Druid
by Charis

Class: Sorcerer
Tag: DRU

Introduction

Like the Amazon, the Druid is above all, versatile, trains in several realms, and is quite unrestricted at highest levels. The Druid variant is unusual in that the order of the skills is up to the player. Also, his second dot is not just a simple hell run. By his third dot the Druid (DRU) will have learned: self-reliance, the art of melee, damage avoidance, and close combat magiks. He is a very coop friendly variant.

Rules

The Skills of the Druid

- Self-reliance: Living off the land, survival tactics
- Art-of-Melee: The value of dexterity, fast block, harmony, and damage
- Damage Avoidance: Artillery magic and happy feet
- Close Combat Magic: Battle mage tactics
- The Naked Way: The raw power of magic
- Magic Resistance: Know what difference good resists make
- The Value of Friends: Has cooped with several variants and adjusted his tactics to be most helpful

The Druid must learn all these to lead and defend his people, who have been persecuted for many years by marauders -individuals who travel alone but create havoc (bosses w/o packs). Only handful of enemies have mastered their skills, and they remain bitter enemies.

Key Enemies

- Dlvl 2: Bladeskin the Slasher (Fallen w/sword), Deadeye (Skel w/bow), Soulpus (Zombie), Butcher
- Dlvl 3: Goretongue (Rot. Carcass), Skullfire (Corpse Bow)
- Dlvl 4: Gharbad the Weak, Snotspill (Both of these are single player only.)
- Dlvl 13: Doomcloud (Maelstorm), Gorefeast (Vortex Lord), Rustweaver (Doom Guard), Witchmoon (Snow Witch)
- Dlvl 14: Graywar the Slayer (Doom Guard), Stareye the Witch (Hell Spawn), Steelskull the Hunter(Steel Lord)
- Dlvl 15: Blood Lust (Hell Spawn)
- Dlvl 16: Sir Gorash (Blood Knight)

There are no marauders in the cats or caves, but there are more key enemies.

- Drakes - tough fighters who approach in a nonlinear fashion
  Bosses: Fangspeir[11,Cave], Viperflame[12,Fire], Fangskin[14,Gold]
- Maws - pesky ranged attackers who flee when you chase them
  Bosses: Deathspit[6,Acid], Spitters: Chaoshowler[8], Plaguewrath[10]
- Lightning Demons - strong both with magic and physical attacks, showing no fear
  Bosses: Brokenstorm[9,RedStorm], Flayer[10, StormRider], Doomcloud[13,Maelstrom]
- Advocates - no AC, no equipment, but pack a whallop
  Boss: Laz
- The Resilient - five bosses
  Lionskull the Bent [12,Black Knight], Rustweaver [13,Doom Guard], MadEye[4,Burning Dead], Bilefroth[6,Overlord], and Blackstorm[10,Obsidian Lord] have learned to resist magical attacks very effectively.

Doomcloud and Rustweaver, having been listed twice, are arch-enemies.

Items

Item use (among other things) changes based on the Druid's current stage of training.

Training

Unlike other variants where there is a set order to the training, this is left up to the Druid to decide. Some might prefer the challenge of an LoL sorcerer at the start, where others may prefer to switch to LoL mode after becoming quite powerful and reliant on Adria.

There are seven circles to the progression before they become an Arch Druid. They are called by the number of the circle they are trying. (i.e. start as a Druid of the 1st circle, progress to Druid of the 7th circle, then Patriarch, Great Druid and Arch Druid.) The seventh quest is done last, but here are the first six, in no particular order...

Self-reliance
Full living off the land rules - no contact with townspeople at all. If death occurs, he must be rescued by a like minded character or 'New Game.' The majority of this circle must be done solo, since the Druid is trying to learn self-reliance.

The goal is to enter from the church and clear dungeon levels until they have reached dlvl = (clvl / 2) + 2, rounding up, where clvl = character level at which they started this phase of training. It need not be done in one game. They must also kill any three key bosses.

For and during this stage no gifts can be received. This phase is special in that it MAY be done concurrently with any other phase.

Art of Melee
The Druid must learn to defend and even attack when his supply of mana has run dry, and so learns to wear heavy armor and wield strong weapons. Either a hefty axe or sword and shield may be used. *No* offensive spells are to be used during this phase, although defensive and utility spells are allowed. Some +str or +all item(s) should be worn if at all possible, and the heaviest armor he can wear.

He may receive or borrow items for this quest (if helpful), but they must be appropriate for his level. He must clear three consecutive dungeon levels, including his deepest so far, and two key bosses.

Artillery Tactics
The Druid learns an extreme form of arty mage tactics, where he seeks to take no damage from melee attackers and avoid ranged spells. The goal is to spend 2-3 character levels in this phase, with two key bosses required in the process. Light armor with no strength requirement must be worn during this phase, and no shield.

Depending on the level, items such as Naj's Puzzler, Angel's staff, and Naj's plate are excellent. One test frequently taken during this phase is to wear a Thinking Cap of Durability 1 during the whole period, to help the mage remember he *really* doesn't want to get hit! Others may combine this training with 'The Naked Way.'

Battle Mage Tactics
This phase is appropriate after the art of melee is learned, so the heavy armor will not be a hindrance. The goal is simple, clearing the first three levels of the deepest section yet encountered by the Druid, plus the slaying of at least three key bosses.

The Naked Way
The Druid again learns self-reliance, but this time in the sense of freedom from fancy gear. He may either choose the 'Naked Way,' and venture out in the darkest scariest nether-regions known as public b.net, and clear at least four dungeon levels in four different games. Or he can choose the 'Beyond Naked Way.' For the BN Way, he should borrow/find/get as much cursed gear as he can stand, and do a full clear of the deepest section he can. Two key bosses should fall.

