Druidic Hierarchy — Filid Grades, Sacred Offices and Archdruids
Druids · Filid · Brehons · Bards · Sacred colleges · Regional councils
Druids do not belong to a single worldwide priesthood. Their authority comes from learning, recognised sacred office, reputation, service to a community and the willingness of other learned people to accept their judgement. In Ireland, the famous seven grades from Fochloc to Ollam belong primarily to the filid, the professional poet-scholars. Druids, bards, judges and filid work beside one another, but their titles are not interchangeable.
At a Glance
| There is no universal chain of command | A druid may be powerful, respected and politically influential without belonging to a single central order. |
|---|---|
| Filid have formal grades | Fochloc, Mac Fuirmid, Dos, Cano, Clí, Ánruth and Ollam measure learned standing among Irish poet-scholars. |
| Druidic authority is office-based | Grove keepers, teachers, diviners, sacred judges, envoys and council speakers hold authority because communities and colleges recognise them. |
| Archdruid is an office | An Archdruid is a rare senior figure trusted to convene councils, settle major sacred disputes and speak across multiple local traditions. |
| Rank is not spell level | Magical power helps, but learning, memory, judgement, reputation and service matter just as much. |
| Regional traditions differ | Ireland, Britain, Wales and Gaul preserve related but distinct institutions rather than one identical Celtic system. |
How Druidic Authority Actually Works
A druid’s standing is built from several overlapping forms of authority. None of them automatically grants command over every other druid.
| Source of authority | What it means in play |
|---|---|
| Learning | Years of remembered law, genealogy, ritual procedure, astronomy, medicine, natural lore and sacred geography. |
| Sacred office | Responsibility for a grove, spring, hill, college, royal rite, seasonal assembly or dangerous supernatural boundary. |
| Recognition | Other druids, filid, rulers, clans and communities accept the character as qualified to advise, teach or judge. |
| Reputation | A record of sound judgements, fulfilled geasa, successful negotiations and surviving encounters with gods and spirits. |
| Patronage | A ruler, clan, city or sacred college grants hospitality, protection and access to archives or ritual places. |
| Magical power | Power proves capability, but does not by itself create legal or scholarly standing. |
Two druids can therefore be equal in magical strength and very unequal in authority. A young wilderness prodigy may command storms but still be refused access to a royal inauguration. An elderly grove keeper may cast lesser magic yet possess the right to halt a ceremony because the omens were read incorrectly.
Druids, Filid, Brehons and Bards
The learned orders overlap without collapsing into one profession.
| Tradition | Primary role | Typical player route |
|---|---|---|
| Druid | Sacred places, divine and natural powers, geasa, omens, seasonal rites, healing, mediation with spirits and the defence of the living world. | Druid |
| Fili | Poetry, genealogy, history, praise, satire, memory, royal legitimacy and learned magical speech. | Bard, especially scholar or court-poet builds |
| Brehon | Law, compensation, status, inheritance, contracts, boundary disputes and formal judgement. | Bard, Rogue, Expert or another learned character |
| Bard | Performance, praise, memory, news, heroic tradition and public reputation; some bards train toward the deeper scholarly standing of a fili. | Bard |
A single character can cross these boundaries. A druid may also be a trained poet. A fili may be a diviner. A brehon may preserve ritual precedent. What matters is what the character has actually learned and which community recognises that expertise.
The Seven Filid Grades
These seven names are the formal learned grades most strongly associated with the Irish filid. They are not universal Druid class levels and do not require specific spell levels.
| Grade | Standing | What the grade means |
|---|---|---|
| Fochloc | Recognised beginner | A student who has passed beyond casual instruction and can be trusted with basic verse, memory work, genealogy and formal recitation. |
| Mac Fuirmid | Advanced student | A developing scholar able to answer questions of tradition, compose competent formal verse and assist senior teachers. |
| Dos | Professional scholar | A recognised practitioner who can serve a household or court, preserve genealogies and speak with professional authority. |
| Cano | Established learned poet | A trusted court scholar whose praise, criticism and interpretation of precedent carry political weight. |
| Clí | Senior scholar | A figure of substantial reputation who trains juniors, advises powerful patrons and handles difficult questions of memory and legitimacy. |
| Ánruth | Master | A leading scholar capable of maintaining a school, judging advanced work and resolving disputes between lesser authorities. |
| Ollam | Highest professional grade | A master of exceptional recognised learning, entitled to advise rulers, maintain a major school and speak with the weight of a whole learned tradition. |
An Ollam is not automatically an Archdruid. One title belongs to learned professional grade; the other is a rare sacred office.
