The thing about restricting Wildshapes by that ruling makes sense at first, until you remember that almost all Druids would have traveled the world specifically to find rare creatures to transform into, leaving all but unique creatures, such as the spider king, to be found. This is especially prevalent when it comes to the longer-lived characters such as elves or dwarves.
At Druid gatherings, especially Moon Druid ones, it would make sense if the more experienced members were to demonstrate the powerful forms they had found to new members joining so that they too could eventually use that Giant Snapping Turtle or Brontosaurus the older members had.
You shouldn't - no PC should ever take steps to make their own fights harder. That's the DM's responsibility.
As a moon druid, you're fundamentally a melee build. Your DM can bring ranged foes to the party to make your life more challenging - if you're never reaching level 8, you'll never be able to fix that by being a giant vulture.
Also, Xanathar's has some advice on this, but your DM shouldn't necessarily agree to every animal you claim to have seen at some point, especially anything really exotic, like a dinosaur. Going too far down this path lies madness - it's terrible form to punish a player for their backstory by telling them where they grew up precludes their favorite animal shapes - but with Xanathar's it's pretty easy to say something like "you can have forest and grasslands, but come on, there's no way you've been to the arctic".
It's not punishing players. It's forcing them to put some work in to try and actually go out and discover different beasts and different forms they might take through various means.
No, I think I miscommunicated. I'll try again.
It's appropriate and not punishing to require players to put in effort to seek rewards, and it's reasonable and appropriate for this to include new shapes for the druid.
It's inappropriate and punishing to let a character's backstory influence their in-game mechanics - you shouldn't let a PC feel constrained to have to change their backstory to combine the story they want to tell with the shapes you want to let them have.
An example of a RAW mechanic handling this competently is wizard spells known - a wizard player doesn't have to justify their known spells, but also the game gives you a RAW mechanic for balancing how many spells they know. Wild Shape does not do this.
You could balance Wild Shape by having it work like how a preparation caster has a level and modifier defined number of spells prepared - you could let druids have a level and modifier defined number of known shapes, where at each level, they learn a shape they could legally shape into. Or you could copy know-casters, and have it be only defined by level, modifier irrelevant. I'd err on the side of more shapes, so I'd let a druid count their known shapes as druid level + wisdom modifier, and I'd let them know every CR 0 shape. And then, as per the RAW, they also learn shapes during adventures.
You shouldn't - no PC should ever take steps to make their own fights harder. That's the DM's responsibility.
As a moon druid, you're fundamentally a melee build. Your DM can bring ranged foes to the party to make your life more challenging - if you're never reaching level 8, you'll never be able to fix that by being a giant vulture.
Also, Xanathar's has some advice on this, but your DM shouldn't necessarily agree to every animal you claim to have seen at some point, especially anything really exotic, like a dinosaur. Going too far down this path lies madness - it's terrible form to punish a player for their backstory by telling them where they grew up precludes their favorite animal shapes - but with Xanathar's it's pretty easy to say something like "you can have forest and grasslands, but come on, there's no way you've been to the arctic".
It's not punishing players. It's forcing them to put some work in to try and actually go out and discover different beasts and different forms they might take through various means.
No, I think I miscommunicated. I'll try again.
It's appropriate and not punishing to require players to put in effort to seek rewards, and it's reasonable and appropriate for this to include new shapes for the druid.
It's inappropriate and punishing to let a character's backstory influence their in-game mechanics - you shouldn't let a PC feel constrained to have to change their backstory to combine the story they want to tell with the shapes you want to let them have.
An example of a RAW mechanic handling this competently is wizard spells known - a wizard player doesn't have to justify their known spells, but also the game gives you a RAW mechanic for balancing how many spells they know. Wild Shape does not do this.
You could balance Wild Shape by having it work like how a preparation caster has a level and modifier defined number of spells prepared - you could let druids have a level and modifier defined number of known shapes, where at each level, they learn a shape they could legally shape into. Or you could copy know-casters, and have it be only defined by level, modifier irrelevant. I'd err on the side of more shapes, so I'd let a druid count their known shapes as druid level + wisdom modifier, and I'd let them know every CR 0 shape. And then, as per the RAW, they also learn shapes during adventures.
Except here's the problem. That's exactly what backstories are meant to do. They are meant to shape and in some way dictate what the character is and what they are going to do going forward. Your saying it's find to reward them with forms. And then saying that such doesn't matter because they shouldn't be restricted.
There is no reason for a Level 1 druid to understand what it takes to turn into a CR4 form once they get high enough level just because they grew up in a forest at level 1 but haven't really been to a forest for most of the intervening levels. They didn't have the understanding and connection at level 1 to do it. So realistically they wouldn't just get that understanding once they were of appropriate level. They might start out with some understanding of say CR2 or less. But the mechanics don't actually show that. the mechanics have trouble making any limits what so ever. But if they didn't live with Dinosaurs they shouldn't get dinosaurs until they seek out dinosaurs either way. They shouldn't get it just what they want it. If they Grew up in a plains there is just as little reason for them to understand the mountain goat or the Mountain Lion. They should go seek things out.
