Oppression Aware Podcast, Fairy Tales, and Games

Druids have a deep connection to nature. This connection can include both magical and physical abilities. Shapeshifters, healers, witches, warlocks, primal casters, beast tamers, wild riders, nature guardians, scouts, pathfinders, hunters, trackers, and rangers can all be made using this class.

 

 

Natural Connection

You have a special connection with nature that allows you to cast magic. This is your Natural Connection. When casting magic there are several forms that this Natural Connection can take, each with its own requirements. Choose one of the following four types of Natural Connection from the list below. You must fulfill the requirements of your particular type of Natural Connection in order to cast magic.

• Symbol of Nature: You connect to nature through a symbolic object. This object could be a special plant, a carved piece of driftwood, a sacred stone, a scale from a dragon, or any other meaningful natural object. Decide what your Symbol of Nature is. In order to cast spells, you must actively touch this symbolic object.
• Ritual Components: You connect to nature through the physical objects of ritual, such as magical plants, special water, the soil from an important place, food offerings, and ritual implements. It is up to you what these things are. You have a pouch containing all of the necessary ritual components. In order to cast spells, you must be able to use these ritual components.
• Ceremonial Gestures: You connect to nature through physical gestures that hold a special meaning. In order to cast spells, you must be able to use your body to make these ceremonial gestures.
• Words: You connect to nature through words, such as poetry, chanting, or singing. In order to cast spells, you must be able to express these words in a language you know. Verbal words must be audible and signed words must be visible.

There are different types of magic, such as Plant Magic and Shapeshifting Magic, that can be cast using your Natural Connection. However, each type of magic is a separate ability that needs to be studied individually before you can cast it. You will be choosing which types of magic you know in the “Druidic Training” section below. For this purpose, magic is any ability with the word “Magic” in its name.

 

 

Druidic Training

For standard characters, choose four abilities off the following list. This list is divided into sections to make it easier to navigate.

 

Helping and Hindering Magic

Healing and Restoration Magic: You can create magical healing effects that alleviate harm and improve ongoing conditions. Examples of things that you can do are mending wounds, curing poisons, removing curses, dispelling harmful mind- and emotion-altering magic, decreasing pain, reducing the intensity of symptoms, healing those diseases that can be healed by magic, and bringing people to optimal medication levels. Healing and Restoration Magic is used by rolling mind and you are trained in it.

Harm and Affliction Magic: You can create magical harm effects that interfere with the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of others. Harm and Affliction Magic can be used to cause direct harm with wounds or poisons. When using poisons, it is helpful to decide what the poison’s intending symptoms are. Harm and Affliction Magic can also be used to give others magical conditions, such as becoming sleepy, fatigued, overwhelmed, hungry, nauseated, itchy, beset by hiccups, uncomfortable, in pain, irritable, dizzy, disoriented, or unable to balance. Harm and Affliction Magic can also be used to detect and protect from the Harm and Affliction Magic of others. This magic is used by rolling mind and you are trained in it.

Protection Magic: You can create magical effects that protect against harm. Protection Magic allows you to put up barriers that block physical harm, such as stone walls or spheres of magical force, and barriers that block magical effects, such as shields that defend against mind and emotion control. In addition, you can create a protected sanctuary to sleep in and make people temporarily impervious to one type of harm, such as fire, cold, lightning, poison, or weapons slashes. Protection Magic also allows you to detect immediate hazards, like traps and poisons, and defend people from environmental hazards, such as extreme weather, quicksand, and sticky webs. Finally, you can use Protection Magic to reduce or remove others’ magical protections. This magic is used by rolling mind and you are trained in it.

 

Elemental Magic

Fire Magic: You can create magical effects with fire and light. Examples of effects that you can make are magical illumination, dazzling lights, walls of fire, fire breath, flaming weapons, and fireballs. You can also do things like resist harm from fire, sense fire, melt things, burn things up, put out fire, and create darkness. Fire Magic is used by rolling mind and you are trained in it.

Water Magic: You can create magical effects with water and cold. Examples of effects that you can make are jets of water, geysers, waves, walls of ice, frost weapons, and blasts of cold. You can also do things like create water, resist harm from cold, sense water, thaw ice, and dry up water. Water Magic is used by rolling mind and you are trained in it.

