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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Libertad" data-source="post: 8796061" data-attributes="member: 6750502"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/ul1OYEC.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /><a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/357794/A-Botanical-Guide-to-Barovia" target="_blank">Product Link</a>Product Type: Character Options, Bestiary, AdventureCoS-Required? No, but the adventure ties into itBarovia is famed for its immortal ruler, the monsters that stalk the night, and its foreboding wilds. But often overlooked are the boons and banes that grow beneath the feet of men and monster alike, sheltered within the Svalich Woods. A Botanical Guide to Barovia gives us a diverse assortment of flora-themed material with a touch of gothic horror. We’ve got new equipment in the form of harvested herbs, two new subclasses, six monsters, nearly 20 new pieces of equipment and magic items, and an adventure to top it all off!Subclasses gives us the Tree Speaker for the Ranger and Circle of Rot for the Druid. The Tree Speaker gains a variety of class features making them closer to the green, such as learning Druidic, casting Ensaring Strike a limited number of times per long rest, can turn their flesh into rough spiky spark to deal damage to grappling creatures, coat their weapons in acidic or poisonous sap, and can cast either Awaken or Wall of Thorns once per long rest as the capstone ability. As for the Circle of Rot, it gains a variety of damaging and debuffing bonus spells such as Blight, Bestow Curse, and Ray of Enfeeblement. It can also let one expend uses of wild shape to summon twig blights which explode into a burst of necrotic energy upon death, can detect the presence of charmed/cursed/diseased targets, gain resistance/advantage against necrotic damage and disease, and can summon a necrotic awakened tree as its capstone ability by expending a use of wild shape.The Tree Speaker is a bit limited in that aside from speaking Druidic and the Awaken ability, the bulk of its abilities are strongly geared towards combat. The spiky armor has a nice +1 AC but its damage only triggers when being grappled, which not all monsters do. It doesn’t get bonus spells like the Gloom Stalker or Fey Wanderer, and the addition of a loyal monster via Awaken comes in too late in comparison to other subclasses such as Drakewarden or the revised Beastmaster. Circle of Rot has some good offensive spells, but typically speaking that isn’t always the druid’s strong suit, and the exploding twig blight is a bit weak to use in lieu of the more versatile Wild Shape.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/U2k2eeS.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />The Plants of Barovia is the real plant-based meat of the book. The new plants are effectively items, detailing their common biome, notable uses and effects, rarity, and description of their appearance and where they grow. We have plants of more beneficial use to adventuring types, such as the Daydreamer Peony which can be brewed into a trance-inducing tea that grants one visions of the recent past in an area, the prized Morcant Burl which can grant +1 enchantment to wooden weapons and armor forged from it, the pest-like yet healthy Screamvine which can grant advantage on saves vs disease, and the resilient Sshadowgrass which can be made into strong hemp but disintegrates quickly outside of Barovia. On the hazardous side of things we have Sunblotter Thickets which envelop the canopies of trees, making sections of wood pitch black at all times of day, the predatory Burnblisters which grapple onto living creatures and can explode on contact with fire, and the mobile Fool’s Moss which can trick travelers into losing their sense of direction. In several cases we get descriptions of how Barovians incorporate the plants into their daily lives, such as the Ammarona Bushes whose flowers are ground into a reddish powder for makeup which was favored among the old nobility.New Magic and Mundane Items gives new gear. On the magic side we have items such as the Clearing Sickle which can spend charges to do a cone-shaped AoE slash that deals double damage to plant creatures, Root Boots which grant advantage on checks to climb and avoid forced movement, and a Censer of Spores which is wielded like a flail that deals bonus poison damage and can cast cloudkill once per day, and Mother Night’s Draught which grants darkvision, 13 temporary hit points, and allows the drinker to replace a d20 roll with a 13 one time. For mundane items we have the herbalized forms of the effects of the preceding Plant section, such as Tinderpetal Powder