I have a campaign with 5 players that is going pretty decently so far. I've figured out hooks for most PCs that they are enjoying, and I'm enjoying myself as well. The one thing that has been bothering me, however, is that I haven't yet found a good way to engage one of my PCs who happens to be a druid. Fortunately the player in question is very polite and still enjoying themselves by virtue of supporting the party, in general but the lack of a consistent plot hook is making hard not to overemphasize other characters, and I don't want this PC to become a fly on the wall.
I'm not really sure, but I have more trouble generating interesting ideas that might interest a druid character that don't boil down to ecological disaster, animistic spirits, or elementals (ie just some duty that a druid would normally have). I guess really what I'm looking for isn't a problem to solve (those are easy), but a character and personal plot that sticks to a type of class that generally, avoids the societies of world.
I've discussed with the player a few options and asked a bit about their character, but I think it's hard for both of us to find something compelling. I don't want to force anything without having confidence that it would be fun. As a result, I've been tossing smaller hooks and ideas into the campaign (NPCs who are appreciative of the PC's work, the party bonding over a the PC's knowledge of the natural spirits), and those have, sort of worked? But none of them yet stick well enough to snowball.
I'm curious what sources people use for inspiration in creating _personal_, character hooks for a druid? Most things I research, again, boil down to very simple "nature / elementals / spirits need help" themes that feel, a little too duty oriented than "this is what occupies my dreams" kind of thing.
Half Elf, edit: circle of the land (sorry, misunderstand sublass).
Setting is in a merchant city surrounded by mountains and a agricultural delta.
Original character concept involved being an agricultural land inspector for the locals. That helped kick things off, but hasn't stuck as a motivating theme as other character dramas started taking off.
I could definitely swing things back in that direction, but I definitely feel I need some seed of an idea to help. I suppose I"m looking to avoid typical Druid tropes only because so far they haven't proved interesting to my PC or the party, but I think nature broadly is still important to the campaign. I feel the missing queue is why this PC would have more personal interest aside from "duty".
This is tough. I like the link from retribution, though.
With them being an agricultural land inspector and near a merchant city I could see them getting tied up in some criminal activity. Maybe when they are inspecting some land, it’s actually a front for some sort of crime ring that uses it to smuggle stolen goods, drugs, endangered animals and magical plants into the city to be sold on the black market. They end up crashing a black market auction in town or something and that’s where they encounter their soon-to-be arch enemy. Perhaps they get their powers from this land, and harvesting the magical plant life would eventually take away their powers (gotta be careful with that though). I don’t know what their alignment is but they could even get involved in the criminal activity themselves if the rewards for doing so are tempting enough.
i dunno, this is a tough one, I just can’t come up with anything that isn’t nature tropes.
I’ve always liked the idea of a “Sewer Druid” grew up in the sewers with rats, doin sewer stuff, don’t have a backstory for it just like the concept. Or even a Druid that is a thief themselves, turns out wildshape is great for breaking in to places and being a criminal lol
I guess really what I'm looking for isn't a problem to solve (those are easy), but a character and personal plot that sticks to a type of class that generally, avoids the societies of world.
FWIW, that's not my understanding of druids at all. At one point these guys were the people a society was BUILT around. They were the doctors, lawyers, and teachers, all in one for any civilization a few days ride from a major city.
In a time of global pandemic, it should be easy to imagine an in for guys who are essentially magical biochemists. At some level everything is "nature stuff." In my campaign druids are also the first ones who used magic and tend to be the first ones involved in extra dimensional threats. The walls between the universes? Nature. The movement of aggressive, invasive species (like mind flayers) from one biome to another? Totally nature.
First thing I would do is ask your PC to provide you with 3 goals for the character. Short term, long term, character arc defining.
second thing I would ask them to answer is “what event could happen that would make your character retire”
Hooks are a lot easier when you have a character arc to follow. So start thinking of an arc based on the above, then start thinking about choices to put in that players way, hurdles and tangents to that arc.
start to pull at threads that deconstruct the characters world view, give them a galaxy brain moment before putting a gun to the back of their head and saying “always was”
Trope wise the one that seems most applicable to what you have described so far is the Everyman. They don’t have a rich and detailed backstory, their mum was not a secret spy and they aren’t the long lost heir to a powerful kingdom. They are not the chosen one, no prophecy exists that speaks of their potential. They were a normal person with a normal life until they were thrust into something they don’t understand but had to rise to the occasion. Maybe they want the old life back, maybe they know they can never return.
they are Dorothy, Arthur Dent, Rose Tyler, Winston Zedmore, Fry, Frodo etc
which means the backstory isn’t the arc, they are a present tense character. So you need to make them want something give them something to pursue, something to need.
ignore the fact they are a Druid entirely the class doesn’t need to dictate the story, you can have a cleric whose arc sees them lead a thieves guild and you can have bard tempted and corrupted by the dark draw of the arcane.
they are a half elf right? So what’s the other half? Who did they work for before, maybe they spent years working for a nefarious tyrant unknowingly. Maybe someone is calling for help that only they can hear, maybe they find a staff that seems awesome but is cursed and contains the soul of a demon banished to its form that can telepathically influence them. Maybe they get bitten by a vampire, werewolf, weretiger, wererat....
if an eco terrorist sprit of nature doesn’t interest you or the player bin it, don’t force it. Ask them regardless of character and class what story do they want to play. Then work out how to make that work for the character, don’t limit the stories they are allowed to want due to class!
