New to DnD and need advice about Druids

[djmginger]

So I've never played DnD before, but I've always been interested in playing. I've listened to some podcasts of people playing, Penny Arcade, Nerd Poker, etc. Most of my group is new too, the DM has only played one game before, and most of the other people are DnD virgins.

We plan on playing 3.5e. For now, since we're mostly new, we've only been given access to the core rules, and whatever non-homebrew stuff we find on the DnD wiki (he's lenient about races though), so alot of my references have been straight from the Players Handbook and d20srd.

I've decided on playing a Wild-elf Druid, I've already come up with a bunch of backstory, and I think I've figured out my first 3 feats, spell focus(conjuration) > augment summoning > natural spell.

HERE'S WHERE I NEED HELP:

I still don't have a very clear idea of what skills I should sink my starting points into. I'm guessing I should put some into concentration, but I'm not sure after that.

I'm also a bit confused as to my spell set. What do druids do best when it comes to spellcasting? Looking at the druid spell list I seem to have just about everything at my fingertips, CC, healing, summoning, damage, buffs, so I'm not sure what my purpose in battle is gonna be, especially before I get Wild Shape.

My last question is about the line in the wild shape description that says I need to be familiar with the animal I'm shifting into. Does that mean I'm restricted to creatures that I encounter during the campaign, or is there some other way I can access wild shape forms?

I greatly appreciate any advice given!

 

[Dandu]

Ask, and it will be given to you.

 

[ccs]

IMO you should always invest in perception.
After that you should invest in whatever skills you think best express the character you envision playing - even if that isn't always the same as the most optimized option.
(For ex; I have a 1/2ling druid that prior to becoming a druid was a baker. It's important character wise. So I put points in it. It's almost never relevant as far as rolling dice go though.)

 

[djmginger]

Is perception a skill? I'm not seeing it in the 3.5e SRD

 

[Dandu]

Spot and Listen are perception skills in 3.5, and Druids get Listen.

 

[Imaculata]

I still don't have a very clear idea of what skills I should sink my starting points into. I'm guessing I should put some into concentration, but I'm not sure after that.

Concentration is an obvious choice for spell casting. But Spot, Listen and Search are always worth an investment in 3.5. Some of them are cross class skills for the Druid though, so investing in them is costly.

Climb, Jump and balance are often useful skills for general adventuring. Swim and Use Rope are useful as well, although you often don't get a lot of use out of Swim. But you want to have some points in Swim at least, just in case you need to swim.

Gather Information and Sense Motive can be important role playing skills for interacting with other characters. It kind of depends on your DM if these skills will be useful to you during the campaign. Some DM's are completely clueless at making rulings for these two skills. And some campaigns simply do not focus a lot on talking to people.

Heal is probably pretty useful as well. Especially if you plan to be the healer of the party.

Knowledge Nature is one of the knowledge skills that you definitely want to invest some points into. Nature is the Druid's thing after all. You'll want to be able to identify strange herbs and animals.

I'm also a bit confused as to my spell set. What do druids do best when it comes to spellcasting? Looking at the druid spell list I seem to have just about everything at my fingertips, CC, healing, summoning, damage, buffs, so I'm not sure what my purpose in battle is gonna be, especially before I get Wild Shape.

If you already have a dedicated healer in the party, then you could agree with your party to focus on damage instead. Otherwise, go for healing. The Druid has an excellent mix of buffs and debuffs, and plenty of good damage spells. His selection of damage spells is however rather limited at lower levels. It also doesn't hurt to just do a bit of everything. The Druid is a very versatile class. Even if you focus on damage, it might be handy to also be a backup healer.

First level spells
Entangle is a very useful crowd control spell that remains useful for quite a while.
Obscuring Mist is a good defensive spell at low levels.
Shillelagh is basically a free +1 weapon.
Summon Nature's Ally is pretty useless. Wait for the higher level versions of this spell.
Goodberry is not only a decent low level heal, but it is also free food.
Cure Light Wounds is definitely a very useful spell to have, even if you are not a dedicated healer.

