First let’s address the 4 main groups I’ve seen when it comes to Wildshape.
I want individual stat blocks that do unique things like 5e
I want to be single creature that is strong as I level
I want something simpler than 5e
I don’t care about Wildshape I want to be a nature wizard
Well let’s talk about point 4 first. Hopefully they cover that play style with the circle of the land subclass. I can’t really think of a way of altering WS to accommodate this group and everyone else.
Now to cover points 1-3. Beast of the land gives you access to 10 creature stat blocks. The blocks all have their own unique sizes, AC, attacks, and features, and speed. They range from small to large size and all come with their own temp hp. When those temp hp are gone you revert to your normal form. The AC, attacks, and features grow with your level in this class. They would represent medium sized wolf, medium sized bear, small sized spider, small sized rodent, small sized feline, large sized horse, and similar land animals.
5th level featureZ: Big and Tiny Critters- When you WS you may choose to make your form one size smaller or larger than listed in its stat block. If choose smaller version you gain +5 to (dex) stealth checks, (dex) acrobatics checks and dex saves. You only get half the temp hp listed in the stat block, you get a -5 to (str) athletics checks, str saves and your attacks do half damage. If becoming smaller makes your size tiny you you only gain temp hp equal to your Druid level instead of half the amount listed in the stat block. If you become a larger version you gain +5 to str saves, and (str) athletics checks. Your attacks deal an additional 1d4 damage on hit. You gain a bonus to temp hp equal to you druid level. You have a -5 on all dex checks and saves. If choosing to become larger makes your size huge you gain bonus temp hp equal to twice your Druid level instead. If there isn’t enough space to become a creature of the size you choose you do not transform, but also do not expend a use of your CN.
Aquatic Forms gives 5 to 10 new stat blocks with swim speeds and other features. They represent Octopus, crocodile, shark, and similar creatures.
Aerial Forms gives 5 to 10 new stat blocks with flying speeds. A few small birds and bats, and a few Large birds and flying beast.
11th level could be anything.
Alternating forms could make it so that you maintain the WS temp hp even if you turn into your normal form. As long as you have those temp hp you can return to the WS form.
So the goal of this was to keep players out of the monster manual while still giving the options of different stat blocks. Also since the stat blocks get stronger with your Druid level the player that only wants to use the wolf stat block can do that and be viable.
Moon Druid gets some bonus stats blocks geared for front line combat focus.
Loses the elemental themes. So at 6th level they get Chimeric forms which allows them to have magical attacks and allows them to choose two WS stat blocks and merge them, gaining the best stats and abilities of both creatures at the cost of looking like an unnatural monstrosity. They must be the size of the largest creature stat block used. The magical attacks happen in all WS forms even if you don’t combine two stat blocks.
10 level Ferocious strikes just add damage like element strikes did, but it would just be the same type as the attack.
Then they could have an elemental subclass that gets Elemental Wild shape at 3 level, a weaker version of elemental strike at 6th, and the ability to become an Elemental at 10th with 4 unique stat blocks found in the subclass.
I believe this almost gives everyone what they have been asking for.
Not really b/c now we have 20-40 unique statblocks to keep track of which is doing absolutely nothing to simplify the class and make it more approachable for new players. It also is not addressing the "Wildshape is so OP nerf it!" crowd who hate that extra HP from WS and hate Druids being as effective as martial characters while WSed. Nor is it addressing those who don't want to WS as it is making WS a huge core aspect of the class that is very powerful.
I think there are two major considerations into making wild shape viable and these are in-combat and RP/Scouting. Personally, I don't think there needs to be more than 4 templates, the 3 we already have and a 4th for tiny creatures which is more for RP. I think customization within the templates certainly would help however, so having choices based on the specific form, like a spider gets spider climb or a bear gets proficiency bonus to any strength checks.
-- in combat
Currently the biggest issue with wile shape as per the UA is that it isn't viable in combat, this comes down to what you lose to what you gain and you gain very little in wild shape but lose a lot, most notably you lose spell casting. Technically the same was true for 5E but what you gained was the replaced HP which allows you to survive attacks you might else wise not have survived; Moon Druid got such significant buffs to Wild shape that it was viable and the swapped HP being the main tankiness that they had. Temp HP is one way to restore this, another is an increase to Max HP and recovering current HP when wild shaping.
I believe a bump to AC is also required, 10+WIS is an AC of 10-15, which is really low for melee orientated characters, and that is the best case.
There are two main ideas I have for fixing AC, The first is to add Proficiency bonus to the AC, that would give 10+PB+WIS AC for Land and Sea and 6+PB+WIS for Sky (given they have flyby, decreased by a further 2). This would give an AC of 12-21 for Land and Sea, as well as 8 to 17.
Alternatively, allow Druids to convert non-metal armour into Barding while wild shaping, maintaining any magical effects. This gives a reason why druids might not want to use metal armour but does not prevent them from using metal armour.
I am going to stay away from magical attacks, thus far, it seems a likely possibility that immunities to non-magical weapons might not exist and additionally wild shape is now the result of a Magic Action, which questions if the damage is already magical.
-- RP / Scouting
Wild shape lost a lot of utility in RP and Scouting with a loss of a lot of forms. While I think perhaps 5E was a little too lax with what it allowed, the UA has gone too far in not allowing enough. It seems mostly scouting is intended to be replaced by using channel nature to cast find familiar; personally I think this is a nice use of channel nature but it doesn't help with the loss of spider climb or burrow speeds, there needs to be some form specific bonuses. Overall I think the templates are the correct way forwards but there needs to be some level of customization within the templates; which customizations are chosen at time of wild shape, so the druid can decide if they are taking on the same form or a different one.
Moon Druid can then get two form benefits as opposed to one, as wild shape is their thing, the form benefits should not be combat benefits; not to say that battle traits/customization isn't a good idea too, just that these specific choices should remain non-combat. For hybrid forms, the form chosen has to mainly reflect the benefit choosen, so if you wanted to get the benefit of a bear, you need to have half the form of a bear or more, for moon druids taking two benefits, their hybrid form has to be near half and half.
What is great about 5e WS is that there is a very clear division between Moon Druid and non-Moon Druids. For non-Moon Druids, WS is a nice little utility feature that allows them some creativity and some ways to solve problems without using spellslots. For Moon Druids WS is a viable combat option (mainly for tanking).
I would really like to see One D&D replicate this feel. Moon druid and only Moon druid should have WSs that are effective in combat. People who want to play a raging bear in combat should have to choose Moon Druid to do so. The baseline WS should be designed for utility, scouting and creative solutions. So that non-moon druids are empowered to focus on spellcasting in combat.
