When a Wish is used, the formula used in the casting summons and coalesces magical energy into a sentient form. This form can best be described as a "magic" or "variance" elemental, hereafter referred to as a "Varian." Varians have only one purpose to their existence...to form the Wisher's desires into reality to the best of the Varian's ability.

Varians are short-lived, sentient constructs of magical force. They are granted existence by the formulae comprising a Wish spell, or are given life by a powerful being capable of granting Wishes. They are by nature unstable beings, and are only in existence as independent creatures for as long as it takes to grant a Wish, and then they disintegrate into component energies.

There are many types of Varians, at least one for each school of magic. Since magic is ever-changing, and ever-variable, the actual number of possible Varian types is impossible to record, but suffice it to say that by far the most frequent types of Varians adhere to the principles of at least one school of magic. While they exist, Varians are almost omnipotent, but are not totally free-willed.

Varians do not have alignment, as magic itself is unaligned. However, when they are formed, they create a subtle yet strong link with the soul of the one responsible for creating the Varian (this person will be hereafter referred to as the Wisher). When this bond is forged, the Varian creates a Template, or a blueprint of the Wisher's complete essence, alignment, and mental makeup. This is what the Varian will refer to when constructing a Wish result. The Template is used as a reference, a strategy, and a set of guidelines for the Varian to anchor itself to when constructing a Wish. The more closely a Wish's nature matches the Template, the easier it is for the Varian to make it reality.

Since a Varian does not exist prior to the Wish, nor will it exist afterward, it does not have independent thought. Rather, it forms an "alignment" and "personality" based on the Template it creates from the Wisher. The Template represents everything that makes up the Wisher; attitudes, worldview, morals, ethics, alignment, and so forth.

Varians are Lawful and Chaotic the same way they are Good and Evil. Only the Wisher's essence is taken into account, and adopted by the Varian as a Template.

Varians exist between the planes, and they can exist anywhere that magic may reach. They form "around" the Wisher, and they can be perceived by anyone using Detect Magic at the time. They cannot be touched, communicated with, or attacked. The only interaction possible between the physical world and a Varian is if a Wish is used, or dispelled...in which case the Varian is destroyed and the Wish fails.

Not only the Wisher's essence is used in forming a Template, though. The Wisher's current mindset is also figured prominently. Basically put, after the Template is formed and the Varian is constructed, the Wisher's current frame of mind is then added, sort of like throwing a rock into a smooth stream. The more the Wisher's current mindset differs from his overall essence (the bigger the rock), the more skewed the Wish will become (the bigger the splash). Thus, if a paladin tries to wish for plague to infest an orcish fortress, the current mindset will fall upon the Varian like a hammer to a vase, and the Wish will be warped hideously. Varians that must deal with such discrepancies between Wish and Template usually go insane, and are then called Entropes.

Entropes try their damnedest to reconcile the Wish with Template, often with disastrous results. This is the explanation behind certain Wishes becoming warped or acting to the detriment of the Wisher. If the Wish made does not gel with the Template at all, then the Entrope will then use any bizarre justification it can find to produce some sort of effect. Sometimes, this effect is totally off-base, but it is all the Entrope could come up with. In the example above, a paladin wishing for plague in the orc stronghold may well make the orcs therein all carriers of the disease, but immune to it themselves. This may be the only way the Entrope can reconcile the wish (which is evil in intent) with the paladin's otherwise goody-goody essence (which normally would not allow such an act).

The intelligence of a Varian is also dependent upon the Template created from the Wisher. If the Wisher is an idiot, the Wish will be formed by an equally stupid Varian. For this reason, if a stupid person tries to make a Wish that is worded by a more intelligent person, the wish will more often than not either outright fail, or be twisted into uselessness, as the Varian is no more capable of understanding the Wish than the Wisher is.

