I recently started playing in a campaign already in progress with a 12th level start. I decided to play a Druid as I haven't tried one before and it sounded fun. However 2 sessions in I'm finding that I'm quite useless in combat, I'm just not sure what to do.
The character started as a 12th level human druid, focusing heavily on casting. She started out as a Human but was killed and reincarnated as a Gnoll during the first session. The rest of the party consists of a Rogue, a Fighter, a Paladin and a Sorcerer, all built in a fairly traditional way to fill the usual roles.
The stat block was produced using JohnnyAngel's sCoreGen sheet
Marit El'Nayran:
MARIT EL'NAYRAN
Female Gnoll Druid 12
N Medium humanoid
Init +6 ; Senses Perception +24
==DEFENSE==
AC 24, touch 16, flat-footed 22 (+8 armor, +2 dex, +4 deflection)
hp 112 (12d8+36)
Fort +16, Ref +13, Will +22
==OFFENSE==
Spd 20 ft./x4
==STATISTICS==
Str 12, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 29, Cha 8
Base Atk +9, Cmb +10Cmd +26
Feats Armor Proficiency (Light) (PFCR 118), Armor Proficiency (Medium) (PFCR 118), Augment Summoning (PFCR 118), Craft Wondrous Item (PFCR 120), Improved Initiative (PFCR 127), Lightning Reflexes (PFCR 130), Natural Spell (PFCR 131), Scribe Scroll (PFCR 132), Shield Proficiency (PFCR 133), Spell Focus (PFCR 134)
Skills Disguise +0, Fly +16, Handle Animal +14, Knowledge (nature) +18, Linguistics +7, Perception +24, Ride +5, Sense Motive +12, Spellcraft +16, Survival +26, Swim +4
Languages Aquan, Auran, Celestial, Common, Draconic, Druidic, Ignan, Sylvan, Terran, Thassilonian
Combat Gear Wild Darkwood Breastplate +2
Other Gear Headband of Inspired Wisdom +6, Pearls of Power 1, 2, 3, Cloak of Resistance +5, Ring of Protection +4, Stoneskin Focus, Armor & Shield, Weapons
Class Abilities • FORBIDDEN SPELL ALIGNMENT - No spells with alignment descriptors are forbidden due to your alignment or your deity's alignment. (PFCR 41, 49).
• DRUID BONUS LANGUAGES - A Druid automatically knows Druidic, and may choose Sylvan as a bonus language. (PFCR 50).
• DRUID ORISONS - Druids can prepare a number of orisons, or 0-level spells, each day. They can cast these spells at will as a spell-like ability. 3 at 1st level, or 4 at any subsequent level. Orisons are treated like any other spell cast by the cleric in terms of duration and other variables based on level. Orisons cannot be channeled through spontaneous casting. (PFCR 49).
• DRUID SPELLS - A druid casts divine spells, which are drawn from the druid spell list. Her alignment may restrict her from casting certain spells opposed to her moral or ethical beliefs; see Chaotic, Evil, Good, and Lawful Spells. A druid must choose and prepare her spells in advance. To prepare or cast a spell, the druid must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a druid’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the druid’s Wisdom modifier. (PFCR 49).
• DRUID SPONTANEOUS CASTING - A druid can channel stored spell energy into summoning spells that she hasn’t prepared ahead of time. She can “lose” a prepared spell in order to cast any summon nature’s ally spell of the same level or lower. (PFCR 49).
• DRUID WEAPONS AND ARMOR - Weapons: club, dagger, dart, quarterstaff, scimitar, scythe, sickle, shortspear, sling, and spear, all natural attacks (claw, bite, and so forth) of any form they assume with wild shape. Armor: light and medium armor (but no metal armor); shields (except tower shields) but must use only wooden ones. Prohibited armor or shields render the druid unable to cast druid spells or use supernatural or spell-like class abilities 24 hours. (PFCR 49).
• NATURE BOND (Domain Powers - Weather) - You have chosen nature-related domain powers. The Weather domain is detailed in PFCR 48.
- Storm Burst (Sp) - Ranged touch attack does 1d6+6. to a target within 30 ft. and causes a -2 attack penalty for 1 round. Standard action. 9 times per day. [PFCR 48]
- Lightning Lord (Sp) - Summon 12 lighning bolts per day. As many as you want with a single standard action, but only one per creature and no two targets more than 30 ft. apart. Otherwise like call lightning (PFCR 251). [PFCR 48]
(PFCR 50).
• NATURE SENSE - A druid gains a +2 bonus on Knowledge (nature) and Survival checks. (PFCR 50).
