Kami Druid
Alignment: In addition to the regular druid alignment restrictions, a kami druid cannot be chaotic.
Ward Sight: A kami druid can inherently tell if a something is a Kami’s ward by looking at it.
Ward: At first level, a kami druid chooses a location, landmark or object as his ward. His ward must be at least as twice the size of the druid and at most 1000 square feet. The ward must be stationary and cannot be moved. A kami druid gains a +1 ward bonus on all d20 rolls as long as he is within a distance to his ward equal to one mile per druid level. A kami druid has an empathetic connection with his ward and knows it’s condition at all times. If a kami’s ward is heavily damaged he does not gain the benefit of his ward bonus and takes a -1 penalty on all d20 rolls until the damage is repaired. If a kami druid’s ward is destroyed completely the kami druid gains one permanent level that cannot be removed until the kami druid has connected with a new ward. Once the kami druid has a new ward, the negative level is removed. The kami druid can connect with a new ward after a week through a 24 hour ritual.
Merge with Ward: As a standard action, a kami druid can merge his body and mind with his ward. When merged, the kami can observe the surrounding region with his senses as if he were using his own body. It has no control over its ward, nor can it communicate or otherwise take any action other than to emerge from its ward as a standard action. A kami druid must be adjacent to his ward to merge with or emerge from it. If his ward is an object, the kami druid can emerge mounted on it provided the kami druid’s body is at least one size category smaller than it. If his ward is a location, the kami druid may emerge at any point within that location. This is a supernatural ability. If the kami druid’s ward is destroyed while the kami druid is merged with it, the kam druid dies.
Call Kami: At first level a kami druid can petition a local Kami to come to his aid once per week. This requires a ritual that takes one hour to complete. For the Kami to hear him he must be within a number of miles of their ward equal to the Kami’s hit dice. For the Kami to come to his aid he must be convinced. This requires a diplomacy check. The DC depends on the type of aid the kami druid is asking for. The kami druid gets a +4 bonus to this check if he is adjacent to or within his ward when he calls the Kami. How and for how long the Kami offers it’s aid is up to the GM. A Kami will not travel far from his ward. This ability replaces wild empathy.
Kami Familiar: At 1st level the kami druid gains a shikigami familiar. This functions like the wizard’s arcane bond class feature and the Improved Familiar feat, using the kami druid’s level in place of the wizard’s level. This ability replaces replaces nature bond.
Teleport to Ward: At 9th level a kami druid can teleport to his ward. This requires a ritual that takes one hour and can only be performed once per day. The kami druid can bring along objects as long as their weight doesn't exceed his maximum load. After a kami druid teleports to his ward he may choose to teleport back to the exact location he left so long as he does so within a number of hours equal to his druid level-8. He must be adjacent to or within his ward to teleport back. This ability replaces venom immunity.
I love the idea of the kami and decided it would be kinda-sorta neat to play as one. Ward doesn't replace anything and call kami and teleport to ward are more powerful than venom immunity and wild empathy but I'm hoping it balances out by downgrading the AC to a familiar.
Are the abilities that replace nature bond enough to keep the kami druid near the level of the regular druid? Are they too much? A little underpowered is fine in my opinion, so long as it's not horribly unplayeable.
Your thoughts? My goal is to build an archetype that is quirky and fun to roleplay.
The way I see it, this class seems to be built for an NPC rather than a player (what with depency on a stationary object target), unless the campaign takes place in only one area. It could work in Kingmaker, at least, and the 9th level ability is rather useful. Lastly, a shikigami familiar is a very poor substitute for an animal companion. Perhaps later the druid can replace it with a kodama or allow the shikigami to advance independently in some way? Also, I think it might be better to replace Call Kami with some manner of adjustment to Summon Nature's Ally, adding Kami to the list of available summons.
So... Why can't Kami Druid be chaotic? Kami can. Kami are actually a pretty wide variety of alignments. There's even a lawful good one.
Like Icyshadow said, it looks a lot like an NPC class. The attachment to its ward doesn't make it very fit for adventuring, and to be honest doesn't look too amazing, but since they're free its hard to complain. A familiar is definitely not the same as getting a domain or companion. Needs a little more imo, and to feel more like it can be mobile to help fit a PC.
Yeah, I had that NPC thought too. Originally there was a lot more focus on the ward before I realized people wouldn't be adventuring within a 10 mile square.
