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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Fanaelialae" data-source="post: 7130916" data-attributes="member: 53980">I'm playing a moon druid with polymorph prepared in one of the campaigns I'm playing in. It does start off quite strong at 2nd level (though not in a "I'm a one man party kind of way") and grow less powerful as it progresses. We just hit 9th level at the end of last night, and in both deadly fights of the night (party of five 8th level PCs vs 3 Abominable Yeti / 1 Remorhaz) my druid took a far worse beating than either of the barbarian (admittedly, they both have bear totem). The Yetis we fought for approximately 5 rounds before we decided there was no chance of us winning and we retreated (blew through one wild shape and most of my HP). The Remorhaz we managed to down at the expense of a lot of hp, but it cost me 2 wild shapes and most of my HP. In all of the above cases, I didn't even get to expend spell slots to heal because they blew through the 42 hp of my polar bear form (which is special, and has an AC of 15) in a single round.Right now my biggest concern is that I just unlocked CR 3 forms (which would be welcome, because polar bear does not really feel up to snuff anymore) but we're in a landlocked fantasy version of Russia (cold) so I can't imagine how I'm going to acquire any of the CR 3 forms (which consists of ankylosaurus, giant scorpion, and killer whale). So, right now, one of my big concerns is that there are no CR 3 beasts common to this area, which means I'm going to be stuck with polar bear for the foreseeable future. I've already acquired mammoth form, but won't be able to use it until level 18. Currently I feel that it would be nice if there were more beasts in the CR 3-6 range for the druid to choose from. Granted, I will be getting elemental wild shape next level, but we don't short rest after every battle.Frankly, low level power-wise, I think the only tweak the moon druid could use is to reduce his wild shape CR at 2nd level to 1/2. I thought about implementing that myself, but then decided the change was more trouble than it's worth (it's only for one, very short, level).As for polymorph, I've only used it for utility and defense (turning an enemy into a frog) in this campaign. I did use it offensively in a previous campaign (on the party fighter, who was one hit away from unconsciousness) where it worked well but wasn't crazy. Any time I use polymorph I usually fall back and sling spells (usually cantrips), because I'm concerned about losing concentration.I wouldn't recommend taking away the bonus hp. Without those, you would likely have to give the moon druid crazy bonuses to keep him competitive with other front-line classes. As it is, IME the moon druid is a far cry from unkillable in any scenario that can potentially kill other front liners (like barbarians). I'm not saying that a moon druid has to be 100% as tough as a barbarian (druids have spells to fall back on) but a moon druid who focuses on wild shape ought to be in the same ballpark. Only the bonus hp make it so. Without those my character would be a damp stain many times over (as it is, he's been reduced to zero hp plenty of times), and that's with the 2 barbarians typically taking the brunt of aggression (in MMO terms my druid is more of an off-tank than a primary tank). The low AC of basically all beast forms ensures that you will get hit constantly, so without the bonus hp you'd be toast. I suppose that you could have wild shape increase the druid's AC instead, but that might be a tricky balancing act. Overall, I like that the moon druid has a different playstyle than a fighter. I just wish there were more choices of forms at the higher CRs (in my case, creatures suited to an arctic environment).</blockquote>

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