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Handbooks & Resources => Handbooks => Topic started by: Mooncrow on November 11, 2011, 12:38:54 PM

Title: The Druid Handbook
Post by: Mooncrow on November 11, 2011, 12:38:54 PM
Much thanks to Blade2718 for the original handbook, and allowing it to be moved over and modified.

The Druid Handbook

(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w87/krysdarkscroll/97108.jpg)

Because Druids and Druid derivatives are so popular and powerful, I think that BrilliantGameologists should have its own Druid Handbook.  I had some time on my hands so I figured "Why not me?"  I must confess that I am no expert on the topic, that I stand on the shoulders of giants, and that this is primarily a recompilation effort.  Much of the material presented will be derived from sources from the Wizards of the Coast d20 Character Optimization forums, including but not limited to:
Dictum Mortuum's "CO Project: The Quickstart Druid (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?p=16495014)
A Man In Black's "Druid Handbook revived" (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=733400)
Dead Weasel's "Alternative Class Features III" (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=967118)
Lord_of_Rivendell's "Revisiting Spells for the Optimized Druid"  (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=1558.0)

This should not be considered an authoritative guide.  I welcome any collaboration and polite feedback.  Thanks for reading!

(Feedback and suggestions can go in this thread (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=2021.0))

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Class Features and Alternatives
3. Skills, Skill Tricks, and Feats
4. Spellcasting
5. Animal Companion
6. Wild Shape
7. Equipment
8. Controversy and Miscellany
9. Appendices

Color Code:
Blue = great option, highly recommended.
Green = a good option, though either less powerful or more limited than a blue
Black = an average option, not terrible, but either of very limited use or very weak.
Red = a bad option, do not take.
Title: Re: The Druid Handbook
Post by: Mooncrow on November 11, 2011, 12:39:02 PM
Druids are guardians of nature, able to call down the wrath of the natural world, befriend wild animals and take on their aspects, yadda yadda yadda.  You didn't come for a flowery description of druids, though given time I could come up with one.  We're here for the crunchy bits that matter to many players.

Attribute Distribution

Party Role(s)
The Druid's variety of class abilities allow for an equally diverse number of roles in the party.

Racial Selection
I won't waste time with every racial option, just highlight some interesting options.  Most unlisted races either clearly suboptimal or simply mediocre.
Title: Re: The Druid Handbook
Post by: Mooncrow on November 11, 2011, 12:39:27 PM
Standard Class Features
"I am a Druid, I have special abilities that are more powerful than your entire class!" (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0346.html)  'Nuff said.



Alternate Class Features
Many of these abilities are situational, so I won't rank any of them.  Decide which ones you like best for yourself.

Alters Armor/Weapon Proficiencies
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Alters Spellcasting
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Alters Animal Companion
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Alters Nature Sense
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Alters Wild Empathy
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Alters Woodland Stride
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Alters Trackless Step
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Alters Resist Nature's Lure
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Alters Wild Shape
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Alters Venom Immunity
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Alters Thousand Faces
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Wild Reaper VariantDragon 311 - this version changes a lot of things, and it's one of the few upgrades to the base druid chassis.
Alters:
Wild Shape - forms must be carnivorous or omnivorous animals that eat carrion.  No plant or elemental forms.
Spells - A much larger list of spontaneous casting, several of which are very nice.  Spontaneous castings is delayed until 3rd level
Animal Companion - same rules as wild shape
Poison Immunity - traded for disease immunity
Turn Undead - At 12th level, the Wild Reaper gets Turn Undead - qualifying the druid for DMM
A Thousand Faces - traded for a +4 bonus to saving throws against death effects and level drain
Fast healing 1 - gained at 16th level, increases to fast healing 3 at 20th
Ability damage healing 1 - gained at 17th level, increasing to ability damage healing 2 at 20th
Timeless Body is delayed until 19th level
Title: Re: The Druid Handbook
Post by: Mooncrow on November 11, 2011, 12:39:46 PM
Druid Class Skills

Cross-Class Skills

Skill Tricks
Introduced in Complete Scoundrel, tricks provide little abilities that are usable once per encounter but are not deemed as powerful as a feat.  Each trick has skill prerequisites and requires
two ranks to learn.

