So i rolled a three... Moon Druid?

[Spiritchaser]

Context?

First time poster here, interested in suggestions:

I'm new to 5e, actually I haven't played in years.

That said, a bunch of friends who used to play decided that there might be enough spare time to play again.

My rolls include a three, and instead of going begging, I'm considering playing as is

Reading through the rules, it looks like a wood elf moon druid could play a character who was crippled by a magical plague as a child, etc etc. +2 dex would make a 3 a 5.

There's a catch.

This time around we're playing the bad guys. There's a rogue and fighter in the group.

An evil druid is possible I suppose... He grew bitter, left his family, survived by trapping mice in the wild, being too damaged to hunt. He learned that the cruelest realities of nature always held the key to his survival...

But I'd love to hear any other suggestions.

He's Going to have to heal somewhat, and he's going to be strong enough to keep what he kills... His companions won't be nice people.

[eastmabl]

From an RP standpoint, I like it.

From a character optimization standpoint, I wouldn't spend my +2 Dex racial bonus bringing the 3 stat up to a 5. It's a marginal boost, and regardless of whether you have a -3 modifier or -4 modifier, you're going to be terrible at dexterity-related things.

Instead, consider using Str as your drop stat and just leave it at 3. The big loss you get as a moon druid with Str 3 is your carrying capacity (45 pounds) - but you should be in animal form often enough where this isn't a big deal for you.

[Tanarii]

If you're a bad guy, that 3 is just begging to go into Cha. Scarred, disfigured, deformed ... little wonder you turned to evil. That works for a Druid well, or other classes that aren't Cha dependent (which is 8 of the 12). But a Druid Hermit turned away from society due to his deformities would fit just fine.

What are your other stats?

[Spiritchaser]

12, 3, 14, 14, 12, 12

Nothing special, excepting the rather high number of 12s

Dumping str seems legit for the character.

Cha? Maybe not so much...

I'll be honest, I just don't want to rollplay a character with less personality than than grass.

Of course with 3 dex, the grass would have gone first on innitiative.

Edit: Maybe I'll get lucky and find some gauntlets of goblin strength

[Edenbeast]

I believe it's a rather funny idea to play an extremely clumsy druid stumbling trough the woods..

[JoeJ]

A dexterity of 3 might take for form of uncontrolled shaking, possibly due to a congenital condition, a childhood illness, or (my favorite) a family curse.

[Shining Wrath]

Are you adverse to playing a character with 3 INT?

I'm feeling the Wild Magic Sorcerer - dumb as a box of rocks, but magic just pours out of them in ways they are incapable of anticipating. Conversely, the low-int martial is a trope - Thog SMASH! Or a ranger with 3 INT who is attuned to nature precisely because his intellect is on the same level as the wolves - in fact, he was raised by them.

Or a 3 INT Bard, don't take any Knowledge skills obviously. Guy can woo any woman he wants, sing and dance and fight, and has trouble remembering his own name.

[kaoskonfety]

You are all sissies.

Crippled by Magical plague? Con 3 Moon Druid, coughing up blood, huddled near the fire in the cold always on the edge of death, commanding deep powers of life. Hating you all for your casual disregard for the precious gift of breathing not being a constant labour.

Do it.

You know you want to.

(Yes I am aware this is an AWFUL plan mechanically, but with "being a bear" and full spell casting it should be sorta survivable, but it make me laugh and how often do you feel entitled to dump con?)

[Spiritchaser]

He will be the party's only source of healing so a wild magic sorcerer is probably out, and Ignasgh the half orc barbarian (he responds best to Ig, since extra syllables are hard) isn't ideal.

I think 3 con would actually lose hp every level wouldn't it?

[kaoskonfety]

He will be the party's only source of healing so a wild magic sorcerer is probably out, and Ignasgh the half orc barbarian (he responds best to Ig, since extra syllables are hard) isn't ideal.

I think 3 con would actually lose hp every level wouldn't it?

You still roll (or average or whatever) with a minimum increase of 1 (I hope?)

