Quoted from eraldur
Here is some relevant information about
Druids., I am sure it will help you, sorry for the long Read.
Race and the Druid.Druids can emerge from any natural environment. Where they are rarest is where cobbled stones and the noisy advance of civilization have replaced a carpet of leaves and the gentle song of the lark. Some races are more likely than others to take up the druid's path for cultural reasons, but in game terms there's no race that makes for an especially bad druid. Since Wisdom is the primary ability score for the class and no race has a bonus or penalty to this score, no obvious racial choice exists for druid characters.Humans: Though humans lack the special abilities of other races,the bonus skill points and feat they gain at 1st level make them excellent candidates for the druid class. After all, a druid who knows more ofthe forest's secrets (though extra ranks in Wilderness Lore) is by definition a more powerful druid. The human druid also has the acceptance of her peers, especially if she is from a savage or primitive background. The one glaring human weakness, poor night vision, is problematical for druids, but they can eventually compensate for it through spells, magic items, or wild Shape.
Dwarves: Dwarven druids, as the Player's Handbook notes, are rare. Since dwarves often exhibit fierce loyalty to clan or keep, placing nature first doesn't come easily for most of them. Nor does it help that many dwarves spend their lives working underground, carving up rock and stripping precious resources from the earth. Nevertheless, a dwarf who leaves that life behind can be a formidable defender of nature, tough beyond measure . The extra hit points a dwarf gets from her racial Constitution bonus are invaluable to a druid who spends a lot of time in battle. The druid's ability to take other forms though wild Shape compensates nicely for the dwarf's slow movement rate, and darkvision is a real blessing.
Elves: Elves are the archetypal druids, with good reason. From birth, children ofthis race learn to love the woodlands and the natural world in general . Elven druids have several racial advantages, not the least of which is their improved vision-low-light vision and bonuses to Spot and Search checks . Sadly, they must set aside their racial training in the longsword, rapier, and bow; a druid who uses any of those weapons loses all her druid powers for 24 hours. The physical frailty of an elf (-2 penalty to Constitution) is a slight disadvantage, but one that most elven druids are willing to accept. Best of all, an elven druid can return to the woodland home of her youth and find acceptance and even honor among her kind. Not many cultures are so accepting of the druid, and in few other settlements can she feel truly comfortable.
Gnomes: Though many do not realize it, the gnomes' bond with the natural world is nearly as strong as the elves'. Gnomes live simply, in wooded hills and warm burrows. Unlike members of other races, they can converse with burrowing creatures through an innate Speak with animals ability. Whether it is a blessing of the deities or a trick the gnomes learned over time, this ability bonds them with animals in a way that few others understand. Add in the gnome's low-light vision and natural hardiness, and the gnome druid has many of the dwarf's physical advantages as well as the social acceptance that the elf enjoys . Though her small size makes the gnome druid physically weaker than a human, wild Shape allows her to take the form of an animal with great strength, such as a hear or leopard. Humble, playful people that they are, gnomes make talented and steadfast druids.
Half-Elves : Lost and looking for her place in the world, many a half-elf finds solace in serving nature. Perhaps it's a way of accepting her elven half or appeasing elven kin-or perhaps the half-elfwhom society has cast aside finds a certain appeal in the sometimes lonely path of the druid. Whatever her reasons for taking up the class, the half-elven druid benefits from her elven heritage through her improved vision. Half-elves may also have an easier time getting along in a human-dominated
world than elves do.
Half-Orcs : It's unfortunate that so few half-orcs take up the druidic path. Like their orc parents, many halforcs live in wild frontiers, often far away from settled and well-defended towns. Those same frontiers are often home to druids . Half-orc characters have two significant advantages: darkvision and a +2 racial bonus to Strength.Moreover, although some may mock the half-orc for her lack of intelligence and her crudeness, a druid can live without great intelligence and charisma . Like the halfelf, the half orc must live with a degree of social stigma, so she may find a solitary existence in the woods preferable to dealing with those who can't accept her for what she is. Nature, after all, embraces all living beings and brings peace to the tormented soul.
