Thinking of making a moon druid and trying to figure out how to effectively use bonus actions. At level 2 you can turn into a bear with 2 attack multiattack, bite and claw. Wondering if these are considered unarmed or armed. If I wanted to bonus action to make another claw attack would I need a dip in monk to make bonus action unarmed strike, or would I need the Dual Weilder feat? If the claw is unarmed, then martial arts bonus action to make another, or flurry of blows to make 2 seems okay. If not, would I need dual wielder feat to make use of two weapon fighting, since claw doesn't have finesse?
Sidenote: druids, how do you use bonus actions while wildshaped?
I had the same question a while ago. I wanted to wildshape to an ape and punch shit. Here is the summary of what was posted.
Taking the multi attack action (brown bear) is not the same as taking the attack action. A monk only gets a bonus unarmed strike from taking the attack action and also only after making an attack with a monk weapon or unarmed strike. Brown bear claw and bite are neither monk weapons nor unarmed strikes. If you wanted to make an unarmed strike in bear form you could (by taking the attack action) but it would only do monk unarmed strike damage and you would only get one attack until level 5 monk. In that case you could use the monk bonus unarmed strike but its not really worth it at that point. Flurry of blows also requires the attack action, so the multi attack action of the bear would not trigger that either.
Natural Weapons are in one of the weirdest intersections of rules in D&D 5e. Apparently Monsters of the Multiverse is adding to this in some way, but I don't have it so I don't know exactly what it has to say on the matter.
Disregarding MotM for now here is what I understand about how Natural Weapons interact with everything else. Natural Weapons are used to make Weapon Attacks. Some Natural Weapons granted by player races can also be used to make Unarmed Strikes. Path of the Beast Barbarian Natural Weapons count as Simple Weapons (there might be other player Natural Weapons treated similarly, I'm not sure). Whether a Natural Weapon can make Unarmed Strikes or count as a Simple Weapon are exceptions and are specifically called out when applicable. As far as I know, no monster Natural Weapons have these exceptions granted to some player Natural Weapons. In all cases Natural Weapons are not held and so do not qualify for Two-Weapon Fighting.
Natural Weapons that can be used to make Unarmed Strikes or count as a Simple Weapon do not prevent you from benefiting from the bonus action Unarmed Strike granted by the Monk Martial Arts feature. However if you want to use your Natural Weapon when taking your Martial Arts bonus action attack the Natural Weapon must be able to be used to make Unarmed Strikes. Also, if your Natural Weapon does not count as a Simple Weapon then its damage won't scale with the Monk's Martial Arts die. This last point is especially pedantic as striking with any OTHER part of your body would scale with your Martial Arts die, even if your Natural Weapon did not.
Finally I just want to add that Path of the Berserker's Frenzy also lets you attack with your bonus action and has none of the restrictions that Two-Weapon Fighting and Martial Arts have. It simply states that you can make a Melee Weapon Attack as a bonus action. So as long as your Natural Weapon isn't a ranged attack you are good to go.
Oh, as for your side note my answer is spells. Druids have a number of great concentration spells that allow you to do something with your bonus action, like Heat Metal and Flaming Sphere
Looking at wildshape it prevents the casting of spells and taking actions as part of a spell. RAW it seems like heat metal would work since it is a bonus action, and bonus action is not an action. However, I don't know the RAI on that
Looking at wildshape it prevents the casting of spells and taking actions as part of a spell. RAW it seems like heat metal would work since it is a bonus action, and bonus action is not an action. However, I don't know the RAI on that
The only restriction from Wild Shape relating to spellcasting is that you are unable to cast a spell while wild shaped. If you cast the spell before wild shaping then you can maintain concentration on the spell, and take any action or bonus action granted by the spell. Here is the relevant text from Wild Shape:
You can’t cast spells, and your ability to speak or take any action that requires hands is limited to the capabilities of your beast form. Transforming doesn’t break your concentration on a spell you’ve already cast, however, or prevent you from taking actions that are part of a spell, such as call lightning, that you’ve already cast.
(Emphasis added)
The text even provides an example of a spell you can continue to use after wild shaping as long as it was already cast. The "however" in the bolded portion might be a source of some confusion, but it is contrasting with the previous sentence that explains that spells cannot be cast while wild shaped.
Natural Weapons are in one of the weirdest intersections of rules in D&D 5e. Apparently Monsters of the Multiverse is adding to this in some way, but I don't have it so I don't know exactly what it has to say on the matter.
That seems most likely to only be for natural weapons on playable races though; the new language seems to just make those natural weapons also count as simple weapons (for effects that require a simple weapon with which you are proficient). I haven't heard anything about retroactively changing the rules for all natural weapons in general?
I mean it makes sense that the martial arts you learned as a humanoid Monk wouldn't apply to your suddenly being a completely different physical creature, so I wouldn't really expect a "fix" to allow this. I'd expect it to remain in the realm of DM fiat if they want to allow it on humanoid (shaped) beasts like a gorilla or whatever.
Just to add to the whole confusion around the topic: While your natural weapons normally don't count as unarmed strikes and don't count as being held, they still count as weapon attacks made with a weapon so they DO qualify for Divine Smite - which doesn't need a Bonus Action but is REALLY great fun with the better Spell progression you get from the Paladin.
Also don't forget you can heal as a Moon Druid by using Spellslots.
All those points aside: You don't need to use a Bonus Action on your turn to be effective, most Fighters don't use it, most Wizards won't use it all the time, so I don't think it would be so bad to just let it go.
