Fleshing Out An Urban Druid?

[Palanan]

One of the leading figures in my city campaign will be an urban druid, whose "grove" will be a warren of slums and shanties in one of the most impoverished districts. She'll be mainly focused on healing, midwifery and helping out with food--and she'll also have a gift for languages, which makes her a valuable resource in a polyglot metropolis.

So far I'm planning to give her Touch of Healing, which should suffice for most daily needs, and for the languages I'm thinking the Master Linguist feat, which should complement the urban druid ACF.

What else should an urban druid really have? She'll be fifth level, human with one flaw, so there's still a couple feats to work with. What other feats should she have, and what animal companion would be most useful in the urban environment?

[eggynack]

Do you mean the urban druid class, from dragon compendium, or just a regular druid with a fancy urban theme? I don't think the former works with druid ACF's, which could prove problematic.

[Twilightwyrm]

That is one lucky shanty district. Touch of Healing is a good call, as healing will probably be only second to food in demand. If disease is more rampant, the Mitigate Suffering feat can help forestall its effects. Even just regularly preparing the Purify Food and Water and Create Water Orisons would be a significant benefit to the community. Plant Growth, while strictly less helpful for city dwellers than farmers, means that any communal or personal gardens residents keep will provide ever more food, and Wood Shape can be used for building construction and repair. As for Animal Companions, until higher levels the utility of your animal companion will likely be minimal. A Bird of some sort is always helpful to watch for trouble, and deliver messages (preferably one with Low-light Vision, as "Trouble" as it were, tends to happen at night), but little help in actually ending said trouble. The Druid will have to involve them self personally for that (which, since they just got Wildshape, they can now do with relative freedom).

[Falcon X]

Obviously, anything from Cityscape is fair game. Most of the feats (Urban Tracking, City Magic, Deceptive Spell, Invisible Spell, Roofwalker, etc.) aren't exactly OP, but very useful and flavorful.
Feats that let you blend in or work with shadows are really cool in cities, as well as ones that let you detect disturbances in your realm.

Animal Companions:
You really need to look at the "Urban Companion" ACF from Cityscape's Web Enhancement. It effectively changes it to Summon Familiar, but the animal acts more like an Animal Companion.
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a
I would choose a dog, rat, bat or something else that will blend in with the city, but help you locate things.
If you are particularly "Good" in alignment, your DM might allow you to modify the "Divine Familiar" feat so you can get a Musteval Guardinal. It would have the city flavor of a rat, but with the benefit of being smart and awesome.

Beyond that, yours is just a very flavorful character. So, think about how you want to be viewed and what your role is in the community.

I had one Urban Druid NPC before. She lived in an incredibly large and diverse city with a ton of magic. She had no respect from and other druids. She did, however, get some respect from Wizards who appreciated someone studying a new branch of magic, and potionmakers who found her more willing to help with things that other druids wouldn't call "kosher".

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by eggynack
Do you mean the urban druid class, from dragon compendium, or just a regular druid with a fancy urban theme?

I'm using the urban druid ACFs from the Cityscape web enhancement (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a), which are perfect for what I have in mind.


Originally Posted by Twilightwyrm
*helpful ideas*

There are some excellent ideas there, thank you. I hadn't thought about Plant Growth, but that would definitely be a boon to community gardens...although in this case they'll probably be grown in a huddle of barrels scavenged from alleys and the river.


Originally Posted by Twilightwyrm
If disease is more rampant, the Mitigate Suffering feat can help forestall its effects.

Disease will be a factor, but according to the feat description the temporary ability points only last for ten minutes. There's no cap on the number of times the ability can be used, but that would involve constant bedside tending, so it's not something she'd be able to use while making rounds out in the warrens. Worth thinking about, though.


Originally Posted by Falcon X
Obviously, anything from Cityscape is fair game. Most of the feats (Urban Tracking, City Magic, Deceptive Spell, Invisible Spell, Roofwalker, etc.) aren't exactly OP, but very useful and flavorful.

