For the Shillelagh and magic stone argument of casting every minute, my dm simply said, "roll a d10 at the start of combat to see how many rounds you have left on the spell"
I think that's a good rule if the fight was sudden, I think if you initiate combat any player who saw it coming could reasonably have precast something with a -1 round duration.
The understanding about shillelagh at my table is that if we're weapons out, battle ready, adventuring, I have it up. If we go straight from diplomacy or travel to combat then I need to take the time to cast it
I Would love to Colby Experiment with using the art in the thumbnail. I know consistent Branding for thumbnails are important but the art so good I'd be hard press to find many people who wouldn't not click on it.
My idea for a Druid gish character is multiclassing Mercy Monk + Spores Druid. And since Monk Unarmed Strikes do count as "melee weapon attacks" they should work with the Symbiotic Entity feature. I call it "The Penicillin Pugilist". And I'd love to see how Colby would build it. 😁
I have someone playing this exact build in my PotA campaign right now. 8th level, 6 monk, 2 druid. Deals an UNHOLY amount of damage, nearly keeps up with the dual wielding BM fighter/undead warlock
Fun build, I like it! Here's my spin: I started off thinking a one level monk dip just for Martial Arts, cus we love that bonus action attack with Spores, getting more value from our Symbiotic Entity, right? But then it occurred to me that we'll be using a quarterstaff, and you know what we can do with that? Polearm Master. This'll deal 1d4 on a bonus action just like early Martial Arts, with the added benefits that this attack will work with Shillelagh too so we don't go too MAD for Dex, we can use a shield, it won't throw off our spellslot progression, and we can use it from first level. So: Pick a class with a starting feat, take PaM. At level 2, we get spores, and twice per short rest we get to do this, assuming Wisdom of 16: Turn one, use use our Action to activate Symbiotic Entity, gain 8 temp HP, Bonus Action Shillelagh, then somebody walks up to us to fight. Polearm Master reaction attack. 1d8+1d6+3. On your turn, attack action and Polearm Master bonus action attack. 1d8+2d6+1d4+6. Overall, that averages 31 damage. Did I mention we're level two and did this with a cantrip? Now we can level up to 4th level. Putting two more points into Wisdom here is the smart move, but you know what's more fun? Taking the Crusher feat and casting Spike Growth. Now, assuming you've set up in advance, your damage looks like this: From your normal attacks: 1d8+2d6+1d4+6 You also Crusher them 5 feet away through the spikes, so that's another 2d4. The enemy approaches you again through the spikes. Another 2d4. You use your PaM reaction and hit them for entering your threatened area. Another 1d8+1d6+3. Here's an interesting interaction: Crusher says 'Once per turn', not 'Once per round'. That means we can use it on our turn and on somebody else's turn. Uh oh, we knock their ass another 5 feet back into the spikes with that reaction, and your DM is getting cross. Another 2d4. If they want to continue approaching you after that, it's another 2d4, but let's be fair, they're probably going to just curl up and cry instead. That puts our damage at: 2d8+3d6+9d4+7, for a whopping 49 average damage at level 4. Suddenly no enemy wants to come near you, and holy shit, you can not blame them. The sexiest part of this is that it doesn't even throw off your spell progression - you're still a full caster, you spiky little monster. The tricky part is setting it all up - Symb Entity takes an Action, so does Spike Growth. Odds are, your best bet is to walk up 10 feet from an enemy, cast Spike Growth centred on them turn one, then Symbiotic Entity turn two. You'll still get your reaction attack when they enter your space, and if they choose not to approach you, it's because they used their turn to Dash out of the spikes (20 feet of difficult terrain needs 40 feet to get out of, so that's going to take a Dash for most creatures), taking 8d4 damage in the process, which is still pretty good, especially if you can make two or more enemies do this and then immediately drop the spell. That's a second level slot dealing 20 average damage per creature, wasting their actions and splitting them up, unless they approach you instead. There's also the possibility that they'll have a ranged attack, and they'll just sit in the spikes and not move. Okay. At tenth level, we can use Spreading Spores to deal 2d8 in a 10 foot cube at the start of every turn. Or, we could consider other fun spells like Wall of Fire or Maelstrom. Maelstrom feels especially cruel, standing on the edges and pushing them back in when they get close to escaping. Druids are scary.
