The Oak
CLERGY: Clerics, specialty priests, enchanters
CLERGY’S ALIGN.: NG, CG, N, CN
TURN UNDEAD: C: Yes, SP: No, Enc: No
CMND. UNDEAD: C: No, SP: No, Enc: No
All clerics and specialty priests of Verenestra receive religion (Seelie Court) as a bonus nonweapon proficiency. Verenestra’s clergy are among the most reclusive and aloof of all sylvan faiths. Concerned with the pursuit of perfect beauty, both in themselves and their surroundings, many isolate themselves in a small area and shape it slowly over time to bring out as much natural charm as possible, and they discourage trespassers, although active harm to those who intrude on their domains is rare. They much prefer to use magic to guide the interlopers away or distract them into leaving, without giving away their presence. A not insignificant group of the Oak Princess’s following is more social, however. Often older members of the faith for whom the pursuit of beauty has lost its charm, these members of the faith concern themselves with the interests of female faeries, attending childbirths, offering guidance and counsel on matters of romance and marriage, as well as ensuring female faeries are not mistreated or hunted by goblinoids or other outside threats. Even these members of the clergy avoid interacting directly with outsiders, and are rarely encountered or known even to a sylvan lands druids and rangers. Verenestra’s clergy build neither temples nor shrines, preferring to worship the Oak Princess in places of natural beauty. They aren’t above altering their favorite worship locations to enhance the beauty, and a discerning eye can spot their hand when beautiful local flowers just happen to be growing in the perfect place to catch the stray ray of morning sun shining through the leaves overhead. These touches are always of a minimalist nature, and only plants and objects that would be reasonably found in such locations will be used. For those without years of familiarity with the local environment, all these enhancements would easily go unnoticed. While not formal titles, novices in the service of the Oak Princess are often called Budding Acorns as a term of endearment. Similarly, novices will refer to full priestesses as Mistress Oak; this term is not used between full priestesses, who only refer to each other by name. Those outside of the clergy who insist on an honorific or title will often use the term Lady of the Oak or Lady Oak, but the clergy neither encourages nor discourages this. Specialty priests are called oaksisters. The clergy of Verenestra consists almost exclusively of specialty priests (88%), with much smaller contingents of clerics (9%) and enchanters (3% the priesthood is entirely female (100%). The clergy of the Oak Princess is quite diverse, with large numbers of nymphs (including grain nymphs; 27%) and dryads (including hamadryads; 26%), with the remainder composed of sylphs (14%), pixies (9%), sprites (6%), oreads (4%), nereids (2%), Elves and half-elves (1%), other faerie and sylvan folk (including atomies, centaurs, grigs, voadkyn, etc.; 10%), and females of other races (including humans, selkies, sirines, etc.; 1%).
Dogma:
Natural magic exists within beautiful forms, be they sylvan glades, meadows of wild flowers, or the feminine form of faeriefolk. Such natural magic is the source of the power and charms of the sylvan races, and should be deployed to aid and protect the creatures of the woodlands. This magic can alter the motivations and intentions of outsiders, and those who do not serve the interests of the land can be shaped to that end.Day-to-Day Activities:
The priesthood of Verenestra has few duties, and most members of the clergy spend their days reveling in the beauty within themselves and that which surrounds them. Besides spending time on their own appearance, they take care to enhance the natural spaces around them, planting naturalistic gardens of local wildflowers and encouraging the faeries around them to care about such things as well. Some members of the clergy, especially as they get older and worldlier, take time to teach young female faeries about their coming adulthood. While regarded by outsiders as supremely vain and self-centered, they are in fact highly sought after by female faeries who wish advice or just a caring ear for their problems. Non-sylvan followers of the Oak Princess tend to be about as vain and self-centered as other outsiders expect, as they do not have the social communities of the faerie folk to rely on and more likely turned to Verenestra’s service in the hopes of gaining the otherworldly beauty common to her most famous followers. While not the type to go to any length to preserve or enhance their beauty, it is typically their greatest interest.Important Ceremonies/Holy Days
: The first day of each season is sacred to Verenestra’s clergy, and they hold ceremonies to inaugurate the changes the seasons bring to the forests they inhabit. Such ceremonies are generally deeply personal and observed alone or in small groups. These ceremonies have no specific names, but revolve around saying goodbye to the beauty of the previous season and welcoming in the beauty of the next, both personal and environmental.Major Centers of Worship: The Oak Princess’s clergy do not typically perform pilgrimages or create centers of worship, so there are no widely-known sites sacred to the faithful.
Affiliated Orders: The clergy of Verenestra sponsor no martial or monastic orders, although occasionally all-female bands of rangers dedicate themselves to her service.
Priestly Vestments: As services tend to be personal and semi-private affairs, Verenestra’s priesthood has no formal raiments. Most members favor light, flowing garments of gauzy, translucent fabric that offers minimal covering, and accessories such as jewelry are always included. Hair is normally worn long, in a variety of styles to each individual’s taste, tending towards the more exotic.
Adventuring Garb: The Oak Princess’s priesthood is not prone to adventure or travel; most faerie folk clergy wear clothing and use weapons common to their race. Other members of the clergy favor light clothing that isn’t restrictive and simple weapons that are most useful for self-defense, such as staves and short bows. Only rarely is any armor worn.
