well - sort of roleplaying anyway, but you see what i mean

should my druid protagonist allow (join in with?) the party as they murder their way round the local wildlife?

at the moment i'm trying to sneaking past neutral animals without triggering them but i'm killing all the hostiles

am i just part of nature's cycle or am i a GP/XP junkie?

opionions welcome . . . .

Good point. I would've never remembered that. Being a druid and protecting the nature along with all the animals in it. But, yes. If you are roleplaying a druid you should do just that.

Ideally, the druid should not slay anyone who is not threatening to pull the balance too far to any one side. Hold spells, charms and entangle can be used to avoid fighting anyone, but such a pacifist attitude won't get you far in BG.
Since you're a servant of nature, you could consider yourself important to the balance. From that point of view, self defence is allowed but you shouldn't go looking for trouble, carrying out whatever mission you have instead. Another alternative is to say that the mines and later problems are a threat to the balance in some way, and all those involved should be stopped. Any who try to stop you should be dealt with too.
So which of these is the proper attitude?

You grew up in Candlekeep. The inside of the gate was as far as you will have gotten in the world. Nature is limited to the vegitation around the cetral keep. Perhaps a druid once visited the city and taught you, and doubtlessly you will have been reading in books. Gorion might well have encouraged you to learn more.
But in the end, the only creatures you know how to deal with are birds, cats, cows and rats. From the fact that you're recruited to deal with those rats it would seem you have no problems in defending a city's foodstore from otherwise helpless creatures. I bet you swatted a few flies and musquitoes too in your days.
So it would seem the PC druid of BG1 has no trouble killing animals to defend what (s)he thinks is important, like the lives of people. A very society-oriented druid, you could say.
Once you discovered there was a much larger world out there you might have sought out the parts of nature you only read or heard about. Unfortunately, the critters weren't too pleased to see you. Your own life being of importance to you, killing them would be fine. Because all the dogs and wolves and spiders kept attacking, you might regret your inability to get along with them but continue defending your life.
If you spot a room with creatures you know will bite you, you should try not to enter with any visible character unless they are a threat, because you do still value life, or are in the way of your ability to keep the balance.

The question is not so much "how do I deal with animals" as it is "how do I deal with people". Why do you do the quests you do? Why would you clear out the mines for the people? How will that stabilise balance or increase your ability to maintain it? Can't you get someone else to do it instead?
A neutral alignment is much harder to maintain than a love for nature and life is. Especially in a game which rewards mostly good actions, and occasionally the evil ones, but rarely rewards neutrality, any form of pacifism or a completely non-judgemental approach.

Well said, Legolas. Neutral alignment is the hardest to play if you are roleplaying because it's often hard to keep the balance between good and evil. That line is easily crossed and, as you said, therefore it's much easier to roleplay a paladin or chaotic evil character. At least you always know what you're doing.

Don't forget that some animals are OK to kill. Especially the sick, dying, and insane. Druids eat meat too you know.

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>If and Animal has the red hostil circle around it then you can kill it because it's fair game besides your only half druid the other half is Bhaal Spawn which in fact over rides the druid in you. Sorry if you didn't know this yet!

Bear that doesn't like it when you wander too close to it? No. Just be nice and avoid it, or maybe toss some Goodberries in its general direction.

Wolf that's already Hostile to you, and attacks on sight? Maybe. Try to Charm Animal if you can, but if it sinks its teeth into you, show no mercy.

Sword Spider that advances on the party, oozing malice from every chink in its exoskeleton? Slay the abomination.

Winter Wolf that'll net you 500 gp for its pelt? What, you're going to take the skin and leave the rest of the animal there to rot???

thanks all - very interesting - the neutral bit does seem to be 'harder' than the animals bit (it was starting to think 'oh good - another winter wolf 500GP & 975! XP that made me feel guilty [img]smile.gif[/img] )

i'll think about neutrality but as Legolas said - sneaking through without upsetting much won't get me too far and how will i know which way to act to restore balance! hmmm . . . .

I just looked into the Druid's Handbook and found some interesting stuff on roleplaying druids:

<font color="lightblue">Despite their neutral status, druids don't resent being pulled into the struggle between alignments. Neutral individuals do not lack interest, ambition, or passion--they value their own well-being and that of friends and loved ones. They may struggle passionately on behalf of themselves and others, as well as feel a compassion blanketing everything that makes up the Nature they swear to protect. Never doubt that druids will act for their own goals and the Order's.

Clearly, playing a druid true to alignment is no easy task. The character must consider carefully all the variables in a situation before acting. Remember that, when faced with a tough decision, a druid usually stands behind the solution that best serves Nature in the long run. So, a druid could have an equally valid reason to join a band of evil adventurers hunting a lawful good dragon as she has to join a good party hunting an evil dragon. Although a gold or silver dragon is unlikely to threaten the druid or his sacred grove, he might wish to use its treasure to purchase equipment to fight a greater threat or win the trust of an evil party she can use for her own ends.

