My first druid [Archive] - Wizards Community

My first druid [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Drood
05-25-05, 10:35 PM Hi guys I am new to the forums but I've been playing D&D for about 4 years now. My current group has been together for about 2 years and we've done countless campaigns in that time. Our current campaign has been the longest lasting, as we started from level 1 about a year ago and now we are level 15. I've had two characters, one of which has retired and the other was killed last weekend.

I'll be up front and tell you that I am a powergamer. My two characters were a half-orc fighter4/barb6/champ of gwyn...2 (who used a spiked chain muahahha) and ahuman bard4/fighter1/ur priest 10. Both characters were extremely effective. The other players aren't nearly as effective at character building, unfortunately, and our DM had a hard time coming up with challenges for me that wouldn't wipe everyone else out. After the last session, in which my character was killed by about 15 paladins of heironeous, my DM asked me to create a character without prestige classes.

Since the other members of the party are looking to be a rogue (our reluctant leader after my barbarian left), a ranger, and a fighter, one suggestion was that I be a druid since nobody in our group has EVER played one, including myself. I took this as a challenge and when I went to build my character I, at first, was more interested in creating a fun character than a powerful one. Then I rolled my stats (4d6 drop 1) 14 14 18 16 18 17.

DRUIDS ARE RIDICULOUSLY POWERFUL. I soon found this out and after my DM told me that I could use TWICE the normal amount of money for that level (400,000 GP) I realized that this character would be more powerful than any I had ever run before. I also realized that since I would be the only spellcaster in the party I would undoubtedly be the center of attention.

======================================== ==================

Here is what I have (keep in mind this is 3.0):
Saeed Nasim
Human Male Druid 15
True Neutral
STR 20 (14 + Belt of Giant's Strength +6)
DEX 20 (14 + Gloves of Dexterity +6)
CON 18
INT 16
WIS 27 (18 + 3 level + Pearl of Wisdom +6)
CHA 17
I bought wilding clasps (masters of the wild) for the pearl, gloves, belt, as well as my vest of resistance +5, bracers of armor +8, and boots of striding/sprinting. I also bought 2 rings of animal friendship and +5 wild hide armor of ease.
Feats:Improved Initiative, Extend Spell, Persistent Spell, Natural Spell, Snatch, Flyby Attack, Blindsight

My battle plan is to shift into a dire bear and cast spells. In that form I'll have 80ft speed, AC 36 (-1 size, +4 dex, +7 natural, +16 armor), 10 ft reach, and 37 strength. Next level I will gain elemental forms as well.

My ace in the whole is my animal companion. Most of the time he will be in the shape of a tiny bird via an extended "Feathers" spell (lvl 4). When I really need him (fighting a really big creature or an army) I will telepathically (via helm of bonding also with wilding clasp) tell him to return to his normal form:
Name: Massey
Type: Dire Elephant
Size: Colossal
HD: 39d8 +390 (max normally is my level, 15, but rings add 24 hit dice)
HP: 546
AC: 11 (but who cares)
STR: 52
Trample for automatic gore damage (6d6+32) reflex DC 45 for half

Now yes I know it is completely ridiculous (and I probably made a wrong calculation in there) but this character will definitely survive and the DM can't really complain.

======================================== ==================

What I need though, not for the DM, but for my own peace of mind, is some suggestions on a good background. I was thinking that he grew up in some kind of india-esque safari environment, but is traveling across the world to become one with all of nature's many aspects. Massey has no problem traveling with me as a bird because at my side he can go places he could never dream of before, besides everyone wants to fly.

In addition to any suggestions you might give me, perhaps you can also answer a question:
How many goodberries does it take to fill up a colossal dire elephant?
Since he spends most of his time as a small bird, would he just need the nourishment that that size would require (less than one goodberry) or will I need to feed that tiny bird 10-20 goodberries every day as well as letting him drink from my decanter of endless water every few minutes?

Thanks for your help guys and gals, I'll be looking forward to hearing your responses.
Morka
05-30-05, 10:01 AM Two questions:
1) At which level are you starting to have a Dire Elephant as animal companion???
2) Are you sure you can use the Belt of Giant Strenght & the Gloves of dexterity in animal form?

About the elephant in bird form, I would say it needs his normal ration/day. And it is a large amount of vegetable! The bird form is just a disguisement.

For the background, the indian (or african) druid is good. But instead of leaving to "see the world", perhaps is he investigating something strange that happened in his land (fiendish/undeads/corrupted/elemental animals invasion), and it seems to be coming from your current campaign setting.
Disco
05-31-05, 02:01 AM Let me start by saying I have only been playing adnd for about 10 months, but the whole time I've been playing a Druid. So you probably know more then me on most things, but let me try to impart some druidy wisdom.

- Animal Companion. I guess it depends on what sort of campaigns you play, but in mine a Dire Elephant would be practically useless. Do you dungoneer? Attack castles? Anything done inside? Dire Elephants are... well massive elephants, the mere size of them will make it damn hard to get practical use unless your campaign takes place in a forest.

