Druids whose sacred grove becomes defiled or destroyed must perform a ritual of atonement, plus find and punish the guilty party. Failing deprives druids of all granted powers and major access to priestly spheres.
The first step in reclaiming a defiled grove involves repairing any damage it has sustained: planting new trees, restoring damaged standing stones, and so on. Then, a druid must perform an uninterrupted daylong ceremony within the grove to ask for the renewed blessings of Nature.
Reclaiming a cursed grove poses additional difficulties. After performing the above steps, the druid must complete a task to balance the forces behind the curse. The nature of the task is up to the DM, but it usually involves a dangerous quest in a real or symbolic attempt to "undo" the curse, punish those who caused it, or make amends for the act that led to it. After concluding the task, the druid must return to the grove to invoke Nature and cast a remove curse spell.
Standing Stones
Standing stones are large, shaped stones that rise from the ground to towering heights. In some cases, their presence in a forest, on a bleak moor, or atop a lonely hill automatically qualifies an area as a sacred grove, even if it lacks other natural beauty. Druids may have erected the standing stones, or they may mark a holy place that predates the druids' arrival in the area-- perhaps a site sacred to prehuman peoples (elves, for instance) or prehistoric tribes.
Though sometimes stones stand alone, they more often join together to form various arrangements. A single standing stone is called a megalith--either a shaped slab or a more natural, tapering obelisk. Two shaped stones placed upright with a third laid across their tops constitutes a trilithon. Several megaliths or trilithons frequently form patterns, usually circles or horseshoe shapes.
Individual stones may weigh 5 to 25 tons each and stand 10 to 30 feet tall. A large circle may take a generation to build, unless powerful earth magic or suitable monsters (treants, earth elementals, or giants) help in the construction. Because druids possess the necessary magic, they often create these monuments for their sacred groves.
Standing stones fall into one of two categories: magical and nonmagical.
Nonmagical Standing Stones
Many standing stones have no innate magical properties, although they may have been built by magic. In "awakened" groves, these nonmagical stones may share in the general magic of the grove. The DM decides on the purpose, type, and number of stones.
Boundary Markers. Stones can simply mark the grove's borders, a common practice when a circle of trees is inappropriate. Mountain druids, in particular, use stone circles to mark borders.
Natural Observatory. The stones might serve as a primitive astronomical calculator (as in the case of Stonehenge), their positions marking eclipses, equinoxes, and other important solar and lunar dates whose exact times remain important for religious reasons and for maintaining the agricultural calendar. Usually one such astronomical circle of stones exists in every major druidic domain. Creating such a circle requires two proficiencies: astrology and engineering. In some cases, these circles are relics left behind to mark the visits (and predict the eventual returns) of spelljamming space druids.
Monuments. The lives of particularly notable historical figures can merit great megalith memorials. Sometimes treasure or a body lies buried under the stone. In rare instances, although the stone has no magic, the body beneath it rests in magical suspended animation--think of King Arthur, waiting for Merlin to awaken him.
Magical Standing Stones
Magical standing stones can serve any of the nonmagical variety's purposes. Lesser magical sacred groves containing standing stones possess a 10% chance of having one with magical powers. This chance increases to 20% for groves with five or more stones, and 30% for groves with 25 or more stones. Standing stones within greater groves have triple the chance of being magical.
Standing stones may become magical through association with druidic rites, divine intervention, or via the normal process used to create druidic magical items. DMs deciding that a stone has magic either pick its powers from those described below or roll on Table 6. Add a +1 bonus to rolls for standing stones that help form a trilithon.
Table 6: Powers of Standing Stones
d4Power 1Petrified entity 2Stone guardian 3Peaceful stones 4Speaking stones 5Trilithon gate
Petrified Entity. The magical stone is actually a huge being--often a giant or titan--that has been so weathered and overgrown with moss or ivy over the years its original humanoid form is no longer discernable. It radiates magic and may return to life if a dispel magic or stone to flesh spell succeeds. Depending on its alignment and the reason it became petrified, the creature may feel either grateful or hostile to its rescuer. A petrified entity usually points to the work of dual-class wizard/druid.
Stone Guardian. Once per day, the steward of the grove can order the stone to come to life for one turn per level of the druid. The animated stone fights as a 16 HD earth elemental, but if it leaves the grove it reverts to a normal stone and may not be reanimated until returned to the grove--a herculean task, since it weighs several tons! If injured, the magical stone heals at a rate of 1 hit point per turn--within the grove only.
