Druidic Circles

Sacred Circle of Culverwood

The magical forest of Culverwood is unique, inherently wild and completely unpredictable. Home to many strange plants and magical creatures, it can be extremely dangerous to the unwary, and despite the forest's chaotic beauty, there are those who would force change within it, seek to tame it, or at the very worst - attempt to destroy it.

The Sacred Circle of Culverwood exists to protect the great forest and its druids are pledged to fight the encroachment of civilization within its boundaries.

Theirs is a constant struggle -- against hunting parties from the Windbourne Hills in the North, farmers wishing to increase their lands to the east, careless travelers from the North West seeking a shortcut to New Elenna, and perhaps their most formidable opponent -- the green dragon Parnoth, ruler of the Emerald Kingdom on the southern border of the forest, and his attempts to hold back and neutralize that portion of Culverwood that falls within his boundaries. His manicured lawns, maintained roads, trimmed hedges and pruned trees are an orderly and welcome sight to those seeking safe passage through the Kingdom. Wild and dangerous beasts are hunted down and destroyed to ensure traveler safety and bring revenue into the Land.

Ah, civilization.

But to the elves forced to labor in Parnoth's gardens, and to the druids charged with protecting the natural Culverwood in all its wild glory-- this form of control is an abomination.

A Sacred Circle druid's primary allegiance is to the Forest and other members of the Circle. They will work either alone or together, in order to ensure Culverwood and all flora and fauna within it's boundaries flourish unabated. They will defend and maintain the Forest's boundaries against any who seek to curtail them.

• Creed -- Protect and Defend
• Secret Sigil - Culverclove leaf
• Initiation Rite - Locate and spend time Communing with the Ancient trees of Culver, which reside in the central part of the forest.

Circle of The Alder

Druids of the Circle of The Alder work toward persuading nature surrounding the Floating City to accept its presence.

No sooner had the unique, Teucri-built City, arrived within the wilds of the forest, then the forest began to fight back at what it considered to be a gross invasion of it's territory.

Nature fights back by taking over -- steadily, relentlessly.

Vines carrying pods of strong poisons twisted through gateways, while other vines curled, pulled and tangled through the vast machinery beneath the City, clogged drains, blocked vents, and above - sought to pull down walls and smother buildings. Seeds, drifting into the City by the wind, took root in cracks and grew, their roots disturbing foundations, their stems and leaves growing and spreading above.

Creatures, some quite ordinary, others magical and in some cases extremely dangerous sought to enter the confines of the City, establishing territory, breeding, making this place their own.

The only remedy for the inhabitants of the City appeared to be the destruction of all that nature threw at them.

It became obvious that some kind of balance was required -- a truce between the urban and the wild.

And so the Circle of the Alder was created.

Druids of this circle seek to uphold the balance between the Floating City and the forest that surrounds it, to persuade the natural world to accept this new intrusion, and while doing so -- educate those in the City about the beautiful, wild and equally relevant forest that lies just beyond their doorstep.

• Creed -- Balance and Harmony.
• Secret Sigil - Choking Creeper leaf.
• Initiation Rite - Build a man-made structure in the forest such as a traveller's shelter or a stack of druid stones and preserve it against the forest for a time.

Circle of the Silver Birch

Druids of this Circle are dedicated to the breeding, care and development of monsterkind in order to enhance and spread the dark areas of nature.

Knowing the dark side is continually under threat, druids seek to drive back the good with their monstrous 'children' of evil.

Although bound by the creed of the Circle, these druids often work alone, their attention fully on their charges and creations. Obsessed with the more cruel side of nature, they will identify and breed these traits into monsters great and small.

Have they discovered how to make a giant spider's bite more poisonous? - Ooh yes. Intensified the evil mischief and hunger of a will o' wisp? Definitely.

As for enhancing the cruel barbs on an aquatic kraken's tentacles, be assured -- they're working on it.

A druid of this Circle, despite his dark nature, has a deep love for his charges and creations, and will fiercely protect them, drawing on all the darker aspects of nature he can muster in order to do so.

• Creed -- Rebirth and Abomination
• Secret Sigil - Monster claw
• Initiation Rite - Walk unaided up to a powerful monster of the forest and stand before it.

Templars of the Wild

The druids of this Circle are combative and proactive, their aim to stand against, or seek out and strike at the dark forces of nature and those druids who nurture and protect it.

The Templars will often join or lead parties of adventurers in order to drive their evil counterparts back and restore underlying good to the land. These druids often have a fearsome countenance, and a no-nonsense warlike approach to life. Their particular Circle follows a strict hierarchy, more so than any other in the Wold.

They know their terrains well, especially in terms of what could be advantageous or disadvantageous during battle, and are fully able to coerce their natural surroundings into helping with what is to them, a crusade against the dark.

• Creed -- Destruction and Restoration.
• Secret Sigil - Shrunken head of a monster.
• Initiation Rite - defeat a selected monster or a dark druid alone.

Circle of The Oak

These druids work toward the growth of all that is good in nature. Theirs is a non-combative benevolent approach, solid and steadfast - their belief that if encouraged, the goodness in nature will blossom and grow, its influence overpowering that of the darker side. Amongst druids of other Circles - they are perhaps the most approachable.

They will neutralize poisons and cure diseases, destroy parasites, so that nothing stands in the way of good nature's attempt to flourish and expand, to the detriment of the darker, more evil side.

• Creed -- Flourish and Protect.
• Secret Sigil - Oak leaf.
• Initiation Rite - None, but a 1 year probationary period where you prove yourself with your fellow Druids.

Circle of Creeping Ivy

This is an evil group of druids, who foster the chaotic growth of evil nature by striking surreptitiously from within areas of goodness.

Theirs is generally a non-combative, secretive approach -- their strikes are often only discovered when it is too late.

Creeping ivy, sucking the life out of the trees in a magic circle; a pregnant, voracious crop-eating beetle placed in a field of healthy wheat, anything that will drive back nature's goodness - which they consider to be abhorrent and cloying.

They are adept at disguise, and well able to hide their true purpose. They have expert knowledge of parasitic plants, spores and creatures and will use them to suck out all that is good in the surrounding land and replace it with rot, decay and menace.

• Creed -- Spoil and Decay.
• Secret Sigil - Ivy leaf.
• Initiation Rite - Secret and unknown.