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99: The Clerics of... the Forest? · Dungeonpedia

0:00
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0:48
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0:50
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0:55
SPEAKER_04: Because at this point it's just It's up in the air because I can do a million in one test and I can actually listen to the audio as we record and it'll come out sounding completely different.
1:04
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1:08
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1:10
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1:11
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1:12
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1:13
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1:20
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1:27
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1:28
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1:29
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1:30
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1:37
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1:40
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1:43
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1:46
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
1:46
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
1:47
SPEAKER_04: Because, you know.
1:48
SPEAKER_04: And and hopefully this audio doesn't sound bad.
1:50
SPEAKER_04: I did everything I could possibly think of to make sure that it was working correctly.
1:56
SPEAKER_04: I'm still not even 100% sure what the issue is.
1:58
SPEAKER_04: I have a bunch of different theories and a bunch of different things that I've tried that seem to work for a little while, but um it would always just come back.
2:06
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2:13
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2:16
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2:18
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2:19
SPEAKER_02: But we're getting actual like analog mics and a mixer and everything.
2:24
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2:26
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2:29
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2:30
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2:30
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, no, I I mean, honestly, I think that like we could we could go to like an actual like we could record in an actual recording studio with like all the, you know, like all the panels and stuff in front of us and all the nice, lovely and we would still not feel like professionals because I'll ever feel like a professional anything.
2:51
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
2:52
SPEAKER_03: Right?
2:52
SPEAKER_03: Like I'm barely a professional.
2:54
SPEAKER_03: I'm not e I don't even feel like a professional in my job that I've worked at for the past six years.
2:59
SPEAKER_02: So like although I'm getting closer to feeling like a professional, but still not there.
3:04
SPEAKER_03: Some some days I'm like, you know what?
3:06
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3:08
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, but most of the time I'm just like, what am I doing?
3:11
SPEAKER_03: Who let who let this happen?
3:13
SPEAKER_03: Who allowed this?
3:15
SPEAKER_03: Who allowed this?
3:16
SPEAKER_03: Who allowed it to get this far?
3:18
SPEAKER_02: But that being said, I mean, next episode will be with new equipment.
3:22
SPEAKER_02: New equipment, crisper audio, or it'll be worse because we don't know how to work the equipment.
3:28
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3:34
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3:40
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3:43
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3:44
SPEAKER_03: We're like we said, we're not professionals.
3:46
SPEAKER_02: Yep, and we are open for suggestions, which, by the way, is what this uh week's episode is about.
3:52
SPEAKER_03: Oh yay! It's about suggestions.
3:54
SPEAKER_03: It's about suggestions.
3:55
SPEAKER_03: This the spell and its various incarnations.
3:58
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
3:58
SPEAKER_03: Gotcha.
3:59
SPEAKER_03: Oh.
4:00
SPEAKER_02: No, no, no, not quite.
4:01
SPEAKER_02: Uh, this episode was actually suggested by Trevor Bareth through our email.
4:07
SPEAKER_02: So thank you for that.
4:08
SPEAKER_02: Thank you, Trevor.
4:09
SPEAKER_02: And uh, we're talking about druids.
4:11
SPEAKER_04: Druids.
4:12
SPEAKER_03: Ooh.
4:13
SPEAKER_04: Ah, that explains why you said, man, I should have let Taylor uh well, you said, hey, I should have let you do this one.
4:18
SPEAKER_04: I'm like, okay.
4:20
SPEAKER_04: Goes back to painting minis.
4:22
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, try to let you do this one.
4:25
SPEAKER_03: Goes back to research.
4:26
SPEAKER_03: Pretty much not letting you do this one.
4:28
SPEAKER_02: Hey, at the point that I realized it, I was like halfway through the research and like two and a half hours in, I wasn't stopping to start.
4:36
SPEAKER_03: Well, would you have not researched or researched?
4:38
SPEAKER_03: Wow, would you have not realized that from the get that like, oh hey, druids, we should let Taylor do this one.
4:44
SPEAKER_03: Because that's what my brain is.
4:46
SPEAKER_02: Okay, my brain works in mysterious ways, man.
4:48
SPEAKER_04: Mine And just because I played a druid doesn't mean that I am the only one who gets to do druids.
4:53
SPEAKER_02: True, but um you do seem to have you can say it.
4:58
SPEAKER_04: I'm a hippie.
4:58
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, the affinity for druids.
5:00
SPEAKER_04: The druid vibes are off the charts.
5:02
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
5:03
SPEAKER_02: So um specifically in the email, Trevor mentioned that he wanted to know more about like where the druid's powers actually come from.
5:12
SPEAKER_02: Like, yes, they come from nature, but how do they tap into the like arcane powers to be able to use them?
5:19
SPEAKER_02: And while there's not a whole lot pertaining specifically to that, I believe I did find a few things that might actually help answer the question.
5:27
SPEAKER_02: Fun.
5:27
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I would say DD's not very good at answering that question themselves, because I mean, we you have bards.
5:34
SPEAKER_03: Their power comes from making sick jokes and awesome music.
5:38
SPEAKER_03: I mean, that to me is explanation in and of itself.
5:42
SPEAKER_03: Let's be real.
5:44
SPEAKER_04: But I digress.
5:45
SPEAKER_03: But still.
5:46
SPEAKER_02: So uh we will, as always, start off when druids first appeared, which was in first edition.
5:53
SPEAKER_02: Oh, yep.
5:54
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, druids have been a thing ever since, except starting out, they were just a subclass of clerics.
5:59
SPEAKER_03: Oh, that's intriguing.
6:01
SPEAKER_03: I feel like I did not know that.
6:04
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, well, because first edition was still very minimalistic in like its classes.
6:10
SPEAKER_02: The rules not so much, but its classes were a bit.
6:14
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, like you had a spellcaster, you had uh, I believe one of the incarnations called clerics priests.
6:20
SPEAKER_04: Yes and which makes sense because like if you go to like MMO or like stuff stuff like that, then they're all called priests, basically.
6:29
SPEAKER_03: And right fighters and so yeah, you have the you have all of the um information and specifications as to when you can have an estate of a certain size with a certain number of retainers, but um druids were a subset of clerics.
6:46
SPEAKER_03: Yep.
6:46
SPEAKER_02: Druids subclass for clerics.
6:49
SPEAKER_02: Oh and they are the only quote absolute neutrals that exist in as far as classes go.
6:57
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
6:58
SPEAKER_03: I love that.
6:59
SPEAKER_02: Um and they view good, evil, law, chaos, all of these things as balancing forces, but as balancing forces of nature, and they see them as a necessary thing for the continuation of all things living.
7:16
SPEAKER_04: I I like that a lot, actually.
7:18
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I mean I mean, if uh yeah, if you know me, you know I like that.
7:23
SPEAKER_02: Right.
7:24
SPEAKER_02: And going to what you said just a second ago, they are priests of nature.
7:29
SPEAKER_02: It actually says that they are priests.
7:31
SPEAKER_02: Ah so clerics priests, they're all kind of the same thing in first edition.
7:36
SPEAKER_02: And in order to become a druid, one would need a minimum wisdom score of 12 and a charisma of 15.
7:43
SPEAKER_03: Oh, interesting.
7:44
SPEAKER_02: Now, I tried my best to actually stay out of a lot of the like specifics for numbers and everything for like creating one because I figured that that wasn't exciting.
7:57
SPEAKER_02: Wasn't really exciting and wasn't exactly what the suggestion was about.
8:01
SPEAKER_02: So I don't have a lot of the stats and everything for that.
8:04
SPEAKER_02: It's more just any of the particular lore I could find.
8:08
SPEAKER_03: Right.
8:08
SPEAKER_03: And that's interesting though that in this incarnation they had such high charisma.
8:12
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, they have a high charisma.
8:15
SPEAKER_03: Because I know that like in like modern druids, like, for example, their um spellcasting stat is wisdom, in it?
8:22
SPEAKER_03: I think so, yeah.
8:24
SPEAKER_04: Um and the I I feel like of the spellcasters, you don't You don't think of them as being more charismatic.
8:30
SPEAKER_04: Like you when you think of a of a druid, you kind of think of a forest hobo.
8:35
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, who like smells like dirt.
8:39
SPEAKER_04: Whether that's in a bad way or a good way is up to you, but regardless, not exactly a charismatic way.
8:44
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, because I mean like warlocks, you know, um, like warless, paladins, yeah, you think of them as like the high charisma classes.
8:53
SPEAKER_02: Um yeah, actually in fifth edition, um wisdom should be your highest score, followed by constitution, and then uh pretty much whatever else you want past that.
9:03
SPEAKER_02: So like charisma doesn't really even fall into that for the first two major statistics.
9:10
SPEAKER_04: But these are such a high charisma class.
9:13
SPEAKER_04: It's just so strange.
9:14
SPEAKER_02: It really is.
9:15
SPEAKER_03: I mean, I guess maybe the interpretation um is that like it it's a sort of measure of like um how well you communicate with nature or something.
9:25
SPEAKER_03: I don't know.
9:25
SPEAKER_02: That would make sense.
9:26
SPEAKER_02: I mean, yeah, actually kind of.
9:28
SPEAKER_03: I mean, I could see that maybe being the framing as opposed to like you you would say that like you talk good with people.
9:34
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, or also like you know, you you might frame it as like wisdom falls into that purview as far as like your like intuition in dealing with nature and all that.
9:45
SPEAKER_03: But for us, like charisma is like, you know, you can charismatically talk to plants, I guess.
9:52
SPEAKER_02: And actually, there that you do have a point there that kind of does come into play a little bit later on.
9:59
SPEAKER_03: So when I have points, that's where I have all my charismas and talking to animals.
10:05
SPEAKER_02: Fucking same.
10:07
SPEAKER_03: Oh, I I'm not even gonna go there.
10:11
SPEAKER_04: Mr.
10:11
SPEAKER_04: Priest of the Manta Rae.
10:13
SPEAKER_04: Priest of the Manta Ray, whisperer to dragonflies.
10:17
SPEAKER_04: This man's ridiculous.
10:18
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
10:19
SPEAKER_03: It's kind of the same.
10:20
SPEAKER_03: I'm the priestess of the common Canadian goose.
10:22
SPEAKER_03: Ooh.
10:23
SPEAKER_03: You.
10:24
SPEAKER_03: I love those guys, and they love me, and I don't know why.
10:28
SPEAKER_03: You're the only one.
10:29
SPEAKER_03: I'm the one person.
10:30
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
10:31
SPEAKER_02: Anyway, uh, druids are only able to use leather armor and wooden shields.
10:36
SPEAKER_02: It notes that metallic armor actually spoils their magical powers.
10:42
SPEAKER_07: Huh.
