So I've done a quick read of the UA 8 Druid - specifically wild shape and its augmented version for Circle of the Moon.
I predict a lot of folks will still hate it - but as a DM, I'm very happy with it. It provides for flexibility in terms of the beast shape chosen but also solves the overpowered hit point buff available in the 2014 version.
I also predict I'm probably still pretty much alone in my stance on the latter part.
Have at it!
ETA: I still think the amount of time available for wild shape is too much, but that's a secondary complaint/criticism.
It's a compromise, though they kept the main parts - no more HP buffer, and there's a limit on the shapes known, so that you won't browse the entire library for the right beast every time. So it's a good compromise, I think.
I think if they went to print with this UA8 Druid, I'd be fine.
* I'm still not thrilled about limiting the number of forms you can take. It's not like Druids HAD to have the stats for a dozen forms ready to go, they could choose to stick with a few they really liked(and most Druids I know did that anyway). But I think the increased limit in UA8 gives Druids enough flexibility that I'm fine with it.
* I think I'm good with the current allotment of Temp HP for both standard and Moon Druid Wild Shaping. Giving all Druids some and giving Moon Druids more is the right choice. Maybe you can argue that the amounts are too much or too little, but if Druids aren't going to just get the beast form's HP as Temp HP, then scaling by Druid level is the way to go.
* I think not having species traits in Wild Shape was the right call, that just felt weird.
* Giving the Moon Druid a set of Circle spells that they can cast in Wild Shape is a good move. Not sure about Vampiric Touch being one of them, though. It's an intriguing choice, though if I could only have one 3rd-level spell on the list I think I would have gone with Lesser Restoration.
* The Moon Druid's new AC buff in Wild Shape is a good change. The UA6 version really herded the Moon Druid to the Warden choice for Primal Order. I was hoping for something like "Add your Wis mod to the beast form's AC", and this is probably even better.
* The Con save bonus at Level 10 is interesting, I think I like it.
* The radiant damage boost for Moon Druids at Level 14 is nice. It's roughly "add your Wis mod to your beast's damage rolls" but more "Moon-y".
* I think if I was going to add one thing to the Moon Druid, it would be to give them the choice to use their Spell Attack Bonus for the beast form's attacks.
This is finally a version I'd be okay actually playing, so that's a big improvement. There's a lot I'd personally change but it's not so bad I'd just refuse it and stick to the 2014 version.
The feature that stood out to me the most was getting the druid's WIS bonus added to CON saves while Wildshaped. That might free druids up a bit feat-wise as by the time you get it you could have a +4 to your concentration saves just from this feature (Assuming you took the ASI at 4 rather than Warcaster or Resilient CON). That's better than Resilient CON at the same level.
I'd still prefer beast AC+WIS but this is fine too. So long as I can play a Moon Druid and take Magician if I want without totally crippling my beast form's ability to be in melee I'm good.
I like the idea of the spell list, though I wish the list was a little beefier and had more self-buffing spells on it. Not everyone wants to be calling down skybeams from the heavens. A lot, and I'd argue most, Moon Druids roll Moon to rip into things with their claws primarily. Enlarge/Reduce would be a good option.
Currently unsure how I feel about Vampiric Touch being on the list. Mechanically it's good, but thematically it's an odd choice. I suppose parasites are nature too.
Instead of a 1D10 I think I'd prefer just adding your WIS bonus as extra radiant damage or something. Druids currently need to roll a bunch of different damage dice with each attack. Dwhatever for the beast attack, D8s for Elemental Fury, and now a D10 for Improved Lunar Radiance. This is a pretty minor issue though, admittedly.
Also, a D10 per attack greatly favors beasts with multi-attack which will make certain forms substantially better than others in the same CR.
I'd also still prefer a shapeshifting-based feature at 10 but the teleport isn't too distracting from the Wildshape theme, so I can live with it. If nothing else this lets the druid get into mauling distance quicker.
I just noticed this, but with Moon Druid having access to a castable cantrip in Beast Form and long-ranged damage spells as well, there are now two distinct ways to play Moon Druid.
First is the more traditional route. Turn into a big thing with claws and teeth and rip into things. This path you'd usually go Warden -> Primal Strike so you can mix it up in melee with more powerful attacks with both your martial weapon of choice and your beastly claws and teeth. Probably while burning them with radiant light via Fount of the Moon.