which is effectively a medieval flashbang grenade or Aivless Tea which acts as a mild poison to drinkers with a soul or who are not native to Barovia (but can restore hit points to the undead).Copper Stretch Goal is a supplementary PDF providing us with 5 new magic items on account of the Botanical Guide reaching Best Copper Seller on the DM’s Guild. It provides us with a Forest Ranger’s Hat that grants the wear the ability to put out fires, a Circlet of Flowering which can sprout one of three flowers that each have their own unique buff that lasts for a minute (cold resistance, advantage on insight and nature checks, can cast speak with plants), a Shield of Ages that is a +1 shield that increases Wisdom by 1 and makes the wielder immune to magical aging and the slow spell, a Staff of the Forest which can substitute one’s spellcasting ability for Strength when using it as a weapon along with charges that can be spent on a short list of plant-based spells, and a Backwoods Key which if placed into the keyhole of a door opens up into an extradimensional space that is a 100 foot long hallway made of wood and foliage that can be used to to 3 times. Each use creates increasingly creepy areas, with ravens that only say “doom, doom” on the 2nd use, and a terrifying plant creature using boneclaw stats on the 3rd and final use.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/KyS498c.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />Monsters gives us a half-dozen new foes to menace the good people of Barovia. Four of them are on the low end of the Challenge Rating spectrum, with two (Chaanshaaz and Janus Tree) at higher 6 and 7 respectively. Burnblisters are corrupted plants which slowly move and grapple targets, but take triple damage from fire and grappled creatures take 1.5 times the damage from the fire as well. Wereraven Elders are more powerful versions of wereravens, with a modest selection of druid spells and can toss a handful of blinding pocket feathers at enemies in melee. Shadowfell Dryads are stronger versions of their normally benevolent race corrupted by the Shadowfell, and trade in their Innate Spells for a more offensive variety. Treelings are tiny creatures made of animated wood that live in small tribes; they are fluent only in Druidic and are more of nuisance than a threat, attacking with blowguns. Chaanshaaz appear as hulking elk carcasses reinforced by a parasitic plant, being a plant-undead hybrid for creature type with a damaging unnerving stare that can blind and stun as well as shedding a noxious ichor. Janus Trees are inhabited by the spirits of soulless Barovians, capable of draining the essence of creatures it grasps with its roots, can deliver a damaging cacophony of wails, and can summon spirits to fight on its behalf. But if Barovians are soulless, how do they have spirits?Barring the Treelings, the monsters have a good variety in what they can do to stymie adventurers. Burnblisters serve best as traps or paired up with enemies who know to take advantage of their explosive properties, and the Dominate Beasts/Plants ability of Shadowfell Dryads can easily justify having any sort of natural minions alongside them in combat. While neither have Legendary nor Lair Actions, the Chaanshaaz and Janus Tree have “boss monster” vibes for low-level groups in their variety of attacks, several of which are multi-target.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/NXjHPnz.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />The Grove of Grey Mists is a short adventure taking place in a demiplane adjacent to Barovia. While the Dark Powers have a sick kind of fondness for Strahd in their tormenting of him, they do not underestimate his power and thus created a failsafe in case he ever grows too uncontrollable. They created a grove held in a secret demiplane within the Shadowfell, and its location and purpose are unknown to Strahd. If he becomes aware of its existence, it will be a sunk cost in that the various minions he sends to infiltrate it end up dead or disappearing. Within the grove is the Heart of Barovia, a cursed stake that can be used to slay Strahd for good…at a terrible price!The book gives various ways of incorporating the Grove into a Curse of Strahd adventure, as well as means to use it in other settings. The grove is in an unusually silent area of the Svalich Woods, with a ring of impenetrable trees that need to be climbed or flown over in order to enter. A wereraven elder associated with the Keepers of the Feather will warn the PCs away, even resorting to non-lethal combat should they persist (he calls for a ceasefire if the PCs harm him enough). The entryway to the demiplane is a dark tunnel made up of a canopy of thick branches, continuing for a third of a mile shrouded in thick mists.The grove itself is an open-ended location with six areas to visit, and PCs will be trapped in the demiplane until they kill one of the vampire spawn in the Grove or when the wood woad acting as the guardian for the Heart gives the party its blessing to leave. Some interesting people and places in the Grove include……a skeleton animated by illusions of the Dark Powers that tells the party about a weapon that can end the dark lord in the heart of the grove.