Okay, so after the thread about evil Druids I've been considering maybe trying out the class here, but I do have some questions. Fairly sure all these questions were likely answered around the forum, but seems easier to just dump them together in one topic.

Firstly the RP bits:

How exactly does a Druid's shifting work? Is it like a Shifter? They need to study/observe the creature they wish to become, in order to emulate it, and eventually become that creature.
Or do they have some sort of natural connection to the forms they become, like their connection to nature and so on, sort of like a shortcut method if you will.
If it's the former how exactly do they take elemental forms? By staring at fire/feeling it's warmth, feeling the wind on their skin, bathing in a lake, something like that?

Druids can get Dragon Form, is there any RP requirements aside from the usual ones? Do they need some sort of pact or tutelage from a dragon in order to do so?

I know that only some of the gods allow Druid followers, is there per chance a list of them somewhere? I really don't feel like going through every single one of them to find something that fits. Yes I'm lazy damnit..

Game mechanics Qs:

I noticed that under the custom summons, there's a separate set of summons for the summon creature line under "Nature". These would be the summons granted to only Druids/Rangers or Clerics with the Nature domain I'm guessing? (And I just realized there is no no Nature domain..)
Also would a Druid with Cleric levels and Animal domain get the boost to animal companions? Is such a mix kosher RP wise? I'd think it would work if the Druid worshiped a nature/elemental deity no?

Can you get Dragon Form without CoT levels and burning all your epic feats on Greater Wis? I was thinking that fighter would likely work just as well as CoT no? There anything else that could work?

That's all that comes to mind atm, probably have a few more pop up as the answers come. Thanks in advance.

Ahem, check the topic labelled "Nature deities" three topics down. I just posted there, and GuNz has provided a fairly comprehensive list.

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I've seen many pureclass druids with dragon form. CoT is not a pre-requisite.

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Ah, totally overlooked that thread.. Thanks.

Yeah I know Nekhy, I can get Dragon Form with a 30 Druid easily enough, by spending every epic feat save 1 on Greater Wis.
It is rather restrictive and I was thinking more of a caster/summoner Druid with Dragon Form as a fallback last resort, and to just be downright intimidating if needed. So in other words kinda need the epic spells, Dragon Knight, Mummy Dust, Greater Ruin/Hellball.
The idea is I don't want the CoT levels, too restrictive RP wise, which is why I'm trying to find alternatives.

Which then turns the conversation into a build topic, and most likely better discussed with the builders in their thread. Trust me, nobody wants a build by Nekhy <_< >_>

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=55442

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Fighter won't work, and if you want to be a great summoner and caster you shouldn't gimp your caster level just for a last resort fallback. Especially your animal companion will improve all the way to 30, as far as I know. You can go ask for specifics in the build topic, but Dragon form is a big investment and you can expect to give up stuff for it or forget the idea. Dragon form has no special RP prerequisites that would be enforced, apart from a druidic life.

You can be Druid/Cleric no problem. I am not sure if Animal Domain works on the animal companion, but I think it used to work on Summon Creature spells. You can test this by making a level 2 Druid/Cleric and a level 1 Druid to compare to, though.

The form you take in Wildshape must be one you're familiar with. That's all that the d20 SRD says about it, anyway. Elementals are subject to the same restrictions as the normal Wildshape, generally, but it's not specifically stated and I doubt they need to see a real elemental as long as they're familiar with the element.

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Well, for that one question I suppose, so feel free to ignore it. It's the others that I am more interested in honestly.

Well from what I hear Druids already get the short end of the stick when it comes to PvP, but excel in PvE, so I was thinking of the Dragon Form as more of a fallback RP wise then in actual mechanics.
I guess it would be fine to drop it, making the RP for it would be quite a bit of work. Could still be fun tho, specially if he was NE, meh.

It's a bit of both, really. A Druid can only know the shapes of animals she's familiar with. If you've never seen a Hammerhead Shark, for example, then you'd not be able to take the shape. Although her connection to nature/her god allows her to take those shapes, ultimately. But yes, the requirement is twofold.



Nope. You're not becoming an existing Dragon, you're turning into the shape of one yourself. There's no need for a pact or enslavement or anything like that of a Dragon. But like wildshape, I'd imagine you would of course have to be familiar with the dragon who's shape you're taking.



Don't be lazy! What kinds of things interest you for your Druid? I can try to point you to some fitting deities.



Druids and Rangers don't have domains, that's a feature exclusive to Clerics. I have no idea if a Cleric/Druid with animal domain would get a boost to his companion. Never tried it and don't know anyone who ever has. A Cleric/Druid mix is a poor build choice, if you want a nice enough build to not get your butt kicked all the time.



Yes, you can. There are lots of pure Druids who have the Dragon Shape on Amia.

