Patron writeup: Druna, the Silver Goddess of the Moon

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john_lollard
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Patron writeup: Druna, the Silver Goddess of the Moon

Post by john_lollard »

My friend and I are in an ongoing DCC campaign. In one adventure, we squared off against an evil witch who worshipped a dark goddess of magic and the moon. We decided to write her up as a patron and thought our writeup of the goddess of witchcraft was sufficiently awesome. She is intended as both a patron or a deity, with custom spells, invoke patron, and deity disapproval. Enjoy!
Druna, the Silver Lady, tenth born daughter of the high gods, controls the dominion of magic. At the announcement of her birth, her sisters crafted her an orb of silver, called Druna’s eye, which they em- bedded in the night sky. She is the goddess of potentiality, transformation, and witchcraft. She demands her followers pursue silence and stillness, and in exchange transforms them by the hidden magic of the moon into immortal beings of power. Those who draw on this power are considered witches.
Download the full thing on drivethru:
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/36 ... f-the-Moon

(It's PWYW on drivethru, but we really intend this to be free, so please download it for free; but if you think we did a good job, we'd appreciate the tip)
serendipitous
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Re: Patron writeup: Druna, the Silver Goddess of the Moon

Post by serendipitous »

Thanks for sharing this! Cool flavor: potentiality, transformation, silence & stillness ... off to look at it.
" ... the things I am going to say are true and I am a force for truth and goodness, dammit, and I will beat anyone unconscious if they say otherwise."
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serendipitous
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Re: Patron writeup: Druna, the Silver Goddess of the Moon

Post by serendipitous »

john_lollard wrote: Fri Jul 02, 2021 5:04 am ...

(It's PWYW on drivethru, but we really intend this to be free, so please download it for free; but if you think we did a good job, we'd appreciate the tip)
Radical revision: I seem to have misread the original, and had understood that only male PCs could take on Druna as a patron. My sincere apologies to the OP, and my gratitude for his gentle correction.

Pending my more-careful re-read, and going along with the idea that any gender PC can select Druna as a patron: what an interesting & very consistently-themed patron. I especially like that there are some classic female metaphors/symbolism (the moon being the most obvious) without dropping into tropes that are either boring or offensive. The decision to focus on silence/stillness lends a monastic flavor to the whole shebang that is particularly entrancing.

A side note: it's refreshing to see the female pronoun used in these materials. Maybe in future work there could be pronoun alternation (for characters, not for the female Druna)? :) <---- my sheepish grin as I realize that I'm requesting LESS use of female pronouns.

PS: also: cool art.
Last edited by serendipitous on Fri Jul 02, 2021 7:27 pm, edited 5 times in total.
" ... the things I am going to say are true and I am a force for truth and goodness, dammit, and I will beat anyone unconscious if they say otherwise."
-- The Angry GM
john_lollard
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Re: Patron writeup: Druna, the Silver Goddess of the Moon

Post by john_lollard »

Fair enough. However, I think you misread:

"Males cannot be clerics of Druna, though they may still become witches and serve her in other ways."

The limit was on being a priestess, not on taking her as a patron or becoming a witch.
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Re: Patron writeup: Druna, the Silver Goddess of the Moon

Post by dustle »

serendipitous wrote: Fri Jul 02, 2021 8:24 am
john_lollard wrote: Fri Jul 02, 2021 5:04 am ...

(It's PWYW on drivethru, but we really intend this to be free, so please download it for free; but if you think we did a good job, we'd appreciate the tip)
Looking over the sample: I won't use it, myself, because of the gender distinctions it requires: only female clerics may take Druna as a patron, and the patron taint, spells, etc. assume a female PC.

First, as a woman playing & judging DCC, I've hit a very low-tolerance mental space for the DCC gender situation. There are certain things in this patron writeup that push gender buttons: literal silencing, for example. Anything that is targeted at women and specifies either that they become more voluble or that they are silenced plays to tropes that I don't want in my own RPG space.

Second, this Sunday I met a fellow who's been playing RPG for years & years. His wife & kid were pretty tolerant as we stepped away from the party we were at and wandered over to his house nearby, and he pulled a banker's box of old-school manuals out onto his porch for me to look through. Really nice guy, enthusiastic, kind.

Guess what the first class he ever wanted to play was? Witch. I want guy witches to be a possibility in my world.

PS: Just to be clear, while I myself wouldn't use this as is, I can see where gender-specific "witches" is something that makes sense to a lot of folks. There is a lot of interesting flavor, and the "feel" is very consistent through the taint, disapproval, and spell tables.
Totally tangential, but my eight year old son is a big fan of a short graphic novel series, the first of which is called The Boy Witch. It's about a society where females are expected to become witches and males are expected to become shapeshifters. I read it, and it's good. Definitely for kids but handles gender roles in a smart way.
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Re: Patron writeup: Druna, the Silver Goddess of the Moon

Post by Bobjester »

Thanks for making this public, & free! I'll check it out!
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serendipitous
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Re: Patron writeup: Druna, the Silver Goddess of the Moon

Post by serendipitous »

john_lollard wrote: Fri Jul 02, 2021 10:39 am Fair enough. However, I think you misread:

"Males cannot be clerics of Druna, though they may still become witches and serve her in other ways."

The limit was on being a priestess, not on taking her as a patron or becoming a witch.
I am so sorry for my mis-read! My apologies. I appreciate that you took the time to correct me, and correct me kindly, and have revised my post.
" ... the things I am going to say are true and I am a force for truth and goodness, dammit, and I will beat anyone unconscious if they say otherwise."
-- The Angry GM
serendipitous
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Re: Patron writeup: Druna, the Silver Goddess of the Moon

Post by serendipitous »

dustle wrote: Fri Jul 02, 2021 11:16 am Totally tangential, but my eight year old son is a big fan of a short graphic novel series, the first of which is called The Boy Witch. It's about a society where females are expected to become witches and males are expected to become shapeshifters. I read it, and it's good. Definitely for kids but handles gender roles in a smart way.
thanks for the rec -- I'll look for it. My littles are a bit older but are definitely graphic novel fans, and I've been looking for fun reads for them.
" ... the things I am going to say are true and I am a force for truth and goodness, dammit, and I will beat anyone unconscious if they say otherwise."
-- The Angry GM
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