Kerrick
First Post
Okay folks, I need some help with this. I've got it to the point where I need just a few abilities, and I'd also like to get some feedback on what I've got so far.
The druid masteries weren't my idea, though all the abilities for them are. Like with the monk, I basically ripped the guts out of the class and started over; instead of being centered solely around wildshaping, I gave druids the ability to focus on different aspects of the archetype - animals, the elements, plants, and weather. Wildshape was split up among all four (I'm sure you can guess how), which reduced the druid's overall power by a lot. I then gave them terrain mastery (just minor bonuses, but great for flavor) and some extra generic abilities in addition to their mastery abilities.
Thus, I present to you... the druid.
The Druid
BAB: Medium
Saves: Fort/Will high, Ref low
Abilities
1: Animal companion
2: Favored terrain
3: Mastery ability I
4: One with nature
5: --
6: Favored terrain
7: --
8: Resist nature's lure, mastery ability II
9: --
10: Favored terrain
11: --
12: Venom immunity
13: Mastery ability III
14: Favored terrain
15: --
16: Speak with nature
17: --
18: Favored terrain, mastery ability IV
19: --
20: Hibernate
Animal Companion: As the PHB druid.
Favored Terrain: At 1st level, a druid can select a terrain type from among the following: aquatic, desert, forest, hills, marsh, mountains, plains, and underground. He has spent so much time living in and attuning herself to the environment around his that he feels at home there.
Due to the druid's experience in that environment, he gains a +2 bonus on Perception and Survival checks when using these skills in that environment, and on Knowledge (nature) checks made in association with that terrain type (or on Knowledge (dungeoneering) checks made in association with underground environments, if he has selected Underground as a favored terrain). Each terrain type grants additional bonuses based on that terrain, which can generally be used anywhere.
At 6th, 10th, 14th, and 18th levels, the druid can select an additional favored terrain; the bonuses given above apply to the new terrain. At each such interval, the bonuses in any one favored environment (including the one just selected, if so desired) increase by 2. For example, a 5th-level druid has two favored environments. In one he has a +4 bonus on the appropriate skill checks, and in the other he has a +2 bonus. At 10th level, he has three favored environments, and he gains an additional +2 bonus, which he can allocate to any of his three favored environments. In order to gain a new terrain type, he must have spent at least a month (total, not necessarily all at once) in the terrain, getting acclimated to it and learning the ecology.
Aquatic: The druid is at home in the water, either rivers, lakes, or the ocean. Most druids who choose this terrain type are aquatic species – locathah, triton, etc. – but many landbound druids who spend a lot of time on or near the water (on the shore or islands, e.g.) choose it also. A druid with the aquatic favored terrain gains a +6 competence bonus to Swim checks; if he has a Swim speed, it is increased by 10 feet.
Desert: The druid is at home in a desert environment. He is resistant to extremes of heat and is not fatigued by extremely high temperatures (up to 140 F).
Forest: The druid has spent a good deal of time in the forest (or jungle). He has learned how to camouflage herself and is a competent hunter; he gains a +4 competence bonus to Stealth checks.
Hills/Mountains: The druid is attuned to the high peaks and unforgiving weather of the mountains. He is resistant to extremes of cold (down to -20 F) and does not take nonlethal damage from cold; he need make Fort saves to avoid fatigue only once per hour. He also gains a +4 competence bonus on Climb checks, or a 10-foot bonus to climb speed if he has one.
Marsh: The druid is at home among the dangerous plants and creatures of the swamps and bayous. He gains a +4 resistance bonus on saves vs. disease and poison, and a +4 competence bonus to Swim checks.
Plains: The druid is at home among the rolling grasslands, prairie, or tundra, and is accustomed to running for long distances in the open. He gains the Run feat for free.
Underground: The druid is accustomed to the close, dark spaces of caves and tunnels. He can make a DC 10 Survival check to determine how far underground he is, and which direction is true north (if he has 5 or more ranks in Survival, he doesn't need to make a check).
Druidic Mastery: At 3rd level, a druid can gain mastery over animals, the elements, plants, or weather. Those who follow these paths are often referred to as Beastlords (animals), Elemental Lords (elements), Verdant Lords (plants), or Stormlords (weather). Female druids are usually called Ladies instead of Lords.
At 8th, 13th, and 18th levels, the druid gains additional abilities related to his focus. He can, instead, choose a different path; at each mastery level thereafter, he can choose to advance in either path, but not both at once.
Each path is described below.
One With Nature (Ex): A druid can move through any sort of undergrowth or difficult terrain (natural thorns, briars, overgrown areas, soft sand, scree, etc.) at his normal speed and without taking damage or suffering any other impairment. Thorns, briars, and overgrown areas that have been magically manipulated to impede motion still affect his, however.
If he is in his favored terrain, he also leaves no trail in natural surroundings and cannot be tracked. He can choose to leave a trail if he wishes.
