Druid or Shaman (pfs)

[Marblz]

I figured it might be worthwhile to get things looked over before I commit to this character and am unable to change it (oh hindsight).

Looked over treantmonk's druid guide as well for this.

The bear shaman archetype fits the flavour I want but I have made poor choices as far as archetypes in the past...

So

Male Half-Orc Druid 1:

CN Medium Humanoid (Orc)
Init +2; Senses Darkvision (60 feet); Perception +6
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DEFENSE
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AC 16, touch 12, flat-footed 14. . (+4 armor, +2 Dex)
hp 14 (1d8+5)
Fort +5, Ref +3, Will +5
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OFFENSE
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Spd 20 ft.
Melee Falchion +3 (2d4+4/18-20/x2) and
. . Unarmed Strike +3 (1d3+3/20/x2)
Druid Spells Known (CL 1, 3 melee touch, 2 ranged touch)
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STATISTICS
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Str 17, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 15, Cha 7
Base Atk +0; CMB +3; CMD 15
Feats Druid Weapon Proficiencies, Toughness +3
Traits Courageous, Outcast
Skills Handle Animal +2, Knowledge (Nature) +5, Perception +6
Languages Common, Druidic, Orc
Combat Gear Falchion, Hide
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SPECIAL ABILITIES
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Animal Companion Link (Ex) You have a link with your Animal Companion.
Courageous +2 save vs. fear.
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white vision only).
Nature Sense (Ex) A druid gains a +2 bonus on Knowledge (nature) and Survival checks.
Share Spells with Companion (Ex) Spells cast on you can also affect your Companion, if it's within 5 feet.
Spontaneous Casting The Druid can convert stored spells into Summon Nature's Ally spells.
Wild Empathy -1 (Ex) Improve the attitude of an animal, as if using Diplomacy.

Male Bear:

NN Small Animal
Init +2; Senses Low-Light Vision, Scent; Perception +1
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DEFENSE
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AC 15, touch 13, flat-footed 13. . (+2 Dex, +1 size, +2 natural)
hp 15 (+5)
Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +1
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OFFENSE
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Spd 40 ft.
Melee Bite (Bear) +4 (1d4+2/20/x2) and
. . Claw x2 (Bear) +4 x2 (1d3+2/20/x2) and
. . Unarmed Strike +4 (1d2+2/20/x2)
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STATISTICS
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Str 15, Dex 15, Con 13, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6
Base Atk +1; CMB +2; CMD 14 (18 vs. Trip)
Feats Toughness +3
Tricks Attack [Trick]
Skills Acrobatics +7
SQ Attack [Trick]

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SPECIAL ABILITIES
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Attack [Trick] The animal will attack on command.
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in low light, distinguishing color and detail.
Scent (Ex) Detect opponents within 15+ feet by sense of smell.

There's the stats and stuff. Sacred tattoo is in there somewhere and going with animal companion. Going for a wildshape/summons focused build I think. Int and cha ok that low too? Makes sense for the character although cha could possibly be a little higher (rp wise).

Is having so many odd numbered stats wasteful? I've read it can be handy to have an odd numbered primary stat as it helps you get the most out of it in pfs, idk about the rest though. Was a bit awkward trying to get more even numbered stats. (maybe these stats "Str 17, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 8"?)

As far as druids go I'm finding mixed answers. Some say they're really strong, some seem to be saying they're quite weak. If they're underpowered and I'm going with an archetype that might be underpowered or one that removes/delays core class features (eg. no wildshaping until 6) being new, and in general I don't want to let my table down.

So yeah, advice/tweaks much appreciated. Not looking to 100% min/max but also don't want to be a burden due to poor/newbie choices :x

[Malag]

Well it depends. My druid is currently crapy a bit but you can make nasty chars out of any class.
If you go with your current build it should be okay. Animal companions add a lot of damage in starting levels. Even if you want to "nerf" your char more it won't hurt you much. But this is just mine opinion.

[Marblz]

Wasn't looking to nerf my character in particular haha, just wanted to make sure I'm heading in the right direction and whether or not Bear Shaman would be a poor choice or not (for reference my current character is a street performer bard, aha...)

The pseudo shifting pre level 6 doesn't seem like too shabby a trade off for the delay on ws. I think this character should do ok in melee pre any form and there's also the bear and a couple of spells to supplement it.

Bit lacking in experience to be sure though. Would the second stat array be better do you think?

[Deadmanwalking]

1. Yeah, three odd numbered stats is a waste. I'd go with the other array you posted.

2. Druids are nasty and very powerful...but yeah, Bear Shaman is a bit weak, as are Bear animal companions.

If you want optimal, go straight Druid and get a Lion or Tiger.

That said, a Bear Shaman will absolutely contribute and be useful to the group...but giving up wild shape and then being restricted to Bears hurts a lot. You're giving up Pounce, and that's one of the things that makes Druids powerful and scary melee characters.

[Rycaut]

Actually the Shamans don't lose Wild Shape at level 4 - they just get a changed Wild Shape a level 6. (by RAW - RAI is less clear on this point ). The bigger issue for Shamans in PFS play is the scarcity of shapes for them to assume at higher levels (depends on the shaman type - but some animals lack versions which are huge)

If the shaman lost wild shape at level 4 they would lose an entire use of wild shape each day.

Their summoning as a standard action is among their strongest features. It is also worth looking at the domains they offer - some of the shaman types offer domains which are pretty decent alternatives to the animal companion but that is a matter of preference and play style. The fur subdomain of animal for example might have a lot to offer a bear shaman (enlarge person as a swift action 3+WIS times a day). At higher levels the shamans also get some bonus feats.

[Marblz]

Done a fair bit of reading on it and RAI according to the writer was that Shaman's were to get ws later as a trade-off for the +2 for the primary form (although this plus the -2 to other forms plus the delay does seem a little harsh (but I've never played a druid before so who knows))

The ogc website lists it RAW but there seems to be varied opinions out there as to how much it's taking advantage of the ambiguity etc.

This, even assuming Shaman's get ws later it suggests bear is about on par with straight druid (depending on specific level), while Lion actually pulls out ahead. I could still possibly work with the Lion shaman, if I can reflavour it tiger (fluff only, the companion has the same stats as the lion anyway and ws applies to felines in general so sounds possible).

I guess so long as bear shaman isn't going to be disappointing or burdensome to my table I'll probably go with that. Otherwise Lion or straight would be fine.

Only wibble is about that late ws thing I think, if that's what the gm's decide is the case (I don't mind either way as that's what I'd assumed anyway). Totem Transformation doesn't sound like too bad a deal though.

Ah man, some of the domains do seem cool, I hadn't really looked into it because I knew I'd end up conflicted, damnit