I think WotC got the wrong impression from their survey about the PHB Druid. Circle of the Moon isn't massively more popular than Circle of the Land because absolutely all druid players want to play as a shapeshifter who fights as a bear in combat. It's because Circle of the Land is a dumpster fire of useless abilities and just more of the same spells druids already have. Just look at Wildfire and Stars druids, they are very popular and those players almost never use WS to shapeshift they're just .. you know... good subclasses that offer players interesting and thematic abilities that are impactful and useful - unlike Circle of the Land. Same goes for Circle of Dreams, and to a lesser extent Circle of Spores.
What is great about 5e WS is that there is a very clear division between Moon Druid and non-Moon Druids. For non-Moon Druids, WS is a nice little utility feature that allows them some creativity and some ways to solve problems without using spellslots. For Moon Druids WS is a viable combat option (mainly for tanking).
I would really like to see One D&D replicate this feel. Moon druid and only Moon druid should have WSs that are effective in combat. People who want to play a raging bear in combat should have to choose Moon Druid to do so. The baseline WS should be designed for utility, scouting and creative solutions. So that non-moon druids are empowered to focus on spellcasting in combat.
I think WotC got the wrong impression from their survey about the PHB Druid. Circle of the Moon isn't massively more popular than Circle of the Land because absolutely all druid players want to play as a shapeshifter who fights as a bear in combat. It's because Circle of the Land is a dumpster fire of useless abilities and just more of the same spells druids already have. Just look at Wildfire and Stars druids, they are very popular and those players almost never use WS to shapeshift they're just .. you know... good subclasses that offer players interesting and thematic abilities that are impactful and useful - unlike Circle of the Land. Same goes for Circle of Dreams, and to a lesser extent Circle of Spores.
I am not saying in my above response that Wild shape should be something that every druid is going to want to change into every combat, but the ability to turn into a cave bear towards end of the battle to survive one more round wasn't exactly the worst use of Wild shape if you're low on spell slots and the party is near winning, it's edge cases of uses for other druids, as opposed to the UA which is just no use at all.
As for Circle of Stars and Circle of Wildfire, they have something very common, they get viable alternative uses for wild shape charges. Obviously with the UA druid these would be alternative Channel Nature, so as these two you're less likely to be going for RP uses of wild shape too, as you want to maintain the charges for the in combat utility, altho that isn't the biggest issue in 5E where you get 2 charges per short rest; in UA where you only recover one use per short rest... anyway this is part of why I don't get that near every Druid feature had to focus on Wild shape when not all sub-classes will use wild shape in these ways.
Circle of Land definitely had some very lack luster abilities and spells. Can ignore non-magical difficult terrain... for the class that mostly does magical difficult terrain, Poison/Disease protection for a back liner... immunity to charm/fear from fey (very very situational)... Sanctuary against creatures with Plant or Beast tags. Yeah, Land has some very big issues in the same way 5E ranger did originally, lots of very situational features which are useless 90%+ of the time.
First let’s address the 4 main groups I’ve seen when it comes to Wildshape.
I want individual stat blocks that do unique things like 5e
I want to be single creature that is strong as I level
I want something simpler than 5e
I don’t care about Wildshape I want to be a nature wizard
Well let’s talk about point 4 first. Hopefully they cover that play style with the circle of the land subclass. I can’t really think of a way of altering WS to accommodate this group and everyone else.
Now to cover points 1-3. Beast of the land gives you access to 10 creature stat blocks. The blocks all have their own unique sizes, AC, attacks, and features, and speed. They range from small to large size and all come with their own temp hp. When those temp hp are gone you revert to your normal form. The AC, attacks, and features grow with your level in this class. They would represent medium sized wolf, medium sized bear, small sized spider, small sized rodent, small sized feline, large sized horse, and similar land animals.
5th level featureZ: Big and Tiny Critters- When you WS you may choose to make your form one size smaller or larger than listed in its stat block. If choose smaller version you gain +5 to (dex) stealth checks, (dex) acrobatics checks and dex saves. You only get half the temp hp listed in the stat block, you get a -5 to (str) athletics checks, str saves and your attacks do half damage. If becoming smaller makes your size tiny you you only gain temp hp equal to your Druid level instead of half the amount listed in the stat block. If you become a larger version you gain +5 to str saves, and (str) athletics checks. Your attacks deal an additional 1d4 damage on hit. You gain a bonus to temp hp equal to you druid level. You have a -5 on all dex checks and saves. If choosing to become larger makes your size huge you gain bonus temp hp equal to twice your Druid level instead. If there isn’t enough space to become a creature of the size you choose you do not transform, but also do not expend a use of your CN.
Aquatic Forms gives 5 to 10 new stat blocks with swim speeds and other features. They represent Octopus, crocodile, shark, and similar creatures.
Aerial Forms gives 5 to 10 new stat blocks with flying speeds. A few small birds and bats, and a few Large birds and flying beast.
11th level could be anything.
Alternating forms could make it so that you maintain the WS temp hp even if you turn into your normal form. As long as you have those temp hp you can return to the WS form.
So the goal of this was to keep players out of the monster manual while still giving the options of different stat blocks. Also since the stat blocks get stronger with your Druid level the player that only wants to use the wolf stat block can do that and be viable.
Moon Druid gets some bonus stats blocks geared for front line combat focus.
Loses the elemental themes. So at 6th level they get Chimeric forms which allows them to have magical attacks and allows them to choose two WS stat blocks and merge them, gaining the best stats and abilities of both creatures at the cost of looking like an unnatural monstrosity. They must be the size of the largest creature stat block used. The magical attacks happen in all WS forms even if you don’t combine two stat blocks.
10 level Ferocious strikes just add damage like element strikes did, but it would just be the same type as the attack.
Then they could have an elemental subclass that gets Elemental Wild shape at 3 level, a weaker version of elemental strike at 6th, and the ability to become an Elemental at 10th with 4 unique stat blocks found in the subclass.
I believe this almost gives everyone what they have been asking for.
To Point 4: WS doesn’t need to accommodate nature wizards. But Healing Blossoms could be replaced with something that supports the nature wizard. And Wild Resurgence, which only gives a free Healing Blossoms when you WS could be replaced with a feature to support the nature wizard instead. Not every feature of the class needs to be about WS.
I put in my survey I would be fine if the templates were actually made weaker, but with customization. Since most non-moon druids are not using WS in combat. And then Moon druid should get some boosts to make them more durable for combat.
The three templates would probably be enough if there was customization. Could even go down to one with swim and flight added at appropriate levels. And Moon should get boosted for melee.
Now to cover points 1-3. Beast of the land gives you access to 10 creature stat blocks. The blocks all have their own unique sizes, AC, attacks, and features, and speed. They range from small to large size and all come with their own temp hp. When those temp hp are gone you revert to your normal form. The AC, attacks, and features grow with your level in this class. They would represent medium sized wolf, medium sized bear, small sized spider, small sized rodent, small sized feline, large sized horse, and similar land animals.