Feats
Feats are a very limited resource, barring embrace the dark chaos/shun the dark chaos cheese.
Title: Re: The Druid Handbook
Post by: Mooncrow on November 11, 2011, 12:40:02 PM
Druids are full casters, no matter how much you beat things up with your bare paws.  Your ability to escape from danger or create danger for your opponents is, at least, partially dependent on what spells you have available.

0th Level
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1st Level
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2nd Level
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3rd Level
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4th Level
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5th Level
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6th Level
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7th Level
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8th Level
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9th Level
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Summon Nature's Ally
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."
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Title: Re: The Druid Handbook
Post by: Mooncrow on November 11, 2011, 12:40:20 PM
Animal Companions

The second leg of the druid Triad of Power, the Animal Companion is a vital part of what makes a druid.  A properly built companion can function as almost another party member (or even make the poorly optimized fighter cry, depending on your group :p), but the key to getting the most out of your furry (scaly/feathery) friend is choosing a role for them and stick to it.  Companions aren't druids themselves; they can't do everything :p  So, what are the roles that companions can do well?

Grappler - best served by a pet with all-around good stats, the grappler gets into the thick of things.  Yes they do some damage, but more importantly, they lock down one or more of the enemy, while serving as a barrier to others.  This is really valuable if you spend a lot of time dungeon crawling, or fighting in places without a whole lot of space.  Crocodiles, bears and some of the dinosaurs make the best grapplers.

Pouncer - the pure damage dealing option.  Pouncers all do full attacks on a charge, and often a few extra attacks as well.  The downside is that most of them are pretty fragile and they require a fair amount of space to do their thing.  But when properly buffed up, a pouncer can put serious hurt on the bad guys.  The alternate method is the Charger - they usually have one big attack and Powerful Charge for double damage.  If they have trample, they can charge in, trample, move away as part of the trample, and then charge back in (the infamous Triceratops Shuffle, as it's known).  It requires even more room though, and it's a bit too conditional for my tastes.  For pouncers, look for the big cats and raptor dinosaurs for the power.  For chargers, look for the horned dinosaurs and rhinos.

Mount - You're no paladin, but that doesn't mean you can't use your companion for a mount.  Now, I do think it's a waste to just use your companion for a mount.  While it is an easy way to get flight, there are other ways to get that - there aren't a lot of ways to get another loyal-unto-death combatant.  If you're going to go the mount route, make sure it fits with your own combat style.  Being mounted means that it's easy to take advantage of Share Spell, so you could, for example, grab a lance, and charge in on a Charger to do all sorts of ridiculous damage.  There are lots of companions that work as mounts - just make sure it's one size larger than you.

Dire Tortoise - it doesn't really fit in with the other categories, but it's still incredibly good.  Huge HP, great AC, good trample, and an auto-surprise round make for a surprisingly effective pet.  I've never been disappointed by this guy.

Now that you know what role you want to focus on, it's time to pick out your companion. 

To level up, or change companions?
Probably the most frequently asked question.  Do you swap out your pet every three levels, or let it gain the bonuses from leveling?  Generally speaking, it's better to swap them out.  There are exceptions, but most of the time, you gain more from a higher level base pet.  Now, if you do stick with the same pet, there are a couple advantages.  1. it will end up with higher AC - most base animals tend to stay in the 14-17AC range, regardless of level.  2. you get to select its feats. 

Most of the time, that's not enough to make up for the increased damage, number of attacks, increased size, etc.  The exceptions:  Fleshraker - it's good enough that it can last you pretty much your whole career, and if venomfire is allowed in the campaign, it's hands down the best selection all the way to 20.  Magebred Bear/Ghost Tiger - the boosts this template give you, combined with the generally poor selection at level 10 means that it's worth it to hang onto them until at least 13 and possibly until 16.  Dire Tortoise - it's base stats are so high, and it's so unusual, that if you like it, it can serve until 20 without any problem.

On to the lists!

Level 1
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Level 4
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Level 7
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Level 10
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Level 13
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Level 16
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Level 19
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Further Companion optimization
First of all, if you're playing in a very High-Op game, go ahead and grab the Fleshraker, toss venomfire on it, and don't look back.  The combination is too incredible not to take if that's the direction your group is going. 

