SPELLS:All druids are full casters - don't forget this fact.
Because of their ability to cast Summon Nature's Ally spontaneously, Druids, like Clerics, are in a great position to prepping very powerful, very situational spells. No harm will come of prepping Sheltered Vitality, for example; if you don't run into any ability damage or death magic, you can just turn it into a SNA IV. Likewise, don't prep Summon Nature's Ally spells (unless you want metamagicked SNAs; you can just cast them spontaneously.
Note that many spells that were once Druid staples were nerfed in Spell Compendium. If a spell has multiple books listed, the Spell Compendium version is generally both the weakest and most current, and if a former druidic staple is missing, it may have been nerfed into uselessness in Spell Compendium.
Spell chains:[list][*]The Vigor chain (CD/Spell) vastly outperform the equivalent Cure spells as far as total healing goes, but is considerably less useful in combat because of the long-duration, slow-healing nature of the spells. It may be useful to prepare a Cure Light Wounds or a Bear's Endurance or two for emergencies, but make it clear to party members that your resources are best used for out-of-combat healing (usually Vigor or Vigorous Circle from a wand) and not in-combat healing (because of the greater spell level of druidic Cure spells), and that they will need to handle their own emergency in-combat healing (from potions and such). This will head off many potential misunderstandings and hurt feelings.
[*]The Bite of the (foo) series, from Spell Compendium, are your new in-combat buff staples, since the Polymorph errata prevents you from using the Nature's chain of spells as self-buffs. If you're planning to throw up a quick in-combat buff while Wild Shaped, these are often your best bet, due to the variety and degree of bonuses they offer.[/list]
Any advice on staple druid spells would be much appreciated.Recommended spells[list][*]0 Level:
[list][*]Create Water - Never run out of water. Plus, you can make a scrying pool.
[*]Cure Minor Wounds - One point isn't a lot, but this can stabilize a dying ally.
[*]Detect Magic - One of the most powerful and versatile zero-level spells, for any caster.
[*]Guidance - Tell your Rogue to ask for "guidance" prior to every trap he attempts to disarms or UMD roll he has to make (outside of combat). That +1 bonus can be critical.
[*]Light - Remember, you lose darkvision when you Wild Shape, even if your chosen form has it. (Obviously, this doesn't apply to situations where you're getting Ex special qualities of your form, as with Exalted or Dragon Wild Shape.)[/list][/list]
[list][*]1st Level:
[list]
[*]Aspect of the Wolf (Spell) - This is a fairly handy melee self-buff for early levels (instead of going the wooden club route with Shillelagh). At later levels, you can share it with your Animal Companion to help deal with the practical issues of traveling with a snarling bear the size of a bull elephant.
[*]Babau Slime (Spell) - Great for grappling druids, and a general-purpose damage buff for any Wild Shaping druid.
[*]Camouflage (CD/Spell) - +10 to Hide, and it works in any environment.
[*]Endure Elements - A great travelling spell, and especially handy in any game that takes you into harsh environments.
[*]Entangle - A best-in-class battlefield control spell.
[*]Eyes of the Avoral (BoED) - Long duration, big Spot bonus.
[*]Faerie Fire - Good for dealing with invisible foes.
[*]Lessor Vigor (CD/Spell) - This spell actually outperforms Cure Light Wounds, especially out of combat. Wands of Lesser Vigor are great for healing between fights.
[*]Magic Fang (PHB) and Silvered Claws (BoED) - Decent buff to help your Animal Companion bypass DR. Not very good for anything else.
[*]Obscuring Mist - The next best thing to invisibility, when it comes time to get out of a fight. Cast Mist, walk 5 feet backwards, and run away in a different direction.
[*]Omen of Peril (RoD/CD/Spell) - Poor man's Augury. Quite possibly the most versatile first-level divination in the game, and doesn't even have a costly component or XP cost, like many similar divinations.
[*]Produce Flame - Fairly powerful attack spell. You'll probably be relying on this to attack until you get Wild Shape, and makes a decent buff (due to the way holding touch spells works) after you get Wild Shape.
[*]Rot of Ages (DMagic) - lol no sneak attack 4 u. Too bad about the short duration, though.
[*]Shillelagh - It's pronounced "shi-lay-lee." Dramatically increases club/quarterstaff damage (to the point where you'll actually want to wield a club or quarterstaff), and stacks with Spikes and Brambles. Decreases in usefulness after you get Spikes, until you're high enough level to Quicken it.
[*]Spider Hand (BoVD) - Best. Scouting. Spell. Ever. Send out a nondescript spider to do all the scouting, with only negligible consequences if it dies? Yeah, I'll take that. It's not even an evil spell.
[*]Twilight Luck (BoED) - +1 on saves is always handy, especially at higher levels. Just lay off the booze.
[*]Wood Wose (CD/Spell) - Unseen Servant, only druidic. It just can't handle doorknobs.[/list][/list]
[list][*]2nd Level:
[list][*]Align Fang (Spell) - Handy for DR problems. It's a third-level spell in MiniHB.
[*]Animalistic Power (PHB2) - Versatility over the animal stat buffs, traded for half the power. It's a style thing; either way is good.
[*]Barkskin - Excellent for use while Wild Shaped, since your AC will often be pretty poor.
[*]Bear's Endurance and Bull's Strength - As useful as it is for everyone. Bear's Endurance will be your main in-combat healing spell for low levels; just keep people alive until you can use Vigor.
[*]Bite of the Wererat (Spell) - A variety of handy stat buffs, plus an additional bite attack for forms that don't have a natural bite.
[*]Blinding Spittle (PGtF/Spell) - Absolutely broken. Blindness with no save, with a ranged touch attack at -4. Why do they keep reprinting this spell?
