Druid
Third built class. Runs on the homebrew engine in the Core Rules using the Druidic Communion power model, a third caster shape distinct from the Wizard's learned arcane and the Sea Shepherd's blooded sorcery. Built from the Skyrider lore and the Drakoria House perks. Numbers are tunable; the mechanic is the point.
1. What a Druid is
The beast-bonded wardens of Drakoria, raised in the high crags and old forests of the Wood Elves. A Druid does not command nature and does not create effects from nothing. A Druid communes: speaks to the rain, the green, and the wild things, asks, and is answered. Storms are negotiated with, not seized. The bond with a beast is a partnership of two souls, not a leash. The line that defines them is consent: nature is a partner, and a partner can refuse.
Power model: Druidic Communion. Abilities are negotiations with natural spirits, learned through ritual and mostly fixed once chosen. The Druid asks a force already present (weather, growth, the wild) to act, rather than conjuring it. This carries lighter environmental gating than the Sea Shepherd's blooded sorcery: a Druid is strongest in wilderness and wild water, ordinary in tame and settled country, and weakest in cities and in dead or unnatural places where the spirits are thin or silent. Fueled by Wild.
The hard line that separates a Druid from the other casters:
| Wizard (Sandstinger) | Sea Shepherd (Darkcliff) | Druid (Skyrider) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Source | learned from a spellbook | blooded, innate | communed, ritual-learned |
| Loadout | swaps on rest | fixed, cannot change | mostly fixed once chosen |
| What it does | creates effects from leyline energy | shapes forces already moving | asks the living world to act |
| Where it is strong | anywhere a leyline reaches | on or near the sea | in wilderness and wild water |
| Where it is weak | low-magic dead zones | inland, on metal | cities, dead or unnatural ground |
| Magic items | yes | yes | yes (the bond does not forbid it) |
A Druid cannot raise a storm out of a clear sky. They can call the rain a heavy sky is already holding, turn a building wind, or talk a storm down into calm. They cannot grow a forest from bare stone, but they can wake the seeds a meadow already carries. The world has to be willing, and the wild is wary of being forced.
2. The dark history (why the bond is sacred)
Under the tyrant Rhaenor, Drakorian druids were forced into breeding experiments that twisted the beast bond, fusing the partnership into something owned and broken, producing creatures warped in body and soul. The house carries that as a wound. To this day Skyrider druids hunt the twisted creatures that still roam the deep crags, putting them down in penance and oath. This is why a Druid will not force a beast or a spirit even when forcing would win the fight: the house has seen exactly where that road ends. The RP weight of this lives in standing and oath (section 11), and the HUD should never reduce it to a damage number.
3. Progression (levels 1 to 10)
| Level | Title | Wild pool (base) | Unlocks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | Sapling | 8 to 10 | at-will communions + tier-1 arts; advantage on Animal Handling (house perk) |
| 3 | Wildling | 14 | tier-2 arts |
| 4 to 5 | Warden | 18 to 22 | choose a Circle (specialization) at level 4; tier-3 begins |
| 6 to 7 | Spiritspeaker | 28 to 34 | the Seeking (vision quest); beast companion (ground only); tier-3 arts; Wildshape opens to every Druid at level 7 |
| 8 | Elder | 42 | tier-4 arts |
| 9 to 10 | Greenfather or Greenmother (house head) | 54 to 68 | capstones, staff managed; Skybond at 10 (companion flight + Sky Charge) |
Same pool curve as the core. Wild behaves differently from a mage's pool (section 6).
4. The communion model (how casting works for them)
Every Druid ability is a row with one extra field the Wizard rows do not have: an environmental requirement, the natural force the Druid must ask. The force has to be present and the ground has to be living enough to answer.
name | unlock | cost | Cast DC | Resist DC | resist type | effect | requires | habitat band
- If the required force is absent (no living water for a water working, no sky for a weather working, no soil or green for a growth working), the ability is simply unavailable. It greys out. It is not a failed roll and it costs nothing. (Fail silent on a dropped input.)
