Loopy's NPC Series:
The Druid
Thanks again to all of you for your support in my NPC series. I’m glad to be helping some people out there. I think I’ll arrange this one much like the rest. First, we’ll visit the spellcasting side of the class and then we’ll go into the physical side of things. At the end, I’ll discuss the Druid’s uses as a main antagonist. It can be done!
Spells:
The Beast Master:
Well, I don’t know about the rest of you, but the “spontaneous summoning for Druids” part of the revisions came as a complete surprise to me, but it was a welcome one. It really gives the Druid some character. Some of you have problems with summoning, I know. PCs have a way of eating through them like a flame through butter, but there are several feats out there that can seriously augment your summoned creatures. DM to DM, I’d like to say that it might be a good idea to allow your players (and consequently your NPCs) to use some of the Psion feats for your summoned creatures. Whatever the case, as I said in my Cleric article, these summoned creatures will give something for your PCs to deal with instead of your NPCs. If the PCs ignore the summoned creatures because they “aren’t worth dealing with” and the summoned creatures cannot hit your PCs’ AC, then simply use the Aid Another rule to make it easier to hit the characters. I know I sound like a broken record with this, but it’s as useful as all hell. Definitely look into the giant vermin spell.
Animal companions are very useful. They can have the same role as your summoned creatures, but they will sometimes share the Druid’s buff spells. Remember, this is not a character you are running, but a non-player character and probably an evil one to boot. By all means, do not try to protect that animal companion. Throw it into the fray and cut loose with it. I’d even go so far as to allow your Druid NPC to “rage” in some way when his companion is destroyed by the PCs.
Don’t waste your companion or any of your summoned creatures on annoying characters that have Uncanny Dodge.
The Healer:
Using the Druid as a healer is a bad idea. As far as player-character parties, they will undoubtedly use their party Druid as a specialized Cleric from time to time, but you should not fall into this rut yourself. Low-level heals are too weak to waste a round of actions on and your higher-level ones are better off cast by an actual Cleric. If healing is that important to you in the NPC party you’re creating, then just put a Cleric or a wand-armed Bard or Rogue in it. A Rogue with a pocket full of scrolls and a wand with the Tumble skill makes a better healer than a Druid just about any day.
The Buffer:
Now what you want to do with your lower-level spells is buff the hell out of your Druid to make her even more powerful when she shapeshifts and kicks the tar out of the party. Buffing the rest of the NPCs wouldn’t hurt but it’s a terrible waste of time. Use spells to make your Druid one big, nasty front-line fighter. Read all of these spells carefully: the magic fang series, bull’s strength, spider climb, rusting grasp, cat’s grace, and freedom of movement.
The Great Ones:
There are a few Druid spells I’d like to talk about specifically that a standard NPC (non-BBEG) should be using on a regular basis, bull’s strength and magic fang notwithstanding:
Entangle: is a great spell. I have seen this spell save the bacon of many low-level PCs and it can be their doom as well!!!! Throw it in the general direction of the low-strength characters and start shooting them with arrows (but not fireballs... I suggest scorching rays instead). Just remember that it can only be used where plants are growing. Mold is not a plant.
Goodberry: the best part is you don't even have to waste a round casting it. Keep them in your NPC's pocket and administer them to dying NPCs to stabilize... or just heal yourself of those nasty bleeding wounds that Rogues like to do.
Heat Metal: is a rather mean low-level spell and has been known to "take out" a few clerics and even fighters. PCs like to work themselves down to the low HPs and this spell can take them out of commission rather quickly.
Gust of Wind: This is how you kill a level 15 Fighter with a level 3 Druid. Span a narrow bridge (2.5'-wide) over a 20' drop into acid, lava, carpet of insects, what-have-you. Cast your spell. It's perfectly reasonable to assume that being knocked prone on such a narrow spot would require a reflex save to not fall. There are, of course MUCH less lethal variations of this trap. Have the lake of lava be a pit. Fill the pit with water, if you like. It will become a major distraction, trying to fish that metal-clad fighter out of the water while your NPCs buff up or attack.
