@@esbeng.s.a9761 I know. I made the comment and then scrolled down and some one had a separate comment about meteor elementals, and yeah. But falling star sounds so much nicer.
I recently played a circle of stars druid, swarm keeper ranger. naturally my swarm was fireflies which could mimic the constellations from which my druidic magic came. Just such a perfect image.
I am playing this exact build as well, fireflies and everything! I went with the aasimar (pre-MoM), because the archer constellation gives you such a great way to trigger the Radiant Soul damage bonus on the turn that you activate it, which is normally not easy to do. An important note on the shillelagh-focused Crusher build as well: Crusher works once on *a* turn (not just your own) so the PAM reaction attack, provided you are positioned for it, can also knock people into the moonbeam.
Old post but still wanted to check in Currently playing a githzerai stars druid and lvl 5 atm, when did you grab swarmkeeper levels and were you melee or ranged focused? 😊
@@AuraXars it was a level 11 oneshot so I didn't really think about when I took levels. I was also the only player so I had a bit of everything, some ranged, some melee, some healing and wild-shape for tanking. If I were playing this in a campaign I think it works best as a ranged attacker with archer form and swarm pushing into web or another area spell. So I would at least take ranger levels to get archery fighting style and subclass. After that its probably best to return to druid for spell slots. I also took 2 levels of divination wizard because thematically it fits with star druids prediction stuff.
Haha, playing one myself. 5 swarm 2 stars so far. Funny enough, though. Flavored the swarmkeeper as a sand bender.. then went druid with intent to go land and be more earth flavored. But circumstances steered me toward multiple elements... thus a halfling avatar was born! Lol
@@nicholaswells4572 The dragon form while not as flashy as the chalice or the archer is indeed the best, extra healing or damage is great, but looking at the number of druid spells that are concentration, guaranteeing that high level spell slot stays sexual for the entire duration of the spells is very important. You can make it unlikely you take damage but not impossible, and since druids don’t get concave proficiency, well, you see where I am going
@@nicholasarosemena3829 >Be a lvl 10 support druid >Get surrounded by enemies >the DM’s done with your massive healing every turn/rest and is ready to kill you >go dragon+polymorh yourself into a giant ape or whatever your heart desires >profit
Just want to say that I finally tested one of your build, and loved it. My friends not so much. We were doing a 15 lvl boss rush one shot. They were a little bit surprised when I one shot the lich. Thank you very much
Love the idea of the druid circle that has imprisoned an interfering genie in something like a petrified tree or a crystalline cavern. Very fun internal and external conflict possibilities there.
I like the story concept of a druid circle that specifically encourages their members to NOT get lost in the sky. They believe that having your feet firmly planted on the ground keeps your gaze steady while looking up. So, the dao genie dip is their "grounding" training.
Mentioning maximising moonbeam and usit star druid with a mc dip i immediately guessed dao genie warlock with crusher, and when you said crusher at lvl 1 i felt so good lol. With stars druid my immediate thought for the source of the dao genie could be like a dao who lives inside the moon or perhaps an asteroid? The moon is a big magic rock after all. But the sky-earth war thing is also cool!
I do so love the wording of Moon Beam. Had put my players on a ship battle and the twilight cleric used a held action to place the beam in front of the ship just before it's movement in the initiative counter, so that all the invading creatures climbing up the side of the ship would be pushed through it. It was such a cool moment that swiftly turned the tide of battle (yes, pun intended)
@@BaconPoutine It was placed just in front of the ship, but off center so that as the ship moved forward the side of the ship that had the creatures climbing up it would be the section of the ship to pass through the beam since it was stationary. All the creatures on the side of the ship technically entered the beam's area for the first time on the ship's turn, and so had to make a save. Most failed and weren't very HP heavy, so a lot of them got wiped out as a result. Those that survived were badly hurt.
The first thing I thought about when wondering how to justify having both dao warlock and stars druid levels is making some sort of meteorite or a comet important for this character's story. A rock from the sky.
A free feat is cool but I'd take halfling just so that I could call this build "Bless Your Lucky Stars" (emboldening bond your lucky stars is more accurate but just doesn't have the same ring to it)
I love running your builds. Just yesterday i played in a multiple team battle royale with your gloomstalker build. After i killed a barbarian on the first turn before he could rage the rest of the arena decided i needed to go lmao. So i used fog cloud and moved steathily to take 2 others down before i ended up getting dogpiled. Super fun times
I recently tried to build around moonbeam as a moon Druid. Turn 1 I would cast moonbeam on the enemy then wild shape into a brown bear. Turn 2 I would attempt to grapple the enemy and then drag them in/out of the moonbeam area to prock the damage again. I got proficiency in athletics and had 2 grapple attempts per turn thanks to the bears multi attack, but i got unlucky rolls and it didn’t work as well as I’d hoped. I got hit a lot in bear form so I’m really glad I had war caster.
This feels like the arcane archer that you actually want to play. Way more arcane archery than the fighter version. You cast spells, you fire arcane arrows. You get it all.
I agree, Stars Druid and Warlocks that flavor their Eldritch Blast as shooting an eldritch bow feel ten times more like an arcane archer than the actual arcane archer subclass unfortunately.
I actually found this build looking for a way to make arcane archer good. Found the stars druid/swarm keeper. Gonna make him a harengon. His eyes are black peppered with the stars (like the Zeus the owl)
I haven't even watched yet, but you always have excellent timing! I'm playing a Twilight Cleric focused more on damage and I just started multiclassing to go Stars Druid, so this is perfect timing!
Perhaps. It's very setting dependent though. If you get any ironwood, you might be able to make some armor from that. There is a substance called pykrete that is a combination of ice and wood which is bulletproof, so maybe if you are in a cold setting like in Rime of the Frostmaiden. You could always pick up mage armor from Eldritch Adept feat. For me at our table, we just rule druids can wear metal armor. It just doesn't make sense to us that druids can use metal weapons, but not metal armor, and metal does occur naturally, so we just ignore that restriction personally
@@conradkorbol just did today and he said yes as long as I collect all the necessary material. Works out alright. I was more curious what others do in their campaigns.
