I am trying to create a house rule to increase the number of viable wild shapes for 2024 Moon Druids. The biggest issue is that there are very few beasts at higher CR and continuing to use lower CR forms quickly falls behind on damage and accuracy. My proposed house rule is to provide a scaling bonus to wild shape forms based on the difference between the beast's base CR and the highest CR that the druid could use. The intention is not to make higher base CR forms obsolete (they generally remain the most damaging forms available) but to provide additional options that are worthy of consideration at higher level. The other goal is to fit the Moon Druid fantasy by allowing the use of favored beasts at any level. You can use a wolf, a snake, a toad, or whatever beast you like and it remains combat effective instead of being forced to use an elephant or mammoth at higher levels because of math.
Level 3: Circle Forms
You can channel lunar magic when you assume a Wild Shape form, granting you the benefits below.
Challenge Rating. The maximum Challenge Rating for the form equals your Druid level divided by 3 (round down). If you assume a Wild Shape form with a Challenge Rating at least 1 lower than your maximum Challenge Rating, increase all attack bonuses and the DC of all saving throws in that form by 1, increase the damage of all attacks by 2, and increase the form's Challenge Rating by 1; repeat this process until the form is no longer at least 1 less than your maximum Challenge Rating.
Some comparisons:
Lion vs. Saber-Tooth Tiger at CR 2:
Lion: Pack Tactics. 50 speed. Roar. Running Leap. +6 to hit. 2 attacks. 1d8+5 damage. (average 19) Saber-Tooth Tiger: 40 speed. Nimble Escape. Running Leap. +6 to hit. 2 attacks. 2d6+4 damage. (average 22) Saber-Tooth does more damage, but now there is a meaningful choice between Roar and Pack Tactics vs. extra damage and Nimble Escape.
Dire Wolf vs. Ankylosaurus at CR 3:
Dire Wolf: 50 speed. Pack Tactics, +7 to hit. 1 attack. 1d10+8 damage (average 13). Prone on hit if target is Large or smaller. Ankylosaurus: 30 speed. +6 to hit. 2 attacks. 1d10+4 damage (average 18). Prone on hit if target is Huge or smaller. Ankylosaurus does more damage and can multi-attack to prone more than one enemy, while Dire Wolf is more accurate, has Pack Tactics, and has greater speed.
Brown Bear vs. Elephant at CR 4:
Brown Bear: 40 speed, 30 climb. +8 to hit. 2 attacks. 1d8+9 damage (average 13) and 1d4+9 (average 11). Prone on hit if target is Large or smaller. Elephant: 40 speed. Trample. +8 to hit. 2 attacks. 2d8+6 damage (average 30). Prone on hit if it moved 20 feet toward target before attack. +4-26 damage from Trample if target is Prone. Elephant does more damage (particularly against a prone enemy), but needs to move to impose prone, while the Brown Bear always prones Large or smaller targets and has a climb speed.
I would like to have a better way to phrase the bonus calculation. Fractional CR beasts complicate it because it would require rounding up and the Moon Druid already includes a maximum CR calculation that requires rounding down and I was trying to keep things from getting too confusing. I would also like to find a way to increase damage dice instead of just adding a static damage modifier. The static modifier increases the average damage but is less variable, so scaled up CR beasts often have higher minimum damage but much lower maximum damage. I can't think of a good way to add dice that doesn't require a table or chart to cover every possible base damage dice pool and its upgrades.
Ferocious Change When you transform using your Wildshape, you can increase the CR of the form you take up to the maximum CR you can tranform into. Add +1 to attack rolls and DCs, and +2 to damage of each attack for each 1 CR you increase the form by.
I am trying to create a house rule to increase the number of viable wild shapes for 2024 Moon Druids. The biggest issue is that there are very few beasts at higher CR and continuing to use lower CR forms quickly falls behind on damage and accuracy. My proposed house rule is to provide a scaling bonus to wild shape forms based on the difference between the beast's base CR and the highest CR that the druid could use. The intention is not to make higher base CR forms obsolete (they generally remain the most damaging forms available) but to provide additional options that are worthy of consideration at higher level. The other goal is to fit the Moon Druid fantasy by allowing the use of favored beasts at any level. You can use a wolf, a snake, a toad, or whatever beast you like and it remains combat effective instead of being forced to use an elephant or mammoth at higher levels because of math.
Level 3: Circle Forms
You can channel lunar magic when you assume a Wild Shape form, granting you the benefits below.
Challenge Rating. The maximum Challenge Rating for the form equals your Druid level divided by 3 (round down). If you assume a Wild Shape form with a Challenge Rating at least 1 lower than your maximum Challenge Rating, increase all attack bonuses and the DC of all saving throws in that form by 1, increase the damage of all attacks by 2, and increase the form's Challenge Rating by 1; repeat this process until the form is no longer at least 1 less than your maximum Challenge Rating.
Some comparisons:
Lion vs. Saber-Tooth Tiger at CR 2:
Lion: Pack Tactics. 50 speed. Roar. Running Leap. +6 to hit. 2 attacks. 1d8+5 damage. (average 19)
Saber-Tooth Tiger: 40 speed. Nimble Escape. Running Leap. +6 to hit. 2 attacks. 2d6+4 damage. (average 22)
Saber-Tooth does more damage, but now there is a meaningful choice between Roar and Pack Tactics vs. extra damage and Nimble Escape.
Dire Wolf vs. Ankylosaurus at CR 3:
Dire Wolf: 50 speed. Pack Tactics, +7 to hit. 1 attack. 1d10+8 damage (average 13). Prone on hit if target is Large or smaller.
Ankylosaurus: 30 speed. +6 to hit. 2 attacks. 1d10+4 damage (average 18). Prone on hit if target is Huge or smaller.
Ankylosaurus does more damage and can multi-attack to prone more than one enemy, while Dire Wolf is more accurate, has Pack Tactics, and has greater speed.
Brown Bear vs. Elephant at CR 4:
Brown Bear: 40 speed, 30 climb. +8 to hit. 2 attacks. 1d8+9 damage (average 13) and 1d4+9 (average 11). Prone on hit if target is Large or smaller.
Elephant: 40 speed. Trample. +8 to hit. 2 attacks. 2d8+6 damage (average 30). Prone on hit if it moved 20 feet toward target before attack. +4-26 damage from Trample if target is Prone.
Elephant does more damage (particularly against a prone enemy), but needs to move to impose prone, while the Brown Bear always prones Large or smaller targets and has a climb speed.
Ferocious Change When you transform using your Wildshape, you can increase the CR of the form you take up to the maximum CR you can tranform into. Add +1 to attack rolls and DCs, and +2 to damage of each attack for each 1 CR you increase the form by.
That's perfect. Thank you!