New Druid | 2024 Player's Handbook | D&D

[@corbanbausch9049]

Finally, Druids can actually make Nature checks lol

[@nyanbrox5418]

clerics are also going to have a similar option with religion checks or armour, just like the druid this honestly makes alot of sense, as you would expect that a studious cleric would have a better understanding of their own religion than the average commoner, other clerics who just love hitting stuff with a mace? not so much

[@coldhaven1233]

Yeah. RPing a Druid like: "Nah, dude. I don't know. I just work here."

[@tomevans2499]

Hear, hear!

[@5-Volt]

If they don't take the clearly better option of martial weapons and armor... This should be a base feature that all druids get..

[@purpleniumowlbear2952]

Just like we've always wanted! Druids are finally better at Nature checks than Wizards... And also Arcana checks?... Yay?

[@UltimateRandomness]

Druids of the Sea brought to you by Wizards of the Coast

[@invadingpotato2206]

Nice 👏

[@ryanweible9090]

im waiting for clerics of the tributary. also illusionists of the stream

[@ZachLyda]

Druids of the cove is right there though

[@Teodor_Ripka]

@@Giby86they took away 4 subclasses from the wizard instead

[@Koranthus]

@@Giby86 Assuming the rest will be brought in, but didn't want the subclass number disparity of 2014 right off the bat.

[@cprince170]

Find Familiar = Raven, Wildshape = Small/Tiny Animal, hitch a ride on your familiar for a fly speed wildshape at Level 2.

[@Mark-ki7ic]

Having a Redwall inspired vision of a mouse Palindin riding his Crow into battle.

[@douglasbushong3920]

You've had that since 2014 for any druid that took magic initiate or ritual caster (wizard) with their variant human feat.

[@Koranthus]

@@douglasbushong3920 ah yes, you've had that as long as you waste a free feat on a very specific niche fantasy as opposed to now getting it for free, how silly of us.

[@Richinnameonly]

I was going to do it with mage hand. Flying mouse in a teacup carried by a ghostly or invisible hand.

[@Mark-ki7ic]

@@Richinnameonly for 30 feet, let me ride my raven for half my druid level

Now we can understand the scene when Doric escape in the movie Honor Among Thieves! She has put all her spell slot into Wild Shapes!

[@Starok987]

I remember everyone saying on reddit i was a bad dm who didn't understand the games balancing because I wanted to give more wild shapes to druids. I feel so vindicated

@@Starok987 right?! That scene in the movie is fun, tense, exciting! Imagine that in a game table! Fun! I believe you are a good DM if your game is fun, not if you follow all the rules.

[@collollo]

I always considered it that she was already level 20 unlimited wildshaping

[@g3ar75]

​@@Starok987don't trust reddit my dude

[@EmeraldUsakaze]

Let's be real. Wild Shape HP being turned into a temp HP gain instead of getting the creature's HP pool isn't because of any potential "drop to 0 HP" mechanics abuse. It's because of Moon Druids having a bonus action button to suddenly gain triple digit HP to abuse.

[@IPIay01]

The amount of game breaking issues and they focus on something so minor?

[@stephen19590]

That's if moon will even work the same

[@katecritt]

Played a Moon Druid for years, frequently exclaimed at the DM, "Fool! These aren't even MY hit points!" so ... yeah, I see where they're coming from. Not mad about the changes though, this rewrite looks good.

[@valzor2562]

@@katecritt completely agree, felt untouchable early game when id just gain an extra 30 temp hit points, moving the power around a bit, giving spells in best form, extra damage on attacks, a little bit more AC, really makes it feel like the wild shape will curve better rather then just being so front loaded.

[@dazodi7298]

@@katecritt I agree its a needed balance change... but i still want my og druid wildshape in this regard, infinite life baby!

[@apjtv2540]

15:53 "A number of issues for the game system" *Looks over at Moon Druid chilling in a Tarrasque stomach* yeah, I'd say so.

[@RichardGonzalez-so9ub]

Party: How did you get out? We saw the Tarrasque swallow you whole! Druid: I just kept Wildshaping into an Ankylosaurus….

[@whitestoneandy797]

😂😂👏👏

[@riccardoalboini6533]

@@RichardGonzalez-so9ub Joke about it, I actually did it in Queen spider form🤣

[@stephenlewis6922]

I have really enjoyed all of these videos and want to give a shoutout to the team who put them together both on screen and off!

[@JasonHobson]

Here here!

[@chaoko954]

Agree!

[@scrubchickendv9351]

😊😊😊​@@JasonHobson

[@MrockDragon99]

Hazah!

[@ryank7425]

Wouldn't have Shaman made more sense than Magician?

[@MrFoxxy18]

True.

[@alexwilson7510]

I’m assuming they didn’t do that because of “problematic language”

[@msc374]

I thought the same exact thing.

[@georgeguerra4856]

A shaman has a religious connotation that is just plain incorrect

[@ryank7425]

​@@georgeguerra4856 So when you hear Magician you think of a Druid and not a Wizard? Yes, there is a religious aspect to what a Shaman is but typically I think they deal with more of the spirit realm than the divine and for me I think that connects better with the nature theme of the Druid than the term Magician does. Not necessarily saying that I'm right, this was just more of an opinion that I think the idea of Spirits and Totems would have fit the Druids concept better. Not that it really matters at this point since the books are already in print, appreciate the somewhat hostile feeling response though have a good one.

