Druid with spontaneous casting

[Kae'Yoss]

(arrgh, who let Pirate Cat redesign the page???)

General Information:
Druids now cast spontaneously (use the spells per day and spells known tables from sorcerer), with wis as key ability score. They can exchange spells known in the same manner als sorcerers.
Spontaneous casting of Summon Nature?s Ally spells no longer applies.
In addition, they get their choice of two paths out of the following list. The spells of the paths are added to the spells known. These cannot be exchanged for other spells.

Notes:
The Paths are there just to give the druid a couple of known spells extra, along a certain theme, cause divine spellcasters usually have more spells than arcane spellcsters. None of the Paths grants access to spells that are not on the druid list.
Spells in brackets are from Magic of Faerûn or Masters of the Wild. If you use these books, replace the other spells with them, since the core rules didn't have an appropriate spell
I'm not sure about the Blight Path, they might be something just for PrC's like the Blighter or Talonter Blightlord - instead of giving them to any druid, they are open just for such classes, and they have to exchange one of their old paths with that.
If someone can come up with other paths (maybe "Cave" "Forest" and other terrain types), don't hesitate to post. Same goes for any critics or raves, of course.





Summoning Path
1 Summon Nature?s Ally I: Calls creature to fight.
2 Summon Nature?s Ally II: Calls creature to fight.
3 Summon Nature?s Ally III: Calls creature to fight.
4 Summon Nature?s Ally IV: Calls creature to fight.
5 Summon Nature?s Ally V: Calls creature to fight.
6 Summon Nature?s Ally VI: Calls creature to fight.
7 Summon Nature?s Ally VII: Calls creature to fight.
8 Summon Nature?s Ally VIII: Calls creature to fight.
9 Summon Nature?s Ally IX: Calls creature to fight.

Animal Path
1 Charm Animal: Makes one animal your friend.
2 Animal Trance: Fascinates 2d6 HD of animals.
3 Dominate Animal: Subject animal obeys silent mental commands.
4 Repel Vermin: Insects, spiders, and other vermin stay 10 ft. away.
(MotW: Feathers: Polymorphs willing creature into bird.)
(MoF: Jaws of the Wolf: One carving/2 levels turns into a wold with SR 13 and frightful presence)
5 Animal Growth: One animal/two levels doubles in size.
6 Summon Nature?s Ally VI: Calls creature to fight.
7 Creeping Doom: Swarms of centipedes attack at your command.
8 Animal Shapes: One ally/level polymorphs into chosen animal.
9 Summon Nature?s Ally IX: Calls creature to fight.
(MotW: Nature?s Avatar. Target animal gains +10 attack and damage bonus, haste, and +1d8 temporary hit points/ level.

Plant Path
1 Entangle: Plants entangle everyone in 40-ft.-radius.
2 Tree Shape: You look exactly like a tree for 1 hour/level.
3 Plant Growth: Grows vegetation, improves crops.
4 Command Plants: Sway the actions of one or more plant creatures.
5 Wall of Thorns: Thorns damage anyone who tries to pass.
6 Liveoak: Oak becomes treant guardian.
7 Animate Plants: One or more plants animate and fight for you.
8 Control Plants: Control actions of one or more plant creatures.
9 Shambler: Summons 1d4+2 shambling mounds to fight for you.

Travel Path
1 Longstrider: Your speed increases by 10 ft.
2 Spider Climb: Grants ability to walk on walls and ceilings.
3 Water Breathing: Subjects can breathe underwater.
(MotW: Standing Wave: Transports across water.)
(MoF: Circle Dance: Indicates direction to known target.)
4 Air Walk: Subject treads on air as if solid (climb at 45-degree angle).
5 Tree Stride: Step from one tree to another far away.
6 Transport via Plants: Move instantly from one plant to another of the same kind.
7 Wind Walk: You and your allies turn vaporous and travel fast.
8 Word of Recall: Teleports you back to designated place.
9 Foresight: ?Sixth sense? warns of impending danger.
(MotW: Lookingglass: Connects two mirrored surfaces for clairvoyance and transport.)

Fury Path
1 Entangle: Plants entangle everyone in 40-ft.-radius.
(MotW Sandblast: Creates a brief sandstorm in an arc.
2 Flaming Sphere: Creates rolling ball of fire, 2d6 damage, lasts 1 round/level.
3 Call Lightning: Calls down lightning bolts (3d6 per bolt) from sky.
4 Flame Strike: Smite foes with divine fire (1d6/level damage).
5 Call Lightning Storm: As call lightning, but 5d6 damage per bolt.
6 Fire Seeds: Acorns and berries become grenades and bombs.
(MoF: Crumble: 1d6/level (bypassing hardness) to manufactured object or structure.)
7 Fire Storm: Deals 1d6/level fire damage.
8 Sunburst: Blinds all within 10 ft., deals 6d6 damage.
9 Storm of Vengeance: Storm rains acid, lightning, and hail.