10:42
SPEAKER_02: Um, there is a explanation for that given in a later edition as well.
10:47
SPEAKER_03: Something, something, something iron and fairies, I don't know.
10:49
SPEAKER_03: Probably something like that.
10:51
SPEAKER_03: Something like that.
10:52
SPEAKER_02: So, due to their involvement with like the whole living and growing of everything, druids have zero power to turn or control the undead, demons, or devils.
11:04
SPEAKER_04: That tracks.
11:04
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, that tracks.
11:05
SPEAKER_02: They have zero pull when it comes to any of those things.
11:09
SPEAKER_04: Laughs in circle of spores.
11:12
SPEAKER_02: Uh except your circle of spores.
11:14
SPEAKER_02: Um, interestingly, actually, they compare the druids in first edition to that of what the ancient uh Celtic sect of druids would have become if it had survived the Roman conquest.
11:28
SPEAKER_04: Intriguing.
11:28
SPEAKER_02: That's I guess kind of how Gary Gygax envisioned this particular class of druids as if the ancient Celtic Druids actually survived the Roman conquest.
11:38
SPEAKER_02: That this is what they would have become in his mind.
11:42
SPEAKER_04: Right, right.
11:43
SPEAKER_02: Which is pretty interesting, really.
11:45
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
11:45
SPEAKER_04: I have read I mean, uh I don't know if listeners know, but my my mother is mostly Scottish, so I have read uh quite a bit about like Celtic stuff stuff, basically.
11:56
SPEAKER_04: So including the Celtic Druid, so that's actually really intriguing to me.
12:00
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
12:00
SPEAKER_02: Uh trees, particularly oak and ash, the sun and the moon are what basically is the equivalent of deities to them.
12:09
SPEAKER_02: Druids don't really have deities that they worship in like the early editions.
12:16
SPEAKER_02: Right.
12:16
SPEAKER_02: And in the traditional sense.
12:18
SPEAKER_02: And in the traditional sense, because it's mostly just nature.
12:22
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that that is kind of then, I think, exemplified by a few, maybe like key things.
12:29
SPEAKER_03: Like you said, the sun and the moon, different kinds of trees.
12:32
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
12:33
SPEAKER_02: Uh mistletoe is their holy symbol, and the mistletoe is what uh gives powers to their spells, apparently.
12:41
SPEAKER_03: Um, something, something, something um about mistletoe being a parasitic weed.
12:47
SPEAKER_03: Something, something, something.
12:48
SPEAKER_03: Someone smarter than me at meta tell me.
12:51
SPEAKER_04: Mistletoe, like super deadly.
12:53
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
12:54
SPEAKER_03: Also, I know that there's like a a Nordic legend about mistletoe.
12:59
SPEAKER_03: Um, with like Bald.
13:02
SPEAKER_03: I want to say Balder.
13:03
SPEAKER_03: I don't think that's it, but anyway.
13:05
SPEAKER_03: Basically, some some Norse god basically it was like an Achilles thing, and mistletoe was the only substance on the earth that could hurt him.
13:16
SPEAKER_03: Oh and then uh Loki made his way into the scenario and was like, heh.
13:22
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
13:23
SPEAKER_03: Look at look above you in the archway of this door.
13:27
SPEAKER_03: Oh no, you have to kiss me.
13:28
SPEAKER_03: That's so embarrassing now.
13:30
SPEAKER_03: But anyway, I just think that's interesting.
13:34
SPEAKER_02: So uh, as druids, obviously, they have just that uh basic obligation to protect trees and wad plants, crops, right?
13:44
SPEAKER_02: But then it says to a lesser extent they're human followers and animals.
13:49
SPEAKER_04: That tracks.
13:51
SPEAKER_02: So it's more about the protection of like plants and trees and a little bit less animals.
13:57
SPEAKER_02: Less animals and humans.
13:59
SPEAKER_02: Which are just animals.
14:00
SPEAKER_02: Pretty much.
14:01
SPEAKER_02: Uh they will never destroy woodlands under any circumstances.
14:06
SPEAKER_02: Even if uh woods were like evilly hostile towards the druid, the druids would still not destroy it.
14:13
SPEAKER_02: It does, however, note that nothing is stopping them from changing the nature of the place if they are able to.
14:21
SPEAKER_04: Okay, yeah, because I was about to ask, what if the what if the woods are haunt or like tainted?
14:26
SPEAKER_02: If they have the means to do so, then they could go through and like basically cleanse it and purify it.
14:32
SPEAKER_03: What if you change the nature of it from extant to destroyed?
14:39
SPEAKER_03: And we have exhibit A as to why I'm an annoying DD player.
14:47
SPEAKER_02: So this one was also kind of interesting to me, is uh if a druid observes any creature like destroying any of its charges, the druid is unlikely to risk their lives to prevent the destruction.
15:00
SPEAKER_02: But instead, they would seek retribution and revenge at a later date when the opportunity presents itself.
15:06
SPEAKER_02: That does so they're not gonna step in and prevent the destruction.
15:11
SPEAKER_02: Instead, they're just gonna wait and murder you later.
15:14
SPEAKER_04: So they're not likely to like chain themselves to a tree that's gonna be chopped down, but they will break into your house and kill you if you chop it down.
15:22
SPEAKER_04: Correct.
15:24
SPEAKER_04: Huh.
15:24
SPEAKER_04: That I hmm.
15:26
SPEAKER_04: That yeah, it kind of clashes a little bit with my previous image.
15:29
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I don't Yeah, it's it's it's very different.
15:34
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
15:35
SPEAKER_02: Um at third level, druids gain the ability to identify plant types, animal types, they can identify if water is pure and good for drinking, and they then get the power to pass through any overgrown areas without leaving any discernible trails, and they can move through it at their normal movement speed.
15:53
SPEAKER_02: Nice.
15:53
SPEAKER_02: Cool.
15:54
SPEAKER_02: Seems pretty early on to be able to do that, but then you have to remember the fact that in first edition, there was no like milestone leveling, it was All experience points.
16:04
SPEAKER_02: All experience points.
16:05
SPEAKER_02: You track the experience points, so it could take a while to reach that level.
16:10
SPEAKER_02: Same as uh well, I mean any higher levels, but at level seven, they gain immunity from charm spells that are cast by any creatures associated with the woodlands.
16:20
SPEAKER_02: Uh, the ability to change form up to three times per day into a reptile, bird, or mammal, so that's when they get their wild shape, basically.
16:28
SPEAKER_06: Mm-hmm.
16:29
SPEAKER_02: Uh druids also have their own secret language that all druids know and speak.
16:35
SPEAKER_04: That's still a thing.
16:36
SPEAKER_02: That is still a thing.
16:38
SPEAKER_02: Which I had totally forgotten about until I was looking into this, actually.
16:42
SPEAKER_03: No fish, though.
16:43
SPEAKER_02: Nope.
16:44
SPEAKER_02: No fish.
16:45
SPEAKER_02: And also at third level, and then for every level like thereafter, they can learn another language from this particular list.
16:54
SPEAKER_02: Centaur, Dryad, Elvish, Fawn, Gnome, Green Dragon, Hill Giant, Lizard Man, Manticore, Nixie, Pixie, Sprite, and Triantish.
17:07
SPEAKER_04: I like it how in first edition those were all their own separate languages instead of just Sylvan.
17:13
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, just Sylvan.
17:14
SPEAKER_03: Instead of you have you would have like you would break that list down to like Sylvan, Elvish, and Draconic.
17:21
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
17:22
SPEAKER_03: And that would be it.
17:22
SPEAKER_03: And then like, don't giants have their own language?
17:25
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
17:25
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
17:26
SPEAKER_03: I forget what it's called.
17:27
SPEAKER_04: But giants also, I believe, know Sylvan as well.
17:29
SPEAKER_02: Mm-hmm.
17:30
SPEAKER_02: Isn't it just called Giant?
17:32
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I believe so.
17:33
SPEAKER_02: I can't remember for sure, but.
17:35
SPEAKER_02: There's so many languages.
17:36
SPEAKER_02: So uh in order for this next part, I have to clarify this little bit here.
17:43
SPEAKER_02: So character levels also come with like level titles in first edition.
17:49
SPEAKER_02: So for druids, you have level one is an aspirant.
17:53
SPEAKER_02: Level two is an Ovid.
17:55
SPEAKER_02: Ovate?
17:56
SPEAKER_02: I think it's Ovid.
17:57
SPEAKER_02: Not sure.
17:58
SPEAKER_02: And then three through eleven, you have initiate of the first circle, second circle, etc.
18:03
SPEAKER_02: etc.
18:04
SPEAKER_02: etc.
18:05
SPEAKER_02: Up to like level 11 being the initiate of the ninth circle.
18:09
SPEAKER_06: Mm-hmm.
18:10
SPEAKER_02: And then level 12, you have the title of Druid, 13 is Archdruid, and 14 is the Great Druid.
18:17
SPEAKER_04: The Great Druid.
18:19
SPEAKER_04: The Great Druid.
18:20
SPEAKER_02: So um just try to keep that in mind because this part can be a little confusing without knowing all of that.
18:29
SPEAKER_02: Oh, I love being confused.
18:31
SPEAKER_02: So there can only be nine twelfth level druids.
18:35
SPEAKER_03: So there could only be nine druids.
18:37
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, nine like druids entitled, basically.
18:40
SPEAKER_04: Extents everywhere?
18:42
SPEAKER_02: Uh yes.
18:44
SPEAKER_02: Uh, each one being a leader of a body of like lesser druids, and there's a whole lot of this is in charge of so many ninth circles and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
18:55
SPEAKER_02: I'm not going into that because it just hurts my brain.
18:57
SPEAKER_04: I guess we get very much into the Modrins there.
19:00
SPEAKER_04: Right.
19:00
SPEAKER_04: Oh god.
19:01
SPEAKER_03: And that's what it reminded me of.
19:02
SPEAKER_02: And I had PTSD.
19:05
SPEAKER_03: I would assume it's also maybe quite a bit of um like the whole first edition kind of like estate building thing.
19:12
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
19:13
SPEAKER_03: Like, okay, except instead of like a castle, it's like a forest commune.
19:18
SPEAKER_03: Pretty much, yeah.
19:19
SPEAKER_02: Uh sacred groves and whatnot.
19:22
SPEAKER_03: Sacred groves, you have this many um cabins.
19:25
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
19:26
SPEAKER_03: Um, yeah.
19:28
SPEAKER_02: So the great druid is obviously what is above all other druids, and there can only be one at a time.
19:35
SPEAKER_03: There can only be one.
19:37
SPEAKER_03: Hence the uh the article.
19:40
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
19:40
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
19:41
SPEAKER_02: So say you're playing a druid as a player character, and you get enough experience points to reach 12th level to become a druid.