Halflings: Halflings make good druids. Their natural athleticism and sensitive ears are ideal for outdoor survival, and their general good luck and bravery serve them well too. The primary reason that so few halflings take up the sickle and mistletoe is the strength of the halfling community. Their predilection for comfortable beds, fine food, and ample drink tends to discourage them from choosing more challenging lives in service tonature. The few who do take up the druid's path find that their size is no impediment to excellence .
------------------------------------------------------------------------------Druids and other Classes.Barbarians: Though the barbarian may rush headlong into combat, your relationship with him tends to be a good one. Both of you have woodland skills, and while you may not share the same view of the world, you do traverse the same hills and valleys.
Bards: You can understand the traveling lifestyle of the bard, but you don't envy it. Bards tend to stir up
nearly as much trouble as rogues do in their wanderings, but bards at least make charming and versatile adventuring companions. Their wide range of skills, their spellcasting talent, and their combat ability make them suitable backups for nearly any other character class. Add to that their incredible musical effects, and what's not to like? The bard reminds you that zest for living is a good thing, and that whatever duties you take on, life is a precious gift that should be enjoyed, not merely spent.
Clerics: You and the cleric share many spells and some similar obligations, but you certainly don't share
the same viewpoint on life. Your mind is focused on the earth, while he contemplates the heavens. This difference does not necessarily make for poor relations; indeed, you and he can develop a healthy respect for one another's abilities and come up with some highly useful spell combinations. True friendship is rare, however, unless the cleric has chosen the Animal, Plant, or Sun domain.
Fighters: It's always handy to have a fighter around when there's trouble. Through the barbarian may be
tougher overall, the fighter is incredibly skilled in the art of war, which means he usually knows a lot of fighting tricks that can help his group defeat sophisticated and powerful adversaries. On the other hand, it seems that he devotes his entire life to combat-and what sort of attitude is that? It’s that mindset-concentrating on petty squabbles instead of more important issues-that encourages ever-increasing conflict in the world. All things considered, you get along fine with the fighter when your goals coincide with his, but you would rather spend time with the ranger or the barbarian.
Monks: The monk seeks enlightenment through an ascetic lifestyle, which ultimately amounts to a denial of the self. To you, that seems utter folly. While there may be other planes of existence and a state beyond the "mortal realm," people should live in the present-in this world. You can sympathize with that lonely figure who came out of a monastery, but you have trouble embracing her outlook on life. As long as she's content to let others pursue their own paths, though, the two of you might be able to forge a bond of friendship.
Paladins: Your relationship with the paladin is often strained because the two of you have different outlooks on life and devote yourselves to different goals. The two things you have in common are a sense of moral duty and a desire to protect something in this world. You're both champions of your causes, and at those times when your interests overlap-when confronted by an overwhelming evil, for instance-you can form an alliance that few foes can withstand . Lasting friendship between the two of you is rare, however. The typical Druid dislikes the Paladin's devotion to abstract ideals instead of "The real world's".
Rangers:As might be expected, you and the ranger get along well. You share an understanding of the natural world, and though your means may vary, you see the need for each other. The one thing that disturbs you about the ranger is his vengeful dislike of certain creatures. You can understand the desire to hunt-that's a natural instinct-but you don't understand the desire to eradicate a certain type of being. Though your skills tend to overlap, the two of you together with your animal companions can greatly increase the capabilities (and sheer numbers) of an adventuring party.
Rogues: You appreciate rogues for their unique talents, but your lifestyle rarely brings you into contact with them. For the most part, that suits you just fine. The fact that civilized society considers rogues to be
miscreants, thieves, and assassins doesn't concern you, since you care little for society's strictures anyway. But some rogues think of life as a game, and too many others think of nothing but worldly goods. This leaves you little in common with the party's rogue, though you respect her skills .
Sorcerers: You may not fully understand the sorcerer or his origin, but you do respect innate gifts. The sorcerer, through some quirk of fate or bloodline, has a talent for magic, and unlike the wizard, he doesn't cloister his body inside a moldy tower or his mind inside an equally moldy tome. Most sorcerers are charismatic people who don't hide from the world or hold themselves above it. Those attributes make it easy for you to get along with them.