[*]Blood Snow (Frost) - Only prep it during the winter or when in an arctic or otherwise frozen area, but d2 Con damage/round is awesome.
[*]Brambles (CD/Spell) - Excellent weapon buff, especially coupled with Shillelagh.
[*]Creeping Cold (CD/Spell) - A great attack spell, and replaces Produce Flame. If you can get away with it, Extend it.
[*]Dessicate (Sand) - d6/level (max 5d6) on a single target, with a weird damage type that ignores DR and energy resistance. Can even cause dehydration (which is fatigue on steroids).
[*]Embrace the Wild (CAdv/Spell) and Listening Lorecall (CAdv/Spell) - Hopelessly nerfed in Spell Compendium. Unless you really, really need Scent for something, Blindsight is just plain better, save for duration. Embrace the Wild is generally better because of the skill boosts, until you have 12 ranks in Listen, when Listening Lorecall's Blindsight kicks in. Either way, Blindsight is worth it, despite the higher spell level.
[*]Gust of Wind - Very underrated utility spell. Clears fogs, blows away small foes, extinguishes torches, and disperses swarms.
[*]Halo of Sand (Sand) - Yet another druid AC buff. This one is deflection, though, so it stacks with Barkskin and armor.
[*]Kelpstrand (Spell) - I like to think of this spell as webshooters. This spell is excellent for tying down not-particularly-strong foes, and remember that you can throw multiple strands on one target. The low grapple DC and the slow scaling for multiple strands means that this spell goes stale quickly, however.
[*]Lesser Restoration - Very handy for healing ability damage.
[*]Luminous Armor (BoED) - An AC boost while you're Wild Shaping, plus light and another -4 for enemies to hit you in melee. Stacks with Barkskin, but not Wilding armor. Mind the Str damage, though.
[*]Master Air (Spell) - Self-only flight, with short duration. Still handy, though.
[*]Nature's Favor (CAdv/Spell) - Excellent (swift!) animal buff spell; cast it on your Animal Companion or summons. Technically better than Greater Magic Fang, but has a shorter duration and doesn't bypass DR. The Complete Divine version is even stronger, but the spell was nerfed in Complete Adventurer.
[*]Resist Energy - Fairly handy when you know a certain type of energy damage is in the offing.
[*]Share Husk (Spell) - A great scouting spell. Use it if Spider Hand isn't available.
[*]Snake's Swiftness, Mass (Spell) - The lower-level, single-target version of this spell isn't anything special, but giving a free attack to all of your party members, plus your animal companion, plus any summons you have nearby is just too fun.[/list][/list]
[list][*]3rd Level:
[list][*]Alter Fortune (PHB2) - Fantastic spell. Great for emergencies (reroll a save!)
[*]Arctic Haze (Frost) and Haboob (Sand) - Damaging and opaque fog. Useful as battlefield control. Tremor (Spell) can be used similarly, but it doesn't damage and doesn't block line of sight.
[*]Attune Form (Spell) - Immunity from planar effects for caster level/3 characters. A handy spell for high levels, and much more useful than the lower-level Avoid Planar Effects (Spell) due to the longer duration.
[*]Bite of the Werewolf (Spell) - Again, a variety of nifty stat buffs and a spare bite attack.
[*]Blindsight (Sav/Und/PGtF/Spell) - 30' Blindsight. Who needs See Invisibility?
[*]Call Lightning - Good damage, and gives you plenty of turns of attacks. The attack spell you'll be using when you get 3rd-level spells.
[*]Crumble (Spell) - Think of this as druidic Knock. Lots of things won't stand up to a casting of this spell.
[*]Cure Moderate Wounds - Should be self-explanatory.
[*]Entanging Staff (CAdv/Spell) - Free action grapples with a +8 bonus. Great for when you're out of Wild Shape for some reason or if you're using a Spikes-enspelled staff as a Legendary Ape.
[*]Forestfold (CAdv/Spell) - +10 on Hide and Move Silently checks in a natural environment of your choice.
[*]Giant's Wrath (Spell) - An interesting alternative to Call Lightning. At early levels, the lack of a need for an attack roll, the lack of DR issues, and the greater number of uses per cast makes Call Lightning the better choice. At higher levels, though, the high strength of Wild Shape forms, the caster-level based damage bonus, and the lack of SR on Giant's Wrath helps it catch up.
[*]Greater Magic Fang - Handy self-buff and good to share with your Animal Companion.
[*]Poison - Con damage is always handy, and
the DC scales upward as you increase in level. A much-overlooked spell.
[*]Primal Form (Spell) - This spell isn't overwhelmingly powerful, but it's a versatile self-buff. Flight and swim speed are easy to get with Wild Shape, but this spell is available before plentiful Wild Shape uses, and you can choose on the fly among a melee buff, a defensive buff, or a source of flight.
[*]Protection From Energy - A versatile, effective defensive buff. You'll rarely regret prepping it.
[*]Remove Disease - Not something you're going to prep every day, but handy when you need it.
[*]Sleet Storm - Handy battlefield control. Great for covering an escape. Not as good as Arctic Fog or Haboob, though.
[*]Spiderskin (Und/Spell) - Barkskin, plus a save bonus against poison and a Hide bonus. Use it on the party sneak, or when you're fighting monstrous vermin or Yuan-Ti.
[*]Spikes (CD/Spell) - Improved Brambles. Higher attack, better threat level; what's not to like?
[*]Spritjaws (Spell) - I love this spell, and it's one of a druid's few good force spells. Throw this spell out there and it's a combination of Spiritual Weapon and Telekinetic Grapple. It damages and confounds enemies, doing an especially good job of pinning down spellcasters and incorporeal foes.
[*]Stone Shape - Good for making your own entrance or exit. Great for throwing the GM a loop in a dungeon crawl.