Maybe instead of being knocked out of your form When those temp hp are gone It would be that if you take damage When those temp hp are gone you must make a concentration check to maintain your form.
The tiny scouting forms might not give any temp HP, and tiny creatures usually don't have very good con saves. This re introduces the risk of being knocked out of your scouting form if discovered, and makes you less able to run around tiny in combat like they talked about in the last released video.
Not really b/c now we have 20-40 unique statblocks to keep track of which is doing absolutely nothing to simplify the class and make it more approachable for new players. It also is not addressing the "Wildshape is so OP nerf it!" crowd who hate that extra HP from WS and hate Druids being as effective as martial characters while WSed. Nor is it addressing those who don't want to WS as it is making WS a huge core aspect of the class that is very powerful.
All stat blocks are in the class so it is simpler. It provides temp hp instead of actual hp and it’s not all beast but specifically designed for WS statblocks so it is nerfed. I’m not sure if there is a way to address the last group. I already stated that the Nature Wizard concept couldn't be addressed in core class. That’s because making the core class just a nature wizard makes it nigh impossible to make the other subclasses unique users of wild shape and CN, but as is you can make a subclass that focuses on Spellcasting and uses CN for other options than WS.
Not really b/c now we have 20-40 unique statblocks to keep track of which is doing absolutely nothing to simplify the class and make it more approachable for new players. It also is not addressing the "Wildshape is so OP nerf it!" crowd who hate that extra HP from WS and hate Druids being as effective as martial characters while WSed. Nor is it addressing those who don't want to WS as it is making WS a huge core aspect of the class that is very powerful.
All stat blocks are in the class so it is simpler. It provides temp hp instead of actual hp and it’s not all beast but specifically designed for WS statblocks so it is nerfed. I’m not sure if there is a way to address the last group. I already stated that the Nature Wizard concept couldn't be addressed in core class. That’s because making the core class just a nature wizard makes it nigh impossible to make the other subclasses unique users of wild shape and CN, but as is you can make a subclass that focuses on Spellcasting and uses CN for other options than WS.
I don't see why the "nature wizard" can't be addressed in the class. I don't think we are asking for WS to be removed from the class. Although some have said something along those lines due to how bad the UA druid WS is. But I do think it can be addressed. Not every feature needs to be focused on WS. The Channel Nature: Nature's Aid feature Healing Blossoms is not a good ability and could be replaced by something that helps boost the spellcasting aspect of the druid class. They are a full caster, after all. And Wild Resurgence is not needed. Something else can be put in its place to support the spellcasting side of the class. So you can actually have a little balance in the base class between spellcasting and WS.
Land Druid can then build on that part of the base druid class, if you really want to focus on the nature wizard theme. And all the other subclasses can do what they do.
I really hate the whole discussion around Wild Shape. Druids are one of my least favored classes, but I don't want them to be. I want them to be awesome primal shamans and element-wielding badasses, but they don't get to be. Nah. Their spellcasting doesn't matter, their class features don't matter, their weapons and equipment doesn't matter. NOTHING ******* MATTERS about Druids save that twice a day you get to turn into a fuzzy fuzzy critter and make your party roll for adorbz.
I want the druid to be a badass avatar of nature's fury, but even in this thread it was made extremely plain that people who want to like druid but who dislike Wild Shape are not allowed to speak. We got told "you guys all ******* suck, Wild Shape is literally the only reason to play Druid. Maybe they'll give you one throwaway subclass but until they do gedda**** ouddahere with your non-shapeshifting garbage."
Ahem: no. "I don't care about Wild Shape I want to be a nature wizard" is a valid opinion to have, and you don't get to dismiss it as irrelevant when trying to figure out how to make a class where over half its class features specifically and solely affect Wild Shape to stop being "The Wild Shape Class" that only occasionally does other non-turning-into-fuzzy-fuzzy-critters junk.
I really hate the whole discussion around Wild Shape. Druids are one of my least favored classes, but I don't want them to be. I want them to be awesome primal shamans and element-wielding badasses, but they don't get to be. Nah. Their spellcasting doesn't matter, their class features don't matter, their weapons and equipment doesn't matter. NOTHING ******* MATTERS about Druids save that twice a day you get to turn into a fuzzy fuzzy critter and make your party roll for adorbz.
I want the druid to be a badass avatar of nature's fury, but even in this thread it was made extremely plain that people who want to like druid but who dislike Wild Shape are not allowed to speak. We got told "you guys all ******* suck, Wild Shape is literally the only reason to play Druid. Maybe they'll give you one throwaway subclass but until they do gedda**** ouddahere with your non-shapeshifting garbage."
Ahem: no. "I don't care about Wild Shape I want to be a nature wizard" is a valid opinion to have, and you don't get to dismiss it as irrelevant when trying to figure out how to make a class where over half its class features specifically and solely affect Wild Shape to stop being "The Wild Shape Class" that only occasionally does other non-turning-into-fuzzy-fuzzy-critters junk.
It’s unfortunate that the UA seems hellbent on making every Druid a wild shaping class. But considering all the features of the 5E PHB Druid, with the exception of spell casting and Timeless body (a ribbon feature) all the “features” were WS focused as well.
I really hate the whole discussion around Wild Shape. Druids are one of my least favored classes, but I don't want them to be. I want them to be awesome primal shamans and element-wielding badasses, but they don't get to be. Nah. Their spellcasting doesn't matter, their class features don't matter, their weapons and equipment doesn't matter. NOTHING ******* MATTERS about Druids save that twice a day you get to turn into a fuzzy fuzzy critter and make your party roll for adorbz.
I want the druid to be a badass avatar of nature's fury, but even in this thread it was made extremely plain that people who want to like druid but who dislike Wild Shape are not allowed to speak. We got told "you guys all ******* suck, Wild Shape is literally the only reason to play Druid. Maybe they'll give you one throwaway subclass but until they do gedda**** ouddahere with your non-shapeshifting garbage."
Ahem: no. "I don't care about Wild Shape I want to be a nature wizard" is a valid opinion to have, and you don't get to dismiss it as irrelevant when trying to figure out how to make a class where over half its class features specifically and solely affect Wild Shape to stop being "The Wild Shape Class" that only occasionally does other non-turning-into-fuzzy-fuzzy-critters junk.
Not really b/c now we have 20-40 unique statblocks to keep track of which is doing absolutely nothing to simplify the class and make it more approachable for new players. It also is not addressing the "Wildshape is so OP nerf it!" crowd who hate that extra HP from WS and hate Druids being as effective as martial characters while WSed. Nor is it addressing those who don't want to WS as it is making WS a huge core aspect of the class that is very powerful.
