Undead Underdark Druid

[Grams]

I'm to build a fourth level druid for a 3.5 Forgotten Realms undermountain campaign. I personally know nothing about UM except that it's dark and dangerous...

I was thinking of a Human Necropolitain with Corrupt Wildshape. My question is, are they're any good feats/templates to increase the flavor of the character? Probably taking Rootwalker Varient aswell. I plan to acquire Lichdom around level 13.

Ie. Undead companion, undead SNA's, vermin feats, ect.

Some others I am considering: Lifesense, Darkstalker, Nature Bond, Companion Spellbound and Life Bond

I've heard of a lich druid in lore brought up at other game sessions but I can't remember the name... reading that characters Bio could spark some imagination if anyone knows who I'm talking about.

[eggynack]

This is an interesting one. So, vermin, debuffs, and maybe some cold stuff, cause that's often associated with undead. Also, as much undead as possible, though honestly, there's not much. Vermin stuff is mostly in eberron campaign setting, with the big one being child of winter (ECS, 51), and vermin companion and vermin shape (ECS, 62) are things as well. I'd get the former feat for sure, as it gets some genuinely good vermin summons, but the latter two probably aren't worth it. Vermin wild shape can actually be picked up in a couple of ways, like a vestment of verminshape (DMG II, 273), and wasteland druid (Sand, 47). Summon swarm is also a classic spell along those lines, and if you have a copy of tome of magic, then page 87 has a murder of crows which gets added to your list. I dunno if that's more or less thematically appropriate. Giant vermin is pretty sweet as well. Finally, you might be interested in spiderhand (BoVD, 104), which gets you a little spider scout. That's most of the more interesting vermin stuff. Rootwalker is actually halfway decent, so it should work fine. There're better trades, but that one neither hurts nor helps your character all that much.

After that, I guess undead stuff is worth looking at. I doubt that there's much undead themed druid stuff, because the two concepts are so opposed, but you can use a few minor things, and those will go a long way. Starting off, combining aspect of the wolf (SpC, 16) and ghost companion (Ghost, 53) will allow you to become a ghost for long periods of time at higher levels, though it can be a bit costly to do so without level loss. Blackwater tentacle (Storm, 114) is one of the few druidic sources of negative levels, and you might even be able to start a wightpocalypse that way, though controlling it could be challenging to say the least. Alternatively, you could go for a more druid themed zombie army, and either summon or become a yellow musk creeper (FF, 190), and make plant zombies. Moon bolt (SpC, 143) is a spell that has a different effect against undead, though that falls more under the undead hating style of necromancy. Antilife shell could also fit your necromantic sensibilities.

So, after that, debuffs, and maybe cold spells. Wall of smoke (SpC, 235) is one of the earlier nauseating effects, and first level is obviously full of a bunch of spells that'll slow combat down to a zombie-like shamble, like entangle, impeding stones (City, 66), and sporefield (CS, 104), and the last spell has nauseating effects as well. Mass snake's swiftness, and the normal version (SpC, 193) both have snake in their name, so that might induce you to use them, cause they're awesome. Second level gets you creeping cold (SpC, 55), which should be extended for best results (probably with a rod), blinding spittle (SpC, 32), and blood snow (Frost, 89), which crosses off just about every box there is apart from having real undead. Third level is a bit sparse for this stuff, though it does have arctic haze (Frost, 88), hypothermia (SpC, 118), poison, sleet storm, touch of the juiblex (BoVD, 107), and venomfire (SK, 158). I'm going to stop there for now, both cause that's the level you're at, and because I should probably make sure that this is approximately what you're seeking.

[Grams]

I plan to play him Neutral Good. Plead to Waterdeep to allow me safe passage into the Underdark where I can "live" out my life in a somewhat more tolerant place.

The theology being death is half of natures cycle. I'd rather not become a controller of the dead or causer of it, but rather a shepard of it. Basically he will seek to become the aspect of death in nature.

The deer carcass has just as as much value and merit in the world to a scavenger as grass did to the deer.

"Life and death are the twin faces of eternal existence. To surrender to either one is to resign oneself to obscurity."

So for those reasons I think Life Bond and Lifesense feats from Bad Latin are a must have. Aside from being undead I'll behave just as a normal druid but with a different lens toward the natural order.

I think Corrupt wildshape is the only undead+druid specific thing in 3.5 honestly. At least that I can dig up.

[Phelix-Mu]

Cavelord (Underdark) is a flavorful, but by no means optimal, druidish PrC that fits the underground theme. I think druid might be able to qualify for one of the spider/insect-themed PrCs in Drow of the Underdark or Underdark; worth a look, at least.

Also, in the vermin area, Savage Species brings us the Master of Flies. A pretty interesting PrC, but it breaks Rule 1 of playing a caster in D&D rather violently. Always wanted to make one, though. It has a metric ton of vermin-related stuff.

Props on the "druids can represent death without being evil" thing, too. I even have undead in my world be tolerable by some druids, since the undead do occur (at rather low frequency) in the "natural" world of my setting. Purely my purview as DM, but I think the militant hatred of undead thing is kind of cliched (especially for druids).