Sacred Druidic Offices
Druids are more often distinguished by the work entrusted to them than by a universal numbered ladder.
| Office | Responsibility | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Grove Keeper | Protects a sacred wood, spring, stone circle, burial landscape or divine boundary. | Controls access, ritual timing and local taboos. |
| Keeper of Ogham | Teaches signs, names, genealogies and encoded sacred knowledge. | Examines students and authenticates inscriptions or messages. |
| Diviner | Reads omens, dreams, weather, animal behaviour and supernatural disturbances. | Can delay journeys, battles or rites when the signs are judged dangerous. |
| Sacred Judge | Rules on geasa, sanctuary, disputed sacred land and obligations involving gods or spirits. | Issues judgements recognised by participating communities. |
| Royal Ritualist | Conducts or witnesses inauguration, oath-taking and sovereignty rites. | Can validate or challenge the sacred legitimacy of a ruler. |
| Envoy of the Gods | Negotiates between mortal rulers, divine powers, fey courts and dangerous local spirits. | May carry safe-conduct or taboo protections that ordinary messengers lack. |
| Council Speaker | Convenes regional meetings when disputes cross local boundaries. | Directs procedure and records the accepted judgement, but does not become a universal monarch of druids. |
What Is an Archdruid?
An Archdruid is a senior sacred office recognised across more than one local circle, court or college. The title belongs to a person trusted to deal with disputes that ordinary local authority cannot contain.
An Archdruid may convene a great council, settle a quarrel between sacred colleges, negotiate the release of a ruler from a geas, recognise a new sacred sanctuary, confront a rogue druid whose actions endanger several territories, or speak for a regional tradition before gods and kings.
The office is political as well as mystical. Recognition matters. A self-proclaimed Archdruid with no colleges, communities or rulers willing to hear them possesses a title and little else.
Regional Traditions
Ireland
Ireland preserves the clearest distinction between druids, filid, brehons and bards. The seven filid grades remain prestigious, while druids gain authority through sacred colleges, local rulers, ritual responsibilities and personal reputation. Ogham remains part of learned and sacred practice.
Britain and Wales
British and Welsh traditions place greater emphasis on bardic memory, royal praise, prophecy, sacred landscapes and the authority of local colleges. A renowned bard or seer may possess political weight equal to a powerful druid without sharing the same training.
Gaul
Gaulish traditions retain large regional councils and stronger precedent for a presiding druid at major assemblies. That office is real authority within the council, but it does not turn every grove and tribe into branches of a single central institution.
Beyond the Celtic World
The Druid class appears in many cultures, but Irish titles should not be imposed automatically on them. A steppe sky-reader, North African oasis keeper, Baltic forest seer or elven grove guardian belongs to a local institution with its own titles and expectations.
How Rank Changes Play
- Hospitality: recognised scholars can expect food, shelter and a hearing from communities that honour their tradition.
- Archives: higher standing grants access to genealogies, legal precedents, ritual calendars, hidden roads and restricted sacred records.
- Witness: a recognised druid, fili or brehon can make an oath, treaty, marriage, inheritance or boundary agreement much harder to deny later.
- Sanctuary: some sacred places protect recognised learned figures unless they have violated the place’s own laws.
- Teaching: senior figures can accept apprentices, examine students and sponsor candidates before a college.
- Consequences: misuse of status can bring loss of hospitality, refusal of testimony, public satire, exclusion from councils or supernatural punishment for broken geasa.
Run It Tonight
The False Ollam
A celebrated court poet arrives carrying genealogies that would overturn a noble inheritance. Three local scholars insist the visitor never completed the training required of an Ollam. The disputed manuscript is genuine; the claimed rank may not be.
The Grove Will Not Hear the King
A ruler demands an inauguration before a coming war. The grove keeper refuses because every divination gives the same warning. The ruler sends armed retainers to compel the rite, while an ambitious rival quietly offers the druids protection.
The Empty Chair
Three regional colleges meet to choose a speaker for an emergency council after a supernatural boundary fails. One candidate has unmatched magical power, one has the strongest political backing, and one possesses the best reputation for judgement. Before the vote, the sacred seat begins speaking with the voice of the previous Archdruid.
5.5e / 2024 — Optional Standing Rules
Use these rules when learned status matters during play. A character does not gain a filid grade simply by reaching a class level.
| Grade | Standing required | Examination DC |
|---|---|---|
| Fochloc | 2 | 10 |
| Mac Fuirmid | 4 | 12 |
| Dos | 6 | 14 |
| Cano | 8 | 15 |
| Clí | 11 | 17 |
| Ánruth | 14 | 19 |
| Ollam | 18 | 21 |
Gain Standing: award 1 point after meaningful service to a recognised college, ruler, sacred place or learned community. Major achievements may award 2 points.
