- 5e

Shape Water

https://www.dndbeyond.com/magic-items/4615-decanter-of-endless-water https://rpgbot.net/dnd5/characters/spells/shape-water/

https://rpgbot.net/dnd5/characters/classes/druid/ https://rpgbot.net/dnd5/characters/classes/druid/spells/

Arena of the Undead One-Shot

We're going to build a Circle of the Moon Druid for this one-shot, with a plan of multiclassing into a Arcane or Life Domain Cleric.

Inspiration: Nighwolf (Mortal Kombat), Inosuke (Demon Slayer), Aela/Farkas/Vilkas/Kodlak - The Companions (Skyrim), Taabe/Naru (Prey)

Kinneas is a human (or at least humanlike) male with almond/honey skin and long black hair. Strong, broad, and muscular but average height, at best. Maybe 5'6" and 150 lbs but incredibly lean/ripped.

He is from a small group of templars known by outsiders as The Inquisitors of Natural Order; shapeshifters are common among them and they believe anything unnatural should be cleansed from the world -- regardless of if it's good or evil.

He was on a training mission with a handful of other young/new templars when they were attacked by undead. Kinneas is convinced he was saved by what he describes as a pack of spirit wolves (ghostly fae creatures who took the shape of wolves) and dragged him, the only survivor, inside this dungeon to recover. Something feels different about him and he hasn't quite recovered -- preferring to communicate in grunts and gestures instead of common language.

He wears dark leather (dark gray, midnight blue, etc), with animal bone accents. No warpaint or tattoos (as of yet) and has a hatred for non-precious/non-magical metals; he's willing to use silver, adamantine, or mithril equipment but since the attack, he's repulsed by more crude metals, especially steel.

When he wakes up, he grabs his sling and ivory dagger then frantically looks for a wooden shield (can't find one).

One Shot Details

Your party is ambushed! And most are massacred. After the ambush you wake up in a dungeon with Trauma : Revulsion. Your character finds a particular item or substance disgusting or hateful. They are distracted in the presence of the trigger object, and will avoid it where possible. A WIS save may be necessary to interact with it (DC 13)

I chose steel as my disgusting substance of choice. It seemed like a good choice for a druid (paying homage to previous rulesets) and should give me something to role-play.

We're expecting to make it to level 4 in this one shot (from level 1). The level 4 feat should be an ASI (+2 WIS) but with this being a one shot and the fact the druid doesn't get anything at level three besides access to level 2 spells, picking up a level or two of Cleric (Life Domain) is probably the correct way to go. Bonus points in the multiclass since it gives me access to both Bless and Cure Wounds (a spell I didn't want to pick up with the druid).

For this character, I was allowed to send my DM a "wish list" for magic items (4 uncommon and 2 rare):

I messed up and forgot Moon Sickle requires Attunement, so I'm sitting on 4 items that require attunement when my goal was 3. I'll see if I can give up my Pearl of Power if someone made a similar mistake and didn't grab three attuned items.

I originally chose a different favorite of mine, the Alchemy Jug, but after making some tweaks to my character before the game.. I asked for a Decanter of Endless Water instead. While both items would work great with Shape Water, the biggest draw to Decanter was using "Geyser" as a damage/utility cantrip:

"Geyser" produces 30 gallons of water that gushes forth in a geyser 30 feet long and 1 foot wide. As a bonus action while holding the decanter, you can aim the geyser at a creature you can see within 30 feet of you. The target must succeed on a DC 13 Strength saving throw or take 1d4 bludgeoning damage and fall prone. Instead of a creature, you can target an object that isn't being worn or carried and that weighs no more than 200 pounds. The object is either knocked over or pushed up to 15 feet away from you.

Since Geyser requires a saving throw, it's not an attack -- this means I shouldn't get any necrotic damage from Hex but my target would roll their strength save with disadvantage (assuming I named strength).

Game Mechanics Risk: Dungeons and Dragons campaigns commonly rely on magic weapons. I'm expecting to run into creatures that are resistance/immune to non-magical damage and that's particularly problematic to Circle of the Moon Druids (and Monks). Moon Druids get a trait that addresses this concern but it's not until level 6. We ran into this problem in the previous one-shot (Shrine of the Kobold Queen) but we missed it during the final boss -- we were given magic items to fight the boss but the monk's unarmed attacks shouldn't have done damage to the boss.

