Druids Druids Druids...

[Tyger]

Would just like to pick the brains of the great folks here for advice on playing my first ever druid. We're going to be playing level 6 characters, in a one-pff game. The setting is Tolkein's LotR setting, with this druid being the only caster in the party. The character is from Rohan, and I was thinking of taking a horse as the animal companion, in keeping with the RP thereof.

13000 GP, limited to PHB for spells, 32 point buy system... any advice is certainly hugely appreciated!

[Tsotha-lanti]

Middle Earth with D&D standard wealth/magic?

Yech.

Take Natural Spell, dump Str and Dex entirely (you'll be wildshaped all of the time), forget the horse, and then you just plod your way toward shapechange and Ultimate Victory.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

Druids are easy to optimize. 6th level. Take Natural Spell, put an 18 in Wis, a 16 in con, a 12 in Int, and leave the others 8. I wouldn't take a Warhorse, they're pretty weak as far as ACs go, and you won't be riding it anyways. You can spend 12 hours a day Wildshaped, so do so. Bear, Fleshraker, or Leopard are your best bets. I'd take the Spontaneous Healing ACF from PHBII. Summoning is very nice, but only if you optimize it, and you probably can't afford to if you are the only caster. Healing is more needed. Make the party buy wands of the spells, too, so you don't need to do as much. Go with mainly control spells for your memorized slots. Play either a race with a bonus feat, a race with a bonus to Wis, a race with a bonus to Con, or a race that can communicate while animal-shaped.

[Shades of Gray]

Wasn't Tom Bombadil basically a druid? And Radaghast the Brown?

Mind you, I haven't read any LOTR books yet, but that's what I've guessed from playing the Games Workshop tabletop game.

[Tyger]

Middle Earth with D&D standard wealth/magic?

Yech.

Take Natural Spell, dump Str and Dex entirely (you'll be wildshaped all of the time), forget the horse, and then you just plod your way toward shapechange and Ultimate Victory.

Not entirely. This character is assumed to be the only caster in the party, and thus the only one in the area at all. Except for the bad guys of course. And magic is rare... though not quite as rare as it was in the actual books. We have been stronly encouraged to come up with backstories for any magic items we possess, and to limit them to no more than a couple per character.

Natural Spell is on the list. :) For RP though, I want to avoid spending too much time wildshaped. Can't talk to the other characters when you're a bear! :)

[Neon Knight]

MUSHROOM MUSHROOM!!!

...

Old meme is old.

Were you aiming for anything in particular? Were you going to focus on wildshape, spellcasting, or AC? You can do all three or trick one out to crazy levels and be pretty good by most people's standards.

[FoE]

Wasn't Tom Bombadil basically a druid? And Radaghast the Brown?

Tom Bombadil wasn't a druid. He was a jackass who lived out in the woods that didn't belong within the LOTR storyline.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

Not entirely. This character is assumed to be the only caster in the party, and thus the only one in the area at all. Except for the bad guys of course. And magic is rare... though not quite as rare as it was in the actual books. We have been stronly encouraged to come up with backstories for any magic items we possess, and to limit them to no more than a couple per character.

Natural Spell is on the list. :) For RP though, I want to avoid spending too much time wildshaped. Can't talk to the other characters when you're a bear! :)

Ghostwise Halfling. 20' telepathy. all you lose is the +1 to saves.

[Leewei]

Bill the Pony spent his entire time in the books in animal form and showed far more sense than most of the characters. Clearly a druid.

[Tyger]

Druids are easy to optimize. 6th level. Take Natural Spell, put an 18 in Wis, a 16 in con, a 12 in Int, and leave the others 8. I wouldn't take a Warhorse, they're pretty weak as far as ACs go, and you won't be riding it anyways. You can spend 12 hours a day Wildshaped, so do so. Bear, Fleshraker, or Leopard are your best bets. I'd take the Spontaneous Healing ACF from PHBII. Summoning is very nice, but only if you optimize it, and you probably can't afford to if you are the only caster. Healing is more needed. Make the party buy wands of the spells, too, so you don't need to do as much. Go with mainly control spells for your memorized slots. Play either a race with a bonus feat, a race with a bonus to Wis, a race with a bonus to Con, or a race that can communicate while animal-shaped.

And this is great advice! 8 Strength and Dex though? Ouch! I suppose if you're a brown bear, your meager 8 strength doesn't matter though. Still, seems harsh.

As for the shapes, both bear and leopard can easily fit in the mythos, though I would have to break some serious disbelief to get a little dinosaur in.

EDIT:

Ghostwise Halfling. 20' telepathy. all you lose is the +1 to saves.

