Do druids need Track?

Legildur · Nov 16, 2006

Yeah, maybe so, but other spells can be more useful, and the Track feat is usually just capitalizing on a probably high Survival skill modifier.

haiiro · Nov 16, 2006

Thank you for the feedback, everyone! I'm still leaning against Track, but it does seem like a nice outlet for having a high Survival skill. It's not in my current build, though, and it'll probably stay that way.

brendan candries said:
You don't get the feats from wildshape either, until elemental.

My understanding is that you get racial bonus feats, which Track is for dogs, cats and wolves. Is this incorrect?

lukelightning · Nov 16, 2006

Track is relatively useless, in my mind. It's like the bardic lore ability; normally the DM gives you that info anyways, or something like it, if tracking is important to the game. If nobody can track then the DM will probably allow search or spot to find the trail or clues.

starwed · Nov 16, 2006

My understanding is that you get racial bonus feats, which Track is for dogs, cats and wolves. Is this incorrect?

I can find nothing that states that you do gain bonus feats. Is there a specific reason you thought this?

Crothian · Nov 16, 2006

lukelightning said:
Track is relatively useless, in my mind. It's like the bardic lore ability; normally the DM gives you that info anyways, or something like it, if tracking is important to the game. If nobody can track then the DM will probably allow search or spot to find the trail or clues.

Depends on the DM, some DMs actually find ways to make character abilities matter. YMMV

Corsair · Nov 16, 2006

starwed said:
I can find nothing that states that you do gain bonus feats. Is there a specific reason you thought this?

When Wildshape was based on polymorph, which in turn was based on Alter Self. From the text of Alter Self:

You acquire the physical qualities of the new form while retaining your own mind. Physical qualities include natural size, mundane movement capabilities (such as burrowing, climbing, walking, swimming, and flight with wings, to a maximum speed of 120 feet for flying or 60 feet for nonflying movement), natural armor bonus, natural weapons (such as claws, bite, and so on), racial skill bonuses, racial bonus feats, and any gross physical qualities (presence or absence of wings, number of extremities, and so forth).

In bold are the parts usually important to utility wildshaping. Now that being said, I'm not sure if the wildshape errata from earlier in the year changed this. Our group isn't using that errata, as it would have seriously affected two players (one PC druid, one cohort druid), so we decided to ignore it until we restart at level 1 for the next campaign, whenever that is.

haiiro · Nov 17, 2006

Corsair said:
When Wildshape was based on polymorph, which in turn was based on Alter Self.

Yep. I've now read through Skip's 3-part revision of alternate forms, and my brain hurts.

Druids now appear to lose two things I was really counting on: the above-mentioned acquisition of racial bonus feats (Track, specifically), and modified HP based on their wildshaped Con. Bummer.

If we go post-revision, I think the answer to my original question is yes -- druids still have one way around needing track (have fido do it), but they lose the other. It's probably worth taking.

If my GM goes pre-revision, it's probably not worth taking the feat.