Power Word Kill, Slow, Power Word Stun, or really any effect that stops them from taking at least one of their actions or bonus actions. Of course, a character spending both their action and their bonus action every turn isn’t a threat, so just stab their friends.
Level 20 characters are supposed to be broken (though a few classes aren’t), so they aren’t really that OP in anything but a PvP situation, which the game isn’t balanced for.
If they use Earth Elemental or Mammoth, that’s an average of 126hp per turn, which is pretty beefy. I imagine like the poster above has said, it’ll take quite a lot of damage to finish them off but it is possible.
Stunning or Paralyzing attacks/magic, or anything that incapacitates really. It’ll definitely require some creativity.
From a DMs perspective, it’s often the same situation as any - smart enemies will ignore the Fire-Shielded/Armor of Agathys-ed Abjuration Wizard and the Shapeshifting Moon Druid until the end, at which point in gets a lot easier. Grapple+Restrain on-hit attacks are common at higher levels and enough enemies attacking with advantage will easily overcome the 126hp required damage each round once the Druid is all that’s left.
Part of the strategy depends on whether the DM rules that the druid can use wild shape while in wild shape. If they can, then the above all apply, if they can't it's an action and a bonus action to revert and shift again, both wasting the turn and giving an opportunity for held actions to hit the druid directly.
Druids of the Lunar Cycle can use a bonus action to transform, so they can use the common action to exit the wild Form. In an infinite cycle of regeneration.
The Problem is that shifting into a new animal or elemental form every turn is actually using a grey area of the game. There is nothing that actually says they can change form straight from beast to beast. The power is only written from the perspective of changing from their natural form into a beast form but managed to somehow skip the couple of things that would make that explicit. It's hard to say if that was by design or not however because the language that skips it is naturally flowing plain language.
So if DM's are having this issue. They can actually enforce the rule that the Druid has to switch back to their natural form in between each wildshaped form without actually breaking RaW or RaI. Which means there is a lot more risk baked in to just using up all their action economy to switch all the time. This serve to give them the ability to change often. But actually have to put thought back into when and how they do it just like they had to deal with for the other 19 levels of their adventuring career.
So if DM's are having this issue. They can actually enforce the rule that the Druid has to switch back to their natural form in between each wildshaped form without actually breaking RaW or RaI. Which means there is a lot more risk baked in to just using up all their action economy to switch all the time. This serve to give them the ability to change often. But actually have to put thought back into when and how they do it just like they had to deal with for the other 19 levels of their adventuring career.
Not only action economy, if the druid has to revert to shift to beast form, enemies can ready attacks to aim for the druid's natural form. This would come at the cost of delivering some of the attacks that would make it more likely that the druid would revert however.
Another thing I forgot to mention is that you can just out-damage the Druid’s health. A level 20 character is certainly going to be dealing with more than 120 damage per turn if they are facing a level 20 final boss such as Tiamat.
Preparing the attack is a good way, as a level 20 druid would always use Mamoth and the Elemental Stone when activating the wild form. Still, it proves to be complicated, but unlike the other answers, it looks like something really functional.
Preparing the attack is a good way, as a level 20 druid would always use Mamoth and the Elemental Stone when activating the wild form. Still, it proves to be complicated, but unlike the other answers, it looks like something really functional.
In one against one, you can't be reducing the wild shape form HP while also preparing an attack for when it drops.
Elemental Stone? What? Did you mean Earth Elemental, except you said they'd always use Mammoth. They can't always use Mammoth and Earth Elemental, they must use one or the other, or did you mean "or" instead of "and"?
You say the other answers aren't really functional - since several are not only functional, but easy and proven to work, while your method is basic, impractical and proven to rarely work -- I have to question if you understand what "functional" means.
Your post doesn't really make sense, at best - or is being ignorantly antagonistic at worst.
