Wizards of the Coast has released the latest Unearthed Arcana item for Dungeons & Dragons, introducing a revamped version of the Druid class. Like the previous Cleric class, the new version of the Druid has some drastic differences from the one that first appeared in 2014. Player’s Handbookgiving a first look at how the class could appear in the next version of Dungeons & Dragons, due out in 2024.
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Druids can wear metal armor.
Early on, Druid made significant changes to the use of armor. In D&D 5E Player’s Handbook, the druid cannot wear metal armor or use metal shields, but is proficient in light and medium armor. In Unearthed Arcana, druids can now wear metal armor, greatly increasing their defensive options. Yet they have lost proficiency in medium armor, but they can gain it by grabbing one of D&D 5E’s feats.
Like all other classes featured in Unearthed Arcana, Druids now gain Epic Boon Feat at level twenty, with their previous feature, Archdruid, dropping to level eighteen. This means they will have access to this powerful ability much sooner, although few campaigns go that far.
Druids have a channeling nature, similar to the cleric’s channeling deity.
Druids now gain the Channel Nature ability at level one, which has several different uses. At level one, Channel Nature is used to boost the Wild Shape ability, and at level two, it gains the Healing Blossom power (heals all nearby allies) and Wild Companion, which acts as the find familiar spell. At level fifteen, Healing Blossom can be used simultaneously as a Wild Shape, and at level eighteen, the druid regains the use of Channel Nature whenever he rolls initiative.
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Wild Form and Circle of the Moon have been overhauled
The most significant changes to Druid are for the Wild Shape ability, which has been completely revamped, starting with earning it at level one instead of level two. The Wild Shape ability has been greatly simplified, as the D&D player selects a predefined character build instead of using the individual stats for each. As the Druid levels up, they can choose from different builds, including water and flying animals; they can upgrade to small animals, get their Multiattack feature, and use a version of Wild Shape that doesn’t expand Channel Nature’s uses.
The Circle of the Moon subclass has also been changed, now available at level three instead of level two. Fighting Wild Shape is now much better, as they can cast abjuration spells, attack, or use Wild Shape as a bonus action at the cost of losing their healing ability. These druids can no longer become elementals, but their normal wild forms gain elemental attacks and resistances.
Druid is now the total package
The D&D 5E Druid remake is still being tested and fans can give their thoughts on D&D Beyond, but what’s here is impressive. Rather than being a character who had to choose to specialize between shapeshifting and nature magic, the new druid can do both equally well, giving them a lot of utility over the cleric. It is true that the Channel Nature feature looks like a copycat of Channel Divinity and I hope more will be done to distinguish the two powers in the future book. Still, this new druid looks like it’s going to be great to star in the upcoming one. Player’s Handbook.
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