[DF] Where do Druids derive their power from?

[b-dog]

I was wondering where druids derive their power from. Is it directly from nature or from nature spirits? Thanks.

[Hai-Etlik]

Whatever works for the setting, or given the genre, whatever works for the adventure and which may be completely different next adventure.

A "nature deity" of some sort makes the most sense to me though. This is in line with it saying "your powers are a divine reward" (DF1 p. 7)

[roguebfl]

Hai-Etlik has right, to use DnD terms

the Cleric is the Priest of the War Mythos and the Paladin the Holy Warrier of the same mythos.

the Druid is the Priest of the Nature Mythos and the Ranger being the Holy Warrior of the same mythos.

[Captain-Captain]

Originally Posted by b-dog

I was wondering where druids derive their power from. Is it directly from nature or from nature spirits? Thanks.

According to DF Adventures p.7, it's a Divine Reward for the character's intense fervor to serve the causes of life and nature.

I'd say spiritual but in a 'powered by the gods' context.

[Ragitsu]

Silvanus, perhaps.

[aesir23]

Originally Posted by Ragitsu

Silvanus, perhaps.

Or Bel, or Cernunnos, or any of these guys.

As far as I know, DF doesn't have an "official setting" (thank Dagda), so all of these non-mechanical questions/considerations are up to the GM.

My personal suggestion: Druids worship a primordial life force that predated the gods of Clerics, but has since been brought low by the upstarts of the worlds new pantheon. Now (s)he sleeps, but through his/her/its dreams, all life is touched by the ancient life force.

I'd recommend you write your own explanation based on the desired mood of your campaign. Alternately if you want, you can leave it up to whichever PC wants to play a druid.

[b-dog]

My concept of the druids and how they are powered is that the more ancient gods of nature lost power and merged with nature and submerged their individual individual personalities. They are the old faith and those that worship them worship nature because this is the last place the ancient gods still have power over. Nature spirits are their servitors and these can often be called upon to serve the druids. Nature fairies are also allies to the druids due to their relationship to the natural world. The ancient gods have to defend their forests from outsiders because if the forests are destroyed then the gods will have no power in the world. Elves and other sylvan races are often very close to the druids as well, although elves are fairy and are magical in nature rather than priests of the ancient nature gods.

[demonsbane]

Originally Posted by aesir23

Or Bel, or Cernunnos, or any of these guys.

As far as I know, DF doesn't have an "official setting" (thank Dagda), so all of these non-mechanical questions/considerations are up to the GM.

My personal suggestion: Druids worship a primordial life force that predated the gods of Clerics, but has since been brought low by the upstarts of the worlds new pantheon. Now (s)he sleeps, but through his/her/its dreams, all life is touched by the ancient life force.

I'd recommend you write your own explanation based on the desired mood of your campaign. Alternately if you want, you can leave it up to whichever PC wants to play a druid.

That is, or at least something like that. After all, Druids were the Celtic priests. Celts' non-urbanized default and preferred environment tilts modern people to imagine Druids as excessively crude people worshipping nature superstitiously, which would be outright pantheism -a fairly recent phenomenon that boils down to confounding "the creation" with "its creator(s)", or effect with cause, finally resulting in a negation of the cause because an exclusive exaltation of its effect. Regarding Druids, things like animism or shamanism don't hold water, either, despite neopagans' flawed reconstructionism. Like hindu Brahmans Gods -in a way, different facets of the unnamed ultimate mystery or reality-, not mere intermediate "spirits".

Similarly, the idea of them worshipping "a primordial life force" lessens them near to the cultural level of "animist" peoples, because that "life force" usually pertains to the intermediate cosmic level, which is psychic and not purely divine. At least, such expression ("life force") can be misleading.

They weren't defending "the nature", in the materialistic, sentimentalistic, naturalistic and ecologist sense cherished today (which turns them into a caricature of an ancient priest and little more), but the equivalent of cosmic order, easily trampled by the exploits of mechanized and heavily organized barbarism ("civilization") mainly aimed to achieving mundane goals.

Now, being this Dungeon Fantasy, the thing is up to you. You can understand "Clerics" as a more urbanized type of priests, devoted to a particular religion (possibly newer and more tied to "civilization"?), maybe relying more on fairly public institutions (churches of any sort), while OTOH Druids can be related to a different and less obvious and more organic hierarchy lacking of much of all that mainly artificial burocracy -but still heavy in strict ritual observances-, relying in natural surroundings and having to do with "barbaric" peoples, linked to a more primordial set of divinities and world view. After all, when "civilization" met them (as it were), Celts (with their Druids) already were representatives of a near extinct age of the world.

[Randover]

Originally Posted by b-dog

I was wondering where druids derive their power from. Is it directly from nature or from nature spirits? Thanks.

Are you realy playing dungeon fantasy, are you building yourself THE setting? Propably both, because I don't see why this should be partof dungeon fantasy.

But as far as my setting is questioned.

Druids use there own power
Druids use power of powerfull but local deities (Ancient trees, Springs, Mountins)
Druids use some powers granted by major deities (Such as Water Dragon Lord, and Green Dragon Lord, Elven Queen her self, The Greate White (Mother goddes) Death herself and few others.)

[simulatoralive]

I would have to say this is something that can vary by individual.

Here's a few examples:
Druid worshiping a nature deity.
Druid worshiping a particular force of nature.
Druid worshiping nature in all it's forms.
Druid worshiping life itself.
I even once read a write up of a type of death-aspected druid. (Death is just another part of life, after all)

It's all just a matter of description. I don't see why all druids have to do it the same way. Heck, even back when I played Dungeons and Dragons (2nd edition), this was how it was handled. It's all about the individual.

You might as well ask where all priests get their powers from, since druids are a form of priest. The answer to this will vary by the individual, too.