New Foresting Class and Subclasses Take the Spotlight in Dungeons & Dragons Supplement

A new third-party Dungeons & Dragons supplement provides players with a brand new class and nearly a dozen subclasses inspired by the timber and logging industries. Historically, the timber and logging industries were commonly associated with the lumberjack - a rugged forester that imbued strength, endurance, and a symbiotic relationship with the forest. While the lumberjack is often associated with a certain type of masculinity, their qualities translate well to Dungeons & Dragons, a game where heroes are often rugged, brave, and have unique connections with nature.

Root & Twig, a supplement by Cameron Day and Ryan Langr available on the DMs Guild, taps into the spirit of foresters by providing a brand new class and eleven subclasses inspired by different aspects of industries and jobs tied to the forest. Not only is the traditional forester represented in this book, but also the study of trees and forests, and conservation efforts to preserve forests for future generations.

The supplement's biggest addition is the Garradrugh, a new class that symbiotically bonds with beocryd, a sentient organism made of wood that grows in strength with the player. The Garradrugh is primarily a martial class augmented by abilities granted to it by the beocryd. As the beocryd grows, it takes on aspects from one of six different types of trees, granting its Garradrugh different powers. Oak grants the Garradrugh additional defensive abilities, ash allows the players to summon different elementals, birch provides resistances to damage and boosts to insight, fir adds different leadership boons to the player, hazel grants additional knowledge to the player, and yew grants the player with certain necromantic abilities. The Garradrugh is a very versatile class that offers a compelling alternative for players that don't want to be druids but do want a unique bond with nature.

The rest of Root & Twig provides subclasses inspired by different aspects of logging culture and foresting. The Barbarian gets a Path of the Forester with some excellent cleaving abilities, while the Ranger gains a Conservationist Archetype that centers on the deep bonds they make with the forest. Some of these subclasses feel very niche, but they make sense in the context of Root & Twig and at least provide players with different options should they want to askew a traditional martial class but want to keep that forestry background.

All in all, Root & Twig is a fun and innovative supplement that works hard to bring forestry to life within Dungeons & Dragons. After all, it makes sense that some heroes would have a lumberjacking background, and this supplement goes out of its way to explore how forestry would translate into useful D&D abilities. Root & Twig is available on the DMs Guild for $9.95.