The Holmesian Druid Revisited

My last post on a Holmesian Druid got some very interesting responses that I have been meaning to respond to, but I have been laid up in bed for the last several days feeling rather awful and was in no shape to either write or even think straight enough to give a decent response.

Since I want to address several points from those comments and since I have ignored my blog for the last several days, I thought that the discussion deserved its own post.

Firstly, whenever I post stuff with the Holmes+Cook tag I am continuing a long standing thought experiment about what my version of D&D would have looked like if the only sources I had were Holmes and Cook where Holmes had precedence over Cook (in a reversal of what it says in Cook). Therefore, when I try and figure out how to do a subclass in this context, I am largely confining myself to these two rulesets as written and my own proclivities.

Secondly, I am an old-school Champions player. I actually played editions 1-3, still own editions 2 & 3 and, in general, it is the RPG system I have played more than any other outside of all the various versions of D&D. One of the basic (and brilliant) assumptions of Champions is that the powers of superheroes are too numerous to try and make an RPG work. Therefore, all powers are described strictly as mechanics. This leaves players the freedom to skin those mechanics however they want. An 8d6 energy blast can be a ray gun, a sonic blast, dragon breath or whatever you fancy. Therefore, when I look at RPGs, I tend to disassociate mechanics from their descriptors.

Thirdly, I am a Christian. In Holmes, there are several implicit Christian ideas. This encourages me to do what I already love to do: look at RPGs through the lens of Christianity and to use both Scripture and the history of the Church to find ideas that can be applied to RPGs.

When I look at the mechanics of the four classes in D&D here is what I find:

• Fighters are good at combat. Therefore, subclasses ought to specialize in certain aspects of combat at the cost of other aspects of combat.
• Magic-users are good at spell-casting. Therefore, subclasses ought to specialize in certain types of magics at the cost of being good at other types of magic.
• Thieves are good at mundane aspects of the game. They get extra chances at surprise and opening doors, for example. Therefore, subclasses ought to specialize in certain aspects of the mundane at the cost of others.
• Clerics are mechanically the most complex of the classes because they are okay at combat and okay at spell casting. The one mechanic that differentiates them from any other class is Turning. Therefore, subclasses ought be able to use the Turning mechanic for different special effects at the cost of affecting the undead.

Thus, the idea that a cleric channels the divine, life-giving force of God to repel and dispel the undead is a special effect — a way to skin the mechanic of Turning. The mechanic itself merely suggests that the cleric can affect 2d6 creatures of a certain type.

Thus, when I look at the druid, I do not see a paleolithic pagan that had some import in the pre-Roman Celtic world. I see someone like Daniel, several of the martyrs or the likes of St. Francis of Assisi who could look in face of fierce animals and either make friendly, have them go on their way or even become life-long companions. The mechanic of Turning is a great way to express this, because not all Christians who went into the arena avoided death by lion, etc.

St. Ignatius the God-bearer
depicted getting mauled by lions in his icon

As Scott Anderson suggested, the special effect could involve being able to have a conversation with the animals where the level of success could indicate how involved or detailed that conversation could get up to where ‘D’ indicates that the animal could function as a henchman.

In other words, the mechanic of Turning allows for cleric subclasses to express a plethora of special effects that emulate various miracles of the saints. We just have to decide which miracles are appropriate and which types of targets are applicable.

I will add that, like many of the commenters on my last post, I don’t have a lot of love for the druid class as presented in D&D in all of its forms. I have played a druid exactly once and I just remember being frustrated at every turn. Thus, one of the things that I keep in mind when I create or re-skin a character class is whether or not I would want to play one. A druid that uses the Turning mechanic to interact with animals is a druid I would play.

Holmes & Cook: Druid

Since I am in the frame of mind to do so, I have been meditating upon how to fulfill the promise of this paragraph from Holmes:

There are a number of other character types which are detailed in ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS. There are sub-classes of the four basic classes. They are: paladins and rangers (fighting men), illusionists and witches (magic-users), monks and druids (clerics), and assassins (thieves).

