help me build a fun creepy effective druid

[da newt]

So I need a new PC sorta unexpectedly, and I've decided I'd like to build out a fun, effective, kinda chaotic, kinda creepy, grumpy old guy druid. I'd like to mostly concentrate on spells that don't need a really high WIS, and this PC will start at level 12. All books should be in play, low magic items for me, and I'm more interested in fun to play / weird than purely optimal but need to be effective.

What do y'all suggest for subclass, race, feats, spells, etc ?



(this is a large party, plenty of melee, plenty of healing, even more blasting, and the campaign is loosely based on the Age of Worms)

[solidork]

You could always do the half-feral Moon Druid who has spent too much time in animal form, or one who thinks of themselves as the ultimate predator and is obsessed with the hunt. You could play a land druid that is just your stereotypical witch. It might be more ominous than creepy, but you could play a Stars druid that gazed too long into the void and was touched by something alien and terrifying - make dire pronouncements about the alignment of the stars, perform unsettling rites, etc.

[JellyPooga]

A creole voodoo/hoodoo witch doctor could be fun. Play on the aspects of communication with fey and animal spirits, focus on summons (fluff them as spectral or whatever; you could even describe them as skeletal or zombie-like) and go to town as a weird old dude that talks to trees and other inanimate objects, but then turn around and have useful insights off the back of it. I've been wanting to play a Bard like this for the longest time (just looking for the right campaign!), but it could easily work as a Druid instead.

[meandean]

The most explicitly "creepy" Druid subclass is Spores. I'll assume based on "fun to play/weird" that you want to mix it up a bit and not just go pure Druid. The thing about Spores is that the Symbiotic Entity ability, which adds 1d6 necrotic damage to each attack, quickly doesn't amount to much if you're limited to one attack. So it'd be fun to get Extra Attack. STR, INT, or CHA classes don't make much sense, leaving you with Fighter, Monk, or Ranger.

Monks theoretically could get the most attacks of anything you'd realistically do. If you ever use regular Wild Shape, Unarmored Defense could help your AC. And if you're pumping DEX rather than WIS, Patient Defense would be a great way to make sure you don't lose those temporary hit points and drop out of Symbiotic Entity form. It all works... except for the part that most Monk things cost Ki, and Ki is based on your Monk level. If you want an even split -- something like Druid 12/Monk 8 -- I think that'd be really interesting. I don't know if you want that. Also, if you don't want to max WIS, then one of the Monk's best abilities, Stunning Strike, won't work well.

Fighter would still require you to go to at least 5, or 6 if you want that quick early ASI. You could start in it to get CON saves and all weapon and armor proficiencies (granted that of course Druids can't wear metal armor). Naturally, you'd get Action Surge and so on... all pretty straightforward.

Ranger also gets Extra Attack at 5. You could even do Gloom Stalker and hop out at 3, because that's almost like Half Extra Attack. (Which means Gloom Stalker 5 is almost like 1.5 Extra Attack, so consider that too. Gloomy! Creepy!) You wouldn't get the CON save, and I don't see reason to go further in it than 5.

Druids have a shocking number of non-WIS-based spell options, such as ally buffs, summoning, and battlefield transformation e.g. Fog Cloud, Spike Growth, Plant Growth. But, this particular Druid will also simply not be using WIS a lot of the time because it'll be hitting fools with a stick (or fists!) in melee.

A non-Monk will presumably be sword and board, and thus will want War Caster. A Monk could obviously take Fighting Style (Unarmed). Mobile seems handy because you don't necessarily want to stand and fight, since, again, losing your temporary HP is bad. You'll probably be spending a lot of your ASIs on actual ability score improvements, though.

[Leon]

Spores Druid with maybe some Swarm ranger for extra creepiness'

[Sorinth]

Goblin works well for both creepy and Druids in general. Being able to BA hide after throwing down a big concentration spell is quite nice as is disengaging as a BA in Wildshape.

Spores isn't the greatest subclass but it can certainly be fun. I don't have my books handy but offhand I think maybe the reaction spore damage doesn't even break hiding since it's not an attack or spell.