Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Radijs 08-14-07, 12:26 PM	Most of the time when I hear people talking about druids and their personalities they talk about protector of the forest. Their dislike for woodcutters, hunters and polluters. But I always thought that was a complete load of bear :censored:. Woodcutting, hunting and pollution doesn't threaten nature in a medieval-ish DnD setting and the whole image of a druid as a magical hippie just rubs me the wrong way. But rather then cursing the darkness I've set fire to something and I bring you: Druidic character concepts! 1. The hunter. In nature the sick, old and weak are culled from the herd. You are a predator and you see it as your job to cull the weak. You respect strength and survival wether this comes from individual power or through cooperation. Bah tired now. I will bring more later. Feel free to add your own concept.
psychoticbarber 08-14-07, 03:23 PM	The Paragon of Balance To everything there is a season, a time to live and a time to die... The universe depends on the natural ebb and flow, and you are the protector of it. Some creatures must die, some plants must be burnt, and others creatures must be protected, other plants nurtured.
hekate 08-14-07, 04:08 PM	The magical hippie: You are a protector of the forest. You dislike woodcutters, hunters, and polluters. You enjoy the smell of bear :censored:. You enjoy rubbing people the wrong way and you are often found cursing the darkness but refuse to set fires. ;) Just kidding, bud! :) In all seriousness, though, I feel that alignment weens certain personality traits and the class edict (if there is one) helps shape that even more. Take the permitted alignments for example: (These are just some ideas for thought.) LN: You do, in fact, wish to seek a righteous balance. You believe in a natural order to life and the universe. You are more like paladins in your zealotry when pushed. NG: You believe in a natural balance, but lean towards the passion of positive and benign outcomes. You wish to treat the injured to help restore them or it to the glory that is their natural self or perfection. N: You believe in a purely observational role to the universe and nature. Nature has thrived and survived for eons without us present and will continue to do so long after we are passed. There is no reason to attempt to "change" or "protect" nature, as it is arrogant to assume that nature needs protecting or that we, as insignificant, can change it. NE: You believe in a natural balance (same as the NG), but leans towards the darker and more malign outcomes. You seek to end the life of those suffering or ailing as their weakness could infect others or, at best, prove an unnecessary distraction to more fruitful endeavors. You do not morn those past, but embrace (and maybe venerate) the closing/death cycle of life. CN: You are a reflection of the purely wild element of nature. Where a plant will break through rock to find sunlight, so, too, shall you not be contained. The wind may blow in cardinal direction with purpose, but the mountains, crosswinds, and trees that get in its way affect its path; and you feel as free and whimsical as that wind.
Radijs 08-25-07, 05:11 PM	Everything strives. In nature everything that lives strives and struggles for survival. Only those best suited for survival do in the end, survive. Cities and civilization are just two new battlefields in the war for freedom, food and sex. You are there to see that the battle happens. And if you think it proper join in as well. After all who doesn't like a nice wet, sloppy, warm sausage inna bun? Quirks: You bring new kinds of foliage and animals into civilisation to see how they fare. (I was sure an assasin vine would look lovely in this dark alley. Why are you looking at me like that?) The enhancer This one is a bit like a magical hippie. But then with a good dose of mad scientist added in. The world is changing too fast for nature to keep up on her own. So you decide to help it along a bit. Improving things until balance is restored. You see humans hunting rabbits. A little spell here and there will make the rabbit meat poisonous, or perhaps the rabbits become carnivorous and dig into the house at night to eat the humans. Or perhaps that patch of mustard would do better if it could grow to the height of a man overnight. Woops. Did anyone need that castle wall?
