Druid
Druid Subclasses
Druid Circle | Description |
---|---|
Circle of the Animal Spirit | Summons their spirit animal to aid in their journey |
Circle of Decay | Deals in death and disease to create carrion for the life cycle |
Circle of Inner Nature | Wild Shapes into dragons, elementals, fey, monstrosities, and plants |
Circle of the Predator | Develops the instincts and combat prowess of a predator |
Circle of Sweetness | Uses the natural sweetness found in nature and themselves |
Circle of the Wild | Rages when entering Wild Shape |
Villainous Class Option: Circle of Cataclysm | Summons natural disasters to bring an end to civilization |
A Song of Ice and Fire: Circle of the Three-Eyed Crow | Connects to trees to view the present and past |
Circle of the Animal Spirit
The essence of beasts or their natural domains can manifest themselves as spiritual energy. Druids of the Circle of the Animal Spirit work to connect with these spirits and act as their guardians and agents.
Spirit Animal
2nd-level Circle of the Animal Spirit feature
You gain a connection with an animal that becomes your spirit animal. Choose one beast with a challenge rating of 1 or lower. You can Wild Shape into this beast. When you Wild Shape into this beast, you can stay in beast shape a number of hours equal to your Druid level, and this beast shape gains temporary hit points equal to your Druid level.
Manifest Spirit
6th-level Circle of the Animal Spirit feature
Your spirit animal can take form. As an action, you can conjure your spirit animal expending one use of Wild Shape. It gains temporary hit points equal to your druid level. The beast can be partially translucent or opaque and of any color you choose.
The beast is friendly to you and your companions for the duration. Roll initiative for the beast, which has its own turns. It obeys any verbal commands that you issue to it (no action required by you). If you don’t issue any commands to the beast, it defends itself from hostile creatures but otherwise takes no actions. The beast's attacks count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.
It disappears when it drops to 0 hit points, when you take a short rest or long rest, when you are more than 120 feet away from it, when a number of hours has passed equal to half your druid level (rounded down), when you use this feature again, or when it is dismissed as an action.
Roaming Spirit
10th-level Circle of the Animal Spirit feature
Your Spirit Animal can enter the ethereal plane. As an action, you can allow your Spirit Animal to become under the effects of the etherealness spell for 1 hour or until you lose your concentration (as if you were concentrating on a spell). While in the Ethereal Plane in this way, your Spirit Animal has a speed of 500 feet, and there is no limit to the distance it can be away from you.
For the duration, you can communicate with your Spirit Animal telepathically, and can use your action to see through the your Spirit Animal’s eyes, hear what it hears, and speak through it in your own voice, even if it is normally incapable of speech, and continue to do so until you use your action to return to your normal senses. While perceiving through your Spirit Animal’s senses, you gain the benefits of any special senses possessed by that creature, though you are blinded and deafened to your own surroundings.
If you end the effect early, you may return your Spirit Animal into the Material Plane for 1 minute. During this minute, you may still communicate telepathically and see, hear, and speak through it. After the minute, it disappears if it is further than 120 feet away from you.
Once you use this feature, you must finish a long rest before you can use it again.
Symbiosis
14th-level Circle of the Animal Spirit feature
When your Spirit Animal is present and you are in your Spirit Animal Wild Shape, your energies boost each other in battle. You both have advantage on attack rolls and saving throws. Also, you and your Spirit Animal can teleport, swapping places, as an action.
Circle of Decay
The natural world is one of decay and infestation. Bacteria, beasts, and plants feast on dead flesh for growth and nourishment. Druids of the Circle of Decay embrace this side of life and focus on weakening foes to allow scavengers to flourish.
Decaying Touch
2nd-level Circle of Decay feature
Your body begins to produce natural toxins. Whenever you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you deal an additional 1d10 necrotic or poison damage (your choice when making the attack).
This damage increases by 1d6 when you reach 6th level (2d10), 10th level (3d10), and 14th level (4d10).
