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<span class="first">T</span>he
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<span class="first">I</span>nternet
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<h1 id="lets-make-a-druid">Let’s Make a Druid</h1>
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<p>Pathfinder has been the tabletop game of choice for my longest-running group.
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One of my favorite activities is creating characters. I love theory crafting,
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pouring through source material, and setting limits. While I’ve made many,
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<em>many</em> characters, once class I haven’t touched is druid. The first character I
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ever made, back in a D&D Second Edition, was a druid. I don’t remember much from
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that character, except that I had a double-scimitar (think Darth Maul
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lightsabre, but scimitars). Since that, I haven’t done much with druids, which I
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think is a shame, because it’s a fascinating class that ticks many of the boxes
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I look for in a character. I love characters with options, that require a bit of
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mastery to play. Many characters I like the most are multi-classed, mixing
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spellcasting with melee combat. Some classes, though, provide all this
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out-of-the-box. From the core book, both cleric and druid satisfy my demands. I
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hold, still, that cleric is the most powerful class. I had this belief in D&D
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Third Edition, and I carry it forward into Pathfinder and D&D Fifth Edition.
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That’s a topic for another post, though.</p>
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<h2 id="concept">Concept</h2>
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<p>All of my characters come from a concept. Sometimes the concept is really
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straight forward: I want a “realistic” fighter. I want a “proper” Eldritch
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Knight. Sometimes, the concept is more story based, as is the case with this
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druid. I read a story about a moose in Alaska that ate some apples which had
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fermented, and wandered into a town drunk. I thought, “that would make a fun
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animal companion!”, and thus the idea for a druid. The full backstory for the
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character will be around here somewhere. For now, I’ll spend the rest of this
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post focusing on the build.</p>
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<h2 id="build">Build</h2>
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<p>Drunk moose. Drunk… spirit moose! OK, now we’re getting somewhere. As I
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fleshed out the story, and spoke with a friend about druid, I liked the idea of
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dipping one level in barbarian, then continuing with druid. That one level gets
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me quite a bit: d12 hit dice (and max at first level!); +1 BAB; +10 movement
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speed; and rage. The biggest downside is a delay in spellcasting, but I think
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it’s a fair trade-off. Considering the build is equally focused on spellcasting
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and melee combat, the rage will provide an additional resource where spells and
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standard attacks may not be sufficient. Obviously, druid will be our favored
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class.</p>
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<div class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight"><code>Barbarian 1, Druid X
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</code></pre></div></div>
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<h2 id="skills">Skills</h2>
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<p>Druid’s aren’t reknown for being particularly skillful, but they get some great
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class skills. Of note, we get Handle Animal, Heal, Knowledge(Nature),
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Perception, and Survival. At 4+INT skill points, we can reliably grab most of
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these. Throw a point of two into Fly, Climb, and Swim, and between having a
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great strength, and wild shape, we can deal with whatever obstacles those skills
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require.</p>
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<div class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight"><code>Handle Animal
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Heal
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Knowledge (Nature)
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Perception
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Survival
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</code></pre></div></div>
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<h2 id="race">Race</h2>
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<p>Pathfinder has no shortage of races to choose from. For most of my builds, I try
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to stick to the “basics” provided in the Core Rulebook, but I also allow myself
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the Advanced Race Guide races. For this build, though, mostly due to the
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backstory/concept, I went human. We’ll opt for a bonus HP each level in druid,
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for our favored class bonus.</p>
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<h2 id="feats">Feats</h2>
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<p>Human gets a bonus first level feat, then all characters get a first level feat.
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I tend to make characters for whatever level our campaign is at, and for now
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that’s 8th level. That gives me five feats total. At fifth level, I’m taking
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Natural Spell. Since I’m a melee bruiser, I’m interested in Power Attack, Vital
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Strike, Toughness, and Powerful Shape, but I can’t get the last one just yet.
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Druids are fantastic summoners, and it’s very tempting to pick up Augmented
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Summons. For this build, though, it’s a two feat investment for a strategy I
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won’t be using much. For first level, I went with Toughness and Power Attack. As
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a first level barbarian, those two feats give me a lot of staying power. As a
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druid, my BAB won’t progress as strongly, but in wild shape it can give me a lot
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of damage. Combined with vital strike, certain shapes will give me a single,
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“two-handed” attack for a significant amount of damage at a good attack bonus.</p>
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<p>Thematically, I’ve opted for the feat Spirit’s Gift. It fits my drunken spirit
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moose concept perfectly.</p>
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<p>That leaves level 7. The aforementioned vital strike could be a great option.
