A Better Blighter

[ExemplarofAvg]

Evil Trees, Not an original idea, I'm aware.
But the best way I could imagine an insane tree is a Blighter,
However, Blighter sucks, as most everyone knows.
It's casting doesn't even match the loss in druid.

My question is is there a Better Blighter out there, (preferably one without the undead wildshape) Let me know what you know, I've given some stuff a look but either I'm looking in the wrong places, or one doesn't exist.

[Flickerdart]

What's wrong with plain jane NE Druid?

[GodGoblin]

What's wrong with plain jane NE Druid?

Because an Evil Druid is still a Druid, yeah sure he is a terrible person but regardless he is still one with nature, just the more vengefull side.

Some sort of Necromancer class could work as a Blighter, preferably with some fire spells thrown in too. I go to necromancy because it represents draining life force from creatures as well as the whole undead being abominations of nature.

Maybe a Dread Necro would work or a Cleric with the Fire and Death domains?

Edit: Also maybe Ur-Priest could fit.

[Flickerdart]

The OP was thinking "evil trees", not specifically Blighter. The topic is misleading in that regard.

[Dr.Epic]

However, Blighter sucks, as most everyone knows.
It's casting doesn't even match the loss in druid.

What are you talking about? It's an entire PrC based around burning down forests! It's a hilarious!:smallwink:

[ExemplarofAvg]

The OP was thinking "evil trees", not specifically Blighter. The topic is misleading in that regard.

yeah, specifically a blighter, I like the deforestation aspect along with the fireburst (however limited it may be)


What are you talking about? It's an entire PrC based around burning down forests! It's a hilarious!:smallwink:

Exactly, but still compared to druid it loses.

[Celebrochan]

Check out the necrologist from "the Complete Guide to Vampires" from Goodman Games. It is a prestige class based around creating an undead ecology...

[pffh]

Exactly, but still compared to druid it loses.

Most classes and PrC when compared to druids lose.

[Zaq]

Most classes and PrC when compared to druids lose.

To be fair, the Blighter is bad for other reasons. I can't think of any other PrC that has you lose at least five levels of class features as an entry requirement. (You can cheese your way around this by being a Druid 5, getting your levels drained, and leveling up as something else. You're still an ex-Druid 5, so you qualify.)

Oh, and while the whole "must burn forests to regain spells" thing is flavorful as hell, it's astoundingly difficult to actually maintain.

[aazru]

We discussed it some time ago with my friends. Make it work kinda like fallen paladin for blackguard. Replace fallen druid with blighter levels when he takes it.

[Elfinor]

You could try the Talonar Blightlord PrC from Unapproachable East, although it's less fire and more... ew... (Talona is the FR goddess of disease)
It gives a bonus domain, has some interesting special abilities and has 8/10 divine casting so it's fairly workable. Your capstone ability is to change... to a plant type.
Odd prerequisites of Great Fortitude and Glaive Proficiency. It's workable with either a cleric or druid.

[ExemplarofAvg]

You could try the Talonar Blightlord PrC from Unapproachable East, although it's less fire and more... ew... (Talona is the FR goddess of disease)
It gives a bonus domain, has some interesting special abilities and has 8/10 divine casting so it's fairly workable. Your capstone ability is to change... to a plant type.
Odd prerequisites of Great Fortitude and Glaive Proficiency. It's workable with either a cleric or druid.

I've got a Humanoid Plant Type brewed up, and I am aiming for Charred Maokai
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y00q_xXvrMw/TWQ4YXBddfI/AAAAAAAABgQ/50AouiMt6xI/s1600/Maokai_Splash_1.jpg

For those of you familiar with him, yeah, and for those of you who aren't he was a tree on a battlefield used for frequent magic wars, then due to magical saturation he came to life, and just hated everyone even himself for he's an abomination of nature. However I'm taking it one step further, to where he's really snapped and is just going to burn down everything.

[King Atticus]

Some sort of Necromancer class could work as a Blighter, preferably with some fire spells thrown in too. I go to necromancy because it represents draining life force from creatures as well as the whole undead being abominations of nature.

This + Junglerazor (sp?) spell from SC

[Calanon]

I go to necromancy because it represents draining life force from creatures as well as the whole undead being abominations of nature.

I TAKE OFFENSE TO THAT! I will rape the cycle of life as much as I please thank you very much! (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0709.html)

Blighters are bad. period. But I remember once in a game we had a tree that was awakened than immediately killed and turned into an Zombie Trent... how that worked I'll never know, but it does sound like something the OP might be looking at >_>

[JaronK]

Dread Necromancers radiate fear, and there's some pretty good necromancy deforestation spells that you can get via Advanced Learning. Also, you can be an evil crazy tree surrounded by zombies, so that's cool.

