So, The Druid

I can't wait to see how the druid from the Frozen North fares when she finds herself in the Frozen South!

We like the Druid too! Originally we had intended it to be just a PDF supplement, since we were nervous about putting something so new into the book, but pending some more good playtests I think it's going in right between Cleric and Fighter.

Please do! And thank you!

I agree the Druid should go in the book. This is a strong class concept and would bring a real difference to a party. It's not quite "the nail that stands up defining the space" like the Battlebabe, but it is close.

(And I pushed hard for the Barbarian!)

I just came back home from a game where a player had the druid and it was AWESOME!!!

Erran, good and human, his land is The Arctic Circle. At one point he changed into a polar bear just to strike fear into his opponents. I gave him two moves in polar bear form:
• tear someone apart
• camouflage in the snow

He was particularly happy about the last one since the story started during winter :)

He loved the human racial move and with it he changed into a homing pidgeon (again two moves from me: fly as fast as the wind; see where the human eye could never reach) to fly and bring in a secure place the most important page of an ancient tome containing a ritual able to cause the end of the world, preventing the use of said ritual by the bad guys.

And I had the most painful headache of all the time, I was a shitty GM especially in asking questions—still we had such a good time. Next week we'll continue this game.

edit:

also, when they undertook a perilous journey he actually hoped the quartermaster rolled a miss just to show off how he didn't need to eat and consume a ration. The quartemaster rolled a miss. She beat him hard. She's his girlfriend, you know.

edit2:

did I mention his druid is a giant blonde viking with 8 in strenght and 15 in charisma because he does not believe in violence?

To anyone keeping score, Carouse is another move in which you don't quite get everything, even on a 10+

Fighter's Bend Bars, Lift Gates, too. It's not a glaring unique exception to any rule. I think it's awesome as written.

I just came back home from a game where a player had the druid and it was AWESOME!!!

This is beautiful.  I love it.  Especially the animal moves - executed perfectly.

Yeah, fantastic (not that) Adam! Thanks for sharing :)
I love the moves you created, easy enough to do?
They seemed to work well in play!
I agree, a nice balance between cleric, ranger and fighter. The rulebook would be empty without her.

I played a Druid last night and it was very fun. I was a young neutral elf from the Emerald Island named Spring. He was given a vision by a Druid of the Green Circle about a great unnatural evil that was plauging the land and told to find the three others who were destined to help vanquish this evil. I met up with a bard, ranger and fighter.

I like the druid moves as they really evoke a child of nature. My Tell was my wise green eyes, and they actually helped me out when I shifted into an eel to fight an evil lamprey that was attacking us because without them the fighter would have had to Defy Danger to know which one was his enemy. I used Studied Essence to study someone and reveal that they were not natural (not the way the move is supposed to work but it was for flavor), I used Spirtit Tongue to find out why some evil lampreys were attacking us, I healed the bard with my Poultices and Herbs, I shifted into a jaguar to pounce on an ogre, shited into an eagle to try to snatch the scythe out of an undead monster's hand, and shifted into a large toad to jump to saftey and use my long toungue to rescue an ally! I really got a lot of use from that one move. And the GM gave me some cool moves for the animals I chose.

Combat was a bit tough with just a spear, 1 armor, 1d6 damage and 19 hp's, especially after I lost my spear to a 7-9 Defy Danger (hard bargain). He has a decent DEX so I figured he could get a bow and be a bit of a ranged attacker and then just shift into an appropriate animal when the time comes. I'll have to have a few more fights to see how it goes.

My 2nd level move will be to take Hunter's Brother to get a move from the Ranger's class list. I will choose God Amidst the Wastes to be able to cast Cleric spells. I think if I flavor the spells properly I can evoke a druid feel to them. Magic Weapon on  my spear, Bless from the spirits of nature, Cause Fear as a fierce growl, Hold Person as entangle...

Anyway, I loved the DW druid, whiuch has always been one of my favorite clases in any rpg. Good work!

Now let's see the Barbarian, Monk, and Sorcerer! J/K!

I used Studied Essence to study someone and reveal that they were not natural (not the way the move is supposed to work but it was for flavor),

This is really cool - I love the whole "negative feedback" aspect of using a move this way.  "I attempt to study his spirit, to learn the ways of his soul." "Oh, actually, there's something dramatically wrong, here..."

Combat was a bit tough

well that's because you went in combat hack'n'slashing. I think the druid can be utterly powerful by shapeshifting in some dangerous animal and using its moves to KO his opponents.

Python: strangling spires
Lion, Bear, Tiger: tear someone apart
Raven: carve someone's eye
Viper: poisonous bite
Giant spider: entangling web
T-Rex: devour whole
Condor: drop someone from height
Crocodile, Shark: drag someone down into the depts

and so on. You fall back to damage just when your shapeshifting isn't efficient—a wolf biting a dragon? No can do.

However, I would improve the druid's damage-enhancing move. Stepping up the damage die it's the same as saying +1 to damage. Maybe following the pattern of other classes—+1d4 to damage for the levels 2-5 move and +1d8 damage for the levels 6-10 move?

Have you thought about doing this in your game?

Druid: "I shapeshift, into a bear."
GM: "Fantastic.  You get a move.  Spend your druid hold one for one to:
* Rend and Tear your pray for an extra 1d4 +messy damage.
* Turn blade and arrow from your bear-hide with +1 armor against a single attack."

What do you think?

Yeah, that sounds cool. Plus there are a few things the druid can do to have a bit more teeth in combat. You could carry a wooden shield for +1 armor, take Barkskin for +1 more armor, take the move to up your damage to 1d8 while in animal form...and so on. But you're right...it's the cool animal moves that make the class fun.

I did have a question though. If you shift into an animal with claws like a tiger and the GM says one of your moves is to rend the flesh of your enemy, then would you need to make a Hack n Slash to damage it or just use your Hold from the Shapeshifting move to just do the move and apply your damage? The way the move is written, it seems to me that you spend the hold and just make the move, no Hack n Slash roll needed.

Yup, you just spend the hold, that's the intention. Of course the fiction governs here: it's gotta be something that a bear could reasonably rend if you're a bear. No bears rending dragons most likely.

more over, I understood that the moves you get from shapeshifting have nothing to do with dealing damage. Is this right?

I mean, the bear tears apart a goblin. It's not about damage. The player spends 1 hold, and the goblin is teared apart. End of the story.

also, you should write in the Land Before Time as an option to allow druids to shapeshift into dinosaurs. I'm serious.