Also, taking animals at lower levels should not be discounted, because they get awesome abilties. My personal favourite is a panther, they climb, balance and hide which is damn useful. Try working one out on paper and see how tough it looks.

- Feats. Quicken Spell rocks, imo. Nothing like a call lightning free action, particularly when it is wet. Also, try to find someone who can cast permancy and then cast greater magical fang on your companion.

Since you're the only spellcaster, it may be worth taking some sort of feat like Scribe scroll, make potion... whatever. The ability to 'store' your spells by getting them down is useful for a druid, and when you're the only spellcaster it is pratically necessary.

- Armour, again it depends on what sort of DM you have, but mine does so much running and swimming that I threw away Hide armour and settled on Leather. And since you spend most of your battle time as a dire bear, I don't know if you would definetly need the hide.

"How many goodberries does it take to fill up a colossal dire elephant?"

Just take him into a pub that offers free peanuts with your beer. :)

"1) At which level are you starting to have a Dire Elephant as animal companion???
2) Are you sure you can use the Belt of Giant Strenght & the Gloves of dexterity in animal form? "

Oooh I think he is right on both counts. Isn't Dire Elephant level-20? And you definetly can't use your belt and gloves while you are an animal.
Disco
05-31-05, 03:02 AM Sorry, this is just to test my browser. It says I never replied in the above message...
nephtis
05-31-05, 10:17 AM Sorry about this... but I don't think you'll be able to have a dire elephant animal companion at level 15.

I've been playing a druid before and I seem to remeber that your animal companion can't have more hit dice than you yourself. You have 15, that dire elephant has 39 as you stated. The only exeption I believe was a wolf, when chosen at level 1 (player has 1 hd, wolf has 2).

I was almost two years ago and I was playing 3.0 so that might have changed and I think there is a prestige class in Masters of the wild that allows for twice your hitdice worth as animal companions (so correct me if I'm totally wrong), but I wouldn't count on being allowed to wonder the world with that companion.
Drood
05-31-05, 07:26 PM Well this weekend I played my character for the first time. I dumped the dire elephant idea. I thought that it would work because I had rings of animal friendship, but I found out that it doesn't increase the max hd of a single creature just the total # of animals. I ended up going with two legendary apes (I have 1 ring of animal friendship). Wilding clasps (from MotW) attached to magical items allows you to retain the bonuses while wildshaped, and Wild Armor (I went with padded instead) does the same.
Norhg
06-01-05, 12:16 PM So how did things go?