Your Contradiction doesn't change this. This is one of the places where all those various role play mechanics should influence the mechanical side just like the mechanical side almost invariably influences the role play side including those backstories.
Wile Shape is already has balance as it's going to get. Trying to alter it into a preparation caster or anything else doesn't balance it. it doesn't magically grant the knowledge any more than the current system does. Known Shapes is a system that actually limits players far more than what your complaining about because REalistically Most aren't even as strict as I'm saying that it should really work. Most go. "You grew up in a forest? Congratulations you know how to turn into all of those Forest Monsters when you get to their appropriate CR's whether it's a chipmunk or a Dire Bear. (And yes. I'm aware that the dire Bear is not official in 5e at this point along with some other dire versions of animals but that's not the point). That's the way that most tables actually play it. they actually dump off a fair bit of that realism and connection with Nature RP stuff in favor of the Wild Shape Mechanics already. You can even find some that don't care even that far and let you change into almost anything that you want because thats what the book allows and they care more about combat than RP anyway.
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The thing about restricting Wildshapes by that ruling makes sense at first, until you remember that almost all Druids would have traveled the world specifically to find rare creatures to transform into, leaving all but unique creatures, such as the spider king, to be found. This is especially prevalent when it comes to the longer-lived characters such as elves or dwarves.
At Druid gatherings, especially Moon Druid ones, it would make sense if the more experienced members were to demonstrate the powerful forms they had found to new members joining so that they too could eventually use that Giant Snapping Turtle or Brontosaurus the older members had.
No, I think I miscommunicated. I'll try again.
It's appropriate and not punishing to require players to put in effort to seek rewards, and it's reasonable and appropriate for this to include new shapes for the druid.
It's inappropriate and punishing to let a character's backstory influence their in-game mechanics - you shouldn't let a PC feel constrained to have to change their backstory to combine the story they want to tell with the shapes you want to let them have.
An example of a RAW mechanic handling this competently is wizard spells known - a wizard player doesn't have to justify their known spells, but also the game gives you a RAW mechanic for balancing how many spells they know. Wild Shape does not do this.
You could balance Wild Shape by having it work like how a preparation caster has a level and modifier defined number of spells prepared - you could let druids have a level and modifier defined number of known shapes, where at each level, they learn a shape they could legally shape into. Or you could copy know-casters, and have it be only defined by level, modifier irrelevant. I'd err on the side of more shapes, so I'd let a druid count their known shapes as druid level + wisdom modifier, and I'd let them know every CR 0 shape. And then, as per the RAW, they also learn shapes during adventures.
Except here's the problem. That's exactly what backstories are meant to do. They are meant to shape and in some way dictate what the character is and what they are going to do going forward. Your saying it's find to reward them with forms. And then saying that such doesn't matter because they shouldn't be restricted.
There is no reason for a Level 1 druid to understand what it takes to turn into a CR4 form once they get high enough level just because they grew up in a forest at level 1 but haven't really been to a forest for most of the intervening levels. They didn't have the understanding and connection at level 1 to do it. So realistically they wouldn't just get that understanding once they were of appropriate level. They might start out with some understanding of say CR2 or less. But the mechanics don't actually show that. the mechanics have trouble making any limits what so ever. But if they didn't live with Dinosaurs they shouldn't get dinosaurs until they seek out dinosaurs either way. They shouldn't get it just what they want it. If they Grew up in a plains there is just as little reason for them to understand the mountain goat or the Mountain Lion. They should go seek things out.
Your Contradiction doesn't change this. This is one of the places where all those various role play mechanics should influence the mechanical side just like the mechanical side almost invariably influences the role play side including those backstories.
Wile Shape is already has balance as it's going to get. Trying to alter it into a preparation caster or anything else doesn't balance it. it doesn't magically grant the knowledge any more than the current system does. Known Shapes is a system that actually limits players far more than what your complaining about because REalistically Most aren't even as strict as I'm saying that it should really work. Most go. "You grew up in a forest? Congratulations you know how to turn into all of those Forest Monsters when you get to their appropriate CR's whether it's a chipmunk or a Dire Bear. (And yes. I'm aware that the dire Bear is not official in 5e at this point along with some other dire versions of animals but that's not the point). That's the way that most tables actually play it. they actually dump off a fair bit of that realism and connection with Nature RP stuff in favor of the Wild Shape Mechanics already. You can even find some that don't care even that far and let you change into almost anything that you want because thats what the book allows and they care more about combat than RP anyway.