SPELLS:
All druids are full casters - don't forget this fact.
Because of their ability to cast Summon Nature's Ally spontaneously, Druids, like Clerics, are in a great position to prepping very powerful, very situational spells. No harm will come of prepping Sheltered Vitality, for example; if you don't run into any ability damage or death magic, you can just turn it into a SNA IV. Likewise, don't prep Summon Nature's Ally spells (unless you want metamagicked SNAs; you can just cast them spontaneously.
Note that many spells that were once Druid staples were nerfed in Spell Compendium. If a spell has multiple books listed, the Spell Compendium version is generally both the weakest and most current, and if a former druidic staple is missing, it may have been nerfed into uselessness in Spell Compendium.
Spell chains:
The Vigor chain (CD/Spell) vastly outperform the equivalent Cure spells as far as total healing goes, but is considerably less useful in combat because of the long-duration, slow-healing nature of the spells. It may be useful to prepare a Cure Light Wounds or a Bear's Endurance or two for emergencies, but make it clear to party members that your resources are best used for out-of-combat healing (usually Vigor or Vigorous Circle from a wand) and not in-combat healing (because of the greater spell level of druidic Cure spells), and that they will need to handle their own emergency in-combat healing (from potions and such). This will head off many potential misunderstandings and hurt feelings.
The Bite of the (foo) series, from Spell Compendium, are your new in-combat buff staples, since the Polymorph errata prevents you from using the Nature's chain of spells as self-buffs. If you're planning to throw up a quick in-combat buff while Wild Shaped, these are often your best bet, due to the variety and degree of bonuses they offer.
Heart of XXX (CMag) - long duration good self buffs, by the time you cast all four you can be tough as nails and immune to critical hits for 9 hours a day, plus have some options for swift/immediate action responses to specific situations without wasting any other spell slots on them.
Recommended spells:
0 Level:
Create Water - Never run out of water. Plus, you can make a scrying pool.
Cure Minor Wounds - One point isn't a lot, but this can stabilize a dying ally.
Detect Magic - One of the most powerful and versatile zero-level spells, for any caster.
Guidance - Tell your Rogue to ask for "guidance" prior to every trap he attempts to disarms or UMD roll he has to make (outside of combat). That +1 bonus can be critical.
Light - Remember, you lose darkvision when you Wild Shape, even if your chosen form has it. (Obviously, this doesn't apply to situations where you're getting Ex special qualities of your form, as with Exalted or Dragon Wild Shape.)
1st Level:
Acquatic Escape (CScoundrel) - Change into a fish for 1 round/level. Good for sudden escapes or quick responses to getting dumped into water. (Thanks, Jackmojo)
Aspect of the Wolf (Spell) - This is a fairly handy melee self-buff for early levels (instead of going the wooden club route with Shillelagh). At later levels, you can share it with your Animal Companion to help deal with the practical issues of traveling with a snarling bear the size of a bull elephant.
Babau Slime (Spell) - Great for grappling druids, and a general-purpose damage buff for any Wild Shaping druid.
Camouflage (CD/Spell) - +10 to Hide, and it works in any environment.
Endure Elements - A great travelling spell, and especially handy in any game that takes you into harsh environments.
Entangle - A best-in-class battlefield control spell.
Enrage Animal (Spell) - A solid buff for your animal companion, enabling it to rage like a barbarian without the fatigue.
Eyes of the Avoral (BoED) - Long duration, big Spot bonus.
Faerie Fire - Good for dealing with invisible foes.
Lessor Vigor (CD/Spell) - This spell actually outperforms Cure Light Wounds, especially out of combat. Wands of Lesser Vigor are great for healing between fights.
Magic Fang (PHB) and Silvered Claws (BoED) - Decent buff to help your Animal Companion bypass DR. Not very good for anything else.
Obscuring Mist - The next best thing to invisibility, when it comes time to get out of a fight. Cast Mist, walk 5 feet backwards, and run away in a different direction.
