D&D (2024) Moon druid with weapons mastery?

[mellored]

Should moon druids get a weapon mastery when they transform?

Seems like if we have a decent add to weapon systems set up for martials, the moon druid could just ride along with it.

I.e.
Regular druids do 1d8+Wis (no mastery)
Moon druids do 1d8+Wis, and choses a mastery.

*possibly based on the animal.
Bulls get push
Velociraptor get Vex.
Ect..

Level 14 moon druid can use a bonus action to change masteries.

Really, Moon druid, bladesinger, sword bard, and war cleric could all use mastery.

 

[Incenjucar]

Should moon druids get a weapon mastery when they transform?

Seems like if we have a decent add to weapon systems set up for martials, the moon druid could just ride along with it.

I.e.
Regular druids do 1d8+Wis
Moon druids do 1d8+Wis, and choses a mastery.

*possibly based on the animal.
Bulls get push
Velociraptor get Vex.
Ect..

Level 14 moon druid can use a bonus action to change masteries.

I'm all for giving all classes good at-wills, but they'd need to give fighters another item to compensate.

 

[Blue]

At first blush I would not think so. A few reasons.

First, I don't want all non-spell damage dealers to be samey. Some will Mastery, some won't and get their boosts other ways - including possibly taking a Mastery feat.

Second, Mastery gives you something unique that others can't do - well changing forms already gives you that. It doesn't need Mastery on top of it, it already feels special. (And Mastery on top of it just dilutes how special it is for those that get it.)

Mind you, I'm not addressing this from a balance perspective at all - we know rebalancing will be happening before publication, that's an early part in the UAs.

 

[Bacon Bits]

I'll wait while Jeremy Crawford trots out his, "attack vs attack with a weapon vs melee weapon attack," semantics again.

 

[mellored]

I'm all for giving all classes good at-wills, but they'd need to give fighters another item to compensate.

Martials have spell casting subclasses.
Seems like a caster subclass could a mastery subclass.

Really, Moon druid, bladesinger, sword bard, and war cleric.

I am certainly not suggesting all casters get it. Just the melee subclass.

 

[Oofta]

Druids aren't going to shift into specific animals any more, they have just a beast shape in the last playtest. I think the druid wildshape still needs some work with more options for creatures. I could see picking from a menu of options, perhaps with some sort of point buy. So having a climb speed costs X, being able to knock down opponents cost Y.

More specific to druids and more flexible as well. Same kind of idea, but save weapon mastery for the warriors.

 

[mellored]

More specific to druids and more flexible as well. Same kind of idea, but save weapon mastery for the warriors.

What a about bladesinger, sword bard, and war cleric?

 

[Oofta]

What a about bladesinger, sword bard, and war cleric?

I think those are different issues from the moon druid. I don't see a moon druid as using a weapon all that often in the first place. Like I said though, I think the playtest version needs some work, they nerfed wildshape a bit too much.

But back to your question ... I'm a bit on the fence. To me those classes, along with kensei monk, already have cool features and things they can do. Weapon mastery is more about giving options to fighters which are perceived to not have enough to do.

 

[Kinematics]

I guess this would be another piece of the "non-standard weapons" mastery question I had, along the same lines of a weapon mastery for unarmed attacks. I could see a line for natural weapons if they also allowed unarmed attacks to have something.

It might actually be relevant for some player races, too. If a tabaxi fighter is using her claws as a weapon, does that make the weapon mastery parts of the class useless?

We might see more of this laid out when the monk playtest class is released.

 

[Blue]

Martials have spell casting subclasses.
Seems like a caster subclass could a mastery subclass.

Really, Moon druid, bladesinger, sword bard, and war cleric.

I am certainly not suggesting all casters get it. Just the melee subclass.

I understand what you are saying. But if every class that actually uses weapons regularly has it, then it's no longer a bonus, it's the status quo. And one with a penalty for unusual builds trying to wield weapons.

It'd be like the feat taxes we had in previous editions. Something required just to be on par.