The Moon Druid - D&D: Optimized #40
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- čas přidán 24. 07. 2024
- Finally! It's time to do a Moon Druid. Lizards and Snakes and Bears, Oh My! (And Elephants!)
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/ @dnddeepdive
/ dndoptimized
/ dnddeepdive
/ colbypoulson
Character Concept:(0:00)
Level 1:(7:52)
Levels 2-6:(12:40)
Levels 7-9:(37:41)
Levels 10-13:(46:30)
Levels 14-17:(1:00:36)
Final Thoughts:(1:11:27)
Math/Graph for this episode: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Sustained DPR Comparisons (3 Tabs): docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Thanks to LudicSavant for the amazing DPR calculator! forums.giantitp.com/showthrea...)
Music Credits:
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Angevin 120 loop by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
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Artist: incompetech.com/
Celtic Impulse - Celtic by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
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Fiddles McGinty by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
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Lord of the Land by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
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Master of the Feast by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
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Artist: incompetech.com/ - Zábava
"DONT" MULTICLASS MOON DRUIDS!" "I'm starting as a ranger", man I love you
That was hilarious
Level 1 (see above) [Ranger 1 {Tasha's rules}]
Level 2 (see above) [Ranger 2 {Tasha's rules} (FS:Totemic Warrior)]
Level 3 @15:27 [Ranger 3: Beast Master {Tasha's rules}]
Level 4 @19:40 [Druid 1 (wait for the dad joke)]
Level 5 @20:39 [Druid 2]
Level 6 @25:01 [Druid 3]
Level 7 (see above) [Druid 4 (maybe Mobile feat)]
Level 8 @41:02 [Druid 5]
Level 9 @41:13 [Druid 6]
Level 10 (see above) [Druid 7]
Level 11 @48:10 [Druid 8 (bump WIS)]
Level 12 @50:37 [Druid 9]
Level 13 @55:49 [Druid 10]
Level 14 (see above) [Druid 11]
Level 15 @1:01:45 [Druid 12 (Warcaster)]
Level 16 @1:06:10 [Ranger 4 (maybe Piercer feat/FS:Blind-fighting)]
Level 17 @1:08:33 [Ranger 5]
Level 18+ (see above)
To the top with this comment!
Great build as always sir!
I gotta say i literally laughed out loud on the street when you said "obviously the first rule of a moon druid is you don't multiclass, so at level 1 we're starting Ranger" lmao
I'm glad someone got a laugh! ;)
Well played!
@@DnDDeepDive I think most of us had that reaction Colby, I appreciate the cheekiness :)
The cool thing about being a large bear is that you can drag small and tiny creatures full speed across those thorns
I click for the build. I stay for the numbers read in a calming voice.
It's ASMR for numbers nerds
He really does have a very calming voice. I've watched his videos while dealing with anxiety and it's chill.
About Moon Druid's new shapes, you can use Polymorph to transform willing people in beasts you want to learn (like dinosaurs), see the animal, and use your new knowledge to wild shape.
It is very important to note that for wildshapes, they use your proficiency bonus, so for example, the miserable +4 to hit for the giant scorpion (2 str +2 prof), at level 9 when you can turn into a giant scorpion your bonus is 4, meaning you have a +6 to hit as the scorpion, certainly not great at level 9, or 12 in this case, but a 50% increase over 4!
"They are especially fond of animals and might even fantasise about becoming one" It's happening, Colby is doing a furry build haha
;)
You can actually move the grappled creature into the solid side of the wall of fire. If you do this, RAW, they take the damage on your turn, without save. If you then move back to the edge of the 10 feet fire damage range, they will also take the damage (they get a save) at the end of their turn
First time looking up anything DnD related on CZcams and first time seeing D4. I'm very impressed. I can tell you really enjoy the game, do your research and add personality to your character, unlike a lot of other min maxers i come across on reddit. Good video
Hey thanks!
Thank you for another lovely build. Druids are my 2nd fav class, but I rarely play moon druids. It's always nice to see your take, even as it might differ from my own. And as always, a pleasure to listen to your soothing voice. :)
You know, instead of summoning a whole swarm, you can be nice to the DM and just summon a couple giant spiders or bears
I'm playing a moon druid/monk (4/1) currently and the Unarmored Defense boost is huge. plus being able to bonus action natural weapon attack, granted that is up to DM discretion, is huge. Also I'm playing it dire wolf and using the summon beast spell to maximize pack tactics!
Lastly I would suggest checking out the Rocktopus description in "OUT OF THE ABYSS
". DND Beyond has that listed incorrectly as they are actually are land dwelling creature that breathe air.
