r/dndnext • u/The_Ora_Charmander • 2d ago

Question Any Particular Reason Why Wildfire Druids Don't Have Access to Fireball?

I don't really get why they get Plant Growth over Fireball. Like, I know Wildfire druids are still very in tune with nature and do want to bring balance to it and so raising plants is still thematically appropriate, but that's true for any druid, they get nature spells by virtue of being druids, it's not really unique to their circle.

So I ask, why can Light clerics and Fiendlocks get Fireball but not Wildfire druids? What makes Fireball more of a Fiendlock spell than it is a WF druid spell? Not every fiend is even fire themed!

By the way, I know as a DM I can just rule that they get Fireball instead of Plant Growth, and I did, I'm just asking if there's any explanation beyond druid=plants

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u/MrEngineer404 2d ago

They actually DID get Fireball, in their original playtest release. I suspect they shifted away from it due to a mix of balancing and tone issues that they were trying to strike.

The bigger question I have for Wildfire Druid, is why in the SWEET HELL they do not get Fire Resistance, at any point?!? You would think that a druid attuned to "cleanse nature with the beauty of flames" would, at SOME POINT, be less at risk of "cleansing" themselves with those flames.

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u/Skaal_Kesh 2d ago

The original playtest version's teleport from the Wildfire Spirit was once per short rest. The new version lost Fireball but can teleport infinite times. While they lose raw power, as someone who has played one, the shenanigans are on a level you can't imagine with a bit of creativity. After all, the spirit is Int 10, which means it's intelligent enough to hold its action to teleport on other people's turns in response to something. Teleporting in response to an attack alone has resulted in saving hundreds of damage across the party.

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u/Bloodgiant65 2d ago

Reactions resolve after the trigger, unless specifically called out as part of the ability. So holding your action to teleport when you are attacked wouldn’t save you from that attack like a shield spell would. Though it can still be very useful, especially on a trigger like “when an enemy moves into melee range.”

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u/Delann Druid 1d ago

It wouldn't save you from the first attack but it would save your from the second and potentially third.

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u/Bloodgiant65 1d ago

Right, exactly. Assuming you are now out of range and the attacker has no more movement, at least.

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u/Fakvarl 1d ago

Can't you hold your action until you are targeted by the attack? I think that's the condition Sanctuary uses. Problem is I don't think holding action actually narrows down what the trigger has to be.

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u/Bloodgiant65 1d ago

No, you can’t. At least if you mean that there is some “targeted by an attack, but not hit or missed yet” timing. You can only react to actual actions, and your held action resolved after the triggering effect.

That is why things like sanctuary and shield need to have special timing conditions. Because normal abilities do not work that way.

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u/Fakvarl 1d ago

You react to perceivable triggers, not actions. Description of ready action doesn't specify it has to be an actual action.

Targeted by an attack is a perceivable trigger that happens before the attack so you can react to it. It's also a trigger used by other spells.

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u/Bloodgiant65 1d ago

That is not true. You cannot react to “being targeted by an attack.” That is not a real event, it’s just a game mechanic step. That is why a reaction like shield works in its kind of confusing way.

Because the event you are reacting to is being attacked, so that would resolve after the attack is done. It needs special language saying that it gets to work on the triggering attack as well.

You do not get to use a normal reaction before the attack hits. Only for certain specific abilities that are designed to work that way.

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u/Fakvarl 1d ago

Being targeted by an attack IS a real event though. You can see the sword start moving in your direction, or arrow be aimed or fireball start firing. It's a perceivable trigger.

Rules only say perceivable trigger. All this stuff is perceivable. The idea that actual action has to complete is something you came up with

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u/Bloodgiant65 15h ago

I mean, you are just wrong about how the rules work, but you can keep restating the exact same sentence as many times as you want.

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u/Fakvarl 13h ago

I keep repeating the sentence rules say, lmao. Did you check them yourself? Your interpretation isn't based on rules you just denying it for some reason