I'm still working on my Arcanist, but I'm applying to put my Herald Caller Cleric into a gestalt game. I'm trying to figure out what a good class to use would be.
I've managed to narrow it down to either Leshy Warden Druid or Beast Rider Cavalier. Both have good things going for them.
Druid gives me more spells daily, plus archetype gives a Leshy familiar and the ability to summon them with Summon Nature's Ally. Though both classes are prepared so I'll have to really keep track of my spells. The loss of being able to wear metal is no big deal as I don't plan to have this guy anywhere near the front line.
The Cavalier archetype lets me trade out my horse for another option like a tiger or T-Rex at level 4. (There's nothing in the rules that says I HAVE to ride it, just that it's big enough that I can.) And I still get all the bonus feats, including the sharable teamwork feat. And the Order of the Reins looks helpful. EVERY animal, animal companion, familiars, and mounts within 60 feat gain the bonuses of the Challenge. Can direct multiple animals, up to class level, with one Handle Animal roll as long as they are being directed to do the same trick. And can cause animals to stampede at level 15.
Any thoughts? Stats are no problem as it's a 25 point game.
Your current choices are fine but there are some options that could really boost your summoning.
A bard or skald seems very tempting, giving your summons and the rest of your party some good boosts.
A shaman lets you stick to the same stats. The dark tapestry spirit let’s you summon a creature with the advanced template.
A ranger can give you all good saves and the good BAB and hit die. And it sets you up to be good at something else like archery for when you’re not casting. Also a pet is possible at level 4 if you want, though the group bonus option is a pretty tempting alternative with your summons.
Finally, a summoning wizard with academae graduate could give you some good summoning boosts and access to the majority of spells in the game.
Edit: I probably could have mentioned unchained monk. Doesn’t do much for your summoning but it does stack well with the ability scores.
On a separate point, how familiar are you with herald caller? It’s a pretty good and fun archetype, but it’s also pretty different from most of the other summoning options. It doesn’t get standard action summons or minutes per level durations. What it does get is a surprisingly useful and easy to miss ability.
The herald caller and her summoned monsters can understand each other’s spoken words as if they shared a common language (though this doesn’t give summoned monsters the ability to speak if they normally lack it).
This means you don’t have to use handle animal or learn lots of languages to get your summons to do what you want them to do. You can summon an eagle and tell him to bring you the red bottle. And then he gets the bottle and flies it back to you because he knew what you meant.
Getting the basic summoning feats for free is a mixed blessing. Free is good, but the reality is you’ll get those feats later than most summoners. But what this does do is free you up to get the fun/weird feats. Versatile summon monster can be great. The Ariel template added to some aquatic creatures can give you surprisingly powerful options like flying dolphins. Or summon an aerial squid and tell him to grapple your enemy. A +8 grapple bonus is pretty good for a level 2 spell, +10 when augment summoning kicks in.
I've got Sacred Summons, so soon enough the summoning will be standard action. I am going to be removing 3 feats of his original plan since they won't be needed anymore. I wanted an animal companion to be there constantly without needing a spell. With a pet class of any kind gestalted to it, those feats aren't needed anymore. So I can switch them to a different feat.
I could probably take Superior Summoning at level 5, since I'd have Augment Summoning, and then just retrain it at level 8 when I get it from the class.
You might also want to consider a hunter instead of a druid. It would give you all good saves and give you medium armor and martial weapons. You would still gain an animal companion and access to the druid spells list. Take the Divine hunter archetype and you gain back your second domain and a template for your pet. You also gain more skill points and your animal companion is going to be stronger than that of a druid.
I didn't really want to do a Hunter since I have another character in this group that's gestalting it. Though this archetype does switch it up a bit.
Monster Tactician Inquisitor with the Feather/Animal Domain. Also jacks your Summoned Monsters even more.
I'm going with the Plant domain. Can one take a different domain than one they already have?
I'm going with the Plant domain. Can one take a different domain than one they already have?
Yes. Inquisitor's get their own domain or Inquisition and a multiclassed Cleric/Inquisitor could have different options selected.
Hm. That's good to know.
Ok, well, no matter what I take, as long as it gets an animal companion or familiar, I can switch out some of my feats. In this case, it's Nature Soul at level 3, Animal Ally at level 5, and Boon Companion at level 7.
Spider Summoner looks neat. Summon Plant Ally gives me plant options for summoning. Although the druid archetype does give me some of that already.
I've decided. I don't need to do the Cavalier class. The bonus feats are all combat and most of those don't apply to spellcasting. And even the ones that do seem to be for spellcasters in melee anyway.
I was considering the Monster Tactician but I wasn't too sure on it. The sharing teamwork feats doesn't happen until level 5 and only one until level 8.
Plus, the Druid archetype just looks kinda fun and it fits really well with his theme. Honestly the only reason this character isn't a Cleric of the Green Faith is that it tends to not be allowed.
Here's what I'm thinking.
