Need Help Making a Pathfinder Druid

[Vknight]

Really that sums it up Pathfinder is really similar but distinctly different so what would people suggest to take to make a Mystic Theurge(since Urpriest is no option) and/or just making a competent Druid in Pathfinder.

I'm going with certain things in mind for this game and would like to play around with the Theurge and looking too ideas as I debate between the two(I.E. Theurge or pure druid)

In addition the Gm is an ok person but sometimes a jerk so I want a fairly competent built(the theurge is fun also because I'll be the only 9th level spellcaster)

[thecrimsondawn]

Well, I am a big fan of duel progression classes like MT, but they took a hit in PF, making them kinda hard to enjoy for me at least. Also, I am not a druid fan, so I will not be able to answer many druid related questions, but regardless, the advice stays mostly the same.

There is a guide for early entry into MT. Unlike 3.5, you cant cheese your way into it at like level 3, but we do have the Magical Lineage + Heighten Spell cheese here. The real question you want to ask yourself tho, is what type of arcane spells do you want?

Wizard gives flexibility for sure, but you will be spending a lot of gold on scrolls to catch up for the spells you are not getting. The loss of caster level makes you a less potent combat powerhouse, and far better at support and control.

Witches have insane debuffs, and some nice hexes as well. Just remember, SR is going to be your bane as a MT, as is dispel.

There is also Summoner, who have most of the buff spells in the game, + you get a nice bodyguard early levels (but rather useless late levels).



As an MT, your role is dedicated to be extremely flexible, able to fill several roles as are needed. Remember that unless you cheese it, the default level you can enter this PrC is 7, and that means your spellcasting will be getting 3rd level spells when everyone else will be 1 level away from getting 5th level spells. Your advantage will be you can cast spells for days and days without much worry or care. Just be mindful of your weak points as they are major flaws with this PrC, but once you get into the early to mid teens in levels, their ability to shut down just about any situation can put some other party members out of a job :p

[Azoth]

Okay, there are a few ways to go about entering Mystic Theurge that can end up with dual 9ths.

The first (note it involves Early Entry and Legacy Champion style methods):

X2/Y1/Mystic Theurge 7/Evangelist10.

You need to take Equipment Trick (Sunrod) for the ability Like the Sun. This will treat all your 1st level light spells as level 2 spells.

You will also need to take Deific Obedience before taking any Evangelist levels.

Apply Evangelist's ability Bonded Class to Mystic Theurge and gain pseudo-levels in it to keep progressing you spellcasting beyond the 10th level of Mystic Theurge.

This will Yield X18/Y17 casting at 20.

The second method (requires access to Inner Sea Magic):

Join a Mage's Guild. At 5 fame and 35 fame you will unlock Eclectic and Esoteric Training. Theses abilities will increase your spellcasting in one class by 3 levels and by 1 level in a second class.

So X3/Y3/Mystic Theurge10/X+1/Y+3 where X is boosted by 3 and Y is boosted by 1will yield X17/Y17 casting at 20.

Now if you combine the two you will end up with X19/Y20 casting at 20.

In either case, if using a Druid in this equation you will want to go with a Domain instead of an Animal Companion. The extra spell every level will be more useful than an incredibly stunted animal companion.

If you still want an Animal Companion you can spend 3 feats to get one from a limited list (Nature Soul, Animal Ally, Boon Companion) that will fully scale with your character level.

[Vknight]

Thanks both of these are helpful and if I am thinking about not going Mystic Theurge as that is still up for debate then suggestions would be?

[Azoth]

Ok, just a Druid. The first thing to decide is if going caster or beater focused. If caster focused typical caster stats Wis, Dex=Con, the rest. If melee focused physical stats will be more important as Wildshape no longer replaces your physical scores.

Domain Vs. Animal Companion can get tricky. Some casters will want a bodyguard and delivery methods for buffs, others want domain abilities. Combat druids generally like a guaranteed Flanking partner or Missle platform.

Natural spell is still your 5th level feat.

Summon focused builds lost a lot of steam since Fey are very absent from your list of Nature Ally. Usually it is just a bunch of so-so beaters. Those builds will generally lose steam by the double digit levels. They can be effective but mainly as meat shields to block movement and take hits.

If you can give a bit of an idea of what you want the character to do, more specific advice can be given. Druids now need to focus a bit instead of being awesome at everything, so sorry for the vague advice.

[Vknight]

Ok, just a Druid. The first thing to decide is if going caster or beater focused. If caster focused typical caster stats Wis, Dex=Con, the rest. If melee focused physical stats will be more important as Wildshape no longer replaces your physical scores.

Domain Vs. Animal Companion can get tricky. Some casters will want a bodyguard and delivery methods for buffs, others want domain abilities. Combat druids generally like a guaranteed Flanking partner or Missle platform.

Natural spell is still your 5th level feat.

Summon focused builds lost a lot of steam since Fey are very absent from your list of Nature Ally. Usually it is just a bunch of so-so beaters. Those builds will generally lose steam by the double digit levels. They can be effective but mainly as meat shields to block movement and take hits.

