Arborist

JonSetanta · Post by **JonSetanta** » Fri Nov 08, 2013 5:04 pm

ARBORIST

They have become one with the trees. They speak for the trees, you know.

Base Attack Bonus: 1/2
Good Saves: Reflex, Will
Hit Dice: d6
Weapons: Simple and bows
Armor: All (wood only)
Class Skills: Climb, Diplomacy, Disguise, Handle Animal, Hide, Knowledge (Nature), Listen, Move Silently, Spot, Survival, Swim, Use Rope
Skill Points: 6 + Intelligence bonus

Save DCs for Arborist powers are derived from Wisdom.

1 Gardening Basics, Loyal Green
2 Treeform
3 Wood Shape, Greenblood
4 Plant Growth
5 Thornburst
6 Speak with Plants
7 Command Plants, Wild Vines
8 Wall of Thorns
9 Tree Stride, Tree Conversion
10 World Tree

Gardening Basics (Sp)
The Arborist can cast Create Water and Detect Plants as spell-like abilities at will.

Loyal Green (Sp)
As the spell Entangle at will but enemies caught in the area also take 1d6 Bludgeoning damage on each failed save.
The Arborist and allies are not affected by this ability's area.

Treeform (Su)
As the spell Tree Shape but at will and with duration Permanent (D).

Wood Shape (Sp)
As the spell of the same name at will.

Greenblood (Ex)
The Arborist has vines for hair and a natural AC of +2. They gain Damage Reduction 5/iron.

Plant Growth (Sp)
As the spell of the same name at will.

Thornburst (Sp)
As the spell Fireball but rather than dealing Fire damage it deals Piercing damage, and counts as a Conjuration spell.

Speak with Plants (Su)
As the spell of the same name at will.

Command Plants (Sp)
As the spell of the same name at will.

Wild Vines (Sp)
As the spell Black Tentacles but the tentacles are long vines.
An Arborist may only have one area of this spell active at any time with this effect.

Wall of Thorns (Sp)
As the spell of the same name at will.
An Arborist may only have one wall active at any time with this effect.

Tree Stride (Sp)
As the spell of the same name at will.

Tree Conversion (Sp)
As the spell Slay living but the body of a dead victim becomes a tree.

World Tree(Sp)
As the spell Transport via Plants at will.

JonSetanta · Post by **JonSetanta** » Fri Nov 08, 2013 6:19 pm

I should have done something simple like this for Feybook years ago.

Scrivener · Post by **Scrivener** » Fri Nov 08, 2013 6:23 pm

Why?

I don't see what this brings that a refluffed warlock doesn't already do.

The at will AoE + disable will be overpowering in low levels too, then quickly drop off into pointless dealing only 1d6 + 20 at 10th level. Also how is the save derived?

The DR should be cold iron, I get the idea that trees are cut down, but the fey link makes much more sense and is consistent with every other DR in the game.

I think you may want to look at making invocations for a fey pact warlock.

RadiantPhoenix · Post by **RadiantPhoenix** » Fri Nov 08, 2013 6:27 pm

DR/Iron is the tome replacement for DR/Cold Iron

Wiseman · Post by **Wiseman** » Fri Nov 08, 2013 6:39 pm

Shouldn't these be put in IMOI?

JonSetanta · Post by **JonSetanta** » Fri Nov 08, 2013 6:55 pm

Wiseman wrote:Shouldn't these be put in IMOI?

If FBMF has a problem he can let me know and/or move them.

I don't want to use Invocations because making a single class ability that duplicates a spell effect is the same.
No need for that extra pizzazz.

RadiantPhoenix wrote:DR/Iron is the tome replacement for DR/Cold Iron

Which document is that in? I've been using "iron" since 3.0 arrived because a friend and I had a long debate over what exactly cold iron is.

And then there's Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_in_folklore

Cold iron is a poetic and archaic term for iron, referring to the fact that it feels cold to the touch.

Scrivener, Loyal Green duplicates Entangle which is a Reflex save.

RadiantPhoenix · Post by **RadiantPhoenix** » Fri Nov 08, 2013 7:26 pm

sigma999 wrote:
RadiantPhoenix wrote:DR/Iron is the tome replacement for DR/Cold Iron
Which document is that in? I've been using "iron" since 3.0 arrived because a friend and I had a long debate over what exactly cold iron is.

http://www.dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Tome_of_Fi ... _Materials

Orion · Post by **Orion** » Fri Nov 08, 2013 11:28 pm

Loyal Green is a gobsmackingly amazing level 1 attack.

JonSetanta · Post by **JonSetanta** » Fri Nov 08, 2013 11:38 pm

Should I reduce the damage or just make it Entangle?

JonSetanta · Post by **JonSetanta** » Sat Nov 09, 2013 5:56 am

Loyal Green's damage was typed and reduced to 1d6.
Archery should suffice, as with the Dryad statblock (the intent behind this class was to replicate the Dryad)

Hicks · Post by **Hicks** » Sat Nov 09, 2013 7:56 am

Neither. Entangle is on the super short list of best 1st level spells in the game because you force everybody in a 40' circle to save each round for ten rounds or lose mobility and take AC penalties until the spell ends AND hampers movement even if the save is successful. One Entangle and a bow with arrows will win against anything remotely level appropriate corporeal enemy. Entangle at will at level one is super bad design.

Scrivener · Post by **Scrivener** » Sat Nov 09, 2013 2:25 pm

What is the DC for the reflex save? Is it wisdom based, charisma? Does it have some sort of funny formula?

