Warforged Druid Shifter Optimization

[CodeRed]

So, long time friend of mine invites me to play a game with some more of my buddies as well (we've been playing D&D together off an on for seven years). We all have pretty high system mastery so not one of us can make an ineffective character if we tried. To curb this, we decided to go with more of a low-power campaign so we can invite some newbies without completely curbstomping them.

I've always wanted to do a Warforged Druid as it just sounds awesome for roleplay purposes. I know how to use Wild Shape and how good it is, but like I said, don't want to break this for the new kids. So, I decided to roll with the Shifter variant from PHBII which trades in Wild Shape and the Animal Companion for the ability to shapeshift all the time into a few select forms which get 1/4 your druid as an enhancement on all natural attacks. It seems solid without being broke.

So, the question for the playgrounders is, what feats/spells should I be looking at? This guy is going to be more of a melee'r since so far in the game all we have are a Bard and a Sorceror. The 4th guy I don't know what he's playing yet so I need to cover the tank/healing support role (Vigor line of spells works wonders, I know). Summoning is good, but I'd prefer to stay away from that as the complete focus of the build.

DM's giving me Ironwood Body for free due to "rule of cool" but I'm really at a loss for the first level feat and then feats from there on out. Books are pretty much anything other then Faerun specific setting stuff (we had some bad run-ins with things like Telflammar Shadowlord and Incantatrix so we stay away from anything Faerun for the most part).

TL;DR Warforged Druid PHBII Shifter variant to lvl 20, feats, spell suggestions?

[Frosty]

Not use Wild shape? But...but...he's losing out on the awesomeness from the Cityscape Web Enhancement know as...

City Soul

The most powerful druids can transform themselves into elementals, representatives of the building blocks of reality itself. A few urban druids, truly taken with the nature and order of the city, prefer more mundane forms.

Class: Druid.

Level: 16th.

Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain the wild shape (elemental) ability, or later improvements to that class feature.

Benefit: At 16th level, the druid can use her wild shape (or city-shape) ability to become a Small, Medium, or Large animated object (MM 13) once per day. These forms are in addition to her normal wild shape uses. In addition to the normal effects of wild shape, she gains all the animated object's extraordinary abilities, as well as many traits of the construct type (low-light vision, darkvision to 60 feet, and immunity to critical hits, poison, disease, paralysis, and stunning).

The precise form must be an object common to the city environment, such as a wagon, a statue, or the like. (Talk to your DM in advance to determine what sorts of forms are available and what are off-limits.)

The druid can assume the form of an animated object twice per day at 18th level, and three times per day at 20th level. At 20th level, she can use this ability to turn into a Huge animated object.

Special: The Natural Spell feat functions with city soul just as it does standard wild shape.

A construct that can transform into animated objects...what's not to love about that? Some people make millions filming movies on this subject matter! Just add explosions.

[Psyren]

I just wanted to point out for you and your DM that Ironwood Body isn't necessary to be a Warforged Druid. If you truly got it free great, but if you had to give something up in exchange, just know it's not mandatory.

[CodeRed]

I just wanted to point out for you and your DM that Ironwood Body isn't necessary to be a Warforged Druid. If you truly got it free great, but if you had to give something up in exchange, just know it's not mandatory.

I did get it truly for free. I told him it wasn't mandatory for a Warforged Druid to have it but he demanded I take it for free as it fits the history of the area this campaign is starting in.

As to the City Soul, while being Optimus Prime sounds fun, this campaign is set in a forest and currently, the people who constructed my character lack any knowledge of metal. Everything is made of wood or ironwood which is part of the fluff reason for why I get Ironwood Body for free. There simply isn't any metal for the composite plating of a normal warforged to be made.

[supermonkeyjoe]

Secrets of Xen'Drik has the landforged walker PrC, very easy to enter at level 6, it loses one spellcasting level but grants a bunch of plant themed abilities and is pretty flavourful.

[CodeRed]

Secrets of Xen'Drik has the landforged walker PrC, very easy to enter at level 6, it loses one spellcasting level but grants a bunch of plant themed abilities and is pretty flavourful.

Indeed. Landforged Walker is a solid prestige class but is really better for a Warforged Cleric to enter because it advances none of a druid's abilities except for spells. As a cleric, you give up turning. As a druid, you lose out on Animal Companion levels and Wild Shape levels for anything that isn't a plant.