Help me build a stealthy Druid

Wood Elf Druid
Circle of the Land
Outlander background
2nd level
16 Dex

The character concept is he's from a clan that values self-sufficiency and secrecy. He's also hunting undead in our campaign, they are overrunning his homeland. I'd like to make him sufficiently stealthy without magic, so I can quite easily hide without blowing spells or Wild Shapes. He's often the party scout so I want to make him less prone to being ambushed or being surprised.

All I have now is the Wood Elf 'Mask of the Woods' and a high Dex. No Stealth skill yet. I'm not sure if that's enough. Being able to hide in light obscurement is not so useful if I only have +3 to the Stealth roll.

How 'good' do I have to get at Stealth to pull this concept off, and at what cost to my spellcasting? And, people that have done it - if I multi class into non-spellcaster classes, how much will that hurt?

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Option A: Grab Stealth with 'Skilled' feat, or get 'Alert' feat, at level 4
+ Either one preserves my full spellcasting level progress and helps scouting
- I was hoping to get Combat Caster or Resilient Con,

Option B: Multiclass into Ranger 1 for Stealth at level 4
+ I also get Favored Enemy and Natural Explorer, both really fit the character
+ I still get Combat Caster at level 5
- I get one level behind in spellcasting

Option C: Multiclass into Rogue 1 for Stealth + Expertise at level 4
+ I get *awesome* stealth, + high perception, + sneak attack for ambushes
+ I still get Combat Caster at level 5
- I get one level behind in spellcasting

Option D: Multiclass into Ranger 1 at level 4, Rogue 1 at level 7
- See Option B
- Option C hits right when my Proficiency Bonus becomes +3 - huge boost
- Fully fleshes out the character concept
- I get two levels behind in spellcasting

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Anyone with experience to chime in? I'd appreciate it.

Question: What exactly are you going to spend your Wild Shape on, if not utility? You've not exactly got viable combat forms.

That said, my vote is for Rogue. It's a single level, and you get more than enough to make up for it.

Good point - maybe the problem will solve itself in a few levels as Wild Shape gets a longer duration.

Edit: but, I'd much rather be able to hide completely than hide in plain sight. A Stealth roll of +3 forever is not something I'd rely on; getting the Stealth skill raises it up to +5 now, +9 at high levels, which is decent. Having Stealth of +7 now, +15 at high levels feels really strong and more like it for a forest ninja.

My vote is to trade one of your skills for stealth. There's nothing in the rules that says you can't, as a matter of fact, the rules say you can do it. Since it is part of your character's background (rpg) there should be no reason why you shouldn't take it. This way you can stay a pure druid and not waste a feat.

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schnee said:

Good point - maybe the problem will solve itself in a few levels as Wild Shape gets a longer duration.

Edit: but, I'd much rather be able to hide completely than hide in plain sight. A Stealth roll of +3 forever is not something I'd rely on; getting the Stealth skill raises it up to +5 now, +9 at high levels, which is decent. Having Stealth of +7 now, +15 at high levels feels really strong and more like it for a forest ninja.

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Stealth does not let you hide in plain sight. You still have to be out of sight when you finish your turn or it automatically fails. As you level up, and have more spell slots, don't be afraid to use spells like fog cloud to create thst barrier of obsurement so do things like hide.

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neogod22 said:

Stealth does not let you hide in plain sight. You still have to be out of sight when you finish your turn or it automatically fails. As you level up, and have more spell slots, don't be afraid to use spells like fog cloud to create thst barrier of obsurement so do things like hide.

Click to expand...

Ah, I didn't write enough. By 'hide in plain sight' I meant, oh, shape-shifting into a squirrel and hanging around in the underbrush near enemies, and them simply not noticing me because I blend in. Or, in a town, become a stray dog and hang around near some people and attempt to overhear them.

I think there's a type of danger to that due to those forms being extremely low HP and right in danger, where I'd like to have the option to be 'myself' and extremely difficult to see or detect.

I'm just wondering how much I have to invest to make that worthwhile.

schnee said:

I think there's a type of danger to that due to those forms being extremely low HP and right in danger, where I'd like to have the option to be 'myself' and extremely difficult to see or detect.

I'm just wondering how much I have to invest to make that worthwhile.

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Nothing. The beauty of CR<1 critters is that, as long as you select the right one, you don't have to hide. At most a passerby might go "Hey look, a squirrel."
You're unimportant, beneath notice.

A: use wild shape.
And/or
B: cast pass without trace.


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