This document provides suggestions and insights into how to translate the ideas
of the Druid class from the source material into Pathfinder Fate Accelerated.
"While some druids might keep to the fringe of battle, allowing companions and summoned
creatures to fight while they confound foes with the powers of nature, others transform
into deadly beasts and savagely wade into combat. Druids worship personifications
of elemental forces, natural powers, nature itself, spirits, animalistic demigods,
or even specific awe-inspiring natural wonders.
Within the purity of the elements and the order of the wilds lingers a power beyond
the marvels of civilization. Furtive yet undeniable, these primal magics are guarded
over by servants of philosophical balance known as druids. Allies to beasts and
manipulators of nature, these often misunderstood protectors of the wild strive
to shield their lands from all who threaten them.
Rewarded for their devotion with incredible powers, druids gain unparalleled shape-shifting
abilities, the companionship of mighty beasts, and the power to call upon nature's
wrath. The mightiest temper powers akin to storms, earthquakes, and volcanoes with
primeval wisdom long abandoned and forgotten by civilization."
Archetype Considerations
The only Archetype a druid has to concern themselves with is
Primal and everything else is optional.
To be considered a druid (and not some other hybrid concept), a character should
start with at least Primal +3, which allows unrestricted
spell casting using the
simple magic
guidelines, which you should read first if you are serious about playing a spellcaster.
Also, some
sample spell
write-ups are available.
For a standard starting character, this leaves only the decision of where to put
the final +1.
A hyper-specialized, dedicated druid will go all in on Primal
+4, but putting a +1 into one of the other Archetypes goes a long way towards
suggesting a more interesting background for the character.
Focused is probably the most common secondary Archetype splash for druids.
Focused +1 is an excellent choice for a druid who
is sharp of wit, physically fit, perceptive, and quick on their toes.
Combative +1 is a good choice for a druid that prefers
to use weapons rather than spells or shapeshifted teeth and claws to inflict harm.
In D&D it is kind of a thing that druids tend to use scimitars, sickles, scythes...weapons
with s's and c's in the name essentially; however you are free to ignore this trope
if you like.
Roguish +1 is an unusual choice as there isn't much
synergy between Roguish and Primal.
However, there is the idea of a "urban druid" in the source material, and
Roguish +1 and a Stunt or two can model that idea.
Starting Archetype Sets
Primordial
Primal +4
Untamed
Primal +3, Focused +1
Support / Utility
The source material offers druids as full casters with a spell list that isn't quite
as good as the Arcane spell list, but still quite potent.
Self-buffing Strikers
Druids also get a grab bag of miscellaneous nature-themed abilities, including "wild
shape", which allows them to assume animal forms and then crush in melee combat
as well as gaining other vicarious abilities.
Pets
Additionally, druids often have one or more powerful animal companions, or have
the ability to summon or control indigenous animals in whatever wildland they find
themselves in.
Diverging From Source Material
D&D 3e recast druids as shapeshifters who assume the forms of animals and brawl,
Beast Boy style.
Though conceptually this fits within the "nature" shtick of at least some druids,
due to mechanical chicanery that is easily exploitable which allows druids to be
unusually effective combatants, this mode of play has skewed the concept of druid
away from "nature magic user" towards "shapeshifter striker tank".
On the plus side, a class that was previously not played very often in earlier editions
gained popularity commensurate with its perceived empowerment.
When making a druid character in Pathfinder Fate Accelerated, you are free to adhere
to the Pathfinder / 3e version of the druid concept, or you can harken back to ealier
versions from an edition of Advanced D&D, or you can more loosely make whatever
your idea of a druid might be.
A lot of design space fits nicely under the broad label of "druid", and Pathfinder
Fate Accelerated encourages you to explore it to find interesting character concepts.
Note that while the concept of a vague "green faith" also exists in the source material
Primal amply covers that idea on its own;
Divine is not necessary.
Generally speaking, when defining a character in Pathfinder Fate Accelerated that
you envision falling into the "druid" category, you might start out by asking yourself
the following questions:
What Kind Of Nature Worship?
