Druid Roles/Archetypes/Tropes

[Kobold Avenger]

Misanthrope Druids, ones that actively hate humanity and other sentient races and aims to bring genocide to them all.

The Urban Druid, who embodies the many beasts and spirits living among civilization in a sprawling metropolis.

The Witch-Doctor, a village or tribal wise-man who knows the lore of nature and it's mysteries and how to use them for his purposes, healing and crafting items of power.

 

[Spatula]

Some I'm developing a Druid sect and I was thinking of the different aspects and roles which druids might take. I'm wanting to eventually tie them in to seasonal themes too. So any ideas

So far I've come up with

Midwife/Healer
Farmer
Conservationist - the pacifist treehugger
Hunter
Guardian - protector of nature
Militant - the one actively fighting against civilisation
Feral - the wild druid
Toxic Druid

any others?

I always thought that Eberron has some really interesting ideas for druids. There are five orders that are detailed:

Gatekeepers - exist to fight aberrations and protect the natural world from their warping influence.
Wardens - typical protector-types.
Greensingers - hang out with the fey and have a similar mindset. I think in 3e they could gain some illusion or charm-style abilities.
Children of Winter - embrace death as part of the cycle of life. Super-Darwinists, of a sort. They appreciate (maybe cause) plagues and the like for culling the weak.
Ashbound - they see arcane magic as a threat to the natural world. Also not fond of civilization or attempts to tamper with nature.

 

[Tonguez]

Maiden
1 Healer (wood, spring, sprouting, birth)
The Sun aspect of the Maiden is the spirit of spring and new life, seen in the first shoots and the first leaves. They are midwives and healers bringing new life into the world by assisting with births, planting new seeds and reclaiming damaged lands (the reclaimants)

2 Hunter (fire, summer, growth, emotion)
The Moon aspect of the Maiden is the Hunter, they live for the thrill of the chase and the kill, Filled with emotion and fire some hunt for pleasure while others are dedicated to hunting down those things which are not of nature, the abberation and the undead.


Mother
3 Farmer (stone, stability, ripeness, soil)
The Sun aspect of the mother is the nurturing farmer, she who nurtures the seed while in grows and then brings it the fruit to ripeness. The Farmers are the closest to civilisation moving between farms to ensure the fertility of the feilds.

4 Soothsayer (wind, change, motion, thought)
The Moons aspect of the Mother is the Soothsayer, the wise one who advises the people with her insights and intuition, she can predict what is to be and has the power to judge.

Crone
5 Feral (metal, whithering, autumn, disease)
The Moon aspect of the Crone is the wild and unpredictable part of nature who causes plants to whither, predators to kill, disease to fester and storms and earthquakes to ravage the land. Only the strong survive Her power

6 Warden (water, dormancy, winter, healing)
The classic protectors of nature are the Sun aspect of the Crone, who protect the seeds of new life during the winter dormancy.

7. Beast?

8. Priest?

(What have I missed)

 

[Thunderfoot]

<SNIP>
"Blood of birth and Blood to heal, Blood of rage and Blood spilt to feed the Fields"

The last one 'Blood spilt to feed the feilds" comes from the use of Blood and Bone as a soil conditioner and lead to the idea of a Winter King - a human sacrifice each winter to maintain the fertility of the soil until the return of spring

So the Blood associations are
- birth
- healing
- Rage
- soil
- disease

any other thoughts?

Actually the blood sacrifice usually came at either the end of the harvest or prior to the spring plant, when the minerals are most needed. A blood sacrifice in the winter wouldn't really do much more than freeze on/in the topsoil. But then, I grew up on a farm, so I know too much about fertilizer. XD

In Gaelic tradition the druids were the spiritual and community leaders. According to Roman records they ruled from the conclave of groves and never really ventured forth to the villages themselves, which is why it took the Romans so long to slaughter them and when they finally found the conclave made it easier to finish the job.

Doesn't help much with your request for roles, but might help with their ordering.

 

[Lalato]

I know you were thinking of removing summer above, but an easy way to keep it is to add Child or Daughter to the mix. So you would have...

Child/Daughter (spring, birth,creation)
Maiden (summer, growth, life)
Mother (fall, harvest, hearth)
Crone (winter, death, end)

Also gives a nice cross connection... Daughter to Mother... Maiden to Crone

Anyway... just an idea.

 

[Tonguez]

The first - the Healer
Spring=Birth
The second - Feral, Rage (eg Greensingers)

The third - the Warden
Summer=Growth
The fourth - the Hunter

The fifith - the Farmer
Autumn=Maturity
The sixth - The Judge

The seventh - the Soothsayer
Winter=Death
The eighth - the Storm (Children of Winter)

 

[Wepwawet]

I know you were thinking of removing summer above, but an easy way to keep it is to add Child or Daughter to the mix. So you would have...

Maiden is exactly the same as Child/Daughter... It represents the virging, the young blood.

Seeing all this posts about "mystical geometry" I thought of another one:
Conecting the 4 classical elements with the 3 goddess aspects.

For each element we have its young and impulsive aspect, the strong and fertile aspect, and the mysterious aspect.

Basically these are the astrological signs (using the goddess aspect for cardinality)
Spring: Aries (impulsive Fire), Taurus (fertile Earth), Gemini (wise Air)
Summer: Cancer (young Water), Leo (strong Fire), Virgo (mysterious Earth)
Fall: Libra (young Air), Scorpio (strong Water), Sagittarius (wise Fire)
Winter: Capricorn (impulsive Earth), Aquarius (fertile Air), Pisces (mysterious water)

... now let's try and come up with 12 class names

EDIT: Nevermind this one, I thought of a better idea...

 

[Glade Riven]

One thing I thought of for my own setting was the Aberrant Druid, reflecting Nature Corrupted. A common fantasy trope is for there to be a blighted/cursed/tainted/twisted land. An aberrant druid would tap into the corrupted version of nature.

Of course, normal druids would be appauled at such a thing. Makes for an interesting conflict.

 

[Wepwawet]

Something else:

I really liked the use of the Sun and Moon aspects. Is see them as this:
- The Sun aspect is very practical and in-your-face.
- The Moon aspect is more subversive, mysterious and hidden.

Applying them to the Maiden, Mother and Crone we have 6 roles.
There are 6 "D&D elements": Fire, Cold, Storm, Radiant, Psychic and Necrotic/Poison (they're separate but for this i think they can be mixed up)
(BTW, I'm using the 4E names. For 3.x replace storm with lightning, radiant with positive energy, and necrotic with negative )

Maiden: young, impulsive, but lacking control, can lead to destructiveness
- Sun Maiden (Fire) - the Feral Druid/the Shapeshifter
- Moon Maiden (Necrotic/poison) - the Hunter

Mother: nurturing, protective, fertile
- Sun Mother (Radiant) - the Healer
- Moon Mother (Cold) - the Warden

Crone: ancient, wise, learned the mysteries of the world
- Sun Crone (Storm) - the Judge
- Moon Crone (Psychic) - the Oracle


Seasons... well, life is as cycle, seasons come after seasons always. All of these functions are important the whole year, not only on some seasons.

 

[Greg K]

Priest/Judge/Teacher/Philospher/Diplomat