Bow Druid

[Darkmantle26]

This is a very strange idea, I acknowledge that. However I feel that if I carry this idea out, I could end up creating an interesting and memorable character indeed. My Idea is playing a Druid who, through either elven weapon proficiency or something of the sort is proficient in the use of longbows. They would use the bow as their main weapon of attack, while have buff-based or healing spells as well. Now I know you will probably tell that I should probably just play a ranger, and you may be right. But I think I could make this work, and make it effective. I'm looking for ideas on how to effectively carry this out, it may involve me taking a couple levels in Fighter or Ranger in order to get the archery fighting style (And maybe the hunter's mark spell from the Ranger spell list) Also, circle of the land or circle of the moon? I fell like if I took circle of the moon (The better one, in my opinion) I would just end up using my beast form all the time anyway, defeating the purpose. Next I would need suggestions on what spells and feats I should take (As well as what race and such)

 

[Sacrosanct]

I think you should play whatever theme you want to play and have fun with it. If you're looking for build advice, there's a specific forum on this site for character builds to use.

 

[phantomK9]

My son is playing a Wood Elf Druid who uses a bow as his primary weapon. He seems to be having lots of fun with it. Basically the spells and wild shape are used for interaction and exploration while the bow is used for combat. I'm sure this will change once he starts getting the really powerful spells but for now it is working well for him.

 

[cmad1977]

I think that sounds pretty sweet. Come up with a philosophical reason why the Druid uses a bow instead of something less metal(though indoor know how much metal is really on an arrow) even if it's just 'elves use bows'. The Land Druid can be a powerful spell caster. Pass Without Trace is crazy.
Seriously, the flexibility of the Land Druid isn't respected as it should be I don't think. The spells you get that aren't part of your official Druid list can make you quite useful.


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[famousringo]

I think that sounds pretty sweet. Come up with a philosophical reason why the Druid uses a bow instead of something less metal(though indoor know how much metal is really on an arrow) even if it's just 'elves use bows'. The Land Druid can be a powerful spell caster. Pass Without Trace is crazy.
Seriously, the flexibility of the Land Druid isn't respected as it should be I don't think. The spells you get that aren't part of your official Druid list can make you quite useful.


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Easy fix for arrows: Use stone arrowheads.

And I agree Land Druids deserve more respect. Land's Stride can help you maintain range on your enemies. I suggest Grassland Circle so you can access Haste to maintain distance and shoot more arrows.

For multiclass, ranger does offer a nice boost to archery every odd level and does a better job of retaining your theme and spell progression, but there's some redundancy there. Fighter is an option, but your spellcasting will suffer, even if you go Eldritch Knight. A third option would be rogue, offering a steady damage boost and a lot of skills. Despite the redundancy, I like ranger best, though I don't think you'll be using Hunter's Mark much, because as a Druid, you'll have better things to concentrate on most of the time.

To leverage your druidness, use terrain control spells to keep an enemy force at bay and divided. Spike Growth, Plant Growth, Hallucinatory Terrain.

The only feat that really counts here is Sharpshooter, and it works best with Archery style. As a 6 druid/5 ranger with Haste up, you can enjoy three attacks per round at -3/+10, and a very high mobility unimpeded by Plant Growth while your enemies move at 1/4. Wood elf is probably the way to go, though personally I'd rather do all this with a sling, Magic Stone, and a halfling.

 

[Herobizkit]

Yeah, optimization aside, just play a Wood Elf Land Druid. Being a Land Druid will disincentivize you from relying on combat in animal forms. Ranger is the logical marriage to Druid, especially if you want to, say, be crazy and take Beastmaster - you could be your own wolf pack once you can Summon beasts.

 

[Al2O3]

Do you have an expected level interval for the campaign? For the Starter Set adventure (level 1-5) I would say "be a longbow using wood elf druid of either kind" and be done. For a campaign starting at level 5 I would consider if it would be too frustrating having one longbow attack per action compared to the two attacks of marital characters, extra damage of cantrips etc. Beyond that: sounds like a fun concept.

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[TerraDave]

Of course it works. Cast faery fire or entangle on opponents and then shoot them. Druids can actually be kind a squishy (while otherwise being pretty effective) so a high dex is nice to have in any case, and it works nicely with stealth. And you can use metal weapons, though I like the idea of flint arrows.

A super generous DM might let you cast shillelagh on the bow in melee situations. But that would be super generous.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Yeah, with spells like Entangle and other environmental controls, an archer druid could keep melee combatants from closing easily.

I can honestly say I've never seen an archer druid in play. Go for it!

Of course it works. Cast faery fire or entangle on opponents and then shoot them.

 

[cmad1977]

Easy fix for arrows: Use stone arrowheads.

That would work for me. I might impose a bit of a range penalty what with stone arrowheads being less effective than metal...but I would be equally likely to just say 'that's cool!'