Spell focus(Conjuration) is a good feat for a druid, because it lets them take Augment Summoning to boost their ability to spontaneously cast Summon Nature's Ally. Assuming, that is, you want to summon critters all the time.
If you're playing in Eberron, I'd recommend the Gatekeeper Initiate feat in order to qualify for the Repel Aberrations feat later on (gives you Turning vs Aberrations).
New Player... welcome aboard! You are about to join a vast and varied (and dare I say 'exclusive') club of marathon game sessions, snack-food heaven, and endless hours of fun, entertainment, and companionship. (Ah... to be a 'new' player again.)
Okay... enough waxing nostalgic. You asked about feat choices, and you've made some 'spot-on' observations. (Looks around and remembers D&D books are upstairs...) Hmmm... without my PHB handy, I don't know if I can offer any better suggestions. What sort of role do you see your gnome druid providing in the adventuring group? Are you going to be the sole divine spellcaster? If so... well perhaps taking spell focus conjuration (handy for those spontaneously cast 'summon nature's ally' spells druids can do.) And then follow up at 3rd level with Augment Summoning (make your summoned critters stronger and tougher.) As a druid (and maybe the only healer) pray for a majority of 'cure' spells, and if battle is joined help out the front-line guy (or guys or girl/girls) and summon an ally. If you're not the primary divine caster, maybe point blank shot (and go with sling, not a dagger or spear) and follow with precise shot (don't wanna hit your fellow adventurers with a sling stone, right?) That way you can be like a back up warrior, but stay with ranged attacks.
Oh, back to the spellcasting niche for a minute... "entangle" is a great 1st level spell for druids (DMs may hate it but...) whatever school it belongs to... maybe take spell focus for that, and make it tougher for the bad-guys to make their save DCs. I hope my rants were somewhat helpful. Good Luck! And enjoy!
page 90 of the PHB has a huge table
It's sorta tough to find some good gnome druid feats :/ Hmm...
-Self-sufficient might be worth it
-Spell focus or Alertness
-There's a small number of combat feats like Dodge, Weapon finesse, or Point Blank Shot
-Don't forget the Metamagic feats such as Empower Spell or Quicken Spell
It's all gonna boil down to how you play your character.Don't think about it for too long, have fun playing instead.
I am starting as a new character....A Gnome Druid Lvl 1
I can't find what feat would be a nice starting feat
Somtime i should get 'natural spell' so i can cast spells in wild shape..but i can'nt use wild shape till lvl 5 so i don't have to get it nowMy character would probably pick 'Animal Affinity' but my ride and handle animal are 6 each so thats fairly high
And maybe point black shot, b/c i have a dagger and spear and the're rages don't go beyond 20 ft so i would be getting +1 for attack and dmg rolls when thrown
Any Ideas or Comments??
You don't really mention which books you are allowed to use. If what must taken is from the Players Handbook then the choices are different then if you can use a lot of different books.
What I would take would depend not just on the books but also on your role in the party. Are you the de facto cleric? If so then that's an important role and I would take a feat that supports that. If not then your a support spell caster with (usually) a hard fighting animal companion. Here you might consider some form of feat that supports this role. Normally I'd be staying away from most of the combat feats. A Gnome Druid does not usually have that much potential for doing damage itself. Flinging small sized spears without much of a strength bonus is hardly going to be earth shattering even at low level and really once you get a few levels your never going to be doing this sort of thing as instead you will cast spells or turn into a beast.
Sure you need to take a range weapon and a hand to hand combat weapon but these are used only in mopping up, when your out of spells or when your utterly desperate. You want a feat that has potential for your druid all through its career. Not something that provided some minor help at early levels and then became irrelevant.
-Don't forget the Metamagic feats such as Empower Spell or Quicken Spell
These feats don´t make much sense for a 1st level caster. I would save these for later, if at all.
As others have already pointed out, determine which role the druid will play in the party. The healer ? try skill focus healing then, the healing skill is crucial at low levels. The summoner is detailed above. Don´t have a ranger? Someone needs that tracking feat, and a druid is well suited to this. Perhaps Brew Potion, if your campaign alows for down time to make use of this? Would be nice for flavor anyway.
