What happens to a Druids Possesions when shape changing

[DMSenko]

Getting ready to start a campaign & have a creative player using the druid class. When a druid shape changes what occurs with possessions/armor...fall to ground where change occurred & must be retrieved after (if they haven't been stolen)? or are they considered part of the character & morph as if one & same?

Newer DM & players --- appreciate the help

[Unoriginal]

Getting ready to start a campaign & have a creative player using the druid class. When a druid shape changes what occurs with possessions/armor...fall to ground where change occurred & must be retrieved after (if they haven't been stolen)? or are they considered part of the character & morph as if one & same?

Newer DM & players --- appreciate the help

The equipment and items morph into the animal.

[Willowhelm]

The equipment and items morph into the animal.

If the player chooses.

Full (relevant) text from the class:


You choose whether your equipment falls to the ground in your space, merges into your new form, or is worn by it. Worn equipment functions as normal, but the DM decides whether it is practical for the new form to wear a piece of equipment, based on the creature’s shape and size. Your equipment doesn’t change size or shape to match the new form, and any equipment that the new form can’t wear must either fall to the ground or merge with it. Equipment that merges with the form has no effect until you leave the form.

It gets a bit tricky if you shape from one wildshape straight to another.

[Anonymouswizard]

The equipment and items morph into the animal.

No, it's fully player choice if they drop to the ground, morph into the animal, or remain worn/equipped (if the form could wear them without reshaping or resizing). It's generally going to be one of the latter two, but there are rare circumstances when you might want to drop your stuff*. Last bullet point in the Wild Shape ability description.


If the player doesn't specify, or is using an ability that doesn't say, I'd err on the side of 'equipment becomes part of the new form'. It's pretty much an industry standard and more fun for the player (like invisibility potions affecting your stuff).

OTOH I'm considering using it to explicitly mark 'escape' abilities, particularly for monsters. That way if a vampire sheds their magic weapon and armour to go mist form the party knows they've got it on the ropes and need to stop it fleeing

* the low hanging fruit is Wild Shaping to get out of restraints.

[DMSenko]

Thanks for the quick replies --- It's what I thought I understood but really appreciate the clarification without unnecessary sarcasm found on so many forums --- I think I'll like it here:smallsmile:

[Anonymouswizard]

Thanks for the quick replies --- It's what I thought I understood but really appreciate the clarification without unnecessary sarcasm found on so many forums --- I think I'll like it here:smallsmile:

I don't think I've ever run a game while having literally read the entire core rulebook, and in D&D shapeshifting is a pretty niche ability (IIRC restricted to druids, a handful of spells, and changelings, with no single unified set of mechanics). And nobody learns best when snarked at, also what's the point.

I honestly think D&D could do a lot more with it, including toning down the Druid's Wildshape and actually giving us a dedicated Shifter class (who'd hopefully also get access to partial morphs and hybrid forms).

[JNAProductions]

Fun use: get a beefy strong Druid.
Lift up a valuable safe or a desk of important documents.
Wildshape, subsuming the loot into your new form.
Escape!

[Damon_Tor]

There are some interesting edge cases. For example, if a gnome crawls into a druid's bag of holding, and then the druid wildshapes absorbing the bag of holding into his new form, what happens when the gnome attempts to exit the bag of holding?


Fun use: get a beefy strong Druid.
Lift up a valuable safe or a desk of important documents.
Wildshape, subsuming the loot into your new form.
Escape!

"The door is still locked, despite the rogue's repeated attempts at picking the lock. It seems you'll need to find the key after all."
"I grab the doorknob..."
"I doesn't budge for you either."
"You didn't let me finish. I grab the doorknob and wildshape, absorbing the door into my new form."
"..."
"We stroll through the now clear doorway."
"No."

[JNAProductions]

Yeah, my ruling for that is you have to be able to at LEAST stagger around with it.

If it’s stuck to something or too heavy to lift at all, no dice.

[Willowhelm]

Yeah, my ruling for that is you have to be able to at LEAST stagger around with it.

If it’s stuck to something or too heavy to lift at all, no dice.

Which is why first you wildshape into a high STR form, have your party load you up, then wildshape into the nimble form for the getaway. (Which is why I also mentioned the direct shape to shape option being an issue). If you short rest while wildshaped you could repeatedly keep absorbing and absorbing and…

That’s when the DM calls shenanigans and some consequences start :)