125
votes
Accepted
As a DM, how can I handle my Druid spying on everything with Wild shape as a spider?
Introduce a threat to the spider.
There are plenty of normal creatures that live in caves that pose a threat to spiders. Frogs, birds, and even other spiders are natural predators. You can ...
- 4,179
114
votes
As a DM, how can I handle my Druid spying on everything with Wild shape as a spider?
Handle it without crushing it.
One of the best parts of playing D&D is creative uses of game mechanics. Don't take that from your player. Remember, your job as DM is not to counter or beat ...
- 8,919
89
votes
How much damage can a druid Wild Shaped into a spider take without dying instantly?
The relevant rules are Wild Shape on pages 66 - 67:
You automatically revert if you fall unconscious, drop to 0 hit points, or die.
...
If you revert as a result of dropping to 0 hit points, any ...
- 43.8k
70
votes
Accepted
Does Power Word Kill kill druids in wild-shape?
By RAW, the Druid dies.
Wild Shape protects you from a few specific things:
When you revert to your normal form, you revert to the number of hit points you had before you transformed (and then take ...
- 43.8k
54
votes
Accepted
Are druids considered "shapechangers" and thus unaffected by the Polymorph spell?
They are not shapechangers.
Shapechanger is a Tag (Monster Manual p.7) given to certain creatures. Becoming a druid doesn't change you from Humanoid (elf) to Humanoid (elf, shapechanger) in the same ...
- 187k
53
votes
Accepted
Is the shapeshifting druid an original D&D invention?
Druids have been shapeshifters from the beginning
The D&D Druid ability to shapechange showed up originally in their first appearance in the game, as a monster in the Greyhawk supplement for ...
- 24.8k
52
votes
Does natural armor stack with unarmored defense?
Sort of, but no.
Unarmored Defense does not provide a bonus to AC. It provides an alternate means of calculating it.
So, your druid has two AC calculations available to him:
AC provided by beast form....
- 43.8k
45
votes
Accepted
Can a Druid Wild Shape into a Swarm or "Giant"?
Note the uses of the word Beasts in the description of what Wild Shape does.
Beasts is a defined term; from page 2 of the Dungeon Master Basic Rules:
Beasts are nonhumanoid creatures that are a ...
- 38.8k
43
votes
Accepted
Can a druid's 2 uses of wild shape be used consecutively?
Like most other answers, I would say yes, two shapeshifts in a combat is legit; no, you did not make a mistake by allowing your player to wolf out and; no, you shouldn't try to claw back the ability.
...
- 4,302
40
votes
Accepted
Does Wild Shape count as a spell?
No
A class feature might give you a spell, but it explicitly says so in this case. See Barbarian's Path of the Totem Warrior for example:
At 3rd level when you adopt this path, you gain the ...
- 61.4k
39
votes
Can a druid wildshape again whilst still in animal form?
Yes.
First off, let's note that there's nothing in the Druid description that specifically precludes the WS1 → WS2 transformation you're contemplating.
Second, consider this line of "Wild Shape&...
- 98.6k
37
votes
Accepted
Can a Circle of the Moon Druid still use Wild Shape as an action?
The phrase "gain the ability" means that it doesn't replace anything. In addition to your previous ability to wild shape as an action, you now also have the ability to wild shape as a bonus action.
...
- 24.8k
37
votes
Is there anything stopping a druid from combining animals to form a new wild shape?
Yes, the rules stop this simply by how the ability works. The ability just doesn't provide any way to choose two forms. It specifies one ("a beast that you have seen").
Without something giving a ...
- 239k
36
votes
Accepted
Do the Alert and Lucky feats carry over when in Wild Shape?
Feats, generally, aren't supplanted by beast statistics. (Though your ability to make use of them may be supplanted.) Alert and Lucky, specifically, still apply in their entirety.
Your game ...
- 98.6k
36
votes
Accepted
Is your proficiency bonus a class feature?
No, but you still keep that bonus for Wild Shape.
Each class has a section called Features, that lists all its class features. These include, for a Barbarian, Rage, Unarmored Defense, Reckless Attack, ...
- 44.1k
36
votes
Accepted
Can a druid who is wild shaped into an ape cast spells that only have somatic components (e.g. Thunderclap)?
