Forester
- Race: Any.
- Sex: Both.
The natural world is chaotic & disordered. Nature is the enemy of civilization. Men are born into a world that wishes them dead. Were it the choice of nature, the mortal tribes would struggle under flesh, sinew, & bone.
It is not mere metal alone that broke the back of Gaia; it was the will of men that forged iron into the axe. And It was the foresters who took that axe & swung it against the oak & ash.
A Forester is a controlling magician. He is stewed in zen silence. He orders gardens of rock & tree into tightly-bound aesthetic spiral patterns. He sees the world & wishes to make it like those places. Foresters are beloved by the Commons & hated by the wild. There was never an animal that didn’t recognize that bold & arrogant flesh.
Tradition Feature
- Forester: You defy & conquer nature. Your world is that of flesh & flora groomed to mortal will. You love order, quiet, aesthetics, calming & management; you despise chaos, competition, unordered change, extremes (especially in temperature) & decay.
- While in a managed garden or direct sunlight, your SD cannot be exhausted. You know what any kind of plant needs to live by touching it.
- Non-domesticated animals do not trust you & when they’re hostile, they always preferentially attack you over other options. Tame animals (i.e. circus tigers) are not domesticated.
Backgrounds
| 1d6 | I was (a)… |
|---|---|
| 1 | Orchardist, but my trees were cut down for (1d6: 1–2 siege engines / 3–4 starving soldiers’ firewood / 5–6 a lord’s new road) |
| 2 | Vengeful farmer, ruined by boars |
| 3 | Grain spirit negotiator (until the war saw the fields burned) |
| 4 | River-tender managing a watermill & the river’s irritable spirit |
| 5 | Mauled half to death by (1d6: 1–2 wolves / 3–4 a boar / 5–6 husband/wife) |
| 6 | Serial wildfire arsonist |
Spells
- Natural Ward: Create up to [Dice] sigils on target doors or floors. As preparation, they must each be touched within an hour of each other before this spell is cast. The sigils last [Dice] × [Dice] days. Unthinking living creatures who approach within eyesight or 10’ of a sigil are silently compelled to leave the area.
- Calm: Touched enraged, wild, or upset target must Save or become calm, rational, & orderly for [Sum] Rounds. This will stop a wild animal or briefly calm a river … or make a soldier clear-headed & immune to Panic.
- Explosive Growth: Up to [Dice] plants within 30’ increase in dimensions [Dice] times over. Crops produce [Dice] times their normal harvest. Plant-based entities heal [Sum] HP.
- Snip: Up to [Dice] target objects within 60’ are abruptly snipped as if by a pair of invisible steel hedge shears. Living victims take [Sum] Physical Damage. Target may also be trimmed (as in a topiary, beard, etc.) instead.
- Shape Stone: Target monolithic (singular) stone within 60’ is shaped according to your desires. You may shape up to [Sum] × [Dice] 5-foot cubes, or deal [Sum] × [Dice] Damage to a single solid stone-based entity.
- Read Plants: You may speak to a plant & ask it [Dice] questions. Plants answer as single-word emotions. Plants only know about things that happened around them, or whatever matters to their direct livelihood — soil fertility, acidity, contaminants & the like.
- Summon Fireflies: Summon up to [Dice] swarms of fireflies. Each swarm dimly illuminates a 10’ radius around themselves & may be steered/directed by you. The fireflies vanish in [Sum] hours.
- The Blood Drawn by Iron: Up to [Sum] targeted creatures take an additional [Dice] Physical Damage from all metal weapons for [Dice] hours.
- Sleep: Up to [Sum] HD worth of characters within 60’ must Save or fall into a deep slumber for [Dice] hours. They can’t be awoken by anything less vigorous than a slap. Unaware or unalert targets do not get a Save. If your [Sum] exceeds the combined HP of all targets, the spell’s duration sans interruption is permanent & the victim no longer needs to eat or drink.
- Cure Rot: Target rot or fungus within 5’ of your touch is obliterated. Rotting food becomes edible (if stale). Cures some diseases & deals [Sum] × [Dice] Damage to fungal or mold-based entities. Doesn’t stabilize rotted structures or otherwise repair decay.
- Rain: Shifts the weather within a [Dice]-mile radius for up to [Sum] × [Dice] hours. For each SD invested, shift the intensity one step in either direction: Clear ⋄ Cloudy ⋄ Drizzle ⋄ Rainstorm ⋄ Thunderstorm ⋄ Hurricane.
- Wake Trees: Up to [Dice] × [Dice] trees, large bushes, or similar foliage unroot themselves for up to [Sum] Rounds as Living Trees or Angry Bushes. You may have them march to a designated location, whereupon they re-root. Alternatively, you may have them fight for you. At 4+ SD, they will march or fight for as long as you can maintain concentration.