A Druid Vampire

[Dausuul]

My general take on druids is a bit different from the standard "protector of nature" one--I view druids more as intermediaries between humans and nature. In the D&D world, nature makes stuff like dragons and landsharks and treants. It doesn't need protectors. But humans need someone to tell them, "You shouldn't do this, because if you do, trees will eat you."

From this perspective, druidic magic has more in common with the arcane than the divine. It results from a knowledge of natural forces and powers; it's not granted by some spiritual authority. So a vampire druid would be quite possible. Vampires already have some power in the natural world, in their ability to call up and control "creatures of the night." A vampire druid would extend this power, learning to master the darkest elements of nature--decay, disease, parasitism.

 

[Hand of Evil]

You know what this leads to...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUkmIlBNM8M]YouTube - Mansquito[/ame]

 

[Herschel]

Mechanically, there's no issue.

Flavor-wise, though...I almost can't imagine a being that would hate itself more than a Druid inflicted with vampirism, what with them being outside the natural order of things...

I'm with you. Any self-respecting D&D druid would suddenly come to see itself as an abomination. Druids have always been portrayed as being in tune with the natural order AND being part of the natural order. Being a vampire is most definitely NOT being part of the natural order on a very base level.

 

[the Jester]

I would really like to hear more about the darker side of nature.

Predation... disease... natural disasters that wipe out whole villages... pestilence... plagues of locusts... wildfires... tsunamis... volcanoes... starvation... the death of most of the young before they can grow to adults...

There's plenty of "darker side" to be had. Evil druids might offer blood sacrifices to propitiate the forces of nature; a druidic vampire could easily be the head of a Cult of the Night or some such.

 

[Nifft]

I would really like to hear more about the darker side of nature.

There is no "darker side". Nature is happiness and candy!

Flavor-wise, though...I almost can't imagine a being that would hate itself more than a Druid inflicted with vampirism, what with them being outside the natural order of things...

Yes, exactly! There are no creepy nocturnal blood-draining flappy bastards in nature. Nope. None at all.

I'm with you. Any self-respecting D&D druid would suddenly come to see itself as an abomination. Druids have always been portrayed as being in tune with the natural order AND being part of the natural order. Being a vampire is most definitely NOT being part of the natural order on a very base level.

Right on!

Predation... disease... natural disasters that wipe out whole villages... pestilence... plagues of locusts... wildfires... tsunamis... volcanoes... starvation... the death of most of the young before they can grow to adults...

There's plenty of "darker side" to be had. Evil druids might offer blood sacrifices to propitiate the forces of nature; a druidic vampire could easily be the head of a Cult of the Night or some such.

No, no, no! Nature is made of fluffy bunnies!

"This message was NOT the result of psychic coercion", -- N

 

[Diamond Cross]

Well, in 1e and 2e it was pretty clear, that if a Druid changed their alignment for any reason then they would cease being a Druid. I've never understood this alignment restriction myself.

 

[gamerprinter]

Well in the 2e Druids Handbook, there was a sect of Druids called Shadow Druids, whose primary cause was the destruction and abandonment of the unnatural cities of men, a return to the simple farmers life in small villages. To work with orcs, dragons or other dark elements to counter the abominable creations of man - urban life.

These druids operated as terrorists, assassins, and ruffians.

Sometimes a druids holy grove would die or become cursed and because a druid was tied to her particular grove, she might in turn become dark and apathetic.

So while not among the 'undead', druids can have much darker elements - at least in past editions.

GP

 

[gamerprinter]

So say, this druid was sleeping deeply in a kind of 'torpor' while communing with nature, when some foul fey enchantress curses his grove for some perceived wrong against her, turning the grove trees into evil treants and cursing the keeper to an eternal sentence of maintaining the now evil grove. If the fey being was powerful enough, could the druid somehow become killed and changed into a vampire?

Besides vampires seldom choose to become vampires, rather they are turned victims, like everyone else. Perhaps a druid 'turned' vampire could still try to maintain his primary goals in life, watch the grove, protect the forest and wildlife, destroy those who choose not live as a simple farmer in the natural world - despite he being quite unnatural.

With the right origins and motivations, I could see a druid vampire, though such would indeed be rare.

GP

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Yes, exactly! There are no creepy nocturnal blood-draining flappy bastards in nature. Nope. None at all.

There are all kinds of things in nature that subsist upon the blood of other creatures. Hell, there are lots that live within other creatures in order to have continuous access to their food of choice on tap 24/7.

However, all of them are living creatures, and vampires are not. Their status as unliving beings makes them an affront to nature, an unholy break in the Circle of Life.

THAT is why the vampiric Druid would loathe himself.

 

[Nifft]

There are all kinds of things in nature that subsist upon the blood of other creatures. Hell, there are lots that live within other creatures in order to have continuous access to their food of choice on tap 24/7.

However, all of them are living creatures, and vampires are not. Their status as unliving beings makes them an affront to nature, an unholy break in the Circle of Life.

THAT is why the vampiric Druid would loathe himself.

One might follow that chain of argument, but it's not the only way to look at the situation.

There are ways for a Vampire Druid to to justify his continued existence, just as you've found one way for him to justify self-extermination.

Cheers, -- N