Druidic Faith

Druids fit into the hierarchy of a worldwide Order that espouses a well-defined ethos yet grants each member considerable freedom of action. This liberty makes druids much more diverse than many other priest classes--reflected in the different druidic branches and kits--as they pursue their shared goals in their own ways.

Druids serve the force of Nature and its inherent natural cycles, such as that of birth, growth, death, and rebirth (PH, p. 37). Though some druids do choose to worship Nature embodied in a particular god, Nature, as a force, has no specific form or personality. (The Complete Priest's Handbook, on p. 11, defines a force as a process, natural or unnatural, that influences the world.)

The processes of Nature generate magical power its worshipers can tap. Failure to perform the ceremonies and follow the tenets of druidism leads a druid to fall out of touch with Nature and lose spell access, just as other unfaithful priests do.

Druids Who Worship Gods

Not all druids worship Nature as a force. Some see it personified by a great deity of Nature, often either formless or possessing many forms.

The most common manifestation of a druidic Nature deity is that of the Great Goddess--Chauntea and the Earthmother in the Forgotten Realms® setting or Beory in the World of Greyhawk® setting, for example. The Great Goddess embodies Nature through multiple avatars that represent her different aspects: a virgin warrior-huntress, an adult mother, and an ancient crone.

The Great Goddess sometimes has a Consort (often appearing as an antlered huntsman), the subordinate lord of the hunt, death, and animals. Followers frequently worship both Goddess and Consort as a single power rather than as two deities.

Life after Death

Since they see the universe as a cycle or series of cycles, druids tend to believe the life force of a person (especially one who follows the druidic faith) is reborn again and again. A being's reincarnation will not remember a former life but may possess a similar personality.

All druids believe a person's soul may be reincarnated into an animal instead of a sentient being--yet another reason they revere all the world's creatures.

Are the druids correct? That depends on the nature of the DM's universe.

Nature and the Gods

Druids differ in their attitudes toward non-Nature gods. Before beginning a new campaign, it's important for you and your DM to establish a circle's position toward other gods. 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 by Another Name. Druids may identify Nature as one aspect of an existing god--usually a powerful and primal earth or natural deity. For instance, if the DM wants druids in a fantasy world involving the gods of Greek myth, Nature may be worshiped as the great earth goddess Gaia without causing other changes in druidic behavior. This belief pattern enables the druids to participate directly in a pantheon of deities.

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.

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