There is benefit to multiclassing monk but its not for the bonus action. Its for unarmored defense. In animal form your unarmored defense becomes animal dex+ monk wisdom. This can have a significant impact on the ac of some of your beast forms. Especially if your wisdom is high.
As an alternate option you could take sentinel feat and get a reaction attack instead. This would not delay your spellcasting progression either but would allow you to pick the highest damage animal attack for your reaction.
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Thinking of making a moon druid and trying to figure out how to effectively use bonus actions. At level 2 you can turn into a bear with 2 attack multiattack, bite and claw. Wondering if these are considered unarmed or armed. If I wanted to bonus action to make another claw attack would I need a dip in monk to make bonus action unarmed strike, or would I need the Dual Weilder feat? If the claw is unarmed, then martial arts bonus action to make another, or flurry of blows to make 2 seems okay. If not, would I need dual wielder feat to make use of two weapon fighting, since claw doesn't have finesse?
Sidenote: druids, how do you use bonus actions while wildshaped?
I had the same question a while ago. I wanted to wildshape to an ape and punch shit. Here is the summary of what was posted.
Taking the multi attack action (brown bear) is not the same as taking the attack action. A monk only gets a bonus unarmed strike from taking the attack action and also only after making an attack with a monk weapon or unarmed strike. Brown bear claw and bite are neither monk weapons nor unarmed strikes. If you wanted to make an unarmed strike in bear form you could (by taking the attack action) but it would only do monk unarmed strike damage and you would only get one attack until level 5 monk. In that case you could use the monk bonus unarmed strike but its not really worth it at that point. Flurry of blows also requires the attack action, so the multi attack action of the bear would not trigger that either.
Natural Weapons are in one of the weirdest intersections of rules in D&D 5e. Apparently Monsters of the Multiverse is adding to this in some way, but I don't have it so I don't know exactly what it has to say on the matter.
Disregarding MotM for now here is what I understand about how Natural Weapons interact with everything else. Natural Weapons are used to make Weapon Attacks. Some Natural Weapons granted by player races can also be used to make Unarmed Strikes. Path of the Beast Barbarian Natural Weapons count as Simple Weapons (there might be other player Natural Weapons treated similarly, I'm not sure). Whether a Natural Weapon can make Unarmed Strikes or count as a Simple Weapon are exceptions and are specifically called out when applicable. As far as I know, no monster Natural Weapons have these exceptions granted to some player Natural Weapons. In all cases Natural Weapons are not held and so do not qualify for Two-Weapon Fighting.
Natural Weapons that can be used to make Unarmed Strikes or count as a Simple Weapon do not prevent you from benefiting from the bonus action Unarmed Strike granted by the Monk Martial Arts feature. However if you want to use your Natural Weapon when taking your Martial Arts bonus action attack the Natural Weapon must be able to be used to make Unarmed Strikes. Also, if your Natural Weapon does not count as a Simple Weapon then its damage won't scale with the Monk's Martial Arts die. This last point is especially pedantic as striking with any OTHER part of your body would scale with your Martial Arts die, even if your Natural Weapon did not.
Finally I just want to add that Path of the Berserker's Frenzy also lets you attack with your bonus action and has none of the restrictions that Two-Weapon Fighting and Martial Arts have. It simply states that you can make a Melee Weapon Attack as a bonus action. So as long as your Natural Weapon isn't a ranged attack you are good to go.
Oh, as for your side note my answer is spells. Druids have a number of great concentration spells that allow you to do something with your bonus action, like Heat Metal and Flaming Sphere
Looking at wildshape it prevents the casting of spells and taking actions as part of a spell. RAW it seems like heat metal would work since it is a bonus action, and bonus action is not an action. However, I don't know the RAI on that
The only restriction from Wild Shape relating to spellcasting is that you are unable to cast a spell while wild shaped. If you cast the spell before wild shaping then you can maintain concentration on the spell, and take any action or bonus action granted by the spell. Here is the relevant text from Wild Shape:
(Emphasis added)
The text even provides an example of a spell you can continue to use after wild shaping as long as it was already cast. The "however" in the bolded portion might be a source of some confusion, but it is contrasting with the previous sentence that explains that spells cannot be cast while wild shaped.
That seems most likely to only be for natural weapons on playable races though; the new language seems to just make those natural weapons also count as simple weapons (for effects that require a simple weapon with which you are proficient). I haven't heard anything about retroactively changing the rules for all natural weapons in general?
I mean it makes sense that the martial arts you learned as a humanoid Monk wouldn't apply to your suddenly being a completely different physical creature, so I wouldn't really expect a "fix" to allow this. I'd expect it to remain in the realm of DM fiat if they want to allow it on humanoid (shaped) beasts like a gorilla or whatever.
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Just to add to the whole confusion around the topic: While your natural weapons normally don't count as unarmed strikes and don't count as being held, they still count as weapon attacks made with a weapon so they DO qualify for Divine Smite - which doesn't need a Bonus Action but is REALLY great fun with the better Spell progression you get from the Paladin.
Also don't forget you can heal as a Moon Druid by using Spellslots.
All those points aside: You don't need to use a Bonus Action on your turn to be effective, most Fighters don't use it, most Wizards won't use it all the time, so I don't think it would be so bad to just let it go.
There is benefit to multiclassing monk but its not for the bonus action. Its for unarmored defense. In animal form your unarmored defense becomes animal dex+ monk wisdom. This can have a significant impact on the ac of some of your beast forms. Especially if your wisdom is high.
As an alternate option you could take sentinel feat and get a reaction attack instead. This would not delay your spellcasting progression either but would allow you to pick the highest damage animal attack for your reaction.