Sentinel Druids of Autumn & Winter

[tuxgeo]

Another approach to this: Autumn is the season of the hunt, because the birds have not yet migrated away, the prey animals are actively moving around and foraging instead of hiding away from the cold (or instead of being dead of the cold), and the falling leaves open up the lines of sight for ranged attacks enough to give ranged hunters a better chance of success.

Maybe do this:

Druid of Autumn
You gain the following benefits:
* Your animal companion is a blood kite.
* You gain proficiency with the longbow and shortbow.
* You gain +1 to attack rolls with ranged weapons
* You gain a +2 bonus to Perception checks made to find tracks.

Druid of Autumn: Blood Kite
You gain a blood kite animal companion.

BLOOD KITE ANIMAL COMPANION Small Natural Beast
HP your bloodied value INITIATIVE equal to yours
AC 15, FORT 12, REF 15, WILL 12 (add your level to each defense)
Perception equal to yours +2
Speed 2 (clumsy), fly 6 (hover)
(O) SOARING SPOTTER • AURA 2
Allies gain +1 power bonus to attack rolls against enemies in the aura
ANIMAL ATTACK (standard, at-will)
Your level +5 vs. AC; 1d6 + your wisdom modifier, and the target takes ongoing 2 damage, or ongoing 5 damage if the blood kite is bloodied.
Level 13: 1d6 + 3 + your wisdom modifier, and ongoing 4 damage (7 if kite is bloodied)
Level 23: 2d6 + 5 + your wisdom modifier, and ongoing 6 damage (10 if kite is bloodied)
FLYBY ATTACK (standard, at-will)
The Blood Kite flies 6 squares and makes an Animal Attack at any point during that movement. The Blood Kite doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks when moving away from the target.
STR 13 CON 10 DEX 16 INT 4 WIS 13 CHA 6

(Compared to the Blood Hawk in the online Compendium, this "Blood Kite" has -1 CON and CHA, but +2 INT.)

Edit to add: might want to add "(save ends)" to the ongoing damage.

 

[Nemesis Destiny]

^--------- This isn't bad either.

I'd considered something like that as well. Good to see it written down. I'll see if my player wants to consider Falconry.

Thanks for the input, tuxgeo.

 

[Nemesis Destiny]

After some discussion, it looks like my player might want to go with Winter after all. She's thinking now about a Raven (or perhaps an Owl) animal companion; that works for me, and the season.

We've already established that +2 Endurance makes complete sense for a skill bonus.

For weapons, I think we're going to go with axes (specifically battle axe, since that seems consistent with the other weapon boosts/grants). I may also offer the choice of a broadsword, since it is for a viking-themed game, and both swords and winter can be associated with death. Tenuous, perhaps, but it's good enough for me.

So that brings us to the Raven companion.

It flies, and that's a pretty big advantage, so its damage die is going to be low, or will grant an ally a basic attack instead.

The aura is where I'm not sure. There have been lots of good ideas and suggestions so far. I like the idea of preventing OAs within the aura (that would really boost the bird's mobility on the field), and I like the concealment idea (though the aesthetic of swirling snow only works when it's actually cold out).

 

[ravenheart]

After some discussion, it looks like my player might want to go with Winter after all. She's thinking now about a Raven (or perhaps an Owl) animal companion; that works for me, and the season.

Yeah, ravens do fit with winter, especially considering the Raven Queen's association with the season (maybe the name could be a homage to certain primal spirits of winter?).

We've already established that +2 Endurance makes complete sense for a skill bonus.

For weapons, I think we're going to go with axes (specifically battle axe, since that seems consistent with the other weapon boosts/grants). I may also offer the choice of a broadsword, since it is for a viking-themed game, and both swords and winter can be associated with death. Tenuous, perhaps, but it's good enough for me.

I like it, somehow a druid of Winter strikes me as very tough and dangerous.

So that brings us to the Raven companion.

It flies, and that's a pretty big advantage, so its damage die is going to be low, or will grant an ally a basic attack instead.

The aura is where I'm not sure. There have been lots of good ideas and suggestions so far. I like the idea of preventing OAs within the aura (that would really boost the bird's mobility on the field), and I like the concealment idea (though the aesthetic of swirling snow only works when it's actually cold out).

Flight is given.

I'm not sure about the basic attack thing, seems awfully powerful to me, unless you suggest it as a replacement to it's Animal Attack? That might work, I guess.

Have you given any thought to the idea of a swarm? Or would you prefer that to be associated with the autumn druid? Cause a swarm would be really nice thematically with a mechanic that denies opportunity attacks (think Birds), although maybe only against allies within the aura if it gains swarm qualities?

As for the concealment, instead of snow think how difficult a flock of birds (i.e. a swarm) would be to see through -but it might be a tad much with both benefits. Unless... you grant it only to allies within the swarms space (since swarms can share spaces with other creatures - imagine a guy being surrounded by a veritable tornado of black feathers)! How's that for a crazy solution?

Well, that's all for me now. Hope I can help!

 

[Nemesis Destiny]

I'm not sure about the basic attack thing, seems awfully powerful to me, unless you suggest it as a replacement to it's Animal Attack? That might work, I guess.

Yeah, I should have been more clear; I meant the attack grant to replace animal attack, as you guessed.

