best race for druid? [Archive] - Wizards Community

best race for druid? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Negueb
12-25-07, 06:39 PM what do you think is the best race -optimization and flavourwise- choice for a druid? i'm looking for something whithout LA, and if possible, whith some fey fluff.

if there is no such thing, what PH race would you choose for a druid?
tenguroEd
12-25-07, 06:56 PM Elf or Human with Fey Bloodline.
Mulkr
12-25-07, 07:19 PM If you own Frostburn, Uldra. If not, go with elf/ gnome.
mtbOgre
12-25-07, 07:36 PM what do you think is the best race -optimization and flavourwise- choice for a druid? i'm looking for something whithout LA, and if possible, whith some fey fluff.

if there is no such thing, what PH race would you choose for a druid?
Here is your best source:
http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=733400

Personally I think the Strongheart Halfling thing is a bit cheesy, but what I do know I figure if you can't make a decent character using one of the of the core races then having two more racial feats isn't going to make or break your character one way or the other.

Look through the guide, then toss it out and play the character you think makes the coolest concept. Maybe that means you take a sub optimal race or feats but is it really going to be the difference between life and death? Character Optimization is a great tool for making your character conception work well, but it makes a poor substitute for role playing a cool concept.
runestar
12-25-07, 09:54 PM Jermlaine (MM2) or anthropomorphic bat (SS). +6wis at LA+0. Physical stats suck (that is what your animal companion is for at low lvs) but become mostly irrelevant when you get wildshape.

Maybe throw in VOP to flavour.
Tetsubo
12-26-07, 09:27 AM I've always thought that a Neanderthal Druid has a wonderful synergy. I would also take the Shapeshift variant rather than Wildshape.
larry_the_titan
12-26-07, 10:18 AM what do you think is the best race -optimization and flavourwise- choice for a druid? i'm looking for something whithout LA, and if possible, whith some fey fluff.

if there is no such thing, what PH race would you choose for a druid?

Killoren, there Fey and have Favored class Druid, No HD or LA to deal with, and the fluff that goes with them truly fit being Druids. Killoren are in Races of the Wild. The funniest part about the race is it is the only race I know of that get Smite as a racial ability.
Negueb
12-26-07, 02:46 PM thanks everyone for your comments.
the killoren is exactly what i was looking for! i borrowed races of the wild, and when i saw it, i felt i was tailor-made for what i was thinking of.
does anyone know if there is any killoren art around? the picture in races of the wild shows a cat-like killoren i wasn't particulary fond of, and accoding to the description in the book not all killoren look like that.
if there isn't any i'll just make my own in the Hero Machine.

cheers
Tetsubo
12-26-07, 03:19 PM Well, what do you want for an image? Cat-like, dog-like, some other mammal? I suggest asking at [alt.binaries.pictures.fantasy-sci-fi]. You could also do a GIS for "anthro". Or visit one of these sites: http://us.vclart.net/vcl/Artists/ (some adult content) or Elfwood. I personally have a large collection of anthro images. Email privately if you wish...
RobbyPants
12-26-07, 04:23 PM Best race for power? Human or strongheart halfling are great. That extra feat is always a good thing. If you wanted to get a little more creative, I suppose you could do a half-orc. They're not nearly as good as humans, but their penalties won't affect you, and the +2 Str and darkvision are nice for the first four levels before wild shape. At 5th level and beyond, you'll wonder why you didn't take that bonus feat though... ;)

Elves might be decent flavor-wise for druids, but the Con penalty hurts you big. It's the one physical stat you can't just wild shape away. Druids can make great front-line melee fighters, but a front-line melee fighter with a Con penalty has a bit to overcome...

Jermlaine (MM2) or anthropomorphic bat (SS). +6wis at LA+0. Physical stats suck (that is what your animal companion is for at low lvs) but become mostly irrelevant when you get wildshape.
Yeah, for power and power alone, I'd say Jermaline. It's really a great example to show why it's not a good idea to stat out any non-small or medium creatures as LA +0. Being large (or bigger) or tiny (or smaller) gives too many bonuses to the right types of characters.

Maybe throw in VOP to flavour.
Cheesy flavor?
BrianMc223
12-26-07, 05:23 PM I'll grant you that VoP works great for a druid, and if you mean it's cheesy for just this class then you might have something. Otherwise, the VoP is not, in any way, broken.
larry_the_titan
12-26-07, 05:44 PM thanks everyone for your comments.
the killoren is exactly what i was looking for! i borrowed races of the wild, and when i saw it, i felt i was tailor-made for what i was thinking of.
does anyone know if there is any killoren art around? the picture in races of the wild shows a cat-like killoren i wasn't particulary fond of, and accoding to the description in the book not all killoren look like that.
if there isn't any i'll just make my own in the Hero Machine.