Apart from the urban ACFs, I'm not all that impressed with Cityscape, even though it was designed to support a city campaign. Invisible Spell is certainly a fun feat, but an Invisible Summon Nature's Ally might be pushing things.

:smalltongue:

[eggynack]

I'm using the urban druid ACFs from the Cityscape web enhancement (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a), which are perfect for what I have in mind.
Yeah, that's the way I'd go about it too. I actually made up a little urban druid spell pack (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16396359&postcount=73) a while back, which might be helpful. It might be a bit the opposite of what you're looking for, as it tends towards cold, vermin, and sickness as major themes, but some of the spells there could be helpful.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by eggynack
I actually made up a little urban druid spell pack a while back, which might be helpful.

Interesting, thank you. This particular druid is good-ish, so might lean more towards the BoED, but there are some spells worth looking at there.


Originally Posted by Falcon X
You really need to look at the "Urban Companion" ACF from Cityscape's Web Enhancement. It effectively changes it to Summon Familiar, but the animal acts more like an Animal Companion.

Yar, I did notice that, and I'm trying to work out what exactly to do with it. :smalltongue:

I'm thinking a crow of some sort, more for style than anything, since the shanty-druid is older and won't be going into combat much. As you suggest, this would fit right into a city environment, and would be useful for all manner of things, including Share Husk.

[Phelix-Mu]

Alright, here's my favorite nugget of "druid improves life for commoners." I'm told that it is from the officially sanctioned 3.5 source for Dark Sun, and as such is "official." That said, it never appears in a book, and would need to be ported in from a rather alien setting. That said, it's hardly gamebreaking (and 100% made of win).

Nurturing Seeds
Abjuration
Level: Drd 0
Components: V, S, M, DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Up to 10 seeds touched
Duration: Permanent
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
You render up to 10 cuttings or seeds dormant and
suitable for transport. The seeds or cuttings can
then be taken to an area where inclement weather,
lack of moisture, or other problems have kept
plants from growing. The dormant seeds or
cuttings are planted there and will magically take
root and can be used to start new patches of
vegetation, anchoring the soil and creating an
environment suitable for more plants to survive.
This spell protects the transplants from normal
weather conditions, but defilers, hungry animals, or
unnatural phenomenon (like Tyr-Storms) can still
destroy the plants.
Material Components: A tiny bit of dung and a
drop of water.

So, this could be used to start rooftop gardens, to make a community garden, to cultivate plants that would filter water (like duckweed), to grow tomatoes indoors in pots, and so forth. The limited scope means that it's hardly self-repeating traps of create food/water, but it is a cool way to be cool and have a lasting impact on the lives of normal people.

Finally, since you seem to be looking for a sensible build for a low-op application, I'll advise some kind of interesting background as the way to finish off the feat selection. This urban druid, an older woman, has clearly been around the block. Maybe she used to frequent more of the city or have a more militant view toward protecting her chosen territory. Or perhaps she's from a distant city that was destroyed years ago in a terrible war. Burdened by past memories of horrific suffering, people driven to walking barefoot away from the burning wreckage of their homes, she now looks to make new, peaceful memories.

A couple routes this could go:

- Ex War Criminal: She actually instigated whatever conflict eventually destroyed her former city with her militant views. Horrified by the results of her actions, she is living out her tormented last years, grasping at penance as the furies of her past haunt her sleep.

- Reincarnated: Many druids use this method to prolong their ability to care for their charges/territory. Maybe this isn't the first life she's spent caring for the people of this shanty town. She'd need a superior to cast it on her, but druids are exactly the kind of organization that would recycle valued members over accepting new blood (going with the standard secretive order poorly-disguised real-world mythology reference). Maybe she was granted a new life by one of her elders, and the two were the last of their order. As s/he lay dying, s/he reincarnate the npc in question to extend the druid's presence in the city.

