Back in Black…

When it comes to the Iron Kingdoms, it’s no secret that our druids are built different. The blackclads of the Circle Orboros tend to do less “summoning of woodland allies” and more “call down bolts of lightning or hurl a boulder the size of a small sedan at your face”—at least, most of them do.

To that end, we’re rolling out the Blackclad class for Iron Kingdoms: Requiem. This class does all of the spellcasting you’d expect from the secret masters of the wilderness, dished out while wearing stylish black robes. With three Paths to choose from—the Path of Storms, the Path of Stone, and the Path of the Wayfarer—you’re able to take on the role of these enigmatic and manipulative masters for the first time in Requiem.

We’ve received a few questions about what this means for the regular Druid class. Are there no other druids in the Iron Kingdoms than the blackclads? Can I not play my Circle of the Land druid in Requiem?

Well…sort of yes, but no?

Yeah… more that flavor!

One of the big differences between the blackclads and other druids is that pesky Wild Shape. Characters like Baldur, Kaya, and Krueger are not likely to shapeshift into a squirrel to get away from their problems. Providing a druid class that wasn’t so reliant on the Wild Shape ability was a priority for the Blackclad class—a tradition that stretches back to the earliest editions of the Iron Kingdoms.

But that is not to say there is no place for the Druid in your games. After all, shapeshifters exist in the setting: the Tharn, for instance, are defined by their ability to change forms. If you want to play a traditional druid in an Iron Kingdoms game, there is still a place to do so in the form of the Devourer Wurm and its many worshippers. The Wurm is the Beast of All Shapes, after all, and it is entirely appropriate for shamans from cultures like the human Vorgoi and Vindol tribes of the far north or the Clamorgan and Olgar to the south to have abilities that tap into the shapeshifting features of the Druid class.

So, whether you plan to druid it up in black robes or bear skins, you’ve now got access to all the tools you need to get started.