There's a very real chance that the +1 Moon Sickle/Sentinel Shield with outperform Wild Shape, especially after factoring in spellcasting.

Feat Choices

Custom Lineage (+2 WIS) Feat: Fey Touched (WIS, Hex)... Gift of Alacrity would be great here, too.

Stats: 8/14/13/12/15/10

DEX and CON is a toss-up and depends on the party's composition. The ideal plan is 14 DEX and 13 CON and picking up Resilient (CON) with your 4th level of Druid. The problem is that we're expected to make it to level 4 in this one-shot and I'm more than likely taking 1 level of Cleric (at level 3). Plus, we probably want a +2 DEX modifier to maximize Barrier Tattoo.

If this ends up being point-buy instead of standard array, we'll drop CHA to 8 and bump CON up to 14.

Starting Class: Druid (Perception, Insight) Starting Gear: Leather, Wooden Shield, Quarterstaff

I wanted to take a shield and quarterstaff but realized we had a level one problem -- STR is a dumpstat and quarterstaff is a STR weapon. We can fix this issue with Shillelagh but I'm not overly excited about that cantrip.

Background: Hermit (Abyssal, Thieves' Tools)

We get proficiency with Medicine Kits as a druid, so we're able to pick up Thieves' Tools with this background. Not super useful otherwise and we can probably get more milage from other backgrounds.

Fey Touched (Hex)

Bless was a contender but since I was going Circle of the Moon, I wanted Hex for the damage boost with multiattack (it also works well with Decanter of Endless Water or the various poisons from Wild Shape).

Gift of Alacrity is incredibly strong as well but since we're planning on going Circle of the Moon (and since we have spell slots available), we'll get a little extra mileage out of Hex.

Resilient (Constitution)

Since the DM prefers standard array, Resilient (CON) shores up that 13 for the character and it's here for our first ASI/Feat from our class -- it will only apply if we stick with druid through the one shot so there's a small trade-off there but something to keep in mind

Telekenetic (Wisdom)

I love this feat because it lets me use my bonus action but it conflicts a little bit with being Circle of the Moon and spells like Heat Metal.

Telepathic (Wisdom)

We're a Moon Druid, this helps us communicate with our allies while Wild Shaped.

Multiclass Options

We're looking to multiclass with this character. I'm not super excited about barbarian or monk for this one-shot and ranger doesn't seem useful until at least level 2 -- and not as a primary druid. Cleric looks awesome here so it really comes down to a few options based off our party composition.

We're looking at a one-level dip for the one-shot but I'll talk about how the concept could scale.

Note: Gaining access to Heavy Armor isn't useful for this one-shot because I'm basically allergic to steel but it's a great bonus thanks to Belt of Giant Strength. It's definitely something I'd look to do if I were playing this character in a longer campaign -- we function well without the armor but it improves our survivability outside of Wild Shape by a couple extra AC.

Even though the original game plan was to go Life Domain, I think I talked myself into Arcana (especially if this character made it to level 5 and damage cantrips started to scale). Tons of synergy with the Moon Druid game plan and the opportunities with Life, Forge, Twilight, and even Nature can be applied in a better way with a different character concept; the same goes for my beloved Knowledge Domain.

I'm also not particularly convinced Light Domain is a better subclass for Cleric than Arcana (and to expand on this, I'm not sure Arcana Cleric is better than a Divine Soul Sorcerer or Celestial Warlock).

Arcana Domain (Savras)

Detect Magic and Magic Missile are both pretty handy.

Getting access to Gish cantrips on a class that doesn't get multiattack is incredibly useful and Potent Spellcasting works with the Wizard cantrips we gained through Arcane Initiate; the added damage to AoE canrips is also welcome (Acid Splash is situationally cool as well). The later isn't useful for us, since it would require 8 levels of cleric but it's a neat way to move foward if we wanted to try a X Cleric/2 Druid.

This Domain synergizes incredibly well with our Belt of Giant Strength/Barrier Tattoo magic item combination. We don't gain heavy armor but our AC will be 19 thanks to Barrier Tattoo and Sentinel Shield and we'll have +6 to our attacks and damage with Belt of Giant Strength and Moon Sickle.

