The Druidic Stereotype [Archive] - Wizards Community

The Druidic Stereotype [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Arkonth
01-28-05, 02:28 PM I'm currently playing a Neutral Good Druid, and recently realized that I was falling into a sort of ecologist stereotype. While a reasonable direction I decided I wanted to break away form this and find myself stumped for ideas.

I'm an odd, claustrophic dwarven exile with a large emphasis on forest and woodland related animals, magics, etc.

Any ideas on other kinds of druids would be most helpful, I have trouble sticking to my alignment and going new directions.

Oh, lastly I should mention that the drudic hierarchy in the world I'm in divides all druids into sects based on their beliefs, mine was joined before I had this "mid-character crisis" and I'm planning on remaining in it. Fortunately my DM is open to any material and has yet to decide anything past the names of these various sects and one wintery, anti-civilization one that is vital to the campaign.

I belong to the Falling Leaves sect.
Cardinal Teplin
01-28-05, 03:26 PM I tend to avoid the whole ecology thing myself. Chop down trees if you need to. Animals do, why shouldn't you? Similarly vegitarianism is unecessary. A forest in medieval setting isn't particularly threatened, and doesn't need to be treated like a prize garden. Respect is just that, respect. Don't hunt down carnivores because they _might_ attack someone at some point - attacking things is what they are there for. Don't hunt out an area, or deforest one. You need to keep to the natural balance. That means that if a large group of wolves can't fnd enough food and is both hnting everyting to extinction and still starving in the process, then it's probably time to thin the pack a bit. You might as well make yourself a fur cloak in the process. Similarly, if a group of animals are destroying all the trees and totally wrecking everything, then they should be thinned out a bit as well. The problem comes when the animals in question are human...
Aethamyr
01-28-05, 09:38 PM I'm going to agree with the above poster. Druids aren't "hippies', nor do they obsess over every little thing in nature like modern nature protesters. I always envision them having the sterotypical Native American outlook we all learned about in school: at harmony with nature. Understand that death and destruction are part of the natural environment and can actually be beneficial. Your druid should have no problem buring part of a forest if it means that more plants/animals will live because of the new habitat/removed threat, or similar.
Arkonth
01-29-05, 02:10 PM That's exactly what I needed! Thank you, that sounds much moe reasonable than were I ws going and balance the middle age world nicely.
Trydan
01-31-05, 07:23 AM I agree completely with Cardinal Teplin. That was a brilliant post... well done!!!

When I think of druids, I think of them like clerics, but for "nature-based" religions, rather than "theological ones". By that, I mean that the earth and all that live within it, have a power or spirit, and that by channelling that energy, one can tap into a different sort of divine power. It can be anything from the winds, to waterfalls, to storms, to the miracle of life and the life-death cycle. In a way, everyone is part of the divinity of that religion, as they are a part of nature, as are the animals, trees, landscape and weather. A druid is just one who is aware of that power and can channel it.

On the other hand, clerics are there by devotion, prayer and study. Their gods are "outside" of the world, and have created or influenced it from an external perspective. The cleric is powerful, as he or she can tap that external power.

I think that for the divine, for some, it must be studied and prepared (like wizards do for the arcane) and for others, it comes naturally (like for sorcerers).

If someone asked for druids to be able to spontaneously cast spells, I would not be against it... I think that it is somehow more fitting to the theme.
Psionic Brick Thrower
01-31-05, 11:43 AM Well, here is something you probably never thought of as a druid. In a campain I was in a few years ago, I played What I called a Cave Druid. I wanted to to play a Dwarven druid for a statistical advantage that I saw, and the DM to give him a good reason or other wise no, and my inner power gamer was stumped, so I pondered for a few minutes while he helped a newbbie, and it hit me, druids appeciate nature, but it never mentions a connection to the forrest in peticularly, so this Druid has a strong connection to caves, and for his Wild Shapes, uses cave type animals: Bears, bats, ect... I don't know if this is origional or not but it was fun to play so I thought I would pass the info along.
Arkonth
01-31-05, 07:19 PM I thought about doing the cave druid. But I decided iw anted to try a displaced dwarf. He's found something he loves but it's rather alien to him.
msteelman
02-07-05, 02:31 PM I had this discussion with my DM when I started my druid. He was telling me that druids are hard to put in a party because they are all into being by them selves in a pristine vale and whatnot.