Seemed in line with a Warlord's ability.

Have you given any thought to the idea of a swarm? Or would you prefer that to be associated with the autumn druid? Cause a swarm would be really nice thematically with a mechanic that denies opportunity attacks (think Birds), although maybe only against allies within the aura if it gains swarm qualities?

Yes, I actually had thought of this, but my player is not interested in a swarm, but I will retain the idea for future use.

As for the concealment, instead of snow think how difficult a flock of birds (i.e. a swarm) would be to see through -but it might be a tad much with both benefits. Unless... you grant it only to allies within the swarms space (since swarms can share spaces with other creatures - imagine a guy being surrounded by a veritable tornado of black feathers)! How's that for a crazy solution?

I like this idea, and it had occurred to me as well, that the flapping bird would provide concealment to allies. Even a single bird flapping about, harrying the enemy with pecks and talons, could conceivably fill this role.

Well, that's all for me now. Hope I can help!

As usual, you have been most helpful.

 

[keterys]

The Shaman Eagle Spirit power should be good inspiration:

Claws of the Eagle
Your spirit companion swoops down on your foe, causing it to neglect its defenses for a short time.
At-Will Primal, Spirit
Standard Action Melee spirit 1
Target: One creature
Effect: One ally adjacent to your spirit companion or within 3 squares of you can make a basic attack against the target. If the ally’s attack hits, the target grants combat advantage until the end of your next turn.

And its opportunity action version:
Spirit's Prey
Your spirit companion lashes out at a moving foe, and an ally uses the distraction to fire on that enemy.
At-Will Primal, Spirit
Opportunity Action Melee spirit 1
Trigger: An enemy leaves a square adjacent to your spirit companion without shifting
Target: The triggering enemy
Effect: One ally within 10 squares of your spirit companion can make a ranged basic attack against the target as a free action with combat advantage.

 

[Nemesis Destiny]

The Shaman Eagle Spirit power should be good inspiration:

Claws of the Eagle
Your spirit companion swoops down on your foe, causing it to neglect its defenses for a short time.
At-Will Primal, Spirit
Standard Action Melee spirit 1
Target: One creature
Effect: One ally adjacent to your spirit companion or within 3 squares of you can make a basic attack against the target. If the ally’s attack hits, the target grants combat advantage until the end of your next turn.

And its opportunity action version:
Spirit's Prey
Your spirit companion lashes out at a moving foe, and an ally uses the distraction to fire on that enemy.
At-Will Primal, Spirit
Opportunity Action Melee spirit 1
Trigger: An enemy leaves a square adjacent to your spirit companion without shifting
Target: The triggering enemy
Effect: One ally within 10 squares of your spirit companion can make a ranged basic attack against the target as a free action with combat advantage.

Excellent suggestion; thank you!

 

[Nahat Anoj]

I hope WotC comes around to making autumn and winter druids soon. But in the meantime, here are some quick thoughts for autumn druids.

To me, autumn is a transitional period, moving from a season of life to a season of death. Perhaps because of the Halloween tradition, it also strikes me as a time in the D&D world when the borders between planes weaken. In addition, as autumn is the time that the harvest ends and people start having more time for cerebral activities, autumn is a period of learning and reflection. Traditionally, it's the time students return to school.

I like the weapon being a sickle or scythe, as that is suggestive of the harvest associations.

For an animal, I think an owl or deer(stag) are good choices. Owl is a good for honing in on the wisdom theme, while stag is good because autumn is the mating season for deer and plays up the transitional theme. Incidentally, I actually don't see why the seasons have to have one animal - I'd be alright if there was more than one. A stag has the added benefit of having a greater presence on the battlefield. I'll have to think about what, exactly, either one of these animals does.

For skill, given that autumn can be a time of learning and reflection, I think Arcana or History would be good choices. I'd personally go with Arcana, as that is both a knowledge and a mystical power skill.

 

[Nemesis Destiny]

Thanks for the input!

I have decided that if this ever comes up again, animal companions will be separated from the seasons, to a point. I will instead have the choice of season determine which creatures are on the list, and then have a list of perhaps half a dozen creatures to choose from. I may even allow the druid to change companions during extended rests or with retraining.

I mostly agree with your ideas about autumn, though I would go with Insight over Arcana or History. And definitely add Flail to the list of weapons.

I also hope that we see a Class Acts for the Sentinel at some point, but I don't have much confidence that I'd like what they come up with. Wolf as the choice for spring doesn't make much sense to me, for example.

 

[Nahat Anoj]

Gah, missed the message about how your player went with a Druid of Winter.

I know you're going with your ideas on a Winter druid, but I thought I'd take the opportunity to mention a few of my ideas.

For animal, I think raven is a good idea for both real-world and setting reasons. Winter is a season of death, the time of year when TRQ is ascendant. In addition, ravens already a have a rich, real-world association with death and the afterlife. It makes a lot of thematic sense for ravens to be the animal companions for winter druids.

Axe seems to be a good choice for weapon, although honestly nothing else comes to mind. Spear perhaps?

For skill, I'd go with Stealth. During winter, the nights are longer, and the land is covered with a concealing layer of snow - it's as if the world is hidden and waiting. (my thoughts are probably influenced by the old WW book, Dark Ages: Fae )