If a Druid sees an animal’s corpse, can they Wild Shape into that animal?





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}







18












$begingroup$


The Druid’s Wild Shape feature says:




you can use your action to magically assume the shape of a beast that you have seen before.




However, if a Druid sees the creature’s corpse, can they turn into a living version of the creature?






dnd-5e class-feature druid wild-shape







share|improve this question











$endgroup$








  • 4




    $begingroup$
    Related: Is a dead creature's body considered an “object”?
    $endgroup$
    – Sdjz
    yesterday


















18












$begingroup$


The Druid’s Wild Shape feature says:




you can use your action to magically assume the shape of a beast that you have seen before.




However, if a Druid sees the creature’s corpse, can they turn into a living version of the creature?






dnd-5e class-feature druid wild-shape







share|improve this question











$endgroup$








  • 4




    $begingroup$
    Related: Is a dead creature's body considered an “object”?
    $endgroup$
    – Sdjz
    yesterday














18












18








18


1



$begingroup$


The Druid’s Wild Shape feature says:




you can use your action to magically assume the shape of a beast that you have seen before.




However, if a Druid sees the creature’s corpse, can they turn into a living version of the creature?






dnd-5e class-feature druid wild-shape







share|improve this question











$endgroup$




The Druid’s Wild Shape feature says:




you can use your action to magically assume the shape of a beast that you have seen before.




However, if a Druid sees the creature’s corpse, can they turn into a living version of the creature?






dnd-5e class-feature druid wild-shape




dnd-5e class-feature druid wild-shape






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited 23 hours ago









V2Blast

26.6k591162




26.6k591162










asked yesterday









MrHiTechMrHiTech

886323




886323








  • 4




    $begingroup$
    Related: Is a dead creature's body considered an “object”?
    $endgroup$
    – Sdjz
    yesterday














  • 4




    $begingroup$
    Related: Is a dead creature's body considered an “object”?
    $endgroup$
    – Sdjz
    yesterday








4




4




$begingroup$
Related: Is a dead creature's body considered an “object”?
$endgroup$
– Sdjz
yesterday




$begingroup$
Related: Is a dead creature's body considered an “object”?
$endgroup$
– Sdjz
yesterday










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes


















29












$begingroup$

On a literal reading, no



Corpses are objects. Jeremy Crawford has unofficially advised as much on Twitter:




A non-undead corpse isn't considered a creature. It's effectively an object.




And see Is a dead creature's body considered an "object"? which addresses this.



A beast is a type of creature. So, having seen an animal's corpse, you haven't seen a beast.



From an in-universe point of view, you could perhaps justify this by saying the Druid needs to see how the beast moves before turning into it.



Many DMs might rule you could



My above answer is a painfully literal reading of the rules, and I personally would allow a Druid who'd seen an animal's corpse to turn into it.






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$









  • 3




    $begingroup$
    A little support for the "no" RAW answer: sageadvice.eu/2015/05/14/corpse-creature-or-object
    $endgroup$
    – Blake Steel
    yesterday






  • 4




    $begingroup$
    I'd like to point out how much I smiled at the admission of how painfully literal the RAW reading is. Enjoy many a +1, good sir.
    $endgroup$
    – 3C273
    yesterday






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Let's try to remember that both Sage Advice and Twitter are not official rulings. They are opinions, perhaps very well informed opinions, but opinions all the same. It's not equal to the official rules saying one thing or another.
    $endgroup$
    – Aeyt
    yesterday






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @NathanS I've found it - it's in the Druid UA, where it's presented as an alternate rule. From my reading it's pretty clear it stands in opposition to the normal rule of "any beast you've seen before", so I don't think it supports the point particularly.
    $endgroup$
    – Vigil
    18 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Fair enough, reading this Q&A just reminded me of having read something along those lines. Still, good answer with or without that, already has my +1.
    $endgroup$
    – NathanS
    16 hours ago



















5












$begingroup$

I am not aware of any written rules to support this answer, so we'll have to go with what makes sense.



You can Wild Shape into the shape of dead animals.



It seems overly pedantic to assume that the beast is no longer similar enough to itself when it was alive that you don't gain what you need to be able to morph into it. Especially since you only need to see it in order to use the ability (rather than needing to touch a living, breathing thing).



And just to throw in the "plain English interpretation", the corpse is still the "shape of a beast" that you have seen before; you saw the "shape of a beast"(assuming that it hasn't been butchered or something similarly disfiguring).






