Wolf Druid Ouity

If I've ever seen a lore piece destined for acceptance, it's this. Congratulations on providing the reader with an immersive, sensual readthrough, and the server with such a roleplay-creating bastion.

I don't think I mentioned any other proposed races at all. The only one I'm aware of is the aquatic race that was proposed a little while ago, and I only say in the OP that having an underwater city would create some obvious issues in terms of attracting roleplay. No harm meant, I was just trying to make a point about what I feel sets a group up for success, and I'm pretty sure that point was on the doc before that lore was even published. That's really the only thing I can imagine you're talking about. I was quite clear when I drew comparisons to everything else. Thank you for the support.

Probably with the stipulation of an extra application, yes.

Sacrifice being a selfless act, wouldn't it make more sense for him to be an Aengul? Would offer a more interesting duality.

Changes, if any, will be logged here: -Clarification: This race is intended for play by normal players who fill out an additional application to play them.

The Easternmost peak had always provided the best view of the sea, and its flat, light rocks were quickly warmed by the light of dawn. Thanks to these two features, it was a frequented favorite by Hemelytra forging parties, women and children tagging along to enjoy the new day. When the first sail was spotted, there was curiosity. By the dozenth, attentive mothers had corralled their young from the rockface, and the men who had come to forage for food swooped to and fro, taking different angles in an attempt to ascertain the nature of the mysterious shapes. Unseen to them, the lead ships were signalling back to their fellows, letting it be known that land had been sighted. The fleet of the Descendents loomed over the horizon, scores of vessels all bearing standards, sigils, and colored sails that denoted their allegiances. The wave of haggard seacraft showed their miles in the barnacles that clung to their salt-stained hulls, and the uneven patching in the sails where the banners of lesser lords and houses had been used to mend the rough, heavy cloth. Soon it became clear that these were indeed a means of transportation. Men were seen swarming the decks, pulling ropes and pointing eagerly towards their home. The Hemelytra finally departed the cliffside in full, understandably wary of the entire nation’s worth of boats that were now running themselves aground. A new age has arrived. The Hemelytra People of the Skies Origin His talons scraped across the cold granite beneath his feet, wind whispering against his useless, feeble wings. Everything in his body felt weak, his limbs heavy. As his limbs pulsed with soreness, Alkyo’s eyes rose listlessly to survey his new home. Mountain upon mountain surrounded him, the crags and bluffs tipped with ice and snow. As a bitter cold wind bit through him, he began to take stock. Where was he? How did he get here? The last thing he remembered was strafing through a warm forest, bow in hand, his ears perked for the sound of the bandits he’d been… Aeriel, what was he? Alkyo stared down in horror, his forearms mattered in feathers. They were tired, sad things, replacing what had once been olive skin. His wings splayed in shock, and all at once a new level of confusion swept over him. How had this happened? What could have done this to him? As Alkyo slowly dragged his eyes from his mutilated body, he found that he was surrounded by a multitude of others, all sharing in his horror. As the descendants clamored in an effort to unify their races and form stable nations, fresh from the tyranny of Iblees, many an Aengul and Daemon surveyed the realm, deliberating on the prospective servants who would patron their cause. The Druidic Order formed through the Aspects’ careful preening, and Clerics from Tahariae’s desire to purge the darkness. One such Daemon, Valaen brooded at great lengths over the choice. His domain being Freedom, he felt that anything without the ability to grace the skies with their wings were unfitting to serve him, and as he watched civilization take root, he grew to hate the laws and policies of the few who control many. He set to work, warping the various creatures of the land in an attempt to attain his perfect servant-- one who could carry out his bidding even over the most imposing wall. Valaen would often take races and subraces at random, testing to see which could be adapted to best suit his needs. He was no novice to this line of work, boasting craftsmanship of such species as the Gryphons that soared through the skies freely in those early times. Though the Gryphons were as majestic as they were powerful, their lack of intellect and independent nature made them poor candidates to represent their deity. Although the Daemon worked meticulously at first, the quantity of failed experiments grew, and Valaen became increasingly frustrated at his lack of sucess. Oftentimes in his carelessness, he would cast out his experiments before their full potential was truly realized, and the Hemelytra were not spared of Valaen’s bad habits. In their early days, their wings could bear them through no sky, and though their minds were sharp, their bodies were frail. Valaen cast them down in a fit of anger upon Tahn, an island immeasurably far from the lands of Aegis. It would be a great irony for the feeble results of his failures to die in the craggy kingdom he had designed them to excel in. Meek but unafraid, the