[MENTION=8495]uzirath[/MENTION] - my conception of druids for FRGP purposes is heavily shaped by the following passages from the 1st ed AD&D rulebooks (sblocked for space):
[sblock]PHB pp 20-21, 33:
[Druids] are the only absolute neutrals . . . . viewing good and evil, law and chaos, as balancing forces of nature which are necessary for the continuation of all things. . . . They hold trees (particularly oak and ash), the sun, and the moon as deities. . . . They have an obligation to protect trees and wild plants, crops, and to a lesser extent, their human followers and animals. . . .
The "true" neutral looks upon all other alignments as facets of the system of things. Thus, each aspect - evil and good, chaos and law - of things must be retained in balance to maintain the status quo; for things as they are cannot be improved upon except temporarily, and even then but superficially. Nature will prevail and keep things as they were meant to be, provided the "wheel" surrounding the hub of nature does not become unbalanced due to the work of unnatural forces - such as human and other intelligent creatures interfering with what is meant to be.
DMG, p 23:
Absolute, or true, neutral creatures view everything which exists as an integral, necessary part or function of the entire cosmos. Each thing exists as a part of the whole, one as a check or balance to the other, with life necessary for death, happiness for suffering, good for evil, order for chaos, and vice versa. Nothing must ever become predominant or out of balance. Within this naturalistic ethos, humankind serves a role also, just as all other creatures do. They may be more or less important, but the neutral does not concern himself or herself with these considerations except where it is positively determined that the balance is threatened. Absolute neutrality is in the central or fulcrum position quite logically, as
the neutral sees all other alignments as parts of a necessary whole. This alignment is the narrowest in scope.[/sblock]
This is different from the 2nd ed AD&D notion of
true neutral = actively maintaining the balance of power between aligned forces. And we don't see the ridiculous
I must do evil because the paladins have been winning lately nonsense. Rather, the original AD&D conception of the true neutral outlook is as a
naturallistic one: human agency is a threat to the balance. So the goal isn't to exert agency in order to counteract others' agency, but is to
avoid the exercise of agency, so as to allow nature to take its course.
The contrast beteween the TN druid and the
good character, therefore, is not in what they hope for - of course both prefer a world in which there is less suffering, more truth and beauty, etc - but in their view of what is to be done. The
good character believes that human agency can improve things, and that humans therefore have a duty to act, and thus the good character will tend to regard the TN as (at best) too passive and (at worst) as cynical or uncaring.
I think there are clear examples of this sort of outlook to be found in real-world religous and philosophical traditions, but for reasons of board rules I'll refrain from naming them.
This understanding of the TN outlook tends to make it not a very good alignment for a typical PC: it's the outlook of hermits, a certain sort of prophet, a certain sort of mentor, etc. As a PC alignment/orientation, it could work if the druid was played as an aspect of nature, working (but without agency) to blunt the unbalancing effects of others' agency.
There is the following passage on p 21 of the PHB which I think is, on its surface, in tension with the general tenor of true neutrality:
If druids observe any creature destroying their charges, the druids are unlikely to risk their lives to prevent the destruction. Rather, it is probable that the druids will seek retribution and revenge at a later date as opportunity presents itself.
I think this only makes sense if we see (and if we take the druids to regard themselves) as aspects of nature working itself out. Again, this might be a way of setting up a TN PC.