I told him that according to the player handbook, Rangers seek to protect nature while Druids seek to become one with it. My druid is an extremely cranky trapper who does everything himself... built his own house, makes his own clothes, own weapon, etc. Instead of the Hippie Druid, he is more of the NRA druid. He has a badger pet (will be upgrading to dire wolverine eventually) and he basically complains and criticizes everything.

To keep him from being absolutely shunned, I made him with a high INT so he has lots of craft skills... so people begrudgingly need him. The next craft skill that he is taking up is taxidermy so that he can bring more of nature into his house.

Not saying you need to do this exactly, but the point is he isn't borring to play. He sees himself as a preditor, which is a totally natural thing to be. He doesn't over hunt an area but he makes his rules up as he goes along as to what is appropriate to kill. He has currently taken up farming lizard men for their skins which started when they almost set the woods near his home on fire by accident. His vengeful attitued and hot temper makes my DMs job a lot easier.

Here is something else to consider, your druid doesn't have to be an ideal druid... especially at low levels. All he really HAS to do is revere nature... but Crocodiles are nature, poisonous snakes are nature, wild boar are nature.... Attaining neutral neutral status requires discipline, like some kind of state of zen. The idea that a low level druid would have this is unlikely if your intent is to role play.
Vapthorne
02-07-05, 03:05 PM Think about the witch for a minute. Based off of some classic fairytales: they're reclusive, often living in the forests, they form secretive covens, sometimes their magic is tied with the forces of nature, they change into animals and they may have a pet. Doesn't those traits sound like druish?

I doubt it'll apply to Arkonth's dwarf, but I thought I throw it up.

Other than that, I think Trydan hit the concept dead on with:
I think of them like clerics, but for "nature-based" religions, rather than "theological ones".
Marialice
02-25-05, 09:24 AM The way I see druids is as characters who are very much "in tune" with nature. They have a good understanding of how things work in nature, which include hunting for food when necessary.

A former character of mine was a dwarven druid who quit dwarven society because she didn't really fit in - she wasn't very intelligent - to go live in the mountains with her grandfather, a ranger. After his death she was left on her own and had to survive in the wild on her own. She became friends with a mountain eagle.

When her natural habitat was destroyed, she suddenly ended up adventuring, but basically she was still driven by the same bird of prey things, i.e. hunting for food and using found materials, finding the right place for her nest, trying to eliminate or avoid threats, etc. That combined with the desire to protect the ones who protected her made her a quite playable character. Needless to say she could have quite a hard time when in civilized society - she didn't much bother with politics, power, culture and such things.
Arkonth
02-25-05, 05:14 PM Well since the thread necromancy, I've decided to give you an update on how the character turned out. After some time swapping ideas wiht my DM we fleshed out all the various druidic sects, while I like the "in-tune" wiht nature idea I went woth something closer to the natural religion.

Basically after leaving dwarven society becaseu of his condition (claustrophobia) and his differing views (the neutral alignment) he joined his sect, The Falling Leaves, which is focused on the repetitive cycle of life and death, as sleep and awakening, changed by wahtever the dream (a form of reincarnaton) often as a "lesser" animal. They beleive that all entities will be or have been everything possible at one point and the most important thing is keeping the cycle balanced and going, stopping undead and the like for the disruption they present. Finally the see trees as the ultimate expression of this cycle with their cycle of dormancy and then later regrowth.