[@krschu00]

Talk in wildshape is good. I RP'd a lot less than companions because I couldn't talk half the time.

[@jasonreed7522]

I have done a lot of angry alligator noises as a druid. Definitely looking forward to being able to speak while wildshaped.

[@theyellowstripe1]

I developed basic sign language when I was regularly a wolf spider. I won't say it wasn't fun, but this is so much easier!

[@SirChris314]

my dm gave a druid in my party Rapport Spores for free at lvl 1 for this exact reason lol

[@johnsychev2046]

I gave my Druid telepathy to avoid it (feat)

[@stephen19590]

I had more fun not speaking

[@joshuamaloney8294]

I’m just so happy that stars didn’t get nerfed

[@nyanbrox5418]

it didn't need to be nerfed actually the new books has basically zero nerfs from what I can see, and the rare exceptions are on individual class features, but despite those features taking a hit, their power just gets redistributed to the rest of the class, making it stronger overall, even without that single unbalanced feature smite is a good example, the real busted thing about paladins was always their aura, not smite, but smite did lead to inconsistent drops in player fun because it was designed in a way that can be abused by optimisers who can attack a dozen times in a single turn and dump thousands of damage to a target, blowing their whole days worth of resources basically circle of stars didn't need a nerf, they used it as the baseline and buffed the rest

[@tomevans2499]

Well, obviously; everything else got buffed!

[@williamtorres4140]

​@@nyanbrox5418Yet that was such a Horrible fix. My table already agreed to nerf it by changing it to "Smite once per turn" without making it a spell or taking your bonus action since the fact that it's both literally Neuters the Paladin and any cool bonus action items while allowing for mages to stop a paladin which they should never be able to.

[@bradleyhall1815]

Loxodon Circle of Stars

[@5-Volt]

The "weal & woe" ability should have been buffed to be able to be used after rolls imo. That & no circle spells are the only issues with the subclass. A Lore Bard can do a very similar thing but after the roll, with a bigger die, a level earlier & more times a day while getting them back on a short rest.. Stars Druid has to do it before the roll, a D6 & only proficiency bonus times a day..

[@SmileyTrilobite]

On my commute, I’d been listening to the Mabinogion, a famed collection of Welsh legendry and part of Celtic literature that may have inspired the D&D druid. There’s a lot of wild shape going on, and bards using magic. Furthermore, in one tale, King Arthur even amasses his lads to discuss in what order to retrieve all the magic items they’re quested with (as certain items might make getting certain others easier). True strategic gamers!

[@josiahws5]

I'll have to check that out! Sounds quite interesting

[@Comrade2261]

O.o interesting!

[@murphythelatecomer4608]

@SmileyTrilobite Been a while since I’ve read the Mabinogion. Sounds like I should revisit it.

[@iananelson8256]

Some of the most fun bits are he shapeshifting duels when the Welsh heroes just stat shifting into different animal forms during a chase. Wildshape is by far my favorite part of D&D druids., largely because of those stories!

[@murphythelatecomer4608]

@@iananelson8256 That's like Merlin vs. Mad Madam Mim! 😆

[@ReadingDave]

Thank you for solving Aquaman problems.

[@ethanc2280]

I am more interested now in playing a Druid than I ever have been. I am excited to check out the circle of the Sea!

[@guardiantree8879]

How long oh DM till we have a plant based Druid subclass, the Sun Druid? I wanna turn into a Treant lol.

[@jerky00000]

I was thinking more anime style for use with tentacles.

[@nyanbrox5418]

I think you are talking about circle of the land, that is the plant-based subclass also there is a spell in the new PHB for sort of adopting a tree-like form, which is funny because the durability in that form you get from casting barkskin every turn as a bonus action

[@jonathanthompson4077]

I mean...not really, its a stretch. A real plant based subclass would be like leaf subclass in Tales of Valiant. Even World Tree Barb kinda gets the flavor more than Land funny enough. Land is more like the environment as a whole than just plants. ​@@nyanbrox5418

[@guardiantree8879]

@@nyanbrox5418It checks some of the boxes, but I wouldn’t call it plant focused.

[@Mushroompancake]

I made a subclass based on this! It’s a support focused subclass that gives you various plant and poison themed spells, and the core feature is “Tree of Sanctuary”, which does the following: You summon it in a space within 60 feet of you by expending a use of wildshape. It has limited hit points so be mindful of where you place it. Allies within 30 feet of the tree get temp HP equal to 1d4+proficiency bonus at the start of their turns (the die increases as you level up) and have advantage on death saving throws. At higher levels, you can grant additional effects to allies within the aura of your tree, like making their attacks deal bonus poison damage, making healing more potent, and making them immune to charm/frighten effects.

[@winterwolfcr7]

I really hope high level Moon druids have more Wild Shape options. It really sucked that they were either Mammoths or go for lower CR. Even if we just get a bunch of Dire animals, that's still better - if not very interesting. Or even expanding it to something like Monstrous or draconic options.

[@matthewdavis9966]

I know it doesn’t really need it, but, for the sake of symmetry, I wish the Stars Druid got Circle Spells like the other 3 subclasses

[@nyanbrox5418]

maybe it did, I mean, they might have just not mentioned it, but it is likely that it was unchanged

[@chrisblake4198]

They've said pretty consistently that every caster subclass gets a list, so I imagine they just didn't repeat it here. I hope they do, because a Stars druid that doesn't have access to Divination felt wrong.