Omen of Peril (RoD/CD/Spell) - Poor man's Augury. Quite possibly the most versatile first-level divination in the game, and doesn't even have a costly component or XP cost, like many similar divinations.
Pass Without Trace - Not for the druid, but to cover the tracks of her companions. (Thanks Jackmojo)
Produce Flame - Fairly powerful attack spell. You'll probably be relying on this to attack until you get Wild Shape, and makes a decent buff (due to the way holding touch spells works) after you get Wild Shape.
Rot of Ages (DMagic) - lol no sneak attack 4 u. Too bad about the short duration, though.
Shillelagh - It's pronounced "shi-lay-lee." Dramatically increases club/quarterstaff damage (to the point where you'll actually want to wield a club or quarterstaff), and stacks with Spikes and Brambles. Decreases in usefulness after you get Spikes, until you're high enough level to Quicken it.
Spider Hand (BoVD) - Best. Scouting. Spell. Ever. Send out a nondescript spider to do all the scouting, with only negligible consequences if it dies? Yeah, I'll take that. It's not even an evil spell.
Thunderhead (Spell) - 1d6 damage per round/level unless they make a reflex to negate, and also acts as a tracker against targets who turn invisible. (Thanks, Sickseelah1)
Twilight Luck (BoED) - +1 on saves is always handy, especially at higher levels. Just lay off the booze.
Winged Watcher (CScoundrel) - Change into a bird for 1 round/level. Good for sudden escapes or quick responses to needing to fly. (Thanks, Jackmojo)
Wood Wose (CD/Spell) - Unseen Servant, only druidic. It just can't handle doorknobs.
2nd Level:
Acorn of Far Travel (WotC) - A nice spell from the Far Corners of the World (Wizards of the Coast), that lets you emulate forested terrain to improve spells such as deadfall, creaking cacophony, fey ring, or splinterbolt. You can also use the acorn as an oak tree for spells like tree stride or transport via plants.
Align Fang (Spell) - Handy for DR problems. It's a third-level spell in MiniHB.
Animalistic Power (PHB2) - Versatility over the animal stat buffs, traded for half the power. It's a style thing; either way is good.
Barkskin - Excellent for use while Wild Shaped, since your AC will often be pretty poor.
Bear's Endurance and Bull's Strength - As useful as it is for everyone. Bear's Endurance will be your main in-combat healing spell for low levels; just keep people alive until you can use Vigor.
Bite of the Wererat (Spell) - A variety of handy stat buffs, plus an additional bite attack for forms that don't have a natural bite.
Blinding Spittle (PGtF/Spell) - Absolutely broken. Blindness with no save, with a ranged touch attack at -4. Why do they keep reprinting this spell?
Blood Snow (Frost) - Only prep it during the winter or when in an arctic or otherwise frozen area, but d2 Con damage/round is awesome.
Brambles (CD/Spell) - Excellent weapon buff, especially coupled with Shillelagh.
Briar Web (CDiv) - A handy entangling spell that may also cause damage. (Thanks, Sickseelah1)
Creeping Cold (CD/Spell) - A great attack spell, and replaces Produce Flame. If you can get away with it, Extend it.
Dessicate (Sand) - d6/level (max 5d6) on a single target, with a weird damage type that ignores DR and energy resistance. Can even cause dehydration (which is fatigue on steroids).
Earthbind (Spell) - Ground those fliers.
Embrace the Wild (CAdv/Spell) and Listening Lorecall (CAdv/Spell) - Hopelessly nerfed in Spell Compendium. Unless you really, really need Scent for something, Blindsight is just plain better, save for duration. Embrace the Wild is generally better because of the skill boosts, until you have 12 ranks in Listen, when Listening Lorecall's Blindsight kicks in. Either way, Blindsight is worth it, despite the higher spell level.
Gust of Wind - Very underrated utility spell. Clears fogs, blows away small foes, extinguishes torches, and disperses swarms.
Halo of Sand (Sand) - Yet another druid AC buff. This one is deflection, though, so it stacks with Barkskin and armor.
