What books and sources from PF are allowed? Is any D&D 3E material allowed? Is any 3rd party content allowed?
A druid can be built with a casting focus, a melee focus, or a hodge-podge mix of the two*. What do YOU want it to be? Druid, along with many casters, is not nearly as pigeon-holed into one role as the non-casters are, you can take it in various directions.
I do suggest Wisdom as highest stat and a race that boosts wisdom, unless focusing very heavily on the melee aspect, though.
I also think Menhir Savant archetype is so stupidly good (well, it doesn't do anything awe-worthy, but the trades are ALL basically pure gains with no pain) that every Druid should be one.
For traits, I like Two-World Magic to gain Ghost Sound as a cantrip so you can communicate while wild shaped (I think it allows the creation of intelligible speech but that's debated; regardless it would allow for communication on some level) on basically any druid. And Natural Spell is, of course, a class feature cleverly disguised as a "feat choice."
At first level, you would want to be using a scythe or a scimitar + shield, and the best non-metal armor available, which is probably hide, leather, leather or horn lamellar, or do-maru. Depending on your wealth and sources available (lamellars and do-maru are from Ultimate Combat and are "Eastern Armor").
That's just some general advice, hard to give better advice w/o a reply from you. In general, best core druid race is Dwarf. Human is a good choice if you want +Strength. Out of core, Oread is an excellent pick for a melee or "hybrid" druid. Samsaran with Mystic Past Life variant is an amazing way to expand your spell list and hands-down the best "caster choice". Keep in mind wild shape will cause you to lose some racial features like dark vision, which is why human is > half-orc, for example (you lose some of the half-orc benefits; +1 feat and the skill points remain).
*
|
What books and sources from PF are allowed? Is any D&D 3E material allowed? Is any 3rd party content allowed?
A druid can be built with a casting focus, a melee focus, or a hodge-podge mix of the two. What do YOU want it to be? Druid, along with many casters, is not nearly as pigeon-holed into one role as the non-casters are, you can take it in various directions.
I do suggest Wisdom as highest stat and a race that boosts wisdom, unless focusing very heavily on the melee aspect, though.
I also think Menhir Savant archetype is so stupidly good (well, it doesn't do anything awe-worthy, but the trades are ALL basically pure gains with no pain) that every Druid should be one.
For traits, I like Two-World Magic to gain Ghost Sound as a cantrip so you can communicate while wild shaped (I think it allows the creation of intelligible speech but that's debated; regardless it would allow for communication on some level) on basically any druid. And Natural Spell is, of course, a class feature cleverly disguised as a "feat choice."
At first level, you would want to be using a scythe or a scimitar + shield, and the best non-metal armor available, which is probably hide, leather, leather or horn lamellar, or do-maru. Depending on your wealth and sources available (lamellars and do-maru are from Ultimate Combat and are "Eastern Armor").
That's just some general advice, hard to give better advice w/o a reply from you. In general, best core druid race is Dwarf. Human is a good choice if you want +Strength. Out of core, Oread is an excellent pick for a melee or "hybrid" druid. Keep in mind wild shape will cause you to lose some racial features like dark vision, which is why human is > half-orc, for example (you lose some of the half-orc benefits; +1 feat and the skill points remain).
It is for pathfinder society. I just bought this cool miniature with a sabre tooth cat and she is caring a spear, so I figure she is a melee type druid. I've never played one, so I just wanted some advice on what to focus on as far as abilities, but if I go more of a spell caster type, I still needed to know what abilities to focus on. Any help is appreciated.
I have never played in PFS and only know about how it works from forums, so I probably can't advise you the best. IIRC, PFS both has a huge ban list but also restricts you to books you actually own and bring, so...what is available for you?
Do they require you to play the race that the miniature is? Or are you just really attached to human? Not that human is a horrible race; it's quite good for every class. But I think an Oread or something could be a better melee druid race for you.
One thing to keep in mind if you can use the Feather subdomain of Animal domain (from APG) and the Boon Companion feat (no idea where that is from), you can take Feather subdomain, get an animal companion at level -3 at 4th level, then take Boon Companion to erase the -3 levels. In the long run, it's like paying a feat for +1/2 level to perception checks and a bonus spell per day of each level, quite a good trade. Of course, at the early levels you just have one extra spell per day and no animal at all and it's harder on you. You don't need Feather subdomain to do this; regular animal works, too. But the basic animal domain is super terrible for a druid, to the point where I don't think it's worth it anymore. And really, if feather subdomain from a common book is not available, boon companion probably isn't, either...
|
|
I have never played in PFS and only know about how it works from forums, so I probably can't advise you the best. IIRC, PFS both has a huge ban list but also restricts you to books you actually own and bring, so...what is available for you?
Do they require you to play the race that the miniature is? Or are you just really attached to human? Not that human is a horrible race; it's quite good for every class. But I think an Oread or something could be a better melee druid race for you.
One thing to keep in mind if you can use the Feather subdomain of Animal domain (from APG) and the Boon Companion feat (no idea where that is from), you can take Feather subdomain, get an animal companion at level -3 at 4th level, then take Boon Companion to erase the -3 levels. In the long run, it's like paying a feat for +1/2 level to perception checks and a bonus spell per day of each level, quite a good trade. Of course, at the early levels you just have one extra spell per day and no animal at all and it's harder on you. You don't need Feather subdomain to do this; regular animal works, too. But the basic animal domain is super terrible for a druid, to the point where I don't think it's worth it anymore. And really, if feather subdomain from a common book is not available, boon companion probably isn't, either...
