Gothic Druid questions...

[Shadowlancer]

Heya guys!

After being gone from Ravenloft for a long while (Wrapping up a different character story elsewhere) I’ve been getting back into POTM because of how difficult it is. It reminds me of more hardcore D&D, and I like it! The problem I’m having is I have a character concept I really like but I’m having trouble fleshing out the background because to be honest, I don’t know a whole lot about Gothic Earth.
Even after thread searching I’ve yet to come up with definitive answers to the questions I have so I thought I’d just lay it out here for the community to come to my aid.

1)   Does Gothic Earth actually have Druids? If it does what deities to they follow? Or is it just nature worship / astrology / mysticism in general? (couldn’t find this info)

2)   If my Druid is from the early Elizabethan age he/she would still be considered a witch essencially, and persecuted / a loner, correct?

3)   Is bearing a staff for the RP purpose of walking considered walking around town with a weapon drawn? (I’m fine with this either way, just curious)

4)   Could this setting be any more awesome?

[herkles]

Heya guys!

After being gone from Ravenloft for a long while (Wrapping up a different character story elsewhere) I’ve been getting back into POTM because of how difficult it is. It reminds me of more hardcore D&D, and I like it! The problem I’m having is I have a character concept I really like but I’m having trouble fleshing out the background because to be honest, I don’t know a whole lot about Gothic Earth.

Happy to help. Just two main things.
1.) Gothic Earth characters do not know common
2.) Gothic Earth Languages are not the same as the ravenloft languages. ie a frenchman and a dementlieuse both say bonjour to each other and both go "huh what did the other guy say".
3.) the cut off date is the arbitrary date of 1650
just thought I would mention that. to your Questions!

Even after thread searching I’ve yet to come up with definitive answers to the questions I have so I thought I’d just lay it out here for the community to come to my aid.

1)   Does Gothic Earth actually have Druids? If it does what deities to they follow? Or is it just nature worship / astrology / mysticism in general? (couldn’t find this info)

Gothic Earth has historical Druids. They would come from well the time that the various celtic people were pagan.  They would thus follow the traditional celtic gods, goddesses, ancestors and spirits. typically these would be of there tribe or general region; because there was no pan-celtic faith.

Though you could likely use the Druid class for other similar faiths.

2)   If my Druid is from the early Elizabethan age he/she would still be considered a witch essencially, and persecuted / a loner, correct?

Very likely if not a heretic or heathen. Of course it depends on where he comes from.
3)   Is bearing a staff for the RP purpose of walking considered walking around town with a weapon drawn? (I’m fine with this either way, just curious)[/quote]
I don't think so but you might need to place it away when speaking with npcs and then take it back out again.

4)   Could this setting be any more awesome?

Yes! it can of course always be more awesome and our great DM and Dev team strive to make it So!


If you have any other questions feel free to ask

[ladylena]

there is a 'walking stick' item that is just that. A walking stick. It doesn't count for weilding weapons and has no damage stats.

[MAB77]

Just adding to Herkles comments. So long as the the basic core rules about druids are respected: mainly a reverence for nature, a dedication to preserve it and an oath not to use metal armors (including body armor, shield, bracers and helm), then there is nothing wrong in using the druid class to emulate a Neo-druidism pagan cult from the Elizabethan era. I even think this would works rather well as a secret society for that era. We, after all, encourage thoughtful creativity.

[Song of Danta]

Woo!

I play a Gothic Earth druid from Lithuania who follows their brand of paganism. Their pantheon has everything. Even phosphorescent skeletons.
It's been interesting for the character to note the parallels between his homeland and the Land of Mists. Specifically the similarities between large institutions of faith in either place.
The real nightmare has been his poor grasp on the common tongue. It's difficult for the character to connect to other characters in a meaningful way since he talks like an ogre.

If you want to play a less-nice druid from the mean and prickly side of the balance, here are some ideas:

Desire to control the elements
Triggering natural disasters, perhaps to raze those nasty 'civilizations'
'The strong will inherit the earth'
Living creatures weaker than you are there to serve
Militant vegan

So on, and so forth.

[Shadowlancer]

Militant vegan

You don't have to worry about them being a secret society though, they’ll tell you about it.

Thanks for the input guys, at this point I’m leaning towards a druid from a realm I know more about, mostly because the idea of having a communications barrier is not fun to me. Appreciate the help though.