This is the first video of yours I watched aside from shorts and I have to say I'm really impressed! Great build. I LOVE the crusher genielock combo As someone that loves spending an ungodly amount of hours making and optimizing characters, it makes me happy to have found a channel dedicated to that
Personally I'd have gone 3 levels of swarmkeeper ranger (you could flavor the swarm as fireflies for example or have them be miniature stars or other celestial bodies rotating around you) you'd get ways to deal slightly more damage or push and pull people on a save
The reason I love druid for sustained DPR builds with a very simple tactic, is that it frees up literally all your other spells for utility. Which is insane on a stars druid. Which I will reiterate is my most favourite subclass Plus magic initiate and going pure druid, can get you find familiar from magic initiate. Which is just great
As someone mentioned the genie could be of a meteorite kind of thing, but also consider the earth is a celestial body. The earth is a giant space rock we just call it home. Its all about perspective. So maybe that's something that makes the pact more seemless from the get go or to be something the character can grapple with then come to understand. Some nice symbolism could run parallel with that truth as well. Head in the clouds big idea (stars/celestial) druid comes to terms with the idea that practicality and grounding (dao/earth) need to be realizes as well in order to make change and achieve.
plant grow is a good pick to prevent enemies to go too far away from the moonbeam. (Very situationnal, but powerfull) eldritch blast : repelling blast (to push enemies back in the beam from far away - not very celestially but effective)
One fun thing about the Dao genie dip is you could get booming blade, pairing it with shillelagh for a decent melee attack when necessary to push enemies into your moonbeam, and then forcing a choice between staying in the moonbeam or taking BB damage for a healthy sprinkling of your famous Catch 22 build!
I recently played a Stars Druid in a level 5 one shot and I was absolutely the best damage dealer in the somewhat unoptimized party. I used summon fey, guiding bolt, and the archery starry form to basically make 3 attacks per round in the boss fight. It was just a ton of fun!
This is the exact build I’m playing right now. Get out of my head! But seriously, just hit level 5, and it’s been fun so far. Those guiding bolts do some damage in the early levels. Emboldening Bond has been great to pair with our sharpshooter ranger. Haven’t gotten the warlock levels yet.
I now have ordered your merch, love it! I know you are doing a one-shot, cant wait to see it! And finally looking forward to you celebrating 50k subscribers, (maybe with a creation bard vid, Hint Hint). Love what you do, keep up the great work!
New Member here thanks for all the great videos and awesome characters! Keep being awesome my brother is playing a stars druid and this will help a lot
My version of this build would be focused on the Chalice Constellation to be a better party healer. My main healing spell is healing word which I cast as a bonus action, which triggers bonus healing from starry chalice and keeps my standard action free to do other things. My most common standard action would be moving the moonbeam onto my targets, or using thornwhip, gust, or thunderwave to push/pull them in. I could also use an upcasted cure wounds if someone's really hurt, or I could throw out a free guiding bolt. For turns that I'm not healing, I can get value out of my bonus action by taking the telekinetic feat and pushing baddies into my moonbeam, pulling non-melee allies out of close combat, or pushing a baddie who's in close combat with myself away from me. This version doesn't do as much damage as Kolby's build obviously, but I'm doubling the healing output to my party, and I'm using minimal resources to contribute significant sustained dpr. Additionally, by being a straight druid, I get access to higher level spells earlier and get to rush for that all-so-powerful level 10 ability to switch forms at will. When I get this, I can switch to archery form whenever I want to do even more sustained dpr without reducing my healing output. Edit: Could even dip a level of life cleric :)
I did a similar build as a straight Druid but went Aasimar for extra radiant and free flight. Once you can cycle the starry forms as needed the subclass really takes off. Hit for 50 on one turn and heal your allies for 40 the next is just insane. Armor problem was solved by getting dragon scale mail and a +2 moon sickle went a long way.
Just played my first session of my schizophrenic circle of stars druid, who in self-isolation gained a kinship with the stars themselves, thinking them to be actual people talking to him and guiding his actions. He's got tattoos of constellations covering his entire body and is deeply scared of most things. He's very fun to play and sort of scares the other players with some of his ramblings, but he's a powerful ally to have.
Love the build. Might use it soon and see how it plays. On the subject of race, whether you use V Human or C Origin is really a personal preference thing, as you can end up with the same ability scores you want either way in this case. The key difference i see besides flavor is that the Custom Origin would allow you some choices like the option to be size Small (rather than Medium) or to select Darkvision 60ft (rather than an extra skill proficiency). I personally think Darkvision would fit great with the theme, so I'll probably go with that.
I haven't even watched this yet but I thank you already, I have a campaign coming up soon and had been debating on creating a Stars Druid and was wishing you had done a build so I could get some ideas and you never fail to deliver lol.
Twist to the narrative ideas - The dao is actually the head of the organisation that maps the stars - he has always loved the night sky despite being an embodiment of the Earth
Might want to consider Kobold. Archer, "With Pack Tactics = 84% to hit, 6.70 DPR. Stack this with Guiding Bolt it’s 19.72 DPR." -Pack Tactics (Bagpipes). Forces crusher feat to be delayed to level 4/5/6 (depending on dips) should you still want this interaction, but the DPR granted by pack tactics should make up for that. Thank you again, for all that you do
What D&D calls studded leather is basically a brigandine or coat of plates; the leather is on the outside and the plates inside. The studs are rivets holding the plates to the leather.
51:20 I think you're underestimating the usefulness of a reaction attack in that position with the crusher feat. The forced movement from crusher is "once per turn" so just like Sneak Attack, it doesn't have to be YOUR turn. You can push them back into your moonbeam with the opportunity attack, potentially causing them to take moonbeam damage AGAIN before they can attack you. That is assuming they didn't enter into the moonbeam on that burn, since it only goes off when the target "enters the spell’s area for the first time on a turn" and since moonbeam is only 2x2, it might be worth assuming they didn't start their turn there, but it's something to keep in mind at least. Best case scenario, they move up to you, get attacked, moonbeamed, and die before they can attack you. That's one way of being defensive with low AC
Was looking at building a stars druid, not going to do the exact build you broke down but lots of great tips and notes I learned from this video thanks!
