🌿☀️ The Verdant Host
The Verdant Host
"Nature provides, nature protects."
Overview
The Host did not found itself—it was founded by the forest. Long before mortals built cities, the ancient trees of Aethoria achieved consciousness. The Great Grove—a collective mind spanning thousands of trees—reached out to the creatures that lived within its branches, teaching them to listen, to protect, to grow.
The first druids were simply those who heard. Elves, humans, spirits—any who quieted their minds and opened their hearts could receive the Grove's wisdom. Over generations, these listeners became guardians, then a society, then the Verdant Host.
The Living Faith
Unlike other factions, the Host worships something present and tangible. The Great Grove speaks through its chosen Voice—currently Archdruid Thornweald—but any druid can commune with the forest's consciousness. This creates a faith without dogma: the truth of nature can be directly experienced, not merely believed.
The Circle of Seasons
The Circle of Seasons advises the Archdruid—four elders representing the eternal cycle:
Spring (Renewal) — Represented by Druid Fernwhisper, Spring philosophy emphasizes regrowth, forgiveness, and new beginnings. After the war's devastation, Spring druids led the healing efforts, coaxing burned forests back to life.
Summer (Abundance) — Represented by Beast Lord Thornmane, Summer represents the peak of nature's power. Summer druids believe the Host should expand, reclaim lost territories, and demonstrate nature's dominance.
Autumn (Harvest) — Represented by Elder Barksoul, Autumn wisdom accepts that all things must end. Autumn druids focus on preservation, recording ancient knowledge before it's lost, and preparing for inevitable winter.
Winter (Rest) — Represented by Druid Frostpetal, Winter philosophy embraces dormancy and patience. Winter druids argue the Host should retreat to core territories, conserve strength, and wait for enemies to destroy themselves.
The four seasons rotate influence throughout the year, creating a civilization that ebbs and flows with natural rhythms. During Spring, the Host focuses on diplomacy and growth. By Winter, they withdraw into fortified groves and speak to none.
The Burning
The Sundering War brought fire to the forest. Enemy armies—particularly the Crimson Pact—burned ancient groves to deny the Host territory and break their spirits. Trees that had stood for millennia became ash in hours.
The Great Grove's agony echoed through every druid's mind. Some went mad from the shared pain. Others were consumed by rage, unleashing nature's wrath without restraint. The forest itself fought back with fury that terrified even its own guardians.
Nature's Revenge
During the war's worst moments, the Host unleashed weapons they had kept dormant for ages:
The Thornwall — A living barrier of brambles that grew a mile in a single night, cutting off an entire Pact army. Those trapped inside were found weeks later, their corpses providing nutrients that made the thornwall grow even thicker.
The Siege Treants — Ancient trees awakened to war, each towering fifty feet tall with roots that could crush fortifications. They were slow but unstoppable, and when they fell in battle, new forests grew from their remains.
The Wrath Storms — Druids channeling Growth essence in its most destructive form, causing accelerated, chaotic growth. Enemy camps were overrun by vines in minutes. Soldiers were trapped as trees erupted from the ground beneath them.
But defensive victory is still loss when sacred lands burn. Post-war, the Host retreated to core territories, focusing on healing rather than expansion. They tend wounded groves, nurture depleted beast populations, and prepare for the day when the forest's enemies return.
Current Leadership
Archdruid Thornweald
Archdruid Thornweald has served as Voice of the Great Grove for two centuries. He does not command so much as interpret—reading the forest's will and guiding his people accordingly. His patience rivals the ancient trees, but beneath the calm lies memory of fire.
Thornweald was young when the Sundering War began, but the Grove chose him as Voice during the conflict's darkest moment. He felt every tree that burned, every creature that died, every sacred place desecrated. That pain transformed him from idealistic scholar to grim guardian.
He speaks rarely, and when he does, even other faction leaders listen. His words carry the weight of the forest itself—ancient, patient, and absolutely unwilling to forgive those who burn sacred groves.
The Beast Lords
While druids channel the forest's wisdom, Beast Lords embody its physical might. These are individuals bonded with nature's apex predators—dire wolves, great bears, ancient stags—creating partnerships that transcend normal animal companionship.
Beast Lord Thornmane currently leads the Summer aspect. Bonded with Razorpaw, a dire bear who fought through the entire Sundering War, Thornmane represents the faction's aggressive instincts. He argues constantly for reclaiming burned territories and punishing those responsible.
The relationship between druids and Beast Lords creates productive tension. Druids provide wisdom and long-term vision. Beast Lords provide martial strength and immediate action. Together, they balance patience with power.
Territory
The Verdant Expanse
The Verdant Expanse encompasses ancient forests where trees older than human civilization still grow. Nature here is wild, powerful, and conscious. Those who enter without permission rarely return—not because the Host kills them, but because the forest itself doesn't let them leave.
The Great Grove
At the Expanse's heart lies the Great Grove—a stand of trees so ancient and massive that each one could hold a village in its branches. These are the trees that first achieved consciousness, that first spoke to mortals, that first dreamed of what the forest could become.
The Great Grove is not one location but many, as the conscious trees' root systems connect across miles of forest floor. To commune with the Grove is to hear the whispers of thousands of trees speaking in harmony, sharing knowledge accumulated over millennia.
Only the Archdruid and senior druids can withstand the Grove's full consciousness. Lesser initiates who attempt communion are overwhelmed by the weight of so much ancient wisdom, spending weeks in catatonic trance as their minds process what they've experienced.
The Thornwall
After the Sundering War, the Host grew the Thornwall—a living barrier of brambles, thorns, and hostile vegetation marking their territory's boundaries. The Thornwall is miles deep in some places, impassable except where the Host chooses to open paths.
