One of the stories I'm working on takes place in modern times on Earth, with some historical references, but is a fantasy. I have a tribe of people who are thought to no longer exist, but they had hidden themselves away. Druidism is a big part of their culture, and part of the plot to my story. I'm trying to keep partly with the druid belief (which I'm still learning more about), but at the same time, because I like fantasies due to the magic involved, I'm making this sect of druids truly magical (nature-based magic, of course). The druids can have minimal control over weather (they can make a small breeze, but not a huge storm), and take on aspects of animals (no shapeshifting, but can, say, run as fast as a cheetah for a short amount of time), and have certain mental capabilities, (mainly to do with memories and dreams). Now, I know this derives from the true druid faith. My question is, are people (most likely druids) going to have issues with this, even though it is a fantasy? I don't follow the druid faith exactly in my book because I want to explore the magical side that people think of when playing popular role-playing games and druids found in fantasy realms that are not located on Earth. I could technically say that because this tribe of people had been secluded for nearly 2000 years, their beliefs, traditions, and the way they do things has changed a bit as well, even though they do send people out into the rest of the world for information gathering purposes. Thanks for your time in responding.
Since it is about 90% mythology and lore, there are no actual rules on the abilities the druids should have. Eve if you take RPGs as a reference, each RPG depicts druids differently, like some giving them shapeshifting and animal control abilities making them more of beastmasters than druids, some give them pure healer abilities making them clerics instead and some make them out to be crazy voodoo doctors. If your concept is not too extreme, i don't think people will have a problem with you taking some artistic license to write your story.
Xatron's right. As I understand it, Druidic beliefs are passed down mostly through oral tradition, nothing really written down. (Heck, look at all the confusion there is with religions where things actually ARE written down.) And I can't really think of a single faith that hasn't been used in some form in a fantasy novel. (Scientology, maybe?) Staying respectful, I think, is going to be the main thing to watch for, and it sounds like you've got that part handled.
I think as long as you get the core tenets of the faith right then most people are willing to give you some leeway and be accepting of the fact it is fantasy. That said, you'll probably get people pointing out that it's unrealistic but if you keep the system of magic consistent then you should be okay. It's good that you're researching it.
