Suggest New or Variant Classes for a Woodsy Campaign

[WayneLigon]

My answers for everyone lately seem to involve the phrase "Have you looked at Arcana Unearthed yet?".Hagen

I have it, and right now I'm running an AU game. However, this is for a different group of people, only one of which has the AU book. I may yet add the Giant race in place of the half-orc, or maybe Andy Collin's Gnoll.

 

[WayneLigon]

My advice, use a Shaman core class as well as druid.

That was going to be another consideration. Now, what Shaman class is best? There's the one in OA, which I have and like, or the one in a Green Ronin book (I think).

I some way, I think shamanism of a type will be involved, if just to give the witch or druid all the spirit spells from the OA shaman class. Ancestor worship is going to be big big big in the PC culture.

 

[DiFier]

wow I just looked at my DM UA and there are great classes in there for you. the wilderness rogue, the wild bard, I think i'm gonna have to pick this book up. not much on alternate clerics the is one but not a wild ceric.

 

[Nightfall]

That was going to be another consideration. Now, what Shaman class is best? There's the one in OA, which I have and like, or the one in a Green Ronin book (I think).

I some way, I think shamanism of a type will be involved, if just to give the witch or druid all the spirit spells from the OA shaman class. Ancestor worship is going to be big big big in the PC culture.

Either GR's Shaman or Mongoose's. They are much better than OA shaman.

 

[CCamfield]

For the rogue, using the "wilderness rogue" option in Unearthed Arcana might be good. It just drops some urban skills in favour of some which are more relevant in the wild.

 

[Will]

I think ancestor worship would actually work well as a cleric of some kind (maybe UA Cloistered Cleric). Turn/rebuke undead makes sense, more sense for them than nearly any other kind, IMO.

Appropriate domains: Death, Luck, Knowledge, Magic, Trickery, off the top of my head.

And I wouldn't be afraid to have druids as clerics, ultimately. Maybe give them druidic restrictions, but a Cleric of Nature, with Plant and Animal or elemental domains, would make a lot of sense.

If you want to bridge the gap even more, use a Cleric with normal cleric domains, but druid restrictions, animal companion, and druid spell list.

Another alternative... drop one domain, but give the druid non-shifting related special abilities. That might be a little much. Mmm.

In short, I think it's a mistake to assume clerics have to be very 'westernized.'

 

[drnuncheon]

For another spell-less woodsman type option, check out FFG's Midnight setting. It's got the Wildlander, a stealthy wilderness-dweller type. Also from FFG, the Sorcery and Steam book has the Animal Lord as a base class - just in case one of your players wants to be Tarzan.

Edit: And FFG (you knew that was coming, didn't you?) also put out Path of the Sword, which contains a couple more variant base classes that might be of interest, the Hunter and the Outdoorsman. The former gets lots of tracking and favored enemy-type abilities, while the latter gets favored terrains and animal companions.

J

 

[Psychotic Jim]

Using some of the monster classes from Savage Species might work for you too, like the treant, satyr, hag, or any of the various fey classes.

 

[WayneLigon]

For another spell-less woodsman type option, check out FFG's Midnight setting. It's got the Wildlander, a stealthy wilderness-dweller type. Also from FFG, the Sorcery and Steam book has the Animal Lord as a base class - just in case one of your players wants to be Tarzan.

Hmmm, never looked at S&S. Yes, a 'Tarzan of the Wolves' type would fit very well in this campaign. Thanks, I'll check it out.

I just remembered I have Midnight last night, so took it down after the AU game and looked at it. Some of the racial things might work as well. I need to design a racial package for the major human cultures as well.

Edit: And FFG (you knew that was coming, didn't you?) also put out Path of the Sword, which contains a couple more variant base classes that might be of interest, the Hunter and the Outdoorsman. The former gets lots of tracking and favored enemy-type abilities, while the latter gets favored terrains and animal companions.

I love the Path books, and took that down to look at it last night as well. Right now.. Outdoorsman, Wildlander, and Woodsman are going to fight it out, I think.

 

[WayneLigon]

OK, right now it look like I might be using the Ranger as written save with something in the place of the TWF combat style; probably a couple feats from Wildlander, or some set of exotic weapons. Either way, I had an epiphany. The Ranger has spells much like the paladin does... because that's what he is. He's a Paladin of the force of Nature, just like a Druid is in a way a cleric of the force of Nature. So I can live with that idea.