Looking through the PHB (2014 please) I’m going through the Druid. Got the abilities, understanding that. So then what’s the difference conceptionaly between a Druid and a Cleric in the Nature domain? I get different abilities and such, but from a Nature domain Cleric meeting a Druid and having that conversation what would the difference between be?
While I’m at it, what’s the difference between a Druid doing Wild Shape, and a lycanthrope? Granted the one can change into different forms, whereas the other only the one, and probably has more control, but again conceptionaly, not talking abilities. Can a Druid even get lycanthropy, and would it be a curse necessarily?
I think I understand your question, but it seems like you answered yourself already in your post, but I'll try to help. You asked what the differences are between a 2014 Nature Domain Cleric and a 2014 Druid. You then stated that you understand their abilities, and that the differences are their abilities.
The biggest differences are the Class' core abilities; where Druids can Wild Shape into animals and Clerics have their Channel Divinity.
The 2014 Nature Domain Cleric has the Channel Divinity: Charm Animals and Plants feature, but that is very different than the Druid's Wild Shape.
This is a simple example of one of the differences, so I hope this helps.
Cheers!
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Breathe, dragons; sing of the First World, forged out of chaos and painted with beauty. Sing of Bahamut, the Platinum, molding the shape of the mountains and rivers; Sing too of Chromatic Tiamat, painting all over the infinite canvas. Partnered, they woke in the darkness; partnered, they labored in acts of creation.
If you are asking about the difference lore-wise, a Cleric would likely be sworn to a deity of nature, perhaps Silvanus (God of Wild Nature) or Mielikki (Goddess of Forests). By contrast, a Druid will often seek to serve the forces of nature without necessarily being sworn to any deity. The serve the often serve natural forces of the world, rather than the gods that call those forces their domain. It's a subtle distinction, and it mostly will affect your role-play, but there it is.
Yeah, I wasn’t thinking of the mechanics of them, those I get. Like knowing the difference between stick and automatic. It’s mostly the lore behind them, if these two met and talked about their respective views what are the difference and similarities.
Really I think that [Sequilonis] is spot on when he says one worships and works for a god of nature while a Druid reveres nature itself. When discussing in the scenario you mention I think the Druid would probably see the god as being an unnecessary step in the process and personally I’ve always thought of the cleric as more structured, nature as gardens and order, while the Druid is more the chaos of nature unchecked
As for the difference between wildshape and lycanthrope one is a controlled change in which the Druid is still themselves just in the form of an animal while the other is a curse in which the sufferer loses control and becomes a danger to those around them.
As someone who is playing a Druid who has been infected with lycanthropy, i can say, yes, druids can get lycanthropy. But the kicker is, a wildshaped druid is counted as a "beast" and Lycanthropy can only infect things with the Humanoid tag, thus can't be infected while wildshaped. I was infected while not wildshaped.
at least that is how my table runs it.
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He/Him. Loooooooooong time Player. The Dark days of the THAC0 system are behind us.
"Hope is a fire that burns in us all If only an ember, awaiting your call To rise up in triumph should we all unite The spark for change is yours to ignite." Kalandra - The State of the World
Really I think that [Sequilonis] is spot on when he says one worships and works for a god of nature while a Druid reveres nature itself. When discussing in the scenario you mention I think the Druid would probably see the god as being an unnecessary step in the process and personally I’ve always thought of the cleric as more structured, nature as gardens and order, while the Druid is more the chaos of nature unchecked
As for the difference between wildshape and lycanthrope one is a controlled change in which the Druid is still themselves just in the form of an animal while the other is a curse in which the sufferer loses control and becomes a danger to those around them.
It's not necessarily that Druids would see gods as unnecessary (the '14 PHB description mentions some might worship nature gods), but Druids are more about tapping directly into the power of nature- potentially with deities somewhere in the mix, while a Nature Cleric will typically go through a deity whose sphere of influence covers nature. It's a fine distinction, which is probably in part because Druids were originally an offshoot of the Cleric class in early D&D, according to a quick Google. How any given Druid and Nature Cleric would get on depends a lot on their personal beliefs- there's some Evil gods with a Nature domain listed in the 2014 PHB typically covering things like the hunt while there's Good ones who cover forests and peace. Add to that how the various Druidic circles focus on different aspects of nature, and there's not really a single baseline you can work from.