Just don´t try to make a lesser fighter from the druid, it won´t work. Ranged weapon might be ok, melee is not for the druid until he can shapechange into something really dangerous (Try a rhino later - lots of fun and carnage! The druid PC in my campaign changed into a rhino in a dungeon and charged the bad guys along the corridor...)
The shapechanging ability is unique and well worth focusing on later, besides, it heals a little every time, which might just save the day for you...
Just my thoughts.
Stefan
And then again there is Improved Initiative which is useful for every character (well, except for campaigns with little to no combat...)
Combat Casting, if your druid's going to be anywhere near combat. That +4 to Concentration checks for casting defensively has saved my spellcasting butt several times, especially at low levels.
If you really like summoning little beasties... Spell Focus (Conjuration) now, and Augment Summoning at 3rd level.
If you are going to be the party's main divine spellcaster, A.K.A. HEALER, and you have access to the Complete Divine... start with Augment Healing for +2 hp healed per spell level, and when you can get 4 ranks into Knowledge (religion), and provided you're not evil, Spontaneous Healer for the ability to swap out prepared spells for cure spells. I find this much more useful than Summon Nature's Ally, personally.
Do NOT take feats to augment your use of weapons in your normal form, be it melee or ranged. When you get 5th level, all that will dissappear with all the awesome spells you'll have and the Wild Shape ability. You already have Produce Flame and Entangle, and the added times per day you'll wrack up with levels, and additional spells like Call Lightning, will make your weapons look wimpy by comparison, because they will be. When you run out of spells or go into physical combat, "POP!" and you're a bear or a whatever you want to be to bring carnage to your foes. And it only gets better with time.
So taking feats to augment weapon ability is worthless. And, I must say, from a powergaming, pure utilitarian perspective, so are most skill-boosting feats. Now, if you really love using one skill, or sneaking around or something like that, take Skill Focus or Stealthy. And if you have a feat slot and are completely happy as is and can't think of anything better to do, go ahead and take them. But, truth be told, there are far better options out there. By mid levels, your skill checks will likely be high enough that the addition of the feat you spent will seem like a waste of a feat slot.
Also, if you plan on tanking, Improved Toughness is always nice, from the Complete Warrior. You need a +2 base Fort save (you've got that automatically) and it grants +1 hp per level. It may not seem like much, but effectively adding your level to your total hp can make a huge difference. And it's certainly better than normal Toughness!
Finally, once you get your Wild Shape, what are the thoughts of those on the board about Improved Natural Weapon to up the base dice damage of a natural weapon? If I were to allow this, I would say it would have to go for a single form per selection of the feat. For example, if you could turn into a variety of things and favored a T-rex shape and a Dire Bear shape, just for example, you could choose Improved Natural Attack (T-rex Bite or Bear Bite), but not have the feat go for both at once. Thoughts?
If you're going to focus on your shapeshifting later then I'd recommend Alertness or Endurance, the prequisite feats for the Master of Many Forms prestige class. I once played a Gnome Master of Many Forms and it was helluva fun when combined with a sizing weapon and power attack. (Yay for cloud giants and trolls!)
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Well you certainly do seem to have your fair share of frontline fighter-types, and while I think that using your summons will be useful in order to do things like flank with them and the like, you won't need to worry on throwing out the close quarters fighting creatures like a group with less military might would.
However you are going to be pretty low on healing, and while lay on hands is nice for the paladins, none of them will ever be able to match you healing wise. I think that tactically that would be the best route for you to go, focus on your healing abilities, taking augmented summoning now and spontanious healer at third level. Doing this will make a pretty suprising difference in your parties survivability.
Sounds like you and the party have given this some thought though, I think you are going to have fun. Welcome to D&D.
I'd recommend one of these:
-Augment healing (or something of the sort Comp. Div.): +2 hp / level of spell...very useful.
-Spontaneous healer: you can spontaneously cast cure spells like a cleric. That way you won'T have to be prepare cure spells that much.
-Imp. Init: So good...end of discussion...
If you have acces to PHII, I would recommend you look at the variant druid, the one with replacement levels that substitute summon nature's ally by the rejuvenation thing...gives fast healing to people, can be a great help.
Well since it sounds like you can only use the player handbook, augment healing and spontaneous healer are both out. Although they would both be very helpful. My vote is for Imporved Initiative. You have a lot of frontlines and you want to be able to act before they all run into the fight. It become really useful when you get big area effect spells like Flame Strike, but once you up at those levels you'll need to be getting feats like Natural Spell. I would hope that since your armor is limited you will have a decent Dex so between that and Improved Initiative you should go first fairly regularly.