So if DM's are having this issue. They can actually enforce the rule that the Druid has to switch back to their natural form in between each wildshaped form without actually breaking RaW or RaI. Which means there is a lot more risk baked in to just using up all their action economy to switch all the time. This serve to give them the ability to change often. But actually have to put thought back into when and how they do it just like they had to deal with for the other 19 levels of their adventuring career.
Not only action economy, if the druid has to revert to shift to beast form, enemies can ready attacks to aim for the druid's natural form. This would come at the cost of delivering some of the attacks that would make it more likely that the druid would revert however.
Timed Blows would be part of the equation. But with a risk to the one saving their reactions to pull off a readied action and never having the trigger take place. Because if the Druid is going to return to their Natural form they may choose to be much more picky about when and where they actually do transform back and forth with wild shape. So there is potential risk and reward on both sides. There is no guarantees for either.
As for the Elemental Stone Comment. it sounds to me like things I have heard form non-english players before. Where name orders can be different and sometimes even slight changes to certain things like earth to stone and such. I cannot say this is the case but it is a possibility to keep in mind.
I hate to throw out "homebrew something" but if it is that big of a problem you can always homebrew some kind of 'solution'. For example,
A caster to put on a curse on them that whenever the druid is affected by magic it also affects the caster (for better and for worse).
A magical zone that doesn't allow for shapeshifting of any kind. This would stop the druid in their tracks as far as shifting for HP (though not stop a spores druid which I think is a better version of the tank druid anyway) and when paired with some other interesting environmental things could be a really interesting encounter.
A tournament that was destined by a Diety that enforces a very strict set of guidelines that disallows "silly tricks" like shape-shifting, lest they be punished by said diety.
There are also several non-homebrew 'solutions' that would work not including what others have said:
Feeblemind, while not actively preventing the use of wild shape it would be very difficult to justify having the knowledge to do that sort of manipulation of the rules as someone with 1 in all mental skills.
Confusion spell
Out damage the healing Via High-level, high-damage magic, or via multiple targets hitting at once (a single creature can only fight so many enemies before even the mightiest of warriors falls), there are some very powerful single attack damage poisons that when paired with an assassin could do wonders.
Give an enemy a vorpal sword. I highly doubt the player can live without their head and if the enemy can make enough attacks they are bound to get a 20 sooner or later.
Throw a DMPC at them. Player character versus player character is not balanced very well so you should be able to build something that can best the healing or otherwise prevent the player character from doing anything.
There are plenty of creatures that inflict status conditions as a result of saves that would transcend if the player character is in animal form or not. Any of the creatures that can turn them to stone, Intelect devourers, Retrievers, the list goes on and on.
The point being, there are plenty of ways to deal with the situation both homebrew and not. Any single or combination of the ideas presented by me and others in the thread would work.
I hate to throw out "homebrew something" but if it is that big of a problem you can always homebrew some kind of 'solution'. For example,
A caster to put on a curse on them that whenever the druid is affected by magic it also affects the caster (for better and for worse).
A magical zone that doesn't allow for shapeshifting of any kind. This would stop the druid in their tracks as far as shifting for HP (though not stop a spores druid which I think is a better version of the tank druid anyway) and when paired with some other interesting environmental things could be a really interesting encounter.
A tournament that was destined by a Diety that enforces a very strict set of guidelines that disallows "silly tricks" like shape-shifting, lest they be punished by said diety.
There are also several non-homebrew 'solutions' that would work not including what others have said:
Feeblemind, while not actively preventing the use of wild shape it would be very difficult to justify having the knowledge to do that sort of manipulation of the rules as someone with 1 in all mental skills.
Confusion spell
Out damage the healing Via High-level, high-damage magic, or via multiple targets hitting at once (a single creature can only fight so many enemies before even the mightiest of warriors falls), there are some very powerful single attack damage poisons that when paired with an assassin could do wonders.
Give an enemy a vorpal sword. I highly doubt the player can live without their head and if the enemy can make enough attacks they are bound to get a 20 sooner or later.