It is the WORST plan mechanically, but I'd be doing it to see if I could make it work.

[Tanarii]

1 ho per level with Con 3. I'm not sure that'd be survivable even with wild shapes. But it'd be fun while it lasted. :)


Crippled by Magical plague? Con 3 Moon Druid, coughing up blood, huddled near the fire in the cold always on the edge of death, commanding deep powers of life. Hating you all for your casual disregard for the precious gift of breathing not being a constant labour.dont forget to call him Niltsiar.

[kaoskonfety]

dont forget to call him Niltsiar.

Occurred to me while I was writing it. It being a rip off doesn't make it less hilarious

[JoeJ]

You still roll (or average or whatever) with a minimum increase of 1 (I hope?)

It is the WORST plan mechanically, but I'd be doing it to see if I could make it work.

Just stay well away from house cats.

[Edenbeast]

He will be the party's only source of healing so a wild magic sorcerer is probably out, and Ignasgh the half orc barbarian (he responds best to Ig, since extra syllables are hard) isn't ideal.

I think 3 con would actually lose hp every level wouldn't it?

1 is minimum, so you always gain 1 hp/level at least.

[Tanarii]

Occurred to me while I was writing it. It being a rip off doesn't make it less hilarious
Oh, I loved it. :)

[Spiritchaser]

Ok I'm slow

I only just got that.

Didn't he have con 6?

[kaoskonfety]

Ok I'm slow

I only just got that.

Didn't he have con 6?

Something like that? But in 1st and 2nd ed that was still "basically" 1 hp/level cause he was rolling d4's - the good old/bad old days

You'd be averaging a under 2 HP per level, perhaps break a deal with the DM to get 2 per level flat - I see few refusing.

[Spiritchaser]

This might be absudly fun until the assasin slits his throat so that I roll a real character.

Edit: with so few hp, he may not have to... We'll see

[Tanarii]

Yeah I'd definitely roll hps with a Con 3. If you take the "average" 5, you're guaranteed 1 per level. Rolling it'd be 1.75 per level.

In fact, now that I think about it con penalties are the only time choosing to roll can be worth it. Something I'd never thought of before. <-- this is how thread derailment starts ;)

[krugaan]

better go high charisma for them deception rolls...

"I promise I'll be good from now on, puhleeeeeeezze don't kiiilllll meeeeeee..."

also

"Where did the evil druid run off to!"

" I dunno."

"LOOK!... a bear!"

/deception

"I think it's just a normal bear."

[AbyssStalker]

This might be absudly fun until the assasin slits his throat so that I roll a real character.

Edit: with so few hp, he may not have to... We'll see

Must be a shoddy assassin to require jabbing a dagger into your jugular, a single drop of poison with that kind of save and you are done for like a dog that eats a pound of chocolate...

... I guess this means you REALLY shouldn't eat chocolate if you ever wild-shape into a dog.

[Shining Wrath]

A Cleric with INT=3 could be hilarious. He carries around a copy of the holy book of his faith, which he intends to read through at least once before he dies - at a rate of one page per hour, this may or may not happen. Some people underline key passages; he drools on them.

The Rogue or the Fighter is George to his Lenny. He's got enough understand of theology to grasp that his god is the best, therefore the people who don't believe in his god are inferior to him and deserve a vigorous smiting - he's not really smart enough to be evil, it's the "George" that is really responsible for the evil "Lenny" does.

Have a wizard with CON=3. Name him "Raistlin". Work out a deal with your DM so that if he uses 5*level GP of herbs per week he can have a CON of 8.

[Vogonjeltz]

12, 3, 14, 14, 12, 12

Nothing special, excepting the rather high number of 12s

Dumping str seems legit for the character.

Cha? Maybe not so much...

I'll be honest, I just don't want to rollplay a character with less personality than than grass.

Of course with 3 dex, the grass would have gone first on innitiative.

Edit: Maybe I'll get lucky and find some gauntlets of goblin strength

Technically you're supposed to Pick Race, then Class, then determine ability scores.

