I think a lot of us that play the Druid class feel cheated after its new iteration in the OneD&D playtest release. Insert the "Look how they massacred my boy" meme here.
There is a lot about the playtest Druid that can be improved, balanced, or straight up fixed. This includes adding more Channel Nature features to choose from besides either turning into a nameless animal or a poorly scaling heal, though it is safe to assume there will be more for other subclasses (the moon circle didn't get any). Another touch-up that can be done is improving the Primal Spell list, which is disappointing to say the least. This is especially the case because of the lack of versatility in them, and also because a lot of them are conjuration/summoning spells, which are notorious for slowing down gameplay. However, the feature I want to focus on the most here is wild shape as written in the OneD&D playtest.
As someone who has been playing a moon druid for 5 years, I can confidently say that rifling through dozens of statblocks, something that was meant for a DM, felt like a meta-gamey chore. Thus, I am all for giving Druids custom, easy-to-use statblocks. However, the ones we were given in the playtest are extremely lacking in diversity of options and combat advantages. If you decide to wild shape, you lose everything and gain... what? A melee attack? You may as well just cast Shillelagh every turn for the first 5 levels. Hell, you would even have a higher armor class doing so, and get keep your racial features and access to your prepared spells. As it stands, there is zero incentive to wild shape as a OneD&D Druid.
A few notes before diving into the actual feature:
A) The design philosophy behind the suggested class feature below, other than to "uhh make wild shape better", is to further reinforce the Druid's relationship with nature. When a druid weaponizes distinct animal-like instincts or uses unique evolutionary features to survive an unusual circumstance, not only are they exhibiting a profound understanding of the natural world, they are also setting themselves apart from other class fantasies. This was allowed under the 5e Druid, though maybe a bit too much. However, going from "all of the choices!" to "none of the choices!" robs this class of its core identity, and allowing Druids to pick any animal they want at any time will make every problem solvable and water down an individual Druid's identity. So, in my class feature suggestion below, a player commits to a few animal/plant features to further enhance and flavor their Wild Shape, which I hope helps them create their own unique character as a result. And so players don't feel trapped with a choice they didn't like, swapping out selections is allowed at level-ups.
B) Jeremy Crawford said in the recent OneD&D Druid video that people prefer the spellcasting features of Druids over their ability to Wild Shape, and this led to the design choice of making Druids rely less on Wild Shape. I disagree with this design philosophy. When Clerics were the least played class in older editions, the way to entice people to play them was to make them stronger, which worked as intended. Going the opposite direction with Druids, who are now torn between weaker class features and weaker spell lists, will further solidify their place as the current least played class on D&DBeyond (a statistic mentioned by JC in the video, as well.)
C) Since Druids now get wild shape at 1st level, it makes sense to make this feature accessible at 2nd level, ensuring that multiclassers (if anyone would want to multiclass into a druid anyway) have to invest a bit more in druid to get them.
D) Most importantly, the names, features, damage die, and other effects listed below don't really matter. I acknowledge that most, if not all, of the list below is imbalanced. I did not design it with balance in mind at all. My only goal is to showcase a way in which we can add versatility and class identity back into wild shape. Nerf or buff anything to your heart's desire.
Without further ado, here is my suggested fix, borrowed from everyone's favorite class...
Wild Invocations As your connection to nature grows deeper, you learn wild invocations, remnants of druidic knowledge that imbue your shapeshifting abilities with primal enhancements.
At 2nd level, you gain two wild invocations of your choice. Your invocation options are detailed at the end of the class description. When you gain certain druid levels, you gain additional invocations of your choice: three at 5th level, four at 7th level, five at 9th level, six at 12th level, seven at 15th level, and eight at 18th level.
Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the invocations you know and replace it with another invocation that you could learn at that level.
Unless a wild invocations states otherwise, your wild invocations are only active while you are wild shaped. You cannot use more than one wild invocation that grants a damage resistance or immunity at the same time. If a wild invocation has prerequisites, you must meet them to learn it. You can learn the invocation at the same time that you meet its prerequisites. A level prerequisite refers to your level in this class.
If a wild invocation requires a creature to make a saving throw, that roll is made against your spell save DC.
Oaken Hide
Prerequisite: Form of the Land
You invoke the unshakeable fortitude of an ancient tree. While wild shaped, you gain the benefits of Barkskin (no concentration required), and you gain advantage on rolls made to resist being pushed, knocked prone, or petrified.
Serrated Predator
Your form's claws or teeth have a saw-like edge. When you hit with a melee attack while in a wild shape form that deals piercing or slashing damage, you also grapple the target. Additionally, a creature that successfully escapes your grapple takes damage as if hit by a melee attack you made against it.
Venom Sacs Prerequisite: Form of the Land or Form of the Sea
Your wild shape form grows glands filled with a potent venom. When you make an attack that deals piercing damage, add 1d6 poison damage to the damage roll, and the target must make a Constitution saving throw or become poisoned until the start of your next turn.
