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  1. - Top - End - #151
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    Default Re: Being Everything: Eggynack's Comprehensive Druid Handbook

    Quote Originally Posted by eggynack View Post
    I've updated urban companion to reflect the fact that it's actually pretty sweet at high levels, and put in a little note about wand use. I feel lIke it's an ACF worth taking a non-trivial fraction of the time, and while the color of the entry remains black, it's definitely higher in that grade. Also, first handbook thing done on a phone, so that’s neat.
    I do like the urban companion, especially in the weird cases where an AnC isn't appropriate or isn't being progressed by the build.
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  2. - Top - End - #152
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    Default Re: Being Everything: Eggynack's Comprehensive Druid Handbook

    Urban Companion is great. I love it. It's like a familiar, only way better. And familiars are already really good. Did I ever share my mini-guide to familiars?

    Spoiler: Mini-guide to basic familiars
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    Spoiler: Core
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    Bat (+3 to Listen)
    Bats are most notable for their blindsense, which allows them to automatically detect and pinpoint enemies within 20 feet. That's a pretty excellent ability. The range may be short, but the ability to just say "No" to your enemies' Hide checks without even having to roll is a pretty substantial advantage, and automatically knowing the location of invisible or concealed enemies is definitely helpful, especially if you have access to area attacks that don't care about concealment. Other familiars have scent, which can fill a similar role (and occasionally offers additional utility, e.g. for penetrating disguises or tracking), but the additional precision of blindsense makes it an upgrade in combat scenarios, which are, of course, the most common scenarios.

    Besides that, they have a fly speed with good maneuverability, so, unlike birds, they have the ability to hover in place and fly straight up. They also have a +14 on Hide and a +8 on Spot and Listen before any skill ranks. All in all, pretty good scouts.

    The main drawback of the bat is probably its carrying capacity, or lack thereof. With 1 Strength and diminutive size, it takes less than a single pound of weight to encumber a bat. But considering their lack of opposable thumbs, they probably weren't handling a lot of items anyway.

    Bottom line: Bats are one of the best standard familiars, with probably the best perception and mobility of all of them, and decent stealth to boot.

    Cat (+3 to Move Silently)
    The most notable feature of the cat is its three natural attacks (claw-claw-bite), which is more attacks than any of the other standard familiars. Unfortunately, being Tiny size, they can't really take advantage of them, since they have a 0-foot reach. Also, three attacks is less impressive when you consider that they're only dealing the minimum 1 damage.

    Cats also have decent stealth (+16 Hide and +8 Move Silently before skill ranks) and scent, so they can scout a little, but since their Spot and Listen aren't very good and they don't have a fly speed or even a climb speed, you can do better.

    There is one special advantage that cats have: the ability to take Feline feats. Of course, since familiars don't gain feats, this is mostly irrelevant, unless you want to use Psychic Reformation to swap your cat's Stealthy feat for Flop, which has decent comedy value if nothing else.

    Bottom line: I don't recommend a cat familiar unless you really want that +3 to Move Silently; even then, I'd recommend a snowy owl instead.

    Hawk (+3 to Spot checks in bright light)
    Hawks are the fastest of the standard familiars, with a 60-foot flight speed (although only average maneuverability). They also have decent AC and Dexterity, and a good Spot check (+16). Other than that, there's nothing really worth noting. Low-light vision, but no darkvision. Worst stealth of any standard familiar. No scent or anything like that.

    Basically, they're like owls, except instead of having +17 to Move Silently, they have an extra 20 feet of speed. Most of the time, I expect the Move Silently is going to be more important.

    Also, note that hawks are strictly worse than gyrfalcons, which have all the same statistics, but offer the +3 Spot to their master in all lighting conditions.

    Bottom line: Hawks are a solid bird-type familiar, but nothing special, and there's little reason to choose them over an owl.

    Lizard (+3 to Climb)
    Lizards are underwhelming. Their stats are weak, their skills are weak, and they give you a +3 to Climb, which is completely useless. Sure, they're good climbers, but considering that they're competing with familiars that can fly, that's not really an advantage.

    It does let you speak with lizards, I guess. Including dinosaurs. So that's something.

    Bottom line: With weak stats across the board and no useful abilities, it's a poor choice overall.

    Owl (+3 to Spot checks in shadows)
    Owls are like hawks, except they have Listen instead of Spot, and a +17 to Move Silently instead of a faster flight speed. If you're in dim light, the owl's +8 racial bonus to Spot checks in shadowy illumination kicks in, bringing its Spot up to only 2 points below the hawk's.

    Listen tends to be more reliable than Spot, since poor visual conditions are more common than strong winds or magical silence, and a decent portion of the time, the owl will have a great Spot check too. Furthermore, the extra stealth is a pretty big deal for scouting; +17 is a lot of Move Silently. So I'd definitely rank owls above hawks.

