Wildshape is probably going to overshadow a lot of the other things we got in this UA, but one thing I wanted to touch on was the Sea Druid. I really love this subclass thematically. An ocean druid is something I'd definitely play, especially in any sort of nautical campaign. That said, am I the only one that felt it was a little anemic? The entire subclass takes up less than a page and most of its power is weighted toward the storm aura.
In particular, Aquatic Affinity could be better. Swim Speed is nice, and the idea of being able to turn into a giant spider that can swim as fast as a crocodile is hilarious to me, but wouldn't it be more interesting if that was reversed? What if, instead of just your land animals being able to swim, your aquatic forms gained the ability to fly? Imagine being able to turn into a Reef Shark with Blindsight to scout out a dark cave, or turning into a Giant Octopus to catch an enemy in a grapple.
Of course, if I read this all right, you can technically already do this by using Stormborn while in the form of a sea creature, but that needs two Wildshape uses in one go. This might be justified because grappling something as a giant octopus inside an aura of thunder damage sounds epic, but emphasizing the use of aquatic forms in the text would be better than leaving it as an unspoken possibility I think.
There's also the issue of already having a swim speed. I think most people, after seeing this subclass, would immediately think about rolling a triton or sea elf druid, but they already have swim speed which can make this feel like a dead level. So why not have it add additional swim speed onto those that already have it? Let us go full Aquaman, speeding through the sea faster than we can run on land.
Anyway, those were just some of my thoughts. I do really like this subclass but it feels like it could use just a little bit more going on.
I agree. If I were to play this subclass, I would probably pick the Sea Elf with Swim Speed AND resistance to Cold. I think having the option to add swim speed to a race that doesn't have it or to increase swim speed to a race that already does would be beneficial. Similar to something giving you darkvision or increasing darkvision if you already have it. I think choosing wild shapes that are aquatic or semi-aquatic (like snakes) would also seem obvious as flavor when you pick your 3 shapes at the beginning. Although if a ship is involved I could see a giant spider or rat as viable options too. Not sure we need land beasts given swim speeds. I do like the idea of flight though. Love the image of an octopus jumping out of the water and flying onto the deck of a ship or something haha.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
The Otherworldly Geek
I have a collection of Elven and Fey Druid Characters that I play. Some creepy and some not so creepy, but all FUN!
I'm excited about this feature but I think this is a little bit overpowered for a low level druid to be able to do 4d6 damage every round for 10 minutes using Wrath of the sea.
I'm currently running a campaign with a water genasi so I like the idea of running a Druid of the sea I just think that Wrath of the sea seems very overpowered for a level 3 druid. I find myself using wild shape infrequently because I'm the only Caster in the party so I'm doing all of the healing plus crowd control. That kind of damage would be game changing for my character to be able to defend himself but it seems like the feature is going to miss a lot at higher levels.
I think the damage needs to be the highest spell level that you can cast is the number of d6 + your wisdom modifier. So my character would be:
Lvl2 1d6+4
lvl3 2d6+4
lvl5 3d6+5
I think they need to also balance out how often it hits by making it a ranged spell attack with half damage on Constitution save and no pushback on Save. That's more consistent with other Thunder spells. The idea of doing zero damage will get really old really fast.
Given that this is the first public draft of a Druid Circle Of The Sea, I expect it's going to need some revising and balancing. But thematically? Big fan.
I've been waiting so long for a water Druid and was super hyped when I saw it listed in the UA.
That excitement died when I saw that the subclass is basically just an alternate Wild Shape use and a swim speed though, so hopefully they give it a little extra "oomph".
Another cool thing they could do is to do something similar to the Land Druid and give some options after a long rest. This way if you go onto land, your druid doesn't totally get nerfed.
Since Land has Arid, Polar, Temperate, and Tropical - Sea could have Storm Surge, Coastal and Deep Sea. (I just threw this together as an example)
Another cool thing they could do is to do something similar to the Land Druid and give some options after a long rest. This way if you go onto land, your druid doesn't totally get nerfed.
Since Land has Arid, Polar, Temperate, and Tropical - Sea could have Storm Surge, Coastal and Deep Sea. (I just threw this together as an example)
Coastal Level 3 - Create or Destroy Water, Misty Step, Tidal Wave Level 5 - Water Walk Level 7 - Control Water Level 9 - Maelstrom
Deep Sea Level 3 - Entangle (tentacles), Vortex Warp , Elemental Weapon Level 5 - Water Breathing Level 7 - Freedom of Movement Level 9 - Hold Monster
I could absolutely go for something like that, though I could also understand if they didn't want to make the Sea & Land Druid subclasses feel too similar.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Wildshape is probably going to overshadow a lot of the other things we got in this UA, but one thing I wanted to touch on was the Sea Druid. I really love this subclass thematically. An ocean druid is something I'd definitely play, especially in any sort of nautical campaign. That said, am I the only one that felt it was a little anemic? The entire subclass takes up less than a page and most of its power is weighted toward the storm aura.
