Druid

by T. Jordan "Greywolf" Peacock
First Posted 20 AUG 1995

The following is a home-made profession for _Warhammer Quest_ created by myself as the first in a line of wizardly types based upon the various Color Colleges presented in _Advanced HeroQuest_ and hinted at in _Talisman_.  This profession is largely like the regular Wizard, though he has a slightly altered spell selection, and some special skills (and restrictions).  The same can be said of the other spellcaster professions I intend to define in future articles.

    This profession has undergone several revisions through playtesting, and I hope that the latest version is sufficiently playtested to ensure that it will be, while significantly different, well-balanced in relation to other Warrior types.

-*- THE DRUID -*-

Deep in the forests of the Old World, there are practitioners of an ancient school of magic that concerns itself with the raw forces of life and death, and with the cycles of nature.  They are known as members of the Jade College, and as the Druids.

While they are most at home in the woodlands, wearing no shoes so that their feet may stay in contact with the life-bearing earth, there are some who may respond to the ever-present threat of Chaos by taking up adventuring.  The Druid is one such Warrior, foregoing more extended training in his field of
magic in order to delve into the dangers of the dungeons and other places where monsters may lurk.
    Druids are most certainly out of their element in the rocky depths of the dungeons, but their proficiency with herbs is welcomed by any party of adventurers.

-*- DRUID STATISTICS -*-

The Druid has statistics identical to those of the Wizard, both initially and at subsequent Battle-Levels.  Instead of receiving the Hand of Death Scroll, the Druid starts with a Healing Salve.

-*- HEALING SALVE -*-

This container holds a healing salve that can heal one Warrior adjacent to the bearer (or the bearer himself) at any time once per turn.  When used, it restores 1D6 Wounds, up to maximum.  Roll 1D6 after each use.  On a roll of 1, the salve has been used up, and is now useless.

-*- ADDITIONAL RULES -*-

FOREST-WALKER

The Druid is able to move quickly through forested areas, thanks to his familiarity with the ways of nature, and also to his magical abilities.  He may reduce the journey time to any Settlement by one week.  (This is not cumulative if you also have an Elf in the party with Forest-Walker, another Druid, or so forth.)

If you are using the house rules concerning outdoors games, the Druid does not suffer the usual movement penalty for moving through wooded areas. Furthermore, he gains a +1 to his Power roll per turn while he is in a forested area.

HERBLORE

Once per turn, the Druid may attempt to make a salve out of herbs to use in an attempt to heal wounds on himself or a wounded companion.  When using this skill, roll 1D6 on the following table.

1

The reacted Warrior reacts badly to the salve and takes another 1D6 Wounds (with no modifier for Toughness or Armor).

2-3

Nothing happens.

4-5

The salve works, and the wounded Warrior regains 1D6 Wounds.

6

The treatment is even better than expected and the wounded Warrior regains 2D6 Wounds.

EQUIPMENT

The Druid may use any equipment or magical items usable by the Wizard, with a few exceptions.  Druids go barefoot or only wear sandals, so they may not use


boots (including magical items such as Boots of Swiftness).  They also will not utilize gunpowder, so they may not use anything from the Gunsmith's shop.  If any Treasure Cards are found which contain new spells (such as a Finger of Doom scroll) listed as usable by the Wizard, the Druid cannot utilize them, as they are outside of his area of expertise.

DRUIDS AND SETTLEMENTS

The Druid is largely treated as the Wizard when visiting a Settlement, except that he may not visit the Wizards' Guild, as he does not consort with generalized spellcasters, nor with the other spell colleges.

THE SACRED CIRCLE

A Special Location available to any Druid /outside/ a Settlement is the Sacred Circle -- a place marked by a circle of stones where members of the Jade College may congregate to perform their various rituals.  If the Druid wishes to participate in a ritual, he must spend 50 gold in special preparations and materials, and may roll on the following chart.

Roll

Result

1

While the Druid is able to commune with nature once more after spending so long in the dreariness of the dungeon, he gains no practical benefits that will aid him or his comrades in his next quest.

2

The Druid may expect beautiful weather during his next journey to a Settlement.  All Hazards involving storms, lightning, tornados, earthquakes, plagues, rock slides, or other hazards of nature may be ignored and treated as an Uneventful Week.

3

The Druid may automatically dispel a single spell cast by an enemy during the upcoming adventure.

4

During a single turn in the upcoming adventure when a 1 is rolled for power (indicating an Event), the Druid may re-roll his power, and add his Battle-Level to the result (even if another 1 is rolled).  The Event is still encountered normally.

5

A single blow of your choice during the upcoming adventure is deflected, so that the damage caused by it may be ignored.

6

The Druid gains one of the preceding benefits of his choice.