Thanks for all your advice, after I posted this and gave it some thought the depth of this character increased tenfold and enhanced my gaming experience.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Arkonth 01-28-05, 02:28 PM	I'm currently playing a Neutral Good Druid, and recently realized that I was falling into a sort of ecologist stereotype. While a reasonable direction I decided I wanted to break away form this and find myself stumped for ideas. I'm an odd, claustrophic dwarven exile with a large emphasis on forest and woodland related animals, magics, etc. Any ideas on other kinds of druids would be most helpful, I have trouble sticking to my alignment and going new directions. Oh, lastly I should mention that the drudic hierarchy in the world I'm in divides all druids into sects based on their beliefs, mine was joined before I had this "mid-character crisis" and I'm planning on remaining in it. Fortunately my DM is open to any material and has yet to decide anything past the names of these various sects and one wintery, anti-civilization one that is vital to the campaign. I belong to the Falling Leaves sect.
Cardinal Teplin 01-28-05, 03:26 PM	I tend to avoid the whole ecology thing myself. Chop down trees if you need to. Animals do, why shouldn't you? Similarly vegitarianism is unecessary. A forest in medieval setting isn't particularly threatened, and doesn't need to be treated like a prize garden. Respect is just that, respect. Don't hunt down carnivores because they _might_ attack someone at some point - attacking things is what they are there for. Don't hunt out an area, or deforest one. You need to keep to the natural balance. That means that if a large group of wolves can't fnd enough food and is both hnting everyting to extinction and still starving in the process, then it's probably time to thin the pack a bit. You might as well make yourself a fur cloak in the process. Similarly, if a group of animals are destroying all the trees and totally wrecking everything, then they should be thinned out a bit as well. The problem comes when the animals in question are human...
Aethamyr 01-28-05, 09:38 PM	I'm going to agree with the above poster. Druids aren't "hippies', nor do they obsess over every little thing in nature like modern nature protesters. I always envision them having the sterotypical Native American outlook we all learned about in school: at harmony with nature. Understand that death and destruction are part of the natural environment and can actually be beneficial. Your druid should have no problem buring part of a forest if it means that more plants/animals will live because of the new habitat/removed threat, or similar.
Arkonth 01-29-05, 02:10 PM	That's exactly what I needed! Thank you, that sounds much moe reasonable than were I ws going and balance the middle age world nicely.
Trydan 01-31-05, 07:23 AM	I agree completely with Cardinal Teplin. That was a brilliant post... well done!!! When I think of druids, I think of them like clerics, but for "nature-based" religions, rather than "theological ones". By that, I mean that the earth and all that live within it, have a power or spirit, and that by channelling that energy, one can tap into a different sort of divine power. It can be anything from the winds, to waterfalls, to storms, to the miracle of life and the life-death cycle. In a way, everyone is part of the divinity of that religion, as they are a part of nature, as are the animals, trees, landscape and weather. A druid is just one who is aware of that power and can channel it. On the other hand, clerics are there by devotion, prayer and study. Their gods are "outside" of the world, and have created or influenced it from an external perspective. The cleric is powerful, as he or she can tap that external power. I think that for the divine, for some, it must be studied and prepared (like wizards do for the arcane) and for others, it comes naturally (like for sorcerers). If someone asked for druids to be able to spontaneously cast spells, I would not be against it... I think that it is somehow more fitting to the theme.
Psionic Brick Thrower 01-31-05, 11:43 AM	Well, here is something you probably never thought of as a druid. In a campain I was in a few years ago, I played What I called a Cave Druid. I wanted to to play a Dwarven druid for a statistical advantage that I saw, and the DM to give him a good reason or other wise no, and my inner power gamer was stumped, so I pondered for a few minutes while he helped a newbbie, and it hit me, druids appeciate nature, but it never mentions a connection to the forrest in peticularly, so this Druid has a strong connection to caves, and for his Wild Shapes, uses cave type animals: Bears, bats, ect... I don't know if this is origional or not but it was fun to play so I thought I would pass the info along.