few scattered Hemelytra found themselves in a fight for survival. Predators roamed the land, and food was scarce. A few dimly remembered their past lives, and gradually they began to farm what little they could from the harsh terrain, stone homes being wrought into the mountain. Though their effort was a great one, the Hemelytra could not overcome the broken state of their design, and one by one they succumbed to their intended doom. Although the Hemelytra were weak and incomplete, they put up a vicious fight in their struggle to survive, braving immeasurable odds as they strove to live on. In what could have been their last moments, a handful of survivors surrounded by hungry wolves and the corpses of their fellows, the few left standing earned their place on the mortal plain-- at least in the eyes of one. The cloudy, cold skies seemed to split in two, Malchediael’s presence spilling over the frozen mountaintop in a glorious clap of thunder that shook the very mountain to its core. What truly happened that day remains clouded in mystery. Some legends claim that Malchediael blessed his chosen few with great strength, while others say that he descended himself, smiting the rabid creatures of the mountainous isles. Whatever the Aengul’s actions to save the fledgling creatures, the Hemelytra came away a changed peoples. Their feathers shone with luster, their wings, once frail and useless were given new strength. No more were the failed experiments of a careless Daemon. Now stood a proud, illustrious peoples who were filled with pride and strength. Thanks to the intervention of the Aengul of Courage, the Hemelytra would enjoy dominance over their prison turned domain, the Isles of Axios. Appearance “Woi, heh’s nae tallah’n meh!” -Drolan Stronghearth The Hemelytra are slim, lithe, and altogether compact creatures. They frequent heights of 4’2” - 4’10”, and are never seen standing above 5’0”. The bones of their upper bodies are hollow, and laden with air cavities. Because of this, Hemelytra are exceptionally light, averaging a weight of 55 lbs. Unlike other avian creatures, the Hemelytra have the ability the ability to walk long distances thanks to muscular legs, designed to take the impact of their weight upon landing. It is because of their heavy legs that Hemelytra cannot sustain fight. Were they hollow like the rest of the creature, they would simply break upon landing. Their hands are unique amongst other creatures, featuring four fingers rather than five. The skin upon their hands is as rough as dry leather, their fingers ending in sharp points of flesh where nails protrude. The talons of the Hemelytra hand are often kept short as a matter of habit and convenience. Their feet are true talons. Feathers trail to their ankles and no further as their rough, yellowed skin begins, long black claws jutting from their feet to dig into the dirt as they walk. These are the most frequented and ancient of weapons a Hemelytra has access to . Due to their experimental, hodgepodge nature, the amount of feathers from Hemelytra to Hemelytra varies, but generally they are found across the entire form. The maintenance and upkeep of a Hemelytra’s feathers is a matter of great pride within their culture, though with the great spread of Hemelytra across the peaks, it is also subject to immense variation. Feathers crown the top of most Hemelytra heads, though some, often disgraced, may be born with the inability to grow feathers upon their head. With great care, feathers are preened and styled to impress friends, family, and potential mates. Feathers are not found on heads alone, but also across their arms, legs, and anywhere else hair might grow upon a person. Feathers vary in color across different Hemelytra, though it is quite rare to find a Hemelytra bolstering more than two or three colors upon their body at once. The wings of a Hemelytra are the token of their pride, allowing them to take to the skies for however long they are able to maintain their glide. Perhaps the most drastically varying feature bestowed upon the Hemelytra, the wings are the magical remnant of the work of Valaen, improved upon by Mercediael. Unfathomably light in spite of their frame of cartilage and feathers, yet deceptively resilient. Their wings grow as the Hemelytra age, lengthening across one’s entire life with no clear point of stopping. The most ancient of Hemelytra meet a wingspan of a recorded eight meters. Although they cannot meet the demands of sustained flight, the older a Hemelytra becomes, the more capable they become at gliding farther and longer. When not in use, Hemelytra fold their wings along their back. Even the longest of wings are capable of being tucked away with impeccable compactness, the tips of their wings never trailing upon the ground as they walk, regardless of wingspan. The face of a Hemelytra hints at its heritage amongst the descendants, though the numerous alterations shine through the visages of those who once were men. Their faces are usually laden with small feathers, their lack of a nose is immediately obvious to any that lay eyes upon the creature. In its place, nostrils mark the center of the Hemelytra’s face, inferior in capability to most other creatures. While ear are also absent or fused uselessly to the avians’ heads, they maintain the ability to hear with the same clarity and range as any other creature may. Physiology A young Hemelytra is born live, and follows roughly the same growth cycle as any Descendent child. The main differentiator between an adolescent and an adult