Moon Druid is AMAZING in D&D 2024 Player's Handbook!

[@PackTactics]

Error: 16:25 is once per turn. I read it out loud too and it still passed me. I'm getting worse at reading nowadays. The Video is Sponsored by Class dice sets: www.kickstarter.com/projects/onlycrits/class-dice?ref=79midz Thank you Only Crits for sponsoring this video! Link to Kobold & Gator Dice on backerkit: www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/f2e5cf3e-b4ae-4a90-be3a-8e17540f71b7/landing

[@colbysparling8839]

Why did you increase the proficiency bonus of the creatures? I don’t think you are able to keep your proficiency for attacks just saving throws and skill checks

[@jani1848]

i really liked your video about being honest with your DM and the warnings are nice for those who just found your channel! great work!

[@PackTactics]

Thank you!

[@LocalMaple]

6:44 While it’s true that the sun doesn’t have a stat block, we DO have the effects of being inside or near the sun in the Solar Dragon’s lair action. 24d10 radiant damage with no sage.

[@June-sv4ie]

Do I get to bring parsley, rosemary, or thyme?

[@NoNo-tl9gb]

TRUE

[@drawberry_jam]

​@@June-sv4ie Yeah but only if youre in attendance at the Scarborough Fair

[@DavidMoodyReads]

Plot Twist: Gator has been a kobold moon druid wildshaped as a gator this whole time 🫨

[@moriyasanae8130]

Moonlight step is basically uncounterable misty step. since we know flying would destroying campaigns and DMs heart, it is useful on a Tough Lion who fights very based

[@lazarus3100]

Okay, but let's be honest here. What spellcaster going against a level 10 party is going to save their reaction to counterspell misty step? There is *one* thing that I can note though and that is with the new Haunting Revenant that has the ability that players can't leave its space unless they teleport using magic. Plus it's not a spell, so the DC17 Con save in its stat block is bypassed, so I will give it that.

[@moriyasanae8130]

@ true, but you never know when a Silent is going on top of you. Also its a lot free cast anyway, and free misty step that you can use at any circumstances? I think that is great. Also, MS is not a Druid spell, so this is an additional pro point for me :) It is for me at least a good feature, not necessarily greatest or best, but a good feature. Unless you really do the Flying stuff that destroys table and win game alone, yeah, in that case, this feature useless

[@lazarus3100]

@@moriyasanae8130 Oh yeah. I don't mean to mislead here; I vibe with the feature. There's lots of situations where it would be very useful. This game is not a white room of uninteresting same-y situations. I just don't think uncounterable is its biggest plus.

[@moriyasanae8130]

@ Your absolutely right, i probably overrated unconterable a little on many feature, while enemy usually does not have counter, or would not counter a simple movement spell :x

[@nikcantsnipe]

Moon Druid, so now Kobold can finally embrace his inner Gator.

[@onslaught147]

Yay for moon druid video! Definitely will be my first class when I play, if I ever play...

[@knucklesdark4056]

Moonlight Step is more useful as a “free jail out card”. You indeed have a lot of movement speed, but you can get hit by control spells/abilities. If new edition didn’t change it, then teleportation is still an easy way to escape from a grapple, restrained or other tough spot.

[@Saltcrow]

An astral solar dragon’s info page includes the damage stats for one touching the sun “A solar dragon customarily lairs in a star's radiant core or nests in a gigantic, hollowed-out rock engulfed by the star's blinding radiance. A star in which a solar dragon makes its lair has the following effects on creatures: Blinding Radiance. A creature that is within 10 miles of the star or inside it is blinded by its intense light unless the creature has protective gear to shield its eyes, such as goggles of night or a similar form of eyewear. Stellar Incineration. Any creature that enters the star or starts its turn inside it takes 132 (24d10) radiant damage.” The lions lose

[@Marabcd315]

ok but a trillion is a lot. They'd all have pack tactics to cancel out the blinded condition and they don't have to enter the star in order to damage it

[@IgnavumFortuna]

I never thought I'd play a druid... Thank you for enlightening me in the ways of the Heavy Assault Quetzalcoatlus.

[@walher4523]

I like the disclaimer at the beginning. Good video!

[@dontblamethebunny3026]

i already loved the Quetzalcoatlus, but your idea about the conjure woodland beings fighter bomber is just amazing!

[@Silverythoughts]

This makes me even more excited for the Monster Manual! Stars Druid is normally my main but looks like I'm gonna have to start giving the Moon Druid a go now!

[@jorgegarcia-yj6cn]

16:25 That is once per turn, so multiattack dont affect it at all

[@PackTactics]

SNAP! AND I READ IT OUT LOUD TOO!

[@sofiarizzo7260]

It is a bit affected because of the hit chance. If you have three attacks and 0.65 base chance to hit the probability to apply the extra damage is (1-0.35^3) ~ 0.957

[@notsochosenone5669]

Yes, but multiattack still add DPR - no matter if you missed or not, as long as you hit once you deal damage.