Determining your characters particular relationship with nature, their world view,
and their belief system is probably the most important decision you will make during
character creation.
Answering this question should impact your High Concept and probably your Trouble,
at the very least, and might help inform your selection of other abilities.
Maintaining A Balance?
In some versions of the source material druids actively concern themselves with
maintaining some kind of "balance".
In some cases this is presented as the mundane balancing between unsullied nature
and encroaching civilization. In other cases it is presented as a metaphysical balancing
act between the moral and ethical poles of the D&D alignment system and aligned
material plane and extra-planar agents and exponents.
Deciding if you want to incorporate such ideas into your character will help guide
your choice of Aspects, possibly one or more Stunts, and the portrayal of your druid
character.
Iasa
is an ancient and aloof Elven deep wood druid, profoundly attuned to the natural
order and his people's long history of living in balance with nature. Accompanied
by his loyal ally, the kingly eagle Aarea, Iasa pursues some mysterious thread of
fate.
Currently he seeks an ancient elven artifact, but what ultimate goal he labors towards
remains a secret, like so many other mysteries Iasa chooses not to share.
Shapeshifter?
If you want to incoporate changing into animal forms into your concept you'll need
to reserve Stunt slots for a Stunt like Wild Shape. Due to the high opportunity
cost involved, this decision will have a big impact on the final disposition of
your character.
An alternative to dedicating Stunt slots to such an ability is to rely on spell
casting rather than Stunts to accomplish shapeshifting. Though it will be slower
and more awkward during play due to the loss of action efficiency caused by having
to use Create Advantage frequently, from a character design standpoint there is
no real opportunity cost involved if you go this route.
Lorisa
is a hardened near-savage Kellid from far Iobaria, gifted with the speech of beasts,
and the ability to take on the forms of many animals.
She's as fearsome as an aggravated grizzly, and those who are wise avoid her clawed
ire.
Animal Companions?
If you intend to incorporate one or more animal companions into your concept, you'll
need to allocate one or more Stunt slots to it.
If you do have an animal companion it might be a specific mighty beast who is a
significant NPC in their own right and an important part of your character, or it
might just be the ability to summon or control indigenous mundane animals as needed.
The Green Faith
In the world of Golarion, the Green Faith (also known
as the Old Faith, the Great Eld, or the Wyrd) is a belief system based on the idea
that natural forces are worthy of attention, respect, and veneration.
The Green Faith is more a philosophy than an outright religion; it is a way of viewing
the world. The Green Faith can be found anywhere where nature still holds sway and
has not yet succumbed completely to the ravages of civilization, whether it be deep
forests, ocean coasts, searing deserts, or arctic tundra.
Followers of the Green Faith meditate daily, commune with natural forms of power,
and show respect to nature in all things.
Druidism
Historically in our world, a Celtic druid was a member of the educated, professional
class among the peoples of Gaul, Britain, Ireland, and possibly elsewhere during
the Iron Age.
The druid caste included law-speakers, poets and doctors, among other learned professions,
although the best known among the druids were the religious leaders.
It is thought that the core of druidism was a deep-seated belief in reincarnation;
not just in the transmigration of the soul from one human form to another, but to
other life forms as well. This belief in reincarnation is sometimes credited as
a contributing factor to the druidic penchant for blood sacrifices.
Animism
Animism (from Latin animus, -i "soul, life") is the worldview that non-human entities
(animals, plants, and inanimate objects or phenomena) possess a spiritual essence.
Animism encompasses the belief that there is no separation between the spiritual
and physical (or material) world, and souls or spirits exist, not only in humans,
but also in some other animals, plants, rocks, geographic features such as mountains
or rivers, or other entities of the natural environment, including thunder, wind,
and shadows.
Totemism
Totemism is a system of belief in which each human is thought to have a spiritual
connection or a kinship with the essence of another being such as an animal or plant,
often called a "spirit-being" or "totem."
The totem is thought to interact with a given group or an individual and to serve
as their emblem or symbol, offering protection, and confering some measure of the
totem's perceived attributes upon the chosen recipients.
