Earth Mages must have an Inteligence score of at least 15 due to the arcane nature of Earth Magic, a Constitution of 15 or better to withstand the force of the power, and a Dexterity of 15 or more to weave the delicate patterns of the art.

Unlike conventional mages who power their spells from the plants around them, Earth Mages take their energy from Athas itself. Though it sounds destructive, Earth Magic is as safe as Preserving. Because of the huge power that is drawn during spell casting, the tapping of energy must be regulated or the forces will tear the caster’s body to shreds.

Rajaat, the First Sorcerer, was the first to attempt this potent form of spell casting, working on it deep in the recesses of Kano Swamp. Rajaat, however, was greedy, and tried defiling as a means of extracting the spell energy. This technique not only proved unsuccessful but also dangerous, as the energies nearly killed Rajaat and spoiled his swamp forever.

What the First Sorcerer failed to realize was that a bit of finesse was in order. The current method of casting was discovered by a Preserver student of Rajaat’s named "Ghrey." Ghrey mastered the art and taught it to a select few of his students. The jihad against the Preservers a few years later ended the lives of Ghrey and four of his five pupils. Greema, the survivor, took her knowledge of the art and taught a select few, and they passed on that knowledge to new generations of magic users, and they passed their knowledge on and so on. Because Earth Magic requires so much from its casters, and because defilers of the power could wreak unthinkable devastation, it is taught to very few people, and so is the most rare of the magic arts.

Casting Earth Magicis like no other form of casting. For one, the somatics are vastly different. The delicate nature of this magic requires the mage spend extra time weaving the energy. The result is fluid, dance-like movements that utilize the entire body in casting.

All allowed to mages. Earth Mages prefer lithe weapons as oppposed to bulky ones.

Barred: Somatic Concealment. The movements are too dramatic to be disguised (unless the mage can convince on-lookers that she’s dancing!). Bonus: Dancing. Required: None. Suggested: None.

Standard.

The energy gleaned from Athas is incredibly potent. When casting, the caster is considered one level higher for the purposes of spell damage, range, duration, and dispelling. Furthermore, Earth Mages always have a source of power as long as they are on Athas or in one of its surrounding planes. Lastly, as long as their bare skin touches dirt, stone or magma, the Earth Mage gets the following abilities. At levels 1-3 their natural armor class drops to 9 due to stony growths covering their body, their strength increases to 17 due to the earth's energy, and their skin appears to be light rust-orange in color. At levels 4-8 the Earth Mage's AC drops to 7 as their skin becomes rockier, their strength increases to 19 and their skin turns almost brown. At level 9 their body becomes dense rock every where but the joints, confering an AC bonus of 5, their strength increases to 21and their skin is turns deep brown with veins of red and orange. Finally, at level 15, their body becomes the hardest, now giving them an AC of 4. Their connection to Athas is so strong that their strength increases to 22, and their skin becomes a pale grey.

Athas’ magic is as unforgiving as it is rewarding. Firstly, as each spell is cast, a Constitution check is required. If the check passes, the caster is fine. If the check fails, the caster’s body rejects the energy and the mage takes 1d4 hit points of damage and the spell is lost.

Because the weaving of the spell takes extra time, all casting times are increased by 1 unit. For example: If Kayna the mage wished to cast Repulsion the casting time would be raised from six to seven. Part Water, a spell that would usually take one turn, would now take two.

As their body changes each level, the Earth Mage looks less and less human. At levels 1-3 she suffers a -1 reaction adjustment. At levels 4-8, the penalty increase to -3. At 9^th level they lose a point of Charisma and suffer the -3 reaction adjustment penalty, but at 15^th level they get the point back (though they still suffer the -3 point penalty).

Lastly, Earth Mages can never learn Somatic Concealment, as the gestures are too bold and dramatic to be hidden.