The augment summoning stuff is nice, but as a new player summoning all kinds of creatures can be complicated. I assume then that this really won't be your focus, so getting feats to augment it probably isn't worth it.
If you really like summoning little beasties... Spell Focus (Conjuration) now, and Augment Summoning at 3rd level.
Im playing a druid in a campaign and thats what I did, so a vote here for this option.
But, based on the flavor of your PC, about any of the other options are good as well. Just remember that many times you will have to take the time to mask your location (obscuring mist) before begining a full-round summons spell: my druid is nearly always the first target by intelligent enemies (inflicting damage and causing a difficult concentration check to maintain the spell).
I am surprised in a group your size, no one wants to play a cleric. Another option is to play a druid of Ehlonna or Obadai if you want to keep with the nature theme. Simply put, a cleric (in my opinion) is the most powerful character in the game.
The augment summoning stuff is nice, but as a new player summoning all kinds of creatures can be complicated. I assume then that this really won't be your focus, so getting feats to augment it probably isn't worth it.
I don't mean to sound condescending, but if this is the case (summoning being too complicated), why play a Druid? Further, if you think summoning is confusing, wait till this new player enters the world of Wild Shape and other ridiculously worded polymorph-like spells.
I have to vote "No" on Combat Casting. It may be nice at lower levels, but its significance will fade fast. I've played several spellcasters in the 8th to 10th level range, and failing a defensive casting check was never a problem. If a check forced from damage was any higher than the DC for casting defensively, it was typically WAY higher, where Combat Casting wouldn't have helped.
Too bad you're limited to just the PHB... there are so many good options for druids in the Complete Divine!
Actually, the difference between +4 Initiative and +8 is huge. +4 means you often go first... +8 means you almost always go first! When you want to hit enemies with area spells without affecting allies (which can be hard for druids, as their spells have about the largest areas of effect of any class) or catch the party for a quick buff spell that affects multiple people, being able to go first makes a huge difference. Druids also have an awesome damage potential and awesome versatility in so many things. And I can't count how many times a battle has been reduced to a total non-threat simply by one person getting good initiative. Going first makes a massive difference.
Given all the various options in the PHB and the fact that you're cut off from anything else at the time, Improved Initiative really sounds like a good choice. But please ask your DM about opening up options, at least feats, from the Complete series of books! You won't regret it.
OK we have a buttload of front line fighters...
2 paladins
1 barbarian
1 monk
1 ranger
1 rogue
1 wizard (who is planning on taking a lvl of cleric next lvl)
Aside from the wizard/cleric, guess who's the healer? YOU ARE! I think it just boils down to:
-Self-sufficent (+2 heal and survival)-Spell focus (conjuration)
-Improved Iniative
New D&D Playr: If you aren't sure what feat to take, always take Improved Initiative. Can't really go wrong with +4 to Initiative checks.
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I understand Summon Natures Ally and Wild Shape
I DON'T understand how to figure out damage and health and AC and stuff while summoned or in Wild ShapeCombat Casting sounds like a good idea so i don't get hit everytime i am next to an enemy when i try to cast a spell
Since it is our first time the DM allowed the roll 4d6 and delete lowest roll, then he allowed us to have 5 alotment points on top of that so that we might not die as fast. My Dex is 18 and my Con is 19 (mostly b/c of Gnome +2 Con) (everything else is 15 or lower except Wis which is 17) so i have a butload of hp and my Initiative is 4 anyway..so i don't kno how usuaful Improved Initiative will be.
How often has anyone died/lost a spell b/c of a failed Concentration check...b/c i guess attacks of opurtunaty i think dont' come up much but maybe they do????
The feats that you choose really depend on how you see your character. Do you see yourself as a Ranger with a better spell selection, or do you see yourself as a nature based Wizard?
I don't think that Combat Casting is very good -- especially for a Druid. You can always take a free 5 foot step which will take you out of range of most attacks of opportunity and with as many fighter types as you have, you should be in a situation where you would have to use Combat Casting very rarely.
Improved Initiative is always a good feat regardless of what your Dex modifier is. Giving yourself a 20% better chance to go before anyone else is always a good thing.