Back in 2018, I did a Moon Druid build. My DM allowed UA, and for the Brawny feat to apply to moving while grappling someone. As such, my air elemental was huge for grappling, and so had no issues grappling medium-sized creatures and dragging them through spike growth from above. 100 movement with longstrider meant I was killing someone every round with my movement alone, then using my action to grapple again.
Druid is simply put my favorite class in the game; Thank you for covering it :)
My only complaint about the class is that most of the spells are concentration
@@snazzyfeathers my complaint is that despite most of the spells being concentration, you aren't naturally proficient in con saves.
I’ve been playing a straight class moon druid for the past year, and I love my build even though it’s not necessarily optimized for combat. I decided to be the eyes and ears of the party, so I took the observant feat at first level. Took resilient con at 4, and will be taking skill expert for expertise in perception at 8. Currently my passive perception is 21, or 26 if I have advantage. At level 9 this will jump all the way to 27, or 32 with advantage. I can still take a hit better than anyone in the party since we are pretty much all casters, and between my perception, survival, insight, and great druid utility spells (never underestimate the power of ritual casting speak with animals), I always have a way to contribute both in and out of combat.
Is that with a custom lineage? Being the eyes and ears as a human without darkvision sounds like a major weakness. That or your DM allows a level 1 feat, which is cool. Moon Druid is great because you don't necessarily need to invest in your combat abilities other than maxing wisdom to be decently effective, so you can pick up a lot of utility if you want
@@ovbrook3057 no darkvision, we are actually playing in an all human world, so no one has darkvision. The way I make up for it is by usually making sure we have light, or turning into an animal with darkvision if the situation demands it
I like this channel Colby! You come across as this "gentle force" of optimization and the content is enjoyable to watch. I'm sure the expansion of the channel and rebranding will go well :)
My favorite druid class, followed closely by the wildfire and stars circles. Also mixes very well with barbarians for the ultimate deathless tank. It may not be optimal but damn isn't it fun.
Problem with "optimal" is that it's usually analyzing based off a single variable, and so the question becomes "optimal based off what measure"?
"Fun" can certainly be an "optimum" 😁
Your content is amazing as always :)
As for the issue with meeting beasts - I as a DM occasionally reward my druid with the option to get to know certain more unique beasts closer, to give him more utility out of wild shape.
Just recently I had him meet a Tressym and he has the chance to interact with the beast if he so chooses (I generally rule a bit more than just seeing is required, though reading a book with detailed description of a beast in its natural environment would also do it in my games, so libraries can be an interesting source for wildshapes at my table).
I think the druid will get some uses out of having the ability to use their wildshape to detect any kind of poison or to see invisible things. Not on a regular basis, but it feels like a nice tool to have access to (in my opinion).
In general I really like to find ways to reward my players beside gold and magic items - contacts to certain organzations, favours, stuff like these druid wildshapes, I could easily see a trainer for a battlemaster to train them for a week to learn 1 more maneuver (maybe from a certain shorter list of choises, depends on the situation).
Of course I still often reward them with the "usual" stuff, but it is nice to shake things up every now and then.
Love this
Looking back at this, iI love how much more confident Colby has become over th years of doing this :) still love the content, all those years later
A level 2 Moon Druid can cast Fog Cloud and bonus action into a Giant Spider with 10' of Blindsight. Ranged attackers can no longer see you, melee enemies have disadvantage to hit you, so you are hit less often taking less damage and less likely to fail a Concentration check, and, you will get advantage and so hit more often.
When I listen to your videos I feel at home.
sending lots of love !
Happy early Birthday, Colby!
P.S Was totally peeping your bookshelf the whole time haha 😂
Thanks! See anything you like? >.>
5:40 Currently playing a Moon Druid tank and I think Path of the Ancestral Guardian has the true spirit of a tank!
Also: been a fan since Ep 7, and I'm glad to see the growth of this community and your dedication to it!
Thanks!
Oh it was glorious, I finally got around got around to playing a moon druid, we came across a huge tower like 300 feet high. At the top was the McGuffin we need. It was defended by a bunch of flying creatures. The creatures decided to fly out of melee range and then swoop in. I think they had Flyby so they wouldn't provoke an opportunity attack of something. So I changed into a Giant Spider and
PEW! Web shot! Restrained and *whistling* splat, dead!
PEW! Recharge web and another web shot! Restrained and *whistling* splat, dead!
PEW! Recharge web and another web shot! Restrained and *whistling* splat, dead!
The DM decided that the creatures thought it best to fight over the top of the tower. So the remaining three landed. That was really funny!
Ha! nice :)
MOOOON DRUUUIIIDDD!!?!?! I'm so effin excited for this episode.