Resist Nature’s Lure (Ex): The druid gains a +4 bonus on saving throws against the spell-like abilities of fey.
Venom Immunity (Ex): Druids are immune to natural poisons – that is, poisons produced by creatures of the Animal, Plant or Vermin types, or those produced by normal plants (but not those made with or derived from plants, like belladonna). Poisons from any other creature, magical poisons, and artificially created toxins affect them normally.
Speak with Nature (Su): All druids can speak to plants, animals, or the earth itself, depending on their chosen mastery. Beastlords can speak with animals, as the spell; Elemental Lords can communicate with stone, as per the stone tell spell; Verdant Lords can speak with plants, as the spell; and Stormlords can speak with airborne creatures, as the speak with animals spell. This ability is usable at will.
Hibernate (Su): The druid can fall into a deep state of suspended animation. This requires 10 minutes to perform; he must be in a quiet place where he can focus his concentration – if anything interrupts him, he must start over. The duration (which must be at least 1 month, but no more than 10 years per class level) must be stated prior to entering this state of prolonged sleep. While hibernating, his life energy drops to a low ebb, and he appears to be dead to nonmagical examination. He ages at only 1/10th the normal rate, though if he reaches his maximum age while hibernating, he dies normally.
The druid can set one condition per five class levels that will cause him to awaken (awakening requires only a single round). These conditions can be in regard to any object, creature or action that occurs within 1 mile and follow the same basic rules as the contingency spell. Most druids add physical harm as a condition; if it is not stated, however, the druid can be killed without awakening.
This ability can be used at will.
Druidic Masteries
[sblock]Mastery of Animals: Beastlords are druids more attuned to the animal kingdom. A typical Beastlord knows every species of animal that lives in the area he protects, and often knows most individuals by sight. They often have a small entourage of wild and tamed animals around them, either openly following or within calling distance. Beastlords are most common in areas with varied animal life, but they can be found in any terrain or climate, from arctic to tropical, mountains to plains.
Beastlords are never attacked by animals unless the animal is attacked first, rabid, or under another person (or creature's) control; their class level for purposes of animal companion abilities (and their effective level for gaining advanced companions) is treated as 2 higher than normal.
Mastery of Elements: Elemental Lords serve the most varied role of all druids, and are among the rarest. They are often called wardens, as their job is to prevent natural disasters – forest fires, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, floods, etc. - or mitigate their effects. They often settle in areas plagued by such occurrences, using their abilities to avert disasters, or control their effects (forest fires are often necessary for some trees to spread their seeds, for example).
Elemental Lords must choose two elements in which to specialize, though they can change this specialization each time they gain a new class level. When a mastery ability states that the druid can summon a creature of their chosen type, it must be one of these two elements.
Elemental Lords gain a +2 bonus to the save DCs of any spells they cast with elemental descriptors (Air, Earth, Fire, or Water).
Mastery of Plants: Verdant Lords are dedicated to the preservation of nature in general and plant life in specific. A brief touch can make a plant look healthier, while a little attention and a few words can make a flower bloom. They are most common in areas with heavy plant life – rain forests and jungles, or just plain forests.
Verdant Lords are never attacked by sentient plants unless the plant is attacked first or is under another person (or creature's) control. They can also move through areas of undergrowth that have been magically enchanted to impede movement, like spike growth, without taking damage or being impaired.
Mastery of Weather: Stormlords are druids who have learned to control the weather (though "control" is often a misleading term – they typically "nudge" it a bit here and there to avoid drastic climate changes). They are among the most powerful of druids, able to call down lightning from a clear sky, summon or banish storms, and eventually call air elementals. Stormlords are fairly rare and most commonly found in areas with chronically bad weather – a region lashed by severe storms, for example. They serve to weaken the storms and bring more beneficial weather to the region to aid farming, prevent destruction of natural resources, and generally protect and help all who live in the area, be they man or beast.
Stormlords gain a +4 bonus on Fortitude saves vs. severe weather, a +4 bonus to Survival checks to predict the weather, and a +2 bonus to the save DCs for all weather-related spells they cast.
The abilities gained by druids of each mastery are listed below.
Level I
Wild Empathy (Ex): A druid can improve the attitude of an animal, just like using Diplomacy to improve the attitude of a person. The druid rolls 1d20 and adds her druid level and her Charisma modifier to determine the wild empathy check result.
The typical domestic animal has a starting attitude of Indifferent, while wild animals are usually Unfriendly.
To use wild empathy, the druid and the animal must be able to study each other, which means that they must be within 30 feet of one another under normal conditions. Generally, influencing an animal in this way takes 1 minute, but as with influencing people, it might take more or less time.
A druid can also use this ability to influence a magical beast with an Intelligence score of 1 or 2, but she takes a -4 penalty on the check.
Plant Companion (Ex): A Verdant Lord can create a plant golem to serve as a companion (see below).