• TRACKLESS STEP - You leave no trail in natural surroundings and cannot be tracked. You may choose to leave a trail if so desired. (PFCR 51).
• RESIST NATURE'S LURE - +4 bonus on saving throws against the spell-like and supernatural abilities of fey. Also applies to spells and effects that target plants, such as blight, entangle, spike growth, and warp wood. (PFCR 51).
• WILD SHAPE - You can change form 5 times per day. 12 hours, or until you choose to change back. Cannot speak in animal form. Standard action to change. Does not provoke AoO. Possible forms:
- Small or Medium Animal as Beast Shape I (PFCR 247)
- Tiny or Large Animal as Beast Shape II
- Small Elemental as with Elemental Body I (PFCR 275)
- Diminutive or Huge animal as Beast Shape III
- Medium Elemental as Elemental Body II (PFCR 276)
- Small or Medium Plant as Plant Shape I (PFCR 322)
- Large Elemental as Elemental Body III
- Large Plant as Plant Shape II (PFCR 323)
- Huge Elemental as Elemental Body IV
- Huge Plant as Plant Shape III
(PFCR 51).
• VENOM IMMUNITY - You gain immunity to all poisons. (PFCR 51).
• DRUID WOODLAND STRIDE - You may move through any sort of undergrowth (such as natural thorns, briars, overgrown areas, and similar terrain) at your normal speed and without taking damage or suffering any other impairment. However, thorns, briars, and overgrown areas that have been magically manipulated to impede motion still affect you. (PFCR 51).
Any advice regardng how to play this sort of Druid in regards to spell choices and what to do during combat would be greatly appreciated, currently I use a lot of my spells for buffing which is great, but then I don't really know how to contribute once actually in the fight.
Looks great.... air elemental form, go into whirlwind mode, and scoop up enemies. Insanely effective tactics against most regular-size enemies. Otherwise, focus on battlefield control spells, mess up terrains and entangle foes. You won't be delivering killing blows, but you will be the most effective character on the field.
Bingo. Druids are one of the top three "most powerful" classes at mid-to-high levels, which is right where you are.
The problem might be that you are trying to play a "blaster". Using spells to make big booms hasn't been very effective since third edition - dealing loads and loads of damage is what melee characters are for these days.
Where spellcasters excel - and annoy - is control. Making the entire party hit harder, take less damage, move faster. Weakening the enemy, preventing them from hitting, or moving, or attacking. Summoning allies to enhance along with the rest of the party, and to use as more battlefield control.
You're not the Glass Cannon firing a bunch of Nukes, you're the guy making the Tank fly around and shoot laser-beams.
Here's a partial list of druid spells from the Core Rulebook that I've found to be useful:
Level 1: Entangle, Longstrider, Faerie Fire, Pass without Trace, Obscuring Mist, Speak with Animals
Level 2: Cat's Grace, Resist Energy, Gust of Wind, Align Fang, Barkskin, Hold Animal
Level 3: Greater Magic Fang, Stone Shape, Sleet Storm, Neutralize Poison, Daylight
Level 4: Flame Strike, Air Walk, Freedom of Movement, Spike Stones
Level 5: Animal Growth, Wall of Thorns, Death Ward, Control Winds, Commune With Nature, Baleful Polymorph
Level 6: Quickened Barkskin, Mass Owl's Wisdom, Find the Path, Stone Tell, Greater Dispel Magic, Antilife Shell
Level 7: Heal, Quickened Sleet Storm, True Seeing, Fire Storm, Wind Walk
Level 8: Reverse Gravity, Sunburst, Quickened Flame Strike, Finger of Death, Whirlwind
Level 9: Foresight, Shapechange, Quickened Wall of Thorns, Quickened Baleful Polymorph
You can probably ignore the Align Fang/Greater Magic Fang spells, in your case; you probably won't be doing much melee fighting and you don't have an animal companion.
I played an 11th-level druid in a mini-campaign, and he did more damage than the beefiest fighter by wild shaping into a dire tiger. There is a feat, Wild Casting I think it's called, that lets you cast spells while in a wild shape. I don't have my book handy, so I'm not sure if it made it from 3.5 to PF, and your DM might not allow it if it didn't. Because of the wild shape ability, my druid was an excellent scout (eagle).
We were playing an amped-up PF version of the old A-series Slavelords mods, and when the party was drugged, captured, and tossed buck-azz nekked into the caves of A4, my druid was not the least disabled. When we had to swim long underwater tunnels, I turned into a barracuda. When we were about to attack the slavelords in the final fight, I turned into a rat, snuck aboard the Water Dragon, turned back into a human below deck and grabbed our equipment out of the unlocked chest (fools!), turned back into a rat (equipment held or worn melds with the assumed form), and scurried back to the others where we re-equipped and beat the slavelords down.
