Prometeus guide to Druid

Last Update February 2017

Greetings fellow Pathfinders,

I would like to start by saying that I used to feel that Druids were a very difficult class to play and to build correctly because there's a lot of options to choose from and need a lot of research between summons, spells, wild shape, etc. It is simply a class that requires more preparation than others and I was overwhelmed by it. Over the last years I played a lot of characters and never came to my mind to choose a Druid, that is why I started to read the forums, books and came to a conclusion: Druids are amazing and have a lot to offer on any table.  

By no means I am an expert to the game, the priority of making this guide is to share my thoughts of my new favorite class and really hope that with your support and contribution we can make this guide a good starting place to build a functional Druid.

Since the 90’s I been playing tabletop games from 2nd and 3.5 edition, for the last few years I been lurking the Paizo and Giantitp forums looking for tips to make my own characters, theorycrafting concepts and reading amazing guides by Treantmonk, N. Jolly, Bodhi’s and all great guides at Broken Zenith. It’s time to give something back to community, hope you like it.

Feel free to give me feedback at Paizo forums or by email andresamgc@gmail.com , specially because english is not my native language and I know that there are a lot of grammatical errors.

Overview

Druids are a medium BAB class that have access to 9th level spells of their own list, one of their main strengths is his versatility to cover a lot of roles in a party and bring a lot of options to the table.

Pathfinder rewards specialization at later levels and I believe that the challenge of being a Druid is to find the sweet spot in your party, because there is nothing more frustrating than to be a controller caster without the help of your team or to take a lot of time on your turn deciding what to do with your summons and frustrate everyone on the table

On a traditional 4 man party with the right build you can easily take the place of the Fighter, Cleric or Wizard. And if you think of it as the “Forge of Combat” way of thinking you can cover the Anvil, Hammer and Arm.

Here are some of the advantages and challenges of being a Druid in Pathfinder

Roles

The Druid is an amazing class that can cover a lot of roles with the right build, here are some of the most common roles that can be covered.

Controller Caster 

Druids have an amazing list of spells to control the battlefield and with the ability to spontaneously cast Summon Nature's Ally you can add bodies to the field to provide cover, flanking bonuses, additional spells, etc.

Melee Striker

There are a lot of options to cover the front, with a full strength build with Saurian Shaman archetype to gain access to War domain or also the Goliath Druid and smash thing while wildshaped as a giant. You can be an excellent skirmisher and front liner.

Melee Controller

With a wolf companion as a nature bond, reach tactics and some correct positioning you can completely disable a foe and provoke lots of attack of opportunities.

Blaster

A caster build with Storm Druid have the ability to spontaneously cast domain spells like Call Lightning and Sleet Storm. You will make a decent blaster with lightning spells.

Archer

With the inclusion of the Nature Fang archetype druids can have access to Slayer Talents and Studied targets and make an excellent nature themed archer.

Utility and Support

Thanks to the highly customization options we have, the Druid is amazing at supporting the party and have an amazing spell list for every occasion.

Scout

With the ability to Wild Shape and the versatility of the spell list  the Druid is the perfect scout because you can adapt to any environment and has a lot of tools to overcome any challenge.

Class Abilities

Alignment                         Any neutral

Hit Die                               1d8

Skills per level                  4 + int

Base attack Bonus                Medium

Saves                                 Fortitude +2, Reflex 0, Will +2

Class skills                        Climb, Craft, Fly, Handle Animal, Heal, Knowledge (geography), Knowledge (nature), Perception, Profession, Ride, Spellcraft, Survival, and Swim

Weapon Proficiency: Club, dagger, dart, quarterstaff, scimitar, scythe, sickle, shortspear, sling, and spear. Proficient with all natural attacks (claw, bite, etc.) of any form they assume with wild shape. Armor proficiency: Light armor, Medium armor and shields, but can't use metal armor.

Spells: Druids have access to 9th levels of our own spell list that is a very versatile one, with control spells, healings, buffs, summons and blasts.

Spontaneous Casting: Lose one spell to cast a Summon Nature's Ally spell of the same level or lower. This is amazing, for each spell you memorize you have two spells.

Nature Bond (Ex): Another amazing thing, you can choose between an Animal Companion or a Domain, there are so many possibilities I will explain better the benefits.

Nature Sense (Ex):  Gains +2 on Knowledge (Nature) and Survival, this is not the most useful of things, the +2 bonus isn’t game changing.

Wild Empathy (Ex): Improve the attitude of an animal, can be useful on some environments but most parties tend to kill things.

2nd Woodland Stride (Ex): Move through any sort of undergrowth at normal speed without taking damage, very situational on most campaigns

3rd Trackless Step (Ex):  Leave no trails when moving, somewhat useful but we already have access to Pass without Trace on our spell list

4th Resist Nature's Lure (Ex): +4 saving throws against supernatural abilities of feys, very situational to be useful.  

4th Wild Shape (Su): This is the iconic Druid, you can change to a lot of useful forms, this is where we excel and the possibilities are endless from combat forms, scout and many more.

9th Venom Immunity (Ex): Is useful to have this, it’s a shame to have this at 9th level. But for some encounters this can be an excellent addition specially for a combat build.

13th A Thousand Faces (Su): This functions as alter-self spell, this is an amazing ability and have lots of usel role playing opportunities

15th Timeless Body (Ex): Druid no longer take ability score penalties from aging, is a shame to have this at 15th level were most campaign already ended but can bump your wisdom a bit

Races

Dwarf (+2 Con +2 Wis -2 Cha) excellent stats for any build, also you have Darkvision and the alternate racial traits Magic Resistant is amazing. The favored class bonus grants +½ domain power use per day and the Slow and Steady racial Trait make the Dwarf one of the best race  to play a Druid

Elf (+2 Dex -2 Con +2 Int) poor stat bonuses and the constitution penalty hurts. Maybe on some themes builds the Elf can be a good choice, but to be honest I prefer any other race.

Human +2 to any stat, extra feat and 1 skill point per level are amazing. The lack of feat bonuses make Humans an excellent choice for some builds.

Half Orc with +2 to any stat, Sacred Tattoo racial and Fate’s Favored trait can be a good race for a melee oriented Druid, also they are proficient with Falchions. For melee strikers this is a good race.

Half Elf with +2 to any stat, with free Skill Focus half elf is a good choice for a Summoner Druid. For racial traits the Ancestral Arms or Dual Minded are amazing to have.

Gnome  (-2 Str +2 Con +2 Cha) poor stat bonuses but the Pyromaniac is something to consider if you are following the Ash domain route. But overall I believe that there are better options than the Gnome.

