So recently I have been running a campaign. The campaign itself had some hiccups along the line but it is stable now. But with the players reaching Level 6 I recently heard two player talking about a busted strategy for the druid (who is Circle of the moon.) I did look it up and I realized how busted the 6th level ability is. The druid can conjure some pixies and can have them cast polymorph on any willing party members. And it can be whatever so the guy is going to use the strategy to make the party T-rexes. Of course I asked another player about my concerns but I can't think of a way to deal with it outside of boosting combat encounters. Because all this druid has to do now is at the sign of a tough enemy is just use the 6th level ability and turn the encounter into a joke.
How would I go about dealing with this strategy outside of just sicking much higher CR creatures on the party. I want to caution the idea of abusing it but powergamers don't like the idea of the dm lashing back at their Overpowered ability. So I am stuck figuring out what on earth I can do.
It's the DM who chooses what is conjured not the caster. The caster only chooses the CR option. So if they try to summon pixies just have something else appear instead.
When you cast a spell like conjure woodland beings, does the spellcaster or the DM choose the creatures that are conjured?
A number of spells in the game let you sum-mon creatures. Conjure animals, conjure celestial, conjure minor elementals, and conjure woodland beings are just a few examples. Some spells of this sort specify that the spellcaster chooses the creature conjured. For example, find familiar gives the caster a list of animals to choose from. Other spells of this sort let the spellcaster choose from among several broad options. For example, conjure minor elementals offers four options. Here are the first two:
One elemental of challenge rating 2 or lower
Two elementals of challenge rating 1 or lower
The design intent for options like these is that the spell-caster chooses one of them, and then the DM decides what creatures appear that fit the chosen option. For example, if you pick the second option, the DM chooses the two elementals that have a challenge rating of 1 or lower. A spellcaster can certainly express a preference for what creatures shows up, but it’s up to the DM to determine if they do. The DM will often choose creatures that are ap-propriate for the campaign and that will be fun to introduce in a scene.
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Alternatively, if they really really want pixies, let them have pixies. You as the DM still control what the pixies do. If you notice the PCs actually abuse this strategy (you can't polymorph party members into full HD T-rexes at level 6 since the new temporary form can't have more HD than the character's true form), you can always give them a warning. If they keep trying it, you can RP the pixies as the trickster fey that they are and turn the party into anything but the dinosaur that they requested.
Alternatively, if they really really want pixies, let them have pixies. You as the DM still control what the pixies do. If you notice the PCs actually abuse this strategy (you can't polymorph party members into full HD T-rexes at level 6 since the new temporary form can't have more HD than the character's true form), you can always give them a warning. If they keep trying it, you can RP the pixies as the trickster fey that they are and turn the party into anything but the dinosaur that they requested.
Two corrections: Polymorph has no Hit Dice restrictions. The only restriction is : "The new form can be any beast whose challenge rating is equal to or less than the target's (or the target's level, if it doesn't have a challenge rating)". This means a 6th level character can be turned into a CR 6 or lower beast. But, a Tyrannosaurus Rex is CR 8. So you're right that they cannot have the pixies polymorph the party into T-Rexes but a little off on the reason why.
Regardless of how trickster the pixies are they have to obey the caster (from Conjure Woodland Beings spell: "They obey any verbal commands that you issue to them (no action required by you)").
If you let them summon Pixies then having the Pixies polymorph the party into something dangerous or the enemies into something harmless would be perfectly RAW and pulling DM shenanigans after that is a bit shitty.
However, it is the DM who decides what they summon. So if you don't want this combo in your game, don't let them summon pixies.
Personally, I don't see the combo as broken. When going against regular enemies, it's fun, exploting the party's new low intelligence (T-Rex's have an Int of 2) can open nice options especially if the caster also got polymorphed and can no longer instruct the pixies to drop the spell. You can combat this combo by having the enemies use Dispel Magic to end the polymorph or the confure spells causing the pixies to go back where they came from and no longer forced to obey the party and may then drop the polymorphs. Or Counterspell their polymorphs - Pixies can only cast it once per day. The conjure spell is also a concentration spell: as soon as it ends, the pixies go away and when no longer bound may drop the polymorphs. If the pixies are targeted and killed by the enemy and this keeps happening the party might find the next time they try only one pixie arrives who informs them they will no longer allow themselves to be summoned by the party - and that they are banned from entering pixie territories under penalty of death as a repercussion of getting so many pixies killed.
