Druids
I've tended to deviate a bit from the typical Dark Sun view, or the standard PHB view of Druids. To me, the Druid class represents people who are following the edicts & teachings of the beings that were granted special privilege through the pact made between the four main Elements. The pact to maintain the balance at all costs.
In my view of Dark Sun, back during the Blue Age, or possibly near the end of the Blue Age to the very start of the Green Age, the four main Elements -- Air, Earth, Fire, and Water all agreed that the balance of nature must remain intact. This pact between them was "sealed" through the Spirits of the Land, at the time, simply spirits that represented terrain features of the world. The Spirits of the Land were granted equal shares of divine power from the four Elements to grant to their followers -- the druids. Their purpose was simple, to maintain the balance, and preserve nature as best as they could.
The first of the druids were the Pyreen, a race that also was psionic in nature. The Pyreen had developed a method to actually "ascend", and unite with their respective Spirits, expanding the power and ability of the Spirits -- effectively, the first Spirit of the Land Advanced Beings. These increased the influence and power of the Spirits of the Land in multiple ways as symbiotic hive-like communal creatures, and over time the research and teachings on how fellow psionic druids could ascend into becoming part of a Spirit of the Land was passed along to later generations of Druids.
Everything worked well, the Druids maintained the Land they were assigned to protect, and the world moved forward in positive ways -- the Balance was firmly upheld. Then things changed. A Pyreen unlike other Pyreen was born to the world. One that was not a druid, and had no affinity to the world. Twisted, misbegotten, and filled with self-loathing, he took everything he learned and knew, and twisted it into the perversion known as arcane magic. Tricking the world, he taught thousands the use of the Arcane, then taking the most talented and teaching the darker, more destructive methods of the Arcane. This twisted Pyreen waged wars across the world, his Champions scoured and ravaged the world, Defilers gained precedence, and the effects of their careless destruction did more than destroy the land, it injured the Spirits in that Land. The Spirits of the Land, the ancient protectors of Athas were getting weaker as Rajaat had his wars. The druids would fight back against the surge of defilers, but the worst and most destructive o Rajaat's followers -- his Champions, were so destructive with their defiling that they could even slay the Spirits of the Land -- without even consciously realizing or caring about what they were doing. Their single-minded purpose to wipe out entire species from the planet threw caution to the winds, and left the Spirits of the Land scattered, severely injured, or dead and gone.
The Balance was broken -- the Paraelements began to surge forward and claim an ever-increasing swathe of the world. The Elements began to have to defend themselves and fight more and more for the restoration of the Balance.
The Spirits of the Land, the beings representing the seal of the Pact of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water.. licked their wounds and retreated. The Druidic order changed. No longer were they peaceful guardians of the land. They became the personification of vengeance toward the crimes made against nature itself. The remaining Spirits of the Land guided their new rage-filled followers to attack and undermine defilers across the world -- frequently outnumbered, and sorely disadvantaged, the Druids became masters of more guerrilla-style combat tactics. They would work to overthrow the defiler supremes -- the very Sorcerer-Kings themselves. Civilization, if you could call it that in Athas, became merely the playthings of these Sorcerer-Kings, the banes of all Druids. As such, the Druids disdain and shun civilization, preferring the wilds.
At the height of their power, the Druids had a single, unified Druidic Order. Communication was simple, as the Spirits all were able to freely communicate and inter-join with one another. When the Warbringer's wars had raged, this began to fall apart, culminating to a massive assault on the Druids by the Champions of the Warbringer, scattering what was left to the winds. The Druidic Order ceased to be, only handfuls of survivors remained.
My Dark Sun druids are vengeance personified. They have rage (like barbarians). They have the qualities of the "Aspect of Nature" alternate shape-shifting rules from Unearthed Arcana. They are aggressive, and very angry individuals. They see themselves as the last stand against the horrible destruction that has taken place, and the only fighting chance the world has from dying completely. They have the anger and rage that the Spirits of the Land whisper in their ears about the evils of defiling, and of Arcane magic in general. Every Preserver, after all, is simply a potential Defiler. Everyone who is part of the City-States and civlization are the pawns of the supreme defilers. They will simply not rest until every defiler is slain, every trace of arcane magic is expunged, and every Sorcerer-King is executed for their terrible crimes.