If you don't have Bestiary, get one or borrow one and photocopy stats of a few favorite animal shapes. Try to think of an ideal form for every situation. I liked dire tiger for combat (I even took Improved Natural Attack feat to beef up my damage), eagle or rat for scouting or spying, crocodile is good in water, and elemental shapes are a definite I Win button. Hope this helps!
i made a list of all the (magical) animals in the Bestiary with the corresponding ability's the animal could do. Instead of melee you could choose flying animals or magical who have things to add to your spelllist. Elementals are great too; earthglide, whirlwind.
Natural spell is a must have to do this, it allows you to cast spells while wildshaped. Also, don't forget to throw some skillpoints into fly and look at the monster feats like fly-by-attack and hover.
Also, take a look at the following guide :)
http://paizo.com/paizo/messageboards/paizoPublishing/pathfinder/pathfinderR PG/advice/archives/treantmonksGuideToDruidsOptimization&page=1&sour ce=search#0
First, remember at all times that as a Druid, YOU NEVER HAVE TO FIGHT ALONE...and neither does anyone else in the party. As a frequent Druid player, I have yet to encounter a situation where summoning the appropriate elemental did not at least help (Earth elementals, especially at the level you can summon them, can soak up a LOT of damage). If nothing else, flooding a battlefield with smaller elementals can provide cover, distraction, "aid other" bonuses if needed, and flanking opportunities for yourself and others. Avoid summoning animals at your level unless it's for a specific purpose...unlike arcane casters, your animals don't come with templates. It's been my experience that elementals give you the most bang for your spell slot "buck". The best part is that you never need to prepare those spells, saving your slots for other things if you need them. Augment Summon is always a worthwhile feat for a druid...good call on that one.
Second, Wild Shape is your best friend. It can make you more effective in melee, protect you from environmental effects, allow you to exploit some weaknesses (assuming Fire Elemental shape against a White Dragon is always a sound tactic, for example), and grant you unparalleled mobility. That's just the tip of the iceberg, too, when you begin thinking about all of the other abilities Wild Shape can grant (venom, for instance). Again, good call on the feat selection...Natural Spell is a must for any druid.
As for spells, well, this is where druids begin to really exhibit their "toolbox" nature. I have yet to encounter a single casting class that doesn't appreciate having a well-thought out druid backing their play. If the cleric falls behind with the healing, you can step up. If the arcane casters need help with battlefield control, there you are. You don't have a great number of damaging spells, but you do have a couple if you think you need them. Druid spell casting excels at allowing the arcane casters to focus on control/damage (What wizard wants to waste a spell slot on "Water Breathing"? With you around, he doesn't have to...and if nobody ends up needing that spell that day, you can still use it to summon something. Talk about versatility!) I would avoid the item creation or metamagic feats...leave that stuff to the arcane casters who have nothing better to do. Personally, I usually have my druid characters take feats that improve their saves, and initiative (for a third time, your feat selection in this regard was excellent).
As far as tactics, my most successful druid character actually used a pretty simple plan in most fights, with uniformly outstanding results: Spend at least the first two rounds summoning help, then hang back and assess. If the fight went well, I'd just keep hanging back and let my rock star melee people and arcane casters have their fun (with elemental help, of course). This had the added bonus of allowing me to save the majority of my spell power and ability use, for later application should the need arise. Using these tactics, it got to the point in our game where the party would never once second-guess its plan of attack, reasoning that if it went well there was nothing to worry about, and if things went badly, "The druid will save us all."
There you go...I hope that helps a bit. Have fun with your druid, and remember that with a little thought and planning, there's not much of anything you won't be able to get done.
Thanks for the help everyone, hopefully come Monday night I'll be significantly less useless. I'll post the results in this thread for anyone who is interested.
Change Craft Scroll to Craft Wand feat.
Then put all Utily spell on them.
1st
Cure light wounds,Longstrider,Pass without Trace, Obscuring Mist, Speak with Animals
2nd
Cat's Grace, Resist Energy, Gust of Wind, Align Fang, Barkskin
3rd
Greater Magic Fang, Stone Shape, Neutralize Poison, Daylight
4th
Air Walk, Freedom of Movement
As far as the pet I like the Team Work Flanker that moves in and set out the better give him + 2 flank +2 Flank Feat + 2 triped +2 aid other that + 8 to hit with +1d6 Damgage to you or any one else that jumps on the train of feats.
