I’m looking for some help in gaining some insight, from both a lore and roleplay perspective, on how Druidism is perceived and perhaps functions with the different race-cultures and factions.
I say race-cultures because this is a fantasy setting. In this setting race commonly refers to dwarf, troll, gnome, human, elf, etc., and while there can exist a variety of cultures within a single race, there is typically a common culture that helps solidify the aesthetic of that given race. From a player character point of view.
I feel like I’m stumbling over myself here, so allow me to explain a bit more. For hopefully clarity’s sake.
I’ve developed some what of a “love affair” with druids. It’s a really fun class for me to play. I also love how their shapeshifting aesthetics and lore change depending on the race you choose. Druids are all largely similar in function, yet from a lore/rp perspective a Night Elf Druid is very different from a Kul-Tiran Druid, from a Gilnean Druid, and so forth. There’s even a difference between a Troll Druid and a Zandalari Druid. A Tauren Druid versus a Highmountain Druid. It’s obvious given their different shapeshifting aesthetics, but that’s just a visual indication of their much deeper cultural differences. Or so I have come to believe.
Consequently, I think I’ve rolled, and I’m currently leveling, one of each race that can be a druid. Still waiting for the day a Gnome can be one. It’ll never happen, but I’m still hoping. But I digress.
In an effort to better understand the character of Taell that’s developing, I thought I’d come here to you guys and get some input on Kul-Tiran Druids. Then I thought that while I’m at it, might as well expand my query to include all the Druidic Races.
So, what do you guys think of the different druid races? What do you understand or know of them, where druids are concerned?
How do you think they are perceived within their own cultures and factions?
If you RP one, how do you think they are perceived by their community? In turn, how do they perceive their own faction and community? How do they function within them?
Alternately, if you don’t RP one, how are they seen or understood by your character and their peers?
How does one druid differ from another? Not only from a lore standpoint, but from your personal opinion/perspective?
I’m casting a wide net here, I know, but I’d like to start some kind of discussion on this topic. See where it takes us.
The expanding racial variety of Druid population is putting some major credibility strain on the idea that Malfurion was the first Druid. We’ve had hints that there were tauren druids that predated Malfurion, and it’s really hard to accept the idea that the Zandalari and the Drust did not develop druidic practises totally without Cenarius’ help.
Gilnean Druids are first introuduced as Harvest Witches with the idea t hat they also practised a local variation that may have been an incomplete version until the recent recontact with modern Night Elves.
The accepted narrative among the fan base is that the Gilneans owe their druidic origins to Alpha Prime’s Order of the Pack, but I really can’t see these particularly xenophobic branch of the former night elves instructing Humans. I might see perhaps the first of the Harvest Witches coming on something that was left behind but givien it’s unknown language, that would account for them only having a partial understanding.
Kul Tirans are a curious mix…their practise is seemed to have derived from Drust Thornspeakers, members of a race implacably hostile to them.
To speak more to the Horde Druids and what they are or how they became a thing since since it is what I know more, I thoroughly enjoy how the races within the faction basically de-homogenized druidism. What was perceived before was it was a Night Elf only thing, and in fact Druids were going to be an Alliance only class in Classic largely out of what was shown in WC3 but as we see was scrapped for Shaman and Paladins instead, is now something for both factions and many races.
What we can say though that the class ‘druid’ as we know it is Night Elf based. Our understanding of what one is means they shapeshift, connect to the Emerald Dream, love their trees, and draw on solar and lunar powers in some way. What has happened with the rest was shoving those races, with no connections to a lot of that, into that class to make work. So what we see, historically in the lore, are not so much ‘druids’ but nature-esc users who now need to be put into a class for balance and game play.
What we’re given then is that tauren were, according to Xarataur, were among the first druids also taught by Cenarius. Given that tauren/yaungol are older than Night Elves, it can be suggested they were even the first druidic users, but perhaps not the first proper druids. Which Blizz confirmed Malfurion was. So their practices are largely in line with the Night Elves, since the practice was largely forgotten among the Kalimdor tauren and retaught by Malfurion and Cenarius to Hamuul, and then the rest of the tauren.
What differentiates, and perphas confuses, Highmountain druids is that they could have potentially kept that knowledge from pre-sundering druid practices from Cenarius and others like Xarantaur. Also being so close to Val, constant teaching was possible. They even helped turn Vydhar in Stormhiem into the eternal tree. Thats a bit above and beyond just talking to trees and caring for nature.
