Druidism, also known as Natural Magic, is a custom spell school on Banes World that channels the power of the wild — beasts, plants, weather, and the earth itself. Druids summon woodland spirits, entangle foes with roots, call down hurricanes, heal allies with springs of life, and even fell their enemies with deadly spores.
Unlike standard magery, Druidism does not use Magery or Evaluating Intelligence. Instead it draws on the taming skills:
- Casting Skill: Animal Lore — determines whether you can cast a spell and scales most spell effects.
- Damage / Effect Skill: Animal Taming — factors into damage, durations, and other secondary scaling.
This makes Druidism a natural fit for tamer-style characters, who can lean on the same skills that power their pets.
Getting Started
The Tome of Nature
To cast Druid spells you need the Tome of Nature (the Druidic Spellbook). This book is available in the UO Store for Banes World Bucks — it is not crafted or dropped, so purchase it from the store to begin your druidic path.
The Tome of Nature behaves like other spellbooks:
- It must be in your backpack (and not inside a container within it) to open.
- Double-click it to bring up the spellbook gump, which lists every spell along with its description, reagents, required skill, and required mana.
- Click a spell's button to cast it.
Reagents
Druid spells use natural reagents rather than standard magery reagents. Across the school you'll need to keep these stocked:
- Fen Moss
- Pumice
- Petrified Wood
- Fertile Earth (also referred to as Fertile Dirt)
- Spring Water
- Destroying Angel
Stock up on these before heading out, since running dry mid-fight will leave you unable to cast.
How Casting Works
Each spell belongs to a circle (1st through 8th) and has its own required skill and mana cost. The relevant mechanics:
- Cast Skill range: Each spell sets a minimum skill; you gain in Animal Lore in the band from the required skill up to 30 points above it.
- Magic Resist: Targets of harmful Druid spells can resist them based on their Resisting Spells skill versus your casting skill and the spell's circle, similar to other resist-checked magic.
- Hands free: Druid spells do not clear your hands on cast, so you can keep a weapon equipped while casting.
Spell List
The Tome of Nature holds 20 spells spanning all eight circles. The table below summarizes each spell's circle, skill and mana requirements, and effect.
| Spell | Circle | Skill | Mana | Type | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summon Firefly | 1 | 1.0 | 10 | Summon | Summons a tiny firefly familiar to light your path. Weak in combat; mostly utility/light. |
| Shield Of Earth | 1 | 20.0 | 15 | Field | Raises a quick-growing wall of foliage that blocks movement, like a magery Wall of Stone. |
| Bark Skin | 1 | 30.0 | 10 | Buff (self) | Turns your skin to bark, raising Physical, Poison, and Energy resist (while the lore suggests reduced Fire resist). Duration and bonus scale with Animal Lore. |
| Hollow Reed | 2 | 30.0 | 30 | Buff | Increases the Druid's Strength and Dexterity (stat bonus buff). |
| Lure Stone | 2 | 20.0 | 15 | Utility | Creates a magical stone that draws nearby animals toward it. Useful for taming and herding; pull strength scales with your taming skills. |
| Hibernate | 3 | 70.0 | 23 | Disable | Puts a target to sleep — frozen and hidden — for a duration based on Animal Lore. |
| Pack Of Beast | 3 | 40.0 | 45 | Summon | Summons a pack of woodland beasts to fight for you. Higher skill can summon up to 4; duration scales with skill. |
| Spring Of Life | 4 | 40.0 | 30 | Heal (area) | Creates a healing spring that heals you and nearby allies. Heal amount scales with your taming skill. |
| Hurricane | 4 | 85.0 | 32 | Damage (area) | Calls a violent hurricane that repeatedly damages enemies in range. Duration scales with Animal Lore. |
| Grasping Roots | 5 | 40.0 | 40 | Disable | Summons roots to entangle (paralyze) a single target. Duration scales with taming, reduced if the target resists via Str/Dex. |
| Deadly Spores | 6 | 65.0 | 20 | Damage/Poison | Afflicts the target with poisonous spores, applying a heavy poison after a short delay. |
| Forest Kin | 6 | 20.0 | 13 | Summon | Opens a menu to summon a woodland spirit familiar. Higher-tier spirits require more Animal Lore and Animal Taming (see below). |
| Circle Of Thorns | 6 | 60.0 | 45 | Field | Creates a ring of thistle barbs around a point that prevents enemies from moving through it. |
