New Druid Subclass: Circle of the Barren (Walker in the Wastes pseudo-conversion)

[Wartex1]

http://crpp0001.uqtr.ca/w4/campagne/images/wotc_art_galleries/Sandstorm/Monster%20Ashen%20Husk%20by%20Michael%20Phillippi. jpg

Some Druids safeguard nature by protecting life and spurring it on. As a member of the Circle of the Barren, you understand that death and decay are the destiny of all things, and that the brutality of the desert is the embodiment of this cruel reality. A servant of the end, or perhaps a renewer of the cycle, is what you could be.

Desiccating Touch
Beginning at 2nd level, when you select this circle, you can withdraw moisture from any creature you touch. As an Action, you may perform a spell attack against any creature within 5 feet of you. If the attack hits, the creature takes 1d8 + your Wisdom modifier + your Druid level of necrotic damage. Against plants and water-based creatures such as water elementals, you automatically roll for maximum damage. Constructs and undead are immune to this feature.

Barren Thaumaturgy
Once you reach 2nd level, you may cast spells with non-priced components without using a Druidic focus or component pouch. This can be done a number of times per short rest equal to your Wisdom modifier.

The Wasting
Starting at 6th level, you can spew sickening dust out of your body as a red dragon breathes fire. Once per Short Rest, you may expel a foul cloud of silt in a 20-foot cone from yourself. Any creatures within range must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take 5d6 necrotic damage and have it's speed halved for 1 minute.

Withered Toughness
At 10th level, your skin becomes cracked and leathery like an embalmed corpse. Your unarmored AC is now 13 + your Dexterity modifier. In addition, you are no longer harmed by extremely hot or arid environments. You also no longer require water to live.
Drought
Now at 14th level, a master of the desert, you can act as a harbinger of its desolation. Once per Long Rest, you may exhude an aura of uninhibited dehydration. As an action, you may force all living creatures within 50-feet of you besides yourself to make a Constitution saving throw. On a failure, the creature takes 10d8 necrotic damage or half as much on a success. Plants and water-based creatures have disadvantage on the saving throw.

[Ralanr]

First ability: I think water elementals and plants should take max damage instead of rolling a higher die. Makes more sense.

Cone thing: 2 levels of exhaustion? That seems really really powerful. Unless the DC is really low, then I think you should weaken that.

Really cool though!

[Leuku]

Desiccating Touch: A spell attack that allows you to add your primary modifier to damage? That's more damaging than any standard cantrip.

I would make it a 1d6 + Wis mod, and, against Water and Plant based creatures, 2d6 + wis mod.

The Wasting: I think you made the effect too powerful because you its usability too infrequent. Change it to per short rest and perhaps, instead of Exhaustion, it reduces hitpoint maximums? 3d6 damage, and reduces hitpoint maximum by half the damage dealt. Deals half damage on a successful save, but does not reduce hitpoint maximum. Lost Hitpoint maximum can be restored via usual means.

Drought: This is going to be a really difficult ability to pull off with your party members in tow, unless you don't mind hurting your party. Why 70 feet specifically? It's not a number usually used for spell effect distances.

Also, considering Desiccating Touch is essentially a kind of cantrip, getting a 4th damage die at 14th level seems way too soon. All other cantrips have to wait till 17th level to get their 4th damage die. Let's not forget that this cantrip automatically adds wis-mod damage to it. I say forget the 4th damage die. Instead, perhaps increase the range to 30 feet.

[Wartex1]

It does the same damage as Shillelagh, and the leveling is to match with the circle features so as to go along with the other Druid subclasses. Plus, if can't affect undead, which are very common enemies. It's also out damaged by Eldritch Blast and Overchanneled and can't be used at a range. Plus, unlike Eldritch Blast, it only applies your modifier once, since it is one attack and not four.

As for The Wasting, two levels of exhaustion may seem like much, but you have to remember that enemies tend not to last more than one encounter unless they are recurring NPCs, which would probably have higher saves. Two levels of exhaustion halves speed and gives disadvantage on ability checks. Monsters tend not to use ability checks at all. Plus, 3d6 is pretty weak damage and sort of renders this ability useless at higher levels, so giving it utility instead is both better and more true to the original ability.

And for Drought, that was the point. It has an unusually large radius centered on self because it's a powerful, non-spell ability. It can be as much of a danger to your party as your enemies, which is both for flavor and balancing reasons.

[Wartex1]

How about I switch it to once per short rest, and make the exhaustion last until the target makes 3 CON saving throws? The initial one would also be changed to Dexterity.

