Just finished with a party of 6 plus Elmo - walk in the park. Now going with a party of 4 and my first ever Druid (replacing the Cleric)... The other 3: rog/ranger bard/fighter wizard I want to tank with the Druid - preferably with a bludgeon but without using a feat I'm limited to a quarterstaff (or sling - club doesn't count ) Is it worth a feat to grab simple or martial weapon prof ? There are some pretty good staffs down the road.......
Not worth a proficiency. Longspear: druid is already proficent, and it's a reach weapon, which are the best in this game. Have a backup bludgeoning weapon to deal with skeletons and the like. Alternately, you can dip for a single level in Barbarian, to get all the martial weapon proficiencies, rage and fast move. No more than one level, though.
Not an option as I don't want to slow her spell progress even a little bit. I'll try the spear and wait for a magic staff - I think by the time I get one I'll be able to enchant it further. I know there's one in the temple (or was it in a node?) - can't remember if there's one before that... On this run thru I want a dedicated bludgener. Druid can't wear metal armor but can use metal weapons - hmmmmmm :roll: Thanks for the input
No its not. Your best bet is to either go Longspears which are a reach weapon or a Scimitar which will allow you to use a shield. If you're dead set on Quarterstaves though, I'd multiclass instead so you can keep the feat slot, get the proficiency plus the whole slew of bonuses from the said class you choose to go with. As for the options: Monk - The Monk WIS AC bonus works perfectly with a Druid. Plus if Wild Shape is your thing for some reason, it works with it (Or at least it should). You can also use Flurry of Blows, but with only 1 Monk level... its not that fantastic until you get ridiculous attack bonuses. Grabbing a 2nd level will get you Evasion, which is kinda nice... but probably not worth further hindering your spell progression. Barbarian - Fast Movement is fantastic when trying to melee. Barbarian Rage is useless however as it prevents you from spell casting. Fighter - Bonus Feat. That's... really all it gives. Its always nice having an extra feat though!
If you make your druid human you could use one of your 3 initial feats to pick up Martial weapon Proficiencies or elven if you want the longbow and longsword as free racial bonuses...
Dwarf Druid gets Waraxe, superior 1hand to Scimitar. Gnome for the Hooked Hammer as well, (2H I think), double dmg types (bldg/pierce?). Not sure what happens when a little race wildshapes :gotmyatte Longspear then buying a feat for Exotic: Spiked Chain is probably the best progression, Warrior dip or not.
Even tho you said you don't want clubs, I would consider Tetsubo (Martial greatclub proficiency). Great stats ( 2d6, only weighs 8 ) and it looks cool! You can find it fairly early in the game ( Nulb )
Shillelagh is a great early-game weapon/spell for a Druid tank, since it behaves like a +1 Greatsword.
If you are not going to multiclass at all, play an elven or dwarvish druid. The free weapon feats are great. I usually choose an elf if I am not going human. RE: your rogue ranger idea do a fighter rogue instead. Whether you plan to go archery or dual weapon, fighter is far superior to ranger imho.
wow - thanks for all the input guys... To recap - I want my Druid to use a bludgeon type weapon, it just seems right, plus it covers a multitude of bad guy resistances - Elf or dwarf won't get me there and I prefer the extra feat as a human (and don't want the Con/Chr hits as Elf/Dwarf - this is a tank and I want to pump up UMD for wands). Don't want to multiclass as I would have to do it too early and retard spell progression (unless I did it way early, like 1st lvl - hmmmm). Didn't know about the Tetsubo - Ah Fong I surmise - 2d6 is pretty cool - masterwork ? If so, this could be the one. Spiked chain is piercing altho I've always wanted to use one - and there is a really good one (not evil) to be had. Re: my Elf rog/ranger sniper (or rog/fighter?) BAB's are the same - Ranger has much better reflex saves (fort & will the same) and the two free archery feats plus favored enemy(ies) vs a fighters' two extra feats (over 10 levels) and more HP's. And a Rangers' skill set compliments the rogue better. Still leaning Ranger.... I'm guessing yes as the game lists the greatclub as - Martial, 2 handed, melee Again - thanks for the great input guys
Druids actually already come with Quarterstaff proficiency, I'm stupid, even though I use Shillelagh on a regular basis too! If you want Quarterstaves, ignore my post, go pure class. Shillelagh as already mentioned, is a great spell and will even give you an edge over other melee classes at early level. The bonuses from multiclassing are nice, but its generally best saved for mid or late game. Typically, if I'm going to multiclass my casters, I do it once 3rd or 4th level spells are available.