Swarm
6th-level Circle of Decay feature
You can command the creatures of decay. As an action, you unleash a swarm of insects in a 30 foot cone originating from you. Each creature in the cone must make a Constitution saving throw against your druid spell save DC. A creature takes 2d6 piercing and 2d6 necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
If there is a dead creature in this cone after you take this action, the insects remain over the body for 1 hour. Any creature that starts its turn or moves within the insects’ space must make a Constitution saving throw. A creature takes 1d6 piercing and 1d6 necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
Once you use this feature, you must finish a long rest before you can use it again.
Pestilence
10h-level Circle of Decay feature
Your toxins can inflict disease on your foes. When you deal necrotic or poison damage to a creature, you may have it make a Constitution saving throw against your druid spell save DC. On a failed save, the target is poisoned, cannot take reactions, and has its movement speed reduced by half. At the end of each of its turns, the target can make another Constitution saving throw. On a success, these effects end.
Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again.
Life Cycle
14thth-level Circle of Decay feature
You turn a creature's death into life. When you reduce a creature to 0 hit points, you gain temporary hit points equal to your your druid level.
Circle of Inner Nature
The inner planes are full of creatures with a deep connection to nature or have some bestial essence to them. Druids of this circle form a connection to dragons, elementals, fey, plants, and monstrosities for having these properties. They use this connection to enhance their Wild Shape ability beyond that of just beasts.
Monster Shape
2nd-level Circle of Inner Nature feature
Instead of beasts, you Wild Shape into creatures of these types: dragons, elementals, fey, monstrosities, and plants. The other restrictions of the Beast Shapes Table and Wild Shape still apply.
Monstrous Understanding
6th-level Circle of Inner Nature feature
You learn to speak read, and write Draconic, Primordial, and Sylvan and can communicate with plants and monstrosities that know no language as if you shared a language. Also, you have advantage on Intelligence checks to recall information about dragons, elementals, fey, monstrosities, or plants and Charisma checks when interacting with them.
Improved Monster Shape
10th-level Circle of Inner Nature feature
You can expend two uses of Wild Shape at the same time to transform into a dragon, fey, plant, elemental, or monstrosity at a challenge rating as high as your druid level divided by 4 (rounded down).
Metamorphosis
14th-level Circle of Inner Nature feature
Your transformations have begun to blend into your natural form. Your appearance often gains elements of these transformations (grass like quality to your hair, sharpened fingernails or teeth, patches of scales on the skin, pointed ears and feathered eyebrows, a voice that becomes more airy or crackles like a fire, etc.). As a result, you gain the the following traits:
- You gain small dragon wings that do not grant you flight but aid in any aerial adventures. As long as you are not incapacitated, you take no damage from falling, and your long jump and high jump distances are doubled.
- Your skin becomes like bark making your AC 16 when you aren't wearing armor.
- You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep.
- You gain the following cantrips: control flame, gust, move earth, shape water.
- Your hands become clawlike. Your unarmed strikes now deal slashing damage equal to 1d8 plus your Strength modifier.
Circle of the Predator
In the animal kingdom there are predators and prey. While prey are more suited to defense and hiding, the predator excels in the hunt and the kill. Druids who are a part of the circle of the Predator hone their skills in combat particularly in their use of Wild Shape.
Predator Strikes
2nd-level Circle of the Predator feature
You hone your skills in combat and slaying. You have a pool d10s equal to your druid level. Whenever you deal damage with a weapon attack, you may spend a number of those dice equal to your proficiency bonus or less and add them to the damage roll.
You regain all expended dice when you finish a long rest. Alternatively as a bonus action, you can expend one spell slot and regain a number of dice equal to the level of spell slot expended.
Wild Attack
2nd-level Circle of the Predator feature
When you enter Wild Shape, you may make a single attack as a bonus action. In addition, all your attack rolls while you are in Wild Shape gain a bonus equal to your Wisdom modifier.