19:49
SPEAKER_06: Mm-hmm.
19:51
SPEAKER_02: There are basically two options that can happen here.
19:53
SPEAKER_02: If there are fewer than nine other druids of twelfth level, you just immediately get the title and become a druid, yes.
20:00
SPEAKER_02: If there are currently nine, however, the player can then choose to challenge one of the actual like druids in hand to hand or spell combat.
20:11
SPEAKER_02: If they win, the player character will then advance to be a druid, and the former druid drops down one level lower to initiate of the ninth circle.
20:20
SPEAKER_04: Brutal.
20:20
SPEAKER_04: Damn.
20:21
SPEAKER_02: And then this process is repeated for becoming an archdruid, and then for an archdruid to become the great druid.
20:28
SPEAKER_03: How many archdruids are there allowed to be?
20:30
SPEAKER_03: Um, I'm gonna take a wild guess.
20:33
SPEAKER_03: I'm gonna say three.
20:34
SPEAKER_03: That sounds right.
20:35
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think it was either three or four.
20:37
SPEAKER_02: I didn't actually write that part down for some reason.
20:40
SPEAKER_03: I mean at that at that point, it's kind of like just more of the same between druid and archdruid and then the great druid.
20:48
SPEAKER_03: It's just narrowing down, basically.
20:50
SPEAKER_02: Pretty much.
20:51
SPEAKER_02: So just uh a pyramid, if you want to.
20:54
SPEAKER_02: Just a pyramid.
20:55
SPEAKER_02: It's a pyramid scheme of druids.
20:57
SPEAKER_03: Oh god.
20:58
SPEAKER_03: They're trying to sell you essential oils.
21:00
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
21:02
SPEAKER_03: And like mushroom coffee.
21:04
SPEAKER_02: So we have a article that's called Life Beyond the 15th Level from Dragon Magazine number 93 in 1985, and this was written by Gary Gygax.
21:16
SPEAKER_02: Uh, this is basically through the um second edition, basically, they introduced 15th level and higher classes and whatnot.
21:28
SPEAKER_02: So DLC.
21:30
SPEAKER_04: They released DLC, yeah.
21:32
SPEAKER_02: He kind of goes into explaining a little bit more about like what you would do beyond the 15th level.
21:38
SPEAKER_05: Parting.
21:38
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
21:39
SPEAKER_02: Parting.
21:39
SPEAKER_02: Parting.
21:40
SPEAKER_02: So, with the addition of the 15th level, they then introduced the title Grand Druid.
21:47
SPEAKER_02: Grand Druid.
21:48
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
21:48
SPEAKER_02: So, like I said earlier, because back in these fun times it was all experience based, in order to become a Grand Druid 15th level.
22:00
SPEAKER_02: And Druid.
22:01
SPEAKER_02: Uh, this requires three million and one or more experience points.
22:06
SPEAKER_02: Oh my god.
22:08
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
22:08
SPEAKER_02: Oh good.
22:09
SPEAKER_02: That's a lot.
22:10
SPEAKER_02: So once a player reaches this level, they can then grow even still.
22:16
SPEAKER_02: They can grow further and stronger.
22:18
SPEAKER_02: After gaining another 500,000 experience points, a grand druid may then seek a successor.
22:25
SPEAKER_02: Once the successor is found, the grand druid steps down and enters the practice of what is called the final mysteries.
22:32
SPEAKER_06: Mm-hmm.
22:33
SPEAKER_02: Once they step down and start the final mysteries, they go down to basically one experience point, and they then gain the title of the Hero Fan Druid.
22:44
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
22:45
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
22:46
SPEAKER_02: Once becoming a Hero Fan Druid, they then can proceed to go as high as the 23rd level.
22:54
SPEAKER_02: Oh my god.
22:55
SPEAKER_04: Mm-hmm.
22:56
SPEAKER_02: And they gain uh extra abilities with respect to their specific levels.
23:02
SPEAKER_02: So at 16, you get immunity to all natural poisons, extra longevity equal to level as expressed in decades.
23:11
SPEAKER_02: So basically, 16th level would be an additional 160 years, 17th would be another additional 170 years, so on and so forth.
23:21
SPEAKER_02: They can live for a long, long time after that.
23:24
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
23:25
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
23:26
SPEAKER_02: And they get the ability to alter their appearance at will.
23:29
SPEAKER_03: Does that compound on itself?
23:31
SPEAKER_03: Like, is it like it didn't specify?
23:34
SPEAKER_02: Okay, because so if it does.
23:36
SPEAKER_03: So let's say you're like a human druid.
23:38
SPEAKER_03: You live for about 80 years, and then you get 160.
23:43
SPEAKER_03: But then do you get another 170?
23:46
SPEAKER_03: Or does it just become a hundred and you know what I mean?
23:49
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
23:50
SPEAKER_03: Because that would be two different answers.
23:53
SPEAKER_03: That's two very different numbers.
23:55
SPEAKER_02: A very, very, very long time of living, depending.
23:58
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
24:00
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
24:01
SPEAKER_02: Uh once you hit the 17th level, you can gain the ability to hibernate.
24:06
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
24:07
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
24:07
SPEAKER_03: Listen, I'm a I'm like a level one regular ass bitch, and I can already do that.
24:12
SPEAKER_03: So get on my level.
24:14
SPEAKER_02: But your hibernation cannot suspend animation.
24:17
SPEAKER_03: Correct.
24:18
SPEAKER_03: I mean, sometimes it feels like it does.
24:20
SPEAKER_02: Which apparently can be the same length, or I'm sorry, which is apparently they can suspend animation up to the same like kind of time frame that they use for longevity with no aging.
24:34
SPEAKER_04: What the fuck?
24:35
SPEAKER_02: So you could suspend your animation and like hibernate for 170 years without aging.
24:42
SPEAKER_03: Or alternatively, like thousands of years, if the compounding answer is the answer to that question.
24:48
SPEAKER_03: Which to be fair, I don't think it is.
24:51
SPEAKER_03: I don't think that they would have designed it to work that way.
24:54
SPEAKER_03: But also, what if they did?
24:58
SPEAKER_02: They did.
24:58
SPEAKER_02: Um, they also gain the ability to enter the elemental plane of earth at will, and they can conjure uh water elementals.
25:06
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
25:07
SPEAKER_02: 18th level, you get the ability to enter the elemental plane of fire and can conjure up air elementals.
25:14
SPEAKER_03: Oh, so it kind of is like going in a okay.
25:17
SPEAKER_02: 19th level is the plane of water, and then you can conjure the magma or smoke para elementals.
25:25
SPEAKER_02: Oh, oh, we're gonna we're gonna.
25:27
SPEAKER_02: We're getting to the para elementals.
25:29
SPEAKER_02: 20th level, uh, the plane of air, and then ice or ooze para elemental.
25:35
SPEAKER_02: 21st, you entered the para elemental planes.
25:38
SPEAKER_02: You can just enter any of them at will, basically.
25:41
SPEAKER_03: Well, I mean, at that point you already have a big four, so you know.
25:44
SPEAKER_03: I don't know.
25:44
SPEAKER_03: Just a just a little jaunt, a little jaunt down the block.
25:47
SPEAKER_02: Twenty-second level, you can enter the plane of shadow.
25:50
SPEAKER_02: Oh, oof.
25:51
SPEAKER_02: And then 23rd level, you can enter any of the inner planes.
25:56
SPEAKER_02: You can roam the inner plane of probability lines.
26:00
SPEAKER_02: And you can excuse me.
26:03
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and then you can dwell on the place of concordant opposition.
26:09
SPEAKER_02: I think I was supposed to be plane of concordant opposition.
26:12
SPEAKER_02: I just have a typo.
26:13
SPEAKER_02: I don't know what these two planes are.
26:15
SPEAKER_02: Uh plane expert?
26:18
SPEAKER_04: I got nothing.
26:19
SPEAKER_04: It was not in my research.
26:21
SPEAKER_04: Um, those two planes are just like two.
26:24
SPEAKER_04: These are uh DLC planes.
26:26
SPEAKER_04: They these are uh two big metal fingers.
26:28
SPEAKER_04: Hold on.
26:29
SPEAKER_04: Uh plane of concordant opposition opposition.
26:34
SPEAKER_02: And then plane of probability lines.
26:38
SPEAKER_03: Um to enter this plane, um, you must have completed the the main scenario quest, whatever, and have a product key for Shadowbringers.
26:50
SPEAKER_03: What?
26:51
SPEAKER_04: What the fuck is that?
26:54
SPEAKER_04: It's part of the outlands.
26:55
SPEAKER_04: Okay, I remembering mentioning them.
26:58
SPEAKER_03: Um okay, also probability lines is also just uh a lot to think about.
27:04
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
27:05
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
27:07
SPEAKER_04: This feels like like astral fucking um Yeah, I just said outlands, and then I was like, I'm done.
27:14
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, that that's that's all I did.
27:16
SPEAKER_03: This feels like like astral, like like quantum physics, um, like universal manipulation type thing, type stuff.
27:27
SPEAKER_02: So I kind of just looked it up out of curiosity.
27:33
SPEAKER_02: Apparently there was no specific definition given for what the fuck the plain probability lines or the concordant is.
27:45
SPEAKER_03: They were like nobody's ever gonna make it.
27:47
SPEAKER_02: People were just speculating as to what it could be.
27:51
SPEAKER_03: They were like they were like nobody's ever gonna make it this far.
27:54
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I believe as of second edition, it was it ended up being called the Concordant Domain of the Outlands.
28:02
SPEAKER_02: Jesus Christ.
28:03
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
28:04
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
28:04
SPEAKER_04: So it's just the Outlands.
28:06
SPEAKER_02: Cool.
28:06
SPEAKER_03: Sorry about it.
28:07
SPEAKER_03: Uh we moved.
28:08
SPEAKER_03: I'm I'm worrying about it, I just gotta say.
28:12
SPEAKER_03: Do you ever get do you ever smoke so much weed you can rewrite the fabric of the universe?
28:16
SPEAKER_03: Uh I wish.
28:18
SPEAKER_04: Because that's what that's what happened.
28:20
SPEAKER_04: Happened, yeah.
28:21
SPEAKER_02: So moving on to uh second edition, they introduced, along with like pretty much every other class, the Complete Druids Handbook.
28:31
SPEAKER_07: Yay!
28:33
SPEAKER_02: Uh this was released in 1994.
28:36
SPEAKER_02: And I mean, obviously, this book is about druids solely, so I obviously can't read like just all of its information because it's just it's it's an jam packed.
28:47
SPEAKER_02: It's an entire book.
28:48
SPEAKER_02: I just can't.