- If the force is present, resolve normally: action roll (1d20 + level mod + Wisdom + the habitat modifier) vs Cast DC, then the target resists vs Resist DC.
- The Cast DC is the difficulty of asking a willing force, so it stays moderate; the swing comes from the habitat band.
- Forcing nature carries consequences. Pushing a working the wild refuses (overriding a greyed requirement, or pushing past 0 Wild, both staff-gated) draws on HP like overdraw and may sour the bond for the scene (companion acts at disadvantage). The house remembers Rhaenor; the engine remembers too.
5. The Seeking and the Beast Bond (signature sub-system 1)
At level 6 a Druid undertakes the Seeking, a solitary vision quest in the high wild, and returns bonded to a beast that chose them. Possible companions: griffon, pegasus, giant eagle, wolf, bear, great cat. The Skyrider house perk supplies the young griffon or pegasus foal at level 6 specifically; a Druid who wants a wolf, bear, eagle, or great cat instead Seeks it in RP and staff confirms the result.
- The bond is two souls. Druid and beast share senses (the Druid can see and hear through the companion at short range, an at-will once bonded) and share emotion (fear, rage, and pain bleed across). If one dies, the other often follows within a year; this is RP and staff-adjudicated, never an automatic HUD kill.
- The house foal (level 6): a young griffon or pegasus, ground only, a mount and ally that fights at your side but cannot fly. Its own HP at the Light tier. Acts on the Druid's turn as a Beast Master companion. It can die permanently; you raise and care for it.
- Skybond (level 10): the companion matures and gains flight. With flight it unlocks Sky Charge, a dive attack: double damage, the target rolls a Strength save or is knocked prone. This is the Skyrider flight capstone made real (see capstones, section 9).
- All companion mechanics reconcile against the core companion model (Core Rules section 11) and your Griffin Rules page when handy.
6. Wild (the resource) and habitat (the signature mechanic)
Wild is not refilled purely by rest at an inn. The living world is the Druid's leyline. Where the Druid stands sets both the maximum Wild and whether it regenerates, and it modifies every action roll. Lighter gating than the sea: most of the map is at least neutral, and only dead or unnatural ground truly starves a Druid.
| Where the Druid is | Action mod | Wild |
|---|---|---|
| Deep wilderness, old forest, wild water, high crags | +2 | full max, regenerates each round |
| Open country, farmland, tended grove, light woods | +1 | full max, slow regen |
| Village, garden, roadside, any living green nearby | +0 | full max, no regen |
| Inside a city, paved or walled, little living green | -1 | max reduced 25%, no regen |
| Dead ground, blighted or salted earth, deep stone halls | -3 | max reduced 50%, no regen |
| Unnatural or abyssal ground, undead-fouled, Rhaenor-twisted sites | at-will communions only; max reduced 50%, drains, no regen |
In Second Life this is automatic. The HUD samples the region around the wearer (parcel and land flags, water via llWater, and a per-sim habitat tag the build sets for cities, the blighted zones, and the wild) and picks the band live. A Druid grows visibly stronger walking into the deep wood and weaker walking into the city or onto cursed ground. That is the design, rendered live.
7. At-will communions (free, no roll, no cost)
Always available as long as the ground is living enough to listen. The everyday instinct of one raised by the wild.
| Communion | Effect |
|---|---|
| Wild Sense | read the health, age, and mood of plants, beasts, and weather nearby |
| Sure Track | never lose your footing or your way in natural terrain |
| Beast Tongue | exchange simple meaning with an ordinary animal |
| Bond Sight | see and hear through your companion at short range (once bonded) |
| Forage | find clean water and safe food wherever the land provides |
| Mend Green | coax a small plant to bloom, ripen, knit, or wilt; revive a cut flower |
| Greenflourish | call leaves, petals, pollen, fireflies, or a curl of mist to gather and dance around you and answer your gesture; pure flair, no combat use |
Greenflourish is the Druid's tell, the wild's answer to a mage's prestidigitation and the Sea Shepherd's Spindrift. It announces what you are without a roll: petals spiral up when you laugh, a vine ribbons around your wrist, fireflies spell a word in the dusk, mist pools at your feet on cue. The wild shows off because it likes you, and a Skyrider who has it cannot help letting it.
