Lvl. 3 Druid (Human) feats - Focus:Conjur, Augment Summoning, ??? - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Lvl. 3 Druid (Human) feats - Focus:Conjur, Augment Summoning, ???

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
shremgoff
Jun 05, 2013 10:52:12 Hey gang. We're rotating DMs and I'll be jumping in next week as a lvl. 3 Human Druid. It's a 3.5 game.

I'm a little limited as we're pretty much only playing by the core books, but I'm fine with that.

I'll get Spell Focus: Conjuration and Augment Summoning, but I need a third feat. Suggestions? In fact, I may need 2 if my DM let's me bypass the Conjuration pre-requisite since the +1 DC to saving throws doesn't really apply to summoning allies. I'll of course get Natural Spell at 6.

- I've thought of going ahead and grabbing Extend Spell to extend my buffs I cast on the party, even though I won't be able to cast an extended Bull's Strength until 5th level (and even then, I don't know that I'll be wanting to use my one lvl. 3 spell on that)

- Considered Animal Affinity too for the flavor and a little bit of utility. I'd like to talk my DM into letting that +2 bonus also apply to Wild Empathy checks. Doesn't that make sense? Surprised it's not in the books.

Whichever feat(s) I go with will be largely inconsequential, but I'd still like to get something useful. Thoughts on one or two feats I should pick up?

My stats, if they matter, are: STR 13, DEX 15, CON 15, INT 10, WIS 16, CHA 9 (< See, I need help on my Wild Empathy, ha)

#2
Andarious-Rosethorn
Jun 05, 2013 11:00:42 I'm a fan of Greenbound Summoning, Lost Empires of Faerun page 8.

Edit: Missed the "Core only" thing, sorry. Yeah not a lot of great level 3 choices. Power Attack can go well as your animal companion (A Riding Dog is one of the best, keep in mind it gets Trip as well if it's trained for war), will give you flanking bonus almost all the time.
#3
draco1119
Jun 05, 2013 11:01:08 Either Extend Spell or Power Attack.
#4
Tempest_Stormwind
Jun 05, 2013 12:10:59 The core-only human druid feat list looks something like this.

Level 1: SF:Conj, Augment Summoning.
Level 3: Extend Spell.
Level 6: Natural Spell. (NO EXCEPTIONS here, it's that mandatory.)

That's it. Your later feats should probably include Quicken Spell, but when you take it depends on your preferences and your game circumstances. Other feats are entirely up to you - Power Attack, Improved Natural Attack, Multiattack, and Fly-By Attack are all special-mention worthy from a core environment.
#5
StevenO
Jun 05, 2013 12:50:03
...
I'll get Spell Focus: Conjuration and Augment Summoning, but I need a third feat. Suggestions? In fact, I may need 2 if my DM let's me bypass the Conjuration pre-requisite since the +1 DC to saving throws doesn't really apply to summoning allies. I'll of course get Natural Spell at 6.
...

- Considered Animal Affinity too for the flavor and a little bit of utility. I'd like to talk my DM into letting that +2 bonus also apply to Wild Empathy checks. Doesn't that make sense? Surprised it's not in the books.
...
My stats, if they matter, are: STR 13, DEX 15, CON 15, INT 10, WIS 16, CHA 9 (< See, I need help on my Wild Empathy, ha)

You're a Druid, don't try convincing the DM to ignore any checks on your power because you are already at the top. Spell Focus (Conjuration) may be junk in most cases but what it opens up definiely is not; it is a price you need to pay. Perhaps Animal Affinity should also apply to Wild Empathy but then it violates the symetry of an entire string of +2 for two skills Feats that are out there; if he did that he should add bonuses for Stealthy and things like that as well. I'm glad you are joking about needing 'help' on your Wild Empathy; your stats are already amazing except for most of them being odd numbers which are easy enough to correct with a few +1 boosts.

