Call Woodland Beings (spell)

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Call Woodland Beings is a spell that allows the caster to summon certain woodland creatures to their location. The spell functions best in forested areas, particularly woodlands, though it gives some benefits to other ranges. Those creatures appearing should act as independent agents of nature upon their arrival, not as mindless combatants ready to engage in combat without question. That said, if they were to arrive to find the party faced by their natural enemies, then the woodland beings would certainly engage at once.

Call Woodland Beings
Range 120 +10 ft./level
Duration 10 rounds per level
Area of Effect variable
Casting Time 2 rounds
Saving Throw none
Level bard (4th); druid (4th)

The caster has no power to decide which beings might appear — rather, the spell is framed as a call for aid, summoning specifically those beings that chance to be in the area. This sense predicts, as well, what the being expects upon arrival, that some act or knowledge is desperately needed, else the caster would not make the call. This should be considered in the being's willingness to engage in an ongoing battle, should one be occurring. Assume that they arrive, assess the situation and then engage as they feel best, rather than assuming the understand the caster's mind or intentions.

The time required for the summoned being to arrive is 2–12 rounds (2d6), with most appearing within a short span after casting. This ensures that while there is some variability, excessive delays are rare, and the spell remains practical for both planned and reactive use.

Called Beings

Using a d20, the caster rolls to determine which type of being responds, based on the range where the spell is cast — whether woodland, taiga, savanna or another environment. The "# called" column represents the base number of creatures summoned, while the bonus column indicates additional creatures that may appear, expressed as a fraction per caster level. These additional creatures are only gained when the accumulated fractions produce a whole number.

For example, if the result calls for a treant, the entry may show "1" in the base column with a bonus of "+1/8 per level." This means that an 8th-level caster would summon two treants, while a 16th-level caster would summon three. A 7th level caster would still only call 1 treant. Two called beings, the dryad and the unicorn, never appear in multiple numbers because of their inherent nature.
Creature # Called Bonus/
level
Range (roll d20)
Woodland Taiga Savanna Other
brownie 1-2 1-2 1-2 1-2 1
centaur 1-2 3-8 3-5 3-4
dryad 1 9-10 6
pixie 1-4 ½ 11-13 7-10
satyr 1 ¼ 14-15 11 5 2-4
sprite 1-3 ½ 16-18 12-13 5
treant 1 19 14 6
unicorn 1 20 7 6
delayed result 15-20 8-20 7-20

When a delayed result occurs, the table should be rolled upon repeatedly until a result indicating a specific creature is obtained. Such delays do not occur in woodlands. In taiga, a delayed result means the summoned being requires 3d6 rounds to appear. In savanna, the delay increases to 4d6 rounds, and in all other ranges, it extends to 5d6 rounds.

"Woodland beings" cannot be summoned in urban, ruin or subterranean ranges, nor upon any plane except the Prime Material and Outer Earth.

Being Tendencies

Each possible being called has their own perspective and set of intentions when being called, as described below.

Brownie. There is a 1 in 10 chance that instead of the number of brownies indicated, this will be a single leprecaun instead.