8. Core arts (every Druid)
| Ability | Lv | Cost | Cast DC | Res DC | Save | Effect | Requires |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thornlash | 1 | 1 | 9 | 10 | Reflex | a vine or briar whips out; 1d6 and the target is at -1 to its next action | living plant growth in range |
| Soothe | 1 | 1 | 8 | none | touch | heal an ally or yourself for 1d8; calm a frightened beast | living ground |
| Gust | 1 | 1 | 8 | 11 | Reflex | ask a wind to shove; push a target back a short step and stagger | open sky or moving air |
| Tanglegrowth | 3 | 2 | 10 | 12 | Reflex | roots and brush erupt under a small area; foes there are rooted | soil, grass, or undergrowth |
| Call Rain | 3 | 2 | 10 | none | area | draw down rain a heavy sky is holding; douse fire, lay dust, slow ranged fire (slowed) in the area | overcast or humid sky |
| Purify | 4 | 2 | 11 | none | touch | end one poison or disease condition on a target, or cleanse tainted water or food | living ground |
| Bramble Snare | 4 | 2 | 11 | 12 | Fortitude | thorns seize and bite a target; 1d6 and rooted, bleeds if held | dense plant growth |
| Beast Ward | 5 | 3 | 12 | none | self/ally | summon nearby small wildlife to harry foes; targets near you at -1 to action for one round | wilderness with active animal life |
| Heal Wounds | 5 | 3 | 12 | none | touch | knit serious injury; heal 2d8 and end one bleed | living ground |
| Stormturn | 6 | 3 | 13 | none | area | negotiate a present storm's direction; enemies in it at disadvantage on ranged, or calm it down (storm ends) | an active storm |
| Quicken Growth | 6 | 3 | 12 | 13 | Reflex | force a burst of growth under foes; 2d6 and knock prone, raises cover | open soil or green |
| Spirit Pack | 7 | 4 | 14 | 14 | Reflex | call a phantom pack of wild spirits to a cone; 2d6 and frighten | deep wilderness |
| Renewal | 8 | 4 | 14 | none | area | the green answers in force; allies in range heal 2d8 and shed one condition | living ground, not blighted |
8.1 Wildshape (every Druid, unlocks at level 7)
Turning into an animal is the signature fantasy of the class, so it is not locked behind one Circle. From level 7 every Druid can take the shape of a natural beast they have studied. The Wildshape Circle (section 9) is the mastery path that opens it earlier and carries it much further.
| Form tier | Unlock | Forms | While shifted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lesser shape | Lv 7 | small to mid beasts you have studied: wolf, hawk, seal, deer, great cat | gain the form's movement (run, climb, fly, or swim) and one natural attack (weapon dice set by the form); your gear melds into the shape |
| Greater shape | Lv 9 | large beasts: bear, dire wolf, giant eagle, shark | as above, plus the form's size and a heavier natural attack, and you carry Heavy-tier toughness while shifted |
- Cost: 2 Wild to shift. The shape holds for a scene, or until you drop it or are downed.
- While shifted you move and fight as the beast and cannot use your other arts (the Wildshape Circle lifts this limit). Bond Sight and Beast Tongue still work, and you keep your own saves.
- You can only take a form you have studied in the wild first; staff confirms a new form the first time.
- The drift. Each scene you stay shifted past the first in a session adds to a drift count. Hold a shape too long and you risk forgetting you were ever a person (staff-adjudicated, never an automatic HUD lockout). The wild is generous, and the wild forgets faces. Spend a season as a hawk and you may not remember how to come down.
9. The three Circles (specialization, pick one at level 4)
Mostly locked once chosen, the way the gift settles when it learns your shape. Each deepens one face of the communion.