The second is to play as a highly mobile caster-sniper. Go Magician -> Potent Spellcasting. This path lets you pretty much ignore the attacks of your beast shape and focus on movement speed and movement types so you can turn into a Giant Eagle, fly up 300 feet, and bombard enemies below with your 360 ft range 3D8+5 damage between swooping down long enough to move your Moonbeam or Dawn spells to where the enemies are at. You can also easily play support by swooping in and carrying off wounded party members and hitting them with Cure Wounds.
I think this is neat. The way temp HP and Wildshape AC work it means if you're going the second route lower CR creatures are just as viable as high CR creatures so long as they can move fast.
Doing some math it seems like the Melee Moon Druid will be putting out a lot more damage for less resources spent than the Caster Moon Druid, which is good. If the caster did better damage from the air it'd make playing as a melee beast kind of pointless. Still, the Caster variant seems like it'd be a fun and versatile alternative way to play.
It's a compromise, though they kept the main parts - no more HP buffer, and there's a limit on the shapes known, so that you won't browse the entire library for the right beast every time. So it's a good compromise, I think.
And lest we forget - by default, you can only use the forms in the PHB, and need to get any beast from any other source approved. No more arguments over which beast the druid has seen before the game started, no more DMs nervously checking creature types and CRs before any fight the druid will be part of, no more DMs feeling like jerks or tyrants for banning the Acquisitions Incorporated Tentacle, no more players who memorized the MM being vastly more powerful than those that didn't, and so on.
For me, the limit on shapes known scales a bit too fast/high - 12 is still enough to bog down games even at high level. I feel like the sweet spot for a cap would be 8 - enough to have a good mix of combat and utility forms for any biome, so 2+PB forms known instead of 2+1/2 druid level fits best.
Offensively, between Elemental Fury and Radiant Strikes, the Moon Druid keeps up with the party just fine - but if you want to spike their damage even more, you can throw on Conjure Minor Elementals or Fount of Moonlight.
Defense wise, Moon not only gets 3x the THP of base wildshape, it also gets a respectable 13+Wis for AC - and by the time that starts falling behind, you'll have magic medium armor that can resize to fit you and thus be worn in form.
Overall, I would have preferred templates with better scaling abilities, but I can live with this.
This moon druid is less tanking and more damaging, obviously the Circle of the Moon druid of 2014 is overpowered and so we were never getting that back. The amount of temporary HP that Circle of the Moon use to get was excessive.
Would have preferred an AC of 10 + Proficiency Bonus + Wisdom. Does mean a slightly lower AC for levels 2-4 but a higher AC from 9+.
Not sure about Cure Wounds and Vampiric Touch. Obviously wild shape forms use to be able to self-heal but these spells are both actions, Cure Wounds esp is just going to be used for out of combat healing, I think healing word might have been a better choice, since it matches how moon druids would heal as a bonus action and a reason to actually expend spell slots.
It's a compromise, though they kept the main parts - no more HP buffer, and there's a limit on the shapes known, so that you won't browse the entire library for the right beast every time. So it's a good compromise, I think.
With the change to WS AC, the temporary HP buffer and the ability to turn a 1st level spell into a refresh of that temporary HP buffer as a BA I believe this Moon Druid WS is more durable than the 2014 version.
Level 6 - 2014 Moon Druid - Giant Constrictor Snake: AC 12, HP 62+45 + 1d8/1st level spell slot as a BA Using all 4, 1st level slots = total HP 125 Using all 4 1st level slots + all uses of WS = total HP 187
Level 6 - UA8 Moon Druid - Giant Constrictor Snake: AC 17, HP 18 + 45 + 18/1st level spell slot as a BA Using all 4, 1st level slots = total HP 135 Using all 4 1st level slots + all uses of WS = total HP 171
It's a compromise, though they kept the main parts - no more HP buffer, and there's a limit on the shapes known, so that you won't browse the entire library for the right beast every time. So it's a good compromise, I think.
And lest we forget - by default, you can only use the forms in the PHB, and need to get any beast from any other source approved. No more arguments over which beast the druid has seen before the game started, no more DMs nervously checking creature types and CRs before any fight the druid will be part of, no more DMs feeling like jerks or tyrants for banning the Acquisitions Incorporated Tentacle, no more players who memorized the MM being vastly more powerful than those that didn't, and so on.