JulesCARV 08-25-07, 07:31 PM	I think that the "magical hippy," as you call it, is a perfectly viable druid concept. It's not the only possible concept for druids, to be sure, but it works just fine for many druids. Deforestation, environmental damage or modification, etc, are not non-existent in a medeival setting. In fact, it probably goes back as far as ancient mesopotamia, whose salinization of their soil due to their irrigation systems is believed to be a major reason for the collapse of that civilization. The ancient Romans drained swamps, etc. This is all without taking into account that D&D includes magical powers that can modify or disrupt the environment in ways that far exceed that of real pre-modern societies. There's nothing wrong with a druid who is opposed to this sort of thing. Anyway, I have some ideas that I'm taking from an old thread (http://forums.gleemax.com/wotc_archive/index.php/t-691778.html) on this topic. The Callous Materialist "I believe that gravity accelerates objects toward the ground, because I've seen it. I believe that water refracts light, because I've seen it. I believe that foxgloves can cause cardiac arrest upon ingestion. I believe in nature's laws. Now you come with your laws telling me that murder is wrong, that lands are divided into lots of so-called 'property,' and many other things I've never seen. Perhaps I should try to test these 'laws' of yours empirically? I'll find out whether murder is wrong through a controlled test, if you like." Callous Materialists, typically found among evil-tending druids, respect the laws of nature -- and only the laws of nature. They see no value in norms: only in the positive realities of the world. Since they view morality as being fundamentally illusory -- a set of unfalsifiable propositions with no relationship to the material world -- they act in whatever manner pleases them. Sometimes, they merely live a good life of moderation and pleasure in the wildlands, untroubled by both human society and conscience, but doing no harm to anyone. Others act with greed or cruelty, regarding them as an inherent and natural part of their psychology that they see no reason to restrain. The Rural Witch: "No need to be embarassed, Miss Anders. 's perfectly natural for a young woman of your age to be seekin' the companionship of the opposite sex. But as for the consequences... well, if your not quite ready yet, these things happen. I reckon this here pennyroyal infusion oughta make sure that Johnson boy's seed don't quicken, and then this antidote -- make sure you take it a few hours after the pennyroyal infusion, mind -- oughta make sure that the pennyroyal don't make you too sick." This druid doesn't truly live in the wilds, but rather on the edges of rural villages. There, she raises emotions from hatred to fear to respect to admiration. She lives apart from the life of most villagers, but not truly in the wild, on the border between civilization and the wilderness. Rural witches often serve as healers, teachers, and defenders of their villages, but in exchange for the help they offer, they demand that the village be ecologically sensitive, chastising farmers who expand their fields too far, loggers who take too much, and the like. The Eremite Ascetic: "The thought of death disturbs me, but only because I have yet to successfully reincorporate my ego into the oneness of the whole world. If I can succeed, then I shall have no more need -- to think, to live, or any other thing. Then death shall not be loss, any more than the changing of the seasons or the winds." Combining monastic and druidic aspects (for reasons other than AC bonuses, believe it or not), the eremite ascetic seeks to end his own autonomous existence and become one with nature, ending the uniqueness of his first-person perspective and be just one other animal among the many. Frequently, eremite ascetics are driven to their views by fears and doubts that they believe can only be overcome through oblivion of consciousness and desire. The Naturalistic Traditionalist "These days, people think that they can get away with anything: liches trying to live forever and defy death, men mating with men and women mating with women, people refusing to eat meat because they think they're better than nature, poor people of no lineage trying to rise above their station, paladins trying to 'redeem' orcs as if they were real people. People need to realize this: there is a natural order. We human types aren't above that natural order. Only the gods are above it. If you defy the natural order of things, you draw the wrath of the gods who created it, and you within it." Naturalistic traditionalists view nature as the source of both the wild lands outside of human influence and human society itself. Within human society, they see a natural order no less than in the forests or deserts beyond it. This natural order is generally seen as an affirmation of tradition, authority, and conservative values, and opposed to change and new things as potentially disruptive of the delicate natural balance of human(oid) society. To such a druid, the laws that dictate that a serf obey her lord are fundamentally of the same nature as the laws that dictate that spring follows winter.
Terjon of the Blue Rose 08-25-07, 11:29 PM	The world is alive. You know that the world is a living thing and just as much so as its component parts. The flora, the fauna, yourself, these are just parts of a greater whole.
NoBrainNoPain 08-26-07, 10:31 AM	php says that druid and rangers most of the time can be in party with each other, but what about a party with NG druid and LE ranger who burns trees and kills animals for no other rason, but fun. And if they continue to be in one paty do the druid have to become EX-druid and what have to do not to become such, to kill the ranger, ask him to leave or druid to leave :devil:
Radijs 08-26-07, 11:53 AM	What does that have to do with example personality types for druids?
Khadmus 08-26-07, 01:26 PM	Nothing! No brain, no pain!
mcgeedis 08-28-07, 08:19 AM	I like the idea of the Druid embracing Darwinism and the survival of the fittest. To me, it makes so much sense! I mean, why can't a neutral good Druid wildshaped as a bear exhibit such animalistic tendencies? For example, is it evil for the Druid to go into the enemy Duergar's lair and kill them while they are in their sleep? Some would contend that killing an enemy in the sleep is not 'good' per se. But think about it. An animal that discovered an enemy in it's territory would kill a sleeping enemy off the bat. The 'good' part comes in knowing that you are killing an evil threat to the greater good.
