Why or why not you like using the Druid + What does the Land Druid do every turn?

[Gastronomie]

Here, I'd like to ask help from people who have actually played Druids before. Preferrably Land Druids, but Moon Druids are fine too. Anyhow, I wanna hear from the experienced - why or why not you liked it, any advice you have, stuff like that.

So, long story short, I feel like I might want to use an evil (or at least dark-themed) druid. Not an optimized build, but rather a build centered around being "thematic" as a caster who summons and controls all sorts of creepie crawlies. Perhaps a smexy, long-living witch who lives in the swamp, or something. I'm thinking a Minionmancer. Probably Land Druid with the Swamp environment (which, I know, sorta sucks compared to some other terrains, but still, I wanna be thematic this time).

Anyhow, the problem is, I haven't played a Druid before.
There's the guides out there, so if I wonder what option is strong, I can always look it up there - but it's not like I'm too eager, since this time I'm going more for theme than optimization (probably a bit affected by how the party necromancer in my latest game has shown how badass he is by using only necromantic-feel spells). And those guides generally talk about "roles" and "how to get stronger". They rarely talk about how the druid moves around like in actual combat. And for that reason, I have no idea how the Druid does on his/her turns.

One question I have that pertains to this is, "how do you deal consistent damage?"

Most classes, when they have nothing in particular to do, deal damage - be it Eldritch Blast, or a swipe of the Greatsword.

But the only damaging cantrips for Druids I can see are Poison Spray (very short range), Produce Flames (not bad, but doesn't actually fit my image of my character), Shillelagh (requires melee investment), and Thorn Whip (thematic but only useful in certain situations, unless you're good at melee).
Sure, if I go to Elemental Evil there's a bit more, like Frostbite, but still, it seems that the main thing about druids is not damaging via spells.

I'm fine with that. I'm fine with not having many damaging spells. The Bard is like that, but it's damn strong, and I've used it, and I've liked it.
The problem is, I have absolutely no idea what my Druid will be doing every turn when he/she has no effective method of damage. What do Druids do all the time? I mean, when they aren't shapin' out wildly. And at least as far as I can see, I don't think Land Druids can benefit from Wildshaping during combat.

So, I'd like someone to tell me - "What does a Land Druid do every turn?"

But apart from that, also, I'd like people to tell me why you like the Druid. What particular combinations or abilities you enjoyed using, what sort of thematic fluff you liked, what sort of character you made, etc... I want you to sell the Druid on me. What's the thing that made you love it? Or, alternatively, do you have any warnings, like "don't do this method, it's not fun"?

I'm typing midnight so it may be a bit difficult to read. Thanks for reading. Any help is appreciated.

[GorogIrongut]

I can't really offer much by way of experience playing a druid. That said I seem to remember someone mentioning recently on the forums about UA discussing the rules for making a new kind of druid. And it used three druids in particular:
Beastmaster Druid
Druid of the Circle of Life
Druid of the Circle of Deathbloom

http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/may-dungeon-masters-guild-review

I mention this because they were all really well put together... and in particular the Circle of the Deathbloom druid sounds exactly like what you're looking for.

[arrowed]

Any ideas you take from this will probably be very DM dependent, but you might take some inspiration from here: parahumans.wordpress.com/table-of-contents (sorry, can't hyperlink yet). The protagonist of this series is a super-powered individual whose single ability is telepathic control of bugs. And she is amazing. One of the first things she does is build herself armour out of spider silk, and she continues to use her powers in brilliant and cunning ways. I won't say any more because, you know, spoilers, and I've never played a 5E druid myself, but looking at the class and Land specifically... Natural Recovery makes me feel you won't have as much need to conserve your spell slots as much as a cleric might, and the spells you have access to run the gamut from blasting to control to healing. Invisible foes? Faerie Fire. Need some breathing space? Thunderwave. I also wouldn't discount Wild Shape in combat just because you're not a Moon Druid. You won't have the same damage output, but beasts like the constrictor snake and panther have abilities that let you grapple or knock enemies prone, which can turn the tide when used well. As a fall-back action? Maybe Resistance when saving throws matter, but since Insect Plague and a lot of druid spells are area-of-effect, it might be worth using Thorn Whip to get your enemies where you want them.

[Belac93]

Try to convince your DM to let you use Acid Splash, and fluff it as hurling the power of the swamp at people.

[R.Shackleford]

Druids aren't really damage dealers. They can be but it really isn't their thing.

