Druid of a dead god?

[Braininthejar2]

While adapting a computer game into a campaign, I ran into a problem - I have a boss battle concept, but have problems expressing it mechanically.

THE CONCEPT: an old witch living in a haunted swamp/forest, surrounded by a retinue of plant-themed monsters, very powerful, but too crazy to meddle in wordly affairs... most of the time.

THE PROBLEM - I want her to be a sort of "crazy, evil druid", but at the same time, an ex-servant of Bhaal, who at that moment is a dead god, cutting her off her power (assuming he'd have 'druids' in the first place)

I was thinking Ur Priest, but they don't have domain access, so I couldn't really fulfill the theme.

A Blighter would ruin the theme too.

I don't need an actual druid, just someone who could fight like one, with a horde of plant monsters, and prefferably something to keep her out of reach for a couple rounds so there is an actual battle.

Does anyone have a good idea for how to pull this off?

[Blackhawk748]

Just keep her a Druid who is powering herself via her own madness.

[Name1]

You could play a Mulan Human Druid with Southern Magician. That would allow her to cast her divine druid spells as arcane spells. Now that you can cast arcane spells, you can take Arcane Disciple, which would grant you access to a domain of Bhaal every time you choose it. If that's not enough, Contemplative can add a domain too.

[Braininthejar2]

"Because DM said so" is a powerful tool indeed, but I was hoping there is a more elegant solution somewhere.


You could play a Mulan Human Druid with Southern Magician. That would allow her to cast her divine druid spells as arcane spells. Now that you can cast arcane spells, you can take Arcane Disciple, which would grant you access to a domain of Bhaal every time you choose it. If that's not enough, Contemplative can add a domain too.

Okay... Mulan and Southern Magician is what I need to research :smallsmile:

[Name1]

Okay... Mulan and Southern Magician is what I need to research :smallsmile:

I currently don't have my books to check where Southern Magician is, but I believe both were in Races of Faerun and the Mulan Human was on page 95 IIRC.

[Braininthejar2]

Southern Magician states that "the source of the spell doesn't change", so it might not bypass the dead god thing, depending on how anal I am about it.

And Bhall doesn't actually have grant plant domain (what a surprise)

[Name1]

I wouldn't know why you need the plant domain, since the spells on there seem to align with the druid spell list... But Holt Warden 1 gives you access to it even if your deity doesn't.

On note of the spells not changing source... In theory, you can use Southern Magician to qualify for Dragon #325's Alternate Source Spell Metamagic... which does the same as Southern Magician, reduces your CL by one, but would allow your fluff-changes to work.

Of course, this is Dragon Magazine, so the source isn't as... clean as it could be, but it would work.

[ShurikVch]

Servant of the Fallen - feat from Lost Empires of Faerûn - allow to get your divine spells from the dead patron, and you wouldn't even count as Faithless for doing this

You even may, if you want so, try to take a level in Deathstalker PrC (Dragon #322), except it required to be LE, and Druid - without becoming "ex-" - can be only LN

[Necroticplague]

Maybe I'm ignorant as to how druids work, but why would a god dying have any relevance to their powers? Druids don't get power from worshiping gods, they get from serving Nature in the same way paladins serve Good. Sure, they might also worship a god of nature as a proxy, but that's not what their power is tied up in. Heck, even clerics who worship a god don't require the god exist to get power from them (as seen with clerics of The Becoming God).

[digiman619]

Umm... Druids don't get their powers from gods. That's clerics. Druids get their power from their reverence of nature. Druids often worship gods, especially those with an animal/plant/nature theme, but they don't get powers from that. At least not in a 3.X sense. other editions might handle things differently.

[ShurikVch]

Because it's Faerûn

Everybody should worship some deity

Those who use divine magic without any patron - are heretics, and will go to Abyss

[Blackhawk748]

Because it's Faerûn

Everybody should worship some deity

Those who use divine magic without any patron - are heretics, and will go to Abyss

That is not how Faerun works. If you dont worship a god you go to the Wall of the Faithless if no god claims you, not the Abyss. Frankly the Abyss is probably better.

[ShurikVch]

That is not how Faerun works. If you dont worship a god you go to the Wall of the Faithless if no god claims you, not the Abyss. Frankly the Abyss is probably better.
Wall of the Faithless is a general case
Divine magic without a patron is a bit more specific
I mentioned Abyss because of this thing:

Faerûn has a large number of deities, and even those who choose not to worship a deity have specific fates to look forward to in the afterlife. As part of the world-changing menace, those who worship Sertrous and do not venerate the gods do not travel to the Fugue Plane when they die. Although technically these souls are counted among the False, they escape punishment in the City of Judgment and pass directly into Sertrous’s realm in the Abyss to await his return. Worshipers of Kelemvor who know of this hold a special hatred for the Vanguard as a result.

[digiman619]

Because it's Faerûn

Everybody should worship some deity

Those who use divine magic without any patron - are heretics, and will go to Abyss

Not everyone recognizes setting-specific deities by name. Also iirc, some deities are in multiple settings; Moradin is in both Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk.

[Braininthejar2]

I remember some mention that fearunian druids specifically do need to worship a nature deity.


Servant of the Fallen - feat from Lost Empires of Faerûn - allow to get your divine spells from the dead patron, and you wouldn't even count as Faithless for doing this

This is what I needed. It specifically mentions cleric spells, but this is a stretch I can take.

So, the biggest problem solved.

Now just some details to iron out.

1 Is there any race you can think of (perhaps some literal hag) that would justify her being a druid/nature themed cleric of a god of murder?

2 Any advice to prevent the battle from being a rocket tag? Something to keep her alive for a couple rounds while the party fights her minions (that's what I really wanted the plant domain for, to have her rebuke some plant monsters into her service)

My player's current default tactics for caster bosses is to shapechange into a beholder and keep them in the anti-magic cone while the warriors whack them.

