Relations with Others (CDH)

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Here's how relations often stand between druids and the people and monsters that live in or near the wild.
==Woodcutters and Hunters==
Druids act much as game wardens do, letting woodcutters know which trees they may cut and which they must leave standing, and telling hunters which species they may hunt and which are protected.
Sometimes these folk resent or even disobey such orders, but most druids temper their restrictions with reason and balance punishment with reward. People who live or work in the wild and follow a druid's laws remain under druidic protection. Druids use their spells when necessary to cure injury or sickness in hunters' families, prevent starvation among woodcutters in harsh times, and so on. Those who don't follow druidic rules cannot expect help, even in cases of dire need.
==Local Animals==
Druids try to get to know most wild animals within a few miles of home, learning their daily habits, the locations of their lairs, and so on. A druid makes a point of keeping track of animals that are pregnant, weak, or sick, and usually aids (or puts down) diseased, mad, or injured local creatures. However, a druid does not interfere with normal cycles of predators and prey. Think of this attitude as that of forest rangers or game wardens: Protecting species holds greater importance than safeguarding individuals. Still, druids often befriend a few local animals, whom they respect and protect as they would human companions. Animals frequently serve as a busy druid's eyes and ears.
==Sylvan and Faerie Creatures==
Druids respect certain creatures as sentient embodiments of the "spirit" of Nature. Forest druids, in particular, would risk their lives to protect sylvan or faerie beings and would oppose other humans to protect the wilderness where they live. In return, these creatures often give druids official standing in their communities, perhaps as ambassadors to human realms. A druid might receive an invitation to speak at a sylvan or faerie council to offer a "human viewpoint," although only rarely would humans extend the same courtesy.
==Outlaws, Fugitives, and Bandits==
Folk living away from society sometimes find themselves operating in the same wilderness areas as druids. As druids know their woods intimately, they can become vital allies—and bitter enemies, for they know exactly where outlaws hide and can lead pursuers to them if they choose. Thus, any outlaws exist on the druids' sufferance.
Druids usually prefer to avoid becoming involved with criminals. They sometimes shelter individual fugitives and, rarely, offer assistance to entire bands of outlaws whose activities further druidic goals and show proper respect toward Nature. Druids' actions generally depend on the situation.
For instance, a character wishing to discourage farmers or loggers from making inroads into a forest might consider an alliance with bandits, while one on good terms with neighboring villagers and nobility would seek to drive them away or reveal their location to the law. But most often, the druid remains uninvolved, acting only to protect the wilderness from threats.
==Local Monsters==
Druids usually stay on good or neutral terms with local monsters, opposing them only if they threaten the entire area or the druid personally. For instance, a beholder that uses a woodland cave as its sanctuary makes a fine neighbor for a druid; one that tries to enslave large numbers of sylvan folk to conquer a nearby elven kingdom means trouble and should be eliminated before it engulfs the forest in a devastating war.
In general, the druid will act more favorably to creatures that "belong" in an area. A green dragon, a native of woodlands just as much as an elf or bear, finds it only natural to prey on elves and men. A druid has no argument with this tendency. After all, the humans and elves can always send a knight to slay the dragon.
Most druids make an effort to stay on speaking terms with intelligent monsters, good, evil, or neutral. The druid may do occasional favors for a creature on a quid pro quo basis. For example, the druid might volunteer to heal a sick or injured monster; the druid wants something in return, like a promise that the beast will refrain from attacking a certain village, will free its captives, or will aid the druid in battle.
==Evil Humanoids==
The druid knows these evil humanoid races make up a natural part of the world and have a right to struggle for existence. As a result, druids will not act against orcs, goblins, or the like simply because of their race or "evil" nature. In fact, in the eyes of the druids, these races represent less of a threat to the wilderness than do humans or dwarves: Few humanoids organize beyond the tribal level, they rarely build big cities above ground, and they prefer hunting and gathering to extensive farming.
A few druids—especially Shadow Circle members—ally with native humanoids to protect the wilderness against encroachment or to aid weaker tribes being persecuted for no good reason. However, they make these agreements with care and in utmost secrecy, for they realize the humanoids' evil nature makes them treacherous comrades. Moreover, if word of such an alliance got out, it could damage the druidic order's reputation among humans and elves.
Evil humanoids hold the druids in fairly high regard—some tribes always release druid captives. While these races couldn't care less for the sanctity of Nature or the welfare of animals, most humanoids respect Nature's mighty power and its servants.
==Rangers and Elves==
The ranger class and the elven race resemble each other in that both consist of good aligned beings dwelling in the wild, protecting it from evil forces. Elves and rangers sometimes argue with druids over how best to guide the sylvan peoples and maintain the guardianship of the forests, but this is usually a friendly disagreement. If an area has a particularly effective ranger presence, druids may agree to divide up responsibility for its guardianship: Rangers handle human and demihuman affairs, while druids take care of sylvan creatures and the problems of native animals and plants. Such informal arrangements, however, often prove subject to swift change.
Druids consider it a courtesy for a ranger of equivalent or lower level to ask permission to operate in an area they occupy and usually resent those who neglect this courtesy. If a ranger does ask permission, a druid generally feels pleased to cooperate.
Occasionally druids find elven or ranger actions one-sided, impetuous, or insufficiently ruthless to the job at hand. On the other hand, some elven council chambers and ranger gatherings ring with the accusation that druids would give as much credence to the word of an orc or a green dragon as they do an elf or a treant. Those outside the Order fear the overly cunning druidic stratagems do not have the best interests of the elven nations at heart. But despite the occasional suspicion, many friendships grow up between druids and rangers or elves, and each group respects the other as protectors of the wild.
==Gnomes and Halflings==
Druids generally get along with the small folk and help them when the need arises. In turn, a majority of gnomes and halflings (even those that do not follow the druidic religion) respect druid characters.
Most gnomes and halflings follow an ethos compatible with druidic beliefs: Live in harmony with the environment and rarely take from it more than needed. Moreover, druids see them as practical people who, though inclined toward good, rarely develop the fanatical opposition to "evil" the druids have seen in some humans, elves, and dwarves.
==Dwarves==
The dwarven affinity with the earth primarily extends to unliving stone and metal, while the druids prize living trees and animals. As a result, druids and dwarves have very different philosophical outlooks.
It doesn't help relations when dwarves cut down forests and dig ugly mine shafts in green mountainsides in their quest for the coal and firewood needed to feed their hungry forges. Nor do dwarves enjoy seeing druids favor elves and advocate a "live and let live" policy with the dwarves' arch-foes, the goblin races. The result? Druids and dwarves remain on poor terms and have harsh words for each other when they meet.