Smoothly handily softening encounter that I made. There was an undead boss, and every round or two of combat as long as Stirges would price from the water and zerg the players. Any storges that successfully did their blood drain would, on their next turn, fly over to the boss and heal it. I got to do this with like one stirge before a druid got through the layer action and cast moonbeam. Every there were Stirges on the board, The transaction was too zigzag that thing around hitting as many of them as possible like an almighty bug zapper. The amount of damage spectacular, but with A good damage roll, the sturgeon couldn't survive even if they passed. Meaning the big "gotcha" mechanic of the encounter went up in smoke. So for me, it felt like I failed to deliver the dynamic combat that I had designed. From the druids perspective, it was awesome because he basically broke it. And they did realize how bad it would have been without that spell
i really like these builds, I think genie is becoming my favorite warlock patron because of you (and because its a fun subclass)! also your talk at pax was really fun, even though it was going over rules i already knew, I learned a lot and like how it changed my view of them :)
Super interesting character concept! Not sure I would be able to narratively make the genie warlock dip work though, so I would probably borrow the tactic from your swarm keeper build and use and sling with magic stone to get ranged bludgeoning damage. Maybe a Ranger dip or feat to grab Archery fighting style.
Would love to see a build around the echo knight. I apologize if you have made one before. I have gone through a bunch of the optimized builds but haven't seen one yet. If there is one that I can be directed towards it would be greatly appreciated.
Loved the build. I think we've been underutilizing Moonbeam when we've cast it at our table. I still think having Eldritch Blasts with pushing and pulling of multiple blasts shouldn't be discounted to get foes into the Moonbeam, if so needed. I realize trying to maximize Wisdom and Charisma is a pain, but you could potentially get more enemies into your Moonbeam with a nice Eldritch Blast at higher levels.
Great segment! Trying out my first Circle of Stars druid this week. Going to go stereotypical kind of surfer bro type whose "way into the stars man, they're like always there even when the sun is up you just can't see them! trippy huh?" He's an Air Genasi.
Very nice build!! Seem really fun to play I'm kinda dissapointed over the fact how strong the Star subclasses sounds like compared to (for example) the Spore subclass. The fact u can use the wildshape as a BA and change your form later without action or BA is already soooo much better than lot of stuff u get in other subclasses from druid.
Question; With how Moonbeam is written, it says when a creature enters the spells area for the first time on a turn OR starts it's turn there. That means that it could take moonbeam damage several times in a single turn, or just once? I ask, because if you combine the Crusher Feat with Polearm Master and wield a Quarterstaff, you could potentially do damage on their turn as well. Say enemy starts their turn inside moonbeam, and you are ten feet away from it. Enemy then moves forward 5 feet. This enters your range, and you trigger Polearm Master making an opportunity attack. You attack with a quarterstaff, and do bludgeoning damage. This triggers the Crusher feat, and you move the creature back into the moonbeam, triggering it's damage again(?). At higher levels, combine that with warcaster and you could use a Booming Blade as well for the opportunity attack..... At level 9 (Cleric 8, Warlock 1), that is 4d10 when they start their turn in moonbeam, 2d8+3 Quarterstaff / Booming Blade, another 4d10 moonbeam damage, and 2d8 more when they move up to hit you again...... 8d10 + 4d8 + 3 of damage on the enemies turn..... Is this right? That would be an average of 65 damage if everything hit / failed saves.....
Right. My understanding is that the creature can only take damage for moving *into* the area once on a turn, but I don't *think* we're told anywhere that it couldn't take damage for starting its turn there *and* take damage for being moved into the area (the first time) on the same turn. You can't move it in and out, in and out, for extra damage, but yes to what you've described, I'm pretty sure.
That build was good, but I'll say that Stars Druid is pretty good just on it's own and you don't really need a build like this to make them super effective, specially if you have party members that will work with you. I did something similar that admittedly did less damage by just going straight Druid, but rather than use my abilities to push enemies into the Moonbeam I relied on my party members and terrain to do that for me, and while I enjoyed that build I still felt kinda like crap because the build I did was dramatically more effective than anything my party members did, so I don't think I'll be doing maximised builds like these, I get the appeal but I think I've realised that I personally have more fun working with the party than making a character that just excels on their own.
That's a very sober-minded and mature take, and you have earned my respect for it. That said, imagine if your entire party agreed to go with powerful builds, and thus you balance yourselves out by all just being absurdly powerful. Now, I understand that then there's the argument that a DM will struggle against the party and not know how to challenge them, but I believe there are sufficient ways around that that it might still be really enjoyable to have a super powerful party. But all that said, you clearly a very unselfish player and that is more of a blessing at a table than many realize, and I salute you for that.
@@HSuper_Lee Well if the whole party was power gaming I'd probably do it too, because I wouldn't feel guilty over overshadowing them, though I'd probably go for control rather than damage since they're more likely to cheese damage. As for the "unselfish" thing, I'm not sure I agree, after all I do sorta prefer to box the group into a state of cooperation, which isn't really something everyone will want and am less happy or interested when people aren't playing this way, obviously I don't order them around because that would be annoying but at times I kinda want to. Ultimately most playstyles have both advanrages and disadvantages and some are right for some groups but not others, I think my particular attitude is just because for me cooperating seems like a very unique thing to TTRPGs.
I find it a really interesting character concept and the stars and stone theme allows for some cool backgrounds ideas, especially combined with the druid circle’s philosophy. I could imagine that every druid in his circle has this bond with this stone entity, and that those druids traditionally build stone sites according to the stars and their movement, in order to perform rituals and bring the celestial to the earth. They could live in amazing stone villages with circular stone structures, gazing at the stars from round openings in the ceiling and create Stoneage-like sculptures across the land (this is my architect side coming out).
For the dao earth element "justification" i would argue that it is the best RP choice because druids are about balance and you need to Balance earth and sky
Love both versions a lot, I might be biased because I love druids but it sounds so much fun either route. Among the PYF i think plant growth deservers a special mention, no concentration needed (odd for druid control spell) since if you lock them in the area good luck escaping from the moonbeam + thorn whip range XD
Forced movement is great here. This build in essence is very similar to a cleric w/ spirit guardians and spiritual weapon. A cleric might opt for the telekinetic feat to force enemies into their SG to elicit a similar effect. Another possible option is to take Fey Touched - Dissonant Whispers (3d6) You could try to position the moonbeam in such a fashion so that when you cast dissonant whispers the enemy is forced to run through the moonbeam, or perhaps even spike growth. - There is a catch to this plan - It's DM dependent: Dissonant whispers reads, "The creature doesn’t move into obviously dangerous ground, such as a fire or a pit". And so the question is, does the creature affected by Dissonant Whispers know that the moonbeam is dangerous ground. Does the creature know that the spike growth area is dangerous? Spike Growth: "Any creature that can’t see the area at the time the spell is cast must make a Wisdom (Perception) check against your spell save DC to recognize the terrain as hazardous before entering it." So perhaps not. However, to maximize moonbeam more confidently, using your action to move the moonbeam, and then bonus action to starry form: archer into the moonbeam (via crusher-daolock) is likely much more guaranteed.