Elemental Companion (Ex): An Elemental Lord gains a Small (2 HD) elemental of any type as a companion instead of a normal animal companion. The elemental serves as an aid to the druid's power, alerting her to areas that need attention, or helping to perform her duties. As it gains HD, it also increases in size (see the elemental entry in the Monster Manual for advancement), enabling it to better help the druid. It otherwise follows the rules for druid companions.
Weather Resistance (Ex): Stormlords are immune to many effects of weather, due to their innate ability to control it. At first, this ability is relatively minor – a Stormlord won't get wet in a rainstorm, is seemingly unaffected by heat or cold (+4 bonus to Fort saves), can move safely through a dust storm, sandstorm, or anything similar (no damage taken, and no chance of choking), and can call up a mild wind (up to 10 mph) at will as a standard action. In addition, she is not affected (no Fort save necessary) by any winds short of Severe, as long as she is on the ground – a druid who is flying (either from a spell, item, or polymorphed) is immune to winds up to Strong only.
At mastery level III, the druid can extend her protection to an ally she touches, as a free action; it lasts only as long as they maintain contact, but there is no limit on how long the protection lasts. The druid's resistance to winds is increased to Windstorm strength, and a flying druid is unaffected by winds up to Severe.
Level II
Wild Shape (Su): Once per day, a Beastlord can draw upon her ties with the animal kingdom and change into any Small or Medium animal and back again. In order to change into an animal, she must have studied any individual of its type, either alive or dead, for at least 3 rounds. Thereafter, she can add that animal to her list of allowed forms (see below). Her options for new forms include all creatures with the animal type.
When the druid gains this ability, she automatically starts with one animal shape of her choice, which must fulfill the above requirements. She can know up to one animal form per class level; she can "swap" one animal form, if she has reached her maximum, each time she gains a new level.
This ability functions like the polymorph spell, except as noted here. The effect lasts for 10 minutes per druid level, or until she changes back. Changing form (to animal or back) is a standard action and doesn’t provoke an attack of opportunity. Each time the druid changes form, she regains lost hit points as if she had rested for a night. The new form’s Challenge Rating can’t exceed the druid's class level.
Any gear worn or carried by the druid melds into the new form and becomes nonfunctional. When the druid reverts to her true form, any objects previously melded into the new form reappear in the same location on her body that they previously occupied and are once again functional. Any new items worn in the assumed form fall off and land at the druid's feet.
A druid loses her ability to speak while in animal form because she is limited to the sounds that a normal, untrained animal can make, but she can communicate normally with other animals of the same general grouping as her new form. (The normal sound a wild parrot makes is a squawk, so changing to this form does not permit speech.)
Every 3 levels after gaining this ability, the druid gains an additional use of the Wild Shape power. At 11th level, she can assume the form of a Tiny animal; at 14th, she can assume the form of a Huge animal.
Elemental Form (Su): Once per day as a standard action, an Elemental Lord can change form into a Medium elemental of his chosen type, or a creature with that subtype. This is otherwise identical to the Wild Shape power listed above.
At 12th level, he can change into a Large elemental; at 16th, he can change into a Huge elemental.
Plant Shape(Ex): A Verdant Lord can change form into a plant creature. This is otherwise identical to the Wild Shape power listed above.
Stormrider (Ex): A Stormlord gains a Small (2 HD) air elemental as a companion instead of a normal animal companion. The elemental serves as an aid to the druid's power, helping him summon or control the weather (effectively, when the companion is within 20 feet, the druid's caster level is increased by 1 for purposes of weather-based spells). As it gains HD, it also increases in size (see the elemental entry in the Monster Manual for advancement), enabling it to better help the druid. It otherwise follows the rules for druid companions. Alternately, he can choose a creature with the Air subtype, or any bird creature (eagle, arrowhawk, roc, etc.), provided it is no higher than CR 2.
Level III
Beastmaster (Ex): A Beastlord's effective class level is treated as 4 higher for purposes of her animal companion – both companion abilities and alternate companions.
Summon Elemental (Su): Once per day, as a full-round action, an Elemental Lord can summon one Large or two Medium elementals of any type, provided there is a large enough source of the element nearby. The elementals follow his commands to the best of their abilities; they remain for 1 minute per druid level or until killed or dismissed.
At mastery level IV, he can summon one Huge or two Large elementals.
Control Tree (Su): Once per day, as a full round action, the Verdant Lord can take control of a normal tree. The tree effectively gains the stats of a treant, but is nonintelligent and fully under the druid's control. He must spend a move action to direct it, but he need not maintain concentration. The tree remains active for 1 minute per class level, until the druid loses or relinquishes control, or until destroyed. If he loses control for whatever reason, the tree roots itself in the nearest place it can (on flat ground with a good source of dirt) and goes inert.
Summon Stormrider (Su): Once per day, as a full-round action, a Stormlord can summon one Large or two Medium air elementals. The elementals follow his commands to the best of their abilities; they remain for 1 minute per druid level or until killed or dismissed.