I don't play Druids very often so you should definately take a good look at the wild shape abilities and you should write down the stats ahead of time -- ask the DM for help. You may even want to look into creating a character sheet for each animal type until you get used to the system and how it works.
Summoned creatures is as easy as copying the significant stats out of the Monster Manual.
I agree that you really should look into the Augment Summoning feat. An additional 4 points of Strength and Con to every creature summoned will go a long way in combat. In addition, you really should plan on using the spontaneous summoned animals spells -- not using a significant class ability like that is almost like creating a cleric that doesn't heal.
There are metamagic feats that might be a good idea to augment some of your spellcasting abilities. There are a good number of hand-to-hand combat spells that would also really help out any character, including a Druid.
When I help new people build characters, I ask them how they see their characters and I help them find feats to match. Clerics, Druids and Rogues have so many different ways to be effective, it often helps to outline what you would like to do first instead of finding a feat that you like first.
Just a few random thoughts. Hope that it helps.
On the feat: I suggest Scribe Scroll. If you take it, you will be able to create scrolls of Cure Light Wounds (CLW hereafter). Your fellow players will want you to use all of your slots on CLW, since it gets them up and fighting again quickly. Unfortunately, using your whole spell list just to heal others is boring-- that's much of why Clerics are allowed to spontaneously heal.
For your convenience, each 1st level spell you scribe will cost you 12.5 GP (make them pay it) and 1 XP. After the first adventure, scribing 10 scrolls will take 2 hours, 125 gold and 10XP, but will save you from having to use all of your slots for curing. Again, since you're using the gold to heal them, make your fellow party members pay you for scrolls you use on them-- or just have them cut 125 gp from the treasure before divvying.
You can Cast on the Defensive (the technical name for casting w/o provoking an Attack of opportunity) by rolling Concentration vs. DC 16 (15 + Level 1 spell). If you fail the roll, you loose the spell. If you put max ranks in concentration (4) plus your con bonus of 4, you need to roll 8+ to avoid provoking attacks of opportunity. If you think bad guys are going to break through your many fighters often (unlikely...), Combat Casting will lower the roll to 4+.
Summon Nature's Ally I. See the right column? You can summon any one of those critters. (Click on the critter name to see its stats.) It takes a whole round to do so-- which is dangerous, because it gives bad guys a whole round to hurt you and force concentration checks. Still, if you succeed, you'll have a whole new person on the battlefield for one round per caster level. Hmm, at level 1, that's only one attack, so you might not want to use it too often until you hit at least level two. Still, it's there, and may bail you out if you pick a useless spell to memorize that day.
Good luck!
Scott
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Combat casting, and concentration in general, is really -really- useful if you want to be the healer, or think that you are going to be focusing on touch spells, because those do get you up close in the fray. I mean, rushing forward into the fray to save your barbarian buddy who was just cut down isn't going to help much if you fall when attempting to cast the spell.
However concentration takes less of a role later in a campaign when your level of skill can make it much more difficult to fail a casting defensively check even without the +4 bonus.
I agree with some of the above posters, that improved initiative is very helpful, but I have found that it is less so for a healer-type. The rogue's want to catch thier opponents flat footed the first round the fighters and nukers want to drop whoever they can before their opponents can act, but the healers really shine at the end of a round when they can take care of any damage that was done to your side and can see where everyone is posistioning themselves before moving. This is of course assuming a perfect world where you see combat coming before hand and are able to buff, but we like to pretend we live in perfect worlds sometimes. Either way I think that improved initiative isn't as important as some other clerical feats.
If you have the option for other sourcebooks another feat that you might want to consider is sudden extend. I think its in the complete divine but it might be in the complete arcane. Essentially the feat acts as a metamagic rod of extend spell, and lets you extend a couple of your spells a day without prepping them at a higher slot. This is really great for buffs, especially longer term ones because fairly quickly you find that you aren't having to recast them again between rests.
If you are sticking purely with the primary book I think that the spell focus(conj)/augment summoning is the way to go. You would be amazed at the damage your creatures could do for you while still leaving you free to cast your own spells or deliver your own attacks. If you aren't comfortable with the idea of having to deal with that many creatures(or you want to wait til you get further into the game and learn their stats better) then don't overlook feats like dodge. Its a small thing seemingly, but that one point of AC bonus can really help.