@@A2Ztigers I've got an arcana cleric 1/wildfire druid 9 set up for a oneshot for Christmas, got PAM, Warcaster and GFB. 12th level druid feat would be crusher for sure 😈
LOL, at 48:44, "And we also get Mass Cure Wounds, which can be kind of nice if you have multiple Enemies in dire need of healing..." Heal 'em up to give 'em hope then smack 'em back down again to show 'em they never stood a chance! So mean! Love it 😈
On the recasting sheleleeee every minute, I think a fair compromise people can make with their DM is that you roll a d10* along with initiative. You get that many turns of shalooloo before you need to recast. Realistically you wouldn't always just happen to have a minute left, even if your character is always prepared for a fight.
Recasting a spell every minute would be so annoying though for RP. I generally don't allow that sort of thing unless they are in a situation they would percieve as dangerous. e.g. exploring a dungeon - sure you can be constantly casting it as long as you aren't trying to be sneaky, walking around town - no people are going to stare at you like you're nuts or be annoyed when you interrupt a conversation to recast the spell.
I do this for my players with Shillelagh, but since it is a 60 second duration and a combat round is 6 seconds I ask for a d10 instead. Given that combat starts instantly that is, like a surprise attack or such.
I really appreciate that you take the time to weave in some backstory and character development that Explains the meta/feature/ability choices for the characters you design. Love it!
I've been waiting for this one forever! Before I even get to the start of the build, I'm currently playing what I believe is exactly this build at my table, and it's honestly my favorite character I've ever played!
I played one for 13 levels in Rhime of Frostmaiden and loved it. Took magic adept with variant human for Hex, Eblast and GFlame blade and went straight Druid. I got some of the same benefits from Colby’s build and full casting. Such a fun character to play, especially in Icewind dale where I could turn the fire on.
One of my favorite characters I’ve ever played was a Fire genasi wildfire Druid. It was tomb of annihilation, so he died at level 8, but he was awesome. His wildfire spirit was humanoid in form, and he called it little brother.
Nice build! I definately did not expect wildfire druid, but you gave me a lot inspiration for my own Druid gish build! Thanks to you I recognized, that the Hunters horde-breaker feature is not restricted to the attack action. So I am gonna build a lizardfolk or longtooth shifter spore druid, get access to Green Flame Blade and use his bonus action to make a bite attack and apply horde-breaker with symbiotic entity and the beast version of the guardian of nature spell.
I've been playing at the same table as a wildfire druid for 35 sessions and I only just now realized that you can teleport as many creatures as you like with it. That's wild.
I love my wildfire dwarf. Hes a Candle Maker, and his sprit is a little candle elemental named Tallow. I know you mentioned the combat use of the Spirits teleport, but when out of combat I'm constantly finding uses for it. Any grate? Bars? cracks in the wall? even windows (you only need to be able to see the destination), and you can teleport your whole party past the wall.
You did it! A comment I left on another of your videos suggested wildfire spirit’s fiery teleportation as a miniature sustainable thunder step and you used it! I know I might not have been the only person to suggest that, but I feel heard. Thank you for reading the comments and actually using some of our suggestions.
I feel like shadow touched is better for RP scenarios and fey touched us better for combat. Being able to pick up Invisibility and Disguise Self or Silent Image is great for creative players and lean more towards an infiltration scenarios. However, there are a lot more 1st level enchantment spells that remain powerful as you get into higher levels. Things like Silvery Barbs, Bless, and Command are incredibly useful. They also tend to be better in combat, which is unfortunately where a lot of DND optimizers focus.
@@jordanholt9170 I think it's good for a stealth class that doesn't have invisibility. Or a character with low bonus action economy to maybe take a hex spell. Wait can you take hex with shadow touched?
@@LoreFoundry Shadow Touched is limited to Illusion spells. Hex is an Enchantment spell, which actually makes it available to be taken with Fey Touched.
I was looking for a wildfire build almost exactly like this (minus the ranger dip) LITERALLY YESTERDAY. This video could not have come at a better time. I love it!
