Primal Power™ Sample file ROLEPLAYING GAME SUPPLEMENT Mike Mearls PrimlPow_Ch00.indd 1 7/22/09 3:22:04 PM CREDITS Design Art Director Mike Mearls (lead), Kate Irwin Eytan Bernstein, Logan Bonner, Rob Heinsoo, Robert J. Schwalb Cover Illustration Steve Prescott Additional Design Greg Bilsland, James Wyatt Graphic Designer Leon Cortez, Keven Smith, Emi Tanji Development Stephen Schubert (lead), Additional Graphic Design Peter Schaefer, Rodney Thompson Soe Murayama Additional Development Interior Illustrations Mike Donais, Stephen Radney-MacFarland, Chris Tulach Steve Argyle, Ralph Beisner, Eric Belisle, Kerem Beyit, Chippy, Mitch Cotie, Jesper Ejsing, Jason A. Engle, Tomas Editing Giorello, Howard Lyon, Warren Mahy, Raven Mimura, Jeremy Crawford (lead), Jim Nelson, William O’Connor, Hector Ortiz, Wayne Scott Fitzgerald Gray, M. Alexander Jurkat, Cal Moore Reynolds, Chris Seaman, Eva Widermann, Sam Wood, Ben Wootten Managing Editing Kim Mohan Publishing Production Specialist Christopher Tardiff Director of D&D R&D and Book Publishing Bill Slavicsek Prepress Manager Jefferson Dunlap D&D Creative Manager Christopher Perkins Imaging Technician Carmen Cheung D&D Senior Art Director Jon Schindehette Production Manager SampleCynda file Callaway D&D Design Manager James Wyatt Game rules based on the original DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® rules created by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and the D&D Development and Editing Manager later editions by David “Zeb” Cook (2nd Edition); Jonathan Andy Collins Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Richard Baker, and Peter Adkison (3rd Edition); and Rob Heinsoo, Andy Collins, and James Wyatt (4th Edition). 620-21911720-001 EN U.S., CANADA, ASIA, PACIFIC, EUROPEAN HEADQUARTERS WIZARDS OF THE COAST, BELGIUM 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 & LATIN AMERICA Hasbro UK Ltd Industrialaan 1 First Printing: October 2009 Wizards of the Coast LLC Caswell Way 1702 Groot-Bijgaarden ISBN: 978-0-7869-5023-2 P.O. Box 707 Newport, Gwent NP9 0YH Belgium Renton WA 98057-0707 GREAT BRITAIN +32.070.233.277 +1-800-324-6496 Please keep this address for your records DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, d20, d20 System, WIZARDS OF THE COAST, Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, Monster Manual, Primal Power, EBERRON, FORGOTTEN REALMS, Adventurer’s Vault, Arcane Power, Draconomicon, Keep on the Shadowfell, Martial Power, Open Grave: Secrets of the Undead, all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the U.S.A. and other countries. All Wizards characters and the distinctive likenesses thereof are property of Wizards of the Coast LLC. This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of Wizards of the Coast LLC. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, places, or events included herein is purely coincidental. Printed in the U.S.A. ©2009 Wizards of the Coast LLC VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.WIZARDS.COM/DND PrimlPow_Ch00.indd 2 7/22/09 3:22:05 PM Introduction Primal Power has its roots in the decision to include feral quality. They made a good match, and thus the druid as a monster in the 1976 supplement began a long process of design and development that Greyhawk®. D&D® cocreator Gary Gygax likely had culminated in Player’s Handbook® 2 and this book. little idea at the time that his description would Primal power is all about the natural world, affect the game for the next three decades: “These which is more than plants, animals, mountains, and men are priests of a neutral-type religion . Druids forests. Primal magic is a fundamental force of the may change shape three times per day . from size natural world that holds the often malevolent forces as small as a raven to as large as a small bear. They of the planes at bay. Why do the gods dwell in the will generally (70%) be accompanied by numbers Astral Sea if so many of their followers live in the of barbaric followers (fighters).” That, in a nutshell, world? What keeps 25th-level monsters from stomp- is the origin of the primal power source. In the first ing cities into dust? The primal spirits are keepers mention of the iconic primal character class, there of the natural order. They ensure that the cycle of are ties to shapeshifting and barbaric warriors. life and death, the turn of the seasons, and the web The druid’s identity in D&D has changed little of life that connects all living things remain intact since 1976, and in many ways the story of the despite the intentions of gods, primordials, demons, primal power source’s creation and development is and devils. Primal spirits are the world’s defenders, the story of strengthening the druid class’s roots and not its masters. As a