Druid Decisions for a Pirate Campaign

[Carcharoth]

Cross-posting this from Nifty, since some of the regulars here are strong in Druid-fu.

That's right, my prayers have been answered: someone is finally DM'ing a Pirate campaign! That said, I found out about this a little bit late, so traditionally piratical roles have mostly been filled. It's an online pbp game, and the group seems to need some sort of healing, and maybe some artillery. The closest thing to a wizard is a Warlock, and there is no Cleric. Druid seems like a good fit, and I have a decent story to explain why one would tag along with a band of bloodthirsty pirates.

The game is 3.5, and I have most books available to me (although no BoED or VD, nor the Psionics stuff, nor Sandstorm / Stormwrack, which would be nice). I have a few questions for those with more Druid play experience.

To begin, is a 1-level Monk dip worthwhile? We're starting at 10th level but with half gold (18,000 gp). I figure the major tradeoff for any non-Druid level is the loss of a possible Wild Shape HD, along with a spellcasting level. When Wildshaped, I'm going to be losing functionality of all my gear anyhow (right?), so why not get that nice Wis bonus to AC?

The game is 36 point buy. I'm leaning towards a high starting Wis (18), followed by Int (14), Con (14), and Cha (12). 10's in everything else. I know the Constitution will get replaced with the rest of my physical stats when Wildshaped, but it's nice to have just in case of human-formed emergencies, which I see being most of the time. Stat raises will go into Wis twice, bringing it up to 20. If I take a 1 level Monk dip, I'll get 5 AC out of that, and never have to worry about armor. Improved Grapple is a nice bonus, since many Wildshape forms have Improved Grab as it is.

What to pick for race? Human seems an obvious choice for the feat and skills, but Elf seems decent too, especially if I want a 1-level dip into Seeker of the Misty Isle (Complete Divine), which seems tailor-made for Druids, with the exception of no Wild Shape. We'll keep that on the back burner for the moment though.

Spells! I haven't really combed through all the 3.5 splat books for Druidy goodness yet, but I'm sure there's some great stuff in there. I'd like to stay away from Spikes / Brambles / Briar Web cheese, but moderate cheese is okay. Specifically, I remember a spell of 5th level or so, perhaps called Owl's Insight, that granted a nice Wis bonus (1/2 caster level?) Did that get reprinted?

Weather Control stuff will definitely come in handy for a pirate ship. I know there are about 15 storm / weather-related Druid spells, but some of them seem to suck for their levels (requiring Concentration maintenance, etc.).

Any feats I should definitely take? Natural Spell is obvious, and I'm thinking about Track, but other than that I'm at a loss for what really shines for a Druid. Are any of the improved movement feats worthwhile?

Picking an Animal Companion is kind of a doozy here. I lean towards one of the Sharks, although I'm not clear which one to choose. If I go for the Large Shark, for example, I'm missing out on a few HD increases and such that I'd get from the normal one.

As I mentioned, I only have 18,000 in equipment to work with, so I'd like to make the most of that. If I dip into Monk, I imagine the good stuff changes slightly. I also remember Wilding Clasps from 3.0 - did those get reprinted?

Finally, Wild Shape: what are forms I should look to use? This is one of the few campaigns where an Octo-Druid might be kosher - I've looked at the base MM animals, and Sharks and Squid in particular seem good for marine forms. Snakes, Crocs, and Whales are also decent. I'll probably go with Eagle or similar for aerial transport.

Where can I find a good source of more 3.5 animals? I'd like Dolphin, Swordfish, Barracuda forms if they exist, or Albatross, or anything else noteworthy.

Thanks in advance for any help!

[Username17]

To begin with, a 1 level dip in Monk is not worth while. Spending a feat on Improved Unarmed Strike is often worthwhile, but the substantial benefits are difficult enough to explain to people that you might want to shy away from The Octopus Fu route. A Monk's Belt, in the long run, is a very powerful addition to any Druid, but a level of Monk is just a waste of time.

As for Race, the obvious choices are:

Sea Kin (Races of Destiny): The favored class is Druid to remind you that these guys are wicked awesome. You don't get the bonus feat, but you do get the bonus skills of a human. Effectively you trade a feat for +2 on escape artist checks, proficiency with the Net and Trident, Low Light Vision, and a 30' swim speed.

Deep Halfling (Monster Manual): These guys are awesome at everything they do! Stone Cunning isn't all that for a pirate campaign, and darkvision isn't either, but you still get the attack bonuses, the save bonuses, and the dungeoneering bonuses aren't going to be a total loss. Even in a setting that is virtually custom tailored to make these guys not be the master race, they're still worth considering.

Vanara (Oriental Adventures): Monkey men PWN J00. They get a Wisdom bonus and a climb speed. What more do you want?

Forest Gnome (Monster Manual): The Rock Gnome is already pretty decent, the Forest Gnome is all that and a bag of chips. They get free Pass Without Trace, a Hide Bonus, and a bonus to hit Lizardfolk (which is a big deal in an aquatic campaign). All at the cost of... absolutely nothing.

Whisper Gnome (Races of Stone): The only thing that makes Druids really sad is that they can't spontaneously silence all other spellcasters while going a whuppin and a whompin on everyone in animalz form. The Whisper Gnome solves that problem nicely.

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Spells: Warp Wood. It makes a ship spring a leak. Boards are small objects, so it actually makes a ship spring one major leak per level, which means that you can turn any enemy craft into a salt shaker as a combat action.

For Splatbook stupidity, you want Complete Adventurer mostly, because that's the one that lets you get any sensory or skill ability that you feel like having.

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For feats, you can do he entire Octopus Fu shenanigans by 10th level if that's what you want to do. Alternately, you can go into grappling combat bullshit with surprising cheesosity.

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Animal Companions: The "dolphin" is called the "porpoise" and is in the Monster Manual. I know there's a difference, but the game stats should be the same. Basically, the rule is approximately that if you want an animal with a CR higher than 1, then you subtract (double the new CR - 1) from your druid level. So a CR 5 monster makes your 10th level Druid count as 1st level for the purposes of accumulating bonuses.

Vermin CR are batshit nuts, so consider that Eberron stuff that lets you have Vermin companions instead. Alternately, whip out the Dinosaurs from MM3, as their CRs are generally not well suited to getting a bunch of bonus hit dice.

-Username17