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       #Post#: 1243--------------------------------------------------
       The Hierophant Druids
       By: Dungeon Master Date: August 20, 2025, 5:09 pm
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       [center]Hierophant Druids[/center]
       The hierophants make up a unique part of the druidic order. Some
       even go so far as to say they are the Order, and that the other
       ranks represent mere practice for hierophant status.
       Hierophant druids live as free agents. They are encouraged to
       respect the Grand Druid, but need not obey the druidic leader's
       mandates nor operate within the borders of any circle. Although
       a few settle down in particular groves, many become famous
       wanderers, some even visiting other planes or (by spelljamming)
       distant worlds. They often travel about in disguise, using their
       appearance-alteration powers. Wherever they go and whatever they
       do, they always aim to promote the ethos and values of the
       druidic order.
       Unlike lesser druids, hierophants typically have a global
       perspective and agenda. They concern themselves with the rise
       and fall of empires, the migrations of peoples, the growth or
       extinction of species, and the role of each race in the destiny
       of the world.
       Some devote their lives to a particular cause, such as
       reclaiming the forests of a continent infected by evil, or
       acting as the personal nemesis of a being whose actions threaten
       the world's balance.
       Hierophants are notorious behind-the-scenes manipulators. They
       use their long life spans to weave subtle schemes with
       far-reaching plots that might take decades to hatch, but
       which--they believe--ultimately will benefit their cause. The
       17th-level druidic ability to hibernate enables most of them to
       appear effectively immortal: some hierophants will hatch the
       initial elements of a scheme, go into hibernation, then awaken
       decades later, unaged, to bring the next stage into play. Such
       druids might become patrons of gifted families of adventurers,
       recruiting the latest generation when they need heroes.
       The existence of hierophant druids tends to make great druids
       and Grand Druids very nervous, for they represent a power beyond
       their control--and sometimes beyond their ken. Whether any
       hierophant druids belong to the Shadow Circle is not known.
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