- Good samaritan: Some people don't need a reason to spend their time being kind and nurturing. This is good if you want to emphasize the BoED virtues, and minimize the dark past thing that I often skew toward (witness suggestions one and two). In this case, I'd also have her actively promote some types of common sense behavioral stuff. While a druid is less likely to spin a dogmatic yarn for her patients involving virtue and attending religious services, she will likely want to perpetuate her influence among each resident of her territory for when she is not around. As such, her funds, limited as they are, can certainly fund some profession(herbalist) or profession(midwife) apprentices. She may even staff a small, modest clinic for emergencies (much faster than just making house calls). On the other hand, maybe she does only do the rounds, preferring to keep a low-profile for whatever reason (conflict with the powers that be in the city? subplot monkey says "YES!"). In any case, teaching and spreading knowledge of disease prevention (sheepskin condoms, kids, they work wonders...and boil that water).

Next, some random ideas:

- A big problem in slums is fuel for cooking and so forth. Charcoal is often used by those that don't have a nearby source of foraged wood, and the production of charcoal is a huge blight on the environment. Neither wood nor charcoal fires are even vaguely clean-burning, and usually even less so in poorly vented, choked air spaces such as those used as residences in shanty towns. Not to mention the huge concern for the potential fire hazard. Consider that the druid would have spent time and effort trying to find a solution to this problem. Maybe she needs the help of the party to reduce air pollution levels in the slum by acquiring x or y or doing [insert quest]. Random idea is that the druid is trying to win the favor of a local air spirit, to entice the spirit to grant a modest breeze through the her slum every so often. Make the spirit a sylph or something for extra points, but it could even just be a stray air elemental.

-Midwifery: Hurrah for this. I am a big fan of involving the more mundane aspects of life in the game, as the machismo world of hack and slash, conflict-driven plot lines are rather bleak without a sense that normal life is worth protecting. If you wish to emphasize pregnancy/childbirth/fertility stuff, then Book of Erotic Fantasy is actually a pretty good resource. In particular, some good detail is given for the mechanical effects of pregnancy by trimester and race, items and spells to protect birthing, and the various methods of family planning that might ostensibly be available in a typical D&D setting. Maybe a little too much realism, but I often am surprised at what my players are up for in terms of stretching their comfort zone (like one player that was actually surprisingly protective of his bastard offspring, another who married his cohort and planned to settle down and have kids, and another who went to great lengths to establish a series of mundane hospitals across the continent).

- Racism/classicism/discrimination: If there is going to be time spent in the slums, we should explore the cultural/social dynamic that has given rise to this particular place. Considerations follow:

1.) Racial makeup. Racism is treated with some seriousness here and there in the books, but I've found that much richness can be added by emphasizing that even otherwise good people are capable of cruelty and need nothing more than a tradition of racial discrimination to engage in it. Maybe the slum has a large proportion of half-orcs or other people of mixed lineage. Perhaps goblins live in the city and are treated as non-entities by the law and the general populace. Maybe the ruling grey elves are purists, and have slave holdings in all the "lesser" PHB races, and treat the more "domestic" subraces of the elves (high and wild in particular) as uncultured savages. Maybe the city was long ago ravaged by a plague that left hereditary disfigurement of some kind, and now beautiful, unscarred "mutants" are disowned and left to fend for themselves (very Twilight Zone:smallwink:).

2.) Class tensions: The poor often exist in a kind of emotional limbo, living lives of extreme privation and indignity, but bereft of the power needed to change their circumstance. This breeds all manner of corruption into the hearts of otherwise normal people, but it also might manifest as the makings of rebellion, or the urge to seek education (secret book clubs and such), or the urge to make the upper classes see/feel the pain of those they have chosen to ignore (variously manifesting as activism or terrorism).

3.) The Law: The legality of many slums is often in flux. Poor people settle where they can, and legal considerations often are nowhere on their radar. Maybe a law has changed, and all the land in the slum is sold to developers (how realistic!). The poor are being evicted, their homes demolished by uncaring stone golems or some such. Flavor to taste. On another tack, maybe the law does enforce the existence of the slums. Consider a debtor's prison model. Those that have debts are dispossessed of everything and forced to live in the ghetto, their debts hereditary unto the third generation (or other highly arbitrary standard). The police watch the ghetto, and efforts at self-betterment that don't involve repaying debts are punished.

