Deep Druid (Drow, Druid Archetype)

Miles beneath the surface of world of light, are dark and dangerous tunnels, caverns, and crevasses. It is here, in the deep underground known as the Everdark, that the drow or dark elves dwell. Among this vile race of corrupted elves are those who seek to be one with the natural stone and deep fauna of this dangerous terrain. It is these deep druids who, like their surface counterparts, live as one with their natural world, tending the fungi and mosses, speaking with the stone, and protecting the wildlife that dwells within it. Class Features

The deep druid has the following class features.

Class Skills

The deep druid adds Stealth to her list of class skills.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

In addition to the normal druid armor proficiencies, a deep druid adds chain shirt, leaf armor (fungi), spider silk body-suit, and studded leather armor to the list. A deep druid can also wear chainmail, but it must be made of mithral (elven chain). Wooden armor for deep druids is crafted from giant mushrooms, but function the same way as any wooden version of armor. Such armor can also be altered by an ironwood spell. 

Spells

A deep druid learns, prepares, and cast spells as a druid. When a deep druid that casts summon nature’s ally spells, she is restricted to only creatures from the Underground and Ruins terrain. In addition, the deep druid adds the following spells to her druid spell list: 1st—detect metal; 3rd—heart of the metal; 4th—warp metal; 6th—wall of iron; 7th—glassiron; 8th—iron body.

Bonus Language

This is exactly like the druids ability of the same name, except that a deep druid’s bonus language options include Terran, the language of earth-based creatures, instead of Sylvan.

Deep Empathy (Ex)

This ability functions just like wild empathy, except the a deep druid can improve the attitude of a vermin from the Underground terrain. A deep druid can also use this ability to influence an ooze or plant from the Underground terrain with an Intelligence score of 1 or 2, but she takes a –4 penalty on the check.

Deepsense (Ex)

A deep druid adds Knowledge (dungeoneering) rather than Knowledge (geography) as a class skill and gains a +2 bonus on Knowledge (dungeoneering) and Survival skill checks. This ability replaces the nature sense ability.

Nature Bond (Ex)

This is exactly like the druid ability of the same name, except that if the deep druid selects the nature bond, she must select from the Darkness domain, Earth domain or one of its subdomains, the Cave, Mountain, or Plane of Earth terrain domains, or the new Drow or Everdark domains. 

Alternatively, if a deep druid selects the companion bond, she gains either a Small ooze (black pudding, gelatinous cube, gray ooze, or ochre jelly), a Small plant (ascomoid, fungus leshy, fungus man, phycomid, or thorny), or a Small vermin (albino cave solifugid, cave fisher, cave scorpion, earthen spider, or giant centipede) as her companion and uses the Animal Companion table for advancement, as normal. At 4th level, the companion increases one size category to Medium, and an additional size category to Large at 10th level. Apply bonuses and penalties as normal due to size change (see Bestiary).

Deep Stride (Ex)

At 2nd level, a deep druid gains a bonus on Initiative checks and Climb, Knowledge (dungeoneering), Perception, Stealth, and Survival checks equal to half her druid level in underground terrain, and she cannot be tracked in such an environment. This ability replaces woodland stride.

Lightfoot (Ex)

At 3rd level, a deep druid cannot be detected with tremorsense. This ability replaces trackless step.

Element of Surprise (Ex)

At 4th level, if a deep druid makes a successful attack during a surprise round against a target that is unaware of her, her victim takes a penalty on its initiative check during the following round equal to half the damage dealt by the survivor’s attack (minimum 0, maximum equal to the survivor’s class level). This cannot reduce an initiative result below 1. This ability replaces resist nature’s lure.

Wild Shape (Su)

A deep druid gains this ability at 6th level, except that her effective druid level for this ability is equal to her druid level –2. She cannot use wild shape to adopt a plant form. At 10th level, the deep druid can assume the form of a Small or Medium ooze as if using beast shape III, and at 12th level that of a Tiny or Large ooze as if using beast shape IV (treating the ooze as if it were a magical beast without a natural armor bonus). When in ooze form, the deep druid has no discernible anatomy and is immune to poison, sneak attacks, and critical hits.

Deep Whisperer (Su)

At 13th level, a deep druid’s connection to the stone and earth all around her becomes strong enough that she can always hear it whispering. She is treated as constantly under the effects of stone tell. Once per day, she can spend 10 minutes in communion with the stone to learn the answers to her questions. This ability replaces a thousand faces.

Home Ground (Su)

At 20th level, the deep druid knows every mushroom, every animal, every clump of moss, and every scuttling vermin of her home. The deep druid selects a specific area relevant to the campaign, such as a prominent underground cavern, city of the deep, or even a patch of underground sea. The deep druid is constantly under the effect of commune with nature with regards to that area and can change the facts she gleans from the spell when she prepares her spells each day. In addition, while on her home ground, the deep druid gains a +4 bonus to her caster level. This replaces her wild shape at will ability. 

Table: Deep Druid