1st base class -- Spontaneous Druid

[For Valor]

BAB: Bad
Fort: Bad, Rfx: Bad, Will: Good

Same Spells/Day, and all Druid Spells are Spells Known. Same stuff w/Sylvan being a bonus language and not being able to wear metal armor.

Skill Points... I have no idea... I think 4 + Int is nice, but going to 2 + Int would make sense (since the Druid is going farther into Spells and away from everything else).

1: Nature's Teachings
2
3: Nature's Teachings
4
5: Nature's Teachings
6: Wild Shape (1/day)
7: Wild Shape (2/day)
8: Wild Shape (3/day)
9: Nature's Touch
10: Wild Shape (tiny)
11
12: Wild Shape (4/day)
13: Wild Shape (Large)
14: Nature's Touch
15: Timeless Body
16: Wild Shape (Plant)
17
18: Wild Shape (6/day)
19: Nature's Touch
20: Nature's Companion

Nature's Teachings: A Druid chooses one of the following each time they gain this (all are defined by the SRD: Druid, except for Track). You cannot take an ability multiple times.

• - nature sense
  - wild empathy
  - woodland stride
  - trackless step
  - resist nature's lure
  - Track (as a bonus feat. From the PHB)

Wild Shape: As per F&K's Maginomicon Polymorph Self Spell, though the Druid retains their Charisma, Intelligence, and Wisdom (though not the ability to speak or the extent of their languages -- that's up to the chosen monster). The monster must be an animal, elemental, or fey.

Nature's Touch: A Druid chooses one of the following each time they gain this (parentheticals for the items say where they are defined). You cannot take an ability multiple times.

• - Venom Immunity (SRD Druid)
  - A Thousand Faces (SRD Druid)
  - Exalted Wild Shape (A feat from the "Book of Exalted Deeds")
  - Natural Awareness (defined below)

Natural Awareness (from above): You gain a +2 insight bonus to Saving Throws and (maybe or?) AC.

Nature's Companion: You get an animal, beast, or magical beast of CR 15 or less. Basically your animal companion. But WAY late-game and epically awesome.

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I know I didn't cut enough to give the Druid complete spontaneous casting, but I'm wondering what to cut... what stuff can I take out?

[Avoraciopoctules]

You haven't defined what "Nature's Teachings" is.

If you want to reduce the power of druids, try changing their shapeshifting into total character replacement, similar to the revised Tome Polymorph

You vanish and a monster of your choice appears in your place. The creature shares your alignment, personality and goals, and will continue to act as you would within the limits of its intelligence and abilities. The creature must be at least 3 CR less than your character level, may not have the incorporeal or swarm subtype, and is unexceptional for its type. If the monster is killed, the spell is ended.

When the spell ends, the monster vanishes and you appear where the monster was with an amount of lethal, nonlethal, and ability damage on you equal to the amount the monster had suffered when the spell ended (this means that if the spell ended because the monster was slain and the monster had an equal or greater number of hit points as you, you may well be dead when you appear).

I houserule druid wildshape into allowing you do something pretty similar, but with the restriction of only "Nature"-themed stuff, which includes many elementals and fey. I also make it so that if you would be killed while shapechanged, you are instead reverted to your true form with 0 HP and lose the ability to Wild Shape for an hour or so.

[Kaelik]

I don't think character replacement works for druids.

Maybe with spontaneous access to the entire druid list, maybe, but without it, you are just a shitty Wizard who has fewer spells per day from a vastly inferior list but gets polymorph a few levels earlier.

[NineInchNall]

I think he meant to have that first Nature's Touch section be Nature's Teaching. Hm.

Honestly, simply going to a Sorcerer model for spells known cuts down a lot of what makes the Druid so over the top. You know, the whole "I know billions of spells just because I'm a divine caster" thing. Basically, make the Druid choose to be good in some areas rather than in all areas.

[For Valor]

alright, so I went with character replacement, limiting it to fey, elementals, and animals (I don't want to do Magical Beasts since that cuts down Exalted Wild Shape). And NineInchNall was right, I made a typo--the first "Nature's Touch" should have been "Nature's Teachings". That's changed now.

To NineInchNall: I was thinking that the Druid would be much better with these adjustments. I know that he kinda loses his choosing power, which I guess hurts the flavor or something, but I'm really not going for that. I'm wondering if the class is mechanically sounds... since I get a sinking feeling that it's overpowered somehow.

[Kaelik]

If Wildshape is character replacement, he is definitely not overpowered.

Take a good look at the Druid list, it's like Wizard list --.

And he get's fewer spells per day.

He's basically just a Sulin Sorce with a crappier list who has the option of not casting spells at all, and being a monster.

[For Valor]

Thank you, Kaelik, but the Druid certainly gets more Spells Per Day/Equal Spells Per Day compared to the Wizard. He also doesn't have access to scaling damage spells like Lightning Bolt and Fireball (he gets non-scaleable spells, like Flaming Sphere).

He's the Sulin Sorcerer in the way the Hexblade is a Cleric.

[LR]

True, the Druid doesn't get the ability to deal 35 damage (enough to half-kill a Troll!) to an area at 10th level, but he doesn't really care, because he's dropping Entangle, Poison, and Wall of Thorns on people. Druids don't really fall off the spellcaster power curve until high level when Wizards and Clerics get all their broken spells while Druids only get a few.

[For Valor]

This makes sense... and since it doesn't seem like there's more talk about the class... does that mean it's somewhat balanced?

I think I shall run it now.

Thank you all!