Druid with a Warlock or a Cleric?

[Aaedimus]

I'm a Shepherd Circle Druid from the underdark and I've been wanting that good good Armor of Agathys for my wildshape, and the booming blade cantrip, however if I use Magic Initiate with my previously planned dip into Grave Domain Cleric I can't upcast the spell, or grab war caster for that booming blade opportunity attack. If I dip Warlock instead, I end up 1 level behind in spell slot progression (not equivelent to the short rest spell slot I gain in my eyes)

I'm not sure what would be more fun... I felt an upcast Armor of Agathys with maybe, Shield of Faith, War Caster, Shepard Druid Spirit Totem and my Aasimar racial ability would come close to raising the combat utility of my wildshape substantially. We're gonna be playing vs allot of undead btw.

Is it worth the trouble? Sound Fun?

[hymer]

I would not plan on putting character ressources into upping my wild shape form's combat potential for a shepherd druid - with very few exceptions. When wild shapes cease to increase at level 8, they are already quite weak in fighting capability, and have been for quite a while. I can't see any amount of shoring them up will fundamentally change that. They can definitely be useful on occasion even in battle, but as a tactic I'd be loath to put resources into it that could have been used for something I use more.

As for fun, well, Armor of Agathys is pretty amusing, and effective. On the downside, I prefer tactics that keep me from getting attacked altogether. That may not be possible at your table, of course.

So my conclusion would be to stay the course, and next time around maybe play a bard.

[Citan]

I'm a Shepherd Circle Druid from the underdark and I've been wanting that good good Armor of Agathys for my wildshape, and the booming blade cantrip, however if I use Magic Initiate with my previously planned dip into Grave Domain Cleric I can't upcast the spell, or grab war caster for that booming blade opportunity attack. If I dip Warlock instead, I end up 1 level behind in spell slot progression (not equivelent to the short rest spell slot I gain in my eyes)

I'm not sure what would be more fun... I felt an upcast Armor of Agathys with maybe, Shield of Faith, War Caster, Shepard Druid Spirit Totem and my Aasimar racial ability would come close to raising the combat utility of my wildshape substantially. We're gonna be playing vs allot of undead btw.

Is it worth the trouble? Sound Fun?
Hi!
I mostly agree with what Hymer said: since non-Moon will always be limited to 1/4 CR shapes, even if you upcasted AoA as high as possible it would not push your staying in Wild Shape for more than 1 or 2 rounds.
And for all that, you invested significantly in character building, and you spent one round (Wild Shaping), possibly 2 (couldn't cast AoA in anticipation) each encounter.

So as far as mechanics goes, AoA on WS is suboptimal for fights. Note that AoA on itself is not necessarily though, if in human form you tend to be targeted by melee attacks.

Now, unless you would be in a very small party, you can prime fun over opti. And if you envision your character as a pack leader of beast gang for example, spending as much time as possible in Wild Shape form and using human mainly/only to cast Speak With Animals, Beast Bond or Conjure Animals, then go for it, unless when you push the idea to your party they fear this would be too much of a downgrade compared to having a "normal" fullcaster at the ready.

If you tend to be the scout, having an AoA before wild shaping as an eagle could be another nice way to get a cushion of sorts in case you get attacked by sentinel archers, even if half the spell is wasted (

In short, it can still be useful, just not in direct confrontations.

Also, note that as far as plain optimization goes, while pure Druid is the best in the very long run, for short-medium objectives a dip into Cleric (any domain) or Warlock (patron with Shield preferably) can be worth imo if there is a specific focus behind (like Warlock: extra resilience with Shield and Armor of Agathys, extra utility with cantrips).

[Aaedimus]

It was a 3 man group with an inexperienced sorcerer and a goblin samurai. Now though we've got a ranger so I'm looking to expand my utility. It looks like along with the goblin, I'll have to tank a bit. Our last combat consisted of myself casting fairy fire than taking the dodge action while half of the baddies tried to take me down. Focusing mostly on utility though.

The current campaign is planned to end around level 8 or 9 so, after looking at and comparing AC/HP i saw that increasing AC and spamming temp HP abilities might bring me over a CR 1 in some places

[hymer]

By the time you reach level 5, you can use Conjure Animals to tank in a much safer and more effective way. And at level 6 your conjured animals get even more durable. Taking levels in other stuff delays this huge boost in your tankiness.

[Aaedimus]

Hmm, I wasn't thinking about that as much... If I'm going to use conjure animals I do have one piece of advice though I'd ask for...

What's an easy way of ensuring the spell doesn't bog the encounter down other than having the animal stats prepared? It's been an issue for me lately in the game I'm DMing. I've been feeling like combats take way to long because I DM a 7 to 8 player group. Adding 8 animals would most likely cause similar problems...
You know what, I'm gonna start another thread about speeding up the table as a DM...

[Citan]

Hmm, I wasn't thinking about that as much... If I'm going to use conjure animals I do have one piece of advice though I'd ask for...

What's an easy way of ensuring the spell doesn't bog the encounter down other than having the animal stats prepared? It's been an issue for me lately in the game I'm DMing. I've been feeling like combats take way to long because I DM a 7 to 8 player group. Adding 8 animals would most likely cause similar problems...
You know what, I'm gonna start another thread about speeding up the table as a DM...

Well, didn't see your new thread yet, so a few suggestions here.
1. All have same Initiative (I think this is already the case but I may not remember correctly).
2. Use average on everything: average roll on attack, average damage, average HP.
3. Treat them as a horde and use the rules that WoTC for managing groups of monsters.

Last option is kinda armageddon because you lose the "use each creature in the most efficient way".
Alternative to all this: instead of conjuring 4/8 small creatures, conjure just 1-2 of higher CR: easier for all and still useful. :)

[NaughtyTiger]

Hi!
since non-Moon will always be limited to 1/4 CR shapes

non-moon druid gets 1/2 CR at level 4, 1 CR at level 8.

[Citan]

non-moon druid gets 1/2 CR at level 4, 1 CR at level 8.
My bad, forgot that bit. Still not impressive for fight though (apart from corner case which is flying away to ensure your concentration won't be broken XD). :)

[djreynolds]

Having thorn whip and repelling blast can provide some real flexibility