Now with that out of the way, let's look at some of the more generally applicable tips.

Get some barding!  Even if they're not trained for it, getting your companion some barding with no Armor Check Penalty is a relatively cheap and easy way to increase it's survivability.  And remember, just because you can't wear metal armor, there's nothing that extends that restriction to your companion.  And a set of +1 magic armor lets you attach armor crystals from MiC, and other goodies. 

The Warbeast Template from MM2 should also be available if you have a decent amount of downtime between adventures.  It's an awesome template: +3 Str, +3 Con, +2 Wis, +1HD, +10 Move, armor proficiency, plus a few other minor benefits.  In fact, it's so good that I've never had a DM that actually allowed it in-game :p  Best of luck to you on that, though!

Magebred/Horrid template: while it's never explicitly stated, it's implied in the ECS that the Horrid template can be applied to any dire animal at a -3 level adjustment.  If so, it opens up a lot of cool choices.  The two main things to look for are animals with 1. multiple primary attacks 2. high HD for the level.  There are a ton of benefits to this template, and I highly recommend it.  Magebred is trickier - on one hand, ECS flat out says "No Magebred Animal Companions", but then 5N comes out and explicitly gives us magebred bears and tigers.  Talk to your DM and find out how they rule it, and if you can get magebred, it's an awesome addition as well. 

For those more serious about getting better companions, there are some more options to consider:
Feats:

Aerenal BeastkeeperRoEb: At first glance, this feat seems pretty cool; adds baboon to your list of allowed companions and treats it as +3 levels.  Except, the baboon is really terrible, so sadly this option is a waste.
Exalted CompanionBoED: this feat expands your companion list a bit, and more to the point, lets you get an animal with the celestial template.  The DR, SR, and energy resistance are nice, but what really makes the template worthwhile is the bump up to 3 Int.  At 3 Int, your companion has actual intelligence and doesn't need to worry about tricks or anything like that.
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Wild Cohort (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031118a)Web:  A second, slightly weaker companion for the cost of one feat isn't a bad trade.

Natural BondCAdv: to echo what I said above, a liberal reading of this feat could potentially give you and extra 3 effective levels to your companion progression.  Unlikely to fly unless your DM is familiar with Char-Op though.

A 1 level BeastmasterCAdv dip: you trade one level of spellcasting and wild shape progression for +3 to your effective level for animal companion.  Let me make it clear - this is a bad tradeoff from an overall optimizing point of view!  However, if you have a concept that wants to rely on the companion as much as possible, it's not the end of the world.  No more than one level though!  The rest of the abilities are rubbish. 
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Title: Re: The Druid Handbook
Post by: Mooncrow on November 11, 2011, 12:40:34 PM
Wild Shape
And now, the third part of the Triad of Power - Wild Shape.  Powerful forms come from almost every supplement, and with so many different forms available, take advantage of the opportunity to specialize!

Grappler
A specialty of the various varieties of bear and squid, and one of the most powerful Wild Shape strategies, as it maximizes your strengths (high Str, large size) while minimizing your weaknesses (generally poor AC). These forms are generally some of your best pure combat forms, whether or not you decide to actually grapple.

All of these forms have Improved Grab, and most of them have high strength, large size, and/or Abilities like Constrict and Swallow Whole.  Swallow Whole is a double-edged sword: yes, you're damaging the victim and keeping it from harming your friends or casting spells, but it can attack your very, very low gullet AC and do nasty damage. (If you get a chance to Swallow something with no light slashing/piercing weapon or natural attacks, go for it.) And never, ever, ever eat anything immune to acid. (Grapple checks, where noted below, don't include BAB. Just add your BAB to the grapple number listed below to get your grapple check total when in that form.)

Charger
Bipedal dinosaurs and big cats specialize in charging into battle and dealing as much damage as possible as fast as possible. The best forms usually have pounce and rakes, but a few forms with a single powerful natural attack and the powerful charge ability are also worth using.

