The door shuts quickly, followed by muffled thuds, cracks and the roars of the combatants. Right, we’ll give the barbarians a few minutes to calm down. Druids first then!

Druids can be a fun bunch and downright invaluable if you find yourself lost in the wilderness. See that robed human over there, the one with the brilliant green eyes and small antlers? Yeah, I’m not sure if the antlers are a headpiece or are actually growing out of his head either. That’s Valondil, a druid from the High Forest. Druids embody the raw magic of the natural world and they can be found wherever there is nature, from the peak of the tallest mountain to the darkest depths of the sea, they are as varied as the wilds they inhabit. I once even heard of a druid maintaining a large park inside a city that had grown up around his little patch of forest. 

There are many types of druids, but they tend to align themselves with certain Circles with two of the most prominent being the Circle of the Land and the Circle of the Moon. Circle of the Land druids are mystics, nature’s sages that gain greater ability to harness the ancient magics that permeate their preferred biome of nature. Those druids aligned with the Circle of the Moon, embody the shifting adaptability of nature, as well as its ferocity. Theyhone the druidic ability to take on the shape of beasts to the extreme, capable of shifting into tremendously powerful forms. Not sure which Valondil is, come to think of it, we’ll have to ask him sometime, perhaps when he isn’t talking to his pet wolf.

Ah, sounds like the barroom brawl has ended, let’s wander back over there. Yeah, mind the broken furniture. Looks like Drathna won, yeah she’s the dwarf sitting on the unconscious half-orc, enjoying a pint. She’s a right terror on the battlefield too, that axe on her back that’s as big as a human child isn’t for show. Drathna Firebraids, the wild maiden of fury herself, with magic runes carved into her circlet and axe. Best not to stare though, she may have some ferocity left. She’s a barbarian from up north, Icewind Dale I believe. 

Barbarians are some of the toughest melee combatants you’re likely to adventure alongside, they channel their connection to the primal forces of nature into a blood-rage. No matter the odds, when a barbarian starts their rage, the battle is going to get messy. Drathna once mentioned that every barbarian follows a path that guides their “battle fire”, which is what she called her rage; she told me of two of these paths. There’s the path of the berserker, which is exactly what you’d expect. They become a veritable whirlwind of destruction; mindless and, to tell the truth, terrifying. Drathna follows the Path of the Totem Warrior, though that doesn’t make her any less dangerous. Perhaps even more dangerous as she keeps her wits about her even in the battle rages. Totem Warriors dedicate themselves to a totem, usually a bear, eagle or wolf, taking on abilities of the creature. Yep, that’s why she has a bear claw necklace; she’s attuned to the Totem of the Bear. 

Hey Drathna! Good to see you, I was just coming over to say hi, how about I get you a drink? My friend and I were just going to meet up with a ranger or rogue next…