The most challenging of these (given my own prejudices and predilections) is the druid. Traditionally, the druid forgoes the cleric Turning ability and heavier armor in order to excel at nature-based skills and magic. Given that my only source material for creating a druid class for my version of Holmes & Cook is, well, Holmes and Cook, that approach really doesn’t lead me anywhere. There are no real mechanics about nature skills nor are there that many spells that could be described as nature magic.

This leaves me with an extant mechanic that normally is never associated with druids: Turning.

While this may seem odd, given the context of Holmes, where the druid is clearly labelled as a type of cleric and Turning is clearly a cleric-based mechanic, it actually make more sense in my head to go down this path rather than the one historically taken by D&D.

Therefore, the question becomes what exactly will the Turning ability represent in the case of a druid?

Given the whole nature schtick that is normally associated with the class, it occurred to me that the Turning ability of a druid could be associated with animals in the same way that it is associated with the undead with clerics.

Thus, a druid could use the Turning table to represent their ability to scare off or make friends with animals of various HD. A result of ‘D’ could then indicate the ability to take on an animal as a henchmen, rather than just being friendly.

Otherwise they function exactly like clerics.

Saintly Saturday: St. Mammas the Martyr

Today is the Feast of St. Mammas the Martyr. He was from Gangra of Paphlagonia, which is the north-central part of modern-day Turkey. His parents (Sts. Theodotus and Rufina) were both Christian and thrown in jail during the third century persecutions. His mother was pregnant and gave birth in prison just prior to her martyrdom. Having survived this ordeal, St. Mamas was adopted by a rich Christian widow by the name of Ammia. Therefore, he grew up in the faith.

He was arrested at the age of 15 and after being tortured was rescued by an angel and sent to the wilderness. There, he built a church and attracted many wild animals as his companions. When his whereabouts were discovered, soldiers were sent to arrest him. Knowing his martyrdom was soon at hand, he voluntarily showed up at the gates of Caesaria with a lion that had been his constant companion in the wilderness.

He was tortured and eventually mortally wounded by a trident.

Note how this icon depicts St. Mammas
holding a lamb while riding the lion,
which calls to mind this passage from Isaiah: 

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, 

and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, 

and the calf and the lion and the fatling together,

and a little child shall lead them (11:6)

St. Mammas is a reminder that despite the popular depiction of environmental issues as outside the purview of Christianity and of nature-oriented classes as essentially pagan, one of the core missions of the Church is the sanctification of all creation. Therefore, classes like the Druid need not be understood as the pagan counterpart to the Christian cleric. Indeed, (as much as I personally don’t like the class), it makes more sense to me to have the Druid class operate under the umbrella of a fantasy version of Christianity. Arcane magic is a more natural fit for depicting the pagan counterpart of the divine magic of the Church.

It also serves as a reminder that even this can be re-skinned in Christian clothing:

Beast Master

Requirements: None
Prime Requisite: STR and WIS
Hit Dice: 1d6
Maximum Level: 14
Beast Masters are those gifted with a special relationship with animals. They can Speak With Animals at will, are able to identify flora and fauna on a 1-3 on a d6, have a +2 to all reaction rolls with normal animals, may take animals as henchman and have a special animal companion. This companion is an intelligent and loyal creature that always has 1/2 the HD of the beast master, can always understand the beast master and provides a +1 to all saving throws to the beast master as long as it is within 30 ft. Should the animal companion ever be killed, the beast master immediately loses a number of hit points equal to that of the companion and it cannot be replaced until the beast master gains a level.

Beast Masters fight and save as fighters, may wear chain or lighter armor may use any weapon except for two-handed melee weapons and can cast spells as a Druid of 5 levels lower.

Level…XP Needed
1…0
2…2050
3…4100
4…8200
5…16,400
6…32,800
7…65,000
8…130,000
9…250,000
10…370,000
11…490,000
12…610,000
13…730,000
14…850,000

Saintly Saturday: St. Sylvester of Obnora

Today is the Feast of St. Sylvester of Obnora, which is a monastery in the southern part of Vologda Oblast in Russia. Originally founded in the 14th century, it was destroyed by Tartars in the 16th century. It was later rebuilt in the 17th century.

