PDA

View Full Version : Race for VoP Druid?



danzibr
2011-02-26, 10:45 AM
Initially I was thinking human to get VoP at level 1, but I'm not sure that's necessary. Supposing one goes all the way to 20, it doesn't seem like losing the single exalted feat will make any difference.

With that said, is there some other LA +0 race which would be better suited for a VoP Druid? Or even LA +1?

Jack_Simth
2011-02-26, 10:49 AM
Initially I was thinking human to get VoP at level 1, but I'm not sure that's necessary. Supposing one goes all the way to 20, it doesn't seem like losing the single exalted feat will make any difference.

With that said, is there some other LA +0 race which would be better suited for a VoP Druid? Or even LA +1?

The standard answers are either Dwarf (for Darkvision, the Con boost, and the save boost), or the Anthropormorphic Bat (Savage Species - +0 LA, +6 Wis, Darkvision, slow flight at level 1).

Do note, though, that it's one Exalted feat, and one regular feat - and if you play your cards right, that Exalted feat is a decent amount of skill points (there's an exalted feat for extra skill points based on level).

Last Laugh
2011-02-26, 10:57 AM
I am a fan of human for VoP, it can manage Sacred Vow, VoP, and Nymph's Kiss at level 1 (for bonus skills) Jack Smith is speaking of Nymph's Kiss (exalted feat, gives bonus skills.)

Elans don't have an expiration date, so that's cool

Whisper Gnome (RoS) makes a nice stealthy druid, I suppose that you can use wildshape for that. The charisma penalty doesn't hit druids too hard (weaker wild empathy and diplomacy) and the strength hit is offset by the awesome that is wildshape.

Kobold is an interesting choice, Penalties to physicals, the con hit can be removed with dragonborn, Arctic, or Jungle Kobold (UA, IIRC jungle gives +con). Str penalty doesn't matter, because wildshape is so good. Dragonwrought would be crazy good with a VoP druid, but I don't know how to manage it without flaws, otherwise you can't pick up VoP until 6th level.

Psyborg
2011-02-26, 11:41 AM
Jermlaine: -6 Str +6 Dex -2 Con -2 Int +6 Wis -6 Cha, tiny fey, 40 ft. move, monster manual 2 pg.131 (LA +0 found in the 3.5 update booklet available on the Wizards site).

/thread

Eldariel
2011-02-26, 11:54 AM
Well, for VoP in particular, Lesser Aasimar [PGtF] would work extremely well, given Aasimars' tendency towards good and the racial Wisdom-bonus. All in all, Exalted Aasimar is pretty natural and synergises decently with Druid. Dreamsight Shifter [RoE] works decently too; shifting grants you Wisdom-bonus, Shifters are kinda close to nature anyways and many Druidic Wildshape combat feats (Multiattack, Improved Natural Weapon, etc.) count as Shifter-feats for shifting and it opens up the servicable "Moonspeaker" PrC which is one of the extremely few non-terrible non-OP Druid PrCs in the game. That is, it compares reasonably to standard Druid, coming out at about the same. Buomman [PlH] is the third of this line; they can't talk but that doesn't matter in Wildshape, though you won't be able to cast (without Nonverbal Spellcasting [PlH] at any rate; not worth spending a feat on) before then.

Ghostwise Halfling [PGtF] gain a limited form of Telepathy with obvious benefits to a Wildshaping Druid, along with the normal decent stuff Halflings get including the substitution levels from Races of the Wild. Kalashtar [RoE] gain Mindlink naturally, which also gets by some of the communication issues.


So, it's either Feat (Human/Strongheart Halfling), Wis Boost (Lesser Aasimar, Dreamsight Shifter, Buomman, Stupid Bat) or Telepathy of some sort (Ghostwise Halfling, Kalashtar). Take your pick. Lesser Aasimar is probably the most natural Exalted of the bunch while Dreamsight Shifter is probably the most natural Druid, but any will work.

Zaq
2011-02-26, 01:00 PM
Will you be focusing on casting or on WS? Raptorans make decent candidates for VoP just because they don't have to care about finding spells that will let them fly. Of course, that's a moot point in WS, so that's to be considered.

Anyway, human is never a bad race. Hellbred fits thematically, but they forgot to say that the Devil-Touched feat you get for being one doesn't conflict with Exalted feats the way that normal Devil-Touched feats do.

Alternatively, you're a friggin' druid; you could be a full-blooded orc (or some other wildly inappropriate race) and you still wouldn't suck. Even with the handicap that is VoP, you have enough leeway from your class alone to take whatever race you like without it really cramping your style that much. Be something weird that you'd never have the leeway to be otherwise. Be a krinth, or a rilkan, or a maenad, or an asherati, or a shifter, or a kenku, or a neraph, or just something off-the-wall that you wouldn't normally get to play. You can benefit from a human's bonus feat, sure, but you're a druid. You don't need it.

danzibr
2011-02-26, 02:11 PM
Ahh, thanks for the responses all.

To clarify, I would go almost exclusively WS. A bit of casting to buff myself, but beyond that, WS all the way. If I were to go casting I wouldn't do VoP, I think.