You are a druid, a hermitic seer who calls upon the ancient power of blood and bracken to enter the minds of beasts and bend their bodies to your will. Some druids even dare to don the skins of mortals and monsters, earning the moniker of *abomination*. You are called *wyrg* by the Eavrins of old, *draoithe* by the [[wood elves]], and dreaded *skinwalker* by many others. While druidism is strictly divine, it is a power that even the ancient gods of the wilds would rather be forgotten. As revered as you are feared, you were born with your third eye open, able to commune with sacred trees and the inscrutable hivemind that binds their roots together. This second sight grants you visions of what is, what was, and what may yet be. But wielding your power to become one with nature's children has a cost: the more time you spend within the skins of beasts, the more bestial you become, slowly losing touch with your mortality. **Key Attribute** Willpower **Hit Points** Equal to Con score + (Level x2). **Weapons** All melee [[weapons]]. **Armour & Shields** Light, Medium [[Armour|armour]], and shields (druids cannot use armour or shields made of metal). **Class Starting Gear** Spear (1d6+1), Leather Armour (+1), Shield (+1). **Skills** Animal Lore, Divine Lore, plus **roll 1d10** three times: (i) Apothecary, (ii) Arcane Lore, (iii) Athletics, (iv) Deception, (v) Detection, (vi) General Lore, (vii) Persuasion, (viii) Stealth, (ix) Watercraft, (x) Wilderness Lore. | Level | AB | Ability | | ----- | --- | ------------------------ | | 1 | 0 | Skinwalking, Sacred Tree | | 2 | +1 | New Skill, Primal Bond | | 3 | +2 | Unique Feature | | 4 | +2 | +1 AC | | 5 | +3 | New Skill, Wildspeech | | 6 | +4 | Unique Feature | | 7 | +5 | Flesh Binder | | 8 | +5 | +1 AC, New Skill | | 9 | +6 | Unique Feature | ## Skinwalking As a druid, you possess the much-feared ability to skinwalk into the bodies of other creatures. You begin an adventure with **one use of this ability per level.** You choose a number of creatures equal to half your level (round up) within Far range that you can see and attempt to skinwalk them. Each creature must succeed on a *Luck* (Will) check or become under your control. Beasts make this check normally, while mortals have a +2 bonus, and monsters make it with Advantage. If you successfully skinwalk at least one creature, a ***[[Dark and Dangerous Magic]]*** check must be made. If a DDM effect triggers, roll on the *Primal Corruptions* table: | 1d12 | Primal Corruption | | ---- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 1 | **Dark Interference.** Roll on the [[Dark and Dangerous Magic\|Dark & Dangerous Magic]] table. | | 2 | **Lost Mortality.** Your Mortality is reduced by 1. | | 3 | **Dark Interference.** Roll on the [[Dark and Dangerous Magic\|Dark & Dangerous Magic]] table. | | 4 | **Lost Mortality.** Your Mortality is reduced by 1d4. | | 5 | **Dark Interference.** Roll on the [[Dark and Dangerous Magic\|Dark & Dangerous Magic]] table. | | 6 | **Lost Mortality.** Your Mortality is reduced by 1d6. | | 7 | **Dark Interference.** Roll on the [[Dark and Dangerous Magic\|Dark & Dangerous Magic]] table. | | 8 | **Lost Mortality.** Your Mortality is reduced by 1d6. | | 9 | **Dark Interference.** Roll on the [[Dark and Dangerous Magic\|Dark & Dangerous Magic]] table. | | 10 | **Dread Price.** Roll on the [[Dark and Dangerous Magic\|Dark & Dangerous Magic]] table and reduce your Mortality by 2d4. | | 11 | **Primal Blessing.** You regain 1d4 Mortality. | | 12 | **Transformation.** Roll on the *Lost Mortality* table. | While skinwalking, the following rules apply: - You enter a catatonic state during which your eyes roll into the back of your head, rendering you incapable of speech and unable to perceive the world around you in any way. You cannot take actions or move. - Each round after the first, you must succeed on separate Will checks (*Reroll* available) to maintain control of your skinwalked creatures or they are freed from your power. - You simultaneously perceive all of your skinwalked creatures' senses and fragmented portions of their inner thoughts. All of their actions are entirely controlled by you. - Your skinwalked creatures act during your party's initiative order, unless they have already taken a turn this round. They may not roll for