Is there any one universal out look on the balance that druids share? Because I get confused when Some druids say Yes, hunting is all right, then I Get a totally different message from a completely different druid who's deity is opposite.

P.S. Do the same rules applies to druids as they do clerics? As in, Can a DM give a druid spell failure for doing something that is against the deities dogma?

It completely varies based on the god and the druid. I know for a fact that druids have lost their spell casting for violating their vows. Whether it was dogma or basic druid vows, I am not sure.

Druids take an 'Oath' on becoming a druid to maintain the 'balance'. This should override any deity they may worship. My understanding is they do not get their powers from the deity rather 'nature' itself.

For example a druid will see a deer being killed and eaten by a lion... they should do nothing, it is part of the balance, whether they pray to Malar, Mielikki etc..

The same would be if a druid saw the deer dying of a natural disease. The druid would not 'save' the animal, because in their eyes the disease organism has as much 'right' to exist as the deer it is killing, the natural thing is to let it occur, if it lives it lives if it dies it dies.

The difference to say a cleric of a nature deity is that they love their deity more than nature. e.g. the cleric of Mielikki may cure the deer as Mielikki loves such animals more than the 'horrible and ugly' disease killing it.

Rules for druids are strict, if you as a druid cured a dying deer, which was dying of natural causes, you would not be maintaining the 'balance' and would be breaking your 'Oath' and could suffer some penalty (completely dependant on how the DM present viewed it of course!).

These rules get more complicated if the animal/plant is being killed by 'unnatural' things e.g. orcs or a magical disease created by Talona? Then arguably the druid would be expected to intervene.

my 2 cents:

I think about the concept of balance is primary related to the concept of conscient choice.

Any time, if arent a conscient decision about do or dont, it keep the balance.

If one kills for eat or for survive, it keep the balance.

the choice of which will die -- in Malar ways --, keep it too ?

In the Realms, it is very clear that druids get their spells from gods.

Druids are all also still part of a single order that tries to keep the nebulous "balance".

Malar for example fairly regularly tries to upset the balance by giving predators an ever greater edge. In his perfect world, bunny rabbits either do not exist or are now carnivorous. Most druids would find this a twisted version of the "balance though" and try to prevent it.

I can see how this can still leave druids of Malar as part of a larger society of druids--just as Russia, China, and the US are part of the larger society of the UN. Just as each real-world nation has a different view on global politics (free market, command economy, democratic government, autocratic stability)--all still are trying to uphold a kind of balance that keeps the globe running smoothly economically and politically. All druids have an aim toward keeping nature running smoothly, but have different ideas on how that smooth operation might best be conducted.

Elf999 explained things very well!

Yeah, Elf has it. The thing about druids is that their real loyalty is to nature itself, and that is what they serve above all things. Their patron deity is more like a spiritual guide that they consult as they decide what precise actions to take to maintain the balance of nature.

As Oro stated, Druids in FR recieve their spells from Gods with nature oriented portfolios or interests though are not beholden to the particular God for worship. Rather, that God's dogma may color a druids view on how to bring about the Balance.

As elf999 stated, the oaths are strict and binding. You will get spell failure to failing to adhere to those oaths, though likely IG you will get a whopping of a warning from any DM before that occurs.

Just what is the balance? I kinda got an idea on it etc...but I wanna know how they keep the balance...

The Balance is Nature's natural state of being, where nothing clearly dominates another, and things generally exist in harmony, if not peace.

Because I get confused when Some druids say Yes, hunting is all right, then I Get a totally different message from a completely different druid who's deity is opposite.

If the creature is being hunted for sport, yes, intervine.

9lives The Balance is Nature's natural state of being, where nothing clearly dominates another, and things generally exist in harmony, if not peace.

"Harmony, if not peace" is something that really is antagonistical to the concept of a "balance" in nature.

Peace is a intellectual concept created by sentient creatures. This makes it in some senses an invader of the natural world, a concept that exists most specifically on the outer planes themselves. Lions do not exist at peace with gazelle. Ant colonies go to war against one another, that is not harmony.

The 'balance' is simply nature. Nature as it exists, things live and die, often violently. Trees grow, animals often eat one another, carcasses rot. Concepts such as justice, peace, mercy, truth, and love would fade before reality of flee or flee, mate, and eat or die.

Various gods of nature may wish to adjust how some of this works, Meilikki may truly wish for animals to all become vegetarians; Malar would like them all to be carnivores. In fact, Meilikki's clerics will try to make animals peaceful and live in harmony, "No, lion, you can't eat gazelle. Try this mushroom. It made my day groovy." Yet her druids are far more likely to accept that deer are the favored food of wolves, even if deep down they are druids of Meilikki because they sympathize with prey, likewise druids of Malar may prefer a world where there are only predators but recognize that in a world without prey the predators will lack anything to hunt.

Oroborous is right on how the balance works for druids. A druids deity colors their perception of the balance, and in some ways defines how they seek to manipulate it. However, in the end they all share the common goal of preserving the life of the natural world.

A druid of Malar, for example, becomes concerned when he feels there are too many prey and not enough hunters. Likewise, he also becomes concerned when he feels there is not enough prey.

In fact, Malar is very clear on what he expects from his priests and his Druids likely feel the same.

"Survival of the fittest and the winnowing of the weak are Malar's legacy. A brutal, bloody death or kill has great meaning. The crux of life is the challenge between the hunter and the prey, the determination of who lives or dies. View every important task as a hunt. Remain ever alert and alive. Walk the wilderness without trepidation, and show no fear in the hunt. Savagery and strong emotions defeat reason and careful thought in all things. Taste the blood of those you slay, and never kill from a distance. Work against those who cut back the forest and who kill beasts solely because they are dangerous. Slay not the young, the pregnant, or deepspawn so that prey will remain plentiful."

It is likely that a Druid of Malar will adhere closely to that in one degree or another, especially the last part.

There are harder druids to play, of course, such as a Druid of Talos. Such druids may seek out places that they find too prosperous. They may seek to cause natural destruction - hailstorms, floods, droughts and things of this nature. They would believe that by destroying nature - or at least causing minor destruction of nature - it will in turn aid nature in returning stronger than before. If the plant can overcome the drought or the flood, then it is stronger than the other plants that could not. This is good for nature in the long run - a form of self-imposed supernatural Darwinism.

Hence why I said harmony above peace.