Okay, well, that sucked up way more time than I had intended. And rambled quite a bit as well. I'm interested in how specifically you were thinking the party would interact with this npc, if you have any idea in advance. Is this a quest-giver, an unspecified resource, a potential ally? Or, maybe, THE VILLAIN? *cough* Right, less darkness. In any case, classic idea, and I hope it works out well.

[eggynack]

Interesting, thank you. This particular druid is good-ish, so might lean more towards the BoED, but there are some spells worth looking at there.
Yeah, exalted druids are also cool. At those levels, luminous armor is obviously the best thing ever, and hammer of righteousness is pretty decent. Lesser restoration could easily fuel sanctified spells, and simultaneously be used for people helping. You also have remove addiction on there, which is nifty in an urban setting. You don't find all that much that crosses over between urban and good, but that fits well.

You might want to pull out the big exalted guns and run vow of poverty, which is about as exalted as it gets, and is reasonably good on a druid to boot. Exalted wild shape and exalted companion are great, especially if you use the latter to VoP up your companion as well (it's not great without it, but having a celestial companion is neat to flavor an NPC), and lots of the other feats synergize decently with druidry. Luminous armor unfortunately doesn't work with VoP all that well, but it's not the biggest issue. It's certainly a direction to take, though you can easily get by with just a couple of the more druid-centric exalted feats, like the aforementioned two.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Phelix-Mu
*all of it*

Phew. Thank you. :smalltongue:

Some great ideas there, plenty and to spare--enough to really help flesh out not just the urban druid, but the entire campaign. Just a few comments for now:


Originally Posted by Phelix-Mu
As such, her funds, limited as they are, can certainly fund some profession(herbalist) or profession(midwife) apprentices.

Yup, just one apprentice, currently being groomed (with full-tilt crankiness) as her eventual successor.


Originally Posted by Phelix-Mu
On the other hand, maybe she does only do the rounds, preferring to keep a low-profile for whatever reason (conflict with the powers that be in the city? subplot monkey says "YES!").

Exactly yes. Your subplot monkey is right on target. :smalltongue:

In fact, she's a strident critic of the city elites, which doesn't endear her to them; but she mainly keeps to her shanties, so the elites make snide remarks at gala balls and leave it at that. Besides which, they know she can drop a thoqqua in their bedrooms any time she likes, so there's a certain prickly detente in effect.


Originally Posted by Phelix-Mu
I'm interested in how specifically you were thinking the party would interact with this npc, if you have any idea in advance.

She's one of a number of quirky, significant figures who are part of the urban landscape. Her talent with languages will be valuable, as well as her intimate awareness of the lives and tenor of the urban poor--and her wary, long-running standoff with the local crimelord of the slums.

I'd like to build an encounter around her, but so far I've just been working out who she is and what she does. Encounter ideas very welcome. :smallbiggrin:


Originally Posted by Phelix-Mu
I am a big fan of involving the more mundane aspects of life in the game, as the machismo world of hack and slash, conflict-driven plot lines are rather bleak without a sense that normal life is worth protecting.

Absolutely so. Not everyone appreciates this, but it's an important aspect for me.


Originally Posted by eggynack
At those levels, luminous armor is obviously the best thing ever....

Indeed, especially since she wears absolutely no armor whatsoever. But Luminous Armor + Barkskin would make for a potent combination.

It's also the sort of thing that would make her a genuine local legend--confronting a pack of alley cutthroats, shining with transcendent radiance.


Originally Posted by eggynack
You might want to pull out the big exalted guns and run vow of poverty, which is about as exalted as it gets, and is reasonably good on a druid to boot.

