Hi everyone! I’m exploring the Druid class and am curious about the animal aspect. Can someone explain how animal companions work for Druids, especially with Wild Shape? Also, does my race influence anything regarding animal features or abilities? Thanks!
Hi everyone! I’m exploring the Druid class and am curious about the animal aspect. Can someone explain how animal companions work for Druids, especially with Wild Shape? Also, does my race influence anything regarding animal features or abilities? Thanks!
Do you know whether you're going to be playing using the 2014 rules or the new 2024 rules?
I ask because there have been some big changes to how Wild Shape works in the 2024 rules, and I don't want to give you the wrong information.
Thanks for the reply! We’ll be using the 2024 rules for our game. I’d love to hear about how Wild Shape works under those rules!
Okay, so, you asked about how your species affects Wild Shape - basically, when you turn into an animal form, you keep your mental ability scores (Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma) as well as your hit points and all your skill and saving throw proficiencies, and all your feats and class features. You don't keep any other features you get from your species, like spells specific to your species (like Elves and Tieflings have) or other abilities like the Goliath's "Giant Ancestry" feature. You take on all the physical features and abilities of the animal form instead.
As for an animal companion, that's basically an alternative use for your Wild Shape feature — you can either use it to turn into an animal form yourself, or summon an animal companion via the find familiar spell. (You can also spend a spell slot to do the latter, and that may often be a better choice since you'll often have more of those available.)
The animal companions you can get that way are generally not going to be as impressive as the animal forms you can turn into, because the available choices are based on the form's Challenge Rating, and the familiars are always limited to CR 0, while Wild Shape forms you can turn into start off limited to CR 1/4 or lower and get better as you level up. They cap out at CR 1 when you get to level 8, unless you have chosen Circle of the Moon for your Druid subclass, in which case the CR limit is always your level divided by 3. (If you're not familiar with it, Challenge Rating is a general measure of how challenging a creature would be to defeat in a fight, intended to help DMs gauge the difficulty of encounters they're designing.)
Thanks for the clarification! That really helps me understand how Wild Shape and animal companions work. I’m curious, do you have any tips for choosing effective animal forms as I level up, especially in combat situations?
Thanks for the clarification! That really helps me understand how Wild Shape and animal companions work. I’m curious, do you have any tips for choosing effective animal forms as I level up, especially in combat situations?
So, the general consensus I think is that if you want Wild Shape to be effective in combat you need to be a Circle of the Moon druid, because the CR limits are very, well, limiting for everyone else at higher levels. Among the options available in the 2024 PHB, some good initial choices for Moon druids are the brown bear, dire wolf, and giant spider. If you find yourself needing to fight underwater, go for the reef shark.
Filter it to Beasts (using the big round icons on top) and use the Challenge Range filter to limit it to those options appropriate to your current level. Once you have the filters the way you want, you can bookmark that page in your browser and it'll retain the filters (because they're all in the URL itself).
If you're not going to use Circle of the Moon, then your Wild Shape forms are going to be less about combat and more about the other abilities they have, like being able to swim underwater, burrow underground, unusual senses, etc. They'll mostly be useful for reconnaissance and getting into or out of places undetected. For instance, recently in a group I was playing in, we snuck into a villain's workshop by having our druid turn into a mouse and squeeze under a locked door.
Thanks for the insights! It’s helpful to know that Circle of the Moon druids really shine in combat with those options. I love the idea of using Wild Shape for stealthy situations, like turning into a mouse to sneak around!
Do you have any favorite animal forms you've used in your campaigns? I’d love to hear more about your experiences! Also, the dire wolf sounds interesting!
Thanks for the insights! It’s helpful to know that Circle of the Moon druids really shine in combat with those options. I love the idea of using Wild Shape for stealthy situations, like turning into a mouse to sneak around!
Do you have any favorite animal forms you've used in your campaigns? I’d love to hear more about your experiences! Also, the dire wolf sounds interesting!
Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to play druids very often myself, but I tend to think it's more fun to have quirkier forms that reflect who the druid is as a character than spend a lot of time optimizing which ones are better stat-wise. I have a friend who did a whole adventure as a druid who mainly used a crocodile form (or maybe it was an alligator, I forget which one there's actually a stat block for) and chomped a lot of things.
The dire wolf has a nice feature called Pack Tactics that gives it advantage on attacks if it has an ally adjacent to its target. This sort of means that you are treating the rest of your party as members of your "wolf pack", which can be a nice roleplaying opportunity.
Thanks for sharing your experiences! I love the idea of using a quirky form that fits the character's personality—it adds so much flavor to the game. The crocodile or alligator sounds like a fun choice for some unexpected moments!
The Pack Tactics feature with the dire wolf is a great point. I can see how that would create some interesting dynamics during combat. Have you had any memorable moments in your games using those animal forms?
Also, the cat and bat interest me. I could be sneaky with the cat, and scout out areas with the bat.
The best form for damage is the Lion as it has pack tactics and multi attack. However it only has an 11 Con making concentration harder.
The bear has multiattack and can knock prone on claw attack and has a 14 Con so you can trade some damage for spell protection.
