Why don't druids get resurrection and restoration?
jesterdesu
Member Posts: 373
Is this a quirky Baldur's Gate thing, or is it the same in 2ed pnp?
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If I remember correctly they RP have access to the Reincarnate spell though.
That´d would certanly add silly dynamics to a playthrough...
Why shouldn't druids get restoration though?
As for a non-technical answer, there is not really a good one, but I like @scriver 's explanation the best.
Also, to be extremely nitpicky, the dandwiki is all 3.5 source rules, so it isn't the best resource for reference when talking about 2e. Not that it really matters.
@jesterdesu - No. Even in 3E, Druids still only had Reincarnate.
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spellLists/druidSpells.htm
http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Druid_Spell_List
Druids get access to Lesser Restoration in 3.5, but not the Greater variant. In 5th ed they have both.
Not that I often play clerics as full healers, either, mind you, I'm more fond of other domains and the like, but still, clerics were designed with healing in mind.
I'll see myself out.
They get more offensive spells than the Cleric, but don't get access to as many healing spells.
They also don't get as many offensive spells as the Mage but have some healing.
They are not as tanky as a Cleric but they are more than the Mage, before spells.
If you give them Resurrection and Restoration, then why would you pick a Cleric?
It's like asking why they don't get Wish or Time Stop.
Unfortunately, in BG, they haven't been realized as good as they could have and their spells are limited.
Icewind Dale made a better job with them and 3.5E made them absolutely amazing.
Each class should fill a role, or do that role slightly differently.
It's also like asking why Rangers don't get Lay on Hands or why Bards cannot disable traps.
I was looking beyond the obvious roles.
Then there is the Reincarnate spell, but it is a work around for druids, to bypass that restriction. It has a circle of life theme, grass die so the antelope can live, antelope dies so the lion can live, etc. A druid can place a soul into any part of this circle, seemingly chosen at random, but in nature even random looking things often have a purpose. Also it is about the balance. A person who has used his gift of intellect and pyschial abilities for evil deeds may struggle as a slug in his next life for penance. etc.
Ofcourse bg gives druids mass raise hla, which is a goof IMHO. Druids should get elemental prince summonings exclusively and clerics should get mass raise/heal things exclusively. Also, by that point, with rods of resurrection and planetar summons, mass raise dead is not really that hot.
This is my gripe with bg, to make it more player friendly, they made it so that everyone can use scrolls of restoration, (even greater restoration scrolls in SoD!) and rods of ressurection, so a cleric is not mandatory. Healing potions are also so plenty I almost have more than I need at any given moment. A cleric is a luxury, not an essential. A druid's special spells like call lightning, iron skins, insect plague, summon elementals are unequally superiour and no one else can employ them.
Would I be right in thinking that negative plane protection and death ward should not be druid spells either?
All this causes me to change my existing understanding of druids somewhat, as I'd always seen them as a cleric alternative, when in fact they lose some pretty important stuff... Lack of restoration being the biggest issue for me.
Nature isn't nice or passive, after all. It's fierce, wild, feral, aggressive.
I'm sure I'm more a druid at heart but it sucks to learn of such a major Achilles heal
If push comes to shove, a druid can summon lots of (giant) animals and fierce elementals to drown out the negative energy of a vampire. The monster will drain the animals, but nature is abundant, rich and self-sustaining, the more animals that die, the more will be born as long as the balance is maintained. Nature always finds a way to birth life even in the harshest conditions. Even in the driest of deserts, coldest north, or the dark, icy waters of the deep oceans, where the pressure/lack of light/and cold may seem to make living impossible, there is life, a testimony to the power and perseverence of nature. The animals that die in the struggle against an undead menace, is just a drop in the ocean-a small sacrifice. Eventually the druid and allies can overpower the darkness and the nature will rejoice once again. It always does.
I suppose that makes sense and it definitely seems very druid like. Though it makes me realise that a druid can seem a bit callous.