Oh man, I accidentally scheduled this for the wrong day of the week! Sorry about that, folks, I hope you can enjoy a Toon Tuesday on a Wednesday…
While I have not yet played the Warcraft RPG, I did play World of Warcraft for a number of years. I didn’t even start off with a Tauren Druid; I originally played a Troll Mage on my Husband’s account until we realized that we each needed our own account so we could raid together. I created Briarhorn, took a long, long time to raise him to max level (restoration isn’t ideal for leveling, and this was before dual specialization), and quickly became the main tank healer in our progression guild (and then a fairly well known healer on our server). I related to that big, gentle cow in many ways; he was a large part of my life (social and otherwise), and while I don’t play the game anymore, every time I cracked open the RPG I felt compelled to write him up. It’s about time that I actually did, and as a prestige class like he deserves. I hope you enjoy him as much as I did, because he is exactly the type of character I love and play best.
Game: White Wolf Publishing’s Warcraft RPG
Books Needed: Warcraft RPG Core Book First Edition, Warcraft RPG: Magic and Mayhem, Dungeons and Dragons Player’s Handbook 3.5.
Recommended Setting: As a mentor type, high level NPC or as a the healer in a high level campaign. Can work equally well with Horde, Alliance, or neutral factions.
'I shall mend you, friend, for the Earthmother has much work left for you yet.' - Briarhorn
Name: Rohkarr “Elder Briarhorn” Darksky
Level (+Adjustment): 5 Healer/9 Druid of the Wild (+1)
Race: Tauren
Class: Druid of the Wild
Alignment: Lawful Good
Affiliations: Cenarion Circle, Neutral
Languages: Common, Taurahe, Darnassian, Dwarven, Orcish.
Attributes (bonuses/penalties included in final score)
STR (Mod): 15 (+4 racial) (2)
DEX (Mod): 12 (-2 racial) (1)
CON (Mod): 12 (+2 racial) (1)
INT (Mod): 16 (+1 leveling/age) (3)
WIS (Mod): 21 (+2 leveling/age) (5)
CHA (Mod): 15 (2)
Physical
Health Points: 78 (+1D8/lvl)
Initiative: 4
Speed: 30ft
Size: Large
Armor Class: 13
Base Attack/Grapple: 10
Space/Reach: 10ft/10ft
Penalties: For their large size, -1 to attack rolls and -4 to hide checks.
Age: 62 (middle aged)
Gender: Male
Height: 7′ 9″
Weight: 615 lbs.
Religion: The Earthmother, Elune, and the Shu’halo Earth Spirits.
Description: Brown and white patchy fur, dark brown mane (braided down his back) and beard (kept fairly short), orange eyes and soft features. He has longhorn type horns (the left one is snapped in half from a former battle) with tribal feathers tied to them, he also has a brass ring through his nose. He is of less than average height and isn’t particularly muscular because he rarely assumes a physically taxing role. Often wearing leather healer’s robes dyed in earth tones, he always carries his staff.
Special Attacks
Tauren Charge On a Charge, the Tauren lowers their head to spear a target with their mighty horns. In addition to the normal benefits/hazards of a Charge, this allows the Tauren to make a single gore sttack that deals 1D8 in damage plus 1.5 × their Strength modifier. They may also use a ready action to lower their head and set their horns against an oncoming Charge, dealing the same damage if they score a hit on the charging opponent.
Special Qualties
Tauren Martial Weapon Mastery: Longspears and Shortspears Skilled, nomadic hunters, they recieve a +1 attack bonus when using either a longspear or a shortspear.
Healer’s Spontaneous Casting Good aligned healers can channel stored spell energy into healing spells that they have not prepared ahead of time. The healer can “lose” a prepared spell to cast any Cure spell (any spell with “cure” in the title) of the same level or lower. Evil aligned healers convert prepared spells to Inflict spells (any spell with “inflict” in the title) instead. A healer who is neither good nor evil can choose to convert prepared spells into either Cure or Inflict spells, at the player’s choice (once the choice is made, it cannot be reversed.)
Druid’s Spontaneous Casting A Druid of the Wild can channel stored spell energy into summoning spells that they have not prepared ahead of time. The Druid can “lose” a prepared spell to cast any Summon Nature’s Ally spell of the same level or lower. They may still use Spontaneous Casting from their core class, but only for spell levels gained in that class.
Healing/Evil Touch A healer of a good alignment starts with access to the Healing domain and can cast spells of that domain at +1 caster level, while a healer of a evil alignment starts with access to the Evil domain and can cast spells of that domain at +1 caster level. A neutral aligned character begins play with access to one domain or the other, at the player’s choice (once the choice is made, it cannot be reversed.)
