Darthnazrael
2020-12-08, 05:02 PM
So I've noticed a few mechanical idiosyncrasies that seem to tie together rather neatly, and I was wondering if you all thought it was worth the 3-level dip.
First, we are a Bugbear. Bugbear has always been a strong race, with two unique mechanics as well as darkvision, stealth proficiency, and powerful build. On the subject of those two unique abilities: Long-Limbed and Surprise Attack. It's well-documented that these two abilities curiously do not say 'weapon' attack, and therefore function just fine on a spell caster now that Tasha's lets the Bugbear pick their attributes.
But what spellcasting class wants some extra melee reach and a couple dice of sneak attack? Druid seems like an odd choice, considering how few of their spells are attacks. But a Stars Druid has [PB] extra spell slots of Guiding Bolt, as well as a bonus action ranged spell attack that works independently of what you used your action for that turn, unlike many bonus action attacks (more on that later). Both of these would enjoy an additional 2d6 Surprise Attack. And at level 3, we pick up Pass Without Trace, meaning we can trigger Surprise Attack far reliably than any rogue of our level.
As for Long-Limbed, this is where I do have to add a caveat: my DM and I are not fans of the nerf to Booming Blade, and have elected to ignore it. As such, our 4th level feet is Spell Sniper. We pick up Booming Blade, and combined with Shillelagh and Long-Limbed, we now have the ability to tag an enemy from 10 feet away, then run away and leave them stranded with the BB energy. Spell Sniper also helps our range on Thorn Whip and Guiding Bolt, though sadly not our bonus action Archer form attack.
All of the above is good fun, but that doesn't address the title of the thread: What about multiclassing into Ranger? The new Favored Foe was certainly nerfed, but I had overlooked one particular upgrade of it: like Surprise Attack, it is also not limited to weapon attacks. And if we go Swarmkeeper, our Gathered Swarm ability ALSO isn't limited to weapon attacks, and it's always on. Sure, it's only once per turn. But we're a spell caster, we're usually only making one attack per turn anyways, unless we're in Archer form. Remember how I pointed out that our bonus action attack isn't dependent upon the Attack action (like TWF)? This means we can pull the old rogue trick, and get Gathered Swarm on our bonus attack during our turn, then Ready a Guiding Bolt, and fire it off outside our turn with another Gathered Swarm trigger.
What else does Ranger give us? Losing two levels of spell progression hurts, but Ranger does give us a couple other things. Primeval Awareness is a ribbon, but a welcome one for Druids. For Fighting Style, a caster Druid is never sad to gain +1 AC. Blind Fighting/Fog Cloud is also an option. For spells known, we get a lot of what we already had in Druid, but this is secretly a good thing. By taking 3 of the druid spells we were already preparing as Ranger spells known, we free up those Druid prep spots for powerful spells like Call Lightning, Conjure Animals, Dispel Magic, and Sleet Storm. We could pick up Zephyr Strike at Ranger 2 to turn our Booming Blade into an escape, but I think at Ranger 3 I'd rather trade it out for one of our level 1 Druid spells, and use Gathered Swarm+Booming Blade to escape.
One last thing: Let's not forget what druids are already good at: Battlefield control. Specifically, this multiclass opens up a fun combo.
Reaction (triggered just before your upcoming initiative): Guiding Bolt, 1st level spell slot. 5d6 due to gathered swarm (potentially +1d4 from Favored Foe if you like).
Action: Spike Growth under target, 2nd level spell slot.
Bonus Action: Archer form, attack target. 1d8+wis (+1d4 FF). Use gathered swarm to move them 15 (!!!) feet through the spike growth, for an additional 6d4 damage.
If the target is alive, you can repeat the above with a mixture of archer attacks, guiding bolts, and thorn whips, using gathered swarm (and thorn whip) to drag them over the spikes for pretty bonkers damage.
In return for this multiclass, the downsides:
1. Spell Slots are down 2 levels, Spells Known are down 3. This means at level 19, we get our first 9th level spell slot, and at level 20 we get our first 9th level spell.
1b. This also means we're a spell level and a half behind our allies. We'll pick up our first 5th level spell slot 2 levels after the wizard does, and learn our first 5th level spell a level after that.
2. Our top level features: I'll be honest, I don't much care about these. As a Star Druid, I may very well never Wild Shape, unless my party proves completely incompetent at scouting. I'd much prefer archer form. So beast spells is irrelevant. Timeless Body is a ribbon. Archdruid is fantastic, but I think I'd prefer Gathered Swarm over most of the life of the character vs. Archdruid for one level.
So if it IS worth doing, when should we do it? Common wisdom says wait until after level 5, and I definitely see the value in that. Level 3 spells are really strong, and the turn into tier 2 is very real. But it's kinda tempting to due it right after Druid 3, too, to bring Spike Growth + Gathered Swarm online by level 6, and riding that through tier 2.