As it is now, the ward adds a nice bonus when you're near it that's not so good that you'd never want to leave. The drawback could be used as a nice built-in plothook for a sidequest and, unless your GM is evil and has your tree explode as you're fighting some vampires, it shouldn't screw you over badly just because you happen to be travelling.
Of course, this probably won't work for every campaign. Good for a 'start fighting local goblins, move out from there' sort of thing I think, since once you're high enough level to be spanning the globe and hopping to other planes you've got your nifty teleport home trick. And as you suggested, something like Kingmaker would work well also.
I was worried the shikigami would be a little weak. I was considering making it a companion (like the diabolist's imp companion) but then I'd just be adding a bunch of stuff to the druid without any drawbacks. The kodama idea is interesting. Have to think of a way to make it fit with the fluff though. ("Hey buddy you were great but I got this shiny new Kami see...")
I hesitate to let them straight up summon Kami since that's just really not how Kami work. The call kami ability is, again, probably only good for a certain kind of campaign. I'm trying to think of a compromise (keep kamis attached to their wards but still able to summon somehow) but I'm coming up with nothing.
EDIT: definitely missed that chaotic Kami. Ok, so no extra alignment restrcitions!
Hmm... maybe the familiar shares your ward, so as long as he's suchandsuch close to you you get your ward bonus, and if you're close to your ward it increases a little bit?
When you become more powerful, your ward attracts more kami, allowing you to switch out you shikigami for a kodama. Send the 'gami home to watch the ward while the 'dama comes adventuring and they have a variation of the teleport to ward ability to make it happen quickly. One or two more different kami at higher levels. Have to change the ward requirment to be just a location to allow room for all the kami though.
Hmm... could add an interesting 'design your own ward!' element. And maybe as your renown grows some folks build a shrine on your ward that attracts a Zuuishin. Something like that.
Well, from how I read the text for the spell Summon Nature's Ally, you don't actually summon it from some other plane as you would when you cast Summon Monster or Planar Binding, but you actually attract the attention of a local being since it still needs to be able to survive in the area where you summon it. "A summoned monster cannot summon or otherwise conjure another creature, nor can it use any teleportation or planar travel abilities. Creatures cannot be summoned into an environment that cannot support them."
OK, so change the ward to being a location of at least 1000 sqft. Every level it increases by 500sqft. The ward bonus while within your ward is +2, while near your ward is +1.
also,
Kami Friends: A kami druid shares his ward with other Kami and as the druid’s ward grows in size more powerful Kami are attracted to it. A Kami who shares a kami druid’s ward considers the kami druid as part of it’s ward as well. A kami druid’s Kami friends either stay within his ward or travel with the kami druid. No more than one Kami friend can travel with the druid at a time as Kami’s need their space and there simply isn’t enough room for the druid to ‘house’ more than one Kami. So long as a Kami friend is within 50 feet of the kami druid, the kami druid gains a +1 ward bonus on all d20 rolls.
All of the druid’s Kami friends have the Teleport to Ward ability, except they cannot choose to teleport back to their previous location. Because the kami druid is part of their ward, Kami friends can use this ability to teleport to the druid.
At 1st level, a kami druid’s ward contains some small, man-made structure like a milestone, waymarker, tiny garden statue, or other relatively mundane work of art crafted by humanoid hands. This structure attracts a Shikigami Kami friend.
At 6th level, a kami druid’s ward attracts a Kodama Kami friend who makes it’s home in one of the ward’s larger trees.
At 10th level a kami druid’s ward contains an arrangement of miniature shrubs and trees, either naturally occuring or sculpted. This attracts a Fukujin Kami friend.
At 13th level a kami druid’s ward has a shrine or other religious location within it. This attracts a Zuuishin Kami friend.
At 16th level the kami druid’s ward intersects a well-travelled pathway or road. This attracts a pair of Dosojin kami friends. Their manipulate path ability affects any road the kami druid is travelling on as long as one of them is travelling with the kami druid.
At 18th level your ward contains either a small body of water or a beautiful cherry. These become wards to either a Suijin Kami or a Toshigama Kami, respectively. The Suijin and Toshigama Kami are allies of the kami druid but are not Kami friends and will not travel with the kami druid.
