I enjoyed the Modern Magic rules a lot myself but, equally, I enjoyed them in the cheesey way that is all a bit tongue in cheek. With descriptions of evil SUVs I think it lends to that.
I'd like to see some odd druid variant for the modern magic. Like how would druids adapt to modern technology? There would have to be some that would embrace to an extent.
I'd like to see some odd druid variant for the modern magic. Like how would druids adapt to modern technology? There would have to be some that would embrace to an extent.
Well, considering how harmful to the environment it is to mine for some of the materials or manufacture it.... probably not? For some homebrew stuff, my modern druids are like crazy pigeon ladies, the "bohemian/hippy" types, and those who work at tree nurseries and zoos. That kind of thing. I could see them having a smartphone, laptop, or an account at an internet cafe or something, but not like full techie.
I don't think they would necessarily adapt to modern technology, but they would persevere through it.
So we want something that has to do with technology and how the druid sees it. "Druids revere nature above all" (PHB, 64), knowing this, druids still would not like urban areas, stick to the woods. Likely Druids would find themselves fighting against deforestation, working to preserve endangered species. This druid, I think, would be likely to adapt his spells to target machines as enemies to the land.
When considering spells, I would adapt entangle to allow it to destroy smaller machines/urban structures withe the entangling plants. At higher levels, the plant growth spell could also do this with larger machines. He could use those spells to assist in the reclaiming of old ruins by nature
He could also be a champion of animals, using "speak with animals" to try and convince the pandas to get it on, so they are no longer endangered. He would be a defender of endangered animals, lashing out against poachers.
I made an attempt at making a druid circle around this, but I can't really come up with stuff in a theme that matched up with the other circles in means of power.
My favorite druids of all time are the Mechanics from Xenozoic Tales. The philosophy was "humans need cities and farms like bees need hives and birds need nests, but out of all the animals, humans are the only ones who have the ability to recognize the harm they cause and attempt to minimize their imprint while living honestly."
They had deals with the tunnels beneath the Earth and the jungles; they harvested oil from giant solifugids and harvestmen and made their gas out of guano and and fat. They directed monsters and big animals away from settlements they were harming, and pushed an agenda of ensuring that farms added to the richness of the soil rather than taking it. They worked out of this huge factory complex called "The Garage" and they were the only people with access to cars. I remember a plot where a shivat (a Tyrannosaurus) wandered into a town three times and the Mechanics spent time in mourning before going out to kill it (of course, it turned out it was being directed there by poachers, and they were able to avoid killing it).
"Urban druid" is something I can very much imagine - look at arcology theory, Victory gardens, social sciences, and cultural/idea ecologies for ideas.
My home setting has nature spirits in everything. All magic is tied to bargains and deals with these spirits. Interacting with technology is a complex series of bargains previously made working in and functioning with each other automatically. Tool spirits are made by people to serve people. Mages like to "avoid" technology because casting a spell is reaching out to spirits and making demands, and technology/tool spirits are really pushy about willing to help you.
"I LIVE TO SERVE," shouts the socket wrench, "LET ME HELP YOU," screams the spigot, too loud of a din for you to hear the water spirit you're trying to reach.
Dragons, like in Japan and the Americas, are the spirits of rivers, and even cities have canals. Canal dragons have antlers like driftwood hanging with ornamentation of the city - day-glow strips from construction sites, old tea bags, shoelaces, and pop tabs in their horns, hair that shimmers with the rainbow colors of oil, eyes like headlights, and coils like rubber tires drowning in the muck. The streaks of color on their body are buzzing neon. They smell like stagnant water in the summer, and they are surrounded by the sounds of mosquitoes and late-night traffic.
"Circle of the Urban Jungle" could be way cool. Give it, uh, Minor Illusion and Shocking Grasp as cantrips (it can produce the sounds of crowds and cars, the lights of the city, or whatever other images or noises you could imagine, and they can cause electrical overloads). Or maybe bring back Haywire:
The haywire spell causes a single device to behave randomly and erratically, defying any attempts to bring it under control. Cash registers display random prices and open their money drawers repeatedly. Escalators surge forward, then reverse themselves. Automatic teller machines flash random patrons' account balances on the screen as they spew forth receipts (not money, though).
It's impossible to describe the exact effects of haywire on every modern device. In general, a machine subject to haywire functions as if someone were pressing random buttons or otherwise manipulating it randomly.
Turning off a device subject to a haywire spell doesn't work, because the spell disables the "off" switch. Cutting off the power supply (by unplugging it, for example) disables the device 1d4 rounds later, ending the spell.
Give it a concentration duration. Yeah, that sounds good.
Maybe an ability that lets you see out of the eyes of crows and other birds in the city. Maybe something that lets you teleport from one city to another, or something that lets you prevent someone from leaving a particular city for a time (traffic lights hinder them, crowds spring up, construction is always down the wrong road, all these streets are one-way). Could have something that lets you claim a block or street as "territory" and have urban animals attack anyone who comes in, or alert you. See through the eyes of statues. Animate statues of animals. Backflow sewer pipes. Call up clammy city rain. Talk to kaiju.
They say a lot of things about the people who know the songs of the city.
They say druidic lets you talk to anyone in any social strata right through the barriers of slang and jargon.
They say the 200 foot owl statue in the center of town will tell you anything, as long as you whisper your darkest secret in its ear.
They say that there are trolls in the park that tell riddles after sundown, and if you get them right, they will take you to their strange markets.
They say there are faeries that live in the old passages between the brownstones that have trinkets from before humanoids even lived here.
They say that crows know the secret language spelled out in the patterns of the crows and the cars, that it is the same language that has always been written on the skin of the world.
They say that if you seal yourself in a sensory deprivation tank and take an ancient mix of herbs you can talk to the beings that control all coincidences.
