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Druids inPathfindergo beyond the fantasy stereotype of tree-hugging hippies and instead can wield primal magic towards a plurality of goals. The magic available to druids combines the best pieces of the cleric’s healing magic and the wizard’s destructive spells.
The variety of ways the druid can be played makes building one a challenge. The class can dedicate itself to several useful roles and the best druid for a particular team is not universal. Working out how to combine the druid’s options for powers, spells and feats lets you comfortably slot together the ideal druid for your table.
Attributes For A Druid In Pathfinder 2e Remastered
Wisdom at +4 isbroadlynon-negotiableatfirst level. Pathfinder is designed on the assumption that characters begin with their key attribute holding this modifier. The design of ancestries, backstories and class boosts are all intended to encourage this. Wisdom scales your spellcasting, the primary feature of all druids.
Your attribute boosts from levelling up come in groups of four, so a generalist plan is to choose three attributes to prioritise alongside wisdom and have them grow at nearly the same pace. The best targets for this will vary depending on your build.
Certain subclasses (Orders) of druid will have attribute requirements, especially the Untamed Druid.Untamed Druids need to invest in strengthto take feats that upgrade their untamed form focus spell.
Ancestries And Backgrounds For A Druid
Druids have a few different options for ancestry. Versatile boosts mean that just about any option is fully viable for any class, but some can leverage their heritage and feats to go a little bit further.
Death Warden Dwarf
Defy The Darkness
Dwarves gain the perfect boosts for druids, constitution and wisdom with a flaw in charisma. The death warden dwarf can better resist void spells.A Death Warden Druid is prepared to face void spells such as desiccatethat are especially strong against plants. Dwarven feats don’t offer much for druids but defy the darkness is a nice way of negating a common magical trap at the cost of never using it yourself. Druids don’t cast many darkness spells so this is no great loss.
Goblin Scuttle
Rough Rider
Goblin feats are great for a druid.Burn it gives a persistent bonus to a druid’s plentiful fire spells.Goblin scuttle lets you reposition out of melee when jumped. An animal druid can benefit from the rough rider feat if they take an appropriate companion.
Leaf Leshy
Leshy Glide
Complete immunity to fall damage will be helpful to Storm druids,with Leshy Glide filling in for the limited early-game flight options. The attribute boosts are identical to dwarves with the flaw shifted to intelligence.
Orders For A Druid In Pathfinder 2e Remastered
Your subclass helps you to specialise your druid into a specific discipline, giving themfeat options, focus spells and an anathemathat stops them from doing anything too undruidly.
Anathema for druids is less severe than for classes such as cleric or barbarian, but is still worth weighing up if you have a specific plan for roleplaying. Untamed anathema is the only one that steps beyond expectations andrequires you to never fully settle into a civilised society.
Secondary Attributes
Storm
Tempest Surge is a nicedamaging spell that weakens a target’s dexterity.
Gain additional effects on spells that call lightning, wind and snow. Canfly in combat without an action tax.
This order is focused onelemental damage and flight, although the flying abilities come down past level eight.
This is the best option for adruid focusing on spell damage.
Dexterityhelps you withmaneuvering in flightand evading attacks in light armour.
Untamed
Untamed Form is your all-purpose shapeshifting spell that isstronger in combat than its competitors.
Untamed Feats grantnew forms to your focus spelland enhance it with modifiers, buffs and resistances.
Untamed Druidis thebest shapeshifting option available.
Your focus spell is easy to recover, allowing it to be used for every encounter, taking on forms with different movement types and fighting styles.
Untamed Form feats haveStrength Requirementsandallow you to use yourstrength over an animal’sform if it is higher.
Animal
Heal Animal benefits a lot from thescaling of focus spellsandthebuffs given to refocusing.
Animal featsaugmentandimprove the animal companionsthey gain at first level.
The Animal Druid invests a lot of their power into their animal companion, a powerful beast that fights alongside them.
In most turns, you will have enough actions tocast one spelland command yourcompaniontoattack.
Constitutionwill allow you toheal and supportmelee-oriented companions without risking death yourself.
Leaf
Cornucopia gives aneasily divisible source of healingwhen used out of combat, but doesn’t compete with more proactive healing spells.
The leaf order gives a scattered collection of feats that augment a familiar, let them navigate the wild andtransform the druidinto aplant permanently.
The weakest orderbyraw mechanicsdue to its overly broad theme.
The Leaf Order wants to be anature-themed diplomatandleaderbut doesn’t provide enough abilities to support that playstyle.
Charismawill help the leaf order’s diplomatic theme.
Feats For A Druid
Druids have a lot of good options for class feats. Even if your order doesn’t offer amazing options, the order explorer feat lets you spread your character across multiple to gain access to their feats and focus spells.Groups with thefree archetype rulesetcan further customise their character to either specialise in their existing focus or take a broader skill set.
Beastmaster dedication, Additional Companion, Lead The Pack
Animal Order
Beastmasters can have multiple animal companions, choosing the best one for a specific situation.
This gives the animal druid some extra versatility and means they won’t be disarmed when outside their preferred element.
Mortal Healing, Battle Medicine, Medic Dedication, Assurance (medicine)
Support playstyle
Assurance ensuresyou will always be successful on the skill check to treat wounds. Mortal healingupgrades this to a critical successif the party does not have a divine caster.
The medic archetype allows you to output a lot of healing without needing to invest spells into it.
Cleric Dedication, basic Dogma (communal healing, healing hands)
Flexible spellcaster
A cleric multiclass makes use of the druid’s high wisdom but needs to be planned. Many druids worship theGreen Faith rather than a singular nature deity.
Spells And Equipment For A Druid
Spells
Druids have a simpler time picking spells than most spellcasters:They can prepare any common spells from the primal list, unlike the witch and wizard who learn only a subset of their lists. Druids gain fewer focus spells than the witch or bard, so may have to invest feats into expanding their focus pool. If there is a specific type of encounter you’re expecting for an area (vitality spells will always see use in a undead focused campaign) you may want to swap it up but the following staples will always see use:
Equipment
Druids have limited dependence on non-magical gear, so they have a small shopping list at first level.Armour will be useful, especially when you can’t spare the slots for mystic armour.Even an untamed druid will want some form of armour for when they’re attacked by surprise or run out of focus points.
A Shield is a great way of boosting your AC,with most druids having a single action spare after casting a two-action spell each round. Alldruids gain shield block as a free feat,giving a consistent use for reactions.
Druids have little use for weapons, but starting with a basic wooden staff meansyou won’t need to redo your character’s art when finding a magical one.
Team Compositions For A Druid
Pathfinder is heavily oriented towards rewarding team building, and this means you may need to make changes to your character to accommodate others at the table. Here are a few points to keep in mind:
