Character Creation

Ok, this will be the deciding factor whether my druid will be a Shifter or Wood Elf. First, quoting relevant rules text:
As you can see, this character will have "levels" of shapeshifting: natural, Shifted (Wildhunt), and Wild Shaped.

So, the question: Suppose I Shift (gaining temp hp and Adv Wis) and then Wild Shape. I then spend my maximum time (1 hr at 3rd level) in beast shape. Is my Shift "paused" for the duration or does it end 1 minute in? When I revert from Wild Shape will it be to my Wildhunt form or to my natural form? More to the point, while I'm Wild Shaped do I retain Wis Adv for the 1 hour duration, and when I revert do I still have my temp hp?

EDIT: But seriously, variant human for Observant + War Caster is so tempting hahaha!

This is what I mean when I say that the rules determine the metaphysics of the world: Think of Shifting and Wild Shape as separate things, not on a continuum of 'shapeshifteryness'. I get that thematically they are degrees of shapeshifting, but lets look to raw. Nothing in the Wild Shape rules suggests a 'pausing' of the Shift effect.

What happens by RAW? The way I read it - if you Shift you gain THP for 1 minute. If you then Wild Shape you gain the beast form stats, and retain the THP for the remainder of the 1 minute (when that minute is up the THP expires). When you revet from Wild Shape, you will be in your natural form (unless you revert back after less than 1 minute). You only retain the benefits of Shifting for the 1 minute duration of the shift, wild shaping will not extend that duration, nor pause it. It's also possible, by RAW, to be in Wild Shape and then Shift to gain the THP and Wis Adv for 1 minute.

That's how it goes down. Now, the question is, what does that mean metaphysically / physically for the Shifter Druid? I dunno. If there's a desire to know, it's the player whose character can do these weird things who I typically task with providing the wanted explanation. Maybe the Shifted Wild Shape form is bristlier, even more of the animal in some respects (sharper claws, thicker, richly coloured fur) and those traits fade as the Shift wears off. Maybe your shift and your wild shape are different forms, and so when they abilities are both in effect you take the form of a hybrid animal. A wolf with a beak and feathers mixed into its fur, perhaps.

Do we all get free magic items? Flametongue and shield +2 please :p

Naatkinson...I would have you type out the whole book. I'-ll keep my curiosity in check for now...new bard archetype?!

You all have been 'adventuring' for a while to be level 3, so you each should have something... odd. When I get home I'll plunder through the wondrous items and award everyone something. It'll probably be strange.

Candi, that makes sense, thanks! I logged in to say, "You know what, to hell with which race is more optimal (I statted it out and I think wood elf is better) because I like the story I came up with for the shifter!" and now after reading your post I'm even more sold on the idea, optimization be damned! :-D

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Eithne
Wildhunt Shifter Moon Druid

Eithne is a Shifter. When her all-too-human parents, realizing to their horror, that  she had been born with the taint of lycanthropy, abandoned her in the forest to be devoured by wild beasts. The babe survived, however, for she was part beast herself. The child grew up, living in the forest, only sneaking into town at night to steal livestock, goods, and tools. She became the terror of the town. Tales of her were told to scare children. The witch-beast. The monster in the woods. When the local lord sent hunters after Eithne she retreated deeper into the woods but they were relentless. When they cornered her, cornered the beast, she tore them apart and she fled. She was afraid. Because she had enjoyed the kill. That was when the elven druid Tassarion found her. He taught her to live off the land so she would never need to steal again. He taught her to defend the land and all things that drew life from it. He taught her that death —killing — was part of life, but that it should never be done for sport, nor should it give one pleasure when done in battle or to feed. He taught her to control the beast within her and to give it different forms. He taught her to harness the elements, and bend them to her will. After she and Tassarion parted ways Eithne found her own patch of wilderness to range and protect. It is while on one of her ranges that she encounters the party and decides to join them...

Alignment:Chaotic Good

Background: Urchin/Criminal/Outlander

Trait: I feel far more comfortable around animals than people.
Trait: I place no stock in wealthy or well-mannered folk. Money and manners won’t save you from a hungry owlbear.
Trait: I’ve been isolated for so long that I rarely speak, preferring gestures and the occasional grunt.
Ideal: I am a free spirit  — no one tells me what to do.
Bond: I owe my survival to another druid who taught me to live in the wild.
Flaw: I am suspicious of strangers and expect the worst of them.

