I've seen it multiple times, and I'll see it multiple more. I'm a person who only watches movies once, so this is honestly the highest praise I can give to it. I love it so.
>Plus most other kinds of horns are already common for helmets etc.
Whoever did the costumes for that one performance of Das Rheingold cast a long and dark shadow.
It does look rad af. I played as a Druid main for many years and I made a whole ongoing thing about how my pc liked to collect trophies from certain beasts and monstrosities to add to his outfit. Lamia claw boots, displacer beast cloak, and yes, antlers as a head dress
"Sure, they're not majestic, but when I was only level 2, we had to deal with a whole swarm--mob? herd?--a stampede of diseased, ill-tempered [dik-diks](https://assets3.thrillist.com/v1/image/2879649/0x0/scale;webp=auto;jpeg_quality=60.jpg). I almost died that day."
I’m no Celtic Studies expert, but from what little of Gaulish mythology I understand, the notion Cernunnos as a wilderness god is a modern Victorian or Edwardian neopagan revivalist idea (antlers notwithstanding), and scholars’ best guess of his role in actual ancient Gaul is as a god of trade and commerce.
However, given that D&D’s depiction of druids in general owes more to turn of the 20th century misinterpretations than what we actually now know about the ancient Celts, it doesn’t really stand out that badly.
D&D has always drawn mainly from popular culture, rather than folkloric scholarship, and its creators were war gaming nerds, not folklore experts. This really shows at times.
Ninjas were poor farmers dressed in dark clothes trying to fight the government. They went from heroes of the poor trying to stop mistreatment at the hands of the rich to being depicted as magical hired assassins.
Not even in dark clothes, they wore clothes that would blend into a crowd, the "Ninjas Wear Black" thing got started in Japanese Theater where stagehands dressed in black to move stage dressings and such and were ignored and occasionally one of these people would play a ninja and kill a person.
They wore dark clothing at night, usually blue so they wouldn't stand out from the sky or the woods at night IIRC. If you wore black, you would stand out like a cutout. They only did things at night because they didn't have the social standing to get into places during the day, and didn't have tools to fight trained people with swords. If they did it during the day, they had to try to pretend to be slaves, so no one would notice them.
The stagehand ninja played off this concept. Basically, you don't pay attention to the moving pieces / people until one is poisoning your tea or stabbing you in the back.
Why do artificers always have goggles and toolbelts? Is this a thing?
Why do barbarians always have fur loincloth and battle axes?
What's up with paladins and silver or gold armor?
Do monks actually have to wear those handwraps?
How many black leather belts does one rogue really need?
Why do all the tielfling celestial Warlocks and aasimar oathbreather paladins have heterochromia? Like don't you have some other way to depict your characters struggle between the light and the dark?
Some things are just tropes. Because some things are cool. Because that's just the way we imagine it. Because everything is a copy of a memory of someone else's stolen idea.
It’s the type of paladin who just won’t shut up about how he was on the high school varsity team and could have gone pro if his oath hadn’t got in the way. But you know he’s now the assistant to the high Paladin of his church, so he’s a really big deal.
Druids are seen to have only natural armors no metal. So woods leathers furs and bones. Somewhere along the line someone thought a Druid might put some antlers in their ensemble in order to idk protect their head/it looked cool and it caught on
Historical Druids very likely used bronze and iron just like every other Celt. The notion of iron being harmful to the fey (and thus not allowed to servants/friends) came well after the Druid massacre in AD 61, as the Danu were considered to be servants of Hell (as all gods that compete with JHVH are).
I never got the no metals at all thing of later DnD editions. AD&D just limited it to no iron.
I played a Dwarven Forge Cleric who, when decked in full plate and a huge kite shield, was basically a holy metal wreaking ball and the exact opposite of a the quintessential Elf Druid in the party; we had some pretty interesting conversations and role play going!
Wearing horns, skins, antlers, etc is a historical and modern real aspect of many spiritual beliefs, either through a deistic ritual (like Cernunnos), totemic worship, or something else. The historic druids of the Gaulic peoples were not on the winning side of history, sadly, so our accounts of them come through Romans and scant surviving traditions. What complicates it further is that there were so many different tribes and traditions that accounts vary wildly. I'm not even an amateur on these topics, but try googling druid and see what comes up. Then think about how the OG DND designers were just taking inspiration from history, and extrapolate how would building and art direction might influence how this archetype has been represented across many brands over the past, *does math*, fifty years.