[@EmilyMemily-it3xp]

Appreciate the disclaimer. That should prevent some tragedies that didn’t have to happen!

[@arsov9885]

I love new Moon Druid. Thanks for the video.

[@GodLoverOdin]

AY AY AY!!! DONT GO PAST CR 3!!! That is where the arguably strongest beast for you is, the giant scorpion, 3 attacks, decent health pool 40 ft movement and blindsight. A really good set of traits for bursting down a target.

[@minikawildflower]

Gator unleashed

[@unknownvalor9755]

A few levels of Barbarian makes that Giant Crocodile a 4 legged tank with teeth.

[@arcticbanana66]

Be a Moon druid with a level in Barbarian, Wildshape into an ape, and Rage. You can call this tactic "being a normal chimpanzee". Is it strong? Meh. Is it optimal? Maybe not. But what's most important is that it's _funny._

[@atribecalledplanes9079]

Don’t forget the axe lol

[@guilha1506]

6:43 If it has a statblock, you can kill it. If it doesn’t, it’s invincible

[@NotYourAverageNothing]

Re 12:50 -- Unless I missed it in the DMG or it's in the Monster Manual, you don't get to use your PB for attack rolls, only ability checks.

[@KuaEtus]

Cominucation 🐊!!! Rawr

[@fluffyderp7778]

New Kobold video :)

[@ymyrgul4365]

the thing i'm most excited about for the moon druid is since you can cast cure wounds while wild shaped, you can take an order cleric dip and become ratatouille

[@nin0f]

That is a nice disclaimer!

[@DareMurdok]

i'm a wildlife biology/zoology nerd that loves nature documentaries and animal facts and a project ive wanted to do for awhile is make basically a homebrew monster manual of just animals for wild shape/polymorph/etc. and balanced based on real world abilities of species. I was thinking of it being called like a Zoologist's Guide To Shapeshifting. there's a lot of cool animals that would be beneficial to turn into

[@gammalolman580]

Moon Druid, aka the llama subclass. It even allows you to spit the foe with Starry Wisp. It is annoying to me that the druid doesn't work well theme wise but bah. It's more flexible now so it's more fun.

[@stickjohnny]

Thanks for the disclaimer PT. I DM for new players a couple of times a month and it's really difficult with all the "WOAH LOOK AT THIS CRAAAAAAAZY COMBO YOU CAN DO" content on tiktok and shorts. I am constantly having to explain to these players why a lot of these combos don't actually work or why I don't allow them. It really sucks for all involved to have to pull the rug out from under them. It's getting to the point where I already know what I'm going to have to deal with this week based on whatever the newest content is. Your channel isn't one of these, obviously, but thank you for doing your part anyway to keep your content from ruining things for other players/DMs.

[@arxarcium3229]

His channel is absolutely one of these. Most of what he's put out lately needs a disclaimer of "...but don't expect any of this to work if the dm has even a mild grasp of the game and doesn't want you to ruin his game with a single tactic." People watch these videos. They think they have the formula for winning D&D because that's how pack tactics sells it, they take it to their tables, and one of 2 things happen. Either the DM is a beginner, and they get overwhelmed. Their plans and encounter is completely ruined, and they end up going to rpghorrorstories to complain Or the DM is competent and doesn't feel like having their game ruined by loophole abuse, and the player gets told no, or shut down, or countered, so the player goes to rpghorrorstories to complain. In either case, this could cause a fight at the table. Or at the very least, ruin someone's day. Optimization should be more about cool things you can do and the best ways to do them. Not presented as instant win buttons that will shut down entire encounters or break the entire campaign and destroy everything the DM has built.

[@TheHerrDoctor]

Hey Kobold, could you talk about Mechanist from Tales of the Valient?

[@PackTactics]

If I get paid to do it.

[@TheHerrDoctor]

@PackTactics Didn't expect an answer tbh, but I asked since it's technically compatable with 5e and is a martial artificer, lol

[@PackTactics]

@@TheHerrDoctor If it's a Martial then I'm not interested. Sorry.

[@Vorpas1]

Instead of a lion I prefer a direwolf, still the pack tactic and can force the target to be prone if it's huge or smaller, with other melees it should help.

[@windwulfboi]

The timing is perfect. Got invited to a one shot at a coworkers place, and after building my new character with the DM I realized how out of date I am with Druid specifics. Not sure if I like the changes, but I’ve gotta play it to really know.