St. Sylvester was a monastic at Holy Trinity Monastery and was a disciple of St. Sergius of Radonezh, who gave him the blessing to become a hermit, which he was for many years. As often happens with hermits, people were drawn to St. Sylvester for advice and spiritual needs. He fulfilled this role at Obnora by becoming abbot.

Despite this, St. Sylvester still yearned for solitude. Therefore, he found a grove of trees which he commanded to be left alone so that he always had a place to pray in peace. This became known as the Commanded Grove or Sanctuary Grove.

St. Sylvester died of illness in A.D. 1479.

In 1645, the hieromonk Job, who re-built the monastery, ordered trees from the Commanded Grove to be cut down. He was struck blind and only regained his sight after repenting and going to the reliquary of St. Sylvester.

Anyone familiar with this blog knows that I am not a fan of the Druid as a PC class, although I am happy to use them as monsters. Given that Earth Day was this past week and the seemingly druidic command of St. Sylvester to keep and defend a sacred grove of trees, I thought it apropos to scratch that itch again.

Whenever I introduce the idea of druids as monsters, a common reaction is to understand them as eco-terrorists. While I suppose interpreting them as a fantasy version of Earth Firsters might work, I have never imagined them that way. For me, the most terrifying monster is a human being who embraces sin as righteousness and consequently does horrible things. The best way to tell a horror story is to hold up a mirror to ourselves. For me, the druid is a fantasy version of Earth Day taken to its logical conclusion.

I doubt there are many people who are against the basic concept of environmentalism, which can be simply stated as: Don’t defecate where you eat.

From a theological perspective, Christianity is (for a lack of a better word) green and has always been green. Human beings are the pinnacle of creation having been endowed according to the image and likeness of God. We fulfill a priestly role of presenting God to creation and lifting up creation to God by being co-creators with God.

In the LXX Greek translation of the OT, the word “to create/make” used in Genesis and attributed to God shares the same root as the English words “poem” and “poet.” God is an artist. In other words, we are expected to use nature and the environment in creative ways that are beneficial for everybody and everything.

This POV can be expressed with this diagram:

God --> Humanity --> Creation (Co-Creation)

The proponents of Earth Day turn this diagram upside down. Nature becomes more important than humanity and humanity is more important than God. Thus, as I have heard from several sources, humanity becomes a virus that endangers Nature that needs to be reformed and controlled in order to save the Earth.

There is a dissonance in the logic of modern environmentalism that is frightening. Humanity is both undesirable and the mechanism of salvation. It is within this logic that I find the druid-as-monster. Nature is better off without humanity, which needs to get wiped out. Humanity, however, won’t go away without help. Thus, druids seek to destroy Civilization while abandoning their own humanity (in my own rendition, they seek to become one with Nature by becoming Elementals).

The mirror that needs to get held up to modern environmentalism is this: Since human beings are a part of Nature (whether you accept that God created it or not), mistreating and dismissing humanity is a misuse and abuse of Nature.

Druids as Monsters Redux Part 3

Here are some more musings about the Druid Redux I have been working on in the last few posts:

The four Druidic cults do not like each other. This rivalry is particularly bitter between the Fire Druids and the Water Druids as well as between the Air Druids and the Earth Druids. These rivalries spawn from the fact these cults are particularly effective at canceling out each others' powers and therefore pose the greatest threat among all of the cults.

When faced with a bitter rival, a druid can cancel out a power/attack by sacrificing a combat round if they are of the same circle or higher than the power/attack being cancelled. For example, if a 3HD Fire Druid were attempting to shoot a fan of flame, a 3HD or higher Water Druid could spend a combat round canceling out the Fire Druid's attack.

Currently, the weakest cult is that of the Water Druids, because it was their stronghold that was decimated when the Temple of Elemental Evil was "destroyed." As a result, the Fire Druids are currently the most powerful of the cults. This has driven both the Air and the Earth Druids into a reluctant alliance with the Water Druids. Each is harboring and protecting the remnant Water Druids in order to counter the growing power of the Fire Druids. In the meantime, the remaining Water Druids are playing the other cults against each other and biding their time.