Yup, I considered VoP right from the start, but decided it doesn't really suit her. In practical terms, she needs her herbals and other supplies for gardening and midwifery, which would conflict with the notorious requirements of ascetic poverty.

Also, she's good-ish, but not entirely exalted. As Phelix points out, everyone's got a past.

:smalltongue:

[Person_Man]

I'm using the urban druid ACFs from the Cityscape web enhancement (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a), which are perfect for what I have in mind.

Understandable.

Though if you haven't read it, I would strongly encourage you to take a look at the Urban Druid from Dragon Compendium as well. They have a really interesting spell list, including many non-Druid spells such as Detect Thoughts, Glibness, Dominate/Hold Person/Monster, Minor/Major Creation, and many others. Their Urban Shape ability is a lot weaker then Wildshape, but allows them to change into any humanoid (basically Disguise/Alter Self with a scaled hit dice cap) and a limited list of vermin (which is awesome for scouting in a city) and eventually Animated Objects (so you can finally play as a real Transformer). They can get an Animated Object Companion in place of an Animal Companion, which means you can finally have that self driving car "bat-car" or Knightrider that you've always wanted.

It's definitely Tier 3 and not Tier 1 material, but it's worth considering.

[eggynack]

Indeed, especially since she wears absolutely no armor whatsoever. But Luminous Armor + Barkskin would make for a potent combination.
I'm not as big of a fan of barkskin, mostly for duration issues (Entirely for duration issues? Perhaps), but it's a decent spell. Luminous armor is nice cause it stacks with everything you'd want it to on a druid. It works perfectly with a monk's belt, because it's not armor, and the lack of dexterity limit makes the high dexterity scores you get from wild shape forms worth more. You can get some crazy numbers that way. Scales of the sealord (Storm, 121) is a spell that bypasses the duration issue that barkskin has, lasting as it does for hours/level, but it suffers in the other comparisons, like spell level and AC bonus. Barkskin is definitely the standard by which all other lesser AC boosters are judged, if only because it's such a generic little spell.


Yup, I considered VoP right from the start, but decided it doesn't really suit her. In practical terms, she needs her herbals and other supplies for gardening and midwifery, which would conflict with the notorious requirements of ascetic poverty.
Fair enough, especially cause it's mostly a not bad option instead of an actually good one. I'm always a fan of crazy exalted druid, particularly because of exalted wild shape. It's right up there with the best wild shape feats in the game, hanging out somewhere between frozen wild shape and dragon wild shape in terms of power level.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Person_Man
...I would strongly encourage you to take a look at the Urban Druid from Dragon Compendium as well.

Okay, I appreciate the recommendation and the overview, thanks. For now, the Cityscape ACFs are working for me; they fit this character like a glove. But the DC Urban Druid sounds like an interesting blend of druid and beguiler, and that's certainly intriguing, since those are probably my two favorite classes.

As you describe it, everything about it sounds interesting, except the animated-object part. Transformers were never my thing. : /


Originally Posted by eggynack
Scales of the sealord (Storm, 121) is a spell that bypasses the duration issue that barkskin has, lasting as it does for hours/level, but it suffers in the other comparisons, like spell level and AC bonus.

Interesting, I hadn't looked at that one before. (In general I'm not a big Stormwrack fan.) I see what you mean about delivering on the AC bonus; at her level it would still be +1, so less value on that front than Barkskin, and at a higher spell level. But worth keeping in mind for special circumstances, since there's an awfully big river running through this city. :smalltongue:


Originally Posted by eggynack
I'm always a fan of crazy exalted druid, particularly because of exalted wild shape. It's right up there with the best wild shape feats in the game, hanging out somewhere between frozen wild shape and dragon wild shape in terms of power level.

Well, I tend to like my druids slightly less crazy, but I'll certainly keep that in mind. I have a feeling that Exalted Wild Shape only pulls ahead at higher levels? Never really looked into it, since I tend not to get involved with the higher slopes of the power curve.