Druids tend to react nonjudgmentally toward other races. With the possible exception of undead, they feel that every race and species has its place in the world. For instance, a druid recognizes most orcs as evil and cruel. The character might not enjoy the company of orcs, but doesn't consider this feeling an excuse to exterminate the entire race. Conflict between orcs and humans is the way of the world, some druids say. They point out that orcs live a harsher existence than humans, often dwelling in the deadly subterranean world. And, while the average human may be less cruel than the average orc, mankind is capable of greater evil through superior organization and civilization.

Protecting Animals. Only a very few druids oppose hunting or raising animals for food, skins, or fur. In fact, many druids hunt animals for food and clothing themselves. They do frown upon killing animals simply for sport, over-hunting (or over-trapping) a region, and treating animals with excessive cruelty. And most druids do not even take this feeling to extremes. They know that feudal nobles, for instance, enjoy the hunt; few such hunters are cruel killers, and their game ends up on the lord's tables.
Druids oppose trapping or hunting beasts to use their fur or other body parts for frivolous reasons. A hunter may kill a single wolf and take its pelt to make a wolfskin cloak, according to druidic philosophy. If the hunter kills a couple wolves every year and sells their pelts, a druid may or may not be upset, depending on the prevalence of wolves in the area. But if a hunter regularly traps dozens of wolves and makes a fortune selling their pelts to local merchants, a druid will become angry and take action.
Even more than trapping for food or fur, druids hate to see animals captured for use in events like bear baiting, bullfighting, or other such "sports." Druids always try to stop these spectacles and free the animals. They may wreak terrible vengeance on those who capture wild beasts for sport or operate the arenas where animals are forced to fight.</font>

[ 03-23-2003, 06:44 AM: Message edited by: Vedran ]

thanks for that - i really hope you didn't have to type all that - or you're a very fast typist - or something [img]smile.gif[/img]

I never play druids as my protagonist... the idea of having to spend all my time getting people to sign petitions, linking hands and singing around a campfire, letting bears rip me in half, being so insane that I think spiders are a part of a healthy planet, eating tofu burgers...

ooh I was having a nightmare

I remember back in the old days of PnP AD&D. The first time we had a druid in our party, none of the players knew how to play a druid. The player who had the druid character were almost afraid of walking, because he imagined that it would be a bad thing to squash any insects [img]smile.gif[/img]

Later we found out how to play a druid. We played the druid much like the description in the druids handbook as Vedran quoted.

It is something like:

Everyone is free to use the woods and the animals as long as it is for personal use only and not just for fun or for getting rich. Animals must be killed as quickly and painless as possible. Trees must be cut without damaging other trees. The use of the woods/animals must not lead to extermination of any kind (ie. do not kill the rare paradise bird if you are hungry (eventhough it tastes delicious) kill some rats to eat instead, there are plenty of them). Animals that are hostile can be killed (but not if they are rare or special in any other way) if they cannot be calmed down. Foreign fauna and flora that endangers the native fauna and/or flora must be exterminated. This also applies for mutated and magic caused animals or plants.

The druid lives in symbiosis with the nature. He will therefor like to plant new trees, where he has cut down old ones. He likes to help breeding animals where he has killed some to his own survival (meat, clothes etc.).

The druid likes to preserve status quo in his/her wood.

[img]graemlins/greenbounce.gif[/img]
Insane

I have been inspired to buy the 3rd Edition 'Masters of the Wild' Druids, Ranger & Barbarians supplement so if I get any insights I'll let you know (and if I start speculating about playing PnP again you'll know I'm a lost cause ;) )

Playing Neutral is to vague/hard I think unless I make lots of (convenient) assumption about the state of the world to justify any action - for example at the moment I'd probably be claiming something like "the whole Sword Coast is overrun with evil so my ( ~Chaotic Good?) actions are justified") - so I won't worry about that just now.

On the animal thing I won't worry too much about killing hostile Winter Wolves anymore (they also seem a bit on the magical/monstrous side with the breath attack) but I will resist the temptation of saving / sleeping / revisiting areas to try to spawn lots of them to make money/XP - something that had crossed my mind . . . . .

Similarly there seems to be loads of normal wolves around so I'm not too worried there.

I think I'll try to charm Bears and move them out of range.

Thanks again [img]smile.gif[/img]

Or you could use th.. Erh - I mean persuade them to help you with attacking your enemies ;)

[img]graemlins/greenbounce.gif[/img]
Insane

thanks for that - i really hope you didn't have to type all that - or you're a very fast typist - or something [img]smile.gif[/img] </font>[/QUOTE]LOL. You think I am a fanatic?
I have about twenty of those books in .doc format on my disk.

i tried that last night and I must say those big old bears pack a hell of a punch against the non-plate-mailed and i liked the feel of me and my furry friend butt-kicking for, er . . . neutrality

less good was the charm expiring a bit later with my former companion padding along behind Dynahier and a dualed-to-mage Imoen!

if i (and my rangers) have the skills though it must be the thing to do i reckon - i feel an honourable compromise ;)

Vedran - I am very relieved - thanks again