At mastery level IV, he can summon one Huge or two Large elementals.
Level IV
Master of Beasts (Ex): A Beastlord can summon magical beasts using his summon nature's ally spells. Creatures should be assigned to level lists according to their CR, which should be roughly equivalent to other creatures on the list. For example, an ankheg (CR 4) would be placed on the summon nature's ally II list.
Control Element (Su): An Elemental Lord can control large amounts of elemental matter. In order to exert control, she must be within 5 feet per class level of the element and must be able to see it (this restriction is waived for air, for obvious reasons). Gaining initial control of the element is a full-round action; thereafter, she must maintain concentration, and can control it for up to 1 round per class level. She can manipulate up to 10 cubic feet per class level, all of which must be touching - she can't control several separate fires, for instance.
The limits of what can be done are nearly limitless, subject to the player's imagination and the DM's discretion. The druid could, for instance, could create a miniature dust devil that deals 1d6 points of damage per round to anyone caught in it (creatures and objects of Tiny or smaller size could be swept away); create animals out of existing sources of fire and control their movement, or simply make a mass of fire move on its own; make the ground move (ripple, open up under someone or something, or rise), create hands to grapple or pummel, or change its consistency, turning earth into fine dust or quicksand, or stone into mud or sand; or raise or lower water, as the spell control water, or create a small tidal wave (enough to swamp a small boat), or create tentacles of water that can snatch creatures nearby or in the water (within 10 feet of the water source) and drag them under to drown. Generally speaking, a controlled elemental mass uses the monster size rules for purposes of grappling, attack rolls, etc.
The druid can relinquish control at any time as a free action; if she loses concentration for any reason, the element automatically becomes inert; air, fire, and most water constructs revert to their normal state (i.e., dispese), while earth usually remains changed (pillars of rock raised from the ground, for instance).
Control Plants (Su): Three times per day, a Verdant Lord can exert control over all nonsentient plants within 5 feet per class level. He can either maintain concentration and make them take specific actions or let them freely act on a given command.
If he concentrates, he can have the plants do anything of which they are capable – trees can move their branches to lash at or hinder opponents, vines and bushes can move to entangle foes or move out of the druid's way to provide a clear path. Plants cannot uproot themselves, however; if the druid loses his concentration, they will continue to carry out the last command given until he resumes concentration or the duration runs out.
If the druid gives a simple command, plants in the area will do their best to carry it out - again, to the limits of their abilities. As above, these commands are usually limited to hindering or killing foes – if they are hindering, each enemy must make a Reflex save (DC 10 + 1/2 the druid's level + druid's Wis bonus) each round or become entangled, as the spell; even on a successful save, they take 1d4 points of damage from thorns, lashing branches, etc. If the command is given to kill, each enemy must make a Reflex save each round or take 2d6 points of damage (a successful save halves the damage; a natural 1 doubles it).
The control lasts for 1 round per class level or until the druid dismisses it; commands can be no more than 10 words long and can be changed once per round as a standard action.
Control Weather (Su): Once per day, a Stormlord can call up a specific weather phenomenon – a tornado, strong winds, lightning, a rainstorm, etc. If there is not already a storm present, it requires 5 minutes to do so. Calling lightning, high winds, or other normal phenomena from a storm is a full-round action; the druid can direct lightning strikes (up to 1 per class level, as the call lightning spell) at any target he can see within 50 feet per class level.[/sblock]
Golem, Plant
[sblock]
Medium Construct
Hit Dice: 6d10+20 (53 hp)
Initiative: +0
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares) (can’t run)
AC: 14 (+0 Dex, +4 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 14
Attack: Slam +4 melee (1d8+4)
Full Attack: Slam +4 melee (1d8+4)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: --
Special Qualities: Construct traits, DR 5/wood, immunity to spells
Saves: Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +2
Abilities: Str 19, Dex 10, Con -, Int -, Wis 10, Cha 1.
Skills: --
Feats: Power Attack(B)
Environment: Any forest
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 4
Treasure: Nil
Alignment: Always Neutral
Advancement: 7-11 HD (Large), 12-18 HD (Huge)
Level Adjustment: --
Plant golems resemble small humanoids made from plant matter - leaves, branches, vines, etc. They typically have acorns for eyes. They can understand simple commands of up to a dozen words, and can be used for a variety of tasks, from fighting to manual labor.
A plant golem resembles a humanoid mass of plants, leaves, sticks, etc. It has only a suggestion of a face – a shallow hole for a mouth, no nose, and two acorns for eyes. It cannot speak.
Combat
A plant golem attacks with its powerful arms, fighting until slain or its creator orders it back.
Immunity to Spells (Ex): A plant golem is immune to any spell or spell-like ability that allows spell resistance. In addition, certain spells and effects function differently against the creature, as noted below.
