D&D General What is Druidism in your game?

[Voadam]

For the 1e PH it is interesting that the druid class description talks about the armor issue but not really about the weapon selections.

"The more powerful druidic spells, as well as their wider range of weaponry, make up for the fact that druids are unable to use any armor or shields other than leather armor and wooden shields (metallic armor spoils their magical powers)."

The wider range of weapons are compared to the standard cleric "This class of character bears a certain resemblance to religious orders of knighthood of medieval times." and "All are likewise forbidden to use edged and/or pointed weapons which shed blood."

The scimitar in 1e did a d8 and "includes Cutlass, Sabre, Sickle-sword, Tulwar, etc." which can give a druid some different cultural/characterization hooks.

 

[Baron Opal II]

In the 1e AD&D PH I could not find a -4 penalty rule in the discussion of "CHARACTER CLASSES TABLE II.: ARMOR AND WEAPONS PERMITTED" page 19, non-proficiency penalties on pages 36-37 (which a magic user would get a -5 on say a dagger the class permits them to use but which they were not proficient in, or a druid would get a -4)

You are correct, the penalty is -5 and not -4. The table on pg 37 is exactly what I was thinking of, since I was replying to a comment about wizards with swords.

 

[Sepulchrave II]

Victorian romanticism with New Age/Neopagan sprinkles and a dash of Swamp Thing.

 

[Voadam]

You are correct, the penalty is -5 and not -4. The table on pg 37 is exactly what I was thinking of, since I was replying to a comment about wizards with swords.

You could interpret "weapons permitted" in AD&D as "weapons permitted to take proficiency in" but that was not spelled out anywhere and it also seems reasonable to interpret weapons permitted as a separate thing from the proficiency mechanic. It would also not have been able to be applied to the predecessor 0D&D or Basic where there was no proficiency mechanic but a similar weapon list restriction.

In any case it would still leave the question of whether the cleric classes have separate restrictions on weapon use. The 1e cleric is "forbidden to use edged and/or pointed weapons which shed blood." which might imply the druid weapon list is a similar religious restriction, or it might not because the druid class description does not explicitly say any weapons are forbidden the way the straight cleric class does.

 

[Voadam]

Looking over OD&D Supplement III Eldritch Wizardry it has an OD&D druid class.

It says "Druids are a sub-class of Clerics. They are neutral in nature (as mentioned in GREYHAWK). They are more closely attuned to Nature, serving as its priests rather than serving some other deity."

"Druids are not as involved with humans, or with helping them, as they are in protecting plants and animals."

"Druids are able to employ the following sorts of weapons: Daggers, sickle or crescent-shaped swords, spears, slings, and oil. They may wear armor of leather, and use wooden shields. They may not use metallic armor. Druids may use those magical items not otherwise proscribed to them which are usable by “all classes” and all those items normally usable by clerics, excluding all clerical items of a written nature (scrolls, books, etc.)."

"Druids have an obligation to protect woodland animals and plants, especially trees. Unlike the obligation of lawful and good types towards others of this sort, the tendency of druids will be to punish those who destroy their charges, rather than risk their own lives to actually save the threatened animal or plant. Druids will not slay an animal if it can be avoided, and they can never willingly or deliberately destroy a copse, woods or forest—no matter how enchanted or evil it may be—although they may attempt to modify such a place with their own magicks."

"These clerics all serve the same general deity (Nature), and so above the level of Initiate the number of persons is strictly limited."

Reincarnate is on their spell list at 7th level.

OD&D Supplement I Greyhawk has druids as monster entries:

"These men are priests of a neutral-type religion, and as such they differ in armor class and hit dice, as well as in movement capability, and are combination clerics/magic-users. Magic-use ranges from 5th through 7th level, while clericism ranges from 7th through 9th level. Druids may change shape three times per day, once each to any reptile, bird and animal respectively, from size as small as a raven to as large as a small bear. They will generally (70%) be accompanied by numbers of barbaric followers (fighters), with a few higher-level leaders (2–5 fighters of 2nd-5th levels) and a body of normal men (20–50)."