Volos, Druids, and AL

[Lolzyking]

My druid friend asked a very interesting question, Our AL store didn't have the answer, and I couldn't find it online either.

Can a Druid Conjure/druid shape change into creatures from volo's guide, if volo's is not their +1 book (god its a stupid rule, this isn't pathfinder....)

[DivisibleByZero]

That's going to be up to the DM (and whether or not he has access to Volo's). You couldn't find an answer because there isn't a definitive answer.

[Aett_Thorn]

I think that technically it's that no, you couldn't use those beasts. However, I think you'd find more than a fair amount that would say that the class description in the PHB states you "magically assume the shape of a beast that you have seen before." So if the DM uses a beast from Volo's, then you have seen it. And you're still only using rules/features from the PHB, you're just taking the shape of something that you've seen before that happens to be from another book.

[DivisibleByZero]

I think that technically it's that no, you couldn't use those beasts. However, I think you'd find more than a fair amount that would say that the class description in the PHB states you "magically assume the shape of a beast that you have seen before." So if the DM uses a beast from Volo's, then you have seen it. And you're still only using rules/features from the PHB, you're just taking the shape of something that you've seen before that happens to be from another book.

What he's asking is:
Can I conjure that beast from Volo's, so that I have seen it, so that I can Wildshape into it?

The answer is:
Ask your DM. Just because that beast exists in Volo's doesn't mean that it exists and is available in your DM's world.

[nickl_2000]

What he's asking is:
Can I conjure that beast from Volo's, so that I have seen it, so that I can Wildshape into it?

The answer is:
Ask your DM.

Person asks a question "Can my druid"
*Cuts him off* "Who the heck knows, Druids are confusing. Ask your DM and if the DM allows it you can"


If it were me I would say you can Wildshape into it if you have seen it, but not conjure the beast.

[Aett_Thorn]

What he's asking is:
Can I conjure that beast from Volo's, so that I have seen it, so that I can Wildshape into it?

The answer is:
Ask your DM. Just because that beast exists in Volo's doesn't mean that it exists and is available in your DM's world.

Wasn't sure because of the way he was asking. Since he was asking about both the spell and the wild shape at the same time. But yeah, this seems very DM dependent. I would think that most would say that if they use it against you or let you see it, you could both conjure and wildshape into it. But if not, they are too uncommon for you to either summon or wildshape.

[Lolzyking]

Can he summon it to transform into it?

Can he summon them at all?

Can he transform into it if he's seen it?

From what I've read, the precedent that a scag wizard can by Elemental evil spells from an EE wizard with the scribe feature would atleast allow him to transform into it if he's seen it.

how that confers to the phb spells that allow you to conjure any Cr <insert number here> fey, beast, ect that druid gets allowing volo's is what I don't know



Fun question anyone even bother asking or reporting a ranger with a volo beast companion, those poor beast masters.....

[tieren]

Is the druid allowed to conjure or wildshape into beasts from the MM if the MM isn't their +1 book? Seems like the answer should be more or less the same, unless the DM thinks they are so rare you wouldn't have seen them before.

For AL purposes players shouldn't be choosing their summons, they choose a CR and the DM decides what appears, so summoning something so you can wildshape it only works if the DM lets you see something new.

[DivisibleByZero]

Is the druid allowed to conjure or wildshape into beasts from the MM if the MM isn't their +1 book? Seems like the answer should be more or less the same, unless the DM thinks they are so rare you wouldn't have seen them before.

So rare you wouldn't have seen them before.
Or not in his game world.
Or he doesn't have access to Volo's.
Or he just doesn't like the animal in question.
Or a whole host of other potential reasons.

Like I said, he isn't going to find a concrete answer because no concrete answer exists. It's up to each DM as he or she sees fit.

[SharkForce]

Is the druid allowed to conjure or wildshape into beasts from the MM if the MM isn't their +1 book? Seems like the answer should be more or less the same, unless the DM thinks they are so rare you wouldn't have seen them before.

For AL purposes players shouldn't be choosing their summons, they choose a CR and the DM decides what appears, so summoning something so you can wildshape it only works if the DM lets you see something new.

nope. AL rules don't follow that official rule... not even the people who wrote it think it's a good idea apparently :P

they do limit what you can summon to a list that's in the online guides, though (for example, they're not willing to admit that pixies shouldn't be so low CR... so instead of fixing CR, you just can't summon them at all in AL).

[Tetrasodium]

I would rule based on the following criteria

Does the player own a physical copy of Volo's?. I care about this because I want my local flgs to do well & am not a huge fan of "oh I have a pdf"
Is the player on the ball, for example do they have all the stats down on something they can quickly see the stats & keep track of stuff without bogging things down? I have a spiral bound staples/office depot printed copy of a pdf I made with the druid wildshape forms by CR & just keep track of hp right on the stats block..... or are they juggling a book, character sheet, & god knows what?
does the player abuse things like of conjure $critter $stampeed, or do they avoid that & hold back from that sort of PITA ballooning of the party?

That's pretty much my yardstick on how far I'll let them push the "have seen" thing with a non volo's race. If they are playing a volo's race, that's their +1.

I think the short list of allowed options is because it can be overwhelming & bog things down into a ness of nonsense if someone is not familiar with the available beast forms with the homework needed to juggle them without dumping the work on the rest of the table