Life Domain (The Raven Queen)

Bless and Cure Wounds is great and Disciple of Life works well with Goodberry (one of my favorite healing combinations in the game).

Forge Domain

I think there's a great character concept hidden in this combination by trying to spin the forge part with other materials than traditional metal/steels and with more foresight, I would be excited to play this combination (always having Heat Metal prepared is on point for the concept). Outside of that, swapping Moon Sickle with Amulet of the Default and giving myself a free +1 magic weapon seems great.

Twilight Domain

We'd be looking at 2 Druid/2 Cleric with this choice and it would lock us out of level 2 spells outside of Misty Step (and upcasting). I'm not in love with this combination even though it would give us a free skill by moving Dark Vision out of our racial bonus and into the class bonus (at level 3, ick) and I already have access to most of these spells by being a Druid.

The real bonus comes from the Twilight Sanctuary Channel Divinity and it's probably as useful as a Life Domain Cleric by that point but that's at 2 levels of Cleric.

Nature Domain (Chauntea)

I'm not inclined to take Nature Domain at all with this character since the druid multiclass already fulfills that role but I think it's worth mentioning here. There's incredibly synergy between the Cleric's Spirit Guardians with the Druid's Thorn Whip and the Telekenetic feat. You'd normally look at this domain if you wanted access to Thorn Whip as a pure Cleric but we're already a Druid so it's not as useful for us.

Spells

Cantrips: Guidance, Shape Water, Thorn Whip (at Druid 3)

This hurts a bit, I normally want to run one damage cantrip but I didn't have room. Shape Water provides too much utility, especially since I'm able to have access to water at any moment.

There's an edge case for Primal Savagery (on point for a werewolf-like druid) or Thunderclap, especially if these could be used in Wild Shape. Shillelagh would be great if it worked with Moon Sickle.

https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/s02zxu/would_allowing_shillelaugh_on_a_moon_sickle_break/

We don't benefit a ton from having Thorn Whip before access to level 2 spells (Spikes).

First Level: Absorb Elements, Faerie Fire, Fog Cloud, Goodberry, Healing Word Second Level: Heat Metal, Lesser Restoration (Spike Growth, Healing Spirit)

We're taking a lot of healing spells here.

Heat Metal is on point with the role-playing aspects of this character. Since he gets physically ill if he needs to interact with steel, this is perfect.

https://www.reddit.com/r/dndnext/comments/klpfpw/moon_sickle_good_berry_moon_berry/

It's a bit ironic that I'm going Life Cleric then jamming a bunch of damage spells.

Cleric Spells:

Cantrips: Sacred Flame, Toll The Dead, Word of Radiance Level 1: Guiding Bolt, Inflict Wounds, Protection from Good and Evil, Sanctuary,

If we go Arcana, let's pick up Green-Flame Blade (mummies hate fire and Booming Blade is overdone) and either Shocking Grasp (on point with flavor) or Prestidigitation. Acid Splash, Chill Touch, and Mind Sliver are nice additions as well, but I'm not sure how I feel about the later in a character that believes in natural order (already leaping a bit with Hex).

We always have Bless and Cure Wounds prepared as a Life Domain Cleric.

I'm generally not a fan of taking a bunch of damage cantrips but there's a good reason here. Sacred Flame attacks DEX and Toll the Dead attacks WIS.

Thunderclap (Lightning) and Word of Radiance (Radiant) provide the same function, AoE damage that attacks CON. Choose the one you prefer and pick up Guidance with the other class. In my case, I wanted Guidance at level 1 so I picked up Word of Radiance when I multiclassed into Cleric at level 3.

We want Inflict Wounds at this level (level 3) since it's a great spell for us to upcast. Since we're multiclassing, we're in a weird spot where we don't have any second level spells (outside of Misty Step) until we grab our third level in Druid. Again, since it's a level 4 one-shot, we don't get much by pushing cleric up.

There might be an opportunity to pick up Mending instead of the AoE cantrip if you wanted.

Yeah, so....