initiative on the party's behalf. - If you attempt to make one of your skinwalked creatures take an action that would directly harm or kill it (i.e. attacking itself with a weapon, slitting its own throat, jumping into a chasm, etc.), the creature may make a Will check to attempt to free itself from your control. - You may make a *Luck* (Will) check to attempt to pry a fragment of memory from one of your skinwalked creatures' psyches. If you fail, the creature gets to make a *Luck* (Will) check, freeing itself from your control on a success. - Your creatures use your Int, Perc, Will, Cha, and *Luck* scores in place of their own. - If you are rendered unconscious or lose control of your wits (eg: [[Stunned]], magical fear, etc), your skinwalked creatures are immediately freed from your control. ### Mortality Skinwalking is not without cost. Rolling on the *Primal Corruptions* table has the potential to cause you to lose Mortality. Your **Mortality is equal to twice your level,** and when it reaches zero you gain a **random Madness** and must roll on the ***Lost Mortality* table.** If you roll a trait that you already possess, roll again (some exceptions, noted in table entries). Mortality returns at a rate of **1 point per Long Rest.** | 1d20 | Lost Mortality | | ---- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 1 | **Cat Eyes.** You gain yellow feline eyes and can see in black and white up to Far range in complete darkness. However, while you are in direct sunlight you have Disadvantage on attack rolls and Perc checks that rely on sight. | | 2 | **Staglike.** A pair of stag-like antlers erupt from your skull, which deal 2d4 damage, and you grow 1d4 feet taller. However, you now require twice the normal amount of food per day and your lifestyle costs are doubled. | | 3 | **Vampiric.** Curved bat-like fangs grow from your mouth, which deal 1d6 damage and heal you for the same amount when attacking a creature with non-poisonous blood. However, if you do not drink fresh blood every day, your Con is reduced by 1d4. | | 4 | **Goat Legs.** Your legs transform into furry and hooved digitigrade goat legs. Your walking speed is now Fast, but you have Disadvantage on Morale checks and checks made to resist fear. | | 5 | **Moleish.** Your hands become huge mole-like claws that deal 2d6 damage and grant you a normal Burrow speed. However, your eyes shrink to miniscule size and you grow fleshy whisker-like feelers on your nose to compensate for your blindness, which gives you Disadvantage on all sight-based Perc checks and attack rolls (primarily ranged attacks). | | 6 | **Serpentine.** Long snake-like fangs grow from your now unhinged jaw, which deal 1d10 damage and cause a random [[Poison\|Moderate Poison]] effect unless the target succeeds on a *Luck* (Con) save. However, if you do not feast on live prey each day, your Con is reduced by 1d4. | | 7 | **Arachnoid.** Fine and bristly spider-like fur sprouts all over your body and you grow another pair of fully functional arms below your current pair(s) (this effect stacks). You gain a Normal climb speed, but you are incredibly sensitive to temperature, taking double damage from fire and cold. | | 8 | **Amphibious.** You become grotesquely fish-like; you grow gills, you gain webbed hands/feet, your skin becomes slimy and murky green, your eyes become bulbous, and you loose all hair. You are able to breath underwater and swim at a Fast speed. However, you have Disadvantage on Cha checks made against non-aquatic creatures. | | 9 | **Simian.** Coarse dark fur covers your body, save for your leathery face, while your limbs become far longer and ganglier. You gain a Fast climb speed, and can hold things in your new hand-like feet (including weapons). However, your Int is reduced by 1d4 and your speech becomes gruff and somewhat unintelligible. | | 10 | **Bear Claws.** Your arms become far more muscular and you sprout thick fur all along them. Your hands transform into clawed bear paws that deal 2d8+1 damage, but you are incapable of wielding normal weapons and cannot use implements that require apposable thumbs. | | 11 | **Porcupine Quills.** You grow sharp quills along your back, dealing 1d6 damage to melee attackers who miss you. You can also launch a ranged quill attack (1d4 damage, Close range). However, you take double damage from crushing or bludgeoning attacks. | | 12 | **Owl Eyes.