Magic Stone could be a good spell the fluff with.

I played a Dark Druid in 3e (planar Shepard ;) ) and had a blast with it. But for 5e...

Land Druid 2, 3, or 4

Shadow Monk 6

Take magic stone, thorn whip, and whichever other one you like.

After monk 6 you can add more druid levels for spells.

[Mith]

What about Produce Flames fluffed as burning swamp gas that she exhales before igniting?

[JellyPooga]

If you're going for a Witch Druid, I'd be tempted to dip into Bard (if you're going for a Good Witch feel) or Warlock (for the Bad Witch feel)...there's some key spells that are thematically appropriate on both lists and I don't think Magic Initiate would quite be enough to fulfill the concept.

Bard
C: Dancing Lights, Friends, Mage Hand, Mending and potentially Vicious Mockery
1st: Charm Person. Disguis Self, Sleep
2nd: Blindness/Deafness, Enthrall, Invisibility, Phantasmal Force, See Invisibility, Shatter, Silence, Suggestion
3rd: Bestow Curse, Clairvoyance, Fear, Speak with Dead

Warlock
C: Chill Touch, Eldritch Blast, Friends, Mage Hand
1st: Charm Person, Hex (duh), Witch Bolt
2nd: Crown of Madness, Enthrall, Invisibility, Misty Step, Ray of Enfeeblement, Shatter, Suggestion
3rd: Counterspell, Fear, Fly, Gaseous Form, Vampiric Touch

Now, some of these are available through your Circle spells, but not all and depending on how devoted to concept and Class you are, you have a variety of options to choose from as to how much of a dip or MC you take.

Having said that, if Multiclassing ain't your bag then Land Druids have got plenty to be playing with.

1) Don't underestimate the Animal Friendship spell. It lasts 24 hours, with no concentration. Combine with Speak with Animals (Warlock is good for that) or an Animal Handling check (Bard is good with Expertise for that) for an animal companion at the low low cost of a single 1st level spell.

2) Produce Flame isn't the best damage dealer, but it's not terrible and does have the advantage of being able to be cast up to 10 minutes in advance of when you actually need it. This allows it to be used somewhat stealthily if you can block the light it produces. Also, it's an actual (magical) flame; if you need to set something on fire, this will do the job where Light or Dancing Lights will not.

3) Entangle, Faerie Fire and Fog Cloud are all great control spells. Cast, then sit back and let the rest of the party deal with the encounter while you gamble with your animal buddy (or buddies) as to the outcome.

4) Flaming Sphere, Heat Metal, Hold Person, Moonbeam, Spike Growth...need I say more? Some of these even give you something to do on your turn.

In short, the Druid is all about "fire and forget" instead of "spray and pray". With Natural Recovery, you've got more spells/long rest than anyone but a Wizard, so you may as well use those "Big Guns" when you have the chance. Pop a Faerie Fire and then content yourself with chucking darts or gobs of flame from the back ranks while your army of animal buddies wreak havoc.

At higher levels, Conjure Animals, Minor Elementals and Woodland Beings give you a bajillion options for control, DPR and utility without ever putting yourself in harms way.

The likes of Flaming Sphere, Call Lightning, Grasping Vine and Sunbeam all compete for your Bonus Action, leaving you free to make a weapon attack or even cast another spell on your own turn.

[hymer]

So, I'd like someone to tell me - "What does a Land Druid do every turn?"

If you have nothing better, you pling away with whatever substandard at-will damage you have. If you don't want the druid damage cantrips and can't refluff something to your liking, you still have access to weapons. A sling is better than nothing. If you're an elf, you can use bows, probably quite well due to a decent dex.
But there's other stuff that can be done depending on the build. If you have decent AC through good dex, you can go into melee if you don't have a concentration spell up. It may make more sense to use Help or Dodge in a given situation than to attack, depending on all sorts of things.

As has been mentioned, druids aren't the great, straight damage dealers, particularly if you rule out fire spells. Minionmancy can do a lot of damage, but it takes a while before it comes online.


But apart from that, also, I'd like people to tell me why you like the Druid. What particular combinations or abilities you enjoyed using, what sort of thematic fluff you liked, what sort of character you made, etc... I want you to sell the Druid on me. What's the thing that made you love it? Or, alternatively, do you have any warnings, like "don't do this method, it's not fun"?