Second level spells
Charm Person/Animal is a very powerful spell at low levels, but quickly becomes useless against foes with higher saves.
Barkskin is a very useful defensive spell.
Flaming Sphere is a good attack spell with decent damage. Just don't set fire to a forest.
Resist Elements is a powerful defensive spell that remains useful, even at high levels.
Warp Wood and Wood Shape can be useful role playing spells.

Third level spells
Call Lightning is a very powerful damage spell.
Greater Magic Fang is a very good buff that works well with shape shifting.
Poison is a good spell for ability damage, but you have to get in touch range.
Summon Nature's Ally 3 is a decent summon. It allows you to summon an animal that can actually do some damage, such as a bear. But Summon Nature's Ally 4 is the one you really want. Dire Wolves for example can do trip attacks, which is very powerful during combat. It can render some opponents entirely helpless for the whole fight.
Protection from Elements is a very good buff, which again remains useful at high levels.
Water Breathing is a very situational spell. If the campaign features a lot of water this might be useful, but otherwise not so much.

My last question is about the line in the wild shape description that says I need to be familiar with the animal I'm shifting into. Does that mean I'm restricted to creatures that I encounter during the campaign, or is there some other way I can access wild shape forms?

Pretty much that is what it means. If you encounter a monkey, then you can now transform in that specific kind of monkey.

 

[Herobizkit]

D&D's a team game at its heart. As a Druid (and especially as a Wild Elf), your class focus traditionally tends to the Natural world.

Assuming 10-11 Int, you can Max out 4 skills at level 1 or spread the love around if your stats are particularly high.

If you don't have a Ranger or a Barbarian in your party, you could be a "Bear Grylls" type who knows all about living in Nature. Know (Nature), Spot, Survival and Concentration (for your spells) would do fine.

Druids can be one of the most overpowered class in 3e, mostly due to abusing the Natural Spell feat. Being able to cast while wild shaped is a gross way to keep your animal forms buffed and alive, and in many cases, able to take more abuse than a Fighter ever could.

But Druids can also be an Ultimate Toolbox™; their versatility is one of their greatest strengths. Your spell-casting role is whatever you choose to be, as you can change what role you fulfill after every adventuring day.

Adding Wild Elf to the mix also gives you access to some great non-Druid weapons: Swords and Bows. This alone makes you far more capable than the standard Druid.

Combine all this with having Summon spells auto-prepped means you can hang back and plink arrows while your pets do the heavy lifting, then you can beast mode into the fray as a shock trooper, then fall back again and Cure people, or maybe throw some Control-type effects with Faerie Fire and Entangles...

The Natural world is your oyster.

 

[Dandu]

Concentration is an obvious choice for spell casting. But Spot, Listen and Search are always worth an investment in 3.5. Some of them are cross class skills for the Druid though, so investing in them is costly.

Climb, Jump and balance are often useful skills for general adventuring. Swim and Use Rope are useful as well, although you often don't get a lot of use out of Swim. But you want to have some points in Swim at least, just in case you need to swim.

A druid can compensate for a lack in those skills to some degree by transforming into an animal with scent, swim speed, climb speed, etc.

Animal Empathy is a very important skill for Druids. You want this to deal peacefully with any animals.

Animal Empathy isn't a skill in 3.5.

 

[Shin Okada]

It may be somewhat off topic but If you and your group are new to 3.5e, I strongly recommend to use PHB2 "shapechange" alternative class feature for Druids.

Wild Shape ability (and Polymorph spell) is a biiig mess. While that can be fun to pursuit, the rule is very complex and needs a lot of calculations and tracking of stats.

And, in most cases, if you only use the core rule, that ability is quite weak. Animals has quite low AC and killed easily. On the other hand, once you start using more items, feats, rules etc. from other sources, a druid can be uber-powerful. In regard to Wild Shape (and Polymorph spell) and game-balance, the designers did quite a bad job IMHO.

 

[Imaculata]

A druid can compensate for a lack in those skills to some degree by transforming into an animal with scent, swim speed, climb speed, etc.

Good point.

Animal Empathy isn't a skill in 3.5.

You're right, I just corrected it.