Ayre el KaBeer Posted April 13, 2003 Share Posted April 13, 2003 I need some advice for a D&D character I've cooked up for an up comming game... -We're starting at 7th level.-We have 20,000 gold (and a free bag of holding) each.-We're working for, though without our knowledge, for the Chaos alligned gods, this doesn't affect our pc's allignments though Lawfull Good was prohibited by the DM. I decided to play a human druid of Neutral Good allignment, my rolled stats are:12 str17 dex14 con14 int18 wis14 cha*I've already included the bonus point from 4th level.I've been alowed to use spells and feats from the Masters of the Wild suplement and to select 2 spells for each level from Magic of Faerun to add to my spell list, though I have to run those spells by the DM first. Of my 4 feats I've already taken Track and Natural Spell (allows you to cast spells in wild form) but haven't decided on the other 2.For the magical gear I picked: Longspear +1, scimitar +1, studded Leather +2 (DM allowed wooden studs), cloak of resistance +1, gauntlets of ogre strength (I'm not sure if I'll keep them), boots of striding, and an everburning torch.Since I'm not that big a fan of D&D, not including computer games, I would like some advice on ways to effectively use the druid in the game such as what spells should I probably keep memorised, what feats to pick, what equipment I should drop/pickup, and if it's worth taking an animal companion before having the Awaken spell or anything else you recomend for that matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aninemity Posted April 14, 2003 Share Posted April 14, 2003 honestly things like feat choices and spells and such can really depend on what type of druid you want to play. there's a lot of diversity in dnd that people don't realize. good standard feats though would be improved init and combat casting. also, look into a wand of cure light wounds if you can. will save you grief, esp if you don't have a cleric in the group. otherwise heal spells are important, as are any ranged damage spells...flame strike's a good one. otherwise i just suggest you spend the first few sessions experimenting. a lot of it depends on how a dm runs for which spells will be most helpful and such. as for animal companion...they are one of your advantages, so use it. unless your dm is trying to say so, then you don't have to wait until you have the awaken spell....just use it after you get it on your current animal companion. i don't see anything against the rules there, but of course that's dm choice. awakening isn't something i've dealt w/ at all really, but i don't know that it would add that much of an advantage. ...just my thoughts but feel free to ask anything else. hope it helped! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayre el KaBeer Posted April 14, 2003 Author Share Posted April 14, 2003 Thanks Aninemity, I have another question for you, do you think it's worth branching off into the prestige class Shifter? From what I've read it's excellent but I'm not sure if I should stop progressing in spell casting for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeEyes Posted April 14, 2003 Share Posted April 14, 2003 oooohhh Oozemaster...I haven't read that suppement in yonks!ok... so I only know a little about DnD rules, but if you take Endurance as a feat, then you ought to have a look at King/Queen of the Wild...But you're not kidding... Shifter does look excellent... but where does it say you have to stop your progress in spellcasting?What it says is that you can mix the abilities of each class if you so wish, but I don't see anything about inhibiting progress... (but maybe my glasses need cleaning. ::blink ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aninemity Posted April 14, 2003 Share Posted April 14, 2003 ...if in the PrC description it doesn't say specifically that you continue spell progression, then you don't. it's assuming that in order to master the specialties there (ie-shifting) you neglect other aspects of your normal 'training'. i haven't messed w/ druids much at all, but i'll take another look at the shifter class when i get home tonight. IIRC, that was the PrC for druids i most liked....glad i could help :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finbar Posted April 14, 2003 Share Posted April 14, 2003 Tactics to keep in mind: 1) Your shapeshifting is a major asset. It allows you recon, escape and combat abilities that are pretty cool. Just remember that you'll never be as good as a fighter of the same level, and you'll do okay.2) Animal companions are ALWAYS worth it (especially 14 HD worth of them, sheesh!). You may be able to try for a dire whatever (which is very good) You may want to take on Leadership as well, or wait until 9th (look at trying to get a Special consort;-); even owlbears can be great friends)...But then again, I like having small armies follow me...3) Alchemy and Herbalism are great skills for someone who knows how to find the components...Backed by Wilderness Lore and an appropriate feat or two, you'll generally have a nifty surprise for the bad guys...4) Keep in mind that Etiquette and Diplomacy are skills that have a lot more usefulness than they look...Talking your way out of something is not necessarily a bad thing...Also, haggling is based on Diplomacy ::halo ....5) You should try for a good mix of healing, defensive and detection spells, with one or two offensive spells...Backing it up with a staff of healing...Your party mage should take care of the ofensive pretty well, but, as the guy with access to healilng, you'll be pretty popular for that...6) About half of your skill points should go to skills that are good in the wilderness...You'll appreciate that more when you have shapeshifted...7) Always use you shapeshift the max number of times...Since it counts as a polymorph spell, that means free healing...8) As far as equipment, get whatever you can get others to carry. Your shapeshift ability gets a bit nastier when you can don't have to worry about where your big items are...(I know it covers things like clothes, etc., but not that big, bad staff, and how's an owl going to carry that?)9) Just to be a jerk...Take a lot of "city" skills, then play up the druid stereotype...You'll be surprised how effective that is....10) Keep in mind that a number of races are already predisposed towards druids in a good way; basically, it's always good to have treants and nymphs on one's good side. Just be aware that this is not necessarily a good thing...Gee, and usually I play wizards and rogues....I hope that this helps...FR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayre el KaBeer Posted April 14, 2003 Author Share Posted April 14, 2003 But you're not kidding... Shifter does look excellent... but where does it say you have to stop your progress in spellcasting?What it says is that you can mix the abilities of each class if you so wish, but I don't see anything about inhibiting progress... (but maybe my glasses need cleaning. )Sorry I meant that I'm not sure if i should pull away from leveling up as a druid because I'd like to progress in spells rather than just shifting, though reading it again it seems to be the only thing stoping me just focussing as a shifter. It's a damn nice class!8) As far as equipment, get whatever you can get others to carry. Your shapeshift ability gets a bit nastier when you can don't have to worry about where your big items are...(I know it covers things like clothes, etc., but not that big, bad staff, and how's an owl going to carry that?)It doesn't have to carry anything, your gear shifts with you but it looses its functionality. That's another great thing about the shifter class, it takes abit longer to shift but you can designate what equipment stays usable and what melds with you, the equipment that you want to use in a shifted form alters itself by changing in size or whatever so you can use it, it reverts to it's normal size once you shift back.Thanks for the help guys I'm definately going to take the city skills and stereotype thing now that you've pointed it out ::thumbsup . One last thing if you shift into a player race like a half orc for example do your stats change by just upping your strength by +2? or do you match the half-orc template in the monster manual? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aninemity Posted April 15, 2003 Share Posted April 15, 2003 wild shape reguardless of form works like the polymorph spell, so you'd retain your mental stats but your str, dex and con will default to the average for the creature. example: you shift from an elf to a human, reguardless of what your normal stats are, they become str 10, dex 10, and con 10. into a half orc, str 12, dex 10, con 10.it works that way on any wild shapes you take.does that make sense?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayre el KaBeer Posted April 15, 2003 Author Share Posted April 15, 2003 Makes sense, I'd only shift into 1 of those forms if i need a disguise, the stats are terrible for anything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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