However, I have noticed something very off about the original poster's situation:
Bakuyoshi: There is no feature of the Druid, at any level or official subclass, that summons pixies. This only leaves the Spell Conjure Woodland Beings but this is a 4th level spell meaning it cannot be cast until you are a spellcaster of 7th level. So... how are they summoning pixies at character level 6? o.O
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond. Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ thisFAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
The way I see it, even if pixies are supposed to obey the party, they are still intelligent beings. If the party pulls this trick more than twice in a week, the pixies that got summoned will start talking to other pixies. Pixies still have their own interests and helping a party fight off monsters that are not threatening the Feywild or whatever habitat pixies inhabit in your world isn't their idea of fun or particularly necessary. Eventually, these willful, fun-loving creatures would start twisting the instructions the PCs gave them because that's what would be fun for the pixies. Just because a spell says that a summoned creature "obeys a command" does not mean that the creature loses all free will or creativity to interpret those commands.
There's no guarantee that a pixie knows what a T-rex is unless it's been to Chult. (Or wherever they are in your game) So telling them to turn you into one might be met with a blank stare and a shrug.
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So recently I have been running a campaign. The campaign itself had some hiccups along the line but it is stable now. But with the players reaching Level 6 I recently heard two player talking about a busted strategy for the druid (who is Circle of the moon.) I did look it up and I realized how busted the 6th level ability is. The druid can conjure some pixies and can have them cast polymorph on any willing party members. And it can be whatever so the guy is going to use the strategy to make the party T-rexes. Of course I asked another player about my concerns but I can't think of a way to deal with it outside of boosting combat encounters. Because all this druid has to do now is at the sign of a tough enemy is just use the 6th level ability and turn the encounter into a joke.
How would I go about dealing with this strategy outside of just sicking much higher CR creatures on the party. I want to caution the idea of abusing it but powergamers don't like the idea of the dm lashing back at their Overpowered ability. So I am stuck figuring out what on earth I can do.
It's the DM who chooses what is conjured not the caster. The caster only chooses the CR option. So if they try to summon pixies just have something else appear instead.
From Sage Advice (pdf) :
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ this FAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
Alternatively, if they really really want pixies, let them have pixies. You as the DM still control what the pixies do. If you notice the PCs actually abuse this strategy (you can't polymorph party members into full HD T-rexes at level 6 since the new temporary form can't have more HD than the character's true form), you can always give them a warning. If they keep trying it, you can RP the pixies as the trickster fey that they are and turn the party into anything but the dinosaur that they requested.
Two corrections: Polymorph has no Hit Dice restrictions. The only restriction is : "The new form can be any beast whose challenge rating is equal to or less than the target's (or the target's level, if it doesn't have a challenge rating)". This means a 6th level character can be turned into a CR 6 or lower beast. But, a Tyrannosaurus Rex is CR 8. So you're right that they cannot have the pixies polymorph the party into T-Rexes but a little off on the reason why.
Regardless of how trickster the pixies are they have to obey the caster (from Conjure Woodland Beings spell: "They obey any verbal commands that you issue to them (no action required by you)").
If you let them summon Pixies then having the Pixies polymorph the party into something dangerous or the enemies into something harmless would be perfectly RAW and pulling DM shenanigans after that is a bit shitty.
However, it is the DM who decides what they summon. So if you don't want this combo in your game, don't let them summon pixies.
Personally, I don't see the combo as broken. When going against regular enemies, it's fun, exploting the party's new low intelligence (T-Rex's have an Int of 2) can open nice options especially if the caster also got polymorphed and can no longer instruct the pixies to drop the spell. You can combat this combo by having the enemies use Dispel Magic to end the polymorph or the confure spells causing the pixies to go back where they came from and no longer forced to obey the party and may then drop the polymorphs. Or Counterspell their polymorphs - Pixies can only cast it once per day. The conjure spell is also a concentration spell: as soon as it ends, the pixies go away and when no longer bound may drop the polymorphs. If the pixies are targeted and killed by the enemy and this keeps happening the party might find the next time they try only one pixie arrives who informs them they will no longer allow themselves to be summoned by the party - and that they are banned from entering pixie territories under penalty of death as a repercussion of getting so many pixies killed.
However, I have noticed something very off about the original poster's situation:
Bakuyoshi: There is no feature of the Druid, at any level or official subclass, that summons pixies. This only leaves the Spell Conjure Woodland Beings but this is a 4th level spell meaning it cannot be cast until you are a spellcaster of 7th level. So... how are they summoning pixies at character level 6? o.O
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ this FAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
I stand corrected re: Polymorph.
The way I see it, even if pixies are supposed to obey the party, they are still intelligent beings. If the party pulls this trick more than twice in a week, the pixies that got summoned will start talking to other pixies. Pixies still have their own interests and helping a party fight off monsters that are not threatening the Feywild or whatever habitat pixies inhabit in your world isn't their idea of fun or particularly necessary. Eventually, these willful, fun-loving creatures would start twisting the instructions the PCs gave them because that's what would be fun for the pixies. Just because a spell says that a summoned creature "obeys a command" does not mean that the creature loses all free will or creativity to interpret those commands.
There's no guarantee that a pixie knows what a T-rex is unless it's been to Chult. (Or wherever they are in your game) So telling them to turn you into one might be met with a blank stare and a shrug.