** Your eyes become enormous and owl-like, while patches of feathers grow across your face/body and your head can rotate 270 degrees. You gain Advantage on all sight-based Perc checks and a +2 bonus to all ranged Perc-based attacks. However, your bones become hollow and more fragile, causing you to take double damage from falls, blunt-force trauma, or bludgeoning attacks. | | 13 | **Troglodytic.** Your skin becomes milky white and translucent, revealing your inner vasculature and organs. As an action you can cause your organs to glow, illuminating a Close area. You can end this effect as a free action. However, creatures intelligent enough to target your easily visible organs deal double max damage on a critical hit. | | 14 | **Bullish.** Your body becomes hideously muscular and vascular, increasing your Str by 1d6, and you grow a massive pair of bull horns that deal 2d8 damage. However, at the end of every combat you must succeed on a *Luck* (Will) check or enter a rage for 1d6 rounds, during which you attack and attempt to kill all creatures around you (including unconscious allies). | | 15 | **Wolven Teeth.** Your teeth become long, pointed, and fanged, dealing 1d8 damage and allowing you to spend 1 minute outside of combat feasting on the corpse of an edible creature to regain hit points equal to 1d4 per level. However, when you are out of hearing and sight of your "pack," you have Disadvantage on *Luck* checks. | | 16 | **Rattish Skin.** You lose all hair and your skin becomes hideously pale and wrinkled, like that of a naked mole rat. You regain 5 hit points at the start of your turn, but if you take acid or fire damage this trait doesn't function at the start of your next turn. However, each day you spend in daylight causes you to become *[[Fatigued]]* (can be ended by spending a full day underground). | | 17 | **Scales.** Thick armadillo-like scales grow across your body, increasing your AC by 4. However, the scales are heavy and awkward, reducing your walking speed to Slow. | | 18 | **Toad Warts.** Your skin turns mottled dark green and is covered in bulbous toad-like warts that secrete corrosive slime. The warts cause 1d6 acid damage to creatures that attempt to grapple you or successfully strike you within Melee. However, your warts produce a putrid smell, giving you Disadvantage on Dex (Stealth) checks where applicable. | | 19 | **Eagle Wings.** Your arms transform into feathered eagle wings, allowing to fly at a Fast speed. However, you no longer have hands and cannot hold anything. | | 20 | **Bestial Blessing.** Roll on the Lost Mortality table again and gain only the beneficial aspects of the trait. | ### A Second Life If you are killed while skinwalking creatures, you may live a second life by making a *Luck* (Will) check to skinwalk your entire soul inside one of your creatures at the moment your original body dies. As your second life dawns, you slowly begin to lose memory of your first life and become more alike the creature whose skin you now inhabit. You will lose much of your past memories over the course of a number of months equal to 1d12 + your Will mod. From then on, any time you attempt to remember something from your first life, there is a 50% chance you have forever forgotten it and it is replaced by a memory from the creature you skinwalked. Your personality and wits also become more like the creature's over this time frame; at the end of the process your Int, Perc, Will, and Cha scores become equal to an average of you and the creature's original scores. Living a second life robs you of your druidic abilities. If your new body is a mortal, choose an appropriate new class if it does not already have one, or continue in the creature's current class progress. If your new body is a beast or monster, confer with your GM for possible custom class options or other means of progression. ## Sacred Tree Beginning at first level, you have a mystical connection to a variety of sacred tree. A table of example trees is included below. You are encouraged to work with your GM to determine and/or create an appropriate sacred tree for your druid. | 1d3 | Sacred Tree | Favored By | | --- | ---------------------------- | ---------- | | 1 | Orchid of Memory (Magaírlan) | [[Elves]] | | 2 | Wailing Oak (Fharensul) | [[Men]] | | 3 | Mother Birch (Velebog) | [[Dwarves]] | Regardless of which sacred tree you are connected to, they are rare in the world and often hidden within groves of mundane trees. If you find a sacred tree that you are connected to, you may hibernate beneath its boughs for a number of days equal to **1d8 - your Will modifier (minimum of 1 day).