The Gaming Den

After reading Frank & K's Tome stuff, I became a pretty big fan. I started writing up this druid class for my own use, but I thought I'd share it here to get some feedback and comments from those more familiar to game balancing.

So here it is.

Hit Die: d8
Class Skills: Balance, Climb, Concentration, Disguise, Escape Artist, Handle Animal, Heal, Hide, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (Nature), Listen, Spellcraft, Survival, Swim
Skills/Level: 4+Int
BAB: 3/4
Saves: Fortitude: Good; Reflex: Poor; Will: Good

Lv Class Feature
1 Spellcasting; Animal Affinity; Combat Form; Natural Finesse
2 Thick Hide
3 Prowl
4 Imbued Claws; Feral Aggression +1d6
5 Fleet of Foot
6 Swift Swipe (1)
7 Infectious Bite
8 Feral Aggression +2d6
9 Combat Prowess
10 Leaf on the Wind
11 Swift Swipe (2)
12 Feral Aggression +3d6
13 Improved Prowl
14 Improved Infectious Bite
15 Improved Combat Prowess
16 Swift Swipe (3); Feral Aggression +4d6
17 Spirit of the Earth
18
19 Tooth and Nail
20 Feral Aggression +5d6

Proficiencies: Simple weapons, Light armor, medium armor

Spellcasting: The Druid is a Divine Spellcaster with the spells per day progression as a Bard. A Druid knows all of the spells on her list, and must prepare them ahead of time. To cast a Druid spell, she must have a Wisdom score of at least 10+ spell level. The DC of the Druid's spells and bonus spells are Wisdom Based.

Animal Affinity: At first level the Druid gains Animal Affinity as a bonus feat.

Combat Form: At first level the Druid may spend a standard action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity to assume or drop a Combat Form, conferring bonuses and physical alterations to the Druid. When the Druid transforms, she does not gain any enhancement bonuses from equipment, and attacks are made as natural attacks. While in Combat Form the Druid gains the following bonuses depending on her Druid level:

1st: +2 Str; +2 Dex; +5 Natural Armor; 1d6
3rd: +4 Str; +4 Dex; +6 Natural Armor; 1d6
6th: +6 Str; +6 Dex; +8 Natural Armor; Considered Large; 1d8
9th: +8 Str; +8 Dex; +9 Natural Armor; Considered Large; 1d8
12th: +10 Str; +10 Dex; +11 Natural Armor; Considered Large; 1d8
15th: +12 Str; +12 Dex; +12 Natural Armor; Considered Huge; 2d6
18th: +14 Str; +14 Dex; +14 Natural Armor; Considered Huge; 2d6.

Natural Finesse: While in Combat Form, the Druid adds her Dex modifier to attack rolls rather than her Str modifier.

Thick Hide: At 2nd level, the Druid gains damage reduction equal to DR X/- where X is half her Druid level, rounded down.

Prowl: At 3rd level, the Druid may take an additional 5-foot step in any round when she doesn't perform any other movement other than a 5-foot step.

Feral Aggression: At 4th level, and every 4 levels thereafter, the Druid adds +1d6 on all damage rolls made as natural attacks.

Imbued Claws: At 4th level, the Druid's natural attacks are considered magic for the purposes of overcoming DR. At 8th level, the Druid's natural attacks are considered either Adamantine, Silver, Iron, Stone or Wood for the purposes of overcoming DR. The Druid must choose one of these attributes each time she enters her Combat Form.

Fleet of Foot: At 5th level, each time the Druid enters Combat Form, she may choose a movement mode that is usable only while in Combat Form, selected from the following:

• Burrow speed equal to 1/2 base land speed.
• Climb speed equal to 1/2 base land speed.
• Flight speed 60' (good).
• Swim speed 60'.
• Instead of gaining a new mode of movement the Druid may instead add 30' to her land speed.

Swift Swipe: At 6th level, the Druid may make an additional attack when making a full attack at her highest base attack bonus -5. At 11th and 16th level, the Druid gains a second and third additional attack when making a full attack. This ability does not stack with Haste effects or anything else that would grant extra attacks.

Infectious Bite: At 7th level the Druid has poisony bites and claws and whatever. If the Druid hits with at least one attack in a round the creature struck must make a fortitude save (DC 10+1/2 level+Con modifier) or suffer from one of the following effects:

• Poison (initial and secondary 1d6 Dex)
• Disease (initial and secondary 1d6 Str)
• Bleed: The creature takes 1d6 damage per round and moves at half speed. Lasts for a number of rounds equal to half the Druid's level.

