Chapter One: Divine Spellcasters in Campaigns
from a spell, such as wyvern poison or mummy rot, use the saving throw Difficulty Class of the poison, disease, or other malady as the Difficulty Class for the caster level check.
grove, found in a limestone grotto near an underground pool, would be an interesting encounter, to say the least— and potentially a place where PCs deep underground on some quest might find allies, succor, and some safety in an otherwise alien environment.
Druids and Rangers Defenders of the wilderness, masters of nature, druids and rangers access the divine, but in a very different way from clerics. A druid isn’t just the priest of a nature god. In fact, a druid or ranger might not directly revere a specific god at all. Instead, they can call upon the divinity of nature itself to grant them power. The DM may even wish to clarify the idea of “nature” and the force it represents to clarify the power of druids and rangers. For example, those who follow this path may refer to the power as “the Green,” and through their teachings suggest that it is a semi-sentient extension of the power of life itself. Since they are tied to nature, druids and rangers are often depicted as loners out in the wilderness. However, this does not always have to be the case. Instead, imagine a confederation of rangers and druids that form a network of people in the wild who rely upon one another and exchange information. In fact, deep in the forest or off in the wilderness, fortresses of druids and rangers might work together, offering one another not only shelter and aid, but also training and education. Such a place might hold vast libraries of naturalist information. The fortress might house the animal companions of the druids and rangers, as well as fey creatures, centaurs, and other related beasts and monsters friendly to the inhabitants. Taking things a step further, with her knowledge and spell power, a druid could easily rule a community. Perhaps deep in the woods a city grows, with a druid leader and a retinue of powerful rangers as her guards and allies. At the center of this green city lies the druid’s well-protected grove, the city’s holy of holies. The population of the city might be equal parts human, elf, centaur, and fey creatures like pixies, dryads, and so on. Even lammasu and unicorns might dwell in such a place. Of course, druids and rangers are not limited to the woods. With little or no modification, either class can operate in the desert, the jungle, or the frozen tundra. Subterranean druids and rangers are possible as well, particularly if the DM creates an underground ecology that allows for a lot of animals. While it would not resemble our own world’s ecology, you can certainly imagine a series of vast subterranean caverns filled with fungi forests and herds of herbivores that feed upon them (and the predators that feed on them). Underground cattle, bears, wolves, and so on could thrive in such a strange place. A subterranean druid’s fungi
Groves Every druid has a grove, but the definition of the grove can vary by circumstance or environment. Many might not be recognizable as “groves” at all. Some possibilities appear below. Location Forest
Grove Details Within a deep gully, covered at its top by tree branches and other growth, this hidden sanctuary is usually dark and damp. During the day shafts of light shine down like the pillars of a church, surrounding an altarlike stump. Wasteland This grove lies atop a high plateau within columns of rock that rise up like natural standing stones. From this place, the night sky reveals certain stars and constellations that cannot be seen from anywhere else. Arctic Within a deep, water-filled ice cave guarded by an awakened orca and some dire polar bears, the heart of this grove is warmed by geothermic activity. Jungle On an island within a secluded lake, surrounded by almost impassably thick trees, vines, and other growth, the grove is maintained by numerous tool-and-weapon-using ape companions of the druid. Desert Shifting with the sands, this “grove” moves around, blown by the wind. The druid always knows where it is, and follows the blowing winds as it moves.
Variant Ranger Class The standard ranger class is a skilled hunter defined by his reliance on specific combat styles and his ability to move stealthily through the wilderness. This variant ranger is a wilderness warrior. It grants rangers an improved Hit Die and bonus feats similar to the fighter class. While this class loses some of the ranger's special abilities, it has superior spellcasting talents at higher levels. Note: This is not the same variant as the version available free in The Stuff archives online at <www.montecook.com>. Rangers have the following game statistics: Alignment: Any Hit Die: d10
9
