Hack Sun: Athasian Druids

 Athasian Druids tie themselves to a specific Spirit of the Land, representing a small part of Athas itself. What part they tie themselves to varies, but their "guarded lands" are the center of their power; most often, it will center on a particular feature, and be approximately twenty-five to one hundred square miles; some will have larger guarded lands, but the rare few with smaller lands will be a specific, unique, feature. Multiple druids may be devoted to a single Spirit of the Land, but the guarded lands in that case will be larger; many druids serve the Spirit of Troll Grave Chasm, though there may be druids who guard only smaller places within the Chasm, and serve different Spirits; the precise mechanism by which Spirits of the Land function and the lands are divided is opaque to mortals.

Druid Magic

Tied as they are to a Spirit of the Land, Druids function as shamans, with some modifications. Their spell list is that of the Assembly of the Four Corners, but at 6th level, they may choose two elements from which to draw their spells, related to the elements of their guarded land. One element is primary, and will involve spells of up to 20th level. The other is secondary, and will involve spells of up to 10th level. Once this choice is made, it cannot be changed, and will somewhat define how the druid approaches their Spirit of the Land; two druids, each guarding a different canyon, may both have Earth and Air, but one who sees Earth as primary will have a different outlook than one who sees Air as primary.

As shamans with a single spirit, druids must make sacrifices to that spirit; unlike other shamans, this sacrifice must be in time. They must spend their level, squared, times ten, in minutes, on their guarded lands, serving the Spirit of these lands (so time spent doing other activities might not count, and sleeping never does) for every 30 days. If they receive two elements after level five, they must also do so for the second element, though with a maximum level of ten. As they rise in level, their time on their guarded lands increases, till they are practically unable to leave it; a 20th level druid with two elements must spend 20*20*10 + 10*10*10, or 5000 minutes serving the Spirit of the Land, per month. Failure to serve their guarded lands will result in the severing of ties, and thus the removal of their powers, though a druid may be able to plead extreme circumstances, which the spirit might grant, at their choosing. As these times increase, druids spend less and less time away from their guarded lands; a fickle druid is unlikely to receive dispensations.

Druids may engage in supplemental rituals, often to appease a spirit they have offended. While standard devotion is exclusively paid in time, these rituals must be paid in a combination of minutes of prayer, ceramic pieces worth of sacrifice (including such things such as meals prepared and objects of art destroyed), or hit points blood spilled (the druid's or another's, but it must be spilled in ritual sacrifice, not simply "I stabbed a man in a fight"). These rituals are often used to appease the spirit after heavy magic use, but also in case of a bad results on a spellcasting test.

When casting a spell, a druid chooses from those available, and requests the power from the Spirit of the Land; the spirit might choose to withhold its powers. Each request is a Reaction Test, per pages 65-67 of the GMG, with the druid rolling d20p+modifiers, and the spirit rolling d20p+level of the power in return. If the total of the druid's roll - spirit's roll is -2 or higher, the power is granted without problem; higher or lower totals get progressively better or worse for the druid.

Reaction Test Modifiers

Honor, Charisma, and Fame: As per the GMG. Looks does not matter to the spirit.
Etiquette/Manners: A druid is considered to know the ways of their spirit, and so gains a +1 to all reactions from their spirit.
Level of Experience: A druid gains a +1 to all reactions at level 1, and an additional +1 at levels 5, 10, 15, and 20.
Fetishes: A druid often constructs a fetish, a non-magical object that is nonetheless sacred to their spirit of the land. This provides an additional +1 to reaction tests. Not all druids know how to craft a fetish, however, and the item may be stolen or broken. A druid may only have one fetish at a time; the loss or destruction of one requires them to make another; they can't have spares.
Distance: Within a sixteen days of travel from the guarded lands, there is no modifier. Further than that, the druid subtracts one for every five days of travel away from their guarded lands. On the guarded lands themselves, there is a +1 bonus.
Favor Count: The favor count is applied as a penalty to the druid's reaction test. Each spell granted, regardless of level, increases the favor count by 2. Each spell denied reduces the favor count by 1, and the favor count reduces by 1 each day. A druid may engage in rituals to more rapidly decrease the count (qv). If the druid seeks to reduce the favor count faster, the cost is equal to the current favor count squared. Each such ritual reduces the favor count by 1, or by 2 if it takes place on the guarded lands. The druid may continue to engage in rituals to bring the favor count down further.
Insufficient Devotion: A druid who fails in their basic duties (level squared times ten minutes of service per month) receives a -1, cumulative, to all reaction tests; at two months, the penalty becomes -3, then -6, then -10, and so on, until it maxes out at -45 after nine months; note that powers become practically impossible long before then. A druid may reduce this penalty through additional rituals, on top of the regular monthly devotion, with each point of decrease requiring the current penalty SQUARED. Reducing a -45 to -44 requires more than two thousand ritual points; time, sacrifices, and blood. A wise druid does not let it reach that point. Note that spirits don't give credit; you can't spend extra time in devotion to make up for an absence you WILL take, only for ones you have.

