Katherine1

Thanks, I have most of a large chest to copy into the external version of the Druid Library. This will make things go /so/ much faster.

I explained my reasoning in the Lore Revision, but at this point it's really nothing but book keeping.

http://www.lordofthecraft.net/topic/109264-lore-revisionthe-dryads/ Look this over if you want to RP a dryad, I'm discontinuing apps :)

For a tl;dr changelog, here's what I did with the existing lore: -I removed language that restricted their socialness. This was the biggest complaint about them when I asked awhile back. -I unbound personalities and tree types. This allows a lot more freedom in character creation. -I eliminated the application. It was a simple bit of record keeping, but at this point, it's really unnecessary. -I changed dryad appearance. Their old appearance was recolored elves. Now they're much more plant-like, giving them a unique look.

The removal was because personality and tree types are no longer linked, so now you can pick whatever tree you want and not worry about it being on a list. I could give an example list of trees, though. Example list made of up the trees from the old list is added.

A Dryad is a female Wood Elf who has developed a physical and mental bond with a tree by undergoing a process known as "The Blossoming". All female Wood Elves feel the call of Dryad-ism sometime in their life. It may be early on, before puberty, or it may be very late in their lives. They can choose to accept this call or ignore it till the urge fades away. After their transfiguration, the now-Dryad is still a lot like their former Wood Elf self, at least mentally. They retain their former personality but now they feel much more relaxed. Time loses its relevance. Seasons come and go, kingdoms rise and fall all around them. Nothing truly matters except that they are in the presence of the tree and they are in the midst of nature. Dryads also undergo a physical change, becoming more plant-like. Their skin color could lighten or darken. Their hair color is also subject to change, as well as their eyes. Normally, this all depends on which type of tree they end up bonding too. Dryads of the same tree type will look similar. A Wood Elf's personality determines which type of tree they end up feeling a bond towards. The origin of Dryads is a mystery. Some argue that Dryads have always existed, that their population rises and falls in rhythm with some unknown schedule. Others argue that Dryads only came about since our stay in the lands of Asulon. Both are true, in a sense. Dryads have always existed, even since Malin's time. It is also true that their population booms every now-and-again. For hundreds of years they might only be one Dryad alone in an entire forest, singing away in the boughs of her tree. A year later, there might be a hundred more spread throughout the lands. Regardless of that odd cycle, all female Wood Elves will hear the call and feel the urge during her lifetime. It is a natural part of growing up and life. When a Wood Elf feels the urge or call of Dryad-ism, she feels the need to abandon her current life and just leave. To leave the bustling mortal world. To leave behind the wars and politics. To be free of all worries. Some choose to ignore this. After a time, the urge begins to fade away and finally, disappear. But be warned, any Elf that ignores this call will forever pass up her chance to become a Dryad. If they listen to the call, if they fan that burning flame of adventure, their search begins. Generally, the Elf will know in what direction they are searching in. It might be in the direction the sun sets, or where the birds fly when the cold weather sets in. The budding Dryad instincts guide her to her tree. The journey might be long, it might take weeks, months, years. Or, it might be as simple as the forest outside her city. Once the Dryad has found her tree, and she will know when that happens, something magical happens. It is akin the what some would call 'love at first sight'. The Elf will stare at her tree for a time, totally transfixed. She may talk to it, hug it, set up a camp near it and sleep by it. It takes two full months of time before the Elf's Blossoming is complete. During that time, she might feel overly ecstatic. Or possibly overly aggressive and protective of her tree, picking a fight with any who draw near. Possibly even at total peace for once in her life. These feelings will last the entire duration of her Blossoming and even into her time as a Dryad. During the second month, the Elf will change physically. She will become far more plant-like, her skin taking on a far more stem-like or bark-like texture and appearance akin to the type of tree the dryad bonds with, and her hair becoming far more leaf like. If the Dryad leaves her tree at any time during the Blossoming, the overload of emotions will cease and will be replaced by that of intense nausea. If she persists through the side effect of nausea and ignores the budding bond, she will remain a Wood Elf and will pass up her chance of becoming a Dryad. Some say that the tree chooses the Elf. Others, that the tree and elf were born for each other; that since the elf was a toddler and the tree a sapling, they have been waiting for each other, to finally meet and become one. The bond between a Dryad and her tree runs deep. They become entwined, almost one entity. The tree becomes her closest friend, her lover even. The Dryad might feel the roots within the dirt beneath her feet. She might feel the air passing through the branches above her, rustling the leaves. She would also feel the chop of an axe in her tree's trunk or feel the burning sensation of flames washing over the tree. This bond persists till the Elf dies, and sometimes, the tree. If the Elf dies, the tree will soon follow. If the tree dies, the Elf will not die but will suffer deeply. She will be stricken with grief, or her mind might break in a way that she truly never recovers. She might suffer a deep depression till the end of her days or she might take her own life. There exists a way to save the tree in most circumstances though, and that is through something known as the "Amber Seed". [Read below.] The Elf feels naturally at home when she is near her tree. She may