And now I'll cover classes. Some of the entries will be mercifully short. Some might go on a bit. I'll try and be brief.

Barbarians are not really a factor in Ireland, but a form of berserking was not unknown.

Morrigan and Nuada both empower Zealots. Neither is a warm and fuzzy diety, and their berserkers probably aren't either.

If you absolutely MUST submit a berserker, make it Nuada, please. The druids MIGHT be willing to work with one of his.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 06:42, Thu 07 Dec 2023.

Bards and Druids have been covered in their own threads, but some background limits apply.

True Bards are likely Sages. They have been trained by the religion to BE Sages, after all.

True Druids are likely Acolytes, trained from youth to be Druids.

Now, as to other sorts:
A Valor or Sword bard is likely a Noble. It is possible a wealthy Merchant's son (Variant Guild Artisan) might be out in the world on his own, but unlikely. He's likely too city bred and adjusted to have come under the notice of the Druids.

Assorted land druids might come from a variety of backgrounds, including hermit(espeically swamp and mountain). Grasslanders and Forest types tend to come village backgrounds. Some land druids might even be Fey Guardians (which is generally a Fey Limited campaign background).

Sidhe Note: Valor bards are a common choice for Noble Sidhe warrior types. Rangers are generally the purview of Common Sidhe.
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:24, Tue 19 Dec 2023.

Clerics are an exclusively human class. The Fey don't see the point, the Leprechauns don't seem to need them (or have access to  druid, if they do) and Firbolgs may well have invented druidicism.

The Druids will NOT recruit a Church of Light. Don't ask. Really.

Celtic gods are possible, of course and there are always preferences. Mostly this means that clerics of the evil gods won't be considered.

Frankly, why get a cleric when there are perfectly good druids (and Druids) all over the place? Still, you never know what goes on in the mind of an old man who's spent a good chunk of his life using the brains of all sorts of other creatures to think with.

Firbolg fighters will be Champions

Noble Sidhe Fighters will be Eldritch Knights.
Common Sidhe Fighters will be Arcane Archers.

Leprechauns don't train fighters. They're nastier than that.

The above is not Druidical recruitment preference, it's just how it is with the assorted nonhumans in question. When they need a different sort of warrior, they opt for Ranger, or, rarely, Paladin.

Humans might be Champion or, in some cases Eldritch Knights (more common for Fey Touched) but Battlemaster is generally a Knightly choice, and the druids aren't looking for that sort of knight. Cavalier and Samurai are too foreign in nature to be factors.

Monks are on the other side of the world.

Don't ask.

Really.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:05, Fri 03 Apr 2020.

While nearly anything is possible (Paladin wise) in the land of Arthur and it's adjacent neighbors only the Oath of the Ancients is something the Druids would consider.

Firbolg, Noble Sidhe, and human may all opt for this class. Common Sidhe tend towards other options.

The class of human woodsmen and Common Sidhe warriors the island wide.

Sidhe (both types) may be Monster Hunters. Where they find the monsters is unknown, but they aren't really from around here, are they? They may also be Hunters or Horizon Walkers.

Firbolg tend towards Hunters

Humans may be Hunters or Beastmasters.

Noble Sidhe may also be Beastmasters. Usually this means a Cu Sidhe: An elven dog. Use wolf until we have something more or less offical.

Note: The Irish don't do snakes. Not as Familiars, not as a summons, etc. The spells just don't seem to work on the Island. Certainly not as pets.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:06, Fri 03 Apr 2020.

As mentioned elsewhere, Leprechauns are exclusively Arcane Tricksters.

Humans are generally Rogues or Scouts.

Sidhe are generally Arcane Tricksters or Scouts.

The rare Firbolg would be a Scout, but the druids want their Firbolg recruit to be muscle.

Humans do Wild Magic only.

Sidhe, including Fey touched, do Storm Sorcery.

Firbolg and Leprechauns don't do sorcery.

Many Secret Societies, Cults, or Factions are warlock groups. I have posted some notes on the World Setting thread: link to a message in another game

Now, the only warlocks the Druids are considering will be Arch Fey patronage. Any familiars be they Tome Ritual or Chain ability, will be Fey.

For the most part, independent warlocks are either Hedge Wizards (the local name for cunning men) or Witches (the local name for wise women).  Guild Artisan (Alchemist) is the most likely background.

Hedge Wizards tend towards a more Sagely approach (although they are likely simple Guild Artisans, like most town dwellers) and follow the Tome Pact, with Rituals.

Witches tend to be more concerned with local  goings on and maybe a bit nosy. Chain pact, often with the black cat of legend.