is, of course, their wingspan. When a baby is born, it has almost no wings to speak of, little more than nubs. As it grows older, they become slightly more prominent, but are little more than a suggestion on their backs. It is not until puberty that a Hemelytra’s wings will truly begin to flourish. This is the only time in their lifespan that the wings will truly grow at a measurable rate. Once puberty passes, the wings will continue to grow extremely slowly. The physiology of the Hemelytra is a truly peculiar study for one accustomed to the mundane biology of the Descendants. Hemelytra display traits of both avians and the Races, warped in a crude amalgamation by a Daemon’s hand, awarding them traits of both. Some Hemelytra find themselves a different transfiguration from the norm, though this is exceedingly rare. The skeletal system of the Hemelytra is one unique to all other forms of known life, an amalgamation between sapient and avian skeletons, the Hemelytra’s bones feature air cavities in place of marrow in all bones above their waist, allowing their frames to be light enough to glide across the skies, though in the aim for a duality between the ability to both walk and fly, the Hemelytra possess bone marrow within the bones of their legs. The strength this marrow warrants their legs allowed them to walk long distances without tiring just as the descendents do, but gave them too much deadweight to achieve sustained flight. Furthermore, the air cavities throughout the bones on the Hemelytra’s upper body cause its frame to be inherently more fragile, bones susceptible to breaking under much less force than a human’s might. The wings of the Hemelytra are the dawning, most notable aspect of their physical makeup, awarding them, the ability to glide through the skies and sustain higher jumps through the lift they allow. These wings, such as the wings of birds, are connected to the thick muscles of the back via a network of bones and cartilage, the wings themselves composed of cartilage and feathers of impeccable, unprecedented natural craftsmanship. Made with such care, these wings may survive blows and endure force that would snap the lesser bones of even ground dwellers. Beyond the aforementioned, Hemelytran anatomy is nearly identical to the other descendants as far as organs and other interior structures are concerned. The lifespan of a Hemelytra is unknown, even to those of the species. Because of their prideful, independent nature, Hemelytra will often fly off on their own when they believe their time is coming to avoid the embarrassment of a public demise. It is said by some that these ancient pariahs never actually die, but instead roam the skies waiting for an end that never comes. Eventually, their wings become so immense that not only can they fly, but indeed they never land. It’s more likely that they simply drown at sea. Aemor took one last, longing look at the place he had called home. The ledge was no more than a suggestion against the mountainside. It jutted out just enough from the mouth of the cave beyond for it to be distinguishable from a distance, barely greater than five feet in length. It was safe, well hidden, and there was no better view in the Isles.. At least, in his mind. As a gust of wind swept across the crag, he contemplated his time spent here. It had been a good run, but those who came to contest him for his tiny piece of home seemed to grow fitter and younger by the day, and his feathers didn’t grow back in quite how they used to. He knew what it meant. The time had come. With a sigh of relief, he allowed his wings to unfurl; and what wings they were! Red and brown clashed in brilliant patterns along their length, and from tip to tip they were easily almost ten meters across. He had met no other in the last century with wings so magnificent as his, one of the first symptoms of his impending age. He stood there for another moment, even the most gentle of breezes threatening his footing as his massive wings ballooned with each gust. Then, simple as that, he was gone. The Elder soared into the air, striking out for the horizon. Voidal magic is a taboo in the avian society, not on any religious or moral grounds, but because connection to the void severely deteriorates the already frail people of the sky. The voidal atrophy of the muscles that follows after the initial connection and furthered practice of the void would weaken the already meager muscles the Hemelytra carry above their waist, clinging to their avian bones. These muscles would deteriorate past the point of any movement whatsoever, rendering a Hemelytra paralyzed from the waist up. Culture The Hemelytra are nomadic peoples by nature, though they maintain a spiritual home in the mountain ranges of Tahn. Their beliefs are centered in reverence for Malchediael, the Aengul of Courage, and the being who rescued them from their plight. Oftentimes Hemelytra will show their gratitude to the patron courage on the winter solstice, the darkest day of the year in remembrance of the dark days of their ancestors. Against a sheer cliff face, a mother and a child looked out from a roughly hewn doorway into the sky, watching the day’s light die. Cold had already begun to seep into the abode, relentless even against their small fire’s attempts to warm the hard walls. As the mother finished her story, the fledgeling looked to her, eyes bright. “And he fixed us all?” He inquired in a tiny voice, awestruck. The power to transform an entire species, to bless them with the strength to survive was unimaginable, especially