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Karma Guard
2007-05-11, 10:38 PM
Why did I make this? Because the one in Dragon #317 sucked. :smallmad:. I was really looking forward to making one, but then it's more Rangerly than I'd like. So I made this one, using the Aspects of Nature variant of the Druid. Go ahead and PEACH me or PINEAPPLE or whatever phrase you cool kids use to mean critique and whatever. I'd be especially down with suggestions for the deadlevels, because deadlevels are lame. I also need a 12th level Aspect to take the place of the Plant one. Maybe a Vermin one or something.

Also, I have Aspects for each of the Demiplanes, and I was going to use those, but a friend of mine suggested the Material Aspects, and I liked them better.

Edit: :smallsigh: Forgot the spell list.
---
The Urban Druid
Alignment: Any Neutral.
HD: D8
Class Skills: The Urban Druid's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering) (Int), Listen (Wis), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (4+int mod.) x4
Skill Points onwards: 4 + Int mod.

Table: The Urban Druid
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th| 9th

1st|
+0|
+2|
+0|
+2|Urban Companion, City Sense, Seek the City|3|1

2nd|
+1|
+3|
+0|
+3|Urban Stride|4|2|

3rd|
+2|
+3|
+1|
+3|Trackless Step|4|2|1|

4th|
+3|
+4|
+1|
+4|Disease Immunity|5|3|2||

5th|
+3|
+4|
+1|
+4|Aspect of the City(1/day)|5|3|2|1||

6th|
+4|
+5|
+2|
+5|Aspect of the City(2/day)|5|3|3|2|||

7th|
+5|
+5|
+2|
+5|Aspect of the City(3/day)|6|4|3|2|1|||

8th|
+6|
+6|
+2|
+6|Aspect of the City(Two at once)|6|4|3|3|2|||||

9th|
+6|
+6|
+3|
+6|Venom Immunity|6|4|4|3|2|1|||

10th|
+7|
+7|
+3|
+7|Aspect of the City(4/day)|6|4|4|3|3|2||||

11th|
+8|
+7|
+3|
+7|Aspect of the City(Three at once)|6|5|4|4|3|2|1|||

12th|
+9|
+8|
+4|
+8|-|6|5|4|4|3|3|2|||

13th|
+9|
+8|
+4|
+8|A Thousand Faces|6|5|5|4|4|3|2|1||

14th|
+10|
+9|
+4|
+9|Aspect of the City(5/day)|6|5|5|4|4|3|3|2||

15th|
+11|
+9|
+5|
+9|Timeless body, Aspect of the City(Four at once)|6|5|5|5|4|4|3|2|1|

16th|
+12|
+10|
+5|
+10|-|6|5|5|5|4|4|3|3|2|

17th|
+12|
+10|
+5|
+10|Heart of the City|6|5|5|5|5|4|4|3|2|1

18th|
+13|
+11|
+6|
+11|Aspect of the City(6/day)|6|5|5|5|5|4|4|3|3|2

19th|
+14|
+11|
+6|
+11|-|6|5|5|5|5|5|4|4|3|3

20th|
+15|
+12|
+6|
+12|Urban Apotheosis|6|5|5|5|5|5|4|4|4|4[/table]

Class Features
Weapon Profs: club, dagger, dart, quarterstaff, rapier, kukri, short spear, sling, spear, and sap. They are also proficient with any natural attacks they acquire with Aspect of the City (see below).
Armor Profs: Light and Medium. Arcane Spell failure rates apply to the Urban Druid's casting, with a +10% reduction to the rates.
(Ed. Note: Anyone else have a better idea on how to make this work? It's silly to restrict an Urban Druid to non-metal armors, being in the city and all.)

Spells: An urban druid casts divine spells, which are drawn from the urban druid spell list. Her alignment may restrict her from casting certain spells opposed to her moral or ethical beliefs; see Chaotic, Evil, Good, and Lawful Spells, below. A druid must choose and prepare her spells in advance (see below).

To prepare or cast a spell, the druid must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a druid’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the druid’s Wisdom modifier.

Like other spellcasters, a druid can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. Her base daily spell allotment is given on Table: The Druid. In addition, she receives bonus spells per day if she has a high Wisdom score. She does not have access to any domain spells or granted powers, as a cleric does.

A druid prepares and casts spells the way a cleric does, though she cannot lose a prepared spell to cast a cure spell in its place (but see Spontaneous Casting, below). A druid may prepare and cast any spell on the druid spell list, provided that she can cast spells of that level, but she must choose which spells to prepare during her daily meditation.