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Hi guys,
I have a campaign with 5 players that is going pretty decently so far. I've figured out hooks for most PCs that they are enjoying, and I'm enjoying myself as well. The one thing that has been bothering me, however, is that I haven't yet found a good way to engage one of my PCs who happens to be a druid. Fortunately the player in question is very polite and still enjoying themselves by virtue of supporting the party, in general but the lack of a consistent plot hook is making hard not to overemphasize other characters, and I don't want this PC to become a fly on the wall.
I'm not really sure, but I have more trouble generating interesting ideas that might interest a druid character that don't boil down to ecological disaster, animistic spirits, or elementals (ie just some duty that a druid would normally have). I guess really what I'm looking for isn't a problem to solve (those are easy), but a character and personal plot that sticks to a type of class that generally, avoids the societies of world.
I've discussed with the player a few options and asked a bit about their character, but I think it's hard for both of us to find something compelling. I don't want to force anything without having confidence that it would be fun. As a result, I've been tossing smaller hooks and ideas into the campaign (NPCs who are appreciative of the PC's work, the party bonding over a the PC's knowledge of the natural spirits), and those have, sort of worked? But none of them yet stick well enough to snowball.
I'm curious what sources people use for inspiration in creating _personal_, character hooks for a druid? Most things I research, again, boil down to very simple "nature / elementals / spirits need help" themes that feel, a little too duty oriented than "this is what occupies my dreams" kind of thing.
Couple questions:
race?
subclass?
campaign setting?
did they come up with ANY backstory or future motivations themselves?
Any other personal info on the character?
And it sounds like you want something that strays from the typical Druid tropes, or could it be nature themed as long as it is unique?
Edit: also what about their chosen background? Or is that something that could be changed?
Thank you for the reply!
Half Elf, edit: circle of the land (sorry, misunderstand sublass).
Setting is in a merchant city surrounded by mountains and a agricultural delta.
Original character concept involved being an agricultural land inspector for the locals. That helped kick things off, but hasn't stuck as a motivating theme as other character dramas started taking off.
I could definitely swing things back in that direction, but I definitely feel I need some seed of an idea to help. I suppose I"m looking to avoid typical Druid tropes only because so far they haven't proved interesting to my PC or the party, but I think nature broadly is still important to the campaign. I feel the missing queue is why this PC would have more personal interest aside from "duty".
https://www.reddit.com/r/DnDBehindTheScreen/comments/bb9yoz/130_plot_hooks_for_druids/
This is tough. I like the link from retribution, though.
With them being an agricultural land inspector and near a merchant city I could see them getting tied up in some criminal activity. Maybe when they are inspecting some land, it’s actually a front for some sort of crime ring that uses it to smuggle stolen goods, drugs, endangered animals and magical plants into the city to be sold on the black market. They end up crashing a black market auction in town or something and that’s where they encounter their soon-to-be arch enemy. Perhaps they get their powers from this land, and harvesting the magical plant life would eventually take away their powers (gotta be careful with that though). I don’t know what their alignment is but they could even get involved in the criminal activity themselves if the rewards for doing so are tempting enough.
i dunno, this is a tough one, I just can’t come up with anything that isn’t nature tropes.
I’ve always liked the idea of a “Sewer Druid” grew up in the sewers with rats, doin sewer stuff, don’t have a backstory for it just like the concept. Or even a Druid that is a thief themselves, turns out wildshape is great for breaking in to places and being a criminal lol
FWIW, that's not my understanding of druids at all. At one point these guys were the people a society was BUILT around. They were the doctors, lawyers, and teachers, all in one for any civilization a few days ride from a major city.
In a time of global pandemic, it should be easy to imagine an in for guys who are essentially magical biochemists. At some level everything is "nature stuff." In my campaign druids are also the first ones who used magic and tend to be the first ones involved in extra dimensional threats. The walls between the universes? Nature. The movement of aggressive, invasive species (like mind flayers) from one biome to another? Totally nature.
First thing I would do is ask your PC to provide you with 3 goals for the character. Short term, long term, character arc defining.
second thing I would ask them to answer is “what event could happen that would make your character retire”
Hooks are a lot easier when you have a character arc to follow. So start thinking of an arc based on the above, then start thinking about choices to put in that players way, hurdles and tangents to that arc.
start to pull at threads that deconstruct the characters world view, give them a galaxy brain moment before putting a gun to the back of their head and saying “always was”
Trope wise the one that seems most applicable to what you have described so far is the Everyman. They don’t have a rich and detailed backstory, their mum was not a secret spy and they aren’t the long lost heir to a powerful kingdom. They are not the chosen one, no prophecy exists that speaks of their potential. They were a normal person with a normal life until they were thrust into something they don’t understand but had to rise to the occasion. Maybe they want the old life back, maybe they know they can never return.
they are Dorothy, Arthur Dent, Rose Tyler, Winston Zedmore, Fry, Frodo etc
which means the backstory isn’t the arc, they are a present tense character. So you need to make them want something give them something to pursue, something to need.
ignore the fact they are a Druid entirely the class doesn’t need to dictate the story, you can have a cleric whose arc sees them lead a thieves guild and you can have bard tempted and corrupted by the dark draw of the arcane.
they are a half elf right? So what’s the other half? Who did they work for before, maybe they spent years working for a nefarious tyrant unknowingly. Maybe someone is calling for help that only they can hear, maybe they find a staff that seems awesome but is cursed and contains the soul of a demon banished to its form that can telepathically influence them. Maybe they get bitten by a vampire, werewolf, weretiger, wererat....
if an eco terrorist sprit of nature doesn’t interest you or the player bin it, don’t force it. Ask them regardless of character and class what story do they want to play. Then work out how to make that work for the character, don’t limit the stories they are allowed to want due to class!