The druid in the dungeon	-	The druid's alignment	-	Outside the dungeon
Dragon	Classes	-	Druids	Dragon 119

Every party of AD&D® game adventurers has its fighters, clerics, magic-users,
and thieves ? and probably a sprinkling of
dual-classed demi-human characters of
more diverse talents, too. Adventurous
players may role-play monks or illusioni s t s ,   a n d   w i t h   t h e   p u b l i c a t i o n   o f   Unearthed
Arcana,  plenty of gamers will be rolling up
cavaliers or barbarians. This leaves only
one strong character class which is rarely
played: the druid. Few AD&D game players favor the druid in their play. Why is
this?

The first problem (or set of problems)
causing a scarcity of druids in AD&D
game adventures comes from a misrepresentation of the practicality of the class.
Druids do not appear as effective in combat as clerics because they cannot wear
metal armor. And, while they have a wider
choice of weapons than do clerics, their
weapon choices are somewhat weaker.
Another problem is that druids gain new
weapon proficiencies more slowly than
clerics, and the weapons with which they
can become proficient are rather ineffectual (if the DM plays weapon type versus
variable AC adjustments in determining hit
rolls). Druidic healing powers likewise do
not appear as strong as those of clerics,
and (unlike clerics) druids cannot turn
undead. All these points assume, of
course, that the druid is an ?alternative? to
the cleric ? an assumption which gamers
tend to make because the druid is defined
as a sub-class of the cleric in the AD&D
game. These practical problems, as most
gamers see them, are summed up in the

classic cliche: "They're no good in
dungeons."

    The second problem is more sophisticated;
it involves the alignment of the
druid and the question of whether or not
druids are disruptive to party unity. Most
AD&D game campaigns revolve around
conflicts between good and evil. The
druid, of course, is an absolute neutral
character, seeing all things (whether good
or evil) as balanced factors in the wholeness
of nature. How can such a character
be integrated into a party of PCs fighting
evil, or even into a PC party involved in a
law-versus-chaos adventure?

Let us address these problems one at a
time. First, we can examine the druid in
the ?worst-case analysis? ? in the dungeon
setting. Next, we?ll examine the alignment
problem. Finally, we will look at some of
the advantages the druid has in town
adventures. (Presumably, players will
agree that the druid is a powerful class in
wilderness settings, so his role there needs
no justification.)

The druid in the dungeon
Let us begin our analysis by establishing
the premise that a dungeon is very much a
part of nature. Although druids are particularly attuned to verdant woodlands, their
abilities are also useful in the dungeon
setting (after all -- the dungeon lies below
the ground on which things grow). This
premise is particularly true if the dungeon
setting is that of a natural cavern, an overgrown mine structure, or a similar underground complex.

There are two general points to keep in
mind when analyzing the druids effectiveness in a dungeon; these are illustrated in
the tables at the end of this article. First,
druids progress in experience levels more
rapidly than magic-users and illusionists at
all levels, and more rapidly than clerics
after the 5th level. Also, at any given
experience-point total, druids possess
more spells and higher-level spells than
any other class.

    Most AD&D game players are of the
belief that druids are weak fighters; this
belief is more pronounced when players
compare druids to clerics. Certainly, even
a druid with a good dexterity will never
acquire an AC as low as that of a cleric --
a problem which is exacerbated as experience
levels are gained. Likewise, magical
items acquired through adventuring, such
as protective devices affecting AC, often
go to other types of characters first (for
example, rings of protection go mostly to
fighters who need the saving-throw bonuses,
magic shields go to the clerics, and
so on). As experience levels are gained,
however, the druid outgains the cleric in
hit points (since he gains levels faster), and
so has a better defensive ability in this
respect. In any event, clerics often serve
as back-up fighters; in that role, the druid
may be superior to the cleric. For instance,
the druids spell combination of
animal friendship and speak with animals
can be used to train an animal pet -- an
auxiliary "fighter" considerably more
powerful than a cleric and possibly even
more powerful than a fighter. While the
druid himself is not going to lead a PC
party into combat, he can bring substantial
fighting muscle to that group.

