Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 kureno Oct 30, 2009 1:49:20	Oy there, I'm working on creating a fantastic character for a 3.5e campaign run in Faerun, the catch is this- I'm starting as a first level druid, and I'm playing completely solo. The drawbacks of this are obvious, and I'm looking to overcome them. Generally, I don't sit in the seat of a player-- I'm not used to being in the creation process my own character, though, I do really love the creative aspects of Druid as a class. Base stats are as follows (These are AFTER racial modifiers of Moon Elf, a.k.a. PH Elf): Str - 14 Dex - 16 Con - 13 Int - 15 Wis - 16 Cha - 14   The ability scores are more than workable for this character, I'm just trying to figure out exactly what approach I should take to this character. I'm fairly certain I'd like to play a wildshaper of some sort, though, I don't really know the mechanics of playing or creating a character of the calliber I will need to sustain myself in this campaign.  So, yeah. Survivability + capable soloist wildshaper is what I'm looking for. I Appreciate the input (in advanced, considering I'll probably need it.)   Edit: To elaborate, I have access to any of the books that are usable for 3.5 and 3.0 editions, if the sources of content I am allowed to use is a question for anyone willing to answer this plea.
#2 cephid Oct 30, 2009 5:16:04	DRUIDS ARE THE GREATEST! For a solo campaigne I think you chose the best class. I have a druid is a solo too and he rocks. Look at the druids hand book here. community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/758... If you want an animal companion (which will save your life in a solo) then I would recomend human or halfling. Human for the extra feat, and halfling to get the feat which lets you add your wisdom to initiave. One of the best things about a druid is once you hit level 5, your strength and dex mean nothing. Shapeshift into a lion or bear and go wild. Here is my build. He casts Forest Fold and Camoflage to get Massive stealth skills. He casts Girralon's blessing and Bite of the Werebear in dire lion form for deadly melee attacks. And at level 12 he can spontaneously summon Rashimi Air elementals for massive cone of cold attacks. He is really tough cause he gets temporary health every round from minor shape shift and casts heart of earth to get damage reduction.   BORAKAS, Vessel of Silvos. Druid 1-8 / Moonspeaker 1/ Druid 9 /Contemplative 1 / Druid 10-18  1) Alertness (+2 spot/listen), +2 rounds of shifting, +4 wild empathy, nature sense (+2 bonus on Knowledge (nature) and Survival). Nightbringer Initiate (hide and stealth as class skills) 2) Woodland stride (natural undergrowth doesn't impede movement) 3) Craft Wondrous Item. Failed save vs. enchantment = re-roll next round. +2 ability (changeable) Trackless step 4) +2 initiave. -2 will saves. Resist nature's lure (+4 saves vs. fey) 5) Wild shape (1/day) 6) Natural Spell 7) Wild shape (3/day) 8) Wild shape (Large) 9) Moonspeaker 1: Augment Summoning. Item creation, meta magic and shifter feats all count as shifter feats.+4 ability (changeable) Prepare extra 1st-3rd level spell, cast as swift. Minor Shapeshift 10) Immune: Poison. 11) Time Domain: Improved Initiative. Immune: disease Time Domain Spells. Permanency: Greater Magic fang +5, Detect magic, Tongues, Telepathic bond. Contingency: Teleport or 12) Wild shape (4/day) Rashimi Elemental Summoning 13) Wild shape (Tiny) 14) Wild shape (plant) Summon as standard action. 15) . A thousand faces (FEAT) 16) Wild shape (5/day) 17) +6 ability (changeable) Prepare extra 1st-6th level spell, cast as swift Timeless body, wild shape (Huge). Time stop 18) Wild shape (elemental 1/day) (FEAT) 19) 20) Wild shape (6/day, elemental 2/day) Bonus feat: 'extra shifter trait'
#3 crazyroundeye Oct 30, 2009 5:44:46	If it fits the campaign/character concept, i highly recommend the holy vow feat tree from book of exalted deeds, specifically the vow of poverty.  Druids generally lose their cool gear when wildshaped, but the bonuses from vow of poverty are exalted bonuses, and don't go away when you're in fleshraker/battlebriar form.  At 8th lvl i had one such druid rolling around with AC 48 during combat, courtesy of the ac bonuses from VoP and two spells.  gross.  Theoretically, the golden ice feat that you can take from VoP makes all your attacks poisoned, making venomfire (ibid) even more broken, if such a thing is possible.  Also, green bound sumoning (Lost empires of Faerun) is a must.
#4 kureno Nov 02, 2009 14:26:05	Cephid, can you go into your build with a little more detail? I'm trying to think of what I could substitute out for Nightbringer Initiate, because that's an eberron plot-specific class, and I'm playing in Faerun. I picked up Improved Initiative as my first feat, because I need the ability to act first in combat if at all possible. It improves my chances that I can shift, or heal myself if I'm in danger.
#5 phaedrusxy Nov 02, 2009 21:53:19	Druid 20 is perfectly viable in any game, no matter how many splatbooks you have access to. Druids don't need prestige classes. So I wouldn't worry about trying to replace the PrC dip the earlier build had in it. As far as feats, you want Natural Spell at 6th and the rest is just gravy. Improved Initiative, SF: Conjuration and Augment Summoning are all good core feats. Greenbound Summoning is over the top powerful. Companion Spellbond is decent, also. I don't think elf is a good racial choice, but the druid class is powerful enough that it should make up for it...
