Selesnya Conclave

Ravnica's Wilderness Caretakers

Overview

Like a thriving garden, carefully tended and abundantly fertile, the communities of the Selesnya Conclave are a harmonious union of nature and civilization. The members of the Conclave are a harmonious union of nature and civilization. The members of the Conclave dream of embracing all of Ravnica in their peaceful union. In the meantime, they are growing an army, preparing to resist the ambition and destructive impulses of the other guilds and fight to defend their way of life through this time of uncertainty.

Founded by Parun Mat'Selesnya, a primordial elemental who communicates through a group of dryads, the Selesnya Conclave is a decentralized collective variably described as a "selfless, nurturing, spiritual group" or a "brainwashing nature cult", depending on your point of view, and it strives to involve itself in the establishment and maintenance of peace, life, and unity in Ravnica. The territories held by the Selesnya are open and sunny, full of green spaces and gardens, with white stone buildings which are often open to the air. The towering world-tree of Vitu-Ghazi serves as the Guildhall.

Purpose

The original mission of the Conclave involved charity, conservation, and community. Over the years, the only thing that changes is the interpretation of these purposes.

Core Values

Goals

Despite their appearance of being "good" and "peace-loving", the guild has had a sinister streak at certain points in the past. During times of silence from Mat'Selesnya, the guild is prone to losing its way and entering into a state of paranoia, even resorting to employing Quietmen, a mysterious form of elemental-spirit soldier, and other members to silence the civilians of Ravnica. The defenders of the Selesnya are the Ledev Guardians. Equenauts ride pegasuses, combining the role of mounted warriors and scouts. Sagittars, are elven archers that defend key guild locations.

Organization Structure

At the heart of Selesnya faith and philosophy is Parun Mat'Selesnya, who devotees refer to as the Worldsoul. They believe this primordial elemental to be the manifestation of nature itself. At the signing of the original Guildpact, Mat'Selesnya was embodied in an elemental form and acted as the guild's first Guildmaster. However, the Worldsoul has not manifested in his entirety since then and now prefers to communicate through the Chorus of the Conclave. The Chorus is a group of Dryads that are linked to a different aspect of Mat'Selesnya's consciousness. Trostani, a Dryad fusion of three of these aspects of the Worldsoul, speaks for the Chorus.

The Conclave is organized in enclaves called vernadi, which are communes built around central trees, like smaller versions of Vitu-Ghazi. A dryad, called a voda, is called forth to be the leader of the community, connecting the vernadi to the Worldsoul and the will of the entire Conclave. The vernadi are a harmonious union of nature and civilization. Their house are created by woodshapers and are like living gardens without doors, carefully tended and abundantly fertile. The Selesnya are proud of their wurms, which are used by shamans called wurmcallers to travel underground. The wisest clergy (including many Loxodons), are sometimes called hierarchs, although there is no official hierarchy in the religion. Spellcasters fill both military and religious roles, believing that their spells are a gift from the Worldsoul.

The Conclave is both a community of worshippers and a militia, and thus its leadership includes both military and religious figures.

Recruitment

New initiates come to the Conclave as children to be brought up by the guild's members, or as recruits drawn from the guildless or the membership of other guilds. Regardless of the path you took to get here, you start out in the role of initiate. As an initiate, you must subsume your desires to the needs of the guild while finding a way to make yourself useful to Mat'Selesnya under the guidance of your enclave's leader. This effort isn't so much a process of carrying out orders, but of gradually discerning the will of the Worldsoul and finding your place in it.

In your search for communion with the Worldsoul, you are part of a worldwide community, but you are also part of a smaller local community, your Vernadi, the neighborhood you serve and most likely also the one you live in. The first part of your career will most likely be spent in service of your Vernadi and its Voda, who you will get to know and who will help you discern the will of Mat'Selesnya and your place in relation to it.

Public Relations

The Selesnya philosophy is one that embraces all of Ravnica. Everyone is a potential ally, until the moment they demonstrate their hostility to the Conclave or the will of the Worldsoul. The Conclave have difficulty with the riotous Rakdos, the sinister Dimir, and the chaotic Izzet, but their focus on ordered community and verdant nature gives them some amount of common ground with every other guild.

On the reverse side of this, any guild can become an enemy of the Conclave if its Guildmaster's ambitions - or rogue agents within the guild - upset the balance of power on Ravnica. From the other side, many other guilds see the Selesnya as a quiet threat and seek to diminish its strength before its numbers grow out of control, so as a member of the Conclave you are duty-bound to oppose their operations of sabotage. The wanton plunder of Ravnica's natural resources can also provoke the Conclave to take action.

When members of other guilds pursue noble aims - promoting peace, strengthening community, and opposing other guilds' efforts to expand - they act as allies of the Conclave and thus your allies. Furthermore, they are potential recruits into the fold, since they have demonstrated their sympathy for Selesnya's goals and their value to the community.

Ravnica's Opinion of the Conclave

The Conclave's Opinion of the Other Guilds

In the Selesnya vision of a perfect Ravnica, the guilds would be abolished and all people would live in harmony with nature and each other. Until such a vision comes to pass, the Conclave judges the other guilds against that standard of perfection.

Azorius: "All their laws are meant to create a semblance of the unity that binds us already. If they would only be still and listen to the voice of Mat'Selesnya."

Boros: "Sooner or later they will tire of their fighting, and when they do, the gentle embrace of the Conclave will be waiting for them."

Dimir: "Just as they hide from the light and cling to the shadows, they hide from life and cling to secrets. They see everything as a scheme, everyone as a tool, instead of recognizing the power of unity and mutual growth."

Golgari: "They wallow in filth and rot, too preoccupied with death to appreciate the bliss of life's connections. Their ranks swarm with dangerous and self serving individuals."

