Four Druid questions

[silverwolfer]

So am doing an lions of tisdal build, and have three questions for my druid


1. What is a good armor for a druid under 15k, using only Forgotten realms books, and the general core books that are not setting specific ((basically everything not Dragon/Eberaon/dragonlance/homebrew,, you know that stuff.

2. Is an Celestial templated Asperi , a decent animal companion to ride about on , or will I have to worry it getting the fireball treatment. (I am a ghostwise halfling)

3. When a druid prays for a animal, does it "walk in from the forest" or suddenly appear with a loud pop sound.

4. What is a good "small" or compact animal, if i need to go into the city , or a dungeon where large creatures may not do that well.

[Ketiara]

To answer question 4:

http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19871522/The_Handle_Animal_Guide

Fleshraker dinosaur is the best medium animal, if you are allowed to take it. And a medium size animal is good for dungeon crawling. As for taking a dinosaur into a town, the above guide might give you some tips, but don't count on the city guard letting you bring your various carnivor past the city walls.

[caden_varn]

If you can push the armour budget to 16K (plus base armour cost), you can get wild armour, which will change with you when you wildshape. I think you can get the same benefit from wilding clasps, but I don't know what source they are from, so I'm not sure whether it would be legal and/or cheaper.

Lacking that, you are not going to have your armour in wildshape form, which makes armour less useful after you get the ability. You may find it is better to get something like bracers of armour (assuming your DM allows your party members to fit them to your wildshaped form).

No idea on 2.

3 I think will be a DMs call - I'm not aware of any specific ruling, though someone more knowledgeable may contradict me. So probably talk to your DM.

For 4, a wolf is probably a good call. Apart from anything else, people will probably assume it is a dog in a city, making it fit in a bit better than an 8 foot tall ape, for example :smallsmile:

[hoverfrog]

1. Don't wear armour. What are you doing going into combat? That's why you keep a meat shield around.

2. Horses are quite good for riding. Get some custom items to defend it from magic spells. A saddle of spell resistance or something should do.

3. I always imagined that you'd go looking for it.
If a druid releases her companion from service, she may gain a new one by performing a ceremony requiring 24 uninterrupted hours of prayer.
Nothing here says that you have to sit in the lotus position in your grove dressed in nothing but blue paint while chanting slowly in Druidic. I'd always thought of druids as more active in their prayer

4. A potion of reduce animal may be of some value. Take what you like as a companion and if the city guard object have it growl at them menacingly. Megaraptor cavalry should be impressive enough for any stupid city boy. Failing that a druid's place isn't in the city, send the skill monkey to buy your provisions while you concentrate on adding more straw to your beard so that you look like the proper wild man.

Or get a bird of some kind.

[ShriekingDrake]

If you decide to go with something like a fleshraker, you could use Aspect of the Wolf for short visits into a town--or cast it repeatedly.

[Darrin]

1. What is a good armor for a druid under 15k, using only Forgotten realms books, and the general core books that are not setting specific ((basically everything not Dragon/Eberaon/dragonlance/homebrew,, you know that stuff.


It depends on your Dex bonus, but probably Darkleaf MW Breastplate (2600 GP) or Darkleaf MW Full Plate (4650 GP). Darkleaf appears in the A&EG, which is not setting-specific. Wild property is a bit out of your price range (+16000 GP), but Beastskin (+9000, MIC p. 7) is more affordable. You'll want to add:

* Durable property (+500 GP, Dungeonscape): armor is immune to acid/rust/green slime damage. 1/3rd the cost of Blueshine. If you're going with Full Plate, add the Restful property (+500, same book) while you're at it.

* Easy Travel (+1500 GP, MIC): treat a medium load as a light load, which essentially doubles your carrying capacity while flying. While it's not entirely clear if carrying a medium/heavy load prevents you from flying or just reduces your movement, just carrying a light load avoids the argument entirely.

* Anti-Impact property (+2000 GP, Complete Warrior): take only half damage from falling/constriction/crushing damage.

* Lesser Iron Ward Diamond (2000 GP, MIC): DR 3/-, up to 30 HP per day. Or if you went with the Full Plate, consider a Crystal of Alacrity (3500 GP, MIC p. 195) for a +5' morale bonus to your speed.

