What should be learn in some druid camp.

[jhonny]

I'd like to create a story about a druid training camp.
it's going to be in an ancient forest,
so deep that no one dares to penetrate.
next to a millenary tree, there is an open circular space
and there old beings meet in the moonlight.
The time is finally arrived,
the new generation of druids must be created.

So can you all give me some help
what should be teach for starters ( the disciplines taught to create a foundation?);

[FelineArchmage]

Teach them the language of the druids (druidic)
To respect nature

[LibraryOgre]

This somewhat depends on edition, but...

Druid Language... and other sylvan languages, as 7th level druids will start picking those up.

Druids are able, in AD&D, to identify all plants, all animals, and fresh water.

Ways over moving through underbrush.

Etiquette for Treants.

Weapon skills.

Practical shapeshifting (including, perhaps, some exotic shapes... "Here's Rhodri, who just spent six months in Chult, to tell us all about dinosaurs; we'll learn about a different dinosaur each day.")

[FreddyNoNose]

I'd like to create a story about a druid training camp.
it's going to be in an ancient forest,
so deep that no one dares to penetrate.
next to a millenary tree, there is an open circular space
and there old beings meet in the moonlight.
The time is finally arrived,
the new generation of druids must be created.

So can you all give me some help
what should be teach for starters ( the disciplines taught to create a foundation?);

Well I think it should be like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwm5UcGJ5wY

[Calthropstu]

Nature is precious and must be protected. While all creatures are part of nature, civilized society does not respect it.

The laws of nature is what they would focus on. Herbology, how to talk with animals, how to calm them and stop them from attacking, when to defend humans and when to attack them would be prominent in their teachings.

Idioms such as "saving the rabbit from the fox dooms the fox" would feature prominently as well. All creatures have a right to life, and a right to take life. Survival demands sacrifice.

[Kaibis]

Isn't Druidcraft the obvious answer?
Plus long boring lectures on the limitations of their abilities.
As well as a good smattering of hippy circles, where they all hold hands and talk about feelings (but like, the feelings of trees and plants and animals that are around them).

[erikun]

The most obvious (and practical) thing that would be taught at a Druid camp would be what a character would learn as a 1st level Druid: Druidic language, Druid lore, weapon proficiency, armor proficiency, nature knowledge and other Druid-related skills, basic Druid spellcasting, and how to obtain/communicate with an animal companion. They wouldn't necessarily be taught in a specific order - basic herbalism skills and weapon training would probably be first, while spellcasting and Druidic would probably be later once a disciple's devoting to becoming a Druid is confirmed - but that range of topics should certainly be taught just to give basic 1st level Druids the sensible skills they would have access to.

It would also teach general Druid philosophy. Sure, Druids are a diverse group and you can have different Druids with wildly different opinions on what is "correct". Certainly, what an apprentice learns is going to depend on the philosophy of their teacher and what they'd want to teach. But some fairly common basics, like self-sufficiency and the importance of nature and so on, are going to be covered by pretty much everyone. I'd suspect that Druidism would involve an actual apprenticeship, where a learned Druid takes them under a wing to teach them as opposed to "Druid school classes" for teaching, but that isn't mandatory. It's also possible, especially in a large Druid gathering, that a fledgling Druid could be in apprenticeship under several different masters for different topics, such as one for herbalism and medicine, one for lore, one for survival and combat, etc. (Druids are typically considered "loners" who meet up during large gatherings, so apprenticeship would probably be likely if they did decide to establish a locale where people can gather and stay.)

I'd also expect some testing, missions, quests, etc. to be going on in the Druid camp. After all, if it is training Druids, then it will want the fledgling Druid to display understanding of their teachings before imparting the next bit of knowledge on them. So it may involve something like leaving the camp to find an injured predator and treating its wounds before showing them how to summon their own animal companion - a Druid would need to show they can communicate well with an animal, care for an animal, and keep themselves and their charge safe before they will be taught how to encourage an animal to go with them into dangerous situations.

[MeimuHakurei]

I would like to ask a few questions that are tangentially related to the camp:

1. Are the PCs even allowed to visit it? If so, why? Were they invited by a druid? Are they all druids themselves? Keep in mind that druidic (mentioned several times) is a secret language and just attempting to teach it to outsiders takes your druid powers away.

2. Is there a need for a large-scale camp? Druids are largely doing their own thing, so tutoring is most likely going to be one apprentice being taught the way of nature by a single druid.

3. What system are you playing in? There's some slight nuance in druidic traits and abilities depending on where you run the game. Pathfinder Druids select between domains and an animal companion, D&D 3.5 only lets you take the latter, 5e doesn't have animal companions and the Circle of the Land is the closest you get to domain spells. While it takes a good amount of time to learn in all those, Level 1 Druids in 4e can already Wildshape at level 1, where it doesn't even have any timed restrictions. There's other nuances to note, but yeah, the game system does matter quite a bit.

[Nifft]

"This one time? At Druid camp?"


1 - The reality of Druidic worship, which probably depends on the setting. In some editions of Greyhawk, that'd be a vaguely Flannish syncretic pantheon around Beory, but with accommodation for a bunch of other portfolios, and the specifics might vary by region.

2 - This is what life is like outside your civilization. It's possible for people to live without civilization, under their own power, in nature. The dangers and smells are different, but not necessarily worse.

3 - Respect for the power of nature. Nature doesn't need your sympathy, nor your help. Rather the reverse: you need the power of nature to be on your side. To get that power, try this one weird trick invented by a tree. (Aberrations hate him!)