choose to sleep in its boughs or maybe in a hole close to the roots. The Elf must come back to sleep with their tree on a regular basis. If they don’t, they will begin to suffer symptoms of sleep deprivation no matter how long they sleep, and will eventually die. An Elf can travel as far as she wants from her tree, though the farther away she is, the worse her sleep is and the more she’ll worry about her tree. A Dryad feels no yearning to reproduce or to wed. Her concern for her tree takes over any desire for a partner or child. When a tree that is bonded to a Dryad dies, it leave behind something known as an Amber Seed. It is roughly the size of a fist and weighs roughly that of a fist-sized stone. This seed is the very essence of the tree and, being such, the Dryad feels her bond connected to it. She must still sleep within a close distance of the seed or she will feel exhausted and eventually die. This seed, once planted, will sprout a sapling that grows at a magical rate. What once took a hundred years to grow will take only a few months. This tree will be an exact replica from before and the bond will persist through the tree's "death". The seed must be planted within a year of the tree's death. If it is not, it will harden into a grey-black object then break and blow away as dust in the wind. A tree can only go through this process of death-and-rebirth once. (Unless we are changing maps. That’s a freebie.) A tree can only re-grow in a fitting biome. (To prevent... say a Palm tree in a chain of freezing mountains.) During her time as a Dryad, some circumstances might make the Dryad consider returning back to an ordinary Wood Elf. It might be that the tree has become sick and it would kill them both should she not cut the bond. Or possibly it is that her Wood Elf family misses her dearly and visits every day, begging her to return home. There is no process. The Elf must simply cut the bond though It is extremely painful, both mentally and physically. It will take at least a month of time before the bond is fully cut, all the while the Elf suffers, though she can stop at any moment. Once the bond has been cut, the tree will die and produce an Amber Seed. The bond will be cut so the Elf does not need to carry the seed around with her, but if she plants it, the tree will grow and the bond will resume. After a year's time, the seed will turn to ash and blow away in the wind. The Elf will feel a faint ache of sadness or a feeling of melancholy for the rest of her life, assuming she did not replant the seed and resume her bond. A bonzai dryad is what occurs when a child becomes a dryad. The child bonds to a sapling, rather than a fully grown tree. If the dryad prunes her tree’s roots regularly so that it becomes a bonzai, she’ll retain her childlike appearance forever. If she allows her tree to grow, she will grow and develop into an adult dryad. Dryadic Instincts: Upon completing her blossoming, a Dryad will instinctively know and understand most things relating to her and her tree's survival. - A Dryad will always be able to find her way back to her tree, regardless of where she is. - A Dryad knows that she can only rest well with her tree, and will eventually die if she stays away too long. - A Dryad will be able to tell whether someone is a Dryad or not just by looking at them. - A Dryad will also be able to tell whether or not a tree is bonded to another Dryad. - A Dryad will know how to cut the bond between her and her tree, and she will also understand what the amber seed is and how to use it. Dryadic Quirks: Upon completing her blossoming, a Dryad will have a few new habits. - A Dryad will generally address a fellow Dryad as 'sister'. - A Dryad will continue eating whatever they ate as a Wood Elf. They won't feel an urge to change their diet, though they may not need as much food and require more water. - A Dryad will still retain all magic prowess they had as a Wood Elf, though they probably won't feel the urge or need to use it often (or ever). - A Dryad will also retain all combat prowess they had as a Wood Elf, though they probably won't feel the urge or need to use it often (or ever). - A Dryad can wear whatever she pleases. Generally, they will feel inclined to wear leaves from their tree. They might also sew a dress or outfit that mirrors the colors of their tree. Dryads come in as many varieties as there are trees. A dryad’s appearance typically goes hand in hand with the type of tree they are bonded to. She will appear similar to her tree, and follow the same seasonal patterns as her tree. If her tree changes colors in the fall, her leaves will change colors as well. If her tree loses it’s leaves in the winter, she will too, leaving her with a sticky mane. If her tree appears the same year round, she will also appear the same year round. A dryad can be bound to any type of tree. These are just examples. Orange Dryads Tree: http://i.imgur.com/j4xB0sp.png Ash Dryads Tree: http://i.imgur.com/ZUia9Av.png Maple Dryads Tree: - Apple Dryads Tree: http://i.imgur.com/Bs7D091.png Palm Dryads Tree: http://i.imgur.com/2SoEY7Q.png Pine, Fir, and other Conifer Dryads Tree: Spruce Trees Birch Dryads Tree: Birch Trees Oak Dryads Tree: Oak Trees Sequoia Dryads Tree: http://i.imgur.com/qUaA9O2.jpg Willow Dryads Tree: http://i.imgur.com/1wjyW8q.png Mangrove Dryads Tree: http://i.imgur.com/1wjyW8q.png Cherry Dryads Tree: http://i.imgur.com/3IVxtj2.png Cedar Dryads Tree: http://i.imgur.com/HNNVD8k.png Jungle Dryads Tree: Jungle Trees Chestnut Dryads Tree: http://i.imgur.com/iNxdVjC.png While skinning your Dryad, keep a few things in mind: 1. Think of your tree. What does it look like? Does it change appearances through the seasons? What kind of texture is it’s bark? 2. Eye color is for you to decide upon. Just don't do anything TOO wacky like pure red eyes if your tree is predominantly green. 