Spontaneous Casting: An urban druid can channel stored spell energy into summoning spells that she hasn’t prepared ahead of time. She can “lose” a prepared spell in order to cast any summon nature’s ally spell of the same level or lower.

Chaotic, Evil, Good, and Lawful Spells: A druid can’t cast spells of an alignment opposed to her own or her deity’s (if she has one). Spells associated with particular alignments are indicated by the chaos, evil, good, and law descriptors in their spell descriptions.

Bonus Language: An Urban Druid gets Druidic automatically, as the druid. Instead of Sylvan, the Urban Druid picks a bonus language from the languages spoken in the city she lives in.

Urban Companion: An urban druid may begin play with an animal companion selected from the following list: Small animated object, bat, dire rat, rat, cat, dog, riding dog, horse (light or heavy), Medium monstrous centipede, Small monstrous scorpion, Small monstrous spider, mule, owl, pony, raven, snake (Small or Medium viper), warhorse(light). This animal is a loyal companion that accompanies the urban druid on her adventures as appropriate for its kind.

A 1st-level urban druid’s companion is exactly like a druid's animal companion, and grows in power exactly like one as well (use the Animal Companion rules presented there for it's advancement). If an urban druid releases her companion from service, she may gain a new one by performing a ceremony requiring 24 uninterrupted hours of prayer. This ceremony can also replace an urban companion that has perished.

An urban druid of 4th level or higher may select from alternative lists of animals (see below). Should she select an animal companion from one of these alternative lists, the creature gains abilities as if the character’s urban druid level were lower than it actually is. Subtract the value indicated in the appropriate list header from the character’s urban druid level and compare the result with the urban druid level entry on the table to determine the animal companion’s powers. (If this adjustment would reduce the druid’s effective level to 0 or lower, she can’t have that animal as a companion.)

Alternative Urban Companions:
4th level or higher:
Medium animated object, giant ant (soldier), dire bat, Large monstrous centipede, Medium monstrous scorpion, Medium monstrous spider, Large snake(viper), warhorse (Heavy)

7th level or higher:
Large animated object, carrion crawler, hammerer (MM2, page 27), otyugh, Huge monstrous centipede, Large monstrous scorpion, Large monstrous spider, pulverizer (MM2, Pg 27), Huge snake (viper)

10th level or higher:
Huge animated object, Huge monstrous spider

13th level or higher:
Gargantuan monstrous centipede, Huge monstrous scorpion

16th level or higher:
Gargantuan animated object, Gargantuan monstrous spider

City Sense(ex): At 1st level, an urban druid gains a +2 bonus to Knowledge(Architecture and Engineering) and Gather Information checks.

Seek the City(su): At 2nd level, an urban druid learns how to intuitively seek out cities. She is able to sense any and all towns within a mile radius of herself. She knows the general direction of it (above/below/east/west of us), and about how large it is (See the DMG pg 137 for the names and sizes). She cannot tell who populates the city, nor the exact location of it. With 5 minutes of concentration, she may either extend her range a mile in a cardinal direction, learn the creature type that is predominant in a city, or the more precise location of a city, or the general health of the city. With 5 more minutes, she can add one of those again, learn the predominant species, gain general directions to the city by the roads most commonly used to reach the city, or learn the more exact health of the city (examples: If it is under siege, a flood, if there's an epidemic of Rat Fever, or something like a baby boom.).

Urban Stride(ex): Starting at 2nd level, an urban druid may move through any sort of hampering ground that is both man-made and non-magical, and through crowds, at her normal speed and without taking damage. This does not include traps. (an example of man-made hampering ground is the ground at a construction sight, strewn with nails, or an alley full of broken bottles and other trash, or a road that is rained into useless mud that isn't excessively deep.)

Trackless Step(ex): At 3rd level, while on any man-made ground, including roads, the urban druid leaves no trail, and cannot be tracked. she can choose to leave a trail if she so chooses.

Disease Immunity(ex): At 4th level, an urban druid gains immunity to all diseases, including supernatural and magical diseases.

Aspect of the City(su): At 5th level, an urban druid may take on one aspect from those described below. At 8th level, the urban druid can take on up to two aspects simultaneously. At 11th level, she can take up on to three aspects simultaneously, and at 15th level the limit increases to its maximum of four simultaneous aspects. (Some aspects can only be combined with certain other aspects, as indicated in their descriptions.) Each aspect taken on counts as one daily use of the urban druid's wild shape ability. Multiple versions of the same aspect don't stack. Taking on one or more aspects is a standard action (which does not provoke attacks of opportunity), and the effect lasts for 1 minute per urban druid level.

Some aspects, as noted in their descriptions, have a minimum urban druid level as a prerequisite.