Kelpstrand (Spell) - I like to think of this spell as webshooters. This spell is excellent for tying down even fairly strong foes (it uses CL plus Wisdom bonus to bolster grapple checks), and remember that you can throw multiple strands on one target. I've found it very effective against tanks and casters alike.
Thanks, SongNSilence, improving this.
Lesser Restoration - Very handy for healing ability damage.
Luminous Armor (BoED) - An AC boost while you're Wild Shaping, plus light and another -4 for enemies to hit you in melee. Stacks with Barkskin, but not Wilding armor. Mind the Str damage, though.
Master Air (Spell) - Self-only flight, with short duration. Still handy, though.
Nature's Favor (CAdv/Spell) - Excellent (swift!) animal buff spell; cast it on your Animal Companion or summons. Technically better than Greater Magic Fang, but has a shorter duration and doesn't bypass DR. The Complete Divine version is even stronger, but the spell was nerfed in Complete Adventurer.
Resist Energy - Fairly handy when you know a certain type of energy damage is in the offing.
Share Husk (Spell) - A great scouting spell. Use it if Spider Hand isn't available.
Snake's Swiftness, Mass (Spell) - The lower-level, single-target version of this spell isn't anything special, but giving a free attack to all of your party members, plus your animal companion, plus any summons you have nearby is just too fun.
Splinterbolt (Spell) - its the druidic scorching ray, but with no SR (and coupled with a nice high dex animal form, (e.g., Legendary eagle) its nearly as easy to hit with). 4d6 x3 with a 18-20 threat range isn't half bad.
Wild Instincts (RoE) - +1 to spot + listen just for preparing it, swift cast for +10 to both and retain dex when flatfooted or vs unseen opponents for min./level.
3rd Level:
Alter Fortune (PHB2) - Fantastic spell. Great for emergencies (reroll a save!)
Arctic Haze (Frost) and Haboob (Sand) - Damaging and opaque fog. Useful as battlefield control. Tremor (Spell) can be used similarly, but it doesn't damage and doesn't block line of sight.
Attune Form (Spell) - Immunity from planar effects for caster level/3 characters. A handy spell for high levels, and much more useful than the lower-level Avoid Planar Effects (Spell) due to the longer duration.
Bite of the Werewolf (Spell) - Again, a variety of nifty stat buffs and a spare bite attack.
Blindsight (Sav/Und/PGtF/Spell) - 30' Blindsight. Who needs See Invisibility?
Call Lightning - Good damage, and gives you plenty of turns of attacks. The attack spell you'll be using when you get 3rd-level spells.
Crumble (Spell) - Think of this as druidic Knock. Lots of things won't stand up to a casting of this spell.
Cure Moderate Wounds - Should be self-explanatory.
Energy Barrier (Key of Destiny p. 156) - It lets you put up an immobile protective barrier against acid, cold, electricity, fire, or sonic energy and their residual effects (e.g. fire: also blocks heat, acid: water, cold: snow, etc.). This amorphous barrier can completely surround you if you like and the duration is "concentration +1 round/level," which could be huge in some circumstances. If your DM allows Dragonlance materials, this is a great protective spell.
Entanging Staff (CAdv/Spell) - Free action grapples with a +8 bonus. Great for when you're out of Wild Shape for some reason or if you're using a Spikes-enspelled staff as a Legendary Ape.
Evard's Menacing Tentacles (PHb II) - To the extent that you have a good strength bonus, this spell provides some battlefield control and meets out some damage and gives a climbing bonus to boot.
Forestfold (CAdv/Spell) - +10 on Hide and Move Silently checks in a natural environment of your choice.
Giant's Wrath (Spell) - An interesting alternative to Call Lightning. At early levels, the lack of a need for an attack roll, the lack of DR issues, and the greater number of uses per cast makes Call Lightning the better choice. At higher levels, though, the high strength of Wild Shape forms, the caster-level based damage bonus, and the lack of SR on Giant's Wrath helps it catch up.
