I think the most important things to consider are a) how she gained her powers, and b) why she is so mistrustful of new people. I think there’s a fairly clear connection between the orcs and the destruction of her forest, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be a direct connection or connected at all if you don’t want it to be.
How she gained her powers can be very subclass dependent - a wildfire druid may harness the flames that destroyed her home as a force to avenge its unjust destruction, or a dream druid may have some kind of prophetic dream of her people’s destruction while away from them, prompting her to make the 25 mile run back home. Connecting her powers to the event that destroyed her home could be fun, but it’s possible she had them before, or developed them as a tool to enact retribution.
For b), I don’t think this necessarily has to be particularly complicated if you just want it to be as a natural result of how she was brought up away from other societies - but I think it’d be appropriate to have her first interaction with the outside world be negative, which can be weaved into the backstory as well - it could be the orcs, or it could be someone else.
I don't know exactly how you want to run your character, but this is what I came up with as a base idea for this example. It's fairly bare bones in terms of specific details, so if you use parts of it add stuff based on setting and personal taste.
(Insert name here) was a member of a tribe of wood elves. It was a peaceful way of life, however they were in the middle of dense forest, and while they had a close relationship with nature, they didn’t have any interactions with other people - it was a very isolated existence. Many of the younger elves had never seen anyone from outside the tribe before.
*Sidenote: I chose to use a circle of the shepherd druid for the purposes of making a more complete example - some of the parts of this story will be centred around that idea, so keep that in mind if you take inspiration*
The tribe was very well connected with animals - some gifted druids in the clan could speak with animals, and they would often work with them to help each other forage more effectively. (Insert name here) had not become a druid yet, but while the clan was large, there were not many - and (Insert name here) showed signs that some power was beginning to manifest in her.
One day, the tribe had a surprising encounter - while a group of them was foraging, they ran into a stranger. Finding anyone else this far into the forest was surprising, so they talked, and discovered that this figure was a member of a group (this group will be called the wanderers from now on just to differentiate them) who were settling in the forest not too far off. Over the course of a few weeks, the groups worked together when foraging, and began to form a bond.
One day, the wanderers came to the wood elves and told them they were going to be leaving for a bit, with plans to visit a site of druidic importance (your GM may have a specific idea in mind, but if they don’t, this could be any number of things, from an ancient tree to some sort of ancient ritual ground, or a magical spring - somewhere your character might want to visit.). They invited some of the members of the wood elf tribe to join them. While (insert name here) was a little cautious, the idea of visiting this site was exciting and could finally awaken her power, and she was assured that they would not be gone for long and planned on returning.
However, while journeying with these strange new people, she began to notice odd things - they seemed to be packing a large amount of supplies for what she had been assured would be a two week long trip at most. There were also discussions of a powerful magic item the leaders had, but when she asked what it was, they would dodge the question.
One day, she overheard a private conversation between two of the leaders - and discovered the truth. The leaders had no plan of returning - they had stolen this magic item from an orc warband, and were planning to get (insert name here) to activate its power with her developing magic abilities. However, the warband was still following them - the group had deceived the wood elves, and had not told them the warband was coming in the hopes that the fighting between the orcs and the elves would slow down the orcs.
Upon hearing this, (insert name here) knew she had to warn her tribe. Vowing that one day she would return to enact vengeance on the wanderers, she began the long run home.
She ran for miles and miles, the pain in her muscles growing and the rapid beats of her heart growing faster and faster. She had not packed many rations with her, and only had a few berries left. However, as she ran, she suddenly came across a starving deer. The deer was weak, and could hardly move - and she could understand the pain it felt, having run so long on an empty stomach as well. She chose to give the deer her final few berries.
Unbeknownst to her, she was being watched by a forest spirit, who had been following her out of curiosity, wondering what the strange elf was doing running for so long. Astounded at her kindness, the spirit appeared before (insert name) and granted her some of its power. Her druidic powers awakened finally, and while her muscles still ached, she felt a wave of renewing energy come over her. She thanked the forest spirit, and continued to run.
She reached her people just in time - her warning gave them enough time to prepare, and not but a few minutes after they had finished mounting their defences, they saw the first fires growing in the forest. The orcs charged out, weapons at the ready, and the fighting raged for a long time.
The battle was hard fought, but eventually the orcs retreated, but they had already done a lot of damage - many of her tribe were dead, and the fires that were started had spread across much of the forest before dying down, leaving swathes of it a mess of ash.
After making sure her tribe had recovered enough that they could feed themselves reliably again, she set out on a quest to find the wanderers, the warband, and any other evils that may threaten the natural order.
I sort of ran on a little long with that, but I think it fits everything you said, and gives a reason for each of them nicely. The destruction of her homeland fits nicely with her bond and her flaw, so I think the betrayal of some outside group that she hesitantly trusted, which led in part to the destruction of her home ties it up nicely.