Fire-based attacks and spells that affect plants (horrid wilting, etc.) do normal damage.[/sblock]
The druid masteries weren't my idea, though all the abilities for them are. Like with the monk, I basically ripped the guts out of the class and started over; instead of being centered solely around wildshaping, I gave druids the ability to focus on different aspects of the archetype - animals, the elements, plants, and weather. Wildshape was split up among all four (I'm sure you can guess how), which reduced the druid's overall power by a lot. I then gave them terrain mastery (just minor bonuses, but great for flavor) and some extra generic abilities in addition to their mastery abilities.
Thus, I present to you... the druid.
The Druid
BAB: Medium
Saves: Fort/Will high, Ref low
Abilities
1: Animal companion
2: Favored terrain
3: Mastery ability I
4: One with nature
5: --
6: Favored terrain
7: --
8: Resist nature's lure, mastery ability II
9: --
10: Favored terrain
11: --
12: Venom immunity
13: Mastery ability III
14: Favored terrain
15: --
16: Speak with nature
17: --
18: Favored terrain, mastery ability IV
19: --
20: Hibernate
Animal Companion: As the PHB druid.
Favored Terrain: At 1st level, a druid can select a terrain type from among the following: aquatic, desert, forest, hills, marsh, mountains, plains, and underground. He has spent so much time living in and attuning herself to the environment around his that he feels at home there.
Due to the druid's experience in that environment, he gains a +2 bonus on Perception and Survival checks when using these skills in that environment, and on Knowledge (nature) checks made in association with that terrain type (or on Knowledge (dungeoneering) checks made in association with underground environments, if he has selected Underground as a favored terrain). Each terrain type grants additional bonuses based on that terrain, which can generally be used anywhere.
At 6th, 10th, 14th, and 18th levels, the druid can select an additional favored terrain; the bonuses given above apply to the new terrain. At each such interval, the bonuses in any one favored environment (including the one just selected, if so desired) increase by 2. For example, a 5th-level druid has two favored environments. In one he has a +4 bonus on the appropriate skill checks, and in the other he has a +2 bonus. At 10th level, he has three favored environments, and he gains an additional +2 bonus, which he can allocate to any of his three favored environments. In order to gain a new terrain type, he must have spent at least a month (total, not necessarily all at once) in the terrain, getting acclimated to it and learning the ecology.
Aquatic: The druid is at home in the water, either rivers, lakes, or the ocean. Most druids who choose this terrain type are aquatic species – locathah, triton, etc. – but many landbound druids who spend a lot of time on or near the water (on the shore or islands, e.g.) choose it also. A druid with the aquatic favored terrain gains a +6 competence bonus to Swim checks; if he has a Swim speed, it is increased by 10 feet.
Desert: The druid is at home in a desert environment. He is resistant to extremes of heat and is not fatigued by extremely high temperatures (up to 140 F).
Forest: The druid has spent a good deal of time in the forest (or jungle). He has learned how to camouflage herself and is a competent hunter; he gains a +4 competence bonus to Stealth checks.
Hills/Mountains: The druid is attuned to the high peaks and unforgiving weather of the mountains. He is resistant to extremes of cold (down to -20 F) and does not take nonlethal damage from cold; he need make Fort saves to avoid fatigue only once per hour. He also gains a +4 competence bonus on Climb checks, or a 10-foot bonus to climb speed if he has one.
Marsh: The druid is at home among the dangerous plants and creatures of the swamps and bayous. He gains a +4 resistance bonus on saves vs. disease and poison, and a +4 competence bonus to Swim checks.
Plains: The druid is at home among the rolling grasslands, prairie, or tundra, and is accustomed to running for long distances in the open. He gains the Run feat for free.
Underground: The druid is accustomed to the close, dark spaces of caves and tunnels. He can make a DC 10 Survival check to determine how far underground he is, and which direction is true north (if he has 5 or more ranks in Survival, he doesn't need to make a check).
Druidic Mastery: At 3rd level, a druid can gain mastery over animals, the elements, plants, or weather. Those who follow these paths are often referred to as Beastlords (animals), Elemental Lords (elements), Verdant Lords (plants), or Stormlords (weather). Female druids are usually called Ladies instead of Lords.
At 8th, 13th, and 18th levels, the druid gains additional abilities related to his focus. He can, instead, choose a different path; at each mastery level thereafter, he can choose to advance in either path, but not both at once.
Each path is described below.
One With Nature (Ex): A druid can move through any sort of undergrowth or difficult terrain (natural thorns, briars, overgrown areas, soft sand, scree, etc.) at his normal speed and without taking damage or suffering any other impairment. Thorns, briars, and overgrown areas that have been magically manipulated to impede motion still affect his, however.
If he is in his favored terrain, he also leaves no trail in natural surroundings and cannot be tracked. He can choose to leave a trail if he wishes.
Resist Nature’s Lure (Ex): The druid gains a +4 bonus on saving throws against the spell-like abilities of fey.
