I'm talking rulewise. I discussed with one of my players yesterday, because i told him that i was going to respect the druid rules from the 2nd edition, and according to that ,druids only had access to one (or at most 2) elemental spheres, (besides having major access to Cosmos Sphere i.e all the others)
He told me that i was downgrading his character with those changes, but i told him that instead he would gain the protected territory skills druids always had, and he answered angry telling me that it wasn't really useful because adventuring druids were most of the time outside their territory.
But in my mind that was the whole idea about Dark Sun. Druids were supposed to PROTECT their own territory. They just travelled to distant lands only to be able to grow a little to be able to protect their territory in a better way.
So what's your point of view?? have you had to face the same problems about differences between the atmosphere of the Dark Sun of AD&D vs the new Dark Sun? how do you deal with it?
i Think i will maintain my decission restricting his access to the elemental spheres (having at most 2 elemental spheres to choose), and not all the spheres as he expect me to do right now.
Any thoughts?
If your player has doubts about this, there are some ways around it. Elven druids could worship spirits of the land that are weather patterns or wind movements to pair with their running nature. Pterrans could be druids of Mother Earth, and have a connection to Athas itself, rather than just one land. Hell, it could be that they are following a Pyreen and are along a path of eventual transformation into such a being, with a guarded lands as large as the Forest Ridge or The Ivory Triangle.
The important thing to remember is that changing the rules doesn't mean changing the feel. It might even make things worse by forcing something that the player hates. Talk to them about player motivations and plot developments, and that should give you all the feel you need.
Is it just me ? or do you think too that the Druids from Athas have lost their mysticism from the 2nd AD&D edition?
Check out the grove master prc in the prc appendix I
It has the 2e druid feel you are looking for.
To me druids just make more sense as wanderers. Think about it, protecting one stretch of land while the rest of the world ends doesn't make too much sense.
Add to that, the concept of guarded lands punishes the non-druid players. Their only choice is to go to the guarded lands with the druid six months out of the year, or go on without him.
For these reasons and others, I think guarded lands should be left behind right along with racial level limits.
:fight!:
;)
Jack
Another reason I don't like the Templar authority class feature.
Anyhting that ties a PC to a specific place tends to be a bad idea as adventures often require travel. Yay I can do XYZ while I'm at XYZ location. Downside is we have to go stop the BBEG at blah blah blah.
Another reason I don't like the Templar authority class feature.
I have to agree with this as well to a degree. I am using guarded lands for druids in my campaign (we have one joining us next week since this week's session got inturrupted by the Pistons 1st play off game, darn PC's..) however, I am not tieing the Druid down to the guarded lands extensively. The 6 month time period will be spread out, and mostly in the background between adventures once the PC's finally reach that point. In fact, the only time I'll be pulling it into the fore front is as a DM/Plot tool for an adventure. Nothing more.
With regards to the Templar class... I always thought that not only the authority class feature, but the spell casting as well (atleast in the 3.5 variation I read over on Athas.org) was lost outside of thier city-state.
Templars can cast wherever they like. They don't have to be in their city state to do it.
Okay, I must have mis-interppeted the Templar entry.
I have NPC druids in my game that are tied to a specific location, rather powerful, and the group is frustrated because the druid will not leave his guarded lands to help them in their quest. it's like
"I must stay and protect my lands"
"But we can really use your help! If we don't succeed, your lands will surely be destroyed"
"Then I will face that eventuality when it comes. Until then, I cannot allow anything else to harm my lands"
I am running Dregoth Ascending. Can you imagine a PC Druid having to stay with his grove while the PCs go to Raam, participate in DA1, then travel to the various cities and quests in DA2, and prepare for the final confrontation in DA3. . . all because the Druid had an obligation to his guarded lands?
I like to see Druids in Dark Sun nomadic for *most* of their life till they finally find a place worth settling down and dedicating the rest of their lives for. Sure, this may take 10 years, this may take 60 years.. the Druid may never find a place, but as long as he is traveling the land, doing what he can to set the world right and stop the destruction of nature and the Wild, then he is doing his duty to the nature spirits. Thats how I like to see my DS druids these days.
"But we can really use your help! If we don't succeed, your lands will surely be destroyed"
"Then I will face that eventuality when it comes. Until then, I cannot allow anything else to harm my lands"
That doesn't really make sense. I see no reason why he wouldn't leave his guarded lands for the express purpose of protecting them, and if he is such a powerful druid he surely could manage some apprentises and guardians to look after the area while he was away.
That doesn't really make sense. I see no reason why he wouldn't leave his guarded lands for the express purpose of protecting them
I think it would cause him to lose his druidic powers, unless he had saved up some "away time". Don't forget these are mystical laws, they don't have to make sense or even be realistic.
I think it would cause him to lose his druidic powers, unless he had saved up some "away time". Don't forget these are mystical laws, they don't have to make sense or even be realistic.
Yes, but there is nothing to say that you have to follow them in such as draconic way either. It does have to be all or nothing
Yes, but there is nothing to say that you have to follow them in such as draconic way either. It does have to be all or nothing
Oh, the druid helps the group. The group came across the Tree of Life in the original City by the Silt Sea adventure. They really needed some assistance at the time, so the Tree gifted the group 2 items. One was a Fruit that was a Heal/Max Restoration. The other item was a Branch that absorbed Life energy. Basically it had a max of 10 charges, and gained 1 charge per day. For one charge, the wielder could use a Max level Cure Moderate wounds. For 3 Charges, a Cure Critical Mass. 5 Charges was a heal, 7 Charges was a Mass Heal, 8 was a raise dead, and 10 Charges was True Resurrection. If, and only if, the group used the True Resurrection ability, the branch would break and become useless.
Also, each item had a stipulation that it could be planted with a % chance to take root and grow into a Tree of life.
They carried these items forever, and finally when they met the Druid, they decided that they would plant the fruit, and asked if they could plant it in the Druid's grove. The Druid agreed, and did what he could to help assure the seed took root. So the Druid, besides his grove, also watches over a young Tree of Life.
Sometimes the group visits the Tree (and sometimes the druid), and he gives them advice, or some fruit that he has cultivated. They even captured a So-Ut (One of the Rampagers guarding the Scorcher) with the help of the Wizard in the party (Who, through using a cursed item from another world is Athas's only true Lich) who paralyzed the So-ut.
They left the So-ut with the Druid, since it was permanently paralyzed, and the Druid had a little heart to heart with the So-Ut, and has since added it to his grove's defenders.
But ultimately, the Druid refuses to leave because of what he is defending in his grove, and because the party really doesn't need the help... and against Dregoth (as the group is progressing through Dregoth Ascending), there is little Druid could actually help with on top of the group's Cohorts and such.