Yitzi
2011-11-17, 10:30 PM
As the last spellcaster part of my general Core fix (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=215952), I'll be fixing druids.
While druids definitely need fixing, they're surprisingly easy to fix. Their class features aren't exactly broken, just too powerful for the level at which the druid gets them. Some spells need work, but nowhere near as many as wizards. So I propose the following fix.
Wild Shape:
The new form's hit dice may not exceed half the character's druid level for animal and plant forms (elemental forms are still only restricted to HD equal to the druid's level), and a druid does not gain the ability to take Huge forms until level 20.
Animal Companion:
All medium and large animals on the level 1 list are moved to level 4. The level 4 list is moved to level 8, the level 7 list to level 12, the level 10 list to level 16, and the level 13 list to level 20. The level 16 list is not available. As before, the adjustment to the druid's level for determining companion abilities is a penalty of one less than the minimum level for the list.
Spells:
-Spike Growth, Spike Stones, and Wall of Thorns each have their casting time increased to 1 minute. (The first two are long-duration traps, and the last one is by far the hardest Wall spell to get rid of; none of them need to be castable in combat.)
-Winds created by Control Winds have a Fortitude DC either equal to 10+spell level+caster’s key ability score (like a spell) or the DC to resist such a wind if it occurs naturally (as by the table on page 95 of the DMG), whichever is less. When Control Winds creates a tornado, its size is limited to a size of 50’ radius for every 3 levels.
-When Fire Seeds is used to create bombs, each casting of the spell has a different command word (which is not under your control). It is therefore impossible to set off more than 8 bombs at once.
While druids definitely need fixing, they're surprisingly easy to fix. Their class features aren't exactly broken, just too powerful for the level at which the druid gets them. Some spells need work, but nowhere near as many as wizards. So I propose the following fix.
Wild Shape:
The new form's hit dice may not exceed half the character's druid level for animal and plant forms (elemental forms are still only restricted to HD equal to the druid's level), and a druid does not gain the ability to take Huge forms until level 20.
Animal Companion:
All medium and large animals on the level 1 list are moved to level 4. The level 4 list is moved to level 8, the level 7 list to level 12, the level 10 list to level 16, and the level 13 list to level 20. The level 16 list is not available. As before, the adjustment to the druid's level for determining companion abilities is a penalty of one less than the minimum level for the list.
Spells:
-Spike Growth, Spike Stones, and Wall of Thorns each have their casting time increased to 1 minute. (The first two are long-duration traps, and the last one is by far the hardest Wall spell to get rid of; none of them need to be castable in combat.)
-Winds created by Control Winds have a Fortitude DC either equal to 10+spell level+caster’s key ability score (like a spell) or the DC to resist such a wind if it occurs naturally (as by the table on page 95 of the DMG), whichever is less. When Control Winds creates a tornado, its size is limited to a size of 50’ radius for every 3 levels.
-When Fire Seeds is used to create bombs, each casting of the spell has a different command word (which is not under your control). It is therefore impossible to set off more than 8 bombs at once.