This thread is intended to be a friendly brainstorm for an "angry lorax" type character. Imagine someone who walks around the woods being all "Come now friend, listen to the trees" but delivers some serious melee damage with their wooden stick if someone were to burn down a forest ect...
Sort of a martial druid-themed character who focuses on fighting with a stick rather than in wildshape as a moon druid would. Not that I mind wildshape as part of the concept, it just shouldn't be the primary combat tool.
I'm open to any class combination as long we hit that "nature magic" theme.. Just try your best to stick within "weird nature character hitting people with a stick" aesthetic.
My best bet so far has been a paladin 2 /swords bard X... This makes for some very fun use of (almost) full caster spell slots through smites and pretty good access to nature magic through the bard spell list... Also has the benefit of magical secets unlocking an animal companion through find greater steed.... Expertise in persuasion is also nice to give those lessons in protecting nature. This idea isn't perfect.. .In order to actually hit stuff I'd rely on unlocking charisma shillelagh at bard level 10 through magical secrets.. .which would be character lvl 12 which is obviously kinda late.
But yeah! I know there are some creative people in here and I'd love to your your takes on the concept.
You could go ranger, it still gets nature themed magic like the druid, but with more of a martial focus. Additionally, oath of the ancients paladin has a nature theme to it, with some nature themed auto prepared spells and a nature themed (albeit not very good) channel divinity.
Right off the bat, for a character like this I'd imagine a proper Lorax-character would be a reflavored Forest Gnome, which has Speak with Small Beasts baked right in so the character can reliably communicate with animals in the forest. I think there's also a Goblin subrace in one of the books somewhere that has the same feature, but ultimately the important part is just getting the ability to speak with animals and being a little hairy guy. If you're going for more Lorax as an archetype as opposed to literally playing as a Lorax-looking creature, then Firbolg is another solid option, especially since they can communicate with plant life as well as creatures.
As for classes, I think that Fey Wanderer Ranger would accomplish this character type quite easily. First, take the Druidic Warrior fighting style and learn Shillelagh... now you've got your whacking stick. The thing about Fey Wanderer is that they get a boost to Charisma checks... their Otherworldly Glamour feature lets them add their Wisdom modifier to any Charisma-based check, and unlike other Ranger subclasses you can get proficiency with Persuasion, which helps with doling out lessons to others.
You can also kind of get expertise in Persuasion if you use the optional Ranger rules from Tasha's, but it will require some finagling. If you replace Natural Explorer with Deft Explorer, you get "Canny", which is basically just expertise under a different name. However, you gain this feature at level 1 and have to choose one skill you're already proficient in to apply Canny to, but Fey Wanderer Rangers only get the option of Persuasion Proficiency at level 3, and Canny doesn't say that you can change Canny skills or save it for later or anything. Aside from just getting a lenient DM to let you use it differently, the only option is to take a background that gives proficiency in Persuasion. If you pull that off, you would have Expertise in Persuasion, plus at level 3 you can add your Wisdom modifier to Charisma checks. And with the Druidic Warrior Fighting Style to give yourself access to Shillelagh, you don't need to focus on DEX as much as the average ranger, so you could actually afford to invest a bit more into Charisma and Wisdom to really overpower your ability to persuade others.
Other than that, it's basically just general Ranger naturey-ness, but not a lot that's really specific to this character concept.
You could go ranger, it still gets nature themed magic like the druid, but with more of a martial focus. Additionally, oath of the ancients paladin has a nature theme to it, with some nature themed auto prepared spells and a nature themed (albeit not very good) channel divinity.
Those are absolutely valid options. I guess my worry with both of those is that they're kinda limited in their magic? That is of course not a dig at classes, but rather I imagine someone even more magical.. I honestly don't know if it makes sense... Someone whose martial power is very much enhanced by their magical connection to nature. But I do appreciate the input!
For the paladin, I personally don't see running around in heavy armor as being very "one with nature" ish, of course paladins don't have to do that, but I guess it's encouraged.