For me, the limit on shapes known scales a bit too fast/high - 12 is still enough to bog down games even at high level. I feel like the sweet spot for a cap would be 8 - enough to have a good mix of combat and utility forms for any biome, so 2+PB forms known instead of 2+1/2 druid level fits best.
Offensively, between Elemental Fury and Radiant Strikes, the Moon Druid keeps up with the party just fine - but if you want to spike their damage even more, you can throw on Conjure Minor Elementals or Fount of Moonlight.
Defense wise, Moon not only gets 3x the THP of base wildshape, it also gets a respectable 13+Wis for AC - and by the time that starts falling behind, you'll have magic medium armor that can resize to fit you and thus be worn in form.
Overall, I would have preferred templates with better scaling abilities, but I can live with this.
Druid has *always* needed a very strict and defined shortlist of shapes known, and I can't for the life of me figure out why they haven't gone this route. Something like 2 shapes known at level 1, and then 1 additional shape every 3-4 levels. That keeps the "but mooom" out of the initiative phase at least.
This moon druid is less tanking and more damaging, obviously the Circle of the Moon druid of 2014 is overpowered and so we were never getting that back. The amount of temporary HP that Circle of the Moon use to get was excessive.
As far as I can tell, you and I are the only two posters who think this.
I do like that the number of beasts a Druid can change into is limited and curated. I have no problem (especially for the Moon Druid) with that number going up to 12. That provides for a relatively wide range of combat and utility forms for various situations, but avoids excessive wasting of time, as possible forms must be chosen ahead of time.
I'd agree that the level of temp HP and the AC calculation seem to be good solutions. I am a bit worried that a melee-focused Moon Druid's beast forms will suffer from a low chance to hit as levels get higher, but this may be counterbalanced by the flexibility due to being able to cast certain spells.
I do like that the number of beasts a Druid can change into is limited and curated. I have no problem (especially for the Moon Druid) with that number going up to 12. That provides for a relatively wide range of combat and utility forms for various situations, but avoids excessive wasting of time, as possible forms must be chosen ahead of time.
I'd agree that the level of temp HP and the AC calculation seem to be good solutions. I am a bit worried that a melee-focused Moon Druid's beast forms will suffer from a low chance to hit as levels get higher, but this may be counterbalanced by the flexibility due to being able to cast certain spells.
I agree that seems to be the one hole left in the Moon Druid. They've gotten boosts to HP, AC and damage, but not to attack rolls. I think letting them use their Spell Attack Bonus for the beast form's attacks is probably the simplest way to accomplish this. It gives them improved offense that scales at the same pace as their spellcasting, and doesn't require any additional math.
I agree that the beast statblocks themselves still need to have decent scaling. Which is the main reason I wanted templates instead of this approach. But modern beasts like the Spotted Lion from Bigby's (CR3, +8 to hit, Pack Tactics, DC 16 vs prone on charge) do give me hope that they have gotten better at beast design; they just need to make sure good beasts end up in the PHB.
You know, I'm surprised none of the new Conjure spells ended up on the Moon Druid list. I know I and many others used to summon beasts to flank our beast form in combat as a use for concentration. Do you mean to tell me they designed a new version of Conjure Animals where you can have a spectral wolf pack assault anything that comes within melee range of you and didn't think it'd pair well with the subclass where you turn into a large beast and maul things in melee?
Conjure Minor Elementals looks like it's just better for a Moon Druid than Fount of the Moon is damage-wise. You hit a little harder per strike and the difficult terrain makes it harder for enemies to escape your zone of control so you can be better at keeping enemies off your allies.
It also just provides an alternative appropriate theme for those of us who don't want to be Night Elves from World of Warcraft.
Honestly, that's probably my final and biggest annoyance with the new druid. The devs took the circle names too literally. There's more to the sea than sea storms and there's more to the theme of the Moon than literal moonlight.
For me, the limit on shapes known scales a bit too fast/high - 12 is still enough to bog down games even at high level. I feel like the sweet spot for a cap would be 8 - enough to have a good mix of combat and utility forms for any biome, so 2+PB forms known instead of 2+1/2 druid level fits best.
Perhaps The Known Forms should be modified as follows:
Known Forms. You know a number of forms for this feature equal to double your maximum WILD SHAPE usage according to the druid table ), chosen from among Beast stat blocks in the Player’s Handbook that have a maximum Challenge Rating of ...
