Plains Druid

The plains druid lives on open grasslands with few or no trees: temperate prairies and pampas, hot veldts and savannas, cool steppes, and the like. Yalla is such a druid. (See illustration next page.) She often finds herself in the company of nomadic hunters and herders. Her powers and interests resemble those of a forest druid, but she has a closer interest in the weather and the health of great herds roaming her lands than in trees and crops. Second only to the forest branch, plains druids remain among the most common and best known of all druids.

Minimum Ability Scores: Wisdom 12, Charisma 15.

Races Allowed: Human, half-elf. Optional--centaur (14).

Armor and Weapons Permitted: Leather armor, wooden shield; club, sickle, dart, spear, dagger, scimitar, scythe, sling, staff.

Weapon Proficiencies: Recommended--club, sling, spear.

Nonweapon Proficiencies: Required-- (general) riding (land-based), weather sense; (warrior) animal lore, tracking. Recommended--(general) animal handling, animal training; (priest) healing; (warrior) endurance, hunting, survival (plains/steppes).

Spheres of Influence: All, Animal, Divination*, Elemental (air, earth, fire), Elemental* (water), Healing, Plant, Weather.

Granted Powers: Yalla, a typical plains druid, possesses these granted powers:

· Receives a +2 bonus to all saving throws vs. fire and electrical attacks (due to this branch's need to fight such natural dangers as prairie fires, lightning strikes, etc.).

· Has a +4 bonus to any animal handling, animal lore, or animal training proficiency checks concerning plains-dwelling herd beasts or riding animals.

· Learns the languages of plains-dwelling sentient creatures (such as centaurs), gaining an extra proficiency slot for this purpose every three levels (at 3rd, 6th, etc.).

· Identifies plants, animals, and pure water with perfect accuracy at 3rd level.

· Speaks with any land animals that humans can ride, as well as plains-dwelling herd animals, at 3rd level as though she had cast a speak with animals spell.

· Shapechanges into a normal, real-world reptile, bird, or mammal common to the plains up to three times per day at 7th level, exactly as described in the PH. Yalla can use each animal form (reptile, bird, and mammal) only once per day and cannot assume giant forms.

Special Limitation: None.

Holy Symbol and Grove: Plains druids typically wear their holy symbol: a diadem or arm band woven from prairie grass under a full moon. They often choose as their grove a circle of standing stones on the open grass.

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