Orchomenos 08-28-07, 11:36 AM	I like the idea of the Druid embracing Darwinism and the survival of the fittest. To me, it makes so much sense! I mean, why can't a neutral good Druid wildshaped as a bear exhibit such animalistic tendencies? For example, is it evil for the Druid to go into the enemy Duergar's lair and kill them while they are in their sleep? Some would contend that killing an enemy in the sleep is not 'good' per se. But think about it. An animal that discovered an enemy in it's territory would kill a sleeping enemy off the bat. The 'good' part comes in knowing that you are killing an evil threat to the greater good. When you're talking about a small evil for a greater good, it sounds like Lawful Evil. And even then, this "darwinism" sounds like the drow point of view: the stronger and wiser can assassinate the weaker by planting a dagger in his back, and in the end Lolth will be happy! A young lion who try to take an older one's pride leadership will not kill him in his sleep. He will attack him in a fair fight, and if he wins, he will let the loosing one flee. Though he will probably attempt to kill as many cubs as he can, because they're not of his blood.
Radijs 08-28-07, 05:39 PM	But there's a diffrence between the Drow PoV and lesser evils. Drow slaughter the weak because of the demands of their completely insane goddess and pure bloodlust. Someone else would kill orcs in their sleep because its the easiest way to stop them from ransacking those peasant villages & raping the women there. Using evil to fight evil. And the lion will choose the challenge because A, it doesn't have the wit to tear the other lion's throat out while he sleeps. And B, would the pack see him as a leader when he does that? Or will all the males start fighting each other for dominance? Letting the loser flee is simple survival. Fighting is dangerous and even though the lion is winning there's a chance that if he decides to go for the kill he might end up seriously injured or even dead(dying) himself.
elvenblade 08-29-07, 12:35 PM	I used to multiclass my Ninja with Druid levels. :pbbbtt:
mcgeedis 08-30-07, 07:53 AM	And the lion will choose the challenge because A, it doesn't have the wit to tear the other lion's throat out while he sleeps. So now we bring up the question - does a lack of intelligence dictate good or evil? Does being dumb say that you cannot tell right from wrong? Is evil for the pitbull to attack a family member, or is only doing something that it is perceiving as a threat and protecting itself in the only way it knows how? I just think that Druids, although intelligent, try to put themselves into that animal mindset, the predator, hunter, protector, etc...
Radijs 08-30-07, 12:55 PM	Well the dog isn't evil if you ask me. It just thought that the family member was a genuine threat. Its not entirely unlike a man shouting menacingly at you in a foreign tongue whilst waving a weapon about. You'd think he's a threat right? You'd defend yourself or flee yes? Its not good or evil.
JulesCARV 08-30-07, 01:27 PM	I just think that Druids, although intelligent, try to put themselves into that animal mindset, the predator, hunter, protector, etc... "Put myself into an animal mindset? What animal? There are many animals in this world. Each is unique. A deer is not a crow. A crow is not a lion. A lion is not a bee. A bee is not a dwarf. I am an animal of the sort known as a dwarf -- why would I put myself into the mindset of some other beast? It would be absurd for a deer to put herself into the mindset of a crow, or I to put myself into the mindset of a bee." Just an alternative druidy view :).
Tjuk 08-30-07, 01:27 PM	The extremist Predator. For far too long you've seen wars going on, have seen men and orc cut down tree's and seen them use the earths resources for their own benefit you've seen beautifull forests full of animals being burned in the struggle against there own races. You have choosen that it is enough. By all means you will defeat any people who deal harm to the rightfull nature, you want to bring it to it's full glory again. You will use all the power that lies in your hand to have the old balance returned again, using nature for you leverage to a better world. Extinquishing this parasite so called humanity since it is the one thing which doesn't serve a use in this world.
JulesCARV 08-30-07, 02:55 PM	With all of the concepts for a predatory druid, I'm inspired to wonder what a druid would be like who tried to get in touch with his prey instincts. Possibly you'd get a quick, roguish, stealthy druid, who tries to keep a low profile and sneak around problems rather than attack them head on -- who tends to wildshape primarily into small fliers or sneakers like rats rather than pouncer types. I dunno.
elvenblade 08-31-07, 03:27 PM	Probably, a lack of intelligence does do that, mcggedis So now we bring up the question - does a lack of intelligence dictate good or evil? Does being dumb say that you cannot tell right from wrong? Is evil for the pitbull to attack a family member, or is only doing something that it is perceiving as a threat and protecting itself in the only way it knows how? I just think that Druids, although intelligent, try to put themselves into that animal mindset, the predator, hunter, protector, etc...
