The spirit of the forest has always spoken to you. And in it, you have always felt at home. The magic of nature reached out to you at a young age, bestowed you with gifts, and guided you on your path as its chosen protector. Maybe the call came from your shaman, your tribe, or maybe even an old god or goddess. In any case, you have grown up in nature’s warm embrace, protecting the forest in which you live, it's people, and it's creatures. Communing with nature has opened your perception and given you a deep and meaningful relationship with all its flora and fauna. And while you are there to protect them, they teach and protect you as well. You are by no means socially inept but do prefer nature or the company of a small select group of people to the clamor of society and civilization.
- Skill Proficiencies: Choose two of the following: Animal Handling, Nature, Perception, Survival
- Tool Proficiencies: Herbalism Kit
- Languages: Sylvan
- Equipment: An Explorer’s Pack, Wooden Staff, a Stone of Good Luck (Luckstone), a set of traveler’s clothes, and a pouch containing 10 gp
However, something has made you leave home. Was it by choice or were you forced out? Did you hear the call of adventure or did disaster set you upon your path? Perhaps it was at the behest of your tribe, shaman, god or goddess. Whatever the case, the spirit of the forest shall journey with you. Taking care of you, just as you have taken care of it.
| d6 | Spark of Adventure |
|---|---|
| 1 | Call of adventure |
| 2 | A quest for something my people need |
| 3 | Prove myself worthy to the one who chose me |
| 4 | A scourge has attacked the land. I must find the source and end it. |
| 5 | Framed (or actually guilty) and forced into exile |
| 6 | Natural disaster has ravaged your lands and you must find a new place to live |
You have the service of an animal guide. Choose a beast that has a challenge rating of 0. Your guide serves as a companion through the wilderness, but does not fight for you and will not perform any obvious dangerous tasks for you. They can stand guard of your camp and alert you to anything in the area using their perception. They can perform other mundane tasks (up to the discretion of the DM) like carrying messages to friendly parties. If the beast is in a dangerous situation, it will flee.
If the beast dies, you can obtain another one by spending 12 hours bonding with another beast that isn't hostile to you.
Suggested Characteristics
Wardens of the Grove are defined by their devotion to nature. Their interactions between civilization and nature affect their mannerisms and ideals. Never intervening in the food chain or harshness of the natural world, they believe in preservation of the environment above all else. Their flaws might be cynicism about the merits of civilization, a zealotry that infects their behaviour towards the rest of society, or just a general inability to understand how and why people behave as they do.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I’m driven by a wanderlust that led me away from home. |
| 2 | I watch over my friends as if they were a litter of newborn pups. |
| 3 | I once ran twenty-five miles without stopping to warn to my clan of an approaching orc horde. I’d do it again if I had to. |
| 4 | I have a lesson for every situation, drawn from observing nature. |
| 5 | I am easily agitated and will bite people when angry. |
| 6 | I see omens in every event and action. The natural world guides us, if we just stop to listen. |
| 7 | I feel far more comfortable around animals than people. |
| 8 | Nothing can shake my optimistic attitude. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Change. Life is like the seasons, in constant change, and we must change with it. (Chaotic) |
| 2 | Charity. People are part of nature, and we must help them when we can as well. (Good) |
| 3 | Tradition. We must care for and protect the land, as our ancestors did. (Lawful) |
| 4 | Might. The strongest are meant to rule. (Evil) |
| 5 | Nature. The natural world is more important than all the constructs of civilization. (Neutral) |
| 6 | Aspiration. I seek to learn all there is to know about the natural world and everything that dwells within it. (Any) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | I am kin with all wildlife. |
| 2 | An injury to the unspoiled wilderness of my home is an injury to me. |
| 3 | I will bring terrible wrath down on the evildoers who destroyed my homeland. |
| 4 | I am in debt to the one who saved my family from hunters, I shall never forget their face. |
| 5 | I suffer awful visions of a coming disaster and will do anything to prevent it. |
| 6 | I have deep respect for certain tribes for they love my home as much as I do. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I am too enamored of ale, wine, and other intoxicants. |
| 2 | I fail to respect most social normatives. |
| 3 | I speak mainly in gestures and growls, I only know a little of one language. |
| 4 | I avoid interaction with civilians as much as possible, even when it's beneficial. |
| 5 | I get heavily distracted by man-made surroundings. |
| 6 | I am extremely slow to trust anyone outside my home. |
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