The image of summoning fey and then everyone bampfing around the battlefield just sounds hilarious. I imagine the music you have playing on your videos as a theme song for these shenanigans. 🍀
I love it! Thank Colby! I asked about this a few weeks ago and man did you deliver! Love it! Keep up all the awesome work!! I could only imagine the devastation this build could roll out with a pair of illusionist’s bracers. 😁
I'm actually playing a martial/Caster wildfire druid in AL right now Went lizardfolk for natural AC and swim speed. 5 levels of gloomstalker for extra attack and Sharpshooter and 5 levels of druid so far. Between fey touched for misty step and my wildfire companion's Teleportation, I can keep out of melee while I shoot my bow.
Love your performance of Tesla in the outro. You are right, Love Song is one of the best rock ballads of the 80's. Don't be afraid to sing more in your videos. Love it!
You're last bit about "I hope you get really quick with that on your turn" is exactly why my bladesinger/rune knight character sheet also has a flowchart
I have been using this build in a campaign that I've been playing every Tuesday for about seven months. It is super fun and extremely versatile. Tons of damage types to fall back on when fire wont cut it, the option to damage, heal, or control: it feels like I always have options. Thank you, Colby!
I'm DMing a group with a wildfire druid and I can only agree that the spirit is Powerful - and it's such a tank compared to what you'd expect. Perfect for a table of only three players to have an extra half a character in the game. :P
Honestly, I'm really surprised you didn't consider going with Tortle. The boost to defense would be very welcome and would allow you to put points into Cha or Int for potential multiclassing. Custom Lineage is still probably the better option but I love my fighting turtles.
Love this this combo and I’m so happy to see it brought into the light. Also an an aside, if you wanted to have a solid ranger option: switch out booming blade for firebolt. This’ll let you do decent damage to a distant enemy along with your fire spirit without messing with the build too much.
I remember seeing a treantmonk wildfire build a long time ago that used a 1st level Arcana Cleric dip into WF Druid. Tried it out and it was a blast so I'm glad to see some more attention brought to this unique combo, and with a very underused ranger subclass to boot.
I love the idea is this build. You can feel like a fiery warrior with a small army of magical beasts and also you are amazingly flexible. Great job!! 🥰🤩
I went the route of making a summer Eladrin and the Prismari Student background (because it was allowed). The multiple teleport options feel fun when my spirit is in melee and I'm in the back throwing out firebolts. :)
I want to see an inescapable crushing wall build where you create 2 almost unkillable characters that take advantage of opportunity attacks from eachother created in melee. So maybe a spirit cleric and some sort of booming blade bladesinger tank combo.
I'd like to know what you're thinking of by taking advantage of opportunity attacks from one another created in melee as I can only assume you mean forced movement. As forced movement doesn't create opportunity when the opponent leaves your threat area.
Thanks a lot. I was looking for a way to get fire bolt on Wildfire Druid, but only found Strixhaven and Ravnica backgrounds, so it's really helpful that Arcane Cleric can get this spell.
A NEW GISHY BUILD! LETS GOOOOOOOOO🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (Late on the let's go lol) Now I don't have a lot of time so I'm going to keep this simple... I am seriously impressed with this build and it has made it on my list of potential next build I play LOL. Nicely done Colby, I am loving this!
I absolutely love the idea of a wildfire druid as a way to go xmen nightcrawler in combat. Never realized before that it had that unlimited use teleport, which really does help with a druid's survival issue
Love the versatility of Druids. Intrigued by this subclass (would like to see a Tiefling wildfire Druid). The gish build makes it even more versatile and gives me some ideas to share with a Druid player in my campaign who would like to hit stuff.
Colby: No Thorn Whip? You can pull opponents away from allies, so they can move away with invoking an Opportunity Attack. After Level 6, Enhanced Bond would allow you to cast Thorn Whip from your Wildfire Spirit. If positioned directly above an enemy, you could pull them 10 feet into the air, drop them for falling damage, and impose the Prone Position.
I might try this build out when I play Tomb of Annihilation, though I'll likely take Crusher instead of Fey Touched; having some forced movement from level 1 to help with Booming Blade's extra damage or get enemies close together for GFB sounds fun, plus possibly some shenanigans with AOEs like Spike Growth or Flaming Sphere later. But I love this build for its versatility more than anything, especially with the Cleric spells.