Not many charger forms are bolded as recommended; this is mostly because charger forms are a matter of taste. Big cats dabble in grappling and can only bring their rakes to bear when charging or grappling, bipedal pouncer dinosaurs hit slightly harder and don't grapple, triceratopses have the Triceratops Shuffle, and rhinos have one powerful gore that does double damage on a charge. If you use big cats and bipedal dinosaurs often enough, you may want Multiattack, and if you use horned chargers often enough, you may want Power Attack.

Trampler
A specialty of elephants, herbivorous dinosaurs, and Treants. Most tramplers are Large- or Huge-sized, and have a high-damage attack or two. Trampling is great for taking out mooks (including swarms!), but most of the tramplers can also do a decent job of slugging it out with individual larger enemies. When buffing, remember that increased Strength ups the save DC for your trample as well as your damage.

Defensive
Sometimes you just need to avoid or shrug off attacks. Maybe you're focusing on spellcasting, or maybe you just want to get away. These forms have high AC, sometimes paired with defensive abilities (which will need to technically be "Special Attacks", due to the limitations of Wild Shape).

Aerial
Besides the obvious long-distance travel and scouting uses, druids who favor using their spells for offense will spend most of their time in aerial forms, not just because of the maneuverability but because of the high Dex for touch attacks, AC, and initiative checks. (Contrast this with grappling forms, where combat spellcasting is usually confined to buffs before or at the beginning of a fight.) Generally, they aren't as good in melee as the land- or water-bound alternatives, but maneuverability does come at a price.

Aquatic
Sometimes, you're going to have to spend some time in the water. Forms with this notation have swim speeds and unless noted otherwise, can breathe underwater.

Tool-User
Medium-sized, more-or-less-human-shaped forms which can use your equipment normally instead of having it meld into your Wild Shape form. This is a hideously powerful strategy at high levels, but you need to drop all your stuff and pick it up again, meaning you'll need a long Wild Shape duration as well as time to prepare. (Many GMs will house-rule this controversial rule; see more below in the Controversial Options section.)

Level 5
 
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Level 8
   
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Level 9
   
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Level 12
   
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Level 13
     
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Level 14
   
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Level 15
 
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Level 16
 
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Level 18
 
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Misc.
Everything else. They may have useful or unusual in- or out-of-combat abilities, or otherwise deserve special mention.

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To do list:
Abberations, Vermin, Exalted
Still quite a bit of work to do in this section; some of the stats are off, and I still need rate them.
Title: Re: The Druid Handbook
Post by: Mooncrow on November 11, 2011, 12:40:53 PM
Equipment

Armor
There are a couple different ways you can go with druid armor - you can either go the dragonhide or ironwood route, and enchant them with the "wild" property, or just grab a monk's belt (or robe if you have access to Pathfinder gear) and a wilding clasp.  For more fun , buy your wizard a wand of mage armor and have him cast it on you prior to going into battle.  Personally, I prefer the second option; yes you miss out on a few nifty armor options, but the +3 for wild so that it can be useful all the time is just painful.
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Shields
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Weapons
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Arms
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Body
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Face
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Feet
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Hands
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Head
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Rings
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Shoulders
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Throat
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Torso
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Waist
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Relic
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Other
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Magic/Legendary Locations
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Title: Re: The Druid Handbook
Post by: Mooncrow on November 11, 2011, 12:41:31 PM
Venerable Dragonwrought Kobolds
There have been several suggestions that Venerable Dragonwrought Kobolds are "teh ub4r" and need to take the top spot as far as optimized races go.  As a practitioner of practical optimization, this is a bit more juice than we need to squeeze out for most campaigns.  Games that involve not just high-level, but theoretical optimization will lend themselves better to +9 mental stat boosts for a feat.  Furthermore, any class that benefits from high mental stats can benefit from being a VDK, so it isn't a Druid-specific optimization either.

With that said, if your campaign demands nitrous just to keep the game moving or you are dying to play an ancient kobold shaman, by all means do so.  But don't expect to change this author's mind about the Druid-specific utility of the VDK.

Prestige Classes

Moonspeaker
Arcane Hierophant
Planar Shepherd
Fochluchan Lyricist
Title: Re: The Druid Handbook
Post by: Mooncrow on November 11, 2011, 12:42:19 PM
Reserved

Last reserve - feel free to post.

There's still a lot of formatting and cleaning up to do, but all of the info is over here now.