I like the druid for the fluff. Though I happen to have some pollen allergies, I love nature. I love learning about it, I love being in it. I planted oak trees in my garden. I give the birds food and water, so there'll be some actual nature out there, especially in winter.
I also love the mechanical aspects of the druid. You get full spellcasting from a hugely varied list, and the ability to turn into an animal. It's a wonderful fantasy! You can talk to animals (and plants), keep them as friends and pets, send them to attack your enemies. The city dwellers think you're rustic? We all know that ruins is the fate of all cities. You can influence the fabric of life that all cities live on. You don't have to lord it over anyone, and most people won't realize it - except the smart ones.
You also get to think differently than most characters, cynical and spiritual at the same time.

[some guy]

I'm playing a grassland druid now, started at lvl 3, just became lvl 6. At lvl 3-4 I usually concentrated on spells as pass without trace, moonbeam, hold person, faerie fire or entangle, while I used thorn whip to bring enemies to our melee pc's but mainly frost bited the enemy.
At lvl 5 I usually let others deal the damage via haste (grasslands) or conjure animals.

(I use wild shape for scouting, or utility)

[MintyNinja]

I'm playing a grassland druid now, started at lvl 3, just became lvl 6. At lvl 3-4 I usually concentrated on spells as pass without trace, moonbeam, hold person, faerie fire or entangle, while I used thorn whip to bring enemies to our melee pc's but mainly frost bited the enemy.
At lvl 5 I usually let others deal the damage via haste (grasslands) or conjure animals.

(I use wild shape for scouting, or utility)

Another Grasslander here. My druid's more of a thief than most rogues, though and he really shines there. In combat I've taken the melee role as I have a shield and shillelagh staff. Usually I just soak up aggro and support my party from front or midlines. In one instance our Hasted rogue was given a fear affect and would have been able to leave the dungeon in one turn had I not dropped haste to hold him still. He passed his saving throws and was soon back in the fight. Healing word's done quite the same for a lot of my group as I'm the only source of healing in the party. And when things get dire, drop a pile of animals on the encounter and run away.

[MaxWilson]

And at least as far as I can see, I don't think Land Druids can benefit from Wildshaping during combat.

This part isn't actually true per se. Land Druids can't wild shape as a bonus action, and their forms are significantly weaker, but 80-odd free HP per short rest is still 80 free HP, especially when you consider the control effects that come from certain forms (Giant Toads, Constrictor Snakes). If your Land Druid isn't spellcasting he can certainly mix it up as a Giant Toad or a Giant Hyena.

The biggest flaw druids have is that they have no really excellent way of dealing damage at range. Product Flame is mediocre and short-ranged; they don't have any extra attacks or any real reason to invest heavily in Dex for ranged weapons in the first place; they have a few blasting spells like Blight and Wall of Fire but (like most blasting spells in 5E) they are not cost-effective.

So a druid just has to cultivate a mentality akin to wizards in AD&D: don't expect to be significant on every round of every fight. You could lay down Pass Without Trace before combat, then escort the party up to the enemy where they all pop out of stealth and lay down some smack, but the druid just stays in hiding the whole time; maybe several fights happen before something unexpected happen (oh no, giant reinforcements!) and suddenly the druid pops out of his own stealth, drops Pass Without Trace in favor of Conjure Animals V, and suddenly the giants are being attacked from behind!

But IMO there's really no great benefit to trying to use up your action economy every round. You can chuck cantrips or fire crossbow bolts if you want to, but you're better off just learning a new playstyle which embraces patience. Play will go quicker and everyone will have more fun, including you. Patience even pretty thematic for a druid with a thousand-year lifespan so there shouldn't be any issues on the roleplaying front. Bamf! "Where did that Entangle spell just come from? Oh, tree-beard guy just saved us!"

[MaxBoguely]

Magic Stone (from Elemental Evil, I think), is your generic go-to range damage. If you think of Shillelagh as giving you a magic-equivalent warhammer, Magic Stone basically gives you a magic-equivalent short bow.

The other option is to pick a race that gets a ranged weapon proficiency (or take that feat) and just straight up use a weapon in your mundane turns. There's nothing wrong with a woods witch that knows how to shoot a crossbow, I don't think.

All that said, what others are saying is true...if you your primary concern is consistent damage output, a Land Druid might not be the best option for you. They are more designed around being force multipliers, whether through subterfuge, scouting, buffing/debuffing, or (usually) some combination of all of the above!