Quill Cannon Prerequisite: Form of the Land or Form of the Sea
You grow thick barbs that you can throw with deadly efficiency. You can replace any number of attacks you can make on your turn while wild shaped with a ranged melee attack (range 30/60) that deals piercing damage equal to your melee attack damage.
Essence of the Serpent King Prerequisites: 5th level druid, Venom Sacs
Your venomous glands now secrete a powerful neurotoxin. When a creature fails the Constitution saving throw against your Venom Sacs feature, it is instead paralyzed for 1 minute. The creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success. Whether a creature succeeds or fails, it is poisoned until the start of your next turn.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier. Once you expend all uses of this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a Short or Long Rest.
Silent Raptor Prerequisite: Form of the Sky
You are always under the effects of Pass Without Trace while wild shaped into a form that has a flying speed and is Medium or smaller. This bonus to your Dexterity (Stealth) checks only affects you.
Bedazzling Plumage Prerequisite: 7th level druid, Form of the Sky
Your skin or feathers are an awe-inspiring kaleidoscope of colors, inspired by the mating birds of spring. When a creature that can see you targets you with a melee attack while you are wild shaped into a form that has a flying speed, you can use your reaction to force that creature to make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, that creature is confused (as if under the effects of the confusion spell) for 1 minute. An affected creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier. Once you expend all uses of this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a Short or Long Rest.
Essence of the Den Mother Prerequisite: 9th-level druid
When a hostile creature within 30 feet of you targets a friendly creature with a melee attack, you can use your reaction to charge to their aid, like a bear would for her cub. You move until you are within 5 feet of the hostile creature, ignoring difficult terrain and without triggering attacks of opportunity, and make a melee attack against the triggering creature. On a hit, the target creature takes the damage as normal, and its attack is wasted.
Once you waste a number of attacks equal to your Wisdom modifier in this way, you can't use this feature again until you finish a Long Rest.
Essence of the Abyssal Hunter Prerequisite: Form of the Sea
You embody the terror of the oceans. When you are wild shaped into a form that has a swimming speed and are fully submerged in water, you have advantage against creatures that do not have all their hit points.
Shred. When you hit a creature that does not have all its hit points with a melee attack, you shred into its flesh, releasing a large cloud of blood. This cloud has a radius of 20 feet and is heavily obscured to all creatures except you. You can use your bonus action to make a melee attack, provided the target creature is inside the blood cloud.
You can use the Shred feature of this invocation a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier. Once you expend all uses, you can't use this feature again until you finish a Long Rest.
Battering Ram Prerequisite: Form of the Land
When you hit a creature one size larger than you or smaller with a melee attack that deals bludgeoning damage, you can force it to make a Strength saving throw. On a failure, it is pushed up to 15 feet away from you. If the creature is pushed less than 15 feet due to an obstacle, it takes an additional 1d8 bludgeoning damage and is knocked prone. On a success, the creature is not pushed.
When you target an object with this feature, you have advantage on the attack roll, and you double the damage roll.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier. Once you expend all uses of this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a Short or Long Rest.
Ascendant of the Raging Flames Prerequisite: 10th-level druid, Circle of the Moon
When you use the elemental wild shape feature and choose fire, you are wreathed in roaring fire, and become partially intangible.
You gain resistance to bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing damage from nonmagical attacks, immunity to to fire and poison damage, as well as the grappled, restrained, and prone conditions.
Additionally, you can move through a creature's space and stop there. When you move through a creature's space, it takes 1d8 fire damage and is set ablaze. A creature that is set on fire in this way takes 1d10 fire at the end of each of its turns, unless it or another creature takes an action to douse the flame.
Ascendant of the Crashing Waves Prerequisite: 10th-level druid, Circle of the Moon
When you use the elemental wild shape feature and choose acid, you swirl like a whirlpool, and become partially intangible.
You gain resistance to bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing damage from nonmagical attacks, immunity to acid and poison damage, as well as the grappled, restrained, and prone conditions.
Additionally, you can move through a creature's space and stop there. While in another creature's space, you can use an action to attempt to engulf it. The creature must make a Strength saving throw. On a failure, it is grappled and restrained, and moves with you. At the end of each of its turns while grappled in this way, it takes 1d8 bludgeoning damage. The creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself.
Ascendant of the Immovable Mountain Prerequisite: 10th-level druid, Circle of the Moon
When you use the elemental wild shape feature and choose thunder, your form becomes gray and firm as stone.
Your AC increases by 3, and you gain resistance to bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing damage from nonmagical attacks, immunity to thunder and poison damage, as well as the stunned and prone conditions.
Additionally, you can use your action to slam the ground with your arms. Each creature within 20 feet of you must make a Strength saving throw, taking 1d8 thunder damage on a failure, or half as much on a success. Creatures that fail their saving throw are also knocked prone.
Ascendant of the Crackling Storm Prerequisite: 10th-level druid, Circle of the Moon
When you use the elemental wild shape feature and choose lightning, your form is shrouded with electricity like a thundercloud, and you become partially intangible.
Your flying speed increases by 50 feet, and you gain resistance to bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing damage from nonmagical attacks, immunity to lightning and poison damage, as well as the grappled, restrained, and prone conditions.