[@GrayMatter337]

i know thousand forms wasnt a particularly good feature, but its wholesale removal does hurt a bit from a shenanigans perspective. Sure it kinda sucked as a keystone, but it was so niche and low power it could have stayed as a feature on top of the replacement. Its not like people were relying on it for combat anyway. I feel a similar way about the loss of elemental forms. That wasnt a particularly good feature, but it wasnt a bad one either, and tearing it out to replace it with what is essentially a few free uses of a buffed misty step just feels weird. Like they wholesale removed a damage/tanking option and slapped a mobility/adv option as if those two things were in any way equivalent. When, flawed as eleforms was, they arent. Like its nice, but if ive gotten myself into a position where i NEED to teleport 30ft to my right ive probably fucked up somewhere. Like maybe i somehow managed to put the entire enemy team between me and my target, and instead of just casting a spell, have decided that teleporting past all the enemies to avoid opportunity attacks would be a better idea. Surrounding myself in the process. Or ive gotten trapped/restrained somehow that turning large or even huge with my bonus action wouldnt solve by default somehow. Its very strange. Advantage on your next attack is always nice, but an equivalent to the fire elemental drive by, or the earth elemental landshark grab and dive, it is not. Idk, maybe the new statblocks are so great it makes up for the losses, but the health changes and the like have me wary enough. And as far as we can tell, we STILL dont have a way to add out wis mod to any ability checks/saves our wildshapes can invoke, which was one of the bigger flaws of the system at higher levels. Doesnt feel like much of an upgrade until i see new statblocks, just a sidegrade

[@TheOdinsLance]

I once played with a guy who would be wild shaped almost continuously and refused to exit his form for any reason because he didn't want to waste any of his wild shape time. He would often spend entire sessions in the form of a seagull and would only change forms to a saber tooth tiger when combat started. Because of this, he basically never participated in any way except to be an annoying seagull or to participate in combat. I am very glad they added the ability to speak while wild shaped.

[@robertlavallee8358]

Idk why you’re so hard on the level 10 feature? It’s a ton of free Misty Steps and you can use 2nd level slots too I doubt you would need to use your slots since you would most likely have 4-5 uses at level 10 but still nice to have the option! You give an example of flying away but if you’re grappled or in a Wall of Force the teleport could save your life! I had a campaign where the DM had at least one Arch Mage in each dungeon and teleportation literally saved the day every time! And in the case of this feature it’s not a spell so can’t be countered! When a DM attempts a microwave this feature will be nice to have no doubt!

[@PackTactics]

Sounds situational. So the rating is correct.

[@tyllua]

In my last al session we had a moondruid that casted his aura turned intoa qeuzacotl (giant owl with flyby) and wrecked the entire encounter. A full combat turn took half an hour due to the staggering amount of saves the npcs had to roll.

[@Gafizal1]

another note about ape: goes very well with a sagger and the defensive deulist feat

[@JugglingAddict]

I also still like ape as a dip for a soul knife that wants to attack from wildshape.

[@H3xx99]

Shadow monk Moon Druid: Teleporting martial arts spider surprise!

[@jinxtheunluckypony]

Moonlight Step is decent for getting out of grapples and around wall spells.

[@jordanwhite8718]

I appreciate the Terry A Davis references.

[@PackTactics]

I was afraid to put that in the video lol.

[@jaceg810]

Moonlight step is slightly better misty step with some free uses, so its nice to have

[@coreymcnaught]

Especially if you don’t want to wildshape all the time so you can cast other spells besides the moon Druid spells!

[@nebulousnoah3913]

The idea of being a druid with a greatbow (or oversized longbow) and then wielding it as a great ape sounds amazin

[@Forke13]

8:34 what? Moonbeam is the most broken low level spell out there. It is rules as written a space laser. Every round you can move it and it doesn't have to be in a straight line. It is like flamethrower from god's perspective. To multiple enemies it does more damage than fireball over time. As a lvl2 spell.

[@casidoradaag8615]

Consave is worst save Chaser of having to constantly spend your action on it. Strong save and poor action economy.

[@Forke13]

@casidoradaag8615 why do you constantly spend your action on it? Cast it once, move it for free every round.

[@casidoradaag8615]

@@Forke13 A silvery beam of pale light shines down in a 5-foot-radius, 40-foot-high Cylinder centered on a point within range. Until the spell ends, Dim Light fills the Cylinder, and you can take a Magic action on later turns to move the Cylinder up to 60 feet. When the Cylinder appears, each creature in it makes a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 2d10 Radiant damage, and if the creature is shape-shifted (as a result of the Polymorph spell, for example), it reverts to its true form and can't shape-shift until it leaves the Cylinder. On a successful save, a creature takes half as much damage only. A creature also makes this save when the spell's area moves into its space and when it enters the spell's area or ends its turn there. A creature makes this save only once per turn.

[@casidoradaag8615]

You play at a table with homebrew rules friend! The magic action is not free!

[@Forke13]

@ You are right! I was confused, because my Druid player used his bonus action to attack each round additionally.

[@davidpaikins3172]

Finally. Thanks

[@dwreanchinotan]

6:30 unstated lady of pain been real quiet when this dropped

[@colbysparling8839]

Why would you add your proficiency bonus to the attack?

