Crazy I know ...But I want to create a Druid/Wizard and need Help

[Chaosrook]

So I have this idea for a Dwarven Druidic Earth Mage. I want to be a some sort of combination of Druid/Wizard and have the Pixie familiar and the Bear companion. I however am quite new to the server and want it to both be a credit to RP and able to be have some survivability.

I played with the Player creation Server and did a 15/15 but sense I havn't had a toon get very high...this didn't provide much illumination. SO please help me and please provide me with some builds that might help me get what I am looking for.

v/r Chaosrook

[Gouge Away]

Don't split caster classes.. The way this particular game is set up doesn't support doing that at all and you're way better off focusing on one or the other. I think if you're flexible with the concept 26 wiz/4 ranger will get you very close to what you are looking for and it will be a very solid build.

I would suggest going wizard with a ranger dip and take a bear totem on the ranger. All of your summon creature spells will appear as bears. You don 't get an animal companion unless you take 6 ranger levels though, and if you do you'll need to take epic defense: abjuration as anything below 26 wizard levels has to worry about dispels... I wouldn't do that myself just for the companion but maybe it's worth it to you *shrugs*

[Chaosrook]

Thank you, I know the traditional line of thinking is dont, but I really do want to have access to both druid spells and some mage spells. I know I wont be as effective as a straight caster, but I also dont plan on just soloing everyting. I just want to make sure I have enough survivability that I can contribute, even if its as a support/healer. At the very least I want something like 26/4.

I beg you for the RP of it help me make the less than perfectly meta build.

[Curve]

Hey, I'm happy to help you maximize whatever build you want. I'll send you a PM with some questions.

[Mattamue]

Doing the ranger totem is a very good idea for re-skinning your summon creature spells as animals and staying as a good caster.

Ranger is also a good class to take a few levels with wizard because it gives you Divine wands and discipline.

With this build you could take ranger earlier and to take a 4th in epics for disc if you want totem animals sooner: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... edit#gid=0

[Drowble Oh Seven]

It's a cool build idea - I've tried a few times to go for a totem reskinned arcane caster, but could never quite put myself at peace with what it did to the build.

Now, not trying to take the wind out of your sails, but just so that you're aware - The way NWN caster levels work is that your spell duration and dispel resistance will be determined by the level of the class you used to cast them. There are plenty (though less than there used to be!) NPCs you will encounter in PvE who will cast dispels, and with a 50-50 level split like this, your buffs will flake away and fall off.

It's not a matter of not being as effective as a straight caster in terms of lost spell duration or potency (which would probably be manageable), it's a matter of being made utterly toothless and losing your limited spellslots on the regular, with very little you can do about it short of avoiding the places where those NPCs appear. Even buffs you cast on allies will be subject to this. The lack of high level summons will also mean you'll be restricted in where you can go alone - And the sooner and more thoroughly you spread your caster levels, the sooner this will happen.

If you're super set on the druid / wizard combo, I recommend focusing on wizard, and dipping three druid while having 14 Wisdom. It's not much, but it means that you can get access to up to fourth level druid spells by using items that grant slots (such as the Druidic Garland). Divine casters get access to their entire spellbook by default, but only unlock spell slots to cast from it as they level up. You can get around this and get access to low-level druid spells using items that give slots. The duration will be bad, and subject to the aforementioned dispel issues, but you'll be able to make druidic potions, wands, and scrolls (if you've got the creation feats - and you'll be a wizard build, so you can) that will run at decently high duration (since, thankfully, items are made at set caster levels, and don't care that you've only got a handful of actual druid levels). Ideally, you'd dip druid late in the build (off the top of my head, 18-20 as druid levels, then a fourth somewhere else to get totem access) so as not to knock off your caster progression, but it wouldn't be the end times if you wanted to grab it first to get your totem reskins online (and the requisite massive stat penalties but, hey, you're a support caster).

You won't have discipline, which is generally regarded as nearly indispensable for PvP survival - But I've never found forgoing it to be an issue for support casters, and it won't substantially impact your PvE experience. This is not a survivable build by any player-competitive measure, but it'll do for adventuring.

Edit: As an aside, did a little testing on the PGCC. Looks like you'll need four druid / ranger levels if you want to select a totem after creation. Or three, if you start as a druid or ranger and select that option initially. Assuming the PGCC is an accurate reflection of how it works on the server.

[malcolm_mountainslayer]

Thank you, I know the traditional line of thinking is dont, but I really do want to have access to both druid spells and some mage spells. I know I wont be as effective as a straight caster, but I also dont plan on just soloing everyting. I just want to make sure I have enough survivability that I can contribute, even if its as a support/healer. At the very least I want something like 26/4.

