[CA/Feat] Treelord

[Rayalia 285]

26 minutes ago, MayRndz said:

if you read the current CA it is relatively the same concept, just one is an immortal druid capstone and one is a fae thing.

Maybe I'm just so used to the tree housing the soul and the concern over saplings taking on a few large arcs during my own character's story, but the switch feels very epiphyte-y. A lot of the spells feel fae-themed, more like an addition to epiphytes or transcendence druii rather than an update to treelords, which I've always interpreted with vibes more aligned with regular nature themes. I know this is meant to be a rewrite of course, and it reads well, I just don't think it should be so heavily fae leaning. It no longer feels like a Druid CA but rather a Fae CA, if that makes sense. Which I suppose is what you were going for, but I never got the impression that such was what the OG lore intended to be. 

[Werew0lf 12022]

9 minutes ago, Rayalia said:

Maybe I'm just so used to the tree housing the soul and the concern over saplings taking on a few large arcs during my own character's story, but the switch feels very epiphyte-y. A lot of the spells feel fae-themed, more like an addition to epiphytes or transcendence druii rather than an update to treelords, which I've always interpreted with vibes more aligned with regular nature themes. I know this is meant to be a rewrite of course, and it reads well, I just don't think it should be so heavily fae leaning. It no longer feels like a Druid CA but rather a Fae CA, if that makes sense. Which I suppose is what you were going for, but I never got the impression that such was what the OG lore intended to be. 

That makes no sense.

[xMuted 2460]

I think this looks awesome 

[Tav 1372]

removing the no ftb redline is kinda crazy no shade lol. we're never beating the allegations

[Rayalia 285]

6 minutes ago, Werew0lf said:

That makes no sense.

Quote

 

"The purpose of a Soul Tree is to be eternal soldiers for nature and the aspects. OOCly this makes it so that things such as age or disease don’t get in the way of the character doing their duty, and softlocks them into the role of a Nature’s Protector. All in all, it is the Apex of what a druid could be, one who has dedicated in-character and real life time to the cause, and the reward? More work.

 

No other magic has a focus on nature like Druidism does, and Soul Tree is the only way with the Druidic magics for other races like humans and halflings to have a longstanding service with the druids. In Canon Soul Trees have existed for a long time, and will with this, continue to exist. This acts as an extension on what Druidism already does."

Quote

-The soul is no longer encapsulated within the tree itself.
-The tree is an anchor - or a point of return for treelords instead of an extension of the druid.

Nature's Aura [NC]

Given their Natural and Fae-akin condition, treelords themselves radiate a passive calming energy. 

 

Moonshadow Mirage [N/C] 
 

Given the lack of aging they are considered to be the wisest among druidic groves, the elders of the order, they are often seen as adept storytellers and documenters of history. 

 

Faerie Flambeau [N/C][ Infusion]
 

Whilst blight healers grasp an understanding of Taynei’hiylu’s and emerald flames, capable of healing and expelling power from her blessing, treelords are similarly able to grasp a control of those mists and bring forth a small set of star-like lights offering a slow fading light akin to fireflies dancing in the night, able to light up small and dark spaces to act as a guiding lantern.

 

Half the new spells are directly related to fae-type magic, or are near replicas of transcendent magic. The lack of soul in the literal soul tree is basically just what an epiphyte is, sans the influence of an actual fae. The original lore's intent is to give druii a stronger body so that they don't have to worry about death via illness or old age, not to make them more fae like. That's what transcendence is for.

That's just my opinion. I actually quite like the other spells. Like I said; I'm neutral on this rewrite, I like some of it but the other half doesn't make sense to me.

[sam33497 2793]

22 minutes ago, Tav said:

removing the no ftb redline is kinda crazy no shade lol. we're never beating the allegations

 

[Smmer 1145]

5 hours ago, Tav said:

removing the no ftb redline is kinda crazy no shade lol. we're never beating the allegations

 

It needs to be added. 

[FlemishSupremacy 4930]

13 hours ago, MayRndz said:

The concern seems pretty self explanatory with this comment

Tell you the truth; Azdrazi had the exact same redline and certain people did NOT interpret it that way, so better safe than sorry

As for the people complaining about the mental changes you'll experience, I think it's quite fitting for there to be major mental differences if you commit to such a drastic change to your being. Treelord is clearly not meant for players who seek to continue their day to day slice of life interactions but just with a big powerboost. I think the mental changes allow these treelords to be unique characters and not just event characters, in a way similar to how the azdrazi mental changes give them new goals and a new (potentially alien) outlook on life

Lore looks great tho!