Protection Path
1 Endure Elements: Exist comfortably in hot or cold environments.
2 Barkskin: Grants +2 (or higher) enhancement to natural armor.
3 Protection from Energy: Absorb 12 points/level of damage from one kind of energy.
4 Antiplant Shell: Keeps animated plants at bay.
5 Death Ward: Grants immunity to all death spells and negative energy effects.
6 Antilife Shell: 10-ft.-radius field hedges out living creatures.
7 Transmute Metal to Wood: Metal within 40 ft. becomes wood.
(MoF: Storm Tower: tower of swirling clouds absorbs electricity, gives concealment, and prevents movement.)
8 Repel Metal or Stone: Pushes away metal and stone.
9 Antipathy: Object or location affected by spell repels certain creatures.

Attack Path
1 Magic Stone: Three stones gain +1 on attack rolls, deal 1d6+1 damage.
2 Flame Blade: Touch attack deals 1d8 +1/two levels damage.
3 Magic Fang, Greater: One natural weapon of subject creature gets +1/four levels on attack and damage rolls (max +5).
4 Rusting Grasp: Your touch corrodes iron and alloys.
5 Control Winds: Change wind direction and speed.
(MoF: Wind Tunnel: Ranged weapons gain +10 bonus and double range increment)
6 Fire Seeds: Acorns and berries become grenades and bombs.
7 Sunbeam: Beam blinds and deals 4d6 damage.
8 Whirlwind: Cyclone deals damage and can pick up creatures.
9 Shapechange F: Transforms you into any creature, and change forms once per round.

Healing Path
1 Cure Light Wounds: Cures 1d8 damage +1/level (max +5).
2 Restoration, Lesser: Dispels magical ability penalty or repairs 1d4 ability damage.
3 Cure Moderate Wounds: Cures 2d8 damage +1/level (max +10).
4 Cure Serious Wounds: Cures 3d8 damage +1/level (max +15).
5 Cure Critical Wounds: Cures 4d8 damage +1/level (max +20).
6 Cure Light Wounds, Mass: Cures 1d8 damage +1/level for many creatures.
7 Heal: Cures 10 points/level of damage, all diseases and mental conditions.
8 Cure Serious Wounds, Mass: Cures 3d8 damage +1/level for many creatures.
9 Cure Critical Wounds, Mass: Cures 4d8 damage +1/level for many creatures.

Blight Path
1 Obscuring Mist: Fog surrounds you
(MoF: Blinding Spittle: Ranged touch attack makes subject blind.)
2 Reduce Animal: Shrinks one willing animal.
(MotW: Decomposition: Wounded creatures suffer 1 extra hp/round)
3 Diminish Plants: Reduces size or blights growth of normal plants.
4 Blight: Withers one plant or deals 1d6/level damage to plant creature.
5 Baleful Polymorph: Transforms subject into harmless animal.
6 Repel Wood: Pushes away wooden objects.
7 Control Weather: Changes weather in local area.
(MotW: Slime Wave: Creates a 15-ft. spread of green slime.)
8 Finger of Death: Kills one subject.
9 Antipathy: Object or location affected by spell repels certain creatures.

 

[AbsintheCurdle1]

Thank you. I was just wrestling with a spontaneous-casting druid (actually "Witch", in this culture) last night, boiling the spell list down with the assumption that they still get all spells at level-up. Couldn't find a good compromise between making them awesomely powerful, or making them too straitjacketed- unable to play the healer role in a party effectively, or unable to be anything else.

The couple-o'-paths plus gradually-increasing handful of pickable spells might be what I'm looking for. Sweet.

Hmm. Maybe a Weather path?

1 Obscuring Mist: Fog surrounds you.
2 Gust of Wind: Blows away or knocks down smaller creatures.
3 Sleet Storm: Hampers vision and movement.
4 Ice Storm: Hail deals 5d6 damage in cylinder 40 ft. across.
5 Control Winds: Change wind direction and speed.
6 (maybe a "summon one specific kind of weather in a large area" spell?)
7 Control Weather: Changes weather in local area.
8 Whirlwind: Cyclone deals damage and can pick up creatures.
9 Storm of Vengeance: Storm rains acid, lightning, and hail.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

For the Weather Path:

6 Move Earth: Digs trenches and builds hills.
(MoF: Drown: Target immediately begins to drown.

Move Earth is the closest thing you have as a weather spell on 6th (but not really fitting. I had the same problem with the Blight Path: Obscuring Mist isn't really good, but I didn't find a better spell.). Drown from Magic of Faerûn emulates an effect you have with weather (storms at sea, floods).


If you find more appropriate spells to those in the lists in any book, don't hesitate to add them (but state where they are from).

 

[rkanodia]

I know it's overused, but 'Shaman' might be a good name for this class. Because the spontaneous-casting druid has such a small spell list, the 'paths' will be very central to how the character plays, much more so than a cleric's domains. And, lacking a diety to ascribe his paths to, the character could think of them more as 'totems'.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

I know it's overused, but 'Shaman' might be a good name for this class. Because the spontaneous-casting druid has such a small spell list, the 'paths' will be very central to how the character plays, much more so than a cleric's domains. And, lacking a diety to ascribe his paths to, the character could think of them more as 'totems'.

