A druids oath

[Ferret]

I swear to only use the club as a weapon as it is the root of the trees power, the dagger so I may skin my kill, and not waste it. I swear to also use the dart, as even the smallest bee sting can be deadly. Of all the weapons the longspear, halfspear and shortspear may be used by me as they are the brambly branch. The quarterstaff shall be wielded by me as even the simplest piece of wood can be a deadly weapon, and the crescent of the scimitar is like the moon which lets the cycle of the month complete. I shall not use the scythe, but instead the sickle, so my harvest shall not be too large, and wasted. I shall use the sling but ne’er the bow as it is not of a natural design. I shall not be tempted by the falchions might as it only fuels my need for excess power. The axe is only for the destruction of our tree brethren, and its use to hack at the bones of creatures is further blasphemy, the threshing flail has also been turned to many times against animals. The Trident has been forbidden since it’s rising from the see. // The Nagaika is one of the weapons allowed as it is the tentacle of nature, and the trident is not only the merfolks weapon it is ours to use as well.

the part after // is homebrew.

 

[BiggusGeekus@Work]

:: thumbsup ::

Nice, man. Nice.

 

[Pielorinho]

Cool! But I still don't buy it .

For starters, how is the sling more natural than the bow? Why is the javelin not allowed, when the longspear is? Why is the longspear allowed but the falchion and greatclub are not? Is the kama not good enough for the druid? Isn't a net a pretty natural weapon, emulating the attack of the spider? Isn't a whip a natural weapon, emulating the scorpion's tail? Isn't a kama just as circle-like as a sickle? Doesn't a blowgun emulate a beesting better than a dart? And what about the natural weaponry of a wildshaped creature, and what about rocks picked up from the ground?

Don't get me wrong. If you gotta use the druid weapon restrictions as written in the PhB, this is the best oath for them I've seen. But I think the restrictions in the PhB are fundamentally arbitrary, and it's better to replace them with something more plausible (e.g., no metal weaponry) than try to justify them as is.

Still, very cool!
Daniel

 

[Staffan]

I swear to also use the dart, as even the smallest bee sting can be deadly.

I'd just like to point out that the D&D dart is *not* the same dart you see in most pubs in the real world. It's basically a smaller version of the javelin, so it qualifies as a druid weapon along with javelin, halfspear, shortspear and longspear.

 

[Pielorinho]

I'd just like to point out that the D&D dart is *not* the same dart you see in most pubs in the real world. It's basically a smaller version of the javelin, so it qualifies as a druid weapon along with javelin , halfspear, shortspear and longspear.

You'd think this would be so, but the javelin isn't a druid weapon.

And I just looked at the description of sling bullets: according to the PhB, they're "lead spheres." Not, IMO, more natural than arrows .

Daniel

 

[Liquid Snake]

Cool oath, but I too think the druid's weapon restrictions suck. They should be allowed to use a bow, no one hunts with a sling.

 

[Staffan]

You'd think this would be so, but the javelin isn't a druid weapon.

I just checked, and it would appear you're right. I chalk that up to an uncaught typo

 

[Pielorinho]

I just checked, and it would appear you're right. I chalk that up to an uncaught typo

Fair enough -- I pretty much chalk up the entire weapon restriction thing to an uncaught typo .

Daniel

 

[Ranger REG]

Cool oath, but I too think the druid's weapon restrictions suck. They should be allowed to use a bow, no one hunts with a sling.

Druids are not hunters. If they want to hunt, they use their spears for melee or ranged attack.

If anything, they despised hunters, because more often than not, they take more out of the ecosystem than necessary. They perceived bow as a symbolic tool of the hunter.

Only a few rangers (those of good- or neutral aligned who cares about the wilderness they live off of) are tolerated by druids, even invited into their circles (such rangers can ward off hunters and poachers who have taken too many game, leaving druids to their important task of caretaking).

 

[Pielorinho]

Druids are not hunters. If they want to hunt, they use their spears for melee or ranged attack.

If anything, they despised hunters, because more often than not, they take more out of the ecosystem than necessary. They perceived bow as a symbolic tool of the hunter.

Or they use their slings with the lead bullets, or they use their spells, or they use their wildshaped forms, or they use their carnivorous animal companions. Most druids in campaigns i've played in aren't vegetarians, and they're not real big on the livestock thang: they like their meat bloody.

Certainly it's an intriguing idea that druids despise hunters, but I don't think that gibes with the core books. Druids are often the divine casters for hunter/gatherer societies; as such, they should not be despising hunters or gatherers.

Daniel