Naturalism (skill)
The service of a [[Shaman (class)|Shaman as a guardian of Nature is manifest directly in the skill of Naturalism. Expanding the role the Druids once served, the transition to Shaman also expanded their arsenal considerably, allowing the Shaman greater control over the forces of Nature itself rather than a subset of its physical presence.
By studying Naturalism, a Shaman first learns to navigate through their domain, gaining a degree of aid from the forests of Sapience and allowing them swift and safe passage. The Shaman also retains a haven of their choice in the form of a grove - a single location where the Shaman is master of their surroundings, a testament to the art of the Druid, and a home to center their studies. Within this location, the Shaman may shun all visitors, travel rapidly to other groves and even enhance the growth of nature, invigorating not only the plants within but all they claim as allies.
Perhaps the most powerful tool within Naturalism is the ability to manifest wild, tangling overgrowth anywhere sunlight may reach. While simply a mess of plants at first glance, overgrowth acts as an extension of the Shaman's might, directly controlled by mere will. A Shaman may spread the overgrowth as they please, even sprouting fresh life at their heel, and control it as if they stood beside it. Through this growth, a Shaman may pull their enemies from where they stand, animate the plantlife around them into a savage weapon, generate impassable barriers of vines and thorns and even invigorate all allies who stand within their domain.
Abilities
| Skill | Rank | Percent | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elevate | Novice | 50% | Ascend into the treetops with ease. |
| Emergence | Skilled | 0% | Purge the taint of the Earthen. |
| Blending | Gifted | 33% | Fade away into the forest's shadow. |
| Thorncoat | Expert | 50% | A coat of vile thorns to punish your foes. |
| Panacea | Virtuoso | 33% | Purify your body of ailments and maladies. |
| Rejuvenate | Fabled | 33% | Heal the land that has been blighted. |
| Malevolence | Mythical | 66% | Brand the foes of nature. |
Grove Abilities
| Skill | Rank | Percent | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perceive | Inept | 0% | Notice the presence of a Shamanic grove. |
| Imprint | Inept | 0% | Place your mark and bring forth a grove. |
| Sever | Inept | 0% | Destroy the bond between you and your grove. |
| Look | Apprentice | 0% | Use your grove to gaze upon another. |
| Cage | Apprentice | 33% | Prevent all entry to and from your abode. |
| Whisper | Apprentice | 66% | Speak through the trees themselves. |
| Eyes | Capable | 0% | Discern the presence of any within the forest. |
| Fertility | Capable | 33% | Speed the growth of plants temporarily. |
| Return | Adept | 0% | Quickly return home to your grove. |
| Everbloom | Adept | 33% | Invigorate body and mind with ephemeral blossoms. |
| GroveFlow | Skilled | 15% | Travel through Grove links. |
| Linking | Fabled | 0% | Form a permanent connection between groves. |
| Annihilation | Transcendent | 0% | Destroy everything in one fatal blast. |
Overgrowth Abilities
| Skill | Rank | Percent | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overgrowth | Novice | 0% | The surge of Dendara itself. |
| Release | Novice | 0% | Return the surge to the depths of Dendara. |
| Trespassers | Capable | 33% | View those who intrude upon your overgrowths. |
| Canopy | Capable | 66% | Occlude the skies with dense overgrowth. |
| Roots | Adept | 66% | Hold yourself steady amongst plantlife. |
| Screen | Skilled | 33% | Deflect telepathic efforts within your growth. |
| Thornwall | Skilled | 50% | A hindering wall of thorns. |
| Whispers | Skilled | 66% | Sense the movement of any within your domain. |
| Flow | Gifted | 0% | Travel across overgrowth to your target. |
| Pulling | Gifted | 66% | Draw a nearby foe to your location. |
| Hinder | Expert | 0% | Summon gripping vines to prevent trespass. |
| Animation | Virtuoso | 0% | Lash out at any hostile entities in your domain. |
| Surge | Virtuoso | 66% | Send forth a rapidly growing burst of plant life. |
| Renewal | Fabled | 25% | Spread healing energy through your overgrowth. |
| Displacement | Fabled | 66% | Swap places with another within your overgrowth. |
| Consumption | Mythical | 0% | Consume your overgrowth to empower your energy. |
| Barrier | Mythical | 33% | Cast a protective shield upon an ally. |
| Greenfoot | Transcendent | 0% | Travel across the land with growth at your heels. |
| Elevate | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | NATURE ELEVATE |
| Description: | A skilled Shaman need not bother to climb trees - should they wish to ascend to the canopy, you can
command nature to simply lift you. You can ignore disabling effects such as paresis due to nature doing the lifting for you. |
| Emergence | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | NATURE EMERGENCE |
| Description: | Should you find yourself standing within the sand of a Teradrim, you may beckon nature to return to
your location, eliminating any trace of taint. If a Teradrim is present then there will be a slight delay before the sand is removed. |
| Blending | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | NATURE BLEND |
| Description: | Being well-versed in the eminence of nature, you may simply step into the foliage to hide yourself.