Likewise, the apparently weaker healing
powers of the druid as compared with the
cleric are not the problem they seem. The

druid only has weaker healing powers at
t h e   f i r s t   e x p e r i e n c e   l e v e l   (cure light
wounds  is a first-level clerical spell and a
second-level druidic spell) and at very high
levels (the point at which heal becomes
available to the cleric). Otherwise,  cure
serious wounds  is a fourth-level spell for
both clerics and druids, but the druid
needs only to be 6th level (20,001 experience points) to have the potential for memorizing this spell while the cleric needs to
be 7th level (55,001 experience points).
Similar logic holds for other healing effects ? notably for  cure disease,  which is
available to a 5th-level druid (4,001 experience points).

Let?s now deal with the crux of matters
? the effectiveness of the druid in a
dungeon. There are many spells at each
druidic spell level which are very useful in
dungeons. When comparing the druid
with the cleric, let?s assume we?re analyzing PCs with wisdom scores of at least 16
in both cases.

At the first experience level, the druid
has four first-level spells compared to the
cleric?s three (and one for the magic-user).
Two of these spells are essential to the
druid:  speak with animals  and  animal
friendship.  With these two spells, the
druid may have an animal pet which has a
moderate repertoire of tricks. Furthermore, this pet may have up to 2 HD (or
possibly up to 2 + 3 HD, since 2 + HD
animals are treated as 2 HD animals for
combat purposes). Let?s consider such a
trained animal in combat: a war dog, for
example. A war dog will hit an enemy of
AC 5 in melee on a 1d20 roll of 11 or better, whereas a 1st-level fighter with 17
strength needs a minimum 1d20 roll of 14.
(This comparison doesn?t include the effects of ?to hit? adjustments for weapon
types versus variable AC, but since no
normal weapon has a + 3 bonus against
AC 5, the point made still holds. Weapons
specializations haven?t been considered
either, due to the complexity of such a
calculation and the limited space allotted
to this article.) The war dog has a much
poorer AC than a fighter, of course, and
does less damage in many cases, but with
an average of 11 hp, it is more resilient
than the average 1st-level fighter with an
18 constitution.

A druid character should not need to
memorize these spells for an adventure at
1st level. It can be argued that during his
early training, the druid used the spells to
train his pet (although  speak with animals
is useful in adventures anyway). Moreover,
commands such as ?attack the creature I
point to with  this  hand signal,? or ?paw my
leg when you smell the orcs/goblins/gnolls
whose scent you have been taught to
recognize? have obvious uses in combat.
One could also train an animal to sniff out

thieves  hiding in shadows.  . . .

Another first-level spell of great utility in
dungeons is  detect poison  (poison is, after
all, the bane of any character class at any
experience level, save for high-level
monks). This spell can be a life-saver when
it is cast to examine chests for poison traps
or upon potions found in treasure hoards.
Likewise,  detect snares and pits  is valuable
even in dungeons; although only simple
pits can be detected with this spell in such
settings, a simple 10? pit can mean death
for a 1st-level character. In comparison to
the clerical spell equivalent,  find traps,
the increasing duration of  detect snares
and pits  (which is a function of increasing
experience level) guarantees its continuing
value to a party, leaving the clerical spell
available for checking chests, possible
glyphs  set on portals, and the like.

Faerie fire  is also a splendid spell; the
range is fairly extensive (80?) and the area
of effect is also a plus (affecting one or
more creatures within an 80? diameter
circle). To add to this, the number of creatures affected escalates with increasing
experience level (12 linear feet per level
gets to be a lot when the druid reaches 4th
or 5th level). The spell is virtually made
for the dungeon due to its effectiveness in
poor lighting conditions; it also confers a
+2 hit bonus to fighting PCs in combat.
Above all, there is  no  saving throw against
its effects.

A 1st-level druid with  detect poison,
detect snares  and  pits, faerie fire  and
speak with animals  is a tremendous asset
to any dungeon party. The druid will be
highly popular with fighters (?The  ?fire
was great, and the dog certainly helped in
combat, and thanks for telling me about
the pit.?) and thieves (?A  poison  trap on the
chest?? Thanks for the warning.?). But at
2nd level, things get even better. Apart
from all other character classes, the druid
receives a second-level spell  (three,  in fact,
if he has a 16 or better wisdom score).
Now he has seven spells, compared to four
for the cleric and two for the magic-user.