Venom Immunity (Ex): Druids are immune to natural poisons – that is, poisons produced by creatures of the Animal, Plant or Vermin types, or those produced by normal plants (but not those made with or derived from plants, like belladonna). Poisons from any other creature, magical poisons, and artificially created toxins affect them normally.
Speak with Nature (Su): All druids can speak to plants, animals, or the earth itself, depending on their chosen mastery. Beastlords can speak with animals, as the spell; Elemental Lords can communicate with stone, as per the stone tell spell; Verdant Lords can speak with plants, as the spell; and Stormlords can speak with airborne creatures, as the speak with animals spell. This ability is usable at will.
Hibernate (Su): The druid can fall into a deep state of suspended animation. This requires 10 minutes to perform; he must be in a quiet place where he can focus his concentration – if anything interrupts him, he must start over. The duration (which must be at least 1 month, but no more than 10 years per class level) must be stated prior to entering this state of prolonged sleep. While hibernating, his life energy drops to a low ebb, and he appears to be dead to nonmagical examination. He ages at only 1/10th the normal rate, though if he reaches his maximum age while hibernating, he dies normally.
The druid can set one condition per five class levels that will cause him to awaken (awakening requires only a single round). These conditions can be in regard to any object, creature or action that occurs within 1 mile and follow the same basic rules as the contingency spell. Most druids add physical harm as a condition; if it is not stated, however, the druid can be killed without awakening.
This ability can be used at will.
Druidic Masteries
[sblock]Mastery of Animals: Beastlords are druids more attuned to the animal kingdom. A typical Beastlord knows every species of animal that lives in the area he protects, and often knows most individuals by sight. They often have a small entourage of wild and tamed animals around them, either openly following or within calling distance. Beastlords are most common in areas with varied animal life, but they can be found in any terrain or climate, from arctic to tropical, mountains to plains.
Beastlords are never attacked by animals unless the animal is attacked first, rabid, or under another person (or creature's) control; their class level for purposes of animal companion abilities (and their effective level for gaining advanced companions) is treated as 2 higher than normal.
Mastery of Elements: Elemental Lords serve the most varied role of all druids, and are among the rarest. They are often called wardens, as their job is to prevent natural disasters – forest fires, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, floods, etc. - or mitigate their effects. They often settle in areas plagued by such occurrences, using their abilities to avert disasters, or control their effects (forest fires are often necessary for some trees to spread their seeds, for example).
Elemental Lords must choose two elements in which to specialize, though they can change this specialization each time they gain a new class level. When a mastery ability states that the druid can summon a creature of their chosen type, it must be one of these two elements.
Elemental Lords gain a +2 bonus to the save DCs of any spells they cast with elemental descriptors (Air, Earth, Fire, or Water).
Mastery of Plants: Verdant Lords are dedicated to the preservation of nature in general and plant life in specific. A brief touch can make a plant look healthier, while a little attention and a few words can make a flower bloom. They are most common in areas with heavy plant life – rain forests and jungles, or just plain forests.
Verdant Lords are never attacked by sentient plants unless the plant is attacked first or is under another person (or creature's) control. They can also move through areas of undergrowth that have been magically enchanted to impede movement, like spike growth, without taking damage or being impaired.
Mastery of Weather: Stormlords are druids who have learned to control the weather (though "control" is often a misleading term – they typically "nudge" it a bit here and there to avoid drastic climate changes). They are among the most powerful of druids, able to call down lightning from a clear sky, summon or banish storms, and eventually call air elementals. Stormlords are fairly rare and most commonly found in areas with chronically bad weather – a region lashed by severe storms, for example. They serve to weaken the storms and bring more beneficial weather to the region to aid farming, prevent destruction of natural resources, and generally protect and help all who live in the area, be they man or beast.
Stormlords gain a +4 bonus on Fortitude saves vs. severe weather, a +4 bonus to Survival checks to predict the weather, and a +2 bonus to the save DCs for all weather-related spells they cast.
The abilities gained by druids of each mastery are listed below.
Level I
Wild Empathy (Ex): A druid can improve the attitude of an animal, just like using Diplomacy to improve the attitude of a person. The druid rolls 1d20 and adds her druid level and her Charisma modifier to determine the wild empathy check result.
The typical domestic animal has a starting attitude of Indifferent, while wild animals are usually Unfriendly.
To use wild empathy, the druid and the animal must be able to study each other, which means that they must be within 30 feet of one another under normal conditions. Generally, influencing an animal in this way takes 1 minute, but as with influencing people, it might take more or less time.
A druid can also use this ability to influence a magical beast with an Intelligence score of 1 or 2, but she takes a -4 penalty on the check.
Plant Companion (Ex): A Verdant Lord can create a plant golem to serve as a companion (see below).
