Last night my Druid shifted into a Brown Bear, but we were in a tight hallway, so our Fighter:Battlemaster with the Sentinel feat mounted me. Yes, we became Bear Cavalry.
As the fight wore on, because he had Sentinel they started attacking him instead of me as to not draw an extra attack from him... The fighter player and I are now talking about him taking Mounted Combat at 6th level. If he does that, it means I'll be dedicating myself to being his battle-mount, but this gives him Adv on all attacks against unmounted creature smaller then me, he can force attacks to target him instead of me (with his high AC or let them hit me with my large HP), and I gain Evasion while he's mounted.
Initially at Druid level 4 I was going to take Mobile, and being a "striker". Using the deinonychus, rhino, saber-tooth tiger... the creatures that benefit from having charge attacks. Charge in, do all my attacks, and run away. This change in our character growth is making me reconsider my option. There really aren't many feats that are useful for a Moon-Druid. Ironically if I take Sentinel also, and since I can't be attack I would gain an extra attack every turn from the 3rd benefit from the feat.
I'm curious if any other (Moon) druids have found themselves in a similar place?
I'm also thinking about taking a 2nd level of Barbarian because then I'd have Advantage on Dex Saves and can utilize Reckless Attack If I'm mounted and attacking with Reckless Attack all my attacks will be with Adv, but they can't attack me back because I'm the mount.
First off, by multiclassing out of druid, you give up on unlimited Wild Shape. Second, you might want to reread the Sentinel feat. Third, Savage Attacker is a feat (and quite likely to be useful in Wild Shape); the barbarian 2nd-level feature is called Reckless Attack.
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"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
When a creature within 5 feet of you makes an attack against a target other' than you (and that target doesn't have this feat), you can use your reaction lo make a melee weapon attack against the attacking creature.
If I can't be targeted because of Mounted Combat, as I'm the mount, and so they target my rider... I should be able to use my Reaction to attack them.
Yes, I'm giving up on Unlimited Wildshape at level 20, but I'm not worried about level 20.
When a creature within 5 feet of you makes an attack against a target other than you (and that target doesn't have this feat), you can use your reaction lo make a melee weapon attack against the attacking creature.
If I can't be targeted because of Mounted Combat, as I'm the mount, and so they target my rider... I should be able to use my Reaction to attack them.
Didn't you say that the fighter already has Sentinel?
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"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
I'm also thinking about taking a 2nd level of Barbarian because then I'd have Advantage on Dex Saves and can utilize Reckless Attack If I'm mounted and attacking with Savage Attacker all my attacks will be with Adv, but they can't attack me back because I'm the mount.
The Barbarian levels could be a good match and would certainly provide alternative direction for the character, though you may find yourself wanting to go deeper to get 3rd level and choose a Primal Path - Totem Warrior with Wolf totem would mean that the paladin is attacking at advantage against any target within 5 feet of you, even if it isn't smaller (then, of course, you have that sweet ASI or feat at 4th)!
You may run into problems a little later of feeling that the bear form is a little underpowered, so look ahead at possible other creatures for when you increase your druid level.
first off, i think that if you are going to go this route, either you or the fighter should get a military saddle, which would give him advantage on any checks made to stay mounted. now i'll admit, you won't always have the chance to put the saddle on before combat begins, but if you have a chance to prepare beforehand, or you are planning on being in bear form for a good long while, it would be an advantage to have the saddle, even if its just a small one.
Secondly, BEAR CAVALRY!!!!!!
whoa, that actually worked.... i copied and pasted that pic and thought it'd fail...
Anyways, third point, while having a strategy based around you and the Fighter working together as mount and rider isn't a bad idea, think of this. what would you do if he was incapacitated? what would he do if you're out of wild shape uses for the day? what if the two of you fighting on opposite ends of the battle is more beneficial than working together? you should come up with backup strategies that can take advantage of your current/planned feats, while bolstering any weaknesses your other plans have. for example, you should take the charger feat. with it, whenever you use your action to Dash, you can use a bonus action to do a melee attack or to shove an opponent. if you can get ahold of some spikes leather barding for your bear for, that shoulder shove turns your target into a kebab. in addition, if you move 10 feet in a straight line before you Dash, you can get either a +5 to the attack, or you can shove the target 10 feet away... which is handy if you happen to be next to the top of a cliff... hehehehe......
but anyways, beyond the Mounted combatant, take feats that you can use with or without working together between you and the Fighter, and that you can use whether you're using wild shape or not.
i hope this has been helpful, and good luck in your travel. *turns into a raven and flies off*
When I was playing my druid I wild shaped into a Dire Wolf and had a dragonborn and a gnome mount me to tank a gang of bandits...we knocked out like 10 guys in one suprise attack
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Hi all,
Has anyone had any experience in this.
Last night my Druid shifted into a Brown Bear, but we were in a tight hallway, so our Fighter:Battlemaster with the Sentinel feat mounted me. Yes, we became Bear Cavalry.
As the fight wore on, because he had Sentinel they started attacking him instead of me as to not draw an extra attack from him... The fighter player and I are now talking about him taking Mounted Combat at 6th level. If he does that, it means I'll be dedicating myself to being his battle-mount, but this gives him Adv on all attacks against unmounted creature smaller then me, he can force attacks to target him instead of me (with his high AC or let them hit me with my large HP), and I gain Evasion while he's mounted.
Initially at Druid level 4 I was going to take Mobile, and being a "striker". Using the deinonychus, rhino, saber-tooth tiger... the creatures that benefit from having charge attacks. Charge in, do all my attacks, and run away. This change in our character growth is making me reconsider my option. There really aren't many feats that are useful for a Moon-Druid. Ironically if I take Sentinel also, and since I can't be attack I would gain an extra attack every turn from the 3rd benefit from the feat.
I'm curious if any other (Moon) druids have found themselves in a similar place?
I'm also thinking about taking a 2nd level of Barbarian because then I'd have Advantage on Dex Saves and can utilize Reckless Attack If I'm mounted and attacking with Reckless Attack all my attacks will be with Adv, but they can't attack me back because I'm the mount.
**EDITED as per Matthias_von_Schwarz.
First off, by multiclassing out of druid, you give up on unlimited Wild Shape. Second, you might want to reread the Sentinel feat. Third, Savage Attacker is a feat (and quite likely to be useful in Wild Shape); the barbarian 2nd-level feature is called Reckless Attack.
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
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3rd Option of Sentinel is:
If I can't be targeted because of Mounted Combat, as I'm the mount, and so they target my rider... I should be able to use my Reaction to attack them.
Yes, I'm giving up on Unlimited Wildshape at level 20, but I'm not worried about level 20.
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
Tooltips (Help/aid)
That sounds like a lot of fun and I'm pretty sure you can pull off some interesting combinations! :)
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first off, i think that if you are going to go this route, either you or the fighter should get a military saddle, which would give him advantage on any checks made to stay mounted. now i'll admit, you won't always have the chance to put the saddle on before combat begins, but if you have a chance to prepare beforehand, or you are planning on being in bear form for a good long while, it would be an advantage to have the saddle, even if its just a small one.
Secondly, BEAR CAVALRY!!!!!!
whoa, that actually worked.... i copied and pasted that pic and thought it'd fail...
Anyways, third point, while having a strategy based around you and the Fighter working together as mount and rider isn't a bad idea, think of this. what would you do if he was incapacitated? what would he do if you're out of wild shape uses for the day? what if the two of you fighting on opposite ends of the battle is more beneficial than working together? you should come up with backup strategies that can take advantage of your current/planned feats, while bolstering any weaknesses your other plans have. for example, you should take the charger feat. with it, whenever you use your action to Dash, you can use a bonus action to do a melee attack or to shove an opponent. if you can get ahold of some spikes leather barding for your bear for, that shoulder shove turns your target into a kebab. in addition, if you move 10 feet in a straight line before you Dash, you can get either a +5 to the attack, or you can shove the target 10 feet away... which is handy if you happen to be next to the top of a cliff... hehehehe......
but anyways, beyond the Mounted combatant, take feats that you can use with or without working together between you and the Fighter, and that you can use whether you're using wild shape or not.
i hope this has been helpful, and good luck in your travel. *turns into a raven and flies off*
When I was playing my druid I wild shaped into a Dire Wolf and had a dragonborn and a gnome mount me to tank a gang of bandits...we knocked out like 10 guys in one suprise attack