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As many have said, there are more than a few threads on the topic; but there's also a lot of good RPers who will ICly teach you (as well as OOCly) the various ins and outs of the faiths (depending on the diety you pick).

I can assure you a level 30 druid can do just fine on Amia and there's a rich world here to explore and learn the character. More than happy to chat in game or over PM's if there's any other details I can provide.

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Thanks for the replies, as I said before it's more about me wanting to know what I'm getting into before I actually start RPing one.
All of my druids in the past have been hybrids of shifters and not so Druid like and more espionage/spy like.

As for what interests me in a Druid, I am still kind of split on that. Still trying to decide on his alignment, either NE, TN leaning NE or CN.
The RP I was planning was sort of someone who was rather hardheaded, but not quite so impulsive when it came to defending forests/nature in general.
Kind of like the example GnR posted in the "Evil Druids" topic to describe an NE Druid's actions, but I think that NE may be a bit to extreme for it.

Maybe a better example would be something like:

A village recently popped nearby a forest, the villagers have taken a fair portion of the land that some of the animals have used to grazed for their farms and redirected part of a nearby stream towards their farms.
At the same time they have taken care however not to upset the ecosystem's balance to much, making sure that the animals still have enough such and access to water/food as well. They do not pollute the river, over hunt or generally destroy nature more then they have to.
Having observed them for a time and noticing all of this, he chooses to leave them be, understanding that even humans have a right to exist within nature's cycle.

However one year some sort of natural occurrence/disaster causes the land's resources to be severely reduced. A drought, fire, river drying up, earthquake, whatever, and as a result there are no longer enough resources/space to support both the village and the wildlife population.
Both sides would be struggling to survive under the new conditions and if he were to try and help both, his efforts would be split and less effective, so he decides it is time for the humans to leave.
Likely he'd meet with them first, telling them that this land could not support them any longer at least not for a few seasons till it was restored and they had to leave, even if it was for a time. If they moved somewhere else, fine, if not he would force them to, even directly harming them if they were stubborn enough.

After that he would work on restoring the land and re-stabilizing the animal population and balance. If the villagers had left peacefully then he would have no issue with them returning once that was done, if not, unlikely they will be returning anyway.

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I understand something like that is unlikely to happen on Amia, but it's just an example to what he would be like. Sort of understanding that "humans" have a right to live, but viewing them as pretty damn low on the list. Kind of like how we'd view insects? Not a big deal if they just don't get in our way, but if they do, "Where's the bug spray?! Honey! Call the exterminator!!" and stuff.

So yeah, not really sure what alignment would be appropriate, maybe TN or CN, also not quite sure what god would support things like that.

Personally, your example doesn't say evil to me at all. I don't really get a sense of anything on the lawful/chaotic scale, but I'd say that sounds fairly neutral on the good/evil scale. Viewing people as lessers to animals, beasts and other life isn't really an evil thing, I don't thing. Even a good aligned person can pull off a view like that, probably. So I get no pull toward evil from that. But that's just one example, perhaps there is an evil pull you're putting in the character.

Be careful about choosing a god before deciding on alignment though. Not all these gods can support all Druidic alignments.

I strongly suggest fleshing out your character before choosing a god though. You still sound pretty unsure of what you want so it's hard to even make a suggestion.

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Well what I am worried about is namely that Druids have a somewhat limited choice for gods, and he may end up not being able to match the requirements for any of them. That's why I'm somewhat hesitant to develop him too much.
I guess TN would be the closest to what I have in mind, a TN Druid who sides heavily with animals and nature and to a much lesser extent, "Humans".

How do you say that anyway? "Humans"? I mean there's Humans, Dwarfs, Elves, Gnomes, how do you refer to them in general?

But they use up all their epic feats in Greater Wisdom don't they?

Civilized races. Most just say "people."

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Ah, that's easy enough, thanks.

Sentient beings, intelligent races, the peoples, etc.

Different people refer to them differently. as long as it gets the message across, it doesn't really matter.

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Oh, GnR, I just noticed, you're the druid willow? Lizzy's been asking for you.

Also, is there an Epic Animal Companion feat in Amia for druids?

Huh?
Nope.

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So no epic animal huh, pity.

Do summons require any additional RP to get? Contracting a summon, stuff like that?

And one other Q, tho it's more of a build question I guess. The epic spell Mummy Dust.
Obviously undead is a no go, and the most popular form, the Construct, wouldn't fit with a Druid. So I was thinking the elemental, is it any good as a summon?

All the companions are pretty epic once you get to high epic levels in the class. My rangers badger was a damned hard thing to kill even when it was alone and swarmed with critters from epic zones. Sadly I couldn't say the same about his master who dropped dead in a stiff breeze.

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Take it to the build topic, since this topic is no longer about RP but demanding to take the best summon by stats.

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