However, every so often some young lad or lass in dire straights while trying to defend someone or something attracts the notices of...something...and, rather than dying, gets a bit of a boost. These sorts of local heroes almost always become Blades. And they have no idea who their patron is...to start.

There is another sort of Warlock, of course: Erin's Faithful. This will be covered in the Local Extras thread.

Note: The Irish don't do snakes. Not as Familiars, not as a summons, etc. The spells just don't seem to work on the Island.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:09, Tue 17 Mar 2020.

Most wizards worth the name get a job in some city or other with a patron that can afford them. Their apprentices train with them.

However, it's not impossible that an old wizard might retire to the country side, find a nice small town to make his home in, and be lucky enough to find a boy to "apprentice" with him. If the boy has some ability, he might even grow up to be a wizard.

Still, the old man is going to be called a hedge wizard by all and sundry, whatever the truth.

The most obvious background here is, of course, Sage (Wizard's Apprentice), but, truthfully, Guild Artisan (Alchemist) is more likely.

Now that's humans. Leprechauns produce the occasional Illusionist, and Elves could produce any sort of wizard. Who knows what they get into in their own realm?

Firbolgs prefer Druidical magic.


Note: The Irish don't do snakes. Not as Familiars, not as a summons, etc. The spells just don't seem to work on the Island.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:10, Tue 17 Mar 2020.

Not all Backgrounds work for all classes or actual character histories. I'll cover, quickly (hopefully) the backgrounds from the PHB and SCAG as they might apply (or not) to this game.

-Acolyte: Anyone apprenticed to be a cleric or True Druid. This is the best choice for a True Druid.
-Charlatan. Have a heart of gold and you might get noticed. Don't, and...well, the Druids invented Burning Man...by putting living men in the wicker one before starting the fire.
-Criminal: Damn, but that fire is getting hot. Must be all the body fat rendering out of the men in the Wicker Man. Not impossible, but...Druids police the land, too.
-Entertainer: Couldn't cut it as a True Bard, didn't have the money to BUY the needed education as a valor bard. If you're a sorcerer, you've come pretty close, though. If not, you're not very good or you'd have a job in the city
-Folk Hero: Possible, but try not to claim to have taken out a whole gang of cut throats alone. Everyone knows it takes at least seven. Unless you're non human, in which case, check the Local Extras thread.
-Guild Artisan: Truly this should be the default background for any villager. These are the folks with the skills to keep villages running. Even the village headman has a trade, and I'll bet that witch down the road is everyone's favorite Alchemist, too.
-Hermit.  mountain druid is the stereotype of the wise man on the mountain top. Pretty much any Land Druid except Grasslands (which frequently tend to be village druids and handy to have around for farming)
-Noble: The rural Nobleman's son, most likely. NOT the city sort, although he's likely visited.
-Outlander: Everyone's favorite. Even village hunters are outlanders rather than, say leather workers. I don't know why. This is a good default for Firbolg and Common Sidhe, but not every human in the party is wilderness raised. You just aren't. It's a small island.
-Sage: Wizard's apprentice ONLY. Unless you are a True Bard, in which case, you've actually been in a position to learn something, and this should be your default choice.
-Sailor: I'll post an updated version of this for fishermen.
-Soldier: You've worked for a noble as a guardsman, maybe done some time with a sheriff, even been to the city one or twice. But you're at lose ends now and looking for work.

-Cloistered Scholar: This is possible for a True Druid that has never left the College and it's Library.
-Faction Agent: This is possible for Erin's Faithful, and implies a family history of service.
-Inheritor. This is good for Fairy God Mother explanations of Warlockery, too. But there will be something physical with the inheritance.




The following are city or nonhuman only, or don't otherwise work for this game:
Urchin
City Watch
Clan Crafter
Courtier
Far Traveler
Knight of the Order
Mercenary Veteran
Urban Bounty Hunter
Uthgardt Tribe Member
Waterdhavian Noble
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:10, Fri 03 Apr 2020.

This is mainly the general outlook of various branches as it comes up. One has

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Manannan mac Lir:

There are two general paths in this Church:

Fishermen background (I posted my own, I have some issues with the GoS version): They are the caretakers of the fishing villages along the  shore, and may work with Selkies on occasion. They use the Nature Domain and are caretakers

Sailors are the more military guardians of the shore, rather than the people. They go farther out and man vessels that aren't fishing boats...and may actually have visited foreign ports (which is outside the purview of the game). They use the Tempest Domain, which lets then do without Weather Witches and the like. Nastier in a fight, too.

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