** When you begin your hibernation, you determine a specific event that you wish to receive a vision of. The event may be past, present or future, but must have taken place within sight of another sacred tree, or a creature spiritually connected to a sacred tree (most commonly beasts, but sometimes mortals and monsters). The GM determines whether the event actually occurred / is occurring and whether it is possible for you to receive a vision of it considering the above restrictions. If the event is past, you receive a hazy but mostly discernable vision of it taking place. If the event is present / currently occurring, you receive a very clear vision. If the event is future, you receive a highly oneiric and symbolic vision that is not entirely comprehensible, along with a vague sense of how likely the event is to eventually take place (GM's call). ## Primal Bond At 2nd level you gain the ability to forge a primal bond with beasts that you have previously skinwalked. During downtime, you may create a spiritual link between yourself and a **number of beasts equal to your Will modifier** that you have previously successfully skinwalked. These beasts become your allies and follow you on your adventures. Your primally bonded beasts do not make Will checks when you skinwalk them, and you do not need to make Will checks yourself to maintain control over them. When they are not being skinwalked, your primally bonded beasts will generally obey commands that they can understand, but they are sometimes prone to feral disobedience. A GM might call for a Cha (Animal Lore) check to attempt to convince a beast to obey. Your beasts make *Death saves* like PCs, but they do not have access to any *Rerolls* when doing so. ### Primal Feats In addition, while skinwalking one of your primally bonded beasts, you can invoke **Primal Feats.** You begin an adventure with **one use of this ability per level.** Unless noted otherwise, you may expend a use of this ability as part of your beast's normal action. When you do so, choose one effect from the list below to apply. If an effect requires a Will check, you may use a *Reroll.* You may regain expended uses by taking Short or Long Rests. - Your beast gains a **+2 bonus** on melee attack and damage rolls, and *Luck* rolls. Also, it rerolls any **fumbled** attacks. These effects last a number of rounds equal to your Will modifier. - If your beast **fails a check or misses an attack roll** you may expend one of your *Rerolls* to have it reroll it. - Once per combat, when your beast suffers damage, you may trigger a Primal Feat **reduce** that **damage by half.** - Once per target, after your beast causes damage with a melee weapon, you may attempt a Will check to have it also inflict a relevant ***Trauma* roll.** ## Unique Feature At 3rd, 6th, and 9th levels, you gain a Unique Feature. ## New Skill At 2nd, 5th, and 8th level, you gain one new skill (the skill need not be on your class list). ## Wildspeech At 5th level you have spent enough time communing with the inscrutable hivemind of the wilds that you are able to speak with flora and fauna. You begin an adventure with **one use of this ability per level,** and may expend a usage to cast *[[Bestial Communion]]* without making spellcasting or [[Dark and Dangerous Magic|DDM]] checks. Unlike the normal spell, you can use *[[Bestial Communion]]* to also speak with plants. ## Flesh Binder At 7th level, when a creature succeeds on their *Luck* (Will) check to resist your skinwalking attempt, you may spend a *Reroll* to have them reroll the check with a **negative modifier equal to your Will modifier (minimum -1).** ## Beyond 9th Level If you survive this long, you retire to a druid grove hidden deep within an ancient forest, slumbering for decades in a barrow den beneath the roots of your sacred tree. Novice druids undertake long and perilous journeys to seek your wisdom and tutelage.