| Mushroom Gateway | 7 | 70.0 | 40 | Travel | Opens a mushroom-circle gateway to a marked rune or runebook location. Standard travel restrictions apply (no gating while criminal, in combat, or to blocked/guarded locations). |
| Swarm Of Insects | 7 | 20.0 | 30 | Damage | Summons a biting swarm that damages a target. Damage scales with the gap between your casting skill and the target's Animal Lore. |
| Enchanted Grove | 8 | 75.0 | 60 | Utility/Buff | Grows a grove of magical trees that conceals you and gently restores mana and hits to friendly players nearby. |
| Mana Spring | 8 | 85.0 | 60 | Restore (area) | Creates a spring that restores mana to you and party members within range. |
| Restorative Soil | 8 | 89.0 | 55 | Resurrect | Saturates ground with healing mud; a dead player who steps onto it is offered resurrection. |
| Volcanic Eruption | 8 | 94.0 | 75 | Damage (area) | Bursts molten lava from the ground, hitting every enemy nearby for fire damage. Radius scales with taming skill. |
| Summon Treefellow | 8 | 80.0 | 50 | Summon | Summons a powerful treefellow woodland spirit to fight for you. Requires enough follower slots free. |
Note: spell circle assignments above reflect the values defined in each spell's code. A few spells share reagents or art with others; the in-book gump is the authoritative reference for what your character currently sees.
Forest Kin Familiars
The Forest Kin spell is one of the school's signature abilities. Instead of summoning a fixed creature, it opens a selection menu (the Druid Familiar gump) letting you choose a woodland spirit to bind. Each spirit requires a minimum of both Animal Lore and Animal Taming:
| Familiar | Animal Lore | Animal Taming |
|---|---|---|
| Firefly | 20.0 | 20.0 |
| Poison Lasher | 40.0 | 40.0 |
| Ancient Protector (Treefellow) | 60.0 | 60.0 |
| Dryad | 80.0 | 80.0 |
| Wisp | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| Water Spirit | 115.0 | 115.0 |
You may only have one Forest Kin spirit summoned at a time. The summoned spirit inherits your Magic Resist skill, and higher-tier choices grow significantly stronger — the Water Spirit at 115 in both skills is the top of the line.
Playstyle & Tips
- Build around taming skills. Since Animal Lore is your casting skill and Animal Taming drives much of the scaling, a tamer/druid hybrid gets the most out of this book. Both skills doing double duty is the core appeal.
- Open with control, follow with damage. Lock a target down with Grasping Roots or Hibernate, wall it off with Circle Of Thorns or Shield Of Earth, then apply Deadly Spores, Swarm Of Insects, or Volcanic Eruption.
- Field spells shine in groups. Hurricane and Volcanic Eruption are area effects — they reward fighting clustered enemies and PvP chokepoints.
- Support your party. Spring Of Life, Mana Spring, and Enchanted Grove make Druids strong group support, restoring hits and mana to nearby friendly players. Restorative Soil even lets you set up a field resurrection.
- Buff before the fight. Cast Bark Skin and Hollow Reed ahead of engagements; both scale with Animal Lore, so they get stronger as you train.
- Don't forget mobility. Mushroom Gateway is your travel spell — keep a marked rune or runebook handy, and remember it follows normal travel rules (no gating while criminal, in combat, or to restricted areas).
- Keep reagents topped up. Druid reagents differ from standard magery; carry a healthy supply of Fen Moss, Pumice, Petrified Wood, Fertile Earth, Spring Water, and Destroying Angel.
Acquisition Summary
| Item | Source | Currency |
|---|---|---|
| Tome of Nature | UO Store | Banes World Bucks |
Once you own the Tome of Nature, all 20 spells are available to learn and cast as your Animal Lore and Animal Taming skills allow.
This page is a companion to the main Druidism guide. It covers the woodland familiars summoned through Forest Kin (and the dedicated summon spells), and explains how to set up quick-cast commands so you can hotkey your Druid spells for fast casting in the field.
Buying Reagents
Druid reagents are sold by the Druid Vendor, located in the Mage Shop on Main Street alongside the standard reagent stock. Keep a healthy supply of the natural reagents on hand before heading out:
- Fen Moss
- Pumice
- Petrified Wood
- Fertile Earth (Fertile Dirt)
- Spring Water
- Destroying Angel
Woodland Familiars
Several Druid spells summon companion creatures. The Forest Kin spell lets you pick from a menu of spirits (gated by Animal Lore and Animal Taming), while Summon Firefly and Summon Treefellow summon their creatures directly.
