D&D General what are druids?

[EzekielRaiden]

Druids embody nature. Where other classes that speak for the Primal submit to it, or manifest it around them like a cloak, or speak for it as its heralds, Druids truly go whole-hog and become animals, plants, even elementals.

Most societies on Earth have a concept of shapeshifters, though often more integrated into a broader understanding of "magic." E.g. in Greece, deities and their half-human children often had the ability to transform into other shapes. Zeus made frequent use of these powers, but all of them had the ability to transform in various ways.

For my Jewel of the Desert Dungeon World game, which is Arabian Nights styled, I made Druids one half of the "Kahina," those who channel the spirits of the land and nature. Druids are Kahina of the "living" spirits, which doesn't actually mean "spirits of living things" per se, but rather spirits in and through the regular world in the Tarrakhuna region, rather than the spirit world. Elementals, animals, plants, geographic features, the weather--these are the things that Druids speak to and for. "All that is, is alive" is a decent summary of how Druids view the world; everything has a spirit, but it might be very very weak, especially for relatively recent man-made objects/places. Old places, that have "lived" a long time and etched a place in the spirit world, definitely do develop spirits of their own though--and spirits integrate upward in a semi-hierarchical way. That is, every tree has a spirit because it's a living thing; but when you have enough trees together for a long enough time, they start to manifest a higher-order spirit, the spirit of a forest, which is simultaneously made of the spirits of all those trees, but also distinct in itself. And then the spirit of that forest integrates into the spirit of a region or territory, and that spirit integrates into the great spirits, like the spirit of the whole earth, the spirit of all winds, the spirit of all waters, etc.

The "other side of the coin" for Kahina is the Shaman: those who truck with the "dead" spirits. Again, an inaccurate term, some spirits in the Spirit World are dead, others are just native residents that represent somewhat more abstract archetypes, like the mid-tier Spirit of Owl, or the relatively powerful Mudaris (a named spirit of sediment, and growing from that, of memory, tradition, and knowledge), or the ancient and powerful World-Serpent or Spirit of the First Oak. (One of the major differences between "living" and "dead" spirits is that, in general, "living" spirits don't really speak so much as empathically emote at people, whereas "dead" spirits other than those coming from actual dead animals and such almost always have the capacity for speech.) Shaman negotiate with these spirits, binding their powers to totems and invoking their names, their power, in the physical world. As a result, Shaman tend to be somewhat more contemplative or even philosophical than their Druid brethren, who tend toward more practical or even radical behavior. That doesn't mean you never see a contemplative Druid nor a radical Shaman, but it's rather rarer.

A Druid of the Tarrakhuna studies the land, air, and water, and from that knowledge, gains power over those things. They study the flora, the fauna, and the flame, and through that knowledge, learn to become them.

A Shaman of the Tarrakhuna learns the spirits themselves, their names, their habits, their needs, and from that knowledge, learns to call upon their aid. They delve deep into what it means to be a creature, a place, a status, even an idea, and through that wisdom, learn to bind and channel such power. No cleric practices such devotion.

 

[TheSword]

serously what are they supposed to be?

how are you supposed to role-play something which is so vague as to what it even is?
how do you build them into a setting if they are so little descriptive?

I get they are to do with nature and turn into animals but it seems lacking in function?
how do they even come about who are they different from nature clerics' past abilities.
and why do the subclasses feel so uninspired.

they feel like they are missing something?

They’re nature priests. No more complicated than that. You’re over thinking it.

Think eco-warrior Gandalf.

 

[Corinnguard]

Think eco-warrior Gandalf.

Or Radagast the Brown.

 

[steeldragons]

I view and run them with similar elements (heh. druids...elements...No pun intended.) to as others have said.