28:49
SPEAKER_02: Uh I did, however, go through and like cherry pick a few things from it that were interesting.
28:53
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
28:54
SPEAKER_02: So it explains a little bit more of the secret language that the druids speak.
29:00
SPEAKER_02: And actually it ties in with, again, a real life language.
29:08
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
29:08
SPEAKER_02: So it has its roots in British tradition with a language called Thari.
29:14
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
29:15
SPEAKER_02: This was derived from Celtic roots.
29:18
SPEAKER_02: Apparently, it was spoken as like a secret tongue throughout the British Isles by a small number of traveling folk, such as like Tinkers and Bards.
29:26
SPEAKER_02: It was later adopted by Romani.
29:29
SPEAKER_02: Uh it says that Thari may actually predate the Dark Ages.
29:34
SPEAKER_02: Some researchers uh seeking the roots of Thari as a language completely distinct from like the Gaelics have linked its origins to both ancient Celtic craft guilds and to like just the historical like Celtic druids.
29:49
SPEAKER_03: Hmm.
29:50
SPEAKER_03: That's really intriguing.
29:51
SPEAKER_03: Well, I mean, and it yeah, because I mean the Dark Ages also it would make sense that I feel like a lot of the information probably got kind of muddled uh around that time.
30:02
SPEAKER_03: Because you know, uh the Dark Ages.
30:04
SPEAKER_03: The Dark Ages.
30:05
SPEAKER_03: Huh.
30:06
SPEAKER_02: So they kind of base the secret language off of Thari.
30:10
SPEAKER_03: Thari.
30:10
SPEAKER_03: Huh.
30:10
SPEAKER_03: Interesting.
30:11
SPEAKER_03: Which, yeah, yeah, dope.
30:13
SPEAKER_03: I have never heard of that.
30:14
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
30:15
SPEAKER_02: So um it contains like no words for sophisticated human emotions.
30:22
SPEAKER_02: Uh doesn't contain sophisticated words for like most tools or artifacts or for weapons and armor other than the ones that like druids can use.
30:31
SPEAKER_03: Does it have um a word for lightsabers?
30:34
SPEAKER_02: Because that's a sophisticated weapon.
30:36
SPEAKER_02: No.
30:36
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
30:37
SPEAKER_02: It would not have it in that case because it's sophisticated.
30:40
SPEAKER_03: Oh, okay, so it has a word for blasters.
30:42
SPEAKER_03: Got it.
30:43
SPEAKER_03: Jesus.
30:44
SPEAKER_03: Stupid, stupid Star Wars joke.
30:46
SPEAKER_03: Also, no.
30:47
SPEAKER_03: Stupid.
30:49
SPEAKER_03: Vegan.
30:50
SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
30:50
SPEAKER_03: Jesus Christ.
30:51
SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
30:51
SPEAKER_03: Oh, wait, no, it wasn't sophisticated, it was civilized.
30:54
SPEAKER_03: I'm deeply uh uncivilized.
30:56
SPEAKER_03: I'm deeply sorry.
30:57
SPEAKER_02: It also contains very few words that refer to concepts that are like more peculiar to sentient beings, such as like theft, property, justice, war.
31:08
SPEAKER_03: You know, just those, you know, justice, war, property, sin.
31:13
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
31:14
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
31:15
SPEAKER_02: Other than a few markings of like messages to indicate certain paths, or just if you're wanting to write a certain message for another druid, the language is purely spoken.
31:26
SPEAKER_02: It is not a written language.
31:28
SPEAKER_02: Cool.
31:29
SPEAKER_02: So it did actually give an example of like what the druid language would sound like.
31:38
SPEAKER_06: Mm-hmm.
31:39
SPEAKER_02: So uh the first bit, the original bit, is this magical long sword was a gift to Melinda, wife to King Rupert, from Rupert's court wizard Drufus.
31:51
SPEAKER_04: Those are some names.
31:52
SPEAKER_04: Those are those are some fantasy ass names.
31:55
SPEAKER_02: The mage gave it the power to throw lightning bolts, but then King Rupert grew jealous of Melinda.
32:00
SPEAKER_02: He had her executed and took the blade for himself.
32:03
SPEAKER_02: After Rupert died, the sword was left buried and the dungeons under his castle.
32:08
SPEAKER_02: Now in That was a whole saga.
32:10
SPEAKER_04: What a fucking asshole.
32:11
SPEAKER_02: In the secret language of the Druids, it would sound more like this.
32:15
SPEAKER_02: This magic scimitar was for the tall golden female, mate of the man leader from the leader of magic from the Vale of the White Eagles.
32:24
SPEAKER_02: He put the call lightning power in it, but the man leader wanted it.
32:28
SPEAKER_02: He killed the tall golden female and took it for himself.
32:31
SPEAKER_02: He died, the scimitar stayed in the cave under his big stone Mandan.
32:37
SPEAKER_02: Mandan.
32:38
SPEAKER_01: Mandin.
32:41
SPEAKER_02: Just savage.
32:42
SPEAKER_02: That's basically what the Druidic language sounds like.
32:46
SPEAKER_03: I think it's interesting that they call it a scimitar when to me that seems like a um sophisticated weapon word.
32:57
SPEAKER_03: I'm just saying.
32:58
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, um, I'm not 100% sure on that.
33:02
SPEAKER_03: I get the I get the vibe though.
33:03
SPEAKER_03: Like I get the idea.
33:04
SPEAKER_02: I mean, I guess the technical definition of a scimitar is just a short so short sword with a curved blade that broadens toward the point.
33:12
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I just would picture them saying sword.
33:15
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, nothing.
33:16
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, like the original sentence would say scimitar.
33:19
SPEAKER_02: Very weird.
33:20
SPEAKER_03: Or uh like fucking, I don't know, iron cutting stick.
33:23
SPEAKER_03: I don't know.
33:24
SPEAKER_03: Iron cutting stick.
33:25
SPEAKER_02: Um, so and this is actually where we get the more specifics of like where they get their magic from and how they use it.
33:35
SPEAKER_03: Oh, I know where they get their magic from?
33:38
SPEAKER_03: Nature.
33:38
SPEAKER_03: Nature.
33:39
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that's all we need to know, right?
33:42
SPEAKER_03: I mean that's all they ever tell us.
33:45
SPEAKER_02: So they serve the force of nature and its inherent cycles, such as like birth, growth, death, and then rebirth.
33:53
SPEAKER_02: Because druids also believe that you are reborn once you die, sometimes as another like humanoid, sometimes as an animal.
34:02
SPEAKER_02: Sometimes as a tree, probably.
34:04
SPEAKER_02: Sometimes as a tree.
34:05
SPEAKER_02: Just you are reborn at some point.
34:08
SPEAKER_02: Right.
34:09
SPEAKER_02: So these processes of nature generate this like magical power that they can actually tap into.
34:17
SPEAKER_02: So these druids have like this basically specialized ability because they are so in touch with nature that because of just the natural process of life, death, rebirth, and birth and everything, it generates this unseen magical like force.
34:36
SPEAKER_02: The druids can actually tap into that, and that is where they draw their power from, is straight from nature itself.
34:43
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
34:44
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
34:45
SPEAKER_02: I mean, so yeah, so that's that's that's pretty cool.
34:49
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that's lit.
34:50
SPEAKER_03: And also, like not to be annoying, but like Final Fantasy 14 White Mages.
34:55
SPEAKER_03: That's literally just ether.
34:57
SPEAKER_03: Nice.
34:58
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
34:58
SPEAKER_03: I thought it might be something like that.
35:00
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah.
35:01
SPEAKER_03: Like that, like just tapping directly into nature.
35:04
SPEAKER_03: Into like like a specific um, like, energy or force that's generated.
35:09
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, because they perform like these ceremonies and everything that connects them more directly to nature than like a normal person.
35:19
SPEAKER_02: Person would, or any other like magic user that they're able to actually draw power from nature rather than drawing it from like a deity or they don't need someone else to give it to them, they'll take it themselves from nature.
35:31
SPEAKER_04: Pretty much.
35:31
SPEAKER_04: Right.
35:32
SPEAKER_02: And much like other magic users, failure to perform the ceremonies and to follow the tenets of druidism can actually lead a druid to fall out of touch with nature.
35:41
SPEAKER_04: And therefore unable to tap into it.
35:43
SPEAKER_04: Correct.
35:44
SPEAKER_02: They lose their spell access.
35:46
SPEAKER_03: Okay, those somewhat similar to Clerics.
35:49
SPEAKER_03: Clerics, yeah, paladin.
35:51
SPEAKER_03: And paladins, and maybe their um connection to their deity.
35:55
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
35:56
SPEAKER_03: If you break your oath or you um like stray too far, like say in your like alignment or other um commandments.
36:04
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
36:05
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, then you for lack of a better word.
36:06
SPEAKER_02: Connection with your deity, and therefore you don't get their power.
36:10
SPEAKER_03: That tracks.
36:11
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
36:12
SPEAKER_02: Um it listed several forms of ceremonies, and I did like type out a lot of them, but I'm just gonna skip most of them.
36:20
SPEAKER_02: Uh, one of the ones that I thought was funny and just directly paints the picture of what pretty much anyone thinks of a druid is wild dancing.
36:31
SPEAKER_02: Wild dancing consists of movements that are rarely formal or ritualized, and more often wild, impulsive, and individual and ecstatic.
36:41
SPEAKER_03: Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay.
36:42
SPEAKER_03: I also they probably do them naked, right?
36:45
SPEAKER_03: They're on the fire.
36:48
SPEAKER_03: Right, okay, yeah, gotcha.
36:50
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
36:50
SPEAKER_02: Um, they do also hold festivals, which these include not only druids, but also the community that they are like with and living in.
37:00
SPEAKER_02: Right.
37:01
SPEAKER_02: Because I mean, they're not just solely living with other druids, they can live with just normal people.
37:08
SPEAKER_02: Um they can also do ceremonies that are rites of passage.
37:14
SPEAKER_02: Uh, usually the druids are the ones that actually administer the rites of passage.
37:20
SPEAKER_02: And this can be to any like adolescent that is coming of age, not just a druid, but anyone in their community.
37:27
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
37:27
SPEAKER_02: Uh the example they give is a druid leading the candidate into the deep woods and leaving them to find the way home.
37:35
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
37:36
SPEAKER_02: But the druid won't actually leave and instead usually stays and appears in a shape change form to act as a guide to guide them back as long as they listen to nature and listen to their guide.
37:53
SPEAKER_03: That's nice.
37:54
SPEAKER_03: Okay, can you just imagine like waking up and it's like, oh, I don't know, like fucking 15, let's say Kincenita age.
