Full ReBuild Friday - Poison Ivy [Human Druid]

Per the votes on YouTube and the Discord server, we're rebuilding Poison Ivy! This time we're switching things up a bit as I bring my original iteration forward to some more modern interpretations of her. It's also some nice red and green for the season! As always, this build is conceptualized entirely in a vacuum, with choices made in my best attempt to fit the character. These choice may not hold up in a campaign with different themes and should be adjusted accordingly.

Tis the season to check out the video on Poison Ivy - and vote on the next rebuild over in the posts.

Let's grow ahead and check out the build for Poison Ivy from DC Comics!

Poison Ivy

POISON IVY

CHARACTER Pamalea Isley

SOURCE DC Comics

BUILD GOALS

o    Pamela was an intelligent young woman and an incredible chemist that sold designer drugs to fund her way through college and controlled the dean with pheromones

o    She was fired from Wayne Enterprises for using pheromones for similar purposes and joined a program led by Jason Woodrue who involved her in an experiment that left her comatose

o    When she finally awoke, she had become transformed with plant-like physiology

o    She used her newfound powers to become an eco-terrorist, bringing her into conflict with Batman though she has started to turn over a new leaf

o    She started with pheromone control powers that allowed her to control and manipulate others

o    Eventually, she bloomed into full-on chlorokinesis and toxikinesis. With the former, she has entrapped others in plants, torn down skyscrapers, and even control plant-life across the world

o    She can also regenerate her limbs like how plants can regrow branches

Summary of Goals: This iteration of Ivy will focus on her more prominent powers, such as the control of plants of all sorts as well as significant, floral-based toxins. On that note, I don’t want to neglect her pharmaceutical skills, but they won’t be as important for this build as they were in my original attempt at it.

LEVEL 1 

Ancestry & Heritage: Ardande Human

o    Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Intelligence, +Wisdom

o    Ancestry Feat: Springsoul

Background: Wonder Taster

o    Ability Boosts: +Intelligence, +Wisdom

o    Skill Increase: Crafting (T), Alchemical Lore (T)

o    Background Feat: Alchemical Crafting

Class & Subclass: Druid of the Leaf Order

o    Class Ability Boost: +Wisdom

o    Skill Increase: Acrobatics (T), Athletics (T), Diplomacy (T), Medicine (T), Nature (T), Society (T), Survival (T)

o    Class Feat: Leshy Familiar

o    Suggested Spells: Cantrips – bramble bush, puff of poison, take root, timber; 1^st – flourishing flora, noxious vapors, protector tree, summon plant or fungus

Details

o    Ability Boosts: +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str +0, Dex +0, Con +1, Int +3, Wis +4, Cha +1)

In my initial attempt at building Poison Ivy, I built her as an alchemist to resemble some of her original concept before she became a full-on avatar of nature. This time around, I wanted to switch things up a bit and I had a chance to represent the mutation she undertook through the ardande heritage while I stuck with the human ancestry as her baseline. She couples that with Springsoul to gain tanglevine as an innate cantrip, but I still want to represent her studies into pharmaceuticals and the like. It was what she studied and did as a job in Wayne Enterprises and I think Wonder Taster fits that with the Alchemical Crafting that it provides. Then, as I suggested, she will use the druid class. Naturally, she uses the leaf order though I wish there was a slightly more aggressive representative of plant life for Poison Ivy here, but she’s had plenty of minions over the year that could easily fill in for her Leshy Familiar. Spell-wise, we aren’t remotely missing on options as Ivy will want to make use of plant trait spells, such as flourishing flora for damage that can target Reflex save, noxious vapors to press on Fortitude save, and utility effects such as protector tree and wall of shrubs. Obviously, summon plant or fungus also a good get and when you can get summon elemental, using it to call forth wood elementals will likely be a solid fit for some of her minions. Even among her cantrips, there’s the likes of bramble bush, puff of poison, and timber.