Although there are rumors of more powerful circles beyond the 8th (12 & 16HD elementals supposedly exist), no druid has ever managed to get beyond the 8th circle. Indeed, it has occurred to some that the 7th circle is actually more powerful than the 8th. [And it is. I did this on purpose in order emphasize the complete loss of humanity that comes with the 8th circle]. Though rare (because when found out they are hunted down and killed) there are rogue druids (normally of the 7HD variety) who are either seeking a way to increase their power while holding onto what remains of their humanity or that seek a way to gain back the humanity that they have lost.

Finally, there are also rumors of Druids who have successfully merged the disciplines of the various elements to create brand new circles such as mist, steam, mud, lava, etc. Given the rivalries that exist between the four main cults, however, such heretics are normally hunted down and killed.

Druids as Monsters Redux Part 2

Continuing with my thoughts from my last post, here are the stats for the other three classifications of Druids for use in my own version of the Temple of Elemental Evil:

Air Druids

Number Appearing: 1d6
% in Lair: 30%
Alignment: Chaotic
Armor Class: see below
Move: 120' (see below)
Hit Dice: 1 to 7
Attacks: 1 (damage see below)
Special: see below
Save: C1 for every HD
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: XVIII
XP: 1HD=10; 2HD=29; 3HD=65; 4HD=190; 5HD=650; 6HD=1320; 7HD=1840

These Chaotic cultists are completely dedicated to the annihilation of the self into becoming one with the element of air. Within the cult there are eight "circles" that the cultists advance through. Each circle as a corresponding power:

• 1HD = the cultist begins their journey to "union" by learning how to manipulate the air that is immediately about their person. The first application is effectively making a shell of swirling air. This grants the cultist an effective AC 2 against missiles and an AC 4 against other attacks
• 2HD = The cultist learns how to project his control of air at a distance. The result is a line-of-sight attack with no range penalties that does 1d6+1 points of damage. The cultist may fire off a number of these attacks per round equal to their HD/2 rounded up.
• 3HD = The cultist begins to learn to integrate the air around them into their own flesh. As a result they may Levitate as per the spell at will.
• 4HD = The cultist can now project much of their own physical self into the air around them. As a result they cast create an Obscuring Mist as per the spell once per turn.
• 5HD = As the cultist becomes more aware of their own presence in the air around them, they begins to radically affect the air around them. They can create a Gust of Wind as per the spell at will.
• 6HD = The cultist is now able to control air at a molecular level, able to create friction within the air itself. The result is massive amounts of static electricity which can be focused into a Lightning Bolt, as per the spell, 3 times per day.
• 7HD = At this point, the cultist is almost completely one with their chosen element. They are able to Fly as per the spell at will.

The eighth circle is the final transformation of the cultist into an 8HD air elemental. Whatever humanity and personality they had is completely destroyed. They have completely given themselves up in order to become one with air.

Fire Druids

Number Appearing: 1d6
% in Lair: 30%
Alignment: Chaotic
Armor Class: see below
Move: 120' (see below)
Hit Dice: 1 to 7
Attacks: 1 (damage see below)
Special: see below
Save: C1 for every HD
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: XVIII
XP: 1HD=13; 2HD=38; 3HD=95; 4HD=300; 5HD=950; 6HD=1820; 7HD=2790

These Chaotic cultists are completely dedicated to the annihilation of the self into becoming one with the element of fire. Within the cult there are eight "circles" that the cultists advance through. Each circle as a corresponding power:

• 1HD = the cultist begins their journey to "union" by learning how to acclimate themselves with fire. As a result, they are immune to all normal fire damage and take half damage from magical fire. A tactic they like to use in combat is to douse themselves in oil and set themselves on fire using a torch. Thus, anyone they hit in melee takes an extra 1d6 fire damage and anyone who hits them must make a save vs. breath or take 1d6 fire damage.
• 2HD = Having acclimated themselves to fire, the cultist learns how to spontaneously Produce Flame as per the spell at will.
• 3HD = The cultist begins to learn how to manipulate the fire they produce. They can create fan of flame in a 120' arc that shoot out 3' from their hands. Anyone caught in the flame take 1hp per HD of the cultist with no saving throw.
• 4HD = The cultist can now produce tremendous amounts of heat from their body, as they begin to internalize the flames that they produce. Thus, they can Heat Metal as per the spell at will.
• 5HD = The internal fire grows within the cultist and they are now able to throw a Fireball as per the spell three times per day (1d6 per HD).
• 6HD = The internal fire is now an inferno. The cultist can produce a Wall of Flame as per the spell at will.
• 7HD = At this point, the cultist is almost one with their chosen element. They can produce a Flame Strike as per the spell three times per day.

