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Janette | Gallard | Logan | Vandala | Umoja | Finch | Inshula | Lastri | Chir Darkflame | Soeravora Aeravand | Belueth the Calm | Grykk Bannersworn | Quarrel | Ribsmasher | Septimund | |
Umoja, M NG Human Druid 4
I've indicated before that some classes are best left as single-class exclusively without any multi-classing. The Druid is definitely one of those classes, especially if you want to rely on a powerful animal companion during combat. The more levels the Druid has, the more powerful the animal companion becomes. The Deinonycus is easily the best choice for an animal companion, partly on a numerical basis (attributes, hit points, etc.), but also because it can receive more spell buffs than any other companions. And so it is with Umoja. He devotes himself almost exclusively to Druid levels, and the power of his dinosaur companion, Yushai, climbs accordingly.
I don't emphasize Wild Shape with Umoja, largely because so many of the battles are brief encounters on the Overland map. He would be forced to revert himself back to human shape after each one. The other reason is that the available choices for body armors, shield, and helmets, and the enchantments that can be added to those items, won't do much to enhance Wild Shape. Instead, I have him fire his bow at a distance, fight up close when he has to, and send his pet dinosaur charging into battle.
I instead develop Umoja as an archer. He levels up almost exclusively in Druid, but he does add two Ranger levels with the point of obtaining the Rapid Shot feat. He will also select the Zen Archery feat on his 6th level up, which will allow him to use his Wisdom ability bonus instead of his Dexterity ability bonus to land successful shots with a Longbow.
Archery is especially potent in Storm of Zehir. For example, I can raise the enhancement of a Longbow, and then add two elemental damage bonuses (e.g. +1d6 electrical and +1d6 sonic) to that bow. Those damage bonuses will always be inflicted on the bow's targets, no matter what arrows Umoja may be using. I can go even further. I can add three different damage bonuses (e.g. +1d6 fire, +1d6 cold, +1d6 acid) to basic arrows. That will be five different sources of +1d6 damage all inflicted on the target with each arrow.
It is true that going in for such a thing may be expensive, since adding a single elemental damage bonus to any weapon (ammunition included) costs 4,000gp a pop. But once I get the trade bar income flowing like crazy through my Merchant Company during the Sword Coast part of the game, I can convert the trade bars to all the gold I need. Money will literally be no object.
It gets even better once unlimited Adamantine Arrows become available through Jacoby. Adamantine ammunition, unlike hand-held Adamantine Arrows, do not inflict +2 magic damage. That means Adamantine ammunition can be enchanted with three different sources of damage, and still have their ability to penetrate the damage reduction of its targets. And indeed, it gives Umoja the option of firing his bow at a distant spellcaster who's protected by spells like Stoneskin or Premonition.
And so a certain theme is evident for Umoja. He has powerful Druid spells at his disposal, but has the option of saving them only for when they're truly needed. When he isn't casting spells, he can simply rain his arrows on the opposition from afar to devastating effect. There's also a certain incentive to develop him this way, since he'll want to use a Periapt of Wisdom +6 instead of an Amulet of Natural Armor +3 like the other warriors in the party. He won't be as eager to get up close to his enemies as other party members may be.
And meanwhile, his pet Yushai pretty much provides an extra tank for free.
Stats
Initially, I start off adding +1 to Intelligence, so that Umoja has an extra skill point to spend during level ups, and can develop the Spellcraft skill in addition to his other skills. After that, it's Wisdom all the way for Umoja. It will enhance his spellcasting obviously, as well as his ability to connect with his arrows in combination with the Zen Archery feat.
Skills
Umoja starts off emphasizing:
Feats
Starting Feats:
5th level (Druid 5): No feat selected.
6th level (Druid 6): Zen Archery - A key cog in the build that I have in mind for Umoja. Wisdom will not only increase his spellpower, but also his chances of hitting with a bow.
7th level (Druid 7): No feat selected.
8th level (Druid 8): No feat selected.
9th level (Druid 9): Extend Spell - Allows Umoja to cast buff spells that last twice as long.
10th level (Ranger 1): No feat selected, but taking a level in Ranger allows Umoja to begin to make use of bows and arrows. I waited until 10th level before picking up a Ranger level because I wanted Umoja to be able to cast the Death Ward spell on Vandala as soon as possible, so that she in turn can make full use of her Hellfire Warlock abilities.
11th level (Ranger 2): Rapid Shot - Taking just two levels in Ranger allows Umoja to fire three arrows each round, albeit at a -2 penalty. But he rarely misses thanks to his Zen Archery feat.
12th level (Druid 10): Natural Bond - This feat parallels Practiced Spellcaster in the sense that if the Druid takes levels in another class, up to three of those levels can count towards the power of the Druid animal companion. Umoja's build is centred around letting his pet dinosaur do most of the melee fighting while he fires away at a distance. Natural Bond, Zen Archery and Rapid Shot together form key linchpins for this build.
13th level (Druid 11): No feat selected.
14th level (Druid 12): No feat selected.
15th level (Druid 13): Improved Critical (Longbow) - Hitting foes at a distance with his Longbow is what Umoja does most often, so it makes sense to double the critical range for the Longbow for him.
16th level (Druid 14): No feat selected.
17th level (Druid 15): No feat selected.
18th level (Druid 16): Empower Spell - Allows Umoja to cast his damaging spells at x1.5 damage. Call Lightning Storms and Fire Storms at x1.5 damage in particular can be quite devastating.
19th level (Druid 17): No feat selected.
20th level (Druid 18): No feat selected.
21th level (Druid 19): Vampiric Feast - Keeping my Spellcraft skill maxed out allows me to grab this mass instant death spell early on.
22nd level (Druid 20): No feat selected.
23rd level (Druid 21): Great Wisdom +1 - It goes without saying that Wisdom is the linchpin attribute for Umoja.
24th level (Druid 22): No feat selected.
25th level (Druid 23): Great Wisdom +2 - And so on ...
26th level (Druid 24): Great Wisdom +3 - I get a bonus epic feat on my 24th level as a Druid, so I continue to build up Umoja's Wisdom.
27th level (Druid 25): Hellball - The ultimate damage spell that inflicts multiple sources of elemental damage all at once on its targets. Neither Evasion nor spell resistance can prevent the damage from taking effect, although a saving throw can still half the damage. Umoja is the best candidate for this, since he's been building up his saving throw DC by upping his Wisdom score.
28th level (Druid 26): No feat selected.
29th level (Druid 27): Epic Animal Companion - Available on Umoja having a Wisdom score of 25. It adds an additional three levels to Umoja's Dinosaur companion, even above and beyond the normal 30 level cap for an animal companion. This, in combination with Natural Bond, were key targets for Umoja's build.
30th level (Druid 28): Great Wisdom +4 - And with his bonus feat that comes at Druid level 28, Umoja reaches an even number integer for his Wisdom score.
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