for a mind so young. In truth, at the time of the transformation, there were so few it was hardly any trouble. His mother nodded, smiling contentedly as she returned her attention to the setting sun. There, as the dying heat soaked into her wings, she felt that perhaps it was also the Aengul’s courage warming her feathers. On this, their most holy day, her people’s perseverance brought forth proud tears to her eyes. Though what little warmth the sun had provided during the day was fading fast, she knew that tonight she would sleep in comfort, for Malchediael watched over her. And what a long night it would be. While they partake in hunting to augment their diet, Hemelytra often find most of their food through farming, a holdover from the days when they were too weak to consider anything else. Important to note too is the considerable lack of game in high altitudes, making farming far more efficient in terms of output. Greatly knowledgeable and experienced, Hemelytra farmers are said to be able to grow a feast from a slab of rock, so great is their skill. The young of the Hemelytra are considered adult as soon as they learn to glide and expected to make their own way in the world. Hemelytra children are often mischievous and carefree, eager to learn and master their newfound powers of flight. Impatient to learn and eager to excel, Hemelytra fledgelings are jokingly said to halve their mother’s lives thanks to emboldened leaps from the nest, early morning wanderings, and boisterous personas. Personality While not particularly outgoing, the Hemelytra are a reasonable, energetic people. Carefree and airy, they are usually just as content to socialize or remain aloof from those who tread the ground. While they are territorial creatures, they are often unconcerned by proximity to ground dwellers. Those without wings are not instinctually seen as competition to the Hemelytra, and therefore they are more than comfortable taking up residence in a place with high population in order to take advantage of large, artificial structures. If a city is large enough, anywhere from three to five Hemelytra may live happily in different quadrants of the settlement. Rare is it for a Hemelytra to allow anybody into the private sanctums in which they craft their nests. While otherwise a sociable, peaceful folk, Hemelytra guard their nests jealously as the throne from which they control their kingdom, and nests are often the center of conflict when one Hemelytra seeks to obtain territory from another. Society The Hemelytra are a mostly nomadic people, jumping from territory to territory as it is stolen and acquired. While they do hold a mountainside citadel, it is a mostly spiritual and ceremonial home-- the place where their peoples were first deposited by Valaen, and the place they believe that Malchediael graced their creaturedom with his blessing. In life, they will often choose to live apart from each other, leaving the Mountain of Origin mostly abandoned. Initially, the Descendents will interact with them individually or in pairs. Given that the Hemelytra are so scattered, there will not be a grand meeting of delegates, nor fierce skirmishes as has been in the past. The Hemelytra will simply slowly integrate into the society of the Descendents. After the initial meeting, the Hemelytra are likely to wind up in steeples of churches, watchtowers, or any other buildings with easy access to the skies. Their desire to house in such optimum locations will often put them in contact with the builders-- for better or worse. “Another one?” The sergeant groaned, glaring up at the lone observation tower as if he might bring the avian down with a look. “Aye, we ‘unno when he got up there, but he doesn’t seem t’ wanna leave.” “Well, at least they’ve been taking care of our rat problems.” The Hemelytra do not truly have a cohesive nation or society, though many will converge in Tahn for the Winter Solstice to observe the turn of the darkest day, gracing the peaks of the craggy isle with a multitude of brilliant wings. Conflict As a general statement, the Hemelytra are a peaceful people. Violence inside of the species is generally mild and motivated by territory or competition to prove themselves as capable mates or leaders. More inquisitive than they are violent, a Hemelytra will more often than not seek to resolve a dispute peacefully or by fleeing, taking advantage of their easy escape mechanism. That is not to say they never fight. The Hemelytra often follow a predictable pattern when aggressed. They’ll spread their wings, feathers ruffling to show their full size in an attempt to ward off an attacker. Should this fail, many Hemelytra will choose to fight, regardless of the stature of their enemy, and usually with the knowledge that they will perish combating a ground dweller. Given that most if not all follow Malchediael, they feel it proper to show courage in order to honor the gifts he bestowed upon their people. Permanent Mechanical Effects: Elytra Soulbound: Chest Slot (possesses wings) Jump Boost: 2 (due to a boost lent from their wings, combined with their lightweight physique, may jump higher than other races) Weakness: 1 (weaker muscles) (Note: Considered weakness 2, but this would mean literally no damage punching. Considered slightly too extreme. Player input welcome.) Free Profession: Farmer (+30%) Profession Bonuses: Alchemy (+30%) (unique plants on mountainside), Chef (+20%) (with what little food is available, intelligence in its preparation is essential), Stonemason (+30%) (homes built into