The Thornwall is semi-sentient, responding to Host druids while attacking intruders. Merchant caravans must wait at designated gates until druids grant passage. Armies that attempt to cut through find the plants regrow faster than they can be cleared, while poison thorns and strangling vines claim those who venture too deep.
Some view the Thornwall as defensive necessity. Others see it as the Host's withdrawal from the world, choosing isolation over engagement.
Beast Cradle
Deep in the Expanse lies the Beast Cradle—a sacred valley where nature's most powerful creatures are born and protected. Dire wolves, great bears, ancient stags, and stranger beasts all come here to raise their young, knowing the Host will defend this place to the death.
The Beast Cradle serves multiple purposes: nursery, sanctuary, and strategic reserve. In times of war, the Host can call upon fully-grown apex predators who remember being protected as cubs and repay that debt with absolute loyalty.
Internal Tensions
Preservation vs. Expansion
The Preservationists, strongest in Autumn and Winter, argue the Host should focus on protecting what remains rather than risking further loss. They've seen too much burn, too many sacred places destroyed. Better to fortify the Verdant Expanse and wait out their enemies.
The Expansionists, dominant in Spring and Summer, believe retreating invites future attack. They want to reclaim burned territories, restore damaged ecosystems, and remind the world that nature cannot be permanently defeated.
Archdruid Thornweald sides with neither faction fully, adjusting strategy with the seasons. This fluid leadership frustrates those seeking clear direction but mirrors nature's own cyclical patterns.
Ancient Traditions vs. New Growth
The oldest druids remember when the Host's territories stretched twice as far, when sacred groves dotted every region, when all factions respected nature's boundaries. They want to return to that golden age.
Younger druids, born after the Sundering War, argue those traditions failed to prevent catastrophe. They propose adapting to the new reality: forming alliances, using "civilized" tactics, even learning from the very factions who burned their homes.
This generational divide threatens to split the Host more effectively than any external enemy could.
Beast Lords vs. Druids
While officially partners in leadership, tension simmers between those who channel nature's wisdom and those who embody its strength.
Beast Lords view druids as too patient, too willing to talk while enemies gather strength. They want action: hunt down war criminals, burn enemy territories in retaliation, make examples that prevent future aggression.
Druids see Beast Lords as too impulsive, too driven by anger that clouds judgment. Revenge feels satisfying but solves nothing. True victory comes through patience, through outlasting enemies, through being the forest that stands long after empires fall.
Both sides need each other. But neither fully trusts the other's judgment.
Mechanical Identity
The Verdant Host plays as a ramp-to-dominance faction that starts slow but becomes overwhelming in longer games. They excel at generating resources, going wide with numerous units, and leveraging tribal synergies.
Keywords
Cultivate — Generate additional Essence beyond normal production. Cultivate effects let you accelerate into expensive threats earlier than opponents expect, mimicking nature's explosive growth.
Pack — Bonuses for controlling multiple units of the same creature type (Wolves, Bears, Elves, etc.). Pack encourages building focused tribal strategies that reward committing to a theme.
Regenerate — Units with Regenerate restore to full DEF at the start of your turn. This makes them incredibly difficult to remove through combat damage, forcing opponents to find instant removal or accept they'll heal back.
Strategic Identity
Early Game: Focus on Cultivate effects to ramp essence production. Deploy cheap units that either cultivate or have Pack synergies. Accept that you'll be vulnerable to early aggression.
Mid Game: Leverage your essence advantage to deploy multiple threats per turn. Build critical mass of Pack units that enhance each other. Use Regenerate units as anchors that survive repeated combats.
Late Game: Overwhelm opponents with superior board presence. Deploy massive threats they can't answer. Regenerate units make your board nearly impossible to clear. Your essence advantage lets you play multiple cards per turn while opponents struggle to keep up.
Faction Strengths
- Unmatched late-game scaling
- Superior essence generation through Cultivate
- Resilient units via Regenerate
- Explosive turns when Pack synergies align
- Ability to go wide AND tall simultaneously
Faction Weaknesses
- Vulnerable early game before ramping pays off
- Weak to board wipes that bypass Regenerate
- Reliance on creature combat (minimal spell-based interaction)
- Pack synergies require critical mass to function
- Predictable strategy lets opponents prepare answers
Notable Figures
Druid Fernwhisper — Voice of Spring and the Host's foremost healer. She refuses to give up on burned groves that others consider lost, spending years coaxing life back from ash. Her patience has restored places thought permanently destroyed, but her critics argue she wastes time that should be spent on viable territories.
Beast Lord Razorclaw — Bonded with a pack of dire wolves who fought through the entire Sundering War. Razorclaw embodies the Host's fury, leading raids into enemy territory to punish those who burned sacred lands. The Archdruid tolerates these raids because they keep enemies off-balance, but worries Razorclaw's anger will provoke retaliation the Host can't survive.
Elder Oakensoul — Oldest living druid, Oakensoul remembers the Host's territory before the first human cities were built. He speaks rarely, but when he does, even the Archdruid listens. His current project is transcribing the Great Grove's oldest memories before they fade, preserving knowledge that predates written language.
Relations with Other Factions
| Faction | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Eternal Concordat | 😤 Strained | Border disputes; "civilization" vs. nature |
| Crimson Pact | 😡 Antagonistic | Unforgivable atrocities; will never trust |
| Abyssal Court | 😐 Neutral | Different domains; minimal interaction |
| Wild Horde | 💚 Sympathetic | Shared nature reverence despite Horde's violence |
| Chroniclers | 📚 Respectful | Chroniclers document sacred knowledge |