3.5 Druid help

[torrasque666]

I know that there are a lot of handbooks out there for how to optimize a druid, and I know that it is possible to become absurdly powerful as a druid, but does anyone have any advice on how to shake this nagging feeling that I'm nothing more than a more utility-oriented and restricted cleric? I'm only level 2, so that might have something to do with it. The rest of the party is a human rogue, a swiftwing shifter scout, a truedive shifter swordsage, a hadozee swashbuckler, and an aquatic half-elf wu jen. I'm a human druid. I think its mostly core with stormwrack and unearthed arcana and a case-by-case on the spell compendium.

So in short, any advice on how to not feel like a hippy cleric?

Stats are:

STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA


12
14
15
14
17
12



We're also playing using the spell point variant along with the vitalizing variant, so if you guys can help me figure out how to get the most bang for my buck that would help as well.

[TrueJordan]

Spell point variant? What's that?

Kelpstrand is good, as are summoning animals. Switch off between those, though at level 1 you're probably gonna be spamming Produce Flame and having your companion kill trip people (hopefully it's a riding dog or wolf).
Don't worry, at higher levels you'll far more powerful than any of your friends. At this low level though, yeah, it's not the best.

[Rethmar]

The power will come naturally (ew puns) as you level.

The spell list opens up and has great options for all kinds of druids. Hippie spells, fire/destruction spells, etc.

Also Wild Shape. Look up a few forms you like, and then just tack on Natural Spell at 6th level.

[eggynack]

What's your list look like? At that level, you should mostly be running some mixture of BFC's, with entangle as a definite, and spells like impeding stones (City, 66), wall of smoke (SpC, 235), and sporefield (CS, 104) being useful of you have the books available. Those are good, but the real question is always the first one. What would you like to be doing with your spells, and how are your current spells not doing that for you?

[torrasque666]

Mostly I'd prefer to not feel like I'm stuck between a healer, which I'm built for, and an offensive caster, which I often end up in a situation that its needed. I feel that my issue is that i have to keep about half of my spells for cure light wounds due my teammates keep getting hurt. and that mostly we're in places where plants are rare/non-existant(like a ship we're boarding) otherwise i'd be casting entangle on everything. Combine that with the fact that most of my spells last 2 rounds at most, I don't exactly have a lot of time before I'm unconscious due to the variant rule we're using. As for list, it was my understanding that I can cast anything under the druid list.

As a clarification, we're mostly doing an aquatic campaign.

[Gavinfoxx]

Why ever would you build for being a healer when you can buy a 750 gp wand of lesser vigor?

Also cast Spore Field and then Entangle!

[torrasque666]

Due to the fact that we started off with jack **** for money and most of what we had went towards buying a ship. And fluff reasons due to being the ship's surgeon.