Tips & tactics for playing a druid?

[Greatwyrm]

I just like to remember one thing...a druid's greatest weapon isn't the magical cudgel he or she has, but the terrain around them.

I played a druid for quite a while and this is dead on. I summoned a few critters and flame struck some stuff, but the druid's real strength is in ground control. If you can dictate where your opponents can and can't go on the battlefield, you have a big advantage. Some spells don't work as well in town or underground, but if you look, you'll still find plenty of good ones.

One last thing, Wall of Thorns rocks!

 

[shilsen]

Another very good spell(and one that can be overlooked) is Produce Flame. The best part about it, IMO, is the ability to either use it as a touch attack or throw the flame, so you don't have to get in close. Its also a nice little torch if you need one

My PCs (who can be remarkably unimaginative with spells) once spent a little time with a druid NPC. When one of them asked her what ranged weapon she preferred, she answered, "Produce Flame"

 

[fusangite]

How fortunate! I happen to be playing a druid for the first time and he has just reached 6th level. I'm very happy with how he's turning out. So here is how I've put him together:

Attributes
Highest score in Wisdom, of course, followed by Dexterity, Constitution, Strength, Charisma, Intelligence.

Skills
Maxed-out: Concentration, Spellcraft
Five ranks: Heal, Handle Animal, Know (Nature), Ride, Survival
Some points: Diplomacy

Feats
Spell Focus (Conjuration), Augment Summoning, Combat Casting, Natural Spell

I'm in a mostly outdoor equestrian campaign so my animal companion is my horse.

Tricks
Attack, Defend, Come, Fetch

Feats
Endurance (mandatory), Run (mandatory), Improved Natural Attack (Hoof)

My preferred wild shape is that of a leopard. The best way to evaluate a good wild shape is to add the creature's Str, Dex and Con together and compare to other medium-sized creatures. Also the pounce attack of a leopard is the most devastating full-round attack of any medium sized natural animal.

The ideal animal to summon, with augment summoning, is a Hippogriff; D3 hippogriffs are always superior to one of any SNA III creature.

If shameless power-gaming is involved in your campaign (it isn't in mine), instead of playing a Druid 6, play a Monk 1/Druid 5. Your armour class will be fabulous.

 

[Nifft]

It's all too common for Druids to consider their physical stats irrelevant once they get Wild Shape. That's almost true.


One Tip: consider your ability scores in the context of what feats you want to be able to qualify for. Even if you don't plan on ever fighting in "man-shape", you need your base humanoid body to have certain stats for certain feats...

- Decent Strength: It's very nice to have Power Attack and Cleave in animal form.

- Decent Dex: Dodge -> Mobility are nice when using Fly-By Attack, and Spring Attack + Wild Rhino Hide isn't bad at all.


One More Tip: You have very few Feats -- especially since Natural Spell kinda auto-claims your 6th level Feat slot. Use 'em wisely. Plan a strategy out in advance, even if it's not a totally optimized "build".

-- N

 

[Klaus]

Many druids who invest in Wild Shape might want to look into Multiattack. Wild Shaping into any form of great cat or bear and having many natural attacks dramatically increases the form's power.

 

[Nifft]

Okay, I just noticed that you used the word "Versatility". All this stuff about Wild Shape is about power, not flexibility. For flexibility, there is one tip that's all too often overlooked: Scribe Scroll.

Druids have an amazing array of specialty spells that have limited applicaiton. How often will you want to cast obscuring mist? Stone shape? Rock to mud? Tree shape? Meld into stone? Ironwood? Not that often, but when you need 'em, they can really solve problems nicely.

So, make a bunch of utility scrolls and never forget that you have them.

-- N

 

[MonkeyDragon]

(My first post! I'm so proud...)

I've been playing a druid in the longest campaign I've ever been in. (We pick up from Christmas break next week.) Currently we're at level 10. Of course a lot of the choices you make depend on the style and strenghs of the character, these are the things that have worked well for me.

