Min / Max a Druid

Hi guys, I've got some problems MinMaxing a 7th level Druid, just because I can see it's not bad, but I can't imagine how to make him kick ass...

Here are the stats:

17
15
14
13
10
9
(not including the +1 at 4th level)

The only limitation 'bout the books are the Wizards official books, so please let me see how a Druid is to be played...

Every suggestion is welcome; the more choices u give me, the better I'll be able to build it up (choices including good spell combos and so on)

Thnx in advance...

What kind of Druid do you want to play? A maipulative one, who finds out stuff? One whos feral and aggresive with nature concentrating on the physical? A druid in to spells? Need details, druids can be quite versatile.

You have a lot of options!

I'll give you some Druid concepts I'd come up with, that I've never had the chance to play; I'd be interested, if you do run with one of them, to tell me how it works!!

A halfling druid skirmisher focussed on riding. She has great speed mounted, excellent AC (Dex and Size bonuses) and can choose to melee with a mount or to spellcast or snipe with a sling from a distance.

Abilities: ST 11 DX 20 CN 14 IN 10 WS 16 CH 9 (+1 to DX)

(or DX 18 CN 16 as a gnome)

Feats: Mounted Combat, 2 others (e.g. Point Blank Shot/Rapid Shot or Weapon Finesse (Touch spell)/Combat Casting for spell melee or Track/Alertness for a less combat-focussed, more all-round character, or other two feats of your choice.)

Skills: Ride +12 (5 ranks +5 DX +2 synergy), Animal Empathy +4, Animal Handling +11, Concentration +12, Wilderness Lore, Swim

Animal Companion: You want a medium sized animal to use as a mount. The Cheetah is a great choice fo its speed and Trip ability in combat; although a Dire Badger is another nice choice, especially for a gnome. They are only 3HD, so you have 4HD left for utility companions such as birds - or you could have 2x your 'mount of choice' with the second as a spare and to gain flanking attacks...

The Mushroomer

A dwarven druid who cherishes the fungi amongst which he lived, and uses their properties to heal, and 'flavour' his spells. A master of tracking and delving in the underground. Rarely fights himself, using companions or summoning animals instead.

ST 9 DX 13 CN 16 IN 15 WS 18 CH 8

Feats: Brew Potion, Create Wondrous Item, Augment Summoning (Tome and Blood)

Skills: Wilderness Lore, Heal, Knowledge (Nature), Profession(Herbalist), Intuit Direction, Concentration, Spellcraft, Swim

Animal companion: How about giant crocodile (Huge creature with Improved Grab)? Or a cave bear?

Spells: Instead of 'Summon Swarm' -> 'Spore Cloud.' Instead of 'Goodberry' -> 'Goodshrooms' etc just to add flavour (no major mechanical change, but your DM would have to agree as, for example, it may have implications such as mushrooms being easier than berries to find underground etc.)

Option #1- I fight physically only w/ wild shape

Take a forest gnome (-2 STR, +2 Con) with the following stats:
S= 8, D= 13, C= 20 (w bonus at level 4), I= 14, Wis= 15 (go to 16 at 8th level), Ch=9.
This gives him average hp = 70 (now thats nice)
Feats: Spellcasting Prodigy (Forgotten Realms), Spell Focus (evocation), Greater Spell Focus (evocation) [makes for nasty flame strikes DC= 21, 22 when you get to 8th level, and later fire storms]. You also get 6 skill points per level....the party will apreciate a good heal skill (those nasty poisons).

Option #2- I like fighting in "humanoid" form

I'd go with a Wood Elf (+2 STR, +2 DEX, -2 Con, -2 Int, -2 Cha)
with the following stats:
S= 20 (w/ stat increase at 4th level), Dex = 15, Con = 12, Int = 8,
Wis = 15, Cha = 7)
Feats: Ambidextery, Two-Weapon Fighting, WF: Quarterstaff
average hit points = 42
cast the 3rd level spell Spikes (Defender of the Faith)on your Quarterstaff, which gives you a +2 to hit and level bonus in damage (+7)...I as a DM would make you cast it twice, since your using the Quarter Staff as a double weapon.
BTW: Spikes last for 1 hour/level

you attack w/ the following:
double weaon: bab +5, Str +5, +2 Spikes spell, +1 weapon focus = +13 -2 for Two weapon fighting = +11/+11
Damage primary hand = 1d6+5 (Str) + 7 Spikes spell = 1d6+12
Damage secondary hand = 1d6 +2 (Str) +7 Spikes spell = 1d6+9
at 8th level you get 3 attacks +12/+12/+7

two handed: +13... Damage = 1d6 + 7 (Str) + 7 (Spikes) = 1d6+14

I'd fight w/ the Quarterstaff as a double weapon- easy to change back and forth when spellcasting.

I think you can give your fighters in the group a run for thier money, but while you dish it out, you probably won't be able to take it, hit ponts only okay, and not that good an AC...try to stay at the edge of the fights, letting the fighters take most of the hits.

You could do a very similar one w/ a 1/2 orc, but I thought the Wood Elf sounded more "druidic"

So, how's it sound... which option do you folks like??????

Veldrane said:

Hi guys, I've got some problems MinMaxing a 7th level Druid, just because I can see it's not bad, but I can't imagine how to make him kick ass...