Halfling (-2 Str +2 Dex +2 Cha) the stats bonuses doesn't shine for a Druid but the small size can make a flying druid from the start. From all the small races I believe that the Halflings is the best option.

Abilities

To be able to rank the abilities depends a lot on what type of build you are aiming to, from a Melee Striker to a full Caster. For simplicity I will take the following approach: Combat Druids are Druids that prefer Strength over Wisdom and in some way will play as a front liners, skirmisher, etc. Caster Druids will be the ones that focus on Wisdom and excels at spell casting.

Strength:         The best stat for a combat druid, for casters you can dump it

Dexterity:         Determine your initiative, extra armor and to hit with ranged attacks and spells

Constitution:         It affects your hit points and should not be ignored on any build

Intelligence:         Only useful for skill points        

Wisdom:         Our casting stat and the priority of casters Druid

Charisma:         Not much benefit to druids besides Wild Empathy and social skills

Here are some sample point buys for both Combat and Caster druids. I only tend to drop stats on 15 points builds, but you can play around with it

Combat

15 pts buy                 Str 16 Dex 13 Con 14 Int 8 Wis 13 Cha 7

20 pts buy                Str 16 Dex 12 Con 14 Int 10 Wis 14 Cha 8

25 pts buy                Str 16 Dex 14 Con 14 Int 10 Wis 14 Cha 10

Caster

15 pts buy                 Str 7 Dex 14 Con 13 Int 10 Wis 17 Cha 8

20 pts buy                Str 10 Dex 14 Con 14 Int 10 Wis 16 Cha 10

25 pts buy                Str 10 Dex 14 Con 13 Int 10 Wis 18 Cha 10

Nature Bond

The Druids way to be one with nature is to form a sacred bond with nature, in Pathfinder this is called the Nature Bond and at the start of your career as a Druid you will face a tough choice between forming a bond with an Animal Companion or a bond with a Domain.

Before you take this decision ask your DM if you can retrain because this opens a lot of options and for some builds is a big advantage to start with an animal companion and switch to a domain at some point.

Combat Druid

The common choice for a combat Druid is the animal companion, there are a lot of options you can consider like Wolf for the trip attack, Big Cat for damage and pounce, Roc for flying, Horse for a riding mount, Axe Beak for his Sudden Charge, Hippopotamus for a vital strike build, etc.

There are also some nice domains you can choose from like Growth, Feather, Plains and Wolf domains. With Saurian Shaman archetype you have access to War, Strength and Destruction domain. With Goliath Druid archetype you have access to Destruction, Ferocity, Growth, Rage and Strength domains.

Caster

If you want to focus as a caster there are a lot of options you can choose, a safe bet is to start with an Animal Companion for survivability and damage for the early levels and then retrain to a domain. Some notable domains for casters are Ash, Weather, Storms and Plains.

At the last of this guide part I will put some samples of builds so you guys can see some ideas, but to be honest you can choose anything you wish

Here is a guide for animal companions and for domains, feel free to check them out

Animal Companions        Prometeus Mini guide

Domains                 RPG BOT Druid Domains Breakdown (Domains)

Feats

Feats in Pathfinder are the critical part of your build, there are lots of feats and first you need to have in mind with type of build and what roles do you want to focus, here are some of the most notable ones

General and Combat Feats

Summoning Feats

Metamagic Feats

There are a lot of metamagic feats, but because of the limited feats the druid has and that some builds need 2 to 3 prerequisite feats to come online,we have some limitations. I strongly recommend that a caster Druid has some rods in his arsenal

Item creation feats

These feats offers some benefits to the Druid, but with our limited quantity of feats here I mention the only ones that are truly useful.

Teamwork feats

These feats are very useful if you build around them and optimize the tactics around you and your animal companion. The classification is considering that you build around teamwork feats.

Traits

Traits in Pathfinder are abilities that are not tied to your class, but they can enhance you skills and abilities. Because there are a lot of options to chose from, I strongly recommend to read these 2 amazing guides

Tips and Traits: A guide to Pathfinder Traits by Dragonamedrake

Guide to the Very Best Traits by Pupsocket’s

Here I put the most common ones and some other that can be of utility for any build

Bloody Minded: +1 initiative and Intimidate checks

Reactionary: +2 to initiative

Resilient: +1 to Fortitude

Indomitable Faith: +1 to Will

Deft Dodger: +1 to Reflex

Lessons of Chaldira: Reroll a saving throw once per day, simply amazing for any build

Reckless: +1 to Acrobatics and become a class skill

Dangerously Curious: +1 to Use Magic Device and become a class skill

Wisdom in the Flesh: Use Wisdom instead of Strength or Dexterity on a single skill

Extremely Fashionable: +1 to Bluff, Diplomacy and Intimidate, one become class skill

Vagabond Child: +1 and class skill to Disable Device, Escape Artist or Sleight of Hand

Desperate Focus: +2 to Concentration checks

Magical Lineage: Drop metamagic cost by 1 for 1 spell

Two-World Magic: Pick a cantrip from other spell list. (Ghost Sound)

Adopted: Pick a trait from another race

Beast of the Society: Duration of Wildshape doubled for small or medium creatures

Magical Knack: +2 to caster level as long doesn't get higher than your current hit die.

 Items

Choosing the right item for your character is a crucial part of any build, you need to know which item to buy in order to be effective and improve your game. There are a lot of items and I will mention only the better ones for each slot.

Rings

Ring of Protection excellent and solid choice, a must have for combat builds

Ring of Blinking costly one but a nice form of defense on most of the normal combats

Ring of Continuation with this ring you can have a buff for all day long for spells that last at least 10 min per level, spells like Beast speak, Longstrider, Anchored Step, Resinous skin, Freedom of Movement, etc.

Ring of Evasion useful for avoiding a lot of spells and those pesky Reflex

Ring of Eloquence is useful while waiting for the spare feat for Wild Speech or to avoid needing it entirely. If you get Wild Speech then just put the ring on your animal companion to make it easier to communicate with and through. (Thanks to Matthew Robertson)

Ring of Force Shield more armor is always nice to have

Ring of Freedom of Movement excellent choice to avoid a lot of things like grapple, slow, paralysis, etc.

Ring of Invisibility amazing ring to have, with it you add a powerful tool to our arsenal

Ring of Natural Attunement (Kami) excellent ring for a summoner build, with it you can summon a Kami, Toshigami

Rods

Rods are an amazing source of versatility, special for all caster druids that need to have a lot of options, often we tend to not choose metamagic feats because our lack of feats.

Dazing spell amazing, imagine all the spells causing the dazed condition, spells like Produce Flame, Flurry of snowballs, Flame strike, etc.