Shamanism
Shamanism is a practice that involves a practitioner reaching altered states of
consciousness in order to encounter and interact with a spirit world and channel
transcendental energies or spirits into this world.
A shaman is a person regarded as having access to, and influence in, the world of
benevolent and malevolent spirits, who typically enters into a trance state during
a ritual, and practices divination and healing.
Shamans gain knowledge and the power to heal by entering into a spiritual world
or a similar "other" dimension.
Most shamans have dreams or visions that tell them certain things. The shaman may
have or acquire many spirit guides, who often guide and direct the shaman in their
travels in the spirit world.
Nevaren
is a wild eyed and menacing master of the raven mysteries, able to call all ravens
and crows in his vicinity and bind the murder to his will.
A follower of the ancient Shoanti traditions of totemic animism, Nevaren is a powerful
shaman and wise man.
Attuned to the natural world and privvy to many secrets revealed by the totem of
the crafty Raven, he knows far more than he ever reveals.
The following Stunts are offered as samples that might be relevant for some druids.
However, the best Stunts are those that are tailor made to fit your concept, so
don't hesitate to come up with your own or work with your GM to define something
that is "just right" for your character. See the
Stunt options
document for ideas on how to do this.
Uncanny Animystic
Most druids are deeply in touch with the natural world, and often have uncanny abilities
that are more than mundane such as the ability to grow gills, sense danger, command
undergrowth to ensnare the unwary, conjure an elemental weapons, or assume the forms
of various animals.
Amphibious Swimmer: Because I am amphibious, I may add my Primal capability bonus when I am Focused while swimming. Additionally, while swimming underwater I can hold my breath for an entire scene before having to come up for air.
Blade Of Fire (-3): Because of my elemental affinity I can conjure a flaming magical sword at will; I gain +1 to attack and defend and can use Primal in place of Combatives while wielding it. If I get a boost while attacking or defending with it, I may upgrade the boost to apply the Aspect On Fire! with two (2) invokes on it to the opponent I am engaged with.
Danger Sense: Because I am unusually alert and perceptive I gain +3 while Quickly Focused to notice things that are dangerous, fast moving, or pose an imminent threat to my safety.
Entangling Undergrowth: Because I am a master of natural magics, when I am in a rural area with vegetation, while I am Carefully Primal I may attempt to overcome a Great (+4) difficulty to cause the undergrowth in my zone or an adjacent zone to animate and wrap itself around and entangle all targets. See the Entangling Undergrowth profile for details. I am immune to this effect.
Animated Undergrowth, Creeping Vines
Good At: Entangling (+5)
Limitation: An immobile construct anchored to its zone.
Hits: [1][1][1][1][1]
Hammer Of Stone (-3): Because of my elemental affinity I can conjure a fearsome stone hammer at will; I gain +1 to attack and defend and can use Primal in place of Combatives while wielding it. If I get a boost while attacking or defending with it, I may upgrade the boost to apply the Aspect Stunned! with two (2) invokes on it to the opponent I am engaged with.
Natural Weapons: Because I have natural weapons and am skilled in their use, I may use Focused instead of Combative when my natural weapons are relevant. In situations where it matters I can choose to be treated as attacking barehanded or attacking with a weapon, whichever benefits me more in the situation. Finally, though I can be inconvenienced and my natural weapons can be fouled or restrained, being disarmed is generally off the table for me.
Pass Without Trace: Because of my mastery of the natural world, I gain +1 when I am Sneakily Primal while in the wildlands, I am unobstructed by undergrowth, and if I take a full move I may move three zones instead of two. Finally, tracking me in wildland areas is very difficult; those attempting it must overcome a difficulty equal to my ((Sneaky + Primal) * 2).
Wild Shape (-2)
Because I have the ability to change into the form of any normal animal of my choice,
I may spend a Fate point to temporarily assume an animal form. My trappings magically
change with me and are unavailable until I return to my normal form.
When I change forms I move all of my Approach bonuses to a disposition relevant
to the animal form I am assuming, and I move all of my Archetype bonuses to Focused
(leaving all of my other Archetypes at +0). This lasts for an entire scene unless
I choose to return to normal, which ends the effect. Additionally, I may spend another
Fate point to assume a different animal's form, and I do not have to first change
back to normal.