[*]Swift Lion's Charge (MiniHB) / Lion's Charge (Spell) - Pouncing is very handy, but this spell can start to eat up spell slots pretty quickly. A similar, overpowered spell named Lion's Charge is in Savage Species, and, while it isn't swift, it gives the Pounce ability for a duration.
[*]Touch of Jubilex (BoVD) - Evil. A great early save-or-die. Whatever it is, in four turns, it'll be dead. Not something you can safely use repeatedly, though, because of the Corruption cost.
[*]Venomfire (Serp) - Ridiculously broken spell at high levels. For level/hours, +d6/level damage
with no cap added as an additional effect to a poisonous natural attack. Great for Fleshraker Wild Shape, or a poisonous breath weapon or AoE effect. This is such a great spell that it gets
its own thread.
[*]Vigor and Mass Lesser Vigor (CD/Spell) - Both can be better than Cure Moderate Wounds at low levels, but only outside of combat. It works when you can't summon Unicorns yet and you don't have that handy wand of Cure Light Wounds. Doesn't work with Extend Spell (see CD FAQ), but Mass Lesser Vigor does work with Persistent Spell.
[*]Wind Wall - Another highly underrated spell, this stops archers, swarms, and foes size Tiny or smaller cold.[/list][/list]
[list][*]4th Level:
[list][*]Arc of Lightning (CA/Spell) - A decent no-SR spell, with damage competitive with that of a wizard or psion. It's a conjuration spell, so, that Spell Focus: Conjuration feat you had to pick for Augment Summoning might be useful.
[*]Aspect of the Werebeast (RoE) - Nothing about this Shifter-only self-buff says it only works when you're in a humanoid form. Add +4 to two different attributes, and add Improved Grab, Pounce, or wolf-like Trip to whatever form you're in.
[*]Bite of the Wereboar (Spell) - Useful stat buffs, a spare bite attack, and one of the better AC buffs around.
[*]Blast of Sand (Sand) - Cone of Cold lite (cone, d6/level, max 10d6), only without the energy type. No SR!
[*]Boreal Wind (Frost) - Does decent cold damage, has a fairly big AoE, blows enemies away, disperses fogs and swarms, and keeps going for multiple turns without concentration. Compares favorably even to Flame Strike.
[*]Claws of the Savage (BoVD) - Got claws? This gives you a +2 enhancement bonus on them, and also gives increases your claw damage as if you were two sizes larger. It is an Evil-typed spell, though.
[*]Enhance Wild Shape (Spell) - You can pick up plant forms early or get minor stat buffs, but the big bonus is the access to extraordinary abilities. Pick up the Blindsight of a Desmodu War Bat (MM2), or abuse Master of Many Forms (CAdv).
[*]Flame Strike - Excellent damage and an AoE. Should replace Call Lightning as your attack spell of choice.
[*]Freedom of Movement - Makes you immune to grapples, able to fight underwater, and immune to spells that impede movement. A very handy defensive spell.
[*]Giant Vermin - Ridiculously powerful at high levels: at level 20 you can make a 40 HD monster.
[*]Greater Luminous Armor (BoED) - As Luminous Armor, only +8 AC instead of +5. Again, mind the Sacrifice cost.
[*]Hibernal Healing (Frost) - Self-only Heal...as long as you're in a frostfell area, anyway.
[*]Last Breath (CD/Spell) - In Complete Divine, this is druidic Revivify, but with a caster-damaging side effect. In Spell Compendium, this is a no-level-loss Reincarnate that must be cast immediately. Both are useful as an emergency option.
[*]Passage of the Shifting Sands (DMagic) - Druidic Gaseous Form, but with an actual move speed, the ability to blind people, and other bennies.
[*]Scrying - The gold standard in sneaky divinations.
[*]Sheltered Vitality (LibMort/Spell) - Immunity to ability damage or drain is situational, but very powerful when you need it. Cast this before fighting yuan-ti, giant vermin, undead, or anything else with a nasty ability damage or poison attack. The immunity to fatigue can also be handy for the party barbarian.
[*]Superior Magic Fang (Drac/Spell) - GMF on all of your attacks. It's self-only, though.
[*]Unholy Beast (CoR) - This is an odd one. It's a lesser, single-target Animal Growth...but with a Dominate Animal effect tossed in. Great for stealing Animal Companions, but still usable as a general-purpose buff.
[*]Vortex of Teeth (Spell) - A spell that does force damage, and can tear apart anything that can'tget away. This makes a mess of anyone caught in Entangle.
[*]Wall of Salt (Sand) - Not quite Wall of Stone, but effective for battlefield control and deterring pursuit.[/list][/list]
[list][*]5th Level:
[list][*]Animal Growth - Multiple animals (your pet and any summons running around) get bigger and get some nice bonuses. One of the best buffs in the game, let alone in core.
[*]Anticold Sphere (Spell) - Immunity to cold and great protection from anything with the Cold subtype, with a nice long duration and an area large enough to protect the whole party.
[*]Baleful Polymorph - Turn your opponent into something inoffensive. Toad and cat are both classy forms that offer no advantages to your target. Also handy for transporting oddly-sized Animal Companions or water- or air-breathing Animal Companions Pokemon-style, since, as a permanent spell, it's dispellable. (Classy tricks include polymorphing your Roc Animal Companion into a raven for cramped quarters, or polymorphing your T-Rex companion into a frog to go underwater.)
[*]Bite of the Weretiger (Spell) - A very high str boost, a variety of other boosts, extra attacks, and free Power Attack.
[*]Blizzard (Frost) - Instant battle ender. Great for buying some time to parley or obscuring your plans. Huge area of effect.