Additionally, you can move through a creature's space and end your turn there. You can also replace any attack you make on your turn while wild shaped with a lightning blast. Make a ranged spell attack against a creature you can see within 60 feet of you. On a hit, a creature takes 2d8 lightning damage.
Ascendant of the Merciless Blizzard Prerequisite: 10th-level druid, Circle of the Moon
When you use the elemental wild shape feature and choose lightning, your form grows slick and shiny like a glacier.
Your flying speed increases by 30 feet, and you gain resistance to bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing damage from nonmagical attacks, immunity to cold and poison damage, as well as the grappled, restrained, and petrified conditions.
Additionally, you can use a bonus action to create a localized snowstorm in a 10-foot radius around you. The area is difficult terrain for all creatures except you, and creatures that end their turn inside the snowstorm must make a Constitution saving throw, taking 2d8 cold damage on a failure, or half as much on a success.
Echolocation
You gain an extrasensory ability to see normally in darkness, both magical and nonmagical, to a distance of 60 feet. The sounds you make when using this feature cannot be heard except by bats and other beasts that have the echolocation feature.
You cannot use this feature while deafened.
Instinctive Defiance
When you drop below half of your hit points while wild shaped, you immediately gain a number of temporary hit points equal to 5 + your druid level. If you revert back to your original form while you still have temporary points gained in this way, you lose them.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a Short Rest.
Essence of the Arachnid Queen Prerequisite: 3rd-level druid, Form of the Land
You can use an action while wild shaped to cast the web spell without expending a spell slot, requiring no components.
Once you use this feature, you can't do so again until you finish a Long Rest.
Nature's Reach Prerequisite: shillelagh cantrip
When you cast shillelagh, you can use a shortbow or a longbow instead of a quarterstaff, provided you are proficient in them.
Verdant Tongue Prerequisite: 10th-level druid
You are always under the effects of the speak with animals and speak with plants spells.
Additionally, you can cast commune with nature without expending a spell slot once. Once you cast it this way, you can't do so again until you finish a Long Rest.
Fey Meld Prerequisite: 9th-level druid
You can cast sending without expending a spell slot. To cast it this way, the target creature must also speak druidic.
You can cast sending this way an number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier. Once you expend all uses, you can't cast it again in this way until you finish a Long Rest.
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Think of an animal that has a unique anatomical or behavioral feature that helps it survive (and most animals do), try to turn that feature into D&D mechanics, and bam! You have a wild invocation.
The bullet point D at the start of this topic bears repeating: Mechanically speaking, I know that most of the invocations I made are unfair or imbalanced in some way or other. That is not the point. The point I want to make is that druids deserve better than what we got in OneD&D, and this is one humble player's way to try to think of a way that gives them back some of what they lost.
I wanted to make a number of invocations equal to the ones that warlocks have, but I've been sitting here for an hour and I'm getting tired. All my heartfelt respect to D&D's game designers who have to do this day in and day out. <3
To anyone that read even a fraction of this: Thank you. Even if we never get anything remotely similar to this, just the fact that someone cared enough to read this makes me feel like I didn't sit here all day for nothing. Or did I? Pretty sure I did.
Love this idea, and I think it would be a much better way to support Crawford's stated aim of supporting other playstyles (despite releasing a very Wildshape focused UA that also massively nerfed Wildshape for no reason); as invocations let the player choose whether to double down on Wildshape or some other aspect of Druid, or boost multiple aspects over time etc.
What I will say is that it seems like Wizards of the Coast is trying to move away from too many options on classes/sub-classes because of how difficult they are to balance, so any list of invocations should be kept as simple as possible and focused on the different playstyles it enables; I fully expect Warlock Eldritch Invocations to be massively trimmed down compared to the 5e list. I would also probably avoid sub-class specific options; a sub-class is already an option in its own right, and should just boost the character directly with its features.
A few of these invocations are things that we arguably shouldn't need in the first place; for example serrated predator should just be an option we have on the Animal of the Land form in the first place (it desperately needs optional features to bring back the utility we're losing from the previous choice of monster profiles). Likewise with Battering Ram, there just needs to be a proper Large creature template with a charging attack as an option at higher levels.
But yeah, I'm very much in favour of this format as a way to customise Druid and allow the player to decide what to focus on. You've already got some invocations that are equivalent to spells, and I wonder if it would make sense for Healing Blossom to become one of these, e.g- from 5th-level you can choose to learn to cast aura of vitality using Channel Nature (upcasting as you level up?). I'm just not sure if WotC would be onboard with adding it, as it feels like they're trying to remove options as much as possible.
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Love this idea, and I think it would be a much better way to support Crawford's stated aim of supporting other playstyles (despite releasing a very Wildshape focused UA that also massively nerfed Wildshape for no reason); as invocations let the player choose whether to double down on Wildshape or some other aspect of Druid, or boost multiple aspects over time etc.
