[Brainstorming] Druidism - Developing Caiyha's Gnosis

[Gossamer]

Hey Folks... we need to get some Gnosis going in. We've had lots of requests/inquiries for Gnosis for Caiyha, which is going to be Druidism. Abashai has agreed to take a stab (lets hope hes gentle!) at helping me out on this one... here's some of my thoughts on druidism.

The way I invision Druidism is simple. We have 'morphing' and 'kelvics' so we already have true shapeshifters. What I see Mizaharian Druidism being is really a connection to the land, its plants and animals. Druids would be able to work with plants or animals (maybe like families in Ivak's gnosis that do different things with a combo one)... they can talk to plants/animals, know what they are thinking, control/calm them, do animal/plant empathy and summoning...

And in terms of plants.. know how to heal, change the environment, sculpt, guide, tame, train, etc... They'd be great gardeners well able to survive more easily among the wilds due to their gifts (summon a rabbit for food, know whats poisonous?). If they have druidism, they might be able to combine it with herbalism and breed to plants to create a new medication... the possibilities are unlimited. Druids would make good animal shrinks, cause or control pests (pied pipers?)... etc

Can you guys give us some feedback on what you'd like to see as well?

[Liminal]

I like the idea of a land-connection magic.

In the spirit of "we don't have elves," I'm gonna put in a small suggestion that maybe we change the name of this gnosis?

[Terminus Norin]

I think the idea of a land-connection gnosis is excellent. Some of those aspects are already covered like actual plant growth as I understand. However the ability to manipulate plants and animals is facinating. Im thinking the idea of having multiple bloodlines in Caiyha's following is a good one. Some orignal thoughts though:

I would like to see Druids able to alter size and shape of natural objects as well as the living ones IE wooden bowls,chairs ect if it is made of a natural substance they can manipulate it . Perhaps the ability to combine living things to make a new lifeform..but not give life as that is another domain. Just a few ideas more as they come

[Rhylen]

This is just an idea...

I think a cool idea would be be ability to shift ones consiousness into the minds of the animals. The Druid/whateva would find a quiet place and meditate, then empathically ask a willing being if they'd be willing to share control of the animal body for a short time.

This would allow a the character to spy through the eyes of a hawk, for example, or jimmy a lock in the form of a mouse/insect, or even to recover a lost gem from the bottom of the sea in the form of a fish/shark/squid! Really, the possibilities would be limitless, and as a druid gains Caiya's favor, they might expand their control to more than one creature or even be capable of inhabiting the minds of other animals while still in control of their own thoughts/bodies.

Essentially it would almost be like a branch of spiritism/ghost possession ability but would only be possible with plants and animals. (I don't know why you'd want to be a tree... but hey, it could be fun!)

An ability to sense and identify all living things within a certain radius might also be another neat idea. This form of druid would certainly be a little more grassroots than your typical WOW-turn-into-a-bear-and-smite-the-living-shite-outta-everyone druid... but I think it would go better with the theme. Sure it would be a gnosis mark, but the character would receive it through worshipping life itself - rather than a particular deity.

My thoughts, brought to you by the letter "G".

[Gossamer]

Oh, great ideas all! Name changes are no issue... we can do that with our eyes closed, but we'll keep the thread named this for a while until we decide on something new... (So folks know what we're talking about instantly)... and I love Rhylen's suggestion.. that makes a ton of sense to me to transfer awareness... you could read memories of a place, do the eagle eye thing, etc... pretty darn cool. Term.. I think your talking about like wood warping etc.. and I think that could be a good idea for a bloodline. I'm not sure someone who loves life and follows Caiyha would warp it... in terms of animals... but then a powerful 'druid' could explain the existence of a lot of weird animals on mizahar (not just the djed storms during the Valterrian).

What does everyone else think? The more suggestions the better... and remember, if someone else is interested in developing a Gnosis, doing one of these brainstorm threads is incredibly helpful (multiple brains are always better than one)... and they can jump on board and give it a try.

[Tarot]

There are some really good ideas in this thread. My foremost concern with Druidism (I have no problem with the name but no qualm about a name change, either) is to make it feel "natural". I think Goss touched on that, and I'd like to reiterate. Druidism should be the triumph of nature, not its bending to fit human needs. I come from a PbP in which druids have this "everything is nature so I can affect anything" mindset and do things you'd normally associate with Dr. Frankenstein or a nuclear mushroom. I think that would be out of place in Mizahar, especially because druidism is Gnosis... you actually need to believe in Caiyha and what she stands for.

