Best druid class for this modified version of gritty realism?

[stuffnsuch]

Starting at Level 6

Short Rest is 8hrs rest somewhere reasonably safe, Long Rest is after 3 such nights.

So extra weight is given to any ability that gives you resourceless abilities, extra castings, etc

I have plenty of backstory and character ideas covering each subclass but looking at them mechanically I'm wondering about which druid to take.

Here are my thoughts but I'd apprecaite your expertise

Dreams: underpowered normally, here even moreso as best abilities are per Long Rest

Land: additional spells known aren't mind-blowing but nothing to sniff at and allow you to prep spells you might otherwise. Natural Recovery is always handy to expand casting in GR. Nice that no subclass abilities use wildshape so that is a resource still avaible for scouting /hiding/traversing etc. Not much there are level 2 except poison immunity

Moon: Would need to save wildshape for combat so little/non utiilty wildshape. Great pool of HP twice per day and we're passed the early levels where it is busted. No subclass options outside of that twice per day resource. Lasts a long time so with some kind of Telepathy I might be able to milk it for all it's worth.

Shepherd: Clearly very strong but I'm not a fan of summoning in 5e and the aura ability would only be once per day

Spores: Main ability burns wildshape so little/no utility wildshaping but x4 level in temp HP twice per day is great and scales well. As for the rest of the subclass every time I come back to it and try and make it work my brain breaks so I'd be grateful for advice. A melee or weapon based druid could be kinda resourceless so that's handy

Stars: Main ability burns wildshape so little/no utility WS, and it only lasts 10min, but it's adaptable. Free Guiding Bolt castings are nice. Cosmic Omen is now prof bonus per 3days. Still a great versatile all rounder.

Wildfire: Main burns wildshape so little/no utility WS, and it only lasts one hour and without it you have no subclass features. Great ability though for offense and battlefield manoeuvrability

Secret Option: If you want to be resourceless as possible and have utilty wildshape then go Gloom5, Druid X with CBE and SS

Thanks for reading

[Theodoxus]

Why do you want to be a druid? And why do you want to be a druid under these rules. And how many encounters are you expecting between each short rest?

[stuffnsuch]

Why do you want to be a druid? And why do you want to be a druid under these rules. And how many encounters are you expecting between each short rest?

I appreciate that full casters suffer more than most under GR but I'd rather lean into my DM's world than bristle against or circumvent the GR aspect. But also, looking at the druid subclasses they are not affected equally.

Encounter frequency can vary between a few days stuck in a dangerous dungeon, to a few days exploring a city with one encounter per day, however narrative pressure is mounting so I expect periods where the story becomes time sensitive and we won't be able to hang out for 3 days to rest

[Theodoxus]

I wasn't trying to dissuade you from playing the druid, just trying to understand what your goal is. If you're wanting to be the debuffer or environmental controller, Land would probably be your best option. If you're wanting to supplement casting with other, resource-less options, a combination of Moon (6 hours total between the two shapes) and combat cantrips when you're out of wildshapes, isn't horrible (and arguably provides the best of both worlds, though does require higher Wisdom than a standard Moonie would need.

[Psyren]

I'd say Moon is your best bet under these circumstances, as it's the only druid where the benefits of their wild shape ability (read: wild shape itself) could last for an entire adventuring day and be combat relevant for whatever you run into. It will also help you to stretch out your spellcasting as much as possible between those long rests. In addition, you'll also have a lot of effective HP due to your wild shape forms which will alleviate some strain from the healers in the party (including yourself.)

For all the other subclasses, your signature ability will last between 10 minutes to 1 hour, and thus your chances of not having it available and needing to burn through precious spell slots instead are much higher.

For racial telepathy your best bets are Thri-Kreen and Kalashtar. Another option is that you could get a Masquerade Tattoo (common item, either from an Artificer ally or using the rules in Xanathars) and use that to draw words / symbols on your body to communicate.

[stuffnsuch]

I wasn't trying to dissuade you from playing the druid, just trying to understand what your goal is. If you're wanting to be the debuffer or environmental controller, Land would probably be your best option. If you're wanting to supplement casting with other, resource-less options, a combination of Moon (6 hours total between the two shapes) and combat cantrips when you're out of wildshapes, isn't horrible (and arguably provides the best of both worlds, though does require higher Wisdom than a standard Moonie would need.

Ah I understand.

I think the goal would be to supplement casting with other, resource-less options.

[animorte]

Dreams Druid! Why?



Hearth of Moonlight and Shadow

At 6th level, home can be wherever you are. During a short or long rest, you can invoke the shadowy power of the Gloaming Court to help guard your respite. At the start of the rest, you touch a point in space, and an invisible, 30-foot-radius sphere of magic appears, centered on that point. Total cover blocks the sphere.

While within the sphere, you and your allies gain a +5 bonus to Dexterity (Stealth) and Wisdom (Perception) checks, and any light from open flames in the sphere (a campfire, torches, or the like) isn't visible outside it.

The sphere vanishes at the end of the rest or when you leave the sphere.
This is a resourceless, unlimited benefit every time you rest. It doesn't specify a duration so whenever you rest, you're good! Disclaimer: dependent on DM, but isn't everything, really?

Of course, if you're never in the situation to benefit from Stealth/Perception/total cover/block-light-sources while resting...

The capstone certainly helps to make up for potential lost investigation and travel time. This subclass also frees up your Wild Shape up for whatever utility or combat purpose you prefer.

Otherwise, Stars all the way. Just because it's my favorite (and versatile)!

[Dork_Forge]

I'd say Stars wins here pretty easily:

- extra castings of Guiding Bolt to help your resource issue
- starry form can either cover your contribution for a fight (archer+cantrips), but it can also maximise the value you get from the slots you have (more healing and retaining concentration easier).
- cosmic omen is an additional resource pool

In a game like this I'd also generally advocate for grabbing more resources from wherever, so racial abilities, feats etc. When your ability to rely on your resources is compromised, increase your resources.

[Eldariel]

Moon is the best GR class generally even a bit higher up. You get a vast amount of HP that you simply don't need to recover. Given that all your allies need to recover with hit dice instead of free HP outside long rests, that's just huge (one of the biggest challenges in GR is actually keeping up your HP so that you don't die to attrition - Moon Druid basically circumvents the whole issue). You also have level 6 specifically, which means CR2 forms including Giant Elk and Giant Constrictor Snake, both of which do awesome stuff for your team; you can honestly adventure in those forms just fine in most cases (Giant Elk can even talk). And Conjure Animals still exists to clean up hard encounters (though if you don't want minionmancy, you might prefer Plant Growth, Tidal Wave, Spike Growth, Moonbeam, etc. instead).

You say "no utility" but that's only on the Wildshape form and you can afford to sacrifice one for utility; only recovering 50ish HP for free where allies recover 0 is still pretty darn good. And you have spells for utility including cantrips and rituals, which means you'll be more than fine on that front.


Stars and Wildfire are both decent but they lose utility just the same as Moon because their abilities use up their Wildshape uses. Shepherd is the only one to truly get Wildshape for free in addition to their subclass stuff (and they're just about the best healer in the game especially in gritty realism thanks to Unicorn totem being nuts even without summons). So...yeah, Moon is great, Shepherd is great, Stars and Wildfire are decent.

[Kane0]

Moon and Stars would be my picks.