[RPG] Do druids start with animals they can transform into, prior to seeing them in the campaign

dnd-5edruidwild-shape

I'm playing a Moon Druid for our campaign but we haven't encountered any beasts that i can use for my wild shape ability (only because we have been fighting imps, demons, and displacer beasts in a castle dungeon and haven't escaped yet).

I wanted to know if druids know of any animals to transform into prior to seeing them in the wild? considering that you get the ability at lv2, you would think that the druid could at least turn into something?

Best Answer

Yes, but the game doesn't tell you which. As long as your Druid isn't a newborn baby, they've likely seen some beasts in their life (especially during and after their Druid training!), and therefore can Wild Shape into those beasts.

Your background is probably the best guide to what creatures you've likely seen, as your background will imply a region that's familiar to you. Any beast common to the region in which you grew up and trained is a beast you've likely seen many times, and uncommon ones are likely to have been seen once or twice too.

This is all between you and your DM, of course, because the game doesn't rigidly define a list or rigidly define a way to create one. You're two reasonable people who enjoy playing games together though, so I'm sure you'll figure out an enjoyable, reasonable set of beasts that you can agree makes sense for a nature-loving outdoorsy person to have ever seen in their life.