Currently theory crafting a Lizardfolk moon druid. Hungry Jaws being active while transformed is just very interesting. Then correct attributes, good natural armor and extra skills on top. His mission; taste everything in the world! As he needs to find new food sources for his tribe.
Weird request: What about a build based around being a chef? Would it be a reflavored (pun intended) kensei monk? Creation bard? Would it work with features like the chef feat or goodberries? I'd love to see a chef character build!
on the list!
An eldritch knight/hexblade warlock with the tavern brawler feat that summons random kitchenware
Random concept I found on reddit that matches your request:
"I might play with this one Fighter or cleric / Artificer a Dwarf cook using a cast iron skillet (re-skinned blunt weapon) , and maybe a Large cutting board as a shield. Re-forged cookware armor."
I have a villain that is a Bard, the upper crust love his banquets, they don't know about the elf and halfling flesh they are dining upon....("You're pulling my leg." "No, Mr Wizard, I believe it is you who is pulling at the leg.")
@@migthulhu lol
You Cant start with Warcaster as a lev 1 ranger as you cannot cast spells yet. So you are stuck with your first choice of Resilient Con away.
@Professor Thinker if your race allows you to cast spells then you're not Variant Human, which means you aren't getting a lvl 1 feat
@Professor Thinker perhaps you weren't trying hard enough
@Professor Thinker didn't think much about it, did ya professor?
@Professor Thinker the point is that Variant Human Ranger can't take Warcaster at level 1, because they don't have Spellcasting yet. You can't take 2 feats at level 1, if you forgot somehow.
Ignoring the context doesn't seem like succeeding to me, I'm gonna have to confiscate your thinking degree.
@Professor Thinker go touch some grass nerd
Happy Birthday Coby. (I'm greeting you from Asia, so it's currently 2 am of 13th May) Love your contents and please continue the great work
Love the idea!
After watching your Beastmaster video, I decided to go that route instead of Gloomstalker. Then I was thinking about multi-classing into Shepherd Druid, and saw this video…. Hmmmm this sounds fun too 👍
I am super pleased that this isn't a Bearbarian Moondruid Tank build.
Good job as always!!
I was waiting for you to make a moon druid build. I am Happy now
Man you are amazing I just discovered your channel and I already watch like 20 of your vids keep it up o/
Been thinking about playing a Moon Druid, perfect timing!
I love this channel. I have often struggled to find this kind of content in a podcast, just like Colby. If you wish grow this channel, I recommend watching videos on how manipulate the youtube algorithm by "The Spiffing Brit".
The Spiffing Brit is also helpful for teaching how to manipulate forks and wooden swords.
Yes! Been wanting this one for a while!
Just played my first session as a Moon Druid after I watched this vid. I didn’t do the thorn drag, but more importantly, my DM let me grapple a target and then bite the hell out of him with advantage once I had him grappled.
I’m going to love this character. Lol
Nice! Was that with the restraining grapple from a Giant Toad form?
@@RPanda3S Nope, it was me as a Cave Bear
Really feel like a high wisdom build with monk as your multiclass simply for the bonus to AC and move speed. Just go human with prodigy for your athletics bonus. Biggest thing to clear up would be how natural weapons match up as unarmed strikes.
Interesting take on the moon druid; never seen it combine with ranger before. I'd be seriously thinking about utilizing gloom stalker for the WIS bonus to initiative, plus that extra attack in the first round.
I would have gone that route except that you only get the extra weapon attack (which the Beast's Natural weapons should be, I believe), if you take the Attack action on your first turn, and we were needing to get our concentration spell down as our action before Wild Shaping, so no Attack action... maybe with Action surge...
@@DnDDeepDive Very valid point; Gloom Stalker would be far more about just plain claw scratching than setting up control and grapples. You probably wouldn't want Fighter 2 in here, as then you're really lagging behind on the Wild Shape.
I've been waiting for months for this build. FINALLY :_)
looking forward to seeing this build. I'm doing a Level 20 one shot and I decided to roll up a COM Druid. Having never played a Druid before, I'll need al the help I can find. Went with a Firbolg to get +2 to WIS and +1 to CON. Resilient Feat (CON) and War Caster.
Moon Druid pro tip, have your backstory make sense for the animals you plan to use.
im a fan of the 'areas' to background...forest, swamp, desert, etc...i feel it flavors a lil while not limiting forms too badly....prolly comes from my 3.5 druid from Chult....dino forms plus a dino familiar....2 med creatures with claw/claw/bite plus a pounce and a tail sting, both with Dex poison...you know standard 3.5 cheese lol
I love the moon druid. I decided to dip two levels into Moon Druid with a monk to get a kung fu bear theme going.