Extended Spell and Power Attack are mentioned and would be good choices.
#6
draco1119
Jun 05, 2013 12:57:40 @StevenO: his stats are good, not amazing. He's got a 32PB, which I would put at the upper end of "normal".
#7
oracle71
Jun 05, 2013 13:03:59 As a full spellcaster, scribe scroll and craft wand would not exactly be bad choices, either.
#8
Wyvernhand
Jun 05, 2013 13:09:44 Skill Focus: Underwater Basket Weaving

No, for serious, Companion Spellbond is a nice one. Sharing spells with your companion is pretty efficient. Having to keep your companion within 5' of you at all times is...not. Companion Spellbond increases this to 30', which generally is far enough that you can both engage seperate targets while still buffed to the hilt with all 4 Heart of X and Bite of the Werebeasty on you.
#9
StevenO
Jun 05, 2013 13:20:24
@StevenO: his stats are good, not amazing. He's got a 32PB, which I would put at the upper end of "normal".

Check your math as I get PB 34 = 5+8+8+2+10+1. PB 32 certainly rates a "good" but those two additional points can push it to amazing. Just looking at the modifiers that could be PB28 until you throw in four odd scores two of which push scores over 14 and those can still be significant when it comes to prereqs for feats like Power Attack and such. Maybe one of these days I'll figure out the PBe breaks for various descriptive terms although anything over PBe 50 (and we know there are a lot of those) still get godlike at a minimum.

Back on topic: If I could remember exactly what it was and where it was I'd say something that cuts the casting time for you summon spells.
#10
shremgoff
Jun 05, 2013 14:53:58
You're a Druid, don't try convincing the DM to ignore any checks on your power because you are already at the top. Spell Focus (Conjuration) may be junk in most cases but what it opens up definiely is not; it is a price you need to pay. ... I'm glad you are joking about needing 'help' on your Wild Empathy; your stats are already amazing except for most of them being odd numbers which are easy enough to correct with a few +1 boosts.

Yeah, I felt a little selfish (?, probably a better word here) as I typed that out about Spell Focus. I'd already been thinking it's not a big deal since I'm kind of stretching for feat ideas anyway (hence the thread) and that'd leave me needing two.

I could always swap STR for CHA, but I'll probably just let it rock. I like the idea of the dirty, unrefined druid who isn't going to be overly charming in most people's eyes.

I'll probably go with extend spell, because before I get buffs I can always extend Shillelagh! I don't know how good that spell is, but I like the idea of using a club — I know it's a really mediocre weapon on its own, but it's different — and bumping it up to a +1 2d6 weapon for extended time seems decent at level 3. I can see my wolf buddy tripping a dude and then smashing his gut with an enormous club as he lays on his back.
#11
draco1119
Jun 05, 2013 15:08:04 Riding Dog with War training (under Handle Animal) is better than a wolf.
#12
Andarious-Rosethorn
Jun 05, 2013 15:30:15 Wolves fail at tripping, not enough Str.
#13
shremgoff
Jun 05, 2013 20:01:54 Yeah, sure, but then I'd have to have a RIDING DOG running around with me, which sounds lame. I can't help, but picture the little fox from Labrynth riding around on his little white dog.

Wolves are cooler than dogs, even if less good. Maybe my wolf will roll well and have his boost from... wait a sec. I guess Augment Summoning doesn't boost an Animal Companion too does it? Or does it? Because you have to summon (call upon, not conjure) another if you lose your first.
#14
StevenO
Jun 05, 2013 20:49:00 Animal Companion will not benefit from Augment Summoning. Perhap the Druid "summons" a companion but that summons would be like a king summoning someone to come forward out of a crowd. To put it another way summoning an animal companion would use the real world definition of summoning while the Augment Summoning feat looks at a specific type of spell.

Of course when you can share spells with your animal companion then anything you do to yourself you also do to them. As for any range restrictions on that I strongly suggest you only check on those once per turn so druid and companion can 'move together' although the round structure may have one taking actions before the other.

#15
Andarious-Rosethorn
Jun 05, 2013 20:54:21 If you don't like that good option for level 1 animal companions, try the other one Badger... badger badger badger mushroom mushroom. No seriously they're dangerous.
#16
Slagger_the_Chuul
Jun 05, 2013 23:25:18
Yeah, sure, but then I'd have to have a RIDING DOG running around with me, which sounds lame. I can't help, but picture the little fox from Labrynth riding around on his little white dog.

The "riding" dog basically just describes the bigger dog breeds.

