Which Druid domain?

[Neo2151]

There's a possibility of a PF game coming up in the distant future, and I've had my eye set pretty hard on a Druid for my next PF character.
The game would be in a homebrew world and the action would be taking place on a largely "untamed jungle" continent with strong naga influence.

I've pretty much decided on a caster druid instead of a combat druid (still deciding on whether I wanna stay core or go Menhir Savant - thoughts?) and domain instead of animal companion, and I've narrowed it down to:
Fire,
Ash, or
Weather

I know there isn't one "right" answer, so I'm just looking on general opinions on these three domains (or other options if you think they're good - caves maybe?) that I can browse through to help me make the decision.

Thanks!

[soupturtle]

I'd go for weather. Good spells, good powers, and especially good if you know you're going to be outside most of the time.

If you do go for weather, consider the storm druid archetype. That's what I would play if I were playing a caster druid (probably with the Storms subdomain rather than Weather though, and picking up Wind at level 9).

[Pupsocket]

Yes on Menhir Savant. The only time I would ever not take MS is when it conflicts with another archetype.

If you're looking at Fire, why not Smoke? Better domain power and much, much better spells.

Weather doesn't add anything you didn't already have.

[Neo2151]

@soupturtle - Our last PF game had a Storm Druid who did, basically, exactly what you suggest. If it weren't for not wanting to step on that character's toes, it'd be a bigger consideration for me.

@Pupsocket - Yes/No on Menhir Savant is really just a flavor thing for me. The gained abilities are great, no doubt, but the ones given up I happen to enjoy.
As to Ash, mostly it's cuz Fireball is a fun spell - But when I take the extra second to really consider, you're absolutely right, Smoke really is just that much better. :)

Thanks, and keep 'em comin'!

[Atarlost]

Talk to your GM.

Fire or Ash gives damage type variety since most of the best druid blasts are lightning, but operating in an untamed jungle you're limited by your GM's opinion of how inflammable it is. I think Ash is better than Fire because elemental body is redundant with wildshape.

For weather I'm with soupturtle in preferring the storms subdomain. Gale aura is less redundant with your spells than Lightning Lord and earlier and I'd be more confident about always having a use for sirocco than control winds. The ice storm -> call lightning storm swap is a wash since they're both spells I'd consider preparing so it matters little which one is in a domain slot unless you take a spontaneous domain casting archetype.

{stuff on the storm archetype removed as irrelevant because of OP ninja}

[Neo2151]

Atarlost wrote:

Talk to your GM.

Always the best answer. ;)

Quote:

Fire or Ash gives damage type variety since most of the best druid blasts are lightning, but operating in an untamed jungle you're limited by your GM's opinion of how inflammable it is.

This is very true, and definitely worth considering.

Quote:

I think Ash is better than Fire because elemental body is redundant with wildshape.

I was under the impression that it stacked with Wildshape. (ie: why use a less-impressive wildshape for Res if I can use the better one and still have the Res?)

If I'm wrong, I'm wrong.

[Pupsocket]

You can only be affected by one [polymorph] spell at a time.

[Atarlost]

A druid can wildshape as Elemental Form IV at level 12 for hours. He would get the spell from the fire domain at level 13 for minutes.

Besides, as a caster druid the advantages of air elementals are substantial. They have the best defenses of the elementals and when in whirlwind form at large size or larger they count as a stormy area for the purpose of call lightning (storm) boosting your damage from 3d6 or 5d6 to 3d10 or 5d10.

[leo1925]

Neo2151 wrote:

Quote:

I think Ash is better than Fire because elemental body is redundant with wildshape.

I was under the impression that it stacked with Wildshape. (ie: why use a less-impressive wildshape for Res if I can use the better one and still have the Res?)

If I'm wrong, I'm wrong.

Also your natural spell doesn't work with that.

[Neo2151]

What huh buh?
What's this about more than one polymorph spell or fire domain spells lasting minutes?
Here's what I meant:

Quote:

Fire Resistance (Ex): At 6th level, you gain resist fire 10. This resistance increases to 20 at 12th level. At 20th level, you gain immunity to fire.

This is granted as a Domain feature. You always have it. It doesn't require a spellcast and it doesn't require a polymorphed form.

So, upon assuming the form of an Air Elemental, which does not offer any resistance bonus, you could get the best "caster" form while still maintaining the Fire Resistance from the Fire Domain ability, without needing to assume the form of a Fire Elemental.

