Unkempt Warden

The chosen servants of Ayna, unkempt wardens are devoted to protecting their goddess from harm. Unkempt wardens are generally loners, preferring the company of trees, animals, and fey over that of their fellows. Even the wardens themselves do not consort with each other, and it is not unheard of for two wardens to actually oppose each other, each one attempting to do what they believe serves their goddess best.

Unkempt wardens are typically very cunning and a bit rough around the edges. Many choose to live in peace with their surroundings, though a growing number (typically referred to as feral wardens by their brethren) have instead chosen to live as predators, fighting literally tooth and nail to protect the forests they claim as their home. Thus, common people tend to treat known wardens with suspicion, sometimes even after a given warden has lived among them a great deal of time. Due to this stigma, many unkempt wardens who still deal with their friends and family among civilization simply pretend to be druids.

Unkempt wardens tend to wander from area to area, marveling at how Ayna’s beauty manifests itself differently in each new land they visit. The rolling hills of Lanaren, the ancient, powerful mountains of Druskeden; each is beautiful in the eyes of a warden. Many such travelers dream of visiting each of Ayna’s majestic forests, and see adventuring as a means to this end.

Hit Dice: d8

Requirements

In order to qualify to become an Unkempt Warden, a character must meet the following criteria.

Alignment: Neutral

Patron Deity: Ayna

Base Attack Bonus: +4

Skills: Knowledge (nature) 4 ranks, Survival 4 ranks

Feats: God Touched, Skill Versatility (Handle Animal, Knowledge (nature), or Survival)

Spellcasting: Ability to cast 2nd level divine spells. Clerics who wish to become unkempt wardens must have access to the Plant domain.

Class Skills

The Unkempt Warden’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Gather Information (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (local) (Int), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Swim (Str), and Survival (Str). See Chapter 4 of the Player’s Handbook for skill descriptions.

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Class Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special	Spellcasting
1	+0	+2	+0	+2	Plant Spells, Fey Mastery	-
2	+1	+3	+0	+3	Natural Summons	+1 caster level
3	+2	+3	+1	+3	Animal Mastery	-
4	+3	+4	+1	+4	Ayna’s Blessing	+1 caster level
5	+3	+4	+1	+4	Unkempt Companion	-
6	+4	+5	+2	+5	Plant Mastery	+1 caster level
7	+5	+5	+2	+5	Earthquake	-
8	+6	+6	+2	+6	Unwilling Wood	+1 caster level
9	+6	+6	+3	+6	Animal Shapes	-
10	+7	+7	+3	+7	Treant Form	+1 caster level

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Unkempt Warden prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Unkempt Wardens gain proficiency with simple weapons and light armor. Unkempt Wardens with natural weapons tend to rely upon those, eschewing the use of manufactured weapons. Wardens lacking claws, teeth, or the like typically choose a simple wooden weapon, such as a quarterstaff or a club, to aid them in combat.

Spellcasting: An unkempt warden continues training with magic. Thus, at 2nd level and every other level thereafter, the character gains new spells per day and spells known as if she had also gained a level in whatever divine spellcasting class she belonged to prior to adding this prestige class. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that level would have gained (improved chance of controlling or rebuking undead, metamagic or item creation feats, etc).

Plant Spells: An unkempt warden can pray for and receive any Plant domain spell as if it were on her divine spell list. The spell uses a spell slot of a level equal to its level in the Plant domain list.

Fey Mastery (Su): The unkempt warden is seen as a friend and ally by all fey, including both the Seelie and Unseelie courts. She may add her class level to all Charisma-based skill checks she makes when dealing with fey.

In addition, she becomes familiar with the mischievous ways of fey, gaining a divine bonus to her saving throws against all spells and spell-like abilities cast by fey equal to her Charisma modifier.

Natural Summons (Su): An unkempt warder of at least 2nd level gains the ability to summon animals to her defense. She adds the summon nature’s ally spells to each of her spell lists. When casting a summon nature’s ally spell, she may summon creatures from the list one level higher than the spell she is casting.

Animal Mastery (Su): At 3rd level, the unkempt warden draws closer to her goddess and the bond she shares with animals. This bond is sensed by all creatures of the animal type, who refuse to attack or harm the warden unless magically controlled. Even if magically or psionically compelled to attack the warden, the animal must succeed at a Will saving throw (DC 10 + the warden’s class level + her Charisma modifier) each round it attempts to attack the warden. Success allows the creature to attack the warden normally, while failure causes the animal to waste that round whimpering and cowering in fear.

In addition, the warden gains the ability to call upon the forces Ayna used to create Dire animals. Once per day, the unkempt warden may cause animals in her vicinity to enlarge and strengthen, as if they had been subjected to an animal growth spell. This ability is similar to that spell, save that the warden is able enlarge up to one animal per class level, for a duration of one minute per class level.

Ayna’s Blessing (Su): An unkempt warden who has reached 4th level undergoes changes in her physical appearance as the season’s change. During the spring and summer, an unkempt warden’s hair resembles green, loamy vines. In the fall, it turns red and gold and becomes finer. In winter, her hair becomes white as snow. When in a wilderness environment that matches the seasonal change the warden is experiencing, she gains a +4 circumstance bonus to Hide checks. In addition, the unkempt warden gains the ability to commune with nature once per day.

Unkempt Companion (Su): Upon reaching 5th level, Ayna rewards the warden with a loyal companion. The unkempt warden chooses either an ape, bear (black), bison, boar, cheetah, crocodile, dire badger, dire bat, dire weasel, leopard, lizard (monitor), shark (large), snake (large constrictor or viper), or wolverine and applies the Wood Element template to the chosen animal. The warden’s unkempt companion increases in power as she advances, as seen in the table below.