If a Wish is placed within an item, such as a ring, then a Template is created from the caster's essence and locked within the item. A Varian is not created at this time. When the item is actually used to produce Wishes, then the Varian first goes to the Template from the caster, already locked in the item. Then, it constructs a new template from whoever is making the wish. If these Templates oppose each other, then the Varian loses it and becomes an Entrope, and all wishes made under this combination of Templates will be horribly twisted. Thus, a paladin trying to use a ring created by a demon lord is in for a rude awakening.

For these reasons, whenever a PC casts a Wish spell, or desires to use a wishbringing item, the DM should ask the player for a short list of words (5-6) that she thinks describe her character. The DM should note the list, and compare it with the Wish itself (as well as with the already-present Template, if she's using an item or scroll). The more discrepancies there are between these 2-3 factors, then the more twisted the Wish will be. Thus, if a character is described as "thoughtful, gentle, protective, wise, benevolent, and cheerful" and then Wishes for a Vorpal Sword, then God help her.

Besides the effort to adhere to a Template, the only other restriction on a Varian's power is...a Varian's power. Varians are awesomely powerful, but even they have a few limits on what they can do. Here they are:

A VARIAN CANNOT CHANGE THE FUTURE -- A Varian cannot increase someone's skill or experience. It cannot alter events that have not yet happened. It CAN restore lost experience, memories, or Hit Dice, as these were already possessed. However, a Varian could not ensure someone would one day have children, or boost their level up one. Varians can change what IS, but not what MIGHT BE.

This isn't to say the Varian wouldn't give it a good try, however. The best a Wisher can hope for when Wishing to change the future is that present events are altered to make the desired future more possible. Two examples:

A man wishes to be a better fighter. His level won't rise automatically, but the Varian may alter events so that the man gets into fights all the time, thus gaining EXP, and thus increasing his level. But, a Varian cannot simply bestow levels, because it can't simply bestow experience on someone. Experience can only be gained by...EXPERIENCE! Surprise, surprise!

A second example is a man who wishes to one day have children. The Varian would probably alter the man's physical attractiveness and/or fertility, or some other method, thereby theoretically increasing his chances of fathering children. These magical changes would last until he succeeded in becoming a father, and then they would fade. What happens then is no longer the Varian's concern.

The more detailed a future-wish is, the harder it is for the Varian to deal with it, and thus the more obscure or strange the result will be. A wish to "one day have children" is easy to deal with. A wish to "one day have three healthy children who will all love me and grow up to make me proud" is significantly harder on the Varian. The Varian may go so far as to reincarnate the Wisher to increase his chances of getting the Wish. To ensure the Wisher will have three children, it may plant the seeds of mental illness in the Wisher's mind, so that about the time his third child is born, he loses his mind, and is no longer capable of fathering children (or even feeding himself). As for estimating exactly when the third child will be born, the Varian will use the Template (deferring to the Wisher's idea of when he should be having his third child, based on culture, personality, and background). The more wisdom or intelligence inherent in the Template, then the more accurate this prediction will be. However, there are no guarantees, and the Varian cannot predict the future. The man may well get killed before he can father his children, the Varian just gives him a better chance at it, but does not guarantee it.

A VARIAN CANNOT AUTOMATICALLY SLAY ANOTHER CREATURE -- The key word here is "automatically." A Varian cannot cause the death of another living being without any chance of resistance. So, it is theoretically possible to wish a creature dead, but two things must occur before death is ensured. First, the Varian must be able to reconcile the Wish made with the Template. If it can't do this, the Varian becomes an Entrope and the Wish is warped (the old send-Wisher-into-a-future-were-victim-isn't-alive routine). Second, the victim of the Wish gets to make a save vs. Death Magic to avoid the effect. Also, if the creature is somehow immune to Death Magic, then the Wish just does nothing. Magic Resistance is also effective.

It is far easier to just use the Wish to duplicate an instant-death spell, with all limitations imposed on the spell. Thus a Wish could be made duplicate a Destruction, Death Spell, Finger of Death, Poison, or Slay Living. If a touch is required, then so be it.

