D&D 3E/3.5 Does anyone know confirmed 3.5e Druid changes?

[Voadam]

On this issue of how wild empathy will work, what's the basis for thinking it will use handle animal instead of diplomacy? Both animal empathy and diplomacy involving changing attitudes through DC checks, and in the Dragon 308 article on 3.5 revisions, it says of the ranger that the Wild Empathy ability "replaces the Animal Empathy skill and works much like Diplomacy but is only available to rangers and druids."

Just curious as to hong's thinking.

Thanks

Well if it says, "works like" but not "allows the use of diplomacy on animals" I would think that the mechanism would work like diplomacy but not use the actual diplomacy skill. Druids may be great at influencing animals, but I'm betting it does not translate into people skills as well.

 

[Murrdox]

MOST of how Druids will change will consist of their spell list, and their shapechanging.

Since the specific rules on Polymorph are changing significantly, there will be a larger difference between how Wildshape works as opposed to Polymorph. Also, the druid's spell list is apparently getting a large overhaul, which is definitely needed, IMO.

Also IIRC, all Beasts are being reclassified as Magical Beasts, so they'll still be unavailable for Wildshape. No Wildshaping into Griffons (They're beasts, IIRC?).

 

[Li Shenron]

Also IIRC, all Beasts are being reclassified as Magical Beasts, so they'll still be unavailable for Wildshape. No Wildshaping into Griffons (They're beasts, IIRC?).

I have the feeling that dinosaurs will become animals...

 

[Magus Coeruleus]

Well if it says, "works like" but not "allows the use of diplomacy on animals" I would think that the mechanism would work like diplomacy but not use the actual diplomacy skill. Druids may be great at influencing animals, but I'm betting it does not translate into people skills as well.

So do you think the ability will either not improve with level or will improve with level but not through the addition of ranks in any skill? Either way, it has nothing to do with affecting humans. If Wild Empathy happens to let you use Diplomacy to influence and improve the attitude levels of animals, that in itself doesn't make Druids any better at Diplomacy with humans. It would just let them apply their people skills (however much they have) to animals as well. It wouldn't give you free mods to Diplomacy, just let you apply what you've got to animals. In any event, Diplomacy is already a class skill for Druids, which makes it as easy for them to have that people-skill as it is for Clerics.

In the game we played this past weekend, one curious thing that came up was my character's trying to get a sense for what a porpoise was trying to communicate to him. He had no speak with animals ability, but it was clearly trying to "tell" him something so the DM decided I should have some kind of check to see how well he could intuit that. He decided to have me make a Sense Motive check just as you'd try to get a hunch from observing a person. It would be kind of neat if Wild Empathy let you apply all sorts of people-related communication skills to animals (limited, of course, by what's possible given their intelligence). Of course I have no basis for thinking it will work that way, but I do think it would be sort of elegant.

 

[Brekki]

Beast with Int 3 or higher will become Magical Beasts ... the others become Animals.

 

[LordAO]

What is so wrong with a Druid turning into a Griffon?

 

[Li Shenron]

Beast with Int 3 or higher will become Magical Beasts ... the others become Animals.

I am not sure. I think Animals will still have the limit of Int 2, but while all Beasts with Int 3+ will become MB, possibly some Beasts with less than 3 may also become MB as well...

 

[cable]

I am sure most of you will be happy to know that Druids will get as good damaging spells as wizards/sorcs and can replace them in the party. There is a thread on the General Discussion forum about this.

 

[Murrdox]

I have the feeling that dinosaurs will become animals...

Ah! I knew someone would think of a Beast that I'd forgotten about! Good call. Druids turning into dinosaurs... that's a bit wrong.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Maybe some of the old beats that become animals get a certain subtype, that a Druid can only adopt at certain levels (similar to Dire forms, though this is currently not listed as a subtype).

Mustrum Ridcully