[*]Call Lightning Storm - Call Lightning, only moreso. 5 dice of damage instead of 3.
[*]Choking Sands (Sand) - Miasma, only less so. Alternately, nonpsionic Crisis of Breath. Good for shutting down a caster for a turn.
[*]Cloak of the Sea (CAdv/Spell) - When you're underwater, it's Water Breathing, Freedom of Movement, and Blur, all in one neat little (long-duration!) package. A must-have for any underwater adventures.
[*]Death Ward - Powerful, if conditional, defensive buff.
[*]Owl's Insight (Spell) - A long-duration scaling boost to Wisdom with an unusual bonus type? Yes please.
[*]Pancaea (Spell) - A broad-based restoration spell, removing pretty much any condition other than ability damage/drain, disease, or death.
[*]Quill Blast (CD/Spell) - After the Spell Compendium rewrite, this once-broken spell is now not quite as hot. It still outperforms typical blasts for a couple of levels, but by level 9 blasting is probably not the most optimal thing to be doing. It is a really mean spell for a GM to use on the PCs, though.
[*]Rejuvenation Coccoon (CD/Spell) - A decent out-of-combat Heal alternative.
[*]Ice Shield (Frost) and Stoneskin - Excellent defensive spells (Ice Shield is stronger but has a shorter duration), but both are too monetarily expensive to use too often.
[*]Tree Stride - Poor man's Teleport. Saves on overland travel time, but that's about it.[/list][/list]
[list][*]6th Level:
[list][*]Antilife Shell - Exceedingly powerful defensive spell. Anything living without SR just can't touch you.
[*]Bite of the Wereboar (Spell) - Bite of the Weretiger only moreso.
[*]Chasing Perfection (PHB2) - Handy as a self-buff, since it's hard to use magic items in Wild Shape. Won't be terribly useful to the rest of the party at level 13, though.
[*]Dreamsight (Spell) - Ghostform for druids, although you'll need to protect your helpless body. 100 ft. movement as an incorporeal being will make you an awesome scout.
[*]Drown (Und/Spell) - Save or dying (0 hp). Handy for capturing enemies alive. Not death magic, but obviously doesn't work on non-living creatures, water-breathers, or creatures with no lungs. This has replaced the repeatedly-nerfed Miasma (CD/Spell).
[*]Energy Immunity (Drac/Spell) - Powerful, of a bit situational, defensive buff. Has a long enough duration to have it on all the time.
[*]Enveloping Cocoon (Spell) - This will let you turn the save of any number of nasty spells (Miasma and Baleful Polymorph being the nastiest) into a Reflex save, essentially, or just tie up one enemy that doesn't have a light/natural weapon handy (including incorporeal foes).
[*]Find the Path - Never, ever, EVER be lost.
[*]Fire Seeds - Excellent trap spell when used to make holly berry bombs. Couple it with some sort of fire resistance or immunity and you have a killer emanation-from-yourself nuke.
[*]Flames of Purity (CD) / Fires of Purity (Spell) - A hefty melee damage buff, plus Flame Shield lite. Note that, while this spell is three levels higher than Venomfire and only adds one point per caster level instead of d6, it's still a good spell. That's how silly Venomfire is.
[*]Greater Dispel Magic - Unlike mages and clerics, druids very rarely lose caster levels, so this is often a worthwhile spell to prep.
[*]Greater Scrying - Scrying without the long casting time and relatively short duration; the minor spells you can cast through the sensor aren't that useful.
[*]Liveoak - Handy if you need a Treant to guard your camp or home. The casting time and casting limitations limit its general usefulness, though.
[*]Mummify (Sand) - Save or die. Plus, it's not death magic.
[*]Spellstaff - One extra spell slot, of whatever level you can cast. Clerics with Miracle have no reason not to duplicate this very handy spell.
[*]Superior Resistance (Sav/Spell) - +6 on all saves, all day. Its utility is obvious. (Spell Compendium upped the level, but also the duration. It's still worth it, unlike the pounding Major Resistance took.)
[*]Tortoise Shell (CD/Spell) - Basically, Greater Barkskin. Not as good as Greater Luminous Armor, but is natural armor instead of armor.
[*]Valiant Steed (BoED) - Calls a Unicorn or Pegasus that serves you for an entire year.[/list][/list]
[list][*]7th Level:
[list][*]Constricting Chains (BoED) - Whatever it is, it's entangled and can't move. No save, no SR. Unless it has at least a +20 Escape Artist mod or a 34 Strength, it's staying stuck unless it wears down the chains with attacks (and half of that damage is in turn redirected to the chained target). Mind the Sacrifice cost, though (which doesn't take effect until the spell
ends).
[*]Cry of Ysgard (BoED) - Calls 2d4 defenders of Ysgard that serve for a year.
[*]Death By Thorns (BoVD) - The Corruption cost is very painful, but this will take the target out of the fight, no matter what. Obviously an evil spell.
[*]Heal - Its uses are obvious.
[*]Rain of Roses (BoED) - Continuing Wisdom damage over an area, to evil creatures only. Great if you can limit the target's mobility, as the Wis damage doesn't allow a save.
[*]True Seeing - Magic bullet for illusions, invisibility, and shapechanging.
[*]Word of Balance (Und/Spell) - Somewhat unreliable because of the odd alignment restrictions, but very powerful when it works.[/list][/list]
[list][*]8th Level:
[list][*]Frostfell (Frost) - Caster level/20' cubes freeze, and anyone in this area rolls a Fort save or turns to ice (and still takes caster/d6 frostburn damage if they save). Think of it as shapable super druid Wail of the Banshee, with an extra heaping helping of awesome.
[*]Leonal's Roar (BoED) - Druidic Holy Word, plus some sonic damage. Sweet.
