Wild Empathy or Bardic Knowledge?

[Sejs]

Between wild empathy and bardic knowledge: bardic knowledge.

As for the followup - really depends on the DM, but potentially very useful.

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

Wild Empathy has to be pretty darn high before it is really effective. At that character level normalish animals are rarely a significant factor in any adventure.

I have used it in play, but it turned out to be approximately as useful as Calm Animals. Saved me 25gp -- not exactly a big whoop-de-doo.

In theory, Bardic Knowledge can be very good. In practice the unprepared DM tends to throw out a tiny nugget of information of the kind that might easily have been gathered by Identify or Gather Information or some similar means. But as this tidbit drops into our laps instantaneously with no meaningful cost or effort, the class feature does have some demonstrable value.

And this is certainly more useful than Wild Empathy.

 

[Driddle]

Additional Follow-Up Question: How much effort do players of rangers and/or druids actually put into making Wild Empathy useful?

 

[Crothian]

How much effort do players of rangers and/or druids actually put into making Wild Empathy useful?

I'm playing a Druid in an Eberron campaign. I've used Wild Empathy with each encounter that involved animals. We haven't had a lot of them though.

In a campaign I ran for a year I don't think the person playing the Ranger ever really thought about Wild Empathy or used it. But again there were not a lot of animal encounters

 

[JRRNeiklot]

Bardic knowledge in theory, wild empathy in practice. Bardic knowledge can give you information you need, but if the campaign needs it to proceed, the dm will find a way for you to get the info. On the other hand, if Jojobobo the ancient red happens to be immune to cold due to his experimenting with Heward's mystical Oboe, bardic knowledge just might save yer ass.

 

[Crothian]

but if the campaign needs it to proceed, the dm will find a way for you to get the info..

Campaigns though really shouldn't ever depend on one piece of info to move on like that. I would not consider that good campaign design.

 

[Seeker95]

Wow! 57:2
Never seen such a decisive poll!

 

[JRRNeiklot]

Campaigns though really shouldn't ever depend on one piece of info to move on like that. I would not consider that good campaign design.

Nor would I, but I see it a lot.

 

[uffinf]

So who voted for Wild Empathy and Why? :\

 

[Jdvn1]

Wow! 57:2
Never seen such a decisive poll!

I saw one that was 100% a couple months ago.