Was just curious if a character without a leg could wild shape into a beast or animal with all limbs and if it could be used for transport as well as combat from a role playing perspective
Was just curious if a character without a leg could wild shape into a beast or animal with all limbs and if it could be used for transport as well as combat from a role playing perspective
Any opinions would be very appreciated
I don't see why not. A druid is 4 limbs can wild shape into a spider with 8 so there is no reason why a druid with 3 limbs can not wildshape into a creature with 4 (or 8)
Thank you, just out of curiousity and nerdiness could you use wild shape out of combat for role play transportation without it hindering your use of the spell in combat or using a spell slot ?
I haven't looked to much into it as I haven't bought any source books yet but I think the idea would be interesting to try out even if a little difficult to navigate.
Thank you, just out of curiousity and nerdiness could you use wild shape out of combat for role play transportation without it hindering your use of the spell in combat or using a spell slot ?
I haven't looked to much into it as I haven't bought any source books yet but I think the idea would be interesting to try out even if a little difficult to navigate.
Thanks again 😁
Strictly speaking, no, by RAW a Wildshape is a Wildshape and so uses one of your Wildshapes.
On the other hand, your DM may allow it to promote flavour (almost always a good thing in games). Even if they say no...it recharges on a short rest, so just short rest and you're good to go.
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If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
What level are you? As you level up you can wildshape for longer which may be relevent.
When my stars druid was at level 6 the party needed to travel a long distance and the artificer wanter to travel by cart so they could craft. We were worried that a (normal) horse would die or flee from monsters so I wildshaped into a horse. At level 6 a wild shape lasted for 3 hours and it was agreed by the DM that a travelling day could consist of 8 hours travelling with two short rests in the middle (so leave at 8am, rest 11am to noon, travel until 3pm rest unti 4pm and travel until 6pm, this meant that I always had 1 wild shape available for use in combat if necessary.
You DM might agree something similar but at level 2 where wild shape only lasts an hour is isn't really practical.
Was just curious if a character without a leg could wild shape into a beast or animal with all limbs and if it could be used for transport as well as combat from a role playing perspective
Any opinions would be very appreciated
The Changeling's Shapechanger ability specifies that they can only turn into something that has the same limb arrangements they do. The Druid's Wildshape has no such restriction. I'd say that they always turn into a typical representative of the chosen species, including any limbs that the druid didn't have otherwise.
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
If I were running a game with a player who wanted to play a druid whose true form was missing a limb, I would side with RAW that wildshape would have the typical limbs of the creature the druid was wildshaping into. That being said, I might offer the player the option of having the character's wildshape have a cosmetic nod to their true form, such as having the equivalent limb being a drastically different color, such as a black widow spider with one leg that is pure white. It could be a cool flavor that might help explain why the druid failed a Stealth check or Performance check to pass itself off as a typical spider. I would NOT use it as an excuse to impose disadvantage in such similar situations, however, so steer clear of that idea if your DM might impose mechanical penalties for such cosmetic flavor.
Likewise, if you were wanting a more mobility based wildshape to roleplay a druid missing many limbs but using wildshape to live out their dreams of being an adventurer, I might create a magic item (probably uncommon) that allows the druid to use a use of wildshape to transform into a specific Small or Medium beast without a swim or fly speed that lasts until they use wildshape again, and I might give the druid the ability to speak in all wildshape forms or use telepathy (where my Animorph peeps at!?) as a secondary benefit of the item. The druid would be trading some of their combat/exploration pillar kit for an alternative social pillar ability. It won't serve them well in combat and might not penalize them in exploration, but a clever role-player could choose an innocuous form and get into places or out of danger in unique ways. After all, who is going to kick the loveable stay dog with three legs a different color than the rest of its body? A monster deserving of some murder-hoboing, that's who!
Anyway, if you have a DM who is willing to work with you to fulfill a certain character concept, those are just a couple of options I might float their way. If you don't have the luxury of working with a DM who is up for a little unorthodox narrative exploration of disability in the realms of D&D, at least you can fall back on the RAW that druid wildshape should provide you with all the limbs of the creature.
There are no rules for permanent injury in dnd 5e including loss of a limb so just by playing such a character you are in homebrew / dm prerogative. Before you do so think closely about your motivations, many people have thought playing a disabled character would be ‘fun’ and usually end up playing to horrendous and insulting stereotypes. In terms of wildshape - you get 2 uses per short rest, lasting a number of hours equal to half your druid level. So yes, it can be used for transportation but will depend on how far you travel, how long between rests, character level etc. The only person able to give you a more specific answer would be your dm.