Bonus Feats Starting at 5th level and every 5 levels thereafter, a Healer gains a bonus feat chosen from the following types: item creation, metamagic, or Spell Focus.
Druid Weapon and Armour Proficiency Druids are proficient with all simple weapons, small martial melee weapons, longbow and shortbow, as well as all natural attacks (bite, claw strike, etc.), regardless of their form (see Wild Shape table below.) They may wear light or medium armour, but are prohibited from wearing metal armour, and may also use shields, but can only use wooden ones. A Druid of the Wild who wears prohibited armour or weilds a prohibited weapon is unable to use any of their supernatural or spell-like powers while doing so and for the next 24 hours after (note that wooden items enchanted by the Ironwood spell aren’t prohibited.)
Woodland Stride (Ex) At 1st level, a Druid may move through any sort of undergrowth (natural thorns, briars, overgrown areas, and similar terrain) at their normal speed and without taking any damage or suffering any other impairment. Thorns, briars, and overgrown areas magically enchanted or manipulated to impede movement still affect them, however.
Trackless Step (Ex) At 3rd level, a Druid leaves no trail in natural surroundings and cannot be tracked. They may choose to purposefully leave a trail, however.
Venom Immunity (Ex) At 5th level, a Druid gains complete immunity to all organic poisons, including monster poisons, but not mineral poisons or toxic gasses.
Timeless Body (Ex) At 7th level, a Druid no longer takes ability score penalties for aging and cannot be magically aged. Any penalties they may have already incurred are still in place, however, and bonuses still accrue. The Druid will still continue to age and can perish of old age, though time spent in the Green Sleep does not count toward aging.
Saving Throws
Fortitude: 10 (classes) +Con Mod
Reflex: 4 (classes) +Dex Mod
Willpower: 10 (classes) +Wis Mod
Class Skills (Skill Ranks [Modifier +Bonuses not included in rank]) (+4 + Int Mod skill points/lvl for either class)
Concentration (Con, see Combat Casting feat)
Craft: Alchemy 10 (Int)
Handle Animal 5 (Cha, +2 racial)
Heal 10 (Wis)
Hide 15 (Dex, -4 racial)
Knowledge: Nature 15 (Int +4 class/synergy)
Profession: Apothecary 10 (Int)
Survival 15 (Wis, +4 racial/class, +2 synergy for aboveground natural environments)
Swim 5 (Str)
Other Skills (Skill Ranks [Modifier +Bonuses not included in rank])
Appraise (Int, +2 synergy for alchemical materials/creations)
Diplomacy 10 (Cha)
Ride (Dex, +2 synergy)
Speak Language 3 (None)
Wild Empathy (Wis, +2 synergy)
Feats
Item Creation: Brew Potion (Class Bonus Feat) Can create potions, which can have magic effects within themselves. You can create a potion of any 3rd-level or lower spell that you know and that targets one or more creatures. Brewing a potion takes one day. When you create a potion, you set the caster level, which must be sufficient to cast the spell in question and no higher than your own level. The base price of a potion is its spell level × its caster level × 50 gp. To brew a potion, you must spend 1/25 of this base price in XP and use up raw materials costing one half this base price. When you create a potion, you make any choices that you would normally make when casting the spell. Whoever drinks the potion is the target of the spell. Any potion that stores a spell with a costly material component or an XP cost also carries a commensurate cost. In addition to the costs derived from the base price, you must expend the material component or pay the XP when creating the potion.
Combat Casting You get a +4 bonus on Concentration checks made to cast a spell or use a spell-like ability while on the defensive or while you are grappling or pinned.
Metamagic: Empower Spell: Cure Moderate Wounds (Class Level Bonus Feat) All variable, numeric effects of an empowered spell are increased by one-half. An empowered spell deals half again as much damage as normal, cures half again as many hit points, affects half again as many targets, and so forth, as appropriate. For example, an empowered magic missile deals 1-1/2 times its normal damage (roll 1d4+1 and multiply the result by 1-1/2 for each missile). Saving throws and opposed rolls (such as the one you make when you cast dispel magic) are not affected, nor are spells without random variables. An empowered spell uses up a spell slot two levels higher than the spell’s actual level.
Improved Initiative You react more quickly than normal in a fight, +4 to initiative.
Natural Spell (Requires Wis 13, ability to cast Wild Shape) You can complete the verbal and somatic components of spells while in a wild shape. For example, while in the form of a hawk, you could substitute screeches and gestures with your talons for the normal verbal and somatic components of a spell. You can also use any material components or focuses you possess, even if such items are melded within your current form. This feat does not permit the use of magic items while you are in a form that could not ordinarily use them, and you do not gain the ability to speak while in a wild shape.