Wizards: There's a place for learning and a place for academic study. Wizards spend far too much time with their noses in books and not enough time getting exercise in the fresh air. But despite their typical lack of physical prowess, they often make pleasant companions and able adventurers, and their spells complement yours nicely. From your perspective, the only real flaw in the wizard's magic is that she draws her power from unnatural sources, calling in energy from places not of this world . Thus, while you are wise enough to befriend the wizard in your own adventuring group, you often take some small pleasure in fighting a villainous wizard.
Source: Masters of the Wild; ---------------------------------------------------Relevant Roleplay information about DruidsDruids realize all creatures have basic needs for food, shelter, and self-defense. Humans must hunt animals for food and must clear trees to farm and build houses. These actions constitute a necessary part of the natural cycle. But druids do not tolerate unnecessary destruction or exploitation of Nature. Sensing violations, a druid investigates the motives of the people involved, weighing them against the risk to the land. Then the druid decides whether to take action.
Protecting Animals. Only a very few druids oppose hunting or raising animals for food, skins, or fur. In fact, many druids hunt animals for food and clothing themselves. They do frown upon killing animals simply for sport, over-hunting (or over-trapping) a region, and treating animals with excessive cruelty. And most druids do not even take this feeling to extremes. They know that feudal nobles, for instance, enjoy the hunt; few such hunters are cruel killers, and their game ends up on the lord's tables.
Druids oppose trapping or hunting beasts to use their fur or other body parts for frivolous reasons. A hunter may kill a single wolf and take its pelt to make a wolfskin cloak, according to druidic philosophy. If the hunter kills a couple wolves every year and sells their pelts, a druid may or may not be upset, depending on the prevalence of wolves in the area.
Druids sometimes tolerate logging or clearing land to mine useful minerals like salt, copper, tin, and iron. After all, they use manufactured items themselves.
Cleansing Nature. Some acts defile the very essence of Nature and require immediate opposition. For instance, the magical forced transformation of a large forest into a bizarre, otherplanar landscape instantly draws the enmity of the circle. If a sacred grove falls under a curse, druids will work to lift it and reclaim the land.
A more common perversion of Nature is the undead. The fact that no druidic branch has the power to turn or control undead does not mean druids tolerate them. Rather, the druid's lack of power over the living dead reflects the absolute aversion this class has toward them. Things exist in a natural cycle: birth, growth, death, rebirth. The undead break this cycle--worse, they are the enemies of life. Therefore, most druids see the undead as abominations to stamp out to restore the proper workings of Nature.
Yet, druids do not actively hunt undead. This is primarily because undead rarely directly invade a druid's sphere of interest. However, if a vampire starts menacing a peaceful village, a banshee begins stalking the moors, or a lich introduces a reign of terror to the wilderness, a druid may intervene. Because druids lack the key powers necessary to fight undead they will ally with a good-aligned party also interested in wiping out the undead.
LanguagesA Druids language options includes Sylvan: the language of the woodland creatures. This is in addition to racial languages Druid may know due to his/her race.
A Druid also knows Druidic: a secret language only known to Druids which she/he learns upon being lvl 1 Druid. This language is free, and comes as addition to racial and the optional language (Sylvan). Druids are forbidden to teach this language to non-Druids. Druidic has its own alphabet.
Sources: Advanced Dungeons & Dragons(R) 2nd Edition Player's Handbook Rules Supplement. Players Handbook, 3.5-----
Wild Shape and DruidThe druid acquires the physical and natural abilities of the creature whose form she has taken while retaining her own mind. Physical abilities include size as well as Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution scores. Natural abilities include armor, natural weapons (such as claws, bite, or gore), sensory abilities (such as low-light vision), and similar gross physical qualities (presence or absence of wings or gills, number of extremities, and so forth).
She loses her ability to speak while in animal form because she is limited to the sounds that a normal, untrained animal can make. (The normal sound a wild parrot makes is a squawk, so changing to this form does
not permit speech.)
