D&D General Druids and Path Dependency: Why the Scimitar Helps Illuminate D&D

[Voadam]

Plus you have Nature Clerics for that!

I still do not know the narrative reason the nature domain provides a bonus proficiency in heavy armor as one of its specific nature powers for clerics.

To emphasize more that they are not druids?

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I still do not know the narrative reason the nature domain provides a bonus proficiency in heavy armor as one of its specific nature powers for clerics.

To emphasize more that they are not druids?

Nothing says nature like full plate.

You shouldn't play hacky-sack or ultimate frisbee without full plate; no big deal, guys in my high school used to do it all the time.

 

[Meech17]

I'm glad this thread got brought back up to make the rounds..

I've been playing EverQuest again on the Project Quarm server.. Something I've realized is that EQ stole a lot from D&D. This is one of those things. Druids in EverQuest can wield Scimitars, but not short swords, or long swords.. Or even rapiers. As a kid I used to wonder why? Like it made sense that the caster classes couldn't use swords. They probably lacked martial training. But this one caster class however gets this one weird exception.

Why? Because that's how it was in D&D it seems. And why was it that way in D&D? Apparently to cut mistletoe.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Why? Because that's how it was in D&D it seems. And why was it that way in D&D? Apparently to cut mistletoe.

So the question is ....

Did Sustare have the weird mistletoe fetish because he relied on dubious Roman sources ....

Or did he just want a class that cut down all the mistletoe because of a bad experience at a Christmas party?

INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW!

 

[jmartkdr2]

So the question is ....

Did Sustare have the weird mistletoe fetish because he relied on dubious Roman sources ....

Or did he just want a class that cut down all the mistletoe because of a bad experience at a Christmas party?

INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW!

Mistletoe is such a weird choice since it's a parasite plant anyways. And can't make enrgy from food.


But this does allow me to have my plant=person druid just have her spellcasting focus growing out of her arm, which is neat.

 

[Starfox]

if you don't want druids to wield scimitars in your world, its very easy to change. What weapons druids use is a setting detail. The standard druid using them is implied setting - like the best armor being plate or wizards using spellbooks. Implied setting should stand down to actual setting.

 

[James Gasik]

I once had a Totally Not-Japan region in a campaign setting where the religious caste were all Druids by a different name, providing the Faux-Samurai with cool wooden armor and weapons using ironwood, and so could wield ironwood wakizashi!