[@matthewdavis9966]

@@nyanbrox5418 JC seemed to explicitly say they made no changes aside from moving the lvl 2 feature to lvl 3. I’ll be watching treantmonk’s breakdown to see what he says.

[@5-Volt]

Completely agreed. I honestly find it rather lazy of WotC to copy-paste these subclasses from older books with no changes while in the same breath brag about backwards compatibility when older subclasses that severely needed updates/changes are left in the dust.

[@nilo3093]

Crown of Stars needs to be a part of the Stars druid spell list imo

[@nadirku]

I probably should have asked this in the Rogue video... but one thing that bugged me from the UA was that RAW you could get a druid proficient with pistols, and Rifles without needing to multi-class, or take any feats, but a Rogue would need to multi-class, or take a feat to get proficiency with those weapons... Good for Druids, but it does feel like a slap in face to Rogues for them to be a weapons based martial class that is more restricted in its weapon proficiencies than the base class of full-caster classes like Druids, and Clerics... and I am curious if that is still true in the final release.

[@zippomage]

i thought druids couldn't use metallic implements like weapons or armor?

[@haerdalis84]

​@@zippomage at least in ua that restriction was lifted

[@MrDarkweaver]

@@zippomage They can't use metallic armour, RAW. But there is nothing to prevent you using metal weapons. Scimitars are swords with thin curved single sided blades, and they are made of metal. Daggers and scythes are also metal bladed weapons.

[@nadirku]

@@zippomage also, that metallic restriction never applied to weapons, or tools, as far as I noticed - in the 2014 rules there is a note in their armor Proficiency about not using metal armor, or shields, but there is not a similar note in their weapon proficiencies.

[@trise2033]

No, you can't. Firearms proficiency is separate from Martial (despite counting as Martial weapons). Only the Artificer gets it natively; everything else needs to take the Gunner or Weapon Master feats (or undergo special Training).

[@ChazTheYouthful]

My nerd druid would have a +8 at knowledge nature at level 1. That's with average ability scores.

[@alexplayer8367]

Honestly it makes a lot of sense, after all you have studied nature for your whole life

[@cbeaird52]

Hmmm, how are you getting 16-17 into 2 stats at level 1?

[@Mark-ki7ic]

@@cbeaird52 cooked dice or REALLY good "friends" with the DM.

[@cbeaird52]

@@Mark-ki7ic I'm asking because standard array would get you close (+7), which is still really good, but a +8 seems a bit out of normal. Assuming you get 15 with your +2 in wis 14 with a +1 in int

[@boniakarlo]

​@@cbeaird52 16 in 2 stats is completely fine and normal, pretty standard. In both point buy and standard array you have a 15 and a 14, and a +2/+1 is normal for many races.

[@emotionalnpc]

The Druid was my first class and is still my favorite class to play. I’m really excited for these new changes and I can’t wait to play yet another Druid

[@Fiizypopdrinkk]

Bro same

[@AkeishaLeighanneRoberts]

I am SO ecstatic about the "Circle of the Sea" option for Druids!! 🥰🥰🥰

[@sophfi_]

Right??! I've been playing a coastal flavoured druid for 3 years and am so hyped it's becoming an official thing

[@AkeishaLeighanneRoberts]

@@sophfi_ Agreed! 🥰🥰🥰

[@RobotronOG]

They need to bring back Creeping Doom spell. My favorite Druid spell of all time.

[@LunaLongbottomLove]

As someone who enjoys a little bit of 'mushroom necromancy' flavor I'd be interested to see a '2024 version' of Circle of Spores to see what (if anything) they'd adjust in that Circle Seeing as the 'temp hitpoints instead of getting whatever hitpoints the creature you change into has' feature is being used for circle of the Moon now (along with now not being knocked out of wildshape when you *lose* those temp hitpoints .....would that then transfer back to Circle of Spores? 👀 Perhaps no longer having the caveat of losing all your Symbiotic Entity perks once the temp hitpoints are depleated??? 👀👀👀

[@timespaceanomaly]

I need to know if: a) Can you cast spells in Wild Shape that only have Verbal components, since you can talk in beast form now? b) Can you cast spells in Wild Shape using Subtle Spell metamagic to remove their Somatic component?

[@jdog345]

Both are a yes RAW.

[@nyanbrox5418]

no. you cannot cast spells in wildshape. until level 18 I believe

[@life-destiny1196]

Either of the first two answers is correct depending entirely on whether new Wild Shape explicitly says you can't cast spells like 2014 Wild Shape does.

[@andrewpeli9019]

They literally talked about how moon druids have a limited spell list they can cast while wild shaped in the video. So at least some druids can cast while wild shaped

[@wavey61]

@@andrewpeli9019 Only the new moon druid can cast spells before level 18 in wild shape. Even then, there's only a list of predetermined spells the moon druid can cast, there will be a new "Circle of the Moon Spells Table"

[@Heimdal001]

Circle of the Sprinkler System Druid!