Is this not how it works? If not, what specifically makes it not work?

[blackbloodtroll]

Have you seen the Animal and Terrain Domains?

[Neo2151]

I have. :)
I dismissed most of them as either "better for a combat druid" or "hard to justify" (ie: in a campaign taking place in a jungle continent, how do I really take the Plains domain?) (And the Jungle Domain didn't really impress me much. :) )

[Atarlost]

Neo2151 wrote:

What huh buh?

What's this about more than one polymorph spell or fire domain spells lasting minutes?
Here's what I meant:

Quote:

Fire Resistance (Ex): At 6th level, you gain resist fire 10. This resistance increases to 20 at 12th level. At 20th level, you gain immunity to fire.

This is granted as a Domain feature. You always have it. It doesn't require a spellcast and it doesn't require a polymorphed form.

So, upon assuming the form of an Air Elemental, which does not offer any resistance bonus, you could get the best "caster" form while still maintaining the Fire Resistance from the Fire Domain ability, without needing to assume the form of a Fire Elemental.

Is this not how it works? If not, what specifically makes it not work?

But you wind up with your 7th level domain slot wasted. If you want fire resistance you can just cast resist energy. Unless you're level 20 it's at least as good.

[blackbloodtroll]

Is your PC "Jungle themed" or from the Jungle?

[Neo2151]

That's true, which is unfortunate. You still gain access to quite a few great off-list spells though, so it's probably worth the loss of one useful domain slot.

Something to consider. Thanks for pointing it out (clearly I didn't get it when you brought it up earlier - that's what I get for misreading, lol). :)

[Silent Saturn]

Which would be easier for you to roleplay-- a druid that meditates on the nature of fire, or a druid that meditates on the weather?

As much fun as a Fire druid sounds, I'd have an easier time getting into the head of a Weather druid. Then again, I'm a New Englander, so maybe I'm biased. ;)

I know this might sound stupid, but the Seasons subdomain might be useful, especially if you're going to be trekking through uncivilized lands for long periods of time. Blight could also be useful in a jungle, if you need to clear out undergrowth.

[Neo2151]

I've always found the stereotypical druid examples (ie: the elf with her friendly animal companion who likes flowers and frolicking) to be ridiculous.
Whether you hold more strongly to animals or elements, Nature is extremely fickle. For all her soothing tenderness, she can be just as absolutely violent and destructive. Survival of the fittest and all that.
So for me, it won't be any harder to roleplay one domain over another.
:)

[Silent Saturn]

I always imagined druids to be wise folks looking to the natural world for deep universal truths that transcend the politics of an age.

I imagine a Fire druid would be primarily motivated by either culling the weak or controlling overpopulation-- she might have an evil streak and want to watch civilization burn, or maybe her interest in fire is in what grows back from the ashes and she has faith that the fire will burn away whatever the problem was and the natural order will reassert itself. She may also look to the fire as a divination aid, as many real life oracles did, to try and see omens in the flames.

A Weather druid, by contrast, would be the old man on his front porch who can tell when the storm's coming in and what it will bring. He probably reads his omens in the wind on his face and the patterns in the clouds. He studies the weather because the weather IS the world around you-- master one and you master the other.

[mplindustries]

Personally, I like every spell in the Plant, Decay, and Growth domain except Contagion (from Decay) and Command Plants (though Command Plants would probably be useful in a Jungle setting).

I think the Flotsam subdomain is pretty underrated. Once per day, you can reach into some water (if you have the time, you could always just Create Water until there's enough to immerse yourself in) and pull out scrolls or potions or whatever you might need at a moment's notice.

I also really like the Serpent Domain, but it doesn't fit a caster druid quite as well as a wild shape fighter type.

[soupturtle]

The caves domain also seems really cool to me. I guess it's mostly a question of whether or not you like the pit spells. I personally do. :)

Also, if you're still also debating the weather domain, it seems to be one of the few domains that gives a useful first level power for a caster druid, as on top of the minor damage it's also a minor debuff, giving you something moderately useful to do at early levels when you can't cast spells all day yet.

If you don't want to play a storm druid, and you're not going for a domain you can only get with some specific archetype, I'd definitely go for menhir savant. It seems to be simply more powerful than a normal druid.