I'd beware putting that score in Strength, you wouldn't even be able to carry your starting equipment.

[Tenmujiin]

Honestly the 3 con druid sounds like the most fun. Many DMs would probably go for having one of the character's goals to be somehow "fixing" the con. I know I would, especially with the rest of that stat block being meh at best. The best bit is it gives you plenty of reason to be evil since not only are you physically disabled but whatever caused your 3 con would likely also cause commoners to be scared of you.

Also, see if you can convince the DM to let you have wild shape at level 1 in return for modifying the formula a little to reduce the brokenness from levels 2-4. Looking at the formula it is currently (level/3) rounded down minimum 1 so I'd say just remove the minimum and allow partial CRs if it is below 1. So CR 1/4 at level 1, CR 1/2 at level 2, CR 1 at level 3. The combat potential at level 1 would be meh at best but it would give your druid a reason to have been able to not have died before the game starts.

[Sigreid]

A fighter with 3 dex could work well. You won't go first most of the time but heavy armor will cover most of the dex weakness and you can easily get a 20 str and con with plenty of ASI's left over to start covering your weakness.

[Steampunkette]

Charisma of 3.

Skip past the "Charisma is Personality" idea and delve right into "Charisma is how likeable you are". You want to play evil characters? Fine by me. Here are some wicked druid concepts with a ton of personality, but no charisma.

Make a Verminlord. Your best friends are rats and insects, snakes and spiders. You're not uncharismatic because you have no personality. You're uncharismatic because people don't want to be in your presence. You are directly offensive to them without being particularly threatening.

Have your character be a feral warrior. Someone who believes "Higher Minds" are just a way for the gods to burden their chosen whipping boys with morality. Where true animal instinct and cunning free from the burden of ethics is the only righteous path. There is no good or evil. There is only my survival.

Go straight up Nietzschean and treat everyone around you as your lessers. For you are, clearly, the superior being. Able to take on the forms of the strongest, fastest, and best animals in the world your bloodline will clearly have the Speed of the Stag, the Strength of the Bear, and the Cunning of the Wolf. What else can matter? Certainly not the opinions or ideals of lesser beings. Seek to spread your bloodline among the finest breeding stock you can find. Whether that means taking on an animal form for a mating display or tracking someone in a dark alley and giving them the "gift" of being part of your bloodline. (Warning: Even in games of evil characters themes of sex, bestiality, and sexual assault are dangerous and you should be aware of your table's expectations and willingness to deal with this stuff.)

Touch the Old One. Through the bleakness of time you searched the ancient places of the world, your fingers scrabbling across runes, your eyes taking in cave paintings older than reckoning. And within it you found the truth. There is no salvation. There are no gods. It's all sock puppets hiding the horror between the stars. Under your skin. They can hear you. IT can hear you. It doesn't care. It is beyond us all... IA IA C'THULHU FTAGN!

[MaxWilson]

Context?

First time poster here, interested in suggestions:

I'm new to 5e, actually I haven't played in years.

That said, a bunch of friends who used to play decided that there might be enough spare time to play again.

My rolls include a three, and instead of going begging, I'm considering playing as is

Reading through the rules, it looks like a wood elf moon druid could play a character who was crippled by a magical plague as a child, etc etc. +2 dex would make a 3 a 5.

There's a catch.

This time around we're playing the bad guys. There's a rogue and fighter in the group.

An evil druid is possible I suppose... He grew bitter, left his family, survived by trapping mice in the wild, being too damaged to hunt. He learned that the cruelest realities of nature always held the key to his survival...

But I'd love to hear any other suggestions.

He's Going to have to heal somewhat, and he's going to be strong enough to keep what he kills... His companions won't be nice people.

Put it in Con and play a wizard. You'll have 2 HP at level twenty. Hacking coughs, hemophilia, all that fun stuff. Name him Raistlin. :)

[AbyssStalker]

A Cleric with INT=3 could be hilarious. He carries around a copy of the holy book of his faith, which he intends to read through at least once before he dies - at a rate of one page per hour, this may or may not happen. Some people underline key passages; he drools on them.