mountainside) Profession Drawbacks: Woodworking (-30%), Lumberjack (-20%), Blacksmithing (-20%) (Hands less dexterous than others.) Valaen Daemon of Freedom Alignment: True Neutral “True freedom is not righteous. It simply is.” -Valaen Though many of the Descendants would often characterize freedom as a knight in shining white armor, or perhaps a valiant king, Valaen is just about anything but. Incarnate of the principal of total liberty, Valaen is known to be vain, selfish, carefree, and totally at odds with the ideas of generations of philosophers and scholars, who would usually mistake the domain as being more in line with an Aengul’s duties. Though he is not evil, his domain provides him almost no moral compass to speak of, and this utter disregard leads him to make rash, spur of the moment choices that often put him at odds with his more reserved, reflective divine counterparts. “Because” is often his primary motivator. Although he holds no true entitlement, Valaen claims the sky as his holding, citing the freedom of the sphere of flight-- the ability to go in any direction one pleases. Indeed, he holds a special fascination with the idea of flying creatures, looking with pity upon the races forced to live their lives in only two true dimensions. Below, petty races build their walls, scribe their laws, and extort gold from their citizens. Valaen looks upon all such surface dwellers with discontent-- the structure and regiment of the world below saps away at the freedom of the people who live there, and Valaen would like nothing more to see it all crumble. With a lack of civilization, the world would know true and utter freedom. His chosen and final race of servants, the Harpies, have been known to carry out attacks aimed at high profile figures of authority, and if it could be said that the Daemon has a grand plan, it would be to grant mortals true freedom, Anarchy. Development Log: TL;DR Ever since 2.0, LOTC has followed a very consistent pattern regarding new races and creatures. Given the state of especially the Mori and Kha (extinct and underplayed respectively), it’s understandable that a lot of people have a set idea about how something like this goes-- brief activity followed by years of borderline no play. The premise in creating this creature is simple: Create a fun, interesting group with a unique ability and a non-hostile nature to facilitate the playerbase’s growth and interactions between themselves and others. Making them distance themselves from each other gives them a chance to seek out roleplay instead of waiting for it to come to their city, and select what kind of roleplayers they want to be around. This eliminates the need for activity in order to draw people to play the creature, because oftentimes the number of existing Hemelytra won’t matter in any real capacity, and the race’s design allows for a more hands-off approach from us, the creators. Other races LOTC has introduced or that have been suggested have too many fundamental challenges to overcome. How do you go and visit a race of amphibians? Why create a fledgling race with a tiny playerbase who have a desire to remain apart from the general population? These are built-in challenges that many people do not consider or do not want to consider when structuring a race, and it is my belief that to most successfully put something like the Hemelytra on the table, it should be in a manner that allows every individual roleplayer to have their own take or spin on it, to go wherever they want, and do whatever they like instead of opting for cooler, themactic lore that doesn’t translate well into the game. We have had the opportunity to learn from the past, and it’s clear that when we create races that hide away 5,000 blocks away and kill any newcomers, they are doomed to fizzle out over the course of a few months. After all, having a playerbase that doesn’t roleplay with 80% of the server is simply unsustainable. Hemelytra will often find themselves settling in places like guard towers and church steeples, supplying different towns and nations across Axios with roleplay of a different speed than what they might otherwise be accustomed to. Creating “event creatures” is also a wasted endeavour. If you want a group to have an impact, only busting out your character when you feel like it dooms them to never do what they were intended. Hemelytra are, as of now, vaguely inclined to follow the lead of older characters in certain social settings, specifically when there is an important decision to be made. By vesting some measure of authority and hierarchy in the culture, we leave the door open to any roleplay that might happen regarding a more organized race, given the opportunity someday arises. For now, it’s more than likely that never occurs. The Daemon introduced in this lore is intended to be used in future events, and give new depth to some otherwise flatlining creatures. Gryphons now have a bit more backstory, and Harpies now have a purpose, giving their events more meaning. The lore also ties in Malchediael, an Aengul people don’t hear anything of, despite his heroic status in the origin lore. Involving him in the story of this new race allows us to tie in a classic LOTC figure and give him new relevance to both the Hemelytra and anybody who interacts with their species. When I ran the event team, bringing lore from the wiki to our server was one of the things that really drove me, and I hope to continue doing so. Please leave your thoughts, and thank you very much for reading. Created by charlietheguy Ouity