[Evanuri 387]

11 hours ago, Rayalia said:

 

Half the new spells are directly related to fae-type magic, or are near replicas of transcendent magic. The lack of soul in the literal soul tree is basically just what an epiphyte is, sans the influence of an actual fae. The original lore's intent is to give druii a stronger body so that they don't have to worry about death via illness or old age, not to make them more fae like. That's what transcendence is for.

That's just my opinion. I actually quite like the other spells. Like I said; I'm neutral on this rewrite, I like some of it but the other half doesn't make sense to me.

 

To sort of piggy-back on this, I'm not the largest fan that aesthetic changes like horns, etc. are obligate when becoming a Soul Tree. This exists in Transcendence already. I enjoy it when it's not compulsory and the Soul Tree/player can choose to take on these more dramatic, physical effects.

 

But that's just a take from someone who focuses heavily on visual aesthetics in a character. I'm always drawn to choice.

 

Making it compulsory between both Transcendence and Soul Tree, while also a part of Epipyhte? (Correct me if I'm wrong, I've seen Epiphytes with horns) just muddies the differences between druidism adjacent feats/CAs, etc. The most interesting thing about Soul Tree is that 'Immortal Soldier of the Wilds' intention, and the mental characteristics of technically not being yourself, that 'yourself' is actually a tree.

 

 

[MayRndz 1130]

2 hours ago, FlemishSupremacy said:

Tell you the truth; Azdrazi had the exact same redline and certain people did NOT interpret it that way, so better safe than sorry

As for the people complaining about the mental changes you'll experience, I think it's quite fitting for there to be major mental differences if you commit to such a drastic change to your being. Treelord is clearly not meant for players who seek to continue their day to day slice of life interactions but just with a big powerboost. I think the mental changes allow these treelords to be unique characters and not just event characters, in a way similar to how the azdrazi mental changes give them new goals and a new (potentially alien) outlook on life

Lore looks great tho!

Fair enough, thank you for the feedback!

2 hours ago, Evanuri said:

To sort of piggy-back on this, I'm not the largest fan that aesthetic changes like horns, etc. are obligate when becoming a Soul Tree. This exists in Transcendence already. I enjoy it when it's not compulsory and the Soul Tree/player can choose to take on these more dramatic, physical effects.

I left it open to interpretation for relatively that reason, the biggest impact just being they require SOME sort of “tell” that they aren't simply a regular descendant. This could be literally anything nature or animal related.

2 hours ago, Evanuri said:

Making it compulsory between both Transcendence and Soul Tree, while also a part of Epipyhte? (Correct me if I'm wrong

I don't believe it's a requirement for epiphyte(someone can correct me if I'm wrong because I haven't read the most recent lore) I think it's an extension to their ability to be so free form aswell.

14 hours ago, Rayalia said:

That's just my opinion. I actually quite like the other spells. Like I said; I'm neutral on this rewrite, I like some of it but the other half doesn't make sense to me.

To be fair to shoot some of the spells isn't something that bothers me if it comes down to it. It's important to keep in mind I started writing this before a lot of the major druid rewrites went through aswell so there was no intention to copy, though the similarities do make sense considering they're still druidic affiliated. Great minds think alike 😂.

2 hours ago, Evanuri said:

The most interesting thing about Soul Tree is that 'Immortal Soldier of the Wilds' intention, and the mental characteristics of technically not being yourself, that 'yourself' is actually a tree.

Exactly my thoughts aswell, which is why I tried to keep this majorly the foundation of the CA.

[Wizry 358]

          My argument will primarily be based on how I disagree that this is best-fitting with an end-game Druidic ‘CA’, rather than the current lore as presented now. Even though MayRndz has provided a perspective that this is a ‘immortal druid capstone’, I also disagree as this reads more as Fae CA that is not what was intended by the original lore. These two disagreements will address why I don’t consider this lore as something we should pilot Tree-Lord into, as it would seem to be rather out-of-line with the original intentions.

 

          OhDeerLord’s lore, cited in MayRndz's bibliography, has a very simple purpose, “The purpose of a Soul Tree is to be eternal soldiers for nature and the aspects. OOCly this makes it so that things such as age or disease don’t get in the way of the character doing their duty, and softlocks them into the role of a Nature’s Protector. All in all, it is the Apex of what a druid could be, one who has dedicated in-character and real life time to the cause, and the reward? More work.” The lore he writes is purely in service of that, where the druid is allowed to continue doing their work – with issues. They are not meant to become transcendent or ‘fae-like’, but instead they are able to continue live eternally and continue their work as druids. This lore, however, makes it so that this capstone is tied inherently with the fae and not their work. I will quote directly here from the current submission, “Given their stature, a greater affliction of natural energies and fae are presented upon them; they are able to perform their abilities to the fullest - to become the conduits of natural energies, vanguards who purge the unnatural. Faced with a drive to fight for the natural world itself, and feeling empathy for the songs of life around them. No matter the path they choose, or the freedom they have to follow various ideals, they are meant to fight on behalf of nature through any means and to be its voice in times of great need.” This connects them – instead of with what they have done priorly as a druid, serving nature in the actual world around them – with the fae outright. This is why I think that, conceptually, OhDeerLord’s idea of keeping it so that they are simply unkept from doing their duty instead of MayRndz’s idea of connecting them directly to the fae is  more interesting & more compelling, as Epiphytes and Transcendence already fill the submission’s niche of connecting them to the Fae.

