Awakened Tree Druid Character? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Awakened Tree Druid Character? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
PaladinKD
10-13-04, 11:57 AM I'm working with a player on making a Awakened Tree Druid to join a party of 9th level characters. Any thoughts on level adjustment or how to proceed?

One thought was a modified Wild Shape to allow a humanoid form.

There have been many more thoughts, but I'm looking for outside opinions on how to proceed.

Thanks in advance.
Phrennzy
10-13-04, 12:30 PM What about a treant?

The MM shows it as having a +5 level adjustment.
The trees a treant animates fight like treants, so I would assume that an awakened tree would pretty much be a treant.

I wouldn't let him be human, but maybe some sort of forest dwelling creature like a satyr or fey or somesuch.
Tegemea
10-13-04, 12:42 PM IMC, i've got a PC, a 9th lvl druid, who saw the woodling template from the MMIII and really wants to add it to his character. Its a +3 LA template that basically gives you a hybrid tree-plant-base creature form.

If you think your player would be happy with that, it might solve a lot of the issues, since he could still have 6 levels of druid, and stay even with the rest of the 9th lvl party.

I would make the PC use spells or an item to disguise to a humanoid form when necessary, instead of altering the wild shape ability. Blending in, or just plain getting along in a humanoid area, is part of the load a player takes on when they decide to play something less standard.
PaladinKD
10-13-04, 12:45 PM What about a treant?

The MM shows it as having a +5 level adjustment.
The trees a treant animates fight like treants, so I would assume that an awakened tree would pretty much be a treant.

I wouldn't let him be human, but maybe some sort of forest dwelling creature like a satyr or fey or somesuch.

My first thoughts were along the same line, but the Awaken spell says differently. That 29 strength and all those abilities seem a bit much when compared to a Huge Animated Object (which is what the spell says.) An awakened tree can't animate other trees, ect.

Let's assume for the moment that we're using the awaken spell as a basis for this character as opposed to the treant.

Thanks for the input.
PaladinKD
10-13-04, 12:49 PM IMC, i've got a PC, a 9th lvl druid, who saw the woodling template from the MMIII and really wants to add it to his character. Its a +3 LA template that basically gives you a hybrid tree-plant-base creature form.

You had to suggest a very good reason for spending more money! :) That might be a good solution. I'll have to peruse the template at my local book store.

Thanks.
Tegemea
10-13-04, 12:55 PM yay for perusing!
i haven't bought it yet, either.
Conaill
10-13-04, 07:23 PM I would recommend not to go with the Awakened tree route if you have any other options. It just gets *way* too messy.

I had a thread about this a few weeks ago, but it might have gotten lost in the transition to the new boards. I've been maintaining the Awakened Animals thread (see sig), but it turns out awakened trees are even more complicated to adjudicate...

For one, what exactly does it mean, that the "awakened tree has characteristics as if it were an animated object, except that it gains the plant type". Rules-wise, the obvious interpretation is that it loses the features and traits of the Construct type, gains those of the Plant type, and keeps all other characteristics not explicitly changed by the spell. So not only does the HD drop from d10 (for animated object) to d8, but it also loses the Bonus Hit Points constructs normally get (40 hp for a Huge tree), *and* it doesn't get a Con score because the animated object doesn't have one to begin with.

Huge Animated Object: 8d10+40 (84 hp)
Huge Awakened Tree: 8d8 (36 hp)
Treant: 7d8+35 (66 hp)

Secondly, the underlying Animated Object creature description is vague regarding exactly which Special Abilities the awakened tree would get. "An animated object can have one or more of the following special abilities, depending on its form. Blind (Ex), Constrict (Ex), Hardness (Ex), Improved Speed (Ex), Trample (Ex)" Hardness 5 would be an obvious one. (Note that the awakend tree won't be able to Trample, because that has a requirement of Hardness 10.) Blind or Constrict would depend on the tree's shape (large or abundant leaves for Blind, vines or creepers for Constrict). Either way, you'd have to decide in advance exactly which abilities apply before you can proceed...

Lastly, the Awaken spell doesn't provide any guidelines for Level Adjustment. The LA will *not* be +0 for a creature with Str 20 and 15' Reach! So once you've decided on which special abilities to allow, you'd have to estimate it's LA (far from easy, trust me!), do an "acid test" (probably comparing a Awakened Tree Ftr1 against a human Fighter 10-11 or so), and hope your estimate is in the right ballpark.

