Editing Druid (section)

===Druids in AD&D===
Druids in AD&D are grouped under the "Priest" class, like the [[cleric]], though this is similar to the [[bard]], [[ranger]], and [[paladin]] in that it has some very restrictive prerequisites to even enter the class: You need a Wis score of at least 12 and a Cha score of at least 15, you need to be True Neutral (unless you were a 2e priest of the Earth Mother of the native american pantheon, in which case you had to be Neutral Good), and you need to be a [[human]] or a [[half-elf]] - because apparently, elves are too much of a race of tree-huggers to harness the magic of nature.

As is now tradition, these druids are banned from using metal armor and most traditional weapons. They also gain access to a few spheres of influence with direct relation to nature (All, Elemental, Healing, Plant, Weather) with a minor dip in the Divination sphere (though the ''Player's Option: Spells & Magic'' splat removed the druid's access in Divination for full access to the Sun Sphere). They also lost the ability to turn the undead, but gained quite a bit: the ability to talk to creatures, and resistance to charms by animals. They gained the now-trademark "Wild Shape" ability at level 7, but get to heal a bit of damage in exchange to being restricted to being only real-world creatures, meaning that you can't be a dinosaur or a dire creature or anything that'd be remotely cool (you might be wondering if actual characters in-universe would understand the distinction between animals a druid can change into and ones they can't. well, good for you).

The other grand thing the druid had was the big hierarchy. See, there are a fixed number of druids that can exist in the world, and after level 11 you become subject to these restrictions. The only way to level up is to either find a new region who needs a new druid to fill the vacancy or fighting a druid and taking their place in some sort of ritual combat. Apparently by level 15, you'll become the only druid of such a power level as you just replaced the previous druid of this level. Beyond this are a ton of new spell slots, normal shapeshifting, and the ability to enter and live in other elemental planes. This hierarchy also serves as the equivalent of the other classes just gaining a couple followers and their own new HQ, where as you have your secretive hippie order and your big imposing fortress is instead replaced with a natural grove. 

[[Unearthed Arcana]] recognised the market for druid players who still wanted to hang out with a post-15th level party. This allowed such to start over on the Hierophant track, 16-23rd level.

Then came the 1990s and Second Edition. As with the other classes, there is indeed a [[Complete Book Series|Complete Druids' Handbook]] which, on top of explaining the hierarchy in further depth and providing kits, also has some special variant druids that were based on biomes and were separate from the kits. It also included a deeper look at the culture of the druids (considering that they are a secretive organization), herbology,  and how they would fit into the bigger picture.

2e is when was introduced the When Good Druids Go Bad trope. [[Forgotten Realms]] has the Shadow Circle, which are militant anti-city druids who want to violently destroy all forms of civilization.