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Ahh, one more thing of note while they are debating the benefits of combat casting. If you are thinking about taking that way you might think of taking skill focus(concentration) instead. Sure its a +3 bonus instead of a +4, but with combat casting it only stacks when you are casting defensively, with a skill focus it is always applicable and that means that if you are casting and someone has held their action to hit you in order to disrupt the spell(a held action, just like an attack of opportunity will disrupt, but casting defensively won't protect against it) you will still get the bonus vs the damage to try and save the spell. One of my players found that out the hard way when he fought against a magic wise archer that wouldn't let him get off a spell.
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I want to be the Druid that basically keeps the people alive.
The Magician that plans on taking a cleric..I talked to him and he said he will use his magician skills to get us out of tight situations..combat or not...and then use like all of his cleric skills to get everyone full health afterwards
I would like to make sure no one dies..Rather by killing the opponent b4 the oppenent kills my ally...or casting barkskin or something..or healing..i have no plans to heal them afterwards since clerics can heal alot anyway and the 2 paladins and ranger will b able to heal soon anyway.
Flame Strike and junk will b fun just to play around with anyway..and i just looked and things like spellstaff and staffchange and stuff look soo fricken awsome...and like spells like awaken,
Basically i plan on keeping the group alive/and casting defensivly/fighting defensivly
Being defensive, a few other options to look at might be --
Combat ExpertiseDodge --> Mobility --> Spring Attack
Natural Spell
Although I still think that Augment summoning is the way to go -- either use it as a personal guard, or use it to take out the enemy quicker.
Only the Players Handbook. OK thats somewhat tougher as there are not a lot of really phenominal low level druid feats in the players handbook.
Some I would consider. Scribe Scroll is a good idea. Your feeling that the other players can take care of the healing is probably misplaced unless this is either going to be combat light or the mage player plans on focusing on Cleric from now on. There is no way a bunch of Rangers and Paladins can take care of the healing roll alone. Palidins only heal a very minimal amount of HPs a day and the Rangers get access to cure light wounds only when they get to 2nd level spells at 7th level or something. By this point having one or two cure light wounds is really minor.
I mean at this level a Troll is going to be rending for 50 points of damage. If both rangers and both Paladins jump to the rescue they can cure that kind of damage, once. Next round the Troll does it again and there is going to be a chorus of 'I'm out of healing...me too' going around the table.
That makes your Druid the defacto healer. Especially at teh lower levels. After that if your mage friend multi-classes into a cleric you and him combined will be about the same value as a pure cleric in terms of healing amd combined together you might also have almost as much offencive spell power as a pure mage.
However if you don't want scribe scroll (for the cure light scrolls) then Augument Summoning is pretty good. Not great as there are so many fighter types your animals may not be really needed but good. Your high wisdom stacked with Alertness might come in handy. Spot and Listen Checks often being very useful but not really essential.
Skill Focus on Concentration will be used every so often (if nothing else then to identify spells) but again not essential. Its hard to go wrong with improved inititive.
But my feeling is Scribe Scroll is probably the best of the bunch.
For a Druid with only these books I'd probably be looking at Scribe Scroll for my 1st level feat (scribe lots of cure light wounds spells). Augument Summoning for my third level feat and Natural Spell for my 6th level feat. After that either Item Creation Feats or Metamagic Feats.
As a side note I'd be looking closely at that Riding Dog as an animal companion. Its really a very good fighter but its main benifit is you can ride it - and it moves fast compared to your stunty little legs. Thats the sort of thing that will keep your Gnome Druid alive when everything starts to go wrong. It also will allow you to save the day if that's what's required and you can have it carry loot. Very useful Gnome or Halfling Druid Animal Companion.
My vote is definitely for Spell Focus(Conjuration), so you can take Augment Summoning at L3. When you've access to higher level summoning spells to summon multiple 'lower level' critters, which allows you to set up a personal guard for your flanks as suggested, or to do the same for other spellcasters or to help shut down pursuit as injured party members head to the back line to take their turn at a support role while they're healed.
Early on, you'll be the main healer, as you're currently the only one with the ability to cast Cure spells. Spell Focus(Conjuration) boosts the offensive capability of your curative spells against undead, too (boosts the Will save DC for them to resist the damage).
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How does scribe scroll work?