If you want my 2c, though, I would say this concept is cool, and you should just not worry so much about having damage coming from yourself. Let the rogue/fighter/paladin have the spotlight when it comes to "does a lot of damage when everything is working as intended," and instead plan to relish in the moments when your power to drastically alter an entire battlefield truly saves your party's bacon.

[MaxWilson]

Magic Stone (from Elemental Evil, I think), is your generic go-to range damage. If you think of Shillelagh as giving you a magic-equivalent warhammer, Magic Stone basically gives you a magic-equivalent short bow.

But Magic Stone doesn't scale unless you have Extra Attacks. At 20th level, the druid is still doing d6+5 damage with it.

It's not bad for handing off to someone else though.

[MaxBoguely]

But Magic Stone doesn't scale unless you have Extra Attacks. At 20th level, the druid is still doing d6+5 damage with it.

It's not bad for handing off to someone else though.

Yeah I didn't mean to imply that it scales or that it's a high-damage option, just that it's the generic option for a ranged cantrip. Shortbows and warhammers don't scale either. The XdY cantrips "scale," but at levels 11 and 17 you're plenty behind martial attackers and the like anyway.

As per the general theme of the thread, the land druid's scaling is in her access to circle spells and Natural Recovery. Like most Wizards, her job is less to be a shining star on every round and more a superstar in the clutch.

In other words, my answer to the question of "What does a land druid do every turn?" is basically: "It'll be OK that you do subpar damage on those rounds because you'll have plenty of fun on the rounds when you DO use your spell slots."

Or, at least, *I* have plenty of fun on the rounds when I use my spell slots.

[MaxWilson]

Yeah I didn't mean to imply that it scales or that it's a high-damage option, just that it's the generic option for a ranged cantrip. Shortbows and warhammers don't scale either. The XdY cantrips "scale," but at levels 11 and 17 you're plenty behind martial attackers and the like anyway.

Okay, sounds like we're on the same page then.

BTW, I know it's obvious, but for the OP's sake: if you cast Call Lightning then you have 3d10 damage (5' AoE) to throw around every round with your action. Possibly more if you up-cast Call Lightning IV or V. Range still isn't great and it eats your concentration, but if you absolutely must have something to do on every round it's something to consider.

-Max

[Yuki Akuma]

In my experience, the Druid stays in animal form all the time and never casts a single goddamn spell. :smallmad:

Although she's a Moon Druid so...

[RickAllison]

In my experience, the Druid stays in animal form all the time and never casts a single goddamn spell. :smallmad:

Although she's a Moon Druid so...

Really? Ours always tosses up a Flaming Sphere so he could burn stuff while clawing things.

[Gastronomie]

Wow, a lot of replies! Thanks guys~

To sum up what's been given so far:

1. The Druid is not a good consistent damage-dealer
Not that I find it a problem. I understand that different classes have different roles, and it's not like I care only about DPR. It's just that most characters I've used before have some sort of "routine" in battle, like "most of the time use Green-Flame Blade or Booming Blade, and in certain situatons cast X or Y", or "most of the time use Extra Attack, and use your bonus action for A, but if you need it use B".
Most of the time, this "routine" is based on damage, which is the simplest form of determining how strong an action is. But Druids either don't have good damage options, or it's still weaker than those of other classes, unless you multiclass (the idea of a Druid/Warlock seems really interesting, depending on the starting level, especially due to the invocations - thanks JellyPooga). And they didn't have something like the bard's Vicious Mockery either.
Thus, I had failed to find the "routine" for Land Druids... which was the reason why I asked what they should do every turn. But I think I now understand.
(I can see that bow and arrow could be useful for some builds. I didn't picture my character to be holding any weapons in particular, except perhaps using Magic Stone, so it doesn't work in my case, but it's probably the best druids can get with consistent damage, especially at low levels.)
Well, for now, I think I'd try asking the DM if I can use Acid Splash. But like people say, it seems to be the case that, just like Wizards...

2. Druids aren't effective during all rounds of combat, and neither do they need to be
With lots of control spells and options, you guys're probably right. I can see how they can become powerful controllers, even if they don't utilize every single turn to its maximum.
I'll try to load it with various control spells and stuff. Thanks for the help!