cheers

Just pick an Elf and color its skin either green or brown and give it the correct hair color. Remember Killoren can change skin hair and eye color daily if they want. I am currently having a ball playing one.
Mulkr
12-26-07, 10:32 PM Ild still say Uldra. Favored class druid, a wisdom and constitution bonus, and a penalty to strength. And a cold touch to boot for extra damage with Bear claws!
RobbyPants
12-27-07, 10:54 AM I'll grant you that VoP works great for a druid, and if you mean it's cheesy for just this class then you might have something. Otherwise, the VoP is not, in any way, broken.
I agree. VoP is really only useful for the characters who lose very little. Monks can benifit nicely from VoP, but druids tend to benifit more in that they are full spellcasters, and they lose so much when they wildshape (in terms of gear they can easily use). There are plenty of work arounds, but VoP takes any effort out of it whatsoever.

Once a druid has VoP and Natural Spell, they have little reason to ever leave wild shape. Although, I do like the flavor of a druid who forsakes material possessions. Mechanically, it's one of those gain-everything-lose-nothing propositions.
larry_the_titan
12-27-07, 11:20 AM VoP Druids should take a level in Monk and go into Fist of the Forest, and take the Feats superior Unarmed strike and versitile unarmed strike. Now the character has a reason to have no equipment and has its casting stat and Con Mod to AC. Con to AC really comes in handy when you Wild Shape into one of the Low dex heavy Hitter forms. Only give up a couple levels outside of Druid so you still have full casting.
Cartigan
12-27-07, 11:41 AM Back to races...

Gold Dwarf (DMG sub race) or Dream Dwarf (RoS). And Dream Dwarf has Druid as favored class.
BrianMc223
12-27-07, 01:19 PM IIRC: Monks don't work as well with VoP as you would think they do. Which is odd, sence it is so clearly designed for them.
Sinfire Titan
12-27-07, 02:02 PM Jermlaine (MM2) or anthropomorphic bat (SS). +6wis at LA+0. Physical stats suck (that is what your animal companion is for at low lvs) but become mostly irrelevant when you get wildshape.

Maybe throw in VOP to flavour.

Bah-Roh-Ken. Say it with me now! Both of those races are Broken! Not that balance matters much when you are a Druid (lol, Druids don't care about the balance).
RobbyPants
12-27-07, 02:11 PM Not that balance matters much when you are a Druid (lol, Druids don't care about the balance).
How ironic for a largely neutral class. :P
zook1shoe666
12-28-07, 10:30 AM the Lesser Aasimar can get ugly too :-D