You will only be able to find adequate cover when standing within a forest. |
| Thorncoat | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | NATURE THORNCOAT [friend] |
| Description: | By engulfing yourself or a friend in an armour of thorns, not only will you protect them from a
significant portion of physical damage, but the mitigated damage will be returned to their attacker. This ability lasts a short time and may only be summoned periodically. |
| Panacea | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | NATURE PANACEA |
| Description: | While standing within any forest or overgrown location, you may call upon the cycle itself to
remedy up to two random maladies that afflict you. Outside of such confines, you may only heal one affliction upon you. |
| Rejuvenate | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | NATURE REJUVENATE |
| Description: | Requires elemental ice.
You may restore the state of an environmental location that has been transformed for an ability through this simple incantation. It will cost 10 ice if it has been exterminated by a Necromancer, otherwise it is simply 1 ice to do so. |
| Malevolence | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | NATURE MALEVOLENCE <target> |
| Description: | You may declare your foe to be an enemy of nature itself, placing a curse upon them that will
destroy magical shields while they linger within a forest or overgrowth location. It will additionally increase the damage dealt by natural weather. Only one target may be cursed at a time and it will have little effect if you are in the same location as the target. |
| Perceive | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | PERCEIVE |
| Description: | Discern whether a location has been marked as the property of another in some fashion. |
| Imprint | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | GROVE IMPRINT |
| Description: | Bond with the forests in your location, making it your personal Grove. You may not form a Grove in
a location someone else has. |
| Sever | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | GROVE SEVER |
| Description: | Sever the bond you share with your Grove, allowing you imprint a new one elsewhere. There is a
short delay until it is fully severed. |
| Look | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | GROVE LOOK <target> |
| Description: | Draw upon the bond with your Grove to take a glimpse through the forest at someone standing within
one. |
| Cage | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | GROVE CAGE and GROVE UNCAGE |
| Description: | Cage off entry and exit from your Grove, preventing people from moving through it for a temporary
period of time, or until you release it. Additionally, the thick foliage will prevent many line of sight abilities while you remain within your Grove. |
| Whisper | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | GROVE WHISPER <target> <message> |
| Description: | Whisper through the trees to anybody standing in the forest. They will not know who is speaking to
them. |
| Eyes | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | GROVE EYES |
| Description: | Detect the presence and whereabouts of all people who stand within a forested location. |
| Fertility | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | GROVE FERTILITY |
| Description: | At your behest, you may make a variety of wild flowers grow instantly within your Grove, which you
can then use. You may only perform this ability once every month. |
| Return | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | GROVE RETURN |
| Description: | Return to your Grove from any forested location after a short delay. This is a channelled action
and will require your full attention until completion. |
| Everbloom | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | GROVE EVERBLOOM |
| Description: | Draws upon the latent energy of your Grove to create a radiant garden that lasts for one Aetolian
day. This garden will grant increased willpower and endurance regeneration for everybody within your Grove. This ability is taxing upon your Grove and will require time to recharge before it can be cast again. |
| GroveFlow | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | GROVE FLOW |
| Description: | Travel through between two Groves that are linked together. Refer to AB NATURALISM LINKING for more
information on how the link is formed. |
| Linking | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | GROVE LINK <target> |
| Description: | Create a unidirectional spiritual pathway from your Grove to the Grove of one who considers you an
ally. Once linked, any Shaman can use Groveflow in your Grove to end up at the linked Grove. |
| Annihilation | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | GROVE ANNIHILATION |
| Description: | At the cost of your Grove and the surrounding plantlife, you can completely destroy all within your
location in a single devastating wave of power that will deal an incredibly large amount of spirit damage. In order to perform this action, you must be still for a short period as the power is drawn forth from your Grove. Once the deed is done, the forests will reject your touch and prevent you from imprinting a new Grove for at least one full season. |
| Overgrowth | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | NATURE OVERGROWTH |
| Description: | NATURE OVERGROWTH LIST
While standing outdoors in a non-urban environment, you can empower the force of nature, causing plants to overgrow and encompass your surroundings. An overgrown location will allow numerous abilities to be used, many of them remotely. Leaving an overgrown location will not cause the growth to recede, though each overgrowth will place a toll on your willpower. |
| Release | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | NATURE RELEASE [HERE] |
| Description: | In a single command, you may force all overgrown locations you control to recede at once.