Also, to follow up on a couple more of Phelix's comments:


Originally Posted by Phelix-Mu
Racial makeup.... Maybe the slum has a large proportion of half-orcs or other people of mixed lineage. Perhaps goblins live in the city and are treated as non-entities by the law and the general populace. Maybe the ruling grey elves are purists, and have slave holdings in all the "lesser" PHB races, and treat the more "domestic" subraces of the elves (high and wild in particular) as uncultured savages.

Interesting ideas to be sure, and there are some possibilities here for rival principalities. For this particular city, I'm using mainly humans with a light sprinkle of half-elves and dwarves; the hard rain of orcs and other goblinoids will be reserved for more distant regions. Within the city, much of its diversity will come from a variety of human immigrant groups, many of whom have small pockets or warrens in different quarters of the city.

This is one area where the urban druid will shine, because she knows virtually every language spoken in the city, and sometimes serves as a street-level mediator between different immigrant quarters, as well as simply translating for everyday needs.


Originally Posted by Phelix-Mu
Class tensions: The poor often exist in a kind of emotional limbo, living lives of extreme privation and indignity, but bereft of the power needed to change their circumstance. This breeds all manner of corruption into the hearts of otherwise normal people, but it also might manifest as the makings of rebellion....

Heh. Funny you should mention that.

:smallbiggrin:

.

[Vhaidara]

You could also pull a few things from Races of Destiny.

Urbanus, god of Cities (total baller, one of my favorite gods)

The Urban Soul Prestige Class (specializes in city-based combat, maybe to make it urban-druid friendly trade out some of the skill stuff for 7/10 casting progression)

Crowdwalker Tactical feat: No movement penalty for moving through a crowd, +4 to Hide in a crowd, and +4 on Intimidate or Diplomacy to influence a crowd

[eggynack]

Well, I tend to like my druids slightly less crazy, but I'll certainly keep that in mind. I have a feeling that Exalted Wild Shape only pulls ahead at higher levels? Never really looked into it, since I tend not to get involved with the higher slopes of the power curve.

Nah, it actually gets pretty much all of its power immediately. You can only pick it up at level 9 (I think you can get it at 8th with VoP though), but you get basically everything at that level. The big gain is that you can become a blink dog, which means that you can dimension door every round as a free action, and can activate or deactivate blink as a free action as well. Tactical teleportation and miss chance are two things that druids aren't great at, so that's amazing stuff. The second biggest thing is that you can apply the celestial template to any animal you would wild shape into, which gives a pile of minor bonuses, and per the RAW of the feat grants all of the animal's Ex and Su (mostly Ex) abilities, which ranges from nifty to amazing. You also get unicorn form, which grants a handy magic circle against evil effect which is always on.

All of that stuff comes into play right at level 9, when you get the feat, though I suppose that applying the celestial template to higher animal forms will have to wait. That's in contrast to dragon wild shape, which you have to wait till level 12 for, and frozen wild shape, which is only useful at level 15. The latter isn't that great, because that's where you gain dire tortoise form, and everything else quickly fades away into relative irrelevance. For more information about dragon wild shape, I'd recommend looking into WhamBamSam's posts hereabouts (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=16733730#post16733730). I've yet to fully explore the ramifications of that feat, but I've at least gotten started on it since that post. It's probably better than exalted wild shape, but it takes a bit of book diving.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Keledrath
You could also pull a few things from Races of Destiny.

Aha, yes, thanks for reminding me. I like that book.


Originally Posted by eggynack
The big gain is that you can become a blink dog, which means that you can dimension door every round as a free action, and can activate or deactivate blink as a free action as well.

-- ! ! !

Gah. That's...quite handy. And a little over the top, just maybe.


Originally Posted by eggynack
The second biggest thing is that you can apply the celestial template to any animal you would wild shape into, which gives a pile of minor bonuses, and per the RAW of the feat grants all of the animal's Ex and Su (mostly Ex) abilities, which ranges from nifty to amazing.