(Still feel free to talk more though, it's really interesting for me)

[HunterMarked]

Let me add my bit of wisdom (pun unintended).
Druid, is the God of D&D, only second to wizard probably. For a basic concept of what a god does in d&d read Treantmonk's guide on Wizards (5e)

Essentially what you do as a Druid is generate brutal advantages and abuse your unparalleled utility to crash any obstacle your team comes across with ease.

Parts of the "Unparalleled utility" include:
Wildshaping for all intents and purposes (scouting, tanking, carrying people around, abusing the animal form perception bonuses, gathering info etc)
Pass without a trace, speak with animals\plants, create\destroy\control water(and every element basically)
Detect poisons diseases etc
and pretty much any utility spell you have.

Parts of the "Crushing advantages" include:
Miniomancy for numbers advantage
Terrain altering spells
Heavy debuffs (heat metal)
Buffing your team
Shielding your team using the control elements spells (eg stop a potential fireball by making a wall of water(control water) in front of the team)
any other usage you can think of.

In addition to those, you use your cantrips for some coplimentary damage and control, or some damaging spells (call lighting, moonbeam) to finish the job quicker. Doing damage tho is not a top priority because you will more often than not find yourself concetrating on a game winning spell and should try to maintain it for as long as possible. And if something goes wrong, good thing you can heal as well! Btw did I mention that because most of your goodies are concetration spells, you have great spell economy as well? With that in mind you can afford to pretty much abuse your op utility spells.

A great example of a druid carrying with utility is the show critical role. That druid was awesome!

[Herobizkit]

I'm playing a half-drow land Druid with an equal Str/Dex investment who presently wields a staff and shield. I plan on advancing her as a two-weapon fighter (scimitars, if you can believe it lol)

What do Land druids DO every round in combat? Whatever they want. Outside of combat? A whole lot more.

For me, Land Druids are the ultimate toolbox. In one "scene", I cast Jump on our heaviest warrior (a Paladin) to get him up to a second-floor landing with no stairs. Before he could pull us up, he was set upon by a "land octopus", whereupon I threw a Thorn Whip and pulled it through the hole to the story below. Once that was dealt with, the rest of us got up to the second floor and two more octopi dropped from the ceiling. I hauled out my staff and shield and charged in. Once they were defeated, we found a Hag summoning these things from a portal. I ran up and Thunderwave'd her, sending the tools on her summoning altar all over the place and disrupting the ritual. Our noble Paladin fell, and our Bard bolstered me with Heroism to stand against the Hag long enough so that the two of us could finish her.

It was rad.

We're level 1. :)

Druids are great. They can support very well and they needn't fear melee.

[Dalebert]

Conjure Animals is absolutely broken and pretty much stays that way into high levels. I think what breaks it are the poorly evaluated CRs of many beasts. There are CR 1/4 beasts that are obscene when you have 8 of them. Wolves and giant owls come to mind. The damage you do with 8 wolves when placed well in a single round is probably not going to compete with ideal fireball damage when enemies are kind enough to get into fireball formation for you just in time for the wizard's initiative, but it can be damn close, and then the wolves continue doing damage. It lasts an HOUR.

We were fighting 3 lvl 6 moon druids last night as a 6 to 8ish party of 5 and it sucked. We were able to get indoors just as the giant owls appeared and they couldn't follow us well inside, fortunately. My griffon was on the roof and we all forgot about him, including the DM, but it was pointed out that he would probably have been killed by the owls. I'm not sure of that after thinking about it. I think he would have been hurt badly and then flown away from them since he's faster and their tactic is flyby so they wouldn't hang near to get AoO.

Druids have a wonderful spell list. The biggest problem is so much of it requires concentration. If you can grab a land that gives good non-concentration options, I imagine you'd be golden. Last night, our druid fired a lightning bolt at the last remaining druid to drop it from wild shape and deal leftover dmg.

[EroGaki]

I'm playing a 2nd level Underdark Druid in the OotA adventure path, and so far, so good! Despite having a rather poor wildshape ability, it has proven useful in combat. Drow elves can create darkness, and my ability to turn into a giant wolf spider-- which has blindsight-- has come in very handy. Between combating darkness spells, and getting out of web spells, that form has saved the day four separate times. And the bonus hp for the forms has been a nice cushion.

Currently, I don't have a lot of open spell slots to do control. I'm the only healer in the group, and I've had to throw out some hasty healing words to prevent death, so I can't say how effective the druid casting is when it comes to killing folks.