    Take note that snowy owls have the same stats, but give you a +3 to Move Silently instead of +3 to Spot checks in shadows.

    Bottom line: Swift, stealthy, and perceptive, owls are essentially a better version of hawks, and a solid choice overall.

    Rat (+2 to Fortitude)
    Rats have pretty good stealth, with +16 Hide and +10 Move Silently before skill ranks. They're not very fast, with a speed of only 15 feet, and they don't fly, but they have climb and swim speeds, so that's not too bad. They don't have Spot or Listen, but they do have scent, which does a good job making up for it. Overall, their stats are definitely passable.

    The main reason you'd want a rat, though, is to shore up your saves. The +2 to Fortitude is in the running for the best bonus you can get from a familiar. Considering that rats have pretty reasonable stats and abilities on top of that, they're a pretty good deal.

    Bottom line: The +2 to Fort is great, and the rat itself has decent stealth and movement modes, plus scent for perception. A strong choice.

    Raven (+3 to Appraise)
    If you look at the numbers on the raven, it comes out behind owls and hawks across the board. Crummy skills, weak stats, slower flight speed, and... Appraise? Who even uses Appraise, seriously? Come on.

    What makes ravens (and parrots) worth taking is their ability to speak. Unlike other standard familiars, ravens speak one language of their master's choice as a supernatural ability. This allows them to communicate with other party members and NPCs, but more importantly, it allows them to activate magic items that require a command word or a spell trigger. So if your build has Use Magic Device ranks to share with the raven (or parrot), it can use wands and stuff, which is pretty nice.

    Bottom line: Ravens are good because they can talk and talking lets them say command words.

    Snake (+3 to Bluff)
    Snakes have okay stats, with good AC and Dexterity, climb and swim speeds, and scent. They've got a decent Hide mod (+15), but no Move Silently.

    Mainly, snakes have two features that might make you want one. The first is the +3 Bluff. Bluff is a pretty decent skill, and if you care about it at all, you probably want it as high as possible. The second is their poison, which deals 1d6 Constitution damage on a failed save. Unfortunately, the save DC is pitifully low, and immunity to poison is common, so odds are good that you will never deal any actual Constitution damage to anyone with your snake. I mean, maybe you might get someone at low levels, if your snake can get a hit in without dying to an attack of opportunity. (Remember, 0-foot reach.) Or maybe you can milk the venom and apply it to your weapon before combat, or during combat with an alchemical capsule retainer (see Complete Adventurer p122), but honestly, as cool as that strategy might sound, it's just not very practical. Remember, you still need to follow the crafting rules—if you don't invest any ranks in Craft (poisonmaking), you're looking at maybe two-ish doses for a week's worth of crafting, and you still have to pay 1/6 of the market price for them.

    Ultimately, it's not as good as other familiars, but at least it's not the worst, and it has gimmick value. I'd mainly look to take it as a thematic choice for a character who likes snakes and/or poison. See also the sea snake, which trades away some general utility for an improved poison DC.

    Bottom line: Meh. Poison is a cute gimmick, but you can do better. At least they have scent.

    Toad (+3 hit points)
    Toads are kind of terrible. They have no mobility, with only a 5-foot land speed (not even a swim speed). No scent, no skills besides Hide, no useful abilities, crummy stats...they're just generally not-good.

    The main circumstance where you'd select a toad would be if you're a 1st level Sorcerer or Wizard and you desperately need those +3 hit points in order to not fall over in a stiff breeze. Even then, you're not really happy about it. There's a reason Neville Longbottom is the only kid at Hogwarts with a pet toad, and it's not because he's a trend-setter who's ahead of the curve.

    Bottom line: Do you have 10 or more HP already? Then you have no reason to pick a toad.

    Weasel (+2 to Reflex)
    Weasels are essentially rats, but with Reflex instead of Fortitude. Their stats and abilities are roughly comparable--rats are a little stealthier, weasels are a little faster, rats can swim, weasels have that weird (mostly useless) attach ability.

    On the whole, though, I'd say rats are a little better. The extra Hide bonus is relevant, and unless you have really low HP, Fortitude tends to be a slightly more important save to shore up than Reflex. Still, it's close, and there are definitely characters who might want a weasel.

    Bottom line: Better saves are always going to be good, so weasels are a fine choice.

    Spoiler: Dragon Magic
    Show
    Drakken Familiar
    Sorcerers, Wizards, and Hexblades can gain a drakken version of any normal familiar. It's the same as the base creature, except instead of gaining the ability to deliver touch spells, it gains a breath weapon (15-foot cone, usable once per hour, that deals 1d6 + twice your level in fire damage, Reflex half), and instead of speaking with other animals of its kind, it can speak with dragons.

