Druid modifications and throwing out clerics..

[cybernetic]

I'm starting a new campaign soon..and want to completely get rid of deities and clerics in my campaign...I'm wanting druids to be the defacto Divine Casters of my world (in fact the would be the primary spellcasters..)..I want them to have access to the Cleric spell lists and some of the clerical abilities (such as Turning and Domains)...whats everyones opinions/ideas on adding cleric features to the druid class?

(also..as an aside...doesn anyone know of any good non-spellcasting Bard variants?)

 

[Nightfall]

you're better off using Shamans instead. But that's just me.

 

[Spatzimaus]

You want Druids to have Turning and Domains... wouldn't they just be Clerics then? The only thing left is the armor usage, and that's just minor compared to the Druid's 2 extra skill points. Seriously, if anything I'd dump Druid as a class and just tell people to pick Clerics with Animal and Plant as their domains.

Clerics don't NEED to be done with active deities. You can have the whole thing be more abstract, with the "domains" simply acting as a form of specialization. If you want to say that certain domains aren't available without deities (Law, Good, Chaos, Evil for example) that'd be fine. Of course, removing the need to keep your deity's approval is a benefit, which you could counteract by removing the armor proficiencies Clerics get, and you're right back at Druid.

 

[Nightfall]

That or just use Shamans as I suggested.

 

[Cheiromancer]

Hey, I have an idea!

Why not just use Shamans instead?

 

[Nightfall]

Cheir, at least I'm not pimping SL on this thread.

 

[Nifft]

I'm starting a new campaign soon..and want to completely get rid of deities and clerics in my campaign...

I allow Druids to take Domains as Feats IMC. They don't get to convert prepared spells into Summon Nature's Ally spells -- instead, they convert their prepared spells into Domain spells. The list of Domains is different than the one available to Clerics, and the spells on each list have been re-balanced due to the spontaneous casting thing. In trade, they gain Natural Spell for free at 5th level.

Suggestions:
- Reduce the number of spells that every Druid gets.
- Allow Druids to prepare Domain spells in regular spell slots.
- Use my Domains instead of the PHB ones. You can get them here: http://klimt.cns.nyu.edu/~fishman/DnD/domains3.5.shtml
- Change some Domain powers. For example:
Sun: You can Turn Undead in daylight. If you could already Turn Undead, you gain a +4 bonus to your Turn check in daylight.
Moon: You can Turn Undead in moonlight. If you could already Turn Undead, you gain a +4 bonus to your Turn check in moonlight.
Death: You can Turn Undead.
- As you can see, I'd not allow just any Druid to Turn Undead. I'd require them to take a Domain Feat.

-- N

 

[Nightfall]

I know I'm a broken record but I don't see why all this modification is needed when you just toss out both classes in favor of either OA shamans or the ones by Mongoose/Green Ronin. I mean if you want a naturalist spiritualist that would be my choice.