@Will Jurgens sadly that isn't possible as per JC. flurry of blows are unarmed attacks. elementals/beast only have natural weapon attacks to attack with.
@Will Jurgens yeah if the dm alllows then anything's possible. the earth elemental itself is OP but if you are just attacking with the earth elemental (even if you add multiple attacks via monk) then it isn't OP. you aren't doing the earth elemental one-check kill anyway. the earth elemental is actually more OP with a fighter multiclass for action surge. IMO the only thing monks add to the earth elemental really that helps it to be more OP is move speed.
I have an interesting character concept, which admittedly has some rough spots RAW. Not completely out of the realm of RAW but pushes it forsure.
An Armorer Artificer (3 levels only) / Moon Druid.
Step 1, Put on heavy armor and use the "Arcane Armor" feat.
This part is critical, the wording of the third bullet point suggests that your armor will be present when you wildshape.
"The armor attaches to you and can’t be removed against your will. It also expands to cover your entire body, although you can retract or deploy the helmet as a bonus action. The armor replaces any missing limbs, functioning identically to a limb it replaces."
Wildshape allows you to "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." in part.
This suggests that, "Arcane armor" you are wearing before wildshaping will remain after you wildshape. As you can choose to wear it AND the armor "cant be removed against your will". Here comes the RAW issue.
Wether or not the armor automatically "shifts" to become form fitting to the new form, providing all the benefits, or not.
On one hand, If it DOESNT become form fitting, then the fix is simple, since you are wearing it still, you simple have to use your action again to make the armor "Expand to cover your entire body". Basically, turn 1 in combat would be, Bonus action Wildshape, Action "Arcane Armor"
On the OTHER hand, if it WORKS still, then boom, congratulations, You now have a beastie that is completely covered in Heavy Armor, and can use all the benefits that come with the Armorer subclass.
Giant scorpion with an ac of 15? No problem, You are now a Giant Armored Scorpion with an AC of 18 (plate) along with a compliment of other benefits coming from the Armorer subclass.
Turning into a Brontosaurus, but tired of always being hit with your measly 15 AC? No problem, You are now an Armored Bronto with 18 ac that can (Infiltrator option) shoot lightning out of your Mouth! Huzzah!!
Want to REALLy make your dm's head spin? Turn into an Air Elemental wearing plate mail!
really REAAAAAAAAALLY want to make your DM's head spin? Pick up the Mobile feat, then cast longstrider on yourself before combat, THEN go infiltrator mode for your armor...Then start of combat, turn into a Killer whale (natural ac 12). You will have a WALK SPEED of 25 AND 18 AC. Terrifying.
@@skymanta1222 druids absolutely can wear metal. This has been confirmed. They Choose not to as part of their culture.
@@skymanta1222 i recommend you google "can druids wear metal dnd 5e" you will get plenty of official ruling on the matter.
@@skymanta1222 read literally the next sentence and u will see he was joking.
"The druid explodes.
Well, not actually. Druids have a taboo against wearing metal armor and wielding a metal shield. The taboo has been part of the class’s story since the class first appeared in Eldritch Wizardry (1976) and the original Player’s Handbook (1978). The idea is that druids prefer to be protected by animal skins, wood, and other natural materials that aren’t the worked metal that is associated with civilization. Druids don’t lack the ability to wear metal armor. They choose not to wear it. This choice is part of their identity as a mystical order. Think of it in these terms: a vegetarian can eat meat, but the vegetarian chooses not to." Jeremy Crawford March 2016.
This is brilliant! I love the mama bear idea
The alternative is going the Rogue/Druid route first and gunning for Quetzalcoatlus' 80 foot fly speed with flyby or the Allosarus' 60 ft run speed (The moorbounder has a 70ft move speed if you can convince your DM) . You keep the spike growth strat and instead using your cunning action to dash around the edge of the circle for absurd damage (noting that dragging a grappled creature costs double movement)
interesting approach on the grapple and drag enemy through spike growth strat. so basically if those beasts arent allowed just pick a beast form with the best move speed? personally, i'd add 2 levels of fighter so this can be done round 1.
Happy almost birthday broski!!!
Totally missed an opportunity: "let's talk about the elephant in the room" @ 1:02:20
ha ha - d'oh!
Personally not a fan of the Moon Druid, but it's a D&D: O video so I'm sure Colby can keep my interest high
Here's hoping! :)
Some inaccuracies regarding moonbeam and wall of fire (I know I am late to the party here) that make both of them better than what the damage calculation suggests:
Moonbeam deals damage when they *enter* the spell (not when it appears) as well as when they start their turn inside, so you can do the "pull them out, put them in" tactic to force the saving throw twice per round: once on your turn, once on theirs.