Air Magic: You can create magical effects with air, flight, and sound. Examples of effects that you can make are gusts of air, vortexes (mini-tornadoes), walls of wind, barriers that block sound, magical flight, blasts of noise, and areas of silence. You can also do things like amplify sound, detect airborne toxins, purify air, calm turbulent air, prevent creatures from flying, and cushion a fall. Air Magic is used by rolling mind and you are trained in it.

Earth Magic: You can create magical effects with earth and stone. Examples of effects that you can make are tremors, earthquakes, walls of stone, holes in the ground, blasts of gravel, and rock armor. You can also do things like animate a statue, stabilize a collapsing tunnel, still earth tremors, burrow through the earth, sense minerals in the ground, turn stone into mud, turn mud into stone, and reshape rock with your mind. Earth Magic is used by rolling mind and you are trained in it.

 

Nature Magic

Weather Magic: You can create magical effects with weather and lightning. Examples of effects that you can make are sleet storms, rain, clouds of fog, moments of sunshine, blizzards, sandstorms, lightning bolts, and shock weapons (weapons that give an electrical shock to people they hit). You can also do things like resist harm from electricity, control the path of lightning strikes, predict the weather, return the weather to a normal pattern, help people endure hazardous weather, and protect an area from hazardous weather. Weather Magic is used by rolling mind and you are trained in it.

Animal Magic: You can create magical effects that involve animals. There are two main ways to do this: connecting with animals and taking on animal abilities. Examples of ways that you can connect with animals are speaking with animals, calming animals, sensing where animals are, and calling animals to your aid. Possibilities for taking on animal abilities include both shapeshifting (turning into a specific animal) and partial transformations to gain specific animal traits. For example, you could have eagle vision, bioluminescence, wings, gills, claws, poisonous fangs, a keen sense of smell, echolocation, the ability to climb like a gecko, or the capacity to create webs. Animal Magic can also be used to sense, alter, and disrupt the Animal Magic of others. It is used by rolling mind and you are trained in it.

Plant Magic: You can connect with plants and magically manipulate them. Examples of effects that you can create are blasts of sleep-inducing spores, magically animated vines, slippery algae coatings, zones of entangling plants, and thorn walls. You can also do things like reshape plants, cause a plant to become bioluminescent, heal plants, speak with plants, command non-sapient plant creatures, resist harm from plant-based poisons, sense specific plants, wither plants, speed up plant growth, and temporarily give people plant-like traits. Plant Magic is used by rolling mind and you are trained in it.

Shapeshifting Magic: You can temporarily alter the physical forms of yourself and others. This means that you can transform people into different sapient species, magical creatures, animals, plants, and even objects. However this transformation is never directly harmful. For example, a person who is transformed into an object will return to their normal form once the spell is over. This also means that people cannot be transformed into anything that would be immediately be harmed by their environment. For example, it is not be possible to turn someone into a fish on dry land.

For each transformation, the more significant and specific the change being made is, the harder it is to do. When magic is harder, the bigger the consequences of failed rolls will be. This means that it is easier to change someone’s appearance than it is to change what they are. So it is easier to make a person look like a statue than it is to turn them into a statue. This also means that mimicking the appearance of a specific person or thing is possible, but doing so is more risky. Shapeshifting magic can also be used to detect or undo others’ Shapeshifting Magic. This magic is used by rolling mind and you are trained in it.

Sensing Magic: You can create magical effects that aid or block perception. Examples of things that you can do are detect nearby magic, hide from magical detection, enhance a person’s senses, give someone echolocation, circumvent magical alarms, create a zone of silence, make someone invisible, prevent a group of people from leaving a scent trail, and craft magical alarms that will alert you when a specific event occurs (such as a creature entering an area).

You can also use Sensing Magic to locate a person, place, or thing. When doing this, you must specify what you are looking for. For example, you could aim to find a specific lost cat, detect the nearest person wearing armor, or identify all secret doors in an area.

Sensing Magic also allows you to use your senses to remotely observe people, objects, and places. This is known as scrying. While you are scrying, you are unaware of your physical surroundings. Sensing Magic is used by rolling mind and you are trained in it.

 

Casting Abilities

Nature’s Magic: Your connection with nature allows you to cast an unusual type of magic. Choose one of the following types of magic: communication, emotion, mind, illusion, necromantic, transportation, force, object, summoning, and analytic. For details on what these types of magic can do, go to the mage “Arcane Training” list. You can use your Natural Connection to cast this type of magic.

Flexible Casting: You can connect to arcane energies in multiple ways. Choose a second Natural Connection. You may switch between your two Natural Connections as you desire.

