Should i multiclass barb/druid?

[dnd2016]

Doing Curse of Strahd, probably start at lvl 2 after a mini campaign on FGU.I am barb lvl1 right now. Think multi into druid is worth it,mainly to rage in beastform and tank for party of wiz,warlock,ranger so far?

[Democratus]

What is 'nature' like in the Curse of Strahd world? Is it all withered trees, wolves, and bats?

I'd want to know what kind of groves, fey, and archdruids I would be associating with before deciding on walking the road of Druid.

[DragonBaneDM]

Sounds kinda like the Druid from the Diablo games: a strong, fierce shapeshifter who's come from a faraway natural place to defend the helpless against a very supernatural threat.

That said: the extra hit points in Moon feel amazing when you're a Druid 2 fighting alongside a Wizard 2, Warlock 2, and Ranger 2. Barbarian 2/Druid 1 will feel awkward, and Druid 2 well feel a'okay, but after that you're level 4 and the very next level your friends will all be getting extra attacks and level 3 spells.

I'm not saying it's a bad idea! Heck, next level you get a Barbarian subclass that could really make you shine! But. Druid 1 isn't worth it. It'll feel like taking a level off. And that's okay.

Also I'm a big, big fan of Moon Druid multiclass. It's just, really fun to use class features while transformed into a bear/tiger/dinosaur. I went Paladin dip, personally, but I can't blame you for going Barbarian instead, which would let you do more outside of your wildshape forms.

[GreyBlack]

Doing Curse of Strahd, probably start at lvl 2 after a mini campaign on FGU.I am barb lvl1 right now. Think multi into druid is worth it,mainly to rage in beastform and tank for party of wiz,warlock,ranger so far?

The big question I have regarding your multiclassing into Druid is how your DM is going to work your wild shapes. Do you have to have seen the animal before you can wild shape?

I've previously DM'd Curse of Strahd and in one of the towns, you do get access to a rather interesting wild shape that you would not expect. However, you do need to be able to wild shape into CR 2 creatures, so keep that in mind. That said, if you're going Barbarian, it might be useful to you, just realize that it won't exactly be a dip.

[Skylivedk]

The multiclass works. Go druid 2 before barb 2: bear beats barb at low levels (and most martials). You're fairly ok on damage in the beginning.

Later you'll be very strong at grappling due to your sizes (you can grapple dragons, fighters/Barbarians normally can't) and your different senses and movement forms. Giant scorpion is a favourite of our barb 2/druid whenever we turn lights off.

It usually pays off to know 5-10 of your most useful forms to cover stuff like:
Flying
Swimming
Running
Special senses
Special attacks (grapple/restrain on hit; it's unclear to me if a giant scorpion loses movement speed by moving someone in its claws)
Big strong single attacks (for AoO and stuff like haste)
Watch out for rage and concentration spells, so get to know the ones that don't require concentration.

You make a great team with any hazard creater and with the various murder cloud classes (Shadow Sorcerer and Monk, Devil's Sight Warlocks).

Remember that you don't need to wildshape all the time. Conjure animals is still super power. Spiked growth is still a cheese grater. Both are often worth keeping as you wildshape.

Letting the other martials ride you into combat is both good for the team spirit and a good way to have your barbarian not feel out as the battle rages in the clouds.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dTGapgzFstOdRr5EJEV6sAhtNSYi0QsX-Tgr2GRutWI/edit?usp=drivesdk

[BloodSnake'sCha]

I like a 1-2 levels of barbarian on my mood druids.

You may like it too. Rage+wildshape is nice.

[sambojin]

Barb + Druid works well (and it's sort-of on your part if your don't get the value out of a 1-2 level dip, either way).

But are you absolutely sure a Fighter dip, be it 1-2 levels, wouldn't make you more "powerful"? As a proper Barbarian build? Fighting Styles, Second Wind and Action Surge is amazing.

I'd still probably go for the druid 1 dip, and then into druid (moon) 2, but that's just me. It's really good too. And very characterful for every Barbarian. But it's worthwhile considering precisely what your options are.

You could be at Barb 3 (whatever subclass) by the time either of those options are done.

((I'd still go for a druid 1 dip though. It's not a wasted level for any martial class. Then it has a huge pay-off when you want it to, regardless))

[Lvl 2 Expert]

Yes, you should definitely multiclass barb/druid, and go bear totem.

You may very well die a thousand deaths in that dark place, but I think that's what all of the best characters do.

[sambojin]

Yes, you should definitely multiclass barb/druid, and go bear totem.

You may very well die a thousand deaths in that dark place, but I think that's what all of the best characters do.

Exactly. But the OP will do so much more before he does, that'll probably feel pretty satisfying :)

[sambojin]

(whoops, deleted my post. But caches and stuff :) )

Probably worth it. It's hard to not get worth out of Moon 2.

