So I'm rolling up an Oread saurian shaman druid for PFS. I've got pretty much everything set, but I can't decide on a level 1 feat or traits. I was considering Dwarf blooded feat so that my already 20 ft movement speed isn't lowered more by medium armor, then I realized at level 5 I'll be wild shaping anyway.
I also considered the Armor Expert trait, but then I realized I don't have any physical skills I really want to invest in.
Here's what I've got so far:
Druid
Oread druid (saurian shaman) 1 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2 205, Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Magic 39)
N Medium outsider (native)
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +7
Aura enlarge
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Defense
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AC 19, touch 12, flat-footed 17 (+5 armor, +2 Dex, +2 shield)
hp 10 (1d8+2)
Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +5
Resist acid 5
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Offense
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Speed 20 ft. (15 ft. in armor)
Melee club +4 (1d6+4)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st; concentration -2)
1/day—magic stone
Druid (Saurian Shaman) Spells Prepared (CL 1st; concentration +4)
1st—enlarge person[D] (DC 14), shillelagh (DC 14), shillelagh (DC 14)
0 (at will)—detect magic, read magic, stabilize
D Domain spell; Domain Plant (Growth domain[APG] subdomain)
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Statistics
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Str 18, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 5
Base Atk +0; CMB +4; CMD 16
Skills Acrobatics -4 (-12 to jump), Knowledge (dungeoneering) +2, Knowledge (nature) +7, Perception +7, Spellcraft +5, Survival +9
Languages Common, Druidic, Ignan, Terran
SQ nature bond (Growth domain[APG]), nature sense, wild empathy -2
Other Gear lamellar (horn) armor[UC], heavy wooden shield, club, 43 gp
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Special Abilities
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Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white only).
Druid (Saurian Shaman) Domain (Growth)
Energy Resistance, Acid (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Acid attacks.
Enlarge (6/day) (Su) Swift action: Enlarge person on yourself.
Nature Sense (Ex) A druid gains a +2 bonus on Knowledge (nature) and Survival checks.
Wild Empathy -2 (Ex) Improve the attitude of an animal, as if using Diplomacy.
I would take a trait for Diplomacy as class skill.
It's PFS and you may need it.
I wouldn't dump CH that much.
But in this case maybe a trait for Sense Motive.
Also, use Dwarf-Blooded now and retrain it later or something. I tried playing a medium-armored melee oread, and it was an absolute nightmare. Tribal Scars would also be worth considering; it's Fleet and double-Toughness all in one.
Alternatively, prepare a longstrider; your offense is optimized enough that you can afford to put some resources into actually reaching melee.
Saurian shaman don't get plant domain as a choice, so Fertile Soil is a waste. I did go and take Crystalline Form and Granite Skin alternate racial traits, though.
I'm not worried about a low Cha or no diplomacy. If somebody else in the group doesn't have diplomacy, I'll play a different character. I've got 28 of them.
I must not have the book for Brevoy Bandit. I'll have to look into it.
I would consider a Plant subdomain to count for Fertile Soil... but I fully expect table variation on that one. Good call on the other alternate racial traits.
Saurian Druids don't get Growth subdomain either. Only Animal, Destruction, Strength, and War.
Were you thinking Goliath Druid? That gives Enlarge Person natively and the Growth Domain as an option (Animal, Destruction, Ferocity, Growth, and Strength).
EDIT: To answer your question...
Feat: Power Attack (carry a quarter staff for 2H offense)
Trait: Beacon of Faith (increase Domain ability or spell by CL 2, 1/day)
Trait: Unscathed (boost any ER by 2)
Trade out Magic Stone for the ability that turns the ground into difficult terrain.
Ok, lemme try this one more time. I am making a Saurian Shaman archetype. Saurian Shaman cannot take Plant domain. I realized there's a mistake in the able build where I have Growth domain, but I actually need to change it to Strength or War.
And actually, I don't like any of the domains available to Saurian Shaman, so I'll probably take an animal companion.
If you go with an animal companion, the Blackthorn Rancher trait (same book) might be of interest. +1 Handle Animal and class skill (not much), plus your animal companion gains 3 additional hit points (so basically non-scaling Toughness).
The more I look, the less I like Saurian Shaman. I don't like any of the domains, nor do I like any of the available animal companions. I really, really like the Growth domain. Is there a druid archetype that goes well with enlarging yourself?