I actually love the redundancy between 1st level cleric and druid spells. It allows me to pick up healing word, detect magic, etc.. so I can pick up more cool druid spells that i wouldnt normally take. I picked up comprehend languages from warlock so i got the two most important low level rituals (though pactmagic doesn't have ritual casting)
I like the idea of playing as an awakened menhir stone or part of a stone henge with a reflavored warforged or custom lineage. Your star map constellations could be carved on your body with certain stars actually piercing through. I'd role play the somatic components of my spells as aligning the different constellations and holes. The dao patron could be the being that carved you and/or gave you sentience.
A character plan I want to do is a Barbarian/Druid but not focused on Wild Shape, Stars seems to be the best, giving a good BA use and a few spells to manage buffing/spell-casting. Hardly optimal given I will basically have 2 modes of being melee rager or a distant spell slinger type, but it be a super flexible build, and I love the concept. An ancestral Guardian Barbarian who follows his ancestors stories and legacies as charted among the stars, striving to create his own legend so that he to is among the stars. He summons his ancestors through the Ancestral forces and eventually his own legend begins to aid him in combat, bringing him beyond his limits, i.e. starry form.
Hey, Coby. I had an interesting concept on my mind, dunno if you did this in the past videos but it would be cool. The thing I was thinking about was a sniper man using the Eldritch Handcannon from the Artificer and put some levels in Ranger, you could use the sharpshooter feat and some other things to help the gimmick of the build.
Starting with ranger 1 then druid 2 and back to ranger is nice. You get archery fighting style, expertise extra attack eventually and can go swarm if you want to push and pull enemies in AoEs or just standard colossus for a free 1d6 once a turn.
Here is an idea for why you are a genie warlock. One night during your stargazing you saw a falling star. Set star landed very close and you decided to investigate. When you got to the crater you noticed that the meteorite was still intact. Would you pick up this fallen heavenly body, You realize that there is a weak entity inside.she talks to you, and she tells you she was once a genie and tells you a story of how she was outcast from her world (planet). She starts to fade and is about to die. There is only one thing you can do, You bind your 2 souls together to keep her alive. In doing so you form your pact. As the story goes on she will start to regain some of her power and with that you increase your warlock level.
I believe that your are a member of the noble brotherhood of Dad's, therefore your are right, you are always right, if you think that you are wrong, then you are mistaken
In my games I personanlly do not allow my druids to wear metal armor, I do however allow them to wear Medium/Heavy armor that is instead made of a different material that would make sense for those armors. Bark armor, Armor made from the hide of a creature with thick skin or hard scales, one of my current players is wearing a chain chirt that is made up of tons of interlocking wrapped bones.
Can’t wait to see the star form one that involves the dragons form being used. Abjuration Wizard with a 2 level star Druid dip at 12th level and with a 20 INT can counterspell anything no matter what minimum 10 for Int check +5 Int+4 prof
On the Dao Genie subject, if it’s a rock genie, you could say it’s a lunar rock genie. The moon is made of rocks too.
Or from a meteorite.
Or they’re even working on finding balance between the two. The genie just happens to be their connection to it.
The meteor genie
@@estherclawson6876 Your a falling star
@@esbeng.s.a9761 I know. I made the comment and then scrolled down and some one had a separate comment about meteor elementals, and yeah. But falling star sounds so much nicer.
I recently played a circle of stars druid, swarm keeper ranger. naturally my swarm was fireflies which could mimic the constellations from which my druidic magic came. Just such a perfect image.
I am playing this exact build as well, fireflies and everything! I went with the aasimar (pre-MoM), because the archer constellation gives you such a great way to trigger the Radiant Soul damage bonus on the turn that you activate it, which is normally not easy to do.
An important note on the shillelagh-focused Crusher build as well: Crusher works once on *a* turn (not just your own) so the PAM reaction attack, provided you are positioned for it, can also knock people into the moonbeam.
Old post but still wanted to check in
Currently playing a githzerai stars druid and lvl 5 atm, when did you grab swarmkeeper levels and were you melee or ranged focused? 😊
@@AuraXars it was a level 11 oneshot so I didn't really think about when I took levels.
I was also the only player so I had a bit of everything, some ranged, some melee, some healing and wild-shape for tanking.
If I were playing this in a campaign I think it works best as a ranged attacker with archer form and swarm pushing into web or another area spell. So I would at least take ranger levels to get archery fighting style and subclass. After that its probably best to return to druid for spell slots.
I also took 2 levels of divination wizard because thematically it fits with star druids prediction stuff.
Haha, playing one myself. 5 swarm 2 stars so far. Funny enough, though. Flavored the swarmkeeper as a sand bender.. then went druid with intent to go land and be more earth flavored. But circumstances steered me toward multiple elements... thus a halfling avatar was born! Lol
Stars Druids are so good. Free guiding bolt. Archer form bonus action attack on top of your concentration spell.
And if you pick the concentration bonus instead, it saves you a feat
@@kibbo86 I feel like dragon isn’t as good. You really shouldn’t be frontlining as a stars Druid anyway.
@@nicholaswells4572 The dragon form while not as flashy as the chalice or the archer is indeed the best, extra healing or damage is great, but looking at the number of druid spells that are concentration, guaranteeing that high level spell slot stays sexual for the entire duration of the spells is very important. You can make it unlikely you take damage but not impossible, and since druids don’t get concave proficiency, well, you see where I am going
@@nicholasarosemena3829
>Be a lvl 10 support druid
>Get surrounded by enemies
>the DM’s done with your massive healing every turn/rest and is ready to kill you
>go dragon+polymorh yourself into a giant ape or whatever your heart desires
>profit
@@nicholasarosemena3829 silly, all druid profiencies are convex!
Just want to say that I finally tested one of your build, and loved it. My friends not so much. We were doing a 15 lvl boss rush one shot. They were a little bit surprised when I one shot the lich. Thank you very much
lol! Sorry friends!
Love the idea of the druid circle that has imprisoned an interfering genie in something like a petrified tree or a crystalline cavern. Very fun internal and external conflict possibilities there.
