Dungeons and Dragons just teased a huge change coming to the Druid class in its next One D&D playtest. Players can expect to see what Dungeons and Dragons is doing with the Druid when the next Unearthed Arcana for One D&D drops on February 23.
One D&D, the evergreen evolution of 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons, had been delayed for a few months due to controversies surrounding the Open Game License. Now that Wizards of the Coast has relented its attempts to change the OGL, Dungeons and Dragons is ready to resume its playtesting for One D&D.
The next playtest packet is set to release on February 23, and will cover the Druid and Paladin classes. While players will have to wait until the playtest document is released, Dungeons and Dragons gave a big clue on its official Twitter page. It shared a picture of an owlbear creature alongside the schedule for the impending release, indicating the iconic creature would somehow be involved.
One of the most iconic Druid abilities in Dungeons and Dragons is their Wildshape. Using this ability, Druids can take the form of beast creatures. However, owlbears are classified as monstrosities, not beasts, so Druids can’t Wildshape into them. If Dungeons and Dragons recent post is any indication, Druids may soon be able to transform into certain monstrosities like owlbears or griffons, or some of these monstrosities will be reclassified as beasts instead.
This potential Druid change is coming at the perfect time. In the reveal trailer for Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, the tiefling Druid Doric is seen shapeshifting into an owlbear. This clip caused an uproar among Dungeons and Dragons fans who wanted to do the same but couldn’t with the current rules. With Honor Among Thieves releasing on March 31, it seems the rules might be changing just in time to match the upcoming film.
Dungeons and Dragons has a lot of ground to cover with One D&D, but Wizards of the Coast is still set on its 2024 release. A recent video shared by Dungeons and Dragons lead rules designer Jeremy Crawford updated players on One D&D’s schedule, clarifying the cadence of its playtesting. Future playtest packets will be less frequent, but much larger in stature to make up for lost time. With so much One D&D playtest content to come, Dungeons and Dragons fans should have plenty of things to keep their games interesting until the new system’s official release next year.
Dungeons and Dragons is available now. One D&D is in development.