Tjuk 08-31-07, 06:54 PM	That's the good thing of being a predator druid you've got every way to do it at your disposal , want to be sneaky, and not seen, get to be a rat, or make some animal you summoned run in without showing yourself. Be the bird that watches them from the skies, and waits untill the right moment to attack. Or the Dire wolf, lion or whatever which cuts his prey into pieces with their sharp claws and teeth. It's a fun and great personality to play if you'd ask me.
Terjon of the Blue Rose 08-31-07, 11:53 PM	Just out of curiosity has anyone tried druid as a path to power? I mean it's a fairly common mage motivation that the character wants to become the most powerful being they can but not exactly typical of a druid (argueably the most powerful class in the game).
Radijs 09-01-07, 07:45 AM	A plant-inspired druid could indeed be lusting for absolute power. Looking at plants a lot operate in a very cruel way. trees let their crowns grow as wide as they can to catch the most rays of the sun but also to deny any other trees the chance to grow. The same goes for a lot of weeds that creep around choking other plants with their presence. Heck there's even a tree that creates its own kind of acid rain to make sure nothing sprouts around it. A druid inspired by this mindset would creep to power slowly moving to encroach on his foes and suffocate them slowly.
Rakael 09-03-07, 01:07 AM	Woo... Druids come in all shapes and sizes and mindsets too, but just how many 'natural' mindsets are there? Quotes from my own druid, i hope this gives an idea about her personality, because i have no idea how to outline her personality...:mad: 'They? Oh, I'll be taking care of the two them till they become strong enough to fend for themselves in this harsh world. I know they are drow... No, I don't care what they do, as long as it’s not against nature. Its up to you lot to protect yourselves from them, I'm NOT going to help, your numbers are great, those two suffered from genocide... I must restore the balance.' ~Alissara, when questioned about the two drow she's lugging around.:P ______________________________ “He IS a protector of nature, He IS fanatical about it, but I’m bringing him back nonetheless.... Don't worry, I'll do my best to make sure he doesn't go overboard” ~Alissara, when questioned as to why she wants to reincarnate a Fanatical Nature Guardian (who admittedly gives her quite a few problems when within townships, villageships etc.):rolleye2: _________________________________ “You two go on ahead and rent the room, I'll... find somewhere else to stay” ~Alissara, before wildshaping out of sight, into a mouse and spending a comfortable night with the resident family of mice in the inn's basement.:D _________________________________ “Yes, i'll protect you as your horse in the war... but be warned, I WILL cause a couple of inconveniences if i feel like it” ~Alissara, then suddenly casting overgrowth which succeeds in annoying both the side she is on, and the enemy. (but doesn't kill a mortal in the process):cool: ____________________________________ “Greetings Dark One...I see... So it was YOU who murdered everyone in that drow city? Yes, You know by now I have taken 2 survivors as prisoners… Please don't kill them, at the moment, they are mere worms before your blade. Allow me to keep them alive until they can fight back a little... in maybe 150 years? You have time... Please?” ~Alissara, after discovering that the drow she is aiding was the one who murdered everybody in his own city, and now seeks to finish the job via the two drow prisoners she is keeping':raincloud ________________________________________ ___ “The *insert animal/stone/plant here* have told me that....” ~Alissara, on gathering information...:gah: ________________________________________ __ “I'll be away for a few days people, no, don't bother looking for me unless you can scry.... Duties call” ~Alissara, before going on a retreat to tend to the forests, by mainly casting plant growth(enrichment),checking on and aiding to restore imbalance in animal communities and ambushing mortals who overharvest from nature.:twitch: _____________________________________ “So THAT is the way you choose to survive... well... okay... To each his or her own I guess, I won't hurt you... much... but he (indicating afore-mentioned fanatical nature guardian) will.'' ~Alissara, questioning motives of non-hostile NPCs and PCs (who threaten nature):teach: ................................. - I hope that gives an idea on what my idea of a druid is... I have no idea how to classify her though, any thoughts? :uh-huh:
Khadmus 09-03-07, 04:52 PM	A plant-inspired druid could indeed be lusting for absolute power. Looking at plants a lot operate in a very cruel way. trees let their crowns grow as wide as they can to catch the most rays of the sun but also to deny any other trees the chance to grow. The same goes for a lot of weeds that creep around choking other plants with their presence. Heck there's even a tree that creates its own kind of acid rain to make sure nothing sprouts around it. A druid inspired by this mindset would creep to power slowly moving to encroach on his foes and suffocate them slowly. Name?
Radijs 09-03-07, 07:02 PM	I believe its the Birch.