Acid Priests

Volatile and destructive, acid priests are servants of the discordant interaction between Water and Fire. With abilities rooted in their caustic elemental patron, these priests harness the destructive power of acid. Their abilities sometimes even extend to creating pools of corrosive liquid or raining acid sleet from the sky, causing not only physical damage but also degrading armors and equipment. Unpredictable in nature, acid priests have an attraction to chaos and destruction, forging powers that reflect their volatile elemental origins. Practicing dangerous alchemical arts, they concoct toxic brews capable of eating through metal and stone. Acid priests could unleash a potent mix of doom and despair in the typically hostile environments of Athas, making them formidable threats.

Alchemical Corrosion

Type: Reaction
Trigger: When a creature within 5 feet hits the acid priest with a melee weapon attack.
Effect: The acid priest splashes the attacker with reactive alchemical fluid. The attacker must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or take 2d6 acid damage and suffer disadvantage on Strength-based checks and saves until the end of their next turn as the acid burns into muscle.

This ability represents the toxic, unstable chemicals the priest constantly carries on their person.

Caustic Rain (Recharge 5–6)

Type: Action
Effect: The acid priest calls down a brief storm of acid over a 20-foot-radius area within 60 feet. Each creature in that area must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 6d6 acid damage on a failed save, or half as much on a success. Non-magical armor or shields affected by this ability take a permanent -1 penalty to AC (stacking) unless repaired with a DC 15 Smith’s Tools check and materials.

Optional (Hardcore Athas): If the DM is running a gritty item degradation system, weapons and gear made of bone, chitin, or obsidian have disadvantage on the save and may be destroyed outright on a failed save.

Dissolving Touch

Type: Melee Spell Attack
Attack: reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 4d10 acid damage, and the target’s armor (if worn) or natural armor becomes corroded, giving the target -1 AC until repaired (cumulative, maximum -3). On a critical hit, the priest may also destroy one non-magical item held or worn by the target (DM’s choice or randomly selected).

An acid-soaked hand glowing with the power of Fire-Water contradiction – perfect for slowly unmaking things the world no longer deserves.

Typhoon Priests

As manifestations of the turbulence from the combination of Air and Water, typhoon priests channel the unbridled fury of a storm. Harnessing air’s unpredictability and water’s relentless adaptability, they summon whirlwinds without water, depriving their victims of life-sustaining moisture and drying out the landscapes they pass over. This powerful dehydration ability magnifies the threat they pose to both individual foes and the environmental vitality. With such power, typhoon priests could swiftly turn any battle to their favor – the chilling prospect of life-draining storms makes them a terror to their enemies. In a water-starved world like Athas, their control over moisture is a dreadfully powerful weapon indeed.

Cyclonic Reversal (Reaction)

Trigger: A creature within 30 feet makes a melee or ranged weapon attack.
Effect: The priest twists the air violently between them and the attacker. The attack is made at disadvantage. If the attack misses, the attacker must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or be flung 15 feet in a random direction and knocked prone.

A defensive buff with thematic punch. Represents the unpredictability of wind and storm, making the typhoon priest hard to pin down.

Stormlash Chain

Type: Action
Effect: As crackling strands of condensed storm energy whip from the priest’s outstretched arms, up to three targets within 60 feet must make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw. On a failure, a target takes 3d8 lightning damage and is pulled 10 feet toward the priest. If two or more targets are pulled adjacent to each other, they must also make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the end of their next turn.

This is a signature of the typhoon priest — a perverse inversion of water’s adaptability and air’s motion, dragging enemies into perfect kill zones.

Vortex Burst (Recharge 5–6)

Type: Action
Effect: The typhoon priest conjures a violently spinning sphere of wind and mist at a point within 60 feet. Each creature in a 10-foot radius sphere must make a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be blasted 20 feet away from the center and knocked prone, taking 4d6 slashing damage. On a successful save, creatures take half damage and are not moved.

This is not gentle rainfall — this is a ripping gale force weaponized into explosive wrath. Use it to break lines, scatter formations, or throw creatures off cliffs in true Dark Sun style.

Bog Priests

The debased coupling of Earth and Water births the malevolent paraelemental creature known as the “Bog”. The bog priest, a dark conduit of this heinous force, exemplifies the ruinous capability of outrageously unbalanced nature. This pitch-black architect meticulously crafts dangerous landscapes governed by their nightmarish influence, harnessing the mire and murk of their potent paraelement to ensnare, engulf, and manipulate all who dare traverse its deadly dominion.

Chaos unfurls with their every step, altering resolute grounds into death-traps laden with peril. Quicksand pits, beast-infested mudpits, gnarled marshlands – each a frightful device in their arsenal, embodying their goal to erode stability and submerge all existence within their dread domain.

Their regions of control decline from vitality to decay, fruitful sites transformed into contorted bogscapes: stagnant water bodies, sinking grounds, and sinkholes. The dreaded salt marshes add a unique flavor to their reign of terror. As thriving ecosystems turn saline, the biodiversity dwindles, creating a ghostly terrain echoing the ghastly, morbid intent of the bog priest: to drown the world in stagnant stagnation and despair.

