Seeking to Make a Pathfinder Druid

[Gazirra]

I'm joining a new Pathfinder game, with it having some steampunk stuff thrown in. The background is that a campaign the GM, a friend of ours, and I were in (Curse of the Crimson Throne) going a different way than the books intended (we never got to finish the game due to the CotCT GM's work schedule) in that we defeated the BBEG and took over Korvosa and made it into an Asmodean necropolis allied to Cheliax.

The new game's GM is also throwing in a couple of our other Pathfinder campaigns, including one of them being a PF/Dragonlance crossover, in which I played a Gully Dwarf Paladin of Freedom with the party's Ogre being his best buddy. The Paladin's "deity" was the Gully Dwarf's belief in the power of ancestors and "Gully Dwarf Magic," involving stuff like dead lizards and Rocks of Throwing Very Hard. Oh, and to add to the madness, we found an old wizard's tower with a desk that automatically wrote down everything that the person sitting in its chair said... so there's now a Gully Dwarf Holy Book out there O.o

I'm going to be playing a Saurian Druid in the new game, as the other party members had already made their characters, and the prospect of having a dinosaur animal companion was completely awesome, and the main basis for choosing the character's class. What I'm asking for is just general advice on how to make the character fun and interesting, and perhaps how to make it a bit powerful.

We're starting out at level 3, typical gold for that level, no magic items to start. The stat array we're using is 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. The other PCs are a Magus, a Sorcerer, a Dwarven Barbarian, and an Elven Rogue with the Spy build from the Advanced Player Guide.

The druid's alignment is TN, and he has a pragmatic attitude; if something needs to be done, do it the most efficient way. He wouldn't burn a village to stop a plague, but he wouldn't necessarily stay there to cure the populace himself. If someone week is dying, he might just leave them to die. If his animal companion (T-Rex, because if you've gotta pick a dinosaur, go for the gold) needs to eat, and there is a dead humanoid, dig in.

[Stormageddon]

1. Get Natural Spell feat
2. ...
3. Profit

[sparkyinbozo]

Just...yes.

I did a similar one, had a companion velociraptor named Mr. Bitey. I recommend the T-Rex wild shape (when available) with natural for maximum entertainment. Who wouldn't run from a magic-spewing T-Rex?

[Karoht]

Dangit, post eaten.

Fun ways to be different as a Druid.
Melee focus-take mostly buff spells for the day.
Summoning-Summon at least 1 thing every combat (situation permitting of course). Summons are underestimated and underutilized. They can be very fun to play with as well.

If you want to melee focus, there are some excellent feats/features for getting Wis-Hit and Damage, and I think you can get Wis-AC without dipping into monk, but I could be wrong about that.

[subject42]

Due to the changes to Wild Shape, natural spell isn't the IWIN button that it used to be. It's good (very good), but you have to look to your physical stats as well.

There are two main ways to play a PF druid. You can smash faces and offer limited support spells, or you can summon/area control. Other methods can also work, but those are the two common ones.

How would you like to play? Once we have that, we can put together some builds.

[Gavinfoxx]

Soo..... uh. yea. There is a PF Druid handbook, yaknow?

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/extras/community-creations/treatmonks-lab

[Gazirra]

Due to the changes to Wild Shape, natural spell isn't the IWIN button that it used to be. It's good (very good), but you have to look to your physical stats as well.

There are two main ways to play a PF druid. You can smash faces and offer limited support spells, or you can summon/area control. Other methods can also work, but those are the two common ones.

How would you like to play? Once we have that, we can put together some builds.

That's a part of the problem, I'm not sure what I'd like to do with this druid.... But, being able to Wildshape and rip stuff apart along side my T-Rex sounds AWESOME!

[OracleofSilence]

self buffs (like greater magic fang) and similar stuff for your animal companion then. this should be no problem at all for you.

[subject42]

That's a part of the problem, I'm not sure what I'd like to do with this druid.... But, being able to Wildshape and rip stuff apart along side my T-Rex sounds AWESOME!

If you want to be a face smashing dinosaur, take a look at the Saurian Shaman (http://www.pathfindersrd.com/classes/core-classes/druid/archetypes/paizo---druid-archetypes/saurian-shaman) archetype.

You get your Wild Shape two levels late, and your normal wild shape functions two levels lower, but if you transform into a Reptile, your wild shape functions at +2 Druid level.

Additionally, starting at second level you get a "Totem Transformation", which is a set of limited buffs that will help keep you alive at early levels.

Incidentally, it makes you a better dinosaur/reptile summoner as well.

I would suggest something like this at level 3. It's not a hard and fast rule, but it's a start.

STR: 17
DEX: 15
CON: 16 (18 with racial adjustment)
INT: 14 (12 with racial adjustment)
WIS: 18
CHA: 13 (15 with racial adjustment)

Feats:
1) ???

3) Power Attack

In combat, use your Totem Transformation to get three natural attacks. If you need it, buff with magic fang and/or bull's strength. Congratulations. Now you're a murder factory.

[Groverfield]

There isn't going to be much you'll need to do to make the druid powerful, even after the nerf to wildshape/polymorph, especially with the stat array that you're starting with. I'm not sure that you can get Natural Spell in PF (If it's in there, it's in the APG.)

[Curious]

There isn't going to be much you'll need to do to make the druid powerful, even after the nerf to wildshape/polymorph, especially with the stat array that you're starting with. I'm not sure that you can get Natural Spell in PF (If it's in there, it's in the APG.)

No; it's in core.

[Bhaakon]

I did a similar one, had a companion velociraptor named Mr. Bitey. I recommend the T-Rex wild shape (when available) with natural for maximum entertainment. Who wouldn't run from a magic-spewing T-Rex?

Those of use who would stand there laughing as it waved its little tiny arms around to cast a spell.

[Prime32]

The summoner class with the synthesist archetype is basically the closest thing to 3.5e Wild Shape in PF.

[Gazirra]

If you want to be a face smashing dinosaur, take a look at the Saurian Shaman (http://www.pathfindersrd.com/classes/core-classes/druid/archetypes/paizo---druid-archetypes/saurian-shaman) archetype.

You get your Wild Shape two levels late, and your normal wild shape functions two levels lower, but if you transform into a Reptile, your wild shape functions at +2 Druid level.

Additionally, starting at second level you get a "Totem Transformation", which is a set of limited buffs that will help keep you alive at early levels.

Incidentally, it makes you a better dinosaur/reptile summoner as well.

I would suggest something like this at level 3. It's not a hard and fast rule, but it's a start.

STR: 17
DEX: 15
CON: 16 (18 with racial adjustment)
INT: 14 (12 with racial adjustment)
WIS: 18
CHA: 13 (15 with racial adjustment)

Feats:
1) ???

3) Power Attack

In combat, use your Totem Transformation to get three natural attacks. If you need it, buff with magic fang and/or bull's strength. Congratulations. Now you're a murder factory.

I think I got the wording wrong when I said what I'm gonna play. I'm playing as human Saurian Shaman, not a Saurian that's a Druid ^^;

[subject42]

I think I got the wording wrong when I said what I'm gonna play. I'm playing as human Saurian Shaman, not a Saurian that's a Druid ^^;

Even better! Toss that racial +2 into CON or STR. The rest of the advice more or less holds true.