Here are the stats:

17
15
14
13
10
9
(not including the +1 at 4th level)

The only limitation 'bout the books are the Wizards official books, so please let me see how a Druid is to be played...

Every suggestion is welcome; the more choices u give me, the better I'll be able to build it up (choices including good spell combos and so on)

Thnx in advance...

Click to expand...

Oops forgot a few things:

Animal Companion:
At 7th level I'd try to find either a an advanced (7hd) brown bear or tiger.

Option #1 (post above) doesn't quite yet have a good attack form w/ wildshape (leapoard your best shot), but one you get to 8th you can take on a brown or polar bear form and have pretty good attack....don't forget to cast greater magic fang on yourself, you only need one, since you don't get animal attack forms (claw, claw, bite, but attack w/ bab progression)

This gives you an attack of:
+6 BAB, +8 strength, +2 magic fang = +16/+11
Damage = 1d8+10

Option 2 (post above) your a little low on the 3rd level spells to get both 2 spike spells for your quarterstaff, and two magic fangs on your animal companion (I wouldn't bother w/ secondary attacks like the bite), but by 8th if you but the stat point in Wisdom, you'll have 4 3rd levels spells...at 9th level you might want to think about picking up the Extend spell feat, allowing your 3rd level spells if taken as 4ths to last for 18 hours.

Well, if you're campagin is going to have lots of outdoor adventuring, a half-orc druid with club and wooden shield, mounted on a rhino (it's 8HD, but your DM might allow it) or a dire boar, is just an awesome image. With mounted combat, ride by attack, and spirited charge for feats. you could dish out some serious damage using your club with a spikes spell on it.
Str: 16, DX:15, CN:10 , Int:8, Wis:17, Cha: 11.

Otherwise, I second the halfling skirmisher druid. both a cheetah and leopard can have 5HD and would make good mounts. A lion, despite being large sized, is long, rather than tall, so would probably fit in most dungeon environments, and can have up to 8HD. Mounted archery might not be a bad second feat.

Troll

If you are playing the FRCS setting go and play a druid of mielikkie, that gods grants you acces to ALL RANGER weapon and armor/shield proficiencies without violating you divine balbalbalbalbala. Can make up for a very nasty fighting druid.

The Forsaken One said:

If you are playing the FRCS setting go and play a druid of mielikkie, that gods grants you acces to ALL RANGER weapon and armor/shield proficiencies without violating you divine balbalbalbalbala. Can make up for a very nasty fighting druid.

Click to expand...

should add in you have to MC as ranger (yes?)

Halflings and gnomes make great druids. Wild shape isn't dependant on the size of the druid (unlike Polymorph Self), and when in your own shape Shillelagh makes any club or staff do d10 base damage regardles of size. For melee combat, Spikes (from DotF) is essential.

If you want to multiclass, by far the best choices are Ranger and Monk. Ranger gives you extra weapon proficiencies, which is only useful if your DM doesn't use the strict druid weapon rule, and Track. Ranger also gives you TWF and ambidexterity, which can be nice when combines with the Spikes spell and a club and shield. Take Shield Expert and you won't even lose the shield AC bonus when fighting that way.

Monk may be an even better choice; The Wisdom bonus to AC, saving throw bonuses, and Evasion are extraordinary abilities, so they are retained when you wildshape. Flurry of blows is also nice with a Spiked club or quarterstaff. If your GM lets you swap out the Stunning Fist virtual feat for another martial arts feat, monk is an even better choice. You will lose spells, BAB, and animal companion hit dice if you multiclass though, so don't do it lightly.

If you're going to rely on your animal companions a lot, you will definitely want the Chain Spell metamagic feat. Chain spell allows you to take a spell that normally only applies to a single target and apply it to 1 target/level. For offensive spells, secondary targets take only half damage, or have +4 to their saving throws, but the best use of the feat is for miscellaneous buffing spells. A 4th level spell will let you Magic Fang one target/level, and a 6th level spell will let you Greater Magic Fang one target/level.

Another great feat is Versatile, which sadly is in the Rokugan book, even though it's a good general feat. It essentially allows you to turn two cross-class skills into class skills. If you do this with Hide and Move Silently, your druid becomes one of the best at stealth.

To really min-max the character, at some point you're going to want to take a Prestige Class that gives you a domain of your choice. When a druid gains a domain, he gains an additional spell per spell level, just like a cleric, as well as the granted power. The best prestige classes for this are Contemplative and Divine Disciple (from FRCS). The best domain for Druids is the Hero domain from Oriental Adventures. It gives you 1) Divine Favor, 2)Bull's Strength, 3)Endure Elements, 4)Divine Power, 5)Righteous Might (though this slot can also be used for a nasty Persistent Divine Favor, if you have that metamagic feat), 6)Stoneskin, 7)Tenser's Transformation, 8)Giant Size (or Persistent Divine Power, which is just nasty), and 9)Shapechange. To be truly nasty, at higher levels you're going to want the Persistent Spell metamagic feat, and its prerequisite Extend Spell.

Gah, I feel dirty even talking about this level of min-maxing.

Masters of the Wild will be out within a few weeks, so their should be even more cool options for druids in there. The feats that allow a druid to speak and cast spells while wildshaped sound particularly tasty.

Min/maxing a druid? Advance to 9th level, and read this thread.