Playtest: The Druid (merged)

[Phaezen]

I wonder, if a Druid is wearing armor, and they shift, do they still benefit from the armor's AC, and the powers?

Yes, you still have the benfit of all items you are wearing

You continue to gain the benefits of the equipment you wear. You can use the properties and the powers of implements as well as magic items that you wear, but not the properties or the powers of weapons or the powers of wondrous items.

Also, the more I look at it, the less I as a player am interested in getting into melee. There aren't a lot of really good melee powers for the beast. The ranged controller powers, though, satisfy me.

Melee druid could be fun, no need for weapons.

Wis/Con as primary stats

Primal Guardian
At Wills:
Grasping Claws, Savage Rend, Thorn Whip (Pounce for human)

Encounter:
Darting Bite

Daily
Savage Frenzy

Could be fun.

Phaezen

 

[Rechan]

Melee druid could be fun, no need for weapons.

I was referring to the beast powers. Savage Frenzy doesn't do it for me. I like Pounce, but that's best used if there's a rogue in the party (but Savage Rend can do).

 

[Jack99]

I like it. Very elegant. Too bad that it didn't turned out to be a playtest as we expected, I would have liked to see powers all the way to 30. But I guess they weren't ready or something.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

I like it. It's captured the essence of druid, without seeming too over-the-top. You can build a wildshape striker druid, or a spellcasting controller druid, or a little of both. I'd expect some alternative paths to show up with animal companions later on, kind of like the ranger, and summoning can't be far behind.

What's with the level 2 utility shape lasting "until the end of the encounter", though? That looks like an out-of-combat utility.

 

[DeusExMachina]

However, it occurs to me that even if you're a cleric (or a druid) and you nab one of the other class's powers (via dilettante or multi-class), you still have to lug around a separate implement just to use it.

Yeah, this bothers me to a certain degree too. It makes multiclassing a problem if you don't get the right magic items from your DM or don't have the time to make them yourself.

Maybe there will be some feats at some point that allows you to use 1 implement for 2 power sources or something...

 

[Baumi]

There is already another threat about it:
http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/246036-playtest-druid.html

 

[andarilhor]

Kind of interestingly congruent to wizards two daily spells. Seems to make some sense... Druids have some more options with lower-level controllery stuff (aside from wizard cantrips) while Wizards have more options when it comes to big-bad-powerful spells.

Seems to me thats is the signature feature of the controller: More power options (not necessarily more powers as wizards need to choose between their extra dailies/utilities eveyday and druids need to choose what form they will use).

As someone in this thread said: I believe he will have feats to gain more abilities in beast form (fly, for example).

 

[andarilhor]

As I think about it, the only races with wisdom benefits are elf and dwarf. And obviously, elf works. But I can't think of a suitable... flavor reason for a Dwarf druid, outside of underground stuff, and I don't see a lot of "Underground" looking powers (Wind and lightning and such, in a cave?). But that's just the min-maxer in me clashing with the roleplayer.

I have a theory than Devas and Half-orcs will have Wis bonus, as at least one type of Shifter.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

There is already another threat about it:
http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/246036-playtest-druid.html

I wanted to say something very similar, except with better orthography.

 

[Calico_Jack73]

I'm not crazy about the new Barkskin. It only lasts until the end of your next round? Seems fairly worthless to me for an encounter power. At least the Wizard's Shield spell is an interrupt ability so you can turn a hit into a miss.