When I change forms I gain an additional Aspect named for the animal form I have
assumed which I can invoke when my current animal form is relevant, and which can
be compelled whenever my animal form or lack of humanoid anatomy might inconvenience
me.
If the animal form I change into has natural weapons I may use Focused in place
of Combatives while in a physical conflict.
If the animal form I change into has an unusual form of movement, such as the flight
of a bird, the running of a wolf, or the swimming of a shark then I gain that mode
of movement while I am in that form as well, at the GM's discretion.
If the animal form I change into has an unusual or extra keen sense, such as the
low light vision of a cat, the olfactory senses of a canine, or the echolocation
of a bat then I gain that sense while I am in that form as well, at the GM's discretion.
This
stunt
requires
Primal
+1
or better to use.
Durable Survivor
Many druids are unusually resilient survivors, capable of living through incredible
trauma and harsh conditions.
Immune To Acid: Because I am immune to acid, I am unaffected by any malign effect that relies on acid.
Immune To Cold: Because I am immune to cold, I am unaffected by any malign effect that relies on cold.
Immune To Fire: Because I am immune to fire, I am unaffected by any malign effect that relies on fire.
Immune To Electricity: Because I am immune to electricity, I am unaffected by any malign effect that relies on electricity.
Immune To Mind-Affecting: Because I am immune to mind-affecting abilities, I am unaffected by any malign effect that relies on mental coersion or disorientation.
Immune To Poison: Because I am immune to poison, I am unaffected by any malign effect that relies on poison.
Living Off The Land: Because I am adept at surviving off of what nature offers me, I am always able to find enough food and water to keep myself and a couple of other people or animals healthy while in wildlands and rural areas (i.e. above ground and not near a city or town). Additionally if I've had at least half a day to become familiar with the terrain in a specific area of wilderness I gain +1 on all actions while being Primal. How large the area of wilderness might be is left to the GM's discretion, but it should be at least five square miles.
Primal Reduction: Because I am significantly more rugged, robust, and survivable due to my deep connection with primal forces, I reduce by one (1) all physical stress inflicted on me, and I reduce by two (2) all environmental stress inflicted on me.
Primal Resistance: Because my primal nature and elemental affinity protects me, I may use Primal to defend against non-Primal magical attacks without needing to first create an advantage to invoke.
Resilience: Because of my impressive resilience, once per session if I would take a Consequence I may instead spend a Fate point.
Primal Hunter
Many druids are masters of the natural world, supreme trackers and hunters, canny
in their instincts, and feral in their ferocity.
Alertness: Because I am unusually alert and perceptive I gain +2 while Focused to notice things.
Ambusher: Because I am great at setting up ambushes, I gain +1 when I Sneakily set up an ambush or create a related advantage.
Foe Bane: Because I have a favored enemy Race, when I succesfully attack a target of that Race I inflict +2 shifts of extra stress. Additionally, if my attack results in a tie I may use the boost to inflict a single point of stress on the defender, immediately, as a free action.
Hunting Archer: Because I am a master archer and hunter, I may use Primal instead of Combative to attack with any kind of bow and arrow.
Pounce!: Because I excel at leaping into combat in a startling burst of aggression, I gain +4 on my first attack in a conflict if I act first and can charge, lunge at, or pounce upon an opponent.
Primal Pugilist: Because I am able to fight with my natural weapons and with feral intensity, I may use Primal instead of Focused when fighting barehanded or grappling.
Stalking Hunter: Because I am so good at stalking, hunting, and pouncing upon prey unnoticed, I get +2 when I am Sneakily Primal and create advantage or overcome challenges to set up and execute ambushes while in wildlands.
Strider: Because I am fleet of foot and able to move quickly, if I am in a conflict and do nothing in an exchange except move,
I may move an extra zone and I am unobstructed by foot hazards of less than knee height.
If I am in a contest involving me walking rapidly or running, I gain +1 to overcome while I am Quick.