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I'm still mulling over the summon nature's ally thing. I just really like the call kami ability. Super cool roleplay opportunity. (ok, yeah, you could just resolve it with a roll if you're boring I guess)
I present the Kami Druid 2.0
Kami Druid
Diminished Spellcasting: A kami druid gains one fewer spell of each level than normal. If this reduces the number to 0, she may cast spells of that level only if her Wisdom allows bonus spells of that level.
Ward Sight: A kami druid can inherently tell if a something is a Kami’s ward by looking at it. A kami druid can determine the direction of all wards within ten miles by concentrating for one minute.
Ward: At first level, a kami druid chooses a location as his ward. His ward can be no larger than 1000 square feet. The size of the ward increases by 500 square feet every time you gain a druid level. The ward cannot be in any civilized area like a city. The ward gains, or expands across areas that already have, certain features as it grows, as described in the sections on Kami friends and Kami allies. A kami druid gains a +1 ward bonus on all d20 rolls as long as he is within a distance to the edge of his ward equal to one mile per his druid level. If the kami druid is within his ward, this bonus increases to +2. A kami druid has an empathetic connection with his ward and knows it’s condition at all times. If a kami druid’s ward is heavily damaged he does not gain the benefit of his ward bonus and takes a -1 penalty on all d20 rolls until the damage is repaired.
Merge with Ward: As a standard action, a kami druid can merge his body and mind with his ward. When merged, the kami can observe the surrounding region with his senses as if he were using his own body. He has no control over its ward, nor can he communicate or otherwise take any action other than to emerge from his ward as a standard action. A kami druid must be within his ward to merge with or emerge from it. The kami druid may emerge at any point within his ward. This is a supernatural ability.
Call Kami: At first level a kami druid can petition a local Kami to come to his aid once per week. This requires a ritual that takes one hour to complete. For the Kami to hear the druid he must be within a number of miles of their ward equal to the Kami’s hit dice. For the Kami to come to his aid he must be convinced. This requires a diplomacy check. The DC depends on the type of aid the kami druid is asking for. The kami druid gets a +4 bonus to this check if he is within his ward when he calls the Kami. How and for how long the Kami offers it’s aid is up to the GM. A Kami may request a favor in return for offering it’s aid. A Kami will not travel far from it’s ward unless it feels the cause is urgent enough to demand it or the kami druid is extremely persuasive. This ability replaces wild empathy.
Kami Friends: A kami druid shares his ward with other Kami and as the druid’s ward grows in size more powerful Kami are attracted to it. A Kami who shares a kami druid’s ward considers the kami druid as part of it’s ward as well. A kami druid’s Kami friends either stay within his ward or travel with the kami druid. No more than one Kami friend can travel with the druid at a time as Kami’s need their space and there simply isn’t enough room for the druid to ‘house’ more than one Kami. Because the kami druid only makes up a small portion of their wards, Kami friends do not benefit from their fast healing unless they are within the kami druid’s ward.
All of the druid’s Kami friends have the wizard familiar’s Share Spells ability and the Teleport to Ward ability, except they cannot choose to teleport back to their previous location. Because the kami druid is part of their ward, Kami friends can use this ability to teleport to the druid.
If a Kami friend dies a new Kami of the same type will be attracted to the kami druid’s ward and become a Kami friend in 1 week. If a second Kami friend dies before a replacement for the first is attracted, the kami druid’s ward is considered heavily damaged until all dead Kami friends are replaced.
At 1st level, a kami druid’s ward contains some small, man-made structure like a milestone, waymarker, tiny garden statue, or other relatively mundane work of art crafted by humanoid hands. This structure attracts a Shikigami Kami friend. At 3rd level the Shikigami Kami friend gains the wizard familiar’s Deliver Touch Spells ability. At 13th level it gains the wizard familiar’s Scry on Familiar ability, treating itself as the kami druid’s familiar.
At 4th level a kami druid’s ward contains an arrangement of miniature shrubberies and trees. This attracts a Fukujin Kami friend.At 15th level the bonus provided by the Fukujin Kami friend’s Aura of Luck ability increases to +4.