Unless otherwise noted in an aspect's description, a urban druid who assumes an aspect of nature retains her own type and subtype(s), keeps her extraordinary, supernatural, or spell-like abilities, and retains her ability to communicate and cast spells. She is considered proficient with any natural attacks granted by the aspect.

List of Aspects
She may use the following Aspects as pulled from the Druid list of Aspects of Nature: Agility, Aquatic, Endurance, Flight, Scent, Speed, Tooth and Claw, and Vigor. (Located for easy ref here (http://srd.pbemnexus.com/unearthedClasses.html).)

Material Masonry: The urban druid's body becomes stony and rocky, resembling whatever stonework is nearby. While using this aspect, an urban druid has immunity to poison, sleep, paralysis, and stunning, as well as DR 10/Magic. She may also enter a Defensive Stance at will, as a Dwarven Defender (see here (http://srd.pbemnexus.com/dwarvenDefender.html)), but without suffering fatigue when she leaves the Stance. Finally, an urban druid using this aspect gains a +10 bonus to all Hide checks in areas with worked stone. The urban druid cannot cast spells while this aspect is in effect. She can't combine this aspect with any other aspect except for endurance and vigor. Prerequisite: Druid level 16th.

Material Glass: The urban druid's body becomes clear as glass. While using this aspect, an urban druid has immunity to poison, sleep, paralysis, and stunning, as well as DR 10/Magic. She is also translucent, granting her concealment of 20%. Finally, she has a constant True Seeing spell on herself that only reaches 60'. If it is dispelled, she may resume it at a free action, and she can suppress it at will. She can't combine this aspect with any other aspect except for agility and endurance. Prerequisite: Druid level 16th.

Material Metal: The urban Druid's body becomes hard and metallic, looking like some fantastic metal sculpture. While using this aspect, an urban druid has immunity to poison, sleep, paralysis, and stunning, as well as DR 10/Magic. She gains a slam attack that deals bludgeoning damage equal to a morningstar of the druid's size (1d8 for Medium druids, 1d6 for Small druids). Her natural armor bonus becomes +8 (replacing any other natural armor bonus the druid has, though enhancement bonuses to natural armor still apply normally). The druid cannot cast spells while this aspect is in effect. She can't combine this aspect with any other aspect except for endurance and vigor. Prerequisite: Druid level 16th.

Material Cloth: The urban druid's body flattens and looks like a tapestry. While using this aspect, an urban druid has immunity to poison, sleep, paralysis, and stunning, as well as DR 10/Magic, and is immune to Bludgeoning damage. She gains the feats Improved Disarm, Improved Trip, and Improved Grapple, even if she is not qualified for these feats, but these feats only apply to her natural attacks. She also gains two tentacle attacks that deal bludgeoning damage equal to a dagger of her size (1d4 medium, 1d3 small). She gains the ability Evasion, as Rogue, or Improved Evasion if the urban druid already has Evasion. The druid cannot cast spells while this aspect is in effect. She can't combine this aspect with any other aspect except for agility and endurance. Prerequisite: Druid level 16th.

Disease: The druid gains a bite attack that deals bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage equal to a dagger of the druid's size (1d4 for a Medium druid, or 1d3 for a Small druid). In addition, the bite inflicts Filth Fever on a successful strike.

Aspect of the Citizen: The druid pulls on the appearance and skills of the people who live in a nearby city or in her party. When she uses this aspect, she gains all the racial traits of a chosen race. This race is either herself, anyone permanently part of her party, or a race that lives in city closest to her that she knows the predominant species of (she can use magical means to discern this). If the race chosen is human, instead gain the Jack of all Trades feat for free, and a bonus to all skillchecks equal to her Urban Druid level. She gains a +10 bonus to Disguise checks to impersonate the race she has the traits of.

Venom Immunity(ex): At 9th level, an urban druid gains immunity to all poisons.

A Thousand Faces(su): At 13th level, an urban druid gains the ability to change her appearance at will, as if using the disguise self spell, but only while in her normal form. This affects the druid’s body but not her possessions. It is not an illusory effect, but a minor physical alteration of the druid’s appearance, within the limits described for the spell.

Timeless Body(ex): After attaining 15th level, an urban druid no longer takes ability score penalties for aging and cannot be magically aged. Any penalties she may have already incurred, however, remain in place. Bonuses still accrue, and the druid still dies of old age when her time is up

Heart of the City(ex): At level 17, the urban druid has become so close to urban places that she begins to take on traits of it. Whenever it would be beneficial to be considered a Construct for the purposes of a spell, the urban druid may do so. This does not actually grant any Construct traits. This works even while the urban druid is unconscious or otherwise disabled. (Example: if a Hold Person spell is cast on the urban druid, she will be unaffected, as she is considered a construct for the spell.)

