Sidhe Scholar

The Sidhe Scholar is a Variant Class of the Druid introduced in Dragon Magazine #339 pgs. 90-91 for Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition. The basic idea is that this druid learned primal magic by studying under the tutelage of a powerful fey creature instead of as part of a druidic sect, giving them a greater focus on the mystical and unearthly aspects of druidism than the practical or religious versions.

Official Fluff

Civilized nations have often long forgotten the ancient druidic traditions. These "civilized" people might have even intentionally done away with the tradition and its strange, oft-misunderstood, pagan rites. Those who later pursue this lost knowledge rely more upon crumbling written accounts rather than the wild's natural calling. Scholars of these ancient ways who show enough promise become embraced and "adopted" by trickster fey, learning the old ways anew. Capricious and cruel as only the fey can be, these new druids might eventually discover why the druids of old were put to the sword. The sidhe (pronounced "shee") scholar is an erudite hero who has lost touch with the more mundane tasks of a traditional druid (such as normal care of flora and fauna) in exchange for sylvan power that might prove itself best left to the immortals that refined it. The fey who usually take these druids under their wings are not your average "fairies." They are not dryads or nixies, grigs or brownies. Instead, the fey who train sidhe scholars are the refined, aristocratic faeries of the Seelie and Unseelie courts. As sleek and dangerous as hunting cats, these fey are incomprehensible beings to whom a human's life holds as much significance as a mayfly's. The faeries of the courts regard humans who wish to learn from and worship them with amusement, approving of their reverent attitudes as appropriate behavior from such inferior beings. As such, they do aid their supplicants readily, but expect much praise and appreciation for their pains.

The sidhe scholar is a more educated character than the archetypical druid. She actually has more in common with wizards than any other character class. A sidhe scholar is not a wizard, though. Despite erudite tendencies, the sidhe scholar is still a divine supplicant: she gains her magical powers through hard work and study, but she cannot cast her spells or perform her other magical abilities based upon her own inner arcane spark like a wizard or even a sorcerer. Instead, like other druids, she must draw upon the powers of nature and the wild lands. In settings with themes of urbanization and turning away from the natural world, the traditions of the original druidic ways are likely lost and must be rediscovered. Hence, the sidhe scholar calls not upon the deities of nature or the raw energy of the wilds themselves, but upon the only beings who remember the old ways well enough to instruct her - the fey.

Crunch

The sidhe scholar is a variant druid. This class advances as its base class does unless otherwise noted. (same Hit Die, base attack bonus, saving throw bonuses, skill points, etc.). When a character elects to take a level of this class, they may not later take levels in the base class or its other variants. This is to prevent the gaining of 1st-level class benefits twice.

Like the druid, the sidhe scholar values Wisdom as her most important ability score; bonus spells, spell DCs, and Will save are all extremely important to this magic-oriented variant. Intelligence and Charisma share secondary importance. Ranks in different Knowledge skills and Diplomacy serve her well. Pursuing the forgotten rites of the old druids might be viewed as foolish at best and dangerous at worst, making it important to assuage the fears and superstitions of concerned locals. Dealings with the fey themselves also tend to go much smoother with a high Charisma.

Hit Die

d6

Level	Special
1st	Intelligentsia, Nature Sense, Wild One
2nd	Blessing of the Fey
3rd
4th	Sylvan Gifts
5th	Otherworldly Shifting, Wild Shape (1/day)
6th	Dark Moon's Secret, Wild Shape (2/day)
7th	Wild Shape (3/day)
8th	Wild Shape (Large)
9th	Venom Immunity
10th	Wild Shape (4/day)
11th	Wild Shape (Tiny)
12th	Sylvan Craft
13th	A Thousand Faces
14th	Wild Shape (5/day)
15th	Timeless Body, Wild Shape (Huge)
16th	Wild Shape (Elemental 1/day)
17th
18th	Wild Shape (6/day, Elemental 3/day)
19th
20th

Class Skills

This class's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are the same as Druid, and also has Knowledge (arcana).

Class Features

All of the following are class features of this class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

Simple weapons, light armor, and shields (except tower shields), regardless of material composition.

Intelligentsia (Ex)

At 1st level, the sidhe scholar gains Skill Focus (Knowledge [nature]) as a bonus feat.

Wild One (Ex)

The sidhe scholar's animal companion begins with +1 hit point per Hit Die, +2 Dexterity, and +2 Charisma. The animal always has an initial attitude of "unfriendly" around humanoids who aren't its master. But, other druids and rangers can use the wild empathy ability to increase the animal companion's attitude towards them to "neutral". In addition, the animal refuses to enter a humanoid settlement larger than a thorp, lurking on its outskirts until its master rejoins it in the wilds.

Blessing of the Fey (Su)

At 2nd level, the sidhe scholar gains a +2 bonus on Knowledge (arcana) and Survival checks.

Sylvan Gifts (Su)

At 4th level, the sidhe scholar gains bonus spells as if their Wisdom score were 2 higher than it really is. This does not affect the DCs of their spells.

Otherworldly Shifting (Su)

The sidhe scholar's wild shape forms appear alien and strangely beautiful, varying greatly and never appearing the same way twice. Each time their wild shape ability is used, their form has a new random element, tending towards being slightly smaller and leaner than a typical animal of its kind. Adding to the form's alien appearance are angular features, sharp-pointed ears, bright and unusual coloured pelt or plumage, and faintly glowing almond-shaped eyes.

Dark Moon’s Secret (Su)

At 6th Level, the sidhe scholar adds the Evil domain spell list to their druid spell list. (1: Protection From Good, 2: Desecrate, 3: Magic Circle Against Good, 4: Unholy Blight, 5: Dispel Good, 6: Create Undead, 7: Blasphemy, 8: Unholy Aura, 9: Summon Monster IX)

Sylvan Craft (Su)

At 12th level, the sidhe scholar gains Craft Staff as a bonus feat and can create a staff in half the normal amount of time. The created staffs are abstractly beautiful, asymmetrical, ornate, and utterly alien in appearance.

Official vs. Variant

So, aside from the flavor text, is it worth taking the Sidhe Scholar class if you want to be a druid?

Well, to begin with, the Sidhe Scholar retains its full array of druidic spellcasting abilities, so it's not losing out on anything in the magic department. In fact, thanks to Sylvan Gifts and Dark Moon's Secret, the Sidhe Scholar actually gets a greater number of spells per day and a wider arsenal of potential spells, so that's definitely a point in its favor.

The skill boosts are fairly minor, all things considered.

A beefier Animal Companion definitely isn't anything to sneeze at, but the fact it won't enter large civilized areas means you can't always rely on it being there.

Sylvan Craft's usefulness depends a lot on how useful you think being able to whip up magic staffs in half the normal time is.