Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 EmpactWB Mar 13, 2015 1:19:19	I'm building a character for a game that I expect to be more exploration that combat. The general idea is a sort of Indiana Jones style scholar adventurer, mucking about investigating the nature of destiny itself in lost ruins far from civilization. But while I generally view it as the most scholarly class, the Wizard isn't very self-sufficient when it comes to exploration, and I want to be the character to have that sort of pulp adventurer feel. I managed to roll very well, 18-16-16-14-13-8, so as a human variant with +1 Con, +1 Int racial boosts and the bonus feat Keen Mind, I'm looking at this spread:   Str 8 Dex 16 Con 14 Int 20 Wis 16 Cha 14   I know that low Strength may hurt me on some exploration stuff (clearing wilderness paths or debris from ruins, gathering/carrying provisions, etc), but overall it shouldn't be too bad. I shouldn't be relying on Strength too much in combat or social interaction unless something has seriously gone wrong, and having a clever magic solution when Strength would normally be relied on can always be played as an homage to that scene.   All that out of the way, I want to pick up some Druid spells to boost my character's wilderness expertise, but I don't particularly want to multiclass; if we ever hit level 20, I rather like the Wizard capstone, and finding the perfect split is a bit tricky. So I'm wondering, given the point spread and my concerns, whether it would be worthwhile to take the Magic Initiate and Ritual Caster feats to get some Druid spells that way.   Picking up Druidcraft to predict the weather and Goodberry for rations seem incredibly beneficial to the concept (Goodberry really is just that good, isn't it?), though I'm a little less convinced about my third choice. Currently I'm looking at Magic Stone from the Elemental Evil document, just for a bit of flavor (the character using what's around instead of relying on gear it carries).   Ritual Caster opens up some really interesting options that Wizards don't get by default (and that just dipping for a level or two won't get me) without costing more to acquire than extra Wizard spells. All told, I count nine rituals on the Druid list that aren't on the Wizard list: Detect Poison and Disease, Purify Food and Drink, Speak with Animals, Animal Messenger, Beast Sense, Locate Animals or Plants, Meld into Stone, Water Walk, and Commune with Nature. (You can sort of get the same effect of Beast Sense from a familiar, but if you need a new set of senses, Beast Sense doesn't cost money to cast every time.) Honestly, Commune with Nature could make it worth it all on its own for this concept, but it would take 9 levels of Druid to get it via multiclassing as opposed to being able to cast it as a level 9 Wizard if I can find it.   Mostly what I'm looking for is advice on whether the feats are worth it right away, if they should be put off, or if there's another easier way to do it that I'm overlooking. Many thanks in advance!
#2 slumgum Mar 13, 2015 2:27:21	Well starting the game with 20 INT means every ability score improvement is just icing on the cake.  As a wizard there are not a ton of feats that really matter.  Warcaster and Resilient: Constitution are probably the most practical feats, but they only help you if you take damage, so if you're clever/cautious enough you don't necessarily need them,   Other cool ones could be Healer (if no one else in the party has it) or Weapon Master just to pick up Whip proficiency.  Your character is going to be powerful enough as is you should really be taking all your feats for flavor/fun.   Goodberry is good.  But Cure Wounds is 1d8 + ability Mod (for you would be +3 if chosen via cleric/druid).  So Cure Wounds has a 4-11 range for you and can be done all at once at a cost of your action.  Goodberry is 10 points of healing, but you need to spend a full action per 1 point of healing, so not good in combat.  For your character Goodberry is obviously better as supplimental healing and nourishment should the campaign take you to a desert or something.  Just a heads up, the PHB reads as if the spell learned from Magic Initiate can be cast just once a day, but I think Mike Mearls tweeted unofficially that he would allow the spell chosen to be cast with your classes spell slots.  Ask your DM ahead of time if it's important for you to cast this spell a lot.