Girallon's Blessing (Spell) - This spell gives the creature touched an extra set of arms for 10/minutes per level, which can be quite handy if your wildshape form could use some arms to manipulate objects. There are probably better ways to mete out damage, but solid choice if you think your shark form may need to open a door, chest, etc.
Greater Magic Fang - Handy self-buff and good to share with your Animal Companion.
Junglerazor (Spell) - Does 1d10/level (up to 10) in a 120ft line. Because it's target specific, shoot through your friends to damage only plants, plant critters, vermin, fey and animals.
Poison - Con damage is always handy, and the DC scales upward as you increase in level. A much-overlooked spell.
Plant Growth - A powerful battlefield control spell (or a nice way to help the local economy) in the right circumstances.
Primal Form (Spell) - This spell isn't overwhelmingly powerful, but it's a versatile self-buff. Flight and swim speed are easy to get with Wild Shape, but this spell is available before plentiful Wild Shape uses, and you can choose on the fly among a melee buff, a defensive buff, or a source of flight.
Protection From Energy - A versatile, effective defensive buff. You'll rarely regret prepping it.
Remove Disease - Not something you're going to prep every day, but handy when you need it.
Sleet Storm - Handy battlefield control. Great for covering an escape. Not as good as Arctic Fog or Haboob, though.
Spiderskin (Und/Spell) - Barkskin, plus a save bonus against poison and a Hide bonus. Use it on the party sneak, or when you're fighting monstrous vermin or Yuan-Ti.
Spikes (CD/Spell) - Improved Brambles. Higher attack, better threat level; what's not to like?
Spritjaws (Spell) - I love this spell, and it's one of a druid's few good force spells. Throw this spell out there and it's a combination of Spiritual Weapon and Telekinetic Grapple. It damages and confounds enemies, doing an especially good job of pinning down spellcasters and incorporeal foes.
Stone Shape - Good for making your own entrance or exit. Great for throwing the GM a loop in a dungeon crawl.
Swift Lion's Charge (MiniHB) / Lion's Charge (Spell) - Pouncing is very handy, but this spell can start to eat up spell slots pretty quickly. A similar, overpowered spell named Lion's Charge is in Savage Species, and, while it isn't swift, it gives the Pounce ability for a duration.
Thornskin (Spell) - Good as a wildshape buff, especially for grapplers, since even trying to escape hurts your enemy.
Touch of Jubilex (BoVD) - Evil. A great early save-or-die. Whatever it is, in four turns, it'll be dead. Not something you can safely use repeatedly, though, because of the Corruption cost.
Venomfire (Serp) - Ridiculously broken spell at high levels. For level/hours, +d6/level damage with no cap added as an additional effect to a poisonous natural attack. Great for Fleshraker Wild Shape, or a poisonous breath weapon or AoE effect. This is such a great spell that it gets its own thread (
http://forums.gleemax.com/wotc_archive/index.php/t-523775).
Vigor and Mass Lesser Vigor (CD/Spell) - Both can be better than Cure Moderate Wounds at low levels, but only outside of combat. It works when you can't summon Unicorns yet and you don't have that handy wand of Cure Light Wounds. Doesn't work with Extend Spell (see CD FAQ), but Mass Lesser Vigor does work with Persistent Spell.
Wind Wall - Another highly underrated spell, this stops archers, swarms, and foes size Tiny or smaller cold.
4th Level:
Arc of Lightning (CA/Spell) - A decent no-SR spell, with damage competitive with that of a wizard or psion. It's a conjuration spell, so, that Spell Focus: Conjuration feat you had to pick for Augment Summoning might be useful.
Aspect of the Werebeast (RoE) - Nothing about this Shifter-only self-buff says it only works when you're in a humanoid form. Add +4 to two different attributes, and add Improved Grab, Pounce, or wolf-like Trip to whatever form you're in.
Bite of the Wereboar (Spell) - Useful stat buffs, a spare bite attack, and one of the better AC buffs around.
Blast of Sand (Sand) - Cone of Cold lite (cone, d6/level, max 10d6), only without the energy type. No SR!