All stat blocks are in the class so it is simpler. It provides temp hp instead of actual hp and it’s not all beast but specifically designed for WS statblocks so it is nerfed. I’m not sure if there is a way to address the last group. I already stated that the Nature Wizard concept couldn't be addressed in core class. That’s because making the core class just a nature wizard makes it nigh impossible to make the other subclasses unique users of wild shape and CN, but as is you can make a subclass that focuses on Spellcasting and uses CN for other options than WS.
I don't see why the "nature wizard" can't be addressed in the class. I don't think we are asking for WS to be removed from the class. Although some have said something along those lines due to how bad the UA druid WS is. But I do think it can be addressed. Not every feature needs to be focused on WS. The Channel Nature: Nature's Aid feature Healing Blossoms is not a good ability and could be replaced by something that helps boost the spellcasting aspect of the druid class. They are a full caster, after all. And Wild Resurgence is not needed. Something else can be put in its place to support the spellcasting side of the class. So you can actually have a little balance in the base class between spellcasting and WS.
Land Druid can then build on that part of the base druid class, if you really want to focus on the nature wizard theme. And all the other subclasses can do what they do.
Not sure what you mean when you say "they don't get to be? If a player wants to play a "Nature Wizard" why can't they do that now with a Druid?
I am playing a Forest Gnome Druid that virtually never uses Wildshape right now, and is a Shaman Healer badass, much as you describe. It's going just fine. When I do use Wildshape it's to use awesome area affect or concentration spells and get into a form that allows me to move more quickly than my little Gnome feet allow. It's not to wade into combat.
Wild Shape, including the extra HP as it stands in 5e is an option that gives choices. The extra HP is there so the Wild Shape can be used to skirmish, melee and/or keep the form long enough for this to be a significant part of whatever is happening. The tradeoff is not being able to cast spells. But it is a tradeoff only when wildshape is in operation, so why are we messing with it at all? Leave it as is in 5e and allow players to choose to use it or not. It's not required that a Druid uses Wildshape, right? Just call your familiar and be a "Nature Wizard." Druid spells are awesome!
Wildshape is just fun, and it's fun because it's fluid, and because it allows a lot of situational choices. If you haven't played a Druid through a campaign it's hard to see how those choices are as useful as they really are, and mostly OUT of combat.
The idea that players who encounter D&D are going to be turned off by the complexity of a Druid's Wildshape before they get turned off by the Multiverse, the various pantheons, the many many iterations and combinations of races now possible, the volumes of monsters, wondrous objects, potions, spells and everything else is kinda silly. This is a BIG GAME.
I find Druid much easier, with fewer confusing and conflicting choices than Wizard, Sorcerer, or Bard. Even Clerics and Warlocks have the potential to be very complex given certain builds that blend casting with marital abilities. So again, is Wildshape in 5e really a problem?
Actually, the most widespread opinion I've seen is that they want wildhsape to scale better, and to have customization options. Following that, I've also seen a lot of people want wildshape to be like 5e.
I am with the first group. Wildhsape as it was in 5e seems like a bad design to me. But the new wildhsape, besides being practically useless, is very boring. I tried the new druid for a few games, and stopped using wildshape except for flavor scenes.
Honestly, Wizards just needs to suck it up and accept that a feature whose express purpose is to assume a variety of forms cannot be reduced to 3 standardized templates. They’re already going to be making a new Monster Manual, so they can tweak those stats based on how 5e’s played out, and maybe include a caveat in Wild Shape along the lines of “choose a Beast from the Monster Manual, or a different source with the DM’s approval” to remind DM’s they have the authority over what secondary source materials are used in a given campaign. Superficially choosing traits like they’re invocations sounds viable, but that would probably end up resulting in some very weird aggregates of abilities, which doesn’t fit the Wild Shape theme of becoming a specific animal.
One point I'd want: regardless of whether wild shape is a set of templates or a curated list of forms:
Beast options should be standardized. Animal Companion, Conjure Animal, Find Familiar, Polymorph, and Wild Shape should all use the same list or a filtered sublist.
Honestly, Wizards just needs to suck it up and accept that a feature whose express purpose is to assume a variety of forms cannot be reduced to 3 standardized templates. They’re already going to be making a new Monster Manual, so they can tweak those stats based on how 5e’s played out, and maybe include a caveat in Wild Shape along the lines of “choose a Beast from the Monster Manual, or a different source with the DM’s approval” to remind DM’s they have the authority over what secondary source materials are used in a given campaign. Superficially choosing traits like they’re invocations sounds viable, but that would probably end up resulting in some very weird aggregates of abilities, which doesn’t fit the Wild Shape theme of becoming a specific animal.
Maybe in the new monsters manual they could list the proficiency bonus of the creature. And to make druid forms scale better you can use your own proficiency bonus instead of the creatures proficiency bonus.
I really hate the whole discussion around Wild Shape. Druids are one of my least favored classes, but I don't want them to be. I want them to be awesome primal shamans and element-wielding badasses, but they don't get to be. Nah. Their spellcasting doesn't matter, their class features don't matter, their weapons and equipment doesn't matter. NOTHING ******* MATTERS about Druids save that twice a day you get to turn into a fuzzy fuzzy critter and make your party roll for adorbz.
I want the druid to be a badass avatar of nature's fury, but even in this thread it was made extremely plain that people who want to like druid but who dislike Wild Shape are not allowed to speak. We got told "you guys all ******* suck, Wild Shape is literally the only reason to play Druid. Maybe they'll give you one throwaway subclass but until they do gedda**** ouddahere with your non-shapeshifting garbage."
Ahem: no. "I don't care about Wild Shape I want to be a nature wizard" is a valid opinion to have, and you don't get to dismiss it as irrelevant when trying to figure out how to make a class where over half its class features specifically and solely affect Wild Shape to stop being "The Wild Shape Class" that only occasionally does other non-turning-into-fuzzy-fuzzy-critters junk.
Not really b/c now we have 20-40 unique statblocks to keep track of which is doing absolutely nothing to simplify the class and make it more approachable for new players. It also is not addressing the "Wildshape is so OP nerf it!" crowd who hate that extra HP from WS and hate Druids being as effective as martial characters while WSed. Nor is it addressing those who don't want to WS as it is making WS a huge core aspect of the class that is very powerful.
All stat blocks are in the class so it is simpler. It provides temp hp instead of actual hp and it’s not all beast but specifically designed for WS statblocks so it is nerfed. I’m not sure if there is a way to address the last group. I already stated that the Nature Wizard concept couldn't be addressed in core class. That’s because making the core class just a nature wizard makes it nigh impossible to make the other subclasses unique users of wild shape and CN, but as is you can make a subclass that focuses on Spellcasting and uses CN for other options than WS.