Peaceful Stones. The standing stones exert a calming influence on the earth. No earthquake spells may succeed within a radius that measures (in feet from the center of the stone or cluster) a distance equal to the number of stones in the circle. Since no earthquakes or volcanic eruptions occur in this area, peaceful stones often stand near volcanoes or faults. Removing them could spell disaster for nearby forests and towns!
Speaking Stones. Any druid can cause any standing stones in the grove to speak, per the stone tell spell. Characters can use this power as often as desired, but the stones speak for no more than three rounds per day. Stewards use this power to learn whether intruders have visited the grove while they were away; druids who find a strange grove could use it to become familiar with the grove's history and keepers (if any).
Trilithon Gate. Characters passing under the stones may emerge from any other sacred grove in the world that also has a trilithon gate, no matter how distant. Those who have a particular gate in mind reach it; otherwise, characters come through a random gate. Anyone can travel via trilithon gate only once per day; it is impossible to go through and return again immediately.
Appendix A: AD&D(r) Original Edition Druids
The following represents a summation of information on druids from the AD&D Original Edition Player's Handbook and the Unearthed Arcana reference book. Some of these rules may not coincide with the rules for druids in the AD&D 2nd Edition game.
The druid is a subclass of the cleric, a neutral priest of nature who views good and evil, law and chaos, as necessary and vital balancing forces. Druids hold trees (especially ash and oak) sacred, venerate the sun(s) and the moon(s), and serve as protectors of forests, wild plants, crops, and--to a lesser extent--animals and the human followers of their religion. They never destroy woodlands or crops, no matter what the situation (although druids could act to change the nature of an evil enchanted wood, for instance, without destroying it). Similarly, they avoid slaying wild or domestic animals, except as necessary for self-preservation and sustenance. However, druids rarely risk their lives to prevent damage to woodlands or animals--instead, they favor retribution after the fact, in a manner, time, and place of their own choosing.
To become a druid, a character must have a minimum Wisdom of 12 and Charisma of 15; if both these scores exceed 15, the druid gains a 10% bonus on earned experience. Human, elven, half-elven, and halfling PCs may be druids, although halflings and some types of elves are subject to level restrictions.
Druids fight and save as clerics, but get a +2 bonus to save vs. fire or vs. electrical attacks. They can wear only leather armor and use only wooden shields. Their weapon options are limited to club, dagger, dart, hammer, khopesh, scimitar, scythe, sickle, sling, spear, and staff.
A druid can use those magical items permitted to clerics, except for written items (books and scrolls) and weapons and armor forbidden to their class.
General Abilities
All druids speak their own secret language. Upon reaching 3rd level, and each level thereafter, a druid gains the language of one of the following creatures: centaur, dryad, elf, gnome, green dragon, hill giant, lizard man, manticore, nixie, pixie, satyr, sprite, treant.
Druids gain powers as they rise in level.
At 3rd level: * Identify plant type.
* Identify animal type.
* Identify pure water.
* Pass through overgrown areas without leaving a trail and at the normal movement rate.
At 7th level: (in addition to above) * Immune to charm spells.
* Shapechange into a bird, reptile, and animal, each form once per day.
Table 7: Original Druid Experience Points
ExperienceExperienceAccumulatedQty./Level PointsLevelhpLandTitle 0-2,00011anyAspirant 2,001-4,00022anyOvate 4,001-7,50033anyInitiate of the 1st circle 7,501-12,50044anyInitiate of the 2nd circle 12,501-20,00055anyInitiate of the 3rd circle 20,001-35,00066anyInitiate of the 4th circle 35,001-60,00077anyInitiate of the 5th circle 60,001-90,00088anyInitiate of the 6th circle 90,001-125,00099anyInitiate of the 7th circle 125,001-200,0001010anyInitiate of the 8th circle 200,001-300,0001111anyInitiate of the 9th circle 300,001-750,00012129Druid 750,001-1,500,00013133Archdruid 1,500,001-3,000,00014141Great Druid 3,000,001-3,500,0001515*The Grand Druid
* Only one Grand Druid governs all the lands of the world.