I like the Dire Wolf for setting up advantage for your melee allies by knocking prone with pack tactics even if it's damage is lower and has the same spell protection as the bear.
The utility of the giant spider makes it a great choice esp when you convert its poison damage to radiant at 6th.
I played 2 stars druids (one till 11 and one till 6). The level 6 was 2024 and chose wild shapes for utility since mostly he used starry forms.
His wild shapes t level 6 were giant wolf spider (blindsight, climbing, Darkvision, poison, 40' speed), giant centipede (better blindsight, climbing poison), riding horse (speed and take a passenger), giant badger (dig speed), giant sea eel (2nd choice would have been reef shark), and ape (couldn't find another option I liked at the Cr and at least it has hands and good athletics).
For animal companion, i just stuck with owl, but if i was a gnome or halfling, i might have taken something medium sized I could ride like vulture, boar, cheetah, deer, etc).
Thanks for the Wild Shape advice! I really like the idea of using utility Wild Shapes like the giant wolf spider or giant centipede for blindsight and climbing, plus the poison aspect could be fun for some chaotic situations. I also like the ape for its athletics—hands and strength are always useful, and I think that could be fun in combat too! As for the animal companion, I’ll have to think about that more, but I’m considering something that would fit the Feywild and a playful vibe—maybe something like an owl or vulture.
As for the subclass, I’m still deciding! I was leaning towards Circle of the Moon for the combat versatility of Wild Shape, but Circle of Stars has some cool thematic connections with the Feywild that I’m really drawn to. Any thoughts on how the Circle of Stars might fit into a more chaotic trickster vibe versus something more combat-focused like Moon?
Well, the "wild companion" is a familiar and you can change its form every time you cast the spell (bonus action or ritual). I always make sure that even though players usually see Oxford as an owl, that he is NOT an owl, but a (fey) familiar, so he may be a bat or a deer or boar next time, as needed.
I LOVE stars druid but sometimes it's a bit much for some DMs since the sub is so good at so many things. I'm always a back line spellcaster, so Stars works for me. Maybe even 2024 land.
Oh, I never played my stars druids chaotic or trickster. One was TN and one was NG and they were more like clever spellcasters. Only chaotic character I've ever had was a Satyr mage who acted like a rogue. :)
The great thing about Wildshape is that it lets you solve a lot of problems on the fly, so to speak. Does your small party need to get away quickly? Turn into a Horse and have everybody else get on your back. Do you need to investigate something in murky water? Turn into a Reef Shark for extra swim speed, Water Breathing and blindsight. Need to prepare a surprise birthday party in 10 minutes? Take Giant Spider form and use webbing to make streamers or glue some color stuff together.
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Hi everyone! I’m exploring the Druid class and am curious about the animal aspect. Can someone explain how animal companions work for Druids, especially with Wild Shape? Also, does my race influence anything regarding animal features or abilities? Thanks!
Do you know whether you're going to be playing using the 2014 rules or the new 2024 rules?
I ask because there have been some big changes to how Wild Shape works in the 2024 rules, and I don't want to give you the wrong information.
pronouns: he/she/they
Thanks for the reply! We’ll be using the 2024 rules for our game. I’d love to hear about how Wild Shape works under those rules!
Okay, so, you asked about how your species affects Wild Shape - basically, when you turn into an animal form, you keep your mental ability scores (Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma) as well as your hit points and all your skill and saving throw proficiencies, and all your feats and class features. You don't keep any other features you get from your species, like spells specific to your species (like Elves and Tieflings have) or other abilities like the Goliath's "Giant Ancestry" feature. You take on all the physical features and abilities of the animal form instead.
As for an animal companion, that's basically an alternative use for your Wild Shape feature — you can either use it to turn into an animal form yourself, or summon an animal companion via the find familiar spell. (You can also spend a spell slot to do the latter, and that may often be a better choice since you'll often have more of those available.)
The animal companions you can get that way are generally not going to be as impressive as the animal forms you can turn into, because the available choices are based on the form's Challenge Rating, and the familiars are always limited to CR 0, while Wild Shape forms you can turn into start off limited to CR 1/4 or lower and get better as you level up. They cap out at CR 1 when you get to level 8, unless you have chosen Circle of the Moon for your Druid subclass, in which case the CR limit is always your level divided by 3. (If you're not familiar with it, Challenge Rating is a general measure of how challenging a creature would be to defeat in a fight, intended to help DMs gauge the difficulty of encounters they're designing.)
pronouns: he/she/they
Thanks for the clarification! That really helps me understand how Wild Shape and animal companions work. I’m curious, do you have any tips for choosing effective animal forms as I level up, especially in combat situations?
So, the general consensus I think is that if you want Wild Shape to be effective in combat you need to be a Circle of the Moon druid, because the CR limits are very, well, limiting for everyone else at higher levels. Among the options available in the 2024 PHB, some good initial choices for Moon druids are the brown bear, dire wolf, and giant spider. If you find yourself needing to fight underwater, go for the reef shark.
