I still think a druid community would be beneficial. I wouldn't call ourselves druids though, something more Elyrian when the time comes. Some people could make the argument that the Faedin religion = being a druid but I think it's a little different.

I don't think the Faedin religion will have a church necessarily. Maybe nature is your church? I definitely see the Vitori having a church. I think it might be like shrines in the wilderness type of deal, surrounded by your faith. Church in the middle of a city for Faedin believers....? Kinda stupid to me.

So depending on how the churches function, I think druids might end up being a branch of Faedinism, and those druids would play a more active role in influencing the world around them. Travelling from different towns like Gandalf, bringing stories, wonder, education, and nature's bounty. Travelling shepherds with their herds, animal trainers, botanists, all the people who want to strengthen spirit around them instead of take it away.

Imagine a sage or druid coming to your town taking people on nature hikes, guiding them through forests for safe passage, protecting endangered animals that hunters are getting too greedy over. I imagine druids not even staying in taverns and preferring a hammock in a tree or a tent in the woods. Watching from afar, one with nature, keeping mann at bay.

I'm down for a name change specifically for Elyria, though Druid just referred to the elders of the Celtic religion or a priest. We could still technically be Druids of the Faedin. Assuming there are no faeries I'm also okay with being called the Fae Folk, the name doesn't matter too much to me.

I agree with your vision of what role the Druids would play in and around towns, though. A mix of wildlife survival (Ranger) and religious mysticism (Priest). Being able to learn a biome's flora and fauna well enough to predict growing seasons and locations, feeding grounds, and migration patterns would be great. It would make for some good map making and responsible land survey (better to place a new village where there is water but won't interrupt hunting). Plus, it's always good to have a Druid around when searching for caves and lairs to explore.

EDIT: It's the act of sharing this information across continents (and eventually oceans) that makes me think a unified group would be nice. So you can know of other biomes before travelling there.

Throw in a bit of astronomy/astrology to make yourself even more desirable. People will turn to you for knowledge of when to give birth to their heirs.

Posted By 1mmaculateDeception at 06:38 AM - Thu Aug 30 2018

Throw in a bit of astronomy/astrology to make yourself even more desirable. People will turn to you for knowledge of when to give birth to their heirs.

If that is the only divination by nature, then yes I'm all for it!

Nice topic everyone, shame its not on my server

Divination would certainly fit in both the Druid mindset and the Faedin religion in lore (especially seen in the recent lore post).

Personally, the Festival of Passage story gave a lot of inspiration for a more lore master/religious figure for the Faedin. Knowing the tribal lore for the Brudvir, Kypicq, and Jenoa as well as leading and spreading the traditions related to Faedin beliefs (knowing the land and the animals that live on it) still resonates with how I'm looking to play. That and being both able and encouraged to hunt as a Faedin helps.

The notions shared in the second and third post inspire me a lot and I would love to expand my planned Neran hunter / countryside caretaker character to explore more of the mystical ways of the Faedin approach and experience. I would prefer to stimulate and strive for local, in-game character networks instead of the metagaming approach of large scale, immersion breaking out-of-character networks though. The basic notions are certainly interesting and useful. As I'll play on Selene, I cannot join in on this in the Angelica server.

Posted By LtOBrien at 2:55 PM - Fri Sep 21 2018

Divination would certainly fit in both the Druid mindset and the Faedin religion in lore (especially seen in the recent lore post).

Personally, the Festival of Passage story gave a lot of inspiration for a more lore master/religious figure for the Faedin. Knowing the tribal lore for the Brudvir, Kypicq, and Jenoa as well as leading and spreading the traditions related to Faedin beliefs (knowing the land and the animals that live on it) still resonates with how I'm looking to play. That and being both able and encouraged to hunt as a Faedin helps.

If you are looking to hunt then that probably narrows down your search for a tribe between Brudvir and Janoa. The Kypiq are pretty strongly against that.

I was actually building a network like the Order of the White lotus from Avatar the Last Airbender.

"The quest for truth above all else"

I want the quest for knowledge to not be hampered by geographic, political, religious, or any other divisions.

So our goals may be similar enough to group together :) I'm not married to being the leader, but I do want to be a member.

Posted By AlteOgre at 10:24 PM - Fri Sep 21 2018

The notions shared in the second and third post inspire me a lot and I would love to expand my planned Neran hunter / countryside caretaker character to explore more of the mystical ways of the Faedin approach and experience. I would prefer to stimulate and strive for local, in-game character networks instead of the metagaming approach of large scale, immersion breaking out-of-character networks though. The basic notions are certainly interesting and useful. As I'll play on Selene, I cannot join in on this in the Angelica server.

There's a fairly simple way of avoiding the metagaming bit of it. While no, your characters perhaps don't know each other enough to send out a letter directly to a person, the tradition of being a druid and meeting or practicing certain traditions every few years would be universal.