I've actually had someone play a riding dog barbarian in one of my games (barbarian being one of the classes I said I'd allow for a non-awakened dog) and he was pretty ferocious.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 shremgoff Jun 05, 2013 10:52:12	Hey gang. We're rotating DMs and I'll be jumping in next week as a lvl. 3 Human Druid. It's a 3.5 game. I'm a little limited as we're pretty much only playing by the core books, but I'm fine with that. I'll get Spell Focus: Conjuration and Augment Summoning, but I need a third feat. Suggestions? In fact, I may need 2 if my DM let's me bypass the Conjuration pre-requisite since the +1 DC to saving throws doesn't really apply to summoning allies. I'll of course get Natural Spell at 6. - I've thought of going ahead and grabbing Extend Spell to extend my buffs I cast on the party, even though I won't be able to cast an extended Bull's Strength until 5th level (and even then, I don't know that I'll be wanting to use my one lvl. 3 spell on that) - Considered Animal Affinity too for the flavor and a little bit of utility. I'd like to talk my DM into letting that +2 bonus also apply to Wild Empathy checks. Doesn't that make sense? Surprised it's not in the books. Whichever feat(s) I go with will be largely inconsequential, but I'd still like to get something useful. Thoughts on one or two feats I should pick up? My stats, if they matter, are: STR 13, DEX 15, CON 15, INT 10, WIS 16, CHA 9 (< See, I need help on my Wild Empathy, ha)
#2 Andarious-Rosethorn Jun 05, 2013 11:00:42	I'm a fan of Greenbound Summoning, Lost Empires of Faerun page 8. Edit: Missed the "Core only" thing, sorry. Yeah not a lot of great level 3 choices. Power Attack can go well as your animal companion (A Riding Dog is one of the best, keep in mind it gets Trip as well if it's trained for war), will give you flanking bonus almost all the time.
#3 draco1119 Jun 05, 2013 11:01:08	Either Extend Spell or Power Attack.
#4 Tempest_Stormwind Jun 05, 2013 12:10:59	The core-only human druid feat list looks something like this. Level 1: SF:Conj, Augment Summoning. Level 3: Extend Spell. Level 6: Natural Spell. (NO EXCEPTIONS here, it's that mandatory.) That's it. Your later feats should probably include Quicken Spell, but when you take it depends on your preferences and your game circumstances. Other feats are entirely up to you - Power Attack, Improved Natural Attack, Multiattack, and Fly-By Attack are all special-mention worthy from a core environment.
#5 StevenO Jun 05, 2013 12:50:03	... I'll get Spell Focus: Conjuration and Augment Summoning, but I need a third feat. Suggestions? In fact, I may need 2 if my DM let's me bypass the Conjuration pre-requisite since the +1 DC to saving throws doesn't really apply to summoning allies. I'll of course get Natural Spell at 6. ... - Considered Animal Affinity too for the flavor and a little bit of utility. I'd like to talk my DM into letting that +2 bonus also apply to Wild Empathy checks. Doesn't that make sense? Surprised it's not in the books. ... My stats, if they matter, are: STR 13, DEX 15, CON 15, INT 10, WIS 16, CHA 9 (< See, I need help on my Wild Empathy, ha) You're a Druid, don't try convincing the DM to ignore any checks on your power because you are already at the top. Spell Focus (Conjuration) may be junk in most cases but what it opens up definiely is not; it is a price you need to pay. Perhaps Animal Affinity should also apply to Wild Empathy but then it violates the symetry of an entire string of +2 for two skills Feats that are out there; if he did that he should add bonuses for Stealthy and things like that as well. I'm glad you are joking about needing 'help' on your Wild Empathy; your stats are already amazing except for most of them being odd numbers which are easy enough to correct with a few +1 boosts. Extended Spell and Power Attack are mentioned and would be good choices.
#6 draco1119 Jun 05, 2013 12:57:40	@StevenO: his stats are good, not amazing. He's got a 32PB, which I would put at the upper end of "normal".
#7 oracle71 Jun 05, 2013 13:03:59	As a full spellcaster, scribe scroll and craft wand would not exactly be bad choices, either.
#8 Wyvernhand Jun 05, 2013 13:09:44	Skill Focus: Underwater Basket Weaving No, for serious, Companion Spellbond is a nice one. Sharing spells with your companion is pretty efficient. Having to keep your companion within 5' of you at all times is...not. Companion Spellbond increases this to 30', which generally is far enough that you can both engage seperate targets while still buffed to the hilt with all 4 Heart of X and Bite of the Werebeasty on you.
