Blood Druids of the Magic Zone

[Incriptus]

I was inspired to share [and expand] upon an idea that I had for one of my games. It all started when someone asked about poisons. One of the best ones I found was Nightshade in England. So I wrote this up this morning. I'm working on a few NPCs as well



Blood Druids of the Magic Zone

The Blood Druids were founded in France; however, the cult has been spreading its influence across Europe and across the world. In the last 15 years they’ve made it to their way to North America and the Magic Zone in particular. A particularly ambitious blood druid de Sang has made an impression in the True Federation and is working towards becoming part of Alistair Dunscon’s inner circle.

Charles de Sang was inducted into the Blood Druids at an early age in the fallen city of Paris. He raised through ranks quickly relying on his natural charisma [High MA] and ability to build alliances and isolate his rivals. However, one day his ambitions overextended his reach. de Sang decided it would be only natural for the Blood Druids to have a piece of the Tree of Darkness in the Black Forest of Germany. For Decades the Blood Druids have committed new members to a pilgrimage to the Tree of Darkness to request a gift. The Acolyte would then return with his gift to be declared a true member of the Blood Druids. de Sang was determined to set up a permanent base on the tree itself.

de Sang led a group of about 100 Blood Druids and nearly 1000 support personnel into the Black Forest and began to build a settlement at the northern base of the tree. He was able to absorb several of the Goblins and Orcs that lived at the tree into his own forces. de Sang was able to persuade most of the powerful independent beings that his settlement was no threat to their independence, and the general independence of the tree itself. At first it appeared de Sang’s plan was working, The Tree of Darkness was very generous with its gifts to new settlement. However, that generosity was not to last. Perhaps the novelty of the new settlement wore off, perhaps the blood druids did something to offend it, or maybe it was just out of spite, but the gifts started to dry up. In their hubris one of the Blood Druids [It was NOT de Sang] decided what the Tree did not give willingly could be taken instead.

The energy eruption immediately disintegrate the offender and a Ley Line storm began to brew. Not only did the Tree’s anger begin to manifest, but so did the anger of the other inhabitants. The settlement was descended upon by dozens of powerful supernatural beings and hundreds of entities. The settlement was razed and (nearly) all the Blood Druids had been slain before the Ley Line Storm had a chance to fully manifest. However, de Sang and a small entourage were able to escape into the Tree. Hunted by the Sphinx Madcat and several other supernatural beings this should have been the end for de Sang, however a rift appeared and with no other chance for survival they stepped through. de Sang ended up in the Magic Zone of North America.

With less than a dozen true Blood Druids remaining, along with maybe 20 acolytes, de Sang eventually made contact with the Federation of Magic and found refuge amongst their numbers. Today de Sang is but a minor player in the True Federation, however his Blood Druids are starting to make a major impression within their two areas of expertise, Divination and Poison.

It is the ability of the Blood Druids to see the future by blood sacrifice that most interests Alistair Dunscon. If the visions of the blood druids turn out to be reliable de Sang is almost certain to have a high position in Alistair’s court. The ability to get glimpses of the future on demand, and with out the petty moral objections of the Grey Seers would be a great boon for the True Federation.

While the Blood Druids have the full mystic herbology, it is the Blood Druid’s cultivar of Belladonna (Deadly Nightshade) that is most in demand. While deadly to mortal SDC beings, when magically treated, it can cause temporary paralysis and significant damage to MD beings as well.

[Incriptus]

Robert de Sang

True Name: Robert de Sang
Alignment: Anarchist
Hit Points: 56
SDC: 35
P.P.E: 141
I.S.P: 58 [Minor psychic]
Age: 39
Size: 5 feet, 11 inches, 150 lbs
Horror Factor/Reputation: 9
Attributes: I.Q.:18, M.E.: 19, M.A.: 21, P.S.; 11, P.P.: 13, P.E.: 21, P.B.: 15, Spd: 15
Appearance: Robert de Sang is physically a very striking man. He usually has a disarming smile on his face. He will often pre-plan his appearance based on who is interacting with at the time. However regardless of what he is wearing he had a red blood drop broach with him.
Disposition: de Sang has very pleasant demeanor at most times. He is a natural leader and likes to disarm people with his charm. He can stab some in the back and end up with them apologizing for getting blood on his dagger. While naturally ambitious his recent loss at the Tree of Darkness has affected him more than he’d like to admit. He finds himself second guessing his decisions more than ever before. He has no plans on trying usurp the Federation of magic, and would be happy to just be an advisor.
Experience Level: 10th Level Blood Druid
Skills of Note: Mystic Herbology
Combat Skills: Hand to Hand Assassin at 10th level proficiency + boxing.
Magic Knowledge: Only Mystic Herbology
Psionics: Minor Sensitive. Sixth Sense & Object Read
Weapons & Equipment of Note: When de Sang was forced to flee the Tree of Darkness he had amassed a small arsenal of corrupted Millennium Tree objects. With no way of replenishing these items in North America de Sang will not sell them for any reason. In extraordinary cases he may give one away, but they are primarily used for recruiting new members. As his stock gets lower, he will become more and more stingy with them. He does feel them to be gifts from the tree and believes them to be sacred. He believes the rift that took him from Germany to North America was intentional on the Tree’s part and that it had forgiven him the trespass. It can also be assumed he has a variety of herbs, wands, and potions