I don't see why the "nature wizard" can't be addressed in the class. I don't think we are asking for WS to be removed from the class. Although some have said something along those lines due to how bad the UA druid WS is. But I do think it can be addressed. Not every feature needs to be focused on WS. The Channel Nature: Nature's Aid feature Healing Blossoms is not a good ability and could be replaced by something that helps boost the spellcasting aspect of the druid class. They are a full caster, after all. And Wild Resurgence is not needed. Something else can be put in its place to support the spellcasting side of the class. So you can actually have a little balance in the base class between spellcasting and WS.
Land Druid can then build on that part of the base druid class, if you really want to focus on the nature wizard theme. And all the other subclasses can do what they do.
Not sure what you mean when you say "they don't get to be? If a player wants to play a "Nature Wizard" why can't they do that now with a Druid?
I am playing a Forest Gnome Druid that virtually never uses Wildshape right now, and is a Shaman Healer badass, much as you describe. It's going just fine. When I do use Wildshape it's to use awesome area affect or concentration spells and get into a form that allows me to move more quickly than my little Gnome feet allow. It's not to wade into combat.
Wild Shape, including the extra HP as it stands in 5e is an option that gives choices. The extra HP is there so the Wild Shape can be used to skirmish, melee and/or keep the form long enough for this to be a significant part of whatever is happening. The tradeoff is not being able to cast spells. But it is a tradeoff only when wildshape is in operation, so why are we messing with it at all? Leave it as is in 5e and allow players to choose to use it or not. It's not required that a Druid uses Wildshape, right? Just call your familiar and be a "Nature Wizard." Druid spells are awesome!
Wildshape is just fun, and it's fun because it's fluid, and because it allows a lot of situational choices. If you haven't played a Druid through a campaign it's hard to see how those choices are as useful as they really are, and mostly OUT of combat.
The idea that players who encounter D&D are going to be turned off by the complexity of a Druid's Wildshape before they get turned off by the Multiverse, the various pantheons, the many many iterations and combinations of races now possible, the volumes of monsters, wondrous objects, potions, spells and everything else is kinda silly. This is a BIG GAME.
I find Druid much easier, with fewer confusing and conflicting choices than Wizard, Sorcerer, or Bard. Even Clerics and Warlocks have the potential to be very complex given certain builds that blend casting with marital abilities. So again, is Wildshape in 5e really a problem?
Yes, druid spells are awesome. I've been playing a Circle of the Land (mountain) druid for years. But I think some of our concerns with the UA is the complete an almost universal focus on Wildshape. If the entire base class is focused like a laser on WS and you choose to not use it because you want to play more of a nature wizard then the class does nothing to support that and actively works against it by making you, basically, play half a class.
My suggestions would be, get rid of Healing Blossoms and replace it with something that supports the spellcasting side of the class. Or fits the nature wizard or master of nature theme. Get rid of Wild Resurgence and replace it with something that supports the spellcasting side of the class. Or fits the nature wizard or master of nature theme. You can still use wildshape when you want to, but you have other options, besides ignore your entire class list of features and just cast spells. And this would have absolutely no negative effect on WS (unless you think a free Healing Blossoms when you WS an utterly indispensable feature)
Maybe I'm forgetting something, but is there another full caster class out there that has the entire base class focused on one aspect completely divorced from spellcasting?
The only thing comparable to Druid is the Wizard class in that both of them get hardly any class features. Personally I've never understood why that is, since Druid is much closer to a Cleric in terms of casting than a Wizard, and Cleric get tons of class features.
Healing Blossoms is a meh? feature I don't care one way or the other. But Wild Resurgence should be completely changed so that using your Healing Blossoms also restores spellslot to you of a total level equal to your Wisdom modifier.
Wildshape should go back to being one feature, not 8 or 10 or whatever it is... or honestly.. if they want to stick with it being a combat-focused ability remove it from the base class and make it a Moon Druid subclass feature, and replace it with a Channel Nature ability that creates or removes difficult terrain in an area (that works on the ground, in water, and in the air) which upgrades at higher levels to deal damage to enemy creatures that move through it.
I really hate the whole discussion around Wild Shape. Druids are one of my least favored classes, but I don't want them to be. I want them to be awesome primal shamans and element-wielding badasses, but they don't get to be. Nah. Their spellcasting doesn't matter, their class features don't matter, their weapons and equipment doesn't matter. NOTHING ******* MATTERS about Druids save that twice a day you get to turn into a fuzzy fuzzy critter and make your party roll for adorbz.
I want the druid to be a badass avatar of nature's fury, but even in this thread it was made extremely plain that people who want to like druid but who dislike Wild Shape are not allowed to speak. We got told "you guys all ******* suck, Wild Shape is literally the only reason to play Druid. Maybe they'll give you one throwaway subclass but until they do gedda**** ouddahere with your non-shapeshifting garbage."
Ahem: no. "I don't care about Wild Shape I want to be a nature wizard" is a valid opinion to have, and you don't get to dismiss it as irrelevant when trying to figure out how to make a class where over half its class features specifically and solely affect Wild Shape to stop being "The Wild Shape Class" that only occasionally does other non-turning-into-fuzzy-fuzzy-critters junk.
Not really b/c now we have 20-40 unique statblocks to keep track of which is doing absolutely nothing to simplify the class and make it more approachable for new players. It also is not addressing the "Wildshape is so OP nerf it!" crowd who hate that extra HP from WS and hate Druids being as effective as martial characters while WSed. Nor is it addressing those who don't want to WS as it is making WS a huge core aspect of the class that is very powerful.
All stat blocks are in the class so it is simpler. It provides temp hp instead of actual hp and it’s not all beast but specifically designed for WS statblocks so it is nerfed. I’m not sure if there is a way to address the last group. I already stated that the Nature Wizard concept couldn't be addressed in core class. That’s because making the core class just a nature wizard makes it nigh impossible to make the other subclasses unique users of wild shape and CN, but as is you can make a subclass that focuses on Spellcasting and uses CN for other options than WS.
I don't see why the "nature wizard" can't be addressed in the class. I don't think we are asking for WS to be removed from the class. Although some have said something along those lines due to how bad the UA druid WS is. But I do think it can be addressed. Not every feature needs to be focused on WS. The Channel Nature: Nature's Aid feature Healing Blossoms is not a good ability and could be replaced by something that helps boost the spellcasting aspect of the druid class. They are a full caster, after all. And Wild Resurgence is not needed. Something else can be put in its place to support the spellcasting side of the class. So you can actually have a little balance in the base class between spellcasting and WS.
Land Druid can then build on that part of the base druid class, if you really want to focus on the nature wizard theme. And all the other subclasses can do what they do.
Not sure what you mean when you say "they don't get to be? If a player wants to play a "Nature Wizard" why can't they do that now with a Druid?
