Hier mal Zitate aus den entsprechenden Editionen:
D&D 5E
For druids, nature exists in a precarious balance. The four elements that make up a world—air, earth, fire, and water—must remain in equilibrium. If one element were to gain power over the others, the world could be destroyed, drawn into one of the elemental planes and broken apart into its component elements. Thus, druids oppose cults of Elemental Evil and others who promote one element to the exclusion of others.
Druids are also concerned with the delicate ecological balance that sustains plant and animal life, and the need for civilized folk to live in harmony with nature, not in opposition to it. …
AD&D 2E
As protectors of nature, druids are aloof from the complications of the temporal world. Their greatest concern is for the continuation of the orderly and proper cycles of nature – birth, growth, death, and rebirth. Druids tend to view all things as cyclic and thus, the battles of good and evil are only the rising and falling tides of time. Only when the cycle and balance are disrupted does the druid become concerned. Given this view of things, the druid must be neutral in alignment.
Druids are charged with protecting wilderness – in particular trees, wild plants, wild animals and crops. … However, Druids do not tolerate unnecessary destruction and exploitation of nature for profit. …
Auch nochmal die relevanten Abschnitte aus dem
PHB der 1e:
"The druid is a sub-class of clerics. They are the only absolute neutrals (see ALIGNMENT), viewing good and evil, law and chaos, as balancing forces
of nature which are necessary for the continuation of all things. [...]
Druids can be visualized as medieval cousins of what the ancient Celtic sect of Druids would have become had it survived the Roman conquest.
They hold trees (particularly oak and ash), the sun, and the moon as deities. Mistletoe is the holy symbol of druids, and it gives power to their
spells. They have an obligation to protect trees and wild plants, crops, and to a lesser extent, their human followers and animals. Thus, druids will
never destroy woodlands or crops no matter what the circumstances. Even though a woods, for example, were evilly hostile, druids would not destroy
it, although nothing would prevent them from changing the nature of the place if the desire and wherewithal existed. In similar fashion, they avoid
slaying wild animals or even domestic ones except as necessary for self-preservation and sustenance.
If druids observe any creature destroying their charges, the druids are unlikely to risk their lives to prevent the destruction. Rather, it is probable
that the druids will seek retribution and revenge at a later date as opportunity presents itself.
[...]
Druids as a class do not dwell permanently in castles, or even in cities or towns. All druids prefer to live in sacred groves, dwelling in sod, log, or
stone buildings of smallish size. When attaining levels above the 11th, characters will generally inhabit building complexes set in woodlands and
similar natural surroundings."
Edit: OCR-Fehler