D&D 5E Moon Circle Druid Play Report

[SilverfireSage]

So I just ran a session at level two, and one of my players played a moon circle Druid. It seems like he's able to turn into a cr 1 brown bear twice per short rest for a free 34 hp each time, plus lots of extra damage. This makes him faster, tougher, and stronger than anyone else in the game, as far as I can tell.


It seems like the moon circle Druid ability will get weaker as the party levels up, but right now it seems unbelievably strong. Am I reading/playing this right? Or is it just meant to be that a level 2 moon circle Druid is an unholy terror, capable of walking all over his peers?

In combat? Yeah, I can see that. A bear is going to have a bit better to hit and about twice the damage (two attacks) as a PC at that level. However, as time goes on, you'll see this wane more and more, until the brown bear is actually weaker, and whatever dinosaur the druid will be able to turn into at that point will not hold a candle to a high level fighter. Also, it seems that pretty much everyone on this board forgets that there are parts to this game other than combat. What happens if they need his wild shape to scout? What if they need him to cast a spell? What if he needs to use a magic item? What if he needs to talk to his party members? There are many other scenarios where the druid is far weaker than the other classes, and that's how they balance out.

 

[Stalker0]

Important note: Just because a class is broken from levels 2-6 only doesn't mean its not broken. There are many campaigns where a party may not go much higher than that.

As I have a player that is considering a druid in my upcoming game, I am keenly watching this thread. Now, is it just a couple of forms that are broken? For example, if I didn't allow brown bear until higher levels.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Important note: Just because a class is broken from levels 2-6 only doesn't mean its not broken. There are many campaigns where a party may not go much higher than that.

As I have a player that is considering a druid in my upcoming game, I am keenly watching this thread. Now, is it just a couple of forms that are broken? For example, if I didn't allow brown bear until higher levels.

more important note: just because a few people think it is broken doesn't mean it is. See the comments above about how it's impacted by out of combat situations.

 

[Stalker0]

Another idea: What if it was still an action to change, and you gained the bonus action change at 7th level?

So you can't just switch back to bear to get more hp willy nilly, it costs you a round.

 

[Stalker0]

more important note: just because a few people think it is broken doesn't mean it is. See the comments above about how it's impacted by out of combat situations.

Oh I hear you, a few concerns doesn't a trend make. Though this is the not the first few posts about moon circle druid concerns, I've seen some consistent concerns in other threads.

As far as out of combat, the druid still has spells. Its not like wildshape is there only ability.

 

[Samurai]

What if Druids keep their own HPs when they wildshape? You get the shape of a bear, attacks, etc, but your HPs are whatever they were before you changed, and there is no healing or different HPs in a new form.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Oh I hear you, a few concerns doesn't a trend make. Though this is the not the first few posts about moon circle druid concerns, I've seen some consistent concerns in other threads.

As far as out of combat, the druid still has spells. Its not like wildshape is there only ability.

I'm not talking about lack of spells, I'm talking about those situations that cause the druid to go back to human form, which result in the amount of time spent actually in combat in wild shape less than what is assumed. It seems there is an assumption that the druid will always be in wild shape, and that's not true. In addition to this, like I said above, people also seem to forget that a druid can only change into a shape he or she has seen.

 

[Stalker0]

What if Druids keep their own HPs when they wildshape? You get the shape of a bear, attacks, etc, but your HPs are whatever they were before you changed, and there is no healing or different HPs in a new form.

Got to be careful with changes to HP.

On the one hand, yes the druid is getting a LOT of hp when he changes. On the other, their AC is very low. The brown bear has an AC 11. Compare that to a barb who will likely have AC 16-17. The HP is the sole way a druid can stay in the front line, so you have to be cautious with how much you change it.

 

[Authweight]

In combat? Yeah, I can see that. A bear is going to have a bit better to hit and about twice the damage (two attacks) as a PC at that level. However, as time goes on, you'll see this wane more and more, until the brown bear is actually weaker, and whatever dinosaur the druid will be able to turn into at that point will not hold a candle to a high level fighter. Also, it seems that pretty much everyone on this board forgets that there are parts to this game other than combat. What happens if they need his wild shape to scout? What if they need him to cast a spell? What if he needs to use a magic item? What if he needs to talk to his party members? There are many other scenarios where the druid is far weaker than the other classes, and that's how they balance out.

Well, with the ability to cast spells a moon Druid can outdamage and outlast a fighter in combat, plus do awesome utility magic. And if they prepare just one damage spell, they can spam cast it if they really need to in a pinch. I really don't see what a fighter does at level 2 that a moon Druid couldn't do better.

Remember that at level 2, wild shape lasts for an hour. And you have two of them every short rest. If you move at a reasonable pace, you can scout as an animal and still fight several encounters with just one use. Or let the rogue scout and save your wild shape for where it's most useful. Since short resting only takes an hour, there shouldn't be that many times where you don't have access to wild form.

Even if the Druid isn't allowed short rests and he has both of his wild shapes knocked down to zero, he has soaked 68 points of damage. That's enough to knock out the level two fighter several times over. Even if you're weaker after all that, you've already contributed enormously to the party's survival. With that kind of staying power, there are few reasonable level 2 problems that can't be solved by turning into a bear and hitting it. Who needs to sneak when you have 68 hit points of angry bear to soak up all the incoming damage? Bear diplomacy is simpler and more effective than regular diplomacy, because if things don't go right you just punch them as a big angry bear. And once all is done, you still have a perfectly serviceable Druid who has almost as much hp as the fighter and has cool spells on too of it, plus a high wisdom for perception and insight and all that jazz.

I'm okay with there being some classes who are better in combat than others, or fairly loose situational balance. What I see of the moon Druid, at level 2 specifically, is not just good, not even overpowered, but so good it blows the game up.

 

[Sacrosanct]

it's like you didn't even read the posts directly above yours...