Urban Apotheosis(ex): At level 20, the urban druid's bond with the city is so close that it triggers a magical transformation that grants her many traits of the Construct type. Her typing does not change. There is some visual change, such as the skin becoming stony or her eyes looking metallic but this change is merely superficial. She no longer needs to eat, sleep, or breathe, gains Low-light vision and Darkvision 30', Immunity to disease and sleep effects, and Immunity to charms and compulsions.

(Ed.Note: These two abilities are because the Urban Druid's shafted out of the Druid 'capstone', Huge Elemental wildshape. The 17th level one's just because it's a deadlevel and it seemed to be the best place to put the compliment to Urban Apotheosis. If you have better/less broken/any sort of suggestions, go on and tell me about them. )

Urban Druid Spell List
0th level spells (Orisons)
Create water, cure minor wounds, detect magic, detect poison, guidance, know direction, light, mending, purify good and drink, read magic, repair minor damage, resistance, virtue

1st level spells
Alarm, animate rope, charm person, comprehend languages, cure light wounds, detect secret doors, detect undead, endure elements, faerie fire, hold portal, jump, longstrider, magic fang, magic mouth, magic stone, obscure object, obscuring mist, pass without trace, repair light damage, scatterspray

2nd level spells
barkskin, bull's strength, calm emotions, cat's grace, chill metal, delay poison, detect thoughts, eagle's splendor, enthrall, fog cloud, heat metal, knock, lesser restoration, locate object, misdirection, owl's wisdom, resist energy, repair moderate damage, rope trick, spider climb, suggestion, summon swarm, warp wood, wood shape

3rd level spells
Call lightning, charm monster, contagion, cure moderate wounds, daylight, diminish plants, glibness, greater magic fang, halt undead, keen edge, Leomund's tiny hut, neutralize poison, nondetection, poison, protection from energy, quench, remove disease, repair serious damage, shrink item, speak with dead, stinking cloud, tongues

4th level spells
Antiplant shell, blight, control water, cure serious wounds, dispel magic, dominate person, freedom of movement, giant vermin, hold monster, legend lore, Leomund's secure shelter, locate creature, minor creation, repel vermin, repair critical damage, rusting grasp, scrying

5th level spells
Animate objects, atonement, call lightning storm, control winds, cure critical wounds, death ward, fabricate, hallow, Leomund's secret chest, Mass repair light damage, major creation, Mordenkainen's private sanctum, passwall, stoneskin, Susurrus of the city, transmute mud to rock, transmute rock to mud, unhallow, Wall of stone

6th level spells
Antilife spells, greater dispel magic, find the path, flesh to stone, guards and wards, mass bear's endurance, mass bull's strength, mass cat's grace, mass cure light wounds, mass eagle's splendor, mass owl's wisdom, mass repair moderate damage, mass suggestion, move earth, repel wood, spellstaff, stone tell, stone to flesh, undeath to death, wall of iron

7th level spells
Control weather, creeping doom, disintegrate, greater scrying, heal, mass cure moderate wounds, mass repair serious damage, Mordenkainen's magnificent mansion, phase door, sequester, statue, transmute metal to wood, true seeing, wind walk

8th level spells
Dimensional lock, discern location, earthquake, finger of death, iron body, mass cure serious wounds, mass repair critical wounds, maze, polymorph any object, repel metal or stone, reverse gravity, word of recall

9th level spells
Antipathy, citygate, foresight, freedom, imprisonment, mass cure critical wounds, regenerate, shapechange, storm of vengeance, sympathy

TheThan
2007-05-11, 10:46 PM
Dragon magazine has one, theirs can eventually “wildshape” into an animated object, which its all sorts of awesome. In fact one of these days I’m going to play a warforged urban druid… yep you guessed it… a Transformer.

Karma Guard
2007-05-11, 11:08 PM
Dragon magazine has one, theirs can eventually “wildshape” into an animated object, which its all sorts of awesome. In fact one of these days I’m going to play a warforged urban druid… yep you guessed it… a Transformer.

I made it because of the Dragon one. It's not bad, but it wasn't what I was looking for.

But which transformer?


Why did I make this? Because the one in Dragon #317 sucked. :smallmad:. I was really looking forward to making one, but then it's more Rangerly than I'd like.

Caduceus
2007-05-11, 11:13 PM
Urban...druid... What is wrong with you people?!? Why does the "civilized jungle" need a protector? This is the biggest oxymoron I've ever seen!!!