Level 1 Poison Ivy, Page 1

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LEVEL 2

o    Class Feat: Poison Resistance

o    Skill Feat: Additional Lore – Plant Lore (T)

o    Gear: mudlily

LEVEL 3

o    General Feat: Ancestral Paragon – Sunlit Vitality

o    Skill Increase: Plant Lore (E), Nature (E)

o    Gear: lesser everair mask, ring of discretion, mudlily

LEVEL 4

o    Class Feat: Forest Passage

o    Skill Feat: Natural Medicine

o    Gear: foxglove token, lesser everair mask, branch attendant’s mask (emerald boughs), mudlily

LEVEL 5

o    Ability Boosts: +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str +0, Dex +0, Con +2, Int +4, Wis +4.5, Cha +2)

o    Ancestry Feat: Read the Roots

o    Skill Increase: Crafting (E), Intimidation (T)

o    Gear: thorn triad, foxglove token, cloak of gnawing leaves, lesser everair mask, ring of discretion, mudlily

Settling into second level sees us take Poison Resistance as Poison Ivy’s mutated morphology makes her effectively immune to poison. Forest Passage further makes her a part of the Green, moving through vegetation and flora like it was all part of her anyway. Naturally, she takes Additional Lore for Plant Lore and Natural Medicine, allowing her to use her Nature skill to tend to and heal others since she originally had a start in developing medicines. Further making her more of a plant person, I use Ancestral Paragon to grab Sunlit Vitality and couple that with Read the Roots, allowing her to align with plant life to get a better view of the world and expand her information network. Again, there are spells aplenty here – second rank alone provides us with the classic entangling flora, avenging wildwood can target an enemy’s AC, helpful wood spirits for some utility, and fungal infestation providing persistent damage and some potential weaknesses for her allies to take advantage of. By third rank, she can start taking command of others through cordyceps command while still wielding wall of thorns to control the battlefield.

LEVEL 6

o    Class Feat: Grown of Oak

o    Skill Feat: Specialty Crafting – Alchemy

o    Gear: +1 wooden breastplate, thorn triad, healer’s gloves, foxglove token, lesser everair mask, branch attendant’s mask (emerald boughs)

LEVEL 7

o    General Feat: Fast Recovery

o    Skill Increase: Nature (M)

o    Gear: wand of hawthorn (2^nd-rank), +1 wooden breastplate, arboreal boots, thorn triad, foxglove token, cloak of gnawing leaves

LEVEL 8

o    Class Feat: Floral Restoration

o    Skill Feat: Morphic Manipulation

o    Gear: staff of nature’s cunning, druid’s crown, wand of hawthorn (2^nd-rank), +1 wooden breastplate, thorn triad, healer’s gloves

LEVEL 9

o    Ancestry Feat: Multitalented – Alchemist Dedication

o    Skill Increase: Crafting (M), Deception (T)

o    Gear: +1 resilient wooden breastplate, cloak of thirsty fronds, staff of nature’s cunning, wand of hawthorn (2^nd-rank), lesser cape of illumination, arboreal boots

LEVEL 10

o    Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str +0, Dex +1, Con +3, Int +4, Wis +5, Cha +3)

o    Class Feat: Advanced Alchemy

o    Skill Feat: Influence Nature

o    Gear: greater arboreal boots, +1 resilient wooden breastplate, brightbloom posy, staff of nature’s cunning, druid’s crown, wand of hawthorn (2^nd-rank)

Grown of Oak providing Poison Ivy with an at will oaken resilience, even at a rank 1 below the max rank of spells that she has access to, is pretty crazy and further exemplifies her power of plant life. Floral Restoration is another neat one, allowing her to channel the Green into her own being to restore herself and reflect some of the extraordinary regenerative powers that she has exhibited within comics, which is further referenced by her Fast Recovery general feat. However, she does take a slight detour then into an Alchemist Dedication as a sort of reverse of what I originally built her as. She follows that with Advanced Alchemy, allowing her to prepare some alchemical solutions each day, using the likes of silvertongue mutagens to possibly simulate the pheromones that she wields. There’s also a pheromone flare, but that’s a little different. Keeping her alchemy in mind, she takes Specialty Crafting for alchemy before focusing on some more Nature-based options. Influence Nature is handy, but Morphic Manipulation and its ability to let her accelerate the growth of plants is a far superior fit for her. Fourth-rank features a generous array of damaging spells such as bursting bloom, life-draining roots, murderous vine, and even petal storm. Through fifth-rank spells, she can become a real avatar of the Green with the likes of mantle of the unwavering heart or plant form. There’s also some protective effects in the form of entwined roots that can guard the whole party.