Arkonth 01-31-05, 07:19 PM	I thought about doing the cave druid. But I decided iw anted to try a displaced dwarf. He's found something he loves but it's rather alien to him.
msteelman 02-07-05, 02:31 PM	I had this discussion with my DM when I started my druid. He was telling me that druids are hard to put in a party because they are all into being by them selves in a pristine vale and whatnot. I told him that according to the player handbook, Rangers seek to protect nature while Druids seek to become one with it. My druid is an extremely cranky trapper who does everything himself... built his own house, makes his own clothes, own weapon, etc. Instead of the Hippie Druid, he is more of the NRA druid. He has a badger pet (will be upgrading to dire wolverine eventually) and he basically complains and criticizes everything. To keep him from being absolutely shunned, I made him with a high INT so he has lots of craft skills... so people begrudgingly need him. The next craft skill that he is taking up is taxidermy so that he can bring more of nature into his house. Not saying you need to do this exactly, but the point is he isn't borring to play. He sees himself as a preditor, which is a totally natural thing to be. He doesn't over hunt an area but he makes his rules up as he goes along as to what is appropriate to kill. He has currently taken up farming lizard men for their skins which started when they almost set the woods near his home on fire by accident. His vengeful attitued and hot temper makes my DMs job a lot easier. Here is something else to consider, your druid doesn't have to be an ideal druid... especially at low levels. All he really HAS to do is revere nature... but Crocodiles are nature, poisonous snakes are nature, wild boar are nature.... Attaining neutral neutral status requires discipline, like some kind of state of zen. The idea that a low level druid would have this is unlikely if your intent is to role play.
Vapthorne 02-07-05, 03:05 PM	Think about the witch for a minute. Based off of some classic fairytales: they're reclusive, often living in the forests, they form secretive covens, sometimes their magic is tied with the forces of nature, they change into animals and they may have a pet. Doesn't those traits sound like druish? I doubt it'll apply to Arkonth's dwarf, but I thought I throw it up. Other than that, I think Trydan hit the concept dead on with: I think of them like clerics, but for "nature-based" religions, rather than "theological ones".
Marialice 02-25-05, 09:24 AM	The way I see druids is as characters who are very much "in tune" with nature. They have a good understanding of how things work in nature, which include hunting for food when necessary. A former character of mine was a dwarven druid who quit dwarven society because she didn't really fit in - she wasn't very intelligent - to go live in the mountains with her grandfather, a ranger. After his death she was left on her own and had to survive in the wild on her own. She became friends with a mountain eagle. When her natural habitat was destroyed, she suddenly ended up adventuring, but basically she was still driven by the same bird of prey things, i.e. hunting for food and using found materials, finding the right place for her nest, trying to eliminate or avoid threats, etc. That combined with the desire to protect the ones who protected her made her a quite playable character. Needless to say she could have quite a hard time when in civilized society - she didn't much bother with politics, power, culture and such things.
Arkonth 02-25-05, 05:14 PM	Well since the thread necromancy, I've decided to give you an update on how the character turned out. After some time swapping ideas wiht my DM we fleshed out all the various druidic sects, while I like the "in-tune" wiht nature idea I went woth something closer to the natural religion. Basically after leaving dwarven society becaseu of his condition (claustrophobia) and his differing views (the neutral alignment) he joined his sect, The Falling Leaves, which is focused on the repetitive cycle of life and death, as sleep and awakening, changed by wahtever the dream (a form of reincarnaton) often as a "lesser" animal. They beleive that all entities will be or have been everything possible at one point and the most important thing is keeping the cycle balanced and going, stopping undead and the like for the disruption they present. Finally the see trees as the ultimate expression of this cycle with their cycle of dormancy and then later regrowth. Thanks for all your advice, after I posted this and gave it some thought the depth of this character increased tenfold and enhanced my gaming experience.