Maximize spell this rod is amazing to have, with it you can make powerful blasts

Empower spell empower spells with this rod, imagine spells like Snowball, Flame Strike, etc. We don't have a lot of options for this rod to excel, but with it you can make Empowered Snowball a powerful thing.

Elemental spell this is amazing, as Druid our common source of damage is lightning and fire, with this you can change elements to those enemies that are resistant to lightning

Selective spell nice rod to have, specially for a controller caster and to avoid damaging your party

Belts

Belt of Giant Strength This is the most common choice for a combat Druid, +2/4/6 to strength is amazing

Belt of Mighty Constitution probably the best belt for casters, +2/4/6 to Constitution

Belt of Physical Might this combine 2 abilities like Strength and Dexterity

Belt of Physical Perfection expensive items but is amazing to have

Belt of Thunderous Charging for a build that focuses on charging, this is an amazing item to have

Body

Druid’s Vestment this is the most common choice for any Druid, excellent and cheap

Monk's Robe only useful if you plan to multiclass with Monk

Robe, Shocking excellent choice for a Storm Druid and a good one for later levels.

Wands

There are a lot of cheap wands that you can use, as a spell caster you will use them a lot, specially at first levels. Here are some examples of the most common ones.

Acid Maw, Cure Light Wounds, Faerie Fire, Magic Fang are common choices and cheap ones, even you can use Obscuring Mist

For more pricey wands you can choose spells like Delay Poison, Delay Disease, Ironskin, Stone Call, Strong Jaw, Restoration, Lesser, Sleet Storm.

If you invest on Use Magic Device you can use things like Mage Armor, Bless, Haste, etc.

Eye, Hands, Feet and Wrists

These slots does not offer anything critical for Druids but pick the one that you can benefit more to your build or focus on a skill you need.

Boots of the Cat - are an amazing item if you fall when flying and is a very cheap item (Thanks to Jeppe Kjeldsen for tip)

Head

Helm of the Mammoth Lord excellent choice to add a gore attack

Jingasa of the Fortunate Soldier with the latest changes to this item is a very expensive for +1 AC

Mask of Giants awesome but pricey choice, with it you can transform into a giant like Goliath Druid

Headband

Headband of Inspired Wisdom this is the most common choice, useful to combat and casters builds

Neck

Amulet of Natural Armor this doesn't stack with Barkskin but is useful when you are wildshaped.

Amulet of Mighty Fists the better choice for combat Druids, even for caster are amazing if you enchant it with guided property.

Hand of Glory: There are more interesting rings for a caster druid than neck items so getting an extra ring slot can be a good choice, and getting see invisible and daylight once per day doesn’t hurt. (Thanks Jeppe Kjeldsen)

Shoulders

Cloak of Displacement excellent choice for a combat Druid, with it you will have a decent buff

Cloak of Resistance this is the most common choice for any build

Slotless

Book, Tome of Understanding expensive but worth it, this book is amazing at later level

Pearl of Power a must have for any build, specially for casters

Incense of meditation a good choice for a caster build, is expensive but used on the right situation is amazing

Dusty Rose Prism, cracked a cheap way to gain +1 to initiative

Pale Blue Rhomboid same as above but Strength, excellent choice for combat Druids

Pink Rhomboid same as above but for Constitution

Wild Shape

There are a lot of forms you can take during Wild Shape, this is another thing you must study as a Druid and there is an amazing guide you need to read and take into account.

Please refer to this guide for reference on the best animals to choose from.

Practical Guide to Polymorph.

Spells

The Druid spells list is amazing because is very versatile and has a lot of useful options like control spells, buffs, utility, summons, etc.

I was delaying the review of the spells because there are more than 300 spells on our list, as a rule of thumb I will use the same ranking colors mentioned at the start but on this document I will put an analysis on what type of spell is and a brief review

Prometeus Druid Spells spreadsheet

Summons

To be an amazing Druid you need to have the ability to know what tool to use on the right time,  with the ability to spontaneously cast Summon Nature’s Ally you can add a whole new dimension to the tide of the battle.

The benefits of summoning in pathfinder are that you gain a lot of flexibility, action economy to your advantage and is a expendable way to mitigate damage to your party.

I can list all the good things but there is already an amazing guide that I recommend you to read,

 Why Work When Others Can do it For You (Monster Summoning)

Archetypes

Druids have lots of archetypes, in this guide I grouped them by animal, terrain and other archetypes. I ranking all of the archetypes but I will only mention the better ones

Animal Archetypes

Ape Shaman, Bat Shaman, Bear Shaman, Boar Shaman, Dragon Shaman, Eagle Shaman, Lion Shaman, Saurian Shaman, Serpent Shaman, Shark Shaman, Wolf Shaman

Terrain Archetypes

Aquatic Druid, Arctic Druid, Blight Druid, Cave Druid, Desert Druid, Jungle Druid, Mountain Druid, Plains Druid, Urban, Druid, River Druid, Swamp Druid, Tempest Druid

Unique Archetypes

Ancient Guardian, Elemental Ally, Feral Shifter, Goliath Druid, Green Faith Initiate, Kraken, Caller, Leshy Warden, Menhir Savant, Mooncaller, Nature Fang, Pack Lord, Reincarnated Druid, Season Keeper, (Triaxian), Storm Druid, Supernaturalist, Survivor, Tempest Druid, Troll Fury (Troll), Wild Whisperer, World Walker

Desert Druid

The ability to wild shape as vermin is amazing, there are a lot of vermins with special abilities. The only downsize is that this archetype start to shine at level 10 when you can wild shape as a vermin.

2nd Desert Native (Ex): gains a bonus on Initiative checks and Knowledge (geography), Perception, Stealth, and Survival checks equal to 1/2 her druid level in desert terrain

3rd Sandwalker (Ex): suffers no penalty to speed or on Acrobatics or Stealth checks when moving through sandy or desert terrain.

4th Desert Endurance (Ex): ignores the effects of a hot climate as if using endure elements. She also has a reduced need to eat and drink, as if wearing a ring of sustenance

6th Wild Shape (Su): A desert druid cannot use wild shape to adopt a plant form. At 10th level she can assume the form of a Small or Medium vermin, at 12th level a Tiny or Large vermin, and at 14th level a Diminutive or Huge vermin

9th Shaded Vision (Ex): becomes immune to blinding and dazzling effects and gains a +2 bonus on saving throws against gaze attacks and illusions of the figment and pattern subschools.