Totem doesn't have the right ring IMO.

And as I see it, this is as the druid should be anyway (and I suspect that they do something like that for 4e). As for "shaman": I think you can call your average druid, sorcerer or druid/sorcerer "shaman" even now. Or use something like that and call it witch. It's just a matter of how you call things (I can imagine assassins with nothing but fighter/rogue levels, duelists with rogue levels, archmages without the PrC...)

 

[rkanodia]

Fair enough. It was just a suggestion. I guess I always think of druids as being very generic stonehengy kind of guys, while shaman are much more specific, each one with his own symbols of power. But, I must admit druids are currently too similar to clerics; having them be spontaneous casters is not a bad plan.

 

[Nifft]

Elemental Fury Path
1 Produce Flame: 1d6+1/level Fire damage, touch or thrown.
2 Flame Blade: Touch attack deals 1d8 +1/two levels damage.
3 Call Lightning: Calls down lightning bolts (3d6 per bolt) from sky.
4 Flame Strike: Smite foes with divine fire (1d6/level damage).
5 Call Lightning Storm: As call lightning, but 5d6 damage per bolt.
6 Fire Seeds: Acorns and berries become grenades and bombs.
7 Fire Storm: Deals 1d6/level fire damage.
8 Earthquake: Intense tremor shakes 5-ft./level radius.
9 Storm of Vengeance: Storm rains acid, lightning, and hail.


Blight Path
1 Inflict Light Wounds: Touch deals 1d8 damage +1/level (max +5).
2 Warp Wood: Bends wood (shaft, handle, door, plank).
3 Poison: Touch deals 1d10 Con damage, repeats in 1 min.
4 Blight: Withers one plant or deals 1d6/level damage to plant creature.
5 Insect Plague: Locust swarms attack creatures.
6 Antilife Shell: 10-ft.-radius field hedges out living creatures.
7 Creeping Doom: Swarms of centipedes attack at your command.
8 Finger of Death: Kills one subject.
9 Antipathy: Object or location affected by spell repels certain creatures.


Hidden Path
1 Pass without Trace: One subject/level leaves no tracks.
2 Tree Shape: You look exactly like a tree for 1 hour/level.
3 Meld into Stone: You and your gear merge with stone.
4 Freedom of Movement: Subject moves normally despite impediments.
5 Tree Stride: Step from one tree to another far away.
6 Transport via Plants: Move instantly from one plant to another of the same kind.
7 Changestaff: Your staff becomes a treant on command.
8 Animal Shapes: One ally/level polymorphs into chosen animal.
9 Shapechange: Transforms you into any creature, and change forms once per round.


Path of Eyes and Ears
1 Speak with Animals: You can communicate with animals.
2 Animal Messenger: Sends a Tiny animal to a specific place.
3 Speak with Plants: You can talk to normal plants and plant creatures.
4 Scrying: Spies on subject from a distance.
5 Commune with Nature: Learn about terrain for 1 mile/level.
6 Stone Tell: Talk to natural or worked stone.
7 True Seeing: Lets you see all things as they really are.
8 Word of Recall: Teleports you back to designated place.
9 Foresight: Sixth sense warns of impending danger.


-- N

 

[Deset Gled]

Druids now cast spontaneously (use the spells per day and spells known tables from sorcerer), with wis as key ability score. They can exchange spells known in the same manner als sorcerers.
Spontaneous casting of Summon Nature?s Ally spells no longer applies.
In addition, they get their choice of two paths out of the following list. The spells of the paths are added to the spells known. These cannot be exchanged for other spells.

I would probably stick with the spells per day of the druid, and/or would consider lowering the number of spells known.

I say this assuming they still retain wildshape, animal companions, better BAB and saves, and other Druid features. I feel casting is only a single facet of the Druid's power. To give them the same spells per day of the sorcerer and get more spells known might be making it a bit too powerful.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

To give them the same spells per day of the sorcerer and get more spells known might be making it a bit too powerful.

At the moment they have the same spells known as wizards (afaik) and know more spells (they just get them all, while the wizard only gets 21+Int for free and has to buy and scribe the others (using up time and money).

 

[bensei]

This is very close to the ideas of the divine classes of the Umbragia Setting, as they can be found in Volume IV - Divine Spellcasters (free download).

It is still in the works, esp. the drudic faiths are not worked out yet, but you can see the ideas on the ENWorld Umbragia Messageboards, especially in the Thread on Domains.

Briefly, the idea is that divine casters cast their spells spontaneously and all known spells come from domains (i.e. they do not have access to some, just as the sorcerer). At first each domain was 9 spells (1-9), but now each domain has 15 spells (2*(0-4),1*(5-9)). Have a look...