[Leuku]

It does the same damage as Shillelagh, and the leveling is to match with the circle features so as to go along with the other Druid subclasses.

I understand that that's why those levels were chosen. But it's still a problem.


Plus, if can't affect undead, which are very common enemies. It's also out damaged by Eldritch Blast and Overchanneled and can't be used at a range. Plus, unlike Eldritch Blast, it only applies your modifier once, since it is one attack and not four.

Regarding undead: that's not a big deal. This subclass doesn't shoehorn the class in to using only one cantrip, i.e. Desiccating Touch. It adds a new cantrip on top of all of the cantrips and spells the druid gets. It'd be like complaining about how Fire Bolt is not as strong as it should be, due to many monsters having resistance to fire, while not acknowledging that the Wizard has several more cantrips to choose from.

Regarding Eldritch Blast: Eldritch Blast is the Exception, not the norm, for cantrip damage. It is the Warlock's primary turn-by-turn damage mechanism, and the Warlock is meant to be damaging. It'd be like complaining that Desiccating Touch doesn't match up to the damage potential of the Rogue's Sneak Attack.

I recommend either increasing the range of Desiccating touch to something like 10 or 15 feet, or getting rid of its mod bonus damage and giving it a rider effect, such as reducing its speed by 10 feet, or giving it advantage on its next physical ability check until the start of your next turn.


As for The Wasting, two levels of exhaustion may seem like much, but you have to remember that enemies tend not to last more than one encounter unless they are recurring NPCs, which would probably have higher saves. Two levels of exhaustion halves speed and gives disadvantage on ability checks. Monsters tend not to use ability checks at all. Plus, 3d6 is pretty weak damage and sort of renders this ability useless at higher levels, so giving it utility instead is both better and more true to the original ability.

If you want to reduce a creature's speed and don't really care about the ability check disadvantage, then why don't you just have Wasting cause those things directly rather than using the Exhaustion mechanic? The reason Exhaustion is so strong is because outside of decently high level magical means, Exhaustion takes a day to recover from per level of Exhaustion. To combat this, you introduce a new mechanic, 3 saving throws to ward away the effect, but such a mechanic just increases the DM's bookkeeping, which is something 5e DnD has acted significantly to reduce.

Rather than have it meander through all these mechanisms, I recommend it simply reduce all targets who fail their throws have their speed reduced by half. And if you're worried about damage scaling, then make it deal 1d6 times half your Druid level rounded down in damage. That way at 6th level you start out with the normal 3d6, and by 20th level you're dealing 10d6. And don't forget half damage on a successful save.


And for Drought, that was the point. It has an unusually large radius centered on self because it's a powerful, non-spell ability. It can be as much of a danger to your party as your enemies, which is both for flavor and balancing reasons.

It being a powerful, non-spell ability does not exclude it from using a typical spell range. Using an uncommon spell range just makes it more of a headache for the DM who has to contend with a spell range he is not accustomed to.

I stand by not giving the cantrip a 4th damage die 3 levels earlier than the average damaging cantrip. If you can't make a feature conform to class level expectations, then abandon the feature.

[Wartex1]

It's a touch attack. It'd be fair to give it a boost to damage over the ranged cantrips.

Your other points are fair though.

[Leuku]

It's a touch attack. It'd be fair to give it a boost to damage over the ranged cantrips.

Then don't make it a touch attack. It already gets a boost anyways because it adds Wis mod to its damage, which no cantrip inherently does.

[Wartex1]

Except that it's a subclass-unique feature. Evocation Wizard gets the same in addition to Overchannel. Also, Shillelagh and Magic Stone have the inherent WIS bonus.

[eleazzaar]

Then don't make it a touch attack. It already gets a boost anyways because it adds Wis mod to its damage, which no cantrip inherently does.

I think the thing to properly compare it to is the melee weapon damage the druid could plausibly do that that level, not compare it to cantrips. A touch cantrip should at least be a little better than melee damage, or else there's no point. The fact that constructs and undead are immune is not counterbalanced by the fact that it hurts the rarer water + plant creature more. But i suppose any kind of melee weapon will be useless against at least a few foes.


"As an Action, you may perform a spell attack against any creature within 5 feet of you." It should probably say "that you can touch" to allow for characters that may temporarily or naturally have more than 5ft reach.


Also, this is a quibble, but the level-ups for Desiccating Touch should be all together at the end of that feature's description instead of scattered through the other features. That seems to be how 5e normally does things, and it is easier to read.