Playable from 1-40, very good spellcasting presence with conjuration and evocation spells. DC for conjuration can reach up to 44 for 9th level spells (Storm of Vengeance) and up to 42 for Earthquake (evocation).
The build has dragon form at 40th level more as an icing of the cake than anything else. I could have taken epic spell focus in evocation there for better DCs but felt that a pure druid should have dragon form
I took autoquicken as druids don't have haste (at least not without equip) and autoquicken also immunizes to spellcasting AoOs which is great and I thus didn't have to take CC and ICC.
Based on your needs, you can drop a few points from heal into discipline (crossclass)
Comments welcome _________________ Inactive for a while
Edited By Kail Pendragon on 10/27/09 12:30
Hey Ghost, welcome to the guild! A couple things:
1) Nice to see a pure classed build. They're mighty rare. And it's also nice to see a Druid build that's not focussed on grabbing Shifter and/or Monk levels, nor focussed on Dragon Form (although it's a nice plus).
2) I'm not at all familiar with Druids (never played one), but this looks pretty solid to me. You'll have a nice, strong animal companion to help you out, and you should be able to summon some pretty decent help as well.
3) Does the Druid have a lot of useful Conjuration spells (i.e. is the Spell Focus in Conj really worth the feats)?
4) If you're playing in an environment where you get Haste easily, you've got some flexibity in feats, as you can drop the Quicken line - any thoughts on what you'd replace them with?
The obvious suggestion is going to be to take at least 1 Monk level for the AC bonus (but not by me), but it looks cool; I like the idea of a pure class. _________________ Captain's Log, Stardate 6051: had trouble sleeping last night... my hiatal hernia is acting up. The ship is... drafty and damp; I complain but... nobody listens.
Edited By Cinnabar Din on 01/22/06 21:49
I would say the AOE spell Stonehold is enough alone to justify the focus in conjuration though it does boost Storm of Vengeance as well. Between those two spells, you have a high chance of paralyze/stun/damage in a very large area.
For me, I would replace the quicken line with a Hellball and maybe a greater ruin. Epic spells are fun and you have lots of feats to play with.
Would also throw in extend spell for extra buf***e while on those long Dragon Shape outing. _________________ http://www.dormaeglinunderdark.com/
Edited By Talamier on 01/22/06 21:58
Been on this guild since ages but hardly bothered to post much actually
But for your questions:
1) I just want to play non cheese builds most of the time and currently am trying the iconic range of builds especially since there are very few listed.
2) The animal companion should be quite strong if you buff it up especially with spell resistance and owls insight (makes your summon nearly immune to fear auras)
3) Stonehold, Storm of Vengeance, Bombardment are a few nice conjuration spells. Add to that, grease is too so if you grease/stonehold an area and then drop a few creeping dooms or SoV in there...
4) AutoQuicken can be replaced by 2 more Great Wisdom feats so you get your max DC and possibly extend spell. Alternatively you can pick up combat casting and improved combat casting + Great Wisdom and take that again instead of dragon shape at 40th. Quite a few options there.
Thanks for the comments, keep them coming _________________ Inactive for a while
What about CoT lvls to grab DS asap?
20 Druid 20:WIS (WIS 23) 21 CoT 1:Great WIS I (WIS 24) 22 Cot 2: Great WIS II (WIs 25) 23 CoT 3: 24 CoT 4: Great WIS III,IV, WIS (WIS 28) 25 Druid 21: 26 Druid 22: 27 Druid 23: Great WIS V (WIS 29) 28 Druid 24: WIS (WIS 30), Dragon Shape
I would also get at least 1 monk lvl after that and probably some more CoT for save boosting. A quick question: do you find SF evocation necessary for a druid?
Cheers, Kail _________________ Dilegua notte Tramontate stelle Tramontate stelle All'alba vinceṛ Vinceṛ Vinceṛ
You got call lightning, firestorm (can be empowered), earthquake, flame strike etc as evocation spells. Definitely worth it IMO.