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There’s also furious focus: for a single, two-handed power attack, remove the
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power attack penalty. Since we’ll be taking advantage of our animal companion,
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there’s also the option for teamwork feats. Animal companions get feats, too,
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and there are a few in particular that would work very well: Shake It Off would
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give us both +1 on all saves; Improved Spell Sharing would let me share buffs
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better; and then there are the charges. These interested me. I need to step back
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briefly to consider the animal companion, so we’ll leave our feats in an
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undecided state for now.</p>
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<div class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight"><code>Bonus: Toughness
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Lvl 1: Power Attack
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Lvl 3: Spirit's Gift
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Lvl 5: Natural Spell
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Lvl 7: ???
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</code></pre></div></div>
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<h2 id="animal-companion">Animal Companion</h2>
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<p>By now it should be clear this is not really a min-max guide. There are plenty
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of guides that exist already for that sort of build; I’ll link a few I’ve
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referenced below. In those guides, animal companion choses are pretty clear:
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take a wolf/dire wolf if you want to be a trip artist; take a big cat for
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superior damage; take one of any number of dinosaurs for superior options. No
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where is a moose mentioned, because they’re not “optimal.” That’s fine. I don’t
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want optimal, I want drunken spirit moose.</p>
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<p>Moosen start off pretty bland. They don’t get any special attacks, they’re
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medium size, an average AC, an average attack, and relatively low damage. At
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level 7, they get significantly better: large size; better AC; better damage,
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and powerful charge. For this build, I’ll focus on charging. Both I and the
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moose will charge hard into whatever enemy we want to focus first. With some of
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the team work feats alluded to above, we can emphasize significant bonuses and
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improvements to charging.</p>
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<p>If I wanted to change this to a more optimal build, I’d probably go for an axe
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beak. It could be the in-universe thematic equivalent of a moose. Qwark.</p>
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<h2 id="feats-completed-this-time">Feats, Completed This Time</h2>
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<p>In addition to my feats, I get feats for my animal companion. At character level
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8, I’m a 7th level druid, which means my animal companion gets 3 feats, with a
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4th coming next level. The charge feats I’m considering would be 3 feats
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minimum: 2 teamwork feats, and then Coordinated Charge. The requirements for
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Coordinated Charge are 2 teamwork feats, and a BAB +10. My animal companion, of
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any flavor, won’t have that until level 17! That’s a bit of a downer, but there
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are some other interesting ones that lead up to it nicely. Distracting Charge
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would give either my moose or me a +2 to hit against the target of a charge.
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Intercept Charge could provide significant defensive benefits, though neither my
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moose nor I are particularly defensive oriented. Shake It Off would give Moose
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and Me +1 on all saves while we’re adjacent. And Improved Spell Sharing helps
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with buffing. The one thing about ISS though is the requirements are a bit…
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odd. It <em>seems</em> to be intended for use by a class that can share their teamwork
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feats, but I think a discussion with a DM can resolve the issue.</p>
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<div class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight"><code>Druid:
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- Bonus: Toughness
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- Lvl 1: Power Attack
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- Lvl 3: Spirit's Gift
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- Lvl 5: Natural Spell
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- Lvl 7: Improved Spell Sharing
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Moose:
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- Lvl 1: Toughness
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- Lvl 2: Weapon Focus (Gore)
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- Lvl 5: Improved Spell Sharing
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</code></pre></div></div>
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<p>Looking forward slightly, next level we each get another feat.</p>
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<div class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight"><code>Druid:
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- Lvl 9: Powerful Shape
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Moose:
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- Lvl 8: Improved Natural Attack (Gore)
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</code></pre></div></div>
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<h2 id="gear">Gear</h2>
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<p>Since we’re wild-shaping, we don’t need to worry <em>too</em> much about armor and
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weapon. We can get the benefits of a shield, so we’ll want a decent one of
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those. Ring of Protection (+1) is a standard, and I’ll also opt for a Cloak of
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Resistance (+2). We’re a bit MAD (multi-attribute dependent), wanting high
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strength and wisdom primarily, with good dexterity and constitution still. I’ll
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take a Headband of Inspired Wisdom (+2), and a Belt of Physical Prowess
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(Strength and Constitution +2). In exchange for a weapon, I’ll pick up an Amulet
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of Mighty Fists (+1). Finally, because wild shape is so important, we’ll pick up
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Druid Vestments, which give us an extra wild shape use per day.</p>
