Druid: Circle of Land (Coast)
High Concentration Caster Build
The Character:
Home was where the ocean hungered for the land, reaching forth with foamy hands and dragging earth back beneath its roiling waves, drowning it, claiming it. Home was where the dusky brine burned the air, bleeding eyes and skin and staining tongues. Home was where that seed of chaos buried deep within her soul felt most at home.
Pa'ab stood on black pitted rock bombarded by stormy seas. When one dreamt of the coast, thoughts of warm summer days and white sand beaches were often the first to come to mind. Not for her.
The coast was a wild, savage place and hers were a wild, savage people. She was born of this violence, friend to no sailor, claimer of ships. She was the flood, the tide and the tempest. She was the leviathan lurking beneath the waves.
The Concept: Build, Story, Backgrounds
There are, to be fair, a lot of people who play Circle of the Land Druids. There are also a lot of people who play the PHB Beast Master archetype for the Ranger. Just because people play the subclass doesn't make it popular. What it does means is its one of the few options available in the most common source material. In most conversations regarding Druids, one of my favorite classes, most will say that the Circle of the Moon Druid far outclasses those of the Circle of the Land. Put simply, I disagree. I feel that as someone who's first ever D&D character was a Circle of the Moon Druid, I can say quite confidently that the Moon Druid isn't a godsend among subclasses. Also, the Circle of the Land comes with built in story flavor that the Circle of the Moon simply lacks. I'm certainly not disparaging Moon Druids. I love all subclasses equally; I just wish others saw it the same way.
So, the purpose of this build is to demonstrate just how powerful the Land Druid can be when played to their strengths. This build is a concentration-focused caster who uses several support spells to assist in the process of maintaining concentration on high damage output spells.
The character is one of the lizardfolk, born and raised among her people on an isolated island surrounded by the sea, and wielder of its great power. It is said that the Circle of the Land is made up of mystics and sages who safeguard ancient knowledge and rites through vast oral tradition. Pa'ab is . . . less peaceful. She guards the oceans' secrets through tempestuous violence, chasing away those who might seek to raid its depths in search of occult artifacts or intelligence. Who knows what lies beneath those waves? Only she may say.
The lizardfolk tend toward more neutral alignments and the ocean tends to be a source of elemental chaos, so I felt a Chaotic Neutral alignment was appropriate for this character. Backgrounds that might be appropriate include Acolyte (should the player wish to devote her to an ocean deity), Hermit, and Sailor/Pirate. These options were chosen for their prioritization of Wisdom based skills, the Druid's main stat, but otherwise skills will not be the focus of this build, so this option is based solely off player preference rather than optimization, as with most builds.
The Race: Lizardfolk
The most important part of this Druid is not Wisdom, surprisingly, but Constitution. Succeeding on those concentration checks is going to be top priority. So, I had the choice down between three races: hill dwarf, water genasi and lizardfolk. All three grant a +2 to Constitution and +1 to Wisdom. The additional HP per level up is certainly a case to be made for choosing the dwarf. The water genasi's acid resistance is nice but all of their other abilities can be replicated with Coast Circle Spells. The Lizardfolk, though, with additional Wisdom based skills via Hunter's Lore, a Natural Armor much better than the druid's starting armor and an HP regen ability that's based off of their primary stat was too much to pass up. Not to mention that the free crafting via Cunning Artisan bypasses any restrictions for the druid not being able to use metal tools. Their waterbreathing is less than the genasi's true, but 15 minutes of holding breath is fairly useful, and they still have the swimming speed as well. Many might argue these features are situational, but that's exactly
the job of the DM: to give the players situations where their niche
skills come in handy.The Stat Spread (Standard Array):
16 CON (+3), 16 WIS (+3), DEX 13 (+1), CHA 12 (+1), INT 10 (+0), STR 8 (-1)
Constitution is crucial for the Land Druid's concentration spells/checks, and Wisdom is important for their damage, spell save DC, spell attack bonus and the number of spells they can prepare per day. After taking the two feats that are absolutely needed for the effectiveness of this build, the Land Druid should focus on boosting Constitution to max and then Wisdom. Constitution will take priority as it does not matter how potent spells are if the Land Druid cannot maintain them.
