Which abilities are most useful for a sea druid

[Procyonpi]

In an aquatic campaign? Obviously Wisdom, but how should I place my stats after that? I got 15, 16, 10, 10, 17, and 7 for my rolls.

[eggynack]

I don't see why ability placement would be different in an aquatic campaign. 17 wisdom, obviously, 16 constitution, and then put the 15 in either intelligence or charisma, probably intelligence unless you're going dedicated face, put the first 10 in the other stat, put the second 10 in dexterity, and the 7 in strength. Pretty basic. I mean, I guess constitution is a bit more important in an aquatic campaign, because it determines how long you can hold your breath, but it's the secondary stat anyway, so that doesn't much matter.

[Emperor Tippy]

What race are you?
What level are you starting at?
What (if any) variants/ACF's are you using?
What (if any) Druid relevant house rules are you using?
What type of Druid do you want to be (caster, skill focused, melee combat, ranged combat, etc.)?

[Procyonpi]

Human, starting at level 3. No major varients. I plan on mostly focusing on casting, although I definitely want to be able get into the fight with wild shape when I hit 5th level.

Part of why I mentioned that it was an aquatic campaign is that I'm not sure how comfortable I am dumping strength because of the swim penalty.

[eggynack]

Part of why I mentioned that it was an aquatic campaign is that I'm not sure how comfortable I am dumping strength because of the swim penalty.
That's not really the biggest deal. Within two levels you're going to have access to both heart of water (CM, 107) and aquatic wild shape forms, which will grant you what is likely to be the best swimming ability in the party regardless of strength. For now, assuming that "aquatic campaign" means on a boat, instead of constantly in the water all the time, just pack a spell or two in case you fall in the water. For example, aquatic escape (CS, 95) will make you a fish for rounds/level, and primal hunter (DrM, 71) grants a +5 bonus on swim checks for 24 hours, among other things. Winged watcher (CS, 106) might make for a good alternative to aquatic escape too, because it turns you into a bird for rounds/level, and that could get you out of harm's way.

[fishyfishyfishy]

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/environmentalRacialVariants.htm#aquaticRaces

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/elf.htm#aquaticElf

Choose one of those and never worry about your actual strength while swimming again. I like the second one (Aquatic Elf from the MM) the best, as you can survive much longer outside the water than the others (all from Unearthed Arcana).

I would do Wis>Con>Int>Dex/Str/Cha for the stats. The last three really don't matter what order you put them in, especially once you get wildshape.

[eggynack]

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/environmentalRacialVariants.htm#aquaticRaces

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/elf.htm#aquaticElf

Choose one of those and never worry about your actual strength while swimming again. I like the second one (Aquatic Elf from the MM) the best, as you can survive much longer outside the water than the others (all from Unearthed Arcana).
I'm not the biggest fan, especially when these issues will go away so quickly. That feat is just so good. I'd rather pull out something like an anthropomorphic bat, and be in the not-water by virtue of the fact that I'm flying, and be amazing by virtue of a crazy +6 wisdom bump. Aquatic elf does seem quite reasonable if you're picking up a dip into seeker of the misty isle (CD, 61) though.


I would do Wis>Con>Int>Dex/Str/Cha for the stats. The last three really don't matter what order you put them in, especially once you get wildshape.
I think a face druid is at least halfway plausible. Between diplomacy as a class skill, wild empathy, the ability to pick up sense motive through skilled city dweller (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a) the possibility of trading wild empathy for voice of the city (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a), relative SADness, and the ability to speak with anything through spells, there's enough incentive there to make it a worthwhile path. It's the kinda thing I'd consider doing were there no other plausible party faces, because the druid definitely can't compete with an actual face. I'd generally stick with intelligence, but charisma is vaguely plausible.

[fishyfishyfishy]

I think a face druid is at least halfway plausible. Between diplomacy as a class skill, wild empathy, the ability to pick up sense motive through skilled city dweller (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a) the possibility of trading wild empathy for voice of the city (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a), relative SADness, and the ability to speak with anything through spells, there's enough incentive there to make it a worthwhile path. It's the kinda thing I'd consider doing were there no other plausible party faces, because the druid definitely can't compete with an actual face. I'd generally stick with intelligence, but charisma is vaguely plausible.

Oh I wasn't implying that Charisma should always be a dump stat for Druids. It's just that with his rolls he would probably be better off giving it a lower priority than Int. More skills are always nice.

[Procyonpi]

Thanks for all the advice!