Tips for a starting druid

[Jack Simth]

You forgot the druid archer build... works well in conjunction with the abovementioned summoner (nice list, Jack Simth). Elf druids are best for that one though, not small lizards.

Thanks.

You can make a Druid Archer, and Aspect of Nature will increase your to-hit (Dex boosting alteration), but you're unlikely to keep up with the Archer Fighter, Archer Ranger, or Archer Cleric. Unlike the Cleric, the Druid doesn't have anything to increase BAB - and so the Druid will get behind on arrows per round and to-hit. Likewise, in order to use a manufactured weapon, the Druid has to stay in humanoid form - and so misses out on the extra Strength/Size from Wildshape. A Cleric can cast Divine Power, Divine Favor, and Righteous Might to boost damage output, unlike the Druid. The Fighter can invest an insane number of feats into being good with a bow, unlike the Druid. The Ranger gets half the needed feats almost free of charge, unlike the Druid.

As a Druid Archer, you end up with MAD issues - you need Strength for that Composite Bow, Dex for your To-Hit, Wisdom for your spellcasting, and Con for your HP (everyone needs Con). The combat Rider only needs Wis, Str, and Con. The Summoner only needs Wis and Con - and can do without much Wis. The Combat Monkey only needs Wis and Con (and can manage without much Wisdom). The Animal Handler just needs Con and a little Charimsa (but only at low levels depends on level), plus a bit of Wis to be able to buff up the companion. The Spellslinger just needs Wis and Con. Plus you either need to take a feat to get a good ranged weapon, or limit your racial pick to get it. The other basic builds leave you fairly open on your race choice (almost any race makes a decent Druid - just avoid Wis and Con penalties, and you're pretty much set).

A Druid Archer can work, but it's tricky to make reasonably strong, unlike the others, which are fairly simple builds (one or two feats, some skill ranks, and the reasonably obvious stats, for the most part) - which is why I didn't include it in the list.

 

[Moon-Lancer]

With zen archery and the monk like variant, it might be able to work except for the lack of feats. I cant still cant seem to make it as good as a claric archer. A real shame though. spell compendium has a spell called wind tunnel though, +5 to ranged attacks, but its like a level 5 spell.

 

[Jack Simth]

With zen archery and the monk like variant, it might be able to work except for the lack of feats. I cant still cant seem to make it as good as a claric archer. A real shame though. spell compendium has a spell called wind tunnel though, +5 to ranged attacks, but its like a level 5 spell.

It can be done. Just not nearly as easily; it's not something you'll want to suggest to a starting druid unless you're posting the entire build from 1-20 (or from start to end of the campaign).

Keeping a sling and some sling sullets on hand for when you're standing in the back with nothing better to do? Sure. You can even cast Magic Stone to save a little on ammo (and get a slight boost to it). Shucks, hand it to the Rogue/Cleric/Fighter/Ranger/Other ranged character when the pesky BBEG you can't reach casts Wind Wall and basks in apparent safty (Wind Wall only has a 30% chance of deflecting sling stones, vs. 100% for arrows).

It's not something you want to invest heavily in unless you know exactly what you're doing, though, so it doesn't go on a list for beginners.

 

[Legildur]

I play an elven Drd15. Started at 1st and selected Elf for role play and longbow proficiency reasons. Con penalty has hurt a little. The archery was meant to be a back up to the spells, but, except for rare occasions, spells have been available and the far superior choice. That is, bow almost never got used!

 

[Darklone]

Once again, good analysis, JS.

All valid points, yet I've seen several elven archer druids in play till around level 15. All they need is PBS and Rapid Shot (that's why the summoner works good for them) and the Con penalty doesn't hurt so bad if they are not in melee ... e.g. no wildshape needed.

Then they need a good magic bow ... but since a non-melee druid doesn't need many magic items, it's most often not a problem to buy the best bow or craft one.

Add another party member that likes to cast haste, and the druid archer (given a good dex and a not so bad str, con can be at 12) is a pretty reliable damage dealer (and hits good with cats grace), though secondary to the bard archer or fighter archer... but not by much.

It works wonderful with a summoner... since the summoner doesn't need his Augment Summoning at low levels IMX, the animals start to be a bit weak at higher levels. The archer summoner starts combat with summoning one monster (group) while the buffers (bard/cleric) cast bless and similar stuff. Then he proceeds to fire.

The druid spellslinger you listed above has a nice "utility" spelllist, that's great for the archer who doesn't waste his spells too fast.

In campaigns with many combats per day (and perhaps some fights per night) this build works wonderfully. Essentially he can easily fulfill one of the other roles posted above while being a useful combatant without spending any resources.

 

[carborundum]

I'm almost afraid to mention it, but the Druid with a vow of poverty is rather awesome.

 

[Darklone]

One point often overlooked: Don't get a monks belt for a melee druid, rather multiclass with monk1.

 

[Dread Polack]

Wow, lots of good ideas. Just a couple more things from me then:

As a small druid, I'm completely discounting melee combat. Archery might be a good way to go, and one of the Poison Dusk traits is their ability to apply poison without risk of poisoning himself. A decent bow with an archery feat or two can become a lot cooler with the right poison. The question is whether it's worth bothering if he can do most of the cool things poison does with spells and druid powers? I think it might still be.

His Aspect of Nature is what I mostly find interesting, so I'll likely focus on making that cool, and Wild Shape Feats are likely to be a priority. This is an experiment, so unfortunately, I don't know how effective it'll be. The upside is that using aspects as opposed to wild-shaping means you can still fire a bow and cast spells. If I add on mounted combat, I might be able to come up with some nice combos. Poison arrows, ride-by or fly-by attacks, and spells...

Multiclassing, except into a druid PrCl isn't likely to happen. The +1 LA is about as much as I can take. I hate putting of core class abilities like that.

Dread Polack