Grove Warden

Overview & Creation

The fetid swamps of Emer were once home to indigenous people who worshipped the land as a god. Emer's natural prosperity was the child of tribal unity and religious ritual. The Grove Wardens were formed in response to outside invaders seeking to corrupt this pure balance. The Wardens preserve the balance of nature through unrestrained ferocity and strict religious natural rituals. This begins with regimented training and evolves into oneness with the natural world. Powerful grove wardens can bring forth a spirit to inhabit a tree whilst embodying the traits of animals they venerate.   Grove Wardens are considered Druid and/or Ranger for purposes of attuning to magic items!

Class Features

1st Level Features: Nature’s Bounty: You add your Dex + Wis when determining armor class while not wearing armor. You gain +1 hp per level on top of your normal hit die.   Natural Explorer: As the revised ranger subclass from UA https://media.wizards.com/2016/dnd/downloads/UA_RevisedRanger.pdf   You are a master of navigating the natural world, and you react with swift and decisive action when attacked. This grants you the following benefits while within a forest or plains. • You ignore difficult terrain. • You have advantage on initiative rolls. • On your first turn during combat, you have advantage on attack rolls against creatures that have not yet acted. In addition, you are skilled at navigating the wilderness. You gain the following benefits when traveling for an hour or more: • Difficult terrain doesn’t slow your group’s travel. • Your group can’t become lost except by magical means. • Even when you are engaged in another activity while traveling (such as foraging, navigating, or tracking), you remain alert to danger. • If you are traveling alone, you can move stealthily at a normal pace. • When you forage, you find twice as much food as you normally would. • While tracking other creatures, you also learn their exact number, their sizes, and how long ago they passed through the area.   2nd Level Features: Primal Knowledge You gain proficiency in the nature skill and if you already have the nature skill you gain expertise in the nature skill. You gain the ability to cast the spell speak with animals once per long rest. At level 5, you gain the ability cast the spell speak with plants once per long rest   Natural Connection You gain the ability to cast entangle once per long rest At 6th Level, the spell entangle no longer requires concentration   Spellcasting You gain druid cantrips as per the druid cantrip table found in the phb.   3rd Level Features:   Ritual of Awakening   As part of learning this ritual you acquire sylvan as a language. After several days of prayer and meditation you have gained the service of an Awakened Tree (Modified) which will develop as you level.. It’s hit die is d8 its attack damage is 2d6..   Your plant companion has abilities and game statistics determined in part by your level. Your companion uses your proficiency bonus rather than its own. In addition to the areas where it normally uses it’s proficiency bonus, your companion also adds it’s proficiency bonus to its AC. It also becomes proficient with three saving throws of your choice.   For every level after 3rd your awakened tree gains an additional hit die and increases its hit points accordingly. The hit die for the awakened tree is d8 The Awakened Tree’s hit die increases to d10 at 10th Level and becomes huge (Attack Damage 3d6) This Awakened Tree’s hit die increases to d12 at 15th level and the Tree becomes Gargantuan (Attack Damage becomes 4d6) Everytime you gain an ability score improvement your awakened tree receives a +1 to an ability score and a trait from the following list..   The tree needs fertile ground to regain hit points and must spend 8 hours resting to regain hit points   If your tree dies you may repeat the ritual to regain your companion.   ASI Features for Your Tree: The first iteration of the feature needs to be obtained before the advanced feature can be obtained!   Ironbark: Your awakened tree has developed an iron hardened bark from your natural bond. Your awakened tree gains resistance to fire in place of its vulnerability and +1 to it’s AC.   Nimble Limbs: Your awakened tree has become more advanced in the ways of movement. +10 to it’s speed and it gains proficiency in acrobatics.   Needle Spines: Your Awakened tree has developed spiny ridges along it’s bark it gains the ability to throw spines at creatures within 30 feet.. Make a ranged attack roll against the target’s AC. 2d6+Str (Increases with size 3d6 at huge 4d6 at gargantuan) This feature benefits from wrath of the forest   Vine-like Tendrils: Your awakened tree has developed vine-like tendrils that can choke out nearby creatures Your awakened tree gains proficiency in the athletics skill and can grapple creatures.. While a creature is grappled this way your tree cannot take actions and the creature grappled is restrained.     Advanced Ironbark: Your Awakened tree has developed a bark almost as hard as mithral Your awakened tree gains resistance to slashing damage, necrotic, and one elemental damage type of your choice.     Advanced Nimble Limbs: Your awakened tree has mastered the art of movement. Your awakened tree gains an additional +10 to movement speed and advantage on dexterity saving throws.   Advanced Needle Spines: Your awakened tree has developed even sharper spines along its bark. The ranged damage becomes 2d8+str (Increases with size 3d8 huge 4d8 Gargantuan) Also any creature that attacks your awakened tree in combat with a melee weapon takes 3 piercing damage from the sharp bark     Advanced Vine-like Tendrils: The Awakened tree can now act and move normally while grappling allowing a minimum of one attack per turn and when moving the creature that is grappled moves with the tree. The tree gains expertise in athletics.   5th Level Features:   Blessing of the Fae: Your awakened tree can cast faerie fire once per short rest. At 7th Level, your awakened tree may cast Spike Growth once per Long rest At 9th Level, your awakened tree may cast Plant Growth once per day At 12th Level, your awakened tree may cast Enlarge/Reduce at will. The spell save DC is based on your own save DC:   Extra Attack You gain an additional Extra Attack at 11th Level   Natural Gateway Your connection to nature grants you the ability to cast druidic magic but it has limitations. You may use this feature once per long rest. This increases to twice per long rest at 11th level, and thrice per long rest at 15th level When you acquire this feature at 5th level you gain the ability to cast conjure animals. At 7th Level, you gain the ability to cast conjure woodland beings and all spells gained through this feature can be cast at 4th Level. At 9th Level, you gain the ability to cast conjure elementals and all spells gained through this feature can be cast at 5th level. At 11th Level, you gain the ability to use this feature twice, cast conjure fey, and all spells gained through this feature can be cast at 6th level. At 13th Level,you gain the ability to cast all spells gained through this feature at 7th level. At 15th Level, you gain the ability to use this feature thrice per long rest, cast Animal Shapes, and all spells gained through this feature can be cast at 8th Level. At 17th Level, you gain the ability to cast Shapechange and all spells gained through this feature can be cast at 9th Level.   10th Level   Wrath of the Forest: Your awakened tree now adds 1 ½ your proficiency bonus to its damage rolls and gains multi-attack allowing it to attack twice in a turn.   14th Level     Nature’s Boon: You become immune to poison,disease, and age at 1/10th the normal rate.   20th Level Primal Sanctuary: You gain an additional cantrip Your dex and wisdom scores increase by 2 and the maximum of those scores increases by 2.. While within uncivilized lands you gain a +2 bonus on attack rolls. In addition you may take one additional animal in each primal savagery category.    
 

