D&D (2024) 2024 Player's Handbook Reveal: Shape of "New Druid"

Druid video today. Where will wildshape land?

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We saw three druids in the playtest, and each was meaningfully different. The most recent look at the class was in PT8 (UA Playtest document 8); with the Moon Druid in PT8, and Land Druid and Sea Druid in PT6, with the Stars Druid in Tasha's. What will change? What will be revealed? Will it be feasible to pick an combat animal shape and stick with it through 20 levels? Let's find out!

OVERVIEW

• "there is a ton of new in the druid": but it was all in the playtest materials. Very little to see here. "the final version has elements people didn't get to see" in the playtest, however everything they discuss was in the playtest documents.
• Primal order choice at level 1: Warden or Magician. Warden gives proficiency in Medium armor and martial weapons; Magician gives cantrip and nature checks (and so =PT8). Magician incentivizes not dumping Intelligence.
• no mention of metal armor; presumably any restriction is now gone.
• Druidic includes speak with animals prepared.
• Wildshape (as in PT8): as a bonus action; wild companion option from Tasha's for a familiar; you can speak; spellslot for another wildshift at 5.
• NO MENTION OF BEAST FORMS IN THE PHB.
• At level 7, Elemental Fury choice not determined by level 1 choice; you can mix-and-match. (would you want to?) Improved at level 15 -- extra range option works at range while flying, if you want.
• new cantrips: Starry Wisp (ranged spell attack in PT8) and Elementalism (PT6).

Overall, this is pretty disappointing in terms of a preview for people who have been invested in the playtest. No discussion of the beast forms in the PHB, no mention of distinctive Druid features (metal armor, though the silence is probably revelatory) or adjustements to canonical spells (any adjustments to Reincarnate so it might actually see play?).

Narrator: His questions would not be answered.

SUBCLASSES
Land

• Almost all as in PT6. This is "all about your spellcasting".
• you choose your land type every long rest. Arid, Polar, Temperate, Tropical (as in PT6).
• use wildshape at 3 to create "eruption of nature magic" (harms and heals). Expanded at 14 to include resitances.
• Two damage resistances at 10 (with flexibility: poison plus one determined by land type

Sea

• wanted to "make sure we don't have the Aquaman problem".
• NEW: Water breathing replaces Sleet storm on the subclass spell list.

Moon

• Almost everything exactly as in PT8: AC is "more reliable"; gain in temporary hit points instead of just taking over the creature's hit points. (a nerf, but a needed one). (Crawford ties it to abilities that activate when you get zero hp;
• NEW: subclass spell list given (it is different from PT8):
  • 3: cure wounds, moon beam, starry wisp (unchanged)
  • 5: conjure animals (replacing Vampiric touch)
  • 7: fount of Moonlight (new spell, as in PT8)
  • 9: mass cure wounds (replacing Dawn).

Stars

• like Tasha's, but starting now at level 3. Enhanced by core class, but no specific changes made.

 

[jmartkdr2]

Again, calling on PF2 here: In PF2, characters have three actions per turn. Commanding a minion (animal companions, familiars, summoned creatures) usually takes one action, and lets the minion take two of them. So you're getting a total of four actions, but on the other hand both need to spend separate actions to move. If not commanded, minions generally don't do anythings but may at the GM's discretion do things like defend themselves, move out of combat, or try to protect an unconscious master. There are also some classes that let the minion take a single action without being commanded (usually a move).

In practice, this usually mean the minion and the master both get two actions, so they're individually weaker but there's two of them so they add up to "not overpowered." It works without being lopsided or broken. That's the goal, isn't it?

 

[Staffan]

In practice, this usually mean the minion and the master both get two actions, so they're individually weaker but there's two of them so they add up to "not overpowered." It works without being lopsided or broken. That's the goal, isn't it?