 

Mystical Powers

In Tune with Nature: Once you are familiar with a natural environment, you can notice subtle changes in it and move through it effortlessly. You are familiar with any natural environment that you have previous experience with, or that you have been in for at least one day. When you are in a familiar environment, treat failed Perception skill rolls (zero successes) made to notice subtle or hidden things in the environment around you as if they were partial successes (one success).

In addition, you move through these environments with ease, leaving no trace of your presence behind you. Plant growth that impedes movement does not affect you. This includes dense growth, magical plants, entangling vines, walls of thorns, and other plant-based hazards.

Divination: Momentary fragments of the past, present, and future come to you. If the game manager wants, fragments will come to you at plot relevant moments. In addition, once per day, you can focus this ability on a specific question by taking ten minutes to concentrate on what you want to know. The exact divination method you use is up to you. For example, you could sketch random images, meditate, pray, journal, search through a relevant book, do a tarot reading, use a set of rune stones, or gaze into a fire.

This ability is used by rolling mind and you are trained in it. The fragments that come to you may express themselves through your chosen divination method or through sensory experiences, such as visions. These fragments can be realistic, dreamlike, continuous, jumbled, long, or short. Sometimes they are clear and helpful, but other times they are confusing and upsetting.

Keep in mind that the more significant and far-reaching your question is, the more ambiguous the fragments are going to be. For example, the connection between the fragments and your question may not be immediately apparent. This is important because it prevents Divination from spoiling the game by instantly solving big mysteries.

Attunement: You have a special connection to one type of magic that is expressed as an immunity and two specific magical effects that you can do without risk of failure. Choose a type of magic that you can cast. You are attuned to this type of magic. Go to the “Attunement List” and choose one immunity and two minor magical effects from the section for your attuned magic.

The minor magical effects can be used without risk of failure, which means that no roll is needed to use them. However, if you incorporate one of them into a more complicated action, you will need to roll to accomplish that action.

In addition, some minor magical effects have a specified duration while others don’t. If no duration is specified, then the effect wears off at a story appropriate time, usually at the end of a scene. When the effect does wear off, non-magical outcomes, like healing and harm, remain. You may take this ability multiple times, but you must choose a different type of magic to be attuned to each time.

 

Animal Talents

Animal Companion: You have formed a strong bond with an animal. As long as you treat them well, this animal is loyal to you, follows your instructions, and accompanies you on your adventures.

• Animal Options: Animal companions can be small, medium, or large animals up to the size of an elephant. This includes domesticated animals like a camels, cats, dogs, goats, and horses. It also encompasses wild animals like badgers, bears, boars, crocodiles, dolphins, elephants, hawks, honey badgers, leopards, lions, otters, owls, raccoons, ravens, snakes, sharks, and wolves.
• Directing Your Animal Companion: You have a strong bond with your companion, so it is assumed that you can communicate clearly with them using any mode of communication that they are able to perceive, such as touch, sound, and gestures.
• What Your Companion Can Do: Within the limits of its physical capabilities, your animal companion can do all of the things that a well trained animal can do. Common abilities are staying put, coming when called, tracking, retrieving, carrying things on their back, pulling a load, guarding, attacking, and doing tricks. In addition, your companion can do those behaviors that are natural to their species. Characters who are significantly smaller than their companions can ride them.
• Training: To represent your companion’s main capabilities, choose five skills that they are trained in. In addition, choose one type of physical defense and one type of mental defense.
• Body and Mind Numbers: Decide what their body and mind numbers are. The three options are Body 5 with Mind 3, Body 4 with Mind 4, and Body 3 with Mind 5. The higher the number, the better they are at doing those things.
• When to Roll: When in a calm environment, no dice roll is needed for your animal companion to perform familiar tasks of average difficulty. Rolls are only needed when there is a distraction present, your companion is upset, the task is difficult, or you are attempting to get them to do something new. Note that service animals have special training that allows them to ignore (no roll is needed) ordinary distractions, such as crowds, tempting foods, and nonthreatening animals.
• What to Roll: The dice roll for an animal companion is handled separately from the character they are bonded to. This roll uses the body and mind numbers of the animal with any training they have that applies to the roll. The character they are bonded to can do preparation for them, or help them if they share the same skill.
• Calming Your Companion: Any time you are physically present with your animal companion, you are prepared to help them calm down and stay calm.
• Equipment: You have all of the equipment needed to care for your companion, including a saddle and tack if applicable.

