Druid in Waterdeep: Dragon Heist - Why stick around?

[Merudo]

Why would a Druid stick around in the adventure Waterdeep: Dragon Heist?

Seems to me a Druid would rather live in nature instead of a sprawling metropolis. So owning & staying at Trollskull Alley Tavern is not really attractive to the Druid.

[Ganymede]

Seems to me a Druid would rather live in nature instead of a sprawling metropolis. So owning & staying at Trollskull Alley Tavern is not really attractive to the Druid.

That is literally just you deciding that this is true when you could simply decide otherwise.

There are an infinite number of druid PCs out there, and each one has different personality traits, motivations, and quirks.

"Loves nature, but is also a low-key alcoholic."

"Spends his time communing with the wooden planks making up the tavern."

"Wants to spend more quality time with his friends."

"Is tired of being hassled by guild members every time he tries to enter the city."

"Thinks her neighbors are interesting."

I pulled those from thin air with little thought at all, and I made five. I am 100% positive you can come up with one lone justification for why a druid might stay at the tavern.

[Tanarii]

Trying to save the city's stray dog and cat population from a future in the cut-throat sausage-ina-bun cart business by running a low cost vegetarian alternative.

[ProsecutorGodot]

There's a collection of druids under the Emerald Enclave in Waterdeep and there's also a rather well kept park that you can get regular access to as a member.

[Sigreid]

A city is nature too, just the humanoid equivalent of a termite colony.

[Unoriginal]

That is literally just you deciding that this is true when you could simply decide otherwise.


Indeed.

As said above, the Emerald Enclave has a rather notable presence in Waterdeep, and there's nature everywhere.

Hell, just taking care of the underwater environment in the bay would be a grand occupation for a Druid.

[EggKookoo]

Are you asking in the context of the druid player trying to come up with your own motivation? Or as the DM trying to come up with things to keep your druid player interested?

[Merudo]

There's a collection of druids under the Emerald Enclave in Waterdeep and there's also a rather well kept park that you can get regular access to as a member.

Nice! I didn't know that.

Which park are you referring to? Is it the City of the Dead? That's sounds more like a cemetery than a park.

[Unoriginal]

Aren't you DMing Dragon Heist?

[ProsecutorGodot]

Nice! I didn't know that.

Which park are you referring to? Is it the City of the Dead? That's sounds more like a cemetery than a park.

Forgive me if I'm misremembering but aren't you DMing this campaign? Shouldn't you be able to search for these answers on your own?

I'm also fairly sure that the first chapter of Dragon Heist (where the faction information is located) was made public as part of the teasers leading up to its release. Yes it is the City of the Dead also.

[Unoriginal]

I'm also fairly sure that the first chapter of Dragon Heist (where the faction information is located) was made public as part of the teasers leading up to its release. Yes it is the City of the Dead also.

There are plenty of parks in Waterdeep, including a few famous ones in the upper class area.

[Theodoxus]

Because he followed his twin culinary artist bard brother to Waterdeep and was convinced to join Force Grey as a condition that his brother would be hired on as the personal chef for one of the hidden lords? Seemed to work out ok for my twin investigator druid brother. A brother's love should be unconditional :smallbiggrin:

[CosmicOccurence]

It's amazing how often This Article (http://www.giantitp.com/articles/tll307KmEm4H9k6efFP.html) written by The Giant himself is relevant. Specifically the bit under 'decide to react differently'. While widely applicable to roleplaying in general, it directly addresses the Druid question.

[AchuakScale]

I had a player who's druid was in the city to investigate the plague of lycanthropy infecting the city's underworld.

[Temperjoke]

Aside from the specifics, this really falls under the question, "Why should my character do this thing that is required by the campaign's story?"

And I feel the answer to this is, "Why would you make a character that wouldn't want to be involved in this campaign's story?"

As to the specifics in the thread, if the campaign is taking place in a large metropolis of the particular setting, why have a character that doesn't want to be in the city? And even then, maybe he/she doesn't want to be there, but some other obligation or duty is requiring them to put up with it for now? Perhaps they're trying to earn patronage for a personal project from the wealthy members of the city and have been caught up in the story?

[Lunali]

Aside from the specifics, this really falls under the question, "Why should my character do this thing that is required by the campaign's story?"

And I feel the answer to this is, "Why would you make a character that wouldn't want to be involved in this campaign's story?"

As a rule, because the DM didn't share the campaign's story before having people make characters.

[Temperjoke]

As a rule, because the DM didn't share the campaign's story before having people make characters.

Then the fault lies with the DM not having a proper discussion about what the campaign was going to be about. I don't mean sharing the entire story, but a "hey, this campaign is going to be set almost entirely within the city of Waterdeep, so you should plan your characters appropriately" is a given. And if the DM doesn't volunteer that sort of setting tidbit, the players should realize that they might want to ask about it.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not accusing anyone of being deliberately obstructive or trying to cause problems, but it's a communications gap. Knowing what type of campaign it's going to be is an important piece of knowledge to share.

[EggKookoo]

As a rule, because the DM didn't share the campaign's story before having people make characters.

This is key. I'm planning a DH game and one of my players wants to play a druid. I've have conversations with her about what it means to have a druid in a primarily urban setting.

[Merudo]

Aside from the specifics, this really falls under the question, "Why should my character do this thing that is required by the campaign's story?"

And I feel the answer to this is, "Why would you make a character that wouldn't want to be involved in this campaign's story?"


Said player has a character in mind they really want to play, so the player is trying to find a reason for said character to stay in the city.

The Emerald Enclave in Waterdeep is exactly what she is looking for, although the description of the faction in the module is a bit bare bone.

[OracularPoet]

Hell, just taking care of the underwater environment in the bay would be a grand occupation for a Druid.

That is a great idea and inspired an expansion of that idea on my part. Imagine a druid becoming obsessed with the city’s sewage system, wanting to make it efficient and clean so as not to poison the surrounding ecology. This works for getting them exposed to the Undermountain, as well. They basically come to Waterdeep for factional reasons but then stick around as a hipster vegan sustainable living advocate.

[Vogie]

That is a great idea and inspired an expansion of that idea on my part. Imagine a druid becoming obsessed with the city’s sewage system, wanting to make it efficient and clean so as not to poison the surrounding ecology. This works for getting them exposed to the Undermountain, as well. They basically come to Waterdeep for factional reasons but then stick around as a hipster vegan sustainable living advocate.

That's the Golgari. You've just perfectly described the Golgari.

If your playgroup hasn't already picked up Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica, you really should. There's a very strong reason that they released GGtR, which is a plane completely covered by a city, so close to W:DH.

[apepi]

A vegetarian can not be a vegetarian if they don't have someone to tell them about it?
/s