CLASS AS RACE II: Rangers, Druids and Clerics

 Part of a series on worldbuilding making whole races inspired directly by a class, each one having their own tactics to survive in a harsh world. In this entry we cover tribes which live a step further into the wilds.

3. RANGERS

When you play an elf, you get the ranger class, be it the ones from 5E, the playbook from Dungeon World, your homebrew or any else: adapt to it. These kind of elves are plant-based, and take elements from greek dryads and japanese kodama: just as Adventure Time huntress wizard, they have leaves for hair and their skin can be green and smooth like a stem or barky like a trunk when elves are older (or have leveled up enough).

Elves are greatly autosufficient in their forests and do not need for much outside them: they have a marked biorrhythm in which they are born, they form a family and they teach their kids to protect their sacred groves. Then they slowly become treants and then, one day they "die" and become sacred trees themselves. Normal trees are fond to grow around them, and this way the forest expands. As talk with trees is sometimes a ranger spell (when rangers are allowed spells), this means that elves can usually speak with their deceased elders providing they are still "awake" (When they cannot, they make use of druids: see below). Then the younglings protect their elder's slumber until their spirit finds some eternal rest or who knows when, and the cycle goes on.

from Stevesketches (twitter)

Until that moment, elves live according to their natural principles which consist in hunting and studying the Tao. All the things that Taoism and meditation suggest you are true for elves: they meditate, cultivate their spirits and try to flow with the path as much as they can. If you ever heard the thing about zen arrows, this is the secret of why they are so good shooters and fighters in general. They are contempt to live this way and to assume their place in the food chain. Sometimes young elves hire themselves as bodyguards or even assasins, which suits them perfectly.

4. DRUIDS

When forest people is in need of some religious or magical services, they recur to the Nymphs (Nixes, undines, sirens, etc). These aquatic ladies have magical powers and level up as druids (so depending in the rules you use, probably have a second shape and a good gang of animals to scout for them). They speak with trees when elves need to communicate with their elders; but they charge prices for that.

Nymphs are extremelly covetous and hoard treasure in their aquatic lairs. This treasure might be from gold to the most weird things: Corpses, weapons, mundane tools... etc. As people that don't like to abandon their rivers, lakes and shores, all signs of civilization hold some capacity of wonder. However, for the sake of making them playable, they can spend time outside of water providing they take baths in fresh water from time to time (its their equivalent of a long rest). 

It is mandatory for a good setting with Nymphs to have them play music, and if allowed by your version of class spells, they will try to charm listeners in order to find lovers or slaves. If Rangers and Druids are too similar in the rules you are using, you can always make Nymphs the Illusionist instead.

Level 1 nymphs are usually the males, which have not much magic and, because of that, are more prone to physical combat (AKA their role is cannon fodder for combat encounters). 

Level 6+ nymphs are renowned priestesses that offer spiritual services to all forest dwellers and are greatly respected. Which in that aspect makes them very similar, but not the same as our next guest class.

5. CLERICS

If you want to play a cleric, that is OK, but you have to be this:

That is a kirin, or quilin, a sort of chinese unicorn with divine power. They are not common, but really rare, as Gandalf's kin in LOTR. And as the istari, once they have leveled up a little they are gamechangers to any faction they decide to help. Luckily for you, you can assume human form! It would be hard to roleplay otherwise. In fact, you might have lost the ability to become a horse as part of the natural clerical training and might have to grind a little until you recover it.

Other races might have clerics in the sense that they have their priests and priestesses who carry their ritual endeavors, banish evil and maybe healing some diseases; but kirins are the only ones that progress beyond level 1. In fact, if another cleric does, it will be revealed that he has kirin blood or something, or be granted kirinhood. This manifests by assuming the shape in dreams first. It is the sign to continue developing your devotion (towards level 2 and beyond my friend).

I'm sure that a place in which all Kirins have a "village" of their own exists, which is probably designed for horses more than for people, but maybe its set in a mystic valley so otherwordly that it is in fact other plane of existance. Who knows. Its probably very extense as they love to run from one place to the other. But I do guess that is probably safe from monsters due to high level clerical spells: Blessing the perimeter regularly, a river used as a moat which they cross using Water Walk, or a forest filled with sticks that can turn to snakes if orc invaders set their foot on it.

This bitch is supposed to appear in naruto? I dont remember. I just googled "kirin human form"

Kirin that decide to develop their natural powers are blessed after a long career with powerful magics as reincarnation, raise dead, etc. Whatever your cleric rules allow to. But please no more stupid medieval monks with superpowers.

Part 3 soon.