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I'm looking to construct a character for Wrath of the Righteous, and fks here have generously directed me to the Nature Fang archetype, which is almost EXACTLY what I want out of such a character: Druidic magic without wildshape, guerrilla tactics and combat style feats!
But I don't know HOW to build a Druid at all, let alone a Nature Fang. So I need some advice. Here's the basics of what I want out of him
Going with human (specifically Kellid) and using my free feat to get Martial Weapon Proficiency (Longsword) because scimitars aren't very Celtic, which is what I'm going for with this guy. I'm hoping to go sword and board, since his name has "shield" in it.
Looking to use a horse as an animal companion so he can double as a mount, and it won't seem ridiculous like a wooly mammoth. I'm a Celt, not a caveman!
Since WotR uses mythic, I want to definitely take the Divine Source abilities, but I'm not sure what to take for a path. I'm debating multipathing Guardian and Hierophant, as Hierophant has a lot of druid goodies, but I don't like the campaign trait associated with it that makes the character the son of an existing god, since I want him to follow the Green Faith.
So...what should I do? Can I make this work or is it doomed out of the gate?
Well one just because he's the son of a god doesn't mean he can't follow the Green Faith, you could also talk to your GM about it being the Green Faith in the first place instead of a deity. Also I don't think that you need to select that trait in order to go down that path it's just mostly that trait is best with the certain path(I haven't really read the character creation rules/guidelines of that AP though)
As for the build do you want him to be more of a caster or a up close fighter?
For the Animal Companion horse could be good if you are just looking for a mount, if you want an Animal Companion that can fight and also act as a mount something like a Wolf, Elephant, War Bull, Aurochs, perhaps even an Axe Beak which while they might not be able to be mounts from level 1 would also be good in combat.
Both of the paths seem like they could be good for your character and multipathing could be a good idea but it depends mostly on if you want to be more martial or more casty like I asked earlier on which one to focus more one.
Do you have stats ready yet?
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Codzilla mostly refers to the druid wild shape and various tricks associated with it or cleric builds...which is a problem, because the druids spell mostly buff natural attacks or some spells help you change shapes into various animals.
You can make it work, mostly because you gain studied target, slayer talents and sneak attack. Simply use your advantage as a druid, you will always have flanking companions, just cast summon nature ally to always have someone to flank with. Essentially you will be able to do a lot of damage all the time with a combination of studied targets, sneak attacks, and some of the nature allies who can grapple your foes.
Your only problem is WotR will have you fighting monsters who are higher levels than you after you become mythic, so your nature ally will lag behind, a lot but well, they still serve their purpose as flanking companion, even if other melee in the party can't help.
With divine source, as a druid, you will be neutral on one axis, so you really need to pick the right domain, that can make you a better melee character. I would recommend the Heroism domain, a subdomain of the glory domain, giving you spells like bless weapon(very useful in this AP) or eventually later on, the very good spell Holy Sword, which will significantly boost how you fight with a sword.
Optional, since you can't wild shape, you might consider getting the feat Animal Soul, so you always count as an animal and cast some animal buffs on you from time to time, casting Animal Growth on yourself for example, will make you significantly taller and stronger. Sadly wont increase your blade damage, but well, I'm sure you will find uses for it.
Edit: Easiest way to do it quite honestly would be with a Samsaran, mystic past life: add paladin spells to your druid spells list or take advantage of WotR going all the way to level 20 and tier 10, by grabbing cleric spells (righteous might, Magic weapon greater, Divine favor, Miracle etc...)
One of the real juicy bits of Natures Fang is giving druid access to ranger combat styles which normally can give rangers feats earlier than they normally could which is magnified on a druid. The second thing to remember is that starting at level 5 you can take extra slayer talent as a hit dice feat. This will allow you to get the full build going sooner than you would normally be able to.
Two weapon fighting style with a +1 bashing spiked heavy shield as your main hand weapon and a gladius offhand while dumping dex will get you a lot of attacks with decent damage and hit chance.
Sword and Shield Style can get you shield mastery at level 6 which will turn your +5 bashing spiked heavy shield into a devastating DR penetrator long before anyone else could have one. Once again the shield is your main hand weapon leaving offhand for casting.
Natural weapon style opens up vital strike and improved vital strike at the same levels a fighter could take them which along with the blessing of the chosen line of feats and mythic vital strike could turn a large bastard sword with lead blades and a potion of enlarge person into a terrifying huge hit with an almost certain chance to hit. And there is nothing saying you can't have a normal sized bastard sword to pair with a shield as well.