Pack Leader
6th-level Circle of the Predator feature
Other beasts will recognize you as the dominant creature in the social order. If you damage a beast while in Wild Shape, it must make Wisdom saving throw against your druid spell save DC. If its challenge rating is higher than your Wild Shape's, it has advantage on this saving throw. On a failure, it becomes charmed by you. While charmed, you can use your action to command it. It follows the order as best it can. It may make another Wisdom saving throw each time you are damaged. On a success, it is no longer charmed by you. If you exit Wild Shape, the effect immediately ends.
Once the effect ends, or if the beast succeeds on a saving throw against this effect, you can’t use this feature on that beast again for 24 hours.
Honed Senses
6th-level Circle of the Predator feature
While in your Wild Shape, you have advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to track and Charisma (Intimidate) checks.
Fleeing Prey
10th-level Circle of the Predator feature
A fleeing creature triggers your predatory instincts. When a hostile creature that you can see moves at least 10 feet away from you, you may use your reaction to immediately move up to your movement speed to the creature, if you can, and make single melee weapon attack against the creature if it is within your reach. This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks. On a successful attack, the target must succeed on a Strength saving throw (DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength modifier or Dexterity modifier (your choice)) or be knocked prone.
Cornered Animal
14th-level Circle of the Predator feature
You can keep fighting as a beast despite grievous wounds. If you drop to 0 hit points while in Wild Shape, you can make a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw. If you succeed, you drop to 1 hit point instead.
Each time you use this feature after the first, the DC increases by 5. When you finish a short or long rest, the DC resets to 10.
Circle of Sweetness
Nature provides a bevy of sweet treats from fruits and honey to vanilla beans and beets to sugarcane an licorice. Druids of the Circle of Sweetness not only seek to propagate such delicious delights, but to embody the ideal of them - to be sweet and kind grow these traits throughout the world.
Naturally Sweet
2nd-level Circle of Sweetness feature
You develop an amiable attitude. You gain proficiency with the Persuasion skill.
In addition, you can conjure sugary fare that can help friends and hurt foes. As an action, choose one of the type of naturally sweet foods below to manifest. If an effect requires a saving throw, the DC equals your druid spell save DC.
Once you use this ability, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Juicy. You conjure an extremely juicy, sweet fruit, such as a pear or peach, and squeeze it shooting a line of juice 30 feet long and 5 feet wide out from you in a direction you choose. Each hostile creature within the line must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or become blinded for 1 minute or until a creature spends an action wiping the juices from its eyes.
Each friendly creature within the line of sweet juice becomes slippery and gains a 5 foot bonus to its movement speed and may take the Disengage action as a bonus action. These benefits last for 1 minute.
Minty. You chew a cool, sweet leaf, such as peppermint or spearmint, and breathe out a 15-foot cone extending from you. Each hostile creature within the cone must make a Constitution saving throw taking 3d6 cold damage on a failure, or half as much on a success.
Each friendly creature within the cone gains temporary hit points equal to half your druid level plus your Wisdom modifier and has resistance to fire damage while it has these temporary hit points. The temporary hit points disappear after 1 minute.
Stalky. Choose a 10-foot square area of ground starting from a point within 30 feet of you. Sweet, thin, hard plants, such as sugarcane or cinnamon trees, grow in the space and remain there for 1 minute. When a hostile creature moves into or within the area, it takes 1d4 bludgeoning damage for every 5 feet it travels.
A friendly creature (including you) has half cover while in the area or if the area is in between it and the source of the attack or spell.
Sticky. Pick a point within 30 feet of you. A 20-foot radius sphere of sticky, sweet substance, such as honey or maple sap, originates on that point. Each creature in the sphere is coated in the sticky substance for 1 minute. A hostile creature must make a Dexterity saving throw at the beginning of each of its turn for the duration. On a failure, its movement speed is halved until the start of its next turn.
A friendly creature (including you) gains a climbing speed equal to its walking speed and has advantage on ability checks and saving throws to resist being pushed, pulled, or knocked prone for the duration.
