Druid Archer help

[Darklone]

Not to forget: Produce Flame!

For all those Rapid Shot dudes who don't hit.

Seriously though, these new ranger spells rock... Arrow Storm is my favorite mookcleanser.

Edit: ok, in order. We had a seriously rocking elf chick druid archer babe who was NOT fat! (her words) in a former group. The char focused on archery... simply by putting all her money into one good magic bow (+2 shocking bow). Her dex was her second best stat and her strength was 14... good enough to afford a comp bow.

Since that campaign was ... strenous and the players never knew how many encounters per day would come (or not) and how tough these are going to be... she prepared all those nice area control spells like Stone Spikes and Firewall ... and a Cure Critical Wounds for emergencies (which could be casted spontaneously to summon a unicorn for more healing). So to say, all her spells were for emergencies.

The group was big, sometimes more than 9 players... and that elf druid archer saved the group more than once with just one well-placed spell ... and more than once she turned an incoming TPK into a glorious victory. With just another well-placed and well picked spell that many other druids don't seem to use... all those nice fog spells.

She was not the biggest damage dealer in the group, but she was a close second or third. And she did it all the time, needed no buffing and was able to attack almost anything from anywhere.

 

[Moon-Lancer]

Thanks for your help everyone. I like the idea of using animate wood or updraft. I had already thought of entangle and a few other controller spells. but some I had not thought of. Thanks.

One of the players is the kind of guy who wants all kinds of custom spells, so in the heat of annoyance, I asked the dm if i could get sonic weapon on the druids list, and it seems that is ok with him. woot.

Perhaps I am focuses too much on damage and not so much on the utility one gets with druid spells to place the character in optimum spots or put the enemy at a disadvantage.

I don't think i will give up druid levels for extra damage with a bow, as i think the utility spells will work nicely. I will let everyone know how the game goes. should be in a week and a half or so.

 

[Nifft]

One spell idea: if you've given up Wild Shape, you should be allowed to trade Magic Fang (and Greater Magic Fang) for Magic Weapon (and Greater Magic Weapon).

Cheers, -- N

 

[Moon-Lancer]

oh that would be sexy probably not going to work though, but i will see. But your right, without wildshape theirs at least 8th of the spells that dont really work the same, and i guess are only for the animal companion now.

 

[moritheil]

Don't forget feats that improve your level for the purposes of your animal companion. There's nothing like riding a dire tiger or other nasty melee bruiser to discourage people from closing with you as you rain death on them.

 

[Zelc]

The problem is the best archery spells are either in the Cleric list or the Ranger list. The Druid's archery spells are more battlefield control spells like Entangle and Kelpstrand than buff spells. So if you're not dead set on playing a Druid, here are some options:

1) Play a Cleric archer. A solid and powerful character, with both full casting and powerful archery. The Divine Favor and Divine Power buffs are favorites for a good reason.

2) Play an Archivist archer. Your BAB will be much lower when Divine Power isn't up, but you can also get access to goodies on the Ranger spell list. Hunter's Eye (lvl/3 d6 sneak attack!) and Swift Haste are fantastic level 2 spells to combo with Divine Favor and Divine Power. If you get a strength-flexible composite bow like the Bow of the Wintermoon relic in MIC, access to the Bite of the X buffs can really boost your damage. Oh, and you get access to Kelpstrand. Potential problem is you need to find scrolls of these, so if your DM doesn't want you to get a spell, you're probably not getting it.

3) Play a Chameleon archer. I prefer Cleric (Trickery Domain) 5/Chameleon 10/X 5 (or Cleric 3/Human Paragon 3/Chameleon 10/X 4 if you are patient and want long-term power over short-term power), since this gets you access to Craft feats at CL 9 with your floating bonus feat if you take Practiced Spellcaster. This guy gets automatic access to all divine spells up to level 6 and has a caster level of double the Chameleon level. Go for stuff like Divine Favor, Kelpstrand, (Extended) Hunter's Eye, (Extended) Swift Haste, Divine Power, Divine Power, and Bite of the Weretiger. Plus you can use the Wizard side to buff in the morning with stuff like Greater Magic Weapon, or just do a Divine/Martial focus for another +4 attack and +4 damage.

ETA: I just realized there's another option you could use: Human Paragon 1/Druid 2/Human Paragon +2/Chameleon 10/X 5. This lets you get those tasty benefits from the Druid variant as well as the fun fun Chameleon spells.


If you're set on playing a Druid Archer, things are more difficult. Just focus mainly on battlefield control and the Bite of the X spells. I'm not sure stuff like Animate Wood are very strong. They could be interesting, but you're probably better off shooting another round of arrows.

P.S.: Bow damage is all about shooting lots of arrows, unlike melee builds which can focus on one single large attack. Get a Bow of Force (MIC) and Splitting (Heroes of Horror?) ASAP.

 

[moritheil]

Prestige Ranger is not bad for this, of course.

 

[MithrasRahl]

If you can have access to Ranger spells, Hunter's Mercy is a must (assuming you're allowed to use Forgotten Realms books)

Hunter's Mercy -1 Standard action, lvl 1 ranger spell

Your next attack with a bow (if it is made before the end of the next round) hits and automatically threatens a critical hit.