What I will say is that it seems like Wizards of the Coast is trying to move away from too many options on classes/sub-classes because of how difficult they are to balance, so any list of invocations should be kept as simple as possible and focused on the different playstyles it enables; I fully expect Warlock Eldritch Invocations to be massively trimmed down compared to the 5e list. I would also probably avoid sub-class specific options; a sub-class is already an option in its own right, and should just boost the character directly with its features.
A few of these invocations are things that we arguably shouldn't need in the first place; for example serrated predator should just be an option we have on the Animal of the Land form in the first place (it desperately needs optional features to bring back the utility we're losing from the previous choice of monster profiles). Likewise with Battering Ram, there just needs to be a proper Large creature template with a charging attack as an option at higher levels.
But yeah, I'm very much in favour of this format as a way to customise Druid and allow the player to decide what to focus on. You've already got some invocations that are equivalent to spells, and I wonder if it would make sense for Healing Blossom to become one of these, e.g- from 5th-level you can choose to learn to cast aura of vitality using Channel Nature (upcasting as you level up?). I'm just not sure if WotC would be onboard with adding it, as it feels like they're trying to remove options as much as possible.
Thank you for your very thoughtful response. I enjoyed reading it!
I agree as well that it is likely we will see a departure from "choice bloat" like we have had in Warlocks or old Druids, with few, standardized selections in base classes becoming the norm. I welcome this change, and I hope it stays, but not to the extent that we end up with a druid that is essentially a primal cleric with a lower AC.
They also seem to want druids to be able to "mix" animals together thematically, to create more diverse flavor options and give them the long-coveted Owlbear form, among others. This is actually where I got the idea to begin with: by borrowing certain features from an animal, you gain benefits that are logically associated with those borrowed features. But you're right in that we should at least get some features as baseline. If Tiny deserves a high-level choice, then maybe Large or Huge deserve a similar treatment?
I read somewhere that maybe "wild shape templates we got in this playtest were bare-bone on purpose, and are just WoTC testing the waters to see if we accept templates to begin with." If this turns out to be the case, then we can definitely expect some means of adding versatility to the templates and creating more unique choices in future updates.
I do like the idea, it makes it feel a tad too warlock, i love the invocations, i really do, I am conflicted though because on one side i feel like its taking from warlocks uniqueness, but on the other hand I really like these, these are cool though
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"Anyone can smith at the cosmic anvil, yet only I can forge a weapon as good as thee."
Though I found one small issue, this could regard to new rules in one dnd i do not know of, but this doesn't make sense because you already gain these in wildshaped fire elemental
Ascendant of the Crashing Waves Prerequisite: 10th-level druid, Circle of the Moon
When you use the elemental wild shape feature and choose acid, you swirl like a whirlpool, and become partially intangible.
You gain resistance to bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing damage from nonmagical attacks, immunity to acid and poison damage, as well as the grappled, restrained, and prone conditions.
Additionally, you can move through a creature's space and stop there. While in another creature's space, you can use an action to attempt to engulf it. The creature must make a Strength saving throw. On a failure, it is grappled and restrained, and moves with you. At the end of each of its turns while grappled in this way, it takes 1d8 bludgeoning damage. The creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself.
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"Anyone can smith at the cosmic anvil, yet only I can forge a weapon as good as thee."
I like the spirit with which this list was made. A "buffet" of interesting choices is better than 3 boring choices that are barely choices at all. I'm not sure that this solves the "learning curve" issue that the devs claim that the Druid has. The "build-a-bear" design choice for Warlocks, while interesting, makes them difficult to build correctly if you are not very familiar with game mechanics and how Warlock spell slots work. However, once built, a Warlock is relatively easy to play (for a spellcaster) since they have such limited spell slots (unless Pact of the Tome, which is totally optional). The more popular adoption of Warlock class vs. the Druid class is in part likely due to this ease of play. If we make the "onboarding" process of character building much more complicated by incorporating the design choices made for Warlock in 5e but retain the features of a full spellcaster, I don't see how that makes the Druid class easier to pick up and play for newer players.
As a beginner, I'm just getting ready to play as a Druid. Though I'm not well versed in the game yet, I really like the versatility of your "fix" above. Those are some really cool ideas!
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The Otherworldly Geek
I have a collection of Elven and Fey Druid Characters that I play. Some creepy and some not so creepy, but all FUN!
My first D&D character was a Druid. I'm sure my DM didn't love it when I over-used the summon spells, but all-in-all, it didn't turn me away from the game, and I grew to love the class and the versatility of the choices available.
Leafing through the statlocks of the beasts I could use to Wildshape was one of my favorite parts of the game, and I did do this out of gametime mostly. I can slow things down, but doesn't have to.
So I like the ideas, but again, fail to see the core problem with versatile wildshape choices as in 5e. People will play it was they want. If there is a low uptake on Druids, is that really a correlation to the complexity of the class or something else, like the fact that there are not so many good Druid archetypes in popular culture as there are for other classes?
I like this idea. I think WOTC is trying to make the class easier to play. However, I like to find cool animals with unique abilities. In that case, though, I think it might be cooler to give these three beasts stats that can be altered by the player and are by default kept somewhere reasonable. Also I would give the option to choose the creature's special thing--darkvision, keen hearing and smell, pack tactics, etc. I love looking for cool animals to turn into and I think half the fun of wildshape is creature-specific things like grappling an enemy above your fire pit as a giant scorpion or sneaking around as a tiny bird. Plus sometimes I want to use a different statblock.