Throw a DMPC at them. Player character versus player character is not balanced very well so you should be able to build something that can best the healing or otherwise prevent the player character from doing anything.
There are plenty of creatures that inflict status conditions as a result of saves that would transcend if the player character is in animal form or not. Any of the creatures that can turn them to stone, Intelect devourers, Retrievers, the list goes on and on.
The point being, there are plenty of ways to deal with the situation both homebrew and not. Any single or combination of the ideas presented by me and others in the thread would work.
to Add on to the post here.
I'd just like to point out that a 20th level Monk is potentially the 20th level druids worst nightmare.
With the time to finally max out their Wisdom giving them a respectable DC of 19. Even Elemental Forms are not immune to Stun. Helped out by Con Saves not being the best in most animal forms or elemental Forms with even the Earth Elemental and the Mammoth maxing out at only a +5. Meaning that the Druid is likely going to need to roll a 14 or higher to save against it. And the Monks are inherently faster so they are more likely to go first to potentially stop the druid from ever changing form in the first place. Stun is also a condition that doesn't go away just because you revert form an animal form.
There is a fair chance that the Monk might end up actually locking down the Druid before they ever get to do much of anything.
Polymorph into a sheep and then Power Word Kill next turn. Wisdom saving throw proficiency is a bit of a pain, but lots of ways around this (just trying over and over until it works, but chronurgist wizards can succeed first try - probably some other methods too).
This does work against druids as they are not classified as 'shapechangers' but not against changeling druids as they are 'shapechangers'.
How to kill a Level 20 druid if he always uses "wild form" to gain a new HP? Are they immortal?
Power Word Kill, Slow, Power Word Stun, or really any effect that stops them from taking at least one of their actions or bonus actions. Of course, a character spending both their action and their bonus action every turn isn’t a threat, so just stab their friends.
Level 20 characters are supposed to be broken (though a few classes aren’t), so they aren’t really that OP in anything but a PvP situation, which the game isn’t balanced for.
If they use Earth Elemental or Mammoth, that’s an average of 126hp per turn, which is pretty beefy. I imagine like the poster above has said, it’ll take quite a lot of damage to finish them off but it is possible.
Stunning or Paralyzing attacks/magic, or anything that incapacitates really. It’ll definitely require some creativity.
From a DMs perspective, it’s often the same situation as any - smart enemies will ignore the Fire-Shielded/Armor of Agathys-ed Abjuration Wizard and the Shapeshifting Moon Druid until the end, at which point in gets a lot easier. Grapple+Restrain on-hit attacks are common at higher levels and enough enemies attacking with advantage will easily overcome the 126hp required damage each round once the Druid is all that’s left.
Part of the strategy depends on whether the DM rules that the druid can use wild shape while in wild shape. If they can, then the above all apply, if they can't it's an action and a bonus action to revert and shift again, both wasting the turn and giving an opportunity for held actions to hit the druid directly.
Druids of the Lunar Cycle can use a bonus action to transform, so they can use the common action to exit the wild Form. In an infinite cycle of regeneration.
wish. imprisonment (effectively)
Use the environment. Force the druid into a small area where they can't wild shape into a large creature.
Find ways to stack up exhaustion on the druid.
The Problem is that shifting into a new animal or elemental form every turn is actually using a grey area of the game. There is nothing that actually says they can change form straight from beast to beast. The power is only written from the perspective of changing from their natural form into a beast form but managed to somehow skip the couple of things that would make that explicit. It's hard to say if that was by design or not however because the language that skips it is naturally flowing plain language.
So if DM's are having this issue. They can actually enforce the rule that the Druid has to switch back to their natural form in between each wildshaped form without actually breaking RaW or RaI. Which means there is a lot more risk baked in to just using up all their action economy to switch all the time. This serve to give them the ability to change often. But actually have to put thought back into when and how they do it just like they had to deal with for the other 19 levels of their adventuring career.
