Coincidently I do hope they keep the at will wild shaping mechanic from phb2 Druid. Maybe not the powers limited to only used while shifted aspect but I did enjoy that, thematically if not mechanically, the Druid could become an animal as much as he or she wanted. That being said I fully admit that I never got a chance to play one nor see one played so it might have been completely broken and/or useless a feature.
Anyway, there are my rambling thoughts on the new Druid what are yours?
Mine amounts to 'throw out the wild shape, replace it with the leader features', myself. I never cared for wild shape, myself.
While I do like Wild Shape, I would also like to see a druid build who can ignore it without losing the use of one of his at-wills and half to two-thirds of his choice of powers.
I also want to see Wild Shape rewritten so that it only disallows attack powers without the beast form keyword, not utilities. With Essentials changing every power in the game (including racial powers) to be either an attack or a utility, the current wording of Wild shape is broken. The idea that an elf druid can't use Elven Accuracy while in beast form is dumb.
It's also an unusual example of D&D getting a mythological element right. Celtic myth is loaded with shape-changing, typically accomplished with a tap from a magic wand.
Wildshape is /the/ classic Druid power. Well, that and walking through tangled undergrowth at normal speed without leaving a trail, and identifyint plants and animals.... No, wait, I was right the first time, it was Wildshape. ;)
It's also an unusual example of D&D getting a mythological element right. Celtic myth is loaded with shape-changing, typically accomplished with a tap from a magic wand.
Right on both counts, I'm sure, but that doesn't change the simple fact that I don't like it and wish it would go away.
I'm also fully aware that it will never happen.
Wildshape is /the/ classic Druid power. Well, that and walking through tangled undergrowth at normal speed without leaving a trail, and identifyint plants and animals.... No, wait, I was right the first time, it was Wildshape. ;)
It's also an unusual example of D&D getting a mythological element right. Celtic myth is loaded with shape-changing, typically accomplished with a tap from a magic wand.
Right on both counts, I'm sure, but that doesn't change the simple fact that I don't like it and wish it would go away.
I'm also fully aware that it will never happen.
Lol now that is a feeling I can sympathize with. Despite being the healer of my group my favorite class has always been the warlock (hence my name) from Complete Arcane on i enjoyed it and I fell in love with the 4e version from the fluff to the mechanics. Problem is my group has two striker players already so I've never got to play one. When I heard that some of the essential sub classes were different roles from their parent classes I began hoping for a warlock leader class. Despite also being fully aware it'll never happen.
Lol now that is a feeling I can sympathize with. Despite being the healer of my group my favorite class has always been the warlock (hence my name) from Complete Arcane on i enjoyed it and I fell in love with the 4e version from the fluff to the mechanics. Problem is my group has two striker players already so I've never got to play one. When I heard that some of the essential sub classes were different roles from their parent classes I began hoping for a warlock leader class. Despite also being fully aware it'll never happen.
Any idea what kind of concept that might be? The Warlock makes perilous pacts with powers beyond our ken to gain arcane power... what kind of sinister arcane power grants you healling? Necromancy? Hm....
Any idea what kind of concept that might be? The Warlock makes perilous pacts with powers beyond our ken to gain arcane power... what kind of sinister arcane power grants you healling? Necromancy? Hm....
Honestly I don't know, maybe a pact with ancestor spirits akin to the vestige pact? That being said I've had the idea for the other end of the conversation in my head since I first read the fluff of the new warlock:
A small village on the borderlands is in flames. A goblin raiding party has picked this place as their latest target and there is no one here strong enough to rebuff them. In the back store room of the blacksmiths forge the survivors are huddled crying in fear. As the goblins scrabble at the door the blacksmith's apprentice offers a silent plea for help, "I haven't the skill to wield steel, the nimbleness to pick locks, I hadn't the Faith to serve a god nor the memory to master the arcane arts, but please someone... Anyone! Grant me the power to keep my friends and family safe, to protect them from what is to come." And in the darkened storeroom, something answers his plea...
And Celtic: that combined with the fact that they can use Con as their casting stat make the sorcerer king pact my favorite one. The problem is my gm doesn't like to use setting specific classes outside the setting and I'm the only one who really likes Dark Sun in my group so in order to play in it, I'd have to run it.
It's also an unusual example of D&D getting a mythological element right. Celtic myth is loaded with shape-changing, typically accomplished with a tap from a magic wand.
While I like Celtic mythology as much as the next medium natural humanoid, I am strongly opposed to any class being based exclusively on a single mythological archetype. There's plenty of room in the game for a primal 'nature priest' that doesn't shapeshift (and isn't a shaman either, before anyone suggests that).
PS I wish to see Wild Shape going too. Never been fan of. At least in the ol' days he'd not get it before Level 7.
Lol now that is a feeling I can sympathize with. Despite being the healer of my group my favorite class has always been the warlock (hence my name) from Complete Arcane on i enjoyed it and I fell in love with the 4e version from the fluff to the mechanics. Problem is my group has two striker players already so I've never got to play one. When I heard that some of the essential sub classes were different roles from their parent classes I began hoping for a warlock leader class. Despite also being fully aware it'll never happen.
Any idea what kind of concept that might be? The Warlock makes perilous pacts with powers beyond our ken to gain arcane power... what kind of sinister arcane power grants you healling? Necromancy? Hm....
Vampiric spells that allow your allies to gain blood drinking powers. (some cleric powers skin that way almost already).
Spells which allow you to become a repository for your allies anima so they take less damage when hit because they aren't really there .... but if you get hit some allies might take damage.
Defiler spells that drain life force from surrounding plants and creatures and enemies and life forces and you can feed it back to your allies you are stormbringer.
Ritualistic healing where your groups blood all gets pooled in streamers and blades of blood through clasped hands (and you share healing surges = yup its just a flavoring)