There are no rules for permanent injury in dnd 5e including loss of a limb
Side note: the lack of such rules is a rather poor choice on WotC's part given that they went ahead and included things like the Sword of Sharpness in this edition, which causes limb loss as its primary power.
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
There are such rules, they're found in the Dungeon Master's Guide, Chapter 9, Lingering Injuries. It includes several options for lost limbs or other appendages.
There are no rules that indicate how your speed, your attacks, or anything else would be affected. So I think the strong recommendation is just to leave it all as flavor, in which case there's no reason to rule it differently from however the player wants it to work.
"Lose a Foot or Leg. Your speed on foot is halved, and you must use a cane or crutch to move unless you have a peg leg or other prosthesis. You fall prone after using the Dash action. You have disadvantage on Dexterity checks made to balance. Magic such as the regenerate spell can restore the lost appendage."
"Lose a Foot or Leg. Your speed on foot is halved, and you must use a cane or crutch to move unless you have a peg leg or other prosthesis. You fall prone after using the Dash action. You have disadvantage on Dexterity checks made to balance. Magic such as the regenerate spell can restore the lost appendage."
That's based on only having 2 legs to begin with, it doesn't automatically mean that the same would be true for a 4 legged creature. The DM could infer that it equates to a 25% reduction but again that is the DM's decision and as I said earlier, there are no official rules to cover the situation.
Follow-up question: Can a Druid who has all his limbs Wild Shape into a quadruple amputee bear if he so desires? Also, can he turn into one whose wounds haven't healed, and is just bleeding out?
I don't know where I'm going with this, it's just weird to consider.
"Lose a Foot or Leg. Your speed on foot is halved, and you must use a cane or crutch to move unless you have a peg leg or other prosthesis. You fall prone after using the Dash action. You have disadvantage on Dexterity checks made to balance. Magic such as the regenerate spell can restore the lost appendage."
That's based on only having 2 legs to begin with, it doesn't automatically mean that the same would be true for a 4 legged creature. The DM could infer that it equates to a 25% reduction but again that is the DM's decision and as I said earlier, there are no official rules to cover the situation.
It still holds for a four-legged creature, as nature doesn't leave much room for redundancies, particularly in the relevant size categories. There's a reason they typically put a horse down if one of its legs is seriously busted. Really, you could just treat it as always having a crutch and everything else would stand.
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Was just curious if a character without a leg could wild shape into a beast or animal with all limbs and if it could be used for transport as well as combat from a role playing perspective
Any opinions would be very appreciated
I don't see why not. A druid is 4 limbs can wild shape into a spider with 8 so there is no reason why a druid with 3 limbs can not wildshape into a creature with 4 (or 8)
Thank you, just out of curiousity and nerdiness could you use wild shape out of combat for role play transportation without it hindering your use of the spell in combat or using a spell slot ?
I haven't looked to much into it as I haven't bought any source books yet but I think the idea would be interesting to try out even if a little difficult to navigate.
Thanks again 😁
Strictly speaking, no, by RAW a Wildshape is a Wildshape and so uses one of your Wildshapes.
On the other hand, your DM may allow it to promote flavour (almost always a good thing in games). Even if they say no...it recharges on a short rest, so just short rest and you're good to go.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
What level are you? As you level up you can wildshape for longer which may be relevent.
When my stars druid was at level 6 the party needed to travel a long distance and the artificer wanter to travel by cart so they could craft. We were worried that a (normal) horse would die or flee from monsters so I wildshaped into a horse. At level 6 a wild shape lasted for 3 hours and it was agreed by the DM that a travelling day could consist of 8 hours travelling with two short rests in the middle (so leave at 8am, rest 11am to noon, travel until 3pm rest unti 4pm and travel until 6pm, this meant that I always had 1 wild shape available for use in combat if necessary.
You DM might agree something similar but at level 2 where wild shape only lasts an hour is isn't really practical.
This is DM perogative, entirely.
I would rule they could.
The Changeling's Shapechanger ability specifies that they can only turn into something that has the same limb arrangements they do. The Druid's Wildshape has no such restriction. I'd say that they always turn into a typical representative of the chosen species, including any limbs that the druid didn't have otherwise.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
I see no reason why not.
