Revised Druid Guide

[Tsuyose 3285]

Druidism: A Revised Guide

 

Forenote:: This revision to the original Guide by Arik has been carefully considered to further define and clarify Druidism and it's magic, helping Druids to better understand limitations, speed of progression, and their ability to be creative.  The original Guide was a solid foundation, and like all foundations they were meant to be built upon, as we have now done.

 

Druidism is an ancient form of magic, tied to the most ancient of all Guilds of Aegis, the Druidic Order.  Centuries of guarding secret knowledge and protecting nature has been this Order’s calling, bringing balance through healing land and spreading verdure with their unique arts.

 

Druidism is controlled in such a way, and taught, through a clever process of training that is designed to “indoctrinate” the student into a certain way of thinking, opinion, etc.  That is not to say it is always successful, but it is a powerful tool of regulating who has access to these arts.

 

As with any training, these things occur in stages.  The most commonly known one is Dedicancy.  This stage is most common because it is the one newcomers enter the Order as.  During this time they are given tasks and lectures over a period of time that teach them the Order’s culture, and an appreciation for all things natural.

 

This process, cleverly designed, to open the mind of the Dedicant to the flow of nature, through meditation, assistance and an understanding of ways.   When the Dedicant has finally completed their tasks, and their Guide has deemed them ready, they are instructed to devise and complete their Grand Task, a milestone task for a Dedicant that shows they are ready to take on the full mantle of responsibility of being a Druid.

 

Upon completing this task the Guide takes the Dedicant to the Attunement Pool, an area within the grove high in natural Druidic Energies, and begins the Attunement Process.

 

This process involves the Guide invoking an ancient knowledge to forge a connection to Nature within the mind of the Dedicant.  One could consider their initial training to be similar to opening a small hole to allow light to pass, and then the attunement process as using the small hole to bore a larger one, creating a ray of light-a connection.

 

Thus is the way one comes into Druidism.

 

The Arts:

 

Druidic Magic is broken down into several subtypes:

 

Control of Nature    Blight Healing

     Healing    Nature’s Communion

Shapeshifting

 

Nature’s Communion

 

This is the starting point of all Druidic abilities. One is connected to the ebbing flow of life around them. They can feel, see, listen, and even speak to nature and creatures that inhabit it. Yet when just attuned, the connection itself is weak. Your abilities just beginning and through training, experience, and meditation, your communion will become stronger and your requests and abilities easier to manage. No Druid can advance in any druid magic subtype more than their current Communion Tier. 

 

Defining the Tiers

Tier 1:
The Druid has gone through his attunement and has only from this point on had the possibility to connect to the aspects and nature. The connection is still primitive and weak but no fear!  Through mediation, the Druid is able to hear the calls and feel the pulse of nature faintly. Interaction with creatures is very hard and tiring as the Druid would only receive incomprehensible messages from the creature.

Tier 2:

The Druid reaches this stage after about three elven weeks of continuous meditation and practice. The Druid's connection to nature has become stronger, allowing him to feel the pulse of nature after a shorter period of meditation. The Druid would have opened his ears and slowly but surely started to hear the calls of nature clearer than before. Upon hearing animals, the Druid would not be as lost as before but instead would understand a few words here and there.

 

Tier 3:

The Druid will reach this stage of his connection after about three elven months of practice and meditation. The Druid is now fully able to feel the pulse of nature and no longer needs to meditate to listen to its calls. Also animals are now almost fully understood, only a few words will appear strange to the Druid. Depending on the situation and demand, an animal might comply with his request.

Tier 4:

The Druid will reach this stage after about eight elven months of practice and meditation. The pulse of life has become a good friend to the Druid and the calls of nature are heard almost entirely clear. The Druid now entirely speaks the language of animals and understands every word of it. At this stage animals are more likely to comply with requests than before.