13th Dunemeld (Ex):  can assume the form of a swirling mass of sand at will. This is equivalent to gaseous form, but the druid gains a land and burrow speed of 10 feet rather than a fly speed

Elemental Ally

This is an archetype that can bring a lot of options to a caster Druid, the loss of Wild Shape is hard to overcome but with the adition to 4 eidolons you can make a fun and interesting build

Elemental Eidolons: an elemental ally has four elemental eidolons she can summon, one each for the elements of air, earth, fire, and water. Their abilities and statistics are determined using the rules for elemental eidolons for the Unchained Summoner class, as if the elemental ally were a summoner of her druid level, except they gain no additional evolution pool

Elemental Empathy (Ex): An elemental ally can improve the attitude of a creature of the elemental subtype. This ability functions just like a Diplomacy check to improve the attitude of a person

Elemental Magic: The elemental ally can target elementals (including her elemental eidolons) with any spell she casts that targets animals

4th Elemental Resistance (Ex): an elemental ally gains resist acid, cold, electricity, and fire 5.

Feral Shifter

Thematically this is a nice archetype at the cost of Nature Bond, with this archetype you will gain additional tools to your arsenal and will be an amazing ones.

Animal Focus (Su): as a swift action, a feral shifter can take on the aspect of an animal, gaining a bonus or special ability based on the type of animal emulated. The feral shifter can use this ability for a number of minutes per day equal to her druid level

9th Second Animal Focus (Su): when a feral shifter uses her animal focus ability, she selects two different animal aspects for herself instead of one.

Goliath Druid

Excellent archetype for combat Druids, with this you forget about the armor problems while wild shape and by level 12 you can assume Troll Moss shape and have regeneration 5, scent, Darkvision and bonus to Strength and Constitution. It’s simply Amazing.

Bonus Languages: A goliath druid with an Intelligence bonus can select Giant as a bonus language

Primal Size: adds enlarge person to her list of class spells. She can cast this spell only on herself.

She can also channel stored spell energy to cast this spell without preparing it—she can lose a prepared spell of 1st level or higher to cast enlarge person.

Primal Bond (Ex): must selected from the Animal, Destruction, or Strength domains, or the Ferocity, Growth, or Rage subdomains. If the goliath druid selects an animal companion, she must select a dinosaur or megafauna. If she has a dinosaur or megafauna animal companion, she can target it with enlarge person even though the companion isn't of the humanoid type.

Primal Empathy (Ex):  wild empathy functions only with creatures that are Large or larger.

4th Face Nature's Might (Ex): gains a +4 bonus on saving throws against the spell-like and supernatural abilities of giants

4th Wild Shape (Su): allows to assume only the form of a dinosaur or megafauna. She doesn't gain the ability to become an elemental or plant. At 6th level, can become a Large humanoid of the giant subtype. This functions as the alter self spell, except the goliath druid gains a +4 size bonus to Strength, a –2 penalty to Dexterity, and a +1 natural armor bonus. At 12th level, the goliath druid's wild shape functions as giant form I. At 14th level, the goliath druid can also use wild shape to change into a Huge giant. When taking the form of a giant, the goliath druid's wild shape functions as giant form II.

Primal Summons: Summon Nature's Ally I: Compsognathus. Summon Nature's Ally II: Dimorphodon.Summon Nature's Ally III: Velociraptor. Summon Nature's Ally IV: Ogre, parasaurolophus. Summon Nature's Ally V: Glyptodon, iguanodon. Summon Nature's Ally VI: Baluchitherium, megalania. Summon Nature's Ally VII: Cliff giant.

Summon Nature's Ally VIII: Spinosaurus. Summon Nature's Ally IX: Diplodocus.

Menhir Savant

Excellent archetype, there are a lot of bonuses with a minor downside of losing Thousand Faces, this archetype is amazing for any build.

Spirit Sense (Sp): can detect the presence of undead; fey; outsiders; and astral, ethereal, or incorporeal creatures. This ability functions like detect undead, and the druid detects all of these creatures rather than trying to detect one kind

2nd Place Magic (Su): As a free action, she can tap into the magic of a nearby ley line and increase her caster level by +1 for 1 round. She can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + her Wisdom bonus.

9th Walk the Lines (Su): can cast transport via plants a number of times per day equal to her Wisdom bonus.

13th Empty Body (Su): can become ethereal as a standard action, as if using ethereal jaunt. She can remain ethereal for a number of rounds per day equal to her druid level

Mooncaller 

The mooncaller archetype has a vibe for a lycanthrope Druid, the benefits of Night Sight are good but nothing spectacular, the DR from Wolfsbane is amazing, is a shame that comes at level 13.

2nd Night Sight (Ex): gains low-light vision. If she already has low-light vision, she gains darkvision with a range of 30 feet. If she already has darkvision, the range of her darkvision is increased by 30 feet

4th Resist Call of the Wild (Ex):  gains a +4 bonus on saving throws to avoid confusion, daze, feeblemind, and insanity effects. Also gains a +4 bonus against the spell-like, and supernatural abilities of creatures with the shapechanger subtype

9th Purity of Body (Ex): gains immunity to all diseases, including supernatural and magical diseases.

13th Wolfsbane (Su): a mooncaller gains DR 3/silver, increasing to DR 4/silver at 16th level and DR 5/silver at 19th level.

Nature Fang

At the cost of dropping wild shape you can become a more martial oriented Druid thanks to Studied Target and Slayer Talents. With this you have access to make a decent archer or a two weapon combatant.

Studied Target (Ex): gains the slayer's studied target class feature. At 5th level and every 5 levels thereafter, the nature fang's bonus against her studied target increases by 1

4th Slayer Talent: At 4th level and every 2 levels thereafter, a nature fang selects a slayer talent. Starting at 12th level, she can select an advanced slayer talent in place of a slayer talent

4th Sneak Attack (Ex): a nature fang gains sneak attack +1d6. This functions as the rogue sneak attack ability

9th Swift Studied Target: can study an opponent as a move or swift action.

Plains Druid

The extra mobility and canny charge add some abilities that can be exploited with the right configuration.  

2nd Plains Traveler (Ex): gains a bonus on initiative checks and Knowledge (geography), Perception, Stealth, and Survival checks equal to 1/2 her druid level in plains terrain

3rd Run Like the Wind (Ex): gains +10 feet to her land speed when wearing light or no armor and carrying a light load, and once per hour, she may run or charge at double the normal speed for 1 round. If riding her animal companion, it gains this ability instead

4th Savanna Ambush (Ex): gains concealment whenever she is prone in natural surroundings, and can make Stealth checks at no penalty when prone and not moving or at –5 when crawling

6th Wild Shape (Su): A plain druid gains this ability at 6th level

9th Canny Charger (Ex): can charge through allies’ squares without difficulty (whether mounted or afoot) and can turn up to 90 degrees once during a charge, provided the last 10 feet toward the target are in a straight line. She also gains a +4 dodge bonus to AC against enemy charge attacks and a +4 bonus to damage with a readied action against a charging foe.