[@WillToNihilsm]

Imterested how polymorph will function with the new wild shape rules

[@wavey61]

Polymorph and wild shape is different. Wild shape in 2014 version you keep your mental stats and use beast physical stats, and the new one uses temp HP, etc.. Polymorph on the other hand is a fully, complete transformation, with only a vague resemblance of who you're allied to being the only thing that stays.

[@dracone4370]

This is all fun; seeing the retooled, and new, subclasses is always fun. I'm looking forward to trying out all the Druid subclasses in this book, especially the Cirle of the Sea and Circle of the Stars. But with Druids having that strong connection to nature, I think I should bring up a creature I became aware of in the past year that I haven't seen in any D&D materials, official and unofficial, from Spanish lore. In Spanish lore, there is a creature called the Ramidreju, a weasel-like creature with boar-like tusks on its snout and covered in green fur; it already sounds like something you could see in D&D, but it's the abilities that make it really interesting, but I don't really have a good idea of what kind of monster it would be classified as in D&D, especially these more current states of the game. The Ramidreju is described as having the ability to sense and seek out Gold and Treasures; it is even known to become more docile when it has gold near while becoming more volatile when you try to pilfer its gold from it; that said, the Ramidreju is said to have its fur act as as a sort of magical cure-all. That said, these things are rare, and the Ramidreju is said to only appear every hundred years or so. Sound like something a Druid would go looking for to you?

[@goji253]

Seems like something more suited to the Monster Manual or a Feywild expansion. Don't get me wrong, it sounds super fun and I understand the appeal, am German and similarly would love to see a Wolpertinger at some point... but we can't expect them to add every mythological creature ever alongside all their own things.

[@jasonsumma1530]

I would say this almost sounds like a dragonkin type of creature. Dragon parts do have a tendency to be part of spell component lists or other uses. The physical description might suit it closer to maybe the Chinese version of a dragon or pseudo-dragon.

[@cloeyneville-oracleseoldou3628]

I was thinking the same thing reminded me of interesting blend of dragon, but a mammal.

[@dracone4370]

@@cloeyneville-oracleseoldou3628 It could still could be fun to see as a stat block though. And yeah, it does seem to come off as something out of the fey realm with some notable properties of being a dragon with a completely different set of visual signifiers.

[@iolair1973]

Core Druidic Familiars = yay!

[@chrisblake4198]

Hopefully they remove the duration that was part of the rule in Tasha's.

[@jasonsumma1530]

almost sounds like the old animal companion of 3.5 days

[@brianc4013]

Very curious how they will alter wizards now. The ability to add wis to arcana means druids could be better than wizards at arcane studies. (Though a really poor int would counteract that). With expanded spelllist as well Druid’s have the opportunity to go from arguably (or in my opinion convincingly) better than wizards to being much more convincingly better spellcasters. Of course that depends on how much the spell lists have shifted as well. I am very glad they’ll be better at nature checks. I think it would make more sense for them to use Wis instead of int (again, a poor int score will still hamper them here) but it’s still an improvement!

[@James-ht6fd]

Gotta skill monkey to max arcana so you take extertiese and a drop into Druid lol

[@daneroberts1996]

I’m glad that Druids can finally get more than 2 Wild Shapes. I don’t know that they need to be able to get 10 Wild Shapes through spell slots but at least they get more than 2 now

[@BigFootTheRealOne]

Before when they had HP, you only needed a couple per day. But now that they are mostly utility with no HP you kind of need them

[@giuseppeciuff]

Druid is definitely my favourite class 💚 finally a druid of the Seas!

[@talahar123]

This is my favourite video series right now, looking forward to next episode. :D

[@brianc4013]

While I wasn’t the biggest fan of the temp HP change, and felt like it was balanced out by (for example) the drop in AC. With the ability to convert spell slots to WS charges I feel like this is a decent trade off. If you want to stay tanky you can keep using WS as a ba to maintain a temp hp pool.

[@barrymak421]

Level 18 druid with meta magic, from 300 feet in the air as a giant eagle stack a wall of thorns in a 4x3 grid centered on the target, then quicken a firestorm alternating back and forth from hitting and missing the target. If both saves are failed initial damage would be 7 d8 plus 35 d10 (5 hits out of 10 of firestorm) add to that burn damage from the wall igniting, and depending on your gm another 7 d8 to move out of the wall. Scary...

[@ArchAngel_M81]

I have been looking at the new Player's Handbook and I have a question on Primal Order:Magician. The text says, "your mystical connection to nature gives you a bonus to your Intelligence (Arcana or Nature) checks. The bonus equals your Wisdom modifier (minimum bonus of +1)." If it weren't for the parenthesis, it sounds like you can add WIS to all INT checks. However, since the parenthesis says Arcana or nature, it make it seem like you can only choose one of those two options for the boost. Which is right? All INT checks? or choose between Arcana or Nature? Personally, it would seem a little strong for a level 1 feature to give the boost to all INT checks.

[@garrettwilliams9463]

I kind of liked how land druid had to stay commited to the element. It made me more creative and knowledgeable about mastering my element.

[@2MeterLP]

you can still do that

[@goldenhardt750]

that art for circle of the moon tho hello sir how you doing 😳

[@kbearl98]

Love the spell slots and wild shape trade. I had moments of not wanting to use wild shape because I knew I'd need it later but didn't have enough

[@joshuaschmelzel6126]

This is the first time I have every considered playing a druid. And more over I'm exited. Land and sea druid have moved to the top of desired classes to play

[@Ayce_nothome]

I didn't hear it get mentioned, but did they take away the moon druids' ability to change into elementals? Did they give us one stat block for each type of beast or is that the same? Have the beast stat blocks been improved?

