Roleplaying a Druid(3.5)

[sambouchah]

I have played around 6 druids in the past years over various campaigns because I love nearly everything about them. Spell selection, class features, feat selection and skills. All of it. Unfortunately I feel like I've run out of ideas for roleplaying. I've done zookeepers, conservationists, various animal breeders, sage healers/buffers with a beefcake companion, and many more. I'm out of ideas at this point so I'm coming to you Playgrounders, please help ha ha.

Thanks so much, Sam:smallbiggrin:

[Palanan]

Hippie nature guy who believes in free love?

:smalltongue:

[sambouchah]

Hippie nature guy who believes in free love?

:smalltongue:

Got me attacked by a raging orc in the party once:smallfrown:

Edit: Also that's sort of me in reality so I get bored of it pretty quickly

[Palanan]

Well, hm.

Something I've always wanted to try is a druid/beguiler, possibly heading into arcane hierophant. Sort of a forest-trickster kind of fellow.

[sambouchah]

Well, hm.

Something I've always wanted to try is a druid/beguiler, possibly heading into arcane hierophant. Sort of a forest-trickster kind of fellow.

That's a really cool idea!

Something I'd like to try would be a gardener maybe but I dunno how to do that

[Palanan]

For a gardener, you can have a whole network of trees, herbs, berrying shrubs and the like which he's planted and constantly checks on throughout a large area of his home forest. He takes long walkabouts, constantly following different routes and trails to observe the progress of everything he's planted. Some of these might be individuals he transplanted to particular spots to see how they'll do; and he might also have small garden-plots, or patches of tended herbs and growth, which he has scattered all through the forest.

[hymer]

While I don't get to play nearly often enough, my two typical druid personalities are the teacher and the guardian.
The teacher is focused on the life aspect, and seeks to enlighten, hearten and nourish. Has been NG every time I've played that so far. Exerts full tier1 pressure only to save or preserve.
The guardian is stern, LN, usually very stoic but capable of tremendous outbursts of anger. He sees all things as perishing, and has little trouble helping this natural occurrence along if a terse warning fails to get the job done. Is quite happy to lay down full tier1 smack to those who defy the natural order.

Happy gaming!

[TrollCapAmerica]

That's a really cool idea!

Something I'd like to try would be a gardener maybe but I dunno how to do that

Play Bob Ross the Druid

Be the nicest friendliest most sedate Druid ever known and give everyone wise uplifting statements to help them through the day

or play the same guy as a cloud cuckoolander

or do both

[KnightOfV]

If you're tired of the hippie nature guy... go the other direction. This is always what springs to my mind when I think of a cool druid.


https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/24/Princess_Mononoke_Japanese_Poster_(Movie).jpg/220px-Princess_Mononoke_Japanese_Poster_(Movie).jpg

Be a guy (girl/elf/dwarf/whatever) that was actually raised by wolf gods or somesuch. Be animistic and taste the blood of your enemies once you kill them. Play yourself as a deadly predator first, guardian of nature second.

[nedz]

Have you done an aquatic themed Druid ?
Not necessarily oceans — he just likes those river fish, oh and eels, lots of eels.

What about a bird themed one ?
A pigeon fancier perhaps.

There's also the Urban Druid stuff.
Use the City-Soul ACF to wild shape into furniture.
There are several other urban ACFs

Melee build:
Stack the Deadly Hunter and Avenger ACF's to dump the AC and Wild shape for a Tree hugging Gish.
Be an elf and go Druid 5 / Seeker of the Misty Isle 9 / Ruather 3 / Druid +7

If it's just the spells you like: you could try a Spirit Shaman ?

[Talya]

Hippie nature guy who believes in free love?

:smalltongue:



Hahaha.

Go exalted.

I'm playing a Lesser Aasimar Fey-Druid (Charisma-based spellcasting, gain the fey type -- rich burlew homebrew. DM gave me the feat free, because he believed it should be a class variant, not a feat) with Vow of Poverty. (No, this is not to debate the effectiveness of VOP, everyone knows it's inferior, but it doesn't actually hurt druids that much.) She worships Lurue and has a Unicorn companion via Exalted Companion feat. (Natural Bond to reduce the penalty to hit dice.) She's an Eladrin-descended Fey who, prior to the campaign, was known as "The Qurth Witch" as the defender of the local Qurth Forest. She's quite a fun character... Neutral-Good, She sees sentient races and cities and settlements as just another part of nature, which, so long as they are kept in check and prevented from dominating the landscape, have just as much right to exist as the local forest. (No Eco-terrorist here.) She's naïve and nurturing and friendly, but a downright terror when you cross her.

[Darrin]

One of my favorite druid concepts was something a fellow player came up with in my first 3rd edition campaign: a vegetarian pacifist half-orc that abhorred violence... unless you threatened/damaged his beloved plants, then he went extremely medieval on you. He refused to take an animal companion largely because he'd much rather have a plant, but we didn't have rules at the time for a plant companion.

Since then, I've toyed around with two concepts:

1) Stoner/surfer dude based loosely on Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn in Fast Times at Ridgemont High) who likes to hit the magic mushrooms/dreamweed maybe a little more often than he should.

2) Somewhat related theme, but from the other end of the authoritarian regime: a 70s/80s "Maverick Cop" that rides around on a cheetah (but with stripes instead of spots, because that makes it go faster), charged with keeping the forest paths clean of poachers violating the endangered/exotic species laws and drug dealers trafficking "illegal herbs and spices". And if the perps just happen to get a little short on HPs... well, they shouldn't have resisted arrest.

I should probably add, "Together... They Fight Crime! (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheyFightCrime)" to that.

[Xelbiuj]

Go with more abstract concepts of nature. Have him/her interested in math, astrophysics, etc . . . perhaps only having an interest in the ecology of some other plane?