I might use this rule as an easy go-to statblock for a new druid before handing them a few other easy statblocks (bear, direwolf, etc). But I think one beast to use saps the druid of its versatility--in other words, the very thing that makes it awesome. If you want an easy caster, wizard is about as simple as it gets. If you want easy period, pick barb or fighter. The one spell you need is "bonk."
And if you want a druid or some other complicated class, even if you know it's not easy, talk to your DM or an experienced player. They can help. Or find my profile, I suppose, if you want to bother me. I'm not experienced, but I can google things.
Whatever you choose, have fun!
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I think a lot of us that play the Druid class feel cheated after its new iteration in the OneD&D playtest release. Insert the "Look how they massacred my boy" meme here.
There is a lot about the playtest Druid that can be improved, balanced, or straight up fixed. This includes adding more Channel Nature features to choose from besides either turning into a nameless animal or a poorly scaling heal, though it is safe to assume there will be more for other subclasses (the moon circle didn't get any). Another touch-up that can be done is improving the Primal Spell list, which is disappointing to say the least. This is especially the case because of the lack of versatility in them, and also because a lot of them are conjuration/summoning spells, which are notorious for slowing down gameplay. However, the feature I want to focus on the most here is wild shape as written in the OneD&D playtest.
As someone who has been playing a moon druid for 5 years, I can confidently say that rifling through dozens of statblocks, something that was meant for a DM, felt like a meta-gamey chore. Thus, I am all for giving Druids custom, easy-to-use statblocks. However, the ones we were given in the playtest are extremely lacking in diversity of options and combat advantages. If you decide to wild shape, you lose everything and gain... what? A melee attack? You may as well just cast Shillelagh every turn for the first 5 levels. Hell, you would even have a higher armor class doing so, and get keep your racial features and access to your prepared spells. As it stands, there is zero incentive to wild shape as a OneD&D Druid.
A few notes before diving into the actual feature:
A) The design philosophy behind the suggested class feature below, other than to "uhh make wild shape better", is to further reinforce the Druid's relationship with nature. When a druid weaponizes distinct animal-like instincts or uses unique evolutionary features to survive an unusual circumstance, not only are they exhibiting a profound understanding of the natural world, they are also setting themselves apart from other class fantasies. This was allowed under the 5e Druid, though maybe a bit too much. However, going from "all of the choices!" to "none of the choices!" robs this class of its core identity, and allowing Druids to pick any animal they want at any time will make every problem solvable and water down an individual Druid's identity. So, in my class feature suggestion below, a player commits to a few animal/plant features to further enhance and flavor their Wild Shape, which I hope helps them create their own unique character as a result. And so players don't feel trapped with a choice they didn't like, swapping out selections is allowed at level-ups.
B) Jeremy Crawford said in the recent OneD&D Druid video that people prefer the spellcasting features of Druids over their ability to Wild Shape, and this led to the design choice of making Druids rely less on Wild Shape. I disagree with this design philosophy. When Clerics were the least played class in older editions, the way to entice people to play them was to make them stronger, which worked as intended. Going the opposite direction with Druids, who are now torn between weaker class features and weaker spell lists, will further solidify their place as the current least played class on D&DBeyond (a statistic mentioned by JC in the video, as well.)
C) Since Druids now get wild shape at 1st level, it makes sense to make this feature accessible at 2nd level, ensuring that multiclassers (if anyone would want to multiclass into a druid anyway) have to invest a bit more in druid to get them.
D) Most importantly, the names, features, damage die, and other effects listed below don't really matter. I acknowledge that most, if not all, of the list below is imbalanced. I did not design it with balance in mind at all. My only goal is to showcase a way in which we can add versatility and class identity back into wild shape. Nerf or buff anything to your heart's desire.
Without further ado, here is my suggested fix, borrowed from everyone's favorite class...
Wild Invocations
As your connection to nature grows deeper, you learn wild invocations, remnants of druidic knowledge that imbue your shapeshifting abilities with primal enhancements.
At 2nd level, you gain two wild invocations of your choice. Your invocation options are detailed at the end of the class description. When you gain certain druid levels, you gain additional invocations of your choice: three at 5th level, four at 7th level, five at 9th level, six at 12th level, seven at 15th level, and eight at 18th level.
Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the invocations you know and replace it with another invocation that you could learn at that level.
Unless a wild invocations states otherwise, your wild invocations are only active while you are wild shaped. You cannot use more than one wild invocation that grants a damage resistance or immunity at the same time. If a wild invocation has prerequisites, you must meet them to learn it. You can learn the invocation at the same time that you meet its prerequisites. A level prerequisite refers to your level in this class.
If a wild invocation requires a creature to make a saving throw, that roll is made against your spell save DC.