Current project:  a complete list of Animal Companions and their rating. 
Title: Aberration Wild Shape
Post by: cru on December 15, 2011, 08:21:55 AM
The Aberration Wild Shape (http://dndtools.eu/feats/lords-of-madness--72/aberration-wild-shape--9/) feat from Lords of Madness allows a druid to wild shape into an aberration. According to an article (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebee/20050704a) on the WotC site, in Eberron, the Aberrant Dragonmark (http://dndtools.eu/feats/eberron-campaign-setting--12/aberrant-dragonmark--2/) feat can be used instead as a prerequisite for this feat.

Aberration forms have a wild array of special attacks. Some of the most interesting forms are listed below:

Name+ReferenceSizeHDACStatsAttacksMisc
Tentacle Spider (SoX)medium31611/17/144x touch +4 (dex poison) + biteRanged entangle
Fiery Sandhog (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fw/20020817a)medium41715/12/124 bite +5 melee and 2 claws +0burrow, climb
Tako (OA)medium41720/15/128 attacksAquatic, Improved Grab, Constrict
Dustblight (http://www.realmshelps.net/cgi-bin/mainlist2.pl?name=Dustblight) (Sand)medium52020/17/12Bite +8 (1d8+5), 2 claws +6 (1d3+2)Burrow 30 ft.
Rust Monster (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/rustMonster.htm) (MM)medium51810/17/13corroding touch attack, weak biteCorrode metal
Dolghast (MoE)medium61719/14/132 claws +8 (1d6+4), bite +3 (1d6+2)Con damage
Vivisector (MM5)medium72115/18/142 claws +8 melee (1d8+2), sting +4Poison DC15 1d6/1d6 str, fly
Cloaker (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/cloaker.htm) (MM)large81921/16/17Tail +8 (1d6+5), bite +3 (1d4+2)Fly 40 ft., Moan, Engulf
Ineffable Horror (http://www.realmshelps.net/cgi-bin/mainlist2.pl?name=Ineffable_Horror) (Und)large51819/13/162 slams +7 (1d4+4)Fly 60 good, grappler with con drain
Mimic (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/mimic.htm) (MM)large71519/12/172 slams +9 (1d8+4)Adhesive, Crush
Rukanyr (FF)large72221/7/2410 attackspoison, stunning attack, climb
Squamous Spewer (http://www.realmshelps.net/cgi-bin/mainlist2.pl?name=Squamous_Spewer) (Drac)large82219/13/176 bites +10 (1d10+4)Roar (fear)
Dharculus (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20040706a&page=5) (PlH)medium822+12/14/206 tentacles +8 (1d4+1)Improved grab, ethereal bite
Otyugh, Lifeleech (http://www.realmshelps.net/cgi-bin/mainlist2.pl?name=Otyugh_Lifeleech) (mm3)large92127/16/234 tentacles +14 (1d8+8) and biteConstrict, improved grab
Stone Singer (mm3)large92120/10/18Bite +10 and 6 claws +8DC 18, 1d4 Dex/1d4 Dex
Hook Horror (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Hook_horror) (mm2)large102224/17/142 claws +13, bite +8Improved grab, power sunder, rending bite
Chuul (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/chuul.htm) (mm)large112220/16/182 claws +12 (2d6+5)Improved grab, constrict, paralysis, aquatic
Darktentacles (http://www.realmshelps.net/cgi-bin/mainlist2.pl?name=Darktentacles) (MM2)large91819/15/1712 slams or 12 weaponsImproved grab, Constrict, 15 ft reach, swim
Death Kiss Beholderkin (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Kiss) (MoF)large121616/14/1610 tentacles (1d4+3) @ 20 ft reachImproved grab, Blood Drain
Chwidencha (http://www.realmshelps.net/cgi-bin/mainlist2.pl?name=Chwidencha) (DotU)large122422/17/204 claws +15 (1d6+6), PounceImproved grab, climb/burrow
Ocularon (FF)large122118/15/174 melee tendrils, 1 ranged touchImproved grab, poison, steal eyes, death throes
Thoon Elder Brain (mm5)large122626/14/308 tentacles +17 (1d6+8+2d6 acid)Dual action (!), acid burn, fly
Urophion (http://www.realmshelps.net/cgi-bin/mainlist2.pl?name=Urophion) (LoM)large122419/13/166 ranged touch, 1 bitedrag, extraction, strands
Delver (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/delver.htm) (MM)huge152427/13/212 slams (1d6+8+2d6)Corrosive slime (vs stone and metal)
Athach (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/athach.htm) (MM)huge141726/13/21with melee weapons + bitePoison
Madcrafter of Thoon (mm5)huge102030/12/26Bite +16 (2d8+15+4d6 acid)
Five-headed Terror (mm3)medium152113/18/155 bites +16 (1d6+1+poison), Pouncevenomfire target
Nagahydra (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Nagahydra) (SK)huge182030/14/207 bites (2d6+10+poison)swim, poison 1d12 con
Moonbeast (MM2)huge181730/15/2110 rakes (4d6+10)Constrict, improved grab, Bite
Chilblain (Frost)large203528/17/24tail and 4 clawscold aura, frost touch
Maulgoth (FF)huge203929/25/274 tentacles and biteconstrict, improved grab
Title: Vermin Wild Shape
Post by: cru on December 15, 2011, 08:25:37 AM
Ways to get access to vermin forms