Familiar: You have formed a magical bond with a small creature. This is your familiar. The magic of your bond enhances your familiar’s mental abilities, including their capacity to understand, communicate, and problem solve. Your familiar acts independently, but if you treat them well, they will be helpful and loyal to you.

• Creature Options: Most familiars are small animals like bats, cats, doves, eels, hawks, humming birds, lemurs, lizards, monkeys, owls, parrots, rabbits, rats, ravens, scorpions, seagulls, spiders, snakes, toads, turtles, and weasels.
• Personality: Decide what your familiar is like. What is their typical mood? How do they spend their time? What are their favorite things? What do they hate? How do they react to change?
• Magical Bond: This bond allows you to speak telepathically with your familiar and perceive through their senses. You do not need to roll to do either of these things, but any time you perceive through their senses, you become unaware of your own physical surroundings.
• What Your Familiar Can Do: Your familiar can do anything that is physically possible for their body. They also understand how doors and windows work and can use simple tools. In addition, familiars can make plans and they have a basic understanding of magic.
• Training: To represent your familiar’s main capabilities, choose five skills that they are trained in. For their protection, choose one type of physical defense and one type of mental defense.
• Body and Mind Numbers: Decide what their body and mind numbers are. The three options are Body 5 with Mind 3, Body 4 with Mind 4, and Body 3 with Mind 5. The higher the number, the better they are at doing those things.
• Getting a Familiar to Cooperate: Because familiars are more independent, it can be a bit tricky convincing them to do what you want. If you are asking them to ignore a temptation or do something unpleasant, you need to roll Communicating with Animals to convince them to cooperate.
• Rolling: The dice roll for a familiar carrying out an action is handled separately from the actions of the character they are bonded to. Any time that a familiar attempts an action that has a meaningful chance of failure, make a dice roll using the familiar’s body or mind number and any applicable training, preparation, or help that they have.
• Equipment: You have all of the equipment needed to care for your familiar.

Pockets Full of Treats: Your pockets and pouches are full of treats for a wide range of different animals. Any time that you are interacting with an animal, you may take out a treat and offer it to them. If the animal is calm enough to be interested in the treat (this is decided based on the situation), then you are considered prepared for using the Communicating with Animals and Riding skills with that animal.

You can choose between having these treats easily accessible, or having them wrapped up in packages and jars. If the treats are easily accessible, then you can get them out quickly, but you smell like animal food and are constantly attracting both domesticated and wild animals. If the treats are in packages and jars, it takes more time to get them out, but you don’t attract animals. It takes half an hour to swap between these two different ways of carrying the treats.

Charismatic: You have a natural talent for social skills. Three times a day, you are considered prepared when you use the Communicating with Animals, Deception, Diplomacy, Intimidation, or Performance skills. You may take this ability twice if you desire.

Communicating with Animals Expert: You are an expert at communicating with animals. Once per day you may turn a failed Communicating with Animals skill roll (zero successes) into a partial success (one success). This ability must be used before the consequences of failure are revealed. You may take this ability twice if you desire.

Mounted Expertise: You are an expert rider capable of performing difficult maneuvers. Three times a day, you are considered prepared when you use the Acrobatics, Athletics, Melee Combat, Mobility, Ranged Combat, Riding, or Stealth skills while riding a mount. You may take this ability twice if you desire.

Riding Expert: You are an expert at riding mounts. Once per day you may turn a failed Riding skill roll (zero successes) into a partial success (one success). This ability must be used before the consequences of failure are revealed. You may take this ability twice if you desire.

 

Nature Abilities

Natural Skill: You know how to use familiar natural environments to your advantage. A familiar natural environment is any natural environment that you have previous experience with, or that you have been in for more than a day. When you are in one of these environments, three times a day, you are considered prepared when you use the Acrobatics, Athletics, Climbing, Communicating with Animals, Flying, Mobility, Nature, Perception, Riding, Stealth, Survival, or Swimming skills. You may take this ability twice if you desire.

Alert: You notice subtle things about the people and places around you. Three times a day, you are considered prepared when you use the Insight, Perception, or Survival skills. You may take this ability twice if you desire.

Knowledgeable: You are extremely knowledgeable. Three times a day, you are considered prepared when you use the Arcana, Culture, Nature, or Technology skills. You may take this ability twice if you desire.