Oaken Hide
Prerequisite: Form of the Land
You invoke the unshakeable fortitude of an ancient tree. While wild shaped, you gain the benefits of Barkskin (no concentration required), and you gain advantage on rolls made to resist being pushed, knocked prone, or petrified.
Serrated Predator
Your form's claws or teeth have a saw-like edge. When you hit with a melee attack while in a wild shape form that deals piercing or slashing damage, you also grapple the target. Additionally, a creature that successfully escapes your grapple takes damage as if hit by a melee attack you made against it.
Venom Sacs
Prerequisite: Form of the Land or Form of the Sea
Your wild shape form grows glands filled with a potent venom. When you make an attack that deals piercing damage, add 1d6 poison damage to the damage roll, and the target must make a Constitution saving throw or become poisoned until the start of your next turn.
Quill Cannon
Prerequisite: Form of the Land or Form of the Sea
You grow thick barbs that you can throw with deadly efficiency. You can replace any number of attacks you can make on your turn while wild shaped with a ranged melee attack (range 30/60) that deals piercing damage equal to your melee attack damage.
Essence of the Serpent King
Prerequisites: 5th level druid, Venom Sacs
Your venomous glands now secrete a powerful neurotoxin. When a creature fails the Constitution saving throw against your Venom Sacs feature, it is instead paralyzed for 1 minute. The creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success. Whether a creature succeeds or fails, it is poisoned until the start of your next turn.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier. Once you expend all uses of this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a Short or Long Rest.
Silent Raptor
Prerequisite: Form of the Sky
You are always under the effects of Pass Without Trace while wild shaped into a form that has a flying speed and is Medium or smaller. This bonus to your Dexterity (Stealth) checks only affects you.
Bedazzling Plumage
Prerequisite: 7th level druid, Form of the Sky
Your skin or feathers are an awe-inspiring kaleidoscope of colors, inspired by the mating birds of spring. When a creature that can see you targets you with a melee attack while you are wild shaped into a form that has a flying speed, you can use your reaction to force that creature to make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, that creature is confused (as if under the effects of the confusion spell) for 1 minute. An affected creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier. Once you expend all uses of this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a Short or Long Rest.
Essence of the Den Mother
Prerequisite: 9th-level druid
When a hostile creature within 30 feet of you targets a friendly creature with a melee attack, you can use your reaction to charge to their aid, like a bear would for her cub. You move until you are within 5 feet of the hostile creature, ignoring difficult terrain and without triggering attacks of opportunity, and make a melee attack against the triggering creature. On a hit, the target creature takes the damage as normal, and its attack is wasted.
Once you waste a number of attacks equal to your Wisdom modifier in this way, you can't use this feature again until you finish a Long Rest.
Essence of the Abyssal Hunter
Prerequisite: Form of the Sea
You embody the terror of the oceans. When you are wild shaped into a form that has a swimming speed and are fully submerged in water, you have advantage against creatures that do not have all their hit points.
Shred. When you hit a creature that does not have all its hit points with a melee attack, you shred into its flesh, releasing a large cloud of blood. This cloud has a radius of 20 feet and is heavily obscured to all creatures except you. You can use your bonus action to make a melee attack, provided the target creature is inside the blood cloud.
You can use the Shred feature of this invocation a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier. Once you expend all uses, you can't use this feature again until you finish a Long Rest.
Battering Ram
Prerequisite: Form of the Land
When you hit a creature one size larger than you or smaller with a melee attack that deals bludgeoning damage, you can force it to make a Strength saving throw. On a failure, it is pushed up to 15 feet away from you. If the creature is pushed less than 15 feet due to an obstacle, it takes an additional 1d8 bludgeoning damage and is knocked prone. On a success, the creature is not pushed.
When you target an object with this feature, you have advantage on the attack roll, and you double the damage roll.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier. Once you expend all uses of this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a Short or Long Rest.
Ascendant of the Raging Flames
Prerequisite: 10th-level druid, Circle of the Moon
When you use the elemental wild shape feature and choose fire, you are wreathed in roaring fire, and become partially intangible.
You gain resistance to bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing damage from nonmagical attacks, immunity to to fire and poison damage, as well as the grappled, restrained, and prone conditions.
Additionally, you can move through a creature's space and stop there. When you move through a creature's space, it takes 1d8 fire damage and is set ablaze. A creature that is set on fire in this way takes 1d10 fire at the end of each of its turns, unless it or another creature takes an action to douse the flame.
Ascendant of the Crashing Waves
Prerequisite: 10th-level druid, Circle of the Moon
When you use the elemental wild shape feature and choose acid, you swirl like a whirlpool, and become partially intangible.
You gain resistance to bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing damage from nonmagical attacks, immunity to acid and poison damage, as well as the grappled, restrained, and prone conditions.
Additionally, you can move through a creature's space and stop there. While in another creature's space, you can use an action to attempt to engulf it. The creature must make a Strength saving throw. On a failure, it is grappled and restrained, and moves with you. At the end of each of its turns while grappled in this way, it takes 1d8 bludgeoning damage. The creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself.