[@jasonsumma1530]

I was expecting a mention about elemental wild shape but never heard it either. It begs the question if it is still there in some way.

[@Ayce_nothome]

@jasonsumma1530 I hope it is but I'm curious on how the it would work with the new temp hp rule and if the elementals would use one of your known beast slots

[@Lenemos]

They removed elemental shapes

[@Ayce_nothome]

@@Lenemos I really hope you're joking smh

[@Enfurious]

@@Ayce_nothome He's not, reading the intended changes was quite an ordeal, since Moon Druids got nerfed quite a bit.

[@arcanefeline]

I like all of these changes. The new Druid sounds awesome.

[@midwesternpickle]

I created a Circle of Storms Druid subclass a couple years back that sounds about 2/3 the same as their new Circle of the Sea. Love it!

[@hmk1830]

If the Speak with Animals means you can do it always, does that mean Circle of the Shepherd gets something else? Because that was a huge Circle-defining trait, and while I'm glad all druids get it now, what do they get in return?

[@mayura7524]

I hope to see some rework in the Circle of the Shepherd too

[@Kade.A.Bailey]

Really hoping they do Monk next. As someone who plays a Stars Druid im excited to see how they have updated it.

[@bradytomlinson7034]

I think monk is next week

[@loganb8488]

I was excited for that too too but they kept it the exact same 💀

[@nyanbrox5418]

well, stars was kept largely the same, what changed was the base class, so it will still feel refreshed the stars druid subclass was always pretty good (probably the best designed druid subclass before the new books)

[@PauLtus_B]

I agree, I really like monk but it's not keeping up with other classes.

[@DonaldGalloway-zr9jc]

Pretty sure monk will be last one they do

[@zyongli5760]

Them talking about the "aquaman" problems really makes me hopeful that whenever they re-introduce Fathomless Warlock it gets the same treatment.

[@Wyrmshield]

Why in the shapeshifting melee predator specialization is it loaded with ways to cast offensive radiant spells, teleporting yourself and others in bursts of light, and enhancing your attacks with light damage? There is a whole separate druid subclass that is already devoted to radiant space magic that all of this would be perfect for, why shove it into the physical melee playstyle that should be about rending enemies with claws and horns as a ferocious animal or slinking through shadows as a bestial predator?

[@hearforthemusic9814]

It's because the word moon was in the subclasses name lol

[@Wyrmshield]

@@hearforthemusic9814 Yeah but when you use the word moon in reference to something about shape-shifting, you are invoking werewolves and lycanthropes which are creatures famous for being terrifying bestial predators with claws and jaws and are not very known for casting laser beams and teleporting

[@jamilortiz1]

Yeah idk about that choice either, instead of leaning into the fantasy of becoming a more powerful beast, they became more light-based I guess? Also it appears they took out the coolest Moon Druid feature for me, becoming a freaking elemental

[@jasonreed7522]

At the very least teleportation is very useful for melee characters that otherwise risk having no way to reach the enemy.

[@Wyrmshield]

@@jasonreed7522 it's a useful tool but imagine if that feature was spent on something like feral agility which could let you traverse battlefields swiftly and safely because your animal form's movement is magically enhanced even further than a normal beasts movement. Or keep it a teleport but make it so you can only start or end in foliage or something so you can sneak up and ambush prey in the wilderness from any angle. Something like those would be way more appropriate than a flash of silvery light teleport

[@petrenocka]

So how does the wildshape work now? Is it the old "pick any beast in the monster manual of a certain cr" or something else? that's the most important bit, wild how it goes unmentoned

[@daviddalrymple2284]

There's an article on DND Beyond that goes into more detail. The CR progression and flight speed limitation for the 2024 base druid is the same as for the 2014 Druid. But now instead of limiting the pool of forms to "ones that the Druid has seen before", they have a hard cap on how many different forms they know at once (up to 8 forms at Level 8). For the Circle of the Moon Druid, it looks like the 2024 version gets to apply various buffs to their beast forms (higher AC, more temporary HP, additional radiant damage) rather than choose from a wider and more powerful array of beast forms as in 2014.

[@haydenburton1789]

Read the playtest material

[@milanivana1984]

