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Codex Paragons: Forest Dwellers

This product requires the use of the Dungeons & Dragons, Third Edition Core Books, published by Wizards of the Coast Inc. This product utilizes updated material from the v3.5 revision.

Forest Dwellers

Paragon (noun) - an ideal instance; a perfect embodiment of a concept . 1

Racial paragons represent the epitome of their kind, excelling in everything their race excels,

yet vulnerable in all the ways their kin are vulnerable. Possessed of traits that elevate them well

above the ordinary, however, racial paragons represent a race's potential evolved to its utmost. Every

race, including its subraces and variations, features a paragon ideal that epitomizes it, and the

Codex Paragon catalogues them all, from the lowly kobold to the mighty ogre.

This chapter of the codex details the paragons of the forest dwellers, those races that make

their home among the thick and primeval woodlands. Hence are presented the mighty centaur,

powerful protector of his tribe; the bewitching dryad, a fae who animates the trees to do her

bidding; the feral wild elf , invincible in battle with his cooshee companion; the reclusive wood elf ,

master of stealth in the forest; the jovial forest gnome, companion to wildlife and enemy to

goblinkind; and the lusty satyr, master musician and bon vivant extraordinaire.

By Scott G. Carter and Mark Gedak

Codex Paragons: Forest Dwellers

are fundamental to the centaur paragon's philosophy

and the way in which he interacts with the greater

world.

Background: Centaur paragons train for many years

to develop their inherent skills. This is often done

under the guidance of another paragon who helps them

to full realize the impact they make on the environ-

ment. Through practice and careful study, the centaur

paragon learns to minimize the impact his movements

have on the natural world. All centaurs are trained to

use longswords and composite bows, though the centaur

paragon will often take to wielding oversized weapons at

the earliest opportunity to gain proficiency with them

as early as possible.

Races: Centaur paragons are most comfortable

among members of their tribe, or with other centaurs, as

a close second choice. When out of their tribal lands,

they get along better with members of other good races

of the forest ecology, such as elves and satyrs, with

whom they can share the goal of seeking benefit for the

forest community as a whole. They are natually distrust-

ing of other "civilized" races, such as humans and

dwarves, though the centaur paragon knows enough to

judge each individual by their own merits. Halflings and

gnomes hold a special fascination for the centaur

paragon, and they often become de facto protectors to

these small adventurers. Half-orcs, unfortunately, must

prove themselves twice as hard to be regarded with half

the respect due to their specific heritage.

Other Classes: Centaur paragons adventure best with

those who hold similar beliefs as they do. As such the

lawfulness of monks and paladins is often seen as too

restrictive and the selfishness and frivolity of the bard

class make them unlikely companions. Centaurs work

well with barbarians, rangers, fighters, clerics and

druids. They have been know to be companions of wiz-

ards and sorcerers as well as long as they do not wield

necromantic magic.

Centaur Paragon

Centaur paragons are intelligent and resourceful; they

have learned to live in harmony with their surroundings

and to leave little impact on the environment in which

they inhabit. More powerful that their typical brethren,

a centaur paragon is often seen as a champion of the

tribe and often serve as one of its war chiefs.

Adventures: Most centaur paragons do not adventure

for personal wealth or fame; instead they adventure to

enhance their own skills to better support and protect

the tribe. Most at home in the wilderness, centaur

paragons feel uncomfortable underground and are rarely

seen "dungeon crawling," as their physiology makes stairs

difficult and ladders next to impossible. Centaur

paragons who have lost their tribe often act as

guardians of the weak, offering succor to any who need

it.

Characteristics: Centaur paragons are powerful war-

riors, able to move through the world with an almost

unnatural grace. The centaur paragon is, like the rest of

his race, normally reclusive, hiding from the rampant

consumption of the "civilized" world, yet extremely

skilled in war, should he be required to raise his bows or

draw his sword. Centaur paragons are able to obscure

their movements through the natural world without

even trying and are able to wield weapons larger than

what would seem possible with relative ease, making

them fearsome opponents to anyone foolish enough to

engage them.

Alignment: The vast majority of centaurs paragons

are good; this outlook is ingrained from the centaur's

youngest years because only through cooperation and

caring can the centaur tribe flourish in a forest filled

with many predators. Although centaurs paragons gener-

ally help anyone they find in need, they are very terri-

torial and will actively prevent others from finding

their tribe's village.

Religion: The centaur community is dominated by a

reverence for nature and sanctity of community. These

two aspects, if not worship in actual religious ceremony,

GAME RULE INFORMATION

Centaur paragons have the following game statistics.