Ascendant of the Immovable Mountain
Prerequisite: 10th-level druid, Circle of the Moon
When you use the elemental wild shape feature and choose thunder, your form becomes gray and firm as stone.
Your AC increases by 3, and you gain resistance to bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing damage from nonmagical attacks, immunity to thunder and poison damage, as well as the stunned and prone conditions.
Additionally, you can use your action to slam the ground with your arms. Each creature within 20 feet of you must make a Strength saving throw, taking 1d8 thunder damage on a failure, or half as much on a success. Creatures that fail their saving throw are also knocked prone.
Ascendant of the Crackling Storm
Prerequisite: 10th-level druid, Circle of the Moon
When you use the elemental wild shape feature and choose lightning, your form is shrouded with electricity like a thundercloud, and you become partially intangible.
Your flying speed increases by 50 feet, and you gain resistance to bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing damage from nonmagical attacks, immunity to lightning and poison damage, as well as the grappled, restrained, and prone conditions.
Additionally, you can move through a creature's space and end your turn there. You can also replace any attack you make on your turn while wild shaped with a lightning blast. Make a ranged spell attack against a creature you can see within 60 feet of you. On a hit, a creature takes 2d8 lightning damage.
Ascendant of the Merciless Blizzard
Prerequisite: 10th-level druid, Circle of the Moon
When you use the elemental wild shape feature and choose lightning, your form grows slick and shiny like a glacier.
Your flying speed increases by 30 feet, and you gain resistance to bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing damage from nonmagical attacks, immunity to cold and poison damage, as well as the grappled, restrained, and petrified conditions.
Additionally, you can use a bonus action to create a localized snowstorm in a 10-foot radius around you. The area is difficult terrain for all creatures except you, and creatures that end their turn inside the snowstorm must make a Constitution saving throw, taking 2d8 cold damage on a failure, or half as much on a success.
Echolocation
You gain an extrasensory ability to see normally in darkness, both magical and nonmagical, to a distance of 60 feet. The sounds you make when using this feature cannot be heard except by bats and other beasts that have the echolocation feature.
You cannot use this feature while deafened.
Instinctive Defiance
When you drop below half of your hit points while wild shaped, you immediately gain a number of temporary hit points equal to 5 + your druid level. If you revert back to your original form while you still have temporary points gained in this way, you lose them.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a Short Rest.
Essence of the Arachnid Queen
Prerequisite: 3rd-level druid, Form of the Land
You can use an action while wild shaped to cast the web spell without expending a spell slot, requiring no components.
Once you use this feature, you can't do so again until you finish a Long Rest.
Nature's Reach
Prerequisite: shillelagh cantrip
When you cast shillelagh, you can use a shortbow or a longbow instead of a quarterstaff, provided you are proficient in them.
Verdant Tongue
Prerequisite: 10th-level druid
You are always under the effects of the speak with animals and speak with plants spells.
Additionally, you can cast commune with nature without expending a spell slot once. Once you cast it this way, you can't do so again until you finish a Long Rest.
Fey Meld
Prerequisite: 9th-level druid
You can cast sending without expending a spell slot. To cast it this way, the target creature must also speak druidic.
You can cast sending this way an number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier. Once you expend all uses, you can't cast it again in this way until you finish a Long Rest.
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Think of an animal that has a unique anatomical or behavioral feature that helps it survive (and most animals do), try to turn that feature into D&D mechanics, and bam! You have a wild invocation.
The bullet point D at the start of this topic bears repeating: Mechanically speaking, I know that most of the invocations I made are unfair or imbalanced in some way or other. That is not the point. The point I want to make is that druids deserve better than what we got in OneD&D, and this is one humble player's way to try to think of a way that gives them back some of what they lost.
I wanted to make a number of invocations equal to the ones that warlocks have, but I've been sitting here for an hour and I'm getting tired. All my heartfelt respect to D&D's game designers who have to do this day in and day out. <3
To anyone that read even a fraction of this: Thank you. Even if we never get anything remotely similar to this, just the fact that someone cared enough to read this makes me feel like I didn't sit here all day for nothing. Or did I? Pretty sure I did.
this is at least a lot better then what they were proposing.
Love this idea, and I think it would be a much better way to support Crawford's stated aim of supporting other playstyles (despite releasing a very Wildshape focused UA that also massively nerfed Wildshape for no reason); as invocations let the player choose whether to double down on Wildshape or some other aspect of Druid, or boost multiple aspects over time etc.
What I will say is that it seems like Wizards of the Coast is trying to move away from too many options on classes/sub-classes because of how difficult they are to balance, so any list of invocations should be kept as simple as possible and focused on the different playstyles it enables; I fully expect Warlock Eldritch Invocations to be massively trimmed down compared to the 5e list. I would also probably avoid sub-class specific options; a sub-class is already an option in its own right, and should just boost the character directly with its features.
A few of these invocations are things that we arguably shouldn't need in the first place; for example serrated predator should just be an option we have on the Animal of the Land form in the first place (it desperately needs optional features to bring back the utility we're losing from the previous choice of monster profiles). Likewise with Battering Ram, there just needs to be a proper Large creature template with a charging attack as an option at higher levels.