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Drood 05-25-05, 10:35 PM	Hi guys I am new to the forums but I've been playing D&D for about 4 years now. My current group has been together for about 2 years and we've done countless campaigns in that time. Our current campaign has been the longest lasting, as we started from level 1 about a year ago and now we are level 15. I've had two characters, one of which has retired and the other was killed last weekend. I'll be up front and tell you that I am a powergamer. My two characters were a half-orc fighter4/barb6/champ of gwyn...2 (who used a spiked chain muahahha) and ahuman bard4/fighter1/ur priest 10. Both characters were extremely effective. The other players aren't nearly as effective at character building, unfortunately, and our DM had a hard time coming up with challenges for me that wouldn't wipe everyone else out. After the last session, in which my character was killed by about 15 paladins of heironeous, my DM asked me to create a character without prestige classes. Since the other members of the party are looking to be a rogue (our reluctant leader after my barbarian left), a ranger, and a fighter, one suggestion was that I be a druid since nobody in our group has EVER played one, including myself. I took this as a challenge and when I went to build my character I, at first, was more interested in creating a fun character than a powerful one. Then I rolled my stats (4d6 drop 1) 14 14 18 16 18 17. DRUIDS ARE RIDICULOUSLY POWERFUL. I soon found this out and after my DM told me that I could use TWICE the normal amount of money for that level (400,000 GP) I realized that this character would be more powerful than any I had ever run before. I also realized that since I would be the only spellcaster in the party I would undoubtedly be the center of attention. ======================================== ================== Here is what I have (keep in mind this is 3.0): Saeed Nasim Human Male Druid 15 True Neutral STR 20 (14 + Belt of Giant's Strength +6) DEX 20 (14 + Gloves of Dexterity +6) CON 18 INT 16 WIS 27 (18 + 3 level + Pearl of Wisdom +6) CHA 17 I bought wilding clasps (masters of the wild) for the pearl, gloves, belt, as well as my vest of resistance +5, bracers of armor +8, and boots of striding/sprinting. I also bought 2 rings of animal friendship and +5 wild hide armor of ease. Feats:Improved Initiative, Extend Spell, Persistent Spell, Natural Spell, Snatch, Flyby Attack, Blindsight My battle plan is to shift into a dire bear and cast spells. In that form I'll have 80ft speed, AC 36 (-1 size, +4 dex, +7 natural, +16 armor), 10 ft reach, and 37 strength. Next level I will gain elemental forms as well. My ace in the whole is my animal companion. Most of the time he will be in the shape of a tiny bird via an extended "Feathers" spell (lvl 4). When I really need him (fighting a really big creature or an army) I will telepathically (via helm of bonding also with wilding clasp) tell him to return to his normal form: Name: Massey Type: Dire Elephant Size: Colossal HD: 39d8 +390 (max normally is my level, 15, but rings add 24 hit dice) HP: 546 AC: 11 (but who cares) STR: 52 Trample for automatic gore damage (6d6+32) reflex DC 45 for half Now yes I know it is completely ridiculous (and I probably made a wrong calculation in there) but this character will definitely survive and the DM can't really complain. ======================================== ================== What I need though, not for the DM, but for my own peace of mind, is some suggestions on a good background. I was thinking that he grew up in some kind of india-esque safari environment, but is traveling across the world to become one with all of nature's many aspects. Massey has no problem traveling with me as a bird because at my side he can go places he could never dream of before, besides everyone wants to fly. In addition to any suggestions you might give me, perhaps you can also answer a question: How many goodberries does it take to fill up a colossal dire elephant? Since he spends most of his time as a small bird, would he just need the nourishment that that size would require (less than one goodberry) or will I need to feed that tiny bird 10-20 goodberries every day as well as letting him drink from my decanter of endless water every few minutes? Thanks for your help guys and gals, I'll be looking forward to hearing your responses.
Morka 05-30-05, 10:01 AM	Two questions: 1) At which level are you starting to have a Dire Elephant as animal companion??? 2) Are you sure you can use the Belt of Giant Strenght & the Gloves of dexterity in animal form? About the elephant in bird form, I would say it needs his normal ration/day. And it is a large amount of vegetable! The bird form is just a disguisement. For the background, the indian (or african) druid is good. But instead of leaving to "see the world", perhaps is he investigating something strange that happened in his land (fiendish/undeads/corrupted/elemental animals invasion), and it seems to be coming from your current campaign setting.
Disco 05-31-05, 02:01 AM	Let me start by saying I have only been playing adnd for about 10 months, but the whole time I've been playing a Druid. So you probably know more then me on most things, but let me try to impart some druidy wisdom. - Animal Companion. I guess it depends on what sort of campaigns you play, but in mine a Dire Elephant would be practically useless. Do you dungoneer? Attack castles? Anything done inside? Dire Elephants are... well massive elephants, the mere size of them will make it damn hard to get practical use unless your campaign takes place in a forest. Also, taking animals at lower levels should not be discounted, because they get awesome abilties. My personal favourite is a panther, they climb, balance and hide which is damn useful. Try working one out on paper and see how tough it looks. - Feats. Quicken Spell rocks, imo. Nothing like a call lightning free action, particularly when it is wet. Also, try to find someone who can cast permancy and then cast greater magical fang on your companion. Since you're the only spellcaster, it may be worth taking some sort of feat like Scribe scroll, make potion... whatever. The ability to 'store' your spells by getting them down is useful for a druid, and when you're the only spellcaster it is pratically necessary. - Armour, again it depends on what sort of DM you have, but mine does so much running and swimming that I threw away Hide armour and settled on Leather. And since you spend most of your battle time as a dire bear, I don't know if you would definetly need the hide. "How many goodberries does it take to fill up a colossal dire elephant?" Just take him into a pub that offers free peanuts with your beer. :) "1) At which level are you starting to have a Dire Elephant as animal companion??? 2) Are you sure you can use the Belt of Giant Strenght & the Gloves of dexterity in animal form? " Oooh I think he is right on both counts. Isn't Dire Elephant level-20? And you definetly can't use your belt and gloves while you are an animal.
Disco 05-31-05, 03:02 AM	Sorry, this is just to test my browser. It says I never replied in the above message...
nephtis 05-31-05, 10:17 AM	Sorry about this... but I don't think you'll be able to have a dire elephant animal companion at level 15. I've been playing a druid before and I seem to remeber that your animal companion can't have more hit dice than you yourself. You have 15, that dire elephant has 39 as you stated. The only exeption I believe was a wolf, when chosen at level 1 (player has 1 hd, wolf has 2). I was almost two years ago and I was playing 3.0 so that might have changed and I think there is a prestige class in Masters of the wild that allows for twice your hitdice worth as animal companions (so correct me if I'm totally wrong), but I wouldn't count on being allowed to wonder the world with that companion.
Drood 05-31-05, 07:26 PM	Well this weekend I played my character for the first time. I dumped the dire elephant idea. I thought that it would work because I had rings of animal friendship, but I found out that it doesn't increase the max hd of a single creature just the total # of animals. I ended up going with two legendary apes (I have 1 ring of animal friendship). Wilding clasps (from MotW) attached to magical items allows you to retain the bonuses while wildshaped, and Wild Armor (I went with padded instead) does the same.
Norhg 06-01-05, 12:16 PM	So how did things go?