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Message: <blockquote data-quote="The Lost Muse" data-source="post: 2456539" data-attributes="member: 18546">Disclaimer: I have received this product free of charge, for the purposes of reviewing it.  Every comment made in the review is my own opinion, and should be taken as such.Unorthodox Druids is a d20 “Pocket Sourcebook,” claiming to be easily dropped into a game with a minimum of fuss, and published by The Le Games.  The zip file contains four documents: a readme, an onscreen PDF, a printer-friendly PDF, and a rich text file for easy copying and pasting.  The readme file is nice, but the files are appropriately named, making it somewhat unnecessary.The rich text file and the printer-friendly version of the PDF are essentially the same: standard two column text layout, and none of the page borders or artwork.  (The printer-friendly file does have the cover image though.)  The text is the same in all three file, but I will be referring only to the on-screen version from here on out.Speaking of the text, there are quite a few typographical errors for such a short text; however, there are a few.  While it does not really get in the way of reading the text, it was enough to make me stop and read over the section a few times.  One quick example, “While no single race has put forth more Enforcers then the elves or gnomes, their combine (sic) numbers outnumber the elves and gnomes.”  Clearly just an oversight, but still, this could easily be fixed.The art for the product varies in quality.  The cover image is rather cartoony, while the pictures of each class are alright.  None of the art is particularly good, but none of it is so bad that you would start reading from the printer-friendly version instead.  Each page has a rough black border around the edge.  This helps to reemphasize the focus on nature, and is a good effect.The five alternative classes are: The Caller, The Enforcer, The Shaman, The Survivalist, and the Tree Warden.The Caller focuses on animals, neglecting civilized companions in favor of animals.  Callers apparently are somewhat neutral, but no alignment requirements are specified; however, I could see a Caller being chaotic in relation to society.  Callers get along well with clerics and bards, but poorly with wizards and sorcerers.  After the description we get to the Class Abilities and my first major gripe with the book.The caller has several class abilities that are the same as the druids, which is fine.  These are supposed to be druids with varying abilities.  The problem is that instead of reprinting the actual ability, the book refers you to the Player’s Handbook for the actual information.  Every one of the classes in the book has spellcasting, as a druid, but the chart for spellcasting is not printed even once.  The Caller’s abilities allow them to speak with, calm, and summon animals.  They are also able to cast spells as a druid.  None of the class abilities are unbalanced, if anything, they are weaker than a core druid because of the high degree of specialization.The Enforcer is the militant druid, prepared to punish those who treat nature poorly.  The are described as grim and quiet, in stark contrast to the uncaring and anti-social Caller.  The Enforcer actually reminds me of Princess Monanokee (spelling?) as far as the class concept is concerned.  Enforcers get along well with rangers, and admire paladins; however, they do not like wizards and sorcerers.  Unlike the Caller, the Enforcer is limited to Lawful Neutral, Chaotic Neutral, Neutral, Neutral Good, and Neutral Evil for alignment choices, but there is no text explaining why.The Enforcer is a cross between a druid and a barbarian, gaining faster speed, the ability to ignore damage, increase their agility, use weeds to catch their prey, and prevent pursuers from tracking them.  Again, none of the abilities are unbalanced, but this class seems more powerful than The Caller, except at level 15 it only gets a +14/10/5 to hit.  (I’m assuming that this is also a typo.)  I’m not sure how this class would compare against the PHB druid, but it is much more versatile than the Caller.Next up is the Shaman.  Shamans are in tune with nature and spirits, and may have to go on quests if they displease the spirits.  Shamans must be neutral in at least one aspect of their alignment.  Unlike the Enforcer, specific alignments are not spelled out.  Apparently it takes a long time to become a shaman, and the text suggests adding three years on to the starting age.  I’m not sure why they would increase the age as suggested, when an adventuring Shaman will quickly be immune to the effects of aging, but they are supposed to be wiser than their people.The Shaman is the closest to the Druid as far as class abilities are concerned.  They gain a Spirit Guide instead of an Animal Companion.  In addition, they gain a bonus to Will Saves because they are inwardly peaceful.  This extends to their allies when they reach a certain level.  The class abilities all seem balanced, and this class does not outshine the druid, although the differences are very small.The Survivalist is the weakest class concept in the book.  Essentially, they are loners who are good at living off the land.  The Survivalist Class abilities reinforce this image.  They are able to create water, and “godberries” that grant the eaters various boons.  I didn’t think this class was very different; it seems like it is just an extension of the abilities granted by Create Water and Goodberry.  Despite the fact that the gods are mentioned in several of the class abilites, the Survivalist does not need to actually worship a god.  Also, the Survivalist gains a bonus feat, but the text does not mention which feats are eligible, nor if the Survivalist can simply choose any feat they desire.The Tree Warden is similar in concept to a dryad, only they become one with trees as they gain levels.  The Tree Warden gains class abilities that revolve around trees: barkskin, treestride, tree shape healing, tree shape fighting, tree song, and the ability to become a huge sized tree.  These abilities seem balanced, and the ability to become huge in size is available to a regular druid as well.The various concepts presented are supported well enough mechanically, but not all of them are strong enough to warrant a new class.  Due to the plug and play nature of this product, this is not a major obstacle to it’s use.  If you have a need for a different take on the druid, then this may work well for you.  If not, it’s not worth picking up.  3 stars.</blockquote>

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