Thursday, June 10, 2021

GLOG: The Druid

I had fun writing a Ranger class earlier this week, so I figured I'd try to give a similar treatment to the Druid. I tried to give it an interesting way of switching out spells, allowing great versatility if you can travel freely between holy sites, as well as the standard Druid stuff of turning into animals, talking to animals, and murdering the Archdruid to take their place. I'm not sure how well the spell preparation will actually work in practice, but it will depend heavily on the campaign. The Druid also gets access to some rather powerful and often incredibly destructive spells if they can find great holy sites - not useful in most games, probably, but it's fun to think about. I did steal a good deal from various of  Ursula Le Guin's young adult novels, but that's pretty much a constant with my stuff.
 
Starting Equipment: A stout staff, a fur cloak, a jar of woad, a small bag of deadly nightshade, and a bone dagger.

Skills: Woodlore and 1d3: 1. Medicine, 2. Astronomy, 3. Stone Carving

A: Land's Warden, Wild's Caller, +1 MD
B: Beast's Form, +1 MD
C: Bird's Flight, +1 MD
D: Archdruid's Challenge, +1 MD

Land's Warden: When you spend the night under the stars at a holy site of druidic significance - a standing stone, a great grove of trees, a high hill, or a pure spring - you may choose to prepare a spell. Roll a d4 on the table for that location type. You may cast the spell selected until you choose to replace it with a different spell. If you roll a spell you already have prepared, you may pick the spell above or below. You may have [template]+1 spells prepared at any given time. When you prepare a spell at a location, you also gain the cantrip and drawback of that location type, and lose your previous cantrip and drawback. If you prepare at an incredibly significant location - an immense henge, an enormous ancient tree, a tall lone mountain, or a deep hidden pool never disturbed by the wind, you roll a d6 instead of a d4.
 
Wild's Caller: You know the intentions, wants, and emotions of any wild animal you can see, smell, and hear, and can communicate your own to them wordlessly. When in an area where a certain species of animal might be found, you may attempt to call an individual to you over the course of 10 minutes, with a [6 - HD]-in-6 chance of success (An HD of less than 1 counts as 1). You may ask the animal a favor, which it will always perform if its motives are not in conflict with your own and if the favor puts it at no personal risk. If the favor does require risk, the animal only has a [template]-in-6 chance of agreeing. You have +3 on reaction rolls with wild animals, and domesticated dogs hate you with a passion.
 
Beast's Form: You may, at will, transform into any non-flying animal of your choice that you have seen that has no more HD than [template]. All of your attributes become those of the animal, except for your mental ability scores and your hitpoints (generally, HD becomes the modifier to attack rolls, grappling rolls, Strength checks, etc., unless your DM decides different penalty or bonus is reasonable). Any injuries and hitpoint loss are reflected between forms. If you spend more than [template] hours in animal form per day, you must Save or disappear in the wilderness to live out your years as a beast as you forget who you once were. If you succeed, you must repeat the Save every subsequent hour.
 
Bird's Flight: Your Beast's Form now applies to flying as well as non-flying animals. Every 10 minutes you spend as a flying animal counts as an hour spent as a non-flying animal. 

Archdruid's Challenge: When you wish, you may challenge the archdruid, who is the leader, although not ruler, of all druids. The archdruid may name the terms of the challenge, which must be equal for you both. This is often, but certainly not always, a fight to the death or the submission. If you defeat the previous archdruid, you take their position. As archdruid, you may gather 1d4 level 1 druids to your cause with a day's notice and 2d6+1 with a month's notice. You may also touch an animal's forehead to command it for 1d6 hours, although doing so means that you take -2 on reaction rolls with all animals of that species for the next week.

Location Types

 
All the spell descriptions not included below can be found here.

Stone

 
Cantrip: You may read any text, regardless of the script and language, if you study it for 10 minutes.
Drawback: If you use any metal implements or wear any metal armor, you take 1 damage per round.
  1. Detect Magic
  2. Illusion
  3. Mending
  4. Magic Stone
  5. Wall of Stone
  6. Doom of Cities
    Casting Time:
    [dice] days
    Duration: [sum] decades
    Range:
    [dice] miles
    The area within range is doomed. Plants will wither and die, drought or floods or plague will blight it, cities will burn and crumble. Nothing here shall prosper for the duration. Casting this spell requires a human sacrifice.

Wood

 
Cantrip: You can set and douse small fires with a touch.
Drawback: You cannot not read or write.
  1. Entangle
  2. Find the Path
  3. Pass Without Trace
  4. Commune
  5. Wildfire
    Casting Time:
    1 action
    Duration:
    [sum] rounds
    Range:
    60 feet
    [dice] creatures, plants, objects, or structures within range catch fire. Creatures may Save vs Magic to avoid catching fire, and take [dice] damage per round for the duration (or until they take a round to roll on the ground) on a failure. Plants, objects, and structures burn at their normal rate. This fire is incredibly virulent and will spread at the slightest touch and with the slightest breeze, easily destroying a whole forest or city if allowed to. Water puts it out as usual.
  6. Grove
    Casting Time:
    1 action
    Duration:
    3 rounds
    Range:
    60 feet
    The area within [dice] * 10 feet of a point within range sprouts trees of a species of your choice. You can choose for this to be an open, airy grove or a dense, tangled one (halved movement speed within). The trees grow to maturity over the duration. Any structures less solid than a 5 foot thick stone wall in the area will be shattered and rent to pieces, while any as sturdy or stronger than that will be weakened and twisted.
 

Earth

 
Cantrip: You do not need to sleep, although you must rest for the duration you would normally sleep.
Drawback: If you bathe or wash with water, you lose all your MD until you rest.
  1. Mold Earth
  2. Insect Swarm
  3. Charm Animal
  4. Gust of Wind
  5. Blight
  6. Earthquake
    Casting Time:
    1 hour
    Duration:
    10 minutes
    Range:
    [dice] miles
    An earthquake wracks the area around you. [dice] * 25% of the buildings within range are destroyed, mountainsides collapse in landslides, and [sum] earth elementals of various kinds, each with 1d4+1 HD, rise to cause havoc. Within the area, all creatures that walk other than elementals immediately fall prone and must Save vs Magic in order to walk without falling. Anyone inside a collapsing building must Save vs Magic or take [sum] damage, taking [dice] damage on a success. Casting this spell requires [dice] * 100 d. of gemstones and precious metals, as well as a sacrifice of at least a chicken (1 MD), a pig (2 MD), a cow (3 MD), or a human (4 MD).
 

Water

 
Cantrip: You can cause plants to sprout from the earth around your feet and desiccate living plants with a touch.
Drawback: Edged weapons deal 1 extra damage per die to you.
  1. Control Water
  2. Invigorate
  3. Hoarfrost Hauberk
  4. Control Rain
  5. Hurricane
  6. Nature's Mantle
    Casting Time:
    1 action
    Duration:
    [dice] minutes
    Range:
    Self
    For the duration, your head sprouts antlers, your back sprouts a pair of eagles' wings, your fingers and toes claws, your mouth long fangs, and your skin thick hair. You gain a flying speed of 120', a charge attack that deals 4d6 damage if you've moved at least 30', a flurry of 4 claw attacks and 1 bite attack for 1d4 damage each, and +[dice] AC (you cannot charge and use your flurry of attacks in the same round). All enemies that see you transform must check Morale as well as Saving vs Fear, becoming frightened for the duration on a failure. Dogs flee at the sight of you. You automatically roll maximum on reaction rolls with wild animals, and can speak with them freely. They will obey your every command for the duration.

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