Introduction
Verderers are mages trained in the traditions of woods, beasts, and wilderness. Like all mages, Verderer’s cannot wear armor. If you take the Foci: The Green Oath, you cannot touch ANY metal.
All Verderers gain Survive as a bonus skill. Each time a Verderer advances a level, they can pick a new Verderer or High Magic spell to add to their spellbook. Novice Verderers begin play with the usual number of spells for a full or partial mage: four or two, respectively.
Verderers and “Beasts”
Many Verderer arts and spells refer to “beasts” as being valid targets. For the purposes of these abilities, a “beast” is any animal, magical beast, or monstrous plant creature that has less than human intelligence. Verderers can target any such creatures, but if they have more hit dice or levels than the Verderer, they gain a +4 bonus on any saving throws a power may grant.
Full Arcanist Spell Table
| Level | Max. Level of Spell | # of Spell Casts | # of Prepared Spells | Arts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | - | |||
| 4 | 2 | 2 | 5 | Any One |
| 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | - |
| 6 | 3 | 3 | 7 | Any One |
| 7 | 4 | 4 | 8 | - |
| 8 | 4 | 4 | 9 | Any One |
| 9 | 5 | 5 | 10 | - |
| 10 | 5 | 6 | 12 | Any One |
Partial Arcanist Spell Table
| Level | Max. Level of Spell | # of Spell Casts | # of Prepared Spells | Arts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | Any One |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | Any One |
| 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | Any One |
| 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - |
| 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 | - |
| 6 | 2 | 3 | 6 | Any One |
| 7 | 2 | 3 | 7 | - |
| 8 | 2 | 3 | 7 | - |
| 9 | 3 | 4 | 8 | Any One |
| 10 | 3 | 4 | 9 | - |
Optional Foci, The Green Oath:
Some Verderers are so tightly bound to the law of thorn and claw that they are forbidden the use of metal. A few Verderer orders enforce this oath uniformly among their members, while only the most zealous adepts in other regions swear to this geas. Unsurprisingly, only Verderers can take this Focus.
- Level 1: Gain a bonus Focus. You may cast one additional spell per day. You cannot use metal items, armor, or weapons of any kind, even if otherwise allowed such as by the Armored Magic Focus. While you are bound by metal or voluntarily touching or carrying a metal object, you cannot cast spells. Weapons or arrows fashioned only of wood, bone, or stone normally cannot have a damage die greater than 1d6.
Arts of the Verderers:
A Verderer’s maximum Effort is equal to one plus their Survive skill level plus the better of their Intelligence or Wisdom modifiers. Partial Verderers have a score one point lower than this, albeit not less than one. All Verderers begin play knowing the Beast Tongue and Verdant Law arts plus one more of their choice.
Beast Tongue:
Verdant Law:
Other Verderer Arts
Arborial Agility:
Beast’s Eyes:
Breath of Decay:
Carving Touch:
Feral Vigor:
Lash of the Wind:
Natural Vitality:
Pathfinding:
Savage Attack:
Touch of Solace:
Wild Endurance:
Verderer’s Level 1 Spells:
Agate Eyes Darkened:
Delude Beast.
The caster targets up to 1d6 beasts plus one per caster level within one hundred feet. Beasts that are already in combat or fearing for their lives cannot be affected, but others must make a Mental saving throw. On a failure, their senses are entirely under the control of the caster, who can make them see, smell, or hear whatever they wish. If a delusion would put them in physical danger or leave them helpless to their enemies, the spell automatically breaks. Otherwise, it lasts as long as the caster is present and for one hour after they have departed. The caster cannot change the illusions after they leave the target’s presence, however.
Rule of the Claw:
Enthrall Beast.
This spell must target a visible beast within one hundred feet, granting it a Mental save to resist the spell. On a failure, the beast immediately becomes docile and obedient toward the caster, obeying verbal orders with a human degree of intelligence so long as they are neither suicidal nor completely contrary to its natural habits. The beast will fight for the caster, provided the odds are not over- whelming. The caster can have a number of enthralled beasts equal to their level or a total hit dice of enthralled beasts no greater than twice their level, whichever is fewer.
Four Turnings in One Hour:
Seasonal Growth.