I applaud the urge for originality and homebrewing, but...an urban druid. Urban rangers are bad enough.

Karma Guard
2007-05-11, 11:48 PM
Urban...druid... What is wrong with you people?!? Why does the "civilized jungle" need a protector? This is the biggest oxymoron I've ever seen!!!

I applaud the urge for originality and homebrewing, but...an urban druid. Urban rangers are bad enough.

Urban rangers make sense. Rangers are weird people who live in the forest and hate on certain races hard enough to get an attack bonuses. Urban Rangers (It's been a long, looong time since I've read their rules) basically do the same thing, but it's against an organization. They play PI, lone ranger, loose cannon, Batman-analogue, all sorts of city-specific roles that're needed in an urban campaign.

But Urban druids are trickier, sure. I suppose a better name would be Urban shaman, but that calls up connotations that I don't want, plus the class's using druid rules. But, the city is an environment that does need protecting, just like the forest does. You can't depend on the citizens to do everything, just like you can't count on the animals to. Druids help the forest to keep on truckin', and so does the Urban Druid for cities. Just because it's man-made doesn't mean that it doesn't need supernatural help.

...Perhaps I should edit in some fluff. :V

I actually have a sort-of source that I pulled this from, but it's only a vague influence, and it used 'City Shaman' instead of Druid. (not to mention it was modern-day and involve superheroes.)

TheThan
2007-05-12, 12:23 AM
I made it because of the Dragon one. It's not bad, but it wasn't what I was looking for.

But which transformer?

not sure,
soundwave is a natural choice, shape change then start summoning animated objects. But unfortuantly it doesn't have any summon spells.(too bad, that'd be pretty dang cool too) so i'll have to come up with something else.

Wolfprint
2007-05-12, 09:07 AM
I can quite understand the rationale behind the Urban Druid. Jack Hawksmoor, from the comic book "The Authority", would be the archetypal Urban Druid, a defender of cities, appointed by the cities themselves.

I'm sorry if there was no constructive criticism with regards to the crunch, but I thought the flavour required some defending.

Serenity
2007-05-12, 09:20 PM
And I think The Question is talking to Metropolis these days.

I like it. Gets rid of Dragon mag's problem of tying the Urban Druid to specific cities...

Karma Guard
2007-05-13, 09:36 PM
And I think The Question is talking to Metropolis these days.

I like it. Gets rid of Dragon mag's problem of tying the Urban Druid to specific cities...

The Question's also dead. :V But yes, in the 2002 mini he exhibited those things. (it was awesome :smallbiggrin: )

Which was a big problem with it. It made him reliant on specific cities for his class-thingies, and it just didn't feel very...druidy :V

Winged One
2007-05-13, 09:45 PM
I'm suprised that there aren't any Cityscape spells on the spell list. Of course, that's probably because you don't have Cityscape, but still.

Karma Guard
2007-05-14, 02:35 AM
I'm suprised that there aren't any Cityscape spells on the spell list. Of course, that's probably because you don't have Cityscape, but still.

Yeah, I haven't picked it up. The spell list is probably going to get changed some; that's a direct typing up of the DRAGON #317 Urban Druid.

So pretend it's got Cityscape in it. :V

Leon
2007-05-14, 05:48 AM
Urban...druid... What is wrong with you people?!? Why does the "civilized jungle" need a protector? This is the biggest oxymoron I've ever seen!!!

I applaud the urge for originality and homebrewing, but...an urban druid. Urban rangers are bad enough.

Why not a defender of the "civilized jungle"?
Where in the discription of Druid does it say that they are Anti City


Ive no idea what the Dragon Mag druid is like, but i do very much like the look of this one aswell as what ive seen of druids in Cityscape

Good Job

Edo
2007-05-14, 03:00 PM
Urban...druid... What is wrong with you people?!? Why does the "civilized jungle" need a protector? This is the biggest oxymoron I've ever seen!!!Granted, it's not the usual idea of "urban," but I could see urban druids existing in the (post-Reconciliation) city of Yzorderrex...

Huduvudu
2007-11-15, 10:37 PM
Dragon magazine has one, theirs can eventually “wildshape” into an animated object, which its all sorts of awesome. In fact one of these days I’m going to play a warforged urban druid… yep you guessed it… a Transformer.

Find some way to get ranks in Hide and Move Silently and wildshape into an iron maiden. Or a guillotine. Or a noose.

Lady Tialait
2007-11-16, 12:12 AM
I like it. I think I'm gunna swag this for my Newr campain setting. Ireally like the flavor..and the World i'm makeing doesn't have even large parks. so it'll work.