"Best" race for a druid? (druid = nature themed priest/paladin, imo) (THREAD CLOSED)

[King Robert Baratheon]

The top two that comes to mind are Bretons and Wood Elves (Bosmer). Bretons are very gifted with their skills in magic (particularly conjuration and restoration) and Bosmer are very in tune with nature. The thing about Bretons is that the Forsworn are all Breton as far as I know and they work with Hagravens. They are an enemy of Kyne and nature itself. Hagravens love sacrificing Spriggans to whatever evil daedra they worship. Not all Bretons partake in what the Forsworn do but I feel it was worth mentioning.

Then with Bosmer there's the Green Pact, which is not easily explained in detail. The uesp wiki says this though: "Do not harm the forests of Valenwood. Do not eat anything made from plant life. Eat only meat. When enemies are conquered, their meat must be eaten, not left to rot. Do not kill wastefully. Do not take on the shape of beasts." So even though they've very defensive of their forests in Valenwood some of them are strictly meat eaters. That includes human meat. One thing that Druids tend to be known for this is their ability to shape shift. Unfortunately that's not an ability they have naturally but if you join the companions you can become a Werewolf. Since transforming into a beast is forbidden it kind of goes against their lore. I always pictured Bosmer as hunters, not the ones being hunted (even if they were a super powerful werewolf who would probably slaughter most hunters).

https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Green_Pact

So after all that I feel like the only option that would kind of makes sense is to choose to be an Argonian druid. They're also very in tune with nature, even though they don't have any racial abilities give them an edge with magic.

There's also orcs but I think the closest thing to a orc druid is a orc shaman (every orc tribe seems to have one shaman/shamanistic type of person). If I were going to choose an orc it would end being more of a necromancer then a druid.

I've already said a lot but maybe someone else has some ideas I haven't thought of.

[Raistlin]

You could consider Bretons that joined the forsworn as outcasts the the druid bretons abhore. Or the druid ones are the outcasts.

[King Robert Baratheon]

Originally posted by Raistlin:

You could consider Bretons that joined the forsworn as outcasts the the druid bretons abhore. Or the druid ones are the outcasts.

That's a good point. Especially the second one. With the Live Another Life mod I can start out as a member of a Forsworn clan/tribe and even though I want the Forsworn to rightfully "take back what's ours" (The Reach) I also do not agree with the daedra worship that some Forsworn actively do. I forget his name but there's an old man by the horse stables outside Markarth that says something like "the forsworn do things by the old ways, daedra worship and blood sacrifices" and elaborates how it's "the road to ruin". It means more coming from him because I think he's a Breton. I was almost ready to make a argonian druid but I'll probably stick to a Breton now.

[Raistlin]

cool cool.

[King Robert Baratheon]

Oh and btw if anyone else plans on doing a Druid character these two mods can help out a lot.

Druid Conjuraton: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/48497

It has a lot of powerful animals and magical beings you can conjure (like Wispmothers)

and Forgotten Magic Redone: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/35339

which has at least one druid destruction spell (but it scales up with view I think, like it's replaced with a more powerful version at certain points) and a bunch of other druid themed spells.

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/35339

[Valden21]

Originally posted by Uther Lightbringer:

Originally posted by Raistlin:

You could consider Bretons that joined the forsworn as outcasts the the druid bretons abhore. Or the druid ones are the outcasts.

That's a good point. Especially the second one. With the Live Another Life mod I can start out as a member of a Forsworn clan/tribe and even though I want the Forsworn to rightfully "take back what's ours" (The Reach) I also do not agree with the daedra worship that some Forsworn actively do. I forget his name but there's an old man by the horse stables outside Markarth that says something like "the forsworn do things by the old ways, daedra worship and blood sacrifices" and elaborates how it's "the road to ruin". It means more coming from him because I think he's a Breton. I was almost ready to make a argonian druid but I'll probably stick to a Breton now.

Actually, the Forsworn are primarily Reachmen, which are an offshoot of the Bretons. So you could roleplay as a Breton druid who feels that the Forsworn have forsaken the traditional ways.

[King Robert Baratheon]

Originally posted by Valden21:

Originally posted by Uther Lightbringer:

That's a good point. Especially the second one. With the Live Another Life mod I can start out as a member of a Forsworn clan/tribe and even though I want the Forsworn to rightfully "take back what's ours" (The Reach) I also do not agree with the daedra worship that some Forsworn actively do. I forget his name but there's an old man by the horse stables outside Markarth that says something like "the forsworn do things by the old ways, daedra worship and blood sacrifices" and elaborates how it's "the road to ruin". It means more coming from him because I think he's a Breton. I was almost ready to make a argonian druid but I'll probably stick to a Breton now.