[@CreativeUsernameEh]

Because Moon Druids specialize in fighting as animal/wild shapes it’s their thing

[@colbysparling8839]

@ turn out they don’t add their proficiency bonus

[@sprintz33]

My biggest concern with this remains my worry that our to-hit modifier is going to fall heavily behind at higher levels, with both magic weapons and higher PBs moving other players well above our to-hit chance. AOE spells partially make up for it but damn, I really would like late game animals that could single target effectively. I also would like some higher tier forms that werent giant in size but that is secondary.

[@tremolieresmargot5913]

It would technically still scale with level, as proficiency bonus is a class feature -- which Wild Shape specifically states the Druid retains in animal form. Same goes for feats: they are class features, which means we can add ability score increases to the beasts' base stats.

[@sprintz33]

@tremolieresmargot5913 As much as i like your reading, the rules specifically mention retaining proficiency bonus for certain checks only. Attack bonus was not one of those. Im pretty sure, as written, we are supposed to take attack bonus of the creature we transform into.

[@theformation3781]

If you actually combine all moon druid features at level 15 and even give those to a character without easy advantage, they'd get: 1. 2d8 from primal strike on hit, once per turn 2. 2d10 from lunar strike on hit, once per turn 3. Either 2d6 on hit from fount of moonlight, or 10d8 on hit from conjure minor elementals (even if you scale it as d8 per level/2d8 per 2 levels it's 6d8, or if you scale it as d8 per 2 levels, then 4d8). Even with a character with 2 attacks, that is an absurd amount of damage per hit if a character has a normal to-hit modifier. Moon druids balance their to-hit modifiers by having an absurd amount of damage they can do per hit, and if you run the math they still hit quite hard.

[@sprintz33]

@@theformation3781 I agree, the damage isn't at all bad. But I will say, if i could just scale attack as the game went along, a lot more of the potential forms would become viable. I'd like to be able to play a wolf or a lion or even a giant spider into late game, but without some relatively heavy homebrewing, that becomes difficult. And honestly, I don't typically want to play as dinosaurs or gigantic creatures, but because they primarily scale our defenses choosing creatures outside the forest creature archetype I kind of want to go for becomes the more optimal route as you level up. I was hoping there would be some more options listed in the new monster manual, but while there do seem to be some changes, I'm not sure it is going to hit the mark I was hoping for. It's fine. I'll still probably enjoy it, was just hoping for something slightly better.

[@chuckiebenze9548]

​@@sprintz33in my opinion, it is more correct, by rules, that you use your profiency bonus for the attack roll rather than the beast one. This because wild shape specify that you retain your Hit Dice even when transformed and your profiency bonus depends on your level (aka your Hit Dice). It also says that you gain the profiency of the beast you transform into and since the beast is proficient with its own natural weapon (the druid otherwise wouldn't be), you can apply your profiency bonus to attack roll. Yes, with this interpretation, the part where it specifies that you use your profiency bonus for saves and skill would be a bit redundant, but on the other hand it doesn't explicitly say that you don't (which, by RAW, you should normally do, considering the logic I explained before). With 2014 version this wouldn't apply since you effectively assumed the beast Hit Dice, but 2024 version is different. Personally, I consider this an overlooking in the writing of the class and I think that the intention was to let the druid use their PN for attack rolls, also considering the new wild shape design (you retain basically any of the basic game statistics: HD, HP, skill, saving throw). The PB to attack roll being the only exception doesn't make any sense and, even if we want to ignore my initial interpretation that would let you use it by RAW, allowing to use it wouldn't be an "heavy home brewing", just a very slight one which is way more aligned with the RAI than the official rule

[@tylerthorstrom4100]

lol! I’m sorry you need a disclaimer now. 😊

[@PackTactics]

It sucks. I want to be evil.

[@astroboy3291]

Evil Gator.. Those red eyes rock! (Better than realism Gator!)

[@margaretmyklebust2577]

Nice dice!

[@bridge_cow9205]

You should cover the dragon Druid from griffons saddlebag 2

[@theonethathungers5552]

I’m gonna make a star block for the sun now. You’ve forced my hand. For HP, the sun is a giant hot ball of gas. I’d say a fire elemental is similarly, and a fire elemental has 102hp. However, a fire elemental is only a large creature (10*10*10 or 1000ft^3), while the sun is… big. A diameter of 865,000 miles gives us a cubic volume of 11,967,461,987,630 ft^3. So its HP stat would be around 1.2206811*10^12. Now for its damage. The sun can’t attack, but we can compare it to a torch. According to 5e rules, a torch can deal 1 fire damage on contact. A wood fire burns at around 600°C. The surface of the sun is around 5600°C. So that’s around 9 damage per contact. That means a lion could attack the sun 3 times before going down. For simplicity sake, I’m going to assume every lion deals max damage; a claw and bite attack, both of which crit and roll max damage. That’s 40 damage per lion per round, or 120 damage before they die. That means we would need at least 10,172,342,690 lions to beat the sun. So that means the lions win, right? Well yes, the lions can theoretically win, but this also presumes they hit the sun with every attack and that the sun deals less damage on a hit than a fire bolt