Here are the books. I have:
Core Rule Book
Advanced Players Guide
Advanced Race Guide
Ultimate Combat
Ultimate Magic
Ultimate Equipment
Ultimate Campaign
I also have several companions and campaign settings as well.
It doesn't have to be like the miniature, but that is what caught my eye on playing something that I haven't.
I even bought a half-orc monk, and I never have played that class as well.
I'm just getting advice from you veterans and go from there.
|
|
I have never played in PFS and only know about how it works from forums, so I probably can't advise you the best. IIRC, PFS both has a huge ban list but also restricts you to books you actually own and bring, so...what is available for you?
Do they require you to play the race that the miniature is? Or are you just really attached to human? Not that human is a horrible race; it's quite good for every class. But I think an Oread or something could be a better melee druid race for you.
One thing to keep in mind if you can use the Feather subdomain of Animal domain (from APG) and the Boon Companion feat (no idea where that is from), you can take Feather subdomain, get an animal companion at level -3 at 4th level, then take Boon Companion to erase the -3 levels. In the long run, it's like paying a feat for +1/2 level to perception checks and a bonus spell per day of each level, quite a good trade. Of course, at the early levels you just have one extra spell per day and no animal at all and it's harder on you. You don't need Feather subdomain to do this; regular animal works, too. But the basic animal domain is super terrible for a druid, to the point where I don't think it's worth it anymore. And really, if feather subdomain from a common book is not available, boon companion probably isn't, either...
Thank you also for the info you gave me as well.
It hurts your spell, wildshape, and animal companion progressions; and is thus a weak choice overall. But dipping Master of Many Styles monk can give you a lot of benefits for melee. Best time to dip would be level 3 or any odd level thereafter. You want time to meet style feat requirements other than improved unarmed strike on your own so that when you enter at an odd level, you can use the odd level feat to pick up the style itself (now that the monk level has given you IUS) and use the monk bonus feat to get a higher level feat in the style chain w/o having the requirements. I would grab Crane Wing, but it would depend on the DM's definition of a "free hand" -- you'll be wildshaped most of the time after level 5.
And there's the normal monk benefits of wis to AC when unarmored and Stunning Fist, of course. I say go MoMS because flurry is horrible for a druid; unlike normal two weapon fighting with unarmed strikes, flurry does not let you add your natural attacks as secondary natural attacks to it, and you will have plenty of natural attacks as a druid (and pounce!).
Don't dip more than a level, though. When you're all set with Natural Spell and maybe Boon Companion, definitely pick up a second style, too. Dragon Style is a pretty nice benefit from the initial style feat alone; ditto for Boar Style. Snake Fang or Tiger Pounce would be a good alternate choice for your monk bonus feat if Crane Wing isn't going to work wild shaped.
|
If you are new to playing PF, be aware that a Druid requires more preparation to run efficiently than most, if not all, other classes. Depending on your build focus, you should be prepared with a character sheet for your character, for your character when wild-shaped,and for your companion. You need a way to efficiently record buffs on each of those character sheets. You also need statblocks for summoned creatures, and you need to know your character's spells.
There is an option in PFS to progress at half speed for character advancement. You can make that choice for each level. You may want to consider spending a level or two doing this to get used to the complexity of the necessary preparation.
|
|
It hurts your spell, wildshape, and animal companion progressions; and is thus a weak choice overall. But dipping Master of Many Styles monk can give you a lot of benefits for melee. Best time to dip would be level 3 or any odd level thereafter. You want time to meet style feat requirements other than improved unarmed strike on your own so that when you enter at an odd level, you can use the odd level feat to pick up the style itself (now that the monk level has given you IUS) and use the monk bonus feat to get a higher level feat in the style chain w/o having the requirements. I would grab Crane Wing, but it would depend on the DM's definition of a "free hand" -- you'll be wildshaped most of the time after level 5.
And there's the normal monk benefits of wis to AC when unarmored and Stunning Fist, of course. I say go MoMS because flurry is horrible for a druid; unlike normal two weapon fighting with unarmed strikes, flurry does not let you add your natural attacks as secondary natural attacks to it, and you will have plenty of natural attacks as a druid (and pounce!).
Don't dip more than a level, though. When you're all set with Natural Spell and maybe Boon Companion, definitely pick up a second style, too. Dragon Style is a pretty nice benefit from the initial style feat alone; ditto for Boar Style. Snake Fang or Tiger Pounce would be a good alternate choice for your monk bonus feat if Crane Wing isn't going to work wild shaped.
I'm sorry, I got you confused. I'm not doing a monk and druid combo. I was just saying that was another character that I never played before. Sorry for the confusion.
|
|
If you are new to playing PF, be aware that a Druid requires more preparation to run efficiently than most, if not all, other classes. Depending on your build focus, you should be prepared with a character sheet for your character, for your character when wild-shaped,and for your companion. You need a way to efficiently record buffs on each of those character sheets. You also need statblocks for summoned creatures, and you need to know your character's spells.
There is an option in PFS to progress at half speed for character advancement. You can make that choice for each level. You may want to consider spending a level or two doing this to get used to the complexity of the necessary preparation.
Thanks for the helpful advice. It does sound like a complex character class.
Don't let people scare you. It's just a character in a game. You do need to have some way to keep track of your druid's stats in and out of wildshape, and you need to keep track of your animal companion's stats, but that's not a huge deal.
I also keep index cards with the stats of the most frequently summoned animals. Yeah, maybe you need to spend a couple hours more prepping for the game than a fighter, but I think you can probably handle it.