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<div class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight"><code>Headband of Inspired Wisdom, +2
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Amulet of Mighty Fists, +1
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Cloak of Resistance, +2
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Druid Vestments
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Belt of Physical Prowess (STR/CON), +2
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Ring of Protection, +1
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Heavy Wooden Shield, +1
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Scimitar
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</code></pre></div></div>
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<p>I have a mundane item pack I generally pick up as well, which includes things
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like a mirror, fishing hooks, and the like. Normally it’s all in a Handy
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Haversack, but since I’m shapshifting so often, for the druid that’ll shift to a
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Polymorphic Pouch.</p>
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<p>Also, a Ring of Eloquence is a solid buy, to allow for discussion which
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shapeshifted.</p>
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<h2 id="spells">Spells</h2>
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<p>Druids have a <em>lot</em> of spell options. We’re a melee fighter, so many of our
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spells will focus on buffing, debuffing, and control. We can also include some
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out-of-combat utility. There are too many options to list, and again, guides
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already exist that go through every spell and analyze them. Here are the spells
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that I’ll consider regularly:</p>
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<div class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight"><code>Level 1:
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- Entangle [Control]
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- Faerie Fire [Control][Debuff]
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- Frostbite [Buff][Damage][Debuff]
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- Goodberry [Utility]
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- Longstrider [Buff]
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- Magic Fang [Buff]
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- Mudball [Damage][Debuff]
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- Thorn Javelin [Damage][Debuff]
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- Thunderstomp [Control][Debuff]
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Level 2:
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- Barkskin [Buff]
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- Lockjaw [Buff][Control]
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- Natural Rhythm [Buff][Damage]
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- Resist Energy [Buff]
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- Sickening Entanglement [Control][Debuff]
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- Stone Call [Damage][Debuff]
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- Vine Strike [Control][Damage][Debuff]
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- Whip of Spiders [Damage][Debuff]
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- Wilderness Soldiers [Control][Damage]
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Level 3:
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- Call Lightning [Damage]
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- Earth Tremor [Damage][Control][Debuff]
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- Fey Form I [Utility]
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- Fungal Infestation [Debuff]
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- Greater Magic Fang [Buff][Damage]
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- Greater Thunderstomp [Control][Debuff]
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- Spike Growth [Control][Damage][Debuff]
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- Thorny Entanglement [Control][Damage]
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- Vermin Shape I [Utility]
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Level 4:
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- Aspect of the Stag [Buff][Damage]
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- Cape of Wasps [Buff][Damage][Debuff]
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- Echolocation [Buff]
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- Freedom of Movement [Buff]
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- Grove of Respite [Utility]
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- Slowing Mud [Control][Debuff]
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- Spike Stones [Control][Damage][Debuff]
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- Strong Jaw [Buff][Damage]
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</code></pre></div></div>
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<h2 id="gameplay">Gameplay</h2>
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<p>I’ve never played this build! I’m sure it could use some modifications. The
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emphasis on choosing a moose over other animal companions could be a serious
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hinderance. I think the general play would go like this: buff self, sharing the
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buffs with my animal companion; enter melee combat, preferably by charging at a
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target with my animal companion; throw around control and debuff spells as
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necessary.</p>
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<p>This is very much a first draft, but I think it could be a fun one!</p>
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<h1 id="sources">Sources</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><a href="https://www.d20pfsrd.com/">Pathfinder SRD</a></li>
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<li><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PXamF43boZgYtCUlyJAMojfrPaAdYyjPOaGOo1vfqdM/edit#heading=h.nxj7sifd7tvs">Prometheus Guide to the Druid</a></li>
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<li><a href="https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AcNyxDTKvAmqZGRtZzhzdjZfNDZnNHpzcmdodA&hl=en">Treantmonk’s Guide to Druids</a></li>
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</ul>
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<div class="author_info">
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Bill Niblock
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2020-09-05
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My name is <span class="p-name">Bill Niblock</span>. <span
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|
||
live in <span class="p-locality">Buffalo</span>, <span class="p-region">
|
||
New York</span>, <span class="p-country-name">USA</span>.<br />
|
||
<br />
|
||
My PGP Key is <span class="u-key" id="key">CCE7 3682 331B 5614 9FAB
|
||
7383 7359 80B2 6381 C91E</span>.
|
||
</p>
|
||
</section>
|
||
<section style="display: none;">
|
||
<span class="p-category">Gaming</span>
|
||
<span class="p-category">Technology</span>
|
||
<span class="p-category">Philosophy</span>
|
||
<span class="p-category">Open Source Software</span>
|
||
<span class="p-category">Self-Hosting</span>
|
||
<span class="p-category">Coffee</span>
|
||
<span class="u-email">bill@theinternetvagabond.com</span>
|
||
</section>
|
||
</section>
|
||
</footer>
|
||
|
||
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|
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