Vermin Shape (ECS 62) feat
require: druid5, nongood, child of winter
benefit: lose access to animal forms, get access to vermin forms

Wild Shape (Waste Vermin) (Sandstorm 47)
10th level druid alternative class feature
lose one wild shape use per day, gain access to "waste" vermin forms

Vestment of Verminshape (DMG2 273)
20000 gp, get access to vermin forms, no strings attached

City-Shape (Cityscape web enhancement)
5th level druid alternative class feature
slower size progression (max. large), can shape to both animals and vermin; lose plant shape, gain swarm shape

Spider-Shape (DotU 58)
5th level druid alternative class feature
lose animal forms, gain monstrous spider forms (only the spiders from MM (?))

Vermin forms are generally weaker and less numerous than animal forms. Giving up animal forms is a very high price to pay and a flavor decision. Some notable forms are listed below:

NameSizeHDAC/touchAbilitiesAttacksMisc
Giant Cockroach (Ud)M420/1621/18/161 melee, stench (DC15 vs nausea)40, climb
Giant Bee (SRD)M314/12--fly 80 good
Monstrous Crab (Storm)M316/1015/11/122 melee, improved grab (+6), constrict 2d6+220
Dire Maggot (LiM)S619/1313/15/121 melee+poison40, climb
Lesser Knell Beetle (MM3)M620/1118/12/183 melee, rend, trample (2d8+6/DC17), shake the earth40, burrow
Giant Stag Beetle (SRD)L719/923/10/171 melee, trample 2d8+3/DC1920
Sword Spider (MonoF)L517/918/10/149 melee, impalement, poison20, climb
Spitting Spider (DotU)L718/1222/17/183 melee; ranged touch (spit), dex poison, pounce40, climb
Large Monstrous Crab (Storm)L618/921/11/122 melee, constrict, improved grab (+13)20
Monstrous Crab (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fw/20040221a)L719/1122/14/212 melee, constrict, improved grab (+14), powerful claws40, swim
Giant Praying Mantis (SRD)L414/819/8/152 melee, improved grab (+8)fly 40 poor
Giant Wasp (SRD)L514/1018/12/141 melee+poisonfly 60 good
Monstrous Toebiter (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fw/20030822a)L1018/1026/13/203 melee, poison, improved grab (+12), blood drain20, swim
Knell Beetle (MM3)L1224/926/10/233 melee, rend, trample (4d6+12/DC24), shake the earth50, burrow
Chelicera (MM3)M1219/1414/19/123 melee, improved grab, blood drain30
Tangle Terror (DotU)M1222/1414/19/181 melee+poison; web 8/day, mad.webs (confusion)30, climb
Leechwalker (MM2)M1312/1018/11/162 melee+wounding, improved grab (+4), blood drink30, swim
Widowmaker (DotU)L1324/1220/17/221 melee+poison; improved grab (+9), blood drain30, climb
Bonespear (FF)L1527/1222/17/193 melee, 2 ranged, poison, attach, drag, horns40
Huge Monstrous Crab (Storm)H1222/825/11/142 melee, constrict, improved grab (+19)30