This is stupid. It assumes that any time I am away from my computer, my character is not only ignoring his duties as a Druid, but somehow actively severing his own connection to the Aspects willingly. This whole thing is dumb. It basically states that if you have to go away for an extended period of time, your character has done something wrong. So wrong that they have lost their right to wield their holy magic. How long is "hiatus?" A week? Two? A month? I don't want my character to have to go through some stupid, demeaning lessons getting taught by a guy whose guide's guide's guide's guide's guide he taught because OOCly it was decided that I have too much of a life. Thank you, but if your guild is having organizational problems, keep it in your guild. Mine is doing fine.

Disagree.

Erm, this was posted in implemented lore.

If I said what I thought about this on the forums they'd permaban me again.

Hi, sorry. Actually forgot to respond to your feedback. I thought I already had, actually. 1: When I said blight healing, that's mb. I meant blighting. Every server antagonist, a dozen dark magic types, and now even shamans can ruin whatever land they so please. Point being that "keeping magic unique" shouldn't start with the Druids. Having animals interact with sick, magically infested land seems like a fundamentally bad idea. The "technique" of weather control for Druids would be far different from Shamans because the process is meant to involve many Druids working together in a ritualistic setting, rather than a single Shaman standing there and focusing very hard for a few moments. I've seen Shaman combat with the lightning blasting and stuff, the emotes leading up, and I really don't see much similarity. Frankly, I've only ever seen Shamans call lightning without rain. This reply is a bit muddled since I have to run off to work soon, but I hope I've made my case clearly enough.

