The Druids are a race of nomadic warrior-poet-kings. Driven from their homelands long ago by their Barbarian brothers, the Druid tribes live primarily in the northern forests. They shun the use of traditional magic, or Dubhdroiacht, as they call it. Instead, they practice a form of magic based in their close bond to nature and the world of Sanctuary. Using their intimate kinship as well as mystic secrets passed down through the generations, they can summon the elements of fire, earth and wind to do their bidding, and command the creatures of the forest to aid them in battle. Shifting from their human forms into that of wild beasts, gives them abilities far beyond those of other mortals.
In terms of play, they are a fairly balanced character, capable of handling themselves as spellcasters, with relative proficiency in fire and cold skills, and in melee combat (especially with Shapeshifing skills, not to mention bonuses gained from Spirits.)
Druid skills
Elemental Skills — Firestorm • Molten Boulder • Arctic Blast • Fissure • Cyclone Armor • Twister • Volcano • Tornado • Hurricane • Armageddon
Shape Shifting Skills — Werewolf • Lycanthropy • Werebear • Maul • Feral Rage • Fire Claws • Rabies • Shock Wave • Hunger • Fury
Summoning Skills — Raven • Poison Creeper • Oak Sage • Summon Spirit Wolf • Carrion Vine • Heart of Wolverine • Summon Dire Wolf • Solar Creeper • Spirit of Barbs • Summon Grizzly
Attributes
Starting Attributes:
Strength: 15
Dexterity: 20
Vitality: 25
Energy: 20
Hit Points: 55
Stamina: 84
Mana: 20
Level Up:
Life +1.5
Stamina +1
Mana +2
Attribute Point Effect:
1 Vitality point gives 2 Life
1 Vitality point gives 1 Stamina
1 Energy point gives 2 Mana
Builds
Windy Druid
Arctic Blast → Cyclone Armor → Twister → Tornado → Hurricane
Windy Druids focus on the right side of the Elemental skill tree (the wind-based skills). Although they are based on wind, they actually do physical damage, except for Arctic Blast and Hurricane (which does both physical and wind damage). This is an advantage because monsters or even players that resist physical are much less common than ones that resist the other elements (fire, lightning, cold and poison). Its also easy for Windy Druids to maximise the potential of their skills, because there are only four skills that they have to worry about (Arctic Blast is only optional because it doesn't give synergies to the other skills). Maxing those four skills doesn't even take up every skill point by level 99, so there is room to gain some pets too. I highly reccomend that the remainder of your points go into Oak Sage due to the high increas in life that it provides to you and your party, although the Ravens go much better with the look of a wind druid... one point here could maks things look pretty cool.
Fire Druid
Firestorm → Molten Boulder → Fissure → Volcano → Armageddon
The Fire Druids focus on the left side of the Elemental skill tree where the fire-based skills are. This is very similar to the Windy Druid, except its not as popular due to several factors. Firstly, The last fire skill, Armageddon, however, as a prerequisite requires the last Wind skill, Hurricane. Which, in turn, requires all the other Wind skills. So effectively, Armageddon's prerequisites are every other Elemental skill, which costs five skill points. Its not much, but it makes a difference. Secondly, many monsters in Hell difficulty are immune to fire, rendering the Fire Druid useless against them.
But if you like fire, don't hesitate to make a Fire Druid, they can be very fun to play.
Background
In the ancient tome of the Druids, the Scéal Fada, it is written that Bul-Kathos, the great and ancient king of the Barbarian tribes, had a mysterious but trusted confidant, who was only referred to as Fiacla-Géar. This man is sometimes described as Bul-Kathos's close friend, and at other times, he is referred to as his brother. Whatever the source of their relationship, their bond was strong, and together they shared the secrets of the ancients: of the mysteries below the peaks of Mt Arreat, of the venerated task put to their people to protect those mysteries, and of the prophecies regarding the dark times ahead. They both agreed that, in order to fulfill their sacred trust, their people must devote themselves to nothing save that charge. However, they disagreed on exactly how the people could best do this. Bul-Kathos believed that only by bringing the tribes together and training them in strict martial discipline could the tribes faithfully concentrate on their goal for generations to come. Fiacla-Géar, on the other hand, believed that only through obtaining a spiritual oneness with the land they had sworn to protect could the people truly appreciate the importance of their role. Both agreed the other's philosophy had merit, and so around the time Bul-Kathos united the tribes, Fiacla-Géar gathered together a small group consisting of the tribes' greatest warrior-poets and shamans and mysteriously retreated into the forests surrounding the area known as Scosglen. There he and his people created the first of the Druid Colleges, huge mortar-less stone towers, covered in vines and safely hidden beneath the leafy canopies of the dense forests. They have dwelt there ever since, forging a new way of life for themselves. They created a new culture and language, cutting themselves off from their Barbarian cousins and their ways, vowing not to return to the Steppes of Mt. Arreat until the time of the Uileloscadh Mór, the final battle between the men of the world and the demons of the Burning Hells. (See Prophecy for more information)
Here, in preparation for the impending conflict, he taught his people the Caoi Dúlra, a way of thinking that holds harmony with the natural elements of the world, its plants and animals, as the heart of its most intrinsic beliefs, for they are the personification of the very world that the Druids have sworn to protect. Not only was Caoi Dúlra the basis for their system of values, but through its study and practice, the Druids learned to bond with the natural entities of Sanctuary. This bonding was so absolute that eventually they discovered how to talk to the plants and animals, and these beings taught them all the secrets of the natural world. They taught them methods to call animals from far away, how to summon sentient plants from the earth, ways to change their own forms to share the strengths of their animal cousins, even, to a limited extent, techniques to control the weather.
At the Túr Dúlra, the greatest of the Druid Colleges, stands the magnificent oak Glór-an-Fháidha. This tree is the most revered source of the Druids guidance and teachings. Under its branches, for centuries, the Druids of Scosglen have been honing not only their powerful arsenal of natural magic, but also the martial skills they have retained from their Barbarian forefathers. They have done this because they believe themselves to be the world's last line of defense when the time of the great conflict comes, a time they believe is at hand. Lashing out in fury at the recent insurgence of denizens of the Burning Hells, and at the Leathdhiabhala, demonic corruptions of the very creatures they have vowed to defend, the Druids have, at last, emerged from their forests, marching toward their final stand against the minions of Chaos.
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