What is the purpose of a Druid?

[Kinghawke]

I am trying to find a good reason to play a druid but I can't see any. they don't seem to have any special powers or uses worthwhile. am I overlooking something important?

[Nekira Sudacne]

I am trying to find a good reason to play a druid but I can't see any. they don't seem to have any special powers or uses worthwhile. am I overlooking something important?

Palladium is a company that mints OCC's for flavor and texture rather than to present interesting mechanical options. The only reason to play a druid is "you want to play a druid". if you don't already want to, there is no reason to. You arn't missing anything but the fact Palladium doesn't care if an OCC has a purpose or not.

[Father Goose]

I am trying to find a good reason to play a druid but I can't see any. they don't seem to have any special powers or uses worthwhile. am I overlooking something important?

Palladium is a company that mints OCC's for flavor and texture rather than to present interesting mechanical options. The only reason to play a druid is "you want to play a druid". if you don't already want to, there is no reason to. You arn't missing anything but the fact Palladium doesn't care if an OCC has a purpose or not.

This, in a nutshell.
If you want a purpose for the OCC, it is to represent a priest of nature, dedicated to serving the needs of the natural world, rather than the concerns of sentient species. It represents those who share a closer kinship with plants and animals than they do people.
But again, that is more concept than mechanics. If you like the concept, play one. If you like cool mechanics, play a Man of Magic or Psionic OCC instead, as priestly OCCs are much cooler conceptually than they are mechanically.

[kiralon]

2nd ed druids aren't as much fun as first ed druids so I merged them which makes them a bit more fun.
I also use them as guardians of caches of ancient things that couldn't be destroyed and holders of apocalyptic knowledge/oracles, so they might not fully understand how magic works for wizards, but they can certainly say things like "That kid there is going to grow up and be the one who uses that McGuffin over there to save the world, and if he doesn't do certain things the world is doomed (who knows, it really could be doomed) and then have the player deal with either a kid, or A Lady, or even the best dualist in the northern kingdoms and have to try and steer him/her into doing things to save the world. So the NPC can derail the plot in funny and interesting ways just like pc's do.
"Gotta save the world huh, nope, i'm going to go pick some flowers instead because that's more important to my needs" - random PC quote
So a bit of a job reversal for the GM, the npc gets to go pick flowers instead.

But look up the were shaman out of the Book10: Mount Nimro book (Thank you Prysus for OCC list)
That was the original Druid basically.

[Library Ogre]

I view Druids as actually being a survival of an ancient form of magic, related to geomancy, mixed with a variety of other folks magics. IMC, the progenitors of the druids created the Canine races, and the young Canines codification of the magical style became modern druidism.

[Father Goose]

I view Druids as actually being a survival of an ancient form of magic, related to geomancy, mixed with a variety of other folks magics. IMC, the progenitors of the druids created the Canine races, and the young Canines codification of the magical style became modern druidism.

That's a cool idea. Gives them some historical ties that are less generic and opens new plot potential for druids when those historical ties have bearing on the continuing story of the campaign.
It's also an excellent example of how you can elevate an OCC by giving it history and storylines relevant to your personal game.

[Hotrod]

As psi-healers are to the psychic classes, so druids are to the priest classes. They're totally eclipsed by other options. Now, if you want a low-power campaign, I guess you could go with a Druid, but considering their sacrifice-heavy approach to their magic, you'll need a small herd to make much of a difference. If the GM is accommodating, you could have more pull and influence with wilderness people who seem to like them and warlocks for a certain roleplay advantage.

This is actually pretty plausible. There's a reason why the "appeal to nature" logical fallacy is so common in real life. Think about real-life movements talking up how something being "natural" means it's good for you and (anti-vaxxers, organic foods, anti-nuclear-power, et cetera). Now imagine building an actual religion out of "living naturally" with priests that invoke blood magic from sacrificing animals. That's the Druid O.C.C. in Palladium Fantasy.

[Father Goose]

It is important to remember that it is a religion first, and a class second. So if you are playing a Druid, you need to be embracing the idea of the religion, not just looking for kewl powerz.

[Tyberius]

An idea that I had and implemented in a game not so long ago was incorporating Herbology more into the Druid's toolkit. Giving them an enhanced version of the Holistic Medicine and Holistic Chemistry skills. Allow them to brew non magical potions, salves and other things that give bonuses, and relieves damage and effects, etc. In addition to the comment above about flavor and feel of the class, I think this gives them some more to work with game play and mechanics wise.

[Father Goose]

An idea that I had and implemented in a game not so long ago was incorporating Herbology more into the Druid's toolkit. Giving them an enhanced version of the Holistic Medicine and Holistic Chemistry skills. Allow them to brew non magical potions, salves and other things that give bonuses, and relieves damage and effects, etc. In addition to the comment above about flavor and feel of the class, I think this gives them some more to work with game play and mechanics wise.

I have played around with the idea of porting in the Herbalists from Rifts England and the Old Believers from Mystic Russia and having them alongside the Druid as three different approaches to the faith. I haven't gotten very far with it, but the idea is to have each be responsible for an aspect of the religion and each play an important role in the hierarchy of the clergy so that the religion has more depth and nuance.

[kiralon]

An idea that I had and implemented in a game not so long ago was incorporating Herbology more into the Druid's toolkit. Giving them an enhanced version of the Holistic Medicine and Holistic Chemistry skills. Allow them to brew non magical potions, salves and other things that give bonuses, and relieves damage and effects, etc. In addition to the comment above about flavor and feel of the class, I think this gives them some more to work with game play and mechanics wise.

I added magical plants and their what can be made out of them so the druids and healers can make magical potions. Unlike the alchemist they usually have side effects as well, but the better the druid or healer gets, the more minor the side effects.

[RockJock]

I've used the old Beast Master as a fun Druid ish character. In our games like it or not Druids tend to be NPCs and plot devices more than pcs.

[Lukterran]

They killed the druid class in 2nd edition. It was kind of unique in 1st edition which is now just a were-shaman. But druids are completely useless and about the worst class in the game. I personally would like to see a revamp of the class to make it more worth while in a group. Nobody wants to play a useless character that can't meaningfully contribute something to the campaign.

[Library Ogre]

Personally, I've always liked the druid. They start off a little rough, but they have a good mix of knowledge and abilities, and by 3rd level, they're good healers. If they make use of their strengths (animals), they can do a lot.

[Hotrod]

In my version of Palladium Fantasy, there are a bunch of people who fall under the umbrella term of "Druid," and to outsiders, there's not a whole lot of difference between them.

The dominant group is the Druid O.C.C. from 2nd Edition. They worship nature. They despise cities, industry, technology, and all magic other than elemental/warlock magic and the second-rate blood magic they themselves practice. Everyone calls them Druids, and they are the priesthood of the world's most widespread religion. They have little formal structure outside their communities, but they have a strong community and sense of social hierarchy among Druids. They consider other druid groups to be heretics.

Animal shapeshifter types are often called druids by outsiders. This is the 1st Edition Druid and the Were-Shaman. They have a close affinity to animals, and many people consider them to be druids, but they don't generally follow the Druid religion because they don't like all the animal-stabbing. They also tend to have little to no organization or orthodoxy beyond the local level, where they sometimes form small cults.

Finally, the herbal magic druids (From Rifts: England). While outsiders call them druids, and they prefer to live close to nature and respect it, these are conventional magic users who use plants and herbs to create magical effects, items, and potions. Traditional Druids may tolerate them or try to stir up their followers against them.