In the core rules which is the better option?
Which ever one is the most fun for you. My spouse just finished Eyes of Ten with his Flame Druid.
I haven't played either... So neither is more fun for me as of now. I know that my ranger often worries for his animal companion and holds him back a lot, but a druids animal companion is a little beefier so...
In terms of sheer power the animal companion is the more powerful option (at least it is if you choose a "good" companion. Bears are NOT the optimal choice)
But the druid is a powerful class so a domain still makes for a VERY viable character.
Caster druid: probably the domain.
Fighty druid: probably the companion.
Choice of companion, for me, boiled down to big cat, wolf or velociraptor. I went with the latter since my last two animal companion characters went with the former two. Lost a little dpr, gained hp and speed.
Choice of domain is curious, dependent of what you intend to do with your casting. I like the Travel domain, since short range teleporting isn't in the druid spell set, and a mobile warrior is a winning one.
Ryzoken wrote:
Choice of domain is curious, dependent of what you intend to do with your casting. I like the Travel domain, since short range teleporting isn't in the druid spell set, and a mobile warrior is a winning one.
Travel isn't a legal domain for the druid. Core druid is limited to Air, Animal, Earth, Fire, Plant, Water, or Weather.
Animal companion is significantly better than domain. Significantly. Even for a caster druid. You are basically doubling your effective HP.
Domain isn't a trap option though. Although it is a weaker option, druids are such a strong class it basically doesn't matter.
It's a bit weak later on, but the Earth Domain's acid dart is one of the few ways for you to add acid damage to your repertoire, while the Weather Domain adds non-lethal damage to the mix.
Of course, there is also the Animal Domain, giving you both extra spells and a slightly weaker animal companion.
Imbicatus wrote: Ryzoken wrote:
Choice of domain is curious, dependent of what you intend to do with your casting. I like the Travel domain, since short range teleporting isn't in the druid spell set, and a mobile warrior is a winning one.
Travel isn't a legal domain for the druid. Core druid is limited to Air, Animal, Earth, Fire, Plant, Water, or Weather.
Very true. A fact I only recently learned and that has not, it appears, sunk in.
I prefer the animal companion option in 90+% of cases.
Azten wrote: It's a bit weak later on, but the Earth Domain's acid dart is one of the few ways for you to add acid damage to your repertoire, while the Weather Domain adds non-lethal damage to the mix.
Of course, there is also the Animal Domain, giving you both extra spells and a slightly weaker animal companion.
The extra spells on the Animal Domain however, are quite lousy.
Azten wrote: Of course, there is also the Animal Domain, giving you both extra spells and a slightly weaker animal companion. I was going to mention animal domain, but as this is core only there is no boon companion to make it good again.
I like to choose the Fire domain, but thats mainly because i love the idea of casting a fireball while wild shape into some kind of dinosaur.
Honestly, I think air is the strongest you can take with a good mix of control and utility. Plant is a good runner up, as is fire if you like blasting.
Ki'Lala is s small cat and she is amazing. Not very good at damage but with a 26 AC at level 3 and the lovely trip ablity makes her quite annoying for people to handle.
So I say animal companion
I really like the badger. It's one of the few ways to get burrow in core, which is so very useful for scouting or smuggling.
badger is going to be for my ranger
Weather domain is actually quite nice as well. Good spells and the ranged attack has a decent debuff attached.
Animal companions I really like the constrictor snake. With grab at 1st level and large size at 4th it can contribute significantly to a fight.
Imbicatus wrote: Ryzoken wrote:
Choice of domain is curious, dependent of what you intend to do with your casting. I like the Travel domain, since short range teleporting isn't in the druid spell set, and a mobile warrior is a winning one.
Travel isn't a legal domain for the druid. Core druid is limited to Air, Animal, Earth, Fire, Plant, Water, or Weather.
The domain options open to a much larger variety, if you take the Totem Shaman archetype. Among other things, an Eagle Shaman Druid can take the Glory or Nobility domains.
Won't work - as this is related to Core!
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