Boreal Wind (Frost) - Does decent cold damage, has a fairly big AoE, blows enemies away, disperses fogs and swarms, and keeps going for multiple turns without concentration. Compares favorably even to Flame Strike.
Claws of the Savage (BoVD) - Got claws? This gives you a +2 enhancement bonus on them, and also gives increases your claw damage as if you were two sizes larger. It is an Evil-typed spell, though.
Enhance Wild Shape (Spell) - You can pick up plant forms early or get minor stat buffs, but the big bonus is the access to extraordinary abilities. Pick up the Blindsight of a Desmodu War Bat (MM2), or abuse Master of Many Forms (CAdv).
Flame Strike - Excellent damage and an AoE. Should replace Call Lightning as your attack spell of choice.
Freedom of Movement - Makes you immune to grapples, able to fight underwater, and immune to spells that impede movement. A very handy defensive spell.
Giant Vermin - Ridiculously powerful at high levels: at level 20 you can make a 40 HD monster.
Greater Luminous Armor (BoED) - As Luminous Armor, only +8 AC instead of +5. Again, mind the Sacrifice cost.
Hibernal Healing (Frost) - Self-only Heal...as long as you're in a frostfell area, anyway.
Last Breath (CD/Spell) - In Complete Divine, this is druidic Revivify, but with a caster-damaging side effect. In Spell Compendium, this is a no-level-loss Reincarnate that must be cast immediately. Both are useful as an emergency option.
Murderous Mist (Spell) - It blinds on a failed Reflex save and does minimal damage; it effects a 30ft. radius area and moves away from the caster. Some nice battlefield control possibilities.
Passage of the Shifting Sands (DMagic) - Druidic Gaseous Form, but with an actual move speed, the ability to blind people, and other bennies.
Scrying - The gold standard in sneaky divinations.
Sheltered Vitality (LibMort/Spell) - Immunity to ability damage or drain is situational, but very powerful when you need it. Cast this before fighting yuan-ti, giant vermin, undead, or anything else with a nasty ability damage or poison attack. The immunity to fatigue can also be handy for the party barbarian.
Superior Magic Fang (Drac/Spell) - GMF on all of your attacks. It's self-only, though.
Unholy Beast (CoR) - This is an odd one. It's a lesser, single-target Animal Growth...but with a Dominate Animal effect tossed in. Great for stealing Animal Companions, but still usable as a general-purpose buff.
Vortex of Teeth (Spell) - A spell that does force damage, and can tear apart anything that can'tget away. This makes a mess of anyone caught in Entangle.
Wall of Salt (Sand) - Not quite Wall of Stone, but effective for battlefield control and deterring pursuit.
Wind at Back (Spell) - It lets you double the party's overland speed, lasts 12 hours and can let you speed up multiple beasts of burden, as well.
5th Level:
Animal Growth - Multiple animals (your pet and any summons running around) get bigger and get some nice bonuses. One of the best buffs in the game, let alone in core.
Anticold Sphere (Spell) - Immunity to cold and great protection from anything with the Cold subtype, with a nice long duration and an area large enough to protect the whole party.
Baleful Polymorph - Turn your opponent into something inoffensive. Toad and cat are both classy forms that offer no advantages to your target. Also handy for transporting oddly-sized Animal Companions or water- or air-breathing Animal Companions Pokemon-style, since, as a permanent spell, it's dispellable. (Classy tricks include polymorphing your Roc Animal Companion into a raven for cramped quarters, or polymorphing your T-Rex companion into a frog to go underwater.)
Bite of the Weretiger (Spell) - A very high str boost, a variety of other boosts, extra attacks, and free Power Attack.
Blizzard (Frost) - Instant battle ender. Great for buying some time to parley or obscuring your plans. Huge area of effect.
Call Avalanche (Frost) While it doesn't cause overwhelming damage (only 8d6), it can bury many opponents in its huge area (size of creatures you can bury scales up as well). It only works outdoors, but it does damage and potential immobilization at long range. For a good trick trick, follow it up with Blood Snow and all the poor buried victims start taking CON drain while trying futilely to escape.