[@Hawkeye9165]

Fun vid and I always love pack tactics. Few questions / thoughts: 1. Is barkskin still a pointless spell? I thought they improved it by removing concentration but if you already get a 16 AC at the start (assuming a +3 WIS which seems reasonable) for a 2nd level slot to get a +1 AC that feels more than a little 'meh'. 2. I might be wrong but I don't think lions get to move 75ft. I think the 25ft jump is counted as part of their movement (please correct me, sorry if I am wrong. I'm still not fully 'up' on 2024 mechanics). 3. Nothing good for CR3.... Doh I guess that means no spotted lion or bristled moorbounder anymore. :o( 4. Totally agree on moonbeam, so small an area and a con save. Would have preferred to have Enlarge / Reduce for the extra d4 and super size myself or the fun of making myself something smaller than tiny lol. 5. Losing wild shape when incapacitated..... how scary is this in 2024 as I thought there's quite a few ways people can be incapacitated in 2014? :-s

[@apdehner]

It's certainly more helpful for other druids who opted for Magician instead of Warden and lack medium armor. Only Moon Druids get the 13 + WIS AC. It's better without concentration and the +1 bump to AC. I'd say it's situational rather than useless now.

[@Hawkeye9165]

@apdehner good point. Would you not just take the first feature thingy and pick access to medium armor? The magic option seemed a little disappointing and bark skin only lasts for an hour so it's not like you can pop it in the morning and you're good for the day. :-s I don't know, just a thought. Edit. Lol you actually explained the 2 options. Yeah kinda hard to imagine not taking warden, seems much more potent. :-)

[@SithLordNergel]

So, I'm gonna be honest, I don't think Moon Druid is the 2nd best class for the new Druid. Its better than the new Sea Druid, but I think you might be better off going Circle of Stars than Moon. The nerfs they gave to Wild Shape really hurt the Circle of the Moon, a ton. Looking a bit closer, I have 2 majors issues with the Subclass. First, the spells you can cast while Wild Shaped due to the subclass range from Meh to Bad. Starry Wisp is the best spell on the list since it gives you a ranged attack while in Wild Shape. Fount of Moonlight is ok, as its a nice little buff to melee damage, which as we'll eventually see is something the subclass HEAVILY pushes you to be in. Everything else is meh or flat out bad. I get they buffed Cure Wounds, but 2d8+Caster Mod isn't enough of an improvement to waste an action on. Second, and my biggest issue, is Combat Wild Shape. Now, I get why they changed Wild Shape. The old 5e Wild Shape was pretty unbalanced. Regular Druids never really used it because their forms were too weak, while Moon Druids swung between being way too powerful, to being just right, to being way too weak, depending on their current level. I typically found that Moon Druids spiked whenever they gained a new CR they could use, then their power dropped when they were a level away from a new CR. So I do get the need to change things, but I feel like they dropped the ball. First up, AC. They buffed the AC to 13+Wis Mod. On the one hand, this is a lot better than the old Beast ACs of 11 to 12, with the occasional 13. But its not really high enough to be reliable, it scales slowly, and caps at 18. The average for a d20 is 10.5, DnD math generally rounds that up to 11. Meaning at level 3, if you're facing a creature with a +5 to hit, then they have a 50% chance of hitting you. Monsters get +5 to hit at about CR 2. You'll occasionally see +5 in CR 1, but it becomes the standard at CR2. CR 1 usually has +4 to hit, so they have a 45% chance to hit you on average. Now its still a lot better than the 12 AC of the old Wild Shape, where you could be hit on a 7 or 8. But the old wild shape made up for that squishiness with HP. Which brings me to my second problem, the Moon Druid doesn't have enough HP to survive being in melee. Now, d8 hit dice do make for a tanky caster, but not one that can survive well in combat. I'm sure Blade Pact Warlocks, front-line Clerics, and melee Rogues can back me up when I say d8 HP isn't as much as it seems. So the Moon Druid has to make that difference up via the Temp HP they get from Wild Shape. Just one problem, 3 times your level in Temp HP isn't actually enough to let you survive in combat. So, I looked over the old 5e monsters since I don't have the new Monster Manual. CR 1's deal an average damage of 11.5 per round, CR 2 deals about 17.5 damage per round, and CR 3 deals about 23.5 damage per round. That's not great if you're relying on 9 Temp HP to carry you through a fight. And it just gets worse the higher level you are. You noted you get 36 Temp HP and an AC of 18 at level 12, a CR 10 deals an average damage of 65.5 and an average hit of +7. Going to the extreme, level 20 you get 60 Temp HP per use with 18 AC, maybe 19 if you have a magic item to boost your Wisdom, surviving against 113.5 DPR with a +10 to hit at CR 18. Especially since the entire subclass pushes you to be in melee. Four of the subclass abilities make you better in melee, while two base class abilities make you better in melee. But you can't survive in melee. I think it'd have been a lot better, and a lot more balanced, had they given you 4 or 5 Temp HP per level. That would allow you to survive in melee combat for at least one round without taking heavy damage to your base HP.