And I didn't take any CoT or Monk levels because its supposed to be a pure build, not a cheese hybrid _________________ Inactive for a while
Quote: Posted 01/23/06 00:13:38 (GMT) -- GhostNWN You got call lightning, firestorm (can be empowered), earthquake, flame strike etc as evocation spells. Definitely worth it IMO.
Ice Storm _________________ PocketBeetle: Well on the way to earning a PHD in "Applied Idiocy"
Quote: Posted 01/23/06 00:13:38 (GMT) -- GhostNWN You got call lightning, firestorm (can be empowered), earthquake, flame strike etc as evocation spells. Definitely worth it IMO.
Ice Storm
Ice Storm doesn't allow a save anyway, so the Focus feats are superfluous for that particular spell. _________________ Captain's Log, Stardate 6051: had trouble sleeping last night... my hiatal hernia is acting up. The ship is... drafty and damp; I complain but... nobody listens.
Quote: Posted 01/23/06 00:13:38 (GMT) -- GhostNWN
You got call lightning, firestorm (can be empowered), earthquake, flame strike etc as evocation spells. Definitely worth it IMO.
And I didn't take any CoT or Monk levels because its supposed to be a pure build, not a cheese hybrid
+
Sure, I meant to point out how some CoT at least (monk cheese apart) could improve the build by giving you the awesome DS much earlier. Also if you take, say, 8 lvls CoT that can't be called cheese anymore just a right career choice You would still have a druid build, just one blessed by the powers of nature.
About SF, thanks, I'm still learning to play druids with my cleric-druid dragon build and I still have to get acquainted with all the spells
Cheers, Kail _________________ Dilegua notte Tramontate stelle Tramontate stelle All'alba vinceṛ Vinceṛ Vinceṛ
I think it should be noted that AutoQuicken has no effect when you're already hasted (AFAIK).
Why do I not see ESpF: Evocation? Perhaps if you dropped 2 Great WIS for Epic Prowess (for melee shapes) and ESpF?
Is a pure Druid able to pick Heavy Armour Profiency? If yes, I'd go for that, too. I seem to recall they cannot and only multiclassed Druids can, but I just might be wrong, too _________________ Too long I have suffered the desert sands of time~ But as I drown in darkness it will release the sign~ My soul will leave this mortal coil of flesh and earthly life~ to fly into the mist of night, into the nightside eclipse~ - by Emperor
AutoQuicken still has an effect when hasted and that is no AoOs when casting.
As noted in the first post, I left it open whether to choose ESF: Evocation or Dragon Shape there. ESF:E could likely be more useful but I just wanted to top it off with something different. The dragon isn't too effective although its still decent when buffed up especially for its immunities.
If I wanted to focus on dragon shape, I would have taken epic prowess and blind fight too, but I don't _________________ Inactive for a while
What up guys, just sayin that I'm loving this build.
If there's any grandmaster builders still hanging around, I'd be interested in any new takes on improvements to this one...
Quote: Posted 06/07/09 06:55 (GMT) -- eltrentoro
What up guys, just sayin that I'm loving this build.
If there's any grandmaster builders still hanging around, I'd be interested in any new takes on improvements to this one...
Well, for starters, if you can get perma-Haste items where you are playing this guy go ahead and drop the Quicken Spell and 3 Auto Quicken Spell feats. You could substitute the 3 Auto Quickens with 2 Great WIS and ESF: Evocation. Though, I would consider changing the focuses from Evocation to Transmutation or Necromany. I dont think Evocation is a very strong school for Druids.
Evocation is perfectly fine, most Druid spells are Evocation, in fact Druid's strongest damage dealing spell, Fire Storm, is Evocation. They got a very few Necromancy to make it reall worth it, Finger of Death I think is the only good one, and the best are Conjuration, which is already covered.
What could be changed is to take Dragon Shape earlier, as early as possible, why would you wait until level 40 to take the best feat?
Also, I'd lower DEX and STR to raise INT, there's no use in STR or DEX when shifts override them and unshifted you're a caster. _________________ "My name is Thaxll'ssyllia, but you simians may refer to me merely as "Sir", if you prefer a less... syllable intensive workout."