In particular, Aquatic Affinity could be better. Swim Speed is nice, and the idea of being able to turn into a giant spider that can swim as fast as a crocodile is hilarious to me, but wouldn't it be more interesting if that was reversed? What if, instead of just your land animals being able to swim, your aquatic forms gained the ability to fly? Imagine being able to turn into a Reef Shark with Blindsight to scout out a dark cave, or turning into a Giant Octopus to catch an enemy in a grapple.
Of course, if I read this all right, you can technically already do this by using Stormborn while in the form of a sea creature, but that needs two Wildshape uses in one go. This might be justified because grappling something as a giant octopus inside an aura of thunder damage sounds epic, but emphasizing the use of aquatic forms in the text would be better than leaving it as an unspoken possibility I think.
There's also the issue of already having a swim speed. I think most people, after seeing this subclass, would immediately think about rolling a triton or sea elf druid, but they already have swim speed which can make this feel like a dead level. So why not have it add additional swim speed onto those that already have it? Let us go full Aquaman, speeding through the sea faster than we can run on land.
Anyway, those were just some of my thoughts. I do really like this subclass but it feels like it could use just a little bit more going on.
I agree with all of this. I was excited to sea this sub class in the UA, but I think they need to dive a little deeper to make it worth while. ;)
Mother and Cat Herder. Playing TTRPGs since 1989 (She/Her)
I agree. If I were to play this subclass, I would probably pick the Sea Elf with Swim Speed AND resistance to Cold. I think having the option to add swim speed to a race that doesn't have it or to increase swim speed to a race that already does would be beneficial. Similar to something giving you darkvision or increasing darkvision if you already have it. I think choosing wild shapes that are aquatic or semi-aquatic (like snakes) would also seem obvious as flavor when you pick your 3 shapes at the beginning. Although if a ship is involved I could see a giant spider or rat as viable options too. Not sure we need land beasts given swim speeds. I do like the idea of flight though. Love the image of an octopus jumping out of the water and flying onto the deck of a ship or something haha.
The Otherworldly Geek
I have a collection of Elven and Fey Druid Characters that I play. Some creepy and some not so creepy, but all FUN!
How to make over a hundred men shit bricks at the same time.
I'm excited about this feature but I think this is a little bit overpowered for a low level druid to be able to do 4d6 damage every round for 10 minutes using Wrath of the sea.
I'm currently running a campaign with a water genasi so I like the idea of running a Druid of the sea I just think that Wrath of the sea seems very overpowered for a level 3 druid. I find myself using wild shape infrequently because I'm the only Caster in the party so I'm doing all of the healing plus crowd control. That kind of damage would be game changing for my character to be able to defend himself but it seems like the feature is going to miss a lot at higher levels.
I think the damage needs to be the highest spell level that you can cast is the number of d6 + your wisdom modifier. So my character would be:
Lvl2 1d6+4
lvl3 2d6+4
lvl5 3d6+5
I think they need to also balance out how often it hits by making it a ranged spell attack with half damage on Constitution save and no pushback on Save. That's more consistent with other Thunder spells. The idea of doing zero damage will get really old really fast.
Given that this is the first public draft of a Druid Circle Of The Sea, I expect it's going to need some revising and balancing. But thematically? Big fan.
I've been waiting so long for a water Druid and was super hyped when I saw it listed in the UA.
That excitement died when I saw that the subclass is basically just an alternate Wild Shape use and a swim speed though, so hopefully they give it a little extra "oomph".
Another cool thing they could do is to do something similar to the Land Druid and give some options after a long rest. This way if you go onto land, your druid doesn't totally get nerfed.
Since Land has Arid, Polar, Temperate, and Tropical - Sea could have Storm Surge, Coastal and Deep Sea. (I just threw this together as an example)
Storm Surge:
Level 3 - Fog Cloud, Warding Wind, Thunder Step
Level 5 - Lightning Bolt
Level 7 - Storm Sphere
Level 9 - Control Winds
Coastal
Level 3 - Create or Destroy Water, Misty Step, Tidal Wave
Level 5 - Water Walk
Level 7 - Control Water
Level 9 - Maelstrom
Deep Sea
Level 3 - Entangle (tentacles), Vortex Warp , Elemental Weapon
Level 5 - Water Breathing
Level 7 - Freedom of Movement
Level 9 - Hold Monster
The Otherworldly Geek
I have a collection of Elven and Fey Druid Characters that I play. Some creepy and some not so creepy, but all FUN!
I could absolutely go for something like that, though I could also understand if they didn't want to make the Sea & Land Druid subclasses feel too similar.