Druid: Circle of the Guardian
Druids of the Circle of the Guardian are protectors of nature at its most basic state. Beyond animals and plants, they are bonded to the soil itself as the source and sustainment of life.
The Circle of the Guardian contains some of the fiercest warriors and defenders of the natural world. Their special connection with the environment allows them to bring forth and command embodiments of the land, known as primordial guardians, to aid them in defending their territory from outside threats and invaders.
Whispers of the Land
2nd level Circle of the Guardian feature
You learn to speak, read, and write Primordial or one other language of your choice. In addition, you can perform a ritual to communicate with the spirit of the land you are in. You perform the ritual over the course of 10 minutes, which can be done during a short rest, after which you learn one of the following facts of your choice about the area within 3 miles of you:
- Terrain and bodies of water.
- Prevalent plants, minerals, animals, or peoples.
- Influence from other planes of existence.
- Location of natural landmarks.
- Weather for the next or previous 24 hours.
- Recent events that have altered the landscape.
Once you perform this ritual you can't do so again until you finish a long rest.
Circle Spells
2nd level Circle of the Guardian feature
Your attunement to the land and soil you protect grants you access to certain spells. At 2nd level, you learn the mold earth cantrip.
At 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th level you gain access to the spells listed for that level in the Circle of the Guardian Spells table. Once you gain access to one of these spells, 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 the Guardian Spells
| Druid Level | Spell |
|---|---|
| 2nd | Mold Earth |
| 3rd | Maximilian’s Earthen Grasp, Spike Growth |
| 5th | Erupting Earth, Wall of Sand |
| 7th | Stone Shape, Stoneskin |
| 9th | Transmute Rock, Wall of Stone |
Summon Primordial Guardian
2nd level Circle of the Guardian feature
You can summon an ancient elemental sworn to protect the natural landscape. As an action, you can expend one use of your Wild Shape feature to summon a primordial guardian rather than assuming a beast form.
The guardian appears in an unoccupied space of your choice that you can see within 40 feet of you. The space it appears in is then covered in debris, it becomes difficult terrain until cleared, with each 5-foot-diameter portion requiring at least 1 minute to clear by hand.
The guardian is friendly to you and your companions and obeys your commands. See this creature’s game statistics in the Primordial Guardian stat block, which uses your proficiency bonus (PB) in several places. The guardian resembles the makeup of the land it was summoned it, being made from local minerals or plants, but you otherwise determine its appearance. Some primordial guardians take the form of a humanoid figure made of mossy stones, while others look like trees twisted in the form of wild animals.
In combat, the guardian shares your initiative count, but it takes its turn immediately after yours. The only action it takes on its turn is the Dodge action, unless you take a bonus action on your turn to command it to take another action. That action can be one in its stat block or some other action. If you are incapacitated, the guardian can take any action of its choice, not just Dodge.
The guardian manifests for 1 hour, until it is reduced to 0 hit points, until you use this feature to summon another primordial guardian, or until you die.
Primordial Guardian
Large Elemental
- Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
- Hit Points 6 + six times your druid level
- Speed 25 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 16 (+3) 8 (-1) 16 (+3) 7 (-2) 12 (+1) 10 (+0)
- Damage Resistances Piercing and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks
- Condition Immunities Exhaustion, Charmed, Frightened, Petrified, Poisoned
- Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Tremorsense 60 ft., passive Perception 11
- Languages understands the languages you speak
Siege Monster. The guardian deals double damage to objects and structures.
Actions
Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: your spell attack modifier to hit, reach 5 ft., one target you can see. Hit: 1d10 + PB bludgeoning damage.
Seismic Blast. (Recharge 5-6) The guardian slams the ground, sending shockwaves in a 20 foot radius around it. Each creature in that area must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC or be knocked prone and take 11 (3d6) thunder damage. On a success, a creature takes half the damage and isn't prone.
Warding Stones
6th level Circle of the Guardian feature
When you spend a use of your Wild Shape feature to summon a primordial guardian, floating pieces of stone start swirling around both of you, protecting you from harm. You and your primordial guardian gain a number of temporary hit points equal to your Wisdom modifier + your druid level. While one of you has these hit points, their AC can't be less than 17.
Sculptor of Nature
10th level Circle of the Guardian feature
The ground has proven to be one of your greatest allies in and out of combat. Moving through nonmagical difficult terrain doesn't cost you or your primordial guardians any extra movement. Additionally, when you cast a druid spell of 1st level or higher, you can cast the mold earth cantrip as a bonus action. When you cast mold earth in this way, you can command your primordial guardian as part of the same bonus action.
Titanic Guardian
14th level Circle of the Guardian feature
You can manifest all the wrath of nature into a hulking colossus of earth and stone. When you spend a use of your Wild Shape feature to summon a primordial guardian, you can cause the guardian to grow to be a Huge creature, provided you have enough space. When you summon a primordial guardian in this way, it gains the following benefits:
- Its hit point maximum increases by an amount equal to your druid level.
- Its Strength and Constitution scores become 20.
- Its walking speed becomes 35 feet.
- Its Slam action has a reach of 10 feet, and deals an additional 2d10 damage.
- Its Seismic Blast action has a radius of 30 feet and deals an additional 5d6 damage.
Credits
Subclass by u/senorvilla.
Art by Geun-Joo Baik, and velinov.