...Also, "crazy." Well did you choose that word. :smallbiggrin:


Originally Posted by eggynack
You also get unicorn form, which grants a handy magic circle against evil effect which is always on.

And some healing perks, yes?



I think if I ever run an evil campaign, I'll have an Exalted Wild Shape druid as the BBEG BNGG.

:smalltongue:

.

[eggynack]

Gah. That's...quite handy. And a little over the top, just maybe.
Yeah, it's pretty sweet. You can't take anyone with you on your doorventures, but you can act after teleporting, which is very nice stuff. It's especially good if you have a mantle of the beast (CC, 140), which lets you wild shape as a swift action, thus allowing you access to teleportation without cutting into your actions. It's a solid item without them, but the mantle really benefits if you have some non-standard forms.




...Also, "crazy." Well did you choose that word. :smallbiggrin:
It's basically an enhance wild shape applied to all of your animal forms, which mostly means vision modes of various kinds, along with a few other benefits on occasion. Very strong, especially because you're getting it on the cheap, though less powerful than blink dog shenanigans. The full range of abilities depends a bit on where you stand with the whole Ex ability definition debate, though not to an incredible degree.


And some healing perks, yes?
Na, those're all SLA's, while exalted wild shape only grants Su's and Ex's. It's still a good trick to have access to. Healing mostly comes from SNA IV, for unicorn power, or for valiant steed (BoED, 110), for a full year of unicorn power.

[Phelix-Mu]

Not sure this is the right place to ask, but, eggy, can Exalted Wild Shape into a unicorn net one the unicorn's blood ravage by your reading? I've seen tricks to this effect, and I have to say, that's a pretty nifty side-effect if it works.

@Palanan:

Encounter ideas:

- Well, the obvious is that the characters are going about town, check to hear lady in distress in alleyway. The lady is pregnant and being assaulted by [plot-appropriate henchmen/evildoers]. The woman goes into labor, and the characters, in their effort to aid her, catch wind of a certain midwife in the slum the woman is from. The party must carefully move the woman to the slum/midwife, or find a safe place for the birth and find the midwife, all within a thrilling time limit. Failure could go either way; the characters are forced to deliver the baby, or maybe there is a miscarriage due to the assault. Interesting Hooks: Who was committing the assault? Police investigation (and concomitant police corruption)? Who is the woman? What becomes of the child (should the woman die in childbirth or otherwise be forced to abandon the child)? Bastard child subplot and woman assaulted after confronting the father by the father's thugs? YES!

- The characters are exploring the city, and have met an alarming number of commoners with the same name in a certain part of the city. Everyone from serving wenches, to street urchins, to the bouncer at the night club, they all share the name [insert name of midwife/druid]. Mystery! Investigation turns up the midwife herself, and maybe the edges of a network of potential revolutionaries that half-jokingly have named themselves after the npc urban druid (kind of an "I am Spartacus" moment...kind of:smallsmile:).

- Finally, let's take something out of left field....hmm. Ever see that second Ghost Busters movie? With the psychic ooze beneath the city that is created by all the emotions of all those people (or something like that). Well, check out the Zeitgeist creature in Cityscape and the Mob template. I'd combine these along with a strange, recurring dream. Party members that make Wisdom checks every morning recall that they've been haunted by this same dream for a while, but have trouble recalling details. Something about a massive earthquake and people screaming and running about. Well, this is all mysterious, but in the foreground [insert more short-term stuff related to the plot in the city]. They run into the npc urban druid almost by accident in the market, as she shops for herbs, but then she keeps an eye on them (she recognizes the party members from the dream...she's being haunted by it too). The party might recognize that they are being spied on, but eventually it comes to a head after [crime lord] decides that the party is disposable, and tries to have them whacked. The druid steps in after the party escapes danger, and offers to help conceal them and offers a chance at revenge against the guy that tried to have them killed.

