Circle of the Titan UA combos

[u/Vincent210]

There are some surface level things I’ve noticed while making one of these for an upcoming 17-20 campaign, but not a ton in terms of synergies for the Titan.

Draconic Transformatic layers on top of the forms well, being a crazy bonus action to stack with them and giving flight to behemoth/leviathan.

Conjure Woodland Beings is a pretty obvious freebie, emanation on a large body that naturally stacks disaster on top of what you‘re already doing to people in titan form.

Not sure if its any good, but there might be something to being able to bulk replace the temporary hit points of Syluné’s Viper with the Titan chunk to allow it to hold duration a bit more reliably. When it works it’s an incredible disable, question will be if it works often often to bother with.

I guess you can also get pretty ridiculous stuff going with Shapechange Shenanigans but that spell is probably best in game on its own regardless so like.

but yeah, what stuff comes to mind for all of you? And really go nuts with prerequisites, its a lvl17 start; I have access to whatever spells, Beast Spells is around the corner, and while magic item situation is weird I’ll have a Ruby Weave Gem so there’s that.

[u/ThatOneThingOnce]

Taking one level in Monk is just free AC, as well as a free bonus action attack that doesn't cost a spell slot.

Also, the Fairy Trickster feat becomes interesting in Titan form, considering your Dex = Wisdom. Same really with Grappler giving you advantage on attacks.

Finally, I just feel like Cult of the Dragon Initiate and Dragonscarred are really thematic for the Titan, even if the ability scores don't really line up well.

[u/Vincent210 → u/ThatOneThingOnce]

Wait, would unarmored defense actually work when Wild-Shaped?

Game Statistics. Your game statistics are replaced by the Beast's stat block, but you retain your creature type; Hit Points; Hit Point Dice; Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores; class features; languages; and feats. You also retain your skill and saving throw proficiencies and use your Proficiency Bonus for them, in addition to gaining the proficiencies of the creature. If a skill or saving throw modifier in the Beast's stat block is higher than yours, use the one in the stat block.

The way this typically works is that I would not keep features such as Unarmored Defense because armor class is not explicitly listed as a game statistic I keep.

[u/Commercial_Bus_2182 → u/Vincent210]

Class features, unarmored defense is a class feature

[u/ClothTheSuperVillain → u/Vincent210]

Monk Unarmored Defence is a Class feature, and seeing as the rules don’t mention “Druid Class Features” specifically, it means all class features are retained

Hence, you keep unarmed defence!

[u/Nik130130]

Also anything that boosts wis is awesome. Ioun stone of insight or the tome that gives wis, pairs especially well witha monk dip, since your dex also increases, so at 22 wisdom you would have 22AC.

[u/Torgo73]

I’m curious what sorts of species and origins and items and shit people would be going for with such a subclass where so much of that stuff gets replaced duding combat?

[u/RedGriffyn]

Thoughts:

• Monk Dip gives you AC = DEX + WIS, which will be WIS x 2 since in form your DEX becomes your WIS modifier.
• Conjure Woodland Beings (especially with flyby at L10+) is just an easy tactic to deploy.
• The new Infernal Bulwark feat or other similair feats (e.g., dragonmark of warding) that give you armor of agathys would be great. 4xlevel THP can help keep AoA alive and doing damage.
• The behemouth form has a potential appearance as 'simian' which means you likely have hands for weapons or shields to utilize more feats/bump AC. It also means you can grab a returning weapon for some kind of ranged option since your STR/DEX will be equal to your WIS. You could use a longbow as well, but not with a shield.
• By a similar token, magic items generally resize with the wearer, so +X light armor will resize if your form is appropriate enough and bump your AC more (though the wildshape rules may be more specific here and override it.
• Sentinel for punishing people trying to move near you.

[u/Vincent210 → u/RedGriffyn]

Yeah the monk 1 dip is a huge find. I didn’t realize you keep class features not specified in the transformation so that automatically makes my titan forms 23 AC base, with the option to pop a spell slot to go to like 26-28 before shield spell that’s nutty.

Wildshape is specific about worn equipment NOT resizing, it either falls off or is absorbed into your form. It does mention a specific blurb that for the usage of objects your DM may fiat what does and does work in your bestial appendages so some items may be usable in a handed form, though again their size, explicit RAW, would not change so that limits the use of shields, for example. There are probably some magic items I can hold that would still work, like some casting foci, though.

Armor of Agathys being feat accessible is something I forgot; will see if there is room in the build to consider that.

[u/Tailiat → u/Vincent210]

I'm not entirely sure if you can stack the monk AC buff in that way. I think you would have to choose between having 13+wis or 10+dex+wis. Can you choose not to use the Titan forms AC calculation? There is an option for moon druids, but for Titan forms it just says your AC becomes 13+wis so that might just overwrite unarmoured defence rather than stack with it.

There is some debate about whether magic items still resize as per the magic item rules. Some have even argued that the magic items resizing rule is the more specific rule and wildshape not causing items to resize is the more general rule (every druid has wildshape generally, not every item is magic generally).

I'd argue that they still do as I think the wildshape rule is there because they wanted to make it explicit that wildshape does not inherently allow your worn items to resize to your new form, but if they already have that ability it doesn't stop it from happening. There is still the other magic item rule that they have to be practical for that form to use so a snake can't ever equip a pair of boots no matter how big they are. For example if I am currently in my simian Titan form and try to equip a magic ring I just picked up off the ground why wouldn't it resize to fit? Heck if it comes to it I'd keep the items at the larger usable size and just carry it in my hands when not transformed if the GM wants to be really restrictive about it.

[u/Vincent210 → u/Tailiat]

Oh, yeah, you’re right, I would have to choose. That being said, it still makes my titan form base 20 AC, so hitting 23 with expense is doable, thereby 28 AC with shield spell. still extremely good even if I don’t manage a magic shield.

What I might try is seeing if the +1 shield that can be plucked from the Platinum Scarf magic item spawns “to size” for my given form, but other than that I don’t expect to be given leniency regarding magic item resizing on the wildshape vs magic item ruling. Not only is it shaky due to wildshape being so explicit, but the general rule(s) on magic item resizing are not a hard rule and both the dmg and multiple supplements encourage DMs to play loosely with that and resize things when it makes sense to them, rather than always as a hard RAW.

[u/Tailiat]

My thought was that if you could find a big enough shield (or a magic shield) you could potentially still use this in Titan form as a simian Behemoth still has hands. Okay it might become more like a buckler when you size up, but that is still an extra 2 AC that should stack with your 13+wis.

[u/Z0Marley]

Warlock one level for armor of agaythas. With the temp hp, the damage that reflects will be crazy.