Who wants to be a Wayfinder?
Ozmar said:
Are there specific traditions in Eberron? If not, then the below should cover the basics of how I'm planning to interpret Midian's druidism. If so, I'd appreciate it if someone with the books might help me find the closest tradition to this:
Midian has a very "everything has a place and purpose" view of nature. If it exists, there's a reason for it. Since everything is an aspect of nature, artificial constructs are just as natural as anything else. That their parents made them with tools and spells rather than the standard sexual coupling doesn't change the fact that they now live.
Incidentally, I figure that same philosophy would extend to the necromancer. Death is a part of life, and exploring it is no more unnatural to Midian than searching a deep cave. Though it is probably a lot more dangerous.
This sounds a lot more like true neutral than Midian actually is. Everything has a place, but in the case of evil, that place is largely "to test and strengthen good." He doesn't believe--as, say, his family does--that there is a way to fully and completely eradicate evil from the face of the world. He does, however, believe that part of the purpose of good (and part of what strengthens goodness and helps maintain a natural balance) is to struggle against evil whenever possible. For Midian, the fight of good vs. evil is very much a "journey not the destination" element in the world.
As an aside, I figure Midian gets a mischeivous kick out of Johan. He's a paladin, but he's not a Rightson kind of paladin. His existence seems to affirm Midian's theories that good isn't somehow inextricably bound to law. And on a more personal note, the idea of his family meeting his traveling companion and discovering he has their gifts without their strictures would probably drive them wild, a thought that causes Midian a perverse "nyah nyah" kind of glee.
Ozmar
First Post
jkason said:
The major druidic traditions are (as I understand them):
Ashbound - The ashbound view themselves as nature's avengers, and consider the use of arcane magic to be a vile and unnatural act. (This sect has been prohibited for PCs by our DM.)
Child of Winter - This sect embraces death and decay. You must be nongood alignment to take their special feat, which allows you to target and summon vermin with your magic.
Gatekeepers - This is an ancient druidic tradition which was (I think) originally taught to humans by orcs. They were founded to ward off an extraplanar assault by aberrations, and their special feat gives them extra spells against outsiders.
Greensingers - They are a chaotic sect with close ties to the fey. Their special feat adds some charms and skills to their class abilities.
Wardens of the Wood - This is an ancient (and I think the largest) sect in the Eldeen Reaches, and is dedicated to protecting the eastern plain and the great woods. Their feat gives you bonus spells and specials when fighting in the woods.
I believe that there are many others, and perhaps Midian adheres to one of the lesser sects?
jkason said:
Where do undead fit into this philosophy? Most people seem to consider them to be Unnatural, and Abominations, and I would imagine most druids would strongly agree. Does Midian consider anything to be Unnatural? Because if "everything" has a place and purpose, then Nature is really just Everything, isn't it? So there can be nothing in opposition to "Nature", because anything else exists within Nature, and must therefore be a part of it.
(I forsee more entertaining conversations once we transition to IC.)
Incidentally, the Gatekeepers certainly have a definition of Unnatural: Aberrations, and especially the aberrations from Xoriat and other planar realms.
Ozmar the Druidic Scholar
Ozmar said:
Realize the below is all how I'm concieving of a character. Mostly, it's an effort to do something kind of off-beat with the Druid archetype. Take none of it as reflective of any personal philosophies I may have.
You're right that Midian doesn't much think anything's unnatural. He has a more wholistic view of nature: it isn't just organics and weather, but rather the stuff that runs the universe. The laws of nature are, effectively, inviolate; if you managed to make or do something that seems unnatural, its existence merely points to a new wrinkle in those laws.
I'm kind of using that for Midian's neutrality on the law issue. Law vs. chaos, to him, is kind of a moot argument, since you can't really break the most important laws there are.
Man's laws, to Midian, are really more about good and evil, which exist within the natural framework, and very much are elements worth fighting for. You could apply the "evil exists, therefore it has a place, so why fight it?" argument, but to Midian, it's like saying "carnivores exists, so all their herbivore prey should just stop coming up with survival strategies."