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$













  • $begingroup$
    I assume you mean Wild Shape rather than Shapechange?
    $endgroup$
    – Vigil
    yesterday










  • $begingroup$
    @Vigil fixed, thanks!
    $endgroup$
    – goodguy5
    yesterday












Your Answer





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2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes








2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes









29












$begingroup$

On a literal reading, no



Corpses are objects. Jeremy Crawford has unofficially advised as much on Twitter:




A non-undead corpse isn't considered a creature. It's effectively an object.




And see Is a dead creature's body considered an "object"? which addresses this.



A beast is a type of creature. So, having seen an animal's corpse, you haven't seen a beast.



From an in-universe point of view, you could perhaps justify this by saying the Druid needs to see how the beast moves before turning into it.



Many DMs might rule you could



My above answer is a painfully literal reading of the rules, and I personally would allow a Druid who'd seen an animal's corpse to turn into it.






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$









  • 3




    $begingroup$
    A little support for the "no" RAW answer: sageadvice.eu/2015/05/14/corpse-creature-or-object
    $endgroup$
    – Blake Steel
    yesterday






  • 4




    $begingroup$
    I'd like to point out how much I smiled at the admission of how painfully literal the RAW reading is. Enjoy many a +1, good sir.
    $endgroup$
    – 3C273
    yesterday






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Let's try to remember that both Sage Advice and Twitter are not official rulings. They are opinions, perhaps very well informed opinions, but opinions all the same. It's not equal to the official rules saying one thing or another.
    $endgroup$
    – Aeyt
    yesterday






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @NathanS I've found it - it's in the Druid UA, where it's presented as an alternate rule. From my reading it's pretty clear it stands in opposition to the normal rule of "any beast you've seen before", so I don't think it supports the point particularly.
    $endgroup$
    – Vigil
    18 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Fair enough, reading this Q&A just reminded me of having read something along those lines. Still, good answer with or without that, already has my +1.
    $endgroup$
    – NathanS
    16 hours ago
















29












$begingroup$

On a literal reading, no



Corpses are objects. Jeremy Crawford has unofficially advised as much on Twitter:




A non-undead corpse isn't considered a creature. It's effectively an object.




And see Is a dead creature's body considered an "object"? which addresses this.



A beast is a type of creature. So, having seen an animal's corpse, you haven't seen a beast.



From an in-universe point of view, you could perhaps justify this by saying the Druid needs to see how the beast moves before turning into it.



Many DMs might rule you could



My above answer is a painfully literal reading of the rules, and I personally would allow a Druid who'd seen an animal's corpse to turn into it.






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$









  • 3




    $begingroup$
    A little support for the "no" RAW answer: sageadvice.eu/2015/05/14/corpse-creature-or-object
    $endgroup$
    – Blake Steel
    yesterday






  • 4




    $begingroup$
    I'd like to point out how much I smiled at the admission of how painfully literal the RAW reading is. Enjoy many a +1, good sir.
    $endgroup$
    – 3C273
    yesterday






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Let's try to remember that both Sage Advice and Twitter are not official rulings. They are opinions, perhaps very well informed opinions, but opinions all the same. It's not equal to the official rules saying one thing or another.
    $endgroup$
    – Aeyt
    yesterday






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @NathanS I've found it - it's in the Druid UA, where it's presented as an alternate rule. From my reading it's pretty clear it stands in opposition to the normal rule of "any beast you've seen before", so I don't think it supports the point particularly.
    $endgroup$
    – Vigil
    18 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Fair enough, reading this Q&A just reminded me of having read something along those lines. Still, good answer with or without that, already has my +1.
    $endgroup$
    – NathanS
    16 hours ago














29












29








29





$begingroup$

On a literal reading, no



Corpses are objects. Jeremy Crawford has unofficially advised as much on Twitter:




A non-undead corpse isn't considered a creature. It's effectively an object.




And see Is a dead creature's body considered an "object"? which addresses this.



A beast is a type of creature. So, having seen an animal's corpse, you haven't seen a beast.



From an in-universe point of view, you could perhaps justify this by saying the Druid needs to see how the beast moves before turning into it.



Many DMs might rule you could



My above answer is a painfully literal reading of the rules, and I personally would allow a Druid who'd seen an animal's corpse to turn into it.






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$



On a literal reading, no



Corpses are objects. Jeremy Crawford has unofficially advised as much on Twitter:




A non-undead corpse isn't considered a creature. It's effectively an object.