Elemental Companion (Ex): An Elemental Lord gains a Small (2 HD) elemental of any type as a companion instead of a normal animal companion. The elemental serves as an aid to the druid's power, alerting her to areas that need attention, or helping to perform her duties. As it gains HD, it also increases in size (see the elemental entry in the Monster Manual for advancement), enabling it to better help the druid. It otherwise follows the rules for druid companions.
Weather Resistance (Ex): Stormlords are immune to many effects of weather, due to their innate ability to control it. At first, this ability is relatively minor – a Stormlord won't get wet in a rainstorm, is seemingly unaffected by heat or cold (+4 bonus to Fort saves), can move safely through a dust storm, sandstorm, or anything similar (no damage taken, and no chance of choking), and can call up a mild wind (up to 10 mph) at will as a standard action. In addition, she is not affected (no Fort save necessary) by any winds short of Severe, as long as she is on the ground – a druid who is flying (either from a spell, item, or polymorphed) is immune to winds up to Strong only.
At mastery level III, the druid can extend her protection to an ally she touches, as a free action; it lasts only as long as they maintain contact, but there is no limit on how long the protection lasts. The druid's resistance to winds is increased to Windstorm strength, and a flying druid is unaffected by winds up to Severe.
Level II
Wild Shape (Su): Once per day, a Beastlord can draw upon her ties with the animal kingdom and change into any Small or Medium animal and back again. In order to change into an animal, she must have studied any individual of its type, either alive or dead, for at least 3 rounds. Thereafter, she can add that animal to her list of allowed forms (see below). Her options for new forms include all creatures with the animal type.
When the druid gains this ability, she automatically starts with one animal shape of her choice, which must fulfill the above requirements. She can know up to one animal form per class level; she can "swap" one animal form, if she has reached her maximum, each time she gains a new level.
This ability functions like the polymorph spell, except as noted here. The effect lasts for 10 minutes per druid level, or until she changes back. Changing form (to animal or back) is a standard action and doesn’t provoke an attack of opportunity. Each time the druid changes form, she regains lost hit points as if she had rested for a night. The new form’s Challenge Rating can’t exceed the druid's class level.
Any gear worn or carried by the druid melds into the new form and becomes nonfunctional. When the druid reverts to her true form, any objects previously melded into the new form reappear in the same location on her body that they previously occupied and are once again functional. Any new items worn in the assumed form fall off and land at the druid's feet.
A druid loses her ability to speak while in animal form because she is limited to the sounds that a normal, untrained animal can make, but she can communicate normally with other animals of the same general grouping as her new form. (The normal sound a wild parrot makes is a squawk, so changing to this form does not permit speech.)
Every 3 levels after gaining this ability, the druid gains an additional use of the Wild Shape power. At 11th level, she can assume the form of a Tiny animal; at 14th, she can assume the form of a Huge animal.
Elemental Form (Su): Once per day as a standard action, an Elemental Lord can change form into a Medium elemental of his chosen type, or a creature with that subtype. This is otherwise identical to the Wild Shape power listed above.
At 12th level, he can change into a Large elemental; at 16th, he can change into a Huge elemental.
Plant Shape(Ex): A Verdant Lord can change form into a plant creature. This is otherwise identical to the Wild Shape power listed above.
Stormrider (Ex): A Stormlord gains a Small (2 HD) air elemental as a companion instead of a normal animal companion. The elemental serves as an aid to the druid's power, helping him summon or control the weather (effectively, when the companion is within 20 feet, the druid's caster level is increased by 1 for purposes of weather-based spells). As it gains HD, it also increases in size (see the elemental entry in the Monster Manual for advancement), enabling it to better help the druid. It otherwise follows the rules for druid companions. Alternately, he can choose a creature with the Air subtype, or any bird creature (eagle, arrowhawk, roc, etc.), provided it is no higher than CR 2.
Level III
Beastmaster (Ex): A Beastlord's effective class level is treated as 4 higher for purposes of her animal companion – both companion abilities and alternate companions.
Summon Elemental (Su): Once per day, as a full-round action, an Elemental Lord can summon one Large or two Medium elementals of any type, provided there is a large enough source of the element nearby. The elementals follow his commands to the best of their abilities; they remain for 1 minute per druid level or until killed or dismissed.
At mastery level IV, he can summon one Huge or two Large elementals.
Control Tree (Su): Once per day, as a full round action, the Verdant Lord can take control of a normal tree. The tree effectively gains the stats of a treant, but is nonintelligent and fully under the druid's control. He must spend a move action to direct it, but he need not maintain concentration. The tree remains active for 1 minute per class level, until the druid loses or relinquishes control, or until destroyed. If he loses control for whatever reason, the tree roots itself in the nearest place it can (on flat ground with a good source of dirt) and goes inert.
Summon Stormrider (Su): Once per day, as a full-round action, a Stormlord can summon one Large or two Medium air elementals. The elementals follow his commands to the best of their abilities; they remain for 1 minute per druid level or until killed or dismissed.
At mastery level IV, he can summon one Huge or two Large elementals.