check out Exalted Wild Shape ;)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Negueb 12-25-07, 06:39 PM	what do you think is the best race -optimization and flavourwise- choice for a druid? i'm looking for something whithout LA, and if possible, whith some fey fluff. if there is no such thing, what PH race would you choose for a druid?
tenguroEd 12-25-07, 06:56 PM	Elf or Human with Fey Bloodline.
Mulkr 12-25-07, 07:19 PM	If you own Frostburn, Uldra. If not, go with elf/ gnome.
mtbOgre 12-25-07, 07:36 PM	what do you think is the best race -optimization and flavourwise- choice for a druid? i'm looking for something whithout LA, and if possible, whith some fey fluff. if there is no such thing, what PH race would you choose for a druid? Here is your best source: http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=733400 Personally I think the Strongheart Halfling thing is a bit cheesy, but what I do know I figure if you can't make a decent character using one of the of the core races then having two more racial feats isn't going to make or break your character one way or the other. Look through the guide, then toss it out and play the character you think makes the coolest concept. Maybe that means you take a sub optimal race or feats but is it really going to be the difference between life and death? Character Optimization is a great tool for making your character conception work well, but it makes a poor substitute for role playing a cool concept.
runestar 12-25-07, 09:54 PM	Jermlaine (MM2) or anthropomorphic bat (SS). +6wis at LA+0. Physical stats suck (that is what your animal companion is for at low lvs) but become mostly irrelevant when you get wildshape. Maybe throw in VOP to flavour.
Tetsubo 12-26-07, 09:27 AM	I've always thought that a Neanderthal Druid has a wonderful synergy. I would also take the Shapeshift variant rather than Wildshape.
larry_the_titan 12-26-07, 10:18 AM	what do you think is the best race -optimization and flavourwise- choice for a druid? i'm looking for something whithout LA, and if possible, whith some fey fluff. if there is no such thing, what PH race would you choose for a druid? Killoren, there Fey and have Favored class Druid, No HD or LA to deal with, and the fluff that goes with them truly fit being Druids. Killoren are in Races of the Wild. The funniest part about the race is it is the only race I know of that get Smite as a racial ability.
Negueb 12-26-07, 02:46 PM	thanks everyone for your comments. the killoren is exactly what i was looking for! i borrowed races of the wild, and when i saw it, i felt i was tailor-made for what i was thinking of. does anyone know if there is any killoren art around? the picture in races of the wild shows a cat-like killoren i wasn't particulary fond of, and accoding to the description in the book not all killoren look like that. if there isn't any i'll just make my own in the Hero Machine. cheers
Tetsubo 12-26-07, 03:19 PM	Well, what do you want for an image? Cat-like, dog-like, some other mammal? I suggest asking at [alt.binaries.pictures.fantasy-sci-fi]. You could also do a GIS for "anthro". Or visit one of these sites: http://us.vclart.net/vcl/Artists/ (some adult content) or Elfwood. I personally have a large collection of anthro images. Email privately if you wish...
RobbyPants 12-26-07, 04:23 PM	Best race for power? Human or strongheart halfling are great. That extra feat is always a good thing. If you wanted to get a little more creative, I suppose you could do a half-orc. They're not nearly as good as humans, but their penalties won't affect you, and the +2 Str and darkvision are nice for the first four levels before wild shape. At 5th level and beyond, you'll wonder why you didn't take that bonus feat though... ;) Elves might be decent flavor-wise for druids, but the Con penalty hurts you big. It's the one physical stat you can't just wild shape away. Druids can make great front-line melee fighters, but a front-line melee fighter with a Con penalty has a bit to overcome... Jermlaine (MM2) or anthropomorphic bat (SS). +6wis at LA+0. Physical stats suck (that is what your animal companion is for at low lvs) but become mostly irrelevant when you get wildshape. Yeah, for power and power alone, I'd say Jermaline. It's really a great example to show why it's not a good idea to stat out any non-small or medium creatures as LA +0. Being large (or bigger) or tiny (or smaller) gives too many bonuses to the right types of characters. Maybe throw in VOP to flavour. Cheesy flavor?
BrianMc223 12-26-07, 05:23 PM	I'll grant you that VoP works great for a druid, and if you mean it's cheesy for just this class then you might have something. Otherwise, the VoP is not, in any way, broken.
larry_the_titan 12-26-07, 05:44 PM	thanks everyone for your comments. the killoren is exactly what i was looking for! i borrowed races of the wild, and when i saw it, i felt i was tailor-made for what i was thinking of. does anyone know if there is any killoren art around? the picture in races of the wild shows a cat-like killoren i wasn't particulary fond of, and accoding to the description in the book not all killoren look like that. if there isn't any i'll just make my own in the Hero Machine. cheers Just pick an Elf and color its skin either green or brown and give it the correct hair color. Remember Killoren can change skin hair and eye color daily if they want. I am currently having a ball playing one.
Mulkr 12-26-07, 10:32 PM	Ild still say Uldra. Favored class druid, a wisdom and constitution bonus, and a penalty to strength. And a cold touch to boot for extra damage with Bear claws!
RobbyPants 12-27-07, 10:54 AM	I'll grant you that VoP works great for a druid, and if you mean it's cheesy for just this class then you might have something. Otherwise, the VoP is not, in any way, broken. I agree. VoP is really only useful for the characters who lose very little. Monks can benifit nicely from VoP, but druids tend to benifit more in that they are full spellcasters, and they lose so much when they wildshape (in terms of gear they can easily use). There are plenty of work arounds, but VoP takes any effort out of it whatsoever. Once a druid has VoP and Natural Spell, they have little reason to ever leave wild shape. Although, I do like the flavor of a druid who forsakes material possessions. Mechanically, it's one of those gain-everything-lose-nothing propositions.
larry_the_titan 12-27-07, 11:20 AM	VoP Druids should take a level in Monk and go into Fist of the Forest, and take the Feats superior Unarmed strike and versitile unarmed strike. Now the character has a reason to have no equipment and has its casting stat and Con Mod to AC. Con to AC really comes in handy when you Wild Shape into one of the Low dex heavy Hitter forms. Only give up a couple levels outside of Druid so you still have full casting.
Cartigan 12-27-07, 11:41 AM	Back to races... Gold Dwarf (DMG sub race) or Dream Dwarf (RoS). And Dream Dwarf has Druid as favored class.
BrianMc223 12-27-07, 01:19 PM	IIRC: Monks don't work as well with VoP as you would think they do. Which is odd, sence it is so clearly designed for them.
Sinfire Titan 12-27-07, 02:02 PM	Jermlaine (MM2) or anthropomorphic bat (SS). +6wis at LA+0. Physical stats suck (that is what your animal companion is for at low lvs) but become mostly irrelevant when you get wildshape. Maybe throw in VOP to flavour. Bah-Roh-Ken. Say it with me now! Both of those races are Broken! Not that balance matters much when you are a Druid (lol, Druids don't care about the balance).
RobbyPants 12-27-07, 02:11 PM	Not that balance matters much when you are a Druid (lol, Druids don't care about the balance). How ironic for a largely neutral class. :P
zook1shoe666 12-28-07, 10:30 AM	the Lesser Aasimar can get ugly too :-D check out Exalted Wild Shape ;)