Treant Druid Character ... Help!

[cotton]

I'm starting a new D&D campaign, and one player wants to play a Treant Druid. I'm allowing the Savage Species monster classes, which has a 12-level progression for the Treant. At any time, however, she may start taking levels in Druid. This introduces some interesting dilemmas for that character:

1.) What should her "animal companion" really be? Would you substitute plant creatures for the default animals? I also threw around the idea of allowing the Druid & Treant levels to stack for determining the Animal Companion's power. Would this be appropriate?

2.) How should wild shape work? When a druid first gets it, the rules say "Small or Medium Animal". But what if you're a Large or Huge plant when you first get the ability?

As a DM, what would you say to this player?

Thanks!
-cotton

Disclaimer: Sorry if this has been beaten to death previously.

 

[Plane Sailing]

I would say

1) Animal companion should just be any animal from the normal list. A squirrel would make a nice choice, as would an owl


Definitely don't let the treant and druid levels stack for determining animal companion power! You don't with any other race, you shouldn't here too. It means that the player has to make a choice between becoming more powerful as an Ent or more powerful as a druid with ALL that entails (including abilities of animal companion).


2) I'd make wildshape apply to plant forms until he gets to the level at which "plant" normally becomes available, when I'd grant him animal. I'd keep the size restrictions as per normal though. At least with savage species you should be able to create appropriately sized versions of other plant creatures!

Cheers

 

[Piratecat]

Cotton, welcome to the boards! Since this is a question about game mechanics, I'll slide it over to the Rules Forum.

Oh, and the animal companion really should be a dire squirrel.

 

[Thanee]

Yeah squirrel sounds like a cool animal companion.

That wild shaping question is a good one, considering she is a plant-thingie and therefore probably more into the plant side of the druidic ways, than the animal stuff.

Of course, she is also huge, so the size limits are a bit off in comparison.

Well, considering her immense level adjustment, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to simply shuffle around the wild shape abilities (make large standard and medium/small more extraordinary (move up in level)), as well as switching positions between animal and plant shapes (plant becoming standard and animal accessible later).

Bye
Thanee

 

[mikebr99]

Oh, and the animal companion really should be a dire squirrel.

Or woodpecker... WHAT is that incessant KNOCKING???


I would leave wildshape and companion rules, as is... just as a gnome is no longer limited by his size WRT what he changes into. Wildshape is a power that has no connection to the normal size of the user.

And the Druid, is really something you want to start early, and stay with for the duration. I'm sure, she is going to regret the racial stuff, once she's had a chance to taste what a Druid can do... YMMV


Mike

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

The animal companion should be a dryad. I know, I know--that's not an animal...maybe a dryad could be the treant's love interest.

Thanee's suggestions about the wild-shaping seem like a good idea to me.

 

[cotton]

I'm sure, this guy(?) is going to regret the racial stuff, once he's had a chance to taste what a Druid can do... YMMV

Thanks for the advice so far, it has been helpful.

This player has played many Druids in the past, and she's looking for a Treant this time around for a very different feel. She will likely want to level Treant mostly, with the Druid being just for flavor really and to give her a job and duties to role-play.

That said, she probably won't want to stunt her growth (pardon the pun) much for the sake of Druid. But if she gets to the stage where she can use wildshape, I want to have the right answer. It sounds to me like allowing to shape only to plant forms at first, then allowing animal forms later would be nice stylistically. I just hope that it could be made balanced.

Sorry to PirateCat for putting this topic in the wrong forum! Look at my post count, I'm a noob, please forgive me.

 

[Gregor]

A Dire Beaver who constantly scurries around the treant, continuously trying to bite chunks out of his body would make a good animal companion!

 

[Thanee]

Well, switching wildshape like I said is most probably balanced.

Comparing to a human druid, she won't get access to these abilities any earlier because of her huge racial hit dice and level adjustment stuff.

Also, plant shape and large/huge sizes are natural for her (and they are a limitation as much as a boon). Being able to become smaller is actually more advantageous to her, so it kinda makes sense to switch those around a bit to accomodate.

I'd probably just shuffle them like this:

large at 5th
plant at 5th
huge at 8th
medium/small at 11th
animal at 12th
tiny at 15th
elemental as is

Bye
Thanee

 

[mikebr99]

Thanks for the advice so far, it has been helpful.

This player has played many Druids in the past, and she's looking for a Treant this time around for a very different feel. She will likely want to level Treant mostly, with the Druid being just for flavor really and to give her a job and duties to role-play.

That said, she probably won't want to stunt her growth (pardon the pun) much for the sake of Druid. But if she gets to the stage where she can use wildshape, I want to have the right answer. It sounds to me like allowing to shape only to plant forms at first, then allowing animal forms later would be nice stylistically. I just hope that it could be made balanced.

Sorry to PirateCat for putting this topic in the wrong forum! Look at my post count, I'm a noob, please forgive me.

Well, then, see Thannee's latest for a balanced revision to wildshape WRT being a tree...

And welcome to the boards, by the way... hopefully you can sift through the BS, and get what you need to make your game all it can be.


Mike