Druid Circle
At 2nd level, a druid gains the Druid Circle feature, which offers you the choice of a subclass. The Circle of Shadows and the Circle of Winter are options available to a druid making that choice.
Circle of Shadows
To the world of diurnal creatures, the dark is often a source of fear. It is symbolic of the unknown and often contains dangers hidden from the observer. But to certain druids, the dark is the most natural and comfortable thing in the world.
Circle of Shadows druids embrace the darkness, recognizing that the night is when life is most active, and are typically not very active during the day. Even at night, these druids are difficult to notice; they weave the shadows of the night around themselves in order to remain unnoticed, and are more interested in observing than interacting with others. They are the unseen guardians of the forest, only emerging to confront those who disturb nature or to protect travelers from the dangers lurking in the darkness.
What caused you to emerge from the shadows of the forest and begin adventuring in the daytime? How do you balance the druidic tradition of being an observer with your newfound role as an actor in the world?
Circle Spells
Your connection to the primal darkness of the night grants you access to some spells when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown on the Circle of Shadows 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 Shadows Spells
| Druid Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 2nd | Faerie Fire, Sleep |
| 3rd | Darkness, Shadow Blade |
| 5th | Fear, Nondetection |
| 7th | Hallucinatory Terrain, Phantasmal Killer |
| 9th | Dream, Scrying |
Shadowy Form
2nd-level Circle of Shadows feature
At 2nd level, you gain the ability to draw upon the shadows of the night to alter your form. As a bonus action, you can expend a use of your Wild Shape feature to take on a shadowy form, rather than transforming into a beast.
While in your Shadowy Form, you retain your game statistics, but your body becomes wreathed in shadows; you become difficult to see and your form flickers like a dark candle.
Also while you are in your Shadowy Form, you exude a shadowy aura. The area within 10 feet of you becomes dark as all nonmagical light is suppressed by shadows. Nonmagical light is partially suppressed for a further 10 feet; bright light becomes dim light in this area, and dim light becomes darkness.
This form lasts for 10 minutes. It ends early if you dismiss it (no action required), are incapacitated or die, or use this feature again.
Whenever you assume your Shadowy Form, choose which of the following shadows manifest around your body; your choice gives you certain benefits while in the form:
Eyes in the Dark. When you manifest this shadow, your eyes glow with a primal red, yellow, or green, and can be seen clearly through your shadowy aura. You can see through any magical darkness which is within range of your darkvision while this shadow remains.
Nightmarish Claws. When you manifest this shadow, darkness coalesces around your arms and hands, forming wicked claws. When you activate this form, and as a bonus action on your subsequent turns while this shadow remains, you can make a melee spell attack against a creature within your reach. On a hit, the attack deals psychic damage equal to 1d8 + your Wisdom modifier, and the target must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the target becomes frightened until the start of your next turn.
Art: 'Tentacle Shadow Monster' by pyrhho on deviantart.com
Art: 'Ursa Polaris' from the Creature Codex for 5th Edition
Night Stalker
2nd-level Circle of Shadows feature
Also at 2nd level, you gain proficiency in the Stealth skill and you gain darkvision out to a range of 60 feet. Furthermore, you can't be frightened while you are in dim light or darkness.
Cloak of Shadows
6th-level Circle of Shadows feature
Starting at 6th level, you can attempt to hide if you are in an area of dim light or darkness, even if you do not have cover.
Additionally, ability checks made to perceive you while you are hidden are at disadvantage.
Terror of the Night
10th-level Circle of Shadows feature
At 10th level, the shadows of your Shadowy Form improve. The 1d8 of the Nightmarish Claws becomes 2d8, and while the Eyes in the Dark is active, you have darkvision out to a range of 120 feet.
Moreover, if you are in an area of dim light or darkness while you are in your Shadowy Form, you can spend a bonus action to teleport up to 30 feet to another space of dim light or darkness.
Flickering Form
14th-level Circle of Shadows feature
When you reach 14th level in this class, you can cause your Shadowy Form to flicker and evade the brunt of a dangerous attack. When you are hit by an attack while in your Shadowy Form, you can spend your reaction to take only half of that damage, unless it is radiant damage or you are in bright light.
Circle of Winter
Some druids find the constant change and adaptation of the natural world to be overwhelming. While they agree that all of nature is a beautiful thing, they prefer to slow down and appreciate beauty in the moment rather than constantly chase after it as it changes. Such druids gather together and form a Circle of Winter, freezing over their grove and much of the surrounding landscape. The affected area is transformed into a winter wonderland, and while only the hardiest of life can live in this environment, the beauty of the frozen trees and rivers is unparalleled. These druids take very careful care of this beauty, and will not hesitate to lash out against any foolish enough to disturb the land.
It is considered taboo for Circle of Winter druids to leave their territory, and they are rarely even seen by outsiders. There are scattered reports of travellers being led to shelter or guarded from predators by a pure white beast or a spirit of winter, but this is the extent to which these druids are typically disposed to reveal themselves to outsiders. Once these outsiders are no longer in danger, the white beast or winter spirit swiftly flees into the wilderness.
What events caused you to leave your druid grove? Are you welcome to return if you so choose, or have you been banished for engaging with outsiders?
Circle Spells
You have embraced the preservative powers of elemental cold, and this grants you access to some spells when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown on the Circle of Winter 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 Winter Spells
| Druid Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 2nd | Fog Cloud, Ray of Frost |
| 3rd | Snilloc's Snowball Storm, Hold Person |
| 5th | Gaseous Form, Sleet Storm |
| 7th | Ice Storm, Water Sphere |
| 9th | Cone of Cold, Control Winds |
Winter Wanderer
2nd-level Circle of Winter feature
When you join this circle at 2nd level, you gain proficiency in the Survival skill. If you are already proficient in this skill, you gain proficiency in another skill of your choice instead.
Additionally, your beast forms manifest coated with snow and ice. When you use your Wild Shape, you gain temporary hit points equal to three times your druid level. While in your beast form, your natural weapon attacks deal an extra 1d4 cold damage on a hit. This extra damage increases by 1d4 when you reach 5th level (2d4), 11th level (3d4), and 17th level (4d4) in this class.
Elusive Flurry
2nd-level Circle of Winter feature
Starting at 2nd level, you are adept at evading close encounters. When an enemy ends its turn within 5 feet of you, you may spend your reaction to disappear in a puff of snow and ice, teleporting to an unoccupied space you can see within 30 feet of where you disappeared.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Mystical Forms
6th-level Circle of Winter feature
Starting at 6th level, your beast forms take on graceful and mystical qualities. While you are in your beast form, you receive the following benefits:
- You have resistance to cold damage.
- You can move across difficult terrain created by ice or snow without spending extra movement.
- You can move across water as though it were solid ground.
- Your natural weapon attacks count as magical for the purposes of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.
White Magic
10th-level Circle of Winter feature
At 10th level, you can ignore the verbal and somatic components of your circle spells, as well as any material components that lack a cost and aren’t consumed by the spell.
Flash Freeze
14th-level Circle of Winter feature
When you reach 14th level in this class, if you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you may drop to 1 hit point instead. When you do so, elemental cold erupts from you, forcing hostile creatures within 30 feet of you to make a Constitution saving throw or be restrained for 1 minute as they become partially frozen. A frozen creature or one of its allies may spend an action to make a Strength check against your spell save DC to attempt to break free. An affected creature is also freed if it takes any fire damage.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
Art: 'winter in the mountains' by Fel-X on deviantart.com