You sir are a genius
@@benjaminwalker9369 Thanks for saying so, but I'm just a writer looking for good story fodder. Cheers!
Literally just started making a stars druid last night. The timing of this video is impeccable.
How about a genie that resides inside a meteor that falls to your plane? Could be cool!
I like the story concept of a druid circle that specifically encourages their members to NOT get lost in the sky. They believe that having your feet firmly planted on the ground keeps your gaze steady while looking up. So, the dao genie dip is their "grounding" training.
Mentioning maximising moonbeam and usit star druid with a mc dip i immediately guessed dao genie warlock with crusher, and when you said crusher at lvl 1 i felt so good lol. With stars druid my immediate thought for the source of the dao genie could be like a dao who lives inside the moon or perhaps an asteroid? The moon is a big magic rock after all. But the sky-earth war thing is also cool!
Meteorite dao sounds so awesome!
I do so love the wording of Moon Beam. Had put my players on a ship battle and the twilight cleric used a held action to place the beam in front of the ship just before it's movement in the initiative counter, so that all the invading creatures climbing up the side of the ship would be pushed through it.
It was such a cool moment that swiftly turned the tide of battle (yes, pun intended)
What? Can you explain this more? The beam was placed at the front of the ship along the side of the ship?
@@BaconPoutine It was placed just in front of the ship, but off center so that as the ship moved forward the side of the ship that had the creatures climbing up it would be the section of the ship to pass through the beam since it was stationary. All the creatures on the side of the ship technically entered the beam's area for the first time on the ship's turn, and so had to make a save. Most failed and weren't very HP heavy, so a lot of them got wiped out as a result. Those that survived were badly hurt.
The first thing I thought about when wondering how to justify having both dao warlock and stars druid levels is making some sort of meteorite or a comet important for this character's story. A rock from the sky.
A free feat is cool but I'd take halfling just so that I could call this build "Bless Your Lucky Stars"
(emboldening bond your lucky stars is more accurate but just doesn't have the same ring to it)
Lucky charms vibes
I love running your builds. Just yesterday i played in a multiple team battle royale with your gloomstalker build. After i killed a barbarian on the first turn before he could rage the rest of the arena decided i needed to go lmao. So i used fog cloud and moved steathily to take 2 others down before i ended up getting dogpiled. Super fun times
Awesome!
I recently tried to build around moonbeam as a moon Druid. Turn 1 I would cast moonbeam on the enemy then wild shape into a brown bear. Turn 2 I would attempt to grapple the enemy and then drag them in/out of the moonbeam area to prock the damage again. I got proficiency in athletics and had 2 grapple attempts per turn thanks to the bears multi attack, but i got unlucky rolls and it didn’t work as well as I’d hoped. I got hit a lot in bear form so I’m really glad I had war caster.
I can see it now, moon beam first round. The enemy laughs “you missed!” Followed by a subsequent attack tossing them in, chuckling as you do so.
Level 1:(@9:20) [druid 1, race & feat]
Level 2:(see above) [duid 2 & sub-class]
Level 3:(@20:14) [warlock 1 & patron]
Level 4:(@24:17) [druid 3]
Level 5:(@25:06) [druid 4 & ASI]
Level 6:(@25:28) [cleric 1 & sub-class]
Level 7:(see above) [druid 5]
Level 8:(@35:03) [druid 6]
Level 9:(@35:56) [druid 7]
Level 10:(see above) [druid 8 & ASI]
Level 11:(@38:09) [druid 9]
Level 12:(@38:39) [druid 10]
Level 13:(@39:56) [warlock 2 & eldritch invocations]
Level 14:(see above) [druid 11]
Level 15:(@45:11) [druid 12 & ASI]
Level 16:(@45:44) [druid 13]
Level 17:(@46:08) [druid 14]
Thank you for doing this
@@DrAndrewJBlack happy to help.
@@DrAndrewJBlackhonestly, I do it so when I go back later Incan jump to the part I need but it doesn't hurt to share.
This feels like the arcane archer that you actually want to play. Way more arcane archery than the fighter version. You cast spells, you fire arcane arrows. You get it all.
I agree, Stars Druid and Warlocks that flavor their Eldritch Blast as shooting an eldritch bow feel ten times more like an arcane archer than the actual arcane archer subclass unfortunately.
Agreed
I suggest you watch this video:
th-cam.com/video/bjpkKqV5eL8/w-d-xo.html
I actually found this build looking for a way to make arcane archer good. Found the stars druid/swarm keeper. Gonna make him a harengon. His eyes are black peppered with the stars (like the Zeus the owl)
I have a CoS Druid character, he’s the captain of a ship in a Spelljammer themed game. A lot of fun & versatility.
Me: oh! I wasn't expecting a video this week. Guess he got some writing done...
Colby: spends the first minute explaining this...
I haven't even watched yet, but you always have excellent timing! I'm playing a Twilight Cleric focused more on damage and I just started multiclassing to go Stars Druid, so this is perfect timing!
Im doing the same. Any good solution for druid armor restriction?
Perhaps. It's very setting dependent though. If you get any ironwood, you might be able to make some armor from that. There is a substance called pykrete that is a combination of ice and wood which is bulletproof, so maybe if you are in a cold setting like in Rime of the Frostmaiden.
You could always pick up mage armor from Eldritch Adept feat.
For me at our table, we just rule druids can wear metal armor. It just doesn't make sense to us that druids can use metal weapons, but not metal armor, and metal does occur naturally, so we just ignore that restriction personally
@@aidandunne5978 That helps. Thank you for the ideas.
@@RUTTnBAM ask your gm for heavy armor made of bone
@@conradkorbol just did today and he said yes as long as I collect all the necessary material. Works out alright. I was more curious what others do in their campaigns.
I honestly was prepared for this week without the episode and this came as a surprise a happy one
"Surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one."
This is the first video of yours I watched aside from shorts and I have to say I'm really impressed!
