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       #Post#: 1240--------------------------------------------------
       The Ban
       By: Dungeon Master Date: August 20, 2025, 5:00 pm
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       [center]The Ban[/center]
       The Great Druid can impose a strong, nonviolent sanction upon
       those who have offended the circle. All must shun someone placed
       under the ban; no druid in the circle will aid, speak to, or
       associate with the target of the ban. When an entire town or
       village suffers the ban, no druid may enter that area or speak
       to or aid any resident. Some druidic allies volunteer to follow
       the custom of the ban as well. For instance, a clan of sprites
       or centaurs on good terms with a circle may receive word of a
       ban and choose to honor it.
       The great druid has the right to pronounce a ban on any druid in
       the circle. A ban can also cover non-Druids, whole communities,
       or Druids visiting from other domains (except the Grand Druid
       and personal servants), to demonstrate the circle's displeasure.
       To pronounce the ban, the great druid stands up during a moot
       and announces to the group the reasons to impose the ban. Then
       the subject of the ban--if present--answers the accusations
       before the assembly. Finally, the High Council of the Moot votes
       on the matter openly, usually at sunset. If a majority of the
       council votes in favor of the ban, it passes. If not, the great
       druid should start keeping an eye on the circle's archdruids—the
       opposition to the ban likely reflects an impending challenge.
       A ban punishes a druid for violating the tenets of the druidic
       order or reprimands a character whose actions, while within the
       bounds of the druidic ethos, nevertheless were contrary to the
       Order's interests. For instance, suppose an angry druid
       massacred the inhabitants of a human hamlet because they would
       not turn over two hunters who slew a stag in the druid's sacred
       grove. The druid acted within the bounds of the druidic ethos,
       but the great druid might call the character's indiscriminate
       vengeance out of proportion to the crime, adding that the
       slaughter has threatened to make local commoners hate and fear
       all druids in the circle. So, the great druid imposes the ban,
       both as a punishment and as an incentive for the character to
       change.
       Nondruid individuals are less likely to fall victim to a
       ban--usually, the great druid finds that direct action against
       the offender proves more effective. However, if the people of an
       area depend on druids rather than other priests for healing and
       religious ceremonies, a ban sends them a message of disapproval.
       And sometimes a ban can serve as a
       symbolic gesture against a subject too powerful or influential
       to confront directly—a baron or king, for instance.
       A ban generally lasts 10 summers. However, the inner circle can
       vote to lift a ban early or (once the time is up) to extend it.
       The shunning does not extend outside the domain, so banned
       druids usually choose to go into exile--the result the great
       druid probably intended in the first place.
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