JaronK

[kulosle]

We discussed it some time ago with my friends. Make it work kinda like fallen paladin for blackguard. Replace fallen druid with blighter levels when he takes it.

the ex-paladin levels don't turn into blackguard levels unless you are level 11 or higher. using the blackguard and ronin classes as guides my GM made a table that i feel was very good

1-2- one extra undead wild shape per day

3-4- woodland strike, trackless step, resit natures lure (+2 instead of +4)

5-6- contagion once more per day, and another extra undead wild shape

7-8- summon undead 1 as a spell like ability once per day, caster level is twice your blighter level

9-10- undead animal companion. your druid level for this is your ex druid level plus half your blighter level.

11 or more- trade in for Blighter levels

also he house ruled that i didn't have to destroy forests to get my spells but that i just have to now be within that distance of any plant.

this takes care of almost all the blighters issues. he still isn't as good as a druid, but be lets be honest, what is?

[ExemplarofAvg]

Thanks Playgrounders for all the ideas and advice, but oddly enough I found the answer while helping a friend out. Evil Tree that raises the dead and shoots fire... Warlock... I know I wanted blighter, but a Brimstone Spear is pretty good and then there's the whole "The Dead Walk" thing, which could just be animated animals and what not. Everything I wanted in the Blighter, but not the blighter, (Not even thinking about Hellfire although it's tempting, very tempting){EDIT: And yes it would be a Hellfire Glaivelock Binder of Naberius, I know the tricks, or mayhaps a Brimstone Hellfire Spear... Long Range Firey Death.}

Lastly opinions on Fiendish Flamewreath? (With it gaining daily uses each time the damage improves, 1(8)-2(13)-3(18)

Also I can't truly remember, Warlocks affected by Arcane "Spell" Failure? Because I slapped a Wooden Extreme Shield form RoS to give the whole Maokai giant arm feel.

[Elfinor]

Unfortunately, yes. They have the ability to ignore spell failure for light armor though. You could ask your DM if he can convert it to straight spell failure reduction instead. I usually rule that it's the players choice between ignoring light armor or 5%, whichever is more advantageous. I give the same choice at 10% for battle caster, which might still not be enough (still 5% failure, assuming a large shield) but maybe yours is nicer :smalltongue:

[ExemplarofAvg]

Unfortunately, yes. They have the ability to ignore spell failure for light armor though. You could ask your DM if he can convert it to straight spell failure reduction instead. I usually rule that it's the players choice between ignoring light armor or 5%, whichever is more advantageous. I give the same choice at 10% for battle caster, which might still not be enough (still 5% failure, assuming a large shield) but maybe yours is nicer :smalltongue:

I am the DM, this is for a BigBad... I vote yes.

[Elfinor]

Coolies. I just checked the oversized house rule document - and uh, not that it really matters I guess, but it's at 15% for battle caster if that makes you feel any more justified :smalltongue:

Best of luck.

[ExemplarofAvg]

Coolies. I just checked the oversized house rule document - and uh, not that it really matters I guess, but it's at 15% for battle caster if that makes you feel any more justified :smalltongue:

Best of luck.

So what I'm getting at is that so long as it (because it's a tree) has the Battle Caster feat it's fine and I don't have to go with DM Fiat? That's good, I hate having to do that, but sometimes it's fun, Gimping Characters through Companion/Familiar/Mount loss is the most frequent, they do something wildly out of character then "Your 'fluffy' died, you now suck more" "But Why" "F U, THAT'S WHY!"

[Elfinor]

No, I meant that was our game's house rule. Battle Caster RAW only allows ASF-free medium armor casting - our reasoning was that since medium armor has min 20% ASF they could instead apply 15% to anything else they happen to be wearing, if that works out better. It's still DM fiat, I only meant to say that it's not just you who's making the DM fiat in that situation.

[YouLostMe]

This is a re-done blighter (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=198309).

However, I kept the undead wildshape, and even added in a ghostshape. I apologize there, but you can probably just sub the Blightshape with Verminshaping and tack on the extra benefits. I don't know how to toss out the Ghostshape, though. Dire Animals?

[ExemplarofAvg]

This is a re-done blighter (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=198309).

However, I kept the undead wildshape, and even added in a ghostshape. I apologize there, but you can probably just sub the Blightshape with Verminshaping and tack on the extra benefits. I don't know how to toss out the Ghostshape, though. Dire Animals?

By way of trying to read all available material I did in fact read yours, and I loved your anatomy of the failed class it clearly outlined everything wrong with it and showed how you would fix it nicely. I love the options at the end, and should it have fit the theme, a lone Blighter caved somewhere blasting out epidemic would be my top choice, (And it may be thrown in somewhere just as a random little "solve this mystery" of the sidequest. (One question about "Epidemic" though, since I have a chance to 'ask the author' do they need to take damage for it, or is it bob's your uncle waves of plauge upon the land?)

But as noted earlier I did end up finding something very similar to what I wanted in the Warlock, Fire Blasting, Evilness, Raising the dead.

In the end I have a Lv 23 Big Bad Wood Folk (Custom Race) Warlock/Hellfire Warlock (Whom the PC's aren't ever going to face head on what with them starting at lv 5, they merely have to try and survive in a world that is being torn apart by him.