Gestalt Druid Help

[Crazy Cupcake]

I'm working on a character for a campaign with a specific focus, and I was hoping you guys could offer some suggestions.

To begin with, it's a gestalt city campaign. The character's build so far is Druid 13 // Ranger 5 / Master of Many Forms 8. I'm using the ranger variants that grant wildshape, fast movement, and urban tracking and the druid variants that grant unarmed combat bonuses, favored enemies, tracking perks, spontaneous rejuvenation, and various earth-related perks (since we'll be spending a lot of time underground, too).

I'm pretty set on that build and those variations. I want the ranger side of the build to focus on combat when necessary, but his primary focus is on spellcasting and healing as a druid. I know this may not be the most "optimal" build, but it's the one I'm really interested in playing. :)

I haven't decided on his race yet, but I'm leaning towards a Human, Half-Elf, or Wood or Wild Elf. We're also given a few extra feats, so that limitation isn't too much of a concern. We also have access to all of the official WotC material, so that's not an obstacle either.

That said, the things I'd like suggestions on include: What kind of feats should I look into? I know Natural Spell is a given, but what else? Do I need many feats to be a really good caster/healer, and if so are there any particular ones that stand out? How about combinations of feats?
Is there any particular gear I should look into? I know Wildling Clasps are a must-have since he'll be spending quite a bit of time in wild shape forms (usually as something innocuous like a hawk), but I've never played a nature-oriented character before and don't know what's out there.
Are there any pitfalls I should look out for, both during character creation and during game play?
I plan on finishing up the Master of Many Forms prestige class. When I do, what classes should I consider? I'd like to turn attention to the druid side of the build, and thus the caster/healer side. I do know that I'm not a fan of the Warshaper class (I just find it a bit silly; I don't know why). Are there any naturey healing-oriented classes out there?
I'm not looking to abuse the system or pick wildshape forms solely for their stats. I'm looking more for things to watch out for and to compliment the build and character concept.

Think you guys can help?

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

It looks like you'll still get your animal companion, so get Natural Bond in CV and one of the 'level -3' companion choices, such as a Fleshraker dinosaur (MM3) or a Dire Eagle (RoS). You can add your own bonuses and penalties in the most beneficial order, so apply the 'level -3' first and then add in the +3 for Natural Bond so you can still count your full Druid level for its benefits. Since Druid//Ranger won't stack for animal companion advancement, you should get the Distracting Attack ACF in PH2 for Ranger. Keep the Ranger spellcasting, prepare Rhino's Rush (SC) and get some 1st level Pearls of Power to recover it between fights.

I'd recommend Ranger 5/ MoMF 7/ Warshaper 1, and plan to get three more Warshaper levels then finish MoMF, and get one last Ranger level. If you take that Ranger level between the 8th and 9th MoMF levels, you'll have the BAB to get Defensive Sweep (PH2) at level 18. You'll still be able to take the form of a War Troll (MM3) and Cave Troll (MM3) starting out, along with gaining their extraordinary qualities (all of them for both, even DR/Adamantine). Get Frozen Wild Shape from Frostburn and you can also take the form of a 12-headed Cryohydra and gain its Fast Healing and its ability to make 12 bites on every AoO.

For your feats, I'd get Alertness (required), Power Attack, Natural Bond, Combat Reflexes, Natural Spell, Leap Attack, Frozen Wild Shape, Robilar's Gambit, and Defensive Sweep, depending on how many bonus feats you get and whether you pick Human. You'll have Track twice, once from each class, so see if you can Chaos Shuffle one to have yet another extra feat. If you're doing the Chaos Shuffle, you may as well pick an elf (Snow Elf from Frostburn) and Chaos Shuffle the four racial Martial Weapon Proficiency feats as well. If you're doing that you could possibly get Whirlwind Attack, and in Hydra form make 12 bites against every opponent within reach. With Robilar's Gambit you'll also get to make a 12-bite AoO against anyone who attacks you. Other good feats include Companion Spellbond, Augment Summoning, Greenbound Summoning from Lost Empires of Faerun, and Magic of the Land in Races of the Wild. If you're not going to Chaos Shuffle (or if you only use it for the superfluous Track) then consider using Killoren from Races of the Wild for your race, and use the Aspect of the Ancient with Magic of the Land.

Your items should include the Armor/Ring/Mantle of the Beast in Complete Champion. Note that the armor is wild armor, which melds into your form and does not hinder you in any way (i.e. you're considered unarmored and thus keep the Monk AC bonus) even though you still benefit from its armor bonus. The Mantle of the Beast is worth having even if you don't have the rest of the set, and the Ring of the Beast is one of the best items for anyone who casts Summon Nature's Ally. With the ring a SNA 1 can get a Greenbound Dire Bat which uses its Wall of Thorns spell-like ability then spams its Entangle or just melees, which is great considering greenbound creatures are almost guaranteed to last their entire summon duration unless opponents waste a lot of attacks on them.

Other good items (with Wilding Clasps from MIC) would include a Circlet of Rapid Casting, Armbands of Might, Gloves of Dex (for Combat Reflexes), a Necklace of Adaptation (with +Wis and +Con added as per MIC), several Lesser Metamagic Rods of Extend, and any of the Raiment of the Four set mostly for their spontaneous casting abilities.