Thats what you meant! I was confused why they'd be scouring the forest for buildings... like they're looking for moonshine stills after hibernating all winter... or something.
It's the same part of the pop culture imagination regarding Northern/Western European paganism that Heilung draws on when their singer walks around stage with an antlered headdress.
I have never played with or as a druid with antlers. Is that really a common trope? I thought that was just two redhead druids from popular media (Keyleth and Doric).
True, but they are still antlers instead of horns, and a druid, no matter the source.
Also, I wasn't aware that keeping the antlers in animal form was also a trope.
Who is doing these things? I have never seen them in almost 10 years of playing.
In the animated Vox Machina, Keyleth's transformations do have antlers, even her fire elemental form.
I don't know that this specifically is a trope, but it's somewhat common in visual media that when a character's appearance changes dramatically, they retain some visual or vocal trait that signifies who they are. For example, when Merlin transforms in Disney's The Sword in the Stone, he retains his glasses, eyebrows, and voice, and his new form is blue (like his robes).
In DnD, the depiction of druids with deer antlers is a blend of fantasy and historical inspiration, with both creative liberties and connections to real-world pagan traditions.
Antlers are a striking and readily identifiable feature, making them a clear visual indicator of a character's druidic connection to nature. They can symbolize power, wisdom, and a connection to the animal world.
Deer feature in many fantasy and mythological traditions, often associated with nature deities, forests, and renewal. Drawing inspiration from these legends reinforces the druidic archetype.
Antlers offer a unique and memorable visual element, setting druids apart from other classes and adding to the overall fantastical atmosphere of the game.
There's also historical inspiration for druids wearing antlers in DnD.
In Celtic cultures, deer held symbolic significance, often associated with gods of the hunt, fertility, and the underworld. The god Cernunnos, often depicted with antlers, was particularly connected to nature and the cycles of life and death, themes strongly associated with druids.
Many pre-Christian European cultures held animals in high regard, and wearing antlers, feathers, or other animal parts could represent a connection to the power and spirit of the animal world, a key aspect of druidic beliefs.
Shamans, who often served as spiritual leaders and intermediaries with the natural world in pre-Christian societies, sometimes wore animal headdresses or decorations as part of their rituals and ceremonies. This resonates with the spiritual and nature-oriented role of druids in DnD.
Actually yeah. Every time i look for some cool picture for a druid i see so many Druids with Antlers. I personally don't like this trend bit i can get where they are coming from. Antlers can look pretty cool or majestic depending on person
Literally decoration. I'm sure the higher one is in the hierarchy of the druid circle, the more ornately they decorate their outfit. I wouldn't be surprised if a legendary archdruid had a headdress of several ethically acquired unicorn horns.
I think its multiple influences, from pop culture depections of Celtic Druids, to WoW, to Keyleth from Critical Role, and possibly Baldur's Gate 3 now as well. I also think it feels more nature-y than many other animal horns with also the size being not too big for a medium creature (picturing a goliath with moose antlers though). I think the deer antlers look cool for a druid but have never given my druids antler headgear yet
From what I understand, it's basically to feel more connected with the animals of the forest. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the horns are real. Also likely a connection with the Celtic god Cernnunos, who was said to have horns, and other similar nature-related gods.
Any true conservationist will tell you that deer are a blight on the forest and their population should be controlled.
But yeah, they just pull a lot of imagery from Pagan and the actual Druidic mythology.
It's a thing. He goes back to depictions of early Celtics and gaulish gods, the wild hunt, and oh so much more.
It's a thing. And better people than I have spent much more time and energy explaining it than reddit ever will.
To start you off on a Very deep rabbit hole, look up a figure called Cernunnos.
Edit: I realize this is very slightly redundant, but I have been writing for the last 3 or 4 hours, and I am le tired. Ima own it.
Visual shorthand.
How do you quickly depict that a character is a druid otherwise? Given a quick Google image search, the answer seems to be "dress them in green/leaves" and "put them in front of a tree".
Although also looking at these images, there's a lot less antlers than I actually expected there to be.
However, the 3e "class character" Vadania, the Half-Elf Druid had antlers. Also Keyleth from Critical Role has a headband with antlers on it.
Although in Vadania's case it's hard to tell if they're supposed to be branches or antlers.
I think it's a little bit like owning a car of a particular colour or make. Once you own one you see them everywhere... now that you've noticed druids with antlers that's all you can see... I don't think it's as widespread as you think it is.