For wall of fire, the dex save is only when it appears. When they enter the wall or end their turn in the damaging area, they simply take full damage, no saving throw. You can also do "pull out, put in" tactic with wall of fire for double damage.
Not sure if this makes a lot of sense... But here goes: If we double down on the dragging through Spike Growth aspect, one could replace the 3 ranger levels with 2 levels in rogue for bonus action dash. Combined with Longstrider and Mobile (at character level 6), that would give us a dragging distance of 60 ft. (40 ft. bear + 10 ft. longstrider + 10 ft. mobile = 60 ft., divided by two for dragging equals 30 ft. once for movement and once for bonus action dash), for a total of 24d4 damage, if we are perfectly positioned with our grappled target. Pretty good, I think! Perhaps a little silly...
My birthday is May 11th! and Ive been loving your shows lately
new subscriber here, great stuff- looking forward to trying out this build!
Been watching your vids and they are pretty great! My moon druid idea is a goblin moon druid who uses all of the beasts with good charge abilities (Tiger for CR 1, Auroch or Rhinoceros at CR 2, etc.) along with Hex (which you can pick up at level 4 with Fey Touched) to give disadvantage to Str checks. Goblins can disengage with a bonus action so you can disengage then move away at least 20 ft then charge in again, getting the extra charge damage and likely knocking the baddie down to give all your melee party members advantage against them.
Hey Colby! Happy early birthday! My birthday is May 13 too! Always love the content, thanks!
Birthday High Five!
Got so excited when you said that this will not be the Moon druid / Barbarian build. Keep up the good work!
Another thing, relating to the concern about the elemental shape taking both wild shape uses: it lasts for a number of hours equal to half your druid level. As long as you can keep yourself topped up on hit points and don't go to 0, it can last you for multiple combats, even *through* your next short rest.
Great episode! Are you aware of the storm badger combo? This is available at lvl 5. It's not always going to work but when it does its so much fun. It requires your DM to be on board. It can also be tough to set up. If you can cast longstrider before combat, turn 1 cast call lightning as your action(conjure animals if call lightning isn't applicable), bonus action Wildshape into giant badger. You now have 20 ft burrow spd. Burrow in a way that will allow you to pop up every few turns and bring down a bolt. Giant Badger has low HP and AC, which can be a problem if your DM decides to hold their action. This is why you change it up. Don't pop up every turn. Even if you aren't hurling a lightning strike this turn, your enemies have wasted their turn waiting for you. If a spell caster has held their spell, it fizzles and they lose the slot! Your DM will have you in dungeons and scenarios where this absolutely won't work, but if they allow it, it is simply the best.
ha ha - awesome!
Another great build given me some ideas for the moon druid I am currently playing. I would start at 1st lvl start with druid as I would rather have proficiency in my wis save for when I am facing magic being flung at me.
For the eldritch blast spike growth build I assume youre planning daolock already- But take a look at dipping into swarkeeper ranger! Their 3rd level ability works even on spell attacks and can grant you an extra 15ft push in any horizontal direction to help keep them in the spikes. I know its a bit mad- but I think i just have a love for the idea of this build as a keeper of earth elemental crystalline bees that stay in its genie vessel when not in use
Have it written down for consideration (I'm a little skeptical about the Str save but 15 feet of movement is a lot...)
I miss Mike Mearls twitch stream. It was really informative on how new things in D&D were developed.
I have a build concept that I would like your opinion on. It is a chain magic user. It's mainly re-flavoring spells and abilities.
But it is as follows:
Two levels of Peace domain cleric.
X levels in aberrant mind sorcerer
X levels in fathomless warlock.
The Peace domain clinic is strictly for their first level ability although the second level ability is good healing. Imagine linking or chaining your allies together.
The fathomless warlock is again for the first level ability that has been re-flavored to look like chains instead of tentacles. You do want to use Eldritch blast and the push and pull invocations to simulate throwing chains.
The aberrant mind sorcerer is there to get Tasha's hideous laughter as a psionic spell so you can cast it for one sorcery point. Two sorcery points if you twin spell it.
On the list!
Moon druid 12
Palladian (ancients) 8
Gets you palladians bonus attack, smite, and lay on hands in wild shape.
Once per short rest you can a CR 5 smiting elemental or 2 CR 4 elephants.
- elephant not having multi attack benefits greatly by having extra attack. With the potential for a gore, stomp, bonus action stomp (if they fail a strength save) all of which can smite.
