We’re back for another annual tradition on the blog, the holiday season is back in full swing. After a grueling Twitter poll campaign, the Druid/Ranger has finally got its long-overdue victory. Sadly the Rogue will have to wait another year. Unfortunately, next year, it’ll have to contend against the Artificer as an option thanks to the latest release of Eberron: Rising from the Last War from Wizards of the Coast.

Since 2019 has been a rough spot for many of us within the tabletop RPG community, I thought it was appropriate to revisit Santa Claus as this inspiration of joy and collective good-will. If you haven’t seen it already, Netflix’s Klaus is a beautiful retelling of Santa’s origins as merely an ordinary woodsman who teamed up with a postal worker to bring joy to a dreary frozen town. From mundane acts, the legend of Klaus would grow, and I will say, the movie’s ending was poetic and absolutely revivified the spirit of Christmas in me. As a Druid, I wanted to emphasize the classic animal friends trope seen since the early claymation, Santa Claus is Coming to Town and give some love to our friendly red-nosed reindeer (now turned Giant Elk), Rudolph. I wanted to pay homage to the Beast Master Ranger archetype, which from the game’s inception, has been ill-received and considered the weakest Ranger option mechanically to date.

Also, this marks the 5th year I’ve been making Santa Claus stats featuring the D&D base classes! Time has sure flown, and while much has changed for me creatively, my love for Christmas has never waivered.

You can find the other Santa Claus builds here:

  • Santa Claus, the Hero of Christmas (Bard) – The one that started it all! Inspired by the Russian stories & Rise of the Guardians. As seen on Geek & Sundry and ENWorld! Click here.
  • Santa Claus, the Toymaker (Wizard) – A master arcanist and craftsman, this Santa comes with a toy army! Click here.
  • Santa Claus, Naughty or Nice Edition (Warlock) – Two Warlock patrons, two different Santa Claus! Click here.
  • Santa Claus, the Wonderwarrior (Cleric/Paladin) – Inspired by the many saints that inspired Santa Claus for a defender of Christmas. Click here.

Without further adieu, I present to you the Shepard of Joy!

Digital PDFs are available to my patrons on my Patreon! Join my Patreon today to support my creative endeavors (software subscriptions aren’t cheap), get behind the scenes snapshots, early release of articles, and discounts!

You can still download the original Santa Claus, Hero of Christmas on DriveThruRPG as a Pay As You Want, click here.

That’s it for this year! Make sure to follow me on Twitter to catch next year’s poll! Have a great holiday season and an awesome new year!

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