I Know that is allowes some1 to cast that particular spell but only once or multiple times?I was thinking wolf for an animal companion, but taking a riding dog would help but how much fighting / guarding ability would i be sacrificing for something to ride on?
That is another question what is a good animal companion??
Spell Focus (conjuring) only gives me +1 DC on conjuring spells, but it also alowes me to get augment summoning which i see give +2 dmg and +2 health..but i still don't kno how much summoning i will be doing
In its simplest form, Scribe Scroll allows you to put a prepared spell down on paper for use later. You can cast a spell from scroll one time and then it is gone. The benefit is that it will end up freeing you to choose your spells more for the encounter rather than for being a doctor. The downside is that it takes time, money, and XP (very minimal XP for first level spells -- 1 XP each -- but it is still a consideration).
Good animal companions are almost as much a matter of taste as effectiveness. Personally I have always liked wolves better than dogs and it always felt wrong for a druid to ride on their companion -- but again, simply personal taste.
Anything that improves the DC of any of your spells is never a bad thing. You also won't know how much summoning you will be doing until you actually start playing and you won't need to choose the augment summoning until at least 3rd level -- so you have time to figure it out.
Last thing to consider -- There are MANY good choices. There are very few poor ones. Many people here have given you some really great ideas. Very few of them are "better" than others -- it just really depends on how you see your character. Pretty much any feat that you choose from what people have mentioned will be a good choice.
Good luck.
Bill
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Our first game is tonight..
I will take the Riding Dog so i don't get left behind when we have to start running or something...and the dog can attack and me attack at the same time, i have 6 in ride so i don't have to roll to see if i can 'guide with knees'(DC 5) then i have to hope for more than 4 then next roll to see if i can attack too
OK how often does a mount get hit? b/c i am going over his light load and he only has like 15 hp or semething..his AC is 16 but still i odn't want him to die?? Won't the bad guys be attacking me???
Augment Summoning sounds cool so I can summon 4 or 5 dire wolves to get flanking bonuses all around an enemy. It looks like i have to take Spell Focus (Conjuring)
Scribe Scroll sound cool so i when i don't use my Cure Lights or something i can just put them into a scroll, but i REALLY want to craft wands so some1 can just use them over and over again. Like the rogue can sneak around an heal everyone
The Main QUESTION
-I don't understand in the PHB under the animal conpanion sidebar, it says that for every couple of druid levels my animal companion gets bonus str/dex and bonus tricks and other junk
I do not understand the bonus HD (what is HD), it also says with bonus HD he gets bonus attacks and other stuff..COMMENTS THOUGHTS ANSWERS
It's always fun to see new players --
HD is Hit Die. If you have access to the Monster Manual, you should take a good look at the "Animal Type" in the glossary. The creature's Base Attack Bonus (BAB) is 3/4 times HD. You would then add Strength bonus (or Dex bonus if they have the weapon finesse feat) to figure out what their plus is to hit. Increasing the HD of a creature may also improve their saving throws -- again, take a look at the Animal Type in the Monster Manual.
The table in the animal companion sidebar is fairly intuitive. You add the "Plus" to the base creature stats. A base riding dog has 2 HD, +4 natural AC, Str 15 and Dex 15. When you get 3 class levels for druid, the Riding dog should have 4 HD, +6 natural AC, Str 16 and Dex 16. When you get to 12th level as a druid the Riding dog should have 10 HD, +12 natural AC, Str 19 and Dex 19. 10 HD will give the dog a BAB of 7 and the str gives a +4 bonus with a total of 11 to hit.
Take a good look at the Ride skill. It is possible to "exchange" your Ride skill roll for the mount's AC and/or it is possible to negate damage done to your mount. Definately worth it for what you are considering. Some bad guys will focus on you while some may focus on your mount -- it just depends.
Rogues can only use wands if they multi-class or if they put ranks into "Use Magic Device". They also have to put quite a few ranks into Use Magic Device to make it worthwhile. It isn't something that just anyone can pick up and use.
Hope that this helps.
Bill
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The Main QUESTION
-I don't understand in the PHB under the animal conpanion sidebar, it says that for every couple of druid levels my animal companion gets bonus str/dex and bonus tricks and other junk
I do not understand the bonus HD (what is HD), it also says with bonus HD he gets bonus attacks and other stuff..