In this way I would have 4 Known Forms between levels 2 and 5, 6 between levels 6 and 16, and 8 from level 17. That is more than in the previous UA6 druid, but it does not reach 12 like now, and those of the moon will add their modification of wisdom as in this AU. (14 if they get 22 in wisdom at level 19-20)
And restore the name of that resource to that of the UA4: CHANNEL NATURE
As far as I can tell, you and I are the only two posters who think this.
The 2014 moon druid had excessive tank capability at most levels, but it had horribly inadequate accuracy and damage after tier 1. Which meant it was frustrating for the DM if he tried to kill the druid, and frustrating for the druid if he tried to actually fight as a beast. This mostly solves the first problem, and solves the second by... just casting spells as a beast. Which I think is probably balanced, but not really what most people who play moon druids actually want.
Ponder whether you could solve that by just giving a couple small changes
Intuitive Attack: you may use your melee spell attack to replace the beast's melee attack modifier, and your spell save DC to replace the beast's save DC.
Magic Fang: add Magic Weapon and Elemental Weapon to your list of available spells. They target your natural weapons, rather than a weapon you touch.
Add some druid-themed smite spells to the list of available spells.
As far as I can tell, you and I are the only two posters who think this.
The 2014 moon druid had excessive tank capability at most levels, but it was horribly inadequate for damage after tier 1. Which meant it was frustrating for the DM if he tried to kill the druid, and frustrating for the druid if he tried to actually fight as a beast. This mostly solves the first problem, and solves the second by... just casting spells as a beast. Which I think is probably balanced, but not really what most people who play moon druids actually want.
Agreed, which is why this isn’t the Druid I wanted. The only spells I want to cast while in Wild shape are a bonus action self heal, and something to help me shred my enemies with tooth and fang. Someone suggested Enlarge/Reduce and I like that. Also using your spell attack roll in place of the beast stat block attack roll and spell save DC in place of the beast DCs would help scale all beast to the Druid.
You know, I'm surprised none of the new Conjure spells ended up on the Moon Druid list. I know I and many others used to summon beasts to flank our beast form in combat as a use for concentration. Do you mean to tell me they designed a new version of Conjure Animals where you can have a spectral wolf pack assault anything that comes within melee range of you and didn't think it'd pair well with the subclass where you turn into a large beast and maul things in melee?
Conjure Minor Elementals looks like it's just better for a Moon Druid than Fount of the Moon is damage-wise. You hit a little harder per strike and the difficult terrain makes it harder for enemies to escape your zone of control so you can be better at keeping enemies off your allies.
It also just provides an alternative appropriate theme for those of us who don't want to be Night Elves from World of Warcraft.
Honestly, that's probably my final and biggest annoyance with the new druid. The devs took the circle names too literally. There's more to the sea than sea storms and there's more to the theme of the Moon than literal moonlight.
I mean, you can still cast Conjure X as a Moon Druid - you would just do it before wild shaping instead of during. They last 10 minutes, so you should be able to do it before a fight if you know combat might be coming.
Perhaps The Known Forms should be modified as follows:
Known Forms. You know a number of forms for this feature equal to double your maximum WILD SHAPE usage according to the druid table ), chosen from among Beast stat blocks in the Player’s Handbook that have a maximum Challenge Rating of ...
In this way I would have 4 Known Forms between levels 2 and 5, 6 between levels 6 and 16, and 8 from level 17. That is more than in the previous UA6 druid, but it does not reach 12 like now, and those of the moon will add their modification of wisdom as in this AU. (14 if they get 22 in wisdom at level 19-20)
And restore the name of that resource to that of the UA4: CHANNEL NATURE
I'm on board with all this. Sadly they decided "backwards compatibility" (emphasis on backward) was more important than having the more sensible name for the feature.
As far as I can tell, you and I are the only two posters who think this.
The 2014 moon druid had excessive tank capability at most levels, but it was horribly inadequate for damage after tier 1. Which meant it was frustrating for the DM if he tried to kill the druid, and frustrating for the druid if he tried to actually fight as a beast. This mostly solves the first problem, and solves the second by... just casting spells as a beast. Which I think is probably balanced, but not really what most people who play moon druids actually want.