Reaction Roll Results

-18 or worse: A truly disastrous interaction. The spirit does not grant the spell requested, and will not grant that spell for 125 days (a full cycle of Guthay). Future rolls are at -10 until the druid makes amends. Each point requires rituals equal to the current penalty squared, and only one such ritual can be performed a day. When the penalty is gone, the spirit will also relent and grant the spell again.

-17 to -13: The spirit does not grant the spell requested. That spell will be withheld for thirty-three days (a full cycle of Ral), or until the -5 penalty is removed through rituals.

-12 to -8: The spirit does not grant the spell requested, and will not for the rest of the day. The penalty is -3, and can be removed though rituals as above.

-7 to -3: The spirit does grant the spell, but there will be an ongoing penalty of -1 until amends are made.

-2 to +2: The spell is granted without bonus or malus.

+3 to +7: The spell is granted, and shaman gains +1 to tests for the rest of the day.

+8 to +12: The spell is granted, the shaman receives a +1 to tests for the rest of the day, and the favor count only goes up 1 point, instead of 2.

+13 to +17: The spell is granted, and the druid receives a +3 to tests for thirty-three days, and the favor count does not increase.

+18 or more: The spell is granted without increasing the favor count, and the druid receives a +5 to tests for the spirit for the next thirty-three days.

Druid Powers

In addition to their spell abilities, druids gain some other powers on their guarded lands.

*At 3rd level, they gain the effect of "Hide In Natural Surroundings", as an elf or halfling, while on their guarded lands (there is no additional bonus if they already have that effect). If they remain completely still and silent (no spellcasting), they cannot be detected, save by magic. While on their guarded lands, they have the Improved Awareness talent.

*At 7th level, a Druid no longer needs to eat or drink while on their guarded lands; they will not dehydrate nor starve while they stay on their lands, and are considered fully watered and fed should they step off them (though they then need to eat and drink, or return to their lands). While on guarded lands, they have the Fast Healer talent, if they don't have it otherwise.

*At 10th level, a druid may turn into animals native to their guarded lands. This functions as Priest of the Patient Arrow, but without restriction to order of the beast; at 10th level, they may become tiny or small creatures, be they bird, mammal, reptile, insect, or some other category. At 14th level, they can become medium creatures, and large creatures at 18. Such creatures must be "natural", though the definition of that on Athas is somewhat fuzzy; they must be native to the guarded lands, non-sophonts (so no elves or jozhal), without magic powers, though they might have psionics. The druid does not gain the psionic powers, however. While on their guarded lands, druids have the Resolute talent.

The Druid Class

Druids must be True Neutral; their concern is not Good or Evil, Law or Chaos, but their guarded lands. A high Charisma is very useful to them, as it will help with their spellcasting.

Druids may learn any weapon or armor they choose, at the normal costs, but do not begin with proficiency in any. Specialization begins at 8 BP per category, per level. Armor does not impede their magic, though it will impede their shapeshifting.

Druids are proficient in Glersee; it is, indeed, a druidic language that others have adopted and modified. They begin with three purchases of Survival for their guarded lands and similar terrain. They gain their Wisdom bonus in additional mastery of survival each level.
Suggested skills for druids include Animal Empathy, Animal Husbandry, Animal Mimicry, Animal Training, Botany, Direction Sense, Geology, Hiding, Listening, Monster Lore, Observation, Sneaking, Tracking, and Weather Sense. Most will learn some sort of artistic, musical, and craft skill as part of their devotions; these become both part of any rituals or sacrifices they engage in, and possibly creating their own fetishes. Druids do not need Spirit Lore (they know the only spirit they need), but many study it. When learning these skills, they receive a 1 BP discount (minimum of 1).

 

Level	Hit Die (d8)	Attack Bonus	Initiative	Spirit Reaction Modifier
1	1		+1	+1
2	1+rr		+1	+1
3	2	+1	+1	+1
4	2+rr	+1	+1	+1
5	3	+1	+1	+1
6	3+rr	+2		+2
7	4	+2		+2
8	4+rr	+2		+2
9	5	+3		+2
10	5+rr	+3		+2
11	6	+3		+3
12	6+rr	+4	-1	+3
13	7	+4	-1	+3
14	7+rr	+4	-1	+3
15	8	+5	-1	+3
16	8+rr	+5	-1	+4
17	9	+5	-1	+4
18	9+rr	+6	-1	+4
19	10	+6	-2	+4
20	10+rr	+6	-2	+4

 

Druidic Fetishmaker (3 BP)
Prerequisites: Average or greater craft skill, anointed or invested to a spirit of the land.
Druids, like other shamans, may make fetishes to more closely align their powers with the spirit of the land. However, this ability is more limited, as it only allows the person to make a fetish for a single spirit of the land. These require a total of 20 ceramic and days to make, but always at least one of each; a fetish can be made in one day with 19cp of materials, or in 19 days with a single ceramic worth of materials.
Possessing a Fetish adds +1 to reaction checks with the spirit of the land.