D&D 5E Druid spells .... gone?

[Staffan]

Fantasy is ripe with tropes of 'sacred spaces' that don't exist in temples: Sacred Groves, Ancient Burial Grounds, Protected Forests. Are these not Hallowed Ground? Are you telling me the Iconic Archetype, the one with a 'transcendent union with nature' is unable to protect these 'holy' places or create sacred places that undead or evil are unable to profane?

The way I see it, druids are unconcerned with alignment stuff. Nature covers both the soothing rain that brings life to the land, and the hurricane that tears life from it. It's both the mother wolf nursing her cubs, and the same wolf savagely tearing into its prey. Some druids are good and some are evil, but neither is inherent to being a druid, and thus their magic doesn't much care either way.

Another thought, though this one's more of a rationalization: sure, there are Sacred Groves and such. But those are natural (well, more or less) phenomena, not created ones. You don't have druids deciding "This would be a good place for a sacred grove" - rather, sacred groves exist and druids are interested in protecting them. This is unlike the temples clerics use, which are built by man.

 

[jaelis]

Well a druid does decide where to cast sacred grove...

 

[Jester David]

I've been really excited to play a druid in 5e. Especially circle. I know most people gush over moon druids but, from 3.5, druids had some of the coolest rp and utility spells.

Then I looked at their spells list:

-No warp wood
-No shape wood
-Stone Shape is 4th(!) now and only does 1- 5 foot cube????
-Hallow is no longer a druid spell?
(I guess the Archdruid hired a cleric to sanctify Stonehenge.)
-Control weather is now 8th instead of 7th.

They still get plant growth which is nice.

Most of these spell had very little combat utility but were very useful (although situational) for long campaigns. Like hollowing out a cliff side to give the village protection from the marauding dragon, for example.

Stone shape, for example. They should have kept it as is but raised the level to 4th or, changed it to (almost useless) but kept it at 3rd. Am I the only one disappointed by this? Would you allow these spells back in your campaigns?

Well, thanks for the replies. My excitement for playing a druid has, sadly, been curbed.

If you know what the spells do and have the older books for reference... why not update those spells yourself?

Or check on the Dungeon Master's Guild website to see if any of the various spell collections update those spells? This one is popular and large.

If you need help balancing, you can post your first attempts here and we can give some feedback and tweak the phrasing.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

The way I see it, druids are unconcerned with alignment stuff. Nature covers both the soothing rain that brings life to the land, and the hurricane that tears life from it. It's both the mother wolf nursing her cubs, and the same wolf savagely tearing into its prey. Some druids are good and some are evil, but neither is inherent to being a druid, and thus their magic doesn't much care either way.

Another thought, though this one's more of a rationalization: sure, there are Sacred Groves and such. But those are natural (well, more or less) phenomena, not created ones. You don't have druids deciding "This would be a good place for a sacred grove" - rather, sacred groves exist and druids are interested in protecting them. This is unlike the temples clerics use, which are built by man.

Some nice points here. Although, I would have preferred if they'd maintained player agency and let someone playing a druid decide their sacred spaces rather than relying on the DM to sprinkle them on the map.

Well a druid does decide where to cast sacred grove...

I don't get what you mean...

If you know what the spells do and have the older books for reference... why not update those spells yourself?

Or check on the Dungeon Master's Guild website to see if any of the various spell collections update those spells? This one is popular and large.

If you need help balancing, you can post your first attempts here and we can give some feedback and tweak the phrasing.

Noted. And I will if/when the time comes.

 

[jaelis]

I don't get what you mean...

My comment was in response to

Another thought, though this one's more of a rationalization: sure, there are Sacred Groves and such. But those are natural (well, more or less) phenomena, not created ones. You don't have druids deciding "This would be a good place for a sacred grove" - rather, sacred groves exist and druids are interested in protecting them. This is unlike the temples clerics use, which are built by man.

 

[Staffan]

Well a druid does decide where to cast sacred grove...

That's assuming that your game includes the spell from Xanathar's Guide to Everything. However, that spell is much closer to guards and wards in its effect than to hallow - it produces a number of defensive effects lasting for 24 hours, and only by repeated casting for a whole year will it become permanent.