Agreed, which is why this isn’t the Druid I wanted. The only spells I want to cast while in Wild shape are a bonus action self heal, and something to help me shred my enemies with tooth and fang. Someone suggested Enlarge/Reduce and I like that. Also using your spell attack roll in place of the beast stat block attack roll and spell save DC in place of the beast DCs would help scale all beast to the Druid.
For Spell Attack superseding the statblock to be fair they would have to make sure you can't get more than 2 attacks. Otherwise Moon could outgish even a Hexblade. Since we're not going the template route, 3-attack (or more?) beasts will slip through the cracks.
Personally I'm okay with Moon being slightly less accurate and slightly easier to hit, as long as they're not too far behind. +4 to hit at level 9 is too far behind.
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So I've done a quick read of the UA 8 Druid - specifically wild shape and its augmented version for Circle of the Moon.
I predict a lot of folks will still hate it - but as a DM, I'm very happy with it. It provides for flexibility in terms of the beast shape chosen but also solves the overpowered hit point buff available in the 2014 version.
I also predict I'm probably still pretty much alone in my stance on the latter part.
Have at it!
ETA: I still think the amount of time available for wild shape is too much, but that's a secondary complaint/criticism.
It's a compromise, though they kept the main parts - no more HP buffer, and there's a limit on the shapes known, so that you won't browse the entire library for the right beast every time. So it's a good compromise, I think.
I think if they went to print with this UA8 Druid, I'd be fine.
* I'm still not thrilled about limiting the number of forms you can take. It's not like Druids HAD to have the stats for a dozen forms ready to go, they could choose to stick with a few they really liked(and most Druids I know did that anyway). But I think the increased limit in UA8 gives Druids enough flexibility that I'm fine with it.
* I think I'm good with the current allotment of Temp HP for both standard and Moon Druid Wild Shaping. Giving all Druids some and giving Moon Druids more is the right choice. Maybe you can argue that the amounts are too much or too little, but if Druids aren't going to just get the beast form's HP as Temp HP, then scaling by Druid level is the way to go.
* I think not having species traits in Wild Shape was the right call, that just felt weird.
* Giving the Moon Druid a set of Circle spells that they can cast in Wild Shape is a good move. Not sure about Vampiric Touch being one of them, though. It's an intriguing choice, though if I could only have one 3rd-level spell on the list I think I would have gone with Lesser Restoration.
* The Moon Druid's new AC buff in Wild Shape is a good change. The UA6 version really herded the Moon Druid to the Warden choice for Primal Order. I was hoping for something like "Add your Wis mod to the beast form's AC", and this is probably even better.
* The Con save bonus at Level 10 is interesting, I think I like it.
* The radiant damage boost for Moon Druids at Level 14 is nice. It's roughly "add your Wis mod to your beast's damage rolls" but more "Moon-y".
* I think if I was going to add one thing to the Moon Druid, it would be to give them the choice to use their Spell Attack Bonus for the beast form's attacks.
This is finally a version I'd be okay actually playing, so that's a big improvement. There's a lot I'd personally change but it's not so bad I'd just refuse it and stick to the 2014 version.
The feature that stood out to me the most was getting the druid's WIS bonus added to CON saves while Wildshaped. That might free druids up a bit feat-wise as by the time you get it you could have a +4 to your concentration saves just from this feature (Assuming you took the ASI at 4 rather than Warcaster or Resilient CON). That's better than Resilient CON at the same level.
I'd still prefer beast AC+WIS but this is fine too. So long as I can play a Moon Druid and take Magician if I want without totally crippling my beast form's ability to be in melee I'm good.
I like the idea of the spell list, though I wish the list was a little beefier and had more self-buffing spells on it. Not everyone wants to be calling down skybeams from the heavens. A lot, and I'd argue most, Moon Druids roll Moon to rip into things with their claws primarily. Enlarge/Reduce would be a good option.
Currently unsure how I feel about Vampiric Touch being on the list. Mechanically it's good, but thematically it's an odd choice. I suppose parasites are nature too.
Instead of a 1D10 I think I'd prefer just adding your WIS bonus as extra radiant damage or something. Druids currently need to roll a bunch of different damage dice with each attack. Dwhatever for the beast attack, D8s for Elemental Fury, and now a D10 for Improved Lunar Radiance. This is a pretty minor issue though, admittedly.
Also, a D10 per attack greatly favors beasts with multi-attack which will make certain forms substantially better than others in the same CR.