Warp Wood: is one of the GM's Great Magic Item Balancers. It's a Will save, so it's not too good against a Wizard's staff, but great against that damned +5 Greataxe that somehow slipped into your level 12 party.
Meld into Stone: is awesome. If the fight goes bad, your Druid can turn a corner in her move-based action and then meld with her standard one. She can heal herself after the PCs have gone and then strike again or just alert the whole damned dungeon!!
Plant Growth: so you can entangle. Duh! Actually, this spell makes entangle EXTRA not fun for the PCs!
Snare: Remember the chick that ran away and melded herself into the stone? Yeah. Awesome. For Lawful Evil Druids only. Chaotic ones probably wouldn't be able to handle the waiting. They'd probably just lay the spell and walk away.
Wind Wall: can practically shut down ranged characters. You can rain down fire and destruction behind one of these and giggle while you do so.
Scrying, Greater Scrying: It's great that Druids can do this. Likely evil ones will do it through a cistern of blood or something. Anyway, a BBEG should really just LET the PCs just walk into his domain and scry on them the whole time... making them miserable at every step. This spell is VERY powerful when used in this fashion and you should reconsider this if you like your players at all.
Baleful Polymorph: "Turning Vampires into lawn chairs and other feats of high majik."
Transmute Mud to Rock/Rock to Mud: is a very NASTY trap to get stuck in. There's the obvious use of this (sticking people into solid rock), but there can be MANY diabolical things you can do with these spells. Turn a ceiling into mud. Use a quickened spell to turn it into stone as it is falling. A BBEG might have several special chambers in her hideout which may seem like simple rooms, but only have one foot of stone separating the PCs from a really nasty fall. If you want to be nice, show them a few that have already been tripped so they might get the idea.
Stoneskin: This is a must for any Melee Druid. It’s a wonderful spell and will preclude the need for healing in most situations at the level you get the spell, so just bulk up on the SMASH and don’t worry about having a healer, especially if you have time to get one of these off on each of your NPCs beforehand. Again, don’t forget to allow your NPCs listen checks to hear moving PCs!!!!
Tree Stride: Have your animal companion spot the PCs, change into animal form. Cast this spell and ATTACK! Hopefully, the NPC's a tiger or something and can pounce to deal, like a BO-jillion points of damage in the first round to some poor bastard denied his dex bonus to AC.
Antilife Shell: More useful for a Wizard than a Druid. You really want to be up there in the front line with your Druid NPCs and this spell stops that from happening. Useful for PCs, not you.
Ironwood: Basically free gear for your NPCs. Spread the wealth. A creative DM will find other uses for this spell. Strengthen bridges to give your BBEG a safe retreat or perhaps a sailing ship full of Druids could have the most impenetrable hull in the world. Simply give the spell to a Druid who wishes to test the PCs or teach them a lesson. A boastful Fighter may receive several tests of her strength all of which she passes with flying colors.... until she is asked to break a simple stick.
This spell has many uses.Liveoak: I really didn't have to mention this one, but I wanted to remind you all of something. A lot of these Druid NPCs are going to be evil and I want you to try and modify this spell a little bit. Create an evil, warped and rotten-hearted Treant to summon. At the very least, when the character casts the spell, describe the transformation of the poor tree which is the target of the spell from a thriving living thing into a dark, bare-branched, fungus-ridden beast. It will add the proper amount of flavor.
Changestaff: See liveoak.
Transport via Plants: See tree stride except much better. Perhaps you should create a feat which allows the caster to perform a charge action against any target immediately after the casting of a spell of this kind. Impose a -4 penalty due to the fact that he will be a bit disoriented after the travel.
Transmute Metal to Wood: Another great magic item destroyer. Use it, but not too often. You will lose your players.