    This is a fine deal, considering that a lot of casters don't even use their familiars for delivering touch spells. It's not a ton of damage, but it's not costing you an action, so you might as well take it and use it.

    Speaking with dragons is a downgrade, though, since most dragons can just speak actual languages.

    Bottom line: If you aren't delivering touch spells through your familiar, it's solid value.

    Huitzil (+3 to Sleight of Hand)
    Huitzils are like tiny potbellied draconic kleptomaniacs. They have a flight speed of 60 feet with slightly-better-than-average maneuverability thanks to the Hover feat. They also have a +4 racial bonus to Search and Sleight of Hand. Oh, and they have a Distract ability, which allows the huitzil to make a touch attack against an enemy whose space it shares in order to give said enemy a -2 to attack rolls for 1 round...pretty useless.

    The main reason why you might want a huitzil is if you too are a kleptomaniac, and you want a familiar who shares your love of pickpocketing. Problem is, they're not very good at anything else, at least not compared to a hawk or an owl. Yeah, they're fast, and they can hover, but their stealth and perception skills are low and they have no special senses, making them subpar scouts, and they certainly don't have any combat chops worth mentioning.

    Bottom line: They've got a decent fly speed, so you could do worse, but the stats and abilities just aren't there.

    Spoiler: Frostburn
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    Arctic Fox (+3 to Move Silently)
    The most interesting thing about arctic foxes is that they're Small-sized rather than Tiny, which means unlike most familiars, they actually threaten adjacent squares. That means they can be your flanking buddy, and even make actual attacks!

    Of course, their bite only deals 1d4-2 damage, so they're probably more likely to use their standard action to aid another character's attack. That's still pretty decent. They can also deliver touch spells without provoking opportunity attacks, if you're into that kind of thing.

    Aside from threatening adjacent squares, they also have scent, a 40-foot land speed, a so-so Hide check, and that's about it.

    Arctic foxes are best when paired with characters who want someone to flank with and can make use of the +3 to Move Silently—so, sneak attackers, mainly. Their closest competitor is the Albatross, which is also small-size and can fly, but has worse combat stats and no scent.

    Bottom line: If you need a flanking buddy and you don't have Improved Familiar, an arctic fox is definitely an option.

    Gyrfalcon (+3 to Spot)
    Same stats as the hawk, except the Spot bonus applies in any light. Obviously an upgrade. Otherwise, see hawk.

    Lemming (+2 to Listen and Spot)
    Uses the same stats as the rat, but with a bonus to perception instead of Fortitude. Perception is cool and all, but the bonus to Fortitude is waaay better, so there's no reason to take this over a rat.

    Bottom line: Did you know that, contrary to what popular culture might suggest, lemmings don't actually commit mass suicide? It's a common misconception. Oh, and also, they suck as familiars.

    Snowy Owl (+3 to Move Silently)
    Same stats as the owl, but with a bonus to Move Silently. See owl.

    Penguin (+2 to Fortitude)
    Penguins are slightly faster swimmers than rats, but are worse in every other way. Since swimming faster is useless most of the time, there's no compelling reason to take a penguin over a rat, unless you just really like penguins.

    Bottom line: They may be cute, but their stats suck, and you should just get a rat instead.

    Puffin (+2 to Swim and Survival)
    Same stats as the raven, except they don't talk. Which is like the entire point of the raven, so...I mean...yeah...

    Bottom line: Like penguins and lemmings, they're cute, but they suck as familiars.

    Spoiler: Sandstorm
    Show
    Horned Lizard (+2 to Will)
    Horned lizards don't have impressive stats—good Hide, above-average AC, so-so Spot and Listen, and that's about it—but they have three good things going for them.

    First off, +2 to Will saves! That's an excellent bonus, and nearly enough on its own to make them worthwhile.

    Second, they're the only standard familiar with a burrow speed. The ability to tunnel through dirt can definitely come in handy, even if it's too slow to be of any tactical use in combat.

    Third, they have the nifty ability to squirt blood out of their eyes, which is really gross, but more importantly renders your enemies shaken for 1 round (with a DC 11 Will save to negate). Note that, while the horned lizard can only squirt blood to a distance of 5 feet, the ability affects any opponent who sees the display, so it actually has quite a significant range. Now, granted, the save DC is pretty paltry, and a lot of monsters are immune to fear. But it can be used at will, and the horned lizard can spam it every round, hitting every enemy simultaneously. They're bound to fail their saves some of the time, and when they do...value! This is especially good if you have other ways of rendering your enemies shaken, because the fear will stack and make them frightened instead. In particular, a Bard with Inspire Awe (see Dragon Magic p13) could get good use out of this ability.