This blessing takes an hour to cast while the mage paces the boundaries of the area to be affected, up to one acre per caster level. Once cast, the plant life within the area immediately gains up to one year of growth. This gain is uniform and indiscriminate, but a carefully-sown field can be made an instant harvest this way, if a somewhat weedy one. One acre of most peasant crops will yield enough to feed two people for a year, or three if the field is very carefully prepared beforehand for this specific spell. This spell exhausts the magical energies of the soil, how- ever, and cannot be cast again within a one-mile radius until the next spring’s coming reinvigorates the land.
Flexion of the Green Fingers.
Shape Plants.
This versatile sorcerery can act as a Decree of Ligneous Dissolution if desired, or be used to bend and shape all living plants within one contiguous ten-foot cube per caster level. This shaping takes five minutes and is too slow to capture a mobile target, but can be used to create a wooden wall or roofed hut within its area if sufficient trees or large shrubs are available. Cutting through the barrier takes five hit points per caster level of damage to cut a man-sized hole, and requires weapons suitable for chopping wood. The plants can be shaped with enough precision to make crude tools that have no moving parts.
Chrism of Leaf and Thorn:
Wood Ward.
This spell targets a single visible subject within thirty feet per caster level. Once blessed, for the rest of the scene the target becomes immune to non-magical wooden or wood-hafted weapons or implements along with becoming impervious to plant-derived toxins, spores, or glues. This spell will cure poisonings or infestations of such dangers.
Verderer’s Level 2 Spells:
Quintessential Distillation of the Feral Form:
Beast Pellet.
This spell must be cast upon a dead, mostly-intact beast no larger than an ox. A fine spray of magical spores covers the corpse, causing it to slowly wither and shrink. After a week of curing the beast is reduced to a marble-sized pellet. The caster alone may hurl the pellet to any point within thirty feet as a Main Action, whereupon the beast will reappear fully-intact as it was in life, albeit undead. It obeys the spoken commands of the caster with hu- man intelligence and suicidal devotion. The beast withers away to dust again an hour after summoning. The caster may recover their spell slot normally after casting this spell, but can have no more pellets at once than their caster level, and each currently-maintained pellet subtracts one point from their maximum System Strain.
Juxtaposition of the Shape-Name
Beast Shape.
The caster may adopt the outward semblance of any normal beast or plant smaller than an ox and larger than a mouse. They gain the movement rating of the beast and its ability to breathe water or endure natural temperature extremes, but the caster’s other statistics, senses, or unarmed attacks are unchanged. Any worn or held equipment merges with the beast form and continues to confer its usual AC or weapon statistics; the caster cannot change gear or drop carried items until the spell ends. The spell ends at the next dawn, when it is dispelled, or when the caster ends it with an On Turn action.
Fangs of the Law-Blessed Beast:
Sickles of Bone.
Up to one willing target per caster level within thirty feet grows long, sharp claws of bone for one hour per caster level, ones capable of clawing two inches per minute through wood or plant matter. These claws do not hinder the user’s manual dexterity, but count as magical weapons that inflict 1d8 damage, have a Shock rating of 2/15, and use Str or Dex as their ruling attribute. If the caster is the target, they may use Magic instead of Stab or Punch as the combat skill. If cast on a creature that already has claws, fangs, or other natural weapons- not including unarmed-trained humans- the creature gains a bonus to damage rolls and Shock equal to the caster’s level, and its attacks count as magical weapons against creatures immune to mundane injury.
A Caress of Thorns to Come:
Trace the Path.
The caster must focus on the image of a person or a type of creature when casting this spell. The plant life around the mage immediately telepathically directs the caster in the direction of whatever creature last fit the description, provided the tracked target would be perceptible to hu- man senses. The plant life continues to lead the caster for up to one hour per level, though the spell ends at dusk or when the caster casts another spell.
Verderer’s Level 3 Spells:
The Ban of the Unwelcomer:
Beast Ward.
