Low Level Druid play

[Willie the Duck]

I am playing with a group of my friends, all but one of whom have played 3.5 before, but with the exception of myself, none are forum participants, none of us are power gamers, and in general we're just having fun. Our DM isn't great at balancing encounters, however, so we need to be pretty rugged and surviving, if not optimized for maximum 'winning.'

We are starting a new campaign, and the guy who has only played one 3.5 character (a barbarian/sorcerer who ended up dying a lot) is playing a human druid (Str11/Dex 15/ Con 15/ int 10/Wis 17/Cha 11). He is having a hard time figuring out what to do with his druid.

Obviously, when he hits 6th level and has natural spell and wildshape, he can (emphasis on can, not will, because it depends on how he plays) end up being very powerful. Until then, what? He can wield a quarterstaff with a total attack mod of +1, doing 1D6 damage (+2 and 2D6+1 with Shillelagh). He can cast entangle, which works if there are plants about and if the rest of us haven't charged in already. He can cast goodberry or clw, which makes him almost as good a healer as a cleric, but with worse AC.

Does anyone have any advice (and preferably real in-game experience) with running low-level druids? I don't want him to get discouraged. We've played one session, and I worry that he's already thinking about his next character.

[Flickerdart]

What is he, level 1? There's a couple of things he can do. Mostly though, in combat he's going to hang back, use a sling, and let his animal companion handle things. Riding dogs are an excellent, balanced level 1 option. Bonus points if he can get one that's magebred, or pick its feats.

[Fouredged Sword]

levels 1-5

Ok, so a low level druid. I see high dex and con, all good.

Here is what I would do. Grab a sling. Cast entangle, let your riding dog attack your enemies while you pelt the ones in the back with stones and otherwise make everything unable to move VIA entangle.

If anything looks really threatening, throw your dog at it and run. You dog is pretty tough and replaceable.

At the latter levels, throw in some spot buffing and blasting, but really you should focus on BFC.

Levels 6+
You are a bear.

[Hiro Quester]

I just finished playing a druid thought the low levels (now level 11). I feel his pain, but it pays off very quickly.

Entangle is great BFC. Cast Magic Stones on your sling bullets for extra damage. High dex and low AC makes ranged combat a good option here.

Convert spells to summons when you can. They are excellent at both BFC and Melee.

At first level your summons last only one round, which sucks. But if you take Spell focus (conjuration) and Augment Summoning, that one round rocks pretty hard. And it scales very quickly as you level up and the summoned creatures last longer.

Your animal companion can be as good at melee as your party fighter. Make good use of it.

And tell him that the first few levels of stay back and do BFC pay off as he levels. Once he gets a few more levels, his options increase exponentially

And when he gets Natural spell wildshape, he will very seriously enjoy playing this powerful, flexible, party member.

[Bronk]

If it's available, your druid friend could take the 'greenbound summoning' feat at level 1. With that feat, every animal he/she summons via 'summon nature's ally' will appear with the greenbound template. They're stronger, tougher, etc, and can cast a number of spells, including 'Wall of Thorns'.

That's pretty powerful at low levels. Even though the spell will only last as long as the summons, 'Wall of Thorns' is still a fifth level druid spell that has the potential to deal a lot of damage to less than fully armored opponents, and it would be as if he's casting the spell 8 levels early.

[nedz]

I've seen Aspect of the Wolf work quite well.
High speed (50') with trip.

[Willie the Duck]

What is he, level 1?

Level 2.

Okay, so advice so far:
1) Focus on ranged + BFC
2) switch horse to riding dog
3) see if he can re-choose feats to augment summoning.

The DM is not big on min/maxing, so probably not magebred (where is that from), definitely not greenbound. Where is Aspect of the Wolf from? Which summoned animals work best? I'll have to make up recipe cards with each of those. Are there any druid spells from outside the PHB that really rock at low levels, or is entangle/magic stone/goodberry/cure light wounds/shillelagh the heavy hitters?

[nedz]

Aspect of the Wolf is a spell from the SpC.

Basically you turn into a Wolf. Can be shared with AC.

[Warrnan]

Here's a few random tips.

Channel the spell enrage animal (spell compendium). Buy and hide behind a wooden tower shield. Lots of AC and if you aren't attacking with weapons or trying to tumble, you'll get none of the negatives if you just channel the spell. Drop the shield if you need to use a weapon or do acrobatic things.

This makes your Animal Companion tougher and do more damage for as long as you concentrate + 1 round/ level.

A spear is the Druid's best two handed melee weapon. Scimitar and shield is also good. Slings are great for the high Dex druids.

[Willie the Duck]

Here's a few random tips.

Channel the spell enrage animal (spell compendium). Buy and hide behind a wooden tower shield. Lots of AC and if you aren't attacking with weapons or trying to tumble, you'll get none of the negatives if you just channel the spell. Drop the shield if you need to use a weapon or do acrobatic things.

This makes your Animal Companion tougher and do more damage for as long as you concentrate + 1 round/ level.

A spear is the Druid's best two handed melee weapon. Scimitar and shield is also good. Slings are great for the high Dex druids.

Channel the spell? huh?

[Warrnan]

Excuse my Moba terminology, I meant to say spend your standard action every round to maintain concentration on the enrage effect for your animal companion.

This is a fairly safe way to be a druid at low level. Heal and buff your Pet. Replace them as needed. Rinse. Repeat. Keep your druid safe until you can unleash his real ultimate power. Lol.

[Hiro Quester]

Since nobody else has done so, let me recommend Being Everything: Eggynack’s Comprehensive Druid Handbook (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?439991-Being-Everything-Eggynack-s-Comprehensive-Druid-Handbook)

This tome will tell you everything you need to know about playing a druid. And then some more. A Lot more.

[eggynack]

Sounds like your friend could benefit from a plant dog. Basically, you take your riding dog, and put a buncha plants on him. Then, when you want to entangle stuff, you just use the dog's plant matter as the basis. The riding dog necessarily winds up in the entangle area, but that's kinda where you want him anyway, cause it's where enemies are. Anyways, for other spells, you should probably check out the handbook in my sig, cause I'm pretty sure it has all the good ones from all sources, with even greater certainty applied to first level. Other parts would probably be helpful too.

For a faster answer though, maybe have him check out impeding stones from cityscape, wall of smoke from the spell compendium, and maybe spore field from complete scoundrel. That should vary up the applications of his BFC somewhat. You can also toss in non-BFC's, of course. Stuff like spider hand (BoVD, 104), wood wose (SpC, 242), and omen of peril (SpC, 149), really gets you the kinda out of combat utility you expect from a druid. Zeroth's are also rather important, so for them just stick to detect magic, cure minor wounds, and create water. Stuff beyond that can be decent, but those three are usually more than sufficient. I'd also advise switching off of cure light wounds. A wand of lesser vigor should probably be doing your healing work, with cure minor handling in-combat stabilizing. If you really can't afford that, swap cure light for lesser vigor from the spell compendium, cause it's way better for out of combat healing, and only use goodberry when you have downtime. That duration is the real benefit of the spell, rather than healing density.

[RaistlinSees]

Since nobody else has done so, let me recommend Being Everything: Eggynack’s Comprehensive Druid Handbook (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?439991-Being-Everything-Eggynack-s-Comprehensive-Druid-Handbook)

This tome will tell you everything you need to know about playing a druid. And then some more. A Lot more.

I was linked to this and have to say its a amazing read on the Druid.

[Willie the Duck]

I was linked to this and have to say its a amazing read on the Druid.

It certainly is useful.