Nature Warden (Apath)
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Nature wardens are guardians of the wild places of the world, hunters and explorers par excellence, highly skilled in negotiating their way among the nonhuman inhabitants of the wild. Nature wardens befriend and train a beast of the wild as a companion, and some call wardens “beastmasters” because of these pets, but nature wardens are much more than tamers of wild things. They are experts at navigating the harsh brutality of nature’s fury and making do with whatever tools and weapons present themselves, but they go beyond being hardy survivalists to become cunning tacticians with keen analytical minds, able to adapt and prepare for any situation and make the absolute best use of the advantages that any terrain or environment can afford them.
Class Information
This is a prestige class archetype.
Prestige Class: Nature Warden.
Build Classes: Ranger.
A nature warden is a ranger focused on terrain and his companion over combat tricks.
Role: The nature warden is a master of wilderness environments and is at her most powerful in any of the variety of environments that she has studied. She and her animal companion form a potent team. They are excellent scouts and versatile warriors, able to supplement their skills with spells to fulfill almost any role.
Alignment: Any. Neutral nature wardens are unconcerned with civilization, chaotic ones resist the encroachment of civilization while lawful ones seek harmony between land and folk.
Hit Die: d10.
Class Features
A nature warden has all ranger class features, except as noted.
Armor Proficiency
Nature wardens are proficient with light and medium armor but are prohibited from wearing metal armor; thus, they may wear only padded, leather, or hide armor. A nature warden may also wear wooden armor that has been altered by the ironwood spell so that it functions as though it were steel. Nature wardens are proficient with shields (except tower shields) but must use only wooden ones.
A nature warden who wears prohibited armor or uses a prohibited shield is unable to cast ranger spells or use any of her supernatural or spell-like class abilities while doing so and for 24 hours thereafter.
Companion Bond (Ex)
This ability functions like the druid animal companion ability (which is part of the Nature Bond class feature), except as noted here.
This animal is a loyal companion that accompanies the nature warden on his adventures as appropriate for its kind. A nature warden's animal companion shares his favored enemy and favored terrain bonuses.
The nature warden and her animal companion have an empathic link like that between a wizard and his familiar. This replaces track.
Natural Empathy (Ex)
This is the same as the druid ability of the same name except as noted.
When in her favored terrain, a nature warden adds her favored terrain bonus to wild empathy checks. She may also choose to use wild empathy to demoralize an animal or magical beast rather than improving its attitude, as if using Intimidate rather than Diplomacy.
At 8th level, a nature warden no longer suffers a penalty when using wild empathy to influence or demoralize magical beasts. At 12th level, she may use wild empathy to affect vermin (whether mindless or with Intelligence 1 or 2). At 16th level, she may use it to affect plant creatures (whether mindless or with Intelligence 1 or 2). This replaces wild empathy.
Animal Speech (Sp)
At 2nd level, a nature warden can speak with animals at will when in her favored terrain. Outside her favored terrain, she can use speak with animals once per day. Her caster level is equal to her class level. This replaces the combat style feat gained at level 2.
Mystic Harmony (Su)
At 3rd level, a nature warden in her favored terrain gains an insight bonus to AC equal to half her favored terrain bonus. She loses this bonus when she is immobilized or helpless. This replaces hunter's bond.
Silverclaw (Su)
At 6th level, a nature warden’s animal companion and any creature she summons with summon nature’s ally gain DR/silver equal to the warden’s class level. In addition, their natural weapons are considered silver for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. This replaces the combat style feat gained at level 2.
Wild Stride (Ex)
At 7th level, a nature warden and her animal companion gain the ability to move through natural hazards of her favored terrains (such as bogs, loose sand, snow, ice, rockslides, and so on) at her normal speed without taking damage or suffering any other impairment (in effect, this is the woodland stride ability applied to non-plant environmental hazards). Terrain hazards that have been magically manipulated to impede motion still affect her. This replaces woodland stride.
Survivalist (Ex)
At 9th level, a nature warden suffers no penalty for using an improvised weapon or improvised tool. At 10th level, a warden can spend 1 minute examining and adjusting an improvised weapon or tool; thereafter she treats it as a masterwork weapon or tool. This replaces endurance.
Companion Walk (Su)
At 10th level, the nature warden’s companion shares the benefits of travel spells (such as tree stride and transport via plants) and polymorph and similar spells (including tree shape) cast by the warden from the druid or ranger spell list. The companion counts either as part of the warden or as an object with no weight, whichever is more favorable for the warden. This replaces the combat style feat gained at level 10.
Woodforging (Sp)
At 14th level, a nature warden can manufacture wooden items which she may use with surpassing skill. Once per day, she may use wood shape as a spell-like ability with a caster level equal to her nature warden level. In her hands, items created with this ability are treated as masterwork items under the effect of an ironwood spell; in the hands of others, they are merely ordinary wooden items of the appropriate type. If the warden uses this ability to create armor or weapons, she may craft them into magic items as if she had the Craft Magic Arms and Armor feat (though they are merely magical wood in the hands of others, and only ironwood when she uses them). This replaces the combat style feat gained at level 14.