    Bottom line: Its stats are nothing special, and it doesn't make a great scout, but it has an easier time contributing to combat than most standard familiars, and +2 Will is great. A strong choice.

    Spoiler: Stormwrack
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    Albatross (+1 to Spot)
    Stat-wise, the albatross is worse than the hawk across the board. Speed is worse, ability scores are worse, skills are worse, AC is worse, granted ability is worse, even the feats are worse. (Endurance? Yuck.)

    The main reason you'd take an albatross is for their small size, which lets them threaten adjacent squares, so they can attack, flank, aid another, deliver touch spells, or what-have-you, without provoking attacks of opportunity.

    Now, they have worse combat stats than the arctic fox, and since you're planning to take it into combat, that is a very relevant concern. Still, flight is pretty good, and the albatross is definitely a better scout because of it, at least in environments where it has enough room to spread its wings.

    Bottom line: If you need your familiar to threaten adjacent squares and you don't have Improved Familiar, an albatross is a good choice. If you're not too concerned about threatening adjacent squares, it's not a good choice.

    Eel (+3 to Escape Artist)
    Eels are notable as the only Medium-size standard familiar! The notability ends there, though, since they are strictly aquatic and, unless your entire adventure takes place exclusively underwater, they will suffocate and die within the first five minutes, making them somewhat impractical.

    Bottom line: Yeah, you probably want a familiar that can survive on land.

    Fish Owl (+3 to Spot checks in shadows)
    Identical to the owl. See owl.

    Octopus (+3 to grapple)
    Like the eel, the octopus has the rather damning flaw of not being able to, y'know, breathe. Unlike the eel, the octopus actually has some sweet abilities. The ink cloud provides total concealment, which is great, and...well, okay, that's pretty much the only sweet ability, since improved grab isn't really what you're looking for on a Small-size creature with 12 Strength. But notice that the ink cloud can be used even when the octopus is not underwater. I mean, that's kind of weird and doesn't make much sense, but if you're willing to hook the octopus up with some manner of Air Breathing spell, it could do something for you.

    Also, improved grab isn't completely irrelevant. I mean, the octopus does share your BAB, and unlike a lot of creatures' improved grab abilities, it isn't restricted by size, so if you're, like, a Duskblade, it could actually have a decent enough grapple mod to maybe grab some stuff? Who knows.

    Bottom line: Probably not worth the effort, but it's different, at least.

    Parrot (+3 to Appraise)
    Identical to the raven (but with prettier colors, so it's better, obviously). See raven.

    Sea Snake (+3 to Bluff)
    Sea snakes are identical to the standard vipers, except their land speed is decreased to 10 feet, their swim speed is increased to 30 feet, their climb speed is removed, and the save DC of their poison is increased by 2. Also, all their racial skill bonuses are removed except for the +8 to Swim for having a swim speed.

    This is not a great trade unless you're really interested in the poison. Now, to be fair, if your build does want a source of poison, and you're not worried about using your familiar as a scout, then it is a legitimately good trade. Tiny sea snake venom is identical to black adder venom: 120 gp/dose and a Craft (poisonmaking) DC of 15, according to Complete Adventurer. With a direct source of venom, you can craft the poison at 1/6 the base price, so 20 gp/dose.

    Poison is a generally weak effect due to the low DCs and the ubiquity of poison immunity. I'm not a fan of giving up utility for it. I can imagine specialty builds that might be interested in the cheap poison, but unless you have a very specific plan in mind, I'd stay away.

    Bottom line: Only worth taking if you're milking it for poison.

  3. - Top - End - #153
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    Default Re: Being Everything: Eggynack's Comprehensive Druid Handbook

    Just added dinosaur stampede. Mostly cause dinosaur stampede is hilarious, and awful, and hilariously awful. Partially because I wanted a spell that's way worse than bombardment with a longer entry. But, y'know, mostly the first thing. It's so bad.
    Last edited by eggynack; 2017-07-02 at 06:33 PM.

  4. - Top - End - #154
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    Default Re: Being Everything: Eggynack's Comprehensive Druid Handbook

    Wow! A couple years ago, I took the Druid Handbook from Brilliant Gameologists and then added tips, tricks and ideas from anywhere else I found them on the Internet. Seems my efforts were in vain while this behemoth exists, though, ha ha.

  5. - Top - End - #155
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    Default Re: Being Everything: Eggynack's Comprehensive Druid Handbook

    Smug, you helped by adding another perspective. Thankee!
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  6. - Top - End - #156
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    Default Re: Being Everything: Eggynack's Comprehensive Druid Handbook

    Just curious whats the verdict on Dragonlance's Holy Order of Stars Wild Fury of Chislev, one prestige class that I dont see a mention of, unless i missed it within the thread.

