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MammonAzrael
2007-12-28, 04:50 AM
A friend wants to run a game starting at 3-5 level, but he only has the Core books, so that's all that's allowed. I don't expect the game to get much higher than 10th level, if that.

I was thinking to play a druid, since I haven't yet, and I was wondering what good animals are available in Core? Both for Wildshape and Animal Companions. Aside from Natural Spell, what feats will I want to look at? Would a melee focus or summoning focus be a better bet? Any other suggestions?

Cuddly
2007-12-28, 05:07 AM
You're going to want to pick improved grapple and augment summoning. Core druids are considerably not as powerful as their splatbook cousins.

Talic
2007-12-28, 06:06 AM
Melee focus. Def melee focus. I posted a previous build in another thread on druid, but it largely works here.

At level 5, druids have black bear, and the medium size cats. Not bad, not great. Once you hit large, you can get lions, tigers, and brown bears. Tiger is especially good for the Pounce ability.

I'd focus on buff/debuff spells rather than trying to be the one man show setting up your own flanks. Boost the party, harry the enemy, and then close to melee and pound away. Not as strong as the splat builds, but still more powerful than most melee classes.

Remember, your animal companion will be useful, especially as you advance to your higher levels.

Jack_Simth
2007-12-28, 07:31 AM
Don't forget to check out the dinosaurs - they're animals. Also, don't forget to check the errata - the deinonychus was reworked down to Medium, and makes a very good combat form (19 str, 15 dex, +5 Natural Armor, four natural attacks, and Pounce).

As for Druid builds, from a power perspective?

They aren't that hard to play with.

Assuming, for the moment, you're starting at 3rd....

1) Play a Dwarf - darkvision, con boost, +2 to 90% of the saves you'll make in a day. It's a strong race.

2) Feats don't matter too much to the basic build (except Natural Spell - that's your 6th level feat - always - from a power perspective). The rest of your feats represent your focus - items, spells, summoning, or whatever. Choose accordingly. Multiattack is a good feat for 9th level.

3) You get Wildshape. Use it. A lot. Pack a lot of long-running buff spells - Greater Magic Fang, Barkskin, and the like, for use in Wildshape.

4) Stat priority: Wis, Con, the rest. If you start below 5th, that's Wis, Con, Dex, the rest (for low-level survivability).

Saph
2007-12-28, 08:34 AM
I was thinking to play a druid, since I haven't yet, and I was wondering what good animals are available in Core? Both for Wildshape and Animal Companions. Aside from Natural Spell, what feats will I want to look at? Would a melee focus or summoning focus be a better bet? Any other suggestions?

Druids are probably the most powerful class in core, so you don't need to worry about being weak.

For wildshape forms, at levels 5-7 take a black bear for combat, and an eagle for mobility. At levels 8-11 take a dire lion or brown bear for combat, and a dire bat for mobility. For stealth, try a dog or a horse.

As for melee focus or summoning focus, the correct answer is 'both'. :P Druids can do both, no sweat. Augment Summoning and your ability to cast spontaneously make you a great summoner, and Wild Shape on its own makes you a great meleer. You can take things like Multiattack or Improved Grapple if you want, but honestly, it's just icing on the cake.

The best all-round animal companion at low levels is a war-trained riding dog. It has lots of HP, it can trip, and if you buy barding it can have the best AC in the party. It's not as powerful in combat as the dinosaurs or a Giant Crocodile, but it has the major advantage that it's a dog and not a giant scaly monster - if you try to walk around cities with a twenty-foot-long man-eating crocodile, you are not going to get a friendly reception.

- Saph