D&D General Druids and Path Dependency: Why the Scimitar Helps Illuminate D&D

[payn]

I liked Golarion's take on Scimitar. Make it a Bard weapon!

 

[Voadam]

From 1e PH weapon chart on page 37:

Scimitar - "includes Cutlass, Sabre, Sickle-sword, Tulwar, etc."

 

[Voadam]

I always thought scimitars were off brand/theme for them as druids, but it lets them be turned into more unbranded weird nature/forest paladins.

I played one PC druid that way. Scimitar as sword for the crusading nature divine knight champion who hunted the unnatural. Very little Celtic connection.

I also had a character concept of using the druid with scimitar build to make a viking pirate who learned Vanir/Alfar magic.

 

[Voadam]

I like reskinning druids to be a type of shaman, or witch, or Merlin type concept, or Bjornaer mages from Ars magica, or other concepts.

I find the actual druid descriptions throughout D&D editions particularly lacking on their narrative specifics.

Eberron did a nice job though on developing some neat druid traditions and I really like the OGL Scarred Land druid traditions where they are tied to primordial elemental titans while clerics are tied to gods.

 

[John R Davis]

Never realised Sustarre was a real person

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I liked Golarion's take on Scimitar. Make it a Bard weapon!

Why is she holding onto the blade?

 

[payn]

Why is she holding onto the blade?

Checking the edge?

 

[wellis]

Wouldn't a khopesh have better fit a "sickle" than a scimitar? And why couldn't Gygax have just added in a sickle as a weapon?

 

[Voadam]

Wouldn't a khopesh have better fit a "sickle" than a scimitar? And why couldn't Gygax have just added in a sickle as a weapon?

When Gygax included a sword Khopesh as a separate weapon in 1e Unearthed Arcana they were added to the druid allowed weapon list too.

I assume a Khopesh would be covered by the sickle-sword, etc. in pre-unearthed arcana 1e scimitars.

 

[bedir than]

This makes me wonder why the only cantrip for Druids that boosts a weapon is shillelagh. Give me a sickle booster!