Randal did a commission for my campaign villain and my players hate the villain. So Randal did a very good job designing and drawing the art. I encourage not only players, but DMs as well to check him out!
Oh snap. I had seen thr GFB+Horde Breaker combo a while back and thought "huh, that'd be a neat thing to build around" and then soon forgot about it. Cool to see someone actually take the idea and make something out of it.
I seriously want to try this build. I love Gish characters and this is one of the most creative I've seen in a while. Plus, I've been curious about the ideal of building a really militant druid, and this is on point!
Bugbear is a good alternative here as Scorching Ray gets and extra 2d6 per ray if you drop it in that opening round. Could grab Gift of Alacrity with DM permission via Fey Touched to help ensure your Bugbear goes before at least some of the enemies, too.
Treantmonk also has a Wildfire Druid build that starts Arcana Cleric, but completely different build (control caster, but goes take GFB) and was a Lizardfolk to help with the AC issue. Played it through Wild Beyond the Witchlight, ended up doing more summoning than I wanted to. Now if I keep playing that character I think I might steer more towards this build
My Wildfire spirit is a hummingbird that is always present, but turns into a phoenix when "summoned" Also, the teleport is especially great when you combine it with the fact that you can cast spells from your spirit. I call it the "med-evac" and use cure wounds from the spirit on downed allies while teleporting them away from the enemy. Takes a whole turn, but it has saved my party members countless times.
I had an idea for a Druid Gish a while back in which you use a quarterstaff with shillelagh and take polearm master. The wording of shillelagh states that the hit die can be no lower than a d8. With this, you can make two d8 attacks. I am pretty certain this build is stronger but in that build, you would also take paladin levels for smites and extra attack. You can also throw in fighter levels to make a great nova/burst damage character!
My build is: Level 1-Phoenix or Pyromancer Sorcerer. Take GFB, whatever utility cantrips you want, Shield and Absorb Elements. Level 2 and Beyond- Take Wildfire Druid. Definitely take Summon Beast. That will help you a lot in melee combat. Weaknesses- You may have either mediocre Dexterity or Constitution, as you need the minimum 13 in charisma. Strengths- You deal even more damage when you cast fire spells, and you get Shield.
I created a goliath druid gish with 3 levels of Rune Knight fighter, followed by 2 levels of Stars druid, 2 more fighter levels and the rest in druid (possibly with a sixth fighter level somewhere along the way). He wields a Warhammer reskinned as a sword-in-stone with the stone still attached. Crusher is a must. It's really interesting the different combinations you can get by stacking Giant's might, the starry form, and various concentration spells, especially since you'll have proficiency in constitution saving throws. With the dragon form and advantage from war caster, your concentration will be borderline unbreakable. You can sort of choose what you want to optimize for in a given situation and do really well as a magical and melee damage dealer, a healer, a tank, or battlefield controller, depending on the battle.
I'm playing this class now minus the ranger dip, I think warcaster is a must in this build unless you have an awesome DM with carrying the shield and club, and while I appreciate the fiery teleporation, I usually find that my group mates (other melee martials) prevent them from taking the damage which leaves me exposed if I get in Melee, but like you said, the spells are really nice and the option of melee is great.
For actual years now I have wanted to play a weapon-slinging druid gish. With their obvious flaws (puny hit die, and lack luster martial capabilities) the only option I ever saw was spores druid. I love the spores druid thematically, but it doesn't deliver how I'd like it to. Similarly, the wildfire druid is cool thematically but the fact they don't get access to ever-so iconic Fireball turned me away from the subclass. But now with this build I have seen the light (*que holy music*) and that light is FIRE! Thank you so so much Colby, you're wonderful, inspiring and oh so brilliant. I look forward to your videos every week and now have what I thought to be a unrealistic gish druid for my next character!~
small note: Squirrel molotov cocktails don't work because Tiny creatures don't spawn flames. This prevents players from killing a bunch of rats to heal between combat.