Call Lightning Storm - Call Lightning, only more so. 5 dice of damage instead of 3.
Choking Sands (Sand) - Miasma, only less so. Alternately, nonpsionic Crisis of Breath. Good for shutting down a caster for a turn.
Cloak of the Sea (CAdv/Spell) - When you're underwater, it's Water Breathing, Freedom of Movement, and Blur, all in one neat little (long-duration!) package. A must-have for any underwater adventures.
Control Winds - Gets you a minimum of hurricane force winds (assuming no wind when you cast it) at Caster Level 13, which covers a 520ft radius, lasts for over 2 hours, and slaughters medium enemies while stopping anything smaller then gargantuan from doing anything useful. And again as soon as you hit 15 its gets even worse, cause you get tornado winds, which will stop anything and destroy cities and non fortified structures.
Death Ward - Powerful, if conditional, defensive buff.
Ice Shield (Frost) - Excellent defensive spell, but its too monetarily expensive to use too often.
Owl's Insight (Spell) - A long-duration scaling boost to Wisdom with an unusual bonus type? Yes please.
Pancaea (Spell) - A broad-based restoration spell, removing pretty much any condition other than ability damage/drain, disease, or death.
Phantom Stag (Spell) - Conjure a very fast mount that it gains a lot of useful additional effects based on caster-level, so that even though its only level 5 its well, it's worth preparing at higher level still, since it, for example, can make you ethereal (as the 9th level cleric sor/wiz spell).
Quill Blast (CD/Spell) - After the Spell Compendium rewrite, this once-broken spell is now not quite as hot. It still outperforms typical blasts for a couple of levels, but by level 9 blasting is probably not the most optimal thing to be doing. It is a really mean spell for a GM to use on the PCs, though.
Rejuvenation Coccoon (CD/Spell) - A decent out-of-combat Heal alternative.
Stoneskin - Another excellent defensive spell (Ice Shield is stronger but has a shorter duration), but it's too monetarily expensive to use too often.
Tree Stride - Poor man's Teleport. Saves on overland travel time, but that's about it.
Wall of Thorns - This is a nice battlefield control/stop pursuers/obstruct sight spell, with nice size and a nice duration. Not always useful, but sometimes key. Of course, if you're summoning Greenbound creatures, choose something else.
6th Level:
Antilife Shell - Exceedingly powerful defensive spell. Anything living without SR just can't touch you.
Bite of the Were
bear (Spell) - Bite of the Weretiger only more so. (Thanks, Jackmojo, for the edit)
Chasing Perfection (PHB2) - Handy as a self-buff, since it's hard to use magic items in Wild Shape. Won't be terribly useful to the rest of the party at level 13, though.
Drown (Und/Spell) - Save or dying (0 hp). Handy for capturing enemies alive. Not death magic, but obviously doesn't work on non-living creatures, water-breathers, or creatures with no lungs. This has replaced the repeatedly-nerfed Miasma (CD/Spell).
Energy Immunity (Drac/Spell) - Powerful, of a bit situational, defensive buff. Has a long enough duration to have it on all the time.
Enveloping Cocoon (Spell) - This will let you turn the save of any number of nasty spells (Miasma and Baleful Polymorph being the nastiest) into a Reflex save, essentially, or just tie up one enemy that doesn't have a light/natural weapon handy (including incorporeal foes).
Find the Path - Never, ever, EVER be lost.
Fire Seeds - Excellent trap spell when used to make holly berry bombs. Couple it with some sort of fire resistance or immunity and you have a killer emanation-from-yourself nuke.
Flames of Purity (CD) / Fires of Purity (Spell) - A hefty melee damage buff, plus Flame Shield lite. Note that, while this spell is three levels higher than Venomfire and only adds one point per caster level instead of d6, it's still a good spell. That's how silly Venomfire is.
Greater Dispel Magic - Unlike mages and clerics, druids very rarely lose caster levels, so this is often a worthwhile spell to prep.