-lastly magic is doing half damage due to your aura, your saves ate buffed, and elementals already resist nonmagical weapon strikes and and CC immunity.
I cannot wait for the crazy stuff they can do!
I’ve been loving this channel from the beginning. Just wanted to say we share a birthday!
Woo hoo! Happy birthday!
If you are trying to swallow enemies and don't want to burn up all of your spell slots the barkskin spell can really come in handy for a build like this.
I'd just like to point out that under the effects of Shillelagh, there is no functional difference between a club, a one handed quarterstaff, or a two handed quarter staff, except for whether or not you can use a shield. They're all 1d8 magical +0 weapons without reach that rely on wisdom instead of strength. I'm honestly not sure why people ever say to combine Shillelagh with a quarter staff since you can get all the same abilities with a small club.
Also, if you're going variant human, just grab magic initiate (druid) as your starting feat. +2 cantrips and +1 spell known for the final build and you can take a different fighting style, save the money on shortswords, and come out the gate with a magical d8 weapon that runs off wis.
For CR 1, check: female steeder with built-in grapple and "Crag Cat" from Storm's King Thunder. It is a beast with built-in magical reflection
As much as I like the concentration-focused build. I would think about fire-shield + wild shape + sentinel. It's a 1 turn setup build and a level 7 moon-druid/barbarian 1 can wild shape into a Giant Constrictor snake, grapple and basically remove a high-level enemy from combat without worrying about con saves while soaking tons of damage. Bonus points if you pick mage-slayer. This is good with either custom lineage or vhuman.
I like the idea of ranger for the expertise in athletics, in this grapplerbuild. I'd probably not go to lvl 3 ranger before druid, because i wanna transform into animals before lvl 5. But i can see the flavor. the later you get to lvl 6, the later your attacks will become magical.
Yes I think it would be better to take the skill expert feat and not multiclass.
@@benry007 id say it depends on campaign lvl. If you get to LVL 20, never multiclass, but if you only get to lvl 6 i might multiclass. But the skill expert feat is a nice choice
@@benry007 ditto. this is how i'd do it as well. i'd multiclass after level 10. and by that time, most likely into fighter 2 instead of ranger 3.
@@christianlauridsen699 i think most campaigns don't reach 20. not even 17. most tables end by 13-14, even earlier like 10 and below.
@@christianlauridsen699 if I thought it was going to lvl 20 I wouldn't play a moon druid. They suffer from a lack of good beasts to transform into. If I was DMing I'd let them turn into certain monstrosities as quest rewards. Like an owlbear, a winter wolf or maybe a phase spider. Things that are still very much animal like. The player gets more options then and feels like the best moon druid. I'd make sure they had to work for them though.
I've been waiting for this one.
Just here to say “great job” for the algorithm :)
Other alternative races could be Ghostwise Halfling, gives you Luck and a limited Telepathy (which your DM could or could not allow when you Wildshape,) or Kalashtar, gives you proficiency in Wisdom saves (very nice if you're starting as a Ranger), resistance to Psychic damage and a better Telepathy than the Ghostwise
my moon druid/monk is a ghostwise. I took if for the the telepathy but have been surprised how often the the luck feature has saved my bacon
Happy early birthday! I didn't think you knew about the druid class.
Thanks! Aw come on, I've done... 3 builds with Druid? 4? >.>
A bear hugger! And I thought the moon druid couldn't get cooler...
Been looking forward to this one.😊
here's an idea for the next build.
"Theurgical Denial". our entire thing is to deny the enemy their fun parts.
start with the Custom Lineage, and take Shadow Touched. the 1st level spell, we don't really care about, although Color Spray is probably our best bet. the big kicker is that we get invisibility from level 1. alternatively, we could take Lucky at level 1, and at 4, just an ASI.
we start with 2 levels in Chronurgy Wizard.
our next level is in the Grave Cleric, which maximizes our healing when we're healing our downed allies. it also gives us a good range of cantrips to use to support our party (of note, Guidance)
we next take 2 levels in Wizard, and take Lucky. now, we have a reaction that can force a reroll, and we can decide to use a luck point without using a reaction if we don't want to. of note, we have 2nd level slots half way through, that we can use to fuel our invisibility.
next, we take another 2 levels in cleric. we now have access to Aid, a great support spell that doesn't need concentration, and is worth upcasting, plus we can now channel divinity to buff our ally's next attack, and it basically none of our features break invisibility.
we're at level 7 now, with 4th level spell slots, and upcasting stuff as we need.
next level, we take Wizard, giving us 3rd level spells known, like Counterspell, Haste, and Animate Dead. Animate Dead is great for us, because we can then give our allies a nice friendly pair of hands, who take the help action, or whatever other action we direct them to. Counterspell is also great, because it can stop the nasty spells other people cast.
our next 3 levels are grave cleric, taking an ASI to Int, and getting the ability to cancel crits a third way. we can either force them to reroll via Chronurgy, reroll via Luck, or just cancel it via Sentinel at Death's Door.
level 11, and we've got 3rd level casting in both classes, with 6th level slots to upcast our support spells with.
another 2 levels in Wizard, and we've now got Greater Invisibility, so we can freely counterspell (and can't be counterspelled back, because they need to see us, and we're invisible).