Great build. I LOVE the crusher genielock combo
As someone that loves spending an ungodly amount of hours making and optimizing characters, it makes me happy to have found a channel dedicated to that
Hearing your relaxing voice describe your fantastical optimizations is most soothing :)
Personally I'd have gone 3 levels of swarmkeeper ranger (you could flavor the swarm as fireflies for example or have them be miniature stars or other celestial bodies rotating around you) you'd get ways to deal slightly more damage or push and pull people on a save
Stars plus Dao is great. As Casey Kasem used to say, "Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars." 🏜️✨
The reason I love druid for sustained DPR builds with a very simple tactic, is that it frees up literally all your other spells for utility. Which is insane on a stars druid. Which I will reiterate is my most favourite subclass
Plus magic initiate and going pure druid, can get you find familiar from magic initiate. Which is just great
Excellent build. Glad you had fun! I'm in Az myself 😎
As someone mentioned the genie could be of a meteorite kind of thing, but also consider the earth is a celestial body. The earth is a giant space rock we just call it home. Its all about perspective. So maybe that's something that makes the pact more seemless from the get go or to be something the character can grapple with then come to understand.
Some nice symbolism could run parallel with that truth as well. Head in the clouds big idea (stars/celestial) druid comes to terms with the idea that practicality and grounding (dao/earth) need to be realizes as well in order to make change and achieve.
WOW, im starting a new campaign this weekend and i’ll be playing a stars druid! Talk about perfect timing on this video!
plant grow is a good pick to prevent enemies to go too far away from the moonbeam. (Very situationnal, but powerfull)
eldritch blast : repelling blast (to push enemies back in the beam from far away - not very celestially but effective)
One fun thing about the Dao genie dip is you could get booming blade, pairing it with shillelagh for a decent melee attack when necessary to push enemies into your moonbeam, and then forcing a choice between staying in the moonbeam or taking BB damage for a healthy sprinkling of your famous Catch 22 build!
Yep! Talked about going this route in the melee version (Final Thoughts) 😉
Loved the build this week. So cool how much mileage can be gotten from a spell like Moonbeam. As usual Randall's artwork was awesome. Killer stuff!
Im really digging the primordial "heavens and earth" flavor. I can think of half a dozen cool stories right away
I recently played a Stars Druid in a level 5 one shot and I was absolutely the best damage dealer in the somewhat unoptimized party. I used summon fey, guiding bolt, and the archery starry form to basically make 3 attacks per round in the boss fight. It was just a ton of fun!
Man, I never want this series to end. So good 😁
I just started playing a Stars druid so this is gonna be quite informative!
This is the exact build I’m playing right now. Get out of my head! But seriously, just hit level 5, and it’s been fun so far. Those guiding bolts do some damage in the early levels. Emboldening Bond has been great to pair with our sharpshooter ranger. Haven’t gotten the warlock levels yet.
I now have ordered your merch, love it! I know you are doing a one-shot, cant wait to see it! And finally looking forward to you celebrating 50k subscribers, (maybe with a creation bard vid, Hint Hint). Love what you do, keep up the great work!
Woo hoo! Thanks :)
New Member here thanks for all the great videos and awesome characters! Keep being awesome my brother is playing a stars druid and this will help a lot
woo hoo! Thanks!
Thanks for doing a video this week!
Also that jacket is sick!
My version of this build would be focused on the Chalice Constellation to be a better party healer.
My main healing spell is healing word which I cast as a bonus action, which triggers bonus healing from starry chalice and keeps my standard action free to do other things.
My most common standard action would be moving the moonbeam onto my targets, or using thornwhip, gust, or thunderwave to push/pull them in. I could also use an upcasted cure wounds if someone's really hurt, or I could throw out a free guiding bolt.
For turns that I'm not healing, I can get value out of my bonus action by taking the telekinetic feat and pushing baddies into my moonbeam, pulling non-melee allies out of close combat, or pushing a baddie who's in close combat with myself away from me.
This version doesn't do as much damage as Kolby's build obviously, but I'm doubling the healing output to my party, and I'm using minimal resources to contribute significant sustained dpr. Additionally, by being a straight druid, I get access to higher level spells earlier and get to rush for that all-so-powerful level 10 ability to switch forms at will. When I get this, I can switch to archery form whenever I want to do even more sustained dpr without reducing my healing output.
Edit: Could even dip a level of life cleric :)
Sometimes I'm just here for the art and not the optimization, but I enjoy the break down of the builds in an easy and precise manner.
Absolute knocked it outta the park with this thumbnail 😂 it’s just the perfect amount of editing
Thanks to my friend Preston!
I did a similar build as a straight Druid but went Aasimar for extra radiant and free flight. Once you can cycle the starry forms as needed the subclass really takes off. Hit for 50 on one turn and heal your allies for 40 the next is just insane. Armor problem was solved by getting dragon scale mail and a +2 moon sickle went a long way.
Love the theme ideas with this. I missed that a lot. Great video as always and can’t wait for more!
Bro every one of Randall's art peices r phenomenal
Just played my first session of my schizophrenic circle of stars druid, who in self-isolation gained a kinship with the stars themselves, thinking them to be actual people talking to him and guiding his actions. He's got tattoos of constellations covering his entire body and is deeply scared of most things. He's very fun to play and sort of scares the other players with some of his ramblings, but he's a powerful ally to have.
I would love to see an optimal Shillelagh build! How far can one go with a magic thwacking stick!?
I second this! It is one of my favorite cantrips. I believe he did some work with this in a past build, but I can't remember which one.
He actually did that one with his Fey Wanderer Ranger build!
Right! th-cam.com/video/Mj4yNpIeh1c/w-d-xo.html
Love the build. Might use it soon and see how it plays. On the subject of race, whether you use V Human or C Origin is really a personal preference thing, as you can end up with the same ability scores you want either way in this case. The key difference i see besides flavor is that the Custom Origin would allow you some choices like the option to be size Small (rather than Medium) or to select Darkvision 60ft (rather than an extra skill proficiency). I personally think Darkvision would fit great with the theme, so I'll probably go with that.
I haven't even watched this yet but I thank you already, I have a campaign coming up soon and had been debating on creating a Stars Druid and was wishing you had done a build so I could get some ideas and you never fail to deliver lol.
I was listening while playing a game so maybe i missed it but with thorn whip you can move a single enemy 15 feet if needed with the pull and crusher
Yup, Colby mentioned. 🙂
@@shanelilly9673 Indeed!
Twist to the narrative ideas - The dao is actually the head of the organisation that maps the stars - he has always loved the night sky despite being an embodiment of the Earth
Might want to consider Kobold. Archer, "With Pack Tactics = 84% to hit, 6.70 DPR. Stack this with Guiding Bolt it’s 19.72 DPR." -Pack Tactics (Bagpipes).
Forces crusher feat to be delayed to level 4/5/6 (depending on dips) should you still want this interaction, but the DPR granted by pack tactics should make up for that.