Related to the shillelagh being cast. We had a similar rule for the old version of Artificer - Alchemist. My character would consume the +10 movement speed potion every 10 minutes. We even put in a rule that he was so used to being cracked out on them that if he ever missed one, he'd fall asleep for 1d4 rounds.
I think crusher can work really well here as well, and I would probably take it instead of elemental adept Considering most of this builds damage is based on the fact that two creatures are standing next to each other, and you are using a club, having the option to move around your enemies is vital Also, because both crusher movement and gfb extra damage happen instantly, you can choose which one happens first, so you could hit a creature, push it next to another creature, and only then have gfb trigger to the second creature
As far as the party and DM poking and sparring at each other. There are people who DON'T love that ("I set an alarm to cast Shillelagh every minute!")?! The party I DM for and I LIVE to do that to each other! This past Wednesday night, I ran the BBEG fight of a 3rd-party module, that included a nasty twist for the players. Instead of a horde of minions softening them up for the BBEG, the BBEG (a 192HP revenant -they're 6th level), beat them up. They then grabbed the artifact and went to leave, BUT the artifact being removed from it's hiding place rleased necromantic energy that woke up FIFTY ghouls to complicate their escape. The BBEG had softened them up for the minions to finish off. So; of course, 7 vs. 50, they dropped every AoE spell they had to make me make as many as 30 saving throws, the Paladin of course used Turn Undead to get even with me, THEN the Druid cast... yup Conjure Animals to block and act as cannon fodder, cluttering up my Roll20 VTT map even more. It wasn't all of the rolling or mechanics that bogged down that combat, it was us laughing as we kept trying to stick it to each other, and a great time; which i acknowledge might not be EVERYONE's idea of a "Good time;" was had by all. I love my "Expert Classes" as much as Colby loves his gishes. I may have actually stood and clapped when Colby took PHB Ranger-subclass levels. I read that UA document VERY carefully. We've been down this road too many times before. We have to remind ourselves and everyone else that it's still in the playtest phase, and while it's a peek at how and what they're thinking, we don't know what the final version will look like. They’re already said the new Ranger is “Too solid,” and “May be more powerful than they actually want it to be” in the video accompanying the release of the playtest document. 5e has been a winner for the most part for WotC. It doesn't need a sledgehammer. It needs to be clarified and balanced in places, and de-cluttered, but I'm afraid I see a lot of "change for change's sake" in the two UAs that have come out so far. My sense is that the areas they intend to simplify take out flavor, and the parts they intend to make more crunchy make it less friendly to new players/players returning from an earlier edition, as compared to 5e. I won't automatically adopt OneD&D, but I will steal a good idea; that streamlines, balances, and clarifies the game for everyone; from anywhere. Even WahtCeee.
This would go great as a companion to the ranged druid gish ive been playing. He's a Harengon trickery cleric 2/gloomstalker 3/stars druid x. Basically gave him Bambi's backstory turned Rambo, and before he joined the party was hunting the humans who came in his forest to hunt his kind, and yes, his druids star map was just a sailors back tattoo.
Built a arcana cleric for a lvl 1 one shot one time. Loved it. Took booming blade. Variant human for crusher feat. So hitting with BB pushed enemies back thus almost always triggering extra damage
This is incredible. I just finished a cleaving build which started at Horde Breaker but I went the road of Hunter Ranger 5 and then go Draconic Sorcerer for quicken GFB and Shadow Blade for concentration. Your single target damage is probably slightly higher and your AC is better, but you miss out on 2 companions and are a bit more MAD
Arguing against metal armor here, but in lore i like to imagine that druids dont wear metal armor as to not be a victim of other druids Heat Metal Spells and the Wild Shape shenanigans they could pull off with that
I love the idea that someone would be skeptical about a druid gish as though the Circle of Spores isn't just sitting there flirting with every Barbarian looking to multiclass.
An extra d6 per attack is nice, but it only lasting as long as the temp hp lasts is a pretty hard check on its power. Not that I haven’t made good use of it before :).
18:12 my solution for situations like this that have a 1 minute duration is: roll 1d10, that's how man rounds you have left before you need to recast said spell. 10 rounds is 1 minute so if you roll high, combat started right as you recast it, if you roll low then combat began near the end of the duration. hope this helps :D
I loved the build. Now I'm planning to play as a wildfire druid in my next campaign. But as a kobold, so i wouldn't need a level in arcana cleric to get greenflame blade, and seems nice thematically.
