23 (psion 13 + 10 feat)
Spells Per Day 0:4; 1st:6; 2nd:6; 3rd:6; 4th:6; 5th:5; 6th:5; 7th:4; 8th:4; 9th:2
Power Points 199 (base 147 + 52 bonus)
Spell/Power DC 18 + spell/power level (10 + spell level + 8 Int)
Rafernard carries Korgunard’s Annulus, an artifact that grants epic manifesting capability without requiring the Epic Manifesting feat or an epic feat slot.
Salient Feat Descriptions
Advanced Mind
Rafernard gains a +2 untyped bonus to Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma from his transformation into an advanced being. This bonus stacks with all other bonuses.
Mystical Reservoir
Rafernard’s mystical reservoir holds 1,800 XP per day (300 XP × Evolution Score modifier 6) for spell and power XP costs, and 1,800 XP per month for item creation. XP drawn from the reservoir is not permanently lost, so long as the cost does not exceed the daily or monthly capacity.
Floating Feats
Rafernard gains 1 non-epic and 1 epic floating feat. At the start of each day, he can reassign each floating feat to any other feat for which he meets the prerequisites. An epic floating feat may be exchanged for a non-epic one. This flexibility cannot be used to qualify for prestige classes or gain extra spells through the Extra Spell feat.
Master Manifester
Rafernard’s manifester level for psion is increased by +6 from Master Manifester, stacking with the +4 from Practiced Manifester for a total of +10. His effective manifester level is 23 (13 base + 10 feat), within his HD cap of 23.
Masterful Forging
Rafernard gains eight Item Creation feats as bonus feats. For crafting purposes, he is treated as possessing every Item Creation feat. When crafting, he ignores requirements involving race, class features, skills, non-item creation feats, or specific spells or powers. He must still meet CL/ML, gold, and XP requirements. His effective CL and ML are increased by +10 for crafting prerequisites and item strength.
Charge Item
Rafernard can recharge magical items using 300 XP per charge from his Mystical Reservoir, up to the item’s maximum capacity. This ability cannot recharge items containing spells with an XP cost. He must possess the corresponding crafting feat for the item. The XP is deducted from his Mystical Reservoir’s daily spellcasting allowance.
Background
Rafernard is a human wizard-psion of Chaotic Good alignment. Rafernard used Korgunard’s Annulus to bypass the Epic Manifesting feat requirement for his metamorphosis. His metamorphosis into a Rank 1 avangion granted him 2 fey RHD and the associated advanced being traits. As a preserver, he draws magical energy without the destructive defiling that characterizes the Sorcerer-Monarchs. Rafernard is competent enough at battle, but considers himself an artificer and scholar of magic foremost.
Korgunard’s Annulus
This device is a solid, round bar of silver two feet in length whose ends nearly join in a closed circle. On its surface are intricately carved figures of mythical beings that flow around its surface, changing shape from humanoid forms into clouds and back again.
History
This is the only artifact that the avangion Korgunard ever crafted, using an ancient relic from the time of the Great Pantheon, a ceremonial focus for prayers, which was gifted to him by Oronis, who had unearthed the object from the Elven ruins upon which his city was built.
Since the death of Korgunard, the Annulus has been in the hands of a brown elf named Xaymon, a preserver apprentice of Korgunard, currently on the run from Hamanu’s forces and hiding in the avangion’s secret retreat.
Campaign Use
The Annulus is a powerful item that greatly helps any arcane spellcaster character in becoming an avangion.
Korgunard was a member of the Veiled Alliance, and as such that organization would be very eager to retrieve the item. It could also be used to allow an arcane spellcaster to start renewing a defiled patch of land.
Abilities
Grasping the Annulus by its middle reveals this potent artifact’s properties to a user without the taint of defilement. At its most basic level it functions as a spellbook, containing spells meant to rejuvenate and reinforce nature. Although the spells are divine in nature, they function as arcane spells for the owner. While the spells cannot be transferred to another medium, such as a scroll or spellbook, they can be prepared as any other arcane spell by those who hold the Annulus and concentrate upon its runes while preparing their other daily spells. The artifact contains the following spells:
0— create water , defiler’s scent, nurturing seeds, purify food and drink
1st— plant renewal
3rd— plant growth
4th— rejuvenate
Note that the Annulus’ owner must have spell slots of the appropriate level available in order to memorize any of these spells, just as if they were from a normal spellbook, and his Intelligence score must be 10 + spell level to be able to cast a spell of a given level.
Beyond its use as a unique spellbook, the Annulus’ greatest power is the supernatural and timeless insight it bestows to its owner. Someone who has owned the Annulus for a year or more starts to occasionally and inexplicably gain flashes of insight about past, present, and future events while dreaming (a creature immune to sleep might gain these flashes of insight if they meditate with the item for an hour or more). This ability functions like a vision spell, but the information gained is of a random person, place, or object. This ability cannot be controlled and does not bestow any specific bonuses or abilities upon the owner; but primarily serves as a plot device, although the DM should feel free to provide the Annulus’ owner with a variety of circumstance or insight bonuses when “foreseen” situations arise in-game.
Avangion Metamorphosis
Ultimately, the artifact is meant to facilitate the transition into an avangion. Korgunard convinced Oronis to inscribe the psionic enchantment of the metamorphosis spell into the relic that Korgunard would later make into the Annulus. Because Korgunard was a master of the arcane but lacked full epic psionic capability, he engineered the artifact specifically to bridge his psionic shortcomings, making him the first to ever utilize the device to undergo transformation. Any owner of the Annulus who is good-aligned and without the taint of defilement can, at any time, initiate the casting of the Preserver Metamorphosis I spell, providing the character meets the requirements. The spell is inscribed within the Annulus, and as such, knowledge of the spell is not imparted to the owner, nor can it be learned or copied to another medium.
In all ways, the character using the Annulus is considered the caster, and as such needs to have the Epic Spellcasting feat, a free epic spell slot, and succeed at his Spellcraft check. Normally, a character attempting the Preserver Metamorphosis I must possess the Epic Manifesting feat and expend an epic manifesting slot during the casting. The Annulus entirely obviates the need for the Epic Manifesting feat and effectively provides the required epic manifesting slot, provided the wielder is capable of manifesting at least 6th-level powers and has 24 ranks in the Psicraft skill. This unique bypass allows a master of the arcane who lacks full epic psionic capability to initiate the metamorphosis without simultaneously possessing 9th-level spells, 9th-level powers, Epic Spellcasting, and Epic Manifesting. All other costs associated with the casting of the spell are incurred by the character as normal.
Curse: Defiler’s Doom
A defiler attempting to wield the Annulus sees his foul sorcery turned against him—he is consumed by his own defiling abilities, his life energy separated from his physical form and returned to the ground whence it came from, turning him into a pile of crumbling ash within 1 round (Fort DC 23 partial; success means the subject takes 20d6 points of damage instead for each round he holds the Annulus). This is a death effect.
The Annulus radiates an aura of overwhelming transmutation.
Suggested Means of Destruction
• Strike it against the bones of a dragon.
• Leave it on the Deadlands for a