D&D General What is Druidism in your game?

[Stormonu]

In my homebrew, they are the keepers of the Aunn - the lifeforce of nature. The Aunn is a cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth that continually feeds the natural cycle. Things like civilization (at the city level) and undead disturb this cycle, preserving things that were meant to be created and destroyed in a never-ending cycle. to druids, without the cycle things would fall apart - if one does not return from death, then eventually nothing will remain, and without death things cannot be reconsituted into new life to change and grow - and eventually one will grow tired (or bored) of a life that has no end or hope of change. The latter is the state of the gods, and they are considered to stand outside the Aunn, but they are disliked by druids for the souls they pull out of the cycle to dwell in afterlives of bliss or torment.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

It's closer to Shamanism in my games, with a mix of philosophy. They "worship" (or at least "venerate") nature spirits and concepts (life, death, undeath, rebirth, the elements, the Fey Courts, apex predators, etc). They're heavily connected to Elementals, Fey, and Beasts, but also Plants (including Fungi), some Monstrosities, Dragons, and some Undead, and the different Circles choose to follow certain groups of these more than others. Circle of Wildfire Druids venerate Elementals associated with Fire (some even worship Imix), the Circle of Dreams follows the Seelie Court, the Circle of Spores follows fungal plant-creatures and fungal undead (occasionally worshipping Zuggtmoy), the Circle of Stars venerate creatures from "beyond the stars" (those from the Astral Plane), the Circle of the Moon venerate beasts (and sometimes strive to achieve some type of lycanthropy), and so on.

They're followers of the "true ways to live", and believe that various aspects of nature can tell people how to properly live. The different Circles are just a result of philosophical debates over which specific parts of nature to follow.

 

[beancounter]

Nothing fancy or extensive in my campaign. They are the protectors of nature, and the balance of nature. They can worship gods or some ambiguous personification of nature. Player's choice.

 

[RoughCoronet0]

Druids of my world are primal casters that commune with the Primal Spirits and tap into the Primal Weave. The various Druid Circles tends to venerate certain spirits, from various small local spirits, to larger sprits that can span large chucks of land, to even the great Eldest Spirts (of which there are 8) that act as the Primal Colossi which are part of the god-like Pantheon that protects and maintains the balance the plane and keeps it from collapsing (the plane was abandoned by the gods and left unstable after the Dawn/Creator Wars). Each Circle tends to follow different aspects of nature, spanning various and even contrasting philosophies.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

- The immune response of the world to unnatural incursions from the the undeath, fiends or aberrations.

or

- A mix of Taoist alchemist, geomancer/feng shui master and general emissary for the the thousands on lesser gods/spirits inhabiting seemingly anodyne objects and places.

or

- The favored soul of a Primal Spirit chosen for a specific task.

 

[Azzy]

Generally speaking of my homebrew settings, the holy men of animistic and shamanic religions use the druid whereas monothesistic or polytheistic cults use the cleric class.

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

They are nature priests who hold the sun and moon as deities; they revere and protect all animals and plants that are "natural" to a given campaign world, but hold trees in particular reverence. They universally embrace the cold and seemingly cruel neutrality exhibited by the natural world, but see the imbalance that is disproportionately inflicted by evil and therefore often (but not always) side with good to correct that imbalance, as well as work to ensure that ALL peoples restrain their continuing expansion of "civilization" and exploitation of the wilds.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Right about the rangers! I tend to think of druids as higher-level interventionists. Rangers keep the pilgrims safe from orcs and keep the loggers from killing all the wolves and fend off aberations, but druids keep the gods of nature and primal spirits from bringing down drought, famine, plague, and flood on hapless humanity (humanoidity?). They keep the stars spinning and the sun rising and the crops growing.

In truth, that take on druids has only seriously come into play in one campaign of mine, so it's certainly not my only interpretation. But I do like it.

Okay Ireally like that. Works just as an additionto my take, I think, too.

 

[aco175]

They tend to be the link between the land and the frontier. They act more solo than priests and meet to deal with a problem rather than discuss. They may enjoy communities but not cities. They may aid local farmers or give guidance to travelers and merchants along the roads. Druids and rangers may be your best bet if you are looking to deal with goblins and orcs in trading or negotiations.

 

[jmartkdr2]

I usually see them as the priests/shamans of a specific religion, one that reveres the Cycles of Nature; all things should be on harmony with these cycles, and when you act outside of it, you suffer both for your self and cause suffering in others. It's kinda fatalistic. Gods are only good when they adhere to this same principle.

PC druids are whatever the player wants, so long as it jives with the mechanics at least a little bit.