Ogrork the Mighty
Explorer
A player in our group has made a new druid character. We're fairly high level (i.e. 10th+). As a DM, what should I be aware of and prepare for? We haven't had a druid in our game since 2E and I'm a little concerned...
New Druid help?
- Thread starter Ogrork the Mighty
- Start date
As a DM I've found the animal companions and/or summoned animals with animal growth becomes overwhelming; especially when dealing with dire animals. Some of them can dish out more damage than the PC tanks. They can take a lot of damage too. The big down fall is a low AC. (Unless the druid equips their animals with items/spells.) Strong power attacking creatures can deal them major damage. Spells aren't aways effective on them either due to the good saves of dire animals. Environments sometimes will not permit a druid to take their animals into dungeons/buildings due to their large size. Now my experience with druids has been all 3.0. In 3.5 its probably not as bad since the animal growth spell and animal companions have had modifications.
PC(9th level): I summon 3 dire wolves and then cast animal growth on them and my dire lion.
DM: (Good grief, one spell adds 26HD)
Note: 3.5 animal growth doesn't add HD anymore but its still good. I'd suggest treating the animal companions as animals and not like a familiar or special mount. I mean enforce the training/traits of animals and don't let the PC treat them as an intelligent creature. It gets ugly when they are permitted to act independently and stategically. I found myself making big efforts in killing those animals and frequently I was unable too.
PC(9th level): I summon 3 dire wolves and then cast animal growth on them and my dire lion.
DM: (Good grief, one spell adds 26HD)
Note: 3.5 animal growth doesn't add HD anymore but its still good. I'd suggest treating the animal companions as animals and not like a familiar or special mount. I mean enforce the training/traits of animals and don't let the PC treat them as an intelligent creature. It gets ugly when they are permitted to act independently and stategically. I found myself making big efforts in killing those animals and frequently I was unable too.
Greatwyrm
Been here a while...
I'd say the main thing to watch out for is the druid's "ground control" spells. While they don't have the offensive punch of wizards or the defenses of clerics, nobody can screw up a battlefield worse than a creative druid. Spike Stones, Wall of Thorns, and even the lowly Entangle can all make problems for bad guys.
Hampering your enemy's ability to move where he wants is a big advantage in combat, especially with D&D's abstracted/miniatures system. It's just tough to counter a druid's ability to control the field without cheesing out and making all opponents fly.
Hampering your enemy's ability to move where he wants is a big advantage in combat, especially with D&D's abstracted/miniatures system. It's just tough to counter a druid's ability to control the field without cheesing out and making all opponents fly.
billd91
Not your screen monkey (he/him) 🇺🇦🇵🇸🏳️⚧️
Beware those summoned creatures. Druids can ditch prepared spells in favor of Summon Nature's Ally (in 3.5) and they can really tip the scales in an encounter. Keep in mind that summoning spells are 1 full round and not just a full round action, making them a little easier to disrupt. Just don't over do it or your druid player will be out for your blood.
Get to know the polymorph/wildshape rules really well. They're quite powerful.
I'll echo the advice to treat animal companions as animals. They're quite devoted and trainable, but not exactly Rhodes Scholars. And they may be social acceptible in town depending on the kind (and size) of animal. The most socially acceptible of the man-sized or larger animals are the canines. Feel free to steer your druid player in this direction. It will mean fewer headaches trying to sneak it into town and the canine creatures generally do less damage than the bears and cats and skew encounters less often.
Get to know the polymorph/wildshape rules really well. They're quite powerful.
I'll echo the advice to treat animal companions as animals. They're quite devoted and trainable, but not exactly Rhodes Scholars. And they may be social acceptible in town depending on the kind (and size) of animal. The most socially acceptible of the man-sized or larger animals are the canines. Feel free to steer your druid player in this direction. It will mean fewer headaches trying to sneak it into town and the canine creatures generally do less damage than the bears and cats and skew encounters less often.
Darklone
Registered User
There are essentially 3 main druid types:
The summoner, the wildshaper and the archer/spellcaster.
All three are valid choices and can often do much of the other ones schtick as well... it's mainly a matter of feat choice (and perhaps 1 or 2 monk levels for the wildshaper).
The summoner, the wildshaper and the archer/spellcaster.
All three are valid choices and can often do much of the other ones schtick as well... it's mainly a matter of feat choice (and perhaps 1 or 2 monk levels for the wildshaper).
youspoonybard
First Post
Heh.
Fire Creatures.
Red Dragons BEWARE.
Fire Creatures.
Red Dragons BEWARE.
Shadowdweller
Explorer
Be prepared to roleplay animals. Not as easy as it sounds. Also, make sure you look into the rules regarding tricks and training animal companions. There's a big power and style difference when these are properly followed.
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