  7. - Top - End - #157
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    Default Re: Being Everything: Eggynack's Comprehensive Druid Handbook

    Quote Originally Posted by greyknight666 View Post
    Just curious whats the verdict on Dragonlance's Holy Order of Stars Wild Fury of Chislev, one prestige class that I dont see a mention of, unless i missed it within the thread.
    I speak for no one other than myself, least of all, Eggynack. My assumption as to the lack of that PrC's inclusion is based on the fact that the source material is not from a D&D book. It's from an officially licensed d20 product that is compatible with the world's most popular RPG.
    Last edited by nyjastul69; 2016-05-31 at 08:20 PM.

  8. - Top - End - #158
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    Default Re: Being Everything: Eggynack's Comprehensive Druid Handbook

    Is it even officially licensed? I thought that only dragonlance campaign setting had that status. In any case, it's not a bad class, but it doesn't seem all that good either, assuming I'm looking at the right one. You spend two feats, and lose the animal companion and minor class features alike, and in return you get those bestial feats, magic fang stuff, and a speed bonus. The feats are mostly awful, except for natural spell which is so good that it's hard to justify waiting on it for multiple levels, and the magic fang, well, casting greater magic fang isn't exactly a big deal. The speed bonus is decent but marginal. Point being, it looks like you lose more than you gain, and what you gain isn't all that much fun.
    Last edited by eggynack; 2016-05-31 at 10:57 PM.

  9. - Top - End - #159
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    Default Re: Being Everything: Eggynack's Comprehensive Druid Handbook

    Thanks for the verdict on it. The whole dragonlance setting is little wonky, love the novels but the rpg setting meh. Its Wild Fury sort of had the same idea from me. I just didn't know if i was missing anything. Its one of those hidden prestige classes that doesn't see much attention because of well being from Dragonlance. It sort of works for me i have a bad habit of forgetting about companions and familiars so i tend to use variants or flaws to get something i'd remember about. Unless the character is built around that.

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    Default Re: Being Everything: Eggynack's Comprehensive Druid Handbook

    Just added two new FAQ entries, both associated with advanced animals.

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    Default Re: Being Everything: Eggynack's Comprehensive Druid Handbook

    Here's a fancy new entry about incarnum dragons. Kinda ambiguous stuff, but now there's yet another way to pull off druidic necromancy, which is the best thing.

    Edit: Decided to ditch it.
    Last edited by eggynack; 2016-06-19 at 12:55 AM.

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    Default Re: Being Everything: Eggynack's Comprehensive Druid Handbook

    Just did an entry on resize, which is an orison from dragon. Didn't think it'd be worth making a post about when I started, but then it turned out to be super complicated, to the point that it needed two paragraphs. Also turned out to be a pretty good spell, so that's another reason an arbitrary and obscure zeroth is getting a big ol' post. Ya gotta love when you can halve the cost for the mundane part of expensive armor on any small creature, and do so in a manner that's permanent if not dispelled.

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    Default Re: Being Everything: Eggynack's Comprehensive Druid Handbook

    Couple minor updates. I checked through the forgotten realms update materials. Downside was that it turns out the night hunter deep bat is a magical beast, rather than an animal. Upside was that the ghaunadan, a rather cool looking aberration, is an aberration, rather than a shapechanger or whatever. The former was tossed right away, and the latter may or may not be added, pending a closer look. Also, as was noticed by Hiro Quester, the spell entry for blizzard was erroneously listed as 100 ft., rather than 100 ft./level. Weird mistake, that. Anyways, I'ma check silver marches, cause I have the vague feeling that I missed something there.

    Edit: Nope to that thing, but I'm just generally looking through monster update stuff now. Turns out that adding some delineation between dragons beyond what I have is kinda pointless, because most dragons just happen to be true dragons, and have all that stuff included, including, say, gem dragons.

    Double-edit: Decided to add the fancy new aberration. It's not the best, but it has its share of neat abilities. Might be a bit influenced here by the dual facts that I had to ditch a different entry, and that the unclear typing makes the ghaunadan hard to find.
    Last edited by eggynack; 2016-07-23 at 10:55 PM.

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    Default Re: Being Everything: Eggynack's Comprehensive Druid Handbook

    Added traveler's mount to spells, and, far far more important, the fabulous cats feat weight focus. Who knew that that weird web enhancement had a reasonably powerful grappling feat for animal companions? There's some consideration towards adding other feats from there, like flop, for the most ridiculous daze lock ever, or healing chi, to help out with casting sanctified spells. Also, are there any cool things that only monstrous humanoids can use? I don't remember if I've researched wild runner for weird applications, and it could be worth looking into.

    Edit: Added absorb mind too, Cool spell, that.
    Last edited by eggynack; 2016-08-01 at 05:29 AM.

