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The rules for truesight state:

A creature with truesight can (..) perceive the original form of a shapechanger or a creature that is transformed by magic

A druid player argued that since the druid is still a "humanoid" (not a "shapechanger"), and since wild shape is not a spell, a creature with truesight should not see through it.

As the DM, I ruled against it because I believed the intent of truesight is to see through all kinds of shapechanging effects but I was still left wondering if I missed anything. I couldn't find anything about this in the errata either.

So, going by strict RAW, should a creature with truesight be able to see the druid's true form while a druid is using wild shape?

SevenSidedDie
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Sdjz
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1 Answers1

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Yes, truesight will see through Wild Shape. As you mentioned in the question, truesight can perceive the original form of a creature transformed by magic. And the first line of Wild Shape says that:

Starting at 2nd level, you can use your action to magically assume the shape of a beast that you have seen before.

So Wild Shape is a magical transformation, and can therefore be seen through by truesight.

Miniman
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  • I'm slightly more confused now. How is this compatible with my link that says dispel magic can't target wild shape when dispel magic also states "magical effect" as a target? – Sdjz Mar 09 '17 at 13:59
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    @Sdjz Because dispel magic only ends spells. Crawford wrote a lot about this: http://www.sageadvice.eu/2016/06/21/what-happens-to-a-wildshaped-druid-that-enters-an-antimagic-field-and-dispel-magic/ – Miniman Mar 09 '17 at 14:01
  • @Sdjz Dispel magic specifically says that it ends a spell. – kviiri Mar 09 '17 at 14:01
  • This might be stretching the scope of this question a bit but if I understand correctly then you are saying that you can target a druid wild shape with dispel magic because it is a "magical effect" but nothing will happen because it is not a "spell"? – Sdjz Mar 09 '17 at 14:04
  • @Sdjz Of course you can target the druid - acceptable targets are creatures, objects and magical effects, and the druid is certainly a creature. – kviiri Mar 09 '17 at 14:10
  • @kwiiri My question was more about the fact that you can apparently just throw a dispel magic at something and see what happens, even if there are no spells do dispel. I understand that now, thanks. – Sdjz Mar 09 '17 at 14:16
  • Wildshape is a magical effect, not a spell. Picture it this way: You can dispel a light conjured by produce flame because you end the produce flame spell, which creates the effect. Wildshape isn't a spell. The shapechange is the effect from it. Trying to dispel wildshape would be like trying to dispel only the light from produce flame. – Lino Frank Ciaralli Mar 09 '17 at 14:19
  • @LinoFrankCiaralli I don't think it is clear that Wild Shape is an ongoing magic effect, just that the initial transformation is magical. See my answer to this question – Kirt Dec 05 '20 at 09:46
  • @Kirt - It absolutely has to be ongoing since knocking the Druid out forces them out of the shape. It's pretty clear that it's a sustained magical effect caused by the Druid. Otherwise you wouldn't knock them out of Wildshape, they'd fall unconscious as the animal form. It doesn't require concentration, but so what? Neither does Armor of Agathys or Sleep. – Lino Frank Ciaralli Dec 05 '20 at 18:10
  • @LinoFrankCiaralli Killing a lycanthrope forces them to return to their original form. Putting them in a Moonbeam sometimes does. Does that mean their wereform is sustained by an ongoing magical effect? Perhaps not I don't think magical effects are well enough described by the rules to say that anything is "pretty clear" with regards to them. – Kirt Dec 05 '20 at 18:17
  • @Kirt - Actually yes, specifically a curse. That's covered in the Monster Manual. Remove Curse also cures lycanthropy for people who have been turned by the bite. Since this magic is specifically curse magic, Dispel Magic won't work to end it. But again, that's already covered by the rules adequately. – Lino Frank Ciaralli Dec 05 '20 at 20:49
  • @LinoFrankCiaralli Dispel magic doesn't work on werecreatures because Dispel magic works only on spells. If the curse of lycanthropy was an ongoing magic effect, it would be suppressed by antimagic field - are you saying that it is? The Sage Advice definition for whether a game effect is magical does not include "Is it a curse?", so your use of the term "curse magic" appears to be your invention, not a supported game term. And, FWIW, Remove curse does not cure people who are born lycans. – Kirt Dec 05 '20 at 21:18