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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next Channel Wild Guardian: An environment-based spell



Sindeloke
2017-08-12, 05:31 PM
Heya homebrewers, I need some help with a new druid spell I'm working on. The idea is that the effect created is variable, a different effect for each type of terrain the players might find themselves in, but every effect should be equally useful and powerful. I have some ideas sketched out as a baseline, but I feel they are very much not all equally useful and powerful, so I'd love suggestions on better effects or ways to even them out. (In particular, urban, desert and tropical forest seem situational or weak, and coastal too strong, but that's just an eyeball analysis; all input is welcome.)

The spell currently:

Channel Wild Guardian
5th-level conjuration
Casting time: 1 action
Range: Self
Components: V, S, M
Duration: Concentration, up to one minute
Availability: Druid, Ranger

When you cast this spell, you open yourself up as a host for the powerful animal spirit that embodies the land on which you stand. The glowing image of the spirit surrounds and obscures you, imposing disadvantage on attacks against you. The spirit also projects its power in a 30-foot aura around it, with each spirit creating a different effect within that radius.

Coastal: The crab spirit that guards the tides grants friendly creatures resistance to all nonmagical damage, and freedom from movement penalties from sand, loose stone, and shallow water.

Deciduous Forest: The bear spirit of the ash and elm grants advantage on all Strength checks and saves made by friendly creatures in the aura, and allows them to deal 1d8 bonus damage once per turn on any successful attack roll.

Desert: The scorpion spirit of the glassy sands grants resistance to fire damage to friendly creatures in its aura, and the critical hits of such creatures inflict one level of exhaustion on their targets.

Grassland: The raptor spirit of the open taiga provides any friendly creature in its aura a 10 foot speed increase and 5 temporary hit points at the beginning of each of their turns. Enemies within the aura cannot regain hit points, and enemies with fewer than half their hit points take 5 piercing damage if they enter the aura or whenever they start their turn within it.

Tropical Forest: The jaguar spirit of tall palms and muggy rainforests allows any friendly creature in its aura to ignore movement penalties from dense plants or undergrowth, and grants them a climb speed equal to their walk speed. Hostile creatures in the aura have disadvantage on Perception checks and saves against fear.

Tundra: The elk spirit of the frozen north provides resistance to cold damage and automatic sucesses on saves against snow or ice hazards to any friendly creature in its aura, and deals cold damage equal to your casting attribute to any enemy that begins its turn there. A successful Constitution save halves this damage.

Urban: The rat spirit that protects the domestic creatures and teeming vermin of the city gives friendly creatures immunity to any new diseases and poisons, and suppresses any from which they're currently suffering. Hostile creatures that enter or begin their turn in its aura take necrotic damage equal to your casting attribute. A successful Constitution save halves this damage.

Wetlands: The frog spirit of the glades and swamps allows any friendly creature in its aura to ignore movement penalties from mud, dense vegetation and shallow water, and grants any such creature that begins its turn there 5 temporary hit points. Enemies that enter or begin their turn in the aura are struck by dizziness and nausea, imposing the Poisoned condition even on creatures normally immune to that effect. At the end of each of its turns, an affected creature may attempt a Constitution save to remove the effect.