Pardon my grumpiness, but I might be the only one disappointed with Land Druids. While it’s an improvement over the 2014 version, I still think other Druid subclasses are better. 3rd Level: Switching the type of Land for different spell lists is useful, but you’re realistically going to stick to Arid Land for Fire Bolt and Fireball. Land’s Aid is not a strong use of Wild Shape compared to other Druids, and it requires an entire action to use. For example, Stars Druids get three useful forms (for damage, healing, and concentration as a Bonus Action), each lasting 10 minutes. Moon Druids get stronger beasts, more HP, and good AC for several hours (with just a Bonus Action). Sea Druids get more spells than Land Druids (though they can’t switch them out) and have an amazing Wild Shape option as a Bonus Action that requires no actions to use, pushes and damages foes, and also lasts for 10 minutes. Other Druids have Wild Shapes with stronger benefits and longer durations per use. 6th Level: Natural Recovery was the only saving grace of Land Druids, and of course, it got nerfed. Recovering spells is good, and they could have cast one spell from the added spell list for free. However, it’s now limited to a 1st-level spell for free. Looking at the choices, casting Burning Hands, Fog Cloud, Sleep, or Ray of Sickness at higher levels is a waste of an action. Stars Druids get an amazing ability to affect rolls at this level, Moon Druids get radiant attacks and improved concentration, and Sea Druids improve their already great Wild Shape (with improved range) and a swim speed. 10th Level: This is a very boring feature-one resistance and immunity to the Poisoned condition. Stars Druids get improved Bonus Action damage, healing, and a fly speed with no concentration needed (also with a free change of their constellation). Moon Druids get to teleport around for free and gain advantage on attacks. Sea Druids get three resistances and can fly around with no concentration. 14th Level: Another mediocre use of Wild Shape that consumes an entire action. Stars Druids can resist piercing, slashing, and bludgeoning damage here. Moon Druids get a damage buff (2d10) and can teleport an ally with them. Sea Druids can share their amazing Wild Shape with one more ally. Conclusion: The strongest ability Land Druids get is spell recovery, but it’s nowhere near as strong as the amazing forms other Druids get. They get to stay in those forms basically forever since they can convert spell slots into Wild Shapes.

[@Wyldheart7]

Honestly, these changes are pretty intriguing. I'm looking forwards to playing this new version and seeing all circles in action.

[@ReadingDave]

Along with charector updates, we will need updates on NPC charector templates. So, like a new archmage, and new archdruids (I'm looking forward for an npc Warden Druid saying, "Though Shalt Not Pass!"

[@DattPanda]

Anyone else watch this in 1.25 speed? Love the content by the way 😊

[@iParaShane]

1.5

[@HorrorMetalDnD]

1.75

[@zaurionfb1106]

2

[@7kevin71000]

Honestly really loving what I'm hearing. Really excited for this new druid

[@EunoiaRPG]

Looks like the seas druid will be taking the place of the tempest cleric in a way. At least theres one stormy boy in the book

[@chrismacneill4521]

Sounds like someone's read the iron druid chronicles. I dig it.

[@Alassandros]

Conveniently didn't go into the Wild Shape specifics.

[@2MeterLP]

Yeah, I suspect those temporary hit points will be less than what we used to get

[@SeanArcher]

I haven’t kept up. Last year they were saying something about wild shape being not the specific stats of the particular beast, but something like three different kinds of generalized beasts that you can flavor to look like whatever you want. Is that still what this is?

[@ravencroftguitars]

It's on DnD Beyond now. The Temp HP is a lot less than before. Which is good, in my opinion. It was wild having two full pools of hit points.

[@memenumnoscopus]

@@SeanArcher The template stat blocks appeared in this first druid playtest, but were removed in later playtests. It didn't make the final cut.

[@dabeef2112]

No Warlock article on DnDBeyond today?

[@BluegrassGeek]

They said on Reddit the articles would be at the end of the week. Speculation is that this is because they don't want to leak some of the new spells before they get through the other magic-users this week.

[@liberalideas8224]

Part of me was actually hoping that full casters wouldnt get the entire trinity of buffs, damage, utility, and survivability, so that martial character can stop feeling like old news at higher levels in dnd. Dont get me wrong, all the changes sounded great and good fun, I just wish they didnt dumpster the new barbarian changes at the same time.

[@Fro609]

im so excited to run a campaign with these new options! honestly am waiting to start up a new campaign until this drops so all the players can use these new changes.

[@tg3471]

but i already homebrew different stats for skill checks based on how players wanna do things or other sensible things, like a druids wisdom from being in the forest for forever and a day knowing what poison ivy is from experience instead of a book>.>

[@jaredlocke4300]

All sounds dope. I'm sad the Shepard didn't make it though.

[@spirit.canada]

I don't understand the new HP rule for moon druids. Are we losing the ability to adopt the HP of the creatures we shapeshift into? At lvl 2, gaining 2 temp HP points to the druid existing HP is not enough to tank. The whole point to shapeshift is to to also able to help the team by tanking. I am confused :( please help.

[@ShurikenSean]

if theyre going with wildshape giving you a temp hp pool I think the way they do abjuration wizard's arcane ward would have worked well. it would create the same hp buffer but you could also still have temp hp spells on you which could help you be more tanky but still cost recources. with how they were having moon druid be able to cast abjuration spells like healing in wildshape I think it would have synergized well

[@rkk667]

So you didn't fix shepherd to work with summons even after so many years?

[@BoboftheOldeWays]

I’m so happy with the changes to my favorite class! Especially to Circle of the Land, my fave subclass, which too many ppl slept on IMO. It looks even more flexible than ever now, so maybe we’ll start seeing a lot more Land druids in play.

[@DimiusG]

As a moon druid main involved in the UA I'm very pleased, and the new land druid sounds incredible too

[@thegamesforreal1673]

Land wasn't slept on, compared to the other subclasses it was simply the weakest one in the druid's repertoire. It was still a druid, so they're still very strong by virtue of that alone, but the subclass itself provided very little. Natural recovery was just a weaker arcane recovery, and the land spells were very hit-or-miss depending on what land you chose. Land's Stride and Nature's Ward are both ok but situational, and that leaves Nature's Sanctuary as their only *strong* feature. Compare that to the other subclasses, which include some of the strongest subclasses *in the game* , like moon druid who essentially get hundreds of extra hit points for enemies to chew through while dealing good damage, stars druid who have some of the best spellcasting versatility in the entire game, dreams druid who get some very powerful support options, etc. etc., and land druid was just ok at best.