And see Is a dead creature's body considered an "object"? which addresses this.



A beast is a type of creature. So, having seen an animal's corpse, you haven't seen a beast.



From an in-universe point of view, you could perhaps justify this by saying the Druid needs to see how the beast moves before turning into it.



Many DMs might rule you could



My above answer is a painfully literal reading of the rules, and I personally would allow a Druid who'd seen an animal's corpse to turn into it.







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited 23 hours ago









V2Blast

26.6k591162




26.6k591162










answered yesterday









VigilVigil

6,7503284




6,7503284








  • 3




    $begingroup$
    A little support for the "no" RAW answer: sageadvice.eu/2015/05/14/corpse-creature-or-object
    $endgroup$
    – Blake Steel
    yesterday






  • 4




    $begingroup$
    I'd like to point out how much I smiled at the admission of how painfully literal the RAW reading is. Enjoy many a +1, good sir.
    $endgroup$
    – 3C273
    yesterday






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Let's try to remember that both Sage Advice and Twitter are not official rulings. They are opinions, perhaps very well informed opinions, but opinions all the same. It's not equal to the official rules saying one thing or another.
    $endgroup$
    – Aeyt
    yesterday






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @NathanS I've found it - it's in the Druid UA, where it's presented as an alternate rule. From my reading it's pretty clear it stands in opposition to the normal rule of "any beast you've seen before", so I don't think it supports the point particularly.
    $endgroup$
    – Vigil
    18 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Fair enough, reading this Q&A just reminded me of having read something along those lines. Still, good answer with or without that, already has my +1.
    $endgroup$
    – NathanS
    16 hours ago














  • 3




    $begingroup$
    A little support for the "no" RAW answer: sageadvice.eu/2015/05/14/corpse-creature-or-object
    $endgroup$
    – Blake Steel
    yesterday






  • 4




    $begingroup$
    I'd like to point out how much I smiled at the admission of how painfully literal the RAW reading is. Enjoy many a +1, good sir.
    $endgroup$
    – 3C273
    yesterday






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Let's try to remember that both Sage Advice and Twitter are not official rulings. They are opinions, perhaps very well informed opinions, but opinions all the same. It's not equal to the official rules saying one thing or another.
    $endgroup$
    – Aeyt
    yesterday






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @NathanS I've found it - it's in the Druid UA, where it's presented as an alternate rule. From my reading it's pretty clear it stands in opposition to the normal rule of "any beast you've seen before", so I don't think it supports the point particularly.
    $endgroup$
    – Vigil
    18 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Fair enough, reading this Q&A just reminded me of having read something along those lines. Still, good answer with or without that, already has my +1.
    $endgroup$
    – NathanS
    16 hours ago








3




3




$begingroup$
A little support for the "no" RAW answer: sageadvice.eu/2015/05/14/corpse-creature-or-object
$endgroup$
– Blake Steel
yesterday




$begingroup$
A little support for the "no" RAW answer: sageadvice.eu/2015/05/14/corpse-creature-or-object
$endgroup$
– Blake Steel
yesterday




4




4




$begingroup$
I'd like to point out how much I smiled at the admission of how painfully literal the RAW reading is. Enjoy many a +1, good sir.
$endgroup$
– 3C273
yesterday




$begingroup$
I'd like to point out how much I smiled at the admission of how painfully literal the RAW reading is. Enjoy many a +1, good sir.
$endgroup$
– 3C273
yesterday




1




1




$begingroup$
Let's try to remember that both Sage Advice and Twitter are not official rulings. They are opinions, perhaps very well informed opinions, but opinions all the same. It's not equal to the official rules saying one thing or another.
$endgroup$
– Aeyt
yesterday




$begingroup$
Let's try to remember that both Sage Advice and Twitter are not official rulings. They are opinions, perhaps very well informed opinions, but opinions all the same. It's not equal to the official rules saying one thing or another.
$endgroup$
– Aeyt
yesterday




1




1




$begingroup$
@NathanS I've found it - it's in the Druid UA, where it's presented as an alternate rule. From my reading it's pretty clear it stands in opposition to the normal rule of "any beast you've seen before", so I don't think it supports the point particularly.
$endgroup$
– Vigil
18 hours ago




$begingroup$
@NathanS I've found it - it's in the Druid UA, where it's presented as an alternate rule. From my reading it's pretty clear it stands in opposition to the normal rule of "any beast you've seen before", so I don't think it supports the point particularly.
$endgroup$
– Vigil
18 hours ago




1




1




$begingroup$
Fair enough, reading this Q&A just reminded me of having read something along those lines. Still, good answer with or without that, already has my +1.
$endgroup$
– NathanS
16 hours ago




$begingroup$
Fair enough, reading this Q&A just reminded me of having read something along those lines. Still, good answer with or without that, already has my +1.
$endgroup$
– NathanS
16 hours ago













5












$begingroup$

I am not aware of any written rules to support this answer, so we'll have to go with what makes sense.