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    Default Re: Being Everything: Eggynack's Comprehensive Druid Handbook

    Lotta updates today. I added some paragraphs to plant forms to note that some or all of them can give you plant traits with enhance, and boneleaf and the corruption eater have been added to aberration forms.
    Last edited by eggynack; 2016-08-11 at 10:53 AM.

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    Default Re: Being Everything: Eggynack's Comprehensive Druid Handbook

    Ever considered a Dark Sun section for the handbook?

    Has *nothing* to do with me playing my first druid in such a world. Nope, none at all :D
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    Default Re: Being Everything: Eggynack's Comprehensive Druid Handbook

    Quote Originally Posted by Cavir View Post
    Ever considered a Dark Sun section for the handbook?
    Isn't that rather far from first party? I think it's further out than things in dragon magazine. If it's full on third, then I dunno that It's justifiable, cause there's roughly infinite other third party. I mean, it's very unlikely that it'd get a section rather than just getting integrated in like any other source.

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    Default Re: Being Everything: Eggynack's Comprehensive Druid Handbook

    I know there's some Dark Sun stuff in Dragon Magazine.

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    Default Re: Being Everything: Eggynack's Comprehensive Druid Handbook

    Quote Originally Posted by Troacctid View Post
    I know there's some Dark Sun stuff in Dragon Magazine.
    I think that stuff is already in the handbook, if it's druid relevant. I recall seeing that source when I was going through dragon stuff.

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    Default Re: Being Everything: Eggynack's Comprehensive Druid Handbook

    Isn't that rather far from first party?
    Good point.
    Wonder if there are many DS games out there (not just on GITP).
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    Default Re: Being Everything: Eggynack's Comprehensive Druid Handbook

    Quote Originally Posted by Cavir View Post
    Good point.
    Wonder if there are many DS games out there (not just on GITP).
    Checked it out, incidentally, and it seems like straight up third party. Done purely under OGL and whatnot. It's a more interesting source than most third party sources, especially because it seems like the setting was once wizards supported, and inclusion in Dragon feels like tacit endorsement, but that more increases the likelihood rather than making inclusion actually likely.

    Anyways, separate thing which served as the major impetus to posting, I updated greater dispel to include the curse removal. I had no idea that was even part of the spell, and it's more relevant than usual due to the druid's lack of remove curse. It doesn't look like even heal fully (or even partially? I'm not super familiar with the minutiae of what cures what) deals with the issue.

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    Default Re: Being Everything: Eggynack's Comprehensive Druid Handbook

    Just noticed a minor mistake in your guide under your 3rd level spells you have Cone of Euphoria listed.
    It's a 4th level druid spell, it's only 3rd for Bard's

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    Default Re: Being Everything: Eggynack's Comprehensive Druid Handbook

    Quote Originally Posted by Wacky89 View Post
    Just noticed a minor mistake in your guide under your 3rd level spells you have Cone of Euphoria listed.
    It's a 4th level druid spell, it's only 3rd for Bard's
    True enough. Dunno whether or not that informed the description of it, but said description doesn't make reference to spells of other levels, so I'ma leave that aspect unchanged.

    Separately, I edited phantom stag to note the nifty fact that it keys off of caster level.

    Edit: Added The Frog God's Fane. Knowledge (nature) is nice. Also, considering editing MoMF to address the fact that it looks like you can get some casting through it.
    Last edited by eggynack; 2016-08-27 at 04:50 AM.

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    Default Re: Being Everything: Eggynack's Comprehensive Druid Handbook

    I'm starting to really get into DnD 3.5 and this forum has a ton of great guides and such to really dig in and learn the complexities of the game.

    My only real question is why the guide (and other guides) avoids/lacks a build section. Like why isn't there a section somewhere with a pre-made build for each type of Druid? Like Summoner, Shifter, General, Ect?

    Isn't the entire point of a guide to obtain information that you will then use towards making a Druid? Wouldn't it be beneficial to get a nice outline for how a completed Druid might actually look? If I see the author picked certain feats then it's kind of obvious that these feats are good. Instead of reading through 30+ pages on feats you can just get the gist with a simple snapshot.

    Druid has got to be one of the most complex classes and frankly I can't pretend to do it as good as others on my first try. Just following (mostly) a pre-made build would probably be better for me than making something up by scratch.

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    Default Re: Being Everything: Eggynack's Comprehensive Druid Handbook

    Quote Originally Posted by Godofallu View Post
    I'm starting to really get into DnD 3.5 and this forum has a ton of great guides and such to really dig in and learn the complexities of the game.

    My only real question is why the guide (and other guides) avoids/lacks a build section. Like why isn't there a section somewhere with a pre-made build for each type of Druid? Like Summoner, Shifter, General, Ect?

