Do you take this literally?1e PHB wrote:The druid is a sub-class of clerics. They are the only absolute neutrals ...
Druids are the *only* absolute neutrals?
Druids are the *only* absolute neutrals?
File this under the Never Really Noticed This Before category.
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Re: Druids are the *only* absolute neutrals?
I took it to mean they are the only absolute neutral clerics.
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Re: Druids are the *only* absolute neutrals?
Agree. People (their "nature connection"/magic "I'm going to entangle the fuck out of you/mojo depends on it). The source of the druids magic is "absolute neutral" (ie. nature and trees, plants, animals) not so with a run of the mill neutral cleric who likely gets his religious connection by some combination of things including alignment (ie. a bit more leeway).
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Thomas Jefferson in letter to Madison
Back in the days when a leopard could grab and break your Australopithecus (gracile or robust) nek and drag you into the tree as a snack, mankind has never had a break"
** Stone Giant
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Re: Druids are the *only* absolute neutrals?
I once played a paladin who put a band of low-level Druids to the sword for admitting they'd deliberately seeded a forest with hemlock plants. When I pointed out to the druids the danger it posed to travelers who might not know better and accidentally ingest the plants their response was "eh, so what? The world is balanced, if they die they die if they don't they don't."
One brief trial and a few lengths of rope later...
One brief trial and a few lengths of rope later...
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Re: Druids are the *only* absolute neutrals?
I take it to mean that only druids can be absolutely neutral; other characters can be neutral with tendencies in various directions, but only druids have what it takes to be douchebags about their neutrality. 
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Re: Druids are the *only* absolute neutrals?
I take it as an early idea that may have worked in the early, generic cleric era, but was quickly disregarded once a little depth was added to the class.
Re: Druids are the *only* absolute neutrals?
thedungeondelver wrote:I once played a paladin who put a band of low-level Druids to the sword for admitting they'd deliberately seeded a forest with hemlock plants. When I pointed out to the druids the danger it posed to travelers who might not know better and accidentally ingest the plants their response was "eh, so what? The world is balanced, if they die they die if they don't they don't."
One brief trial and a few lengths of rope later...
Hahahaha

Dungeon Delver's Paladin Red Legs "there aint no end to doing good"! Thats the way we deal with tree huggers."
Last edited by AxeMental on Thu Sep 20, 2012 6:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery."
Thomas Jefferson in letter to Madison
Back in the days when a leopard could grab and break your Australopithecus (gracile or robust) nek and drag you into the tree as a snack, mankind has never had a break"
** Stone Giant
Thomas Jefferson in letter to Madison
Back in the days when a leopard could grab and break your Australopithecus (gracile or robust) nek and drag you into the tree as a snack, mankind has never had a break"
** Stone Giant
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Re: Druids are the *only* absolute neutrals?
That's really funny. Who were the PCs - the paladin, the druids, or both?thedungeondelver wrote:I once played a paladin who put a band of low-level Druids to the sword for admitting they'd deliberately seeded a forest with hemlock plants. When I pointed out to the druids the danger it posed to travelers who might not know better and accidentally ingest the plants their response was "eh, so what? The world is balanced, if they die they die if they don't they don't."
One brief trial and a few lengths of rope later...
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Re: Druids are the *only* absolute neutrals?
I was the Paladin. There was some kind of pilgrimage, I don't recall what it was (we only got to play one session of this guy's game sadly - it was an off week for everyone else save myself and my wife and one other player so he decided to run some AD&D and had an adventure planned but it never made it to session 2 as everyone else was there at the next game), but it required different religious orders to come to some big conclave. While we were on our journey I espied the aforementioned Druids doing their thing.outlander78 wrote:That's really funny. Who were the PCs - the paladin, the druids, or both?thedungeondelver wrote:I once played a paladin who put a band of low-level Druids to the sword for admitting they'd deliberately seeded a forest with hemlock plants. When I pointed out to the druids the danger it posed to travelers who might not know better and accidentally ingest the plants their response was "eh, so what? The world is balanced, if they die they die if they don't they don't."
One brief trial and a few lengths of rope later...
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Re: Druids are the *only* absolute neutrals?
"They were decently fed, they were decently tried and then they were decently hanged!"AxeMental wrote: Dungeon Delver's Paladin Red Legs "there aint no end to doing good"! Thats the way we deal with tree huggers."
Re: Druids are the *only* absolute neutrals?
Hang 'em High?thedungeondelver wrote:"They were decently fed, they were decently tried and then they were decently hanged!"AxeMental wrote: Dungeon Delver's Paladin Red Legs "there aint no end to doing good"! Thats the way we deal with tree huggers."
"The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek." - Joseph Campbell
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Re: Druids are the *only* absolute neutrals?
Not this particular lot, no.TRP wrote:Hang 'em High?thedungeondelver wrote:"They were decently fed, they were decently tried and then they were decently hanged!"AxeMental wrote: Dungeon Delver's Paladin Red Legs "there aint no end to doing good"! Thats the way we deal with tree huggers."
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Re: Druids are the *only* absolute neutrals?
You denied them their pre-hanging ganga toke?

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Re: Druids are the *only* absolute neutrals?
Nope, they were babbling their protests right up to the end. Told 'em "If you didn't want to wind up like Chaotic Evils, you shouldn't have acted like Chaotic Evils."BlackBat242 wrote:You denied them their pre-hanging ganga toke?
