What is a Druid in ‘Dungeons & Dragons?’

Building a playable Dungeons & Dragons character may seem simple, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

There are several factors to consider when deciding what kind of adventurer you want to play; do you want to be a vicious barbarian who excels at hand-to-hand combat? What about a wizard who casts spells with the help of a divine patron? The options are nearly endless, and with so many opportunities for customization, it’s easy to spend more time daydreaming about the possibilities than actually playing a D&D campaign.

Every class has its strengths and weaknesses — what matters most is creating a character you’re satisfied with that hopefully fits into the story crafted by your game’s dungeon master. Picking your class depends on not only your own playing style and preferences, but also the team you’ll be adventuring with.

If you don’t want to spend too much time thinking about your character, it can be helpful to pick a class that is somewhere between melee and magic. Consider playing a druid your next campaign.

An intro to druids

In Dungeons & Dragons, druids are similar to clerics, but with a slight inclination toward magic. A druid’s magic is born out of their connection with nature, or from worshiping a natural deity. Their spells are often connected to nature in some way, be it the power of an animal, plant, or elemental force.

Druids are committed to maintaining nature’s balance and are strongly opposed against anyone who wants to tip the scales in favor of one particular element. Many use magic related to the four elements (earth, air, fire, and water), but would never choose one as better than the others.

Believing it best to live in harmony with nature and are bound to protect animals and plants from harm, many druids gain the ability to transform into animals at an early level, and that power makes them a fun class to play during any campaign. There are some limitations — you can only choose certain animals at first and can only transform once between long rests — but shapeshifting into wild animals is just as fun as you’d imagine.

In addition to their magical abilities, druids are able to wield most weapons, and can start equipped with any basic melee weapon (usually a scimitar). Druids associate different meanings with different types of wood and only use wood when choosing their armor and weapons. Despite this limitation, they are adept at melee fighting, although many prefer to use magic or claws to battle their foes. While not perfectly balanced between melee and spellcasting, it’s a great option for adventurers who appreciate some versatility.