Eschew Materials You can cast any spell that has a material component costing 1 gp or less without needing that component. (The casting of the spell still provokes attacks of opportunity as normal.) If the spell requires a material component that costs more than 1 gp, you must have the material component at hand to cast the spell, just as normal.
Item Creation: Staff (Requires Spellcaster Level 12) You can create any staff whose prerequisites you meet. Crafting a staff takes one day for each 1,000 gp in its base price. To craft a staff, you must spend 1/25 of its base price in XP and use up raw materials costing one-half of its base price. A newly created staff has 50 charges. Some staffs incur extra costs in material components or XP, as noted in their descriptions. These costs are in addition to those derived from the staff’s base price.
Spells (Bonus Spells Per Day: 2 extra level 1 spells and 1 extra levels 2, 3, 4, and, 5 spells per day due to high Wisdom score.)
Green Sleep (Ex) When the Night Elves were charged with guarding the Well of Eternity in ancient times, part of the price for their access to nature was that Druids would spend much of their time in the Emerald Dream. As a result, all Druids of the Wild know how to send their souls to the extraplanar realm, thus entering a state of hibernation. A Druid can do this at will, and while inside the Sleep, their body requires no food, water, or even air. However, they cannot emerge from their sleep without someone to awaken them.
Wild Shape (Su) This ability functions like the Polymorph spell, except as noted here. All transformative effects are performed at will and last for a maximum of 1 hour per level, or until they choose to change back. Changing to an animal (or back) counts as a standard action and does not provoke an attack of opportunity. While in animal form, the Druid loses their ability to speak and can only communicate verbally with normal animal calls and noises, though they can communicate clearly this way with other animals of their general grouping. The Storm Crow form is available at 1st class level, the Stag at 3rd, Nightsaber Panther/Horned Plains Lion at 5th, Dire Bear at 7th, and Treant at 9th class level. At level 1, they may only use this ability once per day, but this increases at levels 3, 5, 7, and 9 (see class advancement table.) See table below for the benefits of the differing animal forms.
Healer Spell Knowledge Healers cast divine spells and may cast any spell from the Healer list, provided they can cast spells of that level, but they must select and prepare those spells in advance during their daily meditation. To prepare or cast a spell, a Healer must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell level (for level 0 spells, they need only a Wisdom score of 10.) The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a Healer’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the Healer’s Wis Mod. Like all spellcasters, the Healer may only cast so many spells of each level per day (see table below), in addition to any bonus spells per day received due to a high Wisdom score. A Healer must choose a time each day during which they spend at least an hour of quiet contemplation to refresh their spell allotment for the day. Spell list below.
0 Level Spells: Create Water, Cure Minor Wounds, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Guidance, Inflict Minor Wounds, Light, Mending, Purify Food and Drink, Read Magic, Resistance, Virtue.
1st Level Spells: Bane, Bless, Bless Water, Cause Fear, Command, Comprehend Languages, Cure Light Wounds, Curse Water, Deathwatch, Divine Favor, Doom, Entropic Shield, Inflict Light Wounds, Remove Fear, Sanctuary, Shield of Faith.
2nd Level Spells: Aid, Augury, Bear’s Endurance, Bull’s Strength, Calm Emotions, Consecrate, Cure Moderate Wounds, Darkness, Delay Poison, Enthrall, Find Traps, Gentle Coil, Gentle Repose, Hold Person, Inflict Moderate Wounds, Lesser Death Coil, Lesser Restoration, Make Whole, Moonglaive, Remove Paralysis, Shatter, Shield Other, Silence, Soundburst, Spiritual Weapon, Zone of Truth.
3rd Level Spells: Bestow Curse, Blindness/Deafness, Contagion, Continual Flame, Create Food and Water, Cure Serious Wounds, Daylight, Death Coil, Deeper Darkness, Dispel Magic, Entangling Roots, Glyph of Warding, Helping Hand, Inflict Serious Wounds, Invisibility Purge, Locate Object, Magic Vestment, Obscure Object, Prayer, Remove Blindness/Deafness, Remove Curse, Remove Disease.
4th Level Spells: Cure Critical Wounds, Death Ward, Dimensional Anchor, Discern Lies, Divination, Divine Power, Freedom of Movement, Greater Death Coil, Greater Magic Weapon, Imbue With Spell Ability, Inflict Critical Wounds, Neutralize Poison, Poison, Repel Vermin, Restoration, Sending, Spell Immunity, Status, Tongues.