Right off the bat, for a character like this I'd imagine a proper Lorax-character would be a reflavored Forest Gnome, which has Speak with Small Beasts baked right in so the character can reliably communicate with animals in the forest. I think there's also a Goblin subrace in one of the books somewhere that has the same feature, but ultimately the important part is just getting the ability to speak with animals and being a little hairy guy. If you're going for more Lorax as an archetype as opposed to literally playing as a Lorax-looking creature, then Firbolg is another solid option, especially since they can communicate with plant life as well as creatures.
As for classes, I think that Fey Wanderer Ranger would accomplish this character type quite easily. First, take the Druidic Warrior fighting style and learn Shillelagh... now you've got your whacking stick. The thing about Fey Wanderer is that they get a boost to Charisma checks... their Otherworldly Glamour feature lets them add their Wisdom modifier to any Charisma-based check, and unlike other Ranger subclasses you can get proficiency with Persuasion, which helps with doling out lessons to others.
You can also kind of get expertise in Persuasion if you use the optional Ranger rules from Tasha's, but it will require some finagling. If you replace Natural Explorer with Deft Explorer, you get "Canny", which is basically just expertise under a different name. However, you gain this feature at level 1 and have to choose one skill you're already proficient in to apply Canny to, but Fey Wanderer Rangers only get the option of Persuasion Proficiency at level 3, and Canny doesn't say that you can change Canny skills or save it for later or anything. Aside from just getting a lenient DM to let you use it differently, the only option is to take a background that gives proficiency in Persuasion. If you pull that off, you would have Expertise in Persuasion, plus at level 3 you can add your Wisdom modifier to Charisma checks. And with the Druidic Warrior Fighting Style to give yourself access to Shillelagh, you don't need to focus on DEX as much as the average ranger, so you could actually afford to invest a bit more into Charisma and Wisdom to really overpower your ability to persuade others.
Other than that, it's basically just general Ranger naturey-ness, but not a lot that's really specific to this character concept.
You are absoutely right with regards to beast speech features. Being able to talk to animals is very much on-point. I was even experiementing with mixing in 2 levels of druid to get the circle of the shephard feature for that very reason. I hadn't heard of any goblin subraces btw, I'll certainly look into that... Goblin could make for some fun yoda imagery
I think you make some excellent points. The fey wanderer is probably one of the more fitting ranger subclasses, but I think perhaps it is lacking in a way to truly fuel the stick approach effectively? You'll certainly be able to hit, but I see little potential to really make that stick feel like an effective weapon. The reason I came up the bardadin thing, was because it's a way to make an otherwise underwhelming weapon choice feel impactful, perhaps you have some thoughts on that within a ranger framework?
The charisma/wisdom focus and relying on shillelagh is very fun, I love the concept of being physically unimpressive but still being good with your nature stick.. The contrast of only being effective with wooden weapons is very thematic.
Something I didn't mention when describing the Fey Wanderer subclass is they get an additional feature at level 3 called "Dreadful Strikes", where, once per turn, when you hit a creature with a weapon attack they take an additional 1d4 psychic damage (which eventually increases to 1d6). So once you get Extra Attack, each round you'll be dealing 1d8+WIS Bludgeoning plus 1d4 Psychic, then an additional 1d8+WIS Bludgeoning.
The other trick for boosting damage is Hunter's Mark or Favored Foe. Hunter's Mark is a bit better at adding damage... it adds 1d6 damage to every attack you make, but it costs a spell slot and a bonus action, so unless you have your Shillelagh ready before battle starts, you won't really be able to use it and Shillelagh at the start of combat. Favored Foe is easier to use... you activate it just by landing a hit, and it adds 1d4 of damage to one attack roll, and eventually increases to 1d6 and 1d8, but it's only one time per turn.
Another kind of tricky combo you might be able to pull off is the Polearm Master feat. This has kind of a weird interaction with Shillelagh that really depends on how much of a pushover your DM is. The Polearm Master feat gives you a unique bonus action weapon attack you can take with a polearm (such as a quarterstaff), although the weapon's damage die for this bonus action attack is a d4. However, Shillelagh states that a weapon's damage die becomes a d8, and the wording of both those features is such that a reasonable argument could be made that Shillelagh overrules the PAM Bonus Action damage die, but it would take a lenient DM to let that through.
