Thursday, October 18, 2018

Anarchy in the Tenth District with the Gruul Clans - Class Options in Ravnica

Ravnica is a city and a plane that are one and the same - the urban sprawl entirely encompasses the world that its inhabitants live in. You can't go anywhere on the plane of Ravnica without being in the city of Ravnica.

And the Gruul Clans are not happy about that.

Anarchists, punks, and gangs of delinquents, depending on your perspective, the Gruul Clans rage against the machine of the city, and would far prefer to see the place torn down and restored to whatever pre-urban wilds it may have once been. Anarchic by ideology, the Clans are not really a unified force, but rather an affiliation of various groups that are united only in their disdain for the endless cityscape.

Still, no guild escapes the symbiosis of the Guildpact, and the Gruul have their own role within the city - that of demolitionists. In a sense, the Gruul get to see their desires made manifest on a small scale. Buildings that have outlived their usefulness or are too dangerous to inhabit anymore become the prey of the Gruul Clans. In a sense, the Gruul are the most vociferous advocates for the scattered quasi-wild places of the city. But their rambunctious and chaotic nature puts them in conflict with the law-and-order types of the city.

Alignment:

The Gruul are pretty distinctly chaotic neutral, with a great value placed on freedom and the flaunting of urban civility. The various clans may come in different flavors, some rioting punks and some more deeply spiritual shamans. Of course, the two identities are not mutually exclusive. Some might lean more toward good, simply wishing to see Ravnica's natural world given the room to breathe and for people to live in freedom, while others might lean toward evil, stewing in contempt for those who prefer the urban lifestyle and the protections it provides.

In Magic, the Gruul Clans are the Red and Green guild. Red gives it its strongly chaotic and anarchic values, while Green gives it its respect and desire for a return to nature and its respect for bestial strength.

The Classes:

Barbarian:

This really is the Barbarian guild if ever there was one. Between Shamanistic Storm Heralds, beast-affiliated Totem Warriors, and fury-driven Berserkers, most Barbarians are going to fit right in with these guys.

Bard:

Bards might fit in with them as traditional musicians weaving magic that touches on emotion and instinct, but there's no really obvious fit here.

Cleric:

Tempest, Life, Nature, and War Clerics are all probably good fits for this guild. On the other hand, Order is basically the guild's anathema, so I'd avoid it.

Druid:

Most Druid circles would work here - the Gruul value both animals and elemental power, so pretty much any Druids would work (save perhaps the Circle of Spores.)

Fighter:

I believe that the Brute martial archetype in Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica is meant to associate with the Gruul. Barbarians might be the closer fit for front-line, non-magic brawlers, but the more practiced soldiers amongst them might skew more toward Fighter.

Monk:

I could imagine some of the more spiritual clans having monastic traditions, with Four Elements and Open Fist as good subclasses.

Paladin:

Paladins to tend toward the Lawful, but I could see Oath of the Ancients working well here. Oath of Vengeance could also be a good option.

Ranger:

As the most wilderness-based guild in a plane without any true wilderness, Rangers of all types would probably work with the Gruul. Beast Masters in particular seem like a good match, flavor-wise, though I'd say most would work quite well.

Rogue:

While they aren't going to go much for urban subterfuge, Scouts would be a good option here, and perhaps the more flamboyant troublemakers could go Swashbuckler.

Sorcerer:

Storm Sorcery, Wild Magic, and maybe Dragon Ancestry could work decently here. The Gruul are probably more likely to get their arcane magic through in-born ability than study, so Sorcerers work pretty well.

Warlock:

I could see Archfey Warlocks working pretty well, but beyond that, there aren't many chaotic, nature-based warlock patrons for them to choose from.

Wizard:

The Gruul probably don't have much in the way of Wizards, given their disdain for the kind of sedentary institutions a Wizard would want to access for their training or research.

Raging with the Clans:

The Gruul have the potential to play as dumb brutes, and that's not a terrible decision. But I think that you might get more out of it if you played up the spiritual, shamanistic element of the guild. Despite being looked down upon as hordes of thugs always fighting one another, there is something tragic about the Gruul's ever-failing struggle to free Ravnica's natural world from the urban sprawl.

Given their disorganization and their inability to really fit in within the city, the Gruul clans could easily be framed by conspirators, giving you a great red herring villain. On the other hand, some ambitious clan leader could also take their beliefs to an eco-terrorist level of extremity - maybe that Izzet lab's explosion wasn't the result of a failed experiment, but actually Gruul sabotage!

Gruul territories might provide people with a respite from the urban grind, but given its disjointed nature, it might also be a treacherous place for those not in the guild to learn all the complex politics between rival clans.

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