That would be something to talk with your DM/table about.
CENSORSHIP IS THE TOOL OF COWARDS and WANNA BE TYRANTS.
For purely flavor reasons I would say no. And it sounds like your DM is already into flavor with a character without a leg.
Then again you could limp along so to speak as a character until it can be restored in some way.
If I were running a game with a player who wanted to play a druid whose true form was missing a limb, I would side with RAW that wildshape would have the typical limbs of the creature the druid was wildshaping into. That being said, I might offer the player the option of having the character's wildshape have a cosmetic nod to their true form, such as having the equivalent limb being a drastically different color, such as a black widow spider with one leg that is pure white. It could be a cool flavor that might help explain why the druid failed a Stealth check or Performance check to pass itself off as a typical spider. I would NOT use it as an excuse to impose disadvantage in such similar situations, however, so steer clear of that idea if your DM might impose mechanical penalties for such cosmetic flavor.
Likewise, if you were wanting a more mobility based wildshape to roleplay a druid missing many limbs but using wildshape to live out their dreams of being an adventurer, I might create a magic item (probably uncommon) that allows the druid to use a use of wildshape to transform into a specific Small or Medium beast without a swim or fly speed that lasts until they use wildshape again, and I might give the druid the ability to speak in all wildshape forms or use telepathy (where my Animorph peeps at!?) as a secondary benefit of the item. The druid would be trading some of their combat/exploration pillar kit for an alternative social pillar ability. It won't serve them well in combat and might not penalize them in exploration, but a clever role-player could choose an innocuous form and get into places or out of danger in unique ways. After all, who is going to kick the loveable stay dog with three legs a different color than the rest of its body? A monster deserving of some murder-hoboing, that's who!
Anyway, if you have a DM who is willing to work with you to fulfill a certain character concept, those are just a couple of options I might float their way. If you don't have the luxury of working with a DM who is up for a little unorthodox narrative exploration of disability in the realms of D&D, at least you can fall back on the RAW that druid wildshape should provide you with all the limbs of the creature.
There are no rules for permanent injury in dnd 5e including loss of a limb so just by playing such a character you are in homebrew / dm prerogative. Before you do so think closely about your motivations, many people have thought playing a disabled character would be ‘fun’ and usually end up playing to horrendous and insulting stereotypes. In terms of wildshape - you get 2 uses per short rest, lasting a number of hours equal to half your druid level. So yes, it can be used for transportation but will depend on how far you travel, how long between rests, character level etc. The only person able to give you a more specific answer would be your dm.
Side note: the lack of such rules is a rather poor choice on WotC's part given that they went ahead and included things like the Sword of Sharpness in this edition, which causes limb loss as its primary power.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
There are such rules, they're found in the Dungeon Master's Guide, Chapter 9, Lingering Injuries. It includes several options for lost limbs or other appendages.
This is why we have four different magical prosthetics; the Ersatz Eye, Prosthetic Limb, Ventilating Lungs, and Arcane Propulsion Arm.
Find my D&D Beyond articles here
They aren’t rules in anything but name. I mean they are just statements of fact, common sense.
Lose an Arm or a Hand. You can no longer hold anything with two hands, and you can hold only a single object at a time.
Ok, so you change into a 3-legged bear. Now what?
There are no rules that indicate how your speed, your attacks, or anything else would be affected. So I think the strong recommendation is just to leave it all as flavor, in which case there's no reason to rule it differently from however the player wants it to work.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
"Lose a Foot or Leg. Your speed on foot is halved, and you must use a cane or crutch to move unless you have a peg leg or other prosthesis. You fall prone after using the Dash action. You have disadvantage on Dexterity checks made to balance. Magic such as the regenerate spell can restore the lost appendage."
That's based on only having 2 legs to begin with, it doesn't automatically mean that the same would be true for a 4 legged creature. The DM could infer that it equates to a 25% reduction but again that is the DM's decision and as I said earlier, there are no official rules to cover the situation.
Follow-up question: Can a Druid who has all his limbs Wild Shape into a quadruple amputee bear if he so desires? Also, can he turn into one whose wounds haven't healed, and is just bleeding out?
I don't know where I'm going with this, it's just weird to consider.
It still holds for a four-legged creature, as nature doesn't leave much room for redundancies, particularly in the relevant size categories. There's a reason they typically put a horse down if one of its legs is seriously busted. Really, you could just treat it as always having a crutch and everything else would stand.