A different way to look at it may be historical. Both clerics and Druids are based on real world ideas of what they are/were. So let’s take a look at that. Clerics came from somewhat organized religions ( not just the judeo-Christian-Muslim ones either). They are found in “civilized” cultures - ones that live in cities ( or at least have cities as major cultural centers) the clerics act as intermediaries between the gods “ up there” and the people “down here” a nature god is focused on how “his/her people can “get along” with the wildness “out there”. Druids are culturally different. They are based on (what we commonly think) the Eurocelts were like. They lived IN nature not in cities ( ok they did have some and many hamlets, villages etc but their world was far wilder). Druids mediated their interactions with the wilderness. The Druid (supposedly) lived n the wilderness not in some church or monastery. Their temples are stone or wood henges, natural places of “power” and possibly caves. Their celebrations are outdoors in nature while the cleric’s are more typically in an enclosure or building. So Druids in a sense see nature from the inside while nature clerics are looking from the outside. Druids see humanoids as part of nature while clerics see nature as seperate from humanoids.
A druid understands that the gods of nature are as much a necessary part of maintaining nature as less distinct natural forces/spirits. So in practice, A Cleric of Silvanus and a Druid of Silvanus would both be furthering his goals.
The main difference I would see (aside from mechanics/abilities) is that in situations where civilization and nature have the potential to clash, the Nature Cleric would be doing more of their work amongst the former while the Druid would be doing more of theirs among the latter.
Ah thanks. So indirectly it's more Order vs Chaos?
Not in the cosmic / Great Wheel sense. More in the "society should live in harmony with nature rather than either one snuffing the other out" sense. (Assuming non-evil clerics and druids, of course.)
One way to look at it is the source of magic. Typically, Druids use Primal Magic that harnesses the primal powers of the wilderness. In other words, the power comes from the land itself. It does not have to relate to a divine, although it can be. On the other hand, Clerics use divine magic of the Outer Planes that comes from the realms of the gods and harness it to work miracles.
So Durid could have no religion or faith. A Durid could be anti-religion, while a Cleric must have a religion or faith.
Since it is dnd, it is possible to flavour it so a durid or a cleric uses a mixture of Primal and Divine magic.
Further, to answer your second query about the difference between wildshape and lycanthropy. Wildshape is a choice, under full conscious control while lycanthropy is a curse with no conscious control or, at best, a limited conscious control. Wildshape is fully under the conscious control of the Druid both in terms of the form taken and the duration ( upto the maximum number of types and times. Lycanthrope is essentially a disease inflicted on the being that they have little or no control over when it activates, how long it activates for or what they are like under the effects of the curse. Yes you can have a CE were at that knows it is a wererat and chooses to be The same in all forms, or you could have a LG Paladin wererat that is one way when under the change and tries to undo the results of its evil acti9ns when it is normal - or anything in between.
Couple of other ways to look at it similar to what is said above
Clerics tend to be part of society, Druids tend to be apart from it.
Clerics focus on issues from the temples perspective, druids from natures.
Clerics follow society rules, Druids follow natures.
Depending on alignment, Clerics tend to focus on society than nature, Druids nature more than society. So a Neutral Good Cleric would see what is good for society as good and what is bad as evil. A Druid would see what is good for nature as good. Imagine a scenario where a town is cutting down the forest, exploiting the land an sending off the excess for profit versus a group of goblins living in the woods, just hunting and living off the land to survive. A Druid might see those goblins as good and the town as evil, whereas the cleric may see society as good, just needing guidance.
If humanoids can send prayers to deities, which is the source of the power that deities then bestow on their champions, then what if animals and plants have similar devotions to offer but no deity to listen to them? Maybe a cosmic "natural" area (forest, mountain, lake etc) collects those offerings and Druids tap into that?
Can make some lore(ish) rationale, but the bottom line is Druids do what is needed to protect nature, and Nature Clerics are unionised and have to follow company rules.
If humanoids can send prayers to deities, which is the source of the power that deities then bestow on their champions, then what if animals and plants have similar devotions to offer but no deity to listen to them? Maybe a cosmic "natural" area (forest, mountain, lake etc) collects those offerings and Druids tap into that?