Too Precious
6th-level Circle of Sweetness feature
You are able to become an extremely adorable and sweet beast. While you are in your Wild Shape, you can attempt to charm a creature of your choice within 10 feet of you as an action. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your druid spell save DC or be charmed by you until your Wild Shape ends. If you or your companions are fighting the target or the target is aware you are in Wild Shape, it automatically succeeds this saving throw. The charm ends early if you or your companions do anything harmful to it. The charmed creature regards you as the sweetest most precious thing ever, adopts you as its pet, and will do whatever it can to protect you from harm.
If the creature succeeds on its saving throw or if the charm ends as a result of you or your companions doing anything harmful to it, you can't use this feature on that creature again for 24 hours.
Sugar Rush
10th-level Circle of Sweetness feature
You can harness the dense caloric energy of sugar. The haste spell is a druid spell for you, you always have it prepared, and it doesn't count against the number spells you can prepare each day. You can cast haste without expending a spell slot targeting only yourself.
Once you cast haste in this way, you can’t do so again until you finish a short or long rest, though you can still cast it normally using an available spell slot.
Soothing Sweetness
14th-level Circle of Sweetness feature
You can unleash a wave of healing sweetness as an action. Each creature within a 30 foot radius of you, other than you, regains hit points equal to 4d6 plus your Wisdom modifier. If a hostile creature regains hit points in this way, it is immediately charmed by you for 1 minute. The charm ends early if you do anything harmful to it.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
Circle of the Wild
The wilds of nature are untamed. Circle of the Wild druids respect nature at its most feral. They tap into the raging temperament of animals during their Wild Shapes.
Bestial Rage
2nd-level Circle of the Wild feature
When you use your Wild Shape you, can go into a rage (see the Player's Handpook pg. 48) as part of the action or at any point of your Wild Shape as a bonus action. Your rage ends when exiting Wild Shape, and the rage damage and number of rages are based on your druid level as opposed to barbarian level, otherwise all other rules of rage apply.
When you take damage, you may use your reaction to Wild Shape and rage including for the triggering damage. You cannot end your Wild Shape or rage voluntarily when entering this way.
Pack Leader
6th-level Circle of the Wild feature
You can attempt to dominate other beasts. While raging if you damage a beast, it must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your druid spell save DC or become charmed by you. If its challenge rating is higher than your Wild Shape’s, it has advantage on this saving throw. While charmed, you can use your action to verbally command what it will do on its next turn. It follows the order as best it can.
Each time you take damage, the target can make another Wisdom saving throw. On a success, it is no longer charmed by you. If you exit Wild Shape, the effect immediately ends. Once the effect ends, or if the beast succeeds on a saving throw against this effect, you can’t use this feature on that beast again for 24 hours.
Beast Proficiency
6th-level Circle of the Wild feature
Your Wild Shape taps into your primal senses. When making Wisdom (Animal Handling, Insight, or Perception) checks while in Wild Shape, you add your proficiency bonus for these skills even if you or the beast are not normally proficient.
Bloodlust
10th-level Circle of the Wild feature
Your anger gives you singular focus. While raging, when you damage or are damaged by a creature, all attacks against that creature are at advantage and any attacks against another creature are at disadvantage as long as the first creature lives and you are raging.
Relentless Rage
14th-level Circle of the WIld feature
Your rage can keep you fighting despite grievous wounds. If you drop to 0 hit points while you’re raging and don’t die outright, you can make a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw. If you succeed, you drop to 1 hit point instead.
Each time you use this feature after the first, the DC increases by 5. When you finish a short or long rest, the DC resets to 10.
Villainous Class Options
This subclass is from a series of subclasses based on the Villainous Class Options on pg. 96 of the Dungeon Master's Guide.
You can find more Villainous Class Options here.
