Playtest (A5E) Level Up Playtest Document #4: Druid

Welcome to the fourth Level Up playtest document. This playtest contains a candidate for the first 10 levels of game’s druid class.

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Are you ready to level up your 5E game? Welcome to Level Up, the standalone 'advanced 5E' backwards compatible tabletop RPG coming in 2021!

A crunchier, more flexible version of the 5E ruleset which you know and love. If you love 5E but would like a little more depth to the ruleset, Level Up is the game for you!

What this is​

This is a playtest document. We’d love you to try out the rules presented here, and then answer the follow-up survey in a few days.

What this is not​

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[Stalker0]

Alright our first spellcaster! This one is interesting, for the rogue and fighter you could argue that they were operating in roughly the same design space as their standard counterparts. With this druid, its really a shift away from spellcasting towards more wild shape use.

It can be a bit hard to read the class and understand the wildshape differences at first, so here is a little comparison to help people understand.

Wildshape Comparison

Attribute	5e	Levelup
Uses	2 / short rest	Proficiency Modifier / long rest
Duration	½ Druid Level	Druid Level
Wildshape Forms Known	Unlimited	Limited
CR of Forms	¼ at 2, ½ at 4, 1 at 8	½ at 2, 1 at 4, 2 at 8*
Fly/Swim Forms	Swim at 4th, Fly at 8th	Swim and Fly at 5th
HP	Wildshape HP (at 0, lose form and return to normal HP)	Normal + 1d4 x CR (at 0, lose form and fall unconscious)
Spellcasting	None in Wild Shape	Self, Touch spells that don’t deal damage or negative conditions.##
Legendary/Lair Actions***	Can’t use in Wild Shape	Can use
AC Improvement	None	AC =12 + ¼ druid level, unless form has better AC
Equipment	Merge, drop on ground, or remain worn	Merge only
Language	Beast’s Language	Your languages**

*The document text and table are inconsistent here. The text says ¼ at 2nd, while the chart shows 1/2.

**It is unclear whether the inclusion of language in the wild shape description is more for flavor, for clarity (aka you understand people around you), or if it is an intentional benefit of the levelup Druid (you can speak in your normal languages while in wild shape).

*** I don't actually know if this ever comes up, but since the vanilla Druid makes a specific note about it and levelup does not, I noted it for completeness.

##While the document does not specifically say how spell casting components work in wildshape, a designer has clarified that there are notes in future documents to explain this. Therefore for now the assumption is that a druid would be able to cast spells with components while in wild shape.

 

[Zaukrie]

Do I need the PHB to play this? Because I don't see any druid circle info....maybe I missed it?

 

[Xethreau]

Do I need the PHB to play this? Because I don't see any druid circle info....maybe I missed it?

The class is backwards compatible with all existing 5e druid circles. The team has not yet written their archetypes. This is a test for the base class.

 

[TwoSix]

@Stalker0: Minor note: Wildshape in the 5e PHB is 2 times per short rest, not long rest.

It's an interesting approach. It's a little better, in general, than a normal Druid's wildshape. Better forms and slightly better AC. Flight at 5 instead of 8. The hit points are obviously a big nerf, as is the overall frequency of wildshape at lower tiers. Without providing the big buffer of hit points, you end up using less wildshape uses overall, which feels like a positive change from a gameplay standpoint, if not from a power standpoint.

The interesting change to me was the decreased spell progression; I'll be curious to see if that continues with other classes. Assuming they keep to 5e's unified spell progression module, that slower spell progression is a LevelUp thing.

 

[Mike Myler]

The interesting change to me was the decreased spell progression; I'll be curious to see if that continues with other classes. Assuming they keep to 5e's unified spell progression module, that slower spell progression is a LevelUp thing.

That's a typo and a fixed PDF will be up soon. Same spell progression as the old 5E druid.

 

[TwoSix]

That's a typo and a fixed PDF will be up soon. Same spell progression as the old 5E druid.

Phew! Learning a new spell slot progression is a lot of work for my old brain.

 

[Stalker0]

That's a typo and a fixed PDF will be up soon. Same spell progression as the old 5E druid.

Oh good to know, yeah that would be quite the change!

 

[NotAYakk]

@Stalker0 druid WS is per short rest in base 5e.

 

[Stalker0]

@Stalker0: Minor note: Wildshape in the 5e PHB is 2 times per short rest, not long rest.

Thank you updating now.