Can make some lore(ish) rationale, but the bottom line is Druids do what is needed to protect nature, and Nature Clerics are unionised and have to follow company rules.
I believe the lore is that part of the druids' power comes from the elemental plane. (not that they can actually use it as well as sorcerers)
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Looking through the PHB (2014 please) I’m going through the Druid. Got the abilities, understanding that. So then what’s the difference conceptionaly between a Druid and a Cleric in the Nature domain? I get different abilities and such, but from a Nature domain Cleric meeting a Druid and having that conversation what would the difference between be?
While I’m at it, what’s the difference between a Druid doing Wild Shape, and a lycanthrope? Granted the one can change into different forms, whereas the other only the one, and probably has more control, but again conceptionaly, not talking abilities. Can a Druid even get lycanthropy, and would it be a curse necessarily?
Greetings Izgerry,
I think I understand your question, but it seems like you answered yourself already in your post, but I'll try to help.
You asked what the differences are between a 2014 Nature Domain Cleric and a 2014 Druid.
You then stated that you understand their abilities, and that the differences are their abilities.
The biggest differences are the Class' core abilities; where Druids can Wild Shape into animals and Clerics have their Channel Divinity.
The 2014 Nature Domain Cleric has the Channel Divinity: Charm Animals and Plants feature, but that is very different than the Druid's Wild Shape.
This is a simple example of one of the differences, so I hope this helps.
Cheers!
Breathe, dragons; sing of the First World, forged out of chaos and painted with beauty.
Sing of Bahamut, the Platinum, molding the shape of the mountains and rivers;
Sing too of Chromatic Tiamat, painting all over the infinite canvas.
Partnered, they woke in the darkness; partnered, they labored in acts of creation.
If you are asking about the difference lore-wise, a Cleric would likely be sworn to a deity of nature, perhaps Silvanus (God of Wild Nature) or Mielikki (Goddess of Forests). By contrast, a Druid will often seek to serve the forces of nature without necessarily being sworn to any deity. The serve the often serve natural forces of the world, rather than the gods that call those forces their domain. It's a subtle distinction, and it mostly will affect your role-play, but there it is.
Yeah, I wasn’t thinking of the mechanics of them, those I get. Like knowing the difference between stick and automatic. It’s mostly the lore behind them, if these two met and talked about their respective views what are the difference and similarities.
Really I think that [Sequilonis] is spot on when he says one worships and works for a god of nature while a Druid reveres nature itself. When discussing in the scenario you mention I think the Druid would probably see the god as being an unnecessary step in the process and personally I’ve always thought of the cleric as more structured, nature as gardens and order, while the Druid is more the chaos of nature unchecked
As for the difference between wildshape and lycanthrope one is a controlled change in which the Druid is still themselves just in the form of an animal while the other is a curse in which the sufferer loses control and becomes a danger to those around them.
Druids are druids, and nature domain clerics are priests with a garden in their backyard. (not a fan of nature clerics, if you couldn't tell)
As someone who is playing a Druid who has been infected with lycanthropy, i can say, yes, druids can get lycanthropy.
But the kicker is, a wildshaped druid is counted as a "beast" and Lycanthropy can only infect things with the Humanoid tag, thus can't be infected while wildshaped. I was infected while not wildshaped.
at least that is how my table runs it.
He/Him. Loooooooooong time Player.
The Dark days of the THAC0 system are behind us.
"Hope is a fire that burns in us all If only an ember, awaiting your call
To rise up in triumph should we all unite
The spark for change is yours to ignite."
Kalandra - The State of the World
It's not necessarily that Druids would see gods as unnecessary (the '14 PHB description mentions some might worship nature gods), but Druids are more about tapping directly into the power of nature- potentially with deities somewhere in the mix, while a Nature Cleric will typically go through a deity whose sphere of influence covers nature. It's a fine distinction, which is probably in part because Druids were originally an offshoot of the Cleric class in early D&D, according to a quick Google. How any given Druid and Nature Cleric would get on depends a lot on their personal beliefs- there's some Evil gods with a Nature domain listed in the 2014 PHB typically covering things like the hunt while there's Good ones who cover forests and peace. Add to that how the various Druidic circles focus on different aspects of nature, and there's not really a single baseline you can work from.