Swamp Fighter: Because I am so adept at fighting within swampy areas and using my environment effectively, I may add Primal as a bonus when I am Combative in swamps and marshlands.
Swamp Stride: Because of my mastery of the natural world, I gain +1 when I am Sneakily Primal while in swamps and marshlands, I am unobstructed by undergrowth and areas of water, and if I take a full move I may move three zones instead of two. Finally, tracking me in swampy areas is very difficult; those attempting it must overcome a difficulty equal to my ((Sneaky + Primal) * 3).
Tracker: Because I am so good at tracking a quary, I get +2 when I am Carefully Primal and create advantage or overcome challenges related to tracking things down in wilderness settings.
Urban Jungle: Because I have mastered the art of fading away, blending in, and avoiding notice even in urban areas among people, I can use Primal instead of Roguish to create advantage and overcome when attempting to avoid being noticed in civilized areas (Primal is already usable for this in rural, wildland areas).
Wilderness Runner: Because I am so swift and able to run for hours, I may add my Primal capability bonus when I am Focused while running in wildlands.
Wilderness Warrior: Because I am so adept at stalking prey and hunting in the wilderness, I may use Primal instead of Combative to attack when I am in the wilderness.
Companions
Druids often have animal companions; see the
Stunt options
document for details on how to incorporate companions into your character using
Stunts.
Animal Companion (-3): Because [describe the reason you have an animal companion], I have attracted a powerful animal companion that chooses to aid me.
The ability to share the senses of an animal companion can be useful.
Companion's Senses: Because I share a mystical bond with my animal companion, I may spend a Fate point to share their senses for a scene at a range of a few dozen miles. This allows me to witness events through the senses of my companion as if I were present. This can be detected by others with appropriate senses as a Quick + Primal overcome action vs a Fantastic (+6) difficulty.
Option: Prepared Casting
Pathfinder Fate Accelerated allows free casting by default, but some players might
prefer their druid to be a Prepared Caster; see the
magic options
guidelines for more information.
A common trope of the source material is the so-called "Vancian" magic concept,
wherein some kinds of spellcasters must "prepare" or "memorize" spells chosen from
their list of "known spells" and / or a "spellbook" ahead of time, and have a limited
number of slots determined by their "caster level" and rated in "spell levels".
It's all a bit cumbersome, adds a lot of bookkeeping and extra verbiage, and also
forces that type of character to guess what spells they'll need through the course
of the day and then puts pressure on them to hoard their memorized spells like a
miser. But, it does have the benefit of long familiarity, and some people enjoy
the extra mental challenge and tension it instills.
Pathfinder Fate Accelerated allows free-casting without spell per day or even hard
spell level limits. This is a fast and loose style of play, and it's weighted so
as to keep spellcasters roughly equivalent in potency to non-spellcasters. However,
if the GM and group want to include prepared casting semantics into their game,
it can be "turned on" for a given character at the cost of a Stunt.
The below Stunt is appropriate for Primal characters such as druids, who must have Primal +2 or better to
qualify for it. Note that this allows a character with less than Primal
+3 to cast more than cantrips; the low number of uses and lack of free-casting compensates.
Prepared Caster (Primal)
Because of my devotion to primordial nature, each morning I may 'prepare'
a number of 'rites' equal to ((Careful + Sneaky) * Primal).
To prepare a rite I roll 4dF against a Mediocre (+0) difficulty, adding a preparation
bonus equal to double my Primal bonus.
I temporarily gain a new personal Aspect corresponding to the rite I prepared with
one invoke, and annotated with the margin of success.
Later during the day I may 'cast' a prepared rite by invoking its Aspect as an
action and resolving the rite using the previously rolled margin of success.
Using Spell Write-ups
If I am preparing a rite from a write-up that indicates an Approach be combined
with Primal to cast the rite, with language such as 'while Sneakily Primal', I
ignore the requirement and use my prepared bonus instead.
If I am preparing a rite from a write-up that states a particular difficulty level,
with language such as 'vs a Good (+3) difficulty)', the previously rolled margin
of success is applied against the stated difficulty when I 'cast' it; any remaining
shifts can be allocated per the
simple magic
guidelines.
