Category:Druid

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Druid are guardian of natures, indeed, divine spellcasters whom draw their very power from their connections to nature or deities associated with nature. In the Demiplane of Dread, the path of the druid is a dangerous, for the intolerance and xenophobia common in the Dread Realms often makes the uninformed laypeople of even so-called civilized lands afraid of them. Druidic magic is often confused with another little understood but greatly feared form of magic- witchcraft, which is associated with the dark crafts of the hags. Because of said suspicion or outright hostility, druids often disguise the specific nature of their priestly traditions, sometimes passing it off as the spellcasting of the cleric[1].

Beyond the suspicions of other mortals, druids must also deal with the corruption and evil that often corrupts the lands of Ravenloft. Sinkholes of evil are a frequent target for eradication- yet the Realms of Dread throw in many obstacles in the druids' ways. Druids face the same spell alterations as all spellcasters do. None of their special abilities allow them to escape the effects of closed domain borders[2]. Moreover, the evil seeped into the soil corrupts many of what would be their normal plant allies, making treants into twisted mockeries of their goody equivalents. Moreover, any plant brought to sentience via the Awaken spell may eventually succumb to evil from the corrupted soil of the land[3]. And a druid's animal companions will obey the orders of a darklord with the power to control them before the druid- though the companions will never attack their master[2]. Fortunately, a druid's animal companions are not normally considered dread companions.

Druids within the Dread Realms

Within Forlorn

Druidic tradition specifies Forlorn as the place of origins for the first of the Demiplane's druids, though they have spread beyond that realm[4]. Forlorn's dark and twisted nature (as well as the hostile pogroms of its darklord and his goblyn minions) make the domain a very dangerous place for druids. Nonetheless, a tiny of number of druids- said to be descendants of the realm's original druids[5]- fight a desperate struggle to keep the evil from totally swallowing their homeland.

Rumors tell of a hidden druidic community in the forests of Forlorn[5], though for the most part the druids mostly linger near proximity to their sacred groves, which remain to the druids the few links to the gods they venerate[6]. Wandering druids may be encountered in Forlorn, though they are relatively rare.[7].

The druids are divided on how to best balance out the evil within Forlorn. There is some competition between two main factions for membership- whom may go so far as to try to convince members of the other faction to join their cause[8]. The Rowan faction, currently led by Fionna, believes in returning the balance of good and evil in Forlorn by culling the evil in the domain. They primarily venerate Belenus. On the other hand, the Oak Faction, currently led by Maeve, believes in returning the balance of good and evil by bringing back creatures of good into the realm, specifically the fey[9].

Druids in Other Domains

As one might expect, druids tend to be more common in less urbanized domains. For the people of the wild and woolly land of Verbrek, druids mediate interactions between the populace and the wild, encouraging the people to show due care in such interactions[10]. Druids have similar roles among the elves of Sithicus, though the increased pursuit of druidism is a more recent trend- an adaptation of the elves in order to better deal with the corruption of their land[11]. Druids are also common in Valachan[12]

Eschewing the worship of gods, the fey of the Shadow Rift often venerate nature as a force in a way similar to many druids. As such, druids can be found among their number. Three different ideological visions of nature exist among these fey druids. The first group- the caretakers- venerate nature working in harmonious synchrony- with the different animals and plants each working to provide for each other in their specific roles. As such, these more lawfully aligned druids take special steps to uphold balanced numbers between species. This puts them into conflict with the second group, who view nature as chaos and resist efforts to impose artificial order upon it. The third faction holds the most malevolent view towards mortals- viewing mortal intelligence as a scourge to be hunted down and expunged. To this end, these druids will do anything- including the destruction of animal and plant life helpful toward mortal humanoids- to achieve their goal[13].

The werewolf elves of the Shadowfell domain of Timbergorge also practice druidism. Their order is known as the Sunlit Circle, led by High Druid Aptal. They seek to escape the oppression of their realm's darklord.[14]

An order of druids once existed in the wilds of Tepest, but they were undone by the Three Hags. The Hags transformed the druids into warped trees that corrupted the very land they once loved. The great oak they had venerated was transformed into Blackroot[15].

Druidism appears to have once been more active in Barovia than it is currently, judging by the formerly that are currently in use by dark forces. At least two such sites exist. The Tepurich Forest holds a defiled circle currently utilized by Lyssa von Zarovich for various pretend "blood rituals"[16], whereas the Dark Grove is a desecrated grove now used by the Order of the Ebon Gargoyle as a training ground for its various dark priests. The Dark Grove is located near to the border junction with Hazlan and Nova Vaasa.[17].

Noteworthy and Impactful Druids of Ravenloft

See Also

Druidic (Language)

Druidic

References

  1. Ravenloft Third Edition p. 38-39
  2. 2.0 2.1 Ravenloft Third Edition p. 39
  3. Ravenloft Third Edition p. 95
  4. Ravenloft Third Edition p. 38
  5. 5.0 5.1 Ravenloft Third Editon p. 121
  6. Castles Forlorn: Melancholy Meetings, p. 46
  7. Castles Forlorn: Melancholy Meetings, p. 39
  8. Castles Forlorn: Melancholy Meetings p. 40-41
  9. ][Ravenloft Gazetteer I]] p. 77-78
  10. Ravenloft Gazetteer IV p. 76
  11. Ravenloft Gazetteer p. 121
  12. Ravenloft Gazetteer IV p. 97
  13. Ravenloft Gazetteer V p. 110-111
  14. Domains of Dread: Timbergorge, Dungeon Magazine 207
  15. Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium Appendix I & II
  16. Ravenloft Gazetteer I p. 34
  17. Champions of Darkness p. 65
  18. Children of the Night: Vampires p.71-73
  19. Forged of Darkness
  20. Champions of the Mists