The World of Athas

Athas is a desolate world. It is a world scorched by a crimson sun, and scorched by magic. There is no humidity in this desert world, with temperatures climbing as high as 150°F by mid afternoon, and plummeting at night to 40°F or colder beneath its twin moons. Between the Ringing Mountains to the west and the Sea of Silt to the east, civilization makes its last stand against the death that has claimed the rest of this world. Death still has its victories in this region, and the most common cause of death is the lack of water, but there are many others. While most of the region is desert, there are a few scattered jungles, and each is deadly in its own way.

Civilization has clustered most strongly around the seven city-states. These are great walled cities, predominantly human and each ruled by a powerful sorcerer-king. While Athas has no true gods, these sorcerer-kings are worshiped by priests called templars, who are granted magical power through their prayers. The templars handle the daily bureaucracy of the cities and are the enforcers of the king’s laws.

In addition to the city-states, smaller communities crop up here and there, usually gathered around some oasis. These communities are generally temporary, as eventually the oasis will dry up, or they are attacked by raiders, or they are destroyed by the dragon. The rest of the population is made up of nomadic tribes, shepherds, and hermits.

While the heat of the sun is oppressive, magic has caused much of the desolation of this world. Mages draw their power from the life force of the land, and from the plants around them. Defilers are mages who use their great intellect or the force of their personality to twist this life force to grant them magical power. The life force is ripped away, turning the surrounding plants to ash. Preservers are mages who also study this life force, but rather than twist that force, they use their great intellect or charisma to develop a mutually beneficial relationship with life. Life is not destroyed by this sort of magic. but sort of recycled.

There are a few other forms of magic. Priests gather power from the elements of earth, water, air, and fire. Druids gain power through their relationships with the spirits of the land. And finally, psionicists harness the power found within themselves. None of these forms of magic cause the destruction to life that defiling magic causes.