Also you might want to address that the attack is AMAZING at 1st level and crap at 10th level, seeing as it is the bread and butter of this class.

erik · Post by **erik** » Sat Nov 09, 2013 5:00 pm

Scrivener wrote:What is the DC for the reflex save? Is it wisdom based, charisma? Does it have some sort of funny formula?

Also you might want to address that the attack is AMAZING at 1st level and crap at 10th level, seeing as it is the bread and butter of this class.

Yeah, I get that you want a plant-centric class, but you forgot to figure out what a player actually does with this class when collecting anything with plants in the description.

Suggestions:
For combat it looks like you want some ground control and some minions mostly.

Things to consider adding:
- Arboreal companion
- Spike Growth
- Woodland Stride

Things to consider nerfing:
- Loyal Green
- Summon Shambling Mound (CR 6 at level 6.... um yeah). And I didn't understand if there was a duration or it is presumed you always travel with yesterday's Mound and summon a second one after it has been defeated with today's summoning, giving you two CR 6 minions at level 6. Again, like Loyal Green, wildly out of whack with appropriate abilities but gets meaningless later on. I'd recommend something less abusable than Shambling Mound (you had to pick a monster whose Con you could indefinitely buff? Really?), better thought on how summoning works, and CR for monster = level -2.
- At will. It is not necessary for every power to be At will. It seems unlikely that you have considered implications for getting to do these powers all day long. Plant Growth and Wall of Thorns in particular.

- Out of the box:
Consider using non-plant spells but giving them plant-fluff.
examples:
Evard's Black Tentacles (summoned vines)
Lightning Bolt (line of splinters/thorns)
Tenser's Floating Disk (helpful plant with giant leaves that helps carry stuff)
Leomunds Secure Shelter (made of plants)
Stinking Cloud (pollen/spores)
You get the picture.

JonSetanta · Post by **JonSetanta** » Sat Nov 09, 2013 6:13 pm

I was thinking of replacing Shambling Mound with a Fireball effect that deals Piercing damage from thorns.

Minions aren't needed, I just couldn't think of a synergistic way to deal damage while opponents were trapped by Entangle

JonSetanta · Post by **JonSetanta** » Sat Nov 09, 2013 7:30 pm

How about a close range power that turns people into trees?

It would be like Finger of Death.

JonSetanta · Post by **JonSetanta** » Sat Nov 09, 2013 8:07 pm

I've added a little more combat spells.

Took the suggestion for Black Tentacles, with a limit.

Meikle641 · Post by **Meikle641** » Sun Nov 10, 2013 5:44 pm

Why not use the psion power Entangling ectoplasm for Loyal Green? It's a ranged touch attack that entangles a target for 5 rounds. You could presumably just add the single-target damage to that as well.

JonSetanta · Post by **JonSetanta** » Thu Nov 14, 2013 9:07 pm

Meikle641 wrote:Why not use the psion power Entangling ectoplasm for Loyal Green? It's a ranged touch attack that entangles a target for 5 rounds. You could presumably just add the single-target damage to that as well.

I wanted an area effect.
Damage optional.

Scrivener · Post by **Scrivener** » Fri Nov 15, 2013 5:01 am

The class still doesn't work.

We still do not know what stat is linked to the DCs, is it wisdom? Charisma? Constitution?

We don't know the formula for the save. Is it 10 + 1/2 level + mystery stat? Is it the number of trees in the immediate square mile?

Also fundamentally the class is boring. You spam one ability. With your extra abilities now you spam your most potent SLA (unless they are supernatural, which we also don't know) and repeat until target is dead.

There isn't any room for customization too. If I wanted to play an exceptionally cruel arborist I would be doing the exact same things a super kind and friendly arborist wanted to do. 1/2 BAB means weapon flavor and combat feats won't work, and with literally no options on your SLAs (or Sus) and no feats to make one aspect of your kit better (like spell focus, or improved grapple, or anything) every arborist is the same.

JonSetanta · Post by **JonSetanta** » Fri Nov 15, 2013 4:43 pm

I forgot about the key stat! I'll make it Wisdom like a Dryad.

As for boredom with the SLAs it wasn't intended to have even as much choice as a Warlock.
Just a simple stupid little class for people that want to replicate a Dryad, or maybe for NPCs only.

Scrivener · Post by **Scrivener** » Fri Nov 15, 2013 7:25 pm

In that case, maybe make it a prestige class that you can get into after two or three levels of Druid? Requirements on the order of "be able to cast summon nature's ally II, and bullshit fluff req about trees". The fluff req would be to further discourage PCs, and scaled to 3rd level the entangle effect isn't broken.

Fireball at 8th overall level is a little weak, but you could toss on an entangle effect and it would work as a straight upgrade to loyal green. Also the level adjustment would help cut down on goofy teleport abuse before everyone teleports everywhere.

Scrivener · Post by **Scrivener** » Fri Nov 15, 2013 7:25 pm

In that case, maybe make it a prestige class that you can get into after two or three levels of Druid? Requirements on the order of "be able to cast summon nature's ally II, and bullshit fluff req about trees". The fluff req would be to further discourage PCs, and scaled to 3rd level the entangle effect isn't broken.

Fireball at 8th overall level is a little weak, but you could toss on an entangle effect and it would work as a straight upgrade to loyal green. Also the level adjustment would help cut down on goofy teleport abuse before everyone teleports everywhere.