Sorry, should have noted that this character will be human.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Take Companion Spellbond (PH2) at 1 and Natural Bond (CV) at level 3. Get one of the "level -3" companions and you'll still get to count your entire Druid level, or get one of the "level -6" companions and only be down by three levels. The "best" animal companion to have would be a Fleshraker, though a (mountain) Lion would probably better suit the setting. Note that according to the text, you must be at least 4th level and have an effective Druid level higher than zero to have a given animal companion, which supersedes the "7th level or higher" table header on the companion list containing the Lion.

PHB-only for spells is a bit harsh, no wonder nobody else is playing a spellcaster. Your primary spells will probably be Call Lightning, Poison, Entangle, and buffs. Conserve your spells for when physical attacks won't be enough, such as hordes of opponents or things that are difficult to hit. Definitely make the party buy Wands of Cure Light Wounds for you to use on them, if they won't then buy a few yourself and charge them 30g per use or don't heal them.

[xPANCAKEx]

str really is a druid dumpstat. It only really hurts you when you're carry load is taken down a peg... but considering that druids don't waste time with tonnes of supplies (survival check for food), or heavy armour, you'll be fine

Tom Bombadil wasn't a druid. He was a jackass who lived out in the woods that didn't belong within the LOTR storyline.

he was guardian of the forest IIRC

but as with most of the LoTR stuff he was meerly a rambling side point. Tolkien waffled too much. Far too verbose and bambodil was a prime example

...... cue nerd rage

[Eldariel]

Bombadil was actually a tool to enrichen the world - to show that the Ring did not govern over all and that there was more to the world beyond the struggle for Middle-Earth. I think he did that part very well and his character was very intriguing to say the least. Of course, he begs a world of questions, but just because they weren't directly answered doesn't mean the answers don't exist. Besides, readers don't need to know everything about everything (or rather, it's impossible to tell them everything about everything) - it's enough to know that there is something there. Make no mistake, Bombadil's inclusion wasn't a whim or anything. He serves a very specific role in the world and the story.

[Brock Samson]

Not only that, but he was Tom !@#$ing Bombadil! I know I loved his inclusion simply because there wasn't anyone quite like him, it really added a whole new layer to the world that you'd almost NEVER see unless you really were a worldly-wizard with ungodly-contacts and social skills.

Plus he had multiple animal companions, which PrC is that...

[Tempest Fennac]

You're thinking of Beast Masters and various Animal Lords, Brock. (They are mentioned on http://www.crystalkeep.com/d20/rules...s-Prestige.pdf ).

[Starbuck_II]

Would just like to pick the brains of the great folks here for advice on playing my first ever druid. We're going to be playing level 6 characters, in a one-pff game. The setting is Tolkein's LotR setting, with this druid being the only caster in the party. The character is from Rohan, and I was thinking of taking a horse as the animal companion, in keeping with the RP thereof.

13000 GP, limited to PHB for spells, 32 point buy system... any advice is certainly hugely appreciated!

Since it seems you don't want to stay Druid... why not do this:

Shapeshift Class feature from PHB 2 and then level in Beast Master giving you back a Animal Companion (even better since you are a Druid you counmt those levels).

Shapeshift is weaker than Wild Shape, but sweift action to change and at will. Letting you do the talking parts without issue.

By 1 level in Beastmaster you can get back your animal companion (heck, he'll be stronger).

[Tyger]

Since it seems you don't want to stay Druid... why not do this:

Umm.... not sure what gave people this impression, but no. I want to stay a level 6 druid. I do not want to multi-class or PrC out of Druid.

[Mephit]

Just to get the pressure off you: you don't actually have to follow all the advice given here. If you remember to take natural spell and put some good stat in Wis and Con, it's hard to be a bad druid. (Unless your fellow players are horrible optimisers and all full casters.)

Although it's a bit outdated, this guide contains some good druid tips.

[Saph]

Just to get the pressure off you: you don't actually have to follow all the advice given here. If you remember to take natural spell and put some good stat in Wis and Con, it's hard to be a bad druid.

Seconded. Druids are one of the strongest classes in the game, and they really don't need anything beyond core to do it. If none of the other players are playing casters, you should be at the top of the party's power tree.

If you're going for LotR-themed, I'd suggest one of two approaches:

• Shadowfax-and-rider: Buff your horse up into a rocket horse. Just being able to ride faster than everyone else was a big deal in LotR. If this is the way you want to go, you'll want better physical stats, as you won't be spending all your time in Wild Shape, and get a couple of Mounted Combat feats. Stats would be something like:

Str 14
Dex 14
Con 14
Int 12
Wis 16
Cha 8

• If you want to go the Wild Shape route, make your character a skin-changer like Beorn. Pick a theme animal (bear in his case) and go for spending a lot of time in that form. Summon more of your favourite critters using Augment Summoning. In this case, you can dump your physical stats more, so try something like:

Str 8
Dex 10
Con 14
Int 14
Wis 18
Cha 10

In either case I'd avoid dinosaurs, as they don't fit the Middle-Earth vibe very well, and you're powerful enough that you don't need them anyway. :)

- Saph

[Tempest Fennac]

http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-...Of_Healing,all would be a great choice if you were allowed to take it (sadly, it's not a core feat, and you'd need a level 3 spell slot to power it).

