Learning Druidic as a non-Druid?


Advice


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Other than level 10+ with Druidic Decoder feat, Loremaster's bonus languages and Oracle with the Tongues curse at level 5, are there any ways to learn (not merely magically understand) Druidic as a non-Druid?

Lantern Lodge

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Have a druid teach you?


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Dominate a Druid and persuade her to teach you?

RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32

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deuxhero wrote:
Other than level 10+ with Druidic Decoder feat, Loremaster's bonus languages and Oracle with the Tongues curse at level 5, are there any ways to learn (not merely magically understand) Druidic as a non-Druid?

I will be pedantic and say: take a level of druid!


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If you take one level of druid and then retrain it. Would you still know Druidic?


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arcanine wrote:
If you take one level of druid and then retrain it. Would you still know Druidic?

*Opens mouth. Closes mouth.*

Uh, anyway, ignoring questions that as a GM would make me very sad indeed...

I'm planning on playing a Hunter in a campaign soonish, and I was sort of wondering the same thing. I think a reasonable suggestion for a GM is to ask your GM if you can get a little and lose a little; if your character was trained by Druids, though not as a Druid (perhaps as a Ranger or Hunter), it might make sense for you to know it but have to conform to a Druidic code or lose some predefined class features. A class-neutral suggestion would be something like this:

Pros:
Gains Druidic as a bonus language
+2 bonus on Kn(Nature) and Survival checks (as Nature Sense)

Cons:
Must revere nature, cannot teach Druidic, must be some sort of neutral. If you screw up, you either seek atonement (spell) or lose pros and maybe get a -2 to Will saves or something.

If you want to know Druidic without being a Druid... I got nothing outside of dominating a Druid or something similar.


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Pathfinder Maps Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

We've had this discussion before, and it appears that by RAW you can select druidic simply by spending a skill point in lingustics.

Personally, I wouldn't allow it unless the player can posit some source for learning this secret language, but RAW seems to allow it, no problem.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
arcanine wrote:
If you take one level of druid and then retrain it. Would you still know Druidic?

No. Knowing the language is a class feature. Removing all levels of the class means removing all class features including knowledge of Druidic.


Wheldrake wrote:

We've had this discussion before, and it appears that by RAW you can select druidic simply by spending a skill point in lingustics.

Personally, I wouldn't allow it unless the player can posit some source for learning this secret language, but RAW seems to allow it, no problem.

How would you learn it? A druid has to teach it to you right? Even if you put a point in linguistics. Someone told me you have to make checks to learn Druidic but some one would have to teach you. And even then the text under linguist says Druids only. This confuses me.

Scarab Sages

If I were a DM, I suppose I'd allow limited wish (or better) to grant it (with any due logical consequences for insufficiently careful wording, of course).

It could also be a reward for an extraordinary service to a druidic order, a fey or elemental lord, or the planet itself (and I'd say the druidic order would be the hardest one to get that such a reward out of, poor silly mortals being so obsessed with rules and all).


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If any druid has ever fallen for teaching druidic the person they taught it to knows the language but is not a druid and could therefore freely teach others. It should therefore be available for a point of linguistics if it's a sufficiently static language that the version that got taught and the current version are mutually intelligible.


Could you start at level 1 with one point in linguistics and have it as a language? Or say you were raised by Druids especially if you are a hunter, ranger, barbarian, bloodrager, skald. That seems to fit in my mind. But a DM may make you find a druid to teach you. Which will be impossible or find a book, still impossible.

What if you take a level in druid, write a book on how to speak it in another language. And relearn it BOOM.


arcanine wrote:
Wheldrake wrote:

We've had this discussion before, and it appears that by RAW you can select druidic simply by spending a skill point in lingustics.

Personally, I wouldn't allow it unless the player can posit some source for learning this secret language, but RAW seems to allow it, no problem.

How would you learn it? A druid has to teach it to you right? Even if you put a point in linguistics. Someone told me you have to make checks to learn Druidic but some one would have to teach you. And even then the text under linguist says Druids only. This confuses me.

RAW alone, you puts a point in Linguistics, you gets a language, no teacher required--same way that the fighter can take a level in wizard after adventuring for a week despite having no magical or academic background. The text under Linguistics doesn't prohibit learning it, only teaching it (and then only for druids).

