Lost Languages: Universal - Druidic
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Note from the Author I wanted to just write a quick note about the content of this book¸ and really of this series. Getting to dive into languages is something super fun that I love doing - making conlangs is really a treat¸ and I love using them in my games. Druidic is usually equated to Ogham or Gaelic in a lot of games¸ which often lumps all druidism into one practice¸ which in reality is not fair to multicultural druidism. The Celts and Gaels were not the only ones who practices druidism¸ and therefore I wanted to create an alphabet that gave life to something new¸ something more universal. Plus¸ I wanted to play around more with how druid circles are established¸ and play some new light on werebeasts as well. This alphabet is one that I had a lot of fun making¸ and imagining it being etched into wood armor and made as living tattoos would be very very cool.
PRIMAL TITANS
Primal titans - those ancient beasts that are so old and powerful that they are nearly part of the landscape itself - many assume are just that¸ beasts¸ but are much more. These beings¸ creatures like the tarrasque or an astral dreadnought or the Colossus of Akros or a neothilid are filled with raw natural magic. Sure¸ they might classify as different types of creatures - aberration¸ construct¸ celestial¸ et cetera - but all of them hold the very keystones of Druidic¸ the language baked into their bones and flesh and blood. The death of these creatures causes such a detention of pure natural magic that it shapes the entire landscape around it. For instance¸ a sapphire greatwrym was destroyed once in a fight with an archaic on the place of Arcavios: this caused almost two hundred square miles far in the north to transform into a huge crystalline forest¸ the trees etched with flowing moving Druidic letters.
DRUID CIRCLES
Druid circles are hard to enter if one is not of the creed¸ but¸ over years of study we have been able to discover more about their organization and their use of the Druidic language. It is rather unique in that druid circles will often use their written language as living and breathing tattoos. We found that many entry-level druids - named bulbs - are given a ceremonial tattoo around their wrist in Druidic¸ usually an image created out of the characters: an animal or plant. As time goes on¸ the tattoo grows and expands across the body¸ the writing forming more and more images that relate to the growth of the young druid. The next three levels of druidry sequentially - rooted¸ sapling¸ and woad - become covered in this living lattice of slightly glowing writing. And when one is elevated to archdruid by the circle council¸ their tattoos actually become alive¸ granting powerful magical abilities. This final form is known as the Worlbyth¸ a physical manifestation of the power of the druid circle.
WEREBEASTS
Werebeasts are often relegated to the outskirts of society¸ seen as savage manic beasts who are plagues upon society. From the massive warrens of wererats within cities like Baldur's Gate or Ravnica¸ to the Silver Crusade that occurred at the hands of splinter groups of the Church of the Silver Flame on Khorvaire - werebeasts are hunted and destroyed to the brink of extinction. Yet those within their colonies who have worked with our program have discovered an incredibly deep and powerful connection that werebeasts have to Druidic. Carved into the walls and halls and floors of their homes are intricate layers of Druidic text¸ acting as a story for generations of shapeshifters that might dwell in these places and how their lives have played out. Many werebeasts use Druidic to leave signs that misdirect around their abodes¸ natural traps woven into trees or streets or plants¸ and many other places. Some more powerful werebeasts have even been able to find ways to weave Druidic into clothes or armor to suppress their more violent transformations on the full moon¸ some to even harness the power of the moon for a long period of time to act as barriers or supplements to diffuse their need to transform.
Featuring brand new art from Clara Saliz!
Note from the Author I wanted to just write a quick note about the content of this book¸ and really of this series. Getting to dive into languages is something super fun that I love doing - making conlangs is really a treat¸ and I love using them in my games. Druidic is usually equated to Ogham or Gaelic in a lot of games¸ which often lumps all druidism into one practice¸ which in reality is not fair to multicultural druidism. The Celts and Gaels were not the only ones who practices druidism¸ and therefore I wanted to create an alphabet that gave life to something new¸ something more universal. Plus¸ I wanted to play around more with how druid circles are established¸ and play some new light on werebeasts as well. This alphabet is one that I had a lot of fun making¸ and imagining it being etched into wood armor and made as living tattoos would be very very cool.
PRIMAL TITANS
Primal titans - those ancient beasts that are so old and powerful that they are nearly part of the landscape itself - many assume are just that¸ beasts¸ but are much more. These beings¸ creatures like the tarrasque or an astral dreadnought or the Colossus of Akros or a neothilid are filled with raw natural magic. Sure¸ they might classify as different types of creatures - aberration¸ construct¸ celestial¸ et cetera - but all of them hold the very keystones of Druidic¸ the language baked into their bones and flesh and blood. The death of these creatures causes such a detention of pure natural magic that it shapes the entire landscape around it. For instance¸ a sapphire greatwrym was destroyed once in a fight with an archaic on the place of Arcavios: this caused almost two hundred square miles far in the north to transform into a huge crystalline forest¸ the trees etched with flowing moving Druidic letters.
DRUID CIRCLES
Druid circles are hard to enter if one is not of the creed¸ but¸ over years of study we have been able to discover more about their organization and their use of the Druidic language. It is rather unique in that druid circles will often use their written language as living and breathing tattoos. We found that many entry-level druids - named bulbs - are given a ceremonial tattoo around their wrist in Druidic¸ usually an image created out of the characters: an animal or plant. As time goes on¸ the tattoo grows and expands across the body¸ the writing forming more and more images that relate to the growth of the young druid. The next three levels of druidry sequentially - rooted¸ sapling¸ and woad - become covered in this living lattice of slightly glowing writing. And when one is elevated to archdruid by the circle council¸ their tattoos actually become alive¸ granting powerful magical abilities. This final form is known as the Worlbyth¸ a physical manifestation of the power of the druid circle.
WEREBEASTS
Werebeasts are often relegated to the outskirts of society¸ seen as savage manic beasts who are plagues upon society. From the massive warrens of wererats within cities like Baldur's Gate or Ravnica¸ to the Silver Crusade that occurred at the hands of splinter groups of the Church of the Silver Flame on Khorvaire - werebeasts are hunted and destroyed to the brink of extinction. Yet those within their colonies who have worked with our program have discovered an incredibly deep and powerful connection that werebeasts have to Druidic. Carved into the walls and halls and floors of their homes are intricate layers of Druidic text¸ acting as a story for generations of shapeshifters that might dwell in these places and how their lives have played out. Many werebeasts use Druidic to leave signs that misdirect around their abodes¸ natural traps woven into trees or streets or plants¸ and many other places. Some more powerful werebeasts have even been able to find ways to weave Druidic into clothes or armor to suppress their more violent transformations on the full moon¸ some to even harness the power of the moon for a long period of