Evil Druid

[boxfox]

Hey, Giants.

I'm rolling up a NE Druid for our next session and am looking for advice as to how I can be more evil.

The character (Finch) doesn't care about laws or chaos, only balance. Everything should be balanced. Unfortunately, civilization is not balanced. They're unbalancing the world by building their stupid cities everywhere and killing animals for sport or to protect "their" land. Finch feels like it's his duty to rectify this lack of balance.

He's not evil for the sake of being evil. He doesn't even consider himself evil. He doesn't think it's wrong to destroy a city by magically growing a forest right through it (he also doesn't think he can actually do that, but, hey...a gnome can dream...).

So, how does he work to balance out "humanity's" encroachment into nature? I'm not rich, but I can certainly find ways of making some gold. I'm looking for things great and small that I can use to flesh out my character over all levels.

I came up with a spell that I'll be casting a lot. Any other ideas?


Wild Growth
Transmutation
Level: Druid 0, Plant 1
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: 1 living plant or seed touched
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None (Harmless)
Spell Resistance: No
The effects of this spell depend on what the caster targets. If the target is a seed, the caster places the seed in the ground or as close to the ground as possible. When the spell finishes, the seed sprouts immediately. Its roots travel rapidly downward using the least restrictive path until they reach good soil and can provide nourishment to the plant. If there is no easily accessible route to soil, the roots travel through any non-magical barrier (even stone or metal) until they find proper soil. The rest of the plant quickly grows as if it had been planted 2 weeks previously.
The second effect occurs if the target is a plant that has already sprouted. Any natural diseases or blights on the plant are healed. If the plant is malnourished due to poor access to proper soil, its roots dig deeper until they find proper soil with enough moisture and nutrition to feed the plant.
In both cases, the plant only needs half as much sunlight to maintain good health from now on and its hardness increases based on its size category. The plant grows thorns if it did not have them already and anyone touching the plant takes piercing damage based on the size category of the plant.
Diminutive:...+1 Hardness...1 piercing damage
Tiny:............+2 Hardness...1d4 piercing damage
Small:..........+3 Hardness...1d6 piercing damage
Medium:.......+4 Hardness...1d8 piercing damage
Large:..........+5 Hardness...1d10 piercing damage
Huge:...........+6 Hardness...1d12 piercing damage
This spell has no effect if cast on creatures with the Plant type or plants larger than Huge size.

[Rebel7284]

Poison can be completely natural.

Do remember that humans are not outside of nature by default. Only when doing something unsustainable.

[Toliudar]

Humanoids are reproducing beyond the ability of the environment to sustain them. Environments with reduced biodiversity and a preponderance of a few species are much more subject to wild population swings due to food shortages, disease and changes in natural environment. Therefore, perhaps Finch considers it important to reduce the dominance of people in the environment. With 'controlled culls', forced sterilizations, whatever you think you can get away with without disrupting the game.

Ooh! How about a mid level spell that creates a permanent but dispellable aura that makes the reproduction of a specified species half as likely - ten times less likely, whatever you want - within, say, long range of a specified point? "Sure, goblins, you can set up camp at the edge of the forest. But your village will dwindle and wither unless you move on."

[illyahr]

Have him do unto others what he perceives them to be doing to nature. Polluting? Use poisons and acids. Overhunting? Summon Nature's Ally X in their city and have the creatures attack everyone. Deforestation? Destroy their homes.

Doing it for sport? Now we get to be creative. :smallamused:

[eggynack]

I've always liked the idea of an abomination druid. On the feat side, aberration wild shape all the way. You can do lots of crazy stuff with that, and it's full of evil feel. On the not-feat side, necromancy stuff. You use spells like blackwater tentacle (Storm, 114) to make random wights, and forms like myconid sovereign (MM II, 154) and yellow musk creeper (FF, 190), the latter both in wild shape and in summoning, to make plant zombies. On top of that, maybe add in some traditional cold theming, with spells like blizzard, boreal wind, and blood snow (Frost, 89), and consider a dip into talontar blightlord (UE, 34) for bonus points. As for race, I like dragonborn (RotD, 8) anthropomorphic bat (SS, 215), likely running some fangshields druid substitution levels (CV, 40). That race is just evil.

