Gnome druid build

youspoonybard

First Post
avatarolt said:
With the 3.5 druid's spontaneous casting, the question has been raised as to whether or not Augment Summoning is worth it...+4 str, +4 con, +2 HD to your summoned creatures...unfortunately, the prereq is Spell Focus (Conjuration) and I really don't see how *that* feat is worth much.

But considering how much AS might help...something to think about.

(p.s., I'd take create infusion any day over scribe scroll -- you can eat infusions while wildshaped...scrolls can be hard for dire bears to hold)

Looking in my 3.0 books, SF: conj helps your insect plague fear dc, sleet storm dc, and slime wave dc. Nothing big.

But essentially Improved Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization, +2 HP/HD and Great Fortitude for every weapon and every summoned beast you have?

I think it's worth it.
 

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MeepoTheMighty

First Post
I think it might be worth it too, but I'd need to twist the DM's arm into using 3.5 rules. As it stands right now, I'm the only one in the group who's going to be buying the books.

I definitely like the thought of a little gnome summoning a ton of pissed-off badgers :D
 

Pickaxe

Explorer
Scribe scroll is good, but it's boring. You gotta decide whether you want to deal with the boredom factor. Craft wonderous item, on the other hand, is all kinds of fun.

I definitely favor Scribe Scroll. In fact, I don't see how any of the major spellcasting classes do without it. Of course, we play infrequently and therefore tend to have low level campaigns, which probably increases the value of this feat. I think it's even more valuable for druids, though, because they don't get extra spell slots like sorcerers, specialist wizards, or clerics with domain spells. Thus, your first level druid starts with 2 first level spells, whereas a specialist wizard or a cleric will have 3, and a sorcerer 4. (Ironically, in 1e the druid was the class with the most spell slots, and got them faster as well.) As was already mentioned, there are lots of situationally useful druid spells, which makes scrolls very handy. For my 1st and 2nd level druid characters, I usually prepare shillelagh, magic fang, entangle, and/or CLW, but I like to have scrolls of those four as well as calm animals, invis to animals, pass w/o trace, and obscuring mist, among others.

Craft wondrous item, on the other hand, I find to be of somewhat limited value for the 3.0 druid. Your main possibilities are amulet of natural armor, dust of tracelessness, necklace of adaptation, and bag of tricks. Those are good items, but there's not much else to make. The 3.5 druid gets the ability buffs and can presumably create belt of giant's strength, etc.

It also depends on what role you see yourself in, particularly relative to the party. I run a druid in a campaign without clerics or paladins, so he is the primary healer. Thus, scrolls and potions of curing are a must. It also depends on whether or not magic items can be easily purchased. If so, item creation feats are far less valuable.

Assuming item creation is valuable in your campaign, here are some of my preferences:

Scribe Scroll: Already said why. A must for me at first level.
Brew Potion: Particularly if you are the main healer.
Extend Spell: Not a barn-burner, but there a couple of good uses for it. It makes your Goodberries last longer, so you can stockpile them for a long adventure. You can also make Endure Elements last 2 days instead of one, which means, if you have a day to prepare and enough slots, you could give yourself 5 points of energy resistance for each energy type and still have your full complement of spell slots free the next day.
Craft Wand: Again, especially if you're a healer. A druid with a fully charged wand of CLW goes a long way to overcoming the absence of a cleric. And there are plenty of other spells worth wanding as well.
Craft Arms and Armor: Druid spells include the prereqs for things like flaming and shocking weapons. Flavor-wise, it may seem odd to have a druid creating lots of metal items.
Craft Wondrous Item: Not my favorite, but still very much worthwhile for the necklace and the amulet, IMO.

--Axe
 

MeepoTheMighty

First Post
Well, I played the first session with this character today. I ended up taking Scribe Scroll and Track, since we have no ranger in the group. As it turned out, tracking was extremely important in today's session, and I had time to scribe a few scrolls too. So all worked out well. :)

And there's no better feeling than busting into a room full of sleeping bad guys, tossing your snarling wolverine companion into the room, and shutting the door. :D
 

Dimwhit

Explorer
In fact, I don't see how any of the major spellcasting classes do without it.

I know why my spellcasters don't take it (and my Wizard doesn't use it). The rules for it are stupid. It takes way too long to scribe a scroll, and the cost is too high.
 

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