Of the second-level spells, one can be a
real killer:  heat metal.  Any creature in
non-magical metal armor is in serious
trouble when the druid hits it with this
spell; the automatic damage (there is no
saving throw) can be enough to kill, depending on how long it takes to get the
armor off. Even if the creature succeeds, it
will be AC 10 out of its armor, with the
druid?s fighter friends quickly closing for
combat. Also, if the target creature?s head
is affected by the heat (which depends on
whether or not it is wearing a helm), unconsciousness sets in (for 1-4 rounds) on
the third round after the spell is cast,
totally disabling the creature. Furthermore, the spell can set normal clothing
aflame, and if the Creature is carrying oil

on its person, the effects can be spectacular. To complete the picture, no normal
metal weapon can be held by a creature
affected by  heat metal  after two rounds.
This spell can be great fun, offering added
strength from relatively simple magic.
Of the other second-level spells,
barkskin  is useful defensively. Likewise,
trip  can come into its own when cast
against one or two tough monsters in
pursuit of retreating PCs. (For larger
groups of enemies, this spell is not so
useful; after one creature has tripped, the
others gain a +4 bonus to saving throws
against the spell.)  Warp wood  has some
surprisingly useful applications ? when
cast on door frames, it can provide a simple equivalent to  wizard lock  (most magicusers at a similar level of experience do
not have  knock  yet).  Fire trap  adds another defensive possibility to the druids
repertoire.  Reflecting pool  is just about the
only scrying spell available to spell-casters
at this level (ESP is not yet available to
magic-users). The description for  reflecting pool,  however, is slightly ambiguous; to
cast this spell, the druid needs a ?pool of
normal water in a natural setting.? Many
DMs might assume that this implies an
outdoor setting, although pools of normal
water in natural caverns should be suitable for casting the spell. There are plenty
of possibilities available at the 2nd level,
and there are still two exceptionally useful
spells left to consider.

Slow poison  can be acquired by the
druid ahead of the cleric, and with an
extra bonus: The druid has a 5% chance
per level of experience of knowing an
antidote if the poison is derived from a
plant. Lastly,  charm person or mammal
requires no commendation to anyone who
has ever played a magic-user with the
charm person  spell ? especially when one
realizes that the druidic version is more
powerful. The range of creatures affected
is greater, the druid will surely have  speak
with animals  so that a  charmed  animal can
be conversed with ? and, of course the
druid has high charisma, which will also
be to his advantage.

The 2nd-level druid is a strong character
indeed, but at the 3rd level, his combat
strength (relative to other character
classes) becomes quite remarkable. As the
cleric and magic-user rejoice in gaining
second-level spells, the druid gains a thirdlevel spell and a bonus first-level spell to
boot. A druid with a 17 or better wisdom
has 11 spells as a 3rd-level character, compared to seven for the cleric and a miserable three for the magic-user.
Just as  detect  poison was so valuable at
1st level and  slow poison  at 2nd level, the
druid now gains a highly valued spell:
neutralize poison.  He needs a mere 4,001
experience points to gain the use of this

spell, whereas the cleric needs 55,001!
Given the value of this spell, this fact alone
should convince any party to include a
d r u i d   i n   t h e i r   n e x t   a d v e n t u r e .   Cure disease  is likewise gained well ahead of the
cleric.
Of the other third-level spells,  pyrotechnics  may be of value to a PC party, although it may be better for a magic-user
to memorize this as a second-level spell if
the party thinks it?s worth having.  Snare  is
also helpful; the spell has a long duration,
there is no saving throw, the  snare  is
virtually undetectable without magical aid,
and anything much weaker than a storm
giant will be completely disabled by the
trap. For a party under pressure and in
need of a place to hide, only the  wizard
lock  spell is as useful.  Hold animal  has
obvious value in ?wild? dungeon settings,
and  protection from fire  shouldn?t be
forgotten; only a grossly sadistic DM
would throw a  fireball  or a red dragon at
a 3rd-level party, but natural fires are
another matter. Finally, like  warp wood,
stone shape  is an underrated spell, especially when it is used to create portals and
escape routes.

