In a sessions recently a druid in the party used wild shape to turn into a cat (CR 0) but upped it to CR 1 because the party is at level 8. I'm guessing it might be at the DM's choice to allow that or not but is that allowed? (They used ******** to change the stats)
There are no rules for upping CR other than homebrew guidelines. So... The druid would have had to homebrew what a CR1 cat is, and the DM would have had to allowed it.
Generally, it is much easier to get DM permission to reflavor an actual option at the CR you want rather than try to homebrew a new cat. On that note, there are no tiny or even small CR 1 beasts (and only a few medium, most seem to be large or larger) so no appropriate options exist for a CR 1 house cat.
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Druids are expected to acquire access to more dangerous beast forms as they gain levels (e.g. lion, tiger.) While technically the DM can do whatever they want and arbitrarily increase the CR of any creature, a house cat strong enough to pose a threat to a party of armed adventurers stretches my suspension of disbelief.
I agree with all of this. Is there a reason they do not wild shape into a lion or tiger. I wouldn't have a problem a medium beast the stats of a lion or tiger for CR1 (I think CR1/4 is a bit low for a panther CR 1/2 would be better). But if the druid is pretending to be a harmless house cat before pouncing with the attack of a lion then I would disallow it.
I'm going to guess at his motive that he was trying to be a small and inconspicuous creature so he could sneak in somewhere, but wanted more hp in case he was caught. You can't have it both ways. I often wild shape into mice, songbirds, spiders, etc., all of which are going to have 1 hit point, and if I get stepped on, my wild shape is over. I am above level 8, but sometimes I still wild shape into my CR 1/4 Giant Rat because I want access to its dark vision and keen smell. Last session I rolled snake eyes on my 2d6 for its max hp and had a 2 hp giant rat fighting a giant stone cat statue. I role-played how a rat would act in that fight. I dove between a brazier and the wall in a space the Large cat couldn't fit.
Druids are expected to acquire access to more dangerous beast forms as they gain levels (e.g. lion, tiger.) While technically the DM can do whatever they want and arbitrarily increase the CR of any creature, a house cat strong enough to pose a threat to a party of armed adventurers stretches my suspension of disbelief.
Psst: sort Beasts by CR and tell me what you find :) Oof, I thought Traxigor was a cat :(
In a sessions recently a druid in the party used wild shape to turn into a cat (CR 0) but upped it to CR 1 because the party is at level 8. I'm guessing it might be at the DM's choice to allow that or not but is that allowed? (They used ******** to change the stats)
There are no rules for upping CR other than homebrew guidelines. So... The druid would have had to homebrew what a CR1 cat is, and the DM would have had to allowed it.
Generally, it is much easier to get DM permission to reflavor an actual option at the CR you want rather than try to homebrew a new cat. On that note, there are no tiny or even small CR 1 beasts (and only a few medium, most seem to be large or larger) so no appropriate options exist for a CR 1 house cat.
Always best to check with a DM, can also ask to use your homebrew CR 1 cat, unless the DM wants to homebrew his own.
(edit: ps: you could always use the sidekick rules from Tasha's to have the cat advance along with the party.)
Druids are expected to acquire access to more dangerous beast forms as they gain levels (e.g. lion, tiger.) While technically the DM can do whatever they want and arbitrarily increase the CR of any creature, a house cat strong enough to pose a threat to a party of armed adventurers stretches my suspension of disbelief.
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I agree with all of this. Is there a reason they do not wild shape into a lion or tiger. I wouldn't have a problem a medium beast the stats of a lion or tiger for CR1 (I think CR1/4 is a bit low for a panther CR 1/2 would be better). But if the druid is pretending to be a harmless house cat before pouncing with the attack of a lion then I would disallow it.
I'm going to guess at his motive that he was trying to be a small and inconspicuous creature so he could sneak in somewhere, but wanted more hp in case he was caught. You can't have it both ways. I often wild shape into mice, songbirds, spiders, etc., all of which are going to have 1 hit point, and if I get stepped on, my wild shape is over. I am above level 8, but sometimes I still wild shape into my CR 1/4 Giant Rat because I want access to its dark vision and keen smell. Last session I rolled snake eyes on my 2d6 for its max hp and had a 2 hp giant rat fighting a giant stone cat statue. I role-played how a rat would act in that fight. I dove between a brazier and the wall in a space the Large cat couldn't fit.
Psst: sort Beasts by CR and tell me what you find :)
Oof, I thought Traxigor was a cat :(dndbeyond.com forum tags
I'm going to make this way harder than it needs to be.