3. Hair length if for you to decide upon. Colors should stay within what makes sense for your tree. Most Dryads feel the urge to adopt a new name to go along with their new identity. This naming process does not follow any known Elven naming convention and instead, is thought to be something instinctual. Please use google translate (http://translate.google.com/ ) English to Greek for your Dryad's name - use something fitting, on phonetic setting. For example, Paizon, a very playful Dryad, translates to 'play'. I had a Maple Dryad named Kollodis, which means 'sticky'. (Think 'maple syrup.') Your name in-game will be <Tree> Dryad <Name>. For example, Ash Dryad Paizon or Maple Dryad Kollodis. Guide to naming your Dryad: 1. Go to http://translate.google.com 2. Select From:English and To:Greek 3. Type in the English word in the first box. You will receive a Greek word in the second box. Example: Dance -> Χορός. 4. Click the "A with two dots" symbol, the 'read phonetically' button. 5. Your Greek alphabet word will now be in English alphabet. Dance -> Χορός -> Chorós Q: Why is the dryad lore being changed? Wasn’t the Anthos Lore fine? A: Dryads are very rare on the server, and it’s not due to any sort of exclusivity. They were not very social, which made them difficult to RP on top of the application. Additionally, I wanted to do something about the common perception that dryads are elves with a tree fetish. To do this, I wanted to give them a more unique appearance, so I enhanced the physical change that already occurred previously. Q: Are Dryads affiliated with Frost Witches in any way? A: Nope, they are completely unrelated. Q: Can Dryads "mate" with their tree? A: Yes, but not in any way different than any other sentient being. And no, they cannot produce tree/elf offspring. Q: Can Half-Elves become Dryads. A: Nope. Q: Do Dryads get any special powers? A: Nope. Q: Can Dryads fight/use magic? A: Yep, but I don't think most would find the need to unless it was to defend themselves or their tree. Q: Can Dryads be evil? A: Yes, yes, yes! Just because an Elf has become a Dryad does not mean they are suddenly pure of heart. A sadistic Elf would still be sadistic and their choice of tree might also reflect that. (Possibly a dying tree, or one affected by dark magic? Who knows!) Q: Can a Dryad continue to live her old life? That is, go to work, visit friends, etc. A: They can to a degree. One of the big changes I made was to remove the lore that made dryads unsociable. They are still bound to their tree and have to return regularly because it's their highest priority. That’s what they are, but they can and should range out to nearby RP hubs. Finding people to RP with is essential for RP. Q: When a Dryad returns to being a Wood Elf, does she? A: Like the previous version, they will retain their dryad appearance. Q: I still don't understand this whole bond between tree and Elf thing. Can you describe it in another way? A: If you've ever read 'Eragon', think the bond between a dragon and its rider. Another way to think about it is like a druid, except the only nature connection is to that one tree, and it is as deep of a connection as it can possibly be, only without any of the other druid abilities. Q: Why only female Wood Elves? A: Back when the lore was created, it was the only thing wood elves had going for them, as they had no lore. Now I am retaining that restriction because it has always been a wood elven thing, and like the old lore, it is a callback to the original greek myths. Dryads were female tree spirits, so here they remain female. Q: What "requires" the use of a seed? A: Map transitions are a freebie. Since you only get one seed, I want you to use it to create roleplay or character advancement. Not just do it all willy-nilly. If someone rolls through and cuts down 30 trees just for firewood, and your tree happens to be apart of those cut down, then that's another freebie. Again, I want it to be used in roleplay situations, not if someone wanted wood or the map changes. Q: Could a Dryad mate with any of the races and produce offspring? A: Yes. The offspring would be Wood Elf x Whatever. The Dryad would view the whole... "mating process" as rape though. They desire no children nor have any yearning for a "mortal relationship". Q: What’s with Bonzai Dryads? A: I talked to Ever about them. Under the old lore, while it wasn’t explicitly mentioned, Bonzai dryads were not supposed to age physically. I decided to address this explicitly in the update and give a choice. If the dryad stunts the growth of the sapling so that it develops into a bonzai, they will physically remain young, if they let it grow, they will grow. I hope this clears up the nature of bonzai dryads once and for all. Q: Where did all the other dryad types go? A: Nowhere. I’ve removed the ties between certain trees and personality traits, and put the trust in the player to make a skin that reflects their tree. Without color or personality guidelines, there is no reason to list out a hundred and one different dryad types. Pick the tree you want, either find, build, or ask for help building a tree for your character, get a matching skin, and go. Q: Do I need to fill out an application? A: Yes, you need to fill out a creature application in the magic application section found here: Link -No ftb. With no sexual desire, you're either breaking lore, or it's rape which violates server rules. Either way, don't do it. -A dryad does not innately hold a connection to anything other than her tree. -The tree is always their top priority. They may have other priorities as well, but the tree always wins out as the most important thing in the world for them. -A dryad needs to at least visit her tree every so often or she will die. Thanks from Ever: Brian/xmrsmoothx: Stop saying this is better than what you came up with dammit I hate you. If it wasn't for you planting that figurative seed (seed, get it, because trees and dryads) then none of this would be happening. also that whole "you ruined it!" thing you do helped in a way. I dunno. don't ever change kiddo. The original dryads: You guys know who you are. I had a lot of fun in Asulon for what little time we roleplayed together. It was good stuff. The people who kept bugging me: You guys also know who you are. And don't take bugging as a bad thing, because if it wasn't for you guys who kept asking questions every now and again, I dunno if this would have ever gotten completed. Shoi: For speeding things along, thanks! Thanks from Katherine: Ever: Thank you for writing the Anthos dryad lore and giving me stewardship of them. I can only hope that these changes allow them to flourish.