13th Evasion (Ex): gains evasion when wearing light or no armor and carrying a light load.

Saurian Shaman

Excellent choice for standard summons and access to War domains, there a lot of versatility with this archetype from a dino summoner to a combat build

Nature Bond: Must select a dinosaur or must choose from the Animal, Destruction, Strength, and War domains

Wild Empathy (Ex): Can use wild empathy with dinosaurs and reptiles as a full-round action with a +4 bonus.

2nd Totem Transformation (Su): may select from the following bonuses: Movement (+10 enhancement bonus to land speed), Scales (+2 natural armor bonus to AC), Senses (low-light vision, scent), Natural weapons (bite [1d6], 2 claws [1d4] for a Medium druid, rake, +2 CMB to grapple)

5th Totemic Summons (Su): may cast summon nature’s ally as a standard action when summoning reptiles and dinosaurs, and these summoned creatures gain temporary hit points equal to her druid level.

6th Wild Shape (Su): wild shape ability functions at her druid level –2. If she takes on the form of a reptile or a dinosaur, she instead uses her druid level +2.

9th Bonus Feat: At 9th level and every 4 levels thereafter, a saurian shaman gains one of the following bonus feats: Improved Overrun, Nimble Moves, Power Attack, Skill Focus (Intimidate), or Vital Strike

Storm Druid

This is the perfect archetype for a caster that wants to focus on blasting with lightning, the ability to have 2 domains is amazing, Eyes of the Storm is amazing with Obscuring Mist and Spontaneous domain casting is amazing for versatility.

Spontaneous Domain Casting: can “lose” a prepared spell in order to cast any domain spell of the same level or lower

Nature Bond (Ex): may not choose an animal companion. A storm druid must choose the Air or Weather domain, or the Cloud, Storm, or Wind subdomain.

2nd Windwalker (Ex): the penalties from natural or magical wind effects are treated as one step less severe for a storm druid

3rd Stormvoice (Ex): a storm druid’s voice can magically carry over howling winds and peals of thunder. Whenever a Perception check is needed to hear the druid’s voice, the DC is reduced by an amount equal to the druid’s level.

4th Eyes of the Storm (Ex): can see through 10 feet of magical fog, mist, gas, wind, rain, or similar inclement weather conditions, ignoring any concealment it might grant. This distance increases by 5 feet for every 4 levels beyond 4th.

9th Windlord: can select another domain or subdomain from those available to her through her nature bond.

13th Storm Lord (Ex): is unaffected by natural and magical wind effects. She also becomes immune to deafness and gains +2 bonus on saving throws against sonic effects.

Swamp Druid

For casters there are some nice additions like Pond Scum and Slippery, is amazing to have continuous freedom of movement

2nd Marshwight (Ex): gains a bonus on Initiative checks and Knowledge (geography), Perception, Stealth, Swim, and Survival checks equal to 1/2 her druid level in swamp terrain

3rd Swamp Strider (Ex): suffers no penalty to speed or on Acrobatics or Stealth checks in bogs and undergrowth

4th Pond Scum (Ex): gains a +4 bonus on saves against disease and the exceptional, supernatural, and spell-like abilities of monstrous humanoids. A swamp druid also gains DR/— equal to half her druid level against attacks by swarms.

6th Wild Shape (Su): A swamp druid gains this ability at 6th level

13th Slippery (Ex): gains continuous freedom of movement

Urban Druid

This archetype have some utility on builds that are focused on support or knowledge thanks to Lorekeeper. Thousand faces at level 6 is amazing.

Spontaneous Casting: can channel stored spell energy into domain spells that she has not prepared ahead of time. She can “lose” a prepared spell in order to cast any domain spell of the same level or lower

Nature Bond (Ex): may not select an animal companion. Instead, she must choose from the following domains, rather than those usually available to druids: Charm, Community, Knowledge, Nobility, Protection, Repose, Rune, or Weather.

2nd Lorekeeper (Ex): adds Diplomacy, Knowledge (history), Knowledge (local), and Knowledge (nobility) skills to her list of class skills. She also receives a +2 bonus on these skill checks

4th Resist Temptation (Ex): gains a +2 bonus on saves vs. divinations and enchantments.

6th A Thousand Faces (Su): An urban druid gains this ability at 6th level.

8th Wild Shape (Su): An urban druid gains this ability at 8th level

9th Mental Strength (Ex): gains immunity to charm and compulsion effects.

Tactics 

I want you to think of Druids as a class that have the wits to know the strengths of his surroundings and be the swiss army of the nature. On every campaign there are a lot of challenges and we need to have in mind some common ways to overcome them.

Feel free to leave you comment to add more challenges, combos and common Druid tactics. This tactics are focused for lower levels because at later levels you will learn more solutions simply by playing.

Damage an enemy with high armor class?

Combat builds: Cast Flame Blade and dive to combat. Summon Swarm for the auto hit traits of swarms, transform as vermin with Vermin Shape I

Casters: Use spells to damage him like Produce Flame or Flaming Sphere. Summon Swarm for the auto hit traits of swarms.

Want to control or disable an enemy?

Combat builds: With Stone Call you can make their surroundings a difficult terrain, Wild Shape as a Wolf for trip. Cast Lockjaw on your animal companion to gain the grab ability.

Casters: There are plenty of spells to handle that like Entangle to keep him in place, Thunderstomp to trip him, Stone Call to make their surroundings a difficult terrain, etc

I need to scout an area, what should I do?

Wild shape as an animal form according to the region like an Owl, Eagle, Dog, Rat, etc. Additional you can cast Commune with Birds to gain additional information on the zone or Negate Aroma so you can't be tracked back or Heightened Awareness to detect clues to track and additional information.

Sleeping time, what can I do to improve our campment?

With Goodberry you can provide food and rations to your team, with Read Weather you can always have the forecast the weather at your location, Hide Campsite provide invisibility to the campment. Make Snare traps to protect it. Dream Feast to sleep as if having a nutritious meal.

Need some long time buffs?

Endure Elements to provide protection on hot or cold environments, Longstrider to increase movement speed, Pass without Trace to leave no trails while moving, cast Aboleth's Lung if you need to swim for a prolonged period of time, talk in animal form with Beast speak, cast Wild Instinct to sharpen your instincts,  with Barkskin you can improve your natural armor, Ward of the Season to provide additional bonuses, Echolocation for blindsight.

