#merlin

[16th-of-a-twigg]

He's just sleeping he's just sleeping he's just sleeping he's jus

Ko-Fi

[prokopetz]

You seem to be knowledgeable of this sorts of things, so if you don't mind. I'm trying to learn about real-life druids. I'm barely starting, but still, from what little I've read I have no idea of how they ended up being stereotyped as "nature clerics" by DnD. Would you know how that happened?

Druids aren't "nature clerics" in Dungeons & Dragons; they share some of the same game mechanics with clerics, but the actual media inspirations the two classes are drawing on have very little overlap.

To the point, however, the greater part of the reason D&D druids are Like That is because they're basically Merlin (i.e., the figure from Arthurian folklore) as interpreted though a very specific pop-cultural lens. At the time that D&D was taking shape, it was often asserted by New Age writers that Merlin was a real, historical druid who was later incorporated into the Arthurian myth-cycle (a claim that's now generally regarded as false), and this idea got tangled up with popular media depictions of Merlin to produce a picture of druids almost entirely divorced from the historical reality.

Some of those media depictions are quite recent, too; for example, while you can point to precedents for the D&D druid's weaponised shapeshifting shtick in various folk-tales, the way it actually works in the game is nearly a direct lift from Merlin's shape-changing duel with Madam Mim in T H White's 1938 novel The Sword in the Stone (though most folks reading this post are probably more familiar with the 1963 Disney adaptation).

[k62256]

my first offering to the merlin fandom, good god i'm so obsessed. look at what i've done to my boy.

[theroundbartable]

Uther: it's pick my son in law day. I want that one *points at Merlin*

Morgana: no offence but-

Arthur: out of my way, sis. He's mine.

Uther: 👀

[count-pudding]

Wizard Installer🧙✨

[regretn0-thing]

Merlin gets kidnapped

King Arthur: *sitting in the council room*

Leon: *Rushes in* Sire! We've just received notice that Consort Merlin has been taken and is being held for ransom! Would you like me to gather the knights to find him?

Arthur: (knowing of Merlin's magic) *Laughing* No, I don't believe that will be necessary.

Leon: My lord what is so humorous?

Merlin: *Walking in covered in mud* How low my ransom was for starters, you'd think I'd be worth a little more than that. Also how incredibly easy it was for me to escape.

Leon: *staring at Merlin in shock*

Arthur: I assume your abductors won't be an issue anymore?

Merlin: *Taking a seat next to Arthur* No, not that they were much of one to begin with.

[iknownowmerlin]

[adageyer]

The BBC are cowards.

@spacemancharisma, you motivated me to draw as well. The artblock had been real

[lilartifex]

Quick, Disney-style Merln

[k62256]

excalibur :)

[styxhuntress]

More than 10 years since the finale aired… and still.

We shall never die. Like the once and future king we shall rise again and again.

[lauravian]

Going on a quest ⭐ [Prints]

What Dreams May Stir (30,854 words) by s0mmerspr0ssen and Lauravian

When Morgana falls into an enchanted slumber, Arthur and Merlin journey to the Impenetrable Forest to seek a cure while Gwen holds vigil at her lady's side. Eventually, hidden truths are revealed—at the forest as well as in Camelot.

[goth-emrys]

"Are you threatening me with a spoon?"

[count-pudding]

Bath (slightly nsfw)

sketch

[theroundbartable]

Arthur is forced to take a bride and expected to dance and be courtly with a lot of women he's never met before.

Instead of dreading the situation, however, Arthur is having fun doing all these balls his father is throwing. That is until one day, Merlin is sick and Arthur had to attend the feasts on his own.

Arthur: somehow, love is so much harder to find without him

Arthur: which means nothing

Arthur: *cries*