[*]Stormrage (Spell) - Flight, the ability to throw respectable lightning bolts, and immunity to projectile ranged attacks and wind effects of all kinds.
[*]Word of Recall - A quick escape spell, and one of the very few teleportation spells available to druids.[/list][/list]
[list][*]9th Level:
[list][*]Nature's Avatar (CD/Spell) - Very, very powerful animal buff, and now a swift spell. Cast it on your Animal Companion, and go to town.
[*]Shapechange - Broken spell, but you already know that. Ridiculously powerful, even if you don't abuse the Chronotyryn (FF) or Choker or Efreeti or Zodar (FF) or...well. You get the idea.
[*]Summon Elemental Monolith (CArc/Spell) - This spell is more of a Spirit Shaman or Sorc/Wiz thing (because of the potential for Spirit Companion or Sonorous Hum or Familiar Concentration spell concentration abuse), but it can be useful for straight druids. The elemental monoliths are ridiculously powerful, especially given the very high save DCs of the whirlwind and vortex abilities of air and water monoliths.
[*]Tsunami (Spell) - The fight is over. This spell will end anyone smaller than Gargantuan who can't immediately get out of the way of the 40-ft-high wave. The spell component is rather expensive, however.
[*]Undermaster (Spell) - Awesome power indeed. This gives you a whole variety of great spell-likes, some of which aren't even on the druid list.[/list][/list]
-----
SUMMONING:
Druids have the ability to spontaneously cast Summon Nature's Ally, making memorizing the spells pointless. Given the short duration of these spells and the disposable nature of summoned creatures, you're going to want to use them as distraction and cannon fodder. Speak With Animals is especially handy when you're summoning animals, as it allows you to direct them to flank, concentrate on particular foes, or do other useful things other than "attack closest foe or biggest threat."
[list][*]Level 1:
[list][*]Wolf - Not much worth summoning at this level, so the wolf is it.[/list]
[*]Level 2:
[list][*]Crocodile - Unless the foe is small enough to grapple, have it slap with its tail.
[*]Hippogriff - A little less hard-hitting than a croc, but it flies and you can talk to it. No animal buffs, though. (Bonus style points for having it grapple a foe and fly up until the spell runs out.)[/list]
[*]Level 3:
[list][*]d3 Crocodiles - An ad-hoc swarm of crocs is great for shutting down spellcasters or other weaker, grappleable or low-AC foes.
[*]Dire Wolf - Other than the low AC, this is an all-round combat superstar.[/list]
[*]Level 4:
[list][*]d3 Dire Wolves - Dire Wolves hit hard enough and have enough HP to make them useful in numbers.
[*]Brown Bear - Hits hard enough to be on the front line, and grapples spellcasters and such. Oh yeah.
[*]Giant Crocodile - Compared to the Brown Bear, it has one big bite instead of multiple medium hits, with better grappling to make up for the lesser damage. Whether you use this or Brown Bear is a matter of style.
[*]Tiger - Another Brown Bear alternative. Slightly less damage in a straight fight and a slightly lower grapple check, but does more damage when charging or when in a grapple.
[*]Unicorn - Summon Unicorns for on-the-spot healing. Three uses of CLW, a use of CMW, a use of Neutralize Poison, and at-will Detect Evil. Plus, it can bypass DR X/magic and is smart enough to talk to.
[*]Yellow Musk Creeper (FF) - A very unusual summon, Yellow Musk Creepers are super-tough (good HP plus Regeneration), have Blindsight, and can use their Musk Puff ability to enthrall and devour anything with a bad Fort save. Just don't expect them to do any straight slugging, with their weak attacks, or keep up with fast-moving foes, due to their near-inability to move.[/list]
[*]Level 5:
[list][*]d3 Brown Bears (or Giant Crocodiles or Tigers) - A pack of grapplers can shut down many foes and outstrip even a single Polar Bear.
[*]Large Elemental - This is where Elementals start to get good. Earth Elementals will be your general-purpose tanks (although Fire Elementals can fill this role equally well), and double as caster-killers if you have Rashemi Elemental Summoning (UE). Air Elementals are great for shutting down swarms of mooks, fliers smaller than they are, and casters, but aren't quite as hard-hitting as the other Elementals. (Remember, a Large or larger Air Elemental in Whirlwind form counts as a storm for Call Lightning and Call Lightning Storm.)
[*]Rhinocerous - Very deadly if summoned with room to charge an enemy.[/list]
[*]Level 6:
[list][*]Huge Elemental - A single Huge Elemental is worth more than three smaller ones. Keep using this in the same way you used the Large ones.
[*]Large Storm Elemental (MM3) - Think of it as a Fireball and a summon, all in one. Storm Elementals aren't quite the fighters the other Elementals are, but the first turn they are summoned, they do 12d6 damage to everything in 60 feet (plus 4d4 nonlethal to a single target) instead of attacking normally. Make sure you speak Auran to keep it from blasting your allies, or else be careful where you summon it.
[*]Dire Bear - Tears casters to bits. Great for anything that can't handle its +23 grapple mod, not so great for anything else.
[*]Elephant - Raw damage machine. Not as tough as a huge Earth Elemental, but hits very hard or tramples mooks.
[*]Oread (FF) - Not a melee monster, but has an awesome array of spells, including Transmute Rock to Mud, Stone Shape, and Earthquake(!). Don't ever bother prepping Earthquake if you can just summon an Oread.
[*]Pixie - Not much in melee, but can cast Dispel Magic (poorly but repeatedly) and Detect Thoughts for you.[/list]
[*]Level 7:
[list][*]d3 Huge Elementals - Greater Elementals are only marginally better than their Huge counterparts.
[*]Huge Storm Elemental (MM3) - A Huge Storm Elemental is significantly better than even two or three Large ones.