Villainous Class Option: Circle of Cataclysm
The Circle of Cataclysm preaches nature's destructive qualities. Typhoons, tsunamis, wildfires, earthquakes, floods, the natural world is rife with means to destroy environments. But the flood brings nutrients to the river banks, and the wildfire allows plants to germinate, spread, and grow. This is what the Circle of Cataclysm holds to heart; the notion of destruction to foster new growth. They can be found creating smaller cataclysms among farms, forests, and cities. But the ultimate goal is to have the whole world be almost utterly destroyed, so it can begin to grow again anew.
Circle Spells
2nd-level Circle of Cataclysm feature
Your devotion to mass destruction or pandemonium grants you the ability to cast certain spells. At 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th level you gain access to the spells listed for that level in the Circle of Cataclysm Spells table to further your apocalyptic objectives.
Once you gain access to a cataclysm spell, you always have it prepared, and it doesn’t count against the number of spells you can prepare each day. If you gain access to a spell that doesn’t appear on the druid spell list, the spell is nonetheless a druid spell for you.
Circle of Cataclysm Spells
Druid Level | Spell |
---|---|
3rd | darkness, gust of wind |
5th | erupting earthEE, Melf's minute meteorsEE |
7th | confusion, storm sphereEE |
9th | cloudkill, insect plague |
Variant: Alternative Spells
For players who do not have access to Elemental Evil Player's Companion, the cataclysm spells erupting earth, Melf's minute meteors, and storm sphere can be replaced with sleet storm, fireball, and control water respectively.
Bonus Cantrip
2nd-level Circle of Cataclysm feature
You learn one additional druid cantrip of your choice.
Harbinger
2nd-level Circle of Cataclysm feature
You announce the arrival of great destruction. When you cast a spell with an area of effect that allows a creature to make a saving throw to take half damage, you may grant creatures advantage on the saving throws and double the size of the area of effect.
Demolition
6th-level Circle of Cataclysm feature
Your destruction becomes more effective against unnatural makings. You and your spells deal triple damage to objects and structures. Additionally, when a spell you cast ignites a flammable object, the ignited object's fire fills a 5-foot cube.
Renewal
10th-level Circle of Cataclysm feature
The blood and corpse of a creature can germinate new plant life under your service. If you reduce a creature that is not a construct or undead to 0 hit points on your turn and its body remains, you may use your reaction to have an awakened tree sprout from the ground growing from the creature's body. Roll initiative for the awakened tree, which has its own turns and obeys your verbal commands.
The awakened tree remains in your service for 1 minute, at which point it turns into a tree.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.
Cataclysm
14th-level Circle of Cataclysm feature
You can choose the form of destruction you wish to reign down around you. As an action, bring forth the cataclysm of your choice from one of the options below. Any save required will be against your druid spell save DC. Once you use this feature, you cannot use it again until you finish a long rest.
Flood. Water bursts from the ground within 15 feet of you in a 10 feet long 10 feet high and 5 feet thick wall and travels 5 feet in a direction of your choice. On your subsequent turns, the flood moves 10 feet in the same direction. Each creature of size Large or smaller in an area the flood occupies must succeed on a Strength saving throw or become restrained by the flood. The flood carries any restrained creatures with it when it moves as well as any objects not being worn or carried and puts out any fire or flame in the area. A creature restrained by the flood can use an action on its turn to make a Strength saving throw ending the condition on a success. The flood continues for 1 minute before receding.
Ice Age. You surround yourself with frigid air and wind in a 120 foot radius for 1 minute. Each creature other than you that begins its turn within the radius or moves into the radius for the first time on its turn must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or take cold damage equal to 1d10 plus your Wisdom modifier.
Tectonic Shift. A fault line bursts in 5 foot by 30 foot line within 30 feet of you. The opening is 5d10 feet deep. Each creature on that line must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failure, the creature falls into the opening. A creature that successfully saves moves with the fault line's edge as it opens. Each creature within 5 feet of the line when it opens must succeed a Dexterity saving throw or fall prone.
