[Druidism] Revised And Updated Rules For Druidism

[The Druidic Order 200]

This is a revised outline of clarifications and revisions to the rules and guidelines of Druidism, revising old rules, putting more emphasis on our ideals, and helping ensure a lasting, sustainable future for  Druidism on LotC.  All Druids on LotC are subject to these rules, without exception.

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OOC Mission Statement:: The Druids are here first and foremost to provide fun and interesting RP, as well as a friendly, family-like environment OOCly within our Skype channels. We are strict in adherence to our lore and rules, but we are friendly and lenient, and more than willing to discuss ANYTHING with you in a calm setting.  Please keep in mind your behavior OOC is also important as a Druid, you represent us on and off the server.

 

IC Mission Statement:: Druidism exists to preserve the balance of nature in the world, and seek to restore that balance to places that have become imbalanced or corrupted. We praise the Aspects, and only the Aspects, no other deity, prophet, or leader holds the heart of a true Druid, they are loyal only to the Aspects.  We are a family, and we obey the will of the Aspects in order to preserve both the Order and the Balance.

 

People You Can Approach About Druid Lore Questions And Issues::

-Lillith (Menarra): Lore Admin of LotC and also Druid Lore Master before that.

-Rittsy (Alan): Former Lore Admin of LotC and a longstanding Druid Lore Master.

-Arik (Jamie): Creator of original definitive work for Druidism Magic.

-Arinislia (Delmo) : Lore Master and also a Druid Lore Master.

-Callax (Shrub) : Well known with the knowledge of Druid Lore.

-Milo (the Transgressor): For all your mushroom knowledge needs!

 

Important Links::

-Druidism Magic Guide: https://www.lordofthecraft.net/topic/122468-the-revised-druidism-guide/

-Druid Wiki: http://wiki.lordofthecraft.net/The+Druids

-Druid Library: http://grove.conforums.com/index

-The Druidic Order Thread: https://www.lordofthecraft.net/topic/102575-the-druidic-order/

 

Druidic Terms those outside the Order may not be familiar with::

-Drui: Ancient Elven word for Druids.

-Druii: Ancient Mori word for Druids.

-Draoi: A corrupt Druid, acting outside of the Balance, and abusing their powers for personal gain or to bring disharmony.

-Parkour: An accepted pastime for any Druid, the Ancient Drui were masters of Parkour, and often it is incorporated in some way to at least one section of the grove.

-Attunement: A Druid’s mystical connection to nature and the Aspects.

-Unattunement: The ritual of removing a Druid’s attunement, an action only taken when a Druid is truly unfit to uphold the Balance and the will of the Aspects.

 

Druidism and the use of Other Magics::

This is a document to make note of all negative effects and consequences a Druid shall face when using other non-druid magics.  Void magic will have these effects MUCH more rapidly as all Void magic is imbalance, forcing change upon the world and bringing things from the void into the natural world. These are RP as well as OOC rules, and must be abided by if you become a Druid. You agree to these by being a member of the Druidic Order, no exceptions.

 

OOC Procedures:

When you are a Druid and you cast any other type of magic, you MUST do all of the following, failure to do so is to be considered Powergaming and depending on the severity, your attunement can be IMMEDIATELY severed without RP.(Extreme Cases)

 

-Inform the Druid that attuned you. This is because when a Druid attunes a new Druid, they form a subtle bond to you and can sense extreme imbalance that occurs to the Druid(s) they attune. Use of other non-Druid magics is massively imbalancing to the offending Druid, and so would be felt subtly when you are near them.

 

-Inform at least one Hierophant.  The Aspects ALWAYS know IMMEDIATELY when you’ve performed other magics they did not gift you, and they directly inform Hierophants in more severe cases of imbalance. (Hierophants have visions from time to time, things like this tend to come up during them)

 

Beyond this, no one who wasn't involved at the time the casting was done will know 100% sure that you used an imbalancing magic.  These OOC notifications are so you can inform us what kind of void magic you used, how often, for what purpose, etcetera.  This will allows us to RP appropriately around you and start to feel the imbalance you are causing within yourself, and react appropriately.