The thing with Hunter ranger is that all three options can be used on different builds. Colossus Slayer is the most universally useful being a flat damage increase. Horde Breaker is being used here as it doesn’t specify the Attack action and thus can be used when you use Booming Blade or Green Flame Blade. Giant Killer actually just gives you the reaction attack if you are attacked by a creature larger than you which makes it good on a build I like to call the Giant Slayer. Basically a rogue/ranger that uses Enlarge/Reduce and the Fairy race to make sure I am always smaller than the enemies unless they are Tiny sized. It’s an interesting build honestly. Anyways that’s all I have to say, good video as always.
Considering that Horde Breaker actually works with Booming/Green-Flame Blade, I almost have to wonder if that additional attack can benefit from the cantrip as well. I can only assume, rules as written, it's just an additional attack you're making without all the other benefits. But, if a DM allows it to extend to that extra attack and assume it's all part of the same action, then Green-Flame Blade ironically becomes superior to Booming Blade. Crowd control FTW. Anyway, great build Colby! This almost makes me wanna play a Druid now.
I had a player want to do the "I cast Shillelagh every minute" and we came up with an alternative solution... We made a Shillelagh ritual. He could consecrate a single target to be his Shillelagh that lasted a month at a time OR until he ever cast the spell with a new target that shattered the ritual. It was something that required him to spend a few hours once a month and keep track of his weapon, and if he wanted the versatility of picking up a random stick and casting the spell, it meant that he would give up that "always on" feature until he had time to do the ritual again. It was something unique to him and his mentor that wasn't widely circulated in ritual knowledge.
Awesome build! I've been playing a bunch of Arcana Cleric using the Planeshift Zendikar/Ikoria Merfolk to get Shillelagh and building around Spirit Guardians and Spiritual Weapon while bonking with the blade cantrips. But this almost seems even more fun! Only one thought though, isn't Misty Step kinda redundant with the Wildfire Spirit teleports? Silvery Barbs is still awesome, but if the main goal is to take a half-feat there are a lot of other options too. Skill Expert, Observant and Telepathic all give cool roleplay potential, but Telekinetic and Chef might be really impactful in combat scenarios too - perhaps even more so than Fey Touched if we're not gonna be using Misty Step much. I'd probably still be taking Fey Touched myself, but it seems less obvious to me than usual what is the best choice.
Alternatively, you could take giant killer at level 9 and have taken the warcaster feat, so in those fights where you have a large enemy you can use your reaction to make a GFB or BB attack! It specifies hits or misses with an attack, not just misses, so it's a very consistent reaction attack so long as you are the target, and the damage is much better due to the scaling of the cantrips
It's so interesting how this is almost a reverse of my Armored Arcana Cleric, take one level of Druid then go Arcana Cleric with the Mountain Dwarf species for heavy armor.
I had the idea recently for a Wildfire Druid getting some extra fire damage wisdom based cantrips from Arcana Cleric, though I thought of Firebolt instead. This build certainly didn't disappoint though, Green Flame Shileleh + Hunter subclass of ranger is certainly creative for a more melee focused character. I also love the idea of going up to hitting someone, then just teleporting out like "ha ha, you can't get me." Especially taunting with Booming Blade punishing them if they do decide to come after you.
Just heard of this build: berserker barbarian / alchemist artificer. The potions the alchemist makes on their shorts rests can be used while raging but don’t count as spell or concentration so they can be used while raging, and some of those potions have some decent buffs! Can’t cast spells while raging so might as well use them after a rest to get the potions you want, and a berserker can still attack with a bonus action while taking a potion as an action! Infusions aren’t effected by rage either, so some decent bonuses there too! And I can already think of a great and funny backstory for this build! A dwarf who owned a brewery but lost it to a rival. Filled with rage he would be going on adventures to find a new place to put down roots, but would use his skills as a brewer and alchemy to “brew” special drinks that would help him fight and so he could have some epic stuff to sell once he has a new brewery to work at once his adventuring days are done!