The eighth circle is the final transformation of the cultist into an 8HD fire elemental. Whatever humanity and personality they had is completely destroyed. They have completely given themselves up in order to become one with fire.

Water Druids

Number Appearing: 1d6
% in Lair: 30%
Alignment: Chaotic
Armor Class: see below
Move: 120' (see below)
Hit Dice: 1 to 7
Attacks: 1 (damage see below)
Special: see below
Save: C1 for every HD
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: XVIII
XP: 1HD=13; 2HD=38; 3HD=95; 4HD=245; 5HD=800; 6HD=1570; 7HD=2190

These Chaotic cultists are completely dedicated to the annihilation of the self into becoming one with the element of water. Within the cult there are eight "circles" that the cultists advance through. Each circle as a corresponding power:

• 1HD = the cultist begins their journey to "union" by adhering pockets of water to their skin. As a result, they have an effective AC of 4. In addition, in combat, the water blurs the cultist's outline. Opponents suffer a -2 to hit the first time they attack during combat.
• 2HD = The cultist learns to extend the water that now surrounds them to devastating effect. At will they can create a spray of water that has the same effect as a Color Spray spell.
• 3HD = The cultist begins to learn how to bend light itself with the water that surrounds them. Three times per day they can become Invisible as per the spell.
• 4HD = The cultist begins to internalize the water that surrounds them and they can breath in water as in air.
• 5HD = The cultist now begins to be able to affect water at a molecular level. They can create a Wall of Ice as per the spell at will.
• 6HD = The cultist's molecular control of water becomes more refined. They can produce an Ice Storm as per the spell three time per day.
• 7HD = At this point, the cultist is almost one with their chosen element. They can move through water better than they can air. While in water, they can move twice their ground movement.

The eighth circle is the final transformation of the cultist into an 8HD water elemental. Whatever humanity and personality they had is completely destroyed. They have completely given themselves up in order to become one with water.

Druids as Monsters Redux Part 1

Due to the fact that I've been working on a concept for a redux of the Temple of Elemental Evil, I've been inserting various ideas to play test into my current campaign. One such idea is having Druids as the movers and shakers behind the Elemental Cults that vie for power within the Temple. Thus, I snuck in a few druids among the Blighted Fist orcs to see how much fun I could have.

The results were not very inspiring. Whereas I can almost see why someone might enjoy playing a Druid (I've never been a big fan), as enemy combatants…(let me see if I can put this nicely)…they suck…er, they aren't any fun to play. "Do what I say or I'll warp wood!" just doesn't cut it and casting Entangle still requires closing and trying to survive while wearing only leather armor (read: suicide). Even when you get to monster-cool spells like Call Lightning, you have to be outside. Obviously, if I am going to have any fun at all with a Temple redux, it will require a redux of the Druid.

In the past I have posited two simple answers to the identity of pagan priests (aka Druids). The first is to dress up magic users in priestly garb. The second is to make Druids Anti-Clerics who are only able to use the reverse versions of Cleric spells. While both have their appeal (I even began the process of making elemental spell lists by uniting the spells lists of all the various spell casters in AEC), I really wasn't all that interested in playing around with classes, whether old, modified or new. Only when I remembered my own axiom — Druids are monsters! — did things begin to fall into place.

If I embrace Druids as monsters then I am free to scuttle all the trapping of class — spell lists, levels, XP, variable HD, allowable armor & weapons, etc. What I am left with is the beautiful simplicity of HD and special abilities. What has resulted is an alternate vision of Elementals and where they come from. This is compatible with cosmologies that range from the systemization of Gygax and those who simply want to deal with only the "prime material plane."

Since the impetus of this project is the Temple of Elemental Evil, there are four flavors of "Druids." The first in this series will be those dedicated the the Cult of Earth.