The 3rd level is the perfect time to train

a pet with the combination of  animal
friendship  and  speak with animals.  Up to 6
HD of pets are now trainable, including
two species of animal of particular use in a
fantasy setting: bears and great cats. Both
have the advantages of multiple attacks
and extra damage from additional attacks
(hugs and hind-claw rakes) if certain initial
hits are successful. Thus, their fighting
prowess can be considerable. A 3rd-level
fighter with 17 strength (ignoring weapon
specialization and weapon-versus-variable
AC adjustments) hits an opponent of AC 5
in melee on a 1d20 roll of 12 or better; a
lion needs 10 or better. Considering hit
chances and average damage per round,
the fighter will inflict an average of 3 hp
damage per round on such an opponent,
whereas the lion will average 8.2 hp damage. (In this case, I have made a + 1 ?to
hit? adjustment for weapon type because
I?m taking a specific weapon for this example: the bastard sword. The example also
assumes a S/M-size opponent.) Again,
although the lion has a worse AC than the
fighter, it averages more hit points than
the average 3rd-level fighter with a constitution score of 16 or less, and it is strong
enough to hold its own as the party in

creases in experience levels. Similar logic
holds for bears (some DMs may even rule
that bears can be trained to carry packs of
moderate weight).
Although no druid will knowingly risk
the life of an animal charge at the first
hint of danger, there are two uses for such
a creature which are fully compatible with
the druids beliefs. First, as the druids
personal bodyguard, the animal can be
trained with  animal friendship  to protect
the druid from any personal attack. This
takes pressure off the party, as party
leaders do not have to detail a fighting PC
to keep an eye on the relatively vulnerable
druid. Second, the role the animal plays
best is that of  auxiliary.  Though not directly involved in melee, the lion can be
dispatched to help finish the job the
fighter has begun. This allows the fighter
to use his combat skills elsewhere, without
exposing the animal to unnecessary risk.

Readers may discover through play just
how powerful the bears and great cats can
be in melee. For example, in one campaign
I play in, a druid PC was attacked by a hill
giant. The cleric of the party had time to
get in a  prayer  spell and the lion killed the
33-hp giant in a  single melee round!  (All
three hits were successful: 2d4 + 1d10 +
(2d6 +2)  + 5 (for the  prayer)  is a  lot  of
damage.) The party?s ranger had been
licking his lips at the prospect of the giant,
but had to pull back during combat. To
reinforce other points made, this PC is
now 8th level (as compared to an average
of 7th for the rest of the party), illustrating how quickly druids progress in experience levels. The lion ? still a valued party
member ?  has never yet been in serious
danger as a result of melee. Of course, the
druid now has an  animal  growth spell as
part of his repertoire. What a great cat
can do when  this  spell is going for him, I
promise you will not  believe.  (A lion affected by this spell inflicts an average of
28.32 hp damage to an AC 5 opponent  per
melee round,  and hits on a 1d20 roll of
only 5 or better.)

It is at the 6th level of experience that
druids gain a fourth-level spell, at about
one-third the experience point total clerics
or magic-users need for a fourth-level
spell.  Dispel magic  (although this is available to clerics and magic-users as a thirdlevel spell) will surely have a place in any
adventure at this experience level where
magic-using opponents are frequently
encountered.  Protection from lightning  is
highly specialized, but nevertheless useful
with lightning-using magic-users or blue
dragons about.  Produce fire  is an often.
neglected spell because it does little damage in itself; but, in conjunction with oil as
a missile weapon, it is highly effective and
can set fire to bedding, straw, and clothing.  Control temperature, 10? radius  can

be useful in specialized campaigns (as in
alleviating problems with ice toads). By
and large, however, the fourth-level druidic spells are mostly specialized for outdoors settings and are not as valuable in
dungeons. Then again, they are gained
much more rapidly than other character
classes gain fourth-level spells.
When the clerics do get around to getting fourth-level spells (at the 7th level of
experience), the druid (a 9th-level character by now) has gained fifth-level spell use.
Some of these spells are amazingly powerful.  Wall of fire  is significantly more powerful than the magic-user?s equivalent,
providing more damage, greater area of
effect, and more versatility.  Sticks to
snakes  has similarly good offensive potential. As for  transmute rock to mud,  is
anything as much fun as using this spell to
bring down entire dungeon ceilings or
even castle walls? (The area affected by
this spell is quite vast.)  Insect plague  is a
strong offensive spell, too; anything
caught within the cloud is in great peril if
there are no intelligent friends on hand to
help.