1 more in wizard, we've got another ASI, possibly a half feat like Chef (temporary hit points, plus Aid, equals a lot more survivability without concentration), or Metamagic Adept, to get Distant Spell to counterspell from a longer distance, Extended spell to keep some of our buff spells going longer, or Subtle Spell, to cast invisibility without components. (simply disappearing is a neat trick), we're pretty flexible.
another 6 levels in wizard, taking another ASI/feat, and we're at 20th level.
we can counterspell, cancel crits, force rerolls, force rerolls a different way, help all our allies every turn, choose that an enemy just fail (or succeed) a check, even if they have a bonkers number to it, max healing to a downed foe, buff our allies a decent amount, and we're also reaching 7th level spells known as a wizard.
I would love to see a build that maximizes the damage from the whole action economy. Converting your movement to damage with Spike Growth is such a cool thought. What could you build that does damage on your action, bonus action, movement, reaction, and free action (if possible)?
I play a moon druid in my buddy's strahd game. i went ghostwise halfling so that I get the re-roll on 1's of course but ALSO i can telepathically speak to my allies while wild shaped still and its come in handy a LOT. at level 4 I took mage slayer so that I can shut down all the spellcasters and if any spellcaster tries to hit me with a melee spell attack I get to hit him back right away. feels good!
If you just aren't seeing the animals you want. Go to a library in a major cit. Find a bestiary, so you can learn animal locations, pick up scry (5th) and use that to see the animal. If you can't find crystal ball to buy major cities will have areas that you can do it. The bestiary should give you enough info to make the scry work.
Clever
Happy Birthday! Belated as it is. Love your builds! For some weird reason I was trying to build a character inspired in Tyrande Whisperwind, lol.
I am commenting as I watch.. happy early birthday Colby!
Thanks!
My favorite builds you do are for tanks, you should try to blend your wizard and rogue tank builds together though. Those two are by far my favorite of the ones you've done
Hey happy birthday, you share it with my brother and my daughter.🥳🥳
Woo hoo! Thanks :)
thats crazy, my birthday is also May 13th and im in the MST time zone lmao. I'm the one who suggested the graviturgy "single target lockdown" build a few weeks ago. happy early birthday my man
Woo hoo! Rocky Mountain Birthday bros!
Im CO myself but ya should be fun, i got 3 days off and im half tempted to take my hand at planning a world out
happy birthday man, hope it is serving you well, loved ep 1 keep up the work
@@lumilir7391 thanks you too!
I have real trouble to see what we're really getting out of three level of ranger beside making our earliest level slower
Three level of ranger to get a pet that is likely to be one shot by a range enemy or an AoE seems like a real stretch when you could get three paladin level or rogue level to get either sneak attack or smite in wildshape
Hey tomorrow’s my birthday as well! 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼 Happy Birthday 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
If you go for a race that gets a +2 or if you roll for stats and end un with a 17 wis, what are your thoughts on the telekinetic feat? + 1 wis to round it up to 18, and you get a bonus action shove 30ft range (that i'm guessing you can use in your wild shape) plus 60ft range invisible mage hand.
I do like it - mentioned it as a possibility later in the build, but especially if you're going heavy into spike growth it could be nice... would mean we forego our Companion attack though, which probably does a little more damage, but would definitely be situationally useful.
Yasssss the Moon Druid video! First character I ever played in 5e was a moon druid and man do they slap their enemies around...
- Me too! It was the Strahd campaign, and the DM let me do a custom background where my guy was a zoologist and already knew basically all the forms so I was able to really have fun with different animals. I really liked being a moonbounder and giant spiders. Now Moon Druid is basically always a go too as my backup character for most campaigns.
love the idea colby. quick question, if someone in the group had access to the haste spell, how much would doubling the movement speed of the bear do to the overall dpr? as i see it you'd be doubling the SG damage while upping attack damage by one attack?
kind of on the same note, i wonder what the numbers would be on a monk or rogue being the grappler - all the extra base movement, bonus action dash (if that is possible while grappling), etc.
This of course would require buy in from another player in the group to set up the combos. thoughts?
