Druid

Description

Whether calling on the elemental forces of nature or emulating the creatures of the animal world, druids are an embodiment of nature. They claim no mastery over nature; instead, they see themselves as an extension of nature’s indomitable will.
As a druid, you will find yourself utilizing elemental magic and wild shapes; shifting your form to that of a wild animal you have gained an affinity for.

The shifting process is not painless and beautiful. It is violent, painful, and scary to witness.

Please note that druids do not gain access to Indrid’s spells in order to maintain class integrity between druid and mage classes. You will have access to wild shapes and are encouraged to supplement your RP.

Druid class requires an application to be approved in order to play. Please see the Race and Class Applications channel in the discord server to fill out an application via ticket; the form and ticket will be pinned. Druids begin the game with two wild shapes (one combat and one non-combat) and must obtain additional shapes via quests. Each additional shape will also require an application to be processed and that can be found in the same location.

Indrid's Information

Stat Priority

Primary: Authority
Secondary: Vitality
Tertiary: Strength
Perks:

• Swiftness
• Beast Tamer
• Stealth
• Shapeshifter
• Leap Attack

Roleplay Redux Information

Stats:

• +2 Wisdom, +1 Constitution

A Closer Look at Druids

Holding high a gnarled staff wreathed with holly, an elf summons the fury of the storm and calls down explosive bolts of lightning to smite the torch-carrying orcs who threaten her forest.

Crouching out of sight on a high tree branch in the form of a leopard, a human peers out of the jungle at the strange construction of a temple of Evil Elemental Air, keeping a close eye on the cultists’ activities.

Swinging a blade formed of pure fire, a half-elf charges into a mass of skeletal soldiers, sundering the unnatural magic that gives the foul creatures the mocking semblance of life.
Whether calling on the elemental forces of nature or emulating the creatures of the animal world, druids are an embodiment of nature’s resilience, cunning, and fury. They claim no mastery over nature. Instead, they see themselves as extensions of nature’s indomitable will.

Power of Nature

Druids revere nature above all, gaining their spells and other magical powers either from the force of nature itself or from a nature deity. Many druids pursue a mystic spirituality of transcendent union with nature rather than devotion to a divine entity, while others serve gods of wild nature, animals, or elemental forces. The ancient druidic traditions are sometimes called the Old Faith, in contrast to the worship of gods in temples and shrines.
Druid spells are oriented toward nature and animals—the power of tooth and claw, of sun and moon, of fire and storm. Druids also gain the ability to take on animal forms, and some druids make a particular study of this practice, even to the point where they prefer animal form to their natural form.

Preserve the Balance

For druids, nature exists in a precarious balance. The four elements that make up a world—air, earth, fire, and water—must remain in equilibrium. If one element were to gain power over the others, the world could be destroyed, drawn into one of the elemental planes and broken apart into its component elements. Thus, druids oppose cults of Elemental Evil and others who promote one element to the exclusion of others.
Druids are also concerned with the delicate ecological balance that sustains plant and animal life, and the need for civilized folk to live in harmony with nature, not in opposition to it. Druids accept that which is cruel in nature, and they hate that which is unnatural, including aberrations (such as beholders and mind flayers) and undead (such as zombies and vampires). Druids sometimes lead raids against such creatures, especially when the monsters encroach on the druids’ territory.
Druids are often found guarding sacred sites or watching over regions of unspoiled nature. But when a significant danger arises, threatening nature’s balance or the lands they protect, druids take on a more active role in combating the threat, as adventurers.

