Druids have the awesome ability to wild shape change in to beasts from nature in the fantasy world. Artwork by Wizards of the Coast. Below I have created a list for my fellow druid players who need help. I’ve included links, where possible, to the beast available for wild shape. Quotes are not sourced from all markets and may be delayed up to 20 minutes. Information is provided 'as is' and solely for informational purposes, not for trading purposes or advice.
Active5 months ago
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If I'm a Barbarian 1/Druid 2, can I rage while in Wild Shape? I can't find anything that would prevent this.
Conversely, can I Wild Shape while raging?
And finally, does the Rage Damage bonus apply to attacks made in Wild Shape? It requires that you make a melee weapon attack using Strength. Natural attacks are explicitly stated to be melee weapon attacks, but do they count as Strength based?
(Note: I originally wanted to make a joke about the Bearbarian or the Barbearian in the title, but couldn't decide between them and figured I'd better make it clear anyway.)
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.
If a bear is physically incapable of flying into a primal Rage, then we are doing something very wrong as a society.
The only thing you cannot do while in a Rage is cast or concentrate on spells (PHB p 48). Although Wild Shape is a 'magical transformation', it is never described as a spell and does not require concentration.
However, a Rage ends early if (PHB p 48)
...you haven't attacked a hostile creature since your last turn or taken damage since then.
This is a problem if you aren't Circle of the Moon (and what Bearbarian wouldn't be?), as vanilla Wild Shape takes an action, leaving you dependent on opportunity attacks or taking damage to sustain your rage.
One of the features of Rage is a bonus to your damage while raging. This feature states that you can only apply if when making a melee weapon attack using Strength:
When you make a melee weapon attack using Strength, you gain a bonus to the damage roll ...
All melee weapons available to PCs are Strength-based, some have the finesse property. From PHB p 147:
...you use your choice of your Strength or Dexterity modifier for the attack and damage rolls. You must use the same modifier for both rolls.
Similarly, the damage bonus on natural weapon attacks is almost always equal to either the Strength or Dexterity ability modifier (there are exceptions for CR 0 creatures). Thus, it appears every melee natural weapon attack can be Strength based, although not necessarily using the published attack/damage bonuses.
Consider the Blood Hawk (MM p 319). Strength 6 (-2), Dexterity 14 (+2), its beak has an attack bonus of +4 and a damage bonus of +2. This is certainly consistent with its beak being a finesse weapon that is using its Dexterity score. A Raging Blood Hawk (what a great mascot name!) could use its beak as a Strength-based attack, with an attack bonus of +0 and a damage bonus of -2, and then add Rage Damage.
More generally, if your Strength modifier matches the published damage bonus, the attack is Strength-based. If the Dexterity modifier matches, it's a finesse attack, and you would need to recalculate the attack and damage modifiers bonuses using your Strength bonus to turn it into a Strength-based attack.
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Posted by1 year ago
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Hi guys! I compiled a list of all available Beasts Druids can Wild Shape into. They are sorted by Druid Level availability, and lists all their traits, separating their special movement.
I also created a list of RPG Cards using RPG Cards and printed them all out and put them in a binder for any Druid sitting at the table to reference. I will also provide the cards for the basic cards to be loaded into the site.
I originally created this because I am going to be running a game this weekend and 2 of the players are completely new to Dungeons and Dragons but wanted to be Druids. I warned them ahead of time that there would be a lot of rules and references to look over but they were OK with it. So I made this to put in a binder for them to reference more easily so they aren't so overwhelmed with the game. Spellcasting can be super scary.