A different way to look at it may be historical. Both clerics and Druids are based on real world ideas of what they are/were. So let’s take a look at that. Clerics came from somewhat organized religions ( not just the judeo-Christian-Muslim ones either). They are found in “civilized” cultures - ones that live in cities ( or at least have cities as major cultural centers) the clerics act as intermediaries between the gods “ up there” and the people “down here” a nature god is focused on how “his/her people can “get along” with the wildness “out there”. Druids are culturally different. They are based on (what we commonly think) the Eurocelts were like. They lived IN nature not in cities ( ok they did have some and many hamlets, villages etc but their world was far wilder). Druids mediated their interactions with the wilderness. The Druid (supposedly) lived n the wilderness not in some church or monastery. Their temples are stone or wood henges, natural places of “power” and possibly caves. Their celebrations are outdoors in nature while the cleric’s are more typically in an enclosure or building. So Druids in a sense see nature from the inside while nature clerics are looking from the outside. Druids see humanoids as part of nature while clerics see nature as seperate from humanoids.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
A druid understands that the gods of nature are as much a necessary part of maintaining nature as less distinct natural forces/spirits. So in practice, A Cleric of Silvanus and a Druid of Silvanus would both be furthering his goals.
The main difference I would see (aside from mechanics/abilities) is that in situations where civilization and nature have the potential to clash, the Nature Cleric would be doing more of their work amongst the former while the Druid would be doing more of theirs among the latter.
Ah thanks. So indirectly it's more Order vs Chaos?
Not in the cosmic / Great Wheel sense. More in the "society should live in harmony with nature rather than either one snuffing the other out" sense. (Assuming non-evil clerics and druids, of course.)
One way to look at it is the source of magic. Typically, Druids use Primal Magic that harnesses the primal powers of the wilderness. In other words, the power comes from the land itself. It does not have to relate to a divine, although it can be. On the other hand, Clerics use divine magic of the Outer Planes that comes from the realms of the gods and harness it to work miracles.
So Durid could have no religion or faith. A Durid could be anti-religion, while a Cleric must have a religion or faith.
Since it is dnd, it is possible to flavour it so a durid or a cleric uses a mixture of Primal and Divine magic.
Further, to answer your second query about the difference between wildshape and lycanthropy. Wildshape is a choice, under full conscious control while lycanthropy is a curse with no conscious control or, at best, a limited conscious control. Wildshape is fully under the conscious control of the Druid both in terms of the form taken and the duration ( upto the maximum number of types and times. Lycanthrope is essentially a disease inflicted on the being that they have little or no control over when it activates, how long it activates for or what they are like under the effects of the curse. Yes you can have a CE were at that knows it is a wererat and chooses to be The same in all forms, or you could have a LG Paladin wererat that is one way when under the change and tries to undo the results of its evil acti9ns when it is normal - or anything in between.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
Couple of other ways to look at it similar to what is said above
Clerics tend to be part of society, Druids tend to be apart from it.
Clerics focus on issues from the temples perspective, druids from natures.
Clerics follow society rules, Druids follow natures.
Depending on alignment, Clerics tend to focus on society than nature, Druids nature more than society. So a Neutral Good Cleric would see what is good for society as good and what is bad as evil. A Druid would see what is good for nature as good. Imagine a scenario where a town is cutting down the forest, exploiting the land an sending off the excess for profit versus a group of goblins living in the woods, just hunting and living off the land to survive. A Druid might see those goblins as good and the town as evil, whereas the cleric may see society as good, just needing guidance.
If humanoids can send prayers to deities, which is the source of the power that deities then bestow on their champions, then what if animals and plants have similar devotions to offer but no deity to listen to them? Maybe a cosmic "natural" area (forest, mountain, lake etc) collects those offerings and Druids tap into that?
Can make some lore(ish) rationale, but the bottom line is Druids do what is needed to protect nature, and Nature Clerics are unionised and have to follow company rules.
Life's hard - get a helmet!
I believe the lore is that part of the druids' power comes from the elemental plane. (not that they can actually use it as well as sorcerers)