Consider getting a 6th level Pearl of Power and a standard Metamagic Rod of Extend. Every other day prepare Energy Immunity twice, and cast it three times with the rod using the pearl to recover one. Pick a different energy type with each, they'll last 48 hours so you'll be continually immune to those three energy types. On the days you don't cast those, prepare Superior Resistance and Energy Immunity each once and cast those, using the pearl to recover and cast Energy Immunity again, and use the rod on those as well. Pick the last two energy types, those will all last 48 hours, so you'll be continually immune to all five energy types and get a +6 Resistance bonus to your saving throws, for the cost of those two items and two 6th level spell slots each day.

[Crazy Cupcake]

Thanks for the information so far. :)

Does anyone have any other suggestions, particularly in the way of making him a better spellcaster?

[Gardener]

Biffonaicus: No love for Warshaper 5? Multimorph with the full range of MoMF forms seems pretty nice, though it does cost you another point of BAB and probably Robilar's. I guess it's a question of power against utility, and I'm not sure how much power Robilar's is giving here.

EDIT: Natural Spell's a given, and Augment Summoning is nice for druid casters, but for the most part they're pretty bulletproof. Focus on summons, battlefield control, and the occasional heal - hydra form is going to be better than almost all your blasts.

[Crazy Cupcake]

Well, as I mentioned in my original post, I'm looking to make him a really good healer. One of the druid alternate class features I'm going with allows him to spontaneously cast rejuvenation spells in place of summon nature's ally spells. The group already has a specialist conjurer, and I don't want to step on his toes. (Plus I hate micro-managing summoned minions anyway.)

Are there any prestige classes, feats, items, or other little tidbits that can help in that regard while maintaining the naturey vibe of the character?

[Gnaeus]

Well, as I mentioned in my original post, I'm looking to make him a really good healer. One of the druid alternate class features I'm going with allows him to spontaneously cast rejuvenation spells in place of summon nature's ally spells. The group already has a specialist conjurer, and I don't want to step on his toes. (Plus I hate micro-managing summoned minions anyway.)

If you really don't want summons for personal reasons, that is just fine, but I will point out that with a Ring of the Beast I can heal better with SNA (by summoning Unicorns) than I can with rejuvenation.


Are there any prestige classes, feats, items, or other little tidbits that can help in that regard while maintaining the naturey vibe of the character?

A 1 level dip into Cleric of an appropriate god/ethos would allow you to DMM persist Mass Lesser Vigor, and possibly other favorites depending on your DMs rules. That way you are only doing in-combat heals.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

The Spontaneous Rejuvenation ACF converts prepared spells into a non-spell healing effect. It cannot benefit from anything that would increase the effect of healing spells, such as Augment Healing, Magic of the Land, or the Healing domain, etc. Even those aren't much use in combat, considering you're better off spending spells to debuff or disable opponents to prevent them from dealing damage, and maybe throwing out a heal in an emergency when a character would otherwise die. Healing should be done between encounters, ideally using a Wand of Lesser Vigor to heal 11 HP per charge. In combat, damage prevention is far better than healing damage. The most efficient healing in the game is accomplished via 1st level spells from wands at 15 gp per charge. This game has no in-combat healing role, and it's not worth wasting your character's resources (feats, class features) trying to fill an unneeded role when you could just prevent harm to your party via crowd control effects.

Spontaneous summoning is far better than Spontaneous Rejuvenation because it can provide healing and it gives a great deal of utility. Spontaneously cast Summon Nature's Ally IV (or III with a Ring of the Beast) to get a Unicorn, it can use its spell-like abilities to Cure Light Wounds three times, Cure Moderate once, and Neutralize Poison once, all at caster level 5. That's 5d8+20 points of healing from a 3rd level spell slot, plus a Neutralize Poison, plus if its cast in combat it radiates a Magic Circle Against Evil that ignores SR. You can spontaneously summon water elementals to douse fires. Get Greenbound Summoning and use low-level spell slots to get creatures that can use Wall of Thorns once and Entangle at will as spell-like abilities. Wall of Thorns is one of the most annoying obstacles in the game, and it can be cast on top of opponents to negate their ability to attack the party for quite a few rounds. With a Ring of the Beast a Summon Nature's Ally 1 can get a Greenbound Dire Bat, its Wall of Thorns would be eight 10-by-10-by-5-foot blocks which lasts four hundred rounds, and after using that it can spam Entangle every round for the remainder of the summon duration.

For this character, your best course of action would be as a primary melee combatant with spellcasting for support. Prepare noncombat utility spells and situational status fixing spells like Remove Disease and Remove Curse, since you can spontaneously convert them into summons that could serve multiple purposes. Prepare buffs for yourself and your animal companion. Prepare a few extremely powerful offensive spells, such as Call Avalanche from Frostburn. Combat in this game requires proactive offensive actions, reducing yourself to a reactive defensive role such as healing will not make a meaningful contribution in any fight.

[Crazy Cupcake]

Well, to be blunt, that's not the type of character I'm interested in playing.

Thank you for the suggestions and recommendations, however. I think I can go from here. I appreciate the time and effort. :)