Whirling Sands

At 2nd level, you can conjure up a spirit of the deep desert, creating a swirling, semi-sentient sandstorm. As a bonus action, you may expend one use of your Wild Shape feature to summon this sandstorm.

The sandstorm appears in a 5-foot radius circle centered on a point you can see within 30 feet. Its space is heavily obscured and counts as difficult terrain. Creatures that begin their turn enveloped in the sandstorm take 1d4 slashing damage. At the start of each of your turns, the sandstorm's radius grows by 5 feet, to a maximum of 20 feet.

As a bonus action, you can cause the sandstorm to trigger one of the following effects:

• Move: The sandstorm moves up to 20 feet along the ground.
• Intensify: The sandstorm's radius shrinks by 5 feet, and all creatures inside it take 1d4 + your Wisdom modifier slashing damage.
• Whirl: The sandstorm whirls fiercely, throwing all creatures within it 15 feet in a random horizontal direction.

You can choose to end the sandstorm at any time. If you become incapacitated, the sandstorm ends. The sandstorm also ends if affected by magical wind effects or dispel magic, cast at a spell level equal to or higher than your proficiency bonus. You may only have one sandstorm summoned at a time.

Desert's Kin

At 6th level, you gain resistance to fire damage, you are immune to any weather effects from desert travel, and you can ignore nonmagical difficult terrain caused by sand or desert. You are immune to all effects of your Whirling Sands feature, and your Raging Storm feature once you obtain it.

Primal Scouring

Also at 6th level, all damage dealt by your sandstorm counts as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.

Desert Blooms

At 10th level, your connection to the desert allows you to coax life into existence even amid desolation. Over the course of one hour as part of a long rest, you can conjure a desert plant which blooms with six pieces of fruit. Each fruit supplies a different benefit, and a creature eating one of the fruits gains one of the following benefits of their choice:

• They gain resistance to fire damage.
• They gain temporary hit points equal to your druid level.
• They gain advantage on saving throws against charm effects.
• They gain advantage on Constitution saving throws and death saving throws.
• They gain tremorsense out to 30 feet.
• They have no need to eat or drink.

A creature can only have one of these benefits at a time, and each benefit can only be gained by one creature. Uneaten fruit fades away when you complete a long rest, and eaten fruit ends its effects after a creature completes a long rest.

Raging Storm

At 14th level, your sandstorm grows more powerful. As an action while it is summoned, you can empower it by expending a spell slot up to 5th level. If you do so, its radius increases by 5 feet, and all creatures inside it must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failure, they suffer 1d10 slashing damage for each slot level spent and are blinded until the start of your next turn. On a success, they suffer half as much damage and no other effects.

After you use your Raging Storm, your sandstorm deals twice as much damage until the start of your next turn.

Circle of the Sands quirks

The following are some optional quirks for a player of this Circle to choose from.

Appendix: Spells

Quicksand

1st-level transmutation

• Classes: Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard
• Casting Time: 1 action
• Range: 60 feet
• Components: V, S
• Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

You point at a 15-foot square patch of ground and cause it to liquefy. The area is difficult terrain for the duration. When a creature enters the spell's area or starts its turn there, it must make a Strength saving throw. On a failure, the creature's speed is reduced to 0 until the start of its next turn. If a creature fails a saving throw for this spell three times in a row, it becomes restrained until it succeeds.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, the square's dimensions increase by 5 feet for each 2 slot levels above 1st.

Tornado

5th-level transmutation

• Classes: Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard
• Casting Time: 1 action
• Range: 120 feet
• Components: V, S
• Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

A whirling tornado erupts, filling a 20-foot-radius, 40-foot-high cylinder centered on a point within range.

Any creature that starts its turn within the tornado must make a Strength saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 4d8 bludgeoning damage and is pushed 10 feet away and 40 feet up. On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage and isn't pushed.

As a bonus action, you can move the tornado up to 30 feet in any direction. Any ranged weapon attack against a target within 20 feet of the tornado has disadvantage, and any ranged attack that passes through it automatically misses.

Wall of Dust

3rd-level transmutation

• Classes: Wizard
• Casting Time: 1 action
• Range: 90 feet
• Components: V, S, M (a handful of dirt or sand)
• Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes
• Replaces: Wall of Sand

You construct a wall of blowing dirt and grit at a point you can see within range. The wall can be up to 30 feet long, 10 feet high, and 10 feet thick. The wall blocks line of sight. When a creature enters the wall or starts its turn there, it must make a Strength saving throw. On a failure, moving within the wall requires 6 feet of movement for each foot traveled. On a success, movement within the wall only consumes 3 feet of movement for each foot. Regardless of the save, a creature is blinded and deafened while within the wall.

The wall disappears when the spell ends.

Changelog