[*]Pixie (w/sleep arrows and Otto's Irresistible Dance) - You're casting a 7th-level spell to summon a creature that can cast an 8th-level spell (Otto's Irresistible Dance), then keep fighting after that. Do the math.[/list]
[*]Level 8:
[list][*]d3 Greater Elementals - A pack of Greater Elementals far outstrips any of the limited choices at this level.
[*]Greater Storm Elemental (MM3) - Definitely better than a Huge Storm Elemental.
[*]Sporebat (FF) - A very specialized choice, this is good for Enervating foes you can't otherwise hurt. Otherwise, they're pretty wimpy.[/list]
[*]Level 9:
[list][*]d4+1 Greater Elementals - Elder Elementals are marginal at best.
[*]d3 Greater Storm Elementals - Think of it as spontaneous druidic Meteor Swarm, only it leaves Greater Elementals in its wake. A fun tactic: have them stagger their use of Thunder And Lightning to heal each other if they take damage.[/list][/list]
AquaticIf you're underwater, you might want to instead summon...
[list][*]Level 1:
[list][*]Porpoise - Not exactly a combat dynamo, but it's something. Blindsight is handy in the dark depths at the ocean's floor (I always wanted to use that line) or against invisible foes.[/list]
[*]Level 2:
[list][*]Crocodile - Just as good in the water as it is on dry land.[/list]
[*]Level 3:
[list][*]d3 Crocodiles - None of the other options are worth fiddling with.[/list]
[*]Level 4:
[list][*]Giant Crocodile - A great all-rounder, especially underwater.
[*]Sea Cat - The underwater equivalent to the Brown Bear, only with Rend instead of Improved Grab.[/list]
[*]Level 5:
[list][*]d3 Giant Crocodiles - A pack of killer crocodiles is still your best combat summon.
[*]Large Water Elemental - The Water Elementals don't become as dominating as their Earth equivalents on land, but Vortex shuts down spellcasters and mooks cold and DR 5/- frustrates lesser foes.
[*]Orca Whale - Lacks the Improved Grab of the Giant Crocodile, but has Blindsight and more HP.[/list]
[*]Level 6:
[list][*]Huge Water Elemental - NOW we're talking. Huge size is when Water Elementals come into their own, and get the AC and HP to stand (swim?) on the front line while maintaining the ability to shut down lesser combatants with a Vortex.[/list]
[*]Level 7:
[list][*]d3 Huge Water Elementals - Greater Elementals only get marginal improvements over their Huge predecessors.[/list]
[*]Level 8:
[list][*]d3 Greater Water Elementals - Like Earth Elementals, but underwater, get it?[/list]
[*]Level 9:
[list][*]d4+1 Greater Water Elementals - For the same reasons you were summoning them last level.
[*]Octopus Tree (FF) - The Fiend Folio strikes again. This critter has nine competent attacks, Improved Grab and Swallow Whole, a (mostly useless) frightful presence ability, Quickened spell-likes, and Regeneration to boot.[/list][/list]
Greenbound:If you took Greenbound (LEoF), things are a bit different. Obviously, you're going to want to summon animals, and the bonuses make multiple lower-level creatures, particularly grapplers, more powerful. As such, you'll spend a lot of time summoning d3 grappler creatures. Remember, you can still summon utility creatures like Unicorns or Pixies. They just don't benefit from Greenbound.
PROTIP: If you cast Speak With Plants, you can have your Greenbound summons cast Entangle or Wall of Thorns for you. Take advantage of this!
[list][*]Level 1: Wolf
[*]Level 2: d3 Wolves
[*]Level 3: d3 Crocodiles
[*]Level 4: d3 Dire Wolves
[*]Level 5: d3 Brown Bears or Giant Crocodiles or Tigers
[*]Level 6: d3 Polar Bears
[*]Level 7: d3 Dire Bears
[*]Level 8: d3 Dire Tigers or d4+1 Dire Bears or d3 Dire Rhinocerouses (FF)
[*]Level 9: d3 Rocs[/list]
VerminIf you took Children of Winter (EbCS), I recommend this list instead:
This list is still in progress.[list][*]Level 1:
[*]Level 2:
[*]Level 3:
[*]Level 4:
[*]Level 5:
[*]Level 6:
[*]Level 7:
[*]Level 8:
[*]Level 9:[/list]
Druids also have access to two other chains of summoning spells: Summon Desert Ally in Sandstorm, and Conjure Ice Beast in Frostburn. They're both more or less useless, not least because they don't summon animals (instead, both of them summon creatures with a template that turns them into constructs) and because druids can't cast the spells spontaneously. Optimal use of these two spell chains is easy: they suck, don't use them! (Try saying that advice in a Dr. Venture voice.)
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EQUIPMENT:Yeah. I need to do more with this, and make it less out of date.
Note that Magical Locations, mentioned in DMG2 and later books, are nice for druids, since they don't go away when you Wild Shape. Garden of Nature's Rage (DMG2) gives a Wild Shape-specific boost, for what it's worth.
A Vestment of Verminshape (DMG2) lets you take vermin Wild Shapes. Vermin sort of suck, though.
Shifter Braid of Spellstrike (RoE) gives you a quickened buff of third level or less for 500 gp a use, if you're a shifter.
Wilding Clasps (MoF) and Wilding armor got a lot better after the Polymorph errata.
Mouthpick weapons (LoM) are silly but useful in Wild Shape.
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BUILDS OTHER THAN PHB DRUID 20Druids, unlike many other classes, do just fine without ever touching a single multiclass dip, prestige class, or substitute level, and by and large, this guide assumes you're building a Druid 20. While that's probably the ideal build for versatility and pure power, multiclassing offers a few unusual options.