I'd also still prefer a shapeshifting-based feature at 10 but the teleport isn't too distracting from the Wildshape theme, so I can live with it. If nothing else this lets the druid get into mauling distance quicker.
I just noticed this, but with Moon Druid having access to a castable cantrip in Beast Form and long-ranged damage spells as well, there are now two distinct ways to play Moon Druid.
First is the more traditional route. Turn into a big thing with claws and teeth and rip into things. This path you'd usually go Warden -> Primal Strike so you can mix it up in melee with more powerful attacks with both your martial weapon of choice and your beastly claws and teeth. Probably while burning them with radiant light via Fount of the Moon.
The second is to play as a highly mobile caster-sniper. Go Magician -> Potent Spellcasting. This path lets you pretty much ignore the attacks of your beast shape and focus on movement speed and movement types so you can turn into a Giant Eagle, fly up 300 feet, and bombard enemies below with your 360 ft range 3D8+5 damage between swooping down long enough to move your Moonbeam or Dawn spells to where the enemies are at. You can also easily play support by swooping in and carrying off wounded party members and hitting them with Cure Wounds.
I think this is neat. The way temp HP and Wildshape AC work it means if you're going the second route lower CR creatures are just as viable as high CR creatures so long as they can move fast.
Doing some math it seems like the Melee Moon Druid will be putting out a lot more damage for less resources spent than the Caster Moon Druid, which is good. If the caster did better damage from the air it'd make playing as a melee beast kind of pointless. Still, the Caster variant seems like it'd be a fun and versatile alternative way to play.
And lest we forget - by default, you can only use the forms in the PHB, and need to get any beast from any other source approved. No more arguments over which beast the druid has seen before the game started, no more DMs nervously checking creature types and CRs before any fight the druid will be part of, no more DMs feeling like jerks or tyrants for banning the Acquisitions Incorporated Tentacle, no more players who memorized the MM being vastly more powerful than those that didn't, and so on.
For me, the limit on shapes known scales a bit too fast/high - 12 is still enough to bog down games even at high level. I feel like the sweet spot for a cap would be 8 - enough to have a good mix of combat and utility forms for any biome, so 2+PB forms known instead of 2+1/2 druid level fits best.
Offensively, between Elemental Fury and Radiant Strikes, the Moon Druid keeps up with the party just fine - but if you want to spike their damage even more, you can throw on Conjure Minor Elementals or Fount of Moonlight.
Defense wise, Moon not only gets 3x the THP of base wildshape, it also gets a respectable 13+Wis for AC - and by the time that starts falling behind, you'll have magic medium armor that can resize to fit you and thus be worn in form.
Overall, I would have preferred templates with better scaling abilities, but I can live with this.
This is not the moon Druid I was looking for. It’s fine and I will rate it higher than I did their last attempt.
Moon Druid with spell casting in Wild Shape… and all I hear is someone in the dev team channeling Dr Evil
You know, I have one simple request. And that is to have sharks with frickin’ laser beams attached to their heads!
I can do without the spells, the rest is fine
This moon druid is less tanking and more damaging, obviously the Circle of the Moon druid of 2014 is overpowered and so we were never getting that back. The amount of temporary HP that Circle of the Moon use to get was excessive.
Would have preferred an AC of 10 + Proficiency Bonus + Wisdom. Does mean a slightly lower AC for levels 2-4 but a higher AC from 9+.
Not sure about Cure Wounds and Vampiric Touch. Obviously wild shape forms use to be able to self-heal but these spells are both actions, Cure Wounds esp is just going to be used for out of combat healing, I think healing word might have been a better choice, since it matches how moon druids would heal as a bonus action and a reason to actually expend spell slots.
With the change to WS AC, the temporary HP buffer and the ability to turn a 1st level spell into a refresh of that temporary HP buffer as a BA I believe this Moon Druid WS is more durable than the 2014 version.
Level 6 - 2014 Moon Druid - Giant Constrictor Snake: AC 12, HP 62+45 + 1d8/1st level spell slot as a BA
Using all 4, 1st level slots = total HP 125
Using all 4 1st level slots + all uses of WS = total HP 187
Level 6 - UA8 Moon Druid - Giant Constrictor Snake: AC 17, HP 18 + 45 + 18/1st level spell slot as a BA
Using all 4, 1st level slots = total HP 135
Using all 4 1st level slots + all uses of WS = total HP 171
Druid has *always* needed a very strict and defined shortlist of shapes known, and I can't for the life of me figure out why they haven't gone this route.