Overgrowth you are standing in will not be affected, unless you supply the HERE argument which will then only affect your current room. |
| Trespassers | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | NATURE TRESPASSERS |
| Description: | List all those who currently step upon your overgrowth, along with their location. |
| Canopy | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | NATURE CANOPY |
| Description: | Requires an overgrown location.
By causing the plant growth around you to condense into a barrier from the sky, you may turn your surroundings into an indoor location. You may only support one canopy at a time. |
| Roots | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | NATURE ROOTS |
| Description: | Requires an overgrown location.
Call forth roots from your overgrowth to secure you to the ground, making you heavier and harder to move, much like the density defence. |
| Screen | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | NATURE SCREEN |
| Description: | Requires an overgrown location.
While standing within the presence of your overgrowth, you may command the life around you to form a barrier - one capable of introducing disruptive static into the mind of a telepath when they attempt to pierce its veil. This will increase the length of time it takes for a telepath to obtain a mind lock upon those in your location. You may only support one screen at a time. |
| Thornwall | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | NATURE THORNWALL |
| Description: | Requires an overgrown location.
Create a wall of hindering thorns across all exits. Any who pass through it will be scratched by the thorns, causing them to bleed and delivering the venom loki. The thornwall will wither away faster if there is no overgrowth in the room and/or you do not remain with it. |
| Whispers | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | NATURE WHISPERS <ON/OFF> |
| Description: | At a significant drain to your willpower, track all movement in and adjacent to your all your
overgrowth. |
| Flow | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | NATURE FLOW <target> |
| Description: | Requires an overgrown location.
While standing within your overgrowth, you may instantly travel to anyone else within your domain. |
| Pulling | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | NATURE PULL <target> |
| Description: | Requires an overgrown location.
Vines will lash out from the overgrowth in your current room, attempting to pull in a target from an adjacent room. If they are within line-of-sight, you can try to pull them providing they stand within your overgrowth. While it can be prevented by the density defence, if they are marked by your malevolence then the vines will have the strength to overcome it. |
| Hinder | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | NATURE HINDER |
| Description: | Requires an overgrown location.
With a single command, you can force the plantlife around you to grow rapidly and snake around the legs of those within your presence - indiscriminately hindering all movement including your own. |
| Animation | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | NATURE ANIMATION |
| Description: | Requires an overgrown location.
Any enemy standing within overgrowth in your current area will be struck by a thorny stalk that will deal cutting-based damage and inflict them with the loki venom. |
| Surge | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | NATURE SURGE <target> |
| Description: | Requires an overgrown location.
While standing within your overgrowth, you may direct the overgrowth around you to surge toward a target - moving it rapidly through every room between you and your target. This may only be performed within the same area, and only within a limited range. |
| Renewal | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | NATURE RENEWAL |
| Description: | Requires an overgrown location.
Spread healing energy over your overgrowths in the local area, slowly healing your allies standing within your overgrowth for the next few seconds. |
| Displacement | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | NATURE DISPLACEMENT <target> |
| Description: | Requires an overgrown location.
While standing within your overgrowth, you may instantly swap locations with anybody else that stands within your domain. |
| Consumption | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | NATURE CONSUMPTION |
| Description: | Requires an overgrown location.
Instantly consume the location's overgrowth effect, even if it isn't yours. Doing so will generate 3 primal energy for use with Primality. There is a short cooldown on this ability before you may do it again. |
| Barrier | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | NATURE BARRIER <target> |
| Description: | Usable from overgrowth or a forest room. This will summon a magical shield around any target,
excluding yourself, in the local area who also stands within an overgrowth or a forest. |
| Greenfoot | |
|---|---|
| Syntax: | NATURE GREENFOOT <ON/OFF> |
| Description: | With a heavy toll to willpower, an overgrowth will spread out from your very feet after moving
should you linger within a location. This overgrowth will recede again once you leave the location. |