D&D 5E Plane Shift: Druid

[Aetherpunk]

So I'm certainly working out what I can using James Wyatt's MTG Plane Shift series, and one thing I can't shake is the feeling the Druid class isn't a proper fit. While polymorphing and even some bestial transformations happen now and again in Magic, druids (or shamans for that matter) don't primarily do wildshape-esque maneuvers. James Wyatt even responded to my tweet about this for Plane Shift: Zendikar (the content I hope to use first) and his best answer was reflavor Wildshape as if it were Totem Armor (though I'm compelled to tweak its function as well) while I'd LOVE to implement Totem Armor, that doesn't solve the problem for Innistrad, and certainly not the expected Kaladesh PDF, nor does it fit canon characters whom I must believe would make appearances as NPCs at some point. While Kiora's class is debatable, Nissa is certainly a Druid, and yet to feel appropriate by default would have to forego the Wildshape feature.

So does anyone have advice on homebrewing ONLY a replacement for Wildshape and altering related subclasses (ex: Circle of the Moon) to better reflect MTG's Druids?

On Innistrad, logically, only werewolves transform into man-wolf hybrids, so playing with lycanthropic druids by default isn't really viable.

As far as base concept goes, all I can come up with is a Plant/Elemental/Beast summoning SLA (with some exceptions, considering creatures like the Felidar count as Celestials, though would make good summoned creatures at later levels)
Taking a page out of Pathfinder, something similar to the "Nature Domain" alternative makes sense thematically, but mechanically the Nature Domain doesn't exactly yield appropriate results. Any feedback is appreciated.

I plan to leave much of the classes alone, and would prefer that besides the Druid's one-time multiversal Wildshape replacement, simply mildly alter class archetypes to suit the plane in question. Like changing a Path of the Totem Warrior Barbarian's default totems to include a heron and wolf on Innistrad. Perhaps the Circle of the Moon could be renamed to Circle of the Umbra and add/alter so that Totem Armor *could* be applied on Zendikar.

 

[mellored]

Circle of land doesn't do much with wild shape. Good or utility, but not much else.

Perhaps replace it with conjure minor animal. You get a pet off the same CR as you could transformation into. It takes concentration in place of not being able to cast spells, until 18 when beast spell makes it non-concentration.

 

[Lackhand]

I'm not a fan of wildshape on my druids-of-the-land.

I don't think you could safely pick wildshape out of the druid-of-the-moon; it's their whole reason for being, so it's not going to sub out easily. Ignore them; focus on the druid of the land.

You could replace wildshape with 1-for-1 uses of the Cleric-domain-of-nature's Charm Plants and Animals (both are around-2-uses-per-short-rest, both are plant and animal related). If you did this, Beast Spell would be replaced with the Cleric's Master of Nature, and Archdruid would continue to allow an infinite number of uses of this ability.

Alternately, you could figure out exactly what a druid hopes to get out of wildshape at levels 2, 4 and 8, and give them those abilities without needing to shapeshift. For instance, at level 2, the available forms can walk faster, burrow, or occasionally do small amounts of poison damage. The druid can already do poison damage with their cantrips, burrow is just wierd in context; the druid could just have always-on longstrider without ruining too much. Druids of the land get sorta-kinda always-on pas without trace at 6th, so we don't want to undercut that.
At level 4, the forms permit waterbreathing, swimming, leaping and grappling. Again, we have better ways to do some of these, but you could absolutely grant a standing leap and a swim speed here; maybe a Hold Breath for 30 minutes.
At level 8, the forms permit flight, echolocation, better poisons, ink clouds, webwalking. This is getting harder to say "I know, I'll just grant improved exploration abilities" since, flight, wings. At 10th level we're going to be immune to poison, so that won't be fruitful to explore now. Our best bet here might be Divine Strike, 1d8 extra poison damage on attacks (at 14th, 2d8) per cleric, or Potent Spellcasting (Wisdom modifier to cantrips), same. This doesn't help with flight at all, but the druid can always cast Polymorph on themselves at this point in order to turn into a bird and fly away.
We still need a substitute for Beast Spells; at 18th level, I guess you can actually fly permanently.

/me shrugs

 

[Aetherpunk]

Well Druid of the Land already has Natural Recovery, which is pretty much equivalent to druids' "untap target land" / "add G to your mana pool" effects. So what's pretty much left is dropping plant creatures, elemental creatures, and/or "awakening" the land into an elemental creature. Pretty sure conjuration spells are already in a druid's spell list. How to make such a conjuration simpler, higher power level, with greater options for a Lv2 SLA that functions same as Wildshape?

Though the Nature Domain Channel Divinity is a very good step in the right direction. Though it doesn't scale very well. For a cleric maybe it's fair, but if Wildshape vanishes, I think charming could progress a tiny bit quicker than that to commanding, and maybe even conjuring already loyal plants and animals. (Though for an MTG campaigns, more creatures should count as "animals" regardless)

 

[Aetherpunk]

If not, can anyone suggest a PoV for reflavored Wildshape on Innistrad or Kaladesh? Innistrad has lycanthropy, but only werewolves and for every Druid PC to become a werewolf at 2nd level is proposterous imo. So I'd like to homebrew a "Circle of the Umbra" to allow the substitute for Wildshape to be further repurpose its uses for Totem Armor, but while it would be simpler to just reflavor Wildshape as Totem Armor on Zendikar, Innistrad and Kaladesh don't have easy answers.