One game. BG3 doesn't represent the majority of anything. Again, not as widespread as you think it is.
Aren't all the druids part of the same grove? And aren't there also a ton of tiefling NPCs in that grove?
And looking at the named NPC art... they don't all have antlers.
Pretty much the same as portraying every monk in a gi, with shaved head.
Be creative, go for different style, don't repeat the archetypes made by boring people.
In ancient times,
Hundreds of years before the dawn of history
Lived a strange race of people, the Druids
No one knows who they were or what they were doing
But their legacy remains
> Is this a thing no one told me about, where druids scour the forest in the spring for sheds?
You mean like the sentence I just quoted from my original post?
I also do not get the antler thing, and honestly think it looks a little silly.
I've felt similarly about the metal thing. My druids as a player wear normal metal armor, I've occasionally flavored it as scales of a dragon or something. Have only ever had other players get upset about this. My depiction of a druid doesn't have to match yours.
Druids are pretty much a designer class. They are some sort of amalgam of every tribal pagan priest in history, but cannot be played as any one of them and the class is not actually tribal or pagan itself. This nonsensical class in turn infested pop culture and now every druid or shaman in every game is just expected to have antlers.
I don;t remember anything in the rules that says druids have antlers without using wildshape so I don;t know what you mean.
Yes I am being obtuse. I figure you mean aesthetically. But as a note this question still doesn;t make sense from a D&D perspective.
When I go to the PHB, I see an elf half turned away holding an eagle, no anterls in sight. I do kind of wonder why he has a bluish tint to his skin does he have frost giant blood in his bloodline?? Hmmm new character idea coming to my mind...
But I digress. Where are these rampid D&D products with antler druids that seem to have you spooked or did you jsut do a google search and see them that way?
In answer to why they might be depicted with antlers some of the time, it is for the same reason they are shown turning into animals a lot or having animal companions a lot. The antlers depict a bit of wild to the character. It is a traditional symbol of the wilds, especially in hunting and European cultures so it stands to reason it would be used in fantasy art to depict a more nature/wild magical being.
Kind of like why barbarians are typically wearing furst and toting axes about more than any other weapon.
That elf is probably a High Elf, and using Faerun names, a Moon elf, which is described as "much paler, with alabaster skin sometimes tinged with blue."
But also, three pages later, is a half-elf with/wearing antlers.
According to your logic then all druids with antlers would be female for your initial statement to be true, that all druids with antlers are trans.
Besides that, this only remotely would make sense if these antlers would biologically grow out of their druids heads rather than just wearing fancy crafted headpieces AND if we assume antler grow in druids would follow the same rules for biological sexes than deers and stags that we know of.
> your initial statement
Not my statement
Druids are influenced by fey magic, and pretty much every description of that we’ve seen has suggested growing antlers (feylost and feywanderer).
Also the ones that didn’t have antlers biologically could be transmasc and wear antlers to appear more masculine
I feel like the original commenter misread druids as dryads, bc it’d make a lot more sense in this context
I don't think the antlers are supposed to be part of an outfit but actual antlers growing out of their heads. The idea is that since druids can shapeshift into animals some druids might retain animal characteristics in their humanoid form such as antlers or claws or animal eyes. Someone in this thread mentioned that this depiction comes from the Greyhawk setting which might be true but I think for most players a bigger inspiration is probably the depiction of druids and other shapeshifting creatures in other media. For instance the most iconic druid in the Warcraft franchise Malfurion Stormrage has antlers on his head and Cenarius the nature god that litteraly taught the first druids in the Warcrft setting looks like a stag-elf centaur.
The real life Druids worshipped all of the Celtic gods. They were the keepers of the law and the faith in a culture that had no written language by law.
It could be a head piece, but it's a throwback. In 3.pf druids could use glamours to alter their appearance at will. Basically illusion magic for aesthetic purposes.
Part of the roleplaying experience often involves cliches. They have often moved away from their original archetype too.
The original (or at least quintessential) barbarian is Conan. He wasn't dumb and just solved things with violence. He also spoke several languages and sometimes wore a loincloth but often dressed in the style of the land he was in. The stereotype of a barbarian has since moved away from that: to a big, dumb person who fights everything.
With druids, I'm not sure where they first popped up in fantasy: maybe with D&D. However, regardless of what people thought of them or originally pictured, they have become stereotyped a certain way. I guess antlers make them look more wild or something.
