hello

at this moment : level 7 i have a 4 mens party and it's nice on Hard :

full custom char

A dex tank
a battle cleric ( offtank-healer-support)
a ranged bard ( CC-dmg dealer-support )
a sylvan sorcerer + pet ( CC-dmg dealer )

but i dislike to play with pet !

i was thinking to build a druid without pet

Respect the sylvan sorcerer by a pure sorcerer
and this druid replace the pet !

a dmg dealer druid in shapeshift with a few survability :

1 level monk
4 level rogue
the rest in druid
( not especially this order )

Do you think it's a good idea ?

ty
Joms'

Hi, as far as I know, druid`s strongest feature is free trip in beast form.

If you build into that I doubt you need 4 levels of rogue, since you already have control in the form of trip. No Uncanny Dodge, but since it's a spellcaster you can cast something before charging into battle.

You could also take 2 levels of monk for evasion.

With three frontliners and Greater Trip you could also play into Attacks of Opportunity, but I find it kinda dependent on reach weapons or micro so... as a side strategy maybe.

The obvious downside of this idea is quite a few enemies are immune/hard to trip. But since you have alternative CC in your party I believe it should work.

Who needs 1 or 2 d6 of sneak damage if you have a sorc and a prone target =)

Up to you ofc.

and do you have an idea of build for this kind of druid ?
shifter without pet

ty

Okay, so here is the thought process. Pet gives you two trip attempts instead of one and also Tandem Trip which greatly improves our chances. Without pet we will need to hack a bit. We could also abandon the idea of trip altogether, but without it druid seems a nature themed cleric to me - I'm not sure there is a point since you have a cleric in your party already.

So. This utilizes Fury's Fall hack, which means we dump STR, which doesn't synergise well with Beast Shape, I know, but I think it's the best option given the constraint. This means Amulet of Agile Fists is a must. Also this build comes online pretty late - at level 6 and it's squishy until 7. Yep, this build probably doesn't go to the hall of fame.

Here is the build:


aasimar-plumekith

str 7
dex 19
con 12
int 13
wis 18
cha 7

lawful neutral

1
fighter - two-handed fighter 1
mobility +1 rest whatever perception, lore nature recommended
weapon finesse
combat expertise
:: This is not a rouge because I feel +1 extra AB is more important here than anything rouge provides. Two-handed archetype is for sunder since we're specing into combat maneuvers heavily, but it can be swapped for aldori.

2
fighter - 2
mobility +1 w/e perception
trip

3
druid - blight druid 1
destruction domain
mobility +1 w/e perception, lore nature
agile maneuvers
:: blight druid is the no pet choice

4
druid - 2
dexterity +1
skills w/e perception, lore nature, mobility

5
druid - 3
fury's fall

6
druid - 4
(wolf shape)
:: this is when we finally start tripping =)

7
monk - traditional monk 1
greater trip
crane style

8
monk - 2
dex +1
dodge
(evasion)

9
druid - 5
crane wing

10
druid - 6

11
druid - 7
wings

12
druid - 8
dex +1

13
druid - 9
outflank

At this point we've got everything really important.
AC without items is 34
Trip modifier without items 24

Next levels should be adapted to preferences.
Crane Riposte, Weapon Focus - Unarmed for better trip chance.
Natural spell if you want to cast spells.
Sunder Armor or other combat maneuver if you like it.
Improved initiative since we don't have Uncanny dodge.
Combat Reflexes if you decide to play into Attacks of Opportunity, but your party needs to be onboard with this.

Abilities - max dex.