Priesthood
Specialty Priests (Oaksisters)
REQUIREMENTS: Wisdom 10, Charisma 17PRIME REQ.: Wisdom, Charisma
ALIGNMENT: NG, CG, N
WEAPONS: dagger, dart, knife, lasso, mancatcher, net, quarterstaff, short bow, sling
ARMOR: None
MAJOR SPHERES: All, animal, charm, elemental (air, earth, water), healing, plant, protection, time, weather
MINOR SPHERES: Divination, guardian
MAGICAL ITEMS: Same as druids
REQ. PROFS: Dancing or singing (pick one), weather sense
BONUS PROFS: Herbalism
- While most oaksisters are dryads, nymphs, or sylphs, members of nearly every sylvan race are called to Verenestra’s service, as are a handful of humans, elves, half-elves, sirens, and nereids. Note that this risks angering any native goddesses of beauty within such a creature’s native pantheon.
- Oaksisters must be female.
- Oaksisters are not allowed to multiclass.
- Oaksisters can cast charm person or mammal (as the 1st-level priest spell) once per day. If the target is a male humanoid, they receive a −1 penalty on his saving throw for every point of Charisma the oaksister has above 16 (−1 at 17, −2 at 18, etc.).
- At 3rd level, oaksisters can cast barkskin (as the 2nd-level priest spell) or fast growth (as the 1st-level priest spell) once per day.
- At 5th level, oaksisters can cast fly (as the 3rd-level wizard spell) or tree (as the 3rd-level priest spell) once per day.
- At 7th level, oaksisters receive a +1 bonus to their Charisma scores. They receive another +1 bonus at 15th level, and a third +1 bonus at 20th level.
- At 9th level, oaksisters can cast plant growth (as the 3rd-level priest spell) three times per day.
- At 12th level, oaksisters can cast massmorph (as the 4th-level wizard spell) or plant door (as the 4th-level priest spell) once per day.
- At 15th level, oaksisters can cast liveoak (as the 6th-level priest spell) once per day, and render the animation permanent if desired. While they can only animate one such tree at a time with this power, it does not count towards a normal casting of this spell, nor does having a tree animated with a normal casting of the spell block this power. In addition, a tree animated using this power has considerable more leeway in where it can be animated; all ranges in the spell description are tripled for the use of this power. A permanently animated tree can be dispelled at any time by the caster with a simple act of will.
Verenestran Spells
In addition to the spells listed below, priests of the Oak Princess can cast the 6th-level priest spell merge with nature, detailed in Faiths and Avatars in the entry for Sune, and the 7th-level priest spell nymph’s beauty, detailed in Demihuman Deities in the entry for Hanali Celanil.1st Level
Fast Growth (Pr 1; Alteration)Sphere: Plant
Range: 0
Components: V, S, M
Duration: Permanent
Casting Time: 1 rd.
Area of Effect: 1 plant
Saving Throw: Special
With nothing but a touch and a whisper of magic, a dryad can cause a plant to grow faster than normal. Fast growth can enhance growth in existing thorns to increase damage, grow a vine to greater lengths (up to ten feet), cause a tree to grow ten feet in an hour, or whatever the caster wishes (with the DM’s approval). For example, if the priest wishes to increase the damage potential in a plant, she can use it on a large bramble bush. If someone tries to move through the bush, he suffers 1d4 points of damage for every five feet of bramble. (If used with the shape plant spell, the brambles cause 1d4+2 points of damage.) Each time a priest uses this spell, the plant resists (via saving throw vs. spell at the caster’s level) for one simple reason: Fast growth causes the plant to use a lot of resources all at once. If the caster rolls a 20 on the saving throw, the plant dies. If the spell didn’t succeed, then the priest knows that the plant did not have enough resources to grow as she wanted. The material component for this spell is the priest’s holy symbol. Dryads and other faerie creatures with natural priestly abilities who also worship Verenestra may cast this spell with no material components. Shape Plant (Pr 1; Alteration)
Sphere: Plant
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M
Duration: Permanent
Casting Time: 3
Area of Effect: 1 plant
Saving Throw: None
By touching a chosen plant, a priest can shape its growth pattern into several forms. The priest can straighten a plant so that it grows tall and true, have it grow low to the ground so as to trip a foe, or make any thorns it possesses sharper and more painful (increasing its normal damage by +2 points). When used before casting the spell fast growth, the priest can make any wooded area defensible. This spell lasts until the plant is destroyed or until someone casts a successful dispel magic on it. The material component for this spell is the priest’s holy symbol. Dryads and other faerie creatures with natural priestly abilities who also worship Verenestra may cast this spell with no material components.
3rd Level
Sylvan Images (Pr 3; Illusion/Phantasm)Sphere: Charm
Range: 0
Components: V, S
Duration: 1 rd./level
Casting Time: 6
Area of Effect: 30 yd. radius/level
Saving Throw: None
With this spell, the caster brings into being a series of duplicate images, similar to the mirror image spell, of themselves that flit between trees in any dense woodland area. In addition, the caster becomes briefly invisible as they move about, making it impossible for viewers to determine which image is real, or how many individuals there are in the area. The images can range away from the caster in a radius of 30 yards per level of the caster, to a maximum of 240 yards. The images will always keep partially hidden behind trees, bushes, and other plant life within the area. If cast in an area without sufficient plant life, the spell will fail. Unlike the mirror image spell, these images appear from behind cover when the spell is cast, seemingly new individuals rather than duplicates of the caster. When an image is struck by a melee or missile attack, magical or otherwise, it appears to fall dead in undergrowth or behind a tree, disappearing only when foes are not directly looking at them; any other existing images remain intact until struck. To determine the number of images that appear, roll 1d4 and add 1 for every four levels of experience the priest has achieved, to a maximum of eight images. At the end of the spell duration, all surviving images wink out.
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