Wardens and agents of the natural world, druids draw their power from nature itself. There are many similarities between druids and their cleric cousins, but nature, unlike most deities, tends not to have opinions on how its power is used. Survival of the fittest applies to nature's champions as much as everyone else, and simply surviving to continue using its power is sufficient proof that a druid remains deserving of its position.
Similarly to how nature itself is diverse and encompasses many different environments, druids differentiate themselves within the class by aligning themselves with a Druidic Order. Realm of Runes includes five orders, each of which focuses on a different facet of the natural world. While each order has its specialties, most abilities are accessible to druids of any order. Each one is extra potent if aligned with its order, but a druid is free to blur the lines between orders to its satisfaction, with the exception of special signature feats that can only be taken by druids of the matching order.
ANIMAL ORDER
Animal Order druids tend to focus on building and maintaining a rapport with the creatures of the natural world. These druids gain an animal companion as a bonus feat, and an Animal Order's animal companion will always excel in comparison to any other character's animal companion, advancing to new tiers of capability faster, and even being capable of transcending its status as an animal minion and instead behaving as an intelligent minion in combat.
Animal Order feats focus on improving your animal companion's capabilities and your relationship with it. Druids of this order have an exclusive order power that they can cast to heal their animal companion by a large amount, with a quick casting time, to keep their little (or big!) buddy fighting strong. The Animal Order signature feat, Devoted Companions, prevents you and your animal companion from ever being compelled to act against each other, and grants you empathic communication at any distance while on the same plane of existence, or telepathic communication instead if your companion understands language.
LEAF ORDER
Leaf Order druids tend to focus on plants and plant creatures. These druids gain a tiny plant familiar as a bonus feat, and a Leaf Order's familiar will always excel in comparison to any other character's familiar, with a greater quantity of useful and powerful abilities. Druids of this order become plant-like themselves, able to talk to plants and plant creatures, and taking on many of the aspects that make such creatures formidable opponents.
Leaf Order feats focus on their connections to flora. Druids of this order have the exclusive ability to cast the versatile goodberry spell as an Order Power instead of using a spell slot, which allows them to spend their spell slots on other spells and ensures that their goodberries are always as potent as possible. The Leaf Order signature feat, Photosynthesis, removes the need for the druid to breathe, eat and drink, and also provides a small amount of permanent regeneration, making the druid harder to kill and regrowing lost body parts over time.
MENHIR ORDER
Menhir Order druids focus on the more esoteric aspects of nature, such as ley lines and the power of standing stones. These druids gain the ability to conjure obelisks as a bonus feat, and doing so is less costly for them in comparison to other druids. These obelisks function as runic circles, making druids the only characters with fast and free access to these potent magical tools. Menhir Order druids can make use of this ability with less of a drain on their magical resources compared to other druids.
Menhir Order feats focus on their connection to this aspect of nature that often goes overlooked. Druids of this order can choose an occult spell to cast as an Order Power, dramatically improving their flexibility and diversity. The Menhir Order signature feat, Stonehenge, dramatically enhances the power of obelisks when arranged closely together, causing their held spells to manifest over a larger area and with greater intensity than could be achieved alone.
STORM ORDER
Storm Order druids focus on the power of storms and weather, and do not fear heat, cold, or any other such natural hazards. These druids gain their immunity to weather as a bonus feat, allowing them to have it without taking up a valuable class feat slots. Druids of this order have unparalleled connection to storms, able to make the most efficient use of a suite of order powers that control weather conditions or deal potent area damage, and are able to use these devastating powers twice as often as other druids.
Storm Order feats focus on their connection to these devastating atmospheric phenomena. Druids of this order have an exclusive Order Power that creates an intense, localized storm which deals electric damage and can make those affected become less able to defend themselves at the same time. The Storm Order signature feat, Weather Control, packages a number of high-level weather spells into a single power that the Storm Order druid always has available at their greatest possible power level, and freeing up their most potent spell slots for other important spells.
WILD ORDER
Wild Order druids have such an understanding of natural creatures that they often feel more comfortable being those creatures. These druids gain access to the wild shape Order Power as a bonus feat, and they can cast it with a more efficient use of magical resources than any other druid. Wild Order druids also use wild shape with a naturally increased duration compared to others, allowing them to maintain these powerful forms for longer without sacrificing power.
Wild Order feats focus on their connection to the powers and abilities of the creatures whose form they take. They don't have an exclusive Order Power, like other orders, but are instead able to make use of the wild shape power twice as often as any other druid, and for more than twice as long when they do. The Wild Order signature feat, Active Transformation, lets them move or attack with their new form as part of the transformation, whether through wild shape or otherwise, and also either prevents that movement from triggering hostile reactions or causes enemies to be unprepared for the attack and flat-footed.
PRIMAL SPELLS, CANTRIPS & ORDER POWERS
All druids have access to two separate pools of magical potential. They have spell slots in which they can freely prepare spells of the primal tradition, but also have a pool of Spell Points that they use to cast their Order Powers. Like most casters, druids have several spell slots of each spell level available to them, but their Order Powers always have the same power level as their most potent spells. The trade-off is that a druid will likely have more spell slots available than Spell Points.
Druids also have the ability to prepare Cantrips, spells that tend to be slightly weaker overall to spells of the same level, but aren't expended when cast. Cantrips always manifest at the highest power level available, and so ensure that a casting-focused druid always has a magic option available in every scenario. Indeed, spellcasters in Realm of Runes never feel pressured to carry a weapon unless they want to, or it has good synergy with the spells they choose to cast.
Druids are a flexible and formidable spellcasting class. Their orders help differentiate them along a theme, but the ability to expand into the spheres of other orders prevents the choice of order from limiting their potential, but instead rewards synergy. Over the last three class entries we've explored several classes that make use of magic as a primary tactic, so it's only fitting that next time we'll take a more detailed exploration of the topic, and how Realm of Runes makes it flexible, powerful and user-friendly.
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