Turn my druid into a leader of men. How To? (3.5)

[Mordante]

My human lvl11 druid is in some human kingdom. The kingdom is a screwed up according to my druid. There is war or hostility with most neighbours, nature has been completely destroyed for farm lands or just burned and wrecked by war. The nobility only cares about themselves and the King while he is trying seems to be failing.
I’m not sure if my party agrees but my character wants to set things straight. Stop the endless wars. Kill the suffocation bureaucracy. Start a druid grove and let nature back in.
Right now I’m just trying to gain power, military rank and hopefully become nobility. During one of our quests we needed someone in the party with a military rank. Since we are in a human kingdom and I’m the on human in the party I was made a lieutenant and later got promoted to captain. Right now as a quest reward I’m trying to become viscount. (Don’t ask me why viscount, it just seems like a fun title and fits with my plans)
However as a druid I severely lack the skills to actually become a leader and change the country. I was thinking about multiclassing, I first want to reach lvl12 druid. But then a few levels of some class with skills in perform (oratory), knowledge (nobility and royalty), intimidate, etcetera
So what class would fit that profile of a militant druid? I was thinking a Human Paragon. It’s not really defined as class so I can with it whatever I want. Also the DM rules out and homebrew class.
I’ve looked into the Leadership feat but it seems a bit bland. I also don’t understand why you would get a -2 when you have an animal companion.
So any tips for me. How to become a leader and change the land. I’m not sure if my party members agree with my ambitions. So it’s more of a solo endeavour/quest/goal-thingy.

[the_david]

What about a leader of the people instead? Don't focus on political power, just start a revolution. You can start by going from farm to farm to cast Plant Growth. This will increase the crop yield, so people will need less farmland to feed the entire population. It also will make the farmers a lot happier. If you do get a title and the land that goes with it, don't treat your people as serfs. Give the farmers an acre of land per family instead of letting them rent a plot. Japan and China both did this in the last hundred years or so and it did great things for their economies. Now you've got happy citizens who are willing to do whatever it takes to defend THEIR land.

[Nifft]

Just be a regular Druid.

Leadership is amazing -- you get the -2 because you're THAT GUY who cares about his dog more than his co-workers, but even with the penalty it's amazing. You ought to be able to overcome the penalty and hit level cap anyway (level cap is your level - 2).

There are feats which give you access to skills, if you need those skills, but I'd suggest instead getting a Cohort with those skills.

If you use Leadership to nab a Bard seneschal, your butler can handle those skills for you. Knowledge (nobility), Sense Motive ("My lord he's lying") -- you don't need Perform (oratory) since you have Diplomacy. Perform is how you entertain an audience; Diplomacy is how you win hearts and minds.

[eggynack]

I'm not really sure why you need these precise skills. Spells have a tendency to operate on a significantly higher level. Why use knowledge (nobility and royalty) when you have a bunch of divinations and such? The other two skills make significantly less sense. Intimidate tends to be worse than diplomacy for social scenarios, and perform doesn't have much function besides getting you money. All in all, I'd prefer the leader that can actually influence stuff to the leader that looks kinda leadery.

That said, it's possible to give yourself a bit more leadership flavor, if that's all you're after. Skilled city-dweller (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a) offers some noble feeling skills, specifically gather information, knowledge (local), and sense motive. Greensinger initiate (ECS, 54) puts bluff, hide, and perform on your skill list and a bunch of socially oriented enchantment spells on your spell list. If you're willing to swap your race, half-orc sub levels (RoD, 159) grant intimidate as a class skill.

[Mordante]

Just be a regular Druid.

Leadership is amazing -- you get the -2 because you're THAT GUY who cares about his dog more than his co-workers, but even with the penalty it's amazing. You ought to be able to overcome the penalty and hit level cap anyway (level cap is your level - 2).

There are feats which give you access to skills, if you need those skills, but I'd suggest instead getting a Cohort with those skills.

If you use Leadership to nab a Bard seneschal, your butler can handle those skills for you. Knowledge (nobility), Sense Motive ("My lord he's lying") -- you don't need Perform (oratory) since you have Diplomacy. Perform is how you entertain an audience; Diplomacy is how you win hearts and minds.

But I don't think you can use diplomacy when making a speech that is why I was thinking about perform, making speeches for the troops.

[eggynack]

But I don't think you can use diplomacy when making a speech that is why I was thinking about perform, making speeches for the troops.
Perform doesn't even seem to do anything for troops. It's just got the basic rules function of making money along with some bard type stuff.

[denthor]

Start with the plant growth plan. For both sides.

Then go on to create your grove. My advice create a small pond type from a river. Create something that cleans the water.

Find a NPC ranger have the ranger start planting onions garlic herbs in spots along the road rest areas for caravans.


Defend your boarder so this is between the waring factions. Get permission from both sides if possible.

[Nifft]

But I don't think you can use diplomacy when making a speech that is why I was thinking about perform, making speeches for the troops. Diplomacy is how you change their attitude to be more friendly.

If they're already troops which you own, then you don't need either skill -- you can just tell them what to do.


Perform doesn't even seem to do anything for troops. It's just got the basic rules function of making money along with some bard type stuff. Yeah, unless you're a Bard you can do nothing with Perform except play entertainment gigs.

A cohort Bard could inspire your troops, of course.

