Giant Octopodes
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Greetings!
I'm starting a Druid at level 13 in an existing D&D 5e campaign. The existing characters comprise of 3 Multiclass Wizards, a Tortle Cleric, and a couple of Rogues (it's a big group). I haven't played as a Druid in 5e and figured it would be a good complement to the group's arcane heavy / divine light current composition, and wanted to try out a character I've had in my head for a while.
Backstory, Ungo Tult was a Drow kid in one of the houses, but his house was assaulted when he was Very young (like 10 or less). His father, a Wizard, fled with him via Teleport during the assault, after suffering grievous wounds. Unfortunately Teleport misfired and they ended up miles away from the intended destination and in the wilderness on the surface, and his father died of his wounds while they were trying to get there. Nature spirits took pity on the orphaned kid and he grew up surrounded by them, raised to be a druid. Due to having been so young when he lost touch with civilization, he never learned common, only Undercommon. He also has his one prized possession, a statue of Lloth carried by his father. Unbeknownst to him (and his father) it gives folks nightmares of being hunted by and consumed by spiders if they sleep near it, a fact they are blissfully ignorant of due to being Elves and not sleeping. This being kept on his person, combined with a lack of knowledge of Common, has needless to say increased the difficulty of making and keeping friends.
Mechanically, he's a Circle of Shepherd Druid, with all the fun origin customization provided in modern 5e. Bonuses to Wis and Con, proficiencies in enough tools to be self-sufficient (woodcarvers, leatherworkers, poisoners kit, brewers supplies), and proficient in a variety of languages which allow him to communicate with 'his kind of folks' just fine, in Sylvan, Druidic, and Primordial, just not anything most of the party is likely to speak. With incredible perception (boosted w/ Observant to an insane 24 passive perception), a double-downed on Nature skill via Skill Expert, and your 'standard' Druidic prowess with Animals, Survival, and Stealth, he's truly a 'wild child' through and through. He's also Lucky, both because flavor wise I feel he would have to be to have survived this long with so much stacked against him, and mechanically I just can't resist it.
I've linked the character below, but since I haven't played Druid in Ages and have Never played a Circle of Shepherd Druid before, hoping for any and all advice anyone is willing to give - any critical feats I'm missing which I should swap out for? Different Skill or Tool proficiencies which would pay dividends without significantly harming the theme? Is playing a Drow without Common insanity, or have folks played characters sans common before and does it become so much of a non-issue that it's kinda boring? For anyone who has played a 'common-less' character before, what were you running, and any advice to roleplaying it well and dealing with it mechanically so as to keep things interesting without stealing the spotlight? Really any and all thoughts, tips, tricks, advice, whatever you can give me I'd love to hear it. Regardless, thank you for your time and I hope you have a great day!
ddb.ac/characters/81700978/eDUmVE
ps - not sure if it'll let me post links as a newbie or if the link requires D&D beyond or anything so we'll see how it goes, let me know if it doesn't work.
I'm starting a Druid at level 13 in an existing D&D 5e campaign. The existing characters comprise of 3 Multiclass Wizards, a Tortle Cleric, and a couple of Rogues (it's a big group). I haven't played as a Druid in 5e and figured it would be a good complement to the group's arcane heavy / divine light current composition, and wanted to try out a character I've had in my head for a while.
Backstory, Ungo Tult was a Drow kid in one of the houses, but his house was assaulted when he was Very young (like 10 or less). His father, a Wizard, fled with him via Teleport during the assault, after suffering grievous wounds. Unfortunately Teleport misfired and they ended up miles away from the intended destination and in the wilderness on the surface, and his father died of his wounds while they were trying to get there. Nature spirits took pity on the orphaned kid and he grew up surrounded by them, raised to be a druid. Due to having been so young when he lost touch with civilization, he never learned common, only Undercommon. He also has his one prized possession, a statue of Lloth carried by his father. Unbeknownst to him (and his father) it gives folks nightmares of being hunted by and consumed by spiders if they sleep near it, a fact they are blissfully ignorant of due to being Elves and not sleeping. This being kept on his person, combined with a lack of knowledge of Common, has needless to say increased the difficulty of making and keeping friends.
Mechanically, he's a Circle of Shepherd Druid, with all the fun origin customization provided in modern 5e. Bonuses to Wis and Con, proficiencies in enough tools to be self-sufficient (woodcarvers, leatherworkers, poisoners kit, brewers supplies), and proficient in a variety of languages which allow him to communicate with 'his kind of folks' just fine, in Sylvan, Druidic, and Primordial, just not anything most of the party is likely to speak. With incredible perception (boosted w/ Observant to an insane 24 passive perception), a double-downed on Nature skill via Skill Expert, and your 'standard' Druidic prowess with Animals, Survival, and Stealth, he's truly a 'wild child' through and through. He's also Lucky, both because flavor wise I feel he would have to be to have survived this long with so much stacked against him, and mechanically I just can't resist it.
I've linked the character below, but since I haven't played Druid in Ages and have Never played a Circle of Shepherd Druid before, hoping for any and all advice anyone is willing to give - any critical feats I'm missing which I should swap out for? Different Skill or Tool proficiencies which would pay dividends without significantly harming the theme? Is playing a Drow without Common insanity, or have folks played characters sans common before and does it become so much of a non-issue that it's kinda boring? For anyone who has played a 'common-less' character before, what were you running, and any advice to roleplaying it well and dealing with it mechanically so as to keep things interesting without stealing the spotlight? Really any and all thoughts, tips, tricks, advice, whatever you can give me I'd love to hear it. Regardless, thank you for your time and I hope you have a great day!
ddb.ac/characters/81700978/eDUmVE
ps - not sure if it'll let me post links as a newbie or if the link requires D&D beyond or anything so we'll see how it goes, let me know if it doesn't work.
