User:Average/Herbalist
This class works with Nature. Animists. S/he makes unguents and herbal tinctures that warriors who are like-aligned can get healing, mana, or power. They also have domain over soaps and candlemaking. They can build shrines in nature where travelers who like her creations and designs can leave offerings. Unlike druids, which specialize in an element, grows mastery in all four of the alchemical elements to create life: fire, water, wind, earth. All together, these four make a fifth: wood, the flesh of the trees.
Has no gods (or elders) if ronin, though s/he may bow to some hero or heroine and hope for some good will or luck to be bestowed upon them. She also can pray to the Spirits and Trees for guidance. Gets to choose what XP she wants to keep if she involves herself with killing, for whatever she keeps, that counts against her karma. The remaining are offered to the party or to her gods, so she can stay pure.
This class takes time to level as the amount of support to make trees is enormous; however, the herbalist strives to live in such harmony with nature, that s/he is effectively immortal. So, in time, abilities to create great trees come eventually, because the need arises from Oerth itself. This is how the female becomes the goddess.
Has an innate foreboding sense, which can give a sense of dangers from the Unknown. This sense comes with trusting the tree Elders. These help give an intuition of things which may otherwise be unknown to her/him. On this scale, 1 means "I haven't seen this before", 10 means "Scary as hell, will probably get minced." Eventually (like, perhaps lvl50), this develops into perfect intuition.
Her power can be used to create more powerful herbal solutions, called herbal bundles or unguents. Her mana helps the forest bring things to her find the things she can use easily. Because it would take years for her/him to see the result (and XP) of her efforts, s/he creates shrines out in the forests -- or anywhere where she can turn her mana into higher life. Passers through the forest can leave offerings at her/his shrines. S/he gains whatever level of the offering as a type of "future" -- the belief by the giver that her creations will result in the value sacrificed. If it is left by a higher level character, she gets the difference in mana. Higher level characters give mana. If the level of the character isn't known, it can be guess
Levels by the amount of life they add to the natural world. The mana held by the life thereby (because it is protected and grows towards greatness) counts towards her XP. She can create life or heal life and as she expends her mana to do so, it counts as EMP and gets converted to an equal amount of XP for her/him. If she creates the life, s/he has to see the successful result of her efforts for it to be turned into experience, otherwise gets experience as time advances in the realms and the creations continue. Or, more accurately, the "XP" of the life generated (i.e. how much power the plant or animal has: a factor of purity towards species, age, species chokmah (encoded wisdom), health). In this way, the herbalist can perfect each species towards it`s highest ideals and utility for the birds and other animals of the forest. Bountiful harvests may also get rewarded.STUB
She may have a forest that she has claimed as her own, for example, leaving wordless notes, special chimes, and winding paths into points of interest, raising the vibration with higher mana until it becomes enchanted. If a level 5 adventurer places an equivalent (level 5) offering at her shrine, the elders note it and keep tabs on the growing interest and abilities, she gets the equivalent in mana from her/his elders. If the character offers something of lesser value than their own level, she gets "blessed" with the difference in mana. A level 50 monk, leaving a gift of a level 20 emerald, allows her to jump to level 20 and be blessed. If the monk were only a level 10 monk who was lucky to have such a (LVL20) gemstone, they only jump to level 10, but receive the value of the gem. The remainder in sacrifice is a show of affection. She can lose levels if she allows a highly-aligned warrior to die. To this end, she may work with Magistrates to establish laws and develop civility. Selling herbs is a way to stay connection to civilization.
Potions that employ the use of avacado oil (with a pinch of the respective herb) allow the quaffer to become one with various herbs. Other nut oils that are produced for their sweet variety, allow the herbalist to become one with their respective trees. Just a teapsoon is necessary, even less. For this, they should sit under it domain of protection, or canopy, her back to the tree. She can hold a found fragment of the tree to help the alignment to it.
As she stores mana, it attracts the attention of the Earth-dieties (sometime simply advanced Tree-elders) and she has good luck, like food that she needs, or maybe an enchanted sword that she can to confer to a worthy warrior. Rather than guilds, higher-level herbalists and tree-elders magically protect the youngers` shrines and special places in the forest so that gifts left by others are received unmolested.
Can create herb bundles for treating various sickness (did you try eating a grue?): curing paralysis, hallucinations, sleepiness, have good luck, and even complete restoration. These herbal recipes should be kept secret, as using them without proper knowledge from this class dilutes their power. Also, they could turn against you. Sell these at an apothecary to acquire money. A complete restoration can fetch up to 1000 gold.
Gifts left at her shrines that the character cannot use for her higher-purposes can be sold in the villages to get the player money. In this way, players can shed unneeded items in their inventory without wasting the effort.
This class can sprinkle some grain-meal or other ceremonious offering over corpses in the woods, to bring more light into them. A player team for example, might kill a goblin and she will offer it to the gods, bringing better luck (higher alignment) to the party. As she gets the respect of large animals, they can add to her power (mana and PTY) and protect the woods or other landscapes with which she might challenge herself.
Has some command at the small scale over elementals, like to build a seed for a tree. At level 20 can make a herb. At level 40 could make tree sapling. Has art of jewelry: amulets, bracelets, and such, imbibing them with special powers (or perhaps just luck) by the use of rare gems and decoration. Each gem color connects to a different Earth diety with differing powers. Can make nature portals with stone circles to call elementals or other magic.
To build life, the player must learn everything there is to know about the species in question. This usually takes considerable experience. But once known, the universe supports her/his efforts and produces the species. The greatness of the creation depends on the level. It will cost some X amount of mana to imbue life into it. A one-foot sapling, perhaps 400 mana.
Some herbalists "bank" their mana through intricate (color, shape, density) use of visual and threaded forms, making symbols, weaves, or other designs to hold the power. Spirits of the realms favor such proper use of form. It essentially trades work for appreciation which re-converts into mana.
Gains levels with CHR and XP gains from knowledge, but needs PTY to do it virtuously, gets better with INT, becomes trusted with CON, masterful with ASM, to eventually become WISe...
At around Paragon, with the learning of the different wisdom in trees, she may find special boughs (branches) of certain trees and fashion wands out of them, to sell to mages and shops. Different wands give power to different kinds of spells, depending on the journey of the various Tree-Elders who hold power with the trees.
Gets fab from lore surround her character. Partners well with faeries.
The amount of eorth support to do level 60 tasks is enormous. Many herbalists content themselves with the ability to be in such harmony as to be immortal. Because of the maturity needed for higher-level work, many abilities don't open up until after level 10.
Levels are commensurate with ability:
- can make a four-leaf clover
- edible herb, like menthol ("mint")
- sunflower keiki and other wildflowers
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- minor medicinal herb
20: tree 10yr 40: fruit tree 60: oak tree 60years
Roughly, the #level years of tree growth, given expertise and affinity with the tree.