It's all very Bonus-action heavy, which makes it hard to set up, but if you tack on Hunter's Mark, Shillelagh, and Polearm Master to Fey Wander, you're potentially dealing 3d8+3d6+3xWIS Bludgeoning +1d4 psychic damage each round... that averages out to around 40 damage. PAM also gives you additional chances for an opportunity attack, and both Hunter's Mark and Dreadful strikes trigger along with opportunity attacks, so you'll be able to dish out some serious damage. Again, though... it's a lot of Bonus Actions you'll need to manage to maximize everything, and you still need to keep concentration on Hunter's Mark the whole time. It's definitely more of a gimmick build than an ideal play style, but it's a unique way to have this quarterstaff focused Ranger and still be a solid damage dealer.
I have these in my fey campaign. I called them greencaps. Whereas redcaps are created from a bloody murder, greencaps are likewise created when violence has been done to the forest. I agree with leaning into the fey aspect - might look into feylock or nature cleric for options as well.
This thread is intended to be a friendly brainstorm for an "angry lorax" type character. Imagine someone who walks around the woods being all "Come now friend, listen to the trees" but delivers some serious melee damage with their wooden stick if someone were to burn down a forest ect...
Sort of a martial druid-themed character who focuses on fighting with a stick rather than in wildshape as a moon druid would. Not that I mind wildshape as part of the concept, it just shouldn't be the primary combat tool.
I'm open to any class combination as long we hit that "nature magic" theme.. Just try your best to stick within "weird nature character hitting people with a stick" aesthetic.
My best bet so far has been a paladin 2 /swords bard X... This makes for some very fun use of (almost) full caster spell slots through smites and pretty good access to nature magic through the bard spell list... Also has the benefit of magical secets unlocking an animal companion through find greater steed.... Expertise in persuasion is also nice to give those lessons in protecting nature.
This idea isn't perfect.. .In order to actually hit stuff I'd rely on unlocking charisma shillelagh at bard level 10 through magical secrets.. .which would be character lvl 12 which is obviously kinda late.
But yeah! I know there are some creative people in here and I'd love to your your takes on the concept.
You could go ranger, it still gets nature themed magic like the druid, but with more of a martial focus. Additionally, oath of the ancients paladin has a nature theme to it, with some nature themed auto prepared spells and a nature themed (albeit not very good) channel divinity.
Right off the bat, for a character like this I'd imagine a proper Lorax-character would be a reflavored Forest Gnome, which has Speak with Small Beasts baked right in so the character can reliably communicate with animals in the forest. I think there's also a Goblin subrace in one of the books somewhere that has the same feature, but ultimately the important part is just getting the ability to speak with animals and being a little hairy guy. If you're going for more Lorax as an archetype as opposed to literally playing as a Lorax-looking creature, then Firbolg is another solid option, especially since they can communicate with plant life as well as creatures.
As for classes, I think that Fey Wanderer Ranger would accomplish this character type quite easily. First, take the Druidic Warrior fighting style and learn Shillelagh... now you've got your whacking stick. The thing about Fey Wanderer is that they get a boost to Charisma checks... their Otherworldly Glamour feature lets them add their Wisdom modifier to any Charisma-based check, and unlike other Ranger subclasses you can get proficiency with Persuasion, which helps with doling out lessons to others.
You can also kind of get expertise in Persuasion if you use the optional Ranger rules from Tasha's, but it will require some finagling. If you replace Natural Explorer with Deft Explorer, you get "Canny", which is basically just expertise under a different name. However, you gain this feature at level 1 and have to choose one skill you're already proficient in to apply Canny to, but Fey Wanderer Rangers only get the option of Persuasion Proficiency at level 3, and Canny doesn't say that you can change Canny skills or save it for later or anything. Aside from just getting a lenient DM to let you use it differently, the only option is to take a background that gives proficiency in Persuasion. If you pull that off, you would have Expertise in Persuasion, plus at level 3 you can add your Wisdom modifier to Charisma checks. And with the Druidic Warrior Fighting Style to give yourself access to Shillelagh, you don't need to focus on DEX as much as the average ranger, so you could actually afford to invest a bit more into Charisma and Wisdom to really overpower your ability to persuade others.
