[CA/Feat] Treelord

[Wizry 358]

2 hours ago, NightcastorKitty said:

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. 

Largely and completely, I disagree entirely that this is 'effectively' the same.

 

I'm going to use two sentences out of the respective lores and I will deeply apologise for the brevity:

1. In the original lore, this is said, "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..." This lore's psychology is directly about the identity issues that treelords can face due to the splitting of their mind between tree and husk.
2. The submitted lore offers, "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." This lore's psychology directly states that the user is engulfed by an obsession with the energy that created them.

Now the question is to why this is something I dislike. The care for nature, if this is capping off the journey of having been a druid for some amount of time, should come from having been a druid for that amount of time. They should care because they are a druid, not because they are a treelord, which they have integrated outright into their personality because that is part of their identity. But in this submitted lore, any current treelord will have a massive fliparound of mentality due to it being an obsesssion not a care. Obsessions are an all-around encompassing thing, occupying the waking thoughts of one's mind to an unhealthy degree. These are not responsibilities one has, these are compulsions that they must do something, and would render all treelords as highly limited in their roleplay, maintaining them as static characters at best - and 'druidic event CAs' at worst.

 

Appreciative of Rayalia for reviewing and helping me construct this argument. Thank you for your input and attitude.

[Glade 521]

Nice lore,

 

but it won’t stop me from deforesting Druid groves.

[NightcastorKitty 1209]

14 minutes ago, Wizry said:

Largely and completely, I disagree entirely that this is 'effectively' the same.

 

I'm going to use two sentences out of the respective lores and I will deeply apologise for the brevity:

1. In the original lore, this is said, "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..." This lore's psychology is directly about the identity issues that treelords can face due to the splitting of their mind between tree and husk.
2. The submitted lore offers, "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." This lore's psychology directly states that the user is engulfed by an obsession with the energy that created them.

Now the question is to why this is something I dislike. The care for nature, if this is capping off the journey of having been a druid for some amount of time, should come from having been a druid for that amount of time. They should care because they are a druid, not because they are a treelord, which they have integrated outright into their personality because that is part of their identity. But in this submitted lore, any current treelord will have a massive fliparound of mentality due to it being an obsesssion not a care. Obsessions are an all-around encompassing thing, occupying the waking thoughts of one's mind to an unhealthy degree. These are not responsibilities one has, these are compulsions that they must do something, and would render all treelords as highly limited in their roleplay, maintaining them as static characters at best - and 'druidic event CAs' at worst.

 

Appreciative of Rayalia for reviewing and helping me construct this argument. Thank you for your input and attitude.

 

 

Lemme add on certain features you failed to place. 

 

 

 '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.'

The current lore forces them to fall into the mentality that is stated in this rewrite. Eventually it is succumbed and all have done this. Countless Treelords over the years have done this, but not once was it stated 'Oh they lack substance. they just an event character.' Many of them are famous and done up and beyond for the Order and nature itself. Sequoia, Ram, Song, Wolf, Shark, Bluejay(always this totem, shush),Trout, Wisteria, Lioness, Lynx, Snow, Wicker I can go on and on. They had that mentality and they did it in their own way when duty was called.

The very thought concept you are stating I honestly question if you are apart of the druidism community or not. Because the concept that a treelord doesn't, shouldn't, and/or isn't placing/caring for nature and upholding the balance over all else to a more extreme degree because of their condition quite frankly doesn't make sense. There's even darker paths where some still do it, but in a different way. The very core concept taught of Druidism is upholding the balance and protecting nature. And the endgame creature in your eyes shouldn't have such an obsession or desire to do the very thing that brought them to said point? 

 

They are the literal embodiment of the Will of the Aspects. The very first Soul Tree was made because they were dying and wanted to continued living to keep performing their duties on the mortal plane. They felt so dutybound that they gave themselves to nature to become one with it and continue on for eternity. 

Never has this changed. And never has it been in your own words 'Druidic Event CAs'. 

 

[Rayalia 285]

21 minutes ago, NightcastorKitty said:

Never has this changed. And never has it been in your own words 'Druidic Event CAs'.

I think that's kind of the point @Wizryis getting at: for a lot of treelords, this doubling down makes it feel like there will be no where left for the treelord to go - no growth, no change, nothing. If this part of the rewrite passes, they will turn into event-esque CAs, much like necromancers have become. Their story caps where their mind just constantly chants "naturebalancenaturebalance-". You might say that's an exaggeration but obsessions are, indeed, all encompassing.
 

23 minutes ago, NightcastorKitty said:

The very thought concept you are stating I honestly question if you are apart of the druidism community or not.

I don't see how this matters if someone has read the lore and is making a genuine attempt to understand it. As a druid player, please, don't gatekeep. Lore is meant to be enjoyed by all. On top of that, Wizry rps with druid players every day, including treelords, as do I. 

 

We can have differing views on the rewrite. I've said all I need to say about my opinions, offered @MayRndz my ideas, helped a few people figure out a way to say their ideas on the matter in a cohesive way. You're free to disagree. o7

[Laeonathan 3970]

I think you should add smth regarding voidal blue fire, as it burns brighter than normal voidal flame as stated in the redlines of fire evo

[Child Neglecter 2137]

if you don't add the no FTB redline I will go out of my way (despite never being a member of the Druidic community at any point in my time on LOTC) to ******* make an amendment SOLELY for the sake of adding one 

 

add it. you will be relentlessly bothered if you do not add one.

 

don't make the mistake of thinking that people won't abuse it's lack of addition, if this gets accepted. 