A bit of both, to be fair. An animal companion is usually weaker than a focused martial character (particularly since having an animal companion tends to eat up a lot of your class feats if you want it to remain relevant) – but it can be as strong as or stronger than a caster-type character in combat. I think the main limitation, particularly for a martial, is that the main and the companion need to move separately, which reduces the action economy. But on the other hand, they count multiple attack penalty separately so where you'd usually be able to move, attack once, and then attack a second time at -4 or -5, with the companion it'd be command companion, companion move, companion attack, you move to flanking position, you attack while the target is off-guard and has -2 AC.

In other words, there are situations where a companion is great. There are also other situations where it doesn't work as well as you'd hope. So all in all, it's pretty balanced.

 

[Undrave]

The only solution I've seen work is for the master to also be pretty weak, so that you're getting two sets of actions that are half as good as what another character can pull off. PF summoners are a decent example, as are 13th Age rangers in my experience.

Sounds like you'd just end up with TWO liability.

Personally I'd just create a 'Beast' sidekick class and have the beast companion, avalable to just about anybody, be treated as a simplified extra character. Just take it into account when building encounters and nobody'll notice. Then you can give the Ranger a subclass that's all about making coodinated attack with another character. The Ranger player want a beast companion? Well he can just manage two PCs at once, that's the cost for getting what you want.

 

[jmartkdr2]

Sounds like you'd just end up with TWO liability.

Nah, they're both perfectly competent, able to hit enemies and deal damage and not die in most fights.

Personally I'd just create a 'Beast' sidekick class and have the beast companion, avalable to just about anybody, be treated as a simplified extra character. Just take it into account when building encounters and nobody'll notice. Then you can give the Ranger a subclass that's all about making coodinated attack with another character. The Ranger player want a beast companion? Well he can just manage two PCs at once, that's the cost for getting what you want.

Which is what the PF2 and 13A rangers pull off without giving one player twice as much combat power as everyone else.

 

[Clint_L]

Notably to-hit was not on that list.

Hopefully that changed.

They said they expanded monster CR range. Low level vampires and high levels slimes.

Seems more likely than not that higher CR beasts where added too.

It’s not just about higher CR beasts, it’s about having options other than giant scorpion with three attacks. If they’ve stuck with the most recent UA design, moon Druids get a damage bonus to each attack while wildshaped. So more attacks equals more damage. In the current UA, that means that giant scorpion becomes their default combat form once it is available, as it is the only one with three or more attacks.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

shrug

I know it's popular, but I am sad to see the metal armor restriction gone.

Does it make sense? Naw, not really. But it's one of those oddities that gave the class a little flavor.

Plus, a few years from now ... no one will get the "Druid Explodes" jokes.

 

[mellored]

It’s not just about higher CR beasts, it’s about having options other than giant scorpion with three attacks. If they’ve stuck with the most recent UA design, moon Druids get a damage bonus to each attack while wildshaped. So more attacks equals more damage. In the current UA, that means that giant scorpion becomes their default combat form once it is available, as it is the only one with three or more attacks.

I'd be surprised if they did nothing. They should be aware of the issue.

My guess is all higher CR beasts, including scorpion, will have 2 attacks.
Or possibly making the damage boost 1/round, and a little bigger.

 

[Remathilis]

shrug

I know it's popular, but I am sad to see the metal armor restriction gone.

Does it make sense? Naw, not really. But it's one of those oddities that gave the class a little flavor.

Plus, a few years from now ... no one will get the "Druid Explodes" jokes.

It's sitting up in gamer heaven with clerics cutting their meat with spoons jokes and rogues doing it from behind jokes.

 

[fluffybunbunkittens]

One of the reason why I hate animal companions... they either break the action economy or they're a huge liability.

That's because certain games insist on treating them like their own individual entities with their own stat blocks. If they are just (unique) special effects for your combat actions, you can get the theme without the problems.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

It's sitting up in gamer heaven with clerics cutting their meat with spoons jokes and rogues doing it from behind jokes.

Thieves.

Thieves do it from behind.

And you're missing a big one. I mean, say what you want about the tenets of the Lawful Stupid Paladin, Remathilis, at least it's an ethos.

Slight digression- while the "cleric can't use edged weapons" was always a trope and example, even in OD&D (and in AD&D), this was a rule with exceptions. Certain deities would allow their clerics to use edged weapons.