SRD vermin: http://www.d20srd.org/indexes/monsters.htm
Wizards monster list: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/lists/monsters&tablefilter=vermin
searchable list: http://www.imarvintpa.com/dndLive/FindMonster.php
Title: Miscellaneous
Post by: cru on December 15, 2011, 08:31:01 AM
Gargantuan wild shape (via Megalodon Empowerment)
(click to show/hide)

Non-core Summon Nature's Ally
(click to show/hide)

Prestige Class option:
(click to show/hide)

To be updated in OP:
riding dog: superior to wolf in every way except speed
updated spells: http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=1354.100

From wiki: http://coboard.wikia.com/wiki/Druid
-how to summon faster
-equipment?

How to qualify for druid PrC/Feats as a non-druid
(click to show/hide)

Notable plant forms:
Thunderspiker (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fw/20050211a)
Night Twist (MM3)
Elder Viper Tree (Expedition to Demonweb Pits)
Title: Re: The Druid Handbook
Post by: gorfnab on December 16, 2011, 01:30:08 AM
Other Druid Variants
Metal Master - Drg #311
Sidhe Scholar - Drg #339
Storm - Drg #328
Urban - Drg #317
Totem - Drg #335
Wind Walker - Drg #311
Winter Warden - Drg #311
Focused Animal - Drg #347
Environmental (Druid weapon list) - Drg #331
Title: Re: The Druid Handbook
Post by: nijineko on December 18, 2011, 07:12:55 PM
thank you for this thread.

as a side note, but related: would you be interested in mentioning methods of qualifying for druid prestige classes without using druid at all? the bear warrior and the shapechanger (OA 3.0 prestige, updated to 3.5 in dragon 318) both of which grant wildshaping specifically, without requiring it as a prerequisite.
Title: Re: Miscellaneous
Post by: Bastian on December 19, 2011, 08:56:18 AM
Wild Shape
Druid 5
Ranger variant 5 (UA)
Monk variant... Dragon???
Abolisher 1, ecl 7, Lords of Madness
Lion of Talisad 3, ecl 8, Book of Exalted Deeds
Moonspeaker 5, ecl 13, Races of Eberron
Landforged Walker 5, ecl 10, Eberron: Secrets of Xen'Drik - "plants shape", see text
Mulhorandi Divine Minion: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/mb/20050209a
The OA prestige class Shapeshifter (updated in Dragon 318) gains Wildshape based off character levels instead of levels in the prestige class.

Edit: Savage Vampires (Dragon mag 348) also get Wildshape as a Druid of 10 plus half their HD (note that they have an LA of 6).
Title: Re: The Druid Handbook
Post by: nijineko on December 19, 2011, 02:17:22 PM
Doesn't that mean prestige only if you have no Druid levels? Afb, I'll check later
Title: Re: The Druid Handbook
Post by: Bastian on December 19, 2011, 07:05:20 PM
Doesn't that mean prestige only if you have no Druid levels? Afb, I'll check later
There is no requirement that the character be a non-Druid. Why do you ask/What gave you that impression?
Title: Re: The Druid Handbook
Post by: nijineko on December 20, 2011, 01:53:24 AM
Ah, sorry. Slight miscommunication on my part. You are correct, can be druid. My point was simply that those two prestige are ways of gaining wildshape  without being a druid. 
Title: Re: The Druid Handbook
Post by: cru on December 30, 2011, 07:45:17 AM
added shapechanger and savage vampire to the how-to-get-wildshape list
bear warrior gets a different ability
Title: Re: The Druid Handbook
Post by: nijineko on January 09, 2012, 03:52:36 PM
huh, really?

***checks books***

oh, right you are, they did change that. thanks. =D
Title: Re: The Druid Handbook
Post by: Maat Mons on October 05, 2012, 02:00:50 AM
Claw extenders (Dragon 334, p87) would be good for your animal companion.  It will be proficient with them if you've taught it the attack trick.  While +1 damage for 20 gp is nice, what I find interesting is that you can make them out of special materials.  You can also make them magical, but necklace of natural weapons already has that covered.