INITIAL SPELL SELECTION

The Druid only selects two spell cards initially, which may be drawn from either or both of the Healing and Defense decks.  The Druid also has the option of getting one of these spells as Life Force automatically, without having to select it randomly from the deck.  Note that with the initial selection, it is possible that he might have a spell that is not listed on his expanded spell list below (which is fine).  If Life Force is picked, this spell is treated as Casting Level 4 rather than 5.

-*- DRUID SPELL LIST -*-

As the Druid advances in skill, he selects additional spells in the same way as the Wizard, as described in the Wizards' Training section beginning on p. 50 of the Roleplay Book, except that he selects from the following list of spells.

Some of the spells on this list are identical to those available to the Wizard, though they might have different Casting Levels due to the Druid's differing specialties.  New spells added to this list are described immediately following it.

* indicates a new spell + indicates a spell with altered Casting Level or special rules

CASTING 1

    ATTACK    Bloodblade

              Sting

    DEFENSE   Coughing

              Drop

    HEALING   Create Food

              Cure Small Wounds

    SPECIAL   Open

CASTING 2

    ATTACK    Flesh Worm

              Strength

    DEFENSE   Feign Death

              Marsh Lights

              Nausea

              Slip

    HEALING   Healing Hands

    SPECIAL   Tongues

              Zone of Silence

CASTING 3

    ATTACK    Ogre Strength

    DEFENSE   The Cloak of Dainne*

    HEALING   Finger of Life

    SPECIAL   Speed

CASTING 4

    ATTACK    Acid Blast

    DEFENSE   Levitate

    HEALING   Heal Wounds

              Life Force+

    SPECIAL   Dispel Magic

              Second Sight

CASTING 5

    ATTACK    The Green Eye*

    HEALING   Lifebringer

    SPECIAL   Sleep

CASTING 6

    ATTACK    The Emerald Fountain*

    DEFENSE   Invulnerability

              Shield

    HEAL      The Jade Casket*

    SPECIAL   The Pool of Many Places*

CASTING 7

    ATTACK    Hand of Decay*

    HEALING   Bloodpulse

              Earth Blood*

    SPECIAL   Glory!

CASTING 8

    HEALING   Lifestealer+

    SPECIAL   Chorus of Valour

CASTING 9

    ATTACK    The Emerald Waterfall*

CASTING 10

    ATTACK    The Thousand Cuts*

    HEALING   Heartbeat

CASTING 11

    HEALING   Tissue of Life

CASTING 12

    SPECIAL   Transport of the Damned

 -*- SPELL NOTES -*-

CASTING 3

The Cloak of Dainne

  /A thin, insubstantial cloak of pale green light forms in the air and draws itself about the Druid./

  This spell creates a cloak of magical energy around the Druid that can absorb 1D6 Wounds.

  Target:     The Druid   Duration:   One Turn

CASTING 4

Life Force:  changed from Casting Level 5.

CASTING 5

The Green Eye:

  /The Druid's stare becomes glassy as a green fire seems to ignite within his eyes.  The two bright balls of emerald light grow brighter and larger until they merge into one and, with a loud crack and a cascade of sparks, shoot out a beam of destructive green energy./

  All models in a straight line in any direction from the Druid, up to a distance of 12 squares away, are automatically hit by this beam.  All models that are in (or partially within, in the case of large monsters) this area of effect suffer 2D6 Wounds.  Any solid obstacle (such as a wall) will stop further progress of the beam, even if it has not reached its maximum length of 12 squares.

  Target:     A 1 square wide corridor   Duration:   Immediate

CASTING 6

The Emerald Fountain:

  /The Druid raises his hands above his head, placing his palms together for a few moments.  His fingers begin to spark and a green mist begins to flow from their tips.  Upon easing his hands apart a stream of green energy flows from between them, like water from a fountain, covering his opponents and burning their flesh.  It cascades down onto the surrounding area, spitting and crackling with the discharge of vast energies./

Every model, friend or foe, within 3 squares of the Druid (not counting diagonal moves) takes 2D6 Wounds.     Target:     All within 3 squares of the Druid (not counting diagonals)   Duration:   Immediate

The Pool of Many Places:

  /A shimmering pool of emerald liquid appears before a Druid, its surface reflecting some place he has seen before, only to be replaced with the image of another as ripples spread across its surface./

  Place a two square by two square template on an open area of the floor to

  represent the Pool of Many Places, which will remain for a full turn after the Druid has cast this spell.  Any ally who moves into the space occupied by the Pool immediately disappears, only to reappear a turn later to another part of the dungeon that the Druid has already explored (his choice).  The first four models using this spell should appear within a two-by-two formation.  If any additional models have entered the pool, place them within the next ring of squares radiating outward, forming as compact a formation as possible.

  Target:     A 2 square by 2 square area within the Druid's line of sight

  Duration:   One Turn

The Jade Casket: Identical to Resurrection, p. 57.

