The Botanist — Dungeons and Dragons Homebrew

Second Artificer of the batch. The Botanist!

Link to download the full pdf at the end of this article.

Botanist — Artificer Specialisation

While most artificers tend to apply their skills towards the mechanical, the robotic, and the electric, you have used expertise in farming, knowledge of pheromones and fertilizer, or a deep fascination with all things green to enhance your bond with the plants of the world and use them to your advantage.

Tool Proficiency

3rd-level Botanist feature

When you adopt this specialisation at the 3rd level, you gain proficiency in herbalism kit. If you already have this proficiency, you gain proficiency with one other type of artisan’s tools of your choice.

Botanist Spells

3rd-level Botanist feature

Starting at 3rd level, you always have certain spells prepared after you reach particular levels in this class, as shown in the Botanist Spells table. These spells count as artificer spells for you, but they don’t count against the number of artificer spells you can prepare.

Botanist Spells

Level: Spell

3rd: Detect Poison & Disease, Ensnaring Strike

5th: Barkskin, Spike Growth

9th: Daylight, Plant Growth

13th: Blight, Grasping Vine

17th: Awaken, Cloudkill

Herbal Knowledge

3rd-level Botanist feature

When you choose this specialisation at the 3rd level, you develop and expand your knowledge on the subject of plants of all kinds, their properties and uses, and their dangers. You learn the Druidcraft cantrip, which counts as an artificer cantrip for you and doesn’t count against the number of cantrips you know. In addition, you gain proficiency in the Nature skill if you don’t have it already, and your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses that proficiency. Finally, you gain resistance to poison damage, and you have an advantage on any saving throw you make against being poisoned.

Leafy Bioarmour

3rd-level Botanist feature

At the 3rd level, you have developed a way of growing plants into a bioarmour that you can wear. As an action, you can cause plants to sprout beneath you and wrap themselves around you until you use an action to cause them to wither away. While you are wearing your plant armour, you gain the following benefits:

• Your AC equals 13 + your Intelligence modifier.
• You can treat the vines that wrap around you as natural weapons. As an action, you can make one melee weapon attack against a creature within 10 feet of you, using your Intelligence modifier for the attack and damage rolls. You deal 1d6 piercing damage on a hit. You can make one additional attack with this action when you reach 9th level (2 attacks) and 15th level (3 attacks).
• You can use the plant armour as a spellcasting focus for your artificer spells.
• You can cast the Entangle spell without using a spell slot and without requiring concentration. You can do so a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1), and you regain expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Poisonous Bloom

5th-level Botanist feature

At the 5th level, you learn how to make the blooms of your leafy armour poisonous to other creatures. Whenever you cast a spell that deals damage using your plant armour as the spellcasting focus, you can cause the blooms to release poisonous spores at one target of that spell. The target must be within 30 feet of you. That creature takes poison damage equal to 1d4 + your Intelligence modifier (minimum of one). The damage die increases when you reach certain levels, to 1d6 at the 9th level, 1d8 at the 13th level, and 1d10 at the 17th level.

Masterful Poisoner

5th-level Botanist feature

By the 5th level, your practice with growing different plants and curating their poisons grants you insight on how to overcome protections against those poisons. Whenever you deal poison damage to a creature, you can choose to deal acid damage instead.

Conditioned Fortitude

9th-level Botanist feature

After years of working with plants and poisons, your body can shrug off any affliction. At the 9th level, you gain immunity to poison damage and the poisoned condition. In addition, you can recognise any plant-based poison by its symptoms and know how to treat it.

Improved Bioarmour

9th-level Botanist feature

Also at the 9th level, your leafy armour improves. While wearing your plant armour, you gain the following additional benefits:

• Whenever you start a turn wearing your plant armour, you gain temporary hit points equal to your Intelligence modifier.
• Your viny weapons become magically enhanced. Your viny attacks count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical weapon damage.
• Whenever you use plants to force a creature to make a saving throw against being grappled or restrained, that creature has a disadvantage on the saving throw.
• You can cast Speak with Plants without expending a spell slot.
• Your vine weapons also become magical for the purpose of overcoming resistances and immunities to nonmagical damage.

Forest Step

15th-level Botanist feature

Starting at the 15th level, you learn how to move with the trees. You can cast Tree Stride without expending a spell slot. Once you cast it in this way, you can’t do so until you finish a short or long rest.

Verdant Mantle

15th-level Botanist feature

At 15th level, you can embody the very nature of the plants you study. While wearing your plant armour as an action, you can take the form of a plant guardian, gaining the following benefits for 1 minute:

• Your size doubles in all dimensions, increasing your size by one category, and any melee weapon attacks you make a deal an additional die of weapon damage.
• Instead of gaining temporary hit points at the start of each turn while wearing your plant armour, you regain hit points equal to your Intelligence modifier.
• You make Intelligence-based attack rolls with advantage.
• While you are on the ground, the ground within 15 feet of you is difficult terrain for your enemies.

Once you use this feature, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest.

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Image: The Botanist by Janaschi

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