RP Procedures:

When you begin using other magic types, you must be aware of the following points, and failure to include these considerations in your RP and just acting like nothing has changed is considered Powergaming, with the same possible consequences as failure to OOC notify, possible removal from the Druidism and your attunement removed without RP.

 

-Using non-druidic magics weakens your Nature’s Communion, your attunement.  It does not break it entirely, but it begins to strain it and distance you from it.  To gain strength in Nature’s Communion, you must meditate and bring greater balance within yourself.  Using unnatural magics, especially Void based magics, causes imbalance within you and counters your efforts to commune with nature.

 

-Nature will begin to refuse to answer your calls and requests.  Druidism works by asking things of nature, and it is up to nature to decide if it will grant your request, you CANNOT force it to.  Nature is more likely to answer for Druids with stronger attunements for more strenuous requests, and is much more likely to refuse to do anything for those who are causing imbalance.

 

-Extensive use of unnatural magics will result in nature COMPLETELY refusing all requests made of it, essentially your Druidic magic shuns you.  You don’t lose your attunement, you can still feel nature around you, but nature around you is going to be VERY angry with you and be constantly giving you a feeling of overbearing disdain and negativity.  For those who use unnatural magics frequently, without regard to your Druidism, you may even find nature reacting VIOLENTLY to your requests, no longer following the request given but lashing out towards you, for example:: You request a vine to grow across the wall.  You feel nature’s anger toward your request and then the vine extends towards you, forming thorns and trying to entangle you.  Feel free to get creative with this, but do not completely disregard it!  No one is special, and nature WILL start to outright refuse your requests at the very least, unless it is an extremely noble purpose behind it, like saving another Druid’s life in-the-moment and you fell back to your Druidism to make the attempt.  IF nature chooses to respond to you, the effect would be just as powerful as before you began using unnatural magics, it is just VERY unlikely that nature will respond to you.

 

-If you do more than simply dabbling into unnatural magics, as in you begin to refine the art and learn from it, your Druidism would remain unless physically removed via unattunement.  However, you would feel nature all around you reacting negatively to your very presence.  You would feel overbearing anger, disappointment, disapproval, shaming, etc. coming from the natural world around you, and in areas of stronger nature’s presence (such as Druid groves) the feeling may even become so overbearing that you would be unable to concentrate on much else, even interrupting casting (as you need to maintain focus to use magics).

 

If you truly intend to leave your Druidism behind and follow a new path of magic, it would likely be in your best interest to simply approach an Archdruid, a respective leader of their Circle, or a Hierophant, and request unattunement so you can follow the path you believe you are meant for.  There will be no loss of respect for you in most cases, and your honesty will leave you in good standing with the Druids, should you require aid or assistance in the future, or even decide that you have erred and you wish to rejoin the Druids.

 

An Insight into Druidism and it’s mindset, by Arik::

Druidic culture exists around the principle of "preservation of nature". It should be noted that if one seeks to be added to the Order, they must understand the true commitment to the following. Most assume that Druidism is a small commitment, and for this reason many are turned away.

 

From an out of character standpoint, one must understand the process that takes place when becoming a Druid. The Druids are a very proud people, and their culture reflects that. And while it is understood that diverse and unique RP is encouraged for each individual, one must also understand the change in mindset required to become a Druid. "Dedicancy", or the act of learning to become a full-fledged Druid, is an extremely important process. Through different tasks and lessons the Dedicant will learn culture related to the Druids, and more importantly over time grow into our mindset.

 

What does this mean? Well, first, and most importantly, it means that people who learn to become a Druid ICly become conditioned to think and act like a Druid would. With a strict culture and proud people, having people that act out of the Druid's values isn't something tolerated. For instance, Dedicants are taught to despise and condemn magic. Its use is a perversion and abomination to the Druids, and therefore the Druids do not associate with magic users, usually under any circumstances. When becoming a Druid one would expect the Dedicant's mindset to be changed accordingly.

 

The most important part about being a Druid though is understanding the wisdom of the elder Druids, for they have endured much and understand many things. True commitment of nature will create a great Druid. Personal gain will only see a Dedicant fail to be attuned.

 

Attunement Rules::

-For an attunement to be performed, OOC consent must be given by one (1) current and active Guide, Archdruid, Leader of a Circle, or Hierophant.