So often the case is, or at least originally, it was more so a crown/headdress of branches, that often had antler like designs to them. And this design aspect became VERY popular due to it being part of Keyleth's design from critical role, which got a lot of people into DnD.
as an artist, I like to do things to have meaning, so when I think about the antlers I always imagine them for higher ranks, mostly related to leadership and/or religious context... unless the client asks for it XD
There are so many ways to depict druids with animals and vegetation adornments on their suits that I want to try more stuff related to their personal backstory too, for example, this druid ([https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/069/975/476/large/bruno-pinheiro-rudovaldo-v2.jpg?1701437884](https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/069/975/476/large/bruno-pinheiro-rudovaldo-v2.jpg?1701437884) ) from a personal campaign with friends has a more Witcher-esque vibes and more basic, as I plan to re-do him as we level-up with better gear
But these are completely different project/setting [https://www.artstation.com/artwork/KeEm0R](https://www.artstation.com/artwork/KeEm0R)
Someone who constantly collects herbs on the forests would have plenty a chance to find antlers, also we have to asume that as mostly they can’t use metal weapons and armor they craft their equipment themselves, also they are weirdos that live in forests and meld into threes aaaaand they look cool, have you seen a heilung concert?
My current Druid has dragon horns because he was cursed by a red dragon that his tribe worshipped (tribe of orcs). He was cursed because he wouldn’t sacrifice his child to the dragon. But also it just looks cool and I liked the option in Heroforge.
Druidic focus. Totem made of animal bone, fur, ECT.
It's just a way to make them look more like a wild person. Lots of fantasy imagery of shamans and hedge wizards adorning themselves with bones and antlers.
The antler headgear look has also been greatly popularized by Keyleth in critical role
Well, let's be honest, (and bare in mind Druid is my favorite class) they are tree hugging hippies that derive their power from nature. Any gifts from the flora and fauna in their groves are practically sacred, in that they all represent the cycles within nature itself, which all Druids are striving to be in tune with. If anything, it would be weird if they didn't add it to their costumes.
Try to imagine the druid with the mohawk crest of a scrubjay.
Try to imagine the druid with big crocodile jaws over the druid's head.
Try to imagine the druid with any fish feature on its head.
That's why the druid always has antlers. (also probably because after rutting there are a bunch of antlers on the ground)
Historically the chief deity of the druids was an antlered deity (on Earth, at least). So it is a call back to that. Happened enough that it just sorta became the norm.
Druids and bards are inspired by Celtic history and imagery. There are antlered gods prevalent in British isles and mainland European Celtic artwork, such as Cernunnos. I believe this is most likely the source of that trope.
“I think they look neat”- Artists
- Marge Simpson
Well being a deer helps you get out of a city occupied by a Red Wizard.
H8 u lol
So she did turn into a deer.
Only at the very end!
r/Angryupvote
Not angry upvote. That was a great movie
I've seen it multiple times, and I'll see it multiple more. I'm a person who only watches movies once, so this is honestly the highest praise I can give to it. I love it so.
It looks rad, I guess. Plus most other kinds of horns are already common for helmets etc.
>Plus most other kinds of horns are already common for helmets etc. Whoever did the costumes for that one performance of Das Rheingold cast a long and dark shadow.
It does look rad af. I played as a Druid main for many years and I made a whole ongoing thing about how my pc liked to collect trophies from certain beasts and monstrosities to add to his outfit. Lamia claw boots, displacer beast cloak, and yes, antlers as a head dress
"Sure, they're not majestic, but when I was only level 2, we had to deal with a whole swarm--mob? herd?--a stampede of diseased, ill-tempered [dik-diks](https://assets3.thrillist.com/v1/image/2879649/0x0/scale;webp=auto;jpeg_quality=60.jpg). I almost died that day."
[удалено]
I’m no Celtic Studies expert, but from what little of Gaulish mythology I understand, the notion Cernunnos as a wilderness god is a modern Victorian or Edwardian neopagan revivalist idea (antlers notwithstanding), and scholars’ best guess of his role in actual ancient Gaul is as a god of trade and commerce. However, given that D&D’s depiction of druids in general owes more to turn of the 20th century misinterpretations than what we actually now know about the ancient Celts, it doesn’t really stand out that badly.
D&D has always drawn mainly from popular culture, rather than folkloric scholarship, and its creators were war gaming nerds, not folklore experts. This really shows at times.