It is possible for a rite resolution to fail if the margin of success is insufficient
to the difficulty or if I am opposed successfully. I can spend a Fate point at this
time to add +2 shifts to the margin of success.
Unfortunately due to my focus on prepared casting, I cannot free cast anything other
than simple primal effects known as favors.
NOTE: as Prepared Casting is handled as a Stunt and Fate Accelerated characters
are allowed to swap Stunts at milestones, it is technically possible for strange
shenanigans to come up. However, it is recommended that Prepared Casting Stunts
be anchored by a character's High Concept, and can thus only be taken or removed
when an appropriate High Concept is taken or changed. This equates to character
creation and major milestones, and avoids casual fluctuations.
Known Spells List
As a rule of thumb prepared casters start play knowing about twice as many spells
as they can cast per day. Thus a prepared caster than can prepare twelve (12) spells
per day would start play knowing around twentyfour (24) spells, give or take a couple.
However to avoid forcing a player to go through the chore of picking them all up
front, which is a bar to starting play, with the GM's permission a player can just
select enough spells to start the game and retroactively add more to the list of
known spells as they are thought up until they hit their limit.
Finally, prepared casters can learn more spells after play starts as they encounter
scrolls and spellbooks. How long it takes, whether a roll is involved, hand-waved
or played out...Pathfinder Fate Accelerated prefers to focus on narrative driven
play and doesn't take a stance on bookkeeping minutia where it can be avoided. Therefore
it is assumed to take some "off screen" time to learn new spells by default, but
the entire matter is left to the GM's discretion.
Some sample spells are provided, and players are also free to
come up with their own per GM's discretion.
Pros and Cons of Prepared Casting
There are some interesting permutations to the choice to play a prepared caster.
Prepared casters:
- Get a large bonus on their roll to prepare.
- Can apply spells that they are pretty sure are going to work to a situation, because
they already know how many shifts are available to the spell rather than having
to hope they succeed at a 4dF roll at the time of casting.
- Don't have to use create advantage actions when the "heat is on" to set up more
esoteric spells, offering better action economy.
- Get potentially far fewer spells per day than characters using the free-casting
model, but as the saying goes "enough is as good as a feast". Eventually a prepared
caster can cast a sufficient number of spells to get through a typical session of
play.
- Excel if sessions are short as their limited number of spells is mitigated.
- Lag if sessions are longer with multiple encounters.
- Lag if the player guesses wrong about what will be useful, or runs out of spells
too soon, or hoards their spells so tightly they end up not doing anything.
Prepared Casting Example
For instance, Amarzedrin can prepare up to twelve (12)
spells per day. Each time he prepares a spell, he rolls 4dF and adds +8 (his Arcane
bonus, doubled). One morning he prepares Fireball (and eleven (11) other spells).
For the Fireball preparation he rolls ++-[] for a total of +9. Amarzedrin's player
writes down the personal Aspect "Prepared Fireball (+9) [ ]" on a scrap of paper.
Because it is useful to this example, it makes sense that later in the day Amarzedrin
is confronted by a couple of mobs of goblins (represented as mooks), damn the luck.
Deciding to not waste time and risk injury, Amarzedrin invokes Prepared Fireball.
The Prepared Fireball Aspect is removed from play as it has been expended, and the
nine (9) shifts from his margin of success are used to power a Fireball spell effect.
Amarzedrin splits his nine (9) shifts into a group of five (5) shifts and a group
of four (4) shifts and allocates each set of shifts as stress to the two goblin
mobs. The first group of goblins defends at +0 (they are not spellcasters, and have
no relevant skill-like abilities) and roll +--- for a total of -2. Amarzedrin succeeds
with style and may take a boost at the cost of a shift; but for purposes of the
example he opts to just blow them up.
The second group of goblins is actually a goblin pyromancer and his apprentice...of
course! They have a relevant Fire Magic skill-like ability at +3, and roll +++-
for a total of Superb (+5), and defend successfully. Looks like Amarzedrin has a
fight on his hands.