Beastspeaker, the bond and the pack. The companion and the wild that answers it. The summoner and bond-fighter of the three. Branch unlocks: Pack Bond (Lv6, your companion and Beast Ward creatures share your action mod and fight as one), Spirit Call (Lv7, summon a temporary spirit beast that fights for a scene), Soulbind (Lv8, you and your companion split incoming damage and act in perfect concert). Strongest where animals are; the heart of the Seeking.
Greenwarden, the growth and the green. Plant control, growth, healing, purification. The controller and healer. Branch unlocks: Wallthorn (Lv6, raise a living barrier of brambles), Grovekeeper (Lv7, area healing and condition cleansing each round in a tended zone), Heartwood (Lv8, a single great heal plus immunity to poison and disease for the scene). Lower damage, the spine the house leans on.
Wildshape, the change. The mastery of the transformation every Druid gets at level 7 (section 8.1). Picking this Circle deepens it on every axis. Branch unlocks: Early Shape (Lv4, your baseline Wildshape opens now instead of at 7, and you may keep using your arts while shifted), Element Form (Lv8, advance into a form of mist, stone, or flowing water with the matching resistances and tricks), Apex Form (Lv10 capstone-tier, a great or legendary beast for a scene). A Wildshape Druid also shrugs off the drift far longer than the rest. The most personal of the three Circles, and the deepest dive into the wild.
10. Capstones (levels 9 to 10, house head, staff managed)
| Ability | Lv | Cost | Cast DC | Res DC | Save | Effect | Requires |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wrath of the Wild | 9 | 7 | 16 | 17 | Reflex | the whole living scene answers at once: roots, beasts, wind, and water turn on your foes; 3d8 across a wide front and rooted, friendly ground only | deep wilderness or wild water |
| Skybond | 10 | 6 | n/a | n/a | n/a | your companion gains flight; while mounted in flight you may use Sky Charge, a dive attack for double damage, target rolls a Strength save or is knocked prone (the Skyrider flight perk made real) | a matured flying companion |
| Heart of the Green | 10 | 8 | 16 | none | self | become one with the living world for a scene; in wilderness you are immune to poison, disease, and natural hazards, every art is +2 and costs 1 less, and your companion shares the bonus | deep wilderness |
Wrath of the Wild deliberately spares friendly ground and will not answer on dead or blighted earth, the same way the Sea Shepherd's capstone cannot pinpoint one ship. The Druid asks; the wild decides the rest, and the wild does not turn on its own.
11. Class traits
- Mostly fixed loadout. A Druid learns the set through ritual and it grows as the bond deepens with level. The Circle chosen at level 4 is locked; individual arts may be re-attuned only through a long rite (a long rest spent in the wild), not swapped freely like a knight's drills.
- Magic items. Druids may attune and use magic items, including ones that cast. The beast bond does not forbid worked tools, only forced ones.
- HP tier: Medium. Key stat: Wisdom (communion, attunement). Saves as core.
- House perks folded in: advantage on Animal Handling from level 1; the beast companion (ground only) from the Seeking at level 6; Skybond (flight and Sky Charge) at level 10.
- The penance (RP layer): top-tier Nature, Survival, Tracking, and Animal Handling, knowledge of the twisted creatures and where they den, and the standing oath to hunt them. The HUD surfaces standing, the bond, and tracking knowledge; it does not turn the house's real weight into a damage number.
12. Open for your sign-off
- Level titles (Sapling, Wildling, Warden, Spiritspeaker, Elder, Greenfather or Greenmother). Rename freely, and confirm you want the gendered house-head pair rather than one neutral title.
- The three Circle names (Beastspeaker, Greenwarden, Wildshape). Resolved per your note: baseline Wildshape now opens to every Druid at level 7 (section 8.1), with the Wildshape Circle as the mastery path. Confirm the level-7 baseline, the two form tiers, and the 2 Wild cost feel right.
- How hard the Wildshape drift count should bite: pure RP flavor, a staff flag, or a real mechanical clock, and whether the same drift risk should touch a Druid who forces a refused working under Rhaenor's old shadow.