Level 10 Poison Ivy, Page 1

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LEVEL 11

o    General Feat: Robust Health

o    Skill Increase: Medicine (E)

o    Gear: living mantle, greater arboreal boots, greater healer’s gloves, +1 resilient wooden breastplate, cloak of thirsty fronds, staff of nature’s cunning

LEVEL 12

o    Class Feat: Garland Spell

o    Skill Feat: Consult the Spirits – Nature

o    Gear: +2 resilient wooden breastplate, wand of hawthorn (4^th-rank), living mantle, greater arboreal boots, brightbloom posy, greater foxglove token

LEVEL 13

o    Ancestry Feat: Flowering Path

o    Skill Increase: Medicine (M)

o    Gear: cloak of devouring thorns, +2 resilient wooden breastplate, greater staff of nature’s cunning, living mantle, greater arboreal boots, greater healer’s gloves

LEVEL 14

o    Class Feat: Plant Shape

o    Skill Feat: Continual Recovery

o    Gear: crushing bough bracers, cloak of devouring thorns, sandalwood fan, +2 resilient wooden breastplate, living mantle, wand of hawthorn (4^th-rank)

LEVEL 15

o    Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str +0, Dex +2, Con +3, Int +4.5, Wis +5.5, Cha +4)

o    General Feat: Toughness

o    Skill Increase: Nature (L)

o    Gear: +2 greater resilient wooden breastplate, crushing bough bracers, propulsive boots, cloak of devouring thorns, greater brightbloom posy, greater staff of nature’s cunning

Garland Spell is a fantastic way for Poison Ivy to spread the influence of the Green, creating a region of difficult and hazardous terrain alike that also harms those that intrude upon its domain. She also features Plant Shape in this block, which references some of her more monstrous devolutions as well as the mutated form that she took on in Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Consult the Spirits for Nature allows her to call upon the Green for aid but then we start leaning into her medical capabilities a bit with the likes of Continual Recovery, giving her some things to do outside of combat. Robust Health and Toughness alike cover the unnatural vigor and regeneration granted by her inhuman form, and through her ancestry, she gains Flowering Path, which has some similar utility to her Garland Spell and comes with another way of controlling the battlefield, spreading greenery to slow down foes. That’s some solid spells here as well with the likes of lignify or tanglecurse resembling one of her darker plots, or nature’s reprisal, rose’s thorns, and tangling creepers providing plenty of field control. Pollen pods is the only plant spell that really stands out to me at 7^th-rank, and similarly, we have the solitary but interesting burning blossoms at eighth-rank.

LEVEL 16

o    Class Feat: Impaling Briars

o    Skill Feat: Ward Medic

o    Gear: major staff of nature’s cunning, +2 greater resilient wooden breastplate, wand of hawthorn (6^th-rank), crushing bough bracers, cloak of devouring thorns, sandalwood fan

LEVEL 17

o    Ancestry Feat: Irresistible Bloom

o    Skill Increase: Crafting (L)

o    Gear: major crown of the fire eater, greater cape of illumination, major staff of nature’s cunning, +2 greater resilient wooden breastplate, crushing bough bracers, propulsive boots

LEVEL 18

o    Class Feat: Pesh Skin

o    Skill Feat: Legendary Professional

o    Gear: headwrap of wisdom, major crown of the fire eater, major alluring scarf, major staff of nature’s cunning, +2 greater resilient wooden breastplate, wand of hawthorn (6^th-rank)