[@christophertherians2243]

I don't known when/if i will have a chance to play 5.5 but between land druid, moon druid, and illusionist there are so many improved shiny toys i would like to try 😅

[@Forke13]

10:20 with the new DMG encounter balancing, there have to be fewer encounters with more enemies... so actually single target damage is less important

[@felixrivera895]

I did recently get to combo Dragonic Transformation and Wildshape - Elephant. It was pretty gnarly. I was pretty worried about losing concentration because we were fighting Thor, so I namely went after the stupid goats. I'm sure Conjure Minor Elementals cast at 7th level would have been better than Draconic Transformation damage wise (108 potentialdamage per turn), but flying around kept me out of Thor’s reach once I realized he resisted all my damage (how was I supposed to know that Poison and Acid were the damage types I had access to he didn't resist?). The plan worked pretty well until he kicked me halfway to kingdom come.

[@Jessterr2]

If I can ever find a group, I'm going to play a dwarf moon druid with max con and the toughness feat for as many hit points as possible. Jet Plane for days!

[@anarcnamedjustin3451]

Or you could use better feats than touch so that you actually benefit from something

[@Pandormu]

would having barding in your backpack and wild shifting in to a bear allow for an armored bear if so barding is armor and can be enchanted +1-3 or enspelled with spells interesting thought

[@peterwhitcomb8315]

18 AC = liability in tier 2 and above. Especially with the power creep provided in the MM (that has been shown). Still going to be an immensely fun sub class but I’ll play for nostalgia going forward.

[@theunaimedarrow4903]

Giant crab I think is one of the best early creatures. Amphibious, blindsight, grapple every attack. Seen an invisible creature hit him with starry wisp. Creature engaged with wants to go attack your magic users, opportunity attack grapples him. Incredible utility and crowd control. Not the most damaging, but really effective.

[@Vrikrar]

Those grapples help any party composition too, it's perfect for any druid that wants to be support but still wants to be an animal. And you can be used as a mobile table if needed.

[@WooBunny]

Early moonlighting

[@BigApple2AM]

If anything the druid in the D&D movie would be better off if she was a 2024 moon druid, no? Better AC, more temp HP than the pathetic extra HP she would have gotten from her house fly/cat/deer forms, and wouldn't run the risk of immediately being knocked out of wildshape by a stiff breeze.

[@boabplz4107]

DEATH ROLL: On a successful bite attack while the creature is in water, the target must make a DC16 Athletics or Acrobatics (Their choice) roll or be grappled. While grappling it's target any further attacks by the 'gator\croc automatically hit and are considered crits for the purposes of damage. The target is considered submerged while grappled. (See rules for drowning.)

[@pacmanly]

Animated shield would go hard with moon druid

[@Mastikator]

Moonlight step is basically misty step but better. If misty step is worth casting then this is worth expending spell slots on.

[@Mega_Croissantamence]

13:03 that is a Hatzegopteryx, or perhaps some other azhdarchid. Head shape is wrong for a Quetzalcoatlus.

[@lholliday198]

Ape would be nice for Defensive Dualist Moon Druids.

[@dustinwhite3800]

Aren’t all moondruids gonna be taking a level dip of warlock for armor of Agathis?

[@bradwitbeck]

Plus the Pact of the Chain invocation for an awesome familiar? If you’re going Lion, have a sphinx of wonder for your familiar friend 😃

[@asheronthedruid]

Did Gator just cast Thaumaturgy? His eyes turned red.

[@wanderingaming5805]

Now I gotta look at Lego Lions and Elephants...

[@callbackspanner]

I think you may be sleeping slightly on 2024 moonbeam. Yes it is very small, and the turn you cast it you're probably only roasting one target. But 2024 moonbeam now does damage when it moves into a creature's space. Subsequent turns you're making a 60ft sweep of this death laser burning everything in its path. With how hard AoE damage is to come by at low levels, especially for a druid, moonbeam can be a go-to option early on.

[@MewsSister]

having a lvl 9 moon druid I must speak of 2 great beast shapes, cr 3,, Amphiptere and Spotted Lion.

[@MatLCF]

Amphiptere is homebrew, isn't it?

[@MewsSister]

@@MatLCF tome of beast ! -kobold press -

[@MatLCF]

@@MewsSister Well, Kobold Press makes unofficial content/homebrew. I've been told before that their monsters are at times a bit stronger than their CR implies too, but I've never read their content to check how true it is...

[@captainpandabear1422]

I have high hopes for the Monster Manual, as I'm about to start playing a Moon Druid and I'm kinda putting faith in WotC not to screw me over here, but... no viable CR2 options? We just use CR1 until level 8? Ouch, that kinda hurts. Are you sure? >< My current campaign is solely using 2024 content when possible, so I can't go back into the old books for animals.