Tier 5:

Finally, the Druid has reached the last stage, after almost twelve elven months of practice and meditation. Though a good Druid would know that he shouldn't stop here. There is no known limit to the acts these Druids can preform. This Druid has become one with nature, feeling the pulses without hesitation. Nature around the Druid reacts at his very presence, in some cases flowers sprout in the Druid's footsteps! Animals will take pause at the Druid, who understands them so well. Animals can be easily soothed and will comply with most of the Druid's requests.

 

Control of Nature

 

Control of Nature enables the druid to interact with the plants around them. Whether as simple as growing a flower or as difficult as controlling roots and trees to aid you when needed. Each tier here is determined by your Nature’s Communion. It is REQUIRED to be taught this by someone already highly learned in this subtype.  Once you are Tier 3 or above in Control of Nature, you can self improve through practice and meditation over time.

Defining the Tiers

 

Tier 1:

The Druid has meditated and gained skill after attunement. Soon they begin to learn to interact from the world around them and make requests of it. At this stage, most requests go unheard without a powerful Druid’s assistance, but with focus they may be able to shift a plant and coax it to grow slightly.

Tier 2:

After many lessons and hours of meditation, the Druid can now coax plants to obey more of their requests. With effort, the Druid can bless a small area of crops into a healthier state. They have also learned how life flows through these plants and can now coax them to grow slightly faster than normal, but not at an overly excellatered rate.

 

Tier 3:

The Druid has spent years in both meditation and lessons, and now plants will obey most of their requests. With focus, a Druid can coax a flower from its seed at a much faster rate, and their blessings on crops have begun to hold much more weight. The farther they excel into this tier the more and more they understand how to request things from plants, and even animals.

 

Tier 4:

The Druid has spent a few decades meditating and taking counsel from their peers and instructors.  They can manipulate roots, vines, and smaller plants with ease, and larger plants and trees with relative ease..  They can grow plants to full size with focus and effort over a fairly short period of time. Animals have begun to note your presence when you enter an area, and are more likely to respond to your requests.

 

Tier 5:

The Druid has spent several decades in lessons, and in meditation beyond these lessons, attuning to the intricacies of the living world around them.  Plantlife around you responds actively to your presence, flowers blooming even in their off-seasons as you pass by, crops seeming more vibrant, and plantlife healthier and lush with minimal attention from the Druid.  Nearly all requests that do not upset Balance will heed to the Druid’s call, even to the most ancient of plants and trees to some extent.

 

Nature’s Healing

Druids are renowned for their healing prowess. Be it a leafy patchup or reattaching a limb, it is said that save for the monks or magical clerics, their natural abilities are unmatched. This art is so interesting as it combines with the practice of Druidic herbalism with their natural magic.

 

Druids are best known within the realm of healing for their unparalleled use of herbs, though this isn’t the limit of their abilities. It is said that druids are able to heal directly to a degree. This practice is rarely seen, however, as it is an exhausting and dangerous ability to the user.

 

Direct Healing:

 

Since the days of Aegis, the Druid have been known for their extensive abilities with herbs. A Druidic salve could do great things, and even bring people back from the brink of death. Yet, in emergency situations, it is rumored that the Druid could heal without herbs…

 

 

Explanation

When herbal healing falls short, a druid healer is capable of channeling the power of the Aspects to heal directly, however, this is a dangerous measure. To heal directly drains the user considerably. Depending on the extent of the healing, a druid normally risks exhaustion, and on severe enough occasions, risks death.

 

Points to Note

Reagents (herbs and salves) can help lessen the risks associated with direct healing, as you can draw less from yourself in the process.

A transfer of natural energies (not life force) between user and the receiver is an act that can be used as a pain dampener and is much easier than actual healing. Moving the affected part of the body can upset said relief, however. Should the user cease the flow then the pain would quickly return, if the cause has not been healed yet.

 

Tier 1:

The Druid has learned much of herbology and has begun to use this knowledge to create salves and poultices. They can then begin to enhance these salves with natural energies, though it is very tiring.