I think the most important things to consider are a) how she gained her powers, and b) why she is so mistrustful of new people. I think there’s a fairly clear connection between the orcs and the destruction of her forest, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be a direct connection or connected at all if you don’t want it to be.
How she gained her powers can be very subclass dependent - a wildfire druid may harness the flames that destroyed her home as a force to avenge its unjust destruction, or a dream druid may have some kind of prophetic dream of her people’s destruction while away from them, prompting her to make the 25 mile run back home. Connecting her powers to the event that destroyed her home could be fun, but it’s possible she had them before, or developed them as a tool to enact retribution.
For b), I don’t think this necessarily has to be particularly complicated if you just want it to be as a natural result of how she was brought up away from other societies - but I think it’d be appropriate to have her first interaction with the outside world be negative, which can be weaved into the backstory as well - it could be the orcs, or it could be someone else.
I don't know exactly how you want to run your character, but this is what I came up with as a base idea for this example. It's fairly bare bones in terms of specific details, so if you use parts of it add stuff based on setting and personal taste.
(Insert name here) was a member of a tribe of wood elves. It was a peaceful way of life, however they were in the middle of dense forest, and while they had a close relationship with nature, they didn’t have any interactions with other people - it was a very isolated existence. Many of the younger elves had never seen anyone from outside the tribe before.
*Sidenote: I chose to use a circle of the shepherd druid for the purposes of making a more complete example - some of the parts of this story will be centred around that idea, so keep that in mind if you take inspiration*
The tribe was very well connected with animals - some gifted druids in the clan could speak with animals, and they would often work with them to help each other forage more effectively. (Insert name here) had not become a druid yet, but while the clan was large, there were not many - and (Insert name here) showed signs that some power was beginning to manifest in her.
One day, the tribe had a surprising encounter - while a group of them was foraging, they ran into a stranger. Finding anyone else this far into the forest was surprising, so they talked, and discovered that this figure was a member of a group (this group will be called the wanderers from now on just to differentiate them) who were settling in the forest not too far off. Over the course of a few weeks, the groups worked together when foraging, and began to form a bond.
One day, the wanderers came to the wood elves and told them they were going to be leaving for a bit, with plans to visit a site of druidic importance (your GM may have a specific idea in mind, but if they don’t, this could be any number of things, from an ancient tree to some sort of ancient ritual ground, or a magical spring - somewhere your character might want to visit.). They invited some of the members of the wood elf tribe to join them. While (insert name here) was a little cautious, the idea of visiting this site was exciting and could finally awaken her power, and she was assured that they would not be gone for long and planned on returning.
However, while journeying with these strange new people, she began to notice odd things - they seemed to be packing a large amount of supplies for what she had been assured would be a two week long trip at most. There were also discussions of a powerful magic item the leaders had, but when she asked what it was, they would dodge the question.
One day, she overheard a private conversation between two of the leaders - and discovered the truth. The leaders had no plan of returning - they had stolen this magic item from an orc warband, and were planning to get (insert name here) to activate its power with her developing magic abilities. However, the warband was still following them - the group had deceived the wood elves, and had not told them the warband was coming in the hopes that the fighting between the orcs and the elves would slow down the orcs.
Upon hearing this, (insert name here) knew she had to warn her tribe. Vowing that one day she would return to enact vengeance on the wanderers, she began the long run home.
She ran for miles and miles, the pain in her muscles growing and the rapid beats of her heart growing faster and faster. She had not packed many rations with her, and only had a few berries left. However, as she ran, she suddenly came across a starving deer. The deer was weak, and could hardly move - and she could understand the pain it felt, having run so long on an empty stomach as well. She chose to give the deer her final few berries.
Unbeknownst to her, she was being watched by a forest spirit, who had been following her out of curiosity, wondering what the strange elf was doing running for so long. Astounded at her kindness, the spirit appeared before (insert name) and granted her some of its power. Her druidic powers awakened finally, and while her muscles still ached, she felt a wave of renewing energy come over her. She thanked the forest spirit, and continued to run.
She reached her people just in time - her warning gave them enough time to prepare, and not but a few minutes after they had finished mounting their defences, they saw the first fires growing in the forest. The orcs charged out, weapons at the ready, and the fighting raged for a long time.
The battle was hard fought, but eventually the orcs retreated, but they had already done a lot of damage - many of her tribe were dead, and the fires that were started had spread across much of the forest before dying down, leaving swathes of it a mess of ash.
After making sure her tribe had recovered enough that they could feed themselves reliably again, she set out on a quest to find the wanderers, the warband, and any other evils that may threaten the natural order.
I sort of ran on a little long with that, but I think it fits everything you said, and gives a reason for each of them nicely. The destruction of her homeland fits nicely with her bond and her flaw, so I think the betrayal of some outside group that she hesitantly trusted, which led in part to the destruction of her home ties it up nicely.
Hope this helped!
love this