[@Dice_and_Beans]

might be tricky with the nda and im just gonna ask super nicely, with a yes or no, could you please tell us if there are more NEW OPTIONS for beasts in CR 5 & CR6? i want more options than just the gator and mammoth 😭

[@fortpyjamas]

Won't know the true extent of the Moon Druids power till they release the new Monster Manual. But I really like the change they made to the HP. A lot of people are upset cause you can't tank like before and it does take away from the possible beefiness of higher CR forms, but it actually helps keep forms you get at lower CRs competitive. The only thing I don't get is why they didn't include 'Proficiency Bonus' in the list of things you carry into the Wildshape from your Druid. Without it, the Hit Modifier for most Wildshape creatures is going to be really low at later levels.

[@guardiantree8879]

The proficiency bonus is a easy thing to homebrew in, but yeah they should have included it

[@ken_cognito]

I think the moon druids hp calculations should have been used for the class as a whole. 1 temp hp per Druid level is so minuscule a buff given that most campaigns end between levels 5-10.

[@Hildegunst_von_Mythenchad]

Moon DRU-YEET

[@aimerw]

The proficiency bonus of the Moon Druid does not work for Beast attacks: "Game Statistics. Your game statistics are replaced by the Beast's stat block, but you retain your creature type; Hit Points; Hit Point Dice; Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores; class features; languages; and feats. You also retain your skill and saving throw proficiencies and use your Proficiency Bonus for them, in addition to gaining the proficiencies of the creature." The PB for the Elephant is +2. The Str Mod is +6. This is why it has a +8 attack. The problem with this is that at level 12 everyone else will have +4 Prof. Mod and +5 Str/Dex Mod, for +9. In addition, they will have magic weapons, likely a +2 at this point. At level 13 (so a level later), the Prof. Mod goes up to +5. So, at level 13 other martials could have be sporting a +12 to attack vs your +8. Something like an Ultroloth will have AC19, so the Elephant will have to roll an 11 to hit (i.e., 50% hit chance). The other players at +12 attack would have to roll a 7 to hit (i.e., 70% hit chance) - an Archery Fighter will be at +14 attack (i.e., 80% hit chance). A 50% hit chance drags down the DPR _a lot_ - and if the Giant Crocodile +hit has not changed it will also be +8 so it only gets worse as the enemy AC goes up. Similarly, the Lion has a +5, which is pretty bad to still be using at level 11. The Ultraloth is only CR13 so within encounter range; hitting that AC19 with a +5 is... awful (35% hit chance). Better hope that Pack Tactics is in play - which means you have a melee buddy. Actually, better hope you have a melee buddy anyway as the low Temp HP and low AC means you are at real risk of being 2 rounded (even if you use another charge on the second round) if there is noone else to take the hits. Maybe best to just stick to Owl + CWB (which any Druid can do) - -Orc is a good race for the Bonus Action Dash too for more hugging potential- .

[@apdehner]

Good call outs, but I'll also add that you don't retain racial features while wild shaped, so orc won't help you. The lack of increasing PB while wild shaped is a bummer and does make accuracy with the beast form's attacks a problem. This was a problem with the old Moon Druid too. I'm planning on a Moon Druid for my next campaign and the accuracy problem from level 9+ has me thinking I'll be choosing Potent Spellcasting rather than Primal Strike and grabbing Spell Sniper so I can boost the damage of the more reliable Starry Wisp and use it even when in melee. Extended range Thorn Whip could also be fun. It also means I can focus on the utility of the beast shapes knowing I have a good attack option. The improved AC, Constitution saves, and greater Temp HP still put the Moon druid in a better spot than other druids while using Owl +CWB. I am excited to try the new Moon Druid as the features gained are more interesting to me than just being a big sack of HP.

[@kdaviper]

There should be a magical nail polish that gives wild shape forms a bonus to attack rolls and skill checks

[@apdehner]

An argument could be made that tattoos could work...

[@kdaviper]

@apdehner yeah I like the flavor of a magical coating to make your claws more potent though😁

[@aimerw]

@@apdehner Good shout on racial + Wild Shape being non-functional. The Temp HP, AC, and Con Save I find less important due to Flyby and Dash giving 120ft flying movement, plus potential Longstrider, Haste (Enspelled Weapon on party member), etc. Should be enough to avoid danger in the vast majority of cases. Moonlight step is a little more interesting now that Orc is not in play. Otherwise, Land for the free spell is probably more powerful, nevermind other features like resistances.

[@AtelierGod]

13:09 Doesn’t a quetzalquatulus have a 30ft wingspan? I’m pretty sure that token is to small.

[@sleidman]

Now I want to make a stat block for the sun...

[@taurvanath]

My party is level 10 and right now outside of wildshape my AC is 22 and I'm still getting hit often enough for me to panic wildshape to save myself. Luckily DM lets me burn two wildshapes to transform into something stronger

[@ThisChangeIsAwful]

i kinda chose moon druid on a whim only knowing they are good at wild shaping and holy shit is this class good.