A VARIAN CANNOT CREATE A MAGICAL ITEM OUT OF THIN AIR -- A Varian is not capable of manifesting an item and spontaneously enchanting it to the exact specifications of the Wisher in most cases. Why? Again, the Varian does not have an independent intellect or personality, but must look to the Template. If the Wisher himself is not capable of understanding the complex formulae involved in the manufacture of a Vorpal Sword, then how can he expect the Varian to be any better at it? In order for a Varian to actually create a magical item, the Wisher must Wish for the exact spells to be cast in the enchantment process. Thus, a Wish could duplicate an Enchant an Item spell, but the Wizard must cast other spells himself, or use more Wishes.

What a Varian CAN do in this regard is locate an existing magical item and bring it back to the Wisher, or send the Wisher to the item. Of course, where it finds the item cannot be predicted, and may end up with some dangerous consequences if this contingency isn't covered in the Wish. Thus "I wish for a Staff of the Magi" would quite possibly land the Wisher in a load of trouble when some lich's powerful staff lands in his lap. However, a wish for "A Staff of the Magi that has not been owned for five hundred years" may achieve better results, but even this is not guaranteed. If there is no such staff, then anything could happen.

It must be noted that Varians will always do SOMETHING. They are desperate to fulfill the Wish to the best of their ability, and they will never allow Nothing to happen. If they are preventing from following the path of least resistance, then they will always come up with some bizarre, otherworldly, or just plain loopy solution. If all else fails, then roll on the Wild Surge table, and triple the effect.

However, a Varian's solution to a Wish will always make some small amount of sense, even if you have to think about it for a while. A Varian will not respond to a wish for a Staff of the Magi by transforming the Wisher into a sheep.

For example:

Say a character gets a Wish from a ring, and wishes that he had a billion gold pieces. The first thing the Varian would do is compare the wish to the Template. Template shows greedy human. Cool, it checks out, now on to the Wish.

Second, the Varian will begin gathering every coin, object, tooth filling, nugget, dust particle, candelabra, jewelry piece, etc., that is made of gold, starting from the Wisher and working it's way outward. It isn't doing this to "screw over" the Wisher, it's just giving what was asked for. These item will then pile up around the Wisher until 1,000,000,000 items are obtained.

Now, let's backtrack, and say the Wisher wished "to create one billion gold coins." Foom! There are now exactly one billion gold discs piled around the Wisher. The discs are unmarked, of course.

Okay, now let's say the Wisher wished for "one billion gold Acrilanian doubloons." Well, the Varian would then gather the coinage from the world.

Varians will always do the following:

Reconcile the Wish with the Template of the Wisher (and the Template of the item's creator, if an item is used). Failing reconciliation, the Varian will become an Entrope and pervert the Wish. Succeeding the reconciliation, the Varian will then follow the path of least resistance to fulfill the Wish, which can be modified by proper thought and wording. Bear in mind that thought and wording will always be subject to the Varian's intelligence, modeled after the Template. Particularly complex wishes may force Int checks from the Varian, failure indicating Entrope.

VARIANS AND SPELLS
Finally, it is relatively simple for a Varian to duplicate a spell. These sorts of Wishes are almost never twisted, because the Varian is asked to simply recreate an existing process, not produce an unprecedented effect. The only exception is when the spell to be duplicated clashes with the Template, such as when a good wizard Wishes for the effect of an Animate Dead spell, or Mindkiller. These spells are (arguably) inherently evil in purpose (not in essence), and their use may not gel with a good wizard's Template.

However, Varians can do much more than simply duplicate a spell. A good rule of thumb is to assume a Varian can produce up to 300% of a spell's standard effect. It can also eliminate the need for components (beyond any requirements for the Wish itself) and any bad effects from the spell, such as aging.

Finally, a Varian can produce spell effects not possible with a normal casting of the spell. Fireballs can be doughnut-shaped, with holes in the middle untouched by flames. Lightning bolts can be totally silenced and invisible. Magic Missiles can affect nonliving matter.