PDA

View Full Version : Player Help Drowner Druid



Skullruss
2023-09-12, 10:54 PM
I recently got this super cool idea of a Druid build that uses water to kill his enemies, by creating aquatic battlefields to zoom around and dragging them under.

So here's the plan for the build so far:
Druid 6/Wavekeeper 10/ TBD 4
Aquatic Human for Waterbreathing and Swim Speed, plus feat and skill points like a normal human (except I cannot breathe air)
Taking Drowning Glance for nice debuff effect and +1 CL to water based spells.
Using Swim-by Attack with Jaws of the Morray the plan is to swim-by, attack, get my free grapple, and dive underwater to take advantage.
I've also considered using a net, but unless there's some neat trick with a magical variant or feat or something I haven't found these seem actually useless.

Key spells:
- Jaws of the Morray - Free grapple on melee attack
- Sink (not a druid spell!) - Forces enemy underwater at Medium range
- Stolen Breath (not a druid spell!) - Removes air from lungs of the target, skipping the holding breath part of drowning rules
- Evard's Black Tentacles (Get from Blackwater Domain) - Grapple multiple people to drag under
- Darktide - Creates a half mile of water with negative effects
- Blackwater Taint - Burst of damage in the water
- Extract Water Elemental - Burst of damage and gives me a source of water
- Wall of Water - Seemingly the most effective way to create water at will, but only 1 foot deep/10ft square per level without metamagic that means 7 ft deep in a 10ft square at level 7 or 1 ft deep in a 70ft area when I get the spell. Not great.
- Flashflood - 400 5-foot squares worth of water... YES.
- Wings of the Sea - +30ft movement while swimming
- Drown - Skips the steps necessary to drown something... it's easy but thematic, so meh.
- Air Breathing - So I don't drown

What I know I'm missing:
- I need ways to create massive aquatic battlefields, and create water even with metamagic feats won't cut it. 1 cubic foot of water is 8 gallons, and I'll need to flood battlefields. I can do so with dust of dryness eventually, but 850 a pop adds up in early to mid levels. Wall of water makes SOME, but if I want to increase it significantly, I need to use Widen Spell which uses slots +3 levels higher, not worth it at all when I get flashflood in 1 more spell slot.
- I need ways to knock the air out of enemies other than Stolen Breath, since it's not a druid spell. Maybe there's a way to scoop up the spell without being a Sorcerer or Wizard? Maybe there's some other shenanigans I don't know about for removing their air?

Any tips or suggestions appreciated. Anything that makes me stronger underwater, hinders my opponents underwater, helps me create an aquatic battlefield on-the-go, or would just be cool for the build let me know!.

eggynack
2023-09-13, 12:17 AM
I'd tend away from wavekeeper. Makes you worse at most of the things you'd want to do as even an aquatic druid, what with it taking a caster level, mostly killing wild shape, and even pinging the companion. If you're deeply desirous of the blackwater domain, the holt warden+contemplative combo is a classic for a reason. Spells that might be of interest are heart of water (CM, 107), which is a water breathing effect which can be discharged for a freedom of movement, blackwater tentacle (Storm, 114), which is seemingly on theme, cloak of the sea (SpC, 48), which does water breathing, freedom of movement, and blur all in one as long as you're in the water, curse of spilt water (DrM #334, 74), which is a standard save or lose that turns an enemy into water, and maybe red tide (SpC, 170) and tsunami (SpC, 224).

Unfortunately, I'm not really aware of a mechanism to make a battlefield be underwater. So that's not ideal. One interesting strategy you might want to consider is using fey ring (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fw/20040710a) to toss out some thematically appropriate fey. You talk about wanting to sink folk, and I'm pretty sure that's a thing fey like doing, so it's probably an accessible strat. The item pearl of the waves (CC, 132) seems pretty useful for quickening your fancy water spells, and I notice you haven't mentioned the stormwrack ACFs. Those are kinda neat. Anyways, beyond that, my sigged handbook is probably useful in some fashion. So that could be worth checking out.

Skullruss
2023-09-13, 08:00 AM
I notice you haven't mentioned the stormwrack ACFs. Those are kinda neat.
Yeah, Aquatic druid is already planned, I forgot to mention it.

I'll also check out your handbook, I love handbooks.

Skullruss
2023-09-13, 10:43 AM
I'd tend away from wavekeeper. Makes you worse at most of the things you'd want to do as even an aquatic druid, what with it taking a caster level, mostly killing wild shape, and even pinging the companion. If you're deeply desirous of the blackwater domain, the holt warden+contemplative combo is a classic for a reason. Spells that might be of interest are heart of water (CM, 107), which is a water breathing effect which can be discharged for a freedom of movement, blackwater tentacle (Storm, 114), which is seemingly on theme, cloak of the sea (SpC, 48), which does water breathing, freedom of movement, and blur all in one as long as you're in the water, curse of spilt water (DrM #334, 74), which is a standard save or lose that turns an enemy into water, and maybe red tide (SpC, 170) and tsunami (SpC, 224).

Unfortunately, I'm not really aware of a mechanism to make a battlefield be underwater. So that's not ideal.
Hey, if I cast Transmute Rock to Mud, it makes the battlefield a mud pit into which people sink. Is there a further step of shenanigans I can take to turn the mud into water (or swim through the mud like water)?

Chronos
2023-09-14, 03:39 PM
The biggest problem with trying to drown people is that it's slow. Most folks can hold their breath for about two minutes. That's 20 rounds, and it's very rare indeed that a combat isn't over by then. Even if you halve it, to account for the breath-holders engaging in vigorous physical activity, and halve it again, if you manage to catch folks off-guard so they don't have a chance to take a big breath before going under, that's still five rounds. A drowning enemy can do a lot of hurt to you and your companions in five rounds.

ciopo
2023-09-14, 05:57 PM
Planar shepherd with plane of water maybe? (I feel like I'm bringing the nuclear option at a gun fight)

Anyway, other than shenanigans with decanter of endless water and portable holes, I feel some planar shenanigans is the most likely way of force the enviroment to be "as if underwater"

Gorthawar
2023-09-15, 02:45 PM
A water elementite swarm (planar handbook) has the ability to drown someone and doesn't allow holding of breath. However, I'm not 100% sure how it actually works especially when the victim decides to leave the area affected by the swarm.

It can be summoned via summon elementite swarm (druid lvl 4, spell compendium) or via summon natural ally 5 I believe based on the planar handbook.

Fero
2023-09-15, 11:27 PM
Spell Compendium version of Wall of Water superscedes the Sandstorm version so you get one 10'x10'x10' section of wall per CL. It us shapeavle so you can stack them. Also, Control Water can, I believe, increase the height of the wall.