Earth Druids

People are mortal, and what they make with lawless hands is dead; for they are better than the objects they worship, since they have life, but the idols never had. — Wisdom 15:17

Number Appearing: 1d6
% in Lair: 30%
Alignment: Chaotic
Armor Class: see below
Move: 120'
Hit Dice: 1 to 7
Attacks: 1 (damage see below)
Special: see below
Save: C1 for every HD
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: XVIII
XP: 1HD=10; 2HD=29; 3HD=65; 4HD=190; 5HD=650; 6HD=1570; 7HD=2540

These Chaotic cultists are completely dedicated to the annihilation of the self into becoming one with the element of earth. Within the cult there are eight "circles" that the cultists advance through. Each circle has a corresponding power:

• 1HD = the cultist begins their journey to "union" by fusing bits of earth to their skin. Thus, the cultist has an AC of 4.
• 2HD = The cultist begins to be able to manipulate the fused earth on their skin. They are able to form vicious spikes on their fists. They gain a +1 to hit in melee and do 2d4 damage.
• 3HD = The fusion of earth to skin is complete. The cultist now has an AC of 2.
• 4HD = Now begins the process of fusing muscle to earth. The cultist gains an 18 STR — +3 to hit and damage.
• 5HD = The outer crust of the cultist becomes so hard that they are now immune to normal missiles.
• 6HD = The cultist begins to have control over earth. They may Stone Shape at will and 3 times per day may encase targets in contact with the ground (or a wall made of stone) in earth with the same effect as Hold Person.
• 7HD = At this point, the cultist is almost completely one with their chosen element. They are able to pass through stone and earth as if it were air.

The eighth circle is the final transformation of the cultist into an 8HD earth elemental. Whatever humanity and personality they had is completely destroyed. They have totally given themselves up in order to become one with earth.

Saintly Saturday: St. Eupsychios the Martyr

Today is the feast day of St. Eupsychios the Martyr. Considering the recent flap about a pastor burning a Koran down in Florida, St. Eupsychios is an extraordinarily politically-incorrect saint to be celebrating. He lived during the reign of Julian the Apostate (331/332-June of 36). The title Apostate refers to someone who renounces a religion. In his short reign, Julian tried to re-impose a systematized paganism over and against the Christianity that had taken hold of the Roman Empire. Whether he himself was once a Christian or he simply represented the renunciation of Christianity in the office of the Emperor, I cannot say for certain.

St. Eupsychios was on his way to getting married when he and others saw a sacrifice being offered at the pagan temple to Fortuna (a cult beloved of the Emperor). Seeing this, the groom-to-be led a group that destroyed the temple. Enraged, not only did Julian have Eupsychios tortured and beheaded, but he gathered an army to raze the city (Caesaria in Cappadocia) on his way to fight the Persians. He was diverted from this task by the bishop of Caesaria (St. Basil the Great) and subsequently died in battle from a stray spear. Legend has it that the spear was thrown by St. Mercurius (a Cappadocian martyr from a century before).

Setting aside the real-world merits and consequences of St. Eupsychios' zealotry, I can't help but meditate on one of the most beloved of Gygax's modules (and one of my all-time favorites) — T1 The Village of Hommlet.

We are told at the beginning of the module of a battle to destroy the Temple of Elemental Evil:

So great was the slaughter, so complete the victory of good, that the walled stronghold of the Temple of Elemental Evil fell within a fortnight, despite the aid of a terrible demon.

Interesting parallel, is it not? When one re-reads T1, there are those who go to the newly established Church dedicated to St. Cuthbert and those who cling to the Old Faith (along with a local Druid). If one recasts this module in terms of paganism vs. Christianity, the questions posed about Hommlet by Gygax for the players in his introduction are given added depth:

Will outsiders be shunned? Are reports of the whole community engaging in evil practices true? Are the folk here bumpkins, easily duped? Does a curse lay upon those who dare to venture into the lands which were once the Temple's?

Imagine, for a moment, if the open worship of St. Cuthbert's God is a recent phenomenon made possible by the conversion of those in political power. What if we recast the Viscount of Verbobonc in the role of Julian the Apostate? What if he were were either openly or secretly funding the renewal of the Temple?