Greater Scrying - Scrying without the long casting time and relatively short duration; the minor spells you can cast through the sensor aren't that useful.
Liveoak - Handy if you need a Treant to guard your camp or home. The casting time and casting limitations limit its general usefulness, though.
Mummify (Sand) - Save or die. Plus, it's not death magic.
Spellstaff - One extra spell slot, of whatever level you can cast. Clerics with Miracle have no reason not to duplicate this very handy spell.
Superior Resistance (Sav/Spell) - +6 on all saves, all day. Its utility is obvious. (Spell Compendium upped the level, but also the duration. It's still worth it, unlike the pounding Major Resistance took.)
Tortoise Shell (CD/Spell) - Basically, Greater Barkskin. Not as good as Greater Luminous Armor, but is natural armor instead of armor.
Valiant Steed (BoED) - Calls a Unicorn or Pegasus that serves you for an entire year.
7th Level:
Constricting Chains (BoED) - Whatever it is, it's entangled and can't move. No save, no SR. Unless it has at least a +20 Escape Artist mod or a 34 Strength, it's staying stuck unless it wears down the chains with attacks (and half of that damage is in turn redirected to the chained target). Mind the Sacrifice cost, though (which doesn't take effect until the spell ends).
Cry of Ysgard (BoED) - Calls 2d4 defenders of Ysgard that serve for a year.
Death By Thorns (BoVD) - The Corruption cost is very painful, but this will take the target out of the fight, no matter what. Obviously an evil spell.
Heal - Its uses are obvious.
Master Earth (Spell) - Quite nice as it allows teleportation, a rarity for druids, without chance of error to any location touching the earth, and also it doesn't have the teleportation descriptor so it can thwart problems such as forbiddance, dimensional anchor/lock, etc.
Rain of Roses (BoED) - Continuing Wisdom damage over an area, to evil creatures only. Great if you can limit the target's mobility, as the Wis damage doesn't allow a save.
True Seeing - Magic bullet for illusions, invisibility, and shapechanging.
Word of Balance (Und/Spell) - Somewhat unreliable because of the odd alignment restrictions, but very powerful when it works.
8th Level:
Cocoon (Spell) - Lets your cleric buddy cast true resurrection 2 levels earlier, or if you don't have friends lets you reincarnate with no level loss a week later; it has an XP cost, but it's negligible at best at this level.
Frostfell (Frost) - Caster level/20' cubes freeze, and anyone in this area rolls a Fort save or turns to ice (and still takes caster/d6 frostburn damage if they save). Think of it as shapable super druid Wail of the Banshee, with an extra heaping helping of awesome.
Leonal's Roar (BoED) - Druidic Holy Word, plus some sonic damage. Sweet.
Stormrage (Spell) - Flight, the ability to throw respectable lightning bolts, and immunity to projectile ranged attacks and wind effects of all kinds.
Word of Recall - A quick escape spell, and one of the very few teleportation spells available to druids.
9th Level:
Nature's Avatar (CD/Spell) - Very, very powerful animal buff, and now a swift spell. Cast it on your Animal Companion, and go to town.
Shapechange - Broken spell, but you already know that. Ridiculously powerful, even if you don't abuse the Chronotyryn (FF) or Choker or Efreeti or Zodar (FF) or...well. You get the idea.
Summon Elemental Monolith (CArc/Spell) - This spell is more of a Spirit Shaman or Sorc/Wiz thing (because of the potential for Spirit Companion or Sonorous Hum or Familiar Concentration spell concentration abuse), but it can be useful for straight druids. The elemental monoliths are ridiculously powerful, especially given the very high save DCs of the whirlwind and vortex abilities of air and water monoliths.
Tsunami (Spell) - The fight is over. This spell will end anyone smaller than Gargantuan who can't immediately get out of the way of the 40-ft-high wave. The spell component is rather expensive, however.
Undermaster (Spell) - Awesome power indeed. This gives you a whole variety of great spell-likes, some of which aren't even on the druid list.
SOURCE CREDIT: Taken from the archives of
minmaxforum.com, and edited for brevity.