Level IV
Master of Beasts (Ex): A Beastlord can summon magical beasts using his summon nature's ally spells. Creatures should be assigned to level lists according to their CR, which should be roughly equivalent to other creatures on the list. For example, an ankheg (CR 4) would be placed on the summon nature's ally II list.
Control Element (Su): An Elemental Lord can control large amounts of elemental matter. In order to exert control, she must be within 5 feet per class level of the element and must be able to see it (this restriction is waived for air, for obvious reasons). Gaining initial control of the element is a full-round action; thereafter, she must maintain concentration, and can control it for up to 1 round per class level. She can manipulate up to 10 cubic feet per class level, all of which must be touching - she can't control several separate fires, for instance.
The limits of what can be done are nearly limitless, subject to the player's imagination and the DM's discretion. The druid could, for instance, could create a miniature dust devil that deals 1d6 points of damage per round to anyone caught in it (creatures and objects of Tiny or smaller size could be swept away); create animals out of existing sources of fire and control their movement, or simply make a mass of fire move on its own; make the ground move (ripple, open up under someone or something, or rise), create hands to grapple or pummel, or change its consistency, turning earth into fine dust or quicksand, or stone into mud or sand; or raise or lower water, as the spell control water, or create a small tidal wave (enough to swamp a small boat), or create tentacles of water that can snatch creatures nearby or in the water (within 10 feet of the water source) and drag them under to drown. Generally speaking, a controlled elemental mass uses the monster size rules for purposes of grappling, attack rolls, etc.
The druid can relinquish control at any time as a free action; if she loses concentration for any reason, the element automatically becomes inert; air, fire, and most water constructs revert to their normal state (i.e., dispese), while earth usually remains changed (pillars of rock raised from the ground, for instance).
Control Plants (Su): Three times per day, a Verdant Lord can exert control over all nonsentient plants within 5 feet per class level. He can either maintain concentration and make them take specific actions or let them freely act on a given command.
If he concentrates, he can have the plants do anything of which they are capable – trees can move their branches to lash at or hinder opponents, vines and bushes can move to entangle foes or move out of the druid's way to provide a clear path. Plants cannot uproot themselves, however; if the druid loses his concentration, they will continue to carry out the last command given until he resumes concentration or the duration runs out.
If the druid gives a simple command, plants in the area will do their best to carry it out - again, to the limits of their abilities. As above, these commands are usually limited to hindering or killing foes – if they are hindering, each enemy must make a Reflex save (DC 10 + 1/2 the druid's level + druid's Wis bonus) each round or become entangled, as the spell; even on a successful save, they take 1d4 points of damage from thorns, lashing branches, etc. If the command is given to kill, each enemy must make a Reflex save each round or take 2d6 points of damage (a successful save halves the damage; a natural 1 doubles it).
The control lasts for 1 round per class level or until the druid dismisses it; commands can be no more than 10 words long and can be changed once per round as a standard action.
Control Weather (Su): Once per day, a Stormlord can call up a specific weather phenomenon – a tornado, strong winds, lightning, a rainstorm, etc. If there is not already a storm present, it requires 5 minutes to do so. Calling lightning, high winds, or other normal phenomena from a storm is a full-round action; the druid can direct lightning strikes (up to 1 per class level, as the call lightning spell) at any target he can see within 50 feet per class level.[/sblock]
Golem, Plant
[sblock]
Medium Construct
Hit Dice: 6d10+20 (53 hp)
Initiative: +0
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares) (can’t run)
AC: 14 (+0 Dex, +4 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 14
Attack: Slam +4 melee (1d8+4)
Full Attack: Slam +4 melee (1d8+4)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: --
Special Qualities: Construct traits, DR 5/wood, immunity to spells
Saves: Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +2
Abilities: Str 19, Dex 10, Con -, Int -, Wis 10, Cha 1.
Skills: --
Feats: Power Attack(B)
Environment: Any forest
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 4
Treasure: Nil
Alignment: Always Neutral
Advancement: 7-11 HD (Large), 12-18 HD (Huge)
Level Adjustment: --
Plant golems resemble small humanoids made from plant matter - leaves, branches, vines, etc. They typically have acorns for eyes. They can understand simple commands of up to a dozen words, and can be used for a variety of tasks, from fighting to manual labor.
A plant golem resembles a humanoid mass of plants, leaves, sticks, etc. It has only a suggestion of a face – a shallow hole for a mouth, no nose, and two acorns for eyes. It cannot speak.
Combat
A plant golem attacks with its powerful arms, fighting until slain or its creator orders it back.
Immunity to Spells (Ex): A plant golem is immune to any spell or spell-like ability that allows spell resistance. In addition, certain spells and effects function differently against the creature, as noted below.
Fire-based attacks and spells that affect plants (horrid wilting, etc.) do normal damage.[/sblock]
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One of my favorite books for monsters and templates, as you can probably tell.
