D&D 2E 2E Druid as 4e Wizard Variant: Advice?

[keterys]

The damage part of call lightning could be had at level 1... but the stun component seems a bit much until very high level. I'd change the stun part. Also, Miss: Half damage would probably work better.

Entangle is pretty cool, though I'd been thinking in terms of it making a zone instead of using the sleep mechanic.

 

[HeinorNY]

Awesome powers, but what level are they, they are pretty awesomely powerful. Call lightning has a max damage of 525! (25 square area, assuming a +5 wis modifier) or much higher than that if at a higher level than 1 (up to
900 at level 30!) The "on miss" damage isnt too bad either.

I think Entangle could be lvl 1, since it's like Sleep but less powerful. The targert is immobilized rather than unconscious, and it has no miss effect.

Call Lightning looks like Prismatic Burst:

Prismatic Burst Wizard Attack 13
'You lob a fist-sized orb of pulsating white light some distance away, blasting creatures in the area with rays of multicolored light.'
Encounter * Arcane, Implement, Radiant
Standard Action Area burst 2 within 20 squares
Target: Each creature in burst
Attack: Intelligence vs. Will
Hit: 3d6 + Intelligence modifier radiant damage, and the target is blinded until the end of your next turn.

But it's a daily, has miss effect and deals less damage. Maybe level 5-7.

 

[HeinorNY]

Entangle is pretty cool, though I'd been thinking in terms of it making a zone instead of using the sleep mechanic.

Sleep mechanics + the affected area becomes difficult terrain.

 

[keterys]

Stunned is much more powerful than blind... and 2d8 is only barely less damage than 3d6. Maybe dazed - that doesn't completely take your turn away, so it's a lot more tame.

Anyhow, good luck with figuring out powers - looks like Ainatan is off to a good start

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I'd go with dazed.

I like the entangle being sleep with immobilized instead of unconscious, and the area counting as difficult terrain, but for how long?

Fitz

 

[cdrcjsn]

I like the entangle being sleep with immobilized instead of unconscious, and the area counting as difficult terrain, but for how long?

Up to 5 minutes. Sustain Minor.

Also agree that Stun or Blind for Call Lightning is too powerful unless it's really high level. What's wrong with just doing damage? One of the aspects of Controller is doing damage to large numbers, not just crowd control.

 

[Harshax]

How about a Daily Thunderclap like power, which gets replaced with Call Lightning later on.

Sorry, not going to use a stat block, but its effects could be modest damage (not nearly 1 or 2 dice), plus save vs stunned or deafened. Something like that?

I'm starting to appreciate how easy it is to thematically alter the existing classes to create new ones, without the bloat of writing tons of new powers. At least, it seems like once you've picked a role (Defender for example), they get 1W, 2W, and 3W powers with side effects that hamper movement.

 

[Ipissimus]

You may want to make the Druid power source 'Primal'.

However, I'd do shapeshifting like this for now, as a Druid class ability:

Shapeshifting: As a Standard action, you may transform into any standard creature of equal experience point value. While transformed, you have exactly the same statistics as the creature you have transformed into with none of your normal abilities. You must spend another standard action to return to your original form. You may not switch to another creature form until you change back into your normal form.

 

[keterys]

Well, to be honest... I actually think it'll be quite easy to be lazy and just go 'Okay, use these 40 powers from the wizard list, these 10 from the cleric list, these 10 from the warlock list. That should hold us for the first year of the campaign easy.

For example:

Call Lightning
At-Will * Primal, Electricity, Implement
Standard Action * Area burst 1 within 10 squares
Target: Any creature in burst
Attack: Wisdom vs. Reflex
Hit: 1d6 + Wisdom electricity damage.

Poof (see Scorching Burst)

 

[ferratus]

You may want to make the Druid power source 'Primal'.

I'm basically dividing up arcane magic in my world thusly:

Oracle: Astral Sea
Necromancer: Shadowfell
Druid: Feywild
Alchemist: Elemental Chaos
Demonologist: Abyss
Wizard: Jack of all Planes

I figured I'd leave the Nine Hells and the Far Realm to Warlocks, though if I change my mind they'd be the Alienist and Diabolist respectively.

I figure I can do everyone but the necromancer as a wizard tradition with a tweaking of the power selection, ability scores, trained skills, and class features. I'm not sure exactly how involved wizard traditions are going to be, but I'm guessing what I want to do will be midway between their model for a wizard tradition and a seperate base class.

The necromancer though would have to be in a more leader type role, though I'm not sure how to integrate that into a party. A variant cleric or warlord though (with undead making rituals) whose powers only affect the undead will work for a short term solution there.

The Demonologist, since they are more into eating you than making pacts in the new cosmology, will be drawn heavily from the Binder class in Tome of Magic. Of course, we'll also have to see what the warlock looks like. If they took the Binder's stuff, demonologists will just join the ranks of the warlocks, and they will all be "forbidden magic".

However, I'd do shapeshifting like this for now, as a Druid class ability:

Shapeshifting: As a Standard action, you may transform into any standard creature of equal experience point value. While transformed, you have exactly the same statistics as the creature you have transformed into with none of your normal abilities. You must spend another standard action to return to your original form. You may not switch to another creature form until you change back into your normal form.

That might be an idea on how to do it, though I'd restrict it to animals and magical beasts. I'm not sure if it would work though, since there might be magical beasts out there that would be the same experience point total, but have an ability that would make a PC of the same level unstoppable. I imagine something with regeneration for example would mean you would never use your healing surges again.

I might simply leave it to simply being animals as well. Once you exhaust the dire creatures, you should be about done with animal shapechanging by 10th level. That would allow things like the Hierophant Druid paragon path, and the ability to start thinking about shapechanging into elementals. Grand Druid at 10th level seems okay to me. Top of the Heroic Tier, and thus concerned with the day to day world. After that, they withdraw into the forest and become crazy and scary.