D&D 5E Moon Circle Druid Play Report

[KarinsDad]

Eh, you can't count on the wildshape restriction to shapes you've seen to be meaningful. Any of the forms could appear at 1st or 2nd level (they're CR 1), any of the forms could easily be witnessed through appropriate scouting (okay, guys, welcome to level 2. We're taking a quick trip up this trail to see an animal), or may be covered by background.

For example, of the two druid players I've seen, _both_ had a background that they were raised by animals. One by tigers, one by wolves. At that point, the limitation is a hit to versatility but not a hit to power, and becomes more punitive than effective in limitation.

Yes, but this is DM dependent. If the DM says (possibly after a dice roll to determine it) "No, you haven't encountered a giant spider yet", then that's that. I could also see a DM putting the kibosh on being raised by tigers, especially if the campaign world starts someplace where they might not exist (e.g. HotDQ on the Sword Coast).

 

[Bupp]

My group had just recently encountered said spider. The 4 PC's were 3rd level at the time, the druid was a 2nd level henchman. I ran them through the moathouse from ToEE. That spider dropped from the ceiling onto one of the fighters and nearly killed them. That stuck with the player running the henchman druid.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Eh, you can't count on the wildshape restriction to shapes you've seen to be meaningful. Any of the forms could appear at 1st or 2nd level (they're CR 1), any of the forms could easily be witnessed through appropriate scouting (okay, guys, welcome to level 2. We're taking a quick trip up this trail to see an animal), or may be covered by background.

For example, of the two druid players I've seen, _both_ had a background that they were raised by animals. One by tigers, one by wolves. At that point, the limitation is a hit to versatility but not a hit to power, and becomes more punitive than effective in limitation.

haha, if a player said they were raised by tigers, I'd say, "Really? More likely you were eaten by tigers.". For one, tigers don't behave like that; they are pretty solitary. Secondly, it's pretty silly.

and to your first part, just scouting up a trail doesn't mean you'll find a cool cr1 creature. The animal has to live there for one. I grew up in the forests of Oregon and Alaska, and I didn't see a bear or cougar just whenever I wanted by scouting up a trail. It stands to reason that a druid growing up in that region would have eventually seen these creatures, but not guaranteed they would by just visiting. Let alone seeing a giant hyena there lol.

the rule to help mitigate that power is important, and if your DM just allows everything, you can't complain the power is too OP, because that's a DM issue

 

[keterys]

Yes, but this is DM dependent. If the DM says (possibly after a dice roll to determine it) "No, you haven't encountered a giant spider yet", then that's that. I could also see a DM putting the kibosh on being raised by tigers, especially if the campaign world starts someplace where they might not exist (e.g. HotDQ on the Sword Coast).

Sadly, the sword coast probably just makes it easier. All kinds of cities, lots of access to transport.

"I worked at a circus. We had a bunch of animals, including a lion, a tiger, and a bear. Oh my." The druid pauses to think about the next several levels. "Even an elephant and a giant lizard from Chult."

It's totally DM dependent, but it's still just not something that's worth counting on as being meaningful.

 

[Psikerlord#]

yeah the "you havent seen that yet" restriction is really no restriction at all. A year of wandering the wilderness, like many druids would = seen all the usual suspects. Probably the only rare things would be dinosaurs.

 

[jimmyjimjam]

For example, of the two druid players I've seen, _both_ had a background that they were raised by animals. One by tigers, one by wolves. At that point, the limitation is a hit to versatility but not a hit to power, and becomes more punitive than effective in limitation.

That's cool. I have a 2nd level half-ogre/tiefling who raised by leprechauns and a half-elemental drow ranger who was raised by demons and devils (adopted by a married demon-devil couple who later divorced. Dad was a demon and got him on weekends).

 

[KarinsDad]

Sadly, the sword coast probably just makes it easier. All kinds of cities, lots of access to transport.

"I worked at a circus. We had a bunch of animals, including a lion, a tiger, and a bear. Oh my." The druid pauses to think about the next several levels. "Even an elephant and a giant lizard from Chult."

It's totally DM dependent, but it's still just not something that's worth counting on as being meaningful.

Agreed. I was speaking about the "raised by tigers" part though. As for cities, it's interesting that the typical Druid background is that the PC is totally non-urban, but the moment the player realizes that tigers are not found in the wild of the Sword Coast, he suddenly says: "Well, my Druid saw them at the zoo in Waterdeep. Yeah, yeah, that's the ticket. My totally hermit wilderness PC went into the heart of that hateful urban sprawl of a city and that's where he saw all of those cool creatures. And yeah yeah, he did this before the campaign even started.'".

 

[KarinsDad]

For example, of the two druid players I've seen, _both_ had a background that they were raised by animals. One by tigers, one by wolves. At that point, the limitation is a hit to versatility but not a hit to power, and becomes more punitive than effective in limitation.

Actually, our PC fighter also was "raised by wolves" due to the (I think Outlander) background of "I was in fact, raised by wolves". The player of that PC convinced the DM that he can talk with wolves (which the DM allowed as one of his languages), but he also tries to convince the DM once in a while that "wolves come to his aid when in grave danger".


I suspect that there will be a substantial increase in the number of PC backgrounds in 5E where PCs were raised by wolves or other animals than in any other earlier edition of the game.

 

[keterys]

Yes, the first druid was an Outlander who used the "I was in fact raised by wolves" quote from the background.

The second druid the DM actually had people roll up random backgrounds in an old RPG book, and she had childhood exposure to lycanthropy and wild animals, but the DM actually gave her the background.

 

[Dausuul]

haha, if a player said they were raised by tigers, I'd say, "Really? More likely you were eaten by tigers.". For one, tigers don't behave like that; they are pretty solitary. Secondly, it's pretty silly.

and to your first part, just scouting up a trail doesn't mean you'll find a cool cr1 creature. The animal has to live there for one. I grew up in the forests of Oregon and Alaska, and I didn't see a bear or cougar just whenever I wanted by scouting up a trail. It stands to reason that a druid growing up in that region would have eventually seen these creatures, but not guaranteed they would by just visiting. Let alone seeing a giant hyena there lol.

the rule to help mitigate that power is important, and if your DM just allows everything, you can't complain the power is too OP, because that's a DM issue

If I made a druid character with the Hermit or Outlander background, and my DM tried to tell me I'd never seen a large predator, I'd have a hard time believing he was serious. Sure, maybe I've never run into a giant spider. But a brown bear? Really? This is not some modern city dweller who sometimes goes hiking in modern America. This is a character who has spent years living in the untamed wilderness; a character who has both the motive (self-defense) and the means (druidic magic) to seek out a brown bear and get a good look at it.