Druid of the Oaken Order

* Portrait
* In Game

"In Rhosgobel, beneath the great arms of Radagast's oaken home, these Men were taught the secret properties of common herbs, to read the weather of the world by the flight of birds, and to lay down white stones in patterns that would be known to the agents of the Dark Lord and cause fear in their hearts."
—Age of the Ring Lore Compendium

Learned in the hidden ways of nature, these wise men serve as leaders and healers amongst the people of the Vales of Anduin. These druids were the pupils of Radagast the Brown, who bestowed upon them skills of healing and botany to greatly enhance their followers' abilities.

Druids of the Oaken Order are special support units in Woodland Realm which are recruitable from a level 2 Beorning Lodge. They are limited to a maximum of 5.

## Age of the Ring Lore

Druids of the Oaken Order are an AotR Canon creation. Click **Expand** to read their entry in the AotR Lore Compendium
For many generations the Woodmen have abided in the green lands to the west of Greenwood the Great, marking their territory as being between the eaves of the forest and the running of the Great River - a place known as the Vales of the Anduin. Though they never penetrated far into the forest due to its slow but certain descent into darkness, some of their settlements did linger amongst its great boughs. Over long years, the Woodmen developed a culture centered around the hunt.They offered great reverence to the Vala Oromë, Béma in their tongue, whose guidance granted them great cunning and skill in the art of woodscraft.

Not far south from their southernmost settlement, some distance east and amongst the trees, lay a mysterious house. It was surrounded by a tall, overgrown hedge, and many wild animals were known to wander beneath its green gate and linger on its lawn, which was full of mushrooms and fruit-bearing brambles. Bears had been seen there, and foxes, and enormous rabbits, and large flocks of manifold birds. The house itself was wood and thatch, and split in two by a great Oak that grew right through it: the result of an acorn once buried beneath it whose sapling had never been removed. 'Déorfald' the Woodmen called it, 'wild-cage', and they never came too close. In actuality, its name was Rhosgobel, and its resident was Aiwendil, known colloquially as Radagast, the Brown Wizard, third in the order of Istari.

Radagast had long ago foregone any wish to deal with the world of Men, Elves, or Dwarves. He was quite content to wander the wood, building upon his deep knowledge of the wild, gathering herb-lore, and conversing in bird-speech. In the far reaches of his deep and ancient mind, he was still aware of his purpose: he was a pupil of the Vala Yavanna, and he had been sent to Middle-earth long ago to aid its inhabitants against the rise of evil. To this end, he sent forth his flying friends to gather news of the world, and to occasionally stay in touch with his cousin, Gandalf the Grey, though otherwise he remained wholly absent of wordly affairs. It was thanks to this penchant for hermitry - often ridiculed by his superior, Saruman the White - that Radagast was amongst the first to become aware of the evil that had taken up residence amongst the ruins of Amon Lanc. He felt the dark presence as it seeped from hidden streams into the land, rotting roots of ancient trees, poisoning wildlife, causing death and slow decay wherever it went. It was Gandalf that he informed of his discovery, and Gandalf, having ventured into the ruins himself, drew a dark conclusion: Sauron had returned to the West, and it was the Dark Lord himself who dwelled amidst the ruins.

Though Gandalf attempted to convince the wise members of the White Council of the necessity to oust Sauron, his efforts were overruled by Saruman, the chief of the Wise, who convinced the Council that without his Ruling Ring, Sauron could never pose a legitimate threat again. Further disillusioned with the affairs of the world, Radagast took it upon himself to do what he could in order to stem the slow corruption of his beloved forest. On his own, he knew that there was little he could accomplish in the end. The Elves had removed themselves several hundred miles to the north, and would likely manage to withstand the darkness for quite some time. Their King was renowned in the art of war, and their people possessed some knowledge in the healing arts. Instead, Radagast decided, he would go to see the Woodmen he knew lived nearby.

He ventured forth from Rhosgobel, passing through several abandoned villages before he came to a town surrounded by a tall and sturdy palisade, flanked by wooden towers. Many orc-heads skewered on blackened pikes lined the walls. These Men had been resisting the deepening shadow for many years. It took some time and effort for the Brown Wizard to make himself known as a servant of light: his ability to speak the Northmen tongue had never been outstanding, and these issues were compounded by the Woodmen's strange dialect and the fact that the wizard had spent many of their lifetimes over living alone and removed. Though deeply uncomfortable amongst this chattering company, Radagast lived in the chieftain's house for a full year. Using his knowledge of magic and herbs, he helped cure those unfortunate warriors who succumbed to the evil spores that hung heavy under the forest's roof. He accompanied the farmers to their fields further out towards the Great River, where he placed a word of protection upon their crop. He drew ancient symbols of the Utter West upon the doors of their holdfasts, to ward off evil.

Before long, a group of Men announced themselves to him and made known their desire to learn some of these feats by themselves. Though Radagast recognized that it was unlikely these mortal Men would be able to muster enough affinity or gather the knowledge required to directly counter Sauron's influence, he nonetheless took in those that showed the most promise. In Rhosgobel, beneath the great arms of Radagast's oaken home, these Men were taught the secret properties of common herbs, to read the weather of the world by the flight of birds, and to lay down white stones in patterns that would be known to the agents of the Dark Lord and cause fear in their hearts. After several years, these Men returned to their kin and became chieftains and spiritual leaders - druids - who fortified the Woodmen's ability to withstand the darkness that seeped ever forth from Dol Guldur. In time, these Men took on pupils of their own, and so was born the Oaken Order, which for many centuries helped guard the Vales of the Anduin against the Forces of Darkness, until Sauron was finally destroyed at the end of the War of the Ring.

## Abilities and Formations

**Dark Premonitions** - Druid can target units to decrease their damage by 15% and buildings to decrease their armor 15%. Nearby Woodmen Hunters gain +33% crush armour and resistance to fear and terror. Passive ability.

**Blessing of Aldaron (R)** - Costs 200 to unlock. Can be cast on friendly units to moderately heal them and replenish one falled unit per battalion. Left click icon then left click on target area.

**Warding Stones (T)** - Costs 200 to unlock. Places a temporary circle of Warding Stones. Friendly units within the circle receive +33% armor. Left click icon then left click on target area.

**Ritual of Oak (C)** - Costs 500 to unlock. Summons a sacred Oak tree that produces a small number of resources. Lasts until destroyed. Limited to 5. Left click icon then left click on target area.

**Potion of Potency (V)** - Costs 800 to unlock. Modifier Type: Spell. Targeted hero is partially healed and gains 25% armour for 30 seconds. Stacks with Leadership and Spells. Left click icon then left click on target hero.

## Strategy

Druids of the Oaken Order can be game changing if properly micromanaged, they are vulnerable to all unit attacks but if protected by allied units, they can significantly enhance Woodland Realm's army's potential. If the player has multiple Druids, it is possible to provide multiple heals which can be used to rescue units and heroes from death. Warding Stones helps Woodland Realm compensate for their lack of standard heavy armour, this is particularly useful when combined with Sindarin Armour granted by Thranduil's Love of Silver and Jewels and enables more vulnerable Silvan and Woodmen units to withstand prolonged combat. Potion of Potency is an expensive power to unlock but can be devastating when cast on a high level hero, especially Thranduil and Grimbeorn, who are already considerably tanky heroes at high levels.