Suddenly, Hommlet is transformed into a hotbed of political intrigue where every person in town who clings to the Old Faith is a potential spy for the Viscount and therefore the Temple. If the module (and implied campaign) goes ahead as written, the players will play the role of St. Eupsychios and risk the wrath of the Viscount, inviting an exciting end-game.

***

The Spear of St. Bywarian

This item, though it will radiate magic if detected, appears to be a rusted spearpoint upon a broken shaft. Its efficacy as a weapon depends upon the alignment of the target. Against Lawful creatures, it will function as a Staff of Healing. Against Neutral creatures, it will function as a normal spear. Against Chaotic creatures it will function as a +1 magic weapon and do double damage if the "to hit" roll is 5 or higher than the target number. For example, if the target number is 14 and the roll is 19 or 20, than the damage will be doubled.

Druids as Anti-Clerics

James over at Grognardia is doing something very interesting with Druids for his Dwimmermount campaign — something similar to what I've been contemplating for my own campaign. Using the obscure note from the LBBs that Clerics can only be Lawful or Chaotic at 7th level or higher, James is equating Druids with Clerics who apostasize from their original faith and turn into nature cultists. For my own part, I am beginning to like the idea of equating Druids with Anti-Clerics.

During this past season of Christmas and Epiphany (which doesn't wrap up until this Friday) I have been struck by the abundance of anthropomorphic language used by the Orthodox Church when describing the reaction of nature to these two great events. I realize that the following quote is quite long, but, not only is the imagery really beautiful, but I also want to demonstrate that this is a major theme that runs through the hymnody of the Orthodox Church:

What shall we offer You, O Christ? for You have appeared on earth as man for our sakes. Of all creatures made by You, each offers You thanksgiving. The Angles offer you the hymn; the Heavens the star . . . the earth her cave; the wilderness the manger — Vespers of the Nativity of Christ

The rivers have lifted up, O Lord, the rivers have lifted up their voices. — from the Second Troparion of the Prophecies, Vespers of the Nativity of Christ; Vespers of Epiphany

River Jordan, what have you beheld that you are sore amazed? "He whom none can see, I saw Him naked, and I feared. How should I not be afraid before Him and turn back?" The Angels, seeing Him, trembled with fear and awe; Heaven was amazed; the earth with quaking shook; the sea drew back in dread with all things both visible and invisible. Christ has appeared in the Jordan River, to sanctify the waters. — Matins of Epiphany

Today the waters of the Jordan are transformed into healing waters by the presence of the Lord.

Today the bitter water, which was in the time of Moses, is changed into sweetness for the people by the presence of the Lord.

Today all creation is made bright from on high.

Today earth and sea share between them the joy of the world, and the world is filled with gladness.

Jordan turned back and the mountains skipped, looking upon God in the flesh; and the clouds gave forth their voice, marveling at Him Who is come, Light of Light, true God of true God, seeing the festival of the Master today in the Jordan, and Him Who Himself plunged into the depths of the Jordan the death of disobedience, and the sting of error, and the bonds of Hades, and has granted the Baptism of salvation unto the world. — from the Prayer of St. Sophronius during the Great Blessing of the Waters at Epiphany

There are two ideas being demonstrated here. First and foremost, Christ came in order to save all of creation, not just human beings. Nature is saved by being properly oriented to God. The second is that this orientation happens through human beings. The Jordan River cannot speak. The earth cannot offer a cave. Mountains cannot skip. We can. It is through us that creation is able to have a voice, is able to worship God and be properly oriented towards Him. This is made manifest by the Great Blessing of the Waters at Epiphany.

Given the pseudo-Christian flavor of the Cleric class in OD&D, the nature loving divine spell caster ought to be the Cleric, not the Druid. So what, exactly, does that leave the Druid to do/be? The answer lies in the idea of the Anti-Cleric.

If we were to diagram the means by which creation is saved (as suggested by the hymns above) it might look like this:

God --> Humanity --> Creation

God saves by restoring humanity to its proper role as the royal priesthood. In turn, fulfilling its role, humanity sanctifies creation through proper use of creation.