Good and evil, you see, are natural enemies. They're constantly fighting for territory in the human soul, and those souls possessed of one or another of them are hard-pressed to leave those possessed of the other alone.
On the undead issue, sans bringing good vs. evil into the discussion, I think Midian would say Undead are like a plague or an infestation. You fight them off for the same reason you take medicine or poison rats. These just happen to be rats that look like your dead grandmother.
Looking at the traditions, I suppose the closest thing to what I explained would be Gatekeepers, with Midian's "a place for everything" looking at outsiders not as unnatural, but "out of place": they need to be banished or destroyed because they belong somewhere else / encroach on our territory. I'll probably wait to see if Midian's in the party before I worry too much on that score, and get some DM input.
Ozmar
First Post
Cool. Definitely look forward to Boromar's thoughts on that subject.
But in the meantime... I am leaving tomorrow morning and will be out of the country until August 22. I may be able to post while gone, but I don't know what my internet access will be. See ya'll in a week!
Ozmar the Vacationer
But in the meantime... I am leaving tomorrow morning and will be out of the country until August 22. I may be able to post while gone, but I don't know what my internet access will be. See ya'll in a week!
Ozmar the Vacationer
Mista Collins
First Post
feel free to send an idea, I am thinking about running two groups. Maybe a group of rival explorer's
Krug
Newshound
Initial build for Plonk.
Code:
[B]Name:[/B] Plonk
[B]Class:[/B] Artificer
[B]Race:[/B] Gnome
[B]Size:[/B] Small
[B]Gender:[/B] Male
[B]Alignment:[/B] Neutral Good
[B]Deity:[/B]
[B]Str:[/B] 8 (-1) [B]Level:[/B] 1 [B]XP:[/B] 0
[B]Dex:[/B] 14 (+2) [B]BAB:[/B] +0 [B]HP:[/B] 8
[B]Con:[/B] 14 (+2) [B]Grapple:[/B] 0 [B]Dmg Red:[/B] -/-
[B]Int:[/B] 16 (+3) [B]Speed:[/B] 20' [B]Spell Res:[/B] -
[B]Wis:[/B] 10 (+0) [B]Init:[/B] +3 [B]Spell Save:[/B] -
[B]Cha:[/B] 16 (+3) [B]ACP:[/B] -1 [B]Spell Fail:[/B] 0%
[B]Base Armor Shld Dex Size Nat Misc Total[/B]
[B]Armor:[/B] 10 +3 +0 +2 +1 +0 +0 16
[B]Touch:[/B] 13 [B]Flatfooted:[/B] 13
[B]Base Mod Misc Total[/B]
[B]Fort:[/B] 0 +2 +2
[B]Ref:[/B] 0 +2 +2
[B]Will:[/B] 2 +0 +2
[b]
Armor Bonus Dex ACP ASF Weight Cost[/b]
Studded Leather +3 5 -1 15% 10lb 25gp
[B]Weapon Attack Damage Critical Range Weight Cost[/B]
X-bow, Light +3 1d6 19-20/x2 80' 2lbs 35gp
Bolts (20) 2lbs 2gp
Dagger -1 1d4-1 19-20/x2 10' .5lbs 2gp
[B]Languages:[/B] Common, Gnome, Burrowing Animal, Dwarven, Draconic
[B]Abilities:[/B] Low Light Vision, Size: Small (+1 AC, +1 Hit, +4 Hide), WP - Gnome
Hooked Hammers, +2 Listen/Craft (Alchemy), +4 against Giant monsters, Spell like
abilities 1/day - Speak with Burrowing mammals (Dur 1 min), 1/day - dancing
lights/ghost/Prestidigation (Save 14), +2 ST against illusions, Artificer Knowledge
(+4), Artisan bonus, disable trap, item creation
[b]Craft Reserve:[/b] 20
[B]Feats:[/B] Scribe Scroll
[b]Spells:[/b]
Level 1 - 3 per day
[B]Skill Points:[/B] 28 [B]Max Ranks:[/B] 4
[B]Skills Abil Ranks Mod Misc Total[/B]
Appraise Int 1 +3 4
Balance (cc) Dex 0 +2 -1 1
Bluff(cc) Cha 2 +3 5
Climb Str 0 -1 -1 -2
Concentration Con 2 +2 4
Craft (Clocks) Int 2 +3 5
Disable Device Int 4 +3 7
Hide Dex 0 +2 +4 6