 

Tier 2:

The Druid finds powerful herbs with properties of healing (such as pennywort, calendula, marshmallow, gotu kola, chamomile, echinacea, etc) and meditate with them before preparing salves or poultices with them. They will boost the inherent properties of the plants. Sadly this augmentation fades with time, but it’s still a noticeable increase. Wounds can heal in about a third  the amount of time it would take normally to heal.

 

Tier 3:

The Druid can combine their bandages with herbs and plants that they have enhanced with magical properties to offer quicker healing to the patient. A Druid can give tea that will soothe a cold, even cure it with its enhancements to the leaves. The Druid can also begin to be taught about direct healing with or without reagents, but should they attempt to perform it without the guidance of an experienced teacher, they are almost assured to harm themselves in the process, as they cannot control the flow properly.

 

Tier 4:

The Druid can enhance poultices without meditating with the plants. They can heal wounds in less than a day depending on severity. As well, the Druid has learned how to control the flow of natural energies and can now heal small wounds on their own.

 

Tier 5:

The Druid has mastered the art of healing, and can heal most wounds within an hour or two. There is no true mark as to what they can and cannot do. Some healers have even been rumored to be able to reattach a dismembered limb if treated soon after injury. Leafy stalks tend to grow from their finished work!

Blight Healing

Blight healing is a most noble ability of the Druids.  Lands afflicted by blight, or plague, disease and death, decay or magical scarring are given new life, and in the place of the infertile soil there is verdure.

Defining the tiers

 

Tier 1:

The Druid begins to slowly bring fertility to the soil.  Plagued or diseased plants cannot be revived, but spread of the disease can be halted with concentration and meditation.

Tier 2:

The Druid is able to heal plagued and diseased plants, though magically harmed plants seem to be beyond their ability.

Tier 3:

The Druid can, with their ability to Control Nature, reseed the dead and decayed wood, plagued plants or diseased flora, and grow them back into the ground.  This is an interesting way to treat extra lumber!  It is easier to heal decay in a large area, and fertility can be added to land at a much quicker pace.

Tier 4:

The Druid can now heal a large area of land quickly.  They can bring even the sickest ancient oaks back, grow a tree from a stump even.   

Tier 5:

The Druid has become a master of bringing life from the brink of total death.  If the Druid meditates for a long period of time it is said that they can grow a tree even from stone.

Shapeshifting

 

Important Note: Shapeshifting is a closely guarded secret of the Order, that even many Archdruids are never entrusted with. As such, it is metagaming to have any knowledge of these abilities if your character did not discover them through roleplay. For more information on shapeshifting, refer to:

http://wiki.lordofth...eshifting Magic

Tier 1:

The Druid must meditate for an extended period of time, and remains in their beast form for a short period of time.

 

Tier 2:

The Druid must meditate for a moderate period of time, and remains in their beast form for a moderate period of time.

 

Tier 3:

The Druid must meditate for a short period of time, and remains in their beast form for an extended period of time.

 

Tier 4:

The Druid transforms into the beast for a long period of time.

 

Tier 5:

The Druid can maintain beast form for an incredibly long period of time.

 

Red Lines:

• You must be an attuned druid to utilize druidic magic.

• Animal companions cannot be used to metagame or break established server rules. This means that if you are killed, your woodland friends cannot tell you how you died or who killed you.

• You cannot force an animal to act against its nature. A high tier druid would be very convincing, however even at Tier 5 you cannot make an animal that is passive by nature attack a heavily armed foe.

• In the same vein, you cannot make someone’s pet turn against them, if that pet is truly loyal. A high tier druid could convince the pet to not attack the druid, but that is the extent of it.

• Nature’s Healing does not use life-force.

• Blight Healing cannot be used on animals or people.

• Nature’s Communion does not work on Kharajyr or other animal-like races. Essentially, if it’s a ‘person’ you cannot commune with it.

• Nature’s Communion is not animal-telepathy or mind control. At best it is animal-empathy, and the ability to understand animal ‘speech’ and be understood by animals in your natural tongue. (Druids do not make animal noises.)