A good way to find other forms is to use this page: https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters
Filter it to Beasts (using the big round icons on top) and use the Challenge Range filter to limit it to those options appropriate to your current level. Once you have the filters the way you want, you can bookmark that page in your browser and it'll retain the filters (because they're all in the URL itself).
If you're not going to use Circle of the Moon, then your Wild Shape forms are going to be less about combat and more about the other abilities they have, like being able to swim underwater, burrow underground, unusual senses, etc. They'll mostly be useful for reconnaissance and getting into or out of places undetected. For instance, recently in a group I was playing in, we snuck into a villain's workshop by having our druid turn into a mouse and squeeze under a locked door.
pronouns: he/she/they
Thanks for the insights! It’s helpful to know that Circle of the Moon druids really shine in combat with those options. I love the idea of using Wild Shape for stealthy situations, like turning into a mouse to sneak around!
Do you have any favorite animal forms you've used in your campaigns? I’d love to hear more about your experiences! Also, the dire wolf sounds interesting!
Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to play druids very often myself, but I tend to think it's more fun to have quirkier forms that reflect who the druid is as a character than spend a lot of time optimizing which ones are better stat-wise. I have a friend who did a whole adventure as a druid who mainly used a crocodile form (or maybe it was an alligator, I forget which one there's actually a stat block for) and chomped a lot of things.
The dire wolf has a nice feature called Pack Tactics that gives it advantage on attacks if it has an ally adjacent to its target. This sort of means that you are treating the rest of your party as members of your "wolf pack", which can be a nice roleplaying opportunity.
pronouns: he/she/they
Thanks for sharing your experiences! I love the idea of using a quirky form that fits the character's personality—it adds so much flavor to the game. The crocodile or alligator sounds like a fun choice for some unexpected moments!
The Pack Tactics feature with the dire wolf is a great point. I can see how that would create some interesting dynamics during combat. Have you had any memorable moments in your games using those animal forms?
Also, the cat and bat interest me. I could be sneaky with the cat, and scout out areas with the bat.
The best form for damage is the Lion as it has pack tactics and multi attack. However it only has an 11 Con making concentration harder.
The bear has multiattack and can knock prone on claw attack and has a 14 Con so you can trade some damage for spell protection.
I like the Dire Wolf for setting up advantage for your melee allies by knocking prone with pack tactics even if it's damage is lower and has the same spell protection as the bear.
The utility of the giant spider makes it a great choice esp when you convert its poison damage to radiant at 6th.
I played 2 stars druids (one till 11 and one till 6). The level 6 was 2024 and chose wild shapes for utility since mostly he used starry forms.
His wild shapes t level 6 were giant wolf spider (blindsight, climbing, Darkvision, poison, 40' speed), giant centipede (better blindsight, climbing poison), riding horse (speed and take a passenger), giant badger (dig speed), giant sea eel (2nd choice would have been reef shark), and ape (couldn't find another option I liked at the Cr and at least it has hands and good athletics).
For animal companion, i just stuck with owl, but if i was a gnome or halfling, i might have taken something medium sized I could ride like vulture, boar, cheetah, deer, etc).
Food, Scifi/fantasy, anime, DND 5E and OSR geek.
Also, what subclass are you taking?
Food, Scifi/fantasy, anime, DND 5E and OSR geek.
Thanks for the Wild Shape advice! I really like the idea of using utility Wild Shapes like the giant wolf spider or giant centipede for blindsight and climbing, plus the poison aspect could be fun for some chaotic situations. I also like the ape for its athletics—hands and strength are always useful, and I think that could be fun in combat too! As for the animal companion, I’ll have to think about that more, but I’m considering something that would fit the Feywild and a playful vibe—maybe something like an owl or vulture.
As for the subclass, I’m still deciding! I was leaning towards Circle of the Moon for the combat versatility of Wild Shape, but Circle of Stars has some cool thematic connections with the Feywild that I’m really drawn to. Any thoughts on how the Circle of Stars might fit into a more chaotic trickster vibe versus something more combat-focused like Moon?
Well, the "wild companion" is a familiar and you can change its form every time you cast the spell (bonus action or ritual). I always make sure that even though players usually see Oxford as an owl, that he is NOT an owl, but a (fey) familiar, so he may be a bat or a deer or boar next time, as needed.
I LOVE stars druid but sometimes it's a bit much for some DMs since the sub is so good at so many things. I'm always a back line spellcaster, so Stars works for me. Maybe even 2024 land.
Oh, I never played my stars druids chaotic or trickster. One was TN and one was NG and they were more like clever spellcasters. Only chaotic character I've ever had was a Satyr mage who acted like a rogue. :)
Food, Scifi/fantasy, anime, DND 5E and OSR geek.
The great thing about Wildshape is that it lets you solve a lot of problems on the fly, so to speak. Does your small party need to get away quickly? Turn into a Horse and have everybody else get on your back. Do you need to investigate something in murky water? Turn into a Reef Shark for extra swim speed, Water Breathing and blindsight. Need to prepare a surprise birthday party in 10 minutes? Take Giant Spider form and use webbing to make streamers or glue some color stuff together.