Thank you again, for all that you do
What D&D calls studded leather is basically a brigandine or coat of plates; the leather is on the outside and the plates inside. The studs are rivets holding the plates to the leather.
51:20 I think you're underestimating the usefulness of a reaction attack in that position with the crusher feat. The forced movement from crusher is "once per turn" so just like Sneak Attack, it doesn't have to be YOUR turn. You can push them back into your moonbeam with the opportunity attack, potentially causing them to take moonbeam damage AGAIN before they can attack you.
That is assuming they didn't enter into the moonbeam on that burn, since it only goes off when the target "enters the spell’s area for the first time on a turn" and since moonbeam is only 2x2, it might be worth assuming they didn't start their turn there, but it's something to keep in mind at least. Best case scenario, they move up to you, get attacked, moonbeamed, and die before they can attack you. That's one way of being defensive with low AC
Was looking at building a stars druid, not going to do the exact build you broke down but lots of great tips and notes I learned from this video thanks!
Smoothly handily softening encounter that I made. There was an undead boss, and every round or two of combat as long as Stirges would price from the water and zerg the players. Any storges that successfully did their blood drain would, on their next turn, fly over to the boss and heal it.
I got to do this with like one stirge before a druid got through the layer action and cast moonbeam. Every there were Stirges on the board, The transaction was too zigzag that thing around hitting as many of them as possible like an almighty bug zapper. The amount of damage spectacular, but with A good damage roll, the sturgeon couldn't survive even if they passed. Meaning the big "gotcha" mechanic of the encounter went up in smoke.
So for me, it felt like I failed to deliver the dynamic combat that I had designed. From the druids perspective, it was awesome because he basically broke it.
And they did realize how bad it would have been without that spell
i really like these builds, I think genie is becoming my favorite warlock patron because of you (and because its a fun subclass)! also your talk at pax was really fun, even though it was going over rules i already knew, I learned a lot and like how it changed my view of them :)
I think Peace Cleric and Circle of Stars are a brilliant combination.
Super interesting character concept! Not sure I would be able to narratively make the genie warlock dip work though, so I would probably borrow the tactic from your swarm keeper build and use and sling with magic stone to get ranged bludgeoning damage. Maybe a Ranger dip or feat to grab Archery fighting style.
It feels nice to hear the backstories again :)
Would love to see a build around the echo knight. I apologize if you have made one before. I have gone through a bunch of the optimized builds but haven't seen one yet. If there is one that I can be directed towards it would be greatly appreciated.
Loved the build. I think we've been underutilizing Moonbeam when we've cast it at our table. I still think having Eldritch Blasts with pushing and pulling of multiple blasts shouldn't be discounted to get foes into the Moonbeam, if so needed. I realize trying to maximize Wisdom and Charisma is a pain, but you could potentially get more enemies into your Moonbeam with a nice Eldritch Blast at higher levels.
Great segment! Trying out my first Circle of Stars druid this week. Going to go stereotypical kind of surfer bro type whose "way into the stars man, they're like always there even when the sun is up you just can't see them! trippy huh?" He's an Air Genasi.
Very nice build!! Seem really fun to play
I'm kinda dissapointed over the fact how strong the Star subclasses sounds like compared to (for example) the Spore subclass.
The fact u can use the wildshape as a BA and change your form later without action or BA is already soooo much better than lot of stuff u get in other subclasses from druid.
Question; With how Moonbeam is written, it says when a creature enters the spells area for the first time on a turn OR starts it's turn there. That means that it could take moonbeam damage several times in a single turn, or just once?
I ask, because if you combine the Crusher Feat with Polearm Master and wield a Quarterstaff, you could potentially do damage on their turn as well. Say enemy starts their turn inside moonbeam, and you are ten feet away from it. Enemy then moves forward 5 feet. This enters your range, and you trigger Polearm Master making an opportunity attack. You attack with a quarterstaff, and do bludgeoning damage. This triggers the Crusher feat, and you move the creature back into the moonbeam, triggering it's damage again(?).
At higher levels, combine that with warcaster and you could use a Booming Blade as well for the opportunity attack.....
At level 9 (Cleric 8, Warlock 1), that is 4d10 when they start their turn in moonbeam, 2d8+3 Quarterstaff / Booming Blade, another 4d10 moonbeam damage, and 2d8 more when they move up to hit you again...... 8d10 + 4d8 + 3 of damage on the enemies turn..... Is this right? That would be an average of 65 damage if everything hit / failed saves.....
Right. My understanding is that the creature can only take damage for moving *into* the area once on a turn, but I don't *think* we're told anywhere that it couldn't take damage for starting its turn there *and* take damage for being moved into the area (the first time) on the same turn. You can't move it in and out, in and out, for extra damage, but yes to what you've described, I'm pretty sure.
I like the Circle of Stars and Twilight Cleric for a Starry Night theme.
It is so sad that crusher only works with one size bigger than medium, but great build and knowledge! great video
That build was good, but I'll say that Stars Druid is pretty good just on it's own and you don't really need a build like this to make them super effective, specially if you have party members that will work with you.
I did something similar that admittedly did less damage by just going straight Druid, but rather than use my abilities to push enemies into the Moonbeam I relied on my party members and terrain to do that for me, and while I enjoyed that build I still felt kinda like crap because the build I did was dramatically more effective than anything my party members did, so I don't think I'll be doing maximised builds like these, I get the appeal but I think I've realised that I personally have more fun working with the party than making a character that just excels on their own.
That's a very sober-minded and mature take, and you have earned my respect for it.
That said, imagine if your entire party agreed to go with powerful builds, and thus you balance yourselves out by all just being absurdly powerful. Now, I understand that then there's the argument that a DM will struggle against the party and not know how to challenge them, but I believe there are sufficient ways around that that it might still be really enjoyable to have a super powerful party. But all that said, you clearly a very unselfish player and that is more of a blessing at a table than many realize, and I salute you for that.
@@HSuper_Lee Well if the whole party was power gaming I'd probably do it too, because I wouldn't feel guilty over overshadowing them, though I'd probably go for control rather than damage since they're more likely to cheese damage.
As for the "unselfish" thing, I'm not sure I agree, after all I do sorta prefer to box the group into a state of cooperation, which isn't really something everyone will want and am less happy or interested when people aren't playing this way, obviously I don't order them around because that would be annoying but at times I kinda want to.