[@WhatWouldBojackDo]

not the blue eyes white elephant, nooo

[@PSIworld13]

*Pushes up glasses* Well, ACTUALLY, the Sun may not have a stat block, but the Solar Dragon statblock in Boo's Astral Menagerie describes the effects of a Star on creatures. Namely: Stellar Incineration. Any creature that enters the star or starts its turn inside it takes 132 (24d10) radiant damage. Considering that a Lion only has 22 HP, even a Trillionfold, I am afraid that the Sun has got this in the bag.

[@Joshyyoshi1]

if you go mage initiate wizard, and unlock shield spell, can you react and use it during wildshape?

[@CreativeUsernameEh]

No

[@anarcnamedjustin3451]

No, but if your wildshape is capable of holding a dagger, you are capable of using the defensive duelist feat which is a neat option

[@MumboJ]

6:40 If the sun doesn't have a statblock, then how can it be defeated? Edit: Actually wait, in 5e an object has 1-50 hp per 10ft cube, so theoretically we could calculate how much hp the sun has even without a statblock. And if it has hp, we can kill it. Objects are immune to poison and psychic damage, and the AC of plasma is not listed, but there's other ways of dealing damage. Not sure if it has a Damage Threshold though.

[@BlackMonSterX]

Question.. how moon Druid can deal with this class big weakness aka Attack roll? On my calculations moon Druid wild shape being falling down when fight with creatures who have high AC like 17+ 😢

[@Roshiyu]

By chance, is there an update on our mini kobold optimizers? I still haven't gotten mine. D:

[@coreymcnaught]

I wonder if giant scorpion is still the best at level 6 (the step between lion and quetzalkwakadock)

[@petelovell3030]

IS owlbear a potential druid form/Beast and any new good Dino options

[@joelsmith2405]

Question for the group: The general druid class must wait until Lev 8 before using Wild Shape for Flying Beasts--but this is the Level at which Druids can finally use Wild Shape with CR 1. Because Moon Druids can Wild Shape into CR 1 at Lev 3, can they Wild Shape into Flying Beasts at Lev 3--or must Moon Druids wait until Lev 8?

[@anarcnamedjustin3451]

Yeah you still gotta wait for that

[@magkautumn3533]

Don't sleep on CR 3 Beasts. Giant Scorpion is CR 3 and paired with Grappler feat is a shit ton of attacks and damage.

[@andrewbeneche6319]

Can you tell us anything about the attack bonuses for the creatures? Because as cool as Giant crocodile is, if you have only a +8 to hit at lvl 15 you might as well not try to melee at all. That’s my main concern with Moon Druid that the 2024 changes have not addressed. I guess you might be able to hit if you use Moonlight step but that’s very limited use for only the first attack roll.

[@tremolieresmargot5913]

The beast forms' attacks still scale with level. Proficiency bonus is a class feature, which you retain in Wild Shape (explicitly stated by the feature, added to that, they state you retain proficiency bonus for saving throws, so I think this is pretty much both RAI and RAW). You could also take ASI feats that improve Strength, as feats fall under the umbrella of class features, which, again, you retain in Wild Shape.

[@andrewbeneche6319]

@@tremolieresmargot5913 Ah important distinction! This language has changed from the 2014 version. Previously, you only gained skill proficiencies and not ALL proficiencies. Their weapon attacks didn't count. Thanks for pointing this out.

[@Isma13]

In wild shape I use my proficiency bonus to mele atacks using natural weapons or I use the beast proficiency bonus?

[@diana.winter]

The beast proficiency bonus, but you don’t need to know that because the beast attacks tell you what the total bonus to hit is. Unfortunately, that’s usually lower than what you would have with shillelagh/truestrike and an appropriate weapon for the Tier.

[@charleighkimber4611]

Gator's a pecs predator? Nice.

[@Matanlimer]

15.35 wait, why are you able to use your own PB in a wild shape? Shouldn't it be the beast's for the beast's attacks\saves?

[@googloocraft12]

Still missing good higher then CR1 creature and a good chance to hit since creatures have +2 proficiency bonus

[@orcareqiuem4894]

I gotta play Druid again… I gotta… I just have to… not play a kobold because I’ve been doing only that lately. Maybe lizardfolk…

[@vitaly2422]

Note that you have to use the animal's PB for attacks while in wild shape. The line about prof mod in the wild shape rules specifically calls out skill and save profs, but leaves out attacks. Unfortunately this would also make starry wisp less accurate... bleh

[@user-cj9yd5so9n]

DC on Conjure Animals/Moonbeam/Font of Moonlight would also be lower too if you cast it while in Wildshape.

[@vitaly2422]

Yep, those too. And I'm not actually sure, after a close read of the spells chapter, if the DC would update as your prof mod changed or not. Logic would say no, but I think the spells chapter has a very light inclination that it's a living calculation. In reality its just not something that normally happens in the game, so they didn't write the rules to answer the question.