[Kaptin Keen]

In my mind, there are two types of druids:

The White Druids - wise old men who love all things in nature, know herbal lore and heal the wounds of small critters

and

The Grey Druids - gnarly, barely sane bastards who revel in the uncaring ferociousness of nature, who rant about the survival of the fittest, and generally couldn't care less whether you live or die ... it's all part of nature, regardless

See, only one of these would create a sort of druid college. And I only really enjoy the other type. The type whose idea an important life lesson is to toss their 8 year old into a wolf pit.

[Cespenar]

You could go several ways:

1) Go all ancient and awe-inspiring. There can be actual fey wandering around, the teachings are more hands-on, trippy, experience based, etc.

2) It could be like an isolated observatory or a campus-like thing, where some old men are teaching and researching natural (and unnatural) sciences without the peeking eye of the public.

3) It could be more like a meeting place for learned people. They go there often to discuss, or share ideas and spells and information, and newcomers often just sit by and listen.

[Bohandas]

Hippie stuff.

[FreddyNoNose]

"This one time? At Druid camp?"


1 - The reality of Druidic worship, which probably depends on the setting. In some editions of Greyhawk, that'd be a vaguely Flannish syncretic pantheon around Beory, but with accommodation for a bunch of other portfolios, and the specifics might vary by region.

2 - This is what life is like outside your civilization. It's possible for people to live without civilization, under their own power, in nature. The dangers and smells are different, but not necessarily worse.

3 - Respect for the power of nature. Nature doesn't need your sympathy, nor your help. Rather the reverse: you need the power of nature to be on your side. To get that power, try this one weird trick invented by a tree. (Aberrations hate him!)

Nifft, what happens in druid camp, stays in druid camp.

[jhonny]

The most obvious (and practical) thing that would be taught at a Druid camp would be what a character would learn as a 1st level Druid: Druidic language, Druid lore, weapon proficiency, armor proficiency, nature knowledge and other Druid-related skills, basic Druid spellcasting, and how to obtain/communicate with an animal companion. They wouldn't necessarily be taught in a specific order - basic herbalism skills and weapon training would probably be first, while spellcasting and Druidic would probably be later once a disciple's devoting to becoming a Druid is confirmed - but that range of topics should certainly be taught just to give basic 1st level Druids the sensible skills they would have access to.

It would also teach general Druid philosophy. Sure, Druids are a diverse group and you can have different Druids with wildly different opinions on what is "correct". Certainly, what an apprentice learns is going to depend on the philosophy of their teacher and what they'd want to teach. But some fairly common basics, like self-sufficiency and the importance of nature and so on, are going to be covered by pretty much everyone. I'd suspect that Druidism would involve an actual apprenticeship, where a learned Druid takes them under a wing to teach them as opposed to "Druid school classes" for teaching, but that isn't mandatory. It's also possible, especially in a large Druid gathering, that a fledgling Druid could be in apprenticeship under several different masters for different topics, such as one for herbalism and medicine, one for lore, one for survival and combat, etc. (Druids are typically considered "loners" who meet up during large gatherings, so apprenticeship would probably be likely if they did decide to establish a locale where people can gather and stay.)

I'd also expect some testing, missions, quests, etc. to be going on in the Druid camp. After all, if it is training Druids, then it will want the fledgling Druid to display understanding of their teachings before imparting the next bit of knowledge on them. So it may involve something like leaving the camp to find an injured predator and treating its wounds before showing them how to summon their own animal companion - a Druid would need to show they can communicate well with an animal, care for an animal, and keep themselves and their charge safe before they will be taught how to encourage an animal to go with them into dangerous situations.



I really appreciated some ideas and I think I can make good use of them.
I also think that even if some of them do not become druids and so do not learn druidic, maybe it would be interesting to learn Sylvan.
Also they Should learn nature bond and sense, wild empathy, track, trackless step, druid armor and weapon affinity/proficiency, Natural attacks (bite, claw, punch, kick, headbutt,...), SURVIVAL.
I also liked a lot the idea of a white and grey druid of Kaptin keen, but surelly not more than two grey druids or our aprentices will end all dying. The white ones should teach basic knowledges and the grey ones shoul put than to practice.

But I got some question, should they learn animal companion in apprentice training? should they grasp some knowledge of animal form (just the nose for ex.)?
Any other good ideas?

[erikun]

But I got some question, should they learn animal companion in apprentice training? should they grasp some knowledge of animal form (just the nose for ex.)?
Any other good ideas?
Depending on your game system, 1st level Druids wouldn't even be able to shapeshift and so teaching them how to use nose, claws, etc. might not be possible. Perhaps for the higher level Druids, if training could extend that long - that would probably be a "Journeyman" level of skill, likely one that would involve leaving the camp and returning once they've learned more.

If animal companions are 1st level skills and the whole point of the camp is to train 1st level Druids, then yes. It may not be something specifically taught in a "class" like normal, but they should be groomed with the expectation that they would gain an animal companion, and be informed in how to perform the procedure. Actually gaining an animal companion would probably be a personal thing that the Druid would need to accomplish on their own, though. Druid camp certainly would not be handing out "animal companion wolves" for everybody participating, for example.


As for other ideas, it's entirely possible that an established Druid camp would be in communication with some Sylvan creatures, so the young Druids might have encounters or be forced to learn from a Treant, Dryad, or something else which might be staying there. It's also possible that Druids would want to expose people attending the camp to some aspects of their neutral philosophy, and so subject them to some intentionally good/evil/lawful/chaotic events to hammer home the point that nature doesn't follow a morality and that they don't, as a result. Nothing at pointlessly cruel as giving them a puppy and then stepping on it, but something like taking them to a bunny burrow after it's been killed by weasels, to show that nature isn't all sunflowers and raindrops, or putting the potential Druid in charge of an ant colony (or something similar) where they'd need to watch the animals in their care both live, prosper, and even die just to keep the whole thing working properly.

Good intentions improperly applied can be as much of a problem to Druid philosohpy as callous destructive intentions.