Actually, the Forsworn are primarily Reachmen, which are an offshoot of the Bretons. So you could roleplay as a Breton druid who feels that the Forsworn have forsaken the traditional ways.

Oh I see. That makes sense. After reading what you said I took some time reading awiki on the Forsworn to get a better understanding of them. They worship something called the Et'Ada, aka the "original spirits" or "old gods", which apparently existed even before Aedra and Daedra. It's really interesting but also a little confusing at times. If I spend any more time reading through wikis I'll never get to actually playing, lol. Diving deep into Elder Scrolls lore is basically a never ending abyss.

https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Forsworn

https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Et%27Ada

[Valden21]

Accoring the the UESP, the Forsworn's faith is more along the lines of Daedra worship, so saying they follow the Et'Ada instead of the Aedra or Daedra doesn't really apply. In fact, it's somewhat redundant, since the meaning of "et'Ada" applies to both groups. Just a side-note I felt compelled to make.

Back on topic. I thought of something else. According the the UESP, the Forsworn Briarhearts are classified as undead. With that in mind, you could also make a Breton druid-like character with the motivation of restoring the balance between life and death. After all, Kynareth is a goddes of nature, and in fantasy settings, undead are usually seen as an abomination of nature. A druid-type character who sees the Briarhearts as a foul perversion is certainly possible; plus, the majority of the Destruction spells are based on fire, ice and lighting. Using the power of nature to destroy a corruption of nature; seems appropriate.

[King Robert Baratheon]

Originally posted by Valden21:

Accoring the the UESP, the Forsworn's faith is more along the lines of Daedra worship, so saying they follow the Et'Ada instead of the Aedra or Daedra doesn't really apply. In fact, it's somewhat redundant, since the meaning of "et'Ada" applies to both groups. Just a side-note I felt compelled to make.

Back on topic. I thought of something else. According the the UESP, the Forsworn Briarhearts are classified as undead. With that in mind, you could also make a Breton druid-like character with the motivation of restoring the balance between life and death. After all, Kynareth is a goddes of nature, and in fantasy settings, undead are usually seen as an abomination of nature. A druid-type character who sees the Briarhearts as a foul perversion is certainly possible; plus, the majority of the Destruction spells are based on fire, ice and lighting. Using the power of nature to destroy a corruption of nature; seems appropriate.

Oh right. Thanks. I guess I didn't really put that together. Even though I always had that thought at the back of my head I never really thought to try out some of those Dawnguard spells that damage undead, on a Briarheart. Or weapons with enchantments that repel and damage undead (there's a mod called "Sun Damage Enchantment Made Playable" which is great for priest/paladin/druid characters). I have pickpocketed a Briarheart's heart though which was pretty amusing (considering how dangerous high level versions are). I've been avoiding using fire destruction spells because wildfires are a huge threat to nature. I feel like using ice and lightning spells is more appropriate for a druid, when I'm not using some offensive nature magic I got from a mod. I would still probably keep a fire spell handy for undead though (until I get some of those dawnguard offensive restoration spells). You know what's crazy though? Even though Briarheart are technically undead they still act completely human. They speak normally, they walk around normally, and on top of it all being transformed into a Briarheart they have like twice the strength of a normal forsworn (the ones that dual wield swords and axes). That's interesting but also potentially terrifying? Haha. I mean that means those Hagravens tap into some really powerful old magic when they perform the ritual to create a Briarheart. I wish we had more lore in the game on these "old gods" that the Forsworn also worship.

[Valden21]

Lightning spells are probably the best for anti-Forsworn combat, due to their high-level spellcasters having some pretty heavy-hitting spells. Since getting hit by lightning also drains mana, you're hitting them with a double whammy. However, I urge you to slightly rethink your stance on using fire spells. After all, fire-fighters IRL use small fires as a means to combat forest fires, and even though most of the fire spells are long range, starting a wildfire isn't really something that's possible in-game without mods that allow that.

[King Robert Baratheon]

Originally posted by Valden21:

Lightning spells are probably the best for anti-Forsworn combat, due to their high-level spellcasters having some pretty heavy-hitting spells. Since getting hit by lightning also drains mana, you're hitting them with a double whammy. However, I urge you to slightly rethink your stance on using fire spells. After all, fire-fighters IRL use small fires as a means to combat forest fires, and even though most of the fire spells are long range, starting a wildfire isn't really something that's possible in-game without mods that allow that.

