My son is fleshing out details for his campaign he will run as a first time DM in March back at school for new players. Eight players with two having played D&D before, but not much.
The campaign involves the party meeting the Magistrate and his trusted leaders first. They will then be advised to journey to meet a Ranger that can tell them about the Druid Circle they want to meet before they go there. They are new players so the Magistrate wants them know something about Druids before they go blundering about in their Oak Forest.
The Druids are a level 3 leader, a level 2 assistant and a level 1 aspirant. They have been joined by the Villain, a level 3 Rogue (Dwarf) that is attempting to pass himself as a level 1 Druid. His story (to them) is he has always loved nature and had problems with his Dwarven community because of this. Eventually he "ran away" (left) to pursue his passion but because he is a dwarf he couldn't get any proper instruction in Druidic Lore and had to teach himself what little he knows. For this reason, he often fumbles over even basic Druidic rituals and has to be taught everything over again.
He is there to find the key and the map hidden in this forest so he can get the treasure he was told about in a letter. He did not think, because of the remote aspect of the druidic life, that he would need to use an assumed name.
The Druids are living in a ruin that the Oaks have overgrown. It is handy to help them avoid the worst of the elements but they have no desire to see the ruin completely explored and especially not rebuilt. This Druidic circle is keeping this oak forest clear of enemies, disease, infection or other contamination. In the deep history of the region, a nearby area was the site of a cataclysmic battle and they believe keeping this forest in good condition will prevent the same forces from returning.
So the Party finally meets the Druids after their visit with the Ranger. The Druids want to meet the party members and likewise introduce the four members of their circle. The party have a letter (the one that informed the Dwarf to look for the key and the parchment in the Dark Wood) that gives them the name of the Dwarf, but not anything else, and it is obvious (to them) the Dwarf is after the same treasure they seek and he almost certainly isn't a druid.
Problem One: Does someone in the party immediately "Out the Dwarf"? We thought a good line for the game would be for the Dwarf to want to leave the company of the Druids and follow the party as Gollum did in the Lord of the Rings, waiting for his chance to grab the treasure and "off" the party. So we may want to have the Dwarf immediately run away in this event. However, nobody in the party may choose to do that right away even though with their knowledge of the dwarf they know he isn't a druid and he is after the treasure.
At some point the party figures out the clues and finds the key and the parchment with the final clue to the treasure's location. In the meantime, if they don't out the dwarf at the first instance, what would be the right consequences for not sharing that information immediately with the Druidic leader? Less trust by the druids, sure, but what else?
My son decided that the ruins would be the site of the treasure. They will just need to explore the ruin carefully to find the entrance to the cellars (dungeon) and then they begin the final part of the adventure. I figure the druids may cooperate to let them find the cellars and may even provide a small amount of help, but they aren't going underground. They are staying topside to attend to their business. But at least they'd be great guards.
What other sorts of flavor ideas might y'all wish to share for the Druid part for us to consider? I never ran a druid character back in my day, and things have changed quite a bit so I just don't have a lot to go on here. I did come up with one flavor twist that the Ranger isn't quite pals with the druids because to him nature is all about providing a home for the animals but to the druids it is all about the trees, and the animals are just being tolerated. So if a beaver were to happen along with his buddies, the two groups would have dramatically different opinions about how that should be addressed, for example.
Happy New Year. Thanks for your help.
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My son is fleshing out details for his campaign he will run as a first time DM in March back at school for new players. Eight players with two having played D&D before, but not much.
The campaign involves the party meeting the Magistrate and his trusted leaders first. They will then be advised to journey to meet a Ranger that can tell them about the Druid Circle they want to meet before they go there. They are new players so the Magistrate wants them know something about Druids before they go blundering about in their Oak Forest.
The Druids are a level 3 leader, a level 2 assistant and a level 1 aspirant. They have been joined by the Villain, a level 3 Rogue (Dwarf) that is attempting to pass himself as a level 1 Druid. His story (to them) is he has always loved nature and had problems with his Dwarven community because of this. Eventually he "ran away" (left) to pursue his passion but because he is a dwarf he couldn't get any proper instruction in Druidic Lore and had to teach himself what little he knows. For this reason, he often fumbles over even basic Druidic rituals and has to be taught everything over again.
He is there to find the key and the map hidden in this forest so he can get the treasure he was told about in a letter. He did not think, because of the remote aspect of the druidic life, that he would need to use an assumed name.
The Druids are living in a ruin that the Oaks have overgrown. It is handy to help them avoid the worst of the elements but they have no desire to see the ruin completely explored and especially not rebuilt. This Druidic circle is keeping this oak forest clear of enemies, disease, infection or other contamination. In the deep history of the region, a nearby area was the site of a cataclysmic battle and they believe keeping this forest in good condition will prevent the same forces from returning.
So the Party finally meets the Druids after their visit with the Ranger. The Druids want to meet the party members and likewise introduce the four members of their circle. The party have a letter (the one that informed the Dwarf to look for the key and the parchment in the Dark Wood) that gives them the name of the Dwarf, but not anything else, and it is obvious (to them) the Dwarf is after the same treasure they seek and he almost certainly isn't a druid.
Problem One: Does someone in the party immediately "Out the Dwarf"? We thought a good line for the game would be for the Dwarf to want to leave the company of the Druids and follow the party as Gollum did in the Lord of the Rings, waiting for his chance to grab the treasure and "off" the party. So we may want to have the Dwarf immediately run away in this event. However, nobody in the party may choose to do that right away even though with their knowledge of the dwarf they know he isn't a druid and he is after the treasure.
At some point the party figures out the clues and finds the key and the parchment with the final clue to the treasure's location. In the meantime, if they don't out the dwarf at the first instance, what would be the right consequences for not sharing that information immediately with the Druidic leader? Less trust by the druids, sure, but what else?
My son decided that the ruins would be the site of the treasure. They will just need to explore the ruin carefully to find the entrance to the cellars (dungeon) and then they begin the final part of the adventure. I figure the druids may cooperate to let them find the cellars and may even provide a small amount of help, but they aren't going underground. They are staying topside to attend to their business. But at least they'd be great guards.
What other sorts of flavor ideas might y'all wish to share for the Druid part for us to consider? I never ran a druid character back in my day, and things have changed quite a bit so I just don't have a lot to go on here. I did come up with one flavor twist that the Ranger isn't quite pals with the druids because to him nature is all about providing a home for the animals but to the druids it is all about the trees, and the animals are just being tolerated. So if a beaver were to happen along with his buddies, the two groups would have dramatically different opinions about how that should be addressed, for example.
Happy New Year. Thanks for your help.