Culture

Known for their mysterious nature, druids called the wilderness their home, emulating the ways of wild beasts and other creatures of nature. Believing that nature's health depended on a precarious balance, druids believed that the four elements of the natural world - air, earth, fire, and water - must be prevented from ever gaining advantage over one another, lest the world become dominated by the forces of the elemental planes. Likewise, druids believed nature exists outside of civilized conceptions of good, evil, order or chaos, instead seeking only to maintain a natural state of being which most of the civilized world cannot or will not understand. But though druids may have accepted cruelty in nature, they abhorred that which was alien to it, violently opposing the existence of aberrations and undead, both of whom were affronts to the natural order.
Powerful sentries of the natural world, druids were often seen by outsiders as primal controllers of the wilderness. However, although druids drew great power from nature, druids, nigh universally, did not see themselves as masters of the wild but rather its servants, much as a cleric might serve a god or a knight his liege. To a druid, claims of power over the wild was something that only those lacking a proper understanding of nature could profess. The primal power that druids drew upon came to them not through control, but through a spiritual unity with the forces of nature. This distinction was, however, lost on most. Druids were not the only caretakers of the wilderness, though they were perhaps the best known. Comparable to wizards, druids were nature's lore-keepers, possessing an enormous degree of knowledge about the inhabitants, locations, and phenomena of Toril's wildernesses. However, while wizards frequently sought this knowledge for knowledge's own sake (or power's), druids acted in behalf of that which they studied. Venerating the natural world in a belief system sometimes known as the Old Faith, druids valued the pristine wilderness, accepting its cruelty and ugliness along with its wonder and beauty. As such, while druids rarely acted selfishly, they were nonetheless as likely to be good or evil.
Druids shared a brotherhood of sorts with all other druids, though it was often a loose association rather than a tightly bound network. Ignoring the artificial boundaries of kings and princes, druids respected and protected all the lands of the world, working with druids from far-away lands as readily as with those whom they know personally. Communication within this society was aided by the use of a secret language common to all druidic circles, known as Druidic. Induction into these societies often required knowledge of secret rites and passing dangerous tests, but, once accepted as members, druids were rarely cast out and were allowed to more or less carry on their work in their own way. Many of these societies were religious in nature and tied to a church of some sort, but not all were, and most druids preferred a degree of distance between civilized churches and the Old Faith. Of the gods worshiped throughout Thuria, druids found themselves most frequently drawn to Jhebbal Sag.
Druids were most often elves, gnomes, or humans. A few druids also came from other racial backgrounds, such as gnolls, ghostwise halflings, lightfoot halflings, or wild dwarves, though, generally, druids were uncommon among other races and cultures. Druids as a whole rejected civilization, and as a result sometimes found it difficult to get along with those who embodied its values most distinctively, such as paladins, rogues, or arcane spellcasters. Druids instead preferred the company of individuals with like minds, such as barbarians, rangers, shamans, or wardens.
Throughout Thuria, druids were most commonly found in regions where pristine wilderness remained undisturbed, such as the Pictish Wildlands, the Southern Black Kingdoms, the vast jungles of Vendhya, and in the wilds of Khitai, Kambuja, and the Hyrkianian steppe. While druids were more stereotypically associated with lush forests or jungles, druids could also be found in the care of mountains, deserts, lakes, and the swamps of the world.

Abilities

Druids were capable in a number of diverse skills related to the care of the natural world, such as the ability to perceive changes in the environment or interact peaceably with wild beasts. When it came to martial ability, all druids were proficient to some degree in the use of light or medium armor and shields as well as clubs, daggers, darts, javelins, maces, quarterstaffs, scimitars, sickles, slings, and spears, with the notable exception that druids would not use armor or shields forged from metal. Druids were also able herbalists, adept in the creation of various potions and remedies.
In addition to their more mundane abilities, druids were also adept in the casting of spells born of primal magic, sometimes known as "evocations." Druids were also capable of enhancing these spells through a number of magical aids, such as sacred plants like ash, mistletoe, or yucca, as well as through constructed implements like staffs or totems. Like clerics or wizards, druids also knew how to cast rituals. Additionally, with sufficient experience, the intimate connection between druids and the primal magic they wielded grew so strong as to slow their aging, down to a rate of approximately one tenth that of regular members of their species.
Among the more formidable abilities known to druids was a form of shapeshifting known as Wild Shape. This ability allowed druids to shapeshift into any beast, including some plants, as well as several fey, or an indistinct being of feathers, fur, or claws similar to the Primal Beast spoken of in many druidic legends. The ability to Wild Shape came with certain limitations, however. Neophyte druids, were, for example, incapable of assuming a beast capable of extensive swimming, and only with a great deal of training could druids master the form of flying creatures. With practice however, the ability could become quite versatile and experienced druids could learn to cast spells in their beast form. The most experienced druids, known as archdruids, were even capable of shapeshifting at will. Others learned how to extend their shapeshifting abilities into taking the form of any individual person.
Other druids had less common abilities. Some druids had, in addition to their wild shape evocations, animal companions that filled some of the functions provided by wild shaping. A few druids were innate experts in the fields of botany and zoology, identifying various species with perfect accuracy by instinct. As a result, druids were naturally keen to deception by wildlife and fey. Likewise, druids held a natural sense for the safety of drinking water and many were immune to the effects of organic poisons. Several druids were also masters at moving through the wilderness at fast speeds, ignoring the hampering effects of natural hazards such as thorns or briars. With enough training, these druids did not even leave a hint of their movement through the wild.

Druid Circles Available in Roleplay Redux

In addition to the loose fellowship shared by all druids, druids were divided into more localized organizations known as circles, many of which shared certain common beliefs and abilities. Some of the most popular circles are listed below.

