Page 86 - Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica
P. 86

the pursuit of the common good. At the same time, the
             guild's connection with the natural world gives the con-
             clave a fervent appreciation for the interconnectedness
             of all things. Selesnya doesn't tolerate selfishness or
             ambition, instead urging its members to put the needs of
             others ahead of their own desires and to use the power
             of nature- including nature's wrath- to drive away those
             whose selfishness threatens the coherence of the group.
               The greatest danger that Selesnya faces lies in the
             ambitions of  other guilds, which are flourishing in the
             absence of the Guildpact. Selesnya's way of  curbing this
             grasping selfishness has always been to outnumber the
             other guilds. Its members aren't naive; they fully realize
             that the ambitions of other guilds will lead to violence.
             And they aim to be prepared for that violence when
             it erupts.
               '·For my seedlings to survive," Mat'Selesnya says, "we
             must grow an army capable of  overwhelming such ambi-
             tions." Some of that army is literally grown, in the case
             of plant creatures and elementals. A great many mem-
             bers grow up in the guild from childhood and learn their
             martial skills at the guild's training grounds. And still
             more join the guild through recruitment- especially in
             these troubling times. when rumors of  war and a sense
             of imminent doom make Selesnya's message of harmo-
             nious community sound ever more appealing.

             SELESNYA CHARACTERS
             Alignment: Usually good, often neutral
             Suggested Races: Human. centaur, elf(wood), half-
               elf, loxodon
             Suggested Classes: Bard, cleric, druid, fighter, monk,
               paladin, ranger, warlock
                                                                nadi, at least at the start of your career. Your voda helps
             You might enjoy playing a Selesnya Conclave character   you in your process of  discerning the will of Mat'Sele-
              if one or more of the fo111owing statements are true:
                                                                snya and your place in relation to it.
             •  You like the idea of  being part of a huge, peaceful   The Selesnya Conclave is both a community of wor-
               community.                                       shipers and a militia, and thus its leadership includes
             •  You like playing druids, rangers, or spiritual monks.   both military and religious figures.
             •  You  believe in victory through respectful teamwork,
               overwhelming numbers, or both.                   M ILITARY ROLES
             •  You want a spiritual connection to something bigger   Selesnya looks from the outside like a peaceful commu-
               than just your character.                        nity, but it is also an army. If  you are a fighter, a ranger,
                                                                or a paladin (usually having sworn the Oath of the An-
             JOIN I NG T H E  SELESNYA  C ONCLAVE               cients), your place in the guild is a military one. Unlike
                                                                in the Boros Legion, though, the conclave's milicary
              New initiates come to the Selesnya Conclave as chil-  ranks aren't highly structured; each enclave has its own
              dren, to be brought up by the guild's members, or as   forces, with a single commander and one other layer of
              recruits drawn from the guild  less or the membership   command (at most) above the troops. A variety of  special
              of  other guilds. Regardless of the path you took to get   military roles become available to you as you prove your-
              here, you start out in the role of initiate. As an initiate,   self useful to your vernadi and the conclave. You might
              you must subsume your desires to the needs of the   aspire to be a votary standing watch over the temple
              guild while finding a way (under the guidance of  your   gardens, a sagittar archer, a pegasus-riding equenaut, or
              enclave's leader) to put your talents to use in service to
              Mat'Selesnya. This effort isn't so much a process of car-  a wolf-riding Ledev guardian.
              rying out orders, but of  gradually discerning the will of   RELIGIOUS  ROLES
              the Worldsoul and finding your place in it.       If  you are a druid (perhaps of the Circle of the Land),
               ln your search for communion with the Worldsoul,   a cleric (of the Life or the Nature Domain), a warlock
              you are part of  a worldwide community, but you are also   with the Archfey (Mat'Selesnya) as a patron. or a devout
              part of  a smaller local community- an enclave called a   monk (who might follow the Way of the Open Hand), you
              vernadi, which is led by a dryad called a voda. Your role   might be drawn to a role of religious leadership. These
              in the conclave is specifically oriented toward your ver-  leaders mediate the relationship between the members


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