When the druid reaches the 11th level
of experience, he can use sixth-level
spells. Keep in mind that with equal experience points, clerics are only 8th level and
magic-users are only 9th. While the cleric
is still fondly dreaming of having  flame
strike,  the druid can maintain concentration on a summoned elemental without
fear that it may turn upon him. And if a
16 HD elemental isn?t enough, there is a
15% chance that something  really  vicious
(for example, a bunch of salamanders, an
efreet, or a 21-24 HD elemental) will appear to serve the druid. The spell  fire
seeds  gives the druid further offensive
potential. Although  feeblemind  may be
very specialized, vulnerable encounters
are still surely involved in play at this level
(and, if affected, are completely disabled).
Wall of thorns  has both offensive and
major defensive capabilities.

At the very next experience level (12th)
the druid may use seventh-level spells. For
this, he needs only 300,001 experience
points as compared to 2,000,001 for the
cleric and 1,500,001 for the magic-user!
Indeed, both magic-users and clerics need
well over twice as many experience points
to gain sixth-level spells as the druid needs
for seventh-level spells! However, the
druid does not gain the 12th level of experience automatically ? he must find and
combat an established 12th-level druid to
gain his place as a full Druid. At this time,
it may be right to retire what is by now a
very powerful character ? one who has
outdistanced the PCs he began adventuring with at 1st level.
Looking through the druidic spell armory, the power and effectiveness of the

druid, and his value as a healer, curer, and
detector of traps, poisons, and the like, are
fully illustrated. How can any PC party
afford to be without one? (A side note to
DMs: Never, Never, Never allow two
druids in a PC party. A DM I know once
made this mistake, and now the senior
(9th-level) druid and his young (5th-level)
sidekick, along with their retinue -- more
like an army -- of ferocious pets, decimate
everything in sight. How can a DM possibly
handle a party with five heat metal
spells a day?)

The druid's alignment
Now that you?ve been convinced of the
druids potential, you?re ready to roll up
such a character for your next adventure.
Still, there is a nagging question in the
back of your mind: Why are you joining
that group of good and neutral PCs who
have pledged themselves to fighting evil?
The  Players Handbook  states that druids
view ?good and evil, law and chaos, as
balancing forces of nature which are
necessary for the continuation of all
things.? Thus, if druids really do believe
this, some serious problems are bound to

arise. Still, it is possible to look at the
druids beliefs in a different manner.
Surely, what may be of supreme importance to the druid is the balance he sees in
the natural world (as exemplified by the
progression of the seasons). While this is
in some ways a balance of law and chaos
(as exemplified by growth and stagnation,
birth and death), this cycling is itself the
supreme and natural law to which all
living things are eventually subjected.
Likewise, nature is neither good nor evil:
it simply is. Rather than believing in a
balance of law and chaos, the druid may
instead believe in a supreme law which
underlies everything, making values of
good and evil irrelevant. Nature is: there
are no moral issues involved. Thus, the
druid would not necessarily strive to balance good and evil; rather, he would simply be indifferent to them. And since the
balance will ultimately be maintained by
nature, the druid may decide to adventure
with the good against evil. It is possible
that the druid may come to see goodaligned people acting against his beloved
forests out of necessity (wood for heat in
cold weather, the need for farmland, etc.),
realizing that they act out of ignorance

and not out of malice (since only evil creat u r e s   b u r n   a n d   d e s t r o y   o u t   o f   a   d e s i r e   f o r
wanton destruction). Thus, the druid may
come to understand that the good can be
educated and persuaded, and that the evil
must be fought and vanquished. Consequently, the druid could join a party of
good characters with the hope of persuading them to understand and at least respect the integrity of the natural world (he
would certainly have the charisma to
affect this), while knowing that such appeals would fall upon deaf ears with evil
c r e a t u r e s .   F o r   t h e s e   c r e a t u r e s ,   o n l y   d e a t h
will stop their depredations of nature.
T h e s e   v i e w s   a r e ,   o f   c o u r s e ,   p e r s o n a l
views of what the druids alignment and
philosophy are. Even so, this view makes
the integration of the druid into a goodaligned PC party both feasible and workable. Under special adventure conditions
(with evil creatures destroying woodlands), the druid will certainly work with
good PCs, but if the druid is desired as
part of a full campaign, then his beliefs
must be compatible with the overall beliefs and affiliations such a PC group has.
As noted, this compatibility is not
i m p o s s i b l e .