The Class: Notable Features & Spells
Natural Recovery: This feature right here is exactly why the Land Druid holds its own against the Moon Druid. The ability to regenerate spell slots on a short rest equal to half the Druid's level is invaluable. This puts the Land Druid caster on par with the Wizard in terms of casting capability, and more than makes up for the weaker Wild Shape forms which, as a caster, are not all that useful anyway.
Circle Spells - Coast: We chose this circle for two very important reasons that are not on the regular Druid spell list: Misty Step and Mirror Image. The Land Druid gains access to these critical spells as early as level three! I will admit, it was definitely a debate for me between the Grassland Circle and the Coastal Circle for the "Ultimate Land Druid," but ultimately the Grassland excels at support casting, which is great; however, I wanted to show off a more offensive, powerful side of the subclass to demonstrate how it can be just as dangerous as the Moon Druid.
-Mirror Image is a spell that should be cast right before every battle. This spell is what makes the build tick, truly. For one thing, it's not concentration, and for another, it helps with maintaining other concentration spells by making it extremely unlikely the Land Druid is ever hit. No concentration check need be made if no damage is ever taken.
-Misty Step is a fantastic bonus action option that keeps the Land Druid out of the reach of melee enemies, making it even less likely they are ever hit, which in turn makes it almost impossible for their concentration spells to drop before their time runs out.
-Freedom of Movement falls into the same camp, and is a fantastic non-concentration spell to have on hand in case all other fail safes, well, fail, and the Land Druid somehow finds themselves in the arms of the enemy.
Land's Stride: More mobility! Half of the Freedom of Movement spell as a permanent class feature will receive zero complaints from me, as mobility is half of the key to keeping up those concentration spells.
Nature's Sanctuary: If Mirror Image and the multitude of other mobility based features the Land Druid receives weren't enough to keep enemies off of them, all beast and plant creatures having to make a saving throw to even try to attack the Land Druid certainly must be. People like to make the argument of "What beasts and plants will a player realistically encounter at level 14?" Uhh, it would appear somebody's never heard of dinosaurs, mammoths, any of the giant varieties of regular animals (giant scorpions, giant crocodiles, etc.), treants, blights, shambling mounds . . . the list goes on.
Spells: suffice it to say, non-concentration buffs to mobility/AC and damage spells that require concentrations are going to be this caster's bread and butter. Some useful non-concentration buff spells include Longstrider, Pass without Trace and Protection from Poison. Some concentration-based damaging spells include Moonbeam, Call Lightning, any Conjuring spells (Conjure Animals, Minor Elementals, Woodland Beings, Fey), Ice Storm, Earthquake, Tsunami and Storm of Vengeance. Non-damage based, but useful, concentration-based spells include Faerie Fire, Sleet Storm, any of the Walls (Fire, Water, Sand, Stone, Wind), Reverse Gravity, Control Weather, and Shapechange (the 9th level spell that effectively grants the Land Druid all of the benefits of being a Circle of the Moon Druid).
The Feats: Concentrate!
These two feats, taken in the order listed here, paired with all of the other Land Druid abilities and spells that make maintaining concentration easier, are really going to make it hard for our character to focus on anything but wreaking elemental havoc on her enemies.
War Caster: Advantage on concentration saving throws. What more need be said? How about being able to take advantage of the druids' shield to boost AC, thereby making concentration saving throws less likely to occur, while still being able to cast somatic spells? Well, if you insist WOTC. Oh, and the ability to use a spell as an opportunity attack? Guys, you shouldn't have! You spoil us. This feature is exactly what this build is looking for and makes it that much more amazing.
Resilient (Constitution Variant): A +1 to Constitution? Yes please. Proficiency in Constitution saving throws? You mean, the saving throw that concentration checks are made with? Ridiculous! Now, the Land Druid has advantage on and proficiency in concentration checks. They'll never lose focus.
Boosting Constitution and Wisdom from this point forward is ultimately going to be more rewarding, but some Feats that do provide a minor benefit include Lucky (three opportunities to reroll those concentration checks in case literally everything that could go wrong does go wrong) and Heavily Armored (boosts the Land Druid's dump stat but provides the ability to boost AC even higher by wearing, well, heavy armor).
Play Style: High Concentration Support & Damage
Pre-Battle: Two words: Mirror Image. This should be the Land Druid's go-to pre-battle spell always and forever. When this spell times out, cast it again. It should always be up. Other good pre-battle options include Longstrider for increased mobility and Protection from Poison (situational, I know, but it doesn't require concentration, so it may come in handy in certain niche situations).