Nature Expert: You are an expert in the knowledge of nature. Once per day, you may turn a failed Nature skill roll (zero successes) into a partial success (one success). This ability must be used before the consequences of failure are revealed. You may take this ability twice if you desire.

Survival Expert: You are an expert at first aid and surviving in the wilderness. Once per day you may turn a failed Survival skill roll (zero successes) into a partial success (one success). This ability must be used before the consequences of failure are revealed. You may take this ability twice if you desire.

 

Scouting Abilities

Shadow: You can effortlessly blend into shadows. Once per day, you can briefly disappear into the shadows. No rolls are needed for this action, but there must be a large area of shadow for you to disappear into, such as a narrow alleyway or a dense cluster of trees. After that, if you wish to stay hidden, you will need to roll the Stealth skill. However, for the rest of the scene, you are considered prepared when using the Stealth skill to hide in the shadows.

Trick Archery: You are a skilled archer who is practiced at doing improbable things like splitting an arrow in two, firing accurately while doing acrobatic stunts, and shooting projectiles out of the air. Three times a day, you may reroll a Ranged Combat roll for a challenging archery task. This reroll must happen before the results have been revealed and you must take the new result, even if it is lower.

Trap Expertise: You are an expert at spotting, disabling, and creating traps. Three times a day, you count as prepared when you use Perception to spot traps, Manual Dexterity to disable traps, or Technology to create traps. In addition, once per day, you may reroll one of these three types of trap-related rolls. This reroll must happen before the results have been revealed and you must take the new result, even if it is lower.

Stealth Expert: You are an expert at hiding and moving silently. Once per day you may turn a failed Stealth skill roll (zero successes) into a partial success (one success). This ability must be used before the consequences of failure are revealed. You may take this ability twice if you desire.

 

Physical Abilities

Combat Expertise: You have extensive combat training. Three times a day, you are considered prepared when you use the Melee Combat, Ranged Combat, and Unarmed Fighting skills. You may take this ability twice if you desire.

Dexterous: You are extremely dexterous. Three times a day, you are considered prepared when you use the Acrobatics, Manual Dexterity, Mobility, or Stealth skills. You may take this ability twice if you desire.

Strong as an Ox: You are extremely strong. Three times a day, you are considered prepared when you use the Athletics, Climbing, Flying, Riding, or Swimming skills. You may take this ability twice if you desire.

Athletics Expert: You are an expert in athletic activities. Once per day you may turn a failed Athletics skill roll (zero successes) into a partial success (one success). This ability must be used before the consequences of failure are revealed. You may take this ability twice if you desire.

Climbing Expert: You are an expert at climbing up and down things. Once per day you may turn a failed Climbing skill roll (zero successes) into a partial success (one success). This ability must be used before the consequences of failure are revealed. You may take this ability twice if you desire.

Flying Expert: You are an expert at flying. Once per day you may turn a failed Flying skill roll (zero successes) into a partial success (one success). This ability must be used before the consequences of failure are revealed. You may take this ability twice if you desire.

Swimming Expert: You are an expert at swimming. Once per day you may turn a failed Swimming skill roll (zero successes) into a partial success (one success). This ability must be used before the consequences of failure are revealed. You may take this ability twice if you desire.

 

General Enhancements

Beginner’s Luck: You are unusually successful when you try new things. Three times a day, you are considered prepared when using a skill that you are not trained in.

Balanced Expertise: You are good at both body and mind skills. Choose one mind skill and one body skill. Three times a day, you are considered prepared when you use either of these two skills. You may take this ability twice if you desire, choosing either the same or different skills.

Specialty: You are especially good at doing one thing. Choose an area of focus for a skill or ability that you already have. This is your specialty. You are particularly good at this specialty and are always considered prepared when using it. This specialty needs to be significantly more specific than the skill or ability it is based on. For example, a character with the Acrobatics skill could have a specialty in leaping, or a character with the Transportation Magic ability could have a specialty in casting flying spells.

Physical Intuition: You have an intuitive, physical understanding of something that is normally a mental task. Choose one mind based skill or ability. You can now use this skill or ability by rolling body.

Special Technique: You know a special technique that makes it easier for you to do something that is a physical task. Choose one body based skill or ability. You can now use this skill or ability by rolling mind.

Skillful: You know more skills than most people. Choose two additional skills off the skills list. You are trained in these skills. There is no limit on how many times you may choose this ability.

Extra Species Trait: You have manifested an additional species trait. Choose a new species trait off the “Species Trait” list. There is no limit on how many times you may choose this ability.