5th Level Spells: Flame Strike, Greater Command, Hallow, Healing Rain, Lesser Planar Ally, Mass Cure Light Wounds, Mass Inflict Light Wounds, Raise Dead, Rejuvenation, Righteous Might, Scrying, Slay Living, Spell Resistance, True Seeing, Unhallow.
6th Level Spells: Blade Barrier, Find the Path, Geas/Quest, Greater Dispel Magic, Greater Glyph of Warding, Harm, Heal, Hero’s Feast, Mass Bear’s Endurance, Mass Bull’s Strength, Mass Cure Moderate Wounds, Mass Inflict Moderate Wounds, Word of Recall.
7th Level Spells: Destruction, Greater Restoration, Greater Scrying, Mass Cure Serious Wounds, Mass Inflict Serious Wounds, Planar Ally, Refuge, Regenerate, Repulsion, Resurrection.
8th Level Spells: Antimagic Field, Discern Location, Greater Spell Immunity, Holy Aura, Mass Cure Critical Wounds, Mass Inflict Critical Wounds, Unholy Aura.
9th Level Spells: Greater Planar Ally, Implosion, Mass Heal, Miracle, Second Soul, Soul Bind, Touch of Life, Greater Ressurection.
Druid Spell Knowledge Druids continue to advance in spellcasting ability; when a new level in Druid of the Wild is gained, they gain new spells per day as according to the divine spellcasting class they belonged to before becoming the prestiged class. They do not, however, gain any other benefits from that class (no greater chance to Rebuke Undead, metamagic or item creation feats, and so on.) The level is added purely to determine the number and level of daily spells. A Druid casts divine spells and may prepare cast spells from either the Healer or the Druid of the Wild spell lists, provided they are of high enough level and the spells are prepared in the same fashion as a Healer (see Healer Spell Knowledge.) Spell list below.
0 Level Spells: Flare, Know Direction.
1st Level Spells: Calm Animals, Charm Animals, Detect Animals or Plants, Detect Snares or Pits, Entangle, Faerie Fire, Goodberry, Hide from Animals, Magic Fang, Obscuring Mist, Pass Without Trace, Roar, Shillelagh, Speak With Animals, Summon Nature’s Ally I.
2nd Level Spells: Animal Messenger, Animal Trance, Barkskin, Delay Poison, Hold Animal, Reduce Animal, Spider Climb, Summon Nature’s Ally II, Summon Swarm, Tree Shape, Wood Warp, Wood Shape.
3rd Level Spells: Diminish Plants, Dominate Animal, Greater Magic Fang, Neutralize Poison, Plant Growth, Poison, Remove Disease, Thorn Shield, Snare, Speak With Plants, Spike Growth, Summon Nature’s Ally III.
4th Level Spells: Antiplant Shell, Blight, Command Plants, Flame Strike, Freedom of Movement, Giant Vermin, Repel Vermin, Summon Nature’s Ally IV.
5th Level Spells: Animal Growth, Awaken, Baleful Polymorph, Commune With Nature, Insect Plague, Summon Nature’s Ally V, Tree Stride, Wall of Thorns.
6th Level Spells: Antilife Shell, Find the Path, Force of Nature, Ironwood, Liveoak, Repel Wood, Spellstaff, Summon Nature’s Ally VI, Transport Via Plants.
7th Level Spells: Animate Plants, Changeststaff, Creeping Doom, Summon Nature’s Ally VII, Sunbeam, Transmute Metal to Wood.
8th Level Spells: Animal Shapes, Greater Force of Nature, Control Plants, Summon Nature’s Ally VIII, Whirlwind.
9th Level Spells: Shambler, Shapechange, Summon Nature’s Ally IX.
Equipment
Goblin Army Knife
Rope, Spidersilk ×100ft (+4 circumstantial bonus to Use Rope)
Potion of Mana ×5 (regains last 1-3rd level spell cast)
Hubert’s Handy Haversack
Flint and Steel ×3
Trail Rations (dried elk jerky) ×15 days
Sack ×3 (filled with alchemical herbs)
Traveler’s Clothes
Tent
Cot
Winter Blanket ×2
Sledge
Spade
Metal Vial; Empty ×10; Full ×8 (Spider Venom ×3, Antitoxin ×3, Acid ×2)
Waterskin ×2
Skinning Knife
Journal ×3 (×2 filled with drawings of plants and alchemical recipes, ×1 for journaling his adventures)
Inkpen ×3
Inkwell ×2
Hooded Lantern
Scroll Case ×2 (×1 for maps, ×1 for other parchment)
Candle ×4
Parchment Sheet ×50 (in Case)
Oil Pint ×5
Everburning Torch
Smokestick ×10
Sunrod ×10
Thunderstone x10
Alchemist’s Lab (+2 to Craft: Alchemy)
Healer’s Kit (+2 circumstantial bonus to Heal checks, ×10 uses)
Weapons
Druid’s Staff 1D8/1D8 physical damage, +1 to attack rolls, bludgeoning type, large size. Sprigs of holly grow off of the still living wood, serving as the focus of their spells. Imbued with Neutralize Poison, Cure Disease, and Flame Strike, ×50 charges.
