Druid Groves

[Fingersmith]

TL;DR BELOW, LOOK FOR THE BOLD TEXT

The nature of druids (snrk) is one of balance. It involves working with the natural world rather than conquering it, and eschewing the trappings of civilization. This means that Druids don't get to hide in cities with guards to protect them.

But what Druids do get is Groves. It goes back to that trope of Druids being treehuggers and glorified gardeners, but it makes a point. With all that connection that Druids have to the wilds, it makes sense that the wilds would give a little something back to make up for all that the Druids gave up. We have cities, but Druids have Groves.

There have been some concerns about a recent change to Camouflage, and what it means to Druid stealth (which is seen by some as necessary to survival.) But I think now's a good oppourtunity to move away from the idea that a Druid needs stealth to survive.

-ACTUAL SUGGESTION-

How about allowing PC Druids to have a Grove of their own? It would be a one square area, accessible by a hidden placeable in any natural area in the module. The placeable would be laid down in exactly the same way you plant seeds, but would take much longer to appear. Inside this area, the Druid would have room to plant a few plants and, obviously, rest. But more importantly, it would allow them to access other Groves.

Every Grove would have its own large tree in the very center. Once every so often, between 3 to 7 days or so, the Druid could take a branch of that tree. By taking the branch to another grove and planting it, a path is created and a connection is made. Druids can travel to any Grove mutually connected to their own as long in exchange for a large offering of plants. The exact combination of plants needed to access one Grove from another would be determined when the connection is made and would not change. For example: Joe Druid wants to travel to Jason Druid's Grove. His own Grove has a connection to that one. However, to make that journey, Joe Druid needs an offering of 3 Kelpie Snares, 4 Roseneedle Pine cones, and 2 Bonga Ferns. Let's hope he has some stored away for an emergency.

Travel between Groves like this would work in the same way as rafting. It would not be instantaneous, taking several minutes (and longer based on actual distance travelled). Unlike rafting, however, there would not be a random encounter. This represents the Druid travelling a familiar path and being in tune with it enough to travel unmolested. That trail is blazed when the branch from one Grove is taken to another, and becomes empowered by the ritual.

To prevent abuse, travel from one Grove to another could only be done once per person per reset. You could go to one place, but not immediately back. For example, if Joe Druid had a Grove in Starwood Forest, and his buddy Jason Druid had a Grove in the Outer Wall Farmlands, he could go from the Forest to the Farmlands and skip the areas in-between. To get back to his Grove, however, he would have to either go back directly or find another Grove connected to his own.

And obviously, these Groves could be discovered. Though their placement would be hidden, a search check by anyone could discover them just the same. If someone, for whatever reason, wanted to destroy a Grove, all they would have to do is destroy the tree in the center. Afterwards, the placeable leading to the Grove would disappear, along with all connections made to other Groves.

A druid could start a new Grove in a new area, but doing so would have a great cost. All the plants in that old Grove would be lost, and so would the connection to other Groves. Further, by voluntarily letting their original Grove die, the Druid would take a penalty of 200xp, just as if they had lost their animal companion.

Finally, if any Druid should not visit their Grove tree for more than 7 days (due to negligence or death) then their Grove will eventually wither and die. This is to save space when a Druid dies or a player retires, but also to encourage Druids to take care of the wilderness they cherish. For players who have an unavoidable reason to be gone for longer than a week, a DM can set this timer temporarily on pause.

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tl;dr Every Druid gets a Grove. Auto-travel to other linked Groves like a raft. Travel is limited to once per reset between any two Groves. Groves can be destroyed very easily, if their hidden transition is found. Travel costs plant items. Negligence or changing Groves equals loss of Grove, plants, and possibly XP.

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I am suggesting this idea as a means of countering the reliance on Druid stealth for survival and travel, a benefit to cooperative Druids, and a means of protecting plant resources from OOCly inconsiderate players. I hope you all check it out and let me know what you think.

[Egon the Monkey]

I suggest you play a Steward. Just sayin'.

[Lorilei]

Great brainstorming. Love the concept.

Perhaps could use this idea for an inn room rental type affair?  City folk get long term rooms to store objects, for a fee.. maybe druids can get long term " rooms " for an upkeep of seeds and such, to get a placeable to enter a grove with the same features?

[SilentSouth]

This is real nice dude, i don't know how the tools work etc but i have a feeling this would take a hell of a lot of work and its whether the DMs are up to it.

But i'm with you on that.

[Thomas_Not_very_wise]

Druid groves were something that were planned, but the DM in charge of it disappeared and when he did reappear, didn't appear all that interested.

NuclearCatastrophe, word?

[Spiffy Has]

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