Given the constraints I put on the character (being grossed out by steel), we have a bit of a problem. I normally love daggers, it's a go-to weapon for me but daggers are typically made out of steel. So, we should try to spin off a dagger made out of bone or ivory instead. A dagger and a shield is probably out best option based off -1 STR and +2 DEX, but...

Metagaming Warning: We were given information regarding this one shot that we're fighting undead and I know that a particular subset of undead are vulnerable to bludgeoning damage.

With this in mind, we'll forego the wooden shield (taking a dagger in it's place) and picking up a Sling as our simple weapon of choice. Level 1 is going to be sketchy, since we'll have 9 HP, 13 AC, and rely solely on our Sling -- but that's why we have Misty Step, right?

Wild Shape

With the Moon Druid, we need to have a plan for our Wild Shape. We get 2 Wild Shapes every short or long rest that lasts 1 hour.

Wild Companion doesn't quite work with Circle of the Moon. Wild Companion is essentially Find Familiar, it doesn't work like the legacy Beast Master. It's still great for scouting but it's (relatively) more useful for other druids since we should be spending our Wild Shapes for ourselves.

Dire Wolf https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/16841-dire-wolf

Pack Tactics, knocks things prone... 14 AC, 37 HP

Giant Hyena https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/16886-giant-hyena

Lots of hit points (45), low AC (12)... but Rampage makes good use of our bonus action. 50ft movement speed (cook and book!)

Giant Spider https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/16895-giant-spider

Poison + Web... climbing speed, 14 AC, 26 HP

Brown Bear https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/16816-brown-bear

34 hit points, 11 AC, multiattack (3x)... has climbing speed, +3 CON

Deinonychus https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/2560770-deinonychus Dinosaur

26 HP, 13 AC... 3x multiattack, can use a bonus action to make an additional attack against prone enemies...

Ape https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/16788-ape

Two Fist Attacks or a ranged attack... This is tricky because the Ape's multiattack specifically says you make two fist attacks (not melee attacks), so it's up to your DM to decide if you can (1) use a melee weapon and (2) get multiattack with that melee weapon.

Scouts

Octopus comes online at Druid 4.

Owl is available at Druid 8.

As a mount? Camel, Mastiff...

Tactics

If I'm planning on using Wild Shape, I want to concentrate on Hex (Target STR unless there's a valid reason to do others). Otherwise, Bless is the top choice for concentration, followed situational by Heat Metal (primarily for boss fights).

(Remember Cook and Book) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMqE-xerANk

What to do with bonus actions? https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/i5xkle/new_player_any_bonus_actions_for_druid/ https://www.reddit.com/r/dndnext/comments/2tr8a4/looking_for_master_list_of_bonus_actions/

Random Stuff

Clerics have access to a strange spell called Ceremony, it has a ton of options and some provide some powerful benefits (especially for a one-shot)... Marriage is particularly powerful.

Ceremony
Bless Water. You touch one vial of water and cause it to become holy water.

Funeral Rite. You touch one corpse, and for the next 7 days, the target can’t become undead by any means short of a Wish spell.

Wedding. You touch adult humanoids willing to be bonded together in marriage. For the next 7 days, each target gains a +2 bonus to AC while they are within 30 feet of each other. A creature can benefit from this rite again only if widowed.

As for what Holy Water does...

Holy Water
As an Action, you can splash the Contents of this flask onto a creature within 5 feet of you or throw it up to 20 feet, shattering it on impact. In either case, make a ranged Attack against a target creature, treating the holy water as an Improvised Weapon. If the target is a fiend or Undead, it takes 2d6 radiant damage. A Cleric or Paladin may create holy water by performing a Special ritual. The ritual takes 1 hour to perform, uses 25 gp worth of powdered silver, and requires the caster to expend a 1st-level spell slot.

Healer's Kit
This kit is a leather pouch containing bandages, salves, and splints. The kit has ten uses. As an action, you can expend one use of the kit to stabilize a creature that has 0 hit points, without needing to make a Wisdom (Medicine) check.

Thieves' Tools
This set of tools includes a small file, a set of lock picks, a small mirror mounted on a metal handle, a set of narrow-bladed scissors, and a pair of pliers. Proficiency with these tools lets you add your proficiency bonus to any ability checks you make to disarm traps or open locks.