Other than that, it's basically just general Ranger naturey-ness, but not a lot that's really specific to this character concept.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
Those are absolutely valid options. I guess my worry with both of those is that they're kinda limited in their magic? That is of course not a dig at classes, but rather I imagine someone even more magical.. I honestly don't know if it makes sense... Someone whose martial power is very much enhanced by their magical connection to nature. But I do appreciate the input!
For the paladin, I personally don't see running around in heavy armor as being very "one with nature" ish, of course paladins don't have to do that, but I guess it's encouraged.
You are absoutely right with regards to beast speech features. Being able to talk to animals is very much on-point. I was even experiementing with mixing in 2 levels of druid to get the circle of the shephard feature for that very reason. I hadn't heard of any goblin subraces btw, I'll certainly look into that... Goblin could make for some fun yoda imagery
I think you make some excellent points. The fey wanderer is probably one of the more fitting ranger subclasses, but I think perhaps it is lacking in a way to truly fuel the stick approach effectively? You'll certainly be able to hit, but I see little potential to really make that stick feel like an effective weapon. The reason I came up the bardadin thing, was because it's a way to make an otherwise underwhelming weapon choice feel impactful, perhaps you have some thoughts on that within a ranger framework?
The charisma/wisdom focus and relying on shillelagh is very fun, I love the concept of being physically unimpressive but still being good with your nature stick.. The contrast of only being effective with wooden weapons is very thematic.
Something I didn't mention when describing the Fey Wanderer subclass is they get an additional feature at level 3 called "Dreadful Strikes", where, once per turn, when you hit a creature with a weapon attack they take an additional 1d4 psychic damage (which eventually increases to 1d6). So once you get Extra Attack, each round you'll be dealing 1d8+WIS Bludgeoning plus 1d4 Psychic, then an additional 1d8+WIS Bludgeoning.
The other trick for boosting damage is Hunter's Mark or Favored Foe. Hunter's Mark is a bit better at adding damage... it adds 1d6 damage to every attack you make, but it costs a spell slot and a bonus action, so unless you have your Shillelagh ready before battle starts, you won't really be able to use it and Shillelagh at the start of combat. Favored Foe is easier to use... you activate it just by landing a hit, and it adds 1d4 of damage to one attack roll, and eventually increases to 1d6 and 1d8, but it's only one time per turn.
Another kind of tricky combo you might be able to pull off is the Polearm Master feat. This has kind of a weird interaction with Shillelagh that really depends on how much of a pushover your DM is. The Polearm Master feat gives you a unique bonus action weapon attack you can take with a polearm (such as a quarterstaff), although the weapon's damage die for this bonus action attack is a d4. However, Shillelagh states that a weapon's damage die becomes a d8, and the wording of both those features is such that a reasonable argument could be made that Shillelagh overrules the PAM Bonus Action damage die, but it would take a lenient DM to let that through.
It's all very Bonus-action heavy, which makes it hard to set up, but if you tack on Hunter's Mark, Shillelagh, and Polearm Master to Fey Wander, you're potentially dealing 3d8+3d6+3xWIS Bludgeoning +1d4 psychic damage each round... that averages out to around 40 damage. PAM also gives you additional chances for an opportunity attack, and both Hunter's Mark and Dreadful strikes trigger along with opportunity attacks, so you'll be able to dish out some serious damage. Again, though... it's a lot of Bonus Actions you'll need to manage to maximize everything, and you still need to keep concentration on Hunter's Mark the whole time. It's definitely more of a gimmick build than an ideal play style, but it's a unique way to have this quarterstaff focused Ranger and still be a solid damage dealer.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
I have these in my fey campaign. I called them greencaps. Whereas redcaps are created from a bloody murder, greencaps are likewise created when violence has been done to the forest. I agree with leaning into the fey aspect - might look into feylock or nature cleric for options as well.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm