Warrior Druids

[Quist Redfeather]

I am interested in developing a militant variation on the druid class.

I am not at all familiar with forgotten realms canon and so I have a number of questions that I hope can be answered by the collective lorekeepers of the ALFA community.

Druids (even those who multiclass) are traditionally prohibitted from wearing metal armour and wielding weapons other than their small selection.

What is the basis for the druid weapon/armour limitations? Why can't they wear metal armour? Is it because they do not approve of worked metal? Why then, can they wield steel scimitars? But not falchions? If they are hunters, why can't they use longbows? Can an elven druid (or a multiclassed druid with access to martial weapons) wield weapons otherwise unavailable?

I would love the hear the philosophy behind it all.

I have read on forgotten realms wiki that there are a number of warrior druid types out there including followers of Mielikki:

"The clergy of Mielikki include clerics, druids (Forestarms) and rangers (Needles). Generally, druids of Mielikki take on the abilities of rangers and unlike other druids, who are not allowed to wear metal armor, may use all kinds of armor usable by rangers." (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Mielikki)

If I wanted to play a militant multi-class ranger/druid, what sort of limitations should I expect? I don't care about the armour restriction really -- I think it makes sense, but I hope that my PC can choose to wield a metal martial weapon other than a scimitar.
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As a second branch of this post, I am exploring my PC's Uthgardt background. While I have been informed that Uthgar is one of many gods in ALFA, he is not currently selectable by a divine spellcasting class. Can Uthgar be a divine spellcaster's god? If not, how do the shamans of the Uthgardt get their powers? Before asking a DM if my PC's god can be switched, I'd like to know if that's even possible.

Thanks for taking the time to read this over, and hopefully for answering my questions.

[hollyfant]

The origins of the druidic limitations are in their connection to Nature. Non-metallic armours and stick, stone and claw-like weapons were deemed to be the "right" thing for druids by the game designers. It never did make any sense to anyone else...

In 3.5 D&D - and consequently in ALFA - the restrictions on weapons were lifted. Druids are still automatically proficient with only their traditional selection, but may wield any weapon they choose. The Forgotten Realms settings allows druids of Mielikki (and only those of Mielikky) to wear any "light" armour, but that privilege has been revoked in ALFA. So for our druids, it's: any weapon, any non-metal armour.

Militancy is something I for one would actually expect from druids. They have significantly more offensive spells than their cleric counterparts and have rather brutal traditions and laws among themselves. Even Eldath, the goddess of peace, tranquillity and pacifism doesn't require Her druids to abstain from violence. I know of no rule or reason to disapprove of a mixture of ranger and druid other than that they overlap a lot already. Like other divine classes, druids will remain beholden to their deity and their oaths of course, regardless of what other classes they may take. And you can only have one, single Patron for all your classes.


Canonically, Uthgar is most definitely a God and grants spells to His faithful. Whether that includes druids is debatable by the way. He's not part of ALFA's selection of Gods because that hasn't been changed from the default NWN2 list (yet?). So how to go about worshipping Uthgar in ALFA I don't actually know...

[Vaelahr]

What is the basis for the druid weapon/armour limitations? Why can't they wear metal armour? Is it because they do not approve of worked metal? Why then, can they wield steel scimitars? But not falchions? If they are hunters, why can't they use longbows? Can an elven druid (or a multiclassed druid with access to martial weapons) wield weapons otherwise unavailable?

I would love the hear the philosophy behind it all.

The scimitar is Mielikki's favored weapon which makes sense for the Forestarms I suppose.

A hunter druid sounds like a Malarite. Followers of Malar strongly believe in killing their prey at close range, so the longbow restriction makes sense there. Malarites are known to even restrict themselves to claw bracers or even bare-hand kills.

Because of a druid's connection to nature and the wild, it makes some sense for them to wear armor that mixes well with that. The clank and rustle of plate and chain doesn't sound very woodsy.

I think that a ranger/druid build sounds like a conflicted character... much like a cleric/druid. Druids tend to be a bit "wilder" while rangers and nature-based clerics tend to interact more with their communities. A ranger turned druid (or cleric turned druid) sounds more likely perhaps. I also think that militancy can be roleplayed despite armor/weapon restrictions.

[hollyfant]

I'd love to see a CG ranger of Mielikki, a NG cleric of Mielikki, a LG paladin of Mielikki and a TN druid of Mielikki discussing their faith...

[Curmudgeon]

According to 2nd Ed., the Mielikkian order of the Shadoweirs is entirely composed of half-elven ranger/druids militant activists who seek to turn back the encroachment of civilization on the ancient forests.