[Paul H]

Hi

Totally agree with Mephit. IMHO Druids are amongst the most powerful characters to play.

Take Companion Spellbound (PHBII) to share spells at greater range, & Natural Spell to cast spells in natural form.

Have a Wolf companion, sounds bit basic, but he'll be 6HD. Also have extra +4 nat amour, +2 Str/Dex to normal wolf stats. Plus Evasion & Devotion. Oh - don't forget his extra 2 feats & stat increase as well. Put his extra skill points into Survival for better tracking.

Wolf

Med Animal
Hit Dice: 6D8+12 (45HP)
Spd: 50'
AC: 19 (+3 dex, +6 nat)
Base Attack/Grap: +4/7
Attack: Bite +8 Melee (D8+3)
Full Attack: (As Above)
Space/Reach: 5'/5'
Special Attacks: Trip
SQ: Low-Light Vision, Scent
Saves: 7/8/2
Abilities: Str 16 Dex 17 Con 15 Int 2 Wis 12 Cha 6 (Includes companion bonus & Str increase at 4th lvl)
Feats: Track (B), Wpn Focus Bite, Imp Toughness, Imp Nat Attack (All already included)

Trip +3
+4 Bonus to Survival checks using Scent
Note: Companion also wear Lthr Armour with no penalty (AC21)

Hope this helps
Paul H

[Mephit]

Have a Wolf companion

I'd suggest getting a riding dog who's trained for war. It's a Wolf, but better!
...And if Frodo starts bitching about the ring being heavy again, just let him ride it.

[Paul H]

I'd suggest getting a riding dog who's trained for war. It's a Wolf, but better!
...And if Frodo starts bitching about the ring being heavy again, just let him ride it.

Hi

OK - I'll cede that. Extra AC + Str make for better fighting companions.

Worse still, if he plays a Halfling Druid (all that special 'Leaf ), then it just gets sillier. Mtd Combat, Ride by Attack etc.

Was originally thinking of him being an Eagle, flying out of range of melee combat, buff his Wolf in combat. Now you got me thinking of Spirited Charge with a Shillelagh spell & Rhino Hide armour. Even potions of Enlarge person work on companions if you drink them. (PHB Pg 36, last sentence left column).

Sooooo. Assuming Halfling Str 12, Ptn Enlarge Person & Shillelagh....

Charging:
Halfling
Attack (Shillelagh) +9, Dam 4D6+6 (Magical, Bludgeoning) + 2D6 (Rhino Hide)

Riding Dog
Attack (Bite) +10, Dam 2D6+5 (Natural)

Mephit - you really know how to bring out my mean streak......

Cheers
Paul H

[OverdrivePrime]

The amount of people suggesting fleshraker dinosaurs for a Middle Earth setting is making my inner emo nerd weep tears of ash and blood. Let's help the guy come up with something awesome that fits within the setting.

The light horse animal companion (as suggested above) for a druid of Rohan is definitely the way to go, flavorwise. Even without shapechanging and your animal companion, you'll be the most powerful character in the party, so you can afford to back off the optimizing throttle a few ticks.

I'd even resist the temptation to get natural spell, unless you want to go for a full Beorn-style skin changer. Go for the mounted druid route. Take full advantage of mobility and sharing spells with your animal companion. To fit in the setting a little better, steer yourself away from direct damage spells and instead focus on the crowd control spells like the various "fog" path. Pick up Spell Focus: Conjuration, Augment Summoning, Mounted Combat and Mobile Spellcasting. Gallop around the field, buff your allies and stymie your enemies with impuny.

[Leewei]

Fluffing up the doggy:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bestiary_of_Middle-earth

(Look at the entry for Huan. Tolkien dogs kicked wolves' asses.)

[Everyman]

It might interest you to try one of the variant druids in the Variant rules. The one I'd suggest trades out armor/shield proficiency and wild shape to make you a better hunter/striker. You can see it here. There are other variants listed too, so you might want to take a gander.

Word of warning, though. Doing the linked variant commits you to needing high Wisdom and Constitution scores, plus at least a decent Dexterity. I would suggest maybe Zen Archery (Wisdom to ranged attacks) and then mounted feats that rely on ranged attacks with your horse.

Just my two cents...
-Tarkahn