Animal CompanionsA companion is still only an animal. It cannot understand human speech. Other than following its friend and performing the tricks it has been taught, it cannot respond to directions. An empathic link exists between the wizard and her familiar and between the paladin and her mount, but not between a druid (or a ranger) and an animal companion.
The animal expects its friend to either provide it with sustenance or give it adequate time to find food and water on its own. In addition, though the animal naturally defends its friend, and may even attack his or her enemies, it doesn't enjoy combat. While the druid and the ranger can accept that some pain Is necessary in the service of good or the defense ofthe land, these concepts are lost on the lion, hawk, or lizard that is being struck, mauled, or energy drained . The animal expects its friend to try to keep it safe, so painful fight after painful fight may cause it to grow weary of the punishment.
[DM's] Should the character ever abuse the animal physically or expose it to adverse situations that strain its loyalty, the DM can adjust its attitude appropriately-to friendly, indifferent, or worse as the situation requires.
Abandoning a companion Characters want to replace their animal companions from time to time, and there is no penalty for doing so. Reasons for making a change abound-for example, a druid may not wish to expose comparatively weak animals to dangers they cannot handle, or she may need to travel to a region where her existing companions could not survive. The real issue is the conditions under which a character abandons an animal companion. Leaving it in a foreign land, or worse, in the depths of some dungeon, is an evil act. Even neutral and evil druids should be loath to betray their companions in this way.
AwakenAwaken is a 5th-level spell available to druids. Because it grants humanlike sentience and intelligence to an animal, the creature's type changes to magical beast. This spell greatly changes the relationship between druid and animal companion. Armed with intelligence and the ability to speak at least one language, the animal no longer needs training to understand the druid's wishes. Thus, the druid gains a source of advice and ready conversation in addition to a guard and a servant. Of course, as a fully sentient creature, an awakened animal develops its own desires and ambitions. While normally a creature with such a high intelligence isn't subject to animal friendship, an animal awakened by a druid remains her companion as long as she treats it with respect, as discussed above.
Sources: Masters of the Wild; -----
Nature and the Gods Druids differ in their attitudes toward non-Nature gods. While coming up with your Druid concept, it's important for you to establish your character's position toward other gods in conjuncture with your chosen diety's beliefs [if one]. Some possible beliefs include:
Nature as Supreme. These druids consider Nature a force beyond mere gods. Other faiths do exist, but they are mere aspects of the greater whole. To worship one of them means celebrating just a fragment of Nature (like the thunder, the ocean or death) rather than the whole, as druids do. Most druids in AD&D game worlds use this approach. They believe their own faith is somewhat superior, but do not actively oppose other faiths and may ally themselves with the worshipers of natural, agricultural, or elemental deities.
Nature as Progenitor. Followers of this philosophy see Nature as an integral part of a pantheon of gods. In this case, druids identify the other gods as "children of Nature," perhaps born in some mythic way. For instance, the druids may teach that, in the time before the world, first came formless chaos, and out of it emerged Nature. From Nature was born the Great Goddess, who married the Sky and gave birth to many children: all the other gods.
Nature is All. Other gods do not exist! Druids who hold this belief see other priests either as deluded or worshiping Nature under a different name. Unless the druids are right, (in which case, no other class of priest would function in the campaign!) this philosophy leads them to have a rather close-minded and inflexible faith. Druids may live apart from mainstream society as hermits or work as missionaries to recruit people to the "one true faith." Quite possibly, believers in other faiths would take a dim view of such druids, as no one likes to hear their beliefs called lies!
The Gods Threaten Nature. Other gods are acknowledged as powerful entities, but the druids consider them unnatural-- interlopers from the outer planes or beings and philosophies created by the belief of foolish mortals. Followers of aggressive, proselytizing religions that actively seek converts and start religious wars become dangers to the natural order. Druids with this belief tend to act hostile to those of most other faiths, considering them instruments of "outside influences" that threaten the balance of Nature!
Nature as Equal with Other Forces. These druids believe that other primal forces exist on the same level as Nature, such as Magic or Entropy. The priests of these forces may become either rivals or allies to druids.
Sources: Comple Druid Handbook 2ed