Table 8: Original Hierophant Experience Points
ExperienceExperienceAccumulatedLevel PointsLevelhpTitle 1-500,0001615+1Hierophant Druid 500,001-1,000,0001715+2Hierophant Initiate 1,000,001-1,500,0001815+3Hierophant Adept 1,500,001-2,000,0001915+4Hierophant Master 2,000,001-2,500,0002015+5Numinous Hierophant 2,500,001-3,000,0002115+6Mystic Hierophant 3,000,001-3,500,0002215+7Arcane Hierophant 3,500,001 and up2315+8Hierophant of the Cabal
High-level Druids
The number of druids above 11th level in a given land is limited. (See Table 7.) Druid. A land can have only nine 12th-level Druids; when druids earn enough experience to achieve 12th level, they gain this level's powers only if the land presently has fewer than nine 12th-level Druids. A character also could gain the level by defeating one of the land's nine Druids in magical or hand-to-hand combat. Losers that survive must drop just enough experience points to place them at the beginning of the next lower level (11th).
Archdruid, Great Druid. The same procedure applies when a 12th-level Druid gains enough experience to become an Archdruid, and when an Archdruid reaches Great Druid level. There are only three positions for Archdruids in a given region, and only one Great Druid.
Grand Druid. Ranking above the Great Druids stands a single Grand Druid, the ultimate overseer of all a world's druids. Besides knowing six spells of each level, the Grand Druid has the ability to cast up to six spell levels (as one additional spell or in any combination that totals six levels--one 6th-level spell, six 1st-level spells, one 4th- and one 2nd-level spell, etc.).
Hierophant. The Grand Druid has an essentially political job, and most adventurers eventually tire of it. After attaining 500,000 experience points as a Grand Druid, the character may appoint any worthy Great Druid with 1,500,001 or more experience points as the successor. The former Grand Druid then rises to the 16th experience level, becoming a Hierophant.
As a Hierophant, the character relinquishes the Grand Druid's six bonus spell levels and, furthermore, loses all but 1 experience point (yet remains at 16th level). The character then begins counting experience points again and progressing using Table 8 (next page).
Attendants. Each 12th- or higher-level druid acquires an entourage of devoted lower-level druids. The least experienced 12th-level druid has three 1st-level aspirants, the next has three 2nd-level ovates, and so on. The most experienced has as followers three initiates of the 7th circle. Three 10th-level initiates of the 8th circle always serve Archdruids, while three 11th-level initiates of the 9th circle attend the Great Druid.
The Grand Druid is attended by nine druids unattached to any specific land. Any character of at least Druid level may seek out the Grand Druid and offer service. Three of these servants, Archdruids, roam the world as the Grand Druid's personal agents and messengers. Each has four additional spell levels, as explained above.
Hierophant Abilities
No bonus spells are awarded to Hierophants (as above for the Grand Druid and attendants), but they do receive additional, cumulative spell-like powers.
At 16th level: * Immune to all natural animal or vegetable poisons, including those of monsters, but not mineral or gaseous poisons.
* Blessed with extra longevity equal to experience level times 10 years. For instance, a 16th-level druid lives 160 extra years.
* Maintains vigorous health (prime of life) regardless of actual age.
* Alters appearance at will in only one-tenth of a round. Hierophants can alter their facial and body features to those of any human or humanoid, change their height and weight by up to 50%, and alter their apparent age to anything from child to old. This nonmagical power cannot be detected except by true seeing or similar magic.
At 17th level: * Hibernate for a number of years equal to experience level times 10. For instance, a 17th-level druid can hibernate 170 years in suspended animation (without aging).
* Enter the Plane of Elemental Earth.
* Conjure water elemental.
At 18th level: * Enter the Plane of Elemental Fire.
* Conjure air elemental.
At 19th level: * Enter the Plane of Elemental Water.
* Conjure magma/smoke para-elemental.
At 20th level: * Enter the Plane of Elemental Air.
* Conjure ice/ooze para-elementals.
At 21st level: * Enter the para-elemental planes.
At 22nd level: * Enter the Plane of Shadow.
At 23rd level: * Enter any of the Inner Planes.
* Roam the Inner Plane probability lines (the 7th dimension).
* Enter the Plane of Concordant Opposition.
Entering Other Planes. It takes the druid one round to shift into a plane (or back to the Prime Material Plane), but the character can stay there as long as desired. The ability to enter a plane also confers the ability to survive there. So, a druid who can enter the Plane of Elemental Water will not drown during the visit, one entering the Plane of Elemental Fire will not burn, etc.
Conjuring Elementals. This ability works like a conjure fire elemental spell, but it calls for a percentile dice roll when the druid makes a conjuration attempt. If the roll is equal to or less than the character's experience level, use Table 9 to choose which elemental creature appears. Otherwise, roll on Table 9 to see what the druid summoned.
Table 9: Elemental Conjurings