Thoughts?
First, we are a Bugbear. Bugbear has always been a strong race, with two unique mechanics as well as darkvision, stealth proficiency, and powerful build. On the subject of those two unique abilities: Long-Limbed and Surprise Attack. It's well-documented that these two abilities curiously do not say 'weapon' attack, and therefore function just fine on a spell caster now that Tasha's lets the Bugbear pick their attributes.
But what spellcasting class wants some extra melee reach and a couple dice of sneak attack? Druid seems like an odd choice, considering how few of their spells are attacks. But a Stars Druid has [PB] extra spell slots of Guiding Bolt, as well as a bonus action ranged spell attack that works independently of what you used your action for that turn, unlike many bonus action attacks (more on that later). Both of these would enjoy an additional 2d6 Surprise Attack. And at level 3, we pick up Pass Without Trace, meaning we can trigger Surprise Attack far reliably than any rogue of our level.
As for Long-Limbed, this is where I do have to add a caveat: my DM and I are not fans of the nerf to Booming Blade, and have elected to ignore it. As such, our 4th level feet is Spell Sniper. We pick up Booming Blade, and combined with Shillelagh and Long-Limbed, we now have the ability to tag an enemy from 10 feet away, then run away and leave them stranded with the BB energy. Spell Sniper also helps our range on Thorn Whip and Guiding Bolt, though sadly not our bonus action Archer form attack.
All of the above is good fun, but that doesn't address the title of the thread: What about multiclassing into Ranger? The new Favored Foe was certainly nerfed, but I had overlooked one particular upgrade of it: like Surprise Attack, it is also not limited to weapon attacks. And if we go Swarmkeeper, our Gathered Swarm ability ALSO isn't limited to weapon attacks, and it's always on. Sure, it's only once per turn. But we're a spell caster, we're usually only making one attack per turn anyways, unless we're in Archer form. Remember how I pointed out that our bonus action attack isn't dependent upon the Attack action (like TWF)? This means we can pull the old rogue trick, and get Gathered Swarm on our bonus attack during our turn, then Ready a Guiding Bolt, and fire it off outside our turn with another Gathered Swarm trigger.
What else does Ranger give us? Losing two levels of spell progression hurts, but Ranger does give us a couple other things. Primeval Awareness is a ribbon, but a welcome one for Druids. For Fighting Style, a caster Druid is never sad to gain +1 AC. Blind Fighting/Fog Cloud is also an option. For spells known, we get a lot of what we already had in Druid, but this is secretly a good thing. By taking 3 of the druid spells we were already preparing as Ranger spells known, we free up those Druid prep spots for powerful spells like Call Lightning, Conjure Animals, Dispel Magic, and Sleet Storm. We could pick up Zephyr Strike at Ranger 2 to turn our Booming Blade into an escape, but I think at Ranger 3 I'd rather trade it out for one of our level 1 Druid spells, and use Gathered Swarm+Booming Blade to escape.
One last thing: Let's not forget what druids are already good at: Battlefield control. Specifically, this multiclass opens up a fun combo.
Reaction (triggered just before your upcoming initiative): Guiding Bolt, 1st level spell slot. 5d6 due to gathered swarm (potentially +1d4 from Favored Foe if you like).
Action: Spike Growth under target, 2nd level spell slot.
Bonus Action: Archer form, attack target. 1d8+wis (+1d4 FF). Use gathered swarm to move them 15 (!!!) feet through the spike growth, for an additional 6d4 damage.
If the target is alive, you can repeat the above with a mixture of archer attacks, guiding bolts, and thorn whips, using gathered swarm (and thorn whip) to drag them over the spikes for pretty bonkers damage.
In return for this multiclass, the downsides:
1. Spell Slots are down 2 levels, Spells Known are down 3. This means at level 19, we get our first 9th level spell slot, and at level 20 we get our first 9th level spell.
1b. This also means we're a spell level and a half behind our allies. We'll pick up our first 5th level spell slot 2 levels after the wizard does, and learn our first 5th level spell a level after that.
2. Our top level features: I'll be honest, I don't much care about these. As a Star Druid, I may very well never Wild Shape, unless my party proves completely incompetent at scouting. I'd much prefer archer form. So beast spells is irrelevant. Timeless Body is a ribbon. Archdruid is fantastic, but I think I'd prefer Gathered Swarm over most of the life of the character vs. Archdruid for one level.
So if it IS worth doing, when should we do it? Common wisdom says wait until after level 5, and I definitely see the value in that. Level 3 spells are really strong, and the turn into tier 2 is very real. But it's kinda tempting to due it right after Druid 3, too, to bring Spike Growth + Gathered Swarm online by level 6, and riding that through tier 2.
Thoughts?