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the subject title says it all, at least in my game. One of my PCs is a druid, there is a druid in the Jade Ravens, the gnome on the voyage to Fareshore is a druid & if I recall right Lavina's mother was a druid.
Now Lavina's mother doesn't bother me, goes with her journal & such, but the others at least to me are way to many for a oddball class, even thou it's a core class it more or less a off-spurt of the cleric class. If they were fighters or something, that would be different, but just having 3+ druids kinda makes the game feel like a druidic adventure, at least to me.
Has anyone changed the gnome or the dwarf to something else? Has it effected how they were played. I know the gnome is interested in the flora & fauna of everything (ie help the dinosaur), but has anyone changed him to something else? How about the dwarf to a cleric?
just thought I'd get some ideas before running into those various people (my game just started, really haven't hit the dinner yet, killin time till then).
thanks
RM
the subject title says it all, at least in my game. One of my PCs is a druid, there is a druid in the Jade Ravens, the gnome on the voyage to Fareshore is a druid & if I recall right Lavina's mother was a druid.
Now Lavina's mother doesn't bother me, goes with her journal & such, but the others at least to me are way to many for a oddball class, even thou it's a core class it more or less a off-spurt of the cleric class. If they were fighters or something, that would be different, but just having 3+ druids kinda makes the game feel like a druidic adventure, at least to me.
Has anyone changed the gnome or the dwarf to something else? Has it effected how they were played. I know the gnome is interested in the flora & fauna of everything (ie help the dinosaur), but has anyone changed him to something else? How about the dwarf to a cleric?
just thought I'd get some ideas before running into those various people (my game just started, really haven't hit the dinner yet, killin time till then).
thanks
RM
I changed the Dwarf from the Jade Ravens to a Cleric, as we also have a druid in the party.
Also not sure why but Urol always struck me as more a Expert than a druid?
Also playing in eberrron, makes the setting flavour a little different than is written, so I took them as liberal as I could
Since I don't like much the idea of dwarf druid, I will surely change his class to cleric, even if there is no druid in the party.
And I agree, Urol should be better with only expert class levels.
My take on why there are so many druids in at least the early adventures has to do with the location. Sasserine is about as close to the edge of "modern" DnD civilization as you can be and because of that it is likely thought of as an ideal place to live for many druids.
At least that seems logical to me.
I was quite okay with the prevalency of druids because, as such an alignment stratified class, each one of them is so very different in personality, goals, outlook, etc. Just like there are dozens of ways to "become" a fighter or rogue, there are many ways to "become" a druid. An animal lover, a guardian of the sacred place, a person who sees the engine of civilization destroying the purity of nature, even just a person who feels an immense joy when he looks at the natural world.
I guess I have a wierd take on druids, but I had very good play groups during 2nd edition, when druids were REALLY hard to play, and I've read a few excellent campaign journals where druids where played exceptionally well.
But yeah, I agree with the idea that as Sasserine is on the outskirts of civilization, druids will be more common. Look at the olman, they don't use metal armor. And while the zombie master needs to be a cleric for spell access, you can bet the local shaman or wise woman is a druid.
It's really a flavor thing. You could have any of the NPCs as clerics of Obad-Hai or Elhonna and they wouldn't have many differences. If you were to make Urol purely an expert, remember that he won't be able to provide that small amount of spellcasting during the fourth installment. May not turn the tides, but he could prove his worth even further to the characters with a well-placed cure light wounds to stabilize a dying character. At the same time, you could just as easily give him a level of adept instead, especially if you really want the PCs to shine in comparison.
I like the addition of the druids-though none of them get the signature shapechange ability (at least not on-screen). Consider most adventures are dungeon crawls and that a druid needs to be in the wilds to shine, ST is one of the few places a druid is balanced (relatively speaking).
And I have been wanting to play a dwarven 'doo-dad' since Pikel swirled his finger in the stone like it was mud. *tee hee*
I was thinking about changing Urol to Archivist1/ExpertN (the archivist base class in from Heroes of Horror). IMO, it suits his academic interests perfectly. Druid, not so much, and my group already has a shapeshift variant druid. There's a feat called Archivist of Nature (or something similar) that allows an archivist to extend his dark knowledge ability to giants and fey but I'd houserule that it extends to animals too so Urol could contribute to combat in IoD a bit.
We're playing STAP in Eberron so I don't want to make the dwarf from Jade Ravens a cleric as I feel it'd make him too special in that setting. Maybe I'll turn him into a Ranger4 so he could have the same animal companion.