Scroll forward. The party has done with their immediate stuff in the city, traveled around, or whatever else the mid-term plans of the campaign are. Later, the urban druid invites them back to the city. A revolution or other social uprising is underway, and the druid is interested in sparing a certain number of children and other helpless people from the worst of the violence. The party is to orchestrate the movement of refugees to a nearby village, a temporary measure. In the process, the party uncovers evidence that that old dream is now haunting everyone, and driving some people mad.

Anyway, I could continue, but I don't want to write the entire campaign for you. Pick and choose where convenient; maybe some of it will dovetail with what you already had in mind. I ran an urban druid npc in recent pbp, and he was quite cool. I hope your concept works out for your purposes.

[eggynack]

Not sure this is the right place to ask, but, eggy, can Exalted Wild Shape into a unicorn net one the unicorn's blood ravage by your reading? I've seen tricks to this effect, and I have to say, that's a pretty nifty side-effect if it works.

It seems plausible, but it relies to some extent on wild shape's ability to actually make you into the creature in question. I don't know if a druid that has become a unicorn technically qualifies as a unicorn, which seems to be the requirement for the ravage. I wonder if the blood of a summoned unicorn sticks around when the duration ends. Probably not, but it's vaguely plausible. You could definitely get the stuff from a called unicorn, as from valiant steed.

[Phelix-Mu]

Thanks, I was mainly looking at it as a side-perk of my conceptual Kitten Army & General build concept, tentatively based around Beloved of Valarian. Still requires some thought and development, but I'm seriously considering a VoP variant that rides unicorns, shoots rainbows, and turns enemies into kittens. Ah, 3.5. Hehe.:smallamused:

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Twilightwyrm
That is one lucky shanty district...healing will probably be only second to food in demand.

Following along this theme, I just remembered the Fangshields druid substitution levels from Champions of Valor. In particular, the fourth-level substitution, which swaps Resist Nature's Lure for the ability to spontaneously cast Cure Light Wounds. A little redundant with Touch of Healing, perhaps, but useful for the little emergencies of shantytown life--which don't seem so little when you're the one who's tripped on the marlinspike.

This precludes the fourth-level ACF from Cityscape, but that's mainly Strong Stomach, which isn't nearly so useful. Spontaneous healing on a druid? Without burning a feat? Yes, please.




Originally Posted by Phelix-Mu
*lots and lots more*

Ahh, more ideas, thanks very much indeed. There will be dovetailing, yes.


Originally Posted by Phelix-Mu
The woman goes into labor, and the characters, in their effort to aid her, catch wind of a certain midwife in the slum the woman is from.

Cool idea, thanks. Definitely one way to bring them together, and a nicely down-to-earth episode in general, bringing the characters into the daily weave of urban life...for good or for ill.

This is exactly the sort of personal connection I want to emphasize, such that for the players, the city isn't a hazy mass of generic commoners, but a community of people they've become involved with.


Originally Posted by Phelix-Mu
...and maybe the edges of a network of potential revolutionaries that half-jokingly have named themselves after the npc urban druid....

Hmm.

*scribble scribble*

:smalltongue:


Originally Posted by Phelix-Mu
Ever see that second Ghost Busters movie? ...Well, check out the Zeitgeist creature in Cityscape and the Mob template.

Yoicks, that's CR 23. :smalleek:

Hmm. That certainly covers left field...and the rest of the city, too.


Originally Posted by Phelix-Mu
A revolution or other social uprising is underway, and the druid is interested in sparing a certain number of children and other helpless people from the worst of the violence.

This, most definitely. That would be a priority of the druid, although her instinct might be to hunker down and bring them somewhere defensible (cellars, etc.) as opposed to trying to leave.

Very interesting ideas, thank you. There's much here I can use.

...Also:


Originally Posted by Phelix-Mu
Random idea is that the druid is trying to win the favor of a local air spirit, to entice the spirit to grant a modest breeze through the her slum every so often.

In fact, Darsson's Cooling Breeze (Shining South, p. 45) would do this very nicely, and now that I think of it she could probably make a little money on the side by casting this spell in smithies, workshops, etc. for a little welcome ventilation in summertime.