• At 14th level the Druid's Poison may do Con damage instead of Dex
• At 14th level the Druid's Bleed increases to 2d6 per round, and the creature hit suffers 20% spell failure as if they were wearing armor impeding their spellcasting.

Combat Prowess: At 9th level, the Druid is more attuned with her Combat Form. Each time the Druid enters her Combat Form, she may gain either Pounce, Multiattack or Improved Grab.

Leaf on the Wind: At 10th level, the Druid may cast any spell two spell levels lower than the highest level spell she can cast as a swift action if she chooses herself as the target.

Improved Prowl: At 13th level, the Druid may take a third 5-foot step in any round where she doesn't make any movement other than 5-foot steps (including one granted by her Prowl ability).

Improved Combat Prowess: At 15th level, the Druid becomes closer with her bestial nature. Each time the Druid enters her Combat Form, she may gain either Blindsight 60' or a Trample attack.

Spirit of the Earth: At 17th level, the earth itself watches over the soul of the Druid. If the Druid dies but her body is preserved, she returns to life in 1d4 days with no loss of level.

Tooth and Nail: At 19th level, the Druid attacks with an unprecedented ferocity. If the Druid rolls a critical threat on a natural attack while in her Combat Form, she may make an additional attack at her iterative attack bonus on that same round. This can trigger wether the attack was a standard action or part of a full attack, but can only occur once per round.

Druid Spell List
0th: Create Water, Cure Minor Wounds, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Flare, Guidance, Know Direction, Light, Mending, Purify Food and Drink, Read Magic, Resistance, Virtue

1st: Cure Light Wounds; Beastland Ferocity; Endure Elements; Entangle; Jump; Longstrider; Magic Fang; Obscuring Mist; Omen of Peril; Speak with Animals

2nd: Align Fang; Barkskin; Bear's Endurance; Bite of the Wererat; Bull's Strength; Cat's Grace; Cure Moderate Wounds; Darkvision; Fog Cloud; Gust of Wind; Reduce Animal; Resist Energy; Restoration, Lesser; Scent; Spider Climb

3rd: Bite of the Werewolf; Cure Serious Wounds; Dispel Magic; Freedom of Movement; Jagged Tooth; Magic Fang, Greater; Neutralize Poison; Protection from Energy; Remove Disease; Resistance, Greater; Tremorsense; Water Breathing

4th: Air Walk; Animal Growth; Antiplant Shell; Atonement; Bite of the Wereboar; Cure Critical Wounds; Commune with Nature; Reincarnate; Scrying; Tree Stride

5th: Cure Light Wounds, Mass; Antilife Shell; Bear's Endurance, Mass; Bite of the Weretiger; Bull's Strength, Mass; Cat's Grace; Mass; Death Ward; Dispel Magic, Greater; Find the Path; Hallow; Unhallow; Resistance, Superior; Stoneskin;

6th: Cure Moderate Wounds, Mass; Bite of the Werebear; Heal; Nature's Avatar; True Seeing; Whirlwind; Regenerate

So-
Before I get ripped a new asshole because I don't know shit about game balance and whatever (and I anticipate that- this is my first attempt at designing something like this), here are a few of my own thoughts on issues I'm not sure aren't addressed yet, or need fixing:

• Equipment while in Combat Form: You don't get the enhancement bonuses from equipment while transformed, but being able to use the special abilities of equipment still makes them desired, or possibly necessary to keep up with other melee classes. I am concerned with the player not giving a shit about items because they're a fucking bear or whatever.

• Stat bonuses in Combat Form: I tried to make these scale to fit bonuses other classes would gain from equipment. Forcing Weapon Finesse means that Strength bonuses only really mean a few points of damage per attack, and big bonuses to grappling or whatever else. Does this throw shit out of whack or does it provide an interesting niche feature for the class?

• Natural Armor scaling: I don't know very well what kind of attack bonuses monsters level appropriate monsters have. I wanted to keep AC relevant to the druid, but are the natural armor values I posted too high, low, or moderately acceptable?

• Spell list: I imagine this still needs refinement. I obviously designed this to be a more combat oriented version of the druid with some buffs and utility spells to keep up. Does this, as it appears now, appear to be a sufficient spell list, or one that is either too powerful/bloated, or one that is too skimpy/weak?

