Circle of Spores combat druid; Help!

[Alexwellace]

Help a new-ish player make a cool effective new character? I've played through one campaign between levels 1 and 7, and am starting a new campaign next semester starting at level 3. For this camapign we've been told everything is available to us, including Unearthed Arcana.

So knowing we'll be dealing with the elemental plane of water I came up with a concept I really liked. I want to be a Circle of Spores Druid (Substituting fungus for Coral playwise, making Coral zombies, becoming encrusted with coral during Wildshape) who fights in combat.

Can you guys help advise me on how to do this effectively? My initial thoughts are 2 levels in Druid to pick up Circle of Spores then take a point in fighter, ready to take 2 points in fighter at level 4 to benefit from action surge.

So the basic idea of my early game damage comes from a weird rules interaction: I can use a Quarterstaff 1 handedly and deal 1d6 bludgeoning damage + Str. If I take the Duelist fightering style I get +2 to my damage with 1 handed weapons. If I use Shillelagh my damage die is set to d8 and I add my Wisdom to my damage, so 1d8 + 2 + wisdom. When in my Circle of Spores Wildform I add d6 poison damage on top of every attack I make, so it'd be 1d8 + 2 + wisdom + d6 poison. But when I get the Polearm master feat, can I make the bonus attack with the quarterstaffs haft (1d4 + wisdom + poison) even if I am using it one-handedly?

What stats should I sink into considering I'll be a combat druid? Obvs Wisdom, but also I'd imagine Constitution? Any thoughts about the idea in general of a combat coral-druid, and how a combat druid/fighter hybrid would advance into the mid-game (I imagine the campaign will reach level 10/12) without being completely outshone?

[Ganymede]

You're already using a quarterstaff one-handed with Polearm Master.

Optimization done.

[samuraijaques]

You're already using a quarterstaff one-handed with Polearm Master.

Optimization done.

Not to mention using an already extremely powerful archetype of a very powerful class. You really don't need anything else. You have pretty much full caster levels minus the two fighter you eventually be taking. Honestly though you are the thing that is going to eventually outshine your melee damage. Druids get some pretty nasty spells at later levels. One thing I would look out for is your relatively low AC. The temp hp buffer will definitely help but the best you can wear is studded leather as a druid so unless you are trying to max out wis and con AND dex your AC is going to be relatively low and those temp hp won't last long in melee

[sambojin]

I can see chitin breastplates/half plate, coral and even heavy scales (for half/full plate or scale mail) being a thing on the Plane of Water. So it might be possible once you get there to go medium or even heavy armoured in the later stages of the campaign. Almost to the point where a level of Fighter might be worthwhile doing first, for Con saves and proficiency in heavy armour, then going towards Druid for your magic and spores.

But yeah, sounds like a nice build with PAM. Since you'll be in caster form most of the time, proficiency in Con (thus concentration saves) is great to keep those spells up, and makes Warcaster as a feat way less of a "must have" (still very nice though). And having potential heavy armour options later on, that don't go against Druid-BS, without a feat spend attached to it is worthwhile re-jigging the build as Fighter first, Druid after, pop in some more Fighter whenever you want for AS. So you kind of get a Heavy Armour proficiency feat and a Resilient (Con) feat for free.

Depending on stats, point buy or rolled, just ASI all the way into Wis for all later levels, picking up PAM early on.

What race were you thinking of playing? Will the Plane of Water come up before 5th/6th level do you think (where you can look at WS'ing swim speeds or magic'ing your way out of water problems)?


Oh, and since UAs are available, if the campaign goes late, pop in a level of Mystic later on. They are an abomination. So definitely be one of those. No stat prerequisites RAW, and two hours a day of non-concentration +2AC, and another +1AC just by thinking about it, is great to solve any armour problems. They do a bit of other stuff too, but +3AC is all you need to know to make it good.

[Naanomi]

Water Genasi?

[Alexwellace]

RP wise I'm wanting to be a Triton, I know their racial stats aren't optimised for a Druid but considering the theme of Coral Wizard my choices of Sea Elf and Triton, the Triton looks much better.

Looking over the build I quite like all the possible things I can do with every resource on my turn. My reaction is being used every turn I'm up close to deal poison damage, and hopefully when I actually make combat I'll have Shillelagh and Wildshape up. Then I can punch people pretty well, but what I'm actually excited about is the possible tankiness of the build. Between the temporary hit points, second wind and healing word I have a substantial amount of self healing.

I'm wondering now if I bother heading down the fighter path past action surge to get that 2nd attack or not? I don't really gain anything from any of the martial features that are interesting, but I think without that second attack I may be a little left behind. I'd like to be able to mix it up in melee for most of the game, not just be a caster who can also fight. But similarly a lot of my damage comes from my Wildshape and rushing going 2/6 fighter/druid would have me stable in combat while doing reliable damage.

So basically my question is, should I bother going for the second attack?

[Naanomi]

I wouldn’t worry about second attack... pick up Booming Blade and use it with Shillelagh and you’d be fine

(Water Genasi fits coral wizard to me, plenty of coral on the elemental plane of water)