Alt. Druid: Anybody got a variant core class?

[Iron_Chef]

The druid so far seems like a pretty pointless class to my group. We're just trying one out for the first time ever, and just not having any fun with it. You'd be better off taking levels in cleric with plant and animal (or elemental/nature-oriented) domains and just flavor-texting the druidic faith as just another religion in my book. Has anyone come up with a variant druid core class that makes it cooler? I've seen the variant druids in Dragon recently but they weren't all that different or helpful. The player in question wants a snake/reptile-oriented character.

 

[dvvega]

I honestly don't understand why they think it's not a good core-class. Is your group thinking "we need a healer - the druid can't spontaneously cast"? Because if this is the case then sure, the Druid sucks in your situation. Same thing goes for the Turning of Undead. But if those two abilities are what you need then why looking at Druids.

Additionally if you're thinking of strictly dungeon delving then the Druid's abilities may not be 100%. You could of course change it to an Underdark oriented Druid - animals will be underground types and so forth

Think about the following abilities ...

WILDSHAPE
This is a good ability if handled well. It scales with level, and gives multiple options for different forms. For example, need to spy on the enemy, a hawk flies overhead.

SPONTANEOUS SUMMONS
Like a Cleric the Druid can spontaneously cast certain spells. For the Druid it is Summon Nature's Ally.

ANIMAL COMPANION
Since the animal companion rules have been changed to allow the companion to scale just like a familiar, this ability is so useful. They can share spells, allow an animal to deliver a touch attack, and unlike familiars, a Druid can have multiple, or get bigger and bigger ones. A Wizard who has chosen his familiar at first level is pretty much stuck with it.


One thing I did in my campaign world in 3.0 was to allow Druids to gain a Domain every 4 levels. They could choose from Air, Fire, Water, Earth, Sun, Plant, Animal etc etc.

This gave them turning abilities against elemental creatures, while not overpowering them.

It worked out okay.

 

[Iron_Chef]

Not being able to spontaneously heal is a major problem, but perhaps that is a perception issue on our part, as we think of them as a specialist cleric (leftover from our 2e days I guess). Turn Undead is not a factor so far. We are doing an urban campaign, not dungeon delving, so we are trying to create an urban oriented druid type. The domain idea you had I like. The druid just seems weak; but we aren't high enough level to see the wildshape used. Not being able to cast spells while wildshaped seems like a major drawback. A couple other issues we have is that they can't use bows, yet they hunt for food, don't they? They live in the woods but can't hide, sneak or track: WTF?

 

[CCamfield]

Hunting (and foraging, for that matter) is based off of the Survival skill, which druids get. They don't use bows, but they do use spears and slings. And they can cast Goodberry at first level, which transforms an individual berry into a whole meal's worth of food.

It would take up a feat, but a druid can of course take Natural Spellcasting at say level 6.

But... it seems to me, a druid is obviously going to be out of his or her element in a city.

 

[Nightfall]

Chef, perhaps if you took a look at PG: Clerics and Druids...might have some more players with interest.

Course you could always drop clerics and druids and put in Greenbonds instead.

 

[dvvega]

Iron_Chef ... calling the Druid weak is not really valid. I have been running a Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil campaign on and off for a fair while now.

The only ORIGINAL character left standing is the Druid. The many fighters and Wizards and Clerics that have come and gone are dead and buried. The druid lives on.

How can this be? Use of the Druid as a Druid and not as a substitute for the Cleric. He memorised some healing, but was more proactive, dishing out Barkskin spells to other players for AC boosts, using various spells that a lot of people overlook.

Of course I let him use Masters of the Wild. This book has to be one of the best class splatbooks around. Well written, clever, and focused wholly on Rangers, Druids and Barbarians in such a way as to make them all very attractive.

The best spells in that book are the Regeneration Ring spells. As a third level spell, the druid can help party members heal a minimum 15 hit points. Yes a cleric could do this in one 3rd level spell, however the Druid does it to 1 creature per 2 levels.

They can also use the Regenerate Wounds spells as well, granting fast healing to party members before or after combat.

Instead of the Druid being tied down to healing, they can cast the Regenerate Wounds spells before battle, then join the combat, not having to keep running back and forth healing everyone like so many clerics do.

He can even use his animal companion to deliver some of these boon spells for him. "Here take this barkskin and when combat starts run to the fighter and give it to him".

