Return to Question

This spell turns an oak tree into a protector or guardian. The spell can only be cast on a single tree at a time; while liveoak is in effect, you can't cast it again on another tree. Liveoak must be cast on a healthy, Huge oak. A triggering phrase of up to one word per caster level is placed on the targeted oak. The liveoak spell triggers the tree into animating as a treant.

 

If liveoak is dispelled, the tree takes root immediately wherever it happens to be. If released by you, the tree tries to return to its original location before taking root.

1. Does the spell liveoak have any additional limits besides the obvious, like its casting time of 10-min. and needing the appropriate tree? I want to make sure that I haven't overlooked a detail in the liveoak spell's description and that no other limits on the spell were introduced in errata, a FAQ, or another Pathfinder book.

For example, in D&D 3.5 the spell liveoak says, "The tree on which the spell is cast must be within 10 feet of your dwelling place, within a place sacred to you, or within 300 feet of something that you wish to guard or protect" (PH 248), which means in that game a druid can be accompanied by a liveoaked treant, but making a new one were it to die means returning home or to a druids' grove or whatever and finding an appropriate tree. The Pathfinder spell, on the other hand, seems to require only finding an appropriate tree.

2. Is there a published encounter in Pathfinder in an adventure module or adventure path that includes a druid or shaman that can cast the spell liveoak that mentions the druid or shaman is accompanied by a liveoaked treant?

This spell turns an oak tree into a protector or guardian. The spell can only be cast on a single tree at a time; while liveoak is in effect, you can't cast it again on another tree. Liveoak must be cast on a healthy, Huge oak. A triggering phrase of up to one word per caster level is placed on the targeted oak. The liveoak spell triggers the tree into animating as a treant.

If liveoak is dispelled, the tree takes root immediately wherever it happens to be. If released by you, the tree tries to return to its original location before taking root.

1. Does the spell liveoak have any additional limits besides the obvious, like its casting time of 10-min. and needing the appropriate tree? I want to make sure that I haven't overlooked a detail in the liveoak spell's description and that no other limits on the spell were introduced in errata, a FAQ, or another Pathfinder book.

   For example, in D&D 3.5 the spell liveoak says, "The tree on which the spell is cast must be within 10 feet of your dwelling place, within a place sacred to you, or within 300 feet of something that you wish to guard or protect" (PH 248), which means in that game a druid can be accompanied by a liveoaked treant, but making a new one were it to die means returning home or to a druids' grove or whatever and finding an appropriate tree. The Pathfinder spell, on the other hand, seems to require only finding an appropriate tree.

2. Is there a published encounter in Pathfinder in an adventure module or adventure path that includes a druid or shaman that can cast the spell liveoak that mentions the druid or shaman is accompanied by a liveoaked treant?

The spell liveoak has this description:

This spell turns an oak tree into a protector or guardian. The spell can only be cast on a single tree at a time; while liveoak is in effect, you can't cast it again on another tree. Liveoak must be cast on a healthy, Huge oak. A triggering phrase of up to one word per caster level is placed on the targeted oak. The liveoak spell triggers the tree into animating as a treant.

If liveoak is dispelled, the tree takes root immediately wherever it happens to be. If released by you, the tree tries to return to its original location before taking root.

The spell's casting time is 10 min., its duration 1 day/level.

Questions

1. Does the spell liveoak have any additional limits besides the obvious, like its casting time of 10-min. and needing the appropriate tree? I want to make sure that I haven't overlooked a detail in the liveoak spell's description and that no other limits on the spell were introduced in errata, a FAQ, or another Pathfinder book.

For example, in D&D 3.5 the spell liveoak says, "The tree on which the spell is cast must be within 10 feet of your dwelling place, within a place sacred to you, or within 300 feet of something that you wish to guard or protect" (PH 248), which means in that game a druid can be accompanied by a liveoaked treant, but making a new one were it to die means returning home or to a druids' grove or whatever and finding an appropriate tree. The Pathfinder spell, on the other hand, seems to require only finding an appropriate tree.

2. Is there a published encounter in Pathfinder in an adventure module or adventure path that includes a druid or shaman that can cast the spell liveoak that mentions the druid or shaman is accompanied by a liveoaked treant?

^{Note: Sadly, in both D&D 3.5 and Pathfinder a feather token (tree) produces a Gargantuan tree that's too big to be the target of the spell liveoak.}

The spell liveoak has this description:

This spell turns an oak tree into a protector or guardian. The spell can only be cast on a single tree at a time; while liveoak is in effect, you can't cast it again on another tree. Liveoak must be cast on a healthy, Huge oak. A triggering phrase of up to one word per caster level is placed on the targeted oak. The liveoak spell triggers the tree into animating as a treant.

If liveoak is dispelled, the tree takes root immediately wherever it happens to be. If released by you, the tree tries to return to its original location before taking root.

The spell's casting time is 10 min., its duration 1 day/level.