 

          This lore in general seems to be opposed to a simple perspective of what treelords ought to be. That perspective is that they don’t need to be stronger, but instead they are an extension of your life, not so that you gain immortality, but that you can continue your work as a druid unabetted by age or disease. I think MayRndz’s contribution is more disinteresting because it presents itself as a perspective that this should be the end-game, instead of simply another way to continue working – far, far into the future. That perspective is fundamental to comprehending this lore and explains the powers & buffs it gets. That perspective is why I disagree that this lore submission is better than OhDeerLord’s lore. This lore may work better as some kind of 'amendment' pathway for treelords instead of being fundamental to all players who use this CA.

Edited March 19 by Wizry

[MayRndz 1130]

11 minutes ago, Wizry said:

          My argument will primarily be based on how I disagree that this is best-fitting with an end-game Druidic ‘CA’, rather than the current lore as presented now. Even though MayRndz has provided a perspective that this is a ‘immortal druid capstone’, I also disagree as this reads more as Fae CA that is not what was intended by the original lore. These two disagreements will address why I don’t consider this lore as something we should pilot Tree-Lord into, as it would seem to be rather out-of-line with the original intentions.

 

          OhDeerLord’s lore, cited in MayRndz's bibliography, has a very simple purpose, “The purpose of a Soul Tree is to be eternal soldiers for nature and the aspects. OOCly this makes it so that things such as age or disease don’t get in the way of the character doing their duty, and softlocks them into the role of a Nature’s Protector. All in all, it is the Apex of what a druid could be, one who has dedicated in-character and real life time to the cause, and the reward? More work.” The lore he writes is purely in service of that, where the druid is allowed to continue doing their work – with issues. They are not meant to become transcendent or ‘fae-like’, but instead they are able to continue live eternally and continue their work as druids. This lore, however, makes it so that this capstone is tied inherently with the fae and not their work. I will quote directly here from the current submission, “Given their stature, a greater affliction of natural energies and fae are presented upon them; they are able to perform their abilities to the fullest - to become the conduits of natural energies, vanguards who purge the unnatural. Faced with a drive to fight for the natural world itself, and feeling empathy for the songs of life around them. No matter the path they choose, or the freedom they have to follow various ideals, they are meant to fight on behalf of nature through any means and to be its voice in times of great need.” This connects them – instead of with what they have done priorly as a druid, serving nature in the actual world around them – with the fae outright. This is why I think that, conceptually, OhDeerLord’s idea of keeping it so that they are simply unkept from doing their duty instead of MayRndz’s idea of connecting them directly to the fae is  more interesting & more compelling, as Epiphytes and Transcendence already fill the submission’s niche of connecting them to the Fae.

 

          This lore in general seems to be opposed to a simple perspective of what treelords ought to be. That perspective is that they don’t need to be stronger, but instead they are an extension of your life, not so that you gain immortality, but that you can continue your work as a druid unabetted by age or disease. I think MayRndz’s contribution is more disinteresting because it presents itself as a perspective that this should be the end-game, instead of simply another way to continue working – far, far into the future. That perspective is fundamental to comprehending this lore and explains the powers & buffs it gets. That perspective is why I disagree that this lore submission is better than OhDeerLord’s lore. This lore may work better as some kind of 'amendment' pathway for treelords instead of being fundamental to all players who use this CA.

 

If you read my opening sentiments you would know I entirely did rework the system to shift it away from the origional writing. Its not meant to be the same as OhDeerLords write which is why I included a majority of the active treelords in the rewrite

[NightcastorKitty 1209]

As one that literally has been a part of the Druidism community for years and done so many rewrites/aided in them. While I didn't take part in the making of this one, I will make some things clear since there seems to be a big misunderstanding going on. 

 

Treelords are a version of an endgame CA of Druidism. Is it the only option? No, the feats and other paths to take make it pretty diverse on what you want to do. 