PJP
My least favorite class -- just kill'em all :P
Like a couple of people said, Sasserine is at the edge of civilizaton so it makes a lot of sense.
I plan on leaving it as it was written. Our party, at higher levels, will have two druids (an apprentice and master, respectively) and I think that having other druids to possibly trade info with would be key.
I don't really see a group of clerics leading an expedition into the Isle of Dread but with druids it makes perfect sense.
And I like them.
Ultimately, it boils down to two things: versimilitude and personal preference. Its fairly clear, as illustrated by others, that the prevalence of druids is totally expectable and beleivable, due to the campaign's location, and the primary destination of the voyage. No reason to change that unless your specific setting (eberron, forgotten realms, homebrew) demands an alteration.
So past that point, it becomes personal preference. Tatter's honest; he doesn't like druids. Fair enough. Me, I like them, but I had wonderful experiences in my "formative years" of D&D that give them a special place in my heart. So for me, I like the amount of druids, and run it as written.
Its not that its a bad thing if someone decides to reduce the druid influence in the STAP because they just don't like them. Personal preference is what makes the game great; it's built to accomodate any changes or alterations a group wants to make.
So, Druid-heavy, druid-light, or even druid-free, good gaming everyone!
In our Game Urol is an Archivist from Hero's of Horror, since they like to know odd things, and gather information, that man kind was never meant to know etc---it helps to the lead in with Demegorgon.
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Y'know.... I like your attitude. :)
Ultimately, it boils down to two things: versimilitude and personal preference. Its fairly clear, as illustrated by others, that the prevalence of druids is totally expectable and beleivable, due to the campaign's location, and the primary destination of the voyage. No reason to change that unless your specific setting (eberron, forgotten realms, homebrew) demands an alteration.
So past that point, it becomes personal preference. Tatter's honest; he doesn't like druids. Fair enough. Me, I like them, but I had wonderful experiences in my "formative years" of D&D that give them a special place in my heart. So for me, I like the amount of druids, and run it as written.
Its not that its a bad thing if someone decides to reduce the druid influence in the STAP because they just don't like them. Personal preference is what makes the game great; it's built to accomodate any changes or alterations a group wants to make.
So, Druid-heavy, druid-light, or even druid-free, good gaming everyone!
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In our Game Urol is an Archivist from Hero's of Horror, since they like to know odd things, and gather information, that man kind was never meant to know etc---it helps to the lead in with Demegorgon.
Actually that's a good idea for Urol. Despite his interest in nature I always thought him being a druid was a bit of a stretch, but Archivist works for me.
In our Game Urol is an Archivist from Hero's of Horror, since they like to know odd things, and gather information, that man kind was never meant to know etc---it helps to the lead in with Demegorgon.Actually that's a good idea for Urol. Despite his interest in nature I always thought him being a druid was a bit of a stretch, but Archivist works for me.
Yay! Glad you like the idea. I thought it fit quiet a bit. Seeing as he wants to record stuff, and he fits the bill for the class,it still gives him acess to spells, and he's still a well spring of knowledge.
I also see Druids as a good thing considering the location and direction of the campaign. I also happen to have my own ideas about druids and sea faring. I mean what better class to have on board your ship than a druid, who can control the winds and weather, attack with fire, heal a bit, heal and manipulate wood, and also deal with sea creatures. It seems like the perfect sea faring class to me, so I will probably even expand their presence a bit in my campaign once I get to it (currently I am running SoLS in AoW AP).
I also see Druids as a good thing considering the location and direction of the campaign. I also happen to have my own ideas about druids and sea faring. I mean what better class to have on board your ship than a druid, who can control the winds and weather, attack with fire, heal a bit, heal and manipulate wood, and also deal with sea creatures. It seems like the perfect sea faring class to me, so I will probably even expand their presence a bit in my campaign once I get to it (currently I am running SoLS in AoW AP).
Oh I like druids, and we have quiet a few running around, but to me Urol was more of an Archivest. So I thats what I made him in my game, it seems to have gone over well, and he can boost the party, rather than just annoy them with his desire to protect wild life.
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I like the idea of changing Urol to a Archivist + I don't mind the idea of dwarven druids (just dwarven wizards I still can't get yet...he he 1st ed D&D roots I guess)but I think I'm gonna make the dwarf a cleric but I may end up giving him a ranger or druid level to explain the animal companion (part I like).
thanks for the suggestions guys & as anther poster said, don't have a problem with druids, played them when I played D&D on a regular basis, but just for me way to many in just a short period of time.
RM