Ultimately most playstyles have both advanrages and disadvantages and some are right for some groups but not others, I think my particular attitude is just because for me cooperating seems like a very unique thing to TTRPGs.
I find it a really interesting character concept and the stars and stone theme allows for some cool backgrounds ideas, especially combined with the druid circle’s philosophy. I could imagine that every druid in his circle has this bond with this stone entity, and that those druids traditionally build stone sites according to the stars and their movement, in order to perform rituals and bring the celestial to the earth. They could live in amazing stone villages with circular stone structures, gazing at the stars from round openings in the ceiling and create Stoneage-like sculptures across the land (this is my architect side coming out).
For the Genie warlock split I would bring in something like Nazca lines as earthly reflections of constellations.
Haven't watched it yet but going to assume another quality, well thought-out video always! Love your work!
This is my favorite build so far, and the melee option is what I want!
For the dao earth element "justification" i would argue that it is the best RP choice because druids are about balance and you need to Balance earth and sky
I'm playing a similar build to this right now!!! Looove this concept and finally a way to use moonbeam well
Love both versions a lot, I might be biased because I love druids but it sounds so much fun either route. Among the PYF i think plant growth deservers a special mention, no concentration needed (odd for druid control spell) since if you lock them in the area good luck escaping from the moonbeam + thorn whip range XD
Forced movement is great here. This build in essence is very similar to a cleric w/ spirit guardians and spiritual weapon. A cleric might opt for the telekinetic feat to force enemies into their SG to elicit a similar effect.
Another possible option is to take Fey Touched - Dissonant Whispers (3d6)
You could try to position the moonbeam in such a fashion so that when you cast dissonant whispers the enemy is forced to run through the moonbeam, or perhaps even spike growth. - There is a catch to this plan - It's DM dependent: Dissonant whispers reads, "The creature doesn’t move into obviously dangerous ground, such as a fire or a pit". And so the question is, does the creature affected by Dissonant Whispers know that the moonbeam is dangerous ground. Does the creature know that the spike growth area is dangerous? Spike Growth: "Any creature that can’t see the area at the time the spell is cast must make a Wisdom (Perception) check against your spell save DC to recognize the terrain as hazardous before entering it." So perhaps not.
However, to maximize moonbeam more confidently, using your action to move the moonbeam, and then bonus action to starry form: archer into the moonbeam (via crusher-daolock) is likely much more guaranteed.
I actually love the redundancy between 1st level cleric and druid spells. It allows me to pick up healing word, detect magic, etc.. so I can pick up more cool druid spells that i wouldnt normally take. I picked up comprehend languages from warlock so i got the two most important low level rituals (though pactmagic doesn't have ritual casting)
I like the idea of playing as an awakened menhir stone or part of a stone henge with a reflavored warforged or custom lineage. Your star map constellations could be carved on your body with certain stars actually piercing through. I'd role play the somatic components of my spells as aligning the different constellations and holes. The dao patron could be the being that carved you and/or gave you sentience.
Video today is a nice pleasant surprise when you're caught up with all the episodes!
Love Druids - so many interesting ways to build them now. (If you did go with the melee version, perhaps Tortle could address that AC problem)
A character plan I want to do is a Barbarian/Druid but not focused on Wild Shape, Stars seems to be the best, giving a good BA use and a few spells to manage buffing/spell-casting. Hardly optimal given I will basically have 2 modes of being melee rager or a distant spell slinger type, but it be a super flexible build, and I love the concept.
An ancestral Guardian Barbarian who follows his ancestors stories and legacies as charted among the stars, striving to create his own legend so that he to is among the stars. He summons his ancestors through the Ancestral forces and eventually his own legend begins to aid him in combat, bringing him beyond his limits, i.e. starry form.
Hope you had a chill vacation, Colby.
I love druids, and this is fantastic.
Hey, Coby. I had an interesting concept on my mind, dunno if you did this in the past videos but it would be cool. The thing I was thinking about was a sniper man using the Eldritch Handcannon from the Artificer and put some levels in Ranger, you could use the sharpshooter feat and some other things to help the gimmick of the build.
Pray on a falling star, Dao genie emerges from the crash site of said fallen star congrats
Please never stop doing what your doing Colby
Starting with ranger 1 then druid 2 and back to ranger is nice. You get archery fighting style, expertise extra attack eventually and can go swarm if you want to push and pull enemies in AoEs or just standard colossus for a free 1d6 once a turn.
I’d love to see a dwarven battlerager build.. at least a duo because the Gutbuster Brigade was awesome.
Ok, now I gotta play this build as a Sailor Scout!
"In the name of the Moon, I shall punish you!"
Here is an idea for why you are a genie warlock.
One night during your stargazing you saw a falling star. Set star landed very close and you decided to investigate. When you got to the crater you noticed that the meteorite was still intact. Would you pick up this fallen heavenly body, You realize that there is a weak entity inside.she talks to you, and she tells you she was once a genie and tells you a story of how she was outcast from her world (planet). She starts to fade and is about to die. There is only one thing you can do, You bind your 2 souls together to keep her alive. In doing so you form your pact.
As the story goes on she will start to regain some of her power and with that you increase your warlock level.
love it!
brther!Bonjournice to meet you! Enjoyed- super -🤙
34:41 exactly my thoughts on Conjure Animals. Stoopid broken spell lol
I believe that your are a member of the noble brotherhood of Dad's, therefore your are right, you are always right, if you think that you are wrong, then you are mistaken
lol
Moonbeam Plus Giant Badger Wildshape Plus Blindfighting Feat Plus Burrow 10ft Equals Mighty Cheese.
YES. I was waiting for this after watching the short.
I LOVED the thumb of this video (and the video of course, as always). You should try more thumbs like this one, I think its amazing, congrats.
In my games I personanlly do not allow my druids to wear metal armor, I do however allow them to wear Medium/Heavy armor that is instead made of a different material that would make sense for those armors. Bark armor, Armor made from the hide of a creature with thick skin or hard scales, one of my current players is wearing a chain chirt that is made up of tons of interlocking wrapped bones.
Can’t wait to see the star form one that involves the dragons form being used. Abjuration Wizard with a 2 level star Druid dip at 12th level and with a 20 INT can counterspell anything no matter what minimum 10 for Int check +5 Int+4 prof
Love it! Tempted to try and work it as an Owlin for full Boomkin nostalgia 😂