 

Treelords have always had mentality issues. Even the current lore gives reference to this. They are literal embodies of nature itself. To expect such a dynamic change to a character to turn out completely normal is hilarious at best. And that's not even counting the force mentality changes of all the feats and submagics of Druidism. (Seriously, go read Transcendence. Even treelords can't avoid its effects or pair it with their own). But the main point is that the further you step into Druidism, the more it WILL mess with your perception of reality and mindset of what is important than the rest. There's no ifs, ands, buts about it. 

 

As far as the concept changing on what a Treelord is and their creation and what not. That rather falls with how the community feels about it in the end. Aka the treelords. An attempt was made to change it up. Hence why its called a rewrite. Whether it passes or not will fall to the reviewing process. 

[Rayalia 285]

16 minutes ago, NightcastorKitty said:

As one that literally has been a part of the Druidism community for years and done so many rewrites/aided in them. While I didn't take part in the making of this one, I will make some things clear since there seems to be a big misunderstanding going on. 

 

Treelords are a version of an endgame CA of Druidism. Is it the only option? No, the feats and other paths to take make it pretty diverse on what you want to do. 

 

Treelords have always had mentality issues. Even the current lore gives reference to this. They are literal embodies of nature itself. To expect such a dynamic change to a character to turn out completely normal is hilarious at best. And that's not even counting the force mentality changes of all the feats and submagics of Druidism. (Seriously, go read Transcendence. Even treelords can't avoid its effects or pair it with their own). But the main point is that the further you step into Druidism, the more it WILL mess with your perception of reality and mindset of what is important than the rest. There's no ifs, ands, buts about it. 

 

As far as the concept changing on what a Treelord is and their creation and what not. That rather falls with how the community feels about it in the end. Aka the treelords. An attempt was made to change it up. Hence why its called a rewrite. Whether it passes or not will fall to the reviewing process. 

I don’t think anyone’s really misunderstanding the lore rewrite as a whole - we’re just offering constructive criticism. A lot of people are fine with the mentality changes, others know how it’ll entirely flip what their treelords have been working towards for irl years in the mental department. If this goes through, it’ll be a big change for how people rp their CAs. @Wizryand @bloomtiarahave valid points, as do many others who have commented. No, it’s not right for treelords to not have mental changes, but from the people I rp with that have the CAs, I can most definitely say they ARE playing their lords with mental problems affect by their change. A new forced mentality (and the way it’s written here, it is implied if not outright saying it’s enforced) isn’t needed and will heavily affect current lord rp.

[NightcastorKitty 1209]

@Rayalia  Current Lore:
 

The mind of a soul tree is one of schisms and harsh realities. With the mind split between tree and husk, the struggles of identity are an everyday, nonstop issue. Changes to biology, the loss of sleep that grants dreams, the differences of the body compared to that of flesh, all become influences that can lead to more mental conditions than your stereotypical druid. The coping mechanisms will vary, and sometimes become far fetched. You might see one become a soldier of nature. Another slowly losing themselves to the trees themselves. Another forgets how to eat. 

 

In the end the mental distress becomes a bonding mechanic. Soul trees will enjoy being near other soul trees, just like a dwarf enjoys another dwarf, an elf another elf. But this too leads to more isolation, for without great effort and support, they will drift from what they once were and lose that part of their identity all together. A soul tree requires a powerful will, or they will be lost to their loved ones.

 

 

Rewrite: 

Over the years they can adjust better to the environment, to cater more towards the balance of the world around them. Engulfed by their obsession with  the energy that created them, they work endlessly to protect and preserve it for the sake of their very existence. While not necessarily breaking familial bonds and interest where they previously found comfort, all treelords cope in their own way, many become restless and anxious, prone to being on a constant watch of their surroundings. Others are unable to concentrate and find their minds wandering from place to place, unable to find one topic that offers comfort more than another, leaving them incapable of holding a conversation. Some fall victim to spurts of aggression and anger, no interest in the social world around them, instead preferring trees, plains, and the oceanside over the company of descendants. Perhaps some even find more comfort in residing within druidic groves, among druids rather than other descendants, able to notice easily when one is a druid.

 

How this is written is effectively the same, but more examples are given whereas the current accepted lore did not. And arguably the current lore is more limiting on how Treelords should act and feel around others. If anything, this not only addresses some key points of the mentality, but also gives more variety on what they can do or how to go about their creature. And I will say with reading this description alone, most treelords currently are literally roleplaying what the rewrite states their mentality is. And they are doing it in various ways where it won't be hindered by what is written here. Blood Druidism is the only change I see really that going to effect blood treelords, but then again. That's arguably the nature of blood and Fae colliding in general.