My druids are not nice people. They are scattered, where they once had a unified organization they now are just fragmented and dispersed. The Spirits they follow are no longer in communion with each other -- and they are too few to be able to reach globally any longer, fragmenting them further. They grudgingly side with the Elemental clerics, but typically view them as weak, untrustworthy, and ineffectual -- as allies that weren't around when the Druids truly needed their help (burn me once, shame on you, burn me twice...). The Paraelemental clerics they see as flat out traitors to the Balance. Arcane spellcasters are completely hated, Templars are especially hated or their willing submission to a Sorcerer-King. They see the Sorcerer-Kings as abominations that must be exterminated for the survival of the world. Druids that follow other Spirits are treated with some respect, but the communication gulfs that exist between one Spirit of the Land and another has raised some barriers even between them. Other classes are all viewed more or less based on who they are associated with. A Fighter who is in the company of an arcane spellcaster will be treated as an accessory to the crime. A Fighter in the company of an Elemental cleric would be given a little more leeway, but still held in doubt due to the tentative relationship between druids and elemental clerics. A Fighter in the company of a Templar... will be given the same treatment the Druid gives the Templar (execution when possible).
Druids have few allies and even fewer friends. They follow the guidance of their respective Spirits of the Land, wherever it may lead them. Dreams, visions, or simply gut instincts all show them what their Spirit has in store for them. Getting a Druid to be in a party would be a matter of the Druid getting impressions from his or her Spirit that it is important to be part of that group. That doesn't necessarily mean that the Druid likes being there. Further, once the Spirit no longer is guiding that Druid to continue as part of the group.... there is little holding the Druid back from fulfilling what he or she wants to do.... like torturing and killing the group Wizard, or vivisecting the group Templar (and anyone who gets in the way).
I like the way you've worked their attitudes in to the whole history of Athas.
Xlorep Darkhelm: Taking Lawful Neutral to new extremes! :P
I like the way you've worked their attitudes in to the whole history of Athas.
Thanks. To me, it's a natural progression, differentiates the Druids a LOT from the standard, which is something I like about many of the classes in Dark Sun. I really like to ramp up and play off of the deviations it has from the "typical" campaign setting. Races and classes may sound like things you are familiar with, but they bear little or only surface resemblance to what people expect.
The berserk rage bit sounds like the Avenging Druid alternate in the SRD. Do you follow that to the letter, i.e. no animal compainions, penalty to animal empathy, so on and so forth? Or do you simply give them rage and leave it at that?
I follow that rule. Combine the Avenging Druid variation with the Aspect of Nature rules modification for their shapeshifting.
I'm not a fan of the aspect of nature rules, but thats just me.
Jack
I'm not a fan of the aspect of nature rules, but thats just me.
Jack
I dunno, I think that as druids following the Spirits that are defined aspects of nature, I've never really been a fan of the notion that the Athasian druids shapeshift into animals. I like the Aspect of Nature modification, because it makes them simply gain certain qualities from the creatures around them, rather than a complete change into those creatures.
As for the Shapeshifting, I am going to allow it at the discretion of the individual druid, to be decided at creation. I figure a little more variation between druids is a good thing. Same, in the end with the avenging druid alteration. If the PC wants a pet and is willing to take the responsiblity having one takes, let them take a standard druid with a companion. If they don't, let them go avenging druid and have more combat power.
on another slightly related note, ive found that the Scout class works very well for an athasan ranger
Jack
Further, once the Spirit no longer is guiding that Druid to continue as part of the group.... there is little holding the Druid back from fulfilling what he or she wants to do.... like torturing and killing the group Wizard, or vivisecting the group Templar (and anyone who gets in the way).
So then why would anyone want to be in a group with a druid? "Oh, you want to play a preserver? Well then get ready for the druid to stab you in the back." I usually try to avoid encouraging the players to butcher each other.
I'll probably have more to say after my hangover wears off.
So then why would anyone want to be in a group with a druid? "Oh, you want to play a preserver? Well then get ready for the druid to stab you in the back." I usually try to avoid encouraging the players to butcher each other.
I'll probably have more to say after my hangover wears off.
I like the idea that in Dark Sun, survival tends to be the first and foremost aspect of a party. That way, characters who would typically not mesh or work together, are more or less forced to work together despite their own personal interests, because they need to survive. Druids aren't the only class I have at odds with other classes. I also have Templars and Paladins who are at odds with others, even each other. Psions and Erudites in my campaigns are not exactly on friendly terms. Templars, Clerics, and Druids are, to me, representatives of the three kinds of religion there are on Athas, and tend to be at each other's throats. The one class that really gets out ahead in my Dark Sun games are Rogues -- they tend to be the "respectable" ones, as most of the Merchant Houses are operated by rogues.
I like complex group dynamics. I don't like the idea that everyone gets along because they get along. I expect players in my campaigns to roleplay the motivations, desires, and characterization of their respective characters as well as they can, and I reward good roleplaying. I tend to penalize those who try to just number-crunch and munchin my campaigns.