Lastly you can get the trap-finder slayer talent so your druid can find traps if you don't have someone else.
This is all in mind that you are a melee combatant first and casting second.
Don't be so hasty about getting longsword (or any sword) proficiency; a spear is the quintessential celtic weapon. Sure, the crit range drops a little, but it's not a big difference and you save a feat.
On further inspection I don't believe druids can qualify for Weapon of the Chosen line so swapping those three feats out will give you different options and remove your need to follow a specific deity.
As a funny thought a Aklys can advance to 3d6 for a two handed version at a -4 to hit and still be thrown 20ft, caber toss anyone? The other three options are Bastard Sword, Dwarven Waraxe and Taiaha. I favor the -2 2d8(B)/1d8(P) x2/x3 Large Taiaha over the -4 3d6 x2 range 20 Huge Aklys or -2 2d8 19-20x2 LBS or -2 2d8 x3 LDWA.
The Taiaha has an interesting feel for a ancient celtic weapon.
Basic feats:
1) PA
H) Animal Soul
3) EWP Taiaha
4 Slayer) WF Taiaha
5) Furious Focus
6 Slayer) Vital Strike
7) Winter Strike?
8 Slayer) Trap finder
9) Evolved Companion
10 Slayer) Improved Vital Strike
Not sure when our how you take Mythic Vital Strike but it should be done ASAP.
I'd hesitate to spend a feat on longsword prof. I'd rather dip for it.
Slayer 1 gives you another studied target, not sure if any archetype would fit, or ranger or barbarian all give you lots of nice extras...
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Alright what about this:
Nature fang druid
Get crocodile domain , you'll get a familiar (make him a mauler archetype familiar, so it can transform into medium size and use your combat feats), crocodile domain gives you more sneak attack (+3d6 at level 16 on top of the sneak attack dice you get from nature fang) or if you are not a fan of the caiman crocodile, get improved familiar asap and get a better one (Mephit for example).
You'll want to get the feat improved grapple, to take advantage of your death roll attack from the domain.
You can essentially studied target, charge, grapple (Death roll) your enemies. You might consider going into the Grey Warden prestige class, which will give you access to judgements and other abilities, if you want to smack people around with the sword.
And that's frankly all I can advise about this setup.
Of course with this setup, would strongly recommend to grab hierophant , inspired spell is much stronger than anything that you could ever get from guardian. Being able to cast any divine spell, at anytime > to just some better defenses.
I'd forgo the animal comp and choose a domain.
Panther domain looks cool: true strike? yay! also nine lives.
Mountain Lion, Cougar, Panther...
Or choose the wolf domain for flanking and aspect of the wolf as a lvl3 spell.
Check out the Wild Hunter Ranger too for a nice dip.
Get crocodile domain , you'll get a familiar (make him a mauler archetype familiar, so it can transform into medium size and use your combat feats), crocodile domain gives you more sneak attack (+3d6 at level 16 on top of the sneak attack dice you get from nature fang) or if you are not a fan of the caiman crocodile, get improved familiar asap and get a better one (Mephit for example).
One of the main advantages of a mephit familiar is using it as a wand monkey, which it cannot do as a mauler, since maulers can't speak. Personally for improved familiars with the mauler archetype I'd go for the dweomercat cub (CN), or nycar (CN). The nycar has a higher starting STR (and remember tiny maulers get an addition +4 STR and -2 DEX in battle form), but the dweomercat has that ridiculous dweomer leap ability.
Outsider familiars are a little off-theme. Fey familiars would fit the celtic druid ideal more I would think. The crocodile domain is really good, but there weren't many crocodilians in celtic lands (any, really). Other animal domains that grant a familiar are eagle, frog, and serpent.
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I was just curious if you wanted to go more dex based.
This can also be done with an Aldori Dueling Sword(fancy longsword), or a Elven Branched Spear.
I think the Estoc (2d4 18-20/2x) is better than the aldori dueling sword, unless you plan to take any of the aldori traits/feats. It's finessable and two handable as well.
Optional, since you can't wild shape, you might consider getting the feat Animal Soul, so you always count as an animal and cast some animal buffs on you from time to time, casting Animal Growth on yourself for example, will make you significantly taller and stronger. Sadly wont increase your blade damage, but well, I'm sure you will find uses for it.