I have an army. Between my companion, my cohort (an intelligent mouse that was once a wizard's familiar and now has ranks in sorceror and rogue) and whatever I summon, things can get pretty confusing. But few enimies like packs of dire wolves tripping them up.

I am Auxilary. I am the party's auxilary offensive spellcaster, where I can stand back near the wizard and rain down fire and ice and lightning from the heavens. I'm also the auxilary healer. A simple wand of cure light and a few spell slots devoted to cure spells can really help keep the party together in a pinch.

Because my attacks, AC and HP aren't that good, I try to stay out of melee. The other reason I keep to the back is to protect the wizard. If enemies were to break through the line of fighter types in the front, having one more blade between her and danger can be useful. Even if I move towards the front of the battle, I leave my companion to guard her.

That being said, watch out for your companion! Against higher CRs, they can be easy targets. After watching my first couger get her head crushed at level four, when I rejoined the group at level 7 I invested a good chunk of money into the best barding I could afford. My dm ruled that the ability to wear the barding without freaking out counted as one of her bonus tricks.

Consider picking up a wilding clasp. From the older Masters of the Wilderness, this item attaches to you, and to one magic item, like an amulet, and keeps it from melding to you when you wildshape. A good way to keep that bonus from your periapt of wisdom.

I really like what someone said about scribe scroll. That 12th level feat is a long way off, but an excellent case has been made.

 

[Brother MacLaren]

Many druids who invest in Wild Shape might want to look into Multiattack. Wild Shaping into any form of great cat or bear and having many natural attacks dramatically increases the form's power.

Is this legit? I've wondered if druids qualify for monster feats such as Improved Natual Attack or Multiattack. Or Weapon Focus (Claw). How does that work?

 

[Klaus]

Is this legit? I've wondered if druids qualify for monster feats such as Improved Natual Attack or Multiattack. Or Weapon Focus (Claw). How does that work?

Yep, it's legit. It's a General feat, not Monster. As soon as you're able to Wild Shape into a form with three or more natural attacks, you're good to go. Of course, you're only able to benefit from Multiattack when you're in a shape that qualifies (leopard, bear, eagle, cat...). Improved Natural Attack is trickier, in that you need to specify a natural weapon, so I dunno.

And hey, when you Wild Shape you don't get feats and all that jazz, right? So would a druid wildshaped into a tiger still benefit from the tiger's Improved Natural Attack feats, or would the damage be smaller?

 

[Treebore]

This idea that Druids need to take the multi-attack feat is a perfect example of why DM's still need to use their brains. Why should I druid need to have the multi-attack feat in order to use a lions natural weapons? Why does a druid wild-shaped into a wolf not get the scent feat? Because the ignorant game designers do not understand how animal bodies work.

Do you think a lions abilities to claw and bite are a form of learning or a form of body function?

Do you think a wolf's ability to scent is a form of its nasal cavity or a form of a feat?

If a Druid does not automatically know how to multi attack in a lion/tiger body why do they know how to improved grab in the body of an octopus?

So I say a wolf gets the scent feat, irregardless of the polymorph spell's description, and I say that any feat an animal has that is due to its form of body, such as multi-attack, a Druid has available to them while they are in that form. To say that a Druid has to take additional feats to fully utilize a creatures body form is ludicrous and ignorant. No one will tell you that a Lion "learns" to use its claws and teeth in a fight, they will tell you they know how to use them instinctively. So to say a Druid needs to learn multi attack to use instinctive abilities of a creature who's form they assume is ignorant of real world animal behaviour and the prevelant beliefs of animal behaviour in the world of biologists who specialize in these things.

A lions use of pounce, clawing, raking, etc... are an intuitive/instinctive use of their own bodies form and function, so to say a druid needs to "learn" a feat to gain use of such things is ludicrous.

Next thing I will hear is that a Druid cannot walk in its new animal form until they take the four-legged walking feat.