How I deal with it in my games depends on how druids are portrayed in that particular campaign world. I might house it as unavailable, or I might make speaking druidic as a non-druid a mortal offense, or it may simply be a well-known way to annoy druids by calling attention to the world's worst-kept secret language.

Shadow Lodge

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Linguistics says that druidic is a secret language spoken only by druids. That, to me, looks very clearly like a special specific rule that says "you cannot learn Druidic unless you are a druid." This is independent of whether or not a teacher is necessary.

If you want to open it up a bit without taking away the premise entirely, I'd suggest a Religion Trait.

Druidic Faith: Though not a druid yourself, you were taught by druids and their faith grants you insight into the natural world. You may learn the Druidic language as one of your bonus languages due to high intelligence, or using the Linguistics skill, and gain a +1 trait bonus to Knowledge (Nature) and Survival. If you cease to revere nature, or teach another character Druidic you lose the benefit of this trait.

Beefed-up version as a feat:

Druidic Initiate
You have taken druidic vows and can access some of their natural magic.
Pre-Requisites: Neutral Alignment Component, Wis 13, Knowledge (nature) 1 rank, non-druid
Benefit: You gain Druidic as a bonus language, receive a +2 bonus on Knowledge (Nature) and Survial checks, and may use Wild Empathy as a druid of your character level. If you already have the Wild Empathy ability from another class you gain a +2 bonus on these checks. Additionally, you may either choose a number of druid spells equal to your wisdom bonus and add them to your class spell list, or select one 1st level druid spell to use as a spell-like ability 3/day, using your character level as your caster level. If the spell has a saving throw, the DC = 10 + 1/2 your character level + your Wis mod.
Special: If you wear metal armour or use a metal shield you lose the benefit of this feat for 24 hours. If you cease to revere nature or teach Druidic to a non-druid you lose the benefit of this feat until you atone.

Druids as a general rule really should not be willing to teach Druidic to others. It's an important part of their faith and not only would they lose their divine powers unless they can atone, but other druids might not be too happy with them (an RP consequence that should also apply to any non-druid who happens to learn Druidic and pass it along). A character might be able to coerce a druid into into sharing the language but you'd need to play that out.

This is of course assuming you use some sensible house-rules about needing some source from which to learn a language. Otherwise, again, a non-druid can't learn druidic at all.

deuxhero wrote:
Loremaster's bonus languages and Oracle with the Tongues curse at level 5

I don't think either of those work. The Loremaster & Tongues curse don't specifically say you can learn a secret language, so they shouldn't let you do so - unless you can do so with Linguistics normally but I think that's a terrible reading of the rules.


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Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

feral speech social trait from heroes of the wild can potentially allow you to learn duidic which i'm planning on taking for my Hunter character since it's a hybrid of druid and ranger.


I have returned form the dead to take over the worl- oh, holy craaaaaap! *its head rolls off the side of the screen*


Weirdo wrote:

If you want to open it up a bit without taking away the premise entirely, I'd suggest a Religion Trait.

Druidic Faith: Though not a druid yourself, you were taught by druids and their faith grants you insight into the natural world. You may learn the Druidic language as one of your bonus languages due to high intelligence, or using the Linguistics skill, and gain a +1 trait bonus to Knowledge (Nature) and Survival. If you cease to revere nature, or teach another character Druidic you lose the benefit of this trait.

Which book is this listed in? I've checked the Pathfinder SRD website and I haven't found a trait called "Druidic Faith".


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Shugotenshi wrote:
Weirdo wrote:

If you want to open it up a bit without taking away the premise entirely, I'd suggest a Religion Trait.

Druidic Faith: Though not a druid yourself, you were taught by druids and their faith grants you insight into the natural world. You may learn the Druidic language as one of your bonus languages due to high intelligence, or using the Linguistics skill, and gain a +1 trait bonus to Knowledge (Nature) and Survival. If you cease to revere nature, or teach another character Druidic you lose the benefit of this trait.

Which book is this listed in? I've checked the Pathfinder SRD website and I haven't found a trait called "Druidic Faith".

I think it's a homebrew suggestion.

But there's still nothing stopping somebody with Druidic Decoder from redistributing their hard-earned knowledge.

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