Questions

1. Does the spell liveoak have any additional limits besides the obvious, like its casting time of 10-min. and needing the appropriate tree? I want to make sure that I haven't overlooked a detail in the liveoak spell's description and that no other limits on the spell were introduced in errata, a FAQ, or another Pathfinder book.

For example, in D&D 3.5 the spell liveoak says, "The tree on which the spell is cast must be within 10 feet of your dwelling place, within a place sacred to you, or within 300 feet of something that you wish to guard or protect" (PH 248), which means in that game a druid can be accompanied by a liveoaked treant, but making a new one were it to die means returning home or to a druids' grove or whatever and finding an appropriate tree. The Pathfinder spell, on the other hand, seems to require only finding an appropriate tree.

2. Is there a published encounter in Pathfinder in an adventure module or adventure path that includes a druid or shaman that can cast the spell liveoak that mentions the druid or shaman is accompanied by a liveoaked treant?

^{Note: Sadly, in both D&D 3.5 and Pathfinder a feather token (tree) produces a Gargantuan tree that's too big to be the target of the spell liveoak.}

The spell 6th-level druid spell liveoak has as its description

This spell turns an oak tree into a protector or guardian. The spell can only be cast on a single tree at a time; while liveoak is in effect, you can't cast it again on another tree. Liveoak must be cast on a healthy, Huge oak. A triggering phrase of up to one word per caster level is placed on the targeted oak. The liveoak spell triggers the tree into animating as a treant.

The spell's casting time is 10 min., and its duration is 1 day/level.

Questions

• Is it reasonable to assume that in a typical campaign every level 11 and higher druid adventurer who is capable of casting the spell is accompanied by a treant created by the spell liveoak?

That is, does anything (besides lacking access to either the spell or a Huge oak tree) prevent every druid who can from having a treant buddy?

• Are published Pathfinder druids who can cast the spell each accompanied by a treant created by the spell liveoak?

Notes
I'm trying to determine reasonable expectations for an upcoming game. I don't want PCs to encounter a high-level druid and him look dumbfounded when PCs ask him, "Well, if you're such an awesome druid, where's your treant?" or whatever. Further, I want to establish a reasonable fictional world from the start--one in which folks use their resources rather than ignore them--, and that means determining campaign constants: I'd like to know if every high-level druid having a treant accompanying him is something that should be part of the (ahem) landscape from the beginning.

Here's some thought-food: nothing in the spell's description mentions controlling the treant once it's animated, yet if the treant isn't magically obedient to some degree, the spell wouldn't be doing what it says it does: turning a tree into a protector or guardian. Further, a treant's alignment is neutral good, but the spell liveoak has no alignment descriptor, so any druid can cast it.

Also, for comparison, in Pathfinder's antecedent Dungeons and Dragons 3.5, the spell liveoak is nearly identical, except with the following addition: "The tree on which the spell is cast must be within 10 feet of your dwelling place, within a place sacred to you, or within 300 feet of something that you wish to guard or protect." That means in D&D 3.5 killing a wandering druid's treant probably prevents the druid from immediately getting another. (But doing this also probably incurs his wrath... and that's the wrath of a D&D 3.5 druid, so, really, you're probably already dead and covered in bees.) Pathfinder, lacking this language in its liveoak, seems to tacitly encourage taking a treant buddy adventuring, but only rare speculation exists about the spell on forums.

(By the way, in Pathfinder and D&D 3.5 the magic item feather token (tree) produces an instantaneous tree that's, sadly, Gargantuan not Huge.)

The spell liveoak has this description:

This spell turns an oak tree into a protector or guardian. The spell can only be cast on a single tree at a time; while liveoak is in effect, you can't cast it again on another tree. Liveoak must be cast on a healthy, Huge oak. A triggering phrase of up to one word per caster level is placed on the targeted oak. The liveoak spell triggers the tree into animating as a treant.

The spell's casting time is 10 min., its duration 1 day/level.

Questions

1. Does the spell liveoak have any additional limits besides the obvious, like its casting time of 10-min. and needing the appropriate tree? I want to make sure that I haven't overlooked a detail in the liveoak spell's description and that no other limits on the spell were introduced in errata, a FAQ, or another Pathfinder book.

For example, in D&D 3.5 the spell liveoak says, "The tree on which the spell is cast must be within 10 feet of your dwelling place, within a place sacred to you, or within 300 feet of something that you wish to guard or protect" (PH 248), which means in that game a druid can be accompanied by a liveoaked treant, but making a new one were it to die means returning home or to a druids' grove or whatever and finding an appropriate tree. The Pathfinder spell, on the other hand, seems to require only finding an appropriate tree.

2. Is there a published encounter in Pathfinder in an adventure module or adventure path that includes a druid or shaman that can cast the spell liveoak that mentions the druid or shaman is accompanied by a liveoaked treant?

^{Note: Sadly, in both D&D 3.5 and Pathfinder a feather token (tree) produces a Gargantuan tree that's too big to be the target of the spell liveoak.}