What about combat buffs?

There are plenty like Magic Fang to improve damage to you while wild shapes and your animal companion, Shillelagh to provide a big bonus to a club, Bull's Strength to improve strength, Savage Maw to gain bite attack, Strong Jaw to improve damage while wild shaped, Barkskin for natural armor.

What can I do to debuff an enemy?

Endothermic Touch to stagger your target, Faerie Fire to cancel blur and prevent invisibility, Flare Burst to dazzled all around 10 ft, Frostbite for fatigue, Mudball for blindness, Nauseating Dart for sickened, Snowball for damage and stagger a foe, Thunderstomp to trip someone, Accelerate Poison if applicable, Burdened Thoughts to make flying targets land from heavy encumbrance, Frigid Touch staggered and cold damage, Fury of the Sun fatigue, Hold Animal to paralyze an animal, Pox Pustules subject is sickened and has –4 Dex, Vine Strike to entangle your opponent, Contagion for disease, Poison touch deals 1d3 Constitution damage. Sirocco to cause damage fatigue and prone.

If things are getting difficult, what are some good contingency spells.

Air Bubble to create a small pocket of air around your head, Cheetah's Sprint for a powerful sprint out of trouble, wild shape to assume any form, Liberating Command to make Escape Artist checks, Remove Sickness to suppress disease, nausea, and the sickened condition, Wave Shield to prevent an attack, Delay Disease, Delay Poison, Resist Energy for damage reduction to one element, Cloak of Winds to prevent archers, Eagle Eye to make an invisible factor a help.

How can I buff my animal companion.

There are a lot of buff like Bristle to trade armor for damage, Acid Maw to gain acid damage, Magic Fang to enhance one natural weapon, create a Companion Life Link to protect them, Lockjaw to gain grab for a natural attack, Savage Maw to gain a bite attack if doesn’t have one, Companion Mind Link to talk to your companion, Strong Jaw to augment his damage, Animal Growth to double his size, Bloody Claws to cause bleed damage with natural attacks, etc.

What type of status ailments can I cure?

Suppress disease, nausea, and the sickened condition with Remove Sickness. Remove Disease, Delay Disease, Delay Poison. Accept Affliction to transfer afflictions to caster, Death Ward

Wild shape tactics

• Glide as an elemental, with earth elemental
• Shapeshift to Arsinoitherium or a Behemoth Hippopotamus and you will have the best damage in one single attack, add things like Strong Jaw and Vital Strike you will be doing a lot of damage, awesome for overcoming some DR’s

Sample Builds

All the builds that I'm going to post are made with 20 pts buy and the main priority is to make functional builds. In some cases the feats that I will post are the ones that the build need, after that is your choice where to put those extra feats. Remember to play around with your feats in order to make a build according to your needs. For items consider the basics unless otherwise I mention something different (Cloak of Resistance, Ring of Protection, Amulet of Natural Armor, Headband of Inspired Wisdom and Stat Belt).

With this build you will be an amazing striker and be on the front line, that’s why Toughness and Heavy Armor Proficiency comes in handy. With this archetype you can be a front liner who can cast spells, heal between combats with wands and has a lot of spells for extra utility.

1st - Play this guy as a fighter, equip a club and with Shillelagh you will be killing things very fast

6th- This is where the things got fun, at this level you can shape as a Troll Moss (Darkvision, claws, bite, scent) and start killing things, with shillelagh you club will do a base damage of 3d6.

12th- Once you hit level 12 you can stay giant as most as you want, with Troll Moss you will gain Regeneration 5 (Fast Healing 5) and you will be having a lot of fun.

Variations: You can switch Vital Strike with Powerful Shape according to your needs, also there are a lot of useful Rage Powers like Knockdown, Powerful Blow, Raging Grapper, Superstition, etc.

This is an amazing build. Since a long time ago I have been toying with the idea of a nature archer, but to play as an archer in Pathfinder is a very feat intensive path. With the addition of the Nature Fang archetype, you can have this at the cost of Wild Shape.

For this build to work you need to play as an archer with your spells as an added asset, with the Fey Thoughts racial trait you have access to Acrobatics and Stealth as class skills and Dangerously Curious for archer wands like Gravity Bow or Flame Arrow.

1st - Basically you play this guy as a support archer, and always be ready to change the strategy according to the situation. You are having trouble to hit because high armor class? Use Produce Flame. Need some extra bodies on the battlefield? Summon Nature’s Ally. Use Heat Metal to drop an enemy weapon, avoid charges with Stone Call, etc.

7th - At this you can ride your Roc and be a flying archer, with this you will have lot of mobility in a fight and also have a room for improving your tactics from above

Variations: There are a lot of variations. I decided to go with half elf for the nature vibe but you can start as Human and have access to Longbow proficiency with Heirloom Weapon or spend a feat on Weapon Proficiency. You could grab the Undersized Mount and start flying at level 1 and retrain at 7th. Also you could change Snap Shot with Clustered Shots.

I am not a fan of this kind of builds but for this guide I believe that I needed to cover this. With the Urban Druid you have access to Thought Domain, all the feats and decisions are focused to support the party, giving buffs, make knowledge checks and provide control with summons

The items will be standard for any caster but you need to focus on having Pearl of Power for divine Interference by level 10 and buff your allies with Barkskin, Longstrider, etc.

1st - At first you will start playing as a Caster who can summon, adding bodies to the battlefield, providing flank bonuses and controlling. You will need to be very strategic to use Lore Keeper to gain information.

8th - With the addition of Lunging Spell Touch and improved initiative you can start to identify enemies fast, or read minds in tense situations and this tool will be awesome on social encounters.

Variations: There are a lot of variation you can make with this build, feel free to modify according to your party needs, you can have access to Protection or Leadership domains for a different approach. This type of builds has many ways to build that this is only a sample one. Remember to always have in mind your party composition before building your Druid.

Another variation that I recommend is to put Scribe Scroll at level 3 to have a lot of situational spells on scrolls.

Despite the awesome and misguided picture of this build, the main attraction of this is to be a team with your animal companion and together will provoke a lot of trips.

1st - At first you will play as a combat Druid with your wolf by your side and doing more damage with Trips attempts.

6th - Both you and your animal companion as Druid will provoke a lot of trips and will take control of the battlefield, with Spell Sharing you will be pretty buffed with things like Magic Fang and Savage Maw.