1. The Ancient Holy Order of Mistwood are, some say, the world's first priests. Devoted to and worshiping Nature, itself, since before the current pantheon of Divine entities took the reins of Creation.
2. They are a single organization across the whole continent (perhaps the world. Who can say?). Hierarchical, with the lower levels druids subject to instruction and assignment to various missions (and discipline!) from their superiors, up to a governing "Grove" of the most powerful druids (who convene and maintain the vast ancient sacred woodland of Mistwood as their own personal wall-less stronghold), with their "Lord of Oaks" at the head of that council of (purported) equals.
3. What are now called "Druids" are descended from the Green Tribe of Men, beloved of and devoted to Llyndra, Elder goddess of the green and growing things. These progenitors (one of the first Five Tribes) of the species were the first to befriend and learn from the Elves (and subsequently, gnomes and dragons). They became the first magic-workers among Humans, weaving the ever-flowing "Nature magic" that radiated through the physical/natural world, from the elemental and energetic planes behind and beside it, all one great Cycle that exists in perfect Balance. In those ages past, the Myrieldiin (as they were originally called) spread across Orea to enlighten, protect, and influence the other tribes of Men into harmony with Nature, each other, and the other creatures of the world. They became the magicians, the advisors and arbiters, the sages and seers for Men's warlords and chieftains, all the while sharing their knowledge and wonders of Nature to the common folk: protecting and nurturing the fields, tending and healing the animals and people, blessing births and marriages and rites of passage, and yes, escorting the dead on their return to the Cycle. So they did the work of Nature's priests... for a time.
4. Over generations, the original Myrieldiin from the Green Tribe rose in prominence and power, understanding more and more of Nature and the nature of Creation and existence. They eventually mastered immortality and, it is said, moved on from Orea's material plane to pursue further knowledge and enlightenment. They left behind their student acolytes to maintain the Cycle and carry on the traditions of their spellcraft and secret magics.
5. The Druids are spread across the world, their organization now inclusive of more than just Men and Elves, to include nearly all nature-loving species to be found in Orea (and a few beyond). Though the "Ancient Order" (as it is sometimes called) dwindles in numbers with every passing season as the nations and empires continue to rise and advance their conquests across the continent. New incursions of fiends, unnatural horrors or droves of undead seem to sprout more readily than grain. Magics foul AND fair constantly vie, whether to "improve" or "implode" reality, threatening to destroy the Balance. The Brothers and Sisters/"Children" of the Mistwood, their Keepers (Druids at least 7th level assigned to a particular territory or natural site, non-PCs), and their sacred Grove leaders are tried more today than ever before.
6. Druids keep sacred sites of natural power (ancient forests, mountains, springs and grottos, henges and stone circles, etc...). They protect untouched wilderness and monitor borderlands for anything that might threaten the Balance and Cycle. They defend sylvan peoples from the unnatural and the unending encroachment of the Gods of Men. Though, with some adherents of those deities attuned to the Cycle or caretaking areas of Nature, Druids can coexist, even pleasantly cooperate. In particular, these include: Arinane the Silver Moon (the greater moon, astronomy/astology, dreams, the night sky/stars), Syar the Staglord ("wild"/untamed nature, animals, season of summer, the hunt), and Sylari the Green & Gold (ascribed -by humans following the pantheon- "Nature" as a whole, "tamed"/beneficial nature, agriculture/the harvest/bounty, weather -insofar as it effects crops and safety, mother of the Seasons, and -to an extent- medicine/healing), and Desri the Grey Lady (death, fate/prophecy, judgement of souls/the dead. True Neutral aligned). Druids are vigilant of any force - Evil or Good, Chaos or Order, Man or Monster - seeking to supplant the ways of the Cycle, overturn the Balance, and/or subjugate Nature. For any or all would presage the end of Creation.

 

[Celebrim]

serously what are they supposed to be?

So Druids are derived from animistic priests who worship "small gods" and spirits of nature. The class should be deprecated as it's derived entirely from and tied to much to Northern European romantic myths and legends of pre-historical Northern European priests about which we know almost nothing about historically and which does not reflect the worldwide practice of animism as it is observed historically (and probably doesn't reflect the beliefs of people about druids at the time the druids existed either).

In my own game, "Druid" was entirely removed from the rules and their spell list reimagined in a broader "Shaman" class of which Druid was merely one possible flavor or concept you could make with that class.

That's a pretty extreme solution, but if you want to understand what a "Druid" is you need to think of them as clerics as they existed in early polytheistic practice before the development of cults and formalized written ritual practices. They exist in a nebulous space between what we as D&D players think of as clerics and what we think of as wizards. Note that what we think of as wizards has no historical analog and is itself the wizard of modern fiction and what we think of as clerics is not in fact how D&D clerics work (ei, D&D clerics don't have "faith" and don't pray for "miracles" and they certainly don't belong to a "church"). The way that Druids work is that they are essentially spiritual diplomancers whose spells are powered by bargaining with or intimidating the spirits of the natural world - the small gods like the god of a rock, the god of a tree, the god of a pool of water.