You may see it say things like "Good saving throws" or "Bad saving throws". The easiest way to look at that would be to look at the chart for Druids' levels. HD is basically the same as levels. The druid's "Good" saves are Fort and Will. Reflex is the "Bad" save. The animal companion has "Good" Fort and Reflex. So if the animal companion is 12 HD, take a look at what a 12th level "Good" save is -- +8 -- and the "Bad" save is +4. So its base Fort and Reflex save is +8 and its base Will save is +4. You would then add in any stat adjustments (Con, Dex and Wis).
Hope that this helps.
Yeah, your riding dog sounds good. I hope you come up with a good name for him... it'd be humiliating to be a druid's boon companion, but be named "Skippy". ;) Also, remember that your link ability gives you +4 to all Handle Animal rolls with your animal companion, even at level one.
Bill has good comments about the Ride skill and how often it'll be hit. Augment Summoning will eventually be cool, but you're not going to be summoning all those Dire Wolves yet. Along the same lines, Craft Wand may be cool eventually, but you can't even get the feat until 5th level.
For your main question: again, Bill's answer is good. The real answer is: "Don't worry about it yet-- if you're still confused when you hit 3rd level, ask us then." For now, his stats are exactly the stats in the book-- and they won't change until you hit level 3. Do pick the bonus trick that he knows-- you get one now, at first level.
All the terminology can be confusing to start with, but keep in mind that HD (Hit Dice) are the exact same thing as levels. You animal companion basically gains "levels" in the "animal" class as you gain levels in the druid class. They have the same Base Attack Bonus (BAB) and Hit Die (a d8) as a druid. Their saves progress at the exact same rate, but where your high numbers are in Fortitude and Will, theirs are in Fortitude and Reflex. They gain skill points per level, just like you do. The Monster Manual has the information about how many (typically just one per level). Their class skills are all the skills listed in their entry in the Monster Manual.
The adjustments are just that. Every two levels you get, the animal companion gets the listed numbers as a bonus. So, if they have +1 natural armor, their AC goes up by 1 point. If they have +2 to Str and Dex, those ability scores go up by that amount. Bonus HD provide the aforementioned extra skills, as well as HP, and for every three "levels" they have (all total, not just gained by leveling) they gain a feat, just like you do. I'm not sure whether they gain an ability adjustment for every 4 HD like a character- the PHB doesn't say anything, but the fact that they already give generous ability adjustments leads me to believe that, no, they do not.
All the other special abilities are explained in the entry for the animal companion.
Finally on the topic of the animal, remember that the animal companion is treated as a magical beast any time its creature type is a factor in a special ability.
Making magic items can occaisionally be tricky. To make a given item, you need to be of the right caster level, have the correct Item Creation Feat, and know the right spells. The Dungeon Master's Guide (DMG) has all the information you need. It also tells how to make the items. Basically, you pay half the price listed to buy the magic item, and a number of XP equal to 1/25 of the price listed to buy the item. Thus, while you loose XP, it is very minor, and making your own items gives them to you at half price. It's also a good way to make money by selling them, since basically, however much you spend on the item is how much money you will be ahead by when you sell it. Again, the DMG has all the information you need.
Our first game is tonight..
I will take the Riding Dog so i don't get left behind when we have to start running or something...and the dog can attack and me attack at the same time, i have 6 in ride so i don't have to roll to see if i can 'guide with knees'(DC 5) then i have to hope for more than 4 then next roll to see if i can attack too
I don't think you have to make a roll to see if your mount attacks. Its a little complex so I'm not 100% certain but the basics are your not riding a 'mount' per se. Your riding an Animal Companion. Mounts and trained animals have to be directed by the owner and this usually uses a move action unless various rolls are made but Special Mounts and Animal Companions (Like the Paladins Warhorse, the Rangers Animal Companion and the Druid Animal Companion) don't require a move action to direct and instead are directed as a free action.
One of the reasons the Paladins Warhorse is better then the one the fighter bought at the fair and the Druids Animal Companion is better then buying a trained war dog. The Fighter has to direct his warhorse in combat and would have to direct trained war dogs. All of which distract him in combat as he has to use a move action to make them do anything.
Hence I think the Ride check to make your mount attack as well is a check to get them to do this without costing you a move action. Since it does not cost you a move action to get your Animal Companion to do something like attack you can forgo this roll.