38:01
SPEAKER_03: And it's like, you just wake up on your 15th birthday, and they're like, Alright, get in the woods.
38:07
SPEAKER_02: Alright, let's go fuck her.
38:09
SPEAKER_03: You're you're finally, you're a woman now.
38:11
SPEAKER_02: Go get in the wood, go get in the woods and come home.
38:14
SPEAKER_02: No, they're not a woman until they come back.
38:17
SPEAKER_04: Oh, okay.
38:17
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, you're arranged to become a woman.
38:20
SPEAKER_03: Right, yeah.
38:21
SPEAKER_03: You go into the woods a girl and you emerge a woman.
38:25
SPEAKER_03: That's what happened to me.
38:28
SPEAKER_02: You no.
38:29
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
38:31
SPEAKER_02: So, um Just no.
38:34
SPEAKER_02: No.
38:34
SPEAKER_02: And Dragon Magazine issue number 2091, apparently, is what I wrote.
38:39
SPEAKER_02: It's supposed to be 209.
38:41
SPEAKER_03: 2000?
38:42
SPEAKER_03: 2091, in the year uh whenever that would be.
38:48
SPEAKER_02: I have no idea.
38:48
SPEAKER_02: I'm not gonna try to do the math.
38:50
SPEAKER_02: Uh, but uh this one came out in 1994, and it was kind of just a bit more detail that they added with the complete druids handbook.
38:59
SPEAKER_02: Um apparently at this particular time, druids only existed naturally in a few settings, such as like Oarth, Crane, and Toril.
39:10
SPEAKER_02: In the Forgotten Realms campaign, no known druids actually existed.
39:14
SPEAKER_02: Weird.
39:15
SPEAKER_02: Uh the same goes for uh the area of Teladus and the Dragonlance campaign.
39:20
SPEAKER_03: Wait, you said Tauril, right?
39:21
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
39:23
SPEAKER_03: Toril is Forgotten Realms, yeah.
39:25
SPEAKER_02: Well, it it specifically said uh certain areas in Forgotten Realms.
39:30
SPEAKER_02: Uh oh, I see.
39:31
SPEAKER_02: Okay, okay, got it.
39:32
SPEAKER_02: Top you that part down.
39:34
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's only existed naturally in Toril, but basically nowhere else.
39:40
SPEAKER_02: So not not a beer.
39:42
SPEAKER_02: Weird to me, but Okay.
39:44
SPEAKER_02: Um So basically what this article did was gave you the options and listed deities to use in the campaign settings that have like few to no druids in them if you wanted to add them to your campaign, and you were in one of those settings that didn't have them.
40:03
SPEAKER_07: Nice.
40:04
SPEAKER_02: It was like if you want to add druids, here's a list of deities that would work for throwing druids into the world.
40:11
SPEAKER_02: Um also in the druids handbook, it actually listed uh different branches for druids.
40:19
SPEAKER_04: Okay, so like uh the precursor to the modern circle.
40:23
SPEAKER_02: More or less, yeah.
40:24
SPEAKER_02: So basically what they wanted to do is they wanted to find a way to diversify druids that would come from like different areas in a world rather than everyone just immediately thinking of like a woodland druid.
40:37
SPEAKER_02: They're like, well, druids can come from like the desert or an Arctic area, a jungle, a mountain.
40:44
SPEAKER_02: So they added branches with like specific guidelines on how to use them, uh what spells they would probably have access to, plants and stuff that they would rather work with, like, because obviously if a druid comes from a desert, they're not gonna be using like oak and ash.
41:04
SPEAKER_02: They're gonna be using like they'd be using like cactus and whatnot.
41:10
SPEAKER_03: So okay, desert desert druid though, or like um like an arctic druid with like like moss and lichen and stuff.
41:18
SPEAKER_03: Oh yeah, and like pine trees.
41:20
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that wouldn't be like strictly Arctic, that'd be like taiga.
41:24
SPEAKER_04: But I'm I'm I'm okay with it nonetheless.
41:26
SPEAKER_02: Still.
41:27
SPEAKER_02: So all the branches that they added were Arctic, Desert, branches, branches, like a tree.
41:33
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
41:34
SPEAKER_03: I just got it.
41:35
SPEAKER_02: It was uh Arctic, Desert, Gray, temperate forest, cold forest, jungle, mountain, plains, and swamp.
41:43
SPEAKER_03: Swamp Druid, swamp druid, swamp druid, swamp druid.
41:46
SPEAKER_03: I like it.
41:46
SPEAKER_03: That's literally just like Solicit.
41:49
SPEAKER_03: Well, like swamp and jungle, you know.
41:52
SPEAKER_03: I'm talking the vibe though.
41:54
SPEAKER_04: There we have a druid in our uh current campaign who is um just a swamp druid.
42:00
SPEAKER_04: Just a s just a swamp hag, essentially.
42:02
SPEAKER_02: It's basically just a swamp hag, except they're a druid.
42:04
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
42:05
SPEAKER_02: So then we move on to Player's Handbook in uh third edition, which still holds on to the idea of druids getting their powers from nature rather than from like a deity.
42:16
SPEAKER_02: So they're at least keeping all of this kind of uh unified unified.
42:20
SPEAKER_02: There we go.
42:21
SPEAKER_02: Uh weapons and armor are restricted by traditional oaths and not simply training.
42:26
SPEAKER_02: This gives a bit more detail on why they don't use anything other than like leather armor or specific weapons.
42:35
SPEAKER_02: Right.
42:36
SPEAKER_02: So it basically says like a druid could learn to use a two-handed sword, but using one would violate the druid's oath and then therefore suppress their druidic powers.
42:45
SPEAKER_03: Which is like at that point, what's the point?
42:47
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
42:47
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's there's no point to doing it unless you would rather lose your powers than just fighting.
42:52
SPEAKER_04: Or if you're like in a really tough situation where you don't have an option.
42:57
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
42:58
SPEAKER_02: Uh they must be neutral in some way, but now they're not limited to just being true neutral, though it does kind of say like you should be true neutral, but you can still be neutral good or neutral evil if you wanted to.
43:11
SPEAKER_04: So basically, the uh a druid should aspire to be true neutral, but may have tendencies towards uh one or the other.
43:19
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
43:20
SPEAKER_02: And uh while it appears to like outsiders that druids are basically loners or sometimes they're just with their little circle for lack of a word.
43:29
SPEAKER_02: Um in third edition, they're actually a part of a giant society that spans like the entirety of the land and ignores all political borders.
43:39
SPEAKER_02: Druidic secret society Druidic secret society.
43:44
SPEAKER_03: Druidic Illuminati.
43:46
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
43:46
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
43:47
SPEAKER_02: Uh a prospective druid is inducted into the society through secret rituals.
43:53
SPEAKER_07: Yay.
43:54
SPEAKER_02: Uh it does, however, also specify that despite all druids being a part of this whole same.
44:00
SPEAKER_02: Like secret society, they are still true creatures of the wilderness, which allows them sometimes to compete with or even sometimes prey on each other.
44:10
SPEAKER_02: Because that's just kind of how nature works.
44:13
SPEAKER_02: So they still give them that whole, yeah, you're unified, sort of, but also you're still part of nature, so you still fight.
44:23
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
44:24
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
44:24
SPEAKER_02: So I didn't mention this in the earlier editions because I mean you might or might not know it, but early editions, classes were specific to like only certain races.
44:36
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
44:36
SPEAKER_03: We've uh we have talked about this and we've we've hashed out our umbrage with this uh many a time, I feel.
44:44
SPEAKER_02: But for anyone that starts like with this episode in Dungeon Pedia, just know that when you listen to other ones, we talk about it a lot more.
44:52
SPEAKER_02: Classes were restricted to certain races with first and second edition.
44:56
SPEAKER_04: And first edition, I believe, also certain genders.
44:59
SPEAKER_02: Also certain genders, yes.
45:01
SPEAKER_02: It it was a time.
45:02
SPEAKER_03: It was certainly a time.
45:04
SPEAKER_02: But third edition is where we kind of all broke away from that.
45:08
SPEAKER_02: And it allows pretty much any class to be any race.
45:14
SPEAKER_02: But it does still list that like elves, gnomes, humans, half elves are the ones that are often druids.
45:20
SPEAKER_05: Right.
45:21
SPEAKER_02: Whereas like doors, halflings, and half orcs are rarely druids.
45:25
SPEAKER_05: Right.
45:26
SPEAKER_02: They can still be, it's just more rare.
45:28
SPEAKER_02: Rare, yeah.
45:29
SPEAKER_04: It's not impossible.
45:30
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, as far as I mean, and that is as much as for like world building in general as it is for like someone looking to like specifically make a character.
45:39
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
45:40
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
45:40
SPEAKER_02: Um, they are given a little bit wider variety of weapons that they can use, including like clubs, daggers, darts, scimitars, sickles, short spears.
45:50
SPEAKER_02: There's a few others, but that's most of them.
45:53
SPEAKER_02: And just that their oaths then prohibit them from using any other weapons outside of what's listed.
45:59
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, so like very simple weapons.
46:01
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
46:01
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
46:01
SPEAKER_02: Uh they are proficient with light and medium armors, but they are prohibited from wearing metal armor for the same oath thing, and that it'll interfere with their powers.
46:13
SPEAKER_02: Uh in third edition, druids actually start out with an animal companion.
46:17
SPEAKER_02: Ooh, fun.
46:18
SPEAKER_02: So that'd be cool.
46:19
SPEAKER_02: So at level 13, they actually gain the supernatural ability to change their appearance at will.
46:25
SPEAKER_03: Their appearance, as in like a disguised self-type of way.
46:29
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
46:30
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
46:30
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
46:30
SPEAKER_03: Gotcha.
46:31
SPEAKER_02: They can just do it pretty much indefinitely and at will.
46:34
SPEAKER_03: Okay, but this is not wild shape.
46:36
SPEAKER_02: This is not wild shape.
46:38
SPEAKER_02: They do get their wild shape at level 5, and then for like every some odd levels after that, they can turn into more types of creatures.
46:48
SPEAKER_02: Gotcha.
46:49
SPEAKER_03: Okay, so yeah.
46:49
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
46:50
SPEAKER_03: So then you're you're your swimming animals, you're flying animals, yada yada.
46:54
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, because like eighth level you get large creatures, tiny creatures at 11th, dire at twelfth, huge at 15th, and then elemental at the 16th level.
47:04
SPEAKER_07: Okay, I I it yeah, that that tracks.
47:07
SPEAKER_02: And then, of course, once you get high enough level, in this case level 15, you no longer suffle suffle?
47:12
SPEAKER_02: Stuff level?
47:13
SPEAKER_02: You no longer suffer penalties for aging and cannot magically be aged.