Guarded Lands (Ex)
At 14th level, a nature warden may designate an area as her guarded lands, allowing her to treat it as her favored terrain or to enhance her bonuses if it is already in her favored terrain. The area must be no larger than 1 square mile, and the warden must spend 24 hours carefully studying the entire area. This period of study gives her a +2 favored terrain bonus in that area, which stacks with any favored terrain bonus for that area (for example, she also gets her forest favored terrain bonus if her guarded lands are part of a forest). She may also designate one creature type as her favored enemy within those guarded lands, gaining a +2 favored enemy bonus against the creature type that stacks with any favored enemy bonus she has against that type of creature. Allies who can see and hear the warden gain an initiative bonus equal to half the warden’s favored terrain bonus for that terrain. Guarded lands and plant speech make up for the inability to wear metal armor (see weapon and armor proficiency).
A nature warden may have a number of guarded lands equal to her Wisdom bonus (minimum 1). When she reaches her maximum number of guarded lands, she can select a new guarded land by abandoning an existing one and performing the ritual for a new area.
Plant Speech (Sp)
At 15th level, a nature warden can cast speak with plants at will when in her favored terrain. Outside her favored terrain, she can use speak with plants once per day as a spell-like ability. Her caster level is equal to her class level. Guarded lands and plant speech make up for the inability to wear metal armor (see weapon and armor proficiency).
Ironpaw (Su)
At 18th level, a nature warden may grant her animal companion and any creature she summons with summon nature’s ally DR/cold iron equal to her class level. In addition, their natural weapons are considered cold iron for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. This ability does not stack with the silverclaw ability. The warden must decide at the time of summoning whether a summoned creature gains the benefits of silverclaw or ironpaw. She may change which ability applies to her animal companion by spending 1 hour in prayer and meditation with the companion within 100 feet. This replaces the combat style feat gained at level 18.
Companion Soul (Su)
At 20th level, a nature warden’s bond with her animal companion is so strong that it transcends distance and even death. The companion’s devotion ability increases to a +8 morale bonus on Will saves against enchantment spells and effects. The warden may scry on her animal companion once per day as if using the scrying spell, except she needs no focus or divine focus. She may view the area around her companion or see through its eyes. If her companion dies, she can revive it with an 8-hour ritual; this has the same effect as raise dead, except it doesn’t require a material component and the companion does not gain any negative levels from the ordeal. This replaces master hunter.
Table: Nature Warden
| Class Level |
Base Attack Bonus |
Fort Save |
Ref Save |
Will Save |
Special | Spells per Day | |||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||||||
| 1st | +1 | +2 | +2 | +0 | 1st favored enemy, companion bond, wild empathy | — | — | — | — |
| 2nd | +2 | +3 | +3 | +0 | Animal speech | — | — | — | — |
| 3rd | +3 | +3 | +3 | +1 | 1st favored terrain | — | — | — | — |
| 4th | +4 | +4 | +4 | +1 | Mystic harmony | 0 | — | — | — |
| 5th | +5 | +4 | +4 | +1 | 2nd favored enemy | 1 | — | — | — |
| 6th | +6/+1 | +5 | +5 | +2 | Silverclaw | 1 | — | — | — |
| 7th | +7/+2 | +5 | +5 | +2 | Wild stride | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| 8th | +8/+3 | +6 | +6 | +2 | 2nd favored terrain | 1 | 1 | — | — |
| 9th | +9/+4 | +6 | +6 | +3 | Evasion, survivalist | 2 | 1 | — | — |
| 10th | +10/+5 | +7 | +7 | +3 | 3rd favored enemy, companion walk, | 2 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 11th | +11/+6/+1 | +7 | +7 | +3 | Quarry | 2 | 1 | 1 | — |
| 12th | +12/+7/+2 | +8 | +8 | +4 | Camouflage | 2 | 2 | 1 | — |
| 13th | +13/+8/+3 | +8 | +8 | +4 | 3rd favored terrain | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 14th | +14/+9/+4 | +9 | +9 | +4 | Guarded lands, woodforging | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 15th | +15/+10/+5 | +9 | +9 | +5 | 4th favored enemy, plant speech | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 16th | +16/+11/+6/+1 | +10 | +10 | +5 | Improved evasion | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 17th | +17/+12/+7/+2 | +10 | +10 | +5 | Hide in plain sight | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 18th | +18/+13/+8/+3 | +11 | +11 | +6 | 4th favored terrain, ironpaw | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| 19th | +19/+14/+9/+4 | +11 | +11 | +6 | Improved quarry | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| 20th | +20/+15/+10/+5 | +12 | +12 | +6 | 5th favored enemy, companion soul | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
Summary of Changed Class Abilities
These abilities of the ranger are lost or modified in this archetype:
- Armor Proficency
- Track
- Combat Style Feats (all)
- Endurance
- Hunter's Bond
- Woodland Stride
- Swift Tracker
- Master Hunter