Oh no! I knew we forgot something!

How can you RP something properly that has no posted lore? Here's the thing. You're wielding a copycat magic of something that is otherwise guildlocked. You should expect some amount of irritation from the guild you're copying. They probably see you as imposters IC and copycats OOC. Is there a solution? Well, they said they've taken in creator clerics before. They are probably much happier to be taking creator clerics in then having them run around diluting cleric RP. As I see it, this particular lore is trying to do two things: 1. throw away some of what little differences exist between the order clerics and creator clerics to become more like the order clerics, and 2. establish an order for this group that is already is trying to act more like order clerics. Stop. Just join the Clerics. Your character's faith and the Order's are incompatible? Have your creator cleric powers start to fail. Have a crisis of faith. There are ways to work your path so that it leads to the clerics.

Could you quote the lore that says this? For a long time the druids had a thing where you automatically lost your attunement if you practiced void magic. We were told by the lore admin that we couldn't do it this way anymore because the current aengudaemon lore says that they cannot revoke their gifts once given, which means that once you have deity magic, you very much can go and learn void magic while you're at it. The followers of that deity will probably hunt you down and strip you of your deity-based powers, but you can technically do it. And on the actual topic, I really don't see the point of this lore. At it's core, Creator Clerics seem like copycat magic to get around the restrictions of the original cleric magic. I generally am against copycat magic. This doesn't seem to do much to differentiate themselves from other sorts of clerics, and it's trying to guild lock itself? So why do we need two clerical orders? If you want a cleric guild, one exists. You're harming yourself and the original cleric order by doing this in nearly the same way that the druids are hurt every time they split into multiple groups.

(( I would have to defer to one of the older druids on that for a more exact answer, but to a light degree yes. Druids do feel the life all around them, and can 'hear' it, more or less. Though, I think you're asking about a bit more in depth of a connection, and a druid can establish a very deep connection with something if they try and are skilled enough. How many things could they be deeply connected to at once? I'm not sure. People aren't good multitaskers, and the druidic connection to nature inherently predisposes the druid to having their mind wander. ))