True Seeing: If your Druid CAN cast it, then she SHOULD; on as many allies as possible. PCs can get VERY annoying with their illusions, especially improved invisibility. It does not mention specifically that it sees alignment-masking spells at work, but I allow it.
Wind Walk: This is a spell that PCs will abuse every second they get, so you should not hesitate to do so yourself. Use it to set your plans into motion swiftly. Send messages, send emissaries, send yourself. It is a mighty tool. I suggest you reflect upon it.
Control Plants: may seem like a completely useless spell to you, but you really have to think like the Mean Dungeon Master. A good BBEG Druid will have 1) himself 2) his animal companion 3) a pair of close retainers 4) summoned creatures and 5) a plant creature caged up who he casts his control plants spell on. TECHNICALLY you do not have to give your players XP for this creature, the summoned creatures or the animal companion, but you may want to give the poor, frustrated bastards SOMETHING.
I will not go into detail with any of the 9th level spells or some of the more powerful 8th level ones (reverse gravity, repel metal, word of recall) because they are VERY self-evident and ridiculously powerful without coming up with advanced tactics for them. Reverse gravity is reguddemndiculous in the hands of a really mean-spirited Dungeon Master.
Druid Feats:
One of the most frustrating things about building a Druid is the feat selection. The Druid fills so many roles... more so than the Cleric because of her formidable shapeshifting ability. The best advice I can give is to base the feats you choose on the theme you're going for. Don't worry too much about metagaming because it is really next to impossible to metagame feat choices for the Druid.
A caster Druid is tough to play, but paired with an animal form that flies will improve her effectiveness. The feats you choose should, of course be Natural Spell and Hover. This will give you free reign over the battlefield to cast your spells. I won't dwell on this too much, because I really do not believe that caster Druids below 15th level or so make good and challenging NPCs.
Blending combat and caster feats is really the way to go. Always take Natural Spell no matter what you do, at least as far as standard rank-and-file NPCs are concerned. You never know when you may need to pop off an escape spell or a distraction while transformed. You also may want to cast a summon spell to improve your ability to hit buffed PCs. Power Attack and Cleave are great choices around the time you get your Wild Shape , unless you have chosen something strange. A character that becomes a Dire Snake, for instance may want to take feats that improve his grappling skills. What I'm getting at is thus: The 1st-level feat should be Natural Spell. The 3rd, 6th and 9th levels, you should try to improve your NPCs' animal state in some way. At 12th and 15th you may want Spell Penetration and Quicken Spell respectively.
The Druid Antagonist:
A Druid antagonist can, at times be a difficult thing to envision. Druids have always been the great protectors of nature. They supposedly bow to Gaia and all she represents. Indeed, in 2nd edition it was required that a Druid be True Neutral, which makes it doubly difficult for old fogies like me to conform to the idea of a Druid BBEG.
The first and foremost thing to understand is that your antagonists do not necessarily have to be evil. You may, indeed have a True Neutral Druid NPC who is disgusted by the constant flow of garbage and feces being dumped into a local river by a nearby city. Being one of the only powerful Druids in the area, he may not be able to keep the water clean with spells and hence has decided to play ecoterrorist. The PCs must either destroy him or get him to see reason. This is an excellent antagonist since a great deal of the more powerful PC types out there are geared towards destroying or protecting themselves from evil. Other neutral Druid antagonists may simply thwart the PCs at every turn instead of all-out hurting them. I can imagine that a grove full of mystical mazes and nonlethal traps and puzzles could be both exciting and challenging. You may wish to use a spellcaster-type Druid for Neutral or Good antagonists.
Evil Druids. They certainly can exist. A very important part of nature is entropy and while the force of decay is not innately evil itself, it does have an appeal to evil characters. Destruction, rot, slime, mildew, death, decay.... evil people eat this stuff up. Also, evil characters may be in tune with the natural forces of the world, but instead of being a part of it, she wants to control it. To own it.