[Bronk]

You could take the Leadership feat, and actually have your cohort go around gaining rank and so on. If he outranks you, he/she/it can take care of the boring stuff while you go about druiding it up, can funnel money to you, can cover for you, can send military backup to you... You'd be the influencer, the impetus to his or her rising influence, and eventually the power behind the throne. You can spend your time adventuring and setting up your druid grove with Dryads, Oaken Defenders, Nymphs, Topiary Guardians, Thorns, other druids...

Or, you could just back up the King. Sounds like he's trying... maybe give him a hand? That might be an existing plot hook from your DM.

Or... what level is the king? Can you just take the king as your cohort?

[Mordante]

You could take the Leadership feat, and actually have your cohort go around gaining rank and so on. If he outranks you, he/she/it can take care of the boring stuff while you go about druiding it up, can funnel money to you, can cover for you, can send military backup to you... You'd be the influencer, the impetus to his or her rising influence, and eventually the power behind the throne. You can spend your time adventuring and setting up your druid grove with Dryads, Oaken Defenders, Nymphs, Topiary Guardians, Thorns, other druids...

Or, you could just back up the King. Sounds like he's trying... maybe give him a hand? That might be an existing plot hook from your DM.

Or... what level is the king? Can you just take the king as your cohort?

I have no idea what level the king is. Nor do I have any funds. Everything I have is what I am wearing. As quest reward we asked for a house. We received a 10 bedroom house in the middle city with a 100m2 garden. That was the last thing we did last session. One of the reasons why the king even talks to us is because one of our party members a female elf is his **** buddy.

I think I’ll take up the leadership feat. It’s still very early our lvl11 party is not of really famous, well know or rich.

[Bronk]

I have no idea what level the king is. Nor do I have any funds. Everything I have is what I am wearing. As quest reward we asked for a house. We received a 10 bedroom house in the middle city with a 100m2 garden. That was the last thing we did last session. One of the reasons why the king even talks to us is because one of our party members a female elf is his **** buddy.

I think I’ll take up the leadership feat. It’s still very early our lvl11 party is not of really famous, well know or rich.

It actually sounds like your lady elf friend is a few steps ahead of you on this... you might want to confer with her before you start trying to dethrone her paramour.

Edit: Perhaps (after working things out with your fellow PC and DM), as a military leader, you could instead take one of the King's kids as a cohort, make them your squire, and get in on the line of succession that way, influencing future generations and all that.

[Mordante]

It actually sounds like your lady elf friend is a few steps ahead of you on this... you might want to confer with her before you start trying to dethrone her paramour.

Edit: Perhaps (after working things out with your fellow PC and DM), as a military leader, you could instead take one of the King's kids as a cohort, make them your squire, and get in on the line of succession that way, influencing future generations and all that.

The king is still fairly young. Early thirties tops. No kids no queen.

My elven lady friend actually is a Druid as well. But her Druid is more like a WoW boomkin Druid. She plays a lot of WoW and just tries to apply WoW to dnd sort of.

[Ruethgar]

Uncanny Trickster can get you some serious skills while keeping your druid progression going, but unless you can retrain for the skill tricks, might be a touch difficult.

[wilphe]

But I don't think you can use diplomacy when making a speech that is why I was thinking about perform, making speeches for the troops.

Profession: Writer is what Shakespeare used to write the St Crispin's Day speech

Perform: Oratory is what Kenneth Branagh has to play the part

Diplomacy is what Henry V is using

[Malphegor]

Mother Cyst, dominate everyone you can touch with magic cancer into being your slave. Can refluff it so it's not really necromancy but some sort of natural bond that interlinks all living things, a living Force of nature, which you are grabbing hold of and inserting your authority as a druid... Your power over life now extends to humanoids, effectively, but makes them weaker against death magic.

You can also explode people this way

[Crake]

Mother Cyst, dominate everyone you can touch with magic cancer into being your slave. Can refluff it so it's not really necromancy but some sort of natural bond that interlinks all living things, a living Force of nature, which you are grabbing hold of and inserting your authority as a druid... Your power over life now extends to humanoids, effectively, but makes them weaker against death magic.

You can also explode people this way

When you're changing the school of a spell, you're no longer refluffing, since you're changing actual mechanics.

[Boci]

When you're changing the school of a spell, you're no longer refluffing, since you're changing actual mechanics.

They're not changing the school, they just refocusing the fluff to not focus on the school as much.

[Crake]

They're not changing the school, they just refocusing the fluff to not focus on the school as much.

It's either necromancy, or it's not necromancy. It can't be "not" necromancy. So you're either refluffing it as "not" necromancy but it still is, at which point you're not really refluffing anything, because you're just lying to yourself, or you're "refluffing" it to not be necromancy, at which point you're changing mechanics and it's no longer refluffing. It's like trying to refluff animate dead as making "plant" zombies.

[Boci]

It's either necromancy, or it's not necromancy. It can't be "not" necromancy. So you're either refluffing it as "not" necromancy but it still is, at which point you're not really refluffing anything, because you're just lying to yourself

So? Why is that a problem? Is it wrong to have a character who claims a necromantic effect they have isn't necromantic? Character's opinions and beliefs don't have to be right.

If the character says "Its not necromantic, it exploits and subvert the natural bond that interlinks all living thing" then you have in fact refluffed it, even if the character is wrong.