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.

 

[Clint_L]

As I understand it, the question is settled, at least for the 2024 PHB, which is what we're discussing.

I mean, sort of? IMO WotC sort of half-assed it by keeping beast shapes but instead of the beasts stats you get AC, HP and a damage bonus derived from your Druid level…so sort of like a template. And that damage bonus per attack is a real problem, BTW. Unless they have added new higher level beasts with three or more attacks, it means your forever combat wildshape will be giant scorpion.

I think WotC dragged something to a bare 70% and deadlines were looming so they said “good enough.” Hopefully they’ve made significant improvements since the UA.

 

[mellored]

Undrave is absolutely right that separating animals depending on where you find them makes no sense.

It makes sense for the Monster Manual. Your in a desert, the DM wants desert monsters. And the DM uses the book far more than players.

Now with creatures now in the PHB, I could see them sorted differently.

 

[mellored]

you get AC, HP and a damage bonus derived from your Druid level…so sort of like a template

Notably to-hit was not on that list.

Hopefully that changed.

And that damage bonus per attack is a real problem, BTW. Unless they have added new higher level beasts with three or more attacks, it means your forever combat wildshape will be giant scorpion.

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.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Templates means you don't have to look through multiple books and pages to find the perfect form. It also means you don't have to consider the Druid when making new monsters to fight.

A base template with some stats calculation, and then a series of features you can add to it based on your Druid level would make it much easier. Like, a level 1 Druid can turn into a cat for scouting, but at later level they can pick a trait to make that wild shape even smaller and now they can turn into a mouse and later a spider! You could have a travel form that's a horse and then later add a trait to make it a flying creature, or swimming one.

I don't believe people care to have the exact numbers of a bear or a wolf from the MM. What's the AC of a bear? I don't know and I don't really care, but I imagine it's tougher than my druid and that's really what people want in a transformation: to be good at something your druid isn't. If I turn into a cat to infiltrate a castle I care about my Stealth bonus, not the exact damage my claws would make, ya know?

Try to keep in mind that it also means you don't get to look through multiple sources to find the form you prefer.

Also, none of us get to decide that most people agree with me, so it's good that the rules do too, or bad that they don't agree with me. We only decide for ourselves.

 

[Undrave]

What we have here is a failure to communicate.

Templates do not fit the class fantasy of druid for a lot of people. It's not about what is more convenient or what is "better," it's about being able to shapeshift into a specific animal, not into a generic bundle of stats that you can call an animal if you want.

I ran into this at school when Tasha's reimagined the Beastmaster ranger. My students absolutely rejected the "beast of the land, sea, air" concept. They wanted their character to have a specific beast companion. Their version of Trinket, basically.

It's a fantasy roleplaying game. The math doesn't matter if the proposal doesn't match the class fantasy.

I guess if everybody wants a worst game... What is the Druid supposed to turn into at level 15 exactly?!

Anyway...

For the Beastmasters I think you could just take the 4e approach and make up new stat blocks that include scaling in them. The 4e Beastmasters had stat blocks for bear, boar, cat, horse, lizard, serpent, simian, spider and wolf. Aah of them had its own characteristics, and you were encouraged to use these blocks to cover other specific animals with some good old refluffing. I think it covers the Beastmaster fantasy without being saddled with a sub par NPC that'll be outclassed in two minutes.

Did I ever mentioned I don't like pet classes?

I think for the druid, having scaling bonuses replacing a few key stats of the beast would probably be ideal, actually. I feel like every druid sorta gets into a groove of having a signature form they always default to, and it's kinda lame having to change your favorite form just because it's out CR'd by your opponents. You're not a real wolf, you're a MAGIC wolf dangit!

It appears WotC lost a good opportunity here: if the PHB listed recommendations from the MM into these categories new players would be helped into finding suitable forms without having to scour the entire MM. Especially conservative DMs could restrict wild shaping to these lists only.

Yeah I can see that being a decent set up. A little chart with CR for the row and use for the columns (Scout, Travel, Defense, Attack) would do nicely I think.

 

[mellored]

I guess if everybody wants a worst game... What is the Druid supposed to turn into at level 15 exactly?!

Use Speak With Animals to gather as many rats as possible within 30'.

Cast Animals Shapes to turn them all into elephants.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I think it's strange that for some people, a monster statblock labeled "Elephant" is somehow more an elephant than a "generic bundle of stats that you can call what you want" - they're both a generic bundle of stats that only roughly imply an animal. Sure, some do the job of evoking imagery - slightly - better than others (though a bespoke statblock doesn't always do a better job than a template does).

But I accept that people feel that way.

 

[fluffybunbunkittens]

Animal titles! I just want to turn into a lynx without needing to guess whether they ever made an entry for one (that I bet would not cover their fluffy pawsies letting them travel over snow easier, anyway).

 

[mellored]

I think it's strange that for some people, a monster statblock labeled "Elephant" is somehow more an elephant than a "generic bundle of stats that you can call what you want" - they're both a generic bundle of stats that only roughly imply an animal. Sure, some do the job of evoking imagery - slightly - better than others (though a bespoke statblock doesn't always do a better job than a template does).

But I accept that people feel that way.

Elephants have a prehensile trunk, huge size, and very high Str.

Template would be medium with 14 Str, a claw attack, and a climb speed.

I understand the appeal. But they don't offer enough variety.

IMO.

 

[fluffybunbunkittens]

Template would be medium with 14 Str, a claw attack, and a climb speed.

One of the templates. At lv2.

Are we also going to pretend that let-me-read-the-whole-monster-manual Druids can only turn into one specific thing all through their careers?