WotC_Dave: Druid!

[HeinorNY]

dozens of summoned badgers sounds great.

I agree.
http://www.badgerbadgerbadger.com/

 

[frankthedm]

Whats this "summoning" crap? Druids get help from nearby animals, not by "BAMF"ing them in from "someplace else" and then handwaving their demise. The creatures slain protecting the druid mean less animals in the forest.

I would like to see a druid that uses wildshape for its utility rather then its combat. Turn into a bird and scout the land. Turn into a wolf and track your opponent. Turn into a house cat and spy on your enemy.

Thats what made wildshape fun.

And broken, in the casters better than combatants dichotomy. Turning into a bird is going to have the same effect as a fly spell, so don’t expect that for many levels.

 

[Leatherhead]

Last time I played WoW, the druid was the best tank and best arena healer. The moonkin form was also very good dps. The secret of WoW druid is that he can be a master of one role and a "jack of the other trades".

I would amend this to say "or" rather than "and". I do not care for the WoW druid, mostly because the classes play style radically changes from low levels (where you have to use all your powers to do anything extraordinary) to high levels (where you are forced to specialize in one area for grouping).

 

[Ximenes088]

In terms of balance, I think it's also worth remembering that nobody's going to get kicked from a D&D party for having an unoptimized character build. A druid filling in as an X may not be as good as a "pure" X, but precious few adventuring groups are going to be spending days calculating exactly how much better he could be if he were an X instead. It's not like they can boot him with a click and get a wizard to fill in.

Though admittedly, the D&DI virtual tabletop has yet to be examined....

 

[Andor]

Except for that. Count me totally unsold. And ticked off that, apparently, some designers at WotC have decided that summoning is somehow unworkable. I've been almost entirely positive about 4E, and I was perfectly OK with the idea that summoning isn't in the core rulebook but was coming later. I'm NOT OK with summoning not coming in 4E at all.

And if I'm overreacting and summoning is coming... If it's not the Druid, who is it? Why waste the Druid name on a shapeshifting class when there easily could have been a Shapeshifter class? I think the 3.5 druid strayed way too far into wild shape focus for any of the historical druid archetypes, especially at high levels. What's wrong with calling a shapeshifter a Shapeshifter rather than warping the druid?

See I don't get these comments at all. Wildshape was always the Druids signature ability. Summoning was never his emphasis until 3ed. He was the old ways sort of priest/mage with weather and nature magic.

I'll grant you I'd hate to see him stop being a spell caster but I'd much rather see them lose summoning than Wildshape.

When I think of the Druid signature abilities and spells?

Wildshape
Call lightning
Control weather
Creeping doom
produce flame
good berry
Entangle
Reincarnation

 

[RigaMortus2]

Make shapeshifting a minor action, then one could be in bear form, shift out (minor) to heal yourself (standard) and shift back (minor) all in one round.

 

[Cyronax]

I was hoping that you could have a Druid that covers 3 basic paths, based of talent selection. A weather-based Druid, a plant-based druid, and a wildshaping druid. Call the weather based a Druid a Fury (or Fury Talent tree), plant could be the Green path or Green talent tree (or something else appropriate) and then the shapeshifting druid.

I echo your sentiments.

In addition to what you mentioned, I was hoping for an 'elementalist' style built (akin to clerics in Dark Sun with elemental foci). I for one would be happy with druids that upon attaining higher levels gain access to the CAPTAIN PLANET paragon path and can themselves be summoned by a coven of five lower level druids with the express purpose of smiting abominable tree cutting evil doers.

c.i.d.

 

[StarFyre]

i think

a few house rules for druids and elementals for our games and I really like the direction for it...

Sanjay

 

[mhacdebhandia]

Well since the WoW comparison have already been made and will continue to be made, let me add that shapshifting druids are a lot of fun. The problem with the WoW druid is that he/she is a "jack of all trades, master of none".

Nonsense! I dread the day I have to rely on my friend Mark's holy priest rather than my wife's restoration druid.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

Turning into a bird is going to have the same effect as a fly spell, so don’t expect that for many levels.

Well, I could see a sustain minor working for some shapeshifting, perhaps there could be a time-period of "mutual instinct" when you shapeshift where there is no sustain minor, since the Druid is allowing the creature he has become and his own *put race here* mind work together, ie: tearing apart the enemy but in a distinctly instinctual/feral manner.

After a certain time however (could see Will come into play here for how long it lasts) a Druid must begin to use "sustain minor" or leave his shapeshifting form to not become overcome by the animal-instincts.

*Shrugs shoulders* Just an idea.

As for my personal view of the Druid, got to say I quite like it. Always preferred the shape-shifting version of the Druids (was especially nice for my Urban-Druids; based off "Pagans" from Thief) so this is a welcomed thing.

Also having spells be more weather-based spells since it fits with the idea of the village Druid, performing rituals to help with the harvest, etc.

Also with summoning, I didn't read anything that said out-right not summoning, it was simply; "Not a lot of animal summoning. Plenty of wild shape." Which to says there may be some but it isn't the focus of the Druid.