I beg you for the RP of it help me make the less than perfectly meta build.

which mages spells?

Can we just doe a cleric with magic and nature domain instead, or maybe a shaman?

Split caster is not just less effective, its worse than being a commoner in some situations because you end up having all your buffs instantly dispelled while mundanes resist dispels for all the potions etc as if they were full level casters. So literally a commoner with enough resources and skill could potentially outplay your split class mess.

[Aardra]

Keep in mind you need four ranger levels in order to take a totem pact.

[Gouge Away]

I'd really recommend you listen to the advice since you're asking for a character build that just won't work. The game isn't built to support 15/15 caster splits. You'll just be making a character you'll get frustrated with later and who won't be contributing nearly as much as you think to a group. Nobody here is trying to be a dream killer... It's just the way the game is and a lot of us have tried to do similar things and found out the hard way that some things just don't work.

I'd also recommend you look at playing a shaman since that class is right between druid and mage and would support the "earth mage" concept quite well.

[Baron Saturday]

It might help if you say exactly what features you're hoping to combine from each class to create your dwarven earth mage. What spells you're interested in, what you hope to do with the druid companion and mage familiar, and so forth. Might help even further if you give us a list of stuff you 100% want vs things that would just be nice to have.

[Aardra]

Make a shaman. I know you are wedded to the idea of an divine/arcane split but really! Look at the shaman spell list! It's PERFECT for an "earth mage."

- Grease
- Entangle
- Barkskin/Zoo Spells
- Spike Growth
- (Greater) Stone Skin
- Wall of Fire
- Firestorm
- STONEhold
- Bombardment
- Earthquake (super strong)
- Hellball
- Fire/Earth Elemental (alternatively, Bear/Bat totem)

It's actually a concept I'm jealous I didn't get to explore, as Anariel/Thicket is far more subtle in her magic than firestorms and earthquakes, but it seems like a fun theme to try out.

[NPC Logger Number 2]

I just want to reiterate what others have said about a 15/15 caster split. Don't do it. You will be getting dispelled left and right, and you won't be able to participate in any content above level 20 without dying a lot and being a hinderance to the group. Soloing will be out of the question. Nothing is more frustrating than getting to epics and realizing you have a gimped, terrible build. I've been there, done that, got the t-shirt, for your own sake please take my advice on this.

Shaman seems like a good class for what you want, if you invest a bit in lore you will be able to use lower level arcane scrolls, with a dip in rogue and 15 UMD you can use any arcane wands. So Shaman 27/Rogue 3 would let you have all your earthy druid magics and plenty of arcane stuff like mage armor too.

Wizard 26/Totem Ranger 4 is another good option. It would let you reskin all your summons as your totem animal, you would get divine wands for barkskin and such, and you'd still get to be fairly competitive as a caster. You'd get the pixie familiar and Bear summons. Even Gate and Epic Dragon Knight, two of the most powerful summon spells, would be reskinned as Bears, it would be really cool and powerful.

[Jagel]

Druid 26 / wiz 4 (or 25/ 5 for s bonus feat) might work all right. But the shaman or wiz/ranger are the stronger choices

[Baron Saturday]

One issue with doing a totem build, of course, is that since all your summons are reskinned you can't summon earth elementals.

[WanderingPoet]

If you want a relatively even split then you'll want 17/13 rather than 15/15. This'll give you level 9 spells (ancient elementals at least) and access to ESF perks. The difficulty is when to start your split; start it too late and you cut off access to ESF perks since you need that 17th level to get ESF feats.

Alternatively you can go with 27 wizard/3 druid (Or 25/5 or at worst 23/7) and rely on gearing to give you spell slots. Divine casters know all their spells so if you have spellslots and sufficient wisdom then you can cast the spells.

Druid Garland: 4th level
Greater Totem Necklace: 3rd/4th level
Icon of the Hunt: Level 4/5
Staff of Cleansing: Level 6

So if you were to do 25/5 you could have all the normal spell level 1/2/3 spell slots, two(or three) level 4 spell slots and a level 5 or 6 depending on your staff choice. It's not as heavy spellcasting as being split (a 17/13 would get you level 7 spells) but your CL will be high enough to avoid being dispelled. You could arguably do 23/7 if you get arcane defense abjuration to boost your CL, but I wouldn't go past 5.

5 would also give you enough to use all druid scrolls, so you could use your spellslots and the free wizard scribe scroll to make yourself scrolls.

Just keep in mind that this approach will mean low spell penetration and a weak animal companion. You'll also only be able to have a high int or wis, not both (though buffs can still bring you near 30 on the 'lower' one).

I would however also recommend Shaman for what you're trying to do; you'll have an easier time and since you're new it'll make your experience more fun.