Gruul: "They are a desperate echo of what they should be, reaching blindly toward something greater. Such a waste, and a smelly, unreasonable, destructive one at that."

Izzet: "The path to unity doesn't lie in the oppressive control of a massive ego like the dragon's. The Izzet can tinker and meddle all they like, but they are doomed to failure."

Orzhov: "An endless stream of grasping hands, reaching for more and more, pursuing their individual ambitions at all costs - even from beyond the grave."

Rakdos: "They laugh at tragedy and wallow in pain. Eventually, they will submit to Mat'Selesnya. Until then, they must be contained and the damage they cause to society must be mitigated."

Simic: They chart a twisted course of warping and mangling life and nature. Yes, we must grow and adapt, but nature will take its own time in completing that task."

Making a Selesnya Character

Selesnya Classes

The Conclave is a massive collective of individuals that choose to make a positive change in their community and the world at large. Though they take many different shapes and sizes, they all use their unique skills to bring peace and harmony to Ravnica. These are the roles that the various classes traditionally play in the Conclave.

Barbarian - Stalwart, strong, and sturdy, there's no stronger reminder of nature's power than a Conclave Barbarian. Beyond fitting into nearly every aspect of the guild's militia, Barbarians are further useful as neighborhood watchers, beast tamers, carpenters, and other aspects of life in a Selesnya greenbelt. No matter where they are within the Conclave, their talents and fury are well respected and put to good use.

Bard - Bards in the Conclave are almost always leaders. They usually take the form of leaders in local gatherings or religious hierarchs and militia leaders. Wherever they go, charismatic Bards naturally pull people in a community closer together, a skill that the Worldsoul itself holds very dear.

Cleric - Firmly at home in the Conclave, Clerics are always leaders that interpret the voice of the Worldsoul and share its teachings with the community. They are revered for their wisdom and sought after for religious leadership; but in times of dire need, they are called upon to invoke the power of their Doruvati to protect neighborhoods or the entire Conclave.

Druid - Connected to the Worldsoul in a similar, yet arguably deeper, way as Clerics, Druids are some of the most revered individuals within the massive Conclave. For obvious reasons, this nature focused class is abundant within the guild. They can fill leadership roles both religious and military, but they can also be Woodshapers, magical carpenters that live simple lives build domiciles and other structures for the Conclave.

Fighter - The most common class in the game finds numerous niches in this vast communal guild. Whether it's being a leader on a local or global scale, or just being a simple farmhand, beast tender, and community member, Fighters always fill the gaps, standing shield and shield with their neighbors in every situation.

Monk - The way of the Worldsoul has many monastic offshoots, all of which study the art of rigorous charity and neighborly love. From an adventurer standpoint, very few Monks make their way out of the neighborhoods and cloisters that they study and serve in, but when they do, they make some of the Conclave's best and most versatile agents.

Paladin - There are those who spread the light of the Worldsoul through acts of kindness, teachings, and neighborly love, and then there are those who embody that light themselves. Paladins of the Conclave possess a very forceful Doruvati and, as such, they serve as direct liaisons and interpreters of Mat'Selesnya's will to the rest of the guild (much like Clerics) in addition to other roles of leadership that their local neighborhood requires of them.

Ranger - Perhaps more prevalent in the Conclave than many of the other guilds, the Ranger finds a useful place in every corner of the guild. From a beast tamer to a militia member, all the way up to leadership roles in militant positions. There are no more feared archers on the entire plane of Ravnica than the Conclave's Sagittars, a group of Centaur Rangers that aim their shots with full city maps and strike targets from miles away.

Rogue - Although the standard Rogue trope finds no purchase in Selesnyan culture, the class is still superior to almost any other in terms of versatility and expertise. A Conclave Rogue finds just as many homes as the Fighter does. Whether it's as part of the community or in a position of leadership, as long as the Rogue's views align with the Worldsoul, there will always be ample space for their talents.

Sorcerer - A rarity in the world at large to be sure, the Sorcerer is equally seldom within the masses of the Conclave. The presence of a Sorcerer that aligns with or is produced from the philosophy of the Worldsoul is always welcome within the Conclave and, due to the nature of their connection to the world's mana, they are always put into direct contact with guild leaders that monitor their growth.

Warlock - Warlocks in the Conclave, though rare, are always formed through a connection with the Worldsoul or a powerful Dryad (or other Feywild entity) associated with the guild. Because of their versatility and unique magical prowess, they make great all-purpose agents and are always put to use furthering or protecting the guild's interests.

Wizard - Some are born with their Doruvati, others have to study before attaining it. It is the viewpoint of the Conclave that the virtue of studying the arcane arts for the better of the community is all part of the Worldsoul's gift, so Selesnyan Wizards are always praised for their long-suffering intelligence. Although possible, this class is rarely seen in the vast lower levels of the guild and is almost always in a position of either leadership or representation.

Artificer - Another rarity in the Conclave, Artificer's that deal in steel and molten lava are rarely seen within the guild; however, those who build using stone, vines, and other less processed aspects of nature are in high demand by the Conclave, using their skills to assist the Woodshapers in building various structures and even serving in positions of military or philosophical leadership.

Blood Hunter - Probably the rarest class in the Conclave, Blood Hunters that align with the Worldsoul will be put to ample use despite this. There are no Blood Hunter Orders associated with the Conclave, but they will readily accept any converts from that dark way of life into the fold of their community.

Selesnya Spells

Members of the Conclave who can cast magic refer to it as "Doruvati", a Sylvan word meaning "gift". When you use these gifts of Mat'Selesnya, graceful swirls of green and silver light dance in the air around you, and phantasmal green leaves might waft through the air. A sensation of gentle warmth and the smell of spring flowers or autumn leaves might accompany your spells.

Cantrips