To respond to both of you at once, I came to this idea in sort of a roundabout way. I got curious about how other people blight healed. In my day when we first created the idea of subtypes, it was all about touching things or wind sweeping blight away. Stuff like that. When I asked around, I got a lot of really weird, nonuniform answers about how other people do it, and when I looked on the guide, I found virtually nothing about how blight healing is actually supposed to take place. I'm all for the creative, loose interpretations, but I also think it's a bit silly for people to have such radically differing ideas on blight healing. I keep bringing up the green mist, but in my opinion, that sort of thing doesn't have a place in Druidism. We don't summon magical green, glowy mist. That's almost the last thing that pops into my head when I think "nature." Personally, I've always used wind as my character's method to blight heal, and it never really struck me until I started down this path that I'm technically a dirty little lore breaker because "weather control" isn't part of the Druidic arsenal. Well, it's just my opinion, of course, but I think that weather is a very good medium for blight healing to be used from because A: As of right now, the subtype is totally undefined. You guys both say "nobody has a problem with the way it is!" but I'm willing to be you can't tell me what a canon blight healing looks like. I can't tell you and my character's arguably the most experienced one on the server, because canon blight healing hasn't been defined in any way whatsoever. In fact, allow me to spare you a trip to the Druidism guide. B: I think Blight Healing is a good match for weather control because blight healing is already one of the only "supernatural" abilities a Druid has. IE, they are not actively controlling a plant or an animal when they use the subtype. They are directly purging taint form wherever it's fallen. The fact that we're already influencing the nonliving when we use the subtype makes adding weather control a more comfortable change. C: Weather control is something I think a lot of us want, but it's hard to justify giving Druids the power to summon a random rainstorm. This gives weather control purpose, function, and a unique and useful place in the Druidic arsenal while helping us clean up one of our more dubious subtypes. As for the weather stones, I just think it's kind of clunky as a medium to introduce weather control to. In that system vs this one, a Druid must actively find, acquire, and maintain possession of what I imagine is a rather rare artifact. I don't think it's a stretch to say that when you compare that to simply having it as a subtype that any Druid can learn without any particular resistance, you would find weather control as accessible for many more people, and serving a far more useful purpose than blowing doors open. Yes, this change makes individual blight healing a little weaker, but rewards a strong group presence. It's meant to encourage rituals, gatherings, and to reward groups of Druids for banding together to go questing. Aight, none of you guys like the sacrificing thing, I'll scratch it. Really more of a concept that I wanted feedback on than anything.

Well, Druids are the only ones on the server (besides Ascended maybe?) who can do it. Imagine a world where a necromancer dumps a bunch of taint in the town square and you just had to deal with it until the next map change. The capacity to troll would be surreal. Sure, a storm'll kill some plants. That's the nature of the beast. A powerful hurricane would uproot trees and cause massive destruction. The idea is that Druids will have to make hard decisions like that when faced with some wild situation where a hurricane would be the answer. I doubt that level of this ability would ever be used for that reason. We don't deal with life force. The taint shouldn't be allowed to spread, that would be OP as ****. Somebody could dump taint in some corner of the map, modreq every day to have it expand on its own and consume everything. No thanks. There are like 8 classes of magic that blight heal, two that shoot fire, two that see into the future, and god knows what else. I don't think it's unreasonable to allow two very similar branches of magic to have an overlapping subtype that is used in two unique ways by both groups. Shamans use their weather control primarily for combat from what I've observed, and call upon it in a way that would be totally different from ours, and with totally different behaviors and uses. This is a change that I've been considering for a few months now, and frankly I think that "cleansing weather" is by and far one of the most common sense ways to make this happen. When Druids Blight Heal, they're not controlling plants, they're directly healing them, it has nothing to do with most normal Druidic powers (controlling life to do things). There's definitely a "supernatural" element to it which, in my opinion, is portrayed much better by weather than by the green mist that seems to be very common.

More of an idea than a concrete, but if you think of Druidism in the sense of "Druids attempt to draw the Aspects' attention to something," be it a branch, root, or bird, the idea of sacrificing something rare or special in order to gain notice is something that I think is fascinating and that would see interesting RP. Thanks for the comment though, I'll see what other people think.