Of course I know that you can't start wildfires in the game. I'm just saying that I think a druid would be less likely to use fire magic because of his affinity with nature (even though you can't actually damage nature with fire in the game). I did say in my previous post that I would still keep fire spells handy for undead enemies. I will mainly use lightning and ice magic though. Alse rarely use this enchantment on weapons but maybe I'll enchant one of my weapons with "magicka damage" if I need to get up and personal with a enemy mage. If only there was an absorb magicka enchantment (there might be I don't remember ever seeing that).

[Valden21]

Based on what UESP says, there actually IS an Absorb Magicka effect that can be used for enchanting. You want to look for weapons with one of these words in their names: the Sorceror, Evoking, Harrowing, Siphoning, or Winnowing. Drainspell Bows and the Gauldur Blackbow also drain magicka.

[King Robert Baratheon]

Originally posted by Valden21:

Based on what UESP says, there actually IS an Absorb Magicka effect that can be used for enchanting. You want to look for weapons with one of these words in their names: the Sorceror, Evoking, Harrowing, Siphoning, or Winnowing. Drainspell Bows and the Gauldur Blackbow also drain magicka.

Oh nice. Thanks! I'll keep that in mind. I love some of those unique ancient nord weapons (like Gauldur's Blackbow) but I unfortunately I almost never use them.

[King Robert Baratheon]

Just in case anyone was wondering here's an update on my druid character. This is what I posted in the "WHO are YOU?" pinned thread so I'm just copy+pasting it here.

Here's my current a character, a a level 13 Breton druid (who is also a Forsworn) named Gedric Thornspire. He's currently using the Armor of the Old Gods (full set), lightning destruction magic, druid conjuration spells (from a mod of the same name), and a lightning enchanted fine elven war axe. The Armor of the Old Gods is a fully enchanted version of the Forsworn armor set that Madanach gives you at the end of the quest "No One Escapes Cidna Mine" IF you help him escape and all that. It has some useful enchantments for spellswords, nightblades, and of course druids.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1687385652

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1687385980

Once I get level up my conjuration a lot more I'll be able to purchase stronger conjuration spells from this npc named Zathriel.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1687391633

I'll be able to conjure bears, sabre cats, spriggan matrons, frost trolls, ice wraiths, wispmothers and wait for it...DRAGONS. Yes, DRAGONS. Fire and Frost dragons to be specific. Those two are master spells though so it'll be a long time before I can do that.

Here's the mod for those druid conjuration spells: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/48497

[Valden21]

Oh, so did you decide to join the Forsworn after all, or was that just for the sake of that particular quest and/or to get the armor?

[King Robert Baratheon]

Originally posted by Valden21:

Oh, so did you decide to join the Forsworn after all, or was that just for the sake of that particular quest and/or to get the armor?

I really wanted that armor after I found out about it but I also couldn't just let them rot in prison forever. Gedric is a proud Breton and he can't let other fellow Bretons waste away in a hole in the ground. Slaving away in those mines to provide nords with precious silver that's been ripped out of the earth. Based on personal experience my character has already had with Nords I can understand why the Forsworn hate Nords so much. I dare say they hate them more than Dunmer do, lol. I still don't approve of the Forsworns worship of Daedra but besides that I'm on their side. Plus I have to deal with the fact that other tribes of Forsworn won't recognize me as part of their tribe and they'll still try and kill me. I forget which tribe and encampment it is but apparently one group of Forsworn becomes non-hostile to you after you help Madanach escape Cidna Mine (helping them take over Markarth seems optional but I helped with that too). In regards to Nords and how they screwed over the Forsworn my character has become kind of crusader, while still being a druid. He's not going to kill random nord citizens out in the streets of cities he enters but if they attack him first well...then they're getting sent to Sovngarde much earlier than they expected.

He prefers to get along with Nords though. After all Skyrim has become his home and it's abundant with the blessings of Kyne. Kyne is referred to as Kynareth by non-nords but I refer to her as Kyne to show some respect for the nords. Not all nords believe in the divines apparently (or something like that). Froki Whetted-Blade talks about how the divines are "stolen idols" and "false gods" in the quest Kyne's Sacred Trials.

https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Froki_Whetted-Blade

https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Kyne%27s_Sacred_Trials

I guess my character would do this quest It could be seen as me setting those animal spirits free from this realm. Also completing it to honor Kyne's glory and all of her blessings to us.