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GM Like a Druid: Animals

Jess Miller-Camp, Ph.D. (they/them)�Druid GM Designs

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How do they interface with…

  • The party?
    • Role
    • Presentation

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  • The world?
    • The environment
    • Society

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  • The game?
    • Mechanics
    • Motivation

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Common mistakes

  • Vicious killers

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  • Anthropomorphism �(or lack thereof?)

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  • Higher lifeforms

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  • Living fossils

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Characters or Backdrop?

  • Set dressing

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  • Turns of phrase

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  • Animal products

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Pieter Brueghel’s Netherlandish Proverbs (1559)

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Pets vs Livestock

  • Names

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  • Personal connections

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  • Annual cycles in husbandry

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Photo by Gold Shaw Farm

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Personalities

  • Typical behaviors for a species vs unique personalities

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  • Fight, flight, freeze, or faun

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Photo by The Pipsqueakery

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Part of the Ship, Part of the Crew

  • Familiars, animal companions, mounts, mascots, etc.
  • PC or GM-controlled?
  • Character or class feature?

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Is the Stat Block Correct?

  • Power level

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  • Senses

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  • Movement

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  • Abilities

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Motivations

  • Defense
  • Food
  • Mates
  • Curiosity
  • Play

Courier Mail

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Sociality

  • Highly social, situationally social, or loner?

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            • Relationships with mates

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                  • Relationships with offspring

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                  • Interspecies dynamics

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Communication

  • Visual
  • Auditory
  • Body language

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  • Olfactory
  • Touch
  • Chemical

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  • Electrosensory

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Seasonality

  • Babies, mating season
  • Migration
    • Latitudinal
    • Altitudinal
    • Habitat
  • Seasonal food
  • Winter/dry�season rest

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Variation and Disparity

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  • Sexual dimorphism
  • Other morphs
  • Geographic
  • Age
  • Time

Roger Hall, Scientific Illustration

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Discussion Time!

Any questions about things I talked about?

    • Or didn’t talk about?

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Want a discussion or�advice for an idea you’re�working on?

    • Gamemastering
    • Worldbuilding
    • Writing
    • Anything!

druidgmdesigns.com