Atavism might be a better choice, since it is a lower level spell (easier to use often), and gives more AC. Less strength bonus...buts it basically gives you a +4 to all stats and +2 natural armor. I am sure you can find something useful with that.
Instantly get a decent INT for slayer talents (they usually use INT). Get better DC for spells. Be more charming. Have better saves across the board.
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I was just curious if you wanted to go more dex based.
This can also be done with an Aldori Dueling Sword(fancy longsword), or a Elven Branched Spear.
Interesting, but not quite what I'm looking for. I basically want my character to function like these guys.
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Interesting, but not quite what I'm looking for. I basically want my character to function like these guys.I was just curious if you wanted to go more dex based.
This can also be done with an Aldori Dueling Sword(fancy longsword), or a Elven Branched Spear.
Those guys don't seem to have any magical abilities... I'm a little confused. In what ways do you want to function like them?
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I wanna look and act like them. The reason for the Druid class is because the Circle of Hierophants, an organization made up of Green Faith Druids, was the closest thing Sarkoris had to a unified ruling body, so if I wanna play a character whose raison d'être is to unite the scattered remnants of the Sarkorian people and take their home back from the demons, I'll need to play as a Druid. This concept was originally going to be a paladin before I did more research into how Sarkorian politics functioned pre-Worldwound.
A character can be of the green faith and be a member of a druid order without having Druid written on his character sheet. Is the magic part of things irrelevant to your character concept? Perhaps a Slayer of a particular archetype would work better. If you do want magic, a nature-themed bloodrager, inquisitor (sanctified slayer archetype), a hunter, or something similar might work better.
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Well, having done more research it looks like the magic would be a huge plus for things like leading the ritual to seal the Worldwound or casting a mythic spell to purify Sarkoris' tainted aquifer. The more I read about Druids the more I go, "Hey, maybe this'd be more fun to play than my original idea!" I also like the idea of becoming a paladin-friendly nature God who ISN'T Erastil. Originally I wanted to be a paladin of him, but that would just turn the Radiance sword into a longbow, and I'm more interested in being King Arthur than Robin Hood.
Ah- improved spell sharing (teamwork feat) seems like it would work great with animal soul.
Boost all of you and your AC's stats by +4 with a single spell.
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Thank you, but I'd rather stick with basic longsword.
Let me be clear: I'm not looking for OPTIMIZED with this character. I'm just looking for FUNCTIONAL. As long as he can effectively cast spells and isn't a TOTAL chump in melee combat, I'll be happy. I fully expect there'll be at least ONE paladin who'll be better than him in melee, and that's okay.
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Won't dipping deny me the druid capstone ability?
EDIT: Nevermind I just saw the Druid's capstone is just wild shape at will, which I won't have anyway.
Dipping DOES seem tempting. Maybe I can justify it after first level by saying I demanded training with the crusaders after the initial attack to help lead the charge...
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Not too keen on stoneplate, honestly. One, I'm more interested in scaly armor like scale (duh) or lamellar, since those are Late Roman/Dark Age kind of armors that don't have to be made of metal (chainmail is something I'd like, but that's usually made of metal). Two, it feels kinda cultural-appropriationy, as stone armor is almost exclusively the purview of dwarves, and I'm trying to emphasize my character's own Kellid culture, rather than adopt the trappings of dwarves. I know from a mechanical standpoint it's less potent, but like I said, I'm looking less for power and more for just being NOT useless.
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I know people have pointed out superior options to the horse for the mount/familiar, but have you looked at the Megaloceros? Cause nothing screams avenger of nature to me like being charged down by a rider on a giant elk, who, by the way, is actually pretty awesome at charging in his own right.
Edit - You will have to wait til 7th level to ride one though. You could ride a horse til that time.
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Megaloceros DOES look tempting, but I was trying to avoid megafauna, and in addition to screaming "AVENGER OF NATURE!" it also kinda screams "ERASTIL OR CERNUNNOS WORSHIPPER!" and I'm not too keen on misrepresenting my stance as a Green Faither. Yeah, Cernunnos was a British god, but there's already two Horned Gods on Golarion, and if I wanna be my own god, I don't wanna take a theme that's already crowded. I was looking to be more of a "Wheel God." *shrug*
I guess a Cavalier dip isn't such a bad idea to gain weapon proficiencies. Plus it'll give me access to class skills I wouldn't have as a Druid, like Diplomacy and Intimidate.