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View Full Version : 3.5 Template, "Nature's Thrall" PEACH



Venardhi
2011-02-28, 07:07 AM
Made this basically because I needed something to offset a few levels of a wild shape-focused druid gestalt build and nothing seemed to fit right. My DM has already accepted it in a much more rough form, but I want to make sure I'm not overdoing it before it goes down on my character sheet. Suggestions on potential 'negatives' or weaknesses to add would be appreciated if you feel it is too powerful.

Nature's Thrall

Nature's Thrall is an inherited or acquired template added to any giant, humanoid, monstrous humanoid, animal or magical beast .

The origins of a servant to the natural world matter little to the elemental forces that call upon them to be a Nature's Thrall. Some may have latent Fay or Elemental blood, some may have divine magic flowing through their veins already, but all are transformed by the magics that thrust themselves upon her no matter her readiness or willingness.

The Nature's Thrall is transformed over the course of hours, days or years into a force of nature's wrath upon any who would disturb it, granted a solemn responsibility to defend it, and granted great power to protect it. Developing horns or antlers, a beast's thick hide or bark like skin amongst other powerful enhancements, the Nature's Thrall is expected to give as much, or more, in return to the natural world or face the consequences of its wrath.

Size and Type: A Nature's Thrall's type does not change though she is granted several benefits of the plant and fey types upon the completion of her transformation. Her size remains that of her base creature.

Armor Class: A Nature's Thrall is granted thick beast-like hide or rough, bark-like skin that grants +4 natural armor to her armor class.

Feats: A Nature's Thrall is granted Sacred Vow as a bonus feat whenever she is called upon. See below: Thrall's Vow.

Attack: A Nature's Thrall retains all the attacks of the base creature and also gains a Head Butt or Gore attack if it didn’t already have one. If the base creature can use weapons, the Nature's Thrall retains this ability. A creature with natural weapons retains those natural weapons. A Nature's Thrall fighting without weapons uses either its Head Butt or Gore attack or its primary natural weapon (if it has any). A Nature's Thrall armed with a weapon uses its Head Butt or Gore attack or a weapon, as it desires. The Choice of natural weapon (Ram or Goat horns for Head Butt, Antlers or Bull's Horns for Gore) must be decided when the Nature's Thrall template is applied and cannot be changed.

Full Attack: A Nature's Thrall fighting without weapons uses either its Head Butt or Gore attack (see above) or its natural weapons (if it has any). If armed with a weapon, it usually uses the weapon as its primary attack along with a Head Butt or Gore attack or other natural weapon as a natural secondary attack.

Damage: Nature's Thralls have Head Butt or Gore attacks. If the base creature does not have this attack form, use the appropriate damage value from the table below according to the Nature's Thrall’s size. Creatures that have other kinds of natural weapons retain their old damage values or use the appropriate value from the table below, whichever is better. A Nature's Thrall adds one and one-half times its Strength modifier to its gore damage when charging.

Size Damage / Charge Damage

Tiny 1d3 / 1d6
Small 1d4 / 1d8
Medium 1d6 / 2d6
Large 1d8 / 2d8
Huge 2d6 / 2d12

Because a Head Butt or Gore attack is a natural attack, a Nature's Thrall can use the full attack action to attack with a melee weapon and follow up with its Head Butt or Gore attack as a secondary attack at a -5 penalty. It does get iterative attacks (multiple attacks with the same weapon at a cumulative -5 penalty), if it is entitled to any, with its melee weapon (but not with its head butt or gore) when using such an attack routine.

Spell-Like Abilities:

A Nature's Thrall with a Wisdom score of 8 or higher gains the ability to Summon Nature's Ally once per day as the druid spell depending on her Hit Dice as shown in the table below:

HD
1–2 Summon nature’s ally I 1/day
3–5 Summon nature’s ally II 1/day
6–7 Summon nature’s ally III 1/day
8–10 Summon nature’s ally IV 1/day
11–12 Summon nature’s ally V 1/day
13–15 Summon nature’s ally VI 1/day
16–17 Summon nature’s ally VII 1/day
18–20 Summon nature’s ally VIII 1/day
21+ Summon nature’s ally IX 1/day

Special Qualities: A Nature's Thrall creature has all the special qualities of the base creature, plus the following special qualities.

Spell Resistance (Ex): A Nature's Thrall creature has a natural Spell Resistance of 6 + her HD.

Low-Light Vision (Ex): The creature gains low-light vision, enabling it to see twice as well as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of shadowy illumination. It retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.

Immunities (Ex): A Nature's Thrall is granted immunity to poison, magic sleep effects, paralysis, polymorph, stunning, and mind-affecting spells and abilities (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects). It is not subject to extra damage from critical hits except from Cold Iron and/or Slashing attacks.

Skill Bonuses (Ex): A Nature's Thrall has truly become a part of nature and instinctively knows how to survive its many dangers, exist alongside its inhabitants and the lore long forgotten by most who have left its verdant embrace. A Nature's Thrall has a +4 to skill checks in Survival, Handle Animal and Knowledge: Nature.