[Rebel7284]

Dragonborn is non-evil.

[eggynack]

Dragonborn is non-evil.
Apparently true. Ah well, just anthro bat then.

[Demonic Spoon]

Another angle to think about: NE is characterized by doing what is best for yourself without regard to ethics or other peoples' pain. On a more personal level, a druid may see something like killing someone, taking his stuff, eating him and making his body into a jacket as just nature taking its course

[boxfox]

:smallamused:

Interesting.

More info: The rest of my party is NOT evil. They also have no idea that Finch is evil...at least they don't yet. His "beef" is with civilization, not with the party...he doesn't want them to think too poorly of him.

Poison is certainly an option. Hard to do without anyone knowing about it, though. Also terribly difficult to inflict, since the only way I'd be able to do it is melee (my DEX is a 4....), which means wild shape, which means dipping my claws in the poison so I can apply it...which means dying. I have no feats available to gain immunity.

Summoning a hostile creature in the middle of a town is certainly evil...it's also a quick way to get yourself killed by guards. Also, pretty obviously bad guy after that.

Abominations are pretty much out. No access to the feat and being an abomination directly goes against everything the character stands for (i.e. being something completely unnatural while trying to help nature flourish).

I love the Anthro bat idea. Doubt my DM will let it happen. I'm the only optimizer in my group and giving me +6 Wisdom would be a bad idea. On the other hand, I'm going to ask anyway, lol.

Fangshield seems to be directly opposed to Finch, since it tries to improve your healing...not my thing.

The only way I could kill someone and take his stuff is if he's opposing me. I could role play a short temper to hide the real reason I attacked him, I guess.
I do have max ranks in Bluff (took feat to make it class skill)...that could certainly help me with this part.

I'm not really going for a "blight" or "anti" druid...more like the epitome of a druid who loves nature, wants to protect it, and just doesn't quite understand everyone else's idea of right and wrong.

Thanks for the feedback, folks. Hoping for a few more ideas...more role play ideas would be nice, too.

[RogueDM]

Alright, so not anti-druid, more like... an eco-terrorist. Doing terrible things with a feeling of moral justification.

Wild shape assassinations?
"I don't know what happened, a bear just broke into the cabin and ate the owner of the logging camp during the night."

Just for an all purpose bit of BA, my druid used this combo a lot in combat: Entangle, Briar Web, Cloud Burst, Call Lightning. Cloud Burst isn't necessary, but the extra damage to the lightning bolts can be worth it. Nothing like frying your enemies while they tear themselves to shreds in a thicket of enchanted ensnaring thorns.

[boxfox]

Lol, that sounds great. Let nature kill them!

I just remembered that one of my party is a making a Paladin...so no evil for me anymore. :(

Also, my DM ruled against Anthro bat...but is letting me lose a level in order to be a Treant reincarnated into a Gnome's body for the cost of 1 level (level loss from Reincarnate). :smallcool: Still get the +6 Wisdom...adding in +2 Intelligence and +2 Charisma...hehehee

Going to roll True Neutral now, I guess. Focus on balancing the 4 excessive alignments...acting true to Nature, as it were. I'm thinking that being balanced isn't necessarily about not doing anything too lawful/chaotic/good/evil...it's that when you DO perform an extreme act in one direction, you balance it out with an extreme act in the other direction.

...We just saved the princess! Finch:"Great. I'm going to take a nap." [pass note to DM - Finch eats the first person he finds alone on the way to his room.]
A little good, a little evil....a little salt and pepper....good times.

Thanks for your help guys. Your thoughts have led me to a really fun and interesting character!