• Direct healing cannot be used to heal broken bones, doing such would require much more extensive healing.

• To not Roleplay any sort of tiring effect would be PG. No matter your skill as a Druidic Healer it will negatively affect the Drui.

• There are no “one-touch miracle heals”! Direct healing is a complex part of Druidic magic and must be roleplayed out to the fullest.

• Nature's Healing cannot and will not be used to harm another being. To do such is PG and can possibly lead to a black list from Druidic Magic should it continue.

Magic Applications

Each Druid is required to have an accepted Magic Application to roleplay these powers. Without an accepted MA, they are simply a druid with a connection to nature. Essentially Tier 0 in Communion, they can sense the ebb and flow of life but cannot truly interact or communicate with the life around them. It is not required for Guides to be have an accepted Teacher’s Application in order to attune new druids, however that means that they cannot help new druids progress.

 

Power Sharing

Groups of druids can pool their power to perform greater feats than one would be capable of alone. For example, one Tier 3 druid might take several months to grow a very large tree on their own. However, if he is joined by others working in unison they could potentially perform the task in a few hours. The same principle applies to Blight Healing - the more druids at work, the larger swathe of land they can heal at once. You still need a magic application to do this.

 

Attunement and Unattunement

Because of magic application rules, no character under the age of 16 may be attuned. Attunement must be learned in-character before it can be performed. To unattune a druid and thereby sever their connection to nature and ability to perform druidism, three druids capable of attunement (with at least one of them having learned the unattunement process) are required. The druid being unattuned must also be present. To re-attune a druid that had been unattuned you will also need three druids capable of attuning and unattuning.

 

Druids and Other Magic

If a druid begins to learn Arcane magic of any kind they cannot progress any higher than their current tiers in druidism. Prolonged usage will result in a gradual corruption of their connection to the Aspects and nature. They are also required to OOCly notify at least one Archdruid or (active) Hierophant and whichever Druid performed their attunement, as a courtesy.

 

~~~

 

Druidism is a unique and rewarding magic to learn. Happy roleplaying!

[Wyvernbane 252]

-admires the snazziness-

Good to see it finally up! A lot of work went into getting this guide up!

[Delmodan 855]

Thank you.

[Cat Evocation 3728]

I thought it was about hateing Void Magic.

 

 

Looks good I'm proud you know how to write Tsuyose c:

 

The more you know

[Wolf Druid Ouity 1461]

A note regarding adverse affects of nature magic on the user: As Druidism is a magic of the mind, and not of the void, people should feel free to step outside the cliche *becomes tired* that is the standard of the void magics. Instead of a physical tiring, a mental slip is equally as powerful a weakness for a Druid to roleplay.

 

Many Druids over the course of their lifetimes are radically altered by their connection to the Aspects- with many of the most powerful and notable of Druids driven to insanity or dementia as a result of their minds having touched the natural world for so long. To reflect this drawback in the short term context of a healing or battle, one can choose to act their character in a "detached state," whereby Nature's voice becomes compelling and seductive, drawing the Druid's focus from what is present or immediate in the scene (say, a sword swung at their neck) as they focus in on the voices of the trees or the grass.

 

While Druid magic is inherently very, very strong (and with no physical drawback, very appealing), this gives opponents an opportunity to take a Druid unawares as they focus, or are lost to their body. It also gives better context to the mental illness that befalls many of the oldest druids.

 

Using this versus the classical tiring effect offers a more unique interaction from magic to magic, and makes more sense logically than "Alas, I need sleep" especially since Druid magic, unlike many others, actually heightens a Druid's physique rather than withering it.

[Wyvernbane 252]

I thought it was about hateing Void Magic.

 

 

Looks good I'm proud you know how to write Tsuyose c:

 

The more you know

Just want to note that a good few other people did the work on this, not Tsu. Sorry for being that guy. :3

[Tsuyose 3285]

Moved to the Archive. It shall be sorted into the appropriate category shortly.