My plan for creating an intern tier consisting of nothing but giant ants should allow us to increase productivity by 37 percent. Who’s with me?
At first glance, druids might not seem the best fit for an Acquisitions Incorporated campaign, with its frequent forays into urban settings and its focus on treasure procurement and business considerations. But the primal power wielded by druids reflects the relentless cycles of nature, which in turn make a remarkably prescient model for business. Growth and stagnation. Boom and bust. It’s all there, writ large in the passage of the seasons and the ancient dance of bigger creatures consuming smaller creatures. And let’s face it, those smaller creatures probably had it coming to them.
Some of the most lucrative ruins and monster lairs happen to be located inconveniently in the uncivilized wilds of the world. As an Acquisitions Incorporated druid, your specialty is getting your party into and out of such areas with maximum profit and minimum bloodshed. (Well, your blood anyway.) When a veritable army of natural things that want to eat you stands between your franchise and profit, you’re the one the other party members are looking to for guidance.
Almost as importantly, every adventuring group bent on exploiting the natural world to gain resources and power needs a conservation expert to tell them when they’ve gone too far. After all, only fools would destroy their environment in the name of vast profits. Right?
Branding is everything. Whenever you take on a wild shape form, you do so with a unique bit of personal style that lets folks know you’re a beast to be reckoned with.
| d6 | Feature |
|---|---|
| 1 | Your pelt is rich hues of gold and silver so bright that they reflect light. |
| 2 | When you take wild shape form, it’s a painful, squelchy process that usually leaves your fellow adventurers queasy. |
| 3 | Your wild shape forms all wear an identical ceremonial bracelet on one limb, decorated with teeth. |
| 4 | A dark patch on your body is recognizable as the silhouette of Omin Dran |
| 5 | You always have twigs, leaves, and other refuse tangled in your fur or hair. |
| 6 | When you switch back to your normal form, one hand always manages to retain its fur or feathers for a short while. |
Even the most urban of locations feature sites of natural beauty and primal energy. You quickly become familiar with all such locations in the towns and cities you frequent, making them places for prayer, meditation, and arboreal solace. In addition to hanging out in parks or arboretums (or creating parks and arboretums in vacant lots when no one’s looking), you might also be called upon to tend to struggling foliage or sick animals, eliminate threats to natural spaces, or serve as a font of horticultural and biological lore to folk in the area.
| d10 | Sanctuary |
|---|---|
| 1 | A cemetery that acts as a de facto park |
| 2 | A museum hosting rare plants and animals from other lands |
| 3 | A swampy patch, unsuitable for building, teeming with marsh flora and fauna |
| 4 | A large copse containing the habitats of tree-dwelling animals |
| 5 | A community garden whose bounty is shared by local residents |
| 6 | A ruined section of the city that has been reclaimed by nature |
| 7 | A zoo overseen by a strange but powerful fellow druid |
| 8 | A private park that charges a fee for entrance, ensuring that only the wealthy can enjoy its serenity |
| 9 | A nature reserve stocked with scared and confused animals that are hunted for sport |
| 10 | A business that grows and harvests rare and exotic plants and animals for creating magical and mundane products |
Though you might split your franchise life between the rural and the urban worlds, you never forget the wilderness where you came from. Because you’ve brought a piece of that wilderness with you. An unusual creature that came under your care when you were younger remains a part of your life, whether because you’ve decided you’re the only person who can properly look after it, or vice versa.
| d10 | Creature |
|---|---|
| 1 | A carnivorous plant with a taste for fine foods |
| 2 | A colony of bees whose hive once hung from a tree in your homeland |
| 3 | A seven-legged pygmy giant spider once used as a pixie’s mount |
| 4 | A baby death dog that shows no evil tendencies (yet) |
| 5 | An orphaned owlbear cub-chick with a never-ending cold |
| 6 | An unhatched silvery egg that is ice-cold to the touch |
| 7 | A very small, very old awakened shrub |
| 8 | A grouchy badger that lives under your bed |
| 9 | A feral cat that thinks it’s much tougher than it is |
| 10 | A friendly stirge that nests in your backpack and drinks only fruit juice |
Druids are natural-born leaders. We are beasts of war and shepherds of balance. People might underestimate you for your “simple” ways, but your teeth will find their flesh all the same. Not that I condone eating your party members, of course. Only when absolutely necessary.
— Walnut Dankgrass
Though many druid circles are inspired by and focused on the natural world, even the most woodsy circles can fit into an Acquisitions Incorporated campaign with surprising ease.
Normally, druids who come from the Circle of Dreams have a connection to the dreamy lands of the Feywild. As an Acquisitions Incorporated druid, you maintain this connection and expand it, embracing the marketing potential of dreams and positive energy. This effluence of radiance and light is meant to be harnessed, shaped, and shared with as many people as possible. And if they’re willing to pay for that sharing, so much the better.
Any organization that wants to make an imprint on the world needs to employ an environmental consultant, ensuring that they’re engaging with the land in a sustainable and efficient manner. As a druid of the Circle of the Land, your role in your franchise makes extensive use of your knowledge of nature. Your expertise ensures that the exploits of the franchise don’t disturb nature—and just as importantly, prevent nature from disturbing the franchise.
Circle of the Moon druids are known for the myriad animal forms they wear, but those forms need not tie you to the wilderness. In rat form, you can slip past the sentries of a well-guarded guildhall to secure trade secrets. On a risky urban operation, you can adopt the form of a pigeon or an alley cat to be your party’s chief scout and spy. And in a pinch, your most combat-focused animal forms make you an excellent hand at black ops, able to infiltrate, extricate, or eradicate with equal verve.
The world is a dangerous place, and the innocent always need champions to keep the figurative and literal wolves at bay. Others in your circle focus on protecting the helpless creatures of the wild from natural and unnatural threats. But your vow of protection extends to the common folk as well, recognizing that they are just as much a part of the natural world—and are often just as scared and helpless as any creature left to the mercy of that world.