(my current two ideas are either going underground, or having her pet tendriculous put her in its mouth and cast spells from there.)

[EndocrineBandit]

You could make them a Volodni. I don't recall which monster manual it's in. There's also the woodling template. I think that is in MM3. Volodni are a race of sentient-plant-like-humanoids, And the Woodling is simply a template that can be added to a number of critters.

[Braininthejar2]

Unapproachable East probably?

Awesome. Thanks :smallsmile:

[EndocrineBandit]

I'm honestly not sure. Sounds about right, though. The hard drive with my pdf's is currently down and I lack those hard backs, so I'm working off of memory. But, A Volodni that's decided warm-bloods are destroying the planet might be a good start.

[Braininthejar2]

So, wanted to start killing humans, got involved in a cult of Bhaal.

Got tasked with taking care of a fire giant bhaalspawn baby - but got attached to him, and when it was time to sacrifice the children and ressurect Bhaal, she took the kid and ran.

Taught him magic, enough that he could make use of his own bhaalspawn abilities and make himself semi-immortal - in return he sealed her heart away, so she wouldn't have enough soul to mess with his immortality ritual in the future.

So now, she's a very powerful and literally heartless bitch with some serious mental issues.

[EndocrineBandit]

Hmmm.. i think Volodni have a vulnerability to fire. I wouldn't imagine she would want anything to do with a fire-giant bhaalspawn. That's just my two cents though. Although there are a large variety of giants out there.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by EndocrineBandit
i think Volodni have a vulnerability to fire.

In fact they don't. Volodni have cold resistance 5, but no special vulnerability to fire.

Volodni also have +2 Constitution and +2 Wisdom, so druid-wise a decent choice.

[lastoutkast]

The witch would still know some old ritual that lets her rise an old elemental. something thats more science than spiritual.

[ksbsnowowl]

Talontar Blightlord (Unapproachable East) might be a good class to model the plant-creature-controlling druid aspect of your desires.

[Braininthejar2]

Is there a way to get a plant companion? (beyond getting an animal companion and trying to template it later?)

[Calthropstu]

I remember reading books about another god that died who actually WAS a druid goddess. The goddesses death drove some of her followers mad, and though most of them turned to a different goddess after her death, I could totally see one going insane upon her death and and traveling somewhere to live in solitude.

I think she ruled on the moonshae islands or something like that.

[EndocrineBandit]

Plant Companion alternate class feature (Dragon vol. 357). Gain a plant companion instead of an animal. I'm afraid I don't know the details of the deal, though.


I will use google-foo to try to find a copy of the dragon magazine.

[EndocrineBandit]

Found it. It's kind of neat. Especially if you're doing it for a BBEG.

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to link to the pdf here, so, do a google search for dragon magazine 357 pdf, it's one of the first choices. it's on page 70ish

[ksbsnowowl]

There was also the ... Verdant Lord (?) PrC in the 3.0 book Masters of the Wild. IIRC, it made the druid (eventually) into a Plant, and gave him Treant companions.

[Braininthejar2]

She'll be just dialogue on the first meeting, so I still have some time, but I was thinking on the "swallowed by a plant" thing for her boss battle.

That is, fighting by casting from inside a plant that serves as her throne at the beginning of the encounter, and then puts her in its mouth when it begins, protecting her with its body. (kind like Poison Ivy does in Arkham games)

I've found two plant creatures that could do it so far, Octopus Tree (mostly aquatic) and tendriculous (doesn't work well with other plants. Also way too squishy for the level - that's why I was asking about the plant companion options. Sadly, the plant companion ACF grows a new plant from scratch rather than taming existing plant monsters, and it doesn't seem to contain an option for a swallow whole move.)

[RedMage125]

Nyalee actually COULD be a druid, she's described as such.

But as for a solution to your players' "beholder cone" tactic...I suggest some of your more powerful spellcasting Bhaalspawn have the Shadow Weave Magic feat. Antimagic only affects the Weave, not the Shadow Weave.

At least Abazigal and Sendai should have this. Perhaps Nyalee as well.

And Amelyssan. Either that, or the near-divine status she has by the time they fight her makes her immune to antimagic.

That allows the PCs to continue to enjoy what is, after all, a very good tactic, while making it less effective against the climactic boss fights.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

As for protecting her during the fight while the PCs fight her minions, take a leaf out of the book of Baba Yaga: she has an animated house that she rides inside during the fight. It's actually a house made from livewood and is inside a huge tree(ant), providing her with full cover. She can cast out the windows (and buff her house from the inside, starting with fire resistance), and duck out of the way while her small army of plants (awakened trees and bushes?) swarm the PCs, along with actual swarms of rats and insects and whatnot.

[Braininthejar2]

Nyalee actually COULD be a druid, she's described as such.

But as for a solution to your players' "beholder cone" tactic...I suggest some of your more powerful spellcasting Bhaalspawn have the Shadow Weave Magic feat. Antimagic only affects the Weave, not the Shadow Weave.

At least Abazigal and Sendai should have this. Perhaps Nyalee as well.

And Amelyssan. Either that, or the near-divine status she has by the time they fight her makes her immune to antimagic.

That allows the PCs to continue to enjoy what is, after all, a very good tactic, while making it less effective against the climactic boss fights.

Does shadow weave provide protection from antimagic? I thought the description only mentioned dead magic zones, which are not quite the same.

[Braininthejar2]

could someone help with this one? (I mean the shadow weave question)

[RedMage125]

could someone help with this one? (I mean the shadow weave question)

I was wrong. I double checked it and antimagic fields still suppress shadow weave. I was thinking of dead magic zones. (FRCS, page 57)