47:19
SPEAKER_03: Okay, I don't know why, but that phrasing is really funny to me.
47:22
SPEAKER_03: You no longer suffer penalties for aging.
47:25
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, well, in third edition, there were actually penalties for being a certain age.
47:30
SPEAKER_02: As you got older, you would lose like strength and decks.
47:33
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and like when you're um under 25, it's really hard to rent a car, you know.
47:39
SPEAKER_03: That that too, yeah.
47:40
SPEAKER_03: That's definitely a deity.
47:42
SPEAKER_03: It's really hard to rent a cart when you're under 25 age.
47:46
SPEAKER_02: So uh our next step is fourth edition.
47:49
SPEAKER_02: Oh boy.
47:50
SPEAKER_02: Oh boy! Which Taylor heard me sighing sighing quite a bit whenever I was doing this, so be prepared for that.
47:58
SPEAKER_02: But first, we're gonna take our ad break.
48:00
SPEAKER_02: Oh, okay.
48:00
SPEAKER_02: We all need a break before this.
48:02
SPEAKER_02: It's a brace for our disappointment.
48:04
SPEAKER_02: Correct.
48:04
SPEAKER_04: Hey everybody, thank you so much for listening to our episode on druids.
48:08
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48:16
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48:20
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48:26
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48:33
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48:40
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49:00
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49:03
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49:10
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49:15
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49:20
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49:25
SPEAKER_04: A big thank you to Alexander Nakarada for our theme song Blacksmith.
49:29
SPEAKER_04: And with that, no more ado, I'm gonna send you right back to the episode.
49:34
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
49:35
SPEAKER_03: So, uh, brace yourselves.
49:38
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
49:39
SPEAKER_02: The information for druids comes from the player's handbook two.
49:44
SPEAKER_03: Oh no! Excuse me?
49:47
SPEAKER_02: So, yeah, druids did not exist at the launch of fourth edition, apparently.
49:53
SPEAKER_02: They were instead introduced in the player's handbook number two.
49:57
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
49:57
SPEAKER_02: To give you reference, uh, the first player's handbook was released June 6th, 2008.
50:02
SPEAKER_02: Player's Handbook No.
50:07
SPEAKER_04: Wow.
50:07
SPEAKER_04: So a full year with no druids.
50:10
SPEAKER_02: Pretty much.
50:10
SPEAKER_02: Love it.
50:11
SPEAKER_02: Um that was kind of one of the more disappointing things, in all honesty.
50:16
SPEAKER_03: More disappointing from fourth edition?
50:19
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
50:20
SPEAKER_02: Some of the some of the things in here I actually think would be pretty cool, but the fact that druids just apparently didn't exist for the first year of fourth edition was just why the fuck would you do that?
50:33
SPEAKER_02: But whatever.
50:34
SPEAKER_03: There were um nine uh druids, and none of them could be reached for an interview.
50:41
SPEAKER_03: There were already nine druids, and none of them could be reached for the interview.
50:43
SPEAKER_03: And none of them could be reached.
50:45
SPEAKER_04: So they had to wait for one of the druids to be challenged.
50:46
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
50:47
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
50:48
SPEAKER_02: Uh, so uh the druidic lore speaks of something called the Primal Beast, which is completely new and only introduced in fourth edition.
50:59
SPEAKER_02: I think it only stayed in fourth edition.
51:02
SPEAKER_02: And this is basically the first spirit of the world's noble predators.
51:07
SPEAKER_03: It's the uh um um lion turtle.
51:10
SPEAKER_03: Okay, no, it's uh I forget what it's called from uh Princess Modern.
51:14
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
51:15
SPEAKER_04: Oh, uh, yeah.
51:17
SPEAKER_03: That.
51:18
SPEAKER_02: And I don't know if maybe I'm just reading too far into this next statement or what.
51:22
SPEAKER_03: Maybe you will have to That's our job to read too far into things, Travis.
51:26
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
51:26
SPEAKER_02: True, but maybe you can explain how this makes sense.
51:29
SPEAKER_02: Okay, boy.
51:29
SPEAKER_02: All right.
51:30
SPEAKER_02: So the primal beast is a formless thing of shadows, fur, feathers, and claws.
51:36
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
51:37
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
51:37
SPEAKER_02: If it's formless, why does it have I okay.
51:42
SPEAKER_03: My interpretation is that they should have used the word amorphous.
51:47
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
51:47
SPEAKER_03: And that's exactly what I was thinking about.
51:49
SPEAKER_02: Rather than formless.
51:50
SPEAKER_04: Right, yeah.
51:51
SPEAKER_04: Because formless just implies no form.
51:53
SPEAKER_04: Amorphous implies no tangible or no intelligible form.
51:58
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, or no like consistent form.
52:01
SPEAKER_03: Like it's it's maybe like shifting, moving.
52:04
SPEAKER_03: Or kind of like um, kind of like the the Raven Queen.
52:07
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
52:08
SPEAKER_02: Which makes a whole lot more sense than using the phrase formless, but and then giving form.
52:14
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
52:14
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, my my uh I mean they could even say mostly formless.
52:20
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
52:20
SPEAKER_04: Rider Brain says that they just chose the wrong word.
52:23
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
52:24
SPEAKER_02: So apparently they say that um they, meaning druids, say that they are channeling the primal beast when using their wild shape and beast form powers.
52:34
SPEAKER_02: Fourth edition has those weird fucking powers and shit that just makes no sense to me and seems like it made everything more difficult, but whatever.
52:45
SPEAKER_04: What is it?
52:46
SPEAKER_04: Everyone gets a what?
52:47
SPEAKER_04: Aura! Everyone gets an aura.
52:50
SPEAKER_02: Everyone gets an encounter power and blah blah blah blah blah.
52:55
SPEAKER_02: So Wild Shape is an at-will power in fourth edition that allows you to assume the form of a beast.
53:04
SPEAKER_02: Okay, with it so far.
53:07
SPEAKER_02: Uh many druid powers apparently have the beast form keyword, which means that they can only be used while in beast form.
53:16
SPEAKER_07: Okay.
53:17
SPEAKER_03: So is okay is boy.
53:20
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
53:21
SPEAKER_03: Is okay, is beast form is that the name like to represent what they wild shape into?
53:28
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
53:28
SPEAKER_03: Like when they're wild shape.
53:29
SPEAKER_03: Okay, gotcha.
53:30
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
53:30
SPEAKER_03: Because I thought I thought we were doing a lycanthropy thing here, or like a hengayokai thing, where they have like a like humanoid form and then an animal form, and then an in-between form.
53:41
SPEAKER_03: And I thought the beast form was the in-between form.
53:43
SPEAKER_03: And I got um honestly kind of excited, and then I remembered it was fourth edition, so it's probably stupid anyway.
53:48
SPEAKER_02: Wild Shape in fourth edition does not give you anything restricted or specific you can form into.
53:58
SPEAKER_02: You can pretty much choose whatever form you want to turn into.
54:03
SPEAKER_02: Fourth edition Druids, too powerful.
54:06
SPEAKER_02: Please nerf.
54:07
SPEAKER_02: Except for the fact that when you transform into anything, nothing of your stats change.
54:15
SPEAKER_02: Um my god.
54:17
SPEAKER_02: You do not take on the stats of any beast you transform into.
54:22
SPEAKER_02: Then what was the point?
54:25
SPEAKER_02: To be able to be a beast boy, I guess.
54:28
SPEAKER_04: Your alternate powers.
54:30
SPEAKER_03: Okay, the this is This something, something, something furries.
54:37
SPEAKER_03: I don't know.
54:38
SPEAKER_03: I mean, yeah.
54:40
SPEAKER_02: Uh there are two types of druids that you can choose from when you decide to be a druid.
54:46
SPEAKER_03: Let me guess, they both have stupid names.
54:48
SPEAKER_02: Uh kind of.
54:50
SPEAKER_02: Uh the first one is the guardian druid, which is uh protector of the land and those who rely on it.
54:56
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
54:57
SPEAKER_02: And then you have the predator druid, which, as a predator druid, you hunt down and destroy those who despoil the natural world.
55:04
SPEAKER_03: Okay, that kind of that's okay.
55:06
SPEAKER_03: That kind of fucks, actually.
55:08
SPEAKER_02: Like that part I was like, you know what, that that's actually pretty cool.
55:10
SPEAKER_02: I am kind of okay with that.
55:12
SPEAKER_02: That's interesting.
55:13
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
55:14
SPEAKER_02: Now, the other thing that I don't quite understand here is when you do wild shape, your equipment like melds into your new form.
55:22
SPEAKER_02: Except for items that you're holding, which drop to the ground.
55:26
unknown: Okay.
55:26
SPEAKER_02: How does it differentiate?
55:28
SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
55:30
SPEAKER_02: Like, if you're holding it and you wild shape, you drop it, but anything you're wearing just kind of.
55:36
SPEAKER_03: So you you hold your sword, you wild shape, you drop your sword.
55:40
SPEAKER_03: If you sheathe your sword, you wild shape.
55:43
SPEAKER_03: It coalesces.
55:44
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
55:44
SPEAKER_03: Correct.
55:45
SPEAKER_04: This is why I like fifth editions that you get to choose version better.
55:50
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
55:51
SPEAKER_02: I love that so much better.
55:52
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, because it like, yeah.
55:54
SPEAKER_04: It makes sense.
55:55
SPEAKER_04: Like some people prefer the meld, some people prefer the drop.
55:58
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
55:59
SPEAKER_03: Some people want Hulk pants, some people don't.
56:02
unknown: Yeah.
56:03
SPEAKER_02: Um you can also use your wild shape once per round.
56:08
SPEAKER_02: Once per round?
56:10
SPEAKER_02: Once per round.
56:10
SPEAKER_02: It's not limited to a certain amount of uses.
56:12
SPEAKER_02: It's just the.
56:13
SPEAKER_03: I I noticed that earlier that you didn't uh say how many times you can use it for a day.
56:18
SPEAKER_03: It's at will.
56:19
SPEAKER_03: Well, you know, I guess that that's fine because the wild shape itself doesn't do anything.
56:24
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, because the wild shape itself has no actual consequences.
56:27
SPEAKER_02: Except for allowing you to use specific powers that have the beast form mark.
56:33
SPEAKER_03: Like, you know, maybe like you're a mouse, she can fit into small places, whatever.
56:38
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
56:38
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
56:39
SPEAKER_03: And you know, fair enough.
56:41
SPEAKER_03: I mean, I guess since it's of no consequence, you might as well just be able to rapid fire wild shape, you know, just as much as you want to be able to like literally be beast boy.
56:49
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
56:50
SPEAKER_03: And yeah, I think that's I think they just wanted to be beast boy.