Decent themes for evil Druids abound.
There are several splatbook spells involving slime. Anyone who spent any time on a farm as a kid knows about decay and slime. Sludge and deteriorating matter are dead but alive at the same time. It is a dead thing which is being used to feed mold and other creatures. Again, this is not an inherently evil thing, but evil characters do indeed take to it like a fish to water. This BBEG might be out to cause the world to rot down to the core in order to bring about a new life of his creation. Indeed, he may have already succeeded to a small extent in his own grove and lair. Perhaps a large section of forest has been replaced with huge Macromolds and giant fungus. Maybe it has taken over a small town, including the people. Use Myconid stats for these poor people.
Another more obvious Druid could have Egyptian undertones. She might be completely in touch with the desert and all it's creatures. Allow her to have a swarm animal companion, possibly. Her entire idiom could have to do with poisonous insects and reptiles. Perhaps she can take the form of a swarm or dinosaur herself. Make certain that the NPC is balanced, but do not let the rules get in the way of a really memorable NPC.
Perhaps some malignant Fey have tricked and eluded an otherwise friendly druid into despising mortals. After years of this behavior, he has become sadistic and dark. When fey are evil, they are the evil of our nightmares. They take evil to a new plateau that leaves the most jaded individual shuddering and whimpering. Do not ever forget this. This NPC might be very dark and evil indeed with a very astute knowledge about psychotropic plants and the human anatomy. Refer to the Book of Vile Darkness for details.
In conclusion:
Well, thanks again for listening. As always I hope that I have helped some people with some of their NPC difficulties. Once again: please argue with me or add your own thoughts! Happy gaming, everyone.
Liveoak: I really didn't have to mention this one, but I wanted to remind you all of something. A lot of these Druid NPCs are going to be evil and I want you to try and modify this spell a little bit. Create an evil, warped and rotten-hearted Treant to summon. At the very least, when the character casts the spell, describe the transformation of the poor tree which is the target of the spell from a thriving living thing into a dark, bare-branched, fungus-ridden beast. It will add the proper amount of flavor.
It's not JUST a treant, it's Old Man Willow from the Lord of the Rings. Of course, you can always have a Human Bard/Druid there to rescue the PCs.
Great advice.
Snare: Remember the chick that ran away and melded herself into the stone? Yeah. Awesome. For Lawful Evil Druids only. Chaotic ones probably wouldn't be able to handle the waiting. They'd probably just lay the spell and walk away.
Druids need to have "Neutral" on one axis of their alignment, so LE druids normally don't exist and chaotic ones would have to be CN. Very small point I know, but since your series is written more as a tutorial of sorts I thought it worth mentioning.
Cheers and keep up the good work,
Lokahn
My take on the Druid is usually as a summoner. 1/3/6 SF: Conj, Augment Summon, Natural Spell. Now, you're a druid who has many an animal to deal out the whuppings. Or do you think that augmented dire weasels are weak? Drain blood, baby. Con damage.
The druid is really one of the most versatile classes there is, second only in my opinion to the druid in the ability to go solo. Spells, combat, and nifty abilities out in the woods. Trackless step is great, so is 1000 faces. These are all things that you can use as a DM to make your druid BBEG a recurring element, unless you just want to use him for a one-off.
Great series of articles, btw.
Buffed through the roof (along with his horse, of course, of course), the Druid Chevalier is a terror to behold. A level or two in Barbarian wouldn't go amiss either...
What I'm getting at is thus: The 1st-level feat should be Natural Spell. The 3rd, 6th and 9th levels, you should try to improve your NPCs' animal state in some way. At 12th and 15th you may want Spell Penetration and Quicken Spell respectively.
Alas, you can only take natural spell at fifth level, when the druid gets her wild shape ability.
This article is awesome. I’m reading it from a player's perspective, and its giving me all sorts of fun ideas to spring on the DM the next time we play :-)