Mind you, it's *feasible* to do all this. But you may want to save yourself the trouble and go with an existing template, if there is one you like...

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
PaladinKD 10-13-04, 11:57 AM	I'm working with a player on making a Awakened Tree Druid to join a party of 9th level characters. Any thoughts on level adjustment or how to proceed? One thought was a modified Wild Shape to allow a humanoid form. There have been many more thoughts, but I'm looking for outside opinions on how to proceed. Thanks in advance.
Phrennzy 10-13-04, 12:30 PM	What about a treant? The MM shows it as having a +5 level adjustment. The trees a treant animates fight like treants, so I would assume that an awakened tree would pretty much be a treant. I wouldn't let him be human, but maybe some sort of forest dwelling creature like a satyr or fey or somesuch.
Tegemea 10-13-04, 12:42 PM	IMC, i've got a PC, a 9th lvl druid, who saw the woodling template from the MMIII and really wants to add it to his character. Its a +3 LA template that basically gives you a hybrid tree-plant-base creature form. If you think your player would be happy with that, it might solve a lot of the issues, since he could still have 6 levels of druid, and stay even with the rest of the 9th lvl party. I would make the PC use spells or an item to disguise to a humanoid form when necessary, instead of altering the wild shape ability. Blending in, or just plain getting along in a humanoid area, is part of the load a player takes on when they decide to play something less standard.
PaladinKD 10-13-04, 12:45 PM	What about a treant? The MM shows it as having a +5 level adjustment. The trees a treant animates fight like treants, so I would assume that an awakened tree would pretty much be a treant. I wouldn't let him be human, but maybe some sort of forest dwelling creature like a satyr or fey or somesuch. My first thoughts were along the same line, but the Awaken spell says differently. That 29 strength and all those abilities seem a bit much when compared to a Huge Animated Object (which is what the spell says.) An awakened tree can't animate other trees, ect. Let's assume for the moment that we're using the awaken spell as a basis for this character as opposed to the treant. Thanks for the input.
PaladinKD 10-13-04, 12:49 PM	IMC, i've got a PC, a 9th lvl druid, who saw the woodling template from the MMIII and really wants to add it to his character. Its a +3 LA template that basically gives you a hybrid tree-plant-base creature form. You had to suggest a very good reason for spending more money! :) That might be a good solution. I'll have to peruse the template at my local book store. Thanks.
Tegemea 10-13-04, 12:55 PM	yay for perusing! i haven't bought it yet, either.
Conaill 10-13-04, 07:23 PM	I would recommend not to go with the Awakened tree route if you have any other options. It just gets way too messy. I had a thread about this a few weeks ago, but it might have gotten lost in the transition to the new boards. I've been maintaining the Awakened Animals thread (see sig), but it turns out awakened trees are even more complicated to adjudicate... For one, what exactly does it mean, that the "awakened tree has characteristics as if it were an animated object, except that it gains the plant type". Rules-wise, the obvious interpretation is that it loses the features and traits of the Construct type, gains those of the Plant type, and keeps all other characteristics not explicitly changed by the spell. So not only does the HD drop from d10 (for animated object) to d8, but it also loses the Bonus Hit Points constructs normally get (40 hp for a Huge tree), and it doesn't get a Con score because the animated object doesn't have one to begin with. Huge Animated Object: 8d10+40 (84 hp) Huge Awakened Tree: 8d8 (36 hp) Treant: 7d8+35 (66 hp) Secondly, the underlying Animated Object creature description is vague regarding exactly which Special Abilities the awakened tree would get. "An animated object can have one or more of the following special abilities, depending on its form. Blind (Ex), Constrict (Ex), Hardness (Ex), Improved Speed (Ex), Trample (Ex)" Hardness 5 would be an obvious one. (Note that the awakend tree won't be able to Trample, because that has a requirement of Hardness 10.) Blind or Constrict would depend on the tree's shape (large or abundant leaves for Blind, vines or creepers for Constrict). Either way, you'd have to decide in advance exactly which abilities apply before you can proceed... Lastly, the Awaken spell doesn't provide any guidelines for Level Adjustment. The LA will not be +0 for a creature with Str 20 and 15' Reach! So once you've decided on which special abilities to allow, you'd have to estimate it's LA (far from easy, trust me!), do an "acid test" (probably comparing a Awakened Tree Ftr1 against a human Fighter 10-11 or so), and hope your estimate is in the right ballpark. Mind you, it's feasible to do all this. But you may want to save yourself the trouble and go with an existing template, if there is one you like...