#6 cephid Nov 03, 2009 19:23:31	Cephid, can you go into your build with a little more detail? I'm trying to think of what I could substitute out for Nightbringer Initiate, because that's an eberron plot-specific class, and I'm playing in Faerun. I picked up Improved Initiative as my first feat, because I need the ability to act first in combat if at all possible. It improves my chances that I can shift, or heal myself if I'm in danger. Ok. If you are going solo then having an animal companion with you is much stronger than not. For Role play reasons I didn't want an animal companion.  By far the best alternative class feature without animal companion is the varient from the race: shifter. It gives me good stat bouses, a couple of extra free action spells, ability to cast summons as standard actions and and access to Moonspeaker PrC. I took 1 level of moonspeaker to get Augment summoning for free. (normally costs 2 feats.) I took 1 level of contemplative (complete Divine) to get a bonus domain. I chose time domain and it gets me: Improved initiative, haste spell (excellent on summons + self), contingincy (very powerful), permancy (for magic fang and other goodies. If you can find a way to cast Arcane sight then you can make it permanent too.), and Timestop. For feats, Rathi Elemental summoning is amazing at level 12+. This build can swap out any prepared spell to spontaneously summon an oglash air elemental (as a standard action) who can immediately make a 15d6 cone of cold and the do it again for 2 more turns. i.e. 1 spell slot=3 x cone of cold + an air elemental with +4 str and +8 constitucion. I really like the night bringer feat as it lets me be sneaky as well. If you can't get it, you could still cross class some skill points and use spells to pump it up. Minor shapeshift is Amazing. Take it at level 9 for sure. You get temp hp = your HD every round as a swift action. Cast heart of Earth spell and an enemy has to really hack into you just to touch your real hp. Add heart of water and you get 25% immunity to sneak attack and freedom of movement as a free action if things go bad. I think Item creating is really good too. It adds yet another thing that you can be excellent at. There are so many good items a druid can make with craft wondrous item. For 1000xp you can get an extra 12,000gp worth of wealth. You can get a lot of excellent stuff with that. Probably a lot more than you can get with 1000xp. If you want the strongest build for solo without Eberon stuff go: Druid 19/contemplative 1. Human for an extra feat or halfling (for the feat that lets you add wis modifier to initiative). Feats: Natural spell, minor shape shift and anything else you like. Get the feat that lets you share spells with your companion at 30' range instead of 5'. That way you can both be buffed to the stars and own combat. I totaly agree with PhaedrusXY. You can be good at what ever you want, so make the build you would most enjoy playing.
#7 temporaldancer Nov 05, 2009 20:06:57	It's less than optimal, but druid 1/wizard 1 using Sanctum spell leads to one hell of an animal companion using Arcane Heirophant, and you're only missing out on one caster level for either side, leading to 11th level casting minimum for each, and then finish off with Druid, possibly the aforementioned contemplative dip.
#8 gorfnad_the_shiznit Nov 10, 2009 4:34:23	I'm surprised no one has mentioned Planar Shepard (FoE) yet. It's one of the best Druid prestige classes out there. Granted it's Eberron but it can easily be adapted to Faerun. It advances spellcasting, wildshape, animal companion, and gives you some really really powerful abilities. Maybe see if you're DM would allow to substitute Initiate of Nature (PGtF) for Nightbringer or Greensinger Initiate for the prestige class requirements (granted that means entering the class at 7th level instead of 6th and delaying Natural Spell but really this class is extremely powerful anyways).
#9 phaedrusxy Nov 10, 2009 9:22:32	I'm surprised no one has mentioned Planar Shepard (FoE) yet. It's one of the best Druid prestige classes out there. Granted it's Eberron but it can easily be adapted to Faerun. It advances spellcasting, wildshape, animal companion, and gives you some really really powerful abilities. Maybe see if you're DM would allow to substitute Initiate of Nature (PGtF) for Nightbringer or Greensinger Initiate for the prestige class requirements (granted that means entering the class at 7th level instead of 6th and delaying Natural Spell but really this class is extremely powerful anyways). It is so broken, that I pretend it doesn't exist. Because practically, it doesn't in most games.
#10 deoxhydroxinate Nov 10, 2009 11:50:33	I have yet to see a game in which the DM allowed the Planar Shepard.  There's a reason my friends and I call this place, "Druids of the Coast."
#11 toryn Nov 11, 2009 20:12:31	You could also try Shapeshift Druid (phb2) and take Animal cohort (wotc website) to get your animal companion back. You lose wild shape, but you gain a similar ability at level 1 that is useable at will.
#12 phaedrusxy Nov 11, 2009 20:49:24	You could also try Shapeshift Druid (phb2) and take Animal cohort (wotc website) to get your animal companion back. You lose wild shape, but you gain a similar ability at level 1 that is useable at will. Wild Cohort sucks compared to a real druids cohort, and Shapeshift sucks compared to Wildshape...
#13 toryn Nov 12, 2009 22:53:10	You could also try Shapeshift Druid (phb2) and take Animal cohort (wotc website) to get your animal companion back. You lose wild shape, but you gain a similar ability at level 1 that is useable at will. Wild Cohort sucks compared to a real druids cohort, and Shapeshift sucks compared to Wildshape... I know they are not as powerful as WS and the animal companion, but you can use SS from level 1, and it is at will. I think it gives more viability at lower levels in a solo setting.
#14 phaedrusxy Nov 13, 2009 9:50:05	I know they are not as powerful as WS and the animal companion, but you can use SS from level 1, and it is at will. I think it gives more viability at lower levels in a solo setting. Maybe... but I don't think he'll actually have any trouble surviving, assuming he plays intelligently. It will require a different mindset than many players have, though. There is certainly nothing wrong with running away if you're outnumbered, and/or using guerilla tactics (which is something druids are very good at). I'd seriously go with a forest gnome druid with a riding dog, and just be a sneaky as hell guerilla warrior for the first few levels.