Goliath Druid, Growth Domain. Note: Unless you trade out racial abilities for the Humanoid subtype, Oreads, as Native Outsiders, immune to Enlarge Person. Growth Domain still works, though.
However, I believe energy resistance is what you give up for Humanoid subtype.
Also note, by level 6, Goliath druids are wild shaping into Large Humanoids, so Growth Domain power is obsolete. Take Dinosaur AC and cast your archetype granted Enlarge Person on it.
The growth domain ability should stack with Wild shaping into a large humanoid. There's nothing in enlarge person that says it wouldn't work on a large humanoid.
I really like Goliath Druid, but I was also considering Skinshaper to turn myself into a troglodyte and then enlarge myself for 3 hard-hitting natural attacks.
Oh, and I would need to buy a book for Almost Human, so it's totally not worth it. Especially considering the Growth domain ability will work on me without it.
The only thing you trade for Almost Human is automatically knowing Terran.
That's nicer than I recalled.
I can't think of any other combat oriented Druid archetypes that either let you choose Growth domain or keep Wildshape (a combat buff better than anything it gets in return). Vanilla Druid can be very effective with Growth domain on its own, but not better than an AC.
Only Goliath let's you have Enlarge Person AND an AC.
Ok, here's the character as a Skinshaper at level 1. I'm working on building him/her as a level 12. I don't have the book for Goliath Druid, but it's still being considered:
Druid
Oread druid (skinshaper) 1 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2 205, Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Intrigue 26)
N Medium outsider (native)
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +7
Aura enlarge
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Defense
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AC 20, touch 12, flat-footed 18 (+5 armor, +2 Dex, +1 natural, +2 shield)
hp 16 (1d8+8)
Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +5
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Offense
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Speed 25 ft. (20 ft. in armor)
Melee club +4 (1d6+4)
Druid (Skinshaper) Spells Prepared (CL 1st; concentration +4)
1st—enlarge person[D] (DC 14), shillelagh (DC 14), shillelagh (DC 14)
0 (at will)—detect magic, read magic, stabilize
D Domain spell; Domain Plant (Growth domain[APG] subdomain)
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Statistics
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Str 18, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 5
Base Atk +0; CMB +4; CMD 16
Feats Tribal Scars
Traits armor expert, beacon of faith
Skills Acrobatics -1 (-5 to jump), Knowledge (nature) +7, Perception +7, Profession (miner) +7, Spellcraft +5, Survival +9
Languages Common, Druidic, Ignan, Terran
SQ crystalline form[ARG], nature bond (Growth domain[APG]), nature sense, treacherous earth[ARG], wild empathy -2
Other Gear lamellar (horn) armor[UC], heavy wooden shield, club, 43 gp
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Special Abilities
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Crystalline Form (1/day) +2 AC against rays. Can deflect a ray 1/day.
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white only).
Druid (Skinshaper) Domain (Growth)
Enlarge (6/day) (Su) Swift action: Enlarge person on yourself.
Nature Sense (Ex) A druid gains a +2 bonus on Knowledge (nature) and Survival checks.
Treacherous Earth (1 minutes, 1/day) Transform a 10-ft. radius patch of earth into difficult terrain.
Wild Empathy -2 (Ex) Improve the attitude of an animal, as if using Diplomacy.
The growth domain ability should stack with Wild shaping into a large humanoid. There's nothing in enlarge person that says it wouldn't work on a large humanoid.
I really like Goliath Druid, but I was also considering Skinshaper to turn myself into a troglodyte and then enlarge myself for 3 hard-hitting natural attacks.
Oh, and I would need to buy a book for Almost Human, so it's totally not worth it. Especially considering the Growth domain ability will work on me without it.
Growth domain power is still a size-altering polymorph effect, which won't stack with any other size-altering polymorph effect (like wildshaping into a large anything). I *think* Enlarge Person on Troglodyte form would work.
Yeah I wasn't thinking about that double stacking thing. And yes, the Skinshaper's Wild Shape calls out that it works like alter self rather than enlarge person, so it should work. I think that's my best bet for Growth domain without an animal companion.
I took Tribal Scars for level 1. Before playing at level 2 I'll either swap it for Toughness, or keep it and retrain into something else later.
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