At 7th level, a kami druid’s ward attracts a Kodama Kami friend who makes it’s home in one of the ward’s larger trees. The tree the Kodama Kami friend calls home grows as the kami druid grows level and the Kodama Kami friend grows along with it. The Kodama Kami friend uses the same advancement as a druid’s animal companion with the following changes:
Starting Statistics: Size small; Speed 30 ft. AC +1 natural armor; Immune bleed, mind-affecting effects, petrification, polymorph;Attack2 claws (1d3) Ability Scores Str 10, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 11, Wis 14, Cha 17; Special Attacks Distracting Gaze: Staggered for 1d4 rounds, 30 feet, Will DC 16 negates. This is a mind-affecting effect that requires the kodama to be visible to those it wishes to affect. The save DC is Charisma-based.;Languages Common, speak with plants, telepathy 100ft; Special Qualities merge with ward, ward (kami druid’s ward, kami druid); Fast healing 3; spell-like abilities (CL 6th), At will--speak with plants, 3/day -- charm animal.
10th-Level Advancement: Size Medium Ability Scores Str +2, Con +2; Special Qualities DR5/cold iron; Reist acid 10, electricity 10, fire 10; spell-like abilities (CL 6th), at will-- tree shape, 3/day-- entangle, tree stride
HD
The Kodami Kami friend uses ten-sided dice for it’s hit-die.
Skills
Multiply the listed value by 2 to determine the Kodama's skill ranks. If the Kodama increases its Intelligence to 12 or higher, it gains bonus skill ranks as normal. Kodama Kami can have ranks in any skill; it’s class skills are climb, escape artist, perception, sense motive, stealth and survival. It cannot have more ranks in a skill than it has Hit Dice.
Feats
The first three feats the Kodama Kami learns must be Great Fortitude, Nimble Moves and Power Attack, in that order. After learning these three, it may select any feat for which it qualifies.
The Kodama Kami does not gain bonus tricks.
The Kodami Kami friend does not gain the link, evasion, devotion, multiattack or improved evasion abilities.
The kami druid’s effective druid level for his Kodama Kami friend is equal to his druid level-3.
At 10th level the kami druid’s ward intersects a well-travelled pathway or road. This attracts a Dosojin kami friend. It’s manipulate path ability affects any road the kami druid is travelling on as long as it is travelling with the kami druid.
This ability replaces nature bond.
Kami Allies: As the kami druid’s ward grows it attracts more Kami than just his Kami friends. These Kami choose wards that are within the boundaries of the kami druid’s ward and always start as friendly towards the druid.
At 8th level and every three levels thereafter, a Kodama Kami claims a tree within your ward as it’s ward.
At 10th level a Dosojin Kami, the mated pair to your Dosojin Kami friend, claims the section of well-travelled pathway or road within your ward as it’s ward. If your Dosojin Kami friend dies it’s mate will leave but the new Dosojin Kami friend that is attracted a week later will bring it’s own mate.
At 13th level your ward contains a gate, doorway, spiritual archway (torii) or other religious place that a Zuishin Kami claims as it’s ward.
At 16th level your ward contains either a small body of water or a beautiful cherry tree. A Suijin Kami claims the small body of water as it’s ward or a Toshigama Kami claims the cherry tree as it’s ward.
Teleport to Ward: At 9th level a kami druid can teleport to his ward. This requires a ritual that takes one hour and can only be performed once per day. The kami druid can bring along objects as long as their weight doesn't exceed his maximum load. After a kami druid teleports to his ward he may choose to teleport back to the exact location he left so long as he does so within a number of hours equal to his druid level-8. He must be within his ward to teleport back. This ability replaces venom immunity.
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So the kami druid has a bunch of options for companions. He can swap them out but it takes an hour and can only be done once per day.
I made the kodama progress like an AC-3 so that'll be the go to at later levels, switching out to the other guys situationaly.
The more powerful kami are only allies since it'd be way too powerful to have a companion with time stop as a SLA but this makes it easier for the kami druid to use his call kami ability on them.
The ward is now a neat fluff device for snagging new kami. (gotta catch 'em all!) The bonus is still useful, but again, not so much that you never want to leave. At higher levels you could teleport to ward, do stuff quickly with a +2 bonus, then 'port back. (the ward bonus and the fukujin's aura stack) Removed the negative level penalty since it's hard to completely destroy a patch of land and that's a harsh thing to happen if you're away and have no control over it.
All this looked to be quite strong (especially if you get boon companion for your Kodama) so I tried to balance it by taking away a spell slot.
Wow, first time visiting this forum in over a year and just happens someone necroed one of my threads. Giving me warm fuzzies over here.