Base Requirements

• Races: Any
• Sub-Classes: Druid
• Ability Requirements: None
• Alignments: True Neutral
• Starting Cash: By class

Weapon Proficiencies

• Weapon Slots: By class
• Bonus Weapon Proficiencies: none
• Required Weapon Proficiencies: none
• Allowed Weapons: By class
• Allowed Armors: By class

Non-Weapon Proficiencies:

• Non-weapon Slots: By class
• Available Categories: By class
• Bonus Non-weapon Proficiencies: Agriculture, Animal Lore
• Required Proficiencies: none
• Recommended Proficiencies: Airborne Riding (giant insects), Animal Handling, Animal Training, Endurance, Land-based Riding (giant insects), Pest Control, Religion, Set Snares, Survival, Venom Handling, Water Walking, Whistling/Humming.
• Forbidden Proficiencies: none

Priest Spheres: These replace the standard spheres for the priest’s class.

• Major: By class
• Minor: By class

Overview: The Hivemaster druid lives to foster insectoid and arachnid life wherever it exists. Many low-level Hivemasters work as beekeepers or the like.

Description: Hivemasters often take on insect-like habits—they may move in a jerky, halting fashion, or constantly hum to themselves, or obsessively rub their hands together like flies. Hivemasters favor armor made from the chitinous shells of giant insects, and often dress in bright, almost iridescent garments, usually with specialized features such as a bee-keepers hat or mosquito netting over their faces.

Role-Playing: Hivemasters appear somewhat enigmatic. Many attempt to instill insectoid virtues in their followers, such as patience, hard work, and close cooperation. Some higher-level Hivemasters even attempt to influence human societies to adopt a communal pattern modeled on that of hive insects. Others—often styling themselves Webmasters—take on the patient, deadly personas of predator arachnids or insects such as dragonflies or spiders, ruthlessly hunting down (or lying in wait to trap) the enemies of the druidic order. A Hivemaster’s grove usually centers around the dwelling place of the creature for which the druid has the greatest affinity—a forest covered with spider webs, a field with beehives, etc.

Special Abilities:

• A Hivemaster receives a +4 bonus to saving throws against stings or bites of poisonous insects or arachnids, including giant versions.
• The Hivemaster also gains a +4 bonus on agriculture, animal training, and animal lore proficiency checks concerning insects or arachnids, and can apply the animal training proficiency to giant insects and arachnids.
• A Hivemaster may pass harmlessly through spider webs of all sorts, including webs created by the web spell.
• When a hivemaster casts a summon insects, giant insect, creeping doom, or insect plague spell, her effective caster level is increased by 3 levels. At the DMs option, this may be extended to other insect-related spells available to druids.
• Upon reaching 7th level, the hivemaster gains the ability to shapechange into a giant insect or arachnid type once per day. She can take the form of a nonpoisonous giant ant, giant centipede, giant spider, or giant wasp. The Hivemaster may assume this insectoid form instead of one of her other shapechanging choices (bird, mammal, or reptile). The druid still can assume only three forms per day, just like the normal druidic shapechanging ability.

Special Disadvantages:

• The Hivemaster’s animal friendship, speak with animals, and summon animals spells allow her to summon or communicate with only insects, giant insects, or arachnids.
• Hivemasters receive a -3 penalty when using animal proficiencies (animal lore, animal training, etc.) on creatures that are not insects or arachnids.

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