Abberations and Druids [Archive] - Wizards Community

Abberations and Druids [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Dinel
12-02-05, 04:31 PM I came up with an abberation that dwells in the forests. The creature is generally quiet and unobtrusive, with no particular designs on world-conquest or kicking bunnies. It will defend the forest where it lives fervently, trying peaceful solutions first and violent solutions if all else fails.

My question is: How would a druid likely react to such a creature? The creature's motives are not dissimilar to those of a druid, although it might have different reasons behind those motives. It is an aberration, however, and as such is considered a blight on nature by the letter of the druidic order.
thegraveyard
12-02-05, 04:48 PM It depends on how extreme the druid is. Some druids can turn into abberations for wildshape, though this is do to a feat from Lords of Madness.
CipherTheory
12-02-05, 04:54 PM Aberations by nature upset the natural order. That's the reason druids dislike them. They simply have no place in nature.

You also have to consider the secondary effects of an abberation. Does this creature constitute a new link in the food chain? If so, the druids will see it as upsetting the naturral order even if it fits in elsewhere. Does its presence scare animals? Does it disrupt mating grounds? Is it eating something that provides a benefit to another species? Is it eating predators which keep lesser species in check? Is it eating anything at all? There's a billion plus ways in which an abberation could throw off the balance of nature, and any of them are likely to anger at least a few druids.

If, after you consider all of this, you still have an abberation that works well and helps the environment; the druids will probably learn (over time) to leave it alone. Granted they'd probably try to hunt them to extinction first, but after a while they'd get the creature... assuming they didn't succede in wiping them out of course.

An example that I could give of this is: would a druid outright kill a fellow party member that's an elan (an XPH species)? Probably not, even though Elan are all aberations. Would a druid possibly distrust that character once he/she found out the person was an Elan? Probably, but given enough time trust would eventually form.
savant_warlord13
12-02-05, 05:21 PM Aberations by nature upset the natural order. That's the reason druids dislike them. They simply have no place in nature.

You also have to consider the secondary effects of an abberation. Does this creature constitute a new link in the food chain? If so, the druids will see it as upsetting the naturral order even if it fits in elsewhere. Does its presence scare animals? Does it disrupt mating grounds? Is it eating something that provides a benefit to another species? Is it eating predators which keep lesser species in check? Is it eating anything at all? There's a billion plus ways in which an abberation could throw off the balance of nature, and any of them are likely to anger at least a few druids.

If, after you consider all of this, you still have an abberation that works well and helps the environment; the druids will probably learn (over time) to leave it alone. Granted they'd probably try to hunt them to extinction first, but after a while they'd get the creature... assuming they didn't succede in wiping them out of course.

An example that I could give of this is: would a druid outright kill a fellow party member that's an elan (an XPH species)? Probably not, even though Elan are all aberations. Would a druid possibly distrust that character once he/she found out the person was an Elan? Probably, but given enough time trust would eventually form.

^
For Lawful druids only
Radijs
12-02-05, 06:58 PM It depends on the druid. Most druids see abberations as something unnatural while some see them as a kind of alien nature.
KingSoft
12-03-05, 01:29 PM How druids feel about aberrations is up to you.

The type "aberration" dose not inherently mean it is unnatural; it just means the creature has a very strange (from humanoid perspective) anatomy and or mind set.

From the SRD
Aberration Type: An aberration has a bizarre anatomy, strange abilities, an alien mindset, or any combination of the three.

Druids should hate aberrations like mind flayers and negoi because they originally came from a different prime and therefore have no place in their (the druids') prime world (info from LoM). Druids should also hate all the aberrations that were results of experiments.