1: Sacred Summons
3: Versatile Summon Monster
4: Augment Summoning
5: Spider Summoner
7: Evolved Summoned Monster – Improved Natural Damage
8: Superior Summoning
9: Wild Growth Channel
11: Evolved Familiar – Skilled: Stealth
13: Summon Plant Ally
15: Extra Channel
17: Command Plants
19: Thicket Channel
I know that Wild Growth Channel, Thicket Channel, and Command Plants aren't that mechanically useful, but they're cool.
What alignment are you going? Summon Guardian Spirit can be an interesting option to combine with sacred summons.
I was looking at Neutral Good, but I was told that Sacred Summons works on the Deity's alignment, which in this case is Lawful Good.
I just realized that I need to change out my traits as well. I originally went with Seeker and Devotee of the Green to get Perception and Know. Nature as class skills. Druid already has both of those as class skills so the traits aren't needed anymore.
Reactionary is always good, though as Drows are elves, I can take Warrior of Old in its place if there's another Combat trait that I can use.
Accelerated Drinker is always a good combat trait.
You can get the same thing as Reactionary in a regional trait called Paragon of Speed. Maybe you're just fast instead of the typical bullied BS.
Depending on your armor situation, the Armor Expert/Armor Master trait(s) are pretty solid. There is a combat and regional trait that each do the same thing.
Picking up Stealth or UMD via traits might be worth it, too.
Hey, there's a Region trait that gives Stealth as a class skill and requires being from the River Kingdoms. When I put this character's sister into a game, I picked River Kingdoms as where she was from. Works perfectly.
I was creating the character sheet and I realized something. The Leshy Warden Druid text says this:
"So long as the leshy lives, the leshy warden gains access to the Plant domain as if through a druid’s nature bond class feature, but she can’t choose the Decay subdomain."
So that means I basically have the Plant domain through the Druid levels and can pick something different for the cleric side.
I don't need the Animal domain since I already have a familiar. I think I like Good the best out of what Erastil can offer.
Community/Home isn't terrible... remove some minor conditions without spells and set up a magically warded campsite each day. The spells are meh, though.
Does the Leshy familiar get the shortspear mentioned in the monster index page? Or just the seedpod attack?
What's Verdant Burst?
Leshys have hands so you can give them a spear if you want.
Verdant Burst is listed under the Leshy Subtype. A Leshy that dies explodes into a healing burst that heals nearby plants.
Ok, thank you.
Is the Mauler archetype worth it on a leaf leshy? It does start as Small and 6 Str / 13 Dex. But the druid archetype lets me give it +2 Str and Dex at LV 4, 8, and 12. The Mauler archetypes lets me increase the familiar to Medium with +2 Str as well as give +1 Str every odd level starting at LV 3. And I've already confirmed with the GM that it's considered Biped with Hands so it has a full item slot list.
Is the Mauler archetype worth it on a leaf leshy? It does start as Small and 6 Str / 13 Dex. But the druid archetype lets me give it +2 Str and Dex at LV 4, 8, and 12. The Mauler archetypes lets me increase the familiar to Medium with +2 Str as well as give +1 Str every odd level starting at LV 3. And I've already confirmed with the GM that it's considered Biped with Hands so it has a full item slot list.
Well at 5th level, upped to Medium size, you're looking at a 12 Strength? If that's worth it to you go for it. Imo, I'd probably just try to get Slashing or Fencing grace going for it. Scratch that, find an agile weapon?
Plus Mauler removes one of the best parts of having a Leshy familiar. It has permanent Speak with Plants. That's some awesome information gathering.
I guess I'll think about it for a bit longer. I
Since Leshys have shortspears normally, are they proficient with other simple weapons? If I don't go Mauler, then I need it to have a weapon that can have Agile put on it. Shortspears are one-handed weapons.
I wouldn’t bother with mauler 99% of the time. Your familiar just won’t have the attack bonus or damage, and is somewhat fragile for melee. It’s maybe good with a niche eldritch guardian build, but even then you’re often better off going improved familiar on a dexterity build.
Since Leshys have shortspears normally, are they proficient with other simple weapons? If I don't go Mauler, then I need it to have a weapon that can have Agile put on it. Shortspears are one-handed weapons.
Leshys have the shapechanger subtype so they're proficient with any weapon listed in their monster entry. So they're definitely be proficient with shortspears, but maybe DM adjudication for anything else.
TBH, building your familiar to fight in melee is gonna be a risky affair in a lot of situations.
You could attach an effortless lace(2500 gp) to the shortspear and then it would be a light weapon.
I know that animal companions tend to be better in melee than familiars, but I want to make sure he can do something when combat starts. Since he's a plant, he'll probably make for a good scout since he can just turn into a tree if something starts getting close.
It's okay for familiars to take a backseat during combat. If you really want him to have high impact, give him a wand to use. For me, the main appeal of the Leshy familiar is that it can talk to trees. That can getcha a lot of really good info with a good DM.
That could work. The leshy is considered trained in UMD as long as the PC puts a rank into UMD, right?