Theodoxus
2018-11-17, 11:06 PM
I've been tinkering with class design, trying to consolidate classes back closer to the feel of 2nd edition. I'm looking for feedback on a proposal to move druids back under clerics in 5th ed.
Basically, the idea is Nature Clerics lose heavy armor mastery, gain Druidic as a language, and switch to the druid spell list at 1st level.
At 3rd level, they choose a Circle: Dreams, Land, Moon or Shepard. Dreams and Moon are the only Circles that grants wildshape - Dreams as the PHB base druid and Moon as PHB Moon druid. Land still grants access to their extra spells, and Natural Recovery as well as access to the Cleric spell list. Shepherd also grants access to the Cleric spell list on top of their current abilities.
Are there any major pitfalls I'm not seeing by doing this? It's a slight lowering of power for Moon Druids, but 2nd level Moonies are arguably the strongest 2nd level class bar none, so dropping them down a notch doesn't seem particularly harsh. Land might be a bit too strong, granting Natural Recovery to a cleric - but the opportunity cost of not gaining wildshape I think makes up for it.. There's literally no change to Dreams, so that should be ok - though maybe slightly less powerful than Land...
Basically, the idea is Nature Clerics lose heavy armor mastery, gain Druidic as a language, and switch to the druid spell list at 1st level.
At 3rd level, they choose a Circle: Dreams, Land, Moon or Shepard. Dreams and Moon are the only Circles that grants wildshape - Dreams as the PHB base druid and Moon as PHB Moon druid. Land still grants access to their extra spells, and Natural Recovery as well as access to the Cleric spell list. Shepherd also grants access to the Cleric spell list on top of their current abilities.
Are there any major pitfalls I'm not seeing by doing this? It's a slight lowering of power for Moon Druids, but 2nd level Moonies are arguably the strongest 2nd level class bar none, so dropping them down a notch doesn't seem particularly harsh. Land might be a bit too strong, granting Natural Recovery to a cleric - but the opportunity cost of not gaining wildshape I think makes up for it.. There's literally no change to Dreams, so that should be ok - though maybe slightly less powerful than Land...