The Rogue or the Fighter is George to his Lenny. He's got enough understand of theology to grasp that his god is the best, therefore the people who don't believe in his god are inferior to him and deserve a vigorous smiting - he's not really smart enough to be evil, it's the "George" that is really responsible for the evil "Lenny" does.

Have a wizard with CON=3. Name him "Raistlin". Work out a deal with your DM so that if he uses 5*level GP of herbs per week he can have a CON of 8.

So, the cleric version of Fighter? As long as he wields a sword of some kind i'm down with it.

[The Shadowdove]

Bear totem barbarian


Dump int

Tank like a steel wall

Forget how to use a fork


Have many laughs.

[Dimolyth]

3 in Con is perfect to roleplaying, and your stats could be decent for moon druid.
For viability of character - take variant human with toughness feat. That would give you 1d8-4 (minimum 1) +2 from toughness per level, 6hp at first level. If you are still unsure - put one of your racial +1 to Con: 4 score got -3 modifier, rather than -4 (that is 15% increase of hp), but personnaly I`d tried maxing other attributes.
Just remember to be careful with concentrating on spells in human form. Out of combat healing - yes. In combat casting then wildshaping - yes. When you are out of wild shapes - range is your best friend. Make your Dex decent and take Alert feat. Look for distant working cantrip - there were some in Elemental Evil for druids. And seek the ways for daring escape.

Well, Dex or Str can also work. But dumping dumping Con so hard - is both RP and mechanical challenge.

[Zephonim]

I'd 3 say 3 in con. He just coughts up blood and acorns every once in awhile

[MaxWilson]

3 in Con is perfect to roleplaying, and your stats could be decent for moon druid.
For viability of character - take variant human with toughness feat. That would give you 1d8-4 (minimum 1) +2 from toughness per level, 6hp at first level. If you are still unsure - put one of your racial +1 to Con: 4 score got -3 modifier, rather than -4 (that is 15% increase of hp), but personnaly I`d tried maxing other attributes.
Just remember to be careful with concentrating on spells in human form. Out of combat healing - yes. In combat casting then wildshaping - yes. When you are out of wild shapes - range is your best friend. Make your Dex decent and take Alert feat. Look for distant working cantrip - there were some in Elemental Evil for druids. And seek the ways for daring escape.

Well, Dex or Str can also work. But dumping dumping Con so hard - is both RP and mechanical challenge.

I've actually run a party NPC with very similar stats: Con 6 due to trauma, and levels in sorcerer and warlock. She had something like 14 HP at level 5.

Eventually she left the party to pursue her own goals (promising to send money back, but so far hasn't). While she was with them she was perfectly viable except for that one time she got Fireballed to death at low level by a careless allied Grey Slaad. (She got better.) But mostly it didn't matter, she was just tossing Fire Bolts and Webs from the back line anyway. When threatened, Mage Armor + Dex 12 + Shield + Dodge gives AC 19 (disadvantage to attackers) which is perfectly respectable--so the main effect of low Con is to make her blow some actions Dodging which could otherwise go to plinking with Fire Bolt. Not a great loss.

Low-Con wizard or warlock is not survival-optimal if you can choose otherwise but still perfectly viable if you like a mild challenge.

[LnGrrrR]

What about a wizard with Wis 3? Sure, you'll probably die to a saving throw, but you can totally be the wizard who knows the secrets of the universe, while also knowing nothing about how to interact with people, or just generally deal with life. Bazinga!

[Spiritchaser]

This will be the parties only source of healing, so I think druid, cleric, possibly 3 int paladunce, possibly bard possibly favoured soul/life are the main candidates, listed in what I perceive as crudely that order of workability.

Con as dump would be hilarious but...

I'm really thinking str as dump would be more sensible. Most likely that's what I'll do.

Thanks for the suggestions and comments all