For one, I think animal control should not be full-fledged mind domination. We don't have mind control for humans: we've got Hypnotism and it won't take over a person. You can't order someone to kill his wife, though you can make him believe she's cheating on him, smile, and put a knife in his hand. Even ghost possession can be resisted. So, for Druidism, you'd probably have:

1) a first stage in which you can communicate with animals, but are still regarded as human (or whatever your race is).

2) a second stage in which animals recognize you as "kin", one of their own. At this stage you might be able to "summon" them by releasing appropriate scents/energies, and perceive things through their senses.

3) a third stage in which they recognize you as alpha/queen and submit to your judgment. Your enemy becomes the enemy of the pack.

4) a fourth (champion) stage in which your authority can even override their instincts (including self preservation).

Still, your wolves won't line up in a phalanx and your hawks won't drop snakes on your enemies. If you are a druid in his element, you can turn a peaceful forest into a living nightmare, though.

The wood warping would need some explaining, IMHO. It is often said "nature abhors a straight line" and reshaping wood does have that kind of feel to me. I would rather the Druid work with what is already in nature instead of twisting it, but I could be convinced into accepting it if it required the tree's approval first. That could be a nice touch!

[Alice]

Just my two cent ...

Can druids or any other people really know what plants and animals think? I mean, naturally animals are closer to thinking than plants. But I think it should be more like a natural sense for what the specific plant or animal needs or wants or senses at the moment, something similar to what Rhylen mentioned. However, they would also be able to tend to them better because of that ability. I personally don't like the image of words being sent from the plant to the druid. Just wanted to mention that in case you didn't already think of it yourself.

My second suggestion would be that they could be able to do something similar to (bio?)chemistry. Although they can't understand the theory of how it works in a fantasy world which is only natural, they can still do similar effects. Just a vague idea though, and it might be difficult to include without interfering with the idea of reimancy. Maybe focus that ability on plants and do something including photosynthesis and similar things?

Brainstormings really are a good idea ... might start one too.

[Rhylen]

(To Tarot)

I was thinking of it more as a "shared habitation" of the mind. Although you're right, it is kind of unnatural. What I'd invisioned was the hawk flying for the druid, and him/her having a sense of that the hawk was seeing, but also having an ability to affect the creatures impulses. Obviously this would have to be in a way that respected the creatures life, but the gift of Caiya would make the animal more willing to help out.

If the animal was a vicious wolf, however, and upset with the druid, it could block its mind from intrusion. A druid might not know how to fun on all fours, or breath water, but the shared habitation would make the process a natural one, in which neither party would "hopefully" come to any harm. Say a druid caused some animal to die while he/she was controlin it, perhaps there would be consequences, like the druid loosing some of their djed, or Caiya cursing them.

I like all the ideas though!

[Abashai]

Great discussions! ...now, my miza's worth.

Stepping back, ultimately this is Caiyha's gnosis, so I'm thinking it should be framed in light of the goddess of living creatures. Keeping focus on living plants and animals (and avoiding concepts like "land connection" or "nature" in general) seems appropriate. I like the concepts of being able to identify, detect, communicate on some level, summon, even view the world through their eyes, tame, or benevolently lead living creatures. In other words, a micro-version of what the goddess herself would do. Bending them to a selfish or immoral (in Caiyha's eyes) will would not seem appropriate. After all, gnosis is about receiving the magic due to faithfulness to the deity's ideals, and using it to promote or at least in line with those ideals.

Having made that stab (hopefully not to deeply) I encourage the discussion to continue!

[Gossamer]

Just a quick plug here...

When I think 'land connection' I think of a person attuned to nature that can walk into a new place... say a valley thats isolated in a mountain range... and get a 'feel' for the health of the plants and animals there... its it natural? Is it a healthy environment? Is something off about it or tainted because the animals here are sick... or the plants are dying, trees shriveled.. etc? So when I think land connectiveness, I simply think of the ability to be observant of what you know should be right and identify when its off, though maybe not pinpoint exactly why...

I have a feeling thats what the other player meant too. Even as a normal person, sure coming from a wildlife background with lots of habitat classes, I can walk into a space and tell if the area is healthy. What type of trees grow in the forest? Is it choked with invasive species? Does it need thinned out for the trees that are already there to grow bigger? Does the water look clear or is it murky and brackish? Does a stream look like a bulldozer has been driven down it and needs some trees fell into it and some boulders tossed in to add to the diversity?

Ultimately Caiyha is nature. She's about the living world... a 'druid' should be able to sense this in my thoughts... especially if normal old Jen can...

And Alice.. can we hear more about what you mean about biochemestry? Thats an interesting take, but I want to be clear on how your seeing it.