The main point of my idea would be if you showed up to town, as a druid, and asked around someone would know where their local druid is so you could meet up.

I know there are plenty of purists out there that get a bad taste in their mouths when they say the word metagaming but for your own good you might as well get over that because meta will be the norm in this game.

Don't go into a gunfight with a knife. If you want to play a druid and you know there is a group of druids out there, just go out there. I know that will probably earn me a few negatives but time management will be key in this game.

If you want to be a purist and you dont want to spoil that experience with meta then you probably can do that, absolutely. That kind of information would probably be easy to find before you start going around to town after town in search of other druids. To each their own though, best of luck to you.

Nah, I'd agree with you on that. There's going to be metagame where ever you choose to play most any time, and there's no doubt I'll be in Discord with someone and decide to meet up. Regardless of my enjoyment of roleplay, if I want to hang out with someone or get something done I'm going to do so without waiting for some in-game coincidence to bring it about.

While I'll probably share information out of game just the same, the emergent factor of seeking out a like-minded individual in a town I've never been to would be interesting on its own.

More importantly, you'll play your way. No reason to throw downvotes at your personal opinion of how it CAN be done. This is a game, not the morals and ethics of the real world. There's no insider trading here guys. -_-

Posted By LtOBrien at 12:02 PM - Mon Sep 24 2018

The main point of my idea would be if you showed up to town, as a druid, and asked around someone would know where their local druid is so you could meet up.

Yes, I do believe druids will be an organization at the very least, so communication among other druids across kingdoms and eventually continents will have to be possible since we won't be serving one kingdom, but mother nature and we will need to work as a whole to achieve that. We have to have a network in order to achieve anything. I think kingdoms would want to know who their resident druid is as well, for consult when local wildlife becomes unstable or strange.

I don't know who will be starting this organization. I wont be doing any networking until I'm actually in Elyria so someone will probably get the jump on it but I plan for my druid lifestyle to be my main focus. Weaving will be what makes me money but I'd love to be active in a community of people whose main focus is animal and plant life and unlocking their secrets. I'm probably going to build my house in a far off waypoint in the forest. If you can find me, awesome, my door is open to you as long as you're friendly. Granny druid in the forest. The local village will turn travelers my way if they want a forest guide or nature's wisdom. I want to be difficult to find though, so I might build my house on the edge of a cliff or somewhere precarious. Far enough away that it's a sanctuary for anyone that goes there. Refill your inspiration and rid yourself of fatigue.

I want to attract artists and gentle souls and if people want to build their house next to mine, and then another, and another. Well hey soon we'll have a Hamlet, then Village, and who knows it will grow into the druid capitol where kindness rules and people coexist with animals within the village. We all protect each other's animals and families. Mr. Rogers neighborhood. Discovering the first sentient animal would also be on my bucket list of dreams in Elyria. Anything can happen, and this may happen to someone else. I just want to be part of it.

Posted By Mhaura at 11:00 AM - Sat Oct 06 2018

I don't know who will be starting this organization. I wont be doing any networking until I'm actually in Elyria so someone will probably get the jump on it but I plan for my druid lifestyle to be my main focus. Weaving will be what makes me money but I'd love to be active in a community of people whose main focus is animal and plant life and unlocking their secrets. I'm probably going to build my house in a far off waypoint in the forest. If you can find me, awesome, my door is open to you as long as you're friendly. Granny druid in the forest. The local village will turn travelers my way if they want a forest guide or nature's wisdom. I want to be difficult to find though, so I might build my house on the edge of a cliff or somewhere precarious. Far enough away that it's a sanctuary for anyone that goes there. Refill your inspiration and rid yourself of fatigue.

I want to attract artists and gentle souls and if people want to build their house next to mine, and then another, and another. Well hey soon we'll have a Hamlet, then Village, and who knows it will grow into the druid capitol where kindness rules and people coexist with animals within the village. We all protect each other's animals and families. Mr. Rogers neighborhood. Discovering the first sentient animal would also be on my bucket list of dreams in Elyria. Anything can happen, and this may happen to someone else. I just want to be part of it.

From what I can tell of blackheart you may want to steer clear of their territory they don't take kindly to upstart towns and cities who aren't registered with the kingdom. Other than that it sounds like a wonderful place and I would totally not mind having you as a neighbor. I personally Am thinking of having a Druid/healer as a character who wanders from place to place healing sick people and animals and tending to the needy and hungry by helping them learn to grown things in a way that gets nature and them working together instead of against each other. That's my way of being a Druid a kindly guide and healer. Wise in Judgment, Kind in Action.

Thanks for the tip about Blackheart, Faustes! Our play style sounds similar, I wouldn't mind having you as a neighbor too :)