Circle of the Land

The Circle of the Land is made up of mystics and sages who safeguard ancient knowledge and rites through a vast oral tradition. These druids meet within sacred circles of trees or standing stones to whisper primal secrets in Druidic. The circle's wisest members preside as the chief priests of communities that hold to the Old Faith and serve as advisors to the rulers of those folk. As a member of this circle, your magic is influenced by the land where you were initiated into the circle's mysterious rites.

Circle of the Moon

Druids of the Circle of the Moon are fierce guardians of the wilds. Their order gathers under the full moon to share news and trade warnings. They haunt the deepest parts of the wilderness, where they might go for weeks on end before crossing paths with another humanoid creature, let alone another druid.
Changeable as the moon, a druid of this circle might prowl as a great cat one night, soar over the treetops as an eagle the next day, and crash through the undergrowth in bear form to drive off a trespassing monster. The wild is in the druid's blood.

Circle of Dreams

Druids who are members of the Circle of Dreams hail from regions that have strong ties to the Feywild and its dreamlike realms. The druids’ guardianship of the natural world makes for a natural alliance between them and good-aligned fey. These druids seek to fill the world with dreamy wonder. Their magic mends wounds and brings joy to downcast hearts, and the realms they protect are gleaming, fruitful places, where dream and reality blur together and where the weary can find rest.

Circle of the Shepherd

Druids of the Circle of the Shepherd commune with the spirits of nature, especially the spirits of beasts and the fey, and call to those spirits for aid. These druids recognize that all living things play a role in the natural world, yet they focus on protecting animals and fey creatures that have difficulty defending themselves. Shepherds, as they are known, see such creatures as their charges. They ward off monsters that threaten them, rebuke hunters who kill more prey than necessary, and prevent civilization from encroaching on rare animal habitats and on sites sacred to the fey.
Many of these druids are happiest far from cities and towns, content to spend their days in the company of animals and the fey creatures of the wilds. Members of this circle become adventurers to oppose forces that threaten their charges or to seek knowledge and power that will help them safeguard their charges better. Wherever these druids go, the spirits of the wilderness are with them.

Circle of Spores

Druids of the Circle of Spores find beauty in decay. They see within mold and other fungi the ability to transform lifeless material into abundant, albeit somewhat strange, life. These druids believe that life and death are parts of a grand cycle, with one leading to the other and then back again. Death isn't the end of life, but instead a change of state that sees life shift into a new form.
Druids of this circle have a complex relationship with the undead. They see nothing inherently wrong with undeath, which they consider to be a companion to life and death. But these druids believe that the natural cycle is healthiest when each segment of it is vibrant and changing. Undead that seek to replace all life with undeath, or that try to avoid passing to a final rest, violate the cycle and must be thwarted.

Circle of Stars

The Circle of Stars allows druids to draw on the power of starlight. These druids have tracked heavenly patterns since time immemorial, discovering secrets hidden amid the constellations. By revealing and understanding these secrets, the Circle of the Stars seeks to harness the powers of the cosmos.
Many druids of this circle keep records of the constellations and the stars' effects on the world. Some groups document these observations at megalithic sites, which serve as enigmatic libraries of lore. These repositories might take the form of stone circles, pyramids, petroglyphs, and underground temples; any construction durable enough to protect the circle's sacred knowledge even against a great cataclysm.

Circle of Wildfire

Druids within the Circle of Wildfire understand that destruction is sometimes the precursor of creation, such as when a forest fire promotes later growth. These druids bond with a primal spirit that harbors both destructive and creative power, allowing the druids to create controlled flames that burn away one thing but give life to another.

Circle of Twilight

The Circle of Twilight seeks to exterminate undead creatures and preserve the natural cycle of life and death that rules over the cosmos. Their magic allows them to manipulate the boundary between life and death, sending their foes to their final rest while keeping their allies from that fate.
These druids seek out lands that have been tainted by undeath. Such places are grim and foreboding. Once vibrant forests become gloomy, haunted places devoid of animals and filled with plants dying a slow, lingering death. The Circle of Twilight goes to such places to banish undeath and restore life.

Circle of Witherbloom

Druids from the Circle of Witherbloom draw their magic from the energy that endlessly flows from life to death, and back again. They see the duality of thriving life and inevitable death in all things, tapping and manipulating the transition of energy between these states. Some Witherbloom adherents focus on vital energies to nurture life and empower others, while others embrace the drain of vitality into decay to sap and strike down their foes.

Druids

A human druid

DRUID