Their bond with these ensnaring, tumultuous forces extends beyond mere control - they are the embodiment of these elements. Bog priests are the manifestation of the brooding dread that seeks to pull down all of Athas into its smothering, murky depths, the whispered horror lurking within the heart of every salt marsh and the hidden bane beneath every deceptive surface.

The Bog of Perpetual Stench

On the eerily forsaken lands of Athas stands the detestable morass known as the Bog of Perpetual Stench. This uncanny expanse, far removed from the sparse deserts and relentless wastes this world is known for, is a sprawling, putrid swamp filled with pestilential mires and perilous quicksands.

The Bog, ever replete with its grotesque odors and uncanny dangers, is seeped in a mysterious curse. Legend decrees that any creature unfortunate enough to stumble into its stench-ridden waters or muck will carry its vile odor for eternity, a formidable curse that sends chills of caution in creatures and individuals who dare to skirt its borders.

This unpleasant wasteland is defined and maintained by a local warlord named Jareth, useful as both a domain of punishment for rebellious villagers and as a formidable geographical hurdle that heroes must confront in their perilous journeys.

Among the alien landscapes of Athas, the Bog stands out for its disgustingly peculiar features including belching bubbling muck and malodorous sludge. Its predominantly repugnant appearance masks its lethal nature, making it a dangerous obstacle for those who dare to transgress its boundaries.

Even within the harsh world of Athas, the Bog of Perpetual Stench is a locale most inhabitants steer clear of - a place where the very air seems tainted with repulsion and foreboding. It serves as a poignant reminder of the cursed and tormented lands Athas has become, a trial that every desert wanderer hoping to survive must acknowledge and avoid, further emphasizing the perilous nature of life on Athas.

The Swamp of Desolation

Amidst the harsh, unforgiving landscapes of Athas lies an anomaly of its own kind: the Swamp of Desolation This peculiar marsh is notorious, not merely for its physical perils, but for the chilling psychological dread it casts on those who dare to venture within its bounds. The marsh, rather than imposing direct physical threats, silently seeps a profound despair into the hearts of travelers. The key to surviving this languishing marshland is to resist surrendering to this crippling hopelessness.

A haunting figure, a bog priest, has taken up the duty of shepherding lost souls across this grim swamp. This priest, a product of the grim world of Athas, commands an undead steed named Atreyu, whose very presence starkly highlights the lifelessness of the terrifying landscape.

Long ago, Atreyu was a vibrant creature that tragically succumbed to the despairing conditions of the marsh. However, through forbidden rituals and defiling magic only a bog priest might wield, Atreyu was pulled back from the Gray’s cold grasp, returning to Athas as an undead being. Now, sapped of its lively spirit, Atreyu serves as the Bog Priest’s faithful companion, together braving the depths of melancholy that is the Swamp of Desolation.

This marsh serves as a haunting testament to the pervasive dread that saturates these lands, mirroring the broader struggles of a world where resilience, hope, and the courage to confront despair are crucial for survival. This dismal marshland and its gruesome guardians stand as stark reminders of the cursed and tortured world that Athas has become.

Pyrofen

This bog, saturated with sulphurous fumes and treacherous terrain, is a place few dare to tread. The atmosphere here is heavy with toxic gases, and the ground is a dangerous mix of quicksand, boiling mud pools, and unstable earth, marked by pockets of deadly gas and sporadic flame jets. The flora and fauna of this bog have adapted to these extreme conditions, evolving into hardy and often extremely dangerous forms.

Among the most formidable inhabitants of this bog are the Rangers of Unrelenting Sulphur, a warren of tari known for their resilience and cunning. These creatures have made their home amongst the roots of a mighty elder banyan tree, which is actually a rare and precious Tree of Life. The leader of the tari is Scurrik Nightrunner, revered for his stealth and mastery of the bog’s treacherous terrain. Scurrik is known for his ability to use the environment to his advantage, setting deadly ambushes for any unwary intruders.

The Pyrofen is also home to a tribe of silt runners known as the Bog Stalkers, who serve a dark and powerful figure known as the Bogwitch Iyani. Cloaked in tattered robes that seem woven from the essence of the bog itself, Iyani is said to possess potent magic, allowing her to bend the bog’s elements to her will, summon creatures from its depths, and work magicks that warp and twist the terrain.

This fire swamp poses a significant challenge in any Dark Sun campaign: adventurers who dare to venture into this domain must not only survive the environmental hazards, but also navigate the complex dynamics between the tari and silt runners, as well as confront or outwit the malevolent Bogwitch. Such a campaign’s themes revolve around survival, resource management, and strategic decision-making, with a heavy emphasis on the moral dilemmas faced by the players. They must choose between direct confrontation and more subtle, cunning approaches to overcome the challenges presented by this perilous and deadly bog.