Something like 2 shapes known at level 1, and then 1 additional shape every 3-4 levels. That keeps the "but mooom" out of the initiative phase at least.
As far as I can tell, you and I are the only two posters who think this.
I do like that the number of beasts a Druid can change into is limited and curated. I have no problem (especially for the Moon Druid) with that number going up to 12. That provides for a relatively wide range of combat and utility forms for various situations, but avoids excessive wasting of time, as possible forms must be chosen ahead of time.
I'd agree that the level of temp HP and the AC calculation seem to be good solutions. I am a bit worried that a melee-focused Moon Druid's beast forms will suffer from a low chance to hit as levels get higher, but this may be counterbalanced by the flexibility due to being able to cast certain spells.
I agree that seems to be the one hole left in the Moon Druid. They've gotten boosts to HP, AC and damage, but not to attack rolls. I think letting them use their Spell Attack Bonus for the beast form's attacks is probably the simplest way to accomplish this. It gives them improved offense that scales at the same pace as their spellcasting, and doesn't require any additional math.
I agree that the beast statblocks themselves still need to have decent scaling. Which is the main reason I wanted templates instead of this approach. But modern beasts like the Spotted Lion from Bigby's (CR3, +8 to hit, Pack Tactics, DC 16 vs prone on charge) do give me hope that they have gotten better at beast design; they just need to make sure good beasts end up in the PHB.
You know, I'm surprised none of the new Conjure spells ended up on the Moon Druid list. I know I and many others used to summon beasts to flank our beast form in combat as a use for concentration. Do you mean to tell me they designed a new version of Conjure Animals where you can have a spectral wolf pack assault anything that comes within melee range of you and didn't think it'd pair well with the subclass where you turn into a large beast and maul things in melee?
Conjure Minor Elementals looks like it's just better for a Moon Druid than Fount of the Moon is damage-wise. You hit a little harder per strike and the difficult terrain makes it harder for enemies to escape your zone of control so you can be better at keeping enemies off your allies.
It also just provides an alternative appropriate theme for those of us who don't want to be Night Elves from World of Warcraft.
Honestly, that's probably my final and biggest annoyance with the new druid. The devs took the circle names too literally. There's more to the sea than sea storms and there's more to the theme of the Moon than literal moonlight.
Perhaps The Known Forms should be modified as follows:
In this way I would have 4 Known Forms between levels 2 and 5, 6 between levels 6 and 16, and 8 from level 17. That is more than in the previous UA6 druid, but it does not reach 12 like now, and those of the moon will add their modification of wisdom as in this AU. (14 if they get 22 in wisdom at level 19-20)
And restore the name of that resource to that of the UA4: CHANNEL NATURE
The 2014 moon druid had excessive tank capability at most levels, but it had horribly inadequate accuracy and damage after tier 1. Which meant it was frustrating for the DM if he tried to kill the druid, and frustrating for the druid if he tried to actually fight as a beast. This mostly solves the first problem, and solves the second by... just casting spells as a beast. Which I think is probably balanced, but not really what most people who play moon druids actually want.
Ponder whether you could solve that by just giving a couple small changes
Agreed, which is why this isn’t the Druid I wanted. The only spells I want to cast while in Wild shape are a bonus action self heal, and something to help me shred my enemies with tooth and fang. Someone suggested Enlarge/Reduce and I like that. Also using your spell attack roll in place of the beast stat block attack roll and spell save DC in place of the beast DCs would help scale all beast to the Druid.
I mean, you can still cast Conjure X as a Moon Druid - you would just do it before wild shaping instead of during. They last 10 minutes, so you should be able to do it before a fight if you know combat might be coming.
I'm on board with all this. Sadly they decided "backwards compatibility" (emphasis on backward) was more important than having the more sensible name for the feature.
For Spell Attack superseding the statblock to be fair they would have to make sure you can't get more than 2 attacks. Otherwise Moon could outgish even a Hexblade. Since we're not going the template route, 3-attack (or more?) beasts will slip through the cracks.
Personally I'm okay with Moon being slightly less accurate and slightly easier to hit, as long as they're not too far behind. +4 to hit at level 9 is too far behind.