* Darkwood Buckler +1 (1205 GP) + Lesser Crystal of Arrow Deflection (2500 GP, MIC). Add Death Ward (+1 enhancement, so +3000 GP) as funds become available.



2. Is an Celestial templated Asperi , a decent animal companion to ride about on , or will I have to worry it getting the fireball treatment. (I am a ghostwise halfling)


Dire Eagle is more durable, better fly speed, better damage, and is easier to replace. It's also medium-sized, so it's appropriately sized for a halfling rider, and easier to fit in a dungeon.



3. When a druid prays for a animal, does it "walk in from the forest" or suddenly appear with a loud pop sound.


The rules don't really say, but I would presume it's probably some variation of "walk in from the forest". However, it also doesn't say anything about druids who perform the ceremony in an environment where it would be ludicrous for the requested animal to show up, such as underground or underwater (which presumably still works).



4. What is a good "small" or compact animal, if i need to go into the city , or a dungeon where large creatures may not do that well.

Dire Eagle or Fleshraker. If you're looking for something less conspicuous, a riding dog will probably raise fewer eyebrows (however, most PCs are walking arsenals bristling with pointy/glowy-kill-it-even-deader items, so remaining "inconspicuous" might be an exercise in futility). If you're looking for something smaller, then you might consider a not-so-dire eagle (has +14 Spot bonus) or monkey (has hands and can manipulate objects).

[Snowbluff]

So am doing an lions of tisdal build, and have three questions for my druid


1. What is a good armor for a druid under 15k, using only Forgotten realms books, and the general core books that are not setting specific ((basically everything not Dragon/Eberaon/dragonlance/homebrew,, you know that stuff.


You are a spellcaster. Luminous Armor, Greater. BoED. O gp. 3000 for an orb of bodily restoration, if you feel the need.

[silverwolfer]

nvm ...

hmm

[Togo]

There are some nice druid-specific armours in the Magic Item Compendium. Look under specific armours, and look for the ones with animals in their names (e.g. owlfeather armour)

[Getsugaru]

There are some nice druid-specific armours in the Magic Item Compendium. Look under specific armours, and look for the ones with animals in their names (e.g. owlfeather armour)

Speaking of the MIC, Armor of the Fallen Leaves is agreat option, though it may be out of your price range (posting from a restraunt currently, AF Books).

On Animal Companions, before I post my favorites, I must make meantion of a few things:
First off, you should really consider the Arcane Heirophant. It advances Druid stuff, lets you cast arcane spells in druid armor, and gives your animal companion familiar bonuses, like intelligence, improved evasion, etc.
Secondly, you should see if you can convince your DM to allow a prestige class that is from Ebberon: the Planar Shepard. It not only advances all of your Druid abilities, it also gives some more, like Planar Bubble, said to be one of the best prestige classes available, at least to Druids.
Finally, if you don't want to get armor because of the Wild-Shape-needing-armor-trait-to-still-enjoy-armor-benefits thing, you should look at an Alternate Class Feature from Unearthed Arcana. It basically gives you a monk's armor, speed, and attack abilities in exchange for losing armor proficiency. Juust something to think about.

Some of my favorite animal companions are dinosaurs, dire tortoise, dire polar bear, and the Megaloceros from Frostburn (think Giant Elk with even more Giant Antlers and better stats). Something useful is the pathfinder Druid's class feature, which lets you have a domain in exchange for your companion. What they didn't realize is that you can have both by taking the Animal Domain, which grants you the ranger's equivilent of an Animal Companion, by which I mean you get one but your Effective Druid Level is -3. This can be averted, however, by a feat from complete adventurer called Natural Bond, which increases your Effective Druid Level by +3. Thst means you get an animal companion at level 4, and with this feat it counts as a normal levelled animal companion. It also means you get doomain spells, which some prestige classes require you have at least one domain. Just a thought.

On #3, I got nothing.

Finally, on #4, I'd suggest one of the following:
Wolverine
Bloodstriker
Brixashulty
Warbeast Template
Celestial Template(obtained from Exalted Companion feat)

...That's all I got for now. Hopefully can get home soon and looka t my books for more info.

Also, here (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=940.0) is a good Druid Handbook from the optimizers over at the former brilliant gameologists. Hope this helps...