The most common variant uses a prestige class to improve on Wild Shape. Nature's Warrior and Warshaper (both CW) aren't usually worth the caster level hits on their own, but they're good suffixes for a build that substantially sacrifices casting for some sort of major Wild Shape power up. Master of Many Forms (CAdv) lets you Wild Shape into pretty much anything by the time you're done with all 10 levels, but you lose all your caster levels over those ten levels. (Arismir has written a full guide to MoMF
here.) Similarly, Planar Shepard (FoE) gives you a series of thematic boosts, among them the ability to Wild Shape into any Magical Beast, Outsider, or Elemental from a chosen favored plane. Plus, it comes with full casting. (Tweedledope has written a full guide to this silly awesome class
here.)
Another, relatively recently introduced, variation is the totally-Wild-Shape-free druid, by using substitution levels to replace Wild Shape with some other ability, usually ongoing combat buffs. Chief among these is Player's Handbook 2's Shapeshift, which exchanges Wild Shape for a simplified Wild Shape-like set of buffs, by transforming into generic animalistic forms. These are buffs on your natural stats rather than replacing your stats Polymorph-style, so your physical stats actually mean something, you can turn it on and off at will, you can pick what your form looks like, and you get it from level 1. On the other hand, Natural Spell doesn't work, you lose a ton of versatility, Small druids get boned in melee, and the forms aren't nearly as strong as plain old Wild Shape. Shapeshift isn't more powerful than Wild Shape for the vast majority of druids (save in the limited case of larger-than-Medium druids; GMs take note!), but it is much simpler. Rather than going into great detail here, I'm just going to link Arismir's
handy guide.
Unearthed Arcana has a Wild-Shape-less druid variant, which trades Wild Shape for a bunch of random, not-terribly-amazing abilties taken from the monk and ranger. In addition to the fact that there's little synergy (Wis-to-AC for a class that can wear medium armor?), this variant is rather lacking in a coherent theme. While it isn't strictly bad, I can't recommend it.
Also subpar are both of the other Wild-Shape-less substitute levels, Aspect of the Dragon (DMagic) and the fifth Shifter druid sub level. Aspect of the Dragon burns up your Wild Shape uses far too fast at mid levels, and the Shifter substitute level is subpar compared to the claws or bite of a comparable Wild Shape form.
Still more to comeSubstitute class levelsClass-based sub levels are dealt with in the races section, above. As for the rest, I'll get to it later.
[list][*]Spontaneous Rejuvenation (PHB2) - This level, taken at first level, trades your ability to spontaneously cast Summon Nature's Ally for the ability to give the party Fast Healing. The downside is that, unlike the Vigor chain, you can't abuse metamagic, but on the upside, it doesn't draw AOOs and can be used in Wild Shape form without Natural Spell.
[*]Planar Druids (PlHB) - This is a mixed bag. Resisting outsiders vs. resisting fey, immunity to planar effects instead of immunity to venom, and countering summons vs. A Thousand Faces are all very situational. It will depend largely on what you face in your games.
[*]Champions of Valor sub levels - I don't have this book. Until I get it, there's a thread
here.[/list]
Prestige classes:Totally in progress. Still working on this one, and advice would be appreciated; it may be a tad out of date.Druid 20 is good. While most of this guide assumes you're going for straight level 20 Wild Shaping druid, there are other options.
Good:
These prestige classes retain the druidic spellcasting and shapeshifting, possibly in altered or reprioritized form. You can fit these into a character who still plays essentially similarly to the basic Druid 20, and using them doesn't invalidate the bulk of the advice in this guide.
[list][*]Moonspeaker (RoE), which is restricted to Shifter and may or may not be thematically incompatible with Eberron Initiate feats (ask your GM) trades off four levels of Wild Shape for a bunch of spell enhancement, particularly with shifting. Tealgorthan wrote an excellent guide for it, available
here.
[*]Planar Shepherd (FoE) - Borkedy borked borked broken. It turns your Wild Shape into Shapechange for any of a variety of Outsiders from your chosen plane (and bear in mind that demons, devils, and archons are all from the same plane in Eberron). Tweedledope has a quite handy guide to why this silly prestige class is crazy awesome and how to make the most of it,
here.[/list]
Weird:
These prestige classes are dramatically different, and mostly beyond the scope of this guide.
[list][*]Arcane Hierophant (RotW) - Wizard/druid blended class. I've never fiddled with this, and I don't think a guide has been written. (If someone has a guide, please point it out to me.)
[*]Fochluchan Lyrist (CAdv) - Bard/druid blended class, with bardic music, bardic magic, and druidic magic. It really needs its own guide, which Iaimeki has written and can be found
here.
[*]Master of Many Forms (CAdv) - This slowly turns your Wild Shape into Shapechange lite. It's interesting, but it's a net loss of power because of the total lack of spellcasting over the course of ten levels. Haterkatze has updated his guide for the Polymorph errata, and it's available
here.
[*]Daggerspell Shaper (CAdv) - This isn't nearly as popular as its counterpart, Daggerspell Mage, but it does have potential. (This is assuming you allow it to advance maximum HD for Wild Shaping; by RAW it only advances duration, which makes it pretty useless).[/list]
Bad:
These suck.
This section has been removed, since pretty much all other PrCs suck. Basically, if it takes away caster levels or doesn't give you Wild Shape, don't mess with it. And don't ever, ever, ever take Blighter.-----
CONTROVERSIAL OPTIONSThis is an incomplete section, mostly cut and paste out of notes. It's mostly up, here, to spark conversation.There are lots of iffy-but-technically legal tricks with the druid, as well as the usual set of poorly-worded-and-thus-up-to-interpretation abilities, feats, items, and spells. As such, these strategies are based in these commonly-house-ruled rules or grey-area interpretations. As GMs are likely to close loopholes or disagree with grey-area interpretations, these strategies have been separated from the guide as a whole, since some of them invalidate more-generally-applicable advice.