Edwin Odesseiron - Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
Edited By Thaxll'ssyllia on 06/07/09 16:32
And what would raising INT give you that's worth losing the STR and DEX?
he questions the druid master!!!
BEFORE you read on, Click Here
Then, to sum, since druid generally sucks when you try to melee as a pure unshifted character (has no real ab buffs nor melee damage enhancement buffs) the only real thing you do with a druid is fight shifted and cast spells. I dont mean to trivialize that, as it is a very effective strategy! It is important to understand that and not play a druid like a cleric, for example.
Now, when you shift, str is generally overridden. So, why waste the stats there when you can get more skills?
Please understand, you asked for tweaks to a build. Thax' suggestion is how to take a good build and make it even better. You can take his advice or disregard it, but it is, for THIS build, a very wise thing to do. _________________
I agree with avado, Storm of Vengeance rocks, it stuns great, it can deal heavy damage over time, and Evasion doesn't work against it, you should try it in your strategy as well, too bad it's conjura
Truth be told, raising INT wouldn't be so useful being a pure build, not multiclassing has a very wide variety of limitations, sure there are lots of good skills out there to take, but none of them are class skill. You could raise more Discipline but you would cap at 21, you could take Spot or Listen but the same would happen. STR is pretty useless IMO, you can buff it or shift, unless you plan on carrying 10 fullplates with you all the time and still play caster-type unshifted, you really need no more than 10. DEX could stay for the AC, my suggestion was to drop 2 DEX and 2 STR (I say STR is useless, but 8 is actually a bit annoying) to raise INT to 14, but the difference wouldn't be truly significant without a multiclass to skilldump, sorry for the confusion, I just forgot this was a pure build, normally any build improves with more skills. _________________ "My name is Thaxll'ssyllia, but you simians may refer to me merely as "Sir", if you prefer a less... syllable intensive workout."
Edwin Odesseiron - Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
Edited By Thaxll'ssyllia on 06/08/09 00:00
Raising INT is still a sound strategy for a single class Druid and in this case I think it does improve the original build.
Two other skills worth considering as a result of higher INT are cross-classed Hide and Move Silently. You'll never be as good a sneak as a Rogue etc, but with the Druid spells Camouflage (+10 Hide), Mass Camoflage (+10 Hide) and One With the Land (+4 Hide & Move Silently) all stacking you can still get it halfway decent - high enough to sneak around a bit to see what you may face down the road. Depending on environment.
I'd probably take points from Heal if needed to do just that.
There is also a third strategy of a single class Druid that comes into play (after fighting shifted and casting spells as indicated above) - calling your summons.
Never underestimate the power in letting others do the dirty work for you. With the familiar, empathed animals, and one of the best summons in the game via the Elemental Swarm spell (4 summons for the price of one) a druid should always be able to, at the very least, flee from overwhelming odds while his or her pets sacrifice themselves to allow it.
Quote: Posted 06/07/09 19:54 (GMT) -- avado he questions the druid master!!!
BEFORE you read on, Click Here
dude, did you even READ the link??? me thinks NOT!
Quote: Posted 01/22/06 21:22 (GMT) -- GhostNWN
Final Stats STR 12 (+1) DEX 10 (+1) CON 14 (+2) INT 10 (+0) WIS 34 (+12) CHA 8 (-1)
I am making a pure spellcasting druid build and have a question about AB. My build has BAB 25 and also AB 25 (+0 Str, +0 Dex) while yours AB is 28. I can account for +1 Str difference (BTW your final Dex is +0 ->typo), what are the other contributors to your build's AB?
Sorry for the n00b question and thanks in advance for your answer. _________________ Conservatism is suspicious of thinking, because thinking on the whole leads to wrong conclusions, unless you think very, very hard. - (Roger Scruton)
Probably the outdoor AB bonus druids get.
Thanks. That's probably it. _________________ Conservatism is suspicious of thinking, because thinking on the whole leads to wrong conclusions, unless you think very, very hard. - (Roger Scruton)
You would still have a druid build, just one blessed by the powers of nature.
he questions the druid master!!!