That image is blowing my mind.

Cool backstory, love the traits, especially the third one. There's some serious truth in that :P

Character sheet here. Will create a GP character sheet later.

Are we rolling for HP after level 1 or are we doing the fixed average? I haven't bought equipment yet. Oh, and skill selection *facepalm*!

Roleplaying with limited speech will be challenging for ne but fun I hope!

It'll be easier to RP limited speech on the forum than in person though (since you can be extra descriptive about physical actions and expressions). That said, for Star Wars day this past year we played a one-shot of the FFG star wars RPG and my character was a Wookie. I spent the whole night growling and making my best wookie noises. It was SO fun (and by the end of the night, the other players and the GM started to understand me pretty accurately between my gestures and noises).

How old school you go on your HP is your call. You can choose if you roll for HP or take the fixed option.

Unfortunately they don't have any new archetypes for Druid, Ranger, or Bard

Barbarian gets Battlerager and 2 new totem animals, Cleric gets Arcana Domain, Fighter gets Purple Dragon Knight, Monks get Way of the Long Death and Way of the Sun Soul (REALLY awesome ranged w/radiant damage), Paladins get Oath of the Crown, Rogues get Mastermind and Swashbuckler, Sorcerer, of course, gets Storm origin, Warlocks get the Undying Patron, and Wizard gets Bladesinger.

And yeah, that image is crazy!

EDIT: Added Bladesinger

Interesting. They still added a lot of new material. I hope it doesn't start 5e Splatbook Resentment Syndrome. Any perceived power creep in there?

Gods, I hope not!

It all appears to be just as well balanced and designed as the core books. I particularly like the Bladesinger and the Sun Soul Monk.

Bladesinger is basically a reverse Eldritch Knight. Primarily wizard with a bit of fighter thrown in, with a rage-like Bladesong mechanic.

There are also 4 new cantrips, for Sorcerers, Wizards, and Warlocks, that focus on melee range capabilities.

This is probably a dumb question, but...are you letting those of us playing non-humans have a single feat for rolling attributes? I'm looking at a hill dwarf cleric at the moment, and having a feat (or not) may influence which domain I choose.

Everyone who rolled attributes in order (that was everyone) gets a free feat.

Damn, what a long spell list to choose from! Forgive me, I don't play casters. For easy reference I've copied all the spells to choose from and put them on my external character sheet. So now I need to pick my known cantrips and my prepared spells for the day. Candi, you're allowing EE spells, right? RAW, or are you implementing changes?

If WotC printed it, I allow it as printed.

Daily spell prep for Druids/Clerics and other casters that get access to the full compendium of spells is a mighty headache. I usually suggest to my players to create a staple set of daily spells, and a secondary list of spells they think they might want to prepare some day, and then to, at the start of each game day, swap between their core daily spells and secondary list.

As we're on a forum, the primary slowdown caused by daily spell prep isn't as big of an issue (nothing more tedious than the party Druid deciding that, after the next Extended Rest they want to retune their spells when that Extended Rest occurs in the middle of a session. I usually call that 'order pizza time, and the Druid's tipping'). So, my heuristic suggestion to create a 'mini spellbook' isn't totally necessary. But I mention it because you mind find it cognitively less demanding going forward.

Yes, that works for me :-) Thanks! IRL I make lists for everything hehe so yeah.

The cleric I'm playing will be my first spellcaster, too. What I did was in the Spell section, I listed each spell in one entry for each level, and put asterisks next to which ones I think I would commonly prepare for any given day.

Speaking of spellcasters, I don't quite understand the number of spells I can have prepared. How does the Wisdom modifier + cleric level factor into preparing a list of spells available? Does it mean with a WIS of 14, I have a total of 5 spells I can have prepared (+2 from WIS, +3 from level 3)? Then from that prepared list, I have four 1st- and two 2nd-level spell slots to cast them?

Yes, that is also my understanding of how it works for divine casters.
Good idea! That's a lot of spells but I might do that as well. Beats having to redo the spell section if you're changing stuff around. Thanks! :-)