As with anything but especially in these cases, talk to your GM before you make a character that relies on a certain interpretation in any of these cases.
One of the most infamous examples is the Alter Self/Polymorph Inheritances loophole. Rules of the Game (
link goes here) and the FAQ (
link goes here) clarified that the effects of Alter Self/Polymorph are each handled separately instead of as a unified whole, which means that abilities that aren't specifically removed as part of a change in form don't actually go away until the duration of that Alter Self, Polymorph, or Wild Shape effect expires. The most immediately obvious of the abilities you gain without losing when you change into a new shape are racial bonus feats.
The practical implication of this is that A Thousand Faces and Elemental Wild Shape are nearly unending fountains of bonus feats. For example, if you wanted Multiattack, you'd just turn into a troglodyte, then Wild Shape into whatever form you want while still retaining Multiattack from your ongoing session of Thousand Faces (Troglodyte). If you wanted proficiency in the longsword and longbow, boom, turn into an elf. This becomes especially abusive when you gain Elemental Wild Shape, which explicitly gives you all of the bonus feats of your chosen Elemental form, not just the bonus feats.
Another implication of the RotG/FAQ clarification is that immunities granted by type are kept despite changing into a new type. (This also comes up when your native type is Construct (Living) or Plant, in the case of Warforged or Volodni druids.) This means that high-level druids will often use Elemental Wild Shape to turn into, say, an Air Elemental, then use regular Wild Shape to turn into their favorite general-use form, gaining both all of the immunities attendant to being an Elemental and all of the feats of an Air Elemental, while enjoying the benefits of, say, Dire Polar Bear form.
Many GMs are likely to disallow any of these abuses, by simply treating changes in form as single effects with many aspects. (This interpretation means a new Wild Shape or other Polymorph-like effect cancels instead of overlapping another, per the text in the PHB about spells with similar but exclusive effects superceding each other according to the order cast.) In this case, taking a new form with Wild Shape negates all of the benefits of previous forms, be they feats, immunities, or whatever. Given the many possible abuses and extreme complexity of the strict rules as written, this simplifying house rule is exceedingly common.
Ongoing discussion of how Wild Shape and A Thousand Faces stack and interact is
ongoing. (That thread is really old now.)
Does anyone know if this still works? It may be out of date.
Another controversial point is whether or not feats that are not special techniques but instead gross alterations of the character's body are kept while in alternate forms. (For example, the Mithral/Ironwood/Adamantine Body feats that Warforged can take, the Aberrant Feats in Lords of Madness, or the Draconic Heritage feats in Draconomicon. This controversy also extends to certain prestige classes, such as the Dragon Disciple and Acolyte of the Skin, but obviously that isn't as applicable to druids.) By the strict rules as written, they are abilities gained from class levels and should be kept no matter what form you're in, but some GMs aren't comfortable with Warforged druids Wild Shaping into Brown Bears with wooden plates in their skin, or Aberrant druids turning into Dire Lions with oddly extended limbs, for either mechanical or flavor reasons. As such, any time these sorts of feats are mentioned above, it has been noted as a controversial option, not necessarily useful or available in all games.
Another controversial "exploit" isn't actually a loophole or a grey area, simply a trick GMs are likely to disallow. Your items meld into your new form when you Wild Shape, but you can always drop them, then pick them up again after Wild Shaping and put them back on. By doing this, if you Wild Shape into a roughly humanoid, medium-sized form, you can keep all your equipment, including your armor and weapons. Given this, Wild Shape into a Legendary Ape (MM2) and kick some butt as an angry, super-strong ape while wearing all your usual armor and wielding your usual club. A Legendary Ape is even (arguably) close enough to humanoid for a Hat of Disguise to work, allowing you to look normal while actually having the strength and toughness of an ape. (Granted, you can't talk, but there's got to be a tradeoff, right?) If your GM does allow this, the tooluser forms in the Wild Shape section are the forms for which this technique is practical for a medium-sized druid.
Another controversy is more interesting in a historical sense than a practical one, as the spells involved are no longer so strong as to be must-haves. The spells Brambles and Spikes, both originally from Defenders of the Faith (and reprinted in Complete Divine) both make mention of "melee weapons with wooden striking surfaces." It was (and still is) a matter of some debate as to what constitutes a "striking surface"; does the edge of an Ironwood scimitar suffice? Does the head of an Bronzewood spear work? In practice, this controversy is easy enough to sidestep; instead of using some sort of weird Ironwood/Bronzewood/Bluewood/whatever slashing or piercing weapon, get a club (plus, it works with Shillelagh). You're usually not missing out on a lot of damage.
Druids of Mielikki and weapon proficiencies - Was this ever addressed after FRCS? Do we know for sure if druids of Mielikki are proficient in all weapons or not?Monk's Belt and Wilding armor - Too lazy to write it now - Also mention speed reduction/armor nonproficiency penalties/etc. and Wilding armorKarate bears - The interaction between IUS and natural attacks - this deserves a mention in the multiclassing/PrC section with monk1/druidXMeditations on the difference between natural attacks and unarmed attacks - Again, mostly as a historical note, as few abuses are left.-----
Thanks to Alansmithee, Arismir, Blibdoolpoolp, Encard, fnord, gamehag, Gharlane, Inkubus, Lilt, Part-Human2, PhoenixInferno, Sang-Drax, Sasu, Snow Savant, Tealgorthian, and everyone else that contributed advice. This sort of thing is always building on the work of others, so definite thanks to Uberling and Yekoj and everyone who contributed to their druid guides, as well.