There are a lot of spells in the Masters of the Wild book that make the Druid better than he was.

 

[Wycen]

The 3.5 druid has gotten something of a power up in the fact they can spontaneously cast summon animal spells. Of course their shapechange power has been downgraded, so you get some and lose some. Personally I see no reason to play a druid except if the other players have all the bases covered and you want a "support or special effects" character.

Here is a 3.0 alternate druid class you may want to look at:

http://www.bombshellstudios.com/d20/library/druid_alt.pdf

 

[Michael Tree]

The d20 Dark Sun druid may be more interesting to you. They're almost identical to normal druids, with the following changes

Class Skills
Diplomacy is a cross-class skill for Athasian druids. Hide (Dex)
and Move Silently (Dex) are class skills.

Class Features
Proficiencies: Druids are proficient in the blowgun, in addition
to the proficiencies given in the PHB.
Resist Nature’s Lure: Druids do not gain this ability.
Nature’s Speech: At 4th level a druid is able to speak with
animals everywhere, as if under the effects of the spell speak with
animals.

It's at http://www.athas.org/releases/ds3/ds3.20030717.pdf

 

[Kobold Marine]

Here's some stats for an urban druid concept I've been toying with. It is by no means done, and the spell listing still needs to be done. It was based off of the 3.0 druid, no idea what modifications it would need to bring it in line with the 3.5 classes. It was originally intended for a "modern" fantasy game, with both high levels of technology and magic.

The Urban Druid:

HD: d8
Skills: 4 points per level
Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Gather Information, Heal, Hide, Intuit Direction, Knowledge:urban or local, Listen, Move Silently, Profession, Scry, Spellcraft, Spot, Urban Lore

Saves: good fortitude and will
BAB: 3/4
Weapons and armor: same as the rogue

spellcasting: use druid progression from the phb

level: special abilities:
1 Urban Sense
2 Ignore Traffic
3 Fade into the Pavement, Uncanny Dodge(dex)
4
5
6 Uncanny Dodge(flank), City Scurry+10
7
8
9 toxin immunity
10
11 Uncanny Dodge(+1 vs traps)
12 City Scurry+20
13 1000 faces
14 Uncanny Dodge(+2 vs traps)
15 timeless body
16
17 Uncanny Dodge(+3 vs traps)
18 City Scurry+30
19
20 Uncanny Dodge(+4 vs traps)

Urban Sense: The druid has a vast array of knowledge and an uncanny supernatural sense of the city. He can tell roughly where the nearest subway should be, if that hotdog vendor is safe to eat from, and where the best place to hail a cab is.

Ignore Traffic: At 2nd level, the urban druid has learned how to effectively move through crowds. Due to his connection with the spirit of the city, people or vehicles part just enough to let him pass. The druid suffers no movement reductions due to crowds. Police blocks and people actively out to stop the druid are unaffected. This ability functions if the character is on foot or driving a vehicle.

Fade into the Pavement: +10 to Hide checks in an urban setting

Uncanny Dodge: as phb

City Scurry: +10 move in an urban environment. This bonus increases the listed amount as the druid advances in level.

Toxin Immunity: At 9th level, the urban druid becomes immune to the effects of the high levels of pollution he lives with on a daily basis. He is immune to poison gases and mineral-based, inorganic, or entirely artificial poisons. He is still vulnerable to most organic poisons however(ie snake venom). This doesn't render him immune to radiation poisoning either.

A Thousand Faces: Change self at will. Takes a standard action and is a spell-like ability.

Timeless body: as per phb


As for spells, the traditional druid gets spells relating to plants, animals, weather, and the elements. The urban druid should get spells relating to people, buildings, pollution, asphault, concrete, steel, glass, and possibly electricity or steam, depending on the tech level of the game.

 

[Vraister]

The best spells in that book are the Regeneration Ring spells. As a third level spell, the druid can help party members heal a minimum 15 hit points. Yes a cleric could do this in one 3rd level spell, however the Druid does it to 1 creature per 2 levels.

They can also use the Regenerate Wounds spells as well, granting fast healing to party members before or after combat.

Its a bit offtopic, but I thought the regeneration applies only to damage sustained during the duration of the spell! So if the charakter with a Regeneration Spell on her doesn't get hit, she will not heal any hitpoint!

From MotW:
'This healing applies only to damage sustained during the spell's duration
, not to that from previous injuries.'

Is there an errata?

Vraister