Druid from D&D
First, this isn’t about ‘D’. For those that don’t know ‘D’, go HERE!
Now, Windemere is heavily influenced by my days (years) playing Dungeons & Dragons. I admit this and kind of revel in it. I also take crap for it, but that comes with the fantasy territory. Recently, I realized that one type of character never wandered into Windemere and it was a character class I always wanted to play. Unfortunately, a few other character types took the role of this unused type, so I had a problem. I speak, as the title blatantly tells, of Druids.
In D&D, the Druids are protectors of nature who can use nature-based magic and work with animals. They get various powers as they progress, but the core is Nature Warrior. Sadly, I had forest trackers, priests, and shamans taking over a lot of what made the Druids unique. How in the world could I slip in the Druids into Windemere when they’re kind of already there in pieces? Simple: I dropped the ‘S’. No longer plural, there is only one Druid in Windemere.
I was told once that Druids are also keepers of knowledge and secrets. This was back in college, so things are fuzzy. I took this idea and came up with the idea of a solitary person called ‘The Druid’. His/her role is to guard a special book from everyone that could possibly want its secrets. It requires the person live a life of loneliness and wandering. Now this person is not immortal, but takes on an apprentice when they are a few years away from death. If they die before an apprentice is taken, the book finds a new Druid and puts them into a slumber where they learn their new role. The story I’m planning deals with the current Druid and her apprentice as they are hunted by a lot of enemies for the book. Maybe have them search for a sacred place where the transfer can happen. I haven’t flushed the idea out just yet.
I do know what the book holds. It is a list of names. These are the true names of every deity of Windemere. With such knowledge, anyone can control, seal, or destroy the gods through magic. It was too dangerous for any of the gods to have or for it to be left unguarded among mortals. So, The Druid was created as a pure mortal that cannot be tracked by the gods or most mortal magic. Probably have one item that can track him/her, which is part of the plot of the book.
That’s the idea I’m playing with to bring in an interesting aspect of Windemere. Through this, the gods gain a little vulnerability and it means readers can always wonder if that book will ever appear in another story. It will, but I’m not saying which one or who will have it.
Legends of Windemere 
Morning, Charles – “That Druid” says your Druid sounds pretty darn cool. I think so, too. That is a neat concept.
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I was wondering what he would think. I have to decide on the genders of the master and apprentice. Species too because I have a lot to choose from in Windemere. Be interesting to have the apprentice be a female orc and the master to be an old halfling.
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That sounds like it has a lot of potential for comedy. I also like that it seems to invert the typical student/teacher dynamic.
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That’s what I was thinking. I always put humor in, so it would interesting to take them and not go goofball on it. People would expect it, so deep characters would be a nice change.
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I like this concept. Very cool.
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Thanks. I’m looking forward to how it flushes out.
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I like this. The “Woodmen of the World” would be proud .
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They have to be men? 😛
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Old organization from Ireland supposedly made up from Druids initially. My grandfather was in it and his father before him.
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Thinking of making this a gender neutral thing. Just for the fun.
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Droods rock.
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Very much so. 🙂
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Great idea…like making gods a little more vunerable and the pure mortal untraceble Druid is way cool.
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Thanks. This is also to play into something in a later book, which is where the idea came from. I was daydreaming the idea and I suddenly had one of the gods hunting for a book. Interesting and slightly irritating when they do that.
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Tell me about it…I only have to deal with two goddesses…but Sekhmet is enough to wish one had a Druid!
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Two can be a headache. Having a pantheon of gods and an army of heroes and villains means they can mess with each other at times.
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got a point there…hmmm….something to think about!
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Druids are mysterious. They would make a good character in a fantasy series. 🙂
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They work really well in the genre. Kind of ashamed it took me so many years to get to them.
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