[MaxWilson]

Parts of the "Unparalleled utility" include:
Wildshaping for all intents and purposes (scouting, tanking, carrying people around, abusing the animal form perception bonuses, gathering info etc)
Pass without a trace, speak with animals\plants, create\destroy\control water(and every element basically)
Detect poisons diseases etc
and pretty much any utility spell you have.

Mold Earth (from the Elemental Evil Player's Companion) deserves a mention here too. A cubic foot of dirt weighs about 76 pounds, and you can excavate 125 cubic feet per round, so that's 9500 lb. of dirt per round or over 1500 lb. of dirt per second that you can move. Uses include burying enemies (dead or alive), sapping under walls, digging pit traps/defensive trenches, hiding treasure/supplies. It's a little bit dependent on DM interpretation in that some people read "loose earth" to mean something other than "dirt" (e.g. some read it as "dirt which is not packed tightly", as if there were any such thing as a 5' cube of dirt which is not packed tightly by its own weight) but I think "dirt"/"not-stone" is the only reasonable interpretation, and being a gigantic druid dirt vacuum is supremely useful.

Shape Water isn't bad either, especially in conjunction with Mold Earth. It's nice not to get stymied once you hit the water table.

=================================


Conjure Animals is absolutely broken and pretty much stays that way into high levels. I think what breaks it are the poorly evaluated CRs of many beasts. There are CR 1/4 beasts that are obscene when you have 8 of them. Wolves and giant owls come to mind. The damage you do with 8 wolves when placed well in a single round is probably not going to compete with ideal fireball damage when enemies are kind enough to get into fireball formation for you just in time for the wizard's initiative, but it can be damn close, and then the wolves continue doing damage. It lasts an HOUR.

It also casts quicker than other conjuring spells: 1 action as opposed to 1 minute. And it scales better too: Conjure Animals V gives you twice as many minions as Conjure Minor Elemental V.

Some of the CR 2 creatures are worthwhile too, such as the Giant Constrictor Snake for giving other PCs advantage. (Technically, a bunch of CR 1/4 Constrictor Snakes or CR 1/2 Crocodiles can do the same job, but I figure you might as well do the job with style.)

BTW, for DMs: here (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TAUqgYfi4gtDC6WOH41Y2JW-Wjh6NOx-Oq-D92pM4EM/edit#) is a nice set of random tables per-terrain for Conjure Animals that someone made.

[Dalebert]

Currently, I don't have a lot of open spell slots to do control. I'm the only healer in the group, and I've had to throw out some hasty healing words to prevent death, so I can't say how effective the druid casting is when it comes to killing folks.

Do you have a wizard? Have them summon an Unseen Servant. Hand out goodberries which you summoned the night before resting so you have a bunch of them and still have your spell slots. Make sure they're in outside pockets and within easy reach of the servant. Have the wizard get downed people back up with the servent when possible. One hit point is often as good as 1d4+3(ish) in combat as either generally represents one hit before you're down, but the goodberry is far cheaper in spell slots as well as action economy assuming your wizard isn't doing much with their bonus action, which is likely. It's not always viable but often it is. Unseen Servants can only move 15 feet so it's best to position them well early. Also, you can put less combat-effective NPCs to work getting people back up with them. Not all DMs allow you to feed a goodberry to a downed character but I haven't had any problem yet. If the DM won't let you use goodberries this way, the servant can at least auto-stabilize people with a healing kit so they don't die and fix them up afterward more efficiently.

BTW, you don't actually healing word them until they're down, right? To do otherwise is usually very inefficient on your healing resources to say the least. A Healing Word on someone not yet down might be completely wasted depending on how hard enemies are hitting.

[EroGaki]

Do you have a wizard? Have them summon an Unseen Servant. Hand out goodberries which you summoned the night before resting so you have a bunch of them and still have your spell slots. Make sure they're in outside pockets and within easy reach of the servant. Have the wizard get downed people back up with the servent when possible. One hit point is often as good as 1d4+3(ish) in combat as either generally represents one hit before you're down, but the goodberry is far cheaper in spell slots as well as action economy assuming your wizard isn't doing much with their bonus action, which is likely. It's not always viable but often it is. Unseen Servants can only move 15 feet so it's best to position them well early. Also, you can put less combat-effective NPCs to work getting people back up with them. Not all DMs allow you to feed a goodberry to a downed character but I haven't had any problem yet. If the DM won't let you use goodberries this way, the servant can at least auto-stabilize people with a healing kit so they don't die and fix them up afterward more efficiently.