Blight Healing Changelog This edit is an attempt to refine blight healing roleplay (which currently has no real method or uniformity in any guide) and to incorporate more unique ideas and style into Druid RP. This change list’s primary objective is to promote ritualistic roleplay in the Druids and snuff out Mary Sue-esque glowing green mists of Xan Blight Healing will now predominantly done through weather effects. This, from undefined. In RP, the called upon weather is imbued with strong natural energies which override the taint the Druid attacks. Druids can still blight heal though direct contact with the (diseased/dying/sometimes dead) thing (using their own “natural energy”, but overall will use this new method. This change is a double edged spear, to give Druids back an ability that was once theirs, and to give it longevity and purpose. With this change, weather control is not just a frivolous tack-on, but a meaningful part of Druid RP that will be the center of most cleansing rituals. Rain, wind, even lightning and the resulting fire all have strong connections in symbolism to cleansing and renewal. It’s the perfect conduit to perform such an action, and it replaces rather out of place blight healing of the past, such as the use of green mist and glowing eyes, which overall felt out of place and out of touch when compared to the rest of Druidic magic as a whole. While I understand that Weather Stone lore has recently been submitted, I’m personally not a fan of that route because it makes the magic exclusive rather than inclusive, and allows certain Druids to horde the power. Below is an outline of the proposed power and ability of each group/tier Solo Druid: T1, T2: A gentle gust of wind clears some taint T3: The Druid can conjure a mild gust T4: Strong wind T5: Gale/drizzle Note: Strength of effect is proportional to the amount of taint cured. Disclaimer: There is room for creativity here. It doesn’t have to be rain. Healing snowstorm? Group: (tiers written are cumulative. Hence, Tier 10= two tier five Druids T8: Strong rain T10: Heavy storm. Lightning and thunder begin at this tier T15: Monsoon potential (this being only achievable with 3 maxed out Druids or a host of lesser ones.) T30: (Maybe 25?) Hurricane An excerpt from the journal of Wolf Druid Ouity In the history of the Order, many great feats become lost in the fog of time. It is up to each Attuned to remember that which we see, that our preservation of knowledge may help our kin when their own skill fails them. Many a lost art has fallen into the dreary smog of memory, but so too have many great strides been made in our understanding of our gifts. The Aspects manifest in many forms, and it would be foolish of us to claim that we have discovered all their secrets. Even in the clouds themselves, from the sun above, the Aspects’ radiance seems to bestow itself upon the world. For is it not true that from the sun comes the greatest potential for life? In the rain, does not the promise of growth come? Many Druids look at their gifts as linear and exclusively affecting that which breathe, crawl, swim, fly, and breed. I ask you brothers and sisters, does not the world itself breathe with its gusts of wind? Does it not weep for the dry fields and the thirsty creatures? Does it not lash out in anger with great, thunderous yells? There is something here greater than us all. A world too big for many Druids to comprehend, yet one that encompasses each of us in turn. Thus, if we view the world as one great creature, are not the clouds, the winds, the sky itself the domain of the Aspects? Every river, every stream, every rock on the shoreline? As Druids, it is our duty not just to observe and preserve, but also to understand that which we hold so dear, for doing so casts new light on our purpose and how we might fulfill it. -Wolf Druid Ouity Deathsbane, Heirophant Father Grove, Larueh’lin Vailor Red lines: -Druids cannot use weather as a combative effect. It takes a long, undisturbed period for a Druid to call upon the skies, and in that time it would be incredibly simple for an enemy combatant to react. -Weather CAN be used outside of explicitly healing blight, but only in incredibly rare circumstances. There’s not often a good point to changing the weather, and the effort required means that a Druid wouldn't use it unless they had to. Read: A Druid wouldn't call some wind to fly a kite or impress their friends. Further thoughts:

Otherwise those abusive assholes will manipulate the lore so they can recieve any kind of nature visions they want. they might even vary the visions based on the situation. fuckers thank you jistuma for protecting the community

The forums aren't letting me edit my post. Secondary thoughts: -The one day shift restriction, let's be honest, is a bit dumb to even include at this point when we know in practice that nobody cares and that nobody ever will. It also seems odd that a Druid can one day max out at one day as a master, and the next choose to remain shifted forever. There SHOULD be a limit to make the choice to permanently shift a heavy one, but that limit should make sense in the context that changing forever is within somebody's power. -A Druid who has learned to shapeshift has learned the in's and out's of every behavior and instinct of their animal. It stands to reason that one could very easily trick a Druid into believing they were communing with an actual animal. I skimmed the submission again and didn't see anything about it on my second pass. Was that bit edited out or did I misread it the first time? Either way, that's my thought. Agree with the rest. It can be hard to roleplay effectively as a shifted animal without being able to communicate with other people, and the result can be dissatisfying. Allowing shifters to communicate can only add depth to RP