Does a Shifter Druid lose its racial Shifting benefit if its Wildshape is dropped to zero HP?

Question

This is a follow up to my other question: Can a Shifter Druid use its racial Shifting feature in Wildshape?. The answer to that question states that a character which is a Shifter (race) and is also a Druid may use its racial Shifting ability while in Wildshape.

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The Shifter racial ability states:

Once per short rest as a bonus action, you can assume a more bestial appearance. This transformation lasts for 1 minute, until you die, or until you revert to your normal appearance as a bonus action.

The Druid Wildshape ability states in part:

You can revert to your normal form earlier by using a bonus action on your turn. You automatically revert if you fall unconscious, drop to 0 hit points, or die.

If a Druid that is in Wildshape and is Shifted takes damage that drops its form to 0HP, causing the druid to revert to its normal form, does it retain the benefit of being Shifted in that normal form or does the Shift also end?

Answer 1

Wild Shape ending will not end the Shifter ability; the Shifter ability ending will not end Wild Shape

As you've pointed out, the Shifter ability states:

Once per short rest as a bonus action, you can assume a more bestial appearance. This transformation lasts for 1 minute, until you die, or until you revert to your normal appearance as a bonus action.

Meanwhile the Wild Shape feature states (emphasis mine):

You can revert to your normal form earlier by using a bonus action on your turn. You automatically revert if you fall unconscious, drop to 0 hit points, or die.

Now I would argue that "your normal form" does not mean "a completely normal version of yourself" because that would mean Wild Shape ends currently active magical effects and the like. It simply means that you lose the benefits of your current use of Wild Shape, it does not remove other active effects, even transformative effects such as the Shifter ability.

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Another way to reach this conclusion is to look at what actually ends the Shifter ability: reaching the 1 minute mark, dying, and reverting the effects using your bonus action. Notably, none of these happen when Wild Shape ends by dropping to zero hit points. Even if you used your bonus action to end Wild Shape you would be doing exactly that, ending Wild Shape and not the Shifter ability.

At least for me, these features are entirely distinct and do not interfere with each other. Ending the Shifter ability while using Wild Shape does not end Wild Shape; ending Wild Shape while using the Shifter ability does not end the Shifter ability.

As far as I can tell the only way for both features to end simultaneously would be for both of the timers to run out at the same time.