Warden Level	Bonus HD	Natural Armor Adj.	Str/Dex Adj.	Bonus Tricks	Special
5th-6th	+2	+2	+0	1	Link, Share Spells
7th-8th	+3	+3	+1	2	Evasion
9th-10th	+4	+4	+2	3	Multiattack

Bonus HD: Extra eight-sided (d8) Hit Dice, each of which gains a Constitution modifier as normal. Extra Hit Dice improve the unkempt companion’s base attack and base save bonuses. An unkempt companion’s base attack bonus is equal to that of a cleric of a level equal to its Hit Dice, and base saves equal to a fighter of a level equal to its Hit Dice. The companion gains additional skill points and feats for bonus HD as normal for advancing a monster’s Hit Dice (see the Monstrous Manual).

Natural Armor Adjustment: The number on the table is an improvement to the unkempt companion’s natural armor bonus. It represents the preternatural toughness of the warden’s companion.

Str/Dex Adjustment: Add this figure to the unkempt companion’s Strength and Dexterity scores.

Bonus Tricks: The number given in this column is the total number of “bonus” tricks the companion knows in addition to any the warden may choose to teach it. These bonus tricks do not require any time or Handle Animal checks, and they do not count against the normal limit of tricks known by the companion. The warden selects these bonus tricks, and, once selected, they do not change.

Link (Ex): An unkempt warden can handle her companion as a free action, or push it as a move action, even if she does not have ranks in the Handle Animal skill. The warden gains a +4 bonus on all Handle Animal checks made regarding her unkempt companion. This ability allows the warden to use Handle Animal on her companion, even though it is technically a plant.

Share Spells (Ex): At the unkempt warden’s option, she can choose to have any spell she casts on herself affect her companion as well, provided the companion is within 5 feet of her at the time of casting. If the spell effect has a duration other than instantaneous, it stops affecting the companion if it moves further than 5feet away and will not affect the companion again, even if it returns to the warden before the duration expires. Additionally, the warden may cast a spell with a target of “You” on her companion as a touch spell instead of on herself. A warden and her companion may share spells even if such spells would normally fail to affect a creature with the Plant type.

Evasion (Ex): When subjected to an attack that normally allows a Reflex saving throw for half damage, an unkempt companion takes no damage on a successful save.

Multiattack (Ex): The unkempt companion gains multiattack as a bonus feat if it did not already possess it. If it does not have the requisite three natural attacks, it instead gains an additional attack with its primary natural weapon, at a -5 penalty to the attack roll.

Plant Mastery (Su): At 6th level, the unkempt warden gains the ability to speak with plants at will.

Earthquake (Sp): A 7th level unkempt warden is able to channel the wrath of her deity, manifesting it in the form of an earthquake. She may do so once per day, as if the spell were cast by a sorcerer of her class level.

Unwilling Wood (Su): By 8th level, the unkempt warden has come to understand the natural order of things, and learns how to change a creature’s position within that order. Once per day, the warden may touch a creature, forcing it to succeed at a Fortitude saving throw (DC 10 + the warden’s class level + her Charisma modifier) or transform into a tree.

A creature transformed into a tree must then succeed at a Will saving throw (at the same DC) or lose all its extraordinary, supernatural, and spell-like abilities, as well as its ability to cast spells and manifest psionic powers (if it had either), and adopt the alignment, special abilities, and mental ability scores of a normal tree (typically, Neutral alignment, no special abilities, and nonability scores in Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma). It retains its class, level, base attack bonus, saving throw bonuses, and class abilities (other than spellcasting or psionics) that are not extraordinary, supernatural, or spell-like, though the usefulness of these abilities to a normal tree is debatable.

A creature who succeeds at the Will saving throw retains his mental ability scores and other class features, but, being a tree, lacks the ability to move or speak. A creature so affected can still take purely mental actions (such as manifesting psionic abilities or silent and still or quickened spells which lack a material component), but is otherwise identical to a normal tree. The creature may converse freely with anyone under the effects of a speak with plants spell or similar effect.

This ability may only be used in an area that is capable of sustaining a normal tree. Thus, the warden could use this ability on a creature in a forest, but not against a creature aboard a ship. In unusual areas, affected creatures will assume a form appropriate to their environments; thus, creatures in a desert may transform into large cacti, while creatures in colder environments will assume the form of coniferous trees. A tree created by this ability is roughly five feet tall and one foot wide for every Hit Dice possessed by the transformed creature.

Animal Shapes (Sp): Unkempt wardens are capable of transforming their allies into animals, allowing them to function as if they were under an animal shapes spell. A warden of at least 9th level may use this ability once per day, as if cast by a sorcerer of her class level.

Treant Form (Su): Upon reaching 10th level, the unkempt warden gains the ability to transform into a mighty treant once per day. This transformation is a full-round action that provokes attacks of opportunity, and lasts for one hour per class level, or until the warden assumed her natural shape. This ability is otherwise similar to a polymorph spell.

Ex-Unkempt Wardens

An unkempt warden who willingly changes alignment or who ceases the worship of Ayna immediately loses all benefits of this class. In addition, all vegetation within 60 feet of the character withers and dies within minutes, and all animals and fey she encounters are treated as hostile towards her. She regains her abilities and advancement potential if she atones for her actions (see the atonement spell on page 201 of the Player’s Handbook).

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