Abilities: Strength is the most important ability for a

Codex Paragons: Forest Dwellers

centaur paragon to possess as they are often needed to

defend the tribe against outside threats. Both intelli-

gence and wisdom are also important as they allow the

centaur paragon to learn the skills to provide for the

tribe and to notice threats before they reach the village.

Alignment: Usually neutral good.

Hit Die: d8.

(such as natural thorns, briars, overgrown areas and simi-

lar terrain) at his normal speed and without taking

damage or suffering any other impairment. Thorns, bri-

ars, and overgrown areas magically manipulated to

impede movement still affect him normally.

Oversized Weapon (Ex): At 2nd level, the centaur

paragon may wield a Huge longsword or Huge composite

longbow without penalty.

Ability Boost (Ex): At 3rd level, the centau paragon's

Strength score increases by 2 points.

Class Skills

The centaur paragon's class skills (and the key ability

for each skill) are Craft (Int), Hide (Dex), Knowledge

(nature) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Search

(Int), Spot (Wis) and Survival (Wis)

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int Modifier.

Dryad Paragon

Wild and mysterious, the dryad is, more so than perhaps

any other race, a being of the deep wood. Seemingly

solitary beings, dryads rarely congregate as other races

do, though that does not mean they are unconnected.

Dryads use other creatures they befriend or charm to

send messages to one another, to warn of incursion and

danger in the wood or simply to pass on things that

their fey minds find interesting. Networks of informa-

tion develop this way, webs that can spread for miles,

connecting one dryad to another. At the centers of

these webs are often dryad paragons, beings usually tied

to the oldest trees in the deepest parts of the wood.

These dryad paragons grow in their connection to the

wood and to their home trees more so than any of their

kin, and when needed, can transform from their comely

fey visage into a raging force of nature.

Adventures: Dryads paragons, much like dryads in

general, as a rule do not adventure; their dependence on

their home tree prevents them from venturing further

than 300 yards from it for more than a few hours.

Instead they act through surrogates, typically wild crea-

tures that the dryad paragon befriends or creatures that

she has charmed to act in her stead. Rarely, and only in

dire need, will a dryad paragon risk travel.

Characteristics: Mostly, dryad paragons think like

trees; they are slow to act, and do not speak if they do

not have to do so, preferring to observe and make plans,

dealing with threats indirectly whenever possible. This

Table 1: The Centaur Paragon

Base

Attack

Bonus

Class

Level

Fort

Save

Ref

Save

Will

Save

Special

Leave No Trace,

Woodland Stride

1st

2nd

Oversized Weapon

3rd

Ability Boost (Str +2)

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the centaur

paragon.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Centaurs paragons

are proficient with all simple weapons, martial weapons

and light barding.

Leave No Trace (Ex): At 1st level, the centaur

paragon becomes mindful of his movements, lest a single

misstep bring tragedy to their village. A centaur

paragon is always considered to be a Medium creature

and hiding its trail for the purposes of being tracked,

regardless of the speed at which the centaur paragon

travels.

Woodland Stride (Ex): At 1st level, the centaur

paragon may move through any sort of undergrowth

Codex Paragons: Forest Dwellers

does not mean that they cannot or will not act when

needed. Being fey, however, dryad paragons are creatures

of contradictions. While typically aloof, distant and

tree-like, a dryad paragon can take a fancy to human or

elven males and attempt to charm or seduce them,

enjoying the attention. Similarly a dryad paragon can

quickly become jealous or angry at human or elven

females, especially those in the company of comely

males. While this seemingly shallow and superficial

behavior might drive a dryad paragon's behavior for a

time, nothing will cause her to risk the health and well

being of her woods and especially her tree. When mani-

festing for a mortal creature the dryad paragon rarely

does so near her home tree. Rather, if she sense she must

do so, she appears as far from her tree as possible to

ascertain the intent of her visitors before risking herself

or her tree.

Alignment: Dryad paragons are almost always chaot-

ic good, and as with other forest races, their outlook on

life is defined by nature and not external laws. Their

innate concern for the well being of their tree and the

creatures of their wood means that dryad paragons are,

almost without exception, good aligned creatures. Rarely,

and most often due to the influence of corruptive

magic, will a dryad paragon turn evil.

Religion: A dryad paragon is more likely to be an

object of worship and devotion than a practitioner, as

they are occasionally taken for avatars of nature or

nature gods by some races. Since druids and rangers are

among the few sentient beings they normally deal with,

they do share some of their philosophy. Dryad paragons

are likely to interact pleasantly with followers of nature

deities, but simultaneously may perceive those deities as

no more exalted than any other aspect of the natural

world.