Not only action economy, if the druid has to revert to shift to beast form, enemies can ready attacks to aim for the druid's natural form. This would come at the cost of delivering some of the attacks that would make it more likely that the druid would revert however.
Another thing I forgot to mention is that you can just out-damage the Druid’s health. A level 20 character is certainly going to be dealing with more than 120 damage per turn if they are facing a level 20 final boss such as Tiamat.
Polymoprh into a bunny.
Power word kill.
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Preparing the attack is a good way, as a level 20 druid would always use Mamoth and the Elemental Stone when activating the wild form. Still, it proves to be complicated, but unlike the other answers, it looks like something really functional.
In one against one, you can't be reducing the wild shape form HP while also preparing an attack for when it drops.
Elemental Stone? What? Did you mean Earth Elemental, except you said they'd always use Mammoth. They can't always use Mammoth and Earth Elemental, they must use one or the other, or did you mean "or" instead of "and"?
You say the other answers aren't really functional - since several are not only functional, but easy and proven to work, while your method is basic, impractical and proven to rarely work -- I have to question if you understand what "functional" means.
Your post doesn't really make sense, at best - or is being ignorantly antagonistic at worst.
My Homebrew: Races | Subclasses | Backgrounds | Spells | Magic Items | Feats
Need help with Homebrew? Check out this FAQ/Guide thread by IamSposta
See My Youtube Videos for Tips & Tricks using D&D Beyond
Timed Blows would be part of the equation. But with a risk to the one saving their reactions to pull off a readied action and never having the trigger take place. Because if the Druid is going to return to their Natural form they may choose to be much more picky about when and where they actually do transform back and forth with wild shape. So there is potential risk and reward on both sides. There is no guarantees for either.
As for the Elemental Stone Comment. it sounds to me like things I have heard form non-english players before. Where name orders can be different and sometimes even slight changes to certain things like earth to stone and such. I cannot say this is the case but it is a possibility to keep in mind.
I hate to throw out "homebrew something" but if it is that big of a problem you can always homebrew some kind of 'solution'. For example,
There are also several non-homebrew 'solutions' that would work not including what others have said:
The point being, there are plenty of ways to deal with the situation both homebrew and not. Any single or combination of the ideas presented by me and others in the thread would work.
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"Play the game however you want to play the game. After all, your fun doesn't threaten my fun."
to Add on to the post here.
I'd just like to point out that a 20th level Monk is potentially the 20th level druids worst nightmare.
With the time to finally max out their Wisdom giving them a respectable DC of 19. Even Elemental Forms are not immune to Stun. Helped out by Con Saves not being the best in most animal forms or elemental Forms with even the Earth Elemental and the Mammoth maxing out at only a +5. Meaning that the Druid is likely going to need to roll a 14 or higher to save against it. And the Monks are inherently faster so they are more likely to go first to potentially stop the druid from ever changing form in the first place. Stun is also a condition that doesn't go away just because you revert form an animal form.
There is a fair chance that the Monk might end up actually locking down the Druid before they ever get to do much of anything.
Looking at CR 20+ foes (MM), a number have methods around this
Polymorph into a sheep and then Power Word Kill next turn. Wisdom saving throw proficiency is a bit of a pain, but lots of ways around this (just trying over and over until it works, but chronurgist wizards can succeed first try - probably some other methods too).
This does work against druids as they are not classified as 'shapechangers' but not against changeling druids as they are 'shapechangers'.
Beardy druid.
Very beardy druid. With a cap.
Someone beat me to it. This really is your best bet.
Beardy druid.
Very beardy druid. With a cap.
if they are in elemental form. Paralyze doesn't work. That is something to keep in mind. Because Elementals are immune to that status effect.
Don't forget bleed over damage. Plus RAW any healing done to the bear form does not heal the druid himself just the form.