As an aside...interesting party you guys are making. Two Paladins, a Ranger and a Druid. When this party gets to be 5th level your going to have your very own zoo.
Druid is the most complicated class in the Player's Handbook, and I definitely do not recommend a new player start as a druid. Actually, I don't think druid should even be in the PH in its current state of complexity.
Druid's not that complicated. It's largely a cleric-type that gets various extra abilities gradually. The only complicated thing is handling animal companions, especially as mounts; I suppose the DM would have to handle things like adding extra hit dice if you didn't want to just kill off your dog and get a wolf.
Of course, if I was running a game for four players all new to the game I'd make them play fighter/wizard/cleric/rogue for simplicity.
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I'm also starting a new druid character and thanks to everyone on the boards! Great suggestions for starting feats!
I just have one question. I'm going to be the only healer in the group and was seriously looking at the Spontaneous Healer feat. The problem is the prereq is Knowledge (religion) 4. As a cross class skill for druid, I can't get that until level 5. Does that mean I'm stuck with nothing but cure spells until then or is there something I'm missing?
Thanks again!
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as far as being the only healer as a druid, at low levels, it's worth preparing all cure minor wounds as your 0th lvl spells, and cure light wounds once. if the party gets more banged up than that in a day, try to space out your encounters more...in other words, run away. fast.
use your summon nature's ally when you must provide a screener or temporary blocker, but be aware, at 1st lvl, that creature is around for 1 round, then is gone. make it last.
alternatively, look at the entangle spell.
1st lvl
reflex save or be entangled
if NOT entangled, movement is at 1/2 speed, and must make new saves each round (on your turn) they remain in the area
lasts 1min/lvl (or 10, not sure), and is a huge (40' radius?) area.
this is your prime druid 1st lvl spell. hands down, beats all. (except when situationally inappropriate, ie, in a city or underwater or in the air, with no plants around)
if you are going the "healer" route, check out Augment Healing from the Complete Divine book. +2 hp/lvl of healing spell, not too sure on the req's, but i believe you could take it at 1st lvl...
that means a cure light spell does 1d8+3 at 1st lvl. quite nice, especially for the sole healer in the party.
namaste'
the hamster
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Was looking at Augment Healing as a fall back for starting feat if Spontaneous Healing wasn't going to happen. Prereq is only Heal 4 ranks. So you're right, possible at 1st level.
And great idea with the summoned "rearguard" to cover escapes. Hadn't considered that one and can still be done spontaneous if needed. Thanks!
Druid is the most complicated class in the Player's Handbook, and I definitely do not recommend a new player start as a druid. Actually, I don't think druid should even be in the PH in its current state of complexity.
The tricky part for the Druid is not for the player but for teh DM. A new DM might want to avoid druids. Certianly I found myself reading and rereading teh Ride Skill over and over again and then cross referencing with the movement rules to decide what could and could not be done by a character that was mounted.
Also not all teh mounted rules are in teh smae place or even noted so one is always finding obscure rules in wierd places.
The ride check thing is u have to make a DC 10 for u to attack and your mount to attack in the same round
From the Players Handbook page 80 (The Ride Skill).
"Fight with your Warhorse: If you direct your war trained mount to attack in battle, you can still make your own attack or attacks normally. This usage is a free action."
OK normally speaking someone who wants to make their mount do something like attack would have to use a move action to direct the mount. What this use of the ride skill seems to imply as far as I can tell is that if you succeed it can attack and you can as well without having to use the move action to direct it.
Presumably if you where to blow this roll you could still direct your mount to attack but it would then require a the normal move action required to direct an trained animal.
But that price of a move action does not apply to animal companions or special mounts. In this case if you look under the animal companion rules it says that you have an empathic link to the animal in question and directing it is a free action. Hence it does not matter if you blow the roll because it never takes a move action to direct your animal companion in anycase.
My understanding of the ride skill in this case is that it is not replacing the normal rules but giving another option to those with a high ride skill. Those with high ride skill can make their war mount fight without it costing a move action - but this is irrelivent to you because you can direct your animal companion mount as a free action anyway.
Now if you decide to get a Eagle as an animal companion and then choose to buy a wardog you would need to make this roll to attack with the wardog without it costing a move action because the wardog would not be your animal companion. The Eagle on the other hand could be directed to attack as a free action.