class to complement druid

[balegar]

I'll be starting a new 3.5 game with only two players including myself. The other player expressed interest in playing a druid, I was wondering what would complement well. I'm usually a straight up human wizard but I've been thinking of trying something different. Ideas I've been entertaining are dmm persist cleric, focused specialist transmuter, or bard. I'm up for any suggestions though. This is my first post but I've read this forum for years and advice here has been invaluable to me in the past, so in short thank you.

[Extra Anchovies]

What's the druid doing? If they're taking the standard melee focus (you're a bear, your companion is a bear, you summon bears, etc), then you won't need to be a beatstick. The Bard seems like it would fit well. Take Song of the Heart to boost Inspire Courage by 1, Words of Creation to double it, a Badge of Valor to add another +1, and Dragonfire Inspiration to turn that +X to hit and damage into +Xd6 energy damage. +10d6 acid damage to all of those bears' attacks? Yes please. Works well with TWF, if you want to enter melee as well.

Another upside of bard is you can be the party face, and cover a few other useful skills, while the druid focuses on casting.

[Ssalarn]

The nice thing in a 2 man game is that the Druid brings two melee-capable characters to the field (and can summon more in as needed) while also providing some reasonable buffs and divine casting.

A DMM Cleric is definitely a viable option to round that party out, and you can basically use magic to get through the stuff that would normally require skill. One of you should probably have a good enough CHA to pull off some social skills (somewhat dependent upon the nature of the campaign).

[Hiro Quester]

I'd go for bard. (better Bard8/virtuoso2/Sublime chord 2/virtuoso8). Arcane casting (to 9th level with SC) complements divine. Versatility in weapons and skills and languages. UMD as in-class to use wands, scrolls etc from other classes if you need their spells.

The two of them can cover most required skills, spells and abilities. And both can (eventually, with wildshape) be decently able to melee while casting.

Perhaps I'm biased, since I just finished playing a bard/SC (that was very fun to play) and am now playing a druid. But I can see lots of complementarity there. (One or both taking leadership to get human/animal meatshield cohorts wouldn't hurt, either.)

[eggynack]

Yeah, something like bard or maybe factotum makes sense. Druids can do most things in existence, but they're a bit lacking when it comes to skill stuff, and they don't have perfect access to all spell effects, especially some arcane ones. Bard is probably better, because it can pull off both things while also buffing a pile of summons, the animal companion, and the druid itself, but factotum can pull off the skill monkey shtick to a greater extent, and they're solid when it comes to providing a small number of utility spells and other odd effects.

[balegar]

The other player wasn't specific about how he planned to play the druid but I'd guess he will be melee (bear onslaught) as his playing style is fairly straightforward. I like the idea of being a bard as I'm used to being the party sage (collector of stories) but I could do the same with cloistered cleric I suppose.

[balegar]

Our campaign's are generally a decent mix of rp and combat. So a party face would be nice to have.

[balegar]

Thanks guy's I think I'll pick up a lute. I don't want to scare my dm with dragon magic though.

[Gnome Alone]

Thanks guy's I think I'll pick up a lute. I don't want to scare my dm with dragon magic though.

Dragonfire Inspiration totally would not fly in so many games that it's not funny... I get why people suggest it, cuz it is pretty awesome, but yeah, no need to give the DM a heart attack by busting out the economy size bucket of d6s that you and everyone you know will now be rolling.

Though come to think of it, for a two-man party it probably wouldn't be too overpowering. But in any event, I think bards are hella fun, so I'd go with bard also, if'n I were ye.

Just as an aside, I actually end up running a lot of games for 2 people, and one of the most effective party combos I've seen is just both players being druids. They're basically 4 characters, they can summon more... they were doing fine against CRs rated for a 4-man party. Redoodoodiculous, the druid class is, I tells ya.

[Extra Anchovies]

Thanks guy's I think I'll pick up a lute. I don't want to scare my dm with dragon magic though.

Excellent choice! The + to hit will be useful in keeping summons relevant anyways, should the druid go that route.

[eggynack]

Just as an aside, I actually end up running a lot of games for 2 people, and one of the most effective party combos I've seen is just both players being druids. They're basically 4 characters, they can summon more... they were doing fine against CRs rated for a 4-man party. Redoodoodiculous, the druid class is, I tells ya.
Yeah, druids are the best at making up for reduced party space. Other casters can certainly flex outside their weight class, by sheer power advantage, but druids just are more party members. As for DFI, I guess it's pretty optimal, but it's hard for me to think that it's overpowered in a party with a druid in it. Bard is still a good choice though, for the reasons I mentioned, even if inspire courage optimization is reduced from hyper-useful to only quite useful.

[daremetoidareyo]

Cue bard:

"Brave sir Druid became a bear,
He bravely became a grizzly bear.
When danger turned its ugly head
Sir druid put it back to bed,
When evil came to lurk about,
summoned wolves pulled the entrails out,
If peril hides its nasty face,
He sneaks on it without trace,
When he's faced with heresy,
It's defeated by wild empathy,
When we're struck by mummy rot,
no cure disease need be bought,

...and then we all go to town to get drunk."

[balegar]

Brave, brave sir druid

[Hiro Quester]

daremetoidareyo FTW.

No conversation is complete without a Monty Python reference.