Druid

Druid

(Class)

Region

Any

Races

Any

Alignment

First Edition:

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Second Edition:

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Iconic character

Lini

Images of druids

Source: Core Rulebook, pg(s). 48–54 (1E)
Player Core, pg(s). 122 (2E)

Ⅰ

Ⅱ

Lini the druid musters the animals of the forest.

The druid walks the lands that are still untouched by civilization without fear or worry, harnessing primal magic and controlling it with calm purpose. Druids devote themselves to the wilderness, making nature its ally, friend, and a potent source of power and knowledge.

As the cleric serves the peoples and settlements of Golarion, the druid serves the wilderness. Druids seek to maintain the balance between the natural world: the elements, plants, animals, and sentient creatures alike. But like the capricious world they protect and serve, druids vary in nature from avenging anger to gentle guardians.

Abilities

Druids cast primal spells and can communicate with animals on a rudimentary level. They often have an animal companion or a leshy familiar.

Orders and anathema

Druid's connection to nature is represented by their druidic order. While they will always be connected to their initial order, it is not unusual to meet a druid with two or more orders.

Druids are not allowed to use metal armor or shields, must protect natural places and are strictly forbidden to teach the Wildsong language to non-druids, in addition to the restrictions imposed by their individual orders.

• Animal order: These druids have a strong connection to animals. They are not allowed to maliciously harm animals or unnecessarily kill them.
• Flame order: Druids of this order feel a kinship with fire. They are not allowed to let unnatural fires to spread or to prevent natural fires from occurring in a way that harms the environment.
• Leaf order: Leaf druids revere plants and the bounty of nature, teaching others to co-exist with nature and helping natural areas regrow after disasters. They are not allowed to maliciously harm plants or unnecessarily kill them.
• Stone order: Stone druids are take comfort in stone's steadfast presence. They are not allowed to pollute the land or heedlessly plunder earth's natural resources.
• Storm order: Storm order druids channel the fury of the storm. They are not allowed to pollute the air or let those who cause major air pollution or climate shifts to go unpunished.
• Wave order: Water order druids have learned to shape water and its flow. They are not allowed to pollute water or allow those who pollute water sources to go unpunished.
• Wild order: Wild druids are infused with nature's uncontrollable urges, enabling them to change into wild creatures. They are not allowed to become too dependent on the comforts of civilization.

On Golarion

Druids on Golarion generally are rare. The reclusive nature of most groves, along with the demanding and very introspective nature of their lives means very few beings are suited to the faith. Most druids avoid interaction with things outside of nature—politics, economics, and even organized religion are foreign concepts to most.

Most druids prefer to make their own clothing and tools out of natural materials. They are willing to use metal items where necessary, but not metal armour. Some even go so far as to make armour out of alchemically treated leaves.

Among Rahadoum's many legal faiths, the Green Faith is prominent, although still viewed with suspicion, with druids in high demand to help heal citizens and farmland ravaged by drought and disease. Druids hired by the government present one of the best bulwarks against the nation's rapidly accelerating desertification.

All places need druids, and most have them. Even the largest of cities have druids that watch over their progress and the lives of their inhabitants, vermin and humanoid alike. Of special note is the Isle of Arenway, where the druids of Golarion meet during the summer solstice to discuss the world and their faith. Practitioners of the Green Faith can also be found in nearly every other biome in the Inner Sea region, be it the snow-covered mountains of Irrisen, the bleak hills of the Hold of Belkzen, or the swamps of the Sodden Lands. They find particular focus in areas where nature has been warped or corrupted, such as the Mana Wastes, the Tanglebriar of Kyonin, or the Worldwound.

Organizations

• A sect of druids called the Stonewardens patrols the central range of the Barrier Wall near Thuvia, guarding hidden sanctuary valleys and remote portals to the First World.
• Sevenarches is currently in the hands of Oakstewards, secretive druids who have ruled the land since Kyonin's elves departed Golarion to escape Earthfall.
• The Shades of the Uskwood are the druidic order sworn to the Uskwood's mysteries. All members revere Zon-Kuthon and are albino, losing their natural pigmentation (if any) as part of their initiation ritual.
• The now destroyed Council of Thorns
• The Wildwood Lodge
• Crystalhurst

Notable druids

See also: Category:Druids

Ancestries

An elven druid with her plant companion.

The druidic faith is very strict and individuals from all ancestries have equal chance to be drawn to its designs. Elves, however, being more connected to the natural world, have a greater connection to the roots of the faith. Dwarf, gnome, catfolk, azarketi, leshy, lizardfolk, changeling, beastkin, fleshwarp, oread, sprite, strix, anadi, conrasu, goloma, tripkee, and shoony adventurers often become druids.

Religions

Druids are frequently followers of the Green Faith. They may practice Shoanti animism as an expression of their connection to the earth—or they might worship Sarenrae, the goddess of the sun; or Tsukiyo, the god of the moon; and some ferocious druids worship Achaekek for the mantis god's primal efficiency in killing his targets.

Many druids also choose to uphold the natural order but not the divine, and to not worship any deities.

Variant druids

Urban druid

An urban druid is concerned with the health of the natural world found within an urban environment. They are often given other appellations, some of them less than flattering, for instance: citywalker, cobblestone druid, streetcaller, streetseer, and street witch. Urban druids talk of sensing the city almost as a living being, and they hear what they term the citysong, which empowers them and their magic.

Blight druid

Blight druids guard, protect, and sometimes help to heal places where nature has been destroyed or corrupted, either through natural disasters or people's actions. They tend to emulate nature's entropy, seeing its destruction as a much-needed part of the life-cycle. Because of this focus, they tend to be more violent than most of their kind. One of the most well-known blight druids on Golarion is the fiendish arboreal regent Carrock who oversees the plants in the corruptive ruins of Storasta in the Worldwound.

Fey callers

Druids who practice flexible preparation, also known as fey callers, can both prepare and spontaneously cast spells. Fey callers tend to gravitate to locations where the separation between the planes of the Universe and First World is thinnest. This includes the Lands of the Linnorm Kings and River Kingdoms.

References

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.