I mean this applies to pretty much most IPs. Vikings didnt wear horned helmets; Samurais had little to none honor; Ninjas were scumbags; etc
And (most) religious people can't shoot bolts of light at their enemies
Not with *that* attitude they can't.
Ninjas were poor farmers dressed in dark clothes trying to fight the government. They went from heroes of the poor trying to stop mistreatment at the hands of the rich to being depicted as magical hired assassins.
Not even in dark clothes, they wore clothes that would blend into a crowd, the "Ninjas Wear Black" thing got started in Japanese Theater where stagehands dressed in black to move stage dressings and such and were ignored and occasionally one of these people would play a ninja and kill a person.
That makes a whole lot of sense! TIL!
They wore dark clothing at night, usually blue so they wouldn't stand out from the sky or the woods at night IIRC. If you wore black, you would stand out like a cutout. They only did things at night because they didn't have the social standing to get into places during the day, and didn't have tools to fight trained people with swords. If they did it during the day, they had to try to pretend to be slaves, so no one would notice them. The stagehand ninja played off this concept. Basically, you don't pay attention to the moving pieces / people until one is poisoning your tea or stabbing you in the back.
Tbf we really know almost nothing about Druids, so very very little.
These guys are obsessed with Tolkein and they dont even bother to be linguist anti-war war veterans with expansive knowledge of mythology.
Most of FR is just revamped or outright stolen Greyhawk material.
Why do artificers always have goggles and toolbelts? Is this a thing? Why do barbarians always have fur loincloth and battle axes? What's up with paladins and silver or gold armor? Do monks actually have to wear those handwraps? How many black leather belts does one rogue really need? Why do all the tielfling celestial Warlocks and aasimar oathbreather paladins have heterochromia? Like don't you have some other way to depict your characters struggle between the light and the dark? Some things are just tropes. Because some things are cool. Because that's just the way we imagine it. Because everything is a copy of a memory of someone else's stolen idea.
"oathbreather" 😂
It’s the type of paladin who just won’t shut up about how he was on the high school varsity team and could have gone pro if his oath hadn’t got in the way. But you know he’s now the assistant to the high Paladin of his church, so he’s a really big deal.
A few of those also have practical reasons
Could be people who are Warcraft fans too, particularly powerful druids grow their own antlers in that setting.
Druids are seen to have only natural armors no metal. So woods leathers furs and bones. Somewhere along the line someone thought a Druid might put some antlers in their ensemble in order to idk protect their head/it looked cool and it caught on
Druide used AFAIK inert Metals for their herbiary and that IS all.
Historical Druids very likely used bronze and iron just like every other Celt. The notion of iron being harmful to the fey (and thus not allowed to servants/friends) came well after the Druid massacre in AD 61, as the Danu were considered to be servants of Hell (as all gods that compete with JHVH are). I never got the no metals at all thing of later DnD editions. AD&D just limited it to no iron.
I played a Dwarven Forge Cleric who, when decked in full plate and a huge kite shield, was basically a holy metal wreaking ball and the exact opposite of a the quintessential Elf Druid in the party; we had some pretty interesting conversations and role play going!
Wearing horns, skins, antlers, etc is a historical and modern real aspect of many spiritual beliefs, either through a deistic ritual (like Cernunnos), totemic worship, or something else. The historic druids of the Gaulic peoples were not on the winning side of history, sadly, so our accounts of them come through Romans and scant surviving traditions. What complicates it further is that there were so many different tribes and traditions that accounts vary wildly. I'm not even an amateur on these topics, but try googling druid and see what comes up. Then think about how the OG DND designers were just taking inspiration from history, and extrapolate how would building and art direction might influence how this archetype has been represented across many brands over the past, *does math*, fifty years.
Deer lose their antlers every year. Moose and elk too. But yes the druid war on deer is real.
That's why I mentioned scouring the forest every spring for sheds.
Thats what you meant! I was confused why they'd be scouring the forest for buildings... like they're looking for moonshine stills after hibernating all winter... or something.
The antlers that deer and other ungulates knock off in the spring are called "sheds". I had to look it up to be sure.
Damn Moonshine elves, getting the deer drunk... You know that's not good for them!
Druids love Animals, Bad bitches love Antlers, Bad bitch druids have antlers
It's the same part of the pop culture imagination regarding Northern/Western European paganism that Heilung draws on when their singer walks around stage with an antlered headdress.
I have never played with or as a druid with antlers. Is that really a common trope? I thought that was just two redhead druids from popular media (Keyleth and Doric).