[Amayonnaise 1535]

On 3/19/2024 at 9:34 AM, MayRndz said:

Physiology
 

A Treelords form is teetering between the realms of mortal and fae, a husk that is torn between both worlds. They would appear fae like in nature, still possessing a form akin to the descendant race they were prior to transformation. Retaining body shape, height, and similar features of the race they were before transformation. However, they would perhaps find skin like bark, eyes like the slits of a wildcat, plants and vines sprouting from them, or the horns of an elk curling from their skull. Their forms vary widely in appearance - however - they  always take  on the form of nature itself, an embodiment of what they seek to protect.
 

Given the affliction of their changed bodies, they will find themselves comfortable with natural aspects of life, this being warmth, the cold, and various temperatures, easily adapting to the change. Without a balance of natural elements, however, they would find they begin to dry up in extreme heat and slowly stiffen in extreme cold tempatures. 
 

They are unable to lose consciousness- their brains perhaps functioning rather strangely, and instead finding that concussive forces cause immense wounds and may daze the Treelord, allowing for their capture; awake and alive to suffer until the literal end.
 

Their form is built to retain-peak condition and a fit muscle structure, unable to be weakened by natural disease, only falling ill when the injury or condition inflicted is Blight.. Thus, alchemical altercations would no longer take effect, temporary and permanent potions both wasted and no longer working. Their sap is thicker than blood so they bleed at a slower rate, and their skin a leather like in strength, but able to be split and splintered like wood.

When the husk is killed it begins to wither , turning into an ash or mulch like substance that fertilizes the ground.

 

I'm not a big lore-reader unless its implemented, so forgive me if I've missed anything that explains what I'm about to point out-

On the topic of Treelord Physiology, and FTB concerns by extension:

What exactly are treelord husks made out of? What I have quoted above doesn't really state whether their bodies are flesh, bone, and muscle with sap for blood, or if their bodies are just moving trees with the appearance / texture of flesh and muscle? In addition, how exactly does a tree spit out a skeleton + flesh husk, in the first place? Is it simply treelord magic? I think it would be nice to have some explanation on how a plant is capable of doing that.

In regards to the FTB concerns - I don't really understand why FTB should be a concern, if the players aren't doing wacky ass shit.. But again, you can't really keep an eye on those things or trust a community to be normal either. I could understand FTB being redlined in regards to the Treelord being obsessed with nature and being.. quite literally a plant - in the case of their husks being made of tree rather than skeleton/flesh. Plants don't fornicate. Why would they have sexual desires or interests? I could understand some form of asexual companionship, but not sexual interests.

I would like to trust people not to be weirdos with their FTB, but the entire lotc community has proven time and time again that they can't be trusted, unfortunately. Might be for the better, with this one.

[MayRndz 1130]

22 hours ago, Amayonnaise said:

What exactly are treelord husks made out of?

In the original write it's explained that they have the muscles and such in their compositionion but they're made of plant matter, with a psudoskin entirely similar to regular skin just “tougher.”

22 hours ago, Amayonnaise said:

Treelord being obsessed with nature and being..

Maybe obsession was the wrong word on my part, they're just meant to care more for plants and druids.

22 hours ago, Amayonnaise said:

In regards to the FTB concerns - I don't really understand why FTB should be a concern, if the players aren't doing wacky ass shit..

Wasn't a problem and never has been until players were changing their characters to be unusually short or tall, which is why I removed those features. I literally had Creamys friends flat out tell me he made the submission as a meme and it got passed. If anything if the wacky shit is a concern it should be for transcendence too. Why can they have animal features and not be regarded but druids who are treelords get backlash for having a pseudo body like clones? In which case this is the wording to cover transcendances back which I am more than happy to add to my own write is -”Don’t use the mental/physical effects to break ToS server rules.”  

[Amayonnaise 1535]

22 minutes ago, MayRndz said:

In the original write it's explained that they have the muscles and such in their compositionion but they're made of plant matter, with a psudoskin entirely similar to regular skin just “tougher.”

Maybe obsession was the wrong word on my part, they're just meant to care more for plants and druids.

Wasn't a problem and never has been until players were changing their characters to be unusually short or tall, which is why I removed those features. I literally had Creamys friends flat out tell me he made the submission as a meme and it got passed. If anything if the wacky shit is a concern it should be for transcendence too. Why can they have animal features and not be regarded but druids who are treelords get backlash for having a pseudo body like clones? In which case this is the wording to cover transcendances back which I am more than happy to add to my own write is -”Don’t use the mental/physical effects to break ToS server rules.”  

 

Thank you for clarifying the physical composition!

 

I agree with your points about FTB + Transc being passed w that specific redline. I think the only difference I would point out is that with Transc, your character is still a mortal with their own mind etc. who has additional effects, whereas with Treelords your character's soul and entire existence has been altered. With that in mind, I could again see asexual companionships existing, but understand the argument against FTB (They're plants). 

 

But again, if your redlines are cutting away the potential for problematic FTB, I don't see why it should be anyone's concern or business. They shouldn't hear about it or see it anyhow.

[MayRndz 1130]

10 hours ago, Amayonnaise said:

 

Thank you for clarifying the physical composition!

 

I agree with your points about FTB + Transc being passed w that specific redline. I think the only difference I would point out is that with Transc, your character is still a mortal with their own mind etc. who has additional effects, whereas with Treelords your character's soul and entire existence has been altered. With that in mind, I could again see asexual companionships existing, but understand the argument against FTB (They're plants). 

 

But again, if your redlines are cutting away the potential for problematic FTB, I don't see why it should be anyone's concern or business. They shouldn't hear about it or see it anyhow.

Understood, thank you for the insight <3.