Wild Shape and Druid familiarity

[Tempuswolf]

But...

All druids get Nature Sense:

A druid can identify plants and animals (their species and special traits) with perfect accuracy.

What animals would be unfamiliar to a druid?

Wildshape as a form of polymorphing does require familiarity, however this 1st level class ability fullfills this requirement, or am I reading too much into this feature?

 

[Pielorinho]

Re: But...

All druids get Nature Sense:

What animals would be unfamiliar to a druid?

Wildshape as a form of polymorphing does require familiarity, however this 1st level class ability fullfills this requirement, or am I reading too much into this feature?

I tried this argument on my DM, but he convinced me that it made druids much less flavorful if they were all turning into exactly the same critters. So we put in a minor houserule (more of a clarification):

You'll note that the PHB doesn't specify whether nature sense is an extraordinary or supernatural ability. We decided that it is supernatural: that on seeing an animal, even one he's never seen before, a primal knowledge of the animal comes into the druid's mind.

A druid who has never seen a platypus before has no idea that they exist, and might laugh dismissively at someone who describes one. On seeing one, however, the druid will immediately know that the females lay eggs and that the males have poisonous spurs on their hind feet that are usually used in territorial disputes with other males.

Daniel

 

[Dark Dragon]

Re: But...

All druids get Nature Sense:



What animals would be unfamiliar to a druid?

Wildshape as a form of polymorphing does require familiarity, however this 1st level class ability fullfills this requirement, or am I reading too much into this feature?

Well, perhaps one shouldn't read it exactly word for word. If a druid from a cold climate sees a boar in a jungle, he'd perhaps tell: 'Hmm, just a feeling, but...that animal may be dangerous, let's be cautious.' The same about poisonous plants.
There's more role playing instead of saying 'eh that's a boar, that fly here is a drosophila XYZ, that plant there a sequioa and this stony area is of dolomite, maybe there are caves below us...'

 

[Mark]

I've always thought that to identify something, as in using Nature Sense, you have to be in proximity to it. It doesn't, IMO, give you a familiarity with it either, just a knowledge of it's properties.

My way of handling Wild Shape presupposes that familiarity means you've spent some time examining or studying the habits and routines of an animal.

For example, if a Druid is from a forested, hilly region that is along a mountain range, they could easily have had time to experience the ways of the mountain lion, bear, large badger, etc. I would hesitate to allow them to take the shape of an animal caged in a zoo or seen only briefly, unless that animal was closely approxinated by one with which they were familiar (I.E. tigers are similar to mountain lions). I would not allow them to take the shape of a creature of which they had only heard stories.

Just my own take on it, of course.

 

[Vanye]

Druids are a bit underpowered when compared to Clerics. Wildshape not requiring a DF (and the medicine bag you're talking about is essentially a DF) is one of the few things that makes a Druid comparable in a scenario where everyone is without their gear.
Greg

(Just now catching up on some topics I missed over the last few weeks due to the poor performance of the boards; it's flying for me today, woohoo!)

One possible way to do this would be to borrow a page from the FRCS and the way it handles regions. The druid starts out with, say, a home "region" (which could be defined as a terrain type, or possibly (if the DM has put enough work into it) a geographical region) with which he is familiar with the local creatures. Then, for every two points of Wilderness Lore he has, the druid could add a "region", allowing him to gain familiarity with creatures of a new area. That would be one way of allowing the druid to add new creature types, without requiring a feat or a new skill.

 

[Speaks With Stone]

I like the idea of familiarity and I especially like the flavor of the medicine bag or even a necklace of various bones. (I may have to start my own collection in my campaign).

I think that the limitation of having to study a deer and its habits before being able to take the form could really crimp the druids style. After travelling to a new region, I can see the rest of the group growling and complaining about wasting days in nature watching. I'd say that since familiarity was not defined, the level will have to be what the game can sustain. If your campaign will have plenty of down time in between adventures for the druid to lose himself in studying nature, great. If not, then some form of contact should be enough to cover familiarity.

I also think that with this new limitation that traditional druid groves may have various biospheres for studying other animals or at least frequent safaris to train the newbies. (And if you all look to the left of the bus, you will see the wildebeast in his natural habitat. Remember that smell, it will help you focus on that form when the time comes).

 

[nharwell]

I think a medicine bag approach (or something similar) would be interesting, but I'd want to give some small boost to the druid in return (you're effectively requiring a material component/focus for an ability that has none) -- maybe +2 to the animal form's physical stats, or give the equivalent of the "fast wildshape" feat.

 

[zeroorez]

wildshape familiarity

ok so my dm thinks that to be familiar with a form i need to study it.
he defines study as live with the form for at least a month before beaing able to asume that form or and i guess this is him trying to be nice he will let me study it in books for 4 months.
for a druid i think this is too restrictive, but in my case its worse because i decided to take the master of many forms which still has the familiarity restriction
so any ideas on how i might be able to fight this ruling

i sugested making me roll some knolage check with a high dc to see if im familiar and over time like day spent with form or day reading about them i can make a new check modifyed for my study time

he said he whould think about it.

 

[amethal]

ok so my dm thinks that to be familiar with a form i need to study it.
he defines study as live with the form for at least a month before beaing able to asume that form or and i guess this is him trying to be nice he will let me study it in books for 4 months.
for a druid i think this is too restrictive, but in my case its worse because i decided to take the master of many forms which still has the familiarity restriction
so any ideas on how i might be able to fight this ruling

i sugested making me roll some knolage check with a high dc to see if im familiar and over time like day spent with form or day reading about them i can make a new check modifyed for my study time

he said he whould think about it.

Ask your DM whether it is practical in his campaign for your character to take a month off every time he levels in order to study animals.

This certainly sounds like a great idea to me.

There's no need to role-play it. Just hand wave it at the start of the next session.

You can also assume that during this time the wizard has scribed lots of scrolls, the cleric and the sorcerer have sold their spellcasting for a month, the bard has developed lots of contacts and brushed up on his knowledge skills, and the fighter has sold his services as a bodyguard or enforcer. Any characters with profession or craft skills can ask the DM how much gold they have earned during the month.

In the meantime the goblins may have overrun the village, the princess may have been eaten by that ogre, no one will ever find out what happened to the missing royal messenger, etc. etc.

Its not the PCs fault that they were too busy at the time to help ......

 

[zeroorez]

ok i totaly see the benifit of the down time and not roleplaying it works to but as a master of meany forms i can eventualy change into things like trolls and dragons on oozes to how do you hand wave me living with a troll or befriending a gelatinous cube or i dont even know what to do with the red dragon for a month