IF SSG had any marketing sense.... there would be a druid wildshape to an owlbear!

[DirkTyrant]

SSG SHOULD quickly capitalize on the popularity of the new movie.... and add a wildshape of Owlbear to druids of some form.

[TPICKRELL]

SSG would need to go through the WOTC approval process before they could add it to the game.

[misterski]

SSG would need to go through the WOTC approval process before they could add it to the game.

Why? Owlbears have been in game for a long time.

[TPICKRELL]

Why? Owlbears have been in game for a long time.

Owl Bears are not of type animal (3.5 wild shape) or Beast (5e Wild Shape) and WOTC has say so over changes from base rules. I have no idea if WOTC would approve it or not, but my understanding is that it would need approval since its a deviation from base rules.

[misterski]

Owl Bears are not of type animal (3.5 wild shape) or Beast (5e Wild Shape) and WOTC has say so over changes from base rules. I have no idea if WOTC would approve it or not, but my understanding is that it would need approval since its a deviation from base rules.

In DDO, owlbears are Magical Beasts along with winter wolves. Last time I checked, Druids can shapeshift into winter wolves.

[TPICKRELL]

In DDO, owlbears are Magical Beasts along with winter wolves. Last time I checked, Druids can shapeshift into winter wolves.

Yes, and WOTC approved the implementation we have today. WOTC may well approve Owlbear, but I don't think SSG can implement Owlbear on their own.

[cdbd3rd]

And wrist-rockets!

We need wrist-rockets!!

[voxson5]

There are plenty of examples of homebrew rules in the game already.

Something like https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-MKsxfFztMJFNokPW97K should work fine

[rabidfox]

On the license side:
We don't know the extent to which Paramount may or may not own licensing on the combo of owlbear + druid in mediums outside pen & paper. SSG vs a movie studio's lawyers is probably not a wise fight. They might be allowed to use that combo in-game or they might not. We as players may never know the full extent of factors that might prevent them from doing so; outside SSG releasing owlbears for druids in which case they obtained whatever permissions might be needed.

On the development side:
The manhours to animate and rig up an ownbear druid model might not offer imediate value vs other use of the animators/dev time. Or it might be something they'd save for a druid archetype. Or other reasons where the cost/return isn't there.

[thegreatcthulhu]

Even though I DO NOT enjoy playing Druids, I must admit I would love to see this in the game... owl bears are funny monsters and kind of a D&D meme in themselves.

In all seriousness, I am not seeing any obvious tie-ins here and I am a bit dismayed. I thought SSG and WOTC/Hasblo did well to bring in Vecna last year with Dread and Stranger Things.

It's kind of bizarre of a situation, especially when I consider EG7 themselves made remarks that they were hoping to see some growth for DDO with the movie. Am I not looking hard enough or has there really not been anything?

[Oxarhamar]

SSG SHOULD quickly capitalize on the popularity of the new movie.... and add a wildshape of Owlbear to druids of some form.

They don’t have marketing anyway

[C-Dog]

There are plenty of examples of homebrew rules in the game already.

Neither you, nor I, nor most any player has the slightest idea what is and is not "homebrew" in DDO. For all we know, every last non-3.5 canon tweak has been officially approved. (I personally doubt every one has, but fact is we just don't know.)

That said, I think it'd be a lot of fun, BUT it would add yet another piece to the "balancing act". And on that point, it become less attractive.

[Valtan]

SSG would need to go through the WOTC approval process before they could add it to the game.

Not required. Lynnabel has many times said they have a free hand on what they could develop. The only permission they need is when they add new worlds - such as Forgotten realms.

[ShifterThePirate]

It's way too late for that. The Hype train already left! They could have made it one of the new Archetypes from last patch. But modeling and animating costs a lot of money. And SSG only has a small team so they only invest a lot of time and money in things they can sell to earn money. Adding Druid Wildshape won't earn them anything... Only cost a lot of time and money.

[voxson5]

It's way too late for that. The Hype train already left! They could have made it one of the new Archetypes from last patch. But modeling and animating costs a lot of money. And SSG only has a small team so they only invest a lot of time and money in things they can sell to earn money. Adding Druid Wildshape won't earn them anything... Only cost a lot of time and money.

(/s, obviously)

std::fstream s(druid_wildshape_direbear);
s.seekp(direbear_art, std::ios_base::beg);
s.write(owlbear_art);

[LightBear]

(/s, obviously)

std::fstream s(druid_wildshape_direbear);
s.seekp(direbear_art, std::ios_base::beg);
s.write(owlbear_art);

Hahaha, Owlbears can't fit through doorposts 90% of the time, so there's that.

[Fisto_Mk_I]

And wrist-rockets!

We need wrist-rockets!!

Sure!

[spifflove]

Halfling owlbear iconic Druid 1600 ddo points plus community satisfaction = profit. Should have been released with movie probably take an afternoon to reskin the bear or use current owlbear fits through doors.

[Aelonwy]

I thought I read somewhere that WotC was planning to change Owlbear classification to make it possible for Owlbear to be a druid wildshape.

Ah found it... not exactly what I initially remembered but:
https://gizmodo.com/dungeons-dragons...vie-1850150369
https://www.polygon.com/23611833/dnd...-sophia-lillis

But seriously, the whole issue is the classification in 3.0/3.5 as Magical Beast and 5.0 as Monstrosity. But Owlbears have no inherently magical abilities. Never did. Even Winterwolves are more magical than Owlbears. Actually the Platypus is more magical too... did you guys know they have electroreceptors in their beaks? They locate their prey in part by detecting electric fields generated by muscular contractions, like sharks. So Owlbears are a fantasy creature in a fantasy setting that just happen to have qualities of two distinctly separate species and are otherwise fairly natural creatures in other regards. They don't even have venom... like the platypus. Sure they look cooler and more awesome than the platypus which looks quite ridiculous... but they aren't nearly as complicated biologically as these egg-laying, milk producing, furred but duck-billed whatsits. So... can fantasy settings only have the exact same animals as earth and anything not of earth must be classified as other? Magical Beast, Monstrous, Abberration? Even if it has no inherently magical or fantastical anatomy? How is feathers and a beak on a mammal any more mind-blowing than some of the things that already exist? Granted if it had magical abilities I could see special status for it.

I am also open to reclassifying the Platypus as an aberration from Xoriat.

[Captain_Wizbang]

#1, the title of the thread will get ZERO traction with SSG.

#2, OP, you're basing this on the movie, which is not a WotC sanctioned game.

#3, no