Each familiar fills a number of control slots (follower slots), so plan around your follower cap — a treefellow or water spirit takes the place of multiple smaller pets.
Familiar Comparison
| Familiar | Role | Control Slots | Hits | Damage | Damage Type | Notable Trait |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Firefly | Utility / Light | 1 | 10 | 1–2 | Fire | Continuously restores the caster's Stamina; carries light sources. |
| Poison Lasher | Offense (poison) | 1 | 50 | 1–6 | Physical | Hits with Greater or Deadly poison; 150 Poisoning, 100 Magic Resist. |
| Ancient Protector (Treefellow) | Tank / Bruiser | 2 | 1000 | 18–30 | Physical | Huge hit pool and 70–85 physical resist — a frontline wall. |
| Dryad | Support (mana) | 1 | 110 | 5–10 | Physical | Periodically flares to restore Mana to friendly, positive-karma players nearby. |
| Wisp | Support (healing) | 1 | 100 | 5–10 | Energy | Periodically flares to restore Hits to friendly players; near-immune to Energy. |
| Water Spirit | Caster / Heavy hitter | 3 | 120 | 10–14 | Physical/Poison | Strongest spirit; high all-round resists, EvalInt + Meditation, near poison-immune. |
Familiar Notes
- Firefly — The weakest summon, but it never stops topping off your stamina, which is handy for melee or constant movement. It also provides light, useful in dungeons.
- Poison Lasher — A fast, venomous striker. With 80% of its hits landing Greater poison (and the rest Deadly), it's strong against high-HP targets that can be worn down by poison.
- Ancient Protector — At 1000 hit points and very high physical/poison resist, this is your tank. Use it to hold aggro while you cast from safety. Costs 2 control slots.
- Dryad — A mana battery. It flares every several seconds to restore mana to nearby positive-karma allies, scaling slightly with their karma. Pair it with caster-heavy groups.
- Wisp — The healing counterpart to the Dryad: it flares to restore hits to nearby allies. Note its targeting checks for non-positive karma players, so behavior differs from the Dryad's — useful to know in mixed groups.
- Water Spirit — The capstone familiar at 115 Lore / 115 Taming via Forest Kin. It takes 3 control slots but brings strong resistances, real combat skills, and near-immunity to poison.
Quick-Cast Commands
Banes World registers each Druid spell as a player command so you can cast without opening the Tome of Nature each time. Commands use the `[` prefix and can be bound to a hotkey in your client (e.g. Razor / Razor Enhanced / ClassicUO macros) for instant casting.
To cast a spell, type the command (or fire your bound hotkey):
[SpellName
You must still own the spell (have the Tome of Nature) and meet the skill/mana/reagent requirements — the command simply triggers the same cast as clicking the book. If you don't have the spell, you'll see "You do not have that spell!"
Command Reference
| Command | Spell Cast |
|---|---|
[SummonFirefly |
Summon Firefly |
[ShieldOfEarth |
Shield Of Earth |
[HollowReed |
Hollow Reed |
[Hibernate |
Hibernate |
[PackOfBeasts |
Pack Of Beast |
[SpringOfLife |
Spring Of Life |
[Hurricane |
Hurricane |
[GraspingRoots |
Grasping Roots |
[DeadlySpores |
Deadly Spores |
[CircleOfThorns |
Circle Of Thorns |
[SwarmOfInsects |
Swarm Of Insects |
[MushroomGateway |
Mushroom Gateway |
[RestorativeSoil |
Restorative Soil |
[EnchantedGrove |
Enchanted Grove |
[ManaSpring |
Mana Spring |
[VolcanicEruption |
Volcanic Eruption |
[SummonTreefellow |
Summon Treefellow |
[LureStone |
Lure Stone |
[ForestKin |
Forest Kin |
[BarkSkin |
Bark Skin |
Hotkey Setup Tip
In most assistant tools you create a macro that sends the command text (including the leading [) followed by Enter, then bind that macro to a key. Build a small hotbar of your most-used Druid commands — for example a control spell ([GraspingRoots), an area nuke ([VolcanicEruption), a heal ([SpringOfLife), and your buffs ([BarkSkin, [HollowReed) — for smooth combat casting.