Verminous Druids

[Inconsequenti-AL]

Bah! I'd just worked out one of my major campaign villans - a swarm/insect druid. Now one of my PCs has wants to play one. Ah well, back to the NPC drawing board for me.

I'd like to say yes to his request and have been looking at modifying the Druid base class to fit.

Here's what I've got so far. Any thoughts? Still a little stuck on what Wild Empathy would do.


Animal companions will now be vermin companions - use CR and common sense to decide on equivalents.

Spellcasting - much the same. Spells will 'look' more insectoid than normal. Cook up new lists for Summon Natures Ally on a CR ~ CR basis.

Resist Natures lure - Resist Vermin Attacks - +4 to saves against the special abilities or poisons of Vermin.

Wild shape. Exactly as a regular druid, except can assume vermin forms instead of animal. Gain access to plant and elemental forms as a normal druid would.


Wild empathy applies to Vermin instead of animals. Special exception to this allows them to influence Int - vermin. What could you get them to do?

Due to the limited range of vermin was: considering expanding the definition of vermin to include Formians and magical beast insects (like the phase spider). Creating Dire vermin. Would these cause too many problems?

 

[Li Shenron]

Wild empathy applies to Vermin instead of animals. Special exception to this allows them to influence Int - vermin. What could you get them to do?

IIRC there are no vermin with intelligence, but I may be wrong. If you don't think it's too powerful, you may think about replacing Wild Empathy with Turn or Rebuke Vermin, which would work like Turn Undead. As such it will be more powerful than Wild Empathy but with only a few attempts per day, and it will be supernatural. IMHO it would make sense to turn/rebuke unintelligent vermin like a cleric turns unintelligent undead.

Due to the limited range of vermin was: considering expanding the definition of vermin to include Formians and magical beast insects (like the phase spider). Creating Dire vermin. Would these cause too many problems?

As long as Wildshape works the same (no supernatural or spell-like abilities of the assumed form) there should be no serious problems. If you want a more extreme druid, you may give this IN PLACE of the plant form, and instead of elemental wild shape the ability to polymorph into elemental-templated vermins?

 

[Inconsequenti-AL]

IIRC there are no vermin with intelligence, but I may be wrong. If you don't think it's too powerful, you may think about replacing Wild Empathy with Turn or Rebuke Vermin, which would work like Turn Undead. As such it will be more powerful than Wild Empathy but with only a few attempts per day, and it will be supernatural. IMHO it would make sense to turn/rebuke unintelligent vermin like a cleric turns unintelligent undead.

I really like this idea...

It is a stronger ability, but does make up for the limitations of the verminous forms... The strength is partly down to the turning feats - divine might, vigor and so on... those feel a little too divine for me.

Might make those for turn/rebuke undead only. Perhaps allow the ones from complete divine (or was it BoED?) that let you trade in wildshape attempts for various abilities. Simply replace wildshape with turn attempts.

As long as Wildshape works the same (no supernatural or spell-like abilities of the assumed form) there should be no serious problems. If you want a more extreme druid, you may give this IN PLACE of the plant form, and instead of elemental wild shape the ability to polymorph into elemental-templated vermins?

Another great idea! Elemental templated vermin is a particularly fun idea.

Game starts at 7th level - so it will be a while before those come into play, but I think that could fit rather neatly. Definitely the magical beast verminforms instead of plant - will cook up a few more of those for him to play around with.


Thanks very much!

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

Check out Eberron. It has a feat for summoning vermin with SNA.

 

[dm_scorpio]

If you've got access to the Book of VIle Darkness, the Vermin Lord PrC could probably be expanded to make it a 20 level base class with minimal effort.

 

[DanMcS]

Your villain should be a Druid of Shub-Niggurath. Ia! Take a half-dozen levels of druid with a focus on summoning, and then a druid-ized Alienist, and those fools that work with mere earthly insects will cower before his wrath. Swarm of locusts? Pah! Swarm of pseudonatural giant flesh-eating beetles!

Didn't really have anything to contribute, but I think a pseudonatural druid would be a nifty villain, and since I'm not currently running a game, I figured I should try to inflict it on someone else's players.