I'm looking for some ideas...
The network of Standing Stones that Druids of the Old Faith use to travel are supposed to be guarded by 'Nature Spirits" from what I remember. Does anyone know the nature of these spirits (pun intended)? Would they ever (in your opinion) communicate with non-druid players?
My players need to get from point A to point B quickfastinahurry without the benefit of any serious magic.
Are there any sources on these spirits? I've searched, but have come up empty. As always I welcome your input, canonical and non-.
I'm looking for some ideas...
The network of Standing Stones that Druids of the Old Faith use to travel are supposed to be guarded by 'Nature Spirits" from what I remember... Would they ever (in your opinion) communicate with non-druid players...
-Why wouldn't they? Part of a guard's duties, right?
Last edited by jamesdglick on Tue Apr 16, 2013 3:40 pm; edited 1 time in total
Neutrally-aligned possibilities:
air, earth, fire, salt, or water mephits;
jann;
nixies, pixies, or sprites;
dryads or sylphs;
awakened dire bears, wolves, mountain lions, etc.;
The Tarresque!
In 2nd edition, the accessory Shaman included a number of interesting nature spirits. The Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three included several spirits (originally from the Forgotten Realms setting): the uthraki, wood man, orglash, and thomil.
In 3rd edition, the Monster Manual II included a very powerful creature called the spirit of the land (originally a Dark Sun creature). The orglash, thomil, and uthraki appeared in Unapproachable East (Forgotten Realms).
An excerpt from the 2nd Edition accessory Shaman, page 46:
"There is a simple reason why no one has ever visited the spirit world and lived to tell about it: The spirit world doesn't exist.
"The spirit world is a figment of mortals' imaginations. It is the land that people dream of when they sleep; it is a place where ideas and emotions find form, and where yesterday's shadows are still cast across the ground; it is a place where legendary heroes are born when storytellers have invented or reinvented them; it is a place where the words and deeds of the dead live on after their time, as long as they exist in some fashion in the minds of mortals.
"If Callax the Enchanter thinks of his dead father, the father – or rather, Callax's image of him – comes into existence in the spiritual world and will linger until he is forgotten. The phantasm of the "father" is called, for convenience sake, a spirit. Equally, if a character feels a powerful emotion – anger, hope, hatred – that emotion finds a form as a spirit. A person who is forced to leave a loved home might leave a kind of "psychic echo" of herself there, and that, too, is a spirit."
I can't think of anything GH offhand. I know that FR had some rules about fey crossroads and their guardians which were kinda interesting (in "Magic of Faerun" I think).
At the end of the day if you want your players to get from A to B quick and the idea of ley lines and druidic travel seems to fit then just go with it. I can't imagine guardians of such places would allow this travel for no good reason though. Perhaps some riddles or the telling of a tale or performance of some music and being held to a future favour?
Perhaps a side effect - the use of such a portal or mystical highway without proper magic has an effect on the PCs - ages them by a year or two, leaves them with a deep longing to feel that magic again etc.
I know that FR had some rules about fey crossroads and their guardians which were kinda interesting (in "Magic of Faerun" I think).
You mean something like this:
"Behind the world, hidden from eyes that don’t know where to look, mystical roads of geomagical energy crisscross the face of Faerûn. These fairways belong to no one, though the fey have long guarded them. Druids know their secrets, as do some bards.
"Nonfey know only about small sections of the backroads, thoroughfares that connect two locations. For game purposes, nonfey can only enter the backroads at a crossroads and travel one-way to a specified destination. The travel is instantaneous. You step onto the path, and a heartbeat later you emerge at the backroad’s destination.
"Druids have mapped the locations of some crossroads, though an unquantifiable number of them cover the world. Some druids have likened the backroads to folds in the world’s fabric. These pinches bring two points together that would normally be much more distant if measured on a flat plane." Magic of Faerun, pg 44.
And maybe this:
"The Guardian:
"Every crossroads has a guardian (see Chapter 7) who decides whether an individual can use the backroads. Such an individual must get the guardian’s permission to use the backroads. Every druid has a preferred
method for doing so, be it a plea, a song, a poem, or an homage to the backroads. Each individual must make her own request, and the guardian may turn anyone down. An individual cannot toss someone else onto a backroad unless that individual has already received permission to pass. Fey have free use of the backroad—whenever, wherever, without restriction.
"The guardians are created when the druid casts the create crossroads and backroad spell. If a guardian is killed, the crossroads the guardian warded ceases to function as a starting point. The opposite end is still functional, since that guardian can permit passage through, but it is now one-way. At the crossroads, the seeker can use Charisma, Bluff, Diplomacy, or Perform to cajole the guardian into letting her travel the backroads. Trappings of civilization put a guardian on the defensive, grating on its connection with all things fey and natural.
"The guardian’s initial attitude corresponds directly to the naturalness of the setting. Like most NPCs, guardians can be influenced with a Charisma check. (For details, see NPC Attitudes, page 149 of the DUNGEON MASTER’s Guide.)" Magic of Faerun, pgs 45 & 46.
And don't forget this:
"Bards and Crossroads
"Bards have an advantage over other characters with regard to convincing guardians to allow them to pass. Guardians love music, stories, and moving performances. More bards have managed to earn a guardian’s friendship than have druids. An exceptionally wellplayed tune wins over any guardian, calling to her fey blood without mercy. All Perform checks to influence guardians receive a +2 circumstance bonus." Magic of Faerun, pg 46.
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