Starting Equipment

• (a) A Quarterstaff or (b) any simple melee weapon
• (a) A Dungeoneer's Pack or (b) an Explorer's Pack
• Herbalism Kit

Spellcasting

Grove Wardens gain a limited amount of spells and cantrips from inherent class features beginning at level two. They gain cantrips similar to how a druid does and they may choose two druid cantrips at level one.

Subclass Options

Grove Wardens do not have a subclass instead they select different animals to venerate each time they receive a tier of Primal Savagery (Disclaimer: This class was designed and shared before the publication of Xanathar's Guide to Everything and this feature is separate from the cantrip. But if it's a problem with the publisher they may contact me as necessary at [email protected]) Now onto the SAVAGERY!   6th Level Primal Savagery You gain proficiency with unarmed attacks as well as a 1d6 with unarmed strikes you make. You develop claws similar to that of a panther or wolf. Your unarmed strikes deal slashing damage. Both unarmed strikes benefit from your dex or str mod. You may attack with your off-hand claws as a bonus action this isn't considered dual wielding and adds your dex or str mod to damage. Choose one of the three beasts below you gain one of their traits.   Panther: You gain the ability to pounce on a target knocking it prone if it fails a strength save(spell dc) you must move 20 feet before making this attack. You must hit with a savagery attack for this effect to take place.. If you knock it prone you can make an additional attack against it this turn.   Wolf: You and your Awakened tree get a +2 to attack and damage rolls while within 5 feet of an ally that isn’t incapacitated.   Rhino: You gain resistance to one elemental damage type and one physical damage type. 9th Level Primal Savagery II Your primal savagery damage die is now 1d8 and your attacks are now considered magical.   Choose one of the three beasts below you gain one of their traits   Monkey You gain a climb speed equal to your speed and can jump twice your normal capacity.   Crocodile You can hold your breath underwater indefinitely and gain a swim speed equal to your speed.   Horse You gain +10 to movement speed and can dash as a bonus action once per short rest.   12th Level Primal Savagery III Your Primal Savagery die is now 1d10. Choose one of the three beasts below you gain one of their traits.   Mole Tremorsense up to 30ft and a burrow speed of 10ft (not through solid rock) Boar When you charge 20ft or more in a straight line before attacking you roll twice as much primal savagery dies on that attack.. (1d10 becomes 2d10, 2d6 becomes 4d6 ) Armadillo You gain a +2 bonus to AC while not wearing armor.   15th level Primal Savagery IV Your primal savagery attacks pierce through all resistances involving slashing damage. Your primal savagery die is now 1d12 Choose one of the three beasts below you gain one of their traits.   Eagle You gain a fly speed equal to your movement speed as massive eagle wings sprout from behind your shoulder blades Falcon You gain the ability to see 5x the normal range of your race in clear conditions and 2x in darkness or similar obscurities. You gain advantage on perception and investigation rolls involving sight. As well as proficiency in the skills listed if not already obtained.   Elephant You count as one size category larger for determining lifting and carrying. You also gain proficiency in constitution saving throws.   18th Level   Primal Savagery V Your primal savagery die is now 2d6. Choose one of the creatures below you gain one of their traits   Poisonous Snake You gain the ability to hide as a bonus action while within favored terrains, advantage on checks made to grapple opponents, as well as +1d4 poison damage on primal savagery dies.   Winter Wolf You gain resistance to cold damage and +1d4 cold damage on primal savagery dies.   Fire Beetle You gain resistance to fire damage and +1d4 fire damage on primal savagery dies.   Ram You gain resistance to bludgeoning damage and gain the slow fall monk feature. Giant Lizard You gain the ability to walk on walls as part of your movement and +10 movement speed. +1d4 slashing damage on primal savagery dies. Turtle You gain a swim speed equal to your movement speed +20. +1d4 force damage on primal savagery dies