What we see with trolls, who also predate Night Elves, is also something completely different. We’ve seen since classic trolls able to take on different shapes of their Loa through one way or another. Since shape shifting is a key druid trait, this was taken as part reason for them given the class option though traditionally in game those trolls were priests. Mechanically that doesn’t work, of course. So what happens in Cata is the Darkspear, with the help of Vol’jin defeating Zalazane once and for all with Bwonsamdi, is them reconnecting with Gonk, Lord of the Pack and Loa of Shapes, allowing them to not fall so rigidly into single devotion to a Loa and only able to shape shift into them. The Loa of Shapes allows for them to go into Boomkin, Bear, Seal, Cat, etc without needing to devote themselves to, presumably Elune, Nalorakk, Gral, Kimbul, etc (respectively). Creating a more diverse and ‘proper’ druid to WoW mechanics.
What we see with Zandalari is kinda taking the Darkspear and cranking that up to 11. The Raptari are the druids of the Zandalari, also followers of Gonk, but use raptor forms instead. However there is nothing to say, like the Lun’ari, that “druids” can’t also be followers of Kimbul, Shadra, Akunda, really any Loa. Though as far as lore goes, they’d technically be priests or devotees. Kinda sorta do what ya want with that one. This is where the race/class combos really diverge form what we have ‘traditionally’ accepted. Though really, whats the difference between a follower of Kimbul and say, a Druid of the Claw?
Culturally speaking for each as far as classes go, shaman are more important to tauren. They’ve been the staple spiritual and knowledge keepers for the tauren. We see that with both Kalimdor and Highmountain tauren, regardless how how highly druids are held. However, druids are still held in high esteem within tauren culture as peace keepers, spiritualists, knowledge keepers, and those who can connect to nature. Things can be similarly said for priests and paladins, Seers and Sunwalkers. What is key is their relationship to the Earth Mother, An’she, Mu’sha, and the ancestors.
Trolls are a bit different. They’re held in higher regard too, but like priests and shaman, they are connected to their Loas. How that Loa is regarded is generally how that druid would be regarded. Like with the Lun’ari, mainline Zandalari say their Loa is not real. That Loa is presumably Elune. That is a cultural thing from troll tribe to troll tribe. To the Lun’ari, that could even be a little geopolitical going forward, not allowing the Night Elves’ primary deity to rise to the pantheon of Loa, especially given that history. Its quite literately heresy. Same for any druid that would be a follower of G’huun, Hir’eek or Hakkar, or even more innocent ones like bear fights between Rhunok and Nalorakk followers. To put into Night Elf terms, Druids of the Fang or Flame.
So I play a druid or two, and plenty of non-druids too. The druid I play as the the stereotypical wiseman. Knowledgeable, slow to action, avoiding conflict, tending to disputes, the works. I do, however, put a bit more of a philosophical spin on him with mild tauren supremacy twist when it comes to nature and their practices. They see others as people who could always use a helping hand. Could use a bit of guidance. While others, I assume, see him as kinda the stereotypical tree hugger.
My others, especially the more aggressive ones like Abra here, see most tauren druids as sell outs to Night Elves (see a pattern?). That for what good Hamuul did, he ultimately sold out our beliefs or allowed them to be subordinate to others. They’re too compromising. Even the Night Elf druids still fight for the Elves. What do ours do? I also just find it important to break from the traditional tauren mold. Racial stereotypes based on marginalized people are bad, yeah?
Personally, I dont see how they differ in game. They all do the same thing and they all look, generally, the same. They kinda have to too for balance. It would be nice, like we had with priests back in the day, to have race specific abilities for some classes but thats also a balancing nightmare. That a druid can really be whatever they want to be as far as roleplay goes. Do you want to be a Priest of Bethekk but abuse shapeshifting to show your devotion and piety? More power to you. Do you just want to use nature magic and RP spec into resto to be a super good farmer? Thats fun, roll with it. Were you a scout for the Zandalari or Darkspear, that was given a blessing from Paku or Hir’eek or transform into dino birds or bats to better perform your duties? Nice idea. Or are you just a traditional tauren druid, in the strictest class terms mostly defined by Night Elves? If you like it, go with it.
So personal perspective, druids are what you make of them. Have fun with it. Just keep it mildly within established lore and use mechanics to your advantage.
