Druid (DSC)

Druid
Ability Requirements:	Wisdom 13, Charisma 15
Prime Requisite: 	Wisdom, Charisma
Allowed Races: 	Aarakocra, half-elf, halfling, human, mul, pterran, and thri-kreen
Druids are independent priests who ally themselves with various spirits of the land. A druid shares power with the spirit he worships, nurturing and protecting the geographical feature to which the spirit is tied. Virtually every feature of the land has a druid to protect it, but druids seldom interact with others of their kind. They serve independently, living patient, solitary lives devoted to guarding the land.
Every druid must choose one geographic feature to be his guarded lands. The geographic features that a druid might make his guarded lands can vary widely. For instance, one may watch over a particular stretch of open desert, another may protect a belt of scrub grass within it, while still another might watch over a small oasis that borders on both.
Lower-level druids may travel widely in the world. During his time of wandering, a young druid learns about the world, its ecology, the balance of nature, and the ways of its creatures. Although he has already chosen lands to guard and cherish, he may spend as much or as little time on his guarded lands as he sees fit. Learning the ways of the world will ultimately help him better protect his guarded lands, for upon reaching 12th level his time of wandering comes to an end. From that time forward, the druid must spend half of his time on his guarded lands, watching over them and protecting them. The rest of the time, the druid must again travel to keep tabs on events that might threaten nature in general and his guarded lands in particular.
Some possible guardian lands for the Sphere of Earth include a particular mountain or hill, a rock outcropping, an expanse of desert or steppes. For the Sphere of Air, a druid might opt to protect the sky over a particular area, the winds of a canyon, or any prevailing wind pattern. For the Sphere of Fire, dry grasslands, a volcanic vent, hot springs, or boiling tar pits are appropriate guardian lands. Lastly, the Sphere of Water might include a spring or pool, an oasis, or a natural cistern.
When in his guarded lands, a druid has several powerful granted powers, including the following:
* A druid can remain concealed from others while in his guarded lands. This is proof against all normal forms of detection (sight, hearing, etc.) but won't protect the druid from magical detection (including a detect invisible spell). The druid can't move or cast spells while concealed.
* A druid may speak with animals in his guarded lands when he reaches 3rd level. He can speak with all animals when he reaches 7th level.
* A druid may speak with plants in his guarded lands when he reaches 5th level. He can speak with all plants when he reaches 9th level.
* A druid can live without water or nourishment in his guarded lands when he reaches 7th level. From that point on, the druid draws his life energy directly from his guarded lands. However, when he leaves his lands to learn more of the world, he must take sustenance in the usual fashion.
* A druid can shapechange into creatures common to his guarded lands when he reaches 10th level. The druid can perform this shapechange up to three times per day. The size of the animal isn't restricted, provided the animal is native to the druid's guarded lands. When assuming the shape of an animal, the druid takes on all of its characteristics: movement rate and abilities, Armor Class, number of attacks, and damage per attack. The druid's clothing and one item held in each hand also become part of the new body; these reappear when the druid resumes his normal shape, and they can't be used while the druid is in animal form. Since many animals wander over wide ranges on Athas, druids often have a large number of creatures to choose from. However, they can't shapechange into creatures totally alien to their guarded lands. Consult Chapter 7: Encounters for a list of possible creatures; use the terrain indicated for each creature when considering whether it's native to the druid's guarded lands. The druid retains his own hit points, THAC0, and saving throws while in animal form.
Druids tend not to bother or even encounter those who use their guarded lands without damaging them. Travelers who stop at an oasis to water their animals and then move on will probably never know there is a druid watching their every move. It's a druid's firm belief that the lands are for all to use, human and animal alike. He watches to see that his guarded lands aren't abused in any way, but otherwise he leaves most visitors alone—with the possible exception of wizards. Understandably, druids tend to be very apprehensive about wizards who venture into their realms, as any wizard might turn out to be a defiler. Nothing can destroy the land faster than a defiler drawing power for his spells.
Unlike in other AD&D campaigns, there's no worldwide organization of druids on Athas. As such, there are no rules limiting the number of druids that may exist at a given level, and there are no special druidic titles such as Archdruids and the Grand Druid. These don't exist in a DARK SUN campaign.
A druid who has both a Wisdom and Charisma score of 16 or more gains a 10% bonus to the experience points he earns. Further, he has no restrictions as to what weapons he may use. He may never wear armor, but may don items that give magical protection (bracers, cloaks, etc.), and he can use any magical item normally available to druids.
A druid has access to spells from up to two spheres associated with his guarded lands—one at major, the other at minor. For instance, a druid whose guarded land is a stream might be restricted to spells from the Sphere of Water. A more exotic druid might choose as his guardian lands the “howling winds of the north” and use spells from the Sphere of Air. Still another druid, whose guarded land is a desert spring, may draw spells from both the Sphere of Water and the Sphere of Earth, though one must be of major access and the other of minor, as decided by the DM. At most, a druid may claim two spheres to be related to his guarded lands, and they must meet the approval of the DM. In addition, a druid has major access to spells from the Sphere of the Cosmos.
ln all cases where the rules here don't contradict them, the rules about druids in the Player's Handbook should be used.