wielder of primal magic, your making them the centerpiece of both the class and character is an inheritor of their tradition. the power source that arose around it. For many years, druids were presented as a type Using This Book of cleric, a divine spellcaster who worshiped gods As you can see by the table of contents, Primal Power of nature, the elements, and natural forces. Under is organized by class. Whether you have a char- that scheme in 4th Edition, druids might have acter of a particular class or you want to make a been priests of Melora and similar deities. But that character of that class, all you have to do is consult approach would have left druids as a second banana the proper chapter for new class features, builds, to the other divine classes and created a divide in powers, and paragon paths. The final chapter of the divine power source. Clerics and paladins share the book contains a large section on the spirit way, thematic and aesthetic similarities, whereas druids dozens of new feats, eight primal-themed epic des- have more bonds thematically with barbarians. tinies, several new rituals, and information on the As we looked at the barbarian and the druidSample file primal spirits and the primal backgrounds that can together, the primal power source took form. Both deepen your roleplaying experience. classes have strong ties to nature, and both have a contents 1: BARBARIAN . 4 New Powers . 66 Heroic Tier Feats . .136 Playing a Barbarian . 6 New Paragon Paths . 79 Paragon Tier Feats . 143 New Builds . 8 Epic Tier Feats . 146 New Powers . 10 4: WARDEN . 86 Multiclass Feats . 148 New Paragon Paths . 25 Playing a Warden . 88 Epic Destinies . 149 New Builds . 90 Fang of the World Serpent . 149 2: DRUID . 32 New Powers . 92 Fury of the Wild . 150 Playing a Druid . 34 New Paragon Paths . 107 Honored Ancestor . 151 New Builds . 36 Mythic Spirit . .152 . 114 New Powers . 38 5: PRIMAL OPTIONS Perfect Guardian . 153 The Spirit Way . 116 New Paragon Paths . 53 Reincarnate Champion . 154 Primal Spirits . 121 Sovereign Beast . 155 . 60 Primal Backgrounds . 130 3: SHAMAN World Tree Guardian . 156 Playing a Shaman . 62 New Feats . 136 New Rituals . 157 New Builds . 64 Tribal Feats . 136 PrimlPow_Ch00.indd 3 7/22/09 3:22:05 PM CHAPTER 1 Barbarian “My rage is my weapon. My rage is my armor. My rage is your doom.” A barbarian can be a quiet warrior who launches into a rampage, or a fierce savage who lives for violence. Do you do battle out of duty and honor, wielding your weapon with grim resolve, or do you savor every blow you deal? Whatever your purpose, 1you are a barbarian—a force to be feared. Despite your reputation for brutality, you are more than muscle and savagery. Your bond to the primal spirits makes you a wellspring of force and vitality. It is the spirits that make you a barbarian—they funnel power through your body, instill rage in your heart, and wreak carnage through your weapon. Rageblood barbarians inspire their allies with their ferocity and endurance; thaneborn barbarians bolstering themselves and their comrades with their courage and resilience. A thunderborn barbarian is surrounded by a cloak of thunder spirits; a whirling barbarian, armed with two weapons, cuts through foes like a cyclone. Whatever type of barbarian you are, you’ll find options in this chapter to supportSample you. file ✦ Playing a Barbarian: Ideas about the barbarian’s place in the world and at the game table, to help you bring your character to life. ✦ New Builds: The thunderborn barbarian emits menacing war cries that make enemies stagger in fear. The whirling barbarian is a dervish of death, wielding a weapon in each hand. ✦ New Class Features: With thunderborn wrath, the death of each enemy lets you scatter your other foes in fear. Using your whirling slayer feature, you traverse the battlefield like a tornado. ✦ New Powers: You can unleash a voice like thun- der or fight with two weapons as if they were twin claws. The chapter also supports existing builds with powers that inspire allies, add vigor, and dole out brutal blows. ✦ New Paragon Paths: You can harness primal force in the form of seven new paragon paths. PLAYING A BARBARIAN JASON A. ENGLE CHAPTER 1 | Barbarian 4 PrimPow_Ch01.indd 4 7/22/09 3:56:00 PM Sample file PrimPow_Ch01.indd 5 8/5/09 9:46 AM PLAYING A BARBARIAN Running with the beasts, a lone warrior haunts the revelation of power of the primal spirits and learned to forest like a ghost, guarding against interlopers. On the call on them and channel them in and out of combat. high mountain plateau, a somber leader guides his rav- Even in civilized lands, some warrior orders train aged tribe in its struggle against the cruel winter and their members to harness the power of the beast hungry predators.