56:53
SPEAKER_03: I think they were just big teen Titan fans.
56:55
SPEAKER_03: It's like we had to be Beast Boy.
56:57
SPEAKER_03: Sometimes you gotta be.
56:58
SPEAKER_02: Uh due to the way that fourth edition is, you know, you have this ability to choose your various like ad-will evocations, encounter evocations, daily evocations, and utility evocations.
57:13
SPEAKER_02: I'm not even gonna try to go through them because the evocations are basically just their giant spell list for every level.
57:20
SPEAKER_05: Right.
57:21
SPEAKER_03: Every level you get a different evocation.
57:24
SPEAKER_03: Right.
57:24
SPEAKER_03: Need to go lie down.
57:25
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
57:26
SPEAKER_03: I hate.
57:26
SPEAKER_02: Uh now, the one part that I actually kind of absolutely loved were the paragon paths that they introduced for druids.
57:34
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
57:35
SPEAKER_02: Specifically, the uh four different ones.
57:40
SPEAKER_02: Well, I say four.
57:42
SPEAKER_02: The last one kind of doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but uh the first one is called the Blood Moon Stalker.
57:50
SPEAKER_02: Which is Hello?
57:51
SPEAKER_02: A paragon path where basically you favor your beast form and you just choose powers that make you more dangerous in that form.
58:00
SPEAKER_02: So you would pretty much choose all powers that have beast form keywords, and you would stay in an animal beast form when you're fighting.
58:09
SPEAKER_03: More often.
58:09
SPEAKER_03: That's also what I call PMS.
58:12
SPEAKER_02: Jesus Christ.
58:13
SPEAKER_03: Jesus Christ.
58:15
SPEAKER_02: You have the Guardian of the Living Gate, which Okay.
58:20
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
58:21
SPEAKER_02: You have sworn to seek out and kill aberrant creatures that have ties to the far realm and to seal any portals between their planes and the world.
58:30
SPEAKER_02: You're a ghost hunter.
58:32
SPEAKER_04: My brain was just um Bloodborne?
58:36
SPEAKER_04: Um uh fuck.
58:37
SPEAKER_04: Well, yes, Bloodborne.
58:38
SPEAKER_04: Um, but full metal alchemist.
58:41
SPEAKER_03: Okay, yeah.
58:42
SPEAKER_02: Okay, yeah.
58:44
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
58:44
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
58:45
SPEAKER_02: Uh keeper of the hidden flame, which I think is probably like I really can't decide that this is my favorite or the Blood Moon stalker is, but keeper of the hidden flame.
58:55
SPEAKER_02: The hidden flame basically is a spark of vigor and vitality that exists in every living thing.
59:02
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
59:03
SPEAKER_02: So as a keeper of the hidden flame, thank you.
59:06
SPEAKER_02: You get the ability to tap into this wellspring, and you can call to the hidden flame in a creature to send it into a frenzy that leaves it with like no room for strategic or tactical thinking.
59:19
SPEAKER_02: Oh.
59:20
SPEAKER_02: You can also tap into the hidden flame within yourself and your allies to help perfect like predatory instincts and to help you fight better.
59:30
SPEAKER_03: So you can make other people rage.
59:32
SPEAKER_03: Pretty much.
59:32
SPEAKER_03: I would like to make the party barbarian rage.
59:35
SPEAKER_03: So just double rage.
59:37
SPEAKER_03: Double rage.
59:38
SPEAKER_02: And then you have the Sky Hunter, which is the one that doesn't seem like it does a lot or makes a lot of sense to me.
59:44
SPEAKER_02: Oh, so it's a Fifth Edition Ranger.
59:46
SPEAKER_02: Ooh! Ooh, damn.
59:47
SPEAKER_02: Uh, your beast form emulates birds of prey.
59:52
SPEAKER_02: Um, while they can't always fly, they can from time to time take to the air for short bursts.
59:59
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
1:00:00
SPEAKER_03: So they glide.
1:00:01
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that that that that's that just feels like you could you could make like a blood moon stalker who favors birds of prey.
1:00:09
SPEAKER_02: Right, and considering that your wild shape doesn't have any specific form, Skyhunter then gives you a specific form.
1:00:19
SPEAKER_02: Forces you to have a specific form, basically.
1:00:22
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
1:00:22
SPEAKER_04: Somebody really likes birds.
1:00:24
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
1:00:25
SPEAKER_02: That's just me.
1:00:26
SPEAKER_04: You're just a druid who really likes birds.
1:00:28
SPEAKER_02: I get it.
1:00:28
SPEAKER_02: I'm currently trying to befriend a crow, but that's the same thing.
1:00:32
SPEAKER_04: I'm not here forcing everyone to pick birds.
1:00:35
SPEAKER_03: That is, okay, that is though, that kind of thing where fourth edition every now and again like occasionally kills it with the names.
1:00:42
SPEAKER_03: Like most of them are like, especially the um like variations on creatures are like the names are just dumb and stupid, and I hate them.
1:00:50
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
1:00:51
SPEAKER_03: But sometimes they're like Blood Moon Stalker, yeah, hello.
1:00:55
SPEAKER_02: Keeper of the Hidden Flame.
1:00:57
SPEAKER_02: Like, I I love that.
1:00:58
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
1:00:59
SPEAKER_02: Now Guardian of the Living Gate, hello.
1:01:02
SPEAKER_02: The one thing that really didn't make sense to me.
1:01:04
SPEAKER_02: Oh boy.
1:01:05
SPEAKER_02: Is some of the pre-requ prerequisites for these paragon paths that kind of made no sense because on some of them I didn't write them down, but I believe unlike the Moonstalker, the prerequisite is a druid with wild shape form.
1:01:19
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
1:01:19
SPEAKER_02: And then Guardian of the Living Gate is just Druid.
1:01:22
SPEAKER_02: I mean, what uh All Druids have wild shape.
1:01:26
SPEAKER_04: Why are we being a- Do they unlock it at a specific level?
1:01:31
SPEAKER_02: Second level.
1:01:32
SPEAKER_04: So, okay, you have to be a second level druid.
1:01:35
SPEAKER_04: Okay, got it.
1:01:36
SPEAKER_02: That's a bad thing.
1:01:39
SPEAKER_03: I don't know.
1:01:41
SPEAKER_03: It might have been like meant to be the same qualification.
1:01:44
SPEAKER_03: But then you had like six different writers working on the same thing.
1:01:48
SPEAKER_03: And then the one who did that just forgot to put druid with wild shape form.
1:01:52
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
1:01:52
SPEAKER_03: Or maybe it's because it sounds like the the subclass of the guardian of the living gate um focuses less on the wild shape and like the beast form stuff.
1:02:03
SPEAKER_03: So maybe they were just like, eh, forget about it.
1:02:05
SPEAKER_02: You can start this at level one if you want, but like I would rather just go with one of the cooler ones personally.
1:02:13
SPEAKER_02: Um so now we jump to the Player's Handbook in Fifth Edition.
1:02:18
SPEAKER_01: Woo!
1:02:19
SPEAKER_02: So uh it gives you the specifics of being able to determine whether your spells come from the force of nature itself or from a nature deity.
1:02:29
SPEAKER_02: You can choose to have one or the other.
1:02:31
SPEAKER_02: You could probably really choose to combine them if you wanted to, but you have a bit more freedom as to where your powers actually come from.
1:02:39
SPEAKER_03: I mean, and I think that's fair.
1:02:41
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
1:02:41
SPEAKER_03: I mean, at a certain point it's like, you know.
1:02:43
SPEAKER_03: Which I thought I will say the the vibe of a like nature-focused cleric versus a druid who happens to worship a specific nature deity, like that's still a different vibe.
1:02:58
SPEAKER_03: Oh, yeah.
1:02:58
SPEAKER_03: It's still a very different, like and I may I mean, and also not just vibe, but like different um for like mechanics, mechanics and composition, but also a different vibe, in my opinion.
1:03:09
SPEAKER_03: Still, you know, which of course vibes are the most important thing in DD.
1:03:13
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, of course.
1:03:14
SPEAKER_02: Uh the ancient Druidic traditions are sometimes called the old faith.
1:03:19
SPEAKER_03: So paganism.
1:03:20
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
1:03:21
SPEAKER_02: That was pretty cool, yeah.
1:03:22
SPEAKER_02: I mean, uh, they see that the balance now comes from the four elements fire, earth, water, and air.
1:03:29
SPEAKER_02: Uh, these elements they believe must remain in equilibrium to maintain the balance.
1:03:35
SPEAKER_02: And then the fire nation attacked.
1:03:38
SPEAKER_02: If one element gains power over the others, fire, fire, the world could then be drawn into one of the elemental planes and broken apart into its component elements, henceforth destroying the world.
1:03:51
SPEAKER_03: Right.
1:03:52
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
1:03:53
SPEAKER_03: So uh Fire Nation.
1:03:56
SPEAKER_03: Listen, we have to we have to get at least one Avatar the Last Airbender reference in every episode.
1:04:01
SPEAKER_02: And as soon as I saw that, I was like, here it is.
1:04:03
SPEAKER_03: The Fire Nation attacked.
1:04:05
SPEAKER_03: Also, um, rejoining uh Calamities.
1:04:08
SPEAKER_03: I have decided I need to make at least three Final Fantasy 14 references.
1:04:13
SPEAKER_02: Um that's all you.
1:04:16
SPEAKER_02: They are also concerned with the ecological balance uh that sustains plant and animal life, and the need for like the civilized folk of the world to live in harmony with nature.
1:04:28
SPEAKER_02: Right.
1:04:29
SPEAKER_02: Right.
1:04:30
SPEAKER_02: So you have the balance of like the four elements to protect the world itself, and then the ecological balance.
1:04:37
SPEAKER_03: The environment.
1:04:38
SPEAKER_03: Druids got a lot to worry about, bro.
1:04:40
SPEAKER_04: Druids do have a lot to worry about, like, my god, someone help them out.
1:04:45
SPEAKER_02: They accept that which is cruel in nature, and they hate the unnatural, including aberrations and the undead.
1:04:52
SPEAKER_03: Aberrations meaning like, you know, mind flayers, aberrant creatures from the outer planes.
1:04:58
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
1:04:59
SPEAKER_02: Uh the druidic language still exists.
1:05:02
SPEAKER_02: Um all druids know it.
1:05:04
SPEAKER_02: Any who know this language can spot it automatically if it's been used to like written or if it's used to write a message.
1:05:12
SPEAKER_02: Others can spot the message if they um can pass a DC 15 perception check, but they can't decipher it without magic.
1:05:22
SPEAKER_03: Ah.
1:05:23
SPEAKER_03: Oh, so they could look at something and say, this is druidic, but they will have no clue how to read it.
