D&D (2024) Moon druid with weapons mastery?

[Incenjucar]

They can always give wildshape and other natural weapons a mastery that can be unlocked like any other - with a feat or martial class feature.

 

[Shardstone]

Even if this isn't in the core game, I'll homebrew it in now. I think it's super neat.

 

[Clint_L]

I don't like the proposal because to me it goes against the idea of what mastery is: reflecting extensive training and specialization with a particular weapon. A druid shouldn't just automatically be a master of whatever animal weaponry they acquire through virtue of a transformation. Maybe a druid who only fights as a velociraptor and spends months or years mastering it could get a special mastery feature from the DM, when transformed into that particular form.

But the huge advantage of druid shapeshifting is how flexible it is - you're a jack of all trades, master of none.

 

[Kobold Stew]

What features of the Moon Druid would you be prepared to lose in exchange for getting the masteries you propose?

 

[mellored]

What features of the Moon Druid would you be prepared to lose in exchange for getting the masteries you propose?

The bonus action unarmed attack.
Trading push for push.

Probably need a grapple mastery though. Maybe add it to the whip.

 

[Shardstone]

I don't like the proposal because to me it goes against the idea of what mastery is: reflecting extensive training and specialization with a particular weapon. A druid shouldn't just automatically be a master of whatever animal weaponry they acquire through virtue of a transformation. Maybe a druid who only fights as a velociraptor and spends months or years mastering it could get a special mastery feature from the DM, when transformed into that particular form.

But the huge advantage of druid shapeshifting is how flexible it is - you're a jack of all trades, master of none.

Yeah but imagine how fun it'd be to be a druid who uses wild shapes like fighters do their weapons to juggle mastery effects. Sounds naughty word sick

 

[mellored]

They can always give wildshape and other natural weapons a mastery that can be unlocked like any other - with a feat or martial class feature.

Or maybe a subclass?

A druid shouldn't just automatically be a master of whatever animal weaponry they acquire through virtue of a transformation.

I didn't suggest that druids get to do that.
I suggest moon druids get it

Maybe a druid who only fights as a velociraptor and spends months or years mastering it could get a special mastery feature from the DM, when transformed into that particular form.

What if "They wander the deepest parts of the wilderness, where they might go for weeks on end before crossing paths with another person, let alone another Druid."

But the huge advantage of druid shapeshifting is how flexible it is - you're a jack of all trades, master of none.

And ",a Druid of this circle might prowl as a great cat one night, soar over the treetops as an eagle the next day, and crash through the undergrowth in bear form to drive off a trespassing monster."

Cat gets nick
Eagles gets skirmish (which is another mastery found on scimitars)
Bears get topple.

Seems pretty fitting to me.

Much more so than the current play test where cats, eagles, and bears are equally good at grapple/prone/push.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

Probably not. Mastery seems to be intended to be what separates dedicated martial characters from the other characters able to fight in melee despite also being full spellcasters etc.
(And yes, there should have been a sweepstakes going for "How long after the Fighter Getting Nice Things do the Casters start demanding those things as well.")

Probably before I make that decision, I will look at how the Monk is treated, since I think that that Moon Druid attacks are more similar to Monk unarmed attacks than a fighter swapping weapons around.

Moon Druids do have access to Masteries through the feat. I think that I might let a Moon Druid take that feat for mastery that makes sense for a specific attack form in one of their templates. So they could take the feat for "Vex, for Air form's Claw attacks" perhaps. Possibly only if there were no actual warriors in the party.

 

[Mistwell]

Martials have spell casting subclasses.
Seems like a caster subclass could a mastery subclass.

Really, Moon druid, bladesinger, sword bard, and war cleric.

I am certainly not suggesting all casters get it. Just the melee subclass.

So you'd be cool with a fighter getting a wildshaping subclass?

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

So you'd be cool with a fighter getting a wildshaping subclass?

Sounds more like a Ranger or actually Barbarian thing. Definitely wouldn't have an issue with a class that focuses on fighting while partially or fully shapeshifted. That might be an interesting entry into playing more monstrous characters.