#9 StevenO Jun 05, 2013 13:20:24	@StevenO: his stats are good, not amazing. He's got a 32PB, which I would put at the upper end of "normal". Check your math as I get PB 34 = 5+8+8+2+10+1. PB 32 certainly rates a "good" but those two additional points can push it to amazing. Just looking at the modifiers that could be PB28 until you throw in four odd scores two of which push scores over 14 and those can still be significant when it comes to prereqs for feats like Power Attack and such. Maybe one of these days I'll figure out the PBe breaks for various descriptive terms although anything over PBe 50 (and we know there are a lot of those) still get godlike at a minimum. Back on topic: If I could remember exactly what it was and where it was I'd say something that cuts the casting time for you summon spells.
#10 shremgoff Jun 05, 2013 14:53:58	You're a Druid, don't try convincing the DM to ignore any checks on your power because you are already at the top. Spell Focus (Conjuration) may be junk in most cases but what it opens up definiely is not; it is a price you need to pay. ... I'm glad you are joking about needing 'help' on your Wild Empathy; your stats are already amazing except for most of them being odd numbers which are easy enough to correct with a few +1 boosts. Yeah, I felt a little selfish (?, probably a better word here) as I typed that out about Spell Focus. I'd already been thinking it's not a big deal since I'm kind of stretching for feat ideas anyway (hence the thread) and that'd leave me needing two. I could always swap STR for CHA, but I'll probably just let it rock. I like the idea of the dirty, unrefined druid who isn't going to be overly charming in most people's eyes. I'll probably go with extend spell, because before I get buffs I can always extend Shillelagh! I don't know how good that spell is, but I like the idea of using a club — I know it's a really mediocre weapon on its own, but it's different — and bumping it up to a +1 2d6 weapon for extended time seems decent at level 3. I can see my wolf buddy tripping a dude and then smashing his gut with an enormous club as he lays on his back.
#11 draco1119 Jun 05, 2013 15:08:04	Riding Dog with War training (under Handle Animal) is better than a wolf.
#12 Andarious-Rosethorn Jun 05, 2013 15:30:15	Wolves fail at tripping, not enough Str.
#13 shremgoff Jun 05, 2013 20:01:54	Yeah, sure, but then I'd have to have a RIDING DOG running around with me, which sounds lame. I can't help, but picture the little fox from Labrynth riding around on his little white dog. Wolves are cooler than dogs, even if less good. Maybe my wolf will roll well and have his boost from... wait a sec. I guess Augment Summoning doesn't boost an Animal Companion too does it? Or does it? Because you have to summon (call upon, not conjure) another if you lose your first.
#14 StevenO Jun 05, 2013 20:49:00	Animal Companion will not benefit from Augment Summoning. Perhap the Druid "summons" a companion but that summons would be like a king summoning someone to come forward out of a crowd. To put it another way summoning an animal companion would use the real world definition of summoning while the Augment Summoning feat looks at a specific type of spell. Of course when you can share spells with your animal companion then anything you do to yourself you also do to them. As for any range restrictions on that I strongly suggest you only check on those once per turn so druid and companion can 'move together' although the round structure may have one taking actions before the other.
#15 Andarious-Rosethorn Jun 05, 2013 20:54:21	If you don't like that good option for level 1 animal companions, try the other one Badger... badger badger badger mushroom mushroom. No seriously they're dangerous.
#16 Slagger_the_Chuul Jun 05, 2013 23:25:18	Yeah, sure, but then I'd have to have a RIDING DOG running around with me, which sounds lame. I can't help, but picture the little fox from Labrynth riding around on his little white dog. The "riding" dog basically just describes the bigger dog breeds. I've actually had someone play a riding dog barbarian in one of my games (barbarian being one of the classes I said I'd allow for a non-awakened dog) and he was pretty ferocious.