Haste would be a big bump - it's basically 5 more damage for every 5 feet of movement you can drag them through. Monk would probably be the way to go if you *just* wanted to focus on grappling and dragging, though you may want just a dip in Druid for Brown Bear or maybe another caster to enlarge yourself in case you run into Huge creatures... hm...
I know this video is over a year old at this point, but does anyone have a specific background that they recommend for this ? If there was one mentioned in the video I apologise I can’t find it
"I heard they call her Drake for her ferocity!"
"Well you heard wrong. It's The Rake." *casts Spike Growth, turns into a bear*
P.S. crocodiles have an auto-grapple bite. There's a precedent for teefies being used for grappling.
Another incredible build, can't wait for the Avatar/Bender build!
I'm here for the 'most adorable and terrifying duo ever'
Death by cuteness!
I like this, it's somewhat similar to the Pokemon trainer at the outset but has a nice focus on personal damage utilization. I wonder if there's a build that could abuse conjuration, animate object and necromancy? (I recall Pokemon used Druid for the wildfire pet "Flareon" (which is nice analogy)).
I've gone ahead and made this one of four in my party. The others are an Evoker, Lore Bard Healer, Tank Sorcadin). I'm still thinking about the coffeelock and thinking of some kind of Storm (Blue) Dragon - Tempest Cleric, (and either the Storm Barbarian/Stormsork). I just wish Dragon's Breath (and damage types in general) had some extra effects based on damage type (like Diablo/WoW). In particular, the idea that some types chain, others splash, others linger or infect slow. Right now, my Evoker is doing the max AOE/nova. I just wanted the flavor of storm, the Lvl 9 Storm on Druid is also a consideration. Some themes are just very dilute.
conjures are hard to optimize as its DM dependent. animate objects/giant insect is easy enough. just get a non-concen advantage generator like blindness or pyrotechnics and of course action surge to get all going on round 1. animate dead/tiny servant are also easy enough. aside from the above, pick up crusader's mantle from lore bard or war cleric. ta ranged setup can be done with magic stone for at most 3 tiny servants. i know you didn't ask but it's also easy to optimize the new summon spells from tashas.
What do you think about leaning into spike growth and movement with this build?: Tabaxi for feline agility. Two levels of monk for unarmored movement and possibly unarmored defense if your dm is good to you in wildshape. Two levels of rogue for expertise and cunning action. Then moon druid from there Now you grapple and dash easily every round with the addition of unarmored movement and longstrider. You would also be able to double dash for consistent damage and add on the feline agility to double your speed for some reliable burst damage. All this could be up and running by level 6-7. Haven't done the math but I think it would be pretty strong damage. Feats/asi mobile, res con, max wis, possibly war caster
I was wondering how you would build an Arcana cleric. Taking booming blade and green flame blade as cleric cantrips and later adding wis mod to damage seems great. Dip into ranger for Druidic fighting style to nab shillelagh for a SAD melee fighter/caster. I was thinking swarmkeeper works well. Curious what you would do with it.
On the list!
A question and an idea. Would you want to play this character yourself? I'm sure you would, but how would you rate or rank it on play-ability or fun verse all your other builds? It is a tricky question to answer, but I wonder if doing a poll might be fun to see what others think of your various builds.
an idea for a team build.
a bear totem/fighter SMALL custom Lineage (or other small race/tank combo desired)and a Centaur Rogue/Cleric.
the halfling (or other small race) takes the Mounted Combatant feat, and redirects all the damage the centaur rogue/cleric would have taken to themself, while the rogue gets basically permanent sneak attack from having an ally within 5 feet of their target, and an ally who's always in touch range for their buff/heal spells.
probably 3 in bear totem, then the rest in fighter, going a standard sentinel/polearm master build, so they can keep people away from the squishy centaur
the centaur probably goes Thief, then grabs the Healer feat (the action to restore hit points isn't changed by Fast Hands, but the bring back to stable/1hp is, and I also love the comedic image of the Second Story Work's entire removal of the climbing penalty the centaur has.). after level 4, we take a level or 3 in life cleric, and then back to rogue. as a bonus action, we can use either healing word, or a healer's kit to stabilize our ally, and as an action, we can stab someone with sneak attack guaranteed (from an ally next to us)
Where can i get a written format of the build to for this excellent video. like step by step written guide? thanx.
I *do* put out written “cheat sheets” for the builds, but it *is* actually the one thing I give as a benefit to members of the channel - here’s a little video I did explaining why if you’re at all interested - I’d love to have you as a member! (it’s pretty cheap : ) ) czcams.com/video/op_QNygYv3E/video.html