-No one under the age of 16 (ingame) can be attuned. Druidism is still a magic type and thus follows the server magic rules.

-To learn how to perform attunements, you must be at least Tier 3 in Nature’s Communion, and learn from someone who already knows how to perform them.

Unattunement Rules::

-No single person can perform an unattunement, ever, period.

-Three Druids minimum are required, and all involved must be at least Tier 3 Nature’s Communion to lend their power to assist.

-At least one person with the ability to unattune is required to perform it, the others can simply lend their power to the one doing the unattuning.  Being one with a rank within any circle does not mean you automatically know how to perform an unattunement, you must be instructed. Observing and helping in an unattunement is not enough.

 

-Reattunement of an unattuned Druid requires three Druids who both possess the ability of the attuning and unattuning process due to the state of the unattuned Druid's connection/disconnection completely unstable and being harder to connect than previously before when firsted attuned.

General Rules and Guidelines for Attuned Druids::

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If you use Mojang’s account name change, please inform an Archdruid immediately of your old account name, and the new one you will be changing to, BEFORE you make the change, so that the main post of Druids can be updated.  Failing to do this could have your Druidism brought into question if we cannot link an account to a current Druid. Save us all a headache please.

-You are limited in abilities by your communion and must be taught certain abilities to be able to perform them RPly.

-Nature’s Healing, Blight Healing, and Shapeshifting cannot be initially learned on their own, they must be taught by someone more skilled than yourself in them.  Refer to the Druidism Magic Guide.

-Shapeshifting is NOT common knowledge, most Archdruids don’t even know about it, or at most know rumors but not if it truly exists.  If your character is suddenly talking about Shapeshifting, there will be OOC inquiries.

-An attuned Druid is considered Tier 1 in Nature’s Communion, they must then seek out further instruction if they wish to learn the other subtypes and improve their skills.  You are not done learning or taking lessons just because you have been attuned.

-Nature puns are essential, we will not leaf you alone until you stick to such a deerly held tradition.
-Do not expect to have your hand held. Create your own fun, don’t be a Druid as a side note, DEDICATE to it, live and breathe nature’s dogma.  Travel the roads to find people to aid, lend a neutral voice to mediate a dispute, encourage cooperation, help a farmer with his crops.  There are so many things you can do as a Druid, with or without using your abilities.  Only you are responsible for the scope and activity of your own RP.

[Giga 357]

A much better revision. Caters to all Druidic groups. Well done whoever wrote it.

[~ Fiend ~ 611]

-Parkour: An accepted pastime for any Druid, the Ancient Drui were masters of Parkour, and often it is incorporated in some way to at least one section of the grove.

-Nature puns are essential, we will not leaf you alone until you stick to such a deerly held tradition.

 

You all disgust me.

 

That said, a much, much better guide. I've given it a once over and it seems to only cover things that are reasonably OOC, most of which have been rules for a while.

I'd give it all the green light save for a small note under the use of magic:

 

-Inform at least one Hierophant.  The Aspects ALWAYS know IMMEDIATELY when you’ve performed other magics they did not gift you, and they directly inform Hierophants in more severe cases of imbalance. (Hierophants have visions from time to time, things like this tend to come up during them)

 

if you're in the Spring Circle, just switch "Heirophant" with "an older druid". There would still be that vision/notification/whatever process, it just doesn't make sense for the other circle to be the ones the Aspects warn.

 

Otherwise, nice, inclusive, and doesn't rustle me. *thumbs up*

[OldeTymer 323]

 

if you're in the Spring Circle, just switch "Heirophant" with "an older druid". There would still be that vision/notification/whatever process, it just doesn't make sense for the other circle to be the ones the Aspects warn

 

 

Hierophants aren't tied to any particular circle. The Druidic Order grants Hierophancy to a Druid to release him or her from responsibilities tied to the Order, and the current Hierophants were all decided at a time when there were no multiple circles. Hierophants are what they are -the elder Druids, pillars of wisdom and guidance to all Druids- regardless of how many circles there are, unless and until one makes aware his or her alignment to one by obtaining an "official rank", such as in the Inner Circle.

[Publius 4098]

This current Guild has been deemed inactive and has hereby been moved.

If you wish to appeal this decision you must present evidence to myself proving the guild is still active.