Wildfire. Choose a creature or flammable object within 60 feet. If it is a creature, it must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failure or if it is a flammable object, it is on fire. At the beginning of its turn if a creature or object is on fire as a result of this feature (objects are on initiative count 20), it takes 1d10 fire damage, any flammable object within 10 feet of it is now on fire, and any creature within 10 feet of it must succeed a Constitution saving throw or become on fire. The creatures and objects remain on fire until a creature uses an action to put the fire out
A Song of Ice and Fire Subclasses
This subclass is from a series of subclasses based on the culture and world of A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones, but the various locations, people, and cultural touchstones mentioned can easily be reworked to to fit campaigns not set in that world.
You can find more subclasses inspired by A Song of Ice and Fire here.
A Song of Ice and Fire: Circle of the Three-Eyed Crow
The Circle of the Three-Eyed Crow (also called the Circle of the Three-Eyed Raven) was formed through the teachings of the children of the forest, fey creatures that live in Westeros and once waged war on the invading humanoids. Some of these druids, often referred to as greenseers, still train with the fey and have close relationships with them. The teachings of the children of the forest involve the ability to harness both the destructive and restorative properties nature, to see visions of the future, to transform into animals as well as to take control of them, and to connect to the deep roots of trees throughout the world to gain and pass on knowledge.
Greensight
2nd-level Circle of the Three-Eyed Crow feature
You gain the ability to cast the augury spell without providing material components, but only as a ritual, as described in chapter 10 of the Player's Handbook.
Shapechanger
2nd-level Circle of the Three-Eyed Crow feature
Your ability to beast shape takes on a unique form. You may expend two uses of Wild Shape to gain control of a beast that you see within 60 feet. Your druid level determines the beasts you can control, as shown in the Beast Shapes table (see pg. 66 in the Player's Handbook).
You take total and precise control of the target. The creature takes only the actions you choose, and doesn't do anything that you don't allow it to do. During this time, you can also cause the creature to use a reaction, but this requires you to use your own reaction as well.
During this time, you are deaf and blind with regard to your own senses and your own body is incapacitated and cannot move.
You remain in control of the beast for a number of hours equal to one-quarter your druid level or when you end the control as an action.
Rooted in the Past
6th-level Circle of the Three-Eyed Crow feature
You can draw on the long-living essence of plants for their wisdom. By taking 1 minute to connect with a plant you are touching, you may communicate with it while touching it, and you add double your proficiency bonus to any Intelligence (Arcana, History, Religion, or Nature) check you make while touching the plant regardless of what the normal bonus applied is.
Godswood
10th-level Circle of the Three-Eyed Crow feature
You can see and hear as if through a plant. As an action, pick a plant you have seen or touched at least once before, and is inanimate, connected to the earth, and size Medium or larger. You can see and hear as if you were in its space.
During this time, you are deaf and blind with regard to your own senses and your own body is incapacitated and cannot move. You may return to your own senses and regain control of your body as an action.
You also always have the commune with nature spell prepared, it doesn't count against the number of spells you can prepare each day, and you may cast it while channeling a plant to gain knowledge of the territory surrounding the plant.
Weirwood Dendrochronology
14th-level Circle of the Three-Eyed Crow feature
You can call up visions of the past that occurred around a tree. You spend at least 1 minute in meditation and reverence, then receive dreamlike, shadowy glimpses of the event. The tree must be within 30 feet of you or one you are currently channeling through your Godswood feature.
As you meditate, you see visions of events in the immediate vicinity of the tree (up to a 50-foot cube), going back to when the tree was at least size Medium. You learn about one significant event, beginning with the most recent. Significant events typically involve powerful emotions, such as battles and betrayals, marriages and murders, births and funerals. The one event may be a more mundane event that is nevertheless important in your current situation.
Alternatively, you may pick a period of time and view the most significant event of from that period or choose a specific event, significant or mundane, that may have happened in the tree's vicinity. For example, you might decide to view a battle from around 20 years, to see if anything significant happened from 500 to 600 years ago, or look to see people having a conversation about horse trading from 4 days ago. If nothing of the kind happened by the tree, you instead see the closest event within the closest timeline of your search.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.