…omens that can be seen in the surrounding mists when the PCs take a rest.…a hag by the name of Marsha who will bribe the PCs with coins and a magic scroll if they kill the other inhabitants of the grove who she doesn’t trust/is annoyed by.…a dusk elf cursed to forget recent events every thirty minutes, continually fishing with a spear at a pond. At the bottom of the pond is a sarcophagus containing a vestige with a dark gift that allows the pactmaker to turn invisible for a limited time, but every time it’s used a loved one forgets their love for them.…a Shadowfell Dryad who wants to escape the grove and has a pet shambling mound to defend her, and wants the PCs to kill the wood woad in the belief this will help her goal.…a Janus tree whose souls are those slain by Strahd’s forces, and can be reasoned with by PCs via a skill challenge. Success allows the tree to magically bless a weapon the party is carrying.…the Wood Woad, guardian of the grove who stands vigil over the only way into the heart of the grove. He will not allow the PCs to pass, but can give his blessings to allow them to leave the grove. PCs will have to fight him in order to pass.…the dark heart of the grove, which contains a tiny tree that stands as tall as a halfling. It absorbed all the nutrients in a 30 foot radius, creating a circle of bare, cracked earth. The center of the tree has a thick, perfectly shaped stake that is actually the Heart of Barovia. This legendary magic item functions as a +3 dagger that can gain up to 13 charges, with 1 charge for every creature it kills. The charges can be spent to deal 4 force damage per charge spent, and grants an equal number of temporary hit points to the target.But gaining this item comes with a cost. First, a trial, for it is guarded by vampire spawn held in place by the roots of the tree snaking through the ground. They can attack the PCs with unique lair actions such as creating magical darkness, lashing tree branches, and skeletons burrowing their way to the surface. A character who touches the dagger is contacted by the Dark Powers, and the Heart’s properties can only be used and attuned by someone who accepts the deal. The accepting character also gains a randomly-determined Dark Gift from a table in line with a particular vestige, such as teleporting in darkness but becoming weak to sunlight as a vampire, or being able to cast counterspell with a free 7th level slot once per day but one’s lifespan is shortened by half.But worst of all, a character who attunes to the Heart of Barovia can never leave the domain, and if they slay Strahd with the stake they become the new Darklord of Barovia. The curse cannot be broken save via a Wish spell or by killing Strahd…at which point it’s moot, as Darklords are unable to leave their own domains.PCs who reject this dark offer won’t leave empty-handed. There’s an Arrow of Construct Slaying embedded in one of the trees in the dark heart of the grove.Overall Thoughts: I’m not exactly thrilled by the subclasses, but I like everything else in this book. The plants and items provide a variety of useful ends for PCs, which can encourage parties to brave the wilds of Barovia for the desired herbs. The setting-specific lore is brief enough that this book can be easily ported to other worlds, and I talked about why I like the monsters. The grove is a good adventure, particularly in that the cursed nature of the Heart of Barovia mimics the tragic fall of willfully making the ultimate price to defeat a greater evil. This price isn’t foisted unexpectedly upon the characters either: they must choose to ignore the wereraven’s warnings, choose to slay the grove’s protector who tries to warn them again, and then they must choose to make a pact with the Dark Powers to gain the Heart.Of course, such an offer may not be all that tempting to certain gaming groups, so the addition of other treasure in the Grove is helpful. My only main criticism besides the subclasses is the lack of market prices provided for the plants or mundane items, which I feel is an oversight. Join us next time as we defend the town of Vallaki from a Shadowfell-spawned colossus in Duskwalker!</blockquote>

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