Shepherd Druid with Order Cleric dip?

[Merudo]

The Shepherd Druid with a 1 level Order Cleric dip seems really strong. The Voice of Authority works wonderfully with the Unicorn Totem, allowing you to heal your own team plus do very decent damage, all for a level 1 spell.

Roleplay-wise, though, I'm not sure how to justify it. A Druid cares about nature, while an Order Cleric cares about laws... seems like they are at the opposite of the spectrum, here.

Any idea on how to merge the two? Or is the RP of the two classes incompatible?

[Jophiel]

You could try for a Kipling Jungle Book take on it where the animals actually had a codified law about where to hunt, how to grant aid, behavior around watering holes in times of drought, etc. Most of the animals were lawful or, at worst, neutral with only the Bander-log truly being chaotic as a people (and despised for it). Shere Khan was chaotic, flouting the law, but he seemed to be an exception even among tigers.

[Bobthewizard]

Maybe they are a druid defending the "laws of nature", bringing vengeance down upon anyone who tries to disrupt the "natural order".

[redwizard007]

The natural world has TONS of order. Patterns of seasons. Mass migrations. Day night cycles. Large groups of mammals. Flocks of birds. Weather patterns. Tides...

[Nhym]

On first thought I think of an bee/ant-themed Shepherd. Ants and bees both already have royal-based infrastructure so with the Faction Agent background (Which works well with Druids anyway), you could create a sort of royal magistrate Druid loyal to their factions monarchy. Flavoring can make CR 1/8 poisonous snakes into ants by removing the swim speed and the flying snakes could be bees (again remove the swim speed).

[Bash]

It would probably better fit an order cleric dipping druid, but I'd probably go with someone driven by the idea that nature is transcended when ordered by men - as an animal tamer, or maybe landscape architect.
A druid using magic to transform jungle into a french formal garden should be quite some fun.

A misanthropic character may fit as well - considering the "natural order" as the only true law, and despising tools and weapons as unnatural. "You wand to cut this tree/get rid of this wolf pack? Do it with your bare hands."

Last, the character might consider order/law to be the best way to jugulate men's greed over nature - say, in reaction to a long struggle agains poachers.


Roleplaying aside, the combination seems indeed very strong, and I was surprised not to see a mention of it in any Druid Guide. I guess most were written before GGtR came out, and I'll take the occasion to thank both of you guys (Merudo & Nhym) for all the amazing work :)
I've been considering doing this a lot, but I'm having a hard time finding when to do it.
On one side, delaying any Conjure spell is heartbreaking, and Voice of Authority really shines with high CR creatures.
On the other, most games don't reach T3+, and more cantrips/prepared spells are always useful...

[Merudo]

Roleplaying aside, the combination seems indeed very strong, and I was surprised not to see a mention of it in any Druid Guide.

I've since added a Multiclassing section to my guide, including a small section covering all Cleric domains.