They say the magnetic field of the world resonates at the same frequency of the humanoid brain, and all the connected devices of the modern world are like neurons, and that if the number of connected devices reaches the same number as the neurons in the humanoid brain, that Gaia will awaken.
This is probably the most compelling thing I've seen for modern, city-dwelling druids. If you'd be open to it, I'd love to talk about/work together on actually making some mechanics for this. I'm in the process of trying to make a character like this, but I don't want to put too much of it on the DM to manage my abilities (since he's kinda dumb). Thanks!
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I enjoyed the Modern Magic rules a lot myself but, equally, I enjoyed them in the cheesey way that is all a bit tongue in cheek. With descriptions of evil SUVs I think it lends to that.
I'd like to see some odd druid variant for the modern magic. Like how would druids adapt to modern technology? There would have to be some that would embrace to an extent.
I don't think they would necessarily adapt to modern technology, but they would persevere through it.
So we want something that has to do with technology and how the druid sees it. "Druids revere nature above all" (PHB, 64), knowing this, druids still would not like urban areas, stick to the woods. Likely Druids would find themselves fighting against deforestation, working to preserve endangered species. This druid, I think, would be likely to adapt his spells to target machines as enemies to the land.
When considering spells, I would adapt entangle to allow it to destroy smaller machines/urban structures withe the entangling plants. At higher levels, the plant growth spell could also do this with larger machines. He could use those spells to assist in the reclaiming of old ruins by nature
He could also be a champion of animals, using "speak with animals" to try and convince the pandas to get it on, so they are no longer endangered. He would be a defender of endangered animals, lashing out against poachers.
I made an attempt at making a druid circle around this, but I can't really come up with stuff in a theme that matched up with the other circles in means of power.
it could be worse, you could be on fire.
My favorite druids of all time are the Mechanics from Xenozoic Tales. The philosophy was "humans need cities and farms like bees need hives and birds need nests, but out of all the animals, humans are the only ones who have the ability to recognize the harm they cause and attempt to minimize their imprint while living honestly."
They had deals with the tunnels beneath the Earth and the jungles; they harvested oil from giant solifugids and harvestmen and made their gas out of guano and and fat. They directed monsters and big animals away from settlements they were harming, and pushed an agenda of ensuring that farms added to the richness of the soil rather than taking it. They worked out of this huge factory complex called "The Garage" and they were the only people with access to cars. I remember a plot where a shivat (a Tyrannosaurus) wandered into a town three times and the Mechanics spent time in mourning before going out to kill it (of course, it turned out it was being directed there by poachers, and they were able to avoid killing it).
"Urban druid" is something I can very much imagine - look at arcology theory, Victory gardens, social sciences, and cultural/idea ecologies for ideas.
My home setting has nature spirits in everything. All magic is tied to bargains and deals with these spirits. Interacting with technology is a complex series of bargains previously made working in and functioning with each other automatically. Tool spirits are made by people to serve people. Mages like to "avoid" technology because casting a spell is reaching out to spirits and making demands, and technology/tool spirits are really pushy about willing to help you.
"I LIVE TO SERVE," shouts the socket wrench, "LET ME HELP YOU," screams the spigot, too loud of a din for you to hear the water spirit you're trying to reach.
Dragons, like in Japan and the Americas, are the spirits of rivers, and even cities have canals. Canal dragons have antlers like driftwood hanging with ornamentation of the city - day-glow strips from construction sites, old tea bags, shoelaces, and pop tabs in their horns, hair that shimmers with the rainbow colors of oil, eyes like headlights, and coils like rubber tires drowning in the muck. The streaks of color on their body are buzzing neon. They smell like stagnant water in the summer, and they are surrounded by the sounds of mosquitoes and late-night traffic.
"Circle of the Urban Jungle" could be way cool. Give it, uh, Minor Illusion and Shocking Grasp as cantrips (it can produce the sounds of crowds and cars, the lights of the city, or whatever other images or noises you could imagine, and they can cause electrical overloads). Or maybe bring back Haywire:
Give it a concentration duration. Yeah, that sounds good.
Maybe an ability that lets you see out of the eyes of crows and other birds in the city. Maybe something that lets you teleport from one city to another, or something that lets you prevent someone from leaving a particular city for a time (traffic lights hinder them, crowds spring up, construction is always down the wrong road, all these streets are one-way). Could have something that lets you claim a block or street as "territory" and have urban animals attack anyone who comes in, or alert you. See through the eyes of statues. Animate statues of animals. Backflow sewer pipes. Call up clammy city rain. Talk to kaiju.
They say a lot of things about the people who know the songs of the city.
They say druidic lets you talk to anyone in any social strata right through the barriers of slang and jargon.
They say the 200 foot owl statue in the center of town will tell you anything, as long as you whisper your darkest secret in its ear.
They say that there are trolls in the park that tell riddles after sundown, and if you get them right, they will take you to their strange markets.
They say there are faeries that live in the old passages between the brownstones that have trinkets from before humanoids even lived here.
They say that crows know the secret language spelled out in the patterns of the crows and the cars, that it is the same language that has always been written on the skin of the world.
They say that if you seal yourself in a sensory deprivation tank and take an ancient mix of herbs you can talk to the beings that control all coincidences.
They say the magnetic field of the world resonates at the same frequency of the humanoid brain, and all the connected devices of the modern world are like neurons, and that if the number of connected devices reaches the same number as the neurons in the humanoid brain, that Gaia will awaken.
This is probably the most compelling thing I've seen for modern, city-dwelling druids. If you'd be open to it, I'd love to talk about/work together on actually making some mechanics for this. I'm in the process of trying to make a character like this, but I don't want to put too much of it on the DM to manage my abilities (since he's kinda dumb). Thanks!