My worgen and high mountain tauren druids are very different from my Night Elf original. They’re also considerably different from each other. My worgen druid wears a proper top hat after all!
Night Elves were the only -true- Druids, starting with Malfurion Stormrage as the first Druid. Since the end of WC3, Malfurion has taught the Tauren the Druidic arts, and over time we have found other races who carry some form of Druidic ability.
Though, I should point out, none of these races were Druids to the extent of the Night Elves. They were Proto-Druids at best, eventually learning how to better make use of this magic with Night Elf instruction.
It is also important to understand that the classes are more open to interpretation. A Tauren Paladin, for example, is not at all similar to a Human Paladin. Likewise, a Kaldorei Druid and a Zandalari Druid are different things, but are best represented by the Umbrella “Druid” class.
I’ve always appreciated that, from an rp/lore perspective. The only ones that feel similar to me are Night Elf and Worgen. Like for their connection through the worgen curse. I very much like their Harvest Witch history too, and I’ve tried to maintain that feel in my Worg-Drood character. I like how they can do some simple healing spell out of combat and maintain their human forms. Kinda wish they’d relax the forced worg turn until you got hit, but that’s neither here nor there. Still fun and interesting to me to dig into each of their lore and pull out bits that make their form of druidism feel unique in some manner.
I leveled through BFA first on the horde side because of the Zandalari. I loved their Mesoamerican influence and learning more about how they revered their different Loa. I purposefully leveled a troll druid for this and found it interesting how even these two differ in their perspectives, even though they’re both troll.
Which brings up an interesting question.
The Troll Druids can be connected to Cenarius via the Cenarion Circle, as can also the Tauren. What about the Zandalari? I don’t recall them having any interaction with Cenarius in the past, unless I missed something. They also wouldn’t have had any connection with the Circle until they joined the Horde. Presumably.
The stories of the Shu’halo, the Drust, and the Zandalari poke major holes in that assertion. These races apparantly learned the Druidic path without Cenarius. The Kul-Tirans got their Druidic teachings from the Drust. The Zandalari most definitely had druids and Paladins before Malfurion.
Zandalari druids, as far as we know, have no connection to Cenarius. They learned Druidism from Gonk, the Loa of Shapes and of The Pack. Their focus is on shapeshifting, a power which they obtain through communion with other nature-aligned Loa (possibly only Loa which are also Wild Gods, although that’s speculation), in what one would presume is a similar way that Cenarion druids do through the animal spirits in Moonglade. Gonk is a fairly unique Loa in this way, as he allows his followers to pay homage to many Loa to increase their druidic powers, although he demands ultimate loyalty be given to him before he will teach you such powers. They also don’t seem to be ignorant of plant/weather magic or druidic healing, and Gonk himself has knowledge of the Emerald Dream and how to travel there so one would presume his followers also have some skill in this area of Druid magic as well.
Gonk’s teachings do seem to exclude the more “cosmic,” element of Druidism, their ability to draw power and commune with celestial bodies like the Sun, Moon and Stars, although this knowledge is not totally alien to the Zandalari because of the Lun’alai, who worship some unknown entity (Lun, one would think from the name), which is most likely Elune herself, as a Loa. Through that worship they gain a unique moon-touched dinosaur form to enhance such communion, which they spend most of their time inhabiting. They are considered a heretical sect in Zandalari society for unknown reasons, although it seems Talanji is building some bridges with them since she allowed a delegation from their ‘temple,’ into a meeting she held in Zanchul after her coronation.
The fact that knowledge of the “cosmic,” element of Druidism is contained to a separate, heretical temple probably helps with the “Malfurion was the first druid,” thingy because it means that Zandalari’s orthodox druids, while incredibly powerful in the most traditional methods of druidism, not ignorant of the Dream and its unique aspects, and enjoying a level of institutional support and knowledge preservation unique outside the Cenarion Circle, were missing an entire school of druidic practice. Malfurion was not the first Druid period, but he was almost certainly the first COMPLETE Druid.
Of course, the Drust’s newly revealed knowledge of an entirely new school, ‘Death Druidism,’ for lack of a better term, does mean there’s a whole world that even Cenarius didn’t know and therefore couldn’t teach Malfurion. Which in turn would mean that Malfurion was the first complete druid BY CENARIUS’ RECKONING, ie limited to the scope of Life alone.