I am playing a Forest Gnome Druid that virtually never uses Wildshape right now, and is a Shaman Healer badass, much as you describe. It's going just fine. When I do use Wildshape it's to use awesome area affect or concentration spells and get into a form that allows me to move more quickly than my little Gnome feet allow. It's not to wade into combat.
Wild Shape, including the extra HP as it stands in 5e is an option that gives choices. The extra HP is there so the Wild Shape can be used to skirmish, melee and/or keep the form long enough for this to be a significant part of whatever is happening. The tradeoff is not being able to cast spells. But it is a tradeoff only when wildshape is in operation, so why are we messing with it at all? Leave it as is in 5e and allow players to choose to use it or not. It's not required that a Druid uses Wildshape, right? Just call your familiar and be a "Nature Wizard." Druid spells are awesome!
Wildshape is just fun, and it's fun because it's fluid, and because it allows a lot of situational choices. If you haven't played a Druid through a campaign it's hard to see how those choices are as useful as they really are, and mostly OUT of combat.
The idea that players who encounter D&D are going to be turned off by the complexity of a Druid's Wildshape before they get turned off by the Multiverse, the various pantheons, the many many iterations and combinations of races now possible, the volumes of monsters, wondrous objects, potions, spells and everything else is kinda silly. This is a BIG GAME.
I find Druid much easier, with fewer confusing and conflicting choices than Wizard, Sorcerer, or Bard. Even Clerics and Warlocks have the potential to be very complex given certain builds that blend casting with marital abilities. So again, is Wildshape in 5e really a problem?
Yes, druid spells are awesome. I've been playing a Circle of the Land (mountain) druid for years. But I think some of our concerns with the UA is the complete an almost universal focus on Wildshape. If the entire base class is focused like a laser on WS and you choose to not use it because you want to play more of a nature wizard then the class does nothing to support that and actively works against it by making you, basically, play half a class.
I'm not sure what you're saying. The UA is trying to streamline Wildshape for time-saving and complexity avoiding for the mythical newcomer who is supposedly unable to deal with these difficult concepts (while easily mastering choices involving multiple Druid Circles, a huge number of spells, weapons, items, etc).
It's not focused on Wildshape, it's gutting Wildshape.
The class does a lot to support any way you want to play it currently in 5e. A "Nature Wizard" is your background and design choice in any system, and you could play a Wizard and do this too, but your nature focused spells would be fewer.
My suggestions would be, get rid of Healing Blossoms and replace it with something that supports the spellcasting side of the class. Or fits the nature wizard or master of nature theme. Get rid of Wild Resurgence and replace it with something that supports the spellcasting side of the class. Or fits the nature wizard or master of nature theme. You can still use wildshape when you want to, but you have other options, besides ignore your entire class list of features and just cast spells. And this would have absolutely no negative effect on WS (unless you think a free Healing Blossoms when you WS an utterly indispensable feature)
Maybe I'm forgetting something, but is there another full caster class out there that has the entire base class focused on one aspect completely divorced from spellcasting?
My suggestion is not using statblocks for something that doesn't need this kind of simplification.
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First let’s address the 4 main groups I’ve seen when it comes to Wildshape.
Well let’s talk about point 4 first. Hopefully they cover that play style with the circle of the land subclass. I can’t really think of a way of altering WS to accommodate this group and everyone else.
Now to cover points 1-3.
Beast of the land gives you access to 10 creature stat blocks. The blocks all have their own unique sizes, AC, attacks, and features, and speed. They range from small to large size and all come with their own temp hp. When those temp hp are gone you revert to your normal form. The AC, attacks, and features grow with your level in this class. They would represent medium sized wolf, medium sized bear, small sized spider, small sized rodent, small sized feline, large sized horse, and similar land animals.
5th level featureZ: Big and Tiny Critters- When you WS you may choose to make your form one size smaller or larger than listed in its stat block. If choose smaller version you gain +5 to (dex) stealth checks, (dex) acrobatics checks and dex saves. You only get half the temp hp listed in the stat block, you get a -5 to (str) athletics checks, str saves and your attacks do half damage. If becoming smaller makes your size tiny you you only gain temp hp equal to your Druid level instead of half the amount listed in the stat block. If you become a larger version you gain +5 to str saves, and (str) athletics checks. Your attacks deal an additional 1d4 damage on hit. You gain a bonus to temp hp equal to you druid level. You have a -5 on all dex checks and saves. If choosing to become larger makes your size huge you gain bonus temp hp equal to twice your Druid level instead. If there isn’t enough space to become a creature of the size you choose you do not transform, but also do not expend a use of your CN.
Aquatic Forms gives 5 to 10 new stat blocks with swim speeds and other features. They represent Octopus, crocodile, shark, and similar creatures.
Aerial Forms gives 5 to 10 new stat blocks with flying speeds. A few small birds and bats, and a few Large birds and flying beast.
11th level could be anything.
Alternating forms could make it so that you maintain the WS temp hp even if you turn into your normal form. As long as you have those temp hp you can return to the WS form.
So the goal of this was to keep players out of the monster manual while still giving the options of different stat blocks. Also since the stat blocks get stronger with your Druid level the player that only wants to use the wolf stat block can do that and be viable.
Moon Druid gets some bonus stats blocks geared for front line combat focus.
Loses the elemental themes. So at 6th level they get Chimeric forms which allows them to have magical attacks and allows them to choose two WS stat blocks and merge them, gaining the best stats and abilities of both creatures at the cost of looking like an unnatural monstrosity. They must be the size of the largest creature stat block used. The magical attacks happen in all WS forms even if you don’t combine two stat blocks.
10 level Ferocious strikes just add damage like element strikes did, but it would just be the same type as the attack.
Then they could have an elemental subclass that gets Elemental Wild shape at 3 level, a weaker version of elemental strike at 6th, and the ability to become an Elemental at 10th with 4 unique stat blocks found in the subclass.
I believe this almost gives everyone what they have been asking for.
Not really b/c now we have 20-40 unique statblocks to keep track of which is doing absolutely nothing to simplify the class and make it more approachable for new players. It also is not addressing the "Wildshape is so OP nerf it!" crowd who hate that extra HP from WS and hate Druids being as effective as martial characters while WSed. Nor is it addressing those who don't want to WS as it is making WS a huge core aspect of the class that is very powerful.
I think there are two major considerations into making wild shape viable and these are in-combat and RP/Scouting. Personally, I don't think there needs to be more than 4 templates, the 3 we already have and a 4th for tiny creatures which is more for RP. I think customization within the templates certainly would help however, so having choices based on the specific form, like a spider gets spider climb or a bear gets proficiency bonus to any strength checks.
