Does a Monk/Druid multiclass character's Unarmored Movement feature add to their speed while in Wild Shape?
Starting at 2nd level Monk, they have +10 speed, but does this bonus apply when they are in Wild Shape?
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\$\begingroup\$ Related, possible duplicate--but I'm not feeling strongly on that, so haven't voted it as such: Do any feats carry over when in Wild Shape? \$\endgroup\$– nitsua60Commented Jul 3, 2016 at 4:03
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\$\begingroup\$ @nitsua60: Related, but not a duplicate :) \$\endgroup\$– V2BlastCommented Oct 23, 2020 at 22:47
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3 Answers
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To start with, Wild Shape says:
You retain the benefit of any features from your class, race, or other source and can use them if the new form is physically capable of doing so.
Unarmored Movement is a feature from the Monk class. So, assuming you Wild Shape into something that is capable of movement, it should benefit your Wild Shape.
There is one point worth considering, though. Unarmored Movement says:
Starting at 2nd level, your speed increases by 10 feet while you are not wearing armor or wielding a shield.
Many of the forms you can take with Wild Shape have natural armor, and an extremely strict DM might rule that this counts as armor and prevents your Unarmored Movement from functioning.
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22\$\begingroup\$ I would say that natural armor is not being "worn", but that may be a matter of opinion. \$\endgroup\$– ThyzerCommented Jul 2, 2016 at 17:09
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5\$\begingroup\$ @Thyzer I'd agree with you! That's why I said an extremely strict DM. \$\endgroup\$– MinimanCommented Jul 2, 2016 at 17:10
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\$\begingroup\$ I remember it being said by one of the devs that natural armour does not count as worn armour, possibly in a tweet, but I haven't looked. \$\endgroup\$– TempCommented Jul 2, 2016 at 20:45
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1\$\begingroup\$ Related: While using Wild Shape, do I use Unarmored Defense or the creature's Armor Class? \$\endgroup\$– V2BlastCommented Sep 9, 2018 at 17:37
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2\$\begingroup\$ Also, Crawford clearly confirms here that Unarmored Movement applies while in Wild Shape: twitter.com/JeremyECrawford/status/557810267971944448 \$\endgroup\$– V2BlastCommented Sep 9, 2018 at 17:40
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RAW I see nothing in either power that would prevent them working together. The wild shape form is pretty much always Unarmored and wild shape specifies that any other class powers (including powers from other classes) other than spell casting are usable as long as they make sense for the beast form to be able to use.
So, as an example, a Druid 10 / Monk 10 could wild shape into a Warhorse, and have speed 80 (warhorse base 60 +20 from monk) and also from the monk lvl 9 unarmored movement improvement, run along walls or across the surface of water.
But if you wild shaped and then one of your party members put barding on you you'd lose the unarmored movement bonuses until you took it off again.
answered Jul 2, 2016 at 17:08
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Yes, the speed increase from Unarmored Movement applies while in Wild Shape.
The description of the druid's Wild Shape feature includes the following:
You retain the benefit of any features from your class, race, or other source and can use them if the new form is physically capable of doing so. However, you can’t use any of your special senses, such as darkvision, unless your new form also has that sense.
The description of the monk's Unarmored Movement feature description says:
Starting at 2nd level, your speed increases by 10 feet while you are not wearing armor or wielding a shield. This bonus increases when you reach certain monk levels, as shown in the Monk table.
Nothing in the Unarmored Movement feature specifies a necessary anatomy in order to take advantage of the feature, only that you can't be wearing armor or wielding a shield. Thus, you gain the benefit of the feature while in Wild Shape.
There is currently no official ruling on this question in the Sage Advice Compendium. However, D&D 5e rules designer Jeremy Crawford answered this question very clearly in a now-unofficial tweet from January 2015:
"RAW,would a monk/druid retain Unarmored Movement while shifted?"
Yes.
The descriptions of the two features directly support this ruling. Nothing prevents the benefit of Unarmored Movement from applying to a multiclassed druid/monk in Wild Shape.