[Psyren]

One I didn't see you mention is a druid more concerned with abstract natural forces themselves than the organisms living in nature. For example, you could be a druid focused on the elements, or the sky/weather, or the sun/moon/stars. I always liked Druids like that, including WoW's Balance Druid and Diablo 2's Windy or Fire Druid. Pathfinder has a couple of archetypes that fit with this style as well, such as the Storm Druid and Tempest Druid.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Psyren
For example, you could be a druid focused on the elements, or the sky/weather, or the sun/moon/stars.

Well, if we're mentioning druidic elemental variants, there's the winter warden from Dragon #311, which is rather snow- and ice-themed; and the wind walker, an air-focused variant from the same issue, which gains short-term flight instead of wildshaping.


Originally Posted by Talya
Hahaha.

Ummm...in a good way? :smalleek:


Originally Posted by Talya
I'm playing a Lesser Aasimar Fey-Druid.... She worships Lurue and has a Unicorn companion via Exalted Companion feat.

Glad to see this character is still going strong. Is there a campaign journal? I'd love to see her in action.


Originally Posted by Darrin
I should probably add, "Together... They Fight Crime!" to that.

Link doesn't seem to be working.

[Deadline]

You could always take it in a completely different direction - Hedonistic Pirate.

Chaotic Neutral is a perfectly valid alignment for a Druid, you don't want to wear metal armor when on the sea, a cutlass is just a re-fluffed scimitar, and you can have a talking parrot animal companion (or at high levels, you can Unleash the Kraken!). The Sea (nature) is a cruel mistress, and all who ride her waves are ultimately at her mercy. The strong prey on the weak, and thrive.

Play him as a little mentally unhinged, with a quiet fear and reverence of the sea.

Mechanically you could pick up some rogue levels and go down the Daggerspell Shaper route.

[LibraryOgre]

Eco-terrorist is a popular one.

[CIDE]

i've always loved the idea of Tyler durden as a Druid. Whether it's a basic Druid or you also rock planar shepherd linked to the farplane for the absolute chaos. You can do it either way.

[Akal Saris]

I've always wanted to play a Steve Irwin (the crocodile guy) druid.

"Crikey! Now there's a big owlbear! Ain't he a real beaut! Now watch as I grab'm by the ears and make him hoot!"

[ArqArturo]

You could also be a stern nature warrior. A stoic and unfunny guy that may or may not be crazy, and at the sign of battle, sure he has some magic, but he also has a big stick and a mean attitude (hint: Rage).

[Grayson01]

Well there is as has been mentioned the Eco-Terroist druid. You could Be CN Distain all forms of civilizsed society and they way HUmans always rape teh lands they move to. You could even be an elf and play up their snootty manner in that regaurd.

Or go with the whole distructive aspect of Nature and reval in the pure power and awesome might of natures furry! You could PRC into Storm Lord if you are not power gaming.

Third Choice Druid who revels in death as just another cycle of the natural order. Focusing on plagues and germs as just another way nature Natrurally Sellects. You could also be all about that weeding out the weeker members of races or just the weeker races ingernal trying to make YOUR world filled with only the strongest.

[Spuddles]

That's a really cool idea!

Something I'd like to try would be a gardener maybe but I dunno how to do that

I'm playing a druid1/wizard1 gardener right now. Planning on going into Arcane Hierophant. Using Greenbound & Ashbound to summon plant monsters and gave up wildshape for a monk's armor class.

He's this ancient, dirty, white haired, bearded gentleman with shaky hands leans on his walking stick. Tall and skinny like a bean pole. Refuses to eat meat. The only meal he is ever seen taking are a few (good)berries and a small draught of cool fresh water. In combat he is surprisingly hard to hit, as if he has a 6th sense and knows exactly where his opponent will be.

The old man loves plants and reading about plants and digging in the earth. He even carries a potted plant around with him, named "herbert". He talks to Herbert and waters him. He also uses herbert as a way to break windows or test for traps.

I'm using Wild Cohort for a riding dog and gave up my animal companion for the Pathfinder Plant domain. It's special power is swift action enlarge person on myself, so I can pull a gandalf, grow to twice my height, and bellow "FOOL OF A TOOK" when I need to intimidate something small.

My familiar companion is going to be a plant, from dragon 357. My party will be oh so surprised when herbert grows into a horse sized plant monsters, as intelligent as the party's knight.

[ArqArturo]

I hadn't thought about this, but, how about a Druid in the same manner as a sort of nature bard? Have a few ranks in perform (or multiclass into bard) and start making music that imitates natureal sounds (whistling, for birds, drums for thunder, etc.), and say that the Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music.

[Talya]

Ummm...in a good way? :smalleek:

Yes. Your hippie free-love druid should also enjoy smoking pipe-weed.





Glad to see this character is still going strong. Is there a campaign journal? I'd love to see her in action.


Not exactly, although the game is PbP, and all the game threads still exist if you're really interested.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by ArqArturo
I hadn't thought about this, but, how about a Druid in the same manner as a sort of nature bard?

Which leads one to the Green Whisperer, also from Dragon #311. Apparently only a single level of bard is necessary to get the most from the PrC, and something like Perform (Wild Vocalizations) could be a lot of fun.


Originally Posted by Talya
Your hippie free-love druid should also enjoy smoking pipe-weed.

Heh.

:smallamused:



One other comment for the OP here: I don't know Bowling Green too well, but I do notice that Mammoth Cave National Park is right down the road from you. I'm guessing you're familiar with it already, but that might be your best source of inspiration.

Looking at the scale, it actually looks like a good-sized natural forest, or at least natural-ish. I assume you're a frequent visitor...but even so, try a couple new trails, go out there in the rain, and see if any ideas come wafting through the air.