[PF] Caster Druids that aren't Minion Masters

[magotter]

Hey playgrounders, I've got a bit of a conundrum for you:

I've got a new group and a session upcoming. I've opted to play a Caster-y Druid to balance out all the melee-heaviness of our party. However, all the guides and every optimization I've ever seen on druids leans towards capturing animals, using summons, or animal companions to completely hose the action economy and get a brazillion actions on your turn.

Frankly... I can't be arsed.

I really don't wish to spend all my time / downtime micro-managing a small army, to say nothing of tokens and sheets. I just want to buff/debuff, and perhaps do a bit of wind-themed face blasting to foes. That in mind what are, if anything, my build options to enhance my caster-ness, aside from taking a domain? Interesting archetypes, feats, items, et al to help me?

Level 1, 25 point buy, I'm leaning towards a Tengu for flavor (and so I can justify taking Crane Style without needing to dip monk)
Party members are: Archer Cleric, Summoner, Zen Archer Monk, Knife Master Rogue, and Enlightened Paladin

[Morbis Meh]

Menhir Savant is the archetype you want most: Spirit sense 60ft(basically fey, undead, outsiders and a few other monsters) passive ability which is damn useful but second level you gain place magic which allows you to increase your caster level as a free action for any spell 3+wis times a day. I think it is perfect for your concept and is a great caster archetype that loses some of the lamer druid abilities.

As for race, Tengu wouldn't be my first choice due to the con penalty and a lot of their abilities are relatively useless. My recommendation is garuda blooded aasimar; +2 dex/wis, Res fire,cold and elec 5, +2 to fly checks (will become useful once wildshape comes into play) and you gain see invisibility as a 1/day SLA which is awesome. This still allows for the bird flavor so Crane style makes sense and if you don't like being an outsider take scion of humanity.

Now I would recommend going for a domain as a caster since it nets you an extra spell per day and some other goodies for abilities.

Feats: Extend spell is always a solid choice though at level 1 it may be not as useful (unless there is a specific spell you would like to use for Magical Lineage/Metamagic master which I recommend since they are great spellcaster traits)

[Spore]

Tengu goes with Storm Druid (http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/ultimateMagic/spellcastingClassOptions/druid.html#_storm-druid-%28archetype%29) like Bread goes with Butter.

I made one on 11th level (although Human): Str 14/Dex 18/Con 14/Int 10/Wis 16/Cha 10

I wanted some weight, possibility for solo combat/flanking if needed so I got Con and Strength up. I also wanted the melee wildshapes to not be utterly useless. You could easily switch Int and Str for more skill points.

Domains were Air and Weather. First off Air wins because of your Lightning Arc power. Weather catches up with the 3rd level domain spell Call Lightning (you can change your prepared spells with Call Lightning) but by level 9 where you get both (imho the best two choices) they kind of even out.

With my build you would take Toughness/Combat Casting on 1 (I like resilient types) and flank with Shillelagh or do ranged combat with your Lightning Arc. By 3 or 4 you deal damage with "Produce Flame". Try to set the rogue up for sneaks by moving (and impeding enemy movement). Cover the cleric and summoner with your spells.

[NightbringerGGZ]

A Druid with either the Menhir Savant, Tempest Druid or Storm Druid archetypes would serve you well. At this point you're playing a full caster with some cool addition options. It's up to you whether you want to max spell DCs or spread your stats out so you can have some Polymorphing fun.

Since you want to focus most of your time on buffing & debuffing, might I also suggest looking at the Witch class? With a bit of RP you could fluff your character as being like a druid, and this class has a TON of options for both buffing and debuffing. Wind themed blasting might be a little more difficult than if you were on a druid, but you have quite a few ice and cold themed spells out of the box. There's probably a Patron that can provide some wind themed stuff too. Or you could refluff some of the evocation spells as more of an arctic wind.

[StreamOfTheSky]

I'd definitely recommend Menhir Savant. Best Druid archetype, and very nice for a caster focus.

For the nature bond...check how RAW-strict your DM is. Ash and Smoke subdomains have no overlaps whatsoever and if you can take both on the Fire domain, you end up with two cool battlefield control (BFC) powers and a decent spell list of domain spells. Barring that, I guess go Caves or Cloud subdomain, or do what most druids (IME) do and just take Feather subdomain + Boon Companion feat.

For spells...being a Samsaran with Mystic Past Life helps a lot, since it's 6 spells from *any* other divine caster's spell list added to your own. (well, it's 1 + initial wisdom modifier, but the race gives +2 wis and you already had a million reasons to max the hell out of Wis, so....it's going to be 6). Druid has a lot of BFC spells and some blasty ones in his own right, though. Entangle, Burning Disarm, Stone Call, Spike Stones and Spike Growth, Plant Growth, Flamestrike, Call Lightning, Fire Seeds...just to name a few. Baleful Polymorph is one of the few core save or die spells that didn't get changed in PF.

Buffing is harder, unless you intend to buff natural attacks or animals in general, druid is severely lacking there. Debuffing is even more lacking. You'll really need a good domain and Samsaran to cover those sorts of roles as a druid. You've got Barkskin and Growth subdomain gives you Enlarge Person, so that's....something. A buffer generally wants haste and fly, though, above and beyond all else.