If we carry out the mechanical logic of the Anti-Cleric (where Cure Light Wounds turns into Cause Light Wounds; Bless turns into Curse; Raise Dead turns into Finger of Death, etc.) and apply it to the diagram above we would get this:

Creation --> Humanity --> (no)God

In other words, Druids become the Chaotic monster who is perfectly willing to sacrifice humanity and civilization in order to save a worm because nature is more important and has more value than any human being. Since God has been taken out of the equation it is possible to see humanity and civilization as being outside of creation and antithetical to it.

The result is a wonderfully frightening (and seductive) version of the Anti-Cleric which puts a whole new spin on the Temple of Elemental Evil. I am looking forward to finding a way to place them in my own campaign.

Druids as Monsters

In an interesting piece of news most likely to be ignored by much of the American media, His Eminence Bartholomew, Patriarch of Constantinople is arriving today in New Orleans to be the key note speaker at the Religion, Science and the Environment Symposium held there through October 25. Bartholomew is known as the Green Patriarch and has been a champion for environmentalism for many years. I bring this up, because his environmentalism is not born of a political point of view, but rather from solid Christian theology.

In the 8th and 9th centuries, the Eastern Church went through the trauma of Iconoclasm — which literally means the breaking of the icons. At issue was the place of icons — the depiction of Christ and His saints — in worship and in the Church. The Iconoclasts equated their use with idolatry. The Seventh Ecumencial Council convened in the year 787 at Nicea specifically to defend icons and their use from a theological point of view. This view eventually won the day and icons are used by Orthodox Christians in worship to this day; however, underlying the whole controversy was humanity's relationship with nature and the place of nature in the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Iconoclasts had a difficult time with the depiction of Christ and His saints because they saw the act of making an icon to be an insult — that to use mere matter to depict our Saviour and the Holy people of God was to denigrate them. This argument finally runs counter to and calls into question the Incarnation of Christ — God Himself took on our humanity (became "mere" matter) for our salvation. It also fails to understand our place in creation and our relationship to creation. During the Seventh Ecumenical Council, St. Leontios of Cyprus states:

Through heaven and earth and sea, through wood and stone, through all creation visible and invisible, I offer veneration to the Creator and Master and Maker of all things. For the creation does not venerate the Maker directly and by itself, but it is through me that the heavens declare the glory of God, through me the moon worships God, through me the stars glorify Him, through me the waters and showers of rain, the dews and all creation, venerate God and give Him glory.

This sacramental view of our relationship can be seen in 1Peter 2:9:

You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of the darkness into His marvelous light.

In other words, our stewardship of nature — and the proper orientation of environmentalism — is centered on God. Through us — our prayers, our sacramental life and our "reduction of our carbon footprint" — nature is lifted up to God and participates in the eternity of the Kingdom of Heaven. In a very real sense, the proper platform from which to understand environmentalism is Christianity.

Thus, from this perspective, I believe that the LBBs got it right when they listed the Druid as a monster. As a defender of nature, the Druid fails to unite humanity with nature. Instead, they choose nature over and against civilization. They have no qualms about murdering thousands if it means saving a fish.

In my own understanding of the Lawful/Neutral/Chaotic alignment rules, I like the illustration of the city being attacked by hoards of cthuloid monsters and their minions. If you are on the wall defending the city, you are Lawful. If you are trying to break down the gate, you are Chaotic. If you don't care either way, you are neutral. Using this illustration, Druids actually fall closer to Chaotic than they do Neutral. Civilization is the major threat to nature and must be opposed. In this sense, Rangers, as the class that learns the ways of the wilderness in order to protect civilization from the wilderness, are the natural foes of Druids, not their comrades in arms, as they are in later editions of D&D.

Ultimately, the Druid's defense of nature makes the same mistake the Iconoclasts did in reverse — nature and humanity are incompatible. The result is destructive — the Iconoclasts destroyed thousands of invaluable religious artifacts and killed those who defended them, and Druids are willing to murder and destroy in the name of nature. In contrast, the relationship of humanity to nature in Christian theology is creative. We are called to not only protect our environment, but to live with it and to transform it — lift it into the Kingdom of Heaven to the glory of God.

In contrast, Druids are frightening. In my own version of the Temple of Elemental Evil, Druids run the show. They are rightly called monsters, and in my own worlds and campaigns they remain so.