Side note, its worth considering that Gonk and Cenarius may have had contact in the past. Its entirely possible that Gonk knows the druidic ways because of Cenarius in some way, and that’s how he was able to pass it on to the Zandalari and other tribes that worshiped him without Cenarius being involved. We do know that the ancient Troll Empires had knowledge of Mount Hyjal and that many powerful spirits of nature called it home dating back to the earliest years of their civilizations, and we do not know when Gonk became part of their society and began training Druids. But of course, all of that would also be speculation.
Not impossible, but I don’t necessarily mind keeping with the idea that Cenarius is the primary font for all Druidism on Azeroth being the son of a Wild God and a… whatever Elune ultimately gets revealed as. That said, I would personally prefer if Gonk learned it on his own and never the twain did meet, just as the Drust seem to have found their own path to Druidism. It would make sense out of that gap of Cosmic Druidism in Gonk’s knowledge which Cenarius does not have because as the child of Elune and a Wild God his understanding of Druidic ways is more “complete.” I just wouldn’t dismiss the possibility that there is some link between them given we have record of the Ancient trolls knowing of Hyjal and its many powerful spirits.
Side note I also think it would be pretty cool if the Drust know their Death Druidism because of Gorak Tul having a greater link to the Winter Queen then has been currently revealed. We know that he is how the Druidic teachings of the Thornspeakers were “perverted,” to include Death Magic, and we know that as a result of his works the Drust have been cursed to exist outside the cycle of Life and Death and their souls are basically trapped in Thros. If he were a demigod son of the Winter Queen and a true Dark Mirror to Cenarius, that would be pretty interesting in my eyes. The whole concept of Demigods is sadly underdeveloped.
I think I would prefer that as well. Since the introduction of the Trolls and Worgen, and now the rest, I’ve been seeing Malfurion more as the first “Cenarion Druid”. As you’ve stated, that may mean he has a more complete portfolio of Druidic knowledge given he was trained from a direct source on the matter. But that also doesn’t mean that druidism in some form didn’t exist before or after him. Or even the ultimate authority for that matter. Like you said, there may be a complete aspect to Druidism that was never taught to him. Citing the Drust.
“Proto-Druids” is the term we have from Blizzard. Malfurion is the first mortal druid. None of these races were druids in the traditional sense before Malfurion taught them.
Shapeshifting through communion with animal spirits, weather magic, plant control magic, healing magic and dream magic are almost all the druidic arts, and that’s what Gonk taught his followers. They’re druids. Astral communion is the only major druidic school they’re missing, and there’s another group on their continent that seem to have learned that stuff directly from Elune, much like Cenarius himself did.
Zandalari Druids also practice augery through animal sacrifice, which is kind of neat. Reading entrails and throwing bones and the like.
No druid gnomes but I don’t see why Mechagnomes would be excluded from being druids since their philosophy is to improve oneself even with body modifications, why not transformation as in shape shifting like transformers into the various forms with a mechanical look.
The most honored Druids within their own cultures are probably the Night Elves, with the Tauren just behind.
With Trolls Druids probably take a back seat to Shamans and Warlocks who command greater respect through fear and superstition.
The Gilneans until recently had an incomplete order of Druids known as Harvest Witches who practiced animal husbandry and were a big factor in agriculture. The origins of their teaching may be based on bits of leftover Night Elven lore from the Order of the Pack. While respected for their aid in agriculture until recently they didn’t have major standing in Gilnean society as a whole.
My Night Elf Druid Laralyn served a traditional role within Night Elven society, but pretty much keeps her own counsel in regards to the rest of the Alliance She’s far more of a stargazer than anything else. She’s also fairly atypical as she’s far more likely to be found studying ancient astronomical scrolls than anywhere else. She also keeps a far more personal secret even from her Night Elven druid colleagues, but that doesn’t matter here. My High Mountain Druid finds more general acceptance as a Horde frontline warrior.
So far as my understanding goes, zandalari and troll druids get their druidism from the loa. For Zandalari, its Gonk specifically. I don’t recall more specifics for the “regular” troll druids.
Kul’Tiran, I thought, weren’t quite “true” druids, their powers are drust powers. Perhaps somewhere along the way, some drust wanted to emulate the night elf druids, hence why they can do the forms. Dont quote me, I’m just piecing something together, and I may be way off.