-- in combat
Currently the biggest issue with wile shape as per the UA is that it isn't viable in combat, this comes down to what you lose to what you gain and you gain very little in wild shape but lose a lot, most notably you lose spell casting. Technically the same was true for 5E but what you gained was the replaced HP which allows you to survive attacks you might else wise not have survived; Moon Druid got such significant buffs to Wild shape that it was viable and the swapped HP being the main tankiness that they had. Temp HP is one way to restore this, another is an increase to Max HP and recovering current HP when wild shaping.
I believe a bump to AC is also required, 10+WIS is an AC of 10-15, which is really low for melee orientated characters, and that is the best case.
There are two main ideas I have for fixing AC, The first is to add Proficiency bonus to the AC, that would give 10+PB+WIS AC for Land and Sea and 6+PB+WIS for Sky (given they have flyby, decreased by a further 2). This would give an AC of 12-21 for Land and Sea, as well as 8 to 17.
Alternatively, allow Druids to convert non-metal armour into Barding while wild shaping, maintaining any magical effects. This gives a reason why druids might not want to use metal armour but does not prevent them from using metal armour.
I am going to stay away from magical attacks, thus far, it seems a likely possibility that immunities to non-magical weapons might not exist and additionally wild shape is now the result of a Magic Action, which questions if the damage is already magical.
-- RP / Scouting
Wild shape lost a lot of utility in RP and Scouting with a loss of a lot of forms. While I think perhaps 5E was a little too lax with what it allowed, the UA has gone too far in not allowing enough. It seems mostly scouting is intended to be replaced by using channel nature to cast find familiar; personally I think this is a nice use of channel nature but it doesn't help with the loss of spider climb or burrow speeds, there needs to be some form specific bonuses. Overall I think the templates are the correct way forwards but there needs to be some level of customization within the templates; which customizations are chosen at time of wild shape, so the druid can decide if they are taking on the same form or a different one.
Moon Druid can then get two form benefits as opposed to one, as wild shape is their thing, the form benefits should not be combat benefits; not to say that battle traits/customization isn't a good idea too, just that these specific choices should remain non-combat. For hybrid forms, the form chosen has to mainly reflect the benefit choosen, so if you wanted to get the benefit of a bear, you need to have half the form of a bear or more, for moon druids taking two benefits, their hybrid form has to be near half and half.
What is great about 5e WS is that there is a very clear division between Moon Druid and non-Moon Druids. For non-Moon Druids, WS is a nice little utility feature that allows them some creativity and some ways to solve problems without using spellslots. For Moon Druids WS is a viable combat option (mainly for tanking).
I would really like to see One D&D replicate this feel. Moon druid and only Moon druid should have WSs that are effective in combat. People who want to play a raging bear in combat should have to choose Moon Druid to do so. The baseline WS should be designed for utility, scouting and creative solutions. So that non-moon druids are empowered to focus on spellcasting in combat.
I think WotC got the wrong impression from their survey about the PHB Druid. Circle of the Moon isn't massively more popular than Circle of the Land because absolutely all druid players want to play as a shapeshifter who fights as a bear in combat. It's because Circle of the Land is a dumpster fire of useless abilities and just more of the same spells druids already have. Just look at Wildfire and Stars druids, they are very popular and those players almost never use WS to shapeshift they're just .. you know... good subclasses that offer players interesting and thematic abilities that are impactful and useful - unlike Circle of the Land. Same goes for Circle of Dreams, and to a lesser extent Circle of Spores.
I am not saying in my above response that Wild shape should be something that every druid is going to want to change into every combat, but the ability to turn into a cave bear towards end of the battle to survive one more round wasn't exactly the worst use of Wild shape if you're low on spell slots and the party is near winning, it's edge cases of uses for other druids, as opposed to the UA which is just no use at all.
As for Circle of Stars and Circle of Wildfire, they have something very common, they get viable alternative uses for wild shape charges. Obviously with the UA druid these would be alternative Channel Nature, so as these two you're less likely to be going for RP uses of wild shape too, as you want to maintain the charges for the in combat utility, altho that isn't the biggest issue in 5E where you get 2 charges per short rest; in UA where you only recover one use per short rest... anyway this is part of why I don't get that near every Druid feature had to focus on Wild shape when not all sub-classes will use wild shape in these ways.
Circle of Land definitely had some very lack luster abilities and spells. Can ignore non-magical difficult terrain... for the class that mostly does magical difficult terrain, Poison/Disease protection for a back liner... immunity to charm/fear from fey (very very situational)... Sanctuary against creatures with Plant or Beast tags. Yeah, Land has some very big issues in the same way 5E ranger did originally, lots of very situational features which are useless 90%+ of the time.
To Point 4: WS doesn’t need to accommodate nature wizards. But Healing Blossoms could be replaced with something that supports the nature wizard. And Wild Resurgence, which only gives a free Healing Blossoms when you WS could be replaced with a feature to support the nature wizard instead. Not every feature of the class needs to be about WS.
I put in my survey I would be fine if the templates were actually made weaker, but with customization. Since most non-moon druids are not using WS in combat. And then Moon druid should get some boosts to make them more durable for combat.
The three templates would probably be enough if there was customization. Could even go down to one with swim and flight added at appropriate levels. And Moon should get boosted for melee.
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Maybe instead of being knocked out of your form When those temp hp are gone It would be that if you take damage When those temp hp are gone you must make a concentration check to maintain your form.
The tiny scouting forms might not give any temp HP, and tiny creatures usually don't have very good con saves.
This re introduces the risk of being knocked out of your scouting form if discovered, and makes you less able to run around tiny in combat like they talked about in the last released video.
All stat blocks are in the class so it is simpler. It provides temp hp instead of actual hp and it’s not all beast but specifically designed for WS statblocks so it is nerfed. I’m not sure if there is a way to address the last group. I already stated that the Nature Wizard concept couldn't be addressed in core class. That’s because making the core class just a nature wizard makes it nigh impossible to make the other subclasses unique users of wild shape and CN, but as is you can make a subclass that focuses on Spellcasting and uses CN for other options than WS.
I don't see why the "nature wizard" can't be addressed in the class. I don't think we are asking for WS to be removed from the class. Although some have said something along those lines due to how bad the UA druid WS is. But I do think it can be addressed. Not every feature needs to be focused on WS. The Channel Nature: Nature's Aid feature Healing Blossoms is not a good ability and could be replaced by something that helps boost the spellcasting aspect of the druid class. They are a full caster, after all. And Wild Resurgence is not needed. Something else can be put in its place to support the spellcasting side of the class. So you can actually have a little balance in the base class between spellcasting and WS.
Land Druid can then build on that part of the base druid class, if you really want to focus on the nature wizard theme. And all the other subclasses can do what they do.
EZD6 by DM Scotty
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/397599/EZD6-Core-Rulebook?