    Isn't the entire point of a guide to obtain information that you will then use towards making a Druid? Wouldn't it be beneficial to get a nice outline for how a completed Druid might actually look? If I see the author picked certain feats then it's kind of obvious that these feats are good. Instead of reading through 30+ pages on feats you can just get the gist with a simple snapshot.

    Druid has got to be one of the most complex classes and frankly I can't pretend to do it as good as others on my first try. Just following (mostly) a pre-made build would probably be better for me than making something up by scratch.
    I've definitely considered it, but honestly, druids aren't that crazy complicated on the build end. Most of it is just taking stuff that's good. So, like, you take aberration wild shape, because that's really good, but what does that have to tell you about the rest of your build? Sure, you can theoretically try to match the theming from those feats, but it's not even all that plausible to do so, cause there aren't other worthwhile aberration feats (aside from maybe gatekeeper initiate, which hits things from the other endd). Things are similar on the class side. You take the holt warden/contemplative dip combo, and that's a useful thing, but it doesn't really speak to the way the rest of the build should look. Hell, even if you're going all in on a shifter summoner, you shouldn't really be spending all your feats on summoning, because of diminishing returns, and you shouldn't be spending any feats on shifting. The whole plan boils down to two substitution levels, the four moonspeaker levels, and then a couple of feats, and that's about as intensive as a plan gets.

    It all speaks to a central concept with druids, that they just don't specialize all that much. You can specialize if you really want to, but it's frequently more downside than upside, something you're doing because you like the concept than something you're doing because it increases your power. A wizard might pile up on metamagic to buff a single spell, and a cleric might go deep on DMM, and both classes will prestige out as much as possible, but druids really want all of these crazy and semi-unrelated feats. The same tends to apply to non-casters, with fighters and their AoO tripping strategies, and factotums with their piles of FoI, and rogues with their stealth/sneak attack focus. Druids don't like prestiging out too much, and they don't like getting tied down too much for feat selection, and neither spells nor the animal companion have too much in the way of synergies that you'd want to exploit (y'know, something that'd inform your whole list, cause there're definitely some setups that use a couple of spells). The end result is that any druid build I'd construct would be a bit arbitrary, optimization-wise. They'd make a few basic choices, greenbound or rashemi, aberration, dragon, or exalted, yes or no on contemplative, and then there'd be a build.

    However, as I indicated above, that doesn't necessarily mean there's no point to it, just perhaps less point than you'd think. That stuff I just talked about might not be insanely complicated, but that doesn't mean it's trivial by any means, and there's likely some intrinsic value to seeing things laid out cleanly. Also, while builds need not necessarily be themed, I do have some more theme inclined stuff that's interesting to look at. Mostly the aberration/undead druid and the exalted half-orc. Another benefit to it is that I could have a fancy "On Theming" entry, which would go into the nature of broadening themes, and using different aspects of the theme, and different themes altogether, to touch different aspects of the build. It's the way that, if you claim to be all about aberrations, you're going to wind up with a lot of spells that have nothing to do with them. So, yeah, might end up doing that, though I suspect properly formatting the whole thing will be a bit of a chore.

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    Default Re: Being Everything: Eggynack's Comprehensive Druid Handbook

    Quote Originally Posted by Godofallu View Post
    My only real question is why the guide (and other guides) avoids/lacks a build section. Like why isn't there a section somewhere with a pre-made build for each type of Druid? Like Summoner, Shifter, General, Ect?
    Hmmm... gimme a few days and maybe I can post some examples. Off the top of my head, some builds to consider:

    Core Summoner
    Core Druidzilla
    Core Bearzilla
    DMMzilla
    Drunkey Kong
    Arcane Hydrophant
    Fochlucan Lyrist
    Holt Wardenzilla
    Optimized Summoner
    Optimized Craftzilla
    Cryohydrazilla
    Planetcracker (Planar Shepherd)

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    Default Re: Being Everything: Eggynack's Comprehensive Druid Handbook

    Started thinking on the build section thing. Kinda iffy on what it should look like. I mean, traditionally, you have the class listing as the main thing, but that's pretty open ended on a druid. I guess my big problem here is that what a build means on a druid is super inconsistent. Like, the moonspeaker incorporates race, levels, ACF's, and a bit in the way of feats, but doesn't care much about thematic spells at all beyond using SNA and maybe a couple of those shifter spells. By contrast, the aberration/necromancy druid, as I usually consider it, takes something close to the exact opposite approach. It's all about a few major feats, combined with really interesting spell selection and wild shape use (even beyond the typical aberration stuff, cause the plant zombies would factor in), but there's nothing super solid with regards to race, levels, or ACF's. The problem extends beyond that too. I mean, Darrin, just look at what some of the stuff on that list would actually mean. Core summoner might as well just read, "Take augment summoning." The holt warden might as well just be that, plus contemplative. And the hydra thing is mostly just frozen wild shape.

