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First Druid
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<blockquote data-quote="Esker" data-source="post: 7888596" data-attributes="member: 6966824"><p><strong>Play-style: </strong>I think (non-moon) druids are most effective as either summoners or controllers. The spell list contains some elemental damage spells, but the class features don't offer much to support that playstyle, and so going that route you might find that you wish you'd been an evoker wizard, a draconic sorcerer, or a tempest cleric. </p><p></p><p>I suppose they don't actually get anything that boosts their control spells either (unlike a number of wizard and sorcerer subclasses)... but at least land druids get more (non-ritual) preparations than sorcerers or wizards, and better control options than clerics, so they can pick a good tool for the situation.</p><p></p><p>If you want to be a summoner your best bet is Circle of the Shepherd (as others have said), but since you seem settled on land, the following is predicated on being a land druid with a control focus.</p><p></p><p><strong>Races</strong>: Lizardfolk gives you nice bonus skills and a nice AC boost, except that by foregoing a DEX bump at character creation you're just where you'd be with studded leather until level 4 (at which point you could get WIS to 20 and DEX to 16, for an 18 AC with a shield, which isn't bad). Since you can't start with 20 WIS, it's not essential that you pick a race that gives you a wisdom boost, since you'll have to dedicate an ASI to it at level 4 anyway. So it seems to me you may as well get your CON and DEX up. </p><p></p><p>Two ways you could do that:</p><p></p><p>1) Variant human, put your +1s in DEX and CON, and take Resilient (CON) as your feat. That gets you a boost to concentration saves, which you'll really want at some point anyway, and gets you 18/16/16 in your three main stats.</p><p></p><p>2) You didn't list this as one of the races you'd narrowed things down to, so maybe you don't want to do it, but if you're open to playing lizardfolk, it can't hurt to throw it out there: you could play a goblin. Gives you that 18/16/16, and gives you the best 2/3 of cunning action, which is lovely, particularly for a character who will be casting a big concentration spell in round 1 and then mostly wanting to keep their concentration up. It also gives you a way to dip in, smack something with a stick or your acid claws, and dip out again (without the ability to BA disengage, you probably don't really want to be getting into melee... you maybe still don't, but at least it's a little safer).</p><p></p><p><strong>Land affiliation</strong>: I think it depends in large part what the rest of the party can do. No point in going after a land that grants you a choice spell if somebody else in the party will already have it. But to me the best control spells on there that aren't on the druid list already are Web (Underdark) and Slow (Arctic). Haste (Grassland) and Greater Invisibility (Underdark) might be nice to have as buffing options for those times when you're up against legendary resistance. And Coast gets Mirror Image and Misty Step at level 3, which are lovely survival (and concentration maintenance) tools (though if you're a goblin Misty Step is partly redundant). So I'd pick whichever one of those four fills the best niche for you and your party.</p><p></p><p><strong>Melee option: </strong>For the most part I don't think you want to be getting yourself into melee. Unfortunately druids lack good ranged options (magic stone doesn't scale for some reason). You could consider taking Frostbite... it's not a great cantrip, but it at least works at range, and the rider is nice at low levels. If you're a goblin (or you take Mobile at some point) and have a solid front-line you could play like a melee rogue after getting your concentration spell up, with either primal savagery or shillelagh (as others have noted, shillelagh is better early; primal savagery scales better). I'd probably go shillelagh, tbh, since by the time primal savagery decisively overtakes it at level 11, you're not going to need to use cantrips very often (and even then, you can just pick it up at level 10). It does have that bonus action downside though.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Esker, post: 7888596, member: 6966824"] [B]Play-style: [/B]I think (non-moon) druids are most effective as either summoners or controllers. The spell list contains some elemental damage spells, but the class features don't offer much to support that playstyle, and so going that route you might find that you wish you'd been an evoker wizard, a draconic sorcerer, or a tempest cleric. I suppose they don't actually get anything that boosts their control spells either (unlike a number of wizard and sorcerer subclasses)... but at least land druids get more (non-ritual) preparations than sorcerers or wizards, and better control options than clerics, so they can pick a good tool for the situation. If you want to be a summoner your best bet is Circle of the Shepherd (as others have said), but since you seem settled on land, the following is predicated on being a land druid with a control focus. [B]Races[/B]: Lizardfolk gives you nice bonus skills and a nice AC boost, except that by foregoing a DEX bump at character creation you're just where you'd be with studded leather until level 4 (at which point you could get WIS to 20 and DEX to 16, for an 18 AC with a shield, which isn't bad). Since you can't start with 20 WIS, it's not essential that you pick a race that gives you a wisdom boost, since you'll have to dedicate an ASI to it at level 4 anyway. So it seems to me you may as well get your CON and DEX up. Two ways you could do that: 1) Variant human, put your +1s in DEX and CON, and take Resilient (CON) as your feat. That gets you a boost to concentration saves, which you'll really want at some point anyway, and gets you 18/16/16 in your three main stats. 2) You didn't list this as one of the races you'd narrowed things down to, so maybe you don't want to do it, but if you're open to playing lizardfolk, it can't hurt to throw it out there: you could play a goblin. Gives you that 18/16/16, and gives you the best 2/3 of cunning action, which is lovely, particularly for a character who will be casting a big concentration spell in round 1 and then mostly wanting to keep their concentration up. It also gives you a way to dip in, smack something with a stick or your acid claws, and dip out again (without the ability to BA disengage, you probably don't really want to be getting into melee... you maybe still don't, but at least it's a little safer). [B]Land affiliation[/B]: I think it depends in large part what the rest of the party can do. No point in going after a land that grants you a choice spell if somebody else in the party will already have it. But to me the best control spells on there that aren't on the druid list already are Web (Underdark) and Slow (Arctic). Haste (Grassland) and Greater Invisibility (Underdark) might be nice to have as buffing options for those times when you're up against legendary resistance. And Coast gets Mirror Image and Misty Step at level 3, which are lovely survival (and concentration maintenance) tools (though if you're a goblin Misty Step is partly redundant). So I'd pick whichever one of those four fills the best niche for you and your party. [B]Melee option: [/B]For the most part I don't think you want to be getting yourself into melee. Unfortunately druids lack good ranged options (magic stone doesn't scale for some reason). You could consider taking Frostbite... it's not a great cantrip, but it at least works at range, and the rider is nice at low levels. If you're a goblin (or you take Mobile at some point) and have a solid front-line you could play like a melee rogue after getting your concentration spell up, with either primal savagery or shillelagh (as others have noted, shillelagh is better early; primal savagery scales better). I'd probably go shillelagh, tbh, since by the time primal savagery decisively overtakes it at level 11, you're not going to need to use cantrips very often (and even then, you can just pick it up at level 10). It does have that bonus action downside though. [/QUOTE]
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