Thoughts on Druids

Playing a Druid in my 1e game has made me interested in reconstructing the Druid from Eldritch Wizardry but turning it over with the lathe of my mind.  I need new level titles, so I did some research and brainstorming.  This is what I came up with.

Level and Title

1 Greenwight

2 Ovate

3 Feeder

4 Tender

5 Botaner or Botaness

6 Supplicant

7 Haruspex*

8 Auspex

9 Augur

10 Medius

11 Lord or Lady of the Grove

12 Druid

13 The Grand Merlin

14 Hierorphant

*Of level 7 Druids, there may be only three in a Barony.

Of level 8 Druids, there may be only three in a March.

Of level 8 Druids, there may be only three in a County.

Of level 9 Druids, there may be only three in a Duchy.

Of level 10 Druids, there may be only three in a Kingdom or Principality.

Of level 11 Druids, there may be only three in an Empire.

Of level 12 Druids, there may be only three at a time.

Of level 13 Druids, there may be only one at a time.

Of level 14 Druids, there may be any number.

Although it's not explicit, in my head the level cap in Mythical Journeys is 14. Hobbits to 8; Elfs to 10; Dwarfs to 12; and at least hobbits and elfs will get additional attack ranks and save bonuses. Men to 14.  I have not decided whether Men with a lot of XP will continue to gain attack ranks and save bonuses.  Probably not but maybe.

Druids of unusual environments such as urban druids, submariner druids, planar druids or druids of the mythic underworld will have their own hierarchy.  Druids on other continents or other planets, if there are any, will have their own hierarchy. They will each likely have their own spell list and different secret language.

I don't believe that there ought to be a standard format of sanctioned duels as we see in EW and AD&D. While there is some precedent in the animal kingdom, these men are not feral beasts. Rather there should be a process for the elders to elect those of lower rank in the hierarchy from among those who otherwise qualify.  Those who do not will instead stay at the lower level and not earn XP until the election in the next season (3 months). Candidates unfit to hold their rank for any reason may be replaced by others of a lower rank, in which case XP is lost.  I'm not exactly sure how to handle it, but I prefer a political contest to a martial one.

 

The Druid's Odd Spell Progression