Not until level 18
Wildshape's 3rd bullet point is quite clear:
You can't cast spells [....]
A druid that shifts into Wildshape can't cast any spells, regardless of their VSM components. This ...
- 27.7k
36
votes
Accepted
Are the natural weapon attacks of a druid in Wild Shape magical?
Only the Moon Druid after level 6
While it's not specifically stated that they aren't magical, it is clear that they aren't due to the class feature of the Circle of the Moon Druid at level 6:
Primal ...
- 122k
35
votes
Accepted
What happens when Wild Shape/Polymorph runs out in a space that's too small?
Unfortunately, there are no rules for this circumstance, so if our itsy-bitsy-spider-druid runs out of Wild Shape while trying to climb up a downspout, we have to come up with a ruling, and there are ...
- 10.7k
35
votes
Accepted
Can truesight see through a druid's Wild Shape?
Yes, truesight will see through Wild Shape. As you mentioned in the question, truesight can perceive the original form of a creature transformed by magic. And the first line of Wild Shape says that:
...
- 141k
35
votes
Accepted
Can Polymorph be used to give a druid new Wild Shape forms?
This is unclear, and it's ultimately the DM's call. Beyond the general "what the DM says goes", it's not spelled out what exactly it means to have seen an animal. There's plenty of room for the DM to ...
- 28.6k
35
votes
Can a druid use Wild Shape to take the form of a specific, individual beast?
Rulings, Not Rules
Jeremy Crawford, the lead game designer, called the rules "intentionally silent on these corner cases":
Wild Shape can introduce wild situations. What happens when ...
- 61.4k
33
votes
Accepted
Is a druid hit by Feeblemind able to use wild shape?
You've already answered your own question. Wild shape isn't a spell nor a magic item, so feeblemind doesn't stop a druid from doing it. Furthermore, Feeblemind doesn't lower Wisdom, which is both ...
- 65.7k
33
votes
Accepted
If a druid in Wild Shape swallows a creature whole, then turns back to her normal form, what happens?
Lack of specific rules means DM have to decide.
Despite lacking an appropriate excerpt from the books, we can at least refer to the designer's intent in a close situation, as expressed by Jeremy ...
- 2,611
32
votes
Accepted
Can a druid get out of wild shape to avoid an opportunity attack?
This sounds like a clever way to avoid an Attack of Opportunity.
The Druid is not moving, merely using a magical effect to take up less space. This is less "moving" than teleport, which expressly ...
- 31k
32
votes
Accepted
Does the mind flayer's Extract Brain affect polymorphed or Wild Shaped humanoids?
The extraction can't be done
Both Polymorph and Wild Shape tell their target to assume the new form's game statistics, which includes (Monster Manual, page 6) the creature's type (Humanoid, Beast, ...
- 53.2k
31
votes
Accepted
How does Rage interact with Wild Shape?
Raging while in Wild Shape
Wild Shape explicitly allows this. From PHB p 67:
You retain the benefit of any features from your class, race, or other source and can use them if the new form is ...
- 4,302
31
votes
Accepted
Is there a lower limit to the size of creature a druid can wild shape into?
Your player is perfectly justified in doing this. The Spider is a Tiny beast listed on page 44 of the DM Basic Rules (v0.3), or page 337 of the Monster Manual. It's CR 0, so the Druid is free to Wild ...
- 141k
31
votes
Accepted
Does magic armor resize with wild shape?
Rule interpretation in general
There are two points to remember when looking at an ambiguous rule:
Your group, with the DM as final arbiter, decides the ruling for the rule. So, you need to establish ...
- 187k
31
votes
Can I employ Relentless Endurance while in Wild Shape?
Yes you can
The rules for wildshape clearly state that you retain any benefits of features from your race if the new form is capable of using them. Since the Relentless Endurance feature does not ...
- 22.7k
31
votes
Accepted
Does unlimited Wild Shape make Circle of the Moon archdruids virtually unkillable?
No.
A druid can only wildshape on his turn. So, while he can apply unlimited hitpoints to his form by wildshaping every turn, he cannot prevent you from dealing damage when it isn't his turn. If the ...
- 18.2k
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