Druids

Druidic energy is unlike that of any other. Wizards draw upon the magical energies that surround them, sorcerors draw upon magical energies from within, and clerics draw upon divine energies from the gods themselves. The druids, however, draw their power from all living things, and less often, from the energy that binds the universe together. Many people believe druidic energy to be like that of the clerics -- divine in its origins -- but this is untrue. Their power comes both from their own life energies, and from the life energies of those around them. Well-trained and well-disciplined druids can actually drain an area dry of life, although this is anathema to the basic tenet of the druids.

Because they draw their energy from life itself, they also draw their energy from death, when the majority of the life energy is released. Druids seeks a balance between the long-term powers of life, and the short-term gains of death. Too much of one or the other throws nature itself out of balance, and thus limits the power of the druids. Necromatic wizards and sorcerors can draw upon the life energies in much the same way as druids, but the ability to bond and empathize with nature itself gives the druids the upper hand in understanding the world around them.

The height of druidic power on Gaeleth occurred in 761 Avard. Prior to that time, the druids were loosely organized into enclaves of their own choosing, or even loners. In the year 1 Avard, a druid by the name of Avard Karatika used his charisma and brilliant political mind to begin uniting all the druids together. At the same time, he united nations, forming the Karatikan Alliance that lasted for nearly eight centuries. The Storm Wars brought about the downfall of the Karatikan Alliance, and toppled the druidic regime that held under Avard Karatika. In the chaos, nature became severely unbalanced, and the numbers of druids was reduced considerably. Avard Karatika was assassinated, further splintering the druidic circles that had once dominated the land.

Priests and clerics of Barith and Elinthar, the gods of plants and animals respectively, managed to forcibly tame much of the civilized lands. Lands on the fringe of society had neither the clerics nor the manpower to tame nature, and so those lands remain a very dangerous and daunting place. Druids are respected and needed on the frontiers, and beyond, but they are seen as unneccesary and unneeded by many peoples and many nations.

Druids as player characters or NPCs need not memorize spells in advance. The verbal components of their casting are the words of druidic might that bind all life -- and unlife -- together. Although a foreign tongue to all ears but those of other druids, the language is somehow recognized as something from deep within us all. The Inquisition was a trying time for the druids, because their foreign words were held in hostile view by an ignorant populace, and yet the druids were officially protected by the Churches of Barith and Elinthar. Their non-verbal components only serve to focus the life and death energies around them, as they channel the raw power of life itself.

Clerics similarly channel energy, but their energy has already been transmuted from the gods. Druids channel a more primal energy, and are thus subject to the same limitations as Clerics. Until their bodies learn to handle the power that courses through them, they cannot cast more powerful energies. Thus, as a druid's body adapts to the power of lower-level spells, the potential to cast higher-level spells grows.

Back up to the Classes, Etc.