Jaroo Ashstaff
| Jaroo Ashstaff | |
|---|---|
| Names and titles | |
| Title(s): | Druid of the Grove |
| General info | |
| Home: | Hommlet |
| Gender: | Male |
| Species: | Human |
| Class: | Druid |
| Patron deity: | Old Faith |
| Dates | |
| Death: | Prior to 591 CY |
Jaroo Ashstaff, called the Druid of the Grove, is a druid best known for his association with the village of Hommlet.[1][2]
Description
[edit | edit source]Appearance
[edit | edit source]Jaroo is an older human man who wears padded armor and a magic cloak. Amongst other magic items, he carries a staff of the serpent.[1]
Personality
[edit | edit source]He is cautious, and will follow suspicious individuals at a distance to judge their intent. He readily uses his spells and abilities to help adventurers.
Jaroo is dedicated to the destruction of evil. He readily helps those in need and collects donations for the poor from visitors to his sacred grove.
Religion
[edit | edit source]Jaroo follows the Old Faith, a traditional animistic religion common to many druids in the world of Oerth.
Abilities
[edit | edit source]Jaroo Ashstaff has the typical abilities of a seventh level druid, including the ability to cast fourth level spells. He has a huge black bear companion who is rarely seen,[1] and a brown bear named Tanak.[3]
Home
[edit | edit source]Jaroo made a home in a cottage in Hommlet. It is a low-roofed wooden beneath great oaks located within a well-tended sacred grove. The home contains a cellar where Jaroo stores his treasure. The grove is tended by assistant druid Yundi.[3]
Possessions
[edit | edit source]Jaroo has stored considerable treasure in his cottage, various scrolls and potions, but notably a decanter of endless water, and a stone box containing thousands of gold pieces worth of gems.
Relationships
[edit | edit source]Jaroo is an agent of the druids of Gnarley Forest. He opposes evil and supports the destruction of the Temple of Elemental Evil. He is friendly with the people of Hommlet, including militia captain Elmo and woodcutter Tarim.[3]
Activities
[edit | edit source]History
[edit | edit source]Visit to Hommlet
[edit | edit source]Jaroo Ashstaff came to the village of Hommlet to keep an eye on the Temple of Elemental Evil. Twenty-five years later, he was still there, maintaining a sacred oak grove and hoarding gemstones.
Death
[edit | edit source]Around 591 CY, Jaroo was murdered and replaced by a doppelganger working for the cult returning to Temple of Elemental Evil. This infiltration was highly successful and allowed the cult to conceal their activity from the settlement.
Creative origins
[edit | edit source]Jaroo Ashstaff was based on a character played by Tim Kask in a TSR playtest, according to Kask in a YouTube video, [4] In 2011, in the online forum, Dragonsfoot, Kask recalled:
"When we were testing Hommlet, he was not called Jaroo. He was known as Tim, the lusty druid. They made up bawdy songs whenever I could not make a session (I lived with my family 11 miles away in Delavan; for a while we had but one car and my wife and I shared it with the childcare duties for our toddler daughter), they made up new lyrics, always more scandalous than the last. If half the rumors and lyrics were true, there would be an enormous number of little NPC's running around that shared my DNA. (We won't go into what they sang about my supposed fondness for several species of animals.)"
—Tim Kask, 2011 ([5])
The song "Tim, The Lusty Druid" is referenced in the editorial in Dragon #4 (1978),[citation needed] of which Kask was editor. However, he declined to print the any of the bawdy song's lyrics.
Publishing history
[edit | edit source]First edition
[edit | edit source]Jaroo Ashstaff first appeared as a 7th level druid in the adventure module [6], and again in [7].
Third edition
[edit | edit source]Jaroo returned in [8].
See also
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]Notes
[edit | edit source]Citations
[edit | edit source]- ↑ a b c The Temple of Elemental Evil (novel) (2001), p.12.
- ↑ Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil (2001), p.16.
- ↑ a b c Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil (2001), p.10.
- ↑ The Curmudgeon in the Cellar YT4, 31'22"
- ↑ Kask, Tim; (@Kaskoid) (14 August 2011). Re: Q&A with Tim Kask (forum). dragonsfoot.org. Archived from the original on 22 April 2025. Retrieved on 3 January 2026.
- ↑ T1 The Village of Hommlet (1979).
- ↑ The Temple of Elemental Evil (novel) (2001).
- ↑ Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil (2001).
Bibliography
[edit | edit source]| This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from the D&D Lore Wiki— (Jaroo Ashstaff). |
Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index
The Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index (EGI) is based on previous work of Jason Zavoda through '08, continued by numerous other fans. The EGI article has a list of sources, product names, abbreviations, and a link to the full, downloadable index.
| Topic | Type | Description | Product | Page/Card/Image
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaroo Ashstaff | Non-player character | Doppleganger, [D7], | Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil, D&D 3.0e | 9, 10, 12, 15, 16, 137 |
| Jaroo Ashstaff | Non-player character | Doppleganger, [D7], | T1-4 The Temple of Elemental Evil | 12, 26, 27, 28, 44 |
| Jaroo Ashstaff | Non-player character | Doppleganger, [D7], | WG8 Fate of Istus | 93 |