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.