Child of Nature (Ex): A Nature's Thrall is considered of the Fay or Plant type if doing so would be beneficial in the use of magic items.

Abilities: Adjust from the base creature as follows: +2 Dexterity, + 4 Wisdom, +2 Charisma

Environment: Any natural. A Nature's Thrall generally avoids civilization.

Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature +2.

Organization: Nature's Thralls from humanoid races will often find themselves ostracized from the civilization and societies they might once have called home. They are usually lone travelers, or accompanied by animals and fay with similar goals. Animals or Monstrous Beasts granted the template will usually defend one particular region of nature and lead the animals within it against any outside threat.

Thrall's Vow: If she forsakes her duty to defend nature or willingly harms it of her own volition, The Nature's Thrall will find herself an enemy of nature and all the creatures who live amongst the wilds as well as losing any benefits other than the irreversible physical changes that have overcome her. Animals will attack her on sight and all inhabitants of Nature will benefit as if from Favored Enemy when fighting her. Losing all the special qualities granted by the Nature's Thrall template, Her appearance will become cursed with a withered appearance and the scent of death will be upon her until and unless she should atone herself.

If witnessing an act of desecration upon nature or its inhabitants, the Nature's Thrall must actively pursue vengeance or be denied the benefits of rest and sleep until or unless she accepts failure and rejects her calling.

Level Adjustment: +3.


Thanks for reading/responding!

- Vin

Land Outcast
2011-02-28, 12:27 PM
Armor Class: A Nature's Thrall is granted thick beast-like hide or rough, bark-like skin that grants +4 natural armor to her armor class. If the base creature already has natural armor of +4 or more, it is granted an additional +2 deflection bonus to AC instead.So you get a greater increase to AC if you have +4 natural armor than if you have +3 natural armor?


Because a Head Butt or Gore attack is a natural attack, a Nature's Thrall can use the full attack action to attack with a melee weapon and follow up with its Head Butt or Gore attack as a secondary attack at a -5 penalty. It does get iterative attacks (multiple attacks with the same weapon at a cumulative -5 penalty), if it is entitled to any, with its melee weapon (but not with its head butt or gore) when using such an attack routine.This is confusing, are you explaining what an iterative attack? that isn't necessary.
If you are adding penalties to typical iterative attacks, you should make it clearer.

Also, why not coordinate the summons with the regular casting level for druids? I mean, it won't break anything.

Venardhi
2011-02-28, 01:11 PM
The AC bonus appears to be problematic. . . Suggestion?

The language came out of the half-minotaur entry I believe. It makes a good reminder to those who don't use natural attacks often, which I imagine was their intent.

As for the levels of SNA, I was following other templates for a benchmark and saw no reason to deviate far from them. I think it was woodling or half-fey that had SNA as a spell-like ability, though it was staggered with some other spells.

Venardhi
2011-02-28, 09:44 PM
Flat +4 to natural AC now.

Revised some of the language, particularly within the fluffy stuff like the Thrall's vow.

I originally had spell resistance at 11+HD and a +2 STR bonus when I pitched it to my DM, but after writing everything out it seemed a little much. Does this template seem like it could handle a little more/little less to better fit with +3 LA? Any other Plant/Fay traits ya'll think would (better) suit?

Land Outcast
2011-03-01, 10:51 AM
The AC thing: given that this template seems more suited to natural creatures which normally have Natural AC, I would give a "+3 increase to natural armor class" so that it stacks with natural AC the creature might have had in first place...

The spell resistance 6+HD is a sad, sad thing; particularly considering it's got +3 LA, which means it will have 3 HD less than other creatures of his ECL, meaning the SR will act as 3+HD. I'd give it 11+HD again.
Look at the following example:
A character level 10 with this template will have only 7 HD, thus SR 18 at level 10.
A caster at CR 10 will usually have Caster Level 10, that is, he'll need an 8+ to beat SR.
I belive it's not too much for a +3 LA template.

The "summon nature's ally" thing suffers the same issue, look at the table by level rather than HD:

1–5 Summon nature’s ally I 1/day
5–8 Summon nature’s ally II 1/day
8–10 Summon nature’s ally III 1/day
10–13 Summon nature’s ally IV 1/day
13–15 Summon nature’s ally V 1/day
15–18 Summon nature’s ally VI 1/day
18–21 Summon nature’s ally VII 1/day
21–24 Summon nature’s ally VIII 1/day
25+ Summon nature’s ally IX 1/day
Hardly game-breaking, hardly useful I dare say.

The abilities are OK... perhaps they would be underpowered for LA +3 if it wasn't for the immunities.

The real powerful thing here are the immunities, which grant a "wall of force" against plenty of magical and non magical effects.

Venardhi
2011-03-01, 02:03 PM
The SNA is mostly for flavor, but perhaps it could use some tweaking, or another SLE in addition, some sort of "smite nature's enemy" sort of effect against undead and/or abberations.

Any effects from creatures or races in this sort of mold that you think would suit to fill out this template?