If you can give a bit of an idea of what you want the character to do, more specific advice can be given. Druids now need to focus a bit instead of being awesome at everything, so sorry for the vague advice.

Its alright I'm going caster. And animal companion is up for debate but Domain druid could/should be fun.
I'm not going to be a summoner druid I wanna be using spells support/blasting along with the wizard stuff if possible and then that little sprinkle of deliciousness.
What book is evangelist in?

[Azoth]

Here is a link to Evangelist: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/prestige-classes/other-paizo/e-h/evangelist/

If you are looking to be caster focused, the Archetype Menhir Savant could be useful. 3+Wis/day free action to gain +1CL for the round. Nice for buff durations or a free boost to punch SR. Best part is that it doesn't mess with Nature Bond. It just screws with features that aren't spectacular to begin with, and that you won't get anyway if you go MT.

For Domain I would probably go with Air, Feather, Ash, or Ice. Ash and Ice mean you have a blast on hand at every level. Air has some utility spells to help out. Feather is a grab bag, but I like the idea of combining it with Divination (Foresight) School for +1 Perception and +3 Initiative.

If staying single class Druid, Storm, Ash, Ice, and Feather are all good.

Now, back to Wizard stuff. The best schools for a MT or anyone just dipping Wizard are Divination (Foresight) and Conjuration (Teleportation).

Another option is Void School as it's School Power Reveal Weakness is based on your Caster Level and not your Wizard level. It is also a pretty hefty debuff -1/2CL to AC & Saves to a single target within 30ft. That can easily be -1 to -12 over the course of your career. You can also offset the prohibited elemental school by prepping those spells in Druid slots. Say by having Fire be your Opposition School and taking the Ash Domain.

[Florian]

Its alright I'm going caster.

Caster druids are pretty fun blasters in PF. Wildshaping into elemental form (air) really gives mobility and a good boost to your ability scores, whirlwind meshed well with call lightning/lightning storm.
You might actually base it on an elf, use no archetype and use the weather domain.

[Geddy2112]

Caster druids are pretty fun blasters in PF. Wildshaping into elemental form (air) really gives mobility and a good boost to your ability scores, whirlwind meshed well with call lightning/lightning storm.

Second- a lot of your blast spells have secondary debuff/AoE control effects. Before you get air elemental any bird will do well as a caster to fly around and avoid combat. You can also pick up scent and some other in/out of combat utility.

If you want to stay in wild shape a lot, feral speech(or natural speech one is the spell one is the feat) lets you be lazy and just constantly be an animal.

For a caster, I would suggest giving up your companion unless you are getting a scout/spy animal like a bird.

[Azoth]

I dunno about giving it up. You can always turn it into a pretty strong booster for you if you use it as a mount.

Just bump the things Int to 3 when it hits 4HD

For Example:

1st) Combat Reflexes
3rd) Bodyguard
5th) Extra Traits Adopted (Halfling) Helpful, Fool for Friends
7th) Harrying Partner

Give it a Sky Marine Elite Saddle to share Flanking Partners (or any other teamwork feat you have with it) with it. That or push Harrying Partner to level 9 and have the Animal Companion take the teamwork feat itself.

With no other investment in things like Benevolent Amor or Amulet of Mighty Fists, your Animal Companion can Aid Another to give +5 To Hit, and use an AoO to give you +5AC against an enemy for the entire round. It can do the AC boost against as many enemies as it has AoO's.

[Florian]

I dunno about giving it up.

Domain gives you one spell slot/level and can be tailored to your role. That´s pretty much the only cheap and feasible way to boost spellcasting on a druid. I like the weather domain as it gives you some of the classic BFC spells and call lightning as SLA at 8th. That´s nothing to sneeze at.

[Azoth]

Domain gives you one spell slot/level and can be tailored to your role. That´s pretty much the only cheap and feasible way to boost spellcasting on a druid. I like the weather domain as it gives you some of the classic BFC spells and call lightning as SLA at 8th. That´s nothing to sneeze at.

I agree that it is the only easy way to boost casting. I don't think we can say it is tailored to any and every role though. Most domains carry either primarily blast spells or are kind of a grab bag of spells (some blast, some utility, some niche use) overall.

Without knowing party composition it becomes a bit trickier a call. The same can be said for individual playstyle really. If the party lacks any true frontliners then an animal companion can help take the heat. If they have a squishy ranged character it can provide a safe mobile platform to fire from. It also gives the party an extra creatures actions to take, so there is some merit to it on action economy alone.

I am not saying it is better than a Domain, but I am saying that it is not a clear cut decision either.

[Vknight]

Was that feat spread suggested for my animal companion?
Seems nice but what would people suggest
I'm thinking
Leopard, Wolf, or Lion

And am debating the feats I'll be taking
The Gm disallowed Magical Lineage

Oh is there a Planar Shepard equivalent?

[Azoth]

Yes, that feat list was a suggestion for an Animal Companion. It is designed to boost to hit and armor class making it easier to land attacks and harder to be hit.

There is nothing like Planar Shepherd in Pathfinder. Most PRCs in Pathfinder aren't that great to begin with.