CASTING 7

Earth Blood:

  /The Druid is absorbed into the life-giving earth, where he can recover his strength./

  This spell allows the Druid to retreat into the earth to heal from his wounds.  Remove his model from play, and roll 1D6.  He may not reappear until this many turns have passed.  (If you roll a 1, it means he doesn't appear this turn, but he will appear during the Hero Phase of the next one.  If he had cast this spell just before the end of the turn, it would mean he could come back almost immediately.)  During this period, he may do nothing.  Once this time has expired, he appears once more, anywhere on the same board section, with all his Wounds restored.  If the Druid should for whatever reason wish to remain in stasis for longer than the rolled duration, he may do so for as long as is desired, but must declare the period before/ he enters the earth, as he has no way of perceiving time (or events) once therein.

Target:     The Druid   Duration:   1D6 Turns or more

Hand of Decay:

  /The Druid's hands take on a pale green hue, and the flesh seems to rot away leaving just the pale white of his bones showing through the lumps of peeling skin./

  The Druid may not use any weapons while this spell is in effect, and only attacks with his hands.  Any successful attack against a model inflicts 1D6 Wounds per Battle-Level of the Druid, with no modifiers for anything (Toughness, armour, Ignore Pain, etc.)  However, this spell is only useful against truly living creatures -- It has no effect against the Undead or against Daemons.

  Target:     Any Monster hit by the Druid this Turn   Duration:   Immediate

CASTING 8

Lifestealer:  changed from Casting Level 9.

CASTING 9

The Emerald Waterfall:

  /The Druid throws his arms into the air, clapping his hands together three times.  As he does so, a raging torrent of green fire arcs upwards from between his palms.  It drenches the surround area, sending out bright green sparks into the air as it spits and crackles with unnatural vigour./

All models within 4 squares of the Druid (not counting diagonal moves) suffer 5D6 Wounds, whether friend or foe. 

  Target:     All models within 4 spaces of the Druid (not counting diagonals)   Duration:   Immediate

CASTING 10

The Thousand Cuts:

  /A swirling maelstrom of tiny green shards forms around the Druid's hand as he crushes the statuette.  They spin around in ever-increasing circles, gradually causing the mass of whirling blades to get bigger, until they suddenly detach themselves and hurtle towards the Druid's enemy.  They  cluster around him, stabbing and slashing his flesh as they constrict and squeeze tighter and tighter./

  A single target within the Druid's line of sight is nominated as the target, which then suffers 1D6 Wounds for each of the Druid's Battle-Levels, with no modifiers for anything (Toughness, armour, Ignore Pain, etc.).

 Target:     Any Monster on the board   Duration:   Immediate

-*- REPRESENTING YOUR WARRIOR -*-

    The Druid model from _Talisman_ would be perfect for representing this character, or else the Jade Wizard model manufactured by Citadel Miniatures. Otherwise, various miniatures companies manufacture models that would be appropriate to represent a "druid".  If nothing else, select some wizardly model and paint him in a scheme dominated by green (perhaps accented with either red or brown).

-*- ROLE-PLAYING TIPS -*-

    The Warhammer World is a stern and serious one, for the most part.  Druids here are not flower children going around saying "peace, brother" and throwing a fit any time someone lights a match, chops down a tree or catches a squirrel. Druids are wizards whose area of magic happens to deal with the forces of nature.  In one aspect, they are simply spellcasters, but in another they are nature priests of a sort -- The distinction between "neutral magic" and religion is somewhat blurred on this point, and how Druids apply their profession to their daily lives may vary greatly.

The Jade College is concerned with the forces of nature -- the forces of life and death.  They are by no means pacifists, and one can only speculate about the rumors that some of their rituals involve human sacrifice, as their number will neither confirm nor deny such accusations.  Druids are often believed to be "neutral" in regards to the conflict between Good and Evil.  It would probably be more appropriate to say that their priorities are typically different from those of the average person in the civilized world; they typically live far from the cities, and spend most (if not all) their time in the woodlands, working powerful magicks inextricably bound to the forests and the forces of life and death.  Just because some of their number may not feel any compassion for their fellow man (outside of their own circle of Druids) does not mean that they are not just as willing to take up arms against the corrupting (and ultimately deadly) forces of Chaos.

-*- DISCLAIMERS AND SUCH -*-

    _Games Workshop_, _Warhammer Quest_, _Advanced HeroQuest_, _Talisman_, _Warhammer Fantasy Battle_, _Battle Magic_ and the _Old World_ are trademarks of Games Workshop, Ltd.  Their use here does not constitute a legal challenge to that status.

    This article is copyright 1995 by T. Jordan "Greywolf" Peacock.  It may be freely distributed in unaltered form so long as proper credit is given and no fees are charged for its use.

     If you'd like to contact me for whatever reason, you can write to me at:

                                Jordan Peacock, 1610 Parker, Cedar Falls, IA  50613