LEVEL 19

o    General Feat: Diehard

o    Skill Increase: Medicine (L)

o    Gear: +3 greater resilient wooden breastplate, headwrap of wisdom, major brooch of inspiration, major crown of the fire eater, greater cape of illumination, major staff of nature’s cunning

LEVEL 20

o    Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Wisdom (Str +0, Dex +3, Con +4, Int +5, Wis +6, Cha +4)

o    Class Feat: Verdant Presence

o    Skill Feat: Legendary Medic

o    Skill Increase: Stealth (T)

o    Gear: major brightbloom posy, +3 greater resilient wooden breastplate, greater living mantle, headwrap of wisdom, major crown of the fire eater, major alluring scarf

For her final block, Poison Ivy finally gets another focus spell in the form of Impaling Briars – which is very Disney’s Sleeping Beauty-coded. Following her acquisition of Plant Shape, I wanted to slip in Pesh Skin based on association with drugs, and then we finish off her class feats with Verdant Presence. Poison Ivy is all about spreading the presence of plant life, and this helps her do so at a wide range with some fun effects. She takes a few more Medicine feats to improve that aspect of the build that we’ve been investing to, and then she slips in Legendary Professional for her Plant Lore so that she can make beaucoup bank off of her brilliant botany. Diehard calls to mind both her connection to the Green that sustains her and her own hardiness, and then her heritage comes in clutch with Irresistible Bloom, providing her with another way to resemble the pheromones that she wields to control others. We’re actually built with some fantastic floral features in the form of nature’s enmity, one with the land, and even nature incarnate to become a Green (Wo)Man. These lean into her calling upon the Green a bit more, but that’s certainly a facet of her character that can be explored.

Level 20 Poison Ivy, Page 1

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FREE ARCHETYPE SUGGESTIONS: A free archetype game may be able to make swifter use of the alchemist archetype and find some feats from it that she likes. Sadly, archetypes focused around plants seem to be a little lacking aside from Herbalist, which is a middling option for her in my opinion, and Poisoner, which does suit her a bit better but is almost too weapon-focused. Ultimately, I would probably look at a Sorcerer Dedication with a fey, nymph, or elemental (wood) bloodline to make use of. The main benefit of either of the first two is gaining access to charm harkening back to her ability to control and manipulate others.

BUILD CONCLUSION

Poison Ivy is an ardande human druid who is a member of the Leaf Order and has a background as a wonder taster. This and her Alchemist Dedication explores her study and development of chemistry and the pharmaceuticals she partook in before becoming the villainess that she is today. As to the alteration that she underwent during her work with Woodrue, I have her utilizing the ardande heritage and taking feats such as Poison Resistance, Sunlit Vitality, and similar feats. Her pheromone powers might be slightly underrepresented in this build, but she does work in options such as cordyceps command and Irresistible Bloom. Additionally, her alchemist archetype will let her make silvertongue mutagens and other chemicals to aid her in controlling and manipulating others. What this build does focus on way more of is her chlorokinesis and toxikinesis, represented through her vast array of plant and poison-based spells. Entangling flora is a classic that lets her trap others while she might rely on more powerful spells such as one with the land to bring skyscrapers low. Plant spells in general have a focus on area control, but she can tap into an astounding ray of options to represent her mastery over the Green. Furthermore, she can recover even from grievous wounds with the help of her Fast Recovery, Floral Restoration, and the occasional regeneration spell.

Favoring flora over fauna, this fecund femme fatale finds foul formulas to flood the fields and fatherlands with flourishing flowers and foliage that fells familiar folk.

Lemme know what you think and what other builds you would like to see!

I'm looking at starting up a Patreon in the new year and am curious if folks would support it though it is going to be a bit more homebrew stuff. If you want to join in on the discussion of these builds and the ones I do for monsters or just hang out with a bunch of fellow TTRPG nerds, check out the Discord server. We also have a Twitter where we try to post teasers for the blog. In hopes of bringing you a white Christmas, next week is one howl of a build.

Have a super Saturday!