I really hate the whole discussion around Wild Shape. Druids are one of my least favored classes, but I don't want them to be. I want them to be awesome primal shamans and element-wielding badasses, but they don't get to be. Nah. Their spellcasting doesn't matter, their class features don't matter, their weapons and equipment doesn't matter. NOTHING ******* MATTERS about Druids save that twice a day you get to turn into a fuzzy fuzzy critter and make your party roll for adorbz.
I want the druid to be a badass avatar of nature's fury, but even in this thread it was made extremely plain that people who want to like druid but who dislike Wild Shape are not allowed to speak. We got told "you guys all ******* suck, Wild Shape is literally the only reason to play Druid. Maybe they'll give you one throwaway subclass but until they do gedda**** ouddahere with your non-shapeshifting garbage."
Ahem: no. "I don't care about Wild Shape I want to be a nature wizard" is a valid opinion to have, and you don't get to dismiss it as irrelevant when trying to figure out how to make a class where over half its class features specifically and solely affect Wild Shape to stop being "The Wild Shape Class" that only occasionally does other non-turning-into-fuzzy-fuzzy-critters junk.
Please do not contact or message me.
It’s unfortunate that the UA seems hellbent on making every Druid a wild shaping class. But considering all the features of the 5E PHB Druid, with the exception of spell casting and Timeless body (a ribbon feature) all the “features” were WS focused as well.
EZD6 by DM Scotty
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/397599/EZD6-Core-Rulebook?
Not sure what you mean when you say "they don't get to be? If a player wants to play a "Nature Wizard" why can't they do that now with a Druid?
I am playing a Forest Gnome Druid that virtually never uses Wildshape right now, and is a Shaman Healer badass, much as you describe. It's going just fine. When I do use Wildshape it's to use awesome area affect or concentration spells and get into a form that allows me to move more quickly than my little Gnome feet allow. It's not to wade into combat.
Wild Shape, including the extra HP as it stands in 5e is an option that gives choices. The extra HP is there so the Wild Shape can be used to skirmish, melee and/or keep the form long enough for this to be a significant part of whatever is happening. The tradeoff is not being able to cast spells. But it is a tradeoff only when wildshape is in operation, so why are we messing with it at all? Leave it as is in 5e and allow players to choose to use it or not. It's not required that a Druid uses Wildshape, right? Just call your familiar and be a "Nature Wizard." Druid spells are awesome!
Wildshape is just fun, and it's fun because it's fluid, and because it allows a lot of situational choices. If you haven't played a Druid through a campaign it's hard to see how those choices are as useful as they really are, and mostly OUT of combat.
The idea that players who encounter D&D are going to be turned off by the complexity of a Druid's Wildshape before they get turned off by the Multiverse, the various pantheons, the many many iterations and combinations of races now possible, the volumes of monsters, wondrous objects, potions, spells and everything else is kinda silly. This is a BIG GAME.
I find Druid much easier, with fewer confusing and conflicting choices than Wizard, Sorcerer, or Bard. Even Clerics and Warlocks have the potential to be very complex given certain builds that blend casting with marital abilities. So again, is Wildshape in 5e really a problem?
Actually, the most widespread opinion I've seen is that they want wildhsape to scale better, and to have customization options.
Following that, I've also seen a lot of people want wildshape to be like 5e.
I am with the first group. Wildhsape as it was in 5e seems like a bad design to me. But the new wildhsape, besides being practically useless, is very boring. I tried the new druid for a few games, and stopped using wildshape except for flavor scenes.
Honestly, Wizards just needs to suck it up and accept that a feature whose express purpose is to assume a variety of forms cannot be reduced to 3 standardized templates. They’re already going to be making a new Monster Manual, so they can tweak those stats based on how 5e’s played out, and maybe include a caveat in Wild Shape along the lines of “choose a Beast from the Monster Manual, or a different source with the DM’s approval” to remind DM’s they have the authority over what secondary source materials are used in a given campaign. Superficially choosing traits like they’re invocations sounds viable, but that would probably end up resulting in some very weird aggregates of abilities, which doesn’t fit the Wild Shape theme of becoming a specific animal.
One point I'd want: regardless of whether wild shape is a set of templates or a curated list of forms:
Beast options should be standardized. Animal Companion, Conjure Animal, Find Familiar, Polymorph, and Wild Shape should all use the same list or a filtered sublist.
Maybe in the new monsters manual they could list the proficiency bonus of the creature.
And to make druid forms scale better you can use your own proficiency bonus instead of the creatures proficiency bonus.
My guess is trash. You can’t please everyone, and if you try you’ll end up pleasing no one at all.
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Yes, druid spells are awesome. I've been playing a Circle of the Land (mountain) druid for years. But I think some of our concerns with the UA is the complete an almost universal focus on Wildshape. If the entire base class is focused like a laser on WS and you choose to not use it because you want to play more of a nature wizard then the class does nothing to support that and actively works against it by making you, basically, play half a class.
My suggestions would be, get rid of Healing Blossoms and replace it with something that supports the spellcasting side of the class. Or fits the nature wizard or master of nature theme. Get rid of Wild Resurgence and replace it with something that supports the spellcasting side of the class. Or fits the nature wizard or master of nature theme. You can still use wildshape when you want to, but you have other options, besides ignore your entire class list of features and just cast spells. And this would have absolutely no negative effect on WS (unless you think a free Healing Blossoms when you WS an utterly indispensable feature)
Maybe I'm forgetting something, but is there another full caster class out there that has the entire base class focused on one aspect completely divorced from spellcasting?
EZD6 by DM Scotty
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/397599/EZD6-Core-Rulebook?
The only thing comparable to Druid is the Wizard class in that both of them get hardly any class features. Personally I've never understood why that is, since Druid is much closer to a Cleric in terms of casting than a Wizard, and Cleric get tons of class features.
Healing Blossoms is a meh? feature I don't care one way or the other. But Wild Resurgence should be completely changed so that using your Healing Blossoms also restores spellslot to you of a total level equal to your Wisdom modifier.
Wildshape should go back to being one feature, not 8 or 10 or whatever it is... or honestly.. if they want to stick with it being a combat-focused ability remove it from the base class and make it a Moon Druid subclass feature, and replace it with a Channel Nature ability that creates or removes difficult terrain in an area (that works on the ground, in water, and in the air) which upgrades at higher levels to deal damage to enemy creatures that move through it.
I'm not sure what you're saying. The UA is trying to streamline Wildshape for time-saving and complexity avoiding for the mythical newcomer who is supposedly unable to deal with these difficult concepts (while easily mastering choices involving multiple Druid Circles, a huge number of spells, weapons, items, etc).
It's not focused on Wildshape, it's gutting Wildshape.
The class does a lot to support any way you want to play it currently in 5e. A "Nature Wizard" is your background and design choice in any system, and you could play a Wizard and do this too, but your nature focused spells would be fewer.
My suggestion is not using statblocks for something that doesn't need this kind of simplification.