Starting AOW campaign next Wed. One of the players wants to play a Druid. First, I need suggestions on how to set up a Druid in DL. I need all of my players starting out on deadend jobs(I have one player starting as a Deputy of Cubbin, but is treated no better than a stableboy!!), wanting to get out of town. How do I set up a Druid or Ranger like this. Second I need a DMs help on Accommodating a Druid player. He is not very good at playing, but I want him to enjoy the character. I have DMed for about 20 years and never had a player run a druid. Any help would be great.
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In our game, the Druid character was associated with the Bronzewood Lodge (detailed in the downloadable "Overload"). The player and I worked out a reason for him to be wandering near Diamond Lake--in Eberron, he was just following the Dagger River to its mouth, camping near the city.
One of the other characters is a archetypal scoundrel Rogue, and we had him fleeing town from some angry miners he'd cheated at cards at the Feral Dog. Of course, his frantic sprint fatefully took him through the meager camp of the Druid, who was none to pleased to see drunken miners rushing his way with shovels and picks.
Things developed from there.
Another connection: Merris Sandovar is a Ranger living in Diamond Lake, and scouts for the militia. You could have him and your player's Druid previous acquaintances.
As far as playing a Druid, point him to the nifty ability to spontaneously Summon Nature's Ally in place of prepared spells. You might be well-off to copy the stat blocks for the animals he can summon so he can start to think about how to use them to aid him in different circumstances. Animal companions are also excellent--the eagle and owl are great scouts/lookouts, and wolves are handy even early on. Finally, to give him a taste of the really good stuff to come, you might want to share with him stats for Large-sized Wildshape creatures. "Hey, you can transform into THIS later on!"
Those are all mechanical, combat-oriented things. I'd give him plenty of opportunities to use his nature-oriented Skills and ability to identify all animals and plants on sight, and describe for him the sorts of striking details he'd notice in natural surroundings to play up his connection to that part of the world.
Druids are interesting, versatile characters. I hope he enjoys playing as one.
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Make sure to run a few extra encounters during the many travel times in the early adventures. Be prepared for the effectiveness of entangle. Give the Druid a link to one of the other characters, a reason to join the team's adventures. Then, once things start going, play up the unnatural threats presented by the Ebon Triad and the Spawn of Kyuss (the worm-filled egg ought to send shivers down the spine of any Druid, particularly if it starts infesting the Lizard Folk babies.) Be prepared for the Druid to be reluctant to spend much time underground until you can give him reason to go...
A Druid in Diamond Lake... is like a Paladin in Hell.
My Players Druid fights to make DL a better place.
People there are digging holes in the land, cutting trees
for their mining operations and pollute the Lake with the big
smelting house (killing all the fishes).
It´s kind of a Greenpeace approach!
Keep on Gaming.
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The problem about nature lovers in Diamond Lake is that they might eventually, with good reason, want to obliterate Diamond Lake from the face of Oerth. You have to be prepared for a lack of enthusiasm in saving the town from the Ebon Triad during the second adventure. You might even have to deal with an activist who wishes to disrupt or destroy Diamond Lake's mining and smelting operations. A good way of countering this is by simply having that character's loved ones living and working in Diamond Lake. Try to have your player view Diamond Lake as a necessary evil.
One more thing, if you want your player to enjoy playing a druid, be careful about killing the druid's animal companion; they die quite easily, most often by accident or later on by area affect spells.
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I'm envisioning a confrontation of some sort with the proprietors of the Feral Dog at some point... perhaps when they confront Kullen and his gang. It'd be interesting and disturbing to see one of the gang members tossed into the fighting pit, or to resolve what happens when the dogs are released from their kennels.
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In my game the Bronzewood Lodge is investigating rumors of unkillable undead roming the countryside. My druid player was sent to Diamond Lake to search the area. He started out by looking for some help and found the other players. Then began investigating, AoW adventure path ;). I don't need to worry about my druid player, he's the grease that keeps my game running smoothly.
I think that most druids would be uncomfortable with Diamond Lake - it has left a rather large footprint on the environment. But its utter destruction might not be the initial reaction. Perhaps pity for the land and for the igrnorant people who abuse it. Perhaps a call to justice and ecological responsibility but trying to get the mine managers and the smelting house to work more in harmony with nature.
Once Smenk is out of the way I'd say you try and get Moonmeadow and the elves on board for a more refined refinement process. This opens the door for more nonviolent and creative solutions instead of the Eco-Rage Barbarian that I've expereinced through the years. It ranks just below the paladin that kills anything he detects as evil.
My best suggestion would be to see if the player is willing to try an Urban Druid rather than a normal one. This would provide him with plenty of drive and purpose for saving the town. In fact, I have a player who has already decided to play one when we start, some time in the next 2-3 weeks.
Perhaps he's been commissioned by the town or the garrison for some public "beautifying" projects like a park or grove.