Examination: make an ability check using a relevant proficiency such as Arcana, History, Insight, Nature, Performance or Religion. The candidate must explain how the chosen skill reflects the tradition being tested. A college normally expects proficiency in at least two relevant skills before recognising senior grades.
Benefit: when dealing with people who recognise the tradition, a formally recognised scholar has Advantage on one appropriate Charisma check per social scene when invoking their grade, testimony or right to be heard.
Archdruid: this office is awarded through play. It requires recognition by multiple circles or colleges and cannot be purchased with Standing alone.
5e / 2014 — Optional Standing Rules
Use a Renown score tied to a druidic circle, filid school or learned college. Renown measures trust and recognised service rather than spellcasting power.
| Renown | Recognition |
|---|---|
| 1–2 | Student or known associate |
| 3–5 | Recognised junior scholar |
| 6–9 | Professional standing |
| 10–14 | Senior scholar or office-holder |
| 15–19 | Master recognised across several communities |
| 20+ | Ollam-level peer or comparable regional authority |
A formal filid grade still requires examination and sponsorship. Use Intelligence (History or Nature), Wisdom (Insight) or Charisma (Performance) as appropriate, with DCs from 10 for junior recognition to 20 for the highest grades.
Once per settlement, a recognised character can invoke status to secure an audience, basic hospitality, access to a non-secret learned archive, or a fair hearing before local authorities unless there is a strong reason to refuse.
Pathfinder 1e — Optional Standing Rules
Filid grades are learned status, not spellcasting tiers. Use skill ranks and formal recognition.
| Grade | Suggested minimum ranks in two relevant skills | Examination DC |
|---|---|---|
| Fochloc | 2 ranks | 12 |
| Mac Fuirmid | 4 ranks | 14 |
| Dos | 6 ranks | 16 |
| Cano | 8 ranks | 18 |
| Clí | 10 ranks | 20 |
| Ánruth | 13 ranks | 23 |
| Ollam | 16 ranks | 26 |
Relevant skills include Knowledge (history), Knowledge (nature), Knowledge (religion), Linguistics, Perform (oratory), Perform (sing) and Profession skills tied to scholarship. A druidic sacred office may additionally require Survival or Spellcraft.
Recognition benefit: gain a +2 circumstance bonus on Diplomacy checks to claim hospitality, request a hearing or establish scholarly credibility among people who recognise the tradition. This bonus does not stack with itself for multiple titles.
3.5e — Optional Standing Rules
Use professional recognition rather than requiring access to a particular spell level.
| Grade | Suggested minimum ranks in two relevant skills | Examination DC |
|---|---|---|
| Fochloc | 2 ranks | 12 |
| Mac Fuirmid | 4 ranks | 14 |
| Dos | 6 ranks | 16 |
| Cano | 8 ranks | 18 |
| Clí | 10 ranks | 20 |
| Ánruth | 13 ranks | 23 |
| Ollam | 16 ranks | 26 |
Suitable skills include Knowledge (history), Knowledge (nature), Knowledge (religion), Perform (oratory), Perform (sing), Profession (scribe), Spellcraft and Speak Language for specialised learned languages. Ogham may be required by a particular school without being universal.
Recognition benefit: a formally recognised scholar gains a +2 circumstance bonus on Diplomacy or Gather Information checks when status, testimony or learned reputation directly matters.
Historical Basis
The historical evidence does not support treating the seven Irish grades as a universal spell-based druid ladder. Early Irish learned texts preserve the seven principal grades of the fili: Fochloc, Mac Fuirmid, Dos, Cano, Clí, Ánruth and Ollam. Their standing is connected to training, competence and recognised professional status.
For Gaul, Julius Caesar describes druids as teachers and judges who met in a consecrated place to settle disputes. He also reports that one druid presided over the others with the highest authority, chosen by succession or election. That evidence supports strong regional leadership without requiring a single timeless hierarchy for every Celtic society.
Sources and Further Reading
- Julius Caesar, De Bello Gallico 6.13 — druids as judges, the presiding druid and the annual assembly.
- Sabina Furlan, doctoral study of medieval Irish learned poetry — discussion of the seven grades of the filid and Uraicecht na Ríar.
- James Carney, “Language and literature to 1169,” A New History of Ireland — background on early Irish learned classes.
The edition-specific rules on this page are original optional compatibility material. They model social standing and learned recognition without reproducing the old third-party spell-level hierarchy.