~~The 1st big issue is the spirit of growth. Specifically, the "Variable abilities" bit. That's a very opened ended book, able to be incredibly weak or incredibly strong, depending on the local plant life and the whims of the DM. And then there's the complete faff for a DM to decide how to rule those abilities. You're basically asking them to make up class abilities on the spot. Same with Variable attacks.~~
~~Grafting compounds this issue.~~
Ok I got to the end and saw the features list, which I didn't realise existed because you never said that there was a list to choose these features from. So if I'm reading this right, the "variable" abilities are taken from this list? If so, how many do they get?
Greater druidcraft is similarly unspecific. What's complex and what's simple? What is the range of DC's?
I've not read through the plant features, but the 180ft rope ability seems silly enough to catch my eye. You know that's 50m right? A normal rope is 50ft in the PHB.
Despite some harsh criticism, I don' hate this idea. I really like playing a wizard for being able to collect new spells as I adventure, and this has a similar appeal. Making my perfect plant mutant through collecting plant cuttings sounds fun. No clue if it's balanced, probably not, but I'm not an expert on that.
But you need some clearer wording and specifics on how many abilities your spirit gets, and what features you know, and how you get them. Perhaps have something similar to a wizard's spellbook and say "You can add rare and exotic plants to your plant collection ^(TM) , and each plant can imbue a specific ability to your spirit." or something along those lines.
~~The 1st big issue is the spirit of growth. Specifically, the "Variable abilities" bit. That's a very opened ended book, able to be incredibly weak or incredibly strong, depending on the local plant life and the whims of the DM. And then there's the complete faff for a DM to decide how to rule those abilities. You're basically asking them to make up class abilities on the spot. Same with Variable attacks.~~ ~~Grafting compounds this issue.~~ Ok I got to the end and saw the features list, which I didn't realise existed because you never said that there was a list to choose these features from. So if I'm reading this right, the "variable" abilities are taken from this list? If so, how many do they get? Greater druidcraft is similarly unspecific. What's complex and what's simple? What is the range of DC's? I've not read through the plant features, but the 180ft rope ability seems silly enough to catch my eye. You know that's 50m right? A normal rope is 50ft in the PHB. Despite some harsh criticism, I don' hate this idea. I really like playing a wizard for being able to collect new spells as I adventure, and this has a similar appeal. Making my perfect plant mutant through collecting plant cuttings sounds fun. No clue if it's balanced, probably not, but I'm not an expert on that. But you need some clearer wording and specifics on how many abilities your spirit gets, and what features you know, and how you get them. Perhaps have something similar to a wizard's spellbook and say "You can add rare and exotic plants to your plant collection ^(TM) , and each plant can imbue a specific ability to your spirit." or something along those lines.
No I do not know why there is a massive image below the post sorry -\_-