You can Wild Shape into the shape of dead animals.



It seems overly pedantic to assume that the beast is no longer similar enough to itself when it was alive that you don't gain what you need to be able to morph into it. Especially since you only need to see it in order to use the ability (rather than needing to touch a living, breathing thing).



And just to throw in the "plain English interpretation", the corpse is still the "shape of a beast" that you have seen before; you saw the "shape of a beast"(assuming that it hasn't been butchered or something similarly disfiguring).






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$













  • $begingroup$
    I assume you mean Wild Shape rather than Shapechange?
    $endgroup$
    – Vigil
    yesterday










  • $begingroup$
    @Vigil fixed, thanks!
    $endgroup$
    – goodguy5
    yesterday
















5












$begingroup$

I am not aware of any written rules to support this answer, so we'll have to go with what makes sense.



You can Wild Shape into the shape of dead animals.



It seems overly pedantic to assume that the beast is no longer similar enough to itself when it was alive that you don't gain what you need to be able to morph into it. Especially since you only need to see it in order to use the ability (rather than needing to touch a living, breathing thing).



And just to throw in the "plain English interpretation", the corpse is still the "shape of a beast" that you have seen before; you saw the "shape of a beast"(assuming that it hasn't been butchered or something similarly disfiguring).






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$













  • $begingroup$
    I assume you mean Wild Shape rather than Shapechange?
    $endgroup$
    – Vigil
    yesterday










  • $begingroup$
    @Vigil fixed, thanks!
    $endgroup$
    – goodguy5
    yesterday














5












5








5





$begingroup$

I am not aware of any written rules to support this answer, so we'll have to go with what makes sense.



You can Wild Shape into the shape of dead animals.



It seems overly pedantic to assume that the beast is no longer similar enough to itself when it was alive that you don't gain what you need to be able to morph into it. Especially since you only need to see it in order to use the ability (rather than needing to touch a living, breathing thing).



And just to throw in the "plain English interpretation", the corpse is still the "shape of a beast" that you have seen before; you saw the "shape of a beast"(assuming that it hasn't been butchered or something similarly disfiguring).






share|improve this answer











$endgroup$



I am not aware of any written rules to support this answer, so we'll have to go with what makes sense.



You can Wild Shape into the shape of dead animals.



It seems overly pedantic to assume that the beast is no longer similar enough to itself when it was alive that you don't gain what you need to be able to morph into it. Especially since you only need to see it in order to use the ability (rather than needing to touch a living, breathing thing).



And just to throw in the "plain English interpretation", the corpse is still the "shape of a beast" that you have seen before; you saw the "shape of a beast"(assuming that it hasn't been butchered or something similarly disfiguring).







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited 23 hours ago









V2Blast

26.6k591162




26.6k591162










answered yesterday









goodguy5goodguy5

10.1k23779




10.1k23779












  • $begingroup$
    I assume you mean Wild Shape rather than Shapechange?
    $endgroup$
    – Vigil
    yesterday










  • $begingroup$
    @Vigil fixed, thanks!
    $endgroup$
    – goodguy5
    yesterday


















  • $begingroup$
    I assume you mean Wild Shape rather than Shapechange?
    $endgroup$
    – Vigil
    yesterday










  • $begingroup$
    @Vigil fixed, thanks!
    $endgroup$
    – goodguy5
    yesterday
















$begingroup$
I assume you mean Wild Shape rather than Shapechange?
$endgroup$
– Vigil
yesterday




$begingroup$
I assume you mean Wild Shape rather than Shapechange?
$endgroup$
– Vigil
yesterday












$begingroup$
@Vigil fixed, thanks!
$endgroup$
– goodguy5
yesterday




$begingroup$
@Vigil fixed, thanks!
$endgroup$
– goodguy5
yesterday


















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