De Sang’s Staff of Power: De Sangs personal weapon is a particularly impressive corrupt staff. It is functionally identical to the wand of power, only more potent. A total of eight spells (any combination or repetition) can be cast per 24-hour period. Spells available include: Energy Disruption, Call Lightning, Armor of Ithan, Superhuman Strength, and Negate Magic. Spell strength is equal to a 10th level sorcerer.

[Incriptus]

The Bodyguard: One of De Sang's right hand men is the executioner. He was ogre previously residing at the Tree of Darkness. His OCC would be the Gladiator class from Mercenary Adventures. He wields an Executioner's Blade and a Mantle of Power [Re-Fashioned to look like a traditional executioners gown and hood]. He is the obvious outward showing of defense and power.

The Assassin: De Sang's other right hand man and newest recruit is his assassin. He was a spy and killer for higher, and also happened to speak French. He joined up with De Sang shortly after his arrival in the magic zone. He was able to learn the fundamentals of Herbal Magic however he found himself unable to master the art. All the same he's the one who pushed for the Nightshade garden and is now using and selling the poisons. His OCC would be the super spy from Mercenary who's "super" is the ability to create the herb magics, but none of the other Blood Druid capabilities. He is the fear that de Sang's killer could be anywhere

[SolCannibal]

Nice idea, i can definitely see the Blood Druids oracular abilities being of great use for Dunscon or other rulers in the Magic Zone & beyond whose policies make Grey Seers and similar groups less than friendly towards them.

In my own games the Blood Druids have gained some additional backstory through the formation of a splinter sect of "techno-druids", that make peculiar works mixing herbs, woods, leaves and seeds in a manner akin to how techno-wizards use a variety of gems to focus spell effects in their machinery.

They came to be some time in the 90s PA as a byproduct of an alliance of local cliques and factions was formed by a warlord to oust the Gargoyles from power, in a bloody conflict that might have succeeded if not for some twists of fate that led to the sudden disappearance of their leader, the infamous sorcerer & pirate leader Cyprian Ironcoat, that some rumours claim, is a magician-saint of ancient times returned with the Rifts (blatant lies of a self-agrandizing knave, but i digress).

This particular discipline - that truth be told, can be learned or taught by anyone with the knowledge of herbalism, its association with Blood Druids in the game is purely a product of circunstances - came to be through ideas and practices Cyprian and the pirates of Lyonesse introduced among those low- to mid-ranking blood druids that would directly participate in the conflict. A whole generation of young, enterprising druids that would be used as scapegoats by the Blood Druid leadership and old guard, denounced as traitors and thrown at the (lack of) mercy of the Gargoyles in an attempt to get back in their favor.

Except a number of those would manage to survive, and feeling justifiably betrayed by their elders, would become the core of a community of exiles, wanderers, guerilla fighters and arcane mercenaries spread across France and neighboring countries, many of them finding residence in pirate enclaves and coastal forts established across the atlantic seaboard by the Lyonesse through many years before the war from people rescued from Splugorth raids (a tradition continued by a number of these pirate republics to this day), bringing along with them their singular artifices and nostalgic tales of the One Year War when Lyonesse united all kingdoms and stone circles in the lands surrounding Biscay under the flag of the Threefold Triskelion and Paris drowned, at least for a time.

In the years since, the Flag of the Threefold Triskelion has become as much of a indentifiable feature of these exiled druids as their surnames - Carnaci, D'Erdeven, Filitosa, Kerzerho, Saumur, tokens of stone circles of their birth, now lost to them - to the point of being known as "Druid War Flag" in parts of Europe, Mediterranean and North Africa less familiar with the tales of Lyonesse and its legacy of magic and roguish quasi-heroic piracy.