Masterwork Morningstar 2D6, +1 to attack rolls, large size, bludgeoning and piercing damage.
Sling 1D6, bludgeoning damage, large size, 50ft range, ×30 ammo.
Armour
Hide Armour +3AC, maximum Dex +4, armour check penalty -3, 20% arcane spell failure chance.
Mount/Companion/Familiar
Not applicable.
Money
Platinum: 60
Gold: 642
Silver: 31
Copper: 92
Background Born of the plains of Mulgore, Rohkarr was the son of a powerful elemental Shaman, Tamlök, and a great Warrior, Marah (his Mother, who perished in battle with Quillboars when Rohkarr was still young). Once his natural affinity with the Earth and magic manifested early on in his childhood, he was pressured to become a Shaman like his Father. Though he had a connection with the elements, he held no control over elementals and could not summon their forces, no matter how hard he trained under his Father’s disappointed gaze. Finally, he was tested in healing magics, and accepted as an apprentice of an Elder as his gifts blossomed with it. Tamlök was dismayed, always counting on Rohkarr to take up his totems or even his Mother’s Warrior blood and bring great pride to the Darksky name; he felt healing was better left to women, and so spent much of Rohkarr’s life ignoring his achievements. Even at Rohkarr’s naming ceremony, once his training was complete and he was to embark on his spirit quest, Tamlök was absent.
Choosing the name “Briarhorn” for his skill with herbs and also his reverence of the Earth, he set out to Feralas, seeking his fortune and greater teachings with their tribes. It was there that he was overwhelmed during a quest by the Grimtotem Tauren, who held no love for any of their former kin. He managed to escape, but was terribly wounded and without the energy to use his spells, so he hid in a damp cave, passing out before he could use his potions or heal himself. Briarhorn awoke to a small fire, his wounds salved and bandaged, and a Night Elf nearby with her waraxe at the ready. In Common, she communicated that she had found him and helped him, because she had seen him set upon by the devious Grimtotem; she had also been trying to infiltrate to retrieve an item stolen from her in a terrible conflict that had wounded her leg badly. As thanks for saving his life, Briarhorn healed her, and then suggested that they team up to defeat their mutual enemy. Letu’maria, as she introduced herself, declined, prefering to seek help from her own people. They parted ways warily, and his quest continued, eventually leading him to help the Furbolg people and gain access to the Moonglade, home of the Druids and the Cenarion Circle.
He studied here for many years, realizing how futile the war was and declaring himself neutral, ally only to the Druids. He learned quickly, though he always had a talent for healing and nature spells as opposed to physical or transformative combat. Years later he was traveling through the Eastern Kingdoms and was set upon by an obviously cursed Dwarf. While this resulted in his horn being snapped, he diligently held the Dwarf off without violence until the frenzy dissipated, and he was able to heal the cranky but appreciative Danvurr after an explanation. They were fast friends from then on, and Briarhorn continued on his knowledge seeking journey, healing the sick, helping where he could, until he wound up in Northrend to fight the oncoming plague of the Lich King. Tauren, Night Elf, and Dwarf joined forces against the hordes of undead, and he and Letu’maria eventually developed a very close companionship. Briarhorn still travels with Letu’maria or Danvurr, he is now an Elder Druid, but remains neutral, offering his healing abilities wherever they are needed.
Lok’tar Ogar,
TheDungeonRat
P.S.: I draw cartoony things in my free time, or at least I did a couple of years ago (parental responsibilities, I tell ya,) so check out my personal rendition of the bust of my dear Druid below:
Any image or information provided pertaining to Warcraft the Role Playing Game, World of Warcraft, or World of Warcraft the Trading Card Game is the sole property of White Wolf Publishing, Blizzard, Cryptozoic, and any authors or artists therein. I claim no ownership of content. Official artwork (first image) used for this particular post is done by Zoltan Boros and Gabor Szikszai, other artwork (last image) is my property.
Save Vs. Character Death 