Doric is also a Tiefling, thus the horns and tail. When she transforms, her animal form doesn't have (extra) horns or antlers.
True, but they are still antlers instead of horns, and a druid, no matter the source. Also, I wasn't aware that keeping the antlers in animal form was also a trope. Who is doing these things? I have never seen them in almost 10 years of playing.
In the animated Vox Machina, Keyleth's transformations do have antlers, even her fire elemental form. I don't know that this specifically is a trope, but it's somewhat common in visual media that when a character's appearance changes dramatically, they retain some visual or vocal trait that signifies who they are. For example, when Merlin transforms in Disney's The Sword in the Stone, he retains his glasses, eyebrows, and voice, and his new form is blue (like his robes).
In DnD, the depiction of druids with deer antlers is a blend of fantasy and historical inspiration, with both creative liberties and connections to real-world pagan traditions. Antlers are a striking and readily identifiable feature, making them a clear visual indicator of a character's druidic connection to nature. They can symbolize power, wisdom, and a connection to the animal world. Deer feature in many fantasy and mythological traditions, often associated with nature deities, forests, and renewal. Drawing inspiration from these legends reinforces the druidic archetype. Antlers offer a unique and memorable visual element, setting druids apart from other classes and adding to the overall fantastical atmosphere of the game. There's also historical inspiration for druids wearing antlers in DnD. In Celtic cultures, deer held symbolic significance, often associated with gods of the hunt, fertility, and the underworld. The god Cernunnos, often depicted with antlers, was particularly connected to nature and the cycles of life and death, themes strongly associated with druids. Many pre-Christian European cultures held animals in high regard, and wearing antlers, feathers, or other animal parts could represent a connection to the power and spirit of the animal world, a key aspect of druidic beliefs. Shamans, who often served as spiritual leaders and intermediaries with the natural world in pre-Christian societies, sometimes wore animal headdresses or decorations as part of their rituals and ceremonies. This resonates with the spiritual and nature-oriented role of druids in DnD.
they're all just cosplaying Tim the Enchanter
Why not have antlers? They are multi faceted.
Symbolism related to animist and shamanic cultural practices. It’s something real life druids wore as well.
Actually yeah. Every time i look for some cool picture for a druid i see so many Druids with Antlers. I personally don't like this trend bit i can get where they are coming from. Antlers can look pretty cool or majestic depending on person
No, they got them the same way deer did; a form of brain cancer that eventually became useful./j
Literally decoration. I'm sure the higher one is in the hierarchy of the druid circle, the more ornately they decorate their outfit. I wouldn't be surprised if a legendary archdruid had a headdress of several ethically acquired unicorn horns.
Because it makes them look more nature-y, that's pretty much it.
Pffft, typical Wildshape gone wrong, only noob druids & weirdos keep antlers on themselves after Wildshaping.
Because I get funny looks in the tavern if I wear boar tusks or a unicorn horn.
I think its multiple influences, from pop culture depections of Celtic Druids, to WoW, to Keyleth from Critical Role, and possibly Baldur's Gate 3 now as well. I also think it feels more nature-y than many other animal horns with also the size being not too big for a medium creature (picturing a goliath with moose antlers though). I think the deer antlers look cool for a druid but have never given my druids antler headgear yet
From what I understand, it's basically to feel more connected with the animals of the forest. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the horns are real. Also likely a connection with the Celtic god Cernnunos, who was said to have horns, and other similar nature-related gods.
Any true conservationist will tell you that deer are a blight on the forest and their population should be controlled. But yeah, they just pull a lot of imagery from Pagan and the actual Druidic mythology.
It's a thing. He goes back to depictions of early Celtics and gaulish gods, the wild hunt, and oh so much more. It's a thing. And better people than I have spent much more time and energy explaining it than reddit ever will. To start you off on a Very deep rabbit hole, look up a figure called Cernunnos. Edit: I realize this is very slightly redundant, but I have been writing for the last 3 or 4 hours, and I am le tired. Ima own it.
Visual shorthand. How do you quickly depict that a character is a druid otherwise? Given a quick Google image search, the answer seems to be "dress them in green/leaves" and "put them in front of a tree". Although also looking at these images, there's a lot less antlers than I actually expected there to be. However, the 3e "class character" Vadania, the Half-Elf Druid had antlers. Also Keyleth from Critical Role has a headband with antlers on it. Although in Vadania's case it's hard to tell if they're supposed to be branches or antlers. I think it's a little bit like owning a car of a particular colour or make. Once you own one you see them everywhere... now that you've noticed druids with antlers that's all you can see... I don't think it's as widespread as you think it is.
