Thornskin (Druid Skill)
Helpfile
Guild Level: 9
SP Cost: 50 spell points
Skill: Phytogenesis
Syntax: thornskin [status|off]
poison thornskin with <poison type>
The polar opposite of barkskin, thornskin provides the druid with minimal defensive benefits, instead imbuing the druid's skin with a thin layer of sharp thorns.
When struck by any normal physical attack, a druid encased in thorns will damage the source with debilitating piercing damage, in some cases inflicting the source with brief paralysis. A few courageous druids have even attempted poisoning the thorns of their skin, though not before a twelfth level has been obtained.
Similar to barkskin, when imbuing yourself with a thornskin, a more powerful effect can be acquired by doing so when present in one of the realm's many forests (or other flora-heavy environments); this boost can then be enhanced if the thornskin is conjured during Astaria's Autumn or Winter months and a sprig of mistletoe is employed.
It should be noted also, that the initial protrusion of inch-long thorns through your skin can be quite painful.
Commentary
Thornskin is the first true ward a Druid receives, and does not block much damage when compared to barkskin. As such, its usefulness after you acquire the barkskin lore is entirely situational. A positive advantage over barkskin is providing a passive form of attack.
Poison: Thornskin can be poisoned with a variety of poisons and on occasion the druid can mistakenly poison themselves. This accidental poison causes immediate damage of around 20 HP, similar to the effect of poisoned thornskin on an attacking target. It does not give the poison status, in which HP is lost periodically over time.
Any poison can be used to poison your thorns, the following is as complete as we can make it:
- A druid can grow their own poison by planting mushroom spores in the cave rooms of the community grove, or their own grove. Only the white mushroom from this process is a poison.
- Members of the thief guild can purchase a variety of different types of poison within their guild such as mild, weakness, potent and toxin poisons.
- Members of the elementalist guild of sufficient level can purge their bodies of poisons currently afflicting them and create phials of poison which druids may use on their thornskin; at high level an elementalist who has specialized in the element of water can create some of the best poison in the the realm.
Casting: When casting thornskin the druid will receive a small amount of damage as the thorns protrude from their skin; this is around 5 damage therefore a druid must not cast thornskin if they are already heavily wounded since they could potentially die. Thornskin may be cast, uncast and recast instantly.
Mechanics of skill: Both the percentage of damage the ward will absorb and the maximum cumulative damage the ward will absorb increases with increased phytogenesis skill. Thornskin only reduces damage from physical attacks and does not affect other types of damage. For example thornskin will not reduce damage from a psion's mindthrust attack.
Comparison of druid wards research
For a detailed comparison between druid wards, see File:Druid wards.xls.
- These data probably apply to barkskin. Compare skill level 54 in summer with skill level 56 in autumn/winter, in which the summer values show a better ward, despite that it is lower skill level. However, they may still provide a rough guide for thornskin behaviour, such as the fact that being in a forested room may improve ward strength more than having mistletoe.
- Please note the changing skill level in the data. More research is welcome.
- Assuming these data apply to barkskin only, no systematic evidence exists about thornskin strength. More research is welcome.
- No systematic evidence exists comparing the strength of thornskin and barkskin across seasons. More research is welcome.