Related: I am typing up a prestige class that works similar to Sublime Chord so that the rest of the Druid spells can be utilized, if desired in a game where this version of druid exists. Thoughts/suggestions?

• Level Eighteen: Only level missing something cool and kinda sticks out.

I'm sure there are other things missing or in need of review. I didn't pay much attention to the skill list, for example. I'm sure you guys will find more problems, but that's kind of the point of me posting this here.

This is pretty shitty just across the board. Pretty much everything in the class is "as previous level, but we're going to add some more numbers/dice/additional effect on a hit that you don't have any choice over."

Scrap it, don't rape the RNG, and make there be more choices in the class. As is, your only choice at all in combat is whether you want to get into melee and "I full attack" (which is the same every round) or cast some spells (like bite of the werebear stacking on your wildshape to make for more RNG raping).

CHOICES MOTHERFUCKER. People want them. Vertical power alone does not a good class make.

Scrap, drop power level by five, and triple the number of viable choices at each level for any given round.

Out of curiosity, how do the combat choices of this class compare to that of a tome Barbarian? It seems to me that the options are similar: "Get in melee and full attack. Eventually you get to stun guys and dispel shit." Unless of course you think the tome Barbarian is a shitty class too, in which case I can definitely understand you thinking this Druid is shitty (understand, I'm not even saying it isn't. I'm just trying to understand your logic). Also, can the problem of options in combat not be solved by changing the spell list?

As far as the "Bite of" spells raping the RNG, let's use the example of Bite of the Werebear.

In terms of AC, at level 16 when you first can cast it.
10 (base)+ 7 (Natural, BotWB)+ 1 (Dex, BotWB)+ 6 (Dex, Wildshape)+ 12 (Natural, Wildshape)= 36, or 37-39 depending on starting Dex score. No enhancement bonuses to armor or stats from gear, no armor bonuses from armor. So is that number too high for level 16?

In terms of Hit bonuses
12 (BAB)+ 1 (Dex, BotWB)+ 6 (Dex, Wildshape) for +20-22 to hit depending on starting Dex.

This is also spending a standard action to cast your spell and a standard action to wildshape (I understand you can reduce that). Actually, I think it might need a forced end to Wildshape so you're not running around that way all day. Anyway, does that really warrant scrapping the whole thing? Thanks for the input either way.

Animal Affinity - Take that out, waste of space.

Imbued Claws - Those aren't good since magic fang is better.

Tooth and Nail - Wow that's not good at all. A one in 20 chance of getting another attack once per round.

Prowl doesn't really help with anything since there is nothing to go with it.

It looks like this class is going in more of a direction of a Tome Barbarian. Some of the options at higher level are just not good. Most of the class is just numbers. Another problem looks like it is taking thing form some of the lesser class (monk and bard) and trying to do the whole two crappy parts together make a decent sub schtick.

Leress wrote:Most of the class is just numbers. Another problem looks like it is taking thing form some of the lesser class (monk and bard) and trying to do the whole two crappy parts together make a decent sub schtick.

This

I honestly thing that Druid should be divided into two classes, a nature-themed spellcaster and a shapeshifting class.

Grek wrote:I honestly thing that Druid should be divided into two classes, a nature-themed spellcaster and a shapeshifting class.

Either of which can now have an animal companion thanks to that one [Leadership] feat Frank made a while ago; Beastmaster or something.

EDIT: Derp.

FrankTrollman wrote: Monster Rancher [Skill] [Leadership]
You can breed and train a large number of crazy beasts. This feat scales to your ranks in Handle Animal.
Benefits: You can use Handle Animal as if it were Diplomacy when dealing with Magical Beasts and Dragons. You can do similarly with Aberrations and Plants with an Intelligence Score that is less than 9.
4: You can muster a group of followers. Your leadership score is your ranks in Handle Animal plus any synergy bonuses you gt to that skill. Your followers can, and must be monsters.
9: You have a loyal cohort that is a monster of some kind. A cohort is an intelligent and loyal creature with a CR at least 2 less than your character level. Cohorts gain levels when you do.
14: You know what any monster is unless it is disguised by illusion, and you can look up its stat line in the appropriate monster book when devising your strategies.
19: Once per day, you can reroll a saving throw allowed by a Supernatural Ability.