Jump Str 0 -1 -2 -2
Knowledge (Arcana) Int 2 +3 5
Knowledge (Archi/Eng) Int 2 +3 5
Listen Wis 0 +0 +2 2
Move Silently Dex 0 +2 -1 1
Open Lock Dex 2 +2 4
Search Int 4 +3 7
Spellcraft Int 4 +3 7
Spot Wis 0 +0 0
Use Magic Device Cha 4 +3 7
[B]Equipment: Cost Weight[/B]
Backpack 2gp .5lb
Belt Pouch (4) 4gp .5lb
Exporer's Outfit 10gp 2lb
Rations (4 days) 2gp 1lb
Oil, pint (2) .2gp 1lb
Waterskin 1gp 4lb
[B]Total Weight:[/B] 19 lb [B]Money:[/B] 67gp 8sp
[B]Lgt Med Hvy Lift[/B]
[B]Max Weight:[/B] 26lb 53lb 80lb 116lb
[B]Age:[/B] ? years
[B]Height:[/B] 3'4"
[B]Weight:[/B] ? lbs
[B]Eyes:[/B] Blue
[B]Hair:[/B] Black
[B]Skin:[/B] Brown
Last edited:
Bront
The man with the probe
Keep in mind, those are the truely organized traditions, there are druidic traditions that are not any of those on Eberron as well, those are just specific traditions founded on a particular cause. There are actualy feats that you can take for each tradition to give you a few extra perks (The ashbound being one of the more powerful ones with a +3 luck bonus to attack to all summon nature's ally summons).jkason said:Realize the below is all how I'm concieving of a character. Mostly, it's an effort to do something kind of off-beat with the Druid archetype. Take none of it as reflective of any personal philosophies I may have.
You're right that Midian doesn't much think anything's unnatural. He has a more wholistic view of nature: it isn't just organics and weather, but rather the stuff that runs the universe. The laws of nature are, effectively, inviolate; if you managed to make or do something that seems unnatural, its existence merely points to a new wrinkle in those laws.
I'm kind of using that for Midian's neutrality on the law issue. Law vs. chaos, to him, is kind of a moot argument, since you can't really break the most important laws there are.
Man's laws, to Midian, are really more about good and evil, which exist within the natural framework, and very much are elements worth fighting for. You could apply the "evil exists, therefore it has a place, so why fight it?" argument, but to Midian, it's like saying "carnivores exists, so all their herbivore prey should just stop coming up with survival strategies."
Good and evil, you see, are natural enemies. They're constantly fighting for territory in the human soul, and those souls possessed of one or another of them are hard-pressed to leave those possessed of the other alone.
On the undead issue, sans bringing good vs. evil into the discussion, I think Midian would say Undead are like a plague or an infestation. You fight them off for the same reason you take medicine or poison rats. These just happen to be rats that look like your dead grandmother.
Looking at the traditions, I suppose the closest thing to what I explained would be Gatekeepers, with Midian's "a place for everything" looking at outsiders not as unnatural, but "out of place": they need to be banished or destroyed because they belong somewhere else / encroach on our territory. I'll probably wait to see if Midian's in the party before I worry too much on that score, and get some DM input.
BTW, the Ashbound abhore all non-druidic magic (The book says all Divine and Arcane magic, but that doesn't make as much sense as they're still divine spellcasters)
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