11th - By this level you can stay as a Dire Wolf or for cheese you can wild shape as a Behemoth Hippopotamus and with Vital Strike, Strong Jaw and Improved Natural Attack for you and your animal companion you will be making at least 16d8 plus Grab

All of the feats are standard for a combat Druid, Improved Spell Sharing feat works wonders to share spells like Strong Jaw, the synergy with Tandem Trip is amazing to provoke lots of Trip and play around with the enemies and control the battlefield.

Variations: You can make a lot of variations with this kind of build, here I mention a few ones

• If you don't want the trip synergy you could wild shape and grab a Tiger or Lion animal companion for more damage output
• For feats there are a lot options you can play around, I ignored Power Attack entirely but you can add it at level 3
• You can add Combat Reflexes for more attacks of opportunity but need to have 14 Dexterity to function properly.

This is probably the best build for a Druid that wants to focus on blasting their enemies, with the ability to spontaneous cast a spell domain you can cast a lot of spells.

1st - At first level you can follow Erastil to be proficient with shortbow, with this you can stay back and cast spells and shoot your bow. The beginning will be a rough one, just be patient.

4th - This is where the things get fun because with wild shape you can transform as an eagle and start shooting spells from above without being hit.

7th and beyond - From this point you have passed the hard road of being a caster at low levels and by this level you will have a lot of options, but your priority is to control the battleground, make damage and support from above the battlefield. Remember to wild shape as flying form to be above the battlefield and to read and study all of your tools.

Variations: As with all the builds there are a lot of variation you can make like improving your defenses with Lightning Reflexes, maybe even get Additional Traits or Skill Focus.

The reason behind this build is to play this Druid as a caster that is focused on controlling the battlefield through summons and spells. If you are a follower of Erastil you will be proficient with shortbow for the early levels.

For your animal companion you can have a Wolf for trip, Rhinoceros for Powerful Charge or even a Roc who has Flyby Attack or Hover.

1st - At first level you can start by staying back and shooting your bow, having your pet do the damage and strategically cast some spells.

5th - By this point you can Wild Shape as an eagle flying around the battlefield, casting spells according to the situation and buffing your pet for extra damage

13th - This is where the Druid becomes a terrifying caster, you can be flying as an elemental and casting things like Tar Pool, Summoning a Stampede, throwing Fire Seeds

Variations: With this build you can have a lot of options to play with.

• You can start with an Animal Companion and later retrain to Caves Domain or even start with Eagle Domain.
• If you want you can swap Superior Summoning with Improved Initiative to have the tactical advantage of starting first
• Adding metamagic feats like Dazing Spell, Selective Spell or Quicken Spell is a nice addition

This is a very fun build to play at all levels. Think of it as a combat Druid with an Allosaur companion tearing enemies apart while also adding summons to the battlefield. This is one of the most fun things to do and is a very powerful combination.

Remember that summoning as a standard action is a very powerful thing.

1st - At the very first level you and your animal companion will be wrecking enemies and will have a lot of fun. Adding summons and spells strategically for flanking and covering from charges.

6th - This is where you start to notice the high damage per round you can make with you attacks, you buffed animal companion and your summons.

Variations: As with all the Druid builds this is no exception, there are a lot of variations for this build.

• You can swap Superior Summoning and Power Attack according to your needs
• Another approach of this build is to play more of a Reach Cleric type of build, lowering your Strength and raising your Dexterity to 14 and grab Combat Reflexes.

I really love this build, at first this concept will seems like a bad idea because you lose Wild Shape. But think of it, you can fly from level 1 with a normal size mount, charging and picking enemies on the side and positioning strategically on the field, casting situational spells from above and you can use reduce animal when Roc change size at 7th level to avoid problems on most dungeons.

If you are in a situation that can’t fight mounted, equip a shield and cast shillelagh so you can make a decent damage and hold your ground. You can abuse Use Magical Device for added spells like Grace, Saddle Surge, Enlarge Person or even Lead Blades. Remember that charging with a lance deals double damage to your enemies

1st - By this level you can fly around the battlefield charging at foes making a lot of damage.

5th - At this point with Spirited Charge you will be doing a lot of damage, at least 3d8+12 while charging. With the extend mobility of flying around you can even summon something to grant you a flanking bonus.

7th and beyond - By this point if you are having problems with the size of your Animal Companion you can cast Reduce Animal to avoid problems in dungeon, also a good technique is to cast Stone Call to leave the enemies at their place and start charging them

Variations: As with all the builds there are a lot of variations to this build, you can change all the feats around, you could grab Power attack early if you feel more comfortable and maybe adding Heavy Armor Proficiency to the mix.

This build is based on a caster Druid that have 4 eidolons, with this you will add a lot of versatility and utility to the party, at start you can choose 4 class skills for each eidolon, this is where you can exploit it around a lot of options, you can train Use Magic Devices on two biped eidolons and support your party with wands like Frostball, Stone Call, Enlarge Person, Lead Blades, etc.

1st - At first level you can start as a normal caster Druid but instead of your animal companion you will have 4 eidolons, at first level you can even think to use a feat on biped eidolons to gain proficiency with weapons or go with natural attacks and gain Light Armor proficiency.

5th - By this level the things will be very different, you can start the round moving and positioning your eidolons, make a eidolon use a wand to cast Stone Call to avoid charges while you cast spells according to the situation. Outside combat you can have a lot of options, with Air eidolon you could build it as a scout, Earth can be a burrowing scout and meat shield, both Fire and Ice can support the party with Use Magic Device

11th and beyond - At this point you will be a powerful caster as any Druid, with Angel Wings aasimar feat you can fly and be above the field casting spells and bringing a lot of utility

This build is a lot of fun, because you will be a very decent skirmisher thanks to your brute force and the option to adapt to any type of combat, also you can add bodies to the field at 5th level to

1st - The start of this build is simple, go and smash things with your club enchanted with Shillelagh and use Battle Rage for extra precision.

6th - By this level you can wild shape as a dinosaur and tear opponent with your natural attacks, if you need to you could add summoned dinosaurs to the field as a standard action to provide you with flanking bonuses.

Beyond - This build is a very straightforward combat build, think of it as a great combatant who has spells to help him overcome some situations and with the added benefit that at level 5 you can summon dinosaurs as a standard action.

With weapon master you can activate combat feats that you have the prerequisite like Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Defensive Combat Training, Improved Bull Rush, etc.

This build focuses on being a decent combatant at early levels and start pumping your wisdom to change the strategy beyond 6th level when you can wild shape as an elemental and have tremorsense to gain a tactical advantage. I love this build for tables that change players frequently.

1st - Start this as any combat build, you can cast Shillelagh and go to smash things. And also you will have a great Wisdom to use spells according to your needs.