Background: The origins of dryads in general are

obscure at best. The best elven and druidic scholars

believe that dryads are a manifestation of the interac-

tion of the elemental plane of nature with the material

world. This interaction somehow gives birth to a dryad,

typically in an oak tree, tough it can manifest in other

kinds of long-lived plants as well. Dryad paragons typi-

cally develop from ordinary dryads who have had unusu-

ally long lives; the average dryad paragon is likely cen-

turies old and equally unlikely to know anything of the

outside world, save that which she has learned from

other creatures. Again, being fey, there are contradic-

tions. Occasionally druids report seeing dryad paragons

that appear as very young women or even girls attached

to trees that are no more than a few years old. These

druids believe that these dryad paragons develop because

their home trees are somehow representative of the

quintessential nature of their species, mystically attuned

to the ideal trees of the plane of nature.

Races: Dryad paragons get along best with elves of

all the mortal races, although seem fond of humans,

particularly men, for some reason. This apparently sexu-

al instinct is odd in a creature that does not reproduce

through sexual means. Aside from this fascination,

dryad paragons have little interest in most races beyond

seeing that they cause no harm and leave the woods as

expediently as possible. The exception seems to be with

dwarves. Perhaps due to the fact that dwarves are rare in

areas where a dryad paragon may live, dryad paragons

have been known to demonstrate an unusual curiosity

for the race, typically to the dwarf's discomfort.

Other Classes: Druids, rangers, forest dwelling bar-

barians, and other classes that frequent the wild are the

only ones that the dryad paragon interacts with regular-

ly. Bards and sorcerers, with their innate charisma, often

attract the attention of dryads, for better or worse.

Fighters, paladins, and other classes that carry large

weapons are typically distrusted by the dryad paragon as

they are too similar to axes and other cutting tools used

on trees. Similarly, classes like the wizard, that may

employ fire magic, are also distrusted. The meditative

nature of the monk gives the dryad paragon a point of

familiarity, and their tendency to not use weapons fur-

ther strengthens a possible bond. The rogue, and other

classes more at home in the city, are simply not encoun-

tered frequently enough for the dryad to care.

Codex Paragons: Forest Dwellers

GAME RULE INFORMATION

Dryad paragons have the following game statistics.

Abilities: Dryad Paragons are often very Charismatic.

Due to their frenzy ability, they are more likely to

have a good Dexterity score, rather than Strenght,

although a decent Constitution score helps augment

her average Hit Die and poor Fortitude saves. Both

Wisdom and Intelligence help her class skills, though

Wisdom is essential if the Dryad Paragon follows the

logical inclination for druidic magic.

Alignment: Usually chaotic good.

Hit Die: d6.

Lifespeak (Ex): At 1st level, a dryad paragon learns

how to speak freely with all plants and animals, as if

they shared a common language. This does not give her

any power over these creatures or grant them height-

ened intellects.

Skill Bonus (Ex): At 1st level, a dryad paragon's

racial bonus on wild empathy increases to +6.

Suggestion (Sp): At 2nd level, a dryad paragon can

use her suggestion spell-like ability three times per day.

Tree Warrior (Sp): At 2nd level, a dryad paragon

can animate a young tree within 120 ft. as a standard

action to act as a messenger or guardian. It takes a

standard action for the tree warrior to animate. Once

animated, the dryad paragon may take other actions,

and she may end the effect at will. A tree warrior

counts as a familiar or companion for the purpose of

meeting requisites for feats, spells, etc. The dryad

paragon may only have one animated tree warrior at

any one time.

Ability Boost (Ex): At 3rd level, the dryad

paragon's Charisma score increases by 2 points.

Class Skills

The dryad paragon's class skills (and the key ability for

each skill) are Escape Artist (Dex), Handle Animal

(Cha), Hide (Dex), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Listen

(Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Ride (Dex), Spot (Wis),

Survival (Wis) and Use Rope (Dex)

Skill Points at Each Level: 6 + Int.

Tree Warrior

CR 2

Table 2: The Dryad Paragon

N Medium plant

Init -2; Senses low-light vision; Listen +4, Spot +4

Base

Attack

Bonus

Class

Level

Fort

Save

Ref

Save

Will

Save

Special

AC 14, touch 8, flat-footed 14

hp 29 (4 HD); DR 5/slashing

Fort +6, Dex -1, Will +3

Weakness fire

1st

Lifespeak, Skill Bonus

2nd

Suggestion , Tree Warrior

3rd

Ability Boost (Cha +2)

Speed 20 ft. (2 squares)

Melee 2 slams +6 (1d8+3)

Base Atk +3, Grp +6

Atk Options double damage to objects

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the dryad

paragon.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Dryad paragons

are proficient with all simple weapons, shortbows and

longbows. Dryad paragons are not proficient in any

type of armor or shields.

Abilities Str 17, Dex 7, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 8

Feats Iron Will, Toughness

Skills Intimidate +5, Listen +4, Spot +4

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