Early Battle: Time to set up damage. This is the long haul. Choose a spell that will do well for an extended period of time, as the Land Druid's boosts to concentration checks almost ensure once it's up it'll stay up unless they cast another concentration spell. This is the time to set up summons, call in storms or, if none of those will be sufficient, play support. If the monster just so happens to resist many of the Land Druid's damage types, now's the time to rely on the party and cast concentration-based support spells. Lock enemies behind elemental wall spells, give advantage with Faerie Fire, set up difficult terrain with a Sleet Storm, knock enemies over with a Tidal Wave, etc.
Mid-Late Battle: Stay alive! Most of the Land Druid's prep is going to be done at the start of battle. Once the concentration spell is up, it's staying up, and the enemies will not be happy. They'll be out for Druid blood. They will do anything to try and make the spell drop, and likely many attacks will be aimed at our Druid. Now's the time to take advantage of all the mobility based spells and abilities. Place a Sleet Storm between the Land Druid and the foe and then use Land's Stride to hop across it no problem leaving them to slip and slide on the ice. Misty Step away from encroaching melee attackers. Do whatever needs to be done to stay out of the hands of the enemy, and don't forget to keep rolling those damage dice every round for that Call Lightning spell.
Roleplay: Chaotic Leviathan
Pa'ab is the guardian of her people's island. She keeps colonizers from landing amongst their reefs. Her people's life is different from that of the smooth skins, and the secrets her island hold are only for her, her people, and the druids to know. As a sage of the Circle of the Land, ruminate with the DM on what
secrets she keeps for the druids of the ocean and its threshold. Is
there a prison for an ancient underwater monster at the bottom of a dark
abyss beneath the island, an evil artifact lost with a pirate ship that crashed among their shoals long ago, now buried at
the bottom of the sea, or is it a secret of the land lying at the heart of the island that she keeps
hidden from the denizens of the ocean?
Regardless of what knowledge she keeps, she is vehement in protecting it, and will sink a battalion of ocean vessels before divulging her charge. Perhaps that's why she parted from her home in the first place, to prevent a dark secret from getting out. The coast always calls to her, though she may favor one terrain or the other for a time before eventually being called back home. One of these expeditions she just so happens to run into adventuring companions . . . and the game begins.
Regardless of what knowledge she keeps, she is vehement in protecting it, and will sink a battalion of ocean vessels before divulging her charge. Perhaps that's why she parted from her home in the first place, to prevent a dark secret from getting out. The coast always calls to her, though she may favor one terrain or the other for a time before eventually being called back home. One of these expeditions she just so happens to run into adventuring companions . . . and the game begins.
Pa'ab may favor water and storm based spells due to her origin, or she may flavor her others spells with hints of oceanic influence. Some spells she may favor include Create/Destroy Water, Thunderwave, Fog Cloud, Gust of Wind, Call Lightning, Tidal Wave, Wind Wall, Wall of Water, Watery Sphere, Control Water, Maelstrom, Tsunami and Storm of Vengeance. If she conjures elementals they'll likely be from the Plane of Water or Air. Her conjured animals may be ones more likely to be found along the coast like bears, snakes, tortoises, crocodiles, or even purely aquatic animals like sharks and whales. When she casts Scrying, perhaps she forms a pool of water to observe the reflection of her subject in. Whatever the case, water pervades her being, and is the very source of her magic. It only makes sense for it to influence the spells she casts.
Conclusion:
Land Druids may have the numbers to support their popularity, but certainly not the verbal (and text-based) support they deserve. I hope this build highlights the unique features of this subclass and puts them to good use. Yes, the land druid doesn't gain as much unlimited HP as the Moon Druid at level twenty, sure; however, for what they lack in extra temporary health, they make up for in spell recovery, mobility and long-range damage. I hope those future Land Druids have as much fun with Pa'ab as I had making her, or whatever character they choose to make with the race, stats and abilities of the build. Good luck in adventuring, and may the waves grant the party's ship safe passage, lest they be pulled beneath its briny hold and left to drown forever in an endless expanse of inky wet darkness . . . or something like that, anyway.
No comments:
Post a Comment