The Power of Resistance
The shortest of the tests, the Power of Resistance may be undertaken when high resists are available. The Druid must empty three of the deepest dungeon levels he can which have magic attackers. The first 1/2 of the quest must be done with no resists, and the second half with full resists. One key boss must be killed.

Finally, he must do a streak *through* one level with a magic (ranged) attacker, killing nothing, using his best dodging skills to avoid damage. If he is forced to drink a potion in the middle he must try again with a different level.

Friendship
Not a phase, but a philosophy. Druids are sought out as coop partners because their versatility allows them to complement any party, and because he is familiar with many of the restrictions of other classes. Although optional, it is *highly* recommended that the Druid, before his test to become a Patriarch, carry out the Mentor Quest, for which he receives the title 'Grand'.

Mentor Quest
Ideally before becoming a Patriarch (but sometimes as a Patriarch), the druid who chooses this quest will coop in seven games with other variants (enough to at least kill one key boss, or three non-key bosses) - one for each of the Seven Circles - that correspond to each of the Circles.

Example: Mentoring by the 7 Circles
(Examples only)

- Living off Land: LoL, Savage, Ranger
- Art of Melee: MM, VIK, many others
- Artillery Tactics: ARC, EWIZ, IMH
- Versatility: Amazon, Goth, WW
- The Naked Way: BNM, BNW, BNR
- Resistances: BAR, GFP, SNOB

Typically, you would try to do the given circle coop with one of these types, or as you finish a circle, do a short coop with them. If no opportunity arises, re-visit that realm during 7th circle.

The Testing
Once these quests have been completed, he is a Druid of the 7th circle and one more trial before he becomes a Patriarch. He must put together all these skills in one full clear game.

The church is done Naked, the cats living off the land, and the caves with melee. Finally, he enters Hell, selects Arty or Battle style once he sees what is on lvl 13, the opposite is used on lvl 14, and now on lvl 15, he becomes capable and free of using a hybrid or a combination of styles to be based on the situation. Some may choose a standard 'Hybrid' setup that tries to give good AC and good spells at the same time, but many high lvl Druids like to have differing types of gear which they choose depending on the monster make-up and the partner classes. They may carry both an Awesome Full Plate and an Obs. Leather of Sorcery, and a variety of jewelry, to help themselves 'adapt.'

Patriarch
When a Druid has completed the testing and killed Diablo on Normal difficulty, he is called a Patriarch. He now seeks to kill several of the enemy bosses he has not yet seen, then try Nightmare.

Great Druid
Rather than a simple Hell run, the Patriarch seeks to again focus on versatility, and to become Great Druid must complete the...

Quest of Recapitulation

- Close Calls in the Church - Drop main equipment in town, and use a robe/cape/cloak, a full belt, his jewels, and up to six scrolls, to make it through the church on NM diff. The Butcher and Leo are the only creatures that need be killed. No town visits or restarts, he must live semi-naked off the land, and escape up stairs to town.
- Close Combat in the Cats - After re-equipping items and stocking up on potions, the Patriarch puts on his best battle gear and melee weapon and enters the catacombs. The only offensive spells cast must be on adjacent squares or with a creature next to him, or against attackers who run away. He must defeat two bosses in melee combat. He should also defile a goat shrine by leaving an item of the highest 'animal' (+hp) type that he can behind. (ex: a purchased Cap of Mammoth)
- Commotion in the Caves - Turning now to an artillery style, the Patriarch Druid will unleash spells upon his foes from a distance. After starting on lvl 9, he must kill the first key boss he finds (9:Brokenstorm, 10: Flayer, Plaguewrath, Blackstorm, 11: Fangspeir, 12: Viperflame, Lionskull), or if none are present, exit on reaching 13.
- Concluding as Conqueror - The weary Patriarch must now press on and face Diablo to earn his second dot.

The Quest of Recapitulation must be done solo or with other Druids. Given the leveling up likely during this quest, he should not wait too late if he would like to do 3@30.

Arch Druid
The high level Druid who has slain Diablo in H/H. The bravest Great Druid will try to do this solo at 30th lvl. If successful, he may add the prefix 'Master' to his title (e.g. Grand Master Arch Druid).

Example
(to illustrate only, choose order you want)

- Circle 1 - LOL - clvl 1-8, dlvl 1-3
- Circle 2 - Melee - clvl 9-12 , dlvl 4-6
- Circle 3 - Arty - clvl 13-15, dlvl 7-9
- Circle 4 - Naked - clvl 16-18, dlvl 10-12
- Circle 5 - Resist- clvl 19-20, dlvl 12-14
- Circle 6 - Tank - clvl 21-23, dlvl 13-15
- Circle 7 - The testing
- Patriarch - clvl 25-27, Normal Hell
- Great Druid - clvl 28-29, NM
- Arch Druid - clvl 30+, Hell

Another good order would be: Arty, Melee, Battle, LoL, Naked, Resist.

Variations and Dual Classes

- Archetypal - More like AD&D, up to Leather armor, only F&L spells
- Druidic Moor - Incorporate Moor rules and attitude, melee would be bow and scimitar or falchion
- Druid SNOB - :P Start with 'A', and no gift until its completion
- Druidic Cleric - Seems fine, no sharp weapons, cleric-like spells
- Apprentice Druid - like APM, would limit their spell lvls
- (BNM, MM aspects already included as part of training, dual class unlikely)