Outside the dungeon
The druid is highly effective in any
wilderness  setting ? players surely realize
this already. But, in town adventures, the
druid has has major advantage: his charisma. Players often do not make the most
of this attribute -- they are too busy
knocking off AC points for that good dexterity score or adding up strength-related
hit and damage bonuses. But charisma
should be the lifeblood of any campaign,
save for the most abject hack-and-slay
enterprises. Charisma effects a character?s
ability to hire mercenaries, employ sages,
trade magic items with the owner of a
magic shop, and bribe difficult local officials. On this premise alone, a character
with high charisma is a great asset. Surely
most players know that preparation is the
key to the successful completion of
a d v e n t u r e s .
Likewise, most good players know that
when dealing with ?irritant? encounters of
an incidental nature, negotiation is far
better than pointless combat, which
merely slows the party down and uses
spells needlessly. The druids charisma is
once again called upon, and, of course, the
druid has considerably linguistic abilities
to boot. Consequently, players should
make the most of what so many gamers
feel is a peripheral attribute.
As if this isn?t enough, the druid has
further benefits, including bonuses against
fire and lightning attacks, the ability to
p o l y m o r p h   gained at 7th level (at this
level, the druid virtually heals himself of

all damage taken by changing shape; furthermore,
the spying opportunities are
most useful: Who would have thought that
placid cow munching on grass was eavesdropping
on the evil cleric hiring an assassin?),
powers of identification (which allow
him to tell which plants are edible, where
traps are in a dungeon, and so forth), and
several other useful abilities. If this doesn't

persuade you to role-play a druid, then I'm
afraid you're destined to run a fighter. Just
be grateful when the druid in your party
uses faerie fire on that potentially dangerous
orc (the one that could have killed
your fighter with one blow) or identifies
the pit into which your character nearly
fell. Be glad there are druids about -- and
people willing to play them.

Table 1
Spell-Caster Comparisons (Levels and Experience Points)
 

Experience  level	Cleric	Druid	Magic-User	Illusionist
1	0	0	0	0
2	1,501	2,001	2,501	2,251
3	3,001	4,001	5,001	4,501
4	6,001	7,501	10,001	9,001
5	13,001	12,501	22,501	18,001
6	27,501	20,001	40,001	35,001
7	55,001	35,001	60,001	60,001
8	110,001	60,001	90,001	95,001
9	225,001	90,001	135,001	145,001
10	450,001	125,001	250,001	220,001
11	675,001	200,001	375,001	440,001
12	900,001	300,001	750,001	660,001

Table 2
Spell-Caster Comparisons (Levels and Spell Power)
 

Experience  level	Cleric	Druid	Magic-User	Illusionist
1	3	4	1	1
2	4	10	2	2
3	10	16/19*	4	4
4	13	20/23*	7	7
5	18/21*	22/25*	11	11
6	21/24*	26/29/33**	14	13
7	25/28/32**	31/34/38**	20	15
8	32/35/39**	35/38/42**	27	19
9	40/43/47**	40/43/47**	32	27
10	49/52/56**	49/52/56**	39	34
11	59/62/66**	58/61/65**	51	43
12	71/74/78**	83/86/90**	66	54

Spell power is the number of spells a character can memorize expressed as the sum of
spells per level multiplied by that level. Thus, a 3rd-level magic-user, who can memorize
two first-level spells and one second-level spell, has a spell power of 4 ((1x 2) + 2). For
clerics and druids, a wisdom score exceeding 15 has been assumed.
* The value given after the slash is correct for characters of 17 or 18 wisdom only.
* * The value given after the first slash is correct for characters of 17 wisdom; the value
given after the second slash is correct for characters of 18 wisdom.
 

Table 3
Spell-Caster Comparisons (Experience Points for Spell Levels)
 

XPs needed	Cleric	Druid	Magic-User	Illusionist
Second-level spell	3,001	2,001	5,001	4,501
Third-level spell	13,001	4,001	22,501	18,001
Fourth-level spell	55,001	20,001	60,001	95,001
Fifth-level spell	225,001	90,001	135,001	220,001
Sixth-level spell	675,001	200,001	750,001	660,001
Seventh-level spell	2,000,001	300,001	1,500,001	1,100,001