[@BoboftheOldeWays]

@@thegamesforreal1673 Fair enough, but I’m not the sort of player who prioritizes damage dealing. Land is my favorite because of its focus on “nature wizard” aesthetic, and the other subclasses never appealed to me thematically.

[@talongreenlee7704]

I just wish you could make your attacks with wisdom while in wild shape. I didn’t like being reliant on the monsters stats for AC and I don’t like being reliant on their stats for my attack roll bonuses either.

[@nyanbrox5418]

they did that in a playtest, the community revoluted against it (I was for the idea of a universal statblock) but as with all good ideas, they get shut down when democracy lets people vote on what they want they have rebalanced some monsters to make them more threatening, especially at higher levels, the problem with the beasts in 5e is honestly they were sort of weak compared to other similar CR monsters, so what is more likely for them to do is rebalance the monsters so that everyone in the community is happy hopefully the monsters the druid can turn into have attack powers which coincide with the expected druid wisdom modifier, but if it's a little off that's still fine

[@Baraz_Red]

A lot of good thoughtful changes here : you can RP properly in wildshape, the druids scale better in combat than before, more flexibility for more character concepts, etc.

[@HowtoRPG]

Not a fan of temporary hit points. Why do we still have limited uses of wild shape? Talk to animals and plants could have been a choice. Casting spells in wild shape would simplify a lot.

[@TheBardsCorner]

Now, please explain why the pre-order for the digital bundle of the three 2024 core rule books doesn’t get the Legendary Bundle discount applied. It makes no sense. The three separated books do get it. I will not pre-order until this is fixed.

[@MrGoobermania]

I cannot wait to play the sea druid

[@VariableRC]

No Circle of Spores!!!!!!?????

[@nicholasfranksanzone]

I hope they just left it alone and left it in, but neglected to mention it.

[@jeffreymonsell659]

Circle of Spores needs a rework, it's a mess.

[@TheTenthPlague]

Every player that used Druid to basically get multiple HP pools got nerfed hard. So many Druid PCs I know will Wild Shape just to get a free huge chunk of HP, get damaged to 0 HP, lose Wild Shape, use Wild Shape again, get brand new HP pool, rinse, and repeat. That ain't going to work anymore.

[@jhydhan5036]

The question that many pep wants to know is can we shapeshif in an Owl bear!!! lol

[@nyanbrox5418]

no, they did that in a UA, the community banded togther to say they didn't like it, so they reverted the change.

[@solarisdevorak]

​@@nyanbrox5418except everyone who enjoys playing the game will probably do it anyway

[@stonehaspel9147]

Spore Druid will be interesting. They use wild shape for temp hit points in Symbiotic Entity. So will that be a bonus action now with the new druid core rules? Also any spore druid is just gunna turn lvl 1 spells into wildshape for large pools of temp hit points.

[@5-Volt]

I really like the Circle of the Sea but it bugs me that if you're leaning into the theme by playing a Water Genasi, Triton, etc. The swim speed is redundant. Why can't they get like 10ft of extra swim speed if they already have one? That's how most subclass features that give darkvision work..

[@Kurtoise100]

Will Circle spells count as Druid spells? Wondering if Potent Spellcasting will apply to Fire Bolt from the Arid spell list

[@Fro609]

really loving all these new changes, really gives lower levels even level 1s, a lot more options and spell/ability usages so level 1 doesnt feel as bland.

[@MichaelGalt]

All of this sounds utterly excellent.

[@acctwork]

Is there a preview article for Druids on DnDBeyond? It seems like I can find everyone class overview except Druids.

[@TheGloryXros]

After this, I'm pretty convinced that DC20 made the best version of what a Land Druid should be in what they do. In some ways this hits, but there are others they miss. I dunno why they didn't do the thing of Attuning to the current Terrain you're in, or perhaps being able to use Circle Spells of the current terrain you're in a certain number of times per Short/Long Rest if you're in a Terrain that's not your initial origin Terrain. Also, I never understood why they don't have anything regarding FIELD CONTROL; this doesn't just have to come in the way of Spells.

[@Logan-ef8hq]

Pretty excited for this one. Not as much as ranger but still excited.

[@chrisss3233]

The new circle of the land feels exactly like what I always wanted from druids

[@johnnamorton6744]

Ok so My current Druid is a Goblin MotM street urchin Druid. She's a grasslands Druid that grows plants in secret around the city. ... As the video plays I'm comparing notes... Primal order Magician probably given she's more about spells and speed over armor. Wis. On nature and animal handler yes please... She speaks with animals... Good. To quote John Candy "Funny she doesn't look druish" Moon Druid is now all Druids... That's powerful The Goblin has a cat companion... Eyeroll Speak in Animal form and cast spells.. interesting. Spell slot = wild shaped ... Powerful... Wild shaped form is better ... Good. So no longer a grassland... Cool... I love that, still want my invisibility... Lands Aid... More healing more fun... Nature recovery ... Ehh Damage resistant helps... Immune to poison classic Kinda like what I'm hearing. I'm going to be a part of the exploration with goblin speed and fury of the small while still casting healing and Invisable to move into prime primal strike.