6th - At this point you can be a decent damage dealer with items like Belt of Giant Strength, have a tactical advantage to wild shape as an earth elemental and going around with tremor sense. Wild shape as a Tiger and go to tear people faces, buff yourself and play according to the situation.

Around 8th or 9th level you will peak the best part of being a Druid that focus on dealing damage with wild shape, you will need to make the decision after this if you want to keep balancing things up or to go for a more caster build which I strongly suggest.

Variations:

This is no exception, you can make a lot of variations to this build, on excellent choice  is to take Growth domain for the swift Enlarge Person or to go with an animal domain that grant a familiar like Eagle or even Frog. You can also switch Strenght and Wisdom according to your needs

For this build we are going to take a different approach as the normal combat Druid, in this case we are going to abuse the Fate’s Favored trait in order to have better saves thanks to Sacred Tattoo and buff with Divine Favor. In the heat of the moment you can standard summ Lions

1st - For this level you can start as a normal combat build, in some cases remember that you can buff you or your allies with Inspiring Word and never forget that you are also a 9th level caster.

7th - At this level you will be making a lot of damage is you consider spells to buff you like Divine Favor, Strong Jaw, etc. Also you will be shifted as a feline all day long, and with each fight you will have a lot of options like summon Lions and charge to combat, casting controlling spells and then pick enemies apart, etc.

This build peaks at level 9th or 10th, which is the sweet spot for a lot of adventures, never forget that aside from being a combat wild shaper, you are also a 9th level caster with the ability to summon felines as a standard action

Also talk to your DM about Leadership, because with it you can pretty much have a fellow Druid that can buff you all day long or a Wizard.

For this build as with any Druid, you can take a lot of differents approaches, move feat around according to your liking. Remember that you can apply templates to Lions like young and advanced.

For this build to function properly you need to play it as a debuffer and deliver spells like Frostbite, Frigid Touch, etc. And have a nice endurance to stay close to combat to spread Miasma

From a roleplaying perspective this build has a lot of downsizes, but if you have a good DM you can talk through it and find a way to don’t alienate from all the social interactions.

1st - For the first levels you will need to play like a caster and play safe and smart, on some combats you can go make some attacks according to your discretion.

6th - At this level thing will be very interesting and the build start to shine with Miasma. For tactics you can wild shape as an Air elemental and start moving around the battlefield, glide as an earth elemental and spread Miasma or take a lot of different aproach to stay close to combat, spread Miasma and deliver your touch attacks.

Remember that with each Frostbite you can use it one attack per caster level and with Enforcer you can attempt to demoralize your enemies as a free action. With this simple combo you will have delivered Fatigued, Shaken and Sickened your foes.

This build is a total support one, with it you can craft items for your party and with the addition to Protection domain you will be a nice support for those moment when other need more resistances. Apart from that you can spontaneously cast Sanctuary, Shield Other and Spell Resistance on teammates.

At the start you will be supporting your team and at later level you will be the amazing caster Druid is and will provide support and control to your team.

1st - At first level you will be playing as a caster, you can follow Erastil and grab a bow to make some damage from behind, cast some buff on your team or even cast things like Burning Disarm, Entangle, Hydraulic Push or Thunderstomp.

5th - At this point you need to think what is more important to your party and think outside the box on wands and scrolls thanks to Use Magic Device, stock with scrolls and wands on things like Blur, Mage Armor, True Strike, Gravity Bow, etc. Also at this point you have access to greater spells like Sleet Storm, Vermin Shape, Contagion, etc.

Beyond this point you will be an awesome team player and will need to focus on metamagic feats to improve your casting ability, I choose Empower and Dazing metamagics but feel free to choose what suits best to your party composition.

In order to make this build work you need to be very intelligent on where and which enemy engage, also with this guy you will focus on skills, to pick strategic foes and always remember that your wolves are a good source of damage but can’t take the place of proper frontliner like Barbarian, Ranger, Slayer, etc.

Another thing that you need to consider is that the Eagle and Rat are scouts companions, don't try to engage them to combat because they will die easily. Also you can use the wolves as your mount and lend the other one to a friend.

1st - At first you will make damage through your animal companion, use your spells according to the situation.

6th - At this level you will have all the necessary animal companions that are needed to thematically add versatility to the build, this basically is a caster Druid as any other build but with the addition that you have your mini army of wolves that will attack your enemies and add more bodies to the field thanks to

Variations: This build have a lot of variations as with any Druid, you can take a different path and play as a combat build and with a Scimitar and Outflank you will be processing a lot of opportunity attacks.

You could also pump you Use Magic Device to buff your wolves with wands like Bless, Haste, Good Hope, etc. You can switch animal companion according to your taste like Tigers, Apes, Rocs, etc.

This build is amazing, with it you have a huge range of boons to choose from, Bull Focus for more strength, Bear for constitution, Cold to add 1d4 cold damage to your claws, Mouse to gain evasion, Air to gain levitate and feather fall, etc.

1st - At first you play this guy as a normal combat Druid, as an orc you can grab a Falchion and start smashing things. Use the animal focus according to the situation like Fire for an additional 1d6 fire damage , Bull to add more strength or even Bear for more constitution.

9th - From here on you will be deadly, now you can have two animal focus at the time and you can wild shape as a Dire Tiger and with Cold focus you will add 4d4 damage and Fire focus will add 2d6 fire damage to each attack. Also you will have a lot of options during combat, add Strong Jaw to the mix you will be doing a lot of damage.

This build is a nice addition to a build that focuses on being close to combat, with the Animal Focus ability you will have a lot of options during a fight. Is amazing that you can put things like Evasion, Levitate, etc.

Books

Here is the list of books that was reviewed on this guide

Core

Core Rulebook, Bestiary 1, Bestiary 2, Bestiary 3, Bestiary 4, Advanced Player’s Guide, Ultimate Magic, Ultimate Combat, Advanced Race Guide, Ultimate Equipment, Advanced Class Guide, Pathfinder Unchained,

Pending to add:

Occult Adventures, Bestiary 5, Ultimate Intrigue, Horror Adventures, Healer’s Handbook, Blood of the Beast

Thanks

Thanks a lot for all the feedback and comments, hope you like this guide as much as I like to write it.

I would like to thanks all the people who read this guide and comment on Paizo Forums and Google Docs comments, special thanks to:

Treantmonk, Peterrco, N. Jolly, Zenith, Bodhi, Lastoths and all the people that took their time to make Pathfinder guides and contribution.

Thanks to Broken Zenith to gather all the guides in one place

Here is my email for any suggestion and comments andresamgc@gmail.com 

And thanks all the people who gave me feedback in Paizo Forums