Even at Barb1/Druid 1, you can happily just apply Entangle or Faerie Fire to things, and significantly change the outcome of a battle. You don't even have to Barb that hard during that encounter. But that depends on your Wisdom score on if it will hit, but you can use one vs low Strength and the other vs low Dexterity targets, which really helps a lot.

Or cast Goodberry, keep 7 for yourself, and give each other party member one. Screw it, they can yo-yo/pop-up heal for you, while you smash heads and have a free HD worth of healing for afterwards that day. You can even do that twice per day, so you just Barb harder, because each party member can do healing for you, and you're usually full of HP berry goodness. Honestly, if all you ever cast is Absorb Elements (for when you get smashed by an elemental spell/ trap/ situation when you're not Raging), Detect Magic (so you can grab the cool stuff out of treasure hordes ten minutes to an hour before the Wizard can), and Goodberry (for travel food and beast/peasant "friendship" bribes and excellent party healing), it's still a good dip for a Barb, no real wisdom score necessary.

You also get Guidance and something else cantrip'y, so people don't suck at doing stuff, or so you do more stuff betterer.
(So one of: Shillelagh for "definitely has a magic weapon if there's sticks about" (you habitually carry a quarterstaff or club), Magic Stone so there's "three people definitely have a magic weapon if there's stones about" (everyone in the party habitually carries a few pebbles), Mold Earth so there's definitely two places on any grid that you can make difficult/not-difficult terrain and leave messages like "Grug was 'ere" if there's pre/post preparation time or to just make earthworks faster than anything else can do, Druidcraft for instant drugs (insta-blossoms, there's lots of things that can be) / poisons/ perfumes (smells, to both people and beasts)/ charisma bonuses/ food bribes/ weather forecasting/ and firefighting/ lighting (this is a seriously good cantrip), or Mending (people without magic break stuff, even you break stuff, insta-magic-fixes are amazing, even on mundane things, to the "mostly peasants" you meet, or for the stuff you normally break so that you can do the stuff you do kinda secretly).

Then you hit Barb 1/Druid (Moon) 2, and the entire world becomes awesome for you.

I'm assuming you want to go heavy Barb, and this isn't bad anyway. You do always have that option, even at later levels of Barb, to pop in an extra Moon level (Moon 3) and get *tonnes* of spell casting available for when you're not Raging (4x lvl1 slots, 2x lvl 2 slots). Just more stuff you can do, more defenses, more stealth, more skills, more lockdown and control. It lets you conserve your Raging, because sometimes spells are better and do more different stuff. But you've got enough casting in your party that you probably won't need it. Still, worthwhile considering after Barb 6/7 (whatever subclass) or so.

If you intend on going heavy Druid, then yeah. Sure. It's still a good build. Only ever take 1-3 levels of Barb, but probably no more than one (or very maybe two), because Druid levels are so good at making moon druids better at druiding that nothing else compares unless it's a very light dip.


Oh, and a herbalism kit + Druidcraft cantrip can obviously do a heap more than just let you make healing potions from basic kit proficiency. Not only can you identify herbs, you can make them instantly useful within 6 seconds, so you can make your healy/ poisony/ "totally herbal so it's fine" stuff.

Also note, if your going heavy Barb, having Extra Attack isn't necessarily a bad thing when you do wildshape. It does depend on your DM. No, you can't do an extra multi-attack with it, but yes, you can choose a weapon attack off the list of your wildshape form's weapon attacks. Even on the meme-Bear, you should be able to multi-attack and then have an extra 2d6+4 claw attack with your second (extra) attack. 3 attacks, even at +5 to hit, isn't bad at lvl7. And free HP, etc, etc.

[Specter]

What you probably want is Ritual Caster (Druid) if you're in it for the spells, or ask the Wizard to cast Polymorph on you if you want to become a giant beast. The synergy of this multiclass is not very good.

[Keravath]

It depends on what you are looking for ...

I've seen quite a few moon druids start barbarian for the revised armor calculation, level 1 hit points, con saves, damage resistance and rage. However, the key as a moon druid is keeping the dip as small as possibly since creatures you can wild shape into are moon druid level/3 once you reach 6th level druid. CR1 prior to that. The problem is that the combat effectiveness of the wild shapes starts to fade a bit as you get up in levels. A 3 level dip in bear barbarian for the resistances slows the wild shape availability substantially.

On the other hand, if you want to be mostly barbarian then the CR1 moon druid shapes available at level 2 are great but these will fade in usefulness past about level 6. It should last you until you pick up extra attack on the barbarian at level 7 but after that you will probably mostly be fighting as a barbarian with some extra versatility from the druid levels - three level one spell slots for out of rage use and utility wild shapes. Cool build but whether you would be better off as a straight barbarian around level 7+ is something to think about.