1:05:29
SPEAKER_02: Gotcha.
1:05:30
SPEAKER_02: Unless they have magic.
1:05:32
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
1:05:33
SPEAKER_03: Or know druidic.
1:05:34
SPEAKER_02: Or happen to know druidic.
1:05:36
SPEAKER_03: Or have a druid friend.
1:05:37
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
1:05:38
SPEAKER_03: But it's not like that.
1:05:39
SPEAKER_03: Sometimes where something is is like writing is magically made to look like just completely unperceptible.
1:05:51
SPEAKER_02: Actually, I'm pretty sure that it did specify that druids do not teach non druids the druidic language.
1:05:59
SPEAKER_02: So you would Have to use magic to decipher it.
1:06:02
SPEAKER_02: Or be an ex druid.
1:06:03
SPEAKER_02: If you're not a druid.
1:06:04
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, or be an extra.
1:06:05
SPEAKER_02: Or be an ex-druid.
1:06:07
SPEAKER_04: Or be the child of a druid who happened to teach yourself.
1:06:10
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
1:06:11
SPEAKER_03: Or maybe your You would have to be a Druid.
1:06:13
SPEAKER_03: Or maybe your friend or your parent or something was a druid who like broke their code to not do that.
1:06:22
SPEAKER_04: I'm just saying there are reasons.
1:06:23
SPEAKER_04: There, there But they would have to be established before um Right.
1:06:27
SPEAKER_03: Like they would have to be like um like extraneous things that happen.
1:06:33
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
1:06:33
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
1:06:34
SPEAKER_03: Talk about it with your DM.
1:06:36
SPEAKER_02: So uh druids do still hold like certain plants to be sacred.
1:06:40
SPEAKER_02: It lists it says particularly alder, ash, birch, elder, hazel, holly, juniper, mistletoe, oak, growen, willow, and you.
1:06:51
SPEAKER_03: Me?
1:06:51
SPEAKER_03: Awww.
1:06:53
SPEAKER_03: So like just most trees.
1:06:55
SPEAKER_03: Got it.
1:06:56
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
1:06:57
SPEAKER_02: Druids use these plants in spell casting and in making like weapons and armor.
1:07:01
SPEAKER_02: Example, uh, U is associated with death and rebirth, so weapon handles are usually fashioned out of U.
1:07:09
SPEAKER_02: Ash is associated with life and oak with strength.
1:07:13
SPEAKER_02: And they can make excellent halves or whole weapons as well as shields.
1:07:18
SPEAKER_02: Alder is associated with air and is mostly used for uh cre creating like throne weapons.
1:07:26
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
1:07:26
SPEAKER_02: Um you do gain the wild shape at second level, and this is where it kind of like you go back to being limited to what you can change into.
1:07:35
SPEAKER_02: Right.
1:07:36
SPEAKER_02: Specifically the phrasing uh beast that you have seen.
1:07:40
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
1:07:41
SPEAKER_02: And with a certain challenge rating depending on your druid level.
1:07:46
SPEAKER_02: Uh when you wild shape, you do actually now take the beast's hit points and hit dice rather than it just not changing at all.
1:07:55
SPEAKER_02: Uh you can choose, like Taylor said earlier, whether your equipment falls to the ground, merges into your new form, or is just simply worn by it.
1:08:03
SPEAKER_02: Which is Hulk pants.
1:08:04
SPEAKER_03: Hold pants.
1:08:06
SPEAKER_03: Hulk pants!
1:08:07
SPEAKER_02: Um you also get to choose a druid circle at second level.
1:08:12
SPEAKER_04: Which is kind of the uh background or the region or the the the point of interest.
1:08:18
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, the paragon levels basically.
1:08:21
SPEAKER_02: You can choose like what you're more specific in, like the circle of spores and there's quite a few of them.
1:08:30
SPEAKER_02: Circle of the moon.
1:08:31
SPEAKER_02: Circle of the moon, yeah.
1:08:33
SPEAKER_02: Um at the 18th level, the primal magic that you wield causes you to age more slowly.
1:08:38
SPEAKER_02: Therefore, every ten years that pass, you only age one year.
1:08:43
SPEAKER_04: Hmm.
1:08:43
SPEAKER_04: Which also uh if you were if you were an elf druid, oh my.
1:08:48
SPEAKER_03: Oh my.
1:08:48
SPEAKER_02: You live for fucking ever.
1:08:50
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
1:08:51
SPEAKER_03: I think that's interesting though.
1:08:52
SPEAKER_03: Like, I I I'm not saying I necessarily take umbrage with it or disagree with it, because like I get it, at that point you have like great reserves of magical power.
1:09:01
SPEAKER_03: I just think it's interesting that druids being so um concerned with the natural cycle of life and death.
1:09:11
SPEAKER_04: End up being the ones that ex that like exceed that through naturally through their own prowess.
1:09:17
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I just think like I'm not saying I take Umberge with it.
1:09:20
SPEAKER_03: I just think it's interesting.
1:09:22
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
1:09:23
SPEAKER_02: Um also at 18th level, you gain the ability to cast many of your druid spells in any shape that you assume using wild shape.
1:09:30
SPEAKER_02: So that's pretty cool.
1:09:31
SPEAKER_07: Oh yeah, for sure.
1:09:32
SPEAKER_02: You become an archdruid at level 20, which allows you to use your wild shape an unlimited number of times.
1:09:40
SPEAKER_02: You can also ignore the verbal and somatic components of your druid spells, as well as any material components that lack a cost and that are not consumed by a spell.
1:09:49
SPEAKER_03: Do you just a wolf just fucking opens his mouth and a fucking fireball comes?
1:09:56
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
1:09:56
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
1:09:57
SPEAKER_03: Or like a goldfish, say.
1:09:59
SPEAKER_03: Oh my god.
1:10:00
SPEAKER_03: Like a goldfish cast flight.
1:10:02
SPEAKER_03: Imagine how convenient that would be for, I don't know.
1:10:05
SPEAKER_03: That would be some kind of situation where you're jumping off of a cliff, maybe, and you turn into a goldfish instead of a bird.
1:10:16
SPEAKER_03: I'm sorry.
1:10:17
SPEAKER_03: I'm sorry, I know.
1:10:19
SPEAKER_02: Keelith, it was so bad.
1:10:21
SPEAKER_02: Like, I love you so much.
1:10:23
SPEAKER_02: Okay, but it was so good though.
1:10:25
SPEAKER_02: It was.
1:10:25
SPEAKER_02: It was great.
1:10:26
SPEAKER_02: So, uh, real quick, this isn't really necessarily having to deal with like lore specific.
1:10:31
SPEAKER_02: This is kind of I just want to throw this in here for people playing 5th edition and a druid, if you're not aware of it.
1:10:38
SPEAKER_02: Xanathor's Guide to Everything actually has a few um really useful like tables and stuff in it that you can use to actually help with your druid and help keep track of everything.
1:10:52
SPEAKER_02: Including giving you a few extra ideas like to connect your druid even more with like nature, or to just give them like a deeper reason to the powers that you would possess.
1:11:04
SPEAKER_02: It suggests a treasured item, which is usually like a sacred item specific to each druid that has just a deep personal significance.
1:11:12
SPEAKER_02: They don't have to be magical, but the items would connect the druid's mind and heart to the concepts or like spiritual outlook that you take.
1:11:24
SPEAKER_02: So that would just give you a bit better idea of what exactly like drives you or gives you the power.
1:11:30
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
1:11:31
SPEAKER_02: It offers the suggestion of now having a mentor to teach you a druid, where either to teach you a druid?
1:11:39
SPEAKER_02: To teach you a druid.
1:11:40
SPEAKER_02: To teach you to be a druid, whether you would be a druid.
1:11:45
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
1:11:45
SPEAKER_02: Sorry.
1:11:46
SPEAKER_02: Whether you would be a um would-be druid that seeks out a mentor, or someone that already is one.
1:11:53
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, in your backstory that possesses just a natural ability that someone notices and decides to mentor you.
1:12:00
SPEAKER_02: Usually this would be like an instructor or an elder, specifically.
1:12:04
SPEAKER_02: And then honestly, one of the best things that I would suggest if you're playing a druid is to look at the tables for wild shape in Xenophara's Guide to Everything, because it specifically helps you with the whole idea creatures that you've seen part of the rules by organizing beasts from the monster manual according to where they would most likely be in an environment.
1:12:29
SPEAKER_02: Oh and it also lists them in challenge rating.
1:12:34
SPEAKER_03: Oh, that's very handy.
1:12:35
SPEAKER_02: So you and your DM can flip through that and very quickly figure out what you would have seen or not seen and what you can't really transfer.
1:12:42
SPEAKER_03: Like, say you're you're druids from like, you know, the jungle or whatever.
1:12:46
SPEAKER_03: This, that, and the other.
1:12:47
SPEAKER_04: Then they've probably never seen a polar bear, but they've probably seen a Jaguar.
1:12:51
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
1:12:52
SPEAKER_04: Right.
1:12:52
SPEAKER_02: So if you're playing a Druid, I would check that out.
1:12:55
SPEAKER_02: But that is all that I have for druids, at least for the time being.
1:13:00
SPEAKER_02: If I happen to come across more or decide to just go through the Druid's Handbook, I can revisit that later.
1:13:06
SPEAKER_02: But for now, that's what I've got.
1:13:08
SPEAKER_04: Well, thank you.
1:13:09
SPEAKER_04: That was really insightful and like and really enlightening.
1:13:12
SPEAKER_04: And enlightening, yeah.
1:13:14
SPEAKER_02: Enlightening.
1:13:15
SPEAKER_02: So thank you everyone so much for listening.
1:13:17
SPEAKER_02: Uh, don't forget, follow us on all of our various social media platforms, spread the word to your friends.
1:13:22
SPEAKER_02: It's always greatly appreciated.
1:13:26
SPEAKER_04: Uh that link is still on the pin to the top of our Twitter page.
1:13:29
SPEAKER_02: Yes, and we'll probably remain there for a good long while.
1:13:32
SPEAKER_04: If you have anything to suggest, like this was a suggestion, you can either send us a tweet, uh, send us an email.
1:13:39
SPEAKER_04: Pop onto our Discord.
1:13:40
SPEAKER_04: And our email for that is dungeonpedia.podcast at gmail.com.
1:13:44
SPEAKER_02: Thank you everyone once again for listening, and we'll catch you uh right here in our next episode on uh Dungeonpedia.
1:13:52
SPEAKER_02: Fish Gisplay.
1:13:58
SPEAKER_05: You're gonna turn into a bird.
1:14:00
SPEAKER_03: No, this it's okay to be that way.
1:14:02
SPEAKER_03: You're in the moment, and you just fish.