Druids, 'Keepin it Real'

[KnowTheToe]

I was wondering if any other players or DMs have a hard time keeping the flavor of the Druid culture alive in PCs. The druid is one of my favorite classes because of the politics of its culture and the complexity of neutrality. The problem is you would not really find them in your average adventuring party. The stats and powers are good, but not nearly as cool as when combines with the culture.

Do you find players playing true to character or more to a different class, but with druid powers?

How do you properly motivate a druid?

Help me, I love the class but hardly ever play or run it.

 

[MythandLore]

Not that I hate the class, but no one in our group wants to play one, not even me.
They would rather be half-orc bards then play a druid, oh well, not much to do about that.

 

[KnowTheToe]

I will admit, it takes a little to get past the tree hugger part, but once you can forget that, they can be pretty cool, but I can understand the disinterest or even disdain for the class.

BTW the 2E PHB wrote a much better bio than 3E.

 

[MythandLore]

BTW the 2E PHB wrote a much better bio than 3E.

I'll agree with that.

 

[Nightfall]

You want druid power?

Personally I like druids, as long as there's a STRICT difference between them and clerics. Some druids are neutral, but many often follow along ethical/moral guidlines, like law and chaos or good and evil. Evil druids are FUN. Lawful druids are interesting, and good ones...well they are nice for NPCs.

My opinion, maybe it's the setting you choose. I mean a setting where druids are ranked slightly LOWER than the rest of the clerical panethon, that tends to get to people. My advice, try a change up. It might help to change your players perceptions of what it means to be a druid.

 

[fba827]

Well, there is something I do that not every DM has a chance to do - I basically solo the characters for a game or two before meeting all the PCs together. Thus, in the case of the druid, I was able to establish the druid as part of a druid culture and give the druid character some in-game connections to the druidic society. Once that was established it didn't fade away when the PC mixed with the other characters. Of course, I do this with all the PCs, not just the druid PC

Works for me, anyway, but I know it's not something everyone can do. I even resorted to doing it via an exchange of several Emails for one player who joined us recently and couldn't get together with me privately before the game.

 

[EOL]

I would have to put myself down as someone who in 20 years of D&D has seen very few straight class druids. I played a druid once and it was tough to really integrate with the rest of the party. It seemed that a cleric is often defined by endless sermons on why their god is the best, but a druid is the exact opposite defined more by what they don't do.

BTW fba827 I really like the idea of a solo adventure before the campaign starts. I may have to try that the next time I restart my campaign.

 

[Nightfall]

I might do straight druid, as long as I got to have a say WHERE it is. Next servitor of Mormo, at your service!

 

[hong]

However, the druid "culture" may not fit in with all campaign worlds.

Personally, I prefer the OA shaman class to both the cleric and druid.

 

[rounser]

I don't see any reason why druids shouldn't be as good healers as clerics are. Why should a cleric of a god of death or money be better at healing than a druid, who's about growth and nature?

It wouldn't ruin the flavour, and you could dispose of forcing clerics into every party for healing purposes.

Maybe it can be corrected with 4th ed - or more likely - we won't.