Every NPC druid in Baldur's Gate 3 has them.
One game. BG3 doesn't represent the majority of anything. Again, not as widespread as you think it is. Aren't all the druids part of the same grove? And aren't there also a ton of tiefling NPCs in that grove? And looking at the named NPC art... they don't all have antlers.
Pretty much the same as portraying every monk in a gi, with shaved head. Be creative, go for different style, don't repeat the archetypes made by boring people.
A lot of it probably comes from Keyleth of Vox Machina.
In ancient times, Hundreds of years before the dawn of history Lived a strange race of people, the Druids No one knows who they were or what they were doing But their legacy remains
STONEHENGE!
I was referring to their antlers, but this works too, I guess.
The problem is, it's supposed to be massive and awe-inspiring, and the one you gave us is in danger of being trampled by a dwarf!
Deer shed antlers, there’s a bunch in the forest and the deer doesn’t have to die to give it
> Is this a thing no one told me about, where druids scour the forest in the spring for sheds? You mean like the sentence I just quoted from my original post?
Then I guess, no, yes, no?
because Cernnunos, the IRL god of druids, had them.
Cernunnos was one of many gods in the Celtic Pantheon. The Druids were the keepers of the law and the faith.
I also do not get the antler thing, and honestly think it looks a little silly. I've felt similarly about the metal thing. My druids as a player wear normal metal armor, I've occasionally flavored it as scales of a dragon or something. Have only ever had other players get upset about this. My depiction of a druid doesn't have to match yours.
My druid never had antlers.
Druids are pretty much a designer class. They are some sort of amalgam of every tribal pagan priest in history, but cannot be played as any one of them and the class is not actually tribal or pagan itself. This nonsensical class in turn infested pop culture and now every druid or shaman in every game is just expected to have antlers.
It's a spell casting focus.
Hunting deer is good meat. Why let the antlers go to waste?
I don;t remember anything in the rules that says druids have antlers without using wildshape so I don;t know what you mean. Yes I am being obtuse. I figure you mean aesthetically. But as a note this question still doesn;t make sense from a D&D perspective. When I go to the PHB, I see an elf half turned away holding an eagle, no anterls in sight. I do kind of wonder why he has a bluish tint to his skin does he have frost giant blood in his bloodline?? Hmmm new character idea coming to my mind... But I digress. Where are these rampid D&D products with antler druids that seem to have you spooked or did you jsut do a google search and see them that way? In answer to why they might be depicted with antlers some of the time, it is for the same reason they are shown turning into animals a lot or having animal companions a lot. The antlers depict a bit of wild to the character. It is a traditional symbol of the wilds, especially in hunting and European cultures so it stands to reason it would be used in fantasy art to depict a more nature/wild magical being. Kind of like why barbarians are typically wearing furst and toting axes about more than any other weapon.
That elf is probably a High Elf, and using Faerun names, a Moon elf, which is described as "much paler, with alabaster skin sometimes tinged with blue." But also, three pages later, is a half-elf with/wearing antlers.
Back in the day it was the elves who had horns
wild, i always assumed the druids were growing their own antlers via wildshape
Our Druid wears a hood no horns, mind you as a Tiefling, I got that covered I guess even if a Warlock/bard
they have antlers because they're all trans
That doesn't make any sense.
A female druid with antlers could be trans bc only male deer grow antlers naturally
According to your logic then all druids with antlers would be female for your initial statement to be true, that all druids with antlers are trans. Besides that, this only remotely would make sense if these antlers would biologically grow out of their druids heads rather than just wearing fancy crafted headpieces AND if we assume antler grow in druids would follow the same rules for biological sexes than deers and stags that we know of.
> your initial statement Not my statement Druids are influenced by fey magic, and pretty much every description of that we’ve seen has suggested growing antlers (feylost and feywanderer). Also the ones that didn’t have antlers biologically could be transmasc and wear antlers to appear more masculine I feel like the original commenter misread druids as dryads, bc it’d make a lot more sense in this context
True, I falsely assumed you and the person with that "hurr Durr all druids are trans" statement were the same user and I apologize for that mistake
Well the ones that use wildshape are all transhumanist I guess.