BTW, you don't actually healing word them until they're down, right? To do otherwise is usually very inefficient on your healing resources to say the least. A Healing Word on someone not yet down might be completely wasted depending on how hard enemies are hitting.


Alas, we have no wizard. The only arcane caster we have is a warlock.

The Healing Words were actually used to prevent instant death. A drow warrior rolled two crits in a row against the party barbarian and rogue, dealing enough damage to instantly kill them. The DM allowed my Healing Word to save them at the last moment.

[Demonic Spoon]

For the most part, your first priority is to not lose concentration. Land druids have some of the best concentration battlefield effects available, and gaining 2d8 cantrip damage isn't worth losing 8 summoned wolves. This means things like the dodge action are perfectly reasonable uses of your turn.

That said, druids -do- have options for doing small amounts of damage via cantrips. My recommendation would be ask a DM to refluff Produce Flame as something more appropriate.

[Dalebert]

Alas, we have no wizard. The only arcane caster we have is a warlock.

If he happens to be chain, their familiars are often even better than an Unseen Servant for administering goodberries or healing potions.


The Healing Words were actually used to prevent instant death. A drow warrior rolled two crits in a row against the party barbarian and rogue, dealing enough damage to instantly kill them. The DM allowed my Healing Word to save them at the last moment.

That was kind of him.

[Vogonjeltz]

So, I'd like someone to tell me - "What does a Land Druid do every turn?"

But apart from that, also, I'd like people to tell me why you like the Druid. What particular combinations or abilities you enjoyed using, what sort of thematic fluff you liked, what sort of character you made, etc... I want you to sell the Druid on me. What's the thing that made you love it? Or, alternatively, do you have any warnings, like "don't do this method, it's not fun"?

I'm typing midnight so it may be a bit difficult to read. Thanks for reading. Any help is appreciated.

To help answer your question, I think it would be worth exploring exactly who your druid is.

Try answering some of these questions, I've provided a sample explanation:

1) In normal circumstances, what does your Druid do in the swamp? Why do they live there? Imagine a typical day for your Druid.

Possible answers: My druid is a born naturalist, they don't relate well to other people which is why she lives as a Hermit. Living in the harsher conditions of the swamp, she's come to realize how vitally important it is to maintain the precarious balance that keeps a swamp vibrant with life, from the insects to the birds and amphibians, and fish that rely on them for a diet, to the larger predators. Any great change to that elemental balance could lead to the swamp drying up (or submerging to form a lake), and countless species being driven out or killed. My druid spends her normal days observing nature.

2) Why are they called to adventure? Are they ultimately seeking to protect the fragile balance necessary for protecting the swamplands they know and love?

As a hermit my Druid has had a vision of great destruction from the elemental forces that seek to convert the material into their own endless wasteland; She's called to adventure to prevent the little and great wrongs which could lead to this outcome, forever destroying her beloved swamp. If that means having to leave and going who knows where...so be it.

On the basis of 1 & 2, try to formulate an idea of what kind of creatures the Druid would be familiar with, what kind of spells reflect her favored environment, and go from there.

In terms of fighting, think of the Druid as a malleable opponent. They can wear medium armor with a shield and have moderate hit points, they have some short range spell attacks or they can wield some average damage weapons. Wild Shape provides some more durability to the Druid, allowing them to engage in melee with less threat or providing the temporary hit points to shrug off an attack of opportunity while getting out of range. So turn by turn it's a choice of melee or ranged cantrips. Peppering in with spell use.

Druids don't get conjure animals until 5th level, but they can interact with animals more safely than other classes using their various animal related spells until that point.


1) Don't underestimate the Animal Friendship spell. It lasts 24 hours, with no concentration. Combine with Speak with Animals (Warlock is good for that) or an Animal Handling check (Bard is good with Expertise for that) for an animal companion at the low low cost of a single 1st level spell.

I'd advise against this. First, multiclassing dilutes your spellcasting and your stats needlessly (Druid already has both Animal Friendship and Speak with Animals). Second, because the Animal Friendship spell allows a save and must be repeated every 24 hours (exhausting one of your very limited spell slots) at some point the casting is going to fail, and then you have a dangerous animal at hand.

Animal Friendship is better served for getting around a dangerous animal encountered than it is for trying to emulate the Beastmaster. The result of the spell is only that they're friendly anyway, that doesn't cover taking risks on the Druid's behalf.