Child of the Wild

In worlds where the cities are far apart and the wilderness rages untamed beyond their walls, travel between civilised areas can be dangerous.

The Quintessential Druid
Author Robin O. Duke
Series The Quintessential Series
Publisher Mongoose Publishing
Publish date 2002

Except for a handful of druids, bards, barbarians and rangers, few dare to travel and, when they do, the journeys are long and arduous. Often these journeys are once-in a- lifetime affairs that take whole families away from everything they knew and, when things go wrong, leave them alone in the wilderness.

For one reason or another, the child of the wild was left alone, without any to help him, while still a child. He wandered for days in search of his mother or father and found no trace of them or what trace he found he refused to see for what it was. Often, such children simply die but there are many myths of children being taken in by animals and raised as feral. Wolves, apes and even herds of horses have all been known to take children in down the centuries. Often, a mother who recently lost her own fragile offspring to the horrors of the wild takes in the child.

By the time the child of the wild is discovered by the druid order, he is already proficient at living in the wilderness. From his ‘parents’, he has learnt to hunt or scavenge. He knows the ways of the wilderness, how to be silent and how to show respect to those higher in the pack. With their natural affinity for the wild, these children can make the best druids. Once found, the druid order sets out to teach the child to live among humans again. They often take to the druid understanding of the world with ease but find even other druids difficult to deal with on a personal level.

Benefits: The child of the wild receives a +2 inherent bonus to his Animal Empathy, Handle Animal and Wilderness Lore checks due to his extensive familiarity with the wilderness and its inhabitants.

Penalties: The child of the wild suffers a –4 circumstantial penalty to interpersonal Charisma checks and skill rolls when dealing with humanoids or other more civilised races.