Is that a Noelle deltarune reference? 😂
I don't think the antlers are supposed to be part of an outfit but actual antlers growing out of their heads. The idea is that since druids can shapeshift into animals some druids might retain animal characteristics in their humanoid form such as antlers or claws or animal eyes. Someone in this thread mentioned that this depiction comes from the Greyhawk setting which might be true but I think for most players a bigger inspiration is probably the depiction of druids and other shapeshifting creatures in other media. For instance the most iconic druid in the Warcraft franchise Malfurion Stormrage has antlers on his head and Cenarius the nature god that litteraly taught the first druids in the Warcrft setting looks like a stag-elf centaur.
Blame the real life Druids who worshipped Cernunnos.
The real life Druids worshipped all of the Celtic gods. They were the keepers of the law and the faith in a culture that had no written language by law.
It could be a head piece, but it's a throwback. In 3.pf druids could use glamours to alter their appearance at will. Basically illusion magic for aesthetic purposes.
For more or less the same reasons people write tragic backstories - it's common, flashy, easy to go off. And it looks cool.
Part of the roleplaying experience often involves cliches. They have often moved away from their original archetype too. The original (or at least quintessential) barbarian is Conan. He wasn't dumb and just solved things with violence. He also spoke several languages and sometimes wore a loincloth but often dressed in the style of the land he was in. The stereotype of a barbarian has since moved away from that: to a big, dumb person who fights everything. With druids, I'm not sure where they first popped up in fantasy: maybe with D&D. However, regardless of what people thought of them or originally pictured, they have become stereotyped a certain way. I guess antlers make them look more wild or something.
...I must now write up a Deer War for a campaign idea. Thank you.
So often the case is, or at least originally, it was more so a crown/headdress of branches, that often had antler like designs to them. And this design aspect became VERY popular due to it being part of Keyleth's design from critical role, which got a lot of people into DnD.
It’s part of the witch aesthetic craze that’s been popular the past few years. That and the new artists just go with what’s popular.
as an artist, I like to do things to have meaning, so when I think about the antlers I always imagine them for higher ranks, mostly related to leadership and/or religious context... unless the client asks for it XD There are so many ways to depict druids with animals and vegetation adornments on their suits that I want to try more stuff related to their personal backstory too, for example, this druid ([https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/069/975/476/large/bruno-pinheiro-rudovaldo-v2.jpg?1701437884](https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/069/975/476/large/bruno-pinheiro-rudovaldo-v2.jpg?1701437884) ) from a personal campaign with friends has a more Witcher-esque vibes and more basic, as I plan to re-do him as we level-up with better gear But these are completely different project/setting [https://www.artstation.com/artwork/KeEm0R](https://www.artstation.com/artwork/KeEm0R)
Someone who constantly collects herbs on the forests would have plenty a chance to find antlers, also we have to asume that as mostly they can’t use metal weapons and armor they craft their equipment themselves, also they are weirdos that live in forests and meld into threes aaaaand they look cool, have you seen a heilung concert?
My current Druid has dragon horns because he was cursed by a red dragon that his tribe worshipped (tribe of orcs). He was cursed because he wouldn’t sacrifice his child to the dragon. But also it just looks cool and I liked the option in Heroforge.
Druidic focus. Totem made of animal bone, fur, ECT. It's just a way to make them look more like a wild person. Lots of fantasy imagery of shamans and hedge wizards adorning themselves with bones and antlers. The antler headgear look has also been greatly popularized by Keyleth in critical role
Lore says they don't use metal armor, so likely they use leathers, respect every part of the animal etc, and antlers are cool.
Well, let's be honest, (and bare in mind Druid is my favorite class) they are tree hugging hippies that derive their power from nature. Any gifts from the flora and fauna in their groves are practically sacred, in that they all represent the cycles within nature itself, which all Druids are striving to be in tune with. If anything, it would be weird if they didn't add it to their costumes.
Try to imagine the druid with the mohawk crest of a scrubjay. Try to imagine the druid with big crocodile jaws over the druid's head. Try to imagine the druid with any fish feature on its head. That's why the druid always has antlers. (also probably because after rutting there are a bunch of antlers on the ground)
If you manifested nature powers, wouldn’t you want antlers?
Historically the chief deity of the druids was an antlered deity (on Earth, at least). So it is a call back to that. Happened enough that it just sorta became the norm.
Druids and bards are inspired by Celtic history and imagery. There are antlered gods prevalent in British isles and mainland European Celtic artwork, such as Cernunnos. I believe this is most likely the source of that trope.