If your creature has been part of the ecosystem as long as anyone can remember they should have no problem with it.
Tsuul
12-03-05, 02:26 PM The creature is generally quiet and unobtrusive, with no particular designs on world-conquest or kicking bunnies.Is it's policy on bunnies a wise one?
http://www.spacerad.com/rabbit/movie/holygrail.jpg
The Vorpal Tribble
12-03-05, 02:56 PM In Lords of Madness there is a creature very much like this called the Silthilar. Chaotic good guys who live in the most remote forests of the world and have great respect for life... so much they liked to tinker with it. Used to be a sylvan race but their expirements made them aberrations or some such.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Dinel 12-02-05, 04:31 PM	I came up with an abberation that dwells in the forests. The creature is generally quiet and unobtrusive, with no particular designs on world-conquest or kicking bunnies. It will defend the forest where it lives fervently, trying peaceful solutions first and violent solutions if all else fails. My question is: How would a druid likely react to such a creature? The creature's motives are not dissimilar to those of a druid, although it might have different reasons behind those motives. It is an aberration, however, and as such is considered a blight on nature by the letter of the druidic order.
thegraveyard 12-02-05, 04:48 PM	It depends on how extreme the druid is. Some druids can turn into abberations for wildshape, though this is do to a feat from Lords of Madness.
CipherTheory 12-02-05, 04:54 PM	Aberations by nature upset the natural order. That's the reason druids dislike them. They simply have no place in nature. You also have to consider the secondary effects of an abberation. Does this creature constitute a new link in the food chain? If so, the druids will see it as upsetting the naturral order even if it fits in elsewhere. Does its presence scare animals? Does it disrupt mating grounds? Is it eating something that provides a benefit to another species? Is it eating predators which keep lesser species in check? Is it eating anything at all? There's a billion plus ways in which an abberation could throw off the balance of nature, and any of them are likely to anger at least a few druids. If, after you consider all of this, you still have an abberation that works well and helps the environment; the druids will probably learn (over time) to leave it alone. Granted they'd probably try to hunt them to extinction first, but after a while they'd get the creature... assuming they didn't succede in wiping them out of course. An example that I could give of this is: would a druid outright kill a fellow party member that's an elan (an XPH species)? Probably not, even though Elan are all aberations. Would a druid possibly distrust that character once he/she found out the person was an Elan? Probably, but given enough time trust would eventually form.
savant_warlord13 12-02-05, 05:21 PM	Aberations by nature upset the natural order. That's the reason druids dislike them. They simply have no place in nature. You also have to consider the secondary effects of an abberation. Does this creature constitute a new link in the food chain? If so, the druids will see it as upsetting the naturral order even if it fits in elsewhere. Does its presence scare animals? Does it disrupt mating grounds? Is it eating something that provides a benefit to another species? Is it eating predators which keep lesser species in check? Is it eating anything at all? There's a billion plus ways in which an abberation could throw off the balance of nature, and any of them are likely to anger at least a few druids. If, after you consider all of this, you still have an abberation that works well and helps the environment; the druids will probably learn (over time) to leave it alone. Granted they'd probably try to hunt them to extinction first, but after a while they'd get the creature... assuming they didn't succede in wiping them out of course. An example that I could give of this is: would a druid outright kill a fellow party member that's an elan (an XPH species)? Probably not, even though Elan are all aberations. Would a druid possibly distrust that character once he/she found out the person was an Elan? Probably, but given enough time trust would eventually form. ^ For Lawful druids only
Radijs 12-02-05, 06:58 PM	It depends on the druid. Most druids see abberations as something unnatural while some see them as a kind of alien nature.
KingSoft 12-03-05, 01:29 PM	How druids feel about aberrations is up to you. The type "aberration" dose not inherently mean it is unnatural; it just means the creature has a very strange (from humanoid perspective) anatomy and or mind set. From the SRD Aberration Type: An aberration has a bizarre anatomy, strange abilities, an alien mindset, or any combination of the three. Druids should hate aberrations like mind flayers and negoi because they originally came from a different prime and therefore have no place in their (the druids') prime world (info from LoM). Druids should also hate all the aberrations that were results of experiments. If your creature has been part of the ecosystem as long as anyone can remember they should have no problem with it.
Tsuul 12-03-05, 02:26 PM	The creature is generally quiet and unobtrusive, with no particular designs on world-conquest or kicking bunnies.Is it's policy on bunnies a wise one? http://www.spacerad.com/rabbit/movie/holygrail.jpg
The Vorpal Tribble 12-03-05, 02:56 PM	In Lords of Madness there is a creature very much like this called the Silthilar. Chaotic good guys who live in the most remote forests of the world and have great respect for life... so much they liked to tinker with it. Used to be a sylvan race but their expirements made them aberrations or some such.