Tell me why Druids are the most powerful class

[Nail]

I'm presently DMing a group with a druid. We've gone from level 1 to level 9. We stick pretty close to core rules -- the only significant change is tweaking the Natural Spell feat (like this: all spells cast with Natural Spell take a full round action).

I'm a DM that likes to challenge my players. No kid gloves for me! The combat challenges are mixed, and I try to throw lots of curve balls: DR 10/Evil (PCs are Good), SR, Incorporeal, Improved Grab, etc.

So far, over 2+ years of gaming, under both 3.0e and 3.5e rules, we've not found the Druids to be over-powered. It's a decent PC class, with neat abilities. It does *not* rule the roost.

A particular weakness: Animal ACs suck, hard. Yep, buffing spells and magic items can help.....but meanwhile, the fighter is swinging away, the archer is in machine-gun mode, and the wizard's laying down the smack.

FWIW.

 

[Pielorinho]

Nail, I don't know if your player has twigged to this, but once we got to a level where it was affordable, I and the party monk pitched in to buy a wand of mage armor for the party wizard, and had him zap us (and my animal companion) with it before the day's adventuring. It's a big help!

Daniel

 

[Mekabar]

Nail, I don't know if your player has twigged to this, but once we got to a level where it was affordable, I and the party monk pitched in to buy a wand of mage armor for the party wizard, and had him zap us (and my animal companion) with it before the day's adventuring. It's a big help!

In case you didn't know: The Mage Armor from a Wand does only last 1 hour. So you have to expend 24 Charges per character per day to make it last all day.
I think Bracers of Armor for the Monk or Wild Armor for the Druid is obviously the better choice.

 

[Doctor Shaft]

I'm not even saying that there should be a huge fuss over druids. Exploiting a druids powers takes more time than I'd ever be willing to commit my brain power to, and I think most people are like that as well.

But there is still no denying that the druid's weaknesses are much fewer and far in-between than other classes. Her magic repoitoire and natural abilities may not make her the best in any of the fields, but she doesn't even compete just averagely in most of them... she competes great in most of them. I don't think this is a huge problem, nor do I think the druid needs immediate house ruling or overhauling. And mostly because of the reasons I've given before.

But I think to say that the druid is "on par" with the other classes I think is just a tad bit in denial.

 

[mikebr99]

In case you didn't know: The Mage Armor from a Wand does only last 1 hour. So you have to expend 24 Charges per character per day to make it last all day.
I think Bracers of Armor for the Monk or Wild Armor for the Druid is obviously the better choice.

You can make... or buy a wand with a higher caster level.


Mike

 

[Pielorinho]

In case you didn't know: The Mage Armor from a Wand does only last 1 hour. So you have to expend 24 Charges per character per day to make it last all day.
I think Bracers of Armor for the Monk or Wild Armor for the Druid is obviously the better choice.

Sure, but you generally don't need the armor all day. The utility of +4 AC when you're actually adventuring is far greater than the utility of +4 AC when you're travelling, or eating dinner, or sleeping, or crafting items, or taking a stroll through the woods.

Sure, you might get ambushed, but you're much less likely to be in a fight then than when you're actively looking for trouble.

In my experience, the 15 gp/charge on the wand was far more efficient than the 16k for equivalent bracers of armor: it freed up a lot of money to spend on other items we needed more.

Daniel

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

"Perhaps I am mistaken, but I am hearing a definite "this class is too powerful, but, oh no, I would never play one" tone to this discussion."

Yep, mistaken. At least as far as I'm concerned.

Perhaps.

I am seeing a remarkable lack of "powerful Druid ruining my campaign" war stories. I think it is a myth.

I have participated in half a dozen "the Monk class is way too frigging powerful" threads. There is always one or two DMs who come forward with real concerns based on, frex, a 7th level Monk single-handedly crushing a 10th level Barbarian while the party watches in shock. That non-problem sure seems more substantial than this one here.

 

[Pielorinho]

Well, here's another real problem we encountered with druids: Wall of Thorns is way too good a spell. No save, very difficult to break through. And a five-year-old with a sharpened spoon can clear a path through it just as quickly as a great wyrm can.

I think we houseruled it so that each 5' square has something like hardness 5 and 25 hit points: still difficult to chop through, but now a good chopper goes faster.

Daniel

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

A particular weakness: Animal ACs suck, hard. Yep, buffing spells and magic items can help.....but meanwhile, the fighter is swinging away, the archer is in machine-gun mode, and the wizard's laying down the smack.

A lot of posters look only on the the upside. It is the usual grass is greener effect going on here. In spades.

Forget for the moment how being an Animal Growthed Dire Bear looks in the spreadsheet. Let us consider the reverse: What happens to that Druid who does not cast Animal Growth on himself.

You are a 12th level Druid in a party of four. You wake up in the morning, prep spells, have breakfast, stretch, wildshape into a Dire Bear, and then meet a simple EL 12 as a warmup for the days adventuring. Let us keep this simple...

You meet 12 Dire Bears.

Your party wizard hangs back. Your Fighter squares off against 4. Your Animal Companion takes on 1. The fourth party member faces off against, say, 3. You, the big supertough overpowered Dire Bear Druid, take on 4.

They churn you into a fine red mist within 5.2 seconds.

Is that too powerful?

 

[RigaMortus]

In case you didn't know: The Mage Armor from a Wand does only last 1 hour. So you have to expend 24 Charges per character per day to make it last all day.
I think Bracers of Armor for the Monk or Wild Armor for the Druid is obviously the better choice.

Yesh... Do you often fight in battles that last 24 hours straight?