As part of casting the spell, the mage must pace off an area no larger than one acre per level, or spend a Main Action indicating a straight line no more than forty feet long within one hundred feet. Wild beasts will under no circumstances cross into the warded area or pass the indicated line unless permitted by the caster. Creatures who somehow end up in the area will think of nothing but fleeing it. Area wards persist as long as the caster remains inside them. Line wards or abandoned areas cease to protect one hour per level afterwards. Beasts incapable of feeling fear are unaffected by this spell.
Exchange of Flesh and Fang:
Feral Bargain.
This spell does not function in combat, and must be cast on a beast within fifty feet of the caster. The spell immediately opens a telepathic link with the target, after which the caster must offer something that the beast would reasonably want in exchange for a service or permission from the beast. Even a hostile creature will be willing to spend a few minutes parleying unless directly threatened, and even bestial creatures will negotiate with a human level of intelligence. If the mage can offer a suitable price for the creature’s cooperation, the bargain will be made and the creature will be bound to perform it with human intelligence if they are capable of doing it and it is not suicidally dangerous. If the caster fails to keep their end of the bargain under the same terms, however, they must make a Mental saving throw to avoid immediate death from the psychic backlash.
The Oaken Road:
Plant Walk.
The mage must cast this spell at a willing target within thirty feet while the subject is touching a tree, large shrub, or other plant of a volume at least as large as their body. Once cast, the spell’s recipient disappears into the plant. As a Main Action, they can step out of any plant of similar or larger size within one hundred feet per caster level. Optionally, they can instead cast their senses to such a target plant and observe their surroundings as if standing there. The spell ends when the subject steps out of a plant, after fifteen minutes of scrying from a target plant, or when fifteen minutes have passed with the subject not emerging from the original plant. Damage inflicted on a plant while the subject is hiding in it is done to them as well.
Verderer’s Level 4 Spells:
The Four Legs of Exile:
Force Beast Shape.
This spell functions much as Beast Shape does, but can target even an unwilling creature within one hundred feet provided it fails a Physical saving throw. If the creature has more levels or hit dice than the caster, it can make two saving throws, taking the better of them. The shifted creature retains its own statistics as with Beast Shape, but it automatically drops all its possessions and clothing around it when it changes. The spell lasts until it is dis- pelled or the caster chooses to lift it. For each week the victim remains in animal form, they must make a Mental save; on a failure, they completely succumb to the beast’s nature and forget their prior life, gaining all the attributes of the natural animal and becoming forever locked to its form. A being who dies in animal shape remains an animal even in death.
The Serene Procession of Leaves:
Harmonious Passage.
This spell affects the caster and up to three other visible allies per caster level. So long as the spell is maintained, those protected are immune to plant- or animal-derived toxins or spores and are automatically considered in- edible not-prey by beasts, who will ignore them unless greatly provoked. They will leave no mundanely-perceptible trace of their passage over unpaved earth and will be immune to discomfort from rain, wind, or natural temperature extremes. Even dangerous terrain can be crossed in safety with this spell, provided the atmosphere is not outright unsurvivable by humans. The spell lasts until the next dawn, or until a subject voluntarily harms a beast, tree, or large plant.
Verderer’s Level 5 Spells:
Demesne of the Jade Hierophant:
Claim Domain.
This spell requires five hours of rituals that can only be performed on the night of a full moon. Once cast, however, all the land within one mile per caster level is accounted part of the caster’s domain. Within this space, beasts will obey them with human intelligence in any way not contrary to their nature. The caster may speak with animals and plants within this area as if they had human intellect. They will also become intuitively aware of the location of any groups of more than two dozen people traveling or living together. This domain cannot overlap with a prior caster’s domain, and it has no power within the walls or boundary markers of human settlements or cities. A caster may maintain only one domain at a time.
The Hammer of Unsleeping Roots:
Rend Structure.
This spell may be cast at any non-magical structure, earthwork, building, or wall within two hundred feet of the caster. When cast, a wild profusion of vines, blooms, and saplings erupt from the surface of the structure, their roots ripping it apart and toppling it into rubble over the next six seconds. The spell can affect only one structure or wall segment at a time and destroy no more than a hundred-foot cube of it. The caster has very fine control of the demolition and can destroy only selective smaller parts of a structure, or prevent the demolition from harming those in or around the building. If not so careful, anyone within the structure takes 10d6 damage, with an Evasion save for half.