But yeah, I'm very much in favour of this format as a way to customise Druid and allow the player to decide what to focus on. You've already got some invocations that are equivalent to spells, and I wonder if it would make sense for Healing Blossom to become one of these, e.g- from 5th-level you can choose to learn to cast aura of vitality using Channel Nature (upcasting as you level up?). I'm just not sure if WotC would be onboard with adding it, as it feels like they're trying to remove options as much as possible.
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.
Thank you for your very thoughtful response. I enjoyed reading it!
I agree as well that it is likely we will see a departure from "choice bloat" like we have had in Warlocks or old Druids, with few, standardized selections in base classes becoming the norm. I welcome this change, and I hope it stays, but not to the extent that we end up with a druid that is essentially a primal cleric with a lower AC.
They also seem to want druids to be able to "mix" animals together thematically, to create more diverse flavor options and give them the long-coveted Owlbear form, among others. This is actually where I got the idea to begin with: by borrowing certain features from an animal, you gain benefits that are logically associated with those borrowed features. But you're right in that we should at least get some features as baseline. If Tiny deserves a high-level choice, then maybe Large or Huge deserve a similar treatment?
I read somewhere that maybe "wild shape templates we got in this playtest were bare-bone on purpose, and are just WoTC testing the waters to see if we accept templates to begin with." If this turns out to be the case, then we can definitely expect some means of adding versatility to the templates and creating more unique choices in future updates.
I do like the idea, it makes it feel a tad too warlock, i love the invocations, i really do, I am conflicted though because on one side i feel like its taking from warlocks uniqueness, but on the other hand I really like these, these are cool though
"Anyone can smith at the cosmic anvil, yet only I can forge a weapon as good as thee."
My Homebrew Please click it, they have my family.
The idea that you get to modify your forms uniquely is really good, i love it
"Anyone can smith at the cosmic anvil, yet only I can forge a weapon as good as thee."
My Homebrew Please click it, they have my family.
Though I found one small issue, this could regard to new rules in one dnd i do not know of, but this doesn't make sense because you already gain these in wildshaped fire elemental
"Anyone can smith at the cosmic anvil, yet only I can forge a weapon as good as thee."
My Homebrew Please click it, they have my family.
I like the spirit with which this list was made. A "buffet" of interesting choices is better than 3 boring choices that are barely choices at all. I'm not sure that this solves the "learning curve" issue that the devs claim that the Druid has. The "build-a-bear" design choice for Warlocks, while interesting, makes them difficult to build correctly if you are not very familiar with game mechanics and how Warlock spell slots work. However, once built, a Warlock is relatively easy to play (for a spellcaster) since they have such limited spell slots (unless Pact of the Tome, which is totally optional). The more popular adoption of Warlock class vs. the Druid class is in part likely due to this ease of play. If we make the "onboarding" process of character building much more complicated by incorporating the design choices made for Warlock in 5e but retain the features of a full spellcaster, I don't see how that makes the Druid class easier to pick up and play for newer players.
I love this idea and instantly want to play a druid that is as dynamic as my Warlock.
As a beginner, I'm just getting ready to play as a Druid. Though I'm not well versed in the game yet, I really like the versatility of your "fix" above. Those are some really cool ideas!
The Otherworldly Geek
I have a collection of Elven and Fey Druid Characters that I play. Some creepy and some not so creepy, but all FUN!
My first D&D character was a Druid. I'm sure my DM didn't love it when I over-used the summon spells, but all-in-all, it didn't turn me away from the game, and I grew to love the class and the versatility of the choices available.
Leafing through the statlocks of the beasts I could use to Wildshape was one of my favorite parts of the game, and I did do this out of gametime mostly. I can slow things down, but doesn't have to.
So I like the ideas, but again, fail to see the core problem with versatile wildshape choices as in 5e. People will play it was they want. If there is a low uptake on Druids, is that really a correlation to the complexity of the class or something else, like the fact that there are not so many good Druid archetypes in popular culture as there are for other classes?
I like this idea. I think WOTC is trying to make the class easier to play. However, I like to find cool animals with unique abilities. In that case, though, I think it might be cooler to give these three beasts stats that can be altered by the player and are by default kept somewhere reasonable. Also I would give the option to choose the creature's special thing--darkvision, keen hearing and smell, pack tactics, etc. I love looking for cool animals to turn into and I think half the fun of wildshape is creature-specific things like grappling an enemy above your fire pit as a giant scorpion or sneaking around as a tiny bird. Plus sometimes I want to use a different statblock.
I might use this rule as an easy go-to statblock for a new druid before handing them a few other easy statblocks (bear, direwolf, etc). But I think one beast to use saps the druid of its versatility--in other words, the very thing that makes it awesome. If you want an easy caster, wizard is about as simple as it gets. If you want easy period, pick barb or fighter. The one spell you need is "bonk."
And if you want a druid or some other complicated class, even if you know it's not easy, talk to your DM or an experienced player. They can help. Or find my profile, I suppose, if you want to bother me. I'm not experienced, but I can google things.
Whatever you choose, have fun!