[@senseibot8719]

Man I'm so glad they buffed druid and warlock, can't have the martial/caster devide gap getting too narrow!

[@deshawncervi9354]

I wish the Circle of the Land gave you the ability to Wild Shape into an Elemental connected to the circle you choose. It all seems great though!

[@chrisblake4198]

As far as I know being able to wild shape into an elemental is still a high level core feature.

[@barilllapasta]

@@chrisblake4198traditionally only circle of the moon is capable of wild shaping into elementals. if it’s been added for others that would be rad!

[@daviddalrymple2284]

@@chrisblake4198 Nope. They took it out.

[@chiloutdude5130]

They didn't actually say how Wildshape works. Their avoiding it does not fill me with confidence.

[@thatbrocboi4089]

I assumed it is just the same, or mayby just small changes to fit in with new combat additions

[@hearforthemusic9814]

It uses a stat block of an actual creature (no customizable template unfortunately) and it gives temp hp instead of the beasts hp, but we don't know how much temp they get.

[@solitudinous6508]

No specifics on Wildshape, nor summoning, nor Pass Without Trace (in light of the new stealth rules). It doesn’t bode well…

[@PixiePondVT]

@@thatbrocboi4089 So last year when they released the changes to Druid for the new edition they took all the animals and made them three stat blocks total: Animals of the Land, Sky and Sea. And you could only turn into I think tiny/small animals for 10 minutes at a time and you only get the option at a higher level? Not sure if they've changed it since then!

[@jackhilton4285]

​@@hearforthemusic9814is it not the as much as your level? And I think for moon circle is 3 times your level temp

[@SpuriousECG]

"I am not a cat" when in cat form on your projection call 🤣

[@WickedEdge1]

Expecting great things.

[@trueSilver_Sire]

Finally I’ll have a way to use a bonus action in game as a Druid.

[@Mark-ki7ic]

Changed Summon Beast from Vampiric touch that was in the UA. As a DM having VT doing necrotic, Elemental Strike damage and at higher level radiant damage got confused.

[@nyanbrox5418]

I believe in the final book it was changed to conjure animals

[@Mark-ki7ic]

@@nyanbrox5418 in UA 8 it was still VT, unless it's in a update I didn't see. Summon Beasts is from Tashas CoE, the new Conjure Animal is in UA 8. It's more akin to a Druidic Spiritual Guardian then what was in 2014 PHB

[@iwua37]

What about the wildshape stat blocks, did they get rid of the 3 main statblocks for land/sea/sky creatures?

[@lukesenseney1045]

Not turning back on losing the forms hitpoints is going to be interesting. NPCs are going to be really confused when they keep smashing this spider but it just won't die.

[@Heroes_Journey]

Seeing as how a 7th level wizard can cast polymorph into a CR7 giant ape and a 9th level druid is still stuck with a CR3 beast, I seriously don't understand why people are so focused on the "invincibility" of moon druids. Moon druids have HORRIBLE scaling beyond low levels and the HP gain was the only saving grace. This video confirming that monster stat blocks will be used rather than templates has me worried that players will still be stuck with the monster's awful bonus to hit value.

[@theodorehunter4765]

Question: Why not just make Wild Shape a spell? If I can burn a use to get an extra spell slot and I can burn a spell slot to get an extra use, just make it a spell, and give an extra spell slot. It's a lot more simple that way. If you want to have MORE uses of Wildshape at higher level, that can't be swapped to spells, then give the Druid X number of free casts of Wildshape per day.

[@cugms]

These videos are brilliant. Really has me excited for the 2024 PHB.

[@AdamantineCat]

Limiting the number of known wildshapes by so much is incredibly lame. A massive part of the fun of wild shape is its versatility.

[@danjbundrick]

Yooo, if I can use spell slots for wildshape, that's sick!!

[@nyanbrox5418]

as a circle of the moon druid, that was all I was wanting to do with them anyway, I don't want spells, I want to be an animal good change

[@danjbundrick]

@nyanbrox5418 I actually asked my dm, and she agreed to give me one extra wildshape in exchange for losing every other class feature.

[@zacdredge3859]

I like that all Druids can now Wild Shape on a Bonus Action but the Find Familiar use feels too similar to other classes.

[@DiscordAceOfClubs]

Honestly do not like the major nerf to moon Druids. My groups will still be using the beats hp stats. The reasons they give are really flimsy and they are taking the whole mechanic of moon druids out and pushing them to spellcasting more than combat Wildshape. AC buff is nice but the Temp HP is a HUGE miss that had negative reviews in each latest they did.

[@samfish2550]

Wait..... Can sea druid use wild shape while storming.... Can I become a magic flying dolphin of doom.

[@TyranusRex721]

So the Ocean Druid is not literally Storm from X-Men and I am very okay with that. What they are doin is what I wished Storm Sorcerer was. So I guess I am remaking my Storm Sorcerer into a Druid come September.

[@cschneidersurf1841]

Circle of the Sea is also really close to Tempest Domain Clerics. Literally the last feature in both subclasses grants them a fly speed and is called Stormborn….. why’d they do my tempest clerics dirty like that :(

[@martymoore755]

So, did he just not talk about the other circles or were they cut? ie wildfire, etc