Druids
Hp/level: 1d8
Required Stats: 12 con, 15 wis, 15 cha
Required Alignments: NG, TN, NE
Weapon proficiencies: 2 +1/4 levels
Non-weapon proficiencies: 4 +1/3 levels
Experience Table: As paladin/ranger
The sanctimonious observers and protectors of the sacred ways of nature and keepers of the world’s cycles of balance are Druids. Where Rangers defend their chosen wilderness homes from marauding forces, invaders and destructive denizens, the Druids do all of that in addition to communing with the very land itself, holding not only the defense of the land, but the worship and observation of it’s many cycles and eternal continuances. Nature is their deity, though some worlds have actual named deities that represent nature who’s priests are, in fact, druids.
Druids have many options available to them, for truly, there are many kinds of druids.
The standard Druid is interested in all the world’s cycles and balances, putting none before another. They receive spells and gain shapechanging abilities as will be detailed below, as well as resistances and other supernatural skills.
However, a player may also opt to play a specialist Druid, which is to say, a druid that is focused on one particular terrain type. Such terrains as those listed for Rangers might be chosen from, but specialist druids will have powers and abilities reflecting their focus. This is subject to the DM’s interest in dealing with such things and willingness to modify a few of the druidical powers here and there to reflect such.
Druids may use any of the following weapons: club, dagger, darts, spear of any kind, staff, sickle, sling, scimitar.
They may only wear armor that is not crafted of worked metal.
Druids CANNOT ignore or turn away from devastation being done unto nature. To do so is to instantly lose all spellcasting ability and class powers until they atone for their blasphemy in some means commeasureate with what they allowed to happen. Any druid actually inflicting the devastation upon nature is instantly stripped of all spellcasting ability and class powers permanently. Now, sometimes it’s necessary for destruction to take place, and druids know this. Druids also know that any amount of imbalance in either direction can throw the whole of nature into turmoil, maybe even kill it. The DM should be extremely rigid about stripping a druid of their powers if they earn it. Nature can be a harsh teacher, and if she has to take her gifts away from one of her less considerate children a few times for them to figure things out, so be it. Now, if they turn on her, there is no going back to being a druid for that character. For such abominative persons, however, there are options, oh yes…there are forces in many worlds that will gladly take a fallen druid into their fold, and almost never for purposes any less than frighteningly twisted.
Here are the standard druids listing of powers.
1st: Identify pure water, plants and animals unerringly.
2nd: Pass without trace at all times in natural settings, cannot be entangled
3rd: the druid leaves no tracks in natural settings and cannot be tracked.
4th: +4 to any saves made against fey creatures, +2 to all saves against fire/lightning
5th: Shapechange 1/day, small or medium natural animal
6th: Shapechange 2/day
7th: Shapechange 3/day
8th: Shapechange 3/day; small, medium or large animals
9th: immune to all poisons except alchemical and magical
10th: Shapechange 4/day
11th: Shapechange 4/day; tiny, small, medium, large animals
12th: Shapechange 4/day; tiny, small, medium, large and dire animals
13th: the druid may “alter self” at will
14th: Shapechange 5/day
15th: Shapechange 5/day; tiny, small, medium, large, huge and dire animals; the druid is also no longer subject to aging nor can s/he be aged magically, although they still die when it is their time to go.
16th: Shapechange 5/day and Elemental Form 1/day
17th: Shapechange 5/day and Elemental Form 2/day
18th: Shapechange 6/day and Elemental Form 3/day
Starting at 20th level, the druid may select an elemental, para-elemental or quasi-elemental plane to be able to travel to at will, one for each level they attain starting with 20th. The “locals” on said planes consider the druid, on the planes so chosen, a native inhabitant. Further, the druid is never harmed by the plane’s elemental state and is always able to navigate around. Druids are never subject to attack by elementals or natives of the planes they have chosen. When a druid attains 30th level, they gain the power to travel to any and all elemental planes at will, regardless of those previously chosen.
Druid spells are divine and, like priest and cleric spells, ignore half of any mortal’s magic resistance.