    So, came up with a new approach that makes some sense to me, while writing this post. Instead of discussing cool builds, which could be an interesting topic of discussion in and of itself, it might make more sense to just mostly build a druid. Y'know, lay out a specific build, and include some justification for various choices along the way. The listing would presumably only stop at places where a choice is made, like a feat selection or a prestige class. The build in question will likely just be that aberration thing, cause I like it, and it gives me an opportunity to talk up spell theming, like I've mentioned in the past. Speaking of that, I think it makes sense to eschew a complete list, and just have some suggested spells that fit the theme, maybe on a per level basis if I get sufficiently into it, but I'm also liable to do the opposite, mushing the spells and the other cool in-game stuff you can do that fits the theme. Either way, it should be cool if I ever get around to it.

    Arbitrary question time: First, does that seem to be the optimal layout for such a section? I do like the Treantmonk style where he lays out a bunch of big builds, but that doesn't seem to fit the druid as well, because a lot of that section is about synergies between prestige classes, and it also might not fit the tone of this handbook as well. Second, What do I title this thing? Making a druid? Maybe that. Finally, I know what most of those builds are, cause it's obvious, but what's Drunkey Kong and Arcane Hydrophant? I'm half inclined to think the latter is a typo, but I prefer to imagine a world where there exist some synergies between theurging and water magic, and with the former, I guess there's it could be referring to the whole thumb'd creature with a quarterstaff plan, but that seems entirely spell focused, and if drunkness actually comes in anywhere that that excites me.

    Edit: Finally decided to add a gas spore entry. Not great, but it's at least interesting.
    Last edited by eggynack; 2016-08-30 at 01:37 AM.

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    Default Re: Being Everything: Eggynack's Comprehensive Druid Handbook

    White Dragons are unique in that they have Icewalking (spider climb continuously on ice), burrowing, swimming, and flying! They're not much good for anything else considering other Dragon Wild Shape options, but, again, it's these abilities in combination that makes them interesting. And they're [Cold] subtype.
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    Default Re: Being Everything: Eggynack's Comprehensive Druid Handbook

    Quote Originally Posted by Endarire View Post
    White Dragons are unique in that they have Icewalking (spider climb continuously on ice), burrowing, swimming, and flying! They're not much good for anything else considering other Dragon Wild Shape options, but, again, it's these abilities in combination that makes them interesting. And they're [Cold] subtype.
    I think I had it popping around there at some point. A big problem with the form is that you're basically in it just for the icewalking, because otherwise there are totally other forms that have a pile of different movement modes, and in better ways at that. And icewalking just isn't that good, given that you're getting a much more situational version of a just alright second level spell. On some level, you're always going to be better off on that front with, say, the lower end mercury dragon with its perfect fly speed. I think the bigger issue, however, is that this isn't really a form you want to just be in. Your selling point is essentially that you're getting a bunch of movement modes in one, but that means that, to gain an advantage, you need to take this form and stick with it, hitting a swim situation, and then a burrowing situation, and then maybe a flight situation, all while being a white dragon. And white dragons kinda suck. Their immunity is super mediocre and comes with a downside, their breath weapon is similarly boring, and it just doesn't seem to have that much going for it. Also, I'm sure there was another dragon form somewhere that also have that all modes in one trick, but I can't seem to place it. I'ma check some sources.

    Edit: Pyroclastic dragon. That's the one I was thinking of, maybe. Loses the ice walking thing, gets a climb speed, and also gets better immunities/breath weapon. I'll check some more.

    Double-edit: Li lung might actually be the one, cause it's actually in the handbook. Sweet form, that.

    Triple-edit: Deep dragon also. I'm on a dragon-finding roll right now.
    Last edited by eggynack; 2016-08-30 at 03:16 AM.

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    Default Re: Being Everything: Eggynack's Comprehensive Druid Handbook

    I've officially started writing up the fancy aberration build. My goal is kinda a mix of creating a classically strong druid, and hitting as many druid optimization notes as possible. To that end, I'm working in some ACF's, and hopefully some dips. The holt warden aspect of holt warden/contemplative isn't perfectly